Karl Rove, alleged architect of the Iraq war (and recently exposed as an Eric Foner fan in Nicholas Lemann’s New Yorker piece this week) steps out from behind the curtain to revel in the adulation of New Hampshire. If he only had a heart.
Author: KcM
That was naughty.
The new trailer for The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is now online. Given how well X2 turned out, my money’s now on this one to be the big Tomb Raider-esque stinker of the 2003 summer. It’s a pity…I like Stephen Norrington (Blade was solid B-movie fun), but this project had Terry Gilliam or Tim Burton written all over it.
A Moment of Clarity.
Must be election season…Despite the desires of the NRA, Dubya plans to support a continued ban on assault weapons. I’m sure he can just have Ashcroft vacate it later.
The GOP Tax Pact.
With conservatives chomping at the bit to reduce capital gains taxes, the Senate GOP craft a compromise bill that appeases moderate holdouts like Senator Snowe. As I’ve said before, any tax cut given the current state of the economy and our budget deficits is a bad idea. And given how much of the heavy lifting Senator Snowe has already done, I’m surprised more Dems aren’t kicking up a fuss right now.
In the Company of (Wicker) Men.
Neil LaBute talks a little about his forthcoming remake of The Wicker Man. Americanizing it sounds like a terrible idea, as does casting Nicholas Cage in the Edward Woodward role, but I suppose I’ll give LaBute the benefit of the doubt for now.
It is close now, so close.
After months of relative silence, finally some movement on the LOTR tip. Regarding the Two Towers extended edition, some possible scenes with Boromir and Faramir leak out (I’d heard these were filmed, but, this report still reads like wishful thinking.) Also, it appears a WETA statue of Gollum will replace the Argonath in the mega-special edition. As for Return of the King, the rough cut of the film is purportedly four hours and twenty minutes long and staying that way. (Again, this seems like wishful thinking, but given how much ground in TTT still needs to be covered, I’d think ROTK would have to clock in at least four.) Morover, new Sam and Frodo toys reveal a sequence I thought for sure they’d cut, and finally one other random (and possibly dubious) source mentioned this exchange at TORN: The Mistress has had a very interesting chat with a source at Miramax, who says that Cold Mountain will be pushed back to 2004. The official reason will be that “the climate is not right” for a movie whose central character is a deserter. Unofficially, Harvey Weinstein has seen a rough cut of Return of the King (he is an Executive Producer) and says that it is “unstoppable” as a Best Picture winner. Unstoppable…I like the sound of that. Update: More TTT-EE and ROTK spoilers from Movie Insider Magazine, including confirmation of Boromir in TTT, talk of a longer Frodo-Sam Osgiliath fight scene and some ruminations on the Grey Havens. Don’t read this if you haven’t read the books. Update 2: TORN.Net kills the 4hr-20min. rumor, but softens the blow by offering up MAJOR spoilers about Saruman, Sauron, and Grima and a pic of Frodo in the lair of…um, you know.
Means of Descent.
Grad students and history lovers take note: Plight of the Reluctant has devised the altogether fiendish Robert Caro drinking game. “Drink once if Caro describes Lyndon Johnson’s stride…Drink once if LBJ’s weight or face is mentioned,” etc., etc. Thank goodness I was unaware of this amusement while slogging through The Power Broker.
At long last.
Dubya may have tied up the release of the Reagan papers indefinitely (hmm, whatever for?), but at least one branch of government has the courage to air their dirty laundry. Senators Susan Collins and Carl Levin announce the release of the McCarthy hearing transcripts (available here.) There’s probably a number of good dissertation topics in there…
Feed the Rich, or else.
What do we want? Tax breaks for the rich! When do we want ’em? Now! Brushing up on his cheerleader skills in Arkansas (as a not-so-veiled threat to Democratic Senator Blanche Lincoln), Dubya demands that Congress speed up passage of his fatcat cut. But so far, the all stick and no carrot tactics of the Bushies are only continuing to tick off GOP moderates like Olympia Snowe.
Quid Pro Quo.
Exhibiting yet again the Dubya administration’s flair for hypocrisy, recent documents reveal that Dubya’s top three fundraisers in 2000 were made Ambassadors of Switzerland, the Slovak Republic, and France respectively. Well, as long as they didn’t take tea in the Lincoln bedroom, I’m sure everything checks out.