Cinematical

If you're ever lucky enough to go to The Museum of Television and Radio in either Beverly Hills or New York City, be sure you request some old shows from the stacks and watch them in one of the study stations. A few years ago, my best friend and I were doing just that. Typically we'd fast-forward through the commercials, but her eagle eye spied Brad Pitt in this surfer-themed, LA-set Pringles commercial, and our mouths dropped. Not because we had the "fever for the flavor of a Pringles" either.

Now, if this thing doesn't scream 1980s, then I don't know what does. Check out the garish colors, the lightning fast cuts, and the hairdos. They even walk like an Egyptian with their surfboard, before eating all of the bikini babes' Pringles and then leaving the scene. Yikes. Pitt gets more facetime than the other male models in the commercial; could this be the vehicle that launched him into hearthrobbery? Perhaps only archaeologists who unearth this information in the future will be able to tell.

If you grew up in the South like I did, then you know that Thanksgiving is a holiday that competes only with Christmas for sheer popularity and crowds of family members. In fact, it seems like each Thanksgiving scads of new cousins, aunts, and uncles would show up, and I'd have to struggle to remember the name of every family member through tryptophan-induced lethargy. Occasionally you'd have a wacky aunt tell a funny story, or you and your cousin would sneak off outside and go play in the creek, but for the most part it was pretty much all about eating. Then the men would gather in front of the television to watch some football game, and the women would go to the other room to talk about the men. At least, I assume that's what they talked about.

For years this spectacle repeated itself, and I would yearn for someone to break up the monotony and bring the family together in the heartwarming way that you only see in the movies. Who better to do it than Del Griffith from Planes, Trains and Automobiles? This was a guy who wouldn't let life get him down, no matter what happened. He always had a cheery smile, was quick with a joke, and heck ... he could even lead a bus full of strangers in singing the theme from the Flintstones. Plus, if you were ever in a pinch, he could put his hypnotic salesman powers to work and sell curtain rings to practically anyone for dough. That's a skill that would definitely come in handy at Thanksgiving dinner when Aunt Mildred comes over to try and make you eat some of her Jell-o salad.

But the best part comes at the end of the day when everyone's had their fill of turkey and stuffing, the dessert plates have all been cleared away, and the fire is burning low. You can sidle over to old Uncle Del and have a real heart to heart with him. Why? Because while he's a funnyman on the outside who wears a contant cheerful mask, underneath this is a guy who has had a rough time on the sea of life. You see, his wife Marie passed away eight years prior, and he's been carrying a torch for her ever since. However, he doesn't mope around and drag himself through life. No, he fairly propels himself through it. Quite frankly, that's not only the kind of guy that I'd like to have Thanksgiving dinner with, but it's also the kind of guy I wouldn't mind knowing throughout my life.

Now you can't mention Del's charm without mentioning the package it was delivered in. Namely, the incredibly talented John Candy. John was the kind of guy who could light up a dull moment on-screen no matter what was going on around him. Sure, he was in some less than stellar movies, but Planes, Trains and Automobiles just takes the cake (er, pumpkin pie) as far as I'm concerned in the holiday comedy department. Curse you, John Hughes, for making me think that "Those aren't two pillows!" is still a funny thing to shout out at seemingly opportune moments. Steve Martin and John Candy were both in their comedic stride when they made this film, but it's Del's moment of levity at the end of the film that manages to choke you up. It's hard not to get choked up when you remember that John Candy is no longer with us. Thankfully, this movie will live on.

So there you have it, Thanksgiving dinner with Del Griffith. Laughter, love, and levity, all rolled up in one big package. But, don't ask him to drive your car.

Christopher Campbell would invite ...

You know smooth-headed, cool-as-ice Vin Diesel likes to come across as a sort of tough-as-nails bad guy, right? You saw him acting tough in Pitch Black, The Fast and the Furious, and ... The Pacifier. But did you know that he made an instructional breakdancing video?

It's true, and thanks to the modern glory of the 5Min Life Videopedia, it is here for your viewing pleasure. He also has a full head of hair in it, which looks completely different than the crazy locks he had in Find Me Guilty. So take some time out from your Halloween to enjoy Vinnie in full breakdancing gear doing some synchronized breakdancing in the video below. You might learn a thing or two.

Do you live in the Los Angeles area? Are you interested in seeing a free movie and hobnobbing with celebrities at a reception afterwards? Plus with the added benefit of it all being for a good cause? Well, then you've come to the right place.

Cinematical, along with Warner Independent Pictures, is giving away ten pairs of tickets to the World Premiere of Darfur Now, starring and co-produced by Don Cheadle, this coming Tuesday, October 30th at the Directors Guild of America. The film starts at 7:30pm, and you'll be able to watch the arrivals on the red carpet, and attend the exclusive reception afterwards. We'll be giving these tickets away to ten random commenters, but please be aware that you need to live near enough to Los Angeles to get there on your own nickel by Tuesday.

Check out the details about the film (including the trailer) and the giveaway after the break.

Can you remember what you did at your desk before the internet came along? Please don't say you did actual work, although I'm pretty sure that was the case. I remember reading a report somewhere that said the TV show MASH was responsible for dropping productivity in offices because it taught you that it's good to be friends with people you work with. What happened before then? Gladiator matches at lunch?

Anyhow, thanks to the birth of the best time-waster on earth (take that, television) we get viral videos galore. It's a shared cultural experience, and you'll be getting questions from your grandkids like "Grandpop, do you remember when you first saw 'The Star Wars Kid'?" They'll marvel as you recollect the tale. Of course by then the internets will probably be beamed directly into their brains, but I digress.

One of the latest viral videos (although at a month old, it's practically in the stone ages on 'the internets') is "The Dramatic Prairie Dog." At five seconds long, it's also one of the shortest videos ever to make the rounds. It's pretty simple video, but the real genius is in setting it to the dramatic music sting. As happens with these vids, people have started making their own remixes, and I've decided to round up the best of the bunch. They had to be short, they had to be good, and it helped if they were even more dramatic. Check after the break for your "Dramatic Prairie Dog Movie Tie-In Extravaganza." My favorite is the very last one.

JoBlo has the lowdown on Rose McGowan possibly filling the fur-bikini as Barbarella in the Robert Rodriguez-directed remake. No surprise there, since the two are a couple, and she definitely has the smoldering onscreen presence to bring the required sensuality to the role. McGowan stole scenes as Cherry Darling in Rodriguez's Planet Terror, and I wouldn't mind seeing her restored to two-legged glory as the erotic empress of the cosmos.

But is it true? Apparently JoBlo's inside source says that they've already filmed some test footage with McGowan, and that things are ready to roll. This should definitely squash the rumor that Kate Beckinsale was ready to step into the role, and was already called three months ago by our very own Monika Bartyzel, who should get a second job as a prognosticator.

While it seems like everyone from Sienna Miller to Lindsay Lohan has at one time been considered for this role, I wouldn't be surprised to see it go to Rodriguez's current girlfriend. Of course, if I was directing this, I'd star McGowan as the vampy Great Tyrant (previously played by Anita Pallenberg), and put Sienna Miller in the title role. But that's just me.

So, it's been just over a week since Comic-Con wrapped up, and I've had time to catch up on sleep, dig all of my geek gear out of my bag, delouse my Captain Marvel costume, and process all of the pop culture I was exposed to without a radiation shield. For awhile it left me weaker than Green Lantern's ability to affect the color yellow, if you know what I mean.

You can read my bullet-pointed, bite-size-chunked roundup of the news that hit closest to home for me after the break, and also check out our massive gallery of shots from the show floor and the panels below. Comic-Con always seems like such a massive buildup each year, but when it's over you scratch your head a bit and say, "Was that all there was?" Then you start looking forward to next year.

While Kevin Bacon was absent from the Death Sentence breakfast, we did manage to corral Garrett Hedlund over eggs and ... bacon. He talked to us about starring in the movie, his relationships with co-stars Kevin Bacon and John Goodman, how he grew up with guns, and shooting very long action sequences with a lit cigarette in his mouth.

Garrett Hedlund isn't a household name just yet, but you've probably seen him on the big screen at Patrocles in Troy. He played the brash, young cousin of Achilles (Brad Pitt), and is somewhat of a chameleon. He's also been in Friday Night Lights, Eragon, and Four Brothers. With a shaved head and tribal neck tattoos in Death Sentence, he's looking to extend that streak. Click on his picture for the audio interview and read the highlights below.

• He plays Billy Darly, the son of Bones Darly (John Goodman) and is the older brother of Joe Darly (Matt O'Leary).
• He leads a gang of thugs who run a meth lab in an abandoned insane asylum. Sounds like a nice place.
• There is a great scene between John Goodman and Kevin Bacon in the movie, where John realizes that Kevin Bacon is after his son ... who in turn had killed Kevin's son.
• He's worked with everyone from Brad Pitt, to Terrence Howard, to Billy Bob Thornton, but his dad was most impressed when he told him he was working with John Goodman. "He finally feels proud of me."
• "I don't care for working with actors that just come in and read the lines and pretend that the character is them, instead of them the character. A lot of people think that they're the one to bank off of, as their personality as a celebrity. They feel that people just want to see them. Where I like trying to do something different with each role."
• They did extensive research for the role by gathering as a "gang" at strip clubs and bars, and calling each other by their gang names.
• "I had my rifle permit when I was eleven, kids couldn't wait to deer hunt ... even girls. I grew up with an environment of guns. I've always used them, and always learned how to be safe with them. If I did something like pointing the gun at the sun or did anything stupid with it, I'd get slapped in the back of the head."

Kevin Feige has what most fanboys and fangirls would consider to be a dream job. He gets to play around in the Marvel Comics toybox and bring classic superheroes to life on the bigscreen. It's like having life-sized action figures and a really big backyard to pose them in.

We spoke with him during the Iron Man press event at Comic-Con, and besides wanting his Stark Industries hat, we also asked him a few questions. Click on his picture for the audio, and read the highlight reel below.

• On asked how we could score one of those 'Stark Industries' hats, "Well, you can go back in time, and work really hard on the movie and ... I shouldn't have worn it, I know."
• "It was a challenge to decide which one of his many costumes to go with. The red and gold was a given, but there are a number of incarnations throughout the film."
• The classic red and gold armor in the film is based somewhat on the Adi Granov's artwork from the (really great) Iron Man series 'Extremis.'
• When asked how many of the actors were attached for sequels, he replied. "All of 'em." They're in multi-picture contracts, which seems to be the standard these days.
• "What I love about the Iron Man villains is, yes ... you could call a lot of them goofy these days, but the truth is they're all tech-based villains, just like way Hulk has all gamma-based villains, and Spidey has genetically altered villains. I love the tech aspect to it, and you'll start to see some of that in this film."
  
• "We're working on an animated Iron Man series right now." It even includes Unicorn!
• How different are things at Marvel Studios, now that they are independent? "Well, other than the fact that we're signing the checks now, things aren't that different."
• "There's only been a handful of times where I would have done something different [on the films] ... Elektra." He says this one in a deep voice, and I have to agree with him on that one.
  
• They currently have scripts in development for Captain America, Thor, Ant Man, Dr. Strange, Submariner and more.
• When asked about the negative fan reaction to Spider-Man 3, he said, "It was the biggest movie of the summer, I'm pretty pleased with it ... my favorite thing was watching people react to that birth of Sandman sequence." Granted, that sequence was cool. But did he see the rest of the movie?!