LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Christopher Guest is taking it up to 11 for Foxs sequel to "Night at the Museum."
The "Spinal Tap" star has joined the cast as Ivan the Terrible for the comedy adventure, officially titled "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian."
Also joining the cast are Jon Bernthal (Al Capone), Bill Hader (Gen. George Armstrong Custer) and French actor Alain Chabat (Napoleon).
The film, directed by Shawn Levy, reunites lead Ben Stiller with castmates Robin Williams, Ricky Gervais and Owen Wilson. Shooting is underway in Vancouver,
The original film, released in 2006, was a box office success for Fox, grossing 574 million worldwide.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Selasa, 01 Juli 2008
Fox promotes new TV show with mysterious ads (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Find the pattern," growls a voice from your radio.
The gravely suggestion interrupts a commercial for the Abrams Auto car dealership and concludes with a whisper of "Fox."
The Fox network is hoping listeners will piece together these mysterious fragments and realize there is indeed a pattern -- one that leads straight to the networks new action drama "Fringe," which premieres September 9.
The ads, which debuted this week, are part of Foxs innovative ad campaign for the J.J. Abrams series, which the network hopes will jump-start its fall lineup. Although the network declined to release specific dollar figures, the campaign represents Foxs largest scripted series marketing effort in years.
The campaign will feature cryptic messages that encourage fans to search on the Internet for more information. Fans of Abrams hit ABC drama "Lost" and the hit winter movie "Cloverfield" are familiar with the tactic, so much so that Abrams name is incorporated into the radio ads as a clue.
"Our radio goal was definitely to not say Fringe," said Laurel Bernard, senior vp marketing at Fox. "We didnt want them to sound in any way like a traditional radio spot. We wanted them to be disruptive and a little mysterious sounding."
The campaign also includes online ads placed on Web sites outside of the usual entertainment hubs to catch viewers attention in unique locations. Users on such sites as Automobile.com and recipe site FamilyOven.com will see mysterious ads encouraging them to "Imagine the Impossibilities."
"They will be very quick sort of messages, leading people to nondescript Web sites that will ultimately lead them back to Fringe," Bernard said.
With the campaign, Fox is getting an early start on its fall marketing. The networks off-air marketing efforts usually dont being until six weeks before a series premiere.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
The gravely suggestion interrupts a commercial for the Abrams Auto car dealership and concludes with a whisper of "Fox."
The Fox network is hoping listeners will piece together these mysterious fragments and realize there is indeed a pattern -- one that leads straight to the networks new action drama "Fringe," which premieres September 9.
The ads, which debuted this week, are part of Foxs innovative ad campaign for the J.J. Abrams series, which the network hopes will jump-start its fall lineup. Although the network declined to release specific dollar figures, the campaign represents Foxs largest scripted series marketing effort in years.
The campaign will feature cryptic messages that encourage fans to search on the Internet for more information. Fans of Abrams hit ABC drama "Lost" and the hit winter movie "Cloverfield" are familiar with the tactic, so much so that Abrams name is incorporated into the radio ads as a clue.
"Our radio goal was definitely to not say Fringe," said Laurel Bernard, senior vp marketing at Fox. "We didnt want them to sound in any way like a traditional radio spot. We wanted them to be disruptive and a little mysterious sounding."
The campaign also includes online ads placed on Web sites outside of the usual entertainment hubs to catch viewers attention in unique locations. Users on such sites as Automobile.com and recipe site FamilyOven.com will see mysterious ads encouraging them to "Imagine the Impossibilities."
"They will be very quick sort of messages, leading people to nondescript Web sites that will ultimately lead them back to Fringe," Bernard said.
With the campaign, Fox is getting an early start on its fall marketing. The networks off-air marketing efforts usually dont being until six weeks before a series premiere.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Indonesian film explores trauma of 1998 riot victims (Reuters)
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A new Indonesian film puts the spotlight on the sensitive issues of racism and rape involving the minority Chinese community during the bloody riots that led to the downfall of former President Suharto 10 years ago.
At one level, the movie "May" is a simple story about a fictional Chinese-Indonesian woman raped during the May 1998 riots when more than 1,000 people were killed in Jakarta.
Most who died were trapped in burning buildings, as mobs rampaged through the streets focusing attacks on Chinese houses and shops.
But the film also explores the broader human tragedy behind the riots that broke out during the height of the Asian financial crisis.
"It is a reflection of the 1998 incident. We made the movie not only to remind people, but (because) we want this incident to never happen again," said Viva Westi, the films director, adding that not only Chinese but everyone was the victim of the riots.
Ten years on, rights groups say people who lost family and homes are still waiting for justice while the issue of rape has never been dealt with because of the silence of the victims and the reluctance of the public to acknowledge any sexual abuse.
Thousands of Chinese Indonesians fled the country during the riots, which brought to a head years of economic and social tensions between indigenous Indonesians, called pribumi, and the ethnic Chinese.
Aside from ethnic differences, most pribumi are Muslims and most Indonesian Chinese are not, and there was also resentment over what many other Indonesians saw as disproportionate economic influence by the Chinese.
An independent team set up to investigate the riots found that 85 women, mostly ethnic Chinese, were sexually assaulted, but authorities dropped the inquiry, citing lack of evidence.
"It (the movie) is about humanity. Its about how this event impacts the lives of individuals. But its also political. We made this movie because many of the problems are still unsolved," said Ade Kusumaningrum, the films publicist.
"We cannot re-enact the riots because every person has a different interpretation. There is no simple truth ... But we wanted to portray the main tragedy from a womans perspective."
GUILT
In a break from the usual crop of horror and teen films in Indonesia, Westis movie is a rare and sensitive look at the riots through the eyes of May, the Chinese-Indonesian woman, who was separated from her boyfriend and mother in the riots.
May flees to Malaysia and builds a new life as a pub singer, but 10 years on she is still traumatized by the events that left her pregnant and filled with anger toward her boyfriend, Antares, believing her fate would have been different had he rescued her.
Apart from dealing with Mays crisis after reuniting with Antares, the movie also delves into the guilt felt by many indigenous Indonesians at the fate of the Chinese minority.
In the film, a laundryman, Gandang, struggles to deal with his success at the expense of Mays mother, who sold her land to him for a plane ticket to escape the riots.
"The character of Gandang is the analogy of the Indonesian government. He never did anything for 10 years, but he enjoyed everything without explaining what really happened," she said.
Although many Chinese who fled during the riots have returned in recent years and the community has made progress in some areas, deep scars remain and it is still trying to find its exact place in the worlds most populous Muslim nation.
Under the autocratic rule of Suharto, ethnic Chinese were initially major targets of mass killings of alleged communists and communist sympathizers, and subsequently their culture and language were severely restricted.
Even so, the community, which represents only about 3 percent of Indonesias population, had a strong influence over big swathes of the economy, and some of the most wealthy had close links to Suharto.
Westi says she plans to go to the international circuit with her movie which only ran in the cinema in Jakarta for a week before it was edged out by big Hollywood releases such as "Sex and the City" and "Kung Fu Panda."
The National Commission on Human Rights said the movie was an important reminder of a past many may have forgotten or are reluctant to accept.
"Raising the facts of May 1998 is necessary, to tell the public that it has indeed happened and that women were victims," said Hesti Armi Wulan, deputy chief for external relations.
"The general public must understand the bitterness of rape victims, because the trauma will never stop."
(Editing by Ed Davies and Jerry Norton)
At one level, the movie "May" is a simple story about a fictional Chinese-Indonesian woman raped during the May 1998 riots when more than 1,000 people were killed in Jakarta.
Most who died were trapped in burning buildings, as mobs rampaged through the streets focusing attacks on Chinese houses and shops.
But the film also explores the broader human tragedy behind the riots that broke out during the height of the Asian financial crisis.
"It is a reflection of the 1998 incident. We made the movie not only to remind people, but (because) we want this incident to never happen again," said Viva Westi, the films director, adding that not only Chinese but everyone was the victim of the riots.
Ten years on, rights groups say people who lost family and homes are still waiting for justice while the issue of rape has never been dealt with because of the silence of the victims and the reluctance of the public to acknowledge any sexual abuse.
Thousands of Chinese Indonesians fled the country during the riots, which brought to a head years of economic and social tensions between indigenous Indonesians, called pribumi, and the ethnic Chinese.
Aside from ethnic differences, most pribumi are Muslims and most Indonesian Chinese are not, and there was also resentment over what many other Indonesians saw as disproportionate economic influence by the Chinese.
An independent team set up to investigate the riots found that 85 women, mostly ethnic Chinese, were sexually assaulted, but authorities dropped the inquiry, citing lack of evidence.
"It (the movie) is about humanity. Its about how this event impacts the lives of individuals. But its also political. We made this movie because many of the problems are still unsolved," said Ade Kusumaningrum, the films publicist.
"We cannot re-enact the riots because every person has a different interpretation. There is no simple truth ... But we wanted to portray the main tragedy from a womans perspective."
GUILT
In a break from the usual crop of horror and teen films in Indonesia, Westis movie is a rare and sensitive look at the riots through the eyes of May, the Chinese-Indonesian woman, who was separated from her boyfriend and mother in the riots.
May flees to Malaysia and builds a new life as a pub singer, but 10 years on she is still traumatized by the events that left her pregnant and filled with anger toward her boyfriend, Antares, believing her fate would have been different had he rescued her.
Apart from dealing with Mays crisis after reuniting with Antares, the movie also delves into the guilt felt by many indigenous Indonesians at the fate of the Chinese minority.
In the film, a laundryman, Gandang, struggles to deal with his success at the expense of Mays mother, who sold her land to him for a plane ticket to escape the riots.
"The character of Gandang is the analogy of the Indonesian government. He never did anything for 10 years, but he enjoyed everything without explaining what really happened," she said.
Although many Chinese who fled during the riots have returned in recent years and the community has made progress in some areas, deep scars remain and it is still trying to find its exact place in the worlds most populous Muslim nation.
Under the autocratic rule of Suharto, ethnic Chinese were initially major targets of mass killings of alleged communists and communist sympathizers, and subsequently their culture and language were severely restricted.
Even so, the community, which represents only about 3 percent of Indonesias population, had a strong influence over big swathes of the economy, and some of the most wealthy had close links to Suharto.
Westi says she plans to go to the international circuit with her movie which only ran in the cinema in Jakarta for a week before it was edged out by big Hollywood releases such as "Sex and the City" and "Kung Fu Panda."
The National Commission on Human Rights said the movie was an important reminder of a past many may have forgotten or are reluctant to accept.
"Raising the facts of May 1998 is necessary, to tell the public that it has indeed happened and that women were victims," said Hesti Armi Wulan, deputy chief for external relations.
"The general public must understand the bitterness of rape victims, because the trauma will never stop."
(Editing by Ed Davies and Jerry Norton)
Pause after Screen Actors Guild contract expires (AP)
LOS ANGELES - The contract between movie and TV actors and major Hollywood studios expired early Tuesday after the studios made a final offer and the Screen Actors Guild said it would take more than a day to study it.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said the offer was worth more than $250 million in additional compensation to members of the guild over the three years of the proposed contract.
The current pact expired at 12:01 a.m. PDT, but both sides said they would continue to work under the old contract after the deadline passed.
"In short, our final offer to SAG represents a final hope for avoiding further work stoppages and getting everyone back to work," the alliance said in a statement. The alliance said film production had been "virtually shut down" because of uncertainty about a deal.
The AMPTP will meet with guild representatives Wednesday afternoon to explain the offer, but will not entertain counterproposals, spokesman Jesse Hiestand said.
The guild said it would prepare a formal response once it analyzes the 43-page offer, but SAG's chief negotiator, executive director Doug Allen, immediately criticized it.
"This offer does not appear to address some key issues important to actors," he said in a statement.
For example, residual payments to actors for reruns of productions that were made only for the Internet were "incalculable," he said, adding it would "mean the beginning of the end of residuals."
The offer, made less than five months after the 100-day writers strike, was in line with deals cut with directors and writers guilds, as well as the tentative deal reached in May with the smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, both sides said.
The guild, however, has waged an all-out campaign against the AFTRA deal, which some 70,000 members were asked to ratify.
SAG, which represents 120,000 actors in movies, TV and other media, shares 44,000 dual members with AFTRA, which includes actors, singers, announcers and journalists.
Results are due July 8.
The guild has said the AFTRA deal left many areas for improvement, including on residual payments for DVD sales, in the area of advertising weaved into scripts and on compensation for Internet content.
That position suggested SAG would turn down the producers' final offer, said Jonathan Handel, a former lawyer for the Writers Guild of America.
"SAG says it's reviewing the offer, but in fact what we can expect is a thorough rejection," Handel said. "This really is a situation where we're looking at a bit of a stalemate."
AFTRA declined to comment.
The dispute has split actors who have taken sides between the warring unions.
Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey and others have urged support of the AFTRA deal, arguing that doing otherwise could result in a painful repeat of the writers strike, which ended in February and is estimated to have caused more than $2 billion in economic damage.
Jack Nicholson, Josh Brolin, Holly Hunter and others support SAG's tactics, saying AFTRA should return to the bargaining table to get a better deal.
"I hope that cool heads prevail and that people get a chance to work," actor Ron Perlman told Associated Press Television at the weekend premiere of his "Hellboy II: The Golden Army." "I'm hoping and praying that they find some middle ground."
Will Ferrell told AP Television last week that a strike would be unfortunate.
"I don't think anyone wants to have to deal with a strike or go on strike, but if that's what has to be done, that's what has to be done," he said.
In its statement Monday, the producers alliance warned of the damage of another walkout, saying a work stoppage would cost SAG members $2.5 million in wages every day.
Other labor groups in the industry would lose $13.5 million, while the California economy would take a daily $23 million hit, it said.
"With each passing day after June 30, there will be less work for those whose livelihoods depend on our industry," the statement said.
___
On the Net:
Screen Actors Guild: http://www.sag.org
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, http://www.aftra.com
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said the offer was worth more than $250 million in additional compensation to members of the guild over the three years of the proposed contract.
The current pact expired at 12:01 a.m. PDT, but both sides said they would continue to work under the old contract after the deadline passed.
"In short, our final offer to SAG represents a final hope for avoiding further work stoppages and getting everyone back to work," the alliance said in a statement. The alliance said film production had been "virtually shut down" because of uncertainty about a deal.
The AMPTP will meet with guild representatives Wednesday afternoon to explain the offer, but will not entertain counterproposals, spokesman Jesse Hiestand said.
The guild said it would prepare a formal response once it analyzes the 43-page offer, but SAG's chief negotiator, executive director Doug Allen, immediately criticized it.
"This offer does not appear to address some key issues important to actors," he said in a statement.
For example, residual payments to actors for reruns of productions that were made only for the Internet were "incalculable," he said, adding it would "mean the beginning of the end of residuals."
The offer, made less than five months after the 100-day writers strike, was in line with deals cut with directors and writers guilds, as well as the tentative deal reached in May with the smaller actors union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, both sides said.
The guild, however, has waged an all-out campaign against the AFTRA deal, which some 70,000 members were asked to ratify.
SAG, which represents 120,000 actors in movies, TV and other media, shares 44,000 dual members with AFTRA, which includes actors, singers, announcers and journalists.
Results are due July 8.
The guild has said the AFTRA deal left many areas for improvement, including on residual payments for DVD sales, in the area of advertising weaved into scripts and on compensation for Internet content.
That position suggested SAG would turn down the producers' final offer, said Jonathan Handel, a former lawyer for the Writers Guild of America.
"SAG says it's reviewing the offer, but in fact what we can expect is a thorough rejection," Handel said. "This really is a situation where we're looking at a bit of a stalemate."
AFTRA declined to comment.
The dispute has split actors who have taken sides between the warring unions.
Tom Hanks, Alec Baldwin and Kevin Spacey and others have urged support of the AFTRA deal, arguing that doing otherwise could result in a painful repeat of the writers strike, which ended in February and is estimated to have caused more than $2 billion in economic damage.
Jack Nicholson, Josh Brolin, Holly Hunter and others support SAG's tactics, saying AFTRA should return to the bargaining table to get a better deal.
"I hope that cool heads prevail and that people get a chance to work," actor Ron Perlman told Associated Press Television at the weekend premiere of his "Hellboy II: The Golden Army." "I'm hoping and praying that they find some middle ground."
Will Ferrell told AP Television last week that a strike would be unfortunate.
"I don't think anyone wants to have to deal with a strike or go on strike, but if that's what has to be done, that's what has to be done," he said.
In its statement Monday, the producers alliance warned of the damage of another walkout, saying a work stoppage would cost SAG members $2.5 million in wages every day.
Other labor groups in the industry would lose $13.5 million, while the California economy would take a daily $23 million hit, it said.
"With each passing day after June 30, there will be less work for those whose livelihoods depend on our industry," the statement said.
___
On the Net:
Screen Actors Guild: http://www.sag.org
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, http://www.aftra.com
Senin, 30 Juni 2008
McClellan campaigns for himself in promoting book (AP)
SAN FRANCISCO - On his book promotion stopover here, former White House press secretary Scott McClellan was squired around by a "literary escort," a pleasant woman named Naomi who drives visiting authors to their speaking engagements in a blue convertible. There were no motorcades, no street closures, no Secret Service.
McClellan slept at a Marriott Hotel, a couple of notches down from the Beverly Wilshire where he, President Bush and the rest of the White House entourage stayed when in Southern California. Where he once spoke with the mighty White House seal behind him, McClellan addressed a crowd here in front of a humble fabric backdrop emblazoned with the words "Commonwealth Club."
It is a long way from the Oval Office, where McClellan once basked in the power of the president, to the book circuit, where he is delivering a sharp critique of that president. But a month after the explosive release of "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," McClellan seems comfortable in his new role, polishing his one-liners about Dick Cheney, relishing largely sympathetic audiences and accepting his exile from certain ex-colleagues.
"There are a number of former colleagues that, they were friends before and they're friends today and will continue to be," McClellan said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I hope someday that others can step back from this and I can maybe renew some of those friendships. I don't know if that'll happen or not."
From the lectern, McClellan is looser and funnier than he was in the hot glare of the White House press room.
It probably helps that his book tour has taken him to such "blue" cities as Santa Monica, Calif., and Austin, Texas. In Seattle, a sold-out crowd of 850 gave him a standing ovation. In San Francisco, a liberal city Bush has never visited as president, McClellan was drowned out by applause as he said, "the war in Iraq was not absolutely necessary."
McClellan has incorporated some crowd-pleasing titles of books he imagines his former White House comrades writing:
_"I Upped Halliburton's Income ...," by Dick Cheney.
_"The Lies I Told, to Whom and Why," by Karl Rove.
_"Well, Paaaaaardon Me!" by Scooter Libby, convicted in the case of the leaked identity of a CIA operative, and perhaps hoping for a presidential pardon.
The jokes loosened up a crowd of 550 San Franciscans in the middle of a work day -- and appeared to crack up McClellan himself. Then he moved into the serious part of what has become his "stump speech," an overview of "What Happened."
The book accuses Bush of orchestrating a "political propaganda campaign to sell the war to the American people," trying to make the "WMD threat and the Iraqi connection to terrorism appear just a little more certain, a little less questionable than they were."
Reading at times from prepared notes, McClellan acknowledged, as he does in the book, that he was swept away by trust for the president and the intelligence he assumed top national-security aides must have had.
After reflecting for many months after leaving the White House, "I realized how badly misplaced my trust was," McClellan said.
McClellan is eager to answer critics who say he should have spoken up from inside the White House, where, the critics say, he might have had the chance to sway events, rather than after he had resigned in 2006. It took time to get perspective, for his ideas to marinate, he said.
It was not until July 2007 that he began to write the book, and he pushed his deadline back a couple times, finishing the manuscript in mid-April of this year.
"This is the truth as best I know it from my perspective," he told the audience here.
McClellan is a little fuzzy on certain questions of his future. Whom will he vote for, John McCain or Barack Obama? Not sure yet. Will he change parties, as he has done once before? Hasn't made up his mind.
How will he make a living, now that the president of the United States and so many other influential Republicans consider him a traitor?
He wants to change Washington's culture, and believes, based on the reception he says his book is getting, that the public hungers for that, too. Beyond that, he's not sure about work, though he's considering academia.
McClellan's book was No. 2 on The New York Times list of best sellers. With a relatively small $75,000 book advance, does he stand to make a lot of money?
"I have no idea," he said. "It's not the purpose of this book." McClellan said according to his contract, he will get a "small percentage" of sales after the publisher recoups its $75,000.
"I have no regrets about writing this book whatsoever," said McClellan, who serves on the advisory council of Apco Worldwide, a Washington D.C.-based public relations and issue-management company. But, he added, "I know it closed some doors to me; hopefully it will open some up new opportunities where I can continue to work on what I talk about in the book."
For the next few days, it's back on the road -- destination, Tallahassee, Fla.
And McClellan will travel alone. No pomp, no pageantry, no more Air Force One -- just literary escorts around town and commercial flights carrying him into an uncertain future.
___
Editors note: Scott Lindlaw covered the first four years of George W. Bush's presidency for The Associated Press.
McClellan slept at a Marriott Hotel, a couple of notches down from the Beverly Wilshire where he, President Bush and the rest of the White House entourage stayed when in Southern California. Where he once spoke with the mighty White House seal behind him, McClellan addressed a crowd here in front of a humble fabric backdrop emblazoned with the words "Commonwealth Club."
It is a long way from the Oval Office, where McClellan once basked in the power of the president, to the book circuit, where he is delivering a sharp critique of that president. But a month after the explosive release of "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," McClellan seems comfortable in his new role, polishing his one-liners about Dick Cheney, relishing largely sympathetic audiences and accepting his exile from certain ex-colleagues.
"There are a number of former colleagues that, they were friends before and they're friends today and will continue to be," McClellan said in an interview with The Associated Press. "I hope someday that others can step back from this and I can maybe renew some of those friendships. I don't know if that'll happen or not."
From the lectern, McClellan is looser and funnier than he was in the hot glare of the White House press room.
It probably helps that his book tour has taken him to such "blue" cities as Santa Monica, Calif., and Austin, Texas. In Seattle, a sold-out crowd of 850 gave him a standing ovation. In San Francisco, a liberal city Bush has never visited as president, McClellan was drowned out by applause as he said, "the war in Iraq was not absolutely necessary."
McClellan has incorporated some crowd-pleasing titles of books he imagines his former White House comrades writing:
_"I Upped Halliburton's Income ...," by Dick Cheney.
_"The Lies I Told, to Whom and Why," by Karl Rove.
_"Well, Paaaaaardon Me!" by Scooter Libby, convicted in the case of the leaked identity of a CIA operative, and perhaps hoping for a presidential pardon.
The jokes loosened up a crowd of 550 San Franciscans in the middle of a work day -- and appeared to crack up McClellan himself. Then he moved into the serious part of what has become his "stump speech," an overview of "What Happened."
The book accuses Bush of orchestrating a "political propaganda campaign to sell the war to the American people," trying to make the "WMD threat and the Iraqi connection to terrorism appear just a little more certain, a little less questionable than they were."
Reading at times from prepared notes, McClellan acknowledged, as he does in the book, that he was swept away by trust for the president and the intelligence he assumed top national-security aides must have had.
After reflecting for many months after leaving the White House, "I realized how badly misplaced my trust was," McClellan said.
McClellan is eager to answer critics who say he should have spoken up from inside the White House, where, the critics say, he might have had the chance to sway events, rather than after he had resigned in 2006. It took time to get perspective, for his ideas to marinate, he said.
It was not until July 2007 that he began to write the book, and he pushed his deadline back a couple times, finishing the manuscript in mid-April of this year.
"This is the truth as best I know it from my perspective," he told the audience here.
McClellan is a little fuzzy on certain questions of his future. Whom will he vote for, John McCain or Barack Obama? Not sure yet. Will he change parties, as he has done once before? Hasn't made up his mind.
How will he make a living, now that the president of the United States and so many other influential Republicans consider him a traitor?
He wants to change Washington's culture, and believes, based on the reception he says his book is getting, that the public hungers for that, too. Beyond that, he's not sure about work, though he's considering academia.
McClellan's book was No. 2 on The New York Times list of best sellers. With a relatively small $75,000 book advance, does he stand to make a lot of money?
"I have no idea," he said. "It's not the purpose of this book." McClellan said according to his contract, he will get a "small percentage" of sales after the publisher recoups its $75,000.
"I have no regrets about writing this book whatsoever," said McClellan, who serves on the advisory council of Apco Worldwide, a Washington D.C.-based public relations and issue-management company. But, he added, "I know it closed some doors to me; hopefully it will open some up new opportunities where I can continue to work on what I talk about in the book."
For the next few days, it's back on the road -- destination, Tallahassee, Fla.
And McClellan will travel alone. No pomp, no pageantry, no more Air Force One -- just literary escorts around town and commercial flights carrying him into an uncertain future.
___
Editors note: Scott Lindlaw covered the first four years of George W. Bush's presidency for The Associated Press.
"Basketball Diaries" Will Bounce Into 59E59 Theaters in Manhattan (Playbill)
Public performances will be presented July 15-27 at the venue on E. 59th Street in Manhattan.
According to production notes, "Matt Pelfrey adapts for the stage Jim Carrolls remarkable book of a key period in American culture. Set in New York City, starting in 1963, Jim is an all-star basketball player at an elite catholic school leading a double life - experimenting with drugs and getting hooked, hustling gay men to support a heroin addiction, and becoming a poet and a future rock singer. Carroll began writing his Basketball Diaries at the age of 12 in 1963. Influenced by the Cold War, the war in Vietnam, the race riots in New York City and New York Citys counter-culture movement, Basketball Diaries chronicles a turning point in American culture and is now considered a classic piece of literature."
The cast features Aaron Paternoster as Jim Carroll with Katherine Boynton, Deanna McGovern, Alex Pappas, Nick Paglino, John Porto, Mike Roche, Michael Shimkin, Arthur Solomon and Sam Whitten.
Two-time Drama Desk Award nominee Maruti Evans is the production designer. Original music and sound design are by Andrew Recinos. Fight choreography is by Josh Renfree.
The world premiere stage version of the book was commissioned by Godlight Theatre Company under an exclusive arrangement with the Betsy Lerner Agency.
Pelfrey (adaptation) is an award-winning, critically acclaimed playwright and teacher. His plays include An Impending Rupture of the Belly, Cockroach Nation, Terminus Americana, Honkies with Attitude, Gore Hounds, Drive Angry, FrEAk StORm, Jerry Springer is God, Monkey and A Feast of Famine.
The performance schedule is Tuesday-Saturday at 8:15 PM and Sunday at 3:15 PM and 7:15 PM. Single tickets are $18 ($12.60 for 59E59 Members) and are available by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. For more information visit www.59E59.org.
According to production notes, "Matt Pelfrey adapts for the stage Jim Carrolls remarkable book of a key period in American culture. Set in New York City, starting in 1963, Jim is an all-star basketball player at an elite catholic school leading a double life - experimenting with drugs and getting hooked, hustling gay men to support a heroin addiction, and becoming a poet and a future rock singer. Carroll began writing his Basketball Diaries at the age of 12 in 1963. Influenced by the Cold War, the war in Vietnam, the race riots in New York City and New York Citys counter-culture movement, Basketball Diaries chronicles a turning point in American culture and is now considered a classic piece of literature."
The cast features Aaron Paternoster as Jim Carroll with Katherine Boynton, Deanna McGovern, Alex Pappas, Nick Paglino, John Porto, Mike Roche, Michael Shimkin, Arthur Solomon and Sam Whitten.
Two-time Drama Desk Award nominee Maruti Evans is the production designer. Original music and sound design are by Andrew Recinos. Fight choreography is by Josh Renfree.
The world premiere stage version of the book was commissioned by Godlight Theatre Company under an exclusive arrangement with the Betsy Lerner Agency.
Pelfrey (adaptation) is an award-winning, critically acclaimed playwright and teacher. His plays include An Impending Rupture of the Belly, Cockroach Nation, Terminus Americana, Honkies with Attitude, Gore Hounds, Drive Angry, FrEAk StORm, Jerry Springer is God, Monkey and A Feast of Famine.
The performance schedule is Tuesday-Saturday at 8:15 PM and Sunday at 3:15 PM and 7:15 PM. Single tickets are $18 ($12.60 for 59E59 Members) and are available by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 or online at www.ticketcentral.com. For more information visit www.59E59.org.
Hollywood actors, studios head for labor limbo (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood actors and studios held a final day of labor talks on Monday before their contract was due to expire, but the midnight deadline was expected to pass with neither a settlement nor a strike.
Barring a last-minute breakthrough, the two sides are headed for a new realm of uncertainty as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, when the contract covering movie and prime-time television work for 120,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild runs out.
The labor talks, which began in April, have hit some of the same stumbling blocks that led Hollywood writers to walk off the job months ago, including clashes over how union talent should be paid for work created for the Internet.
Both sides have accused the other of foot-dragging.
"Its pretty astounding that people dont seem to know whats going to happen, and Ive spoken to some of the negotiators," said Hillary Bibicoff, a partner with Los Angeles law firm Greenberg Glusker.
Film production by major studios has ground to a near halt in anticipation of a possible work stoppage, though SAG leaders have downplayed the likelihood of a walkout, which would require a 75 percent vote by SAG members and take weeks to organize.
"We have taken no steps to initiate a strike authorization vote," SAG President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement on Sunday. "Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction."
SAG also has signed special waivers with over 300 independent producers allowing actors to continue working for those companies in the event of a strike. Production on many TV shows has plowed ahead as well.
A HOLLYWOOD LABOR CLIFFHANGER
Still, Mondays editions of Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter carried full-page studio ads saying a strike would be "harmful and unnecessary," citing 2.3 billion in lost wages from the 14-week writers strike that ended in February.
With little progress reported at the negotiating table over the weekend, it is unclear what will happen next.
SAG and the studios bargaining agent, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, could agree to formally extend the contract while they keep talking.
However, Hollywood insiders said SAG had yet to seek an extension as of midday on Monday, and the studios seemed disinclined to approve one -- a stance that would leave them free to present a "last, best and final" offer to SAG.
SAG leaders could then accept that offer, reject it or submit it to union members for a vote.
A rejection would allow the studios to impose terms of their final offer, and SAGs only recourse at that point, besides capitulation, would be a strike.
Many experts believe little of substance is likely to occur before July 8, when SAGs smaller sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, tallies ballots in a ratification vote for its own tentative TV contract.
SAG has launched a campaign to persuade its 40,000 members who belong to both unions to vote "no" on AFTRAs pact, saying it is flawed and undermines SAGs position.
A "yes" vote, SAG argues, increases the odds it will need to resort to a strike. AFTRA claims a "no" vote makes a strike more probable because a better deal for actors cannot be achieved without a work stoppage.
The rival unions have enlisted various stars to support their cause. Tom Hanks is among those flying the flag for a "yes" vote, while Jack Nicholson has sided with SAG leadership, and George Clooney has declared that both sides are right.
The last time Hollywood actors staged a strike over their main film and TV contract was in 1980, a three-month walkout to establish terms for pay-TV and video cassette production.
(Additional reporting by Dean Goodman)
Reuters/Nielsen
Barring a last-minute breakthrough, the two sides are headed for a new realm of uncertainty as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, when the contract covering movie and prime-time television work for 120,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild runs out.
The labor talks, which began in April, have hit some of the same stumbling blocks that led Hollywood writers to walk off the job months ago, including clashes over how union talent should be paid for work created for the Internet.
Both sides have accused the other of foot-dragging.
"Its pretty astounding that people dont seem to know whats going to happen, and Ive spoken to some of the negotiators," said Hillary Bibicoff, a partner with Los Angeles law firm Greenberg Glusker.
Film production by major studios has ground to a near halt in anticipation of a possible work stoppage, though SAG leaders have downplayed the likelihood of a walkout, which would require a 75 percent vote by SAG members and take weeks to organize.
"We have taken no steps to initiate a strike authorization vote," SAG President Alan Rosenberg said in a statement on Sunday. "Any talk about a strike or a management lockout at this point is simply a distraction."
SAG also has signed special waivers with over 300 independent producers allowing actors to continue working for those companies in the event of a strike. Production on many TV shows has plowed ahead as well.
A HOLLYWOOD LABOR CLIFFHANGER
Still, Mondays editions of Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter carried full-page studio ads saying a strike would be "harmful and unnecessary," citing 2.3 billion in lost wages from the 14-week writers strike that ended in February.
With little progress reported at the negotiating table over the weekend, it is unclear what will happen next.
SAG and the studios bargaining agent, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, could agree to formally extend the contract while they keep talking.
However, Hollywood insiders said SAG had yet to seek an extension as of midday on Monday, and the studios seemed disinclined to approve one -- a stance that would leave them free to present a "last, best and final" offer to SAG.
SAG leaders could then accept that offer, reject it or submit it to union members for a vote.
A rejection would allow the studios to impose terms of their final offer, and SAGs only recourse at that point, besides capitulation, would be a strike.
Many experts believe little of substance is likely to occur before July 8, when SAGs smaller sister union, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, tallies ballots in a ratification vote for its own tentative TV contract.
SAG has launched a campaign to persuade its 40,000 members who belong to both unions to vote "no" on AFTRAs pact, saying it is flawed and undermines SAGs position.
A "yes" vote, SAG argues, increases the odds it will need to resort to a strike. AFTRA claims a "no" vote makes a strike more probable because a better deal for actors cannot be achieved without a work stoppage.
The rival unions have enlisted various stars to support their cause. Tom Hanks is among those flying the flag for a "yes" vote, while Jack Nicholson has sided with SAG leadership, and George Clooney has declared that both sides are right.
The last time Hollywood actors staged a strike over their main film and TV contract was in 1980, a three-month walkout to establish terms for pay-TV and video cassette production.
(Additional reporting by Dean Goodman)
Reuters/Nielsen
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