Midnight Movie House

With apologies to Morgan Spurlock . . .

. . . I had to visit the crack dealer today. Now, before you all go busting out the phone books to find a rehab clinic, by “crack dealer” I mean McDonald’s. ;) I say this because I realized I had never put up a post about Spurlock’s visit to NIU in September of 2004. Back then; Spurlock came to NIU to speak after a special showing of his film Super Size Me. First, the guy is hysterical! The man should be doing stand-up, too. He really should. Second, thanks for taking the time to come to NIU to begin with, Morgan. Third, what incredible integrity! It seems that when Subway caught wind of his film, they offered Spurlock Spurlock a million dollar deal to sell his documentary with their meals when it was time for it to hit the video stores. Now, before I tell you his response, keep in mind that he hadn’t made any money off Super Size Me when this happened. His response: No way! Why? Because, he “didn’t feel comfortable taking their money.” The reason: To him, it would be the same as him saying, “well, I say fast food is bad in my film, but this one is actually okay.” “This one” being Subway, that is. Spurlock could have easily cashed in due to the good-for-you-food allure that Jared has been trying to shove down our throats in the Subway commercials. Instead, he turned down a hell of a lot of money and kept his integrity intact. To me, that is admirable and I wanted to give a much delayed shout out to the man.

Click here to view Morgan Spurlock’s blog at indiewire.com

Click here to view the official site for Morgan Spurlock’s show “30 Days”

Sexual Harassment Is Just Fine And Dandy With Isaac!

What this sob did wasn't "controversy," it was sexual harassment and it was beyond disgusting. I can't believe "being gay" makes it just fine. I have never been so personally offended watching something in my life as I was when I watched this horror show. Boy, Scarlett (Johansson) sure looked comfortable when he was FEELING HER UP ON NATIONAL FREAKIN' TELEVISION!!! Also, you could just feel the love when he asked Eva (Longoria) if she'd shaved off all her pubic hair for the night. *said dripping with sarcasm* His behavior was disgusting, offensive, and way over the line, and he should be banned from red carpets for life. I can't believe more people aren't outraged over this. I really can't!

Mizrahi: 'I'm not going to put a mask on'
Expect more outlandishness, says red-carpet commentator

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Get over it, says Isaac Mizrahi.

The fashion designer turned red-carpet renegade has no plans to soften his act come Oscar night March 5.

"I am going to meet people and I love doing that, and I'm not going to put a mask on to meet people now because of whatever interesting controversy was raised at the Golden Globes," Mizrahi told The Associated Press in an interview this week.

His outlandish pre-show interviews for the E! cable channel at the Globes in January -- during which he groped Scarlett Johansson's breast, asked Eva Longoria about her pubic hair and peeked down Teri Hatcher's dress -- drew as much buzz as the awards themselves.

The openly gay fashion designer strongly defended his behavior.

"The thing is, I am very connected to popular culture, I am," he said. "And I watch 'Will & Grace' and I watch 'My Name is Earl' and I watch prime-time television a lot and every other joke is about pubic hair ... So I don't feel it's wrong to talk about that on the red carpet," Mizrahi said.

E! did not receive any official complaints from any of the actresses involved in Mizrahi's Golden Globes escapades, it says, and issued no apologies. But the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation complained to E! about Mizrahi's comment to Charlize Theron about her Oscar-winning role as a "scary dyke with no teeth" in 2004's "Monster."

Soon after, E! President and CEO Ted Harbert, emphasizing he didn't condone the language, defended Mizrahi. "Isaac is the last person on Earth who could be accused of even the slightest degree of homophobia," he said.

On Friday, he again defended Mizrahi, noting that the "vast majority of the reaction, critically and from viewers, was overwhelmingly positive."

But, Harbert added, "I don't expect there to be a repeat of some of those things that happened at the Golden Globes.

"The only thing I'll say to Isaac is you have to always take into consideration what the audience's expectation is ... We have a very broad audience, and viewers probably don't have an expectation that there will be a great deal of edgy material."

Oscar spokesman John Pavlik told the AP Friday that the film academy hadn't laid down any rules and doesn't "actually expect anything to happen." But, he added, "We hope that all the people on the press line will behave in an adult manner, and won't cross any lines considered lines in polite society. We would be displeased, and... they would find themselves in subsequent years having a harder time" working the red carpet.

As for continuing his ride as a pre-gala reporter, Mizrahi said he doesn't "really plan to do much, much more of it."

"I'm not trying to be the next Joan Rivers, I don't want to do that," he said. "But for me right now, it's very interesting because it really is a great job."

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Click here To Read The Article In It's Original Format

My Take On The SAG Awards

Okay, I’ve been fighting the flu, so I accidentally missed all but the last hour, but I’ll go ahead and give my thoughts on what I saw, and what I read later. However, I do have to say that the SAG’s are the awards I truly respect out of the whole lot (Golden Globes, Oscars, etc). I’m sure some personal grudges come into play, but at least actors seem to remember that quality movies/performances don’t just happen because so-and-so got the most press for the role that week. Also, I write this without having even checked to see who was nominated for the Oscars, yet.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE WINS I SAW:

Paul Giamatti: ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!!! I don’t care if he won for combing his hair, or watching paint dry, the guy has been overlooked and unrecognized for WAY too long!

S. Epatha Merkerson: First, very sweet to see her get the award from Benjamin Bratt and to see how happy Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni were for her. I just wish Jerry Orbach were still around to join in on her winning streak. Hell, I just wish Jerry Orbach were still around, period! Anyway, good for her (!!!) and LOVED the thanking of the divorce lawyer! Too funny!

Reese Witherspoon: I’ve been a fan ever since Freeway & Election, so it’s very cool to see her get this type of recognition. In addition, it cool to see how happy Joaquin Phoenix seemed to be for her given what I’ve read about the difficulties they first had working together on this project. For that matter, it was just good to see Joaquin Phoenix given his brake failure/car flip combo only a day or two earlier!

Philip Seymour Hoffman: As Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, “I'm always home. I'm uncool.” Sorry, Philip Seymour Hoffman, you’ve never been uncool and you never will be! Here’s another actor I’ve followed for a long time. Hell, I even forgive him for that dreck that was Red Dragon. Manhunter, people, see Manhunter! Brian Cox will always be the one and only Hannibal to me. Anyway, I haven’t had the chance to see Capote, yet, but now I really have to. Oh, and if I didn’t already love you, you won me over with your shout-out to >! David Strathairn. Seriously. Awesome thing to do and every word you said was true. He’s one hell of an actor!

Ensemble cast of Crash: Very, very cool! It’s definitely a great movie and seeing a lot of the people in it play SO against type just made it more so. Sandra Bullock finally breaking away from cutesy, romantic roles in bad comedies to play a blatantly racist, rich wife of a DA was a nice change. And, that is definitely one statement I never thought I’d be making about anybody. LOL. Also, any movie with Don Cheadle already has my vote. He’s yet, another on my long list of actors that I’ve been following for quite some time, now. Oh, and note to iMDB.com, let’s try listing the ENTIRE cast when mentioning its ensemble winning on our website. WILLIAM FICHTNER WAS IN IT, TOO! He’s another on my list of actors I’ve --- oh hell, let’s just break it down, shall we?

KATHY’S LIST OF ACTORS SHE’S FOLLOWED AND RESPECTED FOR A LONG TIME + MOVIES TO WATCH TO SEE WHY:

David Strathairn (Blue Car, Dolores Claiborne, Sneakers & Good Night, and Good Luck. will give you an idea of his range)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Boogie Nights, Happiness, 25th Hour)
Don Cheadle (Boogie Nights, Traffic, Ocean’s 11, and one hell of a guest stint on the tv show, ER) ***editor’s note: I haven’t had the chance to rent Hotel Rwanda, yet, or I’m sure it’d be on there.
William Fichtner (Albino Alligator, Go)
Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, The Good Girl)
Chris Cooper (Lone Star, American Beauty)
Johnny Depp (Everything post pretty-boy 21 Jump Street days, when I was FAR from a fan. It’s when he got quirky that I got interested, especially after seeing: What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Blow, & Once Upon A Time In Mexico)
Mark Ruffalo (XX/XY & You Can Count On Me)
& others I’m sure I’ll remember the second I post this.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE LOSSES I SAW:

Ted Danson for Knights Of The South Bronx: I have to admit to not seeing some of his competition, but he was great in this! Then again, coming from a family of educators, I’m automatically biased in favor of those playing the roles of teachers. In this, I was even more so given that he was radically changing the lives of some kids that were set up to fail from the get-go (due to where they lived, etc). To see a really interesting documentary about these types of kids, I have to give a shout out to Accelerating America. I did some transcription work on this and I can’t wait to see the whole thing. The trailer, alone, is enough to set your pulse racing.

MY RANDOM THOUGHT ON ANOTHER THING I SAW:

Jake Gyllenhaal cracks me up! He has ever since his role as Holden “Catcher in the Rye... I'm named after it.” Worther in The Good Girl and his drunken, “You’re a hooker, you hooker” rant against Jennifer Aniston in said movie. And, for any who can doubt Aniston can act—and given recent movie roles I don’t blame you—check her out in this. Once she stops trying to go the . . . well, the cutesy, bad romantic comedy route that Sandra Bullock falls victim to way too often, she’s actually really good.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE WINS I DIDN’T SEE:
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series - "Desperate Housewives": I definitely agree with this win. Mainly, though, I’m just mentioning it because I want to give a shout out to Danny Trejo who was in the rerun the show aired tonight. (The convict who made Gabrielle finally deal with losing her baby). Those who know me, understand why. Basically, the guy has really interested me ever since I read a great article about him in Entertainment Weekly.

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Winner - "Lost":
Okay, first allow me a moment to lust after my future husband, Mr. Josh Holloway . . .

. . . okay, with that done, I have to rant. It seems that everyone who voted in this category was smoking crack at the time. DID YOU EVEN SEE THIS PAST SEASON OF SIX FEET UNDER?!?! Jesus Christ, if there was EVER evidence of phenomenal television that was it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The episode with Nate’s funeral, I was waterworks the whole time and that would be the first time I’ve EVER cried watching anything (other than slightly tearing up twice during The Shawshank Redemption). For that matter, it wasn’t even the funeral, itself, that really had me crying. It was the unbelievable job EVERYONE in that cast did the entire rest of the episode. While I think Lost is an amazing show, this was just the wrong decision. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need another Josh Holloway moment to calm myself. ;) Oh, and The Closer is a great show, too. I highly recommend checking it out, especially because it has JK Simmons and I’ve loved that guy ever since he began playing Dr. Skoda, the forensic psychiatrist on Law & Order.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Winner - Kiefer Sutherland for "24": Jack is the man, people. Seriously though, I think Kiefer has been overlooked for a while, too, so this was good to see. Also, he’s another reason to check out the movie Freeway.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Winner - Sandra Oh for Grey's Anatomy: Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Sandra Oh, but Grey's Anatomy is going to be on for a while and Mariska Hargitay is LOOONNNGGGG overdue for a win for Law & Order: SVU. Oh, and Kyra Sedgwick is great on The Closer, so this was a tough category. Mariska still should have taken it, though.

Oh, and in another shameless self-promotion plug, I've added more to the online store you all initially got notifications from me about. I've still got things to put up there, but you should see a lot more since the first time you might have looked. :)