Unyielding Commissioning Hopes He's On Cloud Nine

Love Don't Live Here Anymore - It seems like we've been linking to obituaries more and more lately. Legendary producer and songwriter Norman Whitfield has passed away at the age of 68. That man who wrote many of The Temptations greatest accomplishments, not to mention Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & The Pips, and many other Motown acts. From my earliest interest in soul, his work has been at the forefront of my experience. Check out Dan's excellent obit, and if you have the time, the Allmusic Guide biography is worth reading.

Please celebrate the man by listening to Rose Royce's "Keep On Keepin' On", just one of his indelible contributions to the soul of America.


Free Stuff! - Well, not exactly stuff, but Scene Stealers is reporting that you can now watch oodles of movies on the IMDb for free. That's, um, like worth doing and stuff.

Wax On, Wax On - I'm not sure what's up with Roger Ebert lately, but he's really opening up on his blog. A few months ago, he opined on the movie of his life. Then, just a few days ago, it was an explanation of his ratings. Now he's discussing the role of the critic. This one's a pretty interesting read. But I wonder why he's getting so philosophical lately. Either he's contemplating retirement, or he's simply hitting his stride as a blogger.

Crom Laughs At Your Four Winds - Coming on the heels of the news that McG is directing the fourth Terminator installment, The Movie Blog is reporting that Brett Ratner is helming the remake of Conan The Barbarian. Ratner, known best for his three Rush Hour pictures along with the last of the X-Men films, has never shown the ability set up a reality in the way that John Milius did so masterfully in the original Conan. Now, if we have to compare the two appointments, there's no question that the odds of Ratner putting together something interesting are significantly higher than McG putting out something remotely passable. McG suuuuucks. Still, this hiring does nothing to get me more excited about a project I assumed was doomed from the start. As one of the TMB commenters said, they should be making the King Conan feature with Arnold reprising his role. Maybe once he's done while the whole governor thing.

Here There Be Tygers! (just click on it - not as scary as the a usual "tygers")