Assplosion!

This is pure bust-a-gut awesomeness made recently by some good friends of mine. YOU MUST WATCH THIS!!

Haiku Current Events

Oscar nods today.
Heath Ledger, twenty-eight (!!!), dead.
More comments later.

Haiku Current Events

Here's to Stu Nahan!
Radiohead's Greenwood's score.
I need to catch up.

Haiku Current Events

No new shows? Wrasslin'!!!
Jackson to exec Hobbit.
Mutiny TV:

Haiku Current Events

Jay, Conan return...
Legend, box office legend...
More Arrested D.:

Movie of the Week: Steve Martin's "The Jerk"

Truthfully, Mutiny Universe Television isn't going to post a Hulu-approved movie every week, but do you remember when television stations weren't part of networks and/or owned by general managers who also owned network affiliates?

Today's VHF television in the Los Angeles market:
2 - KCBS is a CBS affiliate
4 - KNBC is an NBC affiliate
5 - KTLA is a CW affiliate
7 - KABC is an ABC affiliate
9 - KCAL is owned by the same guy who owns KCBS, which is a CBS affiliate
11 - KTTV is a FOX affiliate
13 - KCOP is the sister station of KTTV, which is a FOX affiliate. KCOP is also part of the quasi-network "My Network TV," which is owned by FOX.

While these stations still show movies during the lull of the weekend, the overtly oligopolistic nature of today's broadcast media gives these stations the clout to play modern movies - recent (two or three year old) blockbusters and pseudo-indie films. Back in the day, at least when I was growing up, the non-network stations either broadcast classic movies or hideously obscure films or box office bombs (licensed for cheap, I'm sure).

As I remember it, so I could be wrong, the LA television market looked like this, in VHF:

2 - KCBS (CBS)
4 - KNBC (NBC)*
5 - KTLA (independent): Family Film Festival! I met the host (the Popeye guy) at Marine World, but I was but a wee lad at the time.
7 - KABC (ABC)
9 - KHJ (independent): Elvira, baby!
11 - KTTV (independent)
13 - KCOP (independent)

Enough reminiscing. I'll leave that for my memoirs. Anyhow, here's that classic film starring Steve Martin, The Jerk:

*My family's old TV set was hooked up to a monstrous VHS deck, which consisted of two pieces. The VCR was set to show on Channel 4, and to relieve the TV from contradictory signals, KNBC was set on Channel 3 - if I remember correctly.

Television, Film, and Web Log Studies

I have nothing interesting to write at the moment, except that you should check out the Elan Vital postproduction (and beyond!) blog for interesting, possibly educational, tidbits concerning Mutiny Universe's largest project so far.

With that said, let's continue our daily dose of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia - that is, as much as Hulu will provide of this series. This first season episode is called "Charlie Has Cancer":

And this is a third season episode called "Bums: Making a Mess All Over the City":

Just read the new KOTCS trailer

Somebody on Myspace with a supposed "IN" posted a script for the upcoming trailer to INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL. Let's ignore the fact that I'm all over this movie like white on rice. Let's not get into discussions about the title, whether it should even have been made, or whether it will suck or not (it won't). Let's discuss THIS:

Why is it called a TRAILER if it comes BEFORE the film? Wouldn't that be called a FORERUNNER? Or a HAULER? Or an UPFRONT? Think about it.

Well, as always, WIKIPEDIA has our answer, as well as some fun notes on who was the first real announcer in a trailer. read on:

Trailer (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Trailers or previews are film advertisements for films that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema, on whose screen they are shown. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a film programme. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the theater after the films ended, but the name has stuck. Trailers are now shown before the film (or the A movie in a double feature program) begins.

History
Prior to the 1960s, trailers were mostly created by National Screen Service and consisted of collections of slowly edited scenes, often without narration, but with large graphic words splashed across the screen. Those that did have narration used stentatorian voices. In the mid 1960s, Andrew J. Kuehn revolutionized the trailer industry with his independently produced trailer for Night of the Iguana, using provocative voiceover by an actor (a young James Earl Jones). Film dialogue was used to tell the story and fast paced editing coupled with dramatic music created a whole new art form. His format was so successful, he began producing this new form of trailer with partner Dan Davis.
Kuehn opened the west coast office of Kaleidoscope Films in 1971 and Kuehn and his company dominated the trailer industry for the next three decades. As Hollywood began to produce bigger blockbuster films and invest more money in marketing them, directors like Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone and Barbra Streisand began to depend on Kuehn and Kaleidoscope for their ability to create the best trailers theater-goers could see. Kuehn is responsible for trailers ranging from The Sting to The Exorcist, and Taxi Driver to Superman and Titanic. He is famous for creating the line "Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water," for the Jaws campaign.
Kuehn alumni include leading trailer makers and marketing creatives. Top trailer vendors like Cimarron, Bacon O'Brien, The Ant Farm, Aspect Ratio and Trailer Park have all been run by former Kaleidoscope creatives. Michael Camp headed the trailer department at Paramount, Tom Kennedy at MGM, and top editors Greg McClatchy, Jeff Werner and Vince Arcaro all started their own successful trailer companies. Bob Harper began his career as a messenger at Kaleidoscope before becoming a producer and quickly Vice-Chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment. Top industry trailer composer John Beal credits his career success to his thirty-year collaboration with Kuehn.

Pretty cool, eh?

David Lynch and The Police Honored by France

David Lynch received an upgrade to "officer" in France's Legion of Honor. The filmmaker's entry into the prestigious legion came in 2002 when he became a "knight" — the first rank of five. President Nicolas Sarkozy called Lynch, the mind behind some of Hollywood's eeriest films in recent years, "a profoundly normal guy" as he presented the award.

"What is really strange is that people think you are a very original guy," Sarkozy said. "What's crazy is life, not the perspective that you bring to life."

Lynch, 61, has received Oscar nominations for "The Elephant Man," "Blue Velvet" and "Mullholland Dr." Charlotte Rampling and Roman Polanski attended the ceremony for Lynch at the French presidential palace.

Across town, The Police, fresh off a reunion concert in Paris, received a French award for their contribution to the arts Monday.
French Culture Minister Christine Albanel honored the rock trio of Sting, Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers as chevaliers of the Order of Arts and Letters at a Paris ceremony.

"We are very happy to be among your knights," said Sting, speaking in French. The Police are known for hits such as "Roxanne," "Message in a Bottle" and "Don't Stand So Close to Me."

Women in Film

iPods. Huh, who'da thunk?

Yeah, found out that when I updated Sydney (My ipod) yesterday, it uploaded all of the MURadio podcasts. Didn't know it did that. That rocks. I'm just sayin'.

Sick. Yes, sick I am of people telling me how great the movie TRANSFORMERS is. Being a male between the ages of 13 and 50, I like very little more than a big action movie with ridiculously cool special effects, unreal stunts, explosions galore, Is-it-live-or-is-it-Memorex CGI, narrow escapes, and super hot brunettes with killer bodies wearing as little as possible - preferably dripping wet from sweat. HOWEVER, more than all of these (save the brunettes thing), I care about S T O R Y ! ! ! Of which there was a gaping void in Michael Bay's latest hunk of crap. After 45 minutes of decent (not great) story, the Transformers land on Earth en masse. This, the point of the whole film and the TITLE, is where the film begins to suck. Ironic, eh?

This is why I (and the rest of the world, even if they didn't realize why) loved SPIDER-MAN 2: larger-than-life characters and situations, but everything is couched in a story that creates real drama, tension and emotion. (And bitchin' shots of Spidey swinging through the city... but I digress.....) I thank my God every day that Michael Bay didn't get to direct Spider-Man. (Why would I thank Alan Rickman for that, even I'm not sure. Just go with it.......)

So, that being said, as far as Mutiny Universe is concerned, I am very excited and highly optimistic, as Jason is far more talented than Michael Bay, John writes quality scripts with great character depth and story, and I intend to Executive Produce everything so that I can demand hot 21-year-old wet brunettes and CGI robots into every film, especially the tear-jerker we're prepping about the failed attempts of an ass-backward Nazi trying to build a comedy club in Auschwitz. (Think LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL meets THE PRODUCERS meets RODAN. With CGI robots.)

That, and "obsequious" is a really cool word.

EPIC ANIMATION

An epic film by Jason Loya