When George Lucas finished “Star Wars – Episode III – Revenge of the Sith,” he expressed relief that the saga was finished and he could go out and make other types of films, smaller films, more personal stories. “Red Tails” about the Tuskegee Airmen is the first film other than the fourth Indiana Jones installment that came out since the last Star Wars (and “Red Tails” while telling the story of the men and the racism they faced, it is a big action movie with planes flying around like Star Wars dogfights).
Instead of making lots of movies since 2005, most of the Lucas output has been – SURPRISE – more Star Wars stuff. Animated Clone Wars, collaborations with “Family Guy” and “Robot Chicken” on Star Wars parodies, tons of spin-off books, and reportedly, a live-action television series to come.
The original series has been reworked and released to theaters, and then all of the films were released on Blu-ray milking the films in order to get more of our money. To separate us from our money this week, Lucas will release the worst of the six films, Episode I in 3D. This had the worst story, weakest dialogue, and of course, the most irritating character in the history of film – Jar Jar Binks. Overall, 3D has been as much a gimmick as ever with most films not worth the extra money and the silly glasses. (The only 2 films I’ve attended where the 3D actually added to the story were “Avatar” and “Hugo.”)
George Lucas is a tremendously rich man. Between the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, he owns the special effects juggernaut Industrial Light and Magic and also owns Skywaker Sound. Hundreds of films use one or both of these companies for their films.
The only way for Lucas to get the message that it’s time to end the Star Wars continual money grab is to not give him any more. Trust me, if Episode I finishes in fifth place at the box office next week, the others will not follow. Do we need to see the other films with small little additions that add nothing to the story? Do we need to spend another $17-$20/person for a film we’ve already seen many times, and probably own in some format?
Unfortunately, people will. It’ll finish number 1 at the box office, guaranteeing that the other films will soon follow in 3D. Why? Because too many people are stupid enough to buy into anything Star Wars related.
Dear George – Enough already. I have the original films on Laserdisc, and both trilogies on DVD and Blu-Ray. I don’t have a 3D television, so I won’t be buying the films again. Please don’t litter the multiplex again with a shameless unnecessary show of hubris, greed, and a burned out imagination.

I actually watched the entire Super Bowl last Sunday, I guess in payment for spending every waking moment helping the Indignant Oldest Daughter celebrate her 7th birthday. So, I watched the halftime show with Madonna, and generally, she moved pretty well for a 50 year-old woman, and while the skirt and books allowed a look at her thighs, her outfit was much less revealing than hew outfits of yore.
But I couldn’t help think that here is this woman, the biggest hit maker of the 1980s desperately trying to remain relevant in a 21st Century that belongs to Lady GaGa, Beyonce and Katy Perry. (And I didn’t pay any attention to MIA “flipping the bird” – much like
It was a silly sad, the thrice married, multiple mother gyrating like she did 30 years ago. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t even make a big deal out of this, but Madonna’s appearance came a few days after Demi Moore entered a hospital. Ms. Moore, a marginal actress at best but a person who has been able to remain in the headlines with her marriage/divorce to Bruce Willis; then marriage to Ashton Kutcher, many years her junior, his affairs and their coming divorce; and her hospitalization for reasons unknown.
According to reports, Ms. Moore’s attempts to remain young border on the obsessive. According to one report I heard, Ms. Moore spends a lot of time with her teenage daughters, acting more like friends than mother and daughters (one story has that her hospitalization is related to her taking a club drug popular with young people). That report says that Ms. Moore is so obsessed with height and getting older that she has a Red Bull energy drink for breakfast, another one for lunch and a salad for dinner with no more than one teaspoon of tuna in it.
I guess it’s much easier being a man. I’m 52, have lots of grey hair and generally don’t care. The Indignant Wife and Children don’t care – in fact they don’t want me to color my hair. The Indignant Wife looks like she always has, and that’s always been more than Ok with me and with her. But it’s sad to see these women, still rich, still very famous, still attractive for their age, but that isn’t enough. I guess it’s the same as the 50-ish man dumping his wife for a younger model, buying a Porsche and trying to relive his youth.

I subscribe to the Chicago Tribune, mostly for the comics and the fact that The Indignant Wife likes the large amount of sales inserts and coupons that come in the paper. But, I have long disliked the paper’s ultra-conservative slant, and the biased articles about minorities, especially the underprivileged.
Once again, the newspaper got my dander up today, and I posted a reply on their website. I wrote:
“I noticed that the Tribune pulled today’s (Friday’s) Doonesbury strip because according to the paper on Page 2, ‘the strip broke from its satirical mission in order to deliver a direct fundraising appeal for a specific charity that the author favors. The Tribune’s editorial practices do not allow individuals to promote their self-interests.’
Of course, when someone tells me I can’t read something, I went to the web to find it, and the strip is an appeal for donorschoose.org. On their website, it says that the site is where ‘public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit, to violins for a school recital, to microscope slides for a biology class. Then, you can browse project requests and give any amount to the one that inspires you. Once a project reaches its funding goal, we deliver the materials to the school.’
This sounds like a worthwhile charity and I plan to donate to it. But it’s supported by Oprah, Stephen Colbert, and Gary Trudeau, three noted liberals. Trust me, if the strip pushed for donations to Gingrich or Romney, or other conservative causes that the Tribune has always championed, the strip would probably be on page 1.”
Bastards!

The old adage is that famous deaths come in threes. It’s a crock, of course, because people die all the time, and of course, when we are talking about threes, when do we start? When do we end? Do two major stars and a movie director count? What about a “key Grip?” While not famous, he’s more famous than you or I; he (or she) has at least been memorialized in one or more films.
Anyway, we lost Don Cornelius yesterday, and being a 52-year-old black man who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s, I cannot underestimate his influence from Soul Train on television. We also lost a 90-year-old Jewish man, who in some ways was almost as influential.
Angelo Dundee, ring manager for Muhammad Ali and was also in the corner for Sugar Ray Leonard died in Tampa, Fla. He was 90. He died with his family surrounding him, according to his son, Jimmy, but not before attending Ali’s 70th birthday bash in Louisville, Ky., last month.
Dundee was best known for being in Ali’s corner for almost his entire career, he was also an ambassador for boxing and a figure of integrity in a sport that often lacked it. Promoter Bob Arum credited Dundee with persuading Ali to continue in his third fight against Joe Frazier when Frazier was coming on strong in the “Thrilla in Manilla.” Without Dundee, Arum said, Ali may not have had the strength to come back and stop Frazier after the 14th round. Dundee also worked the corner for Leonard, famously shouting “You’re blowing it son. You’re blowing it” when Leonard fell behind in his 1981 fight with Tommy Hearns – a fight he would rally to win by knockout.
He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1994 after a career that spanned six decades, training 15 world champions, including Leonard, George Foreman, Carmen Basilio and Jose Napoles. (I must admit that I was never and never will be a fan of Leonard. He ducked people, did the Ali shtick, was a powderpuff puncher and was best at self promotion.) Dundee will always be linked to Ali as one of the most successful fighter-trainer relationships in boxing history, helping Ali become the first to win the heavyweight title three times. The pair traveled the world for fights to such obscure places as Ali’s October 1974 bout in Zaire against Foreman dubbed “The Rumble in the Jungle,” and Ali’s third fight against Frazier in the Philippines.
I had the great honor of meeting the man. We did a “Back Table with Chet Coppock” with Dundee, and I made sure I attended in person for that one. I met Ali once, on a Chicago street corner around 1998. Ali’s Parkinson’s was fully in force, and the former champ was headed to a court to sue someone (his attorney kept telling the Champ to “come on”). His hands were full, but I came around the corner and was literally face-to-face with Ali. I said the only thing I could think of “Hey Champ, how are you?” He smiled and kept going, but afterward, all I could think of was the old Richard Pryor monologue about what happens if Ali suddenly has a “Joe Frazier flashback?” The resultant brain damage would have been devastating to your friend and humble narrator.
Anyway, I had a book, “Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times” by Thomas Hauser, and I brought it with me to get signed. Dundee’s show was very good, and I put a lot into the questions for Chet since Dundee had been a part of so many epic fights.
When I met him, Dundee was humbly surprised that I had made an effort to meet him. He signed my book, and then he thanked me for asking. Having met dozens of sports and movie stars and other celebrities, I have always been touched by this gentle man. (And I still have that book, signed also by “The fight Doctor” Ferdie Pacheco. I had wanted to get Ali to sign it, but I have a huge picture of Ali and Frazier signed by both men.)
Rest in Peace Angelo.

Lots of people in my age group are in shock today. Don Cornelius, the founder of “Soul Train,” was found dead in Los Angeles of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was 75.
Reportedly, Cornelius created a pilot for “Soul Train” using $400 of his own money, I remember watching it on WCIU here in Chicago. It looked like a dance party in someone’s basement. In those days, UHF stations had all of the clarity of watching television through a pair of ladies stockings. Round aerials were used to pick up the signals, and most people watched on black and white televisions.
I was too young to be on the show, but I watched the “older kids” dancing on television. Then, Cornelius moved to Hollywood and with the syndication might of Tribune Productions, “Soul Train” became a television institution.
According to Soul Train Holdings (Cornelius’) website, “Soul Train is the longest running, first-run, nationally syndicated program in television history. During its 37-year run, the show featured such staples as the Soul Train line and performers as important and diverse as Al Green, Ike & Tina Turner, Marvin Gaye, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Whitney Houston, David Bowie, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson and Beyonce.”
None of the many tributes make the point that Cornelius was a Chicago police officer, which would mean that he knows firearms and since suicide is a popular way of police officers to die. But it is very sad; he was an early example of black entrepreneurship; was a visible positive role model; of course, the show highlighted superstars; but he was also instrumental in developing talent like Shalomar and Jody Watley, who was a dancer on the show before becoming a singer.
I bought the multi-DVD set “Best of Soul Train” – I guess I’ll watch a little bit over the next few days.

It’s bad enough that former assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine is under investigation for having forcibly touched young men in the 1980s, but now his wife was in it too?
The New York Daily News reported earlier this week that former Syracuse ball boy Bobby Davis says in an affidavit that the Fine’s wife had sex with the players.
Davis and stepbrother Michael Lang are suing Syracuse and basketball coach Jim Boeheim, saying they were defamed when Boeheim called them liars out to make money by accusing Fine, Boeheim’s longtime assistant, of molesting them.
Is this true, or is this story just feeding upon itself with the one story topping the next? Next, pets and wild animals will be having sex with people.
If any of this is true, is Boeheim the next Joe Paterno? Does he deserve to be?

I know that over the past few years, I sincerely wished for overblown wide receiver Terrell Owens to please go away. The outlandish antics on the field; the stupid wars of words with coaches and quarterbacks were permitted when he was one of the best receivers in the game, but the NFL is a brutal mistress. When a player is considered too old or too injured to contribute, he is out of the league, This is especially true when there is a new crop of young players coming out of college every year willing to perform, and often much cheaper than the veteran the rookie is replacing.
But it appears that Owens’ fall is steaper that I realized. Owens has been unable to find a job in the NFL and he revealed in GQ’s magaizine’s February cover-story that he’s broke and alone after making nearly $80 million over the course of his football career.
Owens I guess was counting on being a television celebrity, but he is reportedly estranged from his former best friends Kita Williams and Monique Jackson, who starred alongside him on his VH1 reality show “The T.O. Show.”
There are statistics that 60% of NFL players declare bankruptcy at some time in their lives, and it is hard to imagine blowing $80 million, but it happens often. High lifestyles that players expect to last a long time, end quickly and suddenly. Add the women, hangers on, houses, cars, etc. and add to that the often debilitating injuries suffered on the field, and it isn’t such a stretch that pro athletes go broke.
I think that Terrell Owens will end up on his feet, and I hope he does. But I do appreciate the silence since he went away.