November 2014 Chit Chat

I heard that Teri Hatcher was lesbian, so I bed that Emerson is really confused now.

LornaDoone wrote:On a different note -- went to see Hunger Games Mockingjay this morning.

8:30 a.m. showing and there were actually other people there!  Of course, they were showing it every freakin half hour in my theater.

I hear they're projecting over $150 opening weekend.  That is fucking insane!

As to what I thought of the film - overall, I enjoyed it but there were some things that were bothersome.  For me, I just didn't like Julianna Moore in her role.  Something about her performance just didn't gel for me.  Maybe someone else in the role might have been better but i guess there's no fixing that now.

And at least the ending, which I knew going in was not going to resolve anything given that it's title clearly states it's Part 1 - left enough unsolved to make you want to see the final installment.

Jennifer made fun of her singing in the film, but I thought that scene and it's transition into another scene was really well done.

The song made it to YouTube - and she's not that bad really.





It's been quite awhile since I read the books so I don't remember how they resolve it all in the books which means I should probably read the last one again before the next film.  Which I guess will be out in about a year. Yup I checked the release date for the final is November 20, 2015.  Geez I could be dead by then!  brahahahaha

I want to watch hungergames too. I've watched the previous movies too. I will go next week after work 

Just saw a preview on Showtime for a documentary that was released last March.

Now I have to go find the film.  I'm sure it's available somewhere.

It's called Finding Vivian Maier.

She was a nanny who took the kids with her on walks whilst taking photos.  Someone bought a box at an auction filled with negatives and started making prints and then doing showings.  Eventually they did a documentary about her.

Seems quite fascinating!

The website for the film is below.  And I've got to say, the guy who bought those negatives is probably one rich man now! 

http://www.findingvivianmaier.com/

CONGRATULATIONS TO

Lewis Hamilton for

Winning his Second

Formula 1 World Championship today !!

I think April 1 has arrived a little early !



Venice bans suitcases on wheels


Daily Mail 3 days ago Syndigate.info
ASSOCIATED PRESS

TOURISTS heading to Venice will be banned from taking wheelie-suitcases because the city authorities say they create too much noise.

Large tour groups dragging the convenient bags around amounts to noise pollution because they keep residents awake at night, officials claim.

And they also are worried about wear and tear to Venice’s famed bridges and other attractions.

Anyone caught breaking the rules will be fined 500 euros, around £400.

Venice City Council said in a statement: ‘The rules respond to the needs of many residents who have complained to the authorities in recent years about serious discomfort in their homes linked to the movement of goods at times protected by legislation such as at night and in the early morning.’

‘There are also numerous worrying signs of deterioration and wear to paving stones and bridges previously unharmed for hundreds of years.’

Venetians will be exempt from the regulations which are to come into force in May next year.

However, city official Maurizio Dorigo admitted the rules were currently a little impractical because while they ban suitcases with hard rubber wheels, they permit bags with inflatable ones, which he says do not yet exist.

I guess everyone is getting married. Even 79 year old Charlie Manson to a 26 year old girl. Morbid humour in this article.

http://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/gary-rotstein/2014/11/24/Gary-Rotstein-s-Morning-File-Manson-wedding-might-challenge-any-planner/stories/201411240044

Spoiler:

Methinks Kalinda isn't quite done yet.

Oh, methinks you are so correct W2O4D!  Kalinda is silent, but deadly!

Spoiler:

This  show has great writers! Love it.

More comments about The Good Wife:

Spoiler:

What
Oh no too much inorfmation for me. i started watching "the good wife" 2 weeks ago I'm a Little bit behind.....

Spoiler:

I love the Serie, I love Kalinda, Cary oh and Eli is funny and David Lee is cool too.....

OK I'm out if here...don't make me come back and sneack around what you say about the Serie......

Spoiler:

Poor Nicky.  She will be tempted to come back here and read what's going on.  There is so much she has yet to see

No i will not be tempted and not read what's going on After this post      

Spoiler:

OK better don't answer my questoion......But if you can't resist to reveal it...

I'm so naughty...OK I'm out of here

Nicky80 if you happen to come back I will not reveal anymore at least for now. There are so many great story lines on that show. And it won't be on this Sunday because it's a holiday weekend. Not sure if it will come back next weekend or the one thereafter. So there will be nothing to talk about for possibly a couple of weeks.

  by then I might will be up to date like you guys...

(yes I came back to that thread.....I couldn't help it )

Oops. I should have used the spoiler thingy. Sorry. You have a lot of twists and turns to get through. Prepare not to like some of them.

In the meantime, any Modern Family fans here? I'm devoted to it, and I'm one of the people who could tell you when the 'divorce' happened, having not known that it did. BTW, I was absolutely in love with the writing on Frasier. It was one of the best comedies ever.

Anyway, this article explains what'd going on with Modern Family.

http://uproxx.com/tv/2014/11/the-behind-the-scenes-divorce-that-drives-the-dueling-personalities-of-modern-family/

It usually takes a few episodes for great sitcoms to find their legs, work out the kinks, and figure out what they’re about. Modern Family, however, was the rare sitcom that was a huge hit right out of the gate. In introducing three diverse families, that pilot episode was the perfect blend of funny and sweet, ending with a touching scene that saw old-school Jay Pritchett accepting the adopted granddaughter of his gay son into the whole Modern Family clan.

Modern Family continued in that vein through the first season, blending the zany antics of the various families with heavy doses of poignancy. Somewhere along the way, however, the fusion of those two sensibilities — comedy and sweetness — ceased. This week’s Thanksgiving episode is the perfect example: We’d expect the Dunphys and the Pritchetts to ratchet up the warmth for a holiday-themed episode, but the episode was all farce, and very little heart. Contrast that, for instance, with the fifth-season episode, “Under Pressure,” which saw Alex seeking the help of a therapist, who opened up the alienation Alex feels for being the family’s lone overachiever. That episode, which wasn’t as wild and farcical as some other Modern Family installments, ended on a heavy, heartbreaking note.

Indeed, if you look closely, since the third season of Modern Family there has been a detectable shift away from funny and heartfelt episodes, and toward funny or heartfelt episodes. Creatively speaking, most critics would also agree that — despite the Emmys and despite the ratings success of the sitcom– Modern Family is not quite the same as it was during the sitcom’s early years.

To understand why, it helps to look at the show’s co-creators, Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd. The two writing partners didn’t come together as friends exactly, but as business partners. They knew each other from Wings, but Levitan’s background was in the broader comedies, like Just Shoot Me, while Christopher Lloyd oversaw nine seasons of Frasier. The two forged a partnership in 2006 out of economic necessity. Sitcoms were struggling, and individually, they’d struck out: Levitan with the Pamela Anderson sitcom, Stacked, and Lloyd with the quickly cancelled Henry Winkler laffer Out of Practice. The two men believed that, by working together, they’d have a better shot at generating a successful sitcom, although their first attempt — Kelsey Grammer’s Back to You — was a quick failure.

During a brainstorming session after the cancellation of Back to You, Levitan and Lloyd pitched a lot of terrible sitcom ideas, but in the midst of those bad ideas, the two began telling each other stories about their families, and about their children. It was those stories that would later form the basis of Modern Family. Levitan brought to their writing partnership broad comedy chops, while Lloyd brought the sentiment.

Few expected, however, that Modern Family would succeed — it was an old-school family sitcom in a world of cynical comedies, and it used a mockumentary style that had already seemed to have worn out its welcome on shows like The Office. The naysayers, however, were wrong. Modern Family was an instant hit, thanks in some part to the smart sensibilities of the show, and in some part to the diverse cast, which attracted an audience from a wide array of demographics.

The show immediately took off, and the mood of the show reflected the perfect balance between the sensibilities of Levitan and Lloyd. But somewhere along the way, that balance fell out of whack. It might have been because Modern Family broadened its comedy to appeal to an even wider audience. It might have been because, like a lot of sitcoms, Modern Family began to repeat itself. But I think there’s a simpler answer:

Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd had a major falling out.


Getty Images
Levitan (left) and Lloyd (right) with series star, Ed O'Neill




Page 2



This is not exactly a secret, but it’s also not widely discussed. In 2010, Levitan and Lloyd dissolved their business partnership. Up until then, there were plenty of rumors that the two men were bickering, that they were no longer getting along, in large part because of the clash of their sensibilities: Lloyd preferred the classier brand of comedy he’d perfected in Frasier, while Levitan veered toward the kind of comedy you’d expect from a sitcom starring Pamela Anderson called Stacked.

There were a few trade notices about their dissolution in 2010, but not much was made of it at the time. Though their business partnership had fallen apart, the two still continued to run Modern Family amicably. Only after the dissolution, a different arrangement was struck: The two men would no longer work together on the show. They would work separately. Like in a divorce settlement, the men split custody of Modern Family. Levitan oversaw half of each season’s episodes, while Lloyd oversaw the other half. Rumors have it that there were even separate writers’ rooms, one for each man.

To be fair, there was never any outward animosity between the two. In fact, they seemed to handle it like mature adults responsibly looking after the children they loved following that divorce. They simply had a difference of opinion.

“Chris and I are both strong, opinionated people, and we very, very quickly realized it doesn’t make sense to sit here and debate each other and waste time,” Levitan told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012 to explain an arrangement between the two men in which they rarely interact. “We often come at it from different points of view, so we said, ‘Let’s just switch off who has final say.’”

Christopher Lloyd, in that same interview, agreed. “We had different ideas about what the things were that were making the show click,” he says. “That can lead to differences of opinion, and it was not going to be practical for us to argue every point of every episode. [The arrangement that we've worked out] will lead to situations where you go, ‘Well, that’s not how I would have done that,’ but it is a much more practical way than to have both of us sort of swing away on every problem.”

Ultimately, however, it was the writing staff and the actors who kept the show together despite those differences of opinion between the showrunners. “Insiders,” however, can reportedly detect a difference between the vibe and tone of “Steve” episodes and “Chris” episodes. But once “outsiders” become familiar with the arrangement, the difference becomes apparent in many instances. There are zany episodes, and there are heartfelt episodes, but the two styles don’t intersect nearly as often as they did in the beginning of the series.

Ultimately, that’s okay. Modern Family continues to win Emmy awards, and it’s still the second-highest rated sitcom on television (behind only The Big Bang Theory). It’s also beloved by many. But it’s not the same. Where once fans of Modern Family felt passionate about the series, now they’re mostly “just” fans. It’s a good sitcom, but it’s not that great sitcom it was before Levitan and Lloyd split custody of the episodes.

ah Way2 before when you mentioned "modern Family" I thought I didnt know it but seing now the picture yes I know it. They show it on German TV too but I never started watching it. Maybe I should check it out.

PigPen wrote:Happy Birthday Fellow Sagittarius

Is it your Birthday PP ?

If so I hope you have a Good Day and Happy Birthday to You.

Ladies discussing The Good Wife I added spoiler format to your posts cause

Spoiler:

Plus there are some countries that are behind in shows!

As to Modern Family, never watched it and frankly, have no desire to do so.  Would have to go back too many years and just not something that interests me.  Just like The Big Bang Theory.  Never watched it never plan to.

I'm finishing up the second season of The Newsroom and then my Netflix cue has some interesting films that I missed in the theater  like a film called SnowPiercer that stars Tilda Swinton and then I have Revenge set to start watching from the beginning season.

And when pray tell with all the other stuff going on in my life do I get to watch these things - yup - usually 4 to 5 a.m. in the mornings!

I have seen quite a bit of Big Bang Theory and How I Meet Your Mother. I never watched The Good Wife or Scandal or Modern Family or Revenge or The Newsroom. I guess I watch different shows then most people on this board. 

I probably would like Modern Family, I liked Frasier a lot (same writer) and Married with kids (Ed O'Neill). I just don't know why I never watched that show and I don't think it is airing right now in my country.

Well Way2 and I have similar tastes. Huge fan of Parenthood, have seen almost every episode. Dax`s character one of my faves. Saw every episode of Frasier though Kelsey never appealed to me much at all, it was the writing and whole cast that hooked me.

At the moment still loving Homeland, Good Wife, and Madam Secretary.

Lorna will kill me for this but in the end Olivia Pope or actress that plays her has kind of turned me off Scandal, just cant get back into it.

Will be sad when Parenthood finishes

I know that I got yelled at for starting another thread on a TV program that had been deleted.  HOWEVER, with 17 different TV programs being discussed here, there is no flow to the thread and it's very choppy and confusing.  JMHAO

Can't be helped.  Best we can do is discuss here.  It's katie's site she determines what she feels in appropriate.



If it gets too confusing then just skip the thread.

melbert, I wasn't really intending to start a whole thread about any particular show. I just wanted to point out a couple of interesting issues with two shows I like. But I wasn't looking to keep any of it going on a long-term basis. Seriously, no disrespect meant.

Oh Way, you're fine.  No disrespect taken.

A tiny precious baby dumped down a drain.
A young mans life is cut short in America. Riots.
Ebola, Isis.
And now a cricket player is fighting for his life.

How about for 1 week we all say nice things only.

I'll start............ I hope George and Amal enjoy their first thanksgiving as Husband and Wife.

A very good idea Sparkie.

We need a Good News Chat.

I've just found two rolls of Christmas
wrapping paper left over from last year.
So I can start wrapping presents now.

Today is the 25th! OMG one month till Christmas. Joanna, weren't you the one who has already finshed your Christmas shopping .... a few weeks ago? And now you're wrapping? Show-off!

Sorry Donnamarie. LOL

Joanna wrote:

PigPen wrote:Happy Birthday Fellow Sagittarius

Is it your Birthday PP ?

If so I hope you have a Good Day and Happy Birthday to You.

 

Thank you.  Mine is a little before Christmas.  Came home from the hospital Christmas Eve.  Someone in the family stuffed me into a Christmas stocking and said Santa Claus brought me!  Boy, talk about abuse.. LOL

Hey PP, my birthday is December 17th fellow Sagittarius. Don't think I was ever stuffed into a stocking tho :/

This is a Happy Good News video....

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hDwNfDjz3ug

Tomorrow, here in the States is Thanksgiving Day. It is traditional to reflect on the year and give thanks for all of the blessing you have received.

One of the things I am grateful for this year is all of the fabulous people I have met and become friends with here at COH.  Bless you all.

Thank you PP. I also want to wish everyone stateside a very wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family.

Thank you PP....A "Bless you All" to you too.


Hey Mel.....your sink looks much more interesting
than mine !!

He he heeee too funny .

funny Turkey

Thanks for the laugh melbert!

so sweet moving comeback video ;( sniff

Trying not to hijack another thread...

Okay, all you COHers who want to come to Thanksgiving dinner. Come on down! My mom has all five of her children and all but 2 grandchildren and 4 great grands, so she's in a great mood. And that means the cobbler will be extra tasty.

But there will a fight for it. Our family holidays aren't just extended family. My two brothers have five marriages and many ex-GFs between them (yeah, they've the kind of men who like to be married), and the exes never quite leave. They all still keep on touch, call my mom weekly, and show up on holidays -- their new families in tow. Some of them are even friends with each other and with the current wives.

So you're all welcome to come. If you drink, you should bring your own, because none of us drinks, except my brothers who have an occasional beer -- which they forgo. And maybe a chair. Seating is tight.

I guarantee you a good time.

  American thanksgiving Food Maybe your brother likes German beer

I eat american food at your house for thanksgiving and you eat German Food at the Octoberfest   What a deal

Can you describe your desert???? Just to make sure if I really want to come

Is it true that you eat your Turkey with Cranberry Sauce????

Thanks Way2 for your invite.......I've just phoned & inter webbed but no flights available across the pond until Saturday !
Have a "Great Happy ThanksGiving Way2 & Family"

Nicky.....Cranberry Sauce is a usual option
with a Turkey meal here in UK.
I like it with Chicken too.

Ellen stars in 50 Shades of Grey !

http://www.people.com/article/ellen-degeneres-fifty-shades-of-grey-parody-video

Just taking a break from the stove to wish everyone a happy Turkey Day! Way2Old, if I wasn't up to my elbows in stuffing I'd take you up on your offer - it's a lot better than doing the cooking (AGAIN!!!) This year's holiday gifts are easy - cookbooks for everyone! Maybe next year I'll be the one who gets to sit on my  butt and watch someone else do all the work.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!

I'd like to wish a great Thanksgiving to all.

I remember being at a Thanksgiving dinner with a French/American family in Paris a number of years ago and very much enjoyed it. If I remember correctly we had turkey with sweet potatoes etc and pumpkin pie for dessert. I'm feeling hungry just thinking about it.

OMG Joanna, almost peed my pants on that Ellen video. Thanks for posting.

Cool turkey Melbert. 

Joanna you kind of ruined 50 Shades of Grey for me with that Ellen video. Now I will never be able to see the film without thinking of Ellen's version.