10A - Friday, November 14, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
6
I
CNN's fake news
By DAVE REAP is willing to bet
Daily Arts Writer is planning to c
renewed intere
For normal people, the end of the satire by debuti:
campaign season should be a relief. news-sketch com
The populace Hughley Breaks
was shaking while it appears {
with excite- **** choosing D.L. Hu
ment during on the Sunset Str
the primaries D.L Hughey host with great
and happily Breaks the News show's current ti
supporting vent it from ac
their candi- Saturday at10 p.m. close to the fanfa
datesthrough CNN (Stewart and Co
thick and Central currently
thin after the It was apparen
conventions - but then something premiere that Hi
happened. People got tired of the rough around the
same stump speeches, the same hosting role. He
arguments and the same issues. tered, misread c
By the time they reached the voter awkwardly durir
booth they just wanted to get this interviews. The
shit over with already. though, is that H
But for those working in televi- smile, easy-going
sion - specifically, fake news and stant bouts of lau
late-night comedy shows - the end miscues seem lik
of the campaign season could end cerns. Plus, its li
up being more like a swift kick to few episodes Hug
the groin than a welcoming blanket hosting abilitiesa
of bliss. The presidential election He also possesses
season triggered a massive boost can't be learned,
in ratings for shows like "The Daily as a testament to]
Show," "The Colbert Report" and doesn't just talk w
"Saturday Night Live" in its final connects deeplyA
few months. The "Saturday Night seem extra calm
Live" episode featuring Sarah his conversations
Palin, for one, drew the show's larg- ety of individuals
est audience in 14 years. The ques- beauty pageant w
tion remains, however, whether the Bush administra
abnormally high interest this elec- appear genuine.
tion season sparked for these shows Given all these
will stick. its hard to under,
A most unlikely network, CNN, ley's show runsa
WHALE WARS
From Page 8A
broken helicopter blade occupy twenty more minutes.
A demonstration on how to throw stink-bombs might
be helpful, especially for anyone practicing for next
"Devil's Night," but it isn't too engaging. Details of this
kind fill more technical shows like "American Chop-
per" and "Modern Marvels," and rightfully so. With
"Wars," however, much more could be done. Lack of
working equipment, cooperation and success are ingre-
dients for quality reality TV drama, but Watson's crew
is so single-minded they move on from failure to failure
without pause. There's a reason Ahab didn't spend half
of "Moby Dick" describing the Pequot: The interaction
and minds of men at sea hold much more interest than
mundane logistical details. But "Wars" still remains
that it will, and
apitalize on this
st in political
ng its own fake
edy hybrid, "D.L.
the News." And
CNN was wise in
ghley ("Studio 60
ip") - a budding
potential - the
me slot will pre-
hieving anything
re the twin titans
lbert) of Comedy
enjoy.
t from the show's
ughley is a little
edges in his new
repeatedly stut-
ues and paused
ng many of his
amazing thing,
tughley's inviting
attitude and con-
ghter make these
e peripheralacon-
ikely that after a
hley will hone his
and find his flow.
a capability that
one that serves
his raw talent: he
rith his guests, he
with them. People
around him, and
with a wide vari-
- like a physicist,
inner and former
tion official -
initial successes,
stand why Hugh-
at 10 p.m on Sat-
urday nights. Several CNN execs
have said that they're hoping "D.L.
Hughley Breaks the News" can
serve as an appetizer for TV watch-
ers who regularly dine on "Saturday
Night Live," which runs on Satur-
day nights at 11:30 p.m. This scenar-
io doesn't seem too likely, and in all
probability the Saturday night slot
will end up hurting the show. Many
of the most loyal fans of "The Daily
Show" and "The Colbert Report"
are between 20 and 30 years old,
and Hughley would benefit by cater-
inglo that demographic. Instead of
a 10 p.m. Saturday night slot, Hugh-
ley would likely attract more view-
A potentially
great show with a
bad time slot.
ers with a weeknight time.
It's hard to blame CNN for its
scheduling agenda, though. After
all, its primary focus is real news,
not fake. But if CNN is truly commit-
ted to making Hughley a big-time
player, it needs to take his up-and-
coming show off the backburner and
let him do his thing in front of a larg-
er audience. CNN's got something
noticeably special in "D.L. Hughley
Breaks the News," and while it may
seem like an odd move for the king
of cable news, the network needs
to start taking its fake news show a
little more seriously.
COMING TO A RED
CARPE T NEAR YOU
Award season is almost here, and a number of unreleased films have
already joined the Oscar race. To sort out the season's best, Daily Arts
is taking a look at the trailers for the year's most anticipated films.
"AUSTRALIA"
20TH CENTURY FOX
NOV.26
Oh, Nicole Kidman.
You are often presented as a talented
actress, but if you continue to Botox
your face free of any wrinkles, it's going
to become increasingly difficult to keep
playing the very dramatic characters
you enjoy so much.
Looking past Kidman's baby-bottom-
smooth forehead, this trailer for "Aus-
tralia" hints at a movie full of beautiful
visuals - including vast, rolling coun-
trysides and Hugh Jackman's wash-
board abs.
Yes, it's a classical period drama
with Kidman and Jackman. And that
could spell trouble since the overdone
"romance that crosses class barriers"
storyline is, well, overdone. Neverthe-
"GRAN TORINO"
WARNER BROS.
DEC.17
"Gran Torino" - directed by and
starring the legendary Clint Eastwood
- is rumored to be Eastwood's farewell
to acting. In the film's superbly under-
played trailer, the 78-year-old 4-time
Oscar-winning actor/director brings
unmatched intensity to this story about
a gruff Korean War veteran, his Hmong
neighbors and violent neighborhood
gangs.
The trailer makes this look like per-
fect Oscar bait: A serene balance of
emotion and humor, and you really get
the sad feeling that Eastwood's heroic
character will die at the end (just a
guess). Nevertheless, if the film (shot
entirely in Michigan) is as gripping and
poignant as the trailer, Eastwood might
less, the scene where the two lovers are
curled up in bed looks pretty hot. So
there's that.
The historical element of the film, set
during World War II, promises to bring
legitimate drama. But it remains to be
seen how much of the film will focus
on true-life events and how much will
rely on the chemistry between Kidman
and Jackman. If "Australia" can follow
in the footsteps of "Moulin Rouge!" -
the last collaboration between director
Baz Lurhmann and Kidman - it should
be sure to make some box office bank,
even if it's not a critical success.
Then again, the film's ending did
undergo a re-shoot this past week...
ANNIE LEVENE
be the favorite to take home the best-
actor Oscar that has thus far eluded
him.
There seems to be a rare blend of
raw emotion and competent, measured
directing in this film. Not only will
the subtlety appeal to audiences, but it
should also mean multiple Oscar nomi-
nations. And you'd want to chalk up
this potent drama as a strong contender
in the best director and best picture
categories too - if for no other reason
than because Eastwood's films always
contend in those major categories.
"Gran Torino" has all the makings of a
very memorable ride into the sunset for
Hollywood's last cowboy.
IMRAN SYED
extremely watchable, because, even though it isn't
humanized, at least it's contextualized. Watson's long
and sticky - and, perhaps now, a little stinky - rela-
tionship with Greenpeacebears listening: He founded
the organization in 1978 and was unanimously ousted
years later for his radical views. The David vs. Goliath
dynamic between Watson and his old allies is worth
exploring in detail; hopefully it will be. "Wars" also
adroitly brings up thorny ethical issues - is it wrong to
eat an intelligent animal or demonstrate this nautical
brand of civil disobedience? - without picking sides.
Ultimately, "Wars" can't be faulted for playing a bit
like the title of its theme song, The Smashing Pump-
kin's "Bullet with Butterfly Wings." It simply tries to
dress up a miserable situation by focusing on triviali-
ties. The show is decent, but I would've loved to see
Watson ask, to quote Billy Corgan, "What do I get, for
all my pain?"
6
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