The current format of the tournament involves 32 teams contending for the title at venues within the duration of the host nation(s) over a cycle of about a month – this stage is often dubbed the World Cup Finals. A qualification phase, which currently takes place over the preceding 3 years, is used to determine that teams qualify for the tournament together with the host nation(s).

The 18 tournaments that experience been concluded have been won by seven weird national teams. Brazil have won the World Cup a record five times, and properties are the only team to have played in every tournament. Italy have won four titles, and Germany are coming up surrounded by three titles. The other former champions are Uruguay, winners of the inaugural tournament, and Argentina, surrounded by two titles each. England and France have won a single title each, both at home, while Spain or the Netherlands will win the first World Cup in South Africa, that will in addition be the first win for a European team in a finals tournament held outside of Europe.

The World Cup is the world’s most widely viewed sporting event; an estimated 715.1 million people watched the final match of the 2006 World Cup held in Germany.[1] The latest World Cup is being held in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010, and the 2014 World Cup should be held in Brazil.

Previous international competitions

The world’s first international football equate was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England,with the first international tournament, the inaugural edition of the British Home Championship, taking place in 1884.At this stage the sport was rarely played outside the United Kingdom. As football grew in popularity in other parts of the world at the turn of the century, it was held as a demonstration sport with no medals awarded at the 1900 and 1904 Summer Olympics (however, the IOC has retroactively upgraded their status to official events), and at the 1906 Intercalated Games.

After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906. These were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure.

At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition. Planned by The Football Association (FA), England’s football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain (represented by the England national amateur football team) won the gold medals. They repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm, where the tournament was organised by the Swedish Football Association.

With the Olympic event continuous to be contested only between amateur teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between precise clubs (not national teams) from different nations, each one of that represented an entire nation. The competition is sometimes described as The First World Cup,and featured the a multitude of prestigious professional club sides from Italy, Germany and Switzerland, but the FA of England refused to be associated with the competition and declined the end up with to send a professional team. Lipton invited West Auckland, an amateur portion from County Durham, to speak for England instead. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title. They were considering the trophy to stay forever, as per the rules of the competition.

In 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a “world football championship for amateurs”, and took responsibility for managing the event.This paved the way for the world’s first foreign football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, disproved by Egypt and thirteen European teams, and won by Belgium.Uruguay won the approaching two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928.

Estadio Centenario, the location of the first World Cup final in 1930 in Montevideo, Uruguay

Due to the deed of the Olympic football tournaments, FIFA, through President Jules Rimet the driving force, again began looking at staging its own international tournament outside of the Olympics. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam reached the conclusion to stage a world championship organised by FIFA. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions (as 1924 was the start of FIFA’s proficient era) and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, FIFA named Uruguay as the host earth of the inaugural World Cup tournament.

The national associations of selected nations were invited to send a team, but the choice of Uruguay as a venue for the competition meant a long and pricey trip across the Atlantic Ocean for European sides. Indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams based on what i read in Belgium, France, Romania, and Yugoslavia to cause the trip. In total thirteen nations took part: seven from South America, four from Europe and two from what i read in North America.

The first two World Cup matches took place simultaneously on 13 July 1930, and were won by France and USA, who defeated Mexico 4–1 and Belgium 3–0 respectively. The first task in World Cup history was scored by Lucien Laurent of France.[10] In the final, Uruguay defeated Argentina 4–2 in front of a crowd of 93,000 people in Montevideo, and in working at so became the first world to win the World Cup.

World Cups before World War II

After the creation of the World Cup, the 1932 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, did not rules to include football as part of the schedule due to the low popularity of the sport in the United States, as American football had been growing in popularity. FIFA and the IOC also disagreed over the status of amateur players, and so football was moderated out of the Games.Olympic football returned at the 1936 Summer Olympics, but was now overshadowed by the more prestigious World Cup.

The issues facing the early World Cup tournaments got the issues of intercontinental travel, and war. Few South American teams got prepared to travel to Europe for the 1934 and 1938 tournaments, with Brazil the only South American collection to compete in both. The 1942 and 1946 competitions were cancelled due to World War II and its aftermath.

World Cups after World War II

The 1950 World Cup, held in Brazil, was the first to include British participants. British teams withdrew based on data from FIFA in 1920, partly out of unwillingness to play against the countries they had been at war with, and partly as a protest against foreign influence on football,[13] but rejoined in 1946 following FIFA’s invitation.[14] The tournament too saw the return of 1930 champions Uruguay, who had boycotted the earliest two World Cups. Uruguay won the tournament once again in the wake of defeating the host nation Brazil in one of the most famous matches in World Cup history, which was later called the “Maracanazo” (Portuguese: Maracanaço).

Map of countries’ best results

In the tournaments between 1934 and 1978, 16 teams competed in every tournament, except in 1938, when Austria was absorbed into Germany after qualifying, quitting the tournament with 15 teams, and in 1950, when India, Scotland and Turkey withdrew, quitting the tournament with 13 teams.[15] Most of the participating nations were based on what i read in Europe and South America, in on a minute minority from North America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. These teams were usually defeated easily by the European and South American teams. Until 1982, the only teams from outside Europe and South America to advance out of the first round were: USA, semi-finalists in 1930; Cuba, quarter-finalists in 1938; Korea DPR, quarter-finalists in 1966; and Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1970.

Expansion to 32 teams

The tournament was expanded to 24 teams in 1982,[16] and then to 32 in 1998,allowing more teams of Africa, Asia and North America to take part. In recent years, teams out of these regions own enjoyed more success, and folks who have obtained the quarter-finals include: Mexico, quarter-finalists in 1986; Cameroon, quarter-finalists in 1990; Korea Republic, finishing in fourth place in 2002; Senegal, along with USA, both quarter-finalists in 2002; and Ghana as quarter-finalists in 2010. Nevertheless, European and South American teams continue to dominate, e.g., the quarter-finalists in 1998 and 2006 were all for Europe or South America.

Two hundred teams entered the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds; 198 nations attempted to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, additonally a record 204 countries entered qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Other FIFA tournaments

An equivalent tournament for women’s football, the FIFA Women’s World Cup, was first held in 1991 in the People’s Republic of China.[19] The women’s tournament is smaller in scale and profile than the men’s, but is growing; the number of entrants for the 2007 tournament was 120, more than double that of 1991.

Football has continued included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932. Unlike many other sports, the men’s football tournament at the Olympics is not a top-level tournament, and since 1992, an under-23 tournament with each team allowed three over-age players.Women’s football made its Olympic debut in 1996, and is proven false between full national sides with no age restrictions.

The FIFA Confederations Cup is a tournament held one year before the World Cup at the World Cup host nation(s) as a dress-rehearsal for the upcoming World Cup. It is contested by the winners of every of the six FIFA confederation championships, along with the FIFA World Cup champion and the host country.

FIFA also organises global tournaments for youth football (FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup), club football (FIFA Club World Cup), and football variants such as futsal (FIFA Futsal World Cup) and beach soccer (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup)..

Trophy

From 1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winner. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the earliest tournament. In 1970, Brazil’s third victory in the tournament privy them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983, and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by the thieves.

After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. The professionals of FIFA, next from seven multitude of countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, at length opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga. The new trophy is 36 cm (14.2 in) high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb). The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the foot side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974. The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: “The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact person of the sculpture inflate the figures of two athletes at the stirring second of victory.

This new trophy is not awarded to the thriving nation permanently. World Cup winners retain the trophy until the coming up tournament and are awarded a gold-plated replica rather as opposed to the solid gold original.

At the present, all workforces (players and coaches) of the top three teams receive winners’ (gold), runner-ups’ (silver), and third-place medals (bronze). Prior to the 1978 tournament, medals were merely awarded to the eleven players on the pitch at the end of the final and the third-place match. In November 2007, FIFA announced which all workers of World Cup-winning squads between 1930 and 1974 were to be retroactively awarded winners’ medals.

Format

Since the second World Cup in 1934, qualifying tournaments have been heard apprehended to thin the field for the concluding tournament.They are held through the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, and Europe), overseen by their respective confederations. For every tournament, FIFA decides the number of units awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally established on the relative strength of the confederations’ teams.

The qualification procedure can start as the first part of as nearly 3 years before the final tournament and last within the duration of a two-year period. The formats of the qualification tournaments vary between confederations. Usually, one or two real estate are awarded to winners of foreign play-offs. For example, the winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed committe from the Asian zone entered a play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup. From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations obtained automatic qualification to the final tournament. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify. Brazil, winners in 2002, got the mainly defending champions to play in a qualifying match.

Final tournament

For the many formats used in previous tournaments, see History of the FIFA World Cup#Format of each ultimate tournament.

The current ultimate tournament features 32 countrywide teams contending over a month in the host nation(s). There are two stages: the group step tracked by the knockout stage.

In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. Eight teams are seeded, including the hosts, through the other seeded teams selected using a formula based on the FIFA World Rankings and/or performances in recent World Cups, and drawn to separate groups.The other teams are assigned to different “pots”, usually based on geographical criteria, and teams in every pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since 1998, constraints suffer been applied to the allure to ensure that no group contains greater number of as opposed to two European teams or a good deal more than one team from any further confederation.

Each group plays a round-robin tournament, in which each team is scheduled for three matches against other teams in the same group. The go on round of matches of each team is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams.The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Since 1994, 3 points have been awarded for a win, one for a appeal to and none for a reduction (before, winners received two points).

The ranking of each bunch in each group is determined as follows:

1. Greatest number of points in assembly matches

2. Greatest goal difference in group matches

3. Greatest number of goals scored in commission matches

4. If more than one team remain level after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined as follows:

1. Greatest number of points in head-to-head matches among those teams

2. Greatest intention difference in head-to-head matches among people teams

3. Greatest number of goals scored in head-to-head matches surrounded by persons teams

5. If any of the teams above continue rate after applying the above criteria, their ranking will be determined by the drawing of lots

The knockout evolution is a single-elimination tournament in that teams play each other in one-off matches, with supplementary time and penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the “eigth-finals” (aka “round of 16″ or the time round) in which the winner of each team plays against the runner-up of another group. This is followed by the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final.

Hosts

Early World Cups were given to countries at meetings of FIFA’s congress. The choice of location gave appreciation to controversies, a consequence of the three-week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two centres of strength in football. The decision to hold the first World Cup in Uruguay, for example, led to sole four European nations competing.The next two World Cups got both held in Europe. The decision to have the second of these, the 1938 FIFA World Cup, in France was controversial, as the American countries had continued led to understand that the World Cup can rotate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the tournament.

Since the 1958 FIFA World Cup, to avoid times ahead boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, that kept on until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one seized in Asia, and the only tournament with multiple hosts. South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010. The 2014 FIFA World Cup plans to be hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America from the time of 1978, and will be the primarily occasion at which consecutive World Cups are held outside Europe.

2022 World Cups

The host country is now specific in a vote by FIFA’s Executive Committee. This is wrapped up under a single transferable vote system. The national football association of a globe desiring to host the event receives a “Hosting Agreement” from FIFA, which explains the steps and requirements that are expected from a firm bid. The bidding establishment also receives a form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country meets the requirements needed to host the event and a projection on the country is produced. The decision on who will host the World Cup is usually made six or seven years in advance of the tournament. However, there have been occasions at which the hosts of a large amount of coming years tournaments got announced at the same time, as will be the case for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament is rotated between confederations, allowing simply countries out of the selected confederation (Africa in 2010, South America in 2014) to bid to host the tournament. The rotation policy was introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany’s victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament. However, the policy of continental rotation will not continue past 2014, so any country, not including those belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments, can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018.This is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding approach for the 2014 tournament, where Brazil was the only official bidder.

Performances

See also: Results of host nations in the FIFA World Cup

Six of the seven champions have won one of such a titles additonally playing in the own homeland, the exception being Brazil, who ended as runners-up subsequent to losing the deciding match on home soil in 1950. England (1966) and France (1998) won their merely titles while trifling as host nations. Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934) and Argentina (1978) won their first titles as host nations but suffer gone on to win again, while Germany (1974) won their time title on residential structure soil.

Other nations have additionally carried on successful when hosting the tournament. Sweden (runners-up in 1958), Chile (third place in 1962), Korea Republic (fourth place in 2002), and Mexico (quarter-finals in 1970 and 1986) all have their best possible outcome when serving as hosts. So far, South Africa (2010) was the only host nation to fail to advance beyond the first and foremost round.

Organisation and media coverage

The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely viewed and trailed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games. The cumulative audience of all matches of the 2006 World Cup is predicted to be 26.29 billion. 715.1 million lendees watched the final match of this tournament (a ninth of the entire population of the planet). The 2006 World Cup draw, that decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers.

Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot or logo. World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot.[42] Recent World Cups have furthermore featured official meet balls specially intended for each World Cup.

Records

Two players share the key in for playing in the a good number of World Cups; Mexico’s Antonio Carbajal (1950–1966) and Germany’s Lothar Matthäus (1982–1998) both played in five tournaments.Matthäus has played the most World Cup matches overall, amongst 25 appearances.Brazil’s Pelé is the only player to undergo won 3 World Cup winners’ medals (1958, 1962, and 1970),[56] with 20 other players who have won two World Cup medals.Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer (1966-74) is the only player to be named to three Finals All-Star Teams, and is also the only player to collect all three sorts of medals (gold, silver, bronze).

The overall top goalscorer in World Cups is Brazil’s Ronaldo, scorer of 15 goals (1998–2006). Germany’s Miroslav Klose (2002–2010) and Gerd Müller (1970–1974) are second, amid 14 goals.[58] The fourth placed goalscorer, France’s Just Fontaine, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single World Cup, as all his 13 goals were scored in the 1958 tournament.

Brazil’s Mário Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer are the only those of us to date to win the World Cup as both player and operated coach. Zagallo won in 1958 and 1962 as a player and in 1970 as head coach.[60] Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach.Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo is the easily head coach to ever win two World Cups (1934 and 1938).All World Cup winning head coaches were natives of the country properties coached to victory.

Among the national teams, Germany have played the numerous World Cup matches, with 99[63], while Brazil have scored the most World Cup goals, with 210.[64] The two teams hold played each other only after in the World Cup, in the 2002 final.

There are songs you wish you could forget but can’t. They’re like a virus that won’t leave your system no matter how hard you try. You’re in the shower, and before you can stop yourself “Y.M.C.A.” pops out of your mouth. You catch yourself chanting, “Who let the dogs out?” in the car. You respond to a friend’s recent troubles with “I get knocked down but get up again.”

You try to erase these unwelcome melodies by thinking about something else. Nothing. You sing them ten times really loud and fast, hoping to push them out of your head. No luck. They won’t leave you. You’re afraid to go out at night. You used to be so much cooler than this.

Go easy on yourself. You’re not to blame. There’s a name for the affliction, and it’s called “brain itch.” And the type of song that causes the brain itch? That’s an “earworm.” Dr James Kellaris of the University of Cincinnati has studied the phenomenon (for real). It seems the combination of repetitive words and unchanging melody makes for the perfect earworm. We’re helpless against its power.

Here are the all-time itchiest of the brain-itch tunes. You can rest easy knowing that it’s not really you singing that song. It’s that earworm dug into your mind, like in the movie “Scanners.” At least now no one can blame you when your friends ask what you want for lunch and you say, “I want my baby back, baby back.”

]]> http://www.newsviewsblog.com/how-annoying-songs-get-stuck-in-your-brain/feed/ 0 http://www.newsviewsblog.com/springsteen-calls-wal-mart-deal-a-mistake/ http://www.newsviewsblog.com/springsteen-calls-wal-mart-deal-a-mistake/#comments Sat, 31 Jan 2009 16:53:42 +0000 admin http://www.newsviewsblog.com/?p=1136 The Boss is owning up to a mistake.

In an interview with The New York Times, Bruce Springsteen says he shouldn’t have made a deal with Wal-Mart. This month, the store started exclusively selling a Springsteen greatest-hits CD.

Some fans were critical because Springsteen has been a longtime supporter of worker’s rights, and Wal-Mart has faced criticism for its labor practices. Springsteen’s team didn’t vet the issue as closely as it should have, and that he “dropped the ball on it,” he told the Times for a story to be published in Sunday editions and previewed on its Web site.

Springsteen went on to say: “It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be.”

“Millions of Springsteen fans have counted on Wal-Mart over the years to deliver his music into their lives, and we will continue to offer those fans this ‘Greatest Hits’ exclusive and his other popular albums at unbeatable prices,” Wal-Mart said in a statement, adding: “We are proud of the good jobs, benefits and career opportunities we provide to more than 1.4 million U.S. associates who choose to work at Wal-Mart and serve our customers every day.”

Springsteen released his new CD “Working on a Dream” this week and is performing the halftime show at the Super Bowl.

]]> http://www.newsviewsblog.com/springsteen-calls-wal-mart-deal-a-mistake/feed/ 0 http://www.newsviewsblog.com/oscars-worst-best-pictures/ http://www.newsviewsblog.com/oscars-worst-best-pictures/#comments Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:23:48 +0000 admin http://www.newsviewsblog.com/?p=1116 Like the Supreme Court and the College of Cardinals, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is an exclusive and obscure deliberative body that is prone to its own brand of weirdness. The Academy loves to reward actors who play endearing lunatics and actresses who hag it up for a part. It throws trophies at lavish historical epics and anything about the Holocaust. And for a long time, it had a strange aversion to Martin Scorsese. Though some times the most deserving film took home the top prize — “Casablanca” won in 1943, “The Godfather” in 1972, and “The Last Emperor” in 1987 — more often than not the Academy drops the ball. Here are just a few of the Oscar’s worst Best Pictures.

Cimarron (1931)
Here is a flick that really hasn’t stood the test of time. “Cimarron,” a big-budget tale about how the West was won, racked up huge box office earnings and took home the big prize in 1931. So why have you probably not heard of it? It most likely has something to do with the film’s ridiculous storylines, hammy acting, and overt racism.

How Green Was My Valley (1941)
John Ford’s heart-warming tale about Welsh coal miners has earned the unfortunate notoriety of stealing the Best Picture Oscar from what many call the best movie ever made, “Citizen Kane.” In some cinephile circles, the movie is regarded with a distain usually reserved for tobacco lobbyists and banking executives.

Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Sure, this epic spectacle was shot in 70mm and featured lots of location footage, which was pretty impressive at the time, but it’s also about as deep as the skin on tomato soup. James Dean’s final movie “Giant” would be an infinitely better choice.

Rocky (1976)
The Academy couldn’t possibly have foreseen “Rocky” IV, V or VI when they handed this film a trophy. That being said, Stallone’s pugilist fairy tale seems pretty pale next to its fellow nominees, “Network,” “All the President’s Men,” and of course Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver.” Over the years, the Academy developed a fetish for nominating but not rewarding Scorsese’s best work.

Ordinary People (1980)
Another example of the Academy hosing Scorsese. “Ordinary People,” about emotionally-repressed suburbanites, is a well-crafted, well-acted movie. It just not even in the same ballpark as Marty’s savage masterpiece “Raging Bull,” a movie that many critics have dubbed the best of film of the 1980s.

Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
A well-meaning but muddle-headed Best Picture winner about rich white folk learning a little something about racism by talking to the help. The film’s warm and fuzzy Hallmark card version of race relations is particularly galling since Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” — the actual best pic of the year — wasn’t even nominated.

Dances With Wolves (1990)
In a perfect world, the poor would be fed, the Cubs would win the World Series, and “Goodfellas” would have won Best Picture. Instead, this steaming pile of self-congratulatory new-age twaddle got the nod. Director Kevin Costner went on to make “The Postman” while Scorsese would have to wait sixteen more years before landing the prize in 2006 for “The Departed.”

Forrest Gump (1994)
Robert Zemeckis’ manipulative, schmaltzy Boomer yarn made piles of cash and wowed about half the critics in the country, but the movie’s sentimental platitudes and cheap nostalgia really don’t hold a candle to “Pulp Fiction,” the most influential and imitated film of the ’90s.

Gladiator (2000)
A poor man’s “Spartacus” tarted up with lots of CGI. For a director as talented as Ridley Scott, it’s hard to understand why the action scenes in “Gladiator” were as incoherent as they were. It was as if the entire editing staff was hopped up on Red Bull and Twinkies. If you want to see better-constructed action scenes in a better movie, check out the flick that should have won, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

Crash (2005)
One of the great “What were they thinking?” moments of Oscardom. Instead of choosing the best-reviewed movie of the year — “Brokeback Mountain” — the Academy picked this contrived, hectoring paean to liberal guilt. What made Ryan Phillippe shoot that guy? Racism. What made Ludacris jack that car? Racism. What made Sandra Bullock fall down the stairs? Racism. The movie is about as nuanced as a hammer blow to the head, as enjoyable as listening to your parents fight, and about as honest as your average Enron executive.

So this year, will the Academy get it right for a change or will it drop the ball once again? And what Oscar winners of the past do you think had no business taking home the gold?

]]> http://www.newsviewsblog.com/oscars-worst-best-pictures/feed/ 0 http://www.newsviewsblog.com/hudson-bikini-girl-make-idol-news-this-week/ http://www.newsviewsblog.com/hudson-bikini-girl-make-idol-news-this-week/#comments Sun, 18 Jan 2009 05:23:39 +0000 admin http://www.newsviewsblog.com/?p=1064 Well, chances are if you have working electricity (which is likely, given that you’re on the Internet reading this blog right now), then you are aware that a little show called American Idol kicked off its eighth season this week. Despite a lot of gum-flapping about the show’s supposed ratings decline, the public’s supposed growing disinterest in the contestants’ recorded output, and the supposedly dubious decision to cast fourth judge Kara DioGuardi, Idol still managed to draw roughly 30.1 million viewers for its premiere Tuesday night, making it the most-watched prime-time show of the television season thus far. So apparently Seacrest is not out, just yet. Then again, maybe Bikini Girl had something to do with it…

A past American Idol success story also made news this week, when it was announced that season 3 finalist-turned-Oscar-winning-superstar Jennifer Hudson will sing the National Anthem at next month’s Super Bowl (a broadcast with such gibungous ratings, it makes Idol’s 30.1 look like nuthin’). J.Hud hasn’t made a public appearance since her mother, brother, and nephew were tragically murdered last October, so this will be a big return to the spotlight for the troubled Idol. We here at That’s Really Week congratulate her on this comeback, and welcome her return to the spotlight.

A couple other troubled women–albeit more notorious ones, pun intended–were also in the spotlight this week. First, hip-hop diva Lil’ Kim angrily addressed the press about her depiction in Notorious, the new Notorious B.I.G. biopic. Kim, who was romantically linked to Biggie (real name: Christopher Wallace) early in her career and was famously mentored by the slain rapper, issued a statement that read: “The film studio and producers involved were more concerned about painting me as a ‘character’ to create a more interesting storyline instead of a person with talent, self-respect and who was able to achieve her own career success through hard work. Even though my relationship with Big was at times very difficult and complicated (as with most relationships we have all experienced at one time or another), it was also genuine and built on great admiration and love for each other. Regardless of the many lies in the movie and false portrayal of me to help carry a storyline through, I will still continue to carry his legacy through my hard work and music.”

But Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, dismissed Kim’s complaints, saying: “This is not a Lil’ Kim movie. This is a Christopher Wallace movie. It has nothing to do with Lil’ Kim. If she’s disappointed and upset, that is her problem.” And screenwriter Cheo Hodari Coker further added: “I think that [actress] Naturi [Naughton] did a great job playing Kim. I think people are going to be a lot more sympathetic towards [Lil' Kim] after seeing the movie.” But will they be more sympathetic towards Kim after reading her whiny statement? We shall see…

The other tortured female making the headlines this week was Amy Winehouse, whose jailbird husband Blake “Incarcerated” Fielder-Civil officially filed for divorce from behind bars. Yes, that’s right: Blake left her. Ouch. Mr. Incarcerated cited alleged infidelity as the reason for the long-rumored (and probably long-needed) split, although it would seem that until recently Amy was pretty loyal, since she never missed an opportunity to give her lesser half a shoutout from the stage or wear a Blake-themed hair accessory in her ever-expanding bouffant.

However, in an interview last weekend with tabloid News Of The World from her current vacation spot in St. Lucia, Amyactually raved that she’d “finally escaped from hell” and was “in love again.” With someone other than Blake Incarcerated. Yes, Amy has been spotted all over St. Lucia as of late with 21-year-old tourist Josh Bowman–who, Amy told the tabloid, “couldn’t be more different from my husband, which is not a bad thing.” (Well, we can’t argue with that logic.) “I don’t know what’s going on with us now and for the time being I’ve just forgotten I’m even married…But our whole marriage was based on doing drugs. So being with someone like Josh is much better for me.” She also said she would “deal with Blake when I get back”–which, we assume, will mean dealing with a divorce attorney. We suggest she hire Fiona Shackleton, the British super-lawyer who handled the multimillion-dollar divorces of Paul McCartney and Madonna. Amy, whose rise to great fame and fortune coincided with her May 2007 marriage to Blake, is going to need a seasoned legal pro here.

And on the subject of legal pros, it’s too bad Boy George didn’t have a more effective lawyer on his side this week. The flamboyant Culture Club frontman was sentenced to 15 months in jail after being convicted of falsely imprisoning a male escort (he was accused of handcuffing the escort to a wall in a London apartment). Judge David Radford apparently believed that Boy really did want to hurt his victim, saying that George was guilty of “gratuitous violence.” Oh well, maybe Boy George can hang out with Blake Incarcerated behind bars.

And speaking of fame, fortune, and pros, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2009 inductees were announced this week, and shockingly, the Stooges were once again passed over. We say “shockingly” because the Stooges’ legendary guitarist, Ron Asheton, died from a heart attack last week, and we figured this would at least earn the band some sympathy votes. (Not that the Stooges NEEDED any sympathy votes, mind you–they’re awesome and much deserving of the accolade.) This year’s nine possible Rock Hall nominees were Jeff Beck, Chic, Wanda Jackson, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Metallica, Run-DMC, the aforementioned Stooges, War, and Bobby Womack, and along with the Stooges, Chic didn’t make the cut either–despite their own vast influence on dance and soul music. Of course, Metallica and Run-DMC are great additions to the Hall, and we’re thrilled that fierce female rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson made it (in the “Early Influence” category). But the omission of recently reunited punk godfathers the Stooges, especially in light of recent tragic events, is no fun indeed.

The Stooges first got back together for California’s Coachella festival in 2003, and since then the fest has been a destination for all sorts of comeback bands, from the Pixies to Crowded House to the Verve to Rage Against The Machine. And this week it was announced that one of Coachella’s 2009 reunion bands will likely be ’90s slacker-rock icons Pavement, who (get ready to feel really old now) are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Other rumored reunion acts on this year’s Coachella bill include Britpoppers Blur and ’80s ska legends the Specials, although it seems extremely unlikely that a long-hoped-for Smiths reunion will take place at Coachella 2009. Or at Coachella 2029, for that matter. And we;ve got a feeling there won’t be any Culture Club reunion, either…

And thus concludes another week in headspinning headlines. Come back next week for more, and until then, goodnight and good music.

]]> http://www.newsviewsblog.com/hudson-bikini-girl-make-idol-news-this-week/feed/ 0 http://www.newsviewsblog.com/parking-lot-2/ http://www.newsviewsblog.com/parking-lot-2/#comments Sun, 14 Dec 2008 04:36:36 +0000 admin http://www.newsviewsblog.com/?p=1040 Springsteen fan tailgating. Giants Stadium, Summer 2003.

Destiny plays a cruel joke on an extremely enthusiastic young girl Taani (Anushka) as she loses her fiancé and his family in a road accident on the eve of her marriage. Her father, a retired professor, on his death bed requests her to marry his old favorite student, Surinder Shahani (SRK). Taani obeys his last wish and thus begins the start of this extraordinary love story between an otherwise ordinary jodi.

The shy, somewhat geeky Surinder has already fallen for Taani since the first time he has seen her but alls his hopes crash when Taani tells him the day they arrive at his house that she won’t be able to give him any love as that’s one feeling she has lost forever with the sudden turn of events in her life. The rest of the film is about how Suri transforms himself into a very hep flirtatious dude Raj to win her love using a dancing school as a platform for his antics. He is well aided with his childhood buddy Bobby (Pathak) who brings on the physical transformation in him. But what happens is Taani who is unaware of Raj being Suri himself ends up falling in love with Raj. Suri is now again in a fix but then he finally decides to take a bold step

Rab Ne has been definitely amongst the most awaited films of 2008 and there have been great expectations riding on it especially because it is Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge maker Aditya Chopra’s comeback film after a long gap of 8 years. The script has its moments and master craftsman Adi keeps you engaged initially with some really beautifully handled moments between SRK and Anushka. But as SRK’s character’s transformation comes in the grip slowly loosens and you start feeling restless with the pace slumping down considerably. What follows is a criss-cross between some really well penned and executed scenes and some really drab moments with badly placed songs acting as speed breakers. But Adi’s terrific dialogues deserve a special applause for touching the right chords.

Shah Rukh Khan is simply superb as first the shy Suri and then the flamboyant, full of energy, Raj. Newcomer Anushka gets a really well etched character to perform and it despite being her first film, she comes across an absolute natural. Vinay Pathak is fun and provides good comic relief.

Music of the film is good but the problem is apart from a very well tuned and picturised Haule Haule number, the rest songs appear wrongly placed. The picturisation of the number featuring Kajol, Preity Zinta, Bipasha Basu, Lara Dutta and Rani is mind blowing but again it coming at a wrong juncture doesn’t really make it work.

All in all, the film has the capacity to do very well in the North and the overseas but elsewhere the film won’t be anywhere near Adi’s earlier two works in terms of business.

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