So, Forbes named Ashton Kutcher TV’s highest paid actor by bringing in 24 million between May 2011 and May 2012. I almost can’t believe I’m going to say this but is this guy a genius? I’d be lying if I didn’t say I appreciate (maybe admire) what he’s doing and basically what he has been doing for the last 10 years or so.

Aside from being the dumb guy on That 70’s Show his biggest contributions have been in the tech world and investing in start up companies. He seems to have some foresight and takes chances with new technology. I remember reading an article about 6 years ago that I was positive was in Time (I just searched the web and can’t find it) that was written by Kutcher discussing the benefits of twitter. In the last few years he’s seemingly invested in 20+ start ups and is on advisory boards of a handful of companies.

Whatever it may be worth you have to at least appreciate what he’s doing. When I first moved to LA he had a restaurant located about 10 minutes away from me on Sweetzer and Melrose called Dolce and now, many years later, that restaurant is closed down and looks as though Ratatouille may be cooking for all of his rat friends because the place is run down and taken over. He went through the “I’m a celebrity I need a restaurant phase.” Now, it seems as though tech investment is the smart thing for him.

I get the sense that he’s on TV to pay for his tech investments, and if that’s the case, then this guy is even smarter than I thought… and I can definitely appreciate that.

It’s early, I need coffee, and this has just filled my Ashton Kutcher quota for the next year or so.

*Side note: The Butterfly Effect is slightly underrated.

A few major turns took place in my life last night. First thing is I went to see an Ashton Kutcher movie on opening weekend. Yes, I saw “No Strings Attached” with my girlfriend, and truthfully I actually liked it. Not sure how they did it but I found it to be entertaining.

For those of you who don’t know it’s a film about being friends and having sex and blah blah blah they love each other. I’m definitely a sucker for romantic comedies but I didn’t have any expectations for this film. I was waiting for Kutcher to turn into Kelso and start yelling loudly. Also, I should mention I’m not always crazy about his co-star Natalie Portman but it all came together for date movie101. I should mention that Ivan Reitman directed it so at least I can use that as some sort of justification. I’m able to say “The guy who directed Ghostbusters did this film.” It just feels good.

So, I saw a Kutcher and Portman Rom Com, liked it, and admit to liking it. But that’s not the thing that surprised me most. The next big surprised happened while in the film. I was at the greatest theater in the World – The Arclight on Sunset. As I was dreaming about the fluffy popcorn during the trailers the very loud girl next to me began to text someone. Okay, the pre movie text, I get it. It’s probably just an “I’m turning off my phone too see an Ivan Reitman movie” text. Right? Wrong.

The film starts – text. 20 minutes in – text. 40 minutes in – text. But then the mother of them all – She took a phone call during the film, but to her credit she was really quiet. I was in shock, it wasn’t that she was disrupting me but it was what she was doing. I looked around at one point and noticed a few other phones on and people texting. What the hell is going on!? Is nothing sacred anymore? Isn’t the dark theater a place where you don’t text?

I took a mental break during the movie and really thought this out. The people seeing the film are a “type” of person. This movie is made for a 21st generation mentality. It’s made to stimulate for 2 hours and be done and to rarely think about again. I doubt text messages are happening in Black Swan or The Kings Speech.

Also, I fear that we’re in a transition right now. Since we can watch through our phones and ipads we’re going to think it’s acceptable to take breaks and make calls in a movie. We have streaming films now and the movie going experience isn’t completely what it used to be. The one time sacred dark room of movie is becoming a thing of the past.

I hope this isn’t true. I love movies, and a reason I love them so much is because I love going to them. I like getting lost in a major screen while watching 30 somethings play 20 somethings. The theater is off limits it has to be, if it isn’t then dammit… we’re screwed.

So please turn off your cell phones… And see No Strings Attached.