Three Christmases

Had three Christmases. One on Christmas day with just Tananarive and Jason. The day after, we drove up to Paso Robles to celebrate with Nicki's mom Toni and her family (wonderful people), and then Saturday Joyce and her family (my niece Shar, her husband Mike, nephew Steve, brother-in-law Mitz, and Nicki and her guy Micheal [arrgh! Too many Micheals!]) and that was fun. But wow, driving from L.A. to Paso and back in the same day is definitely a stress. Woke up the next day feeling hammered. But it was worth it.

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I want to see "Valkyrie" today. Always liked Tom Cruise, even if he is more interested in being a star than an actor. More money in it. But I do get a bit disturbed by people's reactions to his Scientology beliefs. So he jumped on Oprah's couch. So what? He didn't hurt anyone. Didn't hit-and-run, beat his wife or a papparazzi, throw heavy objects at his assistants, get caught in a sex scandal, or anything like it. He has some kinda whacky beliefs, but what religion doesn't sound a bit whacky when viewed through a logical lens? And exactly what is it that Scientology has been accused of that other religions have not? I really can't resist the sense that there is some simple, straight-forward religious bigotry going on here, people looking for an excuse to dislike people who "worship" something they disapprove of. Now, that makes sense in a way. Stars (as opposed to actors) are paid largely for how much people like them, the degree to which audience identification or hero-worship makes audiences want to come out to see them regardless of the film project.

It's the image. If John Wayne had gotten his ass kicked in a street fight, don't you think it would have affected his box office? Meg Ryan had the "wholesome girl next door" thing until she paraded her affair with Russell Crowe in front of everyone. Trashed her. No, I don't think it's primarily sexism. Angelina Jolie ALWAYS had a rather bad-girl image, so when she "stole" Brad Pitt from Jennifer Aniston, it didn't hurt her at all. It arguably HELPED her, because her image was "man, if you ever got her alone, she'd rock your world." and this was just more proof that she wasn't a tease. So whereas women are certainly more penalized for being sexually aggressive than men (while men are penalized for passivity of any kind) stars have to be very careful about their public images...whereas actors just have to perform. But stars get paid about ten times what actors get, and they are one of the only "sure things" in the movie business.

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Has Cruise blown that? I don't know, but it's possible...though for the time being I'll bet on him. I think the guy is smart as hell, and a little bit of a physical freak. I'm still weirded out that he began doing physical stunts so late in his career. Ever see the "behind the scenes" footage of MI2? He was outperforming the stunt-men in some fairly complex gymnastic movement. I've never seen that, except with actors like Stallone who have been highly physical their entire careers. It was a little spooky, and made me wonder if those e-Meters might have something to them after all.

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I do think that some of Hubbard's ideas have merit. The concept of "Engrams" is a lot like Sufi "Nafs" or Coach Sonnon's "Fear Reactivity"--kinks in the psychic wiring. Straighten them out, unknot them, and your life energy (whether viewed as literal or figurative) flows more easily. Use a galvanic skin response device to measure your reactions while a therapist de-sensitizes you? Makes sense to me. The problem comes when they tried to create a proprietary system, insist that their e-Meters are somehow quantum leaps beyong the GSR meters you can get for twenty bucks at Radio Shack, and that you need to spend vast amounts of money to have their councilors "clear" you. Ever heard the story about Hubbard producing a supposedly "clear" student for the press? His writings suggested that a "clear" would have a perfect mind, perfect memory, especially...and she didn't remember what color tie Hubbard was wearing. Hysterical.

Well, that's probably why most religions don't promise a quantifiable result. Bad press if you can't produce.

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But none of that changes the fact that I often sense some gleeful bigotry in criticisms of Cruise...maybe I'm over sensitive to intimations that the STATED reason for liking or disliking something is very different from the REAL reason, even if the person is unaware of it.

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**Warning, Sambo Alert. Minor Spoilers**

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So....Will Smith's "Seven Pounds" dropped to #7 in its second week. It's earned about 31 million, total. No way it's getting across the 100 million mark unless it pulls off a minor miracle. So the Curse is still happily in place whether you think its a matter of audiences, artists, or studios...something is wrong, I have my theories about it, and you have yours. But there is one interesting thread that shouldn't be missed. Like I said, two black characters in "Benjimen Button" are clearly engaging in behavior which, in say a James Bond movie, I'd label a "love scene." I think that Button will cross the 100 million mark.

Does this count? Well, it's certainly a step in the right direction. In this case, if it works, then we can look at the fact that the woman involved is a mother figure (but not a Spiritual Guide: she has her own life and love, and ultimately rejects Benjamin for her own child), the black male is utterly minor (I can't even remember his name), and Button is very sexual in his own life. So then, we're left with the following rules:

1) Be a minor, supportive character guiding a white actor or actress toward sucess

2) Be servile and non-threatening

3) Be very oblique in presentation

4) Die.

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Of course, there will be those who say "that's not fair...it was just a lousy movie. The audience would have been happy to see it it it had been good."

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Right. And "Wild Wild West" and "Hancock" were good movies. Like "good" is what gets a movie across 100 million. It's all just coincidence. Truth is, I made a comment a while back: "if Will Smith can't get laid, Obama can't get elected." And I suspect that that's reflexive: in other words, it will work both ways, that given the right property, at the right time, the door is cracked open now, even if the opening isn't terribly wide. SOMEONE will get through it. Who? Smith? Terrance Howard? Jamie Foxx? Denzel? I don't know. But my guess is that it will happen this year, and possibly within the first six months. But please: none of this "gee, they were looking at each other with passion in their eyes...doesn't that count?" Nonsense. Nope. Two people, alone, kissing and sinking toward a bed...fade-out. Fine. Worked in old "Hitchcock" movies, and everybody understood the cinematic short-hand just fine. That's the "PG" level. We all know what the PG-13 and R-rated iterations look like. When the percentage of black-starring films having sexual content is the same as the percentage of white-starring films, and it doesn't create a negative blip at the box office or the mysterious "gee I don't know, but all the movies where black guys get laid just somehow seem terrible to me..." response, I'll know America has crossed an unconscious threshold. We're close...but not there yet.

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How were your holidays, and whatcha doing for New Years?