IMPRISONMENT
1 in 37 Americans has served time in state or federal
prison. Among black men, the figure is an astounding
one in six. These figures come from the Bureau of
Justice Statistics, which collects data and publishes
reports on crime, law enforcement, the courts, prisons,
and prisoners.
OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB HE MAY WEAVE
Some people still believe a Web property, the
company's ill-advised acquisition of Infoseek, nearly
destroyed Walt Disney Co. Now a disgruntled
stakeholder wants to use the web to save the
embattled mouse house. Roy Disney, the nephew of
founder Walt, has launched
http://www.savedisney.com
Roy, who recently stepped down from the Disney
board, has been waging a so far unsuccessful campaign
to oust Disney chief Michael Eisner, whom he says has
scuttled much of the company's "magic." In a letter
posted on savedisney.com, Roy asks for support "as we
embark on this extremely important mission to restore
the magic and wonder" to the company. Roy doesn't
say exactly how he plans to do that, what kind of
support he needs, and who he actually wants it from,
but we don't think he should hold his breath waiting for
the company's shareholders to sprinkle some fairy dust
and clap their hands in belief.
JUMPING SHIPS AND DIVING FROM BOARDS
Even as nephews are jumping from the Disney board,
the Riff wonders what brave soul would actually accept
a seat on beleaguered Martha Stewart Living
Omnimedia's. Bradley Singer answered our question
yesterday, agreeing to fill the seat vacated when Dalra
Moore stepped down. In truth, Singer seems better
suited for the position. As CFO of American Tower
Corp., a company that builds transmission and relay
towers for the wireless communications industry, Singer
is familiar with the financial complexities of the media
and communications industry and during his tenure
there helped manage the company through an
especially volatile period. That's great, but what how
well versed is he in legal matters?
******
MOVIE REVIEWS
The Return of the King
First I'd like to say I waited an hour in line on opening
day to get in, but having read Tolkien's works as a child
it was well worth the wait!
Because movie-adaptations of books become new
works of art in their own right, they cannot be
measured too strictly against their originals. Even so,
we must ask whether a film retains the spirit if not the
letter.
With this said, Director Peter Jackson's The Return of
the King does manage to convey the majesty and
solemnity of Aragorn's crowning as the true King of
Gondor, but then film immediately undercuts the dignity
of the event by having Aragorn give his future queen,
the elven-maiden Arwen, a prolonged Hollywood kiss.
Yet the battle scenes are magnificent. The winged
Nazgūl with their deafening shrieks are truly terrorizing,
and the giant oliphaunts-with their deadly swaggering
tusks and their huge wooden towers manned by dozens
of archers-remain fearsome even in their fall. Jackson
also succeeds in having Aragorn resuscitate the
Sleeping Dead, who are then able to atone for their
earlier betrayals by fighting valiantly against the forces
of Sauron.
Jackson is to be praised for the wrenching melancholy
of the otherwise playful Pippin as he is made to sing a
Shire song in strange and dreadful land. Jackson also
catches the bitter-sweet quality of the novel's end,
where Tolkien shows that true victories over evil are
won not for the sake of the valiant but for the little
people-the unheralded and the defenseless. So
drastically have the hobbits been altered by their
grueling Quest that Sam and Merry and Pippin will never
be able to resume the care-free lives that they once
lived. Jackson also captures the poignancy of Gandalf
and Frodo's final parting for Valinor, the elven-realm
where they will find peace and rest from their long
labors.
Calendar Girls
Calendar Girls features a group of middle-aged
individuals stripping off their clothing. The film is based
(rather loosely) on a real-life event that occurred in
1999 when a group of 11 middle-aged women living in
Yorkshire posed in the buff for an unofficial calendar
released under the auspices of the Rylstone & District
Women's Institute. The calendar, which had an initial
print run of 500 copies, became an unexpected success
both in England and the United States (the "calendar
girls" were featured on Jay Leno's "The Tonight Show"),
raising more than half-a-million pounds for a local
hospital.
As the film opens, best friends Chris Harper (Helen
Mirren) and Annie Clarke (Julie Walters) are enduring
the weekly snooze-fests that represent the meetings of
the Women's Institute. Presided over by the humorless
Marie (Geraldine James), they feature colorless
speakers who offer information about broccoli or show
slides of an around-the-world vacation. Annie's world is
turned upside down when her husband, John (John
Alderton), is diagnosed with leukemia. Various
treatments, including chemotherapy, keep him alive for
a while, but he eventually succumbs. Annie becomes
devoted to honoring his memory in the best way she
can - by raising money to support leukemia research
and to help the hospital where he was treated.
No doubt, Calendar Girls will appeal to its target
demographic - women of approximately the same age
as the protagonists. It's a sad testament to the way
motion pictures are made and marketed that there are
so few roles for mature actresses (most of whom can
act circles around younger performers). As a result, it
takes a gimmick like the one underlying this film to
gather together such an impressive cast.
Mona Lisa Smile
Mona Lisa Smile is an exercise in relentless mediocrity -
a trite melodrama that raises a number of interesting
possibilities, then ignores them in favor of taking
the "safe" path. In the process, it undermines its own
thesis of female empowerment, and is guilty of
underutilizing a vast pool of talent. Actresses Julia
Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, and Julia Stiles are relegated to
playing one-dimensional, uninteresting roles in a movie
that could easily be dubbed Dead Poets Sorority. If the
point of Mona Lisa Smile was to be as bland as possible,
it accomplishes the goal.
Julia Roberts is a fine actress, but she sleepwalks her
way through this part, imbuing Katherine with little in
the way of charm or passion. The opposite is true of
Kirsten Dunst, who goes over-the-top in turning Betty
into the most astonishingly one-dimensional bitch to hit
screens this year. Julia Stiles shows even less
personality than Roberts; her character is easily
overlooked and is the most likely to be forgotten. Mona
Lisa Smile's bright spots come from Maggie Gyllenhaal
(Secretary) and Ginnifer Goodwyn (TV's "Ed"), whose
performances are on-target and whose characters are
interesting enough to warrant more screen time than
they are given.
Mona Lisa Smile's director is Mike Newell, whose
previous credits include the gangster film Donnie
Brasco, the underrated jewel Enchanted April, and the
internationally-known Four Weddings and a Funeral. For
Newell, this is an inexplicable misstep. He tries his best
to fashion an inspirational, feel-good tale, but the lack
of compelling characters and the reliance upon formulas
makes this movie a late-night cable TV time killer at
best. The most likely facial expression to be elicited by
Mona Lisa Smile is a grimace.
Upcoming Movies
"The Alamo"
directed by John Lee Hancock. Starring: Dennis Quaid,
Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Patrick Wilson.
Originally to be directed by Ron Howard before he went
and did "The Missing", this film tells the story of the
classic siege of the Alamo in Texas. Hancock hired
Thornton, Quaid and Patric to portray the very famous
characters of Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and Jim
Bowie, respectively. December 25
"Cold Mountain"
directed by Anthony Minghella. Starring: Nicole Kidman,
Jude Law, Renee Zellweger, Donald Sutherland, Natalie
Portman. Law plays a confederate soldier who gets
wounded in battle and travels a long way home to be
with his beloved Ada (Kidman). He encounters a lot of
eccentric characters along the way, in this film from
the director of "the English Patient", which has a lot of
people talking Oscar. December 25
"The Company"
directed by Robert Altman. Starring: Neve Campbell,
James Franco, Malcolm McDowell, Emma Harrison.
Celebrated director Robert Altman, on the heels of his
Oscar-winning hit "Gosford Park", orchestrates this
ensemble tale about the trials and tribulations of a
ballet company. Star Campbell also produced and co-
wrote the story. December 25
"Paycheck"
directed by John Woo. Starring: Ben Affleck, Uma
Thurman, Aaron Eckhart, Paul Giamatti, Michael C. Hall.
Action favorite John Woo directs this futuristic story of
a scientist (Affleck), whose memory is erased and has
to find out what happened. Already being compared to
Philip K. Dick's "Total Recall", this should satisfy both
sci-fi and action fans. December 25
******
WRAP IT UP
By Nancy Rechtman
Well, 'tis the season once again for opening our wallets
and bleeding ourselves dry so that we can spend the
next eleven months paying for all of the toys and
trinkets that will soon lie broken or shoved in the back
of someone's closet until the next holiday season
comes rolling around and we can all hop on the merry-
go-round once again. What is this spending frenzy
about anyway? Does the real meaning of the season
have anything to do with toys doing the hokey pokey
or 14 karat earrings? And why is it suddenly OK for the
malls to open at dawn on Sundays for the month of
December when the rest of the year they are not
allowed to open before noon? Is this the month when
we trade in worshipping at our churches and
synagogues for worshipping at the altar of the almighty
dollar?
Let's face it. Everyone loves getting presents. Tearing
open the wrapping paper on a box is one of the legal
thrills we can still get as adults, as our childhoods
recede rapidly into the distant past. While our
stomachs might drop like a rock once we actually get a
glimpse of the contents of the unwrapped box, we have
at least had our little moment in the sun, seeking the
thrill of unknown possibilities. For one moment we can
actually believe it is possible that the little four-inch by
six inch box with the gold wrapping paper and matching
bow really does contain that high definition TV we've
been hoping for. So what if it turns out to be peanut
brittle that will crack our teeth. We can always re-
wrap it and pass it on to the next adult in need of a
quick thrill. It's the thought that counts, right?
Speaking of gifts, think about the needy celebrities in
our midst. You know, the ones who make millions of
dollars for each movie they make whether it tanks or
not. But they don't have to wait for the holidays, they
get gifts just for gracing us with their presence. Have
you heard about the latest trend in award shows? It's
no longer about who wins the best
actor/actress/writer/director/egomaniac award. Who
really cares about that? After all, there used to be
only three major awards shows each year. Now they
proliferate like rabbits, so of course celebrities have to
be discerning about which ones they agree to appear
at. In order to entice stars to appear as presenters at
these award shows the producers of these shows now
offer gift baskets to the celebs who deign to show up.
Now, we're not talking about a nice bottle of perfume
or a fuzzy pair of slippers here. Oh, no, we are talking
big bucks. Like $10,000 per basket, I swear upon the
gold award statuette that I am not making this up.
What is contained in these baskets is supposed to
be "top secret," but that claim is about as transparent
as the cellophane wrapping paper around the fruit
basket you got from your grandmother in Florida. After
all, the companies who contribute these lavish gifts
want the publicity, that's the whole point. They want
people to know that Mrs. Top A-List celebrity sports
their new watch, sleeps on their new mattress, uses
their silk travel blanket or plays backgammon with their
leather set.
So the big secret here is,,, that we don't really care.
Do they actually think the rest of us are going to race
out to buy a $400 basket because that's the same
exact one they gave the stars at the awards show?
Well, maybe some fans who salivate at their favorite
star's every move. But the rest of us? We're lucky to
have $400 to pay for those new tires we need for our
car or for the next installment on our kids' braces. A
large segment of America is one paycheck away from
being out on the street. But as they say, the rich keep
getting richer. Now don't get me wrong. I love going
to the movies and I believe that acting can be a noble
profession. There are many stars that do brilliant work
and are worthy of our admiration. But when you come
right down to it, what they are giving us is make-
believe. And as they say (once again), hey folks, this
isn't brain surgery.
It makes as much sense to give a multi-million dollar
movie star a $10,000 gift basket as it does to ignore
the people in our lives who are truly deserving of
reward. Think about the teachers and policemen and
firemen who take care of us every single day. Where
are their $10,000 gift baskets? But this, of course is
the real world where people don't make millions of
dollars just for showing up to work. And take our
soldiers, laying their lives on the line for us overseas.
They're lucky to get enough pay to cover their
mortgage payments. And what about our veterans? I
recently read a letter to the editor of our local
newspaper from a veteran who had waited 33 years to
get his decorations for serving our country, and he still
hasn't received them! And his letter mentioned that
another veteran had finally received his decorations
after 57 years! What exactly are we waiting for here -
aren't these the people who are truly worthy of our
admiration and respect?
Shame on us for worrying more about who wears what
on the red carpet than worrying about the welfare of
those who are and were willing to lay down their lives
so we can have the freedoms that we take so often for
granted. Of course, maybe if they made it all into a
movie....
Read more Inanities columns at
http://nancyrechtman.com/columns.php
Copyright by Betsie, 2003
All contents of this email are for the use of Betsie's
Literary Page subscribers and may not be reproduced in
any way and/or posted on websites without prior
express written permission. If you would like to have
friends or associates receive our emails, rather than
forwarding this, please have them subscribe.
Thank You for reading, see you next week!
1) Romano Productions
