January 25, 2006
Chris Penn found dead
Chris Penn, the younger brother of Sean Penn, was found dead in his Santa Monica condominium yesterday. There were no obvious signs of foul play, but an autopsy is planned to determine the cause of death.
It's always sad when somebody dies, especially when they're as young as Chris was. And although he never had any major leading roles, you'd probably recognize him as that funny fat guy in a number of movies. You can view a list of all his movie credits here, most notable of which is probably his role of Nice Guy Eddie in Reservoir Dogs.
Previous Entries
WB, UPN Fuse Into Something
The WB and UPN networks, long-time losers in the network wars, have announced a merger, forming a new entity called The CW Network. CBS CEO Leslie Moonves has deluded herself into thinking that:
The CW is going to be a real competitor -- a destination for young audiences and diverse audiences and a real favorite among advertisers.
The news arrives with the same impact as a neighborhood block sale, bringing unwanted items from several parties into a communal, still un-wanted body. Luckily, the merger promises viewers that flipping past WB and UPN programming will now take half as long.
Andy Garcia Plays With Emotions
Jieho Lee's crime drama The Air I Breathe has added Andy Garcia to its already (semi)star-heavy lineup. The script is based on an ancient Chinese proverb that divides life into four emotional cornerstones, with each of the protagonists based on one of the emotions:
Happiness (Forest Whitaker), Pleasure (Brendan Fraser), Sorrow (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Love (Kevin Bacon).
I actually like this idea of assigning celebrities emotions they could represent. We should start using it in daily conversation. For instance, saying, "I'm feeling a little Woody Allen today," would mean you're feeling neurotic. If someone said, "I'm in a Russell Crowe mood," it would mean to watch out, since they're a bit aggressive. Or someone might say, "I'm really Tom Arnold," and it would really be Tom Arnold, asking if you have any roles for him.
X-Men Titled
20th Century has confirmed that a title for X-men 3 has been chosen and is currently being cleared for usage: X-Men: The Last Stand. The title had already appeared in USA Today, making it the rumored front-runner up to the confirmation. The Last Stand narrowly beat out fan favorite title: The One That Will Probably Suck. I Mean, Brett Ratner Is Doing It. And Juggernaut Is Way Too Small. But Did You See Beast? He Looks Kind Of Good, Huh?
Also confirmed yesterday was 13-year-old Ira Schultz, whose bar mitzvah went splendidly. Congrats, Ira!
Sandman Gets Some Trim
Disney buys Pixar
Walt Disney announced today that it would buy Pixar Animation Studios in a $7.4 billion deal that gives Pixar animators creative control and makes Pixar CEO Steve Jobs one of Disney's largest shareholders. Additionally, Disney will also hand over its own animation studio to Pixar.
As long as Disney is able to resist the urge to start exercising creative control, this should be an awesome move for both parties. Pixar gets to keep making the best animated films in the world, and Disney gets to, uh, receive money.
