Ferris Bueller, Clint Eastwood and The Avengers score at the Super Bowl

Read all about it here.

Just how much did Clint Eastwood piss off the wingnuts tonight?

Clint Eastwood: "Re-elect Barack Obama!"

"Or at least don't vote for that tool who would have let the American auto industry fail." (Think about it.)

A shameless attempt to draw visitors to my blog with a video featuring a woman with large breasts talking about a Super Bowl ad for The Avengers

As part of this blog's ongoing campaign to remain abreast of trends in movie advertising, I offer this titillating video clip of... OK, I'm busted, right? Well, you're right: No, I have no shame whatsoever. None. Zippo. Nada.

Movie madness at Super Bowl XLVI

I'll be monitoring Super Bowl XLVI for CultureMap.com this evening to do a piece on ads for upcoming movies. (Yeah, it's a dirty job -- but somebody's got to do it.) But the funniest movie-related ad to air during The Big Game may turn out to be one that isn't really a movie ad at all -- this kinda-sorta sequel to Ferris Bueller's Day Off that stealthily extols the wonders of the 2012 Honda CR-V. Eric Ditzian over at MTV.com already has declared it one of the ten best movie-related Super Bowl ads of all time.

R.I.P.: Ben Gazzara (1930-2012)

Actor Ben Gazzara -- who passed away Friday at age 81 -- could proudly point to a resume that included roles in such notable films as Anatomy of a Murder, Saint Jack, They All Laughed, Capone -- in which he played the title role opposite, no kidding, Sylvester Stallone's Frank Nitti -- and The Big Lebowksi. But, hey, let's face it: If you're of a certain age, you'll always remember him best as an adventurous libertine who's determined to make every minute count after being diagnosed with a fatal illness in the 1965-68 TV series Run for Your Life. And if you're a tad younger: He'll always be the bad guy who dared to tangle with Patrick Swayze in the 1989 guilty pleasure Road House.

I had the pleasure to interview him back in the day during a New York press gathering for the latter. (The first junket, I should note, where I received a CD -- not a audiotape, but a CD -- of the movie soundtrack as part of the junket swag.) He seemed amused when I told him about my fond childhood memories of Arrest and Trial, a 1963-64 90-minute weekly series with a format that, unbeknownst to either of us in '89, would later be more successfully employed in a 60-minute weekly series titled Law & Order.

And he smiled proudly when I told him of my enduring admiration for his collaborations with the late, great John Cassavetes.

Coming soon: Game Change

Some folks have pre-emptively complained that the upcoming HBO-produced adaptation of Game Change -- John Heilemann and Mark Halperin's best-selling and eye-opening account of the 2008 Presidential race -- mostly ignores the Obama/Clinton primary battles to concentrate on John McCain (played by Ed Harris)and Sarah Palin (Julianne Moore). But this newly released trailer suggests that, hey, the made-for-cable movie will be must-see TV anyway. Premiere date is March 10.

What if?

In another place, in another time... maybe these movies would have been made. (Hat-tip to John Guidry for discovering these wonderments.)

Chillin' with Dallas Roberts

OK, Dallas Roberts, spill the beans: Just how damn cold was it while you were shooting The Grey?

"It was all the way cold," the Houston-born actor told me a few days ago. "To the end of cold. That’s how cold it was. Negative-40 degrees, 60-miles-an-hour winds. Cold."

And, mind you, that's not all he had to say about dashing through snow and tangling with wolves in my CultureMap Q&A.

Shirley MacLaine joining Downton Abbey?

Don't get me wrong: I love Shirley MacLaine. And she kinda-sorta likes me. But I still think Maggie Smith can make her tap out with a figure-four leglock.

Decision 2012: Tweet of the Day

Oscar Watch III: Best Oscar Tweet of the Day

Oscar Watch II: Many are advertised, but few are chosen

My CultureMap commentary on the Oscar nominations announced this morning (along with my early handicapping of the major races) can be found here.

Oscar Watch: Ascent of The Descendants

Congratulations to Alexander Payne for nabbing multiple Academy Award nominations for The Descendants, one of the very best films of 2011. You can read my recent MovieMaker Magazine interview with the acclaimed director here.

On the radio: Me

I'll be on the air tomorrow morning with the good folks at News 92FM here in H-Town to talk about... well, what do you think, tonight's Florida GOP debate? No, we'll be chatting about the Academy Award nominations, which will be announced around 7:30 am. Listen for me somewhere between 8:30 and 8:40 am Tuesday. And then make sure you contact the station and tell them how wonderful you thought I was. Remember: You must listen. Resistance is futile.

"Hello"

Lionel Ritchie's definitive version is so great, it took Woody Allen, Tom Cruise, Elvis Presley and dozens of other luminaries to cover just one chorus. But, to be fair, they're not bad. (Hat-tip to Movie Gal for the find.)

Underworld Awakening

Have to admit: It's nice to see Kate Beckinsale back in the black skintight latex outfit. But that's not the only reason -- honest! -- that Underworld Awakening is my first guilty pleasure of 2012.