The recession has already coughed up great deals like double coupons, half-off clothes, and free chicken dinners. And now it looks like the discount craze is headed for our local theaters with a crop of movies that might as well save a few more bucks by splitting a single tagline: "Buy one movie, get six stars, free!"
Whether it's an actual phenomenon or just a coincidence, the list of celebs packed into three upcoming releases -- the musical Nine, and the comedies Valentine's Day and Date Night (three cast members pictured) -- reads like the seating chart at the Academy Awards (in Nine alone the cast members have a whopping 20 Oscar nods between them). I won't bother rattling off all the actors for you (click on the links above for cast info), but it seems like we've got about 60 percent of Hollywood's A-List packed into three pics.
It's easy to come up with examples of times when the all-star strategy worked (Ocean's Eleven) and didn't (All the King's Men, anyone?). But overall, I subscribe to a more-is-better philosophy when it comes to movies. Why should the "best friend" be played by some One Tree Gossip Night Lights thing if Jennifer Garner is up for the job?
What do you think, PopWatchers? Which of these movies are you looking forward to most? Is more always merrier? Or is there such a thing as star-overload? (And why wasn't Star Overload ever the name of a synth-pop duo?)
You know what bacon and blogging will get you? A book deal. The BBQ Addict bloggers behind the Bacon Explosion -- four pounds of bacon and sausage wrapped in more bacon and slathered with BBQ sauce -- confirmed to Kansas City's The Pitch that they're now working on a book for Scribner's called Barbecue Makes Everything Better. The news comes in the wake of January's NY Times piece about their bacon creation.
I'm always happy to hear about bloggers striking it big with a new idea, but here's my problem: I've recently been informed that the wholebaconboomlet is officially over. It's true. Slate has a whole video up about it. (A video which, by the way, pointedly notes that when the NY Times notices a trend, then it usually means said trend has run it's course.) What do you think? Has a book from the bacon bloggers missed the boat? How about a blog post about a book from the bacon bloggers?
As the economic crisis grinds on, I have a feeling we're going to be
seeing a lot more of what I call "recession rap" -- a sub-genre where artists rhyme about struggling to make rent instead of buying out the bar. Case in point: Cam'ron's best single in years, "I Hate My Job," which premiered last night at ihiphop.com. (Check it out below; some NSFW language.) Last time we heard from Cam, he was bragging about the sparkly jewels on his wrist. And now? "I woke
up late, didn't even have a shower/Lunch break? Gimme a break: A damn
half an hour/All this bulls--- for 12 bucks an hour!" All of a sudden, the Harlem hustler sounds like one of the drones from Office Space. Love it.
"I Hate My Job" is recession rap at its finest: relatable, fun, and refreshingly free of materialistic posturing. I know it struck a chord with me, even though I am a pop-culture blogger who personally couldn't hate my job less at the moment. How about you? As far as I'm concerned, the more tracks we get like "I Hate My Job" -- or Rugged N Raw's "I'm Broke and Proud," or Young Jeezy's "Vacation" -- the better.
I was flipping through the basic cable channels late one recent night when I stumbled across a song called "I'm Broke and Proud" on a public-access station. Check it out below; it's a real gem (with some NSFW language). I'd honestly never heard of these rappers before in my life — the song is by an NYC dude named Rugged N Raw, featuring New Jersey's Hasan Salaam — but their hilariously honest lyrics about the not-so-good life caught me instantly. "There's not a lot I can make possible," spits Rugged N Raw, "only cheap ideas in the arsenal/I'll take a chick to the museum/Looks nice, and the admission fee's optional!" Now that's some real talk. And the video might be even better, with RNR throwing coupons at the camera instead of cash, while his
friends struggle to push their car up a hill. If nothing else, this definitively proves that it's still funny to see rap's conspicuous-consumption conventions upended, à la the Roots' classic "What They Do."
Pretty great stuff, no? With skills like this, here's hoping Rugged N Raw doesn't have to stay too broke too much longer. After all, it's been three months since Young Jeezy served fair warning that "It's the recession/Everybody broke." Isn't it high time the rest of the music world took notice of what's happening to the economy?
I'm feeling a little scared right now. See, I just watched the special investigation that The Daily Show's always-superb John Oliver presented on Tuesday night, wherein he revealed the hidden purpose of those "magic wall" maps that CNN's John King kept using on election night. Because that's the kind of fearless truth-seeker John Oliver is: He'll do an in-depth report on something two full weeks after it ceases to be relevant, all for the greater good. I'm really too shook up even to summarize the sordid conspiracy Oliver uncovered, so why don't you just watch the clip below. Be warned, though — you might end up like me, unable to so much as turn on CNN without looking anxiously over your shoulder for a marauding anchor. (Here is where I note that CNN is, like EW's parent company, owned by Time Warner. Not that that makes me feel any safer!)
I think I can confidently say that this is the best electoral-map-related humor performance I've seen in some time, beating out such worthy contenders as Stephen Colbert's recent adventure with The Early Show's lower-tech floor situation on CBS (click here to watch) and Fred Armisen's own magic-wall skit on SNL a few weeks ago (voila). Disagree if you dare — John King is probably monitoring this post as we speak.
Entertainment is supposed to be one of those recession-proof businesses; even in tough economic times, people still go to the movies. This summer's blockbuster box office seems to bear that out. On the other hand, an informal poll last week at Movietickets.com suggested that as many as two thirds of moviegoers have changed their ticketbuying habits as a result of the economy. (The poll is gone from the site now, but the site's publicist provided me with the poll results. Asked how the current economy had changed their moviegoing habits, 31 percent said it had done so "noticeably," 33 percent said, "drastically," and 36 percent said, "No change." There were 2,168 respondents.)
Anecdotally, I imagine this is true. Tell us, PopWatchers: Has the economy affected your spending on entertainment? If so, how has it altered your moviegoing, or music-buying, or video rentals, or book purchases? Or has your pop culture consumption remained the same?
Just because we can, let's pit two Bollywood-inspired nuggets of American pop culture against each other and watch what happens, like on Bravo. First up, Natalie Portman hams her way through her shaggy boyfriend Devendra Banhart's Bollywood-inspired music video, "Carmensita."
Check Plus Natalie Portman! Check Vague attempt at mudras (hand gestures) Check Minus You can see his "hair down there"
Now, "Heeeeeeeeeeere's...Katee and Joshua!" (Hey, thanks, Cat!)
Check Plus Muchos mudras Check Joshua's khaki-colored open vest is not too flashy Check Minus This contest is so unfair. Obviously, Katee and Joshua win. It's not even an appropriate matchup. What, PopWatch, do all the Bollywood sendups, parody or not, look the same to you? IS THAT HOW IT IS HERE?! Real mature.
A post on Eddie Cibrian today seems random, I know. (Hello, I filed it under "Apropos of Nothing.") But I've found myself contemplating his career recently, so I thought I'd go ahead and ask: What do you think of him?
A) I don't. B) He's ready to headline his own show. (Probably on ABC, which appears to have a bit of a woody for him.) C) While I've definitely enjoyed his recent guest spots on Samantha Who?and Ugly Betty (pictured),I'm not ready to watch a show just for him.
I'm gonna go with C. Partly because I'd miss seeing him pop up unexpectedly, like a cherry on top of a TV sundae. And partly because last weekend, when I Hulu'd Vanished, I watched all of Gale Harold's episodes, but didn't feel the need to soldier on when Cibrian replaced him as leading man. (Though perhaps that speaks more to that show than to Eddie.)
Regardless, I think we all have to admit that Cibrian is one of those fortunate actors who will only be getting better roles (and better looking) with age. Who else is on that list?
It's not just a war on movie critics. It's a war on TV critics, too, as outlined in this Broadcasting & Cable cover story about how newspapers are laying off their TV reviewers as quickly as they are their film critics. Both trends are strikingly similar. In both cases, newspapers, feeling the pinch of ad revenue lost to the Web, are cutting critic jobs to save money, figuring that syndicated and wire service reviews will suffice. Again, producers of specialty material (this time, instead of indie studios, it's niche and cable outlets like HBO) worry that the absence of critics will hurt their shows, while the mainstream distributors (here, instead of the big studios, it's the broadcast networks) are less worried about the disappearance of critics as a help or hindrance to their well-funded publicity campaigns. And again, the critics themselves complain that, with the loss of unique local voices accountable to the communities they serve, newspapers are tossing out what makes them distinctive — and what would keep people from turning elsewhere for their TV info.
Naturally, I agree with the critics on this one. A couple of points that make their case even more compelling than that of the vanishing movie critics: There's an ever-expanding universe of TV programming choices, and more than ever, viewers need someone to help them sift through it all. Also, a lot of TV (unlike film) is local, particularly newscasts, and nationally syndicated critics won't cover that. Finally, there's a lot of programming even on the broadcast networks that's dependent on public advocacy from established print critics (think of a show like Friday Night Lights, pictured).
One voice that's missing from the B&C article is that of the reader, so I'll ask you, PopWatchers: how much do you rely on your hometown paper's TV critics for advice on what to watch? Would you miss them if they were gone? And which online sources do you trust for information about TV and reviews of shows?
Can your car swim? This amphibious vehicle, the Rinspeed sQuba (dubbed "Scubacar" over on Defamer), was unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, and while the thought of riding in it makes me queasy — on the water, I have no seasickness problems, but underwater seatbelted into a submerged convertible? No thanks! — I like to look at it, and would love to see it action. Taking inspiration from the sportscar-turned-submarine in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me (the infamous Lotus Esprit), I think we PopWatchers should craft a film or TV plot worthy of "Scubacar." Should she join the newest gadgets in the Daniel Craig-era 007 arsenal? Save lives on a revamped Baywatch? Become a love interest for Knight Rider's KITT? Dive in and tell us what kind of adventure you envision for the car that swims.
The recession has already coughed up great deals like double coupons, half-off clothes, and free chicken dinners. And now it looks like the discount craze is headed for our local theaters with a crop of movies that might as well save a few more bucks by splitting a single tagline: "Buy one movie, get six stars, free!"
You know what bacon and blogging will get you? A book deal. The 
Entertainment is supposed to be one of those recession-proof businesses; even in tough economic times, people still go to the movies. This summer's blockbuster box office seems to bear that out. On the other hand, an informal poll last week at 
A post on Eddie Cibrian today seems random, I know. (Hello, I filed it under "Apropos of Nothing.") But I've found myself contemplating his career recently, so I thought I'd go ahead and ask: What do you think of him?
Can your car swim? This amphibious vehicle, the Rinspeed sQuba (dubbed "Scubacar" over on Defamer), was unveiled at the 2008 
