4 February 2000

THE GLORIOUSLY UGLY: There are Todd Solondz fans and Todd Solondz haters. I am in group one. And so, I am thrilled that Solondz has become the latest wacko auteur to join the New Line family, joining Paul Thomas Anderson, John Waters, David Fincher and others. I think that supporting artists who are really artists is what New Line does when it's at its best. The studio got caught in the trap of "the big movie" for a while, trying to match or beat Miramax stride for stride. No doubt, Miramax stole New Line's thunder with Scream, which was a classic New Line project. And our own Ted Turner tried to bend the New Line formula while he was being hands-on. But I see a retro New Line as a good New Line and I am happy that they are making the investment in what they are best at -- living on the edge of the gloriously ugly.

RADIO RADIO: Tomorrow, American Beauty screenwriter Alan Ball will be on KABC with me. (George is in New York and I don't know whether he'll be playing through or not. We've both been travelling so much lately, the show's been kind of goofy.) That's 10a.m., PST on 790, KABC.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY: Normally, this spot is save for special movie events around the country. Well, at risk of being accused of being a kiss-ass, you should know that this will be a special month (befitting sweeps) at "Roger Ebert and The Movies", starting this weekend with President Bill Clinton hanging out on the aisle. Of course, the aisle is at the White House, not in Chicago, but what can you do. The guy has a demanding day job. From my "insiders" position at REATM, I can tell you that, well, I can't tell you anything much because no one there coughed up any info. But after this, look for a special on a festival I was recently at, featuring a jury member from said festival and a special episode with one of the greatest living directors. Should be a cool month, so check it out. (So do I have sweater fuzz on my lips?)

JUST WONDERING: Does anyone (other than Harry Knowles) want to work with Michael Bay? The list of people passing on his Pearl Harbor epic is getting to be as big as the movie.

READER OF THE DAY: Young Krillian writes: " I have no problem with the Best Cast except for Cider House, which I haven't seen, but I seriously doubt it could beat The Talented Mr. Ripley. The Best Actress category seems to be pretty weak. Meryl Streep's next movie could be about a grocery store manager who decides that produce should be on the west end of the store instead of the east, and she'd garner several nominations.

I'm really surprised that when it comes to the "main" awards, Christopher Plummer keeps getting overlooked for The Insider. I enjoyed his performance more than Russell Crowe's, and I thought his character was the most realistically drawn (despite Mike Wallace's protests).

I don't care if it's the SAG or the Oscar, I want Haley Joel Osment to win one of them.

One last thought on SAG, and I don't mean to sound callused here. Michael J. Fox is going to win the SAG award based on sympathy, but I think Peter MacNicol should be rewarded for the consistent work he puts into "Ally McBeal", through the good episodes and bad.

I finally read the Newsweek article, and my main problem with the wrestling article is that it tricks you with the cover into thinking it might be covering the whole pro-wrestling phenomenon when it's actually all about Vince McMahon.

I saw the news about the bidding wars with Summer Redstone, Rupert Murdoch and Barry Diller surface on Variety's homepage the other day, but USA's contract is for another year and a half, and a lot can happen between now and then. I think going with the CBS/TNN deal would be a mistake. TNN already broadcasts ECW and they haven't done a good job marketing it. It seems as though TNN execs think ECW is a great tool to use to promote "Rollerjam". The Fox/FX deal could work out, but Vince would want a few million more homes to carry FX before he'd leave USA, a channel he's personally helped become the top-rated cable station in America.

And I really don't think Diller has had much to do with the WWF other than giving "Monday Night Raw" a chance to air. He still preempts it twice a year for the Westminster dog show, which gets one-eighth the ratings Raw receives. If Diller is to be partially credited with the WWF's success, then Ted Turner needs to be scolded for the walking disaster WCW has become. Turner put Eric Bischoff in charge, who smartly and shrewdly attracted a lot of WWF superstars like Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, and Roddy Piper to mix with Sting, Ric Flair and Lex Luger, but Bischoff was throwing money away everywhere and letting the inmates run the asylum. Most of his young talent like Steve Austin, Chris Jericho, Paul Wight (WCW's Giant, WWF's Big Show,) etc, are bailing to greener pastures in the WWF while those who remain in WCW are disgruntled or over 40. Just last week a major feud on "Nitro" was the 50-year-old Ric Flair fighting the 54-year-old Terry Funk. Now how is that supposed to improve viewership in the 18-to-25 demographic?

But I digress.

I'm just glad to see that when roughcut had to start cross-promoting with WCW it didn't hurt the quality of the Website."

And Mary writes: "The attractiveness of the name 'Amorette' diminishes considerably for French speakers who know that 'amourettes' do not in fact mean "little love affairs" but are the usual culinary term for what, in the United States, is known as "Rocky Mountain oysters", i.e. the testicles of an ex-bull. Just thought I'd share."

E-ME: It's amazing to me how much you all know about WCW and WWF that I do not. Same goes for the testicles. What else don't I know?