Random Thoughts

WyldeMan wrote:

joey con carne wrote:Damn. It can't be good breathing that in. Do you have air filtration system or anything?

I have portable air purifiers running throughout the rooms I regularly occupy. The air quality inside is fine as long as I keep it all closed up but as soon as I open a window or walk outside it's like I'm standing next to a bonfire, everything immediately tastes like ash.

Rusty wrote:Damn that's gotta suck. Plus it would add significantly to your electricity costs. Do you rely on solar at all or are you 100% grid reliant?

joey con carne wrote:That sounds awful. At this time, are the authorities trying to put it out or just contain it as best as possible?

The summer here in NY was really dry. If it was dry where you are I can only imagine how strong those fires are with all that lush fuel for it to consume.

There are six fires currently on the Northwest Large Fire Interactive Web Map:

• Kalama: Located 27 miles northeast of Kalama, started on Sept. 1, 9% contained, 461 acres burned.
  
• Nakia Creek: Located 9 miles northeast of Camas, started on Oct. 9, 10% contained, 190 acres burned.
  
• Goat Rocks: Located 7 miles east of Packwood, started on Aug. 9, 1% contained, 5,040 acres burned.
  
• Bolt Creek: Located 37 miles east of Seattle, Started on Sept. 10, 36% contained, 13,500 acres burned.
  
• Minnow Ridge: Located 25 miles north of Wenatchee, started on Sept. 10, 0% contained, 3,253 acres burned
  
• White River: Located 14 miles northwest of Plains, started on Aug. 11, 10% contained, 5,359 acres burned
  

UltimateMarvel wrote:Damn! Only 10% contained in most of those areas, hope it slows down soon.

HBO Max has dropped the first footage of Peter Billingsley in his return as Ralphie in the upcoming A Christmas Story Christmas, the sequel to the classic holiday pic A Christmas Story.

The brief teaser trailer opens with a panoramic look at the Parkers’ living room, an exact replica of the way it appeared in the 1983 movie, and ends with Ralphie as an adult slipping on his signature plastic-rimmed glasses.

The film follows an adult Ralphie (Billingsley) in the 1970s, who returns to the house on Cleveland Street to deliver his kids a magical Christmas like the one he had growing up. With the same attention to real-life tone of the first, Ralphie reconnects with childhood friends, reconciles the passing of his Old Man and sows the seeds for the origins of the beloved holiday classic.

Ian Petrella, Zack Ward, Scott Schwartz and R.D. Robb also are reprising their roles from the original, alongside newcomers cast Erinn Hayes, River Drosche, Julianna Layne and Julie Hagerty.

The script was written by Nick Schenk, who also executive produces, and Clay Kaytis directs. Billingsley also produces along with his partner Vince Vaughn through their Wild West Picture Show banner. Cale Boyter and Jay Ashenfelter oversee for Legendary.

The original film, directed by Bob Clark, and based on material from author Jean Shepherd‘s collection of short stories, In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, starred Billingsley, Melinda Dillon and Darren McGavin. The film was presented in a series of vignettes, with narration provided by the adult Ralphie Parker reminiscing on one particular Christmas when he was 9 years old and wanted only one thing that Christmas — a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle.

The film spawned two movie sequels, 1994’s It Runs in the Family and 2012’s A Christmas Story 2, which went direct-to-video.

joey con carne wrote:I can't wait to see what they've done with the A Christmas Story sequel. Will love to see Peter Billingsly grown up. Not sure I've seen him around much.

The air quality here in NY, according to my phone's weather application is 31. 31 says "Air quality is satisfactory and poses little or no health risk."

31 is in the green zone on the little bar graph and if I estimate 170, it's in the red zone. Then after the red zone is a purple zone then it starts to get into darker and darker shades of red. That's scary. I wonder what would make the graph go that far over. Nuclear war?

Before Fangoria there was Famous Monsters of Filmland, and we’ve learned this week that the James Warren and Forrest J. Ackerman-founded magazine is now in the hands of Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor! Taylor, a big time horror fan, has acquired the Famous Monsters brand, and he’s got big plans for the brand’s future in this here horror space.

Rolling Stone reports that in addition to Corey Taylor relaunching the Famous Monsters magazine, he also plans on exploring several other avenues with the brand as well.

“Our job is to build a foundation to bring Famous Monsters into the modern age, while also honouring the legacy that came before,” Taylor tells Rolling Stone. “It’s the whole reason that we were fans to begin with. It was the first real place where we, as horror nerds, could feel safe and feel connected feel like we weren’t alone. The internet has made it easy for us to connect, so I want to kind of make this another viable place for them to come.”

He continues, “I’ve been writing my own scripts now for the last five, six years. And I’m trying to get some of my stuff into production right now. There’s a handful that are very, very close. So anything that I put out is instantly going to get the Famous Monsters logo on it, just to build that brand recognition…I fucking hate that term ‘brand,’ but that’s what it is.”

The interview with Rolling Stone also teases that Corey Taylor is looking to make toys under the Famous Monsters umbrella, and also establish a convention presence for the brand.

Past issues of the magazine will also be digitized for re-release on the internet.

Stay tuned for more on all things Famous Monsters of Filmland.

Bloody-Disgusting

Rusty wrote:Never even heard of that magazine.

The Wild West has gone to Hell, literally, and the world's best hope of being saved lies in the gun-slinging hands of Sheriff Roy Pulsipher (Jeffrey Donovan) as he becomes the newest officer for the Rest In Peace Department (R.I.P.D.) enforcing the afterlife's laws. If the Old West was wild while he was alive, wait until Roy sees how weird it gets once he dies. Roy thought joining the R.I.P.D. would give him a chance to revisit his daughter and solve the mystery of his murder. Instead, he has his holsters full with havoc and hellfire when he's given a mission to stop a dangerous demon from opening a portal to the underworld. The fate of the living and the dead now depends on Roy and his partner Jeanne (Penelope Mitchell), a mysterious swordswoman, as cowboys clash with creatures and undead insanity unleashes apocalyptic chaos.

joey con carne wrote:Kanye news is fun to read. Can’t stop him. He’s like AIG: Too big to fail.

joey con carne wrote:Yea, he's definitely a few sandwiches short of a picnic but he's just so popular he can say anything and do anything and he will still sell out every single arena where he performs. All the snowflakes out there will just keep crying while he continues to rake in millions hand over fist.

There's all this furor over his anti-Semitic remarks and everyone is trying to cancel him now but does anyone think anyone who loves his music even gives a crap about anti-Semitic language? Kanye gives no shits and everyone already knows that.

Speaking of Bray Wyatt, I heard he's back in WWE!

Rusty wrote:lol Kanye. What a fucking flog. He defines the phrase "fucked in the head"!

UltimateMarvel wrote:Nice! I'll be watching both but it's going to have to be next week. As human beings, we need to figure out a way to stop time or change 24 hours a day to to 48.

Enjoying renewed interest from all corners in Hollywood due to his praised performance in the 2021 indie thriller Pig, Nicolas Cage has entered what can only be called a renaissance.

After years of making indies, the actor is in demand for live-action studio films for the first time since 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. While he had done occasional studio voice work, with such as films as The Croods and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he returned in earnest with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, a meta action movie released in April by Lionsgate in which Cage plays an actor named Nick Cage. Then he booked a chewy role as Dracula in Universal’s upcoming vampire thriller Renfield. Sources tell THR that the actor was paid $7 million to lead Massive Talent and received close to $3 million for Renfield for a supporting role.

That is a marked jump from the fees he had been receiving for pumping out indie after indie, some schlocky, some arty. He had six live-action credits in 2019, four in 2018 and five in 2017. His fee for leading those VOD-type movies fell into the $1 million to $1.5 million range, with some profit participation thrown in. That salary would have taken up at least a third of the budget for Pig, the movie that changed his current trajectory, as sources say it cost only $3 million.

On top of reopening studio doors — in addition to Massive Talent and Renfield, he is in various stages of discussions for sequels to such big productions as National Treasure and Face/Off — Pig’s success has allowed the actor to raise his price. One indie movie source says Cage’s quote is now $4 million.

Of course, this late-career resurgence is nowhere near his heights as one of Hollywood’s biggest stars in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Back then, the actor reportedly commanded $20 million a film for movies such as 2000’s Gone in Sixty Seconds, 2002’s Windtalkers and 2004’s National Treasure. He received $16 million for the 1998 Brian De Palma thriller Snake Eyes.

That heyday followed his Oscar-winning turn in 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas, for which Cage received … no pay at all. According to director Mike Figgis, neither he nor Cage was paid his $100,000 fee by the financier. Cage had been working steadily for more than a decade at this point, with noteworthy credits including Raising Arizona and Moonstruck. “Whatever,” Figgis said dismissively in an Oct. 4 episode of the THR podcast It Happened in Hollywood. “My career then took off again, and the next film I did, I got really well paid. And within a year, [Cage] was earning $20 million a film.”

After making Vegas but before his Oscar win, Cage left his longtime agent Ed Limato, signed with CAA and made The Rock, Con Air and Face/Off, a one-two-three punch that cemented Cage as a worldwide action star.

Now, even amid the renaissance that sees him currently shooting the Ari Aster-produced A24 movie Dream Scenario, he’s still willing to follow his Vegas instincts and bet on projects. Says the indie source, “He will do discounts on things if he is really into the project.”

WyldeMan wrote:Just personally redefine what a day is. For example, if you stay up for 48 hours straight that's still one day because the day only when you go to sleep.

UltimateMarvel wrote:

WyldeMan wrote:Just personally redefine what a day is. For example, if you stay up for 48 hours straight that's still one day because the day only when you go to sleep.

Don't you die if you don't sleep for 3 days or something like that?

REPORTED to Admin! Clear intention to commit murder here!

In what may be the toughest blow, ego-wise, in the fallout from Kanye West’s antisemitic rants last week, Forbes announced today that the rapper is no longer on its glitzy list of the world’s billionaires. A chief cause for the change was Adidas ending its relationship today with Ye, as he is now known. He had been among the first hip-hop moguls to make the list.

“Without Adidas, Ye is worth $400 million,” the Forbes piece reads. “The remainder of Ye’s [as Kanyer is now called] fortune, Forbes estimates, comes from real estate, cash, his music catalog, and a 5% stake in ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear firm, Skims. (A source close to Skims told Forbes Ye hasn’t been involved with the brand since its 2019 launch.)

With Adidas dropping the rapper early today, calls went up for the musician’s record label, Universal Music, to drop him next. But per a New York Times piece updated today, they may have already parted ways.

NYT:

He is no longer signed to Def Jam, his longtime record company; his contract expired with his 2021 album, “Donda.” And Ye’s own label, G.O.O.D. Music, which has released music by other artists like the rapper Pusha T, is also no longer affiliated with Def Jam, according to a person briefed on the deals. A representative of Def Jam declined to comment, and Ye did not respond to questions sent to a representative.

The growing list of companies and projects which have separated from the controversial rapper now includes Adidas, Balenciaga, CAA and Gap, which Ye pulled away from himself last month. Further, MRC said Monday that it was not moving forward with its recently completed documentary about the musician. Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, Gersh’s Bob Gersh and UTA’s Jeremy Zimmer have all also spoken out to condemn him.

WyldeMan wrote:Murder??? After only three days of no sleep? Hallucinating and falling into micro naps sure, but death?

I once read about a teen boy in the 1960's who stayed up for 11 days straight for a science fair experiment.

However, you will likely lose your mind and become a psychotic transient if you stay up for too long but three days probably won't kill you, just make you a little crazy. Probably....

Besides, if you choose to stay up then it can't be murder, more like assisted suicide.

UltimateMarvel wrote:Damn! That's got to be a fun experiment though. Imagine recording yourself around the house after the third day......assuming you can even make to day 3 even with caffeine.

“Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?”

Walmart and Netflix are expanding on their digital initiative featuring branded goods related to Netflix film and TV titles to bring physical merchandise into 2,400 Walmart stores in the U.S.

The retail sections will feature music, apparel, collectible and seasonal items for Stranger Things, Squid Game, The Witcher, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and other titles. The team-up will also feature a number of snacks and snack boxes designed to be brought home to enjoy while streaming, and a $19.99 Netflix gift card will also be sold exclusively at the retail giant’s stores.

As it has experienced stalling subscriber growth, especially here in the U.S., Netflix has been turning to a number of new potential sources of revenue, including video games and advertising. In recent years, it has also ramped up its efforts in the consumer products arena, via online boutiques, one with Walmart and another an in-house effort featuring collaborations centered around a select roster of properties. Pop-up initiatives dedicated to Bridgerton experiences and other in-person activities appealing to superfans have also become more common.

“At Netflix, we are continuously thinking of innovative ways to connect fans to the stories they love – wherever they are,” said Josh Simon, VP of consumer products for Netflix. “When we launched the Netflix Hub a year ago, we knew it was something special and we are thrilled to expand on this partnership bringing our fans even closer into the worlds of their favorite shows or films.”

Frank Barbieri, VP of content and digital, Walmart U.S., invoked the very industry that Netflix disrupted in the 1990s (retail home video) in a blog post heralding the partnership. “I have so many fond memories of perusing the movie aisle looking for the perfect film to watch with my family on movie night, sometimes sneaking a bag of candy or popcorn into the cart along the way,” he wrote. “This is something I thought my kids would never experience, until now.”

Embracing the buzz factor of streaming is not a new thing for Walmart. The company earlier this year announced a partnership with Paramount to make Paramount+ the only subscription streaming offering promoted on the company’s Walmart+ customer loyalty platform.

Shelley Duvall Returns With Horror ‘The Forest Hills’, Her First Film In Two Decades

EXCLUSIVE: Shelley Duvall (The Shining) is gearing up to return to screens via The Forest Hills — an indie horror-thriller from writer-director Scott Goldberg, which marks her first project in 20 years. (The first behind-the-scenes still featuring the actor can be found above.)

Also starring Edward Furlong, Chiko Mendez and Dee Wallace, The Forest Hills follows a disturbed man who is tormented by nightmarish visions, after enduring head trauma while camping in the Catskill Mountains. Duvall will play the mother of the mentally and emotionally disturbed Rico (Mendez), who serves as his inner voice.

Scott Hansen is producing the pic alongside Dreznick Goldberg Productions and Digital Thunderdome Studios, with Goldberg serving as co-producer.

“We are huge fans of The Shining and it’s honestly one of my favorite horror movies of all time, up there with John Carpenter’s Halloween and George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead with the dark tones they delivered in their movies, along with perfect scores and elements that make them my personal favorites,” said Goldberg. “Shelley contributed to The Shining being an absolute masterpiece by giving her all, and performing in a way that really showcased the fear and horror of a mother in isolation.”

DuVall is an actress, writer and producer known for her collaborations with everyone from Robert Altman and Woody Allen to Stanley Kubrick, Terry Gilliam and Steven Soderbergh. The screen icon is best known for her work on the film side on classic titles including Brewster McCloud, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Thieves Like Us, Nashville, Annie Hall, Three Women, The Shining, Popeye, Time Bandits, Roxanne and The Portrait of a Lady. She’s been honored over the course over her career with a Peabody Award, the Cannes Film Festival’s prize for Best Actress, two Emmy nominations and a BAFTA nom, among many other accolades.

Her work in The Shining has been the subject of much discussion over the years.

The actress told Deadline’s sister publication in The Hollywood Reporter in 2021 that playing a woman whose husband is slowly unraveling during their isolated time as caretakers at a snowed-in hotel took its toll. She was required to cry virtually every day over the course of the 56-week shoot.

Duvall said that, “after a while, your body rebels. It says: ‘Stop doing this to me. I don’t want to cry every day.’ And sometimes just that thought alone would make me cry. To wake up on a Monday morning, so early, and realize that you had to cry all day because it was scheduled — I would just start crying.”

Asked whether Kubrick, as rumored, was deliberately cruel to her in order to enhance her preformance, the actress told THR, “He’s got that streak in him. He definitely has that. But I think mostly because people have been that way to him at some time in the past.”

DuVall last appeared alongside Shirley Jones, Cloris Leachman and Louise Fletcher in the 2002 comedy Manna from Heaven, announcing her retirement that same year. The actress resurfaced in November of 2016, after many years out of the spotlight, in an interview with Dr. Phil on his same-name talk show, in which she opened up about her struggles with mental illness, exclaiming, “I am very sick. I need help.” The segment widely viewed as exploitative of Duvall quickly became a lightning rod, with everyone from Kubrick’s daughter Vivian to Mia Farrow and Patton Oswalt taking both the talk show host and his program to task. “McCABE & MRS. MILLER, THIEVES LIKE US, THE SHINING, 3 WOMEN, ROXANNE (et al),” wrote the latter actor and comedian on Twitter at the time. “Shelley Duvall deserves respect, not exploitation.”

It’s unclear whether Duvall is working with any representatives at this time.

WyldeMan wrote:Well Matthew Perry's a bit of a dick for someone who's only known for one tv series from 25 years ago.

Why take a shot at someone so far beyond his own status level like Keanu in a biography that very few people will ever have an interest in reading?

“Why is it that the original thinkers like River Phoenix and Heath Ledger die, but Keanu Reeves still walks among us?”

UltimateMarvel wrote:Did anyone dress up? There weren't a lot of kids out this year in my neighborhood.

Gary Cole ponders a Black Friday sales flyer, and not a dreaded TPS report, in a new TV commercial that has the NCIS star channeling his iconic Office Space alter ego.

In the cult hit film comedy from 1999, Cole famously played Bill Lumbergh, vice president at the Initech software company where Ron Livingston’s Peter Gibbons, David Herman’s (not that) Michael Bolton, Ajay Naidu’s Samir Nagheenanajar and other programmers thanklessly toiled. Jennifer Aniston, Stephen Root and Diedrich Bader also starred.

In the TV spot above, which touts a big box store’s Black Friday deals, both Cole and Naidu reprise their Office Space personae, though it’s a different Michael Bolton who pops up on the latter’s Zoom screen.

Almost a full season into his maiden NCIS run, Cole this past March made an on-camera reference to Office Space‘s infamous TPS reports, when his Special Agent Alden Parker bungled the acronym for NCIS’ own TBS (trans-bureau synopsis) reports; watch that scene below:

joey con carne wrote:I heard See How They Run was good. Will cheggitout if I can. Saoirse Ronan is pretty good in her roles.

Country music drama limited series George & Tammy, starring Oscar winner Jessica Chastain (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals), is headed to Showtime.

The series, from MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios, was caught in the fallout from Charter shutting down its Spectrum Originals unit. George & Tammy, a co-production between Spectrum Originals and Paramount Network, was among the orphaned series.

The series was to premiere on Spectrum as one of its original series and, after a nine-month exclusive run, get a second window on the Paramount Network and Paramount+.

The move to Showtime comes weeks after Chris McCarthy took oversight of the premium network following the exit of Showtime’s longtime chief David Nevins. Orchestrated by McCarthy, who also oversees MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Network, the decision signals a possible emphasis on shows with A-list talent at Showtime going forward.

For additional exposure, the premiere episode of George & Tammy will debut simultaneously on Showtime and on the Paramount Network behind Yellowstone commercial free on Sunday, Dec. 4, a strategy McCarthy’s team has used for Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount+ series. The remainder of the season will be available exclusively on Showtime, with new episodes available on streaming and on demand for Showtime as well as Paramount+ with Showtime bundle subscribers on Fridays, before making its on-air debut on Sundays. The series will also begin rolling out across additional Paramount+ markets outside the U.S. and Canada.

Created by Abe Sylvia (The Eyes of Tammy Faye) and directed by John Hillcoat (The Road), the six-part series stars Chastain as Tammy Wynette, the first lady of country music, while Shannon plays her husband George Jones. The series is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios, Freckle Films, Mad Chance, Brolin Productions, Aunt Sylvia’s Moving Picture Co. and Blank Films Inc.

“Jessica and Michael are truly extraordinary as Tammy and George and their searing performances and undeniable chemistry bring to life the legendary relationship of the King and Queen of country music,” said McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime and Paramount Media Networks. “The creators and the entire cast have delivered a series with the subtlety, nuance and complexity that are the hallmarks of the Showtime brand and what our viewers’ deserve and demand.”

Geoge & Tammy chronicles the country music power couple, Tammy Wynette and George Jones, whose complicated-but-enduring relationship inspired some of the most iconic music of all time. Remembered as the “First Lady of Country Music,” Wynette’s most successful song “Stand by Your Man” remains one of the best-selling country singles by a female artist. George Jones’ song “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” is considered one of the greatest country song of all time. With over 30 number-one country songs between them, including duets “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Golden Ring” and “Near You,” George and Tammy’s legacy, both musically and romantically, remains one of the greatest love stories ever told.

“We are exhilarated to finally bring this epic story about two of country’s most loved legends to a global audience with Showtime and Paramount Networks,” said Kelly Carmichael, President of Production & Development, Freckle Films. “This story has been a profound journey of love for Freckle Films and we are eager for audiences to experience the magic that this exemplary cast will bring into their homes.”

The ensemble cast also includes Steve Zahn, Kelly McCormack, Walton Goggins, Pat Healy, David Wilson Barnes and Katy Mixon.

“This has been Jessica, Abe & Andrew’s labor of love for 11 years and to see it all come together is pure joy,” said David Glasser, CEO of 101 Studios and Executive Producer. “Jessica and Michael bring all of the heart, love, tragedy and drama to this epic love story of George & Tammy. There is no better home for this than Showtime which is as passionate about this project as we are at 101 Studios.”

Sylvia serves as creator and executive producer along with executive producers Andrew Lazar, Josh Brolin, Chastain, Kelly Carmichael and Bryan Goluboff. David C. Glasser, David Hutkin and Bob Yari are executive producers from 101 Studios. John Hillcoat serves as director and executive producer. The series is based on the book, The Three of Us: Growing Up with Tammy and George, penned by the couple’s daughter, Georgette Jones.