In this weekend’s wildly reckless financial risk fantasy We Bought a Zoo , moneyed-but-totes-normal Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), a recently widowed father of two, experiences a fit of Jerry Maguire insanity and moves his family into a zoo. Director Cameron Crowe and co-written by Aline Brosh McKenna ( 27 Dresses ) would have you think this is a good idea, since (spoiler!) Mee’s selfish, shortsighted, and borderline negligent decisions result in an uplifting, golden-hued ending, not to mention the love of a certain crunchy-but-smokin’ hot lady zookeeper. But Movieline knows better. Study the litany of ill-advised risks and bad judgment calls Benjamin Mee makes for himself and his two young children. In these trying times, let his story not be a lesson. * It should be noted that We Bought a Zoo is adapted from the nonfiction memoir of the real Benjamin Mee, a former newspaper columnist who may or may not have also made the stupid life choices listed below. Also: SPOILERS, OBVIOUSLY . THE WE BOUGHT A ZOO IRRESPONSIBILITY INDEX, FROM MILDLY DUMB TO REALLY, REALLY STUPID The Mildly Dumb : Not eating those lasagnas all the hot single moms at school made for you. Lasagna is delicious. Leaving daily lunch-making duties to a 7 year old. Allowing an inattentive 14-year-old kid to close down the new shipment of exotic snakes. The Negligibly Negligent: Quitting a job in PRINT journalism for no good reason on a whim one day. I mean, REALLY ARE YOU CRAZY? Personally executing the installation of costly renovation and maintenance of a zoo with no prior carpentry or animal husbandry experience or skills or knowledge… then being shocked with a 650-lb. bear escapes his enclosure. Leaving two children alone for an entire day, without dinner and without leaving a note explaining that you’re off moping and figuring your shit out, only to come home after bedtime to find that someone else has graciously come in to feed and care for them. And without so much as a freaking thank you . The Delusionally Boneheaded : Confronting said escaped bear by approaching to within mauling distance because you think you had a “moment.” HAVE YOU NOT SEEN GRIZZLY MAN ?? Putting off the much-needed and medically recommended euthanasia of a dying lion just to entertain your own self-serving crusade to “save” everything through sheer willpower, because you couldn’t will your dead wife to overcome cancer. Uprooting two helpless children who are mourning their dead mother away from all the friends they know in the world because you want to show life that you won’t take life’s guff anymore. The Really, Really Stupid : Spending millions… and then millions more… buying/fixing up run down zoo instead of, you know, a house. … and then dropping hundreds of thousands more into the flailing dream with last-ditch angel money your dead wife miraculously left you. What’s that children? You wanted to go to college one day? Directing hordes of zoo patrons, some elderly and probably infirm, to scale the massive trunk of a downed tree to enter the park on opening day. Can you say lawsuit?
Never one to let inhibitions stand in the way of a great creative opportunity, Emily Watson put aside her equinophobia for a while to join up with Steven Spielberg’s new War Horse . Along the way, she also got to know the film’s irrepressible goose, its neophyte leading man and its legendary filmmaker’s one-of-a-kind facility with epic storytelling. Watson explained more recently in a chat with Movieline. I don’t know about you, but I am War Horse -d out, Can we talk about something else? What else is going on? What else is going on? I was interested in a comment you made in the press conference about how everyone on a set should have a T-shirt that says, “It’s not about you.” Can you elaborate on that? I just mean that as a storyteller, when you get out of the way, that’s when the magic starts. If you’re paranoid about your performance or your status or how you look, or if there’s something stopping you from giving yourself over to a story? Actors, directors, cameramen — if everybody’s just there to tell the story, then you can get some great work. And so it’s not about Spielberg on the set? No, it’s not. He is one of those rare creatures who is compelled to tell stories. He’d be like a fish with no water — he’d be deprived of air if he wasn’t telling stories. Robert Altman was the same. Paul Thomas Anderson was the same. It’s like a muscle that has to be exercised. Everything he’s saying and everything he’s about is, “How can we best deliver this moment in time?” Now, everybody has a different way of doing that, but it’s all from the utter urgency of being a storyteller. What about a guy like Lars von Trier, who’s perceived as almost inseparable from his films? [Long pause] Yeah, I’d say. I think the stories that he’s compelled to tell are quite… You know, in a way, all storytellers are philosophers. They’re searching for meaning in everything. He’s quite close to the edge and extreme, but in the same way, he’s really searching for meaning somehow. Are you really afraid of horses? Mm-hmm. [Laughs] But I didn’t let on. Yes, I am. I’m not good around animals, generally. Oh — at all? I don’t mind dogs and cats and all that, but… What is it about horses? They might kick me! They’re big, powerful creatures? I think it’s my own ignorance. I don’t know what to do, and I don’t know how to read the signs of a horse. But if I’d been on it… I love the sound of the boys’ training camp. To be able to learn to do something like that? It sounds amazing. And I love the whole cavalry charge. It’s stupendous! I love it. Have you ever had to learn a skill for a role? I had to learn the cello for Hilary and Jackie , which was a big deal. It was a difficult thing to learn. How long did it take? Well, I say I learned the cello. I was miming to playback in the film. But I did learn pretty accurate fingering and the right bowing and the sense of expression. If you actually heard what I was playing, it would be excruciating. How long did it take? Two months? Two or three months? I think I had about 20 different pieces of music that I had to play, and I sat down and meticulously learned the tune for each one. And then I learned the fingering for each piece, and then I learned the bowing. Then I put them together. It was very scientific! Back to the animals: Was the goose in this movie as bad-ass as it looked? [Laughs] Yeah, it was. You were totally afraid of the goose, right? No, not really. I did sort of a photo op with the geese at one point, and they were really sweet. I just kind of held them. They had brilliant handlers as well, the geese. They could run and hit marks. It was mindblowing what these animals could do. But the goose is from the play. Have you seen the play? I haven’t. There’s a fabulous goose puppet. It’s great. I mean, War Horse is great and everything, but I’m really holding out for War Goose . “A miraculous goose.” Right! Anyway, this is Jeremy Irvine’s first screen role . What kind of relationship did you have behind the scenes? I felt very protective towards him. Just being a proper grown-up; he’s say, “I’m fine, I’m fine,” but you could see how terrified he was — how much he was having to absorb and learn every second. But he had a great attitude. He had a great sense of humility and a great sense of wanting to learn and be as good as he could be, which is lovely to watch. Do you remember the first Spielberg film you saw? I think it was E.T. I loved it. I wept. What your relationship with Spielberg films as a viewer? Are they must-see theater viewing? Not always, but yeah — it’s an event, isn’t it? What else is out that you like? I liked Warrior very much. Have you seen that? I thought the fight sequences were absolutely brilliant — so committed, so real. You always tend to go, “Yeah, yeah — they’re faking it.” And that didn’t look like faking it. I love Tom Hardy. I think he’s wonderful. I loved Beginners . I loved it. I found it very affecting and real. When you know somebody like I know Ewan [McGregor], whom I’ve known for a while, it’s quite difficult to forget and be transported by them. And I really was. I thought he was wonderful. What else have I seen? I liked Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy . It’s classy. It’s classy . Oldman’s amazing in that. Have you worked with him before? No. It’s interesting you say that about McGregor versus someone like Oldman. Does that always tend take you out of the experience? Absolutely. You know their ways of doing things; you know them as a person. Like Phil[ip Seymour] Hoffman: I’ve worked with him several times, and he’s in so many things and I just… [Pauses] Now, having said that, he’s brilliant. He’s absolutely brilliant. But it does make it harder to suspend your disbelief when you know somebody. What are you up to next? I just wrapped on a film called Little Boy , which is directed by Alejandro Monteverde; it’s about a little boy in California during the second World War who thinks he can bring his dad home from a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp using his magic powers. And I play his mom. It’s kind of a grown-up fairy tale. And I’m doing a few days on Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina . I’m playing Countess Lydia — a nasty piece of work. Ohhhh. Are you looking forward to it? I am. I’ve already done one day. Oh, yeah. You sound like a fan of the book. I am. I’ve read it a few times in my life. It’s a very interesting book, because you see it very differently when you’re young. As your age changes, you read it very differently. I was shocked when I read it the last time. What was different? Well, when I was young, I think I really identified with Anna and wanting to be that in love and the terrible tragedy of it all. I don’t know if I wanted to kill myself at the end of it. Then you read it now, and you realize the decisions she makes about her children– to leave her children — for the sake of this affair is… [Winces] I have children of my own, so… Anyway, it changes. Follow S.T. VanAirsdale on Twitter . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
SMH… These cops are buggin’ with all the West Indian Day Parade yang they were talkin on Facebook! Posters on Facebook who identified themselves as cops called participants in the Brooklyn West Indian Day parade “animals” and “savages” in a series of offensive entries that triggered an NYPD probe Monday. “Let them kill each other,” wrote one Facebook member who posted comments under a cop’s name, according to The New York Times. “I say have the parade one more year and when they all gather drop a bomb and wipe them all out,” wrote another, who said he was a police officer. NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Monday he would refer the matter to the department’s Internal Affairs Bureau. The Facebook comments were posted for several days in September but have since been taken down. Those who posted comments said they were angered at being assigned to the parade. They apparently used real names, in keeping with Facebook policy, and some identified themselves as officers. One of the writers identified himself as Nick Virgilio, a police officer. Contacted by the Daily News, Virgilio denied making derogatory comments and suggested that his Facebook account had been used without his knowledge. “I tried to reach out to Facebook because I’ve had problems with people going on there who wrote things that I had nothing to do with,” he said. “This happened a couple of times, most recently several months ago.” Virgilio declined to reveal where in the department he works or whether he was assigned to the parade. Lawyers Benjamin Moore and Paul Lieberman used the Facebook diatribes in their defense of Tyrone Johnson, who was acquitted of gun possession charges last month. The lawyers found that the Facebook profile of the arresting officer, Sgt. Dustin Edwards, showed he belonged to a group formed for “N.Y.P.D. officers who are threatened by superiors and forced to be victims themselves.” Edwards could not be reached for comment. The NYPD bars officers from making “discourteous or disrespectful remarks” about race or ethnicity. The parade, an annual Labor Day weekend event, has been marred by episodes of violence. “It’s a scheduled riot,” one poster said, according to The Times. What the hell??? They’re talking about letting people kill each other and dropping bombs on the parade? Who knew the NYPD was the new KKK? Internal Affairs better figure this isht out… and with a quickness! More On Bossip! Wanna Know How Much These Stars Really Weigh??? True Love? Look At These Pics Of Atlanta Falcon Ray Edwards And His Caked Out ATL Boo Centerfolds: The Most Unforgettable Ladies Of Color To Show Up In Playboy Magazine Sour Grapes: The Craziest Rumors Started By Scorned Exes
Poor guy: The owner of an exotic animal preserve who committed suicide after freeing dozens of lions, tigers and other beasts owed tens of thousands in unpaid taxes, and a fellow big-cat enthusiast said that he had taken in so many creatures he was “in over his head.” A day after sheriff’s deputies with high-powered rifles killed nearly 50 animals set free by Terry Thompson, the sheriff refused to speculate why he did it. Meanwhile, neighbors and friends questioned why Thompson – a man who seemed to like animals more than people – would send his animals to their doom. Thompson was mired in debt. Court records show that he and his wife owed at least $68,000 in unpaid taxes to the IRS and the county, and he had two federal tax liens filed against him last year. He had just gotten out of federal prison last month for possessing unregistered weapons. Kenny Hetrick, who has six tigers and other animals on his property outside Toledo, said Thursday he used to see Thompson at exotic-animal auctions a few times a year in Ohio. Many of Thompson’s tigers had been donated to him by people who bought baby animals that they no longer wanted once they started to grow, Hetrick said. “He really had more there than what he could do,” Hetrick said. “I don’t know what his deal was, but he was in over his head.” On Tuesday, Thompson, 62, opened the cages at his animal preserve and then killed himself. His body was found near the empty cages with a bite on the head that appeared to have been inflicted by a big cat shortly after Thompson shot himself, Sheriff Matt Lutz said. It appeared his body had been dragged a short distance, Lutz said. Deputies killed 48 animals – including 18 rare Bengal tigers, 17 lions and eight bears – in a hunt across the Ohio countryside that lasted nearly 24 hours and that has been criticized by some who say the animals should have been saved. Only a monkey was still missing, and it was probably killed by one of the big cats, Lutz said. Thompson had run-ins with his neighbors and the law over escaped animals and conditions at his preserve. But whether he acted out of desperation or vengeance in setting the animals loose was unclear. “I know how much he cared for them, and he would know that they would be killed,” said Judy Hatfield, a family friend who visited the farm many times and said it wasn’t unusual to have a monkey jump on her lap. “I don’t know what happened. I’m sure some horrible thing happened to him yesterday to make him do this or allow him to lose focus for a moment and do it. But I don’t know what it is, and we may never know.” Lutz said Thompson’s intentions were not part of the investigation. “To take your own life, Mr. Thompson was not in the right state of mind,” Lutz said. “And to speculate on why he did this would be a belittlement, I guess, by me, to do that, and I’m not going to do that.” Thompson and his wife spent much of their time and money caring for their menagerie, neighbors said. Most of the big cats and bears were declawed and had been bottle-fed by the couple, Hatfield said. Thompson also kept them fed by picking up roadkill and collecting spoiled meat from grocery stores, said another neighbor, Fred Polk. Source
And there is a reason why they say “please don’t feed the animals”: A circus elephant trampled to death a girl who was attempting to feed it, police in Vietnam said Monday. Police officer Pham Ngoc Tien of Lao Cai province said the elephant was part of a troupe from Hanoi on a 10-day tour of the province. The animal was tied to a chain in the fenced backyard of a cultural center when it was not performing. Tien said Monday that the 11-year-old girl and several other children had entered its enclosure. The girl was feeding the elephant when it lifted her up with its trunk, threw her to the ground and trampled her repeatedly. Police officer Phan Van Quang told AFP that Nguyen Thao Anh was offering the elephant sugarcane. “She was trampled to death on the spot”, he added. Nguyen Xuan Quang, deputy director of the Vietnam Circus Federation, reportedly said that children had been teasing the animal prior to Sunday’s incident. Speaking to AFP, Quang added that the victim’s father was talking on the phone at the time. Source
And there is a reason why they say “please don’t feed the animals”: A circus elephant trampled to death a girl who was attempting to feed it, police in Vietnam said Monday. Police officer Pham Ngoc Tien of Lao Cai province said the elephant was part of a troupe from Hanoi on a 10-day tour of the province. The animal was tied to a chain in the fenced backyard of a cultural center when it was not performing. Tien said Monday that the 11-year-old girl and several other children had entered its enclosure. The girl was feeding the elephant when it lifted her up with its trunk, threw her to the ground and trampled her repeatedly. Police officer Phan Van Quang told AFP that Nguyen Thao Anh was offering the elephant sugarcane. “She was trampled to death on the spot”, he added. Nguyen Xuan Quang, deputy director of the Vietnam Circus Federation, reportedly said that children had been teasing the animal prior to Sunday’s incident. Speaking to AFP, Quang added that the victim’s father was talking on the phone at the time. Source
On a recent day in Los Angeles the charismatic, now-83-year-old Robert Guillaume recalled with little effort and copious charm the skepticism he initially felt at the idea of a cartoon film about a lion who becomes the king of the animals, for which the filmmakers wanted him to voice a wise mandrill-baboon. “When they first described it to me I wasn’t all that impressed with the idea,” he admitted. “It didn’t make a lot of sense.” Eventually the parts combined into Disney’s 1994 classic The Lion King , and Guillaume saw what made it all so special. “I still think it’s kind of a miracle, that it must have touched people very deeply when they first saw it.”
The awesome travel search service Hipmunk recreated famous animal meme videos substituting humans as the animals in their new ad Everything’s Better with Cute Animals. We thought we thought we’d see what some of the Internet’s most famous memes would look like with humans instead of adorable animals. The results aren’t quite the same, which Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Laughing Squid Discovery Date : 27/07/2011 16:58 Number of articles : 2
When somebody says you have “animal magnetism,” they’re referring to that certain sexy je ne sais quois that draws others to you. Sex is a primal skinstinct- the birds do it, the bees do it, and sometimes we do it in front of the birds and the bees. So join Skin Central as we sexplore the animal kingdom, Mr. Skin’s Playlists style! Go to the dogs (and the horses and the snakes) with Skin Central after the jump!
Adorable Animals Being Adorable of the Day: Penguins vs. Iceberg — who ya got’? [ videogum .] Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 29/06/2011 20:36 Number of articles : 3
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