Sunday, May 13, 2007

Mother's Day leftovers...

Picture of the week: Dodger pitcher, Brad Penny… REALLY airing it out. (Thanks to my son, Matt for the pix.)Quote of the week: From Friday’s LA TIMES. A group of 13 and 14 year olds were asked to view trailers and comment on the upcoming crop of summer movies. One girl had this comment:

“It’s interesting that it doesn’t matter so much anymore who’s in the movie. When I was younger, I’d go just because Lindsay Lohan or Hilary Duff was in it. But I’ve learned you can have great actors but it can still be a terrible film.”

Fortunately, you can still count on Katie Holmes.

Quote number two (courtesy of Defamer.com): Cameron Diaz on the TODAY SHOW discussing the public’s interest in celebrities”

"If a woman who's a successful actress weighs 300 pounds and has warts, nobody ever asks her, 'Do you think you made it because you're ugly?' So why should there be prejudice against someone who's had some success in films and looks a little better than average."

Maybe because being beautiful doesn't prevent you from being clueless.

I hope you did something nice for your mother or mother of your kids this weekend. I did. I picked my wife up at the airport. Hey, we’re talking LAX.

Congratulations to my daughter, Annie who got a summer internship at a movie production company (and no, I had nothing to do with it). She’ll be working at Paramount. So for me, after 19 years of being based at Paramount, if I want to get on the lot I’ll have to call my daughter for a drive-on.

Kudos to NBC for renewing FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS.

I see that NBC picked up LIPSTICK JUNGLE while ABC picked up CASHMERE MAFIA. If you like one you should like the other since they’re the exact same show. Too bad they’re not scheduled up against each other. You could watch half of one and turn over to the other for the conclusion of the story.

The Geico CAVEMAN sitcom looks like it's getting picked up.

I can easily see why. It probably tested through the roof. All the people in those focus groups said, "Finally! A character we can relate to. Finally! Someone on TV just like us."

When so few sitcoms get ordered and that one does, you really have to wonder if there's no place to go now but up.

Can the "Can you hear me?" guy be next to get his own show? "On a very special episode, the Can you hear me guy walks through the Arlington National Cemetary."

Thanks to everyone for your all-too charitable comments on my KRTH stint. That station is an LA institution and it was a treat to be on it. During my checkered disc jockey career I always worked at the “other” station. There was the town’s big number one and the distant challenger. I was always on the challenger. Inevitably, they would throw in the towel, change formats, and their first official act would be to fire me – sometimes a year or two before changing formats but still.

To answer some of your questions. No, this will not be a permanent shift. I find I'm much better accepted when I do radio in small doses. And I decided to drop the name Beaver Cleaver because I turned 50. Radio names like Beaver Cleaver, Bwana Johnny, Banana Joe, Weird Beard, Motormouth, the Greaseman, and Bubba the Love Sponge must be retired when you try to get your first loan.

Whatever happened to Neve Campbell? When the search party for sitcoms comes back we’ll have to send them out on that one too.

20 comments :

Ian said...

I'm not sure about Lohan, but Hillary Duff has to be one of the finest thespians working today... and she has a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award to prove it.

Richard Cooper said...

Ken,
You missed one that's going to be even huger than than the Geico Caveman:

"The Most Interesting Man in the World" from Dos Equis.

According to market research by Millward Brown, the TV ad is in the top five percent of most enjoyable ads in U.S. research history, posturing the Most Interesting Man to become pop culture’s next brand-recognized advertising icon.

The first network episode to be shot at Paramount (warn your daughter) will explore his interesting claim that he "doesn't always drink beer, but when he does, he prefers to be seated near the men's room."

Stay thirsty, my friends…

Jon88 said...

Neve Campbell is alive and well and probably on her honeymoon (she got married last week), though in TV time she's currently in great jeopardy on "Medium" (three-part story concludes this week).

VP81955 said...

Perhaps you can fill in every now and then...be sort of the Hector Lopez of K-EARTH.

Dante Kleinberg said...

I could ruthlessly plug my blog here, but instead I'll just quote it, since I talked about the Geico Caveman sitcom a couple weeks ago in a feature I called "The Post- Post- Game" (in response to an article calling the cavemen "post-post-ironic)

It's Ironic… For cavemen to be more sophisticated and worldly than the average human

It's Post-Ironic… When the Geico Cavemen spots become considered as much entertainment as advertisement

It's Post-Post-Ironic… To TiVo the Geico Cavemen sitcom and fast-forward through the commercials

Anonymous said...

I heard on the radio this morning about the ultimate baseball promotion...last week the Brewers gave away a pair of game tickets to any man who underwent a prostate exam, for which they apparently set up facilities at the ball park.

I am so happy to know that we likely will be hearing you again on K-Earth, as a standing fill-in..."The Walrus of Love, Barry White"--you've still got it, the artist formerly known as Beaver.


And it's official...while FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is staying, it's sayonara to STUOIO 60.

The Curmudgeon said...

The Geico caveman commercials have been great... and I know it's not likely... but wouldn't it be great if a few good episodes could be teased out of the premise?

Mike Barer said...

You can find a good video of Neve Campbell on you tube from the movie "When Will I Be Loved"

Anonymous said...

What about a sitcom with the Aflac duck? The duck's dialogue's already written. It's from the same ad agency that does creative for Geico. The first step in bringing back agency control of network television. And the ultimate product placement. Try TIVOing through that.

Julie Goes to Hollywood said...

The caveman show is basically 3rd Rock From The Sun, no? Which was basically The Beverly Hillbillies. You sitcom guys aren't exactly known for reinventing the wheel. So when do we hear more about your FX show? One can only assume it will be a dark and twisty sitcom nearing pay cable contemporary relevance. Hopefully you won't be the lead-in for Dirt, since nobody watches it. Then again, they renewed it anyway.

The Curmudgeon said...

Actually, I would guess that the GEICO show would owe a lot to "It's About Time."

I wish louis hadn't mentioned using the Aflac Duck as a character... that has some severely twisted possibilities....

Anonymous said...

Ken-
I know the guys running it -- they were forced to b/c of their overall deal. And even they admit it's ridiculous. The sad part is, they didn't even cast the guy in the actual commercials!

Unknown said...

I agree that Friday Night Lights being picked up is great, but what isn't great is its new time--Friday at 10:00 PST. It probably won't even make it through the season.

Anonymous said...

>>I can easily see why. It probably tested through the roof. All the people in those focus groups said, "Finally! A character we can relate to. Finally! Someone on TV just like us."

When so few sitcoms get ordered and that one does, you really have to wonder if there's no place to go now but up.

Can the "Can you hear me?" guy be next to get his own show? "On a very special episode, the Can you hear me guy walks through the Arlington National Cemetary."<<

It could be worse. Showtime could put the old "where's the beef" lady in its late night adult lineup. Think of the possibilities for a reality show.

Alaskaray

Anonymous said...

Matt -- Was that a pop fly or is that ball out of here?

Basaball been berry berry good to me...

Anonymous said...

Ken, while I agree with your statement about turning 50, I truly think your radio return would have been more "dramatic" as Beaver Cleaver. Heck, your voice still sounds the same as it did in 1978! It's almost like the Beav didn't go through puberty! Long live the Beav!

Now about TV...I got tired of FNL, but truly enjoyed Studio 60. What a shame, it was a good show, and left a lot of loose ends. What happens to Danny and Jordan? Will Matt and Harriet finally hook up again? Only Aaron Sorkin knows for sure...

Anonymous said...

Didn't get a chance to post yeserday, but wanted to comment about the Brad Penny pic. The poor guy must've been at a real disadvantage, since every batter he faced came up to the plate already having a count of two balls....

Warren Fleece said...

"As Phil Hartman's Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer never got a spinoff, I fail to see the justice in the Geico knuckledragger getting a shot"

-Drunken Geico Gecko.

Anonymous said...

Geico Caveman? Yeah, yeah... whatever happened to the "Crash Test Dummies" phenomena. Why didn't THEY get their own sitcom?

I think Geico or whomever blew it with a sitcom-format, that stands for sell-by date. They could have made more money being a highly desirable ADVERTISMENT, which people would continue to look forward to watch. Short, sweet, highly repeatable and highly watcheable and that's enough for your investment. The last time something transferred from Ad to sitcom.... Yeah. Right.

Anonymous said...

Did Brad Penny take out his jock to give it to Junior?