January 11, 2004 - January 17, 2004 Archives
Going over the heads of the Democrats in Congress, President Uniter-not-a-Divider gives segregationist Judge Charles Pickering a recess appointment (which he can hold until January 2005, after the seating of the next Congress.) In case you missed it, Pickering's segregationist backstory was ably fleshed out by historian Sean Wilentz eight months ago.
Lots of fanboy speculation on the web today...The Fantastic Four is still looking for a director after losing Peyton ("Bring It On") Reed, and apparently the short list includes Steven Soderbergh and Sean Astin. According to this Astin Q&A, both could bring George Clooney to the table as Reed Richards, which is great casting. I like Naomi Watts as the Invisible Woman, but she's going to be busy with PJ's Kong, and I could see Soderbergh going for one of his regulars, like Mary McCormack. Orlando Bloom as The Human Torch also works, although it could just as easily be Paul Walker or some other pretty-boy. And The Thing...well, I'd expect he'd be CGI, but you'll need a Ben Grimm. Vin Diesel? Gary Sinise? I always thought the space-ship sequences in Brian DePalma's otherwise-terrible Mission to Mars would've made a great intro to FF, with Tim Robbins (Reed Richards), Connie Nielsen (Sue Richards), Jerry O'Connell (Johnny Storm), and Sinise (Ben Grimm). At any rate, if FF does go to Soderbergh, let's just hope he doesn't pull an Ang-Lee.
More news on the Hitchhiker's front: Apparently Warwick (Willow) Davis will be playing Marvin the Paranoid Android, and this Marvin prototype suit by Jim Henson's workshop leaks online. I really like this look for Marv, not that he really cares one way or another what a pea-brained humanoid like me finds appealing, mind you.
Just when you think it's over, Iowa gets crazy, with no less than four candidates -- Dean, Gephardt, Kerry, and Edwards -- all in a statistical dead heat. Hmmm. While I'm still hoping Dean can nip a protracted primary fight in the bud right here (particularly given the huge GOP bankroll), I'm also glad to see John Edwards entering the top tier of candidates. At any rate, it looks like it'll all come down to get-out-the-vote on the big day, which should help Dean, who's got the fervor, and Gephardt, who's got the unions and a sixteen-year-old organization.
In his most recent "History Lesson," Slate's David Greenberg explodes the conservative myth of JFK as the original supply-sider.
It's Friday, which as y'all know usually means a new batch of trailers. First up, we've got Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson mugging as Starsky & Hutch. Even with Snoop as Huggy Bear and that Will Ferrell cameo, I'd say the chances of me spending money on this are slim to none. Then, Kate Beckinsale continues her Underworld vamp streak in Hugh Jackman's Van Helsing, a.k.a Raiders of the Lost Coffin. Jackman's no Peter Cushing, but this one actually looks like goofy summer B-movie fun to me, even if some of the CGI FX here are suspect.
From fighting the undead to praising the risen-again, the new trailer for Mel's Passion (referred to by the ever-emphatic Harry Knowles as a "dead language gore film about one of the greatest stories ever told") is now online. Looks like they've decided to go the subtitle route.
It's a bad day for Spidey in this collection of new images from EW's 2004 preview, which includes shots from The Aviator, Michael Mann's Collateral, and a ridiculous-looking Halle Berry as Catwoman, the film currently competing with The Punisher to finish what The Hulk started and end the recent comic-book-movie streak in flames.
Carol Moseley Braun calls it quits, and will be endorsing Dean later today. That was very nice of her to do so before Iowa, and thus give the Doctor the benefit of a friendly press cycle before the first big contest. And, what with Jimmy Carter taking up a day too, that'll make it even harder for the other candidates to gain traction in the media in the last four days. So...who's next? Kucinich, I suspect...although it'd be nice if Lieberman saw the writing on the wall.
In a bizarre conflation of sinister intergalactic bureaucrats, Wayne Pygram, a.k.a. Farscape's Scorpius, is cast as Grand Moff Tarkin (well, more than likely) in Episode III. There's also some goofy rumor going around that Peter "Chewbacca" Mayhew has been signed for four SW films. Sheah. Update: On a semi-related Star Wars note, check out this tricked-up "H-Wing" Civic del Sol (More here.)...now here's a guy who'd be into a third SW trilogy.
Building on the recent revelation by Bush Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill that the administration started planning a war in Iraq immediately upon taking office -- a revelation that dovetailed all-too-well with the recent Carnegie Endowment report on the administration's WMD deceptions -- Senator Ted Kennedy puts the war in perspective. "President Bush said it all when a television reporter asked him whether Saddam actually had weapons of mass destruction, or whether there was only the possibility that he might acquire them. President Bush answered, 'So what's the difference?' The difference, Mr. President, is whether you go to war or not. No President of the United States should employ misguided ideology and distortion of the truth to take the nation to war. In doing so, the President broke the basic bond of trust between government and the people. If Congress and the American people knew the whole truth, America would never have gone to war." Quite a good speech and worth a read, if nothing else than because no less a right-wing freak show than Tom De Lay found it "sad" and "disgusting."
In related news, Rick Perlstein examines Dubya's electoral exit strategy: "George Bush is selling out Iraq. Gone are his hard-liners' dreams of setting up a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic republic, a light unto the Middle Eastern nations. The decision makers in the administration now realize these goals are unreachable. So they've set a new goal: to end the occupation by July 1, whether that occupation has accomplished anything valuable and lasting or not. Just declare victory and go home...Such is the mess this president seems willing to leave behind in order to save his campaign."
"I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon," once quipped Jerry Pournelle. "I never dreamed
that I would see the last." Hopefully, we can now prove him wrong. Dubya officially announced his space plan in front of NASA's DC headquarters today, and the upshot is this: More scientists, less entertainers, a Research Lab in every city, and he's going to disband all the Spearmen and Pikemen still lying around so he can build the SS Planetary Party Lounge.
Ok, just joking...some of y'all out there might think that was funny. At any rate, the plan is the ISS by 2007, the CEV by 2014, the moon by 2015, and Mars thereafter. Say what you will about election year boondoggles, but I still think creating and funding long-term goals for NASA is a wise investment. (Besides, if you want to cry election-year boondoogle, you don't need to go any farther than Dubya's ridiculous $1.5 billion marriage-promotion plan.) NASA still has serious organizational and cultural flaws, sure, but I think it'll be better able to address them if there's at least some semblance of a "vision thing" to build on.
MoveOn.org chooses the winners of the "Bush in 30 Seconds" contest, and the top vote-getter is a surprisingly subdued piece on the effects of the deficit. (My friend Seth, who's commandeered Ad Report Card over at Slate, posted his take here.) Good choice, I'd say, although I do like the Animated Ad as well.
The editors of the New Republic agonize over the magazine's recent endorsement of Joe Lieberman. I'm glad to see my preferred writers over there are leading the charge against this dumb, dumb call.
Despite word from the NY Daily News this morning that the Czar might be coming to town, Knicks GM Isiah Thomas kicked Coach Don Chaney to the curb and instead hired Lenny Wilkens in his place. Well, if we're going to switch horses in midstream, I much prefer Wilkens to Fratello. As for Chaney, it just so happens that I was at the Mavs game where he was so mercilessly booed. And, while I didn't join in, I was definitely wondering why nobody was fouling Michael Finley for eleven long seconds in the crucial overtime. In sum, Chaney's way out the door was handled classlessly, but it was also probably well overdue.
Speaking of Ms. Knightley, it's come to my attention that I've been remiss in not blogging the trailer for King Arthur, which happened on the web during the very busy holidays. Hmm...even with the big production values, it's still kinda got that Very Special Presentation of the History Channel feel to it. (Stellan Skarsgard's bad hair day doesn't help.) I fear they've screwed this up...they should've gone the Magical Merlin & Morgan Le Fey route, Lady of the Lake and all. The world is currently enraptured with Lord of the Rings, and Bruckheimer & Fuqua seem to be still thinking Gladiator. Clive Owen's got charisma to spare, though...he may be just what the Bond franchise needs.
The forthcoming Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy film gets its Arthur Dent, and it's apparently this fellow: Martin Freeman, of Love Actually and The Office, neither of which I've seen. Well, he looks like an ordinary bloke, which is half the battle. (The other half is straight-man timing.) Apparently, Bill Nighy (also of Love Actually, but I only know him as the Big Bad in the very lame Underworld) is playing Slartibartfast, and I also think that's pretty good casting. Now for Ford Prefect...Steve Coogan? Keira Knightley as Trillian? Andy Serkis as Zaphod Beeblebrox's second head?
Max of Lots of Co. points the way to these pics (and review) of the His Dark Materials play. Hmm. I must say the daemons look a bit...strange. Of course the real trick is how they move.
Looking to bring on that slightly queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach? The Washington Post profiles conservative ideologue Grover Norquist as he and Pinky plan worldwide GOP domination once again.
