Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Iron Man 2 trailer has Robert Downey Jr. at his best

The Iron Man 2 trailer for the long-awaited 2010 second installment in the movie series about Marvel Comics legendary techno-hero is out today, and it's incredible.



Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark

First, it features a lot of Robert Downey, Jr. as billionaire industrialist Tony Stark out of the Iron Man suit, first in a Senate hearing forcefully telling Senator Stern (played by Garry Shandling) that he's not giving up the Iron Man suit "to America." "It's my property. You can't have it," he yells to applause. "I did you a favor. I've successfully privatized World peace" Stark bellows as he stands flashing double peace signs in a Nixonian fashion.

Second, Stark is obviously in his element. Free of the burden of keeping his Iron Man identity a secret, he has the Stark Expo, complete with the kind of hardbody blondes Tiger Woods would like, and a lot of fireworks. I'll avoid giving away the trailer in a blow-by-blow here, but the short version indicates an even more personal story than the first movie.

Have a look for yourself: Iron Man 2 trailer.

I'm not sure how well all of these actors - Downey, Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson, and Samuel L. Jackson - fit together, but I'm convinced Director Jon Favreau can pull it off just by the way he's tirelessly worked to make this new franchise's many parts - human, special effects, production, and story fit together the first time.

It's as if Paramount said "OK. Great job. You can handle this bigger second one, go do it."

I'll bet he's succeeded.

Chris Henry dead? No. In serious condition; prayer request

UPDATE: According to TMZ.com, Henry's fincee Loleini Tonga was questioned and released. She was never taken into custody.

Chris Henry dead is a hot search that's causing a problem; people think the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver is just that.



Chris Henry

Chris Henry's not dead, but his agent Andy Simms of PlayersRep Sports reports that he's battling for his life according to the Associated Press.

WLWT Cincinnati reports that a homicide detective is investigating the Henry accident scene which means they don't think he's going to make it.

That's certainly what Mike Florio at ProFootballtalk.com thinks; I hope he's wrong.

This has been a really hard year for the Bengals. Earlier in the season Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer lost his wife, now this. Terrible.

Stay tuned and I echo Mike Florio by asking that you say a prayer for Chris Henry.




Chris Henry, Roy Disney, Tiger Woods divorce; bad news

You know it's a hard day when Cincinnati Bengals Wide Receiver Chris Henry is in critical condition, Roy Disney, Walt Disney's brother, passed away, and rumors are swirling that Elin Nordegren is divorcing Tiger Woods.




Divorce?


And the day's not over.

As I blog this, Chris Henry lay in critical condition at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C after he fell out of the back of a moving pickup truck driven by his fiancee Loleini Tonga.

Loleini Tonga and Henry reportedly had what is described as a domestic dispute; more on that below.

What's so sad about this news is not just the severity of Henry's injuries - such that some reports declare him dead - but that it seems his NFL career has been marked by more bad times than good times. Henry has been arrested for DUI, assault, and marijuana possession. And when he wasn't in legal trouble he was injured: he was out for the rest of 2009 after he broke his arm in a game against the Baltimore Ravens.

But when Henry is healthy and playing, he's a pass-catching force. The West Virginia Mountaineer joined the team in 2005. But even with his long list of off-the-field problems and injuries, Henry managed to average between 16 and 20 yards per catch during his career.

This year it looked as if Henry was finally balancing out his life, and he was. Ok, he was hurt, but that's the breaks in the NFL, no pun intended. Absent that, Henry was set to get married to Loleini Tonga. But what happened that caused the argument is a story still developing. Pop Crunch has it that Tonga was driving away in the truck when Henry ran after it and her and jumped into the bed, trying to argue with her; he fell off the truck as it was moving.

I close this subject for now, presenting a very cool video created by YouTuber CincyBengals29:



Roy Disney Dies


The nephew of the brother of the man who's history and focus on the urban America of tomorrow, Roy E. Disney, passed away after a battle with stomach cancer. What I remember most about Roy was more about his father Roy O. Disney - during the 70s he was the person who really didn't see his brother Walt Disney's dream of an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (EPCOT) through to reality.

For those of you who don't know, the original concept of EPCOT was a true city within Walt Disney World that would be home to just 10,000 people and always in state of flux. It would be constantly 25 years ahead of its time, and a place that was a living test-bed for all kinds of systems and technologies that were not yet available or used in the open market.

Here's the famous 24-minute film where Walt Disney talks about his vision for EPCOT. It's worth your time; stop what you're doing and watch it. It first aired September 16, 1965 on ABC Television:



The EPCOT that was Disney's vision essentially died with him in 1966. I write that because, as a person who as a kid of 10 years old wanted to work for WED, or what was then called Walter Elias Disney Enterprises, the Disney division responsible for designing EPCOT, I watched in horror as it was transformed from what Walt Disney wanted and you saw, to really a souped-up theme park.

What happened at the time was the Energy Crisis hampered tourism and thus Disney's revenue. Frightened over the prospect of a future without a new theme park to draw visitors, Roy Disney and Cardon Walker, the head of WED at the time, approved a move away from Walt's concept. With that, I lost interest in WED and much of what Disney was doing at the time.

I know some may discussion the development of Celebration, Florida as the real EPCOT, and I give a nod to that observation, but the basic idea that Walt wanted remains not implemented.

Still, Roy Disney was a proud representative of the Disney way and overall carried on his brothers overall legacy. Roy Disney will be missed.

Tiger Woods Divorce


Earlier today I expressed hope that Tiger Woods, the Athlete of The Decade, would overcome his personal issues and save his marriage; but from the reports swirling as of this writing that's not going to happen. Sadly, Wood's wife Elin Nordegren's seeking a divorce.

Stay tuned.

Tiger Woods Athlete of The Decade, girlfriends, golf, and all

Tiger Woods was named "Athlete of The Decade" by the Associated Press, beating out Lance Armstrong, Roger Federer, Michael Phelps, Tom Brady, and Usain Bolt, and withstanding Theresa Rogers, Rachel Uchitel, Jaimie Grubbs, Mindy Lawton, Holly Sampson, Jamie Jungers, Cory Rist, Kalika Moquin, and all the rest of the other five alleged cocktail waitress and model mistresses.



Here's to Woods' next victory!


That proves Tiger Woods is the chosen one.


In fact, the contest wasn't even close: Woods got 56 of the 142 votes. Even with all of his alleged mistresses and girlfriends, the car accident, and his wife Elin Nordegren reportedly clocking him with one of the golf clubs he may have used on the way to this award, Woods got it.

And get this: more than half the ballots were voted on after - yes, after - Woods' Thanksgiving night accident and the subsequent scandal that rocked his life, and ours.

The Tiger Woods sex scandal aside, for a moment, Woods' play on the golf course has been nothing short of incredible. He's won seven tournaments in 2009 alone and 64 times around the World in the decade, and 12 majors. ESPN points out that Woods has won on every continent around the World.

Woods pocketed $81,547,410 from the PGA Tour events he was in, which is an average of $482,529 per contest.

With all this, and the AP award, Woods' website still reminds us that he's taken a hiatus from Golf. Sad.

Congratulations Tiger Woods! I say, Yippee! Because the poor man has been beaten up so badly and for actions that frankly other athletes and people in the sports business - can we talk for a second? - are just as guilty of that it's ridiculous.

But Tiger's greatest win of all will be overcoming this scandal and saving his marriage.

I hope he does that.

Theresa Rogers photos? Rogers says she's not Tiger Woods mistress

People are searching for Theresa Rogers photos. But get this: a few of the online publications that use the title Theresa Rogers photos, don't have them, or even one. That's really a terrible way to treat the reader. And for someone - Theresa Rogers - who claims she's not Tiger Woods mistress in the first place.

What a relief to find at least one women who will say that, even if so-called 'friends' are outing her as being one of 'Tiger's women', if you will.

And what a relief to find one blogger that has a photo, me:




Theresa Rogers

I guess Theresa Rogers isn't playing the "story for money" game either which makes her really great in my book. I guess Rogers thinks enough of her personal image to steer clear from this stuff and being called 'Cougar' is not helping either. But think about it: how many of these allegations are true and is someone out there just trying to ruin Tiger Woods? There are so many stories flying around - many of them false - it's not funny.

And I'm really sick of the word 'Cougar'. In fact I'm starting to think of it as the N-word for adult women. Or maybe I'm just being too sensitive. Or maybe I should watch Cougartown and get it out of my system.

Whatever the case, I digress.

It looks like, if reports hold, Elin Nordegren, Tiger Woods wife, is seeking a divorce. I certainly hope this isn't the case and what happened to those marriage counseling reports? That was just two weeks ago, right?  See, this comes from  another "source" so I think it needs to be checked and double checked before it's ran with.  But it's a free for all.  And ...er...TIGER.   Dude.  Say something, will ya?  Come on, man.

Stat tuned.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

The case for Zennie62 at the Academy Awards - Oscar Buzz



As my video-blog career has grown I've noticed that many don't have a complete understanding of how to evaluate a person's effectiveness in the New Media landscape.

Even with innovative movies like Avatar, Star Trek, and the upcoming Iron Man 2, and popular television shows like 24, many in the media and entertainment business lack a good set of metrics to evaluate how news and culture bloggers are performing and where to send press releases or in this case, who to have at The Oscars or The Golden Globes.

So, using the subject of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards as a backdrop, I elected to create a video and a short presentation of the message-distribution powers and abilities of the Zennie62.com brand.

The Zennie62.com New Media effort consists of my main blog, Zennie62.com (which was called Zennie's Zeitgeist), 26 main blogs, an overall inventory of 100 blogs, my popular YouTube channel Zennie62 and video channels on Blip.tv and six other systems, my San Francisco Chronicle / SFGate.com main blog, Examiner blog, my USTREAM.tv Zennie62 channel, a channel at BlogTalkRadio, and finally my television show The Blog Report with Zennie62 on CoLoursTV.

Zennie62 has grown to become a New Media force. My videos are seen an average of 25,000 times each day on YouTube alone.  And as of December 12th, my YouTube videos were seen a total of over 10 million times in just over 2.5 years.




At SFGate.com, Zennie62 generated 1.003 million visitors in November 2009 and as of this writing on December 15th 2009 has already surpassed the 1 million visitor mark for December alone. If the current rate continues Zennie62 on SFGate.com will reach over 2.5 million visitors for December 2009.

In addition to the video-blog combination the Zennie62 brand has over 7,000 Twitter followers and 3,000 Facebook friends. In total, the Zennie62 brand is represented on over 34 social networks.

Zennie62 is the New Media presence that should be at all Oscar events. It's able to communcate what's happening in a multi-media way, quickly and efficiently.

Oral Roberts passes at 91; first televangelist talked about sex

Oral Roberts passed on today after complications from pneumonia. He was 91 years old. Roberts was someone I always associated with the religious fire and brimstone speeches and hard-handed hitting of subjects to get them to rise, asserting that they were healed from an illness. 

Roberts will be remembered not just as the first person to bring religious preaching and ceremony, and his healing ministry to television - he's now called the first "televangelist" - but for talking frankly about religion and sex on the airwaves.

But beyond theatrics and a powerful set of convictions, Roberts will be remembered for the school he created and established. 




Roberts started what he later called a "healing ministry" in Tulsa, Oklahoma called Oral Roberts University. It's the largest college of its kind in the World. Upon the news of his passing, the website of Oral Roberts University contained this statement:


Oral Roberts, founder and chancellor of Oral Roberts University, passed away on December 15 at the age of 91. His departure is mourned by the ORU family, including the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters who embraced his philosophy of whole-person education.


Born in 1918 in rural Oklahoma, Roberts was a preacher's kid who initially rejected his father's faith. At the age of 17, however, he was struck down with tuberculosis. A subsequent miraculous healing led to his conversion, and a call on his life from God himself to "take My healing power to your generation."


Carrying out that call took him from small churches to tent meetings to international crusades, and from radio and television to books and letters he wrote to the thousands who partnered with his ministry. The capstone of his life's work was the founding of ORU in 1963. "Raise up your students to hear My voice," God told Roberts, "to go where My light is seen dim, My voice is heard small, and My healing power is not known, even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours, and in this I am well pleased."


As Roberts often said, "Success without a successor is failure." The graduates of ORU, he believed, would carry on the work of his healing ministry, "until Jesus comes again."


The school was not without controversy, as Oral Roberts son Richard Roberts came under fire for political and personal use of university funds in 2007.

Roberts used television to show live "healing ceremonies" where subjects would be able to walk and lift their legs allegedly just after he prayed and touched them where their ailment was located. Here's a video:



Roberts also used television to show how he was, again allegedly, casting out evil sprits from his followers:



The Young Turks' recently posted a video on Oral Roberts talking about sex.  Folks, even in today's more contemporary lens, what he has to say is still shockingly frank, regardless of your view on sex.  I'm not going to offer a text preview; just watch the video: 



You know, one is at times compelled to make fun of what Roberts has done over the years, but we can't fault him for trying to better the human condition. May he rest in peace.

Successful 787 dreamliner landing may spell end of United 747

The long-awaited Boeing 787 Dreamliner's successful landing at Boeing Field after a rainy test flight in Seattle today marks the official introduction of the advanced pssenger airplane. It also marks the eventual end of the 747 as used by United Airlines. Here's a video of today's events:





Two weeks ago, UAL announced the purchase of a fleet of both the 787 Dreamliner and the new Airbus-350. In a communication to employees on its website, UAL also explained that the new planes would be used on international routes.




Currently, United uses its 747 fleet almost exclusively for international flights, meaning that by 2019, when the airline is expected to take delivery of both the 787 and the A-350, they plan to phase-out the giant jumbo jet.

Today, United Airlines' President John Tague issued this statement:


The Dreamliner is going to be a tremendous addition to our fleet, providing our customers with a better travel experience in the cabin and new technology that reduces our impact on the environment, increases fuel efficiency and provides cost savings. This is a great day, and we congratulate Boeing on the success of the test flight and look forward to our continued partnership with them and continued success as they bring the aircraft online."


When asked why United didn't purchase the larger A-380 or the newer-generation of 747-8, United's Tague said "Our objective is to optimize the company's performance in the down cycle and to manage the down-side risk, not to capture every last dollar of opportunity that an extremely large aircraft might create for a short period of time."

But some industry watchers say both the A-350 and the 787 are too small to replace the 747-400, so United may be making a hedge bet for the future just to maintain its international routes. Still at some point United need to make a decision on what to do about the 747 program. Meanwhile it awaits the 787.

As I wrote before, the 787 is an exciting airplane with cool new push-button window shade technology. The problem is one has to reach over a sleeping window seat passenger to get to the button.

Stay tuned.

The Golden Globe Nominations 2010 - Weinstein Company leads distributors

As we go through the list after the 2010 Golden Globe Nominations announcement it should be noted that The Weinstein Company leads all motion picture distributors with a whopping 12 nominations. Nine of those are for two movies: five for Nine, and four for Inglorious Bastards. Here's the list of motion picture distribution companies and their number of nominations:

The Weinstein Company - 12
Warner Bros. Pictures - 9
Paramount Pictures - 7
Sony Pictures Classics - 6
Lionsgate - 5
Twentieth Century Fox - 5
Fox Searchlight Pictures - 4
Sony Pictures Releasing - 4
Summit Entertainment - 4
Universal Pictures - 4
Disney Studios Motion Pictures - 4
Focus Features - 2
Relativity Media LLC - 2
Apparition - 1
Elephant Eye Films - 1
Miramax Films - 1
Oscilloscope Laboratories - 1

The full list of winners is here.

Stay tuned.

Golden Globe Nominations 2010 : 'Up In The Air' 'Glee' and 'Dexter'

The Golden Globe Nominations 2010 have been released for the 67th Annual Golden Globes to be held January 17th, 2010 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. This is the list of nominees produced by the HFPA and this major award program before the 2010 Academy Awards contains some interesting developments.

Up In The Air, the travel-romantic dramedy by Jason Reitman and staring George Clooney, was nominated six times, leading all films followed by Nine (5) and Avatar and Inglorious Bastards (4).

Katheryn Bigelow continues her surprising and path-breaking awards course, again nominated for Best Director for The Hurt Locker. Bigelow has already earned the same award twice this year, at the Washington DC and New York Online Critics awards programs, and was the first women to win such an award at the DC Crtics event.




George Clooney

In the television category Dexter, the Showtime tv series about the moonlighting serial killer that was the focus of my blogs on Monday, was nominated for three awards. But NBC's Glee leads all TV programs with four noms.

Stay tuned for more blogs related to the nominations today; here's the list from the HFPA:


NOMINATIONS PRESS RELEASE
1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. AVATAR
Lightstorm Entertainment; Twentieth Century Fox
2. THE HURT LOCKER
Voltage Pictures; Summit Entertainment
3. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
The Weinstein Company / Universal Pictures; The Weinstein Company
4. PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
A Lee Daniels Entertainment / Smokewood Entertainment Group Production;
Lionsgate
5. UP IN THE AIR
Paramount Pictures; Paramount Pictures

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. EMILY BLUNT
THE YOUNG VICTORIA
2. SANDRA BULLOCK
THE BLIND SIDE
3. HELEN MIRREN
THE LAST STATION
4. CAREY MULLIGAN
AN EDUCATION
5. GABOUREY SIDIBE
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA

1. JEFF BRIDGES
CRAZY HEART
2. GEORGE CLOONEY
UP IN THE AIR
3. COLIN FIRTH
A SINGLE MAN
4. MORGAN FREEMAN
INVICTUS
5. TOBEY MAGUIRE
BROTHERS

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER
Watermark Pictures; Fox Searchlight Pictures
2. THE HANGOVER
Warner Bros. Pictures; Warner Bros. Pictures
3. IT’S COMPLICATED
Relativity Media, Scott Rudin Productions; Universal Pictures
4. JULIE & JULIA
Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing
5. NINE
The Weinstein Company/Relativity Media/Lucamar Productions/Marc Platt Productions; The Weinstein Company

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR
MUSICAL

1. SANDRA BULLOCK
THE PROPOSAL
2. MARION COTILLARD
NINE
3. JULIA ROBERTS
DUPLICITY
4. MERYL STREEP
IT’S COMPLICATED
5. MERYL STREEP
JULIE & JULIA

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY
OR MUSICAL

1. MATT DAMON
THE INFORMANT!
2. DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
NINE
3. ROBERT DOWNEY JR
SHERLOCK HOLMES
4. JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER
5. MICHAEL STUHLBARG
A SERIOUS MAN

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

1. CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS
Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation; Sony Pictures Releasing
2. CORALINE
Laika, Inc.; Focus Features
3. FANTASTIC MR. FOX
American Empirical Picture; Twentieth Century Fox
4. THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG
Walt Disney Pictures/Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
5. UP
Walt Disney Pictures/PIXAR Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1. BAARIA (ITALY)
Medusa Film; Summit Entertainment
2. BROKEN EMBRACES (SPAIN)
El Deseo SA; Sony Pictures Classics
3. THE MAID (CHILE)
(LA NANA)
Forastero; Elephant Eye Films
4. A PROPHET (UN PROPHETE) (FRANCE)
Chic Films; Sony Pictures Classics
5. THE WHITE RIBBON (GERMANY)
(DAS WEISSE BAND – EINE DEUTSCHE KINDERGESCHICHTE)
Wega Films; Sony Pictures Classics

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE

1. PENÉLOPE CRUZ
NINE
2. VERA FARMIGA
UP IN THE AIR
3. ANNA KENDRICK
UP IN THE AIR
4. MO’NIQUE
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE
5. JULIANNE MOORE
A SINGLE MAN

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
MOTION PICTURE

1. MATT DAMON
INVICTUS
2. WOODY HARRELSON
THE MESSENGER
3. CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER
THE LAST STATION
4. STANLEY TUCCI
THE LOVELY BONES
5. CHRISTOPH WALTZ
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE

1. KATHRYN BIGELOW
THE HURT LOCKER
2. JAMES CAMERON
AVATAR
3. CLINT EASTWOOD
INVICTUS
4. JASON REITMAN
UP IN THE AIR
5. QUENTIN TARANTINO
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE

1. NEILL BLOMKAMP, TERRI TATCHELL
DISTRICT 9
2. MARK BOAL
THE HURT LOCKER
3. NANCY MEYERS
IT'S COMPLICATED
4. JASON REITMAN, SHELDON TURNER
UP IN THE AIR
5. QUENTIN TARANTINO
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE

1. MICHAEL GIACCHINO
UP
2. MARVIN HAMLISCH
THE INFORMANT!
3. JAMES HORNER
AVATAR
4. ABEL KORZENIOWSKI
A SINGLE MAN
5. KAREN O, CARTER BURWELL
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

1. “CINEMA ITALIANO” — NINE
Music & Lyrics by: Maury Yeston
2. “I WANT TO COME HOME” — EVERYBODY'S FINE
Music & Lyrics by: Paul McCartney
3. “I SEE YOU” — AVATAR
Music by: James Horner, Simon Franglen
Lyrics by: James Horner, Simon Franglen, Kuk Harrell
4. “THE WEARY KIND (THEME FROM CRAZY HEART)” — CRAZY HEART
Music & Lyrics by: Ryan Bingham, T Bone Burnett
5. “WINTER” — BROTHERS
Music by: U2
Lyrics by: Bono

15. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. BIG LOVE (HBO)
Anima Sola and Playtone in association with HBO Entertainment
2. DEXTER (SHOWTIME)
Showtime Presents, John Goldwyn Productions, The Colleton Company, Clyde Phillips Productions
3. HOUSE (FOX)
Universal Media Studios in association with Heel and Toe Films, Shore Z Productions and Bad Hat Harry
4. MAD MEN (AMC)
AMC
5. TRUE BLOOD (HBO)
Your Face Goes Here Entertainment in association with HBO Entertainment

16. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
DRAMA

1. GLENN CLOSE
DAMAGES
2. JANUARY JONES
MAD MEN
3. JULIANNA MARGULIES
THE GOOD WIFE
4. ANNA PAQUIN
TRUE BLOOD
5. KYRA SEDGWICK
THE CLOSER

17. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES – DRAMA

1. SIMON BAKER
THE MENTALIST
2. MICHAEL C. HALL
DEXTER
3. JON HAMM
MAD MEN
4. HUGH LAURIE
HOUSE
5. BILL PAXTON
BIG LOVE

18. BEST TELEVISION SERIES – COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. 30 ROCK (NBC)
Universal Media Studios in association with Broadway Video and Little Stranger Inc.
2. ENTOURAGE (HBO)
Leverage and Closest to the Hole Productions in association with HBO Entertainment
3. GLEE (FOX)
Twentieth Century Fox Television
4. MODERN FAMILY (ABC)
Twentieth Century Fox Television
5. THE OFFICE (NBC)
Universal Media Studios, Deedle Dee Productions, Reveille LLC

19. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. TONI COLLETTE
UNITED STATES OF TARA
2. COURTENEY COX
COUGAR TOWN
3. EDIE FALCO
NURSE JACKIE
4. TINA FEY
30 ROCK
5. LEA MICHELE
GLEE

20. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A TELEVISION SERIES –
COMEDY OR MUSICAL

1. ALEC BALDWIN
30 ROCK
2. STEVE CARELL
THE OFFICE
3. DAVID DUCHOVNY
CALIFORNICATION
4. THOMAS JANE
HUNG
5. MATTHEW MORRISON
GLEE

21. BEST MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. GEORGIA O'KEEFFE (LIFETIME TELEVISION)
Sony Pictures Television
2. GREY GARDENS (HBO)
Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films
3. INTO THE STORM (HBO)
Scott Free and Rainmark Films Production in association with the BBC and HBO Films
4. LITTLE DORRIT (PBS)
Masterpiece/BBC Co-production
5. TAKING CHANCE (HBO)
Motion Picture Corporation of America and Civil Dawn Pictures in association with HBO Films

22. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. JOAN ALLEN
GEORGIA O'KEEFFE
2. DREW BARRYMORE
GREY GARDENS
3. JESSICA LANGE
GREY GARDENS
4. ANNA PAQUIN
THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENA SENDLER
5. SIGOURNEY WEAVER
PRAYERS FOR BOBBY

23. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MINI-SERIES OR MOTION
PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. KEVIN BACON
TAKING CHANCE
2. KENNETH BRANAGH
WALLANDER: ONE STEP BEHIND
3. CHIWETEL EJIOFOR
ENDGAME
4. BRENDAN GLEESON
INTO THE STORM
5. JEREMY IRONS
GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

24. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A
SERIES, MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. JANE ADAMS
HUNG
2. ROSE BYRNE
DAMAGES
3. JANE LYNCH
GLEE
4. JANET McTEER
INTO THE STORM
5. CHLOË SEVIGNY
BIG LOVE

25. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A SERIES,
MINI-SERIES OR MOTION PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION

1. MICHAEL EMERSON
LOST
2. NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
3. WILLIAM HURT
DAMAGES
4. JOHN LITHGOW
DEXTER
5. JEREMY PIVEN
ENTOURAGE

WINNERS BY MOTION PICTURE DISTRIBUTOR
AND TELEVISION NETWORK

MOTION PICTURE DISTRIBUTOR
The Weinstein Company – 12
Warner Bros. Pictures – 9
Paramount Pictures – 7
Sony Pictures Classics – 6
Lionsgate – 5
Twentieth Century Fox – 5
Fox Searchlight Pictures – 4
Sony Pictures Releasing – 4
Summit Entertainment – 4
Universal Pictures – 4
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures – 4
Focus Features – 2
Relativity Media LLC – 2
Apparition – 1
Elephant Eye Films – 1
Miramax Films – 1
Oscilloscope Laboratories – 1

TELEVISION NETWORK
HBO – 17
FOX – 6
SHOWTIME – 6
NBC – 5
CBS – 4
LIFETIME TELEVISION – 4
ABC – 3
AMC – 3
FX NETWORKS – 3
PBS – 3
TNT – 1

WINNERS BY MOTION PICTURE
AND TELEVISION SERIES OR PROGRAM

MOTION PICTURE:

UP IN THE AIR – 6
NINE – 5
AVATAR – 4
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – 4
THE HURT LOCKER – 3
INVICTUS – 3
IT’S COMPLICATED – 3
PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE – 3
A SINGLE MAN – 3
(500) DAYS OF SUMMER – 2
BROTHERS – 2
CRAZY HEART – 2
THE INFORMANT! – 2
JULIE & JULIA – 2
THE LAST STATION – 2
UP – 2
BAARIA – 1
THE BLIND SIDE – 1
BROKEN EMBRACES – 1
CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS – 1
CORALINE – 1
DISTRICT 9 – 1
DUPLICITY – 1
AN EDUCATION – 1
EVERYBODY'S FINE – 1
FANTASTIC MR. FOX – 1
THE HANGOVER – 1
THE LOVELY BONES – 1
THE MAID – 1
THE MESSENGER – 1
THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG – 1
A PROPHET – 1
THE PROPOSAL – 1
A SERIOUS MAN – 1
SHERLOCK HOLMES – 1
WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE – 1
THE WHITE RIBBON – 1
THE YOUNG VICTORIA – 1


WINNERS BY MOTION PICTURE
AND TELEVISION SERIES OR PROGRAM

TELEVISION SERIES OR PROGRAM
GLEE – 4
30 ROCK – 3
BIG LOVE – 3
DAMAGES – 3
DEXTER – 3
GEORGIA O'KEEFFE – 3
GREY GARDENS – 3
INTO THE STORM – 3
MAD MEN – 3
ENTOURAGE – 2
HOUSE – 2
HUNG – 2
THE OFFICE – 2
TAKING CHANCE – 2
TRUE BLOOD – 2
CALIFORNICATION – 1
THE CLOSER – 1
COUGAR TOWN – 1
THE COURAGEOUS HEART OF IRENA SENDLER – 1
ENDGAME – 1
THE GOOD WIFE – 1
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER – 1
LITTLE DORRIT – 1
LOST – 1
THE MENTALIST – 1
MODERN FAMILY – 1
NURSE JACKIE – 1
PRAYERS FOR BOBBY – 1
UNITED STATES OF TARA – 1
WALLANDER: ONE STEP BEHIND – 1

Theresa Rogers and Julie Postle Tigers Woods alleged affairs - media error

Theresa Rogers and Julie Postle are Tigers Woods alleged affairs 10 and 11. Now, Theresa Rogers pictures are the spicy search of the day. Tiger Woods affair photos are all the rage. Tiger Woods latest news is still the rage. And Cori Rist went on the Today Show Monday to apologize to Woods' wife Elin Nordegren for her "time" with Woods.

Meanwhile Tiger Woods is still not talking as corporate sponsors Accenture and Gillette back away from him to varying degrees. Tiger Woods once bullet-proof image is now taking on the look of Swiss Cheese.

What. You say its affairs number 13 and 14. No, I say 10 and 11 because no one can name the other two, and I refuse to give life to two other names that never surfaced. So far, we have Rachel Uchitel, Jamie Grubbs, Kalika Moquin, Jamie Jungers, Mindy Lawton, Cori Rist, Holly Sampson, Joslyn James, and now Loredana Jolie, Theresa Rogers and Julie Postle.

And if you're keeping score that's two porn stars, one waitress, six night club workers for those who's occupations we can pin down.  


But that's 11 women. Name the other two affairs?



Holly Sampson never slept with the married Tiger Woods

The reason I stopped giving Orlando, Florida lawyer Michael O'Quinn any credit is he never said who he represented and that's hurt his credibility until this week; he represents Julie Postle and it seems Theresa Rogers a 40-year-old Florida resident. So that takes the "unnamed mistress spot" out. No more of them as far as I'm concerned.

The media's sloppiness in all of this is galling.

For example, the online publication Metro UK reports that Woods had an affair with Theresa Rogers after he was married. But then TechBanyan has a reference that Woods was with Rogers before he was married to Elin. That happens often. However, Eurweb.com has it that he was with Rogers before and after he was married.

My head is spinning. Reminds me of Charlie Sheen asking Michael Douglas in Wall Street, "How much is enough? How many jets can you water ski behind?"

And in what I contend is still an economic recession, the dominance of Checkbook Journalism taints the claims of any of the women who's stepped forward who were paid for their stories. Yes, some had hard evidence, like Jamie Grubbs and the voicemail, but after that it's hard to really pin down these stories.

Some of them come from boyfriends and more unnamed sources that one can shake a stick at. Without Tiger Woods' coming forward - really with Elin by his side - to set the record straight, this media circus is just going to go on and on.

Stay tuned. More soon today.

Monday, December 14, 2009

Avatar is New York Film Critics Online's Best Picture

On Sunday, the New York Film Critics Online selected Avatar as Best Picture at their awards ceremony at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center. Jeff Bridges was named Best Actor for Crazy Heart while Meryl Streep was picked as Best Actress for her role as Julia Child in Julie & Julia.




Kathryn Bigelow snared the Best Director for The Hurt Locker, and marks the second time she's won the award in three weeks, having taken the same nod at the Washington DC Area Film Critics Awards (WAFCA), making her the first woman to ever receive prize from the WAFCA.

Rounding out the major awards, Mo'Nique won Best Supporting Actress for Precious, Christoph Waltz earned 'Breakthrough Performer' while 'Best Screenplay' went to Quentin Tarantino, both for Inglourious Basterds.

While it did not get an individual performance award and lost 'Best Picture' to Avatar, Up In The Air was named one of 2009s' top films.

Here's the full list of New York Film Critics Online winners from their website:

Picture - Avatar (20th Century Fox)
Actor - Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Actress - Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
Director - Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker)
Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Supporting Actress - Mo'Nique (Precious)
Breakthrough Performer - Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Debut Director - Marc Webb - (500) Days of Summer
Ensemble Cast - In the Loop (IFC Films)
Screenplay - Inglourious Basterds - Quentin Tarantino
Documentary - The Cove (Roadside Attractions)
Foreign Language - The White Ribbon (Sony Classics)
Animated - Up (Disney/Pixar)
Cinematography - Inglourious Basterds - Robert Richardson
Film Music or Score - Crazy Heart - Steve Bruton & T. Bone Burnett, music supervisor: Jeffrey Pollack

Top 10 Films of 2009 (in alphabetical order)

Adventureland (Miramax Films)

Avatar (20th Century Fox)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Fox Searchlight)

The Hurt Locker (Summit Entertainment)

Inglourious Basterds (The Weinstein Co.)

The Messenger (Oscilloscope)

Precious (Lionsgate)

A Serious Man (Focus Features

Two Lovers (Magnolia)

Up (Disney/Pixar)

Up in the Air (Paramount)