Tag: Uncategorized

Warner Bros. and MGM Threaten Peter Jackson With Brett Ratner

Warner Bros. and MGM are heavily pursuing Peter Jackson to direct the ‘Hobbit’ movies, now that Guillermo Del Toro quit the project.  Jackson co-wrote the scripts but does not want to direct the film because he is “too busy.”  So now Brett Ratner’s name is being thrown around, presumably as a negotiating ploy to convince Peter Jackson to either direct the film, or have it ruined.  Too harsh?  Have I mentioned that I have it on VERY good authority that Brett Ratner is a gigantic douchebag.  At least I openly admit my biases.

Betty White in Sex Photo Controversy – She’s Officially Made it!

Radar Online reports that photos of Betty White and her late husband, Allen Ludden, are being shopped around.  Apparently, White left them behind in her old house and her recent popularity has sparked the owner’s interest in selling them.  This news is especially funny in light of all the sex jokes White made while hosting SNL.  Is it completely gross that I want to see these pictures?  God help me.

American Idol Band Sues American Idol – For Making My Ears Bleed?

When I first read this story, I thought: Gee, this must have something to do with the fact that the American Idol band is so awful.  Perhaps they are suing American Idol for defamation, because the judges constantly insult the band with covert statements like “I didn’t like the arrangement” or Simon Cowell’s ever popular, “I liked the song until the band kicked in behind you.”  Is it possible the band is suing the show itself for subjecting me to its torture?  No such luck.  The ‘American Idol band is suing the show for the money they allegedly should have received for online music downloads.  Oh well, there’s always the next lawsuit.

Catherine Zeta Jones and Scarlett Johansson Get a Written Smackdown For Snubbing Tony Reporters

According to the Los Angeles Times, both Scarlett Johansson and Catherine Zeta-Jones angered reporters at the Tony Awards, when they abruptly bolted without giving interviews.  It’s apparently standard practice for winners to grant interviews after the show, and all of the non-Hollywood stars/true theater actors, gladly spoke with the press.  To be fair, Broadway has never taken kindly to the Hollywood crossover, so it’s possible that these girls are getting picked on, but this news certainly doesn’t surprise me.  There are just so many great parties to attend after the show – and . . . well they already got their statue.  Oh yeah – and isn’t Broadway lucky to have them in the first place?  Perhaps next time the press should find a way to hold that statue hostage until after they interview.  Alright – I’ve retired from Hollywood bashing for today.

‘Elf’ Broadway Musical in the Works – Santa is Crying

You know what’s worse than the creatively vapid town of Hollywood taking an old movie that everyone loves and remaking it just for the money?  Well, the creatively vapid town of New York taking an old movie that no one loves and remaking it into a Broadway show.  A stage adaptation of the Jon Favreau/Will Ferrell film, ‘Elf’,  is in the works, and I can’t think of a worse idea.  It’s easy to explain how something like this happens when you understand how a show makes its way to Broadway.  The simple answer?  Money.  And it takes a lot less effort to get a group of rich investors to put their dough into a project that already has a “name.”  Start drafting those North Pole letters early.

The Tony Awards: My Favorite Performance – Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison (video)

With the exception of a few performances, I didn’t really like this year’s Tony Awards.  It felt a bit stale, and only ‘American Idiot’ gave me the desire to fly to New York and see a Broadway show.  Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele easily stole the show for me, and used their stage chops to show that they sound just as good live as they do on ‘Glee.’  As an aside, I refuse to believe that Matthew Morrison is straight.  I realize he was engaged to a woman, and claims to be a heterosexual, but I’d like to believe that the reason I can’t have him all to myself is because he just doesn’t like women in general.  That has to be the reason right?  Watch the performance below.

Underrated Actor of the Week: Eion Bailey

I found myself watching the rather enjoyable train wreck that was ‘Center Stage,’ and I thought: “wow, that guy who plays ‘Jim Gordon’ is the only decent actor in this film” – which led to this week’s choice.  So I researched further, and I discovered that Eion Bailey actually has a serious line of credits to his name.  His most acclaimed role was that of ‘Pvt. Kenyon Webster’ in HBO’s ‘Band of Brothers.’  (I suppose that beats the ballet film.)  Bailey won a daytime Emmy for the television movie, ‘Life of the Party,’ and he can be seen next in the upcoming USA series, ‘Covert Affairs.’  Since I’m rather superficial, I’d also like to note that the fact that Bailey is extremely good-looking certainly helped with my selection.  Don’t get too excited though ladies – he’s married.

Actor that Must Make Comeback: Val Kilmer

Every so often I will post about an actor that needs a ‘fall-from-grace’ recovery.  Per my good friend’s request, I’ve selected Val Kilmer this time.  For me, Kilmer’s most memorable role was that of ‘Iceman’ in ‘Top Gun.’  But who can forget ‘Willow’ and ‘Tombstone’?  So what happened to his career?  Val Kilmer was rumored to have a tyrant-like reputation.  While filming ‘Top Gun,’ reports surfaced that Cruise and Kilmer’s mutual hatred for one another turned into a fist-fight.  And it doesn’t stop there.  On the set of ‘The Island of Dr. Moreau’, it’s alleged that Kilmer deliberately burned a cameraman’s face with his lit cigarette.  In fact, the director of that film, John Frankenheimer, said “‘there are two things [he] would never do again in [his] life.  [He] will never climb Mount Everest, and [he] will never work with Val Kilmer again.” Yikes!  Frankenheimer wasn’t the only director with Kilmer issues.  ”Batman Forever’ director, Joel Schumacher, once said that Kilmer was the “most psychologically troubled human being [he’s] ever worked with.”  Alright.  I don’t think I’m properly pleading my case for a Kilmer comeback.  I might have even convinced myself while writing this article that it’s not such a good idea.  Perhaps he’s changed and learned his lesson?  I thought he was great in ‘Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,’ alongside Robert Downey Jr., though he has to salvage his hotness factor by losing the weight.  It’s possible isn’t it?  Sigh . . . when I think of another comeback kid I’ll let you know.

Gwyneth Paltrow in Another Friendship Feud – This Time With Madonna?

Gwyneth Paltrow’s loose lips have gotten her into trouble again.  She recently released the following cryptic statement in her GOOP newsletter:

“What do you do when you realize that although you many have years of history, and found real value in each other in times past, that you kind of don’t like a friend anymore? That, after time spent with this person, you feel drained, empty, belittled or insulted. My father always used to tell me that, ‘you can’t make new old friends.’ How do you distinguish if someone in your life makes you change for the better of if you are better off without them?”

Speculation ran amok, with many believing that Madonna was the subject of the quote.  Though Paltrow’s rep denied a Madonna feud, this wouldn’t the first time that she expressed friendship issues with the press.  A few months back, she also used GOOP to write the following angry passage, which many speculated was about Winona Rider:

“Back in the day, I had a “frenemy” who, as it turned out, was pretty hell-bent on taking me down. This person really did what they could to hurt me. I was deeply upset, I was angry, I was all of those things you feel when you find out that someone you thought you liked was venomous and dangerous. I restrained myself from fighting back. I tried to take the high road. But one day I heard that something unfortunate and humiliating had happened to this person. And my reaction was deep relief and happiness.”

I have a few general thoughts about this.  First, complaining about your friendships is for your therapist’s consumption, not the public’s.  Second, if I were in fact your therapist, I might say something like, “if you find yourself always fighting with your friends, consider the possibility that you are the problem – not your friends.”  (Come to think of it, I am way too judgmental to be a therapist.)  And lastly, your GOOP newsletter is supposed to be positive, not an online journal for your angry outbursts.

Morgan Freeman Has a Fake Voiceover?!

You know all those commercials where you hear Morgan Freeman?  Well, it might not actually be Morgan Freeman after all.  Sources tell me that Morgan Freeman is so in-demand for voiceover work, that the actor actually hires a guy that sounds just like him to fill in.  I don’t think that it much matters to the advertisers that hire Freeman, given that no one can really tell the difference.  I’d really like to meet this guy that sounds just like Freeman.  What do you think he tells people his job is at a bar?  “Hi there, I’m a voice-over.  No, no – not for myself but for Morgan Freeman.”  Huh?  Anyways, this is just nutty enough to be true.