A truly maddening dose of MPAA madness

Before I get into any of that, and a commendable scoop from easily one of this site's favorite movie reviewers, Nell Minow, there's news of a new Tyler Perry movie in works. I know that seems to happen at least twice a year, but this one really does sound pretty fascinating.

Lionsgate has now tapped him to direct a film based on the 1975 Ntozake Shange play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf."

As far as I know, this would be the first Tyler Perry movie not based on his own work, and if it sticks to the structure of the play - a series of 20 poems read by women with names like "Lady in Purple" - will certainly present him with a challenge.

And I know Tyler Perry is an acquired taste for many, many people, and I can thoroughly understand, but for all his faults as a filmmaker I guarantee you there isn't a director out there who's now writing better parts for women than he consistently does. So this project should be just perfect for him.

And this being the fall, Mr. Perry has his second movie of this year coming out next Friday, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself." With easily one of my favorite actresses, Taraji P. Henson, as the star, you can bet I'll be there to see it Saturday afternoon.

But after that today, it's about something that really makes me irate, and I have to warn you, I'm not completely sure why as I start to type this. First the facts, per Nell Minow in today's (I think) Chicago Sun Times, which you can read here.

We've all gone to the movies and, for as long as I can remember, seen those green screens that precede the trailers and always say "appropriate for all audiences." Well, no more. In April without apparently telling, well, anyone, the MPAA (far from my favorite cabal in the world) just decided that green now means "appropriate for some audiences."

Now, I fully realize that for most of the world that means absolutely nothing, and if I were to decide to launch a career as a moralist I'd be a truly rotten one (I was sad to see today that the king of trash, John Waters, now says he's only going to make two more movies before he retires.) But stop for a second and think about just what "some audiences" means.

If you have any idea, please let me know, because I have no friggin clue. And I'm not a parent, but if you've gotten used to the green screen meaning you don't have to worry about the content of the trailer that's about to unfold in front of you, now be warned that you really can't count on that at all.

But what irks me even more than the randomness of this move is what seems to be the attitude behind it of just giving up. Of course, kids and anyone else can see "red-band" trailers on the Internet simply by typing in an age that is clearly not their own. But at least that's an attempt to keep some people from seeing it. Now, the green, in what was once considered a safe zone, is moving quickly toward the red, with no limitations whatsoever.

Though it's a slightly different subject (and, believe me, one I could go off on for no short amount of time), PG-13 has become the same sort of animal, a toilet full of every kind of random filth imaginable to push the limits of R as they keep getting flimsier.

Wow. That was quite a bit of bile for a Friday morning, so I'll just leave you with this assurance. I LOVE raunchy, R-RATED movies. I can't wait to see Mike Judge's "Extract" on Saturday afternoon, and despite some early middlin-to-bad reviews, I'm really looking to a solidly R-rated comedy.

But is it too much to ask from the MPAA that everything below R really is appropriate for folks under age 17 or so, or that we have some kind of control over what we have to see in trailers? Sheesh.

And to go out on a more pleasant note, and since I really do like to mention Spike Jonze's upcoming "Where the Wild Things Are" just about every day, check out this groovy cover of Filter magazine, illustrated by Geoff McFetridge. Looks like I'll be buying that soon. Peace out.

Film Forum with Beavis and Butthead? Bring it on!

Actually, before I get into any of that (plus a bonus clip for "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and even Alyson Hannigan as a Lusty Leopard stripper), there's a couple of bits of news out there today that are just too good not to pass along.

First up is that, though I might have to drive to Atlanta, I most likely will get to see Jean-Pierre Jeunet's crazy new flick "Micmacs" this fall now that it's been picked up for U.S. distribution by Sony Pictures Classics.

I believe the full original French name of the flick is "Micmacs à tire-larigot," but I'll take it in any form I can get it, especially since the plot sounds exactly like something that sprang from Jeunet's rather active imagination. In it, Dany Boon stars as a video store clerk who bands together with his friends to take out two weapons manufacturers after he gets a bullet lodged in his brain.

And in perhaps even better, though certainly expected, news, AMC has greenlit a fourth season of "Mad Men."

Beyond the acclaim the show brings to AMC, the numbers this year have been rather incredible, bringing in 2.8 million viewers for the season premiere (34 percent more than the season two premiere), with the total rising to 4.5 million viewers of subsequent airings during the first week.

And from an aesthetic view, the show has never been better, so I can only say bring it on. If I have this right, show creator Matthew Weiner only has a five-season arc planned, so this brings us into the home stretch. And I'll certainly be around until the very end.

OK, before we get into the videos, being a fan of Allyson Hannigan since the beginning of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," I certainly couldn't help but pass along this photo of her apparently working at the Lusty Leopard from the Sept. 28 season premiere of "How I Met Your Mother." As best as I can tell, the premiere is called "Double Date," and from the photos I've seen, I think Barney finally gets a date with Robin and - of course - takes her to all his usual haunts. Enjoy!


I'll close today with a couple of clips, the first of which is a new featurette for Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," which is set to drop Nov. 13. You can see from the clip that Anderson is paying a lot of attention to the details of the animated sets, much as he did with the live-action ones for "The Royal Tenenbaums" (still my favorite Anderson flick), and watching George Clooney roll around on the farm is just a hoot. Enjoy.



And finally comes the main event for fans of truly juvenile humor (like me), the return of Beavis and Butthead. Sure, it's shameless promotion for Mike Judge's "Extract," which is indeed playing wide enough for me to go see it Saturday afternoon (huzzah!), but it's also very funny, and if you have American heroes Beavis and Butthead in your stable, why not use them? Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Epic soundtracks? The 18 or so ones I own and still listen to regularly

I really can't see myself driving a half hour and then paying $15 to see this, but for boxing fans, it's really nothing but good news.

One of the best/worst jobs I ever had was dealing blackjack (yes, really) in the back of a "gentleman's club." Along with the obvious regular "entertainment," the owner of the club's son was a huge fight fan, and he'd order every pay per view boxing offering he could find - which at the time meant a whole lot of Mike Tyson - and turn them into major events (which, if I'm not mistaken, was highly illegal.)

I tell you all that to tell you this: Boxing is returning to movie theaters for the first time in almost three decades with the Sept. 19 welterweight championship bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez and its undercard. Like I said, the only theater in my area that shows "events" like this (concerts, etc.) is about a half hour away in Centerville, so I can't see myself going, but this is still an awfully cool happening in my book (and it's apparently the first boxing event in movie theaters since the "No Mas Fight" between Sugar Ray and Roberto Duran - I remember that one.)

And if you happen to live in or will be visiting New York (which I will for the last week of the year), the Museum of Modern Art has something coming from Oct. 8-18 that will be a delight for fans of Spike Jonze (of which you can certainly count me one.)

The perhaps too cleverly titled "Spike Jonze: The First 80 Years" exhibit covers Jonze’s entire filmmaking and television career. Included are Jonze’s first two feature films, "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation," as well as two films that he co-produced: "Jackass: The Movie" and the documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad." I never would have guessed that about the "Jackass" flick, but I will admit I find it to be just about pure comic bliss.

Also featured will be music videos for Björk, Fatboy Slim,his award-winning Weezer, Beastie Boys, Wax, The Notorious B.I.G., and many others, as well as his commercials. Easily best of all, though, on opening night, will be "In Cahoots: Maurice Sendak and Spike Jonze," an evening of short films that Jonze made about, and with, Maurice Sendak during the production of his forthcoming feature, "Where the Wild Things Are" (which you just may have heard me talk about, oh, 290 times by now.) Nothing but cool there, and you New Yorkers, I'm nothing but jealous.

But before all that here today, it was supposed to (and still will) be about the 18 or so soundtracks (and movie-related oddities) that I discovered I own (or used to own) as I was cleaning up my CD collection. I wouldn't go so far to call too many of them among the best soundtracks ever, but I still listen to them all, so they're winners in my book. Here goes:

"Slumdog Millionaire": I hear tell that AR Rahman has done much better film score work than this, but as a representative sample of his sound, it's nothing but fun.

"Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten": Imagine listening to the late Joe Strummer play DJ, as he used to do for the BBC, and you'll come close to just how great the soundtrack for this documentary about him is. Elvis, Nina Simone, Eddie Cochran and, of course, lots of Clash all find a home here.

"Into the Wild": What has grown to become my favorite movie of 2007 has also slowly evolved into the year's best soundtrack in my book too. Eddie Vedder delivers these mostly great tunes with a guttural growl and howl that indeed almost transport you "Into the Wild."

"The Muppet Movie": It hurts me a little to even type this, because I grew up on it but now can not find the cassette tape my family and I burned a hole through when I was a kid. If anyone out there somehow has a copy of this they'd be willing to burn on CD, please let me know, and I'll gladly send you music, money or anything else you might desire in return. Man, do I love the Muppets!

"O Brother Where Art Thou": If the purpose of a movie soundtrack is to allow you to watch the movie unfold in your mind while you're listening to it, none succeeds as well as this one from the Coen Brothers (one of two that will make this list.)

"Avenue Q": OK, I concede that the soundtrack for this Broadway musical starring a bunch of puppets and even Gary Coleman is extremely silly, but it's also just perfect listening for whatever you may be doing around the house on a Sunday afternoon. This show is coming to Macon's Grand Opera House next May, and I highly recommend it.

"Hairspray": This could be either the soundtrack for the utterly addictive Jon Waters original or the Broadway musical, both of which I own, but not for that other movie, which I haven't and won't see. If I had to pick just one, it would probably be the Broadway set, which is just pure fun, but for one single song, I'll take the movie's "Nothing Takes the Place of You" by Toussaint McCall," which just slays me every time I hear it.

"Seu Jorge: The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions": OK, this is the first, but not the last, one on this list that really isn't a movie soundtrack at all. Instead, it's a collection of those David Bowie songs delivered in Brazilian Portuguese by Seu Jorge in director Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," easily the best thing about that mostly disappointing film.

"Ladykillers": This second entry from the Coens also comes from a flick that most people find not only disappointing but downright useless. But I kinda like it, and I like the soundtrack, featuring a mix of genuine gospel greats from the likes of the Soul Stirrers and Donnie McClurkin with hip-hop from the Nappy Roots, a whole lot more.

Carole King's "Really Rosie": In the spirit of "Where the Wild Things Are" comes this soundtrack for the '70s (I think) TV special based on the children's collection by the great Maurice Sendak. And yes, I really do still listen to the likes of "Alligators all Around" and "The Ballad of Chicken Soup" and smile every time I do.

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch": Though the straightforward movie soundtrack for this divine oddity from the mind of John Cameron Mitchell is perfectly good in its own right, much better is the "Wig in a Box" collection, which features the Breeders, the Polyphonic Spree, They Might Be Giants and many more offering their takes on the very catchy songs. Pop perfection.

Prince: "Parade": I was so addicted to Prince when I was a teenager that to this day, most of my computer passwords contain some variation on the word (which indeed draws raised eyebrows from my co-workers if I ever have to reveal that.) I've even seen all the Prince movies, and though "Under the Cherry Moon" is pretty darn wretched, the soundtrack stands up very well over time.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling": Who can't like this one? Buffy's musical episode was not only a ton of fun when it first hit the air, but if you go back and listen to it now - which I still do from time to time - you'll find that little pop gems like that "I'll Never Tell" with Xander and Anya are just pretty much timeless.

"Once": I've probably listened to this soundtrack for the great little Irish movie starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova more often than anything else you might find on my desk at work, and each time it still manages to take me away, no matter how downright rotten my work day just might be.

"Spongebob Squarepants": Yes, that's right, "Spongebob Squarepants." I've seen the movie and I own the soundtrack, and I'm well aware that might mean there's something rather seriously wrong with me, but when it contains Ween, the Flaming Lips and even the delirious delight of "Prince Paul's Bubble Party", how can you resist? If you have kids and want to teach them to listen to good music, I can't recommend this highly enough.

"Office Space": I just tried to check the Web sites for my local multiplexes to see if Mike Judge's "Extract" would indeed play as widely as promised this week, but they haven't put up their Friday listings yet. I can't imagine "Extract" will be as funny or just therapeutic as "Office Space," which features a soundtrack full of gangster rap that just fits the movie perfectly.

"Big Bad Love": I managed to see this biopic of sorts based on the short stories of Southern writer Larry Brown in New York with an introduction by producer and star Debra Winger, and though I liked the movie quite a bit, I'm pretty sure I was one of about 10 people in the entire world who bothered to watch it. The soundtrack, full of a lot of genuine Southern blues and two great tracks by Tom Waits, is well getting your hands on if you can still find it.

"A Tribute to Robert Altman's Nashville": Whew, last one! Instead of what should have been an insufferable bit of hipster irony from Carolyn Mark and her buddies, this is instead a heartfelt tribute to one of American's great movie soundtracks. Robyn Carrigan's "It Don't Worry Me" is particularly just spot on.

OK, there you have it. And anyone who really made it this far deserves a reward, so here goes: If anything on this list strikes your fancy, simply e-mail me your name, address and request to keidem4@gmail.com, and I'll gladly burn you a copy of anything you want. Piracy? Perhaps, but I still spend more than enough money on music that I can make this offer with a clear conscience. Hope you enjoyed this list, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

Fall favorites: The 10 flicks I'm most looking forward to for the rest of this year

Actually, before we get into any of that, the funnest news out there now is that they're actually gonna make a movie based on the TV show "Soul Train," and Don Cornelius himself will be involved.

How, you might ask, will they come up with a plot for a show about dancing? I have no idea, but I still think this flick could be a lot of fun, mostly because of another one that's grown to be among my favorites.

I used to consider Malcolm Lee's "Roll Bounce" to be a guilty pleasure kind of flick, but I've seen it so many times on Saturday afternoon TV now that it's simply one of my favorite flicks, with no qualification. Since that silly little flick is about a kid (yes, Bow Wow) who just wants to roller skate, I can easily envision a "Soul Train" movie about a kid who just wants to dance and land a spot on a national "Soul Train" tour.

And in a few other tidbits before I get to the main event today, because "Chuck" co-creator Josh Schwartz apparently can't be idle for even a few seconds, he's now apparently getting into the sitcom game.

He's teaming with fellow "Chuck" producer Matt Miller to pen a multicamera script for CBS that will follow "a twentysomething newlywed couple navigating their new life together." The pilot, which picks up after the couple's honeymoon, is inspired by Schwartz and Miller's recent marriages.

That sounds like more than a little meh to me, but since I tune in for every new episode of both "Chuck" and "Gossip Girl," I'm sure I'll check this out too.

And speaking of "Gossip Girl," star Blake Lively has joined the already rather impressive cast of Ben Affleck's next directing effort, "The Town," based on the Chuck Hogan novel "Prince of Thieves," and in even better news, Chris Cooper is about to too. They join Affleck, Rebecca Hall (huzzah!), Jeremy Renner and even Don Draper.

The story follows a bank manager (Hall), the career criminal (Affleck) who stole more than her heart (not my wording!) and the FBI agent (Hamm) trying to bust the crook and his gang, of which Renner is a part. Lively is playing Renner's sister and Affleck's troubled ex-girlfriend. Cooper would play Affleck's father. Shooting begins next month in Boston.

And finally, in wildly good "Dollhouse" news, it seems that "Firefly/Serenity" vet Summer Glau is about to join the cast for a multiepisode arc that should add more than a few wrinkles to the storyline.

She will play a character named Bennett who shares a past with Eliza Dushku's Echo and has a connection to another Dollhouse character. And, in even better news, it seems that she works at "a dollhouse," meaning different from the one where Echo and the others live. Excellent.

OK, enough of that. Before I got distracted by the dailies this morning, this was supposed to be all about the 10 (or maybe 11) movies I'm most looking forward to for the rest of this year. And just to prove it was some tough decision-making, here are the six flicks that almost made the cut but just missed: "Jennifer's Body," "Zombieland," "Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant," "Gentlemen Broncos," "Nine" (the musical) and "Sherlock Holmes."

And now, without further dawdling, here goes, in order only of release date:

Sept. 4: "Extract"
All signs are that this will be the first Mike Judge movie to truly play wide in, well, forever, so if that turns out to somehow be a lie, I'm really gonna be pissed. This looks an awful lot like "Office Space" from the perspective of management, which with Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons all in the cast would be just fine with me.

Sept. 11: "Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself"
I'm certain that this one will fall into the Perry formula, but I'm just as certain that I simply don't care. It's really not that I'm an apologist for Mr. Perry, but that I find even his most routine flicks to be filled with more humanity than just about anything else out there. And besides, with the great Taraji P. Henson in the lead for this one, there's no way I won't be there on opening day.

Sept. 18: "The Informant!"
When's the last time you can remember Steven Soderbergh really having fun with a movie? I suppose the second and third "Ocean's" movies might qualify, but I didn't bother with those, so I'd have to go back to the first one, in other words quite a while. Well, it certainly looks like "The Informant!", starring Matt Damon as a rather inept corporate whistle blower, should be a return to fun form, and I'll be there to find out.

Oct. 2: "The Invention of Lying"
Anyone who bothered to see last year's "Ghost Town" (and there really weren't many of you at all, so take that as my rental tip for the day) knows that beneath his rather caustic exterior, Ricky Gervais is just a big fan of thoroughly charming romantic comedies. Here's hoping this flick he co-wrote and co-directed with Matthew Robinson will be just as good as "Ghost Town," and that a whole lot more people bother to watch it.

Oct. 2: "Whip It"
Is it really true that I haven't seen young Ellen Page in a movie since "Juno"? I think so. I know she was in "Smart People" last year, but I didn't bother with that one. So I say welcome back, and in what should be a really fun flick, Drew Barrymore's directing debut with Page, Barrymore, Kristen Wiig and even Juliette Lewis as roller derby queens. I'm there.

Oct. 9: "The Damned United"
This is also actually listed as coming out on Sept. 25, but either way, I seriously doubt it's ever gonna open anywhere that won't make me drive at least an hour to see it. Which is a real shame, because it's based on easily one of my favorite books, and one you don't even have to love soccer to enjoy (but it would certainly help.) It tells the story of Brian Clough's rather disastrous and brief stint as the coach of Leeds United, a team he makes clear from the start he still detests even after becoming its leader. With Michael Sheen playing Clough and "The Queen" scribe Peter Morgan writing the script, I can't see any way this will be anything but a winner, if you get to see it.

Oct. 16: "Where the Wild Things Are"
OK, this is the one. Without much modesty at all, I'll tell you that long before they started to generate unbelievable buzz, I last gave this title to "No Country for Old Men" and then "Slumdog Millionaire." I have serious doubts that Spike Jonze's flick will be an Oscar contender like those, but I do know that whatever he comes up with from my favorite childhood tale by Maurice Sendak is easily the one movie I'm most looking forward to for the rest of this year.

Oct. 30: "Youth in Revolt"
Of all the movies on this list, this one certainly has the highest potential to be simply wretched, but I'm still holding out hope, since I just loved the book by C.D. Payne. In the movie, Michael Cera will play the (16- rather than 14-year old, I think) hero, Nick Twisp, who simply wants to score with the seductive love of his young life, Sheeni Saunders. It never gets much more complicated than that, but if it captures the spirit of Payne's wildly satirical book, it should just be a wicked pleasure.

Nov. 25: "The Fantastic Mr. Fox"
I didn't have terribly high hopes for this first foray into animation by Wes Anderson, but the stills and trailer I've managed to see have gotten me all geeked up once again. Anderson used the stop-motion technique to tell this classic Roald Dahl tale, with George Clooney as the voice of titular Mr. Fox, so I'm definitely willing to take a chance on it.

Nov. 25: "The Princess and the Frog"
No matter how hokey this one might be, Disney's return to classic 2-D animation, with its first black princess - Anika Noni Rose - and a grand score, is enough to get me hooked. It's surely too late to completely turn back now, but I'm hoping this makes a ton of money and at least opens the door for more animated movies that I don't have to put on a second pair of friggin glasses to watch.

Dec. 4: "Up in the Air"
Whew! We're finally at the end, with the welcome return of writer/director Jason Reitman. A quick check of the IMDB reveals there are no less than eight other flicks with the same title, including one short also coming out this year. Reitman's flick is about a corporate downsizing expert (Clooney again) who revels in piling up frequent flier miles. I don't think she has a very big part, but Anna Kendrick is in this too, and it always just makes me smile to see her on the big screen.

And there you have it. Please feel free to let me know of any flicks you think I've wrongfully snubbed, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

A great day for comedy

If you like comedy of almost all kinds (and who doesn't?), there's a lot of good news and clips out there today, and at least one simply horrible idea: Having run out of appealing targets to roast well before they hit Larry the Cable Guy last month, Comedy Central is now turning to its worst subject yet: Joan Rivers.

I mean, really, if the person you're roasting is so unfunny that she deserves at least the abuse being hurled at her by her "friends" and more, where's the entertainment value in that? I think I'm just the wrong audience for these to start with, but that just sounds like a whole new low.

In much, much better news, tonight on NBC should just be epicly good. At 8:30, the new show created by "The Office" writers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, "Parks and Recreation," debuts. I can only take Amy Poehler in very small doses, but I thought the same thing about Steve Carell before "The Office" started, so here's hoping I'm wrong.

Even better than that, though, is that it will be sandwiched between two brand spanking new episodes of "The Office" itself. I don't think anyone really believes Michael and Pam have left Dunder Mifflin for good, but it should still be cool to see Michael's big showdown with Charles, played by "The Wire" vet Idris Elba. For just a taste, here's the opening 90 seconds or so courtesy of NBC, featuring Kevin's considerable lack of ability to answer the phone and a very funny kicker:

You're bad at this too!



And in a very good bit of TV news for those who don't mind their humor dark and - as Jody Hill himself puts it - "full of a**holes," HBO has picked up a second season of Hill's series "Eastbound and Down," starring veryfunnyman Danny McBride as a former Major League ballplayer trying to make a comeback (like the mighty Baltimore Orioles, who are now 2-0 at the expense of the dastardly Yankees!)

Director Hill, of course, hits theaters this week with the mall-cop comedy "Observe and Report" starring Seth Rogen. Even with the tired premise, when I saw Associated Press critic Christy LeMire's hyper-ventilating review in which she called it both "vile" and "disgusting" (overkill, anyone?), I knew this would deliver just about completely what I'm expecting and looking forward to.

OK, enough of that. There are three promising trailers out there today that in their own way serve up comedy too. Sometime around August of last year, I put up a poll in which 26 readers voted (not a scientific sample, mind you, but not too shabby, I suppose) for the movie they were most looking forward to for the rest of the year. At the time, I declared that "Slumdog Millionaire" was the single movie I most wanted to see in all of 2008, and we all know what happened to that one.

Well, I don't think it's headed to the same fate as Danny Boyle's flick, but I'm giving the same designation this year to Rian Johnson's "The Brothers Bloom," finally set to open hopefully very wide in a busy May 29 weekend that will also feature at least Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell" and Pixar's "Up."

Why so excited for this one? Well, if you haven't seen Johnson's high school noir flick "Brick," rent it now, and you'll see how much potential he has as a director. Plus, I just love goofy movies about a big con, and when it features Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody and Rinko Kikuchi, I'm definitely in. Enjoy the new trailer.

"Where are we going?"
"New Jersey?"
"I'm gonna grab my coat."



Almost as good is the video proof that Mike Judge is returning to the working world for "Extract," hopefully coming to movie theaters outside of L.A. and Austin sometime in August. Starring Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Mila Kunis, J.K. Simmons and a fairly well-disguised Ben Affleck, it's about "the personal and professional problems of the owner of a flower extract plant (Bateman)." I'm laughing about that already.

And if I can digress just a bit before we get to the trailer, as Judge's "King of the Hill" is coming to an end on Fox after a rather remarkable 13-year run, he's about to have a new animated comedy coming to ABC. Called "The Goode Family," the show about a politically incorrect clan will premiere at 9 p.m. May 27. And in a final bit of TV news for all fans of ABC's late "Pushing Daisies," the facts are these: The final three episodes of that fantastic fantasy will indeed hit the air, for three weeks in a row beginning at 8 p.m. June 20.

And now, without further dithering from me, here's the "Extract" trailer:

"They're just hanging there."



And finally, for real, here's a first glimpse of what Robert Rodriguez is cooking up with "Shorts," also set to hit theaters in August. I'm a sucker for what Rodriguez comes up with when he makes movies for kids, especially the first "Spy Kids." This one looks very similar to others in the current crop of mild fantasies being pitched to youngins by Walden Media and other companies, but I'm still betting it will be a lot of fun. Enjoy the trailer, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

"I wish I had telephonesis!"