Who's Going To Hell This Week
Helen A. Handbasket
Reader Response
Hillary, Moran & Boo
Mark Gisleson
I took a quick snapshot because I'm sure they'll fix it any moment now, but
I think this picture sums up the problem with dittoheads.
I know you backed up BC on the booing of Hillary, but I watched too and as a
former political activist I GUARANTEE Hillary heard the boos and sped up her
speech (and she did so very smoothly which is possibly why you doubted your
own ears).
As I told BC, this is a GOOD THING. It reveals the profoundly anti-patriotic
nature of the hard right and I'm sure it made a lot of people sit up and
say, what the hell?
~~ Mark Gisleson
Mark---You've got a point, and then some. Having read the bereaved fireman's comments on
drudge tonight, I'm sorry he hurts, but it sure sucks that he needs to do some Freudian thing with
Hillary. May he marry and have a "too smart" daughter.
Watched the replay again tonight, and I'm sure Macy Gray walked out before her number was
finished.
But, by the standard set above, I guess I shouldn't be surprised if only a minority was actually
paying sober attention.
Weekly Review
from Harper's Magazine
President Bush, who has taken to using the phrase "the Bush doctrine"
to describe his war on terrorism, collected $1 donations from American
schoolchildren to help feed starving Afghan refugee children. He
praised a young girl from Virginia who raised $45 by feeding chickens.
"One way to fight evil is to fight it with kindness and love and
compassion," he said. "Winter arrives early in Afghanistan. It's cold,
really cold, and the children need warm clothing and they need
medicines. And thanks to the American children, fewer children in
Afghanistan will suffer this winter." That day, at least one American
bomb landed in the Red Cross compound in Kabul, setting several
warehouses on fire. The president flew to Shanghai, China, for the
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. He rode around in a limo and
pronounced the city "mind-boggling" and "miraculous." He wore a
traditional Chinese silk jacket; it was blue with gold trim. He noted
that "there is no isolation from evil." At a joint press conference
with President Jiang Zemin, President Bush answered questions about
anthrax. "These are evil people and the deeds that have been conducted
on the American people are evil deeds," he said. "And anybody who
would mail anthrax letters, trying to affect the lives of innocent
people, is evil." The president also cautioned that the anthrax
attacks could turn out to be "a hoax." Preliminary analysis of the
anthrax found in New York and Florida showed that the bacteria was
"professional grade" and all from the same strain. It was revealed
that in 1944 Britain manufactured 5 million anthrax cattle cakes that
were to be airdropped (in "Operation Vegetarian") over Germany; the
expectation was that the disease would kill all the cattle and then
kill all the Germans. The plan was called off after the success of the
Normandy Invasion.
( continued at Weekly Review )
--Roger D. Hodge
The Ever-Fabulous Cindy Adams On....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton. So sharp you could cut your finger just shaking hands with him. And so fast. And so smooth. And so easy. And
with such a smile.
Backstage at the Concert for New York, the man's working it. Surrounded by photogs,
handlers, security, autographers, handshakers. Amidst this mob I ask: "So, if you
were still the USA's main man, how differently would you handle this Osama bin Laden deal?"
For the space of a heartbeat he stopped dead. His brain's greased wheels worked
visibly. A quick intake of breath, then:
"I'm not going to say anything but that what we all must do these days is back the
president. It is necessary for the entire world to see that our country presents a
united front. We have to show that all of us are solidly behind our government.
"Look, I know what he's going through. I've been there. And I know exactly what it
feels like to be second-guessed. I don't think any of us should be doing that right now."
As the former President of the United States of America/Commander-in-Chief of the
Armed Forces/Leader of the Free World William Jefferson Clinton was being propelled
away from me, he was still talking, still making sure I got it.
I got it.
The Ever-Fabulous Cindy Adams
Now, be honest with yourself for a moment - wasn't it wonderful to have a duly elected
president who could respond without a prompt, nudge, or a wink --- and who could still
stay on script?
Looks Who's Back
All This & Emeril, Too
This is an undated handout photo of the Dancing Raisins. After a seven year hiatus, the Fresno based
California Raisin Marketing Board is putting the commercial back on television. The
claymation raisins are dancing to the same tune "I heard it through the grapevine" but will only be seen on the food network.
Wow---CA raisins & Emeril, too!
In The Chaos Household
Tuesday Night's TV
Started out watching Emeril, but, even with Uncle Pussy, it floated like a horse
turd in a creek. Went to Dharma & Greg, and left soon.
What is this with reruns already? Koresh, the season is only 4 weeks old, and most
programming was pre-empted at some point in the last month. NBC threw out an episode of Frasier
that they aired at least 5 (YES! 5!) times last year.
ABC had an hour of reruns...a 'fresh' Dharma & Greg, then a repeat - a
'fresh' Spin City followed by something regurgitated.
And they wonder where their audience has gone.
There are 22 episodes in a tv-package. There are 22 minutes in a tv-half-hour. That's less than
9 hours for a whole season. And a month in we get reruns of 3 of the more viable shows?
My biggest disappointment TV-wise this week is that Jay, Conan, and Craiggers
are all in reruns this week (Dave was 'fresh' Tuesday night)....You know that can mean only ONE thing....'sweeps' are
damn near on us, again!
Yee Haw!
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
More Concert For NYC
No-Shows & Kid Rock
There were two greenrooms at the Garden: one for the performers, and the one Kid
Rock commandeered for himself and 40 New York policemen and their wives and girlfriends.
The evening's notable no-shows were Bono, who had been called back to Ireland on
a family matter, and Marc Anthony, who called in sick.
And speaking of calling, if you were put on hold while trying to pledge money,
you heard the voice of Rangers star Mark Messier.
Concert For NYC No-Shows
New! Updated!
BartCop Astrology
Check it out at BC Astrology.
This week, the official BartCop Astrologer has provided two charts.
One who's talent (and hearing, as well), is on loan from his god, and for contrast, an American visionary,
national treasure, and real-life role model, Helen Keller.
Very interesting reading!
The USO Citizen Patriot Tour
Al Franken
Comedian Al Franken performs for U.S. troops at the Ramstein, Germany, US airbase,
Monday, Oct. 22, 2001, kicking off a tour also taking him and country singer
Clint Black to bases in Italy and the Balkans.
Photo by Frank Rumpenhorst
New USO Tour
More Concert For NYC
Paul & The Thin White Duke
Somebody needs to remind Paul McCartney he's 59 years old. After levitating a
Garden full of cops, firefighters and eternal Beatle fans at Saturday's "Concert
for New York City," the Lad from Liverpool raved on till dawn.
Around 4 a.m. at the Hudson Hotel, he'd just mopped his brow after he and fiancee
Heather Mills danced to a rendition of "Mustang Sally" performed by Dan Aykroyd,
Jim Carrey and Sheryl Crow. But Aykroyd wasn't about to let McCartney just sit there.
Beckoned to join the band, McCartney put on a firefighter's hat and was soon
singing "I Saw Her Standing There" with them. (McCartney found himself doing an
encore of the Beatles' hit that evening when he was spotted at the Yankees-Mariners
game; most of the stadium erupted in the song's trademark trill, "Ooooooo!")
P.S. Kudos to David Bowie for delivering a brilliant opening to the Garden show.
The Thin White Duke was so sick with food poisoning that he had to be helped onstage.
Concert For NYC Aftermath
The Big Dog Talks In Trinidad
Bill Clinton
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said on Monday that Islamic militant Osama bin
Laden was addicted to killing and that the military campaign against his underground
network would ultimately save lives.
Clinton, who was unable to bring bin Laden to justice during his two terms in the
White House, said he regretted that innocent lives were lost in the U.S. bombing
in Afghanistan but that such deaths could have been avoided if leaders of the
ruling Taliban were not so determined to protect bin Laden.
``I regret that any of their children have been hurt,'' Clinton said at a leadership
forum in Port of Spain. ``I hate what's going on in Afghanistan, but it will save
more lives than it will cost. If we did not do this, he (bin Laden) would just
kill more people, he will keep killing more people, he's addicted to it.''
The former president said he hoped people everywhere would support the United States
and its allies to combat terrorism in the wake of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on
the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, in which nearly 5,400 people were killed.
Clinton addressed a large gathering that included Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.
Trinidad and Tobago, a southern Caribbean nation of 1.3 million people, endured
its own bioterrorism fright last week when eight workers were treated for possible
anthrax exposure after coming in contact with a suspicious letter.
Clinton said bin Laden and his organization had a specific agenda.
``They want America to leave the Middle East, they want to overthrow Mr. bin Laden's
home government in Saudi Arabia, they want to destroy the state of Israel.
``They want to go through every single government in the Middle East and purge it
of the imperfection until it all looks like the Taliban,'' Clinton said.
Clinton added that more must be done to push countries toward democracy in order
to decrease the threat of terrorism.
``It is no coincidence that the most fertile breeding ground of terrorists are in
countries that do not have democracies...,'' he said.
``If we want to make interdependence a good thing rather than a bad thing ... we
must fight terror and advance democracies.''
Bill Clinton In Trinidad
More 'Canary In A Coal Mine'
Mavis Leno Online
Mavis Leno, Chair of the Feminist Majority's Campaign to Stop Gender
Apartheid in Afghanistan, will make a special appearance online this
Thursday, October 25th. Leno will chat live with student activists on the
Choices Campus Community, www.feministcampus.org, about ways to get
involved in the Campaign and to mobilize awareness and support for women
and girls in Afghanistan.
Leno has made appearances on the Tonight Show, NBC's Today Show, MSNBC,
and CNN's Larry King Live and has been interviewed by many other national
TV, radio, and print media outlets to educate and mobilize Americans about
gender apartheid and the growing refugee crisis in Afghanistan and
Pakistan. Leno has chaired the campaign since 1998, testifying before
members of Congress, exposing U.S. corporate business relations with the
extremist Taliban regime, and lobbying the State Department for increased
humanitarian aid.
We hope you will join us on Thursday October 25th, 9pm EST,
www.feministcampus.org/chat.asp
http://www.feminist.org
More McCartney
Heather & Babies, Too?
Tired but triumphant after the weekend's spectacular concert at the Garden, Paul
McCartney is said by friends to be getting down to the pleasant task of making a
baby with his fiancée, Heather Mills. If they do conceive here in New York, it
will be appropriate, because they both love the city more than ever in its time of trouble.
"I don't know," Paul told one snoop the other night when asked about the
widespread rumors he and Heather might get in the family way in advance of their
wedding day, expected to take place before the end of the year.
Other friends say Paul isn't discouraging this kind of talk because he wants to
prepare his children with his late wife, Linda, for the likelihood of a new
sibling or two. Paul's been a fine dad and has gone to great lengths to assure
the kids that Heather isn't replacing Linda in his heart or in their family.
"His love for Linda goes on," says someone close to the former Beatle. "But he
deserves a happy new chapter in his life."
BartCop TV!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot' never seems to rest!
Every show on TV must be listed--days worth of reading there.
For an amazing variety of information on an astounding array of tv programs check out
BC TV!
Latest 'Frasier' Guest
Bill Gates
He may be the wealthiest man ever to appear on prime-time television, and certainly
the biggest computer geek.
Billionaire and Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates paid a visit on Tuesday to
the set of NBC's hit television comedy ''Frasier'' to film a guest spot for the
show's upcoming 200th episode, a spokeswoman for the producers said.
The software executive dubbed the richest man in America by Forbes magazine will
play himself on the show, which is set in Gates' hometown of Seattle and stars
Kelsey Grammer as fictional radio psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane.
Gates' cameo appearance is scheduled to air on Tuesday, Nov. 13, during that
month's key ratings ``sweeps,'' said Kim Conant, a spokeswoman for Paramount
Network Television, a unit of Viacom Inc. .
In the special segment, the Microsoft chairman stops by the studio where Frasier
is broadcasting the 2,000th edition of his call-in show, and the switchboard
lights up when Frasier announces that Gates is visiting. Gates then offers to
field some calls and ends up going on and on about Microsoft and its products as
Frasier grows visibly bored, Conant said.
Gates' appearance at the Paramount lot in Hollywood comes two days before Microsoft
is due to roll out its new Windows XP operating system for personal computers
amid a $200 million marketing and advertising campaign for the product.
Gates also was due to appear Wednesday on the morning talk show ``Live with Regis and Kelly.''
Bill Gates Guests On Frasier
Auction News Update
B-Ball With Spike Lee
Spike Lee knows that his pair of courtside seats at Madison Square Garden are
valuable. But he had no idea of the true worth of one of his $1,500 seats until
he put it up for auction for the Oct. 30 game between the Knicks and the Michael
Jordan-led Wizards.
Initially, Lee told me he thought the seat would fetch about $15,000. But when I
saw the director at Miramax's party after "The Concert for New York City" early
Sunday morning at the Hudson Hotel, he mentioned that the bidding on nba.com and
Yahoo! Auctions was up to $71,000.
Yesterday afternoon, the price was $100,100.
On Saturday, Lee said: "It could go to $100,000 by the end of the auction." That's
today, at 12:15 p.m. Proceeds are going to the Fire Department's USA Widows and Children's Fund.
Get Game With Spike Lee
Oprah's Book Club Rebel
Jonathan Franzen
Oprah Winfrey will not be breaking bread with Jonathan Franzen, the author of
her latest book club pick, ``The Corrections.'' The talk show host usually airs
a segment in which she dines with the writer and selected viewers.
``Jonathan Franzen will not be on the Oprah Winfrey show because he is seemingly
uncomfortable and conflicted about being chosen as a book club selection,''
Winfrey said in a recent statement.
``It is never my intention to make anyone uncomfortable or cause anyone conflict.
We have decided to skip the dinner and we're moving on to the next book.''
Winfrey's choice was announced Sept. 24 and Franzen had been expected to appear
on her show some time over the next few weeks. His novel, a National Book Award
nominee, tells the story of an alienated Midwest family.
A spokeswoman said Winfrey was aware of comments made by Franzen in a variety of
interviews. In remarks that appeared in the Oct. 12 edition of The Oregonian, a
Portland-based newspaper, the author said he had considered turning down the
pick, which virtually guarantees hundreds of thousands of sales.
He was concerned about having the Oprah logo on the cover.
``I know it says Oprah's Book Club, but it's an implied endorsement, both for me
and for her. The reason I got into this business is because I'm an independent
writer, and I didn't want that corporate logo on my book,'' Franzen said.
``The Corrections'' was a best seller before the Oprah selection and more than
500,000 copies now are in print.
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Franzen's publisher, agreed to release some copies of
the book with the Oprah label and some without.
In a statement issued Tuesday through his publisher, Franzen said he was ``delighted''
by the Winfrey pick and said he was ``sorry to learn there won't be a dinner for
this particular selection.''
``I was never conflicted by any of this, although the printed logo on the dust jacket
did make me uncomfortable. I'm a writer, not a spokesperson. ... I'm sorry if, because
of my inexperience, I expressed myself poorly or unwisely,'' Franzen said.
No Dinner With Oprah For Jonathan
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
To check out 'Train Station Chicken', and more (like 'Cranberry Autumn Tea'),
In The Kitchen With BartCop
Disney News
Cornering The Kiddie Market?
The Walt Disney Co. will complete its acquisition of Fox Family Channel as early
as Wednesday at a slightly lower price than was originally negotiated, sources
familiar with the deal told Reuters.
News Corp. Ltd., which owns 49.5 percent of Fox Family, is working with Disney
officials to reduce the $3 billion cash price on the acquisition by about $100
million, the sources, who requested anonymity, said Tuesday.
The acquisition, first announced in July, originally called for Disney to pay $3
billion in cash and assume $2.1 billion in Fox Family debt. Disney gains Fox
Family's 81 million U.S. subscribers and some 34 million subscribers in foreign
countries. It wants to rename the channel ABC Family and reprogram the network
with ABC shows.
The deal provides News Corp. much-needed cash to use in its battle with EchoStar
Communications Corp. to acquire Hughes Electronics Corp. and its highly-coveted
DirecTV satellite television service.
Disney-Fox Family
More Disney News
ABC.com Gutted
Walt Disney Co.'s ABC.com Web site cut a ``significant'' number of its staff as
it undergoes a restructuring in an attempt to contend with the current economic
slowdown, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday.
In a memo to staff, Walt Disney Internet group President Steve Wadsworth said the site
will be restructured as a promotional online home for the ABC television network.
Up until now, the site provided entertainment, information, and news, as well as
promotional programming on the ABC network.
``With the economy the way it is, we were looking for areas we can operate more
efficiently. By our learning through aligning with the division, we believe we
can still run a robust site,'' spokeswoman Kim Kerscher said.
She added that there will likely be a change in the mix of content available on the site.
CNET reported the cuts late Monday and cited one employee saying that about 85 percent
of the unit was cut. Kerscher declined to comment on the number.
In May, Walt Disney Internet Group consolidated assets and unveiled a revamped
ABC.com site. The move came after Walt Disney brought the Internet unit back
into its fold after the group struggled to make money on its own. The group
encompasses Disney Online, abc.com, ESPN.com, and ABCNEWS.com.
Disney Guts abc.com
Still More Disney News
West Point Going Mickey Mouse?
ABC has signed a $25 million deal to promote the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point through television specials and commercials.
Announced Tuesday, it shows how the lines between advertising and entertainment on
television are blurring as clients seek something different from traditional commercials.
ABC, which is owned by the Walt Disney Co., promised to run a prime-time special
next June, ``Young America Celebrates West Point.'' The deal also includes other
properties wholly or partly owned by Disney - ESPN, The History Channel, Lifetime,
A&E, ABC Radio and even ESPN magazine.
The deal between ABC and the West Point Project LLC, a group of West Point alumni,
was in the works before the Sept. 11 attacks. But Joseph Franklin, a retired general
who's the chief adviser for the West Point Project, said it was a ``wonderful
coincidence'' that ABC was featuring the military at a time of war.
Keyed to the U.S. Military Academy's 200th anniversary, the purpose of the ad
campaign is to help West Point's recruiting, he said.
Besides the prime-time special, a vignette series called ``West Point Minute''
will air on ABC News programs ``Good Morning America'' and ``Nightline.'' They
will be clearly marked advertising, the network said.
Noted sports filmmaker Bud Greenspan is making a two-hour documentary on West
Point's sports history to air on ESPN. ESPN Classic will air an Army football
special titled ``Field of Honor'' and rebroadcast old Army football games.
The History Channel will air a two-hour documentary on people who have attended
West Point called, ``The Long Grey Line,'' a four-hour film on West Point's history
and a one-hour special, ``West Point & The Movies.''
An ad and programming campaign will also air on Lifetime, with the goal of promoting
the military as an option for young women.
Worried that people are tuning out traditional advertising, clients have been looking
for new ways to get their messages across. Besides the approach taken by West Point,
CBS has sold product placement opportunities on shows like ``Survivor.''
ABC has other deals signed or in the works, although none with programming options
as extensive as West Point, said Bill Bund, senior vice president of sales at ABC.
West Point alumni are either paying for the air time directly or selling advertising
time on the programs. American Airlines is participating, and other companies are
expected to sign on soon, project representatives said.
The West Point - Mickey Mouse Connection
'C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigations'
Picking Up Steam
To paraphrase the Bard, some TV series are born great, while some have greatness
thrust upon them.
And then there's ``C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation,'' which can lay claim to both
a great idea and (especially thrust upon it in recent weeks) even greater timing.
Make no mistake, this isn't Shakespeare. ``C.S.I.'' is a have-it-both-ways whodunit
that balances a high-tech, glossy style with retro melodrama. Cool logic co-exists
with graphic flashes of brutality, body parts and gore.
It's goofy yet smart, earnest yet campy, oddly instructive yet utterly escapist.
All in all, a pretty neat trick and fun to watch. (It airs Thursday at 9 p.m. EDT
on CBS.) When ``C.S.I.'' premiered a year ago, lacking buzz from industry insiders,
it immediately clicked with viewers. ``C.S.I.'' reigned as last season's surprise hit.
Then came Sept. 11. In an instant, many TV shows (notably a wave of cloak-and-dagger
dramas for 2001-02 including ``The Agency'' and ``Alias'') became relics from an
obsolete Zeitgeist. Drama too fanciful or, conversely, too true to life seemed
out of step with the public's sudden sorrows and anxieties.
``C.S.I.,'' on the other hand, has gained an even surer grip on its audience just
by staying the course. (In the early weeks of its second season, it's ranked sixth
among TV households.)
Fortunately, staying the course is the gospel of senior forensic sleuth Gil Grissom,
who heads what he calls ``the nerd squad'' within the Las Vegas Criminalistics Bureau.
In a world of relative values and crippling nuance, as we wonder not just what
the answer is, but whether an answer can even be had, Grissom strikes a weekly a
blow for Rational Man.
Played by William Petersen, Grissom is an intriguing blend of champion and odd duck.
He has a certain blunt charm and morbid wit (``So, Watson, the game's afoot,'' he quips
to an associate on finding a severed leg). In his lab or at a crime scene, he stares
death in the face - a face sometimes well along in decomposing - with calm fascination.
They work the graveyard shift, a portentous time of day in Las Vegas when it's
either too bright or too dark, too noisy or too quiet. Grissom and his team
provide the fitting counter-force in a town legendary for its free-floating
artiface, where what passes for truth is keno and Wayne Newton.
Here in Vegas, as everywhere, the human race is an enigma. But what humans do,
for better or worse, expresses itself in plain sight if you look. Or so Grissom
says. Watch ``C.S.I.'' and see how.
'C.S.I' Picking Up Fans
The Latest Talk Show Host
Erin Brockovich
A spokeswoman at NBC confirmed Monday that the feisty Erin Brockovich, who also took
on an ex-boyfriend and ex-husband in court when they allegedly tried to blackmail
her after her rise to fame, is working on a pilot for a syndicated talk show.
The one-hour program could be shot as early as next month, but the show still
needs to settle on a format, sources familiar with the project said. The show
could begin airing as soon as early next year.
The twice-divorced mother of three rose to prominence seven years ago in the
California legal community when she helped a law firm win a record $333 million
lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric over illegal dumping allegations.
Her story was made into a movie, ``Erin Brockovich,'' starring Julia Roberts who
won an Academy Award for the role. The movie earned $126 million in domestic box
office sales, making it one of the top 200 grossing movies of all time.
The new show is being developed by NBC Enterprises, the unit of NBC that develops
syndicated shows. NBC is a division of General Electric Co..
Erin Brockovich
Remember The 'Stolen Oscars'?
The Rest Of The Story
A loading dock worker at the warehouse where 55 Oscar statuettes disappeared last
year pleaded no contest Tuesday to receiving stolen property.
Anthony Willie Hart, 39, was the last of three defendants to plead. He faces
three years probation. A grand theft charge will be dismissed, prosecutors said.
John Willie Harris, 55, the stepbrother of the man who reported finding all but
three of the statuettes in a trash bin a week before the Academy Awards show,
also has pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property. He maintains his stepbrother's
finding of the Oscars was a coincidence.
Sentencing for Hart and Harris was set for Dec. 5. Harris faces 180 days in jail.
Willie Fulgear, 62, who returned the 52 statuettes, was rewarded with $50,000 and
two tickets to the 2000 Academy Awards.
The other three statuettes were never recovered.
The third defendant in the case, truck driver Lawrence Ledent, 39, pleaded no contest
in July to grand theft charges. He was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered
to pay $51,000 in restitution, including the $50,000 reward that his employer,
Roadway Express, paid to Fulgear.
Sounds Like A 'CCR' Song...
Over The Last Week - In Seattle
'Groundwork 2001' Benefit Series
An array of music stars, from songstress Emmylou Harris to the rock band R.E.M.,
wrapped up a week of sold-out benefit concerts here Monday, raising $1 million
for a United Nations food program, organizers said on Monday.
The Groundwork 2001 benefit series of six nightly concerts in three Seattle
venues, which was streamed across the Internet, opened Oct. 14 with a line-up
that included Harris, Dave Matthews and lesser-known talents such as alternative
pop artist Daniel Lanois and gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama.
``It's an old trick (to) have the person outside the tent who gets the people
inside,'' Harris told Reuters in a backstage interview. ``I believe people want
to help but maybe they just don't know how, and it takes organizations like
Groundwork to make people see that they can really make a difference.''
The concert series to benefit the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization wrapped
up on Monday with anticipated appearances by R.E.M., Alanis Morissette and Pearl Jam.
Other artists who performed included Chris Whitley, The Wallflowers, Joe Strummer and the
Mescaleros, Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart, Chocolate Genius, and Michael Franti & Spearhead.
The Blind Boys stole the show Oct. 14 with their version of the hymn ``Amazing Grace,''
sung to the tune of the blues classic ''House of the Rising Sun.'' The gospel group
followed with a raucous call-and-response version of ``If I Had a Hammer,'' with
the band's tenor, Jimmy Carter, strolling the aisles to exhort the audience.
Harris brought many in the audience to tears with her rendition of ``Abraham,
Martin and John.''
Although the benefit concert series was planned well before the Sept. 11 attacks
on the United States, several performers alluded to the tragic events.
A benefit 15-song CD entitled ``Groundwork: Act to Reduce Hunger,'' will feature
donated songs by artists including Harris, Madonna, Tom Waits, Moby, Sheryl Crow,
Artis the Spoonman, and Joe Henry.
Groundwork 2001
As Promised
Bonus Page Link
Here are a couple of MP3 files from BC
Gordon Parks Award
In NYC
It's safe to say that all eyes were definitely on budding scribe Matt George when
he accepted a screenplay award at the annual IFP Feature Film Market in New York
earlier this month.
The prize, named after Gordon Parks, a pioneering director (''Shaft''), Life
magazine photojournalist, author and musician, recognizes emerging black
filmmakers, including one director and one screenwriter. Winners receive an
all-expense-paid trip to New York to claim their prize at a star-studded ceremony.
But George is Caucasian.
Unfortunately, the panel of presenters and judges, including directors Spike Lee,
Malcolm D. Lee (Spike's cousin), Bill Duke, Cheryl Dunye, producer Deborah Martin
Chase and actress Tonya Lee Williams, didn't know that. At least not until George,
a surfer who stands over six feet and looks like he just stepped out of the Navy,
boasting tattoos and a shaved head, showed up to collect his $10,000 prize on Oct. 5.
``I showed up and it was a complete surprise,'' George told Daily Variety. ``I
was the bastard child at that banquet. We're talking about a starving Hollywood
writer who has entered 15 competitions and didn't really read the fine print. It
was the most awkward situation of my life. It became so comedic that at the
after-party there wasn't a human being in there that wasn't buying me a drink.''
George's winning script, ``Soul Alley,'' pays homage to his African-American
godfather, Buddie Penn, the first black squadron leader in Vietnam. It's a love
story, set in the Philippines during the war, involving the children left behind
in the military's wake. George previously won Emmys for producing documentaries
``Let Me Be Brave'' and ``Surfer Magazine'' before creating the short-lived NBC
surfing drama ``Wind on Water.''
``They assumed that since my screenplay is of an African-American theme, that the
writer was African-American,'' George said. ``I was approached by a committee
member and told that I was ineligible to receive the award on the basis of the
color of my skin. I was disappointed, but what could I do? I realized that we
had all made an error, so I stood down.''
The prize was ultimately presented to Jono Oliver, who wrote ``The Other Ones,'' about
a man who finds his place in the world after he's injured in a highly publicized shooting.
``I'm just honored that I could write a screenplay that could win an African-American
award,'' George said. ``That's such an honor.''
Screenplay Competition
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ooooooh -- I KNOW This One!....
"Boondocks" (23 Oct 01)
Ooooooh -- Really Like This One....
"Boondocks" (22 Oct 01)
Still Really Like This One....
"Boondocks" (9 Oct 01)
Gonna let it ride for awhile.
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
