Right America Divides Critics

Bad choices put 'Sex and the City' star's career at risk

(NEWSER) - Not that she asked, but Mike Harvkey has some advice for Sarah Jessica Parker: Stop listening to your agent, and start paying attention to Jennifer Aniston. Since her groundbreaking HBO show went off the air, Parker has made decisions so catastrophic they make him "wonder if Parker reads the scripts that cross her desk." Of the second Sex and the City movie, he warns, "SATC 2: Electric Boogaloo will be striking soon, another nail in the shiny pink coffin." More»

What will we still be talking about next decade? Britney, for one

(NEWSER) - The ‘00s were full of important contributions to culture, but which ones will we still be talking about in another decade? Here are some of New York ’s picks:

• TV: The Sopranos for inventing quality cable, American Idol for changing the music industry, and of course all things Oprah Winfrey.
• Books: The Da Vinci Code for singlehandedly sustaining the book industry, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for blazing the trail of combining geek lit with high lit.

Film will look at events from candidates' perspectives

(NEWSER) - HBO Films has picked up Game Change, a book about the 2008 election, to adapt for the small screen. The book, to be published next year, takes a character-driven look at the campaigns from the perspectives of the candidates and their camps, says Variety. The option continues the network’s recent interest in timely political material, a la last year’s 2000 election saga Recount. More»

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama’s inaugural organizing team has struck the most lucrative series of TV deals ever seen for its slate of inaugural events, raking in more than $5 million from various networks, the Washington Post reports. HBO landed the juiciest prize, paying $2.5 million for exclusive rights to tomorrow’s concert at the Lincoln Memorial. But criticism is flying that the inauguration team is turning into a made-for-TV cash-grab. More»

Economic woes will put creativity in the red

(NEWSER) - The end of the Bush era could mean tough times for the arts, the Morgan Falconer writes in the Times of London. Not only will artists, filmmakers, and writers lose the muse who has inspired critical works, but the economic crisis will drain financial support. John McCain already implied he would trim federal backing, and Barack Obama would likely be forced to do the same. More»