Saturday, November 3, 2012
Bethenny Frankel donates $50,000 for Hurricane Sandy relief
Bethenny Frankel is definitely a New Yorker, and now she’s stepping up to help her fellow New Yorkers and East Coast victims of Hurricane Sandy.
Frankel reportedly donated $50,000 to the Red Cross to help with relief efforts, states UsMagazine.com. However, that wasn’t all as it is reported that Skinnygirl Cocktails matched her financial donation.
Along with that, Skinnygirl On-the-Go Bars reportedly shipped 5,000 bars to New Jersey for the Red Cross to pass out to those in need right now.
FG HBT.blogspot.com
Why We Can't Peg President Obama's Pop Culture Persona
Every president and every major politician in the last 20 years has had a comedic identity. Bill Clinton was a charismatic playboy; Bush was a hapless cowboy; Al Gore was a well-informed snooze; John Kerry was a droning old man, as was John McCain; and Sarah Palin was a clueless hockey mom. Now, we have Governor Mitt Romney added to the mix as an out-of-touch rich guy stuck in the 1950s. But while we can easily sum up practically every major politician in recent memory (let’s not forget John Edwards as a pretty, pretty man with an infidelity issue), President Barack Obama's comedy peg isn’t exactly staring us in the face.
Obama Not BadWhen he first became a candidate for president, Obama’s “thing” was that he was “cool.” He was young and with it. His soft spot for basketball, hobnobbing with celebrities, and an actual appreciation for Miles Davis set him apart from other, stuffy politicians. From the now classic Saturday Night Live faux-campaign ad
“Be Cool” to his memetastic presence as the “Not Bad” guy (left) — thanks to a hilarious nonchalant expression he made being captured by a photographer — Obama made an initial comedy imprint as the coolest politician alive. “He was super hip and super cool and all the kids just loved him," says Comedy Central's Indecision.cc.com Editorial Producer Mary Phillips-Sandy. "There was definitely a sense of wanting to sort of take that and looking at him and that persona and the way he was being perceived and sort of just finding the humor in how over the top it got.” And as time wore on, that peg didn’t exactly dissipate. Instead, it got a few bedfellows.
After we settled into the idea that Obama is a righteous dude, we started to notice him as something cool people tend to become: a celebrity. He wasn’t just the leader of the free world, he was a guy whose wife wears Michael Kors and Jason Wu dresses. He was a guy whose daughters could heighten the popularity of Uglydolls by dangling miniature ones on their school backpacks. He’s a guy who might get photographed by the paparazzi when he takes a dip in the ocean, much like any bikini-clad Kardashian. It was a status that had been brewing since he faced off against Hillary Clinton in the 2007 primary; just look at his “surprise” appearance on SNL, during which he removed an Obama mask to reveal himself to thunderous applause, accepting it like the most seasoned of celebrities. (Sure, Gore and McCain have both hosted the late night show, but their awkward appearances hardly had the same panache.) Add to this the public’s obsession with the inner-workings of Michelle and Barack at home and the Obamas’ friendship with pop culture and hip-hop royalty Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and Obama is practically the new George Clooney. But even Obama's celebrity is still not used for comedy.
Despite being both really, really ridiculously cool and a major celebrity, Obama still boasts another personality quirk. While wildly discordant with his other public traits, the quirk been referenced in comedy bits ranging from Fred Armisen’s now-dormant SNL impression, to The Daily Show’s approach, to Key and Peele’s name-making impression of a calm Obama assisted by a boisterous “anger translator.” It’s his unflinching stoicism. It’s the notion that while the president smiles often and genuinely, he’s not going to flash those pearly whites unless he’s already decided, hours before, that he should do so. It’s a meticulousness that begs notice.
And that’s where it becomes obvious that the President’s comedy profile isn’t as easy to peg as the country's other famous politicians'. How can he be the cool, hip celebrity and the well-read, highly-intellectual, thoughtful, and stoic leader? Our pithy representations don’t usually allow room for that much variation. How can he be the guy who sings Al Green songs at the Apollo and the guy who’s so stifled that we’re inclined to imagine all the frustration going on in his head? How can he be all those things in the realm of pop culture, a place that loves to boil politicians down to their most ostentatious characteristics? “It feels more nuanced, [determining] what would be the characteristics of Obama in comedy," says the artistic director of New York’s Upright Citizen’s Brigade theater, Nate Dern. "It’s not a one-note thing.”
Depending on where you look, different comedic outlets are picking up on varying subtleties of his personality. But why has Obama escaped the fates of all presidents and presidential candidates before him? (Heck, even Gerald Ford became “the falling president,” thanks to Chevy Chase’s inflectionless impression.) To be fair, many folks started off on the wrong foot with Obama-centric comedy. Phillips-Sandy points out that when Obama first hit the national stage, some folks in the comedy world feared there was no humor to be found in the could-be president. “I remember back in 2008 reading all these [articles] and people were saying, ‘Oh, how are we ever going to make fun of Obama?’ And that was fascinating to me that that was even a question,” she says.
But clearly those naysayers were wrong; over the past four years, Obama has been a presence throughout comedy — after all, how could something like SNL, The Daily Show, or any comedy platform go four years without joking about the POTUS? They wouldn’t make it. “I think that, more than anything, revealed an inherent bias or confusion that some people are untouchable, but no one is,” Phillips-Sandy says.
The entertainment industry has indeed long been accused of harboring a liberal bias. But is that what's keeping Obama from being tapped by pop culture? Let's investigate.
FG HBT.blogspot.com
Smear Ads 2012: Who Will Stop Walter White VIDEO
With the 2012 Presidential election less than a week away, millions of Americans have been relentlessly inundated with smear ads from both campaigning candidates. President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney's camps have been mudslinging nonstop over the past few months, and will likely do so right up until Nov. 6. So what better way to fight off the onslaught of all those negative, frustrating smear ads? More smear ads, of course! As such, Hollywood.com has come up with our own pop culture-based smear campaigns.
Today's smear campaign is against none other than Walter White on behalf of his most devastating victim. Sure, fans and critics alike adore Bryan Cranston's terrifying, brilliant villain on Breaking Bad, but at what cost? How many more record-breaking ratings must the beloved AMC series pull in and how many more awards will Cranston deservedly earn for his haunting, layered performance before another is harmed? Won't somebody think of the children?!
Sure, Walter White is fun to dress up as for Halloween and you might as well avoid the water coolers all together come summer 2013, but viewers can become as cold and calculating as Heisenberg himself if we don't let justice prevail in the war on well, not drugs exactly....
FG HBT.blogspot.com
Friday, November 2, 2012
Kamal Haasan interviews Ang Lee
After regaling Mumbai, Ang Lee shifted location to Chennai on Wednesday where Kamal Haasan conducted a 30-minute television with the director.
But before that, Ang who was not familiar with Kamal Haasan's work wanted to see his films. So they drove down to Kamal Haasan's office where he has a fully equipped home theatre.
Says Kamal, "I took him to my office where he saw my new film Vishwaroop. I think he liked what he saw. It was very kind of him to make time for something beyond his jam-packed schedule only so that he could be familiar with my work. He had worked in South India in Pondicherry for Life Of Pi. He had heard of me but not seen my work."
Ang was apparently very impressed with Vishwaroop. The two artistes have decided to collaborate in the very near future.
Laughs Kamal Haasan, "I don't know how impressed Ang was with my work. I've been deeply moved by his work. That's why I readily agreed to interview him for a television channel when the offer was made to me. He was surprised that I knew he was a micro-biologist before he began making movies. I've literally seen all his films; right from the first Pushing Hands. I think we covered extensive ground during the interview."
Kamal Haasan is also impressed by Ang Lee's latest film The Life Of Pi and intends to make his next film in 3D in collaboration with the legendary American filmmaker and special-effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull.
Says Kamal, "I have never done a film in 3D. I'd like to. What I've seen Ang achieve in Life Of Pi through the 3D technique is unique. I am glad I had a chance to get into a conversation with Ang. We seem to share so much in common."
FG HBT.blogspot.com
Prime Focus lands services deal with Hollywood Studio
Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the global digital content operations specialist, part of a Prime Focus Group company has signed a multi-million dollar deal with one of Hollywood's leading film studios yesterday in Los Angeles. PFT will supply media processing services to ensure full compliance with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations for new media. PFT will leverage CLEAR, its award-winning hybrid cloud content operations platform to handle the assets, automated QC, approvals, workflows, delivery and archiving of content. It also manages over 180,000 hours of TV and Film content each year for its clients in Europe and Asia. By leveraging the relationships that parent company, Prime Focus has built up through its high-end visual effects and 3D conversion work for major studios, PFT is now gaining traction in providing CLEAR led services in North America also.
A 1,00,000sq.ft facility at Andheri in Mumbai is being setup to cater to its burgeoning demands, the facility is being built to suit the requirements of the increasing list of elite clients. PFT has an exclusive vendor relationship for its variety of services. This facility will also house the Digital Broadcast Hub, and will be the new global headquarters for the company. The facility is expected to be commissioned in February, 2013. Ramki Sankaranarayanan, President and CEO of Prime Focus Technologies said, "We are starting to see real growth for our business in the North American market, and this deal will provide us with a solid foundation to expand our services and client-base within the region. CLEAR the hybrid cloud platform is backed by our global network of supporting services. This is proving to be the preferred option for Hollywood studios, as they need to process large volumes of content within the existing time frame and cost limitations without compromising on creativity."
FG HBT.blogspot.com
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Why Pawan Kalyan kept mum on CGTR controversies
Before its release, Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu created big howl over the remuneration fight between director Puri Jagannath and producer DVV Danayya. This row created a lot of confusion over its release date. The director and producer duo reluctantly came together to clarify it, but Pawan Kalyan remained completely away from the scene.
After its release, Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu continued to court controversies. The TDP, YSRC and Telangana activists protested against its makers and stalled its screening in several places claiming that its story, few dialogues and characters targeted them. They even attacked Puri's office and destroyed it. The makers immediately made necessary changes and were able to pacify them. But Pawan once again remained silent and did not make any statement on it.
However, Pawan Kalyan was not in the city for a couple of weeks. He had left for Europe for a family trip soon after completing the post production works of Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu. He was reportedly in continuous touch with director Puri Jagannath and producer Danayya and giving advises, but he stayed unavailable for media. It should be said here that he is the real Power Star, who never looses his cool over any rumour or controversy.
FG HBT.blogspot.com
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