Ponderance

Razzies

On the night before Academy Award voters decide on the "best" of 2003, the Razzies decide who was the worst! This year's big winning (for being a loser) was ... surprise, surpise, Bennifer's uber-flop Gigli. And Demi Moore picked up her fourth career Razzie for her role in the disappointing Charlie's Angels sequel. The rest:

24th Annual Golden Raspberry (RAZZIE®) Award “Winners”

WORST PICTURE
GIGLI (Sony-Columbia/Revolution) Produced by Casey Silver & Martin Brest

WORST ACTOR
Ben Affleck / DAREDEVIL, GIGLI and PAYCHECK

WORST ACTRESS
Jennifer Lopez / GIGLI

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Sylvester Stallone (Playing 5 Roles, All Badly!) SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Demi Moore / CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE

WORST SCREEN COUPLE
Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez / GIGLI

WORST EXCUSE for an ACTUAL MOVIE (All Concept/No Content!) (New Category)
THE CAT-IN-THE-HAT

WORST REMAKE or SEQUEL
CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE

WORST DIRECTOR
Martin Brest / GIGLI

WORST SCREENPLAY
GIGLI, Written by Martin Brest

GOVERNOR’S AWARD for DISTINGUISHED UNDER- ACHIEVEMENT in CHOREOGRAPHY
Travis Payne for His Work on FROM JUSTIN TO KELLY

Now, bring on Hollywood's night of nights!

The Passion of The Christ

While I would like to write a review of Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ as a film on its filmic and artistic merits, not its religious import, I realise that is impossible. For example, one of the first thoughts when reflecting on this film was it should definitely have and R18+ rating; the film is horrific and gut-wrenching in its almost constant and unflinchingly realistic violence. That said, I realise that the story of Christ has a unique place for many people in so much as this is the single violent tale which is legitimised since it describes the burden of suffering that Jesus of Nazareth endured before his death.

From a the point of view of narrative construction, The Passion of The Christ relies on violence, violence and more violence to get an emotional response from the audience. James Caviezel does a decent job portraying Jesus, suffering convincingly; Monica Bellucci as Magdalene and Maia Morgenstern as Mary also do well, although are mainly called upon to look pained, empathising with Jesus, and cry on cue. The choice of Latin and Aramaic languages with subtitles does add an air of believability to the period setting. However, the one of the biggest drawbacks was a far-too-dominating score which overwhelms some scenes, and feels all too cliched during the film's climax!

The main sense I got from watching The Passion of The Christ was that director Mel Gibson wanted this film to be an emotional rollercoaster; an almost painful viewing experience, not a narrative and certainly not a film to be enjoyed. No matter what background viewers come from, it would be difficult to be unmoved by the portrayal of vioelence and suffering on the big screen. However, with regard to the contentious views the film supposedly portrays, all I can say is I was not Catholic or anti-Semitic when I walked into the film screening, and nor was I when I left.

Forthcoming Firefly

R2 project has announced that a Region 2 version of the Firefly boxset DVD is due April 19th so, I hope, as with Buffy and Angel, that a region 4 version will be produced at the same time!

The Passion of the Box Office

Mel Gibson's controversial The Passion of the Christ has had very successful opening box office takings both in Australia and even more so in the US, making over $25 million (US) by the end of its official opening on Wednesday. The Passion of the Christ was already the most publicised film of the year when it opened not due to its advertising budget, but rather due to all the free advertising the furious debates over its religious and artistic credibility in just about every media outlet and form on the planet! While some reports suggest that Gibson will be black-balled by a number of Hollywood studio heads and producers due to his film, the obvious financial success of the self-funded effort will no doubt ensure Gibson a job and a place in the hearts of many Catholic supporters for the rest of his life!

Windshuttle Attacks Aboriginal Communities

Right-wing Australian historian Keith Windshuttle is at it again. After his book The Fabrication of Aboriginal History claimed the number of Aboriginal people killed in Tasmania had been greatly exaggerated, he is now defending AO Neville (dramatised in Rabbit Proof Fence), and arguing the remote Aboriginial communities should be disbanded. The Australian reports:

Remote Aboriginal communities are a "failure" and their inhabitants should be moved to mainstream towns for their own good, historian Keith Windschuttle has claimed. ... "On every measure of human wellbeing - employment, health and education - remote communities are a failure," he said. ... Windschuttle has already courted controversy over his views on massacres of Tasmanian Aborigines, the numbers of which he claims are wildly exaggerated. His 2002 book The Fabrication of Aboriginal History has been attacked by fellow historians and indigenous leaders. Yesterday, addressing a convention of the West Australian Pastoralists and Graziers Association, he mounted a spirited defence of the state's 1930s chief protector of Aborigines, AO Neville. Windschuttle said Neville was portrayed in the film Rabbit Proof Fence as a heartless, calculating bureaucrat, but he in fact was the opposite of racist and had properly supported the integration of Aboriginal people into the wider community.

It seems Keith Windshuttle is intent on adding even more starch to his bleached-armband view of Australian history!

Reality TV Mutates Internationally (and Sucks Nationally)!

Has the reality bubble burst? Both Ten's The HotHouse and Seven's My Restaurant Rules are performing terribly according to The SMH. Of course, a quick look at these shows suggests that it might not be the formula, but the casting: the contestants on both shows are so banal and boring that I can't imagine even their closest friends tuning in to watch! Ten is hoping that Big Brother 4 will revive the reality stakes later in the year. Hmmmm.

Of more interest, in terms of how far you can push a reality franchise, is the Arabic version of Big Brother! The BBC reports that the mutated version of this franchise will feature:

In the first programme only one of the female contestants was wearing the traditional black robe or abaya. The house has been modified to reflect Arabic customs. For the first time since the show's inception there are segregated sleeping quarters for men and women. There is also a prayer room. There is a separate women's lounge with a mixed-sex communal area as well. Otherwise the rules follow the international format for which the show has become both loved and loathed.

The McDonaldisation of the Arabic world perhaps?

My Spider-Sense is ... Blogging?!?

Sony's promotional push behind Spiderman 2 has taken a clever twist: hitting Generation Blog (or Y) with Blogger and LiveJournal templates. The Official SpiderMan 2 website has blog templates ready to go, so now you can do more than wear logo t-shirts, eat from logo lunchboxes, buy the original comics and watch the first DVD; now you can blog like Peter Parker (who, if he really was a tormented New Yorker, would definitely be blogging by now!). Really, though, this is pretty clever marketing, appealing directly to those on the web who are most likely to be the film's initial fanbase! (It's a shame the templates are so clunky, though!).

SAGs

The big news at the 10th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards was the surprise win by Johnny Depp for his role in Pirates of the Carribean! Charlize Theron's win was far more predictable, and definitely makes her the solid favourite for the Academy Award. And it was nice to see the ensemble cast from Return of the King win as a group, because none of them are going to win individual awards in one of the most balanced ensemble films ever! The rest:

Films:
Actor: Johnny Depp, PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN: CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
Actress: Charlize Theron, MONSTER
Supporting actor: Tim Robbins, MYSTIC RIVER
Supporting actress: Renee Zellweger, COLD MOUNTAIN
Cast performance: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: RETURN OF THE KING
Television:
Actor in a TV movie or miniseries: Al Pacino, ANGELS IN AMERICA, HBO.
Actress in a TV movie or miniseries: Meryl Streep, ANGELS IN AMERICA HBO.
Actor in a drama series: Kiefer Sutherland, 24, Fox.
Actress in a drama series: Frances Conroy, SIX FEET UNDER, HBO.
Actor in a comedy series: Tony Shalhoub, MONK, USA.
Actress in a comedy series: Megan Mullally, WILL & GRACE, NBC.
Ensemble in a drama series: SIX FEET UNDER, HBO.
Ensemble in a comedy series: SEX AND THE CITY, HBO.

And Aussies wishing to avoid spoilers about the end of Sex and the City may very well have to stop surfing the web as there are articles everywhere about who (and where, and indeed, if) Carrie's story ends romantically!

Return of the King: #2 All-Time International Box Office Earner

BBC News reports that Return of the King has just crept past Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to become the second highest grossing box office film of all time. James Cameron's Titanic still reigns as all-time box office winner, but if you take into account that The Two Towers is number five on the all-time earners list, then Peter Jackson's trilogy has well and truly made epic financial movie history! The BBC shows the top-five all time earners as:

1. Titanic (1997) - $1.8bn (£953.3m)
2. Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King (2003) - $975.7m (£516.7m)
3. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone (2001) - $968.6m (£513m)
4. Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999) - $922.3m (£488.5m)
5. Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers (2002) - $921.6m (£488.1m)

Using IMDb's international charts, the Lord of the Rings triology has currently raked up $US2,758,000,000, putting even James Cameron to shame!

VFX Awards for Return of the King, and Lucas Honoured

The Hollywood Reporter notes that Return of the King won "awards for models and miniatures, character animation for Gollum and performance by an actor (Sean Astin) in addition to best visual effects in a visual effects-driven motion picture" at last week's Visual Effects Society Awards. The lower-key awards night is still in its fledgling stage, this being its second annual awards ceremony, but the big event was George Lucas' Lifetime Achievement Award with homages coming from everyone:

The film industry's most talented digital effects artists also celebrated the iconoclastic career of director George Lucas, who received VES' inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award from director James Cameron. Cameron cited Lucas' film industry-changing cinema innovations such as digital desktop editing, digital cinematography, digital exhibition and digital effects before presenting the career award to Industrial Light + Magic's head honcho. ... Lucas' lifetime achievement presentation was preceded by an array of short tribute films from fans and admirers including Steven Spielberg, Pixar Animation Studios, Sony Pictures Imageworks, director Randal Kleiser ("Grease") and Flash Filmworks. ... In a computer-animated tribute that featured singing and dancing "Toy Story" characters, Steve Jobs noted that Lucas "threw seeds over his shoulder," one of which grew into Pixar Animation Studios. ... Kleiser, who attended USC Film School with Lucas, edited together a mixture of Lucas' previously unseen student films, like the surprisingly prim "Orgy Beach." One clip showed the young cinephile holding a placard that read "movies should be well made." Flash Filmworks intercut classic film footage from "Jurassic Park" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" with cheesy low-resolution effects like a stiff, transparent mummy doubling in for a liquid metal T-1000, indicating just how far the effects industry has advanced thanks to Lucas' work.

While Lucas' award may have been a little bit of a sycophantic affair, it would have been worth seeing for the award short film segments! With any luck they'll turn up as downloads somewhere soon.

Procrastination: 1980s Style!

Ever wanted to revisit those classic coin-op 1980s arcade games which hold so many fond memories for Generation Xers? Well, I've always had a soft spot for Defender and Pac-Man, so I was delighted to discover Norbert's JAVA Emulator which lets you play over 30 classic coin-ops just using Java! And don't forget to play the uber-classic Space Invaders!

Latham wants Boys to enjoy Labo(u)r!

Michael Bachelard and Rebecca DiGirolamo report in today's Australian, that boys just aren't being enough like boys for Mark Latham:

MARK Latham has put boys and their problems at the centre of the political agenda, lamenting a "crisis in masculinity" leading to drugs, crime, suicide and failure at school. Returning to the debate about "social capital" that has wrongfooted John Howard, Mr Latham yesterday put his faith in mentoring programs to provide role models for boys, who he said were struggling because of a lack of old-fashioned "muscle jobs" and a decline in social and personal relationships. In a separate development in South Australia, Premier Mike Rann announced he would radically restructure the state's education system to make it more boy-friendly and less academic. But the push for special consideration for boys could meet resistance from teacher unions and other voices from Labor's Left, with Australian Education Union Victorian secretary Mary Bluett saying the problems were complex and "politicians tend to look at very simple, single-response solutions". ... "Our boys are suffering from a crisis of masculinity. As blue-collar muscle jobs have declined, their identity and relationships have become blurred and confused," [Mr Latham] said.

Yes, there are less "traditional" blue collar jobs which historically have been dominated by men. Yes, there may very well be a 'crisis in masculinity' as the image of 'being a man' lags behind the way masculinity is reshaping in the twenty-first century. However, the solution is not to lament the changing face of being a bloke, but rather, as Mr Latham has suggested in other arenas, to see this as an opportunity, an opportunity to escape the gender binaries which make men think they should fit into a very narrow spectrum of identity. Rather, reshaping curriculum to address masculinity as a changing and fluid category may very well ease the pressure on boys to "be boys". And Mr Rann, the problem is making boys think that they should be 'less academic' and thus 'boy-like'; it's not the solution!!

Update: This rant also appeared as my first ever Letter to the Editor in Friday 20 Feb's The Australian.

Sublime Mars

Watching the Spirit and Opportunity Rovers' progress on Mars via a website is one thing, but it's still amazingly odd to see tire tracks on another planet:

Neil Armstrong's bootprint on the moon rallied the imagination of generations, so what does mechanical wake of Spirit do to your brain? I'm reminded of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy and the Reds who wanted to preserve Mars in its "natural" state and observe, learn and appreciate before getting in and terraforming. Is Spirit an ambassador for a future colony on Mars, and what happens if life in any of its forms is discovered on our nearest neighbour? Is humanity ready to take responsibility for not screwing up another enviroment (harsh as it may appear to us) when we can't even stop screwing up our indigenous one? Hmmm.

News Blipverts...

Are two of Perth's universities about to merge? Higher Ed suggests so.

In the wake of Angel's cancellation, a Firefly movie is looking more and more likely; it's not like Joss won't have the time!

When fandom and academia collide ... check out the program for the upcoming International Buffy conference.

BAFTAs

The other major predictor before the Oscars, the British Academy Film Awards, was yesterday. Return of the King walked away with four main awards--Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Visual Effects--and the audience voted Orange Film of the Year. Peter Jackson, despite the Best Picture award, lost to Peter Weir for Best Director; Master and Commander also picked up Production Design, Costume Design and Sound. Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray deservedly picked up best Actor and Actress both for Lost in Translation. The big loser for the evening was Cold Mountain only picking up Supporting Actress for Renee Zellweger and Best Music. The full awards:

Best Film: "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," Barrie M. Osborne, Fran Walsh, Peter Jackson
Alexander Korda Award for British film of the year: "Touching the Void," John Smithson, Kevin Macdonald
David Lean Award for achievement in direction: Peter Weir, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"
Performance by an actress in a leading role: Scarlett Johansson, "Lost in Translation"
Performance by an actor in a leading role: Bill Murray, "Lost in Translation"
Performance by an actress in a supporting role: Renee Zellweger, "Cold Mountain"
Performance by an actor in a supporting role: Bill Nighy, "Love Actually"
Original screenplay: Tom McCarthy, "The Station Agent"
Adapted screenplay: "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, Peter Jackson
Best film not in the English language: "In This World,"Andrew Eaton, Anita Overland, Michael Winterbottom
Anthony Asquith Award for achievement in music: Gabriel Yared, T-Bone Burnett, "Cold Mountain"
Cinematography: Andrew Lesnie, "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Production design: William Sandell, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"
Costume design: Wendy Stites, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"
Editing: Sarah Flack, "Lost in Translation"
Sound: Richard King, Doug Hemphill, Paul Massey, Art Rochester, "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"
Achievement in special visual effects: Joe Letteri, Jim Rygiel, Randall William Cook, Alex Funke, "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Makeup & hair: Ve Neill, Martin Samuel, "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl"
Short film: "Brown Paper Bag," Natasha Carlish, Mark Leveson, Michael Baid Clifford, Geoff Thompson
Short animation: "JoJo in the Stars," Sue Goffe, Marc Craste
The Orange Film of the Year Award: "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (Audience Vote)

With the Oscars only a fortnight away, Return of the King is a sure bet for Best Film, likely for Best Director, while the other categories all appear a bit more flexible. I'd still love to see Keisha Castle-Hughes pick up Best Actress, but I fear Charlieze Theron is more likely. Similarly, Bill Murray was excellent in Lost in Translation, but I suspect Sean Penn might be 'due' an Ocsar (although his politics have miffed the Academy in the past, so we'll have to wait and see!).

All Good Vampires ...

The WB's Valentine's Day message to Joss Whedon may very well have felt like a stake through the heart with the news that Angel will be no more (ending with episode 22 of season five). The official press release, while glowing about Buffy and Angel's place in WB history, delivered the official blow with poorly timed Valentine's irony! Whedon and crew, while they had some feeling that things were up in the air, seem to have been caught a bit off guard. Joss' heartfelt posting to The Bronze sums is all up:

Some of you may have heard the hilarious news. I thought this would be a good time to weigh in. to answer some obvious questions: No, we had no idea this was coming. Yes, we will finish out the season. No, I don't think the WB is doing the right thing. Yes, I'm grateful they did it early enough for my people to find other jobs.

Yes, my heart is breaking.

When Buffy ended, I was tapped out and ready to send it off. When Firefly got the axe, I went into a state of denial so huge it may very well cause a movie. But Angel... we really were starting to feel like we were on top, hitting our stride -- and then we strode right into the Pit of Snakes 'n' Lava. I'm so into these characters, these actors, the situations we're building... you wanna know how I feel? Watch the first act of "The Body."

As far as TV movies or whatever, I'm not thinking that far ahead. I actually hope my actors and writers are all too busy. We always planned this season finale to be a great capper to the season and the show in general. (And a great platform for a new season, of course.) We'll proceed ahead as planned.

I've never made mainstream TV very well. I like surprises, and TV isn't about surprises, unless the surprise is who gets voted off of something. I've been lucky to sneak this strange, strange show over the airwaves for as long as I have. I don't FEEL lucky, but I understand that I am.

Thanks all for your support, your community, and your perfectly sane devotion. It's meant a lot. I regret nothing (except the string of grisley murders in the 80's -- what was THAT all about?) Remember the words of the poet:

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the road less traveled by and they CANCELLED MY FRIKKIN' SHOW. I totally shoulda took the road that had all those people on it. Damn."

See you soon.

-j.

*sniff* Although unlikely to be fruitful, if you feel sad and angry at the show's cancellation, sign the petetion to keep it alive or visit RenewAngel.org. Grrr. Argh.

Star Wars: Original Trilogy on DVD!

The Guardian reports that LucasFilm has decided to release the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD this September:

Star Wars purists might be disappointed to learn that the box set will feature not the original theatrical releases but director George Lucas's 1997 special editions of the films, complete with extra technological tweaking and added footage. The announcement comes as a surprise, given that Lucas had originally planned to wait until Episode III was ready for DVD before releasing the originals. But Lucasfilm is now hoping that the DVD release will fuel anticipation for the release of Episode III, scheduled for May 25 2005.

Many people were hoping for the original not-so-Special Editions, sans digital add-ins ... I wonder if there will be a fan-released Star Wars Un-Edit taking as many digital extras out as it possible?

Buffyverse - DVDs and TV

Details of the extras on the upcoming Buffy Season 7 DVDs (Region 2/4):

"Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Featurette - Season 7 Overview " - Buffy: Full Circle 36m 0s
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Featurette - The Last Sundown " 8m 43s
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Easter Egg - The Gift Montage " 0m 34s
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Featurette - It's Always Been About The Fans" 4m 23s
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Buffy Wraps " 5m 0s
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Featurette - Generation S" 8m 22s
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Featurette - Buffy 101 : Studying The Slayer" 13m 55s
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Outtakes Reel" 3m 17s

Angel season five started on Aussie TV last nite, ending with, well, a major addition for the series. For the spoiler addicts, check out an overview of the 100th episode which is about two and a half months away on Aussie TV.

Return of the DVDs and Awards

Wizard News reports that Peter Jackson has finished cutting the extended edition of Return of the King and it clocks in at an impressive 4 hours and 10 minutes, adding almost fifty minutes extra footage to the theatrical release. Perhaps this early completition will allow an earlier than expected release date for the DVD? Of course, marketing the theatrical and then extended versions will require a reasonable gap, so I guess I won't be holding my breath! Also, The Director's Guild of America has given its top award to Peter Jackson for Return of the King. As the Australian has noted, on six times in fifty-six years has the Best Director Oscar not aligned with the Director's Guild Award, so Jackson's status as front-runner is now absolute! (For more on the Director's Guild Awards, see the Hollywood Reporter).

No More Future for William Gibson

William Gibson's Pattern Recognition has just been released in paperback, sparking a mini-signing tour and the usual associated interviews. In the Arizona Republic, Gibson talks a little about Pattern Recognition and hints that he won't be returning to a future scenario in his next novel. On the turn away from the future, he comments:

"We can't have futures the way people had them in the '50s and the '60s, because the present is too volatile for us to project from," he says. "The day after tomorrow is too much of a stretch, let alone 60 years from now."

An interesting idea, that SF relies on some form of optimism, but so much dystopian SF surely doesn't (and is, to differing extents, formulated as some sort of warning). But the recognisable cyberpunk authors were always more interested in the very-near future and extrapolated/exaggerated present that the future anyway ... weren't they?

Tamagotchis are back!

Minus one little 'i', a new breed of Tamagotch are coming soon. Costing roughly $25, the new version of those addictive digital pets are hitting shelves in Japan in late March. Australian IT reports:

"The new-version Tamagotch... turns out to be male or female once it has hatched", in contrast to the asexual predecessor, Kazue Murase, character toy designer at Bandai, said. The biggest selling point of the new product is its ability to communicate with other Tamagotches by using infra-red waves, which are emitted from the top of the gadget, Ms Murase said. "If you hold two Tamagotches together... a Tamagotch, which used to be trapped in the screen, leaps out of it freely (into the other's screen)" for communication or gift-giving, she said.

No longer just a silly simulation, these digital critters are getting closer and closer to artificial life! They can talk, they can make friends, they can reproduce, but why-o-why must the little buggers have traditional genders? I wonder if different Tamagotch genders will be different in other ways; and if two male or two female Tamagotch will be able to become initmate ... I'm presuming their designers won't let them reproduce!

Microsoft Want to Charge for Email?!?

Okay, so spam is a problem. Viruses are a problem as well. And email facilitates both. But does that mean that email should be charged for? Bill Gates seems to think so! The New York Times reports:

Ten days ago, Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that spam would not be a problem in two years, in part because of systems that would require people to pay money to send e-mail. Yahoo, meanwhile, is quietly evaluating an e-mail postage plan being developed by Goodmail, a Silicon Valley start-up company. "The fundamental problem with spam is there is not enough friction in sending e-mail," said Brad Garlinghouse, Yahoo's manager for communications products.

At the moment, talks centre on 'personal' email remaining "postage free", with only commerical services needing to pay to send email. But that opens the door for email charging and once it's standardised across a few big platforms, email charging will almost definitely find its way on to all exchanges. Personally, I'm more confortable with the idea of "caller ID" systems which embed signatures into all emails, so it can be traced back to the sender (moreso than the easily forgable system at present). Even then, I wonder how long it would take for "priority" IDs to develop as a commercial service. Hmmmm.

Pixar's Jobs

With the recent and much-publicised end to the Pixar/Disney distribtion arrangement, all eyes are on Steve Jobs, head exec of both Pixar and Apple Computers. The New York Times has an interesting article on Jobs' future, and the future of Pixar. With Finding Nemo rapidly approaching the best selling DVD lists, and the buzz surrounding the upcoming Incredibles absolutely electric, the big distributors are no doubt all lining up!