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Thursday, August 7, 2008
STOP with the dead/live singer duets!
OK, I’m breaking protocol here since this isn’t strictly movie-related, but when I saw this story about the new Elvis Christmas duets album, which pairs Elvis with the likes of Carrie Underwood and LeeAnn Rimes, I had to say something.
Please, please, please … ENOUGH with the technical trick of paring live artists with dead ones! It was kinda novel several years ago when Natalie Cole duetted with her dad on “Unforgettable,” and it was interesting to hear Paul, George and Ringo finish off songs left behind by John, but now the trick is just getting ghoulish.
Priscilla Presley says in the story, “I am sure Elvis would be proud to have worked with them.” I’m not. But I AM sure she won’t mind that money that will roll into the Presley estate.
I mean, what’s next? As long as we’re going this far, why not do an album featuring newly created duets with ALL dead people! Let’s pair up Elvis and John Lennon on “Blue Suede Shoes,” which they both recorded. Let’s marry Elvis and George Harrison for a new version of “Something!” Or even Frank Sinatra and George on the same song!
Ucch. This really needs to stop. It’s already turned as cheesy as one of Elvis’ movies - and that’s no mean feat.
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What movies would make fun theme park rides?
Kings Island unveiled its latest roller coaster Wednesday, the Diamondback. The ride will feature 10 vertical drops, including drops of 193 feet, 131 feet, 129 feet, 110 feet and 106 feet.
I guess they forgot to mention the last drop: the one where your lunch drops about 2 feet into the nearest trash can. No thanks. Too much for me. Nothing short of a quadruple date with Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet and a resurrected Grace Kelly circa 1954 would get me on that near-death experience.
But I’n not really here to discuss my aversion to mega-coasters. Bringing the topic around to movies, as this blog must, I’m here to ask: What movies would make for fun theme park rides?
Right now Disney is working on a ride that was obvious to everyone from the moment they saw Monsters Inc: an inverted roller coaster based on the door room sequence from that film.
But what other possibilities are there? What about Aladdin? This movie did get a ride, but I was disappointed that it was basically a clone of the Dumbo ride. I always thought the escape from the Cave of Wonders would make for a cool simulator ride, along the lines of Star Tours - which, incidentally, badly needs updating. I don’t think it’s changed one iota since it debuted in 1987.
If I wanted to be facetious, about how rides keep getting more and more perilous, I could suggest a coaster where there’s an actual gap in the track the cars have to jump. That could be based on The Dukes of Hazzard, or perhaps less embarrassingly, Speed.
Or what about: Apollo 13: The ride, which will have a first hill so high, riders are required to wear oxygen helmets?
Now that my suggestions are getting goofy, it’s time to turn the floor to you: What movies could make for cool theme park rides? If you can’t think of any try this on for size: What are your favorite rides/attractions associated with movies? Two of mine: The late and lamented Back to the Future (now The Simpsons Ride) at Universal, and Peter Pan’s Flight at the Magic Kingdom.
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