Vin Scully is a National Treasure

Vin Scully is in his 63rd season of calling Dodger baseball. The probation period is almost up.But seriously, he is the Mozart of baseball broadcasters and I can’t imagine another announcer ever being as good.And he’s always been there. Night after night, summer after summer.Well, Scully is now 84, and Dodger fans are keenly aware that he won’t always be there. It’s hard to even...

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Alternate Best Actor 2008

And the Nominees Were Not:Brendan Gleeson in In BrugesColin Farrell in In BrugesMichael Fassbender in HungerClint Eastwood in Gran TorinoLeonardo DiCaprio in Revolutionary Road...

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Alternate Best Actor 1985: Results

5. Tim Curry in Clue- Tim Curry gives a very enjoyable performance where he infuses a great deal of energy in every scene as well as works wonders with the rest of his cast.4. Jeff Daniels in The Purple Rose of Cairo- Daniels gives a very strong performance as both as the actor and his character. He does a particularly wonderful job portraying the subtle differences between...

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Oh no! Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are getting divorced

There is no joy today in Hollywood.   The relationship the town thought would last forever..  or at least six years, is apparently ending.  How could this not work?  I mean, the man jumped up and down on Oprah's couch?  What greater show of love has there ever been?Get ready for an onslaught of TMZ/People/National Enquirer/ET/Gawker coverage of this monumental story.   Let the speculation...

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Alternate Best Actor 1985: Michael J. Fox in Back To The Future

Michael J. Fox did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Marty McFly in Back To The Future.Back To The Future is one of my favorite films as I can watch it time and time again, and enjoy it every single time that I do. For those who don't know Back to the Future details Marty McFly's efforts to get back to the present after using his friend Doc Brown's time...

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Getting tickets to see TV shows

Wrapping up the week and month with Friday Questions. Unknown starts us off. At least he’s not Anonymous. I have a friend who is taking his wife and teenage kids to L.A. in August and wonder if you have any "insider" suggestions for studio tours and the like. Is it too late to try to get tickets to a filming of show? Or are these something they'll have the opportunity to get same day...

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Alternate Best Actor 1985: Jeff Daniels in The Purple Rose of Cairo

Jeff Daniels did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Tom Baxter and Gil Shepherd in The Purple Rose of Cairo.The Purple Rose of Cairo is an enjoyable film but also horrifying in its depiction of film characters who are sentient but still forced to reenact the same scenario over and over again. Anyway it is about a woman Cecilia (Mia Farrow) who tries to...

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Best known for something else

Lots of people have heard of the Tommy John Surgery. Done primarily on baseball pitchers, it’s a procedure where they take a tendon from your knee or hip and use it to replace a ligament in your elbow that’s shot. Today it’s very common, and like I said well known. But how many people know who Tommy John is? My guess is most think he’s the surgeon who invented the procedure. Wrong....

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Alternate Best Actor 1985: Tim Curry in Clue

Tim Curry did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Wadsworth in Clue.Clue is a very enjoyable film based on the board game about a group people stuck in a mansion one storming night who try to find the murderer of their own blackmailer, but the problem is anyone of them could be murderers.Clue is a film that probably has the greatest comedy ensemble period....

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More advice for young writers

There was a great exercise in Andy Goldberg's improv class recently. Yes, I still take an improv class. (You'd think I'd be better after all these years, but I take it anyway.) This was the exercise: we had to play a character based on someone we knew. Not a celebrity -- no Al Pacino impersonations -- and not a caricature. We had to pick a real person we knew and really try to become...

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Alternate Best Actor 1985: Jonathan Pryce in Brazil

Jonathan Pryce did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Sam Lowry in Brazil.Brazil is a fascinating film about an excessively complex world where a bureaucrat has an extremely hard time attempting to fix an administrative error.Brazil is pretty much the definition of a director's film. Every inch of the film is in service of Terry...

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If Aaron Sorkin wrote THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW

Aaron Sorkin is back!  I loved THE NEWSROOM.  It's the perfect vehicle for his whip-smart dialogue.  (It was also nice to see the wonderful Emily Mortimer finally not in a thankless role.) But essentially THE NEWSROOM was BROADCAST NEWS as written by Aaron Sorkin.  James L. Brooks wrote that terrific movie along with co-creating THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW.  So that got me thinking -- what...

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What ever became of Kelly Kelly Kelly Kelly?

Here's another reader question where I can go to the source itself. From Bradley:Do you know what became of Jackie Swanson after Cheers? She was terrific as Kelly and I assume the writing staff agreed given all the excellent material she was given.She was and is terrific.  Jackie was nice enough to provide this update.  As you'll see it's been quite a rollercoaster ride.  I must say,...

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Alternate Best Actor 1985: Raul Julia in Kiss of the Spider Woman

Raul Julia did not receive and Oscar nomination for portraying Valentin Arregui in Kiss of the Spider Woman.Raul Julia despite nominated for the golden globe with William Hurt as well, as winning the National Board of Review for Best Actor along with him, Julia found himself without an Oscar nomination. I don't think he suffered from category confusion either, since...

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Alternate Best Actor 1985

And the Nominees Were Not:Michael J. Fox in Back to the FutureJonathan Pryce in BrazilRaul Julia in Kiss of the Spider WomanTim Curry in ClueJeff Daniels in The Purple Rose of Cairo  A year without a single actor yet to be nominated for an Oscar, good luck on your predictio...

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My commencement speech to the Class of '12

It's the same one that I gave last year's graduates but wisdom is worth re-posting.June is the graduation time of year. I guess a hundred years ago those commencement speakers were inspiring and offered thoughts and insights that were new and fresh. But now, Jesus! Be your own person. Never give up. You have a responsibility to society. Success comes from within. Show courage. You can...

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Alternate Best Actor 1993: Results

5. Jeff Bridges in Fearless- Bridges shoots for the sky but never quite reaches the heights that his performance wants to reach.4. Kevin Costner in A Perfect World- Costner in a very atypical fashion dominates his film well, as well as gives a moving portrait of a man wounded by abuse.3. David Thewlis in Naked- Thewlis gives an outstanding performance that is a fascinating...

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Alternate Best Actor 1993: Jeff Bridges in Fearless

Jeff Bridges did not receive and Oscar nomination for portraying Max Klein in Fearless.Fearless is film about a man dealing with his new found fearlessness after surviving a terrible plane crash, the film itself is well made, but I always felt it was never nearly as moving as it wanted to be.Jeff Bridges is an actor I must admit I liked more before I started...

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The Teenage Fair

Here's another excerpt from my new book, THE ME GENERATION... BY ME (GROWING UP IN THE '60s).   You can get yours in Kindle or paperback.   It's a fun read and a great way to support this blog so I'm not forced to sell fruit at freeway offramps.  The Hollywood Palladium was an art deco theater built in the’40s in Hollywood to stage big band concerts. In the ’60s it was the spring break h...

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Alternate Best Actor 1993: Bill Murray in Groundhog Day

Bill Murray did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Phil Connors in Groundhog Day.Groundhog Day is a very enjoyable film that tells the story of a weatherman who covers the groundhog ceremony in Punxsutawney, but finds he is reliving the same day over and over again and he is the one who knows it.Groundhog Day is much like It's Wonderful Life, and even more so like...

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Friday Questions

As I head down to San Diego for a weekend of broadcasting Mariners games on 710 ESPN Seattle, MLB.COM, and the Mariners Radio Network, here are this week’s Friday Questions.God Shammgod is up first.Do you prefer a compact set or a bigger one? Remember when "I Love Lucy" moved the action from the cramped apartment set to the huge farm set? It didn't seem to work as well. If the show is...

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Alternate Best Actor 1993: Michael Douglas in Falling Down

Michael Douglas did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying William "D-Fens" Foster in Falling Down.Falling Down is an effective film about an unemployed man who lashes at what sees as the flaws of society. At the same time a Detective (Robert Duvall) on his last day before retirement attempts to follow his path of destruction.Although one can easily look at Falling...

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All you ever wanted to know about Extras (people not the show)

Here’s an EXTRA Friday Question: It’s from RichD. So the recent mention of WINGS here inspired me to revisit the series on Netflix. While making my way through the first seasons I again noticed the older red-haired woman who worked at Roy's counter, which got me to wonder about the background performers who are the extra-equivalent of series regulars on various shows. I would...

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Alternate Best Actor 1993: Kevin Costner in A Perfect World

Kevin Costner did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Robert "Butch" Haynes in A Perfect World.A Perfect World is an effective film about the man hunt for a man who has escaped from jail who takes a young boy hostage but ends up becoming a surrogate father to the boy.Kevin Costner is not a favorite actor of mine as his only actual Oscar nominated performance found...

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Adam Carolla is a moron!

Adam Carolla’s comments in the NEW YORK POST this week are so unbelievably stupid they almost don’t dignify a response. Here’s a portion of the interview.  POST: The lesson you learned from a sexual harassment seminar was “Don’t hire chicks.” Do you hate working with women?CAROLLA: No. But they make you hire a certain number of chicks, and they’re always the least funny on the writing...

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Alternate Best Actor 1993: David Thewlis in Naked

David Thewlis did not receive an Oscar nomination for portraying Johnny in Naked.Naked is a bleak but fascinating film about a drifter of sorts who flees from Manchester to London where he drifts some more. I do have to say though the evil landlord subplot and character was a bit much, or maybe it was just Greg Cruttwell's performance which seemed a little...

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Random rants

Otherwise known as "Short attention-span blogging"…There’s something terribly wrong when the animated episode of COMMUNITY is eligible for an Emmy but not episodes of existing animated series.  I say THE SIMPSONS should kill Bart and submit it for Best Drama.  Arsenio Hall is back. He’ll have a late-night talk show next fall. Can Joan Rivers, Magic Johnson, Tempest Bledsoe, Craig...

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Alternate Best Actor 1993

And the Nominees Were Not:Kevin Costner in A Perfect WorldMichael Douglas in Falling DownJeff Bridges in FearlessBill Murray in Groundhog DayDavid Thewlis in Naked...

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Welcome to the Hotel Zico California

Spent the weekend in Northern California. Attended the graduation ceremonies at Stanford. My daughter-in-law, Kim received her doctorate in Electrical Engineering. I offered to punch-up her thesis but she said no, it was funny enough. We’re all very proud of her. My dad asked if she could prescribe marijuana. Needless to say, finding a room anywhere between Gilroy and Daly City on...

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My Next Life by Woody Allen

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Alternate Best Actor 1971: Results

5. Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs- Hoffman performance is not overly interesting early on but he more than makes up for it in his brutal last act change.4. Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry- Eastwood gives a incredibly strong performance as both a commanding and humorous leading man, as well as in his portrayal of a driven police officer.3.  Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the...

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