Chicago investors are reportedly looking to build McMansions on just-acquired land right next to the Hollywood sign. Opportunity knocks! The city of Los Angeles needs to make a definitive statement to itself and the world that there is no such thing as hallowed ground in this town when it comes to potential real-estate booty. No major U.S. city has shown less regard for its past (even when it came to preserving ’50s kitsch establishments like Tiny Naylors back in the ’80s). Build the homes, get your ugly on, and hire some crack riflemen to go out and kill those coyotes

A discussion is warranted about Pete Hammond‘s belief/theory (which is shared by yours truly) that given the strong support/affection for Michael Clayton, particularly among the over-60 crowd, the odds favor at least one Clayton nominee — Tilda Swinton — getting rewarded with an Oscar.
The thinking is that Academy voters, wanting to give Tony Gilroy‘s film something but knowing that a Best Picture or Best Director or Best Original Screenplay or Best Supporting Actor win won’t happen (because No Country, the Coen brothers, Diablo Cody and Javier Bardem have these prizes all but sewn up), will throw all their Clayton love to Swinton.
Swinton has the added plus factor of having gained a bit of weight for her role as a never-jangled corporate flunky and thereby made herself look less than fully attractive (flab being a symptom among Type-A professionals of bad food, late-night drinking, stress and anxiety). Academy members have always seemed to admire any performance that physically alters or deglamorizes. I know, I know….the height of shallow thinking. But why was there laughter when Denzel Washington said “by a nose” before he announced that the Best Actress Oscar was going to Nicole Kidman for her performance in The Hours?
http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2008/02/tilda-swinton-w.html

In a Berlin Film Festival review of Filth and Wisdom, the first feature directed by Madonna, Times Online critic James Christopher has waxed mixed-positive. Wait…is that an accurate way to characterize? It’s almost a pan but with a Valentine flourish. Like Christopher was staggered by the fact that it was a lot better than expected, which led to his writing from a generous (i.e., relieved) state of mind.
“Despite its many shortcomings and an ending so mushy and neat it would embarrass Richard Curtis, Madonna has done herself proud. Her film has an artistic ambition that has simply bypassed her husband, the film director Guy Ritchie. She captures that wonderfully accidental nature of luck when people√ɬ¢√¢‚Äö¬¨√¢‚Äû¬¢s lives intersect for a whole swathe of unlikely but cherishable reasons. ‘Altmanesque’ would be stretching the compliment too far, but Filth and Wisdom shows Madonna has real potential as a film director.”

It was already pretty “official” by most standards, but Hollywood’s writers made it even more so last night when they voted to end the WGA strike by a 92.5% majority. That means, apparently, that 7.5% of the 3,775 members (roughly 345 writers) said no, not good enough, back to the barricades.