Awal April lalu, Sutradara pemenang Academy Award Martin Scorsese menggaet band gaek The Rolling Stones dan bekerja sama untuk memberikan persembahan paling bergengsi untuk penonton di seluruh dunia dengan membuat Film Dokumenter Konser, Shine A Light.

Tentu saja berbagai kalangan sangat merasa ada sesuatu yang besar dibalik kerjasama dua raksasa ini. Mereka masing-masing memiliki kelebihan yang tidak tergantikan. Waktu saya membeli album The Biggest Bang memang beberapa lagu yang cukup asik buat disimak.

Jika kita sedang mengingat cinta di masa lalu lagu Streets Of Love sangat mengena untuk perasaan ini. Lagu yang sempat booming di Amrik dan UK ini memang sukup ciamik. Sementara itu perolehan keuangan dalam konser mereka telah menempatkan mereka sebagai grup dengan pendapatan konser terbesar di dunia.

Tidak heran Martin Scorsese merangkul mereka untuk membuat sebuah film dokumenter yang tengah jadi perbincangan berbagai kalangan ini..

Shine A Light:

Streets of Love:

You had the moves, you had the cards
I must admit you were awful smart
The awful truth is awful sad
I must admit I was awful bad
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
I walked the streets of love
for a thousand years
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
I walked the streets of love
and they’re drenched with tears
And I, I, I, I, I, I, I
Walked the streets of love
For a thousand years

Nielsen reports the total estimated viewers for the second live Presidential Debate between candidates Senators Barack Obama and John McCain Tuesday night from 9-1030p reached 63.2 million total viewers. Nielsen's combined total viewer number includes 11 networks: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Telemundo, Univision, BBC-America, CNBC, CNN, FOX News Channel and MSNBC. ABC did the best again with 13.2 million viewers, followed by NBC at 10.8 million, CBS 9.4 million, CNN 9.2 million, FOX News Channel 8.7 million and MSNBC 3.7 million. (Cynopsis 10/8)

Adding to its growing development slate, Cartoon Network has approved production of "Tiger's Apprentice," a live-action/CGI movie about a teenager in San Francisco who is aided by a shape-shifting tiger. The movie, which is based on the best-selling novel by Lawrence Yep, is scheduled to debut in 2010. Variety (10/8)

A&E Network hits the streets with new police officers as new series Rookies premieres October 21 at 10p with two back-to-back 30m episodes. Shot on location in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana and Tampa, cameras will go along with rookie officers in squad cars as each patrol their beat for the first time. (Cynopsis 10/8)

With only a few legal dramas currently on TV, David E. Kelley is sticking with this genre, writing a new legal drama spec script for Warner Bros. TV, reports THR. Kelley, who moved to Warner Bros. last May after having been with 20th Television for twenty years, is taking this 60m project to the broadcast networks this week and perhaps will snag a commitment. At this time, Kelley's legal dramedy Boston Legal on ABC is completing production on 13 episodes. (Cynopsis 10/8)

On Tuesday, the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences voted to lift the ban on movie commercials during the Oscar telecast. This ban on movie ads has existed since the early 1950s when the award event first began on TV. For the 81st annual Academy Awards airing February 22 on ABC, the board will now allow a limited number of ads to run promoting movies opening the last week of April at the earliest. (Cynopsis 10/8)

FOX News Channel re-upped with Sean Hannity to keep the co-host of Hannity & Colmes with the network through 2012. Hannity also hosts the Sunday show Hannity's America on FOX News and just inked a new $20 million deal for his syndicated radio show that is heard in 500 markets. (Cynopsis 10/8)

U.S. cable operator Comcast is offering special deals of free television for a year in a bid to win new subscribers ahead of a government-mandated digital television switch-over on Feb. 17. New customers who sign up for Comcast Internet or phone service will receive free basic cable. (Iwantmedia 10/8, http://www.reuters.com/article/industryNews/idUSTRE497BMZ20081008 10/8)

Desperate times call for desperate measures, and all, of course, and right now I'm not sure there's anyone in America more desperate than the two people on the GOP ticket.

I get people who support John McCain, though, I'll admit. I did once, too, long, long ago before he let Bush win the GOP primary back in 1999. Before then, I would have said he seemed like a good guy, and I'd like to see him come along after Bill Clinton. The world would be a much different place if we were currently ending a McCain administration instead of a Bush administration, and I'd wager, in fact, that alternate history wouldn't have led us to such a bleak and very real present, with its economic crises, illegal espionage, and unjust wars. Back in 1999, McCain seemed like the kind of guy who would have told the world on September 12th, 2001, that we had been struck by terrorists and would respond swiftly and surely, and then, you know, responded to the right country.

But that's not who John McCain is anymore. He's erratic. He seems to want to believe that America can restores its international image simply by bombing more countries. He doesn't understand the economic crisis, not in any real way; no one who would lose track of the number of houses his family owns could really grok the mortgage crisis.

So I get people who support him, I think, because they're supporting who he used to be rather than what he's done since and what he's running on, now, and really, who wouldn't like to go back to 1999? Well. Okay, I wouldn't, but 2000-2001 would be nice, certainly. I'd dig it.

What I don't get, though, is that the candidates are split at 44% of the votes. Which means, of course, that the tally is only at 88%.

Because 4% are undecided and 8% are voting independent.

I sort of get being undecided. Lots of people seem to feel they need more information concerning the policies and platforms and candidates.

To whom I say: Well what the great goddamned fuck are you waiting for?

I don't mind that people want information, but it ain't exactly like the information is unavailable. Especially in the Internet age. I guess they think there's too much information already, but really, it makes me wonder if they have the critical thinking skills necessary to parse it all.

And then there's that final 8%. Who are voting for other candidates.

Reminds me of this post, "Why does Ralph Nader hate America?" over at Making Light.

Money:

He did indeed “get things done.” He got us the worst president in our history. He made sure Detroit cars guzzled gas. He kept useful drugs off the market, or once they were there, got them removed.

Does he have a chance in hell of becoming president? No. None at all. Can he play spoiler and get another Republican warhawk in place? He certainly hopes so, or at least his secret backers think he can.

Nader is, largely if not solely, why Gore lost in 2000. Not that I think a Gore/Liebermann administration would have been all that terrific, I've got to say, but then again, Gore certainly came into his own during the past few years. What's he up to, an Academy Award and the Nobel Peace prize?

And meanwhile the other side still struggles to pronounce 'nuclear' correctly and couldn't enunciate a gerund to save their lives.

Still, it's tough to argue that just about anything wouldn't be better than the current administration.

What I like, right now, is that I've heard very little about Nader. I could see that some people in Colorado, specifically in Boulder, which couldn't be more crunchy were it made of granola, might like Nader. But if anyone's going to cockblock Obama, it's not going to be the green party; it's going to be PUMA. That's Party Unity My Ass, the contingent of self-righteous and misogynist "feminists" who have decided Palin is their gal because Obama beat their sweetheart Hillary Clinton.

But I'll tell you why it's not right now a race between Clinton and McCain; Clinton never brought it until she'd already lost. Her speech was the highlight of the DNC, but it was the very first time she had spoken with such sincerity and power. If she had bowed out early on, when it was already fairly obvious she wasn't going to get the nomination, not least because it was literally mathematically impossible, we might right now be supporting an Obama/Clinton ticket, which I've got to admit I would have liked.

(I also have a suspicion that McCain waited to confirm Obama wasn't choosing Clinton as his running mate before he chose Palin. I think he would have gone with Pawlenty or Romney otherwise, and I think the fact that it appears he vetted Palin by shaking her hand seems to bear that out)

I'd like to say that with this, I will probably leave behind the political posts for a while, if only because, as Nick Mamatas so aptly demonstrated with this thought experiment, it's largely useless anyway, but I doubt I will if only because it's everywhere and is going to continue to be. I do promise I'll try to be more balanced, content-wise.

My last couple of posts have been kind of wordy, so I think we all deserve a little break. 

The following visual feast is an assortment of crap that kicks around my flat making me *sigh*smile*laughobnoxiously*

Enjoy.

 My Oscar - a gift from my high school boyfriend. I suspect it was his subtle way of telling me I was a drama queen. Whatever.

Your eyes do not deceive you.  This little gem was discovered while rummaging around a junk store - it may in fact be the only one of its kind.  It was a find of a lifetime, celebrated with much hooting and hollering.  It may even possess magical properties.

Yes, it's the Book On Tape of the brilliant bestselling book on astrophysics written by The One and Only Stephen W. Hawking (my personal hero) as read aloud by...Michael Jackson.  Yes, indeedy.  Michael Jackson.  (Because Dr. Hawking is so awesome, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that this was approved by him at a time when MJ was still cool.  And, you know...black.  And, you know, ...possessed a nose.)

To tell the truth, I haven't actually had the nerve to listen to it yet.  I'm not sure there is enough alcohol on the planet to make that possible.  Well, and I'm sort of afraid the gates of hell may open if I ever do.  So I may just put it in a nice shadowbox.

My leopard-skin pillbox hat.  (Chill out, it's faux leopard-skin.  I'm vegan, for cripes' sake.)

But, yeah.  Bob Dylan actually wrote the song about me, you know, not Edie Sedgewick.  Always stealing my thunder, that stupid wench.

(Oh, and the mask and Satanic-looking tiara in the background are not just props left over from a debaucherous night on the town.  I actually wear them both on a very regular basis.  I like to look pretty.)

BIG.  ASS.  SHELLS.  Found here on the bee-yoo-tee-full South Shore.

 Lava lamp night light.  Every home should have one.

Understand Your Mother breath spray.  Priceless.  A gift from (who else) my mother. 

It doesn't work for shit, by the way.

Gum, a gift from my, well, I was gonna say 'BFF' but Paris Hilton has ruined that term for me.  But you get the idea. 

"Don't Have Ugly Children Beauty Gum" and "Be Gone Evil Twin Gum." 

My friend was really hoping that second one would work.  It, like the "Understand Your Mother" breath spray, was disappointingly ineffective.

My books.  This is only a very small portion of my current library.  A very, very small portion.  I'm not posting pics of the rest because I don't want to overwhelm you.  Or scare you.

I'm seeking a support group.  (But I don't expect it will work, either.)

My flavoured toothpaste collection.  Because you just never know if it's gonna be a 'watermelon' kind of day or a 'citrus blast' kind of day...or maybe a snuggle-into-bed-tasting-like-'vanilla' kind of night.

Go ahead and laugh.  You're just jealous.

And finally, something that is one of my favourite things (today it is, anyway - sometimes it is future cat stew) :

The Glorious, the Dignified, the Incomparable...*

PYEWACKETT THE MAGNIFICENT  (Or...'RETARDED.'  I get those words mixed up sometimes.)

*This is supposed to be a cat play tunnel, by the way.  Wacky is such a fat-ass (it's hard to tell from the pic, but the tunnel is HUGE) that it's sort of more like his very own leopard-skin pillbox hat.  Kinda stylin', really.

Have a nice day.

TopGun released in 1986, which also marked as the highest collection making film of that year. Tom Cruise played the role of Lt. Pete Maverick Mitchell.

Born On the 4th of July was the movie that showed the tom Cruise has the metal of a real box office breaking actor. The movie won him his first Golden Globe Award as a Best Drama Actor and also won him a Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.

A Few Good Men- got him his another nomination at the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. This movie made the fans and critics to smile and praise Tom Cruise for his work.

Later on his movie The Firm received a Favorite dramatic motion picture award at People's Choice Award.

Mission Impossible, the movie that made Cruise to appear on the screen as a smart action doing guy Ethan Hunts. Mission Impossible was gladly accepted by the fans and critics and marked as the third high collection doing movie of the year 1996.

Jerry Maguire was the movie, which won him his second Golden Globe for the Best Actor Comedy.

In the year 1999, Tom Cruise was again nominated at Golden Globe Award and Academy Award for his performance in Magnolia. In the two nominations Cruise Won the Golden Globe.

AS A PRODUCER

Cruise Wagner Production is the company that Tom Cruise runs with the partnership of Paula Wagner(director of Mission Impossible)

This handsome hunk also tried his luck as a producer in the Mission Impossible, he played the role of David Aames in it. Later on he again did this dual Job of acting and producing in the movie Vanilla Sky

Later on, he striked the silver screen with a number of movies which includes

Tom Cruise is starring in the movie Valkyrie that is going to be released in the December month of 2008. So get ready guys for your actor to be back with a Bang!!!!

TOM CRUISE'S SPOUSES

I know a lot of girls want to date this cool looking actor knowing the fact that he is married to Katie Holmes since 2006.

Cruise has been in relationship with Mimi Rogers (1987-1990), however as you can see the relationship lasted for only three years.

Later on Tom Cruise dated Nicole Kidman on the sets of Days of Thunder. Cruise Married Kidman on 24th December 1990, they remained in relationship for 10 years. In this marriage both Cruise and Kidman adopted two kids namely Isabella and Connor Antony. Both got divorced on 8th August 2001.

Well Guys if you like this post do reply to encourage me to do all this for the sake of my readers....... :)

Monday, August 11, 2008

    I’d like to expand upon the “Elite No More” post… the concept of the average person being able to compete with Hollywood/Big Media through advancing technology. Twenty-Eight Dollar Films owns the screen rights to a short story written by an Academy Award winning screenwriter. We’ve been delayed in producing this film due to a number of financial and personal issues (not all bad) and an expectation on our part of production value. There was an absolutely perfect location that I had scouted and was so jazzed about that has since been demolished. We had settled on the type of cameras to be used that our finances didn’t allow for at the time. Then a personal event or two came along and changed my priorities. Internal friction due to a miscommunication caused a split within the organization that seems to now be repairing itself. Now, however there are much better cameras than I could have imagined a year ago coming within feasible reach. There are new financial challenges to be overcome especially with the new tech. So here we have the life of a media company trying to get some traction out of the gate. TED Films has a “just for fun” project that has been in post production for two years plus. It has been sitting on a hard drive waiting for the audio mix to be finished untouched for well over a year. 

So now all of this time has gone by since the company was founded and there has been nothing but a logo put out to the public to show for it. What happens now? The previously mentioned film seems no closer to being made now, then at any point in our history because; at least my expectations for the project have risen. I think back to the first time I saw a digital camcorder. The concept of a flawless digital cut between scenes blew my mind. Forget computer editing I was so amazed that you could change, in a split second from one scene to another without any of the (VHS) colour distortion and video noise for 3-5 seconds. Now here we are in 2008 and in less than a year from now you’ll be able to buy a 3K camera for approx. $3000.00.  That’s two grand more than the last camera I had my eyes slated on… but this is an epic jump in picture quality. I heard somewhere (might have been the “This Week in Media” podcast) (forgive me for not having a link) that most cinemas are only 2K. 

Now keeping everything in perspective here… a camera does not a film make. There is a mountain more that goes into filmmaking than the hardware behind it. But the point is that the gap between production/picture/sound qualities eventually won’t be the difference maker between the Independents and Mass Media. Everything will come down to writing and acting. Sure more money equals more and bigger spectacle(s) but where it really counts, the little guy can compete. Money can’t create a better story; money can’t buy a better performance. A crappy actor won’t make an audience cry if you pay him/her more… at least not because it’s a better performance. I’m confident in the acting abilities of the actors at our disposal. I’m confident in the talent of our creative department and I believe with a slight upgrade in equipment our product can be as entertaining as anything Hollywood puts out. I believe this about any creative person. Money is not the difference maker it used to be. The big companies can buy the bigger names and buy a larger audience based on that name in the short term but cream rises to the top. In this new era that’s dawning where information can spread across the globe in a matter of seconds, if something is good people will spread the word. 

Realizing a feature filmed in 3K is not happening for us any time real soon, what do we do? I believe I have a solution. Instead of trying to put together a feature length project (which I know My schedule won’t allow) we’re going to break everything down into small manageable chunks. The big feature that I had mentioned will remain on the back burner for now and we’re moving ahead with a really exciting web series. We’ll be using the website and Twitter account to keep you apprised of the progress but in order for the series to work we can’t give away too many details. Suffice to say this has the potential to be really big. As a progress update we’ve got seven episodes written and are on a good pace to have a seasons worth on paper within two months. TED Films hasn’t had anything to show for itself so far but there is a light nearing.  At the very least I hope we can entertain you here with a running commentary of our trials and tribulations while we get things off the ground. 

Having gone on about how money isn’t the difference between good and bad, making any kind of media isn’t free. If you’re anything like me, you hate when people ask for money. I can’t stand people on the streets, public television, telethons or telemarketers begging for money. So this is me not asking… Here’s a little reverse psychology for you. Don’t subscribe on our site and donate $1.00/month (equivalent to a movie ticket/year) to help a new media company produce the best web series ever created. Don’t tell everyone you know to do the same and… Don’t whatever you do… drive enough traffic to our site that advertisers start throwing money at us. We would hate that.

Till next time…

Christopher O’Hare

Twenty-Eight Dollar Films

Stumble It!

In his book Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, Laurence Block wrote, "It continues to astonish me what a widespread and enduring fantasy 'Being a Writer' is for the population at large. It's a rare day when I don't encounter some misguided chap who expresses the desire to trade places with me. And it's on those not-so-rare days when everything goes wrong, when the words won't come but the rejections fly thick and fast, when the bank account's gone dry again and editors don't even bother lying about the check's being in the mail, that otherwise sane folks tell me how much they envy me."

I've noticed that, when people find out what I do for a living, they often say, "I always wanted to be a writer," or, "I bet I could write a book if I put my mind to it." The people who tell you such things might be pizza delivery guys or doctors or astronauts, yet they all admire writers. They all have a secret wish that they could write. They all think they could do what you do if they had the time or the opportunity or if their lives were different somehow.

But you know what? I've never met a writer anywhere who wanted to be anything other than a writer. Take any person who says, "I am a writer," and I don't care how penniless he is, how long it has been since his last paycheck, how much he struggles with self-doubt, writer's block, and unreasonable deadlines--he does not, even for a moment, consider changing jobs. Why? Because writing is not a job. It's a mission. It's a calling. It's more essential to your soul than a career. It is not just your profession--it's your identity.

A computer programmer can go to seminary and become a preacher. A school teacher can tender her resignation and become an exotic dancer. But can a writer give up writing and become something else? Unheard of! Writing is not what you do, it's who you are! If you are a writer, there is nothing else to be.

If you know in your bones what I'm talking about, if you know that you have to be a writer, then you must write. You only get one life, and the life you've been given is made up of a finite number of heartbeats. Between your first heartbeat and your last is a brief span of time in which you are permitted to write your books and speak your piece. When your time is up, they will put you in a box and throw you in a hole to make room for the next writer waiting in line.

So now is your time, my friend. If you're going to write your books, you'd better get at it. Here are the keys to maintaining the attitude of a working writer as you pound your dreams into reality:

• Stay cool under pressure. Writing requires intense mental concentration. Pressures are distractions, and distractions are corrosive forces that can stop the flow of your writing. Marital and family strife are deadly to your inspiration. Financial stress can make it hard to put two coherent thoughts together. Deadline pressure can make you freeze like a deer in the halogen highbeams.

Understand, I'm not telling you to eliminate pressures and distractions from your life. It can't be done. The problems and pressures of life are inevitable, so you must learn to cope. One of the best survival skills a writer has is the ability to remain cool under pressure. There may come times when you are under intense deadline pressure and intense financial pressure at the same time--way too much work and no money at all. It will seem massively unfair and unreasonable--but you still have to finish the work in order to collect your next check. Money or no money, stress or no stress, you've got to write.

My most important asset in the early days of my freelance career was a sense of perspective. I looked at things this way: Okay, there's no money--so what's the worst that can happen? I put off some bills and make my apologies to a few creditors. The check will eventually get here.

Meanwhile, I can still write, I still have my health and my family, and life goes on. On the scale of bad things that can happen to a person, a little short-term financial stress just doesn't even budge the scale.

• During bad times, avoid self-pity. Unless you somehow manage to write a best-seller right out of the box (and I'm not sneering at that--it has been done), accept the fact that it takes time, patience, and persistence to build your career and achieve your goals. That's the way it should be. If writing was easy, everybody would do it.

At times, you may be tempted to look with envy upon your workaday friends with their secure jobs and regular paychecks. You'll be tempted to feel sorry for yourself. Don't. You have a lot of things going for you that they don't have:

1. Unlimited upside potential. Sure, the money is lean and the checks are slow at first. But your friends, the nine-to-fivers, top out at a certain level. They reach a point where they are making as much as they can make, and they can't advance any higher. A talented, focused, determined writer has unlimited upside potential. If you can write as well as Stephen King, Tom Clancy, or J. K. Rowling, you can become a one-person publishing empire and deforest half of Saskatchewan with your brilliant words. And why shouldn't you?

2. You're doing what you love. How many of your friends can say that? Most of the people you know are just marking time until retirement. Few are doing what they really love to do. If your friends won the lottery today, most of them would quit their jobs tomorrow. But if you won the lottery, would you stop writing? No way! Sudden wealth would just give you more freedom to write what you want.

3. You are a writer. You aren't mowing lawns or delivering pizza. You aren't cold-calling on disinterested prospects. You don't have to wear a pager to the opera, be on call at all hours of the night, or answer to a mean-tempered, autocratic boss. That's not to disparage the people who do those jobs, because all honest work is honorable. But you have something better than a job. You have something nobler than a career. You have a calling. You have a purpose in life. You are a writer.

• Think like an editor. If you want to write books, then ask yourself, "What sells?" Become acquainted with trends, bestsellers, and niche markets. Spend time in bookstores, checking out the racks and the displays, figuring out what sells. Read the trade journals, like Publishers Weekly. Know what editors are looking for, and make it your business to deliver it.

I continually encounter people who want to write a book about their own life or the life of someone close to them. Unfortunately, such books rarely get published. Your grandfather may have been a fascinating man who led an interesting life, but the truth is, if your grandfather didn't win a war, a Super Bowl, or an Academy Award, it's going to be tough finding a publisher for your grandfather's life story. Non-fiction book publishing today is celebrity-driven, event-driven, and publicity-driven. Competition is fierce. If you want to sell your book, you've got to think commercially.

Magazine publishing is another thing altogether. There are thousands of magazines filling hundreds of niches. Even the story of your grandfather's adventures as a ringmaster with a traveling flea circus--if the story is well-written with just the right slant--will sell to one or more of those magazines. You just have to do your homework and familiarize yourself with the markets. That means you must research potential markets in Writer's Digest and on the Internet. If a magazine doesn't post writers' guidelines on its website, then invest in some stamps and ask for them (send an SASE). Most important of all, read the magazine. Get to know its content, focus, readership, editorial personality, and slant. Study the contents page--and study the actual content.

Select a few publications you'd like to write for, then make it your goal to crack that market and keep selling articles there. After you conquer one publication, use your credits to impress editors at other publications, so you can sell to even better-paying markets.

• Finally, have fun! Novelist Piers Anthony once told me, "I hardly need to generate the motivation to write because I love to write and I do it all I can." And writer-editor Robert Darden told me, "My most exciting moments as a writer occur when I'm working on my fiction. It's like a drug--I crave it. Writing fiction is the greatest joy in this business--and when writing is fun, you can't keep from writing!"

So do what you love, have a blast, and write!

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the title "seven pounds" refers to the weight of the human heart. it features will smith as a guilt-ridden irs agent who helps seven strangers while trying to redeem his own sordid past.

"seven pounds" hits theaters december 19 and also stars rosario dawson, michael ealy and woody harrelson.

can't wait to see this one! looks like another winner!

Es wird höchstwahrscheinlich eine Fortsetzung des Klassikers "Rain Man" (Regie: Barry Levinson) geben. Nachdem Dustin Hoffman jedoch bereits vor geraumer Zeit signalisierte, nicht mehr für diesen herausfordernden Part zur Verfügung zu stehen, war das  Rätselraten groß. Welcher andere Schauspieler ist wirklich fähig, die Rolle des autistischen Raymond so überzeugend zu spielen?

Einem befreundeten Paparazzi haben wir die Auflösung dieses Rätsels zu verdanken- er schoß Fotos von streng geheimen Set und offenbart damit: Der in die Jahre gekommene Raymond kann in Rain Man 2 einfach von niemadem derart gut dargestellt werden, wie von ROBERT DE NIRO. Wir sehen HIER eine erste Aufnahme des Method-Acting erfahrenen Charakterdarstellers, wie er in aus dem ersten Teil gewohnt bizarren Outfit versucht, sich den typisch autistischen Gesichtsausdruck anzueignen, den Hoffmann bereits im ersten Teil in einer Freudenszene so hervorragend inszenierte. Wir meinen: Gelungen, Herr De Niro! Der Academy Award 2009 wird Ihnen sicher sein!

It's funny, as an adult, I would always watch watch ever Newmans latest film was.  I liked watching him so I would be sure to check out his latest offering.  But even though he made some really good films (Hudsucker Proxy, Twilight), I wouldn't watch them back religously.  I would watch them once, maybe twice, and that was it.  The movies were good, but didn't have enough "pep" for me to buy and watch on a regular basis (the exception being "Cars").

It was as a child, living in the 80's, that I was a big Paul Newman fan.  I was a big fan of Cool Hand Luke (later on when Guns N Roses "Use Your Illusion II" was released and had the soundbite from Cool Hand Luke "what we've got here, is failure...." on the song "Civil War", I would get into numerous arguments at school with idiots who would think it was an old woman talking.  That was some pointless trivia for you) and the The Sting (can't go past a good film twist).  But to me, the films I watched on a very frequent basis were The Towering Inferno, Fort Apache: The Bronx, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.  I remember watching Butch Cassidy for the first time when I was about 7. My parents were watching it and I came in right at the start.  I LOVED it.  Great action, some good humour.  My eyes were glued to the screen.  Then when the final scene came up I was captivated by how they were going to get away from the fuzz.  When the final shot freezes and the gun shots ring out, I was amazed.  I couldn't believe the "heroes" actually got killed in a movie!  It was that final shot and the raport that Newman and Redford had on screen, which made me go back to that film all the time.

I loved the action in Fort Apache: The Bronx.  Although made in the 80's, it has a true 70's vibe.  This is probably the Newman film I have watched the most.  He was so good as the senior cop from "the Bronx". And I loved the raport he had with Ken Wahl.  They both riffed on screen so well.

I have also seen my fair shair of Paul Newman films that I didn't like.  But having said that, he was always good in them.  He always came across as giving it everything he got, and I think it's because of that he will always be remembered for the great actor that he was.  Didn't matter how small or obscure the role was, Paul Newman always convinced you of the character he was playing.  And not only was he a legend on screen, but all the humanitarian work he has done, shows that he was a good man when not in films also.

Paul Newman. 1925-2008.  A good man.

p.s Does anyone else think that Matthew McConaughey looks like a younger Paul Newman?  There are some older pics of Newman floating around where I think it IS McConaughey!

This post will remain the top story throughout the weekend

Very sad news today as we learn that legendary actor/food company owner Paul Newman died yesterday, September 26th 2008 of complications arising from lung cancer at his home in Westport, Connecticut, surrounded by family and close friends. He was 83 years old.

An actor first and foremost, Paul Newman has won one Academy Award, two Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, one Cannes Film Festival Award, one Emmy Award and many others (not forgetting countless nominations). His most famous films include The Sting, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, The Hustler and its sequel The Color Of Money, The Hudsucker Proxy , Slap Shot, The Towering Inferno, Message In A Bottle and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. He was last seen on the big screen in Road To Perdition and his voice was featured in the Disney/Pixar movie Cars.

In addition to acting, Paul Newman is well-known for the food company Newman's Own, which he co-founded. A true humanitarian, Newman donated all profits and royalties of the company to charity. The amount donated exceeds 220 million dollars. His daughter Nell, 49 years old, will now head the company.

Paul Newman was also an occasional film director, of such movies as The Glass Menagerie, and an auto racing enthusiast who won several championships. He is survived by his wife, actress Joanne Woodward (Philadelphia), his five daughters and eight grandchildren.

You can read more about the great man and his many acts of philantropy on his Wikipedia page, and view his full screen credits on his IMDB page. According to IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes, his best film is the crime drama Cool Hand Luke, that film's trailer is thus after the jump. Please share your thoughts, condoleances and comments.

Hollywood legend Paul Newman has died of cancer at the age of 83, his spokesman has confirmed.

The blue-eyed star of films like Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid had died at home on Friday surrounded by family and close friends, said Jeff Sanderson.

Newman was nominated for an Oscar 10 times, winning the best actor trophy in 1987 for The Color Of Money.

In May 2007, he said he was giving up acting because he could no longer perform to the best of his ability.

"I'm not able to work any more... at the level that I would want to," he told US broadcaster ABC.
I was always a character actor - I just looked like Little Red Riding Hood
Paul Newman

"You start to lose your memory, you start to lose your confidence, you start to lose your invention.

"So I think that's pretty much a closed book for me."

Earlier this year, he pulled out of directing a stage production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men in Connecticut because of unspecified health problems.

Broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson said Newman had been "a real giant of the cinema".

"He was the link between the great time of Hollywood, the Cary Grant and people like that, and Tom Cruise," he told BBC News.

"He fills the gap between the two, and fills it in a most extraordinary, dominant manner."

Hit films

The star won a total of three Oscars

Although his handsome looks and piercing blue eyes made him an ideal romantic lead, Newman often played rebels, tough guys and losers.

"I was always a character actor," he once said. "I just looked like Little Red Riding Hood."

He appeared in some 60 movies, including Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Hustler, The Sting and Hud.

Along the way, he worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood - including Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Elizabeth Taylor, Lauren Bacall and Tom Hanks.
YOUR MEMORIES
His acting skills will be missed, his films will be watched endlessly
Maggie Jones, Cheltenham, UK

He also appeared with his wife, Joanne Woodward, in several films including Long Hot Summer and Paris Blues. The star later directed his wife in movies such as Rachel, Rachel and The Glass Menagerie.

But his most famous screen partner was undoubtedly Robert Redford, his sidekick in both Butch Cassidy and The Sting.

In addition to his Academy Award for best actor, he was given an honorary Oscar in 1986 "in recognition of his many and memorable compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft".

Newman became a professional racing driver and took second place at Le Mans in 1979

In 1994, he won a third Oscar, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, for his charitable work.

His philanthropic efforts included the establishment of summer camps for children who suffered from life-threatening illnesses.

He also donated profits from his Newman's Own food range to a number of charitable organisations.

Newman's last film role was as the voice of Doc Hudson, one of the most famous racing cars in history, in the Pixar animation Cars.

It was perhaps a fitting epitaph for the actor, who had a lifelong fascination with the sport - and put his film career on hold in the 1970s to become a professional racing driver.

He is survived by his wife, five children, two grandsons and his older brother Arthur.

Dawna Lee Heising, Eye on Entertainment executive producer and hostess, has today announced that the show’s latest segment contains a highly-charged interview with Chris Tashima, who, despite a long career in Hollywood, became an “overnight sensation” when his short film narrative “Visas and Virtue” was voted the 1997 Academy Award for best live action short film. Tashima produced, directed and starred in the film, inspired by the true story of Holocaust rescuer Chiune Sempo Sugihara.

Tashima, a co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions, told Eye on Entertainment interviewers Stanley Goodrich and Dawna Lee Heising about his feelings on winning an Oscar, how it has changed his life and who his inspiration was.

He also discusses current and future projects, including the romantic lead opposite Joan Chen in “Americanese”, a 2008 release from IFC First Take, and an upcoming play at his Asian American theatre company, Cedar Gove OnStage.

Tashima started his acting career at East West Players in 1985 and cast Dawna Lee Heising’s daughter Marissa in his 1986 film “Chisai Samurai.” Tashima also directed, co-wrote and acted in Day of Independence, a 2003 PBS television special which received an Emmy nomination.

Tashima is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and belongs to the Directors Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and Actors Equity Association.

He is an associate member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Tashima is also a stage set designer and won a 1995 Ovation Award for Best Set Design for the 1995 East West Players’ production Sweeney Todd.

Stan Goodrich writes an entertainment column for a local Palm Springs tabloid. He is also Public Relations Manager for a computer software company headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Eye on Entertainment
Eye on Entertainment (EOE) is a high-energy, high-impact program that covers a wide variety of events. The show, aired on Time Warner Cable in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, features powerhouse interviews with successful people in all walks of life, exploring the traits that they have in common. Ken Huthmaker introduced “Eye on Entertainment” in 2000. Dawna Lee Heising, one of the show’s original hosts, took over the production reigns after Huthmaker’s passing in 2006.

Dawna is also Ms. World 2008 and a long-standing member of the Screen Actor’s Guild. EOE’s director of cinematography & webmaster is David McNeil, who is also widely known for his professional photography. The show is produced and directed by John Cox, a leading staff member in the film and video department at Orange Coast College. For more information, visit our website: www.eyeonentertainment.tv

Yes, yes, I know. I know, I know, you don't want to hear it, especially from me. But it's been a minute since Air Conditioning had a "Person of the Week," and you know what? I think Ms. Cody is deserving of it.

For those that are unaware, the Academy Award-winning neophyte screenwriter has been on the receiving end of a lot of hate, mostly from people (like myself) who have yet to make it big in the industry. It seems she just came out of nowhere to write the script for a critically and financially successful film and rode that success all the way to the Oscars. Damn her!

But everyone has their limits, and apparently, Diablo reached hers. Using her MySpace blog to vent, Ms. Cody's message to her haters was clear: FUCK YOU.

I am not Charlie Kaufman or Sofia Coppola (much as I supplicate at their Cannes-weary feet.) I'm not Paul Thomas Anderson. I'm not even Paul W.S. Anderson. I am middle-class trash from the Midwest. I'm a competent nonfiction writer, an admittedly green screenwriter, and a product of Hollywood, USA. I am "Diablo Cody" and if you're not a fan, go rent Prospero's Books again and leave me the fuck alone.

I may have won 19 awards that you don't feel I earned, but it's neither original nor relevant to slag on Juno. Really. And you're not some bold, singular voice of dissent, You are exactly like everyone else in your zeitgeisty-demo-lifestyle pod. You are even like me. (I, too, loved Arrested Development! Aren't we a pretty pair of cultural mavericks? Hey, let's go bitch about how Black Kids are overrated!

Read more after the jump!

I'm sorry that while you were shooting your failed opus at Tisch, I was jamming toxic silicon toys up my ass for money. I get why you're bitter. I took exactly one film class in college and-- with the curious exception of the Douglas Sirk unit—it bored the shit out of me. I also once got busted for loudly crinkling a bag of Jujubes during a classroom screening of "Vivre Sa Vie." I don't deserve to be here. We've established that. But I'm here. Five million 12-year-olds think I'm Buck Henry. Accept it.

(Incidentally, if you were me for one day you'd crumble like fucking Stilton. I am better at this than you. You're not strong enough, Film_Fan78. Trust me.)

I'm sorry to all those violent, semi-literate fanboys who hate me for befriending their heroes. I can't help it if your favorite writer, actor, director, or talk show host likes me. Maybe you would too, if we actually met.

I know my name is fake and that it annoys you. What, do you hate Queen Latifah and Rip Torn, too? Writers and entertainers have been using pseudonyms for years. Chances are, you're spewing bile under an assumed screen name yourself. I'm sorry if you think I'm like some inked-up quasi-Suicide Girl derby cunt from 2002, but I like my fake name. It's engraved on an Oscar. Yours isn't.

Caliente! The two things that I love most about Ms. Cody's rant are 1.) her defense of the use of her sobriquet, something that I myself am doing with regards to my own writing, and 2.) her declaration that she "is better at this than you." She means you, dear reader, not me. I am her peer.

In fact, love her declaration so much that it has become my personal mantra, updated on both my MySpace and Facebook, and a candidate for Catchphrase of the Year.

And just to be clear, when she refers to "Black Kids" being overrated, she doesn't mean talented Negroes like myself. She's referring to a rock band. If it were otherwise, well, then we may have an issue. But since that's not the case ... love ya, Brook!! :)

[MySpace]

"A Dublin busker, who ekes out a living playing guitar and repairing vacuum cleaners for his dad's shop, meets a young Czech immigrant who sells roses on the same street. She likes his song, and what's more…she has a broken vacuum cleaner! They soon find themselves playing music together in a nearby music store (since she can't afford a piano, the owner lets her play his floor models). Over the course of a week, they form a musical rapport and, newly inspired, decide to record an album.”

The potential was there; the story sounded perfectly lovely, but for my lean earnings, a movie needs to sweep me off my feet and this one did not. But when Michael mentioned the beautiful parallel romance between the lead actors, and I was sold. The real life love story goes likes this: the two musicians (Glen Hansard, of Irish rock band The Frames, and Czech-born Markéta Irglová) were hired to write the songs on which the fill would ultimately hinge. While writing, the chemisty between the two was undeniable so, though neither had any previous acting experience, they were eventually asked to play the lead roles. Before the movie wrapped, the two were dating, and not long after that they recorded a real album, Swell Season, together. Their romance is quite literally the stuff of movies. And though, I really want to be at least a little creeped out that Irglová is 20 and Hansard is 38, they are just so damned adorable that I don't care. (Hey, it is a whole one year younger, and a ton less creepy, than David Cross and Amber Tamblyn.)

After viewing this movie I can safely say that the jacket copy does not do it justice. It is a pure, adorable, unlikely take on the classic boy meets girl love story, that unfolds through the music they make together. The heart and soul of the actors, their passion for the music and each other, pours out of this film and give it such a touchingly authentic feel. I absolutely recommend you rent this film as soon as possible. I was delighted to have recently found it at Blockbuster for a mere $5 and am just dying for enough time to pass that I can fall in love with it all over again.

In case you are still not convinced, check out the two songs below; the Academy Award winning, Falling Slowly, and my personal favourite, When Your Mind's Made Up.

In just one sitting, The Lives Of Others has joined my notable list of all-time favorite movies. Like all the other movies on this vaunted list — Star Wars, Shawshank Redemption, Remember the Titans — the Lives of Others adds its own wisdom block to the continuously-growing tower of life. For the goal of being a better person.

Not based on a true story, the movie takes place in 1984 East Germany, when the German secret police (Stasi) kept tabs on citizens who threatened to 'voice' up against the socialist system. The simplified plot summary would tell you one such secret agent began to feel sympathetic to the artist that he was spying on. Dig through all 137 minutes of the film and you'll find politics, history, survival instincts, penance, and the psychology of love.

The movie is not indie, nor is it mainstream Hollywood. Think City of God and Paradise Now, and you'll get a sense of where this German-born film is coming from. But it's been a while since I watched a film that made your heart tug in so many directions, at least not since Schindler's List. It's depression and fuzzy happiness all at once.

A key thread for me was how Christa caved in so easily to interrogation and betrayed the man she "loved more than anyone else," just to save her career. I was gravely depressed that someone's declaration of absolute love could so easily be reversed. Her life wasn't even threatened. But when the Stasi arrived at the protagonist's (the one being spied on) apartment to act on the information, she fled and killed herself in shame moments later. Maybe an evil part of me secretly rejoiced at her deserved retribution, but when I imagine how she — and everyone in the regime — could act out of desperation, maybe nothing is unjustifiable.

That said, I still believe in the absolution that love conquers all. Hell I'm not the strongest physically or mentally, by far, but honoring and being loyal to my love is above all other matters. Unlike Christa, I could sacrifice my life if need be.

Hopefully my little personal spiel has intrigued you enough to watch the film. It's a social drama, so expect one, with lots of reality and seriousness fused in it. My plot summary may be lacking but there's no shortage of synopses on the web. What's important is what you take away from the film, the questions you ask from it, and how you apply the answers to your life.

Kind of a slow movie (if you are in that mood)-- but I liked it. 

More recent movies that some of the elements reminded me of: Requiem for a Dream and Do the Right Thing.

Cool Shot: 3 hoods enter the pawnshop with an old electric lawn mover. the camera, at the level of the lawnmower dollys back, as the lawnmower, pushed by the hoods, rolls toward the store owner, Sol.

This guy does a better job of reviewing it.

Drew from Dumbworld

The video was created by the CIA's Middle East production company as-Sahab, whose primary responsibility is to leak information onto the Internet making it appear as if Al-Qaeda actually exists. Typically, videos like this are created for special events, such as when President Bush needs a boost in the polls, or for the Sept. 11 anniversary dates to reinforce the War on Terror concept.

The new video will purport to show Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, who is normally played by CIA Agent Tim Osman. However, the part will actually be played by Osama bin Albert, a fat look-alike of Osman's who first played the bin Laden role in December, 2001. Critics at the time noted that he was too fat for the part, and jokingly compared him to the obese 1970s cartoon character Fat Albert. They also noted that, unlike the bin Laden portrayed by Osman, bin Albert wore a big nose, used the wrong hand to write with and wore gold jewelry forbidden by Islam.

"Those gaffes cost bin Albert an Oscar and the CIA an Academy Award," said false-flag propaganda critic Wesley Robinson. "Let's hope they get it right this Sept. 11th."

To avoid criticism of the new video, CIA directors have reportedly opted to shoot bin Albert in profile so nothing can be seen except a black, head-like shape. But Robinson said that would be a mistake.

"Black and white videos are not fashionable right now," he said. "And that's part of the reason why people aren't interested in the presidential election this year."

The Soloist
Release Date: November 21st, 2008
Directed By: Joe Wright
Starring: Robert Downey Jr / Jamie Foxx / Catherine Keener

Oh it's beginning to feel a lot like Oscars...

(Hat-Tip: In Contention)

Title       : Lolita

Author   : Vladimir Nabokov

Above is the cover of the first edition published by Olympia Press Paris in 1955. It's been years i've been wanting to read this masterpiece, for it's been titled as one of the three most influenting novel in 20th century and TIME 100 Best English-languange Novels from 1923-2005.

So last week was the time, and i must say, there's a part of me changed after reading this book, the same feeling i had when i read "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss.

The center of the story is Prof. Humbert whose obsessed to a 12 years old girl, Dolores Haze. His obsession with young girls is a result of his lost of his childhood sweetheart, Annabel Leigh whose died from Typhus. Annabel Leigh, i believe, is named after "Annabel Lee" a famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe which is happens to be one of my fav poem. that's why i instantly recognized the similarity. Part of their young love seems to borrowed from the poem.

Humbert rent a room in Dolores house (later refer as, Lolita) to get close to his muse and later marry her mother to fulfil his wild fantasy to the teenager.

after Charlotte Haze died in an accident, Humbert takes Lolita moves from state to state and bribes her for his sexual needs. Lolita, alone and frightened has no choice but to accept HUmbert into her life on his terms.

We read the story from Humbert point of view, as if it is his personal journal. altho what happen in it is an obsession of a pedophile, you won't find explicit description about the sexual activities.

HUmbert, who is supposedly disgusting sumhow i found his character as sad, loner, and in eternal pain which makes me love him for some reason. as always, i love a villain with a lot of side that writer share with reader. It makes bad person a human, and we found ourself in some of their minors. well, not the pedophile of course.....

Where can i find the Movie? please, really want to see it. desperately.... The novel was filmed twice, on 1962 and on 1997. Based on my browsing, the 1962 version is more to it. it Granted Sue Lyon Golden Globe Award (as Lolita)  as the Most Promising New Comer and Vladimir Nabokov nominated for Oscar on best screenplay adaptation.

Celebrity Nicole Kidman is one of several celebrities who have vacationed in Bora Bora Tahiti at the St Regis Luxury resort hotel.

St. Regis Resort, Bora Bora, French Polynesia

Famous people who have visited include: Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Tony Parker, and Eva Longoria.

St Regis is a luxury resort spa situated on a South Pacific private Island.   This is complete paradise and decadence in one place.  This luxury resort has thatched huts, 100 private villas, and a 24 hour butler who provides the ultmate service.  St Regis also boats a private beach (of course) which sits with Mount Otemanu as its stunning backdrop.  Celebrity guest will also be able relax and unwind and enjoy a personal chef, and a private Jacuzzi pool and the legendary spa offerings.  I also found some other comparable high end luxury Tahiti resorts here. 

The resort cost: $925-$3,968 USD per night

Nicole Kidman is a famous academy award winning Australian born actress known for work such as:
BMX Bandits Judy 
Bush Christmas Helen 
Five Mile Creek Annie TV series
Skin Deep Sheena Henderson TV movie
Chase Through the Night Petra TV movie
1984 Matthew and Son Bridget Elliot TV movie
Wills & Burke Julia Matthews 
1985 Archer's Adventure Catherine TV movie
Winners Carol Trig TV series - episode 1
1986 Windrider Jade 
1987 Watch the Shadows Dance Amy Gabriel 
The Bit Part Mary McAllister 
Room to Move Carol Trig TV miniseries
An Australian in Rome Jill TV movie
Vietnam Megan Goddard TV miniseries
1988 Emerald City Helen The Australian Film Institute nomination - Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1989 Dead Calm Rae Ingram 
Bangkok Hilton Katrina Stanton TV miniseries
1990 Days of Thunder Dr. Claire Lewicki 
1991 Flirting Nicola 
Billy Bathgate Drew Preston Golden Globe nomination - Best Supporting Actress
1992 Far and Away Shannon Christie 
1993 Malice Tracy Kennsinger 
My Life Gail Jones 
1995 To Die For Suzanne Stone Maretto BAFTA Award nomination - Best Actress, Golden Globe win - Best Musical/Comedy Actress
Batman Forever Dr. Chase Meridian 
1996 The Portrait of a Lady Isabel Archer 
1997 The Peacemaker Dr. Julia Kelly 
1998 Practical Magic Gillian Owens 
1999 Eyes Wide Shut Alice Harford Nude scene
2001 Moulin Rouge! Satine Academy Award nomination - Best Actress, Golden Globe win - Best Musical/Comedy Actress
The Others Grace Stewart Nominated for BAFTA Award - Best Actress
Nominated for Golden Globe - Best Drama Actress
Birthday Girl Sophia/Nadia 
2002 The Hours Virginia Woolf Won - Academy Award for Best Actress, BAFTA Award win - Best Actress, Golden Globe win - Best Drama Actress
Panic Room Steven's Girlfriend uncredited (voice only)
2003 Dogville Grace Margaret Mulligan 
The Human Stain Faunia Farley 
Cold Mountain Ada Monroe Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
2004 The Stepford Wives Joanna Eberhart 
Birth Anna Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
2005 The Interpreter Silvia Broome 
Bewitched Isabel Bigelow/Samantha Nominated - Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple
2006 Fur Diane Arbus 
Happy Feet Norma Jean voice
2007 The Invasion Carol Bennell 
Margot at the Wedding Margot 
The Golden Compass Marisa Coulter 
2008 Australia Lady Sarah Ashley Post-production
2009 Nine Claudia Begins filming September 2008
Need TBA

Keith Urban is a Grammy Award winning musician who was born New Zealand and has become an Australian Grammy- and ARIA-winning country music singer. His  career in Tamworth, Australia participating in Tamworth Country Music Festival.

Tony Parker is a French professional basketball player.

Eva Longoria is a Golden Globe Award-nominated American film and television actress. Her work includes Desperate House Wives, Harsh Times as Sylvia, The Heartbreak Kid as Consuelo, Over Her Dead Body as Kate and Foodfight!