Daily News Channel
“People love what’s next,” says Ricky Gervais’ fussy museum manager, explaining why many of the beloved old-fashioned exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History are being shipped off to storage at the Smithsonian Institute, to be replaced by holograms. Even Ben Stiller’s Larry Daley, the former night guard at the museum, seems to have moved on. He’s now the infomercial king, hawking such wares as the Glow in the Dark Torch in excruciatingly stilted exchanges with George Foreman
From the beginning, Ida’s unveiling has been a master class in ballyhoo. A week ago, the first breathless press releases began to arrive, portending the presentation of the now famous 47-million-year-old primate fossil from Germany: “MEDIA ALERT,” the notice shouted in all caps. “WORLD RENOWNED SCIENTISTS REVEAL A REVOLUTIONARY SCIENTIFIC FIND THAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING.” The press releases were followed by an international press conference at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the publication of a book, The Link: Uncovering Our Earliest Ancestor , an ABC News exclusive and on May 25 a primetime television special on the History Channel