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7/ 3/08

Roll Credits

7/ 3/08

2:00 PM

Week in Review: Ben Silverman Wishes You a Happy Fourth of July

Photo: iStockphoto (flag)

What's up, America! I'm Ben Silverman, head of programming at NBC, winner of the Rose d'Or, and future public servant. On the occasion of America's, like, 500th birthday, I've been driving around Hollywood with my summer tunes pumped up (sing it, Shaq!), looking for ways to get Eddie Murphy and Rose McGowan into an NBC project. Once Katie's Broadway move flops, I should be able to cast her and Tom in a reality show, too.

But that's not what I'm here to talk to you about! I'm here to talk about America. As eventual NBC sitcom star Yaakov Smirnoff once said, "What a country!" A country where you can take a hit TV show about six friends and turn it into a movie, and the network that kept that TV show on the air for years doesn't see a dime. A country where a reporter can just go through a mogul's garbage and report on it. A country that keeps Boy George out but keeps animation-hater Jeffrey Wells in. A country where a fifteenth-century sculpture could fall on your head at any moment. God, what the hell is wrong with this country?

No, no, America is awesome. We've got Kanye! And waterfalls! And Wall-E! And Beverly Hills Chihuahua, an idea I can't believe I didn't have!

So have a great Fourth of July, America! Go outside for a few minutes, grill out, maybe watch some fireworks on your local NBC affiliate. Enjoy your freedom! These babies I've got caged up in my office would envy your freedom. And, as my good friend Gary Oldman would say, "God bless us, every one!" See you Monday ... on NBC!

More: Roll Credits »ben silverman

Apropos of Nothing

7/ 3/08

1:15 PM

Next Harry Potter Movie Will Be Exactly Like ‘Trainspotting’

Photo-illustration: Getty Images, Courtesy of Warner Brothers

Desperately unhappy playing a teenage wizard in children's movies, Daniel Radcliffe is trying to ratchet up excitement for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by claiming the movie will feature similarities to 1996's heroin-addiction comedy Trainspotting. "There's a fair amount of sexual energy and drug parallels," he tells Empire magazine, on whose cover he appears this month, bloody and with broken glasses. "We have a couple of what David Yates, the director, calls our 'Trainspotting moments.'"

More: Apropos of Nothing »daniel radcliffe, harry potter, harry potter and the half-blood prince, movies, trainspotting

Quote Machine

7/ 3/08

12:30 PM

Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Early Films Suffered From Too Much Acting

Photo: Getty Images

"I've made 36 movies in 20 years and I overacted a lot in my early career. So it's very difficult for me to look at myself in those early movies." —Jean-Claude Van Damme [Contact Music]

"Like Turtle would still be with Vince everyday, even if Vince was a garbage man. This is where you really get to see the loyalty of the show." —Jerry Ferarra on the upcoming season of Entourage [OK!]

"It'll be tasteful, unless he does it the way I wrote it." —Joss Whedon on an upcoming issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book that includes a naked Willow [MTV]

"You know what I think? That Pauline was a poor Jewish girl who was at Berkeley with all these rich Pasadena Wasps with long blonde hair, and the heartlessness of them got her. And then, years later, she sees me." —Meryl Streep on Pauline Kael's dislike of her [Guardian]

"One, I was at the Oscars. Two, I was on the red carpet at the Oscars. And three, someone introduced me to Daniel Day-Lewis on the red carpet at the Oscars. And four, he was like, 'I really loved your work in Juno.' And the fifth step was me just falling over." —Olivia Thirlby on the "craziest moment" of her life [LAT]

More: Quote Machine »jean-claude van damme, jerry ferrera, joss whedon, meryl streep, olivia thirlby

‘The Dangerous Alphabet’: Kiddie Gothic Horror!

This book belongs in a bigger kid's camp pack, along with a flashlight for top-bunk freak-out sessions. Throw in a dictionary so he gets the full gothic horror of Gaiman's rhyming couplets, which outline the nightmarish trip of two kids and a Disney-esque gazelle through a torture-chamber sewer. Grimly's drawings are obsessively macabre worlds unto themselves and full of surprises. The final puzzle: What does “Z” stand for?

The Dangerous Alphabet

Neil Gaiman, Gris Grimley
HarperCollins
$17.99

Buy

Countdown

7/ 3/08

11:45 AM

Get Ready For Sing-Along ‘Xanadu’

Photo: Universal/Everett Collection

Last fall, we reported on the untimely demise of the popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer sing-along. Despite repeated efforts from creators and fans to resurrect the show, we're sad to report that it doesn't look like The Buffy Musical will rise from the grave anytime soon. But sing-along fans, take heart, and recalibrate your camp-meters, because the producers behind The Buffy Musical will be debuting a new audience-participation event later this month, sans slayer. And who will be replacing our plucky Buffy?

Olivia Newton-John. Yep, that's right. Producers are resurrecting the 1980 camp classic Xanadu, complete with a stage and lyrics so the audience can sing along to the sizzling Electric Light Orchestra soundtrack. For die-hard Xana-fans, creators are even promising bonus trivia. We imagine the sing-along will be able to lure fans of the Tony-nominated Xanadu musical — in our perfect world, the two events would merge, creating one enormous, leg warmer–wearing, roller-skating entertainment behemoth that will take over the city. —Tammy Oler

A new sing along show: XANADU [Official site]

More: Countdown »buffy the vampire slayer, movies, xanadu

‘Stop-Loss,’ an Iraq Flick That Didn’t Need Hot Guys

When it came out in the spring, Stop-Loss tried to distinguish itself from a raft of failed Iraq-themed movies through MTV-friendly marketing of hot shirtless guys leaning on cars. It didn't work. But Kimberly Peirce's heartfelt follow-up to Boys Don't Cry is actually a satisfying rabble-rouser in the tradition of seventies flicks like The Last Detail and Five Easy Pieces — even if Ryan Phillipe isn't quite Jack Nicholson.

Stop-Loss

Paramount
Out July 8
$29.99

Buy

Apropos of Nothing

7/ 3/08

11:00 AM

Harvey Weinstein Has a Bigger Problem Than Someone Going Through His Trash

Photo: Getty Images

It turns out that recording released on Gawker yesterday, of a not-as-exciting-as-we'd-hoped 1996 Harvey Weinstein phone call with Joe Roth, was just the tip of the iceberg. The Post reports that the recording came from a former Miramax staffer who has fifteen years of tapes and files, supposedly, and is writing a tell-all memoir. "This former employee did not sign a nondisclosure agreement," says the tell-aller, who goes by the name "The Final Nail" and also claims to have access to the files and tapes of a former Miramax assistant who was later killed on 9/11.

We find it hard to believe that, NDA or no NDA, the Weinsteins will ever let a book detailing every phone-throwing, director-mauling minute of the past fifteen years see the light of day, but it is totally possible that fifteen years of tapes exist. Crazily, many Hollywood assistants tape their boss's phone calls — not out of a desire to write tell-alls, necessarily, but because if you work for a guy who barks out a dozen orders in ten seconds and you'll be fired if you get a single thing wrong, you'd better record him whenever you can. Seems like that's a tradition that's about to go the way of unshredded trash at Weinstein Co.

STUDIO INSIDER WRITING TELL-ALL [NYP]

Note: "On the other hand, Harvey optioned Wolf Boy, so he's okay in our book!"

More: Apropos of Nothing »bob weinstein, harvey weinstein, movies, weinstein company

The Take

7/ 3/08

10:30 AM

Psychiatrists Accuse Ben Silverman of Stealing Babies

Photo-illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: Getty Images, iStockphoto

Ben Silverman stops at nothing in his tireless quest to make sure America is entertained in these hot summer months, a time when ordinarily all we would have to distract us would be beautiful weather, the natural splendor of our nation's parks, family vacations, Wii hula hoop, and big-budget Hollywood movies. Yet Silverman's laudable commitment to TV-based social experimentation has come under fire from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, which is criticizing NBC's new hit, Baby Borrowers. "A child's sense of security should not be gambled with," said AACAP President Robert Hendren, noting that extended separations from parents can lead to babies and toddlers feeling distress or anxiety. The Academy recommends that the show be modified: "A more constructive approach would have had the teenagers shadow a family of a toddler or baby, keeping parents close."

Uh, boring. »

More: The Take »baby borrowers, ben silverman, kids, nbc, tv

Vulture Picture Palace

7/ 3/08

9:45 AM

Animator Fujio Tanabe Makes the Darkest-Ever Short Film About Home Refrigeration

Japan Cuts, New York's annual festival of Japanese cinema, kicked off last night with a screening of Naomi Kawase's Cannes-winning The Mourning Forest. The fest runs through July 13th, and this year's slate is particularly impressive, featuring not only the Kawase but also new work from the likes of Shinji Aoyama, Shunji Iwai, and the irrepressible Takashi Miike. As luck would have it, they're also screening a whole bunch of awesome short films. Directed by the Osaka-based illustrator and video artist Fujio Tanabe, the animated Fridges is one of our favorites: It starts off as a touching little film about a luckless, abandoned refrigerator trying to get by in the world, but gradually turns into something way more surreal and disturbing — as if a Pixar movie had been hijacked by Charles Bukowski. Fridges screens as part of Japan Cuts' "Digista Vol. VI" shorts program. You can see their entire lineup here. —Bilge Ebiri

More: Vulture Picture Palace »fujio tanabe, video

Unlikely Chronicler’s ‘Biographical Essay’ Humanizes Kafka

We were surprised to discover that Louis Begley, consummate chronicler of Waspy things, had written a “biographical essay” on Franz Kafka. (Perhaps we shouldn’t have been: Both men, besides being writers, share a Jewish heritage and worked as lawyers.) But Begley does a fine job of connecting the dots between the life and the work and humanizes Kafka to a degree that his more flattering followers don’t like to. “Don’t you get pleasure out of exaggerating painful things as much as possible?” he once wrote to a friend.

The Tremendous World I Have Inside My Head

Louis Begley
Atlas & Co.
Out now
$22

Buy

The Industry

7/ 3/08

9:00 AM

9021-Oh Shit: Brenda’s Back

Photo: WireImage

Doherty Checks Her Address: Shannen Doherty is in talks to bring back Brenda Walsh for the CW's 902102, joining Jennie Garth and Tori Spelling. The deal hasn't closed yet because she's still negotiating the "I can be a bitch on set and show up whenever I want" clause. [Variety]

Too Bad for Kilmer and Xzibit: Val Kilmer and part-time ride-pimper Xzibit have joined the cast of Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant remake. Kilmer will play Nicholas Cage's partner. Xzibit will play their nemesis named Big Fade. Herzog will play a crazy director who once ate his own shoe. [Variety]

Madden in Debt: John Madden, the non-football-commentating director of Shakespeare in Love, is in talks to helm The Debt for Miramax. Drama follows an Israeli intelligence agent who let a Nazi war criminal escape in the 60s, and then must catch him when he resurfaces in the 90s. According to Madden, "It's a lot like missing a key tackle early and then making up for it with a sack when Coach calls a Dime-Normal Engage Eight blitz." [HR]

Plus: Rick Rubin will go digging in ZZ Top's beards. »

More: The Industry »902102, abc, bad lieutenant, cw, john madden, life on mars, michael imperioli, miramax, rick rubin, shannen doherty, the debt, tv, val kilmer, werner herzog, xzibit, zz top

7/ 2/08

The Early-Evening News

7/ 2/08

5:00 PM

Great Moments in Movie Marketing: Hellboy vs. God

Raising Hell: That church outside New York's windows doesn't stand a chance against the might of Hellboy. Neither does James Lipton, for that matter.

Dispatch From Harvey, 1996: Twelve years ago some hapless assistant recorded Harvey Weinstein glad-handing Joe Roth for ten minutes as they both complain about Michael Ovitz's legendary $100 million golden parachute. Of all the conversations you could tape-record Harvey having, this is about the 8,000th-most Harveyish. [Gawker]
Note: "On the other hand, Harvey optioned Wolf Boy, so he's okay in our book!"

Wack or Dope?: The Observer's J. Gabriel Boylan writes thoughtfully about white kids and rap, circa 1994, and asks why The Wackness didn't explore its own cultural appropriation a little more. Illin'. ("Verb, variant of ill. Doing things that can get you in trouble, i.e. vandalism, doing drugs, etc.") [NYO]

Movie Critics Actually Matter: Math proves it! [Slate]

New Times Blog About Saddest Family in World: We love graphic designer Christoph Niemann's illustrated story about his sons, who are totally in love with the New York subway system. They've memorized all the lines, ride trains for hours, and even describe colors by the train line they represent. Then we read Niemann's bio and wept: "After 11 years in New York, he moved to Berlin." [Abstract City/NYT]

More: The Early-Evening News »christoph niemann, critics, god, harvey weinstein, hellboy 2, huey lewis, movies, pineapple express, the wackness

Right-Click

7/ 2/08

4:45 PM

Nas Doesn’t Need Beats

Photo: Scott D. Smith / Retna

1. Nas, "Queens Get the Money"
The just-leaked intro track from Nas's upcoming record is a drumless wonder on which he discusses politics, Arsenio, and iPhones over a spare piano riff. We're excited just imagining what he'll do on this album with actual beats! [Fader]

2. Times New Viking, "Thing With a Hook" (Half Japanese cover)
On this highlight from TNV's recent live set at WFMU, they invite listeners to play along on their saxophones at home, which is enough to make us wish we owned one. [Beware of the Blog]

3. Huey Lewis and the News, "Pineapple Express"
You were probably wondering if Huey Lewis's theme song for the upcoming Seth Rogen movie sounded like you were expecting it to. The answer, happily, is yes. [MySpace via Stereogum]

Plus: The Cool Kids! »

More: Right-Click »huey lewis and the news, immuzikation, music, nas, pineapple express, the cool kids, times new viking

Last Night's Gig

7/ 2/08

4:15 PM

Unorthodox Behavior at Private Albert Hammond Jr. Show

Albert, obviously, is not accustomed to having a roach on his stage.Photo: Everett Bogue

Albert Hammond Jr. started off his private set at Mercury Lounge last night in an appropriately intimate fashion: Standing on one of the benches along the wall, he played “Blue Skies” (his Lennon-esque ballad from 2006's Yours to Keep) on acoustic guitar, vocalizing the solo at song's end like some sort of Frampton-inspired busker. Moments later his band joined him onstage, and the friends-and-family audience got a taste of his new solo disc, ¿Cómo Te Llama?, which finds the principal sonic force behind the Strokes expanding his retro repertoire. A shout-out to his mom notwithstanding, Hammond mostly kept quiet, and let the new flourishes — dirty blues riffs, dark, funky grooves — speak for themselves. The crowd reacted warmly, of course, even moshing a bit during “Postal Blowfish,” which might have accounted Hammond’s bashful — and rapid — exit from the stage at night’s end. —Mike Ayers

More: Last Night's Gig »albert hammond jr., mercury lounge, music

Apropos of Nothing

7/ 2/08

3:45 PM

‘Friends’ Movie Practically Definitely Totally Basically Green-lit, Says Some Dude

"I'll be there for you, depending on scheduling and salary negotiations…"Photo: Getty Images

Let the big-screen Friends-watch begin! Citing "insiders," London's Daily Mail declares a Friends movie ready to be shot "in the next 18 months." Will lovable Ross, Rachel, Joey, Courteney Cox, the girl with the guitar, and the gay guy really be making their way to the multiplex soon, presumably in a movie titled The One That's 105 Minutes Long?

Sure, maybe! »

More: Apropos of Nothing »friends, jennifer aniston, movies, tv