Current cans Keith

If only Keith Olbermann had invited me back on his show after he got the Current TV gig, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

Blasts from the past: Me on MSNBC

Back when I had a place of honor in some producer's Rolodex at MSNBC, I was periodically called upon to offer Oscar predictions, mini-movie reviews, respectful obituaries and other sage commentary. (I think I was the guy they called when Roger Ebert's line was busy, or when they couldn't get anyone else on a holiday weekend.) I had a lot more hair back then -- and relatively little of it had yet turned gray. (Of course, it helped that I occasionally touched up the beard with Just for Men hair coloring.) In the above clip, I chat with anchor Gregg Jarrett (now a Fox News Channel employee) about the great George C. Scott the morning after the reluctant Oscar winner's death in 1999.



And in this clip, I chat talk with the lovely and talented Ashleigh Banfield about three movies -- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Thirteen Days and O Brother, Where Art Thou? -- that had Oscar-qualifying runs in New York and L.A. in late 2000, but didn't open until January 2001 in most markets. (You'd never guess that I bought that spiffy-cool faux leather jacket off the rack at a Target store in Seattle, would you?)



And even though I already referenced this one in an earlier blog post, here I am talking with the man himself, Keith Olbermann, about The Day After Tomorrow in 2004. (More beard, and a lot more gray in this one. Now you know why I went back to the goatee.) Which reminds me: I guess I need to get myself planted in some Rolodex over at Current TV, don't I?

Final Destination 5: You can run, but you can't hide

Constrained by a formula as restrictive as the elements that define haiku or iambic pentameter, scriptwriter Eric Heisserer and first-time feature director Steven Quale nevertheless generate a respectable amount of suspense in Final Destination 5. This latest entry in the 11-year-old horror series duly adheres to tradition by providing inventively grisly demises for various characters. But there's cheeky cleverness on display in the Rube Goldberg-style setups -- and darkly ironic payoffs -- for most of those death scenes. And while the movie's ingeniously nasty ending would serve as satisfying closure for the franchise, its likely success at the box-office (and as homevideo fodder) should guarantee even more sequels. You can read my Variety review here.

(BTW: The carnage kicks off with the spectacular collapse of a suspension bridge. Don't be surprised if certain pundits -- yes, I'm looking at you Keith Olbermann, Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz -- use footage of this disaster to illustrate their commentary while advocating more government funding of infrastructure repair. Not that there's anything wrong with that, you understand.)

A career highlight: My night as a guest on Countdown With Keith Olbermann

After this, it's been all downhill for me.

Say it isn't so!

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Keith Olbermann says goodbye. Raising, of course, the inevitable question: Did he jump, or was he pushed?

Keith Olbermann bids adieu -- eloquently, enthusiastically -- to Leslie Nielsen

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And I swear: I wrote my fart story before Keith told his. Great minds think alike, eh?

Robert Redford: Obama isn't doing enough

Robert Redford is seriously unhappy about the way President Obama is handling the ongoing Gulf Oil Spill (a metastasizing catastrophe now of sufficient importance to justify the use of capital letters, like The Great Recession). As he posted today on OneEarth.com:

"I am glad that President Obama announced that he would appoint an independent commission to look at the causes of the blowout and determine what we must do to prevent this from ever happening again. This is an important first step in addressing the national tragedy and coming up with real solutions to prevent future drilling disasters.

"But it is not enough."

Redford discussed his concerns tonight with Keith Olbermann during, apparently, a break in his post-production chores for The Conspirator. It would be overstating the case to describe Redford's tone as "angry." But I can't help feeling that, in the weeks and months ahead, he's going to be hard-pressed to devote his full attention to the task of completing and promoting a movie.

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Before we depart for the Toronto Film Festival... one last glance at the real world

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R.I.P.: Marie Olbermann (1929-2009)

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I hope her son appreciates the irony: I'm usually a devoted viewer of his program, but I missed this segment last night because I was at the opening-day game of my beloved Houston Astros. I didn't learn of his loss until I watched his show tonight. To Keith Olbermann: I offer you my sincere condolences. All I can add is: The special things you do indicate what a special lady she was.

Four more years! Four more years!

The decision-makers at MSNBC announce they have extended Keith Olbermann's contract through 2012. Is this a great country, or what? Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons, and necking in the park.

Just how damn rich is John McCain?

According to Keith Olbermann -- at, roughly, the 2:11 point in this clip -- looks like McCain is rich enough to hire Bruce Wayne's butler. Maybe that's why he accepted only SAG scale for appearing in Wedding Crashers.

Olbermann is not amused

Hillary said a bad, bad thing.

"Shut the hell up!"

Sounds right to me.

Kal does Countdown

Kal Penn of Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay talks to Keith Olbermann about... well, about the movie one brilliant film critic likened to a "scatological remix of a Keith Olbermann tirade." Hey, maybe this will maybe Jeff Wells think better of him.

Worst film critic in the world

Worst person: Michael Medved
What? You were expecting maybe David Manning?

K.O. does NBC

Kudos to Keith Olbermann for neither dumbing down nor wimping out -- in short, for being every bit as brass-ballsy as I expected -- while giving broadcast TV viewers a taste of the tangy cable newscast that is Countdown. He brought his signature MSNBC show to NBC early Sunday evening for what I hope the sister networks envision as just the first in a series of synergistic showcases.

Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty! Free at Last!

Paris Hilton has been sprung! A grateful nation rejoices!

The only question that remains: Will her release be the top story tonight on Countdown with Keith Olbermann?

The post-Oscar tour continues

Al Gore will be on Countdown with Keith Olbermann tonight at 8 EDT (7 CDT). Fearless prediction: Keith won't ask him about his weight.

R.I.P.: Captain America (1941-2007)

Damn! I thought he died years ago, when he got shot at the end of Easy Rider. Oh, wait! You mean the comic book character? Oh. Well, I bet Bill O'Reilly will blame liberals in general -- and Keith Olbermann in particular -- for the star-spangled hero's untimely demise.

Four more years! Four more years!

Keith Olbermann -- the only man in TV today who's a natural heir to Edward R. Murrow and Ernie Kovacs -- will have a steady gig at MSNBC (and some new duties at NBC) through 2011. Let joy reign supreme. Let there be dancing in the streets, drinking in the saloons and necking in the parks.