Month: December 2004

Been real lazy this week! I find that the last 2 weeks of the year are virtually a waste, so I always like to chill and relax to end out the year. I saw Meet The Fockers, The Aviator, Oceans 12, The Bourne Movies and Saving Christmas! What a week! Disappointed in Meet The Fockers, Quite frankly, it wasn’t that funny and didn’t match up to the original. The Aviator was pretty good, long and not much of a payoff, but was worth seeing. Same thing as Oceans 12, was ok but not nearly as cleaver as the original! I love the scene when the go to the spot in Italy where we were! THEY LITERALLY WALK OVER WHERE WE SAT AND SOAKED UP THE SUN! 🙂 The Bourne Identity and Supremacy were pretty good movies! I finally caught up and saw them and worth seeing. Shockingly, Saving Christmas was not that bad. Jos being the big Ben Affleck fan, we had to see it. Not the best, but hey for a rental. not bad. I must admit I never saw a movie come out in theaters in October and hit the video stores not like 90 days later!

What A Bottle Of Wine! 😉

What a year! Orlando, LA, Houston, Wildwood and Italy! Baseball alone, I had my first trip to Yankee Stadium and with Boston winning the World Series, Baseball was amazing this year, what a ride. There are a ton of things to look back on and it was a truly great year with my wife and I. Thanks again to all my friends and every one who reads my Blog 🙂 The Nintendo DS Rocks! Don’t know if I mentioned it, but I LOVE IT! Got to play with it a lil 🙂

2005 looks very promising!!! Many new things going on and already two trips planned to tag along with Jos, Orlando again and Japan!!!

Have a safe and Happy New Year And be carefully out there!

2005, May the games begin!

Christmas 2004 is OVER! um or is it! Anyone who knows me, knows and thing and everything I do isn’t just one simple day. O no its like a 2 week event, my holiday season. My family doe, “The Day After Christmas”, were we mainly exchange all our gifts the day after all the hustle and bustle! So tomorrow I will be chiming in what else I got. My brothers birthday is the 27th, so we will be celebrating My brother Mike’s birthday on Monday! Then off to my cousin Dean’s house to help him with his computer! THOSE DAMN POP UPS! THEY ARE KILLING ME! Then it is off to Strong Island, were the festivities continue with Jo’s family and it will bring us up to 2005! WHAT, WE ARE 1/2 THROUGH THE 00’s ! Holy Cow!

Ok yesterday, did you see what was under my tree? Yup that’s right, the Nintendo DS complete with Super Mario for the DS! If you are an Engadget fan www.engadget.com like me, You would know all about this new toy! I haven’t had a Game Boy in like 15 years! This game is AMAZING! Duel screens is defiantly the highlight of the system! You can IM people in your local area and its got a touch screen with stylus. I was disappointed it did not come with a game, just a demo for Metroid 🙁 All in all it looks amazing! I am excited to play and try it out and hey, even buy some Game Boy Advanced games that are compatible with it! I probably will fully review this new kick ass system soon, so check back!

Its Christmas Eve! Damn this year FLEW! What a year its been! So many things and for at least 1/2 the year, you could look back in my Blog and see everything I have done :). Just wanted to wish all my friends and family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank everyone of you for being part of my life! I am a very lucky man to have great friends and always have great times! One of my gifts came a lil early and will announce what I got after Christmas! We plan on seeing Meet The Fokers, The Life Aquatic, Neverland, The Aviator and a slew of over movies. I love the Christmas rush of movies! We will be local for Christmas Eve and Christmas day! Enjoy the break everyone!

Jos and I saw Lemony Snicket tonight. I was pretty excited to see the movie. It reminded me of some adventure movies I loved when growing up. Also looked like Harry Potter meets Tim Burton. Granted I liked the movie, but there was something off. I don’t know, I am a big Jim Carey fan but it seems like the past say 4 or 5 movies, he is just off. I really can’t place it but again he misses as the lead in the movie. He wasn’t terrible, but like I said there was something missing. The movie looked GREAT and I loved the kids in the movie, especially Sunny, who cracked me up the entire movie! I recommend the movie, but its defiantly not the movie of the year!

The “Snicket” saga revolves around a pint-sized trio of orphans named Sunny, Klaus and Violet who find themselves fobbed off on a series of odd people, including Lemony Snicket, who narrates each of what has grown to a series of eight books since Handler debuted the first title in 1999. Recurring bad guy is a distant family relative named Count Olaf, who initially takes in the kids but clearly is trying to separate them from a family inheritance.

Lemony Snicket – Book Site

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events – Movie Site

Metacritic – Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)

KillerMovies.com – Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

I hit NYC TWICE this week! I went to see the Christmas Show last week, It has been a while since I saw it and it was pretty cool! My favorite part is the nativity scene! It is very inspirational. Last night I went to Jos’s Christmas party at Rockfeller Center! I actually went ice skating and got the video to prove it 🙂 I will be posting that video soon! Good time had by all and enjoy the photos! If I do not get to post before Christmas, have an awesome Christmas and a safe New Years Eve!

Reality TV rolls on as Kelly is hired as Trumps new Apprentice. I enjoyed both Survivor and The Apprentice this season, but I feel next season for both shows need change! For like the past like 7 shows, Kelly was the clear choice for most of Trump’s friends and colleagues picked Kelly over Jen ands really made Jennifer look bad. The funny thing is she looked impressive and was tough going into this final show, but Kelly was by far the clear choice. Granted the guy is stiff as a board and the personality to match. I really wish that he stood up in the end and stated that is something he needed to work on. He is by far a better all around likeable guy and I hope Kelly can come close to Bill. I went to Jos’s Christmas party and watched it a lil delayed on Tivo into 1 am! God bless Tivo, there is nothing worse then finding out the winner before watching the show! 🙂 Now on to those swimsuit and boxing reality shows! hehe

Ouch, I spoke too soon! They are dong Street Smarts vs. Book Smarts next season that starts January 20th! What do you think of this? What do you think of reality TV? I always welcome comments!

Trump Names Kelly Perdew ‘The Apprentice’ – NEW YORK (AP) – One key lesson if you want to be on Donald Trump’s payroll: don’t let the boss fly off unnoticed. The Donald chose software executive Kelly Perdew, 37, to join his staff during the season finale of “The Apprentice” on Thursday.

He rejected feisty lawyer Jennifer Massey despite her bare-knuckled fight for the job.

Massey’s fatal mistake on the reality show’s final challenge may have been not escorting Trump to a VIP reception. Instead, he walked to a helicopter and flew off.

Given the choice of a job in Las Vegas or New York, Perdew chose to help Trump on his massive development on Manhattan’s West Side.

Massey, 30, a Princeton and Harvard Law School graduate, attacked like a pit bull in the boardroom, even accusing Perdew of behind-the-scenes backstabbing. Her confrontational style eventually turned off Trump.

“Your teammates did not really like you too much and you did lose too much,” Trump said in “firing” Massey.

The Article on Excite News

Good to see the Mets doing bunch of changes and getting some good pitching! I may actually start watching Mets games again and who knows maybe ATTEND a game or 2 and hey, even another reason for Yankee fans to hate the Mets! LETS GO METS!

Pedro Martinez, wearing his new New York Mets cap, talks to reporters during a news conference at Shea Stadium in New York Thursday, Dec. 16, 2004. Martinez has agreed to a four-year $53 million contract with the Mets. He turned down a $40.5 million offer from the Boston Red Sox, his former team.

Excite – Sports News

Ain’t It Cool News

From the Ain’t It Cool Website! (Thanks Gil!)

WAR OF THE WORLDS Teaser Trailer Is PERFECT!

A Purely Great Teaser Trailer! BRAVO!!!

BATMAN BEGINS Poster

Take An Everlasting Tab Of LSD and Watch

The New CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Trailer! Trippy!

Here’s the site Mesha 😉

chocolatefactorymovie.com

Johnny Depp looks… well… he looks… He looks like he’s coming for your soul. – Is the key line from the site! THE TRAILER LOOKS AWESOME! NOW I REALLY CAN’T WAIT!

With many thing I talk about on my Blog, I was always fascinated by Howard Hughes. I remember when I was a kid researching information on Hughes. To me he faded out of peoples minds over the years and there wasn’t much on him until now. The Aviator comes out soon, taking a look at Hughes’s obsession with flight. There are so many facts and oddities about the man, I included a bunch of links below just so you can do a lil searching on your own and find out about this fascinating man. Leonardo DiCaprio looks like he did an amazing job portraying this man, who in later times totally lost it. After doing a little research, it appears this was triggered by a plane accident. The reviews I read, this is a great movie, one of Martin Scorsese’s best. I haven’t really heard of any other Oscar contenders, but this seems like a real favorite for best picture!

Drama – 168 min. – “The Aviator,” directed by Martin Scorsese and written by John Logan, tells the story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes (Leonardo DiCaprio), the eccentric billionaire industrialist and Hollywood film mogul, famous for romancing some of the world’s most beautiful women. The drama recounts the years of his life from the late 1920s through the 1940s, an epoch when Hughes was directing and producing Hollywood movies and test flying innovative aircrafts he designed and created. – Release Date: December 17th, 2004, expands to wide release December 25th. – MPAA Rating: PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual content, nudity, language and crash sequence. – Distributor: Miramax Films

A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes’ career, from the late 1920’s to the mid-1940’s. Focusing on his early years (from the 1930 production of ‘Hell’s Angels’ to the 1947 test flight of the Blue Spruce, when he was 42), this is the story of how young Howard Hughes transformed a small fortune into a massive one. The son of the Texan inventor of an amazing drill bit who died when he was 18, leaving him with 75% of the “Hughes Tool Co.”, Howard Hughes (DiCaprio) quickly moved to Los Angeles to become a Hollywood film producer, where he helped launch the career of Jean Harlow and other starlets, and producing such classics as Hell’s Angels, The Front Page, Flying Leathernecks, and Scarface (the 1932 original), eventually owning RKO Pictures. Hughes’ legend came not from focusing on just Hollywood, however, as he simultaneously branched into industry after industry, including aviation in 1932 (including TWA Airlines), and during WWII, defense, leading to the creation of the (infamous) Spruce Goose, a flying boat of immense size. After WWII, Hughes’ expansions continued, with an electronics company that was integral to the evolution of the satellite, and Hughes’ several Las Vegas casinos (though this film may be ending before he moves there). This film will also focus on Hughes’ romances with Hollywood stars like Katharine Hepburn (Blanchett) and Ava Gardner (Beckinsale). (Huston plays the president of TWA; Baldwin plays the president of their competitor, Pan Am).

Here are some of the cool links I found:

The Aviator – Official Site

The Aviator – IMDB

Apple – Trailers – The Aviator

The Aviator – Movie Info – Yahoo! Movies

CBS News | Howard Hughes: Patron Of Science?

Flight Plan

Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes

TIME.com: Will Podcasting Kill the Radio Star

Podcasting, a new way of distributing audio programs to iPods, is a fresh twist on pirate radio. Podcasts are recorded episodes of varying length made by people ranging from experienced pros to wannabe DJs. They can be listened to on your computer whenever you please or downloaded to your iPod or similar MP3 player and enjoyed while you drive to work, jog or cook dinner. Championed by former MTV VJ Adam Curry, who created iPodder.org and launched his first podcast in August 2004, the idea has snowballed, and there are now more than a thousand podcasters. The content could use an upgrade, but at least there’s variety. Podcasts range over such topics as religion (see godcast.org), filmmaking skinnybones.net), cover songs coverville.com) and tech talk engadget.com). Traditional radio outlets like NPR, the BBC and Air America are increasingly posting podcasts as well. If you want to get a handle on it all, PodcastAlley.com is emerging as an easy-to-use guide to the pod world. The site features ratings, discussion groups and lists of some of the newest and most interesting podcasts.”

🙂 I am so due for another podcast tune in tomorrow!

Pixar Theater – Cars

Cars

Excite News

USATODAY.com – Baby, you can drive Disney/Pixar’s ‘Cars’

I’d Drive My Tires Over A Mile Of Busted Glass Just To See That Picture Right There! Or so the tow truck says in the trailer for the next Pixar movie Cars. I was very unhappy to see the news that the delayed the next movie till the summer of 2006! WHAT! O well I guess I am just going to have to wait a little longer. Hopefully things may change with new blood at Disney and Pixar can work out out and stay with the mouse a little longer!

Pixar Delays Its Next Film ‘Cars’ to 2006

Dec 8, 9:10 AM (ET) – By GARY GENTILE

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Pixar Animation Studios will delay the release of its next film, “Cars,” until June 2006 as it switches from a holiday release schedule to releasing films during the summer when more children are at home.

Pixar and The Walt Disney Co., which co-finances and distributes the films, said Tuesday that “Cars” would be moved from its planned November 2005 release date, creating an 18-month gap during which no new Pixar film will be in theaters.

Last month, Pixar chief executive Steve Jobs told analysts that the company was contemplating a switch to summer releases in part because children are out of school during the summer. A summer theatrical release also means the home video will be released during the holiday season, when people are looking to buy gifts.

“‘Cars’ longs to be a summer movie,” Jobs said in a statement Tuesday. “We plan to finish ‘Cars’ on its original schedule and look forward to ‘Cars’ and our future films benefiting by summer theatrical releases and holiday DVD releases.”

“Cars” is the last film in a five-picture deal between Pixar and Disney. Pixar is already working on its next, as yet untitled, film, which was set to be released in 2006, but will be pushed back to 2007.

The delay also gives Pixar more time to negotiate a new distribution deal with another studio. Likely contenders include Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox.

Last month, Jobs said he was waiting to conduct serious talks on a new deal until after Disney announces a successor to chief executive Michael Eisner. Jobs said the announcement, due next June, would trigger a game of musical chairs among studio executives.

Baby, you can drive Disney/Pixar’s ‘Cars’

By Gary Strauss, USA TODAY

Hoping to parlay the public’s growing appetite for auto racing, Cars features the voices of track aficionado Paul Newman, who continues to compete at age 79, and NASCAR great Richard Petty.

Cars isn’t due in theaters until 2006, and production won’t finish until next summer. But the studios hope to rev up the early word for the first feature directed by Pixar co-founder and Incredibles executive producer John Lasseter since 1999’s Toy Story 2.

The movie centers on speed-obsessed race car Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson), who gets lost on his way to the track. He lands in Radiator Springs, a downtrodden town off fabled Route 66 that has been bypassed by the interstate. There, he learns about what really matters from the cars of the 1950s and ’60s.

Excite Money & Investing

Sirius Chmn: Would Love To Have Howard Stern Before 2006 – Monday December 6, 3:35 PM EST

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) Chairman Joe Clayton said the company would love to bring Howard Stern on board before Stern’s contract with Infinity Broadcasting ends in 2005.

Clayton, who stepped down from the company’s chief executive post last month to make way for former Viacom (VIA, VIAB) Chief Operating Officer Mel Karmazin, avoided giving any indication whether the company is in talks with Infinity to buy out the remainder of Stern’s contract.

“Who said there are any discussions?” Clayton said at a Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. conference in New York.

“If it’s in Infinity’s best interest and in Sirius’ best interest, perhaps something could evolve. But that’s a lot of moving parts and there’s nothing more to report on that,” he said.

Clayton’s remarks were broadcast over the Internet.

Since popular shock jock Howard Stern said he’d join the No. 2 satellite radio provider in 2006, Sirius has basked in increased media and consumer attention. Stern is arguably Sirius’ biggest selling point to customers.

Clayton said the company is still on track to reach 1 million customers by the end of the year. The company said it surpassed 800,000 subscribers just a couple days before Thanksgiving.

The company has made great strides in the retail market over the past two years and expects strong demand this Christmas season, especially on the back of the Howard Stern news. Sirius sells its products through stores like Target Corp. (TGT) as well as through car manufacturers.

Sirius quadrupled its share of the retail market over the past couple years to 40% presently, Clayton said, citing data from MPD Research. The company intends to continue improving its retail appeal with more distribution pacts as well as with new and improved products.

In the second half of next year, the company plans to launch new receiver units from STMicroelectronics NV (STM). The company is also planning to introduce a wearable device at that time. Rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. (XMSR) introduced a $350 portable device in October.

Shares of Sirius traded recently at $7.87, up 32 cents, or 4.2%.

Paul Reubens – NPR : Fresh Air from WHYY for 11/29/04

Yes He Is! I was a big PeeWee fan when I was a kid and thought Paul Reubens was an awesome actor. The movie rocked and it was also Tim Burtons first major movie. I guess Rubens was a twisted guy all along and dampened the Pee Wee Legacy, but hey as I always say time heals all wounds and not one but TWO Pee Wee movies are in the making! I linked a 35 minute audio interview and it is fascinating, enjoy! Keep in mind its an interview with Paul Reubens and NOT Pee Wee Herman! He is one of those who you get one or the other! THAT’S DEEP PEE WEE! Bring him on! 🙂

– In an interview with Terri Gross on NPR’s “Fresh Air,” actor Paul Reubens (“Pee Wee’s Big Adventure”) discusses some upcoming projects, including two more “Pee Wee Herman” films and a western for Showtime.

The complete 45-episode series of the TV show Pee-Wee’s Playhouse is now out on DVD. Reubens originally created the Pee-Wee character at the Los Angeles improv group called The Groundlings. Pee-Wee’s Playhouse went on the air in 1986. It ran on CBS for 5 years, garnering 22 Emmys.

War of the Worlds – A Steven Spielberg Film starring Tom Cruise – WarOfTheWorlds.com

“War of the Worlds: DreamWorks has unveiled the official website for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming remake of the sci-fi classic, The War of the Worlds.

Nothing currently resides at the site beyond some creditss, a teaser image and a link to sign up for updates from the site, but stay tuned as we’ll be gringing you the upcoming teaser trailer as well as more updates from the official website.

War of the Worlds, scheduled for release in 2005 stars Tom Cruise, Tim Robbins, Miranda Otto, Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin.

In H.G. Well’s 1898 novel, ‘The War of the Worlds,’ he invented the myth of invasion from outer space. Martians land near London, conquering all before them, and ruin the metropolis; the fate of civilization and even of the human race remains in doubt until the very last. ‘The War of the Worlds’ is disturbingly realistic both because of its setting — Wells bicycled the route the Martians take on landing — and because of its characters: the superstitious curate, boastful artilleryman, and enterprising medical student are believable if not sympathetic figures, as well as signifying types of fin-de-siecle change and vision.

War of the Worlds hits theaters on June 29th, 2005.”

MSNBC – Kingdom Kong

Kong is King.net | King Kong movie news and rumors

Was wondering what’s going on with Peter Jackson’s King Kong 2005 movie! Again, I am a big King Kong fan and was wondering eher he can go with it! Based on this artists rendition, it looks awesome! King Kong battling a T-Rex NICE! Not shocking, it is being filmed in the new film capital of the word, New Zealand! Sounds like it is going to bean awesome movie! those are 2 great sources of info on the movie!

Jackson has wanted to remake “King Kong” since he was 13—the 1933 original, with the luminous Fay Wray, is so close to his heart that it couldn’t be removed without life-threatening surgery. In 2003 Universal Pictures’ Stacey Snider offered him, Walsh and Boyens an extraordinary $20 million advance to write, direct and produce.

Earlier this fall, Jackson invited NEWSWEEK to be the first to visit the set of “King Kong,” which is due in theaters next December. His remake takes place in the ’30s and is being shot in New Zealand—Weta Digital is building old New York on computer with a fanatical accuracy, using original blueprints and historical records. The movie stars Jack Black (as the obsessive movie director Carl Denham), Naomi Watts (as leading lady Ann Darrow) and Adrien Brody (as Jack Driscoll, in Jackson’s version a playwright in the Arthur Miller mode, who’s been cajoled into writing Denham’s screenplay). Andy Serkis, whose acting was the basis for the digital Gollum, will “play” Kong, whose prehistoric island is breached by Denham as he hunts for one of the planet’s dwindling mysteries. Serkis hasn’t begun working with Watts yet. Judging from the menacing grunts and body language he summoned up for a reporter with a moment’s notice, he is going to scare the crap out of her.

Jackson hopes to bring the Kong myth to a generation that’s allergic to black-and-white movies, confuses “King Kong” with “Godzilla” and never saw the original, just the campy ’70s remake. “I’m 26, and the only thing I knew about Kong was that he got on the Empire State Building and was shot down by planes,” says Colin Hanks, who plays Denham’s long-suffering assistant, a new character. “I watched some of the Jessica Lange version. It’s painfully obvious that it’s a guy in a monkey suit. I mean, he’s literally walking around, looking in windows and going, ‘Where’s Jessica Lange?’ ”

MSNBC – Kingdom Kong Click link for the entire article!

OCEANS TWELVE Official Site

Ocean’s 12 started their media blitz 2 weeks ago! I finally saw the trailer and its posted online and it looks awesome! A scene from Scrapello, Italy is in the trailer! We swam their in August when we went to Italy and was one of the highlights of the trip! It was also nice staying in the hotel where the cast stayed and was great sleeping in the Katherine Zeta Jones room 😉 The movie does look pretty awesome! I was a big fan of the first movie and I am looking forward to seeing the further adventures of the now Ocean’s 12!

My shot of where we spent the day in Scrapello.

A still from the trailer showing the Scrapello location

Original Post From Scrapello, Italy in August 2004 – Today we got an early start and headed up to Scrapello. It is an amazing place where people go to swim. At one point fisherman used it, now it is a popular spot to hang out and enjoy the sun. Hard to explain the area but the pictures should tell the story. This is the area where they filmed Oceans 12. We took a long swim between all the rocks and ruins.

Rob Fuz’s Blog: August 2004

Gleny taking home the plastic gold, Summer 2004!

Happy 22nd Birthday Pal! To a great guy and a great friend! Gleny is the man! Happy birthday again pal and thanks for a great year of fun! Here is to another great year! I hope they pimp your ride!

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory IMDB Lisitng

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Official Site

Holy! I know very little about Tim Burton’s new movie Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, but being a fan of both the movie, book and Tim Burton, I am very much looking forward to this new movie that opens in July. I had seeen the amazing looking poster when I went to see The Incredibles and wanted to share it. I did a lil Google search and found this cool page about a little more details on the movie! More to come as I find out about it! Ump Pa Ump Pa!

The Tim Burton Collective – Charlie & the Chocolate Factory