(This might interest) Maybe Just Me…

producer sacrifices for his art

So the producer of an Eddie Griffin (oh yeah, that’s a sure return on investment) movie is offering up his cars to be in the movie (an automobile thriller). cars include a phantom, lambo murci, enzo, and a p-car carrera GT. the p-car will BE CRASHED DURING ONE SEQUENCE!!!

he’s offering up his GT to be wrecked! ugh.

CNN.com - ‘Brokeback’ screening lands prison officer in hot water - Apr 8, 2006

okay, so here’s the summary intro paragraph/sentence from this article:

A Massachusetts correctional officer is being disciplined for showing the gay cowboy movie “Brokeback Mountain” to inmates at the state’s largest prison because his boss determined that the film includes content inappropriate for a prison setting.

this is from a reuters wire article. reuters is a news organization like the AP (though mostly a secondary/international source in the US). Here’s my problem with it. it’s all fun and games for comedians, late-night talk show hosts, etc etc etc to make the almost obligatory brokeback mountain jokes. to stereotype it as the “gay cowboy movie” when it’s not a gay cowboy movie. but to put the term “gay cowboy movie” in the lead of the article, that goes around the world?!?! that just propagates the whole problem. gives legitimacy to it, when it shouldn’t be.

Remember when bands didn’t really let their music to be used for all kinds of crazy marketing? Or even regular marketing? It’s not really selling out as the industry goes now, but I just saw a TV commercial for “King Kong” and was annoyed to hear Coldplay’s “Fix You,” which I really like, used in the commercial… grr.

all movie music internet radio station

plays blocks of genre specific movie and tv music. so dope. i love film scores.

Wedding Crashers - Crash this Trailer

you can upload your pic to “crash” the trailer with your own pic, it’s HILARIOUS!

Newsday.com: AMC judged to be not classic enough
i’m against frivolous lawsuits, though they aren’t frivolous to the party bringing the suit, but this one is GREAT. AMC did lie. so many movies (e.g. the ones referenced in the article, among others) are absolute crap. movie classic my ass. amc should’ve marketed some of those movies as classics bc they are bad. or “camp” classics or something like that. kind of how starz (or was it encore) marketed gigli when they aired it. this is good stuff.

CNN.com - List: AFI’s top 100 movie quotes - Jun 22, 2005

but this one isn’t so bad. it’s obviously skewed older, but that’s not so bad either. though i’d venture to say people younger than me wouldn’t agree with this list at all.

Welcome to the Hollywood Stock Exchange

this is genius. a site that lets you play stock market but with movies. i’m all over this. but i don’t tend to like movies that make a lot of money. without trying to sound all movie snobby (because i’m not, without shame i say that i enjoy michael bay movies), but while i can enjoy movies for what they are supposed to be (e.g. michael bay = summer mindless fun with big explosions, sweeping camera views, low angle shots of our “heros”), i think the quality of movie is heading down and things that are quality don’t really get the headlines too much. that being said, i think foreign films while generally better, do get kind of a free pass where many people think they are better if only because they are foreign (and not necessarily because they are better)

Faison climbs family tree for indie ‘Homie’ - Yahoo! News

okay, not the worst, that’d probably be breakdown in my book. maybe the godzilla remake with matthew broderick. regardless, this does not sound promising.

TIME.com — Richard Corliss: That Old Feeling: Secrets of the All-Time 100

an explanation of sorts for that ridiculous top 100 movies of all time list from a week or two back. it’s ridiculous. right after the list came out they tried to say lists are made to create debate, it’s not an authoritative list, etc etc etc. well if time had called it “top 100 movies we like best” or something it wouldn’t be a big deal. but in the age of hyperbole and sound bites, top 100 movies of all time is a bit catchier.

HoustonChronicle.com - Museums use pop-culture magnets to draw audiences

“So much of what is in that movie is there because of the science of optics, of perspective, of green screening,” she said. The exhibit uses extensive audio visual programs to explain how the movie’s magic was created.

look i’m all for touring this kind of exhibit for the fans, but serious, museum of NATURAL HISTORY. not movies, not moving image, not even fine arts. NATURAL HISTORY. i think it’s crap they try to make it “fit” into the mission of the museum of natural history. call it what it is, a way to boost attendance/revenues. apparently there’s also some kind of baseball exhibit at the MFA here, and people are complaining about that, but i’ll withhold judgment because i don’t know anything about it yet.

With Popcorn, DVD’s and TiVo, Moviegoers Are Staying Home - New York Times

She plays a video game for 30 minutes each night before bed. Two weeks ago, five friends joined her at her San Francisco condo to drink wine and play “Karaoke Revolutions” on her Sony PlayStation, where the would-be American Idols had a competition, belting out everything from Top 40 hits to show tunes.

“Party games are great for dates,” she said. “A few years ago I would have been at a bar or at a movie.”

okay, above quote is from that nytimes article again about movies and staying home, etc. but i HAVE to ask, who is taking dates home for party games (video/electronic or otherwise)? does this happen early in relationships? i wouldn’t know as i’m socially inept (thank god for my ipod to create a blanket of social isolation, i find maintaining small talk a bore and completely mind-numbing)

With Popcorn, DVD’s and TiVo, Moviegoers Are Staying Home - New York Times

movies initially went to widescreen to get people out of the house from TV to the theatres. now, though there are still technical superiorities, more and more people are wanting to stay home like the article says. everyone wants what they want on their schedule only. and who can blame them? (though how lazy this country is becoming is something of a concern. it’s fine you want to stay at home and watch dvds, but you are too lazy/impatient to get off your duff and go to the video store? hey i think netflix, etc is a great idea, but come on, i don’t think we should encourage people in this country to move LESS.) but going to the movies is still great. but movie theatres need to make it special again. or at least cheaper. stop charging $3 for a normally $1 bottle of water. don’t make a tub of popcorn, a box of candy, and a soda like $20. stop making theatres where the viewer is packed tighter than a can of sardines or coach class. i know it would take some money, but how about individual armrests for each chair? or at the least stop skimping and buying and installing the MOST uncomfortable chairs. i mean part of the good thing about on-demand or dvd or whatever is you can be comfortable! or just lowering ticket prices? maybe offer movie passes (like pay $25/month and you can watch unlimited movies or something, some type of club, maybe make more social things. “singles night” - hey if the knicks can have it at MSG then movie theatres can too. or hey, how about this, discount for dates, or at the very least multiple tickets). like most things that i think are in dire need of change, yes short term this would cost the industry a great deal, but long term i think the benefits would be there.

oh yeah, one more thing… STOP MAKING CRAPPY MOVIES! STOP JUST RETREADING OLD MOVIES. INNOVATE, GO BACK TO CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT AND STORY-TELLING. if things at the theatres stay as they are, as kind of crappy as that is, people would go to the theatre for COMPELLING STORIES! just make good movies.

Elliot Wilhelm (The Rock), the hulking Samoan bodyguard to Raji who wants to break into show business as either an actor or country singer. Oh, and he’s gay, too.

Detroiters get a bonus laugh because the real Wilhelm - the director of the Detroit Film Theater program - is the exact opposite of this. The character was named after him because the Detroit-based Leonard offered a “be a character name in my next book” item in a charity auction and Wilhelm won the honor

hahah, man that must suck. you enter a contest to get your name in an elmore leonard novel. you win. you think you’re going to be some cool EL crime thug, but he makes you a gay bodyguard.

Peerflix: No DVD Rentals! Trade Your DVDs

hmm, i’m not a netflix user, but i would be in another life. but this sounds interesting as an alternative to netflix. especially since netflix is like what, $13/month. 13 trades in peerflix would be a lot of movies. granted i suppose with netflix in that month the only limit is how fast you can watch and return movies (with the 3 out at a time limit). i’d do this, only i’m not big on trading things. believe it or not, whether i like it or not, i tend to keep things like dvds/games. the only time i give up stuff is if i have a double dip. well i did give up some games, but no reason to keep older versions/years of sports games. well almost no reason, there are some versions of a game that were great once, that now kind of suck and older games are good for that.