Ask 411 Movies for 11.19.07: The Column That Is Triptofantastic!
Posted by Leonard Hayhurst on 11.19.2007
Fall finales, going for soda, Desilu, Supertrain, Spawn 2, hot chicks, comic characters to the big screen and success in Hollywood is all relative
This week from YouTube I share with you the video for Kim Mitchell's "Go for Soda." While the lyrics of going for a soda "because nobody drowns and nobody dies" are hilarious in and of themselves, the video is like a really bad acid trip.
My favorite things about the video:
*The main kid looks like Jonah Hill
*The kid is like sixteen and he's smoking a cigarette, actually I don't think that's a cigarette from his hallucination
*Mitchell is about two inches short, or would that be long, from rocking a skullet
*Mitchell's rhythm guitarist looks like Bea Arthur dressed like Rod Stewart
*It takes Super-Fro three tries to hang up the phone at the end
*Everything is generic including "milk," "soda" and malted milk balls that just say "choco" with a monkey on the carton.
Q: Hey Leonard,
I've got a question for ya. I saw an ad for Prison Break's next episode, and they were promoting it as the "Fall Finale". Is this a new thing or have shows been this obvious in breaking up their programming before with their story lines and the way the network markets each half of the season as a distinctive entity? Reason I ask is I remember reading last year that ratings for Heroes and Lost dipped quite a bit after they returned from their winter breaks. And now Heroes is splitting their season into two more distinct halves with their Heroes: Orgins (that's what it's called, right?) to fill the void. I take it this is what Prison Break is doing to. Is there much of a history of this before this year, both from show storyline perspective, and from the network's conscious effort to market it in such a manner.
Thanks Leonard. And by the by, I always enjoy the zone. You got good stuff over there.
-Caleb Newby
411mania
Editor in Chief: Games
Editor in Chief: MMA
A: It's always good to hear from other zones. Be sure to check out our two newest ones if you haven't. We'd like to keep Caleb around if we can.
First off, the television season has always pretty much shaken out the same way, they're just trying to spin it different. When you contrast the length of the season with how many episodes most series can churn out you wind up a few weeks short on shows. With sweeps taking place in November, February and May networks make sure they have first run episodes for that time period. Since May is the end of the season anyway, December and January wind up being the odd months. Since it is the holiday season, networks have specials and alternative programming along with a lot of people being busy and not watching television anyway. So, you always did have a gap in programming. Now networks spin this with the notion of a "fall finale" and "winter debut" in a cheap way to drum up interest and ratings. It used to not matter so much to the networks, but starting with this decade they have really started to feel the crunch of cable, Tivo, DVD, the internet and other alternate entertainments. They will do whatever they can to spike ratings during sweeps now. Fox has always been a leader of this as they don't debut some of their shows until November and some shows, like "24" and "American Idol," even later than that. Most of the shows that do this are the current trendy serial dramas. These series do poorly in repeats anyway, so networks have just decided that it was smarter marketing and scheduling to divide shows up like "Heroes," "Lost" and "Prison Break" to name a few. While series usually do have a ratings bump for their fall finale, many suffer great drops once they return as you have noted. It's the old idea of out of sight, out of mind. Last season, "Veronica Mars" and "Jericho" produced some of their strongest ratings ever in November, but were canceled by the end of the year because of huge dips when they returned to original programming. I believe "Lost" was the first show to structure their season like this and publicize it three years ago.
Q: Hey Leonard,
Got a few questions for you:
1) What is the most "successful" family in movie/tv history? The Baldwins? The Arquettes? The Fondas? The Waynes? The Barrymores? I am talking about the most actors and the most success. Even though Alexis Arquette has been in a few movies, she doesn't make the family successful. Henry Fonda on the other hand has had a bit more success than her.
2) What would be the biggest flop in TV history? Cop Rock? Studio 60? I am talking about one with the most hype and within one season, poof.
3) Besides I Love Lucy and the one-hour spinoff, what else has Desilu produced?
Thanks,
-David
A: You will actually be surprised at the number of notable shows that were produced by Desilu. Among those are "Star Trek," "The Andy Griffith Show," "I Spy," "The Untouchables," "Mannix," and "Mission Impossible." Desilu is a combination of the names of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. The company was formed in 1950 to produce Lucy's radio show and to create a television vehicle for her that became "I Love Lucy." In 1958 the company bought out the old RKO Pictures lot and gained a permanent home. Arnaz was the head of the company and because he didn't know conventional Hollywood business practices he was actually fairly successful. Among one of his smartest moves was to buy back the rights to reruns of "I Love Lucy" from CBS as he saw the potential in syndication. The couple divorced in 1960 and Arnaz sold his part of the company to Ball in 1962 due to "The Lucy Show" being a major product of the studio at the time. This made Lucille Ball the first female head of a major Hollywood studio. She grew tired of the day to day running of the studio and sold it to Gulf + Western in 1967 who incorporated it and all of their products into Paramount. Conveniently, the Desilu studios were right next door to Paramount and the lot is still part of the Paramount studios tour.
"Cop Rock" and "Studio 60" are both good suggestions for biggest television flop. However, that dishonor probably goes to "Supertrain." The series limped through one season on NBC in 1979. It was the most expensive series ever at that time thanks to the elaborate sets and miniatures that were made for it. While NBC heavily promoted the show before its debut, reviews were terrible and ratings were some of the lowest in the network's history. Due to them sinking so much dough into the show they pulled it off the air after a month to retool it. It came back a few months later with some new cast members and a new creative staff, but it didn't help any. This colossal failure coupled with losing the 1980 Summer Olympics thanks to the US boycott nearly put NBC into bankruptcy. The show was basically a rip off of "The Love Boat" with a luxury train in place of the cruise ship.
For most successful Hollywood families I'll toss out some names you didn't. How about the Coppolas? Director Francis Ford Coppola is a multiple Oscar winner and nominee thanks to the Godfather series and Apocalypse Now. His sister Talia Shire costarred in the Godfather series and memorably played Adrian in the Rocky series, roles for which she was nominated for Oscars. Francis' daughter Sophia was decried for her acting in The Godfather III, but she became the first American woman to get a best directing Oscar nod for Lost in Translation. His son Roman is also a filmmaker and video director. His father Carmine was a film composer and musician. Francis also has two nephews you might have heard of in Nicholas Cage and Jason Schwartzman. Nick chose the name Cage from his favorite superhero Luke Cage, because he didn't want to ride the coattails of his famous family.
Awhile back I expounded on the Cusack family. John and Joan Cusack have had very solid careers. Their siblings Ann, Bill and Susie also act. Their father Dick Cusack was a documentary filmmaker and owned his own production company. If you want to extend the family a bit, the Cusack's studied at the Piven Theater Workshop in Illinois ran by the parents of Jeremy Piven. They also spit out Aidan Quinn, Kate Walsh and Laurel Holloman. All of them often work together.
Of the families you named, the Barrymores have the longest and most storied history. The family started when Herbert Blyth traveled to the US from India and became a Broadway actor under the name of Maurice Barrymore. He married an aspiring actress named Georgia Drew. They had three children in Lionel, John and Ethel. Lionel won the Oscar for best actor in 1931 for A Free Soul. However, he's best remembered as Mr. Potter in It's a Wonderful Life. Ethel won the Oscar for best actress in 1945 as the mother of Cary Grant in None but the Lonely Heart. She also received nominations for Pinky, The Paradine Case and The Spiral Staircase. John never received the critical success of his siblings, but is often considered the best actor of the three today. He begat John Drew Barrymore and Diana Barrymore. Diana we talked about recently. A film was made in 1957 based on her autobiography Too Much, Too Soon with John being played by his good friend Errol Flynn. John Drew was also an actor, but is best known today for giving us Drew Barrymore.
The Arquette family is also pretty expansive. Cliff Arquette was a comedian who started performing under the name of Charley Weaver in 1960 after several successful appearances in that guise on the "Tonight Show with Jack Parr." His son Lewis Arquette made numerous television appearances throughout the seventies and eighties and also managed the Second City Theater in Chicago. All of his children went into acting. Patricia, David and Rosanna are the best known, but Richmond has had a steady career (he most recently played Deputy Charles in the new Halloween) and Alexis got some notoriety after appearing on the "Surreal Life." Alexis was born Robert and has achieved her greatest success playing characters in drag or transgender, such as in her debut performance in Last Exit to Brooklyn. David is married to Courtney Cox and Patricia is married to Thomas Jane.
John Wayne is solely responsible for getting his children into the acting business. His son Michael ran his production company Batjac and produced many of his later films. Patrick costarred in many of his movies. His son Ethan played his grandson in Big Jake and acted past that. His great nephew is the boxer Tommy Morrison, who played Tommy Gunn in Rocky V.
Most know who they are, but just for completeness sake we'll round out the names you mentioned. Henry Fonda is a legendary actor, but he didn't win an Oscar until he costarred with his daughter Jane Fonda in On Golden Pond shortly before his death in 1982. Jane's brother is Peter Fonda and his daughter is Bridget Fonda. There are four Baldwin brothers that act in Alec, Daniel, Stephen and William. They are no relation to the actor Adam Baldwin. And just to mention it, without a doubt the most successful sibling duo in Hollywood history has to be Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine. Oh, didn't know they related, see the picture below for proof.
Q: Hey Leonard,
Just an excuse for you to post pictures of hot chicks (Will Helm would be proud) here, but who do you think is hotter? Kate Beckinsale, Meagan Fox, Jessica Biel, or the young blonde from Resident Evil: Extinction?
What, you want serious questions, too?!? Was that John Hurt in Batman Begins? "The apple has fallen very far from the tree, Mr. Wayne." And who was the actor that looked very much like a Bond-era Sean Connery in Casino Royale? He's in the scene where 007 invents his drink, then all the gamblers want one.
Speaking of James Bond, why do the movie producers, from Cubby Broccoli to Barbera and Micheal, keep hiring actors that look nothing like the description of Felix Leiter? He's supposed to be a tall, blond Texan. On that note, with 1989's Licence to Kill finally doing the shark mauling scene that was supposed to be in Live and Let Die, do you think we will see Felix with artificial limbs, or did Casino Royale just wipe the first 20 films out of existence?
There was a poll recently on superherohype.com where you got to vote for preferred Marvel comics movies. Ant Man lost big time. Which character or team that hasn't already been given the Hollywood treatment would you most like to see? And if you pick DC, I'll forgive you, since I think the Marvel well is pretty dry at this point.
Speaking of comics on screen, wasn't there supposed to be a Spawn 2?
Very informative lists about suicides and murders. I can't wait to see what's next. Some of those people made me wonder: which actor/director/producer/etc(s) do you think have reached "cult of personality" level where even if they haven't been working all that much at the time of their death, have or will shock the world? I'm too young to know for sure, but maybe James Dean or Elvis. Christopher Reeve is on my list. I'd add Harrison Ford and Sean Connery to the list, and Steven Spielberg as currently alive contenders.
Ok, that should get you going for a week or so.
Paul in Canada.
A: The man who delivers the quote you mention from Batman Begins is John Nolan. He is the uncle of the film's director Christopher Nolan. He's had a healthy career in England doing stage and television. Your Connery look alike from Casino Royale is Italian actor Urbano Barberini. He hasn't done much American work, but was Nahbi in the 1995 miniseries "Moses". He was also Cassio in a 1986 version of Othello, a police inspector in Dario Argento's Opera and star of the cult classic Gor and its sequel.
Felix Leiter does appear in Casino Royale as played by Jeffrey Wright. The film was a cross between a rebooting and prequel of the long running series. Technically, Casino Royale happens before the events of License to Kill. David Hedison is the only actor to play the character twice. He appeared in Kill and Live and Let Die. The first Leiter was Jack Lord of "Hawaii Five-O" in Dr. No. Lord was approached to return to the part in Goldfinger, but he declined when the producers couldn't promise him a permanent role in the series. Find below a Felix Leiter gallery so you can compare. Not only is the appearance of Leiter different in the films from the books, but also is his character history. Leiter was mauled by a shark in the Live and Let Die novel and subsequently appeared with a hook for a hand and working as a private detective. He eventually does go back to work with the CIA. There are many discrepancies between the films and source novels, but that's not uncommon.
My favorite Marvel hero is Dr. Strange. A script has supposedly been floating around for years. While Vincent Price would have been perfect, I think Kenneth Branagh is suitable. He might make a better Baron Mordu though. How about Johnny Depp? Jet Li can be Wong. CGI technology is to the point that you could accurately portrayal the magical word of Strange. There was a recent straight to DVD animated feature and a television film of the character back in the late seventies. He was portrayed by Peter Hooten.
My favorite DC hero is the Green Arrow. He appeared on "Smallville" last season in an altered state from his comics personage. I'm not sure what potential a superhero archer has in this day and age, but Iron Man is exploring a middle aged hero with demons so there is dramatic potential. Now if we could just get Val Kilmer motivated and in shape.
Mike Gorman in his column last week covered this topic in characters and storylines from comics he thinks would be good adaptations.
A Spawn sequel has been planned since 1998. This past year creator Todd McFarlane stated in several interviews that he was financially back a new film that would be more of a reboot than a sequel to the original film. It's due sometime in 2008. Previously star Michael Jai White and producer Don Murphy were signed for a sequel, but there is no word if they are involved in this new project.
Stephen Spielberg, Harrison Ford and Sean Connery are all too old with too extensive of a body of work to qualify for "cult of personality" status if they were to die now. James Dean might be the all time champion of this concept as he made only three films before his death and a handful of television appearances. Marilyn Monroe would certainly count. More minor examples would be River Phoenix and John Cazale. Of currently alive people those who would have a shot if they die now for legendary status would be Lindsay Lohan, Shia Lebouf and Leonardo DiCaprio, but Leo better hurry up and buy it because his window is closing.
Ok, let's review our hot chick picks.
Jessica Biel
Megan Fox
Kate Beckinsale
Ali Larter
In order, my preferences are Beckinsale, Biel, Larter and Fox. Fox could use a couple pounds and I don't like her tattoos at all. Who gets a tattoo on the side of their rib cage?
Don't die.
"Why is there so much month left at the end of the money?"
