Lauren Graham to Studio 60

for two episodes.

A well-placed source tells me that Lauren Graham will appear in a two-episode arc later this fall playing... Lauren Graham! Per my mole, she'll serve as the guest host of Studio 60's fictional SNL-esque show within a show.

This bit of stunt casting makes sense on so many levels. First off, silver-tongued Graham reciting Aaron Sorkin's golden prose? A marriage made in TV heaven. ...

It seriously is. Maybe Lauren Graham recur as Lauren Graham... (She would've made a killer Jordan McDeere.) Especially since this is almost certainly Gilmore Girls' last season. (Without Amy Sherman Palladino, it will be a mercy killing.)

Opus, 8/27/06

BearBQ

Another awesome Big Lug event ... Thanks, Alfredo!











About 55 more at my flickr page

EVill Preview: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier comes out on October 25th.

This will be the final volume published by DC/Wildstorm after Alan Moore vowed (for at least the third time) to never work for DC again.

Moore is the single greatest writer in the history of the medium. His best work includes Watchmen, Swamp Thing -- and League. The series draws its cast of characters from the classics of Victorian heroic literature, places them in a shared universe, and applies the conventions of the late 20th century superhero team book. So it's like Justice League with Allan Quartermain, Captain Nemo, The Invisible Man, Mina Murray from Dracula, Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde, et al. They work for a special branch of Military Intelligence, and have a secret base inside (or beneath) the British Museum.

The first volume focused on Mina's efforts to bring the team together to solve a Conan Doyle style mystery surrounding a secret space race between Britain and France in 1898.

The second was heavily influenced by HG Wells. There's a martian invasion, a la "War of the Worlds," and "Moreau"-like experimentation.

This one apparently deals with efforts to secure a secret dossier which details the history of the League going back centuries--even millennia. Which, to me, suggests that Moore will be incorporating into his shared universe characters and fictions going all the way back to the dawn of heroic literature -- e.g., Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Odysseus. Sounds incredibly cool.

October 25th. Another volume is planned for 2007--which means 2009--and will be released by indie publisher Top Cow.

File Under "Duh"

Dogs are intensely jealous creatures that experience a range of complex human-like emotions, a new study at the University of Portsmouth has revealed.

The study of 1000 domestic animal owners in the south of England also uncovered examples where jealous dogs acted as 'uninvited chaperones' between couples sharing romantic moments. ... [The study] challenges the long-held scientific belief that only humans and chimpanzees are able to experience secondary emotions such as jealousy, guilt, shame and pride.

Sometimes, the smartest people can be so damn stupid. Witness:

Dr Morris said it was readily accepted in the scientific community that dogs, cats, horses and other non-primate animals experience primary emotions such as anger, anxiety and surprise.

Secondary emotions such as jealousy, pride, embarrassment and shame are considered to be the exclusive domain of humans and perhaps chimpanzees as they have the cognitive capacities required to support the complex range of secondary emotions.

But this thinking, Dr Morris said, might have to be revised.

Gee... Ya think? (I suppose this is another case of "better late than never.")

Dr Morris has been invited to present his paper 'Proud Horses and Jealous Dogs: Evidence for Secondary Emotions in Non-Primate Species' at the BA Festival of Science.

I'm not usually one for sicentific papers, but this sounds like an interesting read.

In high school science, I remember being taught that we were just anthropormorphizing if we thoguht we saw recognizable emotions in animals. Instead, science was guilty of (for lack of a better term) dehumanizing animals when they ignored obvious evidence of emotional intelligence.

Now, when will they realize that these guys are full-on self-aware, and as such, deserve certain rights & protections?

Felon-in-Chief

So a judge has ruled that not only is Bush's warrantless wiretapping program illegal, it's also unconstitutional. And not just unconstitutional, but doubly unconstitutional; it violates both the 1st and 4th amendments. We're talking a smackdown of Judge Judy-esque proportions.

Now, I'm not really pushing the impeachment of George Bush, unless it's about lying about that fish I talked about last season. Them I'm all for it.

But if this decision stands, and this program is unlawful and unconstitutional, federal law expressly makes the ordering of surveillance under the program a federal felony. That would mean that the president could be guilty of no fewer than 30 felonies while in office. Moreover, it is not only illegal for a president to order such surveillance, it is illegal for other government officials to carry out such an order. And that means Alberto Gonzalez could be tried, convicted, and deported.

So let's just say for the sake of argument that the Supreme Court upholds this decision and says Bush broke the law and violated the Constitution. President Clinton was impeached for lying under oath in a civil case, a case that had no bearing on the public as a whole. This would - unquestionably - be a greater offense.

How would you square impeaching Clinton and not impeaching Bush?

Why is it that the "fake" pundits like Maher, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are the only ones who will go near incredibly important stories like this?

Chris Matthews--Your balls are not only not hard, they're mythical.

Equal Time: Here's Bush responding to a question about the ruling. (Fair Warning: Might want to take your anti-nausea meds before hitting play.)

Par Cuts Ties with Tom Cruise

Paramount cuts ties with Tom Cruise: WSJ

Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures unit is ending its 14-year relationship with Tom Cruise's film production company because of the actor's offscreen behavior, the company's chairman said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Sumner Redstone, Viacom chairman, said the behavior of the star of the "Mission: Impossible" series and "Top Gun" was unacceptable to the company, according to the Wall Street Journal story e-mailed to reporters.

Cruise, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, has been known more recently for his antics on U.S. television talk shows, including jumping up and down on Oprah Winfrey's couch to declare his love for Katie Holmes and criticizing the use of antidepressant drugs.

"As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal," Redstone was quoted as saying in the Wall Street Journal. "His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount."

Cruise's representatives and officials from Viacom and Paramount did not have any immediate comment on the report.

Wow. Didn't see this comin (though it had been predicted). Clearly, though, it has almost nothing to do with Cruise's outlandish behavior and almost everything to do with MI:III's performance at the box office. (Though, I suppose, the case could be made that the former contributed to the latter.)

Also: probably not a wise career move to publicly extort the CEO of one of the largest, most powerful media conglomerates on the planet. Last spring, Cruise announced he would only promote the movie if Viacom (which owns Paramount and Comedy Central) took steps to suppress the infamous Scientology episode of South Park. In addition to making fun of his so-called religion, the episode in question mocked Cruise as a closet case. (Travolta, too.)



He won the battle--reruns of the episode in the States, and first-runs abroad, were cancelled--but lost the war, as his Cruise/Wagner shingle is now without a studio.

Of course, he'll land on his feet. He's not Mel Gibson. But it's a safe bet he's out of the $20M per picture club.

Ironically, Paramount also announced today that it has inked a deal for two live-action films with South Park creators Trey Parker & Matt Stone. (Ah--Timing. It really is everything.)

New Poll: Half of Americans See No Link Between Iraq and War on Terror

WASHINGTON, Aug. 22 — Americans increasingly see the war in Iraq as distinct from the fight against terrorism, and nearly half believe President Bush has focused too much on Iraq to the exclusion of other threats, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The finding that 51 percent of those surveyed see no link between the war in Iraq and the broader antiterror effort was a jump of 10 percentage points since June. It came despite the regular insistence of Mr. Bush and Congressional Republicans that the two are intertwined and should be seen as complementary elements of an overall strategy to prevent domestic terror attacks.

Should the trend hold, the increased skepticism could present a political obstacle for Mr. Bush and his allies on Capitol Hill, who are making their record on terrorism a central element of the midterm election campaign. The Republicans hope the public’s desire for forceful action against terrorists will offset unease with the Iraq war and blunt the political appeal of Democratic calls to establish a timeline to withdraw American troops.

Public sentiment about the war remains negative, threatening to erode a Republican advantage on national security. Fifty-three percent of those polled said that going to war in the first place was a mistake, up from 48 percent in July; 62 percent said events were going “somewhat or very badly” in the attempt to bring order and stability to Iraq.

Mr. Bush’s overall standing was nevertheless unchanged from the previous week, resting at 36 percent approval to 57 percent disapproval — far below the level his fellow Republicans in Congress would like to see as they face the voters in November. Compounding the political problems of majority Republicans, the survey reflected significant dissatisfaction with the way Congress was doing its job. Voters in the poll indicated a strong preference for Democratic candidates this fall.

I say we choose to forget how un-fucking-believably late the American People are to the party and just celebrate the fact that we--as a group--got here at all.

Can I Get a Piece of the White Meat, Please?

These pics from my surgery are like something out of HR Giger. I had to share, even though they're givin' me the wiggins. (Maybe because they're givin' me the wiggins).

That's Hot

Everyone knows that good writing is better than sex. But good writing about sex? *sigh* (Who told this fucker he could move away before I got to meet him?)

Driving an hour for sex requires rationalization, so that one's desperation becomes adequately, casually, cloaked. I have a new car, I told myself. I like to drive! What would I do with myself if I had to wait for him to drive to San Francisco? Crank out a few sets of push-ups on my bedroom carpet? Change my underwear? Floss? Much better to crack open the moon roof and count the REI outlets on Highway 101.

But the greatest rationalization was this: to fulfill my Latino Daddy fantasy.

Oh, please, like you don't have one.

Sure, call me racist. But I merely participated in a long tradition of interracial sexual fantasy complicated by power narratives. Colonization. Slavery. Mexican pool boys. If I typecast a man or two along the way, well, they're probably doing the same with me. And that's hot.

Go there for the rest. It's a good story, well-told.

EVill TV: Deadwood 8/20/06

3X11: "The Catbird Seat" written by Bernadette McNamara, directed by Greg Feinberg.

Man... And I had trouble sleeping after last week's episode. This week, I noticed my heart start to thump in my chest when the "HBO Original Series" brand card appeared. "...mmmoooiii..."

I'll have to check, but I feel quite certain this does not happen prior to screening an episode of Entourage (as much as I like Entourage).

The season's overall theme of unification in the face of the outside threat posed by George Hearst continues to strike dramatic gold (ooooh--bad pun), creating opportunities to pair the unlikeliest characters--Utter & Dority, Swearengen & Star, Swearengen & Blasinov ("Please don't hit me!"), et al.

But the highlight last night (if I had to pick just one) was Swearengen & Alma. There is such power in that relationship... which makes sense, since they're the mother and father of this society... the King & Queen on the chessboard of this season's main storyline... and they both know it. (Does Hearst have a Queen? Aunt Lou? Hmmm...)

Anyway, I really wanted Alma's gratitude to boil over into an actual embrace, just to see that look on his facde, like he'd rather get stabbed. (Less painful). I don't think Al Swearengen is wired to deal with being a respected, let alone beloved member of society, but for the first time last night, I caught myself daring to hope that he might get a happy ending.

(Silly, silly me).

Wouldn't it be nice if he got to croak on his balcony at the ripe old age of 75, tin coffee mug in hand, surveying the city he, more than any other single person, was responsible for building? (And perhaps in the middle of a speech to his Heathen in a Box?)

...What?

Next Sunday's season finale is, in fact, the last ever episode of Deadwood.... which is fucking criminal... but HBO--not wanting to alienate its small, but cultish core audience--has commissioned a pair of two hour wrap up movies that will deliver closure by departing from the series' one episode=one day format.

Opus, 8/20/06

Think Faith Strengthens Society?

Think Again.

Several weeks ago, a ground-breaking study on religious belief and social well-being was published in the Journal of Religion & Society. Comparing 18 prosperous democracies from the U.S. to New Zealand, author Gregory S Paul quietly demolished the myth that faith strengthens society.

Drawing on a wide range of studies to cross-match faith – measured by belief in God and acceptance of evolution – with homicide and sexual behavior, Paul found that secular societies have lower rates of violence and teenage pregnancy than societies where many people profess belief in God.

Top of the class, in both atheism and good behavior, come the Japanese. Over eighty percent accept evolution and fewer than ten percent are certain that God exists. Despite its size – over a hundred million people – Japan is one of the least crime-prone countries in the world. It also has the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy of any developed nation.

Gee... This is almost hard to believe... Almost.

Hat Tip: Stinkbugs

Gone Fishin'

I'm off to Long Island to get my rotator cuff mended. And some eyelid rejuvenation. And maybe a tummy tuck. Some, I'm sure, would suggest that I get my mouth sewn shut. And, perhaps, other parts of my anatomy, as well.

Despite this rather unseemly (and totally deserved) reputation, I'm actually not into the whole one-handed typing thing, so I'll probably be back around Tuesday of next week.

Cheers, sweeties! (Tawk amongst yuhselves.)

Opus, 8/13/06

Don't Ask Don't Tell Discharges Rise Sharply in 2005

Today's New York Times reports that discharges under the military's bigoted Don't Ask Don't Tell policy rose in 2005, according to records obtained by the Servicemember's Legal Defnse Fund.

The Defense Department discharged 726 service members last year for being gay ... The overall number of men and women dismissed because they were found to be gay or because they disclosed their sexuality fell in the three years from 2002 to 2004. From Sept. 11, 2001, through last year, the discharge rate dropped 40 percent.

The total of such discharges in 2004 was 653. That compares with 770 in 2003, 885 in 2002 and 1,227 in 2001.

I wonder if this is evidence of a new purge or if straight soldiers have finally figured out that being called "fag" a couple of times while their paperwork is being processed is a small price to pay to avoid getting mained or killed by an IED in Iraq.

And, given the military's crack investigatory powers, seems like it would be pretty easy for a straight soldier to pass.

"Are you a fairy, soldier?"

"No, but I love your shoes."

I wonder what happens after. What if the military finds out someone lied to secure an honorable discharge via DADT? Can it be revoked? Can s/he be charged with fraud?

Now Closing

Last chance to see my beloved Sweeney Todd ("the best American musical of the last 40 years" according to the Wall Street Journal) on Broadway. Though the cast had re-upped through November, it was reported on Friday that the last performance will be on September 3.

By the time it closes, Sweeney will have a total of 389 perfs (including previews, which began October 3, 2005) under its belt. A national tour is in the works. (And, of course, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have sealed a deal to do a big-budget movie version. Brace for Mrs Lovett as assayed by Helena Bonham Carter.)

Vying to replace it at the Eugene O'Neill are The Atlantic Theater Company's Spring Awakening and High Fidelity, both musicals. (The latter is based on the Nick Hornsby novel, which director Stephen Frears and writer/actor John Cusak adapted into a critically acclaimed film for Touchstone in 2000.)

Hat tip: Chas.

Amas de Casas Desperadas

The Sunday Times has a great piece about Disney's novel plan to produce 3 Spanish and Portuguese language versions of the first season of Desperate Housewives, with more to follow.

They're using the same scripts (more's the pity), tweaked to conform to local customs (waspy Bree Van De Kamp becomes a fervent Catholic, Opus Dei style, for example), with new actors and directors, and a new Wisteria Lane exterior to be shared by all three productions. (The American production, of course, gets to stay on the Beaver Cleaver/thirtysomething backlot.)

This in the same year Disney launches an American language version of the increidbly popular Colombian telenovela, Ugly Betty, so the door swings both ways.

Should be interesting to see if this sinks or swims. Could be the wave of the future.

Box Office Updates: Little Miss Sunshine, Superman Returns

The best movie of the year, Little Miss Sunshine, continues to impress at the Box Office with a magnificent $17K per screen average on just 153 screens (an increase of 95 screens over the previous weekend).

The hottest property at this year's Sundance was purchased by Fox Searchlight for a record $10M back in January, though it cost only $8M to produce, and has now earned $5.64M in just three weeks of limited release. It is expected to go wide over over the course of August. By September, it will be on over a thousand screens. (Ironically, Fox will probably end up spending more on the marketing than they did on the film.)

The picture's not so rosey for my second favorite film of the year, Superman Returns. Budget estimates on this range from $260 to well over $300 million... Though bear in mind, SR got tagged with a decade's worth of development costs for Superman revivals that--mercifully--never happened. Still, it was a hugely expensive film, no matter how you look at it.

Any film needs to make between 2 and 2.5 times what it cost to break even. (That's the rule of thumb, anyway.) In this case, that would be about $625-750 million.

Superman Returns is at $339 -- and that's global. :(

Lowering the bar, Warners has said it will pull the trigger on a sequel if the film hits $200M domestic. It currently stands at $192.5... and may limp across the finish line in another ... Well, OK, it probably won't make it.

But, according to director Bryan Singer (speaking to an audience at San Diego Comic Con), it's close enough, and the sequel is on for Summer 2008 or 2009. He refers to it as his opportunity "to get all Wrath of Khan with it."

There's yet to be an official greenlight. However, one thing is certain: if the sequel does happen, Singer will be expected to deliver the goods on a much lower budget. And that's probably for the best: as much as I loved it, SR was bloated. Singer's best work--X2--has been lean, and on a tight budget.

Nolan to Remake "The Prisoner"

Source: Variety

Universal Pictures is near a deal for Christopher Nolan to direct a feature version of TV series classic "The Prisoner."

Janet and David Peoples are set to write the script. Scott Stuber, Mary Parent, Barry Mendel and Emma Thomas will produce.

The series lasted only 17 episodes in 1967. Patrick McGoohan played a government agent who resigns, is kidnapped and placed on an isolated island known as the Village. He's given a new identity -- Number Six -- and interacts with an island staff trying to get him to reveal why he resigned.

The plan is for Nolan to direct a contemporized transformation after he completes "The Dark Knight," the "Batman Begins" sequel that begins production early next year at Warner Bros.

Stuber and Parent took on the project as they kicked off their Stuber/Parent banner at U, where the film has become a high priority. Director and scribes are experienced in paranoid fare. Nolan directed the thrillers "Memento" and "Insomnia," Janet and David Peoples wrote "Twelve Monkeys" together, and David Peoples co-wrote "Blade Runner."

But... Granada has a 10 million pound TV remake of its own gestating with Christopher Eccleston in the lead.

Wouldn't it be nice if the Nolan project could supercede this one -- and inherit its lead actor? (Though it's safe to assume Universal wants Nolan to Americanize it.)

Can we please just not have dueling Prisoner remakes? It's embarrassing. What is this, "The Poseiden Adventure?"

Stalkerazzipalooza

I've always wanted to be a stalkerazzi, and now--armed with a brand new Powershot Pro, and this killer map that was recently published in New York Magazine, I can chase my dreams all the way to ... Well, all the way too ... Natalie Portman's house, apparently.

Ok, that was funnier in my head.

Update: OK, this map is fucked up. It's got E.10th Street sandwiched between E.9th and E.6th. What do they think this is? The West Village?!

Update 2: Molly Ringwald, Parker Posey, and Chloe Sevingy all live within steps of each other. How did this happen without the Earth splitting along its axis? I don't know, but there they are at what appears to be E.9th and E.10th at Stuyvesant, just a few blocks from here. Jesus... It's like I've been living on the celebrity fag hag version of the San Andreas fault all this time.

Apparently, the only celebrities closer to me are a) dead, or b) Iggy Pop. (Punchline sold separately.)

There's an obvious answer

to all this shit.

Fly naked. More fun, too. Seriously--gives a whole new meaning to "the red eye."

Gays & Galactica: Meme to Ron Moore

Galactica showrunner Ron Moore posted this on his blog recently, and gave a startlingly similar answer to the same question during this interview. Maybe the blogpost and the interview are related--or maybe he has a stock answer for this question.

Quote below is from the blog:

I think homosexuality definitely exists in the world of Galactica, but I frankly haven't found a way to portray it yet. It's a texture that I'd like to introduce into the series without doing "the gay episode." It's something that gets talked about internally periodically, but so far there hasn't been a good story or character arc or scene that's seemed like a good way to establish the fact without really hanging a big neon sign out that says, "See, we're doing a gay theme now!" Ultimately, it's probably a failure of imagination on my part and a reflection of the fact that I've never made this a priority for us, so pin the blame on me for not moving this bit of reality into our universe.

Meme to Ron Moore

Hey, Ron? Two words for you from someone who has been a fan of your work for the last 17 years (aka, since your first produced script):

Cop. Out.

I don't buy this "failure of imagination" line for one 'centon.' How much imagination would it have taken to show a regular or recurring character

• dancing with his same-sex partner during the ballroom scene in "Colonial Day?"


• Or huddled with his same-sex partner in fear with the other hostages in "Sacrifice?"


• Or sitting with his same-sex partner in a non-platonic way in the Officer's Lounge in any number of episodes?

This would be background stuff, man. No “big neon sign” needed--or desired, for that matter.

And if there was a story to tell about these characters down the road, so be it. If not, that would be OK, too.

This is what we were asking for on Trek for years--decades, even. And, back then, you felt free to agree with us that this was obvioiusly the approach that should be taken, but it wasn't your show, yada yada.

Well, now it is your show, and suddenly you don't know how to tackle this sucker without doing a "very special episode" (which I think everyone can agree should be avoided at all costs)?

Not buyin' it.

Certainly, you had no problem having Tyrol say, "Topography's for pansies" in last season's "Home Part II." So this line about wanting to "establish" that homosexuality exists in the Galactica verse is bunk (or memory lapse). Maybe that was an ad-lib, but, in any case, it's been established. Can't hate something that doesn't exist.

I found it rather telling, by the way, that Tyrol didn't think twice about uttering such a prejudiced remark in the presence of his commanding officer, and that Adama--the son of a civil liberties attorney, no less--didn't correct or discipline him in any way for it. To my way of thinking, there's stuff to be explored between those lines.

And now that homophobia has been so casually, so matter-of-factly established on the show--in fact, established in exactly the way we would like to see homosexuality dealt with--it seems only fair that we should see its object.

No?

Hat tips: Palochi, DWF

Armageddon

The Gilded Moose has proof.

Lieberman Loses CT Primary

Progressive bloggers claimed their first major political victory yesterday when Joe Lieberman, the 3-term US Senator from Connecticut, lost his own party's primary for reelection to a newcomer they underwrote: Ned Lamont

"This shows what blind loyalty to George Bush and being his love child means," said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, the leader of the Democratic House Congressional campaign. "This is not about the war. It's blind loyalty to Bush

I do think it's about the war, but I certainly agree with the sentiment. Get these fucks out of my party. I also think it's about punishing Bush's actual Lieutenants--Lieberman was just his butt buddy (and I commend Rahm for his choice of the less offensive "love child" imagery. We know what you meant.)

Of course, Lieberman--the man who refused to give up his last bid for reelection, even though it coincided with his run for the Vice Presidency--will not go gently into that good night. Oh, no. He's announced his intention to run as an independant. And based on his popularity with the state's Republican voters, he may even retain his seat

But that's not the point. Kos's "netroots" have now cemented their status in the party as a force to be reckoned with, not some fringe group. Democrats: cross them at your peril.

Which, in my opinion, is "of the good."

EVill TV: Lost Preview

From an ABC Press Release...

Jack, Kate and Sawyer open the season in capativity as prisoners of The Others. Just who these Others are, and what they want, arethe primary quesitons season 3 will explore.

Michael Emerson joins the regular cast ... as Henry Gale leader of The Others.

Romance looms on the horizon as Jack's interests veer towards a mysterious new woman, whose motives may be questionable. Sun & Jin will continue to celebrate their pregnancy, but is the child [MWA HA HA] really Jin's?

You know what would be really good? If the child wasn't hers.

Locke and Sayid will band together with some of the other survivors and journey across the island in an attempt to free Jack, Kate and Sawyer.

Charlie will attempt to return into the good graces of Claire and her baby, Aaron, but can he be trusted to stay clean and sober?

The fates of Locke, Desmond and Mr. Eko in the aftermath of the implosion of the hatch are answered.

Will Penny Widmore find the island and her long, lost love, Desmond, and can the survivors find a way to interact with the outside world?

Interesting plot (as it promises to start defining the island's relationship to the outside world). Sure as hell took their time getting to it, though.

The band of friends, family, enemies and strangers must continue to work together against the cruel weather and harsh terrain if they want to stay alive. But as they have discovered during their 60-plus days on the island, danger and mystery loom behind every corner, and those they thought could be trusted may turn against them. Even heroes have secrets. "Lost" stars Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Mr. Eko, Naveen Andrews as Sayid, Henry Ian Cusick as Desmond, Emilie de Ravin as Claire, Michael Emerson as Henry Gale, Matthew Fox as Jack, Jorge Garcia as Hurley, Josh Holloway as Sawyer, Daniel Dae Kim as Jin, Yunjin Kim as Sun, Evangeline Lilly as Kate, Elizabeth Mitchell as Juliet,

Who? And they didn't mention Rodrigo Santoro or Kiele Sanchez.

Hot on the heels of the announcement that Elizabeth Mitchell and Rodrigo Santoro would join the castaways on Lost comes the word that gorgeous newcomer Kiele Sanchez has also signed on to the growing regular cast. Who? Keeping up the pattern of casting unknown names (but slightly known faces), the Lost team will be joined by one of the stars of last year's Related on The WB, Kiele Sanchez. Other than that, Kiele Sanchez was seen briefly in two other canceled shows from last year besides Related - Modern Men and Four Kings. Here's hoping she has a longer run on Lost than her series history from the '05-'06 season.

Who will Kiele Sanchez play on Lost? Good luck finding out

More on Mad Mel

More Bad News For Mel From Down Under: Turns Out Gibson Had Previous Ties To Aussie Anti-Semite Group
Australia Herald Sun | Lincoln Wright | Posted Saturday August 5, 2006 at 05:07 PM

In the 24-hour news cycle, tomorrow's bad news for Mel Gibson hits today: according to tomorrow's [Sydney] Sunday Herald Sun, Mel Gibson once had ties to the Australian League of Rights, a right-wing group well-known in Australia for anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial. Says the Herald Sun: "The league claims the world is run by a secret society of Jews." (Who, presumably, are responsible for all the wars in the world.) ...

Back to Mel: apparently in 1987 he campaigned for a friend, Rob Taylor, a League of Rights member who ran (unsuccessfully) in a regional election. Per the Herald Sun:

Charles Pinwill, a former Queensland state director of the League of Rights, said he knew Gibson's father, Hutton, and said Gibson was interested in the league's ideas.

"They were never members of the league, no. But we never really recruited members, just support. (Mel and Hutton) were interested in some of our ideas," Mr Pinwill said.

Recall that Hutton Gibson is an on-the-record Holocaust revisionist who has said that the Holocaust was "mostly fiction." Prior to last week's drunken hate-spewing DUI kerfuffle, Gibson drew criticism for not distancing himself from his father's remarks.

Will somebody please take this asswipe out of the oven--He done.

Source: Eat The Press

Good Times

Suffice it to say Fire Island is my new favorite place on Earth . . . Number 1 priority: figure out a way to spend every single weekend of Summer 2007 there...with a bunch of hot bears (e.g., see below).









There are a bunch more at flickr. And by "bunch," I mean, like, 120. :)

Fire Island, Baby!

Yep--It's time to burnish my homo street cred. I'm off to Fire Island first thing in the morning with my most-excellent bud, Paul!!! (Yes, it's true: this will be my first time, despite having grown up less than 15 miles away.)

Lest We Forget...

...Mel Gibson is a first class homophobe, too.

Money quote:

In the original interview, in the Dec. 1 issue of the El
Pais Sunday magazine, Gibson was directly asked his opinion of
homosexuals. He responded, "They take it up the ass."

According to El Pais, he laughed, got up, bent over, pointed
to his butt, and continued, "This is only for taking a shit."

Apparently, some of us use our mouth for that, too...

The 2nd Dr Who Spin-Off Is...

Sarah Jane Investigates

Liz Sladen, Dr Who's most popular companion in the 70s, who guest-starred in a "very special" episode last season, and fronted the failed spinoff pilot K9 & Company in 1981, is apparently set to give it another go in Sarah Jane Investigates.

No word on when it will go into production, or who (apart from K9) will costar, but Russell T. Davies is on board to produce (and write, presumably). Is he Britain's first American-style superstar TV producer, or what? Good for him! I just hope he isn't spreading himself too thin (which might account for the dip in quality on Who this past season--He was simultaneously producing Torchwood).

I do hope they bring her back for Who's third season first, and in a more important, more interesting capacity than one-off "special guest star." (Maybe the Doctor should seek her out in his grief over losing Rose -- We know that the new female lead, Freema Agyeman, is not in this year's Christmas Special.)

But overall, I think this is an idea whose time has come. In 81, Sarah Jane was a cult figure. Today, she is an icon of British pop culture (like the Doctor himself).

I wouldn't be surprised if this show becomes every bit as huge as the show that spawned it.

More on Gilmore Girls

Here's a heartbreaking interview Team Palladino did with Ausiello last spring.

And, BTW, who did Warner Bros find to replace them? Televisionary has the scoop. Money quote:

"The guy quit Spin City in order to concentrate on writing a play about his desire to have sex with Heidi Klum," Julia told me. "Dropped out of TV completely to do this. He pretty much had a breakdown, dropped out of society, and became the madman writing a misogynist play. He lived like this until his dad read the play and actually had him committed."

Oh. Joy.

Sherman-Palladinos Set Up Next Series At Fox

Gilmore Girls is one of those rare TV series with an auctorial voice, and that (brilliant, screwball) voice is Amy Sherman Palladino's. Unfortunately, ASP and her husband/producing partner, Daniel Palladino, left the show last spring over a contract dispute. Of course, Warner Brothers decided to continue the show without them. (I feel so bad for those actors.) I--and I suspect, many others--will not watch a dumbed-down, generic TV version of this show.

OK, that's a lie: I will sample out of morbid curiosity, but as far as I'm concerned, GG is now akin to post-Sorkin West Wing: dead to me.

But there's a ray of hope in today's Variety, which reports that ASP is moving ahead with her first post-Gilmore project. Behold:

"Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has set up her next series project, landing a put pilot at Fox Broadcasting Co.
Deal comes just weeks after Sherman-Palladino and husband Dan Palladino ankled "Gilmore" after failing to come to terms with Warner Bros. TV on a new deal.

No studio is attached to Sherman-Palladino's new project, a half-hour dramedy that will revolve around two estranged sisters who reunite after one of them agrees to carry the other's baby.

Sherman-Palladino will write and exec produce the pilot; she may direct.

Catholic Logic

Clearly, what he said was bigoted and anti-semitic, but there's a difference between ... comments that are bigoted, and being a bigot. I myself have said that there are are no Senators who are bigoted against Catholics, yet I have pointed out numerous bigoted comments made by Senators, like Senator Schumer...

--The Catholic League's William Donohoe, who is not at all familiar with our Earth logic, effortlessly turning the question of Mel Gibson's hateburst into an excuse to criticize a Jew, and cast himself (& his fellow Catholics, 1.5 billion strong), as the victim here.

He's hot.

Are You A Jew?

I'm not an antisemite.

--Mel Gibson

No? Let's go to the audiotape:

"Fuckin Jews! The Jews are responsible for every war in the world! Are you a Jew?"

--Mel Gibson to a (Jewish) cop, 72 hours earlier

Um... Dude? I hate to be the one to break it to you (that's a lie)... but you're exactly what those of us who freaked out over your last movie thought you were.

Buh-bye,Dickhead.

Which will dovetail nicely with your worldview, actually: you can just blame the death of your career on the Jews. Shh!!! It's a conspiracy. Those wily Christ-killers.

The Best Movie of the Year

is Little Miss Sunshine.

I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard in a movie. The toast of Sundance, Little Miss Sunshine is an acerbic yet heart-warming, unfailingly smart, incredibly well-observed road-trip comedy about a family of losers fixated on winning. Oh, and pre-teen beauty pageants. And Proust. Stuff like that.

Run, don't walk. (Or get out and push the VW van til you can jump it into 3rd.)

Opus, 7/30