Tonight, FX closes the books on the drama series that put the cable network on the map. Since it’s inception in 1994, FX struggled to produce original programming that received high ratings and critical acclaim. In 2001, the brass at the Fox subsidiary took a risk on The Shield, gritty, in your face, detective series where the main character is as crooked as the criminals he arrests. Every aspect of the series is cutting edge. From the camera work, art decoration, storylines and performances, the cast and crew of The Shield make the viewer feel like they are watching a documentary. The Shield falls in the category of one of those shows that never had a bad season, and never compromised the essence or integrity of the plot by resorting to cheap gimmicks. Even when big guest stars such as Glenn Close or Forrest Whitaker joined the cast, their characters always seemed right at home instead of being forced down our throats. Creator Shawn Ryan had a definite vision, and built on the characters he created for seven seasons. It is amazing to me that Shawn Ryan was not sure how many seasons the series was going to have because leading into the series finale, everything has appeared to come full circle with the perfect build and story arcs exploding in the last ninety minutes. The Shield is a rarity in television. Despite falling off the pop culture radar as of late, this cult favorite will go down in history as the series that redefined a classic genre.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
A Salute to "The Shield"
Tonight, FX closes the books on the drama series that put the cable network on the map. Since it’s inception in 1994, FX struggled to produce original programming that received high ratings and critical acclaim. In 2001, the brass at the Fox subsidiary took a risk on The Shield, gritty, in your face, detective series where the main character is as crooked as the criminals he arrests. Every aspect of the series is cutting edge. From the camera work, art decoration, storylines and performances, the cast and crew of The Shield make the viewer feel like they are watching a documentary. The Shield falls in the category of one of those shows that never had a bad season, and never compromised the essence or integrity of the plot by resorting to cheap gimmicks. Even when big guest stars such as Glenn Close or Forrest Whitaker joined the cast, their characters always seemed right at home instead of being forced down our throats. Creator Shawn Ryan had a definite vision, and built on the characters he created for seven seasons. It is amazing to me that Shawn Ryan was not sure how many seasons the series was going to have because leading into the series finale, everything has appeared to come full circle with the perfect build and story arcs exploding in the last ninety minutes. The Shield is a rarity in television. Despite falling off the pop culture radar as of late, this cult favorite will go down in history as the series that redefined a classic genre.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Twenty-five years later: Hollywood is still coming to "terms"
When filming went a million dollars over budget before a one scene was even shot, Brooks had to continually push back the start date. A year later, NBC saw the screenplay and paid the rest of the budget in exchange for exclusive television rights. The cameras finally started to role in late 1982. It was at that point, Brooks masterful direction sometimes took a back seat to his role as professional babysitter. The two leads, Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger caused a great deal of tension on the set, mostly because Debra Winger refused to break character. At one point, producer Penny Finkelman had to jump on the hood of MacLaine’s car to stop her from leaving the set. James L. Brooks lost three days of filming begging Debra Winger to come out of her hotel room. When Burt Reynolds dropped out of the role of Garret Breedlove despite loving the script (he was contractually obligated to Stroker Ace), and Harrison Ford and Paul Newman turned it down, Jack Nicholson stepped in as a favor to friend Debra Winger on the condition they schedule his shooting days around the Laker home games. John Lithgow filmed his role during a three day break from Footloose because the actor originally set to play his role dropped out as well. James L. Brooks and co-star Danny DeVito found out Taxi was cancelled during filming. The producers also had to fight for Jeff Daniels, who was relatively unknown, and not wanted by Paramount. Daniels had to co through eleven callbacks before he was cast in the crucial role of Emma’s husband.
25 Years Ago Today The NWA was Fair to Flair
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Hidden Nugget of the Week: Celebrity Rehab
Gary Busey – Minutes into the show, Busey mentions he has done cocaine off the back of his dog. So if you’re a dog, I guess the only thing worse than being owned by Gary Busey, is being owned by Michael Vick. Actually I’m not sure about that, because with Vick you have a fighting chance.With Busey, you’re what he uses when his coffee table is too cluttered with drafts of his acronym book. By the way, the person who green-lit that book has the greatest sense of humor. However, that’s only the tip of the insanity iceberg. Busey also takes advantage of the maid service at the rehab center by bringing his dirty laundry from home. The best part about Busey is that he thinks he is one of the doctors. He’s going around telling the other patients he is there strictly to help, and not go through the treatment. At that point, Amber Smith tries to figure out if he is really saying these things or if she’s having withdrawal. Like in baseball, VH1 went with their “ace” first. Nobody can touch Busey’s insanity, and introducing him early gives us a full 90 minutes of pure awkward pleasure. This was great casting.
Amber Smith – The former model and actress brings her box of pills and rack of silicone to the treatment center, as Dr. Drew can barely contain himself when doing the pre-interview. I counted at least three times Dr. Drew blatantly stares at her boobs. Amber is opening up and crying about her mother forcing her to do drugs with her, and pervert Dr. Drew can barley give her a sensible response because he’s too busy watching her breast heave as she cries. The producers say everyone gets a physical, but Amber and Nikki McKibbin are the only ones I saw that actually had to lay on the table. Good thing Amber wore a sundress. Dr. Drew, who I’m not even sure is a real doctor, wore his stethoscope the entire time, and did an abdomen examination the same way a five year old would do when they play hospital. What makes Dr. Drew qualified to do this? Teaching millions of teenage adolescents how to treat herpes on LoveLine doesn’t exactly give him a PHD.
Rodney King – Of all the awkward moments in the show, one of the most awkward would be when Drew kept asking King “Is there anything that happened in the past that might have lead you to drink?” King, who showed restraint by not standing up and screaming “Yeah I was beaten by three Los Angeles cops, then every news station in the world replayed the tape for a years, mother fucker!” and put all the blame on himself. Rodney did some hardcore drinking too. How drunk do you have to be to not be able to show up for work as a tow truck driver’s assistant? I mean, shit, your not even driving the thing. All you have to do is hook the car to the truck and away you go. The editors also left in the little gem of Rodney puking out the window of the tow truck. And honestly, Rodney King is not a celebrity. I’ll give you everyone else, but Rodney King. What, were Anita Hill and the Runaway Bride busy?
Tawny Kitaen – Looking like she drove the very convertible she posed on in the White Snake video straight through a wall, Tawny Kitaen might be the most genuine person in the entire show. Sure she was arrested for beating her baseball player husband Chuck Finley with a stiletto heel, but it was the drugs that made her do it. She even tells Dr. Drew she was surprised cocaine had such a bad effect on her. Despite her naivety, Tawny seems like she is the only person there truly committed to getting better. You couldn’t help but feel bad for her when she gets dissed by Rodney King. If anything, Tawny Kitaen is a survivor. She made it through being a white woman dating O.J., so she was probably closer to death then than she was on speed.
Sean Stweart – Rod’s son Sean takes the opportunity of being isolated in a house with strangers to prey on the women, mainly Amber Smith. Although I’m sure if Nikki McKibbin loses all that weight again she’ll be in the running too. At what point do you actually have to do something to be famous. Are Sean’s kids famous by birth too, or is it a one generation thing, then your on your own talent from there? Sean calls himself a singer, song writer, model which is odd since he approaches all three the same way. – stand around and let other people take pictures of you. It might be a technicality, but I thought you had to write songs to consider yourself a songwriter. Anyway, this guy is already getting on my nerves so I hope Busey gives him the Under Siege treatment and karate chops him in the throat.
Steven Adler – I get the feeling Slash has an entire answering machine full of Steven Adler begging him to let him drum for Guns N’ Roses again. Steven is so f’ed up they start the show two weeks early because they are afraid he will OD by the time cameras start rolling. Dr. Drew makes a house call, and Adler is on the brink of destruction because … wait for it … Slash put out a new album and he wasn’t asked to do drums. If I was doing a spoof of this segment, I would immediately show shots of a long haired top hat wearing Slash as a young boy, posing with a young Adler to show how long they have been friends and then miraculously shots of a long haired top hat wearing Slash as a young boy, posing with a young Adler. You cannot make this stuff up. Adler is brought to the rehab center by ambulance and really scares the shit out of all the other guests (except Busey who thinks he’s a homeless man). I’m not saying it’s hard to understand Adler, but his pronunciation makes The Elephant Man sound like Patrick Stewart.
Nikki McKibbin – Nikki actually has a really sad story involving her mom dying after they did drugs together, so I won’t elaborate much more than it’s a shame the price you pay when you become too famous too fast. The current American Idol is not anywhere near as popular as the first season, so imagine the whirlwind of drugs and booze she must have been caught up in as twenty two year old kid set loose in Hollywood.
Jeff Conway – Like the Emperor Nero making his grand entrance in Rome, Jeff Conway, the Savior of VH1, emerges from his limo. Looking like Tiny Tim grew up and became a crack addict, Conway quickly makes himself at home. Since he already went through rehab once, Jeff is familiar with his surroundings, and at one point I think the nurses bring out his personal coffee mug. Dr. Drew considers Jeff Conway his Mount Everest, which is eerie because if you get to close to Jeff you might actually lose some fingers and toes. With this rowdy bunch, it’s hard for VH1 not to have a hit on their hands. It’s also hard for me to stomach that people who once had talent are more making a comeback off their addictions. There addiction can be profitable for years to come. It’s like in the 70s when every show on CBS was a spinoff of All in the Family. What’s next? Rodney King as a contestant on I Love New York?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Why James Bond is Pop Culture's Favorite Secret Agent
The 60s - If you watch the films from the 60s, Bond is a perfect poster boy for the sexual revolution. His numerous conquests, cocky swagger and seductive gaze gave promiscuity a respectable name. While saving the world was business, the sex was always fun. You can almost see Sean Connery smirking on the inside every time he has to address Pussy Galore by name. James Bond films fully embraced America’s figurative unbuttoning of it’s blouse, as Ursula Andres made her dripping wet entrance and Claudine Auger’s dark vulnerability made her role as Domino not only one of the hottest Bond girls of all time, but one of the hottest film characters of all time. The political climate in America was the perfect background for James Bond to travel the world as an agent in The Cold War. The spy genre was huge in this era because the paranoia of the Iron Curtain had patriotism high and everybody watching their back. 007 even capitalized on America’s obsession with space, as his numerous foes often had world domination by use of space weapons as their agenda, causing Bond to leave the galaxy for some of his missions.
The 70s – As disaster movies like The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno raked in mega bucks for Hollywood, the Bond franchise decided bigger was in fact better. The 1970s saw the release of the most ambitious films of the entire series, as they pushed barriers with stunts even the Japanese weren’t crazy enough to try. The mid-air parachute fight in Moonraker took 13 days to shoot, and the ski cliff dive from The Spy Who Loved Me convinced the film’s crew that the director was insane. As racial tension across the world intensified, Live and Let Die provided blaxpotation scenes worthy of Super Fly and Foxy Brown as it depicted the gritty ring of drug smuggling in Harlem, and the bigotry on New Orleans.
The 80s – With Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton splitting Bond duty in the 80s with three and two respectively, it seemed Bond received a makeover every time he made an appearance. Hollywood was producing blockbusters in every genre, so there was no true formula to follow. The only thing they all had in common is the characters had to be larger than life. From Indiana Jones to Tootsie, captivating characters carried films throughout every genre. Where the Bond films of the 90s would be effects driven, the interaction between James Bond and the likes of Max Zorin (Christopher Walken), Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), May Day (Grace Jones) and Octopussy (Maud Adams) dismantled any need for big explosions and high speed chases. Of course Bond would not be Bond without those things, and even held it’s own with Die Hard when it came to climatic action scenes.
The 90’s – Bond appeared for the first time since the end of the Cold War in 1995, and there was a question of whether he would be relevant. As the technology age flourished in America, it did so for James Bond as well. It seemed like Bond’s weapons were becoming outdated faster than Q could pump them out. James Bond should never be using technology made available to the general public. If the three movies in the 90s, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough, the producers tried to top each other in terms of special effects in each one. The good this was that it worked. With George Lucas and CGI becoming more of the norm, Britain’s favorite MI6 agent blew up everything from Tokyo to Peru out of desperation to keep up. Although the 90s will be known as the Peirce Brosnan ear, it can also be identified as the era where James Bond gets back his footing.
The 2000s – A new Bond and a new beginning were emanate. As Die Another Day paid tribute to the past forty years, Bond took a new direction. Just like Batman and Superman, Bond returned to his roots. The beginning. The only difference is, Bond is not damaged and not doomed. He’s rather good in the beginning but not the best. He’s serious but had a witty edge. And in our recent political climate, who would have thought it would be a British agent saving the world from Middle Eastern terrorist and economical bankruptcy. James Cameron put the kibosh on True Lies 2 because he thought it was no time to dramatize Iraqi terrorist, but why not. James Bond has, and always will be the barometer for pop culture and current events, which is why he is still the longest running franchise is movie history.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Shoot: Lanny Poffo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e34FJLuT8KQ
SPOILERS:
- Vince McMahon brought him in to release him, but Lanny saved his job by asking Vince to let him work heel for one night. Vince thought he was too good looking to be a heel. Lanny begged Vince to let him be a heel for one night, and if the fans didn’t buy it, he would go. That night, Lanny went to the ring in the Boston Garden and caused fans to jump the guardrail when he insulted all four Boston teams in his poem. McMahon signed him to a new contract immediately.
- He states his best friend is Rick Martel. Rick’s family flew Lanny into Canada as a surprise to Rick on his 50th birthday. They had Lanny dress as a clown, and reveal himself to Martel during the party.
- Hulk Hogan loved working Lanny, and the two have a very good relationship.
- David Sammartino and Lanny were both victims of Pat Patterson’s rise to power. Lanny decided to stay and do jobs, but David quit immediately.
- After hearing one poem from Lanny on Tuesday Night Titans, Vince McMahon told him he is to do a poem before every match.
- He took the cap and gown idea from a gimmick his father did twenty years earlier.
- His children’s book was nominated for the Newbury Award.
- When riding in a car with Ronnie Garvin, Ronnie pulled over to ask a middle aged woman who was gardening for directions, and got her attention by yelling “Hey c*nt”
- Was involved in a backstage altercation with Bam Bam Bigelow after Lanny made a joke at his expense in front of the entire locker room. Bigelow asked him if he wanted to take it outside and Lanny replied that he would love to because it would be safer than working him.
Find more shoot interviews at Wrestling HotSeat's Website http://www.myvirtualbc.com
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Survivor
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
In honor of Election Day, here’s a list of pop culture mainstays that weren’t afraid to proudly display their red or blue.
Pop Culture’s Top 5 Republicans
1. Alex P. Keaton. Michael J. Fox’s portrayal of the eldest son of the Keaton family on Family Ties was such an avid right winger, he not only debated his free spirited parents for six seasons, but he had a picture of Richard Nixon sitting on his nightstand.
2. Elisabeth Hasselbeck. Her biased loyalty to anything red brings a needed counterpoint to the Bush-bashing women of The View. Also, her prim and proper demeanor proves you can be sexy without being slutty.
3. Rush Limbaugh. He’s the journo the left loves to hate, and the man who isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind. Like many other pop culture figures, rehab has only secured his place in pop culture history.
4. Jack Donaghy. Clinton friend Alec Baldwin plays against type on 30 Rock as the NBC executive who had a torrid love affair with Condi Rice, worked in the Bush administration, and dreams of the days when Regan was President.
5. Chuck Norris. The Walker Texas Ranger star might be smarter than he looks. I mean so few celebrities endorse Republicans, he almost always makes the list by default.
Pop Culture’s Top Five Democrats.
1. Mike Stivic. Archie Bunker’s meathead son-in-law broke television ground when his character brought sensitive subjects like abortion, interracial marriage and draft dodging to the blue-collar 1970s New York home on All in the Family.
2. President Jed Bartlett. Martin Sheen’s appearance was the only thing Regan-esque as he challenged the political process and preserved the integrity of his party for his eight year, two term service on NBC’s critically acclaimed drama The West Wing.
3. Bill Maher. His political commentary remains insightful, intriguing and infuriating despite the fact Real Time allows only one Republican in the building per week.
4. George Clooney. His influence amongst voters is almost as effective as it is with moviegoers, and even manages to make politics seem cool.
5. Bill McKay. Robert Redford’s role as the pretty boy Senator from California positioned as the possible sleeper for the Democratic Party in The Candidate was so popular in the 1970’s, the fake campaign button used in the film is displayed in the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Hidden Nugget of the Week: Diablo Cody's MySpace page
http://www.myspace.com/diablocody