Hollywood gets a lot of negative press for constantly remaking movies. The creative executives at movie studios enjoy the remakes because the promotion is easy, and the risks are limited. But no matter how you spin it — a remake is usually a creative cop-out, and because there are so many, the movie industry has begun to dig its grave. So how do you solve the problem? Well, you remake a movie, and then you release statements to the press about how your film is not actually a remake. Confused? Allow me to provide an example. Tony Scott, the director of Tom Cruise’s Top Gun, is looking to make another Top Gun without Tom Cruise. It’s being painted as a “sequel.” When asked about the project, Scott said, I don’t want to do a remake. I don’t want to do a reinvention. I want to do a new movie.” And that’s not the first time I’ve heard this spin. A new Jason Bourne movie is in the works, and Matt Damon won’t star in it. Tony Gilroy will direct the new film, saying, “this is not a reboot or a recast or a prequel.” Wow, Tony — perhaps you can define what this is then, considering its mighty confusing to make a Bourne movie without Jason Bourne. As for Matt Damon, he isn’t pleased with the news. Damon told Parade that he’s not in it, but “Universal just wants to call everything the ‘Bourne’ something. So I guess they are trying to make another franchise.” Perhaps I have to start coming up with more creative terms for this type of thing. How about . . . ripoff?
Tabloid News Review
- Chris Klein is done with rehab. The Gossip Girls
- Natalie Portman and her father had a falling out over her sex scenes in The Black Swan. Monsters and Critics
- Jennifer Love Hewitt has a new boyfriend. Gather
- Simon Cowell’s engagement is off. Hollyscoop
- Jamie Lee Curtis was written out of her father’s will. Digital Spy
- Kat Von D and Jesse James are still together. She Knows
- Halle Berry and her new man, Olivier Martinez, walked the red carpet as an official couple. Pop Sugar
- Glee star Matthew Morrison and Cameron Diaz may be dating. Celebuzz
- Rod Stewart talked about his adopted daughter. Twirlit
- Matt Damon welcomed his third daughter. Hello Magazine
- Gavin Rossdale admitted to having a gay relationship. Entertainment Weekly
- Liam Neeson has a new girlfriend. Huffington Post
- Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift might be dating. Pop Eater
- Jersey Shore is MTV’s top rated program in history. Examiner
The Beach Boys Lip-Sync? — Too Bad it’s Not “The Beach Boys”
“The Beach Boys” are under fire for lip-synching at a concert in Australia, and I’m shocked that the real scandal isn’t the fact that it’s not actually The Beach Boys that performed at the concert. Everyone knows that two of the original members of the group have died (Carl and Dennis Wilson), and the other two surviving members (Al Jardine and Brian Wilson) don’t perform with the group anymore. That leaves only Mike Love, who parades around with his sad little tribute band, using the name “The Beach Boys.” How do you call yourself by that name without Brian Wilson, the true brains behind the band? It’s almost insulting that Mike Love gets away with this, especially after he’s had a lot of fun suing the other members, claiming that he had more of a song-writing influence than he was originally credited for. I guess Wilson and Jardine don’t want to play in the sandbox with the litigious toddler. By the way, wasn’t it Mike Love who opposed Pet Sounds, arguably one of the greatest albums in music history? Yeah — he’s the guy I want to see live. Click the link below to watch the alleged lip-syncing.
Did Mike Love Lip-Sync?
Update: Mike love responded to this controversy saying, “We do not lip sync. I want to make it 100 per cent clear that The Beach Boys do not and never have lip-synced their concerts. They have been touring since 1961 and generally have performed in more than a hundred cities a year since the beginning. I guess we should take it as a compliment that it sounded so good.” Is it possible for Mike Love to get any more annoying? Your band has not been touring since 1961 Mike! This is not The Beach Boys!
Did You Know: The Social Network Twins Are Played by One Person?
A friend of mine told me that the Winklevoss twins from The Social Network are played by one actor, and I rolled my eyes at his stupidity. I condescendingly told him that it would be impossible, because most of the shots had both twins. After looking on IMDB, I discovered that I owed my friend a serious apology for my scornful eye-roll. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss are played by Armie Hammer with the help of some serious movie magic. Apparently, an actor named Josh Pence played the other twin in every scene where the brothers were seen together. Then, Armie Hammer’s face was essentially super-imposed over James Pence’s face, so Pence’s acting skills won’t get credit from the general public. It’s even more interesting that Pence landed the part before finding out that his face would be “morphed” to match Hammer’s, which Pence admits required him to “swallow his ego.” Both actors did get the opportunity to meet the real Winklevoss twins though, which ironically began through Facebook.
Katie Couric Insults Glee Photo-shoot — What Would Dan Rather Say?
I’ve certainly noted my objection to the sexy Glee photo-shoot for GQ Magazine, but must Katie Couric discuss this on her CBS newscast? Isn’t she supposed to be reporting “real news?” I wasn’t aware that hard-hitting news had now become about Glee actresses posing in their underwear. I wonder if Dan Rather saw the video below, and wept.
Willow Smith — The New Pop Music Queen?
Today is a very sad day. Why? Because I can’t get Willow Smith’s new song, Whip My Hair, out of my head, and she’s only nine years old. It’s embarrassing, and I’ve been holding off on posting the video because I’ve been too busy self-loathing about whipping my hair to a nine year old’s music. I wouldn’t be a genuine blogger though, if I withheld my opinion from the world, so consider yourselves blessed with my honesty. The video is great, and it proves that you don’t need to sexualize young children to be successful. It isn’t about the fact that she’s only nine years old and making music. It’s about the fact that she’s too young to dress like a slut, yet her music is still getting air-play. I think this proves that older girls don’t need to wear leotards with their crotch hanging out to get their song on the radio. Watch the video below.
Dear Media, Stop Reporting Playboy Offers
Part of my job as a professional blogger is to read an insane amount of news daily. In reading much of the mindless dribble, I constantly come across the same story — what new celebrity was offered money to pose nude for Playboy. I’m sick of it. Playboy whores out offers to celebrities daily, mostly because they’ll take just about any Z-lister to pose nude, because a naked “name” will increase sales for the magazine. Even though Playboy knows that mostly all celebrities will decline the offer, they still email every news outlet on the planet to make them aware that the offer was made. Why? Because the offer alone, combined with a big name, equals promotion for the magazine. It’s a cheap way to advertise, and enough is enough. I’ve posted the latest stories below.
Jersey Shore’s JWOWW turns down $400,000 Playboy offer. Pop Crunch
TV Reporter Ines Sainz declines naked Playboy photo shoot. Huffington Post
The Dirty Won’t Remove Naked Erin Andrews Pictures — Will Nik Richie Rot in Hell?
Erin Andrews is a warrior. Not only did she have a psycho stalker take naked pictures of her that ended up all over the internet, but she continues to fight every single website that keeps her photos posted. So when I read that she had her lawyer send a letter to TheDirty.com, asking them to remove the naked pictures of her, I assumed they would be taken down immediately. Why? Because no one is possibly that evil, right? Once a stalker-victim contacts you directly, wouldn’t your ounce of humanity kick in? Apparently, TheDirty.com, doesn’t believe in humanity, and they updated their post after receiving Andrews’ letter, to say, “are these the pictures your lawyer wants me to remove? I’m confused.” In case you’re not aware, TheDirty.com is run by Nik Richie, who is married to Shayne Lamas of The Bachelor fame. Lamas broke up with Bachelor Matt Grant, because “she thought she was marrying a banker, and then found out he really wanted to be a television host.” It’s nice to know Shayne found someone with better career standards. Congratulations on trading up.
Why I’m Not Watching This Season’s Apprentice
I confess that I’m an avid fan of competition television. I love Project Runway, and I’ve always looked forward to The Apprentice. When The Apprentice started to cast celebrities, I was first opposed to the idea, and then I started to watch it and immediately got hooked. I love seeing whether celebrities are actually capable of executing intelligent business decisions. The greatest surprise in the history of the show was Bret Michaels. Had you asked me what I thought of him prior to The Apprentice, I would have said he is “dumb as rocks” (Rock of Love pun intended). Then I saw him on Celebrity Apprentice, and he blew me out of the water (no Rock of Love pun intended). So when Trump announced that they would return to the original format of the show, and cast “regular people,” I was very disappointed. Last night, I tried to watch this season, and I turned it off twenty minutes in. I will attempt to explain my reason by using an analogy. Say you love ordering lasagna at Italian restaurants. Then, after years of ordering lasagna, you come to my house for dinner, eat my mother’s lasagna, and realize that you’ve been eating terrible lasagna your whole life. Once you’ve tasted gourmet, it’s over. Make sense? Why do I want to watch a bunch of nobodies taking themselves so damn seriously? At least when it’s ridiculous Hollywood types, I can justify it by saying they’ve been pampered for the last 15 years and can’t adjust to being bossed around. Alright, please feel free to use that genius analogy elsewhere — I won’t copyright it.
Why NPR Should Not Have Fired Juan Williams
NPR commentator Juan Williams was fired for telling Bill O’Reilly that he gets nervous when Muslims get on an airplane in “full garb.” Many are outraged over his firing, accusing NPR of being “too politically correct.” Here’s my feeling on this issue. It’s not okay for people to group all Muslims in the same category as terrorists. That being said, people do. Many people would have the same reaction as Juan Williams, but just don’t want to say it out loud. I don’t think he’s a bigot for having those feelings, but I do think that we need to find a way to have an open discussion without firing people. When you squash those conversations, you move this from being an overt issue to being a covert issue, and that certainly doesn’t help us find a solution. Furthermore, as Barbara Walters (also known as the Queen of my world) pointed out on The View, Williams is a commentator and not a journalist, which means he’s paid to express his opinion, liked or not.