‘Flash’ Foe Ford Clears Up About Wipers
October 6, 2008
In this weekend’s well-meaning docudrama, Flash of Genius, Greg Kinnear portrays an inventor who struggled for years to sue car manufacturing behemoth Ford and get them to admit that they helped themselves to his patent on the intermittent windshield wiper. (Eugene reviewed it back at Telluride, and I basically concur with his assessment.)
Despite the real-life case being settled a couple of decades ago, Ford has taken this current opportunity to point out the factual inaccuracies in the motion picture that they’ve taken issue with, doing so in the form of this handy timeline, without causing any sort of formal stir, as covered in this accompanying text. Especially considering that the film’s subject, Robert Kearns, passed away over three years ago, I doubt it would (and hope it won’t) come to any sort of renewed head.
Maybe in thirty years or so, we’ll get a movie about a blogger battling impossible odds to get all the facts straight on either side of a movie in which an inventor battled impossible odds to get just some facts straight. Now, to just work the word ‘Genius’ back into the title…
Read more ‘Flash’ Foe Ford Clears Up About Wipers
Introducing Larry Wolf Olberado Doocy 360 - VIDEO
October 6, 2008
Filed under: Late Night, Video, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-Free
I have to admit that I was a tiny apprehensive about The Colbert Report when it first started. I thought it was a great show, I just wasn’t sure how long it would last because Stephen Colbert was doing a character, and I thought the character would become tiresome after a few months (at the most). But here we’re a few years later and if anything, Colbert’s show has become just as “Must-See” as The Daily Show. Maybe even a little more. Every single episode is very, very funny, including last night’s, where Colbert introduced a new reporter, Larry Wolf Olberado Doocy 360.
As you can probably tell, it’s an unholy mix of various cable newsmen (but no women!), including Larry King, Wolf Blitzer, Keith Olbermann, Geraldo Rivera, Steve Doocy, and Anderson Cooper. Just in time for Halloween, I think. Video of the segment is after the jump. Read more Introducing Larry Wolf Olberado Doocy 360 - VIDEO
Roger Ebert Talks to the Wachowskis
October 6, 2008
Somehow I missed this on Thursday, but apparently so did everyone else, since I didn’t see it linked anywhere. Roger Ebert was hanging out at a post-production studio in Chicago, watching the restored new print of The Godfather, when he was unexpectedly joined by Larry and Andy Wachowski, the famously inaccessible duo behind The Matrix, Speed Racer, and (people forget) Bound. Afterward, he got a opportunity to chat with them — not in a conventional interview setting, complete with a hovering publicist (the brothers don’t do that, remember?), but over a beer.
Ebert was impressed with the “zillionaires”: “Nice people. Friendly. No Hollywood attitude.” He writes that “[t]he blogosphere paints them as mysterious recluses, which might add to the legend but doesn’t match the reality.” But their being nice and friendly doesn’t make them any less mysterious and reclusive: I’d wager that Ebert only ran the piece because of their reputation for not giving interviews or talking to anyone in the press.
Anyway, it’s really interesting to “hear” them talk, though they mostly talk about the difficulties of keeping a moving 35 mm shot in focus and the brilliance of Coppola’s Godfather shot selection. It’s funny how keeping silent for a while will make such brief, mundane snippets into objects of arcane fascination. (Though since I think the Wachowskis are pretty formidable visual artists themselves, I find their perspective on that sort of thing interesting in its own right.)
Read more Roger Ebert Talks to the Wachowskis
Heading To The Polls With Hope
October 6, 2008
To see the rest of this story, go to www.upi.com/v106
BlackArrow Raises $20 Million For Ad Insertion Into …
October 6, 2008
http://www.beet.tv/2008/10/blackarrow-rais.html San Mateo-based BlackArrow, a video-ad management system that can insert ads into broadband, video-on-demand and DVR playout, has announced $20 million in new funding, Erick Schonfeld at TechCrunch reports. Andy interviewed BlackArrow Senior Vice President Chris Hock early this summer about how their system works. Investors include Cisc…
Jesse L. Martin to join The Philanthropist?
October 6, 2008
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Celebrities, Casting, Reality-Free
Wow, is this right? Jesse L. Martin was on Law and Order for nine seasons? How could that be? Where has the last decade gone? I feel really old.
Martin was indeed on the hit NBC drama for that long. He left last season, in a storyline involving a gambling addiction, a murder, and a court trial. But now he might actually be coming back to the same network. Martin is in negotiations to play the James Purefoy’s sidekick on the midseason replacement series The Philanthropist, about a rich man who helps people with his dough. The character’s name is Philip Maidstone.
Read more Jesse L. Martin to join The Philanthropist?
IESB Pushes Out Info On Daredevil Reboot
October 6, 2008
It appears a Daredevil reboot is currently being considered. We get the news from an interview IESB had with Tom Rothman. Below is the interview snippet that reveals this news. IESB: One of the brands that has made Fox a lot of money is Marvel. Recently, there was a reboot of the Hulk, which […]
It appears a Daredevil reboot is currently being considered. We get the news from an interview IESB had with Tom Rothman. Below is the interview snippet that reveals this news.
Read more IESB Pushes Out Info On Daredevil Reboot
I’m liking the leaner, meaner Law & Order: SVU
October 6, 2008
Filed under: OpEd, Law and Order, Reality-Free
Something was amiss during the last three seasons of Law & Order: SVU. With Mariska Hargitay’s pregnancy leave, changes in Christopher Meloni’s character, the introduction and departure of some cast members, and the demotion of Detective Munch to a desk, the show seemed to have lost its way. It was tough to watch as more melodrama seeped into the show and pushed away the criminal procedurals that have made this Law & Order franchise so popular.
However, change may be on the horizon. With the first two episodes of the tenth season now under their belt, there’s a feeling of normalcy that has returned to the show. A sense that the producers might be done tinkering with the program for the time being, despite the introduction of Michaela McManus as new A.D.A Kim Greylek. Some melodrama is still there - they’re human beings after all - but the cases are first and foremost for the show.
Read more I’m liking the leaner, meaner Law & Order: SVU
Tina Fey offered $6M for book (maybe, possibly?)
October 6, 2008
Filed under: 30 Rock, Reality-Free
The New York Post is reporting that 30 Rock star and producer Tina Fey has been offered around $6M for her first book.
Fey is the It Girl on TV right now, with Emmys and her Sarah Palin impersonation (will she make yet another appearance on the show tomorrow night?) and the upcoming third season of her show (October 30). Not sure if the $6M figure is correct. The Post states her agent isn’t commenting and that the figure is from “sources.” If it’s true, that’s a pretty hefty payday. You don’t usually see a figure that high unless you’re a major political figure or a bestselling, established author. But good for her if she gets it.
Read more Tina Fey offered $6M for book (maybe, possibly?)
Already Bored With Michael Cera
October 6, 2008
There are circumstances when an actor who always seems to be the exact same bloody guy is forgivable. When you go to see a Steven Seagal motion picture (do people still go to see Steven Seagal movies?), you anticipate to see Steven Seagal, nothing more, nothing less. Certain action heroes or 1 schtick comedians […]
There are circumstances when an actor who always seems to be the exact same bloody guy is forgivable. When you go to see a Steven Seagal movie (do people still go to see Steven Seagal movies?), you expect to see Steven Seagal, nothing more, nothing less. Certain action heroes or 1 schtick comedians are assumed to be the same guy each time… and to some degree that can work.
However, for the most part it becomes an annoying and often distracting trait when a performer seems incapable of being anything other than one character. Today’s case in point is former Arrested Development star Michael Cera.
