I like those weeks when more then one Big movie is opening, and it is hard to predict which of them will win at the box office. In the last couple of weeks it was impossible to watch any talk show, day or night, that did not host a cast member of either Hair Spray or I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry, trying to win our hearts, or at least our pockets.
I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry- Chuck and Larry (Adam Sandler and Kevin James) are two fireman who pose as a gay couple so they can get some insurance benefits. This movie reminds me a French movie I can’t remember the name of…
Hairspray- John Travolta(in drag) and Nicole Blonski sing and dance in this Musical. Tracy Turnblad dreams about appearing in “The Corny Collins Show,” a famous dance TV show.
Cashback- We actually featured a clip from this movie last week. Ben Willis, a student, uses his imagination to fight the boredom of working an eight hour night shift at the supermarket. I think this might be the refreshing movie of the weekend.
Since we are going to talk a lot about The Simpsons movie next week, today’s peak is from the new Lindsay Lohan movie, I Know Who Killed Me. Enjoy the weekend
Ilana Donna is back in a new video. What is the big deal about the iPhone? Was it really worth waiting in line for? Find out how both sexes feel the iPhone will change their lives in Amaldo.com vlogger Ilana Donna’s latest video.
Because we love Amy Winehouse at Amaldo.com, we’re disheartened to hear more bad news from London where she stormed out of a restaurant when friends confronted Amy after she ordered only vodka, champagne, and 7-Up. Unhappy with her friends’ concern/re: criticism of her choice in libation, Amy left the restaurant. The jazz-pop singer has been in the news lately after a much-publicizedcutting episode and for pulling out of concert engagements.
For more updates on Amy’s erratic behavior, click here.
For as long as the U.S. has been around, it’s been cool to copy our mother country England. Whether by boob tube (”The Office,” “Three’s Company”), musician (The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Coldplay), or trendsetter (Posh Spice, James Bond (yes, i know he’s not a REAL person), it’s all the rage to be an Anglo-wannabe and to exist wholeheartedly in this subtext of superficial existence.
Just ask Gwyneth Paltrow or Katie Holmes.
So when I hear things like the outrageous singer Pink wants to do a duet with Amy Winehouse or fellow pop-Brit Lily Allen simply for the reason that both are “interesting pop stars that like to party, drink, and act crazy,” I think to myself somewhere off over the trans-Atlantic, some poor girl with an ounce of talent and a whole lot of angst, must becutting herself. Not to take this matter lightly or anything, but if Pink said something like this about me, I think I’d just about have to hit the bottle. So what’s next? Posting an ad for “Crazy Bitches Who Can’t Sing But Want To Do Duets With Pop Stars Who Can But Like To Drink, Party, & Get Fucked Up” on Meetup.com or Facebook.com?
Seriously Pink needs to get a clue. And poor Lily and Amy. Someone tell them to run, not walk, from the nearest MTV recording studio.
The Earth is caught in the middle of an intergalactic war between two races of robots, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, which are able to change into a variety of objects, including cars, trucks, planes and other technological creations.
I know. I know. The premise of the new “Transformers” movie which opens today sounds ridiculous, but you also have to keep in mind that the movie is based on one of the best 80s cartoons to ever inhabit a Saturday morning time slot. Sure “The Gobots” were arguably the gentler, if not the more chick-friendly of the bots, but simply put, this movie looks like a good time. And after viewing last week’s psycho-nonsense of a poorly executed Stephen King thriller, redemption is mine.
I never would have considered going to see this movie if it weren’t for the 20 second clip I saw on Leno last week when “Transformers” star Josh Duhamel (whom I’ve been crushing on since he was Leo on “AMC”) was interviewed. Duhamel’s goyish, all-American quarterback boyish kick-back appeal adds a nice touch to the film, but when I first got wind of this Michael Bay production, I worried that it would just be all gore and B-rated horror house hijinks a la “Amityville Horror” or “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (then again Jordana Brewster running around moaning and/or moaning in a see-thru tank top for 84 minutes isn’t without its merits)
But from the clip I saw on “Leno,” which apparently doubled as really good PR for Paramount, this movie doesn’t take itself so seriously and is self-deprecating enough to warrant a July 3 release.I say go see it. What else have you got to do tonight or tomorrow?
Alright, so I just got back from a whirlwind 10-day tour – 24 hours with the family back in Bama, a couple of days at a little festival in Tennessee, 32 label meetings over the course of 5 days in NYC. And a chance meeting with Mickey Dolenz at a private party for Duran Duran.
What new stuff did we learn this time? Not a damn thing – everyone that still has a job is still kickin’ it, albeit with more challenges and smaller budgets. Sure, there was plenty of gossip, rumors, and speculation, but I’ll leave it up to Billboard to report the facts. However, talk of chain retailers behaving badly and trying to demand – not negotiate, but basically EXTORT fatter margins and better dating terms from the distributors – deserves some Woodward & Bernstein-style investigative reporting. Ugly stuff.
But while listening on the plane home to two of my top 10’s for 2007 from THE SHINS and WHITE STRIPES -– both incredible albums, signs of true artists at the top of their game — I suddenly realized that both of these bands started up exactly TEN YEARS AGO. Then I thought, “Hmm, that’s an odd coincidence. Is this true with other bands?” So I looked it up, and it holds true with a lot of modern musicians – Metallica by METALLICA? Ten years. OK Computer by RADIOHEAD? Ten years. Out of Time by R.E.M.? Ten years. Play by MOBY? Ten years. Blood Sugar Sex Magik by RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS? Ten years (alright, closer to nine). Hell, even All the Right Reasons by NICKELBACK – ten years! Read More…
John Stamos was in Australia last week and appeared on a talk show there where he proceeded to royally embarrass himself and slowly kill his career in less than three acts.
Aside from his drunken inflammatory behavior (Do all these has-been actors go to the same PR agency for fast-track advice on how to jump-start your dead career?), John actually humped a headpiece from Priscilla Queen of the Desert and fondled the talk-show host a few times after insulting her outfit. In true style, he ended the interview practically atop the host. After two interviews of a equally questionably inebriated nature, John was escorted back (of his own volition?) to the U.S. where his publicity worked overtime to convince everyone the incident was “jet lag.”
Imagine. A place that was founded as a holding cell for refuse doesn’t even want to be associated with the former “Full House” actor. That makes Stamos like the equivalent of the stuff that gets tossed out, thrown into the garbage can, but doesn’t quite make it in the can and just sits on the ground till trash day waiting for its demise by the consumption of rats. Then again. Isn’t this metaphor just a cheeky way of saying Hollywood.
Amy Winehouse’s latest public display of daddy-didn’t-love-me enough f*cked up starlet on coke is all the news in Britain. In the U.S., we have Paris Hilton to fill this role, but ok, ok, that designation doesn’t do justice to Amy’s talent or level of genuine self-destructive behavior.
So what’s the 23-year-old’s latest controversy that’s got everyone talking both her and abroad?
In a photo shoot for Spin magazine this past week, Amy took to picking up a piece of broken mirror and carving her stomach with the words “I Love You Blake” on her belly. Blake Fielder-Civil would be Amy’s husband of one month who was filming the shoot and caught the glass-cutting episode (sure to be sold to the highest British tabloid buyer when marriage goes sour). Amy later scoffed at her behavior likening her cutting episode with “chicken scratch.”
Still, in Amy’s defense glass cutting can’t be all the much of a departure from tattoo sleeves. What’s one sterile form of self-mutilation among body art aficionados?
We’re very excited to have our very own “princess from the slums of Queens” on board, NYC-based Associated Press online video guru extraordinaire Ilana Donna doing some vlogging for our mother site, Amaldo.com.
Ilana’s refreshing down-to-earth style and SJPisms on NYC life are well-appreciated and add just the right element to her first installment for our site, aptly titled “New Yorkers Take On A Mighty Heart.”
How was Bonarroo? You went didn’t you? Oh, if I had a dime for every time I have been asked that question I would be adding on to my house next week. But alas, I did not go this year. As a matter of fact, I didn’t go last year. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Roo and I miss it dearly but since they moved their dates to the same weekend as my beloved hometown festival City Stages (www.citystages.org).
City Stages is no Bonarroo, it doesn’t pretend to be. At the same time, City Stages is something Bonarroo isn’t, it is a celebration of civic pride and a way for a town plagued by it’s ghosts and the sins of our fathers, to show the world that this isn’t the city some in our country think it is. While I missed seeing the incredible music at The Roo (Except for The Police. I have talked to a few dozen folks who attended and inevitably the first thing out of their mouth’s is “The Police sucked!” That’s a shame. I will just keep my memories of the Ghost In The Machine tour and avoid their latest incarnation.). I did get to see a city rally to show how much it cares about a festival that in its 19 year history has had its ups and downs but continues to prove its relevance to Birmingham. Read More…
I really adore Steve Carell. As egomaniac boss of a small paper company Michael Scott in NBC’s “The Office” or the shy, affable 40-year-old virgin in Judd Apatow’s delightful comedy, Carell always manages to bring a bit of humanity, class, and humor to his roles. His understated pithy witticisms and his intuitive sense of timing make him inarguably one of the best comedic talents out there today. And I’m sorry to say, well above Will Ferrell in my opinion, although I’m also fond of Ferrell’s shtick.
However, when it comes to the Summer box office and discerning what will become the next Blockbuster hit, it’s usually over-the-top that wins out over adjectives like unassuming and understated. Read More…
Internet Gossip Blogger Extraordinaire Perez Hilton aka Mario Lavandeira aka the Gossip Gangstar is a well-known pop fixture on the Hollywood socialite/drag queen scene. He’s not only accrued notereity through his blog and the legions of people (myself included) who visit each day to catch a glimpse of “The Hills” Heidi Montag’s breast and mouth augmentation, but he’s even relatively respected in media circles. He’ll be playing guest host over at “The View” later this month and made a special appearance at this year’s Canadian Much Music Video Awards (think MTV Movie Awards minus the Paris Hilton purgatory of paparazzi) earlier this month.
So it’s with a heavy heart that I say that Perez Hilton’s copyright infringement violations have finally caught up with him - at least for the short-term. Hilton has been accused of stealing photos in four separate lawsuits initiated by eight different photo agencies. It was reported earlier today by Variety that the site’s webhost Crucial Paradigm stated that if they received one more notice of copyright violation against PerezHilton.com they would take the site down immediately.
It looks like Crucial stayed true to their word because today they took official action and pulled the site down. And unfortunately for those of us gossip mongers, as of 9 PM tonight, you still can’t access the site’s archive nor are any of the links to the actual posts functioning properly. There is a skeleton in place but not too many photos, unless you could the one that likens the wrestler Chyna to former star of “The Practice” and on-and-off Jack Nicholson flame Lara Flynn Boyle. Quite honestly, the similarities are a bit disturbing. But I suppose with enough plastic surgery, Neil Patrick Harris might actually appear straight on “How I Met Your Mother.”
Ms. O’Donnell has made it clear that her top dream gig (post-”View”) would be as host of the “Price Is Right” now that the geriatric Bob Barker has grown too old or too tired to make sexual advances on his female cohorts. So Barker has retired and Rosie wants in, but is the rest of America ready to embrace a gay female host? Considering the roster of male hosts being considered, Rosie would be in the minority as far as testosterone quotient (she has more) and sexuality (ok, maybe not), but Bob Barker has made it known he wants Rosie.
Rosie’s professional move would also require a possible personal move from Nyack, NY where she lives with her partner and kids to LA where “Price Is Right” is filmed. S
Hillary Clinton rocks the vote in this clever parody of “The Sopranos” series finale. Chelsea may be MIA but a some Billing and a little Journey go a long way.
I went to see Director Judd Apatow’s latest flic, “Knocked Up” last night. I’d been looking forward to this film since about the time of “Freaks & Geeks” so you can imagine the level of anticipation built up in the past eight years or so. Ok, so that’s an exaggeration but since “The 40 Year-Old Virgin,” I’d taken note of this Apatow guy and when I finally imdb’d him and realized he was behind such creations as “Fun With Dick & Jane” (which i absolutely loved), “Freaks & Geeks,” “Anchorman” and even a guest spot on “The Critic” (Jon Lovitz at his finest), I declared that quite possibly he was one of the most pop culturally unheard of comedians-to-date, considering his level of contribution and accomplishments.
But back to “Knocked Up”…
I like Seth Rogen as still-makes-love-to-his-bong-at-the-ripe-age-of-23 slacker Ben Stone. He’s likable enough and seems to balance out Katherine Heigl’s more restrained and uptight/conservative Alison Scott who realizes she’s preggers eight weeks after having unprotected sex with Ben. “Just Do It” isn’t apparently just a Nike slogan after all.
Did I mention Heigl’s Alison also lands a cushy job as a Ryan Seacrest-esque interviewer on an E! show? You’d have thunk the pregnancy might throw a wrench into all this, but don’t worry it doesn’t. That’s Hollywood for you. Not the actual Hollywood. The real Hollywood would have yanked Alison off air at about month 2, not waited till her eighth month of pregnancy to tell her how much her pregnancy will boost ratings and they don’t mind her not disclosing to them the fact she’s due in another month or so.
Both Heigl and Rogen perform well, but it’s the film’s ensemble supporting cast - Paul Rudd as Alison’s brother-in-law Pete, Leslie Mann (Apatow’s wife) as Alison’s sister Debbie, and about every SNL and “Freaks & Geeks” regular including the very funny Kristen Wiig as Alison’s bitchy co-worker Jill, that round out the cast and truly make this film float.
The dialogue is genuinely poignant, funny, bright (and pithy at times) and Apatow clearly has a strong grasp on how people actually communicate with each other in a way that evades a lot of other writers and directors of his generation. So I can appreciate this deeper level of insight that Apatow brings to his films, but not so much the situational comedic aspect.
This is where I have my major beef with comedies and “Knocked Up” in particular - the bridge between remaining relatively grounded in depicting life’s ironies (of course following the “exaggeration” motif of most comedies) and opting for these ridiculous and almost absurdist backdrops within which to do so.
David Edelstein of New York Magazine pointed out in his review that he’s happy to see the triumph of the fat druggie nice guy (I’m paraphrasing a bit here) winning the hand of the voluptuous fair blond maiden of his dreams, but when are we gonna see the fat girl with the hot guy in a serious romantic comedy of sorts of the caliber of “Knocked Up”? And don’t even get me started on “Phat Girlz”…
Apart from this, what are the odds that Pete and his wife Debbie make enough money to support their very pampered, but unhappy lifestyles? Why is money never really an issue for any of these people? Apart from Ben being a broke, unemployed guy who bums a crib off Alison’s sister and finally decides to get a job as a web designer in an office in an effort to “grow up” the issue of money never really is a critical matter within the movie. And how long did it take Ben to get a job and a nicely furnished apt? Oh, about the time it took Alison to deliver the baby and for him to assume more of an alpha male role in the critical delivery moment at the hospital where Ben tells Debbie to bugger off. Finally.
Oh, don’t get me wrong here. I’m not totally dissing/panning the movie. It’s just money is an issue for any couple starting out and especially one with a new baby so why can’t we deal with that in a more realistic way? Why must we skirt the issue by hiding behind creatively convenient family members with guest houses and pools and bourgeois lifestyles who can afford to spend all the time in the world talking about how marriage is like an unhappy, tense version of “Everybody Loves Raymond” but it lasts forever.
I get that rich people have their issues too and even the point that they are “real” people too whose feelings can/should be validated. Call me a party pooper (I’ve been known to live up to this), but sometimes I just don’t feel like indulging in their pity parties.
Fresh off filming the role of slain journalist Daniel Pearl’s widow in “A Mighty Heart,” Angelina Jolie finds herself in a press snafu of hypocritical proportions. While some of us drool over the Lara Croft portrayer, I find myself constantly stuck in this conundrum of realizing that despite her humanitarian missions and “good” intentions, Jolie has roughly about the same intellectual acumen of Paris Hilton on a face-battered-in-tears car chase day.
In short, she might be the type to advocate on behalf of Reporters Without Borders, but by golly, she sure isn’t equipped with the skills to realize the difference between contractually obligating the press to ask her only certain questions (a little censorship, anyone?) while on her press tour for “A Mighty Heart” and the fact that she’s advocating for freedom of speech on and off camera.
So how does she combat the bad buzz? Jolie made an appearance on The Daily Show last week to proclaim her outrage at her schmuck of a lawyer who drafted the contract and comes out smelling like roses.
In my opinion, karma is a b*tch though. And if anything, bedding someone else’s husband and going on to nab the very role that Wife A worked so hard to secure the rights to produce the film for, has a way of coming to bite you in the arse. If I were Jolie, I’d best beware.
Eh. Everything being equal, I think I’ll skip this film. “Ratatouille” holds more appeal for me. Less agenda, more substance.
“The Sopranos” ended with a whimper I’m sorry to say, with a series finale that hardly did justice to the caliber of show it started out as. For 59 minutes, nothing of note happened and the show driveled on building up to the final slow-mo climactic scene in which Tony and his family meet for dinner. Each members arrives separately so you’re held in suspense as to whom will be killed and whom will be spared. In the end, Meadow walks into the diner late to meet up with Tony, AJ, and Carmela and it’s “understood” that there’s a hit out on Tony and the assassins are at the restaurant setting up their mark.
Unfortunately Meadow running into the diner last minute is where the clip abruptly ends and credits start rolling. Huh? Disappointed? We sure were…
For as long as the U.S. has been around, it’s been cool to copy our mother country England. Whether by boob tube (”The Office,” “Three’s Company”), musician (The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Coldplay), or trendsetter (Posh Spice, James Bond (yes, i know he’s not a REAL person), it’s all the rage to be an Anglo-wannabe and to exist wholeheartedly in this subtext of superficial existence.
The Earth is caught in the middle of an intergalactic war between two races of robots, the heroic Autobots and the evil Decepticons, which are able to change into a variety of objects, including cars, trucks, planes and other technological creations.
by 
John Stamos was in Australia last week and appeared on a talk show there where he proceeded to royally embarrass himself and slowly kill his career in less than three acts.
Amy Winehouse’s latest public display of daddy-didn’t-love-me enough f*cked up starlet on coke is all the news in Britain. In the U.S., we have 
We’re very excited to have our very own “princess from the slums of Queens” on board, NYC-based Associated Press online video guru extraordinaire 
How was Bonarroo? You went didn’t you? Oh, if I had a dime for every time I have been asked that question I would be adding on to my house next week. But alas, I did not go this year. As a matter of fact, I didn’t go last year. Don’t get me wrong, I love The Roo and I miss it dearly but since they moved their dates to the same weekend as my beloved hometown festival City Stages (
I really adore Steve Carell. As egomaniac boss of a small paper company Michael Scott in NBC’s “The Office” or the shy, affable 40-year-old virgin in Judd Apatow’s delightful comedy, Carell always manages to bring a bit of humanity, class, and humor to his roles. His understated pithy witticisms and his intuitive sense of timing make him inarguably one of the best comedic talents out there today. And I’m sorry to say, well above Will Ferrell in my opinion, although I’m also fond of Ferrell’s shtick.
Internet Gossip Blogger Extraordinaire 
Ms. O’Donnell has made it clear that her top dream gig (post-”View”) would be as host of the “Price Is Right” now that the geriatric Bob Barker has grown too old or too tired to make sexual advances on his female cohorts. So Barker has retired and Rosie wants in, but is the rest of America ready to embrace a gay female host? Considering the roster of male hosts being considered, Rosie would be in the minority as far as testosterone quotient (she has more) and sexuality (ok, maybe not), but Bob Barker has made it known he wants Rosie.
Fresh off filming the role of slain journalist Daniel Pearl’s widow in “A Mighty Heart,” Angelina Jolie finds herself in a press snafu of hypocritical proportions. While some of us 
In this week’s 
“The Sopranos” ended with a whimper I’m sorry to say, with a series finale that hardly did justice to the caliber of show it started out as. For 59 minutes, nothing of note happened and the show driveled on building up to the final slow-mo climactic scene in which Tony and his family meet for dinner. Each members arrives separately so you’re held in suspense as to whom will be killed and whom will be spared. In the end, Meadow walks into the diner late to meet up with Tony, AJ, and Carmela and it’s “understood” that there’s a hit out on Tony and the assassins are at the restaurant setting up their mark.