A Little of the Old In and Out



(image via jamiehughesphotography)

In: Spike Lee. America somewhat eschewed Larry the Cable Guy's Lowest Common Denominator fare (Averted Gaze), opting, instead, in favor of Spike and Denzel and Jodie's more intelligent cinematical offerings. Still, strolling around Harlem this weekend (cig packs are $5, no questions asked), one wonders how much better Inside Man might have done if pirated DVD's -- out in full force on the streets, unfortunately -- had been more vigorously policed by the studio. Says BoxOfficeGuru:

"Moviegoers showed up in large numbers for Inside Man which generated the second largest opening of 2006 with an estimated $29M over the Friday-to-Sunday span. Universal launched the action thriller in 2,818 locations and averaged a stellar $10,280 per theater. Directed by Spike Lee, the R-rated film stars Washington as a New York detective who takes on a criminal mastermind (Clive Owen) who seizes control of a bank and all the people inside it. Jodie Foster plays a supporting role in the $45M film but was very prominent in the studio's marketing campaign.

"For Washington and Lee, Inside Man delivered new career highs beating the openings of 2004's Man on Fire ($22.8M) and 2000's The Original Kings of Comedy ($11.1M), respectively. The film marked the director's fourth collaboration with the actor and showed once again how much fans love seeing the two work together. Lee's only other number one opener ever was 1998's He Got Game and the top-grossing picture in the filmmaker's 20-year career remains 1992's Malcolm X ($48.2M). Both starred Denzel Washington. Lee has spent most of his career directing and producing smaller, and more personal films. Inside Man marks his first mainstream commercial movie and reviews from criitics were mostly positive.

"As expected, the opening weekend audience consisted of mature adults, skewed a bit more male, and included a strong multicultural turnout. According to studio research, 68% of the crowd was age 30 or older while 54% was male. Nearly one-third of the audience was African American or Latino. Long-term strength could be solid."

More here.



"... dead Hollywood shark-eyes" (image via slate)

Out: Michael Eisner. Granted, we do love to play Eisner shadenfreude. Eisey's dead Hollywood shark-eyes intrigue us to no end; his colossal impotence --think: "Camp" -- only compounds the already compound-Germanness of that overindulged Chattering Class contact sport. (The Corsair pours himself a glass of the black wine of Cahors, elixir of Popes) His Gehry-designed flamout is on like Gray Poupon!

Quixotically, Liz Smith, who has on occasion been at cross-purposes -- scroll down to "other highlights" -- with the former Mouse House head (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment), gives Old Sharkeyes some boldfaced love (?!), saying, in toto, "CHECK OUT the latest in talk TV to morrow night. 'Conversations with Michael Eisner' airs on CNBC, 9 p.m. The former Disney head chats smart with Sony's Howard Stringer, with tycoon Martha Stewart and with the little-known but highly influential Disney technologist Bran Ferren."

(A considerable pause) That's some fucking stellar line-up there. As they say in Tinseltown: You meet the same people on the way down as you do on the way up. How soon then before the eventual Eisner-Carrottop powow?



(image via amybrown)

In: Jodie Foster. Have you noticed how the cerebral Jodie Foster -- arguably the biggest, most proven actress in Hollywood right now -- has lightened up considerably? Sure, she's ferociously intelligent, with those intense, smart eyes. That we all know. But she, unlike other seriousl actors who have spent their entire life near the A-List, is not averse to lightening the mood. To wit, from the excellent David Hershkovits the Papermag Blog:

"Spike Lee's new movie The Inside Man starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster is getting Lee some of the best reviews he's ad since his debut She's Gotta Have It. The movie, a suspenseful bank robbery gone wrong wth a twist, has a great script with some snappy one-liners that help give the movie bite and make it more than just another heist movie. In one scene Washington calls Foster a magnificent cunt. According to reports I've heard, there was a spirited debate about taking the line out at the urging of the studio. Lee fought against it at first, but was eventually worn down and willing to acquiesce. The twist in this story is that it was Foster who fought to keep the line in. And she won. And she was right."

Yes, she was. Now, can someone book Jodie Foster on SNL already (And, while you're at it, break us off a nice writers position on the show, thank you)?



(image via simonsays)

Out: Sally Quinn. Gone are the days when hostess-with-the-mostess Sal Quinn ruled Georgetown Society. FishbowlDC today spanks the formerly powerful doyenne with a sweet little ditty of a post entitled, briskly, " Dear Sally: You Stink (Exaggerated cough suggesting feigned detachment)," with a little help from Tim Page of the Washington Post:

"The Post's Tim Page lays the smackdown on Sally Quinn for her letter to Laura Bush. From the Post's internal critique board:

"Sally Quinn's column was an embarrassment, charged with all the import and relevance of the latest installment of Classic Peanuts. I've rather enjoyed Quinn's occasional anthropological recountings of boozy nights in Olde Georgetown -- back when men were Men and smoked cigars while The Ladies nattered downstairs -- but when she takes it upon herself to be Consiglieri to the Stars (whether Gary Condit or Laura Bush) she comes across as nothing more than a Super Nanny -- from Pluto, or Phoenecia, or anyplace other than real-life Washington D.C., as it exists in the year 2006."



(image via ilgop)

In: Steve Friedman. If you are a journo looking after a tart -- but not too citric -- soundbite on "The State of the Morning News," one goes, without fail, to Steve Friedman. He's a do-right man on that subject. (The Corsair sparks a Cohiba Robusto) Not anymore, alas; candor evaporates with advancement. He's back among the corporate suits. We still love him, though. According to TVNewser:

"Steve Friedman made The Today Show #1 in the 80's. He engineered NBC's street-level studio in the 90's. He created The Early Show for CBS in 1999. And now he has been tapped to 'accelerate the growth' of his baby.

"The oft-quoted Friedman has been named vice president for morning broadcasts at CBS News, Sean McManus announced today. Friedman will oversee The Early Show, CBS Morning News, and Up To The Minute. He starts today. Here is Friedman's carefully-worded quote:'The greatest success for morning programs comes from strong producer-executive teams,' Friedman said. 'I'm looking forward to working with Michael and his staff at THE EARLY SHOW. They've nurtured the 'baby' we created in 1999; I'm looking forward to returning to the broadcast as it nears its seventh birthday.'"



Out: Rankling Russia (Or, Courting Belarus?). Why Rankle Russia? Why would the Pentagon pick this particular moment in time to humiliate Russia. The Russian soul is endlessly concerned with being respected as a military power, or, failing that, a Player on the International Stage. 2006, we cannot fail to note, began with a jarring episode of Russian unpredictability when -- just to show that they could -- Gazprom, at the behest of Moscow, reduced the volumes of gas it was sending through Ukraine.

Europe was briefly thrown into cognitive vertigo.

It was a politically immature maneuver, especially considering that Russia was, at the time, about to take over the reins as head of the "G8 (which it has done now)." Certainly, the United States has some leverage at present over Russia -- currently chairing said G8, and wanting, desperately, to be taken seriously by the West.

Are we using that leverage with Belorus and the Sadaam intelligence? Does this have anything to do with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Legev's failure to back the US Draft on Iran at the Security Council? And why release this little 'Rummy snowflake' -- Condi obviously knew, but seemed somewhat flustered on the Sunday talking head shows -- on the cusp of the Belarus crisis, obviously calculated to rasp Moscow, whose generals, coyly, have been leaning in the direction of a Russo-Chinese alliance. *The Corsair shudders* And as Nixon instinctively knew, it is in America's interest to keep China and Russia on opposite ends of The Arena (Triangulation).

Russia, of course, denies that they gave Sadaam Hussein classified information. This is probably naught else but simple shit, but why air this intel publicly?

If anything, the rising up of the people of Belarus should remind the Elites in France that it is the people who, ultimately, control their destiny.