Eastwood and Spike Go to War!
Clint Eastwood and Spike Lee are bickering, and we’d suggest the directors take the high road but they might just use it to get a better shot at each other.
To catch up: At the Cannes film festival last month, Lee said if reporters “had any balls” they’d ask Eastwood why he didn’t include any African Americans in his films based on the battle of Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. Aside from suggestion that Cannes reporters are eunuchs, Lee was also promoting his own war film, Miracle at St. Anna.
Eastwood responded that he was being historically accurate about the make up of the soldiers who raised the flag on the island, and added that “A guy like him should shut his face.” Sounding stung by Lee’s criticism, Eastwood, whose next film The Human Factor is about South African rugby and Nelson Mandela, also added, “Yeah, I’m not going to make Nelson Mandela a white guy.”
Lee’s latest salvo was a mixture of sugar, saying Eastwood is “a great director,” and spice, saying Eastwood sounds like “an angry old man.” Despite adding that “we’re not on a plantation,” Lee announced he was going to end the feud with “peace and love.”
Cool. So, does this mean he’s going to apologize to the Cannes reporters, too? They’re a pretty sensitive bunch.
In any case, what do you think? Is Spike right? Or Clint? Or should they both get back to making movies and stop insulting each other?
Eastwood and Spike Go to War!
Clint Eastwood and Spike Lee are bickering, and we’d suggest the directors take the high road but they might just use it to get a better shot at each other.
To catch up: At the Cannes film festival last month, Lee said if reporters “had any balls” they’d ask Eastwood why he didn’t include any African Americans in his films based on the battle of Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. Aside from suggestion that Cannes reporters are eunuchs, Lee was also promoting his own war film, Miracle at St. Anna.
Eastwood responded that he was being historically accurate about the make up of the soldiers who raised the flag on the island, and added that “A guy like him should shut his face.” Sounding stung by Lee’s criticism, Eastwood, whose next film The Human Factor is about South African rugby and Nelson Mandela, also added, “Yeah, I’m not going to make Nelson Mandela a white guy.”
Lee’s latest salvo was a mixture of sugar, saying Eastwood is “a great director,” and spice, saying Eastwood sounds like “an angry old man.” Despite adding that “we’re not on a plantation,” Lee announced he was going to end the feud with “peace and love.”
Cool. So, does this mean he’s going to apologize to the Cannes reporters, too? They’re a pretty sensitive bunch.
In any case, what do you think? Is Spike right? Or Clint? Or should they both get back to making movies and stop insulting each other?
Netflix’s First Set-Top Box
Netflix has released the first set top box which will allow you to live-stream movies to your television on demand. The first unit is produced by Roku for only $99, and all you need is a netflix subscription to use it. I think I’m more excited about this device than anyone else I know. It’s clearly the future of how we’re going to watch movies. And while the Roku box has a lot of things right: The price, HDMI output, standard video quality, Wifi connectivity, and easy set-up/installation, it is still appears to be an early product.
The problems: Only 10,000 of the 100,000 DVDs are available for instant stream. That’s not to say there aren’t some great selections. Here is a sampling that Roku lists on their website:
- 30 Rock (2007; TV)
- The Good German (2006)
- La Vie en Rose (2007)
- Weeds (2006; TV)
- Absolute Power (1997)
- Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
- Heroes (2007; TV)
- Letters from Iwo Jima (2007)
- Blade Runner (1982)
- The Office (2006; TV)
- 2 Days in Paris (2007)
- Mean Girls (2004)
- The Sum of All Fears (2002)
- Misery (1990)
- The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
For the most part it seems like classic catalog titles and recent independent/mini-major releases. There is probably enough to keep me going for years. Especially their television show selection. And the offered selection is always growing.
The biggest problem I have with the unit is that it doesn’t allow you to choose a movie directly from the set-top box. You need to first go to your netflix account on a computer and add the instant watch titles to your netflix queue. And apparently you can have over 500 titles in your instant watch queue to choose from while sitting on your couch. But having to first add the selections to your account on the website is one extra set which seems unnecessary. I wonder if they have to do this to get around On demand exclusivity deals.
But imagine the possibilities. Imagine having 50,000 movies and tv shows to choose from. Imagine when a big company like Apple or Sony makes a set-top box for the service, how much better the functionality could be. Basically, imagine being able to rent a netflix movie when you want, and watch it instantly from the comfort of your couch, for not one cent more than your standard netflix description. It’s going to happen, but this unit is clearly for the early adopter (a group I usually belong to). And for only $100, it’s not a huge investment.
Find out more on Roku.com.
The Favorite Movies of the Presidential Candidates
We’re not a political site, so I won’t bore you with the important issues involved in the upcoming 2008 elections. Instead we have at some real hard facts which might help you decide who to vote for. That’s right, we’re taking a look at the leading candidates favorite movies.
H
illary Clinton (D-New York)
Favorite Movies: The Wizard of Oz (“When I was much younger [it] was my favorite movie. I just loved imagining myself being there with Dorothy and being part of that great adventure she had.”), Casablanca (”When I was in college and law school…””I watched it I don’t know how many times. It was always so much fun. By the time we watched it over and over again, we were actually reciting the dialogue.”) Out of Africa (recent years).
Favorite Actors: Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.
B
arack Obama (D-Illinois)
Favorite Movies: The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II and Lawrence of Arabia
Favorite Actors: Jimmy Stewart, Spencer Tracy, Humphrey Bogart, Meryl Streep, Susan Sarandon and Angela Bassett.
J
ohn McCain (R-Arizona)
Favorite Movies: Viva Zapata, Letters from Iwo Jima and Some Like it Hot.
Favorite Actors: Marlon Brando, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe.
Recent Movies: The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Identity, Mission: Impossible, (”I like those kinds of things, the car chases”) The Departed, (”It’s pretty rough, but I kind of liked it. Nicholson plays too much Nicholson”) and Syriana (”I enjoyed ‘Syriana,’ although a lot of people didn’t”).
Discuss: Isn’t it strange that McCain was the only candidate with a movie made in the last 20 years?