Jimmy Kimmel Asks "Is Uggie A Fake?"

A couple weeks ago, Jimmy Kimmel had Uggie, the dog star from THE ARTIST, on his show to make Oscar picks.  Or did he.  A keen-eyed viewer has pointed out that the dog that appeared on Kimmel's show has different markings than the dog that was in THE ARTIST.  Talking about this shocking discovery on his show last night, Kimmel couldn't believe that someone would pass off a fake to him, for which his show reportedly paid a sizable fee.  As he put it, "it's like someone sending us a Meryl Streep look-a-like instead of the real Meryl Streep."  LoL.

Even more surprising was that the dog on Kimmel's show was the same dog that worked the red carpet at the Globe and the Oscars.  So this begs the question where is the real Uggie?  Kimmel promises a "full investigation."  No comment yet from the Weinsteins.

A Time Traveling, Time-Lapse Trip Through NYC In 1968

The NY Times City Room Blog is one of my favorite sites to find strange odds and ends about life in "The City."  Over the weekend, they posted a clip from an experimental film (remember experimental film?!) by Hollis Frampton in which he shot a time-lapse journey through the city. Making his trek on a weekend in 1968, Frampton starts at the Brooklyn Bridge then heads up Broadway, through Union Square, Madison Square, Sixth Avenue and ends in a teeming Central Park.

What is most surprising to me about this filmed time capsule is how little the essential streetscape of the city has changed, especially in lower Manhattan.  I could see and identifying many of the buildings along the journey, though certainly the signage and some facades have been altered.  However, what's most remarkable to a New Yorker is the strange lack of people on the sidewalks, not to mention the abundant availability of parking on the street.

Randy Rainbow Sings A Marriage Duet With Kirk Cameron

Former child star Kirk Cameron has been hating on marriage equality lately.  The born-again Christian was on PIERS MORGAN, last week going on and on about Adam and Eve and how the gays are "unnatural." He certainly has a right to his beliefs and the freedom to express them. However, you might think that a performer who was raised in this business called show and clearly owes his career, wealth and fame to many of the gays and lesbians working in the entertainment industry might be a little more tolerant of differences and supportive of equality. But his extreme brand of faith (he's starred and produced in a series of movies about the Rapture) has trumped all rational thought.

Anyway, this week Kirk gets his online comeuppance with a totally unauthorized starring role in Randy Rainbows' latest video.  Yay!  Kirk and Randy even do a lovely duet about getting married....awwww.  My favorite part though is Randy describing Kirk to his mom as "an out of work actor" and his mom flipping out over that!  Randy strikes again...

Julianne Moore is Sarah Palin in GAME CHANGE

The original HBO movie GAME CHANGE, about Sarah Palin and the 2008 Presidential election, premieres this Saturday night. Though Palin says the film is a political hack job, she has also not actually seen the film.  Roger Ebert gives the film a very positive review in the Chicago TIMES, adding that it is not only fair but also sympathetic towards Palin who is widely viewed now as a candidate who was incredibly charismatic but deeply unprepared to run for national office. The trailer itself looks great and Moore looks amazing as Sarah. I need to get me some HBO this weekend...

150 Years Later, Sailors From The USS Monitor Come To Life

We're currently in the midst of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, which started last year and will continue until 2015. The New York TIMES and the Washington POST have both been publishing a series of articles looking back at different aspects of the war.  

This week, the POST ran a fascinating article about two sailors from the USS Monitor who have been sort of brought back to life 150 years after their ironclad ship sank in a storm off the Carolina coast.  Their two skeletons were found intact inside the ship when it was raised from the deep in 2002 and they were even wearing their shoes still.  Forensic scientists and historians have recreated their faces which are now on display in Washington as part of an exhibit about the Monitor.  

It's amazing to think of these two sailors from 150 years ago are now staring back at us via technology and science they never would have imagined.  Kind of exciting...and kind of eerie too. 

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.