Reboot THIS!!! (Part One: Remakes)

There’s been much discussion about the sorry state of Hollywood of late.  In particular, the apparent need to REMAKE ALL THE THINGS!!  Or even better, prolong a franchise well beyond the realms of good taste.  (Seriously, how many SAW movies were there?  About five too many, prolly.  I don’t know, as I’ve never seen a one.)  Dig this stat: in 1981, seven of the top-ten grossing films were originals. Those titles included Raiders of the Lost Ark and Stripes proving that diversity was not only celebrated, but downright necessary.  Two of the top-10 films were technically sequels, although For Your Eyes Only doesn’t really fit my criteria.  I’d say that’s more of a “franchise.”   By 2011, not ONE SINGLE ORIGINAL SCRIPT found its way to the top-10.  Not one. Eight (EIGHT!) were sequels, including Fast Five and Cars 2.  The other two titles were comic book adaptations, Thor and Captain America.  Wow.  Bridesmaids finished in the fourteen slot, and Super 8 was a measly 21st.  Last year was no better.  The wonderfully unique time-travel flick Looper was ranked  #45 in the 2012 box-office tally.  Pathetic.  However, there were two bright spots:  The charming Disney anti-princess film Brave made it to the eighth spot (although one wonders how it would’ve fared without that big Disney machine behind it) and the love-it-or-hate-it Ted edged in at #9.

But let’s be honest: sometimes remakes/reboots work.  They do.  Star Trek needed a fresh coat of paint, lest it fall into obscurity.  21 Jump Street was an unexpectedly enjoyable re-imagining of the old Fox TV series.  So maybe the problem isn’t that Hollywood insists on doing remakes and reboots, but that they’re picking the wrong properties.  That’s where I come in.  In addition to being a certified genius, I also have a keen sense of the “good shit,” a talent that has been honed over these almost 43 years on Earth.  Here, then, are my humble suggestions for remakes (we’ll handle the sequels next time.)  Your move, Hollywood…

Smokey and the Bandit (LIKELIHOOD OF AWFULNESS: Low)

See? They're already BROS!!

See? They’re already BROS!!

I seriously cannot begin to understand how this hasn’t already happened.  The popularity of the Fast and Furious series alone should’ve gotten some coke-fueled producer on the horn with Judd Apatow to get the ball rolling.  Imagine Matthew McConaughey’s “Bandit” running interference for Kid Rock as The Snowman, while Sheriff John Goodman chases after them with every police car and helicopter ever.  Amy Adams or Rachel McAdams or some Adams-sounding hot, cute, quirky girl as the love interest/runaway bride.  Sure, the plot would have to be tweaked.  Maybe Bandit has a GPS-jammer in his new-school Trans-AM (PRODUCT PLACEMENT, PEOPLE!) and if he gets too far ahead of the semi, WHUH-OH!!  Also, the whole “bootlegging beer” plot is kinda stale.  But I recently learned that it is impossible to order online and then have delivered a new Tesla electric car to North Carolina.  Hmmm…the Tesla manufacturing plant is in Fremont, California. Smuggling one of those bad-boys all the way across the country would be risky, yes? Plus, IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENTAL ANTI-OIL MESSAGE!!  Dude, this thing is writing itself.  And I want a screen credit, dammit.

Tank Girl (LIKELIHOOD OF AWFULNESS: Very High)

See? Just hire some cosplay geeks and LET'S SHOOT THIS FUCKER!

See? Just hire some cosplay geeks and LET’S SHOOT THIS FUCKER!

This will never happen, so I shouldn’t get my hopes up.  The thing is, I had my hopes up waaaayyyy too high for the first one.  You could tell that nobody involved with the making of the film had any clue.  They just didn’t “get it.”  The soundtrack was killer (soooo many 90′s movies sucked, but managed to have AMAZING soundtracks.  Looking at YOU, Crow: City of Angels.)  My only hope here is that after butchering Judge Dredd, someone went back and tried to do it right, with much better success.

Tank (LIKELIHOOD OF AWFULNESS: Average)

See? You can't even see Mel Gibson's racism and anti-semitism!

See? You can’t even see Mel Gibson’s racism and anti-semitism!

I really enjoyed the James Garner version, even if C. Thomas Howell had some truly awful delivery.  That Partridge Family chick as the mom was sort of wasted, too.  But you do it today with a new, slightly darker edge (which Hollywood loves right now) and have the main character be an Iraq War veteran, and make it some sort of protest about disabled veterans or human-rights abuse cover-ups or Gitmo or something.  Hell, maybe you throw in some drone policy commentary, and you’ve got a fun romp where stuff gets crushed by an M-1 Abrams and we all learn something.  Maybe the lead guy/dad/James Garner is actually doing it for his Iraq Veteran kid.  I can honestly see Mel Gibson in a decent comeback role.  Maybe Harrison Ford.

Megaforce (LIKELIHOOD OF AWFULNESS: High)

See? SUCK IT, CALL OF DUTY!!

See? SUCK IT, CALL OF DUTY!!

Many people have forgotten about (or never heard of) this piece of amazing Hollywood kitsch.  BARRY FUCKING BOSTWICK played the lead.  No, seriously.  Look it up.  (Sidebar: Barry Fucking Bostwick was the never-completed sequel to Witches of Eastwick.) The bald chick from Star Trek: The Motion Picture was in this movie.  Some people thought Chuck Norris was in it, but he was in Delta Force, which was pretty much the same film, but with a better color palette.    I don’t remember the plot too well, but it had a MOTORCYCLE THAT FIRED ROCKETS!!!!  And goddammit, when you are a twelve-year-old boy (and you will be one day) that’s all you need.  A reboot of this flick would be a CGI-Michael Bay thrill ride, and would make the G.I. Joe flicks look sad and out-of-date.  This would be a live-action Team America: World Police.  You could even keep the iconic final credits theme, without seeming ironic.  Seriously, there was a scene in the finale of the original where all the vehicles are streaking across the desert trailing colorful red, white, and blue smoke.  I can’t make this shit up.  Someone MUST remake this movie, if for no other reason than my friend, morning show co-host, and former U.S. Marine Tommy Collins wants it to happen.

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String Theory, Gun Control, and How it All Really Doesn’t Matter

Well, now that right there is a title.  Ain’t it grand? On Facebook I solicited ideas for blog subjects, and my buddy and occasional teammate and verbal sparring-partner Luke gave me that one.  I thought it pretty much summed everything up, so here we are!

But, of course, it does matter.  Not going to delve too much into a discussion about the multiverse, but here’s the thing about time/space: it’s constant and already there.  Imagine a map of the United States, and straight railroad line from New Jersey to California.  The railway itself is time, carrying us towards some future destination.  We see the landscape pass by and that how we perceive or measure time.  But here’s the thing:  just because we leave New Jersey behind (and for good reason.  I KEED!) doesn’t mean it ceases to exist.  It’s still right there, but our train is going full steam ahead.  All the States we pass though are like days, weeks, years that we’ve traveled through.  They still exist, right where we left ‘em.  The trick is getting the train to stop and backing ‘er up.  Is it possible? I think so.  But in order to do that you must lay down some new tracks and leave the old railway behind.  And when you do that, you’ve just created another new set of possibilities.  This happens anyway, every time you make a choice.  Every time you decide to go back to sleep instead of getting up, order Dr. Pepper instead of Coke, watch the rerun of The Jeffersons instead of going for a walk.  There’s an alternate timeline where you kissed your high school crush at that dance instead of chickening out.  And in that reality, you ended up getting married to your crush and having two kids before seeing your marriage fall apart and within that reality there’s also one where you reconcile and end up being married for 60 years and seeing your grandkids go to college.  And one where you murder your true love.  Damn.  Thanks, Luke…you’ve just brought everyone down.  Asshole.  I love you.  (Even though this section really didn’t deal with string theory or gun control.)

He looks so cute when he's all victorious and stuff.

He looks so cute when he’s all victorious and stuff.

Okay, next we have Joe Schultz (whose own idea to crowd-source his blog was the inspiration for this one.)  He says to write about the band Rush.  Dude…did you even read the last paragraph?  Tell me that wasn’t basically the blog version of “Freewill?”  Or maybe “By-Tor and the Snow Dog” since the ORIGINAL story concept had Snow Dog losing.  Plus, By-Tor shows up  in “Caress of Steel” and kills the Necromancer so that the three travelers can escape, which means he’s the hero of the story. See, who knows if he would’ve made that sort of decision if he hadn’t been literally taught a lesson by the defeat at the hands of Snow Dog?

I swear to God, this is one of the top-8 images for "By-Tor" on Google.

I swear to God, this is one of the top-8 images for “By-Tor” on Google.

Jesus, this thing is turning out to be a lot geekier than I had planned.  Okay, how about we hear from a lady?  Kellie wants my thoughts on crispy bacon v. chewy bacon.  Dude.  I don’t know what chewy bacon is all about because I won’t eat the filthy motherfucker.  That shit better not even make it to my plate less’n you wanna feel my PIMP HAND.  (I am 100% legit, folks.  No brag.  Just fact.)

Who the hell would ever even try to market "chewy bacon?" Makes no goddam sense.

Who the hell would ever even try to market “chewy bacon?” Makes no goddam sense.

Brandin’s question is whether “liking” your own status is the same as laughing at your own joke.  It is.  It totally is, and Joe Schultz does it ALL. THE. TIME.  Then again, Joe needs me to explain to him when things are funny.  True story.

This is actually Joe's profile picture.

This is actually Joe’s profile picture.

USMC and Royal Marine air-traffic controller and all-around officer and gentleman Rob (true story: he’s so bad-ass that he’s actually commanded Marines for two different COUNTRIES.  You’ll never be that awesome, so don’t even try) wants to ponder “Crazy dreams about having to pee because your body is trying to wake you up to go before you wet the bed.” This would really be a good question for Dream Analyst Lauri Loewenberg.  It’s hard for me to really speak about with any sort of experience, because I usually just pass out and wake up in a pool of my own piss and blood. Often, upon awakening, I discover that I’m clutching what seems to be some sort of scalp or pelt.  Weird.

Uh-oh! Gotta go potty!

Uh-oh! Gotta go potty!

I also had some more musical suggestions, so I’ll cover them all at once.  Joseph (not Joe Schultz) said to write about how excited I am for the Social Distortion show at Piere’s in Ft. Wayne on June 29th.  Extremely.  I’ve seen them before, but to have a legendary band like that playing in our backyard is so wonderful.  Darryl suggested that I wrote about the differences in various styles of Heavy Metal.  The problem is, I’m really not a big “metal” fan.  I prefer punk.  Or Rush.  Plus, as a guy who’s never really followed the genre, I don’t know whether some things I like actually are considered “metal.”  Five Finger Death Punch certainly seems like metal to me, but is a lot more enjoyable than much of what Drew Cage plays on Bear Metal every Saturday at 10m on 98.9 the Bear and online at 989thebear.com!  Sure, there are several bands I can get behind…old-school stuff like Slayer and cheeseball stuff like Manowar…Atreyu seems pretty rad for a more modern band…but, yeah.  That’s pretty much it.

This. This I know.

This. This I know.

Honorable mentions:  2-ply v. 3-ply toilet paper (see also:  crispy bacon v. chewy bacon), my friends Nick and Shannon getting married, how much fun I had at the last FWDG bout, how I resist the societal pressure to “grow up” and act like a 42-year-old, and the Boston bombings.  Some of these things make me happy, others make me sad, and (other than the toilet paper thing) all deserve more time/space/respect than I can afford at this point.  So, go enjoy the weather and we’ll catch up later, mmmkay?  Thanks!

The Ex-Box

When my original 1st-Gen Xbox 360 finally (after six years of faithful service, which is apparently a lot more than many of you got) succumbed to the RRoD, I went ahead and spent the dough for an arcade version (el cheapo) new slimline Xbox.  They promised that the overheating problem was solved (auto shut-down?  Really?  That’s your solution?) and since I had the Kinect and all the games the kids enjoy that got me through the cabin-fever-inducing Northern Indiana Winters, I really had no choice.  The unit was much quieter than the old, bulkier first-gen system and had dedicated Kinect plug-ins, etc.  It was like all my problems had disappeared forever in the glossy, black monolith of joy that sat beneath my television.

And then: tragedy.  I think, but cannot know for sure, that maybe we had a power surge during one of the many hard storms we got here in Ft. Wayne this last month.  The first thing I noticed was wrong was the internal flash memory was gone. Wiped.  Then the dang thing wouldn’t power on.  It made the trademark “ding” sound when I tried to start it manually.  But that was all the old gal had in her.  Luckily, I was under warranty.  I submitted my repair order online, printed out the prepaid shipping label, and sent the sucker off.  “Now we wait,” I told the kids.  The Xbox repair and service page estimated no more than fifteen total days turnaround.  The confirmation email from Xbox was dated April 4th.  Time was on my side, and I figured I’d be streaming Netflix and battling my way down Damavand Peak in no time.

I have rarely been so wrong.  So horribly, naively wrong.

I filed my repair order on the Xbox service website on April 4th.  Got a confirmation email and I was told that it should take no more than 15 days for complete turnaround.   No, really.  that’s what they said.  And, surprise!  My Xbox is scheduled to be delivered today. Today.  April 25th.  Okay, so…a little longer than promised.  Fine.  Like, four more days.  The problem is that I seriously doubt I’d be getting the damned thing at all if I hadn’t been pro-active.  The rest of this story is gonna play out sort of like “Memento.”  We’re going backwards to put the pieces together.  For example, here’s part of an online chat I had with Xbox support this past Monday…

You are now chatting with ‘Karen’.
Turner: Hello, human!
Karen: Thank you for contacting Xbox Customer Support. My name is Karen. Please give me a moment to review your concern. How are you doing today?
Karen: Hi there!Turner!
Turner: Splendid, except for being concerned for my poor Xbox out there in the world all alone…
Karen: Sorry to hear that, Turner. But let me just check what happened to your console.
Turner: My repair order number was/is as follows:
Turner: 1*******0
Karen: Okay. Let me just check this tracking number.
Turner: My FedEx tracking number (provided by you guys) is 0*************6
Karen: Okay. Thank you for that information, Turner.
Karen: I am going to check the tracking number. Thank you.
Karen: I’ve already checked the tracking number, Turner. It says here, it can’t be found.
Turner: I know. That’s why I’m asking you guys what’s up.
Turner: Was my unit shipped back to me or not?
Turner: And if not, why?
Karen: Hold on, let me just verify again.
Karen: Give me a few minutes, Turner. I am still checking here.
Karen: Thanks.
Turner: Mmmmkay.
Karen: Thank you.
Karen: Thank you for your patience, Turner.
Turner: Mmm-hmm!
Karen: I truly admire your patience and cooperation with this.
Karen: We received your console last April 17. You will received your console after 7 days.
Karen: So you can chat us back again tomorrow, Turner.
Karen: Just disregard the tracking number of Fedex, since it was already received by our service center.

Hey, great!  So…wait, what?  April 17th?  It took thirteen days to get from Ft. Wayne, Indiana to Lubbock, Texas?  Shit, I could’ve WALKED it there!  “There’s been a mistake,” I say to myself.  “I just chatted with ‘Vern’ form Xbox support on the 16th.  The day before ‘Karen’ showed my Xbox arriving.”  I mentioned this to ‘Karen.’

Karen: According to our system, it was received on April 17 only.
Turner: I have a transcript of a chat with a Microsoft rep dated April 16th
Karen: Yes. You will received your console tomorrow, Turner.

HUZZAH!!  I WILL RECEIVED MY CONSOLE TOMORROW!!  Which would’ve been the 21st!  Tuesday!  Obviously, ‘Karen’ must’ve misspoken.  Not the 21st.  The 24th is what she meant to say.  Forget ‘Memento.’  Let’s go deeper, ‘Inception’ style.  Let’s take a look at some of my chat with ‘Vern’ the week before…

Vern: I was looking at the repair status here and it’s still saying it’s still on transit to our repair center, however it was shipped from you since April 5, it’s already the 17th.
Vern: I was checking further with the documentation so it really took me a while.
Turner: Yeah, I wondered if someone just didn’t scan it in.
Turner: Thesite said average repair time was up to, what? Fifteen days turnaround?
Turner: My only concern is making sure you guys DO in fact, HAVE it.
Vern: Yes, Turner.
Vern: The maximum days would be around 15 but as early as today it should have arrived.
Vern: We still have 3 days though from the shipping date.
Vern: It maybe that the system here has not yet updated the information.
Vern: But rest assured Turner, you’ll receive an e-mail once the device is received.
Turner: You mean “officially” received as the FedEx invoice marks it as delivered on April 11th, correct?
Vern: Yes, Turner.

Ah-HA!!  ‘Vern’ knew what was up.  But ‘Karen’ had other information…

Karen: You will received the console anytime on April 24.
Karen: I am not showing April 11 on my system, Turner.
Turner: Shall I send you the entire transcript? From my April 16th chat?
Karen: The only date that I have here is April 17, that was the day that we received the console.
Turner: Was he lying to me, then?

WAS HE?!?!  Had ‘Vern’ been playing me from the BEGINNING?!  I had TRUSTED HIM!!  And THIS betrayal is how he repaid that trust?  Ooooo, ‘Vern!’  I dislike this strongly!  But ‘Karen’ knew exactly how I felt.

Karen: I am so sorry about this Turner.
Turner: I have been telling my kids that the xbox would be here “any day now”
Karen: I really do understand your situation right now.
Turner: Now I guess I’ll tell them that we are buying a PS3
Karen: And if I were you, I would feel the same way too.
Karen: So sorry for what happened, Turner.
Turner: That’s it? No other answers? Like, why you told me the Xbox was being shipped back to me and even gave me a FedEx tracking number?
Turner: Nothing?
Turner: Okay.
Turner: I guess you’re done now.
Turner: I’ll be sending myself a transcript of this useless chat and sharing it.
Karen: I really do understand you, Turner.
Karen: If you want to, you can check the status of the repair on this website.
Karen: click here
Turner: Oh, I have. It told me the xbox was being shipped out.
Turner: Looking at it right now. “REpair complete”
Karen: Since, it was April 22, you will receive the console on April 24 Turner.
Karen: Yes, it was completed. And it still needs to be shipped, Turner.
Karen: That’s why you will receive it on April 24.

Then, I hate to admit, I sort of…lost it.

Turner: NO! April 17th, I received an email saying the console had shipped. I don’t know who screwed up, but they should be held accountable.
Turner: Why would I get the email and then still not have it shipped until the 22nd?
Turner: Okay, you know what? Whatever.
Turner: I know what happened. You guys got it on the 4th but somebody forgot to scan it in or something
Turner: Then, when I complained on the 16th, repairs were begun
Turner: They told me it was being shipped on the 17th and sent me the tracking number
Turner: But again, someone screwed the pooch.
Turner: I guess it’s just tough luck
Turner: Seeya around, ‘Karen.’ If you see ‘Vern’ do something horrible in his coffee mug.
Karen: I really do apologize for the delay, Turner.
Turner: Oh, hey. Thanks.
Karen: Sorry again Turner.
Karen: We are really upset right now that this incident happened to you.
Turner: Is there anyone else I can complain to? I know you’re just trying to put out fires.
Turner: But like a supervisor or quality control person or Vern? Whoever Vern’s boss is, boy…
Turner: That guy. THAT guy should get an earful
Karen: I really do understand that Turner.
Turner: So, no?
Turner: What about…and I’m just spitballin’ here…like, do you know where Vern lives?
Karen: Yes. You can file a complaint, hold on let me just give you the steps.
Turner: Thanks.
Turner: But, yeah…friggin Vern.
Turner: And Vern’s boss.
Turner: Betcha he’s your boss too, huh?
Turner: Probably a douche, amirite?
Turner: Sexist of me to assume your boss is a “he” though.

Not very professional of me, but damn it, I was just DONE with this whole thing.  But then the plot thickened once again.  It turns out someone had other ideas…

Karen: Oh sorry for that Turner, I will inform my boss about the complaint rather.
Turner: Okay. So, not me. You. You’ll fill a complaint on my behalf.
Karen: Yes, Turner.
Karen: Again, I am so sorry for the inconvenience, Turner.
Turner: So you’ll just be like “oh, hey…some guy is upset that we lied to him and blah-blah-blah his kids are crying and at least some of the blame falls on Vern, cause SCREW THAT GUY.”
Turner: I imagine your office is a lot like the place where Archer works.
Turner: What fun you must have!
Turner: Okay. I really gotta go now.
Karen: I will inform my boss, that the previous representative that you’ve talked to didn’t provide you the right information, Turner.
Karen: I really do apologize for what happened.
Turner: But you sure did, didn’t ya? You betcha.
Karen: But thanks anyways for bringing this information to us.
Turner: You hooked me right up.
Turner: Yeah, seeya. And tell Vern to look over his shoulder.
Karen: Yes. Thank you for understanding.
Karen: You take care and have a great day ahead, Turner.
Turner: I don’t. But I’m sorta screwed either way, so yeah.
Turner: Bye.

Epilogue:  The FedEx tracking site says that the package was delivered today at 10:07 am.  So, there it sits.  Finally.  The invoice says that it was shipped from ZAPOPAN, JA  MX on Monday.  The day I spoke with ‘Karen,’ meaning that it was there, ready, during our chat.  Patiently waiting in a repair facility in Mexico, apparently.  I’m willing to bet that as SOON as our chat concluded, ‘GLADoS’ (excuse me, ‘Karen’) called someone up and the thing got put on a truck to Laredo, Texas then eventually to Ft. Wayne.  From Mexico to my front door in three business days (it was almost closing time when I had my chat with ‘Karen.’)  Three.  That, to me, is the saddest part.  Say it left my house on the 5th.  It’s in Microsoft’s hands by the 8th.  Let’s say three days to do the repair. Then three days to get back home.  That puts it in my hands again on the 14th.  Imagine how many more headshots I’d have gotten on Kharg Island I’d have had.  Man…if only. If only.

Celebri-daze!!

Holy crap…it’s almost been an entire month since my last post, and that one was a throw-away quickie.  Been busy, folks.  My radio station has been slowly transitioning to a new location, kids are busy, I’ve had shows like Best Ink Season Two to watch (TEAM TERESA!!!!) and Far Cry 3 to complete (with the GOOD ending, thank you.)  So I figured I’d jump back in with another Hollywood Nooz style entry.  If these things keep doing well, I’m going to have to create an entirely new blog for this stuff.  That way NOTHING will get updated.

Without further ado…

CROWE JOINS THE SHOWE!!

Powder blue is the new tangerine!

Powder blue is the new tangerine!

Buoyed by his recent critically acclaimed turn in the big-screen adaptation of Les Miz, gruff-but-loveable Kiwi Russell Crowe has stunned the music world by agreeing to appear as part of this summer’s hottest ticket:  the eagerly-awaited tour of pop diva Britney Spears.  Brit decided to forgo any more reality-TV judging gigs in order to wow live audiences with mediocre lip-synching, and decided to bring out the big guns!  “I always loved Russell as ‘Wolverine’ but had no idea he could sing!”  As for what drew the burly, bearded, boy-band wannabee to the tour, Russell admitted that he initially “thought ‘Les Miz’ was just a flick about French lesbians and professional wrestlers.  Imagine my shock when it turned out to be this gay Occupy movie!  Loved it. And the outfits?  FABULOUS.”

KIEDIS IS KIP!

Modern-day D'Artagnan Kiedis answers questions at the "N4pole0n" press conference

Modern-day D’Artagnan Kiedis answers questions at the “N4pole0n” press conference

Staying in the world of music, we were excited to hear the bombshell that Miramax dropped last week when they announced another gritty reboot, this time of fan-fave cult film ‘Napoleon Dynamite’ slated to begin pre-production in the next few weeks.  The newly re-branded ‘N4pole0n’ already boasts Jon Hamm and Jennifer Lawrence as part of the cast, and at the press meet-up it was announced that the coveted role of Kip Dynamite would be going to none other than Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis! “I’ve acted before, so it’s not like I’m completely out-of-sorts” said the star of Point Break and that one Charlie Sheen film.  “Plus, with my history of drug addiction, I feel like I can convey the proper gravitas and self-torture that the role of Kip demands.  I’m, like, totally stoked, dude.”  The Jim Jarmusch-helmed drama should hit theaters in time for the Holiday 2014 season.

GAME OF CLONES!!!

We may finally have an explanation for what’s taking author George R. R. Martin so long to finish his sword-and-sorcery epic ‘A Song of Ice and Fire!’  It may have very little to do with the ongoing HBO adaptation; even as the smash-hit ‘Game of Thrones’ sails into its third season, another GRRM project seems to be taking up most of the author’s time.

Perhaps now it'll be 'Between Two Dramatic Turns!'

Perhaps now it’ll be ‘Between Two Dramatic Turns!’

It seems that over the last dozen years or so, Martin has kept an intricate journal of his life.  Now Paramount is keen to reap some of that ‘GoT’ cash, and has optioned the diary for a big-screen biopic starring Hollywood funnyman Zach Galifianakis as a young George R.R. Martin.  Pre-production is already underway, with Galifianakis doing location shoots in Harlem and San Salvador.  The ‘Hangover’ star told us about what drew him to the project: “Well, George is a shabbily-dressed fat guy.  And since John Goodman is way too old, that pretty much leaves me.  Now, please…just leave me alone.”

The Search Continues…

Well, it seems like I’m going to be doing those celebrity blogs more often.  That was fun, and got a decent response!  Thanks, guys!

 

In the meantime, here’s how people have been getting to this blog the last few days. Yesterday’s searches looked like this…

I'll take "things that will blow my fucking mind" for $200, Alex.

I’ll take “things that will blow my fucking mind” for $200, Alex.

Again with the Yar-Yar.  I know that’s probably how they say it in Germany, but…spelling it phonetically?  Weird.  But welcome, Deutschers!

Then, today brought some more interesting searches…

Miss Scotland knows how to party. As if that was ever in doubt.

Miss Scotland knows how to party. As if that was ever in doubt.

I don’t recall ever featuring sexy shagging nuns on this blog, but hey, new pope.  Crazy times in the ol’ Vatican, eh?

Anyway, it doesn’t matter how you found my page.  I’m just glad you did.  Thanks for reading, true believers!

 

 

 

 

Celebri-tastic!

My dear friend and wonderfully successful multi-media darling and Dream Lord (that’s the new title I’ve bestowed upon her by virtue of my standing in the Affiliation of Gilead) Lauri Loewenberg suggested that I do a fake celebrity gossip blog.  Before I launched such an endeavor, I thought I’d try it out first.  You know, take ‘er for a test drive. (The blog concept, not Lauri.  Although, have you seen her?  Dayum.)  Anyway, here goes…

Jackman and Hoffman VERY Hungry!

NEW YORK – With pre-production over, shooting FINALLY began in earnest on the big-budget adaptation of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”  Hugh Jackman, who plays the leading role, told us exactly what drew him to the character:

“Well, he’s a bit of mystery, isn’t he?  I mean, here’s this caterpillar with only one purpose in life.  One purpose that we, the audience, can see.  But then, well, it’s  a bit of a shock at the end, innit?  Crikey!”

The superstars took time out from filming recently to catch a Nicks game!

The superstars took time out from filming recently to catch a Nicks game!

Dustin Hoffman seemed incredibly eager to get to work, even though it meant hours spent in makeup and motion-capture CGI rig.

“It’s wonderful.  Simply wonderful.  This is the first time I’ve gotten the chance to combine two things I’ve never really done before.  I get to literally become a singing leaf through the magic of computer animation, and that’s wonderful!  And I get to indulge myself by singing a few old Negro spirituals. And I can say ‘Negro’ because our peoples have been through so much.  And by ‘our peoples’ I mean, of course, actors and athletes.”

Hoffman went on to say that he was more than excited to put such utter crap as “Mister Magorium’s Wonder Emporium” in the rear-view mirror once and for all.

“I will make a successful kid’s movie.  I WILL. ‘Hook’ was so long ago.  So very long…”  the actor then drifted off, staring into space for a few moments before wiping away a bit of drool and excusing himself.  “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” is scheduled for a Holiday 2014 release.

Pop-Star’s Panties Purloined?  “Pish-Posh” Say Police!

Minaj signs a few autographs before being whisked away by the LAPD.

Minaj signs a few autographs before being whisked away by the LAPD.

LOS ANGELES – Pop diva and possible space alien Nicki Minaj  had a bit of a scare recently. Upon arriving in Hollywood for the taping of American Idol, the superstar was met at LAX by Los Angeles police detectives keen to speak with the musical harpy regarding the supposed theft of a pair of her underpants.

“We just couldn’t believe anyone would do that.  Anyone.  Seriously.  Nobody would do that.  Steal her panties, I mean.” That’s according to Detective Ryan Doheny of the LAPD.  He and other law-enforcement personnel began to doubt the singer’s assertion that her “draws been snatched!” when they figured out that “draws” meant “underpants.”

After a brief interview with police, Minaj was free to go.  Detective Doheny concluded by saying “I seriously don’t know what’s going on.  I mean…what the f*ck?  I need a Tylenol.”

Good luck, officer!

Whedon’s Secret Weapon!

SAN DIEGO – Joss Whedon certainly has a lot on his plate. The Avengers director and Firefly creator seemingly has a dozen irons in the fire, and shows no sign of letting up.  The rumor machine fired into high gear recently when Hollywood insiders hinted that Joss may take over the Star Trek franchise when JJ Abrams begins work on the next batch of Star Wars properties for Disney.  Rumors that gained steam when, ahead of the upcoming Comic-Con in San Diego, Whedon was spotted on the town with a man many refer to as “the guy behind the guy.”

Whedon's mystery man just may be his silent partner...

Whedon’s mystery man just may be his silent partner…

Who is this mystery man?  A possible sleeping Hollywood giant?  A brilliant script doctor?  A talent-spotter extraordinaire?  Or a tubby Trekkie fanboy known only as “Sam?”

The Whedon camp is mum, giving only this cryptic answer to our prodding questions:

“We have no idea who that kid is.  He just shows up.  Joss took a picture with him last year, and now he, well…he just hangs around.  It’s getting sort of annoying”

Hmmm…sounds like someone is trying to throw us off the scent!  that’s fine with us, as long as that Whedonesque magic keeps-a-comin’, even if it really is all thanks to the mysterious “Sam.” (Wink-wink!)

Video Breakdown – Belly, Slow Dog

Hey, gang!  Kind of an experiment here, and we’ll hafta see if it turns into a regular feature.  What we’re gonna do is watch this video together and see how it performs.  See, the 1990′s were a magical time.  The Alternative revolution had thrown wide the doors of musical variety, at the same time that mainstream rap and hip-hop were finding their way into regular ol’ Midwestern (i.e., white) households.  One of the bands that had sort of middling success was Belly.  Belly was fronted by the amazing Tanya Donelly, who had been in the indie college band Throwing Muses and then co-founded The Breeders with Kim Deal (Pixies.)  Anyway, in 1993, Belly released their debut “Star.”  It was great.  The smash-hit “Feed the Tree” made it to #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart.  The follow-ups “Gepetto” and this one, “Slow Dog” failed to make much of a mark.  But now we’re going to see if this video helped or hindered this mainly-forgotten band.  Here’s the video.  Sorry if must wait through an ad.  That’s the way of things.  It can’t be helped.

First impressions:  We get it, 90′s.  Jump-cuts are cool and interesting.  Even better when you de-saturate the colors.  Edgy Al-TER-na-tive!  And, oh!  Let’s put a blurry disc at the bottom of the screen.  Yeah.  It’ll sort of be like the Pixies video for “Here Comes Your Man” but in reverse!  (Never mind that the whole Pixies video was basically the band saying “fuck you, 120 Minutes” right down to the very obvious lack of any sort of lip-synching and the “inflated” head on Black Francis/Frank Black.)

"Hey, Pinfield! LIKE OUR FUCKIN' VIDEO?"

“Hey, Pinfield! LIKE OUR FUCKIN’ VIDEO?”

The blur-disc-lens thingy serves another important purpose in this misfire of a video.  See, Tanya Donelly is a cutie.  You might even say she’s downright gorgeous.  However, during the mid-90’s Modern Rock revolution, you were supposed to act like you WEREN’T gorgeous.  “Gorgeous” was for total posers, you guys.  So you dressed the hot babes in ModCloth retro dresses and put them just out-of-focus so that it looked like they were, like, totally just like me and you only WITH MUCH MORE HIDDEN PAIN!!  ON THE INSIDE!!

Poor, unfortunate, ugly 90's chick.

Poor, unfortunate, ugly 90′s chick.

Also, remember when those granny boots were in?  Often worn in conjunction with (ironically) babydoll dresses or, I shit you not, maternity dresses?  (Seriously, 90’s…you were weird.)

Anyway…we’re like :45 seconds in and we already know just about all there is to know about this video. We’ve seen a guitar smashed by a blonde chick with a pixie haircut.  We’ve observed a pensive surfer dude lean against the wall, trying to sort out life and all its ups and downs (why, pain?  Why must you BE?!?!) Also, we’ve been treated to some rusty things, some spindles, and the contents of my grandfather’s old tool shed being spilled onto the floor.  GODDAMMIT, YOU WILL PICK THAT SHIT UP OR I SWEAR TO GOD I’M GETTING THE BELT!

OMG, you guys...life is so hard...Hollister isn't open for, like...thirty minutes! I'm totes bummed!

OMG, you guys…life is so hard…Hollister isn’t open for, like…thirty minutes! I’m totes bummed!

But most importantly, we know this:  the video for this song doesn’t have one momentary, fleeting, thin, tenuous relation to the lyrics of the song itself.  This was a HUGE problem in the 90’s.  See, classic videos from the 80’s often told a story.  Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” was a good example.  Even so-called Alternative or Punk bands tried their best.  The Ramone’s “I Wanna Be Sedated” didn’t tell a story so much as make the viewer feel exactly like the song suggested.  The sped-up pace of the background characters and goings-on was a brilliant way of visually matching the song.  Even into the early-90’s, we had a sort of symbolic story-telling…remember Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy?”  Powerful stuff. Even Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” dealt with scary dreamlike images.  Remember when the semi truck hits the bed right at the “BOOOOOMMMM!!” part of the song?  Golly! Then, well…U2’s “Numb” happened.

You guys, this is going to make "Lemon" look like a sick joke!

You guys, this is going to make “Lemon” look like a sick joke!

“Numb”  happened the same year that Michael Jackson joined Eddie Murphy for “Whatzupwitchu.”  Holy shit, things were getting bad.  We should’ve seen the signs…like in Ace Of Bass’s videos.  Including, well…”The Sign.” At least in the U2 video, they’re trying to be artsy.  See, the main vocals in “Numb” are handled not by the bombastic Bono, but the monotone drone of The Edge.  (Rock stars used to have AWESOME names.) As a result, they tailored the video to Edge’s more sparse, mumbled, spoken-word type delivery and subjected him to a variety of distractions including, but not limited to, feet.  On his face.  Yep.  But even with this sort of nonsense going on, the video STILL MADE SENSE.  See, he’s numb!  He ain’t CARE ‘bout yo feet up in his grill, ya heard?

Yes, this actually happened. No, it was not supposed to be funny.

Yes, this actually exists. No, it is not supposed to be funny.

But then, well…everyone started getting “artsy.”  The old go-to “live concert video” was pretty much out, so they staged “concerts”in strange settings, before weird crowds of too-cool people, and the irony was that in an era where cheese and bullshit were eschewed and bands that participated in such chicanery were shunned, total bullshit dominated the airwaves at Mtv.  And in some cases, the lure of cutting-edge CGI effects was just too much. (Kurt Cobain cashed out at just the right time, it would seem. Can you imagine a video for “Rape Me” done with Lawnmower Man graphics?) This begs a follow-up question:  is it better to have an Mtv that shows virtually NO music videos, or one that only shows complete shit?

Okay, back to “Slow Dog.”  I’ll give the director one tip o’ the cap:  at least Ms. Donelly’s guitar seems to be actually plugged into something.  Since they were faking the whole thing, it would’ve been simpler just to have her hold the goddam thing and strum.  Kudos.  Now, onward…

My efforts to bring your attention to the guitar cable have undermined my efforts to bring your attention to the guitar cable. Damn it.

My efforts to bring your attention to the guitar cable have undermined my efforts to bring your attention to the guitar cable. Damn it.

Up to the 1:00 mark we go.  Wherein a bald maintenance guy (or Chef from South Park) passes out after nailing some cups to a sidewise table, the cameraman forgets how to frame a shot, and surfer-boy has trouble with his vice or something.  OH, AND HERE’S YOUR FUCKING CIGARS, PAL!!!

Quickly now.  To the 1:34 point in our journey.  FIX THAT GODDAM GUITAR ALREADY!!

To 1:45.  What, exactly, is so fucking funny, Tanya?  You think this video is some sort of fucking joke?!  AND HEY: PAINT MIXERS ARE NOT FOR GUITARS, YOU FUCKING IMBECILE!!  WE’RE WORKING ON A BUDGET, PAL!!

2:00. And now, Consuela has another lovely item for us.  It’s a pewter replica of a 2nd-century BC terracotta warrior statue.  We’ll start the bidding at $400…

2:00-2:30. Croutons, pewter chicken, burial.  Dear God…

2:30-3:00. Almost there.  Surfer-boy has sewn you a nice drum.  Consuela thinks this is “art.”  Chef/Iron Sheik/Maintenance Guy does shots.  Buttons, etc.  Please, let this be over…

3:00-4:00. Suddenly:  carnival rides.  Also, is that your cat’s corpse?  Consuela can’t stack cans for shit.  Chains.  Chef is ashamed.  Why, Lord?  Why?

WHY, GOD? WHY? WHY DID I LEAVE MY WATCH ON WHILE SUNBATHING?!?!

WHY, GOD? WHY? WHY DID I LEAVE MY WATCH ON WHILE SUNBATHING?!?!

Okay. A couple of things in review.  Jesus H Christ, that Tanya Donelly is a stone fox.  Actually, the whole band looks better than the cast of Dawson’s Creek.  They should’ve done an entire video of all of them standing around in linen shifts, backlit.  Or perhaps just closeups of Tanya’s sensual, willing, hungry mouth…

Yes, that very one.

Yes, that very one.

For comparison (and to bring this cumbersome ship back around to the original point) I went back and watched the video for “Feed the Tree.”  Know what one of the first shots in the video is?  A goddam tree.  And before we’re :27 in, we see a shot of an old man.  Right when, you know, the lyrics mention an “old man.”  How weird is THAT?!?!  The video almost perfectly mirrored the meaning of the song lyrics!  One can’t help but wonder if perhaps that’s the main reason why “Feed the Tree” is the only Belly song most people remember.  Also, one can’t help but wonder what Tanya Donelly would look like rolling around in a waterbed with myself and some Crisco in the summer of 1993.  Now THAT would be a great video, folks.