With a highly elaborate, futurist set design, slight edgier and a more colorful pop sensibility, The X Factor could almost dissolve the squeaky middle American Windex shine Idol has exhaustively tried to maintain - even while trudging through its fair share of lusty controversy. X Factor comes with flare, pizzazz, sparkle, moreover brand ownership for Simon, contrary to the latter whose Idolized exit comes with no surprise. And when Simon says jump those who defy, will be left for check as the king, bishop and knight set mate? Boding perhaps the Paula predetermined jump. Looks like he has a few tricks up his sleeve, as the plot/game thickens.  “And now poor Simple Simon bids you all ‘Adieu.’”

In the vanguard of the talent reality show movement, American Idol is known for its cookie cutter image, just ask Frenchie Davis or Antonella Barba, (both disqualified for their scandalous photos) clearly they didn’t read the fine print, “those with skeletons in their closet need not apply.” More importantly, Idol provides the average aspiring artist with a shot at a famed music career granted one is blessed with Simon Cowell’s stark endorsement. The Idol franchise has spawned successful acts among the many, Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood. Moreover, they “own” their primetime slot, consistently taking home top-ratings season after season. However, 19 Entertainment (creators of the Idol franchise) went astray in the handling of Idol’s “franchise”, Simon Cowell. The impetuous 19 left Simon without equity share early on. And now a day late and a dollar short, Simon most recently declined 19’s $100 million offer to extend his contract, Simply said, Simon isn’t that simple. With 6 successful seasons underneath his belt, Simon has sights set on bringing his highly acclaimed UK The X Factor stateside, to cash in on Idol’s market share in the Fall of 11’.

Simon’s Americanize X Factor will effectively be the same in format to his UK version. The X Factor emphasizes their focus on artist development, singers that make the first cut, Idol’s “Hollywood” are then sent on to a so-called "boot camp" round to which the singers go through an “artist development” process. Following another elimination during boot camp, the remaining singers are then assigned a judge who mentors them throughout the show. Finally, 12 singers are sent through to the final round: live televised performances that have viewers vote for their favorites. Appearance wise, X Factor’s set is flamboyant, resplendent, and vivacious with glowing lights akin an illustrious Vegas show. Additionally, unlike Idol, X allows groups as well as solo artists prove they have the "X Factor" in competition. 

 One would say competition is always good for business, isn’t it? 19 figures the show must and will go on, and they are confident in their hopes of finding either another Simon  (decently known UK music exec with slapstick attitude) or choosing a head honcho music exec as a replacement i.e. a Tommy Mattola?(Who, according to Finke, is knee-deep in a bidding war to end up either on Idol or The X Factor) Essentially, we’re looking at a head to head battle of the titans, underdog Simon Cowell and Greenwell Entertainment (recent joint venture with Cowell and Sir Phillip Green (a UK billionaire retailer tycoon)) vs. Simon Fuller (billionaire media mogul) and 19 Entertainment, akin to the Leno O’Brien Letterman fiasco (perhaps not but even still you get my point), may the best Simon win. And what’s even crazier, that walking, talking, hot mess of controversy, Paula Abdul leaving American Idol ordeal may have all been a publicity stunt.  Seemly as an omen to come, the bitter break-up will prove to be more of a seamless exit strategy for Abdul crossing viewers over to The X Factor as a judge (less worse than a host). It is quite clear, Cowell has been planning this for some time now aligning himself with his billionaire bishop and perhaps opposites attract in choosing his knight. Needless to say, we all know of the basic checkmates, this is the most difficult one to force, as these two pieces cannot form a linear barrier to the enemy king from a distance. Also, the checkmate can be forced only in a corner that the bishop controls. In this case, Sir Green will need to use his corporate muscle to win this battle, and controlling this arena (cable network politics in this case Fox) will be a challenging feat. However, with different “niches”, Idol’s clean cut, and X Factor’s edge, perhaps coexistence could be a remediate option. At this point Simon’s set up looks promising but only time will tell and “the #s do not lie”.

Mighty Milord! Without Sucka! Succotash!

2006 Leona Lewis "Bootcamp" The X Factor clip.

When we first caught wind that sci-fi patron saint James Cameron's space epic, Avatar, was not only finally hitting theaters after fifteen years of pre and post development, but that it was going to change our entire blockbuster movie-viewing experience forever, we were so sold on the promise that we converted to Cameronism, hoisted this other J.C. as our personal savior and made plans to turn the film’s premiere into a Mecca-like journey to the promised land.  Then we saw the theatrical trailer and soon realized that for a decade and a half, Cameron wasn’t craftily calculating his second coming but had instead turned into cultist Jim Jones and developed a live action adaptation of FernGully: The Last Rainforest starring, um, the Blue Man Group? Charlatan!  We had no plans of drinking the Cool-Aid, and to add insult to injury, the trailer made the film seem like a rehash of other films (as if Dances With Wolves had somehow married Dune and convinced the other to go vegan).

The plot of the film hasn’t swayed these judgments even after seeing it.  Get this: After his brother, a scientist, is killed, crippled military grunt Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) is promised a second chance to walk if he agrees to take his brother’s place as an Earth ambassador on a distant and dangerous planet called Pandora.  To strike successful diplomatic relations, Jake must make a Conradian journey to the heart of a sacred region inhabited by the Na’vi, a spiritual tribe of ten foot tall blue aliens who nest in an enormous “Living Tree” that sits atop a rare and precious mineral –  Earth’s only purpose for being on the planet.  Sully doesn’t simply walk to the tribe as himself, but uses 22^nd century technology to mentally control the body of a lab manufactured Na’vi native, his avatar.  With his human body safe inside a “Link Chamber” and his consciousness harbored in a Na’vi avatar, Sully joins the tribe and learns the ways of the Na’vi with hopes of convincing them to give up their home so that Earth can happily drill and profit from the mineral rock beneath their feet without causing conflict. 

Though none of this at all sounds as original as we were promised, and aside from being hammered over the skull with jar head jargon, clumsy exposition and pointless voice over narratives (Yes, even during montages), there’s much more to discuss about this film than whether or not it lived up to the hype.  To answer the question though, it absolutely and most unfortunately does not.  But the question of hype is probably better suited for those who have not yet seen it, if only because there is a certain unexplained satisfaction with Avatar.  A feeling that for close to three hours you sat rather riveted and compelled by a tribe of blue people who, to some degree, were never physically there but seemed so real, brought such an impressive sense of humanity, and not only had more emotional resonance than any of the true human actors in the film (Shamefully, Sigourney Weaver included), but more than many of the big blockbuster films within the past decade.

What if with Avatar Cameron is sharing a new sense of what we’ll call his cinematic religion, his dedication to exploring the reaches of computer graphics as a growing film ideology?  We’ll play with this a bit and call it "Cameronism".  And with it, let’s suppose he imbues the belief of something beyond concerns of plot and hype, showcasing an overall theory of entertainment that does not rely on technology for technology’s sake, as we’ve seen with similar blockbusters throughout the decade (a la Jackson’s King Kong and Lucas’ dreadful Star Wars prequels), but instead actually raises questions for the big dumb mainstream blockbuster movie genre:  Did you feel something? Did these characters strike you emotionally or move you?  Yeah?  Well, joke’s on you because they’re not even real! 

Yes, that’s actress Zoe Saldana as the Na’vi Chief’s daughter, but could she have pulled off such a tragically romantic show of emotion playing a human character? Of course, but Avatar challenges this by Cameron allowing the real actors to play second fiddle to the superior CG characters.  Even Worthington’s human Jake disappears into his CG counterpart, so much so that you wish to see a film entirely filled with nothing but the blue tribe, hating when you have to return to the clunky humans we’re ideally more familiar with.  Not only is the Jake character growing annoyed with being erroneously plucked from avatar to his crippled reality, but so have we grown the same for the human characters, or rather their crippled acting.  We’re jerked back and forth from the Na’vi to the humans, and we hate it because the human characters are so flat, annoyingly clichéd, boring and oafishly comical.  Was this Cameron’s purpose?  Was this his parable?  To point out the ironies in how much this motion capture technology can outshine, play with and blur the lines of human emotion and realism?

Possibly.  And this is how the film, in the end is an overall success.  Cameron may be using not only the predictable plot as a tired and obvious allegory for how our capitalistic and militaristic society is pretty vile, but more importantly experimenting with our all too familiar attachment to the current form of blockbuster escapism; films with mindless explosions and characters without depth - Destruction in the name of profit (like how the military carried on in the film...get it?).  With Avatar, the weight of oversaturation the blockbuster genre has been carrying in recent years is shaken off a bit (just a bit), and is salvaged and preserved by the performances of the Na’vi, the true stars of the film.  There’s some triumph in this as the film reveals itself as really an avatar of a better blockbuster.  A blockbuster that believes it is better than average, is only slightly better than average, but in turn, promotes the possibility of demanding more, even from itself.   This should be the renewed movie magic and puppetry for those audiences who beg only for film-as-entertainment.  And for those audiences, Cameron certainly knows how to play on their emotions finely, with not a surgeons precision, but with the precision of a conveyor belted assembly line for Big Macs –  Avatar is comfort food for a blockbuster moviemaking pastime when things like a few emotions and explosions were really all you had.  And it was good.  It was good with Elliot and E.T., Han Solo and Princess Leia, or even Newt and Ripley – Avatar is nowhere near that good, but it’s a turn back in the right direction.

Believing in Cameronism is paramount to finding that same balance in this CG era Babylon where everything is possible, where we never exclude the kitchen sink but, in the process, always manage to leave behind the humanity of the picture.  What Cameron is saying here is, Hollywood, your overstimulated audiences aren’t fulfilled without some sense of authenticity through the digi 1s, 0s and dashes.  If but for only a Friday night and a set of 3-D glasses, it seems worth it don’t you think?  It’s what keeps audiences clapping and cheering several times during and after a movie like Avatar.  It’s what they came to the movies for, to have a renewed sense of religion.  Something that reminds them to believe in something, anything.  Even if it turns out to be Cameronism.  

Spiritual mysticism aside, we can only give thanks and blessings that J.C. has brought a somewhat tasty Big Mac (with plenty of cheesy-ness) to this Last Supper, or less figuratively, the end of this decade.  And though not cholesterol free, we hope other Hollywood jesuits of differing denominations will take a few recipes from the Cameronism cookbook, opting to provide some kosher meals for those who teared and cheered during Avatar.  We vote for more Cameronistic attributes in the next decade’s blockbuster canon, but taken up a notch.  If not for us, then for the devout Cameronists who walked out of the theater not sadly overhyped or tremendously elated by the film, but if asked, would have been more than happy to spread the good word that yes, they had seen Avatar. . . And it was good (in the biblical sense).  

Trailer for Avatar In Theatres December 18, 2009.

The youngest member of the Jonas Brothers, Nick Jonas has recently announced next years tour dates. The only difference this time is he’s solo, without his brothers. Nick Jonas and the Administration are slated to hit the stage with a fresh new sound in big cities such as Dallas, New York, and Chicago. However, what does this mean for the Jonas Brothers’ brand?

Vowing to abstain from alcohol, drugs and sex, the mother approved Jonas Brothers are known for their wholesome, “family-friendly” image. In addition, the Evangelical Christian brothers wear purity rings on their left fingers to signify their vow to abstain from premarital sex. Fitting the Disney mold, Hollywood Records—Disney’s pop music label—penned a deal with the brothers following their dismissal from Columbia Records in 2007, and as the saying goes, “the rest was history.” A product of the Disney machine, the tween heartthrobs have been at the center of pop culture selling over 8 million records worldwide with 4 albums released in the past three years. The brothers starred in Disney Channel original movies’ Camp Rock and sequel Camp Rock 2, debuted on the big screen with their 3D Concert Experience, in addition to staring in their own Disney Channel show JONAS. Furthermore, the Jonas Brothers have endorsement deals with Xbox, Baby Bottle Pop, Target, and gross millions of dollars in merchandise.

Attributed to out growing their demographic and lack of hits, Hollywood, Lines, Vines, and Trying Times released on 6/16/09 sold below expectations with 500k in sales. Brothers Nick and Joe are now in their twenty’s and at 17, Nick Jonas’ solo debut remains Disney’s last attempt to cash in on the tween market. Nick Jonas will attempt to distinguish himself from his brothers’ bubblegum pop, as he describes his Administration’s sound as stylistically different from his brothers’ sonic guitar riffs driven with heartfelt lyrics about love. Perhaps the Administration is an avenue that will pave way for a matured Jonas Brothers sound in the future. A test market per se. Considered a ‘side project’ Nick has his older brothers blessings. The Administration is slated to hit the road on a small tour with 17 shows starting on Jan 2nd in Dallas Texas, ending in Berkley, California on Jan 30th, with their Who I Am album release to follow on Feb 2nd. All in all, Nick Jonas and his Administration will extend the Jonas Brothers’ brand, as Nick will reach new fans with his fresh new sound. When the Jonas Brothers reunite for their next album, whenever that maybe, the public will see Brothers who are bigger, better and reinvigorated as they would have time to develop and perfect their new sound. The Jonas Brothers will maintain relevance in pop culture via Nick. Essentially, the Administration buys the Jonas Bothers time; it will be as if they never left.

Mighty Milord! Without Sucka! Succotash!

Nick Joanas and the Administration Tour 2010 promo video.

There is a direct correlation with the limelight and flamboyance for top celebrities. The flamboyant lifestyle that is, these VIPs receive fat checks from blockbuster movies sales, multi-platinum selling albums, trust funds and multi-million dollar contracts to which most spend on “status” upkeep (lavish cars, mansions, wardrobe, jewelry and posh revelry). However, it is those celebrities who are avid philanthropists that bank the big bucks in longevity, and go above and beyond for the betterment of society.

There are several names that come to mind when the topic of fervent philanthropic celebrities arises; among whom are Oprah, Madonna, Bono, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. The common characteristic among these five is their dedication to uplifting society. They contribute invaluable time, effort, care, and money to some world’s most deserving causes. Most recently, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were in the headlines for having donating $7 million to their philanthropic organization the Jolie-Pitt Foundation. According to their foundation’s 2008 tax return obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, the two parked $13 million in their foundation with low staff expenses of $225,000 and gave more than half away in 2008, twice what they gave in 2007. The monies went to a variety of causes including Global Health, Human Rights Watch and the Armed Services YMCA of the U.S. Army. This was in addition to pledge to their New Orleans renovation efforts and various causes in Cambodia, the home of their adopted son Maddox. Along with Madonna, Brad and Angelina have adopted children from various impoverished countries such as Ethiopia, Malawi and Vietnam. As many know, Oprah is no slouch, having built a school for impoverished girls in Africa and donating many millions of dollars to humanitarian causes, along with the beneficent Bono, who is known for his generous giveaways and commitment to the action against the widespread of HIV/AIDS in Africa.

When building ones image in the celebrated world it is integral to be dutiful to humanitarian causes. Everyone loves someone who genuinely gives back to society. In Brad and Angelina’s case, the dynamic couple are exceptional on the big screen, they have looks, style and grace, and to top everything off they are avid givers. Additionally, their 2008 donations come without ulterior motives or a high paid foundation staff. Luke 12:48 states, “To whom much is given much is expected.” Those who give in profusion, receive in abundance. Fans have more to like in a favorite artist, actor or athlete who is deeply rooted in philanthropy, as those celebs garner respect not only for their craft but also for their goodwill efforts. The fans support their products as the celebs donate at least 1/3 of their earnings. It is a cycle that comes with the power to influence others to do the same, to stand up for causes and change society. Those who rein at the top in longevity stay there because he or she knows how to reinvent him or herself, are great at whatever he or she does, moreover the  public adores he or she for being society’s philanthropic heroes.

 Mighty Milord! Without Sucka! Succotash!

Brad Pitt Honoured for Humanitarian Work in New Orleans.

Brad Pitt Honoured for Humanitarian Work in New Orleans - Click here for the most popular videos

Precisely one year ago marked the manifestation of a saga, whose franchise has made its mark in history. It is not to our surprise that Twilight’s sequel, New Moon is set to smash the box office with record-breaking numbers.

The pandemonium began November of 2008 with the film Twilight. Critics watched closely as the book written by Stephanie Meyer turn movie made its way into the hearts and pockets of teens, tweens, and mothers around the globe. Accredited with the cyclical 80’s and early 90’s success of sexy eroticized vampires and werewolves coupled with fresh young actors, the timing was perfect for a whole new generation of tweens and teenagers alike. Twilight grossed more than $410 million worldwide while simultaneously pushing Meyer’s book series to the moon with 83 million copies sold worldwide.

Fast-forward to November 2009, poised to gross an unprecedented $100 million in the box office this weekend, New Moon will break this year’s record as a first week blockbuster. Set in Forks, Washington, New Moon takes up where Twilight left off starring Kristen Stewart as Bella, the hopeless romantic, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen, Bella’s vampire boyfriend and Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, Bella’s Native American friend who in New Moon transforms into a wolf. Having gone from casting calls to teen idol status gracing the covers of Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly and Bazaar to name a few, these three stars are at the epicenter of pop culture. Moreover, rumor has it that Kristen and Robert are a couple which makes for great press by intriguing fans and deepening anticipation for the theatrical release which drastically ups the ante when it comes to the franchise’s merchandise sales and profits.

The Twilight franchise continues to cash in on multiple streams of revenue with lucrative consumer products consisting of jewelry, t-shirts, makeup, trading cards, candy, games and Barbie Dolls amongst others. The estimated net-worth for the Twilight franchise is well beyond the billion-dollar mark and growing placing the Twilight name among the ranks of sequel stalwarts like Harry Potter. Riding the Twilight wave of hoopla and success, strategically it has been announced recently that New Moon’s follow up, Eclipse will hit the big screen June 30, 2010. Twilight will preserve its relevancy in pop culture by announcing future sequel release dates during current sequel premieres, heighten the celebrity of its star cast by keeping them in the paparazzi eye, saturating the market and expanding the franchise with each movie release. Watch closely as the Twilight franchise heads into the stratosphere. In the mean time check out New Moon this weekend as it comes with much anticipation, action, romance, and thrills.

Mighty Milord! Without Sucka! Succotash!

Twilight: New Moon Trailer. In theaters November 20, 2009