If you like it, then you shoulda put a thread on it. Whoa-oh-oh.
First off, Call of Duty: Black Ops shattered the one-day sales record previously held by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, clearing $360 million in twenty-four hours. Media observers were quick to note that video games cost more than movies, so it’s not like the film industry is dying or anything. They also insisted that you shouldn’t do the math, dividing $360 million by $60 to get 6 million units sold, and then dividing $34,825,135 (the opening weekend of The Expendables) by $10 to get 3.4 million tickets sold. Because math is for nerds, right?
Conan O’Brien returned to late night this week. Though his show’s viewership dropped by a third between his premiere and the following evening, this shouldn’t shock anyone. What should shock people: his ginger beard. What, is he gonna pillage the Netherlands or something?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1OLDhVZlKU
Site favorite Taylor Swift won big at the Broadcast Music awards, becoming the youngest country songwriter ever to be honored. She lost out to Miranda Lambert at the CMAs later this week, however. Expect to hear more on Swift’s next album, “Think She’s Prettier?”, coming in 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juFTc3gDkKA
Finally, OTI bids farewell to pop culture titan Dino de Laurentiis. Producer of Serpico, Barbarella, La Strada, Death Wish, Blue Velvet and the 1976 King Kong remake, he had a varied but epic career bringing film to mass audiences.
In memory, here’s a trailer for his Jaws knock-off / cash-in, Orca (1977):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlQ4VrHa7fU
Will Conan O’Brien don a cable-knit sweater and hunt killer whales until Special Forces operative Taylor Swift puts a stop to him in the hottest FPS of the year? Or was there something we missed? Sound off in the comments, for this is your … Open Thread.