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By Beth in Entertainment, Movies, TV, film, relationships, pop culture, Amaldo.Com, media, Heath Ledger, Scientology, TomKat, The Dark Knight, Batman on July 21 2008
Beating all records for opening weekend known to mankind, The Dark Knight stormed into the box office with a fierce vengeance. Closing its 3-day weekend run with a cool $155 million (over $30 million more than its production cost), the film’s producer, Chuck Roven, went on to gush about Heath Ledger’s fatal performance as the villainous Joker.
With Oscar buzz all around mounting over Ledger’s portrayal and some going as far as to say, his “method acting” antics put him over the edge (who buys that, really?), no one’s arguing that Ledger’s the real draw in all this movie-going mania frenzy, even with Maggie Gyllenhaal replacing Katie Holmes and Katie giving some bogus excuse as to why her love for Tom Cruise Scientology prevented her from resuming her role in the follow-up sequel.
Last time I checked the Summer movie line-up however, this year has been a doozy as far as decent films in the theatres so maybe we could all use a little reality check here.
By Beth in Entertainment, NBC, Israel, ABC, Movies, Hollywood, CBS, FOX, TV, film, HBO, pop culture, In Treatment on July 2 2008
According to an article in this week’s Newsweek, Israeli TV is quickly becoming the hottest commodity to hit Hollywood since Ben Stiller did his Derelicte schtick in Zoolander. Not to nuke the fridge here, but with acts like Yael Naim picking up steam in MacAir commercials and shows like HBO’s In Treatment (B’tipul) managing to muster a modest, but staunchly loyal cult following, it’s not at all surprising that TV and film execs are looking to Israel to provide them with some much needed fresh and original programming. Have you seen NBC’s and ABC’s Summer programming? There’s not one show among the bunch that’s not reality TV.
It’s telling of Israel’s rising popularity and perhaps indicative of its viability as a fixture in the entertainment industry that network TV had followed in the footsteps of HBO and chosen to add and adapt an Israeli show, Mythological X, (about love, nonetheless) to their Fall roster. (To sneak a preview of The Ex-List, click here) Loaded, a FOX-produced show about dot-com millionaires is also slated to air in the Fall.
But aside from the creative, engaging story lines that Israel seems to have the capacity to deliver, why has Hollywood looked to another country to fulfill what seems to be a gaping hole in the U.S. entertainment industry at present? To quote Joshua Alston, “Israeli shows are cheap”:
“In Treatment” premiered new episodes five days a week over nine weeks. “We’re used to doing 12 or 13 episodes per season,” says HBO executive Michael Lombardo. “The cost-effectiveness of the show is what enabled us to take on this huge commitment of 45 episodes.
“The relatively low cost will allow U.S. networks to try out Israeli formats and give them space to find an audience. “In Treatment” premiered to sluggish numbers that would spell trouble for a pricier show. But it built steam by the end of the season, and performed well enough relative to its cost that HBO will launch a second season this fall.
What may be considered “shoestring budgets” by U.S. standards is fueling the passion and stamina of Israel’s entertainment industry and in turn delivering a premium product at a bargain rate. And as long as this translates to the end result being more Gabriel Byrne, then I’m one happy gal.
By Beth in Entertainment, Movies, environment, green practices, film, Disney, pop culture, Apple, WALL-E, Pixar on July 1 2008
Talk about having to expand your mental schema around inter-species relationships. In the film Wall-E (adorable Pixar-Disney flick, btw), the film’s title character, a robut named Wall-E, falls in love with Eve, who is another robot that inhabits the form of a a sleek, whitish veneered androgynous (suppository-ish) Apple-looking product. Now Wall-E is a junky, vintage object, but even he even reboots himself each morning with the sound of a Mac starting up, so it’s clear the old chap is a bonafide Apple product (maybe an Apple IIe?). All this Apple love is no coincidence as the film’s computer generated voices were the product of Apple. Did you happen to see the trailers too?
By ariel in Uncategorized, Entertainment, Movies, Hollywood, Music, film, America, ABBA, Mama Mia, Musical, Meryl, Streep, Pierce, Brosnan, Colin, Firth, Vegas on June 24 2008
I can’t believe they turned Mama Mia into a movie. And what a cast: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and more. I got a chance to watch the show a few years ago in Vegas, and though the storyline was as stupid as a musical storyline can be, I enjoyed listening to the to the immortal ABBA songs performed by the cast.
But now they turned Mama Mia into a movie. That’s unbelievable!
By Beth in Politics, Hollywood, Female Empowerment, TV, film, pop culture, media, gossip, Barack Obama, Scarlett Johansson on June 16 2008
Another blond Hollywood starlet with ample assets has been possessed by the politician bug, at least virtually. Actress Scarlett Johansson has been exchanging emails with presidential hopeful Barack Obama. The connection? Her twin brother, Hunter, works for the Obama campaign after conveniently leaving his gig as Community Liaison for Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer a few weeks ago.
While all this background might explain how Obama and Scarlett were introduced, it doesn’t quite explain why the Dem candidate is garnering “advice” from the Hollywood hottie or why Scarlett is gushing about Obama’s prompt responsiveness to her emails all over the political site, Politico.
Kinda sheds new light on the whole “Yes we can” linchpin of Barack’s campaign.
By ariel in Uncategorized, Entertainment, News, Movies, Hollywood, Retro, film history, film, 2008, Benicio, Del Toro, Che, Guevara, Steven, Soderbergh, Spanish, Fidel, Motorcycle Diaries, 2004, Cannes, film festival on May 22 2008
 Benicio Del Toro plays Che Guevara (The resemblance in the picture is unbelievable,) the Argentine who, together with Fidel led the Cuban uprising that brought Castro in to power, in a new movie. The 4 hours, Spanish speaking film was directed by Steven Soderbergh. The movie may be released in two parts titled “The Argentine” and “Guerrilla.”
“Cuba is less of an issue for me than Che,” said Soderbergh, “I think he’s great movie material is really what it comes down to. He had one of the most fascinating lives I can imagine in the last century.”
“Che” is considered a serious contender for the Palme d’or in the The Cannes film festival.
If you are fascinated by Che’s life like Steven Soderbergh, you might want to check the wonderful Motorcycle Diaries from 2004.
By ariel in Uncategorized, Entertainment, Money, Movies, Hollywood, Retro, film history, film, media, America, celebrity, George Clooney, Iron Man, Robert Downey, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard on May 19 2008
So, we went to see Iron Man on Friday. In Hollywood’s saturated political environment, where “We are to blame for all the bad in this world” George Clooney style, it’s hard to avoid the agenda even in a movie like Iron Man. But other than that, it is a very enjoyable movie; Robert Downey Jr, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow and Terrence Howard are doing a very good job. So, if you like the genre, you are up for a treat.
Oh, and a very important tip: Stay in the theater for the credits, and wait until the very end!!!! You’ll thank me later.
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