Elisberg Industries
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Robert J. Elisberg is a Los Angeles-based screenwriter, novelist, Huffington Post columnist and tech writer. Elisberg Industries provides thoughtul and often humorous insights into news, entertainment and much else in between.
Elisberg Industries
9h ago
In the news --
So, Trump is now selling the Bible.
A practice that doesn’t seem viable.
He’s incredibly flawed.
Been found guilty of fraud.
And for rape he was also found liable ..read more
Elisberg Industries
16h ago
There's not much new to add here, since I'm said most of it twice, the last two days. But it bears finishing the tale in full as a trilogy. And so, to wrap things up -- yesterday, the chairman of NBC News Cesar Conde announced that Ronna Romney McDaniel would not be coming to NBC or MSNBC as a paid contributor.
This is the note that Conde sent to the staff:
Hey all,
There is no doubt that the last several days have been difficult for the News Group. After listening to the legitimate concerns of many of you, I have decided that Ronna McDaniel will not be an NBC Ne ..read more
Elisberg Industries
1d ago
For the finale, we have one more of the better “Strike Force Five” podcasts. They were all wonderful, but a handful stood-out, and this is one of them. It's a fine way to go out.
For those new to Strike Force Five, the five hosts of talk shows – Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers and John Oliver – teamed up during the recent Writers Guild strike to do a weekly podcast. The point was to raise money for each of their staffs.
As I’ve mentioned with the others I’ve posted, what stands out from the podcasts is how much the hosts seem to t ..read more
Elisberg Industries
2d ago
I was quite taken by all the MSNBC hosts yesterday -- every one of them -- doing blunt, excoriating segments lambasting their bosses at NBC for the disastrous decision to hire Ronna Romney McDaniel to a contract for commentary.
Starting with Morning Joe making clear that they would not have Ms. McDaniel on their show, including Rachel Maddow telling the story about how the MSNBC president Rashida Jones (no, not the actress...) backed down from her initial support of the hiring decision to sending an internal memo stating pointedly that MSNBC has no plans to have McDaniel on th ..read more
Elisberg Industries
2d ago
Although the movies and plays that Mike Nichols and Elaine May directed, wrote or acted in separately -- and even on occasion, together -- are what they're likely best-known for among the largest part of today's audience, it's their time together as comedy team that began their fame, including an acclaimed Broadway production.
This is on the list of among my favorite Nichols & May sketches, and may have been the first one of theirs that I ever saw. I don’t think it gets seen (or heard) as much of their other classic pieces. In some ways, it’s a precursor to Lily Tomlin’s Ernes ..read more
Elisberg Industries
3d ago
For reasons unknown to Man, NBC News and MSNBC have hired former RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDanniel as a commentator. And no, this is not a parody article from The Onion. This is real, and it’s hard to imagine what NBC is thinking.
The obvious attempt at an answer answer is that, her being a former RNC chair, this supposedly adds important and valuable substance to the network. Except that’s no answer. After all, MSNBC already has a former RNC chair on their staff, and Michael Steele not only does a solid job, but they even gave him his own show. And MSNBC als ..read more
Elisberg Industries
3d ago
From the archives. This week, the contestant is Joseph Gewirtz of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. For the longest time, while I could tell where the hidden song was, I just couldn't nail it -- and then finally did. (It was quite clear, needless to say, when later played a second time.) My guess for the composer style was not only one of Mr. Gewirtz's guesses, but was born the same year as the composer who was the correct answer, and also the same year of a third even-more renowned composer. And all three wrote in somewhat the same style. The correct ans ..read more
Elisberg Industries
4d ago
This week, recorded live from Maine, the ‘Not My Job’ segment of the NPR quiz show Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me!, the guest is Stephen Smith, CEO of L.L. Bean. It’s a fun, light-hearted conversation with host Peter Sagal about him getting hired for the job, as well as a funny exchange with the panel about the store’s open return policy.
A personal side note. Back in 1989, I worked on the movie Pet Sematary, that filmed in Ellsworth, Maine, and one of my go-to spots was Freeport, Maine, a town that is literally made up of outlet stores sprouting everywhere. And the centerp ..read more
Elisberg Industries
5d ago
It's a DVR Day, it seems. This probably isn't for everybody, but for a personal reason I want to mention it, and for documentary film buffs, you'll definitely want to know about it. But even if you don't want to watch it, or only want to check it out for 20 minutes or so, there is a fascinating story about it being made.
I got a PBS email the other day about a documentary that will be broadcast on PBS tonight (Friday), which caught my eye for a specific reason. It’s called Menus-Plaisirs – Les Troisgros. The documentary is about this famous family-run restaurant ..read more
Elisberg Industries
6d ago
Set the DVR for Turner Classic Movies tonight if you haven't seen this movie -- or perhaps even if you have, but not for a long time since it first aired on television over 50 years ago.
The movie is Duel -- and for some people, that's enough. For others who don't know it, this is one of the most acclaimed TV movies, not just for its quality, and not just for its technique, but also because it was the very first full-length movie directed by a young man who instantly became Someone to Keep an Eye On. That would be Steven Spielberg.
The movie stars Dennis Weaver, who was ..read more