Duckburg Gazette

We have been having some crazy weather lately.  It sure has been very hot, almost in the 100's a couple of days this past week and the nights either are very cool or toward the end of this past week, muggy, mid 80's.  I am not sure what is going on!!  Just last night we had thunder storm warnings with potential of nickel-size hail along with 30 mph winds.  On top of the numerous earthquakes all over the place, is nature telling us something??  Oh right, that global warming thing that the Republicans say doesn't exit ... riiiiight.

Weekly Update:

Interesting week for me, had a few meetings which might pan out for some projects but I never hold my breath because you don't know what may or may not happen.  But also attending an event on Sunday evening for the Burbank International Film Festival.  First off, the city of Burbank has a film festival??  It was kind of a low-rent event and not your typical film festival.  In fact, part of it took place while a REAL film festival just started, the Toronto Film Festival!  So what can you do.  But while at the event, despite it being pretty low-key, I did manage to meet a couple of people there:

*Fritz Coleman - local Los Angeles weather man and a really nice guy.

*Claudia Christian - best known from the TV series "Babylon 5" and she was kind.

At the movies:

Pretty disappointing weekend at the box office which truly means the summer season is over for this industry.  In at #1 is "The Possession" with another 9.5 million as it quickly declines.  Holding ground at #2 is "Lawless" with an extra 6 mil.  New at #3 is the drama The Words with a terrible opening of 4.9 mil.  Still fighting in there is "The Expendables 2" with another 4.8 mil as it struggles to break 100 mil cume but will fall very short.  Rounding off the top 5 is "The Bourne Legacy" with 4 mil more as it just breaks the 100 mil cume barrier.

New movies that did not make the top 5:

Just one this weekend but it looks like a throw-away film.  In at #13 is the action-thriller of The Cold Light of Day with only 1.8 million for its debut ... and pretty much its end.

Quote of the week:

"Every one says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive." - C.S. Lewis

Other News:

Yet another very sad week in Hollywood as the entertainment world lost a powerful actor yet kind hearted soul.  The behemoth of a man, Michael Clarke Duncan passed away this past Monday.  Earlier in the summer he suffered a minor heart attack but was thought to be out of danger but did not fully recover from it.  He was a big man and worked as a bodyguard and bouncer before landing his first small part in a major movie back in 1996, "Armageddon" starring Bruce Willis.  From that, he got a starring role opposite Tom Hanks in the 1999 prison drama "The Green Mile."  His role for inmate John Coffey on death row gained him an Best Supporting Actor nomination for the Academy Awards.  He went on to other big movies like the box office flop of the remake "Planet of the Apes" and "The Whole Nine Yards."  Duncan was recently seen in the short lived Fox crime drama "The Finder" with Geoff Stults.  Through all his roles, film and TV, he sure had a commanding deep voice that was so distinct it landed him many animated roles such as "Kung Fu Panda."  Duncan was a big guy with a huge heart and warm smile.  I had the pleasure of meeting him once and he was nothing short of kind and welcoming.  He was 54.

Facts & Tips:

Most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale.

"Sometimes the world of the living gets mixed up with the world of the dead." - Fionnula Flanagan as Mrs. Bertha Mills in "The Others."