Access Denied

I was in the habit of posting here during my morning or afternoon break at my job. Unfortunately, I have recently been forbidden to post to my 'blog at any time using company equipment. The fear is that the high-profile client that my company serves might somehow find this 'blog (I average 4 vistitors per day right now), discover that I am the writer, and fire my agency because of the personal commentary of a bottom level assistant. I have made mention of our client here, and I have been complimentary frequently, and never explicitly negative. Still, I seem to have caused quite a stir. So let this be a warning to all who dare to express their thoughts in the cyberspace frontier: Big Brother is watching.

Your comments are welcomed.

English is Hard

As part of the announcement regarding a new Beverly Hills headquarters for the Gersh Agency, Variety gathered this quote from namesake partner Bob Gersh: "We've had tremendous growth for the past five or so years in all areas of this company and wanted to both reward the people who've been a big part and ensure for future success with the people we've cultivated."
What?
To that I can only add, that that with which I've previously spoken seems to have fumbled or so to the point for going toward non-understanding of a single upon which I've tried for saying.

"Killer" Name Change

Fox's new TV drama, reviewed here as "The Gate" and previously known as "Deviant Behavior" has been renamed yet again as "Killer Instinct." I wouldn't be surprised if it gets changed again, since there was a 1994 Video Game and no less than 6 movies since 1987 that were known by this title at some point. In other changes, actor Kristin Lehman has become the leading lady, replacing Marguerite Moreau from the pilot.

Unfortunate Irony

If you look closely at the above picture of a double-decker bus destroyed by the London terrorist attacks, you can see that part of an ad for a movie called "The Descent" remains attached. A close up of part of this ad from another bus appears below. The ad reads, "Outright Terror...Bold and Brilliant." The film has been marketed with the tag-line "Face Your Deepest Fear." A most unfortunate coincidence.

Weekend Results - Fantastic!

1.) Fantastic Four ($56M, $15,546 th. avg.)
2.) War of the Worlds ($31.3M, $8,005 th. avg.)
3A.) Batman Begins ($10.2M, $3,055 th. avg.)
3B.) Dark Water ($10.1M, $3,811 th. avg.)

Dark Water floated right to where I expected it; Batman did a little better over all, but note the weaker per theater average. I really thought that in week 4, Fantastic Four would pull away much of the Comic Book fan audience, despite the differences in style (Batman is darker, FF looks to be campier, ironically something more like Schumacher's Batman & Robin.) But I guess all the comic book fans went weeks ago, leaving for this weekend those who won't be at San Diego's ComiCon next weekend.
FF created the third biggest opening this year, and broke the record-breaking streak of 19 weeks of sagging returns. War of the Worlds holds the number two opening record for it's premier last weekend (behind Star Wars III), but it had Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg. FF is the first surprise breakout, so let me send my congratulations to writers Michael France & Mark Frost, director Tim Story, producers Ralph Winter, Bernd Eichinger, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan, & Avi Arad, and an army of Production Assistants who will net close to minimum wage for their efforts. Good work all.

Friday Morning Picks

1.) Fantastic Four
2.) War of the Worlds
3.) Dark Water

This could be a close one, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Monday's reports hold. Leave your thoughts about my picks in the comments section, as well as your take on "Batman's" potential in week 4, facing off against another comic book adaptation.

Nepotism

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?
Practice!
How do you get to the Hollywood Bowl?
Marry Someone Successful!

My company scored me some tickets to the premiere of the "Video Games Live" tour at the Hollywood Bowl last night. The show features music performed by symphonic orchestra from classic games like Super Mario Brothers and Legend of Zelda, as well as music from newer hits like Everquest and God of War. Although I expected it to be a bit more polished that it was (the symphony lost sync with the percussion and/or the multimedia accompaniment numerous times), it was generally an enjoyable show. However, I must take this opportunity to show my geek card and rant.
I was thoroughly enjoying the grand finale, a practically perfect rendition of the Halo theme, until it was ruined by a miserable attempt at the eastern chanting solo. The singer? Show Producer Tommy Tallarico's wife. Evaluation: Lame. Surely the budget of this show could have afforded a real singer. Mrs. Tallarico was featured multiple times through the evening, but this last attempt was clearly the most offensive. Halo was fragged so badly at this point, that not even guitar great Steve Vai could save it, apparently missing the cue for his solo, and contributing nearly 4 measly notes to the song. Tommy's young daughter also made an appearance earlier in the evening, overcoming her obvious stage fright and lack of experience. (I believe her number was the "Myst" medley.)
Oh, well. Highlights from the evening included: Legend of Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Medal of Honor (accompanied by WWII archive footage), and Advent Rising (composed by Tallarico himself). Also in attendance, beside Your's Truly, were actor Elijah Wood, comic book legend Stan Lee, screenwriter Zach Baliva, and Gary Coleman, former child star, who complained loudly at the pre-party about MTV's lack of desire to interview him.

The Sky's the Limit

...when it comes to rip-offs.

Take a look at this:

"Sky High" Trailer

I think Disney really wants this Super-Hero School movie to be their "Harry Potter." It's even got a super-hero Quidditch. Here's the thing- It actually looks pretty good. The effects seem top notch, and the trailer made me laugh.

So what do you think? Is this a rip-off that could be as good as it's inspiration? Can you think off any other past copy-cats that were better than the predecessor? This movie also comes hot on the tail of "The Adventures of Sharkboy & Lava Girl," which I think has a younger target audience. Will that affect it's perception? Share your thoughts; Leave a comment.