Monday, March 26, 2007

Cold, sunny and cold, rain ... overall it was a pretty chilly week last week which I like. Some nice breezes were going as the sun was out. So you get the warmth of the sun yet the cool ocean breezes often. It did rain a couple of days but very light.

Weekly Update:
I forgot to add one name in my list of folks I got to meet during the week of ShoWest and it was Andrew Shue who was a nice but very quiet guy. I guess its not too much to write home about ... and I can see why I forgot to mention it but regardless, there you go.

The rest of the week has been non-stop working and just trying to re-adjust. I still need to get some sleep back!!

At the movies:
Heroes in a half-shelf?? The return of the 4 turtle brothers in TMNT take #1 at the box office with an amazing 25.5 million. This movie, which looks like a video game and should have gone straight to video, shell-shocks the box office! Lets see what the 2nd week brings in. Holding strong at the pass at #2 is "300" with an additional 20.5 mil and a cume of over 162 mil for its 3rd weekend. Clear to see that WB owns the box office right now with this film and "TMNT" in the mix. New at #3 is the action film Shooter which comes in at 14.5 mil for the weekend. Holding still at #4 is the comedy "Wild Hogs" with an extra 14.4 mil and a cume of over 120 mil so far. At #5 is the children's tale of The Last Mimzy with only 10.2 mil, not a bad number but also not a great one either. Probably one of the better openings for New Line since the year began ... of 2006 that is.

New major releases that did not make the top 5: In at #7 is the horror sequel The Hills Have Eyes 2 with a sad opening of 10 mil. New at #8 is the drama Reign Over Me with a very low opening of only 8 mil, seems like Sandler and Cheadle aren't the box office pairing Sony was hoping for. And at #9, Pride drowns in with only 4 million.

Comment Response:
"Hot Fuzz" has the R-rating due to the violence plus the swearing, although I couldn't understand some of the words with the thick English accents. From the star who was made famous from "Shaun of the Dead", you have to expect another violent film I guess.

Other News:
It seems like with all the stuff going on in this country, we are losing site of things abroad. High gas prices plague us again but why? Nothing happening that should really effect it or is it a distraction of sorts? Today 5 US soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb and another 2 injured as well. Aside from that, Iraqi police were the targets of many shootings from rooftops and their civil war continues. This brings the toll of 3,239 US military who have been killed and interesting enough since the security operation started last month, 123 US troops were recorded over the past 40 days ... that means an average of 3 per day ... it use to be 2 to 3 per day but now it has been a firm 3!! Do you know we are also going into our 5th year of being in Iraq ...

Facts & Tips:
Bamboo makes up 99% of a panda's diet.

"What's Happening!"- Fred Berry as Fred 'Rerun' Stubbs in the TV series "What's Happening!!"

Monday, March 19, 2007

I made it one piece!! Vegas was incredibly tiring this time around and I am so burnt out on food, meetings and smoke. I did have a good time all-in-all but somethings I could have done without. It was exceptionally dry this time around as well but hey, its a desert. What is also funny was the day I left (Friday) it got really hot and the folks going back to NY were hit with a snow storm of about 6 to 12 inches.

Weekly Update:
I only saw one movie at this convention this year and it was
Hot Fuzz and I liked it. It was a pretty funny movie with some over-the-top action which was completely intentional. Not a film for kids by any means. I believe its R-rated but the high school and up crowds should enjoy it.

I also got to meet a handful of celebs again this year at the
33rd ShoWest Convention which is always a treat for me and all of them were amazingly friendly this year:

*
Jerry Weintraub- Producer and an amazing guy!
*
Shia LaBeouf- He is almost a kid (20) that is growing up fast, very level-headed.
*
Emma Roberts- Charming!
*
Dane Cook- Not very funny but a cool enough guy.
*
Quentin Tarantino- Really interesting and very nice.
*
Robert Rodriquez- Low-key kind of guy.
*
Rose McGowan- Very approachable and nice.
*
Rosario Dawson- Incredibly nice and beautiful!
*
Freddy Rodrique- Quiet and a cool guy.
*
Steve Carell- What a NICE guy, and very funny to boot!
*
Don Cheadle- An amazing actor in general and was pretty funny.
*
James Marsden- Caught him in passing and was so nice, also met his mom who was charming.
*
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin- Yep, another wrestler coming to the big screen but he was such a great guy and talked to my friend and I for what felt like 20 minutes.

At the movies:

SPARTA rules the weekend once again fending off against all intruders as "300" earns a hefty 31.2 million at the box office and a cume of over 127 mil! Disney still is oinking away at #2 as "Wild Hogs" revs up another 18.8 mil and just pass the 100 mil cume mark this weekend! The Sony suspense thriller of
Premonition comes in at #3 with a decent 18 mil for the opening weekend. New at #4 is another suspense (but horror) movie, Dead Silence with a sad 7.8 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is the dramadey (drama/comedy) that stars, written by and directed by Chris Rock, I Think I Love My Wife with only a 5.7 mil opening. The movie did have a smaller screen count then all the other new films however its not a great number by any means.

Comment Response:
None at this time.

Other News:
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! Saturday was St. Patty's Day and 7 US soldiers were killed in Iraq. On Sunday another 4 were killed and 1 wounded ... not a great way to celebrate. Irish or not, I wish all the US Soldiers abroad the "luck of the Irish" and hope it brings them home in one piece.

Facts & Tips:

The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

"I'm Bart Simpson. Who the hell are you?"- Nancy Cartwright as the voice of Bart Simpson in the TV Series "The Simpsons"

Monday, March 12, 2007

2007 LAS VEGAS/ShoWest EDITION!!

Here I am again in the oasis of the desert known as Las Vegas. Usually its semi-fun times to fun but this trip looks like its all work, all the time and its only Monday. I'm already tired and ready to go home. Well at least I can catch some shows to enj... oh wait, I can't, busy. Well there should be some fun movies to se.... oh wait, busy. Hmm, at least I can sit in the Paris bar and enjoy a glass of soda to rela... OH yeah, busy.

Weekly Update:
Last Wednesday I helped out Fox Searchlight with their premiere of I Think I Love My Wife, I heard the movie is ok but not great. The party was very fun and I actually had some fun there eventhough I was working. I haven't worked an event like that in almost 2 years, I think my last premiere was "Amityville Horror" and funny thing is, that event was held in the club right next door to the place this one was at! I did get some pics with some pretty cool people ...

*Steve Buscemi- Met him and his wife, both very lovely folks.
*Kerry Washington- Nice and very pretty.
*Gina Torres- Very nice!
*Arsenio Hall- I actually chatted with him for a bit because one of my friends is the one who discovered Arsenio back in the 80's!
*Biz Markie- was the DJ for the evening and a cool guy.
*Mario Joyner- Comedic actor who is a very nice guy.

I also met for the 2nd time Sasha Baron Cohen who still does not take pictures with our without people out of character (Borat, Ali G, Bruno), oh well.

At the movies:
TONIGHT THEY DINE IN ... anywhere they want!! What an opening for the semi-historical account of Sparta versus the Persians in 300 based on the Frank Miller graphic novel which opened to a HUGE 70 million! Word-of-mouth is good on this movie so I am sure it could take the next week easily. Holding on strong at #2 is "Wild Hogs" which revs up another 28 mil. Also holding in for Disney is "Bridge to Terabithia" for an additional 6.9 mil. In its 4th week at #4 is "Ghost Rider" with 6.8 mil more and now over the 100 mil cume mark. Rounding off the top 5 is "Zodiac" which suffered an above normal dip with 6.7 mil extra.

New films that did not make the top 10: In at #13 is The Ultimate Gift with only 1.2 mil to show for it. The screen count was just under 1,000 however with a per screen average of only 1,400, this film may be finished before it got a chance to get going.

Comment Response:
I would have to disagree with you on Halle Berry winning an Oscar because of a nude scene, her role as a victim in that movie was very deserving of the accolades. Did you see the movie? As for Nicole Kidman, I did not see the movie she won for but I heard it was a very good film by many folks and friends. I do trust their opinion for the most part, the movie just looked very boring to me. As for "Titanic", I think the only Oscar nods it should have gotten were for visual effects, sound and film editing type catagories, nothing else.

Other News:
Very sad news (for me), one of my favorite bands is breaking up but not because of doing poorly or hating each other. The lead singer's girlfriend is having a baby and he decided to get a steady job to support the expecting family. Sad for all of us but happy for him and his girlfriend. Not sure how long the website will last for Allister but good luck guys! The music you made was awesome and I will continue to listen to it.

Did you set your clocks forward one-hour? Daylight Savings Time took place this past Sunday which is weeks earlier than the norm. Lets see how this will work our this year.

Facts & Tips:
The first jukebox was located in San Francisco in 1899.

"The enemy? His sense of duty was no less than yours, I deem. You wonder what his name is, where he comes from, and if he really was evil at heart. What lies or threats led him on this long march from home, and would he not rather have stayed there... in peace? War will make corpses of us all."- David Wenham as Faramir in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers"

Monday, March 05, 2007

A little under the weather this week but I guess its good to get it now then later when I am in Vegas all next week ... thrill. I already saw the schedule of events and the schedule of meetings I have to attend and it does sucketh majorius. This convention use to be fun at some point but now its just work and more work. What is worse its no longer 9 to 5 but 9 to midnight or even 8 am to 1 am ... I am already very tired just thinking about it.

Weekly Update:
Pretty full week last week in preperations for ShoWest in Las Vegas. It was almost a blur and so glad its over too. There were a couple of days that I wish I wasn't there and it also rained a bit too which was actually nice except for traffic. This week it looks like it suppose to start warming up, bummer.

At the movies:
Men on bikes is the favorite this weekend as Disney's Wild Hogs takes the box office crown with a roaring 38 million! A huge number for all the stars involved in this comedy. New at #2 is the thriller Zodiac with a low 13.1 mil. Holding in at #3 is "Ghost Rider" with an additional 11.5 mil but a cume getting close to 100 mil. Also holding in at #4 is "Bridge to Terabithia" with an extra 8.6 mil making Disney the king of the box office for this week even more so. And rounding off the top 5 is "The Number 23" with 7 mil more as this New Line film continues to add to their dismal track record for 2006 and now 2007.

New movies not in the top 5: Only one this time but not a big surprise either as Black Snake Moan chimes in with 4 million and at the #8 at the box office ... maybe it will make some money on DVD.

Comment Response:
I do think a train across country would be very cool, espcially like Canada or Europe. The ride up took about 15 hours with delays, but back was way shorter (less stops). As for the Oscars, I always enjoy them for the most part and there was a political sense about this one but it was centered around Al Gore and saving the natural resources ... so it was a good positive message (in my opinion). And I agree about Ellen's sitcom, it was very funny when it started and then simply became way boring. Not even a gay issue or it doesn't bother me in the slightest ... but I want funny!! It lost it along the way.

Other News:
Last week they finally laid to rest Anna Nicole Smith after a court battle of possesion of the body. The mom was so removed from her life I wonder if she only wanted it for publicity and the cash of selling exclusive photo rights (which is what Howard K. Stern did). Is James Brown even buried yet? And he died on Christmas day of last year! With all this press shifting to Anna Nicole, is Brittney Spears going to do something crazy again to get her name back on top? Is she that crazy and is that what she has been doing with shaving her hair off and going in and out of rehab? One has to wonder about all of that.

Facts & Tips:
If you drive from Los Angeles to Reno, NV., you will beheading West.

"My mom reckons I'm going to be a star. And stars don't fall from the sky."- Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie Valens in "La Bamba"