California Love Redux

Something led us to that old Dr. Dre/Tupac "California Love" video the other day -- you know, the apocalyptic one where they're running around in rags and ramshackle Hummers, all early Gibson-like? We couldn't help but admire the stylistic shout-outs (ha! get it? hip-hop reference) they squeeze in there: Aside from the obvious overriding Mad Max trilogy theme, the video opens with vintage Chris Tucker doing his 5th Element thing (you know, the outerspace-crackhead schtick he used to land more lucrative gigs playing comic relief to Jackie Chan's unintentional straight man) and is followed with a scene lifted from The Warriors before descending into full Road Warrior mode; this later tiptoes quietly into Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome territory when they move to sweeping aerial shots of the stars rapping inside a, yes, Thunderdome. The whole video's simply fantastic, but why waste it on "California Love?" I know Australian apocalypse-themed jams don't usually chart, but still: "California Love" is one of the few songs that actually warrants your classic mid-90s rap video -- you know, 64s, Cristal, ladies in thongs, egregious materialism, guest spots by other definitively regional rappers. 

What's that you say? Oh. 

Oy vey!

Poor Woody. He's just working away on his film-per-year ouevre (only Spike Lee is as prolific) and minding his own business... when Dov Charney goes and plasters his image from Annie Hall, promoting American Apparel, all over NY and LA, without his consent. Since the billboards' brief showing 2 years ago, Woody has filed a $10 million suit against Americal Apparel for using the image without his permission. And since then, the gloves have really come off. American Apparel's attorneys are arguing that Woody's image certainly cannot be worth $10M, as "[they] believe that Mr. Allen's popularity has decreased significantly, especially in light of the scandals he's been associated with. [They] believe that he greatly overvalues the worth of his endorsement -- if he can get one." Diiiiisssssss.













Of course the scandal that they're referring to is Woody's breakup with Mia Farrow and relationship with former step-daughter, and later wife Soon-Yi Previn. Woody returns the blow by claiming that American Apparel is engaged in a "despicable effort to intimidate" him. The trial starts May 18th in NY.
And did you know that Woody has a statue erected in his honor in Oviedo, Spain? Neither did I.