Rumors continue to fly that Katherine Heigl is unhappy on "Grey's Anatomy" and has one foot out the door. She may want to think twice... Source: FOXNews.com | 14 Mar 2009 | 12:49 pm
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Some of the biggest names in Australian music, past and present, took to the stage on Saturday for Australia's largest-ever fund-raising concert and to show support... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 9:32 am
Reuters - Some of the biggest names in Australian music, past and present, took to the stage on Saturday for Australia's largest-ever fund-raising concert and to show support for victims of the nation's deadly bushfires. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 14 Mar 2009 | 9:32 am
___ ABC's "This Week" _ Lawrence Summers, director of the National Economic Council; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Summers. ___ NBC's "Meet the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 8:02 am
AP - The feud between Jon Stewart and CNBC's Jim Cramer has been good for laughs and ratings but has also raised the serious question of whether the experts at TV's No. 1 financial news network should have seen the meltdown coming and warned the public.
AP - The feud between Jon Stewart and CNBC's Jim Cramer has been good for laughs and ratings but has also raised the serious question of whether the experts at TV's No. 1 financial news network should have seen the meltdown coming and warned the public.
Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo is to follow his box office hits "Red Cliff" and "Red Cliff 2" with a new movie to be shot in China this year, according to the Beijing News. The president... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 5:31 am
Hong Kong filmmaker John Woo (seen here last December) is to follow his box office hits "Red Cliff" and "Red Cliff 2" with a new movie to be shot in China this year, according to the Beijing News. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 5:31 am
India's Hindi-language film industry is on the hunt for new male superstars as its current crop matures into middle age, sparking a battle among well-connected young bloods to be their... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 4:33 am
Indian actor Emraan Hashmi (seen here in 2007) is among Bollywood's young generation making waves in Indian cinema. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 4:33 am
Among those making waves in India are Ranbir Kapoor -- the 26-year-old grandson of Bollywood legend Raj Kapoor and cousin of actress Kareena -- and his namesake Shahid (seen in this file photo), 28, whose... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 4:33 am
Indian film actor Neil Nitin Mukesh (seen here on March 5), 27, is one of Bollywood's new male talents aiming for the top. His first film, "Johnny Gaddaar," did poorly at the box office last year but was... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 4:33 am
Among those making waves in India are Ranbir Kapoor (seen here in 2008) -- the 26-year-old grandson of Bollywood legend Raj Kapoor and cousin of actress Kareena -- and his namesake Shahid, 28, whose parents... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 4:33 am
Chris Brown and Rihanna aren't making new beautiful music together after all.
The producer who recently collaborated with the couple on a possible duet for Brown's upcoming album...
Tenor Philip Webb made a surprise Metropolitan Opera debut Friday night, replacing an ailing Marcelo Alvarez as Manrico for the second half of Verdi's "Il Trovatore." Webb, Alvarez's... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 4:14 am
On Best Week Ever we often try to feature new up-and-coming bands you may not have heard of like Passion Pit and Matt & Kim that we hope will become household names. On the other hand, we also can’t help but acknowledge bands like The All-American Rejects that have recently solidified themselves in the minds of America’s mainstream music fans. We featured the song “Gives You Hell” this week from The All-American Rejects’ new album When the World Comes Down. This song has spent an impressive 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 list and currently sits comfortably at #5.
These guys have certainly proved that they can write a catchy rock tune and, despite their name, people in this country actually do dig their sound. I wonder if they were trying to be ironic with that name or if they thought they would suck and went for a 'Sh*tty Beatles' approach a la Wayne’s World when starting out. Either way, if you like “Gives You Hell” (and it seems like a hell of a lot of you out there do), be sure pick up The All-American Rejects album When the World Comes Down, available now.
Check out the video for “Gives You Hell” after the jump.
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Two years ago, trombonist Glen David Andrews could scarcely look up as he described his months "in exile" in Houston and the Federal Emergency Management Agency... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 2:49 am
Mediaweek.com - -Yesterday's Winners:
Dancing With the Stars (ABC), Two and a Half Men (CBS), CSI: Miami (CBS) Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 14 Mar 2009 | 2:39 am
A Second Life avatar lands in WWF's Conservation Island. "Conservation Island" and its friendly wild animal population is aimed at encouraging human residents to live in harmony with nature Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 2:07 am
A character stands in front of the Maldives virtual embassy (background-L) in the virtual world of Second Life. Diplomacy Island was inaugurated in 2007 both on Second Life. Linden Lab chief executive... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 2:07 am
Linden Lab chief executive Mark Kingdon shakes his head when he sees news stories heralding the demise of former Internet darling Second Life. Reporters that rushed into Second Life to... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 2:07 am
File photo shows a recruiter in Paris working at a Neo Job-Meeting event, a virtual job fair held on Second Life. Linden Lab chief executive Mark Kingdon shakes his head when he sees news stories heralding... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 2:07 am
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Some of the biggest names in Australian music, both past and present, take to the stage Saturday for Australia's largest ever fund-raising concert and show support for Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 1:46 am
A rare copy of the first Superman comic book sold for 317,200 dollars at an auction -- a super hero sized increase on the original 10 cents paid back in 1938. Bids in the online auction, Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 12:57 am
Formula One driver David Coulthard is seen wearing a Superman costume during a practice session in Monaco, in 2006. A rare copy of the first Superman comic book sold for 317,200 dollars at an auction --... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 14 Mar 2009 | 12:57 am
Now that your internal body clock has finally adjusted to the switchover to Daylight Savings Time, it's time for your friendly Vulture editors to wrap up this week for you with a great big bow.
How nasty is the breakup between Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer?
Not nasty at all.
So says a friend of the couple who gave me a shout after I broke the news about their latest...
(E! Online)
E! Online - Strike two for Howard K. Stern this week.
Try not to laugh.
No really, go ahead. Just try it.
That is your mission while watching the best TV shows coming out this spring, which are...wait for it...yes, comedies! After...
New York fashion director Harriet Mays Powell stopped by accessories designer Pierre Hardy's studio in Paris to scope out his fall 2009 collections. (In addition to the namesake line, he designs jewelry for Hermès.) Watch the video to see his sky-high platforms and hear him explain how shoes got so high in the first place.
In last week's magazine, New York's senior art critic Jerry Saltz praises the curators of the Museum of Modern Art's new retrospective on Martin "The Artist Who Did Everything" Kippenberger for "shutting down the awful academic echo chamber that has tried to turn Kippenberger into one cutout caricature or another: cagey gamesman, aesthetic tinkerer, fun drunk, anti-hero. They let his insurrectionary freedom and radicalism come out." Saltz recently went back to MoMA with Vulture videographer Jonah Green to walk us through the highlights, including a brown-painted Ford covered in oat flakes and a "Kafkaesque scene from hell, but also from Ikea." Enjoy!
(Reuters) Reuters - Museums in New York and Philadelphia are cutting jobs, slashing salaries and closing stores because their endowments have been pounded by declines in donations, government aid and investment returns. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 13 Mar 2009 | 10:35 pm
Anna Nicole Smith's longtime partner and attorney, Howard K. Stern, and a doctor were jailed Thursday in connection with a scheme to furnish drugs to her before her death in 2007, authorities said.
Today in media, there are shuffles and delays, but no one is ready to admit defeat just yet. Wenner Media insists they can sell another Us Weekly (just not right now), and the Washington Post consolidates.
• Wenner Media announced plans to delay the launch of Us Style, a fashion quarterly from Us Weekly, for a third time. The company still plans to publish the magazine in 2010. [Mediaweek]
• You’ve got mail! AOL chairman Randy Falco and chief executive Ron Grant were fired this week and will be replaced by Tim Armstrong, a former Google executive. [NYT]
• WP’s business section is too weak to stand up on its own, and will now spend its days leaning on section A. [Politico]
• Hey, unemployed journalists! Stony Brook University may have some jobs for you! The school is proposing the development of a “news literacy” program to help students understand the media they consume. [Stony Brook via Romenesko]
As is typically the case for all great Super Furry Animals singles, the Welsh weirdos' glorious new "Inaugural Trams" seems like the result of a mushroom-fueled game of Mad Libs — it's a krautrocking synth number about the unveiling of a new public-railcar system, featuring a guest rap by Franz Ferdinand's Nick McCarthy (in German, obviously), and a sing-along chorus that somehow manges to spin lyrics like "We've reduced emissions by 75 percent" into functional hooks. SFA's ninth album, Dark Days/Light Years, will be released digitally on Monday through the band's website, and the fact that this is the track the band deemed broad enough to be its first single certainly bodes well for more acid-brained pop lunacy.
If you missed Phillips du Pury's seminal bling auction, Hip Hop's Crown Jewels, you are in luck, for another seminal auction of bling in its purest form takes place next week. Over 600 diamonds seized by authorities investigating an international money-laundering scheme hit the block on Friday, March 20. Previews of the lots, which you can view here, take place on Wednesday and Thursday next week. Is this auction destined to be the emptiest in the land? Or could it turn out to be a great opportunity to get diamonds at rock-bottom prices, pun intended, because no one's buying plain diamonds these days — does anyone ever buy plain diamonds in this fashion? Jewelers are closing stores in These Times too, after all. Might criminals turn up and buy back the jewels? Or just a chinchilla-clad J.Lo and her personal jewelry designer? Lady Gaga could make an excellent set of panties out of them.
Don't forget, an all-new episode of Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins airs on VH1 tonight at 11:00! Tune in as we help you through the new extra-hope-crushing Idol rules, the new "looser" Dancing With The Stars rules, and Tyra's ongoing experiment about what constitutes a television show!
In the meantime, here's what happened on the online superhighway:
Our thoughts on Watchmen, in both Straight and Gay.
And finally, we still don't understand why people are calling this Joaquin Phoenix schitck "fake." He clearly attacked this concertgoer with the realest of intentions.
When news first broke that Katherine Heigl's character on Grey's Anatomy was suffering from some brain-tumor-esque ailment, most pegged the grumpy star as a goner. But then came word from creator Shonda Rhimes that, depending on how contract talks went with the show's rising star, the brain tumor could be operable. However, in last night's episode, the residents of Seattle Grace diagnosed "Patient X" (a.k.a. Heigl) with a particularly nasty strain of skin cancer, a prognosis that carries with it a slim, 5 percent chance of survival. There's only one thing we can think of to get us through these admittedly difficult times, and that's the hope that Tom O'Neil will one day analyze how this news affects Heigl's chances at winning another Emmy.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was at the New England School of Law today talking to students and taking questions. At one point, she mentioned that the members of the Supreme Court only take photos together when a new justice is initiated. "We haven't had any of those for some time, but surely we will soon," she said, leaving it unclear whether she was referring to herself or one of the Court's other advanced justices. Senator Jim Bunning could not be reached for an insane, tasteless comment. [AP via Google]
Bless John Koblin over at the Observer for being able to write this article without even a tinge of visible jealousy, resentment, or class envy. See, we've been following the New York Times byline of A.G. Sulzberger, son of publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr., since it started appearing online aside familiar names like those of our accomplished friends Sewell Chan and Jennifer 8. Lee. Koblin today takes us through the history of young Sulzberger's work, from his first online byline to his first print one — which occurred, of all places, on page A1 of the print edition of the New York Times. Three days later. Okay, deep breath. A.G. Sulzberger is 28 years old, and you know we've been in a panic lately about our success levels with regard to our age. But A.G. once dated a friend of ours, so we will refrain — against all impulses — from saying anything shallow or spiteful. Instead, we'll let you do it. Tell us in the comments: Is this super-successful, talented late-twentysomething media heir hot, or not? Because we really can't tell. And it matters.
Following Wednesday night's blistering Tweet from NIN front man Trent Reznor ("You know that feeling you get when somebody embarrasses themselves so badly YOU feel uncomfortable? Heard Chris Cornell's record? Jesus"), Cornell has fired back in a stinging Tweet of his own: "What do you think Jesus would twitter? 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone' or 'Has anyone seen Judas? He was here a minute ago.'" [Rock & Roll Daily/Rolling Stone]
Teaming up for a nationwide tour with Jennifer Hudson was a no-brainer for Robin Thicke.
They first collaborated on "Giving Myself," a beautiful track from her self-titled debut...
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy rejected a request filed Monday by Stern, the executor of Anna Nicole Smith's estate, to lift a...
• Nope, we're still not done sucking every bit of life out of Slumdog Millionaire. The Pussycat Dolls' version of the Oscar-winning song "Jai Ho" now has a music...
Lily Allen isn't going to let a few run-ins with the paparazzi take away that smile.
Yesterday, the British songbird made tabloid headlines by throwing a haymaker and water bottle at...
Even though we've already received confirmation that the fake brawl that fake rapper Joaquin Phoenix engaged in with a fake fan was indeed fake, we just stumbled upon a YouTube clip of the incident (via Hollywood Elsewhere) that not only includes the entire song Phoenix performed but is also blessedly bleep-free (and therefore NSFW). And guess what? We're just as surprised as you that the song isn't entirely unlistenable. In fact, we quite like the beat; it's laid-back and has an appealing retro sound. However, Phoenix's vocals leave more than a little to be desired: Pulling a page out of the Ashlee Simpson playbook, his lazy yet also strangely out-of-breath flow sounds as if it's accompanied by a backing track (particularly during the chorus). Even worse are the tired, un-bleeped retorts he uses to combat his (fake) would-be heckler: "I got a million dollars in a fucking bank account, what do you got, bitch?" We suppose that's better than "Na-na-na boo-boo," but not much. The full (and surprisingly well-shot) video lives after the jump.
Why would hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen lend nearly half a billion dollars worth of art to Sotheby's for a glamourous exhibition if the art isn't for sale? Art worlders were mystified by the Sotheby's announcement that twenty of top collector Cohen's paintings by Picasso, de Kooning, and van Gogh — plus Richard Prince's nude of Brooke Shields, Spiritual America — will go on view April 2 through April 14 at the auctioneer's York Avenue headquarters.
Such elaborate, museumlike exhibitions of rare works are usually meant to pull in crowds and build buzz in advance of an auction, but Cohen told the New York Times emphatically that none of the works are on the block: “This is not a way of selling my pictures.”
Mystery solved: It turns out Cohen has every motive to make Sotheby's look good. In a filing Monday with the SEC, Cohen disclosed that his SAC Capital has amassed a 5.9 percent stake in the auction house since October 1, becoming one of its larger shareholders. Sotheby's said the decision to show the Cohen works was made by the collector and Sotheby's top executives at a recent dinner party at his Greenwich, Connecticut, home.
The show of his and wife Alexandra's artworks (many bought at auction over the last several years) will be titled "Women," and features the female form in versions dating from 1890. The show is something of a boon for contemporary artists Marlene Dumas and the even younger Lisa Yuskavage, as their work will be hung alongside those of Cézanne and Matisse.
MAKEUP
• Makeup artist Dick Page on young models: "It's difficult for me to think about a cosmetics idea on someone who is basically a child. I'm not crazy about anonymity in fashion or beauty or the fact that we work with very, very young models because they're supposed to have the ideal body. They're like ciphers. Bless them, but I don't really understand it as an esthetic." [WWD]
HAIR
• Guido Palau styled the hair at the Louis Vuitton show. "These girls are out to catch a man, so everything has to be luxe and gorgeous," he said. How progressive! [Daily Beauty Reporter/Allure]
• Fergie ditched her overhighlighted mop for deep, dark brown. Also, the eyebrow ring is gone. Praise? [Off the Rack/People]
• Farrah Fawcett hair is back, so ready your hairspray. [Bella Sugar]
FRAGRANCE
• Sofia Coppola directed the commercial for Dior's Mon Cherie fragrance, starring model Maryna Linchuk. If you feel like watching a commercial right now, here you go. [Moment/NYT]
According to the Times, Bloomberg has already spent "$667,000 on office renovations, $410,000 on voter research, $337,000 on health care, $286,000 on marketing, $192,000 on rent, $110,000 on Internet advertising and $50,000 on newspaper ads" for his reelection campaign. So far his total costs have reached $2.9 million. That might be a lot for anyone who isn't the richest man in New York City. [City Room/NYT]
By most accounts, the showdown was pretty brutal. Many watching Thursday night's "Daily Show" on Comedy Central felt that comedian-turned-media-critic Jon Stewart held bombastic financial guru and CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer's feet to the fire.
Front Page: Tantamount, BermanBraun pilots lead the way -- TV vets David E. Kelley, Dick Wolf and Jerry Bruckheimer all have new projects in the works, but it's two rookie shingles that are really flying high this pilot season.
There’s a poster up in Greenpoint encouraging residents to save the Earth by riding bikes and generally being clean. Judging by the handwriting, this particular advocacy campaign is run by an individual about 5 years old, which will sadly just make him/her easier for Sheldon Silver to outmaneuver in Albany. [New York Shitty]
Front Page: Musical tries to stick in new political climate -- The question hanging over the Broadway transfer of "Hair" isn't whether the 1967 flower-power tuner can still speak to contempo auds. The uncertainty hinges in part on whether the $5.8 million transfer about anti-war hippies retains the same urgency in the age of Obama as it had in the waning days of the Bush administration.
Terry Richardson shot model Natasa Vojnovic in Diane Von Furstenberg's meatpacking-district headquarters for the latest issue of Purple. You might remember Natasa from Gareth Pugh's fall 2009 video. She's known for her very, well, distinct modeling style (read: she shrieks and flails in front of the camera like she's possessed). See her work her stuff in a very special behind-the-scenes video from the shoot.
Eastbound and Down has already achieved the status of "Awesome HBO Show That Most People Don't Realize Is Awesome Until Well After Season One Aired And Then Some Friend Forces Them To Watch It Once And They Quickly Agree It's Awesome" (it's a cumbersome status), and if you're not watching the Will Ferrell/Adam McKay/Danny McBride-produced six-episode series about a washed-up Major League Baseball Pitcher played by McBride (aka "Red" from Pineapple Express), then please watch the video below.
Here's the Kenny Powers "Back On Top" Major League-comeback video in its entirety. Note the number of times he actually throws a baseball on camera:
(I've actually been waiting for this to appear online all week - thanks, Gorillamask) Source: Best Week Ever | 13 Mar 2009 | 8:00 pm
Commuters driving over the Brooklyn Bridge around 8:20 a.m. today may have been jolted awake by a strange sight — a gleaming, cube-shaped piece of architectural history being pulled along the East River on a barge. The building, a 1967 beach house designed by Robert Venturi and his wife, Denise Scott Brown, had been slated for demolition in New Jersey when a Long Island couple, Deborah Sarnoff and Robert Gotkin, saved it from developers last month by convincing authorities to let them ship it to their Glen Cove property. The price? One dollar for the house, $100,000 for the transportation.
"It's wonderful to see that these people worked so hard to save the house," said Venturi, who with his wife watched the building chug by from a platform at South Street Seaport. Known as Lieb House, after the first owners, the structure is an early example of the kind of irreverent architecture that made Venturi one of the most influential — and controversial — architects of the postwar era. Lieb House, which Venturi once proudly described as “a bold little ugly banal box,” was an early working-out of his ideas about incorporating ordinary, vernacular elements into his work.
Ha! You think wildflowers are going to save your bottom line?
This weekend's "Key" supplement to the New York Times (can you believe that one still exists?) has a very disheartening story about the real-estate market out in the Hamptons. There are tons of properties on the market, owners are being forced to slash prices, and developers who built luxury homes on spec — usually a sure thing out East — are getting left with overwrought, oversize mansions on their hands right and left. There are three examples in the story that got us really worried. Here's one:
According to data collected by the Suffolk Research Service, a local real estate data company, the number of sales in 2008 fell by 25 percent in East Hampton, 39 percent in Bridgehampton, 45 percent in Southampton and 47 percent in Montauk.
Yipes.
Near the end of the story, the writer found an object lesson:
A home with a $1.5 million mortgage, and recently foreclosed, was going up for auction. As I waited for the proceeding to begin, I met the wife of the home’s owner, a real estate broker, who looked on sadly as a referee, Charles D’Onofrio III, read out the terms of the sale and asked, “Are there any bids?” The only other person on the steps, a representative of the bank, offered the token sum of $500. “Sold,” the referee barked.
Double yipes! And then this, by far the worst anecdote, cut us to the bone:
Even John Paulson, the hedge-fund manager who made billions by betting against the housing bubble, seems to have timed his Hamptons moves poorly. Last year, after buying himself a new $41.3 million estate, he put his old place in Southampton — advertised as a 6,800-square-foot “cottage” — on the market for $19.5 million. He has since cut more than $5 million from his asking price.
John Paulson? Our hero?? Triple yipes! With stripes!
Backstage at the Louis Vuitton show in Paris, Marc Jacobs was seen frantically looking for his hunky one-and-only, Lorenzo Martone. "I've been looking all over for you," Marc told Lorenzo when he found him, wearing both Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton. "I'm afraid when I don't see you!" Aw. And of his main man, whose show began only seven minutes after its scheduled start time, Lorenzo said, "He's always on time now, to everything. If we invite you to tea at 5:00 p.m., you'd better not come at 5:01 p.m." We'd surely not screw up that invitation. [FWD]
Ira Sorkin, Bernie Madoff's attorney, is appealing Judge Denny Chin's decision to lock up Madoff until his sentencing in June. If he's successful, Madoff will return to house arrest at his Upper East Side apartment. This is, of course, the type of thing lawyers are supposed to do for their clients. Still, though ... booo! [NYP]
Both creepy and hilarious, writer-director Brian Pew’s short satire Focus Group takes us into the impossibly dry and claustrophobic world of a consumer focus group — one that manages to bring together both The Wire's Jamie Hector (already a Picture Palace alumnus) and CNBC Fast Money star Dylan Ratigan (no, really) — where a cross section of characters is gathered and grilled about their responses to a product, in this case toilet paper. The antiseptic, deliberate filmmaking style feels perfect for this sort of material — it’s sort of like that opening interview in The Shining, re-imagined as a comedy of advertising. And for some reason we can’t help but get a bit nostalgic watching this film: The whole voice-of-your-corporate-masters vibe feels very much like something out of those heady pre-financial-crisis days.
Make no mistake, the California attorney general is not one to mince words.
"What we have in this case is a conspiracy among three individuals," Jerry Brown said of Howard K....
The following rant comes with the obligatory disclosure that I only complain about The Office because I love it, and that a weak Office episode is still better than most of television, and this season as a whole has been a huge step up from the rut they were in last season, etc, etc.
That being said - Why was every single character on last night's Willy Wonka episode acting like a complete idiot? Not "idiot" in the sense that the characters are always dumb and goofy in an amusing way, but "idiot" as in "none of these human beings would ever act this way and this is really frustrating to watch?"
The episode opens with Michael acting like Willy Wonka. Fine. Michael slips 10% Off "Golden Tickets" into five random shipments of paper, but they turn out to all be part of one large shipment to one large client. Pretty funny, off to a good start.
But when Blue Cross calls the office to inform Michael that they received all five golden tickets, Jim's first reaction is "Did you put 'limit one per customer' on the tickets? I'm going to call corporate to make sure they know I didn't lose fifty percent of my sales." Oscar also confirms "they're our biggest client" and later laments "they can fire all of us!"
Why wouldn't EVERYONE'S first reaction be, "let's call Blue Cross, explain the mistake, give them 10% out of courtesy, and move on with our lives?" How unreasonable are the clients that they'd actually even think "no no no, you said 10% per ticket so we get half our sales for free!!! Even though regular 10% coupons never work like that, let alone these made-up golden ones!" Neither Jim nor Pam thinks of this, they just immediately turn retarded and panic, because it would've solved the episode's dilemma before the second commercial.
Michael then receives an angry phone call from David Wallace saying "this is gonna cost us a ton!" and demanding to know whose idea it was, and Michael immediately blames it on Dwight (pretty low, even for Michael). My roommate then predicted "I'll bet it turns out to be a great idea and Michael tries to take the credit back," to which I responded "C'mon, this is The Office, this isn't,like, Hammy Sitcom 101. They wouldn't do that."
Then Wallace finally shows up, Dwight accepts the blame (this also makes no sense, plus surely Wallace would immediately find out it was Michael's idea anyway, and the manager would be responsible in either circumstance, but I digress) and Wallace pulls a slapstick "...because WE TOTALLY LOVED IT!!!!" and IMMEDIATELY gets Dwight on the phone with the Dunder-Mifflin marketing people to give them some pointers, or something. Why did they randomly make the David Wallace character [sidenote: Michelle admitted she liked this episode only because Wallace was in it a lot, and I do concur, he's really perfectly cast in that part. Anywhoo...] so effing stupid in this episode? Did he forget how mad he was an hour earlier? Why wouldn't he be like, "Wow, this ended up working out, but we got really lucky on this one," instead of pulling an unironic Dumb & Dumber "...and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!!!"
I finally admitted last year that I enjoy watching 30 Rock more than The Office -- not because one is better than the other, I still love 'em both, but because it's much less reliant on having an actual plot, meaning I never allow myself to get caught up worrying about episodes like the Wonka Office in which the humor was completely overshadowed by all of the characters acting in ways they never would for the convenience of a really lame and easily solvable dilemma.
It also means that 30 Rock never causes me to spend my time writing detailed reasons about why I felt wronged by the fictional actions of fictional people on a 22-minute fake documentary. Perhaps in some way, that's actually a credit to The Office, because we all care so legitimately about the characters? Ehhh - more likely I just can't stand to see David Wallace brought down to Andy's level of dumbness.
Episode thoughts, people? Leave 'em in the comments. Source: Best Week Ever | 13 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm
For sentimental New Yorkers, these are tear-jerking times. Along with many overly posh things that most of us will survive just fine without, the bad economy threatens to flush away lots of fragile, old-school features of the city we love. James T. and Karla L. Murray document many of these in their excellent new coffee-table book, Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York. Since they began their project eight years ago, fully one-third of their subjects are closed, and many more are certainly on the brink.
We picked out a large handful of our favorites for your viewing pleasure. In the comments, please let us know if you have any attachments to or insider info any of these storefronts. And if you have pictures of your own favorites, e-mail them to us.
Spanish actress Penelope Cruz(L) poses with Spanish director Pedro Almodovar during a photocall to present Almodovar's new film 'Los abrazos rotos' (Broken Embraces) in Madrid. Almodovar said the movie... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 13 Mar 2009 | 6:46 pm
Clearly the hemline index isn’t the only trend that’s out of whack with the economic crisis. More proof that fashion is defying the downturn emerged at last night’s book launch for Vanity Fair and USA Network’s exhibit “Character Project”: Christian Siriano revealed that his sales have doubled since last season — and it’s not just thanks to his fetish heels for Payless. Propelled by some strategic price-slashing, even sale-happy stores like Intermix are expanding Siriano’s reach, bringing his line into more and more locations. “The good thing about my company is it’s really small and it’s growing, and we didn’t have to lay off a bunch of employees because I don’t have a bunch of employees,” he explained. “It’s crazy to think. You’re like, ‘Oh my God, you doubled sales in this economy?!’ But because last season was my first real season, my sales were small because I was so new. We had a handful of really good stores, and now this season we have ten great new stores.” He was tight-lipped about which new stores he's selling in, but said they were "big." Somewhere, Kenley is crying.
First Oprah and Tyra. Now it's Jessica's turn.
Becoming the latest star to speak out this week in the wake of the Chris Brown-Rihanna fiasco, Jessica Simpson urged female fans...
With the ink just dry on Leighton Meester's deal to star in the upcoming thriller The Roommate, I hear she's already looking to film a second movie when this season's Gossip Girl...
Everyone, better go check your goat pens: "State police investigators are looking for anyone who possessed a multicolored, advanced aged female Nubian goat in connection with the aggravated harassment directed to state Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Carmel, on March 4." [Poughkeepsie Journal]
Singer Chris Brown has recorded a song with his reported girlfriend, Rihanna, just days after charges were filed against him for allegedly assaulting her, the record's producer said Thursday through a publicist.
New York fashion director Harriet Mays Powell visited Karl Lagerfeld at his Chanel showroom in Paris for a closer look at his fall 2009 Chanel collection. But of course she had to ask about the fur-covered helmets he showed in his namesake line. "They’re ice-cold if you put them under the arm," he explained. "It’s like hair. So it’s like having a huge wig.” He also noted that the helmets have an iPod hookup. "It’s a stupid idea, but the best ideas are stupid.” And of this season's eighties explosion, he offered, "Remember the eighties. We don’t want to go back." See more in the video.
Anna Nicole Smith's former lawyer and boyfriend Howard K. Stern has been charged in relation to her death.
The Los Angeles District Attorney's office has confirmed Howard and two other doctors were, on Thursday (12.03.09), charged with conspiring to supply Anna - who died of combined drug intoxication in February 2007 aged just 39 - with drugs.
It has been alleged Howard, Dr. Sandeep Kapoor and Dr. Khristine Eroshevich gave drugs to Anna between June 5 2004 and January 26 2007.
They have all been charged with unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance during the time stated.
Sandeep and Khristine have also been charged with one count of gaining an opiate prescription by "fraud, deceit or misrepresentation" and with one count of getting an opiate prescription using a false name or address.
Both Sandeep and Howard - who was Anna's lover at the time of her death and once claimed to be the father of her daughter Dannielynn - have been charged with one count of "prescribing, administering or dispensing a controlled substance to an addict". Khristine was also charged with this offence in a separate count.
Each was given bail at $20,000 and arraignment dates have not yet been set.
Howard has previously denied any illegal activity in relation to Anna and drugs.
Anna died after she was found unresponsive in a room at Hollywood's Hard Rock casino.
Her death came just months after her son Daniel died from accidentally taking a lethal combination of drugs.
He passed away in September 2006 in his mother's Bahamas hospital room while he was visiting his new sister Dannielynn. Source
Nicole Richie threw a huge 30th birthday party for her rocker boyfriend Joel Madden this week.
The socialite held the bash on the private terrace of the Sunset Tower hotel in Hollywood. She invited around 35 of their friends to celebrate with Joel - who reached the landmark age on March 11.
They were beaming in the soft terrace lighting An onlooker said: "There was a lot of laughing and even some speeches. Nicole and Joel were nestled in the centre of the big group and looked as happy as they could be to be celebrating with their friends. They were beaming in the soft terrace lighting."
The highlight of the evening was when Joel was presented with a huge birthday cake, accompanied by a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday'.
The source added: "It was so big I'm surprised it didn't set off the fire alarms."
Although they were not members iof the party group, Sharon Stone and Drew Barrymore were both spotted dining at the Sunset Tower on the same night.
Nicole, 27, and Joel recently announced they are expecting their second child together. They already have a 14-month-old daughter Harlow.
The 40-year-old actress was reportedly dumped by her musician boyfriend after she returned from her visit to the UK to promote new movie 'Marley and Me'.
A source said: "They had some disagreements and decided to not continue to see each other. Jennifer is moving on with her life like she always does. She seems happy."
While the beauty was doing her promotional European tour, the 31-year-old singer remained in the US to concentrate on his own career.
The split comes just weeks after John joined the 'He's Just Not That Into You' actress at the prestigious Oscars ceremony and follows reports he was planning to propose with a £2 million ring.
They had some disagreements and decided to not continue to see each other. Jennifer is moving on with her life like she always does. She seems happy. This is not the first time the John, 31, has separated from Jennifer, 40.
Last summer he cooled things off between them so he could work out his true feelings.
At the time he said: "I ended a relationship to be alone because I don't want to waste anybody's time if something's not right."
Jennifer, 40, recently admitted she didn't expect their romance to last forever.
The former 'Friends' star - whose ex-husband is Brad Pitt - said: "Who ever said that every relationship has to last forever? That's hoping for too much. I think every relationship is a world unto itself."
Freida Pinto is being lined up to star in the next James Bond film.
The 'Slumdog Millionaire' actress has reportedly been invited for a screen test for the next film in the spy series by producer Barbara Broccoli.
Freida, 24, was first noticed when bosses were casting Bond girls for the last film 'Quantum of Solace', in which Daniel Craig plays the suave spy.
A source told Britain's The Sun newspaper: "Freida came to the attention of the team when they were casting 'Quantum of Solace'. She was too young at the time to have a part as a love interest for a secret agent.
But she has blossomed into an incredibly stunning young woman and would look perfect on Daniel's arm.
Earlier this month, it was revealed Broccoli is also keen to sign up 'Slumdog Millionaire' director Danny Boyle to helm the next movie.
If Boyle lands the job it is believed he would be keen to reunite with Freida.
The source added: "Danny is favourite to direct the next movie, which would increase Freida's chances of a starring role."
Freida has been offered a number of high profile contracts with fashion houses since starring in the film - which won eight Oscars - and is reported to have signed up to star in Woody Allen's next project.
For nearly 60 years, the Baltimore Opera Company was a staple of the arts scene in its region. It staged world-class performances, often drew large crowds, and survived repeated downturns in the economy.
More timely now than when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008, "Sunshine Cleaning," an agreeable, midrange independent film, makes light work of heavy burdens.
From left, Louis Vuitton, John Galliano, and RM by Roland Mouret.
Paris Fashion Week ended yesterday, but we won't leave you with nothing new to drool over. Check out our latest runway slideshows and details galleries.
For about a year, since right before the chaos involving his Neverland Ranch possibly being sold at auction, Michael Jackson has had a mysterious new manager. Source: FOXNews.com | 13 Mar 2009 | 5:24 pm
Judah Friedlander takes to the streets in this Best Day Ever: He reenacts the shocking fake Joaquin Phoenix fight, decodes the new Britney Spears video, and throws his support behind Chuck Norris for the office of President of Texas.
Front Page: CBS takes competitive Thursday -- In a very competitive Thursday night with only one repeat, CBS nudged past ABC while NBC saw a George Clooney-fueled "ER" score the most viewers in more than two years.
This week's Blingee Wednesday was sponsored by American Idol's most out of the box fabulous performer ever, Adam Lambert. We've seen some fabulous Blingees in our day... but this week you guys really outdid yourselves. Lovers of all things glitter and peen, prepare yourself for The 20 Most Fabulous Adam Lambert Blingees!
After a couple of support stints this year -- currently with Buckcherry and Avenged Sevenfold, then this summer for Nickelback -- Papa Roach plans to be ready to headline this fall to further promote its new album, "Metamorphosis."
Country songs can sure tell stories. Now the TV production company Granada America wants to make some of those stories into a series of one-hour TV dramas.
Front Page: Actress in early negotiations to star in 'World' -- Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz is in early negotiations to reteam with Sergio Castellitto, the Italian director whose 2004 "Don't Move" gave Cruz her first career-making role.
Reuters - "Race to Witch Mountain" is a film from Walt Disney Pictures that doesn't play like a family film manufactured by the Disney machine. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 13 Mar 2009 | 3:08 pm
Incubus will take stock of its career so far this year with a greatest hits set, "Moments and Melodies," due out June 16 and a seven-week tour kicking off July 9 in San Diego.
Front Page: WWII drama leads German Film Awards pack -- Florian Gallenberger's WWII drama "John Rabe," the true story of a German industrialist who saved 200,000 Chinese during the Japanese invasion of Nanjing, leads the pack among this year's nominees for the German Film Awards, also known as the Lolas.
Front Page: Network nabs travelogue-reality show hybrid -- NBC has ordered a full series of the travelogue-reality show hybrid "Great American Road Trip" from BBC Worldwide.
Fashion Wire Daily - The Fall 2009 fashion week term finally ended Thursday evening, March 12, in Paris with the last major show on the Paris calendar, Miu Miu, which turned out to be a lesson in fashion creativity and a ground-breaking affair. It confirmed the label's designer, Miuccia Prada, as the reigning heavyweight champion of style.
TV On The Radio, Public Enemy, the Black Keys and Santigold are among the acts handpicked by The Roots to play the band's second annual hometown "Roots Picnic" on June 6 at Festival Pier in Philadelphia.
The Philadelphia District Attorney's office will not to file charges against NBA star and Adriana Limas husband Marko Jaric despite claims of sexual assault, Jaric's attorney said in a statement sent to FOXNews.com. Source: FOXNews.com | 13 Mar 2009 | 11:39 am
Chris Brown and Rihanna aren't making new beautiful music together after all.
The producer who recently collaborated with the couple on a possible duet for Brown's upcoming album...
On Best Week Ever we often try to feature new up-and-coming bands you may not have heard of like Passion Pit and Matt & Kim that we hope will become household names. On the other hand, we also can’t help but acknowledge bands like The All-American Rejects that have recently solidified themselves in the minds of America’s mainstream music fans. We featured the song “Gives You Hell” this week from The All-American Rejects’ new album When the World Comes Down. This song has spent an impressive 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 list and currently sits comfortably at #5.
These guys have certainly proved that they can write a catchy rock tune and, despite their name, people in this country actually do dig their sound. I wonder if they were trying to be ironic with that name or if they thought they would suck and went for a 'Sh*tty Beatles' approach a la Wayne’s World when starting out. Either way, if you like “Gives You Hell” (and it seems like a hell of a lot of you out there do), be sure pick up The All-American Rejects album When the World Comes Down, available now.
Check out the video for “Gives You Hell” after the jump.
How nasty is the breakup between Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer?
Not nasty at all.
So says a friend of the couple who gave me a shout after I broke the news about their latest...
Try not to laugh.
No really, go ahead. Just try it.
That is your mission while watching the best TV shows coming out this spring, which are...wait for it...yes, comedies! After...
Teaming up for a nationwide tour with Jennifer Hudson was a no-brainer for Robin Thicke.
They first collaborated on "Giving Myself," a beautiful track from her self-titled debut...
• Nope, we're still not done sucking every bit of life out of Slumdog Millionaire. The Pussycat Dolls' version of the Oscar-winning song "Jai Ho" now has a music...
Lily Allen isn't going to let a few run-ins with the paparazzi take away that smile.
Yesterday, the British songbird made tabloid headlines by throwing a haymaker and water bottle at...
Make no mistake, the California attorney general is not one to mince words.
"What we have in this case is a conspiracy among three individuals," Jerry Brown said of Howard K....
The following rant comes with the obligatory disclosure that I only complain about The Office because I love it, and that a weak Office episode is still better than most of television, and this season as a whole has been a huge step up from the rut they were in last season, etc, etc.
That being said - Why was every single character on last night's Willy Wonka episode acting like a complete idiot? Not "idiot" in the sense that the characters are always dumb and goofy in an amusing way, but "idiot" as in "none of these human beings would ever act this way and this is really frustrating to watch?"
The episode opens with Michael acting like Willy Wonka. Fine. Michael slips 10% Off "Golden Tickets" into five random shipments of paper, but they turn out to all be part of one large shipment to one large client. Pretty funny, off to a good start.
But when Blue Cross calls the office to inform Michael that they received all five golden tickets, Jim's first reaction is "Did you put 'limit one per customer' on the tickets? I'm going to call corporate to make sure they know I didn't lose fifty percent of my sales." Oscar also confirms "they're our biggest client" and later laments "they can fire all of us!"
Why wouldn't EVERYONE'S first reaction be, "let's call Blue Cross, explain the mistake, give them 10% out of courtesy, and move on with our lives?" How unreasonable are the clients that they'd actually even think "no no no, you said 10% per ticket so we get half our sales for free!!! Even though regular 10% coupons never work like that, let alone these made-up golden ones!" Neither Jim nor Pam thinks of this, they just immediately turn retarded and panic, because it would've solved the episode's dilemma before the second commercial.
Michael then receives an angry phone call from David Wallace saying "this is gonna cost us a ton!" and demanding to know whose idea it was, and Michael immediately blames it on Dwight (pretty low, even for Michael). My roommate then predicted "I'll bet it turns out to be a great idea and Michael tries to take the credit back," to which I responded "C'mon, this is The Office, this isn't,like, Hammy Sitcom 101. They wouldn't do that."
Then Wallace finally shows up, Dwight accepts the blame (this also makes no sense, plus surely Wallace would immediately find out it was Michael's idea anyway, and the manager would be responsible in either circumstance, but I digress) and Wallace pulls a slapstick "...because WE TOTALLY LOVED IT!!!!" and IMMEDIATELY gets Dwight on the phone with the Dunder-Mifflin marketing people to give them some pointers, or something. Why did they randomly make the David Wallace character [sidenote: Michelle admitted she liked this episode only because Wallace was in it a lot, and I do concur, he's really perfectly cast in that part. Anywhoo...] so effing stupid in this episode? Did he forget how mad he was an hour earlier? Why wouldn't he be like, "Wow, this ended up working out, but we got really lucky on this one," instead of pulling an unironic Dumb & Dumber "...and TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!!!"
I finally admitted last year that I 
First Oprah and Tyra. Now it's Jessica's turn.
Becoming the latest star to speak out this week in the wake of the Chris Brown-Rihanna fiasco, Jessica Simpson urged female fans...
With the ink just dry on Leighton Meester's deal to star in the upcoming thriller The Roommate, I hear she's already looking to film a second movie when this season's Gossip Girl...
