I'm lovin' it! (tm)

Another Bob Story!

I travel a great deal for my work. Being a penny-pinching little freak, I take advantage of every discount and possibility for getting something for myself. When I received a letter from the frequent flyer program of US Air, I hopped to attention. It seemed that I had amassed a healthy number of miles (some 10k, as I recall) which was not enough to do anything with flight-wise, but I could convert them into magazine subs.

So, I now take GQ, Food and Wine, Jane(I have no idea, but it's oddly entertaining) and a couple more. The best of the deals, however was a year of Variety, the daily "WSJ" of the entertainment industry. Since I'm in a state East of the Mississippi, I receive the version from Gotham. It doesn't make a great deal of difference where one's version is printed, because I think the LA version is identical. My one complaint is because it is a daily newspaper, it arrives about a week after the press-date, and I don't always get a full week's copies. In fact, I think I get about 3 of the 5. I would bitch if I had paid for it, but since it's technically free (versus paying $260/year) I aint complaining.

Funny thing--I might subscribe to it again if the opportunity arises. It's that entertaining! Plus, I learn all sorts of newsy shit that doesn't appear elsewhere. For instance, the news that Jack Valenti had made plans to retire and had appointed Dan Glickman to replace him.

What do you mean that you don't know who Jack Valenti is? For the past 40+ years, he's been that little white-haired man that strolls out at the Oscars(tm) and hands out an award for something. He's the guy that decided that Fahrenheit 9/11 would be rated R instead of PG-13. Hell, he's the guy that dreamed up the whole rating system for films in the first place. In short, this diminutive man is the most feared man in the industry.

Awesome job, being CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America

Greatest thing about the Daily Variety is their unwavering language. They have never adapted their "Old Style" of creating euphemisms for common words. Thus, CBS becomes "Eye", NBC, Peacock, The New York Times "Gray Lady" and so on.

The copy that came in today (July 6) headlines "BLISSED OUT IN SPIDEY LAND," announcing that Spiderman 2 had put a "$180 mil spin on the B.O Record book." In other words, Spiderman 2 made $180M for it's 6-day opening week, knocking Mission: Impossible 2 out of the record books (at a paltry $92M) If you look at 4 day openings, Matrix reloaded still is #1 with $134M (vs. SM2's $116M) In comparison with something of "worth," Fahrenheit 9/11 was shown on 1725 screens over the weekend, earning $12,174 per engagement for a total of $21M that weekend.

Yeah, so I'm a geek. Get over it.