Sherlock set to buff up | News | Guardian Unlimited Film: "The tumbleweeds that skid across the barren desert of Hollywood creativity showed no sign of letting up yesterday as Warner Bros announced it is reinventing Sherlock Holmes as an action hero.
Neil Marshall, the highly regarded British director of The Descent, has been hired to orchestrate proceedings and transform the erudite sleuth of 221B Baker Street into something a little more rough-hewn.
The story will be adapted from Lionel Wigram's upcoming graphic novel Sherlock Holmes, with the British Wigram set to produce.
Studio executives are keeping mum about the storyline, although it is understood that Arthur Conan Doyle's legendary creation will rely less on tugging pensively on his pipe and employ instead his little known pugilistic skills and swordsmanship to vanquish Victorian villainy.
Holmes' newfound fighting prowess alone will not be enough to overcome his foes, however. In keeping with the vague truism that behind every superhero lurks an older, often mustachioed aide, the producers are pairing up the crime-fighter with a new-look Dr Watson. Elementary, really."
Saturday, March 17, 2007
The Paper of Record's Obit for Richard S. Prather
The New York Times: Richard S. Prather, a hugely popular mystery writer of the 1950s and ’60s whose novels were known for their swift violence, loopy humor and astonishing number of characters with no clothes on, died on Feb. 14 at his home in Sedona, Ariz. He was 85.
The cause was complications of respiratory disease, his friend Linda Pendleton said.
Mr. Prather (his surname rhymed with “bather”) was best known for his three dozen novels featuring the private eye Shell Scott, a 6-foot-2 ex-marine with a broken nose, a bristling white buzz cut and an ear ravaged by a bullet he took in the Pacific theater. Among the titles in the series, most published by Fawcett, are “Find This Woman” (1951); “Always Leave ’Em Dying” (1954); “Joker in the Deck” (1964); “The Kubla Khan Caper” (Trident, 1966); and “Gat Heat” (Trident, 1967).
The Shell Scott novels have sold more than 40 million copies, according to the reference work Contemporary Authors. Most are now out of print.
More at the link.Black Snake Moan
Those of you familiar with my sordid past know that I was practically required by law to see this movie. It was twenty-five years ago, in fact, that I published an article about backwoods books in The Journal of Popular Culture, illustrated with b&w photos of some wonderful titles. Although the writer and director of Black Snake Moan probably never saw any of those novels, his movie would fit right in. Allow me to quote a few blurbs from the books, all by Harry Whittington under a couple of names.
From Cracker Girl (Harry Whittington): "Yet in the end this proved her salvation, her only escape from the angry passions and degrading emotions which enslaved her."
From Backwoods Shack (Hallam Whitney): "There was Lora, beautiful, vibrant and desirable, but trash."
From Shack Road (Hallam Whitney): "Callie May . . . just couldn't help being friendly to strangers . . . a warm friendliness that was forever attracting strangers to her. . . ."
From Backwoods Hussy (Hallam Whitney): "Her woman's instinct had made her suspect what she could do to a man -- now she knew what men could do to her. . . And she was lost -- lost in the grip of desire . . . ."
Those books were published around 55 years ago, so we all know promised a lot more than they ever delivered. Black Snake Moan delivers, and of course it's completely ridiculous. A black man, former blues singer, chains up a young white woman in his backwoods shack to save her from "the angry passions and degrading emotions which enslaved her," as the blurb writer put it back in 1952. Throw in a boyfriend who has serious problems of his own, have the blues singer in a real snit because his wife's run off with his younger brother, and you pretty much have the plot.
Could anybody but Samuel L. Jackson have pulled off the role of the blues singer? I can't think of anybody, but he makes it believable. It's a towering performance. Christina Ricci plays the young woman, and she's Jackson's equal. John Cothan, Jr., is fine as a preacher who's Jackson's friend, and S. Epatha Merkerson is also very good. Justin Timberlake plays the boyfriend. I'm less enthusiastic about his performance, but he's adequate.
This is a movie that absolutely shouldn't have worked. That it does is a credit to the performers, not to mention the soundtrack, which is the best of the year. Best of several years, if you ask me. The movie might not be for everyone (lots of sex, violence, and cussing), but the soundtrack is. Check 'em both out.
Anna Nicole Smith -- the Movie
I wonder who's going to play my brother.
Anna Nicole Smith movie in the works - CNN.com: "Filming will begin in Los Angeles early next month on a motion picture about the life of Anna Nicole Smith, CNN has learned.
Producer Jack Nasser of All-Media Productions told CNN on Friday that his company is in the process of casting the lead role in the film, which could be released as early as June.
'We're moving as quickly as possible' on the production, Nasser told CNN. 'We're on what we call 'the fast track.' '
Nasser said the film will cover Smith's life from from age 17 until her death last month at 39, including her marriage to billionaire J. Howard Marshall and the death of her son Daniel.
Nasser said his film will focus on 'the positive' about Smith, whose February 8 death caused a media sensation. 'It's not focused on the trash,' he said."
Anna Nicole Smith movie in the works - CNN.com: "Filming will begin in Los Angeles early next month on a motion picture about the life of Anna Nicole Smith, CNN has learned.
Producer Jack Nasser of All-Media Productions told CNN on Friday that his company is in the process of casting the lead role in the film, which could be released as early as June.
'We're moving as quickly as possible' on the production, Nasser told CNN. 'We're on what we call 'the fast track.' '
Nasser said the film will cover Smith's life from from age 17 until her death last month at 39, including her marriage to billionaire J. Howard Marshall and the death of her son Daniel.
Nasser said his film will focus on 'the positive' about Smith, whose February 8 death caused a media sensation. 'It's not focused on the trash,' he said."
Friday, March 16, 2007
Bob Randisi Comments on Raines
Bob Randisi is the author of Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime (A Rat Pack Mystery) and (with Vince Van Patten) The Picasso Flop.
I don't usually respond to blogs, . . but I had to respond to your comments about Raines. SPOILER ALERT! I love that he talks to his dead partner. In fact, if I hadn't seen Goldblum of Regis and Kelly that same morning--where HE gave it away--I might have been surprised. Well, maybe not. END SPOILER ALERT! But I lke the feel of the entire show, talking dead and all. I didn't think it would work for me but, like you, I wanted to give the show and chance. Mainly because of Goldblum. I like him in almost anything. I disagree that this is nothing special. The fact that it's not part of the L&O or CSI franchise makes it special. Goldblum is his usual understated self, which works here. And the retro feel works, as you pointed out. But the taking to the dead aspect--I really liked when he asked the girl a question and she responded "I only know what you know." Characters have talked to themselves before, but this is much better. And it's not played for laughs, i.e. giving us a shot of him talking to air and people staring at him. The only episodic tv I watch is pretty much Shark, Medium, Numbers, and now Raines. Raines is what I wish Monk was, quirky without being slapstick.
I don't usually respond to blogs, . . but I had to respond to your comments about Raines. SPOILER ALERT! I love that he talks to his dead partner. In fact, if I hadn't seen Goldblum of Regis and Kelly that same morning--where HE gave it away--I might have been surprised. Well, maybe not. END SPOILER ALERT! But I lke the feel of the entire show, talking dead and all. I didn't think it would work for me but, like you, I wanted to give the show and chance. Mainly because of Goldblum. I like him in almost anything. I disagree that this is nothing special. The fact that it's not part of the L&O or CSI franchise makes it special. Goldblum is his usual understated self, which works here. And the retro feel works, as you pointed out. But the taking to the dead aspect--I really liked when he asked the girl a question and she responded "I only know what you know." Characters have talked to themselves before, but this is much better. And it's not played for laughs, i.e. giving us a shot of him talking to air and people staring at him. The only episodic tv I watch is pretty much Shark, Medium, Numbers, and now Raines. Raines is what I wish Monk was, quirky without being slapstick.
Anna Nicole Smith Update
Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband sues Bill O'Reilly - CNN.com
Prince Frederic von Anhalt has sued Fox and Bill O'Reilly after the talk show host called him a fraud for claiming he could be the father of Anna Nicole Smith's baby.
Von Anhalt, who is married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, filed the defamation suit seeking at least $10 million in damages Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
The claim stems from comments the talk show host made during a February 22 segment of "The O'Reilly Factor."
"Look, this guy's a fraud," O'Reilly said, according to a transcript of the show posted on the network's Web site. "We know he's a fraud. But let's -- what I want to talk about is -- he's done. His credibility is -- is finished."
Since the show aired, von Anhalt said people give him dirty looks when he goes to the grocery store.
"They say, 'Look, here comes the fraud,"' he said. "I get lots of e-mails from people bad-mouthing me. It's very embarrassing."
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Raines
I have fond memories of Jeff Goldblum in Tenspeed and Brownshoe, and I hoped that Raines might capture some of the same feeling. It did, just a little. I was caught by the opening voice-over (mention Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald, and you have me), so I stuck with the program. Raines is a homicide detective. The gimmick is that he sees dead people. SPOILER ALERT!! Nobody who's seen The Sixth Sense is going to be surprised by the big reveal at the end. I sure wasn't. END SPOILER ALERT!! The thing is that the gimmick isn't necessary. Goldblum is quirky enough without it. I suppose the idea of talking to the victims after they're dead would be even cooler if they'd actually tell him who killed him, but they don't know. Or at least the one in this first show didn't. So instead, they'll give hints, lie, and in other words behave just like an ordinary suspect or client of some P.I.
Speaking of P.I.s, there's on in this show too. He's no Andy Barker, but I liked him because he had a statue of the Maltese Falcon on his desk. Or maybe it was the real Falcon. Anyway, he's a victim, so we won't be seeing him again. His ghost didn't talk to Raines, because he saw who killed him, and that would have spoiled everything.
This show is nothing special. I'll probably watch it now and then, though, because it has a kind of retro feel to it and because I like Goldblum.
Andy Barker, P. I.
Andy Barker (Andy Richter) is a CPA with no clients. He's rented the office of a retired P.I. (Harve Presnell), and when a hot blonde dressed in red comes in and asks Andy to find her husband, he goes along with the gag. Barker is no Steve Bentley, but, using his CPA skills, he gets the job done. The old P.I. is so impressed that it appears he's coming out of retirement and that Andy will be working for him. I got some laughs from this show. I especially liked the movie snobbery of the guy who runs the video rental store on the floor below Andy's office. "We don't carry Meet the Fokkers," he tells a caller, and he's appalled when Andy says, "I didn't think they could top Miss Congeniality, but boy, Miss Congeniality 2 comes close." I also liked the Sandra Bullock doll. So I might even watch this one again. Judy, I must say, was not impressed at all.
He's the One that We Want!
Okay, fans of You're the One that I Want. Now's the time to step up for Alvin, Texas. I confess that I've never seen the show, but one of the contestants, Austin, is from Alvin. His grandmother lives two houses down the street from me. This is a photo of the sign in her yard. (That's my garage door about 3/4 of the way up on the far left edge.) Don't let Alvin down. Vote for Austin!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Your Tax Dollars at Work
Congress loads up $20 billion in pork - Examiner.com: "WASHINGTON - Congress has loaded up President Bush's request for 'emergency' spending on the Iraq war with more than $20 billion in 'pork' for members' districts.
Money for peanut storage in Georgia, spinach growers in California, menhaden in the Atlantic Ocean and even more office space for the lawmakers themselves is included in what has ballooned into a $124 billion war bill.
'This emergency supplemental bill has more ornaments hanging over our many branches of government than the White House Christmas tree,' Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said.
Originally, Bush asked for $105 billion in emergency funding. Democratic leaders say they want to grant the request to continue funding the war despite their desire to end it.
'We have provided all of the money the president requested- and more,' boasted House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer.
That includes $74 million for peanut storage, $25 million for spinach growers and $100 million for citrus growers.
It also includes $16 million to convert the old Food and Drug Administration building in southwest D.C. into more office space for the Capitol. That 'emergency' expenditure comes at a time when taxpayers already shell out $600 million 'more than double the original estimate' for a mammoth expansion of the Capitol, which includes 160,000 feet of new office space."
Money for peanut storage in Georgia, spinach growers in California, menhaden in the Atlantic Ocean and even more office space for the lawmakers themselves is included in what has ballooned into a $124 billion war bill.
'This emergency supplemental bill has more ornaments hanging over our many branches of government than the White House Christmas tree,' Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., said.
Originally, Bush asked for $105 billion in emergency funding. Democratic leaders say they want to grant the request to continue funding the war despite their desire to end it.
'We have provided all of the money the president requested- and more,' boasted House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer.
That includes $74 million for peanut storage, $25 million for spinach growers and $100 million for citrus growers.
It also includes $16 million to convert the old Food and Drug Administration building in southwest D.C. into more office space for the Capitol. That 'emergency' expenditure comes at a time when taxpayers already shell out $600 million 'more than double the original estimate' for a mammoth expansion of the Capitol, which includes 160,000 feet of new office space."
Everybody's Gettin' inta the Act
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A 76-year-old Kenosha County man in whose cornfield the skeleton of a mammoth believed to be about 12,500 years old was dug up in 1994 is interested in selling it, and officials of the Milwaukee Public Museum are interested in it. "I'm just looking for some funds for my grandkids' college," John Hebior said the possible sale of the skeleton now in 15 large wooden crates and four plastic tubs in the basement of his farmhouse five miles west of Somers.
Milwaukee Public Museum president Dan Finley said the Hebior mammoth would look great standing in the atrium of the natural history museum.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Bob Randisi Update
Bob Randisi writes to say that Vince Van Patten (Bob's Picasso Flop co-author) is featured this month in three magazines: Poker Pro, All In, and Cardplayer. Bob and Vince are the coverboys on the new issue of Crimespree. With all that publicity, the book's bound to be a smash.
Harry Potter Update
ABC News: Massive Print Run for New Potter Book: "NEW YORK Mar 14, 2007 (AP)— The final Harry Potter book will have a record-breaking, backbreaking first printing of 12 million copies, publisher Scholastic Inc. announced Wednesday.
And, for those who somehow don't know about Potter 7, Scholastic also plans a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign in support of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,' which comes out July 21.
'This is so much more than the publication of a single book,' Lisa Holton, president of Scholastic Trade and Book Fairs, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'It's a true celebration of the Harry Potter movement and of the joy of reading.'
The Scholastic campaign is called 'There Will Soon Be 7.' It will feature a Knight Bus National Tour, stopping at 40 libraries in 10 major metropolitan areas and millions of Potter bookmarks, easel backs and tattoos."
And, for those who somehow don't know about Potter 7, Scholastic also plans a multimillion-dollar marketing campaign in support of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,' which comes out July 21.
'This is so much more than the publication of a single book,' Lisa Holton, president of Scholastic Trade and Book Fairs, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'It's a true celebration of the Harry Potter movement and of the joy of reading.'
The Scholastic campaign is called 'There Will Soon Be 7.' It will feature a Knight Bus National Tour, stopping at 40 libraries in 10 major metropolitan areas and millions of Potter bookmarks, easel backs and tattoos."
O. J. Update
Simpson book could land in stores after all - Celebrity News - MSNBC.com: "LOS ANGELES - A judge Tuesday ordered that rights to O.J. Simpson’s aborted book, “If I Did It,” be sold at auction to help satisfy a civil judgment against the former football star — meaning the book could find its way into stores.
The ruling comes four months after Simpson’s book about how he could have committed the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, was scrubbed by News Corp. media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg’s decision comes at the request of Ron Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, who expressed outrage at the original publication of ”If I Did It” and now finds himself putting the manuscript back into circulation.
“The Goldmans were horrified as to the content, but the real horror was that Simpson was profiting,” Goldman’s lawyer, David Cook, said. “O.J. is now on the block. On the right hand we get to sell the book, and on the left we get the money.”"
The ruling comes four months after Simpson’s book about how he could have committed the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, was scrubbed by News Corp. media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg’s decision comes at the request of Ron Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, who expressed outrage at the original publication of ”If I Did It” and now finds himself putting the manuscript back into circulation.
“The Goldmans were horrified as to the content, but the real horror was that Simpson was profiting,” Goldman’s lawyer, David Cook, said. “O.J. is now on the block. On the right hand we get to sell the book, and on the left we get the money.”"
Happy Birthday, Phil Phillips!
As I said last year on his birthday, Phil Phillips is one of the greats. A one-hit wonder, maybe, but what a hit it was. His recording (with the Twilights) of "Sea of Love" never gets old. You can hear about 45 seconds of it here, and there are some other interesting records to look at while you're scrolling down.It's also the birthday of Max Shulman, one of my favorite writers, author of the Dobie Gillis books, the source of the TV series. If you haven't read the books, you're missing a real treat.
Score One for the Old Guys!
German brothel offers pensioners 50 percent off | Oddly Enough | Reuters: "BERLIN (Reuters) - A brothel in Germany hopes to capitalise on the growing number of pensioners by offering them a 50 percent discount for sex in the afternoon.
The 'Pascha' in the western city of Cologne has introduced reduced rates for sex sessions for clients aged 66 and above -- provided they can prove they are old enough.
'All clients need to do is show us some proof of age,' said a spokesman for the brothel's managing director Armin Lobscheid. 'A 'normal session' costs 50 euros (34.20 pounds) with us -- and we're now paying 50 percent of that for these older guests.'
'We don't earn as much money, but we're establishing ourselves across a broader range of age groups,' he added."
The 'Pascha' in the western city of Cologne has introduced reduced rates for sex sessions for clients aged 66 and above -- provided they can prove they are old enough.
'All clients need to do is show us some proof of age,' said a spokesman for the brothel's managing director Armin Lobscheid. 'A 'normal session' costs 50 euros (34.20 pounds) with us -- and we're now paying 50 percent of that for these older guests.'
'We don't earn as much money, but we're establishing ourselves across a broader range of age groups,' he added."
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