If you want something really, really bad...

I know they kind of make fun of it like "haha, fire your agents" but seriously, Jensen even BEING on that list is a good thing in my eyes.

Because that's a list ranking actors as far as their potential to draw people to movie theaters by name alone and done by people in the movie business. So, take an actor who has done predominantly TV work, none of that big blockbuster shows/big phenomena and has JUST made his big screen debut (after the survey was conducted)? That they even knew his name to include in the list is great. I skimmed it and there were a lot of names missing from hit shows or smaller shows and frankly a lot of names that made me go "who?" ( Read more... )

In other news, Germany's Next Top Model starts today and I feel conflicted because despite my ranting against casting/reality shows that is actually the one I enjoy. I guess, I just have to embrace my inner shallow voyeur. *g*

And in yet other news, if anybody wants a good laugh, go to deadlinehollywooddaily.com and scroll through all the articles on the battle between SAG (the actor's union) and the studios. I started following it because I wanted to be prepared in case of another strike but this union has, well, I don't think there are words. Political implosion? Violating oneself with an iron-rod? And what kills me is that by making every little thing public in pissing contests, they made it a million times worse.

I really used to fear a strike at the beginning of the year. Now, I no longer do. Not one bit.

Yesterday a few DVDs I had ordered ages ago finally arrived, one being Athens 1894, a little fictional retelling of the first new Olympic Games. I hadn't watched that for years, it's been made in the 80s, and thankfully I still found it cheesy but adorable.

I even has an honest to God slash pairing with two athletes. They have a meet-cute, they hate each other initially and it ends with one craddling! the other in his arms and reciting poetry to him when he collapses during the Marathon run. Really, it's uncanny.
So why wasn't I sighing in contentment? Why wasn't it as beautiful as it sounds? Because one of this pairing is none other than freaking Horatio Caine. Yes, it's slash with David Caruso, sans glasses.

Why cruel world, why? *headdesk*


In other news, I finally got around to watching Ten Inch Hero . And while movies like that are usually not exactly my thing, it was better than I imagined. ( Read more... )

So yeah, a bit cute, a bit heartwarming, a bit schmaltzy, yes but heck, it's Christmas. *g* Next up is Christmas Cottage which I expect will be a lot schmaltzier. The sides, oh my.

Does anybody know anything about chess? Vista has this regular chess program and I`ve been trying to teach myself. At first the computer cleaned my clock every single time but I`m getting the hang of it slowly. One thing I do not get however is when a game ends in checkmate and when it`s considered a draw.

Now picture me having beat every figure but the opponent`s king while I work on boxing him in with my queen, knight, bishop etc (whatever I have left in the game, sometimes I manage to get pawns "promoted" to queen) and then it happens and the king can make no more legitimate move yet sometimes the computer counts it as checkmate for me, sometimes as a draw. I just do need see the difference there. Hm.

So, talks have broken down between the AMPTP and the WGA. And it looks like the studios only negotiated for show and are planning on waging a PR war now. And they are boasting how great their numbers will be for this quarter with all the saved expenses in paychecks.

First off, nice to be all gleeful about major unemployment right before Christmas. And secondly, I would TOTALLY be all rah-rah about great numbers in one quarter when long-term speaking I`m looking at going freaking bankrupt. That makes inordinate amounts of sense. So how about we wait for the numbers in the spring quarter of 2008 or the summer and fall? You know studios, once the ad agencies demanded their major cash back, your reality crap sinks like a rock and the fall Season is dead which means no new ad money AND a major viewer shift occurs that cripples network television forever.

If someone promised to give me 50 $ now - just like that - but also demanded I give them 5000 $ next month, I would not fucking do it. Why? Because I can do basic math. Obviously the bigwigs of the Hollywood industry can`t. Well then, like Monty Python said: just remember that the last laugh is on you .

You know, ever since they announced negotiations have begun again between studios and writers - and insiders sound a lot more hopeful than they did early November - I wondered why the studios came back. They were all so high and mighty, pretty much expected to try and bleed the writers dry for months and all up with their "superb" reality shows. And I know their publicity has been a lot worse than they probably expected but still.

Now I read that the ad companies are threatening with massive shit, not only lowered rates but a nice little cash back. Well, in your face AMPTP of the "we have ample money to last a few months" boasting. Seems like your money doesn`t grow on trees either - wonder oh wonder - and the people giving it to you might withhold also. This makes me a lot more optimistic. If anbody can break a big business conglomerate, it`s the bigger business keeping it in the same.

I have been looking up some TV tropes over at Wiki, and lookie what`s gotten its own category by now: Spikefication

Muhahaha.

Grumble, grumble. My ep review will be postponed until further notice because my usual "source" is dry this weekend and unlike last week nobody put up a smaller-sized file so far. So that equals me not watching the eppie.

I know it undercuts writers position but for the tiny, struggling CW I`d have wished our writers to be a bit more on the ball. We are said to have 12 completed scripts, shooting 11 will begin tomorrow.
From the looks of it now this might be the end of this Season. GoGi has 13 eppies, Smallville 15, about Reaper I don`t know. And yes, one ep give or take doesn`t seem like much but I`d rather they do the "Heroes" thing and have a mini-resolution and that they`d use as many eps for that as possible. A 15 eppie Season would still be better than a 12 eppie one.

Well, I guess every show will run out in equal time since they`ll all hold back their last horses for Feb sweeps. And our semi-serialized format has always led to decent rerun rates. Maybe we could even pick up viewers, strange as it sounds since Grey`s repeats for shit and The Office is near stopping production already.

This is all one massive bruhaha and I can`t see it ending well. Now some people posit the strike to last 9-10 months though I can`t imagine the WGA having the financial set-up to pay their members this long. Let alone that in June actors and directors would probably segue right into the strike. Even if the studios have the money to sit it out that long, then what? They have stuck it to the writers but emptied their pockets in the process? I so, so hate short-sighted business planning.

Aaaand we`re on strike, that is the WGA is as of today.

In good news however, seemingly there was a little bit progress made in yesterday`s talks. I think all depends on if the studios are at least willing to TALK about the DVD/internet issue. So far they haven`t been and it`s the main point of the writers. They took all kinds of other stuff off the table already.

I`m still afraid it`s gonna be a long game of chicken shit where the networks won`t be hurt before March because eppies can be stretched out that long. I hope all the reality crap - along with the returning favorites bombs to high heaven. Maybe if there is nothing on but reality people get sick of it faster.

In our news it might be that ep 11 is our last while LA Times put us down for 10-12 completed, about 5 more to be shot. With the latter doubtful unless Gamble isn`t in the loop or gave false info. Man, what did those writers do the last few weeks? Did they not stockpile even a little bit? It`s not like this strike came as a complete surprise since oh, months ago.

Also, I received Witch`s Canyon, the new SPN tie-in today. Will see how it fares characterization-wise.

edit: Already my first nitpick and I have to be real petty here: botched physical descriptions that you could avoid if you`d take a look at just one, ONE picture of them, are really inacceptable. ( Read more... )

Happy Halloween, folks!!!

And another question from the technically illiterate. I loaded a video in my Firefox to watch it online, then I went offline but kept the tab open and the embedded vid still played. So far, so good. Now shouldn`t that vid be stored somewhere on my hd so it allows it to play even off-line? Because as soon as I close the tab, it`s gone of course. Somewhere in a cache maybe? Only I have no idea where to look for it.
Damn, I really need to talk to my friends again who don`t even know how to turn a computer on. I feel mighty and hackerlicious with them. *g*