Penn State president: Mike McQueary placed on administrative leave

--> AAA??Nov. 11, 2011?4:10 PM ET
Penn State president: Mike McQueary placed on administrative leave
AP

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, right, and assistant coach Mike McQueary walk the field during practice, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/The Citizens' Voice, Michael R. Sisak) MANDATORY CREDIT

Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, right, and assistant coach Mike McQueary walk the field during practice, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2011, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/The Citizens' Voice, Michael R. Sisak) MANDATORY CREDIT

Penn State University Board of Trustees member Kenneth C. Frazier, center, president of Merck & Co., is surrounded by media after being appointed by the trustees to chair a special committee to investigate the alleged child abuse on campus, in State College, Pa., Friday, Nov. 11, 2011. The Penn State University Board of Trustees who fired legendary football coach Joe Paterno and school president Graham Spanier are meeting in the wake of the massive shakeup prompted by a child sex-abuse scandal. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Penn State interim head football coach Tom Bradley looks on during NCAA college footbal practice Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011, in State College, Pa. The defensive coordinator was appointed interim coach by Penn State's board of trustees after it fired Paterno on Wednesday night , Nov. 9, in the wake of a child sex-abuse scandal involving former assistant Jerry Sandusky. (AP Photo/The Patriot-News, Joe Hermitt)

(AP) ? Penn State president: Mike McQueary placed on administrative leaveAssociated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-11-11-APNewsAlert/id-1252a26656734120a1876d237bd75264

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Taylor Swift is CMA's entertainer of the year

A giddy Taylor Swift won her second entertainer of the year award and rising sibling act The Band Perry was the night's top winner as The Country Music Association Awards celebrated the young women of country music on Wednesday night.

Swift was rewarded for an amazing year during which she brought country music to the Far East, scored hits all around the world and continued a run that's made her country's hottest young star for several years. She's just the second woman to win the award twice, joining Barbara Mandrell.

"This is thanks to all the fans who filled the stadiums and arenas all over the world this year," said Swift, who leaped from her seat with her hands in the air and jumped for joy. "I am so happy we had so many to play for this year. You have made my year."

Slideshow: Taylor Swift (on this page)
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It was a melancholy song about dying young that ran hard against the tried-and-true country radio formula that had everyone's attention most of the night, though. "If I Die Young," written by Kimberly Perry, won song and single of the year and the band picked up new artist of the year as well.

Technically the band, which includes Perry's brothers Neil and Reid, won two awards since song of the year goes to the writer, who was Kimberly Perry alone. But the message was the same nonetheless.

"If I Die Young" is one of the few country songs that managed to crossover into the pop world.

"We sort of feel like we are part of the country evangelism scene and we love to hear country songs on pop radio," Kimberly Perry said. "It proved to be a song with really long legs."

Crossover appeal proved to be the theme of the night. Jason Aldean, who won his first major CMA award when his platinum-selling "My Kinda Party" won album of the year, also won musical event of the year for his duet "Don't You Wanna Stay" with Kelly Clarkson. And Kenny Chesney won music video of the year for his duet "You and Tequila" with Grace Potter.

That theme also carried over to the stage where stars from different genres came together for some of the CMA's strongest performances. The show also featured plenty of sexy dancing, belching smoke special effects and, at one point, acrobats spinning down from the ceiling on lengths of unspooling fabric.

Story: Winners of the 45th Annual CMA Awards

Lionel Richie had every star buzzing on the red carpet before performing duets from his new country album with Rascal Flatts, Darius Rucker and Little Big Town. He posed for a picture with Miranda Lambert and gave advice to Lady Antebellum on the red carpet.

Gregg Allman joined fellow Peach State natives Zac Brown Band on "Georgia on my Mind," Natasha Bedingfield, in a dress that featured a fluffy red skirt, joined Rascal Flatts on stage to perform their duet "Easy," and that was just the start of genre shuffling.

Blake Shelton and Kenny Loggins opened the show with a high-energy version of Loggins' hit "Footloose." Later, Glen Campbell, one of country's biggest crossover pioneers who is now battling Alzheimer's disease, was given a musical tribute when Vince Gill, Keith Urban and Brad Paisley sang three of his songs.

Richie, who will soon issue a country duets album, hadn't performed on the CMAs since 1986 when he appeared with Alabama. He noted the show has changed dramatically over the decades, as has country music.

"It's Cirque de Soleil ... it's full-on production," Richie said. "This is off-the-chain, this is the Oscars of the music business, the CMAs."

Lady Antebellum won vocal group of the year for the third straight time and Sugarland took its fifth straight vocal duo of the year award. And Shelton and his wife Lambert repeated as male and female vocalists of the year.

"Congrats to my hubby, too," Lambert shouted from the stage to Shelton. "It's going to be a good night tonight, baby!" The camera cut to Shelton, who rubbed his hands together and smiled devilishly.

It wasn't the night's only funny moment.

Hank Williams Jr. appeared during the opening skit with hosts Paisley and Carrie Underwood, who lampooned his recent troubles with ESPN and his "Monday Night Football" theme song. Paisley brought out an acoustic guitar and began his own version of "All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight."

Slideshow: 2011 Country Music Association Awards (on this page)

"Are you ready for an awards show?" Paisley sang before Underwood warned him he might draw Williams' ire. Williams got into trouble for using an analogy to Adolf Hitler in discussing President Barack Obama.

As they spoke, Williams quietly walked up behind the hosts to the roar from the crowd. Asked if he wanted to say something, Williams said, "No," to the delight of the audience.

It was just one of several laugh-out-loud moments for the hosts, who trotted out Barbies of McGraw and Hill after Williams left the stage.

"I can't wait until after the show," Paisley said to Underwood. "Can we play with them now?"

The two made the dolls kiss and before checking to see if the McGraw doll was anatomically correct. "There's nothing there," Paisley said in amazement.

The camera cut to McGraw and Hill, who raised her arms and mouthed the words, "I know," receiving the night's biggest laugh.

Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/45223612/ns/today-entertainment/

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Summary Box: Viacom's 4Q earnings report, in brief (AP)

BOX OFFICE BONANZA: "Transfomers: Dark of the Moon" was a hit in theaters and for Viacom Inc., the parent of Paramount Studios, grossing more than $1 billion at theaters worldwide.

THE BOTTOM LINE: Viacom rode the movie to net income of $576 million, or $1 per share, for the July to September quarter. Revenue rose 22 percent from a year ago to $4.05 billion.

BEATING EXPECTATIONS: Net income excluding items and revenue both exceeded analyst forecasts.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111110/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_viacom_summary_box

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Deal of the Day ? Phillips Docking Speaker for iPod, iPhone, or iPad

Today?s LogicBUY Deal is a Phillips docking speaker (DS8550) for iPod, iPhone, or iPad for $107.99.? Sales tax where applicable. $179.99 ?? 40% off coupon ?= ?$107.99 with free shipping ?This is the best deal found by LogicBUY for this docking speaker This deal expires November 10, 2011 or sooner. Check the above link for [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/11/09/deal-of-the-day-%e2%80%93-phillips-docking-speaker-for-ipod-iphone-or-ipad/

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New Italian government seen within days (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) ? Respected former European Commissioner Mario Monti looked set on Thursday to be appointed within days to head an emergency Italian government, as politicians rushed to combat a crisis threatening the entire euro zone.

Political sources said Monti could be appointed to replace Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi by Sunday and would then in short order form a unity government comprised of politicians and technocrats to push through a tough austerity program.

Dithering politicians seemed finally to have been galvanized into action after Italy's borrowing costs soared way above sustainable levels on Wednesday, and earlier opposition to Monti among ruling politicians was evaporating as they scrambled to end uncertainty stoking the crisis.

Even Berlusconi, whose insistence on early elections after he steps down had fueled Wednesday's disastrous day on bond markets, has been persuaded it would be better not to go to the polls now, sources in his ruling PDL party said.

The timetable imposed by an alarmed President Giorgio Napolitano could see a broad-based government as early as Sunday night or Monday following Berlusconi's resignation at the weekend, ending the flamboyant media magnate's 17-years of political dominance.

Organizers of a conference in the Netherlands at the weekend said Monti had pulled out at the request of Napolitano and a political source in Rome said he would meet the president on Thursday night.

Monti, 68, who is highly respected internationally, has been pushed by markets for weeks as the most suitable figure to lead a new government. The sources estimated he had a 90 percent chance of being appointed.

Italy managed to sell 5 billion euros ($6.8 billion) of one-year bonds on Thursday, but had to pay a whopping 6.087 percent interest rate, the highest in 14 years. Nevertheless the successful auction and prospects of a rapid solution to the political stalemate appeared to calm markets.

The spread on interest rates between Italian 10-year bonds and German bunds eased to 520 basis points, still in dangerous territory but significantly below Wednesday's record of 576. Yields dropped below the red line of 7 percent, after reaching more than 7.6 percent on Wednesday.

Both houses of parliament are expected to pass a financial stability law incorporating economic reforms demanded by the European Union and IMF by Saturday or Sunday. This will trigger Berlusconi's resignation as agreed with Napolitano on Tuesday.

NEW SENSE OF URGENCY

Before the new sense of urgency this process was expected to take at least a week. Napolitano could then hold formal consultations with political parties in a few hours instead of the usual days or weeks and appoint Monti by Sunday or Monday.

The sources said there were still arguments about the line-up of ministers in the new government but it would likely be a mix of centrist politicians and technocrats.

Under current plans, the government would implement reforms to liberalize Italy's economy, stimulate growth and cut its huge debt before elections early next summer. The inclusion of elections in the plan is intended to win the support of politicians who oppose an unelected government.

The new administration is expected to be supported by a large part of Berlusconi's PDL party, centrists and the biggest opposition force, the Democratic Party, the sources said.

However, they cautioned that the government was not a done deal and the situation could change by the hour. Berlusconi's chief coalition partner, the populist Northern League, said it would not back Monti.

The party, which is split internally, has also resisted a key reform on pensions. It may have made a calculation that it would benefit from a period in opposition to redress a sharp loss of popularity from its association with Berlusconi.

Angelino Alfano, secretary of Berlusconi's PDL, said the party preferred elections but would make a final decision after meeting Napolitano. The sources suggested this was a holding position while the party overcame internal divisions.

Napolitano appointed Monti a senator for life on Wednesday, in a move widely seen as a sign he would ask the academic to try to form a government.

Commentators said this effectively made Monti a bona fide politician rather than an outsider, with Napolitano sensitive to accusations that a technocrat government would be undemocratic.

IMF head Christine Lagarde added her voice to calls for an end to the impasse, saying that lack of political clarity in Italy was fuelling uncertainty in the markets. British Prime Minister David Cameron said Rome presented a "clear and present danger" to the euro zone.

In a highly unusual step, the sober business daily Il Sole 24 Ore carried a huge banner headline on Thursday reading: "Hurry Up," in a call to Italy's political class to forget their own interests and save the country.

Business and banking associations have repeatedly called for a unity government of the kind that has been successful at times of crisis in Italy in the past.

Monti, a respected economist who is currently head of Milan's prestigious Bocconi university, is a tough negotiator with a record of taking on powerful corporate interests as European Competition Commissioner. ($1 = 0.736 Euros)

(Additional reporting by James Mackenzie, Alberto Sisto, Giselda Vagnoni, Catherine Hornby and Valentina Za in Milan; Editing by Elizabeth Piper and Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111110/wl_nm/us_italy2

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'Stairway to Heaven' turns 40 ... let's retire it!

Getty Images

Led Zeppelin members, from left, John Paul Jones, John Bonham, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant in 1973.

By Alex Smith, TODAY.com

Forty years ago today, British rock juggernaut Led Zeppelin released their magnum opus, "Led Zeppelin IV." Rife with flourishes of haunting folk, gritty blues and rafter-shaking rock of the heaviest order, "IV" swiftly became the band's defining album, largely thanks to the epic 8 minutes and 2 seconds of the fourth song on the LP, "Stairway to Heaven." Rock music hasn't been the same since.

Arguably classic rock's preeminent ballad, "Stairway to Heaven" is a multi-tiered suite that segues from lilting acoustic delicacy into feral rock 'n' roll abandon and back again. It's inspired legions of aspiring guitarists and spawned droves of ham-fisted imitations, but has never been equalled in its bombastic rock pageantry. Its lyrics are steeped in enigmatic allusions to the conflict between spirituality and earthly materialism, although a few of its verses have left even the most scholarly rock fans scratching their heads. "If there's a bustle in your hedgerow don't be alarmed now/It's just a spring clean for the May queen" (which, when played backwards, delivers a very different message indeed to some ears) is just mysterious enough to sound deeply meaningful, even when sung by a quartet of tight-trousered hellions.

But for all it's mystical allure and unparalleled guitar sorcery, "Stairway to Heaven" has become a virtually unsalvageable casualty of rock 'n' roll cliche. Beaten into submission by classic rock radio (it's not like Zep don't have other great songs, by the way) and famously banned?from many a long-suffering guitar shop for being slavishly overplayed, "Stairway to Heaven" is in dire need of a vacation. It sits at the head of the table in a pantheon of classic rock anthems that could sorely stand to be retired for the next decade or two. Let's give it a rest, remove it from the sports bar jukeboxes and take it out of regular rotation.

While we're at it, here are four more rock warhorses that, like "Stairway to Heaven," could stand being put out to pasture ...

1.? "Light My Fire" by The Doors
While it was doubtlessly thrilling upon its incendiary (sorry) 1967 debut, the Doors' signature tune hasn't exactly aged like a fine wine. Iconic vocalist/self-styled shaman Jim Morrison's provocative use of the adjective "higher" might have given the staff of the The Ed Sullivan Show cause of alarm when Morrison brazenly sang it on the air that same year, but 44 years later, the Lizard King's somewhat remedial rhyme scheme -- paired with robustly-sideburned keyboardist Ray Manzarek's organ-noodling -- now feels more like being trapped in an indulgent poetry slam at an ice hockey rink.

2. "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant" by Billy Joel
Lyrically ping-ponging between an indecisive protagonist?s ongoing quandary over what type of wine to order with dinner and the star-crossed marital travails of the infamous Brenda and Eddie, Billy Joel?s late '70s paean to the perils of growing older strives for the same sort of poignance found in any number of Springsteen opuses, but somehow cloyingly falls short. With the jaunty yarns of youthful shenanigans "on the village green" bookended by melancholy washes of sentimental strings and soppy saxophones, ?Scenes From an Italian Restaurant? assaults its listener with all the finesse of a grand piano falling down a flight of stairs. Pick a vintage already.

3. "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Leant an incalculable amount of stirring prescience by the tragic deaths of band members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines in a 1977 plane crash, Southern rock powerhouse Lynyrd Skynyrd?s sprawling masterpiece "Free Bird" (originally dedicated to their fallen comrade Duane Allman) has nonetheless been robbed over time of said significance by becoming a laborious punch line any time a band retakes a concert stage for an encore. While originally featured on their 1973 debut, it's the rendition of "Free Bird" from their 1976 live double-album, "One More from The Road" (lengthened to 13 minutes and 40 seconds of treacle and frenetic guitar soloing) that has prompted many a divey rock club to ban any invocation of the song's name.

4. "Hotel California" by The Eagles
There?s something richly ironic about a thinly-veiled cautionary tale about excess coming from a band renowned for their appetite for same, but that hasn?t prevented the Eagles? ?Hotel California? from becoming a tireless staple of classic rock radio. Through a po-faced thicket of allegory, drummer/vocalist Don Henley paints a ?Twilight Zone?-ish narrative of Hollywood?s hotbed of vice and temptation, closing the Faustian deal with the portentous intonation, ?You can check out any time you like/BUT YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE.? Even only halfway through the marathon of fret-strangling that follows (courtesy of dueling guitarists Don Felder and Joe Walsh) it feels like Henley?s ominous statement has already come true.

Heard enough of any of these songs, or is one of your all-time favorites listed here? Is there a classic rock radio staple that makes your ears bleed? Let's hear it in the comments below. Oh, and rock on!

Source: http://scoop.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/08/8682446-stairway-to-heaven-turns-40-lets-retire-it-with-these-other-classics

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Christmas near: Czechs have massive carp catch (AP)

BOSILEC, Czech Republic ? Most are clubbed to death in festive street markets and served up on Christmas Eve. The lucky ones ? in homes where children grow attached to the fish in the bathtub ? are released back into the rivers.

More than 200 tons of carp will be captured in four days starting Monday from a huge pond in southern Bohemia as fishermen wade into the frigid waters, using a centuries-old technique of slowly scooping them up from the pond's muddy surface with nets supported by long wooden poles before placing them in water containers.

It's the moment Czechs know the countdown to Christmas has begun.

The lowly carp may be derided in some parts of the world, but here it's a must-have Christmas delicacy. Czechs gather for fish soup or fry them in breadcrumbs. They're even said to bring good fortune if you keep some of their scales in your wallet.

Some keep the fish alive in the bathtub after buying them at market just before Christmas. Some, though, stand back as the vendor kills them there and then with a club.

The carp ? glowing brown, green and golden in the dawn light ? wriggled furiously as they were snared and brought slowly to land on Monday.

"There's no reason," to change the technique, said Stanislav Vago, the caretaker of the 200-hectare (494-acre) Bosilecky pond, which is one of the oldest in the country and dates to 1355. "It's impossible, anyway. You can't find a better way."

Around him stood dozens of fishermen with green waterproofs sorting the fish.

It's a scene played out across Czech Republic in November, but particularly in southern Bohemia near the border with Austria.

The region has an elaborate network of about 500 carp ponds interconnected with manmade canals that started to be dug in the mid-14th century. There were about 25,000 of them by the turn of the 16th century in the entire country.

Experts say the network has helped spare the area significant damage from flooding, especially during devastating floods that wreaked havoc in Prague and much of the country in 2002.

To some, such fuss over eating carp might seem odd.

In Australia, where carp has been introduced illegally, there's a saying that "a good carp is the dead carp" as it poses a threat to native fish species. In the United States, carp, which is imported from Asia, is considered a risk for the ecosystem of the Great Lakes due to their size and rapid reproduction.

Ales Kriz, a manager of Fisheries Trebon AS, the leading Czech fresh water producer, says attitudes may be changing and that Czech, cereal-raised carp are being exported to Austria, Germany, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and even France. In fact, some 60 percent of fish produced by his company is now sold abroad.

Czechs, for the most part big meat-lovers, only tend to eat carp at Christmas. And fish in general isn't so popular regardless of the season, with an average person here consuming just 1.37 kilograms (3.02 pounds) of fish a year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111107/ap_on_re_eu/eu_czech_christmas_carp

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Must See HDTV (November 7th - 13th)

It'll be hard to find a sports matchup that equals last weekend's 'Bama/LSU showdown, but Fox will try as it dives into the octagon with some MMA this weekend. There's also a few family-friendly Blu-ray 3D titles on deck, and the final edition of some series called Harry Potter hitting stores on Friday (pick up Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim while you're there, you'll thank us later). Look below for the highlights this week, followed after the break by our weekly listing of what to look out for in TV, Blu-ray and videogames.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The king is back. The Modern Warfare series has reigned over the console shooter pile for the last few years and it's no secret why. A combination of fast-paced action and precise controls make it the online game of choice for many (some prefer the Battlefield games, it's a matter of taste). This year's edition once again hails from the offices of Infinity Ward, birthplace of the best this series has to offer so this one is a must-buy. The only thing giving us pause? A new "Elite" feature, which adds online stat tracking and more for hardcore players, but at the hefty price of $49 a year.
(November 8th, $56.99 on Amazon)

UFC on Fox
CBS tried bringing MMA fighting to network TV a couple of years ago but hasn't had any bouts in a while, opening the door for this weekend's heavyweight match on Fox. Cain Velasquez is one of the scariest human beings alive, but he appears to have a worthy competitor coming for his title in Junior Dos Santos. We've been fans of UFC for a little while, if expensive PPV matches and reality TV-styled The Ultimate Fighter have been the only thing keeping you on the outside, this could be the one that makes you a fan -- or disgusts you beyond words. Check out a trailer embedded after the break.
(November 12th, Fox, 9PM)

Death Valley
Looking for a a zombie alternative to The Walking Dead (which actually improved this weekend -- apparently someone finally told the writers that less is more)? You've found it. MTV's Cops-style mockumentary follows officers around an alternate reality Los Angeles populated by werewolves, vampires and more otherworldly creatures with a campy sense of humor throughout. Beware however, here anyone can become a meal for the people they're pursuing, including members of the camera crew.
(November 7th, MTV, 11PM)

Continue reading Must See HDTV (November 7th - 13th)

Must See HDTV (November 7th - 13th) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 18:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gregory Weinkauf: Director Bruce Robinson Uncorks The Rum Diary

When I was but a blinkered knave of an undergrad, I studied for a year abroad in England, and -- apart from the castles and the most fickle pop-music scene in the world -- two things impressed me about the place: 1. English people drink like crazy; and 2. English people observe the world, particularly the United States, with astute, laser-sighted scrutiny. I believe that these factors are related, as perhaps the colossal English intake of alcohol has to do with communal guilt over centuries of conquering and pillaging most of the world; then add in this big, proud country situated between the Atlantic and the Pacific, Mexico and Canada, which effectively told those Redcoat aggressors: "Uh-uh. No. Go home. We're gonna do this our way." That's speculation, but I can tell you for certain that I took a course in England called "Society and Politics in the U.S.A.," and first it scared the hell out of me, then it stripped me of my Gawd-given complacency, then eventually it made me contemplate how the U.S., in general, views itself and the rest of the world. Major personal reboot. (Ta, Britons.)

2011-11-04-RUM1.jpg
Newsroom, 1960: Robinson directs Depp.


On this note, presently we have in cinemas The Rum Diary, veteran English writer-director Bruce Robinson's wild and wonderful first new feature in twenty years (!), as well as his explosive adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's very early, long-unpublished novel. It's smart, complex, hilarious and disturbing, and I highly recommend it. Robinson, teaming with the smashing Richard E. Grant, gave us the sozzled and infinitely-quotable classic Withnail & I, plus one of my fave films ever, the fearless consumer satire How to Get Ahead in Advertising. Now The Rum Diary -- which stars its producer Johnny Depp as a dewy, idealistic version of his late mentor and fellow Kentuckian Thompson -- functions like an exotic hybrid of the two, delivering funky fun for hipsters plus full-frontal satire, as well as romance and adventure for the multiplex crowd, and even cultural illumination for those unfamiliar with the Puerto Rico of the Ike era. A potent serendipity also attends the film, as its stark themes (forced displacement of lower classes; belligerent Capitalist development; journalistic integrity and lack thereof) perfectly dovetail with the economic, political and social concerns of here and now.

I spoke with Robinson about his impressive creation, citing one of the film's best lines (spoken by Depp as hapless journo Paul Kemp): "I put the bastards of the world on notice; I do not have their best interests at heart." Thompson line, or Robinson line?

"That's mine," Bruce confirms. "There are only two Hunter lines in the whole script, actually. The rest is, for good or ill, totally me. The best thing is, 'Is that you? Or is that Hunter?' That is the supreme kind of compliment. If people come away not knowing who wrote it, that'll be fantastic. Because that means we kind of welded somewhere." (Note: Thompson was undoubtably creative, but when I hear Depp's frenzied delivery of a line such as, "Your tongue is like an accusatory giblet!" -- clearly that's the Robinson my friends and I love to quote.)

Bruce continues, "Hunter had such a distinctive voice, as we all know, but I think this is one of these aspects of the Rum he couldn't know (in his early 20s), because he was living it; and I had the luxury of a retrospective look at The Rum Diary, i.e.: the stuff that he wrote ten, fifteen, twenty years later could be an influence on me putting this one together."

2011-11-04-Rum3.jpg
Rumpled journos: Depp, Rispoli, Ribisi.


Depp is about two decades older than his character in the book, yet with his cutesy fringe of bangs constantly wagging in his hopeful eyes, he feels eons younger than his portrayal of Hunter's Raoul Duke in Terry Gilliam's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (from way back in '98). What's up with that?

"There was a scene, when he first arrives at the newspaper, that we cut. And what it did was to explain why Johnny is 47 years old -- why a 47-year-old guy is coming down to this dead-end place to take on a dead-end job. It was an expositional scene, and I thought it was quite funny the way we did it. But, you know, when you put the film together, you think: people are either going to go for the ride or not go for the ride. If someone, five minutes in, is saying Johnny is too old for this part, then they're never going to bother with the movie anyway. So we just threw caution to the wind and didn't explain. But I can't see it working with a 22-year-old, almost a boy. I don't think it would work if it wasn't an actor with Johnny's substance."

The cast, featuring Aaron Eckhart as a sleek upscale slimeball, Amber Heard as his wandering moll, Richard Jenkins as Depp's stroke-baiting editor, Michael Rispoli as Depp's loyal yet issue-laden cohort, and Giovanni Ribisi as drugs incarnate, craftily deliver this tale of Truth vs. Business. It's a literal representation of the rich getting richer while the poor get drunk.

"In a non-facetious way I kind of share quite a lot of Hunter's rage about the world we live in, so I was able to exorcise that -- but not to try to copy Hunter." (Indeed, Robinson's American dialogue doesn't mince: "This country was built on genocide and slavery, and then we brought in Jesus like a bar of soap.") He adds: "It's unavoidable, as a writer trying to work today -- even if the intention is to make a comedic film, which it is -- but it's unavoidable, to have a point of view and to have a comment. And one of the weird things, I think, about the Rum, which is truly accidental, is that it's sort of come out at a time when this is on a lot of people's minds: People are out of work, and the money's tight, and the banks are busting everyone's guts, and...

"Newspapers are closing!" I offer.

"Newspapers are closing," Bruce kindly agrees. "I remember one of Hunter's lines about losing the economy. A lot of these guys (the bankers) are actually tantamount to criminals! And yet they are completely immune to any kind of social justice. And weird it is, to be in New York and to see the Wall Street protests going on, which is kind of what The Rum Diary is about: It's about money going out there and despoiling a paradise. And the paradise it's despoiling is also internal."

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Meeting the despoilers: Depp, Eckhart, Heard.


Money's got Mr. Robinson on a roll: "It's a horrible deity! I'm not remotely religious, but I'd rather have God than mammon! And we are worshipping this deity that produces nothing, does nothing. You know, they don't make a Caesar salad, these banks. All they do is trade money, and it's really dangerous for our societies. You know, look at Europe, it's bankrupt! You get these guys who carry on and dig themselves into enormous bonuses -- so the tax-payers are cast into re-funding these bandits. I feel quite strongly about that, so there are hints of that in The Rum Diary."

The film offers much amusement and also many cultural, economic, racial and sexual themes to consider. In the recent Vanity Fair, Amber Heard is quoted as saying of her character's interaction that there's, "something kind of pure and virginal about it." Um, that's 100 percent inaccurate. But nonetheless, she's involved in a very noteworthy and potentially racist sequence in which she's drunk and kind of "put to use" in a mostly-black after-hours club. The climax is pivotal, plus it's taken from Thompson's book (distinctly from the paranoid P.O.V. of a Southern-American guy, pre-Civil Rights), but when I ask Robinson how he approached directing the volatile sequence, he waffles race for sex and then gently contemplates tone:

"It was actually vulgar, I thought, in the book. But I loved the idea of that scene, so we shot it, in reality, in a more graphic way, it was much sexier in the original assembly. But again, a strain of vulgarity, or even slightly misogynistic. So we kept pulling it back and cutting it down. The thing that's so tricky with this sort of material is that you can do something and drop your laugh, and the audience start thinking it's a different kind of film, and they won't laugh anymore."

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Carniv?l with Heard as the "virginal" Chenault. Uh-huh.


Perhaps my question isn't his topic of choice, but Robinson, whose Rum Diary was beautifully lensed (by Dariusz Wolski, of Pirates fame) on Super-16 celluloid and exudes period- and location-authenticity, nonetheless feels very strongly about how to make a movie: "If you're talking about doing it in Hollywood, I most certainly will not. If it's Johnny Depp's type of Hollywood, then yes, I would. But that studio system just does not suit me. I feel very, very uncomfortable in those environments -- it feels like the worst place to make a movie. So one of the criteria that I discussed with Johnny was that, you know, I have to shoot this all on location -- and if a wall is in the way, we've got to knock the bloody wall down. And he went along with that, so consequently it is all, every frame, shot on location, in Puerto Rico. And I feel comfortable there.

"The person to thank for all of this, obviously, is the man -- because without Johnny none of this would be onscreen, and indeed without Johnny going after me, I would never have done it. I had no intention of directing this, or anything else. But because he's such an enormous star, and he's confident and he was really nagging me to do it, I just thought: 'What the hell, if someone in your position can take that risk, I'll go for it.' So we did, and we had a really solid working relationship."

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Solid: Robinson and Depp.


Perhaps being a bit of an idealistic journalist myself, I commend Mr. Robinson on the fascinating portraiture and shrewd political views of their Rum Diary, and suggest that audiences are really going to dig it.

"Well, let's hope, let's hope. You never know with a movie, do you? I think that the audience for this movie is not going to be the audience for Shrek, or Toy Story, or these massive, monster children's films that the film industry has degenerated into. And it really saddens me: that this extraordinary nation entertains itself with children's films. It never used to. I mean, in the golden age of American cinema: Dog Day Afternoon and The French Connection and Bonnie and Clyde and Butch Cassidy -- these were films for grownups, massively successful, massively entertaining. But now we're all required to go along and see animated dolls! I don't get it. Your country is worth so much more than the movies it entertains itself with!"

The Rum Diary is now playing in America, and opens around the world through March, 2012.

All photos courtesy of GK Films.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregory-weinkauf/rum-diary-review_b_1075689.html

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