Weekend Wrap Up

Just a few items from the weekend...

- Thanks to those who took me up on the invitation to come out to the Downtown Harvest show on Friday night. The turnout was ridiculous and glad there was such great support for Frank and the band. (Alexis wants a shout-out because she showed up... I'll oblige this time, but Alexis, come on, I expect you to show up to cool events that I endorse...)

- So Belman was telling me how he was at Caroline's (the well-known comedy club) on Friday night and Jeff Garlin was performing (you know him as Jeff Greene from Curb Your Enthusiasm). Anyway, so who ends up being in the crowd and comes on stage for an impromptu comedy set? Robin Williams. How crazy is that?

- Saw Thank You for Smoking on Saturday night with the Jessica. Not sure how much press this movie has gotten in other places, but around here, it's being talked up pretty well. The movie is about a lobbyist named Nick Naylor (played by Aaron Eckhart) who works for "The Academy of Tobacco Studies" and defends the cigarette companies in the fight against smoking. The enemy is Vermont Senator Ortolan Finistirre (played well by William H. Macy) who despises Naylor and will do anything to have him go down in flames along with all of the major tobacco companies. In the meantime, Naylor is also battling internal issues about how much of a father he is being to his son after a recent divorce from his wife. Side note: Katie Holmes is in this flick playing the sneaky reporter for a DC newspaper that is trying to get into the mind of Nick Naylor, and will go to any length to obtain her story. The dialogue in the movie is extremely witty and well-written, and is persuading to the point that you almost feel for the lobbyists of the industries (tobacco, alcohol, and firearms) that are constantly getting flack from the rest of the country. The movie is not intended to change your perspective on tobacco companies, but rather just to tell the story from the perspective of someone who makes a living working for the tobacco industry. A fascinating, satirical film, and I will definitely give it the Ross Recommendation.

- Anybody see The Sopranos last night? Interesting side note: The banquet hall where Johnny Sack's daughter's wedding was held... I'm almost certain that it was filmed at a place in Great Neck, Long Island called Leonard's, where Jessica's cousin's bat mitzvah was held last year. Toward the end of the episode when they were all outside of the hall, you could see the "Leonard's" sign in the background. Not that anyone really cares, but I was excited that I recognized a location that was used in filming an episode of The Sopranos.

That'll do it for now. More RPR'ing tomorrow...