How smart are we as a civilization?

Smart enough to control our destiny and avoid the cataclysms that may end life as we know it?

For thousands of years, different religions have warned Earth about Armageddon and the final days. We are now living in an age where scientists are adding their voices and their evidence in support of end-of-the-world possibilities. "Last Days on Earth" is a program that could change the way you see your world and yourself.

The world's top scientists, including Stephen Hawking, considered the foremost living theoretical physicist, describe seven riveting scenarios detailing the deadliest threats to humanity. Some can destroy the planet, others have the ability to render us extinct, and all have the power to destroy civilization. How likely are they to occur, and what exactly would happen if they did, and could we survive? "Last Days on Earth" goes beyond science fiction to science fact. Using state-of-the-art visual effects, it will take viewers on a journey that is both breathtaking and terrifying, from the outer reaches of the universe to the inner world of DNA, with an around-the-globe tour in between.

"Of all the generations of humans that have walked the surface of the Earth -- for 100,000 years, going back when we first left Africa -- the generation now alive is the most important," said Michio Kaku, professor of theoretical physics at City University of New York. "The generation now alive, the generation that you see, looking around you, for the first time in history, is the generation that controls the destiny of the planet itself."

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Audiences Staying Away From Topical Films

Variety reports that audiences are growing quite tired of topical films, such as those that cover hot-button political issues and the Iraq War.

Filmmakers, mindful that it took more than a decade for Hollywood to effectively tackle the Vietnam War onscreen, were eager to embrace the topicality of Iraq while it was still hot. And both indies and studio speciality divisions jumped in headfirst. In retrospect, it's easy to see why they failed, and why the next round -- yes, there are more on the way -- faces an uphill battle.

First, what was timely at one stage of the Iraq War became more painful as the conflict wore on. The American public grew weary of a 24/7 news cycle that bombarded them with unpleasant war news, so dramas and docs that revealed the war's dark side -- soldiers misbehaving or wounded or victimized -- became most unwelcome.

"People want something cheering and uplifting right now," says press agent Fredell Pogodin. "The economy's bad, and whenever you turn on the news and see this stuff, you feel helpless. People don't know what to make of this situation, and seeing a film about it throws it right back in your face."

Then, a self-perpetuating group-think among the media virtually doomed any movie that was stamped with the toxic Iraq label. As hard as marketers tried to duck and cover, audiences stayed away in droves from one movie after another, from Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart" to Peter Berg's $70 million Saudi Arabian FBI thriller "The Kingdom."

We enjoyed The Kingdom, although the last scene needed a bigtime edit. But hey, it was Jennifer Garner and Jamie Foxx in an action thriller so that's always good. We think it's too soon to start doing movies about the Iraq War. It's still going on: if we want to read stories about it all we have to do is pick up a newspaper or watch television. It's just too early for all that. We think it's still to early for 9/11 movies: we saw it happen live on TV, after all.

Posted on April 19, 2008
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The Return of Lost

Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof talked about the return of Lost next week in a conference call with reporters. Here's the scoop:

Something big is up for Claire. "I think there is a very compelling event involving Claire's character that will take place between now and the season finale." (Rumors include everything from a kiss to the kiss of death...)

The flash-forwards and flashbacks are a "mosaic," and when the "mosaic" is complete, the story of Lost is complete. Damon explains: "There is the story on the island, which we perceive to be the present, and then there's the story of the Oceanic 6, which is happening off the island in the future. But if we were to switch perspectives at any time and suddenly we were off the island, focusing on the Oceanic 6 trying to get back, that would be the present, and what was happening back on the island would be either a parallel present, possibly a future, possibly a past. Who knows? So when you hear that whoosh noise, the question becomes 'Where does it take you?' Hopefully, if we do our jobs right in the finale, in the eight months in between the finale and the season premiere next year, the audience will once again be asking, 'What the hell are they going to do in the season premiere?' And that means we're keeping people on their toes. And that's our intent."

We've been watching this show way too long, because that paragraph actually made sense to us. Oh, and we think Claire is doomed. Lost returns with the first of five new episodes on Thursday, April 24, 2008 in a new timeslot, Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET. Next week's episode is titled "The Shape of Things to Come." Part one of "There's No Place Like Home" will air on May 15th. The two-hour second part will air on May 29th at 9 p.m ET.

Posted on April 18, 2008
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Talks Begin to Avert Actors' Strike

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) has started its talks with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers) in hopes of heading off an actors' strike. The contract expires June 30, 2008.

Among the issues the union -- led by chief negotiator Doug Allen and president Alan Rosenberg -- is bringing to the table are residuals on new media, more money for DVD/home video and changes to health and pension benefits.

The talks come at a crucial time with the industry is still recovering from the 100-day WGA strike. The threat of protracted negotiations -- and the possibility of an actors' strike -- already has caused studios to scale back production schedules for film and TV.

The first day of bargaining began at 10 a.m. at the AMPTP headquarters in Sherman Oaks. It marked the first time SAG has sat down with the AMPTP and its chief, Nick Counter, without fellow performers union AFTRA. Three weeks ago, AFTRA voted to suspend its Phase One joint bargaining agreement with SAG. On Monday, AFTRA rejected SAG's last-ditch attempt to have a united front at the bargaining table.

Nobody in Hollywood wants to see another strike. The writers' strike was absolutely brutal for just about everyone in the industry. It's time to settle this one quickly! The directors and the writers cut a deal, so hopefully the actors will as well.

Posted on April 15, 2008
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New War Inc. Trailer is Here

An upcoming film that has been getting a lot of buzz is War, Inc., which stars John Cusack, Marisa Tomei, Hilary Duff, Ben Kingsley and Dan Ackroyd. It's a dark political satire that reminds us a bit of the classic Wag the Dog. The film is set in the future when the desert country of Turagistan is thrown into chaos by a riot after a private corporation, owned by the former US president, has taken over the whole state. Hit man Brand Hauser (John Cusack) is hired by the corporation's head to kill the CEO of its competitor. Hilary Duff has a featured turn as Yonica, the girl who puts a scorpion down her pants then proceeds to dance. It's worth seeing for the Hilary Duff Scorpion Dance alone. Plus we love when John Cusack plays a hit man. Here's the trailer:



Posted on April 14, 2008
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Stanley Kamel Dead at 65



Stanley Kamel, a veteran actor who is currently playing Dr. Kroger on the hit television show Monk, has died. The L.A. Times reports that he suffered a heart attack in his home; he was 65.

Stanley Kamel, a veteran character actor who appeared most recently in the USA television network series "Monk" as detective Adrian Monk's psychiatrist, has died. He was 65.

Kamel was found dead of a heart attack Tuesday at his Los Angeles home by his longtime agents and friends Donna Massetti and Marilyn Szatmary, publicist Cynthia Snyder said Wednesday in a statement.

Often cast as unsavory characters in TV dramas, Kamel got attention as the suicidal Bruce Teller in the Fox prime-time soap "Melrose Place" in 1994, Dylan McKay's scheming father-in-law Tony Marchette in Fox's "Beverly Hills, 90210" in 1995 and creepy psychiatrist Dr. Graham Lester in the ABC crime series "Murder One" in 1995-96.

We love Monk and Stanley Kamel's portrayal of Monk's psychiatrist Dr. Charles Kroger was always such fun to watch. He will be missed. There's no word yet from USA Network about how they're going to handle the actor's death in the script; right now, no doubt the entire cast and crew is still hearing about the tragedy.

Posted on April 10, 2008
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