Over the next couple of months, there are a handful of movies that will do relatively well at the box office and another handful that will generate some Oscar attention.The Men Who Stare at Goats - Clooney, McGregor, Bridges, Spacey. Good early buzz. (Nov. 6)
Precious - Indie film about a pregnant Harlem teen who struggles with a dangerous home life and illiteracy. Oscar buzz for Mo'Nique. (Nov. 6)
New Moon - This second in the Twilight series will be even bigger than the first and looks like a better film. (Nov. 20)
Me and Orson Welles - Zac Efron in his first real dramatic role since becoming a big deal. Still, I would not expect this to do much box office business because of the subject matter. (Nov. 25)
The Princess and the Frog - Disney's return to tradition animation, their first in five years. It's a classic story, but still a gamble. (Nov. 25)
Up in the Air - another film with Oscar buzz for George Clooney. (Dec. 4)
The Lovely Bones - Peter Jackson takes on the Alice Sebold classic. The early previews look amazing. (Dec. 11)
Nine - a musical with Daniel Day-Lewis really?! Really. Also with four other Oscar winning actors and actresses, written by an Oscar winner, and directed by an Oscar nominee. How's that for a pedigree? (Dec. 18)
Avatar - James Cameron returns with this much-hyped film, his first since Titanic in 1997. (Dec. 18)
Sherlock Holmes - Robert Downey Jr. tries to revitalize and re-vision the classic hero. Guy Ritchie directs. (Dec. 25)
And one more...
The Road - The adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy masterpiece has had its release date moved around so many times it's hard to know what's going on. It looks like it may see the light of day in December, but the multiple changes do not bode well for the film.
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The charity 'Raising Malawi' (PR firm) founded by Madonna AND TWO OTHERS in '06' held fund raisers for over two years before finally getting registered as a non-profit. In other words, Madonna and the others were free to squander that funding any way they saw fit for those first two years. In fact, they still havn't accounted for the 3.7 million raised from a single event in the fall of '07' (The grand opening of a Gucci flagship store in Manhattan.). She also pleaded with her fans worldwide for donations along the way. In the meantime, she toured the world to promote her latest CD and raked in another $280,000,000 gross in just over 12 months. To date, the basic financial info for 'Raising Malawi' still hasn't been posted on the website or anywhere else. The 'progress' page only tells of the collective works by over 20 seperate charities. Each of which have their own sources of funding and may have recieved some sort of promotion or support from 'Raising Malawi' in order to be considered 'partners'. But no indication is made how much of their funding came from 'Raising Malawi' or how much of their progress if any could be directly attributed to 'Raising Malawi'. The fans/donors have no clue how many millions of dollars were raised in that first two years, no clue how much Madonna herself chipped in, and no clue how the money was spent before they finally registered as a non-profit. No clue what fraction of funding or works listed on that 'progress' page could be directly attributed to 'Raising Malawi'. Nothing to go on but the vague and misleading word of Madonna. For example: She states in her latest promotional video that she will match any contributions made to her charity (PR firm) "dollar for dollar". However, there is a disclaimer posted on the website for 'Raising Malawi' that Madonna's total contribution will not exceed $100,000. Thats not per donation. Thats a maximum of $100,000 TOTAL. Less than a single days pay for Madonna. Also much less then she will surely rake in by promoting her own CDs, DVDs, and 'for profit' merchandise through this massive worldwide publicity stunt. So I called the office of 'Raising Malawi' in an attempt to verify some sort of efficient financial operation (310) 867-2881 or (888) 72-DONOR). These details are ALWAYS made available by legitimate charities. But not in this case. I got nothing but recorded messages and hangups. So I did some research on my own. 'Raising Malawi' still hasn't been given any kind of rating by ANY independent charity watchdog like Charitywatch.org. The vast overwhelming majority of 'celebrity' foundations never are. In general, they are inneficient and riddled with corruption. Like the promotion of CDs, world tours, commercial websites, entire lines of jewelry (not just the single piece from which proceeds are donated), and high end retail flagship stores. Its far less expensive to promote your image and product with a contribution to your own charity (PR firm) than it is to buy commercial airtime worldwide. This is why its become such a trend. Celebrity foundations are also notorious for squandering much of their funding on private jet rides and super high end accomodations for their managers, PR crews, and celebrity figure heads. Its legal even for a nonprofit but not noble or efficient by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, non-profits are not actually required by law to be efficient. This is why the independent rating is so important. In general, 'celebrity' foundations never even get one. They are a twisted inefficient mutant of charity, self-promotion, exotic travel, and PR crap. Still, they compete for funding with more efficient legitimate charities. The celebrity figure heads often disregard the primary donors, co-founders, and managers, take personal credit for any collective work done, and seek maximum publicity shortly before or after the release of their own commercial projects. Its a sham. So if its not rated, then don't support it. Instead, support a top rated charity like any of those given high ratings at Charitywatch.org.
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