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January 16

Old 1980s movie

In the 1980s I have a vauge memory of seeing a movie where the plot focused around a drug dealer on trial for shooting a police officer. The drug dealer had a tape recroder playing rap music and instead of hitting stop when the cop walked up he hit record. The tape recorder then recorded the cop saying "Goodbye Nigger!!" and opening fire. The entire movie was about some lawyer trying to get this tape and prove the drug dealer had acted in self defense. I think in one scene he finds it and it gets burned by the bad guys. Does anyone recall the name of this film? Its been 22 years at least but I'd love to see it again. -OberRanks (talk) 01:59, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Shakedown ? ---Sluzzelin talk 08:23, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

That's it!! -OberRanks (talk) 14:55, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Akula - Oksana Pochepa and all other featured in her album

I recently listened to the music on "Akula" album made by an russian singer in 2003 and i would like some detailed information about it,and all other singers featured on this album.. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.84.196.161 (talk) 10:43, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

(edited to fix formatting --Maltelauridsbrigge (talk) 11:07, 16 January 2009 (UTC))[reply]

Japan

Hi. I have a question: Anybody knows abut a company in Japan which do a certifications?, like RIAA in USA?. Thanks a lot. --190.222.81.90 (talk) 21:11, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

The Japanese equivalent of the RIAA is the Recording Industry Association of Japan. They award three certifications for music sales - Gold (100,000), Platinum (250,000) and Million (self-explanatory). 87.112.26.250 (talk) 00:26, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Just to show how good Wikipedia is, we have a featured list of these limits worldwide: List of music recording sales certifications. -- Jao (talk) 15:07, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Oscars

At the risk of offending some people, I always wondered how did Shakespeare in Love beat Saving Private Ryan for best picture at the Academy Awards?

Because more members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted for one than for the other. You'll have to track down the voters and ask them to get more information. Algebraist 00:30, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ye gods! I had to endure your ilk when I frequented IMDb. For some reason, they wouldn't post their complaints on the SPR message board; they had to do it on the SIL one, over and over again. Give it up! War's over. You lost. Clarityfiend (talk) 06:11, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

At least in part because the Academy Awards don't necessarily have all that much to do with recognizing the best of the best. I mean, was Gladiator really the best film of 2000? Really? Or did the Return of the King really win Best Picture because it was the best movie of 2003, or because it was the last chance to give the award to a Lord of the Rings movie? The people doing the voting are people from the movie industry, many of whom probably aren't motivated so much by a desire to reward excellence, but by a desire to generate income -- because obviously a movie that wins a bunch of Oscars is going to see a lot more DVD rentals and whatnot. And of course, even if we assume that everyone's votes are based on honest opinions and altruism, the idea that artistic merit and quality can be best determined by consensus is kind of faulty: in the end you've got different people, who like different things. The biggest problem with the Academy Awards is that people really, really want to believe that not only is it possible to objectively identify to best movie of the year, but that the Academy can be -- at least most of the time -- counted on to do it. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 14:28, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

You might be amused by a recent Entertainment Weekly feature, "Recall the Gold," where Oscar voters were re-surveyed about this and other controversial races. SIL lost this time! Catrionak (talk) 18:08, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Heh. I was playing along with a friend in bar trivia the night of the Oscars that year, the game was synced with the Academy Awards presentation, when it got down to the final question (prediction, really), "Which movie will win the Oscar for Best Picture?", I was trailing my friend by a few points. We both knew that Saving Private Ryan would win Best Picture, but the only way I could beat my friend would be to pick a different movie, so I picked Shakespeare in Love, it won, I beat him. :) AnyPerson (talk) 18:41, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

At the risk of offending anyone, the answer could be "because it's a better movie". The Oscars are almost always biased in favour of 'tragic' dramas - comedies haven't got a look in for years, with this one exception. Yet good comedies take as much effort and skill to make. And Shakespeare in Love is one of the best comedies not just of the year, but for many years. DJ Clayworth (talk) 21:07, 21 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

It has been admitted in the past that the Oscar voters don't necessarily take quality as the main criterion. As Catrionak pointed out, opportunity and recognition come into play just as often. Awarding an Oscar to a deserving director who hasn't received one yet happens often, and the Lord of the Rings example is probable too. Why they adopted this method I've no idea, but there you have it. Magicallydajesus (talk) 09:06, 23 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Films featuring dedications in the end credits

How many films have featured in the end credits a dedication to a deceased actor? David Pro (talk) 22:54, 16 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I'm not sure such data has ever been tabulated before. I'm sure its a rather huge number, but the answer you get will depend on your criteria. Of every film ever made in any langauage ever? Of English-language films? Of wide-release U.S.-produced films? Even with more restrictive criteria, I am not sure anyone has bothered to count, and I given that I am not sure there is enough time in ones lifetime to dig up every film ever made, and even just view the closing credits to count for yourself. --Jayron32.talk.contribs 00:37, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]

On a hunch, I'd say that most films that have an actor die between before the film is released probably include a dedication like that -- provided, of course, that the film has modern long credits at the end. The same probably goes for [significant] crew members. Still, beyond "lots and lots," this is pretty much an unanswerable question. -- Captain Disdain (talk) 14:10, 17 January 2009 (UTC)[reply]