It’s ironic that arguably the most successful screenwriter to come out of UCLA has made a name for himself by writing a style of screenplay that UCLA doesn’t teach. But that’s Hollywood. David Koepp is known in the film industry for writing blockbuster hits such as “Spider-Man,” “Mission: Impossible” and the first two installments of […]
Author Archives: Jake Tracer
City girls can’t beat “˜Sopranos’ gang
At this point, I think it’s fair to say sororities everywhere have had time enough to cry over the sugary-sweet finale of “Sex and the City.” The girls from New York are finally giving up their HBO spotlight to the boys from New Jersey. HBO will premiere the fifth season of “The Sopranos” on Sunday, […]
“˜Return of King’ lords over Oscars
While most people watch the Oscars to see who wins and then zone out during acceptance speeches, perhaps the most interesting thing about the Academy Awards on Sunday night was the very thing which viewers usually talk over. “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” was predictably the big winner, coming away […]
Academy should take comedies more seriously
So it seems this year’s Oscar race is primed to become the Academy’s personal tribute to “The Lord of the Rings” ““ and deservedly so. Considering neither of the trilogy’s first two installments won Oscars for Best Picture or Best Director, “The Return of the King” should take both. But, ironically enough, as the Academy […]
Lohan’s new movie proves she’s no Shirley Temple
You hear that? Shirley Temple just let out a sigh of relief. And before you ask, yes, she’s still alive. During her heyday in the mid-to-late 1930s, Temple wasn’t just Hollywood’s premiere child actress; she was one of Hollywood’s premiere movie stars. For three years (1936 to 1938), her movies made more money in the […]
Grammys should take a page out of Oscar’s book
Now that I think about it, before last Sunday I’d never watched an entire Grammy Awards telecast. Actually, I still haven’t. I just couldn’t make it. Sandwiched between the Golden Globes and the Oscars, the biggest night in music really just amounts to a production that’s horribly out of tune. From philosophy to production, the […]
Super Bowl XXXVIII: It’s definitely not all about the game
If you think you’re reading a sports column, you’re wrong. Still, along with the rest of the world, I watched the Super Bowl on Sunday, but instead of watching the event for what it’s supposed to be (a football game), I watched it for what it really is: a massive exercise in television production. The […]