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“I guess it comes down to the fact that I take the escapism that movies provide very seriously, and that TV ‘entertainment news’ shows don’t. I’m not alone on this. There are millions of us who don’t necessarily think of movies as mere diversion. They can be opportunities for communion or transportation — a profound high.

“When a special movie comes along, a theatre can feel like a church. Maybe most people see movies in less reverent terms; maybe the true believers are a minority. But if the lore of movies was just about glamour, fun and ‘entertainment’, they wouldn’t be nearly as popular or connect with people in such primal, elemental ways.” — from a June 1999 Mr. Showbiz piece called “Stepford Showbiz News.” Here’s page 1 and page 2.

“What we learned last week is that the man who always puts his ‘country first’ will take the country down with him if that’s what it takes to get to the White House,” says N.Y. Times columnist Frank Rich in today’s edition.

“For all the focus on Friday night’s deadlocked debate, it still can’t obscure what preceded it: When John McCain gratuitously parachuted into Washington on Thursday, he didn’t care if his grandstanding might precipitate an even deeper economic collapse. All he cared about was whether he might save his campaign. George Bush put more deliberation into invading Iraq than McCain did into his own reckless invasion of the delicate Congressional negotiations on the bailout plan.”

It wouldn’t have worked with undecided voters, but frustrated Barack Obama supporters like myself would have felt immensely satisfied if he’d shown a little steel last night and told John McCain to wipe that smirk off his face because… you know, there was nothing the least bit funny or amusing about what they were discussing.

I’m thinking, of course, of that delicious moment in Michael Mann‘s The Insider when Bruce McGill tells Wings Hauser to do just that in that Mississippi courtroom.

The best thing about Last Chance Harvey (Overture, 12.26), a mature romantic drama with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson, is the title, which seems to say it all in three words. But read the synopsis on this Movie Jungle page and tell me what it tells you. I think it sounds a little forced, a little twee. Like someone’s trying to sell something.

Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson in Last Chance Harvey

In any case, The Envelope‘s Pete Hammond reported last night that it’s coming out on 12.26 rather than 1.23 because Hoffman “is said to be terrific in the role of a rumpled man who finds love when he travels to London for his daughter’s wedding.”
Will this split Overture’s time and expenditures as far their push for Best Actor contender Richard Jenkins, star of last spring’s surprise art house hit, The Visitor?

There isn’t a lot of Paul Newman in these clips from George Roy Hill‘s Slap Shot — just two locker-room pep talks — but he and the Hanson brothers (i.e., the Carlson brothers) were beautiful in this thing. In the second clip, the riled-up referee’s reaction during the playing of the national anthem is perfect — two turn-arounds and a confrontation. “I’m listening’ to the fuckin’ song!” That settles it — I’m buying the DVD later today.

I’m too lazy to have bought or rented the BBC series Life on Mars, about a present-tense cop finding himself time-transported back to 1973. But it has a relatively good rep. Which is why an American version of this series will debut on ABC on 10.9 with Jason O’Mara as the time-traveller and Harvey Keitel as his older, grizzled partner.

If you research it, indications pile up that the ABC version may turn out to be on the trite or mediocre side.
One, jokes about the differences between the two time periods appear to be on the level of the same type of material in the first Back to the Future, and this kind of thing can get old very quickly.
Two, TV.com reports that O’Mara’s character “ends up working on a case involving a serial killer that may have something to do with his girlfriend’s kidnapping in the present time,” and there’s a line in the ABC promo reel in which a female colleague says to O’Mara that “maybe you’re here for a reason” — kiss of death!
And three, David E. Kelley wrote and executive produced the Life on Mars pilot, and yet the N.Y. Times has reported that Kelley “has handed over the production responsibilities to others.” Wikipedia reports that ABC ordered an overhaul in which the “unsatisfying” ambiguity of Sam’s story was removed in favor of a “mythological element” and “deeper mystery”. In other words, it’s probably been downgraded or dumbed-down.

Seriously — this guy is Ironman. And a perfect Herzog hero. First-rate Jetman footage of his flights (a high-quality mini-digital camera strapped to his helmet) would be awesome. All right, the German newscaster is what made me think of Herzog initially, but this is an idea that gets better and better the more you think about it. A great doc waiting to happen.

Update: All right, all right, maybe John McCain said “coursh” (as if “of course”) rather than “horseshit.” But that’s only because I’ve been told over and over that he said “coursh” — it’s the power of suggestion. Even if I still believe in my heart that he said “horseshit.”

Earlier today: Thanks to HE reader George Prager for spotting the portion of last night’s debate in which McCain said “horseshit” twice. I’ve listened to this MSNBC clip over ten times now and there doesn’t seem to be any question about it. The first “horseshit” happens at 4:31, Obama says “Spain is a NATO ally” and the second “horseshit” is spoken right on top of this, just before 4:33. I’ve recorded it and copied it four times in this mp3 clip, but the video sound — naturally, being a generation closer — is more distinct.
The “horseshit” observation originally came from Andrew Sullivan, who has since backed off and is allowing that McCain may have actually said “course not.” Listen to the clip again — the second syllable of McCain doesn’t have a “not” sound. The difference between “shit” and “not” is fairly distinct.