A Ping Pong champ, a father seeking revenge, and a thief in this week’s new movies review.
Balls Of Fury: A has been Ping Pong champ is being recruited to work undercover for the FBI, and to nail his Father’s killer. The cast includes Dan Fogler, Christopher Walken, George Lopez and Maggie Q.
Death Sentence: After witnessing his own son being murdered, Nick Hume ( Kevin Bacon,) decides to take justice in to his own hands, so he can revenge his loss and protect his family. Also starring: Aisha Tyler, Stuart Lafferty, Kelly Preston, and the great John Goodman. Ladron Que Roba A Ladron (A Thief That Robs A Thief): Two thieves try to rob a TV infomercial millionaire who made his fortune by selling junk health products to poor people. Starring: Fernando Colunga, Miguel Varoni, JoJo Henrickson, and Julie Gonzalo.
This week’s peak is from what I think is going to be a cool movie: The Good Night. Enjoy the weekend.
Adding to the leak of damaging and discouraging Amy Winehouse photos/news of late, Winehouse’s dad has now entered into the paparazzi mixploitationgiving an interview to the BBC earlier today, which read like a sincere enough plea for help on behalf of his daughter. Concerned father or not, Mitch is clearly in denial about a few things regarding his daughter’s history of emotional health. First off, Mitch states (in the transcript) that Amy only started using hardcore drugs in the past few mos and that prior to this, she prided herself on being “clean”. The girl has been spiraling down on a drug-frenzied journey for at least a year now. Also, given the combination of eating disorder, potential spousal abuse, and drugs, it’s quite obvious she’s self-medicating and self-destructing at the same time. That sh*t doesn’t happen overnight.
If, as Mitch Winehouse is quick to relay, the record companies are really looking out for Amy’s best interest in canceling her tour dates and ensuring a speedier and healthier recovery period for the gifted singer, then props to them. Somehow Mitch Winehouse’s careful finessing of certain high density media outlets at opportune times makes me think he might quietly be relishing all this attention. I hope time prove me wrong. Lord know we have enough celebrity whore fathers out there…
Mark Cuban, Wayne Newton, Jane Seymour, Tori Spelling and more are among the names that will fill our TV screen on the next season of Dancing With The Stars. According to TMZ, a list of the shows lineup leaked, and got to their hands, while the official ABC announcement won’t be made until Wednesday. I personally don’t like the show, and not going to watch it. However, I can smell a PR spin from miles away…
Enjoy the show.
Owen Wilson was rushed to a California hospital after what seems to be a suicide attempt. The first reaction that comes to mind is WHY? But I guess a successful career and a whole lot of money is not enough, and sometimes the reason or reasons to be unhappy are way more earthly then one would expect. There’s an old saying: Behind every laughing mask hides a crying clown. Get well soon Owen Wilson.
Actor/Director/Producer/ Whatever George Clooney has a long time argument with actress Michelle Pfeiffer over a bet they made in 1996, about whether Clooney will be married in ten years or not. Well Clooney won the bet by being still single. I guess he won due to a possible of woman and maybe also due to a well developed sense of narcissism. Anyway, according to IOL, the two financially challenged celebrities are now arguing about the amount of the bet. While Clooney claims it was a $1000 bet, Pfeiffer insist it was a $100 and was even quoted saying: “I’m right. I think age is finally catching up with George. They do say the first thing to go is memory.”
For me, Brad Pitt is always the dude who managed to go through the commentary to the movie Fight Club with only saying clever word like Yeah, Sure, and That was cool between Edward Norton’s somewhat enthusiastic comments. That’s why It was kinda funny to watch Brad Pitt the other day on The Today Show so articulate talking to Ann Curry while touring New Orleans green housing project he helped launch. I guess there is nothing like a strong, tough and most important aware to the environment wife to improve your verbal skills.
A Boxer, an Assassin and one, very funny man in this week’s movie review.
War: Jet Li and Jason Statham star in this action/ Gangster movie about an FBI agent who tries to bring down an assassin who is responsible for a war between two rival gangs.
Resurrecting The Champ: Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson star in this drama about a straggling sports reporter who encounters a homeless man, and discover he is actually a former boxing champion.
Mr. Bean’s Holiday: I remember that as a child, in a land far far away, Mr. Bean was about the funniest thing alive. That was a long time ago but Rowan Atkinson still makes me lough. And now Mr. Bean is back. This time he goes on a holiday in the French Riviera, and as usual, filled with good intentions, makes the life of the people surrounding him into a living hell.
This week’s peak is from the ne comedy Balls Of Fury
So Amy checks in and out of rehab, mysterious health problems that lead to hospital visits, and weird late night hotel stays is all we hear. Now it seems as if one of our favorite singer’s problems are getting worse. The music news site NME reports today that Winehouse’s North American tour was postponed until early next year. In a statement Tracy Miller, Amy’s publicist said: “Due to the rigors involved in touring, Amy Winehouse has been advised to postpone her upcoming September U.S. and Canadian tour dates, Amy’s European and U.K. tour dates in October and November remain in place. Plans are being made to reschedule her U.S. tour for early 2008. Until then, Amy has been ordered to rest and is working with medical professionals to address her health.” Take it easy Amy, we hope you will get better soon.
Yesterday marked the premiere of the new Nicole Kidman/Daniel Craig flick, “The Invasion.” The film is based on the cult classic novel, The Body Snatchers, a byproduct of the McCarthy-Communist era in which an alien virus invades Earth and transforms people into non-individualist conformists. While the political focus has shifted (comparisons between Darfur, Iraq are resplendent) since the 50s, the transparency of the film’s underlining political agenda can’t be ignored. Neither can Nicole Kidman’s extensive restructuring of her face. Someone fill me in on why every celebrity needs to plump up their lips beyond the natural proportions of their face?
But in between Nicole Kidman’s Stepford wife enhancements and brain-dead government agents and bureaucrats posing as humans (there’s gotta be irony in that) lies Daniel Craig and hint of a director who knows what he’s doing, which is ultimately what salvages this film from its gloomy fate at the hands of thethose nefarious neophytes.
August 16 marks 30 years since Elvis Presley’s died. And as a tribute to the man, and maybe to all those who finds the facts of his death a little suspicious, and be lives Elvis never died and he is still here with us, here is a live performance of the song Suspicious Minds.
As if social networking sites weren’t over-populated enough (hint of sarcasm) in the webosphere, TechCrunch just posted an insightful piece on the lesser-known, but deep-pocketed Web 2.0 sites that are worth noting. Among those profiled, the Palo Alto-based Ning, which visually reads a lot like Vox, but with a less hipster targeted demographic and helps members with guided instruction make their way through the sinuous road of social networking, and New York City’s KickApps, which plays for the more seasoned web guru i.e. developer and supplies users with applications to build communities/networking platforms on their own sites. Absent from the list was Spock, a cleverly named social networking site, which Irina Slutsky of PodTech invited me to see the other day. Read More…
The cast didn’t help, nor did the strong marketing campaign, it just didn’t pick up, and on Monday, HBO decided to cancel the TV drama John From Cincinnati after only one season. The cast included some impressive names such as Bruce Greenwood, Rebbecca De Mornay, Luke Perry and of course the one and only Ed O’Neill, but even they couldn’t save the show.
HBO’s upcoming series include the drama “In Treatment,” the comedy “12 Miles of Bad Road” and “True Blood,” the recently picked-up vampire drama by “Six Feet Under” creator Alan Ball (Reuters).
Showtime ushered in a new season of the hit showWeeds. Unlike last season’s climatic season opener, Season 3 opened with more of a whimper (with the exception of the episode’s ending, which is a must-watch), but also a reminder of what we’ve come to love about this show since it began - flawed, f*cked up characters, funny dialogue, and ridiculous, brilliantly-timed comedic situations. Sure, it’s no Office but watching Elizabeth Perkin’s husband bond with Kevin Nealon (who incidentally had an affair with Perkins last season) over mud facial masks and genital size comparisons isn’t without its merit. Not to mention that Mary-Louise Parker is my doppelganger, or so some have told me.
Stay tuned for a brand spanking new season of Weeds on Showtime, airing Mondays at 10 PM.
A few weeks ago, I received in the mail four tickets to a preview of pilots for the upcoming TV season. Naturally being both a TV and film junkie, I decided to go. Luckily my husband also seemed game. Before going, I made sure the market research group sponsoring the event was legit and sure enough Television Preview had a website that, while not giving away too much info, seemed real enough. I fully realize that having a website doesn’t make something less of a scam, but all the content in the envelope I received from them seemed to match up with the content on the website. Not to mention when I Googled the works “Television Preview” and “scam,” I wasn’t inundated with any warnings indicating anything to the contrary. Besides, the letter also mentioned something about up to $250 in prize giveaways taking place. While the pragmatic part of me knew that pretty much amounted to getting nothing for my time, it sounded somewhat enticing given the appeal of previewing new pilots.
The event took place on Saturday, August 11, at a hotel just North of Boston. Far enough away that city dwellers might easily be turned off. Sure enough, the majority of folk there were over 60 and most likely not urban folk. The type that still use dial-up, no doubt. As we were waiting in line to get in the conference room at the Holiday Inn where the event was taking place, the man half of the couple in front of us complained that there were no flat-screened TVs - only four huge silver boxes turned towards a series of chairs. Sealing the deal, when that couple got to the front of the line, the slippery man working the event (who could easily have been Drew Carey’s less successful, morally vapid brother) informed them that the entire screening would take over two hours and wouldn’t end till 10 PM. Being wiser than the rest of us, the couple left. Maybe it was the quality of TV that tipped this couple off, maybe it was our enthusiasm over a sneak peak into the new Fall season, but we decided to venture on.
Where to begin, I guess with a recap of last week’s R&R Triple A Summit in Boulder, CO. It was great spending time with all of my fellow music loving radio folks, label reps and promotions guys and girls. Nothing like being around a bunch of people who share the same passion, drive and enthusiasm for music and spreading its gospel to eager ears around the globe.
I am such a big fan of this conference that I would attend even if I wasn’t in the business. It makes me believe in the power or music and shows me that real radio is alive and well. BIG THANKS to R&R Triple A Editor John Schoenberger, President/Publisher Erica Farber and everyone involved in putting on this wonderful event.
I must admit, I was a bit irked by some of the grumblings I heard about this year’s lineup. Yes, there were no “headline” names so to speak but the quality of the acts that performed spoke for itself and what the convention lacked in “big names” it more than made up for with credible acts putting on memorable performances. And after all, aren’t we the people who make the stars of tomorrow? Aren’t we the ones who give the up and comer a chance and let our listeners hear their music in its infancy? Aren’t we the ones who don’t forget the artists after the rest of the industry has thrown them on the scrap heap even if they are still making incredible music? If you were one of the ones bitching about the lineup, I think you oughta check yourself! Read More…
NME reports that our beloved MOT equivalent of Diana Ross, aka Amy Winehouse is currently in a hotel in London recovering from what appears to have been a drug overdose.
Reports have suggested that Winehouse suffered from a drug overdose at 1am on Wednesday (August , and was treated with an adrenaline shot before her stomach was pumped.
Anyone else find it mildly perplexing that Amy is convalescing in the warm, homey environs of a hotel? Anyways, talk-of-town post OD rumors was the Amy was entering rehab, but as fate would have it, her publicist dismissed that rumor with a “no, no, no.”
Winehouse overdosed on August 10th. Only two days earlier, she was nominated for 3 MTV VMA awards including Female Artist of the Year and and Video of the Year. Precluding any potential rumor of Winehouse succumbing to the pressure, and falling prey to its folly, one can only hope she’s emotionally and mentally in better shape when Grammy nomination time comes.
It’s been awhile since Harvey Keitel had a good roll in a movie, like the one he had in Pulp Fiction and not to mention Taxi Driver, and his recent rolls includes a poor performance alongside Andy McDowell in the horrible Ginostra. Now we are told that Keitel is negotiating for a roll in CBS “Criminal Minds.”
Reuters reports that the show’s star Mandy Patinkin left it last month due to what he called Creative Differences…
Following Patinkin’s exit, the show’s producers launched an exhaustive search for a big-name actor to play a new central character. “Minds,” revolving around the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, returns for a third season in the fall.
After Robert Plant denied the rumors of a Led Zeppelin reunion, and braking many fan’s heart by doing so, Reuters now reports that Van Halen (and I certainly bag the differ,) will reunite with original singer David Lee Roth, and will go on a US tour. Van Halen will announce the reunion next week in a news conference in Hollywood.
P.S.
My deepest apologies to all those Led Zeppelin fans who’s feeling were rightfully hurt by the mentioning of their beloved band with Van Halen.
This site is now selling a Michael Vick dog chew toy (shown in picture.) From the site’s press release:
Now a new type of retribution has been created to give every dog a little pay-back. The Vick Dog Chew Toy will be available for delivery on August 7th and will hopefully help open the eyes of many others. This has been created to help the Humane Society shed some light on this horrendous sport of dogfighting.
The toy is priced at $7.99 plus $2.00 for shipping and handling.
Adding to the leak of damaging and discouraging Amy Winehouse photos/news 
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Yesterday marked the premiere of the new Nicole Kidman/Daniel Craig flick, “
August 16 marks 30 years since Elvis Presley’s died. And as a tribute to the man, and maybe to all those who finds the facts of his death a little suspicious, and be lives Elvis never died and he is still here with us, here is a live performance of the song Suspicious Minds.
As if social networking sites weren’t over-populated enough (hint of sarcasm) in the webosphere, 
Showtime ushered in a new season of the 
A few weeks ago, I received in the mail four tickets to a preview of pilots for the upcoming TV season. Naturally being both a TV and film junkie, I decided to go. Luckily my husband also seemed game. Before going, I made sure the market research group sponsoring the event was legit and sure enough 
by DJ Scott Register
NME 
, and was treated with an adrenaline shot before her stomach was pumped.
It’s been awhile since Harvey Keitel had a good roll in a movie, like the one he had in Pulp Fiction and not to mention Taxi Driver, and his recent rolls includes a poor performance alongside Andy McDowell in the horrible Ginostra. Now we are told that Keitel is negotiating for a roll in CBS “Criminal Minds.”
