The Big Screen Bulletin 11.20.05 - The Poppin' Your Cherry Edition
Posted by Chad Webb on 11.20.2005
Too much news about smoking, people are getting tired of Paris Hilton
Intro
First off I want say that I hope everyone enjoys the column. I have been extremely busy this week so hopefully this debut comes off decent. I appreciate any feedback or comments.
Everyone knows about it already, but I just want to say what a shame it is that Eddie Guerrero passed away. He was one of the few performers that I still enjoyed watching, because right now there is not much to watch in the WWE or anywhere else. Many friends and family who are not wrestling fans also have told how sad they think the whole situation is. At this point the only two reasons I still tune in to both shows are for Kurt Angle and Bobby Lashley.
I bought the Bret Hart dvd recently, and it’s very good. All the extras are top notch, but if anyone was expecting to controversies settled or discussed, they bought the wrong dvd. That is really the only disappointment. Shawn Michaels is not on it and neither is Ric Flair. It would have been nice to see those guys on the dvd, but I guess Bret wanted to have mainly the positives of his career on the dvd. The 1997 Survivor Series is discussed, but not in detail. All in all it is well worth picking up, but I thought I would give everyone a heads up on the documentary portion
I am going to try some different things in this column from week to week, so feel free to let me know what you enjoy.
The Bulletin
Ten toons are on the eligibility list for best animated feature film in this year's Academy Awards race, and stop-motion animation is represented for the first time in the history of the category, created in 2001. In fact, two stop-motion films -- Aardman Animation's "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit" and Warner Bros. Pictures' “Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride” -- are in the running for an Oscar nom. Many of the animated features reflect the industrywide turn away from traditional animation techniques toward 3-D computer animation. The 10 films ultimately will be whittled down to three when the 78th Annual Academy Award nominees are announced Jan. 31.
I don’t think it is any surprise to anyone that the two above-mentioned films will most likely be nominated. The winner will probably be Wallace and Grommit, and for good reason because it was a fabulous animated film. I sincerely hope that these guys win after hearing about the Aardman building burning down.
The attorneys general of 32 states have called upon the major studios to slap anti-smoking messages on all home-video releases in which smoking is depicted. The AGs -- California's Bill Lockyer was conspicuously absent -- affixed their names to a letter drafted by Maryland's J. Joseph Curran Jr., who observed that he and the other AGs have repeatedly raised concerns about studies showing that movies play a large role in influencing young people to smoke. The letter specifically referred to a new study conducted by Dartmouth Medical School which concluded that adolescents with the most exposure to depictions of smoking in movies were nearly three times as likely to try cigarettes as those with the least exposure to such depictions. "This latest study reiterates what we have been telling the motion picture industry for two years -- we need their help in protecting our children," the letter said. Reporting on the letter, Daily Variety scoffed that it proves "that where there's smoke there's usually plenty of publicity."
I personally do not smoke, but a message on home video releases will help protect our children? We see commercials telling us not to smoke on tv everyday, and kids are told to not smoke almost everywhere they go, but do we really need a message on movies? I don’t think it will make that much of a difference. I’m all for helping kids to stay away from smoking, but it just seems unnecessary to put this on videos. I see they have a study where kids are more likely to smoke when they see it in a movie, but if they don’t see it in a movie they will see it somewhere else. The point is, kids are going to smoke regardless of how many thousands of messages are out there telling them not to. There should be some type of message out there, but I don’t think kids will take a message on a movie more seriously that if they saw a message on tv.
Tim Burton may have a form of autism, according to his long-term partner Helena Bonham Carter. Bonham Carter recently filmed a TV movie in which she plays the real life mother of four autistic children and during her research she recognized character traits the director shares with kids with Asperger's Syndrome—of which the main symptom is an above average intelligence but less developed social and communication skills.
Well, Burton always was a strange person. I love almost all of his movies, but its interesting that no one ever saw that he had these symptoms before. Whether or not he actually is an autistic remains to be seen, but you would think something like that would have been spotted sooner.
Shirley MacLaine has blasted Paris Hilton for her determination to grab headlines nomatter what. The veteran actress discussed Hilton's stardom during a chat for magazine Interview, during which the Terms of Endearment star admitted she's sick of the socialite.
We need more people share their true feelings of Hilton. I truly respect MacLaine more after reading this article. Hopefully, it will keep her off of the news. She is by far the most annoying celebrity on the face of the earth.
Matthew McConaughey has been named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. McConaughey, 36, beat Desperate Housewives star James Denton, Lost actor Matthew Fox, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Terrence Howard and Vince Vaughn to the coveted top spot on the 2005 list, and will grace the cover of this week's publication. People magazine spokesman Julie Jordan insists Penelope Cruz's boyfriend was an easy choice for this year's list: "He's pretty much the perfect package." It seems Cruz has a talent for picking perfect men - her ex Tom Cruise was named People's Sexiest Man Alive in 1990.
Ummm……I don’t care.
Denise Richards has been voted Hollywood’s sexiest Mom
This I care about. Well, there is no argument from me. She is definitely one of the hottest MILF’s around. This is also an excuse to stick in a good picture for people to notice.
Johnny Depp has vowed to defy any smoking ban imposed in Britain and attacks similar enforcements in his native America. The actor, who is thought to have a home in the south of England, has cut down on his nicotine habit, but believes smokers should be allowed to quit on their own, without being alienated. He threatens, "I'll come over and have a smoke-a-thon. They've taken that whole pretzel and stretched it into as absurd pretzel as I've ever seen. Obviously it ain't good for you, and I don't condone it or recommend it, but everyone has to find their own way out of it. The idea of bludgeoning people and telling them that if they smoke they are awful is ludicrous."
Smoking in the news again…jeez. I have to agree with Johnny here. Let people quit in their own way. On a side note, its funny that he threatens with a smoke-a-thon. I wish I could meet Johnny Depp. He seems like one of those guys who is cool to hang out with regardless of his celebrity status.
Tom Cruise has reportedly bought his pregnant fiancée Katie Holmes her own $20 million jet as a wedding present. The generous movie star is keen for Holmes to pick up his love of flying high and he has ordered a customized Gulfstream jet for her, according to tabloid National Enquirer. An insider says, "Tom wanted to come up with the most amazing wedding gift ever, something that would make her life so much better than a big diamond on her finger."
Ok so maybe this whole thing between these two isn’t a publicity stunt, but who cares if he is buying her a jet. What is so darn fascinating about these two? They will make my pet peeve list of this year. No doubt.
Russell Crowe has reportedly sealed a deal with New York's District Attorney's office so he will avoid jail for his assault on a hotel worker. Crowe was charged with second-degree assault in June after throwing a telephone at Nestor Estrada, an employee at Manhattan's Mercer Hotel, when he failed to get a phone connection to wife Danielle in Australia. The 41-year-old will plead guilty to third-degree misdemeanor assault in court today and be released, with no worse sentence than probation, according to the New York Post.
It is a shame that such a gifted actor has to be such an idiot in real life. Oh well, as long as you keep making good movies Russell, I won’t care how much trouble you get yourself into.
Birthday Bash
Here’s a look at some of the birthdays of the past couple days
Jodie Foster is 43- Well her career has been kind of hit or miss lately. I did enjoy Flightplan, but she needs to start showing her acting talent in different roles.
Martin Scorsese is 63- One of the best filmmakers ever. Every movie (or documentary) he makes is superb, and I am really looking forward to The Departed. The Aviator, in my opinion, was the best film of the year last year, and he should have received an Oscar.
Ted Turner is 67- I could say so much about this guy on this website. I would not know where start.
Owen Wilson is 37- Honestly I am not a big fan of his. Occasionally he is in a good movie, but I find that others are responsible for what I liked about those movies. Sometimes he can be funny, but not that often in my opinion.
Should I Buy….or Avoid?- November 22nd
The Polar Express - This was a classic Christmas tale in every sense of the word. With Tom Hanks you can’t go wrong. Well worth purchasing.
War of the Worlds - This was not a great Speilberg film. The ending wasn’t good and it got a little silly. Do not buy this.
King Kong Collectors Edition - Nothing beats the original. With the remake on its way, this classic is must for your collection. The new one should be at least worth seeing.
Aeon Flux – The Complete Animated Collection - If this is on sale at stores for like $20 - $25, it is well worth it. The movie should be interesting as well with sexy Charlize Theron. The show was very weird, but in a good way.
8mm 2 - Are you kidding me? I own the first one and I think Nicolas Cage and James Gandolfini were both great. This was a great movie about underground pornography and murder. But a sequel?…with Jonathan Schaech. He was the head singer from That Thing You Do. This is just retarded.
The Honeymooners (2005) - I didn’t waste my time on this and I don’t expect you to either. Enough said.
Blast From the Past Yankee Doodle Dandy
This was an absolutely fabulous film. James Cagney has a presence on screen that few actors have. I don’t think he sang in any other film. This is a musical biopic of Geroge M. Cohan who was a musical playwright, composer, actor, singer, and dancer. I always looked at musicals as being ok. This is my most favorite musical film, and it has an incredibly touching ending. Some songs you will remember and others you might not, but they are all fantastic and memorable. The Oscar winning director is Michael Curtiz who also made Casablanca and Angels With Dirty Faces. Highly Recommended to check out.
Well that’s all from me this week. Hopefully you all enjoyed reading enough to read next week. Make sure to check out all the other columns, and my movie reviews.
