BOP Daily News
August 26, 2003
The spirit of BOP News lives on in
This is So Last Week,
our pop culture week-in-review,
presented in a pleasing quiz form.
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Mr. Madonna, otherwise known as director Guy Ritchie, has apparently taken a
page from his wife's book and decided to change his direction at the drop of
a hat. Instead of directing Revolver, a movie he co-wrote about a
present-day Vegas swindle, Ritchie has instead opted to helm Six Shooters.
The film, which tells the story of a plan hatched during the final days of
the Civil War to high-jack a train filled with the gold reserves of the
Confederacy, will begin shooting early next year. Friends and colleagues
are reportedly trying to convince Ritchie not to cast his wife in the role
of Jefferson Davis. Although we hear the music video she has planned for
the title theme is something special.
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They say you can never go home again, but Bruce Willis recently proved that
adage wrong when he held a 30th reunion party for his alma mater, Penns
Grove High School at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. Willis, a member of the
Class of '73, treated approximately 300 of his old school chums - most of
which we're betting he hasn't seen in 30 years - to a weekend of drinks,
food and entertainment. In addition to serving as DJ at a cocktail party
welcoming the alums, Willis and his band, The Accelerators, performed at a
concert along with former Grand Funk Railroad front-man Mark Farner. One
person attending the party commented on the actor's accessibility, stating,
"He took time to say hi to everyone and took pictures with anyone who
asked," also observing the bash must have set Willis back at least $30,000. Tsk, tsk. The lengths some bands will go to to get an audience
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Chili Palmer, the erstwhile hero of the Elmore Leonard novel Get Shorty,
will be returning to the screen in Be Cool, Leonard's follow-up tome. John
Travolta will once again portray the loan shark-turned-film producer, who ventures into the music biz, with predictably violent results. Palmer
will reportedly be running afoul of the Russian Mafia in the film. A snag
has reportedly been hit during pre-production meetings, however, as Travolta
is insisting on adopting the dreadlocks he sported in Battlefield: Earth,
contending they make him look "totally hip" and will get more people to rent
the DVD of Battlefield:Earth.
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A US district court has dismissed Fox News Channel's trademark infringement
suit against Al Franken, stating the lawsuit was "wholly without merit, both
factually and legally." The suit, which purported that Franken's use of
the words "fair and balanced" in the title of his book infringed on Fox
News' trademark of those words, sought an injunction against Franken's book
being released, a point that was rendered largely moot as the book went on
sale the day before the suit was heard. In his ruling, the judge stated,
"Parody is a form of artistic expression protected by the First Amendment.
The keystone to parody is imitation. Mr. Franken is clearly mocking Fox."
Earlier in the week, Paul Newman lent his support to Franken via a New York
Times op-ed piece, in which the Oscar winner stated the Fox suit had
prompted him to sue the Department of Housing and Urban Development,
commonly known as HUD, constituted "piracy of personality and copyright
infringement," as it might confuse audiences who associated him with the
movie character known as Hud. At press time, the Fox News Channel did not
rule out the possibility of an appeal of the decision. The Department of
Housing and Urban Development, however, has capitulated on the use of the
acronym HUD and will now be called the Federal Oversight of Inexpensive
Neighborhoods Existing Within Suburbs, or FOXNEWS.
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In honor of Finding Nemo becoming the most successful animated film of all-time, BOP wanted to do something special. Since we couldn't think of anything else, we will now list the names of some fish.
- Tuna
- Blowfish
- Moby Dick
- Wanda
- Jaws
- Edgar (he was one of the Piranhas in Piranha)
- Wilbur (the shark in Deep Blue Sea)
- Gordon Gekko
- The Fighting Hellfish
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Box Office Prophets offers quality, reliable news about the entertainment industry. BOP is also entertaining. To that end, please be advised that some content in this column is intended to be humorous and should not be considered factual.
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