Here we go again.
It has been announced that the remake of the Beatles classic Yellow Submarine is in the works.Why or why do they insist on taking classics and and trashing them? Didn’t they learn their lesson with Willy Wonka, The Whiz, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, and Charlotte’s Web? (just to name a few classics).

Yellow Submarine was magic on the screen back in 1968. Imagine how it looked to a generation that was used to seeing black and white television and experiencing the whole “make love not war” movement. It was also the year that Martin Luther King was assassinated. The movie came out at a time of great civil unrest, and it was a hit I mean a ray of yellow sunshine. *snicker*

In the movie, the playful rhymes of  the charachter Jeremy Hillary Boob PhD. (he was my favorite) pretty much summed up the premise behind Yellow Submarine, “Peace! Peace! Supplant the doom and the gloom! Turn off what is sour! Turn into a flower and BLOOM! BLOOM! BLOOM”

To me, Yellow Submarine was more than just a trippy animated flick. It was part of an entire movement of peace and love. Beatles classic songs like Nowhere Man and All You Need Is Love melded together with trippy animation into a sensory overload of psychedelic yumminess which was loved by many young and old.

But Yellow Submarine was not loved by all and many considered it just a drugged out cartoon. Take for instance this scathing review  (<<<click on the link) of  Yellow Submarine when it was re-released in 1999. The review was entitled “ Take a psychedelic journey to Nowhere land with the Beatles & the Nowhere Man where you’ll find nothing too pleasing without the help from your friends.” Needless to say of course I disagreed with that interview.

The original Yellow Submarine took two years to make, by 40 animators and 140 technical artists and had 14 different scripts. Now I know by today’s standards, those methods are now obsolete, and technology has improved by leaps and bounds, but I am not too privy of someone taking this classic and making it into a modern day mess either.

Sadly, Disney is doing the remake. Now don’t even get me started on Disney, with it’s mass marketing of clothing and toys made in their GLOBAL sweat shops, and other things I don’t care to get into. I just ask you to please do your homework before you support them!
Disney is also pairing up with Rob Zemeckis for this remake.

Now granted Zemeckis has some big  and successful films under his belt, he also did two movies that I just totally despise which were Forest Gump and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Two of the most annoying movies I ever had the displeasure of watching. Save me all the Forest Gump love  fest comments which I am sure I will get. I HATED the movie with a passion and had trouble getting through the whole thing and almost walked out. And if I hear “life is just like a box of chocolates” in that HORRIBLE fake accent that Hanks did one more time, I swear I am going to get the screaming Blue Meanies out.

In Yellow Submarine, the Captain of the Blue Meanies says to ”glove”, “A thing of beauty; destroy it forever!”

Is Disney going to be Yellow Submarine’s ”glove”?

Of course I know the original can never be destroyed. But sometimes another thing occurs when movies are remade. The younger audience thinks that the remake is the first one that was ever made and tend to think the real original is crap. This also happens with music today and it drives me totally NUTS! Grrrrrr! And no, Limp Bizkit was not the originator of the song ”Behind Blue Eyes“. Geez!

A lot of younger people also think if the movie is not in their face with special effects, then it just plain stinks. Perhaps that’s why Disney is going with 3-D animation to inhance it a much as posisble.

But…Disney has yet to acquire the rights to the Beatles songs thus far and one has to wonder if Michael Jackson’s recent death has anything to do with acquiring these songs.Why? Jackson’s estate happens to include the 4,000 song catalogue of  Beatle’s music which he purchased for 47.5 million back in 1985. But keep in mind, he owns the publishing rights for the songs. There is a difference in owning the publsihing rights and the performance rights. For a full explanation go here.  

A bit of history with Jackson and Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney. Jackson worked with McCartney on the song  Say Say Say and they did a video together for the song in 1984. Jackson also did The Girl Is Mine with McCartney in 1982. ( I won’t comment on the title or lyrics of that song, it’s just too easy).

Jackson was ironically advised by Paul McCartney. Sir Paul told Jackson more or less that buying music was a sound and lucrative investment. This advice was prior to the 1985 auction of the Beatles catalogue of songs. Jackson took Sir Paul’s advice and outbid both Paul McCartney AND John Lennon’s widow,Yoko Ono! 
Hey all you Jackson fans out there, how can you justify this dastardly move by Jackson? Huh?

Sir Paul and Yoko must have been a tad hot under the collar to say the least. If Jackson had any scruples, ESPECIALLY for the fact that he was also in the music industry, he would of let McCartney keep the publishing rights to his own songs that HE wrote with Lennon and not outbid him in the first place. But then again who knows what McCartney would of done with the songs either. Or even Yoko for that  matter. Maybe it was a good thing that Sir Paul didn’t get the songs? Sir Paul’s ex-wife, the money grubbing Heather Mills, never signed a pre-nup and the songs  may have ended up as being partly hers. GASP!
That money grubbing biotch got WAY too much from Sir Paul as far as I am concerned. At least she is out of the picture now. But when will you ever learn Sir Paul?

So what has happened with some of these songs over the years? Let’s jump back to the 1987 Nike commercial using the Beatles Revolution song. Capital Records owed the performance rights and was paid $250,000. Michael Jackson owned the publishing rights, (meaning use of the words and music) and he was paid for use of the song. Which was later followed by others like All You You Need is Love, which was used for a Luv’s Diaper commercial, and a version of the Beatles song Help, which was used in a car commercial in 1985 . Son Julian Lennon, son of John, lent his voice to When I’m 64 for an Allstate commercial and  let’s not forget Target’s use of Hello- Goodbye for their TV commercials. Egad!

The Beatles song collection saga continued on….. and in 1995, Sony paid Jackson 95 million and merged with ATV, to form Sony/ATV Publishing which was a 50/50 joint venture. So it is probably safe to say that Jackson’s estate includes HALF of the publishing rights to the Beatles songs. 

But there may be a silver lining in this dark cloud, well sort of.
Supposedly Jackson left the 4,000 Beatles songs to McCartney in his will. Rumor has it that Jackson felt remorse about his failed relationship with Sir Paul, and thought this was a way to make amends. Too bad Jackson didn’t do this YEARS ago, so he could of actually made amends in person with Sir Paul, rather than from the grave. So Sir Paul may end up with the publsihing rights to half of his own songs in the end. Just plain sad. *shakes head* But I guess it is better than nothing.
Sadly, Sony/ATV doesn’t need permission from surviving Beatles or heirs to license the songs. Damn you Jackson! And Damn you Sony!
So it’s still up in the air as to whether this remake of Yellow Submarine will eventually get the rights to use these songs.

So getting back to this movie remake.
The NY Times called the original a 2-D CARTOON and they also mentioned two of the movies I despise by Zemeckis.
From the NY Times :

More than 40 years after Old Fred fired up the titular vehicle of “Yellow Submarine” and used it to round up four Liverpool lads who would defend Pepperland from the Blue Meanies, Disney is preparing a remake of the Beatles’ 1968 animated movie, Variety reported.

The original film was a traditional (if thoroughly trippy) 2-D cartoon directed by George Dunning and designed by Heinz Edelmann, in which the Beatles appeared only in a live-action segment tacked on at the end. The planned remake, to be directed by Robert Zemeckis (“Forrest Gump,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”), will be a 3-D animated feature that would use the performance-capture technology seen in Mr. Zemeckis’s “Beowulf” and his coming remake of “A Christmas Carol.”

The Variety report said that Disney was still seeking to obtain rights to the Beatles songs used in the original “Yellow Submarine” film, including the title song and tracks like “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The remake is being planned for a 2012 release.

No casting was announced for the motion-capture remake, though the project does call to mind Paul McCartney’s recent remarks to Daniel Radosh in The New York Times Magazine: “In 10 years’ time you’ll be standing there, and you will be Paul McCartney. You know that, don’t you?”

Fact: Many people didn’t realize that the voices used in the original Yellow Submarine where not those of the actual Beatles. I never knew that myself. The Beatles only appeared at the very end of the movie as themselves.

Yellow Submarine had it’s fair share of merchandising back in the day to say the least, and it continues today. The Beatles had more merchandise than any other band in history. There were Yellow Submarine pop up books, calenders, Blue Meanie Halloween costumes, Goebel figurines and even Huffy Bikes jumped on the YS band wagon in 1968 and came out with a girls YS yellow bicycle complete with movie graphics right on the seat which I found on a Beatles memorabilia website.

Of course all this stuff had a huge resurgence in 1999 when they re-released the movie for the 30thyear Anniversary. Today you can still buy Yellow Submarine merchandise in all shapes and forms from neck ties to purses, to t-shirts to wallies to stick on your walls. They also came out with new YS Beatles figurines in the 90’s and again in 2000. Even the Cirque du Soleil has a show called LOVE dedicated to the music of the Beatles. I am sure Disney will jump on the merchandising band wagon and will have their little workers slaving away making sure that there is enough Yellow Submarine Onesies and Jeremy Hillary Boob lunch boxes. And don’t forget Yellow Submarine Happy Meals complete with plastic figures which will end up in landfills and stay there for all eternity. Oh wait that s right, Disney dumped McDonald’s back in 2006. Maybe Burger King then? *snicker*

OK, I know I am being cynical, and maybe I am too sentimental about movies being remade and the “old days”. So I decided to check myself, and I went through the list of movie remakes on Wikipedia, but I still found myself rooting for the original versions. Even really early movies like Mighty Joe Young which came out in 1949. I still found myself favoring the original over the remake. (ironically Disney did a remake and they also did  an animated version of course, they make me sick).

Films like Little Shop Of Horrors? DEFINITELY the original. Who can deny the greatness of the cameo by a very young and loony Jack Nicholson in the original? You can’t.
Even though some of these original movies were sheer cornball and the filming techniques were primitive, but that was part of what made the originals so great. They had a lot less to work with back then, but yet the movies were still phenomenal.

That is why I wish they would just leave the classics alone. You can’t reproduce living in the era when these original movies came out or the way people felt when they first saw the original Yellow Submarine. Many people may be annoyed by the remaking of Yellow Submarine. And I can’t speak for the hard core Beatles buffs. Maybe some will be unhappy and some will embrace the new movie with the hopes of a whole new generation of yougins’ buying Beatles music once again and helping to continue the Beatles legacy. I myself do not support Disney, so I will not be catching this particular flick.

But at the very least, let’s just hope that this new release does the original Yellow Submarine some justice and more importantly let’s hope it sends the same message as the original.
Which of course was:

I wonder just how long this will be allowed to go on.  Probably as long as she continues to bring in money.

Amy, at the start of her UK tour last night, stumbled and slurred her way through her sets, finally walking off stage in tears:

The singer stumbled into the venue half an hour late, slurred her words, walked into a guitar stand and dropped her microphone at the opening date of her British tour.

She then dedicated a song to her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, drawing more boos and a mass walkout at the NIA in Birmingham.

The band had to support Winehouse as she almost collapsed in tears. [...]

Following jeers from the crowd, she ranted: “Let me tell you something. First of all, if you’re booing you’re a mug for buying a ticket.

“Second, to all those booing, just wait ’til my husband gets out of incarceration. And I mean that.”

At the end of the concert, during her song “Valerie”, she dropped the microphone halfway through and walked off stage.

According to Perez, she had a few other choice words for the audience:

“[A reader writes] I’ve just come back from the Amy Winehouse concert at the NIA. In short, she was f*cking terrible. She was very very drunk, she made various rambling references to her ‘husband’ (even going as far to threaten audience members who booed with him) and worst of all, it looked like she was wearing those bloody ballet pumps again. Many audience members booed, and people were continually walking out. She referred to us as ‘monkey c*nts’ at one point, and she forgot the words to most of her songs. I really like Amy but this was awful. I’d like to tell you that her voice was her saving grace, but it was horrendous.”

And now disgusted concertgoers are demanding their money back:

One fan, James Dyas, who spent £175 on seven tickets for the first of the 17-date tour, demanded his money back.

He said: “She came on stage half an hour late. She managed four songs but was slurring her words and swaying all over the place.

“She fell into the guitar stand and dropped the microphone – it was atrocious. The song dedicated to her husband was so bad it was like swinging a cat round your head.”

Well, I’ve never swung a cat around my head, so I’ll take his word for it.

At this rate, Blake’s parents won’t have to worry about calling a boycott of Amy’s CD’s and concerts, so she won’t have money to spend on drugs.  She’s doing a great job of cutting off her cash flow all on her own, because if this keeps up she won’t have any fans left who will buy her merchandise or go to see her.

This comes not only as her husband Blake Whatever-Whatever was jailed this week, but also on the heels of rumors that Amy is off prescription medication that she needs:

I can also reveal that Amy has not been taking medication she needs to control terrifying brain seizures.

She has suffered a string of fits in recent months and has been checked over at a private clinic.

Pals say Amy relied on Fielder-Civil when the seizures struck.

One friend who has witnessed her collapse said: “Her parents are really worried. Having fits on top of taking class A drugs is not a good combination.

“The fits are scary. She had a funny turn the other week and was foaming at the mouth.”

Apparently Amy only went on stage last night if she could visit her husband, because when she had tried earlier she learned his mother had taken the only visiting spot for that day.  While at the jail, minders made her undo her beehive to make sure she wasn’t hiding drugs in there (I said when they arrested her in Norway that they should check the beehive!).

When Amy’s parents couldn’t reach her earlier in the week, they called for an ambulance to go and check on her.  Why couldn’t they have gone over themselves?  Perhaps they should think twice about that approach to Amy.

You know, I’m sure that Amy is very upset at her husband being taken to jail.  I’m sure it’s been a rough time for her.  But…for one thing, the problems are of her own making.  It doesn’t make them hurt less, but she’s caused a lot of what she’s upset about.

And for another thing, people go do their jobs every single day when they have worries and problems on their minds.  I think a certain kind of person (read: immature) gets it in their heads that they can’t possibly be asked to do their work (and let’s face it, this IS Amy’s job) if there is a drama going on in their lives.  But there’s an old saying…the show must go on.  What makes her worries any more special than Joe Schmoe’s worries, that we should have to offer her special treatment and overlook these constant mini-breakdowns?  Because she’s talented?  Yes, she is, but what does that have to do with anything?

One of two things is going to happen from this turn of events with her husband.  She’s going to hit rock bottom, that’s almost a certainty.  But when she does, she’ll either see what a mess she’s made of her life, check into rehab, and make a huge effort to turn her life around and reclaim her voice in it; or, she’ll stay at rock bottom, living in the sludge and slime netherworld of the drug addict, until she either fades into obscurity or burns out her star permanently.

In a video she was shooting for Back To Black, there was a funeral scene with a tombstone which reads, “R.I.P. The Heart Of Amy Winehouse.”  I have a feeling we’re not far from that, if something drastic doesn’t happen and soon.

Just when you thought he couldn’t get any paler…

 Is it just me, or does he look like he ought to have Oompa-Loompas dancing around him?

And has it really been twenty-five years since Thriller?  Gah….I remember staying up late to watch the premiere of the video on “Friday Night Videos”.

It would seem that Duane “Dog” Chapman’s son Tucker has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about his famous bounty hunter dad…because this isn’t the first time he’s sold information about his dad to the tabloids:

Meanwhile, a source tells TMZ that the revelation that Dog’s son Tucker was the one who sold his father’s rant to the National Enquirer isn’t so shocking — given that he’s done it before. We’re told that just a few months back, Tucker was paid by the tabloid for a story about his dad disappearing.

Tucker seems to be upset with his father because Dog disapproves of his girlfriend, who happens to be black:

Attorney Brook Hart told The Associated Press that Chapman’s son, Tucker, sent the recording to the tabloid for “a lot of money.”

“I guess because of whatever level of anger he had of his father, he felt the need to express it in that manner,” Hart said. [...]

In the conversation, Chapman urges Tucker to break up with his girlfriend. He also expresses concern about the girlfriend trying to tape and go public about the TV star’s use of the N-word.

In a statement, the 54-year-old Chapman said he has “utmost respect and aloha for black people who have suffered so much due to racial discrimination and acts of hatred.

“I did not mean to add yet another slap in the face to an entire race of people who have brought so many gifts to this world,” he said. “I am ashamed of myself and I pledge to do whatever I can to repair this damage I have caused.”

Hart said his client is not a racist and vowed never to use the word again.

“I have never seen anything that suggests he judges people by the color of their skin or racial background or anything but on their character,” he said. “Duane lost his composure and made very, very inappropriate remarks, for which he truly regrets.”

Chapman said he was “disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I should have never used that term.”

From what I’ve read about the incident, and heard on the recording, it isn’t the fact that the girl is black that upset Dog…it was her questionable character.  He seemed to be under the impression that Tucker could have chosen more wisely in his choice of companion, considering the family profession.  And you know what?  He’s right.  When you’re in that sort of job, you do need to be very careful about the company you keep.

It also seems that Tucker, 23, has just been released from prison after serving time on a 20-year drug charge.  Perhaps he needs to take a closer look at his choice of friends.

For his part, Dog has issued an apology:

“My sincerest, heartfelt apologies go out to every person I have offended for my regrettable use of very inappropriate language. I am deeply disappointed in myself for speaking out of anger to my son and using such a hateful term in a private phone conversation. It was completely taken out of context. I was disappointed in his choice of a friend, not due to her race, but her character. However, I should have never used that term.

I have the utmost respect and aloha for black people – who have already suffered so much due to racial discrimination and acts of hatred. I did not mean to add yet another slap in the face to an entire race of people who have brought so many gifts to this world. I am ashamed of myself and I pledge to do whatever I can to repair this damage I have caused. In Hawaii, we have something called Ho’oponopono, where people come together to resolve crises and restore peace and balance.

I am meeting with my spiritual advisor, Rev. Tim Storey, and hope to meet with other black leaders so they can see who I really am and teach me the right thing to do to make things right, again. I know that all of my fans are deeply disappointed in me, as well, as I have tried to be a model for doing the right thing. I did not do the right thing this time, and hope you will forgive me. We learn from our mistakes, as my story of overcoming a life of crime has proven, and I will learn from this one for the rest of my life.”

You know what?  I think he is sincere.  Unlike so many celebrity blowhards, Dog is actually out there trying to do something for the good of society.  He has actively worked with people of every race in his job, not just busting them but trying to help them become better people and get off drugs, crime, whatever.  I’ve watched his show, read about him, and from everything I’ve seen Dog is not a racist.

He is, however a human being who made a mistake in his words.  in his line of work, he mixes with the seedy underbelly of society that most of us turn our backs on, and this is the language they use.  So should he throw away all these years of trying to do good, because of one incident?  No, he definitely shouldn’t have used the word.  It’s a horrible word.  But we should throw him under the truck because of it?  I know people personally who have vile language when they are pushed or angry, but who are in reality very kind people.  Anyone is capable of saying anything, if pushed far enough.

It would also seem that his son Tucker just might be in violation of privacy laws in Hawaii, simply by taping the conversation to start with:

What I wonder, though: What about laws against wiretapping? It was this kind of taping that got Linda Tripp into trouble when she recorded her phone conversation with Monica Lewinsky. Since Maryland has a law that forbids taping a phone call without the other party’s permission, the state tried to prosecute Tripp for the Lewinsky tapes. In the end, the prosecution was complicated by the fact that Tripp had made an immunity agreement with Ken Starr’s office and that the prosecution’s star witness was the less than credible Lewinsky.

But what about a case against Tucker Chapman’s case, which presumably does not suffer from the same impediments?

I did a bit of research, trying to find out what Tucker’s state of residence is. The closest I got to an answer was this Associated Press story, which mentions that there is a Honolulu phone number listed under Tucker’s name. If he’s indeed covered under Hawaii’s jurisdiction, then I wonder if Tucker is in violation of §711-1111 of Hawaii’s Code, Violation of privacy in the second degree.

The statute is a bit confusing. (Or maybe it’s just been too long since I’ve practiced law.) But from what I can tell, Tucker might have a problem. The Code seems to say that someone who records a phone conversation without the permission of both parties is criminally liable. On the other hand, the Code’s commentary says:  “If one of the parties to the communication authorizes its interception or recordation (e.g., in an attempt to trace obscene or extortionary telephone calls), criminal sanctions ought not to result.”

Hmmmm. Tucker certainly authorized the recordation (what a word). But his motives were a little less pure than trying to trace an obscene caller. (Not that Dog’s language was exactly pure and virtuous, but you know what I mean.) I guess we’ll have to wait and see whether Hawaiian prosecutors think a crime has been committed.

So basically Tucker could be prosecuted for doing the taping.  I hope the money he got from the Enquirer was worth selling out his father.

Let me ask you this:  Why is it that some black people can say this word, over and over, in reference to themselves, and it’s perfectly fine?  I guarantee you that if you put a hidden mic on some of the black rappers who throw this word around so conspicuously (along with the obligatory “b*tches” and “hos” and whatever else), you’ll hear people of all races called every name they can think of.  Same with white people.  Same for all races.  People say ignorant things all the time about other races.  I’ve said it before…stupidity knows no race, gender, age, or nationality.  Why isn’t the nation in an uproar about rapper Nas naming his new cd “Nigger”?  What’s the difference?

Dog may have been stupid, but he isn’t a racist.  People don’t show racism by their words.  Ignorance, yes, but not racism.  Racism is in one’s actions.  Racism is so much more than a word.  And words can only hurt if we allow them to.

It would appear the end of the line has come for “shock-jock” Don Imus. Now with CBS firing him, the embattled radio host can’t seem to catch a break. And the nation is divided over whether he should be given a break or not. Even in my house there is division.

I think while what Imus said about the Rutger’s basketball team was grotesquely inappropriate and totally out of context, he should be given the opportunity to apologize.  And perhaps instead of being removed from his position, we could this situation and his ignorance to continue the dialogue of race in this country.  All we’ve really done is punish one man for using an inappropriate term, but it doesn’t teach him anything about his own bigotry and ignorance.  I imagine a frank discussion with the women of Rutger’s would have gone a long way to do that as well but what incentive is there now for a man like Imus to search his soul?

We are not yet a nation of equals, but what good does putting a *pc* face on a person who may or may not harbor bigoted ideas do to bridge the divide? People, all people, regardless of their race, have feelings about other groups and races. This should not mean we unilaterally decide we aren’t allowed to express our true feelings, because this will only force people to go about expressing them in a more deceptive ways. I’d rather know where a person stands–and perhaps show them they are erroneous in judgment – than have a government and society tell me what I am or am not allowed to express.

That doesn’t make what Imus said right, in fact it was wrong for the very reasons I have already stated. But I would like to have the right reserved that if I think an individual is behaving in a manner that is best described in a colloquial term, that I can use the term that best fits. I want that right and if I offend someone, then the consquences are mine to bear, and apparently Imus’.

Which leads me to an issue I had recently while listening to a Nelly cd. I like a fair amount of rap music and I want to be able to listen to it without worrying that I am offending African-Americans. Lately, it has become evident that white people aren’t allowed to use phrases that Afro-Americans use. But I am still allowed to buy their CD’s, in fact, I am probably encouraged to do so, because in rap music it’s all about the Benjamins.

So my question is, if I am singing a Nelly, Jay-Z,  or 50-Cent song, am I allowed to sing the parts where they are talking about their “n*ggas” or their “hos” or their “bitches” without being considered a racist or a sexist? What about if my daughter’s in the car and we hear a song come on and they are using those terms (and trust me, if you listen to the rap stations, this is an issue) what if she uses those phrases? Am I just not supposed to enjoy the music I like because I am white and can’t appreciate the subtle nuances of an Afro-centric culture because I was born a different color? Don’t get me wrong, I have no rhythm and I can’t dance, but I like me some “black” music, including the kind whose culture is somewhat foreign to me as a suburban white person.

I am not trying to cause a problem or suggest that people be allowed to use hate speech. Quite the opposite. But how fair, and I mean fair as in equal, is it to have a subculture in our society that speaks at least for a segment of the black population that uses these terms (and certainly “nappy-headed ho” is a term that’s Afro-centric) but then complain when non-blacks use it. Again, not talking about Don Imus saying stupid crap about Rutger’s athletes, I’m talking about our society as a whole being infilitrated with lingo and references that are used primarily by African-Americans about African-Americans. How are we supposed to know what’s okay and what’s not? And no, it’s not black or white, it’s gray.

I know there are a billion stories about the double standards of rap and Don Imus’s flare-up. But that’s not my issue or my question, my question is may I sing about my “n*iggas” and my “ho’s.” Because I like to sing. Loud. And sometimes I drive by people who aren’t white. Does this mean I am a racist?