“And not to mention names”…

In a recent Curb Your Enthusiasm episode, I believe it was the Seinfeld-reunion finale show but I could be wrong, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld discuss the use of the phrase “having said that” in conversations and come to the conclusion that whenever someone uses that phrase, it’s always the first thing they say which is the truth and what they want to get off their chest.

The second sentence is either just bullshit, or them hedging their bets on the validity of the first sentence. A case of having it both ways.

They use a stand-up comedian example…. guy comes on stage and says “you know, you people are a bunch of morons. Having said that, I’m very happy to be here”.

So what do we make today of Avatar composer James Horner’s “and not to mention names” sentence before forcefully sending an attack missile to Michael Bay during an interview with The LA Times‘ Geoff Boucher this week? Is the rule here the opposite?

Horner does want to mention names, he does want to take a stab at someone he dislikes, whilst putting up the pretence that he’s not actually singling anyone out….

Boucher: “It’s interesting, too, that small moments become so key when a movie gets as big as this one. The machinery of the movie is so big that without successful small moments and human emotion, it could turn into a video game.

Horner: “Absolutely. Yes, that’s right. And, not to mention names, but if it was Michael Bay making this movie we wouldn’t be having this conversation. These things, [heart, story, soul], wouldn’t matter or they certainly wouldn’t matter as much. Jim Cameron knows the importance of it not just becoming mecha. Jim knows that a movie can become swamped in just unbelievable imagery and that it becomes hollow. Jim won’t allow that and my job is to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

Horner of course, has a great point. Have you ever heard a score to a Michael Bay movie? Atrocious. I haven’t seen Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen and I don’t think I’ll ever see at this point but God, it must grate on talented industry vets like Horner that so much money is chucked away to outside of the industry talent, such as Linkin Park, who scored Bay’s latest craptacular.

Horner, however, claims no hollowness in Avatar?

Well from the trailers I’ve seen, I have to disagree… the movie looks like an over priced and over boiled video game carrying as much soul as the Twilight series. EMPTY, and that’s coming from someone who still cries at Titanic. Having said that, I should wait until Dec. 18th (a day earlier in the U.K.) before judging it, right?