President Obama: “It’s decision time.” FBI launches probe into Murdoch’s News Corp. Hide your kids! Hide your wife! It’s CARMAGEDDON!! FilmWeek: KPCC film critics Lael Lowenstein, Wade Major and Charles Solomon join Larry to review the week’s new film releases including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Winnie the Pooh, Salvation Boulevard, Lucky, Tabloid and more. TGI-FilmWeek! Turning books into movies: is it ever successful?
President Obama: "It’s decision time"
On Thursday, President Obama leaned once again on Congress to negotiate a compromise budget deal to avoid a government default. This comes after a series of daily, deadlocked meetings between Republicans and Democrats, all of which have failed to strike a deal. Obama, undeterred, told lawmakers, “It’s decision time.” Early today, House Speaker John Boehner claimed that his party’s desire for spending cuts and a refusal to increase revenues is in line with what America wants. However, a Gallup poll released on Wednesday reports that a mere 20 percent of Americans want a budget deal that only includes spending cuts, with 32 percent wanting an equal split between cuts and revenue increases. At a press conference today, Obama called upon the poll as further support for his plan of a “balanced approach” to a potential debt deal. Will Republicans listen to the data? With bond ratings under review from Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s, how close are we to a default? What will be the diplomatic solution to this hyper-partisan issue?
Guests:
Julie Davis, Bloomberg News Congressional Correspondent
Chris Thornberg, Principal, Beacon Economics
FBI launches probe into Murdoch’s News Corp.
Rupert Murdoch’s woes have officially hit both sides of the pond. In response to complaints from several Washington lawmakers, the FBI launched an investigation into possible News Corp. misconduct in the United States. And today, Rebekah Brooks, the embattled head of News Corp.'s News International publishing unit, announced her resignation. News Corp has been under fire since it was revealed that the recently-shuttered News of the World had hacked into the telephone of a teenage murder victim and may have impeded a police investigation into her disappearance. Revelations of other possible hacking victims soon emerged: child murder victims, 2005 London bombing victims, the families of dead soldiers and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown. A rival newspaper reported last week that a former New York cop claims he was contacted by NOTW journalists who offered to pay him for the phone records of 9/11 victims and their families. In a statement, Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), whose Commerce Committee overseas telecommunications and media issues, said, “This raises serious questions about whether the company has broken U.S. law, and I encourage the appropriate agencies to investigate to ensure that Americans have not had their privacy violated.” Meanwhile, Rupert Murdoch reversed course and said he and his son James will face questions at a hearing before the British Parliament next week. What are the latest allegations against Murdoch and his media empire? If the U.S. allegations turn out to be true, who – if anyone – will be held responsible? What charges might they face?
Guest:
Paul Barrett, Assistant Managing Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
Hide your kids! Hide your wife! It’s CARMAGEDDON!!
Beware the call of Car-thulu. Even if you’d been hiding under a rock for the last two weeks you’ve probably heard (on Lady Gaga’s twitter feed) that the almighty traffic gods have decreed that Los Angeles County will be an unholy tangle of Priuses, Audis and 18-wheelers for 53 whole hours this weekend. Cal Trans is closing down the stretch of the 405 between the 101 and the 10 to tear down and rebuild the Mulholland Bridge. As a result the entire universe is bracing for an epic car-pocolypse that’s expected to wreak havoc from the Golden Gate bridge to the Mexican border. So…how about those weekend plans? How will you deal with this cataclysmic car-tastrophy? How far will the car-nage spread? Have you bought your “I Survived Carmageddon 2011” T-shirt yet? And how will the notoriously short-fused L.A drivers deal with the horrendous morass that will surely be the freeways this weekend?
Guest:
Brian Watt, KPCC Reporter who is at the 405 staging area where trucks and equipment are stacking up by the hour in preparation for the freeway closure and demolition
FilmWeek: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Winnie the Pooh, Salvation Boulevard, Lucky, Tabloid and more
FilmWeek: KPCC film critics Lael Lowenstein, Wade Major and Charles Solomon join Larry to review the week’s new film releases including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Winnie the Pooh, Salvation Boulevard, Lucky, Tabloid and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Lael Loewenstein, film critic for KPCC and Variety Wade Major, film critic for boxoffice.com Charles Solomon, film critic for KPCC; animation critic, author and historian for amazon.com
Live tweeting this week's reviews:
Books vs. movies: does Hollywood ruin novels?
This weekend, the eighth installment of the Harry Potter film franchise opens for its eager fan base. In the case of J.K. Rowling’s series, her best-selling books have translated into equally big box office successes. Lucky that. Often a beloved novel adapted for the screen provokes passionate pans. Readers feel let down when a tale is stripped down, a character betrays or entire plot points are mangled. Even screenwriters concede that adaptations of novels just feel less satisfying than the books themselves. Mashing deep, ambling prose into a 90-minute spectacle is a challenging or impossible task. Imagine if William Faulkner or Joan Didion were forced to create log lines, tidy climaxes and populist hooks. What are the best and worst adaptations you’ve read and watched? “ The Scarlet Letter?” “Never Let Me Go?” “The Godfather?” “Fight Club?” How tough is it to adapt a book for the screen? What types of novels never translate well? Is there a book you'd love to see on screen, or one you hope never gets touched? Would you go so far as avoiding the movie version of a favorite written story?