3rd Quadrant 9/24 '07

The Approval Matrix: Week of September 24, 2007

Oprah and Letterman

For her 22nd season premiere, Oprah took her show on the road to the only place big enough to hold it…Madison Square Garden in New York City!

For her first guest of the season, Oprah called on the man who rules New York's late nights for a special daytime appearance. He rarely does interviews, and she's never interviewed him before—host of the Late Show, David Letterman. (Oprah)

In 2003, Winfrey told Time magazine she wouldn't appear with Letterman because she had been "completely uncomfortable" as the target of his jokes.

Their reconciliation began in 2005 when Winfrey appeared on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman." During the broadcast, he escorted her across the street to the opening night of the Broadway musical "The Color Purple," which she produced. (Chicago Tribune)

(Photo courtesy of AP/Harpo Productions,George Burns)

Letterman on Oprah Top 10

"Tron" Sequel

Commercial director Joseph Kosinski is in final negotiations to develop and direct "Tron," described as "the next chapter" of Disney's 1982 cult classic. Sean Bailey is producing via the Live Planet banner, as is Steven Lisberger, who co-wrote and directed the original film.

The original, about a computer programmer thrust into a computer and forced to fight in games he helped create, is remembered for its sci-fi gladiator-style battles and groundbreaking special effects. It was the first movie to use computer-generated images instead of models and other optical effects in conjunction with live action. The arcade game based on the movie was so popular that it earned more than the movie. (The Hollywood Reporter)

Bacon-Flavored Chocolate Bar

Applewood smoked bacon + Alder smoked salt + deep milk chocolate

Deep milk chocolate coats your mouth and leads to the crunch of smoked bacon pieces. Surprise your mouth with the smoked salt and sweet milk chocolate combination.

Crisp, buttery, compulsively irresistible bacon and milk chocolate combination has long been a favorite of mine. I started playing with this combination at the tender age of six while eating chocolate chip pancakes drenched in maple syrup. Beside my chocolate-laden cakes laid three strips of fried bacon, just barely touching a sweet pool of maple syrup. Just a bite of the bacon was too salty and yearned for the sweet kiss of chocolate syrup. In retrospect, perhaps this was a turning point, for on that plate something magical happened: the beginnings of a combination so ethereal and delicious that it would haunt my thoughts until I found the medium to express it--chocolate. --Katrina

Shelf Life: 3 months. Gluten free 41% cacao. Price $7.00 3oz. (Vosges Chocolate)

Robert Downey Jr. in "Iron Man" Trailer







Sam Rockwell in "The Assassination of Jesse James
by the Coward Robert Ford"

Plot Outline: Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) joins Jesse James's (Brad Pitt) gang, only to become resentful of the legendary outlaw and hatch a plan to kill the fastest gun in the West. (IMDb)

With his gang depleted by arrests, deaths, and defections, Jesse thought he had only two men left whom he could trust: brothers [Robert] and Charley Ford (Sam Rockwell). Charley had been out on raids with Jesse before, but [Robert] was an eager new recruit. To better protect himself, Jesse asked the Ford brothers to move in with him and his family. Little did he know that [Robert] Ford had been conducting secret negotiations with Thomas T. Crittenden, the Missouri governor, to bring in Jesse James. (Wikipedia)

Trailer