image c/o Spin
In response to Steely Dan's critical letter about You, Me, and Dupree, Owen Wilson is firing back. This is hilarious:
"I have never heard the song 'Cousin Dupree' and I don't even know who this gentleman, Mr. Steely Dan, is. I hope this helps to clear things up and I can get back to concentrating on my new movie, 'HEY 19.'"
We hope they keep this feud alive. We want to see a duel in the vein of Hamilton and Burr.
We found this video on Jesus General and simply had to share. It's Buffalo Springfield performing "For What it's Worth" and "Mr. Soul" on the TV show The Hollywood Palace. We can't believe how young Neil Young looks!
Scarlett Johansson in Scoop
Tonight: Friday 7.28.
It's hot and it's probably going to rain. We're going to check out the new Woody Allen film, Scoop. The reviews are mixed but the film stars Scarlett Johansson, so it can't be all bad.
Juan McLean
On Saturday July 29 [from flavorpill]:
Warm Up feat. the Juan Maclean w/ Adam X, Jeffrey Sfire, and the Rogers Sisters
when: 3-9pm
where: P.S.1 (22-25 Jackson Ave, LIC, 718.784.2084)
price: $10
New York represents well today with freak-disco DFA kings the Juan Maclean, bangin' techno avatar Adam X, Ghostly (mostly) minimalist Jeffrey Sfire, and — kicking things off — indie-rock trio the Rogers Sisters. More info here.Head to Water Taxi Beach for ReBound, the official Warm Up afterparty.
also on Saturday, head up to the Catskills:
free103point9 presents Spectral Garden feat. Matthew Burtner, Nicolas Collins, and Scanner
when: 3-9pm
where: free103point9 Wave Farm (5662 Rt 23, Acra, 518.622.2598)
price: FREEThe free103point9 Wave Farm is a touchy-feely place, but it can be a damn good break to take from NYC's pavement-boiling summer malaise (and even the saltiest city crank would be hard-pressed to resist their well-strung hammocks). As a part of their summer event series, the nonprofit arts organization invites three sound artists to put their grant money where their MIDI controllers are for an afternoon in the meadow, testing out big words and vague phrases like "ecoacoustics" and "the experimental terrain between sound, space, image, and form." Matthew Burtner's noise-based Studies for Radio Transceiver explores the nature of radio, while Nicolas Collins and the British sound artist Scanner work with cell phone conversations and broken broadcasts -- appropriately, metropolis in decay. MORE INFO HERE
Of Montreal
And on Sunday, a free show at McCarren Park featuring:
Of Montreal
Enon
Irving
Asobi Seksu
The show begins at 2pm and ends at 8pm. Don't miss the wildly underated Of Montreal. They are fantastic live!
Greed turns Exxon CEO Lee Raymond into a freakish Batman villian, Mr. Chins
And we thought the Iraq war was supposed to guarantee lower oil prices. [From the AP]
The earnings figure was 36 percent above the profit it reported a year ago. High oil prices helped boost the company's revenue by 12 percent to a level just short of a quarterly record.Exxon Mobil's report comes a day after another large U.S. oil company, ConocoPhillips, said it earned more than $5 billion in the quarter and at a time when many drivers in the U.S. are paying $3 for a gallon of gas _ increasing the likelihood of further political backlash in Washington.
Exxon Mobil, the world's largest oil company by market capitalization, said earnings amounted to $1.72 per share in the April-June quarter compared with a profit of $7.64 billion, or $1.20 per share, a year ago.
The results topped Wall Street expectations but came in behind Exxon Mobil's record profit of $10.71 billion set in the fourth quarter of 2005.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected the company to earn $1.64 per share.
Revenue rose to $99.03 billion from $88.57 billion in the prior-year quarter. That was short of Exxon Mobil's record third-quarter revenue of $100.72 billion _ which also stands as record revenue generated by any U.S. public company ever in a single quarter.
Its shares rose 85 cents to $67.45 in premarket trading. That would top its 52-week high of $67.18.
Exxon Mobil said it spent $4.9 billion on capital and exploration projects during the quarter, up 8 percent from a year ago, while distributing $7.9 billion to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. Congress has been urging the big oil companies to put more of their profits toward boosting the supply of energy for consumers.
By segment, exploration and production earnings rose sharply to $7.13 billion, up $2.23 billion from the second quarter of last year, a reflection of higher crude and natural gas prices. Production increased 6 percent from a year ago and 9 percent if the impact of divestments and entitlements are excluded.
The company's refining and marketing segment reported a $264 million earnings increase to $2.48 billion, the result of stronger refining margins, slightly offset by weaker marketing margins.
Exxon's chemical business saw earnings rise $26 million to $840 million.
A transcript from the show "The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch" [via Wonkette]:
Ms. COULTER: I think that sort of rampant promiscuity does show some level of latent homosexuality.DEUTSCH: OK, I think you need to say that again. That Bill Clinton, you think on some level, has — is a latent homosexual, is that what you’re saying?
Ms. COULTER: Yeah.
This tops our list of the most bizarre news items yet this year. The founding members of Steely Dan have posted a letter to Luke Wilson in regard to the "extremely retrograde reality matrix" that his brother Owen has slipped into. We hate seeing the formerly hilarious Owen starring in schlock like You, Me and Dupree as well. (For Christ's sake.... Owen has writing credits on the first three Wes Anderson films). Nonetheless, someone needs to remind Steely Dan to get off their high horse. They are, after all, touring this year with Michael McDonald. Check out the band's hilarious but bizarre letter here. [via Fist With Your Toes]
And since we're on the subject of Toby Keith, we simply *must* visit Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill. The website claims “We got cowboys; we got truckers; Broken hearted fools and suckers, Mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm, mmm... Enjoy one of our signature blue Cabo Wabo Margaritas featuring rock singer Sammy Hagar’s tequila." And of course, they have freedom fries.
[thanks Jason]
For those of you who missed the U.N. report on Iraq last week, the casualty numbers are staggering. At least 50,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since the invasion in 2003. Most troubling, an estimated 75 to 125 civilians are killed per day. And yesterday the Iraqi prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, made this statement:
"The security situation has got worse since the government took control... All the groups involved in terrorism have escalated bombings, kidnappings and other actions."
Stay the course has always been empty rhetoric, but that has never been more true than today as violence continues to grow in Iraq. Saying things are going to get better defies logic. We should have never gone and it's past time we left.
Our Rapture-Ready brother has the story.
Since the effin L Train is not running this weekend, why not get drunk in the hood?
Saturday, July 22
(Rain date: Sunday, July 23)
Free indy rock, free beer, and a great backyard space. The band in question is VIA VIOLENTA. Watch this video for info and to hear band.
LOCATION: 27 Ten Eyck Street (note that “Ten” is part of the name of the street, not the house number) between (Lorimer and Union. Short walk from Lorimer Station, two stops into Brooklyn on the L line.
COVER: Zero dollars. (We will be accepting $5 donations to off-set costs, but this is strictly voluntary.)
BEER: Free
DOORS open: 2pm, Event over: 6pm, Band takes stage: 4pm
ALSO on Saturday: Warm-Up at PS1 [Via Flavorpill]
Warm Up feat. A Guy Called Gerald w/ San Serac and Derek Plaslaiko
when: Sat 7.22 (3-9pm)
where: P.S.1 (22-25 Jackson Ave, LIC, 718.784.2084)
price: $10
An esteemed member of electronic music's old guard, techno via drum 'n bass via acid-house pioneer A Guy Called Gerald has had a prolific career, a cross section of which he'll share in today's live performance for the P.S.1 faithful. Note: The post-P.S.1 Rebound series at the nearby Water Taxi Beach continues to impress, tonight featuring Alex from Tokyo, Ursula 1000, and Nublu's Probus and Justin Carter.
And on Sunday July 23
Pretty Girls Make Graves at McCarren Park Pool
(Lorimer St. btw. Driggs and Bayard - Williamsburg)
From myopenbar.com:
The Deal: 2-8pm free show, byob (very stealth-like), or buy Brooklyn lager for $4 like a suckaPretty Girls Make Graves headlines the third show in the free Sunday McCarren Park Pool series. There are no free drinks, but there was free ice cream one week, and the Sparky's catering is a nice touch. If you don't want to pay $4 per beer, stuff a six-pack down your pants somehow (cause they'll check your bags) and bring it on in.
We feel compelled to pass these live, all accoustic tracks along. Don't miss the Dylan covers "No Place For You/All I Want to Do." The tracks were broadcast on KRCW, April 25, 2002. Download them here. [Thanks RBally]
For further bliss, don't miss this great Replacement bootleg: download here.
Califone
One of our favorite bands, the wildly underated Califone have been added to the Iron & Wine/Low show at McCarren Park Pool on August 17, 2006. Click here for tickets. [via Brooklyn Vegan]
For a list of all the scheduled LiveNation (aka Clear Channel) shows at McCarren, click here.
Here's a list of all the FREE McCarren Park Pool Shows thus far [via poolparties]:
JULY 23
Pretty Girls Make Graves
Jason Lytle (Grandaddy)
Bon Savants
... more to be announced
DJs: All England Club
JULY 30
Of Montreal
Enon
Irving
Asobi Seksu
DJ: Franki Chan
AUGUST 6
Detroit Cobras
The Everyothers
Tiny Masters of Today
... more to be announced
AUGUST 13
Deerhoof
Beirut
Apollo Sunshine
The Harlem Shakes
DJ: Questlove
AUGUST 20
Archie Bell & Mighty Hannibal
backed by The Dansettes
The Fabulous Soul Shakers
DJs: Phast Phreddie and Cosmo Baker
AUGUST 27
The Walkmen
Dr. Dog
Human Television
Elvis Perkins
DJ: Mikey Palms
SEPTEMBER 3
Spank Rock
Gang Gang Dance
Shy Child
DJ: The Rub
Not only is Bush one of those creepy dudes who gives unwanted, inappropriate massages, he's also (apparently) completely above the law. This is disgusting.
Yes, the leader of the free world is a fucking idiot. Yes, that's him touching German leader Angela Merkel. We don't know what else to say. Click here for the painfully uncomfortable video. [via Wonkette]
From the AFP
US Ambassador John Bolton said there was no moral equivalence between the civilian casualties from the Israeli raids in Lebanon and those killed in Israel from "malicious terrorist acts"."I think it would be a mistake to ascribe moral equivalence to civilians who die as the direct result of malicious terrorist acts," he added, while defending as "self-defense" Israel's military action, which has had "the tragic and unfortunate consequence of civilian deaths" [...]
"It's simply not the same thing to say that it's the same act to deliberately target innocent civilians, to desire their deaths, to fire rockets and use explosive devices or kidnapping versus the sad and highly unfortunate consequences of self-defense," Bolton noted.
Did anyone try it out today? From 1010 Wins:
Water taxi service is coming to Williamsburg.New York Water Taxi will begin operating service to Schaefer Landing in the Brooklyn neighborhood on Monday.
The stop will be added to the company's existing East River route, which includes stops at Hunter's Point in Queens and East 34th Street and Pier Eleven in Manhattan.
Service between Williamsburg, Pier Eleven and East 34th Street will run from 6:23am and 9:23 am, and 4:25 pm and 7:49 pm.
You can pick it up at Schaefer Landing. [Note, the Schaefer Landing website terrifies us.]
Predictably, now that investors, cigar bars, Wall Streeters, and luxury high rises have taken over DUBBO (Down Underneath the Billyburg Bridge) the city is starting to invest in transportation. It's a shame this didn't take place when the neighborhood was still working class. And why isn't the ferry extending all the way to Greenpoint? At least DUBBO-ites can take the JMZ into the city or afford a taxi. The largely working class residents of Greenpoint are stuck riding the G, which doesn't even go to Manhattan.
Evidently, there are plans to extend the ferry service to Greenpoint soon. You know, after the Greenpoint waterfront becomes fully gentrified and infested with luxury condos. Maybe they'll get a cigar bar too.
From Mercury News via HuffPost:
Before launching into the song ["Walk Tall"], Mellencamp told the Harveys casino crowd, in effect, that it was dedicated to everyone hurt by policies of the current Bush administration.Quayle, who served as vice president for President Bush's father in 1989-93 walked out of the venue before Mellencamp finished the song.
Quayle said through a publicist: "Well, I think Mellencamp's performance was not very good to begin with, and the comment put it over the top.''
And of course this begs the question, who the hell would go too see Mellencamp perform in the first place? Evidently Dan Quayle. Still, we're glad to hear Mellencamp is on the right team.
“I am excited beyond words that the struggle of this life may be over soon and I can finally be FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!”
Our Rapture Ready brother, EvangelicalRight.com has the story.
After slashing anti-terrorism grant money to New York and Washington, D.C. by 40%, The Homeland Security Department released its list of potential terrorist targets this week. Indiana and Wisconsin were cited as the two states with the most potential targets. Since the blog world and the media have been ablaze all week about the absurdity of the list, we feel it's time to test our readers knowledge.
Select the Potential Terrorist Targets Included in Homeland Security's National Asset Database:
A. Old MacDonald's Petting Zoo, Huntsville, Alabama
B. Times Square, New York City
C. Amish Country Popcorn, Adams County, Indiana
D. The Statue of Liberty, New York City
E. The Brooklyn Bridge, New York City
F. The Kangaroo Conservation Center, Dawsonville, Georgia
ANSWERS AFTER THE JUMP
B, D, and E are not potential terrorist targets, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
It's that time of the year again. And like always, it's supposed to be hot as PBR piss tomorrow at Coney Island. Click here for more information about the Siren Fest. And if it's too hot for you, you can always skip Coney Island and go to the after party.
From Celebrate Brooklyn website:
Celebrate Brooklyn!: Yo La Tengo: The Sounds of Silence / Samara Lubelski
Thursday, Jul 13, 2006, 7:30 pmAdventures in sight and sound: the great experimental alt rock trio returns to Celebrate Brooklyn to perform its live score to a collection of the surreally beautiful short documentaries of underwater life by the revolutionary French filmmaker Jean Painlevé. The dreamy, atmospheric compositions of multi-instrumentalist SAMARA LUBELSKI set the mood.
A program of BRIC/Brooklyn Information & Culture, Celebrate Brooklyn is one of New York City's longest-running, free, outdoor performing arts festivals, offering music, dance, film and spoken word at the Prospect Park Bandshell each summer. Our objective and inspiration is to "celebrate" the diverse and vibrant cultural life of Brooklyn through the performing arts. Keep It Great, Give $3 at the Gate!
Location: Prospect Park Bandshell - enter at Prospect Park West & 9th Street, Park Slope
Radio 4
The Rogers Sisters
Roxy Pain
w/ Special Guests Elisita Punto, Katie from Young People
Proton Proton
Saturday July 15 at THE HOOK in Red Hook
18 Commerce
www.thehookmusic.com [Thanks Kayrock]
The LA Times has a nice obituary on Syd Barrett. It includes praise from David Bowie:
"Syd was a major inspiration for me. The few times I saw him perform in London at UFO and the Marquee clubs during the '60s will forever be etched in my mind," Bowie said. "He was so charismatic and such a startlingly original songwriter…. His impact on my thinking was enormous. A major regret is that I never got to know him. A diamond indeed."
The Washington Post has a great obit too, revealing our favorite bit of Barrett trivia thus far:
He enjoyed gardening... and was said to be skillful at stuffing peppers.
Now that Johnny Depp is *hopefully* done impersonating Keith Richards, maybe he can start working on a Syd Barrett biopic, something he claims to want to do.
Wednesday, August 23
Tickets On Sale Sat, 7/15 at 12:00 pm
We're guilty of selecting the obvious title: "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." (How could we opt for anything else?). Here are some other doozies, found on Technorati:
Syd at the Gates of Dawn
How I Wish You Were Here
The Madcap Passes
Remember When You Were Young, You Shone like the Sun
Goodbye Cruel World
The Lunatic Has Left the Grass
Welcome to the Machine
When The Madcap Laughter Is Stilled Forever
The Crazy Diamond no longer shines
Interstellar Overdrive
But the most embarassing award goes to the countless bloggers who opted for this one:
RIP, Syd and thanks for the music.
January 6, 1946 – July 7, 2006
Syd Barrett died of diabetes-related illness. Click here for more
Air Torture is the premiere airline transporting detainees to select torture chambers around the world. Organizations such as Amnesty International like to call our business "outsourcing torture" because we deliver all our customers to countries where torture is routinely practiced - but our partners at the U.S. government have come up with a much better name: "extraordinary rendition."
Our new book, The Sinner's Guide to the Evangelical Right isn't due to hit the shelves until September 5 (provided the Rapture doesn't occur first), but we're delighted with some recent advance press. Pardon us while we toot our own horn:
In his latest offering, the author of The Hipster Handbook brings his brand of sardonic wit and caricature assassination to bear on all things evangelical. Like all great satire, the book is cerebral, irreverent and hilarious, while also edifying in introducing the characters, vocabulary and complex political and social network loosely referred to as the Christian right... Lanham keeps the humor sharp throughout.
— Publisher's Weekly
"This book should lay at the lifeless feet of your corpse as a silent, yet powerful and all encompassing explanation as to why you took your own life."
— David Cross
"Not only is this an important book, it's a funny book... Stop the Christo Fascist Zombie Brigade. Know who they are now with this book."
— Marc Maron, Host of The Marc Maron Show on Air America Radio
You can pre-order copies here, or by visiting our new site, evangelicalright.com
"Consisting of only the very best of our favorite new tracks, this endlessly expanding compilation kicks off with 21 free MP3s that've kicked our collective ass in 2006 so far." Download 'em all here.
Broken Mascis Scene
He's posted several great live shows. First, there's J. Mascis and Broken Social Scene (Broken Mascis Scene) live in Toronto (2006). And then there's Stephen Malkmus all acoustic on KCRW (2005). He has a great Talking Heads live show from 1979 here. And finally, our personal favorite, a Replacements bootleg here. Thanks RBally.
Woody Allen directs Scarlett Johansson again in Scoop
Remember how I said that last month was all about the comedy? I spoke too soon. All the B-list comedy tries its hand at making a buck this month. It can't all be bad, right?
JULY 7
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
ARRR, WHAT BE THE PITCH THIS TIME?
Jack Sparrow vs. Davy Jones (not the one from The Monkees).
ARRR, BE IT OF THE VARIETY OF FILMS THAT SUCK?
Early buzz is generally good, so I guess it was a smart move to keep the same cast, writers and director for this installment. And adding Bill Nighy to the mix probably didn't hurt. Oh, and who's a pirate's favorite addition to the cast? Stellan Skaaaarrrrrrrsgaaaaaarrrrrrd!
ARRR, HOW MANY DUBLOONS WILL IT PLUNDER?
This is probably the only movie that has nothing to fear from the second frame of Superman, and the following week two weak-ass comedies are all it has to stare down. Every pundit from here to Tuscaloosa has declared this the sure-fire number one hit of the summer in spite of Da Vinci Code, X-Men, Superman, Mission Impossible, Cars and, of course, SOAP. And polls of moviegoers seem to agree. $335mil.
-------------------------------------------
A SCANNER DARKLY
ARRR, I MEAN, UM, WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The latest adaptation of a Philip K. Dick novel. As if the rotoscope effect weren't mindfuck enough.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is very split. I guess Linklater plus rotoscoping equals controversy. But me, I loved Waking Life. And having Robert Downey, Jr. and Linklater vet Rory Cochrane involved can only help.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
With the following and star power this film has, Warner Independent could have probably released it wide as counterprogramming to Pirates. $20mil.
-------------------------------------------
ONCE IN A LIFETIME: THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE NEW YORK COSMOS
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Hey, remember the North American Soccer League? Anyone?
WILL IT SUCK?
Actually, I love soccer. Though it's arguably the Waking Life of sports in America. But who doesn't want to see a doc that includes Pelé, Studio 54 and Steve Ross? Early buzz is good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Even if soccer weren't generally ignored in the US, you'd have to deal with the fact that the fan base isn't a clean match with indie/doc filmgoers. $1mil.
-------------------------------------------
JULY 14
-------------------------------------------
LITTLE MAN
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
What's funnier than two Wayanses posing as white women? One Wayans posing as a baby, of course.
WILL IT SUCK?
This may be the first movie that didn't need the help of Revolution Studios to suck, but it has it anyway. Keenan Ivory Wayans has not directed a good film since I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, and no, Scary Movie doesn't count.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
As with White Chicks, this is positioned well. The Owen Wilson/Wayans crossover audience is pretty slim, so there'll be little competish from Dupree. $40mil.
-------------------------------------------
YOU, ME AND DUPREE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
What About Owen?
WILL IT SUCK?
Well, I'll give the directors (they're brothers) the fact that they directed the Arrested Development pilot. And I like that Seth Rogen is getting some screen time. And I went to high school with the guy who plays "Eddie." Other than that, this looks like the unfunniest comedy since, well, Little Man. (No, nothing looks that bad.)
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's not that I don't think Owen Wilson can open a movie on his own, I just don't think he can open this movie on his own. $56mil.
-------------------------------------------
EDMOND
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
William H. Macy goes batshit crazy.
WILL IT SUCK?
So this is what happens when you team the director of Re-Animator with a David Mamet screenplay. I'm curious to see if Dule Hill and George Wendt can speak Mamet (though Hill is fluent in Sorkin, so it's not much of a stretch). Even more curious to see if Denise Richards and Mena Suvari can handle that prose. In any case, early buzz is mixed.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Cast-wise it's not hurting, but even Spartan had better promotion. $1mil.
-------------------------------------------
THE OH IN OHIO
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Paul Rudd can't make Parker Posey cum, so they basically leave each other for different lovers.
WILL IT SUCK?
The trailer's pretty damn funny, but the early buzz is not.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Has a comparable cast to Edmond, but the advantage of being a comedy. Of course, there'll be about fifty comedies out by the time it hits week two. $4mil.
-------------------------------------------
THE GROOMSMEN
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Ed Burns gets ready for his wedding with the help of his B-list friends.
WILL IT SUCK?
With a cast that includes John Mahoney, John Leguizamo, Donal Logue and Jay Mohr, you'd expect a trailer that didn't suck. Ed Burns has basically been making the same movie since The Brothers McMullen, which isn't a bad film. But this still doesn't look good.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Nice cast, but nobody knows about this film, and those who do aren't too psyched. $3mil.
-------------------------------------------
JULY 21
-------------------------------------------
LADY IN THE WATER
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Paul Giamatti finds some chick in a pool.
WILL IT SUCK?
It's M. Night Shyamalan. That used to mean something. Well, it still kinda does. The Village does not undo his three previous films (unless, of course, you didn't dig Signs or Unbreakable - but at this point you'd have stopped reading anyway). Still, I go into this one with very mixed feelings. Sure, we've got Paul Giamatti with Bob Balaban, Freddy Rodriguez and Jeffrey Wright to boot. And sure Chris Doyle is joining the long line of kick-ass Shyamalan cinematographers on this one. But then there's The Village. And the fact that the premise is cheesy as hell. And Shyamalan is not cheese-proof.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
No true direct competition. And even The Village made some green. $105mil.
-------------------------------------------
MONSTER HOUSE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Can't sleep. House'll eat me.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed. Does have the advantage of the Heat Vision and Jack writers (serously, does anyone know where I can get my hands on that pilot?) and the motion capture technology that made Polar Express so, um, creepy. Some nice voice talent, including Jon Heder, Steve Buscemi, Catherine O'Hara, Fred Willard, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Jason Lee. One of the few CGI-fests this year that's not about a bunch of cuddly animals.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Has to deal with The Ant Bully the very next week. Also, could use a little more advertising. It's kind of sneaking up on people. $104mil.
-------------------------------------------
CLERKS II
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Randall and Dante get a job at Mooby's.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is outstanding. It falls behind only Clerks as the best-rated Kevin Smith flick on the IMDB. The bit where Jay does the Buffalo Bill dance from Silence of the Lambs alone looks worth the price of admission.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
For all the hype, this doesn't have that much market penetration. It's a small core audience. Still, I see this poised to become a breakout hit. $82mil.
-------------------------------------------
MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
The title pretty much says it all.
WILL IT SUCK?
Ivan Reitman directed one of the greatest comedies of all time. I'm talking, of course, about Legal Eagles. Or maybe Ghostbusters. Anyway, most of his work since has been mediocre (think Twins). You'd think he'd be the go-to guy for a mix of sci-fi-ish action and comedy, but his last film was Evolution. Point is, even Eddie Izzard and Rainn Wilson in supporting roles probably can't save this. On the other hand, the writer has done some Simpsons work and has been inexplicably tapped to write the Fantastic Four sequel.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
In a weekend and a month that's already overstuffed (especially with comedy), I think this is going to be one of the losers. $66mil.
-------------------------------------------
POSTER BOY
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Senator's son is gay. Controversy ensues.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz isn't terrible, and it snagged a Jury Award at Outfest. And remember Karen Allen? She's the mommy.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Little Miss Sunshine will take all comers the following week, and this will be no exception. $500,000.
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JULY 28
-------------------------------------------
MIAMI VICE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
It's been twenty years and still there's drugs and prostitution in Miami. Those guys are fucking up.
WILL IT SUCK?
Michael Mann has built up a hell of a lot of good will with me over the course of Manhunter, The Insider, Heat and Collateral, to name a few. Here he's dealing with his own baby. And I actually like the casting of Farrell and Fox, though the former is resembling Treat Williams more and more with each film. And "verboten" does not mean what the trailer thinks it means.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Talladega Nights will be an issue the following week, but this weekend it should own. $97mil.
-------------------------------------------
THE ANT BULLY
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Ants get revenge on some kid who's been bullying them by shrinking him down to their size.
WILL IT SUCK?
I have to give writer/director John A. Davis credit. He's done some of the better CG animated flicks of the past few years. He did the surprisingly good Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and the hilarious short Santa Claus vs. the Snowman. So for that reason only I have some faith in this project. Other than that, I'm tired of seeing trailers for CG films where animals get back at The Man (Over the Hedge, Barnyard, Open Season and this, for starters).
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Comes in the middle of a three-week assault of CG animation (with Barnyard bowing the following week). Nobody likes the middle child. $62mil.
-------------------------------------------
JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Three high school girls seek revenge on the boy who done them wrong. Opportunities for vaguely lesbian titilation ensue.
WILL IT SUCK?
This movie doesn't look...oh, what's the word...good. Betty Thomas directs, and when she's not making movies about Howard Stern (Private Parts), she's making I Spy.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
This will be another victim of the overcomedification of the summer. $29mil.
-------------------------------------------
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Hit comedy from Sundance of the dysfunctional family road trip variety.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. It better be, for what Fox Searchlight paid for it at Sundance (something like $10mil - a record at the fest). Steve Carrell looks hilarious and the rest of the cast (including Toni Collette, Alan Arkin and Greg Kinnear) look game.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
A little competition from Woody Allen, but not much. Probably one of the bigger indies of the summer. $14mil.
-------------------------------------------
SCOOP
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
In a weird sort of mix of Match Point and Ghost Dad, Scarlett Johansson is led by Ian McShane, in spirit form, to track down a charming Brit (Hugh Jackman) who might be a killer.
WILL IT SUCK?
Woody Allen doesn't exactly suck. He turns in "meh" from time to time, but he rarely flat out sucks. Will this be as good as say, Match Point? Probably not.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
"Meh" Woody just doesn't cut it box office-wise. Especially with Little Miss Sunshine out there. $5mil.
-------------------------------------------
BROTHERS OF THE HEAD
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Don't call it a mockumentary. Fake doc about a pair of conjoined-twin punk rock stars.
WILL IT SUCK?
It really isn't a mockumentary (even Christopher Guest hates that term). It's a fairly somber tale of exploitation and the typical roller coaster of fame that is rock stardom with the twist of the leads being conjoined (makes things real uncomfortable if, say, they both like the same girl but she only wants to do one of them - and does). Directed (very well, I might add) by the pair behind Lost in La Mancha. Well worth checking out, if only for the kick-ass soundtrack.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It's not so much the competition as the fact that nobody knows about this film and those that do aren't interested. Interesting note: Fuse bought the TV rights. This does not make Pants Off Dace Off any classier. $1mil.
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ANOTHER GAY MOVIE
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Gay American Pie
WILL IT SUCK?
It's just painful. I actually saw a script reading for this film, and that was funnier. The only thing still funny about it when it reached the screen was Scott Thompson, but he's only in a handful of scenes. The rest just hurts. More here.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Not so well. With the number of walkouts I saw at the preview screening, buzz is likely to be poor, and you really need word-of-mouth on a project like this. $250,000.
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AMERICA: FREEDOM TO FACISM
WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Doc about a guy who goes in search of the law that mandates income tax and finds that America is not so much anymore with the civil liberties.
WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed, with audiences liking it better than critics. Apparently makes a better argument for the income tax thing than the civil liberties thing. Still, interesting.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
I think the income tax angle will turn off a lot of people, even some liberals. In fact, it will turn on some libertarian conservatives who might then be turned off by the America Doesn't Rock angle, but then again, if they're libertarians, they'll be all about the civil liberties...so...I guess my bullet point here is that this will only appeal to libertarians, and there are only so many of those. $500,000.
Next Month: MSOAMP. And there ain't a damn thing you can do about it.
From The AP:
Subway Rider Sliced in Power Saw AttackA man grabbed two cordless power saws off a subway station workbench and went on a rampage Thursday, swinging the saws at riders and slicing open a man's chest before running away, police said.
The 64-year-old victim, whose name was not released, was hospitalized in critical but stable condition. Police were searching for the suspect, described by witnesses as a thin man in his 30s, who had earrings in both ears and was possibly carrying a teddy bear.
The attack occurred before dawn at a subway station a few blocks south of Columbia University.
Wielding a saw in each hand, the man took a swipe at one rider on a platform and missed, police said. Moments later, he cut into the man's chest at a turnstile before bolting out of the station, still carrying the power tools, which were later found in a trash can.
It's a benefit, so it'll cost you $30, but should be a great show for BSS fans. Click here for more.
Disgraceful. From CNN
New York court refuses to recognize same-sex marriageThe New York State Court of Appeals refused to recognize same-sex marriage in a ruling issued Thursday, saying the issue was a question for the Legislature to decide.
The New York case involved 48 gay and lesbian couples who filed four separate cases seeking to overturn a 97-year-old state law that defines marriage as between a man and woman.
The couples claimed the law violated their constitutional rights because it defended sex discrimination. The cases were heard together by the court in Albany.
"We hold that the New York Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex," the appeals court said in its 70-page ruling. "Whether such marriages should be recognized is a question to be addressed by the Legislature."In February, New York's law was upheld in a lower appeals court, forcing the fight to the State Court of Appeals.
It was was one of several initiatives by gay rights activists across the United States, where gay marriage has been a divisive issue in recent years, particularly in the 2004 presidential election.
Massachusetts is the only state to permit gays to marry, while Vermont allows same-sex couples the rights and benefits of marriage but calls them civil unions.
In the November 2004 election, ballot measures were passed in 11 states to ban gay marriages.
Dead Meadow and The Double have both confirmed to play a FREE show at McCarron Park
When:
July 16 2006
Doors at 2pm
Show starts @ 3
Where:
McCarron Park Pool
Lorimer St. between Driggs and Bayard Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11201
TV on the Radio has a funny collection of new promotional videos on You Tube. Many of the scenes were filmed in Williamsburg and the above video stars our favorite comedian, David Cross. Check them all out here. [via Gothamist]
If you missed the band's show on Friday, here's a video of Young Liars recorded at Prospect Park.
Also, the reviews are in of their new record, Return to Cookie Mountain.
Lady Liberty gets a Jesusy makeover by theocrats at a Memphis megachurch
Our Christiany brother site, EvangelicalRight.com has the story. [Thanks Kevin]:
JULY-4TH-ROOFTOP-BBQ - a Todd P all-stars bands army assembles to raise money for New Orleans charity CommonGroundRelief.org -- JAPANTHER, PARTS & LABOR, MATT & KIM, Pterodactyl, Battleship (Oakland), Knyfe Hyts (current & ex Ex Models), Deathset (Australia), and NECKING - STARTS AT 4PM and will go fast! @ 330 MELROSE ST - ROOFTOP. More info here.
and from Flavorpill:
Rooftop Films presents Fun with the Founding Fathers feat. the Double
price: $20
This Fourth of July, Rooftop Films presents Fun with the Founding Fathers, an evening of live music, comedy, short films, and fireworks, if not exactly to celebrate the Founding Fathers, then to at least have fun with them. The films include Cox and Combs (Washington), a musical about George Washington's lovemaking prowess; Preacher With An Unknown God, a biopic of anti-capitalist activist Reverend Billy; and Frank and Wendy: A Blow to the Back of Society's Head, an award-winning animated Estonian film about FBI agents battling Latvians in Estonia. Noise-rockers the Double perform (8pm) and the waterfront Stuyvesant Cove Park provides a perfect place to watch the fireworks.Note: Though the films start at 10pm, NYPD regulations require all attendees be at the event at 6pm. Rooftop Films presents the doc Guerilla Girl at the Open Road Park on Fri 6.30 (9pm) and Industriance Shorts 2: This Land Is Not Yours at the American Can Factory on Sat 7.1 (8:30pm). MORE INFO HERE
$15, 3pm til fireworks with a rooftop fireworks view.
with live performances by:
Voxtrot
The Occasion
Rusty Santos
Damon McMahon
TK Webb
Zachary Cale
The Times is typically late to the story, but their feature on the McCarren Park Pool is worth a read nonetheless:
Dive In, the Music's Fine: New York Rock Shows Move Outdoors By BEN SISARIOTHE McCARREN PARK POOL in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, is surely one of the last places in New York you would expect to see a concert. Shuttered by the city 22 years ago, it is a 50,000-square-foot void, its floor specked with decades-old turquoise paint and its walls blanketed by layers of graffiti. It lacks electricity and lights, and its bathrooms have long been boarded up. And it is a pool. As in splish-splash.
But in the strange logic of the New York summer concert season — when a pier on the Hudson River and the boardwalk of the South Street Seaport play host to loud indie rock, and the empty courtyard of a Queens museum becomes a dancing and people-watching nexus — this all makes the McCarren Park Pool an ideal performance space. It's enormous, it's a blank slate, and it's available: three uncommon and highly prized attributes.
"It's just been sitting there, like the monolith in '2001,' " said Sam Kinken, who books concerts throughout the New York region for Live Nation, the giant promoter. He has programmed six nights at the pool, beginning July 29 with the British band Bloc Party.
McCarren is the newest of the city's big summer music spaces, competing with top-drawer series like SummerStage in Central Park, Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park and River to River in the plazas and parks of Lower Manhattan.But it will also join another, less celebrated fraternity, that of the especially odd outdoor concert space. From the streets of Coney Island, where The Village Voice's Siren Music Festival will take place on July 15, to Pier 54, a 770-foot expanse jutting into the Hudson River whose indie-rock credentials include a show five years ago by the almost-famous White Stripes, these places exemplify New York's peculiar geopolitics, in which every scrap of real estate, no matter how tiny or decrepit, can and must be used to its fullest potential.
At the McCarren pool, the transformation from cracked-concrete hulk to concert space began with an invitation from the Parks Department. The pool, one of 11 built around the city in 1936 by the W.P.A., held up to 6,800 swimmers and featured an imposing arched pavilion that, as the American Institute of Architects' Guide to New York City put it, "announced the grand dip behind."
It was closed in 1984 after falling into "derelict condition," a Parks Department spokesman said, and has largely remained in that state: graffiti, broken bricks in the pavilion, a forest of weeds sprouting up in the pool basin. The city has long wanted to restore it — the other 10 pools are in good shape — but a recent estimate put the cost at a prohibitive $40 million.
Last year, when the choreographer and arts advocate Noémie Lafrance petitioned to put on a dance performance in the pool, the Parks Department requested proposals to use the space for arts and community events, hoping that it would spark interest in the pool and raise money for its restoration. Two very different groups contributed money in return for the right to present events there and charge admission: Sens Production, Ms. Lafrance's nonprofit dance company, raised $50,000, and Live Nation gave $200,000. The combined contribution was used to prepare the space for minimal use. (The city has allocated $1 million for major capital improvements to the pool; that project is still in the design phase, a Parks spokesman said.)
Sens was the first to use the pool, presenting "Agoura," a site-specific dance piece, last September. Meanwhile Live Nation adapted to an unusual opportunity in the New York concert world: programming a huge space — capacity: 5,500 — that had been lying dormant and unrecognized for decades.
Mr. Kinken said that booking agents were confused at first. "I'm still trying to sell this story," he said. "I brought the head of the music department from William Morris a week ago. I was trying to explain the concept, but as soon as he walked in, he said, 'Oh, O.K., I get it.' "
Besides Bloc Party, the Live Nation shows include the indie-folk act Iron & Wine, the jam band Gov't Mule, the singer Neko Case and a double bill of Sonic Youth and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Tickets range from $33.50 to $45.
Live Nation is not the only group presenting concerts at the pool. JellyNYC, which puts on shows at Southpaw, a small rock club in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has booked nine consecutive Sundays of free concerts at McCarren, beginning July 9 with two fashionable indie bands, Les Savy Fav and Dragons of Zynth. Other bands lined up for that series include Deerhoof, the Walkmen, Dead Meadow, Of Montreal and Dr. Dog.
To offer its concerts free, JellyNYC is relying on an essential financial source for summer series: corporate sponsorships.
River to River, a series of 500 events that includes subfestivals like the concerts at Castle Clinton and the South Street Seaport, has a budget of $7 million that is mostly covered by sponsorships, said Bill Schreiber, its executive producer. American Express, which has been with the festival since it began in 2002, is the largest contributor. "They're essentially paying for the tickets for everyone to come," Mr. Schreiber said of River to River's sponsors.
This year Snapple is the lead sponsor of Central Park SummerStage, which has 35 events presented by the City Parks Foundation with a budget of about $2 million, a little more than a quarter of which comes from corporate donors.
Sponsorships are the reason many big stages are dominated by company flags and banners, and some summer presenters have worked to avoid such relationships. The East River Music Project, which stages a handful of concerts at the amphitheater in East River Park — a thin strip of green along the East Village and Lower East Side — does not solicit or accept corporate support.
"Our mission statement is to not have corporate involvement," said Sarah Bennett, who helped found the East River Music Project and has been putting on concerts at the amphitheater for four years. "We have a goal of never having someone sell you something just so that you can hear live music."
The amphitheater was the site of Joseph Papp's first free outdoor Shakespeare performances in the 1950's, but the park was in a rough state when Ms. Bennett first came across it in 2000. A stroke of luck came in December 2001, when it was cleaned up by the environmental advocate Erin Brockovich, who led a one-day restoration (with corporate support) that was featured in an ABC television special.
The East River Music Project's programming leans to the noisy: its next show, on July 22, will feature Jonathan Kane, an experimental musician who was a founding member of the famously loud 1980's New York band the Swans. But as is often the case with concerts presented outside, the environment can have a surprising effect on the sound of the music.
"Our bands usually play in tiny, tiny clubs," Ms. Bennett said. "But in the open air, with tugboats going behind them, it's strangely ideal. We've had noise bands play, and for music that is so discordant, to have it in such a serene setting balances it out."
In Long Island City, Queens, the plain concrete walls of the courtyard of the P.S. 1 Contemporary Arts Center are the backdrop to Warm Up, a weekly dance party that has become a flirty social scene. And Stephen Dima, who books the Seaport Music Festival at the South Street Seaport, has found a similar communion with unlikely surroundings. He presented music at the World Trade Center Plaza, and took on the Seaport series when River to River began in 2002. His goal, he said, was to create "New York's best free outdoor club," with bookings that would appeal to regulars at clubs like the Bowery Ballroom and the Knitting Factory. But at the seaport?
"Before 9/11 the last time I was there was at a blind date in high school," Mr. Dima said.
The series has become a fixture in the indie scene, with must-see concerts like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah last summer — booked well in advance, long before the band became the underground success story of 2005 — and the annual shows by the punk singer Ted Leo, who soldiers on each year despite bad luck with the weather and with cosmic bummers like the 2003 blackout. The setting, with the masts of antique ships and gleaming skyscrapers in the background, is incongruous but lends a levity that no club can match. And, Mr. Dima said, "there are not too many places where people can walk around with a beer and a cigarette and listen to free music."
Mr. Kinken of Live Nation said that he was expecting similar kinds of serendipity with the McCarren pool. Because of its large size and uncomplicated layout, he said, staging concerts there should be relatively easy. There are convenient spots to put the stage — on the side of the pool, raised just a foot above the ground — as well as a backstage area, concessions and portable toilets. The speaker cabinets will be angled down toward the crowd, to minimize echo off the walls.
The bands, he said, would do the rest. "It will be their manifest destiny to fill up the space," he said. "They'll make that room feel like it's intimate. They'll make it their own, fill it up with sound."
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