Prevaricating Predators

Those Lying Dogs

It's freezing across this country, the winter Olympics are on television 24 hours a day, and so naturally people flocked to theaters to watch a film about canines left to freeze in a blizzard. Disney's 8 Below managed to jump on the wave of love created by March of the Penguins and raked almost $20 million over the weekend. This winter-lode was accomplished despite the efforts of The Wall Street Journal to crush the love kids have towards anthropomorphic creatures.

In an article with which he takes Hollywood to task for dubious marketing ,The Journal's John Lippman unveils some alarming news: Hollywood's claim to factual events in movies may not be completely true!!! The movie has roots in a Japanese film from 1983, Nankyoku Monogatari, which focused on a tragedy in the Antartic in 1957. Lippman spills on the vagaries:

" Inspired by a true story" is used loosely: The Disney film changed the characters, their nationalities, the time period, the number of dogs and the fate of most of the canines.

I could also add to the deception; the producers used 16 dogs for the 8-dog sled team on camera, which could spark another expose' from Lippman. That he is surprised Disney used a film from the 80's about an event half of a century ago and they fudged on the accuracy is a treat. If he comes forward to tell me that clown fish cannot actually speak to each other I may explode.

Can You Feel the Heath?

Oh, get ready, its a comin'. Slowly, subtly, but not imperceptably, a growing wave of constant Heath Ledger loving is cracking the horizon. Nary a news cycle ebbs without another nugget on the Aussie thespian's move towards nabbing an Oscar for his role as a saddle sodomite in "Brokeback Mountain".

A couple of the latest bon mots. Gossip Fodder reported that whilst across the pond Heath was being peppered with questions about something other than what it was like to be a gay cowboy, and once loosed from the chaps of his role Heath rambled. When asked about George Clooney he apparantly was unaware that he ended up putting the screws to his costar, Jake Gyllenhaal.

I think he deserves the best supporting actor. I thought he was amazing in Syriana." Jake Gyllenhaal, who was Heath's lover and co-star in Brokeback Mountain, is up against George in the best supporting actor category.

This should be a forgivable slight. Immediately after those questions he was again pelted with entendres: A reporter then asked him to compare making love to a woman in one film and a man in another. Heath may need to be wary of typecasting however--word is out that he will continue his man-love streak by portraying Rock Hudson.