Everyone Is Stupid.

Premiere week continues! Tonight is the premiere episode of MD TOTAL’s first series, Everybody’s Stupid! This show is irreverence in the most basic sense. Honestly, there really isn’t much more to say than that. So, pour yourself a drink, sit back, relax and enjoy the show!





[© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved]
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The Old Whore Is Back!

No, I’m not talking about the newly re-single Madonna, Soccerboy in LA is back for cycle three!!! I know I said it would arrive yesterday, but it’s always good to be fashionably late, no? Here in LA at the end of October, things are a little bit weird. Not only do Gavin Rossdale, The Verve and Oasis each have hit singles out, but it’s been over 90 degrees almost every day for the past month. Global warming? I’d have to say so. But, as you have seen here, we will definitely bring up interesting information about living in the current times in the 21st Century Life feature. In fact, we’ve got a couple of new features that we’re debuting in this cycle, some of which had their soft debut already. There’ll be a short series of interviews/discussions/articles with other working professionals in the entertainment industry, the first of which was on the brilliant Ryan Raftery. Tomorrow will feature the world premiere of Everybody’s Stupid, MD TOTAL’s first web series! Its best described as fun and silliness in three short minutes. With Halloween weekend upon us, I thought it’d be nice to suggest things to do for the end of Shocktober.

The biggest party hands down is in West Hollywood. Hundreds of thousands of people attend each year – it’s so big that Santa Monica Blvd is closed between La Cienega and Doheny!!! It’s fun like nothing else, and generally gets crazy. Since Halloween is on a Friday this year, expect the naughtiness to be a little bit more extra ridiculous than usual. And that’s a great thing, let me tell you. You might find out fantastic things you never knew about yourself, just because your costume granted you freedom.

Knott's Scary Farm invites you to Walk In and Freak Out! They boast that they’ve got the World’s largest Halloween Party that features seven electrifying shows and thirteen mazes, including the famous “Corn Stalkers,” a corn maze. I will testify that corn mazes can be absoluting fucking terrifying when done right, and I am told that Knott’s knows what they’re doing. All this plus the attractions and rides you expect and you’ve got a seriously spooky evening.

Universal Studios Hollywood has their Halloween Horror Nights! The best thing about being at Universal is that all of their Halloween attractions are based on popular horror movies – so you’ll be dealing with Freddy, Jason and that Chainsaw dude from Texas. And those are just the mazes! Get Ready to Live Your Worst Nightmare! Plus, on the Terror Tram, all three of them will be loose on the backlot! Between that, the Bates Motel and Crystal Lake, no place is safe!

Down in Long Beach, the colossal cruise ship, The Queen Mary is having Shipwrecked. They’re not really spilling any details, but they admit that they will have a huge party on Halloween itself featuring DMX and a racy costume show hosted by Penthouse Pet Teanna Kai! We all know that Halloween is really about women dressed up as sluts.

“What are you?”
“I’m a hooker dressed up as a mouse! What are you?”
“I’m a hooker dressed up as a nurse!” And so on.

Six Flags Magic Mountain is hosting their annual Fright Fest, and be warned, the fun ends on Halloween Night. They feature family thrills by day, chills by night! You can even ride Colossus backwards! Plus five mazes and all the rides you’ve come to love. Don’t forget, Magic Mountain has fourteen roller coasters! FOURTEEN! The only place in the world that has more is Cedar Point and I ain’t gonna make it to Ohio in the next 36 hours, so I’d have to say that all told, this is the best choice for a theme park.

Honorable Mention goes to the Spooky House Haunted Theme Park in Chatsworth, the Old Town Haunt in Pasadena and the Seaside Haunted Theme Park in Ventura. You got to give it up to these guys because they don’t have the corporate dollars behind them like all the others and they have managed to stay Indie for 19 years! That alone is reason to celebrate!

And before I forget, I even have something to do on November 1st! The Dearly Departed Tour is billed as the Tragical History Tour. This tour takes you to the sites of many famous Los Angeles Crimes and deaths. Sure to please the dark soul in your group!

There we are! That’s just a smattering of what’s going on in LA for All Hallow’s Eve 2008! Hope you all have a great Halloween Weekend. Remember to stay safe! I will leave you with a silly video from the kids at Ashton Kutcher’s production company.




[© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved]
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos

This Crazy City

And this week's sermon is:















[© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.]

The DUP : October 26, 2008

Here’s this weekend’s box-office estimates:

1. High School Musical 3 $42 million
2. Saw V $30.5 million
3. Max Payne $7.6 million
4. BH Chihuahua $6.9 million
5. Pride and Glory $6.3 million

I know, I know. I said that Soccerboy in LA is on hiatus and it really is, but I decided to go ahead and do a Round Up for this weekend. Tells you what kind of personality I have… The rest of you workaholics certainly understand.

Coming as no surprise to me, High School Musical 3 came in at number one this weekend with $44 million! Say what you will about the franchise, but this picture deserves to be this big of a hit. It’s perfect for it’s audience, and it gets kids interested in theatre, which is always a good thing if you ask me. This franchise is good clean fun, and not sarcastic either. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s anything bad about mixing kids with sarcasm, hell they don’t need anybody’s help discovering it. There are already so many movies and television shows out there that speak to that aspect of their personality and I think they also need to be exposed to things that are a little bit earnest. The greatest thing about this franchise to me is the way adults can connect with it. There are many adults who understand its humor because they themselves did musicals or plays at their high school and it still speaks to them. Yes, it is silly but when did silly become something we’re not? [Insert name of any Judd Apatow movie here.] Maybe you don’t have to go to the theatre to see it, but some Saturday afternnon in the future when it comes on cable and you’re less than thrilled about getting off the couch, watch it and let the 15 year old inside you bust a gut. Me, I’m going to see it on the big screen, the way musicals are intended.

Saw V opened on par with what its previous sequels did, even though teenage women should pretty much boycott this franchise completely. Can I just mention that this movie has had four sequels that have all made a boatload of money and the original was released just four years ago?! Technically it wasn’t even four years ago! Can the church say WTF?

Max Payne comes in at number three as expected even though it suffered a huge 62% dropoff from last week. Pride and Glory opened this weekend at number four to everyone’s surprise because nobody knew that this movie even existed. Dubya fell 58% compared to last weekend, and that’s not good news to Lionsgate. When you factor in the $30 mil for the budget plus another $25 mil for prints and advertising, this movie will not make its money back in it’s theatrical release, and maybe not even on DVD. Yikes.

And that’s the weekend!


[© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.]

A Little Break

Hey readers, Soccerboy here. I'm just letting y'all know that everyone here at MD Total is on hiatus, and therefore, so is soccerboy in LA. When we come back for cycle three, there will be some fun new features for the magazine. We haven't decided if there will be a Round Up this weekend, but will definitely be back in full force on Tuesday, October 28th.

If you're in LA, try to stay cool because 100 degrees at the end of October is no joke! Oh and before I forget - I will leave with one thought: I predict that High School Musical III will own the box-office this weekend. I happen to think that it will break $40 million in it's first three days, what do you think? Let's see what happens...


[© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.]

The Round Up : October 19, 2008

Here’s this weekend’s box-office estimates:

1. Max Payne $18 million
2. Beverly Hills Chihuahua $11.2 million
3. The Secret Life of Bees $11.1 million
4. Dubya. $10.6 million
5. Eagle Eye $7.3 million

9. Sex Drive $3.6 million

It looks like Mark Wahlberg can still open a movie, whether or not he can talk to dogs or take a joke. I haven’t done the research, but isn’t this a good opening for a movie based on a video game? When you add that to the gross for The Secret Life of Bess, Fox Filmed Entertainment had a pretty damn good weekend! It was difficult to discern how Dubya was tracking, and there’s not much help from history – generally movies about presidents are made well after they’ve left office.

The sole disappointment this weekend was Sex Drive, which opened with a per screen average of just under $1500. That’s actually saying that less than 200 people came to each movie theater over the weekend to see that movie. Ouch. Overall, this weekend’s receipts are up about 10% from the same weekend last year. And in an economic downturn, that’s pretty good.

And that’s the weekend!



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos

This Crazy City

And this week's sermon is:






© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.

21st Century Life

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how the entertainment industry is changing. The fact that it is thought of as an actual industry in addition to being called showbusiness is one insight into how much has changed. Not only can just about everybody watch movies in crystal clear picture and sound definition at home, we can watch on our cell phone. Ten years ago, most people didn’t even have cell phones! The fact that while we’re watching High School Musical 2 on our cell we can also hear a song from that movie as the ringtone for a phone call simultaneously, lets us know that the game has changed dramatically.

It used to be frowned upon to be caught selling or endorsing a product. It was okay to release a perfume or have a show in Vegas if your career had stalled, but now people have so many images being placed in minds that many artists are almost expected to sell something more than what gave them a career in the first place.

Because of the internet, people are more willing to expand what they will be entertained by. Actors can release a pop album, or an album of cover songs. Or shoot comedy shorts with their video cameras (the same ones we have, by the way) at home and put it on web for the world to see. Or they can design a clothing line. No matter where you turn, everyone is crossing over. Even Steven Soderbergh just cast an actual factual 20 year old porn star as a lead role in the film he’s currently shooting. Really. It gets even better than that! Upon being cast, Sasha Grey [the aforementioned porn star] released a statement that said:

To have the opportunity to work for an Academy Award-winning auteur is truly a great honor. I've been an admirer of Soderbergh's films for years, and I am elated that I have been given a leading role in a character-driven film.

What just happened? Sasha Grey just became my new best friend.

At the end of the day, I don’t have a high-definition answer for what’s going on, but I can feel that there’s major change underfoot in this fantastic industry. And I’m okay with that. In fact I’m pretty excited.



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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Lady Madonna

I hate to delve into celebrity gossip, and pledged that this magazine is not about it but today I may just have to. It’s being said everywhere that Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s spokesperson has confirmed that they are filing for divorce. Yikes. I can’t even imagine what this is going to be like, I only know that they will keep the gloves on for the sake of the kids. What is she going to do? Will she stay in London for the kids? She moved there to be with Guy, but now that it's over will she still be feeling it? Most people never have to think about what country to live in when you're getting divorced. Hell, some people hate having to change neighborhoods because they've grown attached to the restaurants, butchers, dry cleaners in their old one.

Guy's absence was the big question last night as Madonna attended the premiere in New York of the movie she directed, Filth and Wisdom all alone. We all know Guy is shooting his Sherlock Holmes movie in London with Robert Downey Jr, but shouldn’t he have been there? I mean, it’s your wife’s directorial debut and your wife’s name is Madonna. Well, now we know.

I must say that the way they handled this announcement's timing was pretty smart. I knew that they were separating [check out the very first Soccerboy in LA post if you'd like to remember] back in July, but they waited until now to disclose the info. Most people are similar when they break up, they want to wait until the worst is over before they begin to announce it. Once it's public knowledge, you're able to feel much more confident and are closer to being able to project that when it comes up. Plus - when you both have movie's opening, you will at least have something concrete to answers about. In a word, brilliant.

The reason I am writing about it today is because I am beginning to think that the big M may have read that book her brother Christopher wrote about her. (if so, good for you Madge. I say it’s always better to know what they’re saying…) In that book, Guy does not come out well at all and Chris does not hold back about it either. He even went as far as saying that Guy as a brother-in-law makes him pine for the days of Sean Penn.

Wow.

Everyone in her circle has said that Chris has always been the absolute closest person to Madonna and that title was shamelessly and purposefully stolen away from him by Guy. Chris was the one who got her back on her feet emotionally after she finally left Penn and the big question is whether she will lean on him again. They’ve just got this one little problem… That pesky little book. Right now she’s flying high professionally with the movie and the phenomenally successful world tour for her latest hit record, and I’d expect her to do exactly what I’ve done in breakup situations: Dive into work. And when work chills out, create more work and then dive into that. Then one morning you find yourself having breakfast while you’re watching Notting Hill and crying into the jam on your sourdough toast. Or… maybe that’s just me. Who else would be watching Notting Hill on a perfectly good weekday morning? Either way hang in there, Madonna. Everybody at MD TOTAL is rooting for you. If you ever need a weekday breakfast/romantic comedy moment you know where to find it.



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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Ryan Raftery is HILARIOUS!

Ryan Raftery is not your ordinary solo performer, he is an actor/singer with something to say. Instead of watching a singer put a song over and then stumble through perfunctory patter in between, with Ryan you get someone who can tell stories well - sometimes it’s a song and sometimes it’s between songs. He got his training from one of the best drama programs on the planet, and uses it to hook his audiences and sustain their attention. And he’s funny as hell. And he’s bringing his show to LA!

Let me be the first to tell you that Ryan is the classic class clown. This is the guy who will do whatever it takes to get a laugh, much to the chagrin of his teachers. He remembers the rabbi at his Hebrew school telling him that “he never wanted to hit someone in his entire life they way he wanted to hit me.” WHAT??!! Ryan, of course, took this as a compliment.

Ryan grew up in Brooklyn and went to college at NYU’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, but came out to LA a few years ago to do a small role on What I Like About You on the WB. Things were going so well for him here that he stayed in LA far longer than he thinks he should have. Ryan always felt that he belonged back in New York. Many of the roles he was cast in seemed very theatrical – remember him as “Dick-the-way-too-serious-dancer” on Malcolm in the Middle? After doing a well-received revue at the Hudson Theatre, Ryan was cast in the workshop of the Catch Me if You Can musical (with Nathan Lane and Christine Ebersole, natch!), directed by Jack O’Brien. After getting a note in rehearsal from the famed director/multi-hyphenate, Ryan excitedly told his friends the story and they asked him who Jack O’Brien was! He knew he needed to move back to New York immediately.

When he got back to New York, he was at one of those quintessential New York parties in an apartment overlooking Central Park where he was asked to sing and he did. (when you’re at a party in an apartment overlooking Central Park and somebody asks you to sing, you sing. PERIOD.) One of the investors in the West Village restaurant Paris Commune was there and asked Ryan if he’s be interested in performing regularly at his restaurant! After doing his first show in the classic cabaret format he quickly realized that he wanted to do more, he wanted to give his audience a SHOW! He threw out the majority of his setlist and started from scratch with songs he could craft stories around. During that time, he kept seeing advertisements for cabarets with titles like : "John Smith & Friends" or "Jane Doe with Special Guest Mary McBoring" and decided to goof on those and call his show “Ryan Raftery & Friends: A SOLO ACT.”

See? I told you he was funny.

After throwing out the setlist, Ryan decided to write his show from the context of an audience member, constantly gauging the flow of the songs and considering their placement, lengths and genre. He cites Bette Midler’s Divine Madness as his biggest inspiration for this show, having been amazed at how she balanced being a comic and a singer. Lucky for us Angelenos, he just added a second show on Friday October 24th! Ryan’s show is playing at Upright Cabaret at Mark’s Restaurant on La Cienega. (For more information, go to www.uprightcabaret.com.) Best of all, Ryan in adding a full band for us! I strongly suggest checking out Ryan’s show, you’ll be able to say “you were there then!”

Oh, before I forget: If you happen to be a New Yorker, he’s extended his stay at Paris Commune through the end of the year!

[title of show]

Tonight, after playing 13 previews and 102 regular performances, [title of show] closes on Broadway. It is no secret how I feel about this show, I was even fortunate enough to be able to run an ad of their's on my site for the several weeks. Though it is closing, this is no sad occasion. Today we celebrate how amazing it is that this show got to Broadway in the first place, and that it was able to run as long as it did. While you may think that three months is not long, the history books are filled with stories of shows that played less than two weeks and even with shows that opened and closed on the same day. So when a little musical that began at the New York Musical Festival, then moved Off-Broadway, then had a short semi-scripted series on the internet moves to Broadway we celebrate! We celebrate the fact that these fantastically talented people got a completely original and authentic show up and running just because they decided that they would. We celebrate that these people and their show serve as a reminder that Broadway does have open doors and the community will be welcoming. But most of all, we celebrate the fact that these people’s dreams came true.

I hope that this show lives on in regional theatre, community theatre and high school theatre because at the end of the day, it deserves to. Kids growing up and already grown-up adults need to know that they can accomplish what they put their mind to, even if they feel that they are “Two Nobodies in New York.”

Most of all, this show deserves to be celebrated because at it’s core, it’s about having the courage to express yourself without judging yourself and not caring what other people think. And that’s nutrition for everyone.

My hat is off to Hunter, Jeff, Susan and Heidi. You did it!

And for old time's sake:

Ourboros, Motherfuckers!

The snake's all: Yo, my butt tastes like chicken!


© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.

The DUP : October 12, 2008

Here’s this weekend’s box-office estimates!

1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua $17.5 million
2. Quarantine $14.2 million
3. Body of Lies $13.1 million
4. Eagle Eye $11 million
5. Nick and Nora $6.5 million


Beverly Hills Chihuahua wins the weekend again! After Friday night’s grosses, Quarantine was on top and everyone but me thought it would stay that way. There’s a secret to horror flicks that a few of us know. Over a weekend for most movies, Saturday night will be their highest grossing night, with Friday night next. But most horror movies’ highest grossing night is Friday. I guess people who go see those genre pics are ready to go on the first night of the weekend? When you combine that with the secret I told you about kids movies last weekend, you get this week’s result. I guess the real lesson is to never underestimate the Saturday power of a kid’s movie.

Body of Lies opens about seven million dollars less than expected, which would not have been a bad thing if it had a gross of $42 million dollars. When that $7 mil is more than half of your total gross, you’ve got problems. Even the teaming of Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe couldn't get people in, which is very telling. Russell Crowe even gained fifty pounds “for the role” to “prove how committed he was to his character.” [I guess his old habit of going on the watermelon diet before for the last three weeks before he starts shooting anything are far from over!] Either way, people just didn’t care. The first time I saw the trailer I had no desire to go see it. Then I forgot about it and saw it at the gym on mute while I was jamming to Daft Punk on the treadmill. Surprisingly, it looked awesome and I was excited to see it! I went home and watched it online where I could hear it properly and it looked awful, even worse than before. Why is that? It was based on a bestselling book and got these two huge stars attached to do it. I guess everyone can be wrong once in a while, even Leonardo DiCaprio. Anyone remember the movie of The Beach? Nuff Said.

Eagle Eye is still holding its own and has a total gross of about $52 million so far. Way to go! DreamWorks is very happy with this sort of good press as they strike out on their own. Again.

Unfortunately, City of Ember did not fare well at all. I’m wondering how many people have even heard of this movie. It’s based on a successful children’s book and is of course produced by Walden Media. [Do they do anything else? But seriously, do they...?] It stars Bill Murray of all people, and every person involved was hoping this could become a family film franchise. Oh well, better luck next time.

All in all, this weekend is up just over ten percent from the same weekend last year, even with the current economic state. Is the box-office recession proof? Only time will tell.

And that’s the weekend!



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos

This Crazy City

And this week's sermon is:






© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.

As Thousands Cheer

There is a restaurant in downtown Los Angeles called Philippe’s – The Original. As of last week it has been around for one hundred years. Yes, you read that right, in a town where some restaurants can’t seem to stay open longer past their first six months this joint just celebrated it’s 100th anniversary! Now that’s an accomplishment. What’s even better is that Philippe’s is the birthplace of the French Dip. The French Dip! This sandwich was of course created by accident when the chef/owner Philippe Mathieu was making an order for a fireman who accused him of serving stale bread. The Chef dropped the bread in the meat drippings, gave it back to the fireman and said “You happy now?” The fireman ate it, and brought back ten of his co-workers and as they say, the rest is history..

The name comes from Mathieu being from France, and people would ask for Frenchy’s Sandwich, which became The French Dip. Now 100 years later, Phillipe’s is still going strong and is a perennial favorite in the city. The best seller is the beef dip, but they also have lamb, pork, turkey and ham versions as well. Many of the employees have worked there for more than twenty years, and the owner still has to check the gravy and the dressing when a chef is on vacation or is sick. He is still teaching some of the secrets to the head chef whom he calls “the new guy,” who has been the head chef since 1981. It is refreshingly old school – it serves pickled hard boiled eggs, pickled radishes and pickled pigs feet. Apparently they sell more than three-hundred pounds of the pickled stuff every week. Last week for the anniversary, they decided to go back to the original prices. The sandwiches that are normally priced at $5.35 we ten cents from 4pm to 8pm that day! Needless to say, thousands of people showed up and the line to get served not only went around the building but went down the street as well. That is serious love.

Other restaurants have claimed that they invented the French Dip, but not one of them is still open for business. A celebrity chef is reopening and re-imagining Philippe’s competition’s version of the French Dip and they want it to be as good as the original. For the record, Phillipe’s has never had to “re-imagine” the French Dip. They got it right the first time and have never had to change it in 100 years. My hat is off to Philippe’s – The Original, congratulations on a fantastic achievement! And here’s to another Hundred Years!



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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On With Autumn!

I’m sure you’ve heard about the horror that is Los Angeles traffic. I won’t wax poetic about the loneliness of being stuck in traffic alone, but I will affirm that the traffic in LA is just as bad as you’ve heard. The old chestnut that it takes twenty minutes to get anywhere in LA is still true, but a little different than it used to be. While you used to be able to get from Beverly Hills to Hollywood in twenty minutes, now it takes twenty minutes to get to and from the ATM at your bank around the corner and that’s on a Saturday afternoon! Forgot milk at the store? Do you really need it that bad? Don’t even ask about how long it takes to get to the beach! That’s what it’s like in many areas in the city. The most congested street traffic has always been in Hollywood and West Hollywood, as these are very desirable places to live and live it up. Recently, Hollywood has undergone a major transformation. Normally, we’d call it gentrification, but it’s much more than that. There are many brand new condominium towers being built, and that’s on top of the many that were built in the past six or seven years. There is even a brand spanking new W hotel going up at Hollywood & Vine that also features a separate condo tower of its own! [can you imagine living at a W?! you can count on finding me at their pool, by the way.] These buildings often take the place of what used to be vacant lots or old abandoned buildings, so each one raises the total population of Hollywood and West Hollywood. All that boils down to more cars on the street. Sounds exciting, right?

Sometimes, LA traffic is even worse than what you’ve heard. What makes things more complicated six months out of the year is a little secret called The Hollywood Bowl. The Bowl really is an amazing place to see a concert, and is right smack in the middle of a major traffic area in Hollywood. Pretty cool, right? It’s nestled in the hills so while you’re in this amphitheatre you’re surrounded by a beautiful canyon which is surprisingly cozy. If you’re not going to an event at the Bowl you will know one is happening because it affects the traffic in all of Hollywood and West Hollywood. This place has 17,000 seats and let me tell you that all those cars make a difference. I used to think I was going crazy until somebody told me that it took them an hour to get home from work when it usually took him fifteen minutes. And that’s when there’s accidents to deal with. Dag! There have been many after dinner drinks planned simply because we knew traffic would be awful. Last week was the end of the Bowl’s season and I knew about it because I live so close to the Bowl that I need to have their calendar at the ready: The final two nights were Neil Diamond. Most people did not believe that Neil could sell out two nights at the Bowl, which admittedly is a little surprising. I just hunkered down to wait for the season to end like I always do. I will say that the traffic was just awful, definitely the worst I’ve seen all year. How bad was it? So bad that many a facebook status was devoted to Neil those two nights, and an acquaintance even vented to me about it two nights later! It almost began to seem as if people did not think Neil Diamond was worth that much traffic… That sentiment was a definite subtext to much of what I was hearing. It’s not that people were being insensitive, you just can’t mess with folks’ traffic without getting a visceral reaction. Oh, Neil. Congratulations on selling out the Bowl two days in a row, you still got it!

And thank god it’s the end of the season so we can properly get on with Autumn! Octoberfest, anyone?



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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The Round Up : October 5, 2008

Here’s this weekend’s box-office estimates!

1. Beverly Hills Chihuahua $29 million
2. Eagle Eye $17.7 million
3. Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist $12 million
4. Nights in Rodanthe $7.4 million
5. Appaloosa $5.0 million


If you had told me back in July that Beverly Hills Chihuahua would win the weekend I would have called you crazy. I took one look at the trailer and could barely get through it and couldn’t imagine sitting through the entire feature. Kids movie’s are interesting regarding box-office math. When the Friday estimates come in, you generally have a good idea of where grosses are going to land. But theaters have an advantage that can make a kids movie earn more than you expect. Since those movies tend to play to full houses in the morning and matinees, theaters can put them on more screens in those hours than in the evenings. It works out well, not many people are going rushing to see a heavy drama at that time of day, so they’re not losing many customers by giving up those screens to movies like this. Either way, congratulations to Disney!

Eagle Eye comes in at number two, and holding it’s own. This picture is outpacing Shia LaBeouf and director D.J. Caruso’s previous outing Disturbia, by a whopping 32%! Way to go DreamWorks.

The most interesting thing about this weekend is what happened further down the chart with the rest of the new movies. Religulus, the Bill Maher doc may have only earned $3.5 mil, but it was from 500 screens. I’d say that’s looking pretty good for a documentary. Blindness came in at number twelve, making $2 mil on 1700 screens. We’ll see what happens, but the reviews have not been stellar for this high concept drama. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People opened way down at number 19, which is not the best news for MGM considering it was on 1750 screens. Yikes! But we all know that it’ll be a movie that will be on cable forever.

Rachel Getting Married, starring Anne Hathaway opened at number 27, on nine screens. With a per screen average of $34,000, Sony Pictures Classics is surely celebrating. All they have to do is build on the buzz this picture is getting, and the buzz around Hathaway’s performance. I’d expect this to grow over the coming weeks. It opened at the perfect time to have it continue throughout the fall and make it’s mark in time for awards season. We shall see.

And that’s the weekend!



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos

See? This town IS Crazy.

Out in the Valley [more on that place some other day] there’s a church that has the kind of sign where they’d announce Spaghetti Dinners, Bible Study or Pancake Breakfasts. Women’s Lunch. Or Bingo. You get the idea. But the pastor of this church has decided to forgo the traditional announcement for an attention grabbing thoughtful phrase. Is it thought-provoking or shameless self-promotion? Both ideas are very Los Angeles. You decide.





© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos

Because We Can.

Declare Youself.




Courteney Cox-Arquette saying "I did have five friends" is brilliant.



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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Ridiculous Ridiculousness

Matt Damon may have said it best – The way that Sarah Palin is being presented by the Republican Party is very much like a Hollywood Movie that the whole family can enjoy. He basically compared the Party’s treatment of her like she was some hockey mom whose charming no-nonsense attitude will allow her to save the world using her wits and that same no-nonsense attitude. Did I mention that it’s part of her charm?

Contrary to popular belief, Hollywood is not only Democrats, even though it seems that way at times. Democrats definitely feel that Palin is getting this sort of story treatment and are sickened by it, but many thinking Republicans think so and are disgusted as well. And they should be. Everyone can agree that this is not the way to treat a vice presidential nominee, no matter which side of the political fence one falls on. Aren’t we smarter than that? Why do we accept being treated as if we’re too stupid to figure out what they’re trying to accomplish?

While you chew on that, watch this funny video that takes Matt Damon’s words as a launching point and nails it to the wall. [disclaimer: this has been around since September 25th, but was just made available to folks like me today]

Bravo!





© 1008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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21st Century Life

Apparently, the future is much more futuristic than we previously imagined! If only because of gas prices this year, we are all aware of how important it is to find alternative sources of fuel and other types of renewable energy. And there is no better place than Los Angeles to see the future of fuel technology actually on the street. Truthfully, San Francisco is just as prescient as we are, but SF is much more a pedestrian city that LA. It’s one thing to say that you have an awesome new hybrid that you only use once a week to go to the grocery store (and that is phenomenal, let’s remember) but it’s another thing to see these cars as a major mode of transportation in the 36,000 miles in three years kind of way. Those so-called Smart cars are everywhere, though to be honest with you I’m not sure why they’re so popular – because they’re so easy to park? I know they’re super small, but the numbers indicate that they burn just as much gas as a Honda Accord. Not even the Accord hybrid! We see those electric cars that were “discontinued,” and of course the Toyota Prius is everywhere. And as annoying as it is to see the same car all over the place, I am thankful that I do.

Speaking of Toyota, they should be freaking out because Honda (brilliantly) just released specs for their new fuel cell vehicle, and it is an obvious rip of the traditional Prius’ body style! Many people may not know what a fuel cell vehicle is, and that’s understandable. Fuel Cells mean Hydrogen Fuel Cells. Yep, that’s right, Hydrogen! In LA, these vehicles can fill up at many gas stations that also carry hydrogen. The best part is that these cars have emissions that are only water. WATER! If you pay close attention, you notice that you’re hearing this stuff on new car commercials, even Chevrolet (the OG gas burner) has fuel cell vehicles on the market and so do other car companies. I’m only pointing out Honda because they are clearly after a market that has adopted the Prius as a way of life, and made a better car! The best part about competition like this is that when they compete, we win!

A few years ago I was told of a car that was meant to run on compressed air for fuel. P’shaw, I said! Compressed air, does it also make popcorn? Luckily, and much to my chagrin there will be a car that will run on compressed air debuting sometime in the next two years. Motor Development International is the company that’s bringing us this technology and they’re based in Nice, France (as if we need another reason to think that southeastern France is cool) and is partnering with Tata motors in India. What’s cool about the updated model from MDI is that it also carries an onboard heater that kicks in at 35 mph, and will burn ethanol, vegetable oil or other fuel to heat the compressed air so that it has a longer driving range on one “tank.” Pretty Fucking cool, if you ask me.

On paper, this all sounds super cool, but for this to be helpful people have to buy these vehicles. And not just in California, it has to be all over the world and especially in every state in the US. Signs are pointing to the fact that the general populus in America might actually be ready for this kind of change, and that’s saying something. In a few short years, we’ve come a long, long way. And I for one, am thankful for that.



© 2008 MD TOTAL all rights reserved.
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