Random Thoughts

On the heels of Los Angeles pulling its meager supply of Johnson & Johnson vaccine this morning, California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan issued the following statement regarding the Coronavirus vaccine:

“Today, the CDC and FDA have recommended a temporary pause in the use of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine out of an abundance of caution. Of over 6.8 million doses administered nationally, there have been six reported cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot with symptoms occurring 6 to 13 days after vaccination.

“California is following the FDA and CDC’s recommendation and has directed health care providers to pause the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine until we receive further direction from health and safety experts. Additionally, the state will convene the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup to review the information provided by the federal government on this issue. As the federal government has said, we do not expect a significant impact to our vaccination allocations. In California, less than 4% of our vaccine allocation this week is the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.”

The last line may seem reassuring but it is, at the very least, misleading. The 4% number is doubtlessly correct, but the allocation is that small because supplies of J&J have dwindled this week without an offsetting rise in Pfizer and Moderna doses.

As a result, overall vaccine supply in Los Angeles was projected to be down 15% this week and another 5% next week. And that was before state and local officials pulled that final 4% of J&J. So the region could be looking at close to 20% fewer doses this week and 25% next week. The dip comes just as Governor Gavin Newsom has approved millions more residents for vaccinations this week, with all Californians 16+ becoming eligible.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Now that is scary! Whoever dies from this deserves some compensation to their family or loved ones.

I read Bernie Madoff died.

UltimateMarvel wrote:LOL There should not be a Fast 10 because they've literally done it all now.

The first season of Amazon Studios’ sprawling The Lord Of the Rings series will cost $465 million to produce. The figure was revealed Friday when New Zealand, where the series is shooting, announced that the rebate for the series from the country’s Screen Production Grant is being increased from 20% to 25% ($116 million). 

The season 1 budget of $465 million, confirmed by Deadline, is a massive number; Game of Thrones reportedly cost around $10 million an episode on average ($100 million a season), starting lower in the early seasons and climbing well above $10 million per episode in the final stretch.

There are some caveats. Amazon is yet to reveal how many episodes Season 1 of The Lord Of the Rings consists of, so the cost per-episode is unclear. Additionally, like Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, which was shot back-to-back, the series required building expansive, elaborate sets and creating expensive costumes. The extra startup costs will be amortized over future seasons. (Like the movies, The Lord of the Rings series also plans to shoot seasons back-to-back, which would reduce Season 2 costs.)

The West Auckland-based The Lord Of the Rings, an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novels, was close to finishing the first two episodes, directed by J.A. Bayona, when production shut down in mid-March 2020 amid the escalating global pandemic. As Deadline had reported , in conjunction with an early Season 2 renewal for the big-budget fantasy drama, the LOTR series was scheduled to go on a 4-5-month hiatus after filming the first two episodes, so the shutdown segued into the planned hiatus, timed to coincide with the New Zealand winter. The writing team of the series, led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, used the time to map out and write Season 2 scripts.

Filming resumed in late September.

Set in Middle Earth, the TV series, produced by Amazon Studuos, explores new storylines preceding Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The expansive cast includes Robert Aramayo, Markella Kavenagh, Morfydd Clark and Joseph Mawle.

The series employs more than 1,200 people, and approximately 700 workers are indirectly employed by providing services to the production, the New Zealand government said, as quoted by Reuters.

“The agreement with Amazon … generates local jobs and creates work for local businesses,” Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash said in a statement to the wire service. “It will enable a new wave of international tourism branding and promotion for this country.”

WyldeMan wrote:You say that now but I heard that in Fast 10, the gang cracks fusion and travels to the Hollow Earth in Tesla Cybertrucks where they battle King Kong for magical beans.

UltimateMarvel wrote:WyldeManYou say that now but I heard that in Fast 10, the gang cracks fusion and travels to the Hollow Earth in Tesla Cybertrucks where they battle King Kong for magical beans.

Anything is possible but I think even the fans of this franchise would say no to that kind of nonsense.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Who wants a LOTR show? As if the movies weren't long enough.

New South Wales is gearing up for the biggest movie shoot to ever hit Australia, as director George Miller has officially announced a 2022 production start date for the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa. The story is a time-spanning saga that chronicles the earliest days of Charlize Theron's iconic Mad Max character, with Anya Taylor-Joy playing Furiosa in her younger years. Both Anya Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth, who will be her co-star in the action epic, can't wait to begin production, with the team already preparing for the shoot next year.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has started filming, and new set photos appear to confirm that one of the most beloved characters in the video game franchise will debut in the sequel.

After 2020’s first big screen outing for the Sega icon became one of the surprise hits of last year, Paramount has fast-tracked the follow-up, which looks set to pair Sonic up with not one but two of his fan favorite allies – Tails, who was introduced in the first film’s post-credits scene, and Knuckles.

The sequel is currently shooting in Fort Langley, BC and set pics have showcased stars James Marsden and Tika Sumpter in the midst of an explosive action scene, but what’s really grabbed folks’ attention are the life-size stand-ins for the CGI characters that have been captured on location. Alongside Sonic and Tails is Knuckles the Echidna. He’s yet to be officially confirmed for the movie, but it looks like we can expect it to feature him all the same.

   Here's a look at the #SonicMovie2 filming at Fort Langley today. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles props were seen; Marsden and Sumpter present as well. #SonicNews pic.twitter.com/YlrsNZlvVy

   — Sonic the Hedgehog News & Updates · Tails' Channel (@TailsChannel) April 20, 2021

Of course, Knuckles’ arrival was foreshadowed in the first film, but he didn’t turn up for a cameo like Tails did. From what we’ve heard, though, he will have a major presence in the sequel. For one, the studio definitely wants a big name to voice the character. At one point, it looked like Dwayne Johnson might get the gig, but back in February, it was reported that The Rock had passed on the project and Aquaman star Jason Momoa had instead been offered the part. We’ve yet to find out if he accepted it, however.

Remember, Jim Carrey is also back as Dr. Robotnik, as his villain furthers his transformation into his video game self. Ben Schwartz is returning to voice Sonic, too, though it’s unclear if voice actress Colleen O’Shaughnessey will continue to play Tails as she did for his previous cameo or if a bigger name has been found.

Following production kicking off last month, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is scheduled to sprint into theaters on April 8th, 2022.

WyldeMan wrote:Hey Rust, you're in New South Wales aren't you?

Furiosa Is Biggest Shoot in Australia's History, Fury Road Prequel Begins Filming in 2022

New South Wales is gearing up for the biggest movie shoot to ever hit Australia, as director George Miller has officially announced a 2022 production start date for the Mad Max: Fury Road prequel Furiosa. The story is a time-spanning saga that chronicles the earliest days of Charlize Theron's iconic Mad Max character, with Anya Taylor-Joy playing Furiosa in her younger years. Both Anya Taylor Joy and Chris Hemsworth, who will be her co-star in the action epic, can't wait to begin production, with the team already preparing for the shoot next year.

Rusty wrote:Yeah I am, but this will be shot way out in regional areas towards the middle of the country. Same places the filmed the original Mad Max back in the day with Mel Gibson (Road Warrior I believe it's called in the US). About a 12 hour drive for me

WyldeMan wrote:

Rusty wrote:Yeah I am, but this will be shot way out in regional areas towards the middle of the country. Same places the filmed the original Mad Max back in the day with Mel Gibson (Road Warrior I believe it's called in the US). About a 12 hour drive for me

Oh I see, so you're area is way bigger than I thought it was.

FYI, in the states we also call the first Mad Max by it's given title. But Mad Max 2 is The Road Warrior to us. Do you guys really just call it Mad Max 2?

Do you drop all the sub titles from all of the movies? Is Beyond Thunderdome just Mad Max 3? And Fury Road is Mad Max 4?

I was not aware of this.

Rusty wrote:That other forum has been down for over a week now. Wonder how much money they're losing.

Rusty wrote:Oh that's right. I always remembered American's I talked to years ago online knew of Road Warrior, but didn't realise it was a sequel. They never knew there was a film before it. I just confused myself

There are subtitles in the Mad Max movies?

... and yeah, my state is bigger than Texas with about 20 million less people.

Rusty wrote:That other forum has been down for over a week now. Wonder how much money they're losing.

WyldeMan wrote:Thank you for brightening my day.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Thank you for brightening my day.

Do you visit there anymore? I go in from time to time.

A Texas woman doesn't remember renting a VHS tape 22 years ago — let alone that she didn't return it — and the place she rented it from shut its doors more than a decade ago. But the unreturned tape led to her being charged with a felony.

Though the case was dismissed and expunged Wednesday, Caron McBride is looking into legal options.

"It's hurt me tremendously, and my family," she told USA TODAY. "It makes me madder and madder the more I think about it."

McBride, 52, was charged with felony embezzlement of rental property in Oklahoma, where she previously lived, in March 2000 — more than a year after the tape of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" was to be returned, court records show.

She believes her boyfriend at the time who had two young daughters rented the tape in her name.

"He had to have," McBride said. "I know I didn't."

She added: "I have never seen one episode nor movie."

McBride didn't find out about the outstanding warrant against her until she tried to change her name on her license after getting married and moving to Texas from Oklahoma.

When she emailed the Department of Motor Vehicles in November to set up an appointment, as per COVID-19 protocols, she received a response on April 16 that she had to fix an issue in Oklahoma first. In the email response, she was given a case number and the phone number to the courthouse.

"I called it and the lady ... looked up the reference number and told me it was a felony embezzlement," McBride said. "I thought I was going to be have a heart attack."

She suspects having the felony on her record may have cost her job opportunities.

"I was working two jobs, sometimes three jobs," McBride said. "I was struggling to make ends meet when I knew I was quite capable of making really good money."

Now, she is looking for a lawyer in Oklahoma but some have refused to take her case.

McBride said lawyers have told her that — after her story was aired on local news channels — they were contacted by people who went to jail for similar situations.

Although it is rare to have a warrant out for an arrest for over two decades, Ed Blau of Blau Law Firm, which is based in Oklahoma City, told News9, "there was no way for her to know she had this warrant."

“A prosecutor files charges on somebody for something serious (law enforcement is) going to go find that person," he said. "Whereas on something like this you know they're just going to wait until the person gets pulled over for speeding and gets taken into custody."

In 2016, a North Carolina man was pulled over for a broken brake light when he was told he had an outstanding warrant for not returning a VHS tape of "Freddy Got Fingered" 15 years prior, according to Fortune. He was charged with a misdemeanor.

Similarly, in 2014, a woman from South Carolina was at the sheriff's office for other matters when she found out she had a warrant for an unreturned 2005 tape of "Monster-In-Law," CNN reported. She had to spend the night in jail because her bond hearing couldn't be held until the next morning, and she was released on a $2,000 bond.

McBride said she's glad she caught the charge.

"I was fortunate ... I didn't get pulled over and go to jail and arrested for a felony," she said. "Some of them weren't."

WyldeMan wrote:Mother fuckin Disney+, I finally decided to watch Spider-Man: The Animated Series for the first time since the 90's and without warning, mid streaming the show gets pulled from Disney+.

Not a single mention that the show would be leaving. I finished an episode and my auto play just kicked me back to the home screen and suddenly the series was no longer available to watch.

And here I was thinking Marvel a huge leg up with Disney+ offering all of their titles and not pulling content in stark contrast to HBO Max who can't seem to pull their DC titles fact enough but now this shit?

First time in 25 god damned years I decided to watch the sumbitch and here I was totally thinking those guys were cool.

LAME!

WyldeMan wrote:Today marks the 49th Birthday of the Most Electrifying Man in Sport's Entertainment History, The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson.

Rusty wrote:... and the 10th anniversary of the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Fun tidbit. The Rock was the first to publicly comment on OBL's death to the public, via Twitter, even before Obama's press conference. He was told by his cousin, whom is a SEAL. Pretty cool birthday gift.

Rusty wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Today marks the 49th Birthday of the Most Electrifying Man in Sport's Entertainment History, The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson.

... and the 10th anniversary of the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Fun tidbit. The Rock was the first to publicly comment on OBL's death to the public, via Twitter, even before Obama's press conference. He was told by his cousin, whom is a SEAL. Pretty cool birthday gift.

Tyger wrote:Such a romantic view of marriage you have

Tyger wrote:Such a romantic view of marriage you have

They listened and listened until the beeps and boops finally made sense.

And then it was time to go.

A husband and wife briefly escaped from a secure memory unit at an assisted living facility in Lebanon last month by using military experience with Morse code to decipher and memorize the code to an electronic door lock, according to Tennessee Department of Health documents obtained through a public records request.

The couple, who have dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, are not identified in the state records. They went missing from Elmcroft of Lebanon for about 30 minutes on March 2 before a stranger found them walking down a road two blocks from the facility, according to the documents.

Once back at the Elmcroft, staff were curious about how the couple had escaped from the facility’s memory unit, which is secured by a locked door with an electronic keypad, documents state.

The man said he “previously worked with Morse code in the military” and was able to use this experience to learn the door code by listening as staff punched numbers into the keypad, documents state.

As a result of the escape, Elmcroft of Lebanon was fined $2,000 by state officials. The assisted living facility told state regulators it will prevent similar incidents by checking on residents more frequently and scheduling the man who escaped for “walking time outside the facility with a staff member present," according to state records.

Elmcroft of Lebanon also changed all its exit codes, according to a statement provided by the company.

"The safety of our residents is the top priority at our senior living community. We are thankful both residents were returned to the community safely," the statement said. "We reported the situation to the state and their family immediately after it happened and fully cooperated with the state during its review."

‘Pam & Tommy’: First Photos Of Lily James & Sebastian Stan As Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee In Hulu Limited Series

We’re getting the first look at Lily James and Sebastian Stan as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee in Hulu’s upcoming limited series Pam & Tommy.

Written and executive produced by Rob Siegel and DV DeVincentis, the eight-episode comedic limited series tells the true story of the release of the first-ever viral video in history — the sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee.

As Deadline’s Justin Kroll previously reported, while the tape will play a major part in the series, the story will also focus on their relationship going back to their whirlwind romance that started with them marrying after only knowing each other for 96 hours in 1995. The leaked VHS tape turned into quite the legal dispute, with Anderson suing the video distribution company Internet Entertainment Group. Ultimately, the Lees entered into a confidential settlement deal with IEG. Thereafter, the company began making the tape available to subscribers to its websites again, resulting in triple the normal traffic.

Seth Rogen also stars as the man who stole the tape. Cast includes Taylor Schilling, Andrew Dice Clay, Pepi Sonuga, Spencer Granese and Mozhan Marnò.

Craig Gillespie directs. Siegel and DeVincentis executive produce with Point Grey (Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, and Alex McAtee), Annapurna (Megan Ellison, Sue Naegle, and Ali Krug), Chip Vucelich, Sarah Gubbins, Dave Franco and Dylan Sellers.

UltimateMarvel wrote:They look just like them. Kinda weird they're making a show about the sex tape though.

Julie E. “Tawny” Kitaen, who famously appeared in several Whitesnake music videos and starred as Tom Hanks’ fiancée in Bachelor Party, has died. She was 59.

Kitaen died in her Newport Beach, California home on Friday morning. The Orange County Coroner’s Office confirmed her death via a press release, which listed her as Tawny Finley. The cause of death was not released.

The Hollywood Reporter has reached out to Kitaen’s representatives for comment.

Born in San Diego, Kitaen began her journey as an ’80s music video heartthrob by appearing on several albums for the heavy metal band RATT as well as its “Back for More” video. She later appeared in a video for Whitesnake’s 1987 smash hit “Here I Go Again” as well as “Still of the Night,” “Is This Love” and “The Deeper the Love.” Kitaen was birefly married to the band’s lead singer, David Coverdale, from 1989-91.

Notable film and television roles include for Kitaen include Witchboard, White Hot, Dead Tides, Santa Barbara, Seinfeld and most recently Moms Anonymous. She also recently appeared in several reality shows, including The Surreal Life, Botched and Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.

Kitaen also was married to Angels pitcher Chuck Finley from 1997-2002, and they had two daughters together.