Outrage over Will.i.am’s VMA Blackface — I’m Confused

Will.i.am is receiving a lot of heat for his VMA performance, where he appeared in blackface while performing with Nicki Minaj.  Personally, I thought Nicki Minaj’s ridiculous purple outfit was more offensive than Will.i.am’s blackface, but that’s neither here nor there.  Let me begin by explaining that I don’t usually defend Will.i.am, because he’s generally pompous in interviews, but I’ll make an exception this time around.  Blackface is offensive because of it’s history in vaudeville and minstrel, where white men painted their face black, and danced around the stage making fun of black people.  To my knowledge, it did not involve black men painting their face black and dancing around the stage making fun of black people.  Got that?  I realize that it’s a double standard to say that something is insulting when a white person does it, but it isn’t insulting when a black person does it.  But that brings me to the brilliant Chris Rock quote below for your reading pleasure.  After you read it, I believe my point will be pretty clear.

‘I get white guys complaining that I get to use the word “nigger.” Well last time I checked, that was the only advantage I had. You want to trade places?’ he offers to a white man in the audience. ‘You get up here and scream “nigger” and I’ll raise interest rates. Because even if you don’t personally run the world, the people who run the world look pretty much like you.’

Watch Will.i.am and Nicki Minaj’s performance below.

Eminem — The Best Part of the VMAs

It does not get better than Eminem.  He’s the king of the music world, and his performance at Mtv’s Video Music Awards furthered confirmed my love for him. Similar to my Britney Spears snake dance, when I listen to Eminem I pretend I’m him, and I do a full performance with a hoodie and all.  I stand on top of my coffee table rapping, and then I get back down to ensure that my curtains are closed. Unsurprisingly, Rihanna joined him on stage for their song, Love the Way You Lie, after planting stories in the media about how she wouldn’t be there. Watch the performance below.

2010 MTV Video Music Awards – More VMA Video

Olivia Munn Strips for GQ — Because She’s “Funny”

When Olivia Munn was hired as a new correspondent for The Daily Show, the show was accused of sexism, because Jon Stewart hadn’t hired a female correspondent in seven years, and the one he hired isn’t exactly “funny.”  Translation? Many comedians auditioned for the role, and Stewart hired the hot Playboy model.  GQ interviewed Munn, and she posed in her bra and underwear, because . . . you know . . . that’s hilarious.  When asked how she got the role, she said she met Jon Stewart, and asked whether the holocaust happened.  Why?  Because nothing says knee slapper like asking a Jew about the existence of the holocaust.  Munn said Stewart immediately realized she had a Daily Show sense of humor.  Yeah — or she showed up looking like she did in her GQ photo-shoot.

Olivia Palermo Says The City is Fake — Bad Decision?

In response to Whitney Port’s recent interview that Olivia Palermo is just as horrible as she is portrayed on The City, Palermo fired back, saying that the show is, “absolutely not reality,” and it’s a “business decision.”  If she’s telling the truth, I’m confused.  Shouldn’t her overall “business” goal be a positive portrayal?  I certainly would not agree to appear on a reality television show as the bitchy villain.  If I were Olivia watching the first season, I would immediately call Mtv and ask to be released from my contract.  And that goes for all the reality television villains, including Scott Disick and Spencer Pratt.  I wonder what their childhood goals were.  “Hi Mommy, when I grow up I want to be on television, and I want to play a douchebag.”

Sheryl Crow at The Greek — Concert Review

I’m officially in love with Sheryl Crow.  I’ve been a fan since her debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club, but I have never seen her perform live.  She did not disappoint.  Early on in the show she admitted to having the flu, which made the concert more personal, and I found myself wondering if she’d be able to make it through the concert at full steam.  She did.  I was also surprised by the bluesy feel of the show, because I always placed Crow in the pop genre.  But the jazzy riffs blew me away.  At one point Crow said, “I have the greatest band in the world . . . all I have to do is stand up here and shake my ass.”  She’s right.  Had Crow been absent, I still might have enjoyed the show, by listening only to her band’s jam sessions.  Colbie Caillet opened Crow’s show, and she was also great.  Caillet may be another Crow in the making (and not because they both enjoy wearing extremely short shorts).  She’s currently still climbing her learning curve though, because she doesn’t quite look at home on stage yet.  Unlike Crow, she sang her songs exactly as they were on the album, without changing up the melody.  I have a feeling that Caillet is on track to headlining her own shows.  Overall, a fantastic show, and I imagine that Sheryl Crow will spend the rest of the weekend in bed with tea.

Underrated Movie of the Week: Extract

I’ve often complained that there are no good movies anymore.  The truth is that the good movies are out there, but hard to find.  Why?  They are poorly promoted, and unless someone in the film is dying of cancer, it’s unlikely that a low-budget, artsy movie will garner any critical traction.  For this week’s underrated film, I’ve chosen Extract, starring Jason Bateman and directed by Mike Judge.  Both Bateman and Judge are comedically gifted.  Judge created Beavis and Butt-Head, and wrote and directed Office Space, one of the greatest movie of all-time.  Extract centers around Bateman, who owns a factory that makes extract.  His marriage is sex-less, and he is convinced by hit pot-head friend (Ben Affleck) to hire a male gigolo to seduce his wife, so that he won’t feel guilty about having an affair of his own (with Mila Kunis).  You have to rent it to find out what happens next.

Best Entourage Cameos

I confess that I don’t regularly watch Entourage, but my brother is an avid fan, and he often calls me about very funny celebrity cameos.  My favorite is Jessica Simpson, who proved that she has a sense of humor about herself.  Watch video of top cameos below.

JESSICA SIMPSON

In Jessica Simpson’s cameo, Ari is trying to persuade her to let him represent her again. Simpson refuses, and Ari gives her a dog to replace her precious Maltipoo, Daisy, that died last year. Simpson thinks the gift is inappropriate, and tells him off.

MATT DAMON

Matt Damon’s cameo comes a close second to Jessica Simpson’s. In the episode, he asks Vince to donate money to his charity, and Vince reluctantly complies, but never sends Damon the check. Damon calls Vince to yell at him, and has a bit of a breakdown in the process.

TOM BRADY

Tom Brady and Mark Wahlberg sign up for a charity golf tournament, and Turtle ignores Brady, because Turtle is a Giants fan.  When he approaches Brady, his feelings are quickly side-lined when Brady compliments Turtle’s girlfriend, Jamie Lynn Sigler, and invites the two over for dinner with him and Gisele Bundchen.  I suppose a celebrity invite trumps just about anything.

VAL KILMER

Val Kilmer’s episode is up there with my favorites, because Kilmer is so insane, I think his character might be close to the truth. He plays an extreme pot-head, and he sells the entourage some high quality herb.

LARRY DAVID

Larry David could be funny without speaking. The Seinfeld co-creator and Curb Your Enthusiasm star, shows up to Ari’s office, demanding to know why Ari didn’t take him to the Lakers game, as promised.

Project Runway — Bryant Park 2010 — The Final Collections

The top ten designers from Season 8 of Project Runway showed their designs at Bryant Park, and I’ve compiled pictures from their collections below.  Click the “more” link to see everyone’s designs.  Seven of the designers below are actually “decoys,” because only the collections of the top three designers are aired.  The show is taped on delay, and using decoys is the only way to maintain the surprise.  In fact, one of my favorite designers from last season’s Project Runway, Anthony Williams, was a decoy.  Look below, and see if you think you can spot the decoys.

CASANOVA

Continue reading “Project Runway — Bryant Park 2010 — The Final Collections”

Sofia Coppola Could Have Directed Twilight — Dodged a Bullet

Sofia Coppola revealed in a recent interview that she was in the running to direct Twilight, but the studio ultimately went with Catherine Hardwicke instead.  Though Coppola was kind about how the movie turned out, I won’t be so kind.  Coppola dodged a bullet.  When I think back to my young self, I am certain that my pre-pubescent teen angst would not have been enough for me to enjoy Twilight.  The entire film was sans plot, revolving solely around longing stares between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.  I’m unsure why Coppola was on track to become a big-budget director (remember Marie Antoinette?) after Lost in Translation, considering she has a more artsy palette.  Luckily she’s back to her old ways, and her new film, Somewhere, is looking like a hit.

Best Television Shows — Do the Actors Keep in Touch?

I’m always wondering whether the actors from my favorite television shows still remain in touch.  I’ve done my research, and compiled a list below.  Enjoy!

MARRIED WITH CHILDREN

David Faustino revealed on Chelsea Lately that his Married With Children co-stars would be appearing in his new web series, Star-ving, because they really believed in the quality of the series. Though I’m sure his webisodes were good, something tells me that the continued friendship with his co-stars helped land their appearance. The revelation that they still keep in touch, made me yearn for the big-haired Peg Bundy. Married With Children might have been the first ‘Modern Family.’

ROSEANNE

John Goodman is a notorious curmudgeon in interviews. Not even James Lipton could break his guarded nature during Inside the Actors Studio. When asked on The View whether he keeps in touch with his Roseanne co-stars, he bluntly said no, and blamed it on himself. Judging from the picture above, they at least keep in touch at awards shows.

WINGS

Wings was one of my favorite shows in television history. The two brothers are still on my hot-man list, and I luckily get my Tim Daly fix on Private Practice. I couldn’t help but wonder whether Tim Daly and Steven Weber keep in touch. The picture above was very recently taken, so I’m happy to report that they are still friends.

FULL HOUSE

Every time John Stamos appears on Howard Stern’s radio show, Stern tells him to have sex with the Olsen twins. Stamos says he just couldn’t do it, but a small part of me thinks he might. The entire cast of Full House say they keep in touch, though I suspiciously have never seen a picture of the Olsen twins with any of them. But six out of eight isn’t bad.

BEVERLY HILLS 90210

Ian Ziering said in a recent interview, that he wanted to do a 90210 reunion, but The CW couldn’t make it happen. Apparently, the entire cast was willing to appear. In fact, at Jason Priestly’s wedding, many 90210 cast members showed up, including, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Tiffani Thiessen and Tori Spelling.

SEINFELD

There isn’t much need to answer whether the Seinfeld cast still talks, because they all appeared on a Curb Your Enthusiasm reunion show.

SAVED BY THE BELL


Jimmy Fallon tried and failed to get the Saved By The Bell cast to reunite on his show. He was forced to have a California Dreams reunion instead.  They later reunited for People Magazine, with the exception of Dustin Diamond, who wasn’t invited due to a ridiculous “tell-all” book about his fellow cast-mates.