The Kids in the Hall reunite for a murder-mystery miniseries - TV Squad
via tvsquad.com
The Kids are back! I wasn't a big fan of Brain Candy, but I'm really looking forward to this.
PR, E-Mail, Social Media: FAIL - Adages - Advertising Age
PR, E-Mail, Social Media: FAIL
The Wrong Way to Jump Start Social Media
Posted by Ken Wheaton on 08.19.09 @ 12:40 PM
What's worse than being spammed by Brody PR with a pitch for a social-media book that likely didn't need to be written? Being spammed by a PR firm that didn't use the BCC field. What's worse than that? That a good 90% of people on the list feel some weird need to reply-to-all when asking to be removed from the list, thus continuing the foolishness ALL DAY LONG.
I don't know what's more surprising, the number of people who are replying to all or the names of some of those people who should damn well know better. Is it that hard to determine the original source of an e-mail and just yell at that person?
Then again, some of them are "social-media experts" and we all know that's a pretty low bar.
Full disclosure: I replied to all to threaten the next people to reply to all that I'd mention them by name. But since I'm left wondering if there's a time delay or a bot involved, I'm not going to make good on that threat.
I'm not going to pound Brody PR as there's already a bit of Twitter wildfire about this topic and I've already been e-mailed by a number of journalists on the list. So damage done.
THOSE WHO DID THE RIGHT THING
Instead of adding further shame and outrage here, let me just point out a few of the people who DIDN'T reply to all and who have e-mailed me separately, expressing anger and shame and apologizing for all involved: David Spark of Spark Media Solutions; Maria Aspan, a reporter for American Banker; Allison Mooney of Mobile Behavior; Amanda Gravel; Joseph Jaffe of Crayon; Michael Driehorst; Chris Abraham; Niala Boodhoo of The Miami Herald; Peter Shankman; Ann Handley of Marketing Profs; and Barbara Kiviat of Time magazine.I salute you all.
And thanks to all the many others who remained silent throughout this ordeal.
1 Comment
By billseaver | Nashville, TN August 19, 2009 01:36:06 pm:Your email made me laugh out loud. I was so torn as to whether I should reply early on to note the irony or just to remain silent. Thanks for documenting this with the post.
via adage.com
I was part of this e-mail chain this morning, and as I mentioned on Twitter, I felt much more sympathy for Brody PR than the "outrage" that many expressed to keep getting hit with e-mail spam... while Reply All-ing the very same list and thus keeping the chain going into perpetuity.
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Harry contemplates INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Spoiler Heavy. You Have Been Really Warned! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.
I’ve had a lot of problems with this review. More than I’ve had with any film in a very long time. Why? Well, it is very complicated and I’ve been struggling with how to phrase it.
I love every moment of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS. Every shot, every scene, every performance, every bit of music. I love it.
BUT…
This isn’t the World War II film I really wanted from Tarantino. And the reason has more to do with me, than with Quentin.
I love the WWII genre and its infinite permutations. I love the universe of WWII. A global conflict, perilous intrigue, unforgivable inhumanity, toweringly charismatic leadership, trench heroism, the toughness of being a survivor… the design, imagery, scope… it’s all just so damn awesome.
I grew up worshiping GUNS OF NAVARONE and WHERE EAGLES DARE. Later, I fell desperately in love with THE BIG RED ONE. Then there were all those WWII black and white films that I devoured. I wanted Quentin to craft one of those. A men on a mission flick that was rip-roaring, brutal and personal.
And that isn’t this film. This is the fictionalized history of how WWII came to a close in the European arena, courtesy of Quentin Tarantino’s fevered brain. And it is something unto itself.
It is structured less like a film and more like a novel. Divided up into chapters that you’re not entirely sure how they relate until they begin to build into their explosive conclusion. The film is also crackling with energy in a way that I found unexpected. I didn’t imagine this film from Quentin’s various bite-sized tidbits that he would give us. When he’d speak about the film, it was always about Men On A Mission, and then you read the script and there’s this Shosanna character – and she was beautifully written and even more beautifully portrayed by Melanie Laurent, and she’s integral to the “mission” happening, even though nobody outside that theater would probably ever know that. History would probably canonize Sgt Donny Donowitz, Pfc. Omar Ulmer and Col Hans Landa, but I doubt seriously the world would ever know of Shosanna Dreyfus and her lover Marcel.
But Quentin wanted to underline their part in this unlikely, but fun, “true” history of the end of the war.
Why is that?
Well, a lot of it probably has to do with the fact that Quentin doesn’t seem to pre-structure his films before writing them. It seems he’s the sort of writer that writes a title and then surprises himself as he writes the story under that title. He let’s the story go where it wants to go – and as a result, we get a WWII film that isn’t quite like any other.
The basic elements are still here for a MEN ON A MISSION flick. We have the initial formation of the group. We see them in the field a bit. We see the mission they’re built into begin to crumble and we see the plan fall apart, we see them improvise – and with a bit of dumb luck, chance and help from people they don’t even know… it’ll all work out. But the structure keeps us off balance. Keeps us away from the familiar testosterone fueled sweaty man mess of a film, and instead… we get a uniquely Quentin WWII flick.
One where a Jew named Donnie Donowitz machine guns Hitler’s face into marinara. And it is thrilling. One where the big bad guy for the film, sees his chance at redemption and seizes it. A film where the Bastards mark survivors so the world will know post-war, that this man was a Nazi – and that fucking rules.
At Two and a Half hours, the film feels too brief. I wanted more with these characters. I want to see them being fit for Tuxedos. I want to hear what they say as they gear up for a mission to END THE WAR.
At the CINEMAPOCALYPSE Q&A – Quentin said that he had written at 12 part – Mini-series – and wanted to create that. And when he told Luc Besson, Luc was bummed because he wants to see Quentin on the big screen, not on a television. And while I get that… I also can feel that this is the smallest version of something larger.
Quentin’s film is incredibly satisfying while also being a bit aggravating. Aggravating because I wanted those Basterds roaming the French countryside creating havoc non-stop. Because Shosanna’s story – I want a whole other film exploring her life from the moment her family was killed, her love with Marcel, till the moment she dies. Because I want a film that’s focused exclusively upon Col Hans Landa. I want to see what happened from the moment he sat down with that French farmer and relished his nickname, to the moment where he despised it. What made the change? I get that it isn’t important for this story, but I want it. I can’t help, but not to want more.
This is the stunning blessing and curse of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS… his characters are so strong, that I can’t help but want more of them. I can’t help it, I’m greedy. And any talk about a sequel/prequel. As Quentin stated himself, he’s promised one for every film he ever made, and has never made one. So we’re likely not to get more. And that’s aggravating.
More than at any other point in Quentin’s career, I left the film wanting MUCH MORE. I want to spend many more hours in his WWII universe. And I’m relatively certain I won’t ever see more.
Quentin will most likely move on to another genre altogether and we’ll be happier for it. I love watching him play with genres. Like Park Chan Wook told Capone… he infects the genres he plays in. Makes them infected with Tarantino. And thank God, they’re infectious as all hell. And I’m among the inflicted.
This is absolutely a Tarantino WWII film – and it is a glimpse at that universe. I dare say, we’re not likely to see a better drawn “villain/hero” as Hans Landa. Christoph’s performance is brilliant. Just amazing to watch and not how you think. He’s extremely complicated and brought to life by an absolutely riveting performance. But then, every performance is riveting. Take Brad Pitt – his performance can’t help, but make me want more. The scar on his neck, his very fun accent, the way he moves and analyzes situations.
The thing is, in this one film, Quentin planted the seeds of larger stories. We only glimpse these characters as they drive the story forward. The entire first chapter is to create Shosanna’s motivation for later. The second chapter is to establish the Basterds and how they’ve begun to change things in the war. The third – is to set up a relationship that leads to everything that happens later. The fourth is to establish the intended operation that the Basterds went on – and the last is what actually went down. Every scene is necessary. Every piece memorable.
Forget any expectations or beliefs of what you’re getting out of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS, it isn’t the movie you think it is. Not the one in trailers, not really even the script. It has a unique life unto itself. I really liked the film on first viewing, on second – those feelings intensified. There’s just something so delightful about the film. It isn’t stuffy, which is a problem that most modern WWII films have going against them. In this, you know that anything can happen. And that’s very refreshing.
Watch it and you’ll see. It truly is its own thing and it kicks ass.
via aintitcool.com
Yeah, I think I'm going to need to find a way to see Inglourious Basterds. If only to lessen the wait for the next new Mad Men episode!
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Giants beat Carolina Panthers 24-17 on last play of preseason opener
via nydailynews.com
I saw a few minutes of the game while at the gym, got me excited for the upcoming season. Go Giants!
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Robert Novak: Innovator's life marked by passion :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Commentary
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Novak was an institution in Washington and Sunday talk shows for so many years...
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The Mad Men TV Club: The costume designer wears American Apparel? (2) - By Patrick Radden Keefe, John Swansburg, and Julia Turner - Slate Magazine
via slate.com
Slate's TV Club is always great, so I'm thrilled to see it back in action for this season's premiere of Mad Men. Well, I'm *more* thrilled to see Mad Men *finally* back for this season. Sunday night at 10pm on AMC, but who's counting (the hours)?
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WarGames movie - Mr. Potatohead! Backdoors are NOT secrets
via youtube.com
Such an amazing movies, War Games is. This scene is hilarious... and check out the creepy futuristic early 80s electro vibe that's thrown down if you make it past the first scene to when Broderick is doing research.
"Backdoors are not secrets..." Classic line on a Friday.
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