Monday, February 23, 2009

With a flip of the switch ... we went from flood warning down-pouring rains to near summer weather! Last week we started off with very little rain and mid week it was mid 70's, a couple of times hitting 80! Suppose to rain again soon but when, where? The weather here is drastically changing and what is also odd is in one hour you can have bright sun, rain, hail then sun again. This is not Michigan or Florida where if you do not like the weather, wait 5 minutes. They say global warming is a myth ... welcome to the myth-world called Earth.

Weekly Update:
Not a lot this past week except that it was suppose to be a short week with the holiday in there but as it got toward the end, it really slowed down for me and seemed even longer! Trying to think of anything that was worth of note ... nothing, nada, zilch ... blah! Huh, kind of boring compared to last week with all the events I attended and folks I got to meet. I guess they go in cycles or something. This coming week seems busy for me between a charity event, movie theatre opening and some dinner plans. Need to spread them out better I think but sometimes it is just out of your control.

At the movies:
Comedy takes the box office this week as Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail gets the #1 spot earning a big 41.1 million! That is a pretty huge number for this tired out series of films. Still strong at #2 in its 4th week is "Taken" earning another 11.4 mil and now over 95 mil cume. Also hanging in there at #3 is "Coraline" with 11 mil more. Dropping to #4 is "He's Just Not That Into You" with an extra 8.5 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Slumdog Millionaire" jumping up with 8 mil and just shy of the 100 mil mark.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week as the college comedy Fired Up comes in at #9 with only 6 mil and the party is over.

Quote of the week:
"The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be." - Paul Valery

Other News:
And the Oscar goes too ... Sunday night was the 81st Academy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Some surprises (for me) while some expected as they all say. Heath Ledger for "The Dark Knight" was a no-brainer but seriously, "Slumdog Millionaire" for Film Editing and Sound Mixing over the other nominations like "The Dark Knight" and "Wall*E" is kind of ridiculous. Another bad call is "Curious Case of Benjamin Button" over "Iron Man" for Visual Effects. Makeup makes more sense which is the case but Visual Effects, no way. "Wall*E" for Animated Feature Film was no surprise but I do have to say that "Kung Fu Panda" was definitely a close 2nd. Sean Penn takes the gold home for his much deserved role as Harvey Milk in "Milk" and the rest of the show was pretty ... decent. Not great but decent. The one VERY disappointing moment for me was the "In Memoriam" which typically is the highlight for me of the entire evening. The music by Queen Latifah was great but the angles they shot the images from and the way they presented it was just inexcusable. This really brought the whole show down for me because some of the names of those we have lost over the year, you couldn't even read because it was too far away. Such a disappointment.

Facts & Tips:
A crocodile cannot move its tongue.

"If they were my brothers, I'd want revenge, too." - Michael Rooker as Sherman McMasters in "Tombstone."

posted by McDuck @ 00:06 1 comments

Monday, February 16, 2009

PRESIDENT'S DAY WEEKEND EDITION

It is the national holiday (for the most part) when we take a day to remember the birth of two great Presidents in our nation's history. Though they were not born on the same day (or even year for that matter), we now combine them into one holiday however we observe the days of their birth as well. Those two me are President George Washington, our first President of these United States and Abraham Lincoln who was our 16th President. Both great men in their times and both also men of war that changed the course of US History. Washington fighting for separation from English rule while Lincoln fighting for unity of a divided country ... interesting isn't it if you look at it. One for separation while the other for unity. Take a quick moment and just "thank" these two men, we do owe them at least that.

Weekly Update:
What an interesting week this turned out to be ... so Monday night, I was invited by a friend to be his guest at the SAG (Screen Actor's Guild) Foundation for a little interview session with Malcolm McDowell for about 2 hours. The event was in this little theatre that held maybe 150 people and my seat was front row. It was nice because when I arrived, they pulled me out of line and took me to the green room/waiting area and eventually Malcolm came in with my friend and we sat and chatted for awhile before the program began. He is an amazing guy and has such great stories which he tells brilliantly! You could literally listen to him all day if you had the time and he had the breath. All I can say, what a great night it was.

Continuing my interesting week, Saturday I attended the First (of 2009) Geek/Nerd Fest as I like to call it and got to meet some folks there:

*Eliza Roberts- VERY nice person, lot of bit parts here and there.
*John de Lancie- an OK guy, best known as "Q" from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
*Brande Roderick- Very sweet person, was one of the "Baywatch" girls.
*Amanda Plummer- Amazing person, had lunch with her and she has been in many films including "Pulp Fiction" and "So I Married An Axe Murder."
*Robbie Rist- Incredibly nice guy and best known as cousin Oliver from "The Brady Bunch".
*Susan Olsen- Nice person to meet and best known as Cindy Brady from "The Brady Bunch".
*Robert Carradine- Cool guy, best known as Louis from "Revenge of the Nerds".
*Charles Robinson- Super cool guy and best known from "Night Court".
*Jayne Meadows- Wow, such an incredible lady and wouldn't let me leave! From mostly TV fame and was married to the legend Steve Allen till his death.
*Tony Curtis- I did save the best for last on this trip ... talk about meeting a living legend and such an incredible guy! I can not begin to list his credits to do him justice.

At the movies:
Not a big surprise this week as horror takes the crown as Friday the 13th earns a nice 45.2 million during the holiday weekend. Holding strong at #2 is "He's Just Not That Into You" earns an extra 23.4 mil. Also hanging strong at #3 is "Taken" dropping only 18% and taking in another 22.2 mil. Hanging to #4 is
"Coraline" with another 19.1 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is the comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic earning only 17.3 mil which is a surprising low number and weak showing for this film.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week as the action thriller The International shows up at #8 with only 10.7 mil for the holiday weekend.

Quote of the Week:
"Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson

Comment Response:
Word on the street is "Taken" is very intense and a solid good film with a great performance from Liam.

Other News:
Much to my surprise and I am shocked I missed this last week but Hollywood lost another incredible star as Film and TV legend James Whitmore passed away from a battle with lung cancer. I remember him most recently from his role of Brooks Hatlan from "The Shawshank Redemption" with co-stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. His portrayal of a man who has been institutionalized all his life making parole and trying to live in the outside world but couldn't was simply ... sad and moving. He made his mark in the early years of Hollywood being in numerous World War II pics and Westerns of the day. James also starred in one of my favorite war movies, "Tora! Tora! Tora!" as Admiral Halsey. He also co-starred along Shirley Jones in "Oklahoma!" back in 1955. James died Friday, February 6th at his home in Malibu ... he will greatly be missed but his collection of works leaves us an amazing legacy to remember. He was 87.

Facts & Tips:
Refrigerating apples can help them last up to 10 times longer than those left at room temperature.

"The thing I want most... is to never lose you." - David James Elliot as Cmdr. Harmon "Harm" Rabb, Jr. in the TV series "JAG."

posted by McDuck @ 00:22 0 comments

Monday, February 09, 2009

RAIN! And boy did we get some! It was pouring late in the week and it was great. There is something calming of the rain hitting your window or being able to hear it hit the ground outside as you snuggle up in your blanket. Kind of therapeutic, relaxing and just nice to hear. Plus the much needed water is always welcomed however it never seems to be enough. Last week we also saw Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous groundhog in the world, predicted a long winter this year (at least another 6 weeks).

Weekly Update:
Last Saturday night I went to a friend's birthday party which was both interesting and entertaining. I tend to get to places a little early (or try to as much as possible) and good thing I did. The party was at a night club in West Hollywood called Foxtail and it was pretty tiny. The staff there is not the friendliest and probably not a place I would go to again unless it was for a specific event. One of the guest that attended the party was Courtney Gains who couldn't get into the party. I was at a section outside for smokers (honestly though, it was the only part of the place you could both see and hear since it was so dark and loud inside). He was trying to get in and I was already in so I got a quick pic with him through the railings. Kind of funny as a bunch of other people were trying to get into this birthday party as well and the club was denying everyone after 9:30 PM. I guess it does pay to arrive a little early!

At the movies:
No surprise at the box office this weekend as the star-filled romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You takes the crown with a 27.5 million opening. Now you must understand that this movie is based on a line from an episode of "Sex and the City" which they made into a book which is now a movie ... go figure. Holding strong at #2 is "Taken" with another 20.3 mil which is only an 18% drop from last week ... VERY good hold. New at #3 is the dark and twisted children's tale of Coraline with 16.3 mil. New at #4 is the not-so-funny sequel of The Pink Panther 2 with only 12 mil. I am still a big Steve Martin fan but this was just a terrible role for him to play. Rounding off the top 5 is the comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" with an extra 11 mil and now just shy of the 100 mil mark.

New movies that did not make the top 5: Just one this week as Push chimes in at #6 earning a respectable 10.2 mil.

Quote of the week:
"Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Thing big." - Daniel S. Burnham

Comment Response:
That is funny because that is when I started watching "Monk" when Natalie started. I have seen the "Monk" marathons with the old assistant ... just don't like her as much.

Other News:
The annual Grammy Awards took place Sunday night but this particular event just seems so lack-luster lately and boring. I did start to watch it but quickly turned to something else as the "comedy" attempts were terrible and the flow of the show too jumpy. So let us go from that to the big news story as several huge wildfires in Australia are currently happening. What most fail to realize that even though it is winter in the states, summer heat is hitting down-under. The fires are currently in the south-eastern region of the country and cover a pretty large section. Right now it is believed to be work of arson by authorities as this fire has destroyed complete towns and the current death toll stands at 130 so far. People are reported to have been burned alive, trapped in their homes. This is reported as the worst fire in Australian history and over 750 homes lost.

Facts & Tips:
The tallest man was 8 ft. 11 in.

"I just got a 15 cent raise." - Emmanuel Lewis as Webster Long in the TV series "Webster."

posted by McDuck @ 00:07 1 comments

Monday, February 02, 2009

Can you believe it's already February?? I felt like January went so fast however, it was a pretty good month with the Presidential Inauguration and then some events and meetings I attended. What will February bring? Hopefully it will be as cool as January. I did want to mention if you ever look in the night sky recently and noticed some planets but wondered what they were ... well easy, one that is sort of oblong, that will be Saturn and the other very bright one is Venus ... I am pretty sure those are the correct planets and this applies to Western Hemisphere (times in the night sky will vary). If you have pretty good star-gazing skies, you should be able to see them with the naked eye. I also love the winter time because my favorite constellation is out this time of year, Orion. You can always tell Orion by the three stars in a row that make a belt then another three starts tighter together between the 2nd and 3rd stars from the belt (right to left) which make the "scabbard" as Orion is "The Hunter" in Greek Mythology. From there, there are four stars surrounding the belt and scabbard in a sort of box like fashion which make up the arms and legs. Check it out when you can, it's pretty cool.

Weekly Update:
This is interesting and funny at the same time, on Friday I think I broke into a radio station and crashed an interview session with Miley Cyrus on the new and improved Radio Disney!! Here is the story ... I was returning from lunch on Friday and I noticed people setting up a stanchion and security guard by the Radio Disney studio which is now in the building I work in I was curious what was going on because you just don't see that every day. I check the Radio Disney website and they showed Miley Cyrus as being the guest and though I am not a big fan of her, I thought that was still kind of cool. SO, I know one person at Radio Disney and I sent her an e-mail but no response ... someone in the office was leaving early so I decided to go down with them and check it out. I managed to get into the radio station as someone was walking out of the doors. A lot of folks were inside and people were coming and going. I was in this little hall just outside the recording studio and I saw the one person I know from the radio station AND a friend of mine as they both looked at me in shock. I went to the door of the studio so my friend could see me waving my blackberry mouthing out the words, "check your e-mail" and she was just giving me the, "what??" gesture. She looks down at her phone to start texting me at which point I decided to just walk in and no one said anything or even noticed. As my friend was starting to text me I whispered, "what did you say?" and she looked up and responded, "what, you got in!" Later, Miley does her interview which took about an hour and I went out to the hall with a small group of people (mostly kids and I was standing at the end of the line) and got a picture with her ... crazy. I do have to say it was a funny adventure and on top of that, she was amazingly bright and cool.

At the movies:
Surprise this weekend as the suspense-thriller Taken earns the box office crown with 24.6 million. A solid number considering we are in off-season for movies and on top of Super Bowl Sunday. Hanging in strong at #2 is "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" with an additional 14 mil and still on course to break 100 mil when its done. I guess it shows that during these times, people just want to see stupid/dumb movies ... I know I do! New at #3 is the horror film The Univited with 10.5 mil. At #4 is the family film "Hotel for Dogs" with another 8.7 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Gran Torino" with an additional 8.6 mil.

New movies that did not make the top 5 this week: Just one this week and it would seem Lionsgate is having problems opening a film as of late. In at #8 the comedy New In Town with only 6.8 mil. I am not sure Renee Zellweger can open a film anymore.

Quote of the week:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Comment Response:
I do watch "Monk" along with "Psych", both are great shows. I didn't care for "Monk" at first till they changed the assistant. What is funny is that I never was going to get into "Psych" but I only did because my friend Don Davis called me from the set (the make-up chair actually) and was telling me about the show. He was on the pilot episode as the "bad guy". So I watched it because of him and got hooked! "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" I heard is just a silly/dumb popcorn movie.

Other News:
Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday and it was a pretty good game. There was a glimpse of hope for the Arizona Cardinals late in the 4th Quarter but then the Pittsburgh Steelers came back in the last 2 minutes to score the game winning TD with a 27 - 23 victory. But that isn't important, what is are the commercials!! Usually when you have a good game (and this was a good one), the Super Bowl commercials tend to be terrible. When the commercials are really good, the game usually sucks. Not the case this year as we saw some excellent NEW ads and there were some really bad ones. Here are my pics for the top three consumer ads (non-movie related): All the NBC TV show ads were very funny and entertaining so they get #1. Right behind that were the Pepsi ads. Then I really thought the "Sprint - Roadies" ad was pretty cool. This is also the time we see some good movie previews and here are the top 2: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" looked incredible. The new animated feature "Monsters vs. Aliens" was pretty dang funny. Now let's look at the flip side ... the BAD and they were bad. The top three for worst (non-movie related): All the car commercials, they were boring. Next are the "Go Daddy" ads, seriously, can they think of anything else now?? The worst of them all easy goes to the Sobe ad, it was the worst I have seen for any commercial in a long time. Top 2 worst movie ads: Disney/Pixar's "Up" ... it wasn't terrible but the problem was it wasn't new and when we watch ads during the Super Bowl, we want to see NEW! The worst though was "Fast and Furious 4", really? Why? Cheap special effects and was just ... unoriginal.

Facts & Tips:
There are one million ants to every human in the world.

"East and West, never the twain shall meet." - Ling Bai as Miss East in "Wild Wild West."

posted by McDuck @ 00:07 1 comments