Despite facing a major uphill battle, Democratic Pennsylvania State Senator John Yudichak of Luzerne County has moved a bill that would tax natural gas as it comes out of the ground. The bill calls for a tax on the gross value of the gas.
In the first three years of production, a well would be taxed at 2% and then jump up to 5% in year four. It would stay at that level until production fell below 150 MCF of natural gas per day. Once that threshold is reached, the tax would slip back to 2% as long as it stays above 60 MCF per day. Any well below 60 MCF would be exempt from the tax.
Yudichak says the tax would bring in $125 million in the first year and as much as $400 million a year after five years.
The measure is unlikely to win approval despite having Republican State Senator Edwin Erickson of Delaware County as a co-sponsor. Most Republicans in Harrisburg are against such a tax and the GOP holds a 30-20 majority in the PA senate. Yudichak says it is time to listen to the residents not the party, “The need to enact a natural gas severance tax is obvious to more than 60% of Pennsylvanians.” Yudichak was sighting recent polls that show public support for such a tax. “Gas drilling can potentially impact us all, in every corner of Pennsylvania,” says Yudichak.
Republicans have argued that such a tax will kill the young Marcellus Shale industry before it has a chance to grow. Yudichak disagrees, “We can have a thriving natural gas industry in Pennsylvania but it must be responsibly regulated and taxed to protect our communities, our land and our water.”
Even if it gets past the Republican controlled legislature, it would most likely face a veto from Governor Tom Corbett who made it a campaign pledge to not tax shale gas extraction. However, in recent weeks the governor and much of the rest of the party have begun to indicate that they may be willing to enact an impact fee that would stay with a host municipality.
In an effort to appeal to the Republicans, a third of the tax under Yudichak’s bill would be set aside for water supply and waste water issues, a third would go to an environmental stewardship fund and the rest would stay with local governments.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
PAY AS YOU GO RECOVERY NOW AVAILABLE ON THE GO
Successful Yorkshire business, RTR UK Ltd, who developed ‘pay as you go’ accident and breakdown cover, adds an iPhone App to their service. The Road To Recovery iPhone App now allows its members to rapidly access the service at the touch of a screen.The App uses the member’s phone’s GPS to locate their position and then puts them through to RTR’s call centre who despatch local recovery to the scene. The RTR (Road To Recovery) scheme, which is free to join, ensures the cost of recovery is 50-60% cheaper than contacting a local recovery operator direct - because all RTR providers sign up to a fair pricing commitment. A development that has seen increasing numbers of motorists and fleet operators moving from traditional breakdown cover and taking the Road To Recovery option.
“When we introduced a breakdown recovery scheme that you only pay for when you need it, our competitors thought we were mad. They trade on people’s fears but the reality is that most modern cars are very reliable and the chances of a breakdown are actually quite small. We decided that people shouldn’t have to take a chance and pay for a service they may not use but, if they did need it, that it should be priced fairly. We have now taken an innovative service and created an innovative way to access it through the App. We think it’s the future of breakdown cover!”
Paul Hoyle, MD of RTR (UK).
The Road To Recovery scheme works by providing a central link between recovery operators, who benefit from higher volumes of business, and motorists who are spared the cost of a service they may never use but have the reassurance that it is available should they need it.
Currently the App is available for the iPhone and will be available on the App store shortly. It is also in the process of being developed for Android phones.
More information available at www.rtruk.co.uk.
Contact: 0870 474 0148 or send an
email to enquiries@rtruk.co.uk
A World Where Art & Freight Collide
Bringing the world of culture into the world of work may appear to be an uncommon marriage, but for Redhead International it has proven to be a perfect metaphor for their working practices. And to this end, they will be exhibiting the gallery of artwork from their successful The Art of Smartfreight campaign at one of the UK’s leading freight and transport conferences Multimodal 2011.
The artwork evolved out of Redhead’s desire to create a campaign that articulated their recognition of the individual nature of customer needs, and their ability to tailor solutions to match. There is nothing more unique than an individual’s perception of art.
The Art of Smartfreight campaign saw the reworking of some of art’s most iconic images to express a facet of the Redhead ethos and operation.
“We are happy to create customer specific solutions and the campaign expresses this approach completely,”Austin Duffy, Redhead’s marketing manager.
Multimodal 2011 is one of the most significant conference events in the freight and transport calendar - and involves all the significant players in the sector. The event gives the UK & Irish cargo-owning community a forum to compare supplier routes, modes and information crucial to efficient business practices. It runs from April 5th- 7th at the Birmingham NEC.
About Redhead
Redhead International, established in 1978, has depots in Bradford, Burton-on-Trent, Basildon, Bathgate, Belfast, Dublin and Paris. Employing over 180 staff internationally, the company has regular scheduled services to over 40 countries every week in Western, Eastern and Southern Europe, Scandinavia, North Africa, the Middle East and the CIS countries, turning over more than £27 million a year.
www.redhead-int.com
Market leader announces best ever month
Voltage optimisation solutions provider EMSc (UK) has cemented its position as market leader with confirmation that it has won all the contracts it tendered for in February 2011, as demand for Powerstar, the company’s system, continues to grow.The tenders and proposals secured were for more than 110 units and for customers across a wide selection of sectors including, local authority, government, public services, retail, education and manufacturing. Each Powerstar system, which is entirely manufactured in the UK, will be engineered to the customer’s specific requirements.
Powerstar provides an instant solution for businesses and organisations that are not only interested in saving money on their energy consumption, but also reducing their carbon emissions.
A proven, secure, reliable solution to energy management, voltage optimisation systems are being deployed by a growing number of companies as a cost efficient way to control a building’s incoming voltage, at the same time maximising energy savings.
EMSc’s managing director
“February 2011 has been one of our best months to date. Not only have we been successful in securing all the work we tendered for, but Powerstar has become the market leading solution in the UK and worldwide.”
Dr. Alex Mardapittas
Powerstar:
Can save up to 26.1% of electricity consumption.
Is fully designed and manufactured in the UK. All Powerstar components, including even minor items such as the paint, are sourced from UK manufacturers. The Powerstar design and any associated software are designed by EMSc UK Limited.
Requires no maintenance and has a 15 year warranty.
Is an approved energy savings system and may qualify for an interest-free Energy Efficiency Loan from the Carbon Trust.
Comes with guaranteed savings.
Will improve the life expectancy of electrical equipment.
Will improve the power quality (reduce harmonics and improve the power factor).
Has the highest efficiency and provides better savings than any other voltage optimisation system sold in the UK. This has been proven in independent tests (on the same load and same voltage reduction), head to head with similar competitive systems. In these tests Powerstar achieved:
Significantly higher energy savings (up to 13% more)
Reduced harmonics by 88% more than competitive systems
Running significantly cooler than competitive systems. (While Powerstar operated at normal ambient temperatures, competitive systems were operating at nearly 70°C).
The EMS team has over 150 years combined experience in designing and manufacturing special transformers and the Powerstar design is a direct result of this experience.
2010 - Winners of the Yorkshire Forward Innovator/10: Innovation in Action Award
2006 - Winners of the CARE4AIR AWARD
www.powerstar.co.uk
Can save up to 26.1% of electricity consumption.
Is fully designed and manufactured in the UK. All Powerstar components, including even minor items such as the paint, are sourced from UK manufacturers. The Powerstar design and any associated software are designed by EMSc UK Limited.
Requires no maintenance and has a 15 year warranty.
Is an approved energy savings system and may qualify for an interest-free Energy Efficiency Loan from the Carbon Trust.
Comes with guaranteed savings.
Will improve the life expectancy of electrical equipment.
Will improve the power quality (reduce harmonics and improve the power factor).
Has the highest efficiency and provides better savings than any other voltage optimisation system sold in the UK. This has been proven in independent tests (on the same load and same voltage reduction), head to head with similar competitive systems. In these tests Powerstar achieved:
Significantly higher energy savings (up to 13% more)
Reduced harmonics by 88% more than competitive systems
Running significantly cooler than competitive systems. (While Powerstar operated at normal ambient temperatures, competitive systems were operating at nearly 70°C).
The EMS team has over 150 years combined experience in designing and manufacturing special transformers and the Powerstar design is a direct result of this experience.
2010 - Winners of the Yorkshire Forward Innovator/10: Innovation in Action Award
2006 - Winners of the CARE4AIR AWARD
www.powerstar.co.uk
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Second Opinion - Sucker Punch (2011)
Sucker Punch, 2011.
Directed by Zack Snyder.
Starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Oscar Isaac, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm and Scott Glenn.
SYNOPSIS:
Locked in an institution against her will, a young woman fights for her freedom in a vivid dream world that blurs the boundaries between what is real and what is imaginary.
Bringing us visual delights such as 300 and Watchmen, director Zack Snyder transfers another epic green screen production into theaters. This time around our heroes are not muscled warriors nor do they have super powers. Well not unless you consider the ability to fight giant samurai and even bigger dragons while wearing tiny outfits a super power. Sucker Punch tells the visually-powered tale of a young girl desperately trying to escape an institution that her step-father admits her to against her will.
Emily Browning plays the lead role of Baby Doll. Following the death of her mother, she is placed in an all girl institution by her step dad. While there she meets four other young girls whom she befriends; Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), her sister Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung). After struggling at first to deal with being locked away, Baby Doll is able to retreat to a type of alternate reality within her imagination which allows her to cope with her troubles. During these trips into this reality, she comes across a Wise Man (Scott Glenn) who instructs her that she needs to find five things in order to escape her prison.
She decides to include the other girls in on her plan to earn her freedom. They all agree to help her in hopes of also finally being able to put this place behind them forever. Their journey’s into this fantasy world pits them against random virtual enemies. Warriors, Nazi soldiers and fighting robots all attempt to prevent them from reaching their ultimate goal: to set themselves free.
Along with his wife and production partner, Deborah, Zack Snyder really goes all out when it comes to creating this world projected from the imagination of Baby Doll. “Over the top” is probably the best way to describe the visuals on this film. But in this type of film, the all out special effects are expected and much welcomed. Seeing this movie in IMAX probably fulfilled the effect that Snyder, who also helped write the screenplay, was originally going for. It had just the right mixture of super-slow motion and sparkle-dazzle to make it impressive.
It’s quite obvious that the majority of the effort put into this project went into the special effects because no one will win any acting awards here. Especially not Browning even in the lead role. She’s nice to look at in her school girl outfit battling mythical foes but she spares us of displaying any kind of actual acting talent. The rest of the cast pretty much follows suit. Only Carla Gugino who plays Madam Gorski really used any skill by throwing on a Russian accent for her character.
The costumes were well placed for a PG-13 rating, having sex appeal but being very tastefully done. Everyone was wearing some obvious pretty heavy make-up throughout the film, even Browning’s character before she had even entered the institution. Another plus for the movie, however, was the music used to fuel the fantasy world and fight scenes. Hearing, no not hearing, but feeling the score pound through the speakers in IMAX surround sound was a pleasure. Decent story with a couple of unexpected turns here and there, Snyder put in some work writing the story. But I did feel like the ending was kind of rushed.
The combat and gun fights alongside the special effects were the best spectacle of the film, if you weren’t able to already guess that from all of the trailers. Although we’ve no doubt seen bullets fly in slow motion, it was still good to see in this one. That and witnessing swords slowly slice their way through opposing enemy robots were all pretty well done. Chock up one more fantasy thrill ride for Mr. Snyder. I give Sucker Punch “3.5 much needed escapes into a violent fantasy world in order to deal with your problems out of 5”. Try it some time, it might even help you too.
“If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.”
Sean Guard
Follow me on Twitter @SilentScribbler
Movie Review Archive
Directed by Zack Snyder.
Starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Oscar Isaac, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm and Scott Glenn.
SYNOPSIS:
Locked in an institution against her will, a young woman fights for her freedom in a vivid dream world that blurs the boundaries between what is real and what is imaginary.
Bringing us visual delights such as 300 and Watchmen, director Zack Snyder transfers another epic green screen production into theaters. This time around our heroes are not muscled warriors nor do they have super powers. Well not unless you consider the ability to fight giant samurai and even bigger dragons while wearing tiny outfits a super power. Sucker Punch tells the visually-powered tale of a young girl desperately trying to escape an institution that her step-father admits her to against her will.
Emily Browning plays the lead role of Baby Doll. Following the death of her mother, she is placed in an all girl institution by her step dad. While there she meets four other young girls whom she befriends; Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), her sister Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens) and Amber (Jamie Chung). After struggling at first to deal with being locked away, Baby Doll is able to retreat to a type of alternate reality within her imagination which allows her to cope with her troubles. During these trips into this reality, she comes across a Wise Man (Scott Glenn) who instructs her that she needs to find five things in order to escape her prison.
She decides to include the other girls in on her plan to earn her freedom. They all agree to help her in hopes of also finally being able to put this place behind them forever. Their journey’s into this fantasy world pits them against random virtual enemies. Warriors, Nazi soldiers and fighting robots all attempt to prevent them from reaching their ultimate goal: to set themselves free.
Along with his wife and production partner, Deborah, Zack Snyder really goes all out when it comes to creating this world projected from the imagination of Baby Doll. “Over the top” is probably the best way to describe the visuals on this film. But in this type of film, the all out special effects are expected and much welcomed. Seeing this movie in IMAX probably fulfilled the effect that Snyder, who also helped write the screenplay, was originally going for. It had just the right mixture of super-slow motion and sparkle-dazzle to make it impressive.
It’s quite obvious that the majority of the effort put into this project went into the special effects because no one will win any acting awards here. Especially not Browning even in the lead role. She’s nice to look at in her school girl outfit battling mythical foes but she spares us of displaying any kind of actual acting talent. The rest of the cast pretty much follows suit. Only Carla Gugino who plays Madam Gorski really used any skill by throwing on a Russian accent for her character.
The costumes were well placed for a PG-13 rating, having sex appeal but being very tastefully done. Everyone was wearing some obvious pretty heavy make-up throughout the film, even Browning’s character before she had even entered the institution. Another plus for the movie, however, was the music used to fuel the fantasy world and fight scenes. Hearing, no not hearing, but feeling the score pound through the speakers in IMAX surround sound was a pleasure. Decent story with a couple of unexpected turns here and there, Snyder put in some work writing the story. But I did feel like the ending was kind of rushed.
The combat and gun fights alongside the special effects were the best spectacle of the film, if you weren’t able to already guess that from all of the trailers. Although we’ve no doubt seen bullets fly in slow motion, it was still good to see in this one. That and witnessing swords slowly slice their way through opposing enemy robots were all pretty well done. Chock up one more fantasy thrill ride for Mr. Snyder. I give Sucker Punch “3.5 much needed escapes into a violent fantasy world in order to deal with your problems out of 5”. Try it some time, it might even help you too.
“If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything.”
Sean Guard
Follow me on Twitter @SilentScribbler
Movie Review Archive
365 Days, 100 Films #8 - Submarine (2010)
Submarine, 2010.
Written and Directed by Richard Ayoade.
Starring Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor and Gemma Chan.
SYNOPSIS:
Submarine details the teenage years of Oliver Tate as he processes the confusion of his parents’ dithering marriage and his own longing heart.
Richard Ayoade directed the music video for Vampire Weekend’s ‘Oxford Comma’. It’s filmed in one hugely complex and intricate take, but looks inventively effortless. Wes Anderson-by-numbers, really. Nevertheless, it’s a very good piece of filmmaking. Ayoade is arguably more famous in front of the camera, as the I.T. Crowd’s Moss, or Darkplace’s Dean Leaner, but he’s trying. He now has a feature under his belt - Submarine.
The film follows Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), an impossible dreamer, through adolescence. He’s read too much Nietzsche and seen too many Truffauts. It puts him at odds with his majestically crude school friends. Oliver tells us all this through his own neurotic narration. He falls for a girl at school, Jordana Bevan. Because she’s a bit of an outcast, like him, he reckons he has more of a chance. When he says ‘outcast’, you know he actually means, and believes, ‘misunderstood’. Teenagers, eh?
Aside from these complications of the heart, and general coping with existence, Oliver’s parents’ relationship is becoming increasingly strained. His father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor), is a marine biologist who’s susceptible to bouts of depression. He once drank hot lemon from the same cup for four days without changing or washing it - a smart detail, signalling for whenever he starts his spiral down. We notice Lloyd holding the hot lemon cup, sure, and so does Oliver (there isn’t much he doesn’t notice). But his mother, Jill (Sally Hawkins), carries on her flirtations with their new next-door neighbour; her old flame, Graham (Paddy Constantine). Hopefully she’s too blinded by the attention, rather than being beyond caring for her dull, dispirited husband.
Later on in the film, it emerges that Jordana’s mother is very ill. She asks Oliver to visit her in hospital the following Friday at 6pm. As he is about to leave,he sees Lloyd sipping from that unwashed hot lemon cup. Does he stay with his depressed father, or visit his girlfriend’s dying mother? The latter is surely more pressing, and he’d promised Jordana so sincerely. Was he going to leave the house anyway? Such choices are beyond the pay-grade of a 15 year-old.
The film is cut with that particularly European brand of melodramatic flair. This is not just for style’s sake. We are watching the film through Oliver’s perspective. He sees his life as some French New Wave masterpiece, one yet to be unearthed by film scholars. It rings true for anyone who has ever been a teenager. We’re all tortured, undiscovered geniuses at that age.
We can all relate. Much of Submarine’s humour comes from this self-absorbed, exaggerated perception of Oliver’s life. It’s funny because we’ve been there. Who hasn’t thought, during an especially significant moment in one’s life, how good said significant moment would look from a crane shot slowly tracking out? However, as Oliver pessimistically notes, his life story would probably only have the budget for a simple track-back. Ayoade’s camera then simply tracks back to end the scene. Even the very mechanics of filmmaking mock Oliver’s teenage self-absorption.
If you watch Submarine with a complacent eye, you’ll liken it to the American ‘indie’ films. Wes Anderson’s name is now never far away when considering anything with contemporary quirk. But that ‘indie’ scene feels stagnant these days. ‘Indie’ is now a style rather than a means of production. At its best, the American ‘indie’ output can be very enjoyable. At worst, though, it can be insufferably smug.
What Submarine accomplishes, and very well, is a joining between the best parts of the American ‘indie’ films – comical neuroticism, benign quirkiness and a deep emotional attachment – to the stylistics of the continent. After all, between the two is where we sit politically. Why not try it out in British film?
Oli Davis
365 Days, 100 Films
Movie Review Archive
Written and Directed by Richard Ayoade.
Starring Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Paddy Considine, Noah Taylor and Gemma Chan.
SYNOPSIS:
Submarine details the teenage years of Oliver Tate as he processes the confusion of his parents’ dithering marriage and his own longing heart.
Richard Ayoade directed the music video for Vampire Weekend’s ‘Oxford Comma’. It’s filmed in one hugely complex and intricate take, but looks inventively effortless. Wes Anderson-by-numbers, really. Nevertheless, it’s a very good piece of filmmaking. Ayoade is arguably more famous in front of the camera, as the I.T. Crowd’s Moss, or Darkplace’s Dean Leaner, but he’s trying. He now has a feature under his belt - Submarine.
The film follows Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts), an impossible dreamer, through adolescence. He’s read too much Nietzsche and seen too many Truffauts. It puts him at odds with his majestically crude school friends. Oliver tells us all this through his own neurotic narration. He falls for a girl at school, Jordana Bevan. Because she’s a bit of an outcast, like him, he reckons he has more of a chance. When he says ‘outcast’, you know he actually means, and believes, ‘misunderstood’. Teenagers, eh?
Aside from these complications of the heart, and general coping with existence, Oliver’s parents’ relationship is becoming increasingly strained. His father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor), is a marine biologist who’s susceptible to bouts of depression. He once drank hot lemon from the same cup for four days without changing or washing it - a smart detail, signalling for whenever he starts his spiral down. We notice Lloyd holding the hot lemon cup, sure, and so does Oliver (there isn’t much he doesn’t notice). But his mother, Jill (Sally Hawkins), carries on her flirtations with their new next-door neighbour; her old flame, Graham (Paddy Constantine). Hopefully she’s too blinded by the attention, rather than being beyond caring for her dull, dispirited husband.
Later on in the film, it emerges that Jordana’s mother is very ill. She asks Oliver to visit her in hospital the following Friday at 6pm. As he is about to leave,he sees Lloyd sipping from that unwashed hot lemon cup. Does he stay with his depressed father, or visit his girlfriend’s dying mother? The latter is surely more pressing, and he’d promised Jordana so sincerely. Was he going to leave the house anyway? Such choices are beyond the pay-grade of a 15 year-old.
The film is cut with that particularly European brand of melodramatic flair. This is not just for style’s sake. We are watching the film through Oliver’s perspective. He sees his life as some French New Wave masterpiece, one yet to be unearthed by film scholars. It rings true for anyone who has ever been a teenager. We’re all tortured, undiscovered geniuses at that age.
We can all relate. Much of Submarine’s humour comes from this self-absorbed, exaggerated perception of Oliver’s life. It’s funny because we’ve been there. Who hasn’t thought, during an especially significant moment in one’s life, how good said significant moment would look from a crane shot slowly tracking out? However, as Oliver pessimistically notes, his life story would probably only have the budget for a simple track-back. Ayoade’s camera then simply tracks back to end the scene. Even the very mechanics of filmmaking mock Oliver’s teenage self-absorption.
If you watch Submarine with a complacent eye, you’ll liken it to the American ‘indie’ films. Wes Anderson’s name is now never far away when considering anything with contemporary quirk. But that ‘indie’ scene feels stagnant these days. ‘Indie’ is now a style rather than a means of production. At its best, the American ‘indie’ output can be very enjoyable. At worst, though, it can be insufferably smug.
What Submarine accomplishes, and very well, is a joining between the best parts of the American ‘indie’ films – comical neuroticism, benign quirkiness and a deep emotional attachment – to the stylistics of the continent. After all, between the two is where we sit politically. Why not try it out in British film?
Oli Davis
365 Days, 100 Films
Movie Review Archive
Arnold Schwarzenegger gets animated as The Governator
This past weekend it was revealed that former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger was attached to "an international TV series", the details of which were expected to be announced at Cannes next week. Well, the speculation has ended early as EW's Popwatch got exclusive word on the project, an animated superhero series entitled The Governator. "The Governator is going to be a great superhero, but he’ll also be Arnold Schwarzenegger,” says Marvel legend and comic book icon Stan Lee, who is developing the project alongside Arnie. "We’re using all the personal elements of Arnold’s life... after he leaves the governor’s office, Arnold decides to become a crime fighter and builds a secret high-tech crime-fighting center under his house in Brentwood.”
Supporting The Governator in his battle against the evil Gangsters Imposters Racketeers Liars & Irredeemable Ex-cons (G.I.R.L.I.E. Men) is an array of vehicles and super suits, along with a 13-year-old sidekick who acts as Arnie's cybersecurity expert. The animated series is expected to arrive next year. Hey, at least it's not Turboman.
HCBK Writes Off a Year (NASDAQ: HCBK) (NYSE: MTB)
NEW YORK - HCBK one of the 20 largest banks in the country, which has recently fallen on hard times announced a restructuring of its balance sheet on March 28.
Ron Hermance the CEO of HCBK said: " recent market events and the unprecedented involvement of the United States government in both the mortgage markets, through the government-sponsored enterprises (the “GSEs”), and the maintenance of low market interest rates, have resulted in an environment that has caused our balance sheet to be less responsive to current market conditions... Accordingly, we undertook this balance sheet restructuring at a time when market interest rates are beginning to increase with the intent on preserving our shareholders’ equity as much as reasonably possible and yet executing a trade that looks to increase our forward earnings potential."
Ron Hermance the CEO of HCBK said: " recent market events and the unprecedented involvement of the United States government in both the mortgage markets, through the government-sponsored enterprises (the “GSEs”), and the maintenance of low market interest rates, have resulted in an environment that has caused our balance sheet to be less responsive to current market conditions... Accordingly, we undertook this balance sheet restructuring at a time when market interest rates are beginning to increase with the intent on preserving our shareholders’ equity as much as reasonably possible and yet executing a trade that looks to increase our forward earnings potential."
The company repurchased $12.5 billion of debt and sold $8.5 billion of mortgage backed securities in the transaction and the company sold $5 billion of new debt issued at 0.66%. The company will realize a $644 million loss from the transaction. The company made $537 million of profit last year, hence the company wiped out over a year of profit.
Now, Buffalo based M&T Bank is the only bank to not decrease their dividend and remain profitable in every quarter since the financial crisis. Will a dividend cut for HCBK follow?
April Fool Day joke or reality : Karan Johar to get married this year?
One doesn't know if it is an April Fool’s Day joke, but the Bollywood gossip is alive with the buzz that filmmaker Karan Johar, known to be a confirmed bachelor all along, is all set to tie the knot.Johar, 38, is said to be romantically involved with New Yorkbased Vandana Melwani, 31, and may get hitched with her this year. Not much is known about Melwani, who has no Bollywood or showbiz connection, except that she has been a close friend of Johar for quite some time.
“ Vandana’s family and Karan’s family share a very good relationship and have known each other for years now. About a year ago, Karan was spotted with Vandana in New York and then in London. Vandana does not belong to the film industry and is media shy,” said a source.
Sources further said that Johar’s frequent visits to New York could also have to do with meeting Vandana. It is wellknown that the writer- filmmaker prefers to fly off to New York to write his scripts without any disturbance, away from the humdrum of Mumbai.
“ If the reports of his impending marriage are indeed true, obviously the reason for Karan’s frequent trips to New York was not just about writing,” the source said.
Our efforts to reach Johar were unsuccessful, but our source added: “ Karan always denied dating anyone and has never been linked with anyone in Bollywood. He has repeatedly said he has no issues being single and is happy to be a bachelor.
“ However it was Karan’s mother, Hiroo Johar, who has all along wanted him to settle down. While Karan has clearly said time and again that there is no urgency to get married, his family would be happy to see him tie the knot.” If all things fall in place, Johar and Melwani could have a private wedding where only a select guest list of close friends and families would be invited.
Johar has neither denied nor confirmed the reports, although a section of the press suggested that he admitted his marriage plans to Melwani in a Dubai based Bollywood magazine. Most of his close friends in the industry have expressed surprise over the report. Many others feel it is someone’s idea of a practical joke for April 1.
Only time will tell, of course.
Tokyo's Electric, can I be electric too? (TYO:9501) (PINK:TKECF)
NEW YORK - Shares of Tepco electrified 12% higher in early morning trade and continue to remain 4% higher. This is a welcome sign to investors of the company who have seen their shares drop by nearly 80% since the start of the crisis. The stock is currently trading at ¥485, as we approach midday in Tokyo trading. The stock has rallied because an investor has put in a buy order for 2.5% of the company's outstanding stock or 40 million shares. No-one can confirm who placed the order.
The company has been troubled since March 11, when an earthquake and tsunami knocked out the cooling system at the company's Fukushima Power Plant, which has led to half of the 6 reactors at the plant suffering partial meltdowns.
The people of Japan have been wondering what happened to Tepco's President Masataka Shimizu. Tsunehisa Katsumata the Chairman of the company has stepped in as President. The latest update is that Shimizu is in hospital for an illness. The company also said said 4 of the 6 reactors will never operate again.
Let The Guessing Game Begin (TYO:9501) (PINK:TKECF)
NEW YORK - The blame game of who is at fault for the nuclear disaster, while still continuing has taken a back seat to the second most popular game, The Guessing Game. The guessing game is where analysts predict what they think something will cost. In this case, analysts will try to guess the liability for Tokyo Electric, popularly known as Tepco.
Tokyo Electric is still looking to contain radiation at its troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant which supplied approximately 7% of the company's total electric power before the earthquake and tsunami on March 11.
An analyst today started off the numbers crunch saying the disaster will cost 11 trillion yen if the crisis lasts two years. The last time the analysts checked their guessometers was during the mortgage put-back fiasco in the United States. Some analysts estimated liabilities to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars for the major U.S. Banks, numbers which, as of today have yet to come close to fruition.
Some analysts believe shareholders will be wiped out, however they believe debtholders will remain intact if there is a nationalization plan for the beleaguered company. Tsunehisa Katsumata, Chairman of Tepco, has taken over the role of President for Masataka Shimizu who has not been seen in public since March 13 and has recently been hospitalized.
The shares are currently up 7% today in early Japanese trading.
County Council Hears Both PAT and Local 85
Members of the two sides in disagreement over labor negotiations between Port Authority Transit and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 met in Allegheny County Courthouse’s Gold Room Wednesday evening under a special meeting called for by Allegheny Council President Jim Burn.
Burn and his fellow council members asked each representative if they were willing to go back to the negotiating table after heated but closed talks ended on Saturday afternoon. The following day, the Port Authority went through with a 15 percent service cut. Steve Bland, CEO of PAT and Patrick McMahon, union President for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 both agreed in principle to continuing negotiations.
According to reports from both sides, management and the union were close to reaching an agreement after “historic” concessions were made by the union regarding legacy funds and health care for retirees.
County Manager Jim Flynn said a “cooling off” period was necessary and four days between talks is helpful for each side to reset before negotiating again.
Many councilmen questioned the representatives to help educate themselves on where each side stands and to encourage immediate negotiations. Councilmen explained that the lack of state funding has driven the problems that lead to service cuts and further cuts expected in June of 2012. Councilman Michael Finnerty says the blame game between sides is unnecessary when there is a bigger issue.
“When we look at the situation be realistic about it in saying what the problem is, and the state is one of the problems, it’s not just legacy cuts, it’s not just healthcare, it’s dedicated funding, too.”
Bland agreed with Finnerty’s sentiments saying until there is a source of dedicated funding, these meetings will come up every few months as PAT finds itself in financial trouble again.
“We have to move away from these one-day, one-week, one-month, one-year Band-Aids, limp-alongs, bailouts, you-name-it and get to a point where public transportation in Pittsburgh is sustainable on an ongoing basis and frankly where derivative bodies like this one can move onto issues of other significant public policy interests.”
McMahon says negotiations can and will continue, but constant ultimatums from the Port Authority won’t be the fix.
“As far as we are concerned, Local 85, we have never left the negotiating table but we need someone that we can negotiate with,” McMahon says. “Take it or leave it proposals will not get it done, it will get a mutually agreeable solution.”
Burn and his fellow council members asked each representative if they were willing to go back to the negotiating table after heated but closed talks ended on Saturday afternoon. The following day, the Port Authority went through with a 15 percent service cut. Steve Bland, CEO of PAT and Patrick McMahon, union President for Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85 both agreed in principle to continuing negotiations.
According to reports from both sides, management and the union were close to reaching an agreement after “historic” concessions were made by the union regarding legacy funds and health care for retirees.
County Manager Jim Flynn said a “cooling off” period was necessary and four days between talks is helpful for each side to reset before negotiating again.
Many councilmen questioned the representatives to help educate themselves on where each side stands and to encourage immediate negotiations. Councilmen explained that the lack of state funding has driven the problems that lead to service cuts and further cuts expected in June of 2012. Councilman Michael Finnerty says the blame game between sides is unnecessary when there is a bigger issue.
“When we look at the situation be realistic about it in saying what the problem is, and the state is one of the problems, it’s not just legacy cuts, it’s not just healthcare, it’s dedicated funding, too.”
Bland agreed with Finnerty’s sentiments saying until there is a source of dedicated funding, these meetings will come up every few months as PAT finds itself in financial trouble again.
“We have to move away from these one-day, one-week, one-month, one-year Band-Aids, limp-alongs, bailouts, you-name-it and get to a point where public transportation in Pittsburgh is sustainable on an ongoing basis and frankly where derivative bodies like this one can move onto issues of other significant public policy interests.”
McMahon says negotiations can and will continue, but constant ultimatums from the Port Authority won’t be the fix.
“As far as we are concerned, Local 85, we have never left the negotiating table but we need someone that we can negotiate with,” McMahon says. “Take it or leave it proposals will not get it done, it will get a mutually agreeable solution.”
Tuesday Night Scores + The Skinny
(Mar. 29, 2011) - We are updating the scores tonight as they roll in and we are even putting up the "Skinny" as it is sent in ... so sit back and refresh for the lastest!
Baseball
Briar Woods 7, Park View 2
The Skinny: Falcons bounce back from that long extra-inning loss to Broad Run .
Broad Run 7, Potomac Falls 1
The Skinny: The Spartans hand the Panthers their second loss on the season after
Baseball
Briar Woods 7, Park View 2
The Skinny: Falcons bounce back from that long extra-inning loss to Broad Run .
Broad Run 7, Potomac Falls 1
The Skinny: The Spartans hand the Panthers their second loss on the season after
Swim: Loudoun Valley's Kelsey Ryan to Swim with NCAA Division I George Mason
(Mar. 30, 2011) - Loudoun Valley High School senior Kelsey Ryan, two-time Cheers Sports and VivaLoudoun Athlete of the Month this winter, announced this week that she will attend and swim with NCAA Division I George Mason University in the fall.
Ryan just missed the finals at the AAA state meet in the 100 fly with a 17th place in the prelims but she took 10th in the 100 back with a 1:07.19.
Cross Country: Joe Cassella 5K Scheduled for May 15 in Great Falls
(Mar. 30, 2011) - The Joe Cassella Foundation is proud to extend Viva Loudoun an invitation to participate and sponsor the Joe Cassella 5K on Sunday, May 15, 2011 at the Great Falls Village Center in Great Falls, VA.
The Joe Cassella Foundation is a non-profit organization based out of Leesburg with a mission to offer financial assistance to the families of less fortunate children affected
Youth Sports - Soccer - ODFC Spirit Blue U9 Girls Capture FPYC Liberty Cup
Coaches Kathy Hunsaker and John Krobath. Girls (front row, l-r): Avery Groeninger, Lexi Krobath; (middle row, l-r): Ruby Hunsaker, Piper Dillon, Sally Steppling, Reagan Flynn, Cassie Thomas, Julia Leipertz; (back row, l-r): Seneca Hall, Nina Hadley and Gabby Nazari. (photo courtesy: Patrick Groeninger).
(Mar. 30, 2011) - The ODFC Spirit Blue U9 girls travel soccer team won their bracket in the
Youth Sports - Basketball - Edge to Hold Spring Clinic
(Mar. 30, 2011) - Edge Basketball will hold a spring clinic at Colvin Run Elementary School in Vienna, every Friday starting April 1 for eight weeks.
The school is located at: 1400 Trap Road, Vienna, VA 22182.
First Session 7:00pm (Elementary, Boys & Girls)
Second Session 8:30pm (Middle School, Boys & Girls)
Registration Fee $95.00/athlete. Register at the gym. Bring a Basketball and Water
The school is located at: 1400 Trap Road, Vienna, VA 22182.
First Session 7:00pm (Elementary, Boys & Girls)
Second Session 8:30pm (Middle School, Boys & Girls)
Registration Fee $95.00/athlete. Register at the gym. Bring a Basketball and Water
Youth Sports - Basketball - LTT Dynamite Captures Division 1 AAU State Championship
Shown from left to right, back row: Coach Janine Wilden, Assistant Coach Mike Wilden (not shown, Assistant Coach PJ Maher). Front row: Katie Maher, Ashley Rubino, Elisabeth Coffman, Gabi Ganley, Sammi Wilden, Lilian Vargo, Annie Ellis, Julie Brisbane, Samiksha Kale, Madison Jordan.
(Mar. 30, 2011) - The 4th grade girls Loudoun Triple Threat (LTT) Dynamite captured the Division i state title by
SIMONE-MEADE AUTOSPORTS ANNOUNCES 2011 RACING SEASON PLANS
Barrie, ON (March 30, 2011) Today Simone-Meade Autosports is pleased to announce their plans to campaign two full time entries in the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series. Since joining forces mid way through last season Simone Autosport and business leader Donald Meade have begun implementing their strategy to take their racing program to the front of the field and also create awareness to the serious problem of injurious micro-organisms and eliminate the mould pandemic.
The Simone-Meade Autosport driver line up will once again see Anthony Simone behind the wheel of the #95 Mouldie Meade Dodge. Joining Simone this year driving the #18 RxRemedy Dodge with support from Boomerang Bob’s Mixers is Open Wheel Racing star “Speedy” Dan Clarke.
Both drivers are thrilled to be part of an expanding operation that also promotes such an important message. Entering his fourth season of competition in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, driver Anthony Simone has scored strong podium finishes and looks to keep the momentum the team had last season going in 2011. “Our partnership with Donald Meade has been even more successful than we first imagined” said Anthony Simone. “Since coming together last year we have better resources, we’ve got new race cars coming, and we’re expanding into a two car team even quicker than we anticipated. Dan Clarke is a talented driver and I know he’ll adapt to these stock cars and running on oval tracks quickly” he added.
After successful seasons in the British Formula Ford and Formula Three series, Clarke headed for North America and turned heads competing in the Champ Car World Series and Firestone Indy Lights with great results. For Dan Clarke joining Simone-Meade Autosports in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series is just the latest challenge for the gifted racer. “I'm extremely excited about this opportunity to race in NASCAR Canadian Tire Series” stated Clarke. “I want everyone to know I'm coming here with a lot of excitement and eagerness to race and learn with my fellow competitors. To be part of this series is an honour for me and I consider it the chance to open a new door in racing”.
Business innovator Donald Meade could not be more enthusiastic of how all the plans have come together and expanded so quickly. “I knew when we partnered with the Simone family last year we would do great things and its happening” said Meade enthusiastically. “Now we’re going to be a two car effort, we’re educating the enormous NASCAR audience to this critical health issue of airborne mould and spores that are causing illness. And we’ve still got a lot more room to grow this program in the future” stated Meade.
In addition to the two car effort in the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series the Rx100 and RxRemedy companies intend to undertake a city by city barnstorming tour to reach as many communities with their message to stamp out injurious micro-organisms. Further details for partnership opportunities within the tour and raceteams are available through the company website www.rx100.ca
Georgia/New Hampshire Suggestions
The winners of our vote on where to poll this week were Georgia and New Hampshire. There was rampant cheating on the vote and near as we could tell those were the states that got the most unique individual votes. If anyone has suggestions on some better, free polling service we could use that could keep people from gaming these polls I'd appreciate it, otherwise we may just stop doing them because it's not worth the energy.
In New Hampshire we'd love suggestions of who to test against John Lynch for reelection next year and anything else you think we should ask. Georgia in particular we'll have a lot of room for your question ideas without either a Senate or Gubernatorial race for next year to look at so please tell us what you'd be interested to see.
Not going to get around to releasing our Mississippi Governor numbers today so those will be out tomorrow along with the Florida President ones.
In New Hampshire we'd love suggestions of who to test against John Lynch for reelection next year and anything else you think we should ask. Georgia in particular we'll have a lot of room for your question ideas without either a Senate or Gubernatorial race for next year to look at so please tell us what you'd be interested to see.
Not going to get around to releasing our Mississippi Governor numbers today so those will be out tomorrow along with the Florida President ones.
UPMC Performs Less-invasive Aortic Valve Replacement
UPMC surgeons performed the first round of procedures that replaces patent's aortic heart valve without having to perform open heart surgery. The hospital is one of 40 hospitals nation-wide participating in the Medtronic CoreValve® Clinical Trial evaluating a non-surgical procedure as an alternate to open-heart surgery for aortic stenosis patients. The procedure requires doctors to channel a catheter through a small opening in the femoral artery to reach the patent's heart, then the CoreValve is guided to the aortic valve where it self-expands to replace the diseased valve.
William Anderson, director of Interventional Cardiology at UPMC, says that this procedure is different than other methods. "The gold standard of therapy for aortic valve replacement is to do it through open heart surgery, and that's an operation that we've done for a long time and we're very familiar with. The disadvantage to it is that it is maximally invasive and it has a relatively long recuperation period."
Anderson says that the procedure has yet to show whether or not t will be a commercial success. He says that there are two other valve replacements being made available commercially relatively soon and we should see in the next 12 months if either is successful.
Aortic stenosis prevents the heart's aortic valve from properly opening which leads to less healthy blood flow from the aorta to the rest of the body. Approximately 300,000 people suffer from aortic stenosis worldwide, one third being deemed too high risk for open heart surgery.
The CorevValve System will be available commercially until the end of its clinical trial and approval of the FDA.
William Anderson, director of Interventional Cardiology at UPMC, says that this procedure is different than other methods. "The gold standard of therapy for aortic valve replacement is to do it through open heart surgery, and that's an operation that we've done for a long time and we're very familiar with. The disadvantage to it is that it is maximally invasive and it has a relatively long recuperation period."
Anderson says that the procedure has yet to show whether or not t will be a commercial success. He says that there are two other valve replacements being made available commercially relatively soon and we should see in the next 12 months if either is successful.
Aortic stenosis prevents the heart's aortic valve from properly opening which leads to less healthy blood flow from the aorta to the rest of the body. Approximately 300,000 people suffer from aortic stenosis worldwide, one third being deemed too high risk for open heart surgery.
The CorevValve System will be available commercially until the end of its clinical trial and approval of the FDA.
Understanding Scorsese: A Martin Scorsese Profile (Part 5)
Trevor Hogg profiles the career of legendary American filmmaker Martin Scorsese in the fifth of a five part feature... read parts one, two, three and four.
“I didn’t think of it as Hong Kong. I reacted to what Bill Monahan put together in the script; I liked the idea,” explained American filmmaker Martin Scorsese when discussing The Departed (2006). “Taking from the Hong Kong trilogy of Andrew Lau‘s film [Infernal Affairs], that’s the device, the concept of the two informers. [I am] totally, whether I like it or not, drawn to stories that have to do with trust and betrayal. I found that I kept being drawn back to the script and to the project. It became something else.” Questioned about his shift from portraying Italian criminals to those of Irish heritage, the director observed, “The differences between different ethnic groups as gangsters, that’s purely technical.” Cast in the plot-twisting thriller are Leonardo DiCaprio (The Beach), Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy), Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Alec Baldwin (Beetlejuice), Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights), Martin Sheen (Badlands), Ray Winstone (Edge of Darkness), and Vera Farmiga (Source Code). “It’s really rare in a film of this budget to have characters this interesting,” stated Matt Damon of the $90 million production in which he portrays a gangster mole planted in the Boston police force. Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays the undercover police officer, is in agreement with his co-star. “These characters are two sides of the same coin in a lot of ways,” stated DiCaprio. “They come from different backgrounds but they each could have easily made choices the other character made, depending on the circumstances.” The frequent Scorsese collaborator added, “I think the working experience was interesting because it was almost like we were shooting two entirely different films.”
“We shot in an armory in Brooklyn. That’s where there was space,” revealed Martin Scorsese. “I think it was an issue of a very good shooting deal in New York as oppose to Boston.” Leonardo DiCaprio was impressed with those helping behind the scenes. “We had a great technical advisor name Tom Duffy who knew the entire history of Boston and what the streets were like; he was there throughout the entire filmmaking process. The police gave us unbelievable advice. Matt actually went on a raid at a crackhouse.” The frontline knowledge is not something Matt Damon is going to forget. “The ride-along was a great experience,” said Damon. “I was lot closer to the action than I was comfortable with, I’ll tell you that. We did the whole deep breathing, the little huddle before we went in. They gave me a bulletproof vest and put me at the end of the line of people who went crashing through the door.”
Working with three-time Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson left a lasting impression on Leonardo DiCaprio. “He had a short run; he filmed his scenes and then he left. But those were some of the most intense moments of the film.” DiCaprio went on to give an example, “We did the [table] scene one way, and I remember Jack [telling] Marty he didn’t feel that [his portrayal of Costello] was intimidating enough…I came in the next day and the prop guy told me, be careful, he’s got a fire extinguisher, a gun, some matches, and a bottle of whiskey. Some things are in the film that he did that day and some things aren’t.” Matt Damon is quick to point out that, “None of the violence in this film is gratuitous and the characters pay a price for their violence. That’s a good message to send out to people – that there’s a price to pay.” Acknowledging that there is usually a body count associated with his movies, Scorsese remarked, “The thing that gets me going is a sense of energy that can be misdirected into violence.”
“I’ll tell you about Gimme Shelter and The Departed,” stated Martin Scorsese who has also used the Rolling Stones’ song in Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995). “I was coming home from shooting in New York, in heavy traffic on 57th Street. I could hear the song getting louder, coming from the car next to me. This guy with long hair was slamming his head against the steering wheel shouting, ‘It’s just a shot away.’ I said, ‘That’s The Departed. That’s the theme of the movie – it has to be there.’” Leonardo DiCaprio found his role to be extremely challenging. “Playing a guy that has to relay to the audience this constant 24-hour panic attack…surrounded by people that would literally blow my head off if I gave them any indication of who I am, coupled with the fact that I’m sitting across the table from a homicidal maniac who will maybe light me on fire – that gives your character a whole new dimension.” DiCaprio did not let his director down. “There were a lot of scheduling issues and he had to wait a long time for his performance to be actually photographed,” stated Scorsese. “By the last month of shooting, a lot had been building up in his character – simmering anxiety, tension, and anger. It was just extraordinary. We shot all at once and then as we were editing, my editor Thelma [Schoonmaker], looked at me and said, ‘He’s coming off really strong.’”
“It’s the only movie of mine with a plot,” chuckled Martin Scorsese who, upon be rewarded with the Oscar for Best Director after four previous nominations, mischievously asked, “Could you double-check the envelope?” Thelma Schoonmaker, who won her third Academy Award, could not be happier for her colleague. “It’s really wonderful that Marty won at long last,” said Schoonmaker. “We were praying for that. We didn’t really expect to win adapted screenplay, editing, and best picture. We thought maybe Babel [2006] would. Marty was so surprised. The first thing he said to me after the ceremony was, ‘And we won best picture too!’ It would have been pretty devastating if he hadn’t won. I don’t think I could have taken it, frankly.” The only one of the five nominations that The Departed missed out on at the Academy Awards was Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg); it was not as lucky at the BAFTAs where the thriller contended for Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Editing, Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the David Lean Award for Direction. Martin Scorsese won for Best Director at the Golden Globes while the film, which grossed $290 million worldwide, received nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Drama (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg), and Best Screenplay. Thelma Schoonmaker was presented with an Eddie Award by the American Cinema Editors, Scorsese won a Directors Guild of America Award, William Monahan was honoured with Best Adapted Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America, and the movie received a Producers Guild of America nomination. The Departed was lauded at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards with Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg), while the National Board of Review Awards handed out trophies for Best Director and Best Ensemble. The Screen Actors Guild of America Awards nominated The Departed for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Leonardo DiCaprio).
The recipient of the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors next helmed The Key to Reserva (2007), a commercial for Spanish sparkling wine producer Freixenet. Martin Scorsese discovers three and a half pages of an unfinished screenplay written by Alfred Hitchcock which he decides to film. The 10-minute production stars Simon Baker (L.A. Confedential), Kelli O’Hara (The Dying Gaul), Michael Stuhlbarg (Body of Lies), Christopher Denham (Duplicity), Richard Easton (Dead Again), Ted Griffin (Must Love Dogs), and Nellie Sciutto (Fixing Rhonda).
“Over the years I went to see a number of their shows,” said Martin Scorsese who has often used the music of the Rolling Stones in his movies. “I like the provocation of their music, the anger and frustration of some of their expressions and the subject matter of their songs; Gimme Shelter is an obvious one. People today are crying out for shelter and there is no shelter anymore; even more so now, it’s an anthem of our time.” The director added, “Watching the Stones, I thought [about what] it would be like trying to film a moment in time.” The idea became a reality in 2006 when Scorsese aided with a vast arsenal of cameras filmed the legendary British band performing at New York’s Beacon Theater. “It was as if the first one [concert] was a warm-up. The second started like it was an encore and built from there,” explained the filmmaker. “When the curtain went up I didn’t know what I’d get. Trust me, it’s possible to have 17 cameras and miss everything.” Grossing $16 million worldwide the project titled Shine a Light (2008) was nominated by the Motion Picture Sound Editors for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing – Music in a Musical Feature Film.
Next on the cinematic agenda for Martin Scorsese was an adaptation of a psychological thriller written by novelist Dennis Lehane, called Shutter Island (2010). Two U.S. Marshals are sent to a mental institution located on a remote island to investigation the disappearance of an interned murderess. “When I read the script,” remarked the native of Flushing, New York, “I realized it had its roots in something that is classic; it speaks to something very basic about our human nature and about who we are, what we want to conceal and what we have to accept. If we try to know ourselves, are we too afraid sometimes to go into areas that are unpleasant and irrational? Ultimately, what this is all about is ‘know thyself’.” Central to the storyline is the character of U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels. “This film depends on you not knowing where you’re at in any given situation. And so with that in mind, everyday on set was a challenge for me – how I interacted with specific characters, [and] how much I [should] let on as far as what Teddy is really going through.” Scorsese found himself being drawn into the fictional tale. “I tried to pull back a few times and not get so emotionally and psychologically involved…But this story, these characters, it was a very unsettling experience.”
Shutter Island was shot at the notorious Medfield State Hospital in Massachusetts. Built in 1892 and shut down in 2003, at its height the medical facility housed 2200 patients and is rumoured to be haunted by the tormented souls of past patients. Starring in the $80 million psychological thriller are Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right), Max von Sydow (Snow Falling on Cedars), Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine), Emily Mortimer (Redbelt), Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs), Jack Earle Haley (Watchmen), Patricia Clarkson (The Station Agent), John Carroll Lynch (Zodiac) and Elias Koteas (The Thin Red Line). “I was very intrigued by this screenplay,” said Leonardo DiCaprio. “It was very much a throwback to great detective genres of the past, whether it be Vertigo [1958], Out of the Past [1947], or Laura [1944] which were films he screened for us.” Martin Scorsese explained his selection of films. “I screened Laura for everyone just to get a reference to the nature of the detective,” said the director. “There are references to film noir, references to Psycho [1960], to psychological thrillers, to horror films, to films that are basically composed of dreams. So I think ultimately that even if the surprise ending is known – although it has several endings in a way – hopefully it’s a picture you can watch repeatedly because of the behaviour of the characters.” As for what drew him to the subject matter, Scorsese stated, “I’ve always been fascinated by mysteries of the mind because it’s how we perceive what we term reality. Witnesses in a court of law will swear they saw something but if they stood two or three feet in another direction maybe they’d have seen it differently.”
“Emotionally and physically, it was one of the tougher films I’ve ever had to make. It was trying on all of us,” remarked Leo DiCaprio whose trials and tribulations on the set did not go unnoticed by his director. “Leo didn’t like the rats, especially when he put his hand on one. That was one of the tougher days. Or should I say weeks?” Martin Scorsese could empathize with his star. “When I got to shooting and editing it, it was like being thrown down a spiral [staircase].” The filmmaker added, “I think I just tried to approach it from my own reaction to reading the material.” Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley enjoyed collaborating with the man behind the camera. “Marty directs like a lover. Everything is held together by affection for his craft, his actors, his crew, the material, and the great journey of cinema in our lives,” said Kingsley. “I think he must have about 40,000 films in his head or at least on his computer. He knows exactly the scene, without being a teacher and without being heavy, he just invites you to share something and it really is contagious. It was marvelous on Shutter Island for Leo, Mark [Ruffalo] and I.” Earning $295 million worldwide Shutter Island was lauded by the National Board of Review for Best Production Design & Art Direction; it also received nominations for Best Art Direction & Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound at the Satellite Awards. Leonardo DiCaprio won Choice Movie Actor – Horror or Thriller at the Teen Choice Awards, while other nominations for the psychological thriller included Choice Movie Actress – Horror or Thriller (Michelle Williams) and Choice Movie – Horror or Thriller.
Co-directed by Martin Scorsese and Kent Jones A Letter to Elia (2010) follows the journey of filmmaker Elia Kazan from Group Theatre to Hollywood, and his controversial role in the blacklisting of his colleagues. The 60-minute documentary features interview footage with Kazan and film clips from On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, Gentlemen’s Agreement, Baby Doll, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Face in the Crowd, America, America, and The Last Tycoon.
Heading to television, Martin Scorsese directed an 80-minute pilot episode costing $18 million for the HBO. “Boardwalk Empire [2010] was made for what I guess you would call the small screen but we made it like a film,” said the director of the series which is based on the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, The High Times and Corruption in Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson. “The 1920s in my head were always very present because my parents referred to them; the music, the people, the clothes. I know all the songs from that period; I know all the films. We knew it all and so it was a natural transition. But you know I really was fascinated with the idea of working with Terry Winter [The Sopranos] and these guys, and taking these characters over 13 hours, developing them, developing their story, the complications of corruption in American politics.” The Emmy-winning creator of the TV series, Terence Winter, found himself also being drawn to the era. “The 1920s were the most interesting to me because it was an era that hasn’t really been depicted often in cinema, and almost never in television.”
Boardwalk Empire features the acting talents of Steve Buscemi (Fargo), Michael Pitt (The Dreamers), Kelly Macdonald (No Country for Old Men), Shea Whigham (Tigerland), Aleksa Palladino (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), Vincent Piazza (Assassination of a High School President), and Paz de la Huerta (Enter the Void). “At its centre was this incredible lead character, Nuck Johnson, upon whom Steve’s character is based,” said Winter. “This was a guy who was incredibly conflicted, being equal parts politician and gangster. And then, that was coupled with the massive changes going on in the 1920s: like Prohibition, the women’s vote and broadcast radio.” The first 12-episode season came with a price tag of $65 million and won Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama (Steve Buscemi), and Best Television Series – Drama at the Golden Globes where it also contended for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Kelly Macdonald). The Screen Actors Guild handed out nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (Steve Buscemi), and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. For his contribution in helming the pilot episode, Martin Scorsese won a Directors Guild of America Award.
Also for HBO, Martin Scorsese produced Public Speaking (2010), a documentary about Fran Lebowitz, who is an American author know for her sardonic social commentary which has led her being christened the modern day Dorothy Parker. Another documentary Scorsese has in the works is a profile on a former Beatle called Living in the Material World: George Harrison (2011).
Venturing into the realm of children’s literature, Martin Scorsese is cinematically adapting The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Renamed Hugo Cabret (2011), the story revolves around an orphan who secretly inhabits the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris; he seeks to unravel a mystery surrounding his deceased father and an automaton. The cast of the adventure film stars Asa Butterfield (Son of Rambow), Chloë Moretz (Let Me In), Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), Emily Mortimer, Michael Pitt, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Christopher Lee (Season of the Witch), Helen McCrory (Becoming Jane), Richard Griffiths (The History Boys), Michael Stuhlbarg, and Ray Winstone. “It is really a story of a little boy,” said Scorsese. “He does become friends with the older George Méliès who was discovered in 1927, or 1928, working in a toy store, completely bankrupt. And then he was revived in a way with a beautiful gala in 1928, in Paris. And in my film, the cinema itself is the connection – the automaton, the machine itself becomes the emotional connection between the boy, his father, Méliès, and his family.” The director is breaking into a new territory for him – 3D filmmaking. “Every shot is rethinking the camera, [and] rethinking the narrative – how to tell a story with a picture. Now, I’m not saying we have to keep throwing javelins at the camera; I’m not saying we use it as a gimmick, but it’s liberating. It’s literally a Rubik’s Cube every time you go out and design a shot and work out a camera move, or a crane move. But it has a beauty also; people look like…moving statues.” Film editor Thelma Schoonmaker shares Scorsese’s enthusiasm. “It’s a whole new kind of film for us. It’s very visual, very little dialogue, lots of opportunities for wonderful 3D shots, because the boy’s job is to keep the clocks wound, so you can imagine the giant wheels being built. Everyone’s excited about it. It will have a broad appeal.” Chosen to play George Méliès is Ben Kingsley. “It examines the early days of cinema through the eyes of a child,” remarked Kingsley who enjoyed being reunited with the filmmaker. “One of the blessings of working under his love and guidance is that whatever you offer the camera he will see every scrap that you offer. He doesn’t miss anything.”
Other projects in the works for Martin Scorsese are a biopic on Hollywood icon Frank Sinatra and a cinematic adaptation of Silence by Shusaku Endo, about Portuguese Jesuit priests in 17th century Japan. There are suggestions that Scorsese will reunite with Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver) to produce two films based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt which is about mob assassin Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran. The filmmaker has also been connecting with his other acting muse Leonardo DiCaprio who is to star in The Wolf of Wall Street; it is based on the memoir penned by high living stockbroker Jordan Belfort who was sent to prison for stock manipulation.
Along with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Evelyn F. Burkley from the WGA, both of which he received in 2003, Martin Scorsese added another award to his collection in 2010; the Golden Globes bestowed upon him the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Over the course of his career, the New Yorker has directed 17 different actors in Oscar nominated performances and during a brief tenure at NYU he taught future moviemakers Oliver Stone (Platoon), Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing) and Jonathan Kaplan (The Accused). “He infects you with his enthusiasm,” stated Thelma Schoonmaker. “That’s why he’s such a good teacher; he doesn’t lecture you, he makes you excited and want to see all the films he loves. As for the work, it’s so intense, so fulfilling, you feel so proud of the film at the end. I know many other editors who work on films they hate and they’re bitter. I’m never that way.” Leonardo DiCaprio is equally full of praise. “He saved me. I was headed down a path of being one kind of actor, and he helped me become another one. The one I wanted to be.”
Even after making four movies together, DiCaprio remains astounded by the cinematic knowledge of Martin Scorsese. “He’s a professor of film. The man has seen almost every film ever made up until 1980. You get an education while working with him every single day. He screens movies for you to talk about specific scenes and what he’s trying to convey up on the screen. You can ask him a question about a character or the way a scene should go and he can show you 20 different examples of filmmakers that have done that in the past, the way it’s been done right, the way it’s been done wrong. It’s an incredible learning experience.” There is no doubt that the Academy Award-winning director is devoted to his craft. “I’m literally obsessed with the filmmaking process,” readily admitted Scorsese. “Given the chance to learn or experience or something, whether it’s the storm scene in Cape Fear [1991], the world of the 1920s, Hollywood and aviation in The Aviator [2004], I find myself wanting to get back there on set and then, especially in the editing room, to see those images come together. I really enjoy doing it.”
For more on the director be sure to visit the Martin Scorsese Fansite and ScorseseFilms.com, along with the BFI documentary A Personal Journey with Scorsese Through American Movies.
Short Film Showcase - What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
Short Film Showcase - The Big Shave
Short Film Showcase - The Key to Reserva
Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada.
“I didn’t think of it as Hong Kong. I reacted to what Bill Monahan put together in the script; I liked the idea,” explained American filmmaker Martin Scorsese when discussing The Departed (2006). “Taking from the Hong Kong trilogy of Andrew Lau‘s film [Infernal Affairs], that’s the device, the concept of the two informers. [I am] totally, whether I like it or not, drawn to stories that have to do with trust and betrayal. I found that I kept being drawn back to the script and to the project. It became something else.” Questioned about his shift from portraying Italian criminals to those of Irish heritage, the director observed, “The differences between different ethnic groups as gangsters, that’s purely technical.” Cast in the plot-twisting thriller are Leonardo DiCaprio (The Beach), Matt Damon (The Bourne Supremacy), Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), Alec Baldwin (Beetlejuice), Mark Wahlberg (Boogie Nights), Martin Sheen (Badlands), Ray Winstone (Edge of Darkness), and Vera Farmiga (Source Code). “It’s really rare in a film of this budget to have characters this interesting,” stated Matt Damon of the $90 million production in which he portrays a gangster mole planted in the Boston police force. Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays the undercover police officer, is in agreement with his co-star. “These characters are two sides of the same coin in a lot of ways,” stated DiCaprio. “They come from different backgrounds but they each could have easily made choices the other character made, depending on the circumstances.” The frequent Scorsese collaborator added, “I think the working experience was interesting because it was almost like we were shooting two entirely different films.”“We shot in an armory in Brooklyn. That’s where there was space,” revealed Martin Scorsese. “I think it was an issue of a very good shooting deal in New York as oppose to Boston.” Leonardo DiCaprio was impressed with those helping behind the scenes. “We had a great technical advisor name Tom Duffy who knew the entire history of Boston and what the streets were like; he was there throughout the entire filmmaking process. The police gave us unbelievable advice. Matt actually went on a raid at a crackhouse.” The frontline knowledge is not something Matt Damon is going to forget. “The ride-along was a great experience,” said Damon. “I was lot closer to the action than I was comfortable with, I’ll tell you that. We did the whole deep breathing, the little huddle before we went in. They gave me a bulletproof vest and put me at the end of the line of people who went crashing through the door.”
Working with three-time Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson left a lasting impression on Leonardo DiCaprio. “He had a short run; he filmed his scenes and then he left. But those were some of the most intense moments of the film.” DiCaprio went on to give an example, “We did the [table] scene one way, and I remember Jack [telling] Marty he didn’t feel that [his portrayal of Costello] was intimidating enough…I came in the next day and the prop guy told me, be careful, he’s got a fire extinguisher, a gun, some matches, and a bottle of whiskey. Some things are in the film that he did that day and some things aren’t.” Matt Damon is quick to point out that, “None of the violence in this film is gratuitous and the characters pay a price for their violence. That’s a good message to send out to people – that there’s a price to pay.” Acknowledging that there is usually a body count associated with his movies, Scorsese remarked, “The thing that gets me going is a sense of energy that can be misdirected into violence.”“I’ll tell you about Gimme Shelter and The Departed,” stated Martin Scorsese who has also used the Rolling Stones’ song in Goodfellas (1990) and Casino (1995). “I was coming home from shooting in New York, in heavy traffic on 57th Street. I could hear the song getting louder, coming from the car next to me. This guy with long hair was slamming his head against the steering wheel shouting, ‘It’s just a shot away.’ I said, ‘That’s The Departed. That’s the theme of the movie – it has to be there.’” Leonardo DiCaprio found his role to be extremely challenging. “Playing a guy that has to relay to the audience this constant 24-hour panic attack…surrounded by people that would literally blow my head off if I gave them any indication of who I am, coupled with the fact that I’m sitting across the table from a homicidal maniac who will maybe light me on fire – that gives your character a whole new dimension.” DiCaprio did not let his director down. “There were a lot of scheduling issues and he had to wait a long time for his performance to be actually photographed,” stated Scorsese. “By the last month of shooting, a lot had been building up in his character – simmering anxiety, tension, and anger. It was just extraordinary. We shot all at once and then as we were editing, my editor Thelma [Schoonmaker], looked at me and said, ‘He’s coming off really strong.’”
“It’s the only movie of mine with a plot,” chuckled Martin Scorsese who, upon be rewarded with the Oscar for Best Director after four previous nominations, mischievously asked, “Could you double-check the envelope?” Thelma Schoonmaker, who won her third Academy Award, could not be happier for her colleague. “It’s really wonderful that Marty won at long last,” said Schoonmaker. “We were praying for that. We didn’t really expect to win adapted screenplay, editing, and best picture. We thought maybe Babel [2006] would. Marty was so surprised. The first thing he said to me after the ceremony was, ‘And we won best picture too!’ It would have been pretty devastating if he hadn’t won. I don’t think I could have taken it, frankly.” The only one of the five nominations that The Departed missed out on at the Academy Awards was Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg); it was not as lucky at the BAFTAs where the thriller contended for Best Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Editing, Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the David Lean Award for Direction. Martin Scorsese won for Best Director at the Golden Globes while the film, which grossed $290 million worldwide, received nominations for Best Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Drama (Leonardo DiCaprio), Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg), and Best Screenplay. Thelma Schoonmaker was presented with an Eddie Award by the American Cinema Editors, Scorsese won a Directors Guild of America Award, William Monahan was honoured with Best Adapted Screenplay by the Writers Guild of America, and the movie received a Producers Guild of America nomination. The Departed was lauded at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards with Best Director, Best Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg), while the National Board of Review Awards handed out trophies for Best Director and Best Ensemble. The Screen Actors Guild of America Awards nominated The Departed for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Leonardo DiCaprio).The recipient of the 2007 Kennedy Center Honors next helmed The Key to Reserva (2007), a commercial for Spanish sparkling wine producer Freixenet. Martin Scorsese discovers three and a half pages of an unfinished screenplay written by Alfred Hitchcock which he decides to film. The 10-minute production stars Simon Baker (L.A. Confedential), Kelli O’Hara (The Dying Gaul), Michael Stuhlbarg (Body of Lies), Christopher Denham (Duplicity), Richard Easton (Dead Again), Ted Griffin (Must Love Dogs), and Nellie Sciutto (Fixing Rhonda).
“Over the years I went to see a number of their shows,” said Martin Scorsese who has often used the music of the Rolling Stones in his movies. “I like the provocation of their music, the anger and frustration of some of their expressions and the subject matter of their songs; Gimme Shelter is an obvious one. People today are crying out for shelter and there is no shelter anymore; even more so now, it’s an anthem of our time.” The director added, “Watching the Stones, I thought [about what] it would be like trying to film a moment in time.” The idea became a reality in 2006 when Scorsese aided with a vast arsenal of cameras filmed the legendary British band performing at New York’s Beacon Theater. “It was as if the first one [concert] was a warm-up. The second started like it was an encore and built from there,” explained the filmmaker. “When the curtain went up I didn’t know what I’d get. Trust me, it’s possible to have 17 cameras and miss everything.” Grossing $16 million worldwide the project titled Shine a Light (2008) was nominated by the Motion Picture Sound Editors for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing – Music in a Musical Feature Film.
Next on the cinematic agenda for Martin Scorsese was an adaptation of a psychological thriller written by novelist Dennis Lehane, called Shutter Island (2010). Two U.S. Marshals are sent to a mental institution located on a remote island to investigation the disappearance of an interned murderess. “When I read the script,” remarked the native of Flushing, New York, “I realized it had its roots in something that is classic; it speaks to something very basic about our human nature and about who we are, what we want to conceal and what we have to accept. If we try to know ourselves, are we too afraid sometimes to go into areas that are unpleasant and irrational? Ultimately, what this is all about is ‘know thyself’.” Central to the storyline is the character of U.S. Marshal Edward “Teddy” Daniels. “This film depends on you not knowing where you’re at in any given situation. And so with that in mind, everyday on set was a challenge for me – how I interacted with specific characters, [and] how much I [should] let on as far as what Teddy is really going through.” Scorsese found himself being drawn into the fictional tale. “I tried to pull back a few times and not get so emotionally and psychologically involved…But this story, these characters, it was a very unsettling experience.”Shutter Island was shot at the notorious Medfield State Hospital in Massachusetts. Built in 1892 and shut down in 2003, at its height the medical facility housed 2200 patients and is rumoured to be haunted by the tormented souls of past patients. Starring in the $80 million psychological thriller are Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right), Max von Sydow (Snow Falling on Cedars), Ben Kingsley (Sexy Beast), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine), Emily Mortimer (Redbelt), Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs), Jack Earle Haley (Watchmen), Patricia Clarkson (The Station Agent), John Carroll Lynch (Zodiac) and Elias Koteas (The Thin Red Line). “I was very intrigued by this screenplay,” said Leonardo DiCaprio. “It was very much a throwback to great detective genres of the past, whether it be Vertigo [1958], Out of the Past [1947], or Laura [1944] which were films he screened for us.” Martin Scorsese explained his selection of films. “I screened Laura for everyone just to get a reference to the nature of the detective,” said the director. “There are references to film noir, references to Psycho [1960], to psychological thrillers, to horror films, to films that are basically composed of dreams. So I think ultimately that even if the surprise ending is known – although it has several endings in a way – hopefully it’s a picture you can watch repeatedly because of the behaviour of the characters.” As for what drew him to the subject matter, Scorsese stated, “I’ve always been fascinated by mysteries of the mind because it’s how we perceive what we term reality. Witnesses in a court of law will swear they saw something but if they stood two or three feet in another direction maybe they’d have seen it differently.”
“Emotionally and physically, it was one of the tougher films I’ve ever had to make. It was trying on all of us,” remarked Leo DiCaprio whose trials and tribulations on the set did not go unnoticed by his director. “Leo didn’t like the rats, especially when he put his hand on one. That was one of the tougher days. Or should I say weeks?” Martin Scorsese could empathize with his star. “When I got to shooting and editing it, it was like being thrown down a spiral [staircase].” The filmmaker added, “I think I just tried to approach it from my own reaction to reading the material.” Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley enjoyed collaborating with the man behind the camera. “Marty directs like a lover. Everything is held together by affection for his craft, his actors, his crew, the material, and the great journey of cinema in our lives,” said Kingsley. “I think he must have about 40,000 films in his head or at least on his computer. He knows exactly the scene, without being a teacher and without being heavy, he just invites you to share something and it really is contagious. It was marvelous on Shutter Island for Leo, Mark [Ruffalo] and I.” Earning $295 million worldwide Shutter Island was lauded by the National Board of Review for Best Production Design & Art Direction; it also received nominations for Best Art Direction & Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Sound at the Satellite Awards. Leonardo DiCaprio won Choice Movie Actor – Horror or Thriller at the Teen Choice Awards, while other nominations for the psychological thriller included Choice Movie Actress – Horror or Thriller (Michelle Williams) and Choice Movie – Horror or Thriller.Co-directed by Martin Scorsese and Kent Jones A Letter to Elia (2010) follows the journey of filmmaker Elia Kazan from Group Theatre to Hollywood, and his controversial role in the blacklisting of his colleagues. The 60-minute documentary features interview footage with Kazan and film clips from On the Waterfront, A Streetcar Named Desire, Gentlemen’s Agreement, Baby Doll, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, A Face in the Crowd, America, America, and The Last Tycoon.
Heading to television, Martin Scorsese directed an 80-minute pilot episode costing $18 million for the HBO. “Boardwalk Empire [2010] was made for what I guess you would call the small screen but we made it like a film,” said the director of the series which is based on the book Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, The High Times and Corruption in Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson. “The 1920s in my head were always very present because my parents referred to them; the music, the people, the clothes. I know all the songs from that period; I know all the films. We knew it all and so it was a natural transition. But you know I really was fascinated with the idea of working with Terry Winter [The Sopranos] and these guys, and taking these characters over 13 hours, developing them, developing their story, the complications of corruption in American politics.” The Emmy-winning creator of the TV series, Terence Winter, found himself also being drawn to the era. “The 1920s were the most interesting to me because it was an era that hasn’t really been depicted often in cinema, and almost never in television.”Boardwalk Empire features the acting talents of Steve Buscemi (Fargo), Michael Pitt (The Dreamers), Kelly Macdonald (No Country for Old Men), Shea Whigham (Tigerland), Aleksa Palladino (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead), Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), Michael Stuhlbarg, Stephen Graham (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), Vincent Piazza (Assassination of a High School President), and Paz de la Huerta (Enter the Void). “At its centre was this incredible lead character, Nuck Johnson, upon whom Steve’s character is based,” said Winter. “This was a guy who was incredibly conflicted, being equal parts politician and gangster. And then, that was coupled with the massive changes going on in the 1920s: like Prohibition, the women’s vote and broadcast radio.” The first 12-episode season came with a price tag of $65 million and won Best Actor in a Television Series - Drama (Steve Buscemi), and Best Television Series – Drama at the Golden Globes where it also contended for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television (Kelly Macdonald). The Screen Actors Guild handed out nominations for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (Steve Buscemi), and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. For his contribution in helming the pilot episode, Martin Scorsese won a Directors Guild of America Award.
Also for HBO, Martin Scorsese produced Public Speaking (2010), a documentary about Fran Lebowitz, who is an American author know for her sardonic social commentary which has led her being christened the modern day Dorothy Parker. Another documentary Scorsese has in the works is a profile on a former Beatle called Living in the Material World: George Harrison (2011).
Venturing into the realm of children’s literature, Martin Scorsese is cinematically adapting The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. Renamed Hugo Cabret (2011), the story revolves around an orphan who secretly inhabits the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris; he seeks to unravel a mystery surrounding his deceased father and an automaton. The cast of the adventure film stars Asa Butterfield (Son of Rambow), Chloë Moretz (Let Me In), Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes), Emily Mortimer, Michael Pitt, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat), Christopher Lee (Season of the Witch), Helen McCrory (Becoming Jane), Richard Griffiths (The History Boys), Michael Stuhlbarg, and Ray Winstone. “It is really a story of a little boy,” said Scorsese. “He does become friends with the older George Méliès who was discovered in 1927, or 1928, working in a toy store, completely bankrupt. And then he was revived in a way with a beautiful gala in 1928, in Paris. And in my film, the cinema itself is the connection – the automaton, the machine itself becomes the emotional connection between the boy, his father, Méliès, and his family.” The director is breaking into a new territory for him – 3D filmmaking. “Every shot is rethinking the camera, [and] rethinking the narrative – how to tell a story with a picture. Now, I’m not saying we have to keep throwing javelins at the camera; I’m not saying we use it as a gimmick, but it’s liberating. It’s literally a Rubik’s Cube every time you go out and design a shot and work out a camera move, or a crane move. But it has a beauty also; people look like…moving statues.” Film editor Thelma Schoonmaker shares Scorsese’s enthusiasm. “It’s a whole new kind of film for us. It’s very visual, very little dialogue, lots of opportunities for wonderful 3D shots, because the boy’s job is to keep the clocks wound, so you can imagine the giant wheels being built. Everyone’s excited about it. It will have a broad appeal.” Chosen to play George Méliès is Ben Kingsley. “It examines the early days of cinema through the eyes of a child,” remarked Kingsley who enjoyed being reunited with the filmmaker. “One of the blessings of working under his love and guidance is that whatever you offer the camera he will see every scrap that you offer. He doesn’t miss anything.”Other projects in the works for Martin Scorsese are a biopic on Hollywood icon Frank Sinatra and a cinematic adaptation of Silence by Shusaku Endo, about Portuguese Jesuit priests in 17th century Japan. There are suggestions that Scorsese will reunite with Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver) to produce two films based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt which is about mob assassin Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran. The filmmaker has also been connecting with his other acting muse Leonardo DiCaprio who is to star in The Wolf of Wall Street; it is based on the memoir penned by high living stockbroker Jordan Belfort who was sent to prison for stock manipulation.
Along with the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award and the Evelyn F. Burkley from the WGA, both of which he received in 2003, Martin Scorsese added another award to his collection in 2010; the Golden Globes bestowed upon him the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Over the course of his career, the New Yorker has directed 17 different actors in Oscar nominated performances and during a brief tenure at NYU he taught future moviemakers Oliver Stone (Platoon), Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing) and Jonathan Kaplan (The Accused). “He infects you with his enthusiasm,” stated Thelma Schoonmaker. “That’s why he’s such a good teacher; he doesn’t lecture you, he makes you excited and want to see all the films he loves. As for the work, it’s so intense, so fulfilling, you feel so proud of the film at the end. I know many other editors who work on films they hate and they’re bitter. I’m never that way.” Leonardo DiCaprio is equally full of praise. “He saved me. I was headed down a path of being one kind of actor, and he helped me become another one. The one I wanted to be.”Even after making four movies together, DiCaprio remains astounded by the cinematic knowledge of Martin Scorsese. “He’s a professor of film. The man has seen almost every film ever made up until 1980. You get an education while working with him every single day. He screens movies for you to talk about specific scenes and what he’s trying to convey up on the screen. You can ask him a question about a character or the way a scene should go and he can show you 20 different examples of filmmakers that have done that in the past, the way it’s been done right, the way it’s been done wrong. It’s an incredible learning experience.” There is no doubt that the Academy Award-winning director is devoted to his craft. “I’m literally obsessed with the filmmaking process,” readily admitted Scorsese. “Given the chance to learn or experience or something, whether it’s the storm scene in Cape Fear [1991], the world of the 1920s, Hollywood and aviation in The Aviator [2004], I find myself wanting to get back there on set and then, especially in the editing room, to see those images come together. I really enjoy doing it.”
For more on the director be sure to visit the Martin Scorsese Fansite and ScorseseFilms.com, along with the BFI documentary A Personal Journey with Scorsese Through American Movies.
Short Film Showcase - What's a Nice Girl Like You Doing in a Place Like This?
Short Film Showcase - The Big Shave
Short Film Showcase - The Key to Reserva
Trevor Hogg is a freelance video editor and writer who currently resides in Canada.
Corbett Gets Rid of Bus
Governor Tom Corbett is kicking “Commonwealth One” to the curb. He’s auctioning off the tour bus Governor Ed Rendell used to travel the state, pitching his budget plans, transportation initiatives and other legislative priorities. “It has required $66,000 just to maintain this bus,” said Corbett at a Tuesday morning Harrisburg press conference. “In 2008, this bus cost taxpayers $18.84 per mile. In 2009, it cost $19.93 per mile. Last year this bust cost us $25.99 per mile. …It has cost us $1,336 for batteries. We spent $550 dollars having it towed. The taxpayers paid to have its windows tinted. This is one bus we can do without.”
Speaking on an unrelated conference call, Rendell declined to weigh in on the sale, but pointed out the bus was donated, and not purchased, in 2003. “I hope it will make money, because it didn’t cost us anything to purchase it, so it will be a net gain,” he said. While Rendell didn’t leap to Commonwealth One’s defense – after three or four bus questions, he told reporters he refused to answer any more -- some of his former staffers were quick to support the coach. “I think you have to keep this in context,” said former Rendell spokesman and self-described “bus-keteer” Chuck Ardo. “Was it expensive? Sure it was expensive. Does the governor have a responsibility to go out there and be seen, and listen to the people of the commonwealth? I think that’s clearly a responsibility the governor has. … [Rendell] went to more places that no other governor had gone before. They should have called the bus the Enterprise.”
Corbett’s office claims Commonwealth One traveled just 26,000 miles during its eight-year lifespan. “This…represents everything wrong with state government,” he said. “It’s out-dated, inefficient and broken down.” Rendell’s top policy advisor, Donna Cooper, disagreed. “I don’t think it represents what’s wrong with government. Because that bus took Ed Rendell and many members of his cabinet to every one of the 67 counties nearly every year,” she said. “Particularly in the rural counties, that bus represented the first time a governor or a cabinet secretary had ever been to their county and worked with them on those problems. So if Corbett thinks that represents a bad way to govern, then I think a lot of Pennsylvania’s counties are going to be more disappointed in this administration than they already are.”
The bus goes to auction in May or June.
City Streetlights Could Change
Pittsburgh City Council has taken the first step toward creating the city’s first-ever lighting code and at the same time moved down the path toward installing new LED streetlights in every business district.
In May of 2008, the city launched a test project to install LED streetlights on half of Walnut Street in Shadyside. The experiment was well received by most and since then, various council members have been pushing for more. The city is sitting on an $800 thousand state grant to help put new lights in all of the city’s approximately 30 business districts and councilman Bill Peduto says the grant expires if the work is not put out to bid this spring. “Our goal is to get this lighting code passed, be able to then to go forward in April with Carnegie Mellon University, who we have hired as part of that grant, to map out what that new lighting system would look like for all of our business districts and by June to issue the first [request for proposal] to begin the installation of those lights,” says Peduto.
Council gave preliminary approval to the bill this morning and will hold a post agenda meeting with CMU representatives to discuss the lighting code and the initial project.
Peduto says part of the code must address what he calls “equity of lighting.” “In certain neighborhoods you see street lights at every telephone poll, in other neighborhoods you only see one street light at the intersection,” says Peduto. The councilman believes some neighborhoods are overly lit while some neighborhoods are too dark. The plan would take into account the type of activity in a neighborhood when setting lighting standard.
Two years ago the university of Pittsburgh took a look at what types of lighting is best, “cradle to grave,” from an environmental standpoint. At the time, LEDs were deemed to be the best and Peduto says it was determined that the city could trim 50% from its streetlight electricity bill by installing LED fixtures. “Today those estimates are over 70%,” says Peduto. He says maintenance costs can be cut by 75%, “Where we replace light bulbs every other year, we wont have to for about 8-10 years” with LED.
The goal is to start installing the lights in the fall and then begin looking for grants to outfit residential neighborhoods. A portion of the business district lighting will be paid for through a city budget fund filled through savings from other energy efficiency efforts.
In May of 2008, the city launched a test project to install LED streetlights on half of Walnut Street in Shadyside. The experiment was well received by most and since then, various council members have been pushing for more. The city is sitting on an $800 thousand state grant to help put new lights in all of the city’s approximately 30 business districts and councilman Bill Peduto says the grant expires if the work is not put out to bid this spring. “Our goal is to get this lighting code passed, be able to then to go forward in April with Carnegie Mellon University, who we have hired as part of that grant, to map out what that new lighting system would look like for all of our business districts and by June to issue the first [request for proposal] to begin the installation of those lights,” says Peduto.
Council gave preliminary approval to the bill this morning and will hold a post agenda meeting with CMU representatives to discuss the lighting code and the initial project.
Peduto says part of the code must address what he calls “equity of lighting.” “In certain neighborhoods you see street lights at every telephone poll, in other neighborhoods you only see one street light at the intersection,” says Peduto. The councilman believes some neighborhoods are overly lit while some neighborhoods are too dark. The plan would take into account the type of activity in a neighborhood when setting lighting standard.
Two years ago the university of Pittsburgh took a look at what types of lighting is best, “cradle to grave,” from an environmental standpoint. At the time, LEDs were deemed to be the best and Peduto says it was determined that the city could trim 50% from its streetlight electricity bill by installing LED fixtures. “Today those estimates are over 70%,” says Peduto. He says maintenance costs can be cut by 75%, “Where we replace light bulbs every other year, we wont have to for about 8-10 years” with LED.
The goal is to start installing the lights in the fall and then begin looking for grants to outfit residential neighborhoods. A portion of the business district lighting will be paid for through a city budget fund filled through savings from other energy efficiency efforts.
DVD Review - The King Maker (2005)
The King Maker, 2005.
Directed by Lek Kitaparaporn.
Starring Gary Stretch, John Rhys-Davies and Cindy Burbridge.
SYNOPSIS:
A Portuguese soldier of fortune sets sail for the Orient seeking the man who killed his father.
Last year the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was dubbed a “King Maker” by many in the press, due to the historic power afforded to him as a result of a hung parliament. He could either prop up grumpy Gordon or crack open the party poppers for Dave’s coronation. The public rejoiced in watching the usual big boys squirm and a new man get a chance to pull the strings. But now no one agrees with Nick and he’s plummeted from the heights of Britain’s most popular to the land’s favourite burning effigy. Thousands genuinely hate him and want to scratch out his entrails for his sickening, unnatural marriage to the Tories. They despise him for drunkenly tossing away longstanding pledges to the public on his stag night and loathe him for cutting chunks from the country’s finances lustfully on honeymoon. For many it’s a painful, all consuming dislike of this one yellow tied Westminster suit amongst hundreds.
It’s sometimes easy to accept the idea that in today’s world, truly bad films don’t get made anymore. It’s impossible to find two hours in front of a screen with some flickering images completely unsatisfying. You can’t hate a piece of filmmaking like you hate a man. You can’t find it as painfully offensive to your artistic taste and morality as swathes of reckless, damaging government spending cuts. This may be true. Even the most misguided projects I review usually have some kind of redeeming quality, at least one moment of real enjoyment or an admirable aim. But The King Maker is a film that took only 60 seconds for me to want the blessed release of the end credits. It’s an absolute and total turkey, the sort of film that goes straight to the bottom shelf at Tesco for a reason, the sort of film that without qualification deserves the label: BAD.
Out of scores and scores of poor movies, The King Maker is one of the few that if you have any sense of quality and taste, you’ll rapidly be able to regard with something close to hate. Seriously you should heed my warning if you want to avoid an excruciating hour and a half; do not watch The King Maker. Certainly DO NOT PAY ANY (real) MONEY TO SEE THIS. You might think its 88 minute running time short, but it feels a hell of a lot longer and you’ll never get those precious minutes back. There is nothing at all to justify spending time on this lifeless, empty shell of a film.
Literally nothing at all, everything about The King Maker is purely bad. As I’ve said it takes less than a minute for the shoddy editing and woefully low production standards present throughout to raise their ugly, persistent heads. The film opens with an action chase sequence peppered with ludicrous ninja/karate style high kicks and flips. There are jumps and landings that would be laughable were the tone not so serious or the camerawork and execution not so dire. In fact much of the action in The King Maker could be from a masterful slice of slapstick Charlie Chaplin or a ridiculous Monty Python sketch. But The King Maker is not even so bad it is funny. At times it ought to be hilarious. I did not laugh or smile once at its awfulness though. Afterwards my face hurt from the exhaustive efforts of a non-stop grimace.
The main reason I can’t even recommend The King Maker as refreshing fest of unintentional LOL moments is because it’s evident that the actors are trying so damn hard. You can’t have a good old heartening chuckle at all those involved in the film when it’s so obvious that they were trying to make something good; they have no idea how shit it is and you’re left with an endless feeling of painful pity. Every element of the movie is bad, every acting performance poor at best and agonisingly awful at worst. In fairness to the cast they are not helped by the script. Rather than rant about its failures one quote sums up the clunky, grating quality of the dialogue: “Look it’s the king’s emissary, I wonder what he wants?”.
For what it’s worth the film chronicles the story of Portuguese mercenary Fernando De Gama (Gary Stretch), who is shipwrecked in Siam and rescued from slavery by his love interest. He works his way up through the ranks of society, stumbles across a plot, and has scores of his own to settle blah blah blah...it’s really not worth it.
There are continuity errors aplenty, an out of place soundtrack that will make you cringe, silly stunts and cliché black and white flashbacks. CGI of a port full of ships looks like it’s been taken from an unsuccessful computer game with unconvincing Windows 98 graphics (the water in particular looks atrocious). In fact the plot and action set pieces and horrible attempts at a historical setting all seem like ingredients from an out of date, bargain basement video game. There are even punch and kick sound effects ripped straight from cartoon archives.
Despite my partial defence of the actors earlier, the standout flaws of this film are their totally unbelievable performances. The worst offender is the plotting Queen and her lover as they fail to convey the passion of their secret affair. The majority of their scenes together seem like a disappointing porno with an inexplicable lack of flesh on show. Another potentially career devastating turn comes from lead Gary Stretch. His limp delivery of lines serves as the final nail in the coffin for The King Maker. Even a film so badly executed could have salvaged some likeability with a charismatic turn from the lead actor. Stretch merely drags things further into painful depths of disappointment and dismalness.
The King Maker was supposed to be a spectacular showcase of Thailand. It’s only the third Thai film to be made in the English language, and the first since 1941. There are some superb, beautiful locations occasionally visible in the background amongst the appalling action of the story. But they don’t deserve to be associated with the worst film I’ve seen this year and I suspect the favourite by a mile in the race for worst film of 2011.
Liam Trim (follow me on Twitter)
Movie Review Archive
Directed by Lek Kitaparaporn.
Starring Gary Stretch, John Rhys-Davies and Cindy Burbridge.
SYNOPSIS:
A Portuguese soldier of fortune sets sail for the Orient seeking the man who killed his father.
Last year the Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg was dubbed a “King Maker” by many in the press, due to the historic power afforded to him as a result of a hung parliament. He could either prop up grumpy Gordon or crack open the party poppers for Dave’s coronation. The public rejoiced in watching the usual big boys squirm and a new man get a chance to pull the strings. But now no one agrees with Nick and he’s plummeted from the heights of Britain’s most popular to the land’s favourite burning effigy. Thousands genuinely hate him and want to scratch out his entrails for his sickening, unnatural marriage to the Tories. They despise him for drunkenly tossing away longstanding pledges to the public on his stag night and loathe him for cutting chunks from the country’s finances lustfully on honeymoon. For many it’s a painful, all consuming dislike of this one yellow tied Westminster suit amongst hundreds.
It’s sometimes easy to accept the idea that in today’s world, truly bad films don’t get made anymore. It’s impossible to find two hours in front of a screen with some flickering images completely unsatisfying. You can’t hate a piece of filmmaking like you hate a man. You can’t find it as painfully offensive to your artistic taste and morality as swathes of reckless, damaging government spending cuts. This may be true. Even the most misguided projects I review usually have some kind of redeeming quality, at least one moment of real enjoyment or an admirable aim. But The King Maker is a film that took only 60 seconds for me to want the blessed release of the end credits. It’s an absolute and total turkey, the sort of film that goes straight to the bottom shelf at Tesco for a reason, the sort of film that without qualification deserves the label: BAD.
Out of scores and scores of poor movies, The King Maker is one of the few that if you have any sense of quality and taste, you’ll rapidly be able to regard with something close to hate. Seriously you should heed my warning if you want to avoid an excruciating hour and a half; do not watch The King Maker. Certainly DO NOT PAY ANY (real) MONEY TO SEE THIS. You might think its 88 minute running time short, but it feels a hell of a lot longer and you’ll never get those precious minutes back. There is nothing at all to justify spending time on this lifeless, empty shell of a film.
Literally nothing at all, everything about The King Maker is purely bad. As I’ve said it takes less than a minute for the shoddy editing and woefully low production standards present throughout to raise their ugly, persistent heads. The film opens with an action chase sequence peppered with ludicrous ninja/karate style high kicks and flips. There are jumps and landings that would be laughable were the tone not so serious or the camerawork and execution not so dire. In fact much of the action in The King Maker could be from a masterful slice of slapstick Charlie Chaplin or a ridiculous Monty Python sketch. But The King Maker is not even so bad it is funny. At times it ought to be hilarious. I did not laugh or smile once at its awfulness though. Afterwards my face hurt from the exhaustive efforts of a non-stop grimace.
The main reason I can’t even recommend The King Maker as refreshing fest of unintentional LOL moments is because it’s evident that the actors are trying so damn hard. You can’t have a good old heartening chuckle at all those involved in the film when it’s so obvious that they were trying to make something good; they have no idea how shit it is and you’re left with an endless feeling of painful pity. Every element of the movie is bad, every acting performance poor at best and agonisingly awful at worst. In fairness to the cast they are not helped by the script. Rather than rant about its failures one quote sums up the clunky, grating quality of the dialogue: “Look it’s the king’s emissary, I wonder what he wants?”.
For what it’s worth the film chronicles the story of Portuguese mercenary Fernando De Gama (Gary Stretch), who is shipwrecked in Siam and rescued from slavery by his love interest. He works his way up through the ranks of society, stumbles across a plot, and has scores of his own to settle blah blah blah...it’s really not worth it.
There are continuity errors aplenty, an out of place soundtrack that will make you cringe, silly stunts and cliché black and white flashbacks. CGI of a port full of ships looks like it’s been taken from an unsuccessful computer game with unconvincing Windows 98 graphics (the water in particular looks atrocious). In fact the plot and action set pieces and horrible attempts at a historical setting all seem like ingredients from an out of date, bargain basement video game. There are even punch and kick sound effects ripped straight from cartoon archives.
Despite my partial defence of the actors earlier, the standout flaws of this film are their totally unbelievable performances. The worst offender is the plotting Queen and her lover as they fail to convey the passion of their secret affair. The majority of their scenes together seem like a disappointing porno with an inexplicable lack of flesh on show. Another potentially career devastating turn comes from lead Gary Stretch. His limp delivery of lines serves as the final nail in the coffin for The King Maker. Even a film so badly executed could have salvaged some likeability with a charismatic turn from the lead actor. Stretch merely drags things further into painful depths of disappointment and dismalness.
The King Maker was supposed to be a spectacular showcase of Thailand. It’s only the third Thai film to be made in the English language, and the first since 1941. There are some superb, beautiful locations occasionally visible in the background amongst the appalling action of the story. But they don’t deserve to be associated with the worst film I’ve seen this year and I suspect the favourite by a mile in the race for worst film of 2011.
Liam Trim (follow me on Twitter)
Movie Review Archive
Audit: City Property Tax Division Doing Well, Room for Improvement
Pittsburgh Controller Michael Lamb's latest audit focuses on the Department of Finance, Real Estate Division, Property Acquisition and Disposition. The department functions as the enforcement arm for property taxes in Pittsburgh, which includes maintaining and selling property. If property taxes are delinquent for a year, the site is eligible for take over by the city. In June 2010, 20,732 properties were listed as tax delinquent and during the audit period, Pittsburgh had 3,108 properties that were eligible for sale. Lamb says the city is doing a good job of selling properties that are marketable, but falls short when it comes to maintaining properties that aren't as appealing. He acknowledges that maintaining all those properties is not a small task, "and that's one of the reasons we created the Redd Up Crew...and what we're seeing is that the Redd Up Crew is not really spreading itself across the city." Lamb says there are uses for abandoned property and vacant lots, "like urban farming, community gardens - these properties are ripe for that kind of opportunity." He says the city should be offering those properties to the community or trying to lease them. Neighborhoods that are particularly impacted by abandoned or tax delinquent properties include: Larimer, Garfield, Perry South, Homewood North and South, Beltzhoover, Hazelwood, Middle Hill and California-Kirkbride.
Nelson in decent shape
Bill Nelson continues to have approval numbers that leave something to be desired...but he also has at least a 13 point lead over all of his prospective opponents for next year and against the nominal Republican front runner at this point, Mike Haridopolos, he's already hit 50%.
38% of voters approve of the job Nelson's doing to 34% who disapprove. Those numbers sound uninspiring but the main reason for them is that only 55% of Democrats approve of the job he's doing, where you'd usually expect someone to be in the 70-80% range within their own party. Nelson gets 74-80% of the Democratic vote against each of the Republicans we tested him against so this is a classic case where his base might not love him, but they're still going to vote for him.
While Nelson doesn't generate much enthusiasm from within his own party, he's also not much of a turn off to Republicans. An unusually high 21% of them approve of the job he's doing and he gets as much as 19% of the GOP vote in the head to heads against named Republicans.
Most of the time people focus on politicians' approval number when analyzing their reelection chances and if you do that in Nelson's case 38% doesn't look so hot. I think it might be more instructive here though to look at Nelson's disapproval number- is someone who only 34% of voters are unhappy with really going to get tossed out of office? Seems doubtful- certainly didn't happen to any Senators or Governors last year.
The Republicans who poll strongest against Nelson aren't going to run. Connie Mack IV, who announced he wouldn't seek the office after we'd already started the poll, trailed Nelson by 13 points at 47-34. Another incredibly long shot candidate, MSNBC host and former Congressman Joe Scarborough, trails by 13 points as well at 45-32. Among the more plausible candidates former Senator George LeMieux does best but still trails by 15 points at 48-33. Mike Haridopolos and Adam Hasner trail by 16 points at 50-34 and 48-32 respectively, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales does the worst with a 19 point deficit at 47-28.
None of the Republican hopefuls are particularly well known at this point so it's likely they would make up some ground were any of them to become the nominee. Only 35% of voters know enough about Scarborough to have an opinion and that drops to 32% for Haridopolos, 31% for LeMieux, 23% for Hasner, and 17% for Wales.
With double digit leads over all of his prospective opponents and few voters who dislike him, I think there's a pretty good chance Nelson's vulnerability has been strongly overrated.
Full results here
38% of voters approve of the job Nelson's doing to 34% who disapprove. Those numbers sound uninspiring but the main reason for them is that only 55% of Democrats approve of the job he's doing, where you'd usually expect someone to be in the 70-80% range within their own party. Nelson gets 74-80% of the Democratic vote against each of the Republicans we tested him against so this is a classic case where his base might not love him, but they're still going to vote for him.
While Nelson doesn't generate much enthusiasm from within his own party, he's also not much of a turn off to Republicans. An unusually high 21% of them approve of the job he's doing and he gets as much as 19% of the GOP vote in the head to heads against named Republicans.
Most of the time people focus on politicians' approval number when analyzing their reelection chances and if you do that in Nelson's case 38% doesn't look so hot. I think it might be more instructive here though to look at Nelson's disapproval number- is someone who only 34% of voters are unhappy with really going to get tossed out of office? Seems doubtful- certainly didn't happen to any Senators or Governors last year.
The Republicans who poll strongest against Nelson aren't going to run. Connie Mack IV, who announced he wouldn't seek the office after we'd already started the poll, trailed Nelson by 13 points at 47-34. Another incredibly long shot candidate, MSNBC host and former Congressman Joe Scarborough, trails by 13 points as well at 45-32. Among the more plausible candidates former Senator George LeMieux does best but still trails by 15 points at 48-33. Mike Haridopolos and Adam Hasner trail by 16 points at 50-34 and 48-32 respectively, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales does the worst with a 19 point deficit at 47-28.
None of the Republican hopefuls are particularly well known at this point so it's likely they would make up some ground were any of them to become the nominee. Only 35% of voters know enough about Scarborough to have an opinion and that drops to 32% for Haridopolos, 31% for LeMieux, 23% for Hasner, and 17% for Wales.
With double digit leads over all of his prospective opponents and few voters who dislike him, I think there's a pretty good chance Nelson's vulnerability has been strongly overrated.
Full results here
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