AP - As Craig Ferguson faces a new rival in late night, he will carry on as host of CBS' "Late Late Show" with the blessing of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
AP - As Craig Ferguson faces a new rival in late night, he will carry on as host of CBS' "Late Late Show" with the blessing of South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Reuters - Sotheby's may have withdrawn one of the star lots amid suspicions it was stolen. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 19 Mar 2009 | 12:39 pm
AP - Tributes have begun to pour in from across the show business generations for Natasha Richardson, the Tony Award-winning actress who died after suffering a head injury on a ski slope.
AP - Tributes have begun to pour in from across the show business generations for Natasha Richardson, the Tony Award-winning actress who died after suffering a head injury on a ski slope.
Lindsay Lohan was 12 when she shot to child stardom in The Parent Trap. But she wasn't too young to remember who helped her rise.
"She was a wonderful woman and actress and...
Meanwhile, the Top 10 who emerged with their dreams intact from Wednesday's American Idol results show are...
Simon Cowell might give Paula Abdul hell during the judging portion of American Idol, but in reality there's a lot of love between these two judges. So much love, in fact, that they...
Welcome to the ultimate Lost flashback.
In season five, instead of us whooshing through time and space, time and space have whooshed to us. The spinning record finally stopped in...
Sad news to pass along. The family of Natasha Richardson just released the following statement through their publicist: "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time." [The Wrap]
As has been officially announced, the two-day vigil is over. Natasha Richardson has died. I'm told the horrifically sad event occurred this afternoon after Natasha's life support was...
Front Page: Actors join independent drama starring Affleck -- Kevin Costner and Tommy Lee Jones are set to star in "The Company Men," an independently financed drama about the impact that a corporate downsizing has on both its casualties and survivors. They join Ben Affleck, who was set last fall.
AP - No amount of psychological manipulation from John Malkovich can make us believe the lightweight comedy "The Great Buck Howard" is nearly as poignant or profound as it aspires to be.
Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke remembers the exact moment she decided to say no to New Moon.
"I was in Paris with Rob [Pattinson] and Kristen [Stewart] at dinner and talking...
A blow to the head that at first seems minor and does not result in immediate pain or other symptoms can in fact turn out to be a life-threatening brain injury, experts tell CNN.
Reuters - "Better Off Ted" has the fresh and lively feel of something great being born, rather like an office-bound version of "Malcolm in the Middle" in terms of style and sensibility. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 18 Mar 2009 | 11:48 pm
In an interview with CNN late this afternoon, Connecticut senator Chris Dodd admitted that it was he who added a loophole into the stimulus bill that allowed bailed-out companies to issue bonuses, but he did it at the urging of Treasury Department officials, who worried about being sued. Senator Dodd, please join Tim Geithner in the doghouse. [HuffPo]
Okay, this is awesome: To promote the collector’s edition of Check Your Head, out later this month, BeastieBoys.com has unearthed a performance of “So What'cha Want” from The Arsenio Hall Show, which we feel confident stating unequivocally is the artistic peak of the early nineties. And here are all the things we love about it, in chronological order: the announcer, promising “the music of Beastie Boys” like they’re a chamber-music quartet; the B-Boy’s clothing, showing heavy shades of our seventh grade closet; Mike D and Ad-Rock, never quite figuring out which camera to frantically mug into; every close-up of MCA, looking like he got into more than the rider-mandated brown M&Ms, if you know what we’re saying (marijuana); every instance of synchronized hopping; and the forgotten DJ Hurricane, spitting a verse we’ve never heard before. By the time the beat flips and B-Real and Sen Dog show up — both wearing Cypress Hill T-shirts — our brains were too fried to truly appreciate it. (Bonus: Find the mini ping-pong table on the Paul’s Boutique rerelease site for hours of competitive time-wasting.)
Irish poet Seamus Heaney was awarded the 40,000-pound David Cohen Prize for Literature on Wednesday for a lifetime of work that the judges said had "crystallised the story of our times". Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 18 Mar 2009 | 11:16 pm
The Bonus Buster today tasted sweet, sweet victory. New York judge Bernard Fried denied Bank of America's argument that compensation information is a trade secret, and granted Attorney General Andrew Cuomo permission to reveal the names of Merrill Lynch employees who raked in $3.6 billion in bonuses last year as the firm hemorrhaged money, necessitating its sale to BofA. "Let the sun shine in," the Bonus Buster actually, honest-to-blog, said of the decision in a statement today. "Justice Fried’s decision will now lift the shroud of secrecy ... Taxpayers demand and deserve transparency and now they will finally get it." Everyone ready for public outrage scandal part two? [Bloomberg]
Last night, visitors to the United Nations came to a fork in the hallway. To the right was the General Assembly where staffers lingered near the dais where Khrushchev banged his shoe. They smoked cigarettes — just as they did in the North by Northwest U.N. scenes a half century ago — in front of the placards of nations running from Albania to Zimbabwe. But the crowd bypassed history and headed into the adjacent ECOSOC chamber. There, the placards read Caprica, Leonis, and the names of the other twelve colonies of Kobol.
No, seriously. The chamber was filled to capacity for a discussion of the sci-fi drama Battlestar Galactica, with clips from episodes dealing with real-life U.N. issues, including human-rights violations, children in armed conflicts, terrorism, and dialogue among differing civilizations.
On the surface, it was an event ripe for parody — earlier this season on 30 Rock, Liz Lemon dated a man from the U.N., and they made nerdy jokes about the organization being like the Intergalactic Senate on Star Wars — but this sort of worked. Whoopi Goldberg moderated the panel, so there were some iffy moments, most provided by the actor Edward James Olmos, who plays Admiral Adama on the show. (Before the show, Olmos asked me if I had a match for a cigarette Whoopi had hidden in her sleeve. When I said I did not, Olmos commanded me: “Find one.”)
Still, Battlestar Galactica has addressed the issues of the paranoid post-9/11 world without flinching. The show, which airs its final episode on Friday, tells the story of the last survivors of an Earth-like planetary system destroyed in a nuclear holocaust orchestrated by the Cylons, synthetic humans who live amongst them. The 50,000 survivors wander the space desert and are alternately captors and captives, executing enemies for treason but also using suicide bombers when it suits their political motives. Already it’s hard to remember how courageous this was back in 2003 when the show was first aired. If every generation gets the TV show it deserves, and the comic nihilism of Seinfeld and the vapidity of Friends pretty much captured the nineties, then shows like 24 and Battlestar Galactica capture the ethical bankruptcy needed to wage a war on an undefinable enemy. “We are continually committing crimes to convince ourselves that we are right,” said Mary McDonnell, who plays President Laura Roslin, who alternately orders waterboarding of opponents but draws the line at Galactica soldiers serving as suicide bombers.
The evening was divided into four parts with a clip played and then a U.N. representative speaking about how it related to their work. After a scene where a Cylon is waterboarded, the U.N. human-rights aide Craig Mokiber turned to McDonnell and gravely said, “I just wanted to say, ‘Shame on you, Madame President.’ ” There were some chuckles, but then Mokiber smiled sadly and added, “You have no idea how many times I wanted to say that in this room.”
By the end, even Galactica partisans seemed to have grown tired of Olmos, who riffed about there only being one race, the human race, then led the crowd in chanting the show’s catchphrase: “So say we all.” Still, it was hard not to take away the lesson that moral relativism, whether it is on a TV show or in the actual war on terror, leads to decisions that haunt victims and victimizers alike. As a particularly creepy and prescient Battlestar Galactica character says, “It’s hard to claim the high ground when you’re standing in the mud.”
At a Barneys New York party in honor of Burberry's Christopher Bailey last night, we asked Ed Westwick the forbidden question: Would he ever go naked onscreen? His answer was surprisingly swift. "For the right role and the right amount of money," he said. "Yes."
Well, technically, they're not scientists, but the good people over at Videogum have been waging a valiant war against the evil axis of fake rap for some time now. And today, they stumbled upon a video that might just prove to be the Rosetta Stone of the whole movement: the video for "City of Crime," which was sung by Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks, and written for the express purpose of getting the truly terrible 1988 film Dragnet some face time — FACE TIME! — on MTV. Keep pulling the sweater, you guys! [Videogum]
Natasha Richardson has been taken off life support.
Sources close to the family tell E! News that the Tony Award winner was brain dead by the time she arrived in New York Tuesday night....
• Ad Age will publish fewer issues this year — but don't worry, they anticipate cutting fewer than ten. [NYO]
• Time, Inc. is testing an idea for a customized magazine. [Romenesko]
• Pensions have been "modified" at Condé Nast. Wait, some media people still have pensions? [Media Ink/NYP]
• The Wild West is basically over newspapers: After major losses in Seattle and Denver and reports of ongoing trouble at the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Diego Union-Tribune was sold to a private-equity firm that believes it can turn things around. [Romenesko]
After the color overload in New York, the jolie-laide looks of London, and Milan's disco dolls, we were waiting for the runway beauty in Paris to blow us away. Instead, it hit every beauty status quo: Updos pulled so tight you'd need multiple gel bottles (Nina Ricci and Yves Saint Laurent), dark eyes paired with pale lips for drama (Andrew Gn and Karl Lagerfeld), and precisely penciled lips that drew attention (Emanuel Ungaro and Antonio Berardi). There were, however, the outliers, like the theater-inspired face paint (Dior, Galliano, McQueen, Viktor & Rolf). But Paris also offered up attainable looks, like the smoky eyes at Valentino and Louis Vuitton. To see these and more beauty trends from the Paris runways, click ahead.
NOOOOOOOOO: David Prowse, the actor who played Darth Vader in the original Star Wars Trilogy, has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Not sure what this is all about, cause I just watched the Special Edition DVD and Hayden Christensen was actually the original Darth Vader. I mean, if it had been a different guy I would have been so confused!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (CNN)
THE HILLS HAVE SEQUELS: Audrina Patridge is leaving The Hills to star in her own reality show. The show will be called "The Hillss". (Hollywood Reporter)
BUSY SCHEDULE: Heather Locklear will not be joining the cast of the new Melrose Place remake. She will, however, drop by as a guest star multiple times in every episode and be listed in the credits and receive a salary. (ONTD)
RIMES WITH LIAR: Eddie Cibrian denies the Us Weekly cover story that he had an affair with LeAnn Rimes, saying "I only had an affair with one other woman and I was even more out of her league." (People)
MORE STUFF THAT ISN'T FOOTBALL: CBS has renewed CSI: Kidcare and CSI: Nerds for multiple seasons apiece. (Variety)
The day our Video Look Book camera descended on stylist Jessica Mycock, her bright red tights matched her bright red lips, but she insisted it wasn't on purpose. Also unintentional was an unmistakable eighties vibe to her mostly black outfit, which included a vintage fur jacket from an old Australian fur house. "When I buy, I guess I'm trying to buy what I'll love two years down the track as well as now," she explained. "It’s just whatever I love, whatever I feel like in the morning.” Watch the Video Look Book to find out which fast-fashion chain her handbag is from, and scope out her mean comb-over.
CBS announced today that they have decided to extend the lives of two of their most popular sitcoms that — not so coincidentally — are both helmed by television mastermind Chuck Lorre. The Los Angeles Times reports that Two and a Half Men will continue to air on the Tiffany Network for three more years and that Big Bang Theory received a two-year commitment. With that in mind, Vulture would like to dedicate this Johnny Kemp classic to the smartest man on CBS. [LAT]
Two weeks ago, Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler heroically interrupted a mugging-in-progress by tackling a thug and retrieving a woman's stolen cell phone. Perhaps impressed by all the free, positive publicity it garnered his deputy, Mayor Bloomberg himself tried something heroic today, rushing to the rescue of a college student who fainted during a press conference. He unbuttoned the student's shirt, found a pulse, and personally helped revive him. Which is wonderful and all, but memo to the mayor: If we pass out in public, let this guy rescue us instead. [City Room/NYT]
Actress Salma Hayek in February 2009 in Hollywood, California. Hayek will return to movie screens in a comedy alongside Adam Sandler, after a break in which she was producing and acting for television,... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 18 Mar 2009 | 10:00 pm
SKIN
• Tattoo Artist Scott Campbell of Saved Tattoo in Williamsburg has inked Vera Wang, Helena Christensen, and much of Marc Jacobs's body. He's opening a second shop in Noho in the basement of Smile. [NYO]
FRAGRANCE
• A fragrance named Ageless isn't an anti-aging perfume, but rather just makes you feel younger. In other news, someone's marketing department is out of ideas. [Allure/Daily Beauty Reporter]
MAKEUP
• Lancôme launched a blog. Forgive us, ladies, but you're a little late to the party. It's all about Twitter now, you see. [Fragrantica]
• Tamara Mellon of Jimmy Choo designed a line of makeup bags for fall. We can't afford the shoes, and we probably can't afford the bags either. [Fashionista]
NAILS
• The gunmetal-gray nail color worn at the fall 2009 Rodarte show will be available to regular people in June as part of manicurist Deborah Lippmann's line. But who wants gray nails when the first day of spring is on Friday? [Nylon]
Talk about your feisty fashionistas.
Kenley Collins, the talented yet whiny designer whom Project Runway fans loved to loathe, spent Tuesday night in a New York jail after allegedly...
Last night's episode of The Real Housewives of New York City was merciful. Producers relieved us from the torture of watching a thonged Silex cavort naked in St. Barts this time around (Seriously? St. Barts in the summertime is supposed to be glamorous?), and they finally threw Bethenny a bone and gave her a date (though we don't know in which order). Ramona's daughter Avery made a long-overdue appearance, and she was just as awesomely, adolescently mortified by her mother as she was last season ("Just because things look good on me," she told Ramona, "doesn't mean they look good on you"). Wonderful. We hope the high-heeled slut-booties her mother bought for her won't cause her to mature too much. Or do we? At least then we'd get an interesting plotline...
Kelly: You would think that after beating up her hot boyfriend last week in real life, this would have been Kelly Killoren Bensimon's week. But no. The only thing she did that hinted there were any mechanical workings inside her zombied exterior was insist her kids wear matching sweaters when LuAnn came over, even though they were obviously hot. Even Ramona's embarrassingly sycophantic/aggressive attentions ("You are so brave for coming to an event by yourself," you sad, sad, Mario-less single lady) failed to get a reaction out of her. Is it possible this woman is an actual alien?
Jill: The mother hen of the show did her best to make a plotline for herself by clucking first at Brad, her gay husband, over his renovations to her apartment, and then at Silex for their renovations. She was right in the first regard, but was way out of line in the second. She mocked the historic brownstones of Brooklyn, comparing them to the ones on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. But as we all know, there are a lot of wonderful original features in Brooklyn townhouses, and it's why many people move to the borough. Sure, she may be right about the van Kempens living in squalor unnecessarily, but it's not like she is in control of her own renovation. P.S.: Bring back Ally!
Ramona: Ramona made a bold effort again this week. We're liking her more and more. Unfortunately she was undone by two things: (1) Bethenny's bikini-clad body next to hers, and (2) her own daughter's gorgeous legs. Sorry, R.
Alex: Once again the eccentric, recently fired Brooklynite scored points by doing things her own way. She was the only housewife who would agree to help out Bethenny at her bakery booth, and she was unpretentious enough to deal cheerily with the delayed renovations in her home. Also, when Ramona publicly snubbed her at a party, she mused: "I don't know what her problem is, and frankly, I don't care." Excellent! Unfortunately, it's true, those people should really not be writing a parenting guide. And we really don't know why she couldn't have sublet a small apartment near her townhouse, or stayed in the hotel where her husband works, and avoided all the mess (and, as Jill pointed out, potentially dangerous pointy nails) of the renovation. They could move in with us! Seriously! We could use the extra income, and we're not fancy. We'd even offer to cut Francois and Johan's hair! For free. Pro bono. Any. Time. Cut it. Please.
LuAnn: LuAnn is out of control this season. She's shallow and manipulative and dumb, and not a scene goes by in which it does not become apparent that she is insanely deluded about her skills as an etiquette maven. Like when she told Kelly to stop being the "Mommy police" for reminding her daughter about table manners — hello! — it was not so long ago that LuAnn hijacked her own daughter's birthday to host an entire lunch based upon etiquette lessons. Plus, as Ramona points out on her Bravo blog, LuAnn chews with her mouth open. However, as much as we wanted to toss a skinny margarita in her face during the scene when she told Bethenny that "men don't like to have to work to compete with a woman," we actually ended up feeling bad for her. Bethenny was right; LuAnn stopped her own life to run off with a guy. And this etiquette thing, however boneheaded and ill-conceived it is, is her only way of getting it back. She still sucks, though.
Bethenny: Bethenny suffered through everyone's dating advice ("Why does everyone think I'm like Shrek or something?"), behaved through her drinks date with LuAnn, and amazingly, did not visibly dry heave when Alex told her she met Simon when she was trolling online for sex. She was matter-of-fact about her fellow housewives' shortcomings ("I think that Ramona's a little competitive with LuAnn") and kind in that she didn't reveal the reasons for her non-feelings for the guy from STK on-camera. (We'll say it for her: He's not hot enough. There.) Plus, her eye makeup was really well applied. So Bethenny, you won this round. Please don't send us any more vegan cupcakes, though.
If the latest round of Katie Holmes rumors is to be believed, then she's not only expecting a second baby but she prepared for the pregnancy by going on a special Scientology detox...
Matthew Williamson's H&M line hits stores April 23, but images of a good chunk of the goods have leaked. And they're not nearly as painful to look at as when they started leaking out in January, seeing as now we can walk outside, enjoy feeling in our extremities, and not hate life. The clothes are colorful, peacock-inspired, patterned, and more restrained than we expected. So far, we are loving the printed dresses. See more of the collection in the slideshow and believe — spring is upon us!
For the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone, Terry Richardson shot the cast of Gossip Girl in all sorts of compromising positions. He had Leighton Meester and Blake Lively licking the same ice-cream cone, sucking on the ends of the same Twizzler, and even doing some things with inflatable devices that the girls won't really talk about. The rest of the cast was involved in the shoot, having pillow fights, dancing around, and basically trying to find some way to pose that hasn't already been published in one of the dozens of features on the cast. Unfortunately, they weren't entirely successful. We swear someone else already had the idea to get the whole scantily clad gang into a big white bed together. Are we crazy? Don't answer that.
A VIP concert by the Swedish pop act Peter Bjorn and John at the midtown W hotel (part of the W hotels' Wonderlust Live series) felt like a trip back to simpler, flusher times, when it was normal to be served a free, exotic cocktail from a bar carved out of ice. Nowadays, that seems a bit weird. But there was nothing weird about the performance — PB&J put on a Bladerunner-like show, cool and primitive, futuristic and visceral.
In fact, at some of the more intense moments, we were reminded of that scene in which Harrison Ford, running from the cyborgs or whatever the hell they were, leaps headlong from one rooftop to the next and makes a full body-plant on cement. But in a good way! PB&J played through their forthcoming — and freshly leaked — album, Living Thing, which sounded much better live than our first listen of the advance CD, then were joined onstage by Victoria Bergsman Heather D'Angelo (of Au Revoir Simone) for an absolutely kick-ass version of their whistling hit, "Young Folks." As producer Bryan Michael Cox, who introduced the band, told the crowd afterward, "You tell the motherfuckers back at work that they done pushed the button." Yup, they pushed it, motherfuckers.
If Back to the Future Part II is the measuring stick by which we gauge all human progress (and it is), we're doing pretty well! The world's first flying car made its debut flight today, putting us all one step closer to living in the Hill Valley of 2015. Six years should leave plenty of time for scientists to figure out hoverboards and self-lacing sneakers. [Daily Mail via Buzzfeed]
Due to the fact that this week's theme was something we here at BWE.tv don't connect with personally -- Grand Ole Opry, to be exact -- not to mention the fact that most of the performances were pretty average, there will be no AI play by play recap today. I will, however, take the time to mention the performance by Best Week Ever's favorite American Idol contestant ever... the rainbow fireworks Thanksgiving Day extravaganza that is Adam Lambert. Last night, Adam Lambert took the Johnny Cash song "Ring Of Fire", impregnated it with a unicorn, sent it to India, gave it an STD test, and read the results of that test with a sitar strumming in the background on live television. Here is the result:
We have never heard anyone sing "and it burns... and it burns..." with such conviction. It sort of reminds me of the fun mid-90s sound that is Fleming & John. Source: Best Week Ever | 18 Mar 2009 | 9:25 pm
Front Page: NBC chief calls Jon Stewart's actions 'absurd' -- NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker called Jon Stewart's flaying of CNBC's Jim Cramer "absurd" during a keynote talk Wednesday at the McGraw-Hill Media Summit.
With no less than threemajormagazines this month covering Iceland, we turned to writer Jonas Moody — an American who has lived on the island for the past seven years — to help us parse some of the more interesting reportage.
Since Iceland’s financial collapse, it seems like every media outlet on the face of the earth has trekked out here. Much of the coverage accurately reflects our terrible situation, like Ian Parker’s recent piece in The New Yorker. But with only 320,000 people on this frozen rock in the middle of the Atlantic, a journalist might be left wanting for more drama, sob stories, or quirky anecdotes. And that’s when journalism can start toeing a farcical line.
Take, for instance, Michael Lewis’s recent Vanity Fair piece, “Wall Street on the Tundra.” Lewis is a legend of financial writing, and he also happens to be quite entertaining. In that respect, the article doesn’t disappoint: His is a wild account of a backwards Nordic island populated by “lumpy” and “inbred” people who might force you to shower in scalding water or, worse, blow up a Range Rover. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think we were a sitcom waiting to happen.
Unfortunately, none of this is exactly true. If you want to get the story right, the article’s more colorful details deserve a reality check. Some standouts:
1. “People are hoarding food and cash and blowing up their new Range Rovers for the insurance.”
The national diet of sheep heads and cod certainly has gotten more expensive, but no one is hoarding food. Likewise, there has been no run on the banks. Besides, the nation puts 99 percent of retail transactions on plastic anyway — from parking meters to hot-dog vendors. Consumers wouldn’t know what to do with hoarded cash, nor would the teenagers running the registers.
2. Lewis describes “unsettling explosions” outside his hotel room, which he later infers are the result of Range Rover owners who are so desperate to get out from under their car loans that they “set it on fire and collect the insurance: Boom!”
To Lewis’s credit, there was a news story some time ago about a string of mysterious car fires — but how a well-timed fireball will make one’s inflated car loan disappear remains a mystery. We’re still lacking that essential step that gets one from “loud bang” to “Range Rovers exploding.” But needless to say, car bombs are not yet a fixture in the Reykjavík soundscape.
3. Iceland’s geothermic water is so hot that when municipal work is being done on the cold-water pipes, sometimes people are “boiled alive” in the shower.
Granted, the warm water stinks like bad eggs and there’s an endless supply of it. But it’s not like the Icelanders run it directly from the volcanoes. Moreover, Reykjavík's water-utility company says that even if the cold-water pipes are turned off, it's impossible for the water coming out of a shower to ever exceed 70°C.
4. Most Icelanders look “mousy-haired and lumpy.”
What is this guy’s problem?
5. “Icelanders are among the most inbred human beings on earth — geneticists often use them for research.”
Now this is insulting. Icelanders’ DNA shows their roots to be a healthy mix between Nordic Y chromosomes and X chromosomes from the British Isles. The reason genetic-research company deCODE uses Icelandic genes for its research is not because the codes are so homogeneous, but because the population has kept excellent genealogical records dating back thousands of years.
6. “There are only about 9 surnames in Iceland.”
There are closer to 1,700 recognized surnames in the national registry.
7. “If they fill out a form, they can start their own cult and receive a subsidy.”
Okay, fine: If a religious group is registered with the Icelandic state, it can apply for funding based on the size of its congregation. But the group has to convince a committee — including a university theologist and sociologist — that it is an established organization with cultural or historical roots. So they’re not just handing out money at the door to every phony cult.
8. The nation has to deal with “elves — in whom some large number of Icelanders, steeped long and thoroughly in their rich folkloric culture, sincerely believe.” Alcoa, an aluminum-smelting multinational with operations outside of Reykjavík, had to “defer to a government expert to scour the enclosed plant site and certify that no elves were on or under it.”
Right. I’ve heard the elf thing mentioned in tired travel articles (normally wedged between paragraphs on the beauty of waterfalls and tips for eating ram testicles), but I personally know no one on this island who believes in elves. Not one. As for Alcoa, their rep believes Lewis is likely referring to a law regarding environmental-impact assessments. The assessment includes an archaeological survey to ensure no important artifacts or ruins are destroyed, and the site’s history is also surveyed to see if it was ever named in any Icelandic folklore. And yes, some of that folklore involves elves. But if you’re going to introduce the notion that some kind of Ministry of Elf Inspection exists within the ranks of the Icelandic government, you might as well also note that we take the Hogwart’s Express to the office every day.
Project Runway season-five finalist Kenley Collins is in jail right now for allegedly using her cat as a weapon in an assault on her ex-fiancé, TMZ reports. Cops arrested Kenley at her Brooklyn apartment early yesterday morning, alleging she attacked her sleeping ex-fiancé with her cat, a laptop, several apples, and water. She has been charged with six crimes, including second-degree assault, third-degree assault, and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree (would that be the cat?). It's unclear when she'll get out of jail. Kenley reportedly told the ex, "You're lucky ... it could've been a lot worse." Yeah, she could have tickled him silly with all those feathers she likes to wear on her head.
Fall is not for the fainthearted. The eighties' working-woman powerhouse unabashedly returns. Necklaces and bracelets are big and bold. Bags, however, stick to classic forms — the “It” bag era is definitively over. Iconic designs from Louis Vuitton and Dior nod to the forties and establish fall’s discreet side, while jewelry at Balenciaga and Lanvin retell the aggressive-accessory statement from the disco era. The season is all about the little big things. Click ahead to see all the best accessories from Paris.
For those of you out there who think that Twitter is nothing more than a fad, well, we'd be hard-pressed to come up with a strong argument that would win you over. Still, those who follow the microblogging phenomenon closely enough are occasionally rewarded with flashes of tweeted brilliance that can make you smile, no matter how hung over from green beer you are (trust us on this one). Like, for example, just about everything that Diddy composes or, more recently, the songwriting contest that Decemberists frontman Colin Meloy began. For the uninitiated, back on Friday, Meloy issued this challenge to his Twitter followers: "ok: experiment. Write a song and youtube yourself playing it and I'll post the best one here. Topic: Linda Ronstadt." While it's tough to quantify exactly how many people played along, Idolator tipped us off to the fact that Meloy announced the winners yesterday and, well, they're FAMOUS (at least in indie-rock circles). Follow along to see the winning entries; one was composed by Rebecca Gates of Spinanes fame, the other by Steven Page (formerly of the Barenaked Ladies).
Here's Rebecca Gates and her totally awesome "Laurel Canyon Hotpants":
And here's Steven Page, whose "Linda Ronstadt In The Seventies" tied for first place:
Front Page: Studio nabs rights to Travolta action-thriller -- Lionsgate has acquired North American distribution rights to action-thriller "From Paris With Love," starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
Front Page: Reality competition features a capella groups -- NBC has greenlit reality competish "The Sing-Off," which will pit a cappella groups against each other in a battle sans instruments.
The premiere for the well-receivedI Love You, Man was held in New York City last night... and it was a regular C*cktoberfest (sausage factory and all). You'd be amazed at how many of the men who attended you actually, deeply love. In fact, let's count them off one by one:
We'll start with an easy one. #1: Jason Bateman, sporting very scratchy looking facial hair...
Yes... Paul Rudd is ahead so relax.#2: Professor Samberg is angry you're late:
Let's spice things up a little with a man we used to love as a little girl when we didn't even know what love meant, #3 Harold Ramis:
And #4, his son, Christopher Mintz:
Here's another dynamic father/son duo -- two that are actually related! -- #5, a mature looking Ben Stiller:
And his dad, the always lovable Jerry Stiller at #6:
And because nothing more needs to be said... #7 Jack Black:
Here is the movie's star, Jason Segal. While we don't personally love him, those HIMYM fans out there will find me afterwork and slit my throat if he's not included. So here is your #8 girls:
I make no boned about my adoration of #9 JK Simmons:
Rudy just happened to be on TV today, and before I present this next man we love, let me just say that I timed it this time... and I cry approximately every 4 minutes throughout the film. Here is #10 Jon Favreau:
OK, we've been f**kin' around with some randoms, I know. But we're trying to pepper this list with various kinds of love -- from plattonnies to deep, uncomfortable lust. Make up your own mind with this next actor... #11... Jon Hamm:
Check out #12, Asian gynecologist actor Ken Jeong:
You might not recognize #13 on this list, actor Kevin Zegers. He looks KIND of familiar, but the bells, they're not a jangling, right? Well, we have two words for you: AIR BUD:
Still looking good is #14 Lou Ferrigno, sporting our favorite look on any man... the velvet blazer:
You were probably wondering where this bastard was this whole time. Well, girls, I'm a cruel woman... but a just one. Here is #15, Paul Rudd:
Our favorite Gaysian who is also on Entourage has to be included... #16 Rex Lee:
STATE REUNIES: THOMAS LENNON! #17!
#18! Joe Lo Truglio!
We've saved our two most favorite people for last. #19... ladies and gentleman... still alive... Tommy Davidson:
Rapper Kanye West and his business manager face vandalism, battery and grand theft charges in connection with a scuffle with photographers at Los Angeles International Airport last September.
The nation's outrage over the AIG bonuses is growing by the hour, and our politicians have little choice but to jump onboard or risk being pitchforked to death. But this anger can't just float around out in the atmosphere without a destination. Sure, the guys actually receiving the bonuses are being lambasted, but nobody is really sure who they are (except for the ones the Post has successfully stalked). What politicians need is a target with a face. And that face is increasingly becoming Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
Earlier today the first member of Congress, Florida's Connie Mack, called for Geithner to resign, and Republican Senator Richard Shelby said he was unsure if Geithner should step down but insisted he's been "out of the loop." But President Obama isn't buying it. Speaking to reporters earlier today, Obama expressed "complete confidence" in Geithner, and claimed he has more on his plate than any Treasury secretary since Alexander Hamilton, proving that Obama is also overconfident in America's familiarity with its own history. Honestly, you wouldn't expect Obama to abandon Geithner so quickly and easily anyway. But his steadfast support at least gave us an excuse to make this Photoshop of him as Tammy Wynette.
There's a lot of Valentino news today, due to his press blitz in conjunction with today's release of his documentary in select theaters. So we've declared today Valentino Day on the Cut. And we couldn't let Valentino Day go by without mentioning the unmentionable — that tan. In Valentino: The Last Emperor, Valentino's partner Giancarlo Giammetti tells the designer he looks too tan. We asked him if he often thought that at Quintessentially and Gilt Groupe's premiere last night. "We'd come from the beach, and we were about to show summer suits, and he just ... it just seemed like too much. But it was one time, and one time only," he explained. Director Matt Tyrnauer spent two years following Valentino, so surely he must know if the tan comes from the sun or from a bottle. “You’ll have to ask Valentino that. I’ve been in the Mediterranean with him, I’ve been skiing with him. I’ll tell you what, I went skiing with him, and he didn’t use any sunscreen, where I was covered in 100. So, um, I don’t know,” he said. “He loves the sun. He does have that Mediterranean skin, but beyond that, I’m not sure.”
After throwing the feline, a laptop computer, and three apples at Zak Penley, Kenley Collins, 26, was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon (of meow destruction).
[Ed Note - 'meow destruction' was not added, that's actually part of the NY Post article]
How bizarre does a story have to be for throwing three apples to not even get mentioned in the headline or subhead? Exactly this weird, apparently.
Only a matter of time before all the Christian parents start blaming the SNL Laser Cats digital short... Source: Best Week Ever | 18 Mar 2009 | 8:10 pm
Earlier today we had a moment of nostalgia for the Bush era, when our president would lend a note of levity to serious moments by hilariously butchering the English language. Then we read about how this week the U.S. finally signed a U.N. agreement to decriminalize homosexuality, a declaration the Bush administration refused to ratify last year. The United States at that time was the only Western nation not to sign. Needless to say, our moment of nostalgia was short-lived. [Reuters]
The Verdict: Sure, Writer's Block was okay, but it suffered for having one glorious, whistle-happy earworm of a single, and ten other songs that didn't quite stack up (though they were all mostly pretty good). Happily, Living Thing — which leaked sometime last night — fares better; lead single "Nothing to Worry About" is still the best track here (we think we like it even more than "Young Folks"), but there are at least four we like nearly as much. Namely: the title track, "The Feeling," "Blue Period Picasso," and "Just the Past," which succeeds despite (or because of — we haven't decided) its strong resemblance to Eddie Murphy's "Party All the Time."
CNN's one-hour special on Carine Roitfeld is playing on a somewhat infuriating schedule. It premiered at 4:30 a.m. EST today, when you were either sleeping or drunk out of your shamrock-addled mind, but people in Europe were having their morning croissants. You can catch the show on television this afternoon or on Saturday, or you can watch a good chunk of it online now. Like a normal person.
From what we can see, the program is only slightly revealing, perhaps in part because it seems to serve as Fashion 101 for CNN viewers more concerned with Barack's latest piece of legislation than Michelle's choice of belt (to think!). Carine explains what French Vogue is and talks a lot about being a family person (snooze). We see her go around New York and Paris Fashion Weeks, and every montage — including that of the Chanel couture show — is set to twelve-year-old upbeat lounge techno that might catch the attention of a regular Access Hollywood viewer.
In the clip after the jump, Carine does a couture shoot with Patrick Demarchelier and barnyard animals. After that, we see her go to the fashion shows. At one, Anna Wintour comes up to her and says, "Did you get my letter? You understand?" Interesting. We see Kanye West exit the Yves Saint Laurent show. Even more interesting. And Carine says in a year she'll probably have a new gig. Positively thrilling! Take seven minutes and watch!
Fashion Wire Daily - How do you get the biggest jokesters on the planet to converge in the Westwood section of Los Angeles on a Tuesday night? Just premiere a new comedy starring Paul Rudd and Jason Segel, and the crowd will form.
Remember this completely unassuming commercial from last year, where a toddler approaches his parents worried about his family's financial future and their estate plan and their insurance liabilities and the dad calmly responds "Buddy - we're with AIG!" and the kid stops worrying?
You really look like a sh*thead now, Dad:
Singer Adele appears in Vogue's April shape issue, shot by Annie Leibovitz. She seems to have been posed in a way that makes her look thinner than she actually is. The dim lighting could have helped, too, not to mention the requisite Photoshopping. But this is exactly what we expect in the pages of Vogue and in fashion ads, and basically everywhere we look these days. [Jezebel]
Front Page: Both hit shows get multi-year deals -- It's official: Hit sitcoms "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory" will remain on CBS for several years to come.
Actress Natasha Richardson was reportedly recovering in a New York City hospital on Wednesday, the day after she was seriously injured during a ski lesson in Canada.
Top row, from left: Gap, Calypso, Motel. Bottom row, from left: Banana Republic, ReThread by Thread Social, Twelve by Twelve.
Spring is finally upon us. And what better way to prep for the warm spring breezes than with some shopping, of course. We searched for the top seasonal dresses in the city for our latest Shop-A-Matic, choosing our favorite 140 frocks based on color, design, and shape. We also went after what's new: Pixie Market's stock of young designers like tutu blu and Rojas, Thread Social's lower-priced line ReThread, and Topshop's stateside offerings, which will open in April. And we made sure to keep our priorities in check with 29 options under $100, and 59 options under $200. With winter behind us, it's time to brighten up. Check out our favorite six picks after the jump, all under $200.
T-shirt Scarf Dress by Gap Price: $35 Why we like it: This slouchy, relaxed dress is perfect for brunching outside on warm, spring Sundays.
Kimberly Madras Dress by Calypso Price: $195 Why we like it: Update the halter dress with this braided neckline. The funky twist shows how this frock can double as a pretty cover-up for bikinis.
Lilly Bow Dress by Motel Price: $82 Why we like it: The fall runways showed a battle between forties and eighties, and this dress is a bit of both. The peplum is a forties-style shape, while the strapless mini silhouette epitomizes Girls Wanna Just Have Fun.
Bright Pintucked Shift Dress by Banana Republic Price: $150 Why we like it: It’s colorful and sunny, a perfect antidote to your standard black and gray work pieces. And with the right accessories, it can transition seamlessly into post-work cocktails.
Graffiti Dress by ReThread by Thread Social Price: $185 Why we like it: Thread Social, a line known for its great party dresses, launched a more affordable collection called ReThread that uses leftover fabric to create new pieces, like this one. The print is sexy (and so is the price).
Architectural Tiered Dress by Twelve by Twelve Price: $46 Why we like it: It’s clean and work-appropriate, but the layered skirt adds texture and interest to your classic shift. The neutral colors can also take you through every season.
America faces an economic calamity. Trouble brews in faraway lands. Sound familiar? That was the landscape that led to the great superheroes of the '30s and '40s, many of which are still around today.
Brad Pitt, seen here on March 05, 2009, and Natalie Portman will pair up on the big screen in a romantic comedy that the actors also will co-produce, Variety reported Wednesday. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 18 Mar 2009 | 6:13 pm
Furry puppets, including Elmo seen here, from the children's television show "Sesame Street" came to the headquarters of the world's biggest military machine on Wednesday to bring a message of hope for... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 18 Mar 2009 | 6:04 pm
AP - The newly minted "bromance" genre, with its now-familiar mix of the sweet, awkward and raunchy, has entered the cultural consciousness through comedies like "Superbad," "Pineapple Express" and "Role Models." Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 18 Mar 2009 | 5:50 pm
Front Page: Fox's 'American Idol' easily wins night -- A two-hour edition of Fox's "American Idol" easily topped the competition on Tuesday, but the St. Patrick's Day holiday and extra reality competition sacked the hit to its lowest performance-episode delivery in years.
This week's Blingee Wednesday is dedicated to famed fashion designer Valentino, who is being lauded at various parties and openings this week thank to the release of the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor. We love Valentino's works, specifically his own face. And so here we are, at yet another Blingee Wednesday.
After the jump, we've posted a couple of pictures from the premiere. Use one provided for you, or find your own, then head over to Blingee.com, upload your photo, Blingee it, and link to the results in the comments here. You can also email your Blingee to blingeeweds@gmail.com to be safe. Tomorrow, we'll post our favorites!
I'm not sure what Yao Ming did to piss off Madame Tussauds in the past, but this new Yao wax statue looks to be... let's say, walking distance from the heart of Unflattering City:
They really exaggerated accurately depicted every negative aspect of Yao's physical appearance, from his disproportionate arms to his teeny face to how he apparently holds a ball like a thumbless ape, to his...well, the arm hair's pretty dead-on.
After the jump, four more increasingly ridiculous pics of the Yao Wax Monster:
An ill-advised jumper, captured for all of time:
Front Page: Awards to be given on April 30 in Beverly Hills -- "Brothers and Sisters," "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "30 Days" are among this year's winners of the second annual Television Academy Honors.
Reuters - Sotheby's has withdrawn a painting from Wednesday's auction of the contents of late Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace's Lake Como villa amid suspicion it may have been stolen. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 18 Mar 2009 | 4:52 pm
American music legend Pete Seeger turns 90 on May 3, but the celebrations honoring his musical legacy and social activism will go on throughout the year. Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the environmental group founded by Seeger in the 1960s, is marking the birthday and its own 40th anniversary with a series of concerts in the spring and summer.
After years of successful recording achievements, Bruce Hornsby is taking his work to the silver screen. The singer and songwriter of late-80's hits like "The Way It Is" and "The Valley Road" has composed the score to "Kobe Doin' Work," an upcoming documentary on basketball superstar Kobe Bryant directed by Spike Lee.
Step 1: Watch in horror as your beloved dog chases after two unknowing birds in a frozen lake.
Step 2: Immediately tear your breakaway thong off and crawl your fine ass into said frozen lake, hoping your hotness does not immediately melt the already shaky ice surface beneath you. Never remove your eyes from the tiny black dog pinhead bobbing at the surface.
Step 3: Swim as though your dog's life depends on it (which it does), all the while trying to forget the fact that your balls are now veritable frozen sperm raisins by remembering the opening theme song from The Groind. Once you reach your dog, grab his tiny paw and pull.
Step 4: Using your dog as a furry black body board, splash your way back to the surface.
Step 5: Once at the shore, watch in horror as man's heartless best friend takes off without you, then make sweet love to the ice shelf for not taking away the only thing you have left.
Front Page: Exec to head new Digital Production division -- Technicolor has created a new Technicolor Digital Prods. division and tapped former Sony Pictures Imageworks topper Tim Sarnoff as president.
Veteran rock act the New York Dolls will issue its fourth album "Cause I Sez So" via Warner Music Group's Atco label on May 5 in the U.S and a day earlier in the U.K.
David Prowse, who played Darth Vader in the original "Star Wars" films, has revealed he is suffering from prostate cancer but was still feeling "fantastic."
Ryan Seacrest had a point when he ended Tuesday's episode with the parting words: 'We have ourselves a competition' Source: FOXNews.com | 18 Mar 2009 | 2:58 pm
Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, John Mellencamp and Emmylou Harris are among the dozens of musicians who will celebrate American folk music legend Pete Seeger's 90th birthday with a gala concert at Madison Square Garden on May 3.
Reuters - From Laurel and Hardy to Butch and Sundance, Hollywood movies often have relied on the interplay of two buddies who play together with the cool precision of a jazz duo. Those classic teams find a neat contemporary counterpart in "I Love You, Man," courtesy of Paul Rudd and Jason Segel. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 18 Mar 2009 | 2:00 pm
An intimate club doubleheader by the Decemberists and Gomez gave the South By Southwest Music & Media Conference a soaring launch on Tuesday night in Austin, Texas -- even though the annual affair formally starts today.
Lindsay Lohan was 12 when she shot to child stardom in The Parent Trap. But she wasn't too young to remember who helped her rise.
"She was a wonderful woman and actress and...
Simon Cowell might give Paula Abdul hell during the judging portion of American Idol, but in reality there's a lot of love between these two judges. So much love, in fact, that they...
Welcome to the ultimate Lost flashback.
In season five, instead of us whooshing through time and space, time and space have whooshed to us. The spinning record finally stopped in...
As has been officially announced, the two-day vigil is over. Natasha Richardson has died. I'm told the horrifically sad event occurred this afternoon after Natasha's life support was...
Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke remembers the exact moment she decided to say no to New Moon.
"I was in Paris with Rob [Pattinson] and Kristen [Stewart] at dinner and talking...
Natasha Richardson has been taken off life support.
Sources close to the family tell E! News that the Tony Award winner was brain dead by the time she arrived in New York Tuesday night....
Talk about your feisty fashionistas.
Kenley Collins, the talented yet whiny designer whom Project Runway fans loved to loathe, spent Tuesday night in a New York jail after allegedly...
If the latest round of Katie Holmes rumors is to be believed, then she's not only expecting a second baby but she prepared for the pregnancy by going on a special Scientology detox...
