Results tagged “joemillionaire”

It's getting a little too easy to point out some of the issues with The Restaurant, but since the Post and the Restaurant are going to town on the crass product placement, we'd be remiss not to weigh in as well. The Post says that Coors, American Express Open, and Mitsubishi paid $200,000 for each advertister slot, plus the article details how Rocco got a $350,000 fee for the series. One restaurant insider tells the Post, "I'm embarrassed by it. It gives you the impression we're just here to take the money and run. We're trying to build a clientele. I suppose you could call them fans if you want, but that's very Hollywood." In all fairness to Rocco, there are a fair number of restaurateurs who are in it for the money and do a worse job than Rocco. But for all of Rocco's blustering about a great experience and great food, Gothamist isn't buying it.

Bravo will be airing a gay-dating reality series, "Boy Meets Boy," this summer! According to the Hollywood Reporter, the show "features an eligible man looking for love in a pool of 15 potential mates. But in a twist worthy of the bogus baron on Fox's 'Joe Millionaire,' some of the suitors are actually heterosexual men who were paid by the program to pretend to be gay -- unbeknownst to the eligible bachelor." Ha - "pretending to be gay!" Just like Hollywood! Except there, one "pretends to be straight."

The other Times Talk panel I went to was "Films that Deserve a Second Look" - films that New York Times film critics Stephen Holden, Elvis Mitchell, and A.O. Scott felt audiences missed the first time around. Many of the films they mentioned were victim to just being dumped by their distributors because they were not easily marketable as a teen comedy or date movie. Another problem is that films live and die in one weekend, whether a would-be blockbuster or arthouse film...word of mouth buzz no longer works as well as it used to and the fascination with box office grosses is not helping any. While most films were recent, there were some older films, and by master directors, proving not everyone gets a fair shake based on name alone. There were a few funny questions - one person asked what actors did not deserve to be on screen. A.O. Scott said, "You want us killed, don't you?" before Stephen Holden remarked about the difference between being a good actor and a movie star (some people have that charisma and may not be a good actor, but are movie stars; some of the finest actors don't have that charisma and thus are not stars). Sartorial gossip: Stephen Holden looked like everyone's kind of cranky uncle, in a polo shirt, sport jacket, khakis, and New Balance sneakers; A.O. Scott looked the rumpled academic, white shirt, sport jacket, wrinkled khakis with the cuffs rolled up and brown shoes; Elvis Mitchell looked like a mod rocker in a Prada suit and black boots. Here are the movies they picked - all I wish is that more people, outside of major cities, would be able to hear about these films and watch them.

So 'Joe Millionaire' Is Fox's Biggest Hit. It always seems so shocking that the Fox Network is able to pull out wins, even almost 20 years of existence. The Married with Children reunion made me realize that I've grown up seeing Fox evolve. It was wild and crazy in the early days, with A Current Affair and Tracey Ullman Show and Married with Children. And it was shocking when Fox decided to pit The Simpsons against NBC's Cosby Show on Thursdays at 8PM - everyone thought The Simpsons would die, but it was actually a brilliant counter-programming move, people were reminded of when CBS decided to move Survivor opposite Friends. What it did was bring more viewers to network viewing overall, with less cannibalization than thought, and forced the shows' creators to make their shows smarter. That strange mix of gutsiness, moxie, and smarts are why Fox is the quintessential challenger brand. Sure, they have Celebrity Boxing but they also have 24. The show that followed The Cosby Show on Thursday was Family Ties. That wily media mogul Barry Diller was the one who led Fox in the early days. Barry's other innovation: basically inventing the movie of the week concept while at ABC.