thelump.net

This Week in Lumps
#48 [22/04 - 28/04]

· So, this week’s first topic is more aimed towards those who are in a 9-5 job- sorry students. Normally I’m quite defensive towards my decision to opt out of higher education as soon as I could and head into work, and I usually take great joy at poking fun at my skint, malnourished student friends. Before this week I was content with my situation; a decent enough job that pays enough for me to eat, sleep, drink, and not one that has daft working hours, so I can still have a social life. Sounds fair enough, doesn’t it? Well, no, the saying is true; the grass is always greener on the other side.

Apart from the realisation that I’ll (probably) never earn enough to afford my own place with a room specifically decorated to be my own home cinema to these standards, nor have a room just to have as a giant ball pit ala last.fm, I saw the photo’s this week for the new Digg offices, a step on from when I last saw them posted, whilst they were being decorated. It’s not just that it’s Digg, and that I love the website (and the diggnation podcast), but it would be the notion of a company I can envision really enjoying working for. Maybe that’s just because the ‘fridge full of beer at work’ idea, something I can only hope catches on in this country.

Much the same could be said for Innocent, the smoothie company. Now, like Digg, I’m a big Innocent fan, and if they weren’t priced so high I could probably live off nothing but the strawberry and banana offering. After a discussion at work about how lush they are, I went on to their site to find out more information about them. It turns out that if you’re lucky enough to work at Innocent, not only do you get profit related pay (since it’s a growing company, the basis is when yearly profits are made, the main priority is that it goes back to the staff), but also get 5 days extra off after getting married, £2000 bonus after having a baby, monthly massages and yoga, fantastic scholarships, free breakfasts, Friday beers (in the office, no less) and all the smoothies you can drink. Jaw-droppingly awesome.

This wasn’t really a dig at myself for not staying in school, going to uni and getting a decent degree, because I’m currently in a job where I’m doing the same work as Uni graduates, and only backs up my argument that sometimes it doesn’t mean anything more than the paper it’s printed on. However, with my age still somewhat young and decent prospects (from what others have said anyway), I still hope that one day my future company (or nearest offer) will reflect some of these examples. At least enough for me to afford a big ass home cinema.

I wouldn’t normally do a plug like this, but since it’s advertised on their respective sites, it makes no real difference. If you’d like to work for either Digg, or Innocent, check out this page and then this page. All the best, and you may see me at the interview.

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· The end of May will see a former comedy / drama series hit the big screen. Sex and the City: The Movie will be released, set four years on then when the TV series ended, and its more than likely going to be a big hit amongst today’s 20 and 30 somethings. The TV series, known for its strong sexual content, graphic nudity and crass language features all four of the original cast; Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon and Kim Cattrall, fabulously described on The Simpsons as “a show about four straight women who act like gay men”.

It got me thinking, what have the four stars done since the demise of the show? What can the actresses claim to have achieved that’s worthwhile since the highlight of their careers ended? Kim starred in the flop Ice Princess, and not much else, Cynthia had a stint on ER, and also showed up on House, Kristin did nothing much apart from star a commercial for Head and Shoulders shampoo, and Sarah sold out to Gap and Garnier, as well as starting her own perfume and clothes range, despite either of them being huge successes. It seems in this case, the film, which many thought would never be made, is coming at just the right time.

After realising it was 4 years since SatC ended, I also remembered it was the same year Friends ended, and just like SatC, it would make perfect sense that a film was a year or two away from being advertised and released, purely because the actors haven’t had the best of time away from it. What exactly have the 6 stars of Friends done since leaving the show? Here’s a run down:

Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel with ‘that’ hairstyle, has done lots of nothing since 2004. Her first two film roles since becoming a free agent, Derailed and Rumor Has It, were both average in the box office, and din’t do much to win the critics over, Her 2006 effort, Friends with Money, received a limited release, and didn’t do anything to push it further afield. The Break-Up, wasn’t much better. Despite this average layout, she’s fully booked with films up until winter 2009, so someone must be liking her films. However, of all 6 stars, she’s undoubtedly be the keenest to get back into Rachel mode, the role that made her a worldwide recognisable star. Much like the role for…

David Schwimmer, who played ‘geeky’ Ross, lent his voice to the 2005 hit Madagascar (of which there will be a sequel), he then moved to behind the camera, where he directed his first film, the British comedy Run, Fat Boy, Run, produced by Robert Jones, where he again teamed up with British actor Simon Pegg. He had previously starred with Pegg in the movie Big Nothing and briefly in Band of Brothers. He is currently in talks to direct Simon Pegg’s and Nick Frost’s new project Paul. The least likely member to be interested in reuniting the old crew,mainly because he’s moved away from that field, and would prefer theatre roles, or director positions. If the offer is too good though, who knows.

Matt LeBlanc hasn’t had the best of times since 2004. For two years he kept up the role of Joey in his own spin off, which was a flop with the critics and with hardcore fans. Le Blanc has not appeared on screen since Joey was cancelled in 2006, and looks to be the first casualty of the post Friends era.

Courteney Cox Arquette was the original first choice to be offered a starring role as Susan on Desperate Housewives. However she was unavailable due to her pregnancy and the role went to Teri Hatcher. Since then, she has primarily concentrated on her family away from the cameras, but has starred in the independent film November, which had a limited theatrical release, she also co-starred with Tim Allen in the critically derided Zoom and cameoed in the big budget remake of The Longest Yard, as the girlfriend of Adam Sandler. As of 2008, Cox plays Lucy Spiller, a tabloid editor, in Dirt, a television drama for the FX Networks. Cox and her husband, David Arquette, are the executive producers of the series.

The oldest Friend, Lisa Kudrow, portrayed Valerie Cherish, the main character on the HBO series The Comeback in 2005. She also served as co-creator, writer, and executive producer. The show, about a has-been sitcom star trying for a comeback, was not renewed for a second season. Her most recent work is in the movie adaptation of the bestselling novel, PS, I Love You alongside Hilary Swank, in which she plays a supporting role. Another ‘least likely to…’, with age against her, a film would have to be in the pipeline for the next 5 years, otherwise you’ll be seeing a 50 year old pretending to be something they’re not.

After Friends wrapped up, Matthew Perry made his directorial debut in an episode of the 4th season of Bill Lawrence’s sitcom Scrubs (which he also guest starred in). In 2006 he starred in the movie, The Ron Clark Story, about a small town teacher who relocates to the toughest class in the country. For this, he received a Golden Globe nomination as well as an Emmy nomination for the performance. In 2006-2007, Perry appeared the critically praised drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Perry played Matt Albie alongside Bradley Whitford’s Danny Tripp, a writer-director duo brought in to help save a failing sketch show. In 2006 he began filming Numb, a comedy drama about a chronically depressed writer. The film’s tentative release date has been pushed back several times, and is currently Winter 2008. Perry is also set to appear in the movie 17 Again, a comedy about a 36 year old man who transforms back into his 17 year old self. Probably the least of the Friends who needs to take a step back to what he used to be doing.

So, nothing exactly to shout from the rooftops. Sadly, what will get this film made will be the sheer demand for it once Hollywood wakes up and realises. It still has a massive fanbase, even 4 years after its demise. Fans who remember series 1 the first time around, like Kudrow, are growing older than the desired market, so maybe aiming the film away from the 20-30 somethings will get a bigger draw. I can’t imagine the 6 above doing anything less. If it does get made, Okay, I admit, I’ll go and see it. Will I enjoy it? Probably, yes. Will it be the best film of the decade, not on your nelly. Then again, it doesn’t have to be, much like SatC, and even The Simpsons Movie, it could just be an extended version of the TV version, and people will still lap it up.

Don’t expect the movie to be cheap, since the 10th series saw all 6 sign for a ‘$1 million-per-episode paycheck’. Will it be worth the dollars spent on it? If the movie ends up being made, someone obviously thinks so.

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That was the week in lumps, a week in which: linguists, and grammarians, everywhere say they are baffled, by the sudden and seemingly random, appearance of commas, in our nation’s sentences, I found the best clock ever, the language spoken in Space is English, there are 109 journeys between London Tube stations that are quicker to walk, IGN gives GTA IV 10/10, someone realised that a brain cell looks like the universe, Firefox3 has some sexy looking bookmark techniques, Ewan McGregor will be joining the cast of Angels and Demons, Daniel Johnston is on tour, and you should make an effort to see him, he’s amazing, and Gavin & Stacey stars James Corden and Mathew Horne are filming a new comedy show for BBC3.

I’m looking at giving the site a bit of a spruce up over the next two weeks, whether I’ll stick with it we’ll have to wait and see, until then, check out the new fan page on Facebook, and add yourself, and send it on to others. Thank you very much!

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