‘Jericho’ Nuked, but…
CBS announced that one of my favorite shows, Jericho, will not be returning for a second season, which really sucks. All things considered, the final episode last week wasn’t a bad place to end the show. There are loose ends (like a nuclear weapon still buried underneath someone’s tool shed), but I’m not too distraught. What does burn me is the CBS decision to replace Jericho with a new reality show titled Kid Nation. In Kid Nation, 40 eight- to 15-year-olds are charged with creating a community in an abandoned ghost town. Now before you go comparing the show to Lord of the Flies, let’s point out that the producer of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is behind the kiddie city show. That means Piggy doesn’t get killed, but whines a lot to the camera. Is that good TV when...
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On Everwood
It was the mother who first believed in Everwood. As a little girl she gazed out at the small Colorado town, her train stopped because of snow, and that place became a part of her. She believed in Everwood, not as a patriotic fanatic, but as if God had made this place for people like her–for people like her husband Dr. Andy Brown and their two children Ephram and Delia. Dr. Brown took his family there after his wife, his children’s mother, died in a car accident. The world famous neurosurgeon fled from Manhattan to the place his wife loved so much, keeping the one promise he was last able to keep after years of broken promises and missed opportunities. And so it was, this doctor would have to mend his relationship with an estranged 16-year-old son and raise...
Read MoreFemale filmmakers are more independent
The war being waged against the Hollywood mainstream by independent filmmakers may be an arduous battle, but thanks to the growing number of female warriors, indie film’s army is getting a little bigger. Take Megan Holley for example. The female director has gone around the country screening her cloning drama, The Snowflake Crusade, at festivals and was at Penn State Erie last October to participate in the Screen Visions Independent Film Series. Since then, Holley has been actively preparing for the production of her second feature film. In her travels, Holley hasn’t run into many other female filmmakers, but she thinks the traditionally male-dominated profession is just “something women don’t think of going into.” Holley, who currently lives in Richmond, Va., didn’t originally think of going into it either. A long-time love affair with the cinema lead to her joining...
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Lord of the Greenbacks
I was wrong. I said two months ago that The Return of the King didn’t stand a chance in the Best Picture race, but the third Lord of the Rings film took home the Best Picture trophy. The fantasy film also won an award for each nomination as it became one of only three films to win 11 Academy Awards, the most in Oscar history. After a week’s worth of contemplation, I’m willing to say the film deserved its awards, just as much as any other Oscar-winning epic. For the Academy, a billion dollar film and Hollywood’s golden god was a match made in heaven. The union of a popcorn blockbuster and the elusive Oscar is easily acceptable considering their special night was the most commercialized Oscar ceremony in history. While only Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson overtly advertised their film Starsky and Hutch,...
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