My Ooobama Pumpkin

Got the stencil at YesWeCarve.

Best Thriller vids

One of the best "Thriller" videos of them all: students at a community college in France performing a wonderful "Thriller" lip dub. With a ton of planning and some great college-themed outfits, these guys managed to pull off one of the greatest single shot music videos out there. Awesome!

Lip Dub IUT SRC Rouen 2008
by arcanes-prod

Marine Thriller in Iraq:


and of course the 1500 Filipino prisoners classic:

Jason Statham in Transporter 3

You're welcome.

Hocky Mom sings

Alan Rickman joins Alice in Wonderland

From EW:

Is it just me, or did Alan Rickman's promo pic for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves strongly foreshadow his upcoming role as the hookah-smoking caterpillar in Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland? Alan Rickman's the latest star to sign on for what's shaping up to be the weirdest movie ever. Johnny Depp will be The Mad Hatter, as we know. Also on board: In Treatment's Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as The White Queen, and Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts. Christopher Lee will be involved as something (The White Knight, maybe?), and Danny Elfman will do the music.

I didn't know Alice was the girl in In Treatment! She is amazingly talented. Can this movie get more perfect? Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, and Alan Rickman as anything I will just love. Crispin Glover also has the perfect otherworldly look. Awesome!

A Message from Joe Six-Pack

See more Thomas Haden Church videos at Funny or Die

5 More Friends

My favorite line: "I can do anything. I was in a boy band!"

I voted today. Don't forget to vote!

New International Australia Trailer

November 26th can't come fast enough! One more month!

In Bruges and Hunger lead British Independent Film Awards

Reuters UK reports:

IRA prison drama "Hunger" and crime comedy "In Bruges" will go head to head at the British Independent Film Awards with seven nominations apiece, more than any other 2008 picture.

"Hunger," starring Michael Fassbender as IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands and directed by British artist Steve McQueen in his film-making debut, has been shortlisted in the best British independent film category along with "In Bruges."

Both "Hunger" and "In Bruges" have also been nominated for best debut director, best screenplay, best actor, best supporting actor and best technical achievement.

McQueen is also on the shortlist for best director, while "In Bruges" actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are up against each other in the best actor category.

Ralph Fiennes was nominated twice in the best supporting actor category -- once for "The Duchess" and one for "In Bruges."

I hope this will get more attention to In Bruges, which was my favorite film from Sundance last January. It didn't get much attention in the States, but hopefully, this will jog people to get it from Netflix and see it! Also, great to see Hunger and Michael Fassbender continue to get kudos from what appears to be an amazing film. Read my review of In Bruges and view the trailer here.

The Story behind Wassup 2008

How did Budweiser react to this Wassup 2008 ad? Here's the story from Business Week:

How could Budweiser possibly be cool with such a clearly partisan advertisement?

Budweiser had no clue it was happening until after the video hit YouTube on Friday.

The man with the answers? Charles Stone III, the director of the original “Wassup” commercial and the movie Drumline (and the guy who answers the phone in the first frame of the video). He decided to make it about two weeks ago, he told me, with a crew of about 50 volunteers (all professionals working pro bono). They put it together in 9 days.

It was all possible, Stone says, because Budweiser never owned the rights to the idea. He’d originally made it as a short film independent of the brand, and Budweiser had only leased the rights, paying a mere $37,000 for five years of use. Back then, people gave him a hard time about the low price. Now Stone, a diehard Obama supporter, says it’s more than paid off. “That I’m able to use an idea distributed by a huge company, who made a lot of money off it, so that now when I put out what I want to say, it’s recognizable, and it sparks -- that’s worth $1 million to me.”

It came together after emailing with friends about ways they could make a video supporting Obama. Once they’d settled on the concept, he got on the phone with the original cast (all friends of his, who are now actors living in New York, Philadelphia, and LA), and called up his Director of Photography from Drumline, Shane Hurlbut, who brought in his crew. He also signed up Gerard Cantor and Maurice Marible, from commercial production house Believe Media, who co-produced. They shot over two days. The war-torn Iraq setting is actually a preexisting set in Santa Clarita, CA.

After they finished, they uploaded it to YouTube with distribution company 60Frames, set up a website, wassup08.com, and sent links to everyone they knew. As of writing this, it’s been viewed almost 1.8 million times, and picked up across the blogosphere, including on BoingBoing, Daily Kos, and Huffington Post. The final price tag? About $6500 out of his own pocket, Stone says.

Colin Farrell on Alexander disaster

Still hate the hair.

Colin Farrell was in Rome promoting Pride and Glory and spoke about Alexander (from Huffington Post):

Alexander hurt, you know -- and again people are going to say 'Get over it, you were well paid' and all that. But Alexander hurt," Farrell told reporters.


"The response that it got was really painful and all of us got a really hard time, and I didn't come across too well either in the majority of reviews and even with the audiences -- people did not respond to it.

"It was a film that was made to be seen by many people. Not many people saw it and they weren't particularly fond of it, and that was s----, it was really s----," he said...

Farrell, along with co-stars Angelina Jolie and Val Kilmer, was nominated for worst actor for his portrayal of the ancient Greek military leader at the 2005 Razzies...

"I took it to heart. I felt like I had let a lot of people down, I felt like I had disappointed a lot of people ... And it took a while to get over that," Farrell said.

Wassup 2008

Friday the 13th meets Benny Hill...

Some fun for Halloween from the Movie Moron:

By the end of a horror movie, 99% of the time it comes down to one girl, the heroine, being chased, and really you’re just going through the formality because you know she’s not going to die.

But she will miraculously develop a way of zoning in on the locations of all her dead friends.

Sometimes, in amongst all the unlikely tripping over, you just wish they’d get on with it.

And what better way to get things moving, than the Benny Hill theme…

New Harry Potter Trailer

The ending is just the best. They're torturing us by delaying this till summer!

Thandie & Ricky make a Porno

Awards Daily has a prediction, and an hilarious video to share:

I’m thinking Thandie Newton is probably going to be a contender for W for supporting. Here, she reads a script for a Sarah Palin porno, co-starring Ricky Gervais - I’ve never seen anyone steal a scene from Gervais but Thandie does it. To be fair the poor guy doesn’t have much to do:

3-D Cleopatra Musical?

This falls in the WTF? Did I just read that category. Variety reports on Steven Soderbergh's proposed next project after Che:

For his next directing effort, Steven Soderbergh is plotting a 3-D live-action rock ’n’ roll musical about Cleopatra.

He is courting Catherine Zeta-Jones to play the Egyptian queen and Hugh Jackman to play her lover, Marc Antony.

The music has been written by the indie rock band Guided by Voices, and the script is by James Greer, a former bass player for the band and an author.

While Soderbergh has recently done a spate of wildly different projects, this one will be his first full-blown musical.

Catherine Zeta-Jones was great in Chicago, and I'd love to see Hugh in a big screen musical, but I don't know about this one.

Mazel Tov Amy Poehler

As Seth Meyers announced last night on SNL, explaining Amy Poehler's empty chair, Amy and husband Will Arnett had a baby last night. It's a boy, named Archie. EW finds this clip of Will and Amy talking about their "baby Sean Penn":

Fans of the 2007 film Blades of Glory, in which Poehler and Arnett costarred as a pairs figure skating team, might have an idea what the couple is wondering: Asked in one of the bonus features (below, at three minutes) if they were ever to have a baby, would it be the funniest child in the world, they broke character, giggled, and gave a genuine answer:

Poehler: We think we might have the most unfunniest child.
Arnett: We have always imagined that we'd have a Sean Penn-like child.
Poehler: A little baby Sean Penn.
Arnett: Real brooding, Method-y actor.
Poehler: Smokin' all the time....I hope my baby doesn't smoke. I don't know what kind of baby we're gonna have. I really should get on this.

At the three minute mark:

Stubble musings

I gave a snort of laughter, at seeing THIS picture of Gerry in Andrew Sullivan's blog this morning in a post about stubble mysteries. The photo is credited: (Photo: hottie Gerard Butler by Chris Jackson/Getty.)

Appleyard is firmly anti-stubble:

Stubble has been on my mind lately - not the best place for it - because I was recently in an office where every - and I do mean every - man had stubble. Furthermore, all the stubble seemed to be exactly the same length. This clone-effect began to give me a strange, Stepford Husbands feeling. But it also made me realise that I had no idea how men maintain stubble. (Is it just right the right length once every three days, meaning that those office workers had, somehow, synced themselves? If happening naturally, this would make stubble the male equivalent of women's periods. Or perhaps they had all agreed to shave on the same day - more likely but more disturbing.)

How Gerry always has the perfect stubble length has puzzled me, too! LOL! Andrew Sullivan's political blog frequently has other weird stuff, and he's firmly in the bear bearded camp, but now we know he's also a Gerry fan! Never thought I'd tag a post with both Andrew Sullivan and Gerard Butler!

Twilight Could Get You Laid

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Everything Will Change...

My friend BluEyedDaizy has a great new video using clips from Hugh Jackman's film, The Fountain. Darren Aronofsky certainly gave her some beautiful images to work with! I have yet to see this film, although it's been on my Netflix queue. Looks gorgeous!

Watch it here in high quality -- it's worth it!

Ron Howard goes Opie for Obama

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Sorry, but the Obama supporters just have the funnier ads! This one had me dying. Aaaayyy!

Watchmen & Twilight Trailers on Spike

At the Spike TV 2008 Scream Awards, they showed a few exclusive new trailers. Below see Watchmen with an intro by a few of the stars and Zack Snyder. I knew that Zack would call it "awesome," because in case you didn't know that's his favorite word. ;) (Love ya, Zack!)


Also, an extended scene from Twilight. We've seen some of this before, but they gave us a wee bit more:


Hat tip: The Movie Blog

The Dark Knight Meets Superman

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

“Hey Bat-Bro. While you were talking I went ahead and stopped crime. Like, all of it”. LOL!
Hat tip: The Movie Blog

To put you in a Halloween mood

My friend Sooth (Amy) is a fantastic fan video creator. She has reposted a Dracula 2000 video she made a couple years ago for Halloween. Yes, that is Gerard Butler of 300 fame as Dracula. Lyrics NSFW. Love this one, and it put me in a Halloween mood.

Watch it in High Quality -- big difference!

I'm in Love with the Pie Maker

Pushing Daisies is not doing extraordinarily well in the ratings this fall. The long hiatus because of the writers' strike did not help at all. I just adore this show, and have from the very beginning. Lee Pace is beyond dreamy as Ned, the pie maker. It's a quirky sweet show with a unique universe that reminds you in a way of a Tim Burton movie. It is like watching a mini-movie every week. Here's how one of the producer's described it:

I think that viewers want to watch a program where they can escape from their own personal worlds and find themselves in our characters’ charming universe. The show takes place in modern times, but it really occurs in a timeless version of today where the characters don’t use cell phones, computers, or other technology. I feel very fortunate to be a part of something where I can visit the set, watch these incredibly gifted actors take already wonderful lines and enhance them to match the show’s innate quirkiness.

If you've never seen the show, here's a short summary of the story so far:

If Hollywood Directors made Attack Ads

For John McCain: John Woo, Kevin Smith and Wes Anderson. The last one cracks me up.

Hope Davis & John Mahoney In Treatment

This is great news. I religiously watched HBO's In Treatment with Gabriel Byrne. Okay, I really religiously DVR'd it and watched it in marathons. Not only was it picked up for a second season, but they've really made me excited about the new patients. They snagged John Mahoney and Hope Davis, two of my favorite character actors, both extremely talented. I'm going to be doing cartwheels watching Gabriel Byrne spar with both of them.

"Treatment" chronicles the weekly sessions of psychoanalyst Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne) with several of his regular patients as well as his weekly visits to his own therapist, Gina Toll (Dianne Wiest).

Davis will play Mira, a high-powered malpractice lawyer and a former patient of Weston's who blames him for being single and childless. The actress, next appears in "Synecdoche, New York."

Mahoney ("Frasier") will play Bill, a self-confident CEO who finds his life getting away from him.

Seventeen Again Trailer

Sort of a reverse of Big. This looks cute. I do think Zac Efron is talented, and this looks like a good vehicle for him. Love that Leslie Mann is in this! She cracks me up in everything she does.

Ain't Funny

South African Government Fatcat falls off chair

Thanks Khayav for LOL's!

Breaking News from ONN

Love the Onion!

Politician Cameos in Film

Spoutblog has another great list: 10 Great Film Cameos from Politicians.
Here's two of my favorites: Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, a huge Batman fan, even got one line in the Joker crashing the party scene in Dark Knight.


And of course, John McCain appeared as himself in Wedding Crashers:

See the rest of the list here at Spoutblog.

Robert Downey Jr. Oscar nod for Tropic Thunder?

Heath Ledger is probably a lock for the supporting actor Oscar, but here's an interesting tidbit about Paramount campaigning for an Oscar nomination for Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder.

“There’s currently a battle brewing in Hollywood over Paramount’s surprise decision to push The Soloist from its release date in November to March next year. The largest talent agency in town, CAA, is quite unhappy with Paramount, saying “we were blindsided.” Variety shed some additional light on the situation tonight in a new article, adding that Paramount was pressured by Viacom to cut costs for the fourth quarter and Soloist was easiest to move (and apparently isn’t that great anyway). But hidden at the end of this article was an interesting tidbit that just made me smile. “The studio will now back an Academy campaign for [Robert Downey Jr.’s] supporting role in Tropic Thunder.”"

Comedies are notorious as losers at the big show, but Kevin Kline did win for Fish Called Wanda so stranger things have happened. Robert Downey Jr. was absolutely brilliant in Tropic Thunder, but he's spoofing actors, so they might be a wee bit touchy about it.

Which Size Are You?

From a UK Bra shop!

Hat tip: List of the Day

Banjo playing during brain surgery

Banjo player Eddie Adcock recently had brain surgery where surgeons installed deep brain stimulator electrodes to control a tremor in his right hand. Patients are sometimes kept awake during brain surgery to interact with the surgeon and help guide the procedure. In Adcock's case, he played the banjo as the surgeon worked.

Read the whole article at Boing Boing.
Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

Happy Birthday Viggo!

Today is Viggo Mortensen's 50th birthday. I didn't see him in Appaloosa, and now we'll have to wait for The Road.

When it comes to the 2008 Oscars, this could be the end of “The Road.” The Viggo Mortensen-starring dark thriller, which earlier this week had been pushed from November to December, now looks likely to open in 2009. A new release date has not been set, but the movie, a Dimension title from The Weinstein Company, probably will bow in either February or March.

The Weinstein Company declined to comment on any postponement. But director John Hillcoat’s film about a man (Mortensen) and his son wandering a post-apocalyptic U.S. is not expected to be ready in time for a 2008 release, and those involved with the film have decided that it will benefit from more post-production time and a less crowded release calendar.

Nuts.

Here's a blast from the past pic of Viggo from 1980. He used to just be a pretty face!

and here he is in Eastern Promises. Like a fine wine, he has aged pretty damn well.

Mean Green Levi Stubbs

Spoutblog reminds of an iconic voice:

On Friday, singer Levi Stubbs passed away at the age of 72 following a long battle with cancer. Best known as the lead singer of The Four Tops, Stubbs also provided the voice for “Audrey II” in both the stage musical and the film musical versions of Little Shop of Horrors.

Can you think of any other voice screaming "Feeeeeeed me!" I can't. Watch a clip from Little Shop of Horrors below:

Natalie Portman and Rashida Jones Speak Out

See more Natalie Portman videos at Funny or Die

Very cute!

Whatever, Martha

My friend Melisa has pointed me to the new show Whatever Martha where Martha's daughter, Alexis, and a friend watch old episodes of Martha Stewart's show and comment on them -- mercilessly. They make fun of what she's wearing, the fact that Martha would sharpen sticks and bind them with ribbon for s'mores. Watch the little clip below. It is a riot!


Whatever, Martha can be found on the Fine Living channel.

Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds

First set pic of Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds. No idea why Quentin Tarantino has changed the title spelling.

Tina "Falin" on Letterman

Dick Van Dyke Show Bloopers

Boybama - Battleground For Your Heart

A Boy Band to reach all those white women... LOL!

Happy 60th Birthday, George Wendt!

Da man from Chicago, George Wendt as Norm on Cheers.

Swept Up To Down Under

Award's Daily pointed me to this great Australia tourist ad by Baz Luhrmann. He says that Australia has found it's newest leading man:

“Our next leading man is about four-foot (1.2m) high, (with) long, sort of gold hair, and is an Aboriginal boy.”

Defiance Trailer

Not only do we get Daniel Craig as Bond next month, but we get a possible Oscar nod role in Defiance. Defiance's release date has been pushed to late December for the Oscar season. Love Liev Shreiber, too, and glad to see him getting such a great role. Looks even more awesome than I'd hoped from what I'd heard about it.

Orlando Bloom called...

Perez posted this pic with the caption:

Uhmmm…..

Orlando Bloom called, sweetie.

He wants his Lord of the Rings hair back!

Too funny!

Bite Me

Robert Pattinson, star of Twilight, at the red carpet for Sex Drive. Yowza. Not a big fan of the hair, but he could bite me...
More pics at Just Jared

HBO Debate

Was There Too Much Sex And Profanity In The HBO Presidential Debate?

Don Cheadle In, Terrence Howard Out in Iron Man 2

WTF??

Don Cheadle is stepping in to replace Terrence Howard in "Iron Man 2," Marvel Studios' sequel to its summer blockbuster.

In the movie, Howard played Jim Rhodes, Tony Stark/Iron Man's best friend and future armor-clad hero War Machine. One scene featured Howard looking at a silver suit of armor and saying "Next time," a line that caused great delight for fans.

But there will be no next time for Howard.

Marvel had no comment, but sources close to the deal said negotiations with Howard fell through over financial differences, among other reasons. Marvel, which had wanted to work with Cheadle, then decided to take the role in another direction and approached the actor, who is shooting Antoine Fuqua's "Brooklyn's Finest" with Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke.

Rhodes is expected to play a larger part in the sequel, which is rumored to go beyond high-tech villains.

It's not that I don't like Don Cheadle, because I do. Just how much was Terrence asking for anyway? Well, kudos to Don Cheadle to bringing on the War Machine. Bottom line is that Jon Favreau is still directing!

Ricky Gervais on list for possible Oscar Hosts

WENN reports:

Ricky Gervais has confirmed he is slated to present the 2009 Academy Awards - after Oscars bosses denied he had been approached.

The Office star was rumoured to be in the frame for the prestigious job, but awards ceremony chiefs insisted last month that there had been "no reaching out" for a presenter.

Gervais has now confirmed he is on a list of potential hosts for the annual ceremony, to be held in February - but doubts he will be chosen.

He says, "It is true, but the Oscars people are just compiling a list of folk - I could be millionth on the list.

"I did hear there was a rumour going around and my agent actually got a couple of calls about it so he checked it out. Apparently I'm on a list but I'm not sure what list exactly. I hope it's not a sex offenders register!"

I think Ricky Gervais would be hilarious. His ability to provoke extremely uncomfortable moments with celebrities in Extras could make for a very interesting show! I wonder who else is on the short list since we have new producers this year.

New Star Trek Pics!

New Star Trek pics have been appearing all over the the internet today. Filmonic has collected quite a few. Here's the Star Trek crew. From left to right: Anton Yelchin as Chekov, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Simon Pegg as Lt. Montgomery Scott, Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, John Cho as Sulu and Zoe Saldana as Uhura.


Here's Zachary Quinto (Skylar on Heroes) as Spock:


Eric Bana as Nero (freaky!):


First look at the bridge and Captain Kirk in the chair. Looks good!


We'll get a full trailer in November. Can't wait!

Debate Preview

Watch the debate early!
"Who is this Batman?!"

A Very Important Message from Hayden Panettiere

See more Hayden Panettiere videos at Funny or Die

NSFW!

Bedtime Stories - with Russell and Adam

Janene alerted me that we don't have to wait until 2009 to see Russell. He's in Adam Sandler's upcoming Bedtime Stories due out Christmas Day. Adam and Russell in the same movie -- could be some very, very funny mayhem!

Russell Brand is Tempest's Jester

Just read this today in my EW:

Perhaps it's redemption for being kicked out of the prestigious Drama Centre London a week shy of graduation. Or maybe it was just too juicy a part to turn down. Whatever the reason, this year's outrageous host of MTV's Video Music Awards, Russell Brand, will play drunken jester Trinculo in Julie Taymor's adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest. The British-born comic will appear opposite Helen Mirren, who stars as Prospera (Taymor's version of Prospero), and Alfred Molina as Sebastian. Jeremy Irons (King Alonso), Geoffrey Rush (Gonzalo), and Djimon Hounsou (Caliban) are also in negotiations to join the cast. Taymor (Across the Universe) has directed the Bard's island-set play twice on stage, but in November, she plans to take her shoot to Hawaii.

From The Guardian:

Russell Brand last week revealed his secret plan to seduce Helen Mirren. Adopting that familiar "naughty little me" persona, Brand told reporters at the Pride of Britain awards: "There's something about her that drives me wild. She's so sexy and enchanting, just look at her form ... They're going to have to hold me back when we start work. I'll be all over her. I don't know how I'll get any work done."

Russell also has an upcoming one hour special on Comedy Central in 2009, that will tape next month in New York City. I'm looking forward to seeing his standup routine madness.

Film Ads finally allowed during Oscar Ceremony

From Variety:

Movie ads have always been banned from the movies’ biggest night on TV.

Not any more.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences board of governors voted Tuesday night to ease its longstanding ban on movie advertisements running in the Oscar telecast.

The board voted to allow a limited number of spots for movies that will not open until the last week of April at the earliest — meaning that none of the nommed pics can be tubthumped during the telecast, Acad prexy Sid Ganis told Daily Variety. Ads for sequels or prequels to pics in contention in the picture, docu and animation categories will not be allowed.

Acad had banned movie advertising ever since the Oscars were first televised in 1953 in an effort to avoid any suggestion that studio coin influenced the outcome of the awards.

The ads must never have appeared before their appearance during the Oscar telecast, and only one per distributor will be allowed.

It seems obvious that there should be commercials for the summer tentpoles during the Oscar ceremony, but out of fear of seeming to have the votes tarnished, this has never been allowed before now. Seems like having an ad for Transformers 2 or G.I. Joe has little worry of affecting it's Oscar chances for next year!

The Oscars have rivaled the Super Bowl in having first run creative ads, and to me this just makes lots of sense. You've got a worldwide audience of millions of people who love and are interested in movies. Yeah, we'd like to be the first to see some movie commercials for upcoming pics!

Blog Love

I've been awarded the I Love Your Blog Award by my dear friend Darling Diva, also known as Nancy. I met Nancy through our love of a certain actor and a mutual friend. We were the three amigos getting lost in the wilds of Scotland! During those days, Nancy and I discovered we loved a lot of the same authors, and she has widened my horizons so much. She is my main source for new books to read as our tastes are quite in tune. She was the one who told me about Twilight. 'Nuff said. Nancy goes to tons of author talks and even romance writing conventions. She is always "in the know" about the latest hot thing in the kind of novels I devour. Her blog, The Things In Life That Make Me Happy, was also one my inspirations for starting my own blog. Thanks my Darling Diva!

The rules for this award are that you need to:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs!

These are my nominations:

I'll start with the personal, and end in the political!

1) Darling Diva's The Things in Life That Make Me Happy. Check out her favorite authors! If I'm the movie maven, then Nancy is the book maven.

2) Our mutual friend Kaione's blog The Art of Nothing. Kai is one of the most well-traveled friends I know, and she takes gorgeous pictures. I love that she takes pictures of the great meals she has on her trips, too! Makes me feel like I was there. She's also a damn fine video maker. Mwah!

3) Suburban Scrawl - Melissa and I know each other from synagogue, and someone there I think first told me about her blog. She's a tiara-wearing Martha Stewart wannabe. She's a mom with teenage sons, like me, and I just love reading about all the food she makes (with pictures!) like her international feast for the Olympics. She also has a snarky sense of humor in relating her adventures, and I love that. Here's a picture of the Aussie burger she made to watch Amazing Race. Check her blog for the ingredient list!


4)Living the American Dream - yet someone else from my synagogue that blogs. Hillary moved to my town from England over a year ago, and in addition to her blog writes a column in our local paper about her take on living in America. I just find her absolutely hilarious, and enjoy seeing my town through English eyes. Red Squirrels have nearly vanished in England, but she encountered some in her yard recently that stole her autumn decorations:

This morning I went out again. All but two of the gourds were gone. No signs of any vandalism, but knowing Naperville as I do, the neighbours are more likely to break in and redecorate your home than steal anything off the front porch.

4) List of the Day Blog - Regular readers of this blog will have noticed that List of the Day is my source for tons of very funny and bizarre posts. Mostly not safe for work, but a laugh riot. Today's post of a list of classic classified ads is just one example:


5) Katie MacAlister Katie MacAlister's Men In Kilts is one of my all time favorite romance novels. I don't visit her live journal every week, but if you need a Dishy Guy Monday pic, Katie will set you up. This week it's Angel:

Yes, she knows how to keep her readers happy.

6)From the personal to the political. My first blog read of every morning, and several times a day, in fact, is Andrew Sullivan's The Daily Dish at the Atlantic. He's conservative. He's gay. He's HIV postive. And he was one of the first conservatives to come out for Obama. You all know I'm a liberal, but it is fascinating to me to read about the disappointment of the last 8 years from someone who started as such an enthusiastic supporter. Not only does he have spot on political commentary and news, but he also posts bizarre mental health break stuff every day. Andrew keeps me in the know. The fact that in the midst of serious political commentary, he can post a silly 80's video convinced me that eclectic was the way to go in my own blog.

7) Talking Points Memo by Josh Larson has also become a must read every day. Josh has scooped the newspapers on several political stories this year, and I appreciate his biting wit, too. During the last debate I spent the evening flipping back and forth between Josh and Andrew's live blogging commentary.

For a movie maven, I haven't listed any movie blogs as my seven blog loves. I check several for movie news and opinions:

The Movie Blog
Movie Moron
We Are Movie Geeks
Spoutblog
Perez Hilton (of course)
and Variety now has several blogs on their site, as well as EW's Popwatch (love the Brit loving Bits 'n Bobs!).

New Twilight Trailer!!

Twilight

This trailer is even appealing to the male audience and not just the fangirls. It has a sort of Smallville or Comic Book superhero movie feel to it, no?

The sequel, New Moon, already has the greenlight. Nikke Finke writes:

When your soundtrack isn't even completed much less released (not until November 4th), yet it's already in the Top 5 Best-Selling Albums on Amazon based on pre-sales alone, you know you have a hit. When Borders makes an exclusive calendar and sells out the first printing in a matter of days, you know you have a hit. And when the new trailer to your movie surpasses 3.5 million views less than 48 hours after its online debut, you know you have a hit. Which is why Summit Entertainment's CEO Rob Friedman is already readying a Twilight sequel -- even though the vampire tween/tween movie isn't set for release until November 21st which is the date vacated by Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince. Oh, and did I mention that Twilight has the fastest selling licensed merchandise since -- you guessed it -- Harry Potter?

Yes We Carve

Carve your own Barack O'Lantern with stencils at YES WE CARVE.
Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan

Happy 40th Hugh!

Hugh Jackman turned 40 this weekend, and gave a present to all of us by celebrating on the beach! Thanks, Hugh!

Don't PSA spoof

NSFW. From the guys who brought us that hilarious Michael Phelps spoof video. This is hilarious. Friends don't let friends watch Nic Cage movies!
Hat tip: The Movie Blog

80's Video of the Day

Hat tip: List of the Day Blog

First Look at Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes

With that hat, he reminds me of his Charlie Chaplin days. Guy Ritchie began filming Sherlock Holmes near St. Paul Cathedral in London this week. Jude Law will play Watson.

When asked what he could bring to a character portrayed countless times on film and television, RDJ has joked: “Clearly I’m going to do it better than it’s ever been done. The more I read about it the more overwhelmed I was by the weight of it and the amount of people who will be watching to see if it’s gotten right.”

Nathan Fillon Nailing Your Wife in PG Porn

Nailing Your Wife
Hilarious. This episode of PG Porn stars Nathan Fillion and real porn actress Aria Giovanni. Hat tip: The Movie Blog

This is what I call beautiful

A mother breastfeeding her child.

On baring her body for the intimate W pics taken by Brad just weeks after the twins' birth: "I'm with a man who's evolved enough to look at my body and see it as more beautiful, because of the journey it has taken and what it has created. He genuinely sees it that way. So I genuinely feel even sexier."

Brad Pitt's photos of Angelina Jolie with the twins are in the latest edition of W Magazine. Read more at Huffington Post.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - mini-review

I have always, always had a thing about high school movies. I went to high school myself in the era of John Hughes' reign -- Pretty in Pink, Breakfast Club, and of course, Sixteen Candles. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is truly a film of 2008. There are things in this film that are just presented as a matter of course, and I love it about this film. Nick's friends and bandmates are gay, and they are not the downtrodden, flaming, pathetic gay sidekick friends of movies of the past. They are the confident ones who try to steer Nick away from the girl who dumped him to Norah, the one they see he really should be with. One of my favorite scenes of the film has one gay friend dragging Norah into his van alone. He starts pulling bras from a bin, and tells her to change into one. "We're all girls here. Nick is SO worth an underwire! Let's get rid of that uni-boob!"

The other thing I noted is that the only orgasm had in this film is experienced by a girl. That was a nice little development in cinematic high school movie history. Norah's Jewishness is also just a matter of fact thing, not a joke or stereotype. Tikkun Olam, repairing the world, was discussed in a high school romance!

Michael Cera plays essentially the same nerdy sweet kid he has in every other movie and Arrested Development. My husband wondered what else he can do, but said, "That kid is going places!" My husband has never seen Superbad or Juno, so I pointed out that this kid has already been in some blockbusters! Michael Cera's shtick hasn't worn thin with me. Was John Cusack playing that many different characters early in his career? 'Nuff said.

Kat Denning as Norah was a true gem. I love her character and can't wait to see this actress' career develop. Nick and Norah are named for Nick and Nora of The Thin Man, and I loved their witty bantering and bickering. I give this film three and a half stars. Loved the music, too, that showed Nick and Norah they were soulmates. I can't believe it, but it was my husband's idea to see this movie over everything else that was out this past weekend. He really liked it, too, even though he realized he was in for a "chick flick" based on the trailers we saw before the movie started! LOL!

Loves It

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

That One

Take On Me - The Literal Version

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Now we finally get it!

Dark Knight Toy Story Trailer mashup

I can't get enough of these creative edits. This one is a gem. Hat tip: The Movie Blog

Oktapodi

Very cool animation.

Johnny Rotten shills butter

Well, this is a sign of the apocalypse. Sex Pistols singer Johnny Rotten doing a commercial for Country Life Butter in Britain.

One-time punk pin-up and sometime anarchist John Lydon has mellowed further into middle age by starring in a £5m TV campaign for Country Life butter.

"People know I only do things that I want to or that I believe in and I have to do it my way," said Lydon on deciding to appear in the TV ad.

"I've never done anything like this before and never thought I would, but this Country Life ad was made for me and I couldn't resist the opportunity."

In recent years Lydon has led a quiet life, gaining attention in 2006 by competing in I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, in which he was pecked by a group of ostriches before remaining true to his anarchist roots by walking out before the final.

Review Roundup

I have been remiss in reviewing movies lately. I've been catching up with the new fall TV shows on my DVR, but I have seen a few in the last few weeks that I would recommend.

Tropic Thunder

Tropic Thunder, directed by Ben Stiller, had me laughing like I haven't in a long, long time. My husband did not know the whole setup, and went WTF? when the trailers for the actors started at the beginning. Everyone was hilarious in this, but Robert Downey, Jr. as such a method Australian actor that he surgically alters his skin to play the black soldier had me on the floor. There were so many inside Hollywood jokes and references to just about every war movie made and all the cliches. Tom Cruise was funny, but he didn't have me on the floor like the very un-PC conversation between Stiller and Downey: "Everyone knows you don't go full retard! Ask Sean Penn!" Three and a half stars and a laugh RIOT. If you missed it in theaters, make sure you rent this one.

The Bank Job

The Bank Job is based on a true story from the 1970's of a ham radio operator overhearing a robbery in progress. It's a solid performance by Jason Statham in a more understated role for him. I loved all the 1970's period costumes and sets. Very fun and definitely worth a rental. Three stars.

Burn After Reading

Burn After Reading -- Variety claimed this Coen Brothers film was "too silly." Well, I have to say, that I wasn't on the floor gasping for breath like I laughed in Tropic Thunder, but I chuckled quite a bit. The plot makes no sense, and even the CIA boss says "Get back to me...when it makes sense!" Who cares! The fun of this film is seeing all these actors spoofing themselves and their image. Brad Pitt as a blonde male bimbo is a riot. He steals the film for me like when he rides his BIKE to a meeting with the CIA agent! I loved the little quirks, like George Clooney's character who is a serial adulterer. Each house he enters, he can't help commenting on the floor, even in the midst of seduction. "Is that white maple?" There is a moment of violence that is quite shocking. I know this is a spy spoof and all, but it almost didn't belong in this film, except this is the Coen brothers who brought us the wood chipper in Fargo. Three stars. Great performances by the whole high wattage cast.

Oscar Revote

Entertainment Weekly wants Hollywood to rewrite Oscar history by giving the film industry a chance to revise the Oscar history books. It's called "Recall the Gold."

On October 6, EW is inviting more than 7,000 Hollywood insiders to participate in an extensive survey to re-vote on past Oscar races. EW wants to test which movies truly stand the test of time. With the benefit of hindsight, did the right films and performances win over the past 25 years?

"Every year we talk about the effect of campaigns, and spending too much money and did they buy the Oscar, especially at the height of the Miramax era," says Smith, who was inspired by Brokeback Mountain's loss to Crash. "Would people stand by that five years later? Was it five years ahead of its time? We have all looked back and thought, 'they picked that?'" If a movie crosses time and generations and all that, does it still resonate? The object is, if you strip away everything, the campaigns, the timing, in terms of pure movie quality and performance, were the right films picked? If you voted again, would you vote the same way? It's voting without buzz."

Monday EW is mailing out their official "Recall The Gold" ballot inviting the industry to vote in six major categories for five given years spaced five years apart--2003, 1998, 1993, 1988, and 1983--five, ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty-five years ago.

This is going to be really interesting. They've created their own "Academy" list of 7000 film professionals, but this time including film agents, who are not allowed to be Academy members. Will Shakespeare in Love still win? The winners will be announced in January. Read the whole article here. Coolio!

If All Movies Had Cell Phones

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

LOL!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button Trailer

A bit more than what we got in the teaser trailer.

Are we not doing the talent portion?

In case you missed Tina Fey's latest tour de force.

Happy Birthday Clive Owen

Clive is 44 today. See, I'm not a cougar all the time. lol

Death Star Over San Francisco

This is very cool. Hat tip: List of the Day blog

Who's Robin Hood in Russell Crowe's Nottingham?

Russell Crowe is playing the Sheriff of Nottingham in Ridley Scott's movie Nottingham. And now we have word on Robin Hood -- and it's Russell, too!!

The news comes straight from the helmer himself, with Scott revealing “He’s playing both!” exclusively to MTV News during an interview for his new film “Body of Lies,” which co-stars Crowe. While Scott held additional details close to his chest — saying they would take too long to describe — he did exclaim that Crowe’s dual roles would be “a good old clever adjustment of characters. One becomes the other. It changes.”

Meanwhile, Russell joked to Leno that with the long locks he's growing for the movie that he's playing Maid Marian:

'It's like walking around with a dead Koala on your back,' he tells Extra.

Ain't It Cool accompanied the Robin Hood casting announcement with this cool clip:

Michael Fassbender talks about Inglorious Bastards

Enjoy some gorgeous new pics of Michael Fassbender from the festival circuit promoting Hunger, which is getting Oscar buzz and RAVES! Two recent interviews reveal that Michael's career may be about to explode:

“Instead of auditions now I go to lunches. Everyone takes me out and wants a piece of what they perceive to be the ‘Michael Fassbender Product’ that could make money in the next year. That’s what they hear. That’s pretty cool, having that power,” the sexy and mischievously smiley Irish actor told indieWIRE.

IGN: How was it meeting Tarantino for the first time?

Fassbender: It was amazing, fantastic. He’s a film enthusiast. I love that you can mention any film to him, and he doesn’t only know the f**king film, he’ll quote sections of the film to you, I love that, I’m a film geek, too.

IGN: Tarantino loves Italian B-movies. Is this anything like the Enzo G. Castellari-directed 1978 Italian WWII movie Inglorious Bastards (Quel maledetto treno blindato)?

Fassbender: I haven’t seen the original to be honest. I don’t know, this plot is very much in a Quentin Tarantino-style. The dialogue; the rapid sort of response between characters.

IGN: Who do you play?

Fassbender: I play Hicox, Lt. Hicox, who is an English guy who posing as a German soldier.

IGN: What happens to him?

Fassbender: I can’t tell you that, Jesus Christ.

IGN: Tarantino is well known for changing the script on set, are you prepared for the dialogue to change, or to do some serious ad-libbing?

Fassbender: Look, I always think my job is to tell a story. The character within a script is to tell a story, I’m just going to make sure that my German is good, because he might want to drift off the script, just like you said, so I have to make sure that I’m prepared enough on the German. I prepare in a very disciplined fashion, in terms of the script. I work on it, over and over again, until I’m sick of it, and then I work on it a couple of other times, so I just prepare for getting it on the page and then I relax.

IGN: Do you think that acting in a Tarantino film will be something that changes your career?

Fassbender: I just want to keep working and working with interesting people. He’s definitely up there at the top of the list in terms of interesting directors, but I just want to keep on getting the chance to work and learn.