Tom Jones

After reading the following section from the biography about Tom Jones on the iTunes music store, I even more emphatically see why the song works in the Domino soundtrack.

Since the mid-'60s, Jones has sung nearly ever form of popular music -- pop, rock, show tunes, country, dance, and techno, he's sung it all. His actual style -- a full throated, robust baritone that had little regard for nuance and subtlety -- never changed, he just sang over different backing tracks. On stage, Jones played up his sexual appeal; it didn't matter whether he was in an unbuttoned shirt or tuxedo, he always radiated a raw sexuality, which earned him a large following of devoted female fans who frequently threw underwear on stage. Jones' following never diminished over the decades; he was able to exploit trends, earning new fans while retaining his core following.

Official movie site here. Check out the in your face trailer. Did I mention that the movie had three editors and no fewer than sixty (sic!) stunt people in the crew.

Today's DVD Recommendation (for brave lovers of cinema violence and energy)

Suppose you made a movie and you managed to cast Mickey Rourke, Christopher Walken, Jerry Springer, Jacqueline Bisset, two cast members of Beverly Hills 90210, and Tom Waits to maximize the iconic status of each. Throw in the editing energy of Martin Scorsese that you saw in the most extreme sections of Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and Casino. After that, write a script that looks like a sequel to Natural Born Killers. Throw in a cameo with real LA gang members. Finally, base the main character on super rich child of an actor and a model who changes careers from model to bounty hunter to avoid boredom. And make sure you have a jumpin' soundtrack that includes Tom Jones' version of Mama Told Me Not to Come.

If you want a shorter summary, here's a line from the film that describes the film itself: "he's got the attention span of a ferret on crystal meth."

Here's Roger's review (although Roger says Choco came from El Salvador instead of the correct country (Venezuela), and here's an entry on the real Domino Harvey.

Phone Interview
This weekend I got an email from a university in Guam asking if I was available for a phone interview. We haven't set a time yet, but they are fifteen hours ahead of New York time, so the timing could be tricky.

The Prize

My son, Michal, can earn one point per day for being nice. When he gets seven points he can buy something on his wish last. Last night he cashed in his points for a book. This morning, when he woke up, his eyes were barely open as he walked down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs, instead of going to lay on the couch or head to the kitchen table he went straight to the bookshelf, grabbed his new book, and started reading.

Job Search

Just this week a school in Iowa invited me to campus for an interview. And then today I got an email from a school in Georgia asking for a campus visit. There is something fun about traveling and seeing what different towns and schools look like. At the same time, it does take time to do all this. But I will continue to accept visits until I get an offer I'm willing to accept.

This Afternoon I Plan to...

If I have the chance, I always like to ask for a day to check out the town and the housing options when I go on a job interview. This afternoon I'll be going to this park.

Oscar Nominations

I feel fortunate to have seen four of the five films (although I only saw Crash on DVD and cable) because none of them has, as of yet, grossed more than 75 million. The academy went beyond expectations and remembered that there are movies that came out before November when it nominated Crash. And the films nominated for the major categories were definitely serious films that tackle big issues. I was a little surprised that Capote was nominated over Syriana; perhaps I'll understand the reasoning more if I get a chance to see the former. It would be nice if a few more people saw the nominated films. I think one step the studios ought to take is to spend more money advertising these films that they are supposedly proud of instead of movies like the Dukes of Hazzard or the Fantastic Four.

Decent article about the nominated films and people from Roger Ebert here.