Random Thread For July « Gone Elsewhere

Random Thread For July

July 1, 2009 by Jackrabbit Slim

Another celebrity bites the dust: Karl Malden is dead at 97. He may be best known to a certain age group for being on The Streets of San Francisco, or as a pitchman for American Express Traveler Checks (“Don’t leave home without them!”) but his greatest work was in the ’50s for Elia Kazan, specifically as the tough priest in On the Waterfront and his Oscar-winning role in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Posted in Random | 130 Comments

130 Responses

on July 1, 2009 at 9:18 pm filmman

First!
on July 1, 2009 at 11:47 pm Brian

Obviously filmman wants to get himself banned.

Anyway, saw Public Enemies tonight, and want to review it. But I’ll be out of town over the weekend, so if I don’t get it written by Friday night someone else is welcome to take a crack at it.
on July 2, 2009 at 1:55 am filmman

Heh…that’s funny. Wasn’t me. Don’t know how to erase, though. A lot of people have access to this computer when I walk away this week. Will try to be more careful.
Thankfully I changed the password on my facebook.

Anyway, would like to hear your thoughts…that’s what I’ve been waiting for.
on July 2, 2009 at 2:33 am filmman

Also…HSX really nailed this revamp. A remarkably deeper product now. The additions they’ve made…love the small briefcase icon to the right of the movie stocks lists that let you know how much you may have of a certain stock.
Seems they’ve got it right…excellent…
on July 2, 2009 at 10:23 am Jeanine

I don’t mean to step on Brian’s toes if he was going to mention this, but we went to the 8pm showing last night (of Public Enemies) and it ended up selling out. I realize there is a lot of interest here because it was filmed in Chicago, but I wonder if the box office potential wasn’t underestimated.
on July 2, 2009 at 6:36 pm filmman

The 6 year old who prompted that first comment wants to know if he’s gonna get banned…
on July 2, 2009 at 10:21 pm Brian

Yes.
on July 3, 2009 at 2:11 am Rob

Wow. You folks are strict around here.

But, anything that helps increase my odds of winning the AGEBOC…
on July 6, 2009 at 10:30 am Nick

I’m back. Bit busy at the moment but the AGEBOC should be up a bit later.

And I’ll distance myself from Brians and James’ comment fascism. Make fun not war.
on July 6, 2009 at 11:53 am James

Wait, what did I do?!
on July 6, 2009 at 11:55 am James

A big-screen TJ Hooker movie is in the works. Thus fulfilling the prophecy of McG and John August from the opening sequence of the first Charlie’s Angels.

Chuck Russell, who makes Brett Ratner look like Martin Scorsese, will direct.
on July 6, 2009 at 11:57 am James

The awesome Mark Lisanti is joining his former Defamer colleagues at the revamped Movieline. Here’s hoping he can help the site find it’s voice.
on July 6, 2009 at 1:44 pm Nick

Wait, what did I do?!

I know what you did. You can’t fool me with your rhetoric.

Anyhoo, had a great trip. Weather was fantastic all week, sights were magnificent, bands were very good, great times were had and I didn’t even get raped by a bear once!
on July 6, 2009 at 3:54 pm James

George Clooney is apparently pursuing the lead in Paramount’s upcoming relaunch of the Jack Ryan franchise.

He’s certainly much older than I’d expect them to go (Sam Raimi, who was previously involved with the project, wanted James Franco) but he’d make a fine choice. Here’s hoping the rumors of Phillip Noyce being back in the fold end up being true.
on July 6, 2009 at 6:49 pm Jackrabbit Slim

The winner on Jeopardy! tonight was a young man named Joe Webb. Not our Joe Webb, unless he’s undergone radical plastic surgery, but it was nice to hear a familiar name winning over 28,000 dollars.
on July 6, 2009 at 11:45 pm Jackrabbit Slim

Well, I guess if Candyland can be a movie, so can View-Master. No doubt films based on Silly Putty and the Magic 8-Ball will be next.
on July 7, 2009 at 12:25 am Nick

Clooney getting a production deal might not turn out to be such a dumb idea. The guy can no doubt open the right film based on the right material (much like Matt Damon and Brad Pitt) plus he can direct Oscar calibre work by himself.

Feel much better about it than the upcoming frigging Magic Putty movie.
on July 7, 2009 at 5:49 pm Joe Webb

I’ve [day]dreamed about winning Jeopardy! on occasion. It’s a fun show to play along with at home. From “White Men Can’t Jump” to Weird Al’s “I Lost on Jeopardy” to Will Ferrel’s “Celebrity Jeopardy” I love all the spoofs…
But Cliff Clavin’s appearance has to be my favorite
on July 8, 2009 at 12:00 am Brian

Still trying to catch up from my lost weekend. Coming soon: the Best Of the first half of the year, and a new feature that I’m starting that I think I’ll enjoy and that I hope will generate some interest.
on July 8, 2009 at 8:14 am Jackrabbit Slim

Speaking of Gone Elsewhere features, James aren’t we due for another installment of best of the 2000s? Are we up to 2003?
on July 8, 2009 at 8:26 am Brian

I’d like to wish our Australian correspondent a very happy birthday. Cheers, Marco!
on July 8, 2009 at 3:25 pm Nick

Opening in Chicago is great, especially considering you’ve been so consistent, so I’m looking forward to whatever new feature you’re considering.
on July 8, 2009 at 7:00 pm James

“Speaking of Gone Elsewhere features, James aren’t we due for another installment of best of the 2000s? Are we up to 2003?”

And now it’s up! Tough year.

How is everyone doing out there?
on July 8, 2009 at 7:13 pm Jackrabbit Slim

How am I doing? I’m ready to crack up. I’m waiting to hear whether I’m eligible for an unemployment extension. It’s supposed to be for 20 weeks, and I have no reason to think I’m not eligible, but I don’t know for sure and I want to pop Valium like M&Ms.
on July 8, 2009 at 8:29 pm Brian

I’m doing OK. Been working a temp assignment for a month and a half, and it’s been mostly all right but I’m getting more bored by the day. And that’s a bad sign when you’re a temp.

But, that’s how it goes.
on July 8, 2009 at 10:09 pm Nick

I’m doing great! A month ago I was ready to start cracking up. Company welcomed me back with open arms. The new position is already proving much more fun, with a higher wage, more responsibility and more perks. The project I’ve been put on is also something I felt really needed to be remedied while I was there last, so this feels worthwhile too.
on July 9, 2009 at 3:49 am Marco Trevisiol

I’d like to wish our Australian correspondent a very happy birthday. Cheers, Marco!

Thanks Brian! In terms of sharing the birthday with famous people my day seems on the low side, apart from Anjelica Huston and Kevin Bacon (as well as former US vice-president Nelson Rockefeller who would be pretty much forgotten outside the US) not many of note.
on July 9, 2009 at 8:07 am Brian

…former US vice-president Nelson Rockefeller who would be pretty much forgotten outside the US.

And inside it.
on July 9, 2009 at 8:36 am James

As for me: I’m trying to keep my company afloat like every other small business owner in America. Should know on a deal by tomorrow or Monday that will buy me a little breathing room. It’s weird doing this stuff effortlessly for over a decade (the occasional disappointing year aside) and suddenly having everything become so difficult.
on July 9, 2009 at 10:20 am Jackrabbit Slim

I got the letter confirming my extension. It’s for 20 weeks (thank you, Mr. President!) and I at least can breathe easy until Thanksgiving.

What I will be thinking about over the next few months is whether or not to relocate.
on July 9, 2009 at 10:49 pm Brian

Good to hear, JS. Must be a relief.

In other news, Openings tomorrow night. Blame Julia for being very long.
on July 10, 2009 at 11:59 am James

Whereabouts, JS? Anywhere in particular?
on July 10, 2009 at 4:16 pm Jackrabbit Slim

Brian, I assumed you meant the 1977 Jane Fonda-Vanessa Redgrave Julia, but then I saw a poster for a film called Julia starring Tilda Swinton, so maybe that’s the one you saw. Don’t know if that film is any good, but they don’t get points for originality in the title.

James, my first option would be Gettysburg, PA, where my mother and brother operate a B&B. They’re buying a building next door and may open a store of some kind and I would be manager. That I have no idea how to manage a retail outfit seems beside the point. I also might see if I can become a battlefield tour guide. You have to take a course and pass a test, but I already know quite a bit about the battle and I test well, so I think that’s in the realm of possibility. Don’t know if you can make a living at it, though.
on July 10, 2009 at 4:32 pm Nick

That doesn’t sound like a bad gig, JS. From what I know about being a tour guide it’s mostly about the company that you sign up with and how pleased they are with you, which in turn of course depends on how well you do with the groups. Practically all of the ones I know have at least one side gig. One guy works as a translator, another writes informational pamphlets for the touring company. It’s never fun to leave home to find work but few things are worse than involuntary unemployment.
on July 10, 2009 at 4:45 pm Nick

Two news items made me happier about future films than I’ve been in a long while.

First, Mel Gibson being set to star in The Beaver directed Jodie Foster. An excellent script and two excellent artists at work right there. This will probably turn out to be a major comeback vehicle for Gibson.

Second, Tomas Alfredson being set to direct an adaptation of Le Carrés Smiley’s People, scripted by Peter Morgan. Could turn out to be one of the best spy films ever. The Alec Guinness miniseries is one of my favorites.
on July 10, 2009 at 8:30 pm Brian

Yeah, I saw the Swinton movie. It was OK. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering just how intense Tilda Swinton is capable of being, you probably owe it to yourself to see it.
on July 11, 2009 at 2:33 pm Jackrabbit Slim

Is Netflix open on Saturdays now? I just had a DVD received and a new one shipped out today, which never happened before. If so, it’s a welcome improvement.
on July 11, 2009 at 7:04 pm James

I believe they’re doing a Saturday processing trial in several markets. Keep your eyes peeled for an email survey and let them know what you think.

Incidentally: I just downgraded my account. I’ve had a minimum of 1-2 discs sitting on the counter unwatched at all times. Even if I somehow catch up and watch three films in a weekend: I’ve got unlimited streaming through the Roku box.

I also think it will encourage me to watch things as they come in rather than letting them gather dust (I’ve had the Blu-Ray of Milk for about three months).
on July 13, 2009 at 12:17 pm Joe Webb

James, I think this post has relevance to the GE twitter account: http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/blog/2009/07/10/movie-studios-on-twitter/
on July 13, 2009 at 8:57 pm filmman

Finishing up editing today and stumbled on the studio’s stash of Studio EPK’s. (Electronic Press Kits)
Really cool movie memorabilia-type thing, and I’m not sure it’s common knowledge, or what-not, but there’s a website called http://www.epk.tv
It’s got digital press kits, behind the scenes, interviews, really cool movie-type stuff. Not sure you need an account, but fun to browse around if you’re a movie nut (like me), which I assume many of you must be.
on July 13, 2009 at 9:01 pm filmman

Don’t think you need an account. Just searched by studio and found an awesome behind-the-scenes of Public Enemies. Really cool site…
on July 14, 2009 at 4:10 pm filmman

Ahhhhh…they’re trashing Soderbergh’s Girlfriend Experience over at Hollywood Elsewhere far better than I can. In retrospect, that movie was a big, steaming pile of celluloid. Have to go watch it again, but I think I was nice to it cause I was into the girl I watched it with.
Now, though, I can sit back and enjoy the invective.
The best one:

Mike Ock said:

Girlfriend Experience was under patronized because it was unwatchable. Soderbergh needs to steer clear of making another movie about sex.

He cast a hot pornstar as a high priced call girl, in a lowbudget film shot on HD video, and instead of using this as an opportunity to really go for it, without the constraints of the Hollywood studio system , and make something risque, and edgy.. a Y Tu Mama Tambien, or Swimming Pool, he chooses to fill the movie with wall to wall boring ass dialogue about the economy.

Then he wondered why people didn’t show up.
on July 14, 2009 at 5:47 pm Jackrabbit Slim

I didn’t like The Girlfriend Experience as much as Brian did, but I think it was a worthy film and doesn’t deserve invective like this. Mike Ock reveals himself as a blithering idiot. Just because Soderbergh cast a porn star doesn’t mean the movie is about sex. It is about the economy, stupid, and that’s just as good a subject for a movie as any other. Or maybe Mick Ock is too much of a moron to understand the economy. He obviously needs to see tits or explosions to be interested in a film.
on July 14, 2009 at 7:25 pm Brian

Seriously, if someone is disappointed because the porn star didn’t get naked … well, there are other avenues to pursue for that kind of gratification. I guess the only way to “really go for it” is to have the porn star get naked? Who knew porn was so cutting-edge?

Also, there’s something very ironic about saying, in so many words, “this movie wasn’t edgy because it didn’t fit into my preset expectations.”

Come on, filmman. You’re not giving yourself enough credit if you think this is “far better” than what you can do.
on July 14, 2009 at 7:57 pm filmman

Okay…I understand what you two are saying, and he is, in a way, being a bit of a purile sex fiend, but I was looking at it more in the realm of…well, look at Last Tango in Paris.
Wouldn’t you expect a movie with the subject of what Experience had and have be at least a bit sexually charged? Have it contain a bit of what the “Experience” was about?

Movies that focus on sex don’t have to be porn…do they?

Take 9 Songs for example.
Would anyone consider that porn? It was graphic and not really a very great movie but I feel it tackled its theme far better than Experience did.

He used the framework of a call-girl to make a statement on the American economy, yes? This may also be a bit purile, but the only reference to the “raping” of the American worker, who prostitutes themselves everyday for not much at all, was at the very end, when she *******SPOILER******** hugged the guy and we watched a moment and then it cut to black.
It was an empty moment devoid of feeling and depth, and it was the only part of the movie that I felt “got it”.
Well, that and her interview with Glenn Kenny, which should have been much longer and better handled.
I get what he was going for, but I think he just dropped the ball completely.
on July 14, 2009 at 7:59 pm filmman

So I guess I was trying to say that I agree that Soderbergh should never make a movie with sex as his subject. He’s too cold and calculating and…removed as a filmmaker. Just my opinion.
on July 14, 2009 at 8:25 pm James

Despite Soderbergh’s comments about quitting the business, rumor has it that he’s about to sign on to a very mainstream project.

I will eat my hat if it ISN’T The Fugitive remake at Warner Brothers. Really. Bet the farm.
on July 14, 2009 at 9:16 pm Jackrabbit Slim

Mind you, Filmman, I’m not picking on you. Your reasons for not liking the film are legitimate. I just hate guys like Mick Ock who criticize a film because it isn’t the movie he would have like Soderbergh to make. It’s a lame criticism.

Although I should add I would rather watch The Girlfriend Experience 100 more times than have to sit through Transformers once more.
on July 14, 2009 at 10:04 pm filmman

Ahhhhhh, (best DeNiro impression from Analyze This) you….you……you’re good, you.
Just had to throw a Transformers reference in there, didn’t you? Just had to go there…
on July 14, 2009 at 10:29 pm Brian

See? I thought you could do better, filmman, and you did.

But I still don’t understand why a movie with a porn star in it needs to be about sex in the first place. That’s like saying Lost in Translation sucked because Bill Murray wasn’t funny enough. Obviously there’s room in the world for people who didn’t like the movie as well those who did, but that particular criticism has nothing to do with anything except the preconceptions (and perhaps preoccupations) of that individual viewer.

Also, I’m not sure how this conversation got going in this thread, instead of the GFE review thread.
on July 14, 2009 at 11:02 pm filmman

Head On, one of my all-time favorite films, was a film with a porn star that wasn’t (explicitly) about sex.
That movie didn’t build its framework around sex. What I felt Soderbergh was saying had something to do with sex, or the lack thereof, in which case, he only showed the (lack) of sex at the end in one short, very-well-done scene.
on July 15, 2009 at 5:51 am James

Saints be praised: Bridget Jones FINALLY becomes a trilogy.
on July 15, 2009 at 10:10 pm Brian

See James, this is the difference between me and you – that doesn’t sound like good news to me at all.
on July 15, 2009 at 10:15 pm Jackrabbit Slim

I was assuming (hoping) that James was being sarcastic.
on July 15, 2009 at 10:51 pm Brian

Oh man. I think it’s time to recalibrate your sarcasm detector, JS … it seems to be working at only 50% capacity right now.
on July 16, 2009 at 9:20 am Jeanine

In order to put up with Brian for the last 9 years I have to assume that a good percentage of what he says is sarcastic. Otherwise, I’d think he was one big jackass. Of course I get the advantage of seeing him crack a smile before he’s even finished.
on July 16, 2009 at 9:24 am Jackrabbit Slim

Sarcasm is difficult to detect in print, it’s almost wholly a quality that comes across in spoken word. I got James’ sarcasm because of the ’saints be praised’ line and know him well enough to know that he would probably rather chew tinfoil than see Bridget Jones 3. But I should have known better.
on July 16, 2009 at 10:17 am filmman

I smile thinking of the great relationship Jeanine and Brian must have.
on July 16, 2009 at 11:23 am James

The sad thing is that I was only being partially sarcastic. I’d truly like to see Working Title successfully wash away the rancid stench left behind by the second film.
on July 16, 2009 at 10:28 pm Brian

See James, this is the difference between me and you…
on July 21, 2009 at 2:06 pm Joe Webb

James, this http://twitterfeed.com/ will allow you to auto-update the GE twitter with new posts as they arrive. Or any other RSS feed…
on July 24, 2009 at 12:01 am Nick

Jackrabbit – why is it that every time I read about New Jersey in Swedish newspapers it has to do with either Bruce Springsteen or some criminal shenanigans?
on July 24, 2009 at 1:41 am filmman

This seems to be a bit more than shenanigans…
on July 24, 2009 at 7:25 am Jackrabbit Slim

@Nick: I refer you to The Sopranos.
on July 24, 2009 at 7:39 am James

Joe, that’s a good idea but I haven’t updated the Twitter feed in over a month. If anyone else wants to pick up the slack, just email me for username/password.

I really think we SHOULD be updating it, but I just don’t have the time at the moment.
on July 24, 2009 at 1:36 pm James

Warner Brothers just announced that the third Batman film will begin shooting next year for a 2011 release. This obviously sounds a little ambitious given Christopher Nolan’s Inception schedule.

So will he begin prepping Batman as he finishes up Inception OR are we getting a new director? My money is on the latter with Nolan remaining as a hands-on producer.
on July 24, 2009 at 1:37 pm Nick

@Nick: I refer you to The Sopranos.

I thought that was like judging Swedes from watching Bergman films; or New Yorkers from watching Woody Allen; or Hong Kong people from Jackie Chan movies.
on July 24, 2009 at 6:46 pm Brian

I drove through New Jersey once with my family as a kid. Don’t remember if we stopped at any point, although I doubt it given my dad’s aversion to full-service gas stations. Anyway, I don’t remember anything except driving by the Meadowlands, and seeing the New York skyline for the first time, the latter of which is an experience I still dream about from time to time.
on July 27, 2009 at 3:43 pm Jackrabbit Slim

What’s the deal with Naomi Watts doing a commercial for Direct TV? I would think she was more happening than that.

For our non-American friends, the commercials feature performers in recognizable movies (like Robert Patrick in T2, Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) breaking character in the movie and telling the audience they should get Direct TV. Most of these actors are on the, shall we say, downward slope of their careers.
on July 27, 2009 at 4:11 pm James

While Watts certainly hasn’t lived up to her potential, I guess I’d agree that it’s a few years early. A few more disappointments and/or outright bombs and she’ll settle into a comfy, Award-bait television gig.
on July 27, 2009 at 4:12 pm James

On the plus side: she remains almost physically perfect.
on July 27, 2009 at 5:00 pm filmman

Sure, if by physically perfect you mean that in real life she is the perfect embodiment of a rail-thin middle-aged woman who looks as though she hasn’t touched a single carbohydrate in years and has the pallid skin to enhance that conclusion, then, sure…she’s almost physically perfect.
on July 27, 2009 at 5:16 pm Jackrabbit Slim

Meow, Filmman. That’s one of the most mean-spirited things anybody has posted here. On Facebook you slammed fat people, and now you’re after the skinny? (And she’s not particularly thin compared to the Kate Bosworths and Keira Knightleys on the world). You’re a bit obsessed with people’s weight, almost to a Jeffrey Wells level.

I’m with James on this one, if she ever gets tired of Liev Schreiber she can come see me any time.
on July 27, 2009 at 5:22 pm filmman

Sorry, Slim…don’t like when people hold unhealthy forms of weight up as the perfect embodiment of anything.
I’ve watched my niece not eat and I’ve seen people starve themselves and overeat.
This isn’t an issue that can be babied…
It wasn’t anything personal against her.
It’s against anything that shows either too thin or too fat as acceptable and something to be held up to any good light.
Take it as you will, we are all either obese or anorexic.
Our kids are grossly obese and too many young girls starve themselves.
Actresses who look good with ten pounds added by camera should not be held up as any ideal because young women look at paparazzi photos and hold the way they really look as some type of ideal.
Not taking back anything.
on July 27, 2009 at 5:25 pm filmman

I’ve seen what all actresses really look like.

I see how people eat in this country.

I see the walking houses that traipse around places like balloon festivals.

Attention must be paid.
on July 27, 2009 at 5:27 pm filmman

Sorry, don’t know why the all is in there.

Again: nothing. personal. against. Naomi. Watts.

What would happen if I said most pron stars are truly ugly under the true lights of the real world. Just an observation and nothing personal. Pron can be a difficult profession on the body and complexion.
on July 27, 2009 at 7:43 pm filmman

Have some issues with the Tron Legacy footage.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVAcEUjVni4&feature=player_embedded
(Not sure that link will work)

The light cycles seem to not follow any of the rules set forth by the light cycles in the original Tron.

I understand the use of levels in a server set in the modern age, but with the levels, now the light cycles can just randomly drop down and drop a light wall.

Okay. Not sure how that works. Why would the wall wend its way around and up and under and…

Alright, besides that, they can bump each other? Now it’s more like the Star Wars pod race rather than a light cycle match in Tron.

Yeah…I like the original.
on July 27, 2009 at 8:21 pm James

I can’t speak for how Watts looks in real life, but I’ve never found her to be anorexic-looking on-screen.

Jennifer Connelly (who I actually would have held up as my “ideal” at one time) maybe.
on July 27, 2009 at 8:27 pm James

Tron footage was interesting, never dug original.
on July 27, 2009 at 11:06 pm Brian

What the hell is “pron”?
on July 27, 2009 at 11:19 pm Nick

What? Filmman doesn’t find Naomi Watts attractive because he thinks she’s too thin and too old, and suddenly he’s “mean-spirited”? Seriously, who’s sensitive about weight issues here?

You’re a bit obsessed with people’s weight, almost to a Jeffrey Wells level.

Now that is one of the most mean-spirited things posted here.
on July 28, 2009 at 7:32 am James

Why won’t anorexic old woman Naomi Watts just crawl into a dusty corner of her attic and die?
on July 28, 2009 at 10:57 am Marco Trevisiol

For our non-American friends, the commercials feature performers in recognizable movies (like Robert Patrick in T2, Sigourney Weaver in Aliens, Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) breaking character in the movie and telling the audience they should get Direct TV. Most of these actors are on the, shall we say, downward slope of their careers.

I don’t know whether you can bracket those three together. Patrick didn’t really capitalise on T2 initially and you could argue the last 5 or so years have been the best part of his career. Weaver has dropped off understandably after being near the top in the 1980s/1990s (although she’s done some good cameos recently) and has Ben Stein ever been a big name in film terms?
on July 28, 2009 at 1:09 pm Jackrabbit Slim

You make a good point, Marco. I should rephrase that to say that the actors used in these commercials are either on the downward slope or were never on the peak, and their appearance in a commercial was not a surprise. I was, however, surprised to see Watts doing one at this point in her career.
on July 28, 2009 at 2:53 pm James

Two phone interviews today resulted in two face-to-face interviews (Monday and Tuesday). Both jobs are a further commute than I’d like, but I’m open to looking given company sizes and career potential.

Worst case: it will be educational given that I haven’t been on a job interview since 1997.
on July 28, 2009 at 3:07 pm filmman

Excellent news, James!
(Though in way, curious what happened.)
But good luck on the interviews. Hope they go well…
on July 28, 2009 at 3:20 pm James

Appreciated, sir! Basically (long story short) had an epiphany and I realized I’m tired of worrying 24/7 365 about my business. Still doing fine, but it’s a quality of life thing.

I want to stress 9-5 like everyone else, collect a paycheck and enjoy my off hours.
on July 28, 2009 at 3:31 pm filmman

That’s funny, cause my brother had an epiphany where he’s tired of working 9-5 and now he wants to stress about his own business!
Glad your choice is playing out well…is the commute all the way into NYC?
Cause if it is…every drive can be a location scouting for the doc that would rock!
on July 28, 2009 at 5:32 pm Jackrabbit Slim

Good luck, James. We should have ourselves a major cyber celebration when all of us our employed to the extent that we wish for.
on July 29, 2009 at 3:02 pm Nick

Hope you nail those interviews, James. Finding 9-5 to be treacherously comforting as well.
on July 29, 2009 at 10:59 pm Brian

Since we were talking about weight, I thought I’d link to this interview with Paul Campos, author of The Obesity Myth (which I have not read).

Interesting stuff.
on July 29, 2009 at 11:51 pm filmman

So much wrong with that link, I can’t describe.

So I’m wrong for ascribing a link to unhealthiness and fat people and that it’s a myth to think being fat is “bad”.

Hm.

Ummm…

Right.

Okay.

You’ve changed my stance.

If you want to be fat. Be fat. Eat the worst foods you can cram in your mouth, become obese and then run to this article whenever a meanie like me puts you down.
Get diabetes and joint and mobility problems, get winded walking a flight of stairs, but by all means, eat what you want and get fat because I’m perpetuating a “myth” that it’s bad to be fat. Because I’m saying we should treat old age by convincing people it’s only good to be young.

Dude…I can’t even begin to write enough…
on July 30, 2009 at 8:29 am Brian

So I’m wrong for ascribing a link to unhealthiness and fat people and that it’s a myth to think being fat is “bad”.

If Campos is right, then yes, you are.

But at any rate, let me get this straight. You’re responding to charges of “moral panic” by … completely flipping out in terms of unabashed moral panic. I mean, you’re showing all the classic signs:

1) Immediately taking an argument to its extreme, preventing any more rational discussion.

2) Proclaiming that said argument is obviously right and belittling another person for challenging it, thus preventing any more rational discussion.

3) Overreacting in personal, defensive terms to something that was presented merely as a possible object of discussion.

4) Generally being kind of a jackass, frankly.

I tell you what – if you’re actually interested in this line of discussion, why don’t we both read his book, and then come back here and discuss it? I don’t actually know if I believe Campos or not, as it turns out, but I find his arguments at least plausible. I mean, it’s not like we as a society are constantly overhyping possible threats or anything.
on July 30, 2009 at 10:02 am filmman

I will see if I can get the book, but really…

I am reacting only the way a person could to a book, and don’t take this personally, because only someone who posted a link for discussion and then took offense personally would claim I was being a jackass.

I am getting extremely defensive because I am not taking a moral high ground to claim that fat people are bad.

This makes me flip because fat people tell, we’ll say me, that I must accept that average women are walking houses.

Why?

Because the underlying cause of it all, the fast food, the eating what we want, the COMPLETE disregard for being a healthy individual at all, is thrown out the window and in order to be American, I must accept that I can do what I want and be fat.

Brian, we’re not talking about a group of people with thyroid problems. We’re not talking about a group of people who have no access to healthy food and can only eat processed junk.

Fatness, in this country, has become a choice that no one can belittle cause we choose to be fat.

Our kids are increasingly morbidly obese…

Okay. Let me find the book and read it and then we’ll come back and discuss it.

Let me know when you get it and when you finish. Will try to find it today.

And I will react even more strongly. Cause if you brought an article to me that said exercise was a moral choice and you shouldn’t force people to do it…I would react the same way.
on July 30, 2009 at 10:13 am filmman

And Brian:

Post another link like that, and I will be so out of my mind, I won’t see straight and will react the same.

It’s like in Tombstone, when Earp says: relax Virgil, it’s just his character.

If you or someone you know has taken offense to my hatred of fat people, then I apologize.

(And I don’t really hate fat people, I hate the lazy excuses that people use to talk around their lazy excuses for being overweight, and BOY, do more people take this personally than you would think. Which is good, better than them not taking it personally cause hopefully it makes a spark.)
on July 30, 2009 at 10:43 am filmman

To use a movie reference, I often feel like the character in one of my favorite movies of last year.

When Farrell is sitting in front of the church tower and the walking houses step up and ask if the tower is nice. He looks at them and tells them the stairs are too narrow and they won’t fit through.

Okay, statement of fact, and their reaction is the way people always react when you try to take away their freedom to be fat. They attack him, get winded just walking around chasing him and then yell and swear at him for being a callous person.

Thank you, Mr. McDonagh…
on July 30, 2009 at 11:08 am Jackrabbit Slim

Not to drag this on, but Filmman, I completely agree that obesity is an epidemic in this country. But do you think your approach, using schoolyard taunts like “walking houses,” helps things? From the morbidly obese people I know, they are dealing with immense psychological problems dealing with it and don’t need people making jerky statements like that. You’re part of the problem, not the solution.
on July 30, 2009 at 11:16 am Rob

Ah In Bruges… one of my favorites too. (I still laugh until I cry every time I watch the scene where Farrell references the seesaw tipping toward culture.) And while I don’t want to interrupt this discussion, I’m going to anyway for the sake of clarity.

Are you two arguing all three of Campos’ assertions (1-the reaction to obesity in the US is overblown, 2-fatties don’t add to the overall cost of healthcare, 3-there’s no evidence that being overweight increases your health risks)? Because #1 is true, #2 is debatable depending which set of stats you have in front of you, and #3 is the biggest line of BS I’ve heard in quite some time.

Just curious and want to be sure I’m following the fight correctly.
on July 30, 2009 at 11:37 am filmman

If you feel I’m being a jerk, Slim, then I absolutely apologize for causing that.
on July 30, 2009 at 7:26 pm James

Soderbergh and Terrance Stamp might be considering a sequel to The Limey co-starring Michael Caine?
on July 30, 2009 at 11:30 pm Brian

Rob-

I’m not really arguing the validity of any of Campos’s assertions, although a couple seem self-evident. For example, he argues that “obesity” is arbitrarily defined, which I think is clear. And he’s obviously right that we have no real idea how to make fat people thin. Do any of us really know a lot of obese people who have become thin over a long-term period?

But I haven’t read his book, and I don’t know what kind of evidence he brings to the table in terms of #2 and #3 as you list them. It’s just food for thought …

…

At any rate, I think your reaction is strange, filmman. From what I can tell, Campos isn’t saying that people shouldn’t exercise or eat healthy. He’s not making “excuses” for overweight people. He IS saying the three things that Rob outlines, but those things are completely different than what you seem to be reacting to.

And, of course, it’s clear that you agree with #1 (as Rob outlines) to some extent, because you were also railing about women and girls “starving themselves” for the sake of being thin. I think you will agree that the stigma against fat people has its dark underbelly, unless you think that women and girls get this idea all on their own, without any kind of societal pressures brought to bear. But that, obviously, would be idiotic.

But mostly – and this is personal, regrettably – I think the authoritarian air you bring to the discussion is rancid, and indistinguishable from the kind of shit from the religious right that drives us both (I think) crazy. I’m sure you’re quite content with your moral toughness, recognizing that the issue can’t be “babied,” and proud that you won’t back down in the face of such widepread “disregard” for healthiness, and selflessly sacrificing yourself for the sake of causing that “spark” that gets everyone to change their ways.

Just proof that Puritanism, as Campos says, can come from either the right or the left.
on July 31, 2009 at 6:14 am James

Ridley Scott will direct the new Alien film with Jon Spaights writing. I’ve sung the praises of Spaihts’ screenplay for Passengers many times here and I’m thrilled he’s gotten the gig. With the possible exception of James Cameron, I could not imagine a better team to restore dignity to the franchise.

Terrific news.
on July 31, 2009 at 11:07 am filmman

If my authoritarian air in the face of constant news and thoughts and ads and the such explaining that it’s “alright” to be fat or it’s the “average” woman who should be held up and seen as the norm when she has fifty pounds she gained from drinking chemical-laden soda and eating fast food and not even thinking about what she’s putting in her body, well, then, that is a regrettable personality trait you have picked up on and it’s a shame I have to be lumped in with the right-wing REDACTED.
But now I’m going to get it from all sides. (Last part redacted so that only Brian can call me out on so public a forum.)
on July 31, 2009 at 11:08 am filmman

As for the Aliens thing, awesome, indeed. Very awesome.
And James, do you have a link or what-not to that Passengers script?
on July 31, 2009 at 11:56 am filmman

Wow…Scott is 71?

And Brian, if Avatar is completely CG, why are all the leaked pictures from the set of real-world things? Like the exo-suit and the pic of Cameron directing some large gun on a craft?

So they’re just rendering over all of the real things? This may be a ‘duh’, but I still don’t get it.
on July 31, 2009 at 12:03 pm James

As for the Aliens thing, awesome, indeed. Very awesome.
And James, do you have a link or what-not to that Passengers script?

Check your email. I believe Nick read it as well, although I think he wasn’t quite as in love with it as I was.
on July 31, 2009 at 2:35 pm Rob

Seriously now, you guys are actually excited about an Alien prequel? Regardless of who writes/directs it where can it reasonably go? Since humans reportedly had no contact with the species before Alien it can only involve humans meeting the aliens and being completely wiped out or a storyline with no humans at all… neither of those sound all that interesting. Granted I don’t know the details of the writer’s pitch, but I don’t see where else it could go honestly.
I’d rather see Scott tackle some new science fiction property like Haldeman’s Forever War novels.
on July 31, 2009 at 2:49 pm filmman

Oh, hell…I love Forever War.

Rob, you had me at Forever-
on July 31, 2009 at 3:09 pm James

As a lifelong fan of the franchise (quite possibly my favorite, really) I see it as a shot at redemption. It could fail spectacularly, but it’s virtually guaranteed to be of infinitely higher quality than another AVP film or a straight remake from some mindless hack doing Fox’s bidding.

I also believe (based on nothing more than intuition) that “prequel” may end up being a misnomer.
on July 31, 2009 at 3:10 pm James

And Spaihts is literally the perfect guy for the job. If I were dream producing this movie, he’d be at or near the top of the list.
on July 31, 2009 at 3:35 pm Nick

I liked Spaihts’ Passengers a lot. Maybe not as much you did, James, but I thought the premise and character work was very affecting.

That said *adopts corporate voice* I don’t see how or why a major corporation would shell out billions in creating a luxury space liner when its passengers will be inert for the major part of its journey. It’s bad cost management with an iffy if not downright lousy ROA. It’s not like WALL-E where the passengers were supposed to live on the ships. Also, when and if the ship comes back the technology will no doubt be outdated, so it’s like building the Titanic for a one-time trip (which it was not intended to do, at least).

More realistically they’d see to it that the passengers never required any extraneous activities at all and woke up when the ship landed. That way they could send the ship back and use it at least one more time as a budget trip to another system, or use it as a return ride later on for those tired of the colony. And use the extra space to bring more equipment and passengers to and out of the colony. Win-win for company and passengers.

All of that would also be really boring, so it’d be a lose-lose for audience and screenwriter.
on July 31, 2009 at 3:42 pm Nick

I’ve got the script for Spaihts’ Shadow 19 lying around. First few pages made it seem like some kind of space marine movie. I’ll give it another shot.
on July 31, 2009 at 4:16 pm filmman

Wait, Brian, did you say you agree with the assertion that we have no idea how to make fat people thin?
Because that, sir, would be idiotic.
There is one way to make fat people thin. Counter all the propoganda from advertising and society and explain to people how LITTLE we have to eat to actually keep ourselves healthy and alert and with enough calories to get through our sedentary days.
But, of course, that won’t happen. Corporations that make food want you to eat as poorly as you do.
Lobbyists for food corporations want to lobby congress to say nothing that could harm anything short of poison being put in your food.
(By-the-way, High Fructose Corn Syrup is poison. Anyone who says different is trying to sell you something with High Fructose Corn Syrup in it.)
We have been conditioned to believe we can eat what we want as much as we want and all we need is to take Pepto Bismol to fix it when it starts to come back up.
You know why you get heartburn? Save for the rare instances that it’s a medical condition? Because people gorge themselves and their body is telling them to stop. But, hey, we’re Americans, it’s our right to gorge ourselves. That, I think you’ll agree, is an idiotic assertion.
on July 31, 2009 at 4:16 pm Jeanine

It’s time for the sleeping lion (I should put that back up as my avitar).

As a woman, I should really step in here, since some of filmman’s comments were directed towards under & overweight women. And I have experience as both being thin and overweight. Here is what I’ve learned about fat.
Dieting or extreme weight loss surgery might as well be anorexia. When you intake fewer calories than your body needs, you are starving yourself. The most likely outcome of starving yourself is eventual overeating which can actually lead to more weight gain. It’s the same logic whether your 100 lbs or 400 lbs. This is why you are supposed to eat breakfast and not to skip meals, because in all likelihood you will eat more than you should during your next meal. This is also probably the same reason why the article states a .1% success rate (I think).

In high school, I was naturally very thin. I even ate junk food and drank sodas. Years later when I started working 9 -5, I gained weight. A desk job is the death of a “good figure” because I suddenly became much more sedentary than I was used to. I joined a gym and went on diets, but seriously nothing worked. Even now, when I go up and down several flights of stairs many times plus walk a total of a mile or two DAILY, I still find myself overweight*. I don’t really eat junk food and I don’t drink soda unless it’s Diet. So I think your assertion that fast food and sodas are to blame is a very harsh generalization.

*By your earlier comment you are saying that we are all either obese or anorexic. According to CDC or WHO or whomever, that’s not technically true (categories are something like underweight, normal, overweight and obese). What Campo was arguing is that there is an arbitrary BMI number that has been assigned to obesity and that it doesn’t really make sense to say that someone just one pound into the obese weight range is going to have the same health risks that all obese people have. Look at it another way. Say someone in the normal weight range gains a few pounds and is now considered overweight. It’s just a number.

In general, I think Campo is saying that if we stop harassing people about being obese, get rid of the scales, stop constantly playing dieting ads and for the love of god stop showing super-thin actresses and airbrushed photos in magazines, then obese people might have a chance of losing weight naturally. The point is, they are trying too hard to lose weight and failing miserably. Going back to dieting, if people are not criticized for their weight, they won’t go through a diet that makes them end up gaining more weight.

I think a starting point is education about how to be healthy, not gross generalizations about fat people. I didn’t know what a trans fat was until I was in college. And it seems like it takes a degree to decode the new Food Pyramid. Make education simple for children and start young, and continue throughout their lives. That includes not only getting soda and fast food out of school cafeterias, but more encouragement towards activity and exercise. On that same note, I wish there was a way for Corporate America to make the desk job more active, or at least not require someone to be chained to a desk for 8 hours 5 days out of the week. Not everyone has time for a gym outside of work.

That’s all for now. I might rant about your correlation between obesity and credit card debt later.
on July 31, 2009 at 4:38 pm Jeanine

Sorry it’s Campos, not Campo. I was thinking of the former Cowboy’s coach.
on July 31, 2009 at 4:40 pm Jeanine

And by “naturally” very thin I meant without trying, not “of course” in case anyone was confused.
on July 31, 2009 at 4:53 pm filmman

COMPLETELY agree. Dieting is ridiculous and akin to anorexia.

Three meals a day: great. There should be even more, smaller meals spaced out throughout the day.
It is HOW MUCH we ingest at each meal that is astoundingly, idiotically ridiculous.

I do have to disagree that people are trying to lose weight, and that badgering them will not help.
Look in someone’s refrigerator some time…they ARE NOT trying to lose weight.
Is there diet soda in your fridge? You’re gaining more, worse weight then you would drinking soda with natural cane sugar (the only type of soda you should be drinking if you HAVE to drink soda) because all the chemicals stick to your body as cellulite because THEY’RE CHEMICALS and your body doesn’t know what to do with them.

And Brian, to clarify, would you say that fitness woman on tv, whatsername? (Have to find it) Would you say she is a nazi, wait, right wing religious nut and that she’s rancid because she uses tough love to motivate her fitness charges?

And when are we going to tackle the other white elephant, the fact that Americans don’t feel the need to even WALK anymore? Cause it’s not just eating habits…
on July 31, 2009 at 5:13 pm filmman

And Jeanine: You read my Facebook!

(Even if you don’t, don’t ruin it for me.)
on July 31, 2009 at 5:20 pm Jeanine

Facebook is my office water cooler. Since I work from home, it’s a way to get a little social interaction even if it’s virtual.
on July 31, 2009 at 8:44 pm Brian

If my authoritarian air in the face of constant news and thoughts and ads and the such explaining that it’s “alright” to be fat or it’s the “average” woman who should be held up and seen as the norm when she has fifty pounds she gained from drinking chemical-laden soda and eating fast food and not even thinking about what she’s putting in her body, well, then, that is a regrettable personality trait you have picked up on and it’s a shame I have to be lumped in with the right-wing REDACTED.

Well, here’s the thing …

Nobody is saying it’s “alright” to be fat. You’re objecting in a hysterical manner to a moral judgment that isn’t even being made.

I agree with you, 100%, that our food quality, in general, is shamefully poor. But the way to fix that isn’t to castigate people for eating it, it’s to address the conditions that make it so widely available in the first place.

For example, you’re all worked up about high fructose corn syrup, and probably with good reason. But as I’m sure you well know, one of the reasons it’s so prevalent is because our agriculutual policies in this country basically guarantee that this is going to be the case.

(As an aside, one of the things about living in Texas is that you could from time to time find Coke or Pepsi imported from Mexico in convenience stores. That stuff was made with cane sugar – they don’t use the HFCS there.)

Now, insofar as we’re going to have public health initiatives that address this, we can scream and yell at fat people in an effort to get them to stop ingesting the stuff … or we can fix our agricultural policies in a way that actually addresses people’s nutrional needs. Which do you think is going to be more effective? And even if you believe – as you’ve said here – that the former is absolutely necessary, how well do you think it’s going to work if we can’t accomplish the latter?

Wait, Brian, did you say you agree with the assertion that we have no idea how to make fat people thin?
Because that, sir, would be idiotic.

A couple things about this. One is that I think it’s useful to clarify terms here; when we say “fat,” I assume that we’re both meaning “obese.” As Campos says, we’re not talking about people losing 10 pounds here and there, we’re talking about bringing obese people into “normal” range.

Secondly, I repeat my question: how many people do you know that have accomplished this on a permanent basis? I think that to ask the question is to know the answer – it’s very rare, and I suspect we both know this.

Obviously, we know that weight gain is (for many people, not all) largely due to lifestyle habits. But we’re not talking about getting a buddy to the gym more often to work on those love handles – we’re talking about public initiatives that will affect a large degree of lifestyle changes on a broad scale. What exactly are your suggestions for making this work? How exactly do you actually get results?

Oh yeah, you want to “counter all the propoganda from advertising and society and explain to people how LITTLE we have to eat to actually keep ourselves healthy and alert and with enough calories to get through our sedentary days.”

In other words, you want to tell people that what they’re eating is bad for them. Gee, no one’s ever tried that before! While you’re at it, you can tell people to exercise more instead of watching TV. Can’t fail.

Furthermore, it seems obvious to me that the time, money, and effort required to do that would be better served addressing some of the underlying social conditions that are causing problems. For example, I don’t think either one of us dispute that there’s a high correlation between obesity and poverty. I suppose it’s possible that this is a coincidence, but that seems unlikely in that the cheapest food, as you know, is very often the worst for you.

Understanding this, what sense does it make to criticize poor people for eating bad food? If your sense of social justice is developed much past that of Rush Limbaugh’s, I’d say “not very much.”

In fact, I’d go one step further, and say that the War on Fat provides a convenient distraction from the kind of social issues that people are always looking for an excuse not to address. It’s easy to ignore poverty and inequality when hey, they’re just a bunch of lazy, fat slobs anyway, right?

I hasten to add that I’m not really directing this accusation at you personally, filmman. But ask yourself, whose interests are you really fighting for here?

Would you say she is a nazi, wait, right wing religious nut and that she’s rancid because she uses tough love to motivate her fitness charges?

Don’t know who you’re talking about, but if she’s on TV, odds are pretty good that I have no use for her.

Finally, in the Obama-like interest of finding common ground, I’d like to propose that we both enjoy a good laugh over this.
on July 31, 2009 at 8:57 pm Jackrabbit Slim

Here, here, Brian. I agree with every word you say. And Filmman, I doubt you’ve seen inside the refrigerators of that many obese people. I know some obese people who actually eat very little. You seem woefully ignorant of studies that show that obesity is tied to a genetic predisposition, and that our brains are wired to crave fat and sodium. Just as some people can eat large quantities of food and stay skinny, some people have to expend much more energy to lose weight. We can all blame it on our parents.

And I’m guessing that when you hit middle age you may suddenly find yourself with a spare tire that you can’t get rid of. I hope I’m still around to hear about it.
on July 31, 2009 at 9:04 pm filmman

See…I don’t know for sure, but it makes me so angry that the underlying problems with agricultural legislation allow cane sugar to be used in Mexico while our children are force-fed HFCS by unwitting parents…makes. me. so. crazy.

And I do not want to ignore poverty and inequality. Far, far from that. I don’t think the poor are all fat slobs. Quite the opposite.

And yes, we certainly share a laugh at the Onion, but a truncated laugh at all the money wasted by Bushie on that abstinence-only education…
on July 31, 2009 at 9:10 pm filmman

Slim, you are truly angry.
So in the interest of Elsewhere-hood, I am not going to respond to your comment and I suggest we leave this here.

I would like to say, however, that your link to all obesity being genetic is an attempt to chastise me and continue to brow-beat me over a subject you are very sensitive about. I recognize that and ask that you leave it here, too because any response I give will be insanely insensitive to you and I don’t want to offend you further.
on July 31, 2009 at 9:19 pm filmman

Oh, and Slim, if you’ve seen it or get a chance to see it, would you review In The Loop? It’s in the theaters and even On Demand and it’s a great movie, but I can’t seem to formulate my thoughts on it…would like to know what you think…
It’s a baffling movie to pigeon-hole but some of the more brilliant comedic writing I’ve heard in a movie.

Just wonderin’ how you would review it…
on July 31, 2009 at 9:47 pm Brian

I recognize that and ask that you leave it here, too because any response I give will be insanely insensitive to you and I don’t want to offend you further.

Not sharing your concern for good relations, let me point out that this is a real asshole move. What you’re saying is, “I think you’re angry and irrational, but I’ll take the high road and end the argument before you can respond.”

Here’s some advice: if you don’t want to say something, DON’T FUCKING SAY IT. Don’t say it anyway and then run and hide.

Hope we’re still friends.
on July 31, 2009 at 11:04 pm Marco Trevisiol

Re: the food/weight debate. The one factor I would add is time. imo the appeal of fast food is that it’s…. fast! Many people simply don’t have the time (due to working especially long hours) to have a properly cooked, healthy meal and have to take the short cut of going to a fast food outlet to get something to eat in a drive-thru in just a few minutes.

If given the choice, I’m sure most people would rather not eat fast food most of the time but because of the low cost and time factor, it’s understandable why so many people go for it.
on August 1, 2009 at 5:59 am Nick

Man, this was an interesting discussion. Most intense we’ve had for a while. Not real comfortable with the level of vitriol thrown Filmman’s way, but he did throw himself into it, so there you go.

In my experience obesity as a greater issue is largely tied to the United States. When I worked as a museum guard four out of five times the morbidly obese visitors were American. And, yes, I can call them morbidly obese, because 350 pounds or more is not normal. I had my own In Bruges experience more than once when I had to explain to these visitors that unless they were in a wheelchair or had a similar handicap they could not use the royal elevator. We had stairs. Got berated at more than once for our ‘fascistic’ tendencies. When one of them did come in in a wheelchair, this person would be weighing more than 450 pounds and was so large she barely fit into the elevator. I was afraid the oldest elevator in Sweden would break. Then I’d run up five flights of stairs to open the elevator door for her. What was she doing the entire time? Slurping on half a gallon of diet coke.

I saw seventy-, eighty-year old Scandinavians take those stairs every day, and then some fat American is going to shout at me that elevators are a human right and necessity? Fuck it, you can walk. Hell, you need it.

As Brian points out it is a national issue. Having been to the US and seen what the meals look like: one meal is generally twice the size of a recommended intake and rarely has any pure vegetables; one pizza slice is more than half a pizza here; there’s practically always soda as an alternative drink for breakfasts; at the cinema you can order a half a gallon Coke for one person; the invention of Starbucks’ Marble Mocha Macchiato Venti. Et cetera. Now I read Coca Cola is making a sugared fizzy milk as a ‘healthy alternative’ to Coke. Seriously, wtf.

On top of that there are things like the rise of the permobil instead of walking.

At least in the UK they’ve started doing some radical changes.

Something even more radical than that is obviously needed in the US. It’s a question of responsibility, both national and personal. People work long hours all over the world. You don’t have to drink soda and buy fast food to cope with it.
on August 1, 2009 at 7:45 am James

And to wrap the discussion/July up: I suggest nuking America from orbit to destroy all the fatties, it’s the only way to be sure.
on August 1, 2009 at 10:02 am Brian

I think there’s something decidedly Python-esque about the term “royal elevator.”
on August 1, 2009 at 12:23 pm Nick

I think there’s something decidedly Python-esque about the term “royal elevator.”

It’s a very sweet little elevator. One guy tried to bribe me when he heard there was one.