‘THE TWO COREYS’ ANSWERS ‘WHERE ARE THEY NOW?’
By Elizabeth Meyer

This week, dubious purveyor of culture A&E, proving that the words “arts” and “entertainment” are only words, unleashed “The Two Coreys,” a painfully staged reality show starring ’80s teen heartthrobs Corey Feldman and Corey Haim. In the days since appearing together in The Lost Boys, Dream A Little Dream and License To Drive, the lads, now in their mid-30’s, have fallen on some hard times, with drugs, bankruptcies and failed marriages defining their careers since their fall from favor. The series reunites the two friends after a decade apart, with Feldman enjoying prosperity and his new life with his new wife, Susie Sprague, whom he married on another reality show, “The Surreal Life,” in 2002. Naturally, the meat-eating heavy smoker Haim, recently clean and supposedly broke, clashes with hosts the Feldmans, vegetarians who support PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), and who have recently quit smoking. As much as fans might like to see the Coreys 1 and 2 together again, this forced pairing is hardly the Lost Boys 2 that could have been (the movie will be a 2008 direct-to-DVD with neither participating). While it is somewhat inspiring to see that Feldman has gotten his life together, it seems — from the show, at least — that it has been at the cost of becoming, well, kind of a self-centered asshole. Haim, at least, gets to be a voice of balance, constantly pointing out how uptight his old friend has become, and ultimately, how silly the whole idea to put it on television was in the first place.•••

“The Two Coreys” airs on cable channel A&E on Sunday nights at 10:00pm.

ON THE LOT [TV-PG]
For a guy who touts purity of the cinematic arts, Steven Spielberg has some balls in dropping this stinker of a Fox reality show on the public and unintentionally showcasing all that is wrong with his beloved Hollywood. Its debut episode last week (watch it at www.TheLot.com) had fifty aspiring filmmakers battling for a $1,000,000 development deal at Spielberg’s beleaguered DreamWorks, running through a task-oriented movie business obstacle course of sorts. Their fates on the forced, twice weekly “American Idol” patterned show are ultimately determined by an audience call-in vote, with their work appraised by judges Carrie Fisher, Jon Avnet, Garry Marshall and Brett Ratner. Yes, Brett Ratner — the man who dropped the Baby Ruth in the swimming pool of comic book fans the world over with X-Men: The Last Stand. What, was Michael Bay too busy? M. Night Shyamalan not taking your calls? Naturally, there is not a wrinkled face in this batch of contestants, which limits the field to players with limited experience, not only in the craft, but in life, too. The whole well intended idea of giving talented wannabes a shot didn’t work on “Project Greenlight,” and it’s even more belabored here. And in case you’re wondering, there is no truth that next summer’s Indiana Jones sequel will be about the search for Spielberg’s lost credibility. –Klaus Hummersumpf

STAR WARS:
THE LEGACY REVEALED
Airs Monday, May 28th @ 9:00pm

“The enduring appeal of Star Wars,” says Tom Brokaw in the brand-new History Channel special, “Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed” [TV-PG], “is that it’s this vastly entertaining piece of cinema that also leaves you … with the idea that there are some real issues out there that we ought to be thinking about — good and evil, and right and wrong, and heroism. Generations of people a long time from now will be enthralled by it, just as we are enthralled by the story of Robin Hood or King Arthur’s Court or any of the Shakespearean tales.”

The two-hour special, which airs on the cable network starting Memorial Day at 9:00pm, seeks to illuminate the impact that George Lucas’s little agrarian space opera has had on the world since it arrived on Earth in 1977. It also explores the big ol’ serial’s roots in Greek mythology, American westerns, the Bible and even Vaudeville.

“It is bad guys versus good guys and everyone wants to see that story,” says filmmaker Kevin Smith, who spoofed the super-fan’s beloved Star Wars in the stoner road movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back in 2001. “That story will never grow tired, never grow old.”

It is not all journalists and fanboys in the mix, either. The unlikely pairing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [Dem.] and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich [Rep.] actually agreed on the influence of Star Wars.

“The legacy of George Lucas fits very comfortably among the classics of all time, whether ancient or modern,” Pelosi said, with Gingrich quoted as saying, “The idea of the underdog who’s on the right side defeating the overdog who’s on the wrong side is a deeply American mythology.”

But it is a fanboy who sums it up best.

“You don’t even have to ask, ‘Will it stand the test of time?’” says Peter Jackson, who took his own love of another trilogy to a billion dollar box office and Oscar gold with Lord of the Rings. “It has and it will.”••• –Klaus Hummersumpf