Saturday, February 25, 2006

OSCARS.....what's it all MEAN??!!!

EDITOR'S NOTE: A PASSEL OF POSTS DISSECTING SOME OF THE GREATER MEANINGS AND PHILOSPHIES WITH THE OSCAR CEREMONIES AND WITH THE NOMINEES THEMSELVES.

PUT ON YOUR THINKING CAPS, DWEEBPALS!

Looking For Purpose In The Oscar World
It's looking like The Bookend Oscars this year... tune into see who gets Best Supporting Actor, take a 3 hour nap, then wake up to check out Best Picture. Nothing else seems terribly interesting... with due respect to the many whose hearts will be leaping out of their chests all day on Oscar day, regardless of how locked in many of the winners seem to be.

The odd thing that is occurring to me lately is that the reality of Oscar is slowly reverting back to the good old days, where there was more diversity, where campaigns mattered less (at least after the field was set), and it really was a bit of a bore for the non-industry audience. EDITOR'S NOTE: I DON'T AGREE. I THINK IT'S VERY INTERSTING. OF COURSE, I DON'T REALLY HAVE A LIFE, BUT STILL......With due respect, Reese and Joaquin are not Jack and Diane. The political power of a Crash cannot begin to compete with the political movies of the 70s and early 80s. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is one of the great actors of his generation... but don't expect any Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino or Marlon Brando moments from him on Oscar night. Jesus... we don't even have Michael Moore to kick around anymore. EDITOR'S NOTE: WHINE WHINE WHINE. I INGEST SO MUCH NUTRASWEET, THAT TODAY IS ALWAYS THE BEST DAY...AND THE ONLY ONE I CAN REALLY REMEMBER. ALL THIS 'THE GOOD OLD DAYS WERE BETTER' STUFF IS FOR PEOPLE WITH MUCH LONGER MEMORIES THAN I. (AND FOR OLD CRANKS)!

Meanwhile, as the Academy brings itself in line, the media is going out of its goddamned EDITOR'S NOTE: WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! mind with coverage. At MCN, we have had no fewer than a dozen requests to link to Oscar contests, video of awards photo shoots, and internet chats... and that is just from major outlets that write in hope of expanding a audience that really doesn't exist for this stuff. We did an Oscar contest ourselves and though the response was great, it was not many hundreds of thousands. And that is what mass media needs to float these boats.

This same phenomenon has occurred in the last two years at Sundance, where coverage continues to grow, and content continues to get more simplistic, not less, while the powers at Sundance try to find a way to get not just the festival, but the perception of the festival back on track. Even in this internet age, the media seems forever a year or two out of step.

But there are fewer and fewer events that get real penetration in the media and even as entertainment niche plays give us a chance to successfully target our audiences. Sundance (barely), Super Bowl, Olympics, Oscars, Summer Movie Season (and the hits within it), Toronto Film Festival (barely), World Series, the launch of Oscar Season, Christmas/Year End. And it just keeps getting worse.

In the greatest irony, as movie costs get further out of control and people start talking about trying to pay less for stars, real stars are more valuable than ever. And not just movies stars.

You can see it in the Olympic push, as there is a desperate effort to make the next celebrity happen. Is there a cross over basketball star left? A baseball star who everyone loves? Football? Boxing? And of course, what about the movies? As they would have said in The Godfather, could they have gotten to Tom Cruise like this a few years ago?

Passions are deeper than ever, it seems. But fewer people are getting the zeal for each bit of entertainment. The effect of endless access is endless choices, which means a lot fewer chances to sell anything to all four demographic quadrants.

But that brings us around to a surprisingly dispassionate Oscar season... if you aren't in it.

I'm not sure what prospect is scarier to me, Brokeback Mountain winning Best Picture and watching a wave of journalists foolishly pronounce the climate for Gay America via Hollywood to be greatly improved or to see it lose to Crash and to listen to the same people whine about homophobia in Hollywood... even though whatever happens on Oscar night, the film industry will remain the industry with the most wide open gateway to the gay community (at least behind the camera and in closeted reality in front of the camera) outside of the fashion world. (Gays are very close to catching up with Jews as the most powerful unseen minority in the industry, I would surmise.) EDITOR'S NOTE: IGNITING ANOTHER STORM OF 'JEWS CONTROLLING THE UNIVERSE' HYSTERIA. THANKS SO MUCH.

And if Crash does win, what does that represent, aside from a few more DVD sales? I don't mean that as a slam on Crash, but it is a movie that doesn't offer a target that calls people to action. It says, to its credit, "Do unto others..." But I don't think it's going to get a lot of people to really embrace that credo by winning an Oscar.

That brings up the real question, which is, "Does it matter anyway?" Or, "Has everyone lost their damned minds?!?!?!"

The prayer, of course, is that Amy Adams and Bennett Miller and Josh Olsen and Terrence Howard and even vets like Rachel Weisz and Phil Hoffman make great hay out of this opportunity... that the next time they all get nominated that the ratings will be through the roof because they are Redford and Streisand and Dunaway and Hoffman and Pacino and Coppola.

That is why this horse race is still worth watching.

So perhaps it is more than The Bookends this year. Perhaps it is like sitting front and center in the world's most lustrous bird sanctuary, taking the chance and the joy of discovering the new and beautiful and heart stopping talent of the new generation. Most of them will not win shiny awards. But hey, being nominated is better than some buckshot in the side of your neck.

In the great North Dallas Forty, a coach gets on a player for not being serious enough and he responds in passionate, muscular words, (that I paraphrase), "When I say it's a business, you say it's a game. And when I say it's a game, you say it's a business!"

The Oscars is, first and last, a business. But for the new generation, it still must feel a bit like a game. I, for one, will try to embrace that innocence as the next few weeks float by, a tonic to squelch my cynicism. EDITOR'S NOTE: GOOD LUCK WITH THAT CYNICISM SQUELCHING THING. I THINK YOU'RE GOING TO NEED ALL THE HELP YOU CAN GET, BUB.

'Brokeback Mountain': Milestone or movie of the moment?
By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY
It has yet to win an Academy Award. It has never been the No. 1 film in theaters. Not that many people have seen it.

Yet Brokeback Mountain already is The Movie. The film is the punch line of jokes, the subject of Internet parodies and the front-runner for the Oscars on March 5. Oprah plugged the gay-cowboy drama on her show. Howard Stern gave it a thumbs up. "Have you seen Brokeback?" has become a dinner-party Rorschach test of gay tolerance.

Brokeback also is freighted with expectations not foisted on a film in years. It leads a raft of social-issues films that are dominating the awards season. Some hail the picture as the one that will change not only how Hollywood portrays gay characters but also how gay men and lesbians are accepted by mainstream America. Those are mighty claims for a $14 million Western seen by fewer people in the three months since its release than who saw Dancing with the Stars on television last week.

Admirers say the film is erasing Hollywood's homosexual stereotypes and raising consciousness of gay rights. Critics say Brokeback's destiny is to be remembered more for its marketing than its artistic achievements.

"It's brave to do a movie like that," says Terrence Howard, an Oscar nominee for best actor for his work in Hustle & Flow. "Sometimes you've got to say, 'To hell with audience reaction. We've got something to say.' We could be at the start of a cultural revolution."

Others maintain that Brokeback has become a tool of the political left and evidence of Hollywood's disconnect with middle America. Some in the film industry wonder whether the attention surrounding Brokeback isn't more the result of canny salesmanship than a seismic shift in sexual attitudes.

‘Brokeback’ leads the pack
Brokeback Mountain hasn’t hit the$100 million mark in ticket sales,which defines a blockbuster. But it has earned more than the other films up for the best-picture Oscar:

Brokeback Mountain: $72M
Crash: $53.4M
Munich: $45.4M
Good Night, and Good Luck: $29.3M
Capote: $22.1M
Sources: Nielsen EDI, Box Office Mojo

"It's ridiculous," film critic Michael Medved says. "Everyone knows about this movie because of relentless publicity, not great controversy or popularity. I have to remind myself it's a good movie."

No one seems more awestruck by the attention than Brokeback director Ang Lee, the Taiwanese-born filmmaker who says he's rattled by the reaction to his take on the Annie Proulx short story that inspired the film.

"It's a little overwhelming," he says. "I was worried about it just making its money back."

The story of two cowboys who struggle with their love for each other has been seen by about 12 million Americans and has taken in about $72 million. It leads all films with eight Academy Awards nominations and is widely regarded as the favorite to win the Oscars for best picture and director.

More important, Brokeback "is zeitgeisty," Entertainment Weekly's Dave Karger says. EDITOR'S NOTE: OH DEAR. 'ZEITGEISTY'? I GUESS HE HAS TO DIE.

The movie's oft-quoted line "I wish I knew how to quit you" is making the pop-culture circuit, a staple of the Lenos and Lettermans of late night. President Bush and Vice President Cheney have been plastered on spoof posters. The title also has become a derogatory term: Students at Gonzaga University in Spokane were reprimanded by the school this month for chanting "Brokeback Mountain!" to opposing basketball players, suggesting they were gay. EDITOR'S NOTE: GONZAGA U. THEY HAVE ISSUES...STARTING WITH THE FREAKY NAME OF THEIR SCHOOL.

Encouraging discussion
Meanwhile, gay-rights groups are embracing the film in much the same way churches embraced The Passion of the Christ. EDITOR'S NOTE: I THINK THAT IS A VERY APT ANALOGY....THAT THE ISSUES RAISED AND THE CONNECTION TO THOSE ISSUES AND AFFIRMATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC DISCOURSE ABOUT THOSE ISSUES BECOMES A SEPARATE THING FROM THE FILM (AND IT'S QUALITY) ITSELF. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has established an online Brokeback resource guide with links to articles and support groups for gay cowboys and farmers. The Human Rights Campaign is issuing "Oscar party kits" with posters of Brokeback and cards that read "Talk About It" to encourage discussion of gay rights.

Film critic and historian Leonard Maltin expects Brokeback to prompt people to reconsider homosexual relationships in much the same way that The Defiant Ones, In the Heat of the Night and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner raised the consciousness on race relations in the late 1950s and '60s.

"The movie is in some uncharted waters, because it shows what it's like for two men to feel that kind of longing and passion for each other, and people aren't used to that," Maltin says. "No one movie is going to turn things around, but they can be building blocks. That could be this movie's legacy."

It will take some help from moviegoers. Charlize Theron, who won an Oscar for portraying a serial killer who was also a lesbian in 2003's Monster, says audience support for challenging fare, whether gay-themed or politically charged, is the key to a shift in Hollywood.

"People are always pointing the finger at Hollywood and saying, 'Hollywood isn't writing female leading roles, or they're not making socially relevant movies,' " she says. "The problem is that studios tend to lose money on these films. Why? Because audiences don't go. We've got to get the audience to see these films so studios don't feel a high risk in investing in them."

Felicity Huffman, who received a best-actress nomination for her transgender character in Transamerica, is concerned that Brokeback is facing resistance .

"I don't know if the red states have embraced it as much as the blue," she says. "If they did, it would speak to, hopefully, the inclusiveness that America is moving toward. I know there's a movement against that, but ultimately I think those things that unite us far outweigh those that divide us."

Other movies have explored conflicted sexual themes and found Oscar success. William Hurt won a best-actor Oscar for playing a gay prisoner in 1985's Kiss of the Spider Woman. Tom Hanks won best actor for portraying a homosexual lawyer in 1993's Philadelphia. Hilary Swank won her first Academy Award for her transsexual character in 1999's Boys Don't Cry.
One difference between Brokeback and those films, critic Emanuel Levy says, is that Brokeback attaches contemporary issues to a Hollywood archetype.

"It's a sweeping Western with tough cowboys, telling a time-tested love story that's simply about unrequited feelings," says Levy, author of All About Oscar. "On the other hand, it shows two men having intercourse, which is a first for a mainstream Hollywood film. That's what has people talking."

The time for message movies?
The film also benefits from its timing. George Clooney, who is nominated for an Oscar for directing Good Night, and Good Luck, says Brokeback represents a crop of movies with "something to say. Some people in Hollywood feel it's time to speak up about politics, or race or the media."

The result on the Hollywood product, Levy says, could be a shift away from the fey gay characters in TV shows such as Will & Grace and films such as The Producers and Rent.

"I think we're going to see gay characters portrayed in a new, more complex way."

Not everyone agrees. Robert Knight of the conservative policy group the Culture and Family Institute points out that Brokeback's box-office tally is modest compared with Christian-themed movies such as Passion and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

"I don't think this movie means that Americans have accepted homosexuality," Knight says. "It's just the product of two decades of a pro-homosexual agenda by Hollywood and the media that's made it no big deal for something like this to be on TV or in the movies." EDITOR'S NOTE: PHEW. HE ONLY MENTIONED THE 'PRO-HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA'; USUALLY WE JEWS GET THROWN UNDER THE SAME BUS BY PEOPLE LIKE THAT. (YOU KNOW..... I'M THINKING I MIGHT NEED TO GET AN 'AGENDA', IN CASE ANYONE ASKS. I'D HATE TO HAVE THE CULTURE AND FAMILY TYPES COME CALLING, AND ME WITHOUT AN AGENDA).

Some in the industry question what Hollywood believes. At the Berlin Film Festival last week, actor Ian McKellen said he doubts Brokeback will open doors for openly gay actors. "It is very, very, very difficult for an American actor who wants a film career to be open about his sexuality," says McKellen, who is gay. "The film industry is very old-fashioned in California."

Gay actor and writer Bruce Vilanch says that though he applauds Brokeback's illumination of a "new kind of gay person in Hollywood," the industry "is hardly out of the closet. I don't think you're going to see openly gay leading men or action heroes until you see openly gay football and hockey players. It's the last plateau of macho. But at least it has people talking."

And that, Judy Shepard says, might be all the movie needs to do. The death of her gay son, Matthew, in 1998 stirred a national debate over violence against gays. The murder is referenced vaguely in a scene in Brokeback.

Shortly before his death, her son gave her a copy of the story that inspired the film, Shepard says.

She doubts the movie will have an immediate effect on gay rights "because some people are ashamed to go see it. Even some of my friends — my friends — say it's just a gay cowboy movie and are afraid of something like that."

But when people can rent it privately, "I think they'll see it how I see it: as a story that's trying to say that you can't help who you fall in love with. If it opens just a few eyes to that, then it's done a good thing."

Contributing: Anthony Breznican

And - Why Don't Messages Movies Say Very Much Anymore?
And so the question of small demands on movies that speak to the great issues of our day...
It would be so easy to simply say, "Most people don't like to be challenged." But perhaps it is as easy as that.

Art history is loaded with great talents who were unappreciated during their lives. There is a romantic notion about Van Gogh's ear and Basquiat's addictions and even the accessibility of Shakespeare's work. Was Shakespeare the Steven Spielberg of his time, so unappreciated for the flowery prose and melodrama of Romeo & Juliet that he sought to push for greater critical triumph in Titus Andronicus? ("That scene where Titus makes his adversary eat the flesh of her own children... well, let's just say it... it's an embarrassment... it's so over the top!" Toddius MakCathius I, Variety.quill) Was Van Gogh misunderstood or perfectly understood and simply disliked? The arguments about whether Basquiat (and Warhol, for that matter) was a great artist or simply a showy charlatan continue to be had.

Personally, I am suspect of anyone telling me what qualifies as art. And I am equally suspicious of anything that has been lionized and put on a pedestal. Is "A Million Tiny Little Pieces"actually a different book because James Frey made a lot of stuff up? Is Oprah upset because the book isn't as good because some of it was fictionalized or is she simply personally embarrassed? Is the amalgamation of many stories, including Frey's own, any different than any film interpreted from true events? Is this book less important? And, most importantly, what does it say about the audience when we get so narrow minded about the aesthetic of any artistic endeavor? If you think what you read in the paper is Absolute Truth, you better not look too closely or you'll end up writing to Oprah to expose that unreality too.

How much of film - and the commercial part of the medium is unique in the arts because of the expense - should be about satisfying the audience, how much is about the artists' goals, and is there any room left for having the "right" experience, except for in a single-digit portion of the filmgoing community, much less the larger community for whom movies are only a miniscule part of their entertainment experience?

Personally, I have always been, and been encouraged to be, one of those people who will buy a book after seeing a film that moves me... will look for other films by the filmmaker and about the subject... and will seek to be challenged in my thinking in the most intense way possible.

Star Wars vs. Star Trek (and now, vs. Battlestar Galactica) is certainly very important to a lot of people... not that there's anything wrong with that. But with due respect both to those who don't care and to the filmmakers of the film I am about to denigrate, shouldn't more of us be pissed off that Hotel Rwanda is the gold standard of Rwandan genocide movies in the American culture?

At least one often-very-commercial director, Michael Caton-Jones, saw that film as he was prepping one of his own, and was pushed to even greater lengths to make a film that more accurately represented Rwanda and what the country had been through. The film is called Shooting Dogs... and it still doesn't have a distributor in the United States. EDITOR'S NOTE: SO HE SAYS HE'S SUSPICIOUS OF ANYONE DICTATING TO US 'WHAT IS ART', AND THEN HE TURNS AROUND AND TRIES TO SHAME US FOR LIKING "HOTEL RWANDA"? (AND STAR WARS?)

People wonder why I have issues with Brokeback Mountain being called a breakthrough film. Well, it's because I saw Taxi Zum Clo 23 years ago... and it taught me more about the agony of being in the closet and the fear of being dragged out of it, and even though I am still a little disturbed by some of the remembered graphic images of golden showers and such, it stamped into my head the reality that people (gay and straight) have all kinds of passions and judgment is far too easy when the passions are not your own. (My standard has been, and i,s that the line stops at the inclusion of others who are either unable to make informed decisions about their choices, are easily manipulated, or are forced into participation. Aside from that, if you want to want to challenge yourself and/or your fully consenting partner in pretty much anything, you have my blessings... even if hearing about it makes me wince.) EDITOR'S NOTE: THANKS. YOU ARE VERY ENLIGHTENED. AND YOU SEE A LOT MORE MOVIES THAN I DO. BRAVO. NOW SIT DOWN AND LET ME ENJOY MY "LOVE ACTUALLY" DVD, OK!?

Ironically, Todd Haynes made a film, Far From Heaven, about sexual repression just a few years ago and the outed gay husband had a more fulfilling existence in expressing his sexuality than the wife or her potential black lover in the film, than either character in Brokeback Mountain is allowed. The repression in Brokeback Mountain of any joyous expression of gay life aside from sex... and even that is mostly repressed in the film... makes it a regressive gay film in my eyes. It is kind of horrifying to me that the gay experience that is being touted as a cinematic revolution can accurately be reduced to "two men have sex every few months over 25 years, destroy their marriages and families, never come out... one ends up alone and the other ends up dead, perhaps in a hate crime, but at the very least an endless loop of a hate crime in his surviving lover's head." Is that progress? EDITOR'S NOTE: INTERESTING THAT HE WOULD BRING UP "FAR FROM HEAVEN". I THINK IT SHARES SOME OF THE SAME...ACTUALLY MORE SO...MELODRAMATIC ASPECTS WITH "BROKEBACK". ONE OF MY ONLY COMPLAINTS ABOUT "BROKEBACK"...THAT OUR INTELLIGENCE WASN'T ALWAYS RESPECTED IN TERMS OF HOW HARD THE TWO-BY-FOUR HAD TO COME DOWN ON US.

Well, in a world desperate for even remotely images of gay men on the big screen, yes. I do understand that. But I find it sad.

Ironically, Jeffrey Wells' love of the film at least has led him to an honest analysis of it. If pushed, he will acknowledge that the reason he loves the film is because he sees it as a movie about a miserable man who cannot move forward in his life in any way... a beautiful loser... and Jeff admits that he identities with that. But he is a rarity.

If people are engaged by a drama about someone who is stuck and can't move forward, that is an aesthetic that I can live with others loving. But what concerns me is that the standard for the revolution, so tightly connected to gay self-empowerment, is set so low by this film.

Yes, there was a time when coming to dinner was a big deal for a black man. But even Guess Who's Coming To Dinner, which seems a bit dated now, demands a lot more from the audience because it challenges people who see themselves as liberal to consider just how liberal they really are. The same was true of one of Stephen Sondheim's most quote-from flops, Company, which was really about the New Yorkers who were filling the seats for Sondheim and the revolutionary shows on Broadway at the time, like Hair and __________. The narrow cast of the Broadway audience rejected, to some degree, the reflection of Company.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner was a hit, in great part, because it was soft and couched in the powerful presences of Tracey and Hepburn. But the Oscar that year went to In The Heat Of The Night, in which Portier challenged a racist society and not a liberal society. I love In The Heat Of The Night, but which film demanded more from the audience?

In an odd way, Crash is this year's In The Heat Of The Night. The targets are easy. The moneyed, white Angelinos are the least formed participants in the story. There are, as someone pointedly noted recently, no jews in the movie. For the most part, it is a movie about "them." And it is very well intended, very well delivered, very well acted... but is it very challenging? I suppose if you walked into the theater already disposed to the anger that Sandra Bullock's character engenders after being assaulted, it might piss you off and getting past that would be a feat. But the artistry of filmmaking is greater than the power of the messages. It is a snack that feels like a meal.

Capote is a more aggressive, more complex look at a gay American, in great part because the film is not about being gay. There is a romantic subtext within the relationship between Capote and Perry Smith and there is Capote's long-time relationship. I don't know whether Harper Lee was gay or not. But the challenges of going to a small town, of being "the way I am," as Capote puts it, are not primarily about being gay, but literally about being the way Truman was... which included, but was not exclusive to, being gay. Capote is not an important film about being gay - any more than the far more overt and grotesquely underrated Breakfast on Pluto is - but like Gods & Monsters, it is a far more complete portrait of being a gay American in a more challenging time for anyone who was different than the norm.

Good Night, And Good Luck is smart, sumptuous, important, and completely Black & White in every way. I am glad the film was made and I am completely respectful of George Clooney's intentions... and it is an entirely unimportant for the Hollywood community, where there is no "other" answer to the questions that are posed. It is a wonderful historic document, like a good Holocaust movie that reminds us to never forget. But no one is going to be rooting for the Nazis.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I DON'T THINK THIS GUY WAS PAYING ENOUGH ATTENTION. "GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK" ISN'T JUST AN HISTORICAL DOCUMENT. IT HAS TREMENDOUS RESONANCE TO WHAT'S GOING ON POLITICALLY AND IN THE MEDIA TODAY. AND THE WAY IN WHICH IT FRAMES ITS LOOK BACK MAKES IT VERY CLEAR (AT LEAST IT DID TO ME) THAT IT HAD AS A KEY INTENTION JUST THAT SORT OF LEAP BACK/LEAP FORWARD.

I am very proud of the Academy foreign language committee for embracing Paradise Now, a film that is ultimately in agreement with what most liberals believe, but still challenges in subtle, complex ways along the way.

The doc nominee Street Fight is another film that challenges us to reconsider our well-intended predispositions, following the political battle between the younger black candidate of the future and the veteran black survivor who has held on to the mayorship of Newark, NJ for decades. The film certainly leans to the young, for all kinds of legitimate unbiased reasons, but as viewers, we must consider the value of the ground onto which this young man walks, tilled by the scrappy vet.

So... I'm not sure I answered my own question. And I dragged myself into another discussion of Brokeback Mountain for which I will be attacked some more. But if you don't crack some eggs, what is the point of starting the conversation? We can always push a little harder. And thank goodness some filmmakers and some distributors and some marketers and some audiences still do.

But if it does well on March 5, the investment could pay off with higher DVD sales.
EDITOR'S NOTE: AND THAT'S WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT I GUESS?

Friday, February 24, 2006

OSCARS.....the Friday before the Friday before

EDITOR'S NOTE: SO MUCH OSCAR STUFF COMING DOWN THE POSTING PIKE, AND JUST A LITTLE MORE THAN A WEEK AWAY!!!

EEK!!!

HOW WILL WE POSSIBLY CONSUME IT ALL, TAKE IT ALL IN, DROWN IN ALL THE MINUTIA????!!!

LET'S START NOW.

THIS FIRST ARTICLE IS REALLY ONLY TANGENTIALLY OSCAR-RELATED. BUT WE'RE JUST WARMING UP, SO THINK OF IT AS A SEGUE.....
Sidney Lumet remembers ‘Network’ Film is an interesting companion to this year’s ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’

NEW YORK - While George Clooney’s Oscar-nominated “Good Night, and Good Luck” looks back at a halcyon era of broadcast journalism, 1976’s “Network” saw a future that three decades later makes the film seem eerily prophetic.

The story about newscaster Howard Beale — “the first known instance of a man who was killed because of lousy ratings” — remains the pre-eminent satire about the encroachment of entertainment values into TV news.

Sidney Lumet, who directed Paddy Chayefsky’s legendary script, believes that every absurdity, every sacrifice of ethics for the sake of a “50 share” depicted in “Network” has come to pass — save for the airing of Beale’s murder.

That’s the only part of ‘Network’ that hasn’t happened yet, and that’s on its way,” the 81-year-old Lumet says, fidgeting behind the desk of his Manhattan office, perched seven stories above the din of Broadway theaters.

The occasion of the director’s reminiscence is the 30th anniversary of “Network,” celebrated with a two-disc special edition DVD coming out Tuesday along with Lumet’s “Dog Day Afternoon.”

Too much information
Lumet’s feelings about TV today might be explained simply by the large, dusty, antiquated television set sitting beside him.

I think everybody’s got much more information, and is much less intelligent,” he says.
EDITOR'S NOTE: EVERYONE BUT YOU AND I, OF COURSE?

Nowadays, he says, there are few people who aren’t “television babies” who “learned life from Bugs Bunny,” as William Holden’s pre-TV era newsman judged Faye Dunaway’s bloodless network exec in “Network.”

Lumet’s career began in television, notably directing CBS’ “You Are There,” anchored by Walter Cronkite. (The show, offered re-enactments of historical events, thus blending show-biz with news.) On the “Network” DVD, Cronkite, a good friend of Lumet’s, remembers first watching the film with his CBS cohorts.

We howled with laughter, rolled over on the floor with the depiction of [TV news],” he says.
But Cronkite says he considered “Network” an exaggeration and recalls being concerned people would think it represented the truth about TV news.

Today, some would say it does.

In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, former “Nightline” anchor Ted Koppel wrote, “The goal of the traditional broadcast networks now is to identify those segments of the audience considered most desirable by the advertising community and then to cater to them.”

Lumet says his main regret is that Chayefsky, who died of cancer in 1981, isn’t around to see how right he was.

He was prescient. What can I tell you? He was a Jewish soothsayer,” Lumet says. “One of the things I admire stylistically is how he was able to give you the bitter pill with such good laughs.”

Of course, in the iconic scene of “Network,” Beale (Peter Finch, the first posthumous best-actor Oscar winner) infuses one phrase permanently into the vernacular: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!”

His vein-popping shout, as he urged viewers to do likewise, is movie magic. Lumet didn’t know it would have the effect it did, but witnessed it catching on immediately. At the movie’s very first showing, he says, the audience answered Beale’s call, yelling back at the screen.

Moviegoers might remember Clooney doing an impression of the line in Steven Soderbergh’s “Out of Sight.” Obviously the film has influenced Clooney — in October, he said he was planning on a live TV update of “Network.” (The actor also executive-produced a live TV version of Lumet’s 1964 Cold War drama “Fail Safe” in 2000.)

When you’ve got a piece of good dramatic literature, it should have as many lives as possible,” says Lumet, who directed big screen versions of the plays “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and “The Sea Gull.” “I think [Clooney] is conducting a very honorable career.”

“Good Night, and Good Luck,” which chronicles Edward R. Murrow’s stand against Sen. Joseph McCarthy, is nominated for six Oscars including best picture. Though “Network” was nominated for 10 Oscars and took home four, it lost best picture.

‘I never think I'm going to win’
Lumet helped actors win 17 Oscars for performances in his films (including Finch, Dunaway and Beatrice Straight in “Network”). But The director always was shut out.

I’m not a fantasist and I never think I’m going to win,” he says. “And I’m also not a competitive man, but on two occasions I got so pissed off about what beat us. With ‘Network,’ we were beaten out by ‘Rocky,’ for Christ’s sake.” (Lumet also admits to being “a little contemptuous” about “The Verdict” losing in 1983 to “Gandhi.”)

Last year, though, Lumet finally got his Oscar — a lifetime achievement award. His acceptance speech was hailed for its eloquence: “I guess I’d like to thank the movies.”

“There’s a continuum here,” he explains. “None of us are working alone and that continuum is now 100 years old; people don’t realize that.”

Lumet has no qualms with the amount of recognition he’s received: “God knows I’ve got no complaints about my career. I’ve had a very good time and gotten some good work done.”

As he often does, he stresses the word “work” — not “art” or even “films” — but simple, unpretentious “work.”

He’s never been an overt, ostentatious stylist. One of the pleasures of his commentary on the “Network” DVD is hearing him trace the subtle, slow “corrupting” of the camera as it moves from naturalistic to “like a Ford commercial.”

In Lumet’s 1995 book, “Making Movies,” he offers a no-nonsense guide to the topic — as well as this description of “Network”:
“To borrow from the NRA, TV doesn’t corrupt people; people corrupt people.”

Lumet is still firmly wedged behind the camera. Next month, his latest film, “Find Me Guilty,” hits theaters. It stars Vin Diesel as a mobster who successfully defended himself in a two-year trial.

Meanwhile, Lumet is working on another picture — retirement is not for him.

I’m just not geared for that. I get so much from work,” he says. “[Making movies] is physically hard, and I’m getting old now, so it’s going to be harder. But I don’t think I want to stop. I can’t imagine stopping.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: AND WORKING WITH THAT WHOLE 'SEGUE' IDEA, HERE'S ANOTHER AUTEUR STORY ---

Robert Altman's Long Goodbye
By
TERRENCE RAFFERTY
Robert Altman, who just turned 81, will receive his very first Oscar in a couple of weeks: an honorary one, of the sort the academy so often employs to ease the bitterness of a veteran nonwinner's declining years. (And, of course, to square historical accounts and deflect the outrage of future generations of movie lovers, who might feel that the failure to honor an important filmmaker reflects sort of poorly on the awards' credibility.) Like King Vidor, who had to hang in for 85 years to cop a thanks-for-the memories statuette, Mr. Altman has five best-director nominations and zero Oscars to show for a long and prolific career, so he pretty emphatically qualifies as overdue. He has been overdue for 30 years.

Hollywood has in fact never known quite what to make of Mr. Altman, who seemed to come out of nowhere with "M*A*S*H" in 1970 and, despite the industry's best efforts to send him back there, wouldn't go away. With the kind of weird, inexplicable gambler's instinct he would explore, hilariously, in "California Split" (1974), Mr. Altman parlayed his winnings from "M*A*S*H" — which remains by far the biggest hit of his career — into an exhilarating half-decade run of high-stakes moviemaking: seven pictures in the next five years, of which five are, like "M*A*S*H," at least arguably masterpieces.

Those great films — "M*A*S*H," "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" (1971), "The Long Goodbye"(1973), "Thieves Like Us" (1974), "California Split" and "Nashville" (1975) — still look like the core of his achievement: to paraphrase Raymond Carver (whose work Mr. Altman adapted in his 1992 film "Short Cuts"), they are what we talk about when we talk about Robert Altman. That's not to say that the two dozen feature films he has managed to direct in the last 30 years are
negligible (though there isn't a power on earth, or beyond, that could persuade me to sit through "Quintet," "Health," "Prêt-à-Porter" or "The Company" again), or that Mr. Altman's skill has in any way diminished with age: the silky command of "Gosford Park" (2001) is ample proof that it hasn't. EDITOR'S NOTE: IN FACT, I WOULD SAY "GOSFORD PARK" IS PROOF THAT ALTMAN IS STILL PEAKING.

It's just that in the early 70's the conditions were right for Mr. Altman's loose-jointed, intuitive, risk-courting approach to making movies, and the planets over Hollywood haven't aligned themselves in that way since. The wondrous opportunity those years afforded adventurous filmmakers like him was that studio executives, for once in their ignoble history, actually knew that they had no idea what they were doing: a man who could deliver the elusive, mysterious (to them) youth market, as the 45-year-old director of "M*A*S*H" somehow did, became a mighty valuable commodity.

Mr. Altman, who had spent the previous couple of decades directing industrial films, episodic television ("Bonanza," "Combat") and the odd low-budget picture, seized his moment and set about the task of reimagining, with a little help from his friends, how American movies should look and sound and feel. The anti-authoritarian spirit, the caught-on-the-fly dialogue and the invigoratingly original blend of slapstick and casual naturalism that had made "M*A*S*H" seem so new mutated into something even stranger and headier in "McCabe & Mrs. Miller" a year later.

That film, a western of an unusually lyrical kind, puts the controlled-chaos techniques of "M*A*S*H" to entirely different use: in "McCabe," the buzzing vitality of the frontier mining settlement called Presbyterian Church serves as counterpoint to an eccentric American tragedy. It's the only movie I know of in which you can watch a community come into existence, changing and growing before your eyes, and Mr. Altman's camera, seeming to catch the whole complex process unawares, is miraculously alert to both the pleasures and the melancholy ironies of growth.

It's among the greatest movies of its time, up there with Sam Peckinpah's "Wild Bunch" (1969) and the first two "Godfather" pictures (1972 and 1974). And like them it's the product of an era in which the nature of the American democratic experiment was being questioned constantly and, in the best of our films, unconventionally celebrated — celebrated, that is, not for our collective military and economic power but for our individual vigor and orneriness and goofy optimism. This was a cultural moment made for Mr. Altman, whose hopeful approach to making movies has always been to get a bunch of lively, interesting-looking actors together and watch what happens, see if they can make something grow.

Mr. Altman had, in the early 70's, assembled an unofficial repertory company around him, a group of performers he trusted to supply the quick jolts of energy — the funky humor and the wayward poignance — his lightning-in-a-bottle moviemaking required. Elliott Gould, Shelley Duvall, Keith Carradine, Bert Remsen, John Schuck, Gwen Welles, Michael Murphy and Henry Gibson were, in shifting combinations, the faces of an Altman movie, people who seemed to exist (or, in the case of Mr. Gould, to exist vividly) only in his fictional world. And he gathered them all, along with a few more of their unpredictable ilk, for his epic "Nashville," a movie whose multiple threads of stray narrative are held together by nothing more than a spirit, a sensibility: the weird buoyancy of Mr. Altman's take-it-as-it-comes fatalism.

What strikes you, in fact, when you watch "Nashville" or its three immediate predecessors, "The Long Goodbye," "Thieves Like Us" and "California Split," is how fundamentally grim Mr. Altman's vision of American life is — and how little that persistent, deep-seated, unshakable disillusion actually affects the tone of the movies. All the characters in those pictures are in one way or another disappointed, but disappointment doesn't appear to be a big deal for Mr. Altman. Maybe because he had to wait so long to fulfill his artistic ambitions, because he arrived so late to the Hollywood party, he seems to know (every one of his movies says it) that disappointment never killed anybody. "It's O.K. with me" is the dopey mantra of Mr. Gould's Phillip Marlowe in "The Long Goodbye"; the crowd at the end of "Nashville," shocked by an act of sudden violence, gets over its horror by singing along to a tune called "It Don't Worry Me." And although in both pictures the effect is ironic, in neither case is it wholly ironic. On some level, Mr. Altman shrugs along with his characters. EDITOR'S NOTE: SHARE THE MEDS, SHARE THE MEDS.

He would need, as it turned out, every bit of that world-weary insouciance in the years that followed "Nashville," when it gradually became clear that the moment for his sort of exploratory filmmaking was passing, and then simply past. His stock company slowly dispersed, his college-age audience grew up and entered the so-called real world (which proved to be rather like the prosperous, company-run town that in the end no longer needs beautiful dreamers like John McCabe), and the studios became, I think it's fair to say, less tolerant of box-office failure.

You could almost feel the air leaking out of Mr. Altman's balloon in the late 70's. And by the 80's this profoundly American filmmaker had moved to Europe and largely reinvented himself as a less ambitious sort of artist: a master craftsman and a miniaturist, not a fresco painter dangling perilously from cathedral ceilings. He found work directing operas, plays and, television dramas, and for the big screen contented himself with a series of filmed theater pieces, most of which involved just one set and a limited number of characters. (The most memorable of them, 1984's "Secret Honor," is a one-man show about Nixon.)

In a way, the Robert Altman of this period is like one of the aging outlaws of "The Wild Bunch": "It ain't like it used to be, but it'll do." And although his 80's movies are less exciting, their very smallness allows you to appreciate the beauty and resourcefulness of Mr. Altman's technique: the slow zooms, the fluid tracking shots, the elegantly timed cuts (usually on movement), the extraordinary assurance with which he explores the confined spaces and controls the dramatic rhythm, are immensely satisfying even when his material is second-rate.

He kept his instrument in tune, and when a terrific script finally came his way — Julian Mitchell's "Vincent & Theo," about the van Gogh brothers — he was more than ready. The movie he made, which was released in 1990 as an art-house picture (and is now available, in a gorgeous transfer, on DVD), seems to me the best of his post-"Nashville" films: moving, powerful, scary and in love with light. Mr. Altman's direction is somber and almost classical, which may partly explain why the picture is so good: he's often at his sharpest when he's doing something he hasn't done before.

The movie that put him, briefly, back on the Hollywood map, though, was familiar territory — the darkly comic ensemble piece "The Player" (1992), whose setting is Hollywood itself and whose rampaging energy seems to derive from the glee of consummating a long-nursed revenge fantasy. "The Player" is his funniest movie, and, in the end, a prime example of the O.K.-with-me attitude that has enabled Mr. Altman to get by, and occasionally thrive, in the funhouse-mirror culture of studio filmmaking.

He seized that moment, too, to try to recapture a bit of the early-70's exuberance. But he couldn't quite locate it, either in "Short Cuts" (which is brilliant but sour-spirited) or in the 1996 "Kansas City" (in which the cast let him down). What got his juices flowing again, peculiarly enough, was the elaborate English murder-mystery trifle "Gosford Park," which revealed, to his evident delight, that there was a whole new world of Altman actors waiting for him in the old world.

If honorary Oscars are to some degree awards for longevity and brute persistence, then Mr. Altman qualifies on that score, too: he's the unlikeliest imaginable survivor of the Hollywood system.

When he steps onto the stage of the Kodak Theater on March 5 as this year's distinguished geezer, he might feel a twinge of is-this-all-there-is? disappointment, but his movies tell us that he'll get over it. He might even reflect that Sam Peckinpah — his junior by one day, and 20 years dead — blew out his heart fighting the studios, and never got his vindication.

And Robert Altman, I expect, will accept his statuette with (perhaps slightly mordant) good grace, because it'll do. EDITOR'S NOTE: AND HERE'S HOPING THAT ALTMAN'S GOT AT LEAST ONE OR TWO MORE GOSFORDS OR MCCABES IN HIM!






Friday Star Wars (including pics)

EDITOR'S NOTE: ANOTHER LITTLE FRIDAY STAR WARS HODGEPODGE.....

USA Today's Fantasy Awards
With countless awards shows doling out prizes like best actor and best actress, USA Today decided to do their own wacky awards.

Last week the category was "Film family most in need of Dr. Phil's assistance".

The Skywalkers won hands down with 42% of the vote!

Below are the final results.
· The Skywalkers: Revenge of the Sith - 42%
· The Berkmans: The Squid and The Whale - 18%
· The Stalls: A History of Violence - 18%
· The Stones: The Family Stone - 16%
· The Clucks: Chicken Little - 5%
EDITOR'S NOTE: UMM..YAY. WE'RE NUMBER ONE?

Sith Skivvies





Make a fashion statement that honors the dark side with these Star Wars boxer shorts from AME (American Marketing Enterprises).

The boxers come in three various Darth Vader styles in honor of Revenge of the Sith with sayings such as "Sith Happens" and "I have mad skills with a lightsaber" printed on the front or back.

There are also four different Original Trilogy designs including "Father and Son" featuring the epic duel between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader on the front, and the Star Wars logo in the back; "The Dark Side" with Vader's profile on the front and "Dark Side" text on the back; "A New Hope" with images from the vintage Style "A" poster on the front and the Death Star and opening crawl text on the back; and "Episode IV" with the vintage Style "C" poster on front.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I ALREADY HAVE SOME FROM LAST YEAR THAT ARE MY SUMMER JAMMIES. NOW I'M AM THINKING I MUST GO IMMEDIATELY TO TARGET AND CHECK THESE OUT! (I MEAN...THEY ROCK!!!)

"Our boxers are fun," AME Executive VP Elliott Azrak says. "We feel our approach to the artwork is innovative and humorous, while at the same time respecting what's at the core of this modern classic -- recognizable characters from a mainstream brand known worldwide." EDITOR'S NOTE: AND NOTHING SAYS RESPECT FOR A MOVIE CLASSIC LIKE WEARING THE PICTURES ON YOUR...UMMM....POSTERIOR!

Azrak thinks the boxers will appeal to the fans for a number of reasons, the main being that Star Wars has always had a fun style of its own. "Classics are always in fashion!" EDITOR'S NOTE: YES. YES I AM. Azrak says. "Star Wars has proven to have staying power. These epic movies have been embraced by two generations."

Fans can find the boxer shorts the participating retailers Fred Meyer, Hot Topic, Target, Wal-Mart and Mervyns. EDITOR'S NOTE: MUST GO TO TARGET NOW!!!

AND HERE'S A PURCHASE NECESSITY FOR DARTHODDBOB ----

DARTH MAUL'S LIGHTSABER



Only $199!

Collectors Society On Sale:February 21, 2006(9:00 am Pacific Time)
General Public On Sale Date:February 23, 2006(9:00 am Pacific Time)
Expected to begin shipping:Late Spring 2006

Forged as a hateful weapon of evil by his master, Darth Sidious, the creature known as Darth Maul had but one goal: to exact revenge on the Jedi order for the decimation of the Sith a millennium ago.

Master Replicas offers you the chance to don your dark robes and arm yourself for the first time with our amazing Full Double-Bladed Darth Maul™ Force FX Lightsaber™. EDITOR'S NOTE: SEE, BOB....THEY EXPECT YOU TO DON YOUR DARK ROBES AND PRANCE AROUND. SO.....ERRR....IT'S OK. REALLLLLLY.....

Yes! We’ve pushed the boundaries of technology once again to bring you not one, but two blades of scintillating energy. Delivering twice the action and twice the excitement as never before. Now you can exact your own revenge and relive the unforgettable battles of Darth Maul…

This awesome collectible features -
Power up/power down light and sound effects
Idle, hum and clash sound effects taken from original sound files supplied by Skywalker Sound
Quality metal construction
Display stand featuring the Star Wars logo
Ability to be assembled as a double bladed lightsaber or used as two, battle damaged, single blade lightsabers

EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS NEXT ITEM IS NOT JUST STAR WARS-RELATED, BUT INCLUDES SW; SO WHAT THE HECK...LET'S POST IT HERE....

SITH Leads Nomination List for 32nd Annual Saturn Awards
The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror films has announced the nominations for the 32nd Annual Saturn Awards. Leading the pack is George Lucas’ genre epic “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith” with 10 nominations.

“Batman Begins” follows closely behind with 9 nominations while “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe” and “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” receive 8 nominations each.

Warner Bros. Pictures leads all film studios with an astounding total of 29 nominations. Both 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures received 13 nominations each. Buena Vista follows up with 12 nominations. Paramount receives 7 nominations.

In the television categories, “Lost” and “Smallville” received a total of 6 nominations each. “Battlestar Galactica” garnered 4 nominations while “Stargate SG-1” and “The Triangle” received 3 nominations each.

This year The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has established categories to honor and recognize video game releases. Some of the titles which received nominations include Psychonauts, Timesplitters: Future Perfect, Guild Wars, F.E.A.R., Indigo Prophecy, Star Wars Battlefront II and Peter Jackson’s King Kong.

The Academy was founded in 1972 to honor and recognize genre filmmaking. Over the years, the Academy has expanded their reach to include other film genres. The organization also honors television, home entertainment and video games. Robert Holguin currently serves as President of the 34 year old organization.

The Saturn Awards honor the most popular and successful film releases of the year. The genre film continues to dominate and control the box office with its’ imaginative and creative stories. These films are the crowd pleasers.

This year’s show will be hosted by top comedian Jeffrey Ross. The show will take place on May 2 in Universal City. For additional information, please go the Academy website: www.saturnawards.org.

THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY & HORROR FILMS THE 32ND ANNUAL SATURN AWARDS NOMINATIONS

BEST SCIENCE FICTION FILM
Fantastic Four (20th Century Fox)
The Island (DreamWorks SKG)
The Jacket (Warner Independent)
Serenity (Universal)
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm)
War of the Worlds (Paramount)

BEST FANTASY FILM
Batman Begins (Warner Bros.)
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (Warner Bros.)
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (Buena Vista)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros.)
King Kong (Universal)
Zathura (Sony)
EDITOR'S NOTE: WOW. TOUGH CATEGORY. BATMAN VS. HARRY (IMHO).

BEST HORROR FILM
Constantine (Warner Bros.)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose (Screen Gems / Sony)
Land of the Dead (Universal)
Saw 2 (Lionsgate)
The Skeleton Key (Universal)
Wolf Creek (The Weinstein Co.)

BEST ACTION / ADVENTURE / THRILLER FILM
Flightplan (Buena Vista)
A History of Violence (New Line Cinema)
Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (Warner Bros.)
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (20th Century Fox)
Old Boy (Tartan)
Red Eye (DreamWorks SKG)
Sin City (Dimension / Miramax)
EDITOR'S NOTE: SORT OF A HODGEPODGE CATEGORY, HUH?

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Chicken Little (Buena Vista)
Corpse Bride (Warner Bros.)
Hoodwinked (The Weinstein Co.)
Howl’s Moving Castle (Buena Vista)
Madagascar (DreamWorks SKG)
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (DreamWorks SKG)

BEST ACTOR
Christian Bale (“Batman Begins”) (Warner Bros.)
Pierce Brosnan (“The Matador”) (The Weinstein Co.)
Hayden Christensen (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm)
Tom Cruise (“War of the Worlds”) (Paramount)
Robert Downey Jr. (“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”) (Warner Bros.)
Viggo Mortensen (“A History of Violence”) (New Line Cinema)

BEST ACTRESS
Jodie Foster (“Flightplan”) (Buena Vista)
Laura Linney (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) (Screen Gems / Sony)
Rachel McAdams (“Red Eye”) (DreamWorks SKG)
Natalie Portman (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm)
Tilda Swinton (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”) (Buena Vista) Naomi Watts (“King Kong”) (Universal)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
William Hurt (“A History of Violence”) (New Line Cinema)
Val Kilmer (“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”) (Warner Bros.)
Ian McDiarmid (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm) Cillian Murphy (“Red Eye”) (DreamWorks SKG)
Liam Neeson (“Batman Begins”) (Warner Bros.)
Mickey Rourke (“Sin City”) (Dimension / Miramax)
EDITOR'S NOTE: GO IAN!!!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Alba (“Sin City”) (Dimension / Miramax)
Jennifer Carpenter (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) (ScreenGems / Sony)
Summer Glau (“Serenity”) (Universal)
Katie Holmes (“Batman Begins”) (Warner Bros.)
Michelle Monaghan (“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”) (Warner Bros.)
Gena Rowlands (“The Skeleton Key”) (Universal)
EDITOR'S NOTE: KATIE HOLMES? THE BEST THING ABOUT HER PERFORMANCE IN "BATMAN BEGINS" WAS THAT SHE DIDN'T COMPLETELY RUIN THE MOVIE. (IT WAS ALMOST AN ANDIE MCDOWELL PERFORMANCE)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUNGER ACTOR
Alex Etel (“Millions”) (Fox Searchlight)
Dakota Fanning (“War of the Worlds”) (Paramount)
Freddie Highmore (“Charlie & the Chocolate Factory”) (Warner Bros.)
Josh Hutcherson (“Zathura”) (Sony)
William Moseley (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”) (Buena Vista)
Daniel Radcliffe (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) (Warner Bros.)

BEST DIRECTION
Andrew Adamson (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”) (Buena Vista)
Peter Jackson (“King Kong”) (Universal)
George Lucas (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm) Mike Newell (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) (Warner Bros.)
Christopher Nolan (“Batman Begins”) (Warner Bros.)
Steven Spielberg (“War of the Worlds”) (Paramount)

BEST WRITING
Steve Kloves (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) (Warner Bros.)
David Koepp (“War of the Worlds”) (Paramount)
Christopher Nolan David S. Goyer (“Batman Begins”) (Warner Bros.)
Ann Peacock Andrew Adamson Christopher Markus Steven McFeely (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”) (Buena Vista)
George Lucas (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm) Fran Walsh Philippa Boyens Peter Jackson (“King Kong”) (Universal)

BEST MUSIC
Patrick Doyle (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) (Warner Bros.) EDITOR'S NOTE: NOT ONLY SHOUDLN'T HE WIN A PRIZE, HE SHOULD BE BEATEN WITH A BIG STICK.
Danny Elfman (“Charlie & the Chocolate Factory”) (Warner Bros.)
James Newton Howard Hans Zimmer (“Batman Begins”) (Warner Bros.)
John Ottman (“Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang”) (Warner Bros.)
John Williams (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm) John Williams (“War of the Worlds”) (Paramount)

BEST COSTUME
Trisha Biggar (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm) Lindy Hemming (“Batman Begins”) (Warner Bros.)
Isis Mussenden (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”) (Buena Vista)
Gabriella Pescucci (“Charlie & the Chocolate Factory”) (Warner Bros.)
Terry Ryan (“King Kong”) (Universal)
Jany Temime (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) (Warner Bros.)

BEST MAKE-UP
Howard Berger Nikki Gooley (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”) (Buena Vista)
Howard Berger Greg Nicotero (“Land of the Dead”) (Universal)
Howard Berger Greg Nicotero (“Sin City”) (Buena Vista)
Nick Dudman Amanda Knight (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) (Warner Bros.)
Dave Elsey Lou Elsey Nikki Gooley (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm)
Richard Taylor Gino Acevedo Dominie Till Peter Swords-King (“King Kong”) (Universal)

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS
John Knoll Roger Guyett Rob Coleman Brian Gernand (“Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith”) (20th Century Fox/Lucasfilm)
Joe Letteri Richard Taylor Christian Rivers Brian Van’t Hul (“King Kong”) (Universal)
Jim Mitchell Tim Alexander Tim Webber John Richardson (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) (Warner Bros.)
Dennis Muren Pablo Helman Randal M. Dutra Daniel Sudick (“War of the Worlds”) (Paramount) Janek Sirrs Dan Glass Chris Corbould Paul Franklin (“Batman Begins”) (Warner Bros.)
Dean Wright Bill Westenhofer Jim Berney Scott Farrar (“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe”) (Buena Vista)

TELEVISION NOMINATIONS

BEST NETWORK TELEVISION SERIES
Invasion (ABC)
Lost (ABC)
Prison Break (Fox)
Smallville (The WB Network)
Supernatural (The WB Network)
Surface (NBC)
Veronica Mars (UPN)
EDITOR'S NOTE: THESE ARE ALL PRETTY GOOD. BUT THE ONLY ONE THAT COMES ANYWHERE CLOSE TO "LOST" IN QUALITY IS "VERONICA MARS" (AND IT GOES TO FIGURE THAT THOSE TWO SHOWS ARE ON AT THE SAME TIME, RIGHT?)

BEST SYNDICATED / CABLE TELEVISION SERIES
Battlestar Galactica (The Sci Fi Channel)
The Closer (TNT)
The 4400 (USA)
Nip / Tuck (FX)
Stargate: Atlantis (The Sci Fi Channel)
Stargate SG-1 (The Sci Fi Channel)

BEST TELEVISION PRESENTATION
Category 7: The End of the World (CBS)
Into the West (TNT)
Masters of Horror (Showtime/IDT)
Mysterious Island (Hallmark)
Revelations (NBC)
The Triangle (The Sci Fi Channel)

BEST ACTOR ON TELEVISION
Ben Browder (“Stargate SG-1”) (The Sci Fi Channel)
William Fichtner (“Invasion”) (ABC)
Matthew Fox (“Lost”) (ABC)
Julian McMahon (“Nip / Tuck”) (FX)
Wentworth Miller (“Prison Break”) (Fox)
Tom Welling (“Smallville”) (The WB Network)

BEST ACTRESS ON TELEVISION
Patricia Arquette (“Medium”) (NBC)
Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars”) (UPN)
Jennifer Garner (“Alias”) (ABC)
Jennifer Love Hewitt (“The Ghost Whisperer”) (CBS)
Kristin Kruek (“Smallville”) (The WB Network)
Evangeline Lily (“Lost”) (ABC)
EDITOR'S NOTE: GOSH....IF I WERE JENNIFER LOVE HEWITT OR KRISTIN KRUEK I WOULD BE THANKING MY SKINNY LITTLE BEHIND THAT I WAS INCLUDING WITH THOSE OTHER (ACTUAL) ACTRESSES.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR ON TELEVISION
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (“Lost”) (ABC)
Jamie Bamber (“Battlestar Galactica”) (The Sci Fi Channel)
James Callis (“Battlestar Galactica”) (The Sci Fi Channel)
Sam Neill (“The Triangle”) (The Sci Fi Channel)
Terry O’Quinn (“Lost”) (ABC)
Michael Rosenbaum (“Smallville”) (The WB Network)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS ON TELEVISION
Catherine Bell (“The Triangle”) (The Sci Fi Channel)
Claudia Black (“Stargate SG-1”) (The Sci Fi Channel) EDITOR'S NOTE: GOD I MISS "FARSCAPE". (SNIFFLE).
Erica Durance (“Smallville”) (The WB Network)
Allison Mack (“Smallville”) (The WB Network)
Michelle Rodriguez (“Lost”) (ABC)
Katee Sackhoff (“Battlestar Galactica”) (The Sci Fi Channel)

HOME ENTERTAINMENT : DVD

BEST DVD RELEASE
Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows (Buena Vista)
Boo (Ventura)
Cube Zero (Lionsgate)
Dead & Breakfast (Anchor Bay)
Ray Harryhausen: The Early Years Collection (Sparkhill)
Ringers: Lord of the Fans (Sony)

BEST DVD SPECIAL EDITION RELEASE
Donnie Darko (Fox)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Universal)
The Incredibles (Buena Vista)
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (Paramount)
Saw (Lionsgate) S
in City: Recut, Extended, Unrated (Buena Vista)

BEST CLASSIC FILM DVD RELEASE
Ben Hur (Warner)
The Fly (Fox)
Gladiator (DreamWorks)
King Kong (Warner)
Titanic (Paramount) EDITOR'S NOTE: STILL SINKING? (GIGGLE)
The Wizard of Oz (Warner)

BEST DVD COLLECTION
Batman Collection (Warner)
Bela Lugosi Collection (Universal)
Hammer Horror Film Series (Universal)
Harold Lloyd Collection (New Line)
Mystery Science Theater 3000, Vol. 7 & 8 (Rhino)
The Val Lewton Collection (Warner)

BEST TELEVISION RELEASE ON DVD
Battlestar Galactica, Season 1 & 2.0 (Universal)
Frankenstein (Lionsgate)
House, Season 1 (Buena Vista)
Lost, Season 1 (Buena Vista)
Smallville, Season 4 (Warner)
Star Trek Enterprise (Paramount)

BEST RETRO TELEVISION RELEASE ON DVD
The Adventures of Superman, Season 1 (Warner)
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Season 1 (Universal)
The Greatest American Hero (Anchor Bay)
Kolchak, The Night Stalker (Universal)
Moonlighting, Season 1 & 2 (Lionsgate)
Third Rock From the Sun, Season 1 & 2 (Anchor Bay)

MULTIMEDIA

BEST VIDEO GAME RELEASE (SCIENCE FICTION)
The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (Vivendi Universal) (Developer: Radical Entertainment)
Psychonauts (Majesco) (Developer: Double Fine Productions)
Star Wars Battlefront II (LucasArts) (Developer: Pandemic Studios)
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (LucasArts) (Developer: Obsidian Entertainment)
Timesplitters: Future Perfect (Electronic Arts) (Developer: Free Radical Design)

BEST VIDEO GAME RELEASE (FANTASY)
Dragon Quest VIII (Square Enix) (Developer: Level – 5)
God of War (SCEA) (Developer: SCEA Santa Monica Studios)
Guild Wars (NCSoft) (Developer: ArenaNet)
Peter Jackson’s King Kong (Ubisoft) (Developer: Ubisoft)
Shadow of the Colossus (SCEA) (Developer: SCEA)

BEST VIDEO GAME RELEASE (HORROR)
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (Konami) (Developer: Konami)
F.E.A.R. (Vivendi Universal) (Developer: Monolith Productions)
Indigo Prophecy (Atari) (Developer: Atari)
Resident Evil 4 (Capcom) (Capcom)
Stubbs the Zombie in “Rebel Without a Pulse” (Aspyr) (Wideload Games)

EDITOR'S NOTE: AND NOW, THE PICS FOR THE WEEK ---


ILM modelmaker Jon Foreman prepares the chairs in the Coruscant Galaxies Opera House.


ILM modelmaker Danny Wagner begins work on the ornate vegetation found on the visually-stunning planet of Felucia in a model that will help direct the digital environment to come.


One of the many droidekas that patrol the corridors of the Trade Federation cruiser for pesky Jedi intruders.



Terryl Whitlatch illustrates this potential Podrace enthusiast for Episode I's Tatooine scenes


Artist Iain McCaig began developing the look of Queen Jamillia long before the part is ever cast.


EDITOR'S NOTE: WHAT COULD POSSIBLY BE SAID IN A CAPTION HERE? THE SITH HAVE NO NEED OF WORDS. WORDS ARE FOR PUNY JEDI.

A WEE bit of end-of-week mishmashing

EDITOR'S NOTE: A FEW LEFT-OVER ITEMS FROM THE WEEK'S DWEEBNEWS --

ABC Gives SCIENCE FICTION Masters the Greenlight
ABC has given the go ahead for the anthology series MASTERS OF SCIENCE FICTION.

The show will present works of well-known authors such as Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov.

IDT Entertainment Industry Entertainment will produce the series. The network has ordered four episodes, but IDT and Industry plan to go ahead and produce at least six.

Michael Tolkin has already signed to adapt and direct an episode. EDITOR'S NOTE: SO ABC DISCOVERS THE SCIFI CLASSICS. DOESN'T THIS SEEM LIKE THE SORT OF THING ANOTHER CHANNEL MIGHT HAVE THOUGHT OF? ANOTHER CHANNEL LIKE, OH.....I DON'T KNOW.....THE SCI FI CHANNEL??? (WE SHOULD TAKE AWAY THEIR TITLE. THE BUMS!)

GRRR....

MOVING ON.

MORE PILOT CASTING NEWS ----

Griffiths and Flockhart in 'Sisters' act
Golden Globe winners Rachel Griffiths and Calista Flockhart have been tapped to star in ABC's drama pilot "Brothers & Sisters."

Meanwhile, Heather Locklear is in negotiations for the lead in the ABC comedy pilot "Women of a Certain Age" from Touchstone TV. "Sisters," also from Touchstone TV, is a family soap centering on adult siblings.

Van Der Beek finds 'Sex'
James Van Der Beek has joined CBS' comedy pilot "Sex, Power, Love & Politics," Ron Livingston has been tapped for one of the two leads in Fox's drama pilot "Primary," and Steven Culp has joined ABC's drama pilot "Traveler."

Meanwhile, CBS has picked up "Waterfront," a drama pilot from "ER" veteran Jack Orman with Joe Pantoliano attached to star.

In other pilot castings, Jonah Lotan and Rachel Stirling have come on board Fox's drama "Beyond," Peter Dinklage has joined CBS' drama "Ultra," Alan Tudyk EDITOR'S NOTE: YAY! has been cast in CBS' untitled Carol Mendelsohn drama, Swoosie Kurtz has been added to CBS' comedy "Play Nice," and John Allen Nelson has been cast in Fox's drama pilot "Vanished."

Hu, Germann join ABC comedy
'Emergency' Kelly Hu and Greg Germann have been cast in ABC's comedy series "In Case of Emergency."

Meanwhile, Cary Elwes will lead the cast of NBC's one-hour pilot "Sky," which also includes Missi Pyle, Bruno Campos has landed one of the two leads in NBC's untitled Chris Sheridan comedy pilot, and Dondre Whitfield and Sarah Lafleur have joined ABC's comedy pilot "Out Thirties."

On the cable side, Todd Williams and Fred Weller have come aboard the USA Network pilot "In Plain Sight." "Emergency," from Touchstone TV, revolves around four friends from high school who reunite unexpectedly when each hits a crossroads in their lives.

Dove Web TV puts Huffman into the past
Felicity Huffman is starring in a series of Dove webisodes directed by Penny Marshall that transport the Oscar-nominated actress into the homes of beloved TV moms Carol Brady, Lily Munster and June Cleaver.

Thanks to an evening shower with Dove's new Calming Night body wash, Huffman drifts off into a dream world where the "Desperate Housewives" star finds herself living in classic episodes of "The Brady Bunch," "The Munsters" and "Leave it to Beaver" and conversing with the shows' characters.

"We are excited to partner with Felicity Huffman to help us reach busy women in an innovative and entertaining way while providing them with simple, relatable beauty solutions," Dove marketing director Rob Master said. EDITOR'S NOTE: BLAH BLAH BLAH. (BUT THEY STILL DO SOUND LIKE FUN)

Meg Ryan in Commander-In-Chief?
According to Neal Sean over at Sky.com, Meg Ryan is set to return to our screens playing a guest-role in the acclaimed but terribly mistreated “Commander-in-Chief”.

The stint in the Geena Davis series is apparently a warm-up to her own series, also a drama, which Ryan will both star in and co-produce.

On the big screen, she’ll be seen in a remake of “the Women”, which has been in the works for ages.


EDITOR'S NOTE: AND FROM THE MOVIE SIDE OF THINGS.....

'Doogal' pal: 'Gopher Broke'
The Weinstein Co. will be showing Blur Studio's 2005 Oscar-nominated short film "Gopher Broke" during the nationwide release of the computer-animated feature "Doogal." The film opens in more than 2,300 theaters in North America on Friday. "Gopher Broke" will be preceded by an introduction from Academy Award winner Judi Dench. The short was written and directed by Jeff Fowler and executive produced by Blur Studio co-founder Tim Miller.

"On the heels of last year's Academy Award nomination and this year's Sundance Film Festival, we are delighted that 'Gopher Broke' will now be available for national audiences to enjoy," Miller said. "We are pleased to be associated with the Weinsteins and have our short film open for 'Doogal.' "

The G-rated "Doogal" features the voices of Jimmy Fallon, Jon Stewart, Whoopi Goldberg, William H. Macy, Chevy Chase and Daniel Tay.

"Gopher Broke" is being developed into a full-length feature film and will expand the endearing story about a hungry gopher who devises a scheme that he hopes will provide him with a tasty snack

Lost star to play Harry Knowles?
“Lost” star Jorge Garcia is set play Aint it Cool News’ Harry Knowles in the film “Fanboys”.

The film, starring “Veronica Mars” babe Kristen Bell, tells of a group of supernerds who drive across the country to see the premiere “Star Wars Episode One : The Phantom Menace”.

All I know is the character of Harry Knowles is responsible for giving the guys the plans, schematics, etc for getting into SkyWalker Ranch”, says Knowles, over at AICN. “And apparently my character arrives in a 1954 Chevy 210 DelMar. And if you think that's insane, I actually own a 1953 Chevy BelAir. I just hope the license plate says "SELLOUT" - heh.
“Why am I not playing myself? Well, I told the filmmakers that frankly I'd be more interested in just seeing who they'd cast as me. Now, I'm just dying to see a still of Jorge as Harry!”.
EDITOR'S NOTE: VERY FUNNY CASTING. BUT SOMEONE SHUT THE DOOR ON HARRY'S MOM'S BASEMENT AGAIN, SO HE SHUTS UP.

Phoenix rising for Remorse
Latino Review report Joaquin Phoenix is in talks to play John Clark, from the Tom Clancy books, in the film "Without Remorse".

You may recall that the character also featured in the films "Clear and Present Danger" and "The Sum of all Fears", both based on the books of TC, and played by Willem Dafoe and Liev Schrieber, respectively.

Clancy himself favoured ageing heartthrob Tom Selleck for the role of Clark, but freely admitted that he might be a little old to play the part now. Hence the hiring of the much-younger, Phoenix for Clark's first solo outing.

"Remose", to be directed by John Singleton ("2 Fast, 2 Furious"), tells of a former Navy Seal and Vietnam vet who returns to Vietnam to rescue American soldiers who were presumed killed in action, but are actually being brutally interrogated. He is also searching for a band of drug smugglers who have been threatening his new lady love.

The novel, which was published in 1993 by Putnam, spawned a previous film version, which was in development at Savoy Pictures and was shut down during preproduction in 1995.

Seems that Paramount is much keener to do a series of Clark films, than continue the adventures of Jack Ryan, last seen wearing the phizog of Ben Affleck in "The Sum Of All Fears", and before that, Harrison Ford in "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger".EDITOR'S NOTE: I GUESS THEY FELT LIEV SHRIEBER WASN'T A BIG ENOUGH NAME? TOO BAD, CAUSE HE WAS GREAT IN THE ROLE.

Apatow adds Hathaway to 'Knocked Up'
Anne Hathaway is joining the cast of Universal Pictures' "Knocked Up."

The actress, who most recently played Jake Gyllenhaal's icy wife in "Brokeback Mountain," is set to star opposite Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann in the Judd Apatow romantic comedy.

Apatow is writing, producing and directing the movie, which follows a twentysomething guy who finds out he impregnated his one night stand. The picture will be similar in budget to his last film, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," which grossed $109.5 million at the domestic boxoffice and garnered a WGA nomination.

Talkington in her 'League' with Fox pic
Fox 2000 has tapped Amy Talkington to pen an untitled Junior League project. Talkington will adapt Linda Francis Lee's upcoming novel, tentatively titled "The Devil in the Junior League." The comedic book will be published by St. Martin's Press.

The story centers on a 28-year-old Texas wife struggling to get pregnant who discovers her husband has drained their bank account and run off with his mistress. Broke, she turns to her neighbor, a nouveau riche lawyer who agrees to represent her if she can transform his vulgar wife into Junior League material. Laura Hopper is producing, with Fox 2000's Carla Hacken and Erin Lindsey overseeing for the studio.

Talkington recently wrapped her directorial debut, the indie "The Night of the White Pants," which she also wrote. The offbeat comedy stars Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl and Selma Blair.

EDITOR'S NOTE: AND....DRUM ROLL....SAVING THE COOLEST ITEM FOR LAST......

Your first look at Spider-Man 3
Thanks to Sony Pictures, Moviehole has a look at Spider-Man's new-look costume. Here's your first look at what may be the bus-shelter plug for "Spider-Man 3".

You may think you're looking at a black and white photo. Look closely, Spider-Man wears a black suit in Spider-Man 3.

Tobey Maguire returns in the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man 3 coming May 2007. "

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Star Wars funnies

EDITOR'S NOTE: JUST A COUPLE OF STAR WARS FUNNIES....LINKS SENT TO US BY EVER-STALWART DWEEBPALS ---

Star Wars Bunnies
Fan of TheForce.net, Jason L. writes in:

"The series is called "The 30-Second Bunnies Presents" and it's basically 30 second re-enactments of famous movies done by bunnies!"

Great stuff! Everyone needs to take 30 seconds and check this one out today!
http://angryalien.com/1205/starwarsbuns.asp
EDITOR'S NOTE: I THINK THIS MADE THE EMAIL ROUNDS AGES AGO. BUT IT IS WORTH SEEING AGAIN. I MEAN....BUNNIES! STAR WARS! (JUST TYPING THAT MAKES ME GIGGLE).

Jon Stewart And The Darth Nancy Film Clip

Dianethx writes in with this:

"Jon Stewart on Comedy Central covered the Darth Nancy film clip shown at the Republican convention recently. Apparently, the clip uses ANH to take jabs at the Democrats. While the Republicans suggested that the Democrats were the evil Empire, Jon Stewart said that the Democrats weren't the Empire - at best, they were the Ewoks".

Here's the link.

http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_daily_show/videos/headlines/index.jhtml
EDITOR’S NOTE: AND THEN CLICK ON “USE THE FORCE” WATCH.


C-3PO & R2D2 In Brokeback Star Wars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzJL4Cgc1OY&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Egorillamask%2Enet%2Fbbempire%2Eshtml

EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS LAST ONE IS JUST WRONG....WRONG WRONG WRONG....(GIGGLE, SNORT).

Disney News

LADY AND THE TRAMP AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN IT
(The beloved classic gets a clean new look and detailed behind-the-scenes features)


Before and after: the restored film is dramatically clearer and brighter.

This month "Lady and the Tramp," celebrating its 50th anniversary, is looking better than you’ve ever seen it. The colors and picture are crystal clear, and the songs soar. We expect no less from a DVD restoration, and "Lady and the Tramp" has gotten a deluxe one to be released on February 28 - but this package includes a lot more.

Plenty of detective work went into creating the deluxe two-disc edition, and some of the contents have never been seen before by the public. In fact, they contain some material that even Disney personnel didn’t realize still existed.

From storyboards no one knew were still there to rare footage of chanteuse Peggy Lee, from virtual puppies to visuals that were cropped from the film before it was theatrically released, this is the "Lady and the Tramp" you’ve never seen.

The Disney Insider got the inside scoop from Steve Poehlein, director of mastering and restoration, who headed the restoration team - and from Andy Siditsky, head of DVD Production, who clued us in on the history of "Lady and the Tramp" and the goodies you’ll find among the special features.

To start with, viewers will find MORE of the movie to look at than audiences have ever seen before. "Lady and the Tramp" was made in Cinemascope, a then-brand-new process producing a larger, longer, more lavish image than prior film ratios. In fact, the "Lady and the Tramp" production team had already started working on the film when Cinemascope was introduced - Walt was committed to using the new format, and work had to start over on the film to fit the new specs.

However, because Cinemascope was just being introduced, the standards changed while the movie was being completed - and under the new standard, the soundtrack had to be encoded on a strip of film that, in "Lady with the Tramp," had been used for some of the image. So from its premiere on, the film has always been shown with a portion of the image cropped out. Now, that portion is back.

Steve explains, "We went back to the film’s original negative, and that soundtrack isn’t on the negative. So we were able to present the whole picture, centered properly the way it’s meant to be seen."


Lady and friends in a happy moment from"Lady and the Tramp."

The special features contain another gem of Disney history that few have seen - and that few even knew existed!

Andy explains, "The DVD has a never-before-seen storyboard version of the film. It’s very unique in that it was a totally different movie. It didn’t have Tramp in it! We put it together and we wanted to explain what the importance of storyboarding was. Walt Disney actually developed the process of storyboarding, starting with his short features and then ‘Snow White,’ drawing pictures of the action in each scene and putting them up on the wall. That process later ended up being used for live-action films. That leads you into seeing the 1943 storyboard version of the film, which has never been seen before."

He adds, "Whenever we do one of these things we’re always looking for something that no one’s ever seen before. We just couldn’t believe that our researcher found the original storyboards!"

The special features also include some deleted scenes. Andy says that "Turning the Tables" is his favorite of these.

"It shows you what it would be like if dogs were the people and people were the pets. It’s in storyboard form, so you see the animators’ drawings but you hear Tramp’s voice telling you what it would be like if dogs were in charge. Anyone who has dogs can relate to that, I think, because we all wonder if our dogs think that way!" EDITOR'S NOTE: WAIT. YOU MEAN MY DOG ISN'T IN CHARGE?

Both Andy and Steve say that "Lady and the Tramp" is one of their favorite Disney films, and that the restoration gave them a chance to see it in a whole new way.

There's a fun feature on dog breeds and virtual puppies based on “Lady and the Tramp” characters. Viewers will also discover rare footage of Peggy Lee from Walt Disney's TV show, "Disneyland" -- legendary vocalist Lee sang many of “Lady and the Tramp”’s songs and voiced the character of Peg.

Andy says, "Normally you would never get an opportunity to see this kind of stuff. Those kinds of things are great jewels." And the film that many consider one of the jewels in the Disney crown deserves nothing less.

EDITOR'S NOTE: AND A WEE BIT OF TRIVIA ----
What was the inspiration for "Lady and the Tramp"?
A short story by Ward Greene entitled "Happy Dan, the Whistling Dog" provided the initial idea for the film.