-There is currently a campaign spearheaded by three disillusioned fans to raise 150K to send M. Night Shyamalan to NYU film school to improve his craft, or barring that, start a scholarship under his name to send a film student who wins a film festival of their own devising to NYU in his place. I support that second option wholeheartedly. Currently they have raised under a grand for this project.
-There is a movie coming out this year called The Knights of Badassdom which will deal with the fictional conceit that Summer Glau does Live Action Role Playing... err, rather that a group of Live Action Role Players accidently summon a demon and they must then try to defeat it. See, when I think of LARPing in movies, the way it is portrayed Role Models seems to be the version that has stuck with me since I believe that the characters involved would actually do that.
-Apparently there is a company in China that thought that the best person they could think of to use to brand their sex toys was Mischa Barton. Oh China... you so crazy! And the idea that somehow she was going to file legal action against a company in rural China who is creating and selling this particular device is even funnier (and I am not laughing at Barton's predicament... it is just a lost cause in my eyes).
Showing posts with label express. Show all posts
Showing posts with label express. Show all posts
Monday, April 18, 2011
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Express Checkout: Jump Street, Kanye, Global Warming
- With all this talk about the Jonah Hill-written/produced/starring production of 21 Jump Street has me thinking about just how cool of a concept it originally was. Baby-faced cops fighting high school crime. No wonder it was successful on the fledgling Fox. Granted in other teen movies, those same characters would be the hated narcs who were wrecking everyone's fun, but it is all a matter of perspective really.
- I finally get Kanye West, and I feel so silly that I didn't see it before. Kanye West is a troll. As a veteran of the internet, I should have seen it earlier, but really, I wanted to give him as limited a benefit of the doubt as I could. But honestly, it is so obvious looking back on everything he has ever said or done publicly, because the idea that this isn't just an Andy Kaufmanesque act scares the living crap out of me.
- There is a Republican Senator who has revealed that he doesn't believe that global warming is a problem because of the covenant God made with Noah, so it just can't happen because when God wants to destroy us, he will. And that man, John Shimkus wants to head the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I am sincerely interested in reading/hearing the things he was saying about the prospects of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War, because I am sure there was also a pithy little passage in there about it not being possible because of another covenant with God. But he doesn't want Iran to have nuclear weapons (I don't either, but that is another story), so I guess he does believe mankind can mess up the planet. Hmmm. Interesting. *facepalm*
- I finally get Kanye West, and I feel so silly that I didn't see it before. Kanye West is a troll. As a veteran of the internet, I should have seen it earlier, but really, I wanted to give him as limited a benefit of the doubt as I could. But honestly, it is so obvious looking back on everything he has ever said or done publicly, because the idea that this isn't just an Andy Kaufmanesque act scares the living crap out of me.
- There is a Republican Senator who has revealed that he doesn't believe that global warming is a problem because of the covenant God made with Noah, so it just can't happen because when God wants to destroy us, he will. And that man, John Shimkus wants to head the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I am sincerely interested in reading/hearing the things he was saying about the prospects of nuclear annihilation during the Cold War, because I am sure there was also a pithy little passage in there about it not being possible because of another covenant with God. But he doesn't want Iran to have nuclear weapons (I don't either, but that is another story), so I guess he does believe mankind can mess up the planet. Hmmm. Interesting. *facepalm*
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Express Checkout: T-Bag, O'Donnell, Die Hard, King of Fighters
- The producers of the upcoming A&E's Breakout Kings (who just happen to be the former producers of Prison Break) want to cast Robert Knepper on their new show. And they want him to play his former character, Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell. My interest in this show just rose exponentially.
- I've heard a rumor that Christine O'Donnell's senate campaign is aimed not towards her winning that particular seat, but another one: Fox News employee. I would totally buy that. I am not saying that it is true, but given some of the other politicians who, after losing an election, have ended up there, it wouldn't surprise me if that was at least an established fallback position for O'Donnell. (And as a side note, given her puritanical attitudes and statements in the present and past, I am sure if a sex tape was to surface featuring her, it would be a huge seller).
- So there is a CGI sequel to Starship Troopers and 2 more Die Hard movies in the works. Boo to the former and maybe, maybe a yes! to the latter. It depends on who is writing those sequels and if they are going to be PG-13 or Restricted.
- I watched the King of Fighters movie last week, and while it was bad (though not The Legend of Chun-Li bad, as you would expect a video game based movie to be, it did manage to capture just how brutal SNK Bosses are in film form. I think that is something most movies based on fighting games tend to miss.
- I've heard a rumor that Christine O'Donnell's senate campaign is aimed not towards her winning that particular seat, but another one: Fox News employee. I would totally buy that. I am not saying that it is true, but given some of the other politicians who, after losing an election, have ended up there, it wouldn't surprise me if that was at least an established fallback position for O'Donnell. (And as a side note, given her puritanical attitudes and statements in the present and past, I am sure if a sex tape was to surface featuring her, it would be a huge seller).
- So there is a CGI sequel to Starship Troopers and 2 more Die Hard movies in the works. Boo to the former and maybe, maybe a yes! to the latter. It depends on who is writing those sequels and if they are going to be PG-13 or Restricted.
- I watched the King of Fighters movie last week, and while it was bad (though not The Legend of Chun-Li bad, as you would expect a video game based movie to be, it did manage to capture just how brutal SNK Bosses are in film form. I think that is something most movies based on fighting games tend to miss.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Express Checkout: Alias, Far Cry, McGee
It's been a while since I did an express checkout, and with so many little items that don't merit a whole entry, well, today seemed as good a time as any to do one of these posts.
- ABC is considering rebooting Alias. You know, that show that was totally and completely awesome for the first two seasons and then J.J. Abrams went off and worked on another series and it all went to crap after that. Those of you who watched it know exactly what I am talking about. I mean, I loved the show, but I don't think rebooting it just four years after it ended. I know ABC wants to keep the Abrams good times going, but this is not the way. If it was up to me, I would have had Abrams repitch that series with Greg Grunberg, The Catch, because I would certainly be into that. Then again, Grunberg has never had luck with pilots.
- A large group of people is currently being sued for downloading movies illegally. That is not news. What caught my attention is the producers of Uwe Boll's Far Cry are getting in on the action. I smell countersuit here, because I am sure those who watched that movie were harmed psychologically by the experience. (Of course, a lot of the downloading seems to have been done on unsecured wireless connections so the people getting sued may in fact be victims themselves). So in short, there are no winners in this story.
- Bombshell McGee is publicly stating that Sandra Bullock should be thanking her for exposing the 11-month affair between her tattooed self and Bullock's husband Jesse James. Is it just me or does someone who slept with your spouse a large number of times lose all their rights to expect the aggrieved party to be grateful.
- ABC is considering rebooting Alias. You know, that show that was totally and completely awesome for the first two seasons and then J.J. Abrams went off and worked on another series and it all went to crap after that. Those of you who watched it know exactly what I am talking about. I mean, I loved the show, but I don't think rebooting it just four years after it ended. I know ABC wants to keep the Abrams good times going, but this is not the way. If it was up to me, I would have had Abrams repitch that series with Greg Grunberg, The Catch, because I would certainly be into that. Then again, Grunberg has never had luck with pilots.
- A large group of people is currently being sued for downloading movies illegally. That is not news. What caught my attention is the producers of Uwe Boll's Far Cry are getting in on the action. I smell countersuit here, because I am sure those who watched that movie were harmed psychologically by the experience. (Of course, a lot of the downloading seems to have been done on unsecured wireless connections so the people getting sued may in fact be victims themselves). So in short, there are no winners in this story.
- Bombshell McGee is publicly stating that Sandra Bullock should be thanking her for exposing the 11-month affair between her tattooed self and Bullock's husband Jesse James. Is it just me or does someone who slept with your spouse a large number of times lose all their rights to expect the aggrieved party to be grateful.
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Monday, March 8, 2010
Express Checkout: Latifah, Pilgrim, Space Invaders
- I love the fact that Queen Latifah has a clause in her contracts now that her character can't get killed off because she realized that if she gets killed off in a movie and they make a sequel, she probably won't be in it. Though having this knowledge now means that any dramatic tension that someone she is playing could die in the movie seems to be gone, and likely, if that clause wasn't in a contract, then she probably would die in that movie.
- Kevin Smith has given Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim movie a thumbs up by saying he didn't screw it up. Was there rumors going around that the geek and pop culture friendly director was somehow about to make his first bomb? I am trying to think of something from Wright's recent past that would make failure an option at this point. Basically, if someone hasn't screwed up yet, I wouldn't assume that they were about to do so prematurely. Let a dude fail on his own terms.
- A Space Invaders movie has been in the works for years? Seriously? How did I not know this, and more importantly, how would you actually make a movie about that one. I mean, there is no story... at all. I mean, Futurama riffed on it, but I think that was about as good as you were going to get on that one. And Will Arnett is/was attached to it.... wow. I don't know what to say.
- Is it just me or did Jeremy Renner look really pissed that he didn't win the Best Actor award last night at the Oscars.
- Kevin Smith has given Edgar Wright's Scott Pilgrim movie a thumbs up by saying he didn't screw it up. Was there rumors going around that the geek and pop culture friendly director was somehow about to make his first bomb? I am trying to think of something from Wright's recent past that would make failure an option at this point. Basically, if someone hasn't screwed up yet, I wouldn't assume that they were about to do so prematurely. Let a dude fail on his own terms.
- A Space Invaders movie has been in the works for years? Seriously? How did I not know this, and more importantly, how would you actually make a movie about that one. I mean, there is no story... at all. I mean, Futurama riffed on it, but I think that was about as good as you were going to get on that one. And Will Arnett is/was attached to it.... wow. I don't know what to say.
- Is it just me or did Jeremy Renner look really pissed that he didn't win the Best Actor award last night at the Oscars.
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Monday, March 1, 2010
Express Checkout: Fox, Ebert, Lewis and Leno
- Jorja Fox wants a ban on illegal dog fighting in America. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't the fact that it is illegal sort of carry with it that as a practice, it is banned. It still goes on, it is horrible, and such, but I think what Fox and the Humane Society are looking for is for dogfighting to end in any fashion... seeking a ban on something illegal... well, it sounds a little redundant.
- I am glad that Roger Ebert is getting his voice back via technology. He had given up on speaking again after a disasterous series of surgeries following his treatment for cancer, and while the system isn't perfect just yet, it does look like it will allow Ebert to speak in his own voice again.
- People still ask Juliette Lewis about Brad Pitt? Wait, people are asking her questions about something other than the cult she is in?
- Well, tonight's the night Jay Leno returns to late night television. I sincerely hope his ratings are in the toilet.
- I am glad that Roger Ebert is getting his voice back via technology. He had given up on speaking again after a disasterous series of surgeries following his treatment for cancer, and while the system isn't perfect just yet, it does look like it will allow Ebert to speak in his own voice again.
- People still ask Juliette Lewis about Brad Pitt? Wait, people are asking her questions about something other than the cult she is in?
- Well, tonight's the night Jay Leno returns to late night television. I sincerely hope his ratings are in the toilet.
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Monday, February 22, 2010
Express Checkout: Harriet the Spy Remade and Gay Jesus
- Someone remade Harriet the Spy? Why? I don't like Rosie O'Donnell and all, but she doesn't wreck the original, and as it stood, the original was an entertaining little movie that transcended its age. I mean, it is still watchable today, and the problems and such are still easy to relate to, and it has aged very well. When I read that the remake changed the class paper angle to one of blogging, well, let's just say that was the icing on the cake of my disappointment.
- Elton John called Jesus a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man. This caused a furor. I will quote entire quote in context: "I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems. On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel." So, basically, people are bent out of shape because god forbid someone even suggest that Jesus might be gay, despite all the other things that Elton John said, things which everyone would agree are admirable qualities. In those people's rush to judgment, they missed John's ultimate message which was be loving, forgiving and understanding. The fact that all those who are in an uproar about one word in this tells me that they aren't good Christians.
- Elton John called Jesus a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man. This caused a furor. I will quote entire quote in context: "I think Jesus was a compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems. On the cross, he forgave the people who crucified him. Jesus wanted us to be loving and forgiving. I don't know what makes people so cruel." So, basically, people are bent out of shape because god forbid someone even suggest that Jesus might be gay, despite all the other things that Elton John said, things which everyone would agree are admirable qualities. In those people's rush to judgment, they missed John's ultimate message which was be loving, forgiving and understanding. The fact that all those who are in an uproar about one word in this tells me that they aren't good Christians.
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Monday, February 15, 2010
Express Checkout: Blow Out, Kevin Smith, Pattinson
- You know, for a second on the weekend, I felt bad for the women on the Slovakian Hockey Team at the Olympics after taking an 18-0 shellacking from the Canadians. And then I found out that the Slovakians piled 82 goals on the Bulgarians to qualify for the Olympics to begin with. Someone calculated that was a goal every 44 seconds. The thing that really makes that horrific from a karma standpoint was it was the closing game of a qualifying tournament, so there was a point where they could have stopped scoring and they still would have made it to the next stage. It makes me wonder what Bulgaria did to the coach of that team because that is just insane. I mean, I think that is worse than the infamous Georgia Tech-Cumberland State football game of 1916 (and 82 goals isn't even the biggest blowout in international hockey history).
- Kevin Smith was kicked off of a Southwest Airlines flight over the weekend because he was too big to fit in a single seat after trying to get a standby flight from the San Francisco area to Burbank. He had purchased two seats on the flight up there, and admitted that he is "way fat". Now, I'm a husky dude, I admit it, but I have to side with the airline here, as much as it pains me to do so. When I am not blogging and doing all the various other things I do in my life, I watch and read a lot of things about plane crashes. I mean, a lot, so I know a thing or two about them, and the operation of aircraft and regulations as well. From reading the stories from both Smith and Southwest Airlines perspectives, this is what I think happened. Kevin Smith boarded the plane as a standby passenger, he sits down and gets settled in. The pilots in the cockpit are doing their preflight check and knowing what was in the cargo area, they do their weight calculations (based on average weights per passenger), and they discover that they are over the carrying weight limit for that plane, and they then made the decision to kick Smith off because he was the sole standby passenger, and the airline then tried to get him off the plane delicately so the other people on the plane didn't know that there was a potential issue with the flight through another pretense (because they kept saying it was a safety issue). Smith has also heard speculation that someone near the flight had him pulled because they didn't like his movies or his attitude when he boarded the flight... which also seems possible. EDIT: I just got through listening to Smith's Smodcast, and he told a tale about the flight after the one he was kicked off of, and I have to say, I was wrong. He was very much slighted, and apparently he is not alone.
- I will just present this quote I found browsing Google News with one brief comment at the end. "In a new interview with Details, Robert Pattinson reveals that he loves his dog more than any living lady, and that he's not a big fan of vaginas." Yeah, is anyone really surprised by that last revelation... at all?
- Kevin Smith was kicked off of a Southwest Airlines flight over the weekend because he was too big to fit in a single seat after trying to get a standby flight from the San Francisco area to Burbank. He had purchased two seats on the flight up there, and admitted that he is "way fat". Now, I'm a husky dude, I admit it, but I have to side with the airline here, as much as it pains me to do so. When I am not blogging and doing all the various other things I do in my life, I watch and read a lot of things about plane crashes. I mean, a lot, so I know a thing or two about them, and the operation of aircraft and regulations as well. From reading the stories from both Smith and Southwest Airlines perspectives, this is what I think happened. Kevin Smith boarded the plane as a standby passenger, he sits down and gets settled in. The pilots in the cockpit are doing their preflight check and knowing what was in the cargo area, they do their weight calculations (based on average weights per passenger), and they discover that they are over the carrying weight limit for that plane, and they then made the decision to kick Smith off because he was the sole standby passenger, and the airline then tried to get him off the plane delicately so the other people on the plane didn't know that there was a potential issue with the flight through another pretense (because they kept saying it was a safety issue). Smith has also heard speculation that someone near the flight had him pulled because they didn't like his movies or his attitude when he boarded the flight... which also seems possible. EDIT: I just got through listening to Smith's Smodcast, and he told a tale about the flight after the one he was kicked off of, and I have to say, I was wrong. He was very much slighted, and apparently he is not alone.
- I will just present this quote I found browsing Google News with one brief comment at the end. "In a new interview with Details, Robert Pattinson reveals that he loves his dog more than any living lady, and that he's not a big fan of vaginas." Yeah, is anyone really surprised by that last revelation... at all?
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Monday, February 1, 2010
Express Checkout: Jersey Shore, Razzies, Milestone
- Why, oh why was Jersey Shore's Snooki at The Grammys. Seriously, I didn't know she was in the music industry or had done anything of note aside from looking like an idiot and getting hit in the jaw. To paraphrase Louis C.K. from his Shameless special, every time one of these *ahem* personalities comes up, I have to stop what I am doing because I need my whole body to fucking hate that person with, because now I have to know that they exist. They are like Freddy Krueger, if you just turn your back on them, they will disappear. So for the sake of humanity, please, please, please, turn away from this trainwreck... because you and I both know that there will be another one along shortly.
- Who here is surprised that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was one of two films nominated for the most Razzies this year (the other film is Land of the Lost, by the way). And how many of you had a feeling that it have that lovely distinction around its opening weekend? I am sort of laughing now because when I wrote that post a few weeks ago about my hypothetical Razzie speech, I had no idea that a lot of the names I would mentioned would indeed be nominated this year. I am surprised Uwe Boll escaped a nomination for worst picture of the decade dishonors truth be told.
- Over the weekend, a conversation in an recent entry to this blog, the one about Jay Leno's role in the late night mess shattered my previous blog record for comments. So my criticism of Jodie Foster's take on Sin City has been quite handily usurped. The fact that it was mostly one person counter-commenting on the Jay Leno entry makes that feat even more astonishing. I don't think that conversation is going to get any longer, but you never know. These things do tend to take on a life of their own.
- Who here is surprised that Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was one of two films nominated for the most Razzies this year (the other film is Land of the Lost, by the way). And how many of you had a feeling that it have that lovely distinction around its opening weekend? I am sort of laughing now because when I wrote that post a few weeks ago about my hypothetical Razzie speech, I had no idea that a lot of the names I would mentioned would indeed be nominated this year. I am surprised Uwe Boll escaped a nomination for worst picture of the decade dishonors truth be told.
- Over the weekend, a conversation in an recent entry to this blog, the one about Jay Leno's role in the late night mess shattered my previous blog record for comments. So my criticism of Jodie Foster's take on Sin City has been quite handily usurped. The fact that it was mostly one person counter-commenting on the Jay Leno entry makes that feat even more astonishing. I don't think that conversation is going to get any longer, but you never know. These things do tend to take on a life of their own.
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Express Checkout: Elton John, Billy Corgan, PT Anderson
- Say what you want about Elton John's music, but the dude has some heart. After he and his life partner tried to adopt an HIV-infected child from the Ukraine and were denied, he is still planning on supporting the child financially. He cares about that child so much that even though they can't join his family, he still wants to look out for it and I assume make sure it has the medical care it needs (along with other essentials). I respected him before but this takes it to a new level.
- Jessica Simpson is reportedly dating Billy Corgan now. I don't know if it is true, but given some of the other things Corgan has done as of late, it seems entirely within his character, because if any of you have heard him talk in the past, you know that there was indeed a time when he would have thought that he was somehow too good for someone who sang in the country pop world. But I guess selling a song for a credit card commercial, a song which you vowed you'd never sell like that, supporting a bill that devastates small and independent broadcasters and I even recently saw him rip on fans of his band because they want him to play some of their favorite hits during Smashing Pumpkins concerts. When I think about it, Jessica Simpson is too good for him.
- I was reading news items on Film School Rejects, and I came upon an item about Paul Thomas Anderson's next film project, and I have to say I am intrigued, if only because the subject seems to be one that is close to my heart. "In this next opus, Anderson will take on the creation of a new religion, and he’s bringing Philip Seymour Hoffman along as his creator. Hoffman will play “the Master,” or “master of ceremonies,” a charismatic intellectual who creates a faith-based organization that takes the United States by storm in 1952." The year is very important, because there was another organization which started in that year which I have discussed many times in the past. So, if this movie is about what I think it is about (in other words, of course), I am ecstatic.
- Jessica Simpson is reportedly dating Billy Corgan now. I don't know if it is true, but given some of the other things Corgan has done as of late, it seems entirely within his character, because if any of you have heard him talk in the past, you know that there was indeed a time when he would have thought that he was somehow too good for someone who sang in the country pop world. But I guess selling a song for a credit card commercial, a song which you vowed you'd never sell like that, supporting a bill that devastates small and independent broadcasters and I even recently saw him rip on fans of his band because they want him to play some of their favorite hits during Smashing Pumpkins concerts. When I think about it, Jessica Simpson is too good for him.
- I was reading news items on Film School Rejects, and I came upon an item about Paul Thomas Anderson's next film project, and I have to say I am intrigued, if only because the subject seems to be one that is close to my heart. "In this next opus, Anderson will take on the creation of a new religion, and he’s bringing Philip Seymour Hoffman along as his creator. Hoffman will play “the Master,” or “master of ceremonies,” a charismatic intellectual who creates a faith-based organization that takes the United States by storm in 1952." The year is very important, because there was another organization which started in that year which I have discussed many times in the past. So, if this movie is about what I think it is about (in other words, of course), I am ecstatic.
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Monday, November 2, 2009
Express Checkout: Southland, Leno, Gaga
- TNT has rescued the NBC drama Southland from NBC's cancellation scrap heap. If they get to run the episodes that are already in the can (as the show was cancelled before it aired a single episode this season), TNT made an awesome move, one which might benefit the series as well with the network's solid cable ratings and emphasis on drama. For those of you who were upset that Jay Leno pushed this series aside, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
- Speaking of which, Jay Leno has stated that if NBC was to offer him the hosting duties of The Tonight Show once again, he would take them up on the offer. I don't know about you, but I think the fact that Leno is stinking up an hour of prime time every week night seems to indicate that he might be willing to do anything to get that slot back. Part of me wonders if David Letterman would have taken a 10PM slot on NBC after Jay got The Tonight Show?
- Lady Gaga has plans to release a collector's edition of her first album with a book that has a lock of her hair in it. Outside of people who might want to kill her with with a magical curse and a stalker or two, who really wants a hunk of Lady Gaga's hair... I mean, really. I should also note that aside from a little bit of Let's Dance, I can honestly say that I haven't heard a thing she has sang... I feel fortunate.
- Speaking of which, Jay Leno has stated that if NBC was to offer him the hosting duties of The Tonight Show once again, he would take them up on the offer. I don't know about you, but I think the fact that Leno is stinking up an hour of prime time every week night seems to indicate that he might be willing to do anything to get that slot back. Part of me wonders if David Letterman would have taken a 10PM slot on NBC after Jay got The Tonight Show?
- Lady Gaga has plans to release a collector's edition of her first album with a book that has a lock of her hair in it. Outside of people who might want to kill her with with a magical curse and a stalker or two, who really wants a hunk of Lady Gaga's hair... I mean, really. I should also note that aside from a little bit of Let's Dance, I can honestly say that I haven't heard a thing she has sang... I feel fortunate.
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Express Checkout: 5 Things that I can't make a Pun with
- When I first read the story that comedian David Cross snorted cocaine in the presence of Barack Obama at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, that fact didn't shock me. What did shock me was the revelation that Cross is dating former Joan of Arcadia star, Amber Tamblyn (and that was the reason he got to go). And I don't know about you, but somehow, Larry the Cable Guy gained a lot of points in all this, because while he may play a redneck jackass for his fans, I think even he would have had the class not to snort coke in front of a sitting president.
- Over the weekend, my mother showed me a talking doll that she is going to give to my niece for Christmas, and part of the doll's programming is that she can read from a book of nursery rhymes... and when this was demonstrated to me, I was sort of appalled by something. It was almost a caricature of the Canadian accent... it was unbelievably broad. Granted, I haven't traveled across this great land, so maybe everybody but me and the rest of the people in my neck of the woods actually talks like that... but I've never heard that accent on television or on other media except when someone was mocking the accent (I swear, it is almost a McKenzie Brothers accent minus the ehs.). I know part of the issue with me has to do with how slowly the doll speaks so that a toddler can clearly understand the words, but it is still a surprisingly thick accent.
- I read over the weekend that Paul Haggis has left the Church of Scientology, and in doing so, it revealed just how in the dark the membership is about things that the organization is doing outside of the group. With filtering software on their computers and internal pressure not to question things, it seems that it takes a lot to push someone over the edge enough that individuals start looking for answers outside the group. I think Haggis's realization that he knows that the group is going to try to discredit him by using his own admissions during auditing against him was especially telling, and having that knowledge makes his public break from the Church that much braver. It is unfortunate that other members will likely not see things the way he has presented them however, rather, they will get a version which is twisted and missing its most critical parts. In short, he is going to be painted as some loony suppressive person who no one in the church should listen to, or that he is simply mistaken.
- Anyone taking bets on how long DMX, who isn't training BTW, is going to last in his first MMA bout? I am saying less than 60 seconds.
- I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that Spike Lee should be quiet for a while and just let his work as a director speak for him after he starting going after Tyler Perry. Look, I am not a fan of Perry's films, but I think when you are criticizing someone in your industry when you are in a position to, I don't know, make a movie which shows why what the other person is doing is deleterious, then that's what you should do. What I am really getting from this whole thing is that Spike Lee may be more upset that Tyler Perry's movies make more money than his own (and I think Oprah supporting Perry wholeheartedly probably irks him too).
- Over the weekend, my mother showed me a talking doll that she is going to give to my niece for Christmas, and part of the doll's programming is that she can read from a book of nursery rhymes... and when this was demonstrated to me, I was sort of appalled by something. It was almost a caricature of the Canadian accent... it was unbelievably broad. Granted, I haven't traveled across this great land, so maybe everybody but me and the rest of the people in my neck of the woods actually talks like that... but I've never heard that accent on television or on other media except when someone was mocking the accent (I swear, it is almost a McKenzie Brothers accent minus the ehs.). I know part of the issue with me has to do with how slowly the doll speaks so that a toddler can clearly understand the words, but it is still a surprisingly thick accent.
- I read over the weekend that Paul Haggis has left the Church of Scientology, and in doing so, it revealed just how in the dark the membership is about things that the organization is doing outside of the group. With filtering software on their computers and internal pressure not to question things, it seems that it takes a lot to push someone over the edge enough that individuals start looking for answers outside the group. I think Haggis's realization that he knows that the group is going to try to discredit him by using his own admissions during auditing against him was especially telling, and having that knowledge makes his public break from the Church that much braver. It is unfortunate that other members will likely not see things the way he has presented them however, rather, they will get a version which is twisted and missing its most critical parts. In short, he is going to be painted as some loony suppressive person who no one in the church should listen to, or that he is simply mistaken.
- Anyone taking bets on how long DMX, who isn't training BTW, is going to last in his first MMA bout? I am saying less than 60 seconds.
- I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that Spike Lee should be quiet for a while and just let his work as a director speak for him after he starting going after Tyler Perry. Look, I am not a fan of Perry's films, but I think when you are criticizing someone in your industry when you are in a position to, I don't know, make a movie which shows why what the other person is doing is deleterious, then that's what you should do. What I am really getting from this whole thing is that Spike Lee may be more upset that Tyler Perry's movies make more money than his own (and I think Oprah supporting Perry wholeheartedly probably irks him too).
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Express Checkout: Babies, Skunks, Hobbits and Munchkins
- Hugh Hefner sent future divorcee Kate Gosselin a letter offering her 400 thousand dollars to pose nude in Playboy. Does anyone really want to see Kate Gosselin naked? Anyone? Luckily, she declined because it wouldn't be appropriate for the children. Of course, exploiting them for money on a reality show is ok, but somehow being naked in a men's magazine is really crossing the line. But again, don't want to see it ever.
- This morning, my dog got sprayed by a skunk (that's complacency for you... going from a dog that never got sprayed in her life to one that actively sought out a skunk), and I was forced to go out and get some anti-skunk shampoo and deodorizer. Now, tell me if any of these items seems out of place for the as listed on the deodorizer part: cars, farm vehicles, floors, walls, carpeting, clothing and ferrets. Really, how did ferrets get wrapped up in all this? I didn't realize that ferrets were an inanimate object that might need spraying.
- The impasse between the crew trying to get The Hobbit movie off the ground (and the studio) and the estate of Tolkien has been settled. So perhaps another movie about little fellas with hairy feet will be finished and shown before the Mayan Calendar turns over in 2012 (on my 36th birthday no less).
- Netflix is going to allow the public (not just Netflix members) to stream The Wizard of Oz for free on Saturday October 3rd to commemorate its 70th anniversary (Oz, not Netflix). I think this is sort of cool, even if it is a ploy to get people to try their streaming service. And I have doubts that it will be available in Canada either. But the thought is still there.
- This morning, my dog got sprayed by a skunk (that's complacency for you... going from a dog that never got sprayed in her life to one that actively sought out a skunk), and I was forced to go out and get some anti-skunk shampoo and deodorizer. Now, tell me if any of these items seems out of place for the as listed on the deodorizer part: cars, farm vehicles, floors, walls, carpeting, clothing and ferrets. Really, how did ferrets get wrapped up in all this? I didn't realize that ferrets were an inanimate object that might need spraying.
- The impasse between the crew trying to get The Hobbit movie off the ground (and the studio) and the estate of Tolkien has been settled. So perhaps another movie about little fellas with hairy feet will be finished and shown before the Mayan Calendar turns over in 2012 (on my 36th birthday no less).
- Netflix is going to allow the public (not just Netflix members) to stream The Wizard of Oz for free on Saturday October 3rd to commemorate its 70th anniversary (Oz, not Netflix). I think this is sort of cool, even if it is a ploy to get people to try their streaming service. And I have doubts that it will be available in Canada either. But the thought is still there.
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Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Express Checkout: Time Travel, Emmys and Dirty Dancing
Insta-Fail? ABC and Friends creator Marta Kauffman are teaming up to bring The Time Traveler's Wife to television as a weekly series. If you've read this blog for a while, you know that I've sort of documented the fact that if you are introducing a show that is based on time travel, it has to be pretty spectacular to make it past its first season these days, as it seems that the American viewing public can't really get into new series like these anymore. So, despite the weepy sentiments of a generation of film goers, I still don't think this one is going the distance.
Family Guy Emmy videos: I am sure some of you have seen those videos Seth MacFarlane and company have been making mocking their fellow nominees for the Best Comedy Show award. I don't know about you, but if I was an Emmy voter, that would definitely make me want to vote against them. And I would say that even if another show was doing the same thing. It isn't edgy... it is just sort of sad really, so as a strategy, it is poor at best.
Dirty remake: I've recently read that now there is a Dirty Dancing remake on the table. Seriously, I think it is ice floe time for the group of executives that are just greenlighting all this stuff, because if this is the best they can come up with, well, we deserve better. I mean, this irks me more than the reported White Chicks sequel that is also in the works.
Family Guy Emmy videos: I am sure some of you have seen those videos Seth MacFarlane and company have been making mocking their fellow nominees for the Best Comedy Show award. I don't know about you, but if I was an Emmy voter, that would definitely make me want to vote against them. And I would say that even if another show was doing the same thing. It isn't edgy... it is just sort of sad really, so as a strategy, it is poor at best.
Dirty remake: I've recently read that now there is a Dirty Dancing remake on the table. Seriously, I think it is ice floe time for the group of executives that are just greenlighting all this stuff, because if this is the best they can come up with, well, we deserve better. I mean, this irks me more than the reported White Chicks sequel that is also in the works.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Express Checkout: Paging Diaz, Hill and Hasselback
-If there was any doubts in your mind about how accomplished an actor or performer you have to be to get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, this just in. Cameron Diaz received one, and she is following in the illustrious footsteps of such luminaries as Ryan Seacrest, David Spade, and John Tesh.
-Jonah Hill is attempting to get a remake of the television series 21 Jump Street as a comedic cinematic vehicle as the writer, executive producer and as an actor. I've speculated amongst my few friends that Hill is likely going to take up the role of Doug Penhall, originally played by Peter Deluise. Part of me (okay, most of me) thinks that going in a comedic direction with this property is a bad idea, because there have been so many comedies about adults infiltrating a high school setting. My only hope is if it is a comedy, that at some point Richard Grieco gets a random cameo or even shout out.
-Elisabeth Hasselback is being sued for plagiarism over a cookbook on celiac disease she "wrote" and had published last month. Since this blog basically got started busting someone's chops over something like this, well, this feels almost like going home really... and since I love bashing on people like Mrs. Hasselback, who got famous from reality tv, this is going to be sweet. Ahem. *the ceremonial cracking of knuckles* I guess the reason Hasselback didn't rip on Cindy McCain because of her purloined Toll House cookie recipe that she stole from chocolate chip bag was merely professional courtesy... thieves look out for each other. Or how about "Elisabeth Hasselback is plagiarizing Ann Coulter daily." Or what about "Elisabth Hasselback released a statement calling the allegations against her ridiculous... Unfortunately, the magic marker she used to cross out JK Rowling's name on the statement was a highlighter." I could do this all day.
-Jonah Hill is attempting to get a remake of the television series 21 Jump Street as a comedic cinematic vehicle as the writer, executive producer and as an actor. I've speculated amongst my few friends that Hill is likely going to take up the role of Doug Penhall, originally played by Peter Deluise. Part of me (okay, most of me) thinks that going in a comedic direction with this property is a bad idea, because there have been so many comedies about adults infiltrating a high school setting. My only hope is if it is a comedy, that at some point Richard Grieco gets a random cameo or even shout out.
-Elisabeth Hasselback is being sued for plagiarism over a cookbook on celiac disease she "wrote" and had published last month. Since this blog basically got started busting someone's chops over something like this, well, this feels almost like going home really... and since I love bashing on people like Mrs. Hasselback, who got famous from reality tv, this is going to be sweet. Ahem. *the ceremonial cracking of knuckles* I guess the reason Hasselback didn't rip on Cindy McCain because of her purloined Toll House cookie recipe that she stole from chocolate chip bag was merely professional courtesy... thieves look out for each other. Or how about "Elisabeth Hasselback is plagiarizing Ann Coulter daily." Or what about "Elisabth Hasselback released a statement calling the allegations against her ridiculous... Unfortunately, the magic marker she used to cross out JK Rowling's name on the statement was a highlighter." I could do this all day.
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Monday, June 1, 2009
Express Checkout: Wikipedia, Ghostbusters, and Jaws
- Well, it is official. The Church of Scientology is no longer able to edit Wikipedia as an entity. I am sure individual members are going to take it upon themselves to do so anyway, but institutionally, Scientology is barred from editing pages from their various IP address. I wish I could take credit for this, even in the slightest, but this was already in motion since December. Perhaps this will signal a change at Wikipedia, as this is the first time an organization has been banned rather than individual users, and we all know there are some pretty big organizations that are making changes themselves, so in the end, this may signal a shift towards increased reliability and less bias for the site.
- I was over at Quit Your Day Job yesterday leaving some comments about his latest Podcast, and I noticed a particular item, which if true, is just awesome. Apparently Bill Murray wouldn't agree to sign up for Ghostbusters 3 (which starts filming this winter) unless Ernie Hudson got a bigger part. To me, that is an awesome show of solidarity for him to make. It reminds me of some of those stories I read about sports with salary caps like football where a star player renegotiates their contract so they get less money so the team can keep another veteran player.
- Richard Dreyfuss is so incensed by what he perceives as a screwjob by the studio that made Jaws, he will not participate in any of the various anniversary events surrounding the movie unless they offer him some money as retroactive compensation for what he got paid in the first place. Now correct me if I am wrong, but part of me really wonders if he would have had the same Hollywood opportunities if he hadn't done the movie. I have some grave doubts about that. I mean, starring in one of the first blockbusters definitely has its advantages, especially when you end up working with someone who casts you a few more times in high exposure films. I get that he is semi-retired, but part of me thinks he is being overly greedy about this.
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Express Checkout: Gladiator Movie, Spears, Fox.
I apologize to the people who are reading this on the site using Internet Explorer. I have to do a tweak to the CSS to make the bulleted list look ok, and I haven't gotten around to fixing it as of yet.
- Oh who will think of the children? It is reported that Britney Spears would like to become a teacher. As someone who has seen clips of her reality show with Kevin Federline, I think that is a really bad idea. I mean, I know the old saying is that those who can't, teach, but come on. Seriously... if it was your kid, would you honestly want Britney Spears teaching them anything? I am assuming that out of the limelight, she would end up being relatively normal and sober, but I am still left with the sneaking suspicion that even with years of dedicated education, she still wouldn't be the sharpest pencil in the case.
- Someone is considering making a live action movie about the show American Gladiators. Wasn't it enough that the viewing public had to suffer through not one, but two versions of the show when it was on television? I do remember that Billy Wirth competed on the show... not as a celeb or anything... he just sort of showed up and they put him on. If they do indeed go forward with this project, hopefully they end up with better star power than that.
- "It pisses me when people fucking complain that I'm too beautiful to get a part. That's bullshit. You wouldn't be working if you weren't attractive. Hollywood is the most superficial thing you could possibly be a part of. And if I weren't attractive I wouldn't be working at all." - Megan Fox about Hollywood, and though she didn't intend it, she explained her entire career. At least someone admits that is the only reason she gets work... I am just surprised that she is the one who said it.
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Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Express Checkout: Fighting, Jackie Chan, Miss California
- I think I liked the movie Fighting better when I played it as Def Jam: Fight For NY. I mean, seriously... they look like the same kind of story... only DJ:FFNY has more stars than Fighting.
- There is a lot of controversy about Jackie Chan saying that he thought that the people of China needed to be controlled and was unsure about people having freedom. I thought it was a weird thing to say as well, but then I realized that he was in mainland China, giving a speech to a group of businessmen who liked what he said. Considering that the Chinese government can make decisions that can affect if his movies are available or even open in the country, of course, he is going to take a neutral position. I think people forget that he grew up in Hong Kong before the Chinese takeover and his parents worked at the American Embassy in Canberra, so it seems to me he was playing the situation in a rather smart way. He knew the audience, knew what sort of comment would play well and basically did what he needed to do for his career in mainland China.
- Speaking of boneheaded remarks, there is a lot of furor about the answer Miss California gave at the recent Miss USA pageant. She was asked by Perez Hilton about gay marriage and she said that she believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman. I disagree with her stance strongly, but it was her right as a contestant to give that answer. And really, does anyone have any expectation that what a beauty queen says while trying to win a title has any real merit, because we all remember those epic answers that some have given in the past that have led to widespread changes in the world. Wait, I don't remember any insightful answer... ever. I mean, wasn't it a few years ago when we were all laughing about a contestant from South Carolina talking about maps.
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Monday, April 13, 2009
Express Checkout: PETA, Pie and Kardashian, Kim Kardashian
- Kim Kardashian is the latest Hollywood actress *ahem* to set their sights on becoming a Bond Girl. Because we all know her work on reality television and those horrific *Blank* Movie franchise films have utterly prepared her to play a substantive character in a James Bond film. In comparison, Jennifer Aniston, who I reported had similar ambitions, looks like Meryl Streep. Granted, Kardashian only really wants to kiss Daniel Craig, so the likelihood that either her or her agent would do the necessary legwork and prep for such a role is rather slim, which allows me to breath a sweet sigh of relief.
- PETA has asked the Pet Shop Boys to change their name to The Rescue Center Boys. I guess Phish wasn't receptive to naming themselves C-Kittens then. But in all seriousness, is this how PETA thinks their time would be best served? I mean, annoying bands and cities and the entire legislative branch of the U.S. Government with entreaties for them to change the name of something rather than, I don't know, going out and busting dog fighting rings and other illegal and questionable practices in the animal world... you know, real things that most people could get behind. That would make a lot more sense to me than trying to get Hamburg, Germany to change their name to Veggie Burger or whatever that stunt was about.
- Tara Reid is supposedly scheduled to reprise her role as Vicki Latham in a 7th installment of the American Pie franchise. For those of you who don't seek out direct to DVD movies or watch a lot of TBS/Peachtree TV, you will likely be blissfully unaware that there were American Pie movies after American Wedding. For those of you who have actually seen one or more of those other movies, well, you have my sympathies. And this is the very situation that Tara Reid is going to be walking back into... along with Eugene Levy and Sherman Hemsley, so you know it is going to be a quality motion picture experience. But thinking of Tara Reid's fall from grace after the original American Pie movies, I also thought about the time in the early to mid 2000's when both Katie Holmes and Chris Klein, Reid's Pie costar were actually likable celebrity symbols. Now they are either punchlines or largely forgettable wooden relics of acting past.
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Monday, March 23, 2009
Express Checkout: Who You Gonna Call (Ghostbusters, Not LiLo or the Sellout)
- Lindsay Lohan is thinking about giving up acting entirely for a career in high fashion modeling. Am I the only one that suspects the reason she might be considering this change in occupations isn't because it will be more fun, but rather, because those precious acting jobs are no longer so plentiful, so modeling may be the only career available to her nowadays since she has burned so many bridges. I could say something rather cutting and crass about how thin she is getting, but I feel that would be really wrong.
- The producers of the upcoming Ghostbusters game have decided on the actress who will replace Sigourney Weaver, who opted out of appearing in the game... and they did manage to snag someone else with a recognizable name, but not the same kind of reputation for quality work. However, they do have experience working with the supernatural. I am of course talking about former Who's The Boss and Charmed actress Alyssa Milano. Personally, I would have thought verisimilitude would have trumped star power in this case, but I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt in this case... she may indeed be able to pull off that voice.
- Well, it is official. Billy Corgan is the last man standing in The Smashing Pumpkins. Then again, when you think about all the positions Billy Corgan has taken in the past and his recent behavior, well, I would say the Smashing Pumpkins have been dead in the water for months. I would love to think that if 1995 Corgan saw the 2009 model, he'd kick his own ass. He was against using the band's music in commercials and had quite a few choice words about Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the past, and his modern counterpart has sold the song that he claimed helped him not commit suicide to Visa, a company that, let's face it, has probably been part of the reason that more than a few people have taken their lives. And while he was selling out, he was also championing the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster while taking time out of his busy schedule to publicly support the Performance Rights Act which would basically kill independent stations, the very stations which helped the Smashing Pumpkins get off the ground. I am expecting to read a story any day now that Corgan was caught punching babies in the face while kicking puppies and kittens.
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