Battle of the Network Stars

In a decision that may seriously botch the landscape of late night TV, Conan O’Brien rejected NBC’s proposal to push the Tonight Show back to 12:05am in order to make room for a half hour show featuring Jay Leno.  While it is still uncertain how this will all play out, Conan surprised many in the industry by not simply accepting NBC’s new work shift.

For a plan flawed from the start, Leno’s attempts at a 10:00pm primetime comedy show have failed.  Miserably.  Viewing audiences for The Jay Leno Show have dropped more than 30 per cent compared with programs in the same timeslot a year ago.  Even as early as last Thursday, when the other major networks were airing encore episodes of their shows because of the BCS National Championship, NBC was live with a new Leno.  The ratings for that show fell below those of Law and Order reruns.  Jays’ decision to come back to TV after only a short hiatus was risky, and something that both he and NBC must have understood.  It was five years ago that he announced he would step down from the Tonight Show and that Conan would take over.  During that time, Jay realized that he couldn’t walk away from showbiz, and NBC couldn’t walk away from a marquee name.  That’s what a network will do when it’s in fourth place in the ratings and in danger of being passed by the CW.  Instead of developing new show ideas, they try to breathe life into old ones.

Now it may cost them up to $80 million dollars.  That’s how much Conan O’Brien’s buyout clause is if his contract is broken in any way.  At the same time, NBC may be seeing some repercussions of giving Leno a gentle nudge out the door.  Remember back when Conan was NBC’s hot new commodity and had his eyes set on the Tonight Show gig, whenever Jay Leno decided to step down.  I think Conan may have played some hardball at the end of his last contract saying if he wasn’t the one to replace Leno, he may jump ship to another network.  That may have expedited Jay’s decision, as he would have had to set a timeline for his departure. And after the incident with David Letterman getting burned and going on to star at CBS, this may have become a decision that NBC didn’t want to mess up — and yet they did anyway.  Of course the winner in all this is Letterman who has become stronger than ever in the coveted 11:30 time slot and really solidified his ratings.

Life imitates art? A Dexter fan in Indiana pleads guilty to the murder of his little brother

A 17-year-old boy from Rising Sun, Indiana, is being tried as an adult in the strangling death of his little brother, 10, the Associated Press reported Dec. 4^th.

According to prosecutors, Andrew Conley is an avid follower of the Showtime television series Dexter, which chronicles the exploits of a sociopathic serial killer. Conley believed that he too was a sociopath, and had had homicidal fantasies since he was in grade eight.

Conley is, without a doubt, mentally ill. Cold-blooded murder is not something a sane, healthy person is prone to. But Dexter is not to blame.

Anyone who’s ever watched the show knows that Dexter Morgan, serial killer and adopted son of a police officer, kills according to a code of ethics: his victims must deserve to die.

This doesn’t excuse murder by any means, but it does beg the question, if Conley is such a huge fan of Dexter, why target his own little brother?

Perhaps Conley’s grasp on reality is so tenuous that he saw his little brother, Connor, as Dexter’s deranged serial-killing brother Rudy, who Dexter kills in defence of himself and his sister.

Whatever the circumstances, Connor Conley’s death is not Dexter’s fault. Dexter is a television show. It’s fiction.

In fact, despite a multitude of insinuations by the news media that violence in TV, movies and video games increases violent crime, there is no concrete scientific evidence to prove this.

Years of psychological research have proven that witnessing violence can increase aggression, but no causal link between media violence and crime has been found, according to a 2006 study by University of California scientists.

The study found that in the short term, exposure to violent movies actually decreases crime.

Even violent videogames, which are even more widely blamed for youth violence,  cannot scientifically be proven to do so, a similar study out of Harvard found.

So rather than heaping blame on Dexter, let’s take a closer look at Andrew Conley’s life. It may well be that he was in at a high risk for violent offences all along, and his fascination with Dexter just an unfortunate coincidence.

New Moon: More angst. More glitter. More abs.

An Apology: Twihards ­– I tried very hard when writing this to remain objective. I failed. Please don’t hurt me.

New Moon must have been a hard book to translate onto film. There’s not a lot of action, and an overabundance of depression. But Chris Weitz did it anyway.

And man, is it ever ridiculous.

Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that its official title is The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Maybe it’s because Bella Swan can’t actually talk to a guy without being close enough to kiss him, or because 17-year-old Taylor Lautner has attained a level of physical fitness that is downright improbable.

It could be the dreadful overacting, too. Kristen Stewart manages to do with her body language what Shatner does with words. And really, how many loaded silences does one movie need?

But the most likely reason – that Bella Swan actually fell in love with a vampire who GLITTERS. And not just any glittery vampire, one who didn’t bother to wax his chest hair. It really detracts from the (alleged) sexiness of the glitter. Mind you, so does the fact that Robert Pattinson’s left nipple appears to have an unusual dark circle around it. Hickey? Birthmark? Weird hair growth? Whatever it was, it wasn’t attractive. (Yes, I paid that much attention. I was trying not to look at his face.)

What’s with the makeup in this movie, anyway? It’s neither imaginative nor consistent. Edward looks much better and more convincing without all that lipstick.  The vampires’ hands are only made up if there’s a close-up hand shot, and their necks are almost never done. Newsflash- a high collar doesn’t cover a tanned neck.

But back to the plot:

Bella, our heroine, is dumped by her glittery vampire boyfriend and descends into a black hole of misery.

In the book, Edward lives up to his promise that it will be as if he never existed, and takes back everything he or his family ever gave Bella. She’s talking to her father when she remembers he’s said this and runs to her room to see if he’s taken everything. Of course, he has, so she has a nice little meltdown.

The movie version of this puts the emphasis on the months she spent sitting in the same chair, in front of the same window. There is so much potential for drama here, to showcase her father’s worry as the book does and to have a little parent-child interaction. With the exception of a few weak waking-up-screaming scenes, this part of the movie is just one long, quiet sulk.

Instead of drama, there’s a lot of lovelorn sighing and staring, and blinking. Lots and lots of blinking. Oh, and there’s a fight scene. Yeah, that definitely wasn’t in the book. And it didn’t do a lot for Edward’s image, either. Being smashed repeatedly into marble isn’t really macho.

It seems like Weitz was trying to stay as close to the book as possible, but as a result, the whole movie is a little disjointed. It’s as if he’s not sure where to focus.

So he focuses on Taylor Lautner’s abs. They’re definitely given more than their fair share of screen time, which is probably for the best. At least they distract from the weak plot and awful acting.

Does Anyone Else Miss Real Music?

Last night, KCTS put on a telethon which used the Ed Sullivan show to get pledges. Despite my deep and abiding loathing of telethons and being a somewhat rabid music fan, I decided to tune in.

It hit me during a performance by the Mamas and the Papas  – today’s popular music sucks. Artists have nothing left to speak out about (protesting Bush and his War on Terror is passé by now.) They don’t seem to have any passion.

It was different in the 60s. Everyone had something to say, and everyone was determined to say it loud.

So there I was, sitting on my couch, and there were Mama Cass, Papa John, Michelle Phillips and Denny Doherty playing California Dreamin’ on the Ed Sullivan stage with only one guitar between the four of them. Their performance was so simple and perfect it gave me chills.

Maybe California Dreamin’ is overplayed these days, no, it IS overplayed these days, but the fact remains that it’s a phenomenal song. These guys and girls could really sing; they didn’t have to rely on producers to make their music enjoyable.

Their performance got me to thinking about today’s music. It’s hardly original of me to say this, but nowadays, you don’t have to be able to play an instrument or sing to have a song on the Billboard Top 40. You just have to look good in tight pants. Case in point: every musical group ever put together by reality TV or P. Diddy (or whatever he’s calling himself these days.) They all sound the same. They all sing about the same things. I can’t think of a single new artist today that makes me say “wow. I’ve never heard anything like this.”

Sure, there were a ton of similar-sounding bands in the 60s, and there were even a few manufactured groups (the Monkees, for example.) But the legends, the ones who lasted, had their own sounds. Eric Burdon sounded nothing like Mick Jagger, who sounded nothing like John, Paul, George or Ringo. And the Beatles sounded nothing like Jefferson Airplane, Cream or Pink Floyd.

Can the same really be said for Rihanna and Beyonce? Or Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood? How about T.I and Akon?

Music is just not like it used to be. Kind of makes you wonder if it’ll ever be like that again.

I guess this is growing up

Mark Hoppus (left) and Tom Delonge (right) of the pop-punk group Blink-182 have both recently editorialized. Photo: Zimbio

There was a time when a public statement by the band members of pop-punk group Blink-182 meant the trio running around naked on the streets (see their video “What’s My Age Again”) but the recently reunited group seems to have grown out of its adolescent shell and is now proving that they are a different band.

Over the last months Blink-182 has finished a reunion tour that has seen them play their hits from their heyday, performances which included unintelligent dirty banter which signified the same old from the three musicians who are now well into their thirties.

But outside of the arena of performance singer and bassist Mark Hoppus and singer and guitarist Tom Delonge have both sounded off in different fora on different issues, proving that their immaturity has been diminished and their intelligence, well, exists.

Hoppus recently wrote a guest editorial for The Huffington Post about the health care debate in the United States. One of the band’s caterers not long ago was hospitalized and come out with a bill in excess of $48,000 because she has never been able to get health insurance. Hoppus was obviously appalled and not only decided to help the caterer raise money, by matching any donations she received, but also by pleading for change in the health care system.

Delonge, on the other hand, recently spoke of the current state of the music industry in an interview with Guitar Cetnre. Not only did he give his opinion on the positives of a new, more technological era in music, but he predicted where the industry could be going with advice for upcoming groups, substantiated with musical and non-musical examples.

Both of these instances, to me, show how much this group has grown. As I have stated in an earlier post, I believe the group in its last album and recent tour has shown us the direction they intend to take with their new record. Both Mark and Tom in their side projects have written songs about pertinent current affairs, which affect many people not only rebellious teenagers.

If they continue in this direction, there’s no doubt in my mind that they Blink-182 can have as successful a career in their second go as a group as they did in their first.

You've Probably Never Heard of This…

From the “you’ve probably never heard of this” file: The Inner Sanctum Mysteries. The horror-themed anthology-style radio show ran new episodes from 1941-1951, and now many of them are available online.

The show is rarely truly scary, but it’s some of the campiest horror fun you’ll ever have, from the creaking door that signals the beginning of the show to original host Raymond Edward Johnson’s trademark closing, a long, drawn out, “pleasant dreams, hmmm?”

The audio quality on most of the episodes is, admittedly, pretty poor by modern standards. The background hissing and crackling actually adds to the show’s eerie atmosphere, however. The organ music is a wonderfully spooky touch and Himan Brown’s sound effects are unfailingly realistic.

Johnson was known for his sardonic narration. He had a notoriously dark sense of humour, which worked well when added to the horror of the stories. His style has been borrowed by many horror hosts, including the Crypt Keeper from Tales of the Crypt, Elvira and even Sanctum soundman Brown, when he hosted the CBS Radio Mystery Theatre.

Johnson left the show in 1945 to join the army. His replacement Paul McGrath, who was known only as “your host,” had a similar narrative style, and was equally effective. When Inner Sanctum became a syndicated television show in the 1950s, McGrath was brought on as the off-screen narrator.

Inner Sanctum somehow managed to make even the commercial breaks fun. Advertising was integrated into each episode, much like early television advertising. Thus, the sponsor’s spokesperson would interact with the show’s host.

Some of the best of these exchanges came from the 1945 season of the show. It was sponsored by Lipton’s Iced Tea, whose perky, proper spokeswoman Mary Bennett was known to chide Johnson, and later McGrath, for his twisted sense of humour and creepy manner.

Famous episodes include a radio-play retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s The Telltale Heart, starring legendary horror actor Boris Karloff; The Enchanted Ghost, featuring singer Frank Sinatra; and Death Strikes the Keys, The Dream and The Lonely Hearts Killer starring Citizen Kane director Orson Welles.

In the 1940s, the show was turned into a series of Universal Horror movies starring Lon Chaney, Jr., and in 1988, it was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame.

Horror, Comics, Sci-Fi and Fantasy–It's Scream 2009

I knew I was  in for a good time when I turned on Spike’s Scream Awards last night. The show opened with a pair of twin girls singing a creepy little lullaby. Then one of the twins slit her own throat, and her twin started gushing blood.

And it only got better from there. The awards show for sci-fi, fantasy, comics and horror had hordes of costumed fans screaming for their favourite actors, actresses, movies and comic books.

The show did not have a host, which helped speed things along nicely. Acceptance speeches were short, sweet and often quite funny.

For example, Megan Fox, who won Best Sci-Fi actress, tried rather tearfully to assure the crowd that the rumours that she hated Transformers and everything to do with it were completely untrue. Sure, honey, we believe you.

A definite highlight was Tarantino’s introduction of George A. Romero, recipient of a Lifetime Achievement award. “The A stands for A f**king genius,” he announced., adding that Romero “is not an evil mastermind, but a movie mastermind.” Romero walked onstage to a zombie pianist playing the Creepshow theme on a frozen piano. He was greeted with a lengthy standing ovation, which Tarantino did his utmost to prolong.

Another high point was cast of the Big Bang Theory saying farewell to  Battlestar Galactica. They lead the crowd in a chant of “BSG, BSG!” while the cast of Battlestar took to the stage. BSG’s cast thanked their fans effusively, prompting more screams from the audience.

Keith Richards was honoured as this year’s Immortal Rock Icon. Johnny Depp introduced his friend and Pirates of the Caribbean father, saying “long after humanity incinerates itself in nuclear war, the only things left are cockroaches and Keith Richards.” Richards took the stage for about 30 seconds, mumbling something into the mic and smiling at the crowd before disappearing again.

Despite a few detours for zombies and Romulans, awards were dominated by vampires. Between them, Twilight and True Blood took six awards, and the casts of the Vampire Diaries and Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant were on hand to present awards.  Twilight star Taylor Lautner appeared to be the only cast member at the awards, which was probably for the best, given that Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson aren’t great in social situations. Lautner was a breath of fresh air. He was graceful and natural, and most of all, grateful for the support of his fans.

Zombieland star Woody Harrelson apologized to the zombie-loving crowd for his part in his movie’s zombie killings during his acceptance speech for Breakout Movie of the Year. “I want to let you know that my attitude toward zombies has softened of late,” he said, to enthusiastic applause.

Star Trek won the Ultimate Scream award, but J.J. Abrams was prevented from accepting the award by William Shatner, who was beamed onto the stage. He accepted the award “on behalf of the entire cast and crew of Star Trek 5, a critically overlooked film that I directed and starred in,” and seemed to forget that he wasn’t in this incarnation of Star Trek. “Imagine how big it could have been with me in it,” he told a laughing Abrams.

The night ended with Tobey Maguire presenting the Comicon Icon award to Stan Lee, who was borne over the heads of the crowd on a giant red spider platform. Maguire and Lee were effusive about each other for several minutes, until Lee told Maguire to stop hogging his act. The crowd ate it up.

All in all, Scream ’09 was one of the most enjoyable awards shows I’ve ever watched, and it seemed that everyone involved was having a great time. I can’t wait for next year!

For a complete list of last night’s award winners, go to:

http://punchlinepresents.wordpress.com/2009/10/28/scream-09-winners-and-losers/

HST A Good Thing, Says Vancouver Film Studios COO

The HST is a good thing for the film and television industry in BC, according to Vancouver Film Studios COO Pete Mitchell.

“There’s a lot of anti-HST hysteria, and that’s just what it is. Hysteria. If you take away dining out, which is a luxury, not a right, everybody’s going to benefit other than that,” said Mitchell. “We feel that HST is the best possible tax construct out there, and it’s certainly good for the film and TV industry.”

Under the current tax system, PST is embedded in the cost of a product at every stage of its production. The final consumer pays all of that PST, and is charged GST and PST on top of that.

Under HST, tax is claimed back at every step of production, so the consumer only pays tax on the final product. This will reduce the cost for clients to rent equipment from studios, which will attract business.

The HST will also make the BC film industry more competitive with provinces like Ontario, which have recently increased their tax credits, in addition to other incentives. “Ontario has had a PST exemption for the film and TV industry for the last 10 years that we obviously don’t have, so them going to HST and us going to HST puts us on a level playing field,” explains Mitchell.

The effect of the HST panic is already being felt. “What we’ve seen is a decrease in inquiries for next year. We’re pretty well done through the end of the year in terms of our occupancy,” Mitchell says.

“In a typical year, we would be getting lots of calls for shows starting up in January and February, and that’s pretty well at a standstill,” he says.

The BC film industry was worth an estimated $943 million in 2007.

The new and entertaining, Steve-O!

I know this could be considered old news but I am doing some work with this video and this clip and it just doesn’t get old. Over the summer our Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been in the news continously. Most of the reasons he has been making headlines are related to politics, the economy, the Olympics, and coalitions! But not this time. A couple weekends ago Harper was in Ottawa at the National Arts Centre.

Not only did our good ol’ PM make an appearance but – he who cut funding to the arts just a little while ago – got on stage and performed with the famous cellist Yo Yo Ma. Harper got behind the ivory keys of the piano and played with a band as well as sang the song “With A Little Help From My Friends” by The Beatles. And he’s actually good! How ironic eh? Anyways, have a looksy below. Pay particular attention to the musician to the right, behind the PM. He seems completely stunned that the robotic Conservative is able to carry a tune. He can jam.

Blink-182 give fans what they want

Blink-182 played their first big gig after reuniting in Vancouver on Tuesday night. Photo: The Province Newspaper

Last night the famed and recently reunited pop-punk trio from California, Blink-182, played a show in front of a nearly packed house at General Motors Place in what the group’s bassist, Mark Hoppus, called “the first real show” of their reunion tour.

The band broke up about four years ago after several differences amongst the members – specifically between Hoppus, drummer Travis Barker guitarist and vocalist Tom Delonge – and had gone without contact for the majority of the time they were apart but recently reunited after Barker’s near-death experience sparked reconciliation.

They announced their reunion at the 2009 Grammy’s and had played small shows in California and Las Vegas before embarking on a three month, 50+ date tour in Vancouver last night.

I wasn’t initially going to write a review for this concert because I attended the concert as a fan – i.e. I had to pay – rather than a journalist, but after reading several reviews this morning – by whom I won’t mention, but a simple Google search would do the trick – I simply had to respond with an alternative take.

Granted, I am a fan of Blink-182. This, however, allows me to appreciate what took place last night for what it was. I had been a big fan of the band in the ’90s and early 2000s but I hadn’t been able to get out to a concert, and just when I was able to be at a place in my life (personally and financially) where I could manage going to a concert the group disbanded. This was at a time when their music had also been growing to a place where they wrote and sang about more serious and mature topics (see their self-titled release “Blink-182” from 2003).

Safe to say I was disappointed, so when I learned that the group would be reuniting I was ecstatic.

Finally, I would be able to see the guys who orchestrated my high school soundtrack with their bubble-gum pop-punk, reckless abandon and carelessness. And that’s’ what I got yesterday at GM Place. In playing songs from Dude Ranch and Enima of the State they allowed me to relive my childhood and teenage years, and in their senseless, crude banter in between songs I got to relive what made Blink-182 what they were when they were at their prime.

That’s really all I wanted, to be able to experience what I had always wanted to experience but never got the chance to. Whether it was a cash-grab or not and whether Blink’s lead-men are average-at-best musicians didn’t and doesn’t matter to me, but rather what the band meant and means to me was more important.

Travis Barker was arguably the highlight of the show in Vancouver. Photo: The Province Newspaper

Sure the opening and the ending were the hits like Carousel, Dammit and Anthem Part 2 – and they should be – but the middle of their set, to me, demonstrated what Blink was becoming before their break-up: a band with three thirty year olds who no longer wanted to run around naked, swearing. Songs from their 2003 release are more mature and more musically inclined, which is where the band seemingly wants to go with their next record.

There were glimpses of that last night.

Travis Barker’s drum solo on an elevated and rotating platform, about forty feet in the air, illustrated what kind of talent the drummer has. His band mates have proved – maybe not exclusively through their work with Blink, but surely through their side projects: Angels and Airwaves, +44 and the production of other bands’ albums – that they do have an above-average level of talent and an intention to grow and mature as musicians.

We’ve seen it with Green Day, who moved from pubescent to mature punk-rock as they grew older, so why not Blink? Despite the fact that they were selling t-shirts that dubbed their own music “crappy punk rock,” and despite the nostalgic performance we saw for most of the show last night, I suspect that Blink-182 – if they in fact are back together for the longhaul – is heading in that same direction.