Weekend Wrap-Up

 

Welcome once again to the Two Minute Drill. I've gone to a sporadic update schedule here as of late. I apologize for that. Dial up issues and time issues. I'm trying to update everyday and if that doesnt work then at least 4 days a week. We'll see how it goes from here on out.

Over the weekend, the Walt Disney Company named Robert Iger the new CEO of the company. He will take over Disney September 30, the day Michael Eisner steps down. For many Disney fans concerned about the state of the company, this is a huge disappointment. Iger is seen as a Eisner clone. Someone who is worried more about the bottom line than the quality of what they are putting out. It was hoped that the Disney Board of Directors would bring in an outside person. Someone who could re-energize the company creatively and financially. The creativity at Disney has really gone downhill in the last few years, as making money became the most important issue. Even if it meant sacrificing quality for a cheaper product. One of the biggest proofs of that mentality sits next to Disneyland in Anahiem. I'm talking of course about Disney's California Adventure. This park was supposed to be the center piece of a multi-billion dollar resort project. Something that the Imagineers (Disney's creative team) were going to go all out for. Instead, after the budget was slashed and slashed and slashed some more, it turned into the joke park it is now. As someone so politely put it a "Half Park for Full Price." Already Disney's two most vocal critics Stanley Gold and Roy E. Disney (Nephew of Walt Disney) are blasting the board for making this choice. These two men are the reason why Eisner is stepping down in the first place. They successfully launched a shareholder revolt last year and kept the pressure on Disney to make changes at the top. It will be intersting to see what strategy they come up with to try to get the shareholders to have Iger removed before he takes power. If you want more info on that, I suggest you visit www.savedisney.com. I of course will be keeping an eye on things and updating here if any other news breaks.

The Pope returned home Sunday after spending several weeks in the hospital as he recovered from throat surgery. The Pope waved from his Vatican window and spoke breifly during his weekly Prayer Service. Although he sounded a bit hoarse, he was upbeat and seemed in better spirits. He is still not fully recovered, but he is well enough where doctors felt he could go home.

The child accusing Michael Jackson of child molestation will continue his testimony on Monday. Trial followers are split on how damaging his testimony could be. The defense has done a great job of discrediting the boys sister and younger brother. If Jackson's defense team can punch holes in the boys story as well, then it will go a long way towards saving Jackson from jail. If he does get off though, I HOPE that the people around him will finally put in end to all this. In other words, can someone PLEASE get it into his head that its NOT ok for him to hang out with all these little boys!! Even if it is innocent fun, its not ok. Especially not for someone who has had a history of child molestation charges brought against him. You know the saddest part? I believe he is so unstable, that he might just try to kill himself if he is found guilty. Because unless he is in some special jail, he wont last long there. Michael Jackson in prison just doesnt seem like a safe thing. Thats just me though...

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE REPORT:

Ewan McGregor as the voice of Rodney in "Robots"

 

1) Robots, $36.5 mil: This would mark FOX's second straight #1 opening for their animation department. A dept that was almost terminated until "Ice Age" saved it a few years ago. The same team that made that great film, were behind this one as well. FOX is quickly becoming a player in the CGI Animation genre. More competiton equals better films for us to enjoy.

2) The Pacifier, $18 mil: Last weeks champ drops to number 2. Vin Diesel may have found his first real hit since "The Fast and The Furious". As I said last week, this films box office total will help him re-establish himself as a box office draw.

3) Be Cool, $10.3 mil: Dropped a notch from last week as well. Havent really heard any reviews about this film. 10.3 million isnt bad for a second week, but I'm sure MGM was hoping it would be doing better.

4) Hostage, $9.8 mil: Bruce Willis' action flick didnt open very well. He's also got "Sin City" coming in a few weeks. The advance buzz on that film has been pretty positive. Not so positive have been the rumors about him and Lindsay Lohan supposedly hooking up at a party a few weeks ago. I'm not gonna get into that here though.

5) Hitch, $8.7 mil: Almost 150 million later and this movie is still going strong. Is was also the number 1 movie overseas this past week. I suspect though, that this will be the last week its in the top 5. I could be wrong though. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Well, that will do it for this edition. Hope you all have a great week and I'll see you next time. Til then....

DQ

Tech Trouble TGIF

This is just a quick post. Because of some ongoing computer issues, there will be no TGIF update. However, stay tuned Saturday night for another installment of the TWO MINUTE DRILL!!

Thursday Rant

Hello again everyone. Welcome back to the drill. Havent updated for two nights, but I wasnt about to go for the three peat. I wanted to try something new this time. I will still report the news but on certain days I will include some "Random Rants". Its something that I used to do in my old high school column. Basically just one or two quick sentences about a random topic. Sometimes more than that. Lets see how it works.... Here...WE...GO!!

So Wed Afternoon in the Michael Jackson Trial, the alleged victim took the stand and testified. He seemed dead set in trying to convince the jury he had been wronged. He hardly made eye contact with Jackon, but would stare directly at the jury when he would talk. Jackson was seen shaking his head as the boy spoke about some of the things Jackson would do with him. Among many things, was surfing the internet with him and making him (the victim) view pornographic websites filled with pictures of underage girls and other adult material. Before the victim took the stand, the boys younger brother finished up his testimony. The defense once again grilled him and punched more holes into his credibility. A mixed day for Jackson overall. We'll see how the boy holds up during cross examination in a few days.

So the US Congress has basically demanded that several former and current Major Leaguers come testify before congress about steroid use in baseball Some of the most noteworthy names: Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling and Jose Canseco (Who basically started this whole mess). Barry Bonds was not asked to appear, as congress felt that including him would take the focus away from investigating the use of steroids in baseball to just whether or not he himself uses them. The Players Union is trying to stop them from forcing the players to testify basically saying that they have no right to do it. Here's my thing: If they have nothing to hide then they shouldnt be worried about anything. Just go, give your two cents and leave. They just want to know the truth. If they arent scared to say it, then why should there be a problem? I think that if the players go through with this, it may help diffuse this controversy just a tad. But their adamant denial to cooperate only compounds their guilt in the court of public opinion. Should be an interesting next couple of days...

LA Mayoral Race (Prt 1) has ended and it will be a rematch of four years ago as once again Antonio Villaragosa will face off against James Hahn. This time however, Hahn is the incumbent mayor and Villaragosa is a more experienced political foe. Hahn has also been hurt by recent corruption allegations and by some controversial decisions during his four year tenure. Over 75% of the votes in the primary went to candidates other than James Hahn. He will have a tough 3 months to try and win those votes back.

Random Rants

-Barry  sucks...

-Lakers need to pick it up or their season is done. They lost to the CLIPPERS!! THE CLIPPERS!!! I guess we know now, who the better LA team is....

-George W Bush still amazes me at how gullible he is. Case in point: During a recent Tsunami Relief Update Press Conference he actually had to LOOK down at his binder and see what the program was called. Didnt even try to play it off. Just turned the binder he was showing to the reporters around and read the title. He said something along the lines of  "We're here to talk about our Tsunami...Relief...Uh..".(Blinks wildly..panics...looks down at binder he is holding...) The look on George Bush Sr's face was priceless. Like "Oh Lord, not again..."

-What is up with this weird SoCal weather? One week its raining and cold..next week its warm and sunny. Could it be? Winter is almost over? Oh, there's rain in the forecast for Monday..Nevermind...

-Wrestlemania 21 is in 25 days...just in case you were wondering....

-Barry STILL sucks...

Notable Quote: "Micheal Jackson's trial is expected to last about six months, but Jackson has asked for time off to entertain the troops. OK, so they're a Cub Scout Troop. But they're still troops!!!" -Brad Garret on the Tonight Show delivering a joke that Jay Leno was unable to read outloud because of a court order forbidding him from speaking about the trial.

OK, that will do it for now. Always late, but worth the wait. Well..Always Late..we'll leave it at that...Til the next time...

DQ

Monday Night Misc.

Hello again everyone! And welcome to the Two Minute Tech Trouble Drill!! More dial up issues. I think that from now I will just update from work. At least there I can use the super fast broadband connection. So here we go

There was some very graphic and disturbing testimony in the Michael Jackson case earlier Monday. Among the highlights (or lowlights depending on how you look at it) is the victims brother stating that he personally saw Jackson molest his brother in Jacksons house. And that he witnessed Jackson give the victim wine in a soda can. It isnt looking good for the "King of Pop" but we'll see if this testimony holds up under cross investigation tommorrow.

More celebrity legal troubles. This time with the Robert Blake trial. The jury is deliberating the case. There is no indication on how long it will take them to reach a verdict, but in most cases, if its a slam dunk it only takes a few days. We'll see if the prosecution was able to sway the jury into finding Blake guilty. Me? I think he did it, but the case against him wasnt as strong as it couldve been. And you have to be able to prove guilt, BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT to find someone guilty. We'll see....

So Barry Bonds cant shut up. And I thought Kobe said some stupid things. Over the weekend Bonds made some comments about steroids and baseball. Let me paraphrase some of his quotes: "I dont see what the big deal is about steroids. This isnt the Olympics...I'm an entertainer. I entertain. If someone pays $60 for a ticket and I'm not in the lineup who gets cheated??....We're entertainers. Our job is to entertain." What...A....IDIOT....sigh...First off, this isnt the WWE..this is MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL!! You are NOT an entertainer..you sir, are a BALL PLAYER!! You dont entertain. You get paid millions of dollars to play a game. The entertainment comes from the game being played. Your job, is to PLAY. Just because you use steriods and smack homeruns does not make you an entertainer. sigh....Maybe he should just keep to staying quiet and "entertaining." That way we dont have to here stupid things like this....

BOX OFFICE REPORT
I know its late but here it is anyway:

Vin Diesel in "The Pacifier"

1)The Pacifier, $30.5 mil: Another upset this week. Diesel hasnt exactly had the best track record of late when it comes to movies (Chronicles of Riddick anyone?). But this film seemed like a good fit for him. Maybe action isnt his genre. Family comedy is. In any event, this was a solid opening and will do alot to help his status as a box office draw.

2) Be Cool, $23.4 mil: Well this has to be seen as a disappointment for MGM. Not totally as it still did pull in almost $24 million. But, this was supposed to be the number 1 movie this week. With the star power and clever marketing campaign, it seemed like a no brainer. Then again, "Get Shorty" wasnt THAT big a hit either. Again..We'll see....

3) Hitch, $12.1: One of the first runaway hits of the year. There arent any other films of this category out right now, so anyone looking for a romantic comedy fix will have no choice but to watch this film

4) Diary of a Mad Black Woman, $11.0 mil: Well that was a short lived reign at the top. From first to fourth. They werent expecting this film to do big business anyway, so just opening in first was a big accomplishment.

5) Million Dollar Baby, $8.1 mil: Well, there's that post Oscar bounce again. This film just keeps coming back. Its funny how movies that are nominated for or win the Best Oscar Award arent usually huge commercial success. With the exception of Titanic and The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, no other films have done big business. "Baby" isnt going to make TONS of money. But it will still turn a profit and be a pretty good sized hit.

 

So thats it for today's update. Til the next time...

DQ 

Thursday Misc

Hello everyone!! Welcome to back to oft delayed Two Minute Drill! If lack of material doesnt stop this column, then the crappy AOL dial up will!!

So Kobe's case is finished. The two sides agreed to a settlement and are moving on. The exact amount of the settlement my never be known, but I'm pretty sure she's set for life. Both sides signed a confidentiality agreement so she cant cash in on telling her side of the story or disclose the amounts publicly. Well, at least Kobe learned his lesson in gettin her to sign something that will keep her quiet.(j/k) In all seriousness though, he should have never put himself in this kind of situation. I dont think he was stupid enough to assault her, but we will never know the truth.

With his legal troubles behind him, now maybe he can help the Lakers win some games. They purple and gold dropped ANOTHER road game, falling to the Celtics 104-101 @ Boston. They are now exactly a .500 team. This team can still make the playoffs. i honestly believe they do. But I also believe they will be bounced out quickly. They just dont have what it takes to compete with the top seeds in the West.

Spring Training games have begun finally and the Dodgers won their debut game 4-2 over the Florida Marlins on Wed. In Thursday's game they rallied back to tie Atlanta after falling behind early, but were defeated 9-8 in an eight inning game that was called due to rain. Its still wwaayy to early and the exhibition season doesnt mean a thing in the regular season. But its always nice to win regardless!

I hope you all enjoyed the Star Wars pics. I'm not really that big a Star Wars fan, but I know this is one of the most anticipated films of the Summer so I couldnt pass it up. I've only seen one Star Wars movie (Return of the Jedi) and just bits and pieces of the other films. I do want to sit down one day and just watch them all to get what the hype is about. 

The thing that I always found funny is that ever since the prequels came out, the other three older movies suddenly had numbers attached to their names. (IE, the original Star Wars became Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back became Episdoe V: The Empire Strikes Back, etc...)  George Lucas has always maintained that the original Star Wars movies were actually the last half of a Six part story. Whether or not that is true, eh, I'll let the super fans debate that. I dont know enough to have an opinion. ;-)

I'm sure the ratings for that March 10 episode of the OC are gonna be HUGE!! I wonder why they just didnt do it during Feb Sweeps to really cash in on the ratings.

Disneyland Update: The park continues its mad dash to the kick off of the 50th Anniversay May 5th. Almost half the park is down while they repaint and spiffy up the place. One cool thing they are doing is painting ONE ride vehicle from the original rides (Autopia, Dumbo, Jungle Cruise, etc..) Gold or in gold tones. they are going crazy with the gold paint if anything. From what I have heard, the fireworks show for the 50th is going to be awesome. The biggest display ever in Disneylands history. We'll see if it lives up to the hype.

OK, that should do it for now. I'll be back tommorrow (hopefully) to wrap it all up for the week! til then....

 

DQ 

Mid Week Update

Hi everyone!

This is just a quick update til I get home later and give you the full one. 20th Century Fox just released new production photos of "Star Wars: Epsiode III: Revenge of the Sith" and I thought I would share some with you here. Not only that, but it was also announced that the new trailer for the movie would be premiering during the March 10 episode of "The O.C." I'm sure this will throw you "Star Wars" fans out there for a loop! Enjoy the pics and tune in later.

Taboo Tuesday

Hello everyone! And welcome back to the drill! Remember, when news breaks, we fix it!! hahaha..on to business!

Opening statements began today in the Micheal Jackson Molestation trail. The prosecution is trying to pain Jackson as a sexual predator and someone who has a problem but will not admit to it. The defense is countering by trying to prove that the accusors mother is a gold digging scam artist and is just trying to shake down Jackson for money. Who will the jury believe? I think its going to be tough for the defense to get Jackson off this time. He shouldve stuck with Johnny Cochran. hehehe...We'll see how this thing plays out..

Speaking of played out, Kobe Bryant's Rape Trial has been postponed and there is now talk of a possible settlement between the two sides. A monetary settlement would probably be in the tens of millions of dollars as the victim is seeking compenstation for various things including emotional distress. An announcement could be coming in the next few days. Stay tuned...

OK, enough is enough. The Lakers lost to the KNICKS!! THE FRIGGN KNICKS!!!! What is the matter with these guys?? The Knicks??!! I mean sure, they rallied back to make it close. But when you are getting blown out by a team that you should by all indications beat easily...something is wrong. I predict a big shakeup of the roster in the offseason. Jerry Buss is NOT going to allow his team to become a laughing stock and be just another NBA team. With the prices the Lakers charge, they MUST win. People are not going to pay $700  for courtside seats to watch a team that is BARELY above .500!!! We need a new coach and some new players and possibly a new GM!! Becuase Mitch Kupchak is an idiot!! I'm sorry but he is. He thought it was a good idea to give Devean George, a highly overrated player, a fat contract. And when he had a chance to unload him and get a great shooter in Peja Staijokovic (spell check) he decides not to pursue the trade. Is George even going to play this season?? And what about Vlade?? Yeah, he did a "GREAT" job replacing Shaq!! sigh...sorry to go off on a tangent, but geez, this team has just hit rock bottom!!! 26 more games to go!! Can they hang onto that last spot?? We'll find out.

Spring Training start Tuesday for the Dodgers and the rest of Major League Baseball. The march is on for Opening Day in early April. I'm sure you're all waiting for my 05 preview...rriigghhtt...hehehe..if AOL cooperates you'll be seeing it in late March.

OK, thats all for this Tuesday edition! Hope you are all well and I'll see you next time!

DQ