Hotel Delmano, image c/o Noah Kalina

We've been meaning to post about Williamsburg's latest fancy drink establishment, Hotel Delmano. Has anyone been? Let us know in our revamped bar section.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 04:37 PM | Permalink

From Todd P's site

So - bit o trouble at the Market Hotel last night, so things are changing regarding 2nite's show - it's moving to SILENT BARN.

things remain a little unclear as to future shows scheduled @ MARKET HOTEL, but Saturday's Genghis Tron show & Monday's performance of 'Shoot Her: Jurassic Park, the play' are still on @ MH! More info here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

People have long asked the question are you a bigger Beatles or Stones fan to peg where someone's tastes are rooted. We prefer the question Ella or Billie? In our opinion, how people answer that one says much more about their personality. (For the record, we prefer the Stones and Billie Holiday). Generally, people love the music of all four so discussing their "rivalries" rarely causes much friction.

If you want heated debate, bring up Steely Dan. No band has ever been more polarizing. There's simply no gray area when it comes to these undisputed kings of Yacht Rock. You either love Steely Dan or hate them. We love them. In fact, we don't trust people who don't like them. People who hate Steely Dan are bad people who probably dislike kittens and rainbows too. Not only is Steely Dan a great band, they can predict the future. How else can you explain their cautionary letter to Owen Wilson a full year before his suicude attempt?

The people over at Aquarium Drunkard must be good people since they are hosting Steely Dan's The Lost Gaucho Album. If you're a fan, go grab it now. The sound quality is pretty solid (a bit on the sharp side) but fans will be pleased. Here's the story on the tracks via BigO Worldwide:

As to why so many songs were dropped from the final lineup of Gaucho, a case can be made that this early version was too close in style to 1977’s Aja - shorter songs, sweeter melodies and more accessible lyrics. The finally released Gaucho seemed purposely obscure, deep and complex. Was it to spite their record company MCA? Is it possible that The Second Arrangement was never erased but that Becker and Fagen concocted the story to avoid releasing what they thought was the better version of Gaucho? Listen and decide for yourself.

Speaking of rivalries, look for Sean Manning's Rock & Roll Cagematch: Music's Greatest Rivalries Decided in August. Should be a great read. More on this anthology when the publication date draws nearer.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (10)

We've been enjoying the debut record by Hey Hey My My. Their unfortunate name (which references Young's "Into the Black" of course) reminds us of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Junior Senior's Hey Hey My My Yo Yo, but don't let that get in the way. Their music is fantastic. We'd deem their breezy, alt-country melodies as Americana if they didn't happen to be from France. Thanks to our friends at JELLYNYC, Hey Hey My My are doing a few New York shows in coming days. You can catch them at Mercury on 3/5 (opening for Lightspeed Champion), at Southpaw on 3/7 (playing with The Epochs and The Subjects), and then at Soundfix on 3/8. They're certain to be getting lots of press in the near future. You can check out some tracks on their myspace page, myspace.com/heyheymymyband, or watch a couple of their videos after the jump.

Our guess is that the top one won't be showing on Brooklyn Vegan anytime soon.

WARNING: A chicken gets killed in this video:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)

image c/o City Search

There's a new South American/Argentinian Steakhouse on Graham Ave. Has anyone been? Let us know what you think in our restaurants section.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 05:58 PM | Permalink

He sounded kind of appealing, until he said he was allergic to cats. From Craig's List

I am a lvl 8 warrior seeking my adventuring companion for game play and fornication. I partake in only adventure/fantasy role play, no creepy goth stuff, it's too weird. Only sanctioned spells allowed, costume dress optional but preferred. I have the body of a wandering Norwegian brawler and short brown hair. Please be quite buxom and imaginative for play and enjoy fantasy role play aesthetics. Please send pics, leves, preferred adventure type and spell list. We could go get dinner (under $20), and watch a movie. Also I'm allergic to cats.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ok, hopefully this will be the last in the trilogy because, after this, the joke will have officially been played out. We thought this was pretty funny though:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Our friend Eliza Skinner is pretty damn funny. She'll be performing her show Shameless tomorrow at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Just 5 bucks. Here's how UCB describes her performance:

A show about people you hate, but have to love. Eliza Skinner's characters are horrible people - viciously real and wickedly funny. She presents 3 gleefully repugnant portraits of a mother, a wife, a party girl; all of them skipping past the point of no return.

Eliza's other video from the same show is pretty damn funny too. For more information on her show, visit The Upright Citizens Brigade. [Thanks Jeff]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

Thanks for your patience. We've been bombarded by spam comments for months but have *hopefully* fixed the problem. Comment away. Oh yeah... we redesigned too. Hope you like it.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

image c/o Eater

A new urban winery just opened beneath the Williamsburg Bridge. Has anyone been? Let us know what you think. Address, reviews and more information here.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 04:00 PM | Permalink

For the record.... Kimmel's actually pretty damn funny. We ignored his show for a long time because of his "Man Show" anti-credentials, but his late night show is actually not bad at all. Plus, we liked the first season of The Andy Milonakis Show (created by Kimmel) and how can you not love Lost: The Musical (after the jump):

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

From CHUD, hat tip The Vulture

I'm hearing that... a massive reshoot is what is on the table right now. And it's not because of technical issues, unless you want to consider the lead kid actor and the script technical issues. Sources tell me that the suits at Legendary and Warner Bros are not happy with Max Records, the actor playing Max, the mischievous boy who is crowned King of the Wild Things. Worse than that, they don't like the film's tone and want to go back to the script drawing board, possibly losing the Spike Jonze/Dave Eggers script when they do it. Apparently the film is too weird and 'too scary,' and the character of Max is being seen as not likable.

Where The Wild Things Are screened for a test audience in Pasadena late last year; my friend BC, who watches a horror movie a day, caught the screening and liked what he saw, but I've also been told that the movie is 'subversive,' which is just the sort of thing that drives studio suits up the wall. The film, I keep hearing, is pretty great at this early stage of post-production, but it could very possibly not be a commercial movie. You can imagine the panic at Warner Bros when they realized they'd made a reportedly 75 million dollar kiddie art house film.

What did they expect from Jonze and Eggers, a cookie-cutter Shrek movie with dancing penguins? Here's the leaked clip:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Look, we loathe McCain as much as the next guy but today's New York Times story is in bad form. Sure, he's been overly cozy with lobbyists and his "let's reform Capitol Hill" mantra is nothing but rhetoric. He was part of the Keating Five scandal, for Christ’s sake, which cost tax payers billions of dollars. More recently, he betrayed his own McCain-Feingold Act by setting up the nonprofit Reform Institute from which he funneled hundreds of thousands in soft money to his own campaigns. And who can forget his we could be in Iraq for a 100 years war mongering? McCain’s sleazebag credentials are solid.

But did the paper really need to make insinuations about his sex life? Especially since these insinuations come from anonymous sources who were merely "concerned that his relationship [with Iseman] had become romantic." Sounds like the Times is grasping at straws, not to mention making us queasy by forcing us to think about John McCain having sex. Their anonymous sources all stop short of claiming an affair actually happened. If they've got hard evidence that McCain was sleeping with a lobbyist (whose clients benefited from the tryst) then let's see it. Otherwise, making insinuations about a candidate's personal life on such shaky evidence is truly below the belt. Didn't we learn our lesson from Monicagate? The Times made the right decision to expose "the Maverick's" hypocrisy, but printing unfounded insinuations about an affair to generate interest in their story is Murdoch territory. Even if the rumors turn out to be true, it’s unethical to report them with such flimsy evidence.

The real story the press should be focusing on in regard to McCain is his vote last week to green-light torture. As a former prisoner-of-war and a so-called advocate of human rights, McCain's vote to approve waterboarding is disgraceful. This is the story that the New York Times, and the other major media outlets for that matter, should be covering. It boggles the mind that McCain’s endorsement of torture wasn’t the story the Times chose to place on their front page today.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We're huge Band of Horses fans, so we've been eagerly awaiting the debut release of Grand Archives which came out yesterday. This Sub Pop band is fronted by former BOH member Mat Brooke, who left the band after Everything All the Time. Aquarium Drunkard has some tracks which sound great. Especially Miniature Birds which reminds us of Seals & Crofts, except in a good way. (We didn't think that was even possible). You can check out some demo tracks here. And there's more at there myspace page.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Be careful. Your head may explode. Thanks Rumproast:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We've actually never met anyone who gets excited about Hillary. Evidently, this is what her supporters look like. [Thanks Rumproast]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

From Larry Tee, fashion designers Heatherette, new media Artist Andrew Strasser, and music video producer Francis Legge:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This is totally our favorite new blog. There's lots of material to parse through, but here's our favorite post thus far. [thanks Jeff]

#28 Not Having a TV

The number one reason why white people like not having a TV is so that they can tell you that they don’t have a TV.

On those lonely nights when white people wish they could be watching American Idol, Lost, or Grey’s Anatomy, they comfort themselves by thinking of how when people talk about the show tomorrow they can say “I didn’t see it, I don’t have a TV. That stuff rots your brain.”

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Does anyone need further proof that this douchebag will do anything to get to the White House?

Speaking of unscrupulous, Hillary's team is now officially talking about giving the DNC a big fuck you by demanding that the delegates be counted in Michigan and Florida. No big surprise here since, like McCain, she'd do absolutely anything to obtain the nomination.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 09:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

This sucks. Dov Charney's gonna freak out. From Boston Globe.

Polaroid Corp., the Massachusetts company that gave the world instant film photography, is shutting down its film manufacturing lines in the state and abandoning the technology that made the company famous.

Polaroid has already quietly halted production of instant cameras. "We stopped making commercial-type cameras about 18 to 24 months ago, and we stopped making consumer cameras about a year ago," said Beaudoin.

"It's about time," said Ron Glaz, director of digital imaging program at IDC Corp. "The fact that they're getting out of film makes complete sense."

In the years following World War II, Polaroid's instant photography products established the company as one of Massachusetts' leading industrial concerns, and made its brand name famous worldwide. But in the late 1980s the company went deeply into debt to fend off a hostile takeover. It invested heavily in products that failed and was unprepared for the surging popularity of digital cameras. By 2001, Polaroid was forced into bankruptcy; privately held Petters Group Worldwide of Minnetonka, Minn., bought the company's remaining assets in 2005.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

We found this post from 1994 endlessly amusing:

Welcome to CyberDumb...

Cyberspace has to be the most overblown recreational activity to hit America since cocaine. If you read the hot magazines such as Wired, you know that you're either online or one of the 230 million Americans who are hopelessly behind the times. Well, I've been to the information highway and back, and best I can tell the Internet is a collection of morons typing moronic messages back and forth about moronic topics that make you feel like a moron for participating....

Ironically, when us regular folks log on - the ones who visit our grandmother so she won't die alone, who grow gardens so the birds have a place to rest, who visit the library to help a boy retrieve a book about Thomas Jefferson from a high shelf - we are pushed to the bottom of the Inter Caste. We don't know enough, we don't know what we're doing, we're asking dumb questions. There's a Netiquette, as it's called, that says you shouldn't ask dumb questions. Of course, a dumb question is anything that's been asked and answered. READ MORE

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another reason to vote for Obama.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:22 PM | Permalink

Yet another:

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

An hilarious spoof on Obama's "Yes We Can" video:

Hat tip Rumproast

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The thing we find amazing about this is Bush and company are going to be begging for this oversight once the GOP is no longer in charge. Oh wait, we almost forgot... he's insane and fucks pigs. From Raw Story

Buried on page A17 of Wednesday's Washington Post is a bit of a non-surprise: President George W. Bush has effectively killed a position monitoring compliance with government efforts to release documents.

Late last year, Washington watchdogs won over a reluctant President Bush, who agreed to sign a law enforcing better compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

"But in his budget request this week," the Post's Elizabeth Williamson writes, "Bush proposed shifting a newly created ombudsman's position from the National Archives and Records Administration to the Department of Justice. Because the ombudsman would be the chief monitor of compliance with the new law, that move is akin to killing the critical function, some members of Congress and watchdog groups say."

"Justice represents the agencies when they're sued over FOIA . . . It doesn't make a lot of sense for them to be the mediator," staff lawyer for the National Security Archive Kristin Adair told the Post. The group has filed suit against the White House to force it to preserve e-mails relating to Iraq and the outing of CIA officer Valerie Plame Bush's spokesman says may have been lost. Keep Reading

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Visit our new Williamsburg Brooklyn hotel and hostel listings at http://www.freewilliamsburg.com/listings/hotels.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:53 AM | Permalink

by Dave Thomas

Aside from a few bright spots, this month looks to be even more of a dumping ground than January. [Note: we've been having server issues and are late getting this up. Sorry Dave.]

February 8

IN BRUGES

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Two hitmen (Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson) hang out in Bruges, Belgium. Ralph Fiennes hunts them.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. Chosen to open Sundance. From the writer/director of the Oscar-winning short Six Shooter (also with Gleeson).

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Pretty good star power for an indie, though audiences are likely tired of the wacky assassin sub-genre. $5mil.

-------------------------------

WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A talk show personality (Martin Lawrence) hath no honor in his hometown.

WILL IT SUCK?
The only reason I'm giving this the time of day is because of writer/director Malcom D. Lee (Undercover Brother, Roll Bounce, The Best Man). Otherwise, I'm running as fast as I can in the other direction.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
I've learned never to underestimate Lawrence (Big Momma's House 2 opened at number one, people), however, the following week is a motherfucker. $34mil.

-------------------------------

FOOL'S GOLD

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson team up for another romcom.

WILL IT SUCK?
Director Andy Tennant knows how to make romcoms work (Ever After, Hitch), on the other hand, the first movie he did with "fool" in the title was Fools Rush In. Also, the writers did the Anaconda sequel. However, if the film degenerates into McConaughey and Hudson fighting a horde of gigantic, horny reptiles, I might actually want to see it.

Keep an eye out for Malcom Jamal-Warner. Theo, baby!

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
You really don't want to bet against McConaughey in a romcom. $79mil.

-------------------------------

THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Guy tries to placate ugly girl in order to get with her hot best friend.

WILL IT SUCK?
Well, with an enlightened premise like that, how could it? Even if this didn't have Paris Hilton as the "hottie," it would still suck. A lot.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
It was hard enough getting people to come out to see her get harpooned in House of Wax, how many people do you think are gonna line up to watch people be nice to her? $10mil.

-------------------------------

VINCE VAUGHN'S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Vince Vaughn takes a bunch of comedians you've never heard of on tour.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is mixed, but what little I've seen looks pretty damn funny.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Dude, it's got Vince Vaughn's name right there in the title. $3mil.

-------------------------------

THE BAND'S VISIT

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A bunch of Egyptian policeman/musicians get lost on the way to playing a gig in Israel.

WILL IT SUCK?
Universally beloved. Won tons of international fest awards (including Un Certain Regard at Cannes) and damn near swept the Israeli Film Academy Awards. The only obstacle to it becoming Israel's foreign-language Oscar submission was apparently not enough foreign language.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Tons of good reviews are no competition for name recognition. $750,000.

-------------------------------
February 15
-------------------------------

DEFINITELY, MAYBE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
How I Met Your Mother: The Movie

WILL IT SUCK?
Working Title is like the Pixar of romcom (About a Boy, Bridget Jones's Diary, even the title font and colors for this one come from Love, Actually). That having been said, the writer/director wrote the Bridget Jones sequel and Practical Magic.

Early buzz, however, is good. And the cast is hot: Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin, Kevin Kline, Derek Luke, and Nestor Serrano.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Very crowded field. $33mil.

-------------------------------

STEP UP 2 THE STREETS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Best use of a "2" pun in a sequel title since Teen Wolf, Too.

WILL IT SUCK?
The only two things distinguishing this from all other You Got Served kith in my mind are (a) one of the writers wrote Save the Last Dance, which was supposed to not suck and (b) it's set at the Maryland School of the Arts, and I'm from Baltimore.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Field didn't get any less crowded, but don't underestimate dance challenge flicks. $33mil.

-------------------------------

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Another kids' fantasy flick.

WILL IT SUCK?
Mark Waters helmed the shit out of Freaky Friday and Mean Girls, but seeing Chris Weitz fail to crossover from romcom to fantasy with Golden Compass gives me pause. Writers have done everything from Chicken Run to Haunted Mansion, so your guess is as good as mine, although they did bring in John Sayles to script doctor. Early buzz is good.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Bad timing. Jumper's going to be an issue. If the rumors about an attached Indiana Jones trailer hold true, that might give the opening weekend a bump. $58mil.

-------------------------------

JUMPER

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Teleporting freaks battle it out with government agents.

WILL IT SUCK?
Director Doug Liman knows his shit, and the writers have titles like Fight Club and Batman Begins under their collective belts.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Will own a crowded weekend. $93mil.

-------------------------------

GEORGE A. ROMERO'S DIARY OF THE DEAD

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
George goes all Cloverfield on the zombie genre.

WILL IT SUCK?
Zombies are what this man does. Early buzz is good. Keep an ear out for voice cameos from Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo Del Toro, Stephen King, Simon Pegg and Wes Craven.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Oft-delayed indie horror flick Signal comes out next week, but no one takes on Romero. $10mil.

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February 22
-------------------------------

VANTAGE POINT

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
An attempt on the President's life, Rashomon-style.

WILL IT SUCK?
The writer's a friend of a friend, so I'm going to say it's the best film in the history of films that were written. I've never heard of the director, but let's say he's good, too.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Some stiff competition, but awareness is pretty high. $44mil.

-------------------------------

CHARLIE BARTLETT

(Delayed from lots of months)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Kid starts handing out psychiatric advice (and meds) in his high school.

WILL IT SUCK?
Not bad. I wouldn't put it in the pantheon of great teen smart-ass flicks, but it's decent.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
On this crowded a weekend, I think indie platform would be a better strategy for this type of fare. $16mil.

-------------------------------

BE KIND REWIND

(Delayed from January)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Two video store clerks (Jack Black, Mos Def) set out to remake classic films that one of them accidentally erased.

WILL IT SUCK?
Written and directed by Michel Gondry, so already it's good times. And judging by the trailer, they'll make the most of a terrific premise.
Early buzz is mixed.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Moving into a position where a wide release would be more advantageous was probably a good move, but it's still a crowded weekend and Jack Black hasn't been as big of a draw for his last few movies. $32mil.

-------------------------------

WITLESS PROTECTION

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Larry the Cable Guy does some stuff. Probably says "Git-R-Done."

WILL IT SUCK?
Finally, the guy who wrote Gymkata has made another film. Yaphet Kotto, what happened? You were in Midnight Run, man. Midnight Run.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Semi-Pro comes out next week as the relatively highbrow comedy alternative. $9mil.

-------------------------------

MY MOM'S NEW BOYFRIEND

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Mr. Woodcock with art thieves.

WILL IT SUCK?
From writer/director George Gallo, who went from writing stuff like Midnight Run to writing stuff like Code Name: The Cleaner. This looks like more of the latter.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
I never thought I'd say this, but Witless Protecton has a better shot at opening well. $6mil.

-------------------------------

THE SIGNAL

(Delayed from October)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
A mysterious signal is broadcast over all airwaves that basically says "you go kill now."

WILL IT SUCK?
Three writer/directors tackle the three acts of the film. The concept works, according to early buzz.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Better against the second frame of Diary than the first of Saw IV, which was its original competition. $2mil.

-------------------------------

THE COUNTERFEITERS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
True story of a WWII-era counterfeiter recruited by his Nazi captors to produce fake foreign currency.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is great. Manged to navigate this year's unusually turbulent waters of Best Foreign Oscar selection to make it into the final five.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
The Oscar nod will help, if anyone ever hears about it. $2mil.

-------------------------------

THE DUCHESS OF LANGEAIS

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Married 1820's woman toys with passions of an increasingly impatient adventurer. I'm sure that works out well for both of them. Based on the novel by Balzac.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. Stars Gerard Depardieu's son Guillaume. From acclaimed French director Jacques Rivette.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Raise your hand if you've heard of Rivette. $750,000.

-------------------------------
February 29
-------------------------------

THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
King Henry VIII (Eric Bana) has to choose between Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson. Poor baby.

WILL IT SUCK?
Penned by The Queen and Last King of Scotland scribe Peter Morgan, so pay attention.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Shoulda been a platform release. $32mil.

-------------------------------

SEMI-PRO

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Will Ferrell basketball film.

WILL IT SUCK?
I'd complain about the repetitiveness of Will Ferrell forming his own sports spoof subgenre if it wasn't such a damn funny subgenre. This time Old School and Road Trip scribe Scott Armstrong takes a crack at the formula. As usual, the supporting cast is sublime: Woody Harrelson, Maura Tierney, Andy Richter, Will Arnett, David Koechner, Jackie Earle Haley and Rob Corddry.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
10,000 B.C. might be an issue the following week, but this should be one of the biggest releases of the month. $119mil.

-------------------------------

PENELOPE

(Delayed from 2006)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Chick has to find true love in order to get rid of her pig nose.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good, which is a good thing since this has been delayed since time immemorial. Good cast, with Christina Ricci as Penelope, and Peter Dinklage, James McAvoy, Catherine O'Hara, Richard E. Grant and Nick Frost also up in there.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Could be overshadowed by The Other Boleyn Girl. Again, a limited, Juno-style release might have been wiser. $9mil.

-------------------------------

CHICAGO 10

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Doc about the Chicago 10, with re-enactments done A Scanner Darkly-style.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good, and well it should be. This is from the writer/director of The Kid Stays in the Picture, and early IMDB ratings have it as being even better.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Unlikely to do much better than Kid. $2mil.

-------------------------------

CITY OF MEN

(Delayed from January)

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
More drugs and kids doing what they shouldn't in Brazil.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is good. Directed by Paulo Morelli, who also directed eps of the TV series on which this is based, itself a spin-off of the Fernando Meirelles classic, City of God. Screenwriter Elena Soarez also wrote for the series, and scripted the lauded House of Sand.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
If this were an actual sequel to City of God with Meirelles directing, it might be able to compete with what's coming. $1mil.

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BONNEVILLE

WHAT'S THE PITCH?
Oscar-winning woman (Jessica Lange) goes on a road trip with her Oscar-winning/nominated friends (Kathy Bates, Joan Allen) to deliver her husbands ashes to his bitchy, non-Oscar-nominated daughter (Christine Baranski) in an effort to keep her house.

WILL IT SUCK?
Early buzz is crappy, but if you want to spend $2 grand to watch it before anyone else, they're premiering it on Princess Cruise Lines.

HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Much more buzzy Mrs. Pettigrew Lives for a Day appeals to a similar demo next week. $1mil.

Next Month: Jim Carrey goes back to the Dr. Suess well with Steve Carell in tow.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Meanwhile, our trillion dollar war drags on. From HuffPost

Public broadcasting officials vowed Monday to fight drastic cuts President Bush is seeking to make to federal financing for public television and radio, warning that the reductions would seriously impair station operations.

Bush's proposed 2009 budget, released Monday, would more than halve the federal allocation to public broadcasting over the next two years, the deepest cuts to the system that he's proposed during his administration.

Under Bush's plan, the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, a private nonprofit that distributes the funds to local stations, would lose $420 million of the $820 million in federal funds it was set to receive over the next two years. In addition, the White House budget does not include advance funding for the 2011 fiscal year. The corporation is usually financed three years ahead of time to insulate the system from politics.

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[thanks Ron]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Leave it to the Democrats to lose an election. This is exactly what will happen if Hillary becomes our nominee. The GOP is splintered and cracking up. Rush Limbaugh, after all, is going apeshit about how liberal their frontrunner, McCain, will be as president. And evangelicals are dissatisfied with McCain too—he's “shaky” on abortion, taxes, and immigration in their view— while Romney is, well, he's just too Mormony for the "family values" crowd. Come November, much of the GOP will likely stay home.

The ONLY thing that can prevent the GOP from imploding is Hillary Clinton. The GOP loathes the Clintons and they will show up in unprecedented numbers to keep her out of office. She will unite them. Jerry Falwell was a loathsome lunatic, but he was 100% correct when he noted Hillary's power to mobilize the GOP: "I certainly hope that Hillary is the candidate," said Falwell, "Because nothing will energize my [constituency] like Hillary Clinton... If Lucifer ran, he wouldn't."

And let's not forget that’s she’s been as hawkish as almost anyone in the Senate. Hillary supported the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and voted to give Bush the authority to preemptively invade. This is unforgivable. Thousands of Americans have died and close to 100,000 civilians have been killed. She claims that she didn't know that Bush would see the vote as a greenlight to invade, despite the fact that the rest of us knew he would. She's either lying or an idiot. Did anyone really doubt that Bush would invade Iraq after this vote was cast? Hillary knowingly gave Bush, Rummy and the rest of the neocons the authority to preemptively attack Iraq. Period.

Further, she hasn't learned from her mistake. Late last year Hillary signed a bill sponsored by Joe Lieberman that identified Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization. In doing so, she again is helping the administration to build a case for preemptive war.

And who can forget the dirty campaign that she's run? She's taken more money from lobbyists than anyone else and will undoubtedly cater to their interests, not yours, if elected. Currently, she's defying the DNC and breaking her oath by trying to obtain delegates in Florida and Michigan. And today, she's in Connecticut feigning tears to secure the sympathy vote. It worked in New Hampshire. Clearly, Hillary would run over her grandmother to make it to the oval office.

DailyKos has a great list of Why Hillary will Lose to McCain. We encourage you to check it out. Michael Chabon also has a great article on the Obama candidacy.

Yes this is an endorsement. We don't need dynasty, we need change. VOTE OBAMA.

Update: Hillary resorts to scummy GOP-esque fear tactics. Her "red phone" experience is a silly media myth. And is she ever going to release her tax returns?

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

[hat tip BrooklynVegan]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 03:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The Self Divider has translated and posted a great interview with FREEwilliamsburg favorite, Haruki Murakami. It's special because the elusive writer rarely speaks to the press. By the way, where can we find Haruki Murakami’s Whiskey Pilgrimage of Europe? Here's the interview: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 02:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ann Coulter says she would support Clinton over McCain. For once we agree with Coulter on one point.... Hillary is essentially a Republican. [Hat tip Jezebel]

Posted by freewilliamsburg at 10:22 AM | Permalink