Get Your Motor Running

Did anyone notice the box office numbers this weekend?

Truly remarkable. I am astounded once a year at a weekend, or a film. This year it hit early and maybe it will be often. I have an extensive knowledge just short of expert on this subject, including doing enough research and attempting to writing a book on the subject. I have my background info, and some six or eight movies attended with pure cash as the reason. If I put everything together I feel about 100 pages short of doing exactly what I wanted to do, unfortunately I wasn't as committed as necessary and stopped going to the experiments.

Anyway I have some knowledge of this, and consider it a hobby to follow the numbers. Wild Hogs did serious business. It was a best case scenario $25 million weekend. Most of the experts will tell you it opened on a usually lousy week, and with a pretty decent cast and nearly no competition. So $25 mil. looked do-able, and really very respectable. It would be a coup to do any more than this. It knocked home $38 million. $13 million over expectations. When was the last time you achieved your quota by an extra 50%. I guess if you thought you could eat 2 tacos and actually ate 3 that would qualify. But I bet if you had to sell 10,000 pencils and you told someone you sold 15,000 they might give you a promotion.

Well this was stunning. $38 million weekends are not easy this time of year, and not easy for 50 year old men. This marked Travolta's best opening (hard to believe) and Tim Allen's best non-animation (also hard to believe considering the Santa Clause movies, unless there is something that qualifies it differently)...The worst part, now we probably get a sequel. Its like City Slickers 2 meets Easy Rider...no Jack Palance...we'll get Dennis Hopper...oy vey


So I've been screwing you on music.

Put Your Hands on Me: Joss Stone (not released, should be out there somewhere for you, love this track, love this chick)

Off He Goes, Pearl Jam...find this from the live acoustic disc, Beynora Hall ( I butchered the spelling)

Set Adrift on Memory Bliss...PM Dawn..it still rocks

Smiley Faces...Gnarls Barkley (not a big fan of Barkley...like the parts better than the sum)

Soothe Me...Sam and Dave

Phone Went West...My Morning Jacket