I guess the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden doesn’t teach actors to choose good material. Or maybe he skipped that class.

Full of vengeance and out for justice, Dolph Lundgren (THE RUSSIAN
SPECIALIST, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER) directs, writes and stars in this
action-packed modern-day western that will blow your mind away.

You probably watched it already, Warren, but that “No Country for Old Men” was pretty damn amazing stuff. Whenever those Coen boys want to make a good movie, they do. Crazy kids!

More importantly, both Vic Tayback and Abe Vigoda are people I deeply love from an era that doesn’t exist anymore, so thank you for mentioning that. Which makes me think I’m going to have to write something about the Match Game, which a friend of mine turned me on to a year ago- wow, talk about crazy cultural artifacts. When you compare all the boob and gay jokes that occurred on the Match Game with, oh, say, today’s Jeopardy or whatever game show people watch these days, wow, what a difference. The Match Game is the first genuine thing from the 70’s that made me miss that decade (as opposed to all the stupid, superficial retro things like “that 70’s show”).

Mel was rough around the edges, but he had heart. Much like Cinemaspeak.

“Hey, Warren, Dan and I are very excited that you’ve vowed to promote Cinemaspeak fervently and passionately all over the interweb in 2008. We applaud that decision and can’t wait till thousands of people are leaving comments.”

I guess Memo can clear this up. Either way, I just wish people would use their own name when posting thoughtful message board posts on a little read message board.

Okay, okay, some could say I have broken my own pact by posting under the name JOEL SIEGEL’S MUSTACHE, but that is only to be kooky. Whenever I want to make a valid point, I always use my own name.

And yes, you are correct, Mr. Curry. Vic Tayback was, in fact, the inscrutable Mel Sharples from TV’s “Alice”. He was a cook, and sometimes a schnook…but at least once a year, there was a very special episode in which Mr. Mel Sharples showed his true love for his waitresses.

And Warren, I would personally love to hear your tale of sitting next to Abe Vigoda at a restaurant.

It might actually inspire me to finally, after many years of repression, fully tell the tale of the time that I was a guest at Joey Bishop’s house, along with an Elvis Impersonator friend of mine, and the visit did not go so well. Long story short, Joey Bishop eventually threatened to beat me up in his own kitchen.

Oh…the memories are so painful, weird, and wonderful…..

And Poppi, I don’t remember taking the vow to promote CinemaSpeak passionately in 2008, though I’ll do what I can. In fact, why don’t you go ahead and be this blog’s publicity director. As evidenced by the paltry readership both incarnations of CinemaSpeak have garnered, I am clearly not cut out for the job. It’s a pretty good gig for an unpaid internship…hell, you can even work from home.

My thinking that Clooney’s a jackass has nothing to do with his politics. I’ve actually never heard him express any sort of overt political opinions. When I saw him on Letterman, he came across as a celebrity who was way too in love with his own fame. Maybe some see it as charisma, but to me it reeked of arrogance. Having said all that, I don’t consider myself “anti-Clooney.” I wouldn’t rule out seeing a movie simply because he’s in it. My disinterest in “Michael Clayton” is only minimally about Clooney. I wouldn’t have seen it even if Chuck Norris was the star.

Vic Tayback, Vic Tayback. I’m forcing myself to figure out who he is without doing a Google search. I know he’s an actor, and I believe he starred in a ’70s TV series. Damn…My guess is Mel from Alice, but that’s probably wrong.

If our readers are lucky, I’ll blog about my experience sitting at the table next to Abe Vigoda’s one morning 8-9 years ago at the Good Earth in Studio City.

But I have grown to think, over the years, that Clooney is a wonderfully natural actor, and one of my current favorites.

And I also love George Clooney as a human being…or I guess better said, a celebrity. Warren, I really think Clooney appears amazingly centered, normal and self-depricating in interviews I have seen him in, as opposed to your view of him as a pompous egotist. As Memo said, or Big Poppi (or whoever the fuck that alias is) at least he has the conviction to say what he thinks. It doesn’t hurt that I agree with his sentiments, but not many people are willing to put their “reputations” and bankability on the line like that. I respect the guy.

On the flip side of celebrities putting their reputations on the line with politics…has anyone been watching coverage of Mike Huckabee on the campaign trail, with Chuck Norris always by his side? Fucking hilarious. I really don’t think you could write that kind of shit and make it believable in any way. I especially enjoy it when Huckabee is being interviewed, and Chuck Norris chimes in from off-camera.

Does Chuck Norris have a toupee? What the hell is that on his head? If William Shatner lost a toupee on a rollercoaster, and then it landed in a vat of cotton candy, and then it was accidentally eaten and pooped out by the late Vic Tayback…that is what his toupee looks like.

And I loved O BROTHER WHERE ARE THOU. Weird, yes. Unique and entertaining…priceless. God, I hate it when people still do that stupid “priceless” joke in 2008.

I guess the bottom line is, of all the actors currently working in Hollywood, George Clooney is the guy I would most want to sit down and have a beer with. And that is how we elect Presidents these days, so that ain’t so bad. Not bad at all.

I half understand Warren’s anti-Clooney sentiment. He’s definitely brash and arrogant and wants the world to know he’s a do-good liberal who hates Bush. Then again, he’s a do-good liberal who hates Bush. Good for him for at least speaking out, unlike the rest of his stupid celebrity peers. But lets not let that influence our judgement of his actual acting skills. 3 Kings was great, and he was great in it. O Brother was weird, but not bad, just weird- and how was he bad relative to that movie? Intolerable Cruelty WAS a pretty shitty film, clearly a paycheck for everyone involved, but Clooney played his role competently. Ironically, I thought Out of Sight was pretty terrible as a film. I don’t know what else I’ve seen the guy in. I don’t think he’s an amazing actor, but he’s competent, at least. I’m not sure where his arrogance is visible vis-a-vis his characters.

Julia Roberts is just bad, period. But we all know that.

Hey, Warren, Dan and I are very excited that you’ve vowed to promote Cinemaspeak fervently and passionately all over the interweb in 2008. We applaud that decision and can’t wait till thousands of people are leaving comments.

But if George Clooney did in fact play that role, it only proves that he is an infinitely more talented actor than you are giving him credit for.