The year letdowns flowered and scenes were planted for future letdowns. 1999 Letdowns:

The Biggest Letdown Ever!

A Reclusive Genius Returns … for a Letdown!

The Internet Helps a Micro-Budget Movie Score Big and Unless You Saw It Early…It Was a Letdown!

They Finally Made “Friday Night Lights” Into a Movie — Oh, Wait, No They Didn’t – What a Letdown!

Seeds for Future Letdowns:

Brothers Reinvent Sci-Fi!

What a Great Twist!

The nominees:

“American Beauty” – As pretentious at it is at times, I like the movie. I remember an argument with a conservative friend who hated the Chris Cooper storyline — abusive military type who’s secretly gay. Thing is, I had a guy a lot like the Chris Cooper character in my neighborhood growing up. Only his kid wasn’t the brooding poet Wes Bentley was in the movie. I also remember a liberal feminist friend of mine arguing that the movie was misogynist. Personally, I’m inclined to like a movie that gets people from all sides of the socio-political spectrum in a tizzy.

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–AND THE WINNER OF THE $100K POWER LINE PRIZE IS…–

Putting their money where their mouth is, our friends at Power Line came up with the terrific idea of tapping into the creative world to explain the dangers of President Obama’s mounting debt. Starting next week, Big Hollywood will post a number of the entries — favorites, runner ups, and finalists, on a daily basis, but for now you can check out the grand-prize winner here.  

The idea, of course, is to get a crucial message out. So you are encouraged to “steal” these videos and help them to go viral.

–MOVIES SPIELBERG (ALLEGEDLY) DEMANDS YOU SEE BEFORE YOU WORK WITH HIM–

While this may or may not be true about Spielberg, what is true is that this is a great list of great films. Whoever came up with it should be programming film schools or Turner Classic Movies.

There are only a few on here I haven’t seen. The most surprising title, though, is Steve McQueen’s “The Hunter,” which is widely regarded as a truly awful film. The inclusion of Rod Steiger’s “No Way to Treat a Lady,” “Ramblin’ Rose,” “Runaway Train,” “Scarecrow,” “The Chase,” “French Connection 2,” “Lonelyhearts,” and One-Eyed Jacks” are all unexpected but excellent choices.

Those of you looking to educate yourself on the magic of motion pictures could do a lot worse (like any AFI Top 100 list) than this.

–NBC REIMAGINING “PRIME SUSPECT”–

Great, just great.

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Matt Lauria is coming to a television set near you. On February 7th, his new show “The Chicago Code” premieres on FOX and the final season of his other show “Friday Night Nights” will be rebroadcast on NBC after it finishes airing on DirecTV. In a wide-ranging phone interview with the young actor, I asked Lauria about his new show, what inspires him, and last year’s controversial abortion storyline on “FNL.”

Lauria first became interested in acting at a young age. While attending school in Ireland, he was cast as the understudy of the March Hare in the play “Alice in Wonderland.” When the actor playing the hare got sick (which Lauria promised me he had nothing to do with), the understudy ended up onstage. During one performance, Lauria began “bouncing his feet to the music” in the play and some audience members started laughing.

In later performances, Lauria tried out some new antics to amuse the audience. He began looking at acting more seriously. “I could really do this,” he eventually realized. “This is a lot of fun.”

Lauria also talked to me about what inspires him both as an actor and in his personal life. “First and foremost, my wife really inspires me,” he said, adding that “second of all, I think people who are loving and purely selfless… are really inspiring.” He also noted that underdogs and people who stand up for underdogs are also inspirational. (more…)

Elite critics and the “I don’t watch TV except for [insert list of shows here]” crowd love-love-love Friday Night Lights, but they always say things like, “It’s not really about football.” I hate conceding that point because it assumes that football isn’t awesome, when in fact, it’s the most awesome thing ever invented. I’ll concede that in the larger scheme of things, the show is about passion, but that passion could only come from football.

I believe football inspires more widespread passion than any of the other major sports in America. Dismissing football when praising Friday Night Lights, therefore, is a bit disingenuous in my opinion. Yes, it’s really about passion, but I don’t think there’s another sport or activity that could replace football and allow the show to remain as honest and relatable. And you don’t have to like football to agree with that, you simply have to recognize football’s place in America in the 21st Century. Especially in small towns, and even more especially in Texas.

To say the fictional town of Dillon, Texas loves them some football is beyond understating. They live it and breathe it. Dillon’s not a big city, not really a small town, either (it’s never really defined, though it doesn’t seem to be a replica of Odessa, the town from the book and movie that inspired the show). Regardless, the show brilliantly captures the highs and lows that come with  living vicariously through the local team, perhaps more brilliantly than did Hoosiers or any other sports related entertainment.

While the show’s qualities – directing, writing, acting, etc. – are many, the best things it has going for it are its characters, brought to life by an achingly good cast. The writers know the archetypes, and so do we, and we know when we meet stud running back Tim Riggins (Taylor Kitsch) that there is a great chance he will blow any and all opportunities to excel and will become one of those guys whose love of the glory days will haunt him forever. Riggins may become a stereotypical small town loser, but FNL takes great pains to show how that comes about. Still, other characters defy our expectations, like Tyra Collette (Adrianne Palicki), who in addition to being hotter than Texas asphalt on the Fourth of July, seems doomed to surviving off of tips from The Landing Strip. But her choices prove there’s more to her than we first realize. Her rivalry with another character, Lyla Garrity (you hear that name and you know she’s cuter than a person should be, and you’re right), transcends the typical bad girl/good girl scenario. (more…)

This Sunday, the 62^nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be handed out to some of the best shows and actors from the past year. Although some shows and performances were snubbed, there are numerous nominees that are worth rooting for during the award show which will be hosted by Jimmy Fallon. In the midst of a lot of previously-nominated shows and performers, there are also some newcomers and previously-overlooked nominees that are worth getting excited about.

In the best drama category, the highly-acclaimed and perennial winner “Mad Men” will be facing some mildly tough competition. It will be up against HBO’s “True Blood,” Showtime’s “Dexter,” AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” ABC’s “Lost,” and CBS’ “The Good Wife.” Even though “Lost” just aired its final season, many expect that “Mad Men” will walk away with its third consecutive best drama award. Several of last year’s nominees for this category were snubbed this year (“House,” “Big Love,” and “Damages”) along with at least one departing show that had previously won this competition (“24”).    (more…)

In a recent interview with Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler from “Friday Night Lights,” Chandler discussed his onscreen marriage to Britton. According to Chandler, executive producer Peter Berg told him and Britton “that the relationship wasn’t going to break up from divorce…It was going to be a regular marriage, with two people who were dedicated to each other and loved one another.” Even though other dramas often feature divorces and marriages collapsing, “FNL” took a stand and attempted to show a strong and realistic marriage with two committed adults in it. In fact, one of the best aspects of “FNL” is how the show is able to create realistic situations where characters are allowed to make both good and bad choices. Because of that and the show’s focus on both sides of the controversial debate, “FNL” has managed to overcome a recent controversial storyline about abortion.

Several weeks ago, I wrote about the “Friday Night Lights” pregnancy storyline that ended with Becky, a pregnant teenager, aborting her child. She did this partly because her mother strongly advocated that decision and because she felt that her mother always regretted giving birth to her. The episode ended with Becky talking to Luke, the baby’s father, and telling him that she had taken care of the situation. Although he was aware that Becky had contemplated having an abortion, he didn’t realize that she was definitely going to do it until procedure was completed.

In the three episodes that have aired since that episode, the pregnancy storyline has focused on Tami (Britton), a local school principal, dealing with the political ramifications of the situation. After becoming pregnant, Becky had approached Tami and asked for information about getting an abortion. That conversation proved controversial as some individuals, including Luke’s mother, called for Tami’s resignation after the abortion. In the show’s season finale, Tami planned to publicly apologize for her role in the situation but opted against it at the last minute. Instead she said that she “had always put the welfare of the students ahead of everything else” and that “every action that [she] made was with that intent.”  Tami was then put on administrative leave. Instead of suing the school to get her old job back, Tami said that she would accept a lower-profile position serving as the head counselor of a local school where her husband coaches the football team. The season ended after she offered to make such a deal. (more…)

Satellite operator DIRECTV pulled off a brilliant move, along with Sony Pictures Television and FX Productions, in renewing Damages for two, 10–episode seasons.  The engrossing, critically-acclaimed drama created by Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler & Daniel Zelman, was averaging an unprofitable 1.4 million viewers on FX.

So why did the deal get done, and who stands to benefit?  Don’t look to the LA Times, because they didn’t get it right, calling it a “vanity play” and “marketing hook”.

Wrong.  It’s very likely to be a home run financially for DIRECTV.

And another example of why Hollywood is in big trouble.

The Hollywood business model is such that quality programming has a tougher time reaching audiences via the traditional network route, because network programming is barely viable these days.  The content provided is not reflective of the tastes of the majority of the country, and the comments my articles receive provide anecdotal evidence of this.  The whole point of a broadcast network is that it BROAD casts programming.  But now, these are NARROW casts, leaving out huge swaths of the country.  Damages is a program I would hope that more viewers would embrace because it is primarily concerned with presenting extremely complex moral dilemmas, with life-or-death consequences.  It was too good to be picked up by a network, and found a home on a cable network.  Nevertheless, the present state of even cable economics made it unprofitable to continue on FX. (more…)

A recent episode of the fourth season of “Friday Night Lights” has caused some controversy for its depiction of a teenage girl, named Becky (Madison Burge), struggling with a pregnancy. The baby’s father, Luke (played by the understated Matt Lauria), is a football player that she barely knows and she doesn’t know how to handle the situation. At the end of the episode, Becky informs Luke that she has had the abortion. The topics of teen pregnancy and abortion are inevitably controversial subjects and because of Becky’s decision, some people have criticized the show and Becky’s choice. Although I disagree with Becky’s decision, I still believe that the show depicted the situation in a serious and a mature way and it deserves praise for that. “Friday Night Lights,” even with this controversial storyline, continues to be an amazingly written and well-acted show. 

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The first piece I wrote for Big Hollywood was about the third season of “FNL,” where I wrote that FNL is “a phenomenal show which showcases the daily tests that the characters in the community of Dillon, Texas face on and off the football field.” That description still rings true in the fourth season of this often-overlooked television drama about a football community.

This season began with a lot of changes for the main characters. Coach Eric Taylor, the lead character, started coaching at another school on the other side of town after being forced out of his old position at the end of last season. His wife Tami remained principal at the old school which forced her to deal with some of the people who had helped get her husband removed from his position. Their daughter Julie had to deal with tension in her relationship with her boyfriend. (more…)

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NewsBusters documents the predictable response from the Usual Media Suspects who will always gush with praise when a television character rationalizes to millions of young, impressionable viewers that selfishly eliminating your unborn child is some kind of brave and moral choice. 

Of course had this same character made the ”choice” to join the Tea Party and support Sarah Palin for president in 2012, no doubt these very same media types would’ve fallen all over themselves to call the episode “television’s finest hour.” (more…)

“Friday Night Lights” has won a Peabody Award, a Television Critics Association Award and an Emmy.  We have been watching the show for all four seasons, but last week it really won a distinguished place in the hearts of my family.

That probably doesn’t mean a hill of beans to a whole lot of people, but when you work in Hollywood, in a culture that tends to treat flyover country like the red headed stepchild, and compares your religious beliefs to those of Al Quaeda, it rocks when you can sit down as a family and watch a show that reminds you of how you grew up: A show that honors the core values that you try to raise your kids with.

Peter Berg

My Dad used to say, “Once the kids stop saying “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am”, it all starts to go to hell.” When I was a kid, I just thought he was hard on us. When my kids use “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am” at the mall, the stares that we receive from the other parents lead me to believe that they may feel the same way.

The kids in “Friday Night Lights” speak in the same fashion.  Yeah it is a Texas thing, but those kids show a respect for their elders that one doesn’t always find in Southern California, or many other places outside of small town USA. (more…)

Using reader scores, IMDB ranked their top 15 films produced since 2000. Other than “The Departed,” which along with “Mystic River,” “Crash,” “Crash,” and “Crash,” ranks in the top 5 over-rated films of ever, there’s little to quibble over. Taste is a subjective thing.

My personal Top 15 are ranked as my favorites always are — based on nothing more than re-watchability. “Rocky Balboa” might not be better written, photographed or acted than any number of films not on this list, but I’m going to watch it a helluva lot more, that’s for sure.  

1. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) – Ever since the lights came up after that first screening, like a drug this lyrical, gorgeously photographed piece of myth-making has tugged me back for another taste. This isn’t easy to admit, but I think I admire Andrew Dominik’s directorial debut even more than John Ford’s “Young Mister Lincoln” (1939), which it resembles in so many ways. Were this also a listing of the greatest performances of the new millennium, Casey Affleck’s portrayal of Robert Ford would rank #1, as well.

2. The Passion of the Christ (2004) – Easily, the purest and rawest emotional cinematic experience I’ve ever had. The Left’s bigoted, venomous attacks combined with the film’s eventual blockbuster success were almost as satisfying as the re-election of George W. Bush. (more…)

In the pilot episode of NBC’s “Friday Night Lights,” after a star football player suffers an injury on the field, the new coach in town, Coach Taylor, narrates the end of the episode while members of the football community visit the hospital where that player has been moved. In a voiceover, he states, “Life is so very fragile…We must carry this in our hearts: that what we have is special–that it can be taken from us. And that when it is taken from us, we will be tested. We will be tested to our very souls.” Several weeks ago, the third season of “FNL” was released on DVD and if you have not seen this program, this summer is a great time to catch up on this phenomenal show which showcases the daily tests that the characters in the community of Dillon, Texas face on and off the football field.

I only started watching the critically acclaimed program last year and since then I have purchased all three seasons on DVD. Readers and viewers might be familiar with the overall idea of the show because before there was a television show, there was a popular book and a feature film (with Billy Bob Thornton as the coach) with the same name. Even if you have not read the book or watched the film (and even if you do not like football), the show is well worth seeing. (more…)

With 400,000 Americans showing up every year at the Indy 500 and 200,000 more buying tickets to see NASCAR’s premiere event The Daytona 500, you would think that the most creative minds in Hollywood would be looking for a way to cash in with more movies about car racing and car culture. NASCAR has an estimated 75 million fans, and it is second only to the National Football League in terms of television ratings, so where are all the good racing movies?

Jordana Brewster is reunited with Vin, Paul and Michelle in FAST & FURIOUS

Universal seems to have answered that question by getting its successful street racing franchise back into the fast lane this weekend with Fast & Furious. The movie, which reunites Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez for the first time since 2001’s original surprise blockbuster, has exploded to a high octane $30.11M or so on Friday and that could mean a $70M opening weekend. That would make it the all-time #1 opening for a car racing movie.

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Universal’s Fast & Furious will be “burning rubber” this weekend at America’s multiplexes as the original street-racing cast reunites after some sub-par chapters of the franchise.

The original The Fast & The Furious hit theatres in 2001 under the direction of Rob Cohen who had shown a knack for action with Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story ($35M US cume) and Sly Stallone’s Daylight ($33M US cume) and a savvy feel for bigger-than-life characters in his Golden Globe winning biopic The Rat Pack (which, if you’ve never seen you should put in your Netflix cue and prepare to be amazed by Don Cheadle’s turn as Sammy Davis, Jr.). In tow, he had a 34-year-old Vin Diesel in only his second starring role following the surprise low budget hit Pitch Black ($39M cume) and 28-year-old Paul Walker, who had just starred in Cohen’s forgettable The Skulls. Also in the cast was Jordana Brewster (As the World Turns) and a pre-Lost Michelle Rodriguez, whose most notable credit was a gritty little indie called Girlfight.

Vin Diesel returns for FAST & FURIOUS

The result was box office jet fuel. Seemingly out of nowhere, The Fast & The Furious scored a scalding $40M opening weekend and reached $144.5M domestic and over $200M worldwide. But Diesel, whose signature line in the original movie is “I live my life one quarter of a mile at a time,” didn’t like the script for the sequel (or they wouldn’t pay his asking price depending on who you ask). That led to the 2003 sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious directed by Academy Award nominee John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) starring Walker along with rapper Tyrese Gibson and Eva Mendes. Despite Diesel’s conspicuous absence, 2 Fast still delivered $127M in the US. (more…)