Nov 25 2008
By Sharon Eberson / Tuesday, Nov. 25
I'm off until Dec. 3, enjoying the Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends, but I saw "Australia" last night, and I can't leave without saying a few words (watch for Barbara Vancheri's review tomorrow):
After seeing the film, I'm in a great mood today -- and not just because I got to ogle Hugh Jackman for almost three hours. Although that's worth a return trip. But it's nice to know that talented people are still commited to making "big" Hollywood pictures on occasion. I felt that way about "Atonement" last year, although these are obviously very different films. Sweeping epics with fabulous scenery that overshadows any special effects, plus star-power performances, are so few and far between they should be appreciated when they come along. And they usually have a surprise or two up their sleeves: Brandon Walters, the 12-year-old nonactor who plays the "half-caste" Nullah, is extraordinary and steals most scenes he's in, which are a lot. It's as much his movie as it is the big stars'.
Seeing David Wenham play an over-the-top villain opposite Jackman reminded me of a movie that needed to take a few dozen steps back in its ambition. Wenham played Jackman's nerdy sidekick Carl in Stephen Sommers' "Van Helsing." The two Australian actors competed for the lead role in that 2004 film, and while Jackman got to play the muscle-bound hero, Wenham instead slouched to hide his height, shaved part of his head and hid his physique in monks robes to play Carl. You've also seen him in the "Lord of the Rings" and "300" -- and he joins an all-star cast in "Public Enemies," with Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis. (Another Aussie, "Lost's" Emilie de Ravin, also is in the Michael Mann film.)
Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, who has such a terrific eye, really likes to make his bad guys dastardly. Note Richard Roxburgh in Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge!" (and in "Van Helsing," too). But he does create juicy roles for actors willing to come along for the ride, like Nicole Kidman and Jackman, and that's a lot of fun to watch.
Luhrmann appears to be taking a rest while the fate of the big-budget "Australia" plays out this week. Whateve he does next, I'm there.
Nov 21 2008
By Sharon Eberson / Friday, Nov. 21
Fandango, the sellers of movie tickets and perpetrators of the brown-bag puppet commercials, sends e-mail updates on how brisk sales are for new movies.
If you need any more evidence that "Twilight" is going to be huge, consider:
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Fandango has been selling 5 "Twilight" tickets per second, as of early Friday morning.
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Fandango sold out more than 1,000 "Twilight" midnight show times on Thursday night, in advance and online;
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34% of moviegoers in a Fandango.com poll said they will take off a few hours from school or the office today to see "Twilight."
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It's the company's fastest-selling film since "The Dark Knight" in July of this year.
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"Twilight" has the No. 3 spot on Fandango's list of Top Advance Ticket-Sellers, surpassing the "Harry Potter," "Pirates" and "Lord of the Rings" movies. "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" and "The Dark Knight" remain in the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively.
There's a lesson in this for moviemakers and theater owners: Teen girls are important consumers of entertainment and not to be ignored.
Since "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" has already hit the big screen, I went looking for another book aimed at teens that might fit the "Twilight" demo. So I searched imdb.com for "Stargirl," to see if anyone had considered adapting Jerry Spinelli's tale of "the perils of popularity, the courage of nonconformity and the thrill of first love, in which an eccentric student named Stargirl changes Mica High School forever." It was a book choice of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for the Post-Gazette's My Generation Book Club, and a choice for a movie adaptation, due next year from director Paul Feig (episodes of "The Office," "Weeds" and "Mad Men"). Canadian actress Zemphira Gosling is rumored for the title role.
There's also a film project on the Bronte sisters, with the estimable Evan Rachel Wood rumored to play Ann.
Clearly, the movie studios have gotten the message.
Nov 19 2008
Maddi George of Allison Park and Jackson T. Gardner of Waynesburg are through to the round of 8 in CMT's national online talent search, "Music City Madness," that began with 64 acts paired for direct competition. Fans can continue to log on to watch each performance and vote for their favorites as many times as they like. Round Four voting ends Monday, Nov. 24.
The winner of "Madness" in season 3 receives an all-expense paid trip to Nashville to record an episode of "Unplugged at Studio 330," perform a showcase for A&R executives from Warner Bros. Records and have a mentoring session from country star Randy Travis.
The final round will be announced on Dec. 2.
Last year, more than 4 million votes were cast at CMT.com to name 13-year-old Utah native Katelynn Jolley the winner.
Nov 19 2008
By Sharon Eberson / Wednesday, Nov. 19
When people associate you with something, you can be stuck with it forever. I'm forever going to be either "Josh's mom" or "the Hugh Jackman fan" to most people who know me. And I can live with that.
When People named Hugh Jackman the Sexiest Man Alive yesterday - well, duh! - the e-mails started. "Hey, Sharon, did you see . . .?" and a link to the People site.
Well, of course I saw. I'm certifiable. I also saw "The Boy From Oz" on Broadway four times and "Kate & Leopold" a gazillion times and, well, I read a lot about arts and entertainment anyway. That's my job.
When Jackman was on "Oprah" promoting the movie "Australia" - you know, the one opening Nov. 26 and with all the commercials that show him shirtless ("It's porn for Hugh Jackman fans," movie editor Barbara Vancheri told me after she saw the preview today!) - and the great O declared this would be his breakout role, I got miffed. I mean, come on, what's Wolverine? Chopped liver? (When I mentioned this to TV editor Rob Owen, he said that nothing is really great in Oprah's world until she says it is - like an Oprah Book Club selection.)
One nice thing for fans: When Hugh Jackman has a movie coming out, he's not shy about doing interviews, so he's everywhere right now. He admits liking the spotlight, asking of paparrazzi only that they be considerate of his children, and no one has yet cracked his "nice guy" image.
I've said before he's incomparable on stage, and that's where I'd most like to see him again. So I nearly swooned when I read in Jackman's recent Playboy interview (yes, I sometimes read Playboy for the articles; in the same issue, the vignettes about comic-book heroes were fascinating) that he's going forward with a Houdini musical, and Danny Elfman's writing the music.
I'm there.
But as for the Sexiest Man Alive . . .
After the "Twilight" premiere at AMC Loews last night, with fans of another sort, my son and his friends were discussing the casting of Robert Pattinson as sexy vampire Edward Cullen. The conversation went to who might be better in the role, which actor we would see no matter what he was in . . . somehow, it came back to the fact that I would see anything with Hugh Jackman in it.
"Oh, my mother loves him. She's seen ‘Kate & Leopold' a million times," said my son's friend, making me feel, like, a gazillion years old.
Oh well, I can't deny it. I tend to wear my fandom on my sleeve. And on my hutch, where there's a new still from "Australia" hanging over my desk.
Why fight it?
Best Hugh Jackman Web site: http://www.jackmanslanding.com/news/
Nov 19 2008
Look out, Barbie. Here comes Hannah Montana.
The National Retail Foundation's 2008 Top Toys survey, conducted by BIGresearch, says Barbie's still No. 1 on the hot toys list for girls, but Hannah Montana jumped four spots this year to No. 2. Hannah Montana replaces Bratz dolls, which dropped to the fourth spot. This year, video games and "High School Musical" merchandise (like Hannah Montana, a Disney franchise) also appeared for the first time on the top ten list for girls.
Top gifts for boys will be similar to last year, with electronics taking the top spots in the form of video games and Nintendo Wii. Boys will also ask for LEGOS, cars and Transformers. Traditional toys Star Wars and Hot Wheels reemerged on the top ten list this year after falling off of the list in previous years.
"Retailers have been scaling back inventory in anticipation of a challenging holiday season, so parents are encouraged to shop early to ensure they are able to find specific toys," said NRF President and CEO Tracy Mullin in a statement. "The good news for parents is that many retailers are featuring toys as loss leaders this year, heavily discounting and promoting these items to bring shoppers into stores."
According to NRF's holiday survey, released earlier this week, 41.6 percent of consumers plan to purchase toys this year.
2008 Top Toys for Girls
1. Barbie
2. Disney Hannah Montana
3. Dolls (generic)
4. Bratz
5. Nintendo Wii
6. Video Games
7. Elmo
8. Disney High School Musical
9. Disney Princess
10. American Girl
2008 Top Toys for Boys
1. Video Games
2. Nintendo Wii
3. LEGO
4. Cars (generic)
5. Transformers
6. Elmo
7. Star Wars
8. Hot Wheels
9. Remote Controlled Vehicles
10. Xbox 360
The NRF explains it's survey: The 2008 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions survey was designed to gauge consumer behavior and shopping trends related to the winter holidays. The survey, which polled 8,758 consumers, was conducted for NRF by BIGresearch from Nov. 5-11. The consumer poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.
BIGresearch is a consumer market intelligence firm that provides unique consumer insights that are gathered online utilizing very large sample sizes. BIGresearch's syndicated Consumer Intentions and Actions survey monitors the pulse of more than 8,000 consumers each month to empower its clients with unique insights for identifying opportunities in a fragmented and changing marketplace.
Nov 16 2008
By Sharon Eberson / Sunday, Nov. 16
Most interesting parts of seeing "Quantum of Solace" this weekend:
- Discussions about why such a drastic change in the Bond oeuvre (Where's Q? Where's Moneypenny? Where's the glamour? Where's the fun?)
- The trailers for "Star Trek" and "Valkyrie."
I think Daniel Craig is a presence as Bond but I don't think screenwriter Paul Haggis & Co. and director Marc Forster served him well here. Give the guy a break (instead of all the broken bones and bruises from the neverending stunts) and let smile occasionally, will ya?
On the trailers: Euphoric over the glimpses of "Star Trek" -- the idea of James Kirk as a mischiefous pre-captain and Zachary Quinto's young Spock give me goosebumps. Tom Cruise as a German in "Valkyrie," not so convincing. Made me immediately think of how badly Kevin Costner was miscast as Robin Hood. But it was just a trailer, so we'll see.
Oh, and those mysterious, apocalyptic "2012" trailers, showing a massive tidal wave? My son's friend Nick reminded me that 2012, the end of the Mayan calendar, is the year Nostradamus predicted as the "end of days." Roland Emmerich is writer/director -- but will it seem redundant? After all, he's already given us "The Day After Tomorrow."
Nov 14 2008
Keeping up with the Jonases: Joe says Swift isn't telling it like it is.
By Nekesa Mumbi Moody / Associated Press Music Writer
NEW YORK - Joe Jonas is tired of hearing about how he's a bad boyfriend - and now he's trying to defend himself.
The 19-year-old Joe (AP photo, right) - part of dreamy teen band the Jonas Brothers with his two siblings - has gotten an avalanche of negative publicity after former girlfriend and fellow multiplatinum singer Taylor Swift (AP photo, bottom right) dished about their recent breakup, which she says came in a 27-second phone call. She also was quoted as saying that he dumped her after meeting actress Camilla Belle.
The revelations have been hot topics on the blogs and have muddied his reputation as a clean-cut, upstanding heartthrob.
So, in a posting on the MySpace.com celebrity blog page Thursday, the singer sought to give his side of the split, though he didn't mention the 18-year-old country star by name. (It had also been posted to the Jonas Brothers' own MySpace page but had been removed by Friday afternoon.)
"I never cheated on a girlfriend. It might make someone feel better to assume or imply I have been unfaithful but it is simply not true," he said. "Maybe there were reasons for a breakup. Maybe the heart moved on. Perhaps feelings changed. I am truly saddened that anything would potentially cause you to think less of me."
As for the quick phone call, he said: "I called to discuss feelings with the other person. Those feelings were obviously not well received. I did not end the conversation. Someone else did. Phone calls can only last as long as the person on the other end of the line is willing to talk. A phone call can be pretty short when someone else ends the call. The only difference in this conversation was that I shared something the other person did not want to hear. "
Jonas said he has tried to call Swift since then and gotten no response.
He said he wishes the best for "the other person but could not sit back any longer and leave our fans with a wrong impression of the truth. Hope this helps enlighten a little."
There was no immediate response from Swift's camp. However, Jonas has already inspired one song on her new CD, "Fearless," and Swift, in a recent interview with The Associated Press, said: "If you don't want me to write about the things that you do, then don't do bad things for me to write about!"
Nov 14 2008
By Sharon Eberson / Friday, Nov. 14
Is it a good thing when performers declare that they have an alter ego? It would seem to be the kind of thing best left up to superheroes who need a secret identity.
Some celebs live in the made-up persona, such as Sacha Baron Cohen, who, when he's got a project involving a Borat or a Bruno, becomes the character for all public appearances.
Now comes Beyonce Knowles.
L.A. Times pop music critic Ann Powers writes that "for her ambitious, somewhat befuddling new double album, ‘I Am ... Sasha Fierce,' she reveals an alter ego she describes as a "Bootylicious" party girl.
Wouldn't that be Beyonce as Foxy Brown, from "Austin Powers in Goldmember"?
When the movie "Borat" came out, I did a story on Cohen and some of the other actors who live in the skin of their alter egos full-time when seen in public. Here are other performers who spend or have spent time pretending to be someone else as part of their art.
I don't know if Boy George (George O'Dowd) or Meat Loaf (Marvin Aday) should count - do stage names count as alter egos? Just thinking about their last names gave me an Oprah-Uma moment (O'Dowd-Aday), but that doesn't seem to fit. Then I'd have to put Slash (Saul Hudson), Moby (Richard Melville Hall), Common (Lonnie Rashid Lynn), Queen Latifah (Dana Owens), Ludacris ... no, simply stage names just won't do.
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Garth Brooks as Chris Gaines
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David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust
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Jiles Perry Richardson Jr. as The Big Bopper
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Stephen Colbert as Stephen Colbert ... (OK, maybe that's stretching it. But I've rarely heard Stephen Colbert stray from his "Colbert Report" character in broadcast interviews).
This is harder than I thought.
If you can think of any true musical alter egos - let's use Brooks/Gaines and Bowie/Stardust as the touchstones of meaning for this exercise - please let me know by commenting below.
‘Sasha Fierce' is due for release Nov. 18. MySpace Music has the first official preview of the CD.
Nov 14 2008
By Sharon Eberson / Friday, Nov. 14
I love six degrees of separation stuff, and turning the pages of the commemorative book that came with "The Lone Ranger 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition," my memory was jogged to recall that the Ranger and the Green Hornet are related - the heroes were the brainchildren of George W. Trendle and shared the last name Reid.
By most accounts, Britt (Green Hornet) Reid is the son of Dan Reid, nephew of the Lone Ranger. Dan inherited the silver mine that kept the crime-fighting Ranger (a k a John Reid) in silver bullets, and became a newspaper publisher. Britt was his playboy son who, a la Batman, used the family fortune to fund his life as a crime fighter. Other incarnations and members of the Reid family followed Britt as Green Hornet after Trendle's original character made it's way to radio in the mid-1930s.
I'd love to see Seth Rogen make mention of this family tree in his upcoming Green Hornet film. He's already shown dedication to the role by losing a ton of weight and getting into shape. And the imdb.com site gives credit to Rogen and Evan Goldberg for the script while acknowledging Trendle and Fran Striker for their work on the original character.
So I have hope.
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Kenneth Branagh, who will be seen next in the "Valkyrie" with Tom Cruise," is slated to direct the film version of "Thor," like "Green Hornet" due in 2010.
Branagh is possibly best know for his screen versions of Shakespeare works and for playing Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 2005 TV movie "Warm Springs." But he's not genre novice: He played dastardly villain Dr. Arliss Lovelace in the Will Smith movie "Wild, Wild West" in 1999 and Dr. Frankenstein to Robert De Niro's Creature in 1994. He also directed the latter.
Script is by "I Am Legend" writer Mark Protosevich. The blond, hammer-wielding god himself has not been cast.
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Must have been a slow news day yesterday. The Associated Press wire service had a story with this lead:
"Get this: LeBron listens to Barry Manilow. Or Brian Manilow."
The Cleveland Cavaliers' star said he gets ready for games by listening to hip hop and Jay-Z is almost always his choice before taking the floor, but he has diverse musical tastes. He was asked by the AP if he ever listens to sports talk radio on his way home after a game.
"Never," he said. "Ever."
James was then informed that Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony, his longtime friend and U.S. Olympic teammate, admitted last year that he had Barry Manilow's music on his iPod.
"I probably got a little of that," James said. "I bet you I can find it on my iPod."
"I bet you couldn't," a reporter said, challenging James, who then reached into a bag holding his personal player.
"Let's see," James said, scrolling through the menu. "Go ahead, ask a question. I'm going to look for it."
A few moments later, no luck.
"Nope," James said. "No Brian Manilow."
As the room broke up in laughter, James corrected his error.
"Oh, Barry Manilow," he said, smiling. "I was talking about his cousin."
James then continued his search, and sure enough, he came up with some Barry Manilow tunes, showing "Copacabana," "Mandy" and "I Am Your Child" on his varied playlist.
"I got everything," he said. "I got all music. I'm just going to listen to Jay-Z for right now."
Nov 11 2008
Associated Press photos
By Sharon Eberson / Tuesday, Nov. 11
As I was reading The Associated Press account of the comedians who lined up to honor the late George Carlin with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, a decidedly unfunny paragraph jumped out at me:
"A handful of protesters gathered on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Kennedy Center, some holding signs saying ‘Carlin's Going to Hell.' "
To which I couldn't help but think, "What the hell??!!"
If you can't celebrate the guy, you choose to do this? Why not carry a sign that saying "George, We're Praying For You."
But then, George Carlin was always on the attack, too. Ignorance was his most reviled enemy.
Much has been made about how George Carlin used words - the naughty "seven dirty words" he pulled out of their prudish hiding place, the everyday words that displayed how we bury ourselves in "stuff" and pigeonhole our lives in cliches.
What was being celebrated by awarding this particular prize to Carlin was his ability to deliver a knockout punch with words that made us laugh, but even moreso, made us think.
George Carlin twisted his face into silly, exaggerated expressions on stage, but he didn't need to. Even on seminal recordings like "Class Clown," even when he discussed the mundane, he challenged your intellect and tickled your funnybone. All of the editors I've had who Xed out a cliche simply because it was a cliche were in effect telling me, "You're no George Carlin."
Take this sequence from his "Modern Man" routine, reported by The Washington Post, from a Carlin clip show at Monday night's award ceremony: "I'm in-the-moment, on-the-edge, over-the-top and under-the-radar. A high-concept, low-profile, medium-range ballistic missionary. A streetwise smart bomb. A top-gun bottom feeder ..."
Can't you see his face, contorting with every phrase, or hear his voice, putting emphasis in just the right place, in perfect comic timing, as you read those words?
Jon Stewart (AP photo, right) comments on the news on "The Daily Show" (which, he has noted, runs four nights a week on Comedy Central - a wink-wink to the use of the word "daily"). At the Mark Twain award ceremony, he saluted his comic hero not just for his inspiration but for his work ethic.
"For all his antiestablishment cred, he was a working man. He punched in. He sat down and he wrote," Stewart said. "He respected what he did."
Even if you disagreed with what George Carlin had to say, you'd have to admit he earned the respect of his peers and disciples, and the laughter of millions.
Carlin, the 11th Humor Award recipient and the first to receive it posthumously, died on June 22, a week after the Kennedy Center announced that he would get the prize. The ceremony was taped for airing by PBS at a date TBA. (Past winners: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/specialevents/marktwain/.)
The comedian's 14th and final HBO special, "It's Bad For Ya," in which he mocks death, is scheduled for release on DVD on Nov. 25. His 1984 album, "Carlin on Campus," was rereleased earlier this month.
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