Michael Markowitz
|
BirthDate BirthPlace |
N/A
N/A |
-
MTV Video Music Awards Move to Brooklyn: Barclays Center to Host 2013 Ceremony Live
March 25, 2013 4:32pm ESTWith the Nets, Beyoncé concerts, and the Ringling Bros. Circus among its high profile events (that juggling elephant will change your life), Brooklyn's own Barclays Center is quickly becoming a top ranking entertainment venue for the New York metropolitan area. It's even beginning to attract shows from across the country: MTV's Video Music Awards, a Los Angeles-based broadcast for the past three years, is moving back to the East Coast for its 2013 show. Mashable reports that the VMAs will shoot live on Aug. 25 from the Barclays Center, making this the first broadcast in Brooklyn and the 14th in New York. The ceremony has previously found home in the cities of Las Vegas and Miami, as well. RELATED: MTV Movie Award Nominees Include 'Magic Mike' and 'Django' In honor of the "relocation," MTV's Instagram account is hosting the #RoadToTheVMAs Internet movement, updating subscribers to the whereabouts of the network's Moonman mascot on his trek across the country. Mashable shares a statement from MTV President Marty Markowitz, praising the Barclays Center as the VMA's next home: "From hip-hop to hipsters, Jay Z to MGMT, Brooklyn musicians have a long history of dominating the spotlight on MTV ... Brooklyn is a cultural Mecca — the hippest, coolest place for young people across the country, and has played a crucial role in the careers of some of 2013's biggest bands, like Fun and the Lumineers." Thus concluding that Brooklyn is awesome, and MTV is run by somebody who sounds like he has the pop culture knowledge of your dad. Follow Michael Arbeiter on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter [Photo Credit: MTV] You Might Also Like:15 Oscar-Winning Nude Scenes10 Insane 'Star Wars' Moments You Didn't Notice
-
'Cedar Cove' and 4 Other New Original Series Greet the Hallmark Channel
October 18, 2012 2:11pm ESTHallmark has laid claim to many an industry — sentimental family movies, holidays conspired entirely for card sales, a school store in Hudson, N.H. — but the corporate giant with Missouri roots has yet to sate its worldly appetite. The next realm to conquer: television shows. The Hallmark Channel has greenlit its first original series, Cedar Cove, set to launch in January with a two-hour pilot. The program, based on a book series by author Debbie Macomber, will place venerably Hallmarky actress Andie MacDowell at the center as a municipal court judge named Olivia Lockhart (a venerably Hallmarky name). Variety reports that the network has also begun planning four additional original series, each set to hit the air by 2014. It's only natural to assume that Hallmark will draw from some of its other regimes to develop this new empire. After all, you've got to imagine that the company's renowned expertise in the art of cardsmanship should translate at least somewhat effectively to TV. Given this double-sided aisle of possibilities, here are a few Hallmark-worthy pitches we'd like to suggest. Get Well Soon Marcus Halloway is a street-tough who never had nobody to look after him. But when he gets caught racketeering in the premiere episode, a local judge forces him to spend his days caring for bedridden senior citizen Gretta Cardman as community service. Over the course of the series, Marcus comes to care for Gretta, learning a little bit about life, love, and growing up, as he tries long and hard to make her comfortable through her terminal illness. The Card-iologist Dr. Hallie Markowitz is the top cardiologist at Greetings Hospital, helping both her patients and colleagues week after week. Hallie cures sickly visitors to the hospital with her surgical prowess but is just as impressive as an inspiration to young interns and jaded doctors, thanks to her knack for crafting poetic, life-affirming greeting cards (which frame the narration of the episodes) for every occasion. For Her H. Allan Markenheim is a rich, business-driven socialite who has spent the last ten years of his life investing every ounce of his humanity into keeping his father's Fortune 500 company at the top of the industry. But when he meets Anna Versary in the pilot, Allan starts to realize that maybe there's more to life than work and money, and he begins focusing all of his energy on the girl of his dreams. E-CARD In this sci-fi procedural, has-been mailman Jeff Schmallmark (I know, I'm getting lazy, just deal with it) teams up with crime-fighting robot E-CARD (Executor of Criminal Analysis and Riot Deterrence) in a dystopian future to maintain justice and deliver messages from murder and kidnapping victims and jailed criminals to their loved ones. [Photo Credit: Hallmark] More: Life Without 'Newsweek': 5 Ways It Will Be Different 'Family Guy' 200th Episode: What We Want To See Nick Offerman Will Get Naked For Money... For Charity From Our Partners: Giuliana and Bill Rancic Planning for Baby No. 2: ‘I Would Love a Girl,’ Says E Host (Celebuzz) Kate Upton Flaunts Major Cleavage in Vogue’s November Issue — PHOTOS (Celebuzz)
-
Spotlight: 'Horrible Bosses' Star Charlie Day
July 08, 2011 1:34pm ESTCharlie Day is on the cusp of superstardom. Okay, okay, that's my inner fangirl taking over. I’ll kick that down just a few notches because he’s only got his name on a handful of projects at the moment, but his time is coming. While you may not have the pleasure of knowing him as the disturbingly funny nutcase, Charlie Kelly, on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, it won’t be long before you won’t be able to avoid the actor. His new film, Horrible Bosses, hits theaters today and if it’s any indication, he’ll soon be stealing more than a few scenes. Day’s been nabbing little roles here and there since 2000, but it wasn’t until he, along with costars Glenn Howerton and Rob McElhenney, created this strange, scrappy little show known as It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia for FX. While fans seem to gravitate towards all the wild characters -- especially late addition Danny DeVito -- Day has a pull unlike the others. (See: Kitten Mittens.) His unique brand of spastic frustration, innocent yet determined ignorance, and his signature high-pitched and exasperated rasp combine with what some folks like to call “crazy eyes” to create an impregnable force of hilarity that can turn almost any setup into comedy gold. While I’ll fight tooth and nail with anyone who attempts to blaspheme the caliber of It’s Always Sunny, I can admit that it’s not for everyone. And Day is one of the most obvious reasons it’s not for everyone. Frankly, he’s a little out there and that hilarious rasp so many of us love is a point of contention for those on the other side of the fence. I think Gilbert Godfried is the most recent comparison, though I think it’s a bit harsh. Perhaps that’s why it took so long for a studio to pick Day up and give him a chance at the big time, but I reckon they’ll be glad they did. In Horrible Bosses, Day is the glue that holds the hapless trio together. Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis are fairly predictable, plodding along in their usual routines, but who better to shake up the humdrum straightman and the unrelenting horndog than the king spaz himself? Day plays Dale, a dental hygienist relegated to taking whatever job he can nail down thanks to a drunken, innocent incident that landed him with a black mark on his record. The only problem is that his boss, Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S. (Jennifer Aniston), is a voracious, sex-obsessed psychopath who drives him to the edge, and for that I thank Miss Aniston because it pushes Day’s character to the brink and thus to a whole lot of insanity. And if the role seems like it was made for him, that's because it sort of was. Screenwriter Michael Markowitz worked on Bosses script and as he puts it, “You inevitably start hearing a voice in your head when you’re rewriting and tweaking things. You get that Charlie Day voice in your head.” And how could you not? It’s probably one of the most distinct voices in the business. Of course he doesn’t just rely on a voice to garner all his laughs. He not only serves as a writer on It’s Always Sunny, but he lends a few of his –er – special talents to a rather sensitive scene in Bosses. Rather than spoil it for you, I’ll just note that Day is charged with making some rather torrid remarks to a costar, a chunk of which was largely improvised. The scene is hilarious, but in Day’s mind, it’s no big deal. “I’ve got a filthy mouth. I can talk dirty for anyone who wants to hear,” he said when I asked about it at the Horrible Bosses press conference. Day may not give himself enough credit, but it seems that the rest of Hollywood is finally starting to get it. Next, he's taking that signature rasp to Guillermo Del Toro’s highly anticipated alien invasion movie, Pacific Rim, alongside FX’s other Charlie, Sons of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam, which is not to say he won’t lend the film a little comic relief, but it’s certainly a step in a different direction. Day may not be lining things up the way his costar in Bosses and Going the Distance Jason Sudeikis, is but something tells me it won’t be long before his opportunities start multiplying. And for all of our sakes, I sincerely hope I’m right.
-
The Ledge Review
July 07, 2011 12:02pm ESTIt’s not a conflict most of us are new to: the butting heads of an evangelical Christian and an atheist. Of course Matthew Chapman’s thriller The Ledge takes this typical opposition and adds a salacious complication: a beautiful woman. Now with such a ubiquitous conflict Chapman has lots of room to explore more fully the back and forth between these two schools of thought but unfortunately the film only skirts that concept and uses it as a more of a means to an end rather than a conversation. The film focuses on three different men and in that two different debates. The first pair comes together when one of them threatens to jump to his death from – you guessed it – a ledge. The first man Officer Hollis (Terrence Howard) finds out his children aren’t biologically his right before being called to talk Gavin (Charlie Hunnam) off his perch. Of course as he finds out Gavin is on the opposite side of that fence; Hunnam’s character not only covets but sleeps with his neighbor’s wife. While this conflict of interest for Howard’s character is one of the more interesting aspects of the film it's overshadowed by the clandestine love affair and a slew of turgid inconclusive theological discussions. As Hollis tries desperately to sort out his own demons and get Gavin off the roof the would-be jumper slowly unravels the details of the romance that landed him there. If he doesn’t jump at noon “someone else” dies. Now it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that “someone else” is Shana (Liv Tyler) the wife of that evangelical Christian neighbor Joe (Patrick Wilson). Is that enough plot for you? Because it was certainly more than enough for me. As we wind our way through this ambitiously complicated story we encounter Joe’s textbook impenetrable Christian ideals thrown right up against Gavin and his homosexual roommate. Oh yes the plot tries to get into that debate as well. The capable cast does its best to bring the hefty winding story back down to earth and they almost succeed. Hunnam is the weakest of the bunch but he’s really there as a bit of beefcake to tempt Tyler’s sheltered character. The real heavyweight here is Wilson who despite being dealt a fairly narrow character who rattles off the same overzealous discourse we’ve heard time and again gives his performance everything he’s got. Joe isn’t much more than his stalwart religion and his mounting anger but Wilson tries damn hard to offer just a little something extra. Howard similarly lends weight to his character’s story though it unfortunately becomes little more than an afterthought once the romance between Gavin and Shana gets going. In fact that romance is the most enjoyable aspect of the film even though it begs us to focus on the theological and moral questions at hand. The forbidden love builds awkwardly and organically something so many films tend to gloss over in order to get to the all-important first kiss. Luckily for many of the big questions that go unanswered in the film their chemistry carries the plot along and almost manages to distract us from their lack of resolution. The Ledge seems to be a case of Chapman biting off more than he could chew. Every aspect of the plot is a worthy intriguing topic but when they all collide in a mere two-hour period it’s a challenge to give any of the components the attention and depth they really deserve.
-
Horrible Bosses Review
July 06, 2011 7:48am ESTIt’s a simple enough idea. Three friends with three fiendishly terrible bosses let a little liquid courage help them down a dastardly yet not all that surprising road: kill the bastards. And as ridiculous as the idea behind Horrible Bosses is as low-brow as much of the humor is and as hard as it tries (and fails) to ground itself in real world issues it still works. And when I say it works I mean it’s just really funny. At the film’s center we have Nick (Jason Bateman) Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day) and their well horrible bosses: Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) Bobby Pellit (Colin Farrell) and Dr. Julia Harris D.D.S. (Jennifer Aniston). In order for any of this potential murdering to work the film has to truly vilify this trio of bosses and on that token it succeeds almost too well. Spacey’s terrifying psychopath of a boss isn’t exactly funny though he did make me want to crawl under my seat and hide. Farrell’s cokehead kung-fu master is probably the most surprising of the three though he doesn’t get nearly enough screen time. And finally we find Aniston the woman who can’t seem to shake the term “America’s Sweetheart ” as the insatiable psychotic sexual deviant. I can’t say Aniston will be able to get away with this sort of thing in the future but the shock factor of seeing her flip her switch like this garners some laughs this time. Of course none of this would work without our hapless heroes. Bateman does his usual shctick as the loveable level-headed straightman trying to keep himself afloat while the other two can’t seem to stay out of trouble. Sudeikis brings his deep-voiced frat boy antics to the screen and while they normally don’t do it for me Bateman and Day balance him out. Of course when we get down to it Day is the one who steals the film. He’s not exactly delivering the unbridled insanity we’ve come to know and love on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia but that’s only because in this film he actually plays a normal functioning human being. And when you combine Day’s signature spasms and raspy high-pitched verbal fits with Aniston’s overdrawn predatory practices you get a few bursts of hilarity however uncomfortable. Finally we get a few chuckles out of Dean "MF" Jones (Jamie Foxx) but the actor himself was completely wasted. The character simply rests on the idea that we know Foxx as a personality outside of the film -- much like Aniston’s character does -- rather than actually requiring any legwork from such a capable onscreen presence. But there's a little method to this madness; without this giant cast of talented major players the script itself would likely fall a little flat. A few wayward jokes drag it down including a desperate attempt to connect this workplace issue to the financial crisis by including a former Lehman Brothers employee rendered so desperate by his circumstances that he trolls Applebee’s offering sexual favors. The movie succeeds as a superficial goofy comedy – it really has no place trying to nudge its way into real world issues. Of course there’s one thing I find incredibly refreshing about the flick ; while it certainly has the typical trio formula – the straight man the smartass and the nutjob – it gives all three equal billing. Nick isn’t the main character and his two friends aren’t his sidekicks. Director Seth Gordon opens the film with three segments of equal length wherein each peg of our trio takes a moment to explain their own personal slice of daily hell with a particularly hilarious brand of explicit language before the film gets down to business. It makes Nick Kurt and Dale a true trio and gives weight to each of their cartoonish tribulations as the film's punctuated pace eventually descends into complete insanity. You probably won’t add Horrible Bosses to your list of classic comedies and it certainly doesn’t merit extensive praise but the bottom line is that despite a few overreaching elements it’s just a fast-paced outrageous hilarious summer comedy. And really with a film like this that’s all we’re hoping for anyway.
-
Jonah Hex Review
June 18, 2010 4:56am ESTThe first thing you notice about Jonah Hex is the fact that you can make a drinking game out of people saying the words "Jonah Hex." It happens so often I began to believe that this was simply how people used to greet one another in the Old West. You walk into a room: “Jonah Hex!” “Well Jonah Hex to you too buddy!” Take a bottle of whiskey with you into the movie* and take a shot every time someone says his name and you will have an incredible 74 minutes. You might also be dead at the end. Why does it feel like I’m dedicating half the review to the use of the words "Jonah Hex?" Because half the movie is dedicated to uttering the words "Jonah Hex." Learn to love the sound of it. Josh Brolin sure did. When our ‘hero’ (and I use that word in the loosest of possible terms) isn’t busy having people remind him of his name he is riding around killing people or being made fun of for his horribly scarred face. But when a villain from his past – and when I say "past " I mean from 10 minutes earlier in the film – turns out not to be as dead as we were led to believe in the opening monologue Hex sets out to get the revenge he really wish he could have gotten 15 minutes earlier. And that’s when the movie beings its plunge into logical implausibility. If you can find a single reason to give a rat's *** about anyone in this movie grip onto it with both hands brother and hold on tight – it’s the only way you’re going to care at all about this film. It’s not the horse with side-mounted Gatling guns that got me or the silliness of dynamite crossbows; it was just how unlikable everyone was and how it leaned heavily upon cliché to tell a story without understanding how a story like this is supposed to be told. Revenge films are like romantic comedies: They rely entirely on a weak coincidence and delivering a series of emotional money shots that pay off for the audience in a big way. More importantly these money shots must be delivered in a very specific structure that allows people to forgive any thin or contrived story elements. Where a romantic comedy is "Boy Meets Girl Boy Loses Girl Boy gets Girl Back " revenge films are mostly comprised of "Guy Finds Simple Bliss Bad Guy Ruins Simple Bliss in a Cruel Manner Guy Left for Dead Guy Gets Revenge for All He’s Lost." Very simple stuff. Whether it’s Maximus in Gladitor or Eric Draven in The Crow or Charles Rane in Rolling Thunder the structure is the same. The key to a good revenge movie is a likable good guy a reason to care about his life truly despicable bad guys and a perfectly crafted ending for our hero in particular – often involving his death. Right from the start Jonah Hex drops the ball. We open with him tied up and getting wailed on watching his family get murdered just out of frame and then get left for dead. But we haven’t found anything to care for yet and more importantly he immediately admits to having done everything he’s been accused of. This is revenge to begin with. Sure the movie eventually gets around to trying to explain why he didn’t really deserve it but only after 45 minutes of us pretty much disliking the guy. He’s mean unlikable murderous and his only friend in the world is a prostitute who tells us that she “Don’t play house ” just before begging Jonah to settle down with her. He’s got a great horse and a dog but doesn’t like them enough to have ever given them a name and every time someone finally gets around to killing him magical Native Americans show up to save his bacon AGAIN for no apparent reason other than his wife was Native American. The only reason to root for Jonah at all is because he’s the protagonist and his antagonist (played comically by John Malkovich) is on a mission to I kid you not destroy America with a semi-magical nation-destroying weapon. Oh yes and we’re told the Mexicans call him “Terrorista.” A Terrorist hellbent on destroying America? In the Old West? You’d be hard pressed to find anyone you wouldn’t root for fighting that guy. This had all the hallmarks of being a WWE movie without the cool logo. If you’re 13 years old and you still believe wrestling is real this might be the movie for you. Otherwise it is an exercise in silliness designed to rob you of $10. *Hollywood.com accepts no responsibility to cirrhosis of the liver or any sudden death caused by ingestion of alcohol occurring during the course of this game.
-
Sudeikis Adding 'Horrible Bosses' For New Line Trifecta
May 27, 2010 4:12am ESTNew Line is in final negotiations to add Jason Sudeikis to its comedy Horrible Bosses. The film, which also features Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell, Charlie Day and Jason Bateman, is to be directed by Seth Gordon. The Risky Business blog notes Bosses will mark a trifecta at New Line for the SNL star. He recently wrapped Hall Pass, opposite Owen Wilson, and he co-stars in the romantic comedy Going the Distance. Bosses is from the most recent script by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley. Michael Markowitz wrote the initial spec. Brett Ratner and Jay Stern are producing. The pic is scheduled for a July 2011 release. Sudeikis will join Bateman and Day as a trio of friends who conspire to murder each other’s bosses. Aniston and Farrell are two of the office tyrants, while Foxx is a scam artist who dishes killing advice to the three regular guys, says BIZ. Story: http://www.hollywoodwiretap.com/?module=news&action=story&id=48577
-
Lee hosts party for Jackson on his birthday
August 30, 2009 5:15am ESTThousands of people turned up at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, where the Malcolm X filmmaker hosted the free bash, celebrating the King of Pop's life and music. Lee, who directed two of the singer's music videos in 1996, remembered Jackson's genius, telling the crowd, "I was just like everyone else. I loved his talent." Brooklyn borough President Marty Markowitz designated the day Michael "King of Pop" Jackson Memorial Day, while DJs played the star's hits for the dancing audience. Meanwhile, in Mexico thousands of fans marked the day by attempting to break the record for the most people dancing to Thriller simultaneously in one place. Fans donned black fedoras and white gloves to recreate the star's 1983 video in front of Mexico City's Monument of the Revolution, led by a Jackson impersonator who wore a sequined jacket. Organiser Javier Hildago claims 12,937 people danced, and bosses at the Guinness Book of World Records will make their official decision in a week.
-
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li Review
February 27, 2009 4:25pm ESTBased on the 1987 videogame sensation and later made into an anemic 1994 Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick this latest version pits the forces of evil vs. good in the slums of modern day Bangkok but fails to capture any of the excitement that made Street Fighter a legend among gamers. In this edition evil crime boss Bison (Neal McDonough) is joined by henchmen Balrog (Michael Clarke Duncan) and Vega (Taboo of The Black Eyed Peas) in taking over the Thai city using extremely violent power. Out to stop him from adding to his growing collection of heads are a group of disparate warriors including the half-Caucasian half-Asian beauty Chun-Li (Kristin Kreuk) who has given up her American life of privilege to help the oppressed. Joining her in the fight are her Kung Fu master Gen (Robin Shou) an Interpol cop Charlie Nash (Chris Klein) who has been tailing Bison around the world and his co-hort homicide detective Maye Sunee (Moon Bloodgood). While most martial arts films are hardly a showcase for actors this film hits new lows. McDonough utters straight-faced lines such as “when people are hungry there’s nothing they won’t do because everyone has a price ” which apparently also means himself or why else would he take the role of such a wooden villain? The acting is so bad that even the Americans including Duncan Taboo and Klein feel like they’ve been victims of a bad dubbing job. As the lead the attractive Kreuk also proves to be a fierce martial arts artist which at least partially makes up for the pedestrian dialogue and leaden narration she has to utter throughout. The one thing Polish director Andrzej Bartkowiak has gotten right with Street Fighter is the kung fu of it all but that’s hardly enough to recommend slogging through the rest of this mess. As a renowned cinematographer (Terms of Endearment The Verdict) Bartkowiak exhibits a sharp eye for color and detail but the drab look of Street Fighter makes one wonder if as director he ever bothered to look through the lens at all. This is strictly paint-by-the-numbers filmmaking of the most unimaginative order. When Klein spots a flashing red button signaling an explosive device about to go off he yells “Bomb! Everybody out!” He just as well could have been talking about this movie too.
-
We Are Marshall Review
December 22, 2006 4:43am ESTTragedy strikes the Marshall University community when a plane crash claims the lives of most of the football team coaches and some fans. With the whole town traumatized university president Donald Dedmond (David Strathairn) thinks it's best to cancel the football program but remaining players led by Nate Ruffin (Anthony Mackie) rally the school to support continuing the team's honor. Of course nobody wants to coach in these circumstances--that is until rogue bad boy Jake Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey) asks for the job. Along with surviving assistant coach Red Dawson (Matthew Fox) they build the team back up. Just putting the team back together raises the town's spirits but getting back the winning record is another story. This could have easily been a sappy tearjerker but it sticks to the high road for the most part. There are some sad scenes (i.e. the cheerleader [Kate Mara] returning the engagement ring her dead boyfriend gave her to his mourning daddy) but otherwise the focus is on moving ahead. Just about every actor gets at least one big moment to cry. That's a given in a story of this nature and some of them are better than others. Mackie's stoic attempt to take punches in an injured shoulder is full of passion but Fox's random breakdown is well just like a flashback from Lost. He is better on the field showing us a side to his personality we haven’t seen yet. Strathairn seems the most sympathetic as the pained authority figure making tough decisions. Mara (Brokeback Mountain) looks so innocent you just want to hold her hand and stroke her hair every time she wells up. Aside from that there's also a lot of personality in the film. McConaughey leads the team with a gleam in his eye and a smirk on his lips but it never comes across as insensitive. He’s hip so of course he's the one who can lead them out of tragedy. And as an ensemble film the cast comes together as a community in which a single tragedy can affect them all and a single victory can give them hope. McG totally restrains his bombastic Charlie's Angels style of filmmaking for this character piece. Just about the only noticeably fancy shot is a dissolve from Mara looking up at the plane to her boyfriend staring out the airplane window. It's a moving moment because we know what is coming and it does not call too much attention to the filmmaking process. McG knows how to do some great montages too. Recruiting the new players running the drills--they're all full of visual moments set to a rocking soundtrack. Most importantly he handles the tragedy with class and doesn’t deliberately try to jerk tears. The plane crashes with only a single jump and a fade to black but the wreckage burns through our hearts. Instead McG shows there's a way to honor the dead to take back a community's pride and let life go on without disrespecting any of the departed. The football games in We Are Marshall are filmed with visceral impacts pretty much the way most sports movies are. There's no Friday Night Lights grit but that's fine. These games are about telling a story not exposing the seedy underbelly of the sport.
