Danielle Harris for FHM 100 Sexiest Women - stars in Hatchet 2, The Victim

Danielle Harris and Jennifer Blanc

Last week during my Comic Con-related limo ride with the cast and crew of the Dark Sky Films horror movie Hatchet 2, I told star Danielle Harris (who's also in Rob Zombie's Halloween and H2) that she should be on the FHM Magazine's "FHM 100 Sexiest Women" list.

As in the video, she says, "How to we make that happen." Well, aside from Danielle Harris hiring Hatchet 2 publicist Daniela Sapkar, here's the first shot at it. IF FHM Magazine's at all Internet savvy, they'll see this and check out her website, and the rest is a matter of time.

Generally, FHM Magazine has a voting process, but even if one were held, Harris would make the list.

Catch Danielle Harris in Hatchet 2 in October, The Victim, in production, and in my cool limo ride video series, like the one above.

President Obama on The View: its OK to be black (and mongrel)

U.S. President Barack Obama made an historic first today, appearing on ABC's The View talk show this morning. President Obama was his usual smooth self as he addressed the question of the razor-voiced Joy Behar, the raspy-voiced Barbara Walters and Whoopi Goldberg, the sugary-voiced Sherri Shepherd, and the Valley-girl-voiced Elisabeth Hasselbeck. (Nudge-wink to Elisabeth Hasselbeck, who, while troublingly conservative, is also totally, freaking, hot.)

It's OK To Be Black and Mongrel In America

Obama talked about everything from Snookie and Mel Gibson to the wars, to his daughters and Michelle Obama. More on that later, but what got this space's attention was Whoopi Goldberg's question asking Obama "where are we" as black people, and "who are we?"

Obama said he dealt with those issues of identity when he was a teenager and "wrote a book about it," finally saying that if people saw him as black that was just fine. He also said, correctly, that we were a mongrel demographic, and he's right. Blacks are. So what?

But, for this blogger, that conversation came on the heels of a series of emails and tweets sent by people who were black (or claimed to be as with the Internet, you never know who a person really is), and on my take on Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.

To cut to the chase, I said the Cincinnati Bengals receivers were getting racist media coverage, and I stand by that. The claim of some of the readers was for "how I made black people look." Look to whom? Whites? Asians? That statement has always bothered me. This idea that blacks have to live for someone else view of who they are.

I remember when I was, oh, nine years old. This friend of my uncles said "I'm gonna buy a new Cadillac every year, just like white people do. That was 1971. I asked him why it was important to do something because someone white did it; he didn't have a good answer for me.

Unfortunately, there are some African Americans who, regardless of age, are mentally trapped with the same ideas today. Some of them contact me angrily expressing how they think "we look" as blacks.

I really don't care. What's more important to me is how others look to me. Not the other way around. And the key to black self-esteem and success in the World is to get over what someone else thinks about you.

Take a page from President Obama and feel good about yourself.

Journalism 101: Interview DOs & DONTs by: Nikky Raney

Lorenzen Wright Found Dead by: Nikky Raney

Former NBA player Lorenzen Wright was found dead behind an apartment complex in Memphis, Tennessee; he had been missing since July 18.

Wright was 34-years-old and played for the NBA for 13 years on Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers. His death is still undergoing police investigation.

As of right now there is much speculation whether or not this was a homicide.

Deepest condolences go out to his family and friends.

(Photo Courtesy of CBS)

C-17 Globemaster Elmendorf AFB Alaska crash update

The C-17 that crashed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska, is now the focus of a U.S. Air Force investigation.

The Boeing military cargo plane, one of 199 in operation around the World, according to FlightGlobal.com, crashed yesterday at 6:14 PM local time.

The C-17 was making a rehearsing flight plan as part of an air show called The Arctic Thunder Air Show, but what went wrong to cause the giant plane to crash, causing a plume of smoke seen for two miles and as high as 750 feet in the air, is not known. Hence the investigation.

C-17 Globemaster crashes in Alaska

Whatever's going on in Anchorage, it played host to its third aircraft incident in just this one summer. A C-17 Globemaster military cargo plane crashed at Elmendorf Air Force Base with four people on board Wednesday. Air Force spokesperson Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins said that it was likely no one survived.

No one knows why the C-17 crashed, but the result created a plume of smoke 750 feet high, and seen for two miles in any direction. According to FOX News, this has been a rough year for air travel in Anchorage:

The crash is the third airplane incident in Anchorage this summer. In June, one child was killed and four others burned when a small plane crashed after taking off from the city's small-airplane airport in downtown Anchorage.

The C-17 Globemaster is the result of a competition between Boeing and McDonnell Douglas almost 30 years ago. The Boeing version lost to the Mc Donnell Douglas entry, even though it had a more innovative thrust system. (Now, McDonnell Douglas is Boeing.) The C-17 has a more conventional thrust system; here it is, and the plane, in action:



Stay tuned for more on this.

SB 1070: Arizona's illegal immigrant law so psychotic it was blocked

When Arizona Governor Janet Brewer signed the obviously racist (and there's that word again) illegal immigrant law formally called SB 1070 into law, it was called "psychotic" in this space.

Obviously U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton agrees because she blocked the key provisions of SB 1070 that made it an open door to allow racist, yet legal, stops of ordinary Arizona citizens who might look like they were illegal immigrants to the police officer. In other words, if you're blonde, and especially female, you not likely to be a target.

Judge Bolton prevented Arizona law officers from making warrantless arrests of suspected illegal immigrants for crimes that could cause deportation. Bolton also issued a preliminary injunction that delayed provisions that required immigrants to carry their papers and banned illegal immigrants from seeking employment in public places.

This is a huge development, worthly of several blog posts.

Stay tuned.

New Thor Teaser Trailer from Comic Con 2010 has Thor's hammer, Mjölnir

Thor Mania continues. Marvel Comics and SEGA joined together to announce the creation of the video game for the Thor movie, set to be released Summer 2011 at Comic Con 2010. (For those of you who don't know who Thor is, Thor's a Marvel Comics comic book character first introduced in August 1962, the month and year I was born - August 4th, 1962).

Now, today, they've sent the first Thor Teaser Trailer for the game. And while its for the video game, none of its content should be taken for granted, because we see Thor's legendary hammer Mjölnir for the first time.

Moreover, we see the main title design that will be used for the promotions, and for the movie itself. And as Thor's standing before what appears to be an alien terrain, we also get some idea of just where the Thor movie may take us.

That's stated because the video game story line was made especially for it. SEGA reports that "action adventure boasts an original storyline exclusive to the videogame, for which Matt Fraction, lead Thor comic book author, served as story consultant."

Thor The Video Game will be released Summer 2011 by SEGA and for use on the Xbox 360, PlayStation3, PSP system, Wii and Nintendo DS platforms.

Terrell Owens with Chad Ochocinco at Bengals brings racist media coverage

After a five-team race, Terrell Owens, the six-time Pro Bowl selection, becomes a Cincinnati Bengals player. In joining the Bengals, he's paired with his good friend Chad Ochocinco, making what has to be the most dangerous wide receiving tandem in the NFL. OK, so why the institutionally racist media coverage?

(As a side example, the Hollywoodgossip.com photo has a nasty note on it they installed.  The photo shows Paris Hilton with Owens and other black men. So, the Hollywoodgossip.com blog feels compelled to call her names because she's with black men.  Had they been white men, that message would not have been there.  Instead, we would have got some article about who her next boyfriend was.  Racist?  Yes.)

Terrell Owens with Chad Ochocinco should bring conversations about how the Bengals can scheme to get the most out of each receiver. One really interesting pattern combination is to have both in a slot formation, with Owens to the post from the outside, while Ochocinco takes the corner. Another effective combination is the hitch - corner system popularized by Joe Tiller at Purdue, where we have Owens run the hitch, and Ochocinco the corner route.

Instead of scheme talk, we have talk about the two "entertainers" getting together. Or ESPN's John Clayton wondering if they can share the spotlight.

And the ESPN stupidity continued when Chad was interviewed by ESPN after the news that Owens would join the Bengals. The ESPN anchor asked Chad a question that made this blogger wonder why ESPN hired him: "How well do you know him?"

Any follower of sports knows that Chad and T.O. are friends and have been for a long time, but this ESPN guy had to push the idea that they diddn't know each other, even as Chad explained they were friends for 10 years.

It's the insistence on playing up the "circus" and Chad and T.O. as (without saying it) outspoken and flamboyant black men that really makes me pound my first on the desk. Code words like "entertainer" or "reality show" or "circus" or "trouble" or "flamboyant" pepper ESPN blog posts and television coverage.

It's to the point, where I'm sick of ESPN's low-brow, racist approach. ESPN and the media don't refer to outspoken white players that way. Take the Minnesota Vikings Defensive End Jared Allen. He of the crowd-pleasing sacks who loves the mic as much as Owens and Ochocinco. But you never see the same code words applied to him.

The subtle message all week long is if you're a black guy who's outspoken and walks a different path, you're a threat. It happened when Dallas Cowboys Rookie Dez Bryant said he wasn't going to carry Roy Williams pads. Who did the media compare him too? Terrell Owens. And now, just a day or so later, the silly, racist crap continues in the media. Some of it, delivered by black male sports writers, who should know better.

Just because it's coming from them doesn't make it OK. Word to the media: if you don't know about football strategy, don't write about football. If you can't draw a play and describe it to an audience. If you don't know what a team's doing as it unfolds, don't write about it or talk about it.

The reason is the lack of football strategy understanding is replaced by some commentary peppered with the sports writers prejudices. Frankly, I'm tired of it all.

I'm really sick of the garbage that's coming out of a number of media outlets regarding Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco. Please stop.

Oliver Stone's take on Hitler and Stalin by: Nikky Raney

The 63-year-old director, Oliver Stone, told the London Sunday Times that "Jewish domination of the media...Israel has f***** up United States foreign policy for years."

Stone is creating a 10 hour TV special called "Oliver Stone's Secret History of America."

As if the Jewish remark wasn't enough to make Stone look bad he continues to say:

"Hitler is an easy scapegoat throughout history and it's been used cheaply."

Stone believes that what Hitler did to the Russians was far worse than what he did to the Jewish people.

Stone didn't stop there; he remarks on Josef Stalin:

"Stalin has a complete other story. Not to paint him as a hero, but to tell a more factual representation. He fought the German war machine more than any person."

However, Stone understands that what he said was offensive and has since apologized.

"In trying to make a broader historical point about the range of atrocities the Germans committed against many people, I made a clumsy association about the Holocaust, for which I am sorry and I regret."

Time will tell how this all plays out once his TV special airs.

(Photo courtesy of Parade.com)

On UK Film Council campaign, Hatchet 2 horror movie, Tron trailer

Save the UK Film Council. Just on the heels of Comic Con and my Friday with the Hatchet 2 cast and crew, comes the news that Britain is considering cutting the UK Film Council. It's one of many ideas that's part of Britain's wrong-headed austerity policy. History teaches us it's better to deficit spend, but people don't learn so well. Instead, Britain takes aim at movies and The UK Film Council.

Britain should keep the UK Film Council as it's key part of the UK's presence in the healthy entertainment industry. The decision by the Department of Media, Culture And Sport is wrong. Moreover, it should see how the movie industry is one of the best systems for the expression of creativity that then realizes a business component. Just see the interviews with Adam Green and the cast and crew of Hatchet 2, made during Comic Con in San Diego in a trip by this blogger and sponsored by The Kings Inn Hotel.





And of course, who can forget the debut of the Tron Legacy cast and the new movie trailer:



Just because all of this seems like fun doesn't mean it's not business, or that it doesn't have an economic impact. The job multiplier for the movie industry is around 4, which means that for every one job in the movie, there are four more created, considering distributors and retailers, lawyers, publicists, and artists. While one may point to the Internet as a threat, it's actually not. It's just another way of doing some of the same distribution jobs; it doesn't happen by accident.

By cutting The UK Film Council, Britain runs the risk of choking off the growth of reborn film companies like Hammer Films, which made its debut at Comic Con San Diego. Hammer is a UK product with a long history and needs the UK Film Council's involvement to grow in the 21st Century.

Save the UK Film Council. Cutting it is a mistake.

Adam Green on Hatchet 2 - how the horror movie came to be

Adam Green is a determined genius. The creator of Dark Sky Films Hatchet and the upcoming Hatchet 2, said (in a limo on the way to Comic Con and part of this blogger's trip sponsored by The Kings Inn Hotel, San Diego) that the horror movies series, which features the murderous exploits of Victor Crowley, was in his head from childhood days, and wanted to get it into the big screen, but a series of rejections forced him to the point of writing the script from scratch in just three days.

Now, with Hatchet 2, Adam Green has a second shot at building on a cult classic released in 2006. The best way to describe the Hatchet series is "old school American 80s horror" where teeth and gums are pulled out, body parts are thrown, and general bloody chaos is the order of the day.

In our limo ride to the San Diego Convention Center where Comic Con was held, Adam talked about how Hatchet 2 was created, but what, or who, took over the conversation was his general family of Danielle Harris, who plays MaryBeth, screen legends R.A. Mihailoff, and Kane Hodder (Leatherface in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3, and Jason from Friday The 13th, who play Trent and Victor Crowley respectively (and Victor Crowley's father, too, in the case of Kane), A.J. Bowen, Tom Holland, and Jennifer Blanc-Biehl, who, while not in Hatchet 2, is set to start filming The Victim with her good friend Danielle Harris, next week.

Together, and you see this in the video above, these guys are a total riot. Their chemistry is why I think Hatchet 2's going to be a hit. That glue, the bond they have is evident on screen. Hey, if it was all an act for the camera, it was a good one. But I know for a fact that was not the case; they're really good, down to earth people.

This is the second video in a series. The first one I just had to get out first, because it's the funniest and most provocative of the series. Eventually, we'll get to the more serious videos, but these "Hatchet 2 limo ride videos" you'll see only here.