Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Negative/Charlie Hoss/Gas/Depp & Mann/Brewers

Test results have come up negative on me being pregnant. The leg cramp was just a "Charlie Horse".

It is speculated that the term Charlie Horse comes from Charley "Old Hoss" Radbourn who suffered leg cramps through out his career which lasted from 1880 to 1891.

It seems in the late 1800's they played baseball indoors, sometimes in a hallway and sometimes in the living room. Here is an action photo of a traffic play as Radbourn slides safely just missing the gentle head touch tag of a teammate.
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Hurricane Dolly is about to hit the coast but no one really cares. Gas prices SHOULD not increase as it does not pose any real threat to oil rigs (not that that would be a reason to NOT raise prices).

Oil dropped again yesterday by another $4 as seems people are driving less and investors are pulling money out of the Oil market. That's been the problem lately, investors. Not really supply and demand but people investing. Now they are leaving the oil market, taking their money and running. The price support is no longer there.

For the first time since January gas prices have fallen two weeks in a row.
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Here is an article from the LA Times

Depp as Dillinger: Mann kills on 'Public Enemies'

When I saw producer Kevin Misher painfully limping into Chaya Brasserie for lunch this week, having just returned from spending months in Chicago producing "Public Enemies," the upcoming Michael Mann 1930s gangster movie, I have to admit that my first thought was: "Oh no, Mann must've been using live ammunition again." Anybody who's ever worked on a Michael Mann film has stories to tell that sound like tall tales, at least until you spend some time on his sets and see for yourself that pretty much anything can happen when Mann has a full head of steam.

Outside of James Cameron and perhaps David Fincher, no one is as much of a hard-headed perfectionist as Mann, who has a special zeal for authenticity. When I spent time on his "Ali" set in Miami, he insisted on shooting a scene where Ali first sees Malcolm X at the exact mosque where Malcolm was preaching. He also shot a scene set in the backyard of Ali's Miami home at Ali's real house, even though the backyard was right in the flight pattern of Miami International Airport, meaning a plane flew overhead every 90 seconds, repeatedly drowning out the dialogue. One of the production guys shook his head, grumbling "We didn't have this problem when we shot near LAX with 'Heat.' " Why was that, I asked? "Michael got the flight controllers to reroute LAX traffic to a different runway for a few hours."

Frankly, when I scheduled my lunch with Misher back in May, I thought for sure the producer would end up canceling. "Public Enemies," which stars Johnny Depp as John Dillinger and Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, was slated to finish shooting June 30 to beat the SAG strike deadline. But having seen what happened on Mann's last movie, "Miami Vice," which went endless months over schedule, I figured the odds of Mann being done on time were about as slim as the Dodgers finishing the season with a winning record. And yet, here was Misher, bloodied (he actually hurt his leg in a hiking fall) but unbowed. So how did Misher and Universal Pictures manage to keep Mann on schedule?

Misher says Mann was incredibly focused about finishing on time, no doubt because the filmmaker saw the strike deadline on the horizon, knowing it would wreak havoc if he had to shut down before shooting was completed. That doesn't mean that Mann has lost any of his thirst for authenticity.

"Whenever we could we shot exactly where the events happened--if we could find where Dillinger walked, we shot where he walked," said Misher. "We shot at the Biograph Theater on the very street where Dillinger was killed, so that scene was exactly where the real events happened. All we did was change the facades of the buildings and reverted them back to period. We also shot at the Little Bohemia lodge up in northern Wisconsin, which is the scene of a famous gunfight between the FBI and Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson." Mann even dug up vintage tommy guns that were made in the '30s to be used by the gangsters. When I asked for details, Misher threw up his hands. "You gotta ask Michael," he said. "The guns are his department. He knows all there is to know."

The truly amazing thing, frankly, is that Universal Pictures, having lost tons of moola on "Miami Vice," had the stomach to get back into the ring with Mann a second time around. But like Martin Scorsese, Mann is a great filmmaker who's a magnet for movie stars, so the studio couldn't resist the idea of an action-packed period thriller with Johnny Depp at the top of the bill. As Misher put it: "If you're looking for action, I don't think you'll be disappointed. We've got three bank robberies, two prison breaks and who knows how many shootouts."

Slated for July 1, 2009, "Public Enemies" gives Universal a big summer tentpole movie. But instead of the dumbed-down dreck that decorates most studio summer slates, "Public Enemies" has the opportunity to be a critical success as well. It also boasts a romantic storyline--"La Vie en Rose's" Marion Cotillard has a hefty role in the film as Depp's love interest--that could draw female moviegoers too.

Universal Chairman Marc Shmuger says the studio got revved up when it first read the script, which was written by Ronan Bennett, with a rewrite by Mann and Ann Biderman. "It really felt like the most exciting thing Michael's done in years," said Shmuger. "It's a seminal gangster saga, but it's also a classic doomed lovers story. They meet on the run and you know that they know that the relationship can't last, which makes the film really heart-wrenching. With that combination, well, let's face it, there's just not that many filmmakers in the world besides Michael could do that."

Shmuger admits that it was a tough shoot, but that comes with the territory in Mann Land. "When Sam Fuller said that 'Film is a battleground, love, hate, violence, action, death--in a word, emotion,' he must've been thinking about Michael Mann," Shmuger says. "With every movie, he goes into battle. I'm sure you've heard all the legendary stories about the fallout and casualties. But that's the only way Michael knows how to make movies. And we're willing to take the bet that out of that commitment and passion will come a great movie."
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OH YEA - who is pumped.
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Speaking of movies.

Many of you are gaa gaa over The Dark Knight and I can't wait to see it. However the superhero movie I'm interested in is The Watchmen.

This was another adult Graphic Novel written by Alan Moore (V for Vendetta, From Hell) and the only graphic novel to win a Hugo Award, and is also the only graphic novel to appear on Time Magazine's 2005 list of "the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present."

Watchmen depicts superheroes as real people who must confront ethical and personal issues, who struggle with neuroses and failings, and who—with one notable exception—lack anything recognizable as super powers.

I'm not sure how this will come over in movie form and if people will be interested in watching this style of movie but it was a great read.
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And the Brewers are the water cooler talk in these here parts!

This is how the race looks. The Brewer's are the thin blue line and the Cubs are the thick blue with red dots. - Who has momentum ????


Yea baby!!! Bring It!
Rod

25 comments:

  1. Great article!! YEAH!! PUMPED for next summer's release! What I'm really looking forward to is the dvd with the "extras" that always have the behind the scenes bloopers, insights, interviews. :)

    Go Brewers! I even watched a game the other night!

    Sorry for no comments yesterday. I spent a good deal of the day rocking back and forth in a ball on the floor, repeating over and over, "Rod is the pregnant man from the Enquirer."

    I'm so glad it's not true. Whew.

    :p

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  2. Bill! (clapclap clap) Hall!

    That's my cheer for Billy Hall. What a guy.

    Watchmen was a great graphic novel. I have to admit, I had to read it three times to really understand the story. C'est tres complique! Billy Crudup = Hoover = Dr. Manhattan

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  3. Woo Hoo! I can't wait until Public Enemies comes out!!!!!!!

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  4. Rod, sorry to hear about the leg cramps.... I know potassium helps me with mine.....

    Is it July 2009 yet?

    I have not seen DK yet.... hopefully this weekend.....

    Happy Hump Day all!

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  5. Take a look at the radar here!!

    http://tinyurl.com/5ad6go

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  6. Is everyone Kurthing tonight or Friday?- hopin' for Friday, 'cause LHL and I have a date- we're headin' down for Concerts on the Square. Thanks Sub-Zero!
    On the Christian Bale thing-I watched the Today Show this a.m., and they say his mom and sis weren't the ones who reported the alleged assault. Probably someone @ the hotel overheard an argument and decided to make "Batman" suffer a bit. I'd like to hear his mom and sis speak publicly about the incident.

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  7. I think we're doing Kurth Friday night this week... :)

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  8. I'm working both tonight and Friday this week, so I can't do either. :( Have fun at the Concert on the Square, Kris and LHL! :)

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  9. Friday Night is sounding good. i have to ask LHL if his Sub Zeros can get WARMER then 45.

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  10. no Kurth for us tonight, not sure about Friday either. We are having a rummage sale.

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  11. Rod,
    How much warmer? I can make it go as high as 54° with a tweak to the software.

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  12. Nevermind - it seems 68 is the perfect temp and that is our basement temp!

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  13. Shaken, is your new avatar taken in a fighter jet? From your storied military career? Cooooooooooooooooooool!!

    -Mary

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  14. I am SO ready for this movie! I can't wait! That was a great arcticle.

    I too am wanting to see Dark Knight, but it will have to wait for a bit. Everyone has already told me what happens, so that's a bummer LOL

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  15. I had added more info to my blog in regards to the con artist who worked on our kitchen remodel. If anyone reading this blog needs work done on their home because of flood damage please do not hire the man I have listed on my blog. I don't want to see him take advantage of anyone else. Especially anyone who has suffered enough with the flooding. It's now my husband and my mission to stop this man from hurting another family. So please spread the word to avoid this man because bad word travels fast. Thank you.

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  16. Hi friends!
    Good news--I was offered the position at Hospice Care, Inc. Yahoo!!!

    Yesterday I was on a field trip with the day care to Star Cinema. I turned to my co-worker, pointed at the big screen and said, "Just think, next year my husband will be right up there!" It gives me chills just thinking about it. (Of course they always do have the AC cranked at the movie theatre.) I am going to have to have a party when it comes out.

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  17. Wonderful article! I cannot wait
    until the movie is released! I have a feeling there will be a LOT of parties in Wisconsin when it is!! If you need some beer for your party Moviestarwife; I know a fellow who's been making LOTS!! Don't think I can make Kurth's this Friday; but if anything changes, I'll try to stop in. Would love to see everyone again!

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  18. Congrats Movie Star Wife. Good luck on your new position. And it will be so cool to see your husband on the big screen.

    Rod-I enjoyed your blog as always!

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  19. Johnny Depp is #2 on Forbes Magazines Best Paid Actors...

    "Coming in second on the list is Pirates of the Caribbean star Johnny Depp, an actor who is known to vacillate between commercial work and artier fare. He still managed to pull down $72 million this year."

    "In this case, the bold-faced star followed up his three turns as Captain Jack Sparrow in Disney's $2.76 billion "Pirates" franchise with the Stephen Sondheim serial-killer musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Though the latter hardly set box office records, it did earn Depp an Oscar nomination."

    Johnny Depp<"http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/collections/gallery/901/forbes-magazines-best-paid-actors#photo2"

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  20. super awesome Dawn! I am so proud of you!

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  21. Whats up with subscribing to peoples blogs - a "FEATURE"? glitch?

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  22. i loved that article! it made me so excited all over again. yesterday me and cassie went to see the dark knight, and when we saw the previews for terminator 4 (which comes out in SUMMER 09 as well), we just about died in the theater. and i find it funny how many people have been affected by the movie. i trained a girl at OCB today who lives in menominee, which is billie frechette's hometown. her brother was eating lunch in a fedora one day, and a movie person came up to him and offered him 500-1000 dollars to walk thru a door! i was so excited for her! i can hardly wait for the previews much less the entire movie!

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