philmguy

The "Little Miss Sunshine" people are holding a contest to find America's most dysfunctional -- least functional? -- family. You can write in with your examples or capture it on video.

There's a cool contest out there for magicians who want to get some exposure. Film yourself doing a magic trick, upload it to this site and you could

5. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, "Good Will Hunting"
The ultimate Hollywood underdog tale comes to life in this track, as the Oscar-winning writers recount the now-legendary backstory of the film that brought them from obscurity to Oscar glory.

MTV and Nintendo are offering a contest for gamers who take pictures of themselves playing handheld games at strange places. Winner gets a DS Lite, "Metroid Prime Hunters" and "Tetris DS" and a ride on a zero-gravity plane with a friend.

The big ongoing movie story of 2006 has been the tendency for studios to keep films away from critics. The trend started with a bang early on this year when "Hostel" opened without screenings to the No. 1 slot. This was the year honchos finally began to question the relevance of critics, trusting more in their hype machines to spread the word about their movies. As the year went on, more and more films were held out in the "Hostel" fashion.

I caught the 10 p.m. screening of "Snakes on a Plane" last night. It was only half full, and this was in a very midnight movie friendly area of town. This is bad news for the studio - a sign that people have either gotten tired of the incessant Internet marketing, or they aren't eager to shell out $9 for a movie that prides itself on an idiotic concept that's fun to goof on.

Is it just me, or is "Snakes on a Plane" over already before it's even opened? We've been hearing about it for over a year, and I think a certain fatigue has set in. The excitement is definitely no longer what it was.

Patrick Goldstein of the L.A. Times has written an astute piece about the continued beating film critics are taking on a national stage. His story contends that print critics should get hip to the younger crowd by starting blogs.

Madonna has announced that she's given up acting. This is sad news indeed, because it means now we won't get to make fun of her anymore. Maybe she'll reconsider someday.

This headline made me laugh. I've never associated Hulk Hogan with Pokemon, but now the two icons will be forever connected in my mind. It's too bad Thunderlips won't be showing up in "Rocky Balboa."