Filed under: Feature | Tags: Box Office, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Kim Cattrall, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Michael Patrick King, Samantha, Sex and the City, Strangers
SEX AND THE CITY: SAMANTHA’S LOST HER GROOVE
Like the millions of other 20-something females out there, I saw Sex and the City over the weekend. Turns out, the film exceeded expectations beating out Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for the top spot at the box office with $55.7 million. Here are some interesting stats as quoted by the LA Times: 85% of the audience was female and 80% of the audience was 25 years or older. My favorite quote about the craziness surrounding the film is pulled from a reviewer from the Herald Tribune who called it ‘feminine ground zero.’
In essence, the movie did very well and I would add that I definitely enjoyed it. That said, I’m just wondering here. . .
. . .what the hell happened to Samantha?
I may remember her appearance being a bit younger i.e. (above) but at least I remember her as a complex, intriguing character.
And frankly, after watching re-runs of Sex and the City on TBS in syndication in which most of Samantha’s parts are cut out to remain squeaky clean, I miss her.
Do not read on if you don’t want to incur some soft spoilers.
In the movie, Samantha’s character is brutalized into a bland, silly and frankly caricature-like vision of her former self. Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte approach Samantha in a mini-intervention to tell her that they are concerned over her weight gain. I propose an additional intervention, this time to Michael Patrick King (writer of the film), to ask him to re-think Samantha if in fact the sequel becomes a reality.
Samantha’s character is crucial to the plotline in a way not as obvious to the Carrie-obsessed. Within a cast of marriage-obsessed characters, Samantha keeps the story well-balanced, reminding viewers that not every woman dreams of one day walking down the aisle, baby in tow. Even for those women who do dream those things, it may not be the one priority. Old Samantha was sex-obsessed and powerful in her career. In this movie, she’s become de-sexualized. Even more shocking, her career revolves around a man (a plot which resolves itself by the end of the film).
So, here’s the deal:
Times Samantha Has Sex in Sex and the City:
Zero
Years Samantha Has Remained Faithful to Smith
5
Pounds Samantha Gains While Trying to Remain Faithful to Smith
15
Times Samantha’s New Dog Attempts to Hump Something
3
Recognize Our Girl?
Me neither.
To help Samantha get her groove back, I propose a showing of support:
Designed by: Minki Kim
Just so I’m not accused of being overly critical, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, particularly the moments between Carrie and Miranda. One-sided Samantha isn’t Samantha at all.
For an interesting review of Sex and the City that I don’t agree with but find hysterical none the less check out:
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2008/06/09/080609crci_cinema_lane?currentPage=1
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Filed under: Feature | Tags: Brett Urlich, Current TV, Infomania, Map, Video Games
ONLINE VIDEO OF THE WEEK: ONLINE MAP FUN
Being that I recently defined my online invite app selection by its ability to include my favorite online maps, I quickly took to this latest installment of Infomania. Now, I know I seem focused on Current videos but that’s because they’re hella funny and completely relevant. Word.
Filed under: BROADCAST/CABLE | Tags: HBO, Kim Cattrall, Mitchell Burgess, New York City, Real Housewives of New York City, Robin Green, Sex and the City, Time Warner
A trio of Bravo reality shows — “Top Chef: Chicago,” “The Real Housewives of New York City: The Lost Footage” and “Work Out” — have gotten off to a hot summertime start. Culinary cook-off “Top Chef,” for instance, is averaging 2.69 million viewers, a 20% increase over the same time last year. (Multichannel News 5/30)
Top Chef Chicago
HBO has picked up the US adaptation of the BBC Two comedy series Sensitive Skin, with Kim Cattrall in the lead role, reports THR. The series is written and exec produced by Mitchell Burgess and Robin Green. Cattrall will also take an exec producer role. The story revolves around a middle-aged NY wife and mother, who begins to question her choices in life as well as her sexuality. (Cynopsis 6/2)
Time Warner Cable is heading into one of the biggest crossroads of its corporate future. In this Q-and-A interview, CEO Glenn Britt talks about why the split with Time Warner makes sense, the company’s leap of faith with Clearwire and his skepticism about video for portable devices. (
The Wall Street Journal 6/2, The Wall Street Journal 6/2)
Most interesting in this clip is Britt’s thoughts on programming partners putting free content on the web day-and-date with linear television content. Suffice to say, he doesn’t like it.
Analyst views of Time Warner’s growth prospects once the media giant separates from its cable operating business are too low, says CEO Jeff Bewkes. Some analysts have estimated growth in the mid-single digit percentages. “We’re going to do considerably higher than that.” (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://www.reuters.com/article/hotStocksNews/idUSWEN599120080530 5/30)
Time Warner and General Electric are said to be starting “preliminary efforts to explore a commingling of their entertainment assets,” including GE’s NBC Universal. However, CEO Jeff Bewkes says: “We don’t need to own anything [else],” in a clear reference to NBCU. (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://www.newsweek.com/id/139425 6/1, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ie29ff31c80c6e3df1cd7337014291256 6/1)
Ad-supported cable nets accounted for 60% of all TV viewers in May, with TNT, USA, Disney and ESPN leading the way, according to an analysis of Nielsen data by the Disney-ABC Television Group. The analysis contained more bad news for broadcast networks: They were down 11%, to a household share of 40%. (Multichannel News 6/2)
At the end of 2007, DISH Network had 1.3 million HDTV subscribers. The company does not typically release subscriber counts, but the figure surfaced in documents filed with the New York state Supreme Court in a Voom lawsuit. (OneTRAK 6/1)
Filed under: ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA | Tags: Carl Icahn, Facebook, iPhone, Microsoft, Proxy fight, World Wide Web, Yahoo
ONLINE SERVICES/INTERACTIVE MEDIA
U.S. antitrust regulators are clearing activist investor Carl Icahn‘s purchase of another $1.5 billion of shares of Yahoo. Icahn launched a proxy fight last month to remove Yahoo’s board after the company rejected Microsoft’s $47.5 billion takeover bid. (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_hi_te/icahn_yahoo_antitrust 5/30)
Microsoft and Google want to use vacant airwaves to expand the $24.5 billion market for mobile Web services, creating “Wi-Fi on steroids.” But broadcasters say the plan would disrupt television signals. The Federal Communications Commission is running tests to help decide the matter. (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=asZMcmQU6s24 6/2)
As of early Sunday, 80,000 people signed up on Facebook as a fan of “Sex and the City,” the weekend’s unexpected No. 1 film in North America. Also: A new study from BlogHer and Compass Partners suggests that traditional media are losing female mindshare to the Web. (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://blog.clickz.com/080601-92309.html 6/2, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/business/media/02carr.html 6/2)
It’s interesting that fans have responded in so many digital mediums yet Carrie can’t figure out how to text in the movie. Even my mom can text for god’s sake. The only character in SATC who seemed mildly enabled on a digital top was Samantha and that’s purely based on the fact that she carried an iPhone. If the fans have broken through to the digital era, why haven’t the characters?
Kevin Ferguson, known as Kimbo Slice, became a Web sensation after he posted video clips of his bare-knuckle fights on YouTube. Ferguson is the star performer of the Elite XC fight league, which is making its live television debut on CBS. The network hopes to lure men ages 18-34. (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/31/sports/othersports/31mma.html?_r=1&oref=slogin 5/31)
Nunez, top, wrestled Bruner as Jeffry Yurk officiated. Open fingered gloves are worn to provide some protection but allow competitors to use their grip. Photo: Karen Tam for The New York Times
CBS will be the next network to enable embedding of clips of its shows like CSI, Star Trek and CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on third party sites and services, according to Silicon Alley Insider. (Cynopsis 6/2)
Warner Music chief Edgar Bronfman: “The record industry is a purchase model. That model is going to continue, but there will also be subscription models. There will be advertising revenues. There will be access models. And there will be what I call a network licensing model.” (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ed013f78-2de3-11dd-b92a-000077b07658.html 5/30)
Time Warner Cable plans to let subscribers access Internet video on their television screens as part of a new home networking system. (http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN3030690720080530 5/30)
Liberty Media may emerge as a buyer for Time Warner’s AOL Internet-access business, says Citigroup analyst Jason Bazinet, who put the chances of a deal at 40%. “While this declining business anchors Time Warner stock, it would bring a cash-generating business to Liberty.” (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601204&sid=aNfJ7nHgxFTg 5/30)
Terry Semel, the former CEO of Yahoo and Warner Bros. Entertainment, plans to make a run at acquiring private-equity investor Teddy Forstmann’s marketing and talent agency IMG. Semel is said to be aiming to transform IMG into a media company and bolster its digital operation. (http://www.nypost.com/seven/06022008/business/3b_star_gazing_113547.htm 6/2)
Turner is pasting together its Web properties — CNN.com, TNT.com, TBS.com and others — to form a sizable, brand-friendly advertising network. The cable-centric company will begin packaging ad inventory from 19 different Web sites, including partner sites NBA.com and PGA.com. (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/digital-downloads/broadband/e3i4a78a69f13b8af058d11b8fa889da6f3 6/2)
TBS premiers a sassy new web series today called Commuter Confidential sponsored by Match.com and Revlon, consisting of candid conversations with 4 different women about life, love, food, etc. A total of 20 episodes will premiere online and on air with a branded commercial pod during the 11 pm slot on TBS from June 2-27. (Cynopsis 6/2)
Filed under: WIRELESS
Google revealed some of the applications its Android mobile phone software will feature. One could be immensely useful for folks who get lost a lot; it’s a Google Maps app with a built-in compass. It utilizes the Street View Feature to help users orient themselves with a stereoscopic street view. No clear date yet on when we can expect the first “Gphones,” but late summer/early fall is the bet guesstimate. (Cynopsis 6/2)
Filed under: GAMING | Tags: AQ Interactive, Jon Van Caneghem, NBC Universal, Playstation 3, PS3, Sci Fi Channel, Vampire Rain, Video game
Ignition Entertainment has partnered with AQ Interactive to deliver “Vampire Rain: Altered Species” to the PlayStation 3 in the North American and European markets. (GameDaily BIZ 5/30)
Vampire Rain Trailer
Filed under: TECHNOLOGY | Tags: Arts, Blu-ray Disc, DVD, DVD player, Google Earth, Google Maps, HD DVD, Toshiba
Blu-ray discs soon will appear in the same supermarket vending kiosks as DVDs. DVDPlay, the company that dominates the in-store DVD kiosk market, said it will introduce in the next month a similar machine to rent Blu-ray discs for $1.49 each. (Dealerscope 5/30)
Fresh off its defeat in the HD DVD wars, Toshiba is again preparing to enter the fray with the expected launch later this year of a new DVD player, priced lower than the Blu-ray devices, based on a new format that is backward-compatible to existing discs, according to published reports. (Pocket-lint.co.uk 5/30)
the Trackstick from a company called Telespial Systems is a personal GPS tracking device about the size of a jump drive that stores precisely geomapped data revealing present and past locations, what time you were there and how fast you are moving. It integrates with a variety of online apps, including Google Earth, Google Maps and Microsoft Live. Take it on vacation to help remember all the sites you visited. Use it for your next Geotagging adventure. Throw it in your teenager’s backpack to help keep tabs on his or her whereabouts. The possibilities are endless. The company is even soliciting ideas for new applications on YouTube. (Cynopsis 6/2)
Dish Network and EchoStar are filing a lawsuit against TiVo in response to TiVo’s public statements that the satellite television providers’new DVR software infringes one of its patents. TiVo stands to benefit if a judge orders an injunction against the infringing DVRs. (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://www.smartmoney.com/breaking-news/ON/index.cfm?story=ON-20080530-000837-1612 5/30)
Simon & Schuster will make 5,000 more books available for Amazon.com’s Kindle reading device, bumping to 125,000 the number of titles users can download and read. CEO Jeff Bezos says Kindle e-books now account for 6% of Amazon sales in both electronic and print formats. (Iwantmedia 6/2, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080530/ap_on_hi_te/amazon_kindle 5/30)
Contract laptop maker Quanta Computer has demonstrated a Sony-branded mini-laptop based on the newly announced Via OpenBook reference design, although Quanta declined to comment on the matter other than it expects to ship the computer in the third quarter. Via’s low-cost 1.6 GHz C7-M processor is competing against more powerful chips from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, but Via has won contracts from such companies as HP. (Computerworld/IDG News Service 6/2)
