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AI Nailed
Justine Elias, in the Village Voice's 2001 Films in Review:
This is the image in A.I. that to me sums up the team of Spielberg and Kubrick: The fugitive mechas escape to Smut Island or whatever it's called, which looks like the Food Court at a 1970s shopping mall, and Gigolo Joe, the Kubrick figure, is happily pointing out the sights—"Here's where I ply my sleazily robotic trade!"—which would be totally perverted if the sex talk weren't sailing right over the head of little RoboBoy, Steven, who's going, "My mommy told me to look for the Blue Fairy! I love my mommy!"
Entertainment Industry Goober of the Month: John Wells
From an article in Slate about the use of letterboxing by mainstream TV shows:
ER producer John Wells, looking for ways to bring buzz back to his medical drama, [adopted a] 16:9 [screen ratio] at the start of the 2000-2001 season. As Wells explained it to the Akron Beacon Journal: "We noticed that a large number of commercials were being broadcast in letterbox form. We called the advertising department and asked why ... and they said, 'Well, because it looks classier.' Well, we've got a classy project. And I think that, increasingly, you want to be able to distinguish your show in an ever more cluttered marketplace as something that stands out."