Yesterday I posted a podcast between myself, Jett Wells and Nathan Mattise on their weekly Whoa! magazine podcast. Mainly we discussed Telluride, Toronto, Drive, Andy Serkis and Warrior‘s Tom Hardy. And then it un-posted itself. Apparently there’s a gremlin in the system.
Last Saturday morning Jett Wells and Nathan Mattise invited me to discuss Telluride, Toronto, Drive, Andy Serkis and Warrior‘s Tom Hardy on their weekly Whoa! magazine podcast. Jett and I squabbled a bit.
I don’t know what I ought to know about music, so I’m guess I’ll be listening to this weekly podcast so I’ll have a clue the next time I’m shuffling around Hollywood Ameoba (Sunset and Cahuenga). Co-hosted by the currently untethered Jett Wells and Syracuse U. pally Nathan Matisse, now working in some fringe capacity at Wired. Did Keanu Reeves invent the term “whoa”? No, but he owns it. You can’t say it without thinking of him in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Three days of coverage about Tennesse’s Bonnaroo Music Festival (or whatever it’s precisely called) from Whoa magazine‘s Jett Wells — Day One, Day Two and Day Three. Driving his mom’s car, Jett and Emily left Sunday morning from Manchester, Tennessee; they arrived back in Brooklyn at 3:15 am this morning.
“The mood around the Tribeca Film Festival had been a bit quiet and uneventful, but on Wednesday night a small documentary — Semper Fi: Always Faithful — delivered a much-needed bang,” reports HE’s Jett Wells. “It’s this year’s Tillman Story meets Erin Brokovich — one man’s investigation into the most widespread tragedy of mass pollution in American history since Love Canal.
Master Sergeant Jerry Ensminger in Rachel Libert and Tony Hardman’s Semper Fi: Always Faithful.
“Rachel Libert and Tony Hardman tell the story of Master Sergeant Jerry Ensminger‘s quest to find the truth behind his daughter’s death from leukemia and the U.S. Marine Corps’ complicity in covering up behind the likely cause of his daughter’s demise — water contamination adjacent to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
“Watching Ensminger combine forces with other cancer victims of Camp Lejuene’s polluted water is tragic and infuriating. We learn about a cover-up directly and indirectly affecting countless lives over the span of 30 years with personal accounts of several cancer victims seeking out answers, some that made it and others that didn’t.
“It’s amazing how Libert and Hardman covered the investigation into the military camp’s water supply from beginning to end through the moments when all hope seemed lost,
to when the victims couldn’t hang any longer, to the moment Ensminger stepped before Congress to give testimony. People may know the tragic story from a news perspective, but Semper Fi gets up close and personal. It’s powerful, powerful stuff.”
Wednesday, 4.27 — photo by Jett Wells.
Apologies for failing yesterday to post Jett Wells‘ review of Massy Tadjedin‘s Last Night, which screened Monday night at the Tribeca Film Festival: “My first Tribeca Film Festival got off to a slow start last weekend due to my dog throwing up in the car before dropping him off at my mom’s apartment, and then my shuttling down to D.C. to see a friend,” Jett begins.
“Directed and written by Massy Tadjedin, Last Night is about the age-old question on whether to cheat or not to cheat. The film portrays a struggling, newly married couple (Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington) having doubts about whether they got married too soon or not. Heard this one before?
“You don’t really get a feel for the couple nor find them likable before they get into their first fight. Even though I’m blinking slowly and wondering why writing about this is more boring than the plot, you do stick around to see who’ll cheat first.
“The film jumps back and forth between Eva Mendes acting annoyingly, somewhat ridiculously and almost sadistically flirty with Worthington despite knowing he’s married, and Knightley bumping into an old flame, played by French actor-director Guillame Canet. I’m not going to spoil the third-act finish, but let’s just say you usually know where these kinds of movies are going to go depending on the gender of the director. And I’ll also say this: the abrupt, somewhat mysterious ending is, for me, pretty satisfying.
“Since Mr. HE himself has unique views on cheating, I’m sure he’d have more disdain for the banal storyline. But for me it boils down to this: it’s never good to cheat, and one should never keep it a secret because chances are it’s going to happen over and over again until the truth becomes a ticking time bomb in the form of a lie (to yourself).
“Neither Knightley or Worthington are bad people — that’s not the point. And it’s obvious neither is going to lie about what they did and didn’t do.”
Jeffrey Wells interjection: Jett chose not to explain my views about cheating so here they are: (a) infidelity is pain — a terrible and hurtful thing to inflict upon your partner — and therefore you should never go there; (b) If you do you should keep it to two or three episodes because extended affairs are always discovered sooner or later; and (c) if you’re questioned by a partner always lie and deny, lie and deny and lie and deny. As Lenny Bruce once said. “Deny it even if she’s got pictures.”
If I was back east I’d be doing all the Tribeca Film Festival screenings and events this weekend and running around and seeing everyone and taking pictures — pig heaven. But I’m stuck in Los Angeles…well, not “stuck” but I have to say no to certain things or I’ll be broke by Labor Day…and relying on the filings and photography of Jett Wells, HE’s TFF New York correspondent. And…well, the theoretical option of watching a few festival entries online.
I say “theoretical” because I just tried to watch Massy Tadjedin‘s Last Night on the ’50” plasma via Vudu and YouTube and…you know what? I’m not bad at some of this stuff technically but I’m not smart enough to figure out digital downloads on Samsung’s Smart Hub. To hell with it. I really hate that my Samsung BD remote makes it difficult to punch in letters…jerks. If a semi-attuned but slow-in-some-respects guy like myself can’t figure this crap out, imagine what Joe Popcorn is going through. It’s a great idea but the technology just isn’t there yet. Eff it.
“Tribeca Film, in partnership with American Express, brings you the best of independent film (including titles from the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival) wherever you are,” blah blah. “From romantic dramas starring Keira Knightley and Zach Braff to a hilarious comedy co-directed by and starring Dax Shepard to films like The Bleeding House, guaranteed to bring you chills, there’s something for everyone…films will be available on demand starting April 20.” Not so fast, fella! They might be available to guys who really know what they’re doing but not semi-dumb guys like me.
One of the really great things about dogs is that they actually look at the camera when you take their picture. Cats might glance at it for a second, if that.
Sonya Kirasirova, Joey, Jett Wells somewhere in Central Park — Sunday, 4.10.
The Social Network “is possibly one of the most important movies of the decade,” declares PopEater’s Jett Wells in a 9.15 post. “It not only unveils the stage and strings behind the biggest cultural phenomenon since the invention of the internet, but also how one of the most era-defining companies started with backstabbing and betrayal. It’s dark, tragic and unfolds like a classic Greek play jacked on amphetamines and Red Bull.
“After taking in an early preview of David Fincher‘s [film], several scary thoughts come to mind, including: (a) Mark Zuckerberg comes off like an Adderall-fueled sociopath, and (b) Justin Timberlake might actually get an Oscar nomination out of this. JT appears to have finally shaken the awkward pop star-making-movie-cameos phase of his career, and seems poised to become a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.
“If Timberlake already rubs you the wrong way, then watching him as Napster co-founder Sean Parker should be cathartic. If Jesse Eisenberg (Zuckerberg) is like Anakin Skywalker, a freakishly-talented kid swallowed by ego and obsession for power, then Timberlake is the Emperor, pushing Zuckerberg into full-blown madness. I’m not saying JT is going to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, but Network is certainly the biggest turning point in his acting career.
“Then there’s Eisenberg. He always plays socially awkward characters who look like they stayed up all night playing World of Warcraft (The Squid and the Whale, Adventureland, Zombieland), but here, for the first time, he uses his awkwardness in a sinister way to portray Zuckerberg. He’s cold, ruthless and downright scary — don’t cross him unless you want to get the most scathing blog post written about you.”
A video essay about unpaid interns by Huffington Post college page contributor Jett Wells went up a short while ago. Lotsa tweets. “I’m an unpaid intern who made a short documentary about unpaid internships,” the intro reads. “For someone who’s worked for free since I was 17 (besides a few short stints as a bus boy), this project hit close to home.
“Not only did it open my eyes to what constitutes an illegal internship, but it brought to light how touchy the issue is — the amount of interns and companies that employ interns who turned down the opportunity to talk to me because they were afraid was remarkable.
“When did unpaid internships become the norm, and why? That’s what I wanted to get to the bottom of.”
Thursday, 5.27, 5:10 pm — north-facing view from peak of a medieval mountain village called Geraci Siculo, where mineral water is refined and bottled.
Snapped by Jett Wells.
Wednesday, 5.26, 8:35 pm — Cefalu, Sicily.
Geraci Siculo peak, different angle.
Jett Wells, my 21 year-old son who’s much more attuned and perceptive about digital technology than myself, is calling Apple’s iPad — officially unveiled just a few hours ago — a “slightly depressing” disappointment. He’s listed five reasons why. I’ve posted them after the YouTube clip.
1. Magazines Completely Ignored in Steve Job’s Presentation
“Of course this could just mean publishing companies haven’t developed to the new platform yet, but it’s still troubling. Jobs didn’t mention magazines once during his shpiel even though publishing geeks and journalists alike had been calling the Tablet the savior of journalism. And there’s still no progress between Adobe Flash and Apple, preventing high quality multi-touch animation— paramount to the advancement of digital magazines. (PC World’s Nick Mediati has discussed this aspect in greater depth.)
2. No Multi-tasking
“The Droid and Google Nexus smart phones have set the bar for multi-tasking features, allowing the user to access multiple apps at the same time, including music. The iPhone 3GS cannot do this, which means Apple needs to catch up, and the iPad was a perfect opportunity to do this…and yet, FLOP! The iPad uses a fairly similar OS as the iTouch. Without multi-tasking features, the iPad doesn’t have an identity in between laptops and smart phones.”
3.No Webcam
“There were rumors the iPad was going to have a built-in webcam so you could Skype chat in high definition while out in a park somewhere. That’s bullshit too. Just having the webcam could’ve helped the iPad separate more from the iTouch.”
4. The Name
Only a few hours since the announcement and the Apple iPad already has a humiliating pun throughout social networks. It’s now coined the iTampon. In fact, #iTampon is the top Twitter trend right now. This MAD TV video explains it.”
5. No Glare Resistance
“Forget about taking your iPad to the beach because you still can’t see the screen with the glare. How big of a fundamental detail can you screw up, Apple? One of the biggest focuses of the iPad was it’s portability, and it can’t even light up with in sunlight.”
Conclusion: The iPad will develop over time and improve like the iPod and iPhone, etc. I’ll start changing my mind about this thing after you can start using serious software programs on it like FinalCut or InDesign. You can import audio and video directly into it, which is cool. But it’s still hard not to say that today’s presentation was a fairly major letdown.
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