Oreo Cookies Are 100 Years Old And Still Taste Delicious

Yesterday, the all-American Oreo cookie celebrated its 100th anniversary.  According to NPR's Marketplace report, sales of the original black and white cookie topped 2 billion dollars worldwide last year.

It's a bit of a New York story too as the chocolate sandwich cookie was created and first made by the Nabisco company at a big factory in the far west section of Chelsea during the now-artsy neighborhood's more industrial phase.  The building that housed the Nabsico company is currently famous to foodies for being the home base for The Food Network and, on the ground floor, the Chelsea Market.

The AP has a nice compilation of the look of Oreos over the years which, despite it's now trademark blue color and logo, has changed a bit over the years. It makes me hungry just looking at it....I think I'll go celebrate the Oreo now!

The Lorax Sells Mazda SUV's But Doesn't Drive

The animated film THE LORAX broke box office records with its 70M plus opening over the weekend.  There is no doubt that's because it's based on a well-loved Dr. Seuss book from the 1970s which is about conservation and environmental activism.  But it surely helped that the cute orange Lorax had so many tie-in's and cross-promotions with everything from fast food joints to car makers.

One of the more egregious examples of this sort of promotion that has become standard for children's films is an unusual partnership with Mazda.  An article in yesterday's Washington POST explains how the company donated 1K to elementary schools across the country to enhance their reading programs and libraries in exchange for showing off Lorax-themed SUV's.  Mazda even went a little further by encouraging the kids to convince their parents to do a test drive of the CX-5 to score a $25 dollar donation to the NEA.

While corporate giving especially to educational organizations is to be lauded, getting children involved in their shill game seems to be pushing it.  Also, the irony factor of the Lorax-approved SUV seems to have been lost on Mazda, which has labeled the car as having "Truffula Tree-approved SKYACTIV TECHNOLOGY".  Whatever the hell that is, my guess is it has little do with saving trees.  Fortunately, today's marketing-saturated kids seem savvy to all this. As one youngster at a Virginia school put it, "The Lorax doesn't drive a car."

Prop 8 Play Premieres In LA and Online To 200,000 Viewers

This weekend, Dustin Lance Black's play "8" had its L.A. premiere with a star-studded cast and audience of more than 200,000.  Though there were only about 1,000 people on hand at the theatre, the balance watched the play streaming live on YouTube.  The play was a fundraiser for national efforts on marriage equality and raised more than 2 million dollars. You can watch the full play below here.

Can THE ARTIST Win Over America?

On Sunday night, THE ARTIST won five Academy Awards, including the Oscar for Best Picture. But that was a veritable cakewalk with the task the film faces today as it "goes wide" to 2,000 screens across America.  Will millions of people actually go see what is essentially a silent, black and white movie made by the French?  There are some doubts to say the least.

Harvey Weinstein who has championed this little-film-that-could since it wowed audiences at Cannes last May clearly believes in the film.  His company spent millions in a well-orchestrated Oscar campaign that ended in a remarkable success as the first silent movie to win Best Picture in over 80 years.  But getting general audiences to agree with the Academy will be tougher.

The challenge is to actually get people into the theatre to see this artsy little movie. If Weinstein can do that, I believe those who come see it will be thoroughly entertained, as I was, and fall in love with Jean Dujardin.  At least the women in the audience.  :)  We'll find out Monday when the weekend figures are released...

Has Someone Struck Oil In Times Square?

I was walking through Times Square last night and noticed something very odd; on an empty lot at the corner of 46th and 8th avenue there were what seemed to be two pump jacks of the kind usually found in Texas or Southern California pumping oil.  I wondered if maybe someone had struck black gold in the heart of the theatre district.  Or if a construction company was doing some sort of test drilling before the next massive skyscraper rose in the teeming neighborhood.

The answer to these questions came in this morning's New York TIMES, which reported that it was a temporary art installation.  The pumps, which will actually run eight hours a day, are the work of Josephine Meckseper, pictured above, who wants to get people thinking about oil, commerce and consumerism.  The exhibit is certainly well timed with spiking oil prices making headlines yet again.  It's just too bad they are not producing actual oil, which we could use apparently.  Meckseper's though-provoking "pumps" will be operating until May.

Two Actors From WTC VIEW On Broadway

Lucas Papaelias, who played "Kevin" in my second feature film WTC VIEW, made his Broadway debut last night in the new musical ONCE.  ONCE is an adaptation of the musical film by the same name which came out to much acclaim (and even an Academy Award) back in 2006. Lucas, who is a talented musician in addition to being a fantastic actor, was in the original production of the show last fall at New York Theatre Workshop.  

Lucas now joins Michael Urie, who played "Eric", as the second cast member from my little indie film currently on the Great White Way! Michael joined the HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS last month, playing "Bud Frump" opposite Darren Criss and now Nick Jonas.  

It's a thrill for me as I've known both these actors for a while and it's so amazing to see them just keep getting better while also getting bigger and bigger stages on which to perform.  I met Lucas in 2000 when he starred in a one-act play of mine called SEX AND THE ONE ACT, which won best play at the CenterStage One Act Festival.  I met Michael a year later, after seeing him in a production of LOVE AND HAPPINESS at Barrington Stage Company. That show was directed by Andrew Volkoff who went on the direct WTC in it's Fringe festival debut and off-Broadway last year at 59E59 Theaters.  

Anyway, congrats to them both!  And if you're looking for great theatre this spring, I urge you to check out these shows.  

The Marine Kiss Seen Round The World

So forget Angelina's leg....here's the real viral pic of the week. This stunning photo of a military homecoming in Hawaii is such an unabashed display of love that it went viral after being posted on a Marine Facebook page over the weekend. It got liked more than 15,000 times and commented on 3,000 times.  It has become such a sensation that people wanted to know who these guys were. So now the guys have gone public with the real story behind the photo.

A local news station in Hawaii got the gay couple of four years to sit down and talk about how their photo shows that "love is love", as the Marine himself puts it.  What I love even more than their interview is the comment on all the hubub from a local Marine press rep: "It's your typical homecoming photo". True....not unlike an iconic photo taken in Times Square 65 years ago.

Adam Sandler Sets Record With 11 Razzie Nominations

While Hollywood is abuzz today with talk of who won (and didn't win) at last night's Academy Awards ceremony, Adam Sandler has received a record 11 nominations for the 32nd Annual Razzie Awards.  The  Razzies, which are short for the Golden Raspberry, recognize the worst movies and performances of the year. 

Sandler, who was oddly featured on last night's Oscar broadcast talking about revealing himself through his movies (!), had three films out last year which basically swept the Razzies. Sandler could also make history for his drag performance in JACK AND JILL as the first male to take home the Worst Actress award.  Take that Glenn Close!

While the Razzies are nothing to be proud of exactly, some stars have shown a great sense of humor about them, notably Halle Berry who collected her Razzie for CATWOMAN in person. The winners will be announced on April Fools Day, of course.  No word yet on whether Sandler or other multi-nominee Kristen Stewart (for the TWILIGHT films) will show.

OSCARS SPECIAL! Billy Eichner Asks New Yorkers What Movie Is In Them

This year, the Oscars have a theme...."Celebrate the Movies in All of Us".  God knows what that means.  Fortunately, the Oscars actually seem to have a sense of humor about their own theming as they asked Billy Eichner to take to the streets of New York and, in his own unique way, try to find out what movies are "in" New Yorkers. The results are hilarious as usual.  And make sure you stay til the last guy at the end....amazing!!!

Uggie Picks Best Picture...THE ARTIST!

On Jimmy Kimmel this week, they've been doing a recurring segment where Uggie, the adorable scene-stealing dog from THE ARTIST, picks Oscar winners.  His trainer lets him loose on stage among posters of the nominees with hot dogs stuck to the top and the one he goes to first is his pick.  He selected George Clooney for Best Actor and Meryl Streep for Best Actress, both favorites in their categories.

Well, last night, it was time for Uggie to pick Best Picture and, surprise, he chose THE ARTIST.  Clearly this is one smart dog as, odds are, the Academy will agree with him when the actual winner is revealed on the Oscar telecast Sunday night.  (Last summer, I beat Uggie's prediction by writing about THE ARTIST as the first potential silent Best Picture winner in 80-odd years.)  We still think Uggie deserves a nomination of his own. However there is no Oscar category for Best Supporting Pet....yet.