Survivor Begins Quest for 2009 Cast

I love Survivor. Yeah, that’s right. I said it. In fact, when the March Madness games were on and they ran it instead of Survivor, I was ready to strangle people like my friend Dr. Pauly, who was in town to wager on the NCAA action.

 

You’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this. I can’t help myself. I was sitting in my hotel room at Borgata and I was looking for stories to write about when I came across the recent Survivor tryouts at a Costa Mesa, Calif. CarMax. Roughly 700 people showed up for what would be the only casting call in the Los Angeles area.

 

According to a recent Daily Pilot article, the audition process featured a 10-page packet with a variety of questions like, “What is the craziest thing you would do for a million dollars?”

 

I think one of the reasons why I am so fascinated with this show is that I know that I would never want to do it. Although I think it is great to watch, I can only imagine I would hate being on the show and knowing me, I would be one of the guy’s who trusts someone and then gets blindsided by them at Tribal Council. It’s simply not worth the heartache.

 

The show is set for shooting from October through December, but a location for this year’s show has not been disclosed.  

Kid Rock vs iTunes

I’m not sure whether to classify this as a rap or a rock and roll post, so I’m going to do both. Sometimes rapper/sometimes rock and roller Kid Rock is going against the grain and boycotting working with download music giant iTunes.

 

According to Rock, iTunes doesn’t pay musicians what they’re really worth and that Itnues has gone out of its way to cut musicians out of better paying deals. “It’s based on an old system where iTunes takes the money, the record company takes the money, and they don’t give it to the artist,” said Rock in a recent BBC News interview.

 

Rock went on to compare the struggles of today’s stars with those past. “Back in the day, we all know stories of the Otis Reddings and Chuck Berrys and Fats Dominos who never got paid.”

 

As much as Rock might not want to, it is inevitable that his music will be available for download on the industry’s leading site at some point and he admits that even he can’t stand in the way of progress. “I will be on iTunes eventually because I can’t avoid it, but I like to stick to my guns and prove a point.”

Creamfields 10th Anniversary

As a dance music fan, there are few legendary parties that I have always wished I could go to. The one that sticks out the most is Creamfields.

 

Going on its 10^th anniversary this year, Creamfields continues to live up to its reputation as the world’s premiere dance music festival. Although it may not be the biggest festival out there, Creamfields undoubtedly provides the best bang for your money.

 

You can probably already guess that this year’s line-up boasts top-flight talent and legendary artists. The only problem with having this many great artists is that it is nearly impossible to decide which arena to go to and which artists you want to see.

 

Here are some artist highlights:

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Fat Boy Slim, Erick Morillo, Paul Van Dyk, Dubfire, Harry “Choo Choo” Romero, Sasha, Tom Novy, Eric Prydz, Felix Da HouseCat, and Pete Tong.

 

Sunday August 24, 2008

Tiesto, Paul Oakenfold, Ferry Corstein, Underworld, Gorillaz Soundsystem, John Digweed, Deadmau5, Dave Clarke, Green Velvet, Axwell, Dirty South, and David Guetta.

 

Considering Underworld doesn’t play that much anymore and this is Tiesto’s only UK date, this is definitely a party you can’t afford to miss. Sometimes I wish I could just conjure up a magical jet and travel around the world going to dance parties, but for some reason I always wake up when I’m about to land. Oh well….someday.

Can Hollywood Survive Another Strike?

Four months ago, the Writer’s Guild of America and the movie and television industry managed to renegotiate their contracts and end one of the longest strikes in entertainment history. Literally bringing the industry to a stand still, more than 27,000 jobs were cut and over $2 billion was lost.

 

Although many thought the turbulent times in Tinsel Town were over, the entertainment industry isn’t out of the woods just yet. According to a recent Time Magazine article, movie studios are holding off on starting productions for any big film thanks to concerns of another strike.

 

Represented by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), actors are looking for similar concessions given to the ones writers received after lobbying for better “new-media” and DVD residuals.

 

One roadblock in negotiations lies in the fact that SAG and AFTRA have different ideas on the way things should work. Supposedly AFTRA is close to finalizing a deal similar to the ones received by writers and directors earlier this year. SAG on the other hand, sounds as though it is far from signing an agreement and they could be considering a strike for their 120,000 members when their contract expires June 30, 2008.

 

We will have to wait and see where this one goes. Another big strike could be disaterous for the entertainment industry.