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Since Christmas is getting nearer, an item that those fans of Benjamin who also love John Lennon’s music can include in their wishlists is “Come Together: A Night for John Lennon’s Words & Music”, which has just been reissued after its original dvd release in 2002.

“Come Together: A Night For John Lennon’s Words & Music” is a 90-minute show meant to celebrate the life and music of John Lennon 20 years after his death and it features a guest appearance by Benjamin as well as several other celebrities. The show - hosted by Kevin Spacey - was broadcast from New York City’s Radio City Music Hall on October 2, 2001, is dedicated to New York City and its people. Considered that it took place just three weeks after the tragic events of 9/11, the show has a somewhat somber tone, but that makes Lennon’s message of universal peace somehow all the more relevant.

Perhaps it is not the most publicized snippet about him, but Benjamin made it to the list of anti-gun celebrities.
http://www.thefirearmsforum.co.....hp?t=51640
http://www.nraila.org/Issues/f.....aspx?ID=15

Yesterday afternoon, I went to my local library to return a book and took the time to leaf through dvds before leaving. A dvd caught my attention, Corruption Empire.

It is an odd release. Although presented as one program, this show is actually two (loosely related) episodes of Law & Order  tacked together to form a “movie”, with the end credits removed from the first and the opening credits removed from the second. The episodes are from 1996 and 1999 and feature the same detective pairing, Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) and Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt), although Benjamin is obviously younger in the second episode. Both also feature ADA Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) as the prosecutor in charge of the case. These are good quality episodes of the show but why they have been released in this fashion is not something I can answer. The episodes are:

1. Empire - Series 9, Episode 20 (May 1999) - A businessman and philanthropist dies of a heart attack in his city apartment after taking Viagra. Two people who seem to be involved are a business associate of his, Julian Spector and the professional fundraiser who organized the dinner he attended on the evening before. Her name is Miss Ludlow (Julia Roberts) and the presence of a pair of her knickers in his apartment seems to point to her intimate involvement.
2. Corruption - Series 7, Episode 5 (October 1996) - A cop shoots a drug dealer during an undercover operation while being backed up by Briscoe & Curtis. He says the guy went for his gun but Curtis is not convinced and starts to investigate despite threats and the objections of Briscoe.

No prizes will be awarded for guessing how they came up with the title for this disc - Corruption Empire.

It was good entertainment for a Friday night and it was nice to go back to the days when Benjamin was still starring in L&O. Actually, I still enjoy watching L&O, though now without Jerry Orbach and Benjamin - Briscoe and Curtis made up the my favorite detective pairing - it still focuses on good old investigation work without indulging on gory details as it is so often the case with procedural shows today.

I’d like to remind to those interested that The Argentine and Guerilla - a two-part biopic of Che Guevara - will soon be released in theaters (actually, between November 13, 2008, and March, 2009, depending on the country) and trailers and teaser trailers are floating on the Internet.

Hopefully, there aren’t many people who were planning to see these movies just because of Benjamin’s role in them. In fact, he is still listed on the cast of characters for Guerrilla on many sites (here, too) and he was really in talks to play a key role in it (The Argentine Movie - Reviews), but delays in the filming for The Argentine/Guerilla made so that Benjamin had to drop out due to other commitments, at least according to an entry on MTV Movies Blog dating to late last year  (Benjamin Bratt Bows Out Of Che Guevara Biopics), though he had supposedly been excited about the projects and talking about them since at least 2004 (An Interview with Benjamin Bratt - scroll down almost to the end of the interview).

Michael Crichton has died at the age of 66 and I would like to express my sympathies to his family and friends.

What is the connection with Benjamin? Though he is best known as the author of Jurassic Park, and its sequel The Lost World, both adapted into high grossing films (that I liked, especially Jurassic Park) directed by Steven Spielberg, Michael Crichton also wrote The Andromeda Strain, the book that provided the basis for the mini-series produced by A&E and broadcast earlier this year, starring Benjamin.

I’ve just run into this blog asking readers what’s their favorite L&O cast. If you wish to express your opinion, go and leave a comment. Guess which is mine.

What’s your favorite ‘Law & Order’ cast?

On another note here is an article going into whether

Can ‘Law & Order’ outlive ‘Gunsmoke’?

Benjamin has long been supporting the American Indian College Fund and he is expected to attend a gala to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the tribal college movement and raise funds for scholarships for tribal college students at The Flame of Hope Gala in New York City today.

http://www.collegefund.org/don.....tours.html

According to EW’s columnist Michael Ausiello, A&E has renewed “The Cleaner” for a 13-episode second season.

TV Week and Star Pulse report the news, too, adding that production should start soon and the new season should air next year (next spring, perhaps ).

http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/20.....the-c.html

http://www.tvweek.com/news/200.....leaner.php

http://www.starpulse.com/news/....._of_the_cl

Edited to add:

Meanwhile, a press release from A&E makes it official that a second season of “The Cleaner” has been picked up.

A&E Picks Up Second Season of The Cleaner Starring Benjamin Bratt

The content of this short article is not exactly new, but I think Benjamin’s wife, Talisa, can be flattered:

Benjamin Bratt Gets Through Parenthood With ‘The Love of a Good Woman’

A nice pic of Benjamin and his family taken at the Pumpkin Patch Sunday in Beverly Hills can be found at

Benjamin Bratt Picks Out a Pumpkin
The Pumpkin Patch