Directed by by Frank Sputh, Bin Martha, Kolumbianerin (I'm Martha, Colombian) is a slowcumentary, the nearly three-hour portrait of a young Afro-Colombian woman, a slow, closely observing documentary.
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Rent Abyss: The Greated Proposal Ever, a short film made with a diverse cast & crew working together to tell a story about Love, Friendship and PTSD! This urban military homecoming drama is a candid glimpse into the troubles surrounding a U.S. Army Sergeant who gets stranded by SEPTA in the inner city when a wild marriage proposal shakes up his plans to reunite with the only family he knows.
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My motivation is zapped for the day. After trying to figure out what is going on with the communication system of choice for the 2011 WordCount Blogathon, I'm just about fed up with this blogging maze called a "community." What seemed fun as May 1st was approaching has now become a frustrating stream of work and confusion. Add on top of that the fact that there does not seem to be a direct way to contact Google and this whole experience is just a mess.
All is not lost though, thanks to Prime-Time television!
So, here is my haiku. Technology Sucks At Times When It Does Not Work "The Good Wife" brings Peace
Despite the fact that CBS and The White House ruined prime-time viewing for television audiences who were watching "CSI: Miami" last week, today, a new episode of "The Good Wife" can and will be used to end what has been a very long and tiring day.
In 2009, probably when I was trying to watch an episode of "24" on Fox, "Law & Order" on NBC or "House" on Fox, my television viewing experience was interrupted my a Presidential Address to the nation. My frustrations prompted me to write a blog post about it but I did not publish it.
The written draft lingered among my unfinished writings as the days, months and years past of waiting until the right time to publish it. That time is now, after my television experience was interrrupted again....this time, watching "CSI: Miami" on CBS this past Sunday, May 1, 2011. At approximately 10:46pm EST, CBS interrupted the episode of "CSI: Miami," just as it was getting good, to announce that the President of the United States was going to make an announcement. It seemed as though he was going to make an announcement within minutes but he did not do so. Instead, media figures discussed and analysed what was to come.....but it did not come, until well after 45 minutes. So, not only did the White House, the President AND CBS cause me to miss a very entertaining episode of "CSI: Miami," but they wasted time talking and talking until an eventual annoucement (or speech or whatever you want to call it) was made by the President.
The news comes on at 11 o'clock so based on that 45 minute delay, why couldn't CBS wait 15 minutes to cover the President's announcement, at a time when it would have been understandable to interrupt a program with "important" news or an "important" announcement? That would have allowed the recent "CSI: Miami" episode to continue airing until the credits rolled. I've had enough with these presidential prime time takeovers. They are annoying and, most of the time, unecessary.....as in the case of this past Sunday's "CSI: Miami" episode. I mean, man!.....he didn't even come on the screen until after 11:30pm.
There are many times when television viewing audiences could watch a NASCAR race and learn about the latest developments in local or national news, simultaneously. However, Fox is not the only network where you can watch multiple things on one TV screen. NBC, ABC and many other TV networks have the capability to do those multiple-screen broadcasts and for some reason, they choose not to.
Television viewers can watch two different programs and still learn about the weather at once in this day and age of technicalogical advancements. When has an identical setup ever occurred during one of Barack Obama's (or Bush's or Clinton's or any other President that has interrupted regularly scheduled television programming) speeches AND "Desperate Housewives"? Probably never.
This illustrates my point, that Presidential speeches and any related happenings take over the TV like those California wildfires in the summer. It is beyond ridiculous. I should be able to watch an episode of "House" without being interrupted by a Presidential address to the nation, especially when the topic is nothing new or of immediate importance.
What makes matters worse is the same content that is being covered during these Prime Time interruptions are nearly repeated during the ten o'clock and eleven o'clock news broadcasts. So now, TV fans not only miss their favorite shows but they get to relive the experience of being interrupted again, later at night when the news comes on.
Presidents should have their own special network or channel where they can broadcast all of the long, exhausting speeches that their hearts desire. The weather channel covers nothing else but weather and ESPN is all about sports so why does every Presidential conference have to take up every single broadcast channel?
Obviously, if someone is interested in watching the President talk for an hour or more, he or she will do it. Sure, there are more options for cable or satellite TV subscribers. That does not mean other TV fans should have to put up with missing their favorite shows by being overwhelmed with these annoying presidential broadcasts.
It is a shame that you have to pay extra money and buy Comcast, DirectTV or some other service just to escape the problem. Even then, you're still missing out on shows, especially if they are on broadcast channels. The public should be able to enjoy "Dancing with the Stars," "House," "24," "The Biggest Loser," "CSI," "Law & Order" or any other TV show with ease.
Disclaimer: None of this is to say that the recent announcement made by the President was unecessary or unimportant. This post isn't about that. It is about time management and wasting of TV space. Even today, when I tuned in to The Today Show to find out about the weather, they were discussing the recent events leading up to, surrounding and after the President's announcement on Sunday, May 1st. All of that coverage is unecessary. Also, I am not a fan of all of the TV shows mentioned in this post but I have seen an episode or two of just about all of them.
During the Spring of 2010, Lauren Graham visited the 10! Show on NBC in Philadelphia to promote her show, Parenthood after not having a main presence on the tube since The WB's "Gilmore Girls" came to an end back in 2007. This interview was enlightening on not only what she thinks about her own abilities and/or limitations in the entertainment industry but also whether there truly is an imbalance of job opportunities between television and movies, for women, specifically actresses.
When asked if she wanted to get back into television or did the Parenthood role speak to her, Lauren Graham told the host that her decision to join the NBC cast was based on a combination of those factors. Graham also added, "I think the best jobs for actresses are on television in general, unless you're Julia Roberts".
Is this really true? I don't think so. Then again, I'm not Lauren Graham so what do I know? Maybe she can find better roles on television than in movies....or maybe there is something to what she's saying, not the whole "Julia Roberts" part but acting roles in general. During an appearance on ABC's The View, actress Marg Helgenberger who stars in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation also stated that there are more roles for women in television than there are available in film. Based on the fact that two different women (who work for different networks and were interviewed on two different types of TV shows) made similar statements in the same week, maybe there IS an imbalance of opportunities between the two industries, as Lauren Graham mentioned.
As a Gilmore Girls and Lauren Graham fan, her comments still made me sad and wonder if she's selling herself a little short.
Here are three ways, from a TV fan's perspective, in which Lauren Graham could possibly find more roles in film so that she doesn't continue to believe that television is her only or more promising option.
1. The Best roles are not on Television. Steady roles are on television. Take a walk down the Jennifer Aniston path. During the rein of Friends on NBC, there was probably no reason for actress Jennifer Aniston to be concerned with landing film roles because she was not only part of the cast of a popular show, but she also had a lucrative job at the moment (weren't those Friends cast members making like $1 million each per episode or something?) so of course, in that position it could be easy to believe that the best roles are on television. The question though is.....where is Aniston working now that Friends is over? I haven't noticed her dominating television recently. Why? Because she's busy landing film roles.
Aniston seems to be finding jobs just fine in film, in roles that are probably better in quality than what she's been offered in television since departing from her Friends and she doesn't seem to be worried about Julia Roberts either. Isn't there enough room for a variety of talent? Actresses may have great roles on television but reality shows still seem to dominate the channels, which does not add much substance to broadcast networks in terms of quality program options for both cast members and TV audiences.
2. Star in Comedy Movies Lauren Graham may be great in comedy movies. Why stop at Bad Santa or Evan Almighty when it's clear that comedy seems to be your thing? I'd likely go to the movie theater to watch Lauren Graham in the next "Meet the Parents" spin-off or it would be nice to see her work with Steve Carell, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell or even Adam Sandler.
3. Do something Daring, or at the very least, something Different (really different, not just raising a new set of kids on another TV network). As of 2011, I've watched up to three different programs where Lauren Graham essentially had the same role.....a single mom. The thing is, all of these roles were not on television (cue The Answer Man if you don't believe me) so maybe it's time for her to try a new character that doesn't come with a dead-beat dad, homework help and college tours.
Maybe she could benefit from playing a professional woman with no children (Sarah Jessica Parker in Smart People, anyone?), a psychotic lesbian, a married woman with a family or anything other than many of her previous roles that depict a woman who had a child too early and has to try and figure out how to raise this child on her own. It seems that the story has been told already, many times over with different kids but the same mom...Lauren Graham. I think we get it. She can play a single mom. What else is in store for Lauren Graham, not the mom, but the actress?
Jessica Biel's transition from television (7th Heaven) to film (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Blade: Trinity) didn't seem to be that difficult. Mila Kunis also took her That 70's Show fame on the road, gaining film roles that put her next to best of 'em in the business such as The Book of Eli opposite Academy Award Winner, Denzel Washington and The Black Swan next to industry darling, Natalie Portman, which Kunis has been getting lots of media attention for over the last 12 months.
The bottom line is, everyone does not have to be Julia Roberts and even Julia Roberts started somewhere (anyone watch Satisfaction?). Actresses such as Lauren Graham can still find the "best" movie roles, and may even win huge awards.....the possibilities are out there.
Hey, if all else fails, call Tyler Perry. He seems to be on a movie making roll these days. Side note: Can you believe he got that Alex Cross role for the next James Patterson movie, right up from under Morgan Freeman? SMH!
His bankrolling skills also got Gabourey Sidibe an Oscar for Best Actress (see Precious) and hey, while Graham may think she's no Julia Roberts.....there may be plenty of TV fans and movie fans who think Sidibe is no Lauren Graham, so there you go!
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Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 9:28PM