Random Thoughts

WyldeMan wrote:I just picked up a 65" Insignia 4K LED Fire TV as the replacement for my blacked out 55" Roku TV for $430 with tax. I ordered it on Amazon and picked it up an hour later from my nearest Best Buy. I've never used that Best Buy pick up option before and it was way more convenient than if I'd chosen to have it shipped by Amazon because their delivery window was sometime between July 11-20th but I drove down to the BB and back within 90 minutes.

Happy Fourth of July Sale everybody! Err, I mean Happy Fourth of July!

Tyger wrote:I didn’t know you could order from Amazon and pick up at Best Buy, WTF

Company Release - 7/5/2022

AMC offers several different value options to meet the needs of moviegoers around the country

Discount Tuesday now features all titles for $5 plus tax at all AMC locations nationwide, through the end of October

AMC offers great value pricing on matinee shows at all locations, with significant savings on all showtimes before 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. depending on location

AMC Stubs A-List allows moviegoers to see up to three movies per week for a single monthly price, representing tremendous potential moviegoing value

AMC Stubs Premiere and AMC Stubs Insider allow guests to earn points on every purchase, which can then be used at AMC

LEAWOOD, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AMC Theatres (NYSE:AMC), the largest theatrical exhibitor in the United States and the world, announced that beginning today, July 5, through the end of October, movies at AMC U.S. locations are just $5 plus tax for showtimes on Tuesdays. To participate in $5 Discount Tuesdays, AMC guests need only to be a member of the AMC Stubs program, including AMC Stubs Insider, which is free to join.

In many areas around the country, the value through $5 Discount Tuesdays at AMC is significant. While a premium experience fee applies for movies in IMAX at AMC, Dolby Cinema at AMC and PRIME at AMC, the base fee for premium experience movies is also $5.

And what would a trip to the movies be without popcorn and a drink? At participating locations, guests can pair a Cameo-size popcorn with their choice of a 21 oz. ICEE or a Cameo-size Coca-Cola Freestyle drink for just $5 plus tax every week on Discount Tuesdays.

In addition to Discount Tuesdays, AMC offers several ways for guests to enjoy great value when seeing a movie at AMC.

joey con carne wrote:Nice purchase on the TV. My Samsung MU8000's are still going strong after four years. I hope they last me another four.

Netflix has quietly released a new 40-minute video of Dave Chappelle lecturing a bunch of school children about why it’s unfair for them to criticize him for making transphobic jokes.

What’s in a Name?, which is ostensibly being promoted as a stand-up special through Netflix’s comedy wing, captures a speech Chappelle gave at his old high school, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., back on June 20. The event was part of a renaming ceremony for the school’s theater, which was supposed to be named after Chappelle, but will now instead be known as the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression.

The theater saga kicked off back in November 2021: After the Duke Ellington School announced that it would name the space after Chappelle, the comedian took part in a contentious Q&A with students, who confronted him over the controversial content of his recent specials. After calling the kids’ concerns “immature,” Chappelle said it wasn’t even his idea to name the theater after him; the outrageously wealthy comedian then decided to launch a contest of sorts, saying: “If you are in favor of the theater being named ‘Chappelle,’ I urge you to donate to the school, noting your approval. Whichever opinion donated the highest collective dollar amount, wins.”

There’s no reference to who won that contest in What’s in a Name?, though in declining the honor of having the theater literally named after him, Chappelle managed to make an even more sanctimonious decision by giving it the name, the Theater for Artistic Freedom and Expression. “Rather than give this theater my name, I would like to give these students my message,” Chappelle said in his speech.

As for the content of What’s In a Name?, a good chunk of it finds Chappelle reflecting on his time at the Duke Ellington School and paying tribute to old teachers, as well as recounting the familiar tale of his career and his decision to leave Chappelle’s Show. Eventually, however, he got to defending his controversial special The Closer — which sparked protests and a walk-out at Netflix — calling it a misunderstood “masterpiece.”

He also got down to moralizing, saying he was “sincerely hurt” by the students’ critiques, but then suggesting they didn’t even know what they were talking about. In doing so, Chappelle offered some insight into the rather shallow reason he continues to use his comedy these days to punch-down at the LGBTQ community: “The more you say I can’t say something, the more urgent it is for me to say it. It has nothing to do with what you’re saying I can’t say. It has everything to do with my right and my freedom of artistic expression. It’s worth protecting for me, and it’s worth protecting for everyone else who endeavors in our noble professions. These kids didn’t understand that they were instruments of oppression.”

EXCLUSIVE: If there wasn’t enough drama swirling around Johnny Depp’s win last month over Amber Heard in his multimillion-dollar defamation suit, things have now turned judicially weird.

“Ms. Heard had a right to rely on the basic protection, as prescribed by the Virginia Code, that the jurors in this trial would be individuals who were actually summoned for jury duty,” says a new, partially redacted filing Friday by the Aquaman star’s legal team (read it here).

“In this case, it appears that Juror No. 15 was not, in fact, the same individual as listed on the jury panel,” attorney Elaine Bredehoft adds in language similar to a previous filing of June 24. “Ms. Heard’s due process was therefore compromised. Under these circumstances, a mistrial should be declared, and a new trial ordered.”

Unlike the previous motion and memorandum placed in the Fairfax County courthouse docket late last month to dismiss the June 1 verdict and get a new trial, today’s supplemental memo has a lot more details on what could snatch victory from Depp in his long legal battle with his ex-wife.

According to the redacted filing, the summons for jury duty was sent out to a Virginia resident in April of this year for the much delayed $15 million defamation action Depp had set off in March 2019 against Heard for a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she penned on being the “public face” of domestic abuse. However, also according to today’s filing, it seems that there are two individuals residing at the same address with, at the very least, “the same last name” — one a 77-year-old individual and another a 52-year-old individual.

The former was the one summoned, but it looks like the latter was the one who showed up. “Thus, the 52-year-old- (redacted) sitting on the jury for six weeks was never summoned for jury duty on April 11 and did not ‘appear in the list,’ as required,” Friday’s damning filing asserts.

Not noticed by officers or clerks of the court, the younger individual made it all the way to the jury without apparently ever being asked to produce any ID, or with perhaps fake ID, the filing implies. Additionally, it looks like someone filled out the required online information form either intentionally or accidentally to say that they were born in 1945.

Unaware of this at the time and during the media-frenzied trial, Heard’s defense team now wants an explanation and to see some consequences, which could take the shine off Team Depp:

As the Court no doubt agrees, it is deeply troubling for an individual not summoned for jury duty nonetheless to appear for jury duty and serve on a jury, especially in a case such as this. This was a high-profile case, where the fact and date of the jury trial were highly publicized prior to and after the issuance of the juror summonses. Virginia has in place statutory code provisions designed to ensure the person called for jury duty is the person arriving for jury duty.

Fairfax County’s Juror Questionnaire webpage furthers this goal by requiring all County residents to login using their 7-digit Juror number, Zip code, and “Birth Date.” Att. 5 (emphasis added). Those safeguards are in place and relied upon by the parties to verify the identity of the correct juror, to ensure due process and a fair trial for all litigants. When these safeguards are circumvented or not followed, as appears to be the case here, the right to a jury trial and due process are undermined and compromised

Neither reps for Heard or Depp responded to request for comment from Deadline on Friday’s filing. We are also attempting to contact the Virginia court for insight.

While the particulars are way out there, the gist of Heard’s move here is no surprise: Almost within a minute of the $10 million-plus verdict came down June 1 in favor of an absent Depp in Judge Penney Azcarate’s courtroom, Heard’s defense and $100 million countersuit team have promised to fight the ruling on appeal.

Facing having to put up am $8.3 million bond to move forward, Heard’s team may have chopped off the financial Gordian Knot with this apparent Keystone Kops-like incident.

joey con carne wrote:That's good stuff. We need a retrial. It will be like a reboot and we all know how much I love reboots when it comes to movies.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Hell no!!! 1 Juror is not going to change anything. It was a unanimous decision. He'd still win round 2 unless she gets new lawyers. lol

Amazon has announced the arrival of Amazon Prime Day 2022 is set to take place July 12-13.

Prime members specifically can find a variety of early Prime Day deals leading up to the mega shopping event.

More and more deals will continue to roll in as Prime Day continues to approach. One of the most recent deals Amazon is offering includes a special on Prime Video add-on channels.

Customers can get a variety of channels for 99 cents each for the first two months and $9.99 a month thereafter. This deal will last though July 13, 2022.

These Prime Video channels include the following:

   Paramount+
   STARZ
   Discovery+
   Showtime
   amc+
   epix
   noggin
   PBS | Masterpiece
   BET+
   AcornTV
   allblk
   Hallmark
   PBS Kids
   PBS Documentaries
   Motortrend
   Faith & Family
   Movie Sphere
   Pantaya

Though many early Prime Day deals are exclusively for Prime members, you do not need to be a member to use Amazon Prime Video.

The streaming platform itself offers a 30-day trial for first time users and is $14.99 afterwards.

Those who are considering an Amazon Prime membership can take advantage of all its benefits for $139 annually or $69 for students.

UltimateMarvel wrote:I haven't seen it yet either but funny enough had the same thought yesterday. Everybody is praising it so I'll be watching it soon.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Armie Hammer....

Warners recently shifted all of their DC fare greatly in the calendar due to Covid related delays as well; specifically there’s a backlog in VFX houses as several movies come down the pike. This is a real thing sources are telling me: Because of all the back-logged movies, the motion picture business is facing its own supply chain issues.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Hell no!!! 1 Juror is not going to change anything. It was a unanimous decision. He'd still win round 2 unless she gets new lawyers. lol

Asserting that Heard’s Elaine Bredehoft-led defense and counterclaim crew filed their post-trial motions well after the July 1 deadline, Depp’s team today also seek to make mincemeat of the July 8 reiterated allegations that an incorrect or even masquerading juror was allowed to participate in the April 11 starting trial:

In her Supplemental Memorandum, Ms. Heard does not, because she cannot, make any proffer as to why she could not have discovered the “new facts until now. This is because the Clerk’s Office provided the pre-panel jury list to the parties back on April 6, 2022, more than two months ago and five days before the jury was empaneled. In a rare moment of candor, Ms. Heard admits that she was aware of the purported discrepancy in Juror 15’s birth year from the very start of trial because “Juror 15 …was clearly born later than 1945.” Ms. Heard therefore concedes she had more than enough time before the trial started, and during the six-week trial, when at least two alternates were available, to investigate and discover the alleged “new” facts. Clearly, Ms. Heard waived any right to allege “new” facts she chose not to investigate for so long, much less to demand the extraordinary remedy of a mistrial.

Reps for Heard did not response Monday to requests for comment on the latest filing by the Aquaman star’s ex-husband.

The blockbuster event comes home. #JurassicWorldDominion On Demand Friday.

joey con carne wrote:I remember watching one of the Jurassic World movies in the theater. Passed out for about 25 minutes and woke up to Chris Pratt waking up on the floor with lava coming at him.

Guess I’m not a big fan of those movies.

Johnny Depp may find himself facing off again with Amber Heard in Virginia in the ex-couple’s big-bucks defamation battle, but he seems to have put an end to the assault and battery case about to go to trial in the City of Angels.

Two weeks to the day before the scheduled start of the trial brought against Depp by former City of Lies location manager Gregg “Rocky” Brooks in 2018, the parties have come to a deal, it was revealed Monday. In a filing in Los Angeles Superior Court, Brooks’ lawyer Arbella Azizian said a settlement had been reached, kind of.

No terms were made public, and the whole shabang could still be scuttled as can always happen up to the last minute in these things. However, after weeks of behind-the-scenes talks between the sides, it looks like Depp is paying off Brooks to go away and have another lawsuit disappear — much like he did with his ex-business managers in 2018.

“The settlement agreement conditions dismissal of this matter on the satisfactory completion of specified terms that are not to be performed within 45 days of the date of the settlement,” reads the notice of settlement in the docket. “A request for dismissal will be filed no later than 1/5/2023.”

“Dismissal After Settlement is scheduled for 02/16/2023,” added a minute order from Judge Holly J. Fujie this morning.

Coming almost two months after the ex-Pirates of the Caribbean actor was awarded more than $10 million in damages by a Virginia jury in his long-running defamation case against Heard over a Washington Post op-end she penned about being “the public face of domestic abuse,” a trial with Brooks had potential train wreck spray painted all over it for Depp. Literally and figuratively a one-two punch against the former Oscar nominee, the L.A. trial over a 2017 late-night altercation on the set of the film about the Notorious B.I.G. murder was already projected to create another media frenzy.

Recently named to partner at Brown Rudnick after her star turn at the Virginia trial, Camille Vasquez was set to make a sequel appearance as one of Depp’s lawyers in the City of Lies trial.

The suit over the eventually released City of Lies, which co-stars Forest Whitaker and was directed by initial co-defendant Brad Furman, claims an alleged booze-on-the-breath Depp flipped out when Brooks informed him on April 13, 2017 that production had to wrap for the night. Talking to an off-duty LAPD officer on set in the process after being told to deal with Depp by Furman, things went south fast for Brooks when Depp sauntered over. Supposedly screaming obscenities at the location manager, Depp then hit Brooks “twice in the lower left side of his rib cage and causing pain.”

Bellowing that he would pay Brooks $100,000 to “punch me in the face right now,’ Depp was removed from the scene and set by his personal security team. Asked in the aftermath to pledge not to sue the production for the incident, Brooks refused was pink-slipped on the spot on April 16, 2017.

Delayed by the pandemic, the case has been pretty dormant in the LASC docket up until last month as the trial date got closer. Now it may all go very quiet if the settlement sticks.

Reps for both Depp and Brooks did not reply to request for comment from Deadline today on the latest turn of evens in the matter.

WyldeMan wrote:Just saw this trending from the Jurassic World Twitter. BTW, that's only a 35 day window for a movie that had $143 million opening weekend.

The blockbuster event comes home. #JurassicWorldDominion On Demand Friday.

The nightmare comes home Friday. #TheBlackPhone - in theaters now and on demand Friday.

joey con carne wrote:I think I have asked this before but when you say "VOD" do you mean free streaming or rental streaming?

I am a cheap bastard and will wait for free on HBO or something.

joey con carne wrote:I feel like Rob Zombie's movies were made for shock factor. Never got into any of them. I think I saw The Devil's Rejects. The one where they drive at a police roadblock at the end and supposably they get killed. I don't even know the name of that one because it was so forgettable.

Is The Munsters going to be torture porn, too? Are The Munsters going to go on a mass killing spree?

joey con carne wrote:Yea that Munsters film looks like ass. And not the kind of ass you see in DOA: Dead or Alive otherwise we would say it is perfection.

Just noticed the forum broke out another thread for this Random Thoughts again. Neat-o.

WyldeMan wrote:Jurassic World Dominion, The Black Phone and Lightyear all hit streaming this morning.

joey con carne wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Jurassic World Dominion, The Black Phone and Lightyear all hit streaming this morning.

When you say "streaming" you mean VOD, right?

‘Scrubs’ Co-EP Eric Weinberg Arrested On Rape Charges; Held On $3.2M Bail By LAPD

Scrubs and Californication co-executive producer Eric Weinberg was arrested today by the LAPD on multiple sexual assault charges. The arrest is related to a series of rapes and more that the police say occurred between 2012 and 2019.

Picked up at a Los Feliz residence, the TV scribe was booked by police this afternoon and is being held on bail of $3.225 million, say law enforcement officials. Detectives are expected to pass their investigation over the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office soon , I’m told.

“When the case is submitted, we will review it and determine if charges are appropriate,” a spokesperson for L.A. District Attorney George Gascón’s office told Deadline today of the Weinberg arrest.

According to the LAPD, Weinberg predatorily singled out women in their 20s and 30s “in grocery stores, coffee shops and other public places” and would try to convince them to participate in a photo shoot. If the women agreed to have their picture taken by Weinberg, his modus operandi was to rape them during the secluded session at his home.

The LAPD say that Weinberg actually might have been committing such rapes since the early 1990s. To that end, police are encouraging “unidentified victims” and others with knowledge of such attacks to contact them ASAP.

Among his many credits up until the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Weinberg was co-EP for more than 100 episodes of Scrubs during the comedy’s 2001-07 run on NBC and later ABC. The five-time Emmy nominee also served as supervising producer and writer on about another two dozen episodes of the series.

Rafael Caro Quintero, whose role in the murder and torture of a US anti-narcotics agent in 1985 was profiled in the Netflix drama series Narcos: Mexico, has been captured by a joint law task force.

Quintero was a cofounder of the Guadalajara Cartel, considered one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico during the 1980s.

The Netflix series focused on the early days of the Mexican drug cartels. Several factions united and increased operations from a loosely organized group of growers and dealers into a sophisticated multinational business. On the series, Quintero was played by Tenoch Huerta.

The violent group was notorious for torturing and killing Drug Enforcement Administration agent Kiki Camarena. Caro Quintero was among those convicted in that death.

Caro Quintero spent 28 years in prison Camarena’s murder, but was released in 2013 on a technicality by a Mexican judge, embarrassing the previous government. He then vanished and allegedly returned to drug trafficking as part of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to US officials. He was in the FBI’s Top 10 most wanted fugitives list and had a $20 million bounty on his head, a record for a drug trafficker.

“It is probably one of the most important captures of the last decade in terms of importance to the DEA,” said Mike Vigil, the DEA’s former chief of international operations.

The US government hailed Caro Quintero’s arrest and has requested his extradition. “This is huge,” White House senior Latin America adviser Juan Gonzalez said on Twitter.

The Mexican Navy said Caro Quintero was caught in the municipality of Choix in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, one of Mexico’s drug-trafficking heartlands. He was found in shrub land by a military-trained female bloodhound named Max, the Navy said.