Desmond may be Daniel Faraday's constant for time travel, but a Lost crew member claims he was just a constant pain in the butt.
A former ABC Entertainment employee filed a...
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedy writer Andrea Wachner hated the idea of going to her 10-year high school reunion so much that she hired a stripper to go instead, and what followed, she says, Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:29 pm
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Feature film "The Soloist" opened Friday with a story of music, schizophrenia and homelessness that newspaper columnist Steve Lopez witnessed firsthand after seeing... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:16 pm
Does any celeb have a good relationship with paparazzi?
—Chuck in Poquoson, Va.
True fact: The average celeb totally gets along with the paparazzi. Not everybody is...
Sex, violence and, of course, drugs rocked the world of The Soup this week, not to mention a real-life movie star threatening to slap the cheek of your beloved Joel McHale. The upper...
AP - Oklahoma lawmakers who voted against making a Flaming Lips tune the official state rock song represent a minority of "small-minded religious wackos," the band's lead singer says. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:40 am
AP - Oklahoma lawmakers who voted against making a Flaming Lips tune the official state rock song represent a minority of "small-minded religious wackos," the band's lead singer says. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Apr 2009 | 10:40 am
Oklahoma lawmakers who voted against making a Flaming Lips tune the official state rock song represent a minority of "small-minded religious wackos," the band's lead singer says. Most... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 9:55 am
A movie about a German businessman's efforts to protect Chinese civilians against Japanese forces in the 1930s has won the best film award at the annual German Film Prize ceremony. ... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 9:22 am
More Than 4,300 New England Volunteers Join More Than 50,000 Nationwide On Eighth Annual Comcast Cares Day BOSTON, April 25 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 9:00 am
NEW YORK (Billboard) - In the midst of a photo shoot for a Bloomingdale's ad in Manhattan's West Village, singer-songwriter Rob Thomas overhears a conversation about Twitter. "Dude," he... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 7:17 am
LOS ANGELES - A woman who claims she was sexually harassed then fired from the TV show "Lost" is suing ABC and actor Henry Ian Cusick. The lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles alleges... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 4:06 am
Tonight’s show featured the song “Too Fake” from the band Hockey. These guys hale from Portland, Oregon, but are currently blazing through England opening for Friendly Fires. If their first single has you curious to hear more but you can not make it across the pond, they will be playing US festivals such as Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza this summer. Their debut album Mind Chaos won't be out until August 25th, but “Too Fake” is available now on iTunes.
The album is long way from release, but I got an early listen and was a big fan of what I heard. They have a funky sound like Orson or Bloc Party. I especially liked “Learn to Lose” and “Preacher” where they let loose with some keyboard-infused party rock. I also hope these guys get really huge just so ill-informed people see “Tonight: Hockey” on the sports arena marquee and show up in NHL jerseys.
Watch the video for “Too Fake” over at VH1.com. For more from Hockey, check out their website and MySpace. Another photo after the jump.
Britain's Prince Charles will follow in the footsteps of former U.S. Vice President Al Gore with an upcoming book and film documentary on the environment, the prince's publisher said.
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Leighton Meester, star of the CW Network's teen drama "Gossip Girl," has signed a deal with Universal Republic through Time-Act Music to release her debut album in... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 3:05 am
A woman who claims she was sexually harassed then fired from the TV show "Lost" is suing ABC and actor Henry Ian Cusick. The lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles alleges that Cusick, who... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 25 Apr 2009 | 2:34 am
Reuters - Fox television this week faced an uncomfortable future when the two biggest stars on its No. 1-rated show "American Idol" openly discussed leaving, which experts said could send viewership plummeting in future seasons. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 25 Apr 2009 | 1:21 am
After Dancing With the Stars premiered, we started to wonder what constituted the word star. The advent of The Superstars hasn't cleared anything up for us.
The upcoming...
Are they telling us that Oprah Winfrey isn't the only one allowed to have an "aha moment"?!
That's what Nebraska insurance company Mutual of Omaha is saying in a lawsuit...
Oh boy, another week is just about to bite the proverbial dust. No matter where your interests lie, we did our darndest to make your blog-reading experience as pleasant as possible. What follows is a series of questions that should help you determine what you should've read this week here on Vulture.
The Joint Personnel Recovery Agency, the group that ran the American military training program that developed the interrogation tactics approved by the Bush administration, sent a memo to the Pentagon's lawyer in July 2002 calling the tactics "torture" and warning that they would produce "unreliable information." By that time the procedures had been given the nod by John Ashcroft and Condoleezza Rice. The memo sent by JPRA also cautioned that "the unintended consequence of a U.S. policy that provides for the torture of prisoners is that it could be used by our adversaries as justification for the torture of captured U.S. personnel."
Call us delusional, call us self-absorbed, call us whatever you like, but we couldn't help feeling a bit like last night's episode of 30 Rock was Vulture's Susan Boyle moment, with a few minor exceptions: Our moment only lasted three seconds, and we definitely have better eyebrows (despite the fact that we're dudes). As you'll no doubt recall, we questioned whether or not multiple mentions of McFlurries in a February episode of 30 Rock was, in fact, product placement. Well, it turned out it wasn't, as Tina Fey herself told us. We've since moved on with our lives, but the whole incident came flooding back into our mind grapes last night when Liz Lemon, while ensconced in a Slanket, uttered the phrase, "It's not product placement, I just like it!" to a slightly bewildered Jack Donaghy. Needless to say, we promptly passed out on the spot. Thanks, Tina!
Also, how great was it when Kenneth blurted out "My real name is Dick Whitman!" after passing out due to an overdose of strawberries? We'll tell ya ... so great!
NPR negs employee holidays and lets off some more staff, just to make sure nobody enjoys the weather this weekend. Also, Yahoo killed GeoCities. That, and more, in our roundup of the media doldrums.
• NPR canceled Memorial Day, Independence Day, and (ha!) Labor Day. The company has also forced employees to take five-day "vacations," and thirteen staffers were laid off. [Romenesko]
• Roger Ailes's Putnam County News & Recorder (the publisher is Ailes's wife, Elizabeth) is pulling an O'Reilly on the competition. The paper reports that while the Journal News is in financial trouble, the paper's president-publisher owns several homes, including one worth over $3 million. Wonder how many homes Elizabeth and Roger own. [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
• White House press secretary Robert Gibbs gave media a "strong A" during his appearance on The Situation Room last night. Aw shucks, Mr. Gibbs, that's the first nice thing anyone has said about media in a long time! [Politico]
• Yahoo is killing GeoCities, a remnant of the Internet's early heyday. [Mediabistro]
Today, what is sure to be the Snakes on a Plane blockbuster hit of the year opens: Obsessed, starring the increasingly luminous Beyoncé Knowles. It's her first psychological thriller and first serious acting role in which she does not play a singer. So it marks a momentous occasion in Beyoncé's life, and therefore in history. And Beyoncé arrived to the New York premiere last night like she knew it, dressed in a dramatic black Balmain dress with sweeping train. Now, since we've been obsessed with this movie — it being Beyoncé's first psychological thriller — for weeks now (watch the preview before you judge), it only makes sense for us to obsess over the clothes. Our thoughts on Beyoncé's Balmain lie in the slideshow. As do our thoughts on what Tinsley Mortimer, Ali Larter, Chanel Iman, and more wore.
Jay Leno is "doing very well." And that's no joke.
After being laid up in a hospital Thursday night and forced to cancel his first Tonight Show episodes since taking over...
For anyone who's ever sat all the way through the end of a movie's credits and wondered what the heck a key grip, assistant casting director, or sound editor does, Natalie Portman has unveiled a new online venture, MakingOf, that she hopes will explain all that. “I always wondered why there isn’t a Web site that encapsulated the experience of visiting a friend on a movie set,” Portman explained. “Our site is supposed to give access to people who don’t have a friend they can visit" — meaning pretty much everyone, and definitely us.
Still, it sounds like a noble undertaking, aiming to provide videotaped interviews with big and small players across the Hollywood spectrum (they'ved already checked in with Billy Bob Thornton, Michel Gondry, and composer Adrian Younge). So maybe this explains what she was doing sucking face with Sean Penn a few months back — she was angling for an interview!
Matt Lauer lost the Hudson River hero, but he gained the Somali pirates survivor.
The Today host scored the first interview with Maersk Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, who was taken...
Left: The wreckage on Tuesday; Right: 11 a.m. today.
Greenpoint womenswear boutique Alter 140 underwent a shockingly quick renovation this week, going from a rubble-filled construction site on Monday to a sleek new space this morning. Handy co-owners Roy Caires and Tommy Cole completed the overhaul themselves, knocking out the back wall (and part of the ceiling) and rebuilding a new one using salvaged wood and shutters. They also added new light fixtures and built their own clothing displays with reclaimed furniture and recycled raw materials. (See more photos of the impressive demolition earlier this week on the store's blog.) The revamp adds 240 square feet to the rear of the store and gussies up the interior so that it's more on par with Alter's original menswear outpost across the street. The dolled-up space reopened at noon today, so swing by this weekend to check it out. Seems like Topshop could have taken a few pointers from these guys ...
Reuters - While most of its '80s electro-pop contemporaries have faded into semi-obscurity, Depeche Mode continues to produce darkly atmospheric tracks about love, lust and death that have the vulnerability and immediacy of a shared secret. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:45 pm
"Don't worry, underneath my pants I'm just smooth, genderless plastic."
Okay everybody, let's take a deep breath. You Gossip Girl recap commenters spent the entire week debating three things: Whether Chuck was drinking from a glass of water or vodka at the end of the episode, whether it's "hos before bros" or "chicks before dicks," and whether Nate's grandfather wanted him originally to go to Dartmouth or Yale. We will admit that we were wrong on the last one: It was Nate's father, now much-hated by all in the Vanderbilt (we refuse to spell it their way, as it indicates Nate is not related to Anderson Cooper) family, who pushed Dartmouth, not his mom or his family. (We were similarly incorrect about Susan Sarandon being the one to teach Joey "Smell the Fart" acting on Friends. Apologies.) As to "hos before bros," it's simple reclamatory language and we can say what we want. And as for the water or vodka, it was obviously water, no matter what some of our more pretentious commenters would have you believe. Nobody drinks straight room-temperature vodka, or leaves it out in the living room. (And plus ten for Martell's comment that she couldn't believe it wasn't Vitaminwater!)
More Real Than a Wasp With a Real Chin for Once:
• Plus 4 for the seder being realistic; I can't remember a seder where my family didn't skip parts of the service and get into a fight about something. Also, Lily is too tremendously pregnant to be buying anything but orthopedic shoes. — martell
• Chuck is a drunk, a hairy, Batman whispering drunk. —sarcasticmeow
• +1 for Chuck's *pause* "I've slept with you before" disgust, because he would. GG writers deserve mad props for successfully pulling off this proper homage to Samantha Jones, because without her precedence Chuck Bass's sexual arrogance would just be silly. Tug my hair! —kaitums
• +5 for the fact that they finally cast someone that Blake Lively doesn't tower over, even if he did remind me of Brenden Fraiser a little bit...—RGH
• OH! And +3 for the Chuck sketching out after realizing he slept with the ballerina last year after her performance in SNOW WHITE- and wasn't that Georgina's nickname for Blair? Even the slightest hint of his ruby-lipped love and the boy goes fleeing for the scotch! PS- if it turned out the ballerina said Swan Lake instead of Snow White (my TV's sound sucks) and I just cramped mountains of subtext into a throwaway line... I'm going back to watching Lost. —HookedOnBass
• Little J in re: Rufus - "His specialty is waffles and embarrassing me." +2 — DCRed
• Can I just say? If a supposed friend had promised to get me a refill, and then just disappeared off into the night, that friendship would be ENDED. Leaving me waiting for a drink constitutes a grave offense. But that's exactly the sort of self-absorbed, weirdly passive-aggressive move that Nathaniel "I got into Columbia on my own" Archibald would pull. So, +2 for that little bit of character continuity. — La_Faerie
• +10 for the smoldering sexual tension between Blair and Grandfather, because who hasn't secretly wanted to do their boyfriend's rich, powerful, silver fox of a grandfather who looks like he'd be dynamite in bed? Nope? Just me? Never mind. —kdow3
More Fake Than an Episode About Selling the Gallery That Doesn't Involve Vanessa and a Protest:
• -5 because WHERE THE FUCK WAS AARON?!? I know he theoretically serves no purpose, since he had to disappear for Dan and Serena to get back together AGAIN, but it was a Passover Seder...And he's Cyrus' son....so, like, wtf? — WonketteLover
• Minus 1 because, btw-- wtf is rufus going to do now (besides lily) since he's pulling the plug on the gallery? my money's on a Lincoln Hawk comeback in which he's forced to revist that rose-printed black shirt that has become a crowd pleaser! —gggirl
• Assuming they don't sink Nate's Columbia dreams, if he does end up going there in the fall it's going to look at awful lot like YALE, since Columbia is where they filmed most of the Yale scenes in "New Haven Can Wait" episode. Minus 5 —TwoShakesofaLamb
• Did no one notice the out-of-place sears studio portraits on the staircase wall chez Waldorf?! eleanor was going downstairs with dan and they were behind her looking like one of the toddlers & tiaras moms. —blairs_lab_partner
• -5 for the lack of Nate's mother. Wouldn't she be REQUIRED to go to all of these silly Vanderbilt society sessions? Also, where is Anderson?— CKLA13
• I personally enjoy how Rufus think it's going to be so easy to A) sell the gallery in this market and B) not care about being jobless during our recession. I know the recession doesn't exist on gossip girl, but please. -5 —livelywaldorf
• Also did anyone else think that Serena and Gabriel together look EXACTLY like Barbie and Ken? No points but kind of funny nonetheless. —jezzebelle
• -5 for Serena picking Cyrus as her lawyer. Her mother has been divorced like 800 times, surely there are several other lawyers (that are not her best friend's step-father ) that she could have used if she actually wanted to keep her fake marrige a secret. —MonCheri784
The Marc by Marc Jacobs store on Bleecker has a bright, new window display. The eye-catching artwork is the result of a collaboration with the Creative Growth Art Center, a program that works with disabled adult artists. For this project, the artists each designed an item for the Jacobs by Marc Jacobs line, and the images were printed on totes, wallets, and T-shirts ($19–35). They also created pieces to display in the window, and the store is the first of several across the country and abroad that will host the art. The windows and merchandise will be hitting stores over the next couple of weeks, will be up indefinitely, and all the proceeds from them will go to the Creative Growth Art Center. Fashion doing good — warms your heart, no?
V magazine's model search opens today. After partnering with Supreme Management for the last two years, the magazine locked in Ford Models this time to sign the winner. And unlike some other modeling contests we know of, this one can actually launch a career. Amanda Laine won in 2007 and went on to walk countless runways, appear in Balenciaga campaigns, and book editorials in W, Harper's Bazaar, and Italian Vogue. Addison Gill won last year, and has since walked at Calvin Klein and Pringle of Scotland. And though she hasn't reached Laine's status, she's well on her way to hitting her own peak. So do you have what it takes to be high fashion? Practice your hunched-hands-on-hip couture look, because aspiring models can submit their photos online from now until the end of June. Finalists will be chosen on July 3. [V]
In case you were wondering what Diddy's up to, he's declared — er, tweeted — that today is Hero Day, wherein he will give shout-outs to all of his various heroes. These esteemed individuals include (but are definitely not limited to) James Brown, Oprah Winfrey, Christian Louboutin, and Jesus Christ. [iamdiddy/Twitter]
1. Andreas Melbostad’s collection Phi is still under the radar, but only for another second.
2. That it's been on the eighties vibe for awhile now — ahead of the pack on trends!
3. It’s urban tough, but done with refinement.
4. The line's attention to detail and Melbostad's love of texture makes classic shapes look new.
5. It's leather you need to own.
NBC execs have got to get her into their lives.
Salivating over the attention attracted by Britain's Got Talent auditioner Susan Boyle, the network is hoping the unlikely media...
• Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie are both shooting movies in New York City right now. You know what that means: tabloid theories about Jen's Angie-induced...
Even though the film industry pours millions of dollars into Washington, D.C.'s local economy on an annual basis, the Washington Timesis reporting that strict laws regarding film permits are giving the city a reputation as the most difficult place to shoot in the United States. Apparently, even shooting simple exterior shoots of Capitol Hill and the headquarters of the FBI is an enormous ordeal, thanks to overzealous local authorities who seem to feel that a camera crew shooting a building façade regularly seen in postcards and tourist snapshots amounts to disclosing major State secrets. According to State of Play director Kevin MacDonald, the blame mostly rests with the federal authorities, as opposed to the district's generally helpful film commission, while former West Wing producer Michael Fountain claims that the city is a terrific place to shoot, thanks mainly to his connections with the Secret Service, who were fans of his show. Ultimately, since some estimates indicate that the District is the third-largest film economy in the country, after Los Angeles and New York City, it seems pretty unlikely that the authorities are going to change their rules in the interest of attracting more filmmakers. Lame!
The answer? They were all found in New Jersey last night, at the Grand Opening of the W Hotel in Hoboken, New Jersey (yes, Hoboken, as in "Who is Methface Barbie dating these days?") Hoboken is a surprisingly short train ride away from downtown Manhattan, so after the promise of free drinks and more free drinks, I couldn't resist Jersey's undeniable allure. So, dressed in my best black tunic and most expensive flats, my friend Stephen and I ventured INTO ANOTHER STATE (Ed. Note: As a native South Floridian, this concept has always excited me.) for an evening that promised, among other things, a live performance from Jamie Foxx.
Like most W Hotels, the W Hoboken was all class inside and out, even though it was less than 2 blocks away from a Men's Warehouse (the store, not the underground Long Island gay discoteque.) And it became apparent after entering the beautiful lobby that my friend and I were way underdressed. Sure, black pants and a top wasn't the worst way to go -- but people were dressed to the hilt! Cocktail dresses, European cut suits, Louboutins, hairpieces -- people in Jersey were not f**king around. This was frustrating to me, as I have a bevy of gowns lined up in my closet like some sort of transvetite superhero and nary a place to wear them -- NARY a place.
My taffeta-inspired frustrations were quickly calmed, however, after sharing a glance with a drop-dead hot male model, clearly paid to stare at average looking women to make them feel wanted. And let me tell you: It worked.
Within minutes of our arrival, an out of work model in a waitress uniform shoved a drink into my hand, and the night had begun. As with most fancy opening parties, it seemed each area of the hotel was bathed in a warm purple glow, which either made everyone look super sexy or seasick (i.e. super super sexy.) Breathe in deep -- smell that? That's the smell of money, folks, and the air was thick with it's enticing scent -- a mixture of cologne, dry cleaning chemicals, the blood of the poor, and rapey hair gel. Oh, the rapeyness of it all -- I'm willing to bet that 8 out of 10 gentleman opted for that American Psycho hair that seems to be all the rage these does amongst fake-rapey characters. And as proof that its popularity is wearing me down, it didn't look all that unattractive last night.
Not impressed with all the rape hair? The model forced to sit in a spinning giant martini glass:
I would have done it for free, smile included. Nothing like speedskating spanx to get the fellas hot and bothered.
AHEAD: Jamie Foxx Raps, Pepa is Spotted, and I Meet the "Are You Ready to Rumble?" Guy!Three drinks later, we explored the other areas of the hotel, including the mysterious "Chandelier Room" which, for whatever reason, had a line to get in, and a bouncer with a Napoleon complex. Turns out, for the evening at least, the room was being managed by the owners of Tenjune, including Mark Birnbaum, the hottest Jew who ever lived who is probably very likely an a-hole but can you really blame him?
Apparently, I wasn't swanky enough to get past the velvet ropes of Tenjune Hoboken, even offering to pull a T out of my shirt to get past the tiny bouncer, who assured me that wouldn't help. I still gave it a shot though:
Me and my friend, above.
Just how exclusive was this "club"? Even the Empire State Building had to wait in line outside:
But who cares about some ultra-exclusive hotel bar in New Jersey? Rumor had it Jamie Foxx was going to be performing in minutes!! And yet again, some intimidating security guards were standing watch by the doors, only letting in the kinds of people who say things like "Do you know who I am?" But that's totally not my style. No, my style is to follow a group of sluts in through the doors like a car to an ambulance... a slutty ambulance... and hope no one notices. And that's exactly what my friend and I did -- the guard tried to stop me, but I shook him off with the most DISTURBING HOW DARE YOU FACE I have ever made, and he knew to back on.
And guess what? Not only had we snuck into the Jamie Foxx performance area... we were in the VIP section, all cordoned off and sh*t. And who do you think I would run into -- of all people -- in such an esteemed and coveted area? Why, none other than Best Week Ever's own Adam Winer!!
He says hi to everyone like this. Seriously.
Sadly, we barely even had time to catch up before Michael Buffer of "Are You Ready To Rumble?" copyright fame came onto the stage, revealing the Vincent Price impression he's been working on for months:
AND THEN THIS HAPPENEDDDDD:
OMG x a MILLION. JAMIE FOXX!!! OSCAR WINNER!!! And more imporantly... WANDA FROM IN LIVING COLOR!
Jamie put on a pretty great show -- even though... could it be?
Despite what you might think (and the Dreamgirls soundtrack), Jamie's actually got a pretty good voice, even when his mind seems to be elsewhere:
Nothing if not humble, Jamie even managed to prove that he's got the lung capacity of a man 1.3 times his size during the opening notes of "Golddigger":
But let's face it... we didn't really want to hear Jamie sing... we wanted our F*CKING AUTOTUNE RAP JAM "BLAME IT". We wanted stuttering, and we wanted it now. So you can imagine the surprise of our audience neighbors when Stephen, Adam and I started groinding on them... because they clearly had no idea what in the hell was going on:
Even Jaime's thoroughbred impression failed to ring any bells:
Two songs later, Jamie collected his comically oversized check for probably $20,000 and got the hell out of Dodgeytown (Jersey). It was now that I employed one of my lesser known talents: Following important looking people to where they are going while myself trying to look important. Moments later, the three of us were in the coveted Chandelier Room, where reanimated skeletal remains were busy looking bored out of their minds while men tried to put their things in them.
And it was here that I spied Michael Buffer, Mr. Ruuuuuxinfinitymble himself, standing alone, looking distant. I went in for the kill, preying upon his boredom by nervously approaching and quickly asking for a photo. I may or may not have told him I was a fan? Who remembers -- the whole thing was a blur. In fact, if it weren't for this pic, I'd have sworn the whole thing was a dream:
I then shook his hand, which felt like a newborn panda paw covered in butter and dipped in raw petroleum, i.e. the most deliciously soft puffy hand I've ever felt in my life. We also spotted deep in the crowd Ms. Pepa, sans Salt, who is seriously petite despite what you may have thought. Which leads us to believe that "Salt" is actually exactly as big as a grain of salt.
Tyson Beckford was also there, as well as one of the girls from the new 90210, who was either wearing a dress or an incubator curtain, not sure on this. And 4 hours later, out on the balkie bartokies, overlooking the city, we decided there was nothing better to do... then take hundreds and hundreds of photos of ourselves in front of the staggering cityscape:
Stephen and I, sobering up for the blog. (I was very tooth-shy all night... no idea why, but there it is.)
And then we jumped in the river and swam home. Source: Best Week Ever | 24 Apr 2009 | 9:54 pm
Name: Tom Cavanagh Occupation: Actor Neighborhood: Upper West Side
Who's your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Batman.
What's the best meal you've eaten in New York?
The Gray's Papaya Recession Special.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
We've been through this, Mom.
Would you still live here on a $35,000 salary?
Just been doing Off Broadway, so yeah, I'd take the raise.
What's the last thing you saw on Broadway? In the Heights.
Do you give money to panhandlers?
Yep.
What's your drink?
Whatever Charlie is serving at the Emerald Inn.
How often do you prepare your own meals?
I support the New York City Restaurant Union.
What's your favorite medication?
Pick-up hoops.
What's hanging above your sofa?
A photo of Carl Furillo of the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1955 World Series against the Yankees at Ebbets Field, taken by Hy Peskin of Sports Illustrated.
How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
$29.45.
When's bedtime?
That's a pretty lame pick-up line by New York standards.
Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
Which one is Naked Cowboy a part of?
What do you think of Donald Trump?
He's no Hy Peskin.
What do you hate most about living in New York?
When people block the box.
Who is your mortal enemy?
Reality TV.
When's the last time you drove a car?
Yesterday. Man, now THAT was one angry cab driver.
How has the Wall Street crash affected you?
Not at all, apart from the whole "getting bled dry" thing.
Times, Post, or Daily News? Post first ...
Where do you go to be alone?
I see no upside to answering this question.
The Faces of the Future contest P. Diddy is holding to find the next face of Sean John is well underway. You can look at all the people who uploaded photos and vote for your favorite. Because who does work when you can, uh, help P. Diddy with his for fun? [Sean John]
As you might expect, the results were hilarious. And now that Lil Wayne has been interviewed by Katie Couric, read a top-ten List on Letterman, and chillaxed with the ladies of The View, who's next? Maybe they should bring Sally Jesse Raphael out of retirement for an exclusive! [Videogum]
Isaac Mizrahi had very different ideas about how the First Dog should dress. "He’s so well accessorized already. He has those white socks, and a little white bib," Mizrahi said. "What would I design for him? Probably something red, you know. Or maybe like a little bow tie, like a black bow tie, so he’d look like a Chippendale’s [sic] dancer. That’s it! That’s what I would do for Bo Obama, a black bow tie to make him look like a Chippendale’s dancer. That’s it."
Hey, this is cool. MGMT has settled its beef with French political party UMP, sparked when the organization used the song "Kids" at its national congress without clearing it first. Nicolas Sarkozy's crew was eager to settle, because copyright infringement is one of their political pet peeves (apparently not to the point where they thought to make sure the band was properly compensated before using the song, but whatever), and they've now come through with the loot. And, in truly classy fashion, the band will use its gains for good and not for evil.
According to a recently released statement:
“Normally MGMT steers clear of mixing music and politics, but the fact that the UMP used our song without permission while simultaneously pushing anti-piracy legislation seemed a little wack … we didn't want to be "typical Americans" and sue, despite the amazing monetary benefit and chinchilla coats and Navigators it would bring. Instead we're using the settlement fee the UMP presented and donating it to artists' rights organizations.”
Yayayaayy!!!! Our favorite chubby Japanese house catMaru has made a triumphant return, this time upping the "box" stakes to the giant cardboard kind. It starts off kind of slow, but builds into Friday afternoon at work ecstasy. This MF-er has superpowers.
(Check back in a couple of minutes for my encyclopedia-worthy recap of the impromptu Jamie Foxx concert I attended last night.) Source: Best Week Ever | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:36 pm
Alexis Bledel, the strikingly blue-eyed actress of the WB's Gilmore Girls and movie series The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, is starring next in Julio DePietro’s The Good Guy (premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday). Bledel plays Beth, the brainy and charming object of a greedy Wall Street hotshot's affection (played by Friday Night Lights’ Scott Porter). As a soon-to-be full-time New Yorker, Bledel talks to Vulture about filming a “guys' movie,” checking out Broadway, and not being a scenester.
You always seem to play the quiet, intellectual girl. Is that true to your personality?
Yeah, maybe. I’m definitely not a very outgoing person.
Have you spent much time in New York since attending NYU?
I’m going back and forth to L.A., but I might make a permanent move here soon. For now, I’m just shuttling back and forth and gradually becoming more of a New Yorker. But when I do go back to L.A., I can really appreciate the sunshine and being outdoors and the people there, and then I don’t resent New York as much in the winter. And Texas, where I’m from, is just a complete departure from both.
The Good Guy seems to have a fun cast of twentysomethings. Did you hang out together off the set?
It was a really good group, but the guys mostly hung out by themselves. They had this boys' club in the film and shot all their scenes without the girls. It was kind of like their own little world. And our downtime mimicked our time in the film. The guys would go out drinking. It’s not that we weren’t invited, it was just separate. It’s sort of a guys’ movie.
Everyone loves Scott Porter in Friday Night Lights. Are you a fan of the show?
He seems like, and he is, a really great guy, but there’s something about him onscreen that’s really elusive and convincing. He had a lot to do in the film; his character really had a lot of layers.
The film deals with the socially competitive culture of guys on Wall Street. Have you ever experienced a similarly competitive culture among girls?
Women are so competitive with clothes, especially in New York. And with work. A lot of people take their work away from the office. That work culture spills over into their social lives, and the more people work, the more they can’t leave it. It can be destructive.
Goldbar and Back Room, among other New York locales, are featured in the movie. Are you familiar with the New York scene at all?
Sometimes I end up at places like that when I meet friends out. But I don’t know about that stuff. I really can’t keep up with it. It’s a full-time thing to do, and I seriously can’t keep track.
Do you have any Broadway aspirations? Have you ever done theater?
Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that. I’ve gone to see five or six plays in the last couple months. I saw August: Osage County, and of course Lauren Graham in Guys and Dolls. I hadn’t seen a lot of shows since I was a kid, so I’ve been kind of reeducating myself and it’s been a lot of fun.
Do you keep in touch with any of your Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars? Are you a Gossip Girl fan, or a fan of Ugly Betty?
I don’t have a TV. But I’ve definitely kept in touch with all the girls. We’re all in New York now, which is great, and everyone’s working really hard, so we just see each other when we can. But I keep in touch with all of them, and Lauren. Every job you do you meet new people.
It's really too bad Time only captured a photo of this moment, during which the First Ladies of America and France discuss Michelle's recent semi-embrace of Queen Elizabeth. Because we bet the audio was priceless. [Time]
It's Monday's magazine, today! From the forthcoming issue of New York, now available for your reading pleasure: James Franco talks about his gay-poetry-inspired student films, and Will Leitch susses out the theories surrounding the Yankee-homer phenomenon.
Another solid Office episode last night, Michelle and I both agreed, although it's pretty easy to predict which episodes Michelle's going to like:
Rather than simply rehash the many stellar quotes -- "Yes, Jim, I use a bad apiarist...PSH" -- here's my main question to the Office masses: Now that Michael's back as the boss, is everything back to normal? Can everything be back to normal? Are other major changes to the show dynamic on their way, or was the Michael Scott Paper Company just a one-time multi-episode arc?
Weekly unnecessarily invested analysis, after the jump:
I'm guessing that because it's simply impossible to compile an entire season of a network comedy without having a significant number of stand-alone episodes (i.e., episodes that begin and resolve in the 30 minutes and leave everything in the Office reality unchanged), the show will probably revert to its normal state, which is really a shame because these past few weeks have been legitimately interesting plotwise, and the Michael/Dwight and Michael/Charles dynamics have brought out the best in the show's writers, who have provided Michael with a shrewd, charismatic side that David Brent never possessed (he didn't have to, he was fired after 12 episodes).
But can the show maintain our interest plot-wise if they revert back to single-episode minor problems after six episodes of dramatic change? Coach never would have worked if Craig T. Nelson had left the pros and gone back to coaching college in the final season, right? And Coach is usually an accurate barometer of everything. Needless to say, I'll be interested to see if the writers can step up their game even further -- the NBC Office has been off on its own from the British version for years, but now they're entering a timeperiod that's difficult for any tv show to maintain its standard, especially an already-excellent one with a rabid fanbase. Whatever happens, I'll be watching. Obviously.
Episode thoughts, favorite quotes, and future plot predictions -- leave 'em in the comments! Source: Best Week Ever | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:10 pm
The ad for Very Hollywood by Michael Kors. Well, that was a no-brainer.
SKIN
• In the new book The Beauty Diet, nutritionist Lisa Drayer's divulges foods that make you prettier: Fish moisturizes skin, yogurt strengthens nails, oysters keep hair shiny, and dark chocolate softens skin. Then again, you could probably make a case for why hundreds of foods are good for you. [Stylelist]
PLASTIC SURGERY
• Last month, Lil' Kim hung up on a BET reporter after he asked her if she had gotten plastic surgery to make herself look "less black." Good for her. [PopCulturePost]
FRAGRANCE
• Express is launching a men's fragrance. It's, like, one step above Axe! [WWD]
• Michael Kors will launch a new fragrance this fall called Very Hollywood, but he may as well have called it Very Original. Carmen Kass stars in the campaign. [WWD]
HAIR
• Kérastase's new Oléo-Relax Slim line is meant to slim down thick hair. Why would anyone want to do that? [Beauty Counter/Style.com]
Anoop Desai says he was comfortable with his "geeky" image on "American Idol." Lil Rounds says her soulful singing is what made her unique -- that and her name, of course.
Apparently Rachel Zoe is a worldwide celebrity. Her reality show The Rachel Zoe Project has just been picked up in the U.K. It is also airing in Canada, Finland, Asia, Sweden, and Norway. It's truly a fabulous vehicle to give the rest of the world a glimpse at this great nation's fashion community. Vintage binging, buying new $10,000 couches that look exactly like your current two-year-old couch, furry vests, freaking out over blog posts — pure class, pure taste, pure style. Zoe is excited about the show airing in London, which she calls the "epitome of street-chic cool."
In other Zoe news, the stylist is still working on her clothing line — the one that prompted her to threaten legal action against a local artist for making an ironic Zoe-inspired T-shirt (he has since ceased and desisted). She said she designs the products, and "anything I'm putting my name on has to be something I would wear myself, something I would want to promote and be proud of, and something I would want to see people wearing." In that case, we better not see any pleather, sister!
Zoe also shot down reports that she put an ad on Craigslist for an assistant. "I would never do that. I have a full staff and about five interns right now," Zoe said. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." Gosh, obviously Zoe would never put something on a free site like Craigslist. She would use the fabulous, vintage, couture job-listing service that costs $25k per ad.
Fox initially claimed that the leaked version of Wolverine wasn't the final cut of the film, but it turns out, the internet version is, in fact, identical to the theatrical version, and Fox was merely lying in an attempt to contain the leak. Because the movie doesn't come out for another week, it's not too late for Fox to make radical last-second changes to Wolverine just so the theatrical version is different -- if Fox really wants to preserve its own integrity, it ought to consider making the following changes:
1. Wolverine's Claws Replaced By Walkie-Talkies
2. Thirty Additional Minutes Of Deleted Return Of The King Footage
3. Ewoks
4. Eugene Levy Deleted Scene Restored
5. Giant Blue Penis Inserted Onto Hugh Jackman Throughout Entire Film
Paul F. Tompkins interviewed Jerry O'Connell from the new movie Obsessed, but as you will see in this clip from tonight's show things did not go smoothly:
We assure you this feud is far from over. See how it plays out on an all new episode of Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins tonight at 11pm on VH1. Source: Best Week Ever | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:30 pm
Fashion Wire Daily - Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter go toe-to-toe in the new psychosexual thriller "Obsessed," so it's a natural that the two beauties would do a little fashion fighting at the premiere of their new film in New York Thursday, April 23.
Spike Lee's still got game. The filmmaker brings a full-court press to New York's 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where he is premiering two documentaries. In "Passing Strange," he captures the closing-night performance of the one-man Broadway show of the same name. In "Kobe Doin' Work," he follows Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant.
Heidi and Spencer recently took promotional photos for I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, and damned if they're not basically requiring us to do an easy Photoshop.
Watch how easily his "skydiving" pic...
Turns into the latest Heidi/Spencer charity appearance:
If you think you can top my nine seconds of effort, feel free to leave your own Photoshops/links in the comments, Blingee style.
[Ed Note - Turns out, Videogum is also doing this, and posted this morning before we did. So much for my amazing, original idea -- I'm gonna get back to working on my movie script for Billy And The Cloneasaurus]
After the jump, two more green-screenable Heidi and Spencer options:
A children's ensemble performs during the draw ceremony for the Eurovision 2009 Moscow song competition, in Moscow in March 2009. Russian anti-trust officials are to hunt down hotel owners they believe... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Apr 2009 | 4:06 pm
Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp will share the bill during a U.S. summer tour of minor league baseball parks, beginning July 2 at the GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill., and wrapping Aug. 15 at the Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif.
Director Milos Forman attend the 7th Directors Guild of America Honors at the DGA Theater in New York City, 2008. Forman, 30 years after his second major screen success with the musical "Hair," will chair... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Apr 2009 | 3:36 pm
I can't tell if Prince's new video is a cover of the 60's hit "Crimson & Clover" or if he's just singing about making sweet all-night love to a model named Crimson and another named Clover and the title just ended up being a coincidence. I do enjoy the trippy video, however, even if it does kinda resemble a cross between an Apple Commercial and one of those make-your-own-video mall places (it's 75% Apple, 25% mall place):
US filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola gives a press conference to announce the start of the shooting of his new film "Tetro" in Buenos Aires, 2008. US film giant Coppola is to premiere his new indie movie... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Apr 2009 | 3:34 pm
The cast of "Tetro", in Buenos Aires, 2008. US film giant Coppola is to premiere his new indie movie "Tetro," a tale of sibling rivalry set in Buenos Aires, at Cannes' prestigious Directors' Fortnight,... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 24 Apr 2009 | 3:34 pm
How close is our society to being overtaken by tiny macaque monkeys? Well, if these jetskiing simians are any indication... too close.
THIS MONKEY KNOWS HOW TO DRIVE A BOAT. -- Brian Fellows (probably)
psSpeed 2: Cruise Control with monkeys = adorable. Source: Best Week Ever | 24 Apr 2009 | 2:41 pm
Comedian Dane Cook took a somber tone and described a sense of "terrible betrayal" in discussing the recent arrest of his half brother, who is accused of embezzling millions from him.
Viacom's VH1 Soul and BET J Networks are combining channel resources to create a new program outlet called Centric. Set to launch in October, the new network will take aim at Comcast/Radio One-owned TV One in targeting the 25-to 54-year-old African-American audience
As we've learned this week, pageants are full of drama - but for some the fairytale doesn't begin until the crown has been handed over Source: FOXNews.com | 24 Apr 2009 | 1:17 pm
Desmond may be Daniel Faraday's constant for time travel, but a Lost crew member claims he was just a constant pain in the butt.
A former ABC Entertainment employee filed a...
Does any celeb have a good relationship with paparazzi?
—Chuck in Poquoson, Va.
True fact: The average celeb totally gets along with the paparazzi. Not everybody is...
Sex, violence and, of course, drugs rocked the world of The Soup this week, not to mention a real-life movie star threatening to slap the cheek of your beloved Joel McHale. The upper...
Tonight’s show featured the song “Too Fake” from the band Hockey. These guys hale from Portland, Oregon, but are currently blazing through England opening for Friendly Fires. If their first single has you curious to hear more but you can not make it across the pond, they will be playing US festivals such as Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza this summer. Their debut album Mind Chaos won't be out until August 25th, but “Too Fake” is available now on iTunes.
The album is long way from release, but I got an early listen and was a big fan of what I heard. They have a funky sound like Orson or Bloc Party. I especially liked “Learn to Lose” and “Preacher” where they let loose with some keyboard-infused party rock. I also hope these guys get really huge just so ill-informed people see “Tonight: Hockey” on the sports arena marquee and show up in NHL jerseys.
Watch the video for “Too Fake” over at 
After Dancing With the Stars premiered, we started to wonder what constituted the word star. The advent of The Superstars hasn't cleared anything up for us.
The upcoming...
Are they telling us that Oprah Winfrey isn't the only one allowed to have an "aha moment"?!
That's what Nebraska insurance company Mutual of Omaha is saying in a lawsuit...
Jay Leno is "doing very well." And that's no joke.
After being laid up in a hospital Thursday night and forced to cancel his first Tonight Show episodes since taking over...
Matt Lauer lost the Hudson River hero, but he gained the Somali pirates survivor.
The Today host scored the first interview with Maersk Alabama Capt. Richard Phillips, who was taken...
NBC execs have got to get her into their lives.
Salivating over the attention attracted by Britain's Got Talent auditioner Susan Boyle, the network is hoping the unlikely media...
• Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie are both shooting movies in New York City right now. You know what that means: tabloid theories about Jen's Angie-induced...
The answer? They were all found in New Jersey last night, at the 
I'm guessing that because it's simply impossible to compile an entire season of a network comedy without having a significant number of stand-alone episodes (i.e., episodes that begin and resolve in the 30 minutes and leave everything in the Office reality unchanged), the show will probably revert to its normal state, which is really a shame because these past few weeks have been legitimately interesting plotwise, and the Michael/Dwight and Michael/Charles dynamics have brought out the best in the show's writers, who have provided Michael with a shrewd, charismatic side that David Brent never possessed (he didn't have to, he was fired after 12 episodes).
But can the show maintain our interest plot-wise if they revert back to single-episode minor problems after six episodes of dramatic change? Coach never would have worked if Craig T. Nelson had left the pros and gone back to coaching college in the final season, right? And Coach is usually an accurate barometer of everything. Needless to say, I'll be interested to see if the writers can step up their game even further -- the NBC Office has been off on its own from the British version for years, but now they're entering a timeperiod that's difficult for any tv show to maintain its standard, especially an already-excellent one with a rabid fanbase. Whatever happens, I'll be watching. Obviously.
Episode thoughts, favorite quotes, and future plot predictions -- leave 'em in the comments!
