MetaFilter posts tagged with hollywood and entertainment

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zarq — Sun, 20 May 2012 20:49:51 -0800

Mythbusters' Tested Blog recently posted a special feature from the Toy Story 2 DVD, in which Pixar's Oren Jacob and Galyn Susman recounted how the files for the movie (just 10gb of data!) were almost lost due to both an erroneous Linux command and a bad backup. The folks at The Next Web: Media followed up with Mr. Jacob, and learned that the movie was actually tossed out and reworked from scratch again nine months prior to a release date that was set in stone, not by the computers, but by the filmmakers themselves: How Pixar’s Toy Story 2 was deleted twice, once by technology and again for its own good.

How Much Does an A-list Actor Make ... and Spend?

reenum — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:03:02 -0800

New York Mag presents the balance sheets of an A-List actor for our perusal.

Blasphroggy

zarq — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 07:29:58 -0800

Weekend At Kermie's: The Muppets' Strange Life After Death. Elizabeth Stevens asks:

What if, in 1990, instead of recasting Kermit—something that had been done to Mickey and Bugs Bunny before him—the Muppets had continued on Kermit-less, as "The Simpsons" did after Phil Hartman died. Recall Susan’s words on "Seasame Street" about Mr. Hooper in 1982: “Big Bird, when people die, they don’t come back.” Let’s say Robin showed up saying his uncle Kermit had passed away? Or, if that was too dark for Disney, what if Kermit had left show business to go off to start a family with Piggy? Someone else could lead the gang of weirdoes.

It would’ve made more artistic sense than what happened.

The King of the Deal

reenum — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:52:50 -0800

A New Yorker profile of consummate dealmaker Irving 'Swifty' Lazar. From the article:

Over the years, he was to give me much more advice from his personal experience, ranging from “Always try to have fun, kiddo” to “Be a mensch when you tip.” This last I received at that first lunch, when Lazar rose from the table at the end of the meal to continue table-hopping, and, without asking whether I had an expense account (I didn’t), left me to pay the bill. It taught me at least one useful truth about book publishing: the editor always picks up the check, never the agent.

The Runaway Genius

reenum — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 16:41:31 -0800

It was not easy to get Terence Malick to direct again, as this article about the making of "The Thin Red Line" from Vanity Fair shows.

An Early Hollywood Murder Mystery

amyms — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 01:58:45 -0800

The bumping off of a famous person is the sort of oyster that any detective delights to open, so you can just bet the family jewels that I was pretty much elated when my Chief, the late Thomas Lee Woolwine, District Attorney of Los Angeles County, called me into his private office on the morning of February 3rd, 1922, and assigned me to represent his office in the investigation of this greatest of all murder mysteries. -- Excerpted from an article archived at Taylorology, a site exploring the life and death of William Desmond Taylor, a silent movie actor and director whose unsolved murder was among the earliest Hollywood true crime scandals. Researcher Bruce Long first published his accumulated information about the case as a small fanzine which evolved into a monthly electronic newsletter and is now a vast archive of articles and interviews, official documents, photos, and more. Although the Taylor case is the main focus, there's also a wealth of supplemental information about the silent film industry and its stars. The Taylorology electronic newsletter is also archived at Silent-Movies.Com

Oh look, we have created enchantment.

plexi — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 06:37:59 -0800

The male rejection of adulthood is now the dominant attitude in Hollywood comedy.

The center of attention is usually a guy, his buddies and his toys. He will, most of the time, be nudged toward responsibility, forgiven for his quirks and nurtured in his needs and neuroses by a woman who represents an ideal amalgam of supermodel and mom.

Nikki Finke: Semi-batshitinsane.

phaedon — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 21:14:15 -0800

Los Angeles Magazine asks, "Can the LA Times be saved?" One suggestion is to hire Nikki Finke, Hollywood's ultimate contrarian reporter. Finke was canned in 2002 by the New York Post over a series of articles critical of Disney. [1 2] She sued in response.

Shortly afterwards, she landed at the LA Weekly, where she boasts an incredible archive of weekly columns - recent entries include a quasi-defense of Mel Gibson, coverage of Cruise versus Redstone, and Michael Ovitz's gay problem. On the side, she likes to bite people's heads off, and reminisce about a New York that's now gone. She now gets to let it all out on her own blog, Deadline Hollywood Daily. [previously mentioned 1 2 3 4]

What is it about brothers and film?

cell divide — Thu, 06 Dec 2001 10:15:17 -0800

What is it about brothers and film? You've got the Hughes Brothers, the Cohen Brothers, the Polish Brothers, the Wachowski Brothers, the Farrelly Brothers, to name the best known. We also have the Weinstein Brothers, and numerous up-and-comers taking the fraternal route. What's behind this phenomenon? And where are the sisters?

Mocata — Mon, 09 Apr 2001 04:30:37 -0800

Is Hollywood right-wing? Mark Cousins thinks it is, and his arguments are impressively barking.