Hump Day Report: Hollywood Stock Exchange
Rants and raves about burning topics that have caught my attention midweek, be it greedy corporate shenanigans, frustration or joy in regards to the Philly sports teams, a movie or DVD that has fired up my imagination, an intriguing personality, or my on-going battle to lose weight in our fast food world. — Lori Hoffman, Associate Editor, Atlantic City Weekly
Despite being an avid sports fan, I’ve never been interested in fantasy leagues. Sure, I make my picks for March Madness, but I’ve never signed up for fantasy baseball or football. I’d rather watch the real thing then be put in the position to root for David Wright because he is my fantasy third baseman.
Meryl Streep as Julia Child.
However, as a film historian and proudly known as the Moviejunkie, I was turned onto the Hollywood Stock Exchange. I received my Weekend Warrior, newsletter from the Web site ComingSoon.net that looks at upcoming movie releases for the week. The newsletter sent a shout out to the Hollywood Stock Exchange, for their new Web site design. The HSX is a fantasy Hollywood stock market where you are given $2 million to invest in movie stocks, star bonds and movie funds. Now this is a fantasy trip I can sign up for, which I did immediately. When it comes to making fantasy movie money, I’m trying to blend of love of good movies with what should be popular.
Sometimes the two come together. I brought myself a piece of Seth Rogen because he is a rising star and I like him. I also bought a piece of The Green Hornet, so I’m investing in Rogen in two ways. Buying a piece of Meryl Streep, since her new flick Julia and Julia is due out soon, was a no-brainer. After the success of The Devil Wears Prada, I expect J&J to be a solid hit. Gee, I should go back and invest in Amy Adams as well.
In the movie funds, I went with my love of independent film and invested in the independent fund. The fund manager is listed as going to the Toronto Film Festival every year. Since I go every year, maybe I can hook up with “lone kirsten fan” and we can talk about our favorite obsession. I can tell her I first discovered Quentin Tarantino (another investment) at the Fest in 1992.
And, even though I endured a ton of backlash on Rotten Tomatoes for my negative review of Iron Man, I have invested in Iron Man II. I expect it to be a hit and if I like it better than the original, so much the better.
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Last week I talked about the new book The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler and got a response from Paulette Kessler (Steinberg) who not only is married to Dr. K, she was a year ahead of me in high school, ACHS Class of 1970. How cool is that.
Tags: Amy Adams, Green Hornet, Hollywood Stock Exchange, Iron Man II, Julia & Julia, Meryl Streep, Seth Rogen