Craig's MovieBlog

Nobody Panic. The Deal is Done

Matthew Weiner and Lionsgate have signed an agreement for Seasons 3 and 4 of Mad Men.

Thank goodness.  No one wants another “West Wing-without-Sorkin” situation.

Blogging Drought and Mad Men

I’m not sure why I haven’t been posting here.  Sure... busy at work, but whatever.  I think it just comes down to the fact that I have been inspired by absolutely nothing in the movie business lately.  Nothing.  Okay, yeah... I want to see the new Bond flick, but I'm hearing mixed things (especially from David Poland) but I just can't seem to get excited by anything that's coming our way.  Can't tell if the problem is me or them - I guess that's the tricky part.

The other issue is that when I'm writing about movies, I feel like I'm cheating on my new love: Mad Men.  So, in honor of my deep deep love affair with that show, here are a bunch of Mad Men links that I've been saving up:

• The Simpsons spoof the Mad Men title sequence
• Truthful TV title cards - check out the one for Mad Men.  Heroes is funny too.
• Mad Men Fan Fiction - weird, but... No, just plain weird.
• Great interview with creator Matthew Weiner
• How to discuss Mad Men properly
• How to get Don Draper hair

Thanks to Fimoculous.com and kottke.org for these links, and for just plain being absolutely awesome.

The Parents Television Council Makes a Funny

“The number of fleeting penises we expect to see on broadcast television is zero.”

Wh... Wh... What?!?!

I'm stunned.  Over at the Bits section of The New York Times, there is actually lucid, coherent, intelligent discussion happening ON THE INTERNET!

I know, I know... hard to believe.  I'm sure we'll all get back to yelling FAIL! or FIRST! at each other soon, or debating the merit of Britney wearing a bra (she really should), but in the meantime, there's a super interesting piece about the cable companies getting upset about all the networks putting so much content on the web for free (South Park, Monk, The Daily Show, Battlestar Galactica, etc.).  Their claim is that putting it on the web devalues it, so they should have to pay less to carry the networks on their cable systems.

The networks seem to be trying to have it both ways, spreading their brand for free on the web or generating ad revenue, and still monetizing their content through the cable systems.

Now, here's the crazy part: the comment section is actually good and raises interesting points!  Mark Milner says:

When cable was first introduced years ago, its pitch went like this: “The reason you pay for cable is because there are no commercials.” 

The cable companies are making millions and millions on their overpriced product and they slam us with commercials as well. 

Seems like they are trying to have it both ways as well.

And I liked Tantrum's concise refrain.  I think I'll make a bumper sticker out of this: 

Show me a competitive business that has fought customers’ habits and preferences successfully yet managed to thrive.

How Great Has Lost Been This Year?

I'm going to keep this short, and maybe it's because the lack of quality, scripted television due to the writers strike has left me a desperate man in the desert grasping for drops of water, but...

What a phenomenal television show.

My only clue that something was up last night, was when Jin's phone got run over by the car.  I thought to myself, "huh... that's a crappy cell phone," but then that was it.  I didn't see it coming until the big reveal.

The other nice part was that the writers all knew that their audience expected to see Michael again, so they pulled a different rug out from beneath us. 

Kudos.  So good.

David Simon Says Thank You

I don't watch The Wire.  I hate myself for that, as everyone who has ever seen it says it's hands down the best thing ever put on television.  I need to go back and rent the DVDs for Season 1 and just start from the beginning... sounds like a project for when the family is out of town.

I noted that the series creator, David Simon, wrote a thank you note to its viewers, and there were some portions that struck me:

"This year, our drama asked its last thematic question: Why, if there is any truth to anything presented in The Wire over the last four seasons, does that truth go unaddressed by our political culture, by most of our mass media, and by our society in general?"

"We are a culture without the will to seriously examine our own problems. We eschew that which is complex, contradictory or confusing. As a culture, we seek simple solutions. We enjoy being provoked and titillated, but resist the rigorous, painstaking examination of issues that might, in the end, bring us to the point of recognizing our problems, which is the essential first step to solving any of them."

"If you followed us for sixty hours, and you find yourself caring about these issues more than you thought you would, then perhaps the next step is to engage and to demand, where possible, a more sophisticated and meaningful response from authority when it comes to such things as the drug war, educational reform or responsible political leadership. The Wire is about the America we pay for and tolerate. Perhaps it is possible to pay for, and demand, something more."

He goes on eloquently, but I'll let you read it for yourself. 

It's times like these, when I see that no one watched this series (myself included), and yet Dancing With The Stars is on for its 6th freaking season, Deal or No Deal counts in most homes as doing math homework, Don't Forget the Lyrics was watched by 14.4 million people this week, the top 7 shows this week were all reality-based crap, 10,000 BC made $35.9 million this weekend, and Alvin and the Chipmunks grossed almost $350 million worldwide ... well, I get a little cranky. 

Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart At the Emmys Again

Every year after the Emmys, my site gets pinged by Google a whole lot as people are searching for what hijinks Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were up to.

To ease your pain, and thanks to Tim Goodman, here are their performances from the last two years:

 

September 27th Can't Get Here Soon Enough

Here's what the cast of The Office did on their summer vacations.

More Craig Links - Less Bitter This Time

Sorry, not sure what got into me yesterday.  The list of top ten tv shows just really rubbed me the wrong way.

Anyway, here are a few more links that caught my eye... other than the Cloverfield trailer that everyone is murmuring about and that Paramount is taking off of YouTube as fast as they can type...

• A new blog that I've been reading (mostly for the technology posts) called AppScout has a nice roundup of the best web marketing efforts from the movie studios this summer.  I'm sure Chris over at Movie Marketing Madness would love this... and have an opinion or two.
• The Chicago Tribune's blog, Pop Machine, held a poll asking readers which stars they could most rely on to imply quality in a film.  The results are in, and the winners are:

  9 and 10. Edward Norton, Denzel Washington (8 votes each)
  7 and 8. Christian Bale, George Clooney (9 each)
  5 and 6. Leonardo DiCaprio, Morgan Freeman (10 each)
  4. Cate Blanchett (14)
  3. Johnny Depp (17)
  2. Kate Winslet (18)*
  1. Meryl Streep (19)*

  I'm stunned Andy Dick and Jessica Simpson didn't make the cut.  Actually, I'm more stunned that Tom Hanks didn't make the top 10, but I'm not sure who I'd remove from the list.  Wait, is anyone else surprised that Christian Bale got 9 votes?  Mind you, I don't disagree, and I would have voted for him myself, but I didn't think that he was popular enough to break into George Clooney territory.  To me, though, if Daniel Day-Lewis is in a film, that just screams high caliber work.  Looks like he only got three votes.

• This might be the best email exchange ever between two Hollywood heavyweights.

I Want To Throw Up

Here are the top ten most watched television shows for the week ending July 1:

1. America's Got Talent (NBC)
2. CSI (CBS)
3. So You Think You Can Dance - Weds (FOX)
4. So You Think You Can Dance - Thurs (FOX)
5. Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader (FOX)
6. Two and a Half Men (CBS)
7. CSI: Miami (CBS)
8. Princess Diana Concert (NBC)
9. So You Think You Can Dance - Weds, 8pm (FOX)
10. Law and Order: SVU (NBC)

American Idol and Survivor aren't even airing these days, but it's still packed with crappy reality shows. 

Honestly?  How dumb are we?  We deserve everything that happens to us as a society.

Seriously... Sayid Broke That Guy's Neck With His Feet!

I'm sure you're all trying to figure out which of the bazillion showings of Pirates 3 you're going to go to this weekend, but I had to take a second to "give props" to this week's season finale of Lost.

Simply put:  yes.

While the season finale of Heroes can only be described as anti-climactic (even with Hiro heading way back into the past to kick off season 2), Lost just hit a complete home run.  It's interesting how the second half of Lost really picked up the pace (while still posing new questions) almost as if it was responding to how well people were reacting to Heroes.  By the finale, they had found the perfect balance - creating the mysteries that Lost mythology requires, while answering questions and moving the plot along quickly a la Heroes.

Best moments/issues/questions:

• They broke their flashback rule in a very innovative way, even if it wasn't a complete surprise.  (Go look at the name of the funeral home again - Hoffs Drawlar)  My question is: how far into the future is that?  Is that the end of the show?  Is that a few weeks from now?  Is that season five?  I could certainly see scenarios where that is how they finally end the show, but I can also see how that could be a turning point halfway through, and the remaining episodes would be about trying to get back to the island and/or finding closure.
• Seriously, Sayid broke that guy's neck with his feet.
• Mikhail getting harpooned by Desmond.  (For what it's worth, I remember the last time I made a scuba diving escape from an underwater secret facility after getting a harpoon to the chest.  It's not as hard as it sounds.)
• Charlie writing "Not Penny's Boat" on his hand.  And yes, he could have gotten out and survived, but Charlie clearly believed that he had to die so the rest of the cast could live.
• Hurley driving the VW bus through the Others to save the day.
• Who was in the coffin?  "Friend or family?"  "Neither."  Kate: Ausie"Why would I go to the funeral?"
• Beautiful Kate getting out of the car at the airport.
• Jack pummeling the living crap out of Ben.
• Ben and Alex's two moments - "I didn't want him to get you pregnant" and "Meet your mother"
• Sawyer shooting Tom in cold blood.  That's the third time he's killed someone who couldn't defend himself...
• Walt?  WTF?  My take on it is that's not the real Walt.  He's one of those illusions (i.e. Jack's dad, Kate's horse, Ben's mom, Eko's brother) that the island seems to serve up to certain people when it needs to do so.

For those of you who need more and can't get enough, here are a ton of interviews, recaps, closeups of the newspaper clipping that sent Jack off the edge, and more:

• Best Week Ever
• Ausiello Report
• TV Squad's recap and Why TV Squad is worried about Lost next season
• My personal favorite: NY Mag's Vulture

The Sopranos: I'm a Little Slow Sometimes

Even though I'm not making it to the movies as much as I used to, I feel like I'm making it up with the amount of great television on these days. 

If you're enjoying this season's Sopranos as much as I am, then you'll probably get a kick out of Tim Goodman's blog, who is a television critic for the SF Chronicle.  He deconstructs each episode, recounts the best lines, gives us his own pet theories on how the series will end, and sometimes even explains something that you might have missed the first time around.

For example, last night when Phil thanked Tony for "the recent headlines" and Tony denied all knowledge of the hit on Rusty, Phil then opened his coat saying "my heart is an open book."  Me?  I thought he was being dramatic.  Turns out he was showing Tony he wasn't wearing a wire.

Like I said... I'm a little slow sometimes.

Studio 60 Pilot Script

If my head could burst with excitement, it would.  I'm now fully prepared for an embolism to hit, because I just read an early draft of the pilot for Studio 60, Aaron Sorkin's new project.  Read it.  It's 66 pages, but it reads fast.  I'm telling you... read it.  It's like Entourage meets Larry Sanders meets The West Wing, all wrapped up in Sportsnight.  Good god this is going to be amazing...

I'd like to thank TV Squad for pointing me in the right direction.  Thanks to them, my life is complete; I can die now.  If someone could just put more hours in the day, so that they can hurry up and film these episodes, that would be super - thanks. 

Again, if you need more info on Studio 60, check out this page on wikipedia - good stuff.

David Cross Thanks Fox for Giving Arrested Development a Chance

... or something like that.

Arrested Development is Cancelled

Well, the best show on television is now history.  Arrested Development is gone.  Multiple Emmy awards be-damned.

Nice work, Fox (and everyone out there who didn't watch it).  Hopefully now there will be time for more ads for Prison Break.  We certainly can't get enough of those.

Hey, HBO - give this show a chance, would ya?