Happy Birthday, Preston Sturges!

Today marks what would have been, and still is for those who celebrate him and his work, the 110th birthday of cinematic legend Preston Sturges.

I bring him up on this blog as often as I can (if it's even remotely possible to relate something to Sturges, I WILL make the connection, guaranteed), but for those who don't know, Preston Sturges is one of the best writers who ever lived, one of the most gifted and important writer-directors of any time or any medium, an extraordinary human being, and my hero. He occupies a very special, and sizeable, place in my heart.

Preston Sturges is a constant source of inspiration for me. Not a day goes by that I don't look to him for artistic, literary, or personal guidance. Every time I think about writing something, every time I look at a blank computer screen waiting to be filled, every time I place my fingers on the keyboard, and every time I experience the exhilaration that surges through my mind and body when the gears click and the words start flowing, he's there. He is my muse.

Happy birthday, Mr. Sturges, and thank you.

Bob Kabob

This upcoming Sunday, August 17th, Comedy Central is airing a roast of Bob Saget (who's looking GOOD, by the way), everyone's favorite obsessive-compulsive, ultra-tidy, oft-hugging, speech-over-sappy-music-giving TV dad, Danny Tanner.

I am ridiculously excited about this.

Harry Potter and the 8-Month Wait

I was half-paying attention to the WGN Morning News today until the words "Harry" and "Potter" caused my head to snap up from the computer. The release date of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, originally scheduled for November 21, 2008, has been moved to July 17, 2009.

Summer of 2009?! Merlin's pants!

I understand the greedy reasoning behind it, and I at least respect that they're not even trying to hide their motive ("Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, said it had decided to make the change to bolster its release schedule for the lucrative summer moviegoing season -- a period that can account for as much as 40 percent of Hollywood's annual box office receipts"), but COME ON. They finally released a legit trailer, and it's SO tantalizing, and now we have to wait a full year from that first glimpse?! That's just cruel.

Eight months is a bloody long time.

How I'm Taking the News: A Photo-Roman in Two Parts

It's Finally Happened

Oddly-named celebrity children are speaking out. First up, Rumer Willis!

"Rumer Willis was taunted by high-school bullies because of her bizarre name.

The daughter of former Hollywood couple Demi Moore and Bruce Willis hated her name, insisting she 'got screwed' by her famous parents' choice."

See, stars? There are repercussions for your bizarre whims. Gwyneth, I'm looking at you...

Sell-Out (n.): see George Lucas

My favorite Metacritic blurbs this morning:

"The Clone Wars is the last nail in a coffin that has been propped up ever since George Lucas sold his creative soul in the quest for a few more pieces of gold." - James Berardinelli, ReelViews

"At what point might animators be arrested for doing work so ugly it causes aesthetic blindness in millions of younglings?" - Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

"The whole thing feels like a continuation of Lucas' experiments to see how much sh-- his dwindling supporters will take before finally saying "enough" and moving on to adult pursuits." - Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat

Don't mistake this next statement as joking or affectionate:

George Lucas, you filthy, filthy whore.

Happy Birthday, Hitch!

On August 13, 1899...

...the Master was born.

And cinema could never know what was about to hit it.

So, grab your binoculars, dial "M" for murder, outrun that crop duster, put on your best necktie, do whatever strikes your fancy to celebrate the life and career of Sir Alfred.

You can even take a shower...if you dare.

She's Got It, Dude

I unearthed a link of this random news article from a month or so back about Jonathan Levine's film The Wackness and the on-screen sexual chemistry between Sir Ben Kingsley...and Mary-Kate Olsen. Bizarre pairing, n'est-ce pas? Well, even weirder than the mere idea of them acting opposite each other, they make out.

From the article: "He's a screen legend – heck, he's even been knighted! But Sir Ben Kingsley isn't above a little kiss-and-tell when it comes to his on-screen smooch with 22-year-old Mary-Kate Olsen in The Wackness. 'She was completely in charge,' the actor, 64, tells PEOPLE of their enthusiastic make-out scene in a telephone booth."

And weirder still...it's kind of hot.

Aww, little Michelle Tanner's all grown up and kissing knighted British actors.