At close of business Monday, the Dow Jones dropped 777.75 points in value, the largest drop in twenty years. In terms of the dollar value of the losses, it equals a one-day loss of about 1.2 trillion dollars US. A number this large borders on the abstract: Thank God we have the movies to put [...]

Just got back from an IMAX screening of EAGLE EYE, the #1 box office champ this weekend. A few thoughts:

This movie is a lot like Michael Bay’s THE ISLAND, in that it rips of ideas from a half dozen movies that I love, adds explosions, and mushes it all together into a movie that I [...]

“Don’t download this song / even Lars Ulrich knows it’s wrong.”
-Weird Al Yankovic, “Don’t Download This Song”
What’s with Metallica and digital music? First they drag Napster to the ground and kick the hell out of it, and now their fans are complaining that iPods make their music TOO LOUD.
“Death Magnetic” is a flashpoint in a [...]

Paul Newman, a genuine Hollywood legend, died yesterday.
I was shocked and saddened to hear this, even though I knew he announced a few months ago he was too ill to continue acting and retreated in seclusion to his Connecticut home. He was a sensational talent, an irresistible screen presence, a blue-eyed delight. He was one [...]

Okay, I’m back.
Sorry for going two solid months without a single post. Without going into too much detail, I just got too busy taking care of other things. Something had to give way, and that turned out to be the blogging habit.
And that is a shame, because I really enjoy doing this. But as [...]

Box Office Weekly #132 (MP3 - 14 MB - 21 min)
In today’s show, Weekend Box Office Figures, TV Ratings and these stories: Emmys post historically low numbers and still make the top ten… Warner Brothers IS Voldemort with a punjabi accent… and in this week’s commentary, I tell you what I thought of the Emmy [...]

 

 Box Office Weekly #132 [20:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Courtesy Hollywood Reporter, and sans paragraph breaks, the Emmy Winners!
Jeremy Piven, supporting actor in a comedy series: Jean Smart, supporting actress in a comedy series; Zeljko Ivanek, supporting actor in a drama series; Dianne Wiest, supporting actress in a drama series; “The Colbert Report,” writing for variety, music or comedy series; Laura Linney, lead actress in a miniseries or movie; “The [...]

I’m not so impressed with Jimmy Kimmel usually (he pitches the humor lower than I like to go) but that pre-show special was a perfect parody of those Barbara Walters specials. Clever, brilliantly executed, and hiiiiiiiiiiiiiilarious. The only bad thing is I don’t think he can pull it off twice so next year’s pre-show is [...]

The 60th Annual Emmy Awards were presented this last weekend. As always, I don’t care who won. It’s just an honor just to be nominated! Yeah, I’m kidding. About that last part, not the one before it. But really, once you narrow a field down to five nominees, the fact that one is is called [...]

Like a mighty hunk of glacial ice falling off into the sea, Dreamworks has found a way to separate itself from the cold embrace of Paramount Pictures.
DreamWorks has finally closed the deal with India-based Reliance to leave Paramount Pictures and create a stand-alone production company.
DreamWorks principals Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Stacey Snider are severing [...]