Out of Focus

YOU DIG!? YOU SHOULD!

2004 has become the year of the rock doc. Overall, documentaries have attained some crossover to mainstream appeal over the past couple years, but this year alone we've already had Metallica: Some Kind of Monster and the still-playing End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones. Now we're being rewarded with a third film, this one telling the story of two bands with less notoriety but whose story is just as compelling. DIG! won this year's Sundance Film Festival Documentary Grand Jury Prize, and after having the chance to see the film Monday night, I can understand why.

Let me just say up front: go see this movie. Go see it this weekend. At least if you're in New York (at the Sunshine) or LA (at the Nuart). I don't say this because Palm Pictures was nice enough to let me into the premiere (and party after – Red Stripe, yum); I've been to plenty of screenings that I happily and enthusiastically pan. (The Brown Bunny anyone?) But DIG! is an eminently watchable film, and a perfect example of what makes a great rock documentary. More importantly, though, this is the kind of no-budget indie film that any movie lover should want to support and encourage, and the only way to do so is not just to buy a ticket but to do so on the movie's opening weekend. For better or worse, the future expansion to other cities will be heavily dependent on how the film does in New York and LA this weekend. If there's box office, there's buzz. And if there's buzz, other cities will get it, and the film can receive the attention it deserves.

Besides, what else are you going to see this weekend? Yeah, I'm anxiously awaiting an opportunity to go see I ♥ Huckabees (thanks low culture) too, but you can see that second. On Sunday even. And other than that, if you're incredibly excited to see Ladder 49 or don't feel like you can wait a couple days for Shark Tale, well you need some help. Rush out to DIG! first.

THE FALL SEASON IN (P)REVIEW: THURSDAY'S STILL MUST-SEE BUT NO LONGER DOMINATED BY NBC

Thursday is still the home to the most desired time-slots and highest rated shows on television, but NBC's complete ownership of the night is a thing of the past. With the departure of Friends and CBS creating a lineup over the last couple years that has challenges (and often beats) NBC's competition every week, Thursday became enticing even to the upstarts. The most entertaining ratings battle won't arrive until November sweeps when The O.C. swoops into our homes at 8 PM and does its best to wrest away that most desirable of demographics from Survivor and Joey. ABC, The WB and UPN seem content to find their tiny niches and sit by the sideline, but make no mistake that the 8 PM hour and what happens will to some degree effect the entire television landscape.

Hyperbole, you ask? I'm being too dramatic, you say? Sundays may be the most watched night of television, but Thursdays are the most valuable, primarily due to the movie industry's desire to push their major releases the night before Friday's openings. If NBC can't hold relatively steady at 8 PM, that will hurt its 9 PM and 10 PM which is already in big-time fights with CBS at those hour. If Fox can open a toehold at 8 PM, who knows what could happen once they finally get a decent show in at 9 PM.

Of course, most of the following will mean nothing to you tonight because at 9 PM, all the networks plan to show the first Presidential Debate. Now, even though a debate should include the debaters actually confronting each other thereby creating, you know, debate, and that sure as hell won't be happening tonight. But for now, here's Thursday:

THE FALL SEASON IN (P)REVIEW: WEDNESDAYS CONTINUE TO BE THE MOST COMPETITIVE NIGHT OF THE WEEK

I'm not going to say that Wednesdays are the best night of television this season, but it's running neck-and-neck (and-neck) with Thursday and Sunday. With a few standout series returning and three of the most highly touted new shows of the season joining the lineup, every hour presents a difficult choice, sometimes even one that your two-tuner DiVo can't handle. That's when you have to move on to the cable splitter, with the second VCR ... you know, so you can record two on DiVo, tape a third on the VCR and then watch a fourth on the TV. You all have that set-up just like me, don't you?

No I'm not sick. Much.

Here's Wednesday:

FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS VOTE REPUBLICAN

Since this is an email making the rounds online, you may have received it already. But what fun anyway, right? My favorite thing about it is how obvious everything is; still, doesn't the collection of hypocrisy carry more weight when it's all in one place?

By the way, if you haven't yet registered to vote, what the fuck is wrong with you? The deadline is fast approaching (the NY State deadline is a week from Friday - 10/8; some other states are even sooner), and registering is just about the easiest thing to do. Rock the Vote can help you register regardless of your residency. If you're in New York City, you have to go to the Board of Elections in person or mail in a form, which you can get along with all other instructions here. Wherever you are, go and do it. Now. Don't worry ... I'll still be here when you get back. Then when you're done, enjoy (or not) ....

THE BURDEN OF BEING A REPUBLICAN

Things you have to believe to be a Republican today:

Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony.

The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq.

A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation.

Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton.

The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay.

If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex.

A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money.

Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy. Providing health care to all Americans is socialism.

HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart.

A president lying about an extramarital affair is an impeachable offense. A president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy.

The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving and military record is none of our business.

Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness, and you need our prayers for your recovery.

You support states' rights, which means Attorney General John Ashcroft can tell states what local voter initiatives they have the right to adopt.

What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant.

The end of the email also said that you must send this on to 10 other people otherwise we'll have 4 more years of Bush. So, obviously, spread the word.

REMINDER THE SECOND: NYMTF SCREENINGS THIS WEEK

The New York Musical Theatre Festival has already started its last week, and I'm ashamed to say I haven't had a chance to go to anything nor do I have any idea how well they've been doing. I hope it's been a relative success because I think the concept of such a festival is something that should have existed in New York long before now.

This week, along with the continuation of its main program, the festival is also featuring screenings of movie musicals at the AMC 25 on 42nd Street. There's no Sound of Music or Chicago or Phantom of the Opera in this lineup, however. Instead, if you're like me, you've already missed Neil Young's Greendale, which screened yesterday and you were dying to see. And today you'll miss Lars von Trier directing Bjork in Dancer in the Dark at 4:30 PM, which I have seen and loved even though they should hand out prozac at the door of the theater. Tomorrow is John Cameron Mitchell's brilliant adaptation of his own show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. If you saw the stage show but never saw the movie, you really should try to get to this because it's a great example of how different a movie adaptation can be from its source material while still retaining the essence of the original. Now Thursday, I am going to try to make The American Astronaut, which I've been wanting to see for quite some time and still isn't available on video. But this has been a busy week, and doing so may be rough.

If you have the time, though, check out the schedule and help support the NYMTF. I want to have the chance to plan better and attend more next year. So yeah ... do it for me. I thank you in advance.

JUST A REMINDER: AN IMPORTANT DVD-TUESDAY

It's DVD release day, and today brings us the Best Movie of 2004 (so far): Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

You can buy it or you can rent it, but whatever you do, see it if you haven't yet, and if you have, I'm sure like me most of you want to see it again. Just make sure you don't get stuck with the "Full-Frame" version since Focus Features is releasing separate Widescreen and "Full-Frame" releases. This is a brilliant movie for many reasons, but if you miss one square inch of the frame due to pan-and-scan bullshit, you're not really seeing the whole movie. Just live with the letterboxing, please. It's not that hard.

Also of note hitting the DVD shelf today are Strangers With Candy (Season 3) and Super Size Me.

IF I LIVE TO 108, I WILL TOTALLY START SMOKING AGAIN TOO

108-Year-Old Man Starts Smoking Again.

I used to smoke. I used to smoke a lot, in fact. But I quit nearly 10 years ago, and seeing the price of a pack of cigarettes these days, I did it at just the right time. Still, even though the smell gets to me sometimes now that I've been a non-smoker for so long, I still miss it occasionally because I really liked smoking. And so I vow to you now that if I'm still alive in 2079, I will make sure that this story is about me.

There! It's out in the blogosphere. I expect one of you to find me then and hold me to it! Thanks for your help.

THE FALL SEASON IN (P)REVIEW: TUESDAYS SHOWING BITS OF POTENTIAL -- KEY WORD IS "BITS"

See, I'm not the only person still out there taking a microscope to the new TV season. NPR's "Talk of the Nation" takes a look at the networks' programming today during it's second hour (3 pm Eastern). Of course, the New York NPR station, WNYC, doesn't broadcast "Talk of the Nation," so I often stream it from San Francisco's KQED.

Not that you need to listen to them because all the guidance you require can be found right here, in my little corner of the interweb. For example, take Tuesdays. Please. (Har. Yeah, not really.) Tuesdays are definitely a step-up from Mondays this season, but there's still plenty of crap to avoid. But Tuesdays still have some changes on the horizon, especially with Fox changing course come November, at which time one of their supposedly most promising shows will premiere. But more on that after the jump:

A REAL LATE NIGHT CHANGING OF THE GUARD

About six weeks ago, the news that Craig Kilborn was leaving his CBS Late, Late Show post smacked the entertainment world across the fact like a feather. Really, nobody cared, and plenty were probably quite happy. But today's news is different. NBC announced, and Jay Leno apparently will as well on tonight's Tonight Show, that in 2009 Conan O'Brien will replace Leno as host of the late-night institution. This is an absolutely brilliant move on the part of the executives at NBC, and that's a statement I don't make lightly.

It's hard to believe that the battle for the Tonight Show between Leno and Letterman took place well-over a decade ago. Leno has already hosted The Tonight Show since 1992, and by 2009 he will have been at it 17 years. NBC was getting very concerned that O'Brien was going to jump ship, either to Fox, ABC, syndication or cable. There was even speculation that he could take his show to CBS in the post-Letterman slot and become the heir apparent to Dave. Whatever the rumors, O'Brien right now is probably the most valuable member of NBC's late-night lineup. His show is the strongest comically of all four late night talkies, and unlike when Leno and Letterman were competing for the NBC slot, there is not another known late-night presence who could fill either 11:30 slot like Conan can. The closest possible commodity would be Jon Stewart, but he just re-upped with Comedy Central through the 2008 elections, and while a Stewart-O'Brien face-off in 2009 or 2010 (with the former replacing Letterman) would be interesting, I wonder if Stewart has any real interest in returning to that kind of late-night grind. The pressure on Comedy Central could never be as much as on CBS. I certainly don't know what's inside Stewart's mind for the future -- my 5 second handshake and non-personalized book signature at Border's last week notwithstanding -- but I think he's had enough ups-and-downs and likes his current gig enough that he wouldn't necessarily jump at the evil world of late-night.

But now NBC has the upper hand at dominance in the late night wars, as they are, for the next two-plus decades. Sure, another talent could come along out of nowhere -- just like O'Brien did -- but that person will have to win away the loyal following who have been watching Conan for the past-10 years and still do so almost every night.

Good on you NBC. You did something right.

THE FALL SEASON IN (P)REVIEW: A SCHEDULE APPROPRIATE FOR UGLY MONDAYS

Last week was filled with milestones: my birthday (and Alfonso Ribeiro's!), Jen Daily Refill's birthday, Yom Kippur, the last day of summer, the first day of fall, the effin 49ers being shut-out for the first time in 27 years (at least I had plenty to drink). Arriving with the first day of fall also comes the first official week of the new TV season, and as usual, all the networks started rolling out their season and series premieres.

Well, not all the networks. Fox with its new (and not-quite-working) calendar-correct seasonal roll-out doesn't start most of its series until November, after the baseball playoffs. And NBC started some shows a bit early in an attempt to capitalize on promotion during the Olympics. And the other networks are starting one show here, another one there, giving this one a special time slot tryout thereby postponing that one.

Regardless, a new TV season is always difficult to navigate, I know. And as I expressed last week, I'm becoming far less tolerant of many shows, new and old. Still, I have this sense of duty to myself and the two or three of you who visit me here once or twice a month to help you; to peek through those "most shocking twist ever" and "most watched network" and "the critics agree" and "best drama since Oedipus" promos to find what's really good and worth wasting time over.

Every day this week, I'll address that day's new primetime schedule. I have watched every show that has already premiered on all the broadcast networks' schedules at least once. In some cases, I'll have to withhold judgment and get back to you after the show has aired and I've actually seen it. But for the time being, here's Monday: