Tag: Movies
Confessions of a Born-Again Cowboy in France
by Peter Wortsman | 07.18.07 | 9:01 AM ET
At home in the United States, Peter Wortsman is more Woody Allen than John Wayne. But to his adoptive French family, he is "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."
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Yahoo! BuzzHollywood’s Latest Hostile Take on Foreign Travel: ‘Hostel: Part II’
by Jim Benning | 06.06.07 | 5:01 PM ET
Don’t you hate it when you check in to a perfectly nice hostel in Slovakia only to find a group of men waiting to murder you? That’s the plot of Hostel: Part II, opening Friday. It sounds downright Turistas-esque. We trust no backpackers were harmed in the making of the film. The shot in the movie poster: boar meat.
Even Darth Vader Needs to Remove His Boots at Airport Security
by Michael Yessis | 06.04.07 | 1:20 PM ET
And, just like us, Yoda hauls his own baggage. I’ve learned these bits of trivia from some posters now on display exclusively at Orlando International Airport—and seen at StarWars.com.
The World Hum Travel Zeitgeist: The Naked and the Red
by Michael Yessis | 05.11.07 | 3:45 PM ET
From Sin City to St. Petersburg, Russia, we’re not worried about traveling with too many clothes this week. Here’s the Zeitgeist.
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
New York Times (current)
36 Hours in St. Petersburg, Russia
Most E-Mailed Travel Story
USA Today (current)
Sin City Uncovered: Vegas Strips Down to Embrace its Naughty Side
* It’s an $8 billion embrace.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Telegraph (current)
The Perfect Break: Jersey
* The island, not the home of Bon Jovi.
Most Viewed Travel Story
Brisbane Times (current)
Gang Violence Marring NZ’s Image
Most Viewed Travel Story
Los Angeles Times (current)
A Mass-Transit Trek Through Portland’s Singular Sites
Top Travel and Adventure Audiobook
iTunes (current)
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Best Selling Travel Book
Amazon.com (current)
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
* It’s been so many weeks now we’ve stopped counting.
Hotel Guests Love Watching ‘The Da Vinci Code.’ Will They Love Live Sex On-Demand Even More?
by Michael Yessis | 01.18.07 | 9:28 AM ET
“The Da Vinci Code” may have been the official most-popular in-room movie of 2006, but how would it rate against, say, live sex on-demand? Soon we may know. At least one entrepreneur has proposed offering live sex programming to guests in U.S. hotels.
The Enduring Appeal of ‘The Endless Summer’
by Jim Benning | 12.11.06 | 1:52 PM ET
The classic surf film celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. Its popularity lives on, Jim Benning writes, because it's one of the greatest wanderlust-inducing documentaries ever made -- and a potent antidote to winter.
Tourism Official Insists ‘It’s Not Whatever Goes’ in Brazil
by Jim Benning | 12.01.06 | 6:43 AM ET
Tom Cruise at 42,000 Feet: On the Bliss of Watching ‘Mission: Impossible III’ on a Long-Haul Flight
by Michael Yessis | 08.28.06 | 6:36 AM ET
Not just once. Not twice. Not three times. But five times. “In a row,” writes Washington Post film critic Stephen Holden. “In a stinkin’ row!” And the experience has caused him to declare “Mission: Impossible III” his new favorite movie. Why? Holden writes: “I was in that zone of sleep-deprived agony that usually involves crossing international datelines and messing up the internal gyroscope for weeks at a time. I was in a cocoon of misery; I needed assistance, relief, deliverance. To the rescue: movies!”
‘Snakes on a Plane’ = Movie. Bees on Planes = Serious, Real-Life Problem.
by Michael Yessis | 08.18.06 | 7:07 AM ET
Okay, snakes have been found on planes not carrying Samuel L. Jackson. But bees are becoming a major problem at airports across the United States. “Africanized honey bees—the infamous ‘killer bees’—are increasingly making unscheduled layovers at airports across the Southwest,” writes the Wall Street Journal’s Nick Timiraos. “The aggressive bees, which entered the U.S. from Mexico in the early 1990s, like to travel across open spaces and stop to rest whenever the queen gets tired. Airports have few trees or other natural rest stops. That makes planes, jetways, baggage-loading equipment, terminals and parking garages popular for stopovers.”
Angelina Jolie to Star in Film About Daniel Pearl
by Jim Benning | 07.13.06 | 2:05 PM ET
What Do Audiences Think of the Cruise-Ship-Disaster Movie ‘Poseidon’?
by Jim Benning | 05.17.06 | 11:54 AM ET
“Total concept rejection”—that’s the phrase used in an internal marketing memo from Warner Bros., according to FishbowlLA. “It’s an amusing turn of phrase, and thus far, the best one we’ve seen to describe what’s going on with the film,” the site reports. Wow. That sounds like a marketing disaster of, uh, Titanic proportions.
RV Industry on ‘RV’ the Movie: Show Us the Money!
by Jim Benning | 04.14.06 | 4:14 PM ET
Yup. Coming to theaters later this month is the movie “RV,” in which a father played by Robin Williams takes the family on a road trip to Colorado in a big, lane-spanning recreational vehicle. Could be funny, could be awful. But the RV industry is understandably delighted.
Theater Pulls Trailer for 9/11 Film ‘United 93’
by Jim Benning | 04.04.06 | 10:39 PM ET
At least one New York movie theater has pulled the trailer for the new 9/11 movie, “United 93,” after one movie-goer who saw it apparently broke down in tears. The film chronicles events aboard the ill-fated United Airlines flight that crashed in a Pennsylvania field despite a heroic passenger revolt. It’s expected to open at the Tribeca Film Festival later this month. In January, we pointed out a New York Times story about the making of the film, then called “Flight 93.” Director Paul Greengrass told the paper, “One of the reasons why Flight 93 exerts such a powerful hold on our imaginations is precisely because we don’t know exactly what happened.” Be that as it may, I won’t be lining up to see the movie. Count me among the many who say it’s way too soon.
‘Snakes on a Plane’: A Brief Hisssstory
by Michael Yessis | 03.27.06 | 12:18 PM ET
As Jim wrote last week, few travel-themed films capture the spirit of travel as we see it here at World Hum. “Snakes on a Plane” likely will not be one of those movies. But if you haven’t heard about it yet, prepare yourself. You probably will not be able to avoid it for the next few months. “Snakes,” which stars Samuel L. Jackson as an FBI agent dealing with, um, snakes on a plane, has already become one of the oddest entertainment stories of the year, spawning, among other things, Web sites, song-writing contests, groan-inducing headlines (see above), dialogue suggestions (“Ever play Roulette? Always bet on Black Mamba”), an NPR segment and a page translating the title into various languages, including Esperanto (“Serpentoj en Aeroplano”). All this, and the movie doesn’t even open until Aug. 18.
“Americano”: A Backpacker Travel Movie Worth Seeing?
by Jim Benning | 03.24.06 | 11:42 AM ET
Too few travel-themed movies capture the spirit of travel as we see it at World Hum. “Before Sunrise” did. So, too, did “The Motorcycle Diaries.” This new film in limited release, Americano, sounds like it has potential. It focuses on a recent college graduate played by Joshua Jackson who is contemplating his future as his trip to Europe winds down during Pamplona’s San Fermin festival. Interestingly, actors in the movie were filmed as they participated in the actual Running of the Bulls. In a three-paragraph review in today’s Los Angeles Times, critic Kevin Crust praises the film: “Writer-director Kevin Noland effectively utilizes his fine young cast and the natural beauty and rich culture of northern Spain in amiably posing timeless questions of youth.”
‘Brokeback Mountain’ Tourism: If You Film it in Canada, They’ll Still Go to Wyoming
by Michael Yessis | 01.31.06 | 11:23 AM ET
Like “Sideways” did last year and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy before that, “Brokeback Mountain” is inspiring a surge in travel. But people are going to the wrong place. The Oscar-nominated film about two cowboys who fall in love was filmed in Canada, but according to an AP story it’s inspiring travelers to head to Wyoming. That’s where the characters meet and fall in love. “When we tell them it was shot in Canada, they’re still interested in Wyoming,” said Michell Howard, manager of the Wyoming Business Council’s film, arts and entertainment office. “They don’t hang up and call Alberta. They’re intrigued in the story.”
Rex Pickett on Road Movies
by Michael Yessis | 09.06.05 | 4:07 AM ET
Sideways novelist Rex Pickett, whose book was adapted into the acclaimed film of the same name last year by Alexander Payne, has revealed his all-time top-10 road movies on Fandango.com. His picks include The Motorcycle Diaries, The Last Detail, Kings of the Road and…Sideways.
Bad News in Graz
by Jim Benning | 09.01.05 | 1:58 PM ET
It’s a sad time in Graz, Austria. According to USA Today, officials have announced that a museum there devoted to Arnold Schwarzenegger is closing because of financial troubles. We’re shocked—not that the museum is having money problems, but that anyone would think of opening a museum dedicated to the star of “Kindergarten Cop.”
“From the Movies and the Music Videos, I Thought All Girls in America Were Like Britney Spears”
by Jim Benning | 08.05.05 | 10:49 PM ET
So says Kaoutar, a 17-year-old girl from Morocco. But that was before she came to the United States as part of the U.S. State Department-sponsored Youth Exchange and Study Program, launched in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. According to a story in the International Herald Tribune, while some U.S. efforts to improve the country’s image abroad have been criticized, the youth exchange program is “a notable exception.” The program appears to be changing minds.
Surely You Can’t Be Serious!
by Michael Yessis | 07.25.05 | 9:19 PM ET
"Airplane!" celebrates its 25th anniversary this summer. Michael Yessis looks back at a comedy classic -- and one of the greatest travel movies ever made.