Adapting a beloved novel to the silver screen is no easy task.  This notion was reinforced for me two weeks ago when I saw Baz Luhrmann’sThe Great Gatsby.  It’s visually stunning (as I’d imagined it would be) and the soundtrack is super cool.  But my overall impression was just… I don’t know… meh.  It’s not the worst example of a book-to-movie translation, but it’s certainly not one of the best.

We all know that Hollywood has had a long, if uneven, relationship with literature.  I can’t imagine how daunting it must be to tackle highly revered source material knowing full well that fans are likely to be hypercritical over each and every detail.   Anyone who makes the attempt deserves kudos.  I genuinely mean that, Baz.

In recent years we’ve had several great examples of beloved book series that have been affectionately converted into beloved movie series, such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, Twilight, and The Hunger Games.  And modern filmmakers seem to get Jane Austen right pretty regularly, as evidenced by Gwyneth Paltrow in Emma, Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson in Sense and Sensibility, and Keira Knightley in Pride and Prejudice.

But history has shown that for every brilliant iconic-book-to-memorable-movie casting choice (Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird) there’s an infamous misstep (Demi Moore as Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter.)  For every adaptation that honors the source book (Atonement), there’s one that virtually destroys it (Bonfire of the Vanities.)

Every biblio-cinephile (I just made up that hyphenated word) has opinions on this stuff and I intend to use this blog to share mine.  Obviously, I’m not in a position to comment on the book-to-film translations for which I haven’t consumed both parts of the equation.  I read Cloud Atlas, but didn’t see the movie.  I saw Life of Pi, but never read the book.  But I can say with confidence that there are four books I adored whose film versions I enjoyed just as much, if not more.

1.  ABOUT A BOY

I’m a big fan of Nick Hornby’s writing and have read all of his books. The film versions of Fever Pitch and High Fidelity took liberties by moving the settings to Boston and Chicago, respectively, to varying levels of success.  I’d argue that Fever Pitch, for all it’s charms (the immensely likable Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon) and lightning-in-a-bottle timing (the Red Sox ended “the Curse of the Bambino” by winning their first World Series since 1918 during filming), isn’t a great movie.  But High Fidelity conjurs the spirit of the book and John Cusack perfectly embodies the music-obsessed protagonist.

But it’s Chris and Paul Weitz’s film adaptation of Hornby’s About a Boy that really nails the author’s signature style.  They keep the action in London and totally capture the book’s quirky charms.  Hugh Grant was perfectly cast, as were Toni Collette and Nicholas Hoult.  On a side note, I spent most of 2002 trying to emulate Grant’s style/wardrobe from the film.  That’s got to count for something.

2  THE HOURS

Stephen Daldry’s film version of  Michael Cunningham’s The Hours is another great example of a fantastic adaptation.  Loved the book, loved the movie.  The A-list cast is beyond anything I could have hoped for:  Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Ed Harris, Allison Janney, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, John C. Reilly, Miranda Richardson, Margo Martindale, Stephen Dillane… talk about an embarrassment of riches!   Even greater than the star power, however, is how the film maintains the subtle beauty of the evocative prose of Cunningham’s book.  My one complaint is that my favorite passage from the book didn’t make it into the movie.  Here it is, for your reading pleasure:

Yes, Clarissa thinks, it’s time for the day to be over. We throw our parties; we abandon our families to live alone in Canada; we struggle to write books that do not change the world, despite our gifts and our unstinting efforts, our most extravagant hopes. We live our lives, do whatever we do, and then we sleep – it’s as simple and ordinary as that. A few jump out of windows or drown themselves or take pills; more die by accident; and most of us, the vast majority, are slowly devoured by some disease or, if we’re very fortunate, by time itself. There’s just this for consolation: an hour here or there when our lives seem, against all odds and expectations, to burst open and give us everything we’ve imagined, though everyone but children (and perhaps even they) knows these hours will inevitably be followed by others, far darker and more difficult. Still, we cherish the city, the morning; we hope, more than anything, for more.

Breathtaking.

3.  BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN

Annie Proulx’s magnificent short story, Brokeback Mountain, begat Ang Lee’s movie masterpiece.  Of my examples here, this is the only one where I actually saw the movie before I read the book.   I pictured Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger as Jack and Ennis, therefore, as I read the story, and I could see the stunning cinematography of the film in my mind’s eye.  Rather than spoiling the experience, it actually enhanced it.  That speaks volumes about the power of both the original story and the should-have-won-the-Oscar movie.

4.  THE DEAD

Speaking of short stories..

If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to read James Joyce’s The Dead and then watch the 1987 John Huston film version.  I have never experienced a better book to movie translation.  Ever.  Huston beautifully captures every image, every feeling, every memorable line of dialog from Joyce’s classic short story from his 1914 collection, Dubliners.  To me, it is the gold standard for how, in the right hands, classic literature can lead to classic films.

So there you have ‘em, my picks for the best book to movie adaptations.  Agree?  Disagree?  Agree to disagree?  Let us know your thoughts.  And while you’re at it, vote in today’s featured poll.

TODAY’S POLL:  What’s your favorite movie franchise based on a book series?

Harry Potter

The Hunger Games

The Lord of the Rings

Twilight

This past Tuesday night, the 17th Annual Webby Awards ceremony took place in New York City at Cipriani on Wall Street. I was lucky enough to be in attendance. I had been there before, but only in the capacity of reporting, standing outside by the red carpet, interviewing the various important people who were attending. I’d never been a participant and it struck me that considering I’ve been in the industry for nearly as many years as the Webbys have been around (my first job out of college was at a start up in 1997) I somehow had never made it into the coveted event. Well, all that changed this year when I not only got to attend, but I was also a winner.

That’s right – the People’s Choice Awards iPhone app was selected as a finalist in the category of Mobile Apps in Entertainment, and while Lego beat us as the Webby-seleceted winner, the people – that’s right, you - voted us your favorite and made us the “People’s Voice” award winner. If you ask me, that’s an even greater honor considering the whole reason we make these products is for you! Needless to say, my whole team and I were ecstatic to have won, proving that we are, in fact, doing the fans justice by providing them new and exciting ways to vote for their favorites in movies, music and TV. It felt quite fitting that People’s Choice won People’s Voice, and so we set out to craft our five word acceptance speech.

Why five words, you might ask? It’s a Webby tradition that the winners express their gratitude in only five words - which may seem difficult, but if done right, can be very effective and entertaining – not to mention make for a very efficiently run awards ceremony. No rambling speeches, no long lists of names of people you’ve never heard of. Just concise little morsels of gratitude, the most successful of which are the funny ones. Here were a few of my favorites from the night:

Five words is… not enough (Jerry Seinfeld, Webby Comedian of the Year Award for “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee”)

It’s pronounced “JIF,” not “GIF” (Steve Wilhite, inventor of the GIF, Webby Lifetime Achievement Award)

The Oscars… should do this (Dana Brunetti and Kevin Spacey, Webby Special Achievement Award for “House of Cards”)

Needless to say, they all used their five word moment quite effectively, while making the room laugh out loud. I mean, with Jerry Seinfeld, I would have laughed no matter what he’d said, but in true Seinfeld fashion, he made a simple observation, and delivered it with his masterful comedic timing, making it one of the funniest moments of the night. And when the elderly Wilhite came up on stage, we were all expecting a sweet, heartfelt moment - instead he brilliantly chose to express his thanks via his very own invention, an animated GIF that for once and for all set the record straight on how the word should be pronounced. Priceless! And lastly, when Dana Brunetti teed up the punchline for Kevin Spacey by stating “The Oscars…” he had the whole room at the edge of their seats wondering what the pay off was going to be. Naturally, Spacey perfectly delivered his three words, poking fun at the Academy Awards where acceptance speeches tend to be closer to 5 hundred words, and made his indelible mark on the evening.

While the People’s Choice acceptance speech may not have been quite as clever, I think we did OK, but take a look and let us know what you think:

All in all, it was a wonderful evening, and it definitely felt like we were sitting among an elite group, representing an industry that has grown leaps and bounds since the Webbys first took place in 1996. Here’s hoping it won’t be too long before we find our way back in there again.

To watch the entire event on demand, go here. If nothing else has intrigued you thus far, Patton Oswalt, host of the event, is reason enough to watch. Trust me, the man is funny.

To download our award winning app, go here. While you can’t vote (yet) for People’s Choice Awards 2014, you can vote in our daily entertainment polls and check out photos and videos from last year’s show - not to mention peruse through last year’s winner gallery, which is a pretty slick experience if I may say so myself.

And don’t forget to voice your choice in today’s featured poll: Which of these notable comedians in attendance at the 17th Annual Webby Awards is your favorite?

Ben Stiller
Colin Quinn
Jerry Seinfeld
Patton Oswalt

In my thirty something old age, I find that I am having more and more trouble remembering things. My friends have basically stopped saying “Remember that time when…” as they know a lengthy story still won’t get me to recall that incident in Australia when we met so-and-so. Maybe I need to take more ginseng or other memory enhancing supplements. Good thing that in today’s modern age, there are iPhone photos, facebook posts and text messages to help piece together memories that otherwise would be lost to me forever. That said, I’m amazed by the things that do manage to stick in my mind. I remember my dad telling me at the age of nine that I weighed less after crying so hard. Of all the things that happened on that one particular day, why was that the little nugget my mind has held on to? I do my part to cement my favorite memories into my head so that they can’t escape. My best friend Charlotte and I had a super secret handshake in high school that we sometimes re-enact to help us remember the funny times. Putting our fingers together in the shape of a round ball reminds us of doing the clock and book for the boys basketball team. Reciting the name (yes, it was a vocal handshake) “Eunice” reminds us of our favorite Cosby Show episode when Claire accused Cliff of liking Eunice Chantilly. Memories are so important and can usually bring a smile to my face. So, I feel terribly bad for the following movie characters who have struggled with memory loss:

Lucy Whitmore – Drew Barrymore played the lovable Lucy Whitmore in 2004′s 50 First Dates. After a car accident, Lucy was diagnosed with an affliction that caused her mind to erase everything that happened after the morning of the accident. For months, she wakes up each day and does the exact same thing, not realizing that time has passed. Her brother (played hilariously and with a lisp by Sean Astin), and father help to keep up the charade by eating birthday cake, watching the same movie and reading the same newspaper every single day. This goes on until Henry Roth (Adam Sandler) shows up and falls in love with her. Spoiler alert: She never gets her memory back, but Henry finds a way to make himself stick.

Jason Bourne – If you ever think you are having a bad day, just picture yourself floating in the ocean with a bullet wound and having no idea how you got there. That’s how 2002′s The Bourne Identity starts, with Bourne (Matt Damon) floating in the water. He begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together, as his very specific skill set leads him to the conclusion that he is, in fact, an assassin who was shot and thrown overboard after a botched attempt to take out a political figure. I love this movie because a) I like looking at Matt Damon and b) there are some fantastic shots of Europe throughout. But I don’t envy anyone in that situation.

Samantha Caine / Charly Baltimore – Samantha Caine, played by the amazing Geena Davis, is a wonderful wife and mom who suffers from amnesia in 1996′s The Long Kiss Goodnight. Charly Baltimore is the person Samantha was before she lost her memory and whose personality — she too was an assassin — starts to come through. My favorite part of this movie is when Samantha is in the kitchen with her family making dinner. Something clicks while she is cutting vegetables and she is all of a sudden aware of her fantastic ability to chop. The family gets very excited, thinking she has recovered something about her past — she must be a chef! — when she suddenly throws her knife against the kitchen wall to kill a bug, 20 feet away. Not necessarily something that Rachael Ray could do. She then teams up with her former partner (played by Samuel L. Jackson) to wreak havoc on the very people who stole her memory and her life in the first place. Believable, no, but amnesia stories hardly ever are. Just ask any character on a soap opera, ever.

Allie Calhoun – Allie (Rachel McAdams) and Noah (Ryan Gosling) had a love story for the ages in 2004′s The Notebook. It was your classic “boy-loves-girl, girls-parents-don’t-think-boy-is-good enough, girl-tries-to-forget-about-boy-but-can’t” love story that is told to a woman in a nursing home by a kind old man. Only later do we learn that the kind old man is Noah and the woman is Allie, who in her old age, has forgotten her very own past. It’s a heart warming scene when after a day of story telling, older Allie does in fact remember and embraces her love, and we realize Noah has told her their love story many times before, just to have the one moment at the end of each day when she remembers. Brings tears to my eyes to think about it. That and, of course, the famous line by Noah in the rain before grabbing Allie and kissing her: “It wasn’t over. It still isn’t over.” Ah.

So that’s my walk down memory lane. We forgot… What movie character who suffers from memory loss is your favorite?

Lucy – 50 First Dates
Jason – The Bourne Identity
Samantha / Charly – The Long Kiss Goodnight
Allie – The Notebook

Wednesday, May 22^nd is the official end of May sweeps and most, if not all, of the fall season’s offerings will have bowed out with either an awesome cliffhanger, a series finale resolution, or something in between.

A few years ago, the end of the official broadcast season would’ve left me sad and restless, a condition I call the “Post May Finale Blues.” For the better part of ten months, we’ve been conditioned to look forward to next week’s episode, the next story twist, the next cliffhanger and resolution. During the gaps in between, we’d be satiated by the plethora of entertainment television coverage which gives us viewers that happy endorphin rush, until the ‘conclusion’ of the television season culminated in a happy ending. And then, the cycle starts all over again as we wait over three months to get that next hit.

My worst “Post May Finale Blues” hit me after watching the season one finale of Angel. One minute I was stoked over a satisfying finale that set things up nicely for a second season and then the next second I was slouched on my couch, perturbed that with the end of Angel for the season, I had nothing to look forward to in the immediate television future.

Sure, I could read or watch DVDs or venture off the couch to get a life (at least for the summer) but, breaking that TV addiction is hard to do! I was in need of fresh, new appointment TV to fill my summer calendar when I wasn’t checking out the new offerings at the movie theater. At the time there was little to help take the edge off my TV withdrawal so I had to make do with a LOT of experimental UPN summer series and cable cast offs.

But these days there is a cornucopia of summer television offerings so that one need not suffer the Post May Finale Blues at all, or at least not so serious a case that you fill in those empty hours reading TV-show-related-fan-fiction to fill the void. Not that fan fiction is bad but, rather quite a lot of fun as long as you resist getting sucked into the shipper’dom.

The networks — broadcast and cable alike — wisely began programming original fare. At first it wasn’t so bad, then it got pretty darn good to the point that you can pretty much have a summer TV schedule to keep those cranky withdrawal pangs away. This summer, I’ve already planned out a nice little calendar of offerings, new and returning, to transition me out of May and well into June:

• To give me my zany comedy Archer fix I’ve got FOX’s The Goodwin Games and Netflix’s Arrested Development to tide me over.  While Goodwin is basically a pre-cancelled comedy series (it was picked up last pilot season, given a handful of episodes, only to have FOX say, yeah, we’re dumping you in the Summer) with a solid cast and a 6 episode commitment. Meanwhile, the return of the maladjusted Bluths I can savor at my leisure on Netflix.
• While my favorite Person of Interest ex-spy John Reese is taking a much needed break, my other favorite, ex-spy, Michael Weston, is gearing up for his seventh and final season on USA network’s Burn Notice which returns on June 6th.
• With Vampire Diaries Stefan Salvatore SPOILER ALERT! chilling out in a watery grave due to his doppelganger Silas getting the upper hand on him, I’ll table trying to figure out what happens next by getting my supernatural fix through some Teen Wolf craziness on MTV.
• Season three of Falling Skies (June 9^th ) will do nicely for a humans vs. monsters dilemma until The Walking Dead returns.
• When I’m in the mood for a Dallas or Revenge type of soap opera I’ve got ABC’s second coming of Desperate Housewives, aka, Mistresses.
• Gritty ‘Ripper Street’ like period drama? Got me the Civil War era detective drama, Copper, on BBC begin on June 23^rd.
• Ever a fan of animated super hero action series, Disney XD offers up a new Avenger cartoon, Marvel’s Avengers Assemble. If it is as good as Avengers Earth’s Mightiest Heroes (which was pretty darned good) it should make Sunday mornings a great way to start the week. Even if it doesn’t have Ant-Man or Wasp in the line-up.
• And last but not least, I have the leftovers of the fall 2012-13 season — in other words the cancelled TV shows that are getting the Saturday night burn off: ABC is nice enough to run the remaining episodes of 666 Park Avenue and Zero Hour beginning June 15^th while NBC will burn off Do No Harm starting June 29^th. Now if only CBS would just throw up the remaining episodes of Partners, I’d be a happy camper.

Which television show premiering this June are you most excited for?

Falling Skies

Burn Notice

Teen Wolf

Zero Hour

Film and fashion have always had an intrinsic link. From the early films of the 50s’ like The King and I and Some like it Hot to the modern films of today like The Great Gatsby and The Place Beyond the Pines, film has always been the instrument through which designers could express their styles. However, unlike the films of old, where the styles were constrained to the actors on-screen or the celebrities on the red carpet, today, we are seeing more and more “film fashion” hit the streets. Designers are not just creating outfits that are similar to the styles seen in the films or television shows today, but instead are curating entire lines to match the exact outfits we ooed and ahhed at during the premiere. For today’s blog, I will look at some of those films and television shows, which I believe have had the most impact on today’s style.

While high fashion is still predominately geared towards women, Mad Men in 2007 really changed how fashion houses approached their designs for the modern man. Gone was the idea that only Wall Street bankers would want to wear three piece suits with pocket squares. Suddenly, every man in New York wanted to look like Don Draper and Roger Sterling. The Ashton Kutcher trucker hats and ripped jeans of the ‘00s were discarded for pocket squares and tapered pants, and fashion for your everyday man really started to take off. In fact in 2012, Banana Republic created the Mad Men line which featured trim cut suits modeled after your favorite character from the show and magazines started writing articles in terms of Mad Men fashion.  While of course, women still play a huge part in curating their husband’s wardrobes, I don’t believe any woman would have been able to dress their man in tapered pants with skinny ties had it not been for the show.

(Even more, this trend does appear to be waning as Brooks Brothers recently premiered their Great Gatsby line in hopes of piggy backing on the hype of the film. I for one, am hoping this style does not catch on because do we really want to see people dressed like this?)

While men’s fashion can be clearly traced to specific shows, women’s fashion is not as easy to pinpoint. From the perspective of a man in his twenties, I believe the styles of today can be traced to a combination of 500 Days of Summer, Sex and the City and The Notebook. While they might appear be to be different (especially since The Notebook is supposed to take place in the 1940s) I guarantee that the combination of the three, is a perfect illustration of the style today. For example, Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer is the epitome of nerdy chic, and wears a combination of subtle floral patterns, high waisted shorts, and paisley sun dresses throughout the film. Take a look at any street in Brooklyn today, and I guarantee you will see this exact look.

While most of the everyday outfits that Rachel McAdams wore in The Notebook may not be on display on the harsh pavement of the city, her swimwear is a different story. One piece bikinis, retro polka dots, and vintage bandeaus are back in a big way. Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Rihanna have all been spotted wearing some version of this type of swimwear, and stores ranging from Urban Outfitters to Burberry are displaying these outfits on a pretty regular basis.

Finally, Sex and the City style is what every woman who loves fashion tries to emulate. From the wild day outfits from designer/costumer Patricia Fields, to the gorgeous evening dresses made famous by Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City style will never go out of fashion. Ballet or tutu dresses can be seen on almost every corner during a weekend in New York, and a statement coat paired with sexy heels is a part of every fashionable woman’s wardrobe today.

So there is my take on which shows have impacted today’s style. Feel free to use the comment section below to express your opinion on my views or feel free to simply throw out your own suggestions as to where you think the style of today is coming from. For today’s poll, tell us which outfit from last night’s Billboard Music Awards is your favorite?

Ariana Grande
Selena Gomez
Taylor Swift
Jennifer Lopez

The network TV “upfront” presentations wrapped up yesterday in New York, thus the new fall schedules have been announced for the 2013/2014 season.  As soon as I remove the black armband I’ve been wearing in protest of ABC’s cancellation of Happy Endings, I’ll work up some enthusiasm for the highly anticipated new and returning shows.

This time last year I wrote a blog about which new series I was most excited for heading into the 2012/13 TV season.  For FOX I picked The Mindy Project.  I have, indeed, enjoyed it immensely and the network announced that they are bringing it back next year. Yea Mindy!  Yea me!

For NBC I chose The New Normal, which went on to win the People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy in January.  I stuck with it all season. Although it could get a little preachy from time to time, I was charmed by each episode and even got a little choked up during the finale.  NBC has opted to not renew the show for next year.  Boo!

If I wanted to maintain a shred of credibility I should probably not remind you of my other two must-sees from last year, but I can’t help but be up front about what I thought of the upfronts.  For ABC I chose 666 Park Avenue.  The network only aired 9 of thirteen episodes before yanking it from their schedule.  For CBS I picked — wait for it — Made in Jersey, which was officially cancelled after only two episodes.  Am I the only one who even remembers that show?  I swear that the clips they showed made it look good.

Do I know how to pick ‘em, or what?

But with the new season comes a new crop of televised entertainment and a new chance to pontificate over which ones have piqued my interest.  Let the record show that I attended two of the upfront presentations in person (NBC, The CW), watched two via live web streams (ABC, FOX) and didn’t get an invitation for CBS.  Which is curious because that’s the network which has aired the People’s Choice Awards for the past 40 years.  Go figure.

What follows is in no way meant to be a prediction of potential success; these are merely my personal choices for the new programs which I will be sure to check out come September.  (Besides, I clearly have a really bad track record in predicting potential success.)

NBC:  The Michael J. Fox Show.  MJF is Mike Henry, a New York news anchor who goes back to work after taking five years off to focus on family and his battle with Parkinson’s.  Hilarity ensues.

FOX:  Us & Them.  Based on the hit Britcom Gavin & Stacey, Jason Ritter and Alexis Bledel play the title characters whose families are from different socioeconomic backgrounds.  Hilarity ensues.

ABC:  Trophy Wife. Dreamy, dreamy Malin Akerman is Bradley Whitford’s third, much younger wife.  She battles with three step children and Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden as one of Whitford’s exes.  Hilarity ensues.

CBS:  Mom.  Dreamy, dreamy Anna Faris is a newly sober single mom.  Emmy winner Allison Janney plays her mom.  Hilarity ensues.

CW:  Reign.  Mary Queen of Scots goes to France to marry Prince Francis.  Her ladies-in-waiting/BFFs/mean girls accompany her.  Drama ensues.

There you have ‘em… the new network TV shows I find most intriguing for the 2013/14 season .  Here’s hoping there turns out to be more Mindy Projects in the mix and fewer Made in Jerseys.

Today’s Poll:  Several beloved stars are returning to network TV shows this fall.  Who is your favorite?

Alexis Bledel (FOX)

Allison Janney (CBS)

Michael J. Fox (NBC)

Bradley Whitford (ABC)

I was so sad to read the news yesterday morning that Bill Hader would be leaving Saturday Night Live at the end of the current season, which just happens to be this coming Saturday. He is one of my favorite cast members as of late, mainly due to his portrayal of Stefon, the Weekend Update correspondent that knows everything there is to know about the hot NYC club scene. Hader first introduced us to Stefon Zolesky in a sketch with then host, Ben Affleck, where the two played the Zolesky brothers and pitched coming-of-age movie ideas. But it was on April 24, 2010, that Stefon first took his seat next to Seth Meyers on the Weekend Update set to give his report: “If you’re looking for a good time, look no further: New York’s hottest club is Crease. Club promoter Tranny Oakley has gone all out, and inside it’s just everything: lights, psychos, Furbies, screaming babies in Mozart wigs, sunburnt drifters with soapsuds beards…It’s that thing where a hobo becomes a rich man, so they take the big bubble bath.” WHAT?! Whether you understood it, didn’t understand it, loved it or hated it, you have to admit that every report by Stefon invoked hearty belly laughs, instant replays and watercooler discussions. I, for one, hope that Hader, and Stefon’s co-creator John Mulaney, decide to bring the character to the big screen, as many former SNL characters have done before. Let’s talk about our favorites, shall we?

The Blues Brothers - This 1980 flick starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd has been dubbed the best of the SNL-inspired films by many a critic. The characters, Jake and Elwood Blues, had not only received fame on TV but via a hit album and touring act, making the movie a sure bet. Things got a little complicated, however, during filming (Belushi’s drug problem didn’t help matters) and the movie became one of the most expensive comedies ever made. But, with guest stars including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and James Brown, the film was able to walk away with a cool $115 million in worldwide ticket sales.

Wayne’s World – Based on the SNL characters Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar, 1992′s Wayne’s World made Mike Myers and Dana Carvey household names and introduced a new generation to the Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The movie, which basically centered around a bunch of one-liners from the comedy duo, also launched the career of Tia Carrere and made Rob Lowe cool again. The movie spawned a sequel in 1993. While it has its fans – myself included, SCHWING! – critics claimed that following two people around in their mother’s basement does not a good movie make.

A Night at the Roxbury – Will Ferrell can do no wrong in my eyes which is why this film, even though it lacks a certain level of maturity, still counts as an SNL inspired favorite for me. In the 1998 flick, Ferrell and Chris Kattan play two creepy, pushy guys whose sole purposes in life is to get girls to dance with them in nightclubs. Funny in a 3 minute sketch on TV? Yes. Funny in a 90-minute movie? Not so much, but it still makes me giggle to imagine them bumping unsuspecting women back and forth between then and then not understanding why said women choose to find company elsewhere. Roxbury marked Ferrell’s first starring role in a movie and, as we all know, the actor has achieved much box office success since. Kattan, however, hasn’t been as lucky.

Superstar – Thinking of Mary Katherine Gallagher, star of  numerous SNL skits and 1999′s Superstar just makes me laugh. Molly Shannon played to perfection the Catholic high-school girl who tried to fit in, but always fell – literally fell – short. Gallagher was notorious for making uncomfortable situations even worse by smelling her armpits, or falling through a table, all while trying to win the affections of Sky Corrigan (Will Ferrell’s high-school character). Critics blasted the movie for its cringe-worthiness, but at least Shannon can take credit for being the first, before the likes of Sacha Baron Cohen, to make you cringe in your seat while watching.

Here’s hoping Stefon is seen on the big screen soon, telling us about the latest hot spot, like he did on the December 10, 2011 episode of SNL: “If you’re ordinary or love salt, I’ve got just the spot for you. New York’s hottest holiday club is BAAAAAAA-BAANAM. Opened and condemned in 1904, this seasonal psycho ward is the creation of Hanukkah cartoon character Menorah the Explorer, and this place has everything: Kiwis, Spud Webb, Clio Awards, some guy’s mom, plus a special showing of the African holiday classic A Fish Called Kwanza.”

Which of these movies based on SNL skits is your favorite?
The Blues Brothers
A Night at the Roxbury
Superstar
Wayne’s World

It’s all about Angie this week. And not in a silly leg-meme kind of way, but in a very real and powerful way. She sent the media into a frenzy by revealing yesterday morning through an Op-Ed piece in the New York Times that she elected to have a double mastectomy as a preventive measure against breast cancer. If you hadn’t already heard, here’s some background: Apparently her mother had passed away after a ten year battle with the illness, and for years she lived under the cloud of the very real possibility that she too may develop cancer. Her children have often asked her if she will suffer the same fate as their grandmother, which is a very real fear for them to have to face. Through a simple blood test that modern science has made possible, doctors were able to determine that she is, in fact, highly likely to develop breast cancer due to the fact that she has a “faulty” BRCA1 gene, which can be a precursor to both breast and ovarian cancer. In Angie’s case, she is 50% a to develop ovarian cancer, and a shocking 87% likely to develop breast cancer. Armed with that information, she made a very bold and undoubtedly very difficult decision to have a double mastectomy to ensure that she would be around for her kids for years to come and not suffer the same demise as her mother unfortunately had. Of course, it’s no guarantee, but when faced with a staggering 87% chance of developing a severe illness, she made a choice with which I can certainly empathize.

As a woman, I am in awe of her bravery and applaud her decision to undergo the procedure. And as if that wasn’t difficult enough, she shared her story with the world in hopes of inspiring other women to get tested and take control of their personal health. To be clear, she is not advocating preventive mastectomies - this was her own personal choice. But she is setting a strong example that it’s better to face your fears and leverage the medical technology that is available to us today. Almost every household in this country is affected by the disease (either directly or through friends and family) and while drastic measures are not always the right answer, educating ourselves and other women is imperative to avoid unnecessary illness, suffering and in the worst case scenario, untimely death.

Now I’ll admit, I wasn’t always Angie’s biggest fan. Back in the days when she wore a vial of blood around her neck and nearly French kissed her brother at the Oscars, I can honestly say I did not like her very much. I also had been known to consider her a home wrecker back when Brad and Jen split up. But boy, has she come a long way since then - so far that I’d bet even Jen harbors less ill will towards her given all the good that she has done in the world. OK, maybe that’s a stretch, but I do believe that she has more than made up for her questionable behavior and has shown the world that she genuinely has the best interests of humanity at heart.

She has adopted not one, but three children from three different countries. She has made it her personal mission to help refugees around the globe after what she saw and learned while filming Lara Croft in Cambodia and later witnessing the shocking conditions at refugee camps in Sierra Leone and Tanzania. Working closely with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, she was named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador back in 2001 and has not stopped working towards the betterment of the lives of refugees around the globe. She has clearly made a choice to leverage her notoriety for good, taking every opportunity she can to promote humanitarian causes. She’s formed several charitable organizations and continues to work tirelessly towards improving the lives of people in need in any way she can. She even chose to make her directorial debut a film (In the Land of Blood and Honey) set in Bosnia-Herzegovina to draw attention to the people still suffering from the aftermath of the recent war.

I don’t know about you, but I say that is one admirable lady. All that, and she proactively subjected herself to a traumatic, life changing, painful, aggressive surgery. And rather than keeping it private and moving on with her life, which would certainly have been hard enough to do in itself, she shared her story with the world, opening up about an incredibly personal choice, all with the hope that it will help other women who are struggling with the same reality that she was. If that’s not selfless,  I don’t know what is.

On behalf of women everywhere, I commend you, Angelina, and I hope that you just added decades to your life - for your sake, your family’s sake, and for the sake of all those whose lives you positively affect through your heroic actions.

Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which of Angelina Jolie’s roles is your favorite?

Actress
Director
Humanitarian
Mother

And so it has begun! The 2013-14 television season is being birthed in earnest as we recover from last week’s bloody cancellation of over twenty failed shows by the big four (and little one) broadcast networks. They are making way for shinier, newer and hopefully more successful offerings that are to restore our faith in broadcast television again.

Most of the hard decisions were made late last week in a flurry of life affirming pilot pick-ups and deadly swinging of the cancellation axe. By the weekend most people were trying to decide if it was worth watching the series finales of Vegas and Touch or if they should start reading up on Kass Morgan’s The 100 book series since it is now a bona fide show on The CW come this fall.

While I lost two shows I was pulling hard for (I’ll miss you Guys With Kids and Deception!) my grief was very short-lived. I rejoiced when news broke that a show long dead (3 years to be exact) was to be resurrected to live and entertain me another day:  The Jack Bauer Power Hour, aka, 24.

To say I was overjoyed would be an understatement. I squealedlike a teenager. I posted the news on social media to alert the masses that Jack was back (no maybe about it!). Myfriends congratulated me on the return of the show over wihch they knew I was a wee bit unhealthily obsessed. I even called my Dad to let him know that 24 was coming back to television to which his reply was:  ”Good, now we can get Jack Bauer Kiefer instead of Touchy feely Kiefer.”

I know it’s only a  show, but good television can sometimes make or break one’s day. Tell me that during Lost or some other beloved show’s heyday you didn’t wake up in the morning and think to yourself ‘Today’s LOST day!’ and spring out of bed with just a little more pep in your step because you knew that no matter what happened that day, you had an awesome episode of Lost to look forward to that night. No? Really? And you call yourself a TV fanatic.

But seriously, it tells you the state of the television industry when the majority of online opinion about a show being resurrected was ‘Whaaaat? When? Count me in!’ and ‘This is the best idea ever!’  There hasn’t been a show quite like 24 to fill the soap-opera-on-crack void; Homeland has come close, but Carrie Mathieson and Nicholas Brody are no Jack Bauer. FOX, in their infinite wisdom, admit when they’ve made a mistake (much like with the resurrection of Family Guy), and need some juice in their 2013-14 primetime schedule. They moved quickly to appease Kiefer after the cancellation of Touch (and I do mean quickly, the announcement for the return of 24 came 2 hours after the cancellation of Touch) and have decided to bring 24 back as a limited event series for May 2014.

Will it be 24 one hour episodes to comprise a 24 hour day? No, it’ll be 12 episodes.

Will it be in real time? No

Will it have Chloe and Tony and Kim Bauer back? We don’t know (although with Happy Endings cancelled, Elisha Cuthbert IS available)

Do I care about any of the above? No. Well, I’d like Chloe back, but it’s not a deal breaker for me if she doesn’t return’. Unless she’s been killed off. At which point I will be torching all my 24 DVDs.

But it’s too soon to buy the lighter fluid and matches since we don’t know what awaits the CTU faithful in May 2014.  Could be that Renee Walker didn’t’ die after all and she and Jack are gun packing mercenaries for hire or married with a couple of kids. Could be Jack’s trotting around Europe kicking sex traffickers’ butts when Liam Neeson isn’t. Could be Jack is preparing to break his “ride or die” BFF Chloe O’Brien out of prison after she was arrested for aiding his escape from authorities in the final season.  Whatever he’s up to, I can’t wait to find out and hear that ‘beep…boop…beep…boop…’ one more time.

POLL Question: 24 is coming back! what other television show should get a surprise resurrection?

Rome

LOST

Serenity

Law and Order

Dark Angel

The sights and sounds of the world’s most famous arena are incomprehensible to those who have never attended. It is the home of the Knicks and Rangers, and has been the stage for some of the greatest performances over the last four decades. From Muhammad Ali and Walt Frazier’s “Fight of the Century” in 1971 to the incredible lineup of artists for the benefit concert for Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the garden attracts the biggest artists and the most memorable performances. Ask anyone who has been there a few times and you will learnit is one of those places that people just never forget. Whether you were sitting in the nose bleeds or standing feet from the stage, everyone has their MSG moment.

For my dad, it was after Ali vs. Frazier II in 1974 (when he ended up in the hospital for a broken nose after sparring with his brother in the line outside of the arena); for my mom, it came during the Grateful Dead’s performance of “Candyman”  87’ (the first concert sheand my dad attended after my brother was born);  and for me, it was January 27^th 2007. Beyonce’s  “Irreplaceable” was on top of the charts; Justin Timberlake was bringing sexy back; the Knicks were awful; and a band called O.A.R was about to perform what would later be one of their greatest sets.

I had gotten tickets only a few days before, and at the time, thought I had overpaid. We got to the arena a little early and pushed our way about midway through the mob. Within minutes we were greeted by the opening bars of “Love and Memories” followed closely by “Untitled” and “Hey Girl.” The moment for me didn’t come however, until about an hour in. The band opened with a 5 minute intro, with lyrics no one had ever heard before. People were trying to sing, but even the diehards had no idea what was going on. But then, the guitarist broke into the well-known opening guitar rift to “That was a Crazy Game of Poker,” and the crowd went nuts. My moment lasted for every single second of the rendition. 14 minutes of pure unadulterated MSG ecstasy.

The audience sang every lyric in perfect harmony, and it didn’t stop there. Even after the song ended, the band kept playing, and finished the concert with two ten minute renditions of “52-50” and “City on Down.” As I left the theater though, I was sure it was over. But sometimes, when you are treated to a great performance, the gift just keeps on giving. The band decided to release a recording of that night a few months late which I quickly purchased. To this day,  the CD remains my most played album (a place that will probably last for eternity.)

So there is my favorite moment from the world’s most famous arena. I will be returning to MSG on Tuesday for The Killers, and while I do not anticipate I will have a second moment, hopefully I will be able to see someone around me having theirs.  Please take a moment to write in the comment section with your favorite concert moment, whether or not it was at MSG.

Today’s Poll

Which artist on tour in 2013 is your favorite? 

Beyonce

Bruno Mars

Carrie Underwood

Rihanna