After the likes of Bleeding Love, the door dance, Joshua/Katie, and the bed dance of season 4, I skeptically tuned in to watch the Top 20 perform on Wednesday. Well, these dancers did not disappoint! The very first couple slammed on the floor with a lyrical Napoleon and Tabitha hip hop number. Executed beautifully by Phillip and Jeanine, the story relates the ecclesiastical saying, “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger.” What makes it even more unbelievable is Jeanine’s lack of experience doing hip-hop. In true Chelsea Hightower fashion, she nailed it. And Philip, well, I’d be surprised if he’s not in the top 4.

I’ll just highlight a few dances ranked for your reading pleasure. You can watch for yourself at the SYTYCDism.com. Everything you’d ever want to know is on that blog. I’ll just tell you the good parts.

So, Rank 1, Philip/Jeanine. Rank 2, Kayla/Max. Again, Kayla has no ballroom experience and looked like an expert doing the samba. I think it is incredible to have a week to learn a dance and then make it look like you’ve been dancing like that forever. This is Max’s genre and you can tell why.

Rank 3, Evan/Randi. Evan and Randi are a unique couple because, as we found out in the pre-dance shoot, Randi is married and Evan is humorous. I often wonder how dancers do it; these dances can be so romantic with lots of touching. Randi let us know she was uncomfortable acting “in love” with Evan and Evan said, “well, I’m a little worried because I don’t know how big Randi’s husband is.” But for all their worries, this Mandy Moore contemporary ballad looked like the most natural first love experience. Can’t wait to see Evan and Randi tackle hip hop.

Rank 4, Jason/Caitlin. Bollywood uses every facet of a dancers body and skill. Fingers and feet all have their place in this fast-paced combination of traditional Indian dance and hip hop. Joshua and Katie nailed the introduction to Bollywood last season, but they’d been dancing together 4 weeks at that point. This was the FIRST dance for Jonathan and Caitlin. Caitlin did a handstand with her feet pointing to opposite walls. She must have held that handstand for 30 seconds. Incredible. I hope they use Bollywood sparingly, however, because I think it will lose it’s appeal if attempted every week.

Rank 5, Melissa/Ade. Melissa is the oldest contestant, a whole 29 years. But they paired her rightly with Ade, a powerhouse dancer. Both of these trained dancers contain the ability to go far this season. Their chemistry really worked and their lines compliment each other. Not to mention, Ade hoisted her up with nary an effort, flipping her from back to front while Melissa kept the splits in true form.

Rank 6, Brandon/Janette. Now getting the foxtrot on any round can be close to a death sentence. It is just so boring for me. That and the quick step do not have enough fun in them. But it will take a lot more for Brandon to lose. He is an amazing dancer. He exuded the calm air of Fred Astair while Janette, the Cuban hot, salsa dancer, eased into her Ginger with all the coldness required of that role. I look forward to seeing real choreography from this couple in the future.

These rank as the most memorable dances of the first night with Season 5’s Top 20. On Thursday, the bottom three couples consisted of Vitolio/Asuka, Jonathan/Kayla, and Tony/Paris (none of my favorites from above *wink*). From the solos performed, Vitolio and Jonathan stood out for me. We do need to see more of them. The women all seemed the same and will really have to prove themselves in the coming weeks.

The only other draw that is almost certain death is getting your genre and failing it. That’s what happened to Tony. He drew hip hop and although, Napoleon and Tabitha produced kickin’ choreography, the fight wasn’t there. Paris didn’t seem connected to Tony at all. As a result, this is the first couple eliminated Thursday night.

Now, we’re down to 18, 9 couples. Who will survive another week and who will blow us away? Tune in next week!

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Whoa! This was a week to remember on So You Think You Can Dance! The choreography stepped up to the dancers and the choreographers provided original and artsy dances to make even the Quick Step interesting for probably the first time on any season. The results surprised the judges (and me), but it’s just going to get harder and harder from here on out. Karla and Vitolio picked the Quick Step, which is widely known as the Kiss of Death out of the hat. Although Vitolio really worked at it, Karla seemed uncomfortable the whole time. Her “star quality” as Nigel calls it didn’t shine. Both are great dancers who had many off weeks on the show. To their credit, this was seriously the most entertaining and well-danced Quick Step ever complete with Karla changing her dance IN MID TWIRL. Definitely worth watching on SYTYCDism.com.

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Oh snap! Somebody stole the Magna Carta! Perpetual funny man Steve Martin is back as the finest detective in all of France: Inspector Jacques Clouseau. When the famous Pink Panther diamond is stolen (again) along with other internationally coveted artifacts, a dream team of world renowned detectives are on the case! Starring Jean Reno, John Cleese, Emily Mortimer and Andy Garcia, this sequel is sure to have you laughing. (I’d even bet you’ll like it more than the first.)

Also new on DVD this week:

1.Inkheart
2.Confessions of a Shopaholic
3.The Code
4.Waltz With Bashir

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The 2009 State Legislative Session is now over. Bills have been written, voted on, amended, voted on, passed between houses, voted on some more and finally signed into law by the Governor. Amongst all the chaos and crazy bills to promote hunting and fishing, one bill came through for Oklahoma’s entertainment sector. This bill improves the tax incentives that Oklahoma offers to film and television producers.

What started out as a bill to drop Oklahoma’s food sales tax over the next few years slowly became a tax restructure in several other areas while dropping the intention of removing sales tax on food. The final draft included a provision to increase film and television credits.

Until this time Oklahoma offered a 17% reimbursement of all money spent in Oklahoma for film and television projects with budgets of $500.000 or more and that spent at least $250,000 in the state. Now Oklahoma has altered that to 35% of money spent in Oklahoma for film and television projects with $50,000 or more and that spent at least $25,000 in the state. A huge increase.

The Oklahoma Film and Music Commission sent out a press release that has since been published to their site announcing this new incentive with quotes from both Governor Henry and Lt. Governor Askins:

Governor Brad Henry commented, “The movie and TV industry has changed dramatically over the last few years, with many states having seen a tremendous increase in film revenues after the passage of similar film legislation. Oklahoma’s beautiful and varied terrain makes the state a perfect locale for film and television productions. A competitive incentives package means we will increasingly be able to share what Oklahoma has to offer with the rest of the world.”

Lt. Gov. Jari Askins, who serves as the Chair of the Oklahoma Film Commission said “Oklahoma was one of the first states in the region to offer film rebates but in recent years our neighbors have surpassed our efforts,” Askins explained. “By enhancing our program we will have the economic tools to compete in attracting companies to Oklahoma.”

This new incentive not only will promote the film industry in the state, but will also be a huge boost for the indie film sector as well. The lower barrier of entry means that smaller film projects will now be able to take advantage of something they had been unavailable for many years.

The only downside to these incentives is the cap of $5 million dollars allotted to spending on these incentives. With this limited pool of resources the Film Commission has a first come first served policy. So there is a reason to file your taxes early if you want to take advantage of this opportunity. Any unpaid incentives will roll over into the next year’s budget thus limiting further projects for that year.

Now that Oklahoma has strong competitive incentives for film and television in place, the next step is hopefully applying those incentives to game development.

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If you’re new to So You Think You Can Dance, here’s a little course to catch you up-to-date. First off, I know that’s a stupid and rather long name for a show, but once you tune in, you’ll fall in love with the dancers and forget about that silly name. This season marks the fifth search for America’s favorite dancer. Because this is the fifth season, the competition is fierce.

Thousands of professionally trained and self-trained dancers flock to tryout for this show. Auditions held all over the country weed out the good from the best. Typically, a dancer performs once in front of the shows two standard judges, Nigel Lithgow, SYTYCD producer and dancer, and Mary Murphy, ballroom expert. There will always be a guest judge, usually one of the choreographers or someone like Debbie Allen. The dancer will either be sent straight to Vegas for the second round, sent to choreography or sent home. Dancers sent to choreography can show off their range of skill by learning a short choreography by one of the season’s choreographers in a few short hours. Then, the group will perform in front of the judges and either move on to Vegas or go home. You’re getting the idea now. In Vegas, all the dancers go through rigorous routines to find out who will be the Top 20 dancers, chosen ultimately by the judges (not by votes like American idol).

The producers pair the 20 dancers by stature to create the best couples, ie, the shortest guy will usually be paired with the shortest girl, etc. These determined couples will then dance together for 5 weeks, picking a dance genre from a hat each week. They could pick Fox Trot, Paso Doble, Hip Hop, Krump, Salsa, ChaCha, Contemporary, Jazz, etc. Every Wednesday, the dancers dance for America’s votes and every Thursday we’re treated to a group dance. The bottom three couples (who received the least amount of votes) dance “for their lives” with solo performances. The judges then pick which two dancers will go home. If a couple goes home, nothing changes. But if one dancer from two couples goes home, the two dancers left will be paired up, which can produce some interesting pairs.

When 10 dancers have been eliminated, the 10 dancers left will then pick a dancer and a genre out of the hat for the following week. At this point, we can determine which dancer’s can really dance and which dancer’s partners have been a crutch. The judges cannot save anyone after this point, either. It’s all up to America.

The choreographers hail from the very best in their genres. You’ll get to know Napoleon and Tabitha, Mandy Moore and Mia Michaels, Wade Robson, Shane Sparks, Lil C, and many more.  Each week, we’re treated to original dances. You’ll soon learn some choreographers tailor dances to the dancers and some only care about his/her choreography (*cough*Tyce*cough).

Even though the judges can be over the top, there’s no snurky Simon, or prozac Paula to take away from the dancing. And even though the judges will show favoritism, America usually gets it right in the end!

Quick season recap:

Season 1: I really have no idea; I was seriously missing out.

Season 2: Ok, starting to get familiar: Winner, Benji, the infamous bench dance.

Season 3: Totally hooked! Winner, Sabre, the conference room table dance with Sabre/Neal.

Season 4: Obsessed. Winner, Joshua and Katie. (Katie was so good they included top male/top female so Katie could win, too!) Joshua and Katie never messed up once. But then there was Twitchington, Chelsea/Mark’s Bleeding Love and Courtney/Gev. The talent was insane.

Season 5: Just started and I’ve committed to letting you know the best and worse each week here at Metroglow. Tune in every Friday to hear my expert analysis (and by expert I mean, no dance experience at all).

So You Think You Can Dance airs every Wednesday/Thursday on Fox. Check your local listings at fox.com/dance. We’ll see you next week!

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Commenting on the announcement, Jackson said, “After all these years, I’m thrilled that I finally have the opportunity to visit San Diego for Comic-Con. I am especially excited that I am attending to support District 9. Neill is a tremendously talented young director and he’s made an extraordinary film, so it was important to me to come to San Diego to spread the word. I look forward to attending my first ever Comic-Con and I know that those who visit us on July 24th in Hall H will be in for quite a ride.”

District 9 is Jackson’s latest sci-fi thriller, detailing the ‘invasion’ of non-human lifeforms and the government’s efforts to make assimilation safe for human and non-human alike. District 9 will be released in theaters nationwide on August 14, 2009.

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Among those critical of the government’s plans for change is radical documentary filmmaker Michael Moore. While it’s no surprise that he has become vocal of his dislike for government bailouts, you might be surprised what he suggests happen in the wake of the GM bankruptcy.

We received a copy of the letter Moore wrote in hopes that someone will listen, and we’d like to share it with you.

Goodbye, GM
by Michael Moore

June 1, 2009

I write this on the morning of the end of the once-mighty General Motors. By high noon, the President of the United States will have made it official: General Motors, as we know it, has been totaled.

As I sit here in GM’s birthplace, Flint, Michigan, I am surrounded by friends and family who are filled with anxiety about what will happen to them and to the town. Forty percent of the homes and businesses in the city have been abandoned. Imagine what it would be like if you lived in a city where almost every other house is empty. What would be your state of mind?

It is with sad irony that the company which invented “planned obsolescence” — the decision to build cars that would fall apart after a few years so that the customer would then have to buy a new one — has now made itself obsolete. It refused to build automobiles that the public wanted, cars that got great gas mileage, were as safe as they could be, and were exceedingly comfortable to drive. Oh — and that wouldn’t start falling apart after two years. GM stubbornly fought environmental and safety regulations. Its executives arrogantly ignored the “inferior” Japanese and German cars, cars which would become the gold standard for automobile buyers. And it was hell-bent on punishing its unionized workforce, lopping off thousands of workers for no good reason other than to “improve” the short-term bottom line of the corporation. Beginning in the 1980s, when GM was posting record profits, it moved countless jobs to Mexico and elsewhere, thus destroying the lives of tens of thousands of hard-working Americans. The glaring stupidity of this policy was that, when they eliminated the income of so many middle class families, who did they think was going to be able to afford to buy their cars? History will record this blunder in the same way it now writes about the French building the Maginot Line or how the Romans cluelessly poisoned their own water system with lethal lead in its pipes.

So here we are at the deathbed of General Motors. The company’s body not yet cold, and I find myself filled with — dare I say it — joy. It is not the joy of revenge against a corporation that ruined my hometown and brought misery, divorce, alcoholism, homelessness, physical and mental debilitation, and drug addiction to the people I grew up with. Nor do I, obviously, claim any joy in knowing that 21,000 more GM workers will be told that they, too, are without a job.

But you and I and the rest of America now own a car company! I know, I know — who on earth wants to run a car company? Who among us wants $50 billion of our tax dollars thrown down the rat hole of still trying to save GM? Let’s be clear about this: The only way to save GM is to kill GM. Saving our precious industrial infrastructure, though, is another matter and must be a top priority. If we allow the shutting down and tearing down of our auto plants, we will sorely wish we still had them when we realize that those factories could have built the alternative energy systems we now desperately need. And when we realize that the best way to transport ourselves is on light rail and bullet trains and cleaner buses, how will we do this if we’ve allowed our industrial capacity and its skilled workforce to disappear?

Thus, as GM is “reorganized” by the federal government and the bankruptcy court, here is the plan I am asking President Obama to implement for the good of the workers, the GM communities, and the nation as a whole. Twenty years ago when I made “Roger & Me,” I tried to warn people about what was ahead for General Motors. Had the power structure and the punditocracy listened, maybe much of this could have been avoided. Based on my track record, I request an honest and sincere consideration of the following suggestions:

1. Just as President Roosevelt did after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the President must tell the nation that we are at war and we must immediately convert our auto factories to factories that build mass transit vehicles and alternative energy devices. Within months in Flint in 1942, GM halted all car production and immediately used the assembly lines to build planes, tanks and machine guns. The conversion took no time at all. Everyone pitched in. The fascists were defeated.

We are now in a different kind of war — a war that we have conducted against the ecosystem and has been conducted by our very own corporate leaders. This current war has two fronts. One is headquartered in Detroit. The products built in the factories of GM, Ford and Chrysler are some of the greatest weapons of mass destruction responsible for global warming and the melting of our polar icecaps. The things we call “cars” may have been fun to drive, but they are like a million daggers into the heart of Mother Nature. To continue to build them would only lead to the ruin of our species and much of the planet.

The other front in this war is being waged by the oil companies against you and me. They are committed to fleecing us whenever they can, and they have been reckless stewards of the finite amount of oil that is located under the surface of the earth. They know they are sucking it bone dry. And like the lumber tycoons of the early 20th century who didn’t give a damn about future generations as they tore down every forest they could get their hands on, these oil barons are not telling the public what they know to be true — that there are only a few more decades of useable oil on this planet. And as the end days of oil approach us, get ready for some very desperate people willing to kill and be killed just to get their hands on a gallon can of gasoline.

President Obama, now that he has taken control of GM, needs to convert the factories to new and needed uses immediately.

2. Don’t put another $30 billion into the coffers of GM to build cars. Instead, use that money to keep the current workforce — and most of those who have been laid off — employed so that they can build the new modes of 21st century transportation. Let them start the conversion work now.

3. Announce that we will have bullet trains criss-crossing this country in the next five years. Japan is celebrating the 45th anniversary of its first bullet train this year. Now they have dozens of them. Average speed: 165 mph. Average time a train is late: under 30 seconds. They have had these high speed trains for nearly five decades — and we don’t even have one! The fact that the technology already exists for us to go from New York to L.A. in 17 hours by train, and that we haven’t used it, is criminal. Let’s hire the unemployed to build the new high speed lines all over the country. Chicago to Detroit in less than two hours. Miami to DC in under 7 hours. Denver to Dallas in five and a half. This can be done and done now.

4. Initiate a program to put light rail mass transit lines in all our large and medium-sized cities. Build those trains in the GM factories. And hire local people everywhere to install and run this system.

5. For people in rural areas not served by the train lines, have the GM plants produce energy efficient clean buses.

6. For the time being, have some factories build hybrid or all-electric cars (and batteries). It will take a few years for people to get used to the new ways to transport ourselves, so if we’re going to have automobiles, let’s have kinder, gentler ones. We can be building these next month (do not believe anyone who tells you it will take years to retool the factories — that simply isn’t true).

7. Transform some of the empty GM factories to facilities that build windmills, solar panels and other means of alternate forms of energy. We need tens of millions of solar panels right now. And there is an eager and skilled workforce who can build them.

8. Provide tax incentives for those who travel by hybrid car or bus or train. Also, credits for those who convert their home to alternative energy.

9. To help pay for this, impose a two-dollar tax on every gallon of gasoline. This will get people to switch to more energy saving cars or to use the new rail lines and rail cars the former autoworkers have built for them.

Well, that’s a start. Please, please, please don’t save GM so that a smaller version of it will simply do nothing more than build Chevys or Cadillacs. This is not a long-term solution. Don’t throw bad money into a company whose tailpipe is malfunctioning, causing a strange odor to fill the car.

100 years ago this year, the founders of General Motors convinced the world to give up their horses and saddles and buggy whips to try a new form of transportation. Now it is time for us to say goodbye to the internal combustion engine. It seemed to serve us well for so long. We enjoyed the car hops at the A&W. We made out in the front — and the back — seat. We watched movies on large outdoor screens, went to the races at NASCAR tracks across the country, and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time through the window down Hwy. 1. And now it’s over. It’s a new day and a new century. The President — and the UAW — must seize this moment and create a big batch of lemonade from this very sour and sad lemon.

Yesterday, the last surviving person from the Titanic disaster passed away. She escaped certain death that night and went on to live another 97 years.

So can we survive our own Titanic in all the Flint Michigans of this country. 60% of GM is ours. I think we can do a better job.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

Moore is set to release his next documentary on October 2 through Overture Films. The documentary is a look at the global financial crisis and the U.S. economy during the transition between the incoming Obama Administration and the outgoing Bush Administration.

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New on DVD this week:
1.Taken (Single-Disc Extended Edition)
2.Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
3. Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection (The Motion Picture / The Wrath of Kahn / The Search for Spock / The Voyage Home / The Final Frontier / The … Captains Summit Bonus Disc) [Blu-ray]
4.Taking Chance
5.We Shall Remain

New on Blu-ray this week:
1.Taken [Blu-ray]
2.Underworld: Rise of the Lycans [Blu-ray]
3.The Good, the Bad and the Ugly [Blu-ray]
4.Fargo [Blu-ray]
5.Big [Blu-ray]

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Also new this week on DVD:
1.Frost/Nixon
2.Caprica
3.X-Men Trilogy (X-Men / X2: X-Men United / X-Men: The Last Stand) [Blu-ray]
4.Sin City [Blu-ray]
5.Ron White: Behavioral Problems
6.Squidbillies, Vol. 2
7.Notorious (Three-Disc Edition + Digital Copy)

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