Entries from January 2004 ↓

The first great album of 2004 has arrived…

.This album is just about perfect from start to finish.

G.I. Joe - The Live Action Movie?.While checking out FARK, I saw a link to Cinsecape for some story about Star Trek that I thought I could tell Woolard about, but instead, my eye was drawn to a link with the headline:

“SCOOP: Who`s in G.I. JOE?”

Here’s what I found:

A source fills us in with inside information
Dateline: Thursday, January 29, 2004

By: PATRICK SAURIOL
By: News Editor
Source: Anonymous

Yesterday FilmForce published an exclusive report stating that producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura is turning Hasbro’s G.I. JOE toy franchise into a live-action movie. FilmForce also reports that the script will be done by writer Michael Gordon and that while deals for both men are complete, an announcement may be published in the movie trade magazines sometime in February.

Also mentioned was that the movie will utilize characters from the popular 1980s cartoon series and not so much the modern day JOE line.

Thanks to the efforts of one of our sources, who has knowledge of the Bonaventura production, we’ve been told a general outline of the movie’s storyline as it stands now plus which characters are in the film.

According to our source, the movie is more-or-less a prequel to the cartoon G.I. JOE series. Set before the rise of the COBRA organization, the film will show how the man the world will one day call Cobra Commander created his terrorist organization and honed it into a worldwide threat. Other COBRA characters, such as Destro and Stormshadow, are being planned to be included in the film. While Cobra Commander doesn’t wear the costume he is best-known for during the bulk of the film (the blue COBRA garb complete with hood), by the conclusion of the film he will be decked out in it.

As for who is on the JOE team, look for appearances by the team’s main players, such as Duke, Hawk and Snake Eyes. In fact, one of the ideas being kicked around at this stage of story development is touching upon the origin of Snake Eyes and Stormshadow, albeit in a minor way. As fans of the cartoon series know, both ninja characters have their origins tied together.

Since the screenplay is in a constant state of flow, things could change and new characters could be introduced at any time. However, the primary guideline the G.I. JOE movie creators are using is to try and be as faithful to the ’80s incarnation of the team as possible.

Associated Press

NEW YORK — Eric Lindros sustained another concussion Wednesday night and left the New York Rangers’ game against the Washington Capitals.

Lindros, plagued by seven previous concussions in his career, took a hard hit along the boards from Capitals defenseman Jason Doig in the second period and was knocked to the ice.

On his next shift, Lindros took the faceoff and immediately dropped his gloves and stick and went after Doig. After a brief scuffle, Lindros pinned Doig to the ice. Both received fighting majors at 10:53.

Lindros did not return for the third period, and the Rangers said he would be re-evaluated Thursday. Washington held on for a 2-1 victory.

“We’ve spoken to the doctor, (concussion specialist) Karen Johnston in Montreal,” Rangers coach and general manager Glen Sather said. “These things are hard to judge. By her over-the-phone diagnosis after talking to our doctors, they don’t think it’s that severe.”

Rangers center Bobby Holik called the possible loss of Lindros “devastating.”

“None of us saw him after the game, so we have to remain positive, and wait and see,” Holik said.

Lindros was not available for comment after the game.

“He came through with his head down,” Doig said. “I’ve got to make that hit. Guys around the league know I step up and make that play. I have all the respect in the world for Eric. I told him, ‘I’m not trying to hurt you.”‘

In his third season with the Rangers, the 1995 NHL MVP has been playing his best hockey in years of late. He has 10 goals and 22 assists in 39 games.

The All-Star center was traded to New York by Philadelphia after sitting out a season because of a bitter feud with Flyers general manager Bob Clarke and while recovering from his seventh concussion.

BREAKING NEWS!!!!

From BBC News:

Arsenal sign Reyes

REYES FACTFILE

Born: 1 September, 1983
Sevilla debut: 30 January, 2000 vs Real Zaragoza
First Sevilla goal: 16 September, 2001 vs Espanyol
Spain debut: 6 September, 2003 vs Portugal
First Spain goal: 11 October, 2003 vs Armenia

Sevilla’s Spanish international winger Jose Antonio Reyes has joined Arsenal for an undisclosed fee.

The Premiership leaders confirmed on Tuesday they had snapped up the 20-year-old, who is reportedly valued at �20m, on a long-term deal.

Reyes initially revealed the move on his personal website.

And Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger told the Gunners’ official website: “Jose Reyes is a fantastic signing for Arsenal Football Club.”

Reyes has been linked with the London club since the summer, but Arsenal reportedly had a bid turned down in December.

Wenger, after finally luring the Spaniard, said: “He is a very talented young player, who can play in midfield or as a supporting striker.

“He can play on the left or on the right, in fact, anywhere as an offensive player. Jose will be a great asset to our squad.”

Sevilla president Jose Maria del Nido described the move as “the saddest thing we’ve ever had to do”.

And Reyes added: “I’m the happiest man and the saddest man in the world at the same time.

“I’m leaving the best team in Spain to join the best team in England.

“Without a doubt this is a step forward in my career but I’m not forgetting that I’m leaving the club that I love with all my heart.”

Reyes, who was under contract with Sevilla until 2010, made his full international debut for Spain as a substitute in September.

The left-sided player has made two further international appearances and scored 21 goals in 84 Primera Liga games.

Reyes, who has trained with Sevilla’s first-team since he was 15, enjoyed arguably his best league performance in the 4-1 defeat of Real Madrid earlier this season.

He is set to move to Highbury immediately if he passes a medical on Wednesday, becoming the club’s record signing in the process.

Reyes will also be eligible for Champions League football this season.

The Nominations for the 76th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning.

.Here’s the field in full:

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Johnny Depp - PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
Ben Kingsley - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Jude Law - COLD MOUNTAIN
Bill Murray - LOST IN TRANSLATION
Sean Penn - MYSTIC RIVER

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alec Baldwin - THE COOLER
Benicio Del Toro - 21 GRAMS
Djimon Hounsou - IN AMERICA
Tim Robbins - MYSTIC RIVER
Ken Watanabe - THE LAST SAMURAI

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Keisha Castle-Hughes - WHALE RIDER
Diane Keaton - SOMETHING’S GOTTA GIVE
Samantha Morton - IN AMERICA
Charlize Theron - MONSTER
Naomi Watts - 21 GRAMS

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Shohreh Aghdashloo - HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
Patricia Clarkson - PIECES OF APRIL
Marcia Gay Harden - MYSTIC RIVER
Holly Hunter - THIRTEEN
Ren�e Zellweger - COLD MOUNTAIN

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
BROTHER BEAR
FINDING NEMO
THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE

ART DIRECTION
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
THE LAST SAMURAI
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

CINEMATOGRAPHY
CITY OF GOD
COLD MOUNTAIN
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

COSTUME DESIGN
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING
THE LAST SAMURAI
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

DIRECTING
CITY OF GOD
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
LOST IN TRANSLATION
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
MYSTIC RIVER

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
BALSEROS
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS
THE FOG OF WAR
MY ARCHITECT
THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
ASYLUM
CHERNOBYL HEART
FERRY TALES

FILM EDITING
CITY OF GOD
COLD MOUNTAIN
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
SEABISCUIT

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS
EVIL
THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI
TWIN SISTERS
�ELARY

MAKEUP
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

MUSIC (SCORE)
BIG FISH
COLD MOUNTAIN
FINDING NEMO
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING

MUSIC (SONG)
“Into the West” - THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
“A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow” - A MIGHTY WIND
“Scarlet Tide” - COLD MOUNTAIN
“The Triplets of Belleville” - THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE
“You Will Be My Ain True Love” - COLD MOUNTAIN

BEST PICTURE
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
LOST IN TRANSLATION
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
MYSTIC RIVER
SEABISCUIT

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
BOUNDIN’
DESTINO
GONE NUTTY
HARVIE KRUMPET
NIBBLES

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
DIE ROTE JACKE (The Red Jacket)
MOST (The Bridge)
SQUASH
(A) TORZIJA ([A] Torsion)
TWO SOLDIERS

SOUND
THE LAST SAMURAI
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL
SEABISCUIT

SOUND EDITING
FINDING NEMO
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

VISUAL EFFECTS
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
AMERICAN SPLENDOR
CITY OF GOD
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING
MYSTIC RIVER
SEABISCUIT

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS
FINDING NEMO
IN AMERICA
LOST IN TRANSLATION

Great article about the state of affairs in Bristol, CT.

.
Media Watch: Gammons the Great?

By Matthew Lesh
NYYFans.com Staff Writer
January 20, 2004

I am a fan of Peter Gammons. I really am. I read his columns regularly on ESPN.com, and I admire his writing style, which is simple but not pandering. I am more likely to watch Baseball Tonight when he�s on. Gammons is more entertaining and more personable than Tim Kurkjian, Rob/Ron Dibble, and whatever other dregs Karl Ravech can drag onto the set. His presence lends a degree of dignity to the proceedings that Dibble and other ex-players or managers can�t approach, and he always seems better informed than Kurkjian, Jayson Stark and the other writers.

Now, as a Yankee fan, I have always been aware of Gammons� reputation among Yankees fans as a Boston homer, and quite frankly, I have always dismissed it out of hand. Gammons always spoke and wrote glowingly of the 1996-2000 champion Yankees, praising the way the team was built and defending its creators from those who accused them of buying championships. He has been nothing but complimentary to Brian Cashman, Joe Torre, and the core group of players who won those titles. Gammons recognized that those Yankees teams went about their business the right way, and he wasn�t shy about broadcasting his admiration in spite of his New England roots. Sure, there was the occasional barb thrown George Steinbrenner�s way, but you can hardly blame the guy for that.

At the same time, Gammons never held back criticism of the Red Sox organization, which resembled a circus for most of the last decade. The Clemens departure, the Jimy Williams/Carl Everett wars, every fiasco Dan Duquette created, even the shady, Selig-induced ownership change: none of these escaped Gammons� critical eye. If anything, he seemed overly harsh toward the Red Sox for the latter half of the last decade.

Given this, I never really understood the cries of bias that some Yankees fans directed his way. I attributed them to oversensitivity, or perhaps the disquieting effect of seeing the country�s premier sports network�s chief baseball analyst position get handed to a man who ostensibly represented the enemy.

Lately, however, even as I still defend Gammons to friends and fellow fans, I have noticed a slow but not-so-subtle shift in his baseball coverage. It�s almost as if he has been struggling for years to cloak his inner Red Sox fan under layers of objectivity and respectability, but he can keep the beast inside no longer. Like The Incredible Hulk when his green skin bursts through Bruce Banner�s clothes, Peter Gammons is transforming before our eyes, and under his gray suits and Andrew Jackson-like face lies a pool of red, red blood.

Since the end of the 2001 World Series, Gammons has grown more and more critical of the Yankees. He has become a vocal basher of the new Yankee regime, and particularly Steinbrenner, who has been the frequent targets of snarky asides and knowing glances between Gammons and Ravech. This doesn�t bother me in and of itself. The Yankees have opened themselves to criticism the way they have built their team the last two seasons, although history tells me that had the Yankees beaten the Marlins this year, Gammons would have been falling all over himself trying to find complimentary things to say about the pinstripers. Quite frankly, Steinbrenner has behaved boorishly at times, from the inanity of DentalGate to his handling of the Andy Pettitte negotiations. Peter Gammons, and everyone else for that matter, has the right to take him to task.

But at the same time, Gammons has done an about-face concerning the Red Sox. Perhaps not coincidentally, his columns about their organization have become consistently more positive as their win total has increased. If I didn�t know better, I would have to wonder if Gammons is in Theo Epstein�s pocket, as he seems to turn to his thesaurus frequently to find new adjectives to describe the brilliance of Boston�s Boy Wonder. A recent column actually mentioned Epstein�s strong family values and upbringing. Even John Henry and Larry Lucchino, two shady characters at best, have received near-constant praise from their newest champion. Yet again, even this wouldn�t bother me on its own, for the Red Sox have had a change in management, and perhaps Gammons truly approves of the way they conduct themselves. I can�t shake the feeling, though, that he is not only openly rooting for the Red Sox, but hopping on the bandwagon at the most convenient time.

In the final analysis, neither critique of the Yankees nor praise of the Red Sox is enough to convict the man of homerism. But it�s not actually that difficult. All you have to do is scan the headlines of his columns for ESPN this off-season. Since the close of the 2003 World Series, Gammons has penned 18 columns for the web site. Of these 18, one deals with Pete Rose, one with a charity concert, one with the untimely passing of Ken Brett. That leaves 15 columns that deal explicitly with analyzing the sport of baseball. Nine out of those 15 cover the Red Sox as their primary topic, including an astonishing six in a row.

The potential ARod/Manny Ramirez trade was certainly a huge story. But did we really need four straight columns from Gammons on a deal that hadn�t yet happened? Did we need to hear about it from every conceivable point of view, from Nomar Garciaparra all the way down to the bat boys? How about two straight columns concerning the Manny Ramirez non-tender, another story about nothing really happening? And let�s not forget an entire column devoted to Theo Epstein�s scintillating search for a manager.

Gammons is out of control. There have been a myriad of interesting, important stories this off-season that he has virtually ignored while he covers the Red Sox like a beat reporter. Other teams� fans have even more right to complain than Yankees fans. New York, as Boston�s natural rival, has at least had some bandwidth devoted to its team, but whither the world champion Marlins, or perennial contenders in San Francisco and Minnesota? Someone in Bristol needs to rein Gammons in, before he turns ESPN.com into the Boston Globe and Baseball Tonight into NESN.