Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

A Senator Walker would be an insult to the state and the nation.

Being the leader of the world means to be the leader of peace.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

The willow is too close to the house.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

“More of this”, i said to the dog.

This blog will pay for itself.

Presidents are not kings, and Plaintiff is not President.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

The revolution will be supervised.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

People are complicated. Love is not.

An almost top 10,000 blog!

Let there be snark.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Eh, that’s media spin. biden’s health is fine and he’s doing a good job.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Thursday Afternoon Odds and Ends (Open Thread)

Thursday Afternoon Odds and Ends (Open Thread)

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According to Variety, Chris Cillizza got shit-canned by CNN:

CNN executives were expected to inform staffers about layoffs at the network Thursday morning, according to these people. CNN correspondents Alison Kosik, Martin Savidge, Alex Field, Mary Ann Fox and Chris Cillizza are among the staffers who have been let go, according to two people familiar with the matter. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment.

Don’t worry, folks: I’m sure he got a nice severance.

Speaking of self-important twits whose careers are on the skids:

What Stephen said. Look, I get that bipartisanship is Sinema’s shtick, but Democrats are the only major party interested in protecting marriage equality. Republicans are cross-wise with their own goddamn voters on this issue, so a Democrat shouldn’t be giving them cover just because a tiny fraction did the right thing for once. It’s maddening.

In other news, I was disappointed to learn that “Glass Onion” (the “Knives Out” sequel) won’t be available on Netflix until 12/23. Somehow, I’d got it in my head that it was dropping 12/1. We are looking forward to a clever mystery and Daniel Craig’s hilariously terrible Southern accent.

Has anyone else watched “The Crown”? I finished season 5. It remains a highly watchable soap with consistently excellent writing, acting and production values. I think Imelda Staunton and Jonathan Pryce are excellent in their roles. But Mr. Morgan (the writer) sort of bludgeons viewers with the symbolism this season. Seems like he used to be more subtle? Anyhoo, a minor complaint.

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

160Comments

  1. 1.

    The Moar You Know

    Good, because he sucked.  I could always tell one of his pieces of mind vomit within two sentences without looking at the byline, because they were so uniformly ill-informed.

    ETA:  Kate Bennett is shaping up to be a note-perfect replacement.  I guess Chris was too expensive.

  2. 2.

    lowtechcyclist

    Time to pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate Cillizza’s dismissal!

    ETA: And with a good conscience since my work day ended ten minutes ago.

  3. 3.

    KenK

    Started Season 5 of ‘The Crown’, then dumped it in first episode. Pretty crappy writing and piss poor acting by Chas/Di actors. Switched over to ‘Magpie Murders’ and ‘Miss Scarlet and The Duke’.

  5. 5.

    Doug R

    This may be a Canadian thing, but I saw Everything Everywhere All At Once on Amazon Prime, no extra charge.

  6. 6.

    Dagaetch

    I know CNN is trending right, and I should be nervous about all their personnel moves…but woohoo!! Cillizza has been so awful for so long.

  8. 8.

    RobertB

    Daniel Craig tries to do an Appalachian accent in “Logan Lucky”.  It’s pretty bad.  However, if you like Steven Soderbergh heist movies (Ocean’s x), the movie is actually pretty good.

  9. 9.

    MattF

    Someone needs to take that crypto guy SBF aside for a moment and explain to him that you can commit fraud even if the word ‘fraud’ doesn’t appear in any of your promotional material.

  10. 10.

    Old School

    Collins, Portman, and Tillis signed on as co-sponsors, so I’m OK with thanking them for their efforts for this bill.

  11. 11.

    cleek

    having a hard time seeing Dominic West as Charles. he’ll always be McNulty to me. i keep expecting him to whip out one of those big dopey grins and say “What the fuck did I do?”

  12. 12.

    fancycwabs

    I thought Glass Onion was entertaining enough if you suspend disbelief for a couple of very contrived circumstances, but after seeing Reed Hastings having to call Elon Musk a “genius” I’m more inclined to think it’s a modern day Citizen Kane.

  13. 13.

    Poe Larity

    Sometimes when I’m waiting for the water level to come up to put the detergent in, I wonder if I’m missing out not having cable.

  14. 14.

    Mike in NC

    We finished Season 5 of The Crown and didn’t care much for Dominic West as Prince Charles because there was no physical resemblance.

  15. 15.

    Brachiator

    In other news, I was disappointed to learn that “Glass Onion” (the “Knives Out” sequel) won’t be available on Netflix until 12/23. Somehow, I’d got it in my head that it was dropping 12/1. We are looking forward to a clever mystery and Daniel Craig’s hilariously terrible Southern accent.

    The film industry is hurting itself. I totally enjoyed “Knives Out,” “Glass Onion” is playing in movie theaters before moving to Netflix. Unfortunately the two main movie theaters I used to go to went out of business during the pandemic and getting out to others is not as comfortable. I don’t currently subscribe to Netflix and would love to be able to just pay a reasonable ticket price to see “Glass Onion” without having to sign up to Netflix or any other streaming service I don’t regularly use.

    The studios are stupidly leaving money on the table.

    Daniel Craig was a hoot in the first film. Good to see he found a fun follow up to James Bond.

  16. 16.

    Msb

    I watched The Crown to see some of my favorite actors: Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Pryce, Lesley Manville and Dominic West. Agree that the writing is rather leaden, but my worst problem with it is that Morgan seems to be setting up the Queen as a victim, aiming, I think, to climax season 6 with they (very transitory) public disapproval following Diana’s death. This seems to be a wasted opportunity to use Staunton’s many skills to show Elizabeth’s toughness: in season 6, this would include the live statement she made, plainly through gritted teeth, before the funeral, and, if they go that far, sitting quietly through the funeral while being insulted to her face by the current Earl Spencer. Jonathan Pryce is doing a great job, however, being Philip without aping his mannerisms too closely. Similarly, Dominic West looks very little like Charles, but is doing the voice and attitudes very well.
    It is a bit creepy, however, watching dramatic speculation about the private lives of (mostly) living people who can’t do much to complain about it.
    And some of the “history” is just wrong: the royal who decided to refuse asylum to the Romanovs was George V, who made a practice of never discussing state business with his wife. But that fact wouldn’t play into the themes Morgan wants to use.

  17. 17.

    R-Jud

    @cleek: Yes. That and when the very tall Elizabeth Debicki stands next to him (or anyone) it’s like some kind of visual gag, even when they’re trying to do Serious Acting.

  19. 19.

    Betty Cracker

    @cleek: I think West sort of grows into the role as the season progresses, but Josh O’Connor nailed it so well in the previous two seasons — he’s a tough act to follow.

  20. 20.

    zhena gogolia

    We enjoyed Season 5 of The Crown. The writing seemed less good, but the acting was still great, in my opinion. Staunton & Pryce and West & Debicki had some excellent, subtle, scenes together. I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I think Staunton is the best QEII.

  21. 21.

    Jeffro

    Anyone else read that “he will burn it all down” piece that came out this morning?

    I feel like every registered GOP voter should receive a copy of it.  Not that they’ll care, but just so they were properly warned.

    Wait…never mind…we’ve warned them repeatedly over the past seven.  long.  years.  Fuck ’em.

  22. 22.

    cain

    @Msb: I would think it would be really triggering for Harry and William – probably not something you’d want to relive. I think it’s good to not make it true to life since I’m sure seeing things that didn’t happen would show that this isn’t the same universe.

  23. 23.

    zhena gogolia

    @cain: Yes, Jonny Lee Miller was great. Bertie Carvel doesn’t seem as good as Blair. Michael Sheen really nailed him in the movie with Mirren (also written by Morgan).

  24. 24.

    RobertB

    @Brachiator: Netflix paid $450M for two sequels, and paid for the production of Glass Onion.  Whoever left money on the table, it wasn’t the studio.

  25. 25.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Brachiator: I think Netflix “left money on the table” purposely because they’re thinking long term. Netflix believes that movie theaters are going the way of rotary dial phones and VCRs, so their primary investment is committing to streaming. Even before the pandemic, theatrical attendance was shrinking. As TV screens get bigger, and the sound systems get better, it’s harder to get folks to leave the house.

    And that’s exactly where Netflix wants them.

  26. 26.

    FridayNext

    @cleek: You need a Dominic West slice of lemon to cleanse your palette of the McNulty tequila. Might I suggest The Hour. It’s good, not great, but he has a fun character that helps you see West’s Britishness.

  28. 28.

    Fair Economist

    I liked The Crown season 5 but not as much as the earlier ones. Prince Philip seemed too much of Elizabeth’s conscience, Prince Charles too much of a mastermind, and Blair was too clownish.

  29. 29.

    Poe Larity

    “I don’t like the word ‘evil’ next to Nazis,” Ye later said, undeterred by Jones’ discomfort. “I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis.” Later in the interview, Ye reiterated that it’s “time to promote love” by declaring, “I do love Hitler. I do love the Zionists.”

    I hear he wants to run in 2024.

  30. 30.

    Bostondreams

    Glass Onion was just fantastic. During the movie my teenage daughter leaned over and asked if they were making fun of Elon Musk. It was great. :)

  31. 31.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    Sort explains why the press has been insisting there is a recession. They are speaking about their own biz.

    The irony being viewership mostly likely down the public is turned off but the press news being endless freak show of the worst of our society while completely ignoring all the serious stuff going on around the world.

  32. 32.

    Butch

    So  as I read it CNN has announced it’s intention to be as friendly as possible to the GOP.  Does that mean that now we have to like Cillizza?  Or that I finally have to learn how to spell his name, because I had the letters all scrambled? Edited to add that I wish I could upvote what Enhanced Voting Techniques said.

  33. 33.

    Betty Cracker

    @Msb:

    Morgan seems to be setting up the Queen as a victim, aiming, I think, to climax season 6 with they (very transitory) public disapproval following Diana’s death.

    I’ve wondered which direction he’s heading in too, and I hope that’s not it. He already wrote that as a film, so hopefully he won’t want to retrace the same ground.

  34. 34.

    Brachiator

    @RobertB:

    Netflix paid $450M for two sequels, and paid for the production of Glass Onion.  Whoever left money on the table, it wasn’t the studio.

    I don’t see the subscription model recouping these costs. I loved the first film. It was the last film I saw before the pandemic hit. But I will not subscribe to Netflix just to see these movies

    Netflix believes that movie theaters are going the way of rotary dial phones and VCRs, so their primary investment is committing to streaming. Even before the pandemic, theatrical attendance was shrinking. As TV screens get bigger, and the sound systems get better, it’s harder to get folks to leave the house.

    This is true. But you have to find a way to appeal to casual movie goers. The streaming services are almost as bad as the early days when movie studios owned movie theaters. Many people might just want a night out at the movies at home. They don’t want to have to subscribe to any particular streaming service to see a film.

  36. 36.

    Layer8Problem

    We finished The Crown Season 5 here.  I didn’t have any problem with the writing and the acting was fine.  Yeah, we opens with the new yacht so we closes with the old tired broken yacht is screaming “look at my symbolism”, and so does The Sun Actually Does Set on the British Empire in Hong Kong with a Driving Rain (plus Charles borrows the yacht).  As far as actors go, I thought Season 5 Charles was fine carrying off the stance and intonations, although I personally preferred Seasons 3 and 4’s Lawrence Durrell/Prince of Wales.  My partner did not like Elizabeth Debicki’s Diana because of extreme height, which is silly; I thought she did a good job, just a touch of Audrey Hepburn neck.  Imelda Staunton carried off the role of sovereign well, with the “don’t you people see I’m an important metaphor?” attitude.  Staunton just seemed a little wide-eyed for the Queen.

  37. 37.

    RevRick

    Since the onset of COVID-19 my wife and I have been binge watching on various streaming services. Currently, we’re watching The Crown and Wednesday on Netflix (and just finished Lupin), Andor on Disney, Suits and Psych on Prime, White Lotus on HBO Max, and Taskmaster on YouTube. Most of the time we do so on the recommendation of our adult daughter and son.

  39. 39.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    @Poe Larity: Anyone going to bother to point out what happened to the Nazis in fucking 1946? The whole scene in Downfall with Frau Gobbles poisoning her own kids,  Ye thinks that was fiction? It  the lucky ones who ended up the ghost men Arnold Schwarzenegger talks about growing up with in ’50s Austria.

    It’s always 1939 never 1946 with these fools.

  40. 40.

    Betty Cracker

    @zhena gogolia: Staunton is terrific, but they’ve all been great IMO. Staunton’s version seems the most realistic to me, probably because she’s playing QEII in the time I remember.

  41. 41.

    Kent

    I found it interesting that a majority (5 out of the 8) of the female Republican senators supported and voted for the Respect for Marriage Act, while only a very tiny minority of male Republican senators did so.

    I wonder if that means anything

  42. 42.

    Brachiator

    Greatest Films of All time, 2022 Edition

    Once a decade Sight and Sound asks critics to select the Greatest Films of All Time. In our biggest ever poll, conducted in 2012, 846 critics, programmers and curators from around the world nominated ten best movies ever made – and the results gave us a new top film, ending the 50-year reign of Citizen Kane.

    1952: Bicycle Thieves
    1962: Citizen Kane
    1972: Citizen Kane
    1982: Citizen Kane
    1992: Citizen Kane
    2002: Citizen Kane
    2012: Vertigo
    2022: ?

    The 2022 poll was expanded to more than 1600 voters and the average age of participants has also gotten younger.

    The Sight and Sound poll is now a major bellwether of critical opinion on cinema and this year’s edition (its eighth) is the largest ever, with 1,639 participating critics, programmers, curators, archivists and academics each submitting their top ten ballot.

    The 2022 top film: Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

    Such a sudden shake-up at the top of Sight and Sound’s ten-yearly poll! Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) heads the 2022 list. No other film made by a woman has ever even reached the top ten. In the first instance, this is unsurprising: women film directors have always, obviously, been few and far between; equally obviously, the contributing critics have been predominantly male. It was when Sight and Sound expanded the critics’ pool in 2012 that Jeanne Dielman first entered the list, at number 35; its rise to the top now is a triumph for women’s cinema.

    The full list.

    For fun, here are 10 films I love madly. I can easily swap out films and come up with a different top 10, but these are the films that I often come back to.

    Holiday, 1938, George Cukor
    Trouble in Paradise, 1932, Ernst Lubitsch
    Musashi Miyamoto trilogy, 1954, Hiroshi Inagaki
    Stray Dog, 1949, Akira Kurosawa
    2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968, Stanley Kubrick
    Star Wars, 1977, George Lucas
    Children of Paradise, 1946, Marcel Carne
    Fanny and Alexander, 1982, Ingmar Bergman
    The 39 Steps, 1935, Alfred Hitchcock
    Moonlight, 2016, Barry Jenkins

  44. 44.

    Ohio Mom

    @Old School: As I’ve mentioned before, I am contractually obligated to point out that my outgoing Republican Senator (he’ll be replaced by JD Vance), Rob Portman, has a gay son.

    It was a big deal in the Cincinnati suburbs (where Portman lives) when the son came out. Lots of gasping in certain quarters. There was a sense that it wouldn’t have been so bad if the out son was the child of a Democrat, but a Republican?! Portman declared nothing had changed in his feelings for his son, and everyone oohed and aahed about how brave our Senator was.

  45. 45.

    Mike in NC

    @cain: I had to look up John Major, who was played by Jonny Lee Miller (so good as Sherlock Holmes in Elementary).

  46. 46.

    Betty Cracker

    @RevRick: How do you like “Wednesday”? I haven’t watched it yet but plan to.

    ETA: I watched the first season of “White Lotus” but noped out on season two, even though I adore Jennifer Coolidge. I found the cluelessness and assholery too relentless to be fun.

  47. 47.

    James E Powell

    Cillizza is one of the worst of the worst. My freude cannot be schaden enough to express how happy I am to see him get the boot. This feeling is tempered, of course, by the expectation that some other horrible political media organization will hire him.

  49. 49.

    zhena gogolia

    I know The Mikado is cultural appropriation, but we just watched Topsy-Turvy for the fourth time (it’s on HBO), and it is a magnificent movie.

  50. 50.

    Miss Bianca

    @scav: God, that sounds like that chick who blamed Marie Callendar for the fact that she burned the shit out of one of their pumpkin pies.

    The righteous dragging she got on Twitter is honestly one of the funniest things I’ve ever witnessed, and one reason why I, personally, shall miss Twitter when it finally bites the dust.

  51. 51.

    geg6

    I tried to watch a couple of episodes of the first season the The Crown.  I think I got 1 1/2 in and realized that there is nothing more boring and less interesting than a bunch of tight ass British royals.  I have no plans to go back to it.  My grandparents may have been from England, but neither they nor my dad had much good to say about them, so I’ve never cared about any of them other than to wonder why Brits are so crazy as to continue to pay these inbred dimwits millions of pounds every year when they do absolutely nothing to earn it.

    In other news, I’m more than a little concerned that Kanye seems to have stepped over a line even a scumbag like Alex Jones isn’t comfortable crossing.  Does no one love this man enough to involuntarily commit him?

  52. 52.

    Captain C

    @scav: The Judge:  “Okay ma’am.  You make $15/hour.  This added an extra 30 seconds to your preparation time.  Rounding up, I award you 13 cents for your time.  Now you know.  Just like you should have after the first time.  Don’t come in here again with this shit.  Defendant, you can either send a check or give her 13 pennies right now.”

  53. 53.

    Betty Cracker

    @Miss Bianca: That was funny. I mean, she incinerated that fucking pie, and it’s their fault? I kind of assumed it was a parody, but maybe the tweeter really is that idiotic. Lord knows that’s possible.

  55. 55.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @Brachiator: Trouble is, the type of movies that used to be successful in the theaters is changing. The “prestige” films which are guaranteed to get nominated for Oscars bombed at the box office. The movies that get people out of the house these days are loud, heavy on the FX, and frequently punctuated by explosions. Think Avatar. Meanwhile, Glass Onion gets fabulous word of mouth, so people who want more substantial cinematic fare are primed to watch it two weeks later on Netflix.

  56. 56.

    Miss Bianca

    @zhena gogolia: I would love to watch The Crown just for the actors (Jonny Lee Miller? Sign.me.up!), but Pal D gets bored out of his mind with anything to do with the British Royal Family – in any era, I discovered – so, unlikely to be viewing it any time soon.

  57. 57.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    To quote Charlie Pierce from many years ago:

    “When the Smithsonian opens its American Museum of Feckless Journalism, the Cillizza exhibit is going to be right there in the lobby, across from the statues of Maureen Dowd and David Brooks.”

  59. 59.

    Marmot

    @Brachiator: Cool. I love Stray Dog too. Nobody ever mentions it. But Vertigo? It’s good, but c’mon!

    Also, I’d like to add The Conformist, on account of it’s both great and anti-Nazi.

  61. 61.

    trollhattan

    @cleek: He and Philip, walking through a crime scene together serially saying only “Fuck” to one another as they uncover evidence. In posh accents.

  62. 62.

    Marmot

    @MattF: Agreed. Wednesday is decent, but flat in a Tim Burtonesque kinda way.

    I’m always singing the praises of Andor nowadays—Disney+ (sorry) and also Amazon Prime for a limited time (I think).

    Oh, and Babylon Berlin on Netflix if you haven’t seen it and want a window on interwar Weimar Germany.

  63. 63.

    Betty Cracker

    @R-Jud: I’m still up for the Elizabeth Debicki-Gwendoline Christie buddy movie you proposed the other day. How’s the script coming along? ;-)

  64. 64.

    cain

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Couple that with modern conveniences like air fryers – hell, I can pop a pizza, throw in wings in the air fryer and be ready to go. If you got a large tv and stereo system – I think they are right.

  65. 65.

    Gin & Tonic

    @Captain C: Guaranteed Kraft can’t send a check.

    Long time ago, the company I worked for had a minor system problem, and sent out an invoice for US$ 0.11. The recipient company sent the invoice back with a nice note saying their systems couldn’t generate a check for less than some amount I can’t recall, so they taped a penny and a dime to the invoice. Boy, that payment was a bitch to process.

  66. 66.

    Layer8Problem

    @Marmot: ” . . . Babylon Berlin on Netflix . . . ”

    Have they started Season 4 yet??  I haven’t seen any kind of announcement and have been jiggering up and down in my seat since the German run finished last month.

  68. 68.

    geg6

    @Brachiator:

    I was subjected to Citizen Kane in college multiple times in multiple classes.  It never got better.  I’ll never understand why it is so well loved by the critics.

    As for the newer list you posted, there is only one film there I could sit through and enjoy.  I’ve seen 7 of them.

    I generally don’t like the films the critics adore.  I also don’t like most of the films today’s general public adore.  This is why I rarely watch movies anymore.

  70. 70.

    RobertB

    @Betty Cracker: Plot has a kind of by-the-numbers WB teenager feel to it.  But it’s okay anyway.  Jenna Ortega absolutely nails the part of Wednesday, and she’s really the reason to watch it.

  71. 71.

    dm

    @Brachiator: You may find this web-site useful: justwatch.com.

    It is a search engine for streaming films — including rentals and Kanopy.com (the public library streaming service).

    (I don’t belong to any streaming services, either.)

  73. 73.

    RobertB

    @Brachiator: I don’t think Netflix thinks it will generate that many new subscribers, but that it will help keep the subscribers they have.  Or maybe they think they’ll make up the losses in volume.

  76. 76.

    Gin & Tonic

    The Kyiv Children’s Choir performing “Shchedryk” – aka The Carol of the Bells – in Grand Central Station.

    The Kyiv Children’s Choir arrived in New York City from Poland for a performance at Carnegie Hall on Dec. 4.

    But they stopped by Grand Central Station today and performed the “Carol of the Bells” …pic.twitter.com/KXJHOQAaYC
    — Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) December 1, 2022

  78. 78.

    Brachiator

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Trouble is, the type of movies that used to be successful in the theaters is changing. The “prestige” films which are guaranteed to get nominated for Oscars bombed at the box office. The movies that get people out of the house these days are loud, heavy on the FX, and frequently punctuated by explosions. Think Avatar. Meanwhile, Glass Onion gets fabulous word of mouth, so people who want more substantial cinematic fare are primed to watch it two weeks later on Netflix.

    Movie theater ticket sales have been declining steadily since 2013. This decline was somewhat hidden by inflation and later by premium ticket sales of 3D and IMAX screening.

    The move to streaming services was greatly accelerated by the pandemic, and of course by nice, affordable home theater setups. And people will watch movies on almost any device.

    Big budget superhero movies can’t save movie theaters. And devoted fans used to go back and watch a hit film multiple times. When you can watch the latest Avengers movie 20 times for $9.99 a month, the box office revenue stream has collapsed. Studios will not be able to justify big budgets.

    And limiting popular films to a single streaming service puts up a barrier to viewership. If I don’t already have Hulu or Netflix, even positive word of mouth may not induce me to seek out a particular movie.

    Also, even prestige movies are harder to find. I used to be able to go to my local art house cinema and find all the good prestige films. The very popular ones would also hit the big cinema multiplex. Now, these films, which also often would get good word of mouth, are scattered among various streaming services.

  81. 81.

    trollhattan

    @dm: Watching Christina Ricci chewing up the scenery in “Yellowjackets” is must-see teevee. She’s had quite the career doing quirky characters, but nothing prepared me for Misty. (TBH I was episodes in before making the “oh, man” connection.)

  84. 84.

    rikyrah

    James E. Clyburn (@WhipClyburn) tweeted at 10:22 AM on Thu, Dec 01, 2022:
    I am honored by @HouseDemocrats support of me to serve as the Assistant Democratic Leader in the 118th Congress.

    It is important that the South, rural communities, and those left out of economic progress of previous generations have a seat at the leadership table next Congress. https://t.co/o7Zl3K91rv
    (https://twitter.com/WhipClyburn/status/1598351916349652993?t=nX_5Wd3gQlj7q3QlZD9sqQ&s=03)

  85. 85.

    Martin

    The problem here being that Cillizza wasn’t let go because he’s a hack, but because he’s not enough of a hack for where CNN is going.

  87. 87.

    Brachiator

    @geg6:

    I was subjected to Citizen Kane in college multiple times in multiple classes.  It never got better.  I’ll never understand why it is so well loved by the critics.

    I love Citizen Kane. I am always amused by Orson Wells’ audacity in playing in the toolbox of cinema in putting the film together. I also know the history of newspaper publishers like William Hearst and the Los Angeles Times Chandler family (and have been to San Simeon multiple times), and so I am well grounded in some of the background to the film. I think the film still says a lot about American power and the hubris of powerful men who think they are entitled to rule the world, and whose wealth and power hides deep insecurities.

    But there are also many films that are technically well made that do nothing for me. I don’t like a lot of Coen Brothers movies, even though I recognize their mastery of technique.

  88. 88.

    dm

     

    @Cameron: (from the article):

    AI achieves accuracy through deep neural networks. For example: Alexa and Google are based on deep learning. Elon Musk can use all of our data that is housed in Twitter’s servers and algorithms for Neuralink AI. Neuralink is building the first brain-machine interface (BMI), which now mimics consciousness and can be used to build the most advanced and responsive robots ever created. Twitter can be used as a massive input to train AI/ML models for Neuralink.

    Umm.  No it won’t.

  89. 89.

    Martin

    @Brachiator: Movie theaters worked when they were social experiences. Going to see Star Wars in a packed theater is amazing. Seeing Avengers with 4 other people in the theater is just sad.

    Theater operators over-expanded and priced the experience out of the market. My local theater is still $3 and runs second-run movies and its usually packed, not with people that are desperate to see the movie but kids and teens and families that can walk there with $10 in their pocket for a candy hit and a few hours laughing with their friends. Plus Yogurtland afterward.

    It’s really remarkable how much difference having a walkable community and shared social spaces makes. That’s not common here in SoCal but we just lucked into one here. But raise the price of that theater to normal rates in exchange for first run movies and it’ll die in a month. That’s not the point of the place, but the chains don’t get that. I’d argue the success of theaters in the 50s and 60s was the same dynamic, before the freeway tore through the neighborhood and made it nearly impossible to have those kinds of social meetups.

  91. 91.

    Kent

    @Martin: Most theaters make no money on the actual movie tickets and make most of their money on the concessions.  The movie itself is just the loss-leader that gets you into the theater where you buy a $10 carton of popcorn that took 25 cents to make.

  92. 92.

    Brachiator

    @zhena gogolia:

    I know The Mikado is cultural appropriation, but we just watched Topsy-Turvy for the fourth time (it’s on HBO), and it is a magnificent movie.

    Agree that this film is a total delight from writer and director Mike Leigh, who is noted for much heavier films.

  93. 93.

    Barbara

    I saw Glass Onion with my daughter.  I thought Knives Out was better, more trenchant, but I liked this one as well.  Certainly, it makes the point as to how much apparent success is a matter of random luck

    We also recently watched Margin Call (from 2011 — on Amazon Prime).  I was a little surprised by how much I liked it, and the acting really was stellar. We’ve started doing movie night in my family and getting different people to choose.  This was my husband’s choice.

  95. 95.

    vbreakwater

    I’m in the minority on Glass Onion. Was really excited to see it having totally enjoyed Knives Out. Sorry to say, it wasn’t all that. Simplistic, obvious, too clever by half. It really doesn’t get going until a plot twist  midway through which should have been the setup. I’m a bit shocked by all the great reviews. The first was so much better.

  96. 96.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Marmot:

    I’m always singing the praises of Andor nowadays—Disney+ (sorry)

    I definitely agreed. It’s simultaneously the best of the Stars Wars series, and a Star Wars movie for people like me who don’t particularly care for Stars Wars (except Mandalorian, which is popcorn fun). And the season finale…. damn

    BTW, I saw an interesting breakdown of why the Andor world has a much more “real” feel to it. They almost always invert the normal sci-fi shot sequence to begin with a closer shot done in a real environment (location or set), and then pulls back to the wider CGI-generated shots. When it’s done the normal way, your mind knows the you’re seeing CGI and subconsciously carries that perception into the smaller locations shots. You can see an example of this in the opening shot of Andor, where he’s walking across the causeway. First shot is tight on Andor, when then it pulls back to show the entire CGI-augmented causeway.

  97. 97.

    Martin

    @Brachiator: They won’t recoup it. A lot of folks analyzing markets often only look at one side of it and miss the dynamics on the production side. The studios/networks were getting an average of $80/mo out of each US household in the cable era – be it from subs or ads. No replacement of cable was going to succeed long term without generating that $80. Netflix streaming was never going to subsume cable at $12, and the response was going to be the studios holding their IP from the platform. So there’s now this extraordinarily destructive system where the streaming companies are competing with each other for user dollars and also competing for content. Either streaming rates are going to continue to soar, ads are going to be more aggressively introduced to offset those rates, or services will fail to develop content until they start to lose subs and get acquired.

    Content delivery is a natural monopoly, which is why cable shook out the way it did. Streaming will likely ultimately come down to Disney as the owner of most of the IP or Apple as the owner of most of the cash and interface to the users.

    We’re just going to wind up back where we were with cable, just paying a different dominant player.

  98. 98.

    gene108

    Cillizza wasn’t fired for his awfulness. Like other talent, at CNN that have been let go, who were much better than him, he just didn’t fit in with whatever new strategic vision CNN’s new management has for the network.

    I don’t care what he does next. I think whoever CNN hires next  for political commentary will be worse.

  99. 99.

    NorthLeft

    @Doug R: Yes, I watched E E AaO yesterday on Amazon Prime. One of the better movies I have watched in a long time. Laugh out loud funny, exciting and inventive action scenes and an interesting plot.

  101. 101.

    raven

    Since the rails strike was averted isn’t it time to bitch and moan about Biden selling out the union?

  103. 103.

    Martin

    @Kent: I know, but they’ve traded a 200 seat theater holding 10 people each giving them $30 for a 200 seat theater holding 100 people each giving them $5. It was a bad trade from the outset.

    The value of the theater isn’t the big screen and sound system. The value of the theater is the shared experience. They killed that.

  104. 104.

    Heidi Mom

    I watched the first two seasons of The Crown and thought Claire Foy did a great job of portraying the younger Elizabeth, who was uncertain, conscious of her flaws (e.g., lack of formal education), but wanted to be the very best Queen she could be.  But the system–“The Firm”–slowly began to crush the life out of her, and I had no desire to watch that play out.

  105. 105.

    cain

    @RobertB: Actually I think they beat estimates last time. I think one thing unique is that they are bringing a lot more diversity of content – eg Korean crime drama serials and bollywood much more than any of the others.

    If they drive subscribers in Korea and India – that’s enough right there.

    All the others like Disney and Prime are one note wonders.

  107. 107.

    raven

    If The Crown has piqued your interest in monarchy madness, then prepare to head back to the 16th century in Netflix’s docudrama Blood, Sex and Royalty.

    The new series looks at the story of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife, from her own perspective, exploring her time as “an extraordinary woman who rewrote the rules”.

    With Coronation Street’s Amy James-Kelly and Emmerdale’s Max Parker starring as the Tudor couple, this three-parter combines the insights of historians with all the “sexy, action-packed, high-stakes” scripted drama of their doomed relationship.

  109. 109.

    A woman from anywhere (formerly Mohagan)

    @cleek: Oh yeah!  Although the asshole he played on The Affair also comes to mind.  He seems to always play questionable characters.

  111. 111.

    Ruckus

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    By someone I think you’ve got it!.

    I see fewer commercials than even a movie theater shows. I don’t have to wait in line, pay an exorbitant entry fee and I can back up if I miss something, hit pause to go get a snack, or do some other normal everyday life event, or come back to the same show tomorrow. And I can watch during a pandemic or at 2 in the am.

  112. 112.

    David Hunt

    I had hoped to watch Glass Onion in theaters, but I wasn’t really paying close attention.  I hadn’t realized that it was getting such a limited release, and I don’t live in a large city.  More of a small city/really big town.  I don’t think it was here.  I’ve have likely driven the 100 miles to Austin to watch the thing, but alas.  Now I wait until it starts streaming.  Sigh

  113. 113.

    Brachiator

    @Martin:

    Movie theaters worked when they were social experiences. Going to see Star Wars in a packed theater is amazing. Seeing Avengers with 4 other people in the theater is just sad.

    Very true. I saw Star Wars on its opening night at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The crowd reaction was tremendous. Same was true with films like Alien, The Matrix and There’s Something About Mary. But I have also enjoyed less well attended matinee screenings where I could avoid obnoxious movies goers. Some people think that they are at home, and talk to friends while watching a movie. And some people insist on keeping their smartphones on.

    Theater operators over-expanded and priced the experience out of the market.

    Movies were still good bargains compared to other entertainment options, especially if you didn’t buy overpriced snacks. But I agree with you about second run theaters. One near me has a regular clientele of students, seniors and families who just want a night out and the magic of the Movies. The downside of this theater is bad acoustics and lousy seating.

    Also, TV and streaming services have hurt movies. Also, video piracy.

    It’s really remarkable how much difference having a walkable community and shared social spaces makes.

    I don’t know that this is a big deal. I would regularly drive to Westwood, Hollywood and Century City to see movies, and all over the city for specialty and art-house films. When I was a college student, I would take the train into the city for hot films. Except when I was a kid, I never lived anywhere that I could just walk to the movies. There would also be at least a short bus ride or drive.

  119. 119.

    gene108

    @Brachiator:

    Many people might just want a night out at the movies at home. They don’t want to have to subscribe to any particular streaming service to see a film.

    Ala carte purchasing is a consumers dream scenario, but so far no provider wants to give that option to consumers. I doubt that happens anytime soon.

    @Martin:

    Netflix has always been in a precarious position relative to its competition. They developed business models that sort of sidestepped going directly against their primary competitor while going after the same customers. The DVD mail order rental business took on Blockbuster, without the need to setup retail space. Adding digital streaming service to the mail order DVD rental created a new model no one else had at the time. They were still dependent on content providers for the content they offered and were always at risk of providers demanding higher fees to “rent” their digital content. That’s one reason NetFlix went into content creation 10-12 years ago, so they’d have content, if they couldn’t get a streaming deal with other studios.

    Netflix had been able to stay ahead of the much larger and better funded competition. That’s no longer the case, as every content provider has set up their own streaming service.

    The thing is, with all the content that’s out now, I don’t think any single streaming service has any specific hit show that makes people want to subscribe. The impact of a new streaming service creating a popular series is diluted by all the other services producing popular series.

    At some point, some streaming service that makes content will pull out or go broke due to lack of money from the subscription service model. Netflix is a likely candidate to be the first to fail, as they don’t have cash rich IT companies backing them or established studios to help them out.

  121. 121.

    Dan B

    @Gin & Tonic: Excellent chorus.  Thanks for posting!

    My family is thick with classically trained singers – Oberlin, Chicago Symphony soloists, etc.  I grew up with critical evaluation of performance and this chorus seems superb.

  123. 123.

    raven

    Tonight is the “Festival of Lights” Parade in Athens and there was non online threat and some groups are bailing.

  124. 124.

    JPL

    @geg6: He joined with a group that could care less about mental health.   They will just toss him aside.

    If Walker wins, he’ll be tossed aside so Kemp can appoint someone.

    It’s who they are.

  126. 126.

    Cmorenc

    @betty cracker:

    Re: Daniel Craig’s “terrible southern accent” in the upcoming “glass onion” series – vanishingly few non-native southerner actors/actresses can pull off a version that is truly convincing to native southerners who grew up here, no matter how much dialog coaching they get. There are always small but giveaway aspects of the actor’s pacing and inflection that also sound a bit forced rather than effortless, at least to our ears. We would have a similarly difficult time pulling off a completely convincing NYC accent to the ears of natives of that place.

  129. 129.

    raven

    @zhena gogolia:

     

    @Gin & Tonic: Yea, it’s only three episodes. They have actual academics commenting  throughout so it’s a little strange. It was compared to Dickinson in that they use contemporary music and language .

  130. 130.

    raven

    @JPL: I don’r know, we’re focused on the gun threat at the Christmas Parade tonight.

     

    A social media post about a planned shooting at tonight’s Downtown Parade of Lights in Athens prompted police to conduct an investigation that an officer said did not identify any credible threat. The parade will proceed as planned, said officials.
    The threat was reported by a person who saw the social media post, which was shared numerous times, according to Athens-Clarke police.
    Police are still investigating the origin of the post, according to police Lt. Shaun Barnett.

  131. 131.

    CaseyL

    @EriktheRed: Is she? It’s strange, then, that CNN fired her (and Cillizza) if their plan is to become Fox Lite.

    Unless, of course, they have someone even worse in waiting.  Maybe they’ll raid Fox for its top, uh, talent.

    Or, hey, get ready for Maegan Kelly Redux Redux.

  132. 132.

    Gin & Tonic

    @raven: I was commenting on your snark about the rail strike, so it looks like you, me and z_g have crossed some signals.

  133. 133.

    Calouste

    @Cameron: Musk is now just bullshitting to distract from his previous bullshitting (which typically doesn’t survive first contact with reality).  It’s a whole downward spiral of bullshit.

    Of course, journalists like easy copy, so the bullshit will be reported without any analysis or comment.

  134. 134.

    Brachiator

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    You can see an example of this in the opening shot of Andor, where he’s walking across the causeway. First shot is tight on Andor, when then it pulls back to show the entire CGI-augmented causeway.

    I remember that shot. It was very effective framing. Also, Andor makes more use of sets and locations than other Disney Star Wars projects, which use this CGI green screen space called The Volume.

    Another thing. The various props, gadgets and devices characters pick up and use come across as real material objects in the world of Andor. This kind of thing is tough to pull off in science fiction movies. When world building is done well, as in Andor or films like Bladerunner, characters move through and live in a plausible futuristic world.

    Thanks for the link about the series.

  135. 135.

    AWOL

    @geg6: You actually don’t understand the context of the time, the incredible and revolutionary cinematography that influenced the next thirty years of filmmaking worldwide, the score, the parody of US culture and greed, the open cynicism, the screenplay fucking with the Hayes Code, the acting, the scope, the gall of taking on a powerful scumbag?

     

    OK.

  140. 140.

    Elizabelle

    Any day that Chris Cillizza gets shitcanned is a good one, in my book.  Happy December 1st, jackals.

    I wonder if the Dems overperforming in the midterms (let’s be honest) might give CNN’s execs pause on their brilliant new direction.

    Fox addicts gonna mainline Fox and that ilk.  The bucks might actually be with  … nonconservatives.

    Money talks.  We see it constantly, with all the “woke” advertising by consumer products.

  143. 143.

    Brachiator

    @Martin:

    Either streaming rates are going to continue to soar, ads are going to be more aggressively introduced to offset those rates, or services will fail to develop content until they start to lose subs and get acquired.

    This can’t make up for lost box office revenue and there are limits to what people will pay for a streaming service.

    Content delivery is a natural monopoly

    That’s the problem. It’s not a natural monopoly even though the studios are acting as though this is the case.

    Streaming will likely ultimately come down to Disney as the owner of most of the IP or Apple as the owner of most of the cash and interface to the users.

    Disney has children’s stuff, and the Marvel superhero franchises, but again, it’s hard to see how they can continue with big budget productions. They and other studios have already had to redo contracts with talent and producers, because those contracts were based on revenue from movie theater box office more than streaming revenues.

    Apple and Amazon, oddly enough, are looking to rights to sports and possibly other live events as big revenue sources. No one has a good clue about the movie business.

    We’re just going to wind up back where we were with cable, just paying a different dominant player.

    Cable was an aggregator of various TV channels and specialized programming. Building in the movie business is a tougher challenge.

  144. 144.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Brachiator: FWIW, the guy who did the breakdown has many other interesting videos on his channels breaking down how various aspects of movies work/don’t work.

    I remember one video about Kurosawa where he pointed out that one Kurosawa’s directorial signature framings was to something moving the background, e.g. rain, wind-blown trees, traffic, etc. which created a sense of dynamism. I’m a Kurosawa fan and I’d never picked up on that.

  145. 145.

    cckids

    @Cameron:

    Naw, he’s itching for a part in a revival of The Producers.

    The fact that we lived through four years of DT without anyone doing a parody of “Springtime for Hitler” is an indictment of comedy chops in America.

    Donald Elizabeth Trump!

     

  147. 147.

    Citizen Alan

    @geg6: I think Citizen Kane is beloved by film auteurs more because of its innovative movie-making techniques rather than its plot or acting. Didn’t Wells basically invent both the tracking shot and the montage in this movie?

  148. 148.

    cain

    @HumboldtBlue: haha – that judge cannot be pleased. Everything Trump touches turns to shit. You think Trump will be grateful at all for the work she’s done? He’s probably condemned her.

    Meanwhile her career is probably on the skids.

  149. 149.

    Miss Bee

    @Mike in NC:

     

    Dominic West as Charles was charming, I thought, which is not the same as saying there was a strong resemblance.

    This season was the weakest for me because of all the loose ends.  What’s going on with Philip and Penny?  Why did the dreamy Pakistani doctor drift off?  How did Margaret and Elizabeth reset after the harsh words about the Townsend affair, etc.

  150. 150.

    cain

    @Brachiator:

    Apple and Amazon, oddly enough, are looking to rights to sports and possibly other live events as big revenue sources. No one has a good clue about the movie business.

    This is the only place where they will recoup their costs – I remember how they had made people pay extra for HD. The full sports package was like $200 – $250 a month. What a joke.

    The end results is that – a lot of kids who don’t have access to those channels like they did when I was growing up are going to go to online game tournaments.

    I think they are fucked one way or another.

  151. 151.

    Brachiator

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    FWIW, the guy who did the breakdown has many other interesting videos on his channels breaking down how various aspects of movies work/don’t work.

    I am going to check out some of his other videos and I just subscribed to his Cinema of Meaning podcast.

    Good stuff. As an aside, Andor has inspired a lot of good commentary, despite not being overwhelmingly popular. Some fans really want more traditional Star Wars material. But I am with those who think that Andor is some of the best Star Wars ever.

  152. 152.

    David 🦃The Establishment🥧 Koch

    @Citizen Alan: ​
     
    I saw it in a college theater on a Satuday night with a large sold out audience – they loved it. Those 18 and 20 year olds weren’t auteurs.

    The most interesting thing I ever saw in a college theater was the missile evasion scene in Dr. Strangelove. After hysterically laughing throughout the film, everyone was suddenly hushed and sitting on the edge of their seats, hoping Major Kong’s crew survives. By becoming emotionally attached to the characters, they lost the plot; because for the world to survive the B-52 had to go.

  154. 154.

    patrick II

    @Martin: ​
     
    I saw “Woodstock” along with at least a thousand other people in one of the grand old movie houses in downtown Chicago in 1970. The movie got a standing ovation, if that makes sense.
    It was a movie-going high point for me.

  157. 157.

    Betsy

    @Jeffro: That is a really good piece.  That writer is savvy and analytical and tight. I thought I had read everything I could ever stand to read about TFG, but that piece was really good.

    Well, I guess one thing that made it majorly palatable was that I’m going to enjoy the heck out of watching the GOP itself apart for the next two years.

  159. 159.

    Brachiator

    @Jeffro:

    Anyone else read that “he will burn it all down” piece that came out this morning?

    I feel like every registered GOP voter should receive a copy of it.  Not that they’ll care, but just so they were properly warned.

    Wait…never mind…we’ve warned them repeatedly over the past seven.  long.  years.  Fuck ’em.

    Great article. Trump is definitely the GOP’s problem.

    What might make him go away: if the GOP pays him some big money and promises to grant him a pardon if he is convicted of any federal crime.

  160. 160.

    dervy scram

    ser sucks. he and ollie are false front liberals that crap out hot turd now takes and then hide behind Blackness to avoid criticism.

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