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The Dark Apple
“Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”
(emphasis on the latter here)
Rumor is that acclaimed actor Christian Bale is the leading candidate for portraying the late Steve Jobs in the major motion picture based on Walter Isaacson’s biography of the technology icon, with a screenplay penned by Aaron Sorkin. Fans of Bale, especially for his role as Batman in Christopher Nolan’s epic Dark Knight trilogy, cannot help but dream about the prospects of the actor bringing the same kind of intelligent, conflicted and controversial edge to the Apple co-founder (who was also intelligent, conflicted and controversial) as he did with Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego.
Every once in a while, Conan O’Brien and his team does something entertaining. The video clip below is one of those moments:
Steve Jobs’ black turtlenecks apparently had more armor than I realized…
Welcome to…
Next summer will see the opening of the most famous theme park. No, how about wildlife preserve. That doesn’t quite work either.
Come June 12, 2015, everyone is invited to experience the adventure of a lifetime! Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the Jurassic World poster:
(“The Park is Open” on Slash Film Online)
“The Park is Open”
Who opened it? Where is it located? Why was it built and created two decades later?
Enter chills and a countdown clock: Only 240 days away!
This entrancing movie poster made the rounds late last night. It’s clear that mysterious, yet recognizable danger lurks behind the “supposedly” electric fences of this prehistoric paradise/entertainment destination that will turn into an exhilarating and dangerous escape for survival from familiar (and likely a couple unfamiliar…) dinosaurs. The smoky feel projects that something truly epic and surprising awaits the entrants of this John Hammond-inspired place. Plus, the design and movie title demonstrates a serious, purposeful new story that returns us all to the greatest idea for a park that’s ever been genetically re-engineered. This is not Jurassic Park 4. This is Jurassic World. This film doesn’t appear to be linked to and/or compared to the second and third films in the franchise, but instead to the original 1993 masterpiece, more on its own.
Yes, it’s happening. Yes, the poster produces one hell of a seductive reverie on all Jurassic Park fans. And yes, director Colin Trevorrow has officially dared the world (and himself) to again dream of a surreal, modern world in which we co-exist with dinosaurs.
To paraphrase Dr. Ian Malcolm, “this story, 22 years in the making, found a way…”
P.S. Notice anything familiar with the release date? Jurassic Park opened in theaters on June 11, 1993…This just keeps getting better and better!
You Need to Sit Down For This
Spoiler Alert: This post contains content from the October 8, 2014 episode of The Goldbergs:
“You can have a second wedding?!”
Expressing love is a beautiful thing. This is especially true with regal pomp and circumstance, as best demonstrated by the British Royal Family in 1981 (and 2011). One of the mesmerized Americans across the pond was none other than Beverly Goldberg, admiring the exquisite attention paid to the blushing bride on her most special day in colorful clothes and a giant hat fit for a 1980-something American princess. And by Diana’s side was Charles, her strapping, romantic prince.
Then, there was Murray Goldberg, who literally sat down on a chair during his nuptials. Yes, that happened and it was recorded for all to see with perplexed wonder. But Murray is a simple man who is not a fan of wearing pants, or so he’d have you believe…
Inspired by the Royal Wedding, Beverly took her close friend’s advice and coaxed/strong-armed Murray into renewing their vows. This is when things got very interesting around the Goldberg household, specifically around the television set.
Meanwhile, Adam and his best bro Barry were busy rocking to classic ’80s hair band tunes in full ’80s hair band clothes in their garage (as it’s intended to be!). Despite the fact the one song they knew (by Barry standards) was by Twisted Sister, the top choices for their band’s name seemed to revolve around one word or name. Can you guess what it was? Here’s a hint: it rhymes with “marry” (had to). One of the suggestions was literally, “Little House on the Barry.” Actually, that is incredible! Still, it seems quite logical that their band name would have been Twisted Brothers, but maybe that was too obvious for a killer band name? It was a spectacularly awesome train wreck that, despite it’s lack of musical talent, was a show worthy of an early morning gig in the suburbs of Philadelphia.
Then, chaos slowly started to brew: Girls in a band (sister Erica and friend Lainey), a husband reciting a sitcom theme song as his wedding vows (Family Ties) and then having his wife hilariously confront her husband by claiming the theme song from The Facts of Life as her !#^%*! wedding vows.
After Barry failed again to sweep his crush Lainey off her feet, Murray (feeling guilty about his effort on his vows) consoled his oldest son by showing him the video of his nuptials…sitting down in a chair. Beverly thought it was because of a low blood sugar-type issue, but as Murray revealed to Barry, he was sitting because he was so overwhelmed by his blushing bride’s beauty and how she was completely out of his league. This was how I felt at the end of an amazing first date in the year 2000-something. We sat on a bench late at night, amusingly people watched, spoke for a little bit and then kissed under a romantic, glowing street light. The setting was perfect and so was she. Like Murray, sometimes us guys need the support of a seat to gain the strength to have an unforgettable moment with a girl who is out of our league.
Knowing deep down what he needed and wanted to do for his gorgeous wife, Murray prepared a sweet, formal ceremony at 4:00 a.m. (when Beverly set her alarm to watch the Royal Wedding) and had Pops lead her down into the backyard decorated with suburban Philadelphia style-pomp and circumstance and the family band playing “Eternal Flame” by The Bangles. He then proceeded to say his vows, from his heart, sans the help of a popular ’80s sitcom.
It was moment that, quite honestly, was out of the Royal Wedding’s league.
Here’s to every Twisted Family out there, sha-la-la-la-la!
(The Goldbergs Twitter)
The Carlton: Defining the Unusual
Carlton’s log: I’m about to dance America back to the ’90s!
Jimmy’s Daily Planet is a big fan of the 1990s sitcom hit, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The acting and the writing was fantastic. Plus, it was a show that achieved the right tone with teenagers and parents alike in terms of the appropriateness of the jokes and the content in general. And it was coupled with valuable life lessons.
Of the many memorable scenes, episodes, zings and lessons learned, there is one particular dance that remains a treasured favorite. It’s iconic. “The Carlton” expresses a love not only for the smooth voice of singer Tom Jones, but also a feeling that allows anyone to literally throw caution to the wind and move like no one’s watching.
Except people are always watching (and doing) that dance with ecstatic delight, especially when it’s performed by its original sitcom lead on prime-time television on a major network.
Alfonso Carlton, you know what to do:
Thank You Alfonso!
Jimmy's Daily Planet 