There are a lot of reasons to like Hamlet 2, and here are two: Catherine Keener and Steve Cogan, who, although you probably don’t remember his name, you know as the Exploded-by-Mine-Director in Tropic Thunder, and the little Roman dude in Night at the Museum.
The plot, in short: Cogan is a washed-up actor (he starred in assorted STD commercials) teaching drama at a high school in Tucson, AZ, where every year he puts on a musical based on a Hollywood blockbuster. When he finds out the drama budget is being cut, he’s inspired to work on his “masterpiece”: Hamlet 2, in which our hero, Hamlet, obtains a time machine and pals around with Jesus (they go to the 1950s where Jesus markets himself as “sexy” to reach out to teenyboppers, hence the name of the post, and the above YouTube clip) before going back to try to save everyone who died at the end of the first Hamlet.
Respectful yet irreverent, this is a damn funny movie. I wish there was more Catherine Keener, but I really couldn’t find anything at all to dislike about this film (okay, maybe Amy Poehler). You really can’t do much better than this for an hour and a half comedy.
I was — am — a huge fan of Star Trek, but I can appreciate the “Why are all the aliens bi-peds with weird foreheads?” level of criticism leveled at the show. It’s not exactly true, but it does tend to be the rule (not the exception).
Doug Drexler’s role with Star Trek began on The Next Generation where he was a makeup artist, and certainly responsible for at least one or two of those bumpy foreheads, but he went on to work as a graphics designer and CGI designer (the Enterprise design from Enterprise is his). Lately he’s probably best known for his work on the Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendars (this, by the way, is a really cool book if you like starships).
Anyway, so he’s started blogging, and I’ve been digging some of the photos he’s posted from his associations with Star Trek. I particularly love this one, and for those who don’t understand: a good segment of every TNG episode would be Picard & Co. sitting down at a table in a conference room with gorgeous bay windows offering a star-view. Along the opposite wood paneling were gold cutaways of the previous ships named Enterprise. Sometime between the 4th and 5th seasons, the set was redone and the gold ships were replaced by an attractive but lame repetitive set of metal bulwarks.
And now I know where they went! I’d always assumed Picard had them melted down for cash to get Gowron some cash: nope, he just gave them to a bunch of techies in the ship’s graphic design department!
And while it’s a couple of days late (well, for you, Drexler posted on-time), I really cracked up at his story of how makeup artists celebrate Christmas.
I’m looking forward to seeing what (gold?) nuggets are forthcoming from this blog.
One of the top names being floated for head of the Republican National Committee is Michael Steele, whom some will recognize as Maryland’s former Lieutenant Governor, former candidate for Paul Sarbane’s Senate seat, and, as it happens, an African-American.
Perception, especially in politics, is everything. What would it say about the Republican Party that a political organization so long associated with racism made as its head a black guy? Actions are, as they say, louder than words. Frankly, I’ve got more pressing problems with the Republicans then their past record with race — namely, their current pandering to the religious extreme, but I think it’d still be nice for Republicans to forever seal off that ugly past.
A candidate for the Republican National Committee chairmanship said Friday the CD he sent committee members for Christmas — which included a song titled “Barack the Magic Negro” — was clearly intended as a joke.
“I think most people recognize political satire when they see it,” Tennessee Republican Chip Saltsman told CNN. “I think RNC members understand that.”
The song, set to the tune of “Puff the Magic Dragon,” was first played on conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh’s radio show in 2007.
Its title was drawn from a Los Angeles Times column that suggested President-elect Barack Obama appealed to those who feel guilty about the nation’s history of mistreatment of African-Americans. Saltsman said the song, penned by his longtime friend Paul Shanklin, should be easily recognized as satire directed at the Times.
The CD sent to RNC members, first reported by The Hill on Friday, is titled “We Hate the USA” and also includes songs referencing former presidential candidate John Edwards and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, among other targets.
I think, if I were a top-ranking Republican (especially one supporting Saltsman), I’d call for Saltsman to apologize and to take himself out of the race. And I’d then immediately throw my support behind Michael Steele. This isn’t a time for namby-pamby wish-wash like “oh, it’s political satire!”: Saltsman just handed the Republican Party a golden opportunity to renounce racism within its ranks, and then stand behind that renouncement by appointing an African-American to national leadership.
Is Saltsman racist? I don’t know. But politics is always about perception, and I think most Americans remember how ugly some of those McCain/Palin rallies started to get, and I think most Americans remember rhetoric like this, and I think most Americans would like to see the “Good Old Party” become the “Good New Party” and wake up, smell the coffee, and join the 21st Century already. Maybe they’ve got to ruin Saltsman to do that — and it sucks for him — but it’s hard to imagine a politician in this day and age thinking anyone could find anything funny in any connotation of the word “negro.”
Even if they do, I promise I won’t be surprised to see Ted Danson scheduled for entertainment at the ceremony.
Editorial Update 12/27 3:36p:
Commenters on other blogs regarding this issue are claiming that a Democratic writer at the LA Times first used the term. Well, sort of. Here’s the article. I like how John put it in his comments on this post:
“The LA Times coined the term in an article that was a non biased observation piece. Taking that term and then connecting it to the playful tune of a child’s song is taking it into another context. Would you say a professor talking about the origins of the word ‘nigger’ and someone calling someone else a ‘nigger’ is the same thing? Of course not. This is no different.”
Last: yes, of course I’m about free speech. Walk down the song singing “Barack the Magic Negro” ifi you want, top of your lungs, I’ll shoot you a dirty look but I won’t staple your lips shut. But, yes, even free speech has consequences, and if that means you give people the reason to continue believing your political party is racist, that’s on you.
I’ll admit — and judge me as you will — that when I first read this link on CNN.com, I applauded. I mean, not literally, I’ve got my computer in my lap and my hands are a bit too busy typing to actually, physically, clap, but mentally? All there. Yay! And hooray!
Cialella told the family sitting in front of him in the theater on Christmas Day to be quiet, police said.
An argument ensued while others at the Riverview Movie Theatre watched “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Cialella then approached the family from the left side of the aisle and shot the father, who was not identified, as he was standing between Cialella and his family, according to the police report.
Let’s be honest — while there are a lot of people deserving of scorn and hatred, in terms of enjoying a cinematic experience, not many trump the Talker (Didn’t Turn Off Cell Phone is a close runner-up). Okay, maybe shooting him was extreme — I mean, the guy might’ve just been conversing with his son about where the bathroom was, and did he really need to go or could he hold it? — at least he didn’t kill the guy (although that might have more to do with the fact that he had a tiny little gun or couldn’t aim).
Finally: why are theaters open Christmas Day? Why is anything open Christmas Day? Greedy corporations. Send your employees home!
