The MJFDB News Blog

Americans for Cures Foundation Announces Michael J. Fox as Keynote Speaker at April Conference

Americans for Cures Foundation announces Michael J. Fox as keynote speaker at State of Stem Cell Advocacy 2008, the leading conference for grassroots advocates who support stem cell research

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Business Wire EON/PRWEB ) February 28, 2008 — Americans for Cures Foundation (www.americansforcures.org) announces Michael J. Fox as a featured speaker at State of Stem Cell Advocacy 2008, this year’s leading conference for grassroots advocates supporting stem cell research. The conference will be held on April 12-13 at UCSF Mission Bay. Americans for Cures Foundation welcomes new and experienced advocates of all diseases and conditions to learn approaches that can further their advocacy for the facts and promise of stem cell research.

The conference’s featured speaker is Michael J. Fox, the actor and noted Parkinson’s disease and stem cell research advocate. Mr. Fox joins other confirmed speakers including Robert N. Klein, Chair, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM); Amy Comstock Rick, CEO, Parkinson’s Action Network and President, Coalition for Advancement of Medical Research; and Bernard Siegel, founder and Executive Director of Genetics Policy Institute.“Our founding charter was to support the implementation of Proposition 71,” said Constance McKee and Amy Daly, Co-Executive Directors of Americans for Cures Foundation (A4CF). “Now we are reaching out nationally to Americans who are hungry for the facts, not the hype, about stem cell science. If we speak out together for cures, we can accelerate the pace at which hope becomes the reality of therapy.”

Don C. Reed, sponsor of the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Act (California, 1999) and a Board member of A4CF, said, “We are honored to have Michael J. Fox participate in this conference. The courage and determination with which he faces the challenges of living with Parkinson’s disease are an inspiration to millions.”

Registration for the event is open at www.americansforcures.org. Advocates needing financial assistance may apply for a limited number of conference scholarships. For more information, including details on sponsorship opportunities for State of Stem Cell Advocacy 2008, email inform@americansforcures.org .

This is probably an old clip, but I just saw it today.

The TV Schedule has been updated through the end of February.

CLICK HERE to view.

TVShowsonDVD.com are reporting rumors that the animated Back to the Future series may be coming to DVD. There were similar rumors two years ago, so don’t get too excited.

Click HERE for more details.

Can you believe it… Updates three days in a row.

No. I’m not sick.

Anyways - I’ve updated the TV Schedule Calendar for the next week. You can see it here.

To further promote Gary David Goldberg’s new book, the entire Keaton Clan made an appearance on the Today Show (minus Brian Bonsall) on Thursday, February 7. To see the full interview, here. It’s a pretty good segment, especially for a fluff promotional piece.

I have to get this off my chest: This movie really pisses me off.

Since the mid-90’s I keep seeing it pop up online as being a TV movie that Michael J. Fox appeared in. From my research I believe this all started from one mention in a book of television movies - a book that had many incorrect facts about another TV movie that Michael J. Fox actually was in - High School U.S.A.

This book (I can’t even remember what book it was or who sent me the scan of the pages) stated that High School U.S.A. was intended as a pilot for a series. This is close but not right. After the movie aired, it was decided to make a second High School U.S.A. movie that would be a pilot for a series with an almost completely new cast. This never got finished and never became a series. I think there were some other mistakes in that same entry but I can’t remember what they were off the top of my head.

Trouble in High Timber Country did exist. It was a TV movie but other than that one book, I have never seen any documentation stating that MJF was in that movie. None of the teen magazines I read in the ’80’s mentioned it - and in the 80’s, 1980 was a lot closer and easier to remember than it is now. Those magazines weren’t always 100% correct (I have one article that says MJF’s eyes are brown) but they were usually pretty good about credits. Not - one - mention of this movie.

This movie isn’t mentioned in any vintage legitimate magazine articles or any modern magazine articles either. The proof just isn’t there.

But, this is the internet and it can be viral. So now, I see this listed as a credit for MJF everywhere, even the IMDB. It drives me nuts!

So, if I ever do meet Michael J. Fox the first thing I’ll say to him won’t be ‘It’s nice to meet you’ or ‘I’ve been an admirer for over 25 years.’ My first words to him will be. ‘Hi…were you in Trouble in High Timber Country, or what?’

******

Holy crud. Here I was, cursing this internet for spreading false information, when it helped me find the CORRECT information about this movie.

Michael Fox was in this movie - but Michael J. Fox wasn’t.

Here’s the cast list at Variety.com. Michael Fox was the actor that caused MJF to take up that J. in the first place. Here’s a list of Michael Fox’s credits.

The internet - it’s a love/hate relationship.

The Paley Center for Media had a celebration for the release of Gary David Goldberg’s auto-biography, Sit, Ubu, Sit.

At the celebration on February 5, a mini-Family Ties reunion took place with Meredith Baxter, Gary David-Goldberg, Michael J. Fox and Michael Gross.

The fifth person in the picture is Marion Ross who starred in Goldberg’s series Brooklyn Bridge. Michael J. Fox directed one episode of this highly acclaimed series.

To see more pictures, go here

LivePR.com reports on Gary David Goldberg’s new autobiography. Here’s an excerpt. To read the full article go here.

Gary David Goldberg, the creator, writer and producer for the television series Brooklyn Bridge, Spin City and the iconic Family Ties will release his autobiography, Sit Ubu, Sit, an extraordinary account of an incredibly successful – and incredibly unexpected – life in show business.

Sit, Ubu, Sit elevates the typical Hollywood memoir by providing an insider’s view on the industry with a deeply personal story that has been integral to Goldberg’s success. From basing the parents in Family Ties on himself and his wife - two former flower children struggling to raise successful kids with counter cultural values – to paying homage to his grandmother Jenny in Brooklyn Bridge, Gary has drawn inspiration throughout his career from his own life and the colorful people who helped shape it.

To read the full article go here…

For the past year, maybe longer, I’ve been terrible about updating the MJFDB and especially the News section. I promised myself that I would do better this year and I have been collecting news articles - I just haven’t been posting them.

Well, get ready kiddies. This post will list all those news bits that I thought important enough to keep since late last year. Some of these are pretty old - can’t really be called ‘news’ anymore - but I don’t want to not include them on the site.

So, here we go….

At the end of 2007 Time Magazine released its lists of 100 Most Influential People in several different fields. Michael J. Fox was listed at number 54 in the ‘Heroes & Pioneers’ section. CLICK HERE for more…

Wow, this is an old one - May 2007. Michael J. Fox was the keynote speaker at the BIO 2007 conference. CLICK HERE for more…

Not really MJF-related but I found it interesting. MJF’s brother-in-law, Michael Pollan, is apparently is a food expert. CLICK HERE for more…

Dec. 17, 2007 - Esquire Magazine article: What I’ve Learned: Michael J. Fox. CLICK HERE for more…

As any Family Ties, Spin City of Brooklyn Bridge fan knows, every episode ends with the now classic ” Sit, Ubu, Sit…God Dog. *Woof!*”

Now, this familiar line is the title of a book - Gary David Goldberg’s auto-biography. This book covers the career of Goldberg, the creator of Family Ties. I have not personally read this book, but the reviews I have read at Amazon.com and at Entertainment Weekly’s website state that Family Ties is discussed in this book and Goldberg’s relationship with Michael J. Fox.

This sounds like an interesting behind-the-scenes look at some of television best, and sometimes best-remembered shows.

The Keaton Count Climbs

Season Three of Family Ties begins where we left off with the Keaton Clan - almost literally. An episode filmed and scheduled for Season Two, but which had been preempted, starts off the season with one of the weaker scripts from the second season. Fortunately, it’s all uphill from Atlantic City. Steven and Elyse (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney) are still trying to coerce and manipulate their children into bonding with them and appreciating their set of values. Alex, Mallory and sometimes even Jennifer (Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers) balk at this and go their own conservative, consumerist ways.

The family dynamic is shifted early in the season when Elyse announces that she is pregnant. Meredith Baxter-Birney’s real-life pregnancy brought about the need to introduce another family member but unlike most television programs, this wasn’t a problem for Family Ties. It’s all about the family, right? And there’s always room for one more.

The new addition brings about unplanned conflict and character development that would not have been there otherwise. Steven and Elyse have to come to terms with being new parents in their forties - something that they are reminded of continuously - and having to start all over again, just when they thought the ‘end’ was near. Alex finally has a brother to nurture instead of sisters to torture. Jennifer has to deal with the fact that she’s no longer the baby of the family. And Mallory…well, she gets to shop more. You know, for baby stuff.

As was the case with season two, season three shows a marked improvement in scripts. The jokes are becoming more character-based as opposed to situation-based. In two particular episodes, Hotline Fever and Don’t Know Much About History, Alex and his high-school rival James Jarret (Jeffrey Joseph) team up first by accident and then purposely for a joint business venture. The constant competition and resulting tension between the two characters and the chemistry between the two actors make both of these episodes very fun to watch. It is a shame that programs of the time weren’t held to any kind of continuity. It would have been great if Joseph could have become a semi-regular. The chemistry between Fox and Joseph almost jumps off the screen and both of them seem to really enjoy bouncing lines off each other.

Because Michael J. Fox was the main focus of attention for viewers in the ’80’s the often hilarious and sometimes touching performances of the other actors usually gets overlooked. This is especially true for Michael Gross and Justine Bateman. Gross could sometimes go over-broad with his humor but this was the norm for Family Ties. However, he could sometimes do something so subtle and yet so funny one can’t help but laugh out loud. The episode 4 Rms Ocn Vu is a perfect example of this. Even though Gross is only in the the episode for a total of about five minutes, he completely steals the show.

“That is my plan….”

Justine Bateman continues to give a noteworthy performance as bubbly, air-headed (but not stupid) Mallory. Her silly asides are always funny and come off as natural and unforced, which is not something that can be said of any of the other actors on the show. Bateman’s chemistry with Fox gets even better with this season and there are several great bits with Alex and Mallory. One in particular is a scene in Hotline Fever which is much funnier than it’s written simply because of Bateman’s delivery.

Bateman also gets a chance to show off her dramatic skills late in the season in the episode Auntie Up. In this episode her favorite great aunt passes away and Mallory’s heartbreak is nearly palpable. I have yet to watch this episode without tears welling up.

Now, onto the DVD Presentation

Like season two, the picture quality is very good. Each episode includes the original NBC promo which can be viewed separately as well. These promos are not any better than season two and are therefore just as fun to watch. I’m glad that Paramount continued to include these with the DVD set.

Unlike season two there are no documentaries on this set. However, there is a lengthy gag reel which is just as good. All bloopers are from season three so I’m hoping they plan to include gag reels for the remaining season sets as they come out.

This set is highly recommended and at the retail price of $39.98, well worth the cost.

Release Date: February 12, 2008
Retail Price: $39.98
Amazon.com Price: $29.99
Number of DVDs: 4
Number of Episodes: 24

Remember: Purchasing your Michael J. Fox DVDs through the MJFDB helps support the site and keep it online.

More highlights of Season Three

Gena Davis:

Actual Exterior Shots

And, of course…Sleeping Chipmunks