You fought your ass off and made yourself a hugely viable and powerful political presence in
the eight years since the Clintons last reigned. It's nothing short of tremendous. Now exercise
the most common of common sense and bow gracefully from the blinding footlights of
the Democratic race. Understand that you're beaten and don't prolong a process that
will only pull your party apart. If you stay in a race where it is mathematically impossible for
you to prevail, it casts you as little more than a shrewish, win-at-all-costs political opportunist
and NOT as a team player who puts her party's collective welfare ahead of her own political
ambition.

There's nothing wrong with wanting it that bad. There IS something wrong with wanting
it worse than anything else.

When you take in the full measure of what electing someone like Obama into office could
help repair and reshape the world over, then even you would be hard pressed not to see the
almost invincible promise that brings. The people are telling your party what they want.
Do the graceful, gracious thing and simply step aside. You are now a force to be reckoned
with and who knows what 2012 will bring. Any undo damage to your reputation would only
come as a result of you not knowing when to call it a day...and that day has dawned.

JC

Apparently, this site is somehow involved in the destruction of this poor misguided
soul's porn-stuffed, terminally infected hard-drive. I've removed the post itself but
since I haven't the slightest idea what this guy is talking about, I will turn things
over to longtime 'Smokin' Joe' regular and rock solid center of the universe,
THE INDIAN as SHE explains:

'GLF, LOVING THE STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO DISASTER BUT...

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

I'M OFFICIALLY CHANGING YOUR INITIALS TO WTF?

TO EVERYONE ELSE,
THE LINK THAT WTF (THE ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS GLF) POSTED IS FROM JOE'S SITE. BUT IT'S A LINK POSTED BY A COMMENTER, NOT JOE. AND THE SH*T LOOKS LIKE IT WILL LITERALLY SUCK YOU FACE FIRST INTO THE MATRIX. AGAIN, I'M ALL FOR MISSING WORK, SO I CLICKED, AND, TO MY DISMAY, IT TOOK ME TO A "WEBPAGE CANNOT BE FOUND" TAB. I THEN FOUND WTF'S FOLLOW UP COMMENT ABOUT CUTTING AND PASTING AND I TRIED THAT AS WELL. I WAS TAKEN TO ANOTHER SITE THAT WAS BASICALLY A BLANK PAGE WITH A LITTLE VIDEO BOX IN THE CENTER AND A PLAY BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM THAT PRACTICALLY SCREAMED CLICK IF YOU DARE. I DID DARE AND I DID CLICK. THAT'S WHEN ANOTHER BOX APPEARED TELLING ME I HAD TO DOWNLOAD IN ORDER TO SEE THE VIDEO.

HERE'S WHERE I STOPPED. IT AINT ROCKET SCIENCE. ALSO, HAVING TO EXPLAIN TO MY BOSS AND MY UNION HOW 80 GIGS OF PORNOGRAPHY MADE IT'S WAY TO MY COMPUTER AND ATE ALL MY FILES IS JUST NOT A GOOD LOOK.

AND THAT'S WHERE WTF'S "FRIEND" SHOULD HAVE STOPPED TOO. IN ORDER TO GET THIS MAGIC DIGITAL EBOLA VIRUS THAT WTF IS TALKING ABOUT, YOU HAVE TO F*CKING DOWNLOAD IT. AND ANY TIME YOU DOWNLOAD SOMETHING JUST FOR SH*TS AND GIGGLES, YOU DESERVE WHATEVER RUINATION IT MIGHT BRING YOU.'

So there you are. Hope that helps others avoid a similar fate.

JC

By JOHN ANDERSON
Wanting a movie to end so you can run out and buy the soundtrack may not seem like huge endorsement, but in this case, it is. "Playing for Change: Peace Through Music," a pan-global survey -- and marriage -- of varying styles of world music, is often so exhilarating, its neo-hippie utopianism doesn't seem so implausible. Sure to be a festival hit, the docu (perhaps with a tidier title?) could make inroads into specialty markets and TV.
Starting on the pedestrian mall in Santa Monica, Calif., helmers Mark Johnson (who narrates) and Jonathan Walls made a recording of street singer Roger Ridley performing "Stand by Me" then took that tape all over the world. They added singers in New Orleans and Amsterdam, a guitarist in France, a Congolese drummer, some Zuni drummers in New Mexico, making musical collaborators out of people who'd never met. As movie openings go, the "Stand By Me" overture is the musical equivalent of the tracking shot that opens "Touch of Evil."
And that's just the beginning. Music "expresses what you are trying to say without words," says one musician and, predictably, "Playing for Change" is most eloquent when the music does the talking.
Long-range partnerships are being formed: A singer sings in Buenos Aires, and his female backup trio, the Oneness Choir, is in India. Rajhesh Vaidhya, who plays the ancient veena, turns the sitar-like instrument into a melodious funk machine. Israeli singer Tula is followed by South African guitarist/singer Vusi Mahlasela, followed by Tibetan group the Exile Brothers. Significantly, a lot of the musicians are not seen playing in their own homelands -- sometimes by choice, sometimes by the choices of others.
Among its virtues, "Playing for Change" is a great showcase for just what incredible, thoroughly accessible popular music is being made worldwide and, regardless of this movie's efforts, is already highly homogeneous and cross-influenced. In turn, the doc is also an indictment of the American music industry and of format radio, which might look toward "Playing for Change" for a way to avoid irrelevance and obsolescence.

Production values are excellent, especially the sound.

Camera (color/B&W, mini-DV/16mm), Krupitzer; editor, Walls; music supervisor, Jenee Deaneglis; sound designers, Greg Morgenstein, Onnalee Blank, Paul Savio; re-recording mixers, Morgenstein, Johnson, Holger Thiele; associate producers, Doug Kenney, Enzo Buono, Francois Vigue, Greg Johnson. Reviewed at Tribeca Film Festival (Discovery), April 29, 2008. Running time: 76 MIN.

This is my son, taunting my father, who is hardcore San Francisco Giants
fan. My kid playing for the Dodgers and rocking the dreaded blue is a dagger
to the heart of my old man.

My son knew EXACTLY how to play the moment too.

He's a natural hitter this kid. Like Rod Carew. No great power but just places the ball wherever
he wants to. Very proud of all my kids this season. We haven't got the greatest record
but man have I had a blast coaching them...and this business will never give me the gray
hairs that those kids are capable of creating. We're going into the playoffs next week so
I'm hoping for a 1980 U.S. Hockey team mojo as we take on the top seeded teams. These
guys really are the Bad News Bears but we love every one of 'em.

JC

Association with the Cadillac brand forbids me from calling GM directly and
trying to pad the vote, SO I NEED YOU GUYS TO GET OUT AND DROP BALLOTS!

The April 27, 2008 standings for The Cadillac Award: The Audience Choice for Best Feature Film

1. Under Our Skin
2. Man on Wire
3. Playing For Change: Peace Through Music
4. Pray the Devil Back to Hell
5. Celia the Queen
6. The Wackness
7. Kassim the Dream
8. Lioness
9. The 27 Club
10. Gotta Dance

If you're in the NY area and want to see a truly inspired paen to music and humanity
and witness one of the greatest global outreach programs ever, check out 'PLAYING FOR
CHANGE: PEACE THROUGH MUSIC' in one of its two final screenings.

Tue, Apr 29, 12:00PM
AMC Village VII 4
66 3rd Ave. NY, NY

Fri, May 02, 9:00PM
AMC Village VII 3
66 3rd Ave. NY, NY

Get out there and make our dreams manifest! WE BEG OF YOU! We covet all
manner of quickly-forgotten yet business-critical awards so dammit, VOTE!

JC

This is one of the reasons I'm considering just closing the site down. When
bores like this plop down in here and everybody wonders why I don't post comments any
longer: It's the death of every good moment I can squeeze out of a day. But since I
started this, here goes:

When losers and lost causes are given public forum, you get guys like JOHN ATKIN who
come onto this site and claim to be the cousin of my first A.D. on NARC and
then go on to misspell his last name. It's not JORDAN moron. It's MICHAEL
JOHNSON. Next time, if you want to randomly attack me, at least visit IMDB
and get the guy's name right. Michael and I got on pretty well. So well in fact
that I tried to get him on several films after NARC and actually bring him to L.A.

You never visited the set and if you had, you wouldn't have heard any yelling from
me. I don't yell fu*ckface. Ask anybody WHO ACTUALLY WORKS IN THE BUSINESS.

So again, we've got a case of some assh*le coming onto the site and just spewing
trash. Only this particular assh*le didn't have the common sense to do it anonymously
so if you're interested, you can check out 'Actor and Performer Of Special Skills'
(I'll bet they're REAL SPECIAL hoss) JOHN ATKIN at the following:

http://www.globalproducer.com/ID22347

As one of the leads in the short film 'Billy Bites People' John is uniquely qualified to
comment on my career trajectory and its considerable failings.

And pally, before you go throwing around 'Fat and Bald' comments, you might want
to update that handsome headshot you've got online.

That's it. I've taken precious time out of my life that I won't get back, addressing this
putz, who doesn't even have enough gas in the tank to be a f*cking footnote in the
entertainment biz.

John, I'd wish you luck but all the luck in the world ain't gonna get
it done for you. THIS, sadly, will be the closest you will ever get. Sparring
with yours truly, which is like me having a slapfight with a eighty-six year old
invalid.

So next time you pick that fight, make sure you do it like the rest of the chickensh*ts
who take swipes at me on this site and just 'John Doe' it. And next time, try to post
something APPROACHING the truth.

Wow. What a waste of time. Sorry to the regulars for this idiotic post but I wasn't gonna give
this guy a pass for those comments. My daughter is sitting next to me at the airport, we're both
bored stiff and she begged me to retaliate, so there you have it.

JC

The venerable Liz Smith issues a little love for the Mark Johnson/Jonathan
Walls documentary I was lucky enough to be involved with. Below is from
today's VARIETY:

THE TRIBECA Film Festival bows Sunday and documentary makers are hotly anticipating the next biggie. Two years ago, "Jesus Camp" launched the Tribeca and went on for an Oscar nomination. Last year "Taxi to the Darkside" bowed and won this year's documentary Academy Award. Sizzlers this year are "Chevolution," a look back at Che Guevara from Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa, who also made: "Little Children" and "Little Miss Sunshine." Then there's a crime documentary from Andrew Lauren titled "This is Not a Robbery," all about America's oldest bank robber. We'll see Julia Checokway's "Waiting for Hockney," about a man who spent eight years drawing a photo of Marilyn Monroe and then set out to show it to the artist David Hockey. Let's add "Kassim the Dream," about a child soldier turned boxer ... the Joe Carnahan produced feel-good music documentary "Playing for Change" ... and the Beastie Boy/director Adam Yauch's sports documentary "Gunning for That #1 Spot."

Just set up two big studio projects last week and it looks like we're
going to be shooting a big portion of Pablo IN COLOMBIA, which is
really the only place you should make that film. Forget that with the
budget we have, we will get more bang for our buck there...it also stamps
and authenticates it in ways that Mexico or Buenos Aires
never could. I want real Colombians in this film. I want to really stand
in the streets where Pablo was detonating bombs week after week. You
can't replace that gravitas that brings and there's not a production designer on the
planet (sorry Martin!) that can sufficiently recreate what is endemic to
that country.

It wears its history. You can feel its past.

I've always said about 'Narc' that it was the most miserable experience I ever
had on a set. We had financiers that were lying to us, a crew that was on the
cusp of a full blown mutiny and cast members that were 'difficult' to say the least.
We're also shooting in Toronto and Detroit in the dead of winter. Nothing about
that process was ever easy...it was a total slog through the swamp...

...HOWEVER...

The combination of all those elements, though excruciating at times, was perfect for the
film we were making. All that dread wound up on film so I was thankful in the end
that it was such a painful process. The film wouldn't have been as good without it.

I think going to Colombia for Pablo and sticking that commitment is the same thing.
You add layers and significance that you aren't even aware of and something indelible
and truthful burns itself into the film...This is my hope.

Cranking now...

JC

Back from Colombia. Could shoot the film there and will push to that
end. I don't think we could capture that vibe anywhere else. They wear
their history in such subtle, sublime ways. It's a wonder Pablo was able
to hold them in such thrall. Bombing the sh*t out of something non-stop
will have that affect though.

Cutting a short documentary together and a kind of 'theme piece' which
should really be something. I'm about to upgrade this whole site so I can
start posting video on here myself. That will probably happen in the next
3 to 4 weeks.

JC

Guys:

This is what modern day Bogota looks like. If I had a nickel for every time a
native Colombian said to me, over the past week: 'Please don't make our country
look like some backwoods jungle with chickens running around the airport.' I
would have the money to start production on KP today. Bogota is a beautiful,
vibrant, bustling city of nearly 10 million people. It's as cosmopolitan as NYC
or Paris for that matter and it has a cultural and arts movement, the likes of
which I've never seen. I believe we could shoot this movie here without issue.
THAT'S how misunderstood this place is.

The responsibility to these people and this country, in accurately depicting this
story, is immense. I told them I was after one thing and one thing only: VERDAD.
Truth. Fact. And I told them I would rather the movie tank and be completely
authentic, than sell out to some bullsh*t Hollywood notion of this story which
is quintessentially COLOMBIAN no matter the American presence in KILLING PABLO
you must first and foremost honor the memory of the thousands of people that
died during that struggle.

I have obtained some of the most incredible interviews and spoken with some
of the most courageous people I will ever have the pleasure of meeting. I interview
former President Cesar Gaviria today and cap over a dozen interviews with key players
down here. The next stop will be Medellin.

JC

Guys:

Every one of the files that you're seeing in the picture above represents a small envelope
with original negative images inside...and each and every one of them, depict some horrible
act of terrorism against the people of Colombia. I saw images I will never forget...and I can't
believe these people had and continue to have, the courage to go about their lives with such
unfathomable levels of violence surrounding them and at times, swallowing them whole, day
in and day out.

The envelopes that are sticking up were ones I pulled over a 3 1/2 hour period of time, going
through each and every one. These photos are up to $100 apiece so you have to be pretty selective
and really take great pains to pick just the right ones. You have to walk that line of gathering
the most effective images and at the same time, not sensationalizing the bloodiest era
in Colombian history...a horrible legacy which is still felt to this day.

The sense of loss is overpowering in some parts of the city.

We purchased five images of Pablo that I had never seen and have never shown up on a wire
service. The only time these images appeared anywhere was in the original editions of EL TIEMPO
that they were published in. Some of the images are over 25 years old and have been reprinted
exactly ONE TIME.

I would post them here but they'd be all over the web, so you'll have to wait for the end
crawl of KILLING PABLO to see them.

All over CNN ESPANOL and RCN, the local Bogota affiliate, to get archived footage of Pablo that
they tell me has never been viewed outside this country. Can't tell you how excited I am to see
those tapes.

More to follow...

JC

Kids:

Sorry about the gigantic, somewhat distorted size of the image itself but SO WHAT!
The man to my left is none other than General Miguel Maza Marquez and he survived no less
than eight attempts on his life. Those attempts were made by Pablo Escobar. Two
of them, in 1989, involved the General's motorcade being blown up and his office
building being struck by a bus loaded with more explosives than the Oklahoma City bombing.
The blast killed his secretary and over a hundred other people. The General, undeterred,
refused to back down and kept up his hunt for El Doctor. He was eventually asked by then
Colombian President Cesar Gaviria to remove himself from the pursuit after acquiesing
(albeit briefly) to Pablo's demand that the General be relieved of his command.

I just got back from interviewing him and I can tell you, being in a room with a man
like that, who displayed guts and bravery that Hollywood can barely hint at, was a
f*cking humbling experience. His wit, good nature and generosity of spirit marked
it as the highlight of this trip.

We think bungee-jumping takes balls...and then you meet a man like General Maza.

A billionaire and the most notorious outlaw since Adolph Hitler tried to murder him
openly and willfully and he lived through it. He told me at the end of the interview:

'Only one of us was going to make it...and God granted that survival to me.'

A remarkable man...and one for all time.

The interviews continue...and they will make the movie KILLING PABLO extraordinary. Mark my
words.

JC

Raiding Pablo's old stomping grounds. Collection has begun...

JC

In the Beltway. Met with the men who commanded the direct effort against
Pablo. The most amazing stories to date and guys who would astonish you
with the things they've seen and done. Not an ounce of machismo or phony
tough guy bullsh*t. They could've been elementary school teachers or auto
body shop owners. Just as regular as they come which is probably why they
were so devastatingly successful. I was told by my escort, who has worked
hand in hand with these men for over a quarter century that these were two
of the greatest NOCS the intelligence community had ever produced.

It was a gigantic honor and one I'm still tingling over.

JC

This is called a 'no bullsh*t' clause. Has stuff like this ever been said with more candor?

Omaba responds to the black pastor who blasted him recently:

'I can no more disown him than I can disown the black community. I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother – a woman who helped raise me, a woman who sacrificed again and again for me, a woman who loves me as much as she loves anything in this world, but a woman who once confessed her fear of black men who passed by her on the street, and who on more than one occasion has uttered racial or ethnic stereotypes that made me cringe. These people are a part of me. And they are a part of America, this country that I love...'

Amazing. And right from the heart. How often do you see a candidate, in a closely contested
race, engage a public with this level of honesty.

How about never.

JC