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Dreamworks Animation CEO recently said his company is "in the toilet," but he seems to be doing fine himself.

The post Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg Spent $353,000 On Dinner Yesterday appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

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It seems strange to be writing this from the comfor of my sofa, yet only yesterday this was my view: repairing the Hubble Space Telescope in low Earth orbit, from the next generation shuttle, Explorer. And it was breathtaking. I had front row seats for the UK premiere of Alfonso Cuorón’s Gravity at London’s Odeon Leicester Square, as part of the bfi’s London Film Festival.

The first dozen minutes of the movie are a single, beautiful shot of Earth from space, viewed in glorious 3D. Wow. We dive into the scene and eventually stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are unscrewing a panel on the Hubble Space Telescope, that they’re up there to repair. A bolt spins out of Bullock’s reach and I’m on hand to catch it as it flies past me. Wonderful.

Last year I found myself on the red carpet with George Clooney for The Ideas of March. This year, I entered with Sandra Bullock while Harry Potter producer David Heyman was being interviewed in the doorway. Having taken my seat, Cuorón, Heyman and Bullock took to the stage and introduced the movie.

The visual effects are extraordinary. Tim Webber and his team are surely nailed on for next year’s Oscar, having come up with all manner of new techniques for relatively low costs, to create such a realistic spectacle. Life of Pi had beautiful conematography and 3D, but I think Gravity is better, but of course that’s also partly down to the low Earth orbit setting. make sure you see the film on the biggest screen you can find, and you won’t be disappointed.

I have experience being in space, while at the cinema before. When I worked at the Science Museum I was able to slip into their IMAX whenever they were showing Walking on the Moon: 3D. It really was the next best thing to being there, but that used a lot of genuine footage. There are two related jokes about Gravity, such is the realism of the film: one is that NASA is going to sue once it discovers Cuorón’s hidden cameras aboard the International Space Station (ISS); the other is that he actually considered filming it in space.

So far so good. I don’t know if I was so blown away with the experience that I didn’t pay much attention to the actual characters, or whether their story wasn’t particularly interesting. But while I’d give the visuals 11 out of 10, the backstory of lead characters Bullock and Clooney only seemed to merit a 4 or 5.

But the premise is good, so don’t let that put you off. Many scientists are becoming increasingly worried about space junk filling the area where most satellites are placed. There is a catastrophic scenario where the collision of two satellites, or one breaking up, could lead to a chain reaction with devastating consequences, where most if not all satellites would be destroyed. The movie opens with that happening and the debris careering towards the vulnerable shuttle. And even once it’s gone by, we and the astronauts know it will return within 90 minutes and none of us still want to be there.

You will find yourself ducking out of the way of space debris and maybe even longing to feel planet Earth under your feet again. Gravity must be seen for the beauty and brilliance of the visuals.

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I’ve always disliked The West Wing, primarily because it peddles the myth of brave and decent politicians, always doing the right thing in difficult circumstances. In reality I suspect the public prefer not to think about the dirty deals and corrupt and seedy goings on behind closed doors, which makes The Thick of It more my cup of tea – maybe that’s the UK/US divide? Of course I’m not saying most politicians don’t enter the fray with the best of intentions, but they universally seem to disappoint and the longer they hang around, the more they disappoint. Power corrupts. Even the scent of power corrupts.

So full marks to Ides of March for telling the down and dirty, shabby story of how politics always seems to turn out. Last Wednesday I joined George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Evan Rachel Wood on the red carpet for the UK premier. To really appreciate a movie, I try to read as little as I can about it beforehand, so I can watch at face value. Because of that I can admit my ignorance by believing we were likely to have some kind of retelling of the Julius Caesar story (by coincidence the play I studied for my O level Shakespeare), so I entered the Odeon Leicester Square confident of making the necessary connections between the film and the Bard. Not a bit of it.

The bfi (the British Film Institute in official lower-case letters) is a great institution and a former employer of mine, but their organization often leaves a lot to be desired. I ended up being sent to various spots around central London to collect my tickets, meaning I only reached the red carpet about one minute before curtain up. I ran past George Clooney being interviewed without noticing, sat down in my seat and then saw the whole shebang being projected on the cinema screen.

As part of the bfi London Film Festival, my old colleague Sandra Hebron (it’s her last year as Artistic Director of the LFF) called Clooney up on stage where he proceeded to share a few jokes and introduce various cast and crew. Then the curtains parted and we were treated to 101 minutes of an intriguing thriller, even if the expected links to Shakespeare were missing.

This is the fourth film Clooney’s directed. In front of the camera he plays Democratic presidential candidate Mike Morris, Governor of Pennsylvania and leader in a two-horse race with a Senator from Arkansas. What I loved about the movie was that it’s not The West Wing – it shows just how sordid the realpolitik can be, and all credit to Clooney he’s right at the heart of it. The Ides of March of the title refers to the date of the key Ohio primary, which will fall on 15^th March and help decide the contest.

The US Primary system has al

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New York Times journalist Maureen Dowd stars in the new comic, The Incredibly Fantastic Adventures of Maureen Dowd (A Work of Satire & Fiction). In the book, Dowd sports lingerie and wears a gun in her stocking.

Gawker has more about the comic: “Marra’s comic book dramatizes our flame-haired heroine’s role in the 2003 Valerie Plame affair. MoDo discusses journalist ethics, gets in Blackberry screaming matches, defies gun-wielding intruders who want to steal her laptop and hush up her columns and flirts with Tom Friedman en route to a date with George Clooney.”

Comic creator Benjamin Marra wrote and illustrated the comic. It features 24 black and white interior pages and sells for $3.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

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Photo by United Nations Development Programme www.flickr.com

Yesterday, I was watching Cartoon Network (a Pokemon movie even! Egads!) with my stepson, and three teens (I have no idea who they were) came on and told the kids that they could grab their parents, go to the American Red Cross website, and donate to help the people in Haiti. What a great idea, Cartoon Network!

Then we went to church, and the bishop of our diocese also had a special collection for the Haitian people. Another great idea! I also got an email from one of my favorite charities that I’ve talked about on this blog before–Heifer International. They’re also creating a special fund for Haiti. At the movies on Saturday before we watched Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, there was an advertisement about texting to donate money for Haiti. These are just a few of the examples that I’ve seen in the past few days for ideas to help the people in Haiti; and so I thought it would be easier if I put a few of these links all together on one blog post. That way, you can find them easily for yourself, your family, or even your classroom. (Raising money to help in Haiti would be an AWESOME service learning project for your students.)

Here are some links. If you know of more (and there are), please leave in the comments below:

The American Red Cross has two easy ways you can donate to the Haiti people. You can text “Haiti” to 90999, and $10 will be donated. This $10 will be charged on your monthly cell phone bill as well as any text message fees you may have. The other way to donate to the Red Cross is to make an online donation through the website. The donation page says that it can currently take up to twelve hours to process donations because of the huge response to the Haiti earthquake relief fund.

Heifer International had a special fund for Haiti, but I don’t currently see it listed on their website. They had projects in Haiti before the earthquake, helping people farm and become self-sufficient. On the home page, they have a button that says, “Give where it is most needed.” You can donate through that link; and if the special Haitian fund runs out, then the charity can draw from that fund. If you’re not familiar with Heifer, this is the organization that gives families and communities goats, chicks, cows, and so on.

Hearts for Haiti (knitted for children in Haitian orphanages) by stevendepolo www.flickr.com

On the Twittermoms network, creator Megan Calhoun sent out an e-newsletter today full of ideas for parents and kids to easily help the people of Haiti. On the Twittermoms website, y

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Avon hits the 'Mark' (nice profile of Avon's successful campus rep program in the New York Times, reg. required. Plus Mullen launches a blog to help clients understand "The Next Great Generation") - More 'Jersey Shore' (Blackbook concedes the show... Read the rest of this post

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The First Book blog team recently took a field trip to see Wes Anderson’s film adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic book, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Read the team’s thoughts below as they share their likes, dislikes and opinions on how the film compares to the book.

Nisha: While the filmmakers may have doctored the foxes’ family dynamics a bit, Ash and Kirstofferson were the perfect charmingly blunt pair of troublemakers to keep audiences engaged. The book reflected a slightly different story, with four fox cubs and a far more shameless means of putting food on the table. In the book, Mrs. Fox places requests for supper, which Mr. Fox proudly obliges by stealing from one of the three farmers. The movie did however stay true to the spirit of Roald Dahl’s witty and imaginative world, including many direct quotes from the book itself. Told in Dahl’s characteristically windswept fashion, viewers are dragged along for the ride of a lifetime (literally) as the animals fight to outsmart farmers Bean, Bunce and Boggis.

Aesah: I loved it—and was pleasantly surprised that I did. The filmmakers kept the spirit of the original work when they expanded the story but also managed to sneak their own quirky brand of humor into the film. I had my doubts about an entire movie done in stop-motion animation, especially in this age of CGI and big special effects, but it was actually the perfect medium; the jerky motions adding to the story’s overall quirkiness and the simplicity of the settings giving it a hint of nostalgia. Wes Anderson’s masterful hand turned it into just another layer of the story. George Clooney and Jason Schwartzman were perfect choices to voice the Fantastic Mr. Fox and his son Ash, respectively. It has something for everyone and I will definitely be adding this movie to my collection.

Bonnie: With the opening scene playing the song “Davy Crockett – King of the Wild Frontier” – I knew I’d love this movie! Wes Anderson is known as a less than typical director, which fits with a Roald Dahl story perfectly. I especially enjoyed the choice to use stop-motion, and like Aesah stated with most movies are now using big special effects I was a bit wary but this difference in animation made the film visually interesting and it is still able to move along in a fashion that adds to the charm of the story. Wes Anderson’s first animated film is a goodie and I recommend it for kids and adults alike.

Katie: All in all, I was delighted with the film version of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr. Fox. I’d give director Wes Anderson three cheers for the vocal casting, soundtrack and the seamless additions of new characters. The casting of George Clooney and Meryl Streep as Mr. and Mrs. Fox was spot on, and it was fun to pick out recognizable voices including Jason Schwartzman as Ash and Owen Wilson in a cameo as Coach Skip. The film’s soundtrack added a rich background that complemented the visual animation. With artists as varied as the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones and Burl Ives, this soundtrack includes something that just about everyone will like. Finally, I loved some of the charming characters – Kylie the opossum being my favorite – that were added in the film version. They brought a dash of whimsy that was a perfect foil to highlight the original characters from Roald Dahl’s story.

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I had planned on making this blog much longer, but they have managed to find a way to block me, even here at the Film Festival; thanks to the help of a techie, we just hacked our way back in. One quick note: I just came from a conference here entitled Cinema and Human Rights. One of the speakers, Mohsen Namjoo, the "Iranian Bob Dylan," made a comment that struck home. He said, "Even if you are not concerned about politics, it is politics that becomes concerned with you." I feel the same way. The real irony is that I am a citizen of the United States of America, the country that is supposed to be setting the example for democracy and freedom of speech. How can we condemn other countries if I can't write about the movies?

To read more about Namjoo, please click here (or cut & paste):

http://www.twentyfourbit.com/post/141841224/leaked-song-causes-conviction-of-iranian-bob-dylan

Ciao from the 66th International Venice Film Festival,
Cat

Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog
http://venetiancat.blogspot.com

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La Biennale sent over a press release. Burn After Reading sounds so cool that I just might get my press pass this year and go to the film festival. Even though the film festival sounds glamorous, it is actually a huge amount of work, and I haven't gone for the last few years. But I LOVE the Cohen brothers, and it stars lots of the Hollywood Good Guys: George Clooney (god:), Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton and Richard Jenkins. (I also love that the Cohen brothers are not frightened of making women over 40 look sexy:). They've got something like a zillion Academy Awards wins and/or nominations between them.

Here's basically what the press release says for those of you who don't read Italian, combined with info I swiped off Wikipedia:

In this black comedy, Malkovich plays Ozzie Cox, a former CIA agent in Washington who is fired because he is an alcoholic. He gets revenge by writing inflammatory memoirs. Cox's soon-to-be ex-wife Katie (Tilda Swinton) steals the disc containing his memoirs and accidentally leaves it at the gym where it is found by a trainer Chad Feldheimer (Brad Pitt) and the gym's owner Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand), who believe they can use the info to blackmail Cox.

Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney) is a fellow CIA spy investigating the matter who meets Linda via computer dating. Harry starts an affair with Katie, and later with Linda, becoming entangled with the blackmailers and the CIA.

From Working Title site:

BURN AFTER READING TO OPEN VENICE FILM FESTIVAL

Burn After Reading, written and directed by Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen, will open the 65th Venice Film Festival at Lido di Venezia, held from 27th August to 6th September 2008.

The film, starring George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, and Brad Pitt, will be given its world premiere on the evening of 27th August in the Sala Grande of the Palazzo del Cinema, following the opening ceremony of the 65th Festival.

In the dark spy-comedy, John Malkovich plays an ousted CIA official whose memoir accidentally falls into the hands of two unwise Washington, D.C. gym employees intent on exploiting their find.

Burn After Reading is a Working Title Films production, produced by Joel and Ethan Coen and executive-produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Robert Graf. It will be released in the UK on 5th September, distributed by Universal Pictures and in the United States

Press release from La Biennale:

Dear Cat BAUER,
La Biennale di Venezia
65. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica

Burn After Reading di Joel ed Ethan Coen
con George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins, e Brad Pitt è il film di apertura della 65. Mostra

Burn After Reading, scritto e diretto dai premi Oscar Joel ed Ethan Coen, aprirà la 65. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica, in programma al Lido di Venezia dal 27 agosto al 6 settembre 2008, diretta da Marco Müller e organizzata da La Biennale di Venezia, presieduta da Paolo Baratta. Il film, che può contare su un cast composto da George Clooney, Frances McDormand, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton, Richard Jenkins e Brad Pitt, verrà presentato in anteprima mondiale la sera del 27 agosto nella Sala Grande del Palazzo del Cinema, a seguire la cerimonia di apertura della 65. Mostra.

Burn After Reading è una produzione Working Title, ed è prodotto da Joel ed Ethan Coen e dai produttori esecutivi Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner e Robert Graf. Burn After Reading uscirà in Gran Bretagna il 5 settembre, distribuito da Universal Pictures, e negli Stati Uniti il 12 settembre, distribuito da Focus Features. In Italia, Burn After Reading sarà distribuito da Medusa Film.

In questa dark comedy dai risvolti spionistici, John Malkovich interpreta il ruolo di ex agente della CIA le cui memorie finiscono accidentalmente nelle mani di due istruttori di una palestra di Washington che intendono trarre profitto dal ritrovamento. Il direttore della fotografia di Burn After Reading è Emmanuel Lubezki (Children of Men). Mary Zophres è la costumista alla sua ottava collaborazione consecutiva con i fratelli Coen. Jess Gonchor, già scenografo di Non è un paese per vecchi (No Country for Old Men), ripete l'esperienza con Burn After Reading.

Ciao from Venice,
Cat

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