Popcorn 'N Roses

There is no joy in radioland...mighty Casey has signed off...

He's the man who I have always revered as my radio idol, the man I was a poor imitation of when working for DiscJockey.Com, and the man I had always hoped would pass his job to me when he retired...

The one and only Casey Kasem, 77, retired this past weekend, on the date he first hosted the original show, from the spin-off programs,"American Top 20" and "American Top 10," . The original American Top 40, hosted by Ryan Seacrest since 2004, debuted on July 4 1970.  Kasem hosted American Top 40 until 1988 when ABC Watermark acquired AT40. He left to host his own show, Casey's Top 40 and was replaced by Shadoe Stevens until the show's demise in the early 1990s. He returned in 1998 to host a revived version. He left as host of AT40 for the AC spinoffs in 2003 when Premiere Radio Networks named Ryan Seacrest as the new host. Kasem continued as host of American Top 20, a Hot AC/AC countdown. In 2005, Kasem was awarded with the Clear Channel Radio Lifetime Achievement Award.

In a statement released quietly two weeks ago, Kasem said, "Hosting various versions of my countdown program has kept me extremely busy, and I loved every minute of it. However, this decision will free up time I need to focus on myriad other projects."

There have been many imitators over the years, and many so-called successors to the crown. Yes, some of those hosts have been good at the job - Dick Clark, Wink Martendale, Rick Dees, Leeza Gibbons, Shadoe Stevens, and yes, even Ryan Seacrest - but there was - and IS - only ONE Casey.  He is an ICON of the biggest kind, and Casey leaving the airwaves is tantamount to Carson leaving the Tonight Show in 1992. It's never gonna be the same.

Casey - thank you for 40 great years of entertainment - you will always be remembered in my book as the absolute BEST of the BEST...and what people should strive to be when working in radio....

TV To The Big Screen - WAKE UP, HOLLYWOOD!!!

Why does Hollywood insist on pissing on my memories?

I don't generally have a problem with TV series becoming movies later, for new generations of audiences. I especially don't have a problem when they do it well.

What I DO have a problem with is when Hollywood seems to completely miss the point.

Take Will Farrell, for example. Please.

Everytime Farrell gets involved with a TV remake, it's a complete disaster. Usually because they take the name and basic premise from a series, and then proceed to try and "update" the characters and storyline.

Two examples - "Land Of The Lost" and "Bewitched".

The underlined fact here should probably be "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it!"

Of course, not fixing it sometimes creates problems too. Take "The Avengers" for example. This is one KICK ASS Movie - a true tribute to the spirit of the original series. I will NEVER understand why original series fans had a conipition fit about this movie, as it was a storyline that could have come right out of the Peel/King years on the original series. Ralph Fiennes was outstanding as John Steed, and Uma Thurman was ok as Emma Peel. The one minor thing wrong with this movie was the level of sexual tension between Steed and Peel - it kept fluxuating between too little and too much. But overall, the visual style, the storyline, and everything else - to me it really WAS a perfect tribute to the original series.

I'm in the minority on that - a lot of fans of the series HATED the movie. It bombed at the boxoffice.

But again, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it..."

Why do movie producers think that taking a hit drama or action series, and then turning it into a comedy for the big screen will work? Time and time again, it HASN'T.

Apparently the producers don't remember the old adage "Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it."

Just because "The Brady Bunch Movie" and "A Very Brady Sequel" worked, and worked WELL, doesn't mean ANY show can do that - hey, dunderheads..."The Brady Bunch" was a comedy TO BEGIN WITH. And only one drama-to-comedy transition has worked that I can remember - Dragnet, and that's because it had the impeccable talent of Dan Ackroyd as it's driving force, and the immeasurably talented Tom Hanks as a co-star. Remember - "Starsky And Hutch" sucked, Ben Stiller or not...

I keep hearing that the producers of various TV to Movie projects are aiming for comedy. Why? 

Why does Jim Carrey want to be The Six Million Dollar Man if he's going to destroy the original and not pay homage to it? There's no point.

Or Dallas. What genius thought it would be fun to play a super-serious soap as a broad camp comedy? Um, count ME out, that's for sure...

We won't even go there on The Hardy Men, another Ben Stiller project that thankfully appears to be dead in the water...it was a BIG mistake to try this with such a revered property as the Hardy Boys. An HONEST Hardy Boys attempt would be appreciated, but not a comic knock off.

Now comes word that T.J. Hooker is on the way to the big screen. OH, IN GOD'S NAME, WHY? I have fond but ridiculous memories of the William Shatner/Adrian Zmed original - yes it was campy, but it fit the 80s perfectly. DO we really have to take this fun drama and turn it into a no doubt unfunny comic mess? Can't we just leave well enough alone? Isn't the original funny enough when viewed today?

You want inspiration on how to do things RIGHT? Look to JJ Abrams and his wonderful reimagining of Star Trek. Now THAT'S how to do it RIGHT...

It's time for Tinseltown to take a long, HARD look at the track record...and the bottom line...on these kinds of movies. Maybe it's time to do them RIGHT...or not do any more of them at all...

Just ask the horrified fans of "Land Of The Lost"...

Subject:CINEMA #176 - "To Live And Die In L.A. IV - The 2009 Popcorn N Roses Rising Stars List!"

It's the Fourth Annual Popcorn N Roses "To Live And Die In L.A. Rising Stars list!  What great stars have made this years list? They join a huge list of past honorees including Michael Angarano, Gabe Nevins, Olivia Thirlby, Anton Yelchin, John Robinson, Kat Dennings, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and over 2 dozen others!  This year the list has expanded to 25 honorees - was your favorite honored?

Also this week - we look at past honorees and how they've done since being featured, and also cover some of this week's top news stories, including the engagement of a Jonas, and the passings of six, including our beloved Mrs Slocombe, Mollie Sugden...

Our "Summer of Subject:CINEMA" contest IS Continuing - if you're not yet registered - you MUST be registered to play - send an email to "subjectcinema@popcornnroses.com" with the subject line "Summer Of Subject CInema" and the word "Hi!" in the body of the letter. If you don't do this, you are NOT registered and are NOT eligible to participate or get points for participating!And listen to this week's news segment for this week's game!

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***

E-mail us at subjectcinema@popcornnroses.com

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We hope you'll spread the word about Subject:CINEMA to your friends - we love having all the listeners we can get! And remember...this summer will be "The Summer Of Subject:CINEMA"...stay tuned for more info.....

Also, July 5-12, the RadioTC Song Of The Day will pay tribute to the King Of Pop and share personal musical memories of Michael Jackson. For more info, check out http://radiotc.com!

ODDZ AND ENDZ...


OUR NEWEST PODCAST IS ONLINE!
Check out "The O Deck with TC Kirkham"! Every week, TC will bring his unique view of the world to his listeners, covering every subject under the sun, from entertainment, to politics, to religion, to the latest news, and of course, as he's wont to do, coverage of Dancing With The Stars" and the latest Extreme Sports goings-on. Check it out every Saturday afternoon - http://popcornnroses.typepad.com/theodeck

AND ALSO REMEMBER...
Indie Film Spotlight is launching it's very own podcast this coming Saturday ! "State Of Independence" will focus exclusively on indie movies and feature tons of news, interviews and more! Watch for the debut this weekend at http://indiefilmspotlight.com!

DON'T FORGET...
To vote for Subject:CINEMA every month at Podcast Alley!  http://podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=40952

COME TWITTER WITH US!
Follow us on Twitter - and help us reach our goal of 200 new followers a week! Join up with us at http://twitter.com/popcornnroses and http://twitter.com/platinumrosel and then tell all your friends to follow us too...we're going to be doing LOTS of great stuff with Twitter...don'tcha dare miss out!

DON'T MISS...
 "Cine-Bytes with TC Kirkham" ! This brand new blog from TC will feature a different movie every day, 24/7/365!  The entries will vary - some will be reviews, some will be personal observations, some behind the scenes stories - but TC hopes you'll love them just the same. Check it out at http://popcornnroses.typepad.com/cinebytes_with_tc_kirkham/

INDIE FILM SPOTLIGHT...
is here every day for all the latest indie film news and views, the latest festival info, and a whole lot more. Larry Richman and TC Kirkham bring you the best news and views blogs on indie films. Don't miss a minute of the great features!  http://indiefilmspotlight.com

POPCORN N ROSES...
Is continuing to evolve with each passing day - new areas are coming on line, new sites are being prepped, and always great stuff going on. Don't forget to drop by every chance you get for the latest news, commentary, and great podcasts!

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PNR ON YOUTUBE
Our YouTube site is growing by leaps and bounds! We're always adding new things, removing old things, and soon will be launching our own videos section, beginning with TC and Kim's choices for  their dream Season 8 on Dancing With The Stars. Keep checking back and we'll have tons of great new video for you - http://youtube.com/popcornnroses

THE PNR CONNECTION
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PLATINUM ROSES' GARDEN...
is available every Sunday evening around 8 PM ET, and Kim goes NUTS with her observations on the world, her weekly reviews of SUPERNATURAL and CSI, and more, including book reviews, fan fiction reviews and great podsafe music!  Check it out at http://platinumrosesgarden.com!

OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER IS BACK
The all new PNR Callback is our new weekly newsletter, premiering soon!  Sign up now if you haven't already for great new columns, news and info!  You'll be glad you did!

AND WHILE YOU'RE AT IT...
Drop by TC's great music site, RadioTC.com for the brand new "RadioTC Song Of the Day" feature! TC has a huge music collection and each day he's going to bringing you some favorite tunes of his! Each day, he'll pick a different song, and explain why he's chosen it as the "Song of the Day". You'll hear some classic hits, some album cuts, some obscure songs that he thinks should be heard, and the oddball goofy song as well.  So join us every day!  http://radiotc.com!

NEXT WEEK-

Subject:CINEMA #177 - "Where Angels Fear To RE-Tread - Remakes, Reboots, and Re-imaginings!"
We look at the good and the bad side of redoing classic films!

Remember, you can find the complete calendar of upcoming shows on our websites! Our BRAND NEW Google Calendar is available on our main site, and you can add us to your Google Calendar as well! And as always, even more complete show notes are available on our website at http://popcornnroses.com and http://subjectcinema.com!

  
Keep tuned in throughout the week at PNR for the latest news and commentary, and we'll see you with another brand new edition of S:C next Saturday!

Who will make the 2009 PNR Rising Stars List? Find out TOMORROW!!!

For the fourth year in a row, Popcorn N Roses, one of the fastest growing entertainment news and opinion websites, will announce its annual "To Live And Die In L.A." Rising Stars list this Saturday, July 4, on the weekly PNR podcast Subject:CINEMA.

Since its inception, the PNR Rising Stars list  has proven to be a goldmine of up and coming talent in the entertainment industry. The list is compiled by PNR owners and Subject:CINEMA hosts TC Kirkham and Kim Brown.

This year, the popular annual list is expanding from 20 to 25 members. In years' past, honorees have included Michael Angarano, John Robinson, Gabe Nevins, Anton Yelchin, Daniel Craig, Brandon Routh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Olivia Thirlby, Kat Dennings, and over 2 dozen more performers. PNR will begin to Twitter clues to this year's honorees at 8 AM ET on July 4th.

Popcorn N Roses (http://popcornnroses.com) has an average readership of 70,000 monthly and its flagship podcast Subject:CINEMA (http://subjectcinema.com) has an average 50,000 listeners each month. Both are part of the PNR Networks family of websites and podcasts, and Subject:CINEMA is distributed by  MEVIO Networks (http://mevio.com).

Subject:CINEMA #176 - "To Rise And Fall In L.A. IV - The 2009 Popcorn N Roses Rising Stars List!" will be available beginning at 12 Noon ET on Saturday, July 4th, 2009.

Subject:CINEMA is sponsored by Brookstone, EMusic, and GoDaddy.