STARTING FIVE

I’ll not be near a computer tomorrow so in the great tradition of magazines you have to actually pay for, I’m going to arbitrarily declare this a double-issue and make you feel grateful that you’re getting even more material than you’d normally not pay for (even though you’re not). Anway, we’ll see you Monday…

Sampat returns from Venezuela with Bigfoot? Make it happen…

1. Good Will McAvoy

One of my favorite shows signs off on Sunday after three seasons and about 2,000 nasty reviews. Oh well, leave it to this guy (two thumbs pointing to chest…So how am I even typing?) to be the contrarian who defends the The Newsroom.

2. Well, He Is a Doctor

Dr. Dre’s bank account is also pumped up

According to Forbes, Dr. Dre earned $620 million in 2014, thanks mainly to his sale of Beats by Dre to Apple. That’s not only more than five times more than the next-best remunerated musical artist, Beyonce ($115 million) earned, it’s the most in a single year by a musician all-time in a single year. And I’m not even sure if Dr. Dre put out any new music in 2014.

3. Are SNL‘s Current Writers Ripping Off SNL‘s Former Writers (Probably)?

Two great guys…

This is a funny bit from SNL that only made it on-line (What does it say about Lorne Michaels at this stage of his career that the show’s most daring sketches can now only be found on-line?). Anyway, the parody on a VH-1 trope is funny, except that it was done years ago by a former SNL writer, John Mulaney, and a few friends.

4. I Cannot Wait To Read This

No, Katie, this is my Christmas card

You know what’s funny about the film Boogie Nights? The 70s disco classic  “Boogie Nights” by Heatwave does not appear in it. Anyway, the Paul Thomas Anderson classic was on two nights ago and I watched about 20 minutes of it. You have to love that the actor who played Bookman on Seinfeld says, “I’m a simple man, Jack. I like a little butter in my ass and a lollipop in my mouth, but that’s just me.
Anyway, Grantland has an oral history, and while this conceit has gotten a little faded (an oral history of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? please), this is the perfect movie for such a device.

5. The Flighter

Bale warns Pharoah that the dark night returns

Because if there is one film that begged to be remade, it was The Ten Commandments, so now Christian Bale stars as Moses (yes, a Christian playing a Jew) in Exodus: Gods and Kings. It’s the story of an oppressed people who flee to another land for a better life, where the man in charge there grants them amnesty, but only if they’ve been wandering around the Sinai Desert for 40 years (it’s not that vast a desert; you people and your poor sense of direction). And there’s also a Bush, but it’s burning.

Remote Patrol

Cavaliers at Thunder

TNT 8 p.m.

LeBron shows off his post-Heat physique

When you have at least five All-Stars on the court at once –Durant, Westbrook, LBJ, K-Love and Kyrie–that’s worth watching. All five of those guys were born and raised in the U.S.A., which is a rarity now among NBA All-Stars (at least in a group of five). Remember that the Cavs were once 5-7 while the Thunder were 4-12. They are a combined 12-1 since.