Esther Kustanowitz: November 2008 Archives

At the Celebration of Jewish Books this weekend in Los Angeles, actor Evan Handler was making his 11th stop on an 18-city book tour in promotion of his new book, "It's Only Temporary: The Good News and Bad News of Being Alive."

Handler, perhaps best known for his "Sex and the City" character Harry Goldenblatt, described his current acting endeavor, "Californication," as "filthy dirty, with an actual heart" (a great description, if you've ever seen the show and can see past the, um, Californicating)--a description which, if his presentation was representative of the work as a whole, may also apply to sections of the book. He has a chapter titled "Menace to Society," in which the author is the menace in question; the chapter describes his irresponsible behavior with women after he recovered from "incurable" leukemia. There was also some graphic, but very funny, discussion of American personal hygiene as seen through the eyes of Handler's Italian-born wife.

Since his trip to Africa in 2006, Barack Obama had someone hot on his tail: Edward Norton's Class 5 Films production company, which had been following Obama on the campaign trail of what became his successful run for U.S. President. Now the documentary will have a home, not in theaters, and not on TV. Because it's not TV; it's HBO.

According to Broadcasting and Cable online, HBO bought the documentary, which is as-yet untitled, for a 2009 premiere. According to the report, "The film will document his rise, while 'examining American politics and culture through the prism of his candidacy.'"

"Senator Obama's history-making race for the White House has given our film a perfect framework to explore the pulse of the country at this vital moment in our history," Norton said, announcing the film. "We believe this film will capture a tipping point in American history when a new generation of leadership emerged and old prejudices were finally vaulted over. We're thrilled that this film will be presented by HBO, which has long been one of the notable champions of the documentary film but, more importantly, offers us by far the best chance to share this film with the widest audience."

Ah, Stephen Baldwin. Between your passion for your faith and your movie career, you have provided Idol Chatter with much content over the years. And during this election, you did not disappoint, vocalizing your disapproval of Barack Obama, now our incoming President, and the celebs who supported him. You noted that equating four years of John McCain with four more years of George W. Bush was "the most stupidest thing" you ever heard. And when pressed, you crossed your fingers and promised that if Obama wins, you were leaving the country:

Stephen, regardless of our individual politics, we support your right to be a political dissenter. But because we are also a center of pop culture reporting, we feel obliged to reveal something that our research and collective memory has yielded: If you head north, be careful. Remember what "Canada" did in "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" as it declared war on the US?

Last week's election was historic in a major way--with the election of Barack Obama, a Democrat and a liberal supported by many Hollywood folks, it looked like racism had been retired in favor of change and that a more conservative viewpoint had at last been trampled by a promise of liberal change. But in California, while last Election Day was a strike against racism as a campaign issue, it wasn't a total win for liberals. Witness the "Prop 8" situation.

While most of the people I've encountered in LA voted no on 8--which meant a vote in favor of equal rights for all marriages, even between spouses of the same sex -- the proposition passed by a narrow margin, causing an uproar from equal rights supporters, celebs and civilians alike, and spawning public rallies against what is being called the "gay marriage ban."

Outspoken comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres just released a statement about this week's historic election; no surprise that while she lauded the election of Barack Obama as a step forward, she was disappointed by Prop 8's ratification.3

"Watching the returns on election night was an amazing experience. Barack Obama is our new president. Change is here. I, like millions of Americans, felt like we had taken a giant step towards equality. We were watching history.

"This morning, when it was clear that Proposition 8 had passed in California, I can't explain the feeling I had. I was saddened beyond belief. Here we just had a giant step towards equality and then on the very next day, we took a giant step away. I believe one day a 'ban on gay marriage' will sound totally ridiculous. In the meantime, I will continue to speak out for equality for all of us."

In West Hollywood and Hollywood Wednesday night, the people -- an estimated 2500-3000 of them -- took to the streets to voice their opposition to Prop 8. LA county has suspended marriage licenses for gays, and one LAist writer called out Prop 8 supporters in "Shame on you, California."

Meantime, with Prop 8 passing by 492,000 votes and with 1.5 million absentee ballots yet to be counted, this issue is likely to be the focus of much discussion here on the west coast in the coming days. And Idol Chatter is fairly sure you'll be hearing more from Ellen on the issue...

Bar none, the #1 non-political winner from this year's election process is Tina Fey. You'd be hard pressed to find another cultural figure who entered the election maelstrom a superstar and emerged a megastar. She was already having a good...

According to a recent CNN report, author Michael Crichton has died in Los Angeles, "unexpectedly, after a courageous and private battle against cancer." He was 66. To some book-lovers, Michael Crichton was known as the six-foot, nine-inch tall author of...

If you told me that the footage in this new trailer for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is culled from the previous installments in the series, I would have no trouble believing you. Most of the images and bits...

Whether he's playing Silent Bob, second fiddle to a foul-mouthed, sex-and-drugs-obsessed Jay, or taking on Catholic dogma in the film of the same name, writer/director Kevin Smith ("Chasing Amy," "Mallrats," "Dogma") may not be the most family-friendly of filmmakers. Take...

If Sarah Palin's recent shout out to the well-liked TV comedy star who portrays her on Saturday Night Live is any indication, the VP candidate must be feeling pretty confident about her chances of serving her country. At a...

You've heard of "The Great Schlep," the Internet phenomenon starring comedian Sarah Silverman and urging grandkids everywhere to get down to Florida to make sure their grandparents vote (presumably for Obama). You probably haven't heard of "The Great Hack," so...