Adam West is my Batman: RIP

Screen cap from Batman movie

Before there was Ben Affleck, Christian Bale, and Michael Keaton, there was Adam West. A new generation has grown up, mentally visualizing Christian Bale as their Batman. There's also plenty of argument that Bale's Batman is a more realistic portrayal of Batman. And it's a slam dunk to argue that Kevin Conroy may be the best Batman voice actor of all-time.

That said...Adam West is my Batman.

I remember what it was like to be a Batman fan before Michael Keaton even wore cowl. I remember what it was like to be a Batman fan before the animated series became a reality and Kevin Conroy became THE voice of Batman.

I was first exposed to Batman through Super Friends, a wannabe cartoon version of the Justice League. It wasn't until I saw the reruns of  Batman '66 that Batman became more than a passing character of interest. West's portrayal of Batman solidified the Caped Crusader as one of my favorite fictional characters of all-time.

West only played Batman for three seasons and 120 episodes, along with one movie, but that was enough to mark his place in television history. Acting in many different western movies and television shows, West was new to the comic book genre when he earned the role of Bruce Wayne. West has played Doc Holiday, Wild Bill Hickock, acted alongside Paul Newman, Chuck Connors, The Three Stooges, and guested on Perry Mason, all before he became Batman. He was a working actor and had a successful career going prior to being Batman.

After playing Batman, West became known for his voice talents, acting in animated series such as Family Guy, Rugrats, The Simpsons, SpongeBob Squarepants, and more.

No matter how you view it, West had a successful career and shouldn't have had to wait as long as he did to earn that star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

With 193 screen credits to his name, I will always think of Adam West as my Batman.

Yes, he was campy.

Yes, he was cartoon-y at times.

But Adam West was my Batman and will always be.

Ten Best Couples in Movies and Television

Screencap from Sin City of Dwight and Gail kissing

Being that it's Valentine's Day weekend, many newer and young couples are looking for things to do out in the world. Have a romantic dinner, walk on a beach, or go see a movie. Often though, established couples find ways to avoid the business of public places by staying in and watching a movie at home or Netflix-ing a popular TV show they like.

For these couples, here is a list of some of the best fictional couples on television and in movies...

Screencap of Gail and Dwight from Sin City

1. Gail and Dwight (Sin City): Now granted this is originally a comic book/graphic novel series, but in this case the actor and actress that play these two have so much chemistry with each other that they make this list. Originally a photographer for a Basin City newspaper, Dwight went through a bout of alcoholism and near death before coming out the other end as a private investigator. During his near death experience, Gail and the Old Town girls rescued Dwight and patched him back up. During this time, the two bonded and even though she was a prostitute/dominatrix and he had a couple of flings with Ava Lord and Shellie, the two were meant for each other. Every time they are around each other it's hard for them to keep their hands off each other. Dwight also proved that he was willing to risk his life to save Gail and vice versa.




Screencap from Friends of Ross and Rachel

2. Ross and Rachel (Friends): It took ten seasons for these two to finally figure it out, but when they finally paired up for good in the last episode of the series, it felt like a logical conclusion to the show. Beginning with a crush on Rachel during their teenage years, Ross almost became a hero to Rachel who thought she was stood up by her prom date. Years later, the two would become a couple, but would go through their personal tribulations of "the break", two marriages, and "the sleepy apology", the two managed to become parents to a baby named Emma before figuring out that they belonged together.

Screencap of Harry and Sally from When Harry Met Sally

3. Harry and Sally (When Harry Met Sally): Harry first met Sally as they traveled east after graduating college. Through the years, they would find ways to maintain a friendship without letting sex get in the way. Being there for each other through breakups and hard times, by the end of the movie, they figure out that they are meant to be together.

Screencap of Tara and Willow from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

4. Willow and Tara (Buffy the Vampire Slayer): While most of the Buffyverse people viewed the relationship between Buffy and Angel as perfect, it was actually Willow and Tara who were the best couple. They balanced each other out. Tara kept Willow grounded while Willow ascended to becoming one of the most powerful witches in the world. When Warren accidentally killed Tara, Willow in her sorrow, went on a manhunt for the three involved and was on the verge of destroying the planet as "Evil Willow". Even during the last season rolled around and Kennedy made it known that she wanted to be with Willow, she always kept the most sacred piece of her heart for Tara.

Screencap of Topanga and Cory on Boy Meets World

5. Cory and Topanga (Boy Meets World): From the time they were babies to their adult years, the two were always around each other as friends and eventually as husband and wife. The only time in their lives that they weren't a couple was during those years when boys and girls think that the other sex has "cooties". Otherwise, every first you can think of, they shared together.

Screencap of Julia and Robbie in The Wedding Singer

6. Robbie and Julia (The Wedding Singer): Both were destined to be married to other partners when they first met. Robbie was a wedding singer and Julia was a waitress for a reception hall that holds weddings. After Robbie's bride-to-be runs out on him on the day of the wedding, he finds comfort in his friendship with Julia, helping her plan her up coming wedding. The more they were around each other and the more Robbie was around her fiancé Glenn, the more that everyone around knows that Robbie should be with Julia. Well, except for the one date he went on with her best friend Holly, but even that became apparent when she tried to kiss Robbie.

Screencap of Penny and Leonard in The Big Bang Theory

7. Penny and Leonard (The Big Bang Theory): In what seemed like the unlikely relationship at first between the scientist and the struggling actress, every season of Big Bang Theory ended on a new twist between the relationship of Penny and Leonard. Though the two came from both worlds, they brought out the best in each other. Penny brought Leonard out of his shell while Leonard made Penny want to aspire to be more.

Screencap of Annie and Crash in Bull Durham

8. Crash and Annie (Bull Durham): Brought in to mentor a top draft pick, Crash and Nuke are the final candidates for baseball groupie, Annie Savoy's affection. Deciding he's too old to be part of some sort of seasonal ritual to be with Annie, Crash bows out and lets Nuke be with Annie. From that moment on of being passed by, Annie finds that she's actually infatuated with Crash. Unlike others she had been with, Crash is a combination of brains and brawn. When Nuke is called up to the big leagues and Crash is released, he finally comes knocking on Annie's door for their romance to begin.

Screencap of Justice and Jay kissing in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

9. Jay and Justice (Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back): Forever the punk who sells weed, Jay and his hetero-life-mate Silent Bob go on a quest across America to stop a movie using their likenesses. On the way, he runs into Justice and her gang of diamond thieves. At first he is unaware of her true intentions of pulling off a diamond heist, but once the heist is successful and the authorities are searching for the fall guys, Jay and Silent Bob, Justice has a change of heart and saves the day. For her part in the robbery, she still has to go to prison, but Jay and her make a pact to wait for each other.

Screencap of Dante and Becky dancing in Clerks 2

10. Becky and Dante (Clerks 2): Dante always thought his life was meant to be grand in some way, expecting bigger and better things to come his way. What he never realizes is that his true happiness is right there the whole time. After the Quick Stop burns down, Dante and Randall go to work for Mooby's. In his personal life, he meets and gets engaged to Emma whose father has promised Dante a carwash business manager job if they move to Florida. Becky, who also suffers from the "is this life" syndrome, find comfort in each other's presence. When the time comes for Dante to finally leave, Becky reveals that the one night that she and Dante spent with each other has led to a pregnancy. At the same time, Dante slowly realizes that Becky is his true love.

When is it okay to Spoil?

With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there have been a ton of posts on social media that have asked people to not spoil the plot and ending of the movie. Other blockbuster movies had posts requesting the same thing. This leaves the question...when is the acceptable time period okay to talk about a movie plot or ending?

Some examples of opinions online have stated that while a movie is still in the theaters, it should be off limits. If that is the case, some movie theaters exhibit movies far beyond their initial release date. The Dark Knight Rises lasted in some theaters for almost two years after it was released. On the flipside, if it is okay to talk about the movie after it has stopped being exhibited at movie theaters, then how is this fair for people waiting for it to be released for sale on DVD or Blu-Ray? People pay good money for a movie that is released for home viewing, so why would it be fair to spoil the movie for them?

From personal experience, I once got an earful from a person at my work when I talked about the plotline to the ending of Batman...during the week of the release of Batman Begins which was released 16 years later. The other person complained that they had planned on having a Batman themed movie weekend planned before they were going to see the new one in the theaters. Is this fair to complain about? In this particular case, the Tim Burton movie had nothing to do with the series starring Christian Bale.

When talking about a movie, should a pre-question be posed to the group of people who might participate in talking about the movie, whether or not they have seen the movie or at least not mind hearing about it? Does this conversation have to stop or be paused if someone enters the room? This seems like it would take the fun out of talking about movies if you have to worry about talking about them in front of groups of people. It can be understandable if the movie had been just released, but if it has been out for a while, it seems like the movie should be fair game.

Another question that can be posed...does the popularity of the movie play a difference on when it can be "spoiled"? A blockbuster hit like a Star Wars movie has more people who want to see it than say a movie such as a sequel to Joe Dirt. Does this make it more okay to talk about the smaller anticipated movie within a shorter amount of time after the movies release date? If a Star Wars movie has a six month "no spoil" limit, does a Joe Dirt movie have two months? On the flipside of this question, shouldn't a blockbuster have a shorter spoil limit since it presumably has a higher demand to see it as soon as possible?

I feel that on average, a three to four month limit on spoilers should be placed on a movie. A person should be self aware of friends or coworkers that have been wanting to see a movie, but have yet to see it, but in the situation of casual conversation, one hundred days sounds about right. Yes, it might not be for sale in home video form yet, but this isn't exactly fair to those who have seen the movie and want to share their experience with friends and family.

Photo Credit: Storyboard from Dark Knight Rises

The Best Soundtrack Songs of Film

Many components go into making a movie good. A movie needs a good foundation provided by a screenplay. It needs good casting to put the right people into roles that will make the movie standout. Of course it also needs good directing and a good actors to be cast, but one thing that can often be overlooked is the soundtrack. Music can set the scene of a movie, even when the viewer doesn't realize that the music is setting the tone.

There are two types of music that makeup the soundtrack of a movie. The film score is background music specifically created to accompany a movie and help set the mood, many times on a subconscious level. Even so, there are a number of composers so good, that their music stands out for beyond just background music. Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Danny Elfman, and more recently the Nine Inch Nails front-man, Trent Reznor, have done excellent jobs in their roles.

Even then, a great soundtrack song, dropped into the right moment of a film, can set not only the mood, but make a scene or even the movie itself more memorable. In some cases, years after the movie is released, a song from a soundtrack could be more remembered than the movie it was used for. The following are examples of some of these songs that have played integral roles in making a movie standout.

1. "After Dark" by Tito & Tarantula: From the movie From Dusk till Dawn, this song was the one that played during Salma Hayek's memorable scene as an exotic dancer in the nightclub full of vampires. Not only was "After Dark" the perfect song for Santanico Pandemonium to dance to while memorizing the crowd, it was part of the experience that introduced Salma Hayek to mainstream American film and vaulted her career from that point on. Tito & Tarantula also played the night club band in the movie that played the song and eventually transformed into vampires. While the band never made it big in mainstream music, their song will forever be remember for helping launch the career of Salma Hayek and elevating Robert Rodriguez into mainstream while giving George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino acting careers.

2, "Dead Souls" by Nine Inch Nails: Not only is Trent Reznor gifted in scoring films, but with his band Nine Inch Nails, he set the tone for the movie with his song "Dead Souls" in the movie The Crow. When Eric Draven comes back from the dead and comes to terms with his second chance to avenge his and his fiancée's death, he runs along the rooftops of the city, displaying his athletic abilities and chance taking that will making him the anti-hero that viewers will cheer for. The Crow became one of the most successful comic book movies at the time and helped elevate the goth, industrial, and nu-metal music movements in the music industry. With a soundtrack that included The Cure, Pantera, Henry Rollins, and Stone Temple Pilots, it was the Nine Inch Nails song that helped cement the feeling that Eric Draven was a superhero of sorts and a character that people would dress as every Halloween over twenty years later.

3. I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers: Originally released in 1988 by the Scottish duo, the song saw little success initially. It failed to chart in the top ten in the UK, never found any success in the United States, and oddly topped the charts in Iceland, New Zealand, and Australia. Five years later, it was launched into the mainstream media when it found itself in the movie Benny & Joon which starred Johnny Depp and Mary Stuart Masterson. During the movies run in the theaters, it reached the top ten in both the US and Canadian charts and was certified as a gold selling single. Even though a gold single is considered successful, the song found itself playing at sports events and being inserted into other soundtracks of entertainment including Doctor Who and Pitch Perfect. The song grew to be more memorable than the movie itself.

4. Bring Me to Life by Evanescence: Another song that traveled farther than the movie it was featured in was "Bring Me to Life" by Evanescence. Featured in the Daredevil movie, the song hit top ten in fifteen different countries and won a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. Before the release of "Bring Me to Life", Evanescence had never seen national success in their previously released music. Once they collaborated with Paul McCoy of 12 Stones, Evanescence vaulted into the mainstream and singer Amy Lee became a mainstream gothic/hippie darling. The song set the scene for Elektra's breakout as a superhero and helped cement Jennifer Garner as not only a television actress, but as an actress than could potentially carry a movie on her own.

5. Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees: Initially a song that wasn't included in the movie Saturday Night Live until post production, the Bee Gees song not only became the hit of the movie's soundtrack, it became the unofficial song of disco. It also helped vault John Travolta into mainstream movies and led the soundtrack that was the highest selling soundtrack of all-time (until The Bodyguard surpassed it). The soundtrack won a Grammy and the album was certified 15x Platinum.

6. You're the One That I Want by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John: Reeling in from the success he had from Saturday Night Live in 1977, John Travolta went on to star in Grease and sing the hit song along with Olivia Newton-John. The song plays as Travolta and Newton-John lip sync to it in the finale of the movie, as they finally end up happily ever after. This scene ended up being the most famous scene from Grease and even sparked Halloween costumes with girls dressy up as the "bad girl" Sandy. Counting it's releases and re-releases, the soundtrack for Grease became the top-selling soundtrack of all-time with over forty-four million copies sold.

7. #1 Crush by Garbage: The Garbage song is the only Garbage song to end up number one on the American charts despite all their success. The song that singer Shirley Manson was worried about because she didn't think fans would understand that it is about a stalker, was also called "disturbing" by Garbage's own drummer and producer, Butch Vig. Despite the reservations by the band, the song was perfect for the Romeo + Juliet that starred Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes. "#1 Crush" reached number one on the Modern Rock Charts and won Best Song from a Movie at the MTV Movie Awards in 1997.

8. When Doves Cry by Prince: Prince's first number one hit in the United States, the song was featured in Purple Rain which also starred Prince. This single was the top-selling single in the United States in 1984 according to Billboard Magazine and solidified Prince as one of rock music's most important artists in the 80's. Rollingstone Magazine lists "When Doves Cry" as the fifty-second best song of all-time, Spin Magazine listed it as the sixth best song of all-time, and VH-1 listed it as the fifth best song of the decade. One of the odd aspects about the song, especially considering how well it was received in dance clubs, is that it features no bass line. Most dance music features bass lines that give those dancing to it a rhythm to move to.

9. Mrs. Robinson by Simon & Garfunkel: Obsessed with Paul Simon's work, director Mike Nichols kept insisting the Paul Simon write him a song for his movie "The Graduate". Originally called "Mrs. Roosevelt", Nichols had Simon change it and inserted it into his hit movie. The song worked great and despite the lyrics not really following the storyline of the movie, it set the tone for the inexperienced Benjamin Braddock played by Dustin Hoffman and his seducer played by Anne Bancroft.

10. The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News: The song written for and performed by Huey Lewis and the News, gave the band their first number single in the United States' Billboard Hot 100 charts and their second number one single on the rock charts. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards as well. The song is played several times throughout the famous movie trilogy including a scene when Marty McFly is auditioning for a Battle of Bands show and one of the judges complains the song is, "just too darn loud." That judge is comically played by Huey Lewis himself.

Photo is a screencap from the movie From Dusk till Dawn

8 Characters in Movies/TV That Never Should Have Been Created

Many times when screenwriters work on their scripts, they have an idea who the popular characters will be. Sometimes though, a pleasant surprise takes place and a character they wrote will gather a fan base.

Initially Kevin Smith never meant for Jay and Silent Bob to be as popular as they became. In cases such as this, some of these characters could be absurd in nature and utterly ridiculous. I submit to you, the top 10 characters that are popular in movies or TV, but for no real reason, should have become the pop icon that they became...

1. Towelie: Perhaps the most absurd character ever created on TV, Towelie was purposely created my Matt Stone and Trey Parker to be the worst character ever created. In brainstorming for "horrible" ideas, they came up with a talking towel that continually asks people, including the kids of Southpark, "don't forget to bring a towel." No real depth to the character. No real motivation other than getting high. Yet, thanks to a faux commercial in between the commercial breaks, when the episode debuted, Towelie's popularity soared.

Parker and Stone were increasingly aware of how their characters were being merchandised by Comedy Central and intended to design Towelie purposely as a two-dimensional character, both literally and figuratively, to poke fun at this.

Even Towelie was aware of his own lackluster quality. In the end of the episode he debuted, even Cartman said to Towelie, "You're the worst character ever, Towelie." Towelie then responded, "I know."

2. R2-D2: The popular droid from Star Wars is essentially a robot that rolls on three wheels and beeps, boops, and whistles. No communication skills that the audience can really understand, beyond the screaming sound in an action scene, R2-D2 provides no real depth as a character. Essentially he is a white trashcan that exists because he is possibly the only character that could deal with C-3PO.

3. Poochie: A character of a show within a show, Poochie was a skateboarding riding dog seen on The Simpsons. His character was sort of a comment on how marketing departments of television and film, create characters not for entertainment value, but for monetary value. His character was added to the Itchy & Scratchy show because the producers thought the cartoon was getting stale. Unfortunately for Homer Simpson, Poochie was killed off.

4. Aubrey Flemming-Dakota Moss: From the horribly rated movie I Know Who Killed Me, Lindsey Lohan played both twins, that have no idea that each other exists. After the "good one" (Aubrey) is abducted and tortured, the "bad one" (Dakota), ends up setting aside her stripping career (and apparently her emotions) to avenge the abduction and what might be the death of her identical twin that she had no idea existed. In the end Dakota saves Aubrey from a death of being buried alive.

5. The Great Gazoo: A little green alien from The Flintstones, that is banished from his home planet of Zetox, he is sent back into time and to Earth, but only Fred, Barney, the kids, and animals can see him. Despite being smart enough to apparently invent the first device that can destroy the universe, he seems to get Fred into trouble constantly, when he tries to help out his stone-age friend. He constantly refers to his prehistoric friends as "dum-dums". Despite his wishes to return home, he never does...because "The Flintstones" was cancelled before his story-arc was ever wrapped up.

6. Dawson Leery: Other than the obvious whiny attitude he has, the Dawson's Creek star is constantly in what I call a "Betty and Veronica" syndrome. He constantly bounces back and forth in relationships between Joey Potter, the brunette, and Jen Lindley, the blonde. Despite having two girls that would at times appear to cut off their right arm to be with him, he swims through his teenage and early adult years, stuck in what can only be the physical embodiment of a Smiths song...emo and always contemplating whether the grass is greener on the other side. Even when he's not bouncing back and forth between the two girls, he manages to snag and sleep with his best bud's older sister (Gretchen Witter), find another blonde girl who is willing to get down and dirty (Eve), and in his adult years he finds another girl who is an aspiring actress that is even willing to role play with him. Yet he is never happy. Plus we all know it really should be called "Joey's Creek" since everyone seems to end up wanting to hook up with her.

7. Seven: The newest member of the Bundy clan in Married With Children, during season seven, he was the son of Zemus and Ida Mae Wanker, Peggy's cousins. After being ditched by his parents, he is semi-adopted by the Bundy family for seven episodes, before mysteriously disappearing from the show, without any explanation. Fans of the show hated the character and some guessed that he only appeared as an answer to Peg Bundy's mysterious pregnancy that also never happened (actress Katey Sagal was pregnant in real life and it was written into the show, but she after an emergency cesarean, delivered a still-born daughter).

8. Disco Stu: The one-dimensional of The Simpsons, who serves little purpose on the show than to be annoying. The only depth to his personal storyline is that he is one of Selma Bouvier's many husbands.

Three Movies That Made Me Want To Write Screenplays

In some fashion, I've always been a writer since I was a teenager. In college, I took screenwriting classes that opened up the possibility of writing something that could possibly land on a film or television screen one day. Unfortunately nothing did except for a dialogue-less short movie and another short that eventually became the general idea for one of my published short stories.

As with most screenwriters, a movie or multiple movies inspire that idea that you could possibly write too. Whether it's being so inspired by someone's work that it produces your own ideas or being outraged that a movie is so bad that you can do better, everyone has a film that incited them to create their own unique work. Here are my top five....

1. Clerks: Released in 1994, by first time writer/director/actor Kevin Smith, it was shot for just above $27,000 using his own money and maxed out credit cards. To Smith, this was his answer to Richard Linklarter's Slacker. Catching the movie in a theater, Smith was under the belief that he could make a movie on par to the Linklater movie and he went on to enroll in a film school. Dropping out half way through the program because there wasn't enough hands on experience with film production, he took his prorated tuition refund and put it towards making his own movie, along with money he received in government aid after his hometown had a flood.

The movie was shot in black and white and at nighttime at the Quick Stop convenience store, that was his place of employment, to cut down shooting costs. Clerks won awards at Cannes, Sundance, and three Spirit awards while racking up three million dollars in the box office despite the limited amount of theaters showing it.

For me, just as Linklater's Slacker made Kevin Smith think he could do at least just as well, I felt like I could at least shoot something just as good cinematography wise and possibly even writing wise. Topics in the movie ranged from Star Wars, to customer psychology, relationships, and even death. The screenplay was dialogue heavy and between average Joe's getting by in their day to day life. The movie inspired me because it shattered my own belief that movies took millions of dollars to make and that only a few select people could ever make one. True, it's not an easy thing to do this day, but with today's technology, the many new outlets to showcase movies, and the cost of equipment becoming more attainable to buy or rent, it made me think I could one day write and maybe even direct my own movie one day.

2. High Fidelity: Based on Nick Hornby's book of the same name, this movie not only inspired me to want to make a movie, but write a book. Hornby's writing is often in first person and the lead character from High Fidelity, Rob Gordon, often thought a lot like I did about music and even relationships. John Cusack's interpretation of Rob was well done, talking directly to the audience and breaking the fourth wall down to show you what his character was internally thinking in various scenarios. Just like the book, the characters often came up with top five or ten lists of songs or artists in different categories that weren't typically discussed among casual music fans. They also ranked other categories of life such as "Top 5 Girlfriends".

Ironically set in another retail setting, just like one that I was working in at the time, the film was relatable to me. I worked in a music store at the time of the movie was released, I often made lists (and still do) in my head of my top fives and tens, and just like Rob who was going through relationship woes, I wasn't in the most stable of relationships at the time.

When I saw this movie, it opened me to the possibility that I could have a character that revealed his internal thought process to the audience, while still trying to interact with the characters of his world and better his own life. Even at the end of the movie, when everything supposedly gets better, he acknowledges that his life still isn't perfect, but will have to do. It wasn't the happily ever after that many rom-com movies have and made it feel a little more life real life to me.

3. Four Rooms: A movie directed by four different directors, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Alexdre Rockwell, and Allison Anders. Each director oversaw the filming of one of the four rooms based in a fictional hotel on New Year's Eve night. The protagonist was a bellboy working on his first night, played by Tim Roth. Despite the modern look of cinematography to the movie, the writing seemed to reflect styles that were reminiscent of the 1940's or '50's. Tim Roth played Ted similar to how Jerry Lewis used to act out his characters during his prime.

I liked how each room was a story of its own, but also intermingled beyond the bellboy. One such crossover was when Sarah, the little girl in the third room, makes a call to a random room, she reaches Siegfried from the second room. The idea that completely separate stories could be set in a similar universe and intermingle with each other, was new to me. Kevin Smith in his movies would take this to a more macro scale, as all of his characters existed in the same universe for all his movies containing Jay And Silent Bob. Four Rooms was just like that, but all within one movie. It intrigued me that I could have four separate storylines, yet connect them all together.

And though I have my favorite storyline in this movie (The Wrong Man based in the second room), each story was just as strong as the rest while also subtly displaying the abilities and style of each director involved. Each room was filled with stars and the cast list reads as a who's-who of Hollywood. The cast list included actors and actresses such as Tim Roth, Madonna, Bruce Willis, Quentin Tarantino, Jennifer Beals, Salma Hayek (as an extra), Alicia Witt, Ione Skye, Lili Taylor, Antonio Banderas, Marisa Tomei, and Kathy Griffin.