LATEST ADDITIONS

One of the most respected makers of video projectors is back in action. On August 31, Vidikron of America announced that it has been sold by its parent company, Vidikron Technologies Group, Inc., to a group of international financial investors. Vidikron of America is now an independent company for the first time in its 11-year history. The investment group backing the company has access to funding in excess of $250 million, according to VOA's public relations agency, JB Stanton Communications, Inc.

I<I>an McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave. Directed by Bill Condon. Aspect ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic). Dolby Digital. 106 minutes. 1999. Universal Collectors Edition 20584. R. $34.90.</I>

California's Assembly Appropriations Committee has unanimously voted in favor of legislation that will treat celebrities' images as copyrighted property. SB 209, nicknamed "the Astaire Bill," was passed 30-1 by the state's Senate on April 5, and will now move to the full Assembly for a final vote.

Gary Shapiro is after the US Congress to reconcile House and Senate versions of the Satellite Home Viewer Act (SHVA). Shapiro, president of the <A HREF="http://www.cemacity.org/">Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association</A> (CEMA), has asked legislators to incorporate provisions of a recent agreement between direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service <A HREF="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.nab.org/">National Association of Broadcasters</A>, allowing DBS services to transmit local TV signals&mdash;a practice known as local-into-local&mdash;as cable companies have always done.