The Friday Hot Sheet

When you build certain things up in your mind, they tend to gain a sense of atmosphere around them. People build expectations around these kinds of things that seem to elevate events from their regular beginnings into the stage for extraordinary moments to come.

The Super Bowl is one of these. While it's played host to several great games over the years, the enormity and spectacle of the event itself, it's unofficial "national holiday" status as an event people share with their friends and families tends to overshadow the fact that the majority of the games are one-sided blowouts that lack the tension and excitement of the playoff games that led up to it.
Of course if Super Bowl Sunday were only about the game the audience
for this event wouldn't be nearly the size it's grown to over the years.
So when Friday came around (and went) and there wasn't time to get the Hot Sheet done -- especially on the heels of missing it for a few Fridays in a row, I felt really bad about it. I don't know how people feel about reading it, but I really like writing it. It's become a weird time-management issue for me as Fridays have become much busier at work than they used to be, but I desperately wanted to get back on the horse with it.

But the odd thing is that I've kinda built it up in my mind. I want it to be good, especially this one. I'm sure both teams playing Sunday night have similar hopes for themselves. One of them will get their wish, but one of them won't.

Here's hoping this is like the '98-'99 World Champion Broncos teams, and not so much the ones who lost it in 1986, 1987, and 1989.

So before the game kicks off and I'm completely immersed in the biggest game of the year -- here are this weeks risers and fallers, and the buzz as it looks from here.
The Super BowlDespite the fact that we're all gonna watch it anyways -- can you remember another Superbowl that was less hyped than this one? Sure the fans of the Steelers and the Cardinals are rightfully pumped up, but the game itself has the potential to be a huge blowout, and it feels like the people surrounding the marketing if the thing are kinda wary of what that might mean. I feel like outside of ESPN I haven't seen all that much pre-hype for commercials, tie-in contests, or party coverage at all. It's kinda weird to think that for such an important game, literally the last real football game of the year, there's been almost a concerted effort to undersell the game. Maybe it's because outside of their respective fanbases, there's not much to be interested in with these teams. I'm favoring Arizona because of former FSU'er Anquan Boldin and the fact that the franchise has never won the big game, but I feel like the Steelers have the better chance to run away with it. But beyond that I'm not sure what to expect from the broadcast, other than the fact that I have to sit through a halftime show by Bruce Springsteen -- something I am definitely not looking forward to.
 
The Pink Panther 2The story goes that Bill Murray once made a deal with Columbia Pictures in which they would agree to greenlight his movie version of W. Somerset Maugham's dramatic 1944 novel The Razor's Edge if he would agree to star in a little movie they were working on called Ghostbusters. People weren't ready to accept Murray as a serious dramatic actor just yet, so The Razor's Edge (which is a very sweet little movie) tanked. Ghostbusters faired slightly better -- partially because of Bill Murray's performance. He may not have wanted to do that picture, but when the director called "action" he brought it 100% I desperately want to believe that there is a similar deal in place that brought Steve Martin back for this sequel to the 2006 remake of the Blake Edwards/Peter Sellers classic -- but if there is one I can't find any information about it. You never really know with celebrities, but I can't imagine Steve needs the money -- but it calls into question this whole idea of what drives artists these days. Recently there was a lot of buzz on the web regarding an article comedian David Cross wrote on his website defending his choice to co-star in Alvin and the Chipmunks several years back. Cross, who has a decidedly anti-Disney lean in his comedy act -- defended the gig by saying "work is work," and made sure to point out that he hadn't reached a level of success yet where he could turn down high-paying gigs (an argument I assume he'll use again when the Alvin and the Chipmunks sequel comes out sometime next year). I can understand that argument. I can see taking part in corporate work to fund your artistic endeavors (when you think about it, that's what I'm doing these days too) -- but this isn't David Cross we're talking about here. It's Steve friggin' Martin. Every time the trailer comes on I just shake my head in disbelief.
 
AppaloosaI love westerns. It's a tough love, because the majority of the ones that Hollywood has been putting out lately are flat-out stupid, but when they're done right -- it's a genre that I can't get enough of. I know not everyone else out there feels that way, so despite the fact that I've come to the realization that it's a pretty good film (despite it's flaws) -- I can't really recommend Appaloosa to anyone who doesn't already sorta like cowboy films. The film itself has a very compelling story, and the action scenes play perfectly with the tone of the story. But there's a major flaw that just sorta kills everything else the film has going for it -- and that would be the fact that the plot hinges on the idea that nearly every man in the movie is supposed to fall instantly, deeply, and passionatley in love with Rene Zellwegger, a concept that simply makes no sense at all. Now for those of you who might have been considering putting the movie on your NetFlix list that have now yanked it off at the mere mention of Zellwegger's name, first let me say that I understand -- but if you're a fan of cowboy movies I urge you to reconsider. It's one of those movies that drove me a little nuts when I was watching it, but then like an hour after it ended I couldn't stop thinking about it. It's not the greatest movie ever made, but it's a really good modern character study featuring two really great actors (Ed Harris and Viggo Mortenson) at the top of their game.
 
The Friday the 13th remakeIn a somewhat similar story to Bill Murray wanting to do The Razor's Edge and Steve Martin possibly wanting to pay tribute to Peter Sellers with The Pink Panther -- I was reluctant but understanding when overrated director Rob Zombie wanted to remake John Carpenter's Halloween. But now there's word that he's working on a sequel, which means it was really about the money all along. I bring this up because it's exactly the way I feel whenever I see an ad for this reboot of this classic horror series. The effects of the recent Hollywood writer's strike are starting to make their way to the cineplex -- with remakes like My Bloody Valentine (although I still kinda want to see the 3D), Last House on the Left, and this vastly unneeded bloodier reboot of a series that was already way past it's prime with bloodier and bloodier sequels. I'm sure it will be fun in it's own way -- but there's a difference between discovering a great new musical group with a unique and exciting sound and seeing a cover band do the same thing over and over and over. FAIL Hollywood FAIL.
 
Watching the
Super Bowl      
Is what I'm gonna go do now -- see you next week.

Good Luck Cardinals (..you might need it).

[Listening to:  The Left Rights - "Whoosh Whoosh" ]

Comments

Valley Girl said…
I must've been, like, the only soul who didn't watch the Superbowl yesterday. =(
Jason Quinones said…
no doubt steve martin's doing it strictly for the cash. perhaps he did it in hopes of getting and maintaining a wine vineyard.

i hear that's the only reason why coppola did godfather 3.