“Everywhere… you’re being sold to.”
– Morgan Spurlock
We all know product placement happens in movies. You see the results when a can of Coke is seen in a shot instead of a generic soda, or a corporate logo comes into focus in a scene played out in Times Square.
The existence of product placement is not a mystery or scandal, but Morgan Spurlock wanted to put it to a real test. Big budget movies like Iron Man can command huge numbers for fast food endorsement deals. But could Spurlock finance an indie documentary on product placement alone?
Since I was old enough to legally get a job, I’ve been working for record stores, comic book shops, publishers, and magazines. If people didn’t pay for entertainment content, it’s unlikely that I would have had any of those jobs. Jobs which pay my rent, buy my beer, and allow me to support other artists. And as a current music producer, I sometimes fear the online culture of free has made it almost impossible for me to earn a living recording independent bands.
In the previous installments of our futuristic fiction series, Please Use Rear Exit, Mikhail, who recently x-ed his GF (Katya), ventures out for his first major post-break up night on the tiles with the boys. Meanwhile, Katya is similarly “enjoying” a night out with the girls. However, though the no-longer happy couple are experiencing separate but parallel nights out, they exist in the same universe, so there’s a chance their worlds will collide at some point…
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Please Use Rear Exit: Chapter 10 – Devil’s Dance
Their timing couldn’t have been more impeccable, at least as far as the line was concerned. Anything’s bouncers had started to let people in, no longer concerned about maintaining a line outside the doors for the purpose of appearances. And yet, the club wasn’t so crowded that they couldn’t let a three-guy-to-zero-girl ratio slide by every once in awhile. The overall breeziness of the situation put some pause in Mikhail’s step and he had to fight the temptation to run. If Jayson hadn’t pushed him forward, he might’ve discovered a way back.
Superman has been slated to return to the silver screen for quite some time now. It’s been nearly six months since Zack Snyder (Watchmen) signed on to direct the Kryptonian’s next blockbuster. There has been a slow trickle of information about the movie, but none of them have been as substantial as the latest news.
“It’s becoming almost survival of the kindest.”
– Tom Shadyac
Director Tom Shadyac is playing up the fact that the director of Ace Ventura: Pet Detective has made a philosophical documentary. It shouldn’t be such a shock to people. Anyone deserves a voice in matters of humanity, and someone who’s already in touch with how to inspire laughter and happiness doubly so.
This Sunday (Mar 20th) our very special in-studio guest will be Jonathan Bates of Mellowdrone, and, more recently, Big Black Delta. Jon is also a sometime collaborator with M83 vocalist Morgan Kibby. The two have worked on the M83 remix of Daft Punk’s “Fall” (from the Tron soundtrack), as well as on tracks for Morgan’s solo project, White Sea.
