I believe the answer to your question is "Wu Tang! Wu Tang!" Actually that's another of my live hip hop pet peeves: I'm crazy bout the Klan but wouldn't mind never being asked to chant Wu-Tang or throw up the W in a concert-style setting ever again. That shit is played out, like Arnold with that "Whatchu talking bout,…

D.A Pennebaker apparently shot a documentary about Jennifer Lopez a little while back (even the greats have to pay the bills, and I think this project was entirely on Lopez or Sony's dime) that everyone who isn't Jennifer Lopez loved but that Lopez had killed, which sucks. I'd really love to see that project but I…

Yeah, because it's less about the music than the culture and the divine frenzy of trying to pull off something so ambitious. Also RZA is pretty fucking fascinating regardless of the context (I was geeked to see him pull off a more-than-respectable supporting role in "American Gangster" incidentally).

The "Gimme Shelter" comparison isn't as hyperbolic or inaccurate as it might seem. I just watched "Gimme Shelter" a few days ago and both films are about iconic acts performing in a frenzied, tension-filled atmosphere that constantly threatens to turn into a full-on disaster. Needless to say, in "Gimme Shelter"'s case…

Rap? More like Crap!
Sorry, I just wanted to be the one writing that this time.

I didn't have time to cover this in the review but Jones' production here is absolutely brilliant and essential to "Thriller"s iconic success. It seems idiotic that Jackson is reaching out to flash in the pan types like Will.I.Am for his comeback album instead of reconnecting with Jones. It's almost as if Jackson has…

"The TV Set" was one of my favorite films from last year and one of my all-time favorite show biz satires. Here's a blog post I did about it: http://www.avclub.com/conte…

That's true. It is an awfully weird, uncomfortable bit o' television in an episode with more than its share.

as many as it takes.

I am suddenly
stricken with a fierce desire to learn more about these Reality Awards.

The picture, incidentally
is from "Carny"! Bask in the queasy-making hotness of the teenaged Jodie Foster!

I'm definitely thinking about doing "Full Frontal" along with "Bubble", "Solaris", "Kafka" and ""The Good German". Soderberg is the king of interesting, ambitious flops.

I would argue that Norton, Gareth from the Office (I know he has a name but to me he will always be Gareth from the Office) and Tracy Ullman are all big British TV names. Also Ice Pirates totally just entered my Netflix cue.

You are not alone, good Sir. You remind me of the Chris Rock bit where he bemoans never being able to find a woman who's equally passionate about Wu-Tang Clan and Seinfeld.

Great post
I have a really strong personal connection to the Kinks as well. Back when I wrote for the Madison Area Technical College student newspaper (where my Slant peoples at?) our advisor gave me the tape of "Kinks Chronicles" because he knew I was a big Blur fan. I was instantly hooked for many of the reasons you…

I like that. Though I don't know that we've spent too much time gushing about Monsieur Franco's non-Freaks N' Geeks projects.

was indeed a Secret Success. I don't know why that didn't show up. One of the things I liked about the film was its strong point of view. It seems ridiculous that the director of "Delta Farce" gets the same possessive credit as Martin Scorsese but this really is a very personal Amy Heckerling movie in the best…

Also
this film was filmed largely in England despite being totally about Los Angeles, which helps explain the preponderance of big British TV actors in minor roles.

I know
this a perversely obscure choice for the premiere post My Year of Flops My Year of Flops file but I'm all about surprising/disappointing my loyal readers. Future MYOF contenders include Wired, Dragon Wars, An Alan Smithee Film Burn Hollywood Burn and prolly some shit that you wonderful people will recommend.

I would like to formally apologize to both Joe227 and to Jackee, whose awesome eighties sitcom inspired Joe's very memorable online moniker.