The Crocodile Hunter Remembered, DVD Sniffing Dogs, Lifetime Award for Andrews, and More!
October 2006 News
The Crocodile Hunter Remembered: Steve Irwin, the cheerful and energetic conservationist/entertainer tragically killed in early September, was paid tribute at his memorial service by both Russell Crowe and the Prime Minster John Howard. Said the PM: "Steve Irwin touched the hearts of Australians and touched the hearts of millions around the world in a very special way. He did that because he had that quality of being genuine, of being authentic, of being unconditional and having a great zest for life. Throughout his all-too-short life he demonstrated a love for the two things that ought to matter more to all of us than anything else — his love of his family and his love of his country." Flags on Sydney's Harbor Bridge flew at half-staff and there was but oneseat deliberately left empty at the ceremony itself: one for the late Steve Irwin.
Lifetime Achievement Award: Goes to Julie Andrews. She is scheduled to receive the honor from the Screen Actors Guild at the 13th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards show (quite a mouthful!) in January of 2007. The elegant and charming lady has been in the business for over 50 years, moving smoothly between film, stage, television, and recording. I think the current president of the SAG, Alan Rosenberg, summed it all up rather well at the annoucement: "Julie Andrews is a woman of great generosity, creativity, courage, elegance and wit. She embodies and transcends the memorable roles she has created. Julie seems genuinely touched and thrilled to be receiving an award from her fellow actors. I have assured her the honor is ours." While I cannot say that she, like Mary Poppins, is "practically perfect in every way", she certainly is a guiding light of goodness and humor in Hollywood. Good for her, and congratulations.
Real Life Vs. Film Violence: The former trumped the latter recently in Thailand, when a military coup shut down production of Bangkok Dangerous, Nicolas Cage's new gangster thriller. Cage was quickly whisked away to his hotel, with a private jet waiting just in case things really went to hell. The crew stayed to protect the props, but Cage convinced the producer and director to send them home, too, for their own safety. No news yet so far on when and if the filmmaking will resume. Talk about surreal!
Pirates Vs. Dogs: No, not a plot for a new action flick. The Motion Picture Association of America has two new fighters in the War on Piracy: two Labrador retrievers named Lucky and Flo. These canines were specially trained to sniff out DVDs in luggage: no joke. The MPAA officials hope the animals will help stem the tide of illegal movie distribution, which was estimated a whopping $6 billion or so in 2005. Somehow I think the dogs are more publicity stun than true warriors, but with the MPAA you never know.
Speaking of...: Not dogs, pirates. The new successful franchise a la Disney, Pirates of the Caribbean, to be exact. As the gold — excuse me, money keeps rolling in, the brains behind the Mouse have set their eyes on an old attraction: the Jungle Cruise. This venerable ride, one of the originals at Disneyland in 1955 and ported over to Disney World, is a voyage down a, well, jungle river, where guests are menaced by any number of wee beasties. I can see why Disney is looking at their parks: they are successful, and the rides do bring with them instant recognition. But crafting stories around them is a hit or miss affair, as The Haunted Mansion and the Country Bear movie can attest. We'll see what the writers come up with, and who their next star will be. I think it's going to be hard to top Johnny Depp as Captain Sparrow, however.
And Lastly, Uwe Boll Takes On His Critics!: In a move that is 100% publicity but shows that he has a sense of humor, the famed (or infamous) German filmmaker Uwe Boll stepped into a boxing ring in Vancouver and KOed four of his critics late September. The man behind such gems as Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne, and the House of the Dead Z-movies (I hesitate to deign them with even a B rating) handily beat his foes. Not too bad for a director. Said he: "I like now the critics. Everybody who was in the ring showed. Nobody dived. If they write about my movies without even seeing the movies then it's really annoying. If you make a movie like House of the Dead, a zombie movie, what are they expecting? Schindler's List?" Even if I thought Alone in the Dark was complete garbage, I must agree with him. He knows exactly what his limits are, and does not try to surpass them.
His next film is based, again, on a video game, this one the Dungeon Siege series. Well-known actors such as Burt Reynolds, Ray Liotta, John Rhys-Davies, and Leelee Sobieski are among the cast.
