November 4th, 2005
Ross Douthat has a sensational piece on Maureen Dowd and the victory of feminism. Crackerjack stuff.
0 commentsHollywood, etc.
November 4th, 2005
I’m not sold on King Kong either, but the new trailer is pretty interesting–particularly in HD.
(If only Peter Jackson hadn’t continued his turn of going-Hollywood by casting hot actors in the lead roles. Should Kong somehow beat out Brokeback Mountain for Best Picture, I fully expect Jackson to get liposuction.)
Also of interest is this great Edward Jay Epstein piece on the German film financing loophole. EJE is the most important chronicler of the movie industry today, don’t miss it.
0 commentsNovember 3rd, 2005
Germany continues muddling its way into a new government. Edmund Stoiber of the Christian Social Union has backed out as economics minister. Franz Müntefering will no longer be vice chancellor. In fact he is stepping down as chairman of the Social Democrats. So now there are a few vacancies to fill for Chancellor-elect Angela Merkel, who is expected to enter office on November 18.
On the good news front, an acquaintance of mine, Hubertus Heil, has been tapped to become the next SPD general secretary. I met Hubertus at an American Council on Germany trip in 2003. He’s a nice enough fellow who did a pretty good rendition of “Sweet Home Chicago” on the karaoke.
This does, however, bring up a more serious question. If Hubertus Heil runs for higher office and wins, would the headline read:
Sieg … Heil?
0 commentsBuying Bad News: Now is the time for TWX?
November 3rd, 2005
Unfazed by CNN’s ouster of Aaron Brown, the Wershovenist Pig is hot for Time-Warner stock.
0 commentsIn Case There Were Any Doubts . . .
November 2nd, 2005
. . . we’re now into the hard-alcohol portion of the Eagles’ season.
I predict they go 1-2 over the next three-week stretch where they have the Redskins, Giants, and Cowboys. After that they’ll be 5-5 and the calls will come out to put McNabb in for surgery now and scrap the season.
0 commentsJon Klein's Wave of Terror Continues
November 2nd, 2005
Aaron Brown is out. I know he’s a popular whipping boy, but I’ve always liked Brown’s presence a ton–he was the last anchor at CNN worth watching. And now they’ve kicked him to the curb, too. Genius!
In fairness to Jon Klein, we don’t know for certain that he forced Brown out. It’s possible that Brown left of his own accord. But in Klein’s memo to the staff he writes, “Aaron will be leaving CNN and is very much looking forward to some well-deserved time off with his family.”
Which is Washington-speak for shit-canned. Isn’t someone at Time-Warner paying attention to what’s happening to their cable network?
0 commentsNovember 2nd, 2005
Ross Douthat shows us his O-face. Fantastic and hysterical post. If only Reihan Salam was still around to kick out a rhyme or two.
0 commentsHack Work at–the New Yorker!
November 2nd, 2005
Pity David Denby. Being the #2 movie critic at the New Yorker behind Anthony Lane is like being Michael Jordan’s back-up during the Bulls’ glory years. Sure, you get 7 or 8 minutes a game, but really, warming the seat of a god must be sort of maddening. So perhaps Denby should be forgiven passages such as this one, in his review of Good Night, and Good Luck:
There’s little gravy in attacking Joe McCarth in 2005, and that’s only a small part of what Clooney is up to. His real intention appears to be to deliver a blow to the patella of a conglomerate-controlled press corps that, until recently, has indulged the Bush Administration’s most extravagant smears and lies. He has completely succeeded.
Which boot-licking, Bush-loving, conglomerate-controlled press corps would that be, David? The one that ran the forged memos attacking the president’s National Guard service? The one that endlessly repeats the charges of Joe Wilson, even though they’ve been thoroughly debunked? The one that ran 21 straight days of editorial endorsements for John Kerry before the 2004 election?
For someone so ignorant of politics to be injecting the political into a movie review is unfortunate. Being Tony Lane’s back-up might not be much fun, but surely Denby should try to make the most of his garbage time.
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