A Little Of The Old In And Out



In: Judge Sonya Sotomayor. It is indeed a glorious moment to have a Nuyorican on the court, a browning the bench, bringing a more just representation of women into the Judiciary branch of American government. It is shameful that although women are the majority of Americans, it was the conventional wisdom that the gentler sex should only have one or, at best, two seats on the court.

But it is most glorious that President Obama stressed in his introduction of Sotomayor her experience: more than any other Supreme Court justrice when they were appointed to the bench. Her bipartisan mentors and patrons over the years include the legendary Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau, the late, great Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and Bush, 41.



Out: The Terminator Franchise. Last week Fox canceled the struggling “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,” and this Memorial Day weekend, the film did not-that-great numbers. And the shithead action-figure Governator aint doing so hot himself. The Terminator, in fine, is jinxy. From The Observer:

"Perhaps all that talk of a new Terminator trilogy should be put on the backburner for now. While Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian was the big winner this Memorial Day weekend, grossing $70 million over the four-day holiday to pace the field, the real box office story is the tepid response to Terminator Salvation. The Christian Bale-headed franchise reboot finished a disappointing second, with 'only' $53.8 million for the weekend and just $67.1 million since opening last Thursday, grosses which were not only below expectations, but portend financial troubles to come."

Unless the film does a turnaround (films other than romantic comedies almost never increase box office in follow-up weeks), gag this franchise with a fork, it is done.



(image via dailymail)

In: Will Smith. The era of African-Americans unable to capture worldwide box office are about as over as the myth that African-Americans are unable to get elected to statewide office that masqueraded as conventional wisdom in the 90s. Will Smith topped The Ullmer Scale of studio high-budget movie stars; he was the biggest money-making star of 2008 and is on his way to topping 2009 as well. Only two actors - Will Smith and Johnny Depp - managed to top The Ulmer Scale's A+ list, scoring, respectively, 96 and 95 points out of a possible 100 in studio bankability. Smith also announced last week that he will be tackling Hurricane Katrina next. From Variety:

"Sony Pictures Entertainment and Will Smith's Overbrook Entertainment are set to dive into the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

"Studio and shingle have obtained bigscreen life rights to John Keller, an ex-Marine who orchestrated the rescue of 244 of his New Orleans neighbors after their building, the American Can Co., was flooded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina."

Tom Hanks, by way of contrast, scored an 87 out of 100.