What's playing at the Bijou?

Bijou Phillips, that is, actress in mostly-bad films that she dresses up by revealing her undressed body, model, daughter of John Phillips (the resident composer and guitarist in The Mamas & The Papas), and once-and-future aspiring pop singer.

According to some people I could mention, this blog is exactly the same as The Daily Kos

Echidne swipes back at Ellen Goodman, a columnist at whom I've looked askance ever since I heard her insane appearance on the Alex Bennett morning radio show in San Francisco. On that occasion many years ago, she made clear her ignorance of technology (and dig it, if I say you're ignorant of technology, you're really ignorant of technology.)

Sadly, it would seem that in the years betwixt and between, she has still not learned that it is considered best to actually have some goddamn information on a topic before you begin judging it.

She apparently can't tell the difference between bloggers like Kos and Debbie Schlussel, or indeed, from a hole in the ground and her...

Lo, the irony

"Casablanca" has been named the greatest movie script of all time by the Writers Guild of America. What's ironic is that if you know about the making of the movie, you know that the writers were literally making it up as they went along, during filming.

If memory serves they didn't even have the ending until the night before it was to be shot-and possibly not even until that morning(!)

It was the kind of filmmaking, in other words, that many writers (including myself) decry. We look at all the sequels and formula romatic comedies that are moved into production without finished or adequate scripts to be "fixed on the fly." And we say, "Why can't they take the time to get the script right first? The movies would be so much better then."

And then, "Casablanca," a movie that moved into production without a finished or adequate script, is named the best screenplay of all time. By writers, yet. It's times like this I wish I drank more.

"Tootsie," number 17 on the list, is an example of the writer gang-bang class of screenwriting, according to one of the credited writers, my hero Larry Gelbart. Same for "Jaws" (#63)

For the record here's the full list. My favorite film in the top 10 is "Some Like It Hot," by Wilder and Diamond. And I still think "Pulp Fiction" is way, way overrated. Kinda glad to see Ramis & Rubin's "Groundhog Day" get in there-that's a movie that really holds up. My man James L. Brooks gets in with "Broadcast News."

Then again, any list of supposedly great screenplays that includes "Star Wars" is not a list I can take wholly lying down.

My Chicks

Oh, and the Dalai Lama is anti-gay

From the Telegraph:

Although he is known for his tolerant, humane views, he is a surprisingly harsh critic of homosexuality. If you are a Buddhist, he says, it is wrong. "Full stop.

No way round it.

"A gay couple came to see me, seeking my support and blessing. I had to explain our teachings. Another lady introduced another woman as her wife - astonishing. It is the same with a husband and wife using certain sexual practices. Using the other two holes is wrong."

At this point, he looks across at his interpreter - who seems mainly redundant - to check that he has been using the right English words to discuss this delicate matter. The interpreter gives a barely perceptible nod.

"A Western friend asked me what harm could there be between consenting adults having oral sex, if they enjoyed it," the Dalai Lama continues, warming to his theme. "But the purpose of sex is reproduction, according to Buddhism. The other holes don't create life. I don't mind - but I can't condone this way of life."

I'd just like to take this moment to formally thank Tom Delay

Seriously. Any of us who spend any time in a day making fun of Republicans, from pissants like myself to pros like Jon Stewart & his colleagues or Garry Trudeau, owe Tom Delay a sincere debt of gratitude.

What with the indictment, the coming perp walk, and the hypocritical crocodile tears of partisanship, his troubles have been a positive boon.

But, I know what you're saying.

You're saying, if only there was some evidence that he'd actually gone so far as to whore out his own daughter as a tub toy for lobbyists.

Well, guess what.

There is such evidence.

My mother taught me the proper thing to do in situations like this...

So, Mr. Delay, should you be looking in, thank you so much for the inspirations for my little blog. I hope it will be a comfort to you in prison that you did, at least, do some good.

Sincerely,

Ben

Another reason to feel good about John McCain

Here he is aligning himself with Janet LaRue, chief counsel for Concerned Women for America, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

These are both conservative, "faith-based" groups. You may remember the CWFA, they're the ones who promote name-calling in school, warned parents against allowing their children to watch Buffy and think Barbie leads to lesbianism. They were among those who called for a boycott of a doll company because it was partnered with a non-profit corporation that promotes high self-esteem among girls, even if they be lesbian or bisexual. And they're the ones who even found something to object to on the coffee cups at Starbucks.

As for the group led by Tony "I'm named after a closeted gay actor who was best known for playing a psychopath" Perkins, among other friendly things, the Family Research council has a connection to the Ku Klux Klan.

Exactly the sort of people it makes one feel good to see John McCain sucking up to.

Source: AmericaBlog

This looks like a really uncomfortable position in which to stand

It's Emmy Rossum, by the way, a singer/actress about whom I know little save that at times she is quite beautiful.



Source

There was nothing for the Scarlet Pumpernickel to do...but blow his brains out. Which, he did.

Via TPM:

From this morning's Hill e-newsletter: "DeLay said Thursday that announcing his resignation has been liberating. Quoting Martin Luther King. Jr., DeLay said, 'Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I'm free at last.'"

Chick Lit Defined (maybe)

Echidine has found an article or two from the Guardian in the UK that purport to shore up both sides in the war between the sexes. They come from two surveys on novels that men say have "changed their lives" vs. the ones women do.

The novel that means most to men is about indifference, alienation and lack of emotional responses. That which means most to women is about deeply held feelings, a struggle to overcome circumstances and passion, research by the University of London has found.

Maybe I am writing chick lit after all...

"On the whole, men between the ages of 20 and 50 do not read fiction. This should have some impact on the book trade. There was a moment when car manufacturers realised that it was women who bought the family car, and the whole industry changed. We need fiction publishers - many of whom are women - to go through the same kind of recognition," Prof Jardine said.

It's true, actually, I don't read much and I'm right in the middle of that age group. I read all the time, but it's mostly nonfiction, apart from a few mystery series to which I'm addicted. Echidone finds fault with the studies, and not without reason:

So let me summarize: Two studies are done with different sized groups of respondents, neither selected properly. The two studies have different questions for the subject to answer, and result in two different lists of books. Conclusion: men and women are different breeds of people! Perhaps. But it's much more likely that these are not well-done studies and that we can't draw many conclusions from them.

As an aside, I have read all the books on the men's list and also all the books on the women's list. None of those changed my life much. What did change my life was Agatha Christie's The Murder on the Orient Express. I was around eight years old when I read it and it blew my brain. To think that they were all guilty!

She's probably right. For the record, I've read more of the men's list than the women's, the men's list is also longer than the women's (we're obsessed by length).

Mystery date

Go to Wikipedia and look up your birth day (excluding the year).
List three neat facts, two births and one death in your blog or journal, including the year.

( September 1 )

Neat facts:

1972 - In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky and becomes the world chess champion.

Almost 15 years later, Benny Andersson, Tim Rice and Bjorn Ulvaeus' Chess becomes one of my favorite show scores. Coincidence?

Russia - Knowledge Day

But you knew that.

In the Harry Potter books September 1, the day on which the Hogwarts Express departs from Platform 9¾, always falls on a Sunday; this means that the first day of lessons is always a Monday.

"Everyday is like Sunday, Everyday is silent and grey."
morrissey

Births:

1939 - Lily Tomlin, American actress, comedienne
1946 - Barry Gibb,English singer (Bee Gees)

Death:

1969 - Drew Pearson, American newspaper columnist (b. 1897)

You're not helping your case

I am currently reading a book called/about Paul Verhoeven, the director of the original, hit Basic Instinct (specifically, this book). It's pretty good, but it's in the mode of being a book for fans, by a fan-criticism goes by the wayside in favor of slavish devotion.

Interesting quote from the director, who reportedly has long wanted to do a serious film about the life of Jesus:

'The most historically correct image of Jesus and his time is to be found in The Life of Brian, the comedy by the Monty Python team.'

But here's where the book's author, Rob van Scheers, doesn't help his case. In the chapter on Basic Instinct, he's trying to draw a parallel with North By Northwest. He does this by reprinting a page or so of the dialogue from each.

Let me make myself clear: He gives us a chance to make a direct comparision between Ernest Lehman's dialogue and that of Joe Eszterhas. This is not a good move. Lehman's dialogue is sheer pleasure and Eszterhas' puts one in need of a shower.

Not that Lehman is credited, of course, which brings me to my next point. In the same chapter, Verhoeven boasts of how he childishly tried to make the date-rape scene in the movie as offensive as he could. As a kind of "I'll show you!" to the demonstrators the film had attracted.

He then praises Michael Douglas' "bravery" in playing it so explicitly. Not a word, however (in the whole book) about Jeanne Tripplehorn, who only had to play the victim of the date-rape; therefore showed no courage, and deserves no admiration.

My, my. All this good, interesting material-and I haven't even gotten to the chapter on Showgirls yet...

Tim Rice knew it all along

Gospel of Judas revealed at last
1,700 year old Gnostic text says Judas' 'betrayal' was at Christ's request.

Oh yes, about the Scooter Libby leak case...

Looks like Mr. Libby's attorney's had a similar sit-down discussion with him to the one Mr. Delay's had. In this one, they said "Hey, you have two choices. You can remain loyal to an administration that everybody in the world hates and go to prison for most of the rest of your life. Or you can sing."

And Mr. Libby said, "Gimme a C chord! La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la!"

Turns out, the people who authorized the leaks were (prepare yourself for a shock)...Dick Cheney. And George W. Bush.

Who could have seen it coming, who? I mean, what were the fucking odds?

Thank you, thank you, thank you and thank...YOU!

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Yet more words to live by

From Douglas Adams, as quoted in Don't Panic by Neil Gaiman.

"I often wonder how I'd react to [Hitchhiker's] if I wasn't me, but I was still me, so to speak, and how much I'd like it, and how much I'd be a fan or whatever. The way I would perceive it in among everything else. Obviously I can't answer that question, I have no idea, because I'm the one person who can't look at it from outside."

From J.D. Salinger, as quoted by Gary Ross, in Why We Write: Personal Statements And Photographic Portraits Of 25 Top Screenwriters, edited and photographed by Lorian Tamara Elbert.

In Seymour: An Introduction, J.D. Salinger gives great advice about writing. He says that writing is easy. You just pick the book you want to read more than any in the world, and you write it for yourself.

Oh, God...

This is simply not a good week for television shows I like, except for "Gilmore Girls" and "24". First I find out, as noted below, that Showtime's admirable promotional push for Huff, its word of mouth, critical acclaim and the Emmys it won translated to no new viewers-in fact a lot less.

Then tonight's "Veronica Mars", after two or three episodes that seemed to be pulling out of the steep dive into irrelvance the series had fallen into in previous weeks, fell right back into it.

Then I come across this little gem of information:

After getting a lesson in improvisation at the legendary comedy workshop The Groundlings, the models are challenged to successfully deliver a mostly-improvised CoverGirl commercial, and one lucky girl, whose improv skills are superior, wins a guest starring role on "Veronica Mars," on AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL

Ah, but there's good news tonight. On that same web page, you'll find a banner ad for "The First Annual Reality TV Convention." And in what state is this waste of time being held?

Come on people, say it with me...

Sigh...

USA Today via Yahoo! News...

Despite a free-preview weekend, the second-season premiere of Showtime's Huff averaged a low 372,000 viewers Sunday, down from 456,000 for the 2004 series opener.

I suppose I shouldn't be surprised; the fact that I like 24 and it's actually a top 20 show is the surprise.

Trippy

Space...the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship...Christopher Walken...

Source: Mighty Optical Illusions

Oh! And...

Via the talking dog:

Deputy press secretary for...Homeland Security Brian Doyle was indicted in Polk County, Florida and awaits extradition on charges that he attempted to seduce what he believed to be a 14-year old girl over the internet.

...as far as I recall, the one thing you could say about the crop of Bushies and their Republican allies, in contrast to Clinton, was that it was never about sex. (Don't ask me why that ever made a difference; the irritating combination of prurience and prudishness endemic in this country is a wonder to the rest of the world... and not in a good way.)

Well, guess what? This one is about sex. And the grossest kind of sex: icky sexual advances toward what Mr. Doyle believed to be a 14-year old girl (he is 55). I guess the Bush Administration will write him off as an isolated incident and a very minor player in the great scheme of things.