The American Culture

Actor Glenn Ford died yesterday at the age of 90 after a long career in the movies and television. Perhaps best known to modern audiences as Clark Kent's father in Richard Donner's Superman—The Movie, Ford made a solid career as a leading man despite a near-complete lack of charisma and magnetism.

Ford's stolid, mature persona contrasted greatly with those of popular contemporaries such as Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, and James Dean who valued a high degree of explicit emotional expression. Ford could show passion when called upon, as in the suspense film Ransom (remade in 1996 as a Mel Gibson vehicle) and the drama The Blackboard Jungle, but even in those cases his stoicism is what we remember most vividly.

Ford's characters often had serious flaws—such as stubbornness, irresponsibility, jealousy, and lack of intelligence—and these flaws led to interesting moral complexities in his best films. In both his virtues and his flaws, Ford represented a strong strain of the American character—the adventurousness, the uncompromising striving for rectitude, and the relentless and often disorganized pursuit of what is right and good in life.

Ford's best films and most memorable performances admirably reflect this complex set of attributes: classic crime dramas such as Gilda, The Big Heat, and Experiment in Terror;The Man from the Alamo, westerns such as 3:10 to Yuma, The Desperados, Cimarron, and The Violent Men; dramas such as Trial, The Blackboard Jungle, and The Brotherhood of the Bell; films in which he played contemptible villains as in The Man from Colorado; crazy comedies such as The Gazebo and The Teahouse of the August Moon, and many others.

He was a man who made the most of his talents and opportunities. 

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The TV networks will be doing a significant amount of programming commemorating the forthcoming 5th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

ABC has produced a four-hour docudrama, The Path to 9/11, which is based on the government report on the attack and helps explain how the attack happened. After the second, concluding episode of the miniseries, ABC will air a special edition of Primetime hosted by Charlie Gibson. Good Morning, America, World News, and Nightline will also cover the story.

NBC will run a number of programs, including coverage on the Today show. The network will rerun in primetime several programs originally aired in 2001. MSNBC and CNBC will present programs as well, but nobody will watch them.

CBS will air an updated version of the documentary 9/11 on Sunday evening, and on Sept. 6 will present an hour-long, primetime special, Five Years Later: How Safe Are We? (My guess: they'll conclude that we've been demn lucky, not smart.) In the special, Katie Couric will interview President Bush. Hilarity ensues.

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Yes, China took over Hong Kong, but it may well be that Hong Kong's former colonizer, Great Britain, is about to take over China—through the media.

Variety reports that the BBC has established a content-provision deal with Chinese broadcasters, through which the Beeb will provide drama programs to more than 300 local and regional channels, including outlets in Beijing and Shanghai. In addition, the latest season of David Attenborough's BBC program Life in the Undergrowth, which will be shown on the national network China Central Television.

The Chinese will be playing cricket and stopping for afternoon tea before you know it.

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In our ongoing Everything Happens in the Omniculture department, E! Online reports that a bronze sculpture purporting to be the first solid poop from Tom and Katie Cruise's daughter, Suri, goes on display today at a Brooklyn, NY, art musuem.

Yes, but is it Art?

Short answer: No. 

Of course, the museum makes a nice excuse for it, as E! reports:

"It's partially a statement on modern media that 'celebrity poop' has more entertainment value than health, famine or other critical issues facing society and governments today," the Capla [Museum] crew said in a statement, "and also the absurdity of the media coverage on Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' new baby, Suri Cruise, which has reached stellar proportions, eclipsing far more notable events with more substance."

Yes, a comment on modern media. Thanks for that. Without a sculpture of baby poop, we would never have known that the modern media are superficial—and that modern museums are so much better. 

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A protest movement in Hong Kong (led by one of my favorite entertainment figures, Jackie Chan), sheds light on some interesting differences between America's wide-open Omniculture and other, politically different places, and also on a conflict endemic to modern societies and which will surely become increasingly thorny.

AP reports:

Jackie Chan and fellow stars marched silently Tuesday to Hong Kong's government headquarters, protesting against a gossip magazine that featured a cover photo of a pop singer changing backstage.

The celebrities, wearing black T-shirts, handed over a petition denouncing the photos that were secretly taken of Hong Kong pop singer Gillian Chung, part of the popular female duo Twins. The stars urged the government to tighten laws governing racy publications.

Chung was shown adjusting her bra backstage after a concert in Malaysia's Genting Highlands. It appeared on the cover of the current issue of Easy Finder weekly.

That is what's considered racy over there, in terms of open publication at least. And in great contrast to America's entertainment community, which perpetually worries that the nation is sliding down a slippery slope to imminent federal censorship of entertainment (an entirely absurd notion), the Hong Kong entertainers and members of the public are actually calling for the government to step in and stop certain types of publication:

The photos have sparked a major backlash. Government regulators have received a deluge of complaints. Hong Kong's Obscene Articles Tribunal has classified the magazine issue "indecent," which could lead to prosecution. Chan and fellow stars attended a TV special protesting the photos Monday.

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang spoke out against the photos Tuesday.

"I identify with society's strong criticism of these tactics," he said.

I'm not familiar with Hong Kong's constitution, but I suppose that like that of its former parent Great Britain, and very much like that of its new overseer, China, it does not have press protections nearly as universal as those in our First Amendment (and even ours does not protect obscenity, although the Supreme Court has effectively defined the latter out of existence). Hong Kong journalists, in any case, disagree with the entertainers:

Journalists have opposed restrictions on their coverage as a threat to press freedom. Legal reforms propose banning secret surveillance by private parties, but the government is still considering the recommendations.

Chan acknowledges that celebrities are news and should expect to be treated as such: 

Asked if he wants to see paparazzi photos banned completely, Chan said he believed celebrities should be held accountable for their actions.

Chan correctly observes, however, that invasions of privacy that would be illegal when done to noncelebrities should be illegal for everybody:

"As public figures, we should allow our pictures to be taken. If we crash our cars when we're drunk, it serves us right. People should scold us. But for a girl to be photographed when she's in a changing room, such a private place, is despicable behavior," he said.

AP reports that Hong Kong publications have indeed been closed down for such activities:

Eastweek magazine was shut down amid the backlash after publishing on its cover a photo of a visibly distressed, seminude female star, widely reported to be Carina Lau, in October 2002. 

Eastweek was then owned by businessman Albert Yeung, who controls Chung's record label EEG. It was later reopened under new ownership.

Certainly nothing like that is apt to happen here, although on the state level it would be perfectly constitutional, and on the federal level it would likewise be constitutionally acceptable in response to publications that traffic in obscenity. But even so, it won't happen in the foreseeable future. (Note that I'm not advocating any particular policy in this situation but merely pointing out the constitutional issues.)

American entertainers complain about papparazzi, understandably, and they would certainly like to see local governments step in to ensure that people are prevented from intruding too greatly into their lives. (And I agree with them on that.) Even so, it is very difficult to imagine Hollywood entertainers calling for the government to attack the problem by suppressing the publications in which the photos appear. Well, impossible, really.

This is a very interesting controversy because it places in stark terms our current cultural conflict over what is public and what is private as media penetration into our lives becomes increasingly ubiquitous. It involves an endless series of tradeoffs, to which I think there will never be any easy, conclusive answer.

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Actor and film producer Tom Cruise has quickly found funding for his production company, which Paramount Pictures jettisoned last week.

Reuters reports:

The Reuters report points out that the agreement sets up a new model for actors' production companies in light of recent changes in Hollywood's economic situation, and that it shows a strong belief in the viability of Cruise's company:

The deal represents a potential new model for financing stars' production companies, particularly if studios continue to pull back from backing deluxe production deals. Sources at CAA said they know of no other outside investment partnership that has taken a similar interest in a star's company.

Despite Redstone's tart comments, this was an inevitability. Cruise's well-publicized missteps in recent years have not changed the fact that his movies make loads of money. And a relatively brief, two-year commitment with an option for long-term renewal protects the investors. It makes good sense for all parties concerned.

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Cruise's deal at Paramount was on very good terms for him, which means it was expensive for the studio—more than $10 million a year. Cruise's representatives say that Paramount made an offer to Cruise to keep his production company on Paramount's lot, but the offer was significantly less money than the Cruise's company had been receiving, so they decided to shop around for private financing. This is not unusual: the Hollywood studios have been slashing costs recently, especially payments to big stars such as Cruise. A slowing of growth in DVD sales has certainly contributed to this trend.

[T]his parting of the ways was really just a bottom-line, cost-cutting business decision on Paramount's part. . . .

It made sense for Paramount to try to get Cruise to sign a less expensive deal and, failing that, to let him leave.

An article in today's New York Times agrees with my thesis:

Is Sumner M. Redstone crazy like a fox?

Movie industry executives may be forgiven for thinking that the Viacom chairman was mad to let Tom Cruise go after a 14-year relationship simply because Mr. Cruise seemed a little off balance. After all, the movies made by Viacom’s Paramount Pictures studio and the actor’s production company earned more than $2.5 billion at the box office.

Yet, if you ask economists and other academics that study the movie industry, Mr. Redstone’s decision was, in financial terms, spot on. The best reason to get rid of Mr. Cruise or, for that matter, Mel Gibson, or Lindsay Lohan, is not their occasional aberrant behavior. They, like most marquee names in Hollywood, are simply not worth the expense.

“Who knows what went through Mr. Redstone’s mind?” said Jehoshua Eliashberg, a professor of marketing, operations and information management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “But one can’t discard that the reason is that it doesn’t make economic sense to pay him all this money.”

It's good to see the Times echoing our analysis. It's an interesting article with some very good insights into "superstar economics" and Hollywood finance.

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I watched a few minutes of the Emmy Awards ceremony last night on NBC. Some thoughts:

• It was good to see Tony Shaloub win an award for his acting in Monk. Shaloub gave a mildly humorous speech and seems an immensely likeable person.
• Conan O'Brien is a truly scary-looking individual but is rather amusing. The opening song and dance sequence was as tedious and embarrassing as these usually are. When will awards show producers realize that bad production numbers presented with irony are still bad?
  
• Bob Newhart is still one of the funniest men alive. His subtle, intelligent brand of humor is hugely appealing in this time of general raucousness in American comedy.
• TV producers must be incredible skinflints, as they obviously do not pay their actresses enough money so that the ladies can afford complete dresses. Many of the gowns on display last night seemed to consist of little more than a few square feet of very sheer fabric. Of course, for those of us who happen to be red-blooded American males, this is a good thing.
  
• It was pleasing to see 24 win for Best Drama Series and Kiefer Sutehrland win for Best Actor (or Outstanding Performance or whatever they're calling it these days). 24 was an innovative show during its first couple of years, and its use of an overarching story line over the course of a season has been much imitated since. In addition, for all the implausibility and melodrama that presses its outlandish storylines forward, the show works very well as a romance fiction, and it is always full of interesting ideas and themes.
  

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 08:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Walt Disney film Invincible, starring Mark Wahlberg as a decidedly underdog aspiring professional football player, took in a respectable $17 million over the weekend to finish number one at the movie box office. The total was more than double that of the runner-up, the Will Farrell comedy Talladega Nights, at $8 million. Snakes on a Plane fell to number six.

Judging from the theatrical trailer and the interesting story line (Philadephia bartender who never played college ball makes the best of a chance to try out for the NFL Philadelphia Eagles, based on a true story), I've been looking forward to the release of Invincible for quite some time. I will try to carve out a couple of hours this week to see it and report on it. 

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Finally, the USA Network comedy-mystery Psych came up with a fully satisfying episode, last Friday night. The season finale hit all the right notes: it had a solid mystery at its center, including a couple of pleasing, unexpected twists; the setting, a comic book convention, was interesting and unusual and was handled well, especially in revealing that a couple of the top supporting characters were comic book fans; the setting was tied in very strongly with the murder mystery, particularly in the way it is used to place clues to the mystery throughout the episode and motivated the crimes; the way Sean, the main character and fake psychic private detective, used his persona as a psychic in order to obtain clues from a convention hall full of people and expose the murderer in public; Sean's attempt to romance one of the suspects was handled with greater humor than usual, because his lack of progress was funnier and more dramatically interesting than the greater immediate success he usually seems to have in this part of the story; a subplot involving the prima donna nature of even the most minor celebrities (guest actor George Takei from Star Trek); the angry police lieutenant who is persistently antagonistic toward Sean, the lead character, is away with the pregnant chief throughout the episode, and hence not boringly and predictably snarling at Sean; and some amusing self-referential humor.

James Roday still plays Shawn, the lead character, a little to cutely, but he has toned it down a bit, which allows the show to take a more realistic tone and thereby becomemore involving. Or perhaps I'm just becoming accustomed to Roday's overacting. Either way, it's not such a distraction now. (This reminds me of how the USA Network's other Friday night comedy-mystery show, Monk, became stronger when the overacting Bitty Schram was replaced by Traylor Howard when the former left in a contract disagreement. And yes, I know that some people think Schram was much better than Howard. Well, they're wrong.)

Psych will return with new original episodes in January, according to USA Network. Until last night, I wasn't particularly looking forward to the new season; I thought the show was diverting but that it was falling well short of its potential. If the series can pick up where last night's episode left off, it will be a real success.

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Manners are important to society and to each of us as individuals, in that they codify and simplify many of the hundreds of little decisions we have to make every day. Contrary to modern thinking, manners don't oppress us, they free us.

The talented and acclaimed actor William Macy made this point yesterday in a thoroughly admirable criticism of the unprofessional behavior of a younger colleague, the actress Lindsay Lohan, in her work on a film in which the two appeared together. As E! Online reports,

When it comes to tardiness, William H. Macy follows the golden rule. Do unto under-the-gun film crews as you'd have them do unto you.

"You can't show up late," the Emmy winner said Thursday at a Los Angeles press junket for his new film, Everyone's Hero. "It's very, very disrespectful."

So let that be a lesson to you, Lindsay Lohan.

"I think what an actor has to realize [is that] when you show up an hour late, 150 people have been scrambling to cover for you," Macy said when asked about Bobby costar Lohan's usual check-in time. The two share a scene together in the Emilio Estevez-directed drama about the 16 hours leading up to Robert F. Kennedy's assassination in 1968.

"There is not an apology big enough in the world to have to make 150 people scramble. It's nothing but disrespect. And Lindsay Lohan is not the only one. A lot of actors show up late as if they're God's gift to the film. It's inexcusable. They should have their asses kicked."

Habitual lateness may not just be a problem for Lohan but, according to Macy, despite his opinion that she's a huge talent, "she was pretty late" all the same.

A studio spokesperson declined comment.

Lohan has some very good traits, I am sure, especially her expressed wish to travel to Iraq to entertain U.S. troops stationed there, but grand (and highly publicized) gestures do not wipe away other offenses, especially habitual ones.

Macy's comment is just right, on all levels.

Cor bless yer, Mr. Macy! Cor bless yer! 

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Sure, our subways are soaked with urine, but at least we're spared THIS:

[AP reports:] Tokyo's subway authority will allow a station advertisement featuring a nude and pregnant Britney Spears, officials said Thursday, dropping an earlier plan to censor the photo.

HB Japan Inc., publisher of the Japanese edition of Harper's Bazaar, plans to rent ad space at the posh Omotesando station next week to promote its October issue with Spears posing naked on the cover.

The ad, in which Spears bares her belly but covers her breasts with her hands, is the same one used in the August issue of the magazine's U.S. edition. The 24-year-old pop star is pregnant with her second child.

OK, the magazine cover did appear on newsstands here, but at least it was smaller and might be covered up by a copy of Guns and Ammo or Beekeeper's Fortnightly. This ad will be unavoidable. People of taste will have to hire large people in overcoats to stand in front of the ads and block them from view. It's an extra expense to clean up the subways, but a necessary one.

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Yes, in the Omniculture, everything happens.

The New York Times has brought on a perfume critic, AP reports. The column will appear frequently in the Times's style magazine. In a statement, new Times perfume critic Chandler Burr said, “Every other true art has a serious criticism. I believe perfume should as well.” He said he intends to take his new position very seriously.

Well, I suppose somebody has to—and it makes sense that it would be the person who's being paid for it. . . . 

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I've never seen this much blitzing in the preseason, and it tells me to expect a year of weird, wacky defenses. Normally, defenses are pretty basic in the first two preseason games. Not this year. Defensive coordinators are testing the timing of their blitzes. It's not that they are going with a lot of exotic stuff, It's just that they are sending extra defenders. What's really noticeable is how much more they are doing it on the running downs. The tendencies have been to see teams blitz more on first and second down and rush only three or four on third down, dropping more defenders into coverage. The ability to blitz is causing more teams to have hybrid defenses. Several 4-3 defenses, such as Baltimore, the New York Giants and Miami, have an end standing up and either rushing or dropping into coverages.

That's a very interesting observation, especially the use of blitzes on running downs. It's a big risk, big reward situation. Blitzing can backfire, of course, especially on running downs, but when it works, it puts the offense in a big hole. As offenses adjust to this defensive strategy, a bit more creativity may be in order, which could make for more variety among NFL offenses, which have been converging in recent years.

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Tom Cruise's loss of his production agreement at Paramount Pictures has raised a good deal of comment in film-industry circles. The action itself is rather mundane. Cruise's deal at Paramount was on very good terms for him, which means it was expensive for the studio—more than $10 million a year. Cruise's representatives say that Paramount made an offer to Cruise to keep his production company on Paramount's lot, but the offer was significantly less money than the Cruise's company had been receiving, so they decided to shop around for private financing. This is not unusual: the Hollywood studios have been slashing costs recently, especially payments to big stars such as Cruise. A slowing of growth in DVD sales has certainly contributed to this trend.

Moreover, Cruise's company was primarily producing films not starring Cruise himself, which would suggest that any slip in popularity on his part would not affect their box-office prospects. These production deals, however, are realy just ways for studios to keep their most popular stars happy, giving them additional compensation by allowing them to function as producers—making them "creators" rather than just before-the-camera types.

Cruise's popularity has definitely fallen in the past year, making him a less valuable commodity as an actor at Paramount. As AP reports,

[N]egative public perception of Cruise has soared in the past six months in the closely watched Q Scores, which rate celebrity popularity. They indicate that negative perception of Cruise jumped nearly 100 percent since mid-2005, while positive perception fell about 40 percent.

"He's definitely at his low point in terms of consumer appeal, among both males and females," said Henry Schafer, executive vice president of Marketing Evaluations Inc., the Q Scores company.

Actually, contra Shafer, there is room for Cruise's rating to drop further, but that's up to him, of course. Cruise can overcome this if he behaves somewhat normally and has another hit movie, but certainly a Cruise with these Q ratings is worth a good deal less to a movie studio than the Tom Cruise of two years ago. Welcome to Microeconomics 101, Tommy Boy. 

All of this confirms that this parting of the ways was really just a bottom-line, cost-cutting business decision on Paramount's part. What made the situation rather surreal and newsy was two things: public awareness of Cruise's bizarre recent history of TV rants and goofiness, and Viacom chief Sumner Redstone's statement regarding the decision to break with Cruise's company. The chief of Paramount's parent company said Cruise's recent antics—leaping about on Oprah's sofa proclaiming his undying love for wife number 3, tearing Matt Lauer a new one for not understanding the magnitude of the conspiracies surrounding us about which Cruise and other Scientologists wish to warn us, etc.—were "creative suicide" and cost the studio up to $150 million in lost ticket sales for Mission Impossible 3.

Possibly, but these big crash and explosion movies may well have run their course, and the fact that the John Woo-directed Mission Impossible 2 was so irrational and uninspired probably did more to tank installment three than anything Cruise could have done. (I like Woo's Hong Kong films and Broken Arrow, Face/Off, and even Paycheck, but I have to say that he was a poor fit for MI2, not that I can fully understand where it all went wrong; it really should have worked. Well, OK, one thing that was disastrously wrong was the fact that MI2 dumped the central concept of the TV series and first film, the creation of a vast illusion to thwart the villains through ingenious trickery. MI2 was at heart an ordinary action film with extraordinary absurdity in its action sequences, which is saying a lot. And it appears that this was a consequence of Cruise's ego and his desire to avert rumors of homosexuality by emphasizing physical action, such as him climbing cliff faces, etc. This overbalanced the film, further removed the film series from the essentially cheerful and optimistic nature of the TV series, and made MI2 perfectly ludicrous.)

It made sense for Paramount to try to get Cruise to sign a less expensive deal and , failing that, to let him leave. There is nothing to be ashamed of in this, and no need to pile on the hapless Scientologist goofball with harsh words. A simple "We love Tom and wish him well" would have been much better than Redstone's high and mighty rant. As in all things, Redstone and Viacom have shown themselves as entirely devoid of class, manners, and principle. A pox on them, I say.

I'll tell you more about the repugnance of Viacom and Redstone in future postings on this site. 

Boy, things are getting weird when I find myself defending Tom Cruise. That's how repulsive Viacom is. 

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Variety reports that Steve Buscemi and Dan Ackroyd have joined the cast of the forthcoming Adam Sandler film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which spoofs "gay marriage":

Steve Buscemi and Dan Aykroyd have joined the cast of the Adam Sandler-Kevin James comedy "I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry" at Universal.

The Dennis Dugan-directed laffer, most recently scripted by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, is about two straight, single Philadelphia firefighters who pretend to be a gay couple to qualify for domestic partner benefits. Buscemi will play a city worker from financial services who's determined to expose the pair as cheats.

That sounds like a funny idea.

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The Chicago City Council, in its infinite wisdom and benevolence, has banned the sale of foie gras, arguing that some producers of the delicacy force-feed the geese from which the liver pate is produced, which the Chi solons say is painful and inhumane.

Chicago mayor Richard Daley opposed the ordinance but it went into effect anyway. The New York Times reports that many people in the city are embarrassed and angered by the law:

On Tuesday, this city’s lawbreakers were serving foie gras.

The illicit substance could be spotted in places it was rarely seen when it was legal: buried in Chicago’s famed deep-dish pizza, in soul food on the South Side, beside beef downtown.

In one of the more unlikely (and opulent) demonstrations of civil disobedience, a handful of restaurants here that never carry foie gras, the fattened livers of ducks and geese, featured it on the very day that Chicago became the first city in the nation to outlaw sale of the delicacy.

“This ban is embarrassing Chicago,” said Grant DePorter of Harry Caray’s Restaurant, which dreamed up an appetizer of pan-seared foie gras and scallops ($14.95) and a Vesuvio-style entree pairing foie gras and tenderloin ($33.95) just to buck the new ordinance. “We really don’t think the City Council should decide what Chicagoans eat. What’s next? Some other city outlaws brussels sprouts? Another outlaws chicken? Another, green beans?”

The "offense" is subject to fines of $250 to $500, though there remains some question about how aggressively the city will enforce it. The alderman who sponsored the ban, Joe Moore, has been the subject of praise from animal rights activists and derision from restaurateurs, gourmands, and people generally concerned about erosions of individual liberty in the City of Big [Government Looking Over Your] Shoulders.

The law has already induced mockery from outside the city, according to a Chicago Tribune story:

Allen Sternweiller, executive chef and co-owner of Allen's New American Cafe, whose company is a plaintiff in the restaurant association's lawsuit, said Chicago is getting an unwanted reputation based on its proposals regarding trans fat and foie gras.

"Some of my colleagues (around the country) call Chicago 'The Nanny City,'" Sternweiller said.

The prospect of foie gras speakeasies and gang wars over rights to distribute the delicacy is amusingly farfetched, but the increasing number of things being banned by the Nanny City and other places makes a greater flouting of the laws a certainty at some point.

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As I noted just this past week on this site, the democratization of the media through technological change will probably be only a temporary phenomenon, as the 'Net will ultimately be harnessed by governments and corporations for their own benefit. Today Sony will announce its latest contribution to this process: its acquisition of Grouper, an amateur-video website along the lines of YouTube. The New York Times reports:

Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to announce on Wednesday that it has acquired Grouper, a Web site featuring videos contributed by users, for $65 million.

The deal marries one of the biggest and most powerful movie studios, which regularly spends more than $100 million on a film, with a Web site that provides free access to short and often inexpensively made videos on topics like pets, sports and music.

Michael Lynton, the chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures, said the investment was a bet that material posted by users would continue to be a big draw online.

“My sense is that user-based content is a form of content that’s going to last,” Mr. Lynton said. “It’s a bet, no question, but it’s a bet worth making.”

Despite its emphasis on letting users share homemade videos, many of the most popular clips on Grouper are slick short productions, including music videos and commercials. . . .

Grouper will promote Sony’s content and seek to build communities of users around Sony movies and television shows, Mr. Felser said.

Of course it will. That's the whole point of the transaction.

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 10:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The box office performance of a "high concept" film such as Snakes on a Plane is typically based not on the cleverness of the concept but on whether there is actually a good movie in it. Die Hard and Speed, for example, had characters we could care about, and the films put them in situations where they had interesting choices to make. Those that don't have these things usually fall off at the box office even if they get a good opening weekend.

Interestingly, the least entertaining and involving parts of Snakes on a Plane are the two big action scenes in which the serpents attack the passengers on the plane. The snakes operate in a riidiculously implausible manner, even if we accept the filmmakers' premise that pheromones released on the plane would make the creatures more aggressive. These snakes are much more than "more aggressive"; they're positively malevolent and volitional. That's not at all believable—and it's not the slightest bit necessary, for the film is interesting enough without sci-fi snakes.

The first 40 minutes of the picture are devoted to scenes setting the stage for the big action sequences. The central conceit is that a young man who witnessed a murder by a powerful gangster in Hawaii consents to testify against the killer and is duly to be flown to Los Angeles to appear in court. That leads to the scheme to release hundreds of snakes on the plane and cause it to crash. OK, better plans have been devised in this world, but we'll let it go, shall we?

After all, what really makes a high-concept thriller successful is how the characters react to the situation, and especially the need for them to show courage, honor, and other good character traits. Snakes on a Plane has plenty of that, with some characters acting honorably, others meanly, and others developing better character through the course of the story. What is most pleasing is that the characters actually manage to surprise us just a little bit once in a while. The film has a solid performance by Samuel L. Jackson at its center, and it has the right amount of humor, meaning not too much. Snakes on a Plane also has enough action-film cliches to choke an anaconda, but the filmmakers' willingness to let us see human character in action makes it worth seeing.

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 02:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Too complicated? Boohoo. Characters not likeable or interesting? Rather a matter of opinion, that, eh what? I don't like the characters in The Sopranos, but critics managed to find that one interesting.

I thought Vanished was quite well done and very interesting. The story, about the kidnapping of a senator's wife, unfloded into increasing complexity as the episode progressed. New questions and mysteries arose every couple of minutes, as we learned more about the characters' pasts and the niew information conflicted with what we and the characters in the story thought they knew. The very identity of the kidnapping victim came into question, increasing the mystery regarding why she was kidnapped and raising the question of whether she was even abducted at all. The lead FBI agent was certainly likeable, as were most of the other characters, and the persons central to the story were somewhat complex, which is quite an achievement for such a plot-heavy single episode in a series.

Actually, the complexity of plot makes for more interesting characters, in my view (and that of C. S. Lewis and of Aristotle, for that matter), which is contrary to what nearly all contemporary critics tend to think. I'll stick with Aristotle and Lewis on this one, if you don't mind.

Vanished has a very attractive time slot, running on Monday nights after the surprise hit Prison Break. It should appeal to audiences of that show.

You can decide for yourself by watching the program tonight at 9 EDT on Fox or at any time on Fox's site, here.

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As a result, a Europe-based representative of Turner Broadcasting said the firm will "voluntarily" go through the entire inventory of cartoons owned by the firm, as reported by Ofcom in its news bulletin, according to Reuters:

"We are going through the entire catalog," Yinka Akindele, spokeswoman for Turner in Europe, said on Monday.

"This is a voluntary step we've taken in light of the changing times," she said, adding the painstaking review had been prompted by the Ofcom complaint.

This applies only to Great Britain at this time, as far as I can ascertain.

Interesting how times change, isn't it? In the 1950s, top-rated I Love Lucy was sponsored by a cigarette company, and the firm and network insisted that Lucy be seen holding a cigarette as often as possible. (Of course, it is debatable whether Lucille Ball can be said to have been capable of glamorizing anything at that time. . . .) Requirements that sympathetic characters smoke cigarettes and villans not smoke at all or smoke pipes or cigars were common practice throughout television at that time.

Such strictures applied even on the Camel News Caravan, a network news program, where Winston Churchill could not be shown holding a cigar.

Today, the situation is reversed: sympathetic characters do not smoke cigarettes, and villains do. It's a better lesson, I suppose, but one sometimes wonders why we all have to be treated like children because the federal and state governments will not allow the media to trust parents to teach their kids that smoking cigarettes is a very bad and unnecessary risk.

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Shakespeare in a bouncy castle, or moon walk, is the Reuters writer's pick for zaniest Shakespeare adapatation at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival (see full article here).

Every year brings several new adaptations of Shakespeare plays at the Fringe, another of those "outsider" phenomena, like the Lollapalooza festival, that become part of the mainstream culture and redifine it, as is the way of things in the Omniculture. Even midsize, stalwartly middle-American towns such as Indianapolis have fringe festivals now.

This year's Edinburgh Fringe includes a "roller-disco" version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, along with other equally bizarre ideas from a crop which the Reuters story describes as "an endless variety that could be collectively labeled '101 Ways to Murder The Bard' ":

"Macbeth -- That Old Black Magic" boasts a Frank Sinatra soundtrack and you can see "The Tempest" with acrobats, puppets and circus tricks.

In "Corleone: The Godfather," the American High School Theater Festival troupe asks "What if Shakespeare had written the Godfather?"

We can surely hope that such tomfoolery will create an interest in Shakespeare among some individuals who would never otherwise get anywhere near the Bard's works. For the more sophisticated, it could be argued that the contrast between Shakespeare's elevated artistry and the coarse, anarchical surroundings of the Fringe Festival can make for an enlightening contrast that affords one an even greater appreciation of the Bard's work. One could conclude that the humor of such things resides in our appreciation of the contrast between what is vulgar and what is elevated.

But I doubt it in this case. To appreciate the works of Shakespeare, one need only experience them. They still speak to deep truths in human nature and of enduring realities of the human condition. It appears, then that the main effect of such burlesques as are common at the Fringe is to obliterate lines of distinction between cultural artifacts. Burlesques of Shakespeare do not demistify the Bard's works—as if that were at all necessary; they are, after all, quite understandable to any reasonably attentive person—but instead simply make them part of a cultural stew in which all ingredients are equally important and none may be allowed pride of place.

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The greatly anticipated comedy-thriller Snakes on a Plane drew in the most money in movie ticket sales nationally over the weekend, though actually not. Snakes would have come in second (to the Will Farrell comedy Talladega Nightsi) if not for the distributor's decision to include Thursday night figures in the total. New Line's head of distribution said it is common policy for studios to do that, and the head of distribution at Sony, which released Talladega Nights, declined to comment to AP. (See AP story here.)

Analysis: The $15.25 million that Snakes on a Plane brought in over its first weekend is a decent amount of money but must be considered a failure given the amount of advance interest that had allegedly been sparked in the film. The film's strong concept, which so greatly piqued many people's interest, may have worked against it as far as actually luring people into theaters: One could very well feel that one already had experienced all that was of value in the film just by hearing about the concept and seeing the trailers,  commercials, and TV promo teasers.

I think that another problem with the film was even more serious: a conflict of genre expectations. Snakes has the concept of a Bruce Willis-style suspense thriller, which is a sure formula for success: Die Hard on a plane full of dangerous snakes. The promotion that grew up on the internet, however, saw the film's central idea as throughly comical (which it most certainly is)—and too much comedy undermines the ability to create suspense. Comedy is important to have in a thriler, but too much will make it impossible for audiences to take the concept with even the minimal seriousness required to enjoy modern-day thrillers with their outlandish premises.

I believe that this genre confusion is the main reason for Snakes' lackluster victory at the box office.

The film will certainly do all right overall and will turn a profit, but it most likely will not turn out to be the kind of phenomenon people expected.

I'll write about the film itself in a day or two.

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 08:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

In the Omniculture, everything happens. Hence, given the popularity of poker on television, it was inevitable that there should soon enough be a World Strip Poker Championship.

The contest took place in the prestigious Cafe Royal in central London last Saturday. Players competed in games of "No Limit Texas Hold 'em." The winner defeated 200 other players.

His parents must be so proud. 

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 07:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Fox Network TV show The Simpsons beat Comedy Central's South Park in the race for the Emmy award for Best Animated Series.

This was the ninth such win for The Simpsons.

A South Park episode, "Trapped in the Closet," was nominated for the award and received a good deal of attention because of protests by the Church of Scientology, which had objected to the showing last November of the episode mocking actor Tom Cruise. Instead of airing a rerun of the episode in March, as scheduled, Comedy Central refused to run the show, apparently buckling under the pressure from the Scientologists and Mr. Cruise, whose film Mission Impossible 3 was produced by Paramount Pictures, which, like Comedy Central, is owned by Viacom. South Park writer-producers Matt Stone and Trey Parker say they believe Cruise threatened to pull out of promotion for the film. Both Cruise's representatives and Paramount say they had nothing to do with the spiking of the program.

The episode is hilarious, as those who missed it will find out when it appears on DVD. 

The animated series award was given, as is the academy's custom, in the ceremony honoring technical achievements. The primetime Emmy Awards will be given out on August 27.

Update: In the comments section for this article, comenter Matt notes, "now that MI3 has come and gone from the theaters and Viacom doesn't need Cruise to do promotional work for them anymore, the episode in question is back in rotation." That confirms our conclusion about Comedy Central's motives in cancelling the episode's rerun." Thanks, Matt.

Posted by S. T. Karnick at 12:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The first installment of Philip Pullman's anti-Christian, pro-"Lucifer" children's saga His Dark Materials is coming to the silver screen. New Line will produce The Golden Compass, based on the first of the trilogy of young-adult novels, with shooting scheduled to commence on September 4 in the UK. New James Bond Daniel Craig will star as Lord Asriel, in a cast that also includes Nicole Kidman. New Line is the company that