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Don’t Be Scared of Lego’s Amazing October Releases
24 minutes ago
Monday, March 31, 2008
21
The basic synopsis of this film is as follows: "A group of students from MIT learn the art of card counting and walk away from Las Vegas with millions of dollars."
I think that basically sums it up if you were to try and come up with a logline to describe the film. It goes a bit deeper than that. Yesterday, I went and saw this movie at The Arclight as is an ongoing treat for myself.
What originally captured my interest in this movie was Kevin Spacey and Las Vegas. Almost any movie involving Las Vegas makes me interested in seeing it. I also think Kevin Spacey is a great actor. There's something about his stage presence, if you will, that keeps him quite interesting and engaging as an actor to watch.
The actor I never heard of, Jim Sturgess, who had top billing was great. I've never seen this kid before and I really think he is going to have quite a thriving acting career. The chemistry between the entire cast was thrilling to watch. Not to mention, it made me want to go to Las Vegas. Kate Bosworth was hot as always. There really wasn't anything about this movie I disliked. This surprises me. It was very entertaining as a whole.
And to think this movie is based on a true story. It makes me want to learn how to count cards. But if there are still casino thugs like the one Lawrence Fishburne played, I'll just fantasize about winning millions.
If I had stars, I'd give it 4 out of 5.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
I've never really been fond of AFTRA
This is a repost of my friend Anthony's blog on MySpace:
SAG and AFTRA
Current mood: Motivated
To all my actor friends and friends of actors,
This is a long one but it’s incredibly important for actors to read.
Today is an important day. Yesterday AFTRA decided to separate itself from joint negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild on the upcoming TV/Theatrical and Exhibit A contracts, thereby ending our joint bargaining agreement called Phase One.
No matter what you know about or think about the current SAG AFTRA situation, or the failed merger or the various political factions, the time to be informed is now.
Regardless of what mistakes or errors in judgement you may believe either or both of your unions have made, the time to get involved is now.
No matter who you may blame for the current situation, the time to take action is now.
This is nothing less than a war for our future ability to make a living as middle class actors.
I am including Nikki Finke’s article on the subject below for some background. The article is accurate. I was in the board room and I have been a witness to the events of the past year as a Hollywood SAG board member for the past 5 years and as a member of the joint Working and Wages committee. (Interestingly, the group of AFTRA representatives who delivered the message to SAG included only one working actor.)
What can you or should you do?
Please forward this email to every actor or friend of actors you know.
*Tell them that AFTRA is jeopardizing their future ability to make a living as an actor by continually undercutting SAG contract minimums--negotiating cheaper deals with producers.
*Have this conversation as many times with as many actors as you can.
*Talk to each other via email (build your SAG email lists), in audition rooms, at your classes, with your agents (our ability to make a living is directly entwined with theirs), and with your AFTRA leadership.
*Call AFTRA (323) 634-8100 and tell them to get back to Phase One and negotiate jointly with Screen Actors Guild or at the very least stick to the negotiating proposals that were voted up by the joint Working and Wages committee. I can tell you that the negotiating proposals voted up by working actors from both unions are fair and reasonable, approved unanimously by the W&W committee (composed equally of SAG and AFTRA members) and the key to the middle class actor’s future.
The fact that AFTRA has recently followed a policy of undercutting SAG contract minimums is not disputed by AFTRA. I was there when two of their leaders admitted that they had signed contracts with producers for rates lower than the contract minimums negotiated by SAG. Under the Phase 1 agreement neither union is allowed to undercut the other. Put simply--and anyone who has worked on an AFTRA show can attest to this--you make far less in residuals on an AFTRA show than you do on a SAG show. Talk to any cast member from Army Wives, Dirt, Damages, Corey in the House or any other AFTRA-contracted show. They are furious with the terms of their AFTRA contracts.
Due now to AFTRA’s choice to negotiate alone, the danger is that AFTRA will sign on to the formula deal that the Writers were forced to sign after they were shamefully hamstrung by the DGA, who inexcusably played industry patsy and negotiated their deal while their sister union was walking the picket line. Make no mistake. The DGA and WGA deals do no favors for actors. They are apples and oranges when it comes to what actors need to continue making a living, supporting their families, paying their mortgages and surviving as professional actors (not hobbyists).
If we actors are forced to take their deals without serious changes to reflect the needs of actors, then the demise of the acting middle class will be assured.
To continue to make a living as actors, the middle class actor in particular cannot accept the WGA terms. We will effectively be cut out of New Media money as we have been on Home Video and Cable and we will get nothing on DVD--an industry that earned the studios almost 30 billion dollars last year (of which the actors shared 1%). That source of revenue is not going away in the next 3 years I can assure you.
We must ALL now do the work of traditional Union Organizing. That means that we must continue to have this conversation with every actor we can so that we are informed, organized and mobilized as a Union. We need to pay attention to communication from the Guild. We need to answer the call when our Union needs us.
1. Make sure your email address is current with the Screen Actors Guild
2. Check the Sag.org website regularly -- Bookmark it.
3. Attend Members on the Move meetings
4. Join in the Hollywood to the Docks labor march on April 15. It will begin at a rally at the Screen Actors Guild HQ at 5757 Wilshire Blvd. There is a war going on over the entire globe as labor fights to protect its ability to make a living and preserve healthcare and pensions. Stand up with members of other unions. We will need their support as they need ours.
5. Talk to other actors. Get informed and stay informed.
This is where the rubber meets the road.
Are you willing to stand up and defend your chosen careers? Will you show up?
If you don’t, you will lose your ability to make a living as an actor and become waiters, temps, hobbyists, teaching subs, etc. first and actors last instead of the other way around.
It’s time to support the Screen Actors Guild.
Anthony De Santis
web.mac.com/anthonydesantis
818-571-4351
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Deadline Hollywood Daily
UPDATE: Tonight I received the news that AFTRA national president Roberta Reardon and officers including Susan Boyd Joyce, Denny Delk, Bob Edwards, Matt Kimbrough, Shelby Scott held their national meeting and approved a formal rift with their stepsister actors union SAG. They then went to SAG’s national board meeting and declared that AFTRA won’t negotiate jointly with the Screen Actors Guild on the new primetime TV contract. This, in spite of a long-time agreement by AFTRA to bargain jointly with SAG and not undercut rates. So basically those "make nice" pronouncements of recent days are out the window. And all because of a blown-way-out-proportion incident involving AFTRA, SAG and the soap opera The Bold And The Beautiful. Now AFTRA has taken such an extreme position that not even the AFL-CIO may be able to rein it in.
The AFTRA maneuver is disingenuous, bordering on slightly dishonest, because I’m told the union has known about the B&B incident for weeks and done nothing until this weekend. Then there’s the curious and convenient timing of an obviously planted story in the Los Angeles Times Saturday, designed to give Reardon some protective cover. So it now looks like tonight’s announcement was a carefully planned 11th hour ploy by her to get out of joint bargaining and justify AFTRA’s going it alone. My sources assure me that AFTRA has false concerns because SAG has no interest in organizing daytime. If anything, the concern is justified the other way around because AFTRA is already treading on SAG’s scripted TV turf by repping, for example, both Damage and Dirt.
It was hardly a secret, much less a scoop, that the Emmy-winning star of The Bold And The Beautiful, Susan Flannery, has for some time now circulated a petition to decertify AFTRA as the union representing the actors on the long-running soap. But, suddenly, the LA Times was exaggerating a minor matter whereby SAG’s national executive director Doug Allen was approached by two B&B actors for a meeting.
When the duo launched into a litany of complaints about AFTRA’s representation, witnesses tell me that Allen properly turned them aside and sent them back to AFTRA. But it took the LAT until the 11th paragraph to convey that salient point. And the paper never bothered to mention that these two B&B cast members were also SAG members since there are many dual cardholders.
This is, after all, the very same newspaper that took every side but the WGA’s when the striking writers were pressured by the moguls and the directors. And the same newspaper that ignored the recent AFTRA-SAG blame game when AFTRA was at fault. Yet the LAT on Saturday was breathlessly reporting how "AFTRA officials were upset at SAG for not telling them about the meeting until two weeks after the fact, according to Reardon." Interesting that she timed her public hissy fit to the very weekend when both AFTRA and SAG national boards were meeting on the eve of the two guilds starting joint negotiations on the primetime TV contract.
I’m told from inside AFTRA’s board confab that Reardon "misrepresented the incident to blame Doug Allen for encouraging poaching and raiding even though that’s not the case. Reardon said it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She’s using this as an excuse because she’s wanted to get out of Phase One for the past year."
Reardon acolytes keep claiming that SAG’s so-called "Membership First" leadership clique is causing all the current trouble with AFTRA. Don’t misunderstand me: there’s plenty of petty nonsense going on inside both camps. But it’s painful to watch the actors guilds battle amongst themselves (or even the actors inside SAG) with that June deadline bearing down. I sense real concern that dual cardholders may not stay loyal in the event of a SAG strike. Which serves to explain why this latest Reardon move looks like an AFTRA ploy to further encroach on SAG’s jurisdiction by offering inferior terms on contracts. While SAG accounts for 100% of motion pictures and about 90+% of television, AFTRA has 3 shows under this primetime TV contract. Now it appears that AFTRA is going to negotiate those on its own, thus continuing the union’s shameful history of pay undercuts and residuals giveaways that have compromised actors for years. Lots of casts are still unhappy with AFTRA’s basic cable deals, so there will be more when AFTRA folds on primetime contract points. Why, it’s a Big Media mogul’s wet dream!
But here’s what Reardon said in a statement Saturday night:
"AFTRA’s primary goal is to improve and protect the working lives of performers. During the past year, AFTRA has fought hard and expended an enormous amount of time, energy and resources to maintain the integrity of our Phase One joint bargaining process with the Screen Actors Guild, so we could sit across the table from the industry with total and unequivocal unity. Unfortunately, SAG leadership has made this impossible. For the past year SAG leadership in Hollywood has engaged in a relentless campaign of disinformation and disparagement, culminating in a recent attempt to decertify a AFTRA daytime soap opera. As a result of this continued and ongoing behavior by SAG leadership, which at its core harms all working performers and the labor movement, we find ourselves unable to have any confidence in their ability to live up to the principles of partnership and union solidarity. AFTRA believes it must devote its full energies to working on behalf of performers, and not wasting time assessing whether our partner is being honest with us. With this in mind, the AFTRA National Board today voted overwhelmingly in favor of suspending Phase One, and negotiating the primetime television contract on our own. We are now prepared to move forward and negotiate a strong contract for our members as soon as possible. This action was taken in the hope that someday, the historic trust between these two organizations can be rebuilt – in the best interests of all performers."
SAG President Alan Rosenberg also released a statement, and sounded pissed:
"We remain focused on negotiating the best terms for actors covered by the TV Theatrical contract. We spent weeks working with our fellow actors in AFTRA on joint proposals to improve the lives of all working actors. AFTRA’s refusal now to bargain together and their last second abandonment of the joint process is calculated, cynical and serves the interests of their institution not its members."
Naturally, the AMPTP chimed in from the sidelines, since the Big Media companies have been watching with glee while AFTRA beats up on SAG:
"On February 14th, just after we concluded our agreement with the writers, we called for our negotiations with actors to begin promptly. Today we are pleased that to learn that AFTRA is also ready to begin talks immediately. We are determined, as we have always been, to work hard and bargain reasonably with the actors’ unions so that we can all avoid another harmful, unnecessary strike."
FIDO
The next title on my Netflix that was received the other night was Fido. This film came out a few years ago and I remember thinking I wanted to check it out. Of course, it's stay in theaters was limited and I never got around to seeing it.
The basic rundown of this film is it's the 1950s and America has survived the Zombie Wars. Main cities are now surrounded by protective gates to keep out the zombies that exist in the "Wild Zone". A company named Zomcon has come into power and helps keep order by controlling zombies with an electrical collar. Let's say it turns them into a cross between a slave and domesticated pet.
It was an interesting concept and kept me chuckling through the film as I saw references to Lassie. It also conjured thoughts of slavery and living through the 50s propaganda regarding Communism and whatnot. But this movie was not that deep.
It was a comedy. The main zombie, named "Fido" by Timmy was played by Billy Connolly. He's pictured in the poster above. I find that to be cool. He conveyed a lot of things by a simple grunt or look. I wish he had dialogue, though. Carrie Anne Moss played the hot mother. Cuz she's hot and she played a mother. It was like Leave It To Beaver meets Night Of The Living Dead.
Overall, I loved the concept but there were times during the film that I got bored. I think it could've survived being an hour long episode of Masters Of Horror and still gotten the point across. The little boy's acting left something to be desired. I think Dylan Baker is a great actor and he played Timmy's father in this. I felt like there could have been more done for his character. If anyone does not know who he is, I suggest renting Happiness. He plays quite the twisted character in that. If you haven't seeing Happiness, rent it. Great cast, great performances, fucked up movie.
But back to Fido.
If I had stars, I'd give it 3 out of 5. If it didn't keep me consistently chuckling to the concept and camp of it, it'd be 2 1/2 stars. But it kept me chuckling, so 3 it is.
Saturday, March 29, 2008
AFTRA opposes joint talks with SAG (taken from Variety.com)
AFTRA opposes joint talks with SAG
Union withdraws from 27-year Phase One agreement
By DAVE MCNARY
With feature-primetime contract negotiations looming, AFTRA has declared war on SAG and carried through on its threat to negotiate a separate deal with the majors.
SAG announced Saturday afternoon that AFTRA had withdrawn from Phase One joint bargaining.
The unions had been scheduled to give final approval Saturday at a joint board meeting to a contract proposal to the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers. Had that happened, informal talks would have started over the next few days.
Instead, the AMPTP must now decide whether to start negotiations first with AFTRA or SAG. It is likely that the majors would prefer going first with AFTRA, since it covers only three primetime shows under the contract and has been far more moderate than SAG.
The AMPTP responded late Saturday by saying it was pleased that AFTRA is ready to negotiate while not mentioning SAG. And it noted that it had told the actors unions seven weeks ago that it was ready to start negotiations."
The current feature-primetime contract expires June 30.
AFTRA leaders voted at their national board meeting Saturday to dissolve the 27-year Phase One bargaining partnership after multiple disagreements with SAG on jurisdictional issues such as AFTRA offering lower initial terms on basic cable and SAG exploring moving into AFTRA's turf in soap operas.
AFTRA leaders were also perturbed over SAG's attempts over the past year to seek more seats on the joint bargaining committee -- which is split 50-50 even though SAG covers the lions share of work.
Upon conclusion of their national meeting, AFTRA president Roberta Reardon and national officers including Susan Boyd Joyce, Denny Delk, Bob Edwards, Matt Kimbrough and Shelby Scott entered SAG's national board meeting and reported their board's effective termination of Phase One and declared that they will not negotiate jointly with SAG the TV Theatrical contract, including their Exhibit A.
Reardon made the following statement regarding the meeting today: "For the past year SAG leadership in Hollywood has engaged in a relentless campaign of disinformation and disparagement, culminating in a recent attempt to decertify an AFTRA daytime soap opera. As a result of this continued and ongoing behavior by SAG leadership, which at its core harms all working performers and the labor movement, we find ourselves unable to have any confidence in their ability to live up to the principles of partnership and union solidarity."
SAG president Alan Rosenberg said: "We remain focused on negotiating the best terms for actors covered by the TV Theatrical contract. We spent weeks working with our fellow actors in AFTRA on joint proposals to improve the lives of all working actors. AFTRA's refusal now to bargain together and their last second abandonment of the joint process is calculated, cynical and serves the interests of their institution, not its members."
I Admit I Stole It
Right from Kenny's blog into mine.
"When you realize that you’re one of the rare few who observe moral principles in their relationships with others, there is a temptation to sink into amorality, not out of conviction or pleasure but simply to avoid further pain, because there is no greater suffering than being an angel in hell, whereas a devil feels at home wherever he goes."
-Martin Page
Friday, March 28, 2008
Redheads: My Suspicions Confirmed By Germans
Redheads have more sex than blondes or brunettes
The sex lives of women with red hair are clearly more active than those with other hair color, with more partners and having sex more often than the average.
read more | digg story
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