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02 Aug 2011 16:37

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Culture: DreamWorks CEO speaks out about why movies suck

  • Let’s have a semi-realistic rat in a kitchen cooking shit to eat. No one in their right mind is going to say, ‘Well, that’s a good idea.’ It’s a bad idea, but it’s so beautiful in its execution and such a great piece of storytelling. And actually, I think it’s one of the great pieces of animation of our time.
  • Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation • In a really good speech about why movies today suck. Here he’s saying that “Ratatouille” was a bad idea that was executed perfectly, but most movies today are focused too much on marketability. That is, producers don’t care so much about the story, they only care about how much money they can make out of it. Katzenberg goes on to say that movies should get better, based on consumer response to the crap that’s come out lately.  source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jul 2011 20:07

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Culture: Reasons to beat your girlfriend: None. Next trending topic, please.

  • The next time someone tries to convince you that feminism is no longer necessary because women are totally equal with men, roll your eyes as hard as you can. And then point out that, even in this day and age, ‘ReasonsToBeatYourGirlfriend’ is something that people think is funny. It’s a trending topic on Twitter. Hooray for the whole, entire world!
  • Jezebel writer Erin Gloria Ryan • Offering a spot-on take for the most tasteless trending topic Twitter’s had in a long time. Hey Twitter, do you pay someone to edit your trending topics for potentially offensive topics, and if so, did they take a day off? Your algorithm does not have a way to detect taste. You guys have a big staff and a lot of money — show some responsibility for your product. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jul 2011 22:53

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Culture: Massachusetts politicians cut “It Gets Better” clip

  • If you thought this was the last time you’d get to see United States lawmakers in an “It Gets Better” video, think again! John Kerry, who was absent from the previous effort, has made up for it by posting an IGB clip of his own, where he appears alongside a bunch of other Massachusetts politicians to help comfort LGBT youth. The gang’s all here—and by “gang,” we mean “Massachusetts congressional delegation”—except for Scott Brown, who’s afraid of getting primaried from the right in his re-election campaign busy focusing on jobs and the economy. Regardless, it’s nice to see more lawmakers stepping up to the plate here.  source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2011 15:31

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Culture: Yao Ming officially retires from the NBA

  • China’s basketball pioneer says goodbye: Yao Ming, an athlete whose in-game performance (occasionally dominant as it was) paled in comparison to his international impact on the game of basketball, has officially retired from the NBA. He measures up at a staggering 7’6″, and weighs over 300 pounds, a size advantage that served as his prime asset on the court, but may well have spurred the leg injuries that now force his retirement at the young age of 30. His dedication to his country may not have helped, either — he logged a grueling workload keeping up with both his NBA career and his obligations back home, notably when he rushed back from a broken foot to play for host-nation China in the 2008 Olympics. He’ll be returning to his homeland to work with his team from his pre-NBA days, the Shanghai Sharks. (Photo courtesy Keith Allison) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Jul 2011 13:02

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Culture: Final “Harry Potter” flick makes more in day than we’ll see in our lifetimes

  • $92.1 million the size of the opening day take for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” on Friday
  • $43.5 million the amount of that take that came from midnight showings ALONE; both numbers are records source
  • » To put this in perspective: The previous opening-day record was set by 2009’s “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” which scored a comparatively modest $72 million first-day opening. Oh yeah, of the 137 movies Box Office Mojo ranks on this list, only seven were released in the ’90s — meaning nearly all of the other movies on the list were released in the past decade. The oldest movie in the top ten of the list is from 2006. By the way, the final film in the “Harry Potter” saga is within $70 million of topping the $158.4 million single-weekend record, set by “The Dark Knight” in 2008 — which means there’s a good chance that it will.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Jul 2011 13:34

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Culture: That was quick: Roger Clemens perjury case ends in mistrial

  • He’s entitled to a fair trial. He now cannot get it.
  • Judge Reggie B. Walton, judge in the Roger Clemens trial • Explaining why he’s declaring a mistrial in the case, which just started this week. Basically, the prosecution revealed a statement to the jury when they weren’t supposed to. He went on to angrily rebuke the government counsel responsible for the prosecution, saying that they should have been more careful because they can’t just get away with anything — and what they’ve already said can’t be erased from the jury’s minds. “A lot of government money has been used to reach this point. The government should have been more cautious,” he “I don’t see how I can un-ring the bell.” source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jul 2011 18:49

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Culture: Steelers linebacker James Harrison trashes NFL commissioner

  • If that man was on fire and I had to piss to put him out, I wouldn’t do it. I hate him and will never respect him.
  • James Harrison, linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers • As quoted in an article in Men’s Journal. This isn’t the only vitriol he directed at NFL Comissioner Roger Goodell — Harrison uses an anti-gay slur against him, calls him “the devil,” and accuses the NFL writ large of punishing Steelers players harshly because they are “predominantly black.” Nor do teammates escape criticism; he labels running back Rashard Mendenhall (who you may remember) a “fumble machine,” despite the fact that Mendenhall fumbled only twice last year. It’s clear that Harrison feels he’s been singled out for overly-strident league punishment, and whatever the league’s ultimate reaction to this is, it’s certainly going to validate those feelings. This is quite an implosion. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

12 Jul 2011 13:45

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Culture: RIP Sherwood Schwartz, creator of The Brady Bunch

  • Two of television’s most iconic shows came from this guy. Schwartz, who also created “Gilligan’s Island” and wrote for numerous other hit shows (and even did a couple of the theme songs for his shows), died early this morning at the age of 94. An Emmy winner for his vast contributions to television, he outlived most of the “Gilligan’s Island” cast. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Jul 2011 00:21

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Culture: Picasso drawing nabbed from gallery

  • HEIST! A 1965 Pablo Picasso drawing valued at over $200,000 was successfully stolen earlier today from a San Francisco art gallery. It was a sophisticated heist that included eleven individuals, a remote-controlled car, a decoy video feed and several impostor cops. Hah, just kidding, that was “Ocean’s Eleven.” This heist was much less glamorous; apparently, a guy just walked into the gallery, picked up the drawing, and walked out. Clever! The police say that they might recover the piece if someone spots the thief “walking around with it or trying to sell it.” In other words, they won’t recover the piece. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Jul 2011 17:58

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Culture: Daniel Radcliffe steps away from the bottle, sets an example

  • Harry Potter liked to party. At least until he deduced that alcohol wasn’t such a boon to his personality: “I became so reliant on alcohol to enjoy stuff… I’m actually enjoying the fact I can have a relationship with my girlfriend where I’m really pleasant and I’m not f–king up totally all the time.” In addition to doing away with his drinking habit, Radcliffe has his sights set on doing away with the “curse” of being a successful child star: “If I can make a career for myself after Potter… in the biggest film franchise of all time, no other child actor who comes after will ever have to answer those same bloody questions.” We applaud Radcliffe’s determination, but we’re skeptical if one Daniel Radcliffe could ever cancel out, say, one Kirk Cameron. (Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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