Author: JD
New Oscar Producer Brett Ratner: ‘Comedy Is the Key’
S/O TO THE HOMIE BRETT New Oscar Producer Brett Ratner: ‘Comedy Is the Key’ The Academy has made a dramatic move for the 84th Academy Awards, picking director Brett Ratner to produce the show alongside last year’s co-producer, television veteran Don Mischer. Ratner (left), the director of the “Rush Hour” series, “X-Men: The Last Stand” and the upcoming “Tower Heist,” is a director and producer whose typical fare is action-packed, energetic and ignored by the Academy come Oscar time. His choice by AMPAS president Tom Sherak is a clear sign that the Academy is anxious to stage a fresher, younger-skewing Oscar show — though the presence of Mischer (below), a steady hand and veteran of countless awards shows, will presumably counterbalance Ratner’s wilder instincts. One thing the Academy might want to worry about: Ratner lives in the Beverly Hills house formerly owned by Allan Carr, who produced a historically awful Oscar show in 1989. “I hope that’s not a curse,” laughed Ratner a few minutes after the announcement was made. “I think Allan is probably up there laughing, and saying, ‘I hope you learned from my mistakes.'” Ratner and Mischer told TheWrap that they have not yet had any specific conversations about who might host the show, and have yet to discuss specifics about the Oscars. “We just accepted the job this morning,” said Ratner. “I have some names in the back of my mind, but we literally have not had a single conversation about it.” One thing Ratner would say: the show will be heavy on laughs. “I think comedy is the key,” he said. “That’s the most important thing I can accomplish. If people can sit in that theater and laugh, and people can watch at home around the world and laugh, then I’ve accomplished what I want to do. The numbers [ratings] will be what they are.” Mischer, who directed the last Oscar show and co-produced it with Bruce Cohen, said the biggest thrill for him will be working with Ratner. “More than anything, I’m very, very excited about working with Brett,” he said. “He radiates ideas, and he is immersed in the film business from so many angles.” The veteran producer of high-profile live telecasts, a current Emmy nominee for February’s Oscars, said that even after Super Bowl halftime shows, Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and Obama’s Inaugural celebration, there’s something different about the Oscars. “I’ve done a lot of things in my career,” he said, “but I must say, there’s nothing like being able to do the Academy Awards.” Ratner’s initial meeting with Sherak and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson was scheduled to last for half an hour, but wound up lasting three hours. He accepted their offer to produce the show, he said, only after looking at a number of past shows. (Some were provided by Mischer, who said he sent Ratner “a batch of DVDs” that included Oscar shows hosted by Bob Hope and Johnny Carson.)
NEW CARS: 2011 Chevy Corvette
IM AINT EVEN A VETTE FAN! BUT THIS SHIT IS MEAN!!
MOVIES: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Trailer 2 2011
YALL SHOULD KNOW I LOVE A GOOD MOVIE AND THIS LOOKS LIKE THAT Trailer: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy Based on the John Le Carre’s Cold War novel, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy follows a retired MI6 agent (Gary Oldman) who is called back to uncover a Soviet mole hiding among the highest ranks of the MI6. In addition to Oldman, Colin Firth, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong also star.
Alien Workshop x Andy Warhol Skate Decks Round 3
IM GETTING THESE Alien Workshop recently presented round 3 of their collaborative work with the Andy Warhol Foundation. The project, which pairs unique examples of Warhol’s artwork with Alien Workshop skate decks will come packaged in cardboard packaging inspired by Warhol’s box sculptures from the 1960’s. The latest installment features 4 of Warhol’s most recognizable and iconic images and (as we found out at Agenda HB) will be available shortly at select Alien Workshop retailers, .
STREETS OF MONACO YACHT
THIS IS GONNA BE INCREDIBLE The Streets of Monaco Yacht (Around $1 Billion). This insane invention aims to recreate Europe’s most notorious billionaire enclave with scaled down clones of iconic structures like the Monte Carlo Casino, Hotel de Paris, Cafe de Paris, and even the Grand Prix course, functioning as a go-kart course on the deck of this 500-foot watercraft. Other features include multiple swimming pools, a multi-use court for basketball and tennis that doubles as a helipad, a submarine (!), an interior “oasis” area, space for up to 16 guests and 70 staff members, a spa, and, of course, a swim-up jacuzzi bar. All of which begs the question: how big does a yacht have to be before it becomes a city unto itself?
Google Responds To Microsoft’s “Gotcha”: They’re Diverting Attention With A Trick That Failed!
THIS INTERNET WORLD IS DIRTY AS HELL Yesterday, Google wrote a post calling out Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, and others for using “bogus” patents to try to kill Android. Some of the patents Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond mentioned included the ones Microsoft acquired from Novell (not to be confused with Nortel, which happened later). When Microsoft saw this, two senior officials took to Twitter to effectively pants Google. You see, Microsoft had tried to get Google to partner with them to buy the Novell patents — Google turned them down. And Microsoft had the email to prove it. But there was an obvious reason for this rejection, which Microsoft conveniently left out, Google now says. Drummond has addressed the pantsing incident in an update to his original blog post from yesterday. He kicks the update off with: It’s not surprising that Microsoft would want to divert attention by pushing a false “gotcha!” while failing to address the substance of the issues we raised. But then comes the substance: If you think about it, it’s obvious why we turned down Microsoft’s offer. Microsoft’s objective has been to keep from Google and Android device-makers any patents that might be used to defend against their attacks. A joint acquisition of the Novell patents that gave all parties a license would have eliminated any protection these patents could offer to Android against attacks from Microsoft and its bidding partners. Making sure that we would be unable to assert these patents to defend Android — and having us pay for the privilege — must have seemed like an ingenious strategy to them. We didn’t fall for it. So what Drummond is saying is that Microsoft’s offer to team up with Google to buy the Novell patents was more or less a trick. By teaming up on the Novell patents, Google would have them, but they wouldn’t have been able to have been used to protect Android, because Microsoft would have had them too. Should Google have just gone along with that anyway, since ultimately Microsoft did get them (along with Apple, Oracle, and EMC)? You could argue that. But fortunately for Google, the courts intervened in that deal and made Microsoft sell off the patents they bought and made the others in the group license the rest, Drummond notes. In his original post, Drummond said that the DoJ was also looking into the more recent Nortel patent acquisition by Microsoft, Apple, RIM, and others. Clearly, Google hopes the same type of thing will happen here, but that’s still being decided. While Apple was cleared by the DoJ to buy the patents ahead of the auction, Microsoft could face a similar ruling as the Novell situation since they already had a licensing agreement on the patents, just as they had on the Novell patents before they tried to buy them. We’ll see. More importantly, this battle is not going to end anytime soon. Novell was part one, then things intensified significantly with the Nortel auction, part 2. But part 3 should be the most intense yet, as both Google and Apple are going after the InterDigital patents. The Nortel patent purse had over 6,000 patents, but InterDigital has over 8,800. If the winning bid on Nortel was $4.5 billion, InterDigital should be well north of $5 billion.
