Week Ending 6th January, 2002	Page 1
Happy New Year... Apologies For Recent Slackness	posted 4 Jan 2002
Although I'm still gainfully unemployed (any job offers out there?), I have actually been fairly busy recently with the long overdue publication of a posthumous poetry collection, and a bit of twisted scriptwriting. And that's why December was a bit of lean month on Film Cement... But, fear not, I am back (at least while my other projects are in a lull) and keen as ever for a bit of cinematic carcass picking... Care to join me?
Goin' Off With Harr-E!	posted 4 Jan 2002
Harry Potter, that cultural phenomenon disguised as a series of books and movies, has received its highest accolade yet - it has become the inspiration for a batch of ecstasy. According to the Age, these so-called "harry potters", which are stamped with a picture of a witch over a moon, hit the streets of Melbourne a couple of weeks after the film was released... Damn! I wish these had been in Sydney when I saw the movie. I might actually have enjoyed it...
Mah Na Mah Na : The Sordid Truth	posted 4 Jan 2002
Remember that bouncy little theme tune from The Muppet Show? Ever wonder where it came from?... Well, it was originally written by Italian film composer Piero Umiliani and was first used on the soundtrack of a 1968 film entitled Sweden : Heaven of Hell which was... documentary style soft core porn.
The Wonderful World of Micheal Nesmith	posted 4 Jan 2002
What a career this man has had!... He started out as part of that TV-show-turned-real-life-band, the Monkees. In 1980, he came up with the idea for MTV. He then went on to win the first Grammy for a music video. And now... he's the chairman of a nanotechnology company!
Cars In Middle Earth And Frodo's Pimple	posted 4 Jan 2002
A triumph of cinematic spectacle the Fellowship of The Ring may be; a triumph of continuity it is not... The eagle-eyed contributors to Movie-Mistakes.com have cited no less than 27 inconsistencies or instances of sloppy filmmaking in the movie... If you think that's bad, Harry Potter scored a whopping 50! (They also managed to expose an interesting piece of nepotism on Chris Columbus' part.)
"Reality TV" To Be Banished From English Language	posted 4 Jan 2002
Or, at least, that's what would happen if the students from Lake Superior State University had their way... Each new year, they release a "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-Use, Over-Use and General Uselessness" based on submissions from around the world. This year's list boasted such worthy inclusions as "surgical strike", "in the wake of", "bring the evildoers to justice", and... "reality TV". As part of her submission, Mary Li of Toronto made the following demands that we whole-heartedly support: 'Banish the word, banish the shows, banish the people who came up with the idea for the shows, because there is nothing real about this form of television'.
Afghan Filmmakers To Produce First Movie in 10 Years	posted 4 Jan 2002
Within hours of Kabul being liberated from Taliban control, Afghan director Sayed Faruk Haybat was back on the job; getting production up and running on the The Speculator, the first film by Afghans in 10 years. The film should be finished by the end of January and will debut on Afghan TV because it is short of material.
Top Actors Have Sex For Real in Films	posted 4 Jan 2002
Or at least, that's what some top actors do, according to Mira Sorvino... Personally, I think it's a good thing. Imagine how frustrating it must be, getting intimate and steamy with an attractive person and NOT having sex. Maybe if they ALL had sex for real on set, they'd all be more relaxed, well-adjusted people... Look at Ron Jeremy - he's always seemed like a happy, laidback guy...
Leonard Nimoy Should Eat More Salsa	posted 4 Jan 2002
And finally today, a piece of truly perplexing fan-boy whimsy... This website is dedicated to getting Leonard Nimoy to eat more salsa. And why, pray tell, would you want to do that? Well, according to the site manifesto: 'Leonard Nimoy is excellent, and salsa is excellent, and if Leonard Nimoy would eat more salsa, he would become an unstoppable force of excellence.'
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