- Can we please have at least one segment of the entertainment industry where someone isn’t on strike? Is that too much to ask? Now, not only are writers for television and film on strike, but workers for nearly every ongoing Broadway production are now on strike as well, meaning many of the top plays and musicals are shut down. Stagehands all along Broadway took to the picket lines this week to protest work rules that producers have implemented or been pushing for in the past three months as the two sides try to negotiate a new contract. Twenty-seven current shows, including hits like Wicked, Jersey Boys and The Lion King have shut down, with only eight shows still running. Those shows run in theaters that have a separate contract with the union, meaning that for now, they’re the only shows in town. It’s the second strike by Local 1, the union representing the stagehands, in the past five years. Under dispute are rules that govern how many stagehands must be called for work, how long they work and what kinds of tasks they’re asked to perform. Members of the League of American Theaters and Producers, the other side in this dispute, say the rules current rules often lead to stagehands standing around with nothing to do but still getting paid. Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the league, said: “There was good dialogue between both of us, but in effect their last and final offer budged very little.” The real losers are theater patrons, many of whom are visiting New York and their visit was their one and only chance to see their favorite show. Refunds are being issued for tickets to shows that are not performing, but with this strike and the writers’ strike, there are a lot of picket lines right now and a lot of unhappy people around the country who are missing out on or about to miss out on their favorite entertainment.
- I didn’t get to watch the entire episode of The Amazing Race tonight, but I did catch the latter stages of the show and shock of all shocks, the out-of-shape, in-their-60s team of Kate and Pat, the two lesbian ministers, was eliminated from the race. Gee, who would have figured that two A.A.R.P.-ers in incredibly poor physical shape wouldn’t last long on a high-octane, fast-paced show about a race around the world? Actually, their elimination is surprising in one aspect, namely that the least interesting, most annoying teams on a show like this are always the ones who last the longest. The ones you want to reach through the TV and strangle manage to survive, but not on this season’s Amazing Race. Ari and Stella, the young, cocky friends who were by far the season’s most hate-worthy team, were eliminated last week, joined by the uber-boring, drag-the-show-down team of Pat and Kate. Granted, last night’s show did see the unfortunate sight of Donald, one half of a grandfather-grandson team, strip to his underwear during a challenge, and I’m still pissed at CBS for not issuing a “viewer discretion advised” warning before that one, but it was still a fun show. Going to Holland is never dull, but the nine teams left in the race won’t get much time to enjoy their stay. Pole vaulting over a muddy stream and riding a bike through the roads of Holland with their partner in a basket on the front should provide plenty of memories, though, short stay or not. With the ongoing writers’ strike, I lamented the possibility of reality TV taking over the airwaves, mostly because this show, along with CBS reality partner Survivor, is one of the only watchable reality programs around. Keep watching Sunday nights at 8 p.m. and see for yourself, you won’t be sorry.
- I have a new favorite politician this week, and it’s Spanish King Juan Carlos. I like this guy so much I may pick him up in my international politicians fantasy league and start him this week over Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Why the love for the king? Well, because during a summit of Latin leaders held in Chile this past week, Carlos had all he could take of Venezuelan dictator/president/despot Hugo “The Madman” Chavez and finally he snapped, telling the Venezuelan leader to shut up. That might not seem like much to you, but at an international gathering like this in a formal, structured atmosphere, telling someone to shut up is like a football team stomping on the logo of their rival painted at midfield after a game – in other words, it’s a major smack in the face. King Juan Carlos was upset because time after time, Chavez referred to former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar as “a fascist.” Chavez has a habit of shooting his mouth off at major international gatherings, kind of like the drunk uncle who gets hammered at every family gathering you have and says something wildly inappropriate as everyone looks on with an uncomfortable expression on their face. Last year he spoke before the United Nations General Assembly and called our very own un-esteemed leader W. “the devil,” a comment I actually liked. However, since then Chavez has shown himself to be a ginormous tool, to I am no longer a fan of his. I am now instead a big fan of King Juan Carlos of Spain, who had the chutzpah to tell Chavez what many in his country and around the world are thinking.
- Tennis keeps getting more interesting by the day, specifically the tawdry world of men’s tennis, where players are allegedly drugged before major international matches and where the investigation into gambling and match-fixing involving Russian player Nikolay Davydenko’s match in August at the Poland Open rages on. Investigators for the ATP, the main governing body for professional tennis, spoke with Davydenko’s wife and brother about the irregular betting patterns around the match in question. The rumors of match fixing have been circulating since August, when Davydenko retired while trailing in the third set, citing a foot injury, while playing against Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina. Davydenko is the fourth-ranked player in the world, while Arguello is ranked substantially lower, as in triple digits. Betfair, an online gambling company, voided all bets on the match after unusually large amounts of money were wagered on Arguello throughout the match, even after he lost the first set 6-1. Since then, several ATP players have reported being approached and offered money to fix matches. Frank Immenga, a lawyer representing Davydenko, said ATP investigators told him that nine people based in Russia had bet $1.5 million on Davydenko losing the match to Arguello. Another two gamblers, whose location isn't known, boosted the total amount waged to $6.9 million, which I would have to agree raises a lot of red flags. Betting nearly $7 million on a run-of-the-mill, ordinary match in an also-ran tournament is a definite warning that something fishy is going on. "They have been investigating us for four months. It is a witch hunt," said Immenga, a lawyer for the international firm Bird & Bird. "We just want this to end sometime because my client is under economic and mental pressure. He's in the news all the time." Well, Frank, this kind of money changing hands under these circumstances is going to arouse suspicion, sorry. That your client has refused to cooperate with the investigation and with its request to turn over all his telephone records. He said that violated international privacy laws, including those of family and friends. “He can't just provide records involving third parties, a call at the hotel or airport from a friend in Poland,” Immenga said. “That breaks several international laws.” What, you mean in addition to the laws your client already appears to have been involved in breaking (allegedly)? Maybe if your client would have just cooperated from the beginning, this would all be over by now. To be fair, it might be over and he might have been found to be guilty and suspended from the ATP tour, but still, over is over. Besides, he’s far from the only tennis player having trouble with gambling and match-fixing investigations. Alessio Di Mauro, an Italian player on the tour, has been suspended for nine months for betting on tennis matches. Di Mauro is the first player punished under the ATP’s new anti-corruption rules, rules put in place largely because of the fallout from…..you guessed it, the Davydenko case. The suspension comes with a $60,000 fine for Di Mauro, currently ranked 124th in the world, after he made 120 bets with an online bookie between Nov. 2, 2006 and June 12 of this year. The suspension means he can’t return to the court until Aug. 12, although it could have been a year away from tennis if the ATP had wanted. With all of this negativity surrounding tennis, it would be nice to end on a positive note, no? Fortunately I have just the story, and of course it involves my favorite thing in all of tennis right now, Maria Sharapova. After struggling for months with injuries and looking very much like she was following the career path of Anna Kournikova, Sharapova narrowly lost the Sony Ericsson Championships today, falling to top-ranked Justine Henin for only the seventh time in nine matchups in the longest final in the history of the tournament. The event was a round-robin format pitting the world’s top eight players, so reaching the final it is a major accomplishment. Getting the chance to watch Sharapova in multiple matches isn’t a bad deal either, and since it comes with her winning more often, you can count on me rooting for her every tournament she plays in. Keep it up, M., and you just might have a shot at fulfilling your ambition of someday becoming a Bond girl….
- Choices, choices….do you side with the massive theme park making billions annually through exorbitantly high admission prices and offering little more than slow-moving rides with bad theme music, or do you side with a group of people that you personally have a legitimate beef with because you’ve seen their act up close and personal? This is a tough one and normally I’d side with the little guy in a fight, but I’m making an exception here and siding with the big dog. The big dog in this case is Walt Disney World in sunny Orlando, Fla., which is being sued by three physically handicapped people because the park won't allow them to ride their Segway scooters around as a means of transportation while at Disney World. Each of the three plaintiffs can stand but cannot walk long distances due to their disabilities, but are not allowed to use their two-wheeled vehicles in the park because they can exceed 12 mph. Disney says they could endanger other guests and I for one agree. Have you ever been around someone in a motorized wheelchair, power chair or Segway, or even one of those Cushman carts used to transport disabled people at airports? People in those things are absolute menaces. They zoom up behind you and pretty much run you over if you don’t get out of their way immediately. Those driving them seem to have a sense of entitlement, as if the road is theirs and you need to get out of their way. If Disney allows these people to use their Segways, I can guarantee that it’s only a matter of time before someone in one of these motorized battering rams runs over and injures an innocent bystander.
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