ON THE RECORD
Many people complain about the lack of substance in the entertainment industry, but nobody knows exactly how to fix the problem.
Well, I have decided the solution lies in the hands of five entertainment personalities who have been on the down low as of late but need to resurface soon since they possess the ability to make the world of entertainment a significantly better place:
5. Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn — The stars of the comedic triumphs “Swingers” and “Made” are arguably the funniest tandem in Hollywood. Their magnetic screen chemistry is mesmerizing, and writer Favreau’s sharp dialogue is flat out “money.”
Two movies are not enough — Favreau and Vaughn need to team up more often because they are the coolest comedy filmmakers in the business, and the big winners are always the viewers.
4. The Wachowski Brothers — The writers/directors of “The Matrix” have been working on the film’s two sequels, “The Matrix: Reloaded” and “The Matrix: Revolutions,” since March 2001, and the films have finally been scheduled to hit theaters in May and November of 2003.
With the original’s cutting-edge special effects, pulse-pounding action sequences and mind-blowing plot, the Wachowskis set a new standard for filmmaking, and their next two efforts seem poised to pick up where the original left off.
3. Jerry Seinfeld — What’s the deal with TV sit-coms these days?
Network TV is filled to the brim with boring, half hour situation “comedies,” and with respect to “Everybody Loves Raymond,” syndicated “Seinfeld” remains the funniest show out there.
I know a Seinfeld return to the small screen is about as likely as George Costanza mastering his domain, or Kramer getting a job or Elaine settling down with one man.
Still, Jerry Seinfeld is an innovator who helped create one of the best and funniest TV shows in the tube’s history. If he returned to TV with a show titled “Seinfeld Reads the Phonebook,” I know it would be funnier than this season’s average episode of “Friends.”
2. Quentin Tarantino — The director of all directors; a cinematic genius responsible for such masterpieces as “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction.”
Tarantino’s new film, “Kill Bill,” isn’t coming out until 2003.
1997’s “Jackie Brown” was good, Mr. Tarantino, but that was FIVE years ago!
Come on, QT, your movies are too good to make us wait this long between projects! Please, get a move on with “Kill Bill,” for my sake. My “Pulp Fiction” DVD is wearing out, and I need some new Tarantino material, pronto!
1. W. Axl Rose — Often touted as the greatest entertainer on the planet, the reclusive Guns N’ Roses front man has been on hiatus since the band officially broke up in the mid-1990s.
Word on the street is he’s brought in a brand new band lineup and is working on a new album called “Chinese Democracy,” but in typical Axl fashion, no legitimate word has surfaced about a possible release date.
Many wonder if the new GNR will be as good as the original lineup of Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff and Steven. Probably not, but Axl is a phenomenal singer/musician/songwriter, and I will take whatever musical material I can get from Mr. Rose — I don’t care who is playing behind him.
Axl ranks up there with Bono, Cobain and Vedder as one of the most electric front men of the modern-music era, and with hard rock music in the shape it’s in, someone has got to step up and show all these second rate “rockers” what it means to be bonafide rock star.
Once these five amazing talents decide to show their collective faces on a more consistent basis, the world of entertainment will be a better, happier place.
J. Colin Trisler