CELEBRITY BLING CRIME RING EXPOSED!!!

The LA Times has to be one of the worst newspapers in the United States. The only thing the LA Times had going for it was its celebrity & entertainment industry coverage, and the LA Times has even managed to screw that up with bloggers getting bigger scoops than the city's only newspaper. But last night, as I was waiting in a hotel lobby for my dinner guests to arrive, I read what has to be the most fascinating LA Times story of 2009.

Over the course of late 2008 & continuing into 2009, there were over 10 celebrity homes broken into, usually younger stars - Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, Rachel Bilson, Meghan Fox, Ashley Tisdale, Audrina Partridge, etc. No one knew what was going on, until yesterday's story broke with the arrests of several teenage girls and boys from Augora Hills Continuation High School. (A continuation high school is where older teenagers to to finish high school - such as, if a girl gets pregnant, did some jail time, so these were already problem kids).

According to the police reports, the teenagers would watch TMZ, read Perez Hilton.com, TMZ's website, and other celebrity blog sites, choose the hangbag, jewelry, shoes, watches, whatever that they saw the celebrities wear that they wanted and then using the same websites, track when the celebrities were out of LA (at an awards show, attending a premiere or travelling overseas), break into their homes and steal the same items they saw online! Insane! It's taking celebrity stalking to a whole new, and scary level. (And don't these celebrities have home security systems - they have cameras - see the photo above, but just locks on the doors?)

Enjoy the links below:

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-celebrity-burglaries27-2009oct27,0,4883183.story

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/10/reputed-bling-ring-celebrities-including-ashley-tisdale-and-megan-fox.html

IF A TREE FALLS IN A FOREST AND NO ONE GIVE A STATUS UPDATE ON FACEBOOK, DID IT REALLY FALL?

Professional Movie and Television Reviewers are officially irrelevant. The days when a local daily newspaper or magazine's review could make or break a TV show or a movie's opening weekend are gone and they're not coming back. Although the age of the reviewer is gone, the review itself is not. It's just evolved.

The idea for this blog posting actually came from my boyfriend, who is a religious user of Facebook. A few weeks ago in NYC, after looking up the time and location of a film we were about to see, he went online (Facebook) to see what his friends said about the movie. Did they see the film? Did they like it? What were their personal reviews of the film. In this new digital age, what an "expert" thinks about a film or TV show has no weight with intent to view versus what your peer group and social network thinks about a movie or TV show. As my boyfriend put it, "If it doesn't happen on Facebook, maybe it never happened." And he may very well be right.

The majority of first weekend moviegoers are usually teens. It's estimated that 94% of all moviegoers are online, and of that percentage, 73% are on social networking sites. With "friends" from coast the coast on Facebook, a teenager in California can easily check out what his or her friends in Boston thought about the film before going themselves. Here is an article on this very point: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118009343.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1

As if I needed any more evidence, Nielsen Media Research (whose whole business is audience measurement) recently struck an alliance with Facebook to track the sites online audience: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125356656635628897.html While this article is about tracking advertising responses on Facebook, the natural extension of this business alliance will be tracking word of mouth on media properties.

Prior to social networks, there was no audience metric for tracking word of mouth. No company could possibly count the number of text messages, phone calls or emails people made about a film or TV show, but Twitter and Facebook changed all that. Eventually we will be able to track word of mouth. But tracking word of mouth and then being able to effectively promote it (good word of mouth) or try to turn the tide (bad word of mouth) will be the new digital frontier to ride.

A movie or TV show's success of failure may depend on it.

RECESSION = COMEDY

Earlier this week I went to see the film Zombieland. For a Monday afternoon film on a lazy day off, it's the perfect film to see. No belly laughs, but some funny moments and a good comedic twist on a a horror genre staple. But Zombieland opening as the #1 at the U.S. box office with $25 million? That's just as strange as the "comedy" film Couples Retreat opening at #1 with $35.3 million. The same thing is happening in TV. There isn't just 1 big new comedy, there are 3. Modern Family, Cougar Town, and Glee are all doing very well in the ratings. So what's going on?

A cultural pattern is beginning to emerge. Every economic recession in the United States has given a rise to comedy overall in American entertainment. Americans want to laugh, and apparently looking at the U.S. box office lately, they want to laugh at just about anything. This isn't the first time this pattern has emerged, and given the stunning lack of banking regulation not being legislated, this will not be the last time we experience a deep recession and witness a rise in the comedy genre.

Comedy is really hard to do. Comedy is hard to write, it's hard to act, and it's all in the timing and set up. Don't get me wrong, I love a good drama, but comedy takes real talent. And comedy writers may be able to write comedy, but that doesn't make them funny people. And comedic actors may be funny with lines, but they can't write comedy. Only stand-ups have the one-two punch of both being funny and writing funny (since most of them write their own material). With comedy, the result is immediate and successful or crushing. Put simply, it's either funny or it's not. Either you get a laugh or its crickets. I love a good comedy, and the more engaging and smart, the better.

While I hope the country and the world pull out of the recession soon, I'm enjoying all the laughter.

THE FALL TV SEASON 2009 - 2 MONTHS IN

There is a lot to admire in the new Fall TV season. BIG BANG THEORY is the next #1 sitcom in the United States (it is currently #2 after TWO & A HALF MEN - which it will replace in 3 years). The actors are really developing their roles. Jim Parsons is turning into a great comedic leading man and Kaley Cuoco is also a rare commodity, a sexy comedic leading lady. The entire cast of BIG BANG THEORY is bringing its 'A' game each week.

Besides their singing talent, the cast of Glee is also the most diverse cast in the history of network television. Never in U.S. TV history has an ensemble cast included an African American, gay, Jewish, handicapped, Asian, and Latina actors all in 1 show. And that's not the only unique aspect of Glee. It is also the first musical series to successfully air in U.S., ever. One of my favorite TV show's of all time was Popular. Glee is from Ryan Murphy, who is an incredibly talented writer, director, creator, producer. The runaway funniest character on Glee is Sue Sylvester. For those of you who watched Popular, Sue Sylvester is basically a grown up Nicole Jilian. Actually, most of the cast of Glee is just an updated version of their Popular counterparts.

NCIS is the new #1 series in the United States. NCIS has been on the air since 2003 an it was always the "Rodney Dangerfield" of primetime. Always getting good numbers, but no respect and no one in the TV industry really talked about it, outside the millions that were watching the show. NCIS will be the #1 new show all year, and depending on how far American Idol declines this season (my prediction, not much). NCIS has broken through for 2 reasons: 1. The repeat airings on #1 cable network USA have helped a whole new audience experience the show and 2. It makes the audience feel safe. NCIS is a procedural about how a government agency should and would work in an ideal world. Fighting terrorist, capturing bad guys, a whole cast as James Bond like agents with the best technology the United States has to offer. The fantasy element not withstanding, NCIS is a very good show.

FRINGE is the new X-Files. Full stop. Period. I always liked The X-Files and I like the new X-Files - FRINGE, even better. I'm always excited when someone manages to improve upon an original, although both shows owe their series DNA to The Twilight Zone from 1959. The production of FRINGE moved from New York City to Vancouver Canada this season. Like most states during the recession, New York cut way back on tax credits for local productions. JJ Abrams borrowed an idea from his last series, Alias. Both FRINGE & Alias use the helicopter city shot to establish the location (Seattle, Boston, New York City.....). This allows the series to travel all over the world without ever leaving Vancouver. It's a cheap easy story telling element, but it totally works to the benefit of the show.

The other most underreported story of the this TV season is that every sport is up in the ratings on TV. If the World Series continues to shape up as an East Coast versus West Coast battle, watch baseball ratings go through the roof. Football is also up, no matter what night its on. Monday Night Football on ESPN is delivering the largest cable audience ever. Sunday Night Football is the only good story on NBC's Fall Schedule, too bad they can't use the "halo" effect to promote the rest of its male skewing primetime schedule. Something tells me Sunday Night Football fans better get ready for a lot of CHUCK promos. College Football is network television's only bright spot on Saturday nights. Bravo to ABC for successfully experimenting with putting college football on network primetime.

The other trend, reality is down, and interesting enough, what we're all witnessing is the revitalization of the U.S. network sitcom. It is a television truism that in times of economic decline, Americans want to laugh more. Other than procedurals, comedy is in. Everyone needs a laugh. Modern Family is the funniest of the new comedies. And as much as I love BIG BANG THEORY, the funniest show on television is Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm.

THE OTHER PUBLIC OPTION THAT'S FAILING

Let me state right up front that I am the successful product of the American public education system. Other than a brief stint in elementary Catholic school, I went to elementary, middle, high school, and undergraduate college all at public schools (and all in Massachusetts, which places a particular emphasis on education, plus I have 2 parents who are college professors at a community college.....). The first private university that I went to was the University of Miami for my MBA.

What's sad is that over the last 20 years, the American education system has become a two tiered system, with 1 tier succeeding and the second tier failing. The tier that is succeeding is the private school system. The wealthy can afford to send their children to private schools, from elementary up through high school and then into a private college. This is a minimum $1 million dollar investment over 18 years. This investment usually pays off huge dividends towards a child's successful professional future.

And then there is the second tier, which is the public educational system, which is largely failing the majority of children. Public schools are underfunded, understaffed, overpopulated, potentially dangerous and not giving kids the level of education they need to succeed in the 21st century.

In the 1970's when I was growing up, my parents did not hesitate to send me to a public school. They felt, rightly so, that math was math, English was English, and science was science, so other than the cost ($0 versus thousands of dollars for a private education), what was the difference? And they were largely correct. The decline in the public education system really began 20 years later in the 1990's and has continued to steadily decline ever since.

And although I'm not an expert in private education, as a parent, it seems to me that you're really paying for 2 things in a private education: 1. 2 or more teachers per classroom with a smaller class room size to give students a more personalized educational experience. No one inspires you more than your teachers, and the more teachers in the classroom, the better. And 2. the other cost of private education is largely equipment costs (computers, software) and every student having their own computer, versus one 10 year old computer in a public school classroom that all the students can use (for about 10 minutes each).

Although I'm not a parent, I would want my son or daughter to have their own personal computer in their school throughtout their entire education and to have more than 1 teacher per class and a small class size to facilitate a more productive learning environment. And I also want to make sure my son or daughter felt safe at school. Public schools fail on all these levels, and it's so sad, because it does not have to be this way.

When I was growing up, a high school diploma was the minimum degree you needed to get a blue collar job and a college degree was really necessary to succeed in a white collar job. Now, almost everyone has an undergraduate degree, and to really succeed in your career, you need a master's degree. These realities are creating a stark differences between succeeding and failing in life.

I would think the financial component of your child's early, mid and future education would have to figure into any couples decision of whether or not to have children. But I suspect that if the public educational system was comparable to the private educational system, couples would be encouraged to have children, or even more children, knowing there would be no educational cost and that their child would receive a great education to help them succeed in life.

With over 40 million American adults who are functionally illiterate and growing, the United States should declare a War on Illiteracy and properly fund the American public education system in this country. This is a long term investment in the country that will pay dividends decades from now, but unfortunately is hurting the future of the United States in the 21st century.

UPDATE: Thomas Friedman on how a poor American educational system contributed to the Great Recession: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/opinion/21friedman.html?em

20 YEARS OF PEARL JAM

This past Tuesday I went to see Pearl Jam concert for the very first time. I have seen well in excess of 500 concerts, but until this week, I had never seen Pearl Jam perform live. Pearl Jam was the music of my junior and senior year of college, so this was going to be a bit of a nostalgic trip down college memory lane (which is always a pleasant journey). The other interesting bit of trivia is that this year is Pearl Jam's 20th anniversary as a band. That's right, 20 years of Pearl Jam. And yes, that makes me feel old. The other interest tidbit is that I know all of the first 10 years of Pearl Jam music and none of the last 10 years of their music.

Turns out this is as close a concert as you got to Pearl Jam playing a greatest hits tour. It was a great show. What I like is that a PJ concert is all about the music. There's no video, no cameras, no light and smoke show, just Pearl Jam playing their music and singing their songs. It was a bare bones, stripped down concert experience, but PJ always wanted it to be all about the music and not about "the show".

So while they were playing the songs that I knew, I would sing along, but with the songs that I didn't know, I would sit back (yes, I have to sit down at concerts now) and think about the history of the band. Back in the early 90's Pearl Jam was the biggest band in the world. As I looked at my Ticketmaster purchased ticket, I remember how Pearl Jam fought against Ticketmaster and by now had apparently lost that battle years ago. So much for the power of the fans. Also, as I was seeing the concert in the Gibson Amphitheater (which is a decent sized space), I wondered if they had embraced their rock god status in the early 90's if they would be playing stadium tours now instead of smaller arena venues.

Despite not playing Jeremy, Pearl Jam played all of the hits that I loved from my college years. During the encore, PJ brought out Chris Cornell to duet on Hunger Strike (the rare male rock duet) and Jerry Cantrell (of Alice In Chains) to play guitar on the final song, Pearl Jam's best and signature song - Alive.

The other interesting note from the concert was how drunk lead singer Eddie Vedder became as the evening went on. He went from sober at the beginning to slurring by the end of the show. Apparently he does this at every concert.

Between Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains, Blind Melon, Mudhoney, and of course, Kurt Cobain of Nirvana, Pearl Jam is the last band left in the 21st century still playing the Seattle grunge music scene. That signature sound itself was an cultural offshoot of the pop overhang of the late 1980's (coincidentally, the last time the U.S. went through a real estate devaluation). I vividly remember the press at the time pitting Kurt Cobain (the more talented songwriter, lyricist and lead singer) against Eddie Vedder (the more successful, but less talented) of the two. For the press, it was a good story to set up a fake rivalry between Pearl Jam and Nirvana. And on that thought, I wondered what kind of music Kurt Cobain would be making today, were he still alive. And would Foo Fighters would even exist if Nirvana was still a band?

Overall, it was a great concert and a good trip down memory lane. What more can you ask for for $90?

Entertainment Weekly's Review and You Tube posts of the concert:

http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/10/07/chris-cornell-jerry-cantrell-pearl-jam/

For my history with Pearl Jam see my blog post:

FINALLY! A TONIGHT SHOW FOR MY GENERATION

3 STUDIO HEADS OUT

For most of this decade, Hollywood movie studio heads enjoyed a relatively stable tenure (3-5 years or more). A few box office flops here or there were expected, and even tolerated by corporate parents. Not so anymore. Within the last 2 weeks, David Linde & Marc Shmuger at Universal and Dick Cook at Disney have all been shown the door by their respective bosses, Ron Myer and Bob Iger. But who installed the new revolving door at the top of the Hollywood executive suites? Turns out the true culprit, who is never given any credit for the firings, is DVD sales.

Universal has had a dismal year at the box office with such high profile flops such as Funny People, State of Play, Land of the Lost, Public Enemies, Love Happens, and Duplicity. While Disney has had such awful films such as G Force, Race To Witch Mountain, Surrogates, Confessions of a Shopaholic, and Bedtime Stories. With both Universal (15-20 films a year) and Disney (10 films a year), 5 flops in a row at the box office is now almost half your slate.

For the early part of the decade, in most consumers minds, if a movie was a flop at the box office, that doesn't necessarily mean a consumer would not buy it or rent it on DVD. DVD sales would largely compensate for a failed box office release. In fact, there were even consumers who were willing to wait for the DVD release just so they could watch it in their homes versus the "hassle" of going to the movie theater to see it. But DVD sales turned out to be Hollywood Heroin, as the market became oversaturated with product, BluRay is not filling the DVD revenue hole due to a higher price point and equipment upgrades, and the recession, have all put new pressure on the theatrical box office. Have a flop at the box office now, and no one is buying the DVD to cover the revenue shortfall.

It's time for the heads of studios to make more hits at the box office to keep their jobs.

UPDATE: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118010123.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Kevin McCormick is out as President of Theatrical Feature Production at Warner Bros.