Did you know this about 'The Happy Birthday' Song?

Some facts about ' The Happy Birthday' song:

1. It is the most sung English Song according to the Guinness Book of World records.
   
2. Its melody is after "Good Morning to All", which was written and composed by American sisters Patty Hill and Mildred J. Hill in 1893 
   
3. The Summy Company registered for copyright in 1935, crediting authors Preston Ware Orem and Mrs. R.R. Forman. In 1990, Warner Chappell purchased the company owning the copyright for US$15 million, with the value of "Happy Birthday" estimated at US$5 million.
   
4. Based on the 1935 copyright registration, Warner claims that U.S. copyright won't expire until 2030, and that unauthorized public performances of the song are technically illegal unless royalties are paid to it.
   
5. The documentary film The Corporation claims that Warner/Chappell charges up to US$10,000 for the song to appear in a film.
   
6. The Walt Disney Company paid the copyright holder US$5,000 to use the song in the birthday scene of the defunct Epcot attraction Horizons
   

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Angels and Demons

Am always the book fan. I personally liked Angels and Demons better than Da Vinci code, when i read it. But when it came to movies, it was vice versa. I felt Angels and Demons movie was kind of a let down to the book. But one has to agree that it is quite difficult to bring in all the details to the word on a screenplay. For the first timers, you might enjoy the thrilling murders and some unusual facts about the papacy. Not sure if its worth a theatre visit though. 

Two sides to the same coin

I wrote this article for a job application. Wanted to keep a copy of it. Do not get bored reading it :) 

“I am so tired of these movie-makers not having an originality and just copying someone else’s idea.”

“Are you kidding me? No one can ever make a better version of that book!!”

-Reviews from blogs on movies.

This article is a tribute to those book-writers who could see beyond the horizon and to those movie makers who created marvels based on such books. It is in appreciation of all the creative minds that have carved a niche in the field of entertainment.

Whenever there is a new movie to be released based on a famous book, I hear staunch book-lovers cribbing about ‘missing details’ with the movie. With every movie there will invariably be an exponential growth in the number of the fanatic readers who cannot digest with important twists taken in a ‘not-so-satisfactory’ style. The reason for this is the power of imagination. Human minds imagine even minute detail from a book and interpret them differently. I should say that this is the biased and prejudiced crowd that is not open to new creativity.

Some of the very famous movies have been based on famous books. The Godfather, The Harry Potter series, Jurassic Park, The Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons-  to name a few. One cannot deny the fact that these movies have indeed made a difference to the film industry. It is one thing to originally write a novel, and it is another to try and bring out the story in an unspoiled way and to keep the crowd always at the edge of its seat. To bring out an entire book with all the details in one and half hours is a talent and one which each of us should not fail to appreciate. In fact, the reason why authors let movie makers use their story, is because, it is another way of publicizing their work. This would only increase their fame, fans and revenue. As long as there is controversy, there is publicity.

There will always be critics who need more to anything – for such people, anything they get is never enough. I can only say one thing: ‘Have an open mind. You will probably learn to appreciate them all’.