CRASH CASH BASH!
A court has ordered independent producer Bob Yari and his companies to shell out $12 million to writer/director Paul Haggis, star Brendan Fraser, and others over profits from the film Crash.
The fact that what should be a normal business procedure requires lawyers, judges, and various and sundry recriminations is a sad statement on the way the movie biz operates.
MERRY XMAS MOVIES AREN'T THAT MERRY
Mike Shaw at Britain's Independent newspaper wrote a piece about how Hollywood's attempts at making Christmas movies usually fall short because they're unwilling to embrace the darker emotions found around the season. It sort of fits a piece I wrote last year about Hollywood's inability to drum up the sincerity needed to make a decent Christmas movie.
AARON SORKIN'S GOT A TITLE & IT'S FAMILIAR
Hollywood uber-scribe Aaron Sorkin's new HBO series about behind the scenes in a cable TV newsroom now has an official title: The Newsroom.
A little on the nose, if you ask me, but also a tad familiar.... at least to me.
You see, Canada already had a series called The Newsroom. It was created by writer / director / actor Ken Finkleman who returned to his native Canada after years slogging in the Hollywood trenches grinding out sequels, Madonna movie, and script-doctoring on sitcoms to do his own show his way.
It starred Finkleman as George Findlay, a petty, vain, selfish, insensitive, ignorant, scheming neurotic with chronic constipation, who was the producer of a nightly TV news show. The show was darkly funny as Findlay tried to get ahead, get laid, or get both with things becoming more abstract and surreal as the show progressed. It was also unique in the fact that it had several limited run dramas spun-off the show also featuring the Findlay character that ran between the three seasons of The Newsroom.
Now while it has the same title, I'm sure that Sorkin's show will be very different. Loaded with lot's of noble archetype journalists walking up and down hallways talking very quickly as they declare their integrity and complain about Fox News.
Hmmm.... now that I think about it, maybe they should hire Finkleman for a rewrite.
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