Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Is the FCC insane?

To paraphrase the work of swearmasters Park and Stone, the FCC has finally, it seems, gone nanners.

In its eternal quest to rid the airwaves of any whiff of profanity, the Federal Communication Commission has apparently requested numerous tapes from broadcasters that might include vulgar remarks from coaches, athletes and spectators at live sporting events.

According to the always reliable Hollywood Reporter, "tapes requested by the commission include live broadcasts of football games and NASCAR races where the participants or the crowds let loose with an expletive."

All I can really think is don't they have anything better to do? That, and who the hell has to do such an awful job?

Can you imagine some pure sap sitting there, slowing the frame down to a crawl in search of that elusive expletive? Ludacris is the cleanest word I can come up with.

Imagine trying to do this with the World Cup, where, I can assure you I let loose with more than a few choice profanities watching the U.S. melt down in the second half vs. Ghana. Will they have an international contingent, young interns from around the globe scouring footage for every last swear word most Americans don't even understand?

If this is really what our federal government was intended to do, can they at least use their energy to find out what that dirty Italian Materazzi said to make Zizou go off his head in the Cup final? Sheesh.

In much better news for profanity fans everywhere, Comedy Central has apparently relented and will air the banned "South Park" episode about Scientology, "Trapped in the Closet," next Wednesday, July 19. Huzzah.

"Night at the Museum"

OK, anyone who had to sit through that rant deserves a reward.

The best I can come up with today is the trailer for this fun flick, which I believe is scheduled to come out in December. In it, as you'll see in the trailer, Ben Stiller plays a guard at a museum where the exhibits come to life after closing time. It also apparently stars la bella Carla Gugino, giving me reason enough to rather shamelessly post a picture of her.

It's a concept that has always intrigued me. Every time I walk in to the lobby of the National Museum of National History in D.C. I expect to see that giant elephant break free and trample everyone in sight. And I love that early episode of "Buffy" where Zander finally gets a date but its with a mummified Incan princess who has come back to life.

Anyways, it all looks like a big ball of "Jumanji"-style fun. Click here to see for yourself.

9 comments:

NattyChick said...

Unfortunately, Ben Stiller would be enough to make me hesitate to see a movie....not much of a fan actually but since I really like Carla I think that may sway me. Oh, and I was able to tolerate him in Mystery Men and Zoolander....ironically enough two of his more overacted and irritating roles! (I love Janeane Garofalo though). Thanks for stopping by my site and leaving a comment.

Reel Fanatic said...

I agree about Stiller, Nattychick, but you just may have the chance to see him get eaten by a dinosaur in this one .. here's hoping!

Carrie Lofty said...

Ah, Carla. Her turn in Spy Kids has to be a contender for "hottest mom ever" - although her (ahem) appearance in Sin City was so much more hot... and less mom.

Reel Fanatic said...

I think she's great in just about everything Salome .. I especially liked that short-lived series where she played a U.S. Marshall ... it was an Elmore Leonard character, but the name escapes me now ..

Anonymous said...

That's crazy about the FCC. You can only "police" the airwaves so much. As a father, I understand that people want some assurances about what they watch, but that's just ridiculous.

I'm surprised about the South Park episode, but good for them! No one should be able to muscle them out of saying what they want to say. I also find it hypocritical that Isaac Hayes all of a sudden decided that South Park was using "inappropriate ridicule" of a religion.

This was Matt Stone's response:

"In 10 years and over 150 episodes of South Park, Isaac never had a problem with the show making fun of Christians, Muslim, Mormons or Jews. He got a sudden case of religious sensitivity when it was his religion featured on the show."

Reel Fanatic said...

I too was very surprised by Hayes, Bill, and I think Mr. Stone got it just right .. I don't always find "South Park" funny, but I appreciate that they keep pressing buttons

Terence Towles Canote said...

While I can understand the FCC taking an interest in prime time, network TV shows (although I do think they can be overzealous at times), I think holding the networks responsible for what coaches, referees, or fans utter at sporting events is going a bit too far. What are they going to do next, fine them for things people might say during live, televised new events?

As to South Park, I must admit that I was very surprised when Isaac Hayes departed. After the number of times they have poked fun at Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, you name it, I think he was being a bit thin skinned when they turned their humour on Scientology.

Unknown said...

I think this one looks like a lot of fun. It's the only thing I'm looking forward to in the fall/winter releases at the moment...

Reel Fanatic said...

He definitely was, Mercurie, but I think they got the last laugh with how they killed off - well, sort of - the character of Chef