Whitney Houston wasn't the only treasure we lost this week. Unbeknownst to us, BT Junkie, a longtime steadfast arm of the Bureau of Acquisitions, died as well. With the recent government shut down of MegaUpload and the fiasco surrounding SOPA and PIPA, it's no surprise these guys packed up shop and said "peace out!" Dennis, Jabari, Mike and I weren't even aware they were gone. Charlie broke the news to us! There are 2 entities to blame for all of this... the MPAA and the Walt Disney Company. I'm gonna stop here before this turns into SOPA Chase-rant part 2.
Porn and pizza not only sounds like a pretty relaxed Valentine's Day both for couples and singles alike, it's also a good description of this week's show. We were certainly do for another one of 'those shows'. You know the type, we skew off on a tangent that takes up at least 1/3rd of the show. In this case, it's porn. A lengthy discussion that flows from genres that turn us off, to what's on Jabari's hard drive, to where to find porn, whether it should be downloaded or streamed and concluding with why Mike is predictably silent during this conversation.
At some point we're back on schedule with news that MACHETE KILLS, the sequel to Robert Rodriquez's grindhouse-style actioner has been greenlit. Given the first film was over-hyped and didn't live up to Who Asked You? expectations, it gets less than a minute of our airtime.
It's quite the coincidence that pirating content and torrent sites shutting down would come up on this episode given we have details on a report released by NATO... no, not the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, but rather the National Association of Theater Owners. In this report they breakdown the average price of movie tickets and reveal their justifications for charging those amounts. Again, Charlie breaks news that here locally, our prices have gone up. Surprise, surprise. An evening movie ticket in Las Vegas, Nevada now costs $11.00. That's up $0.50 from just this past summer. And they wonder why people pirate movies so much. The theaters claim the prices are high because Hollywood has forced them to go digital and retrofit theaters to display 3D. Hollywood claims the prices are high because it costs more to make and market movies. Which, when you opt to make Ryan Reynold's costume digital instead of using actual fabric and thread, yeah, we can see why it would cost more. Sadly, hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars doesn't make a good movie. That's evident with almost EVERY SINGLE blockbuster released last year and the year before that. Nice try, Tinseltown... not buying it.
We also take a moment to talk about Fox's decision to cancel their power-'house' show... HOUSE. It's creator, David Shore and fellow executive producer/star, Hugh Laurie agreed the show has reached a creative impasse and it's time to move on. After 8 seasons of the same exact plot over and over, it had its run and it's time to call it a day. Expect House's bill in the mail.
And as the title suggests, we end up on pizza. This conversation is sparked by a new promotion Pizza Hut is running for Valentine's Day. For $10 you get their box dinner that includes a pizza, bread sticks and cinnamon sticks. But for just $10,000 more you can get married at your local Pizza Hut. They'll videotape and photograph it, give you a ruby wedding ring, flowers, a limo ride and even set off some fireworks. And since you're getting married where the reception will take place, you don't have to rent a reception hall. Plus, you won't have to choose between the chicken or the fish but rather deep dish or thin crust. From here on out the debate rages over Pizza Hut versus Domino's. Mike is team Pizza Hut... Jabari, Dennis and I are Domino's. And Charlie is neither. Discover the definition of pan pizza, who has stuffed crust and who doesn't, why you shouldn't eat P'zones and more! It's not an A to Z show, but rather a P to P, which coincidentally, could also stand for peer to peer, another name for what BT Junkie was... *sniff. I need a tissue.