Perhaps it should be no surprise that the country that reveres all things Hello Kitty should also have a soft spot for Beatrix Potter. Still, to anyone whose interest in Peter Rabbit, Mrs Tiggywinkle and Jemima Puddle-Duck ended with infants school, Japan's enduring fascination is an unusual one. Beatrix Potter isn’t just big there: she is a national obsession. We may use her illustrations to decorate Wedgwood china, but they have them everywhere from ATM cash machines to business stationery and mayonnaise jars.

Britain's own Potter industry is set to receive a boost with the release of Christopher Noonan's film, but even then, it is unlikely to approach Asian levels of fandom. Among the Potter-related attractions in Tokyo are a chain of Peter Rabbit juice bars and, in a children’s zoo, a perfect recreation of her Lake District farmhouse, Hill Top. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, published in Japan in 1971, was one of the first English books to become available in translation there. It was on the national curriculum for years, and is still used as a teaching aid. You can only surmise that tourists arriving at Heathrow must feel a little cheated that we are not all scurrying around in blue jackets and bonnets, baking pies in patty-pans.

So what is it that appeals to the Japanese? Richard Foster, general manager of The World of Beatrix Potter at Bowness on Windermere, and chairman of the English Lake District Japan Forum, believes that it is a picture of bygone Britain, embodied in her comforting tales of helpful mice and sagacious owls. "Peter Rabbit is seen as a quintessential British character," he says. "He represents a gentle, nostalgic view of this country that continues to attract tourists."

David Buckley, president of Copyrights Asia Ltd, the company that handles all Japanese copyrights for Beatrix Potter, agrees. "Peter Rabbit is seen as trustworthy, stable and unthreatening," he says. "There is a natural affinity between the Japanese and Beatrix Potter. Her books represent a wholesome Englishness that is highly prized."

*****

Readers abroad, though, take a far more literal approach, particularly in Japan, the biggest market for Beatrix Potter in the world. According to Visit Britain, the North West is the second most popular destination for Japanese tourists after London, while the National Trust estimates that Hill Top alone attracts nearly 20,000 visitors from Japan every summer - almost a third of the total.

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Night at the Museum Tops Box Office Again

Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum topped the box office for the third week in a row, making an estimated $24,000,000. That brings the film's total receipts to date to $164,097,000. It's a hilarious, family-friendly movie that's really worth seeing. Owen Wilson as the cowboy Jedediah and Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt really shine in the film. Be sure to stay through the credits and watch Dick Van Dyke dance: he's absolutely amazing at 81.

In second place is Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness, which made another $13,000,000, bringing its total to $124,159,000. In third place is the Clive Owen SF film, Children of Men which made an estimated $10,295,000. Based loosely on the book by P.D James, it's getting excellent reviews and we can't wait to see it.

In fourth place is Hilary Swank's Freedom Writers, an inspiring true story about a teacher in Long Beach, California, which made an estimated $9,705,000. Opening this weekend was Happily N'Ever After, an animated fairy tale starring the voices of Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sigourney Weaver, which made an estimated $6,800,000 and the comedy Code Name: The Cleaner, starring Cedric the Entertainer, which made an estimated $4,625,000.

Posted on January 8, 2007
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Cube Fabulous: Improving Cubes and Changing Lives

In Cube Fabulous, on online reality tv show, upbeat and intentionally cheesy cube fabricators Jeff and Megan travel to people's offices to help them improves their dull cubes. They claim that they are changing lives "one cubicle at a time." ClickZ reports that the online cube makeover show is hit.

As its second season comes to a close, online reality show Cube Fabulous is claiming success, having grown its audience to 4.5 million unique visitors and signed several big name sponsors.

The show consists of seven-minute episodes, broadcast exclusively online, where disgruntled cube dwellers have their desks upgraded by a team of designers. Cubes have been endowed with themes like punk rock and ski chalet; one was even transformed into a human-sized acquarium.

"There's a real opportunity in this industry to create something that never existed before," said Matt Wasserlauf, CEO of Broadband Enterprises, which produces Cube Fabulous. "We're going to drive time spent metrics while people are watching video; we are going to allow them to watch unique programming."

Originally targeted to the 18- to 24-year-old market, Cube Fbulous is now attempting to reach an older audience with new episodes. Broadband Enterprises said the show has logged 100 million streams, with 75 to 100 million ad impressions from 4.5 million unique viewers. Total ad billings are $2.1 million.

There are about a dozen episodes of Cube Fabulous online and new episodes will appear in February. You can submit your own cube profile here if you want a shot at appearing on an episode of the show and a shot at having the cube fabricators come to your office and pimp your cube.

Posted on January 6, 2007
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The O.C. Is Cancelled

The hit show The O.C. has been cancelled by Fox.

The network said Wednesday the teen soap will end its four-season run next month. New episodes will air in the show's ultra-competitive 9-10 p.m. slot every Thursday through the series finale February 22. So far this season, the show is averaging about 4.1 million total viewers, less than half of what it garnered during its debut season, according to Nielsen Media Research. Last season it averaged 5.7 million.

"The O.C." got off to a promising start in August 2003, garnering plenty of buzz with its attractive cast. But at the start of Season 2, Fox moved the show to Thursday nights, where it faced an uphill battle and never recovered. Before this season began, Fox said it was cutting its order of episodes.

The show, which follows a group of friends and families whose lives were changed by the arrival of an outsider (Benjamin McKenzie) to the chic California community of Newport Beach, recently saw some cast changes. Mischa Barton 's character was killed off at the end of last season, and Autumn Reeser and Willa Holland came on board as regulars.

*****

"This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," said creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz. "Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top."

Once Seth didn't get into Brown and Ryan turned into a cage fighter, the show totally jumped the shark. Killing of the annoying Marissa was a high note, but honestly, the show is so over. The CW network has said it might pick up the show...yawn.

Posted on January 4, 2007
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Waiting For Our Heroes

We can't wait for the hiatus to end and for Heroes to return on January 21, 2007 (on NBC at 10 pm Eastern time). In the meantime, creator Tim Kring has been talking about the series. Apparently, he was shocked at how many families with small children are watching the show, which has quite a bit of violence in it. So he's going to make the show a bit more family-friendly.

In addition to a seven-week hiatus, Heroes creator Tim Kring is faced with the challenge of making the show more family-friendly, reports Broadcastingcable.com. Kring recently sat on a panel at a Family Friendly Programming Forum in Beverly Hills where it became apparent that the show may be too violent for the young-uns' who are watching.

"We were trying to get a hip audience of twentysomethings and college kids, but I have been taken by surprise by how many families watch the show," Kring acknowledged. "I feel like we have to back off some of the very graphic stuff," said Kring. "The genre calls for a certain amount of violence. The cheerleader sticking her hand in a garbage disposal still gets an 'Ooh!' in a good way."

Just Jared reports on a new character that's coming to the series: an invisible man.

Claude, an invisible man played by British actor Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), appears in this episode as well. Heroes creator Tim Kring explains: "He's been living with his invisibility for many years and has come to grips with it, so he'll give us a different view into this hero world. He's big, imposing and charismatic, and will become a mentor to Peter — albeit a tough, reluctant and stern one. He'll help Peter learn to use and control his powers."

Christopher Eccleston will be amazing -- we are so ready for this hiatus to end. Although, we have to say that we are still furious over the abrupt cancellation of Day Break starring Taye Diggs. Now we will never know why Detective Hopper's day kept restarting. And we're not happy about that.

Posted on January 3, 2007
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Night at the Museum Tops Box Office

Night at the Museum topped the recent three-day weekend box office, making $46,700,000 in its second week, bringing its total take so far to $125,755,000. It's a great movie, and we love seeing Dick Van Dyke back on the silver screen.

In second place was Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness, making $24,700,000. That brings the film's total take so far to $103,746,000, which is far above the film's $55 million production cost. In third place was Dreamgirls in its fifth week, which made $18,672,000. In fourth place was Charlotte's Web, making $15,050,000, followed by The Good Shepherd, starring Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, which made $14,251,000 in its second week. Rocky Balboa hangs in there at sixth making another $13,660,000, bringing the film's take so far to $51,132,000.

Posted on January 2, 2007
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