"Club Penton" - Ask questions to Hollywood insider "Penton-Man"

[ResOGlas]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

J...Jesus?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ResOGlas

By the way Penton, I hope your dog is doing better. I live in the area, maybe you could let me know what heart specialist you went to just so I can have the info in case an emergency were to ever come up. Also, is the man a regular vet as well?

He’s doing fine, thanks for asking. The little fella is on three heart meds which hopefully will allow him a fine quality of life until we have to make the ultimate sad decision because mitral valve disease is a progressively worsening condition with no hope for cure……..given his size/weight.

Even dogs with good hearts in the early stages of the disease that weigh less than 25 lbs or so don’t fare well I’m told if one chooses surgical valve replacement---which they think…… or as I understand it, may be due to rigors of the heart/lung bypass machine rather than the surgical technique itself. So, even though we would have been willing to pay 15K or so out of pocket for the surgery, the odds of him surviving were purty slim.
Therefore, medical therapy was the only prudent decision in this case.

But to answer your question, yes he is a regular vet (Internist) too who happens to specialize in heart stuff. He’s in a group of several vets of which he is top dog and they actually teach vet students who rotate thru there from Cal Poly. It’s a pleasant/competent place to take a pet needing care.

Here’s a link to the individual……………….
http://www.advancedveterinarycarecen...-bio.asp?tid=1

By the way, I notice your avatar and it reminds me of the solarium (I just recently mentioned in reference to Warren) which we had built out back so, if anyone locally is interested in a good referral for a solarium, sunroom, etc. then PM me. I think this contractor uses crews that travel from about Ventura County down to Northern San Diego County and eastward to the same extent.

[Penton-Man]

Here's a heads-up for those that are interested in this stuff, (the movies of which) will probably eventually make it to Blu-ray anyway........................

http://www.oscars.org/80academyaward...ouncement.html

[Penton-Man]

Hey, I just thought of something regarding my last two posts as this is how my brain is wired.

It's trivia time , give me a moment to type it up.

[Penton-Man]

O.K. you film geeks out there.
Proceed back to my post I made about our vet and click on the link I provided to their establishment.
Look at the names of the staff on the left side of the page and choose the third name.

Does that name ring a bell regarding a film that won two Oscars ?
The name refers to a character that played an attorney in a movie who started life out ………..shall we say on the undersurface of a cup of coffee.

[ResOGlas]

The Usual Suspects?

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by ResOGlas

The Usual Suspects?

Yup.
Now I suggest you go back and delete that post where you guessed my identity or else Blue may come after you for ignoring his advice.

[darkedgex]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

Given the fact that the movie sat on a shelf for the year, got dismal reviews(34% on the tomatometer), and made no money (worldwide gross-$350,000), I'm going to say that MGM has much more lucrative things to do with their limited Blu pipeline at the moment, and they're not going to put a lot of effort into pushing something that bombed that hard. HD releases are simply too expensive at this point to justify it

I was under the impression this was a Sony picture? Anyways, according to Box Office Mojo, the film only saw very limited release (both domestically and internationally), which kind of explains why the film didn't make much. People can't walk in and pay to see a movie that's not even in the theater. =)

[Ben]

Hey Penton!

You've spoken of it in the past, so I hope this question isn't too far off topic...

Now that the DGA has an agreement with the AMPTP, any chance the writers might be close to a deal? Nikki Finke took the week off, so no updates from her...

Could you be our Penton Finke (not to be confused with Barton) in the interim?

[martinstraka8282]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Can you find anywhere else on the internet where any reputable insider, analyst, reporter, journalist, etc. mentioned this “opinion” regarding BestBuy prior to my post of 1/15/08 ?

No, not other than personal anecdotes from instore experiences. I was not doubting your info, as I find you to be the most reliable insider on all the forums... not that I ever go to AVS for HD info. I was just asking if that was official insider info, or if it was in your opinion that they will drop HD (which I guess is insider info in itself). I think it is not a coincidence that DV "reported" this just 3 days after you let us all know, and I would not be surprised if he copied and pasted your post and just added a date to **** with people. I wasnt trying to disrespect you or anything, I always look forward to reading your posts.

[Fozziwig]

I saw the name "Kobayashi" and knew immediately that Penton must be a huge Star Trek fan!

I was going to ask a question but then I found something that made me chuckle and I thought I'd share it here.

Here are some actual logged maintenance complaints and problems as submitted by Qantas pilots and the solution recorded by maintenance engineers.

(P = The problem logged by the pilot.)
(S = The solution and action taken by the engineers.)

P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tyre.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're there for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.



Yes, it was slightly off topic but if they made you smile it was worth it.

[Seretur]

For what it's worth -- and sorry to derail, Penton -- I was one of the lucky few who got to see Southland Tales at Cannes. In its original incarnation. And ever since, I've felt that it's one of the most complex and ambitious, if initially frustrating films produced in America over the recent decades, the kind of a film that really defies formula at every turn. In fact, it felt like reading a thick Neal Stephenson novel, more than watching any movie.

I was surprised at the amount of flak it got. That's one of the best things about festival screenings, you go in with no preconceptions, open-mindedly. Ambition is just not very appreciated these days, apparently. But I'd love to have the film (in all its versions -- I've obviously not seen the new one) on a proper Blu-ray, to dissect it and marvel at it and rewatch it to my heart's content.

It's never really been given a chance, this film; BD could provide it. And it does have the makings of a truly cult title.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Can you find anywhere else on the internet where any reputable insider, analyst, reporter, journalist, etc. mentioned this “opinion” regarding BestBuy prior to my post of 1/15/08 ?

Nope and I stated that quite adamantly in the "David Vaughn said this" thread.

Vaughn is chums with people at HMM or someone else who gets the Nielsen's, which is why he announces them a day or two early.

Everything else he has been either wrong or SEVERELY outdated about.

He is NOT an insider by any stretch of the imagination.

[WickyWoo]

I was under the impression this was a Sony picture? Anyways, according to Box Office Mojo, the film only saw very limited release (both domestically and internationally), which kind of explains why the film didn't make much. People can't walk in and pay to see a movie that's not even in the theater. =)

MGM often distributes theatrically through Sony. Production company- Samuel Goldwyn (metro GOLDWYN mayer).

It didn't go to many theaters because it was bad, seriously. That's why it sat on a shelf for a year or more. I remember Kevin Smith had the director out on stage at Comic-Con in 2005 when they were shooting the thing. It played a bunch of art houses because he's got a lot of fans and to try to recoup SOMETHING. 63 theaters BTW, barely pays the costs of running those prints

[Esox50]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Can you find anywhere else on the internet where any reputable insider, analyst, reporter, journalist, etc. mentioned this “opinion” regarding BestBuy prior to my post of 1/15/08 ?

[PLAZMAN]Dude, you totally googled that Best Buy thing.[/PLAZMAN]

That was still one of the funniest, idiotic HD DVD moments I've ever seen. Plazman 'calling out' Penton-Man on AVS as nothing more than an 'expert googler'.

BTW Penton-Man, no rush, but since it's a new thread jsut to get it back "on the record"...Latina CZJ...

-Esox

[Esox50]

Penton-Man,

Check out gizmodo. There's an article about the demise of HD DVD.

As usual, lots of BS in there. Would be interested in your comments, especially the part about Universal under HD DVD contract through 2009. Also, in your estimation, what are the odds of Toshiba officially "throwing in the towel on HD DVD". My opinion is that it would take either a.)Paramount to go Blu b.)a few major retailer to dump HD DVD before Toshiba would officially drop HD DVD.

[Spankey]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Can you find anywhere else on the internet where any reputable insider, analyst, reporter, journalist, etc. mentioned this “opinion” regarding BestBuy prior to my post of 1/15/08 ?

I can find someone on this forum that gave a heads up to Best Buy's future sales intentions regarding HD-DVD before David Vaughn. Props to Mystik. Now DV might as well be reading this board for his "insider" news. That makes us all insiders.

[sj001]

Originally Posted by Spankey

I can find someone on this forum that gave a heads up to Best Buy's future sales intentions regarding HD-DVD before David Vaughn. Props to Mystik. Now DV might as well be reading this board for his "insider" news. That makes us all insiders.

+1, David Vaughn just likes to read the news, and then use other people to make is look like he has all these insider contacts. What an attention-*****.

[elwaylite]

Penton, anything to this?

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/show...d=1#post666260

[TJones8124]

Originally Posted by elwaylite

Penton, anything to this?

http://forums.highdefdigest.com/show...d=1#post666260

Just going to rehash what I posted in response to your Bill Hunt question asking the same thing:

Amazon constantly puts up place holders for movies that have not yet been released. This is nothing new. We all know that Universal and Paramount will eventually release in blu, but this is by no means the smoking gun. Ask others that have seen multiple blu movies, as well as books that are still in production being advertised by Amazon.