Scandal Get Full Season Pickup

Scandal Season 2 cast photo

by Lesley Goldberg, The Hollywood Reporter

October 29, 2012

Scandal,  will see its sophomore season grow from 13 episodes to a full season of 22 hours of the Kerry Washington political fixer drama from Grey's Anatomy boss Shonda Rhimes. Initially invisioned as a British-style limited run series similar to State of Play, the freshman season consisted of seven episodes. The Thursday drama has been a constant performer on Thursday nights, holding steady with a 2.0 rating among adults 18-49.

Rhimes told THR in July that the second-year drama will start out with a season-long arc and potentially two should the series expand from its initial order for 13 episodes.

"We want to keep telling stories in that manner and because we're doing 13 episodes and if we get more than that, we'll be telling two different season-long arcs," Rhimes said. "We came back nervous -- can we top what we did last season -- and now we're all really excited because we figured out how we can."

Scandal's full-season order comes after ABC added additional episodes of returning series Castle, The Middle, Grey's Anatomy and The Middle.  Rhimes' third ABC series, Private Practice, will end its run after its initial 13 episodes.

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Jay-Z - Live In Brooklyn - Cool Black Review

This extended play (short album) was filmed and recorded at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on October 6, 2012, where Jay-Z brought his wife Beyoncé on the stage.

Both performed songs such as Diva, Crazy in Love together, and closed the performance with Jay-Z's single Young Forever. It was his eighth and last sold-out concert at Barclays Center.

Here is the track listing:
1. "Empire State of Mind"  
2. "Run This Town"
3. "On to the Next One"  
4. "Give It To Me/Big Pimpin'"  
5. "'03 Bonnie & Clyde"  
6. "Crazy in Love" (Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z)
7. "Public Service Announcement"  
8. "Young Forever" (featuring Beyoncé)

9. "Empire State of Mind" (video)
10. "Run This Town" (video)
11. "On to the Next One" (video)
12. "Give It To Me/Big Pimpin" (video)
13. "03' Bonnie & Clyde" (video)
14. "Crazy in Love" (Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z; video)
15. "Public Service Announcement" (video)
16. "Young Forever" (featuring Beyoncé; video)

As you can see the sixteen tracks are just eight tracks with their video companion.

I haven't watched the video portion yet, but the audio portion is pretty standard just a slight variation on the studio versions of the songs with additional crowd noise and interaction.

Plain and simple, if you want different versions of the Jay-Z tunes you have heard over and over then this is for you, but if you're looking for a remix style “reimagining” of the tracks then this is not for you.

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Why ‘Argo’ Might Walk Away with it ALL at The Oscars

Blog Post #12

This is what I posted this morning on the Internet.

Now that I've seen it, as a filmmaker, I'm really happy for @benaffleck & #ARGO this morning. Dude did it! Excellent! is.gd/CdOF7h
— Dankwa Brooks (@DankwaBrooks) October 13, 2012

When I woke up this morning and was still thinking about this film I knew I had to write something. My happiness over the film is not entirely about the film. As you saw above I am genuinely happy for the director. It’s like I have seen his progression as a director and as an all around artist that’s something that we not only aspire to, but like to see happen to other artists.

Despite my feeling about the film (excellent), my feeling about the direction (excellent) why do I think it walk away with it ALL next year’s Academy Awards? Because it hits all the right notes.
As I said in my piece about the Oscar potential for Michael Fassbender 

Oscars ARE a personality/status contest as much as it is about the achievement in film. You must be firing on all cylinders in order to get major awards recognition. Most times it’s not enough to be great, unfortunate, but true.

1. The director Ben Affleck is well respected and well liked among the industry. He may also be seen as a “golden boy” because of his history in Hollywood and having already won an Oscar (for the screenplay for Good Will Hunting (1997))

2. The film is just good old fashion good! It blends the right amount of suspense and comedy and does a great job at incorporating history while telling a story about a small event involved in it. It’s a bio pic about someone who by the nature of his profession can’t be famous and makes a really good film about it. It’s the kind of story the Academy loves!

I think not only will the picture get nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and probably others it might win it all. Really. It’s that type of feel good Hollywood picture.

While I truly loved Beasts of the Southern Wild (another excellent picture) it does not have all the factors going for it like Argo. Unknown director, unknown stars, very small budget. Hollywood appreciates, but don't necessarily awards its major awards to such a picture and the Academy Award is the major award.

I have been watching the Academy Awards with much fervor since I studied film in college so I kind of know what they like and Argo is definitely the kind of film they clamor over.

I wish Ben Affleck and his film luck at next year's awards, but I surmise he might not need it.


ADDITIONAL: Further confirmation!

Ben Affleck's 'Argo' Wows at Academy Screening
by Gregg Kilday, The Hollywood Reporter
3:31 PM PDT 10/14/2012

The awards hopeful attracted an overflow audience and lots of spontaneous applause.

Ben Affleck's Argo drew an overflow crowd and lots of spontaneous applause as it screened Saturday night for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The first measure of the Academy's interest in the thriller about the rescue of six members of the U.S. Embassy during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis was the fact that it drew a rare, overflow crowd.

The audience applauded at a number of the movie's Hollywood references and at the conclusion of its suspenseful escape. And instead of beating a hasty exit, most of the crowd stayed in its seats for a Q&A with Affleck and screenwriter Chris Terrio.

The screening bodes well for the Warner Bros. release's Oscar quest.

"The audience loved Ben," said one of the attendees, "and the fact that the movie's produced by George Clooney makes it an irresistible combo."

UPDATE: FEBRUARY 8, 2013
As of today the Oscar nominations have been out for weeks and the tide has been swaying towards Lincoln with its twelve nominations as the favorite, but the article below gives a good reason why Lincoln may still have a run for its money.

Oscar 101: 7 Tough Lessons From This Awards Season

UPDATE: FEBRUARY 25, 2013

The 85th Annual Academy Awards were last night and Argo was nominated for SEVEN Academy Awards:
Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Original Score

On the Oscar broadcast last night host Seth McFarlane joked "Argo, a thriller about the CIA's plot to rescue six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis. The story was so top secret that the film's director is unknown to the academy,"

In case you didn't know Argo WON the Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay and the top award of the night Best Picture!

Argo, was the first best picture winner not to be nominated for best director since 1989’s Driving Miss Daisy.

Argo also won other awards during this awards season:

• Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director
• Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture

So while Argo didn’t walk away “with it all” it did walk away with most including the highest honor of all Best Picture!

Additional Links
My review of Beasts of the Southern Wild

About That 'OldBoy' Remake [VIDEO]

Blog Post #11

In a June 12, 2012 interview with GQ magazine

GQ: You're working on a MJ doc now though, right? 

Spike Lee: What I'm doing now is a documentary on the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's Bad album. I'm also doing another documentary on Brazil called Go Brazil Go. I'm going to be directing Mike Tyson on Broadway later, it's a one man show. And then we got, God willing, Oldboy [an American remake of the popular 2003 South Korean manga film of the same name] coming up in the fall... 

GQ: What's up with that? 

Spike Lee: Waiting for the green light. Josh Brolin...My man from District 9, Sharlto Copley. 

GQ: What's stopping it though? People want to see this. 

Spike Lee: You know they're still trying to get the numbers straight, but I think it's going to happen. 

GQ: It's good to see you're optimistic about it. 

Spike Lee: Yeah. If you add all the things up we're rolling now.

"Oldboy" is a remake of Chan-wook Park's 2003 South Korean film, which became a cult classic because of its inventive plot and action sequences. The new film directed by Spike Lee, stars Josh Brolin as an advertising executive who gets kidnapped and imprisoned for 20 years without explanation. Upon release, he searches for meaning behind his confinement.

I’ve been reading about this OldBoy remake for over a year now, (since July 2011) and it finally seems like it’s coming together. I first sought out and saw the original 2003 film. (Read my review here )

The lead was soon announced as Josh Brolin, but it took a while longer to find the two other key roles of the antagonist and the woman in the middle. Now it is being reported that all three have been attached to the project. Sharlto Copley (District 9) has been signed as the antagonist and Elizabeth Olsen as the woman in the middle. Since I have seen the original OldBoy and even though this American remake will definitely be different, I can see where this casting fits.

ABOUT THE ACTORS

Josh Brolin

JOSH BROLIN (The protagonist)
Has been great in a lot of films and I was more than pleased to hear he was signed as the lead.

Elizabeth Olsen

ELIZABETH OLSEN (The woman in the middle)
I had not seen her in anything until recently and this is what I said

#nfotd #MarthaMarcyMayMarlene was really great, one of the BEST of 2011, bolstered by an OUTSTANDING performance by ELIZABETH OLSEN!
— Dankwa Brooks (@DankwaBrooks) July 2, 2012

Sharlto Copley

SHARLTO COPLEY (The antagonist)
I’ve only seen him in one thing District 9 and while I didn’t really care for the picture that much I thought he was good in it and a good actor. I wouldn’t mind seeing what he does with the role.

Samuel L. Jackson

SAMUEL L. JACKSON (Pivotal player)
Was recently announced as playing a pivotal role in the remake, and IT IS pivotal.

THE FILMMAKER

SPIKE LEE 
People who read my posts online are not surprised to know I’m a big Spike Lee fan. I think he is an accomplished filmmaker in style and technique. I think he will do a great job on this remake.

Here is the official synopsis for the film:
OLDBOY follows the story of an advertising executive (Josh Brolin) who is kidnapped and held hostage for 20 years in solitary confinement without any indication of his captor’s motive.  When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on an obsessive mission to discover who orchestrated his bizarre and torturous punishment only to find he is still trapped in a web of conspiracy and torment. His quest for revenge leads him into an ill-fated relationship with a young social worker (Elizabeth Olsen) and ultimately to an illusive man (Sharlto Copley) who allegedly holds the key to his salvation.

THE FILM
When the U.S. remake was announced “fan boys” went crazy. The “original is a classic”, “shouldn’t be remade” and so forth. When Spike Lee was announced as the director it didn’t lessen the outcry.

Let me say this, I recently just rewatched Spike Lee’s 2006 film Inside Man and it is easily one of his best. Any yahoo who doesn't think Spike will do a good job on Oldboy need to watch that film and realize the error of their ways.

A lot of those same “fan boys” also didn’t think Spike could accomplish the action facets of the story. First of all the original 2003 film didn’t have that many action scenes besides the famous hallway scene. Any action scenes will I’m sure be done with the assistance of something you know called a STUNT COORDINATOR. Mr. Lee is more than capable of handling the rest of the filmmaking techniques.

The official Louisiana state government film production site states:
Mandate Pictures’ feature film Oldboy will shoot October 1, 2012 to November 16, 2012 in New Orleans.

That start date is more than likely now. Spike has been tweeting that he’s already in New Orleans for Pre-Production on Oldboy and it was recently announced (September 7th) that the film was picked up for US distribution which means even more reason for Mandate Pictures to move forward.

In the end it’s all speculation, but everything I’m reading so far sounds good especially the great cast. We won’t know what the film is going to be until it’s released. I think we all need to reserve judgment until then.

UPDATES: JULY 2013 

New Poster

NEW TRAILER

A Cool Black collage of the three principles of Oldboy from pictures posted by Spike Lee online.

Related:

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Spike Lee's Michael Jackson documentary on ABC Thanksgiving Night

Spike Lee attends the 69th Venice Film Festival at the Palazzo del Casino in Venice, Italy.

Spike Lee Revisits Michael Jackson's Career for 'BAD 25' Documentary
'He became a prisoner of his fame,' says director

By Karen Bliss, Rolling Stone
September 17, 2012 6:15 PM ET

At the outset of BAD 25 – the documentary film celebrating the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson**'s Bad album – director Spike Lee quickly dispenses with talk of the pop superstar's personal struggles, diving right into the artistic perfectionism that drove him to achieve his career milestones. "Hopefully, that's what this documentary is about – it's gonna have people return to focusing on the music, his art, which I feel is his legacy, in addition to his children," Lee, dressed in a white BAD 25 T-shirt, told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the movie had its North American premiere over the weekend, after debuting in Venice 25 years to the day since Bad's release.

To piece together the making of Jackson's landmark LP, Lee unearthed archival footage from studio sessions and music video shoots and conducted interviews with Jackson's many collaborators, including Quincy Jones, Martin Scorsese, Stevie Wonder** and Sheryl Crow, and stars who were inspired by his music, from Kanye West and Mariah Carey to Questlove and Justin Bieber.

The film, which will get a television premiere on ABC on November 22nd, [Thanksgiving Night] follows the making of Bad track by track; though it can feel clinical at times, it also revels in cool details, like the origin of Jackson's gravity-defying lean in "Smooth Criminal" and his famous expression, "Shamon!" Then, abruptly, Lee shifts to Jackson's death in the summer of 2009, collecting reactions from his interview subjects, many of whom choke back tears and break down. "Those were all real, raw emotions that were displayed," said Lee.

One of the most impactful statements in the documentary comes from music journalist Danyel Smith. "We should all be ashamed," she says. "The way that I interpret that," said Lee, "is that Michael should be with us. He should be here."

On Tuesday, (Today, September 18th)  Jackson's estate and Epic/Legacy Recordings will release a BAD 25 CD/DVD deluxe package, with three discs' worth of remastered versions of the LP's original tracks plus bonus material, including previously unreleased songs ("Price of Fame," "Song Groove (A/K/A Abortion Papers"), the first release of Jackson's 1998 Wembley Stadium concert on DVD, and remixes by EDM artists Nero and Afrojack.

"Listen to the song 'Price of Fame,' which he wrote specifically about the situation," said Lee, holding a copy of the release. "How can you get privacy when you're the most recognizable person on the planet?"

"Did you see the disguises he had?" Lee added with a laugh, referring to a moment in the film that shows photographs of Jackson wearing intricate facial disguises. "He had to do that. He couldn't go anywhere in the world without there being a riot. Man, I wouldn't wish that on anybody. He became a prisoner of his fame. I mean, I'm not rewriting Michael's titles, but [the song] could've been [called] 'Prisoner of Fame,' instead of 'Price of Fame.'"

More on the  BAD 25 CD/DVD deluxe package 

Product Description (from Amazon.com)

This Deluxe 25th Anniversary Edition includes three CDs, two collectible booklets, and features the first ever authorized DVD release of a concert from the record breaking BAD tour.

DVD - Michael Jackson's legendary July 16, 1988 concert at Wembley Stadium in London. This DVD is not a compilation of performances, but rather one complete show, exactly as Michael performed it for Prince Charles, Princess Diana and the 72,000 fans who were in the audience for that night's sold out show. The DVD was sourced from Michael Jackson's personal VHS copy of the performance as shown on the JumboTrons during the concert. This footage was only recently unearthed and is the only known copy of the show to exist. The visuals have been restored and the audio quality enhanced so that fans can share in the excitement of that famous night.

CD1 - The original re-mastered album.

CD2 - A CD containing previously unreleased material recorded in Michael's personal studio at Hayvenhurst. This material includes early demo versions of songs from the album as well as demos for songs not included on the final album. All of this material is being released as it was recorded during the BAD sessions. Nothing has been added or changed. In addition, this CD also includes new remixes from internationally renowned DJ/producers.

CD3 - A CD showcasing the audio from the sound truck recordings of the July 16th Wembley performance. The first-ever live Michael Jackson CD to be released, this is the only concert from the BAD Tour known to exist on multitracks.

This magnificent 3 CD/1 DVD box also includes two extensive booklets with yet unseen photos from the recording sessions, video sets and the concert tour, the original BAD cover art, a two-sided poster and more.

Read more at Amazon here

Spike Lee on CNN August 2012 [VIDEO]

In August 2012 to help promote his newest film Red Hook Summer, Spike Lee did an interview with CNN. Below is the 6 ½ minute video where he talks about being a "student of cinema".


 

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African Americans on TV Guide’s TV’s Highest Paid Stars

Every year TV Guide publishes a “Who Makes What” issue where they list salaries of television stars whether by year or by episode. In the newest TV Guide report (August 13-16, 2012), the salaries of some of TV's biggest -- oldest, and newest -- stars were revealed. The approximate numbers came from conversations with agents, network executives and studio honchos.

You’d be surprised how much or how little some of these stars make. It must also be noted that some of these stars have been on their respective shows for years and or have been in the business for years and thus command a greater salary. For instance all of the adult stars of Modern Family make the same salary, but Ed O’Neill makes more because he has been in the business for a long time.

Below I have listed the African American actors (in red) on the lists and also as a barometer, I listed the top money earners as well as their nearest peers.
Below are the lists broken down into categories.

Vanessa Williams $100K

DRAMA (per episode)
Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU $385000
Jeanne Tripplehorn, Criminal Minds $100,000
Terry O’Quinn, 666 Park Avenue $100,000 
Vanessa Williams, 666 Park Avenue $100,000
Madeline Stowe, Revenge $75,000
Kerry Washington, Scandal $75,000
Giancarlo Espostio, Revolution $65,000
Sam Waterston, The Newsroom $65,000
Emily VanCamp, Revenge $65,000

CeeLo Green $100K

REALITY 
Mariah Carey, American Idol $17 Million (per season)
Ryan Seacrest, American Idol $15 Million (per season)
Howard Stern, America’s Got Talent $15 Million (per season)
Christina Aguilera, The Voice $225,000 (per episode)
CeeLo Green (and the other 2 judges) The Voice $100,000 (per episode)
Toni Braxton, Braxton Family Values $15,000 (per episode)
Richard Harrison, Pawn Stars $15,000 (per episode)

Sherri Shepard $1.5 Mil

DAYTIME (per year)
Judy Sheindlin, Judge Judy $45 Million
Kelly Ripa, Live! With Kelly $20 million
Sherri Shepard, The View $1.5 million

Robin Roberts $6 Mil

NEWS (per year)
Matt Lauer, Today $21.5 Million
Bill O’Reilly, The O’Reilly Factor $15 Million
Brian Williams, NBC Nightly News $13 Million
Robin Roberts, Good Morning America $6 Million
Soledad O’Brien, CNN’s Starting Point $1.5 Million
Don Lemon, CNN Newsroom $500,000

Don Cheadle $150K

COMEDY (per episode)
Ashton Kutcher, Two and a Half Men $700,000
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men $600,000
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock $300,000
Dan Castellaneta, The Simpsons $300,000
Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother $210,000
Modern Family (Adult Cast with the exception of Ed O’Neill) $175,000 Each
Don Cheadle, House Of Lies $150,000
Matthew Perry, Go On $150,000

Check out TV Guide Magazine to see more salaries.

SEPTEMBER 2014
Read my 2014 update of the salaries @ Shadow & Act here