The stifling corporation that serves as government in the year 2700 is a composite of McDonalds, Wal-Mart and Halliburton; the bloated humans in their floating barcaloungers represent the evolutionary destiny of a species sedated by automation, fast-food and electronic displays; and the call to save the planet could have come from Al Gore, had he the wit and computer graphics skills. Rich is not the only commentator to tease out Wall-E's political agenda: some conservatives have even called for a boycott of the movie and its merchandise.

I guess it was inevitable after Interpol's second album tanked that late-80's postpunk recurrence was fated to be as short-lived as Ian Curtis. But how the hell did we reach 1994 in our retro cycle so quickly? The Wackness (trailer after the jump), the indie feature directed by Jonathan Levine, opens this weekend, revisiting the broiling New York City summer that you might not have before realized was so zeitgeisty. The film's being cited as much for its splenetic anti-Giuliani politics as for its remember-when hip hop soundtrack. Our hero Luke Shapiro (think a smarter version of Telly from the Larry Clark film Kids) is a virginal high school drug dealer who runs a mini-cartel of Jamaican weed out of an Italian shaved ice cart. Cosmopolitan! But his skanking around town with Ben Kingsley, a fiending Jewish psychotherapist dressed like Kramer, is about to be interrupted by broken windows law enforcement. Where were you standing when Newt Gingrich took over Congress?

Young Jeezy, the coke-slinging Atlanta rap star who is close friends with John McCain, will be making his acting debut in the upcoming Ice Cube film Janky Promoters. (Old Republican McCain-hip hop slang joke)! [Reuters]

Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has always resented the fact that peers made more money than him with what he deemed to be inferior films. These days, he's obviously overcome this problem by milking reality shows for millions to prop up his more artsy products; but he couldn't always be so sanguine. Here we have a priceless and EXCLUSIVE classic from the archives: a recording of a phone call between Weinstein and Disney exec Joe Roth, taped shortly after Michael Ovitz-a spectacular failure as head of Disney-was paid more than $100 million to leave the company in 1996. Weinstein is galled beyond belief (and perhaps a bit envious). "Let's quit today!" he jokes. Why, he works his ass off and what does he get? A fucking lecture. "Joe, you're a success, so therefore you're a failure in this business," Weinstein complains. Then he insults his fellow moguls: "Between Peter Guber and Mike Ovitz and everybody who fucked up...Everybody got wealthy on failure." Weinstein just cares too much about the films, you see; "We have character flaws that must be overcome," he sighs. Thanks to Project Runway, he's done so. Click to listen to the titan of Hollywood in all his expletive-spitting glory.

Nerds may be polishing up their plastic light sabers and dusting off their Darth Vader helmets in anticipation of the new, animated Star Wars movie The Clone Wars, set to open in August. But you know who's not awaiting the movie? Pepsi, Kellogg's, and and Burger King, traditional Star Wars sponsors! Why not? "A spokeswoman for Pepsi, meanwhile, was unaware that a new 'Star Wars' movie was being released." Ha, this flick has BIG BUZZ going for it. Luckily for nerds, McDonald's and Toys "R" Us have stepped in to fill the void with all types of action figures fit for stockpiling by grown men. But it's never a good sign when key parts of corporate America don't even know your movie exists. Prediction: a big, animated suckfest. Still, fans are planning to line up at Toys "R" Us just for the release of the toys. Let's hope that Triumph the Insult Comic Dog makes it out to that one:

Andrew O'Hehir of Salon likes it:

In celebration of Pride Weekend, let's share clips of a our favorite gay and lesbian performers and characters from the movies and television. Again, performers or characters both count-just so long as there's some gay in there. I'll get us rolling after the jump.

A montage maker has weaved together clips from his favorite movies starting at 100 and counting down to first place. It's kind of like something you'd see at the Oscars, except it's under two minutes and doesn't have all the sucking. Check it out after the jump.

If you've gotta go out, you might as well go out in a blaze of iconic glory. Let's all get a little bit sinister this evening and share our favorite film deaths. Mine after the jump.

Yay! Even after the Sci-Fi Channel's space sock-hop Battlestar Galactica finishes its final season next year, there will still be more BSG for all-in movie form! Former Gawker Choire Sicha is reporting for the LA Times that the first of as many as three Battlestar made-for-TV movies has just gotten the go ahead. And he got it right from Pretty Asian Cyclon herself, Grace Park: "'I just heard about the first Battlestar movie being greenlit,' said Park [...] A TV movie, but still! But this-it's like, yeah, it's over but we're ready to move on but nobody's manager or agent has been called. It's supposed to start in August.'" And what can she tell us about the end of the series?

New York Times media reporter David Carr-a former crack enthusiast-takes a look at Gonzo, the new documentary about legendary drugs-and-freedom-loving journalist Hunter S. Thompson. "Few writers have commodified narcissism so completely - his participatory style of journalism became its own genre and gives the film its title - but still we are invited to sit in the dark of the theater and have a flashback about his flashbacks. When the film opens on July 4, why will people, as Thompson would say, buy the ticket, take the ride?"

Entertainment Weekly is favoring us with the listicle, "Lethal Ladies: 26 Best Big-Screen Bad Girls" this weekend. So I've gone ahead and ripped a bunch of their screen grabs for your viewing pleasure. While we're at it, why wait until the end of the day to post YouTube vids of our favorite dangerous hotties?

Dan Klores is the smartest man in PR. That's because he's not in PR any more. He founded his eponymous agency, which made (and still makes) him a ton of money, and then decided, "You know what? Fuck this shit. I'm gonna make movies." Now he spends all his time making (actually good!) documentaries and hosting soirees for various power brokers, without ever having to deal with the actual PR industry much. And he's about to move further up the entertainment industry food chain, because HBO has signed him to direct a movie version of his Believe-it-or-not psycho documentary Crazy Love. This, I will watch.

Predator star Jesse Ventura was elected governor of Minnesota one dark night in the '90s, when government was mostly kept around for its entertainment value. Then Predator star Arnold Schwarzenegger got himself elected governor of California in 2003. Most pundits assumed that the next in line would be Carl Weathers, but it turns out it'll be Billy Sole, the guy who dies after challenging the Predator to a knife fight. His real name is Sonny Landham, and he would like to unseat Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Also, he did porn in the '70s, so he's basically a shoo in to win a Senate seat in Kentucky. [Wonkette]

Well, if you played or payed attention to last night's installment of OMT, you knew this was coming. What are the most awesome movies of the 1970s that take place in, came out in, or just make you think of the summer? I'll get the world's first-ever summer blockbuster out of the way with its amazing original theatrical trailer.

In honor of the first official summer weekend, let's share our favorite summertime flicks from the golden 80s. You know, movies that came out in, take place in, or just make you harken back to the sultry days of the summers of your youth. I'll get us started with the endearing tale of four best friends wandering through an idyllic American landscape to view a rotting corpse.

Toby Young became famous long, long ago, when he was fired from Vanity Fair and then wrote a book about being fired from Vanity Fair. The book was also about how VF editor Graydon Carter is a bit of a tool. No one liked the book that much [Update! Besides Nick Denton and most of the UK!] but it was kind of funny and the media stuff was fun back in the early days of Gawker. But now! Thanks to The Devil Wears Prada we're finally getting the film of the book about getting fired from Vanity Fair. Toby Young's publicity campaign begins with an interview with Young Manhattanite, in which he says this: "[Gawker] has turned New York into what the philosopher Jeremy Bentham called a Panopticon — a type of prison in which all the prisoners are capable of being observed 24/7." And then he says this: "Who's Nick Denton?" Hah. [YM]

When the movie Super Size Me came out, showing the ravaging effects of a monthlong fast food diet, it was terrible PR for McDonald's. The company spent tons of money combating the perceptions from that one overwrought documentary, seriously! And now, in what can only be described as a gift from the marketing gods, some fat guy has gone an all-McDonald's diet and actually lost 86 pounds (pictured: before and after). But the company won't sign him as a spokesman. You shallow fools! You think he's too ugly, DON'T YOU?

The stress of playing one of the most legendary characters ever in one of the most hotly anticipated sequels ever didn't contribute to Heath Ledger's death in January, says the Dark Knight star. "Christian Bale has called rumours that Heath Ledger's role as The Joker contributed to his death 'ridiculous.' Ledger, who died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs in January, was urged to seek help by crew on The Dark Knight after he reportedly became too involved in his character."

Who made your heart and knees go all to jittery goo the quickest in the movies and TV shows of the wonderful 1980s? My personal fave has never-as far as I know-been filmed in the delightful leg-warmers of the period, so that field is wide open. And, yes, boy-crushes are welcome.