What’s coming out of the idiot box.
Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg, the creators of Shaun of the Dead, had the rare distinction for a writer/director team of having made the greatest film of its genre. Of course, at the time of it’s debut, they’d also made the only film of its genre. Though it’s since been …
The Schmotezgreüber-Hackertini Family of Production Companies are pleased to announce the following casting calls. If you meet the belowmentioned requirements, please have your representative contact Julii in our casting department, along with three head shots, the last nine digits of your Social Security number, and a gift basket containing no …
David Carradine came from one of Hollywood’s most legendary families. His father John, his brothers Keith, Robert and Michael Bowen, and his niece Martha Plimpton were all actors, but he was no doubt the best-known – for critically acclaimed performances like his role as Woody Guthrie in Bound for Glory, popular and …
It’s been over a year since Breaking Bad went off the air with a breathless finale that had the whole world — or at least that noisy part of it that has opinions about television shows — watching. There’s no question at this point that, for better or for worse, the story …
The average cable provider, desperate to compete with the entertainment-dollar encroachment of the internet, brings literally hundreds of channels into the homes of its subscribers, most of them running 24 hours a day. That means, in an average week, there are upwards of ten thousand shows being broadcast. Somebody’s got …
Quickly, now: name one good filmmaker who started out making music videos. Not bad, not bad. Now, just as quickly: name one good filmmaker who, after making it in feature films, went back and made more music videos. Wasn’t as easy, was it? And if you’re looking for a reason …
The Flash, like some Speed-Force-infused Rodney Dangerfield, don’t get no respect. Despite going through a respectable transition from Golden to Silver Age (and, in the process, inventing the multiverse), being a founding member of the Justice League of America, featuring some top-rate talent in his solo title, displaying one the …
(Note to producers: Mr. DeGrasse-Tyson is out with a bad case of sarcoidosis. Because of time constraints, Mr. MacFarlane has volunteered the services of his friend Jud Granderson to complete the voice-over content. Mr. Granderson is a technical consultant on American Dad, has a semi-degree in physical education, a keen interest …
Dear Dan Harmon, Last night I had the unexpected opportunity to see Harmontown, the documentary film by Neil Berkeley that documented a whirlwind tour across the U.S. of your podcast of the same name. The tour came after your notoriously well-publicized firing from Community, a show you created and which I consider …
As has been discussed here and elsewhere ad nauseam, when you are dealing with certain pop-cultural icons, they belong to everyone, regardless of the opinions of their corporate attorneys. Like any other mythological figure, from Odin to Jesus to Sherlock Holmes, there is no really ‘right’ or ‘correct’ interpretation of the …
…which is why, of course, we’ll be bringing in the helicopters at that time, since they’ll give us the reliability and flexibility we need. Tom? No, unfortunately I can’t give you anything on the Basra situation at the moment. No, we’ve got some information, which we think is pretty reliable …
“Tim? It’s Jill.” “Oh, hi, Jill! I’m surprised you’re calling so soon. Did they cancel?” “No. We had the meeting.” “Well? Good news?” “Is a 20-minute meeting ever good news?” “I dunno. That’s what I pay you for.” “They’ve decided to pass, Tim.” “No! You’re kidding. Why?” “They thought that …
We should have seen it coming. This was our livelihood, after all; we were the artists of commerce, creatives in the world of the merely productive. We worked with words and ideas the way our clients worked with industrial chemicals and institutional foodstuffs. We lived for le mot juste, and we …
A long time ago, back when the invasion of Iraq was as fresh as a spring rain and hadn’t yet curdled into the biggest waste of life, wealth, and moral authority in this country’s history, I found myself reading an editorial in the Wall Street Journal that was strongly against the war. …
Heroism is a tricky thing. It’s difficult to define to the point that it’s almost entirely personal; it’s a thorny enough social concept that we spend endless hours debating what we mean by it in both fiction and reality. Some people don’t like the very idea, finding it too troublesome …
