McCain chooses Palin

Senator John McCain pulled a doozy today, choosing Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his Vice Presidential nominee. She was elected in 2006 and currently has the highest approval rating (80%) of any governor in the United States. Before her governorship, Palin was mayor of her hometown, Wasilla (population: next to nothing). She has been [...]

Confessions of a TV Watcher

Dear Educated Upper-Middle Class White People,
I have a serious admission to make. I tell you this truth with great humility and embarrassment. As a media blogger and University student, I am shamed to admit that prior to last night I had never seen a full episode of “The Office.” I’d caught bits and pieces here [...]

News and Notes: August 17th, 2008

Madonna turns a half century, Buys all of Africa’s children.

Madonna turns 50 today. Woop-te-doo, she’s in such great shape, what a role model for middle-aged women blah blah blah. When are they going to cryogenically freeze her? And at what point is she going to stop trying to prove that you can still be sexy [...]

Actors of the Week: James Franco and Penelope Cruz

Actor or the Week: James Franco
He’s already won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of James Dean. He already is part of TV history as an ensemble player in the classic 1-year sitcom “Freaks and Geeks.” He’s even part of mammoth superhero franchise ”Spider Man,” one of the most bankable franchises in movie history. Now he has rebounded from a [...]

Box Office Update: August 15-17, 2008

Box Office Chart of the top 10 movies this week

Top Movies
Weekend Gross*
Number of Screens
Per-Screen Average
Weeks in Release
Gross to Date*

1
Tropic Thunder
Paramount/DreamWorks
$26.0
3319
$7833
1
$37.0

2
The Dark Knight
Warner Bros.
$16.8
3590
$4676
5
$471.5

3
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Warner Bros
$15.5
3452
$4491
1
$15.5

4
Mirrors
Fox
$11.1
2664
$4176
1
$11.1

5
Pineapple Express
Sony
$10.0
3072
$3255
2
$62.9

6
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Universal
$8.6
3363
$2559
3
$86.6

7
Mamma Mia!
Universal
$6.5
2771
$2345
5
$116.4

8
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
Warner Bros.
$5.9
2714
$2184
2
$32.1

9
Step Brothers
Sony
$5.0
2648
$1888
4
$90.9

10
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
MGM/Weinstein
$3.7
692
$5361
1
$3.7

In the last week of the unofficial summer movie season, [...]

Big Hill Brokers Convention Deal

Team Billary has negotiated their way to getting Big Hill’s name placed in nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The convention will still elect Barack Obama as its nominee, but state delegates will now honor their commitment to Team Hill. The move is part of a grander effort to appease Clintonistas and increase [...]

Olympics Update

Dear China,
We know what you are up to. Stop stealing small children from their families and forcing them to do somersaults all day. See this NBC News story for proof.
Sincerely,
The World.
P.S. Stop lying.
In other news, NBC has been dominating the ratings with its Olympics coverage. Thanks to Michael Phelps (Go Blue!) and strong interest in Chinese [...]

“Vicky Cristina Barcelona”: The Sexiest Film of 2008?

Does this trailer for Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” opening Friday August 15th, make you think “trashy Spanish soap opera” or “steamy menage-a-trois classic?” The film centers around two recent college grads, played by Scarlett Johansson and British stage star Rebecca Hall, who meet artist and don juan Javier Bardem while vacationing in [...]

Will you see “Tropic Thunder”? Depends on which trailer you see.

Check out the RED BAND trailer at Daily Motion here.
Top: Mainstream “Tropic Thunder” trailer
Bottom: Red Band version of “Tropic Thunder” trailer
Seriously, how much funnier does “Tropic Thunder” look in the red band trailer? The mainstream trailer doesn’t contain a single laugh-out-loud crack, making the film look like a lame action parody [...]

Box Office Wrap Up: August 1-3

 Box Office Chart of the top 10 movies this week

Top Movies
Weekend Gross*
Number of Screens
Per-Screen Average
Weeks in Release
Gross to Date*

1
The Dark Knight
Warner Bros.
$43.8
4266
$10267
3
$394.9

2
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Universal
$42.5
3760
$11289
1
$42.5

3
Step Brothers
Sony
$16.3
3094
$5268
2
$63.0

4
Mamma Mia!
Universal
$13.1
3062
$4285
3
$88.0

5
Journey to the Center of the Earth
New Line
$6.9
2285
$3008
4
$73.1

6
Swing Vote
Buena Vista
$6.3
2213
$2846
1
$6.3

7
Hancock
Sony
$5.2
2782
$1869
5
$216.0

8
WALL-E
Buena Vista
$4.7
2555
$1857
6
$204.2

9
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
Fox
$3.4
3185
$1075
2
$17.0

10
Space Chimps
Fox
$2.8
2134
$1330
3
$22.1

“The Dark Knight” reigns for the third week in a [...]