Item #1: The 19-day-old stagehand strike of Broadway theaters is more or less over as the stagehands and producers have agreed to a tentative deal. Some shows are going on right now as I write this, others may take a day or two to get up to speed again. Says the Hollywood Reporter:

The new contract [...]

Got a chance during the exceptionally long Holiday weekend to catch up on some movies. It’s been a while. Here’s they, with some pithy notes on their respective viewing environments.
Wednesday Night: The Mist. Fine, scary film. Marcia Gay Harden chews her some serious scenery as a religious fanatic. Did you know director Frank Darabont got [...]

Box Office Weekly #094 (MP3 - 15 MB - 21 min)
Listen here:

In today’s show: Writers and Producers are hurling insults again – that’s progress!… Christmas music airplay facts… and in this week’s commentary; Skot wonders why people aren’t watching Iraq War movies! All this and a late August Rush, today on Box Office Weekly.
And a [...]

There was an article on SFGate.com/The San Francisco Chronicle a few days ago which illuminated the rather stark fact that films about the Iraq War are tanking big-time.
It’s absolutely true. The Valley of Elah, Redacted, Lions for Lambs, and Mideast-themed movies like Rendition and The Kingdom were all Box-Office dogs, despite big casts and [...]

Box Office Weekly #093 (MP3 - 16 MB - 23 min)
Listen here:

In today’s show: Beowulf wins the box office – can Gilgamesh be far behind… NBC finds a novel way around the writer’s strike… and in this week’s commentary; I take an in-depth look at 3-D! All this and Munchkins finally get the recognition they [...]

Saturday was the last full filming day for “Arrangements.” According to the call sheet, the last scenes were to be shot at Pinewood.
Yeah, that’s what I thought too. But rather than the historic soundstages of Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, the shoot was on a charming 70s-era cul-de-sac in upper Live Oak, the unincorporated area I grew [...]

Once in a while I shake things up and do something I would never consider doing. This past weekend the L.A. Auto Show was going on downtown at the Convention Center. Auto makers from all over the globe were represented, and the floor was teeming with car fans of every kind.
As a way of avoiding [...]

FILM VERSION OF BEOWULF OPENS
Release was held up for over a thousand years because the author had script approval rights. Finally he said “get me the guy who did FOREST GUMP” and the rest is, as they say, epic history.
DICK “MR. WHIPPLE” WILSON DEAD AT 91
He had a medical condition complicated by frequent squeezing.
CBS NEWS [...]

According to Variety, you like Labor.
The WGA trumpeted a pair of surveys Wednesday showing plenty of public sympathy with backing of 69% in a Pepperdine poll and 63% in a SurveyUSA poll, while the companies received a only a smattering of support with 4% and 8%, respectively.
“These polls prove that the public understands what’s at [...]

The Crew Call for the very first shooting day of “Arrangements” was at 8 a.m. up in Glen Alba Gardens in Ben Lomond. This left me in a unique position: Alas, as hard as I looked, there was no position on the call sheet for “Writer.”
But I kid. Besides, I was heading down to the [...]