Word: crystal
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...years, Scott Swanay ’87 made a living predicting the future.No, the tools of his trade weren’t decks of cards, crystal balls, or maps of stars and constellations.Swanay worked as an actuary for insurance companies, and armed with spreadsheets, formulas, and a degree from Harvard in applied mathematics and computer science, it was his job to analyze what had already happened in order to figure out what was to come.Then, in 2004, everything changed when Swanay was laid off for the second time in his career as a result of a corporate merger. Contemplating...
...better or worse, most fans don't want to study a movie; they want to watch it. The images serve the story, not the other way around. Blu-ray's crystal clarity, if people notice it, might actually detract from their involvement in the film. And the majority of movies can't be called visually sumptuous. You could watch a Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler picture on the oldest TV set, with tinfoil on the rabbit ears, and not miss the important stuff: the comic spectacle of men behaving like boys...
...Friday the 13th (tagline: "Fridays will never be the same again"), a slasher flick about a series of murders at a summer camp. Apparently Jason, born on Friday the 13th, chooses that date to take revenge on oversexed campers much like the ones who allowed him to drown in Crystal Lake. So much for trust falls and lanyard-making. Friday the 13th grossed almost $40 million at the box office and inspired a long-running franchise: Friday the 13th Part II; Friday the 13th Part III; Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (it was not); Friday the 13th: Jason Lives...
...idea that The Reader wasn't a children's magazine. We also thought Jackman shouldn't tell any jokes and should instead open with a big musical number that references the recession. But every good concept we had we immediately killed because it reminded us of Billy Crystal. You would think that would be a good thing, since Crystal was the most beloved Oscar host ever and got the job eight times. But comedy writers are far more interested in impressing other comedy writers than in pleasing an audience. This is why most comedy sucks. If we thought we could...
...complete. It's not bad, and when Jackman sings it, it's great. Because while we weren't smart enough to write great jokes, we were smart enough to figure out that Oscar audiences don't remember jokes. They remember whether the host set the celebratory mood, as Crystal did. Our job was to get out of the way of Jackman's charm, and if that meant ordering room service and letting the other writers do all the actual lyric-writing, then I was a fine hire. All the good jokes, by the way, were mine...