• Hey folks, how goes the Christmas shopping? We’ve had another bit of calm aside from the big story posted earlier today (see BELOW the NewsBites, don’t miss it!), compared to Tuesday’s update anyway. There hasn’t been much outside interesting stuff to talk about aside from the business at hand lately, with box office being fairly uninteresting the last couple of weeks and TV out of the sweeps period. Buffy & Angel have both been great this year, Boston Public is a good new show (though a bit over the top, still a fun one to watch), X-Files is even holding its own without Fox Mulder in the fray, which is a bit of a surpirse. On the cartoon front, it’s a shame we’re not watching NEW Clerks cartoons this season, but The Simpsons is having another spectacular season, Futurama‘s always fantastic when they manage to air a new show, and South Park, while hit or miss, has been more outrageous than ever.

The next couple of summers (especially 2002) are shaping up to be a BIG moviegoing time, in fact, remember this prediction, the summer of 2002 will likely be the largest grossing EVER for movies, but lately, since “Unbreakable” and “Charlie’s Angels”, there hasn’t been a ton of stuff out there worth seeing. Or maybe it’s just harder to please with flicks these days. Anyone seen anything decent?

One final recommendation: If you’re interested in seeing what’s up with that “Vanilla Sky” movie from Cameron Crowe starring Tom Cruise and JASON LEE that’s now filming, check out “Open Your Eyes”, a 1997 Spanish film that’s available in video stores (likely the Foreign Films section). It’s actually quite good, and should translate well when Crowe remakes it. Kurt Russell, Penelope Cruz (who is also in the original), and Cameron Diaz will also be in the remake. When you watch the original, you’ll be able to figure out who’s playing who. Definitely a good film if you don’t mind reading subtitles. Plus, you’ll be able to act quite coyly when Crowe’s new version hits theaters. Seems like another smaller, but good role for Lee.

• Alright, let’s see what’s in the news: