Randomness: Sorcerers, Pesci, Garfield

Three things that amused me in the past 48 hours.

1. Message received from my friend txtcritic whilst under the influence of Love Ranch

Man, this Joe Pesci has RANGE.

2. E-mail received from reader Yonatan.

It may surprise you but after seeing the movie, I can safely predict that The Sorcerer's Apprentice won't be nominated for an Oscar.

Ah, sweet sarcasm. Times two.

3. Various comments /articles about the "pennies" Andrew Garfield is making for that Untitled Spider-Man Reboot (2012). The hyperbole/perspective distortion amuses in a gallows humor sort of way in this era of double digit unemployment. I understand that it's not Nicolas Cage millions but from the vantage point of this perpetually poor writer $500,000 seems like a very nice paycheck for six/seven months work and a leap frog move up several rungs on Hollywood's lucrative latter. What is it they always say about your first hit in Hollywood, 'You'll make it on the next picture.'? If I ran Hollywood, I'd almost always opt for unknowns for superhero pictures. I've never understood why they pay huge star salaries when the suit and not the face is the draw (for this genre I mean, Iron Man being the exception that proves the rule). Both big screen supermans Christopher Reeve in Superman (1978) and Brandon Routh in Superman Returns (2006) had less acting experience than Garfield has now. I wonder how much they were paid?

Andrew Garfield with his BAFTA trophy for Boy A (2007) --->

[pet peeve tangent alert] One thing that did not amuse me in the past 72 hours... the various online comments/articles hating on Garfield because he's "obscure." Nothing sets me on edge quite as much as pride in ignorance and the shameless act of demanding that that ignorance be seen as a valid opinion. All opinions are not created equally. Why do so many people hate anything unfamiliar on principle or refuse to look anything up or do any research? It's so f***ing lazy. Just because you've never heard of someone does not mean they aren't talented. It just means that you've never heard of them. Simple as that. No shame in not knowing something or someone. It happens to all of us. The only shame is to demand that you should never have to know it and that the world should cater to your limitations of experience or imagination. [/pet peeve rant]

P.S. I have no idea why I continue to talk about this Spider-Man picture when I think it's a bad idea in the first place. I blame my affection for the webslinger, deeply rooted since childhood.