Author: The Dishmaster

Gaby Hoffmann was pretty much the Dakota Fanning of the early nineties.  By the age of eleven, she already had four major box-office hits under her belt.  You might remember her as Macaulay Culkin’s sister ‘Maizy’ from ‘Uncle Buck’, and Kevin Costner’s daughter in ‘Field of Dreams.’  She also appeared in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ and ‘Now and Then.’  So where is she now, and is she still acting? I have to admit I was nervous to find an answer to this question.  Did she end up a washed-up child star that couldn’t transition into adult roles?  I’m happy to report that the answer is no.  During her early teen years, Hoffmann starred in some critically acclaimed films including: ‘Everyone Says I Love You’ and ‘200 Cigarettes.’    She then concentrated on theater, before eventually moving back into film.  Her next big project is the thriller ’13’, alongside Mickey Rourke, which will come out in 2010. Good to know we won’t be seeing her on a child-actors-gone-wrong special. If you’re curious to know what she looked like as a kid, click here. Otherwise, she’s in the middle of the pic below.

Since her split from Melissa Etheridge, Tammy Lynn Michaels has been doing quite a lot of blogging. She recently took to her website to write some verses about Etheridge filing for divorce. While I usually love me some scorned-lover-bashing, it’s not quite as enjoyable when it’s in the form of a tortuous haiku. And Michaels isn’t the first celebrity to engage in this “style” of writing. Rosie O’Donnell frequently writes ridiculous prose on her website as well. I presume this is an attempt at writing some kind of profound, covert message. Here’s my advice: just write coherent sentences. I promise that a grammatically correct style of writing that actually makes sense will be much more cathartic. Click here to read the post.

A friend of mine who knows about my unhealthy obsession with Robert Downey Jr., recently sent me an old interview of his with Men’s Journal.  I noticed something very interesting hidden between the lines.  He talked about the torture of working on a film you don’t believe in, saying “you have to be collarbone-deep in molasses for four months and just go, ‘I have no solace in my work whatsoever, and it’s 12 hours a day of cosmic punishment.’”  When the interviewer asked which film it was, Downey wouldn’t answer, but confirmed it was recent.  After eliminating ‘Shaggy Dog’ from the possibilities (which he said was a “very important” movie for him), only ‘Iron Man 2’ is left.  Upon suggesting it, Downey’s silent.  The reason I find this so intriguing, is because I thought ‘Iron Man 2’ was a giant tub of lard, and I wondered at the time whether Downey thought the same.  It looked like it was thrown together at the last minute, so that the studio could just cash in.  Judging by his Men’s Journal interview, I think I have my answer.

So the big news of the day is that Mel Gibson is a racist.  Didn’t we already know this?  I guess we knew he hates Jews, but now we know he hates black people too.  Anyways, Radar Online broke the story, and ABC recycled it (as most news outlets do – including myself), but I found their coverage particularly entertaining.  They repeated the exact quote Gibson used, and then explained that the N-Word is “deeply insulting to African Americans.”  Really ABC? – I had no idea.  They followed this with an irrelevant explanation about how Radar Online is not TMZ.  Huh?  I might send this article to Steve Jobs, who recently said that he hopes the iPad will save the news industry, as he doesn’t want to see us “descend into a nation of bloggers.”  Perhaps he’ll change his mind.  Read the article below.

ABC News States the Obvious

If you’re not a fan of ‘So You Think You Can Dance,” it’s time to be.  Last night’s performance with Alex Wong and Stephen “Twitch” Boss, is one of the best I’ve seen on the show.  Producer Nigel Lythgoe recently changed the format, bringing back all-star dancers to partner with the current contestants.  It has proven to be a great idea.  With dancers like Twitch in the routine,  the choreography is better than ever.  Plus, better dancers are not penalized with partners that can’t hold their own.  Alex Wong had previously auditioned for the show, and he was forced to leave the competition because he couldn’t get out of his contract with the Miami City Ballet.  At the time, Lythgoe told the tearful Alex that he had a definite slot when his contract was up.  Well, thanks goodness he stayed true to his word.  Wong makes this season what it is.  Watch below.

It looks like my family in Florida can finally get good bagels on Yom Kippur.  Larry King has officially stepped down from his talk-show host duties, and he’s found a new venture to keep him busy.  He’ll be partnering with The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company, which is a Florida based company that allegedly does something with the water to replicate the New York Bagel.  King will help the company expand to Beverly Hills.  He is actually a Jew from Florida, which makes this a nice fit.

I wasn’t going to report on this because I didn’t think it was newsworthy, but I’ve changed my mind.  Actor Jason Bateman is receiving a storm of criticism for cutting the line at Apple to get his iphone 4.  After waiting five hours in line, Apple employees escorted him inside to “avoid the papparazi.”  The crowd was understandably furious, but Bateman denied that he was booed.  Us Weekly stands by its claim though, and many witnesses confirm the outrage.  I actually love this story.  I hear that Apple won’t allow other people to pick up your phone, which means that celebrities cannot send their personal assistants to endure the torture of the Apple line.  So I guess the only choice to avoid standing with the mere commoners, is to throw some ‘Arrested Development’ weight around.  I’m surprised the people in line didn’t tackle him to the ground.  Click on the link below to see the very funny picture of Bateman engaging in his guilty behavior.

Jason Bateman Cuts the Line