Go to the Fantasy Book Critic website and see how.
http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com
PAD
According to "Entertainment Weekly," you still haven't cast Dick Cheney in your film "W" about George W. Bush (a film, I have to admit, I'm looking forward to seeing.) You complain about the considerable number of older Hollywood actors who are Republicans and so don't want the job.
Richard Dreyfuss.
Hell, he was halfway to Cheney back in "The American President." He can knock the role out of the park. And he's part of a group advocating the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.
Have your people call his people.
PAD
In case you're still on the fence as to whether the Iraqi war--which between the efforts of ourselves and the insurgents has resulted in the deaths of sixty thousand Iraqis--is worth it, consider this tidbit from the book "The 3 Trillion Dollar War":
The billions spent thus far by the United States in Bush's war, if spent instead upon domestic concerns, would have been enough to fix Social Security for seventy-five years or provide health insurance for every child in the United States.
PAD
I've been reading the reviews, seen much scathing commentary, scratching my head over the hostility engendered by "Speed Racer." I've been wondering whether others saw the same film that my family did: The kids' film that people slam as being too long for kids, yet five-year-old Caroline was captivated, and I thought was thoroughly engaging.
And I realized a lot of this negativism was sounding familiar to me. Too long. Too loud. Too overwhelming visually with lots of mindless sound and fury signifying nothing. And I realized where and when I had heard it all before:
"Blade Runner."
Critics and fans leveled many of the same complaints at "Blade Runner," comparing it unfavorably to other then-popular SF films, and it was crushed at the box office by a powerhouse called "E.T." "Blade Runner" tanked.
Yet over time it was seen as visionary, and its stylings let an indelible impression on fans and future filmmakers. Any number of dramatic endeavors have the visual stamp of "Blade Runner" upon them.
I think that's what's happened here. I think "Speed Racer," consistent for its title character, is ahead of the pack, and no one has realized it yet. I suspect you're going to see tricks from "Speed Racer" showing up in other films in the next years, and it's going to be one of those movies in which, years from now, film students are going to be seeing the basis for many subsequent films. While now people dismiss Emile Hirsch as being bland, others are going to realize he wisely underplays the titular character to serve as a quiet center against the overplaying of his costars and the go-go visuals that surround him. The constant motion of the wipes and the way that even heavily expository scenes are made visually stimulating are going to be aped in subsequent movies.
"Speed Racer" may crash, but like a first rate car, it's going to be cannibalized for its parts.
PAD
To my own mom, celebrating her first mother's day in her new house (a mere stone's throw from the house of my sister's family, including two little granddaughters), and to Kathleen who is both a great mom and stepmom.
PAD
I felt, and still do feel, the media was far too mean to poor Miss South Carolina who spouted gibberish when asked about the lacking geography skills of American students.
That said, the Pace University Freshman Cabaret managed to find a new angle on the debacle as student Danicah Waldo (remember that name; you heard it here first) performs Miss SC's answer, set to music by Jason Wetzel, in "Miss South Carolina: The Musical" and wonderfully captures the poor girl's deer-in-the-headlights thought process:
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So in the last season of "West Wing," while the Democratic party was splintered in a divisive struggle between two contenders--one of them a long-time DC operator and the other an idealistic minority candidates--while the already decided white-haired GOP candidate, unpopular within his own party because of some of his policies waited patiently...
The President serving the second term of his presidency was busy organizing a wedding for his daughter.
PAD
...and all she got was a lousy t-shirt.
Well, not lousy; it is a perfectly serviceable shirt with a perfectly serviceable picture of Avril Lavigne on it. But it is not by any stretch a concert, and that is because there was none. The concert was canceled due to laryngitis. So although she wound up spending a perfectly decent weekend with her mother, she still shlepped two thousand miles for a non-event. And since she thought she was going to see Lavigne in Arizona, we made no effort to see her locally.
So Avril Lavigne, if you happen to be reading this, try and swing by Long Island next time, okay?
PAD
Since I knew I was going to be in LA during the week that Iron Man opened, I checked with my contacts at Marvel West to see if I could go to a screening. They came through.
What I didn't realize was that this wasn't simply an employee screening, as we have in New York. This was the formal premiere. We're talking red carpet, banks of reporters, and a reception for cast and crew.
First thing's first: The movie is great. They did a terrific job of translating the screenplay to the screen (not always a guaranteed endeavor, I can assure you) and Robert Downey, Jr., the first thinking man's superhero, took Tony Stark to a whole 'nother level with his deftly brilliant performance. The rest of the cast brings their "A" game, but it's Downey's heroic journey that both anchors and elevates the movie. An absolute must-see.
My experience at the premiere was nothing short of surreal.
So there was the red carpet stretching along the sidewalk to the entrance of Grauman's Chinese theater. On the right hand side were all the various reporters and photographers. The carpet itself was bisected lengthwise, effectively creating two "lanes." When I stepped onto it, there were quite a few people on the left and no one on the right. Naturally I went to the right. Almost immediately a security guard (there had be to about a hundred of them, all similarly attired in black jackets) said, "Sir, you have to walk on the other side."
Immediately I twigged to the set-up: The right hand side, nearer the media, was for the movie stars, the director, the people you see interviewed on "Entertainment Tonight." The left hand side was for mere mortals.
I shrugged, said, "Uhkay," stepped to the left and continued walking.
I made it about ten feet and suddenly people started shouting, "Peter, over here!"
I turned and looked toward the photographers. Flashes immediately started going off. "Peter, this way! Look over here, please!"
I was stunned. Somewhere on the internet there are probably pictures of me looking as if I'd just been slammed in the face with a 2 x 4. The photographers waved me over. "Uhkay," I said and accommodated them, feeling awkward and uncomfortable and bewildered.
When they had enough shots (I would have thought one would have done it) I kept walking and encountered another guard who waved me over to the left. "Uhkay." Back to the left I went. I walked another ten feet and suddenly a camera crew from IGN was shouting, "Peter! Can we talk to you for a few minutes!" "Uhkay." Back I went and did an interview for IGN about the film. When I was done I looked to the security guard questioningly. He just waved me toward the theater and I kept going on the celebrity side.
When did I become a celebrity? How the hell did THAT happen?
In the theater I was seated next to Mark Silvestri and his wife, and the crew from BET. I cannot recommend highly enough sitting next to the BET guys during an action film, particularly if you want high octane enthusiasm from audience members.
At the party I met Jeff Bridges briefly, didn't get anywhere near Gwyneth Paltrow, and never did see Robert Downey. But I chatted with lots of folks, had a great time, and didn't leave until after midnight.
So this is what the Hollywood high life is like. It could be attractive if I weren't always concerned that the earth was going to split open and swallow us.
PAD