the funny's: more red nose day clip (borat meets graham norton)

graham norton interviews borat
[more funny clips from red nose day 2007]

alec baldwin, the rambler

alec baldwin went on the view yesterday to apologise publicly about his horrible angry voicemail he left for his 12 year old daughter. as you can see, he went on a completely different direction. what the frick?!


here's the voicemail that started it all. ugh, i need a shower.

and here's an op-ed piece from the NY times saying why alec shouldn't leave 30 rock to pursue his new passion. i agree.

don't go!: rosie is leaving the view

[whether you love her or not, you have to admit that the addition of rosie to the view has overhauled the show completely. how they're going to replace her is beyond me. check out this breakdown from the la times]

once - rsvp to free screenings now!

ONCE - falling slowly
[featuring scenes from the film, go to the newly launched ONCE foxsearchlight website to listen to the whole soundtrack streamed for your pleasure!]

QUICK THOUGHTS:
so i got myself into one of the critic screenings today and came out totally blissed out from the film. though simple and sweet (it could be misconstrued as an extended music video, but to think so is kind of unfortunate), the wondrous thing about the film is how natural the two leads managed to make the events seem totally plausible. the idea that two stalled individuals (one a busker, the other a new immigrant) can find their passion for life again through music is not only genuinely sweet, but inspirational (as it obviously has affected many who have already seen it). i'm still on a warm and fuzzy high, which is how many of you should seek out to experience when the movie opens on the 18th of May.

if you live in the following cities, you can go see a sneak preview of the film with performances of glen and marketa after the film!

Sunday, Apr 29 6:00 PM AMC Loews Boston Common, Boston
Wednesday, May 02 7:00 PM The Bridge Cinema, Philadelphia
Thursday, May 03 7:00 PM AMC Georgetown, Washington
Monday, May 07 7:00 PM The Magic Bag, Ferndale
Tuesday, May 08 7:30 PM Landmark Century Centre, Chicago
Thursday, May 10 7:00 PM Malco Paradiso, Memphis
Saturday, May 12 1:00 PM Alamo Drafthouse Downtown, Austin

rsvp as soon as you can

hilarious: ricky gervais - red nose day segment

ricky gervais in kenya - red nose day 2007
[this is hilarious! ricky visits kenya to show us the conditions of many of the people there...well, maybe not! watch for a few surprising guest appearances.]

hype wongie: ONCE (screenings in the US, soundtrack details AND glen hansard live in NYC!)

i just took a look at the once myspace page and found out a load of goodies about this movie and it's upcoming preview tour.

first things first, the soundtrack to the film will definitely be released with the following track list (in no particular order).


ONCE soundtrack
falling slowly
when your minds made up
if you want me
lies
trying to pull myself away
once
the hill
fallen from the sky
all the way down
gold
leave
say it to me now

and if you're in the NYC area, you can definitely check out glen for free at the tribeca film festival ASCAP lounge on may 1st and 2nd (guess where i'll be?)

THEN, if you're in any of these cities below, you'll get a chance to see a sneak preview of this movie that i personally can't wait to see myself!

Apr 27 2007 7:00P
Minneapolis/St.Paul Film Festival Minneapolis, Minnesota
Apr 28 2007 7:15A
San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco, California
Apr 29 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Boston, Massachusetts
May 1 2007 5:00P
Glen's solo gig, Tribeca Film Festival New York, New York
May 2 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
May 2 2007 5:00P
Glen's solo gig, Tribeca Film Festival New York, New York
May 3 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Washington D.C., Washington DC
May 4 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Toronto, Ontario
May 6 2007 9:30A
San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco, California
May 7 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Detroit, Illinois
May 8 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Chicago, Illinois
May 9 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As St. Louis, Missouri
May 10 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Memphis, Tennessee
May 11 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Dallas, Texas
May 14 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Phoenix, Arizona
May 16 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As San Diego, California
May 17 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As San Francisco, California
May 18 2007 12:00A
Once screening with live performance and Q&As Seattle, Washington

now go out and spread the ONCE love will ya?

news: anatomy of a massacre

i usually don't tell people to read about hard news, but this article from the new york times is a really concise breakdown of the life of cho sueng-hui and the events that led to the horrible events last monday.
[you may need to login to read the whole report.. but it's free to do so]

hype wongie: once

[as posted on my music blog] i have been reading about the irish film once for ages. a critical and fan favorite ever since it premiered at the sundance film festival in january, the story focuses around an irish busker (played by glen hansard, lead singer of the popular irish band the frames) and a czech pianist (played by his friend and sometime collaborator marketa irglova) who find common ground in music and eventually love.

the movie just opened in ireland this week and will make it's way to our US screens sometime in mid may.

i shared the trailer (see below) yesterday, but i'd love to pass on some more bits and pieces i've found since then (can you tell i'm a tad obsessed?).


once - sundance channel profile
[check out this brief profile that features an interview with director john carney and his two leads. there are also a few clips from the film for you to fall in love with.]

though there isn't an official soundtrack of the album released yet, glen and marketa were actually commissioned to write a few songs last year for a czech film beauty in trouble. the sessions were so successful that they recorded a full album under the guise of the swell season. when filmmaker john carney was looking for music for his film, he not only chose three songs from the album, but asked glen and marketa to star in his film. pretty cool eh?

here are some performances to get you even more excited:

glen hansard & marketa irglova - falling slowly (live performance at sundance)
[for an outdoor performance the sound recording is very good! here they are in january performing like buskers on the slopes of salt lake city, utah. lovely!]

glen hansard - when your mind's made up (from the movie ONCE)


glen hansard - sleeping
[taken from swell season, this song was one of the featured tunes for the czech film beauty in trouble; absolutely gorgoeus.]


Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova aka:the swell season - falling slowly
[if you can't get enough of this gorgeous song, here is an indoor version recorded last year in chicago. btw, the frames have also taken on this song as part of their new release the cost.]

festival watch: cannes film festival announces lineup

the biggest film festival in the world, cannes film festival, announces it's lineup today with wong kar wai's debut english film my blueberry nights opening the festivities!

some surprises for competition films include david finchers' zodiac and quentin tarentino's death proof (the 2nd half of grindhouse).

i'm attending yet again this year and will be updating you guys on all the great movies i know i'll be seeing. can't wait!

trailer watch: once / across the universe

once
[who knew that frames lead singer glen hansard could be such a romantic lead? a crowd favorite at sundance and now slowly making it's way across european screens (before hitting US ones mid may), once is about two lonely souls (one a street busker, the other a czech pianist) who find each other through music. as corny as it sounds there is nothing like watching a truly romantic movie every now and then. this should be the little romance that could.]


across the universe
[coming in september, is this 2007's moulin rouge? i really hope so! directed by the amazing julie taymor and starring jim sturgess and evan rachel wood, the cuties play star crossed lovers during the turbulent 70's. totally reminds me of hair, but that's a good thing!]

slang 101 breakdown

this is nappy

















these are NOT ho's (they are however a women's basketball team)











this is an ignorant nasty ass honky

if you have no idea what has been going on here in the states, read this article of what's been over-analyzed on tv these days. god, it's so pathetic...

small screen news: the hills gets a season #3!

not that i'm surprised, but the mtv hit series the hills got the go ahead for a new series set to air later this year. a total guilty pleasure, this show is the closest thing to a proper series MTV has and i'm not the only one who thinks this (it's also the most popular show on the channel). read here for updates on the show and why heidi wasn't present at the live finale (spoiler: her boobs had something to do with the reason).

trailer watch: alone, daywatch, 28 weeks later

alone (aka fadd) trailer (thailand)
[currently the #1 movie in thailand, alone is directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun and
Parkpoom Wongpoom, the duo that brought you the cult horror film shutter a few years back. this time, a young newlywed returns back to her childhood home to care for her dying mother. but as she stays in her old home, she comes to realize a hidden memory wants to become more than just an afterthought. too bad the trailer gives everything away.]


daywatch trailer (russia)
[part two of director Timur Bekmambetov's adaptation of Sergei Lukyanenko's sci-fi trilogy (daywatch, nightwatch, duskwatch). it looks like this time the budgets have gone up and the fighting sequences are cooler. already a hit back home, the film is getting a summer release here in the states.]


28 weeks later (uk)
[the zombies are back! with the timeline just 28 weeks after the 1st film, the story focuses around the military bringing a handful of citizens to try to re-inhabit their cities. the problem is, they didn't quarantine everyone from the deadly virus. can't wait to see this!]

hot guy on tv: jonathan tucker

i've been doing a mini-marathon of the new irish gangster series the black donnellys. though i like the general look and interweaving plotlines of the series, i can't help but feel that most of the donnelly brothers have yet to be fully realized and worth rooting for. honestly, a series about one brother (played by the awesome jonathan tucker) bailing out the major f**k ups of his other siblings is not really a proper show.

but what keeps me watching is jonathan tucker (the deep end, pulse), a somewhat underrated young actor who is really getting the chance to show his chops on this show. what surprised me is that the boy has a crazy body to boot, now i have an even bigger reason to keep watching.


jonathan tucker in his skivves!
[though this sequence is pretty dark (he is getting rid of a body), jonathan's six pack just gets too distracting to watch. then he goes and washes himself down after the deed is done. god, this is like watching 300!]