The New Harry Potter

I can not believe how long it has taken me to post this.
Anyway earlier in the year I went to a reading by the author Stephanie Myer in Toronto.
It was the craziest reading I have ever been to (writing this I even myself can not believe this actually happened). There were approximately 2 thousand people. I kid you not. She signed every single book. I have read the first of the series and thought it was reasonable. The thing is this does not happen for every teen author reading. The only case I think it has happened is...J.K. Rowling
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Still Sick + A short Wensday on Thursday

i thought I would do a small post saying that I am still super sick so I will not be posting AT ALL pretty much over the next few days
Wizard: not much interesting
Mighty Avengers: I felt a large amount having seen this before. Just okay
Madman: Great and shocking
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HEATH LEDGER IS DEAD UPDATE: death, directing and the editing room

So sad..but interesting
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Charisma as Natural as Gravity
By Christopher Nolan | NEWSWEEK
Feb 4, 2008 Issue | Updated: 3:21 p.m. ET Jan 26, 2008


Heath Ledger, 28, Actor

Best known for his haunting, Oscar-nominated performance as Ennis Del Mar, one of the gay cowboys in 2005 ' s "Brokeback Mountain," Ledger was a massive young talent on the cusp of greatness when he died last week in New York. The native Australian, who is survived by his 2-year-old daughter, Matilda, had recently finished work on this summer's "Batman" sequel, "The Dark Knight," in which he plays a villain, the Joker. Christopher Nolan, the film's director, shared these memories:

One night, as I'm standing on LaSalle Street in Chicago, trying to line up a shot for "The Dark Knight," a production assistant skateboards into my line of sight. Silently, I curse the moment that Heath first skated onto our set in full character makeup. I'd fretted about the reaction of Batman fans to a skateboarding Joker, but the actual result was a proliferation of skateboards among the younger crew members. If you'd asked those kids why they had chosen to bring their boards to work, they would have answered honestly that they didn't know. That's real charisma—as invisible and natural as gravity. That's what Heath had.

Heath was bursting with creativity. It was in his every gesture. He once told me that he liked to wait between jobs until he was creatively hungry. Until he needed it again. He brought that attitude to our set every day. There aren't many actors who can make you feel ashamed of how often you complain about doing the best job in the world. Heath was one of them.

One time he and another actor were shooting a complex scene. We had two days to shoot it, and at the end of the first day, they'd really found something and Heath was worried that he might not have it if we stopped. He wanted to carry on and finish. It's tough to ask the crew to work late when we all know there's plenty of time to finish the next day. But everyone seemed to understand that Heath had something special and that we had to capture it before it disappeared. Months later, I learned that as Heath left the set that night, he quietly thanked each crew member for working late. Quietly. Not trying to make a point, just grateful for the chance to create that they'd given him.

Those nights on the streets of Chicago were filled with stunts. These can be boring times for an actor, but Heath was fascinated, eagerly accepting our invitation to ride in the camera car as we chased vehicles through movie traffic—not just for the thrill ride, but to be a part of it. Of everything. He'd brought his laptop along in the car, and we had a high-speed screening of two of his works-in-progress: short films he'd made that were exciting and haunting. Their exuberance made me feel jaded and leaden. I've never felt as old as I did watching Heath explore his talents. That night I made him an offer—knowing he wouldn't take me up on it—that he should feel free to come by the set when he had a night off so he could see what we were up to.

When you get into the edit suite after shooting a movie, you feel a responsibility to an actor who has trusted you, and Heath gave us everything. As we started my cut, I would wonder about each take we chose, each trim we made. I would visualize the screening where we'd have to show him the finished film—sitting three or four rows behind him, watching the movements of his head for clues to what he was thinking about what we'd done with all that he'd given us. Now that screening will never be real. I see him every day in my edit suite. I study his face, his voice. And I miss him terribly.

Back on LaSalle Street, I turn to my assistant director and I tell him to clear the skateboarding kid out of my line of sight when I realize—it's Heath, woolly hat pulled low over his eyes, here on his night off to take me up on my offer. I can't help but smile.

I'm Back

I'm Back
I will be posting less though largely because I am ill
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Spelling

Sorry about spelling mistakes in the blog
I write the blog in approximately 30 seconds per entry and editing
so there are occasional mistakes
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Heath Ledger is Dead: Time to make some money

From Blog@Newsarama Well, he is dead… Friday January 25, 2008, 3:22 pm …Let the Heath Ledger speculator boom begin: Wizard sell their Heath Ledger Joker-covered magazine for $31 on eBay. Posted by Graeme McMillan in News & Views, Pop Culture [ Permalink ] [ is dead...">9 Comments ] Am I the only one to say..ewww.

Note: The title is not intended rudely I am simply referencing the awfulness contained shortly thereafter
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Yet Another Blog-Cayton

I am following Meg Cabot's example and taking a Blog-Cayton
I should be back by Monday or Sooner
Bye,
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An Excerpt from LOST THE MUSICAL

Chorus: We are lost
but at what cost
hey just tossed
us off the plane
Dying man: wheres my brain
Chorus: it's so hot
Great scott
what's next in the plot

The Daily Pitch

Marco Polo's Bros
in
The Wrath of Khan
or Lost
Marco Polo's brothers are lost and meet the great khan

Back to the Future was right

from http://movies.go.com/moviesproxy/tipster?id=937301
Buzz & Woody in 3-D
With more and more theaters becoming 3-D-friendly, 2009 seems to be the year the format will take off — after only 50 years. Disney has just announced plans to re-release the original Toy Story in 3-D in October 2009, followed by Toy Story 2 in Feb. 2010 and leading up to the 3-D debut of a Toy Story 3 in June 2010. Other upcoming Disney releases getting the 3-D treatment: Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert; the animated animal comedy Bolt; Robert Zemeckis's performance capture version of A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey and Michael J. Fox; Tim Burton's Frankenweenie; and Burton's live action/performance capture hybrid Alice in Wonderland. Meanwhile, other studios are getting in on the action in 2009/2010, too, including James Cameron's Avatar, DreamWorks' Monsters vs. Aliens and How to Train Your Dragon next year, followed by Shrek Goes Fourth in 2010. DreamWorks honcho Jeffrey Katzenberg says all future animated projects from his studio will be in 3-D.
I can't wait.
in other news
from http://www.playbill.com/news/article/114575.html
Ugly Betty" Star Dale is New King Arthur in London Spamalot

By John Nathan
25 Jan 2008

Alan Dale
photo by ABC/Andrew Eccles

The London production of Monty Python's Spamalot will have a new King Arthur. Beginning March 3 Alan Dale, who is best known as the publishing mogul Bradford Meade in the hit TV show "Ugly Betty," will succeed Peter Davison.

The hit musical, which transferred to the West End's Palace Theatre in October 2006, opened with Tim Curry, who created the role of King Arthur in the original Broadway production.

As with the New York version, Curry handed the role over to Simon Russell Beale. Dale's big and small screen credits include "The West Wing," "The X-Files" and "ER." Later this year he will be seen in Spielberg's newest Indiana Jones movie "The Kingdom of the Skull."

When Dale begins his run, he will be joining the winner of Swedish reality TV show "West End Star," who on Feb. 9 takes over from Marin Mazzie as The Lady of the Lake. The TV show's finale will be broadcast in February.

Directed by Mike Nichols (Tony-winning productions of Barefoot in the Park, Luv, The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, The Prisoner of Second Avenue and The Real Thing), Spamalot won the Tony Award for Best Musical of 2005 plus the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards in the same category.

Eric Idle based the musical's book on the 1975 film "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," the screenplay for which Idle wrote with fellow Pythons Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.

The show continues to play the Shubert Theatre, where it opened on March 17, 2005. There is also a production at the Las Vegas Wynn, and an Australian version opened last November in Meblourne.

The London production is booking until Sept. 27, 2008. For more information, call (0)870 890 0142.

Bradford Mead The Song and Dance man. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
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DO NOT WATCH part 1: Click

Welcome to our new series DO NOT WATCH:
First up Adam Sander's Click. This movie was the worst movie I have ever watched. DO NOT rent it, buy it even borrow it. It is that bad. I and the five other people I viewed it with all booed at the end
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GLADD is not glad about Joker

From Imdb: Gay Activists Blast Radio Host Who Mocked Ledger's Death

A U.S. radio host who mocked Heath Ledger's death live on air a few hours after his passing has been slammed by gay activists. During his Tuesday show, Fox News Radio presenter John Gibson played an audio clip from the movie Brokeback Mountain in which Jake Gyllenhaal's character says to Ledger's, "I wish I knew how to quit you." Gibson then told his listeners, "Well, he found out how to quit you." Later in the broadcast, Gibson played another Brokeback Mountain clip, this time of Ledger's character saying, "We're dead." The host then mockingly repeated, "We're dead," before playing the clip again. Gibson, who is on record as criticizing Brokeback Mountain as a "gay agenda movie," went on to label Ledger a "weirdo" who had "a serious drug problem" and speculated as to reasons why the actor may have taken his own life. Ledger, who was found dead in his New York apartment on Tuesday, is not thought to have committed suicide, according to authorities and his family. Rashad Robinson, a spokesman for The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), says, "Gibson's remarks are vulgar and disgusting. It's sickening that Gibson would exploit Heath Ledger's tragic death to promote such hurtful intolerance. And to do so at a time when family and friends are grieving shows a level of insensitivity that is beyond the pale." On his Wednesday show, Gibson refused to apologize for his comments, explaining they were just "a little Brokeback Mountain joke" and there is "no point in passing up a good joke."

The Good, The Bad and the Betty

The Good
The Bad
and The Betty
Last night I watched a tv show called Ugly Betty. Here I will break down my thoughts in 3 simple categories
The Good: The Gene Simmons Plot line (huge laughter during the singing part and when Mark goes sappy)), Willamina plot line (Vanessa Williams has to be my favorite actor on the show, sorry)
The Bad: The Sappiness and the book plot line
The Betty: Lots of Betty but only in one unpleasant plotline
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another thought on my kid could paint that

In the film one of the interviewees says they like the art because it doesn't say f*** you. maybe that is why it matters whether or not she does the art. Because if she doesn't it is a bigger middle finger than any of the ones in the film
below is a video from her website that supposedly shows the compete painting process
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Funny

From Empire Online (I thought this was funny)
Also disappointing is Morgan Spurlock's Where In The World Is Osama Bin Laden?, an attempt to track down the super-terrorist that, er, doesn't actually try very hard to track down the super-terrorist at all. It's amiable enough, with a brilliant opening salvo of dancing Osamas, but far better is a Spurlock-style investigation of steroids in sport, titled Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Ostensibly about the use of anabolics, director Chris Bell's busy, energetic film finally reveals itself as a study of the American dream and the desperation to win at all costs.

Sweeny Todd

I saw the film of Sweeney Todd recently and it was quite good. I would have preferred less violence but the score made up for it. It is ok for younger viewers if they can close their eyes.
A READER

ANOTHER UPDATE: Heath Ledger is Dead

from IMDB
Investigation Into Ledger's Death Continues
What is the truth

Police investigating the death of actor Heath Ledger have found a rolled-up $20 bill in his apartment, suggesting the late actor was a hard drug user. The Brokeback Mountain star, 28, was found dead in the bedroom of his New York home on Tuesday afternoon. The $20 bill will now be tested by scientists, although police said no drug residue was visible on it and refused to comment on speculation that the bill was used to snort cocaine. An autopsy carried out on Wednesday failed to reveal how Ledger died, although police believe his death is drug-related as sleeping pills were found strewn around his apartment. No illegal drugs were found. Officials will now have to wait for the results of a series of toxicology tests which may hold further clues into what caused the 28-year-old's death. A spokesman for the medical examiner assigned to the case insists it may take up to 10 days to conclude their investigation. Meanwhile, Australian Ledger's body has been released to a New York funeral home.

Nicholson Warned Ledger About Joker Role

I thought this one was interesting. Batman killed the joker.

Jack Nicholson has hinted he warned tragic Heath Ledger against taking on the role of The Joker in the new Batman film. Ledger, 28 - who was declared dead at 3:30pm at his Manhattan apartment on Tuesday - publicly declared himself exhausted and sleep deprived in November following the grueling shoot for The Dark Knight. He also revealed in an interview with the New York Times he'd resorted to taking sleeping pills - an overdose of which is believed to be the cause of his death - in a desperate bid to catch up on rest. And Nicholson, who famously portrayed the menacing Joker in Tim Burton's 1989 movie Batman, implied to the waiting crowd outside plush London restaurant The Wolesley on Tuesday night he spoke to Ledger about his role in The Dark Knight - and warned him about the pitfalls of taking on such a demanding challenge. When asked by the London crowds for his reaction to Ledger's untimely demise, a defeated Nicholson simply replied, "I told him so." Batman Begins prequel The Dark Knight is due to be released in July.
And Terry Gilliam's film was canceled. Will he ever have any luck

Writers Guild News

THE LATEST WORD from the WGA website

1/22/08 On Wednesday, January 23, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers will begin informal discussions to determine if there is a basis for both parties to return to formal negotiations. Both the AMPTP and the WGA have agreed to make no public comments about the informal discussions until those discussions have concluded. Will we get our t.v. and movies back. To be continued

the question of the press

I recently watched a film called My Kid Could Paint That. The viewer who I watched it with thought that 60 minutes was horrible for what it did in the movie. I personally think it is the family's fault for starting this I mean I know they needed money but have a little respect for yourselves. I don't think the movie was the fault of the press I think it was everyone's fault
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Wendsday on Thursday

This is my first comic book review post:
The Amazing Spider-Man: Good. Last part in the first good arc in years.
Sabrina: Sabrina the Teenage *itch
She Hulk: or let's have the most obvious twist in the history of comic books, PEOPLE HE DIDN'T EVAN SAY THEY WERE LYING
Damage Control: Best of the bunch I'm sorry to say.
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Heaven Looks A Lot Like The Mall

I just finished reading a book, Heaven Looks a Lot Like The Mall. It was a very good book. it described someone's life in purchases at the mall. Needless to say I loved it
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My Kid Could Paint That

The film My Kid Could Paint That is one of the best documentaries I have seen. It was so touching I almost cried. I actually think that she painted the paintings. But no-one knows except her. So who am I to say.
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Boy Toy Reccomendation

I would like to recommend a book called Boy Toy. Yes I know it sounds funny but get over it, you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Boy Toy tells the story of a boy who is sexually abused by his teacher. Don’t think this is one of these annoying issue books that can be frustratingly weepy. This is a great book about human nature. You Simply MUST read this book. After you are done reading it write if you agree

Is Ringo a Diva

From IMDB: Ringo Walks Out of 'Regis and Kelly'
Suggesting that being a 67-year-old former Beatle no longer carries the cachet that it once did, the producers of Live With Regis and Kelly on Tuesday refused to allow Ringo Starr to perform a song from his new album, Liverpool 8, unless he cut it to less than three minutes. Starr's publicist, Elizabeth Freund, told the Associated Press Tuesday that the drummer/singer walked out of the studio after the show's producers refused to compromise by cutting back the chat time on the program. A spokeswoman for Regis and Kelly said that Starr had been informed of the time requirement for the song when he was booked last November.
Who tells the truth. Regis or Ringo. I don't see why Ringo didn't just do the talking and had to sing. But who am I to say.
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UPDATE: Heath Ledger Dead

I came across a little bit more about what happened with Heath Ledger's death

Heath Ledger Autopsy Inconclusive

Source: The Associated Press

January 23, 2008

An autopsy on Heath Ledger was inconclusive, and more tests are needed, the medical examiner's office said Wednesday, a day after the 28-year-old actor was found dead with sleeping pills nearby.

It will take about 10 days to complete the investigation, said Ellen Borakove, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner.

Earlier, police said the death was caused by a possible drug overdose and appeared to be accidental.

and most interesting from IMDB
Ledger Death Poses Problems for Warner Bros.

The death of Heath Ledger on Tuesday is likely to pose a considerable marketing problem for Warner Bros., which is due to release the Batman movie The Dark Knight on July 18, in which Ledger plays The Joker. Daily Variety pointed out that one of the first posters to be released in advance of the film's opening shows Ledger as The Joker drawing a clown's smile on a mirror with lipstick and the words, "Why So Serious?" A studio insider told the trade publication: "The Joker character is dealing with chaos and life and death and a lot of dark themes. ... Everyone is going to interpret every line out of his mouth in a different way now." Meanwhile, original reports by New York police that Ledger died of a probable drug overdose were revised. An NYPD spokesman said late Tuesday that no illegal drugs were found in his apartment, although prescription sleeping pills were found near his bed. Meanwhile, Editor & Publisher commented today (Wednesday), "If you watched the story of Heath Ledger's death explode chaotically across the Internet, with facts, errors, inconsistencies and confusions flying every which way, you may have concluded that in the new digital media's race to break stories in minutes, accuracy has been left in the dust." It warned that while in the past, journalists had hours to vet and craft a story, reporting now often "unfolds in real time."

Comments: Who of you really want to see a movie starring a dead man. Please comment

AI: ARTIFICIAL INTELLEGENCE or MY THOUGHTS ON AMERICAN IDOL

I think that if anyone thinks AI is real than thy need to do 2 things
Read Chart Throb by Ben Elton
visit Votefortheworst.com
but with that said I think that the biggest problem with the show is that none of the singers can sing half HALF as well as the singers you will find on Broadway
BOOK reader

Heath Ledger is Dead

Boy did I not see that coming. His final role will be as the Joker. RIP
from IMDB (with my notes):
Actor Heath Ledger Found Dead
Actor Heath Ledger was found dead at a Manhattan apartment Tuesday afternoon in what appeared to be a possible drug-related death I think it is sad that now so much of Hollywood is taking drugs; he was 28 that is very young. The actor was discovered in one of the SoHo apartment's bedrooms at 3:31 p.m., when a masseuse arrived for a scheduled appointment and the residence's housekeeper went to inform the actor of the masseuse's arrival. He was found unconscious and unresponsive; the New York Times at first stated that the apartment in question belonged to actress Mary-Kate Olsen, but a publicist for the actress later said that Olsen did not own a unit in the building in which Ledger was found. An initial police report also cited by the New York Times said that foul play was not suspected and that pills had been found near Ledger's body. A native of Australia, Ledger shot to fame as a teen heartthrob in 10 Things I Hate About You before graduating to more adult roles, most notably his Oscar-nominated turn in Brokeback Mountain. Engaged at one time to Brokeback co-star Michelle Williams, the two had a daughter but had split in recent months. Earlier this year, Ledger wrapped filming on the Batman film The Dark Knight, in which he played The Joker; the film is currently set for release this summer. Further details of the actor's death were not available at press time. --IMDb staf

Thoughts: So why I think this is a shocker is that he is not an Anna Nicole Smith who has had a gradual downfall in the media. He was a family man with a happy life as far as I know. I have not seen any of his films (except 10 things I hate about you and I don't remember the plot of the film much less his acting talents in it). I think that it is still sad in it's symbolism. This shows us that sadly enough in this version of Hollywood....no one is safe

The Academy Awards

Oh my goodness.
A good movie may actually win the big awards (best picture, acting directing etc). Which film you ask? JUNO. It is absolutely fantstic, funny and deserving. And I actually saw it.
Good luck Juno.
Oh and I hope Johnny Depp wins for Sweeny Todd.
and of course neither did.
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Equus

I had the chance to see one of the most (already) famous plays of this century. Equus. Starring Danial Radcliffe the play was very good, Peter Shaffer is clearly one of the great playwrights and the whole cast including Richard Giffeths was very good. And the infamous scene was so importent to the play working that I would stop criticizing it.
BOOK READER

Seeing November

I saw the play November starring Nathan Lane as written by David Mamet.
It was very good although the curse words were thrown around like frisbees
I highly recommend it
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Welcome to Reading Books

The Blog of Book and Theatre and Film Reviews

King Lear and The Seagull

Ian McKellen is one of the great actors and he proved it with the duo of plays he and the royal Shakespere company preformed. The Seagull was a great comic and tragic play. King Lear was just tragic and sad but a great production of one of the great plays