May 2, 2024
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It shows how out of it I was in trying to be in it, acknowledging that I was out of it to myself, and then thinking, “Okay, how do I stop being out of it? Well, I get some legitimate illogical narrative ideas” — some novel, you know?
So I decided on three writers that I might be able to option their material and get some producer, or myself as producer, and then get some writer to do a screenplay on it, and maybe make a movie.
And so the three projects were “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep,” “Naked Lunch” and a collection of Bukowski. Which, in 1975, forget it — I mean, that was nuts. Hollywood would not touch any of that, but I was looking for something commercial, and I thought that all of these things were coming.
There would be no Blade Runner if there was no Ray Bradbury. I couldn’t find Philip K. Dick. His agent didn’t even know where he was. And so I gave up.
I was walking down the street and I ran into Bradbury — he directed a play that I was going to do as an actor, so we know each other, but he yelled “hi” — and I’d forgot who he was.
So at my girlfriend Barbara Hershey’s urging — I was with her at that moment — she said, “Talk to him! That guy really wants to talk to you,” and I said “No, fuck him,” and keep walking.
But then I did, and then I realized who it was, and I thought, “Wait, he’s in that realm, maybe he knows Philip K. Dick.” I said, “You know a guy named—” “Yeah, sure — you want his phone number?”
My friend paid my rent for a year while I wrote, because it turned out we couldn’t get a writer. My friends kept on me about, well, if you can’t get a writer, then you write.”
~ Hampton Fancher
“That was the most disappointing thing to me in how this thing was played. Is that I’m on the phone with you now, after all that’s been said, and the fundamental distinction between what James is dealing with in these other cases is not actually brought to the fore. The fundamental difference is that James Franco didn’t seek to use his position to have sex with anyone. There’s not a case of that. He wasn’t using his position or status to try to solicit a sexual favor from anyone. If he had — if that were what the accusation involved — the show would not have gone on. We would have folded up shop and we would have not completed the show. Because then it would have been the same as Harvey Weinstein, or Les Moonves, or any of these cases that are fundamental to this new paradigm. Did you not notice that? Why did you not notice that? Is that not something notable to say, journalistically? Because nobody could find the voice to say it. I’m not just being rhetorical. Why is it that you and the other critics, none of you could find the voice to say, “You know, it’s not this, it’s that”? Because — let me go on and speak further to this. If you go back to the L.A. Times piece, that’s what it lacked. That’s what they were not able to deliver. The one example in the five that involved an issue of a sexual act was between James and a woman he was dating, who he was not working with. There was no professional dynamic in any capacity.
~ David Simon
FIRST!
Apart from that, I got nothin’.
So looking to this weekend, anyone have any predictions for the box office?
I have no idea what the tracking is on anything, but there’s so much product out. Phantom Menace 3D, The Vow, Journey 2, and Safe House.
I’m throwing darts at a dartboard here, but my gut feeling says
Phantom Menace 3D
Journey 2
Vow
Safe House
good rant about tv shows …
I’m Sick of Waiting for TV Shows to Get Good
“I’ve learned my lesson. Now, before investing so much time into getting into a show, I want a promise that I’m not wasting my time and effort. I need to have some glimmer, some little iota of hope that the people who are running this whole thing aren’t going to take the space I’ve reserved for them in my DVR for granted. ”
http://gawker.com/5882685/im-sick-of-waiting-for-tv-shows-to-get-good?tag=television
I’m headed to the Oxford Film Fest tomorrow in Oxford, MS (not England) where I’ll be a features juror with MCN’s very own Kim Voynar. Kim rules and in real life we manage to give each other enough crap where I can actually say I love hanging out with her. You gotta bring it to hang out with my lame, drunk, ranty ass and Kim does.
Lex will also be thrilled to know we’ll be karaokeing and tweeting up a storm with movie nerdoms first couple Todd Gilchirst and Jen “mr.” Yamato. I’ve been working up a karaoke version of “Mr. Roboto” wherein I changed the name to “Jen Yamato” so….yeah. The funniest unknown blogger in history EVER, Eric D. Snider will be there too so I know we’ll all have fun.
I’m excited to be going back, GREAT, weird southern city. Like…it’s an awesome fun, somewhat liberal college town then you look up to see the Dixie flag. As a born and bred Northern Californian, I genuinely appreciate vastly different American cities. Plus, last time I was there I went to a place with FOUR different types of gravy. FOUR!
But seriously….I’m not a huge “regional film fest” guy but Oxford does a really, really nice job. My film WORST IN SHOW played there last year and we sold out 3 shows which was more than I could ask for as a filmmaker. The whole community shows up and they’re all super nice and SUPER supportive. They have a very cool lineup and there’s a music fest this year during it as well so I cannot wait to get there!
anybody watching – i just want my pants back – mtv …
its not a reality show – scripted show about people hooking up – nice writing – some good acting – directed by movie director Doug Liman
breakout star – Kim Shaw
you can watch the episodes here ..
http://www.mtv.com/shows/i_just_want_my_pants_back/series.jhtml
@anghus – I’ll go w/the exact inverse. Eh, should probably bump Journey 2 to #2. No, screw it. I’ll roll the dice and go complete opposite.
ok, so Triple Option has
Safe House
The Vow
Journey 2
Phantom Menace 3D.
and i have
Phantom Menace 3D
Journey 2
The Vow
Safe House
I won’t even bother trying to factor in the holds on Chronicle or Woman in Black. We’re just arguing order of the 4 new releases. Anyone else have any theories. I almost want to try and guess the weekend take but i have no f-ing idea on any of them.
Denzel usually opens up everything this time of year around 12-14 which means Vow, Journey, and Phantom Menace would need to make 15 or above.
The Vow seems to be the most likely to bottom out with 10 million or less. And yet, for some reason it feels like Safe House has been mismarketed and will be Denzel’s first dud in a long time.
Oh the humanity!
Surely THE VOW will benefit from the proximity of Valentine’s Day?
I’m inclined to go with anghus’ order, but it’s strictly a gut thing. I never know how much weight to give anything. PHANTOM MENACE — the franchise has hardcore fans, there’ll be a 3D bump, and even haters may think enough time has elapsed to warrant another look. Or maybe most people will say, “Meh, seen it. I’d rather check out something new.”
Okay here are my guesses:
TPM in the one spot due to being a defacto family movie.
Safe House in the number two spot because it’s Denzel. People go and see Denzel especially in the middle of Winter (I have anecdotal proof what so ever but it just flowed nicely as a sentence :D).
The Vow in the third spot by a smidge. Probably off a few thousand compared to Safe House.
Bringing up the rear but off slightly from the Vow, Journey 2. I can easily see Phantom doing 21m and everything else being in the teens. Which could make this one of the more profitable second weekends in February… ever.
Anghus, dude, Denzel is WAY stronger and more consistent as an action/thriller opener, even/especially on the off-season release dates. For the past ten-plus years, his only movies that opened outside of his usual 20ish-30ish range were American Gangster (which opened to more); his two directorial movies (where he was a supporting character, not the lead in a thriller); and Out of Time, which opened to “only” $16 million (and that was in 2003) (and by the way, I haven’t seen that movie since it came out, but I remember it being pretty awesome in that low-key faux-Elmore Leonard neo-noirish way. I wish Carl Franklin did more featuers these days).
That’s all to say that if Safe House doesn’t open to at least 20, it’s gonna be Denzel’s weakest opener for this type of movie since before his Oscar. So even if it’s kind of a dud, it’s making 14 or 15. Also, I feel like the trailer, at least, is pretty right-on — in fact, it makes the movie look a little edgier, more exciting, and less rote than it is (it’s OK, as most of Denzel’s thrillers tend to be at least, but it’s no Tony Scott/DW movie despite resembling one).
Also, The Vow is going to be big, too! Are you kidding? McAdams and Tatum have both done big business in romantic movies; this is like the girl equivalent of Alien vs. Predator or something, combining (as the trailer notes) The Notebook and Dear John. Plus it’s not actually a Nicholas Sparks movie so it’s actually not too bad (although I know Sparks is a major selling point for a lot of people). I’d be surprised if it also dipped below 20.
To me the obvious shortfaller is Journey 2. The previous one was a surprise hit when 3D was more novel; this one, despite The Rock, feels like it’s pushing it. Also, I figure a lot of kids would rather go see Phantom Menace in 3D and a lot of parents probably would do, geek anger or not.
Woman in Black will have the horror fall-off (especially with its lady audience going to see The Vow) and probably not quite make 10, but teenagers might still well show up for Chronicle; the other movies this weekend seem outside their interest range. Then again, even well-liked teen-targeted movies tend to drop-off from frontloading.
I’m guessing it’ll be:
The Vow: $25 million
Safe House: $21 million
Phantom Menace: $20 million
Journey 2: $13.5 million
Chronicle: $10.5 million
Woman in Black: $9 million
… though Phantom Menace could pop through, Lion King style, and beat the others.
Regardless, looking like a healthy weekend, and I feel like either This Means War and Ghost Rider 2 could both go over 20 next weekend.
How do Journey 2 and TPM not compete with each other for limited 3D screens? Or is that no longer an issue?
Don, watch out for mood pockets.
Thinking about it, in terms of pure consistency of making movies in his wheelhouse and delivering a certain opening, it’s pretty much just Denzel Washington and Adam Sandler. Will Smith is bigger overall, of course, but also stars in bigger/eventier movies.
Isn’t the reason Fox changed their minds (again) about “TMW” the stronger-than-they-were-anticipating tracking for “The Vow”?
I wouldn’t be shocked if “Vow” blows away the competition this weekend for a first-place finish. It is “Valentine Weekend”–sort of–after all.
Does anyone else think that “SH” looks suspiciously Ridley Scott’s ehhh DiCaprio/Crowe starrer, “Body of Lies” (aka R. Scott’s second worst film after “White Squall”). Just saying.
Like the original, “Journey 2” has a pleasantly retro, early ’60s Disney (“In Search of the Castaways,” “Swiss Family Robinson”) vibe. Even the 3-D is inoffensive. I just wish that Luis Guzman would go far, far away. Dude must be the most overexposed (and grating) “character” actor in movies today.
Not sure how well it’s going to do, however. Most recent “family-friendly” sequels have underperformed (“Happy Feet 2,” “Chipwrecked,” etc.), and it’s got competition for family dollars from “TPM” (although that could skew predominantly fanboy).
I know that Lucas wants to release them in sequential order, but isn’t it rather perverse that he’s starting the 3-D retrofit bandwagon with possibly the most disliked “SW” title in the entire franchise?
Movieman, that’s funny, I actually did think of Body of Lies while watching Safe House. BoL tries to be more geopolitical and relevant (from what I remember) but they’re both very less-than-meets-the-eye style exercises where even the style isn’t that memorable.
Also, I’d emphasize “possibly” pretty heavily when discussing the most-disliked Star Wars title. First, he’s doing the prequels first because the Clone Wars cartoon is big and kids love Star Wars. I don’t think it’ll skew predominantly fanboy, although some will come out — this is a family sell. This is thousands of five-to-ten-year-olds who love Star Wars but never saw any of them theatrically.
More particularly to Phantom Menace, it’s the highest grossing of the prequel trilogy. I know the conventional wisdom is that “no one” likes it and “everyone” was disappointed, but I don’t think you get to $400 million off of a $65 million opening based purely on hype. Hype can get you to 200, sure. 400 is trickier, and Ep1 got there in 1999. Even if that was due to a kid audience, yeah, you know what, those kids are older now and probably haven’t decided that the movie is terrible because a bunch of angry 30-to-50-year-olds say so.
Even among the Star Wars haters (or the “fans” who like a whopping 2.5 out of 6 movies), I feel like there’s a movement of people who prefer Phantom Menace to Attack of the Clones, which has just as much clunky dialogue and is perceived as Lucas trying to please fanboys and failing, versus following his muse in Ep1.
None of that reflects what I think; I really like all of the prequels. Offhand, Phantom Menace might be my least favorite by default. And surely lots of angrier nerds feel the same way. But I don’t think it’s as hated/disliked/disdained outside of the geek/online/movie buff sphere as people would like to imagine.
What’s this new thing where Don Lewis is always happy and positive blowing in here telling us about some film festival he’s blowing off his family to hang out at? Why’s this guy HAPPY and I’m not? Why’s he always so earnest about it?
And why is he always like YEAH I’M GONNA HANG OUT WITH PEOPLE? I have social anxiety anyway but I COULDN’T IMAGINE seeing MOVIES with NEW PEOPLE I just met, or know only from the Web. If Poland or Wells asked me to go to a movie with them, FUCK NO, it’d be TOO WEIRD and I can’t focus on the movie if I’m in an awkward social setting around new people. Movies are my CHURCH, can’t IMAGINE dicking around some festival MAKING FRIENDS when you’re trying to watch movies.
BAH.
Also, if anyone is open to blatant self-promotion, here my reviews of this week’s new wide openers (didn’t see Journey 2: Journey Harder):
SAFE HOUSE: http://bit.ly/ziF0bZ
Aaaannnd THE VOW: http://bit.ly/xPAKzI
I was a little surprised to kinda-sorta prefer The Vow…
i skipped watching the superbowl and watched captain america movie .. they could have cut this by 30 minutes …
plus i didn’t understand the guy with the red face – was
that a mask or his face or what …
idea for LexG – do a dp/30 with K-Stew but talk about
80’s movies ..
Jesse- The one movie you missed this week (“Journey”) is the only one I’ve seen, lol. I’m at the mercy of Cleveland ad agencies most of the time. “Journey” and “Safe” were both promo-ed on the same nite, and I opted for the shorter movie that started an hour earlier. (Since I’ve got a three-hour round trip drive, can you really blame me?) And because I teach on Monday and Wednesday evenings, I wasn’t able to make it up for “The Vow.”
But rest assured, I plan on seeing both this weekend. One (“The Vow”) a little more enthusiastically than the other.
The 3-D “PM” re-release is an interesting test case. I’m curious to see how it performs.
On a related note, does anyone else find it peculiar that “Titanic” (coming soon to a theater near you) is a ubiquitous presence on HBO this month? I know that it’s not in 3-D on cable, but don’t they usually have contractual arrangements to prevent broadcasting (and re-broadcasting, and re-broadcasting) a film so close to its theatrical date?
Yeah, I noticed TITANIC was on the other day and thought, damn, they oughta have that shit on lockdown with the re-release so soon. It’s such an exhausting and long movie, the main thing I’d think the rerelease has going for other than 3D is that it’s kind of been out of the spotlight and fallen into sort of disrepute/derision the last 10, 12 years… I broke out the DVD of it last year and it was the first time I’d seen any of it since theaters; I don’t really feel any need to see it again so soon… and I certainly wouldn’t rush back out to theaters if I just watched it on HBO like *two days ago.*
I watched the final 20-25 minutes on Sunday night and was amazed at how well it holds up (even with Cameron’s notoriously tin-ear dialogue which has now become part of its charm).
It really is a “timeless” kind of movie.
I still think it was a mistake to bring young Rose back to Titanic in the final scene, though. If they’d used Gloria Stuart, the juxtaposition between the dead (therefore eternally youthful) Jack and old Rose would have been doubly poignant.
And mock it all you want, but
Celine Dion’s song is right up there with “The Way We Were” and
Dionne Warwick’s “Valley of the Dolls” in the annals of all-time greatest (kitschy) movie theme songs.
Titanic seems to be getting the “IT’S COMING OUT SOON, DON’T YOU WANT TO SEE THIS IN A THEATRE?” treatment. This is similar to the “IT’S COMING OUT SOON ON BD, DON’T YOU WANT YOU TO OWN IT?” treatment, but slightly different of course :P. I know that occasionally seeing a film’s HD transfer makes me want to get the BD. I would wager that some folks watching Titanic on HBO, might want to see it again on the big screen in a couple of months. This could be why it’s playing all the damn time, or not.
I am just in line to believe it’s more a positive than a negative for this flick. It’s a freaking extravagance that folks might realize they need to see in a theatre again.
You got three male-skewing movies splitting the dude audience with holdovers, and one female-oriented soaper all by itself on Valentine’s week. Jesse’s right: VOW takes the gold.
There’s no way the Vow takes the gold because there are a lot of moms out there, and they can’t all see the Vow. They will be taking their kids to see TPM and Journey, and possibly Safe House for either Denzel or Reynolds. This does not mean Vow is off of the #1 spot by a lot, but it should have a killer week. Better then everything else being released.
the great thing about this weekend is it feels like it could go anywhere. i’m sure there are people who have access to tracking and know where it will all land. But to the average non insider it’s just a wonderfully colossal clusterfuck.
my pick for audio podcast of the week .. totally free to listen too
actress Jenna Elfman talks about having a trucker mouth, getting into acting and tweeting from the marital bed!
the first 20 minutes – i found pretty funny – its at LexG levels ….there’s no way DP would ever get this type of interview for a dp/30 .. the last 30 minutes is about
her acting ..
http://www.nerdist.com/2012/02/nerdist-podcast-jenna-elfman/
parody video
Foster the People learns Hollywood’s dirty secret = plastic surgery + duck doctor + hot girls
3 minutes ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhC-S8ZErTE&feature=sh_e_se&list=SL
a web history of the Friday – Rebecca Black video ..
i remember posting the link here when it had 2 million views
or less …now its at 190 million views
http://www.buzzfeed.com/scott/friday-one-year-anniversary
there’s a ton of really good talent on youtube and i really wonder how many movie critics pay attention … cause DP hasn’t done dp/30 with youtube people .
youtube people are not respected by DP and thats not good.
Lindsay Lohan pictures – looks a bit older ..maybe bad lighting – maybe makeup …
http://imgur.com/a/CjhV2
Best cover of Friday
http://www.hulu.com/watch/229352/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon-stephen-colbert-sings-friday-with-the-roots
And the literal lyrics version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-6XBbqoGRk
When is SANJ’S LINKS going to be the pop culture equivalent of The Huns Pages?
Jeffrey Boam’s Doctor – The Huns Pages – that reference is so old i had to look it up – maybe just 1 or 2 people will
actually find my entertainment links useful .
maybe people don’t want comedy links .
people want reality – the world sucks
so here are some pictures that will might make you sad..
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/every-world-press-photo-winner-from-1955-2011
Early b.o. estimates have “Safe House” (considerably) over-performing, and “The Vow” right on track to match its excitable tracking.
The only potential fly in the ointment are the weekend snowstorms slated for the Northeastern part of the country. (The weather is currently hellacious in my neck of the Ohio woods, so that could have some negative impact on those premature b.o. ejaculations-oops, projections.)
nothing changed for me ..
1. are you there chelsea ? and whitney – nbc shows – still
not funny – these probably won’t get any emmy awards –
cancel these unfunny shows and put something funny on….
2. teen actors = no oscar nominations – sure you all go on
about how adult actors didn’t get nominated but teens got shut out – teen actors need to protest on the oscar stage …. mtv movie awards have more respect for teen actors ..
Holy shit. The box office numbers are bananas. Three films at 30 million or more.
That Safe House opening is sick. Whoever said the vow was going to open big was dead on.
Huge huge weekend
noticed the local amc theatre is showing safe house 8 times a day and the vow 11 times a day .
the artist – oscar nominated only gets 3 times a day .
so lesson is = don’t make oscar type movies = make average movies with big movie superstars and make sure they don’t do any dp/30’s = box office success.
movieman: since it’s byob i wanted to ask you (or anyone else for that matter if it’s of interest), and i forgot in which thread you were lamenting pommies and colonists cast as yanks and then not quite being able to pull off flawless/convincing american accents – and i kinda feel you there, if it’s just minutely off once you ‘hear’ it you can’t un-hear it and it can be distracting and pull you out of the performance – but i have one for you: joe anderson as the deputy ‘russell’ in eisner’s ‘the crazies’ remake (i have a massive crush on russell, bloody hell, like a tall redneck kurt cobain, inexplicable)… and of course there’s elba in ‘the wire’, so a couple i guess. whatdya reckon? just curious
Maybe it’s because I grew up in the American Midwest, which I’ve heard is the accent that actors and newscasters strike to emulate, but I am completely oblivious to bad accents. I mean, I don’t even notice the notoriously bad ones when they fade in and out, like Costner in Robin Hood. My ear just doesn’t catch it.
interesting eric, i wish i was like that.
personally i’m weirdly hit and miss; sometimes a wonky accent can take me out of a movie, other times it’s no biggie, with no apparent rhyme or reason. certainly one of the most egregious examples for me of a shit accent distracting from a movie is hopkin’s horrific (and rather hilarious) mangling of the kiwi as burt monro in ‘world’s fastest indian’ – that was like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard at the back of my brain throughout – but obviously the fact it’s my home-speak probably made it esp accute.
(i’ve been told nailing a true kiwi brogue is quite hard, i don’t really get why but i guess i can accept that, something to do with the tricky vowels; naomi watts does a hilarious ‘camp mother’-esque (from the topp twins) kiwi but being astraaaain probably gives her a bit of an advantage, with certain similarities to begin with. in that regard RDJ’s tropic thunder accent is supposedly aus but he sounds suspiciously like russell crowe, whose accent is actually a kiwi/oz hybrid but nobody outside the antipodes would probably realise this. i’ve been told i do a wicked northern ozzy, mcgregor-in-trainspotting scottish and slightly evil afrikaans, but i have to be drinkin’ otherwise i over-think it and it sounds too send-up)
Happy Chloe Moretz Birthday Day everybody! Yaaaaay!
Sanj, you excited? What’s 365 times 3?
Hey, Leah!
Idris totally nails an American accent! (I was shocked to discover–years ago, probably around the time “The Wire” premiered–that he was actually British.)
And speaking of “The Wire,” Dominic West also does a terrific American accent.
Don’t recall the actor you mentioned from “The Crazies,” but I’ll trust you on that.
I’m not sure why I’m so hyper-sensitive to accents, but a lousy one can really throw me out of the movie. Has anyone ever did a study on why “neutral American” is so much harder than “regional American”? And why women (Kidman, Watts, Weisz, etc.) seem to have an easier time of it than men (Crowe, ad nauseam)?
Non-Yanks really good at nailing the accent:
Jamie Bamber
Gary Oldman
Christian Bale
Yvette Strohovski
Evangeline Lilly
Damien Lewis
Non-Yank who just can’t do it:
Ewan McGregor
I agree with you about Oldman and Lewis nailing their American accents, Krillian. IWhere is Lilly from? I thought she was Canadian.)
But Bale’s “American” really rankles me.
He always sounds like he’s doing a Charlie Sheen imitation.
The accent issue is always tricky, because expectations can be weird. Sometimes I see a critic pan an accent that strikes my ears as perfectly acceptable. Does EVERY movie character from Boston, or Ireland, or Mississippi, or wherever, have to have the same accent? As Henry Higgins could tell you, a lot of influences factor into the way we speak, especially since we all got movies, TV and the radio.
I’m from a fairly small town in Kentucky, and I hear the gamut — from sub-hillbilly drawls to a fairly light accent to the “neutral American” thing. My own accent generally falls into the latter, I think, until I’m on the phone or in person with my family — then the “ya’ll” comes out. But most everyone I’ve ever met in California was flabbergasted to find out that I’m from Kentucky. Part of that is a conscious effort — I grew up interested in language, got an English degree, enjoy trying my hand at mimicry, etc.
I find most Brits do a pretty decent job at ‘neutral American,’ but there’s one word that almost always gives it away — “been.” Even the best tend to pronounce it as “bean.” It’s almost as reliable as the Canadian pronunciation of “-out” words.
In THE LOSERS, Idris Elba clearly and blatantly says “TACK-O” for “TACO.” I can’t BELIEVE they didn’t reloop it, but it’s a dead giveaway that he’s British (Brits always says “PASS-ta” instead of “PAHS-ta.”) So, no, even he’s not 100% flawless. And honestly, I would kind of hear it from time to time when he slurs a little in certain bits on “The Wire.”
how come critics are useless in stopping those Kardashians – there’s like 3 shows on e! … its all fake and they are making millions off it .. i saw the Kardashians mom on cnn pushing female viagra … things are just getting worse for tv.
LexG needs a LOOK AT HER1!! tv show on e! channel …should be way more popular than those Kardashians .
Re: Leah’s evil afrikaans: Being Danish myself, I always found it funny that Jesper Christensen was cast as an evil white South African (or Zimbabwean) in both the Sean Penn-Nicole Kidman drama The Interpreter and the Daniel Craig Bond movies, and in both movies just went with a broad Danish accent. I guess no Americans picked up on it – it probably sounded perfectly well like an accent those character _could_ have had.
Mind you, Christensen does his English accents quite differently in roles where he isn’t typecasted (!) as an evil apartheid kind of guy.
Lex: Yeah, I always notice the “tack-o” and “pass-ta” thing, too.
sanj: GOOD IDEA — I’d much rather see a Lex G “LOOK AT HER” show than “Fashion Police,” or whatever that Joan Rivers thing is called.
Um, regarding that Whitney Houston death notice on the home page — isn’t it a bit suspicious that the only apparent source for this story thus far seems to be the Facebook page of a Houston TV affiliate?
EDIT: Okay, now it looks like the link has been changed to an AP story. In that case, RIP Whitney.
With the original link, it also had a skeptical “REPORT.” Seemed better than the TMZ link, which cut-and-pasted the AP information to that moment.
whitney houston died? wow, how sad, esp for her family. she had a voice like no other, one for the ages. RIP, whitney.
now i feel trivial talking about accents…
“Being Danish myself, I always found it funny that Jesper Christensen was cast as an evil white South African (or Zimbabwean) in both the Sean Penn-Nicole Kidman drama The Interpreter and the Daniel Craig Bond movies, and in both movies just went with a broad Danish accent. I guess no Americans picked up on it – it probably sounded perfectly well like an accent those character _could_ have had.”
ha, good example mikkel. fwiw in my previous comment i didn’t mean to make out like i think an afrikaans accent sounds inherently evil or anything — i learned mine from mimicking my good friend from durban (sadly she died also), whose accent when speaking english was perfectly charming but for some reason when i ‘do’ her my white south african sounds vaguely villainous, like one of the cheesy baddies from ‘lethal weapon 2’, i don’t know why but she never let me forget it. i got even by calling her ‘yappe’.
speaking of americans not knowing their accents (ducking the rotten tomatoes): i once witnessed her spit tacks when this guy made some remark about her accent in relation to leo di cap’s in ‘blood diamond’, how he’d done quite a good job of it or some such, and she told him off royally in not-amused disbelief that he couldn’t tell the difference between her SA and leo’s (somewhat competent) zimbabwean… too funny. (and a bit harsh really, the guy was a bit of a dipshit but it’s not like the accents are so different as to render someone a complete moron if they don’t know any better).
No mood pockets in Oxford, but a great time was had by all. I even saw Eli Manning in a local restaurant!! Also just wanted to chime in and say the entire film festival in Oxford takes place in a multiplex where half houses the fest and the other half has regular movies THE VOW was sold out ALL WEEKEND. Every screening. So….yeah. Can’t forget the non west and east coast crowds when it comes to movies that look simply awful.
According to Variety, last night’s Grammy Awards telecast “drew in the neighborhood of 40 million viewers — a 28-year high for the show and a larger audience than four of the last six Academy Awards telecasts.” I know we can attribute to the uptick to Whitney Houston’s death. But still: FOUR of the last six Academy Awards telecast? Yowza.