Keanu Reeves

Keanu Reeves Is Not Helping Matters

Keanu! Barada! Nikto!I work so hard to defend my boy. I go to exaggerated lengths to prove his worth as an actor and man. I end friendships to maintain his honor. I endanger my reputation as an entertainment humorist by writing 3000 word opuses on his merits. I do everything in my power to stop abuse. And then he goes and does something like this.

How I can continue the fight against Keanu haters when the man himself agrees to play an emotion-less space alien named Klaatu (in a remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still)? It’s like he’s asking for it! I can’t defend Renee Zellweger when she plays a dowdy shrewd who squints all the time and look perpetually bitchy. I can’t defend Ben Affleck when he does a crappy Australian accent and trails animal crackers through Liv Tyler’s non-taut belly. How can I be expected to defend Keanu when he plays the exact role all Keanu-haters claim him to be? If he’s gonna Roger Ramjet his tenuous thespian standing into a wall, he might as well go full-force and team up with McConaughey for a weed picture, or play the lead in I Am Sam 2: Whoa, Sam Is Totally I Am.

Couldn’t he just have done another weepy Sandra Bullock flick? I get that he’s remaking an exceedingly well-respected sci-fi classic. And I’m happy that the initial reception has been good. But it just does nothing for the cause. He would have been better served doing another gruff guy coaches inner-city gangbangers to the Whiffleball State Championships or whatever-type movies, where he gets to be all inspirational and shit. Sam Jackson’s practically made a side business out of those, and he’s more typecast than Keanu. At least Keanu can be bought in different genres. Sam Jackson is ALWAYS Sam Muthafuckin’ Jackson. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Here’s the word from Variety on Keanu’s totally non, non non, non non, non-heinous next movie role. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go re-watch Permanent Record and remember why I keep up the crusade.

Reeves committed over the weekend to play Klaatu, a humanoid alien who arrives on Earth accompanied by an indestructible, heavily armed robot and a warning to world leaders that their continued aggression will lead to annihilation by species watching from afar.

Erwin Stoff is producing, with Scott Derrickson (“The Exorcism of Emily Rose”) directing from a script by David Scarpa. Reeves’ commitment puts the picture on track for a late fall or early 2008 production start. Studio sees it as a tentpole.

Bangarang!

(Follow me on Twitter @jasonamatthews)

If Celebrities Were Transformers

Transformers PosterIn many ways celebrities are exactly like Transformers. They may walk through the day in their “civilian” form, but when the time comes they transform into all manner of characters (doctors, lawyers, cowboys, the pervert from Happiness played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman; which should not be confused with the pervert he played in Boogie Nights. Or Capote.). Their livelihood is predicated on the audience believing their transformation. And their ability to do so convincingly is what makes us love them. This is why the success of Michael Bay’s Transformers is not at all surprising. Audiences want to see transformation, whether in celebrity or robot form (it also helps that in robot form they blow a bunch of shit up and fight each other. Also, long lingering shots of Megan Fox’s abs doesn’t hurt.). We want to watch an epic spectacle of people overcoming obstacles, growing up in the face of adversity, finding love, becoming better people, and long lingering shots of Megan Fox’s abs. Transformers has all of those things, plus occasionally big fucking robots fight each other.

Watching the flick got me thinking about what I’d want to transform into. I doubt I’d pick a vehicle, just because I’m not that big a fan of cars, I have no interest to be around other cars (especially on a LA freeway), and I’m not exactly practical should the need arise to transform into my robot self and I got a car full of people (unless I wanted to crush the hell out of them, but then I’d have blood all over my paint job and that’s not cool. You cannot get blood off of leather, I’ve tried.). I’d rather be something cool like the Decepticon who transforms into the CD player. I’m completely invisible in a room, I don’t call attention to myself, I can choose not to play country music and when I want to do some nefarious shit, no one suspects the dinky Sony with the broken six-disc changer to transform into this bad ass little robot that can hack the planet Zero Cool-style. Or maybe I’d just transform into Dakota Fanning, so not only would I be a well-respected young actor with limitless potential, but I’d also be an infamous, exceedingly lethal Master Assassin. Also I’d be blonde, and that looks like fun.

Megan Fox = HotWhenever I pull a J.D. from Scrubs and start daydreaming absurdist pop culture scenarios (like really, where would I hide all my body hair if I transformed into Dakota Fanning? Precocious child stars do not look like tiny manscaped clones of Robin Williams.), I like to extend my imagination into the realm of celebrity. As soon as I started picturing myself becoming the tiny star of Uptown Girls, I was flooded with thoughts about what celebrities might transform into, besides the characters they play on-screen.

Here’s what I came up with (categorized in proper Tranformers good vs. evil groups):

The Celebrity Autobots

- Owen Wilson transforms into a majestic Butterscotch Stallion.
- Matthew McConaughey transforms into a pair of smelly, well-worn board shorts.
- John Travolta transforms into a sexually ambiguous 747 with unreasonably thick hair and no ability to recognize quality screenplays.
- Paul Walker transforms into a less talented Keanu Reeves.
- Keanu Reeves transforms into Dr. Lancelot Ware, founder of Mensa.
- Nicole Kidman transforms into a smooth, contoured block of ice (but can still perform as a kick ass Moulin Rouge hooker, should the need arise).
- Jack Black transforms into the McDonald’s Grimace (and as we know, nothing can kill the Grimace).
- George Clooney transforms into a bulk-size tin of Dapper Dan Pomade (he doesn’t want Fop, he wants Dapper Dan. He’s a Dapper Dan man!).
- Demi Moore doesn’t transform as she’s always in her altered form, that of the Mighty Cougar.
- Julia Roberts transforms into a king-size box of Peppermint Chiclets.
- Sam Jackson transforms into an F-Bomb.

Pam and Lindsay are Decepticons!The Celebrity Decepticons

- Tom Cruise transforms into an anti-depressant (irony!).
- Lindsay Lohan transforms into a bottomless glass Red Bull & Vodka.
- Paris Hilton transforms right back into Paris Hilton (why would a Decepticon of her power and magnitude have a need to transform into anything else?).
- George Lucas transforms into an Avid Bay capable of malevolently manipulating your favorite movie scenes of all-time.
- Mel Gibson transforms into a giant, luscious pair of sugartits (that just so happen to hate Jews).
- Orlando Bloom transforms into a bowl of bland brown rice.
- Pamela Anderson transforms into a hyper-virulent strain of Herpes Simplex B.
- Sharon Stone transforms into Sharon Stone circa 1989.
- Steven Seagal transforms into a beached whale. Wait, strike that, he just looks like he transformed into a beached whale. My mistake.
- Dane Cook transforms into a bad joke.

Bangarang!

(Follow me on Twitter @jasonamatthews)

To Convert Or Not To Convert, That Is The Geek Question

The Matrix in HDGeeks face a lot of important choices in the course of their lives. Batman or Superman? Playstation or Xbox? Star Wars or Star Trek (not that this is really even a choice)? Whether to wear the “ironic” Cobrai Kai “Sweep the Leg” shirt to the bar, or just rock the usual pit-stained black tee? One decision that has a lasting impact on all aspects of our geek lives, yes even more so than Batman vs. Superman, is whether or not to convert your movie collection to the latest format. Is HD really worth the time, money and effort?

I went through an arduous decision-making process when DVD’s first arrived. I whole-heartedly refused to up-convert. I liked my VHS’s, had way too many to conceivably re-buy (college students have to have priorities, and I valued Woodstock’s Pizza over Swimming with Sharks on DVD. Sue me!), and was put off by everyone who raved about how great DVD’s were in comparison. What did I care how clear the picture was, I can see it just fine? I had decided to just ignore DVD’s, hoping they would go the way of Beta, the Jaguar game system, and Gerard Depardieu.

But then I actually watched a DVD.

A week later I had a DVD player and five DVD’s (and counting). I became a champion of the format overnight, and am still proud to wave my DVD flag. The picture WAS better; I had no idea what I was missing. Whole movies changed for me. It wasn’t until I watched the The Princess Bride on DVD that I realized the Indigo-Westley sword fight took place during the day. My worn out VHS copy made it look like it was happening at sundown. Die Hard suddenly became 18% more awesome when I noticed that my VHS copy always compressed the picture, making Bruce seem tiny and less muscular. But he was normal sized and buff on DVD. And as far as re-buying my movie collection, I took pride in seeking out replacements. Heck, I wanted them all. Every movie ever made, so long as they all looked so good. DVD quickly became my biggest passion, one that I thought could never be supplanted by another format.

But a few years ago there were rumblings of a new format; a high-definition format that blew away the already pristine picture quality of DVD. I listened to the stories but paid them no real attention. It seemed at the time to be a high-end user scenario, a format not intended for consumers, much like Laserdiscs. When HD-DVD and Blu Ray began slugging it out for market dominance I knew it was time to stand up and took notice. The advent of HD TV was beginning to change the way we watch entertainment. And I begrudgingly, much like my hesitation with DVD, accepted what was to come. However, I never even considered making the conversion.

But then I watched a basketball game in High-Definition.

Planet Earth in HDThe picture quality was unreal. Like looking right into the action, unfiltered. You could see beads of sweat on the player’s lips. As more and more TV shows made the switch, the results became even more startling. Jay Leno in HD is an adventure, to say the least. Nature documentaries were a revelation (witness the recent wonders of BBC’s Planet Earth). The potential for HD in movies was off the charts. And making the switch to HD-DVD’s was inevitable. This is unlike the existential crisis of switching from VHS to DVD. Sure the jump in quality here is comparable, but that switch was a fundamental change in the format. A tape to a disc. A viewfinder to a Nikon. It was a brand new style of control, both in menu and in technical arrangement. An alteration of your home viewing mindset. This is merely a different type of disc.

But it’s also much more than that.

For all the hassle that theaters get, we never get the same type of quality on DVD that we do with a film negative. And we never will. The picture is always more clear, the details more fleshed out. But HD closes that gap. In some instances, it makes the picture so good it blows away the print. Makes a film look TOO good. You are watching an image the way it was meant to be seen, with no compressions or compromises. What you see is what you were SUPPOSED to get. Never before has original intent been so close at hand.

HD, for all my resistance to change, is the way of the future. It’s time I embrace it. It’s time I let go of my financial concerns and start focusing on my geek obligations. Warner Brothers was kind enough to send me an advance copy of The Matrix Ultimate HD Collection, and it’s outstanding. Beyond the 36 hours of bonus materials, the compact packaging and the fact that it was free (!), the movies themselves were like nothing I’ve ever seen. The stark white control room in Revolutions was unbelievable (still my favorite piece of art-direction in the entire series). The FX work in the Burly Man fight, the Zion last stand and the final showdown between Neo and Smith is astounding, considering its scope and its age. The work done on the trilogy, technically-speaking is truly supported and championed on HD. One of my many complaints about the Matrix sequels was the tendency to overuse black. Scenes were so dark that actions became hard to follow. The Neo/Smith final fight was like trying to follow a single raindrop in a thunderstorm; you lose them throughout their aerial confrontation. HD removes that complaint. You can now differentiate between foreground and background elements. Objects are given actual placement within the image. The Matrix, already an outstanding visual achievement, becomes for the first time since Neo took that blue pill, fun to look at.

The Matrix in HD

Colors are more vibrant on HD, especially the explosions. You’ll have a whole new appreciation for the freeway chase in Reloaded after watching it on HD. The greens and violets of the series color palette are other stand-outs for me. I may still not understand half of the philosophical nonsense the Wachowski Brothers tried to lump into their supercharged sci-fi story, but at least now I understand the look of the series.

(And let me take a moment to throw a “holla” at my boy Keanu, who recently picked up yet another accolade in his sterling career. Entertainment Weekly just named The Matrix as the most important sci-fi movie of the last 25 years, beating out the likes of Blade Runner, Lost, the new Star Wars trilogy, and even the Lord of the Rings! Suck on that, all you hobbit-heads! This is just more validation for the legend of Keanu Reeves. More examples of why he is so important to the industry and the craft. More reason for me to believe I am right that not only does Keanu Reeves not suck, but that’s he’s actually totally great. Now back to the business at hand…)

The Matrix in HD

HD is meant for epics like The Matrix movies. Movies that have huge sprawling images that require closer inspection. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Star Wars trilogy, comic book movies like Spider-Man and X-Men. These types of movies are what High Definition is meant for. And what it should be exclusively used for. Will I make the conversion? Yes. But not for all movies. While I was quick to reload my VHS collection on DVD, I will not replicate my reckless spending spree on HD. For one, it’s prohibitively expensive. Maybe in two years when the price of an HD movie comes down, but for now it’s just not worth it to shill out $35 bucks for an HD version of The Last Boyscout when my DVD will do just fine (it’s not like Halle Berry is suddenly going to be topless in the HD version). And for two, the format doesn’t require or validate collection-wide dipbacks.

Do I really need Best of the Best in HD? For what, to see Eric Roberts’s hammy tears in greater detail? What will Austin Powers on HD really give me, value-wise? Is part 3 going to be suddenly less lame on HD? Will A Few Good Men get more awesome because I can now see every detail of Daniel Kaffee’s faggoty white uniform? The picture quality of HD in comparison to DVD is revolutionary, true. But I just don’t see the need to buy a non-blockbuster movie on HD. Comedy is comedy regardless of the picture quality. Same goes for Drama and to a lesser extent, animation. But sci-fi, action, adventure, horror, that’s another story. I can’t wait to see Aliens on HD. Or Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Or most of all, The Star Wars trilogies. Lucas must be licking his chops at the money he can potentially make with this new format.

So in the end I am recommending the switch to HD, so long as you are specific in what you buy. If a movie has no CGI in it, skip the HD version. If Kevin Smith is prominently involved, I doubt HD is necessary (his movies would still look like shit even in 3-D). But if you’re watching a movie with orcs, X-wings, aliens, predators, 80’s action heroes, time travelers, expert martial artists, pirates, superheroes or anything James Cameron has ever been involved with (yes, even Piranha 2), then run don’t walk to your local Best Buy and grab those new discs. If The Matrix Ultimate HD Collection is any indication, you won’t be sorry.

So if I can summarize in one word my first experience dipping into the brave new world of HD, I’d have to defer to the wisdom of someone I consider to be quite the enlightened mind.

As The One might say: “Whoa”.

Bangarang!

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The Inevitability of a Lindsay Lohan Nipple Slip

Lindsay Lohan Nipple Slip

It was a mathematical certainty that at some point, due to how she lives her life and treats her body, we would see Lindsay Lohan’s nipples. A Lohan nip slip is quite like an irrefutable equation. A2 + B2 = C2, wherein “A” is the number of times per year Lindsay wears either a bikini or a precariously slinky ensemble, “B” is the number of pictures taken of her every day, and “C”, of course, are her nipples (and not coincidentally, her cup size). The numbers never lie. After two years of hellblazing through the LA Club scene, monopolizing tabloid pages, careening down Celebrity Train Wreck Ave. and foolishly joining the exclusive Celebrivag Display Club, Lindsay Lohan finally embraced her “C” and flashed a nipple while playing in the ocean with her latest himbo, actor Callum Blue.

What was surprising about it was how unsurprising it actually was. I called my best friend and told him about it and he didn’t even flinch. He had just assumed it had already happened (and it had, but that wasn’t a real nip slip so much as an opportune camera angle and a loose-fitting v-neck sweater). As early as three years ago a celebrity of Lindsay’s notoriety flashing her jumbly bits would have made national news. But now, with Britney showing her schnizz, Paris getting down in nightvision, and just about every Celebritard wearing a shear dress on a red carpet at some point in their 15 minutes, Lindsay’s nipples caused barely a blip in the online gossip waters. And for a lover of Celebrity T & A that saddens me.

Brad Pitt NakedI miss the days before every minute of every day was caught on film. When pictures like Brad and Gwyneth sunbathing in the nude were passed around in secret, and the possibility of a celebrity going commando and forgetting to close her legs wasn’t even a thought in our heads. I miss being shocked and amazed when a hot female celebrity showed her goods on screen. It’s gotten to the point now when it’s simply assumed that we will see every hot girl’s bathing suit area. Like it’s our inherent right to invade that privacy. Part of what’s keeping Scarlet Johansson in the limelight is her adamant refusal to just relent and whip her top off. She tantalizes us with side boob and mega-cleavage, seemingly fully aware that we males are on our tippy toes waiting for her to slip up (and slip out).

The unwritten rule is that if you choose to be a Celebritard it is your obligation to put your junk on display on multiple occasions. This is a very strict rule. I can’t think of a Celebritard who hasn’t abided the rule and shown skin at some point. Paris, Nicole, Britney, Lindsay, Kim, Anna Nicole (may she rest in peace), Kirsten, Pamela, Sienna, Paris again. The only one left is Jessica Simpson, but with those hugemongous yaboos of hers, it’s bound to happen at some point.

Like I said, it’s just inevitable. Like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. Or Nic Cage making a bad action movie every year. Some things you can count on to happen. We can now add “Lindsay Lohan flashing her nipples” to that long list of inevitability. Frankly, I’m surprised it took so long. You almost have to admire her restraint. But with jailbird Paris hogging the spotlight, Georgia Rule tanking hard at the box office and the paparazzi waging war on her, it was time to unleash the pink ladies.

So with Lindsay taken care of , I think it’s high time we look to the future and take stock of what other inevitable things are due to come true. I’ve compiled a list of inevitable events for your reading pleasure. We can cross them off together as they (inevitably) happen, and not be surprised by any of it.

CELEBRITY EVENTS THAT ARE INEVITABLE

- Nicole Ritchie will put on 10 pounds and People Magazine will immediately put her on the cover celebrating her new “curvy” body. In the story Ritchie will apologize for being a poor role model to young girls and vow to shed light on the dangers of anorexia. Upon release of the issue, Nicole will stop eating for a week, claiming she looked like “a huge fat fatty” on the cover.

Scarlet Johansson

- Scarlet Johansson will eventually show her breasts on film. We must all be patient. (Of course she’ll probably pull a Halle Berry and make us wait fifteen years to see them only to unleash them in a wickedly traumatic sex scene between her and an age-ravaged Denzel Washington. The scene will be gross times ten, but the rack will still be glorious!)

- Paris Hilton serving only four out of the 45 days of her jail term, holding a press conference proclaiming her to be a new woman, no longer the racist, vapid socialite we have come to know and not love. Three days later she’ll be seen dropping N-bombs in front of The Standard (while driving away in her brand new Bentley).

- Lost will end in 2010 without a clear answer as to where the island really is, what the hell the black smoke monster was, are they really dead, why Jack turned into such a pompous ass, why Evangeline Lilly was ever attracted to Dominic Monaghan, how Locke regained use of his legs, or who created the Dharma Group. Creators Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse will twirl their evil mustaches, close out their LARGE bank accounts and walk off into the sunset muttering one word under their breath: “suckers”.

- Keanu Reeves will win an Oscar. No joke here, this is really going to happen.

- In an attempt to court critics, Owen Wilson will cut off his glorious shag, donate the hair to charity, and go bald for a heavy psychological drama. The movie will be a disappointment, but the discarded shag will go on to serve as hut roofing for an entire African village. It will have a larger cultural impact than Luke Wilson.

- A celebritard will crash into and kill a paparazzo in a doomed attempt to flee a club. In retaliation, paparazzi will eventually run a different celebritard off the road in an incident eerily reminiscent of Princess Diana. The death of the celebritard will be far more publicized than the death of the photographer. This will create a war between celebrities and the paparazzi with Lindsay Lohan in the King Leonidas role and Harvey Leven of TMZ.com as Xerxes. Kim Kardashian will be the lone celebritard survivor; eyeless and heartbroken, she will spend the rest of her life retelling the climactic battle and honorable death of so many pampered, untalented Young Hollywooders. Miramax will buy the rights to the story and cast Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to star (they put those guys in everything).

- Brett Ratner will direct a critically acclaimed movie. The world will be shocked. As he walks to the podium to collect his Best Director Oscar his body will shake uncontrollably and suddenly burst into flames. It will be revealed that Ratner was really a robot, controlled by an evil genius. That man? Woody Allen

- A very confused eight year-old will stick a pin in Jennifer Lopez’s ass, assuming it’s a very large set of denim balloons. In an odd twist of events, J.Lo’s ass will actually burst sending the diva flying through the air like a deflated balloon. An enterprising children’s book author will subsequently pen a horribly misguided sequel to the beloved book “The Red Balloon”.

Fat Val Kilmer

- Val Kilmer will continue to gain weight, eventually reaching the size of his former nemesis, Marlon Brando. He will tragically die after he comes upon an uneaten two-day old Subway party sub filled with all the trimmings and proclaim “I’m your huckleberry”. In response, Kurt Russell will hold a press conference, calling out the Subway chain for their negligence. As official spokesperson Jared flees in terror Kurt will yell: “Tell all the Subway execs the law is comin! You tell them I’m coming… and hell’s coming with me!”

- Renee Zellweger, under increasing social pressure, will get a face-lift to alleviate her bitch face. Her subsequent surgically enhanced look will turn out to be the most startlingly beautiful face ever seen on a human. Even Angelina Jolie will weep from its splendor. Her bitter face was actually shielding her awe-inspiring perfection from a society not ready to face such a vision. Renee will dub her new look “Magnum”. But really, I shouldn’t even be talking about it; we’re nowhere near ready to see it.

- On her eighteenth birthday pre-approved hottie and resident hero, Hayden Panetierre, will begin her slow descent into then world of Celebritardism. Within a year she’ll have driven drunk after a night of partying at Hyde, lost twenty pounds but still kept her boobs, gotten married in Vegas to a D-list boytoy (only to have it annulled within six months, Shannen Doherty-style), and fired from Heroes after one to many late arrivals and an odd pattern of showing up pale on Mondays, tan on Wednesdays and orange on Fridays. The show will hire Brittany Snow as her replacement and the ratings immediately improve. Tiffani Amber-Thiessen will call Brittany for a ceremonial passing of the torch. Peter Petrelli will silently weep in a corner.

- George Clooney will settle down and have kids with a moderately attractive non-famous woman. He will become a wonderfully loving, if slightly pudgy, Soccer Dad. Women across the world will simultaneously break out in tears. This will result in the largest man-made flood in human existence, wiping out half the Eastern seaboard and plunging all of Africa into the Indian Ocean. Historians will call this disaster “The Clooney Catastrophe”. Miramax will buy the rights to the story and cast Ben Affleck and Matt Damon to star (they put those guys in everything).

- Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt will grow up to be surprisingly plain. Her abs will be nothing to shake a stick at and her lips will be disappointingly thin. She will have zero charisma and end up a dental assistant for a sub-standard HMO. Suri Cruise will grow up to be a well-respected Cantor for a prominent Jewish Synagogue. Britney Spears’s two kids will grow up to be Cheetos.

Bangarang!

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Celebrity Tax Deductions

Paris HiltonIn honor of the most hectic day of the year for crazy, on-the-VT-edge postal workers (too soon?), I dug through the garbage bins of the Beverly Hills branch of H & R Block and found a slew of Celebrity Tax Forms. I’m ommitted a lot of the information (such as Paris Hilton listing her occupation as “princess”), but I will reveal some of the more, shall we say, ludicrous things that celebrities try to deduct on their taxes. You’d think for the all the money they make and free schwag they’re given that they wouldn’t need to even itemize their deductions, but apparently stars are just as stingy as us plebes.

Enjoy the list, and make sure to get that envelope post-dated. You do not want to end up sharing a cell with Joe Francis (I hear he cries himself to sleep, but that’s what happens when you have an extremely painful level 10 strain of genital herpes and no soul).

2006 Celebrity Tax Deductions:

Lindsay Lohan: $14,000 for crotch extinguishers

Helen Hunt: $9,000 for forehead wax (and it’s put to good use)

Simon Cowell: $3000 for super-tight, v-necked black t-shirts, and $5500 for being forced to fill out such a goddawful form (he wrote in the margin “What? Is? This? This form is cabaret. It’s the worst form I have ever filled out. Other door.”)

Matthew McConaughey: $62,420 for acting-enhancing supplements (note: this is code for “weed”)

Shia LaBeouf: $100,000 in unmarked, small denomination bills, used as bribery money to the head of DreamWorks Pictures.

Mel Gibson: $50,000 charitable donation to the Museum of Tolerance (I call shenanigans on this one. Attention IRS, this is tax fraud.)

Renee Zellweger: $5,000 for face scrunch upkeep (a job-related write-off)

Nicole Ritchie eating a hot dogNicole Richie: $7.50 for food-related costs (she went to In-N-Out one time in June last year)

Katie Holmes: No deductions, but did attach a Scientology Center-emblazoned post-it note that read “I’ll give you anything you want, just come save me. Please…”

James Caviziel: TOTAL WRITE-OFF (after all, he is the Jesus!)

Britney Spears: Audited for deducting $50,000 for “bikini waxes”. The IRS eventually dropped the audit, sent her $50 bucks, and told her to buy some underwear and never bother them again.

Jon Mayer: $1 Million US government-sanctioned payout for keeping Jessica Simpson out of the limelight (this is worth its weight in whiny white boy angst music gold)

Scarlet Johansson: $4,000,000 deduction for the time spent doing sexy photo shoots that resulted in 13 million “first sexual experiences” by our nation’s male children.

Morgan Freeman: $11,000 for narration-related expenses.

Keifer Sutherland: Deep into a drunken rage (otherwise known as Tuesday), Kiefer went straight down to the Federal office, shot 17 IRS agents, defused 6 nuclear weapons, and demanded a $1,000,000 tax refund. The IRS gave him $2,000,000 and backed away very slowly.

Barry Bonds: Attempted to deduct $700,000 in miscellaneous job related deductions. The IRS told him to go fuck himself and to “buy some bigger hats, roid head” (the IRS are Dodgers fans, as they should be).

Owen Wilson: $17050.22 for blonde shag upkeep, $26,540 for collected Butterscotch Stallion costs (mostly just more butterscotch)

Keanu ReevesEd Norton: $800 billion deduction for illegal, untested steroids to get into proper shape to play the Incredible Hulk. Apparently, as smart as he is, he didn’t realize the Hulk would be in CGI. Norton just assumed Eric Bana was that ripped (This isn’t so hard to believe).

Keanu Reeves: Deducted Eleventy Billion Dollars for entertainment services rendered.

Bangarang!

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Why William Shatner Kicks Ass.

A few weeks back I was asked to review the DVD for the Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner, and without even thinking about it I said yes. And why not? Shatner kicks ass, I dig watching roasts (although they jumped the shark with Pam Anderson last year), and after all, it was a free DVD. So it arrived in the mail and I dutifully sat down to watch it. And I got some good laughs out of it. Jason Alexander was alarmingly unfunny, further enhancing the belief that he stole his entire George Costanza routine from Larry David and that beyond acting like a weasel in “Julia Roberts is a Whore” movies he doesn’t have much to offer the world. Farrah Fawcett was a train wreck of Bald Britney proportions (which was sad for all the desperate comics up on the dais who kept saying they used to masturbate to her and are now horrified at what she’s become. I say guys, welcome to the Lindsay Lohan era. Call me when she unleashes her Farrahcrotch.). And a good number of the roasters had funny stuff to say about each other and about Shatner (Kevin Pollack excluded, of course. I hadn’t remembered how unfunny he is. Maybe Jessip was right to take a cheap shot at Lt. Weinberg.).

A few days later I sat down to do some research about Shatner before writing the piece, and had a revelation. I don’t know anything about the man. Not only that, but I have never seen an episode of Star Trek: The Original Series. I’ve also never seen an episode of T.J. Hooker or Barnaby Coast. And while I’ve probably sat in front of the television while Rescue: 911 was on, I was either too little to remember it or I was busy playing with Ultimate Warrior action figures and couldn’t be bothered with the Ham Actor on the TV with a Jersey rat on his head. All I really know Shatner from is a few of the Trek movies (I liked the whale one, but for reasons that had less to do with Shatner and more to do with the scene where Bones hands a pill to an old woman begging for a new liver in a hospital and says “Grow a new one!”), The Practice / Boston Legal, National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1, Miss Congeniality and an occasional Star Trek spoof. I know him more because of his status as a pop culture icon, than because I’ve taken the time to bask in his onscreen Shatnerness.

And this bothered me as a geek. How is it that I’ve come to admire Shatner for his unique “style” of acting and general air of awesomeness, without actually partaking in the very shows that birthed said style and air? Am I allowed to like William Shatner if I don’t like Star Trek? If I’ve never read TekWar? If I don’t know how to do the Vulcan Death Grip? If I’d rather hear him say “Denny Crane” than “Captain’s Log…”? If whenever I do an impression of him it’s always the one Jim Carrey does in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (There’s…. somethingonthewing. Some… THING!)? What is the protocol for enjoying and appreciating William Shatner?

I pondered that question for a while. This post is actually three days late because I needed an answer to that question before I could defend writing about him to myself. You’ll notice I don’t write about things I don’t know, and apparently, I don’t know shit about Shatner. But then earlier today while rewatching the Roast it hit me. I don’t know Star Trek and I still dig Captain Kirk. I watch the YouTube clips of him singing Rocket Man and I get why it’s funny. I watch the Priceline commercials and actually pay attention to what he’s saying. I watch that infamous SNL skit where he tells the nerds to get a life and I inherently understand what’s going on. When William Shatner comes on-screen I immediately sit up in my seat and start cracking a smile. Because I get the joke. Because he gets the joke.

And that’s why he’s William Shatner. And it’s why he has been a beloved pop culture icon for going on 40 years.

It doesn’t matter where you came into his career, he’s gonna seduce you anyway. Whether you’re 18 and first saw him as the Big Giant Head on 3rd Rock From The Sun. Or you’re a 16 year-old girl and first enjoyed the Shatner single-handedly pulling the albatross Miss Congeniality from the depths of later career Bullockian mediocrity. Or you are much much older, never cared for Science Fiction but saw him on the Twilight Zone, or on Hooker or you saw him on Broadway. It doesn’t matter. Shatner will get you. He gets everyone.

Who doesn’t love William Shatner? Sure, everyone can agree he’s not the best actor in town. But he’s also surely not the worst. After all, the man has won two Emmy’s and a Golden Globe in the last three years. And he’s had a career for four decades. This is akin to my “Keanu Reeves Doesn’t Suck” theory. You can’t have an extensive career in Hollywood if you suck. You just can’t. So what’s to explain Keanu toplining movies for 20 years? Or Shatner being relevant and consistently working for 40? You just cannot deny that people of this ilk have something that people want. Shatner not only knows what you want, he’s more than willing to goof on himself to give it to you. He’s cultivated the Shatner image over time, and unlike certain actors who are associated with iconic characters yet shun their fans (ahem, Han Solo), Shatner embraces his place in the cultural lexicon. He swims just fine in those waters.

He’s in on the joke. That’s the reason he’s still around. And it’s the reason I love him despite not ever having seen a second of his most famous work. And that’s the reason I was finally able to write this post.

More actors need to embrace the persona they create in the media, instead of begrudging it. Why is Meg Ryan irrelevant today? Because she turned her back on the label of “America’s Sweetheart” and tried to convince us she could do big drama. But we don’t care to see her doing that. Ditto Jim Carrey. Look at Sylvester Stallone who finally came to grips with his place in the world (he will forever be Rocky Balboa) and is now experiencing a rebirth in the public eye. Or Billy Zabka, who just directed a hilarious music video based around his Johnny character from Karate Kid twenty years later. He gets that he’ll always be the guy who swept the leg and he’s cool with it. And we are so very cool with him, and happy to have him back. When celebrities embrace that which made them celebrities in the first place, we are obliged to love them more. Shatner knows this and that’s why he rules so hard, more than 40 years after he first began his voyages on the Starship Enterprise.

I recommend everyone go out, pick up his Roast on DVD, and spend some time thinking about why you dig Shatner so much. It’ll be worth your time.

A few more quick thoughts on some of the Roasters:

Andy Dick: We find you funny when you’re grabbing Pam Anderson’s boobs or getting hauled off the Jimmy Kimmel show, not when you’re doing shtick. So less with the talking and more with the crazy drunken Carrie Fisher face-licking and widespread celebrity herpes transportation.

Patton Oswalt: Had the best joke of the night. He pulled out a paper bag and said to Shatner “Can you settle a bet between my friends and act your way out of this”.

Fred Willard: When did he start being thought of as an insult comic? I’m confused. Isn’t he supposed to be ironic funny, not funny funny? Can we get a ruling on this?

Lisa Lampanelli: She’ll never get her own sitcom or movie, but she may be the funniest comedian per capita in the business.

Artie Lange: I may not have liked you on Mad TV. Or liked your movie Beer League. Or ever cared to watch Boat Trip. But for giving me a new, awesome way to say “Whores” (pronounced “Who-ers”) I will love your comedy forever. Now start eating some salads before you pull a Chris Farley and your tombstone reads: “Here lies that drunk fat guy from the Stern show”, instead of “Here lies that drunk guy from the Stern show”.

Some clips of classic Shatnerian awesomeness for your viewing pleasure:

Bangarang!

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The 10 Most Unwatchable Actors In Hollywood

orlando bloomIt’s not surprising that of the 120 columns I’ve posted on TheJay.com, “Keanu Reeves Does NOT Suck, And I Can Prove It” and “Just How Bland Is Orlando Bloom, Really?” have the most number of comments. The central figures of each post, the unintentionally awesome Keanu Reeves and the (hopefully for his sake) unintentionally bland Orlando Bloom, inspire fierce passion in their fans. On any given day I receive comments calling me all manor of awful things for my lambasting of the man who was Legolas, and an equal number of ego-boosting boot lickings for my loyal defense of the Wyld Stallyn himself, Ted “Theodore” Logan. What it comes down to, I think, is the disparity in how I view each of the actor’s respective talents, and my reader’s contrasting views on the subject.

In my mind, every actor has an innate “watchability” factor. They are either fun to watch, or they aren’t. For my money, Keanu Reeves very much is, while Orlando Bloom very much is not. This “watchability” factor comes from many elements, including but not limited to: looks, attitude, charisma, chemistry with other actors, ability to pick the right roles, behavior towards the press, representation in the press and general overall likeability. You can have a few of these elements, or all of them, but whatever the number, your presence on-screen equals a good time, all the time. Deep down, Orlando Bloom fans know that while he is as he calls himself on Ricky Gervais’s show Extras “objectively really good-looking”, he has zero chemistry, negative charisma, could cool down a horny Angelina Jolie, and is seen in the press as a sleazy, preening bohunk. This is why so many housewives send me 600 word opuses on the merits of Elizabethtown. If Orlando Bloom were so good in that movie I would have seen it. He wasn’t and I haven’t.

renee zellwegerI always give second chances to actors I don’t like. Renée Zellweger won me back after several great talk show appearances and a subtle turn as Russell Crowe’s wife in Cinderella Man. Josh Lucas received a stay of execution for keeping me awake through Glory Road. Even Ashton Kutcher got a second look after I found myself guiltily charmed by A Lot Like Love. I’m always hoping that unwatchable actors will one day figure things out and make a movie I like. It’s always better to have more reasons to see a movie, than not to. Unfortunately, more often than not I find my first impression was the right one.

And that is why I will never enjoy watching Orlando Bloom. You can’t gain watchability, you can only lose it. It is far easier for watchable actors to become unwatchable (hello, John Travolta), than it is for unwatchable actors to become suddenly charismatic on the silver screen (the only recent example I can come up with is Ben Affleck, except I’ve always liked the Gigli. After all, he was the bomb in Phantoms, yo!).

I’ve already documented the actor’s I’ll always pay money to see, as well as the ones I refuse to pay for (in my piece “The $10 Buck List“), but I haven’t looked at unwatchable actors in a while (you can see my last pass on it HERE). So here now is another edition of “The 10 Most Unwatchable Actors In Hollywood”.

Whenever I make a list like this I usually have several criterion for making said list. Not here. The sole criterion is that at one time each actor was a guaranteed good time at the movies. And now, they are automatic visual insta-hurl.

The 10 Most Unwatchable Actors In Hollywood

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