a99kitten's Musings

I saw X-Men: First Class last weekend. GO SEE IT! I loved it!!! Now, I am a lover of the X-Men comics. But they did a really great job with this movie so even people who know nothing of the X-Men can enjoy it.

They concentrated on the story and acting much more than most comic book movies. Obviously there were a lot of special effects but I never felt that they were the center piece of the movie. They were merely part of it like any other actor.

The Hellfire Club storyline is my 2nd favorite after the Dark Phoenix saga so I was very wary of them doing it well. They didn’t really fully flesh out the Hellfire Club as it is done in the comics. I can only hope they take it further if they do a sequel and not just jump into another storyline – that would be cooler I think. I was also very suspicious of Kevin Bacon being cast as Sebastian Shaw. I like Kevin Bacon. But this character is a certain way and his physical attributes kinda help make him. And Kevin Bacon doesn’t have those. But he was GREAT.

All of the casting was fantastic. James MacAvoy was a great young Charles Xavier. Hilarious that they showed him being a bit of playboy in college :) Michael Fassbender, who plays Eric (Magneto) was, in my opinion, perfect. He plays the dark, handsome, super strong man who has his demons. Also = hot :) If Daniel Craig ever wants to stop playing James Bond, the producers needs to look no further than this guy.

All the younger mutants (the “First Class” were good. They do veer from, or “re-imagine”, the X-universe. But that’s OK. They did it really well much like the new Star Trek movie did. There a couple surprise cameos in the movie which are fun. Yes, I do think they could have found a much better White Queen than January Jones but she looked the part and didn’t have to emote too much. Although if they did expand on the Hellfire Club storyline and needed the White Queen to do more – they might consider replacing her. Or getting her acting lessons.

The bulk of the movie is set in the early 60s which is a gorgeous time period for costumes. Mad Men (and James Bond before it) shows us how cool they are dressed back then! They set this around the drama with Cuba, Russia and JFK. It works as a good backdrop and a useful story.

I highly recommend the movie!

Also…Michael Fassbender = HOT :)

Guy in turtleneck = yum :)

Yesterday I got to tour ILM in the Presdio!!! It was actually my 2nd time there but this time, we got to see some areas/stuff off the beaten track, secret floors and rooms. No pictures allowed!

A friend of mine texted me Wednesday AM before 7am saying he got us a tour for that day!! Whheee!!! But wait! Nooooooooooo!! I had a meeting that I could not change. I was so, so, so sad. My friend was bummed for even telling me after seeing how sad I was – he’s a nice guy. But work is work and being an adult and responsible is important. I guess? Still debating that general thought actually but in this case it did work out! Wednesday afternoon, my same friend said the guy who took him on the tour was bummed I couldn’t go (?) so he said anytime I can make it up, let him know! WHAT?! So I wrote down my meeting/unavailable dates and friend got us in for Friday the 13th!! I have always been a believer of good luck on Friday the 13ths. Mostly due to the fact that I am not a dumb teenager staying in a creepy camp site…

Now, I still have a broken ankle. And I’m not supposed to walk around too much on it. BUT..come on! I’ll walk slow! And I have this pinched nerve issue (from the hobbling and cane use due to the broken ankle…good frackin’ grief) so I am not supposed to hobble much. But again – come on! When I woke up on Friday, I could feel the pain in my shoulder and arm but I thought to myself too dang bad. I am not missing this.

We got up there around 11am. It was a beautiful sunshiney day in SF (rarity.)  We parked in the underground garage and saw the UPS man there – we wanted to mug him – knew he had tons of fun packages! The lobby is small but airy and filled with very cool collectibles. Life size statues of Darth Vader and Boba Fett plus tons of light sabers, statues, busts, books, pictures, etc.

Welcome

Apparently, in the production “off-season”, they have some Friends and Family Fridays where employees can bring in their friends and families for tours.  This is off-season for them since all the summer movies are done and they have a bit of a production lull so people take their vacations now, not so crazed, etc. It was pretty quiet. But we weren’t the only visitors. A few families had kids and you could tell a few others walking around were like us – gawking in awe – so likely not employees. I overheard 1 lady say she had never seen any of the Star Wars movies. Everyone standing right there just stopped and looked. It was like a space alien had just landed and we were all trying to understand her. Then she added quickly “but now I will!” Uh-huh…Anyway so our friend said let’s have lunch in the Commons first and then do a backwards tour so we don’t run into other people. Plus he wanted to show us some “not toured” stuff and didn’t want anyone else following us. Umm – OK!

The Commons is their employee cafeteria. But a very nice one. And OMG – the food choices. If I worked there I’d turn in to a giant fattie! Fresh Mexican plates and burritos the size of a Jawa made for you with freshly grilled meats and the works, fresh pastas cooked to order, sushi, salads, a vegetarian station, paninis, burgers, and a whole dessert station! I opted for the daily special of 3 mushroom risotto. It was SO good. I would say 2nd only to Cipriani. Waaaay better than any restaurant in the Bay Area where I have tried it. The cafeteria is pretty big and has views of the Golden Gate and golden dome of the Palace of Fine Arts. Plus is was such a clear and blue sky day – amazing views.

Over lunch we asked the guy a lot of questions about working there and he was telling us the different things that he worked on. He told me a couple of books that I needed to read all about the early days at ILM, Star Wars, etc. He said I would totally geek out. I of course have forgotten the names of all the books with so much inflow yesterday but I know my friend will remember as he said he owned some of them already and will now read them. On of them (the one he thought I would enjoy the most) is Droid Maker: George Lucas and Digital Revolution. He said very few photos so Kindle friendly if they offered it (alas they do not.)

Also quite funnily, he had never seen an episode of Clone Wars! He said he was waiting to watch them all at once. He said he has been hearing how the show is getting more and more popular and season 3 was getting rave reviews. He asked how I liked it and I had to fess up that I’ve only seen season 1. I need to buy the other seasons on DVD – especially now that they introduced Chewie in the season 3 finale! I don’t want to give too many of his details away since he took us to some off-tour areas :)  My friend met this guy by buying something off of Craigslist from him. So he didn’t really know him that well other than a few conversations and didn’t know me at all. But he was an incredibly nice person. Who knew they still existed.

Finished lunch and off we went. We hit up the employee store to get that out of the way! I kept it simple – bought a Skywalker Ranch Fire and Rescue sweatshirt with the Falcon as the rescue vehicle in the center of the emblem. All of the Ranch or ILM stuff is apparently only available there (or at the Ranch) so I thought it was cool. We also went by Java the Hutt, their in-house coffee bar. hehehe.

As you walk down any hallway, there are cool movie props on display – on the walls, in cases, hanging from the ceiling, etc. There is so much to take in that you cannot take it all in. So it’s a good thing we all had to walk slowly to accommodate my hobbling :) Plus there are old, original movie posters from so many old movies. A really cool Elvis/Nancy Sinatra in go-go boots one – so vibrantly colorful and huuuge. Movie posters used to be drawn and were so much more artistic than the photos we generally get now. And there are so, so many! They line the hallways. Movies and stars you have heard of (giant Gone With the Wind) to foreign films or B movies I certainly had no clue about.   But the posters were all very cool.

Obviously, tons of Star Wars stuff. But keep in mind, ILM works on so many movies. Slimer from Ghostbusters was very cool :) The giant portrait of the bad guy in Ghostbusters. As was ET. So many cool things to look at. And of course Yoda and one of many Stormtroopers (although we decided this trooper looked battle damaged!) And tons if display cases everywhere that you try and soak it all in.

Slimer

ET phone home

Stormtrooper

Yoda. You seek Yoda.

Apparently the Yoda they used in TESB is in a warehouse (with the Ark?!) and it is pretty beat-up/degraded. He is pretty old though :)

They have a long hallway of all of the movie posters, in chronological order, that they have worked on. Godfather II? Who knew? We were discussing how they held a vote there about which was the best movie and it got down to a choice between TESB or Raiders. He couldn’t remember which one won though. Tough choice for sure.

Walking across a skywalk, it was lined with models used in various movies. One of the original Velociraptor models used for Jurassic Park. I mentioned how amazing I thought the effects were in that movie. The guy said it is commonly agreed in-house that the effects done in that movie are as good if not better than what is produced today. They are all in awe of the stuff from it. I do remember how amazing I thought it was when I saw it for the first time and it still holds up well now.

Also very cool was the blue lady from the end of A.I. And giant sized version of the Gentle Giant animated Leia (one of favorites – I have the small version.) She is about 5 feet tall I would say.

GG Leia

There were models used from Mission Impossible, Transformers, Starship Troopers, Curious George, Lemony Snicket and more. See – I can’t even remember there was so much to take in. He was telling us stories from when they were housed in San Rafael, before they built the Presidio campus, of when they would do the explosions for movies. The model guys would create these fantastic models and then it was explosion day. They would get a “5 minute to explosion” message and everyone stopped work, got up and went outside. Then they would blow it up! And I guess they film the explosions in slow motion, so sometimes they would see it didn’t blow up the way they needed so a new model had to be built for more exploding! He said the model guys loved it actually – when an explosion went right everyone cheered!

They had a couple big ships from Starship Troopers hanging from the ceiling. I was hoping for a Falcon but never saw one :) Did see Han in carbonite. It’s not the original from the movie though. There is also a Jar Jar in carbonite. Some kids there wanted their pics take with it and not Han! See – George wasn’t stupid when he made silly, kid-friendly characters. They act as a gateway drug. Horrendous pic of me but focus on how cool Han is!!

The guy said that the 501st actually made the Jar Jar one as well as one of George in carbonite (which I’ve seen pics of.) He said that they made them as gifts for George, who normally never accepts gifts from fans or groups as it can get weird, but did accept these and put the carbonite Jar Jar here and has the carbonite George at the Ranch.

After looking at so many different hallways and enclaves of models, posters, props, etc we got to go to the 7th floor. Apparently only 1 elevator has access to this floor. It’s the executive floor. It’s super pretty – lots of dark wood and glass. Like exec floors should be. If we turned left, you could people in offices down there. Ssshhh…don’t go that way (wonder what deals they are working on?!) Turn right and walk right past a nicely but simply decorated, unassuming office with my same Gentle Giant Chewie statue at the center of the table. The name on the office “Lucas/Spielberg”. I wanted to take a pic but no pics up there. Then you go to their exec dining area and it’s super nice and the giant conference room has a huge wall of glass overlooking the Golden Gate. Very quiet and serene up there. I did snap of a pic of these off the elevator before the no photo rule:

SW Disney

These aren’t secret though (so I don’t think bad posting!) since they are already released (2009 I think?) They are from the Star Wars weekends at Disney. I’ve just never seen them in real life before and now I need to get the Goofy Chewie and Donald Han in carbonite for sure! They are so cool IRL. The big problem with the tour was seeing so many of the collectibles that I *don’t* have in real life (although apparently I do have a lot) and totally loving them. I have a procurement list now. Oh boy…I better make some good stock trades :)

Then we went to the 6th floor. Also off-tour route. The receptionist desk had a giant “life-sized” stuffed Ewok sitting in the chair with a headset on and looking at his computer screen. Taped to the computer screen were pictures of Leia on Endor and Wicket. Very funny :) He had arranged with one of the execs up there (?she had her own office so I am guessing) unlock the secret doors for us. These are rooms where companies send SW products – some of them are unapproved so no pics were allowed. But walking into these rooms and just looking around at so, so many collectibles from around the world – some I’ve seen, some I hadn’t and some I never would (not and won’t be approved) was like a kid in a candy store. The entire area was licensing so there were just boxes and boxes and shelves and rooms of Star Wars stuff.  It was crazy. As we were walking out the lady asked if we wanted to see the new fluffy character hats (think all those asian girls wearing the cat ears beanies with long ear flaps) they were still in process of approving. Umm – yeah! Her office was a shrine to Chewbacca. She said he was her favorite. OMG. She said the Chewbacca hat HAS been approved (I NEED TO FIND THAT FOR COMIC CON!) and we got to see the Wampa and Ewok ones which was still mid-approval.

She also had a Chewbacca plush that was about 2 feet tall and super plush and squeezable. When you hugged it, it made the Chewie growl. I was thinking how fast I could hobble out of there if I swiped it and ran – thinking not too fast. Dammit ankle! She said they were a UK exclusive. ARGH! I need a friend in the UK so they can scour the land in search of grawring Chewie for me!

We went into another guy’s office that was lined with shelves of prototype busts, models, etc. Holy Hell. He even had the elusive Snow Bunny Padme by Gentle Giant. Wow…..never seen one in real life. So pretty. If he would have been there, I think I would asked if he wanted to sell it. Come on dude – you have so much stuff in here and she is stuffed away on the bottom shelf! You would never miss it!!! Sigh.

One hallway had ALL of the Sideshow, Gentle Giant and Attakus statues and maquettes. OMG. Some I had never seen IRL, even at Comic Con. They were all on these built-in shelves with cool lighting. That’s what I want at home for mine!  Need to work on that. I actually got some cool ideas for my collectible displays. Silly to have them if you can’t look at and appreciate them as the art they are :) The guy was showing me his most wanted Sideshow pieces and we were talking about how the female figures are always so great. He said he felt a bit odd buying them sometimes though since they are typically quite voluptuous. I said the female statues and busts are always the first to sell out BECAUSE the geek boys buy them :)

But if I had to pick 1 item to take away if given the chance (at least of what I saw), there was a painting about 2.5 – 3 feet tall of Greedo’s face and Han’s reflection in his eyes. It was fantastic. I SO wish I could have take a photo of it. I’m guessing the original art work on the walls were all used for something – trading cards, posters, Con banners/hangings, something. I need to find this image – it was very cool. Especially knowing that was the last image Greedo saw before Han shot first :)

Yoda fountain outside is pretty especially with the blue sky day. This is outside the lobby and anyone can come take pictures. There was a line to when I took mine. I think anyone can walk into the lobby and see the lobby stuff. It’s a decent draw in the Presidio for tourists. But no further. You get issued guest badges that work certain doors/turnstiles we had to go through. You don’t get to keep them when you leave though obviously but you can keep the ILM name tag they give you :)

Sun. And more Sun. There is no fog.

By now, I was hurting pretty bad but running on joy and adrenalin. My shoulder, arm and ankle were killing me. But I was going to finish! He took us to his cubicle area (past the sign were it said NO TOURS ALLOWED…oopsie.) Previously, when my friend told him how big of a Star Wars nut I was, he asked if there was any collectible I really wanted and still didn’t have. So he told him the ILM employee holiday gift of the Chewbacca bronze bust. He said oh – I can sell her mine, I am trying to clean out my collection to buy other things. WHA?? I would also like to add here that the cubicles and offices here had WAY more toys and collectibles than me (well..at least some of them) so I don’t want to hear any more “You could open a toy store” comments at work!

The first ones I saw of these busts were selling for $800-$1200 on eBay. Zoinks. I don’t even see them for sale anymore. My friend did find one via Craigslist for me but the guy had dripped model glue on it so it wasn’t perfect and overpriced for not mint. I had a bad feeling about it :)  Apparently, within 10 mins of the gifts being handed out, one was up on eBay. That guy was fired. Bad form dude. 10 minutes??

Our guy said he would sell it knowing it wouldn’t end up on eBay and it was in the hands of a true collector who would appreciate it. :) :) And he sold it at a way beyond fair price. Like – cheap.  The bust is not the best rendering of Chewie in terms of likeness. His nickname is Stroke Chewie due to the kinda sorta lower hanging lip. But I have always wanted it. Ever since I first read about them. It’s something very few people have. And now I am one of them. Squee!

Was a fantastic trip and fantastic day. I was in a LOT of pain for the rest of the day and night but there is not one teeny itty bit part of me that doesn’t think it was worth it. Plus the guy said he was trying to get us into Skywalker Ranch!! He said it’s harder to do now since someone took a friend up and they saw and took photos of some stuff from Iron Man 2 before it came out and posted it online. Bad, bad form. So they tightened up friends and family tours. But he said he was fairly sure he could arrange it. I have ALWAYS wanted to go there. So that would be an amazing experience that I would love. Crossing fingers:)

Just watched “Morning Glory”. Of course I loved it. It has Harrison Ford in it! He played the grumpy, curmudgeon-ey guy that most interviews portray him as. Now, I’ve always loved that about him. He isn’t the pandering, Hollywood kick-ass that most actors are. He hates to do interviews (wouldn’t you?) He doesn’t do stupid crap to end up in tabloids and be followed by paparazzi. He wants to show up, do his job exactly as he is supposed to, be paid for it and leave. Exactly like me :)

He’s pretty adorable in the movie. As is Rachel McAdams. And no…she is not the love interest. Which was great. They could have a relationship without it being sexual or romantic. And she is adorable too! Her character is the workaholic. Was funny…another character mentioned how she was 28 and all she focused on was work. When I was in my late teens and 20s – all I did was work. Pretty sure that’s normal? My job was everything. My boss would call me late at night, on the weekends, etc. I was always available. I got there at 7am (I did refuse to get there earlier) and work till 6 or 7pm or later. And then be available to call in the evenings or weekends. And this was before email. I had a cell phone, an answering machine and a pager. (#old)

When I first started working for my boss everyone told me (the office HR manager, the girl I was replacing, the trading room and even his partners) that he burned through assistants in 6 months or less. Ok…Great. Thanks. I do not know why. I mean, he could be grumpy. But oh well. I got to see a side of him he didn’t show many people. I broke through the crusty exterior and we clicked. Most people were scared of him. This still cracks me up. Really? Him? But I guess I feel the same way when people act scared of the huskies. Really? Them? He became like a father figure to me and still is. And even now when we talk, he teases me about me about stuff and I’m like dude – you are such a grump! (yes…I would and still do call him dude…this is CA, I was very young when I started working for him and I am probably one of the very few people alive able to get away with that!)

I remember one Saturday being at work doing something and my boss’ brother came in (he was also one of the partners) and he made some snarky comment about his brother having slave labor. I smiled as he walked out while thinking “Well, if you weren’t such a mean, self-centered jackass you might inspire someone to work harder and do extra stuff for you too.” That guy was a jerk. Now sure how he was related to my boss. At. All.

All of my hours and extra work and stress also included me learning about the stock market, how to trade commodities and options, make a bunch of money in my stock account, pay for a LOT of life stuff with no debt, apply a work ethic where you work hard and are rewarded. Those are all things you do not learn in high school, college or grad school. Those are life lessons and practical learning. Reading about something and taking a test or writing a paper is not the same as applying it in life. I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

But now that I’m not in my 20s, I guess I don’t think work should BE my life. It’s part of my life. But not all of it. That was then. This is now. Plus I didn’t have huskies then! They are more important :)

Anyway, Rachel McAdams does NOT learn that work isn’t everything and she shouldn’t care so much about work. I appreciated that. She still has years to go before she gets to learn that! But she does break through the crusty exterior of Harrison Ford’s character. Was very cute and made me smile and remember when I was younger :)

USA (the channel) has been playing the Indiana Jones movies all day. I’ve had it on all day. Sure, I’ve been running around and doing stuff, or working on my laptop, but have had Dr. Jones playing on both the living room and bedroom TVs all day. It’s comforting. And I love them.

I have loved these movies since the first time I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. I remember how I felt when seeing it for the first time and how much I loved it. And if you ever read the old George Lucas interviews about Raiders, you know he said he made the movies because he wanted to portray the serials’ that people would go watch in the 30s, 40s etc. when they went to the movies. This is why I don’t understand the hate or dislike people send towards Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. If you were like me, and read every snippet of info and article leading up the movie, then you knew exactly what it was gong to be like. There was no surprise. Even though Harrison, Steve and George (they are totally my personal friends), didn’t leak too much, they did talk about it.

The 2 big complaints I have heard about the movie is 1) Shia LeBeouf and 2) the aliens. And not just “Oh, I didn’t really like it. It wasn’t for me.” Those would be fair. Whatever. It’s “It was awful. I hated it.” “They raped Indiana Jones.” Ummmm….no. Raping is what MTV does to the American public every time it puts a new TV show on the air. Or what ABC does everytime time there is new Bachelor or Bachelorette. Or the many “reality” TV shows on various networks. These dumb down the IQ of the viewers as well as reward the complete suck-ass losers on the show every time they air. Ugh.

But I’ll address #2 since it was Crystal clear to me. The whole point of the movie was to show the same type of movies popular in the 50s. That was aliens and commies. Go back and look. People were obsessed with aliens and commies. They (George and Steven) didn’t pick this subject out of a hat. It followed the point of the serialization and what was portrayed in the earlier movies.

I guess I get protective and annoyed when people bash on Indy for the aliens. Go back and think people. Go back and read. Understand George the artist and what he does. And why he does it. It’s easy for everyone to hate on Nazis. They are the obvious enemy. So the 30s and 40s were easy-peasy. And think back – he got bashed for the Temple of Doom. I love that movie. Indian (and all other) cultures have wacky crap in it. Oh well. But he got bashed as racist and overly violent (it created the PG-13 rating.) Meh. Plus I think people can not admit to believing in aliens without worrying about labeled coo-koo for Cocopuffs.

If you can say without a doubt that there is no other sentient life in the universe besides planet those of us on planet Earth..you are a huge, flaming narcissist. Do you really think YOU are all there is? Yikes. Do they look like the stereotypical Mars alien with giant heads from the 50s movies? Who knows. Probably not. But can you really say there is none with absolute certainty? If so…….interesting.

Anyway…I’m going back to watching a truly entertaining movie with Dr. Indiana Jones. So kiss off you no-funners.

So I’ve been caught up in a lot of Middle Age history between my reading of the War of the Roses, about Henry VIII and watching the final season of The Tudors. All of the them = awesome. I literally do not want to go to bed and stop watching or reading.

I noted (again) tonight that the if it weren’t for the damn cardinals and bishops getting so completely power hungry, things could have gone smoother…which put this tune in my head…and I just can’t get it out :)

Officially added to my cart…love this movie :)

Also to note: you need a dang Power Point diagram with an Excel table by century/country/House embedded to keep all of the Henrys, Catherines, Edwards, Charles, Elizabeths, Tudors, Marys, Howards, Suffolks, Norfolks and Seymours straight!

I finally watched Inception over my Christmas vacation. A good movie. Very cool concept/story, well acted and super coolio effects. Not to spoil the end for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but I like to think: real.

But I think the thing I noticed and appreciated the most was that everyone was so well-dressed. I have to say, men look very nice when they are well-dressed. Suits, ties, vests, suspenders, french cuffs (BIG fan), etc. Yeah…I have to say it is my favorite look for men. I’m not saying they have to dress like Gordon Gekko all the time but it sure does look nice when they do :)

More people should simply dress better. And burn their pants with Juicy or Pink written on their butts, or even worse, with Ed Hardy designs all over them. Hate the slovenly look that is so prevalent now. That’s fine when you are at home, or exercising or a quick run to the grocery store. But not fine for out and about. Tacky. Pajama bottoms, a wife-beater and UGGs? I wear that at home. Comfy for sure. But come on. Out in public? It seems people just don’t care how they look anymore. Which I’d prefer to think over the idea that they actually think they look good when dressed in clothes that belong at home in bed, hang off their ass, squeeze their fat like a sausage casing or in some garish outfit one could only assume they picked up at the flea market as a joke.

I’m not saying you have to dress UP all the time. You can dress casually while still looking put together and presentable. And please, dressing for your age doesn’t mean you are old. It simply means you are not trying to desperately hang on to your youth via dressing from Forever 21. You will not be forever 21 physically (and hopefully mentally.) Get over it. 21 year-olds are generally kind of dumb anyway. Think back…you know it’s true.

Look at the pictures of some famous people – Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston, Cate Blanchett, Taylor Swift, Reese Witherspoon. Different age brackets but they all dress well whether dressy or casual. But then look at Dina or Lindsay Lohan. Or Hulk Hogan’s ex-wife or daughter. Or *cringe* Paris Hilton or the cast from Jersey Shore. Money can’t buy class, but it should be able to buy decent clothes for crying out loud.

Go watch Inception and then maybe throw in Clueless to help get a clue. As Cher (in Clueless, not the frightening and garishly dressed singer) said…”So, OK. I don’t want to be a traitor to my generation and all, but I don’t get how guys dress today. I mean, c’mon, it looks like they just fell out of bed and put on some baggy pants, and take their greasy hair, Ew! And cover it up with a backwards cap and like, we’re expected to swoon? I don’t think so!”

Pure awesomesauce…

You’re watching Talking to Your Kids About Star Wars. See the Web’s top videos on AOL Video

“I don’t really want my son growing up in a world where we believe Greedo shot first”

“You’re all pretty much fu****. You don’t know it yet. But, you are the NINJA generation. No Income, No Job, No Assets. You got a lot to live for too. Someone reminded me the other evening that I once said greed is good. Now it seems its legal. But folks, its greed that makes my bartender buy three houses he can’t afford with no money down. And its greed that makes your parents refinance their two hundred thousand dollar house for two fifty. Then they take that extra fifty and go down to the mall. They buy a plasma TV, cell phones, computers, a SUV, hey why not a second home while we are it, cause gee whiz we all know the prices of houses in America always go up, right? And its greed that makes the government of this country cut interest rates down to one percent after 9/11 so we can all go shopping again. And they got all these fancy names for trillions of dollars of credits, CMOs, CDOs, SIVs, ABS . You know I honestly think that there’s maybe only seventy five people in the world who know what they are. But I’ll tell you what they are – WMDs, weapons of mass destruction! That’s what they are.

Its clear as a bell to those who pay attention, the mother of all evil is speculation, leveraged debt. The bottom line is borrowing to the hilt. And I hate to tell you this, it’s a bankrupt business model. It won’t work. Its systemic, malignant, and its global, like cancer. It’s a disease and we got to fight back. How are we going to do that? How are we going to leverage that disease back in our favor? Well I’ll tell you. Three words, “Buy my book!” Prices and profits work.”

Another great speech given by Gordon Gekko, in the new movie – Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

I liked the movie. I didn’t love it like I love the first one but I loved every second GG was on the screen. And I think Josh Brolin did a great job. And I didn’t even hate Shia even though I could have done with a little less him and a little more Michael Douglas.

I was worried Oliver Stone would try to make this some huge morality tale since Hollywood loves to blame Wall Street, the big, bad corporate monsters and rich people (unless you are rich from making movies or music that is) for all that is bad and evil in the world. And Hollywood is full of morality…Plus Stone seems so shocked, in every recent interview anyway, that he unleashed GG on the world (really Oliver?) when he meant to show him as a villain (more people love Darth Vader than Luke so he should have known that.)

But he didn’t – not too much anyway. A lot of green energy plugging. I guess this was the only way to make the new young buck trader “likable” to the masses. “See Wall Street isn’t so bad when they want to bring cold fusion into the world! But shale oil – those guys are bastards.” Makes Shia’s character’s greed and drive acceptable. Kinda like when Al Gore pumps alternative energy…the areas/companies he has stock in that is…

The main plot centered around a Bear Stearns/Lehman Brothers-like take down followed up by the mass banking and financial markets free-fall and hysteria that came after. If you have read anything about those firms, this plot will not seem far-fetched at to you. At all.

Stone threw in some quite typical macho, alpha-male scenes but guess what – those guys generally ARE like that. So again, quite believable. Some of the special effects which I can only assume were included to help people figure stuff out (give them pictures = easier!) were needless, in my opinion. Felt they were more distracting than helpful. But I guess every single movie ever made now has to have some kind of digital effect.

Some fun cameos by financial and news people. And a few from the first movie which were funny. As well as a song thrown in as a throw-back! But alas, no Frank.

One very good thing explained was GG’s jail sentence and the time line from the first movie to this movie. I have complained forever that there is NO way he would be in jail all this time for insider trading – even with the WORST lawyer which you know he didn’t have. So thank you Oliver for making that more clear. I find it highly offensive and disgusting that anyone convicted of a white-collar crime would receive more actual jail time than a person who commits a violent crime – but people need their bogeymen and their heads on pikes.

Martha Stewart received 5 months jail time and 2 years probation (29 months total of punishment) for what was basically insider trading (the actual charges were different I think but that’s what she did.) This was a pretty small trade in her own account where she had insider knowledge due to the fact she was friends with the CEO. The amount of people that do what she did every day without getting sent to jail would probably piss some people off…the ones who didn’t get the insider info and act on it that is. I am not saying it wasn’t wrong and she shouldn’t be punished somehow. But jail time?

Michael Vick got 21 months of jail and 2 months home confinement ( 23 months total punishment) for his hands-on part in a dog-fighting ring. I recognize that I have a very strong opinion on this that not every one shares, but really? 23 months in total for showing us how cruel and inhuman you actually are? And then back to his high-flying football career being a hero to kids. Puke.

Bernie Madoff got 150 years for his multiple financial crimes. Horrible – yes. Deserves punishment – of course. But 150 years? How many murderers, rapists and pedophiles get off with 5 or 10 years – if that? But again – a head was needed, his rolled. End of story.

I am of the opinion that white-collar criminals should be made to do more community service as sentences. Real service – not give a lecture to at-risk kids. And no – not live in their penthouses while they do it. But how much are these guys fined for their crimes and hand over to the government? Use some of that to get them to work and keep them in a different facility (not tax-payer funded.) They are incredibly smart guys, make them use it for “good”.

But thrown in with drug dealers, gang members, rapists? No – sorry (contrary to popular belief they do not all go Camp Fed.) And those same violent criminals should be in jail longer than ANY white-collar criminal. My personal opinion only. But it’s my blog so my opinion rules :)

Anyway, went a little off-topic….back to the movie! If you liked the first Wall Street at all, then you will probably like this one. And there are so few movies pumped out nowadays that are worth the price of admission and hassle of going to the movies (rather than wait for DVD) to me.

I did feel the ending was a cop out. I wonder if Stone didn’t actually know where to go with it to keep morality in play? But I think he knew what people wanted and knew it was going to be hard to present it. So he went typical Hollywood. I won’t spoil what happens because I did find myself wondering most of the way through. It’s the last bit of the movie so it’s ok I suppose.

All in all, this one is not as fun and crazy as the first one but hey – this isn’t the 80s anymore.

I originally posted this back in January….anticipating and excited about the new movie back then! Still excited! Sadly, I won’t be able to see it tonight or this weekend as I can’t really leave Storm that long since he still needs to wear his cone if I’m not right there watching him (so he doesn’t pull out his surgical staples.) Going to coordinate a time early next week though!!

The stock market sure welcomed GG back with open arms today though ;)
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You know…if you read this speech…if you truly listen to what he is saying…he is right. Look past the trendy “hate Wall Street” rhetoric being bandied about by our current President and media. Look at what is being said here and think about what is *truly* being said….

Gekko: Well, I appreciate the opportunity you’re giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the single largest shareholder in Teldar Paper, to speak.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, we’re not here to indulge in fantasy, but in political and economic reality. America, America has become a second-rate power. Its trade deficit and its fiscal deficit are at nightmare proportions. Now, in the days of the free market, when our country was a top industrial power, there was accountability to the stockholder. The Carnegies, the Mellons, the men that built this great industrial empire, made sure of it because it was their money at stake. Today, management has no stake in the company!

All together, these men sitting up here [Teldar management] own less than 3 percent of the company. And where does Mr. Cromwell put his million-dollar salary? Not in Teldar stock; he owns less than 1 percent.

You own the company. That’s right — you, the stockholder.

And you are all being royally screwed over by these, these bureaucrats, with their steak lunches, their hunting and fishing trips, their corporate jets and golden parachutes.

Cromwell: This is an outrage! You’re out of line, Gekko!

Gekko: Teldar Paper, Mr. Cromwell, Teldar Paper has 33 different vice presidents, each earning over 200 thousand dollars a year. Now, I have spent the last two months analyzing what all these guys do, and I still can’t figure it out. One thing I do know is that our paper company lost 110 million dollars last year, and I’ll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents.

The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest. Well, in my book you either do it right or you get eliminated. In the last seven deals that I’ve been involved with, there were 2.5 million stockholders who have made a pretax profit of 12 billion dollars. (applause) Thank you.

I am not a destroyer of companies. I am a liberator of them!

The point is, ladies and gentleman, that greed — for lack of a better word — is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed, in all of its forms — greed for life, for money, for love, knowledge — has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed — you mark my words — will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA.

Thank you very much.”

This movie was done in 1985. Still holds true today. One could argue that you can apply this to all of the life-long politicians that have never held a real job, a job where they have been responsible for creating anything, for making sure payroll is met, making sure that shareholders receive a return on their investment. They collect their giant salaries (look it up) and benefits that our paid by us…the taxpayers. Do you really think they are any better than the purported “criminals” of Wall Street or the banks? Really? If you do, than you are truly naive…

Are there criminals on Wall Street? Of course. Are there criminals in every single line of work? Yes. Are there criminals serving as your Congressman, as your Senator, or even your City Manager? Yes. If you don’t think so…you are truly naive…

This country was created, built on and made into the greatest country on earth because of the entrepreneurial drive to be successful. And our current government wants to destroy that. Put everyone on a level playing field. Everyone doesn’t belong on a level playing field. Face facts – there are smarter people, harder-working people…not everyone “deserves” the same thing. Period.

One of my most favorite movies ever…

Watched Cleopatra today. Besides the obvious fact that Elizabeth Taylor is beyond beautiful, the costuming, the sets, the filming of such extravagant scenes, make this movie so gorgeous to watch.

What is sad is that today, this movie would made almost entirely of CGI. Now, I love CGI special effects when sci-fi, aliens, etc call for it. Definitely. When imagination takes you to places that reality cannot.

But when you watch movies like this, like Gone With the Wind, The Ten Commandments, you see the spectacular effort made in making these movies. Reality can still be in place. You can make these movies with people, the right actors, sets, costumes, etc. But it is cheaper not to. Easier not to. But I find that sad. I think if you want to make a movie with majestic sweeping scenes then you need to commit.

This movie is now known for it’s pop culture references to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and the cost. The character of Marc Antony is actually not as big as Caesar (rightfully so.) So it is kind of funny that this is known as their story when, time-wise, it doesn’t monopolize the movie. And frankly, I love Richard Burton for sure, but James Purefoy made a hotter Marc Antony in HBO’s Rome. But he is Richard Burton and that is enough.

Brutus is portrayed as a little whiny bitch as he should be. And Octavian as well (played by Mordred from Camelot so that makes sense.) Funny how the character of man can be drawn so clearly in these characters of history. There have always been people who DO and then those that are simply jealous and petty and ultimately wish those that do harm. Sad really.

What this movie definitely does do is display the beauty of Elizabeth Taylor, the beauty of movie-making from the “old days” and make me a bit sad that gone are these days of extravagant real-life movie making…