NAME: Samuel L. Jackson
AUDIT DATE: November 22, 2000
AGE: 51
OCCUPATION: Actor
EXPERIENCE: appearances in 72 movies and TV specials since 1972

Assessment

Many's the star who has a memorable role in a huge hit movie, fails to follow it up with anything of comparable impact, and then proceeds to coast for years on the goodwill it generates. (We've already delineated this phenomenon in our Fame Audit of Sharon Stone.) It's not surprising that so many actors do it, given the fact that in any given year, there are only about twelve good roles to be had in all the movies produced, from every studio -- and five of those will probably be played by Julianne Moore. The issue is that most of the roles on which actors coast do not merit the staying power granted them by producers and the public. Demi Moore in Ghost? Doesn't balance Mortal Thoughts, The Butcher's Wife, and The Juror. Nicolas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas? No excuse for Con Air, Snake Eyes, and Gone in Sixty Seconds. And Claire Danes has been coasting on My So-Called Life for...well, going on six years now.

Even Samuel L. Jackson -- the original bad motherfucker -- has been coasting. He's been coasting -- for going on six years now, too -- on Jules Winnfield from Pulp Fiction. But here's the thing: it's a part worth coasting on. He's come by his coasting honestly. He's earned the right to coast for a while.

I happened to watch Pulp Fiction on TV just last weekend. Like all right-minded people, I've seen Pulp Fiction on several occasions. I've owned it on video, on letterboxed video, and, now, on DVD. Whatever you may think about Quentin Tarantino as a person or a celebrity (and, believe me, I think he's a buffoon), or about his use of the "n" word, or how sick you may be of the goddamn "Royale with Cheese" scene (and, believe me, I feel you on the last one), it's just a great movie, and in spite of the myriad rip-offs that have flooded the market in subsequent years, it still stands up. I daresay most of the reason it does stand up is due to Jackson's performance. We see Jules in nearly every conceivable mood: joking with a friend and co-worker; debating what constitutes cheating with a man's wife; scaring the piss out of small-time drug cheats; discussing his religious faith; scared, himself, when he strays from his professional script and gets himself in trouble; humiliated at the solution to his predicament; ultimately triumphant when he's able to help spare the lives of strangers. It's the performance of a lifetime, really. It's breathtaking.

Jackson was justly nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar™ for Jules Winnfield (which he lost), and since then, he's been having a nice, long, probably satisfying coast on that role. Which is not to say he hasn't been working -- quite the contrary. Jackson has been incredibly busy throughout the '90s; he's appeared in twenty-seven feature films since Pulp Fiction. But they haven't all been...quite as memorable as Pulp Fiction, nor has he been fortunate enough to play anyone as magnetic as Jules since then. I mean, he wasn't likely to be nominated for any awards for such fare as The Great White Hype. Or The Long Kiss Goodnight. Or One Eight Seven. Or Deep Blue Sea. But Jackson isn't stupid. He knows we're still waiting for another Jules-calibre performance, so he'll mix up his indifferent appearances in shitty films by playing small but significant and interesting roles in small but significant and interesting movies -- like Eve's Bayou, and The Red Violin, and Trees Lounge. He teased us by playing Ordell Robbie in Jackie Brown -- basically, a Jules retread, with a different funny hairstyle. (And, speaking of different funny hairstyles, the less said about Unbreakable, the better. What the fuck is on his head in that shit -- a Muppet?)

Shaft really represents the turning point of Jackson's career. For one thing, it's probably the highest-profile role he's played since Jules. And it's emblematic of his fame that he played it, since there's not another actor in his class -- of his age, as famous as he -- who could carry a movie loaded down by such high expectations. (Delroy Lindo? Maybe a few years ago, when he and Jackson were about equally famous, but not now. Lindo is another bad motherfucker, though.) But it's also, we think, the last of his "coasting" roles. Come on, Jackson could have played Shaft while in a coma. And it was a big movie, yeah, and we're sure he made a lot of money off it, but...that's it, right? You're going to stop saying yes to every script that crosses his desk and just do good movies from now on, right? Right? Please? Could you? Because we don't want to have to revisit this Fame Audit two years from now and bust you down to Keenen Ivory Wayans.

Assets

• Really has the chops
• Is fucking cool
• Has been married to the same woman for the past twenty years
• "And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee."

Liabilities

• Made a pissy face when he lost the Oscar™ to Martin Landau
• Was reportedly "difficult" on the set of Shaft
• He's made over thirty movies since Pulp Fiction. Enough, already.
• And one of them was Sphere. And another one was Rules of Engagement.

Fame Barometer

Current approximate level of fame: Samuel L. Jackson

Deserved approximate level of fame: Samuel L. Jackson

We just can’t get enough of Samuel L. Jackson’s movies... And if you’re reading this, that means you can’t either. Which means you have good taste, like us. Check out the latest and greatest films that you should be watching.(we know we are) over at Hollywood Insider.

NAME: Sandra Bullock
AUDIT DATE: December 20, 2000
AGE: 36
OCCUPATION: Actor
EXPERIENCE: 31 movies, TV series, and TV movies

Assessment

We don't want to like Sandra Bullock.

For a while, she made that easy for us by appearing in movies like Two if by Sea (remember America's brief love affair with Denis Leary? We don't, really, either) and the vanity project In Love and War and the Waterworld-calibre flop Speed 2: Cruise Control. When she started commanding Julia Roberts-level pay on the strength of her supporting (though undeniably charming) performance in the original Speed and her (oh, all right: adorable) starring role in While You Were Sleeping, we were a bit surprised at her audacity.

But now, we have to admit that she deserves the money, and the fame, because she is a genuine movie star.

The question, naturally, is, what does that mean?

In Sandra's case, it means that even as her movie fortunes ebb and flow -- from the above-named flops to more favourably received efforts like Forces of Nature, 28 Days, Practical Magic, and the recent Bird Box (which Hollyywood Insider has done an excellent “But is it Oscar-worthy?” analysis of) -- she's not out of place on the cover of InStyle or Vanity Fair. Her Q rating is high. She plays in Peoria.

And Sandra's name has enough weight that nearly any movie in which she appears is essentially a star vehicle (for herself, I mean). Think about it: her most recent films have paired her with the likes of Aidan Quinn, Harry Connick Jr., Viggo Mortensen, and some British dude whose name even I don't remember. (Wanna bet whether she does?) Okay, one could argue that Ben Affleck, her himbo du jour in Forces of Nature, was, at the time, a star of her magnitude -- his face was visible on the poster and video box, after all -- but my feeling was that she was giving poor Ben a leg-up in some kind of Bring Your Flat-Headed Frat-Boy-Pig to Work celebrity outreach effort. Because...can Ben carry a movie on his own? No. No, he can't. He needs his ex-girlfriend or a giant meteor or Bruce Willis or a Japanese bombing attack (or some combination of the above) to use as a crutch to prop up his ever-declining appeal. Wrong, am I? Check out Reindeer Games and then we'll talk. But this isn't Ben Affleck's Fame Audit; my point is that, when you really think about it, Sandra Bullock is a much bigger star than he.

And well she should be. There's a reason she's so frequently compared to Julia Roberts; both exude a natural sweetness and sort of aw-shucks normalcy that is so rare and precious that when a Gwyneth attempts to manufacture it in Bounce, it's a big story. "Look, she's acting like she lives in the Valley! Couldn't you die?" Would it be a story if Sandra Bullock played a middle-class widowed mom? No. Similarly, it wasn't much of a story when Julia Roberts played a lower-middle-class divorced mom in Erin Brockovich. Some actors are capable of being huge movie stars and playing normal, insecure, sometimes messed-up people you might want to hang out with, and if Sandra's apparently normalcy and goofiness in her real life (or, as much as we see of it in interviews, anyway) is an act, as some have charged, then it's even more to her credit that she's able to pull it off in the movies. Hey, we don't buy all that America's Sweetheart crap, but our sense, inasmuch as we're able to observe Sandra Bullock, is that she doesn't, either.

Sandra Bullock is a movie star, plain and simple. She may not be a virtuoso actor, but she knows her strengths and she gets the job done. Long may she get movies greenlit on the sheer force of her personal appeal.

Assets

• Made Bill Pullman seem irresistibly desirable in While You Were Sleeping
• Started her own production company soon after her post-Speed rise
• Will play a clumsy FBI agent in Pygmalion re-telling Miss Congeniality
• Generally manages to keep her personal life personal

Liabilities

• Wasn't quite able to repeat the feat for Liam Neeson in Gun Shy
• Used that production company to produce Gun Shy
• MC might be arriving a little too soon after the critically reviled Beautiful
• Has frequently called Tate Donovan "the love of her life." Tate Donovan.

Fame Barometer

Current approximate level of fame: Sandra Bullock

Deserved approximate level of fame: Sandra Bullock

They certainly don’t make appetizing gross-out comedies like they used to, right? Well, America’s favorite hapless he-whore Deuce Bigalow is back to romancing the assortment of freaks and geeks that makes up his weird world in the disdaining dud Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. Comic Rob Schneider hastily decided to dust off his pipsqueak male prostitute persona and mine all the absurd and cheapened laughs for what it’s worth. Routinely laced with mean-spirited and sophomoric sexual slapstick with all the trivial charm of a sloppy hickey on the neck, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is nothing but an extended dirty joke looking for perverse praise and attention.

When Schneider first appeared as the runt-sized Romeo in 1999’s Deuce Bigalow: Male Prostitute, there was an inexplicable appeal to the toilet humor that was somewhat inspired in its twisted tendencies. The on-going gag of an everyday dweeb forced to sell his sexual services to lonely-hearted misfits to financially keep his head above water was inherently funny at first. Granted Schneider’s Deuce proudly shuffled the bottom of the deck with outlandish sight gags although the comedy was as callous as falling face first into a bathroom urinal. However, the second time around for this klutzy Cassanova finds the same recycled foolishness drenched in a repetitive raunchiness that is neither wickedly funny or productively naughty.

After causing the ruckus involving seemingly playful dolphins to attack a group of sightless elderly swimmers in the water, Deuce Bigalow is forced to leave the country immediately. Luckily, Deuce decided to pay a visit to his old buddy and former pimp T.J. (Eddie Griffin) who has relocated his flesh-selling business to Amsterdam. But soon some maniac is out on the loose killing the precious members of the Union of Prostidudes (yes, I kid you not) and the blame is being shifted to T.J. In order to save T.J. 's neck from the local Dutch law enforcement, Deuce must go undercover and return to his “man-whoring” duties to reveal the real crazed culprit.

Of course this sets up the tawdry chuckles where Deuce once again encounters a slew of female slogs looking to vie for his swinging and swaggering undivided attention. The tasteless presentation of serving up disfigured and dysfunctional dames for Deuce to seduce with trepidation isn’t hilarious by any stretch of the imagination. On the contrary, it’s heartless and derogatory and the movie’s political incorrectness is woefully infantile at best. And to make Deuce Bigalow somewhat sympathetic, they saddle him with an obsessive-compulsive disorder love interest named Hanna Verboom.

Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo is notoriously affiliated with Schneider’s ex-Saturday Night Live chum Adam Sandler’s movie production company. Since the tandem managed to squeeze manic mileage out of the Deuce Bigalow outrageous movie machine some six years ago, why not capitalize and super size the nonsensical nuttiness for today’s climate? Nothing is off limits with this lewd and lowbrow display in European Gigolo. Schneider, along with co-writers Jason Ward and David Garrett, must have scribbled their script with a thick crayon. The endless barrage of sick-minded racial stereotypes, dwarf-tossing, and pokes at mental illness and the crippled all make for some scabrous entertainment at its worst. In fact, one might want to take a shower after a single viewing of this corrosive comedy of errors.

Schneider can be hysterical in the right amount of dosages but his act wears thin as the unlikely studmuffin straining for bellyaching chuckles in this maligned piece of mockery. Griffin was universally riotous as Deuce’s pimping pal in the original outing but his T.J. barely musters up anything that’s memorable in European Gigolo. And Jeroen Krabbe (The Fugitive) is severely wasted as the police detective out to hunt down the gigolo-killing psycho.

Whether you get an odd kick out of watching Deuce embrace his late wife’s artificial leg or endure the string of body fluid references that shamelessly flow throughout this infested laugher, here’s hoping that this pin-headed playboy kisses one last deformed client (preferably one with a live hand grenade attached to her navel).

We have more in-depth articles at Hollywood Insider for you to enjoy, so head over there and check them out.

Director Guy Richie was on the top 5 of my favorite movie makers of all time, but now after releasing the new title Sherlock Holmes he deserves the place on number 3. His new movie is a blast and appealing from all points of view; first of all the most perfect is the actors chosen for the roles: the movie stars Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes and Jude Law as Dr. John Watson, noticeable are the villains also played by Mark Strong as Lord Blackwood.

With such a cast and many more others, the movie will be appealing to all the skeptics out there. The movie starts with the capture of Lord Blackwood after a series of occult related crimes; in a series of action packed scenes they finally apprehend the villain that is finally imprisoned and awaiting the death penalty. It is good to notice that the whole way the movie was based and the action scenes are totally different from what you would expect and it’s in the best way possible; Sherlock Holmes is very cold and calculated man that thinks every battle like a chess one with several moves in advance; he visualizes the battle before it starts and does exactly how he imagined every time to the last detail. In contrast with that Dr. Watson is a more temperate man that acts on impulse and is more “muscle” in the duo they play out, each other completing themselves as a whole.

Returning to the plot, soon after the execution of Lord Blackwood there is an outbreak of crimes done in the same matter, and to put even more doubt, the lord’s grave is blasted away and people claim he rose from the dead. To make the movie even more intense, we get an insight into Sherlock’s personal feelings for Rachel McAdams playing as Irene Adler, the only person that ever tricked him and got away; it’s a tight and tense relationship they have and only adds up to the whole feeling of the movie.

The whole atmosphere is just right and the feeling of old London is perfectly set up, add to this the continuous riddles and mysteries attached with action scenes in the entire movie is just perfect. Out of all the elements I must say that Robert Downey Jr. has the most praise here along with Jude Law, the duo feel very “real” adding a lot to the overall feeling and the acting is top notch, even nominated to 2 Oscars, thing to take into consideration. All in all this is a top movie full of action and it is definitely one that will keep you glued to the screen for the entire time. This is a MUST in every movie enthusiasts home.

We have more in-depth articles at Hollywood Insider that you’ll definitely enjoy, so head over to our site and check them out.

Ferguson Explores the Decision Making Process in Bush's Inner Circle

Software company millionaire turned filmmaker directs a documentary that interviews the top officials, journalists and authors. Investigates ways to get out of Iraq now.

Recently, the media has been using their ability to demonstrate what exactly is going on in Iraq. More films are coming out in the dramatic genre and documentary forms.

Charles Ferguson’s new documentary No End in Sight explains the decision making process of the war. For those who have kept up with the reporting and events in the Middle East, there are not any new facts, per se. However, what Ferguson’s documentary uncovers is the unstructured, arrogance, and incompetence of the Bush administration which led to the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Ferguson divided his film into three sections: The Void, Things fall Apart, and Chaos. Through these sections, he lays out in chronological order the events that led up to the invasion, phases of war, and occupation of Iraq. The Defense Intelligence Agency analyst, Marc Galasco recalls the Bush administration’s attempts to discover a link between Saddam and Al Qaeda. Ferguson also includes powerfully damning footage of Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Tenet. (Although asked, all in Bush’s Inner Circle declined to be interviewed for this documentary).

Ferguson interviewed high ranking officials who either resigned or were fired because they no longer agreed with Bush’s foreign policy. Initially, they were brought on to restructure and rebuild Iraq. However, their advice and reports went discarded and were never read by Bush’s Inner Circle and Washington.

Ferguson also interviews writer George Packer (The Assassin’s Gate) who evaluated mismanagement in the war when Bush gave NSPD-24 (National Security Presidential Directive Number 24) the order to give control of post-war Iraq to the Pentagon. He also explores the errors made by Ahmed Chalabi and the Bush administration for believing his predictions. The unpreparedness for Ambassador Barbara Bodine in Iraq was unacceptable because she was placed without staff, phones, resources, plans, or security. Basically starting from zero. Later, Paul Bremer came in to implement the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) with his disastrous de’Baathification policy and disbanded the Iraqi army. This led to 27% unemployment (underestimated figure), rioting, protests, lawlessness, and an increase in the Iraqi Insurgency.

Throughout the film, narrator Campbell Scott breaks in stating “Iraq has disintegrated into chaos,” as Iraqis run for cover, bleed to death, and scream for their loved ones. Many of the bombing go unreported, while the numbers of Iraqi injuries, deaths, and refugees continue to increase. In Baghdad, alone, people are without water, electricity, and everyone must be home by eight in the evening. Random kidnapping, ransoms, car hijackings, shootings, and other violent crimes have broken out all over Iraq.

The title of No End in Sight resonates with Americans and Iraqis alike. What Ferguson explicitly shows is that the administration had no end in mind. Now, no real end seems possible in the near future for at least the cessation of violence in Iraq or U.S. presence. The film argues that the first year of occupation is a done deed. He also argues that the administration has done nothing to rectify their glaring errors either.

His documentary is powerfully filmed, well-balanced, and concise. The topic is chilling as often truth is. However, anyone interested in knowing the facts about Washington politics may like to view this film.

Charles Ferguson, a former Brookings Institution fellow and co-founder of a lucrative software company. He sold his company to Microsoft for $133 million. No End in Sight is his first documentary film.

Speaking of “no end in sight”, read all about the impact of the recent pandemic on cinema at Hollywood Insider.

	Announcement:- COMING SOON !! MYF MUSICAL 2002 Welcome To Sitiawan Sitiawan, which is in the district of Manjung, is perhaps most noted for its Foochow heritage because this was where they first set foot when they arrived here. It all started on Sept 9, 1903, when 363 Christian Foochows led by two Chinese pastors came to Sitiawan with wives and children in tow.The immigrants settled in what is today known as Kampung Koh. Desperate to escape the poverty in Fujian in south-east China, the pioneers worked in rubber plantations in Sitiawan. Soon, they started building schools and Churches which they laid great emphasis on. Since then, the Foochow heritage has been prominently identified with Sitiawan. In fact, residents of Kampung Koh will tell you that anyone above the age of 80 living in the village is a direct Foochow descendant from China.
The Story Of Sitiawan A five-minute drive from Kampung Cina will take you to Kampung Sitiawan and the infamous Dindings river. In fact, Sitiawan got its name from an incident involving two elephants and the Dindings river. Story has it that in the late 1800s, an elephant which was transporting tin ore along the Dindings river, off the coast of Perak, started to sink in some soft sand. Efforts to help save the elephant were in vain and everyone gave up and left. However, the second elephant refused to budge and hung on to its friend, resulting in them drowning together. The tale of the loyal friendship and sacrifice of the setia kawan (faithful friend) was soon linked to the area and over the years, Setia Kawan evolved into 'Sitiawan'.	Famous Foods The making of mi sua, gong pian biscuits and gor loo (soup cooked with fish stomach) are all part of this tradition which is a vital part of the daily living of the residents of Kampung Koh today. Gong pian is made using lard, onions, salt and flour. Once the ingredients have been stuffed into a ball of flour and flattened with a rolling pin, they are slapped onto the sides of a homemade traditional Chinese oven. The biscuits take approximately 15 minutes to bake and sell at the rate of 1,200 a day at the Cheong Cia Gong Pian shop (the only one of its kind in the country selling this particular type of biscuit) in Sitiawan. Apparently, one has to acquire the taste for the biscuit before one can appreciate it. Next to Kampung Koh is Kampung Cina, which is lined with seafood restaurants. The cheap seafood and fresh coconut water is the trademark of these restaurants popular with the locals of Sitiawan. The main attraction however is that all the seafood restaurants are built under coconut trees. When looking for a seafood restaurant in Kampung Cina, just look out for the coconut trees. Kampung Koh, however, is not just famous for its Foochow heritage but also for its chilli sauce. The 20-year-old Koki chilli (Kg.Koh Cili), which started off as a humble grocery shop, produces approximately 3,000 bottles of chilli sauce a day.
Then And Now Miles of rubber plantations changed to oil palm plantations, which in turn is being replaced by countless housing schemes, condominiums and hotels. Prices of property is going up as well because the Lumut naval dockyard has been privatised and is attracting manufacturers. A sleepy Sitiawan is thus starting to awaken with the advent of development. Although many of the residents own cars, it is more common to see motorcyclist especially on the kampung roads. Most of the young people in Sitiawan, with a population of 7,193 (1991), have left to seek their fortunes in larger cities. Some have even gone to further their education in these cities after their Form Five as Sitiawan has no colleges. Excerpts taken from 'The Star' newspaper dated April 30, 2000 You Are Visitor Number ..	Old And New Development is beginning to change the face of Sitiawan, illustrated here by the sharp contrast between Wisma Ganda, a shopping complex, and pre-war shophouses.