In 1988, the news cycle didn't work with the same rapidity that it does today, when a story can go from the center of global attention to virtually nonexistent in a matter of days or even hours.  Almost 25 years ago, big stories became big stories without so many competing 24-hour news networks, all manner of social media, immediate meme-dom, and the eventual backlash. 

It was a year that included an American presidential election and the release of Die Hard, but one particular story that captured the imagination and attention not just of America but of the world at large was that of three California gray whales surrounded by encroaching ice in the Arctic Circle.  Multiple nations and even conflicting interests united to find a way to get the whales, known affectionately as Fred, Wilma, and Bam Bam, through miles of ice to the safety of the open ocean.

Operation Breakthrough, as it was known, was chronicled by Tom Rose in the 1989 book Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World's Greatest Non-Event.  That book inspired the new film Big Miracle, which dramatizes the events and stars Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski, who respectively play a Greenpeace activist and the journalist who first discovered the whale family.  With the new family-friendly drama arriving this Friday, both stars were recently on hand for a Los Angeles press conference, along with fellow actors Kristen Bell, Ted Danson, Dermot Mulroney, Vinessa Shaw, and director Ken Kwapis.  IAR's own Jami Philbrick was present to get these creative figures' thoughts on telling the story of Fred, Wilma, Bam Bam, and all those who aided in their journey.

Remember the little remote control truck robot that sounded like (but wasn't) Steve Buscemi in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen?  The one that humped Megan Fox's leg?  A new TV spot for the upcoming Transformers: Dark of the Moon confirms that not only will that little RC-bot be back for the trilogy's climactic installment, but he will ride on a dog's back at least once.  The spot also features plenty of big action, Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and an uncredited appearance from Eastbound & Down's Andrew Daly, getting jacked up by office supplies that are, in fact, robots in disguise.

Kenny Powers (played by Danny McBride) is back! For the folks who witnessed HBO's bizarre, inappropriate and utterly hilarious debut season of "Eastbound and Down" last year, that's music to your ears. For those of you not in the know, well, I can't really help you, because this show is something that you have to experience. Once you do, you'll either love it or hate it. Just like Kenny himself.