Jolie-Pitt Money Zoned for War
The Jolie-Pitt Foundation’s good intentions are once again pointed eastward.
The nonprofit set up to dole out the namesake thespian couple’s excess dough to good causes has made a $1 million contribution to a handful of groups benefiting kids affected by the war in Iraq.
Half the hefty sum will be spread out among three education and relief organizations in the embattled Middle East nation, according to the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which said that nearly 5,700 kids will benefit from the donation.
The other $500,000 will go to the U.S.’ Armed Services YMCA Operation Hero Program, which provides tutoring and counseling for children who have a parent stationed overseas or have lost a parent in the fighting.
Meanwhile, the clothes off of Angelina’s back are slowly doing their part to help hurricane victims on these shores.
The current bid for the zip-up leather jacket Jolie wore in her new action flick Wanted stands at $1,500 on CharityFolks.com, with all proceeds going to the Morgan Freeman-championed Plan!t Now fund.
“Angelina was nice enough to donate the original jacket she wore and used in one of the coolest scenes of the movie,” Charity Folks founder Kelly Fiore told News Wednesday. “We have big expectations. Last time, she donated jewelry she wore to the Golden Globes, and it sold for $20,000.”
But considering it’s summer and not exactly leather-jacket weather, it makes sense that a round of golf with Freeman is currently going for $5,000 and four tickets to The Country Girl on Broadway, in which the mellifluous-voiced actor is making a rare theatrical appearance, are valued at $2,500.
And, Fiore said, friends of Freeman’s such as Ben Affleck, Alice Cooper and Sheryl Crow are set to give a little piece of their heartsor possessions, at leastas well. Plus, memorabilia from the upcoming Batman sequel The Dark Knight will be on the block soon.
“Morgan’s friends have been stepping up and saying, ’I want to donate!’” Fiore said. “We are still in the brainstorming phase, thinking of cool movie memorabilia that fans will love.”
Additional reporting by Whitney English
30 Days: 30 Days in a Wheelchair
Being confined to a wheelchair is one of my own personal worst fears. Whenever I see someone in a wheelchair, I can’t help but selfishly imagine how much it would suck for me. My mind immediately starts listing all the things I wouldn’t be able to do or at least do without any difficulty. For this reason, I was very interested in this week’s episode.
As with most episodes, Spurlock makes this one about more than just a pro football player in a wheelchair. He manages to point out that the issues of stem cell research, the war in Iraq and equal rights for the differently-abled are all connected.
I’m not a football fan so Ray Crockett was unknown to me. That isn’t to say I wasn’t impressed by his accomplishments as an athlete and a father. Not to mention the fact that he witnessed fellow athlete, Mike Utley, sustain an injury that did, in fact, paralyze him from the chest down.
One of the first things we “learn,” along with Ray, is that spinal injuries can happen to anyone at any time. I’m sure there are jobs or activities that make a person more prone to damaging their spines but the truth is anyone who gets in a car is at risk.
One of the most striking parts of the episode was seeing Crockett struggle to get along in his beautiful estate. The giant shower and raised bed seemed to be more inconvenient now that he is confined to a wheelchair. Also, witnessing Ray watch his sons play basketball outside was very powerful.
Another effect of Ray’s confinement is how his wife, April, has to adjust to the situation. Being well-off, April is used to setting her own schedule and being able to count on Ray for many things. Now, however, she is a full-time, chauffeur/valet/caregiver and much more. It was brilliant how Spurlock so deftly showed us the simple fact that these kinds of injuries have far-reaching repercussions.
Just when you think you have a good understanding of how tough things are, Spurlock brings out the big guns. In Ray’s support group, we meet a man who who became a quadriplegic one month before the birth of his daughter. Seeing his baby standing in front of him, eager to be picked up by him is truly heart breaking.
My favorite part of the experience had to be seeing Ray take part in a wheelchair rugby game. I’ve seen wheelchair basketball before and was amazed at how rough it was but it pales in comparison to what these rugby players do to each other.
When Ray actually takes part in a match, he learns that not all athletes are built the same. While he is certainly in great shape, his upper body strength is far below what it needs to be to keep up. Once again, when I think about how often I avoid getting exercise, it’s all put into perspective.
In my many years of watching TV, I’ve seen a plethora of stories designed to teach me how lucky I am that I can see, walk, hear, talk, breed, vote, etc. However, it takes a guy like Morgan Spurlock to go the extra step and point out the little things that I didn’t even know I was taking for granted.
Generation Kill coming to HBO in July - VIDEO
I remember seeing a promo for Generation Kill very briefly after the series finale of The Wire, but at the time I didn’t think much of it. Which is crazy, really, because the promo clearly states that it’s a new mini-series from the creators of The Wire. I should have been psyched but for whatever reason, I sort of just forgot about it. It’s not like it’s new or anything. David Simon and Ed Burns have been signed on to the project since Februrary of 2007. With the July air-date approaching, I would imagine they’ve been working on it since The Wire wrapped back in September. I feel like we’ve heard nothing about it though. Then last week I was in a Barnes & Noble and I saw the book (same title) that the seven part mini-series is based on. I bought it and read it in about 2 days cover to cover. Holy crap was it good.
Written by Rolling Stone contributing editor Evan Wright, Generation Kill is a firsthand account of the Marines of the First Recon Battalion. Wright rode with them for months starting in March 2003, documenting everything, as they became some of the first soldiers to enter into what has become an endless war in Iraq. The book is easily one of the funniest and scariest things I’ve ever read in my life. It’s superb.
And it makes perfect sense that David Simon was the guy tapped to adapt it for film.
For those that have read it, you’ll know what I mean, but GK reads just like a Simon book; especially Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets or The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood. All three novels are true accounts of reporters just transplanting themselves into these completely unknown territories. By the end, they become part of it in a sense.
The promo for GK looks great (it’s embedded at the end of the post) and based on the few lines you hear, it seems like most of the dialogue has been lifted straight from Wright’s book. Calling this authentic would probably be an understatement, but you have to keep in mind that this is about soldiers in a war that is still going on. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the only other show to ever attempt that was the short-lived FX series Over*There.
Over*There suffered from a lot of problems, especially over-exposure. People were sick of hearing about the war. But that show, which I’m sure was based on some truths, was still fictionalized. Generation Kill is the real deal. Plus, I definitely think it’s going to benefit from being a mini-series. Honestly, I think that’s enough for most people. It goes without saying that the war in Iraq is a very touchy subject still and anything on TV that tries to depict it is rightfully going to be scrutinized from every angle.
As an added little bonus to Wire fans, take a good look at the screenshot from the promo that I put at the top of the post. It’s hard to tell with those Elvis glasses on, but can you tell who that is? It’s James Ransone, better known as Ziggy Sobotka on season 2 of The Wire. He plays Corporal Ray Person, one of the main players in Wright’s account.
The Best and Worst of 2007: Joel’s list
To call 2007 a stellar year of TV would be a mistake, because it was a very bleh year in many respects. Shows that had previously riveted us to our seats made missteps and mistakes. New shows were either mediocre or just unmemorable. A writers’ strike made people anxious and depressed all at once. And the aspects of the TV world that have generated low expectations continued on their merry lowbrow way (I mean, who expected Tila Tequila’s search for love to be anything but a skankfest)?
But in a year of abject mediocrity, some highlights and lowlights poked through. Like last year, I’m going to make up categories instead of doing traditional “Bests” and “Worsts.” It hurts my brain less…
GOODNESS
Best “I told you so!” show: 30 Rock. Like most people who saw last year’s pilot, I thought the show wasn’t all that good. But something about it made me continue to watch. Was it Alec Baldwin’s performance? Probably. But there was something else there, a quality that told me — and a few other patient folks — that if the show was allowed to hit its stride, it could be something special. Now that it’s being hailed as the show with the “most laughs per minute,” and winning awards left and right, I’m happy that I stuck with the show from the beginning. It’s one of the smartest shows on the air, cleverly making fun of everything from product placement to politically-correct network initiatives (I’d love to see David Schwimmer come back as Greenzo) to the war in Iraq. It’s one of the shows I’ll miss the most if the strike continues.
Best “You told me so!” show: Life. I really hated the pilot for this show. Damian Lewis’ sprung-from-prison detective Charlie Crews had too many quirks and tics, and the procedural plots were too standard-grade, to make me think the show could work in the long term. But after reading all the comments of praise that accompanied Rich’s reviews (along with my brother’s glowing reviews themselves), I decided to give the show another chance. And I’m glad I did; Crews’ tics have been toned down, and the mysteries — especially in the episode “Farthingale” — were twisty and interesting to watch. NBC picked it up for a full season; let’s hope that it comes back even if the writers don’t come back until next year.
Best finale that I could hope for, given the circumstances: Gilmore Girls. Amy Sherman-Palladino left the show after the sixth season and blew up the works on her way out. New show-runner David Rosenthal took almost two-thirds of the season cleaning up the mess, giving nothing of the old Gilmore for longtime fans to hold onto. But, the season finale — which was obviously written to double as a series finale, because the chances Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel were coming back were slim at best — tied up loose ends and settled relationships well enough to satisfy even the most ardent fan. Did Luke and Lorelai get married? No. But there was enough of a “things are going to work out” vibe as the series concluded that it left me more satisfied than I could have imagined at the beginning of the season.
Best job of living up to expectations: Pushing Daisies. Unlike 2006’s most-anticipated shows — Studio 60, The Nine — PD followed up its spectacular pilot with episodes that deftly balanced the sweet and sticky (a duet of “Birdhouse In Your Soul,” anyone?) with the dark and twisted (bodies buried in snowmen, cheating spouses, dirty medical examiners). There were a few missteps, including the revelation at the end of the last pre-strike episode, but those offenses were minor. Let’s hope Bryan Fuller finally has a hit on his hands.
Best recovery from an awful season: Scrubs. Season six of the veteran comedy was awkward and — for the first fifteen or so episodes — not particularly funny. But, starting with the musical episode, Bill Lawrence and company ended on… well, I can’t call it a strong note, since they almost threw viewers back into a J.D. / Elliot coupling, but at least the episodes were entertaining. Season seven has started off well, mainly because the zaniness factor has been ratcheted back and we’re getting reacquainted with the characters again. Opinions on the season have been decidely mixed, but after last year’s stumbles, I welcome what Lawrence has done this year. Hopefully we’ll get a final episode.
Honorable mentions: Stephen Colbert’s entire year, but especially the “WristStrong” initiative; the improvement of the new correspondents on The Daily Show; The Simpsons Movie (it’s so strongly connected to TV, I decided to include it); The Office (mostly… see below); Scott Baio is 45… and Single (it’s the best of a bad cable reality bunch); It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (especially Charlie’s “Day Man / Night Man” songs); The Riches; Chuck; Reaper (though it fell off a lot after the pilot); the “Showdown” episode of How I Met Your Mother; Drew Carey’s transformation into a damn good game show host.
BADNESS
Best reason why half-hour shows are only a half-hour: The Office’s hour-long episodes. It just seemed like most of the episodes were half-hilarious, half-filler, didn’t it? And the structure seemed to be the same: first half was like a typically-funny Office episode, but in the second half, the writers run out of comedic gas and go for the broad and silly. The fun run, the kidnapping of the pizza delivery kid, Michael driving his car into a lake: all of those plotlines could have been sliced out without anyone missing them. I was very happy when the show went back to a half-hour; I wonder how those episodes will play out in syndication?
Best reason to agree with Dr. Perry Cox: Scrubs’ cantankerous doctor hates Hugh Jackman, and after watching Viva Laughlin, I can start to understand why. What a disaster: bad acting, bad characterizations, bad writing, and a musical gimmick (stars singing along with the soundtrack) that was awkward at best. In a season where networks didn’t pull the trigger as quickly as in the past due to the strike, Laughlin got canned after two episodes (aired over two days). That tells you how bad the rest of the episodes were going to be.
Best job of forcing people to get some sleep: The WGA and the AMPTP. The first casualties of the writers’ strike were the late-night shows, who had to immediately shut down. Without a steady diet of Stewart and Colbert, Letterman and Conan, Leno and Kimmel, etc., the pickings on TV were pretty slim. Seinfeld reruns? Two and a Half Men? Family Guy? Why bother when all of that is on DVD? Local news? Too much fluff and shocked weathermen. Even without writers, the recent return of the late-night slate is a welcome sight, even though I’m not sure what it’ll do to help or hurt the writers’ cause.
Best way to make the public hate a show before it ever airs: Play promos for it repeatedly during a sporting event. FOX has been a culprit in the past — who can forget Ron Silver bellowing “Her father is the district attorney!” all through the baseball playoffs a few years back? — but TBS’ constant promotion of Frank TV during this year’s Division Series and NLCS bordered on viewer abuse. Poor Frank Caliendo… I think those three promos of him doing his Al Pacino, George W. Bush, and John Madden impressions are what his vision of hell looks like. It sure wasn’t pleasant for the rest of us.
Best way to piss off loyal viewers: Kill off your main character, make her go through limbo and profess that it’s the most unique plot ever written, then bring her back to life without any residual damages. Hook up two characters that previously said that they never saw each other “that way.” Take your strongest and most likable character and spin her off into a show that makes her look like an indecisive wimp. All of that happened this year with Grey’s Anatomy and it’s spin-off, Private Practice. Shonda Rhimes was just too in love with her characters this year to realize she was going down a bunch of bad plot roads. From what I’ve heard, she’s fixed some of what she wrought in the 2006-07 season (Izzie and George are broken up, for instance), but I wouldn’t know, since I gave up on the show — one I watched since day one — last May.
Dishonorable mentions: ESPN’s continuing destruction of Monday Night Football; Big Shots; Cavemen’s original, racial-joke-laden pilot; the news channels’ blanket coverage of Anna Nicole Smith’s death; the entry of Sanjaya into my consciousness even though I don’t watch American Idol; Larry King asking Jerry Seinfeld if his series was cancelled; Seinfeld’s torturous Bee Movie promotion; Michelle Ryan’s wooden acting on Bionic Woman; Viva Laughlin (it was so bad I had to mention it again).