Movie patrons will have a new option at their local cineplex tonight. They can line up for “Kung Fu Panda,” “Iron Man” … or check out Glenn Beck’s live one-man show beamed into their movie house.
“Beck ‘08 - Live” is being simulcast on more than 320 screens across the nation for one night only. It’s a rare chance to hear right of center view points at the theater. But is Beck blazing a trail for other conservative talkers, or even filmmakers, to follow, or is this just a one-time only event sparked by Beck’s fan base?
I asked those questions to a few folks for my new Washington Times story in today’s edition. The answers I got surprised me. See what you think.
(Photo: Syndicated talk radio titan Glenn Beck is coming to a theater near you for one night only)
Casting decisions often make or break a movie.
But so, too, do the decisions about who works behind the camera.
Director Joe Dante (”Gremlins”) was on the short list to direct the 1989 “Batman” movie but didn’t connect with the material. So Tim Burton stepped in, and the Batman franchise was reborn — until George Clooney put on the black rubber cowl.
Check out this interview with Dante about his near-participation in the project over at Movie Moron.
(Photo: Actor John Lithgow could have been the Joker who gave Bruce Wayne fits in the 1989 “Batman”)
Hollywood remains obsessed with the blacklist era. It’s a no-brainer as to why.
Writers, directors and stars who didn’t publicly denounce the Communist party - or name those who embraced it - risked jail time at the worst, and career suicide at best. We’re a nation that allows horrible entities like the KKK to exist, but during the Cold War Communist sympathizers in Hollywood weren’t allowed to practice their form of politics. So anyone in favor of truly free speech would be aghast at how the nation acted during that time.
Creative types are all about free speech, right? Right?
Some argue there’s an unofficial blacklist going on now regarding conservatives in Hollywood. But it’s not as defined as what Communist sympathizers faced in the ’40s and ’50s. [click to continue...]
I don’t go to the movies very often these days.
Let me amend that. I usually catch the latest films via press screenings, and I sit in rows designated for critics. In my perk-less life, it’s a great treat.
So it shocked me to get this field report from a friend regarding his trip to see “The Incredible Hulk” -
Allow me to set the scene: a 9:20 pm showing at a west-side multiplex (in Chicago). I knew that trouble was brewing when the third stroller rolled in. A packed house with a good 20 tots under five. We were treated to a surround sound of commentors and baby moans and wails.
Is this the common movie-going experience now, or just a bad trip to a major metropolitan theater? What’s the solution when the movie house is rockin’ and you wish the invisible usher was knockin ‘?
At my screening of “The Dark Knight” last night, one couple brought their baby along to see the Caped Crusader. Amazingly, the tyke only cried a little, although the family did leave long before the final credits.
I always feel a bit silly complaining about movie theater etiquette when war is raging, gas prices are climbing and we can’t even eat a lousy tomato. But I really think this is a small sign of societal decay. And reason enough to pony up for a flat screen TV.
UPDATE: CNN’s blogger chimes in (hat tip: Sonny Bunch) and the comments section is enough to make you never want to go to the theater again…
Power outage struck down my site (or rather the server my site is hosted on) for a few hours - all is well again.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Movie patrons will have a new option at their local cineplex tonight. They can line up for “Kung Fu Panda,” “Iron Man” … or check out Glenn Beck’s live one-man show beamed into their movie house.
