AP - Smokie Norful arrived on the gospel scene in 2002 to the tune of "I Need You Now" and has gone on to win Dove, Stellar and Grammy awards for his soulful singing style and contemporary grooves. He's also been raising a family, is a church pastor and trying to balance his schedule.
Company Recognized for Rapid Growth, Signaling Market Leadership in Online Travel & Entertainment Space NEW ORLEANS, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 22 May 2009 | 12:30 pm
Picture of the "Croisette" in Cannes. From mountaintop Bollywood dance scenes to shoot-em-ups in wartime Paris, France is pulling out the stops at Cannes for foreign filmmakers to shoot on location --... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 22 May 2009 | 12:20 pm
Production trucks at The Louvre in Paris on the first day of the filming of "The Da Vinci Code" in 2005. From mountaintop Bollywood dance scenes to shoot-em-ups in wartime Paris, France is pulling out... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 22 May 2009 | 12:20 pm
From mountaintop Bollywood dance scenes to shoot-em-ups in wartime Paris, France is pulling out the stops at Cannes for foreign filmmakers to shoot on location -- and pull in tourists in... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 22 May 2009 | 12:20 pm
Goodman, who would have turned 100 on May 30, defined for most people the swing era that dominated popular American music for much of the 1930s and 1940s. From Carnegie Hall and New... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 22 May 2009 | 12:09 pm
SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Yoga now has its first specially-designed download-only soundtrack. Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 22 May 2009 | 12:03 pm
Usually, when characters in a movie are one-dimensional, that's not a good thing. But in "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," the waxworks figures who come to life after sundown are delightful.
(Reuters) Reuters - Thumping dance beats still pound out over the Croisette and cream linen suits, tottering high heels and diaphanous little dresses are much on show, but the party spirit at Cannes is undeniably lacking. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 22 May 2009 | 11:31 am
Epsilon to Continue Hosting and Managing the Society's Enterprise-Wide Marketing Database DALLAS, May 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alliance Data Systems... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 22 May 2009 | 11:30 am
AP - Trout Fishing in America, the musical duo known for its family-oriented songs, has found a new way to add color to the vivid images in its songs: publishing a children's book.
Trout Fishing in America, the musical duo known for its family-oriented songs, has found a new way to add color to the vivid images in its songs: publishing a children's book. "My Name... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 22 May 2009 | 11:27 am
Front Page: Pact includes exec producer stint on 'Lie to Me' -- Director-producer Dan Sackheim has inked a two-year overall deal with 20th Century Fox TV, and he's joined the studio's Fox drama "Lie to Me" as an exec producer.
Robert Pattinson gives good lip service.
Kisses from the man himself were just auctioned off for oodles of money at the Cannes Film Festival.
Read on for all the kiss-and-tell...
Reuters - Few things are more depressing than watching a talented ensemble of actors trying and failing to make the best of bad material. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 22 May 2009 | 12:02 am
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will play three shows at Giants Stadium in New Jersey this fall before the arena is torn down, the Boss announced onstage last night (May 21) at a concert at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ.
Beyoncé's new video for her song "Ego" is out. She's pantsless in it, of course. At first, the absence of bottoms brings to mind Christina Aguilera's "Ain't No Other Man" video. Then, when Beyoncé's two lady-dancer sidekicks enter the frame, it just looks like her "Single Ladies" video, but with different leotards. And pretty soon after that, it somehow manages to transcend all states of pantslessness ever seen. Somehow, Beyoncé has managed to go from, "Well, that's kind of inappropriate but I guess it'll get people's attention," to "Holy shit, get this woman a robe. But my, her chest is remarkable."
The gold sequined leotard is skimpy, yes. But worse, flimsy and utterly unsupportive. Not the sort of sequins a lady should be gyrating in.
Nor feeling herself up in.
Nor dancing in with her back to a video camera in.
Nor doing lunges in with her rear to a video camera in.
Nor bending over in.
Nor, above all, sitting on a chair and spreading her legs in.
We fear for a nip slip and the sanctity of her bikini line. But Beyoncé is gorgeous and sexy when she wears clothes. Bottoms and tops together. Dresses that don't mandate a bikini wax. We felt more comfortable with Britney (in her prime) dancing around in stretch pants and crop tops. The dancing in leotards must stop. Do it for the children, ladies. If you're not convinced, watch the action for yourself.
Front Page: Sluggish economy forces changes in the biz -- Network and studio execs knew they had to swallow a bitter pill to survive this year's upfronts.
Edward Liddy, who left retirement to serve as CEO of struggling insurance behemoth AIG for a $1 a year salary only to be smacked around by an underling in the pages of the New York Times and twice served a shit sandwich in front of Congress, has announced he will step down from the position as soon as they can replace him. At first when we heard this we were like, of course: Probably, he thinks if he no longer has that job he'll be spared the anger of Congress and the American people! He can fly-fish in peace. But then we thought, wait: What is he thinking? Now everyone's going to be mad at him for ducking out early!
Then it occurred to us: What if Liddy is pulling a Janet? You know, the move that Bridget Fonda's character made in Singles when her boyfriend, played by Matt Dillon, failed to appreciate her devotion to him and the fact that she loved his band, Citizen Dick, even though they quite obviously sucked. What if Liddy is breaking up with America so that America realizes just how lucky we were to have him? If that's what he's doing, it's totally working! We can feel it already. Come back, Liddy, come back! Gesundheit! Or, rather, God bless you! (That one is nicer.)
Reuters - Skewering the song-and-dance genre with the irreverent, rude 'n' crude moves that marked the best of their "Scary Movie" franchise, the Wayans brothers (and sons and nephews) find plenty to parody in "Dance Flick," which opens Friday via Paramount. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 21 May 2009 | 11:20 pm
Sure, “Boom Boom Pow” has already topped Vulture’s Song of the Summer Power Rankings, but, let’s face it, the so-dumb-it's-genius jam has miles to go before it fulfills its ubiquity potential. Still, “Imma Be,” the next Black Eyed Peas single, is already here, and it reminds us they are still ostensibly a rap group, although in practice their traded-off verses amount to little more than babbled nonsense meant to fill up space between choruses. So how is that chorus? Not that good! It’s a stutter-hook à la “A Milli” without any of that song’s special charm, plus it goes through a few messy, annoying iterations. So why are we writing about it? Will.I.Am told us to: “Yall niggas wanna talk shit, why don’t you put it on the blog, nigga / rocking like this is my job, nigga.” (Also, for the record, as far as rap songs with first-person, future-tense-conjunction titles go, this one’s still king.)
Controversial "documentary" filmmaker Michael Moore, who has previously taken aim at everything from the health-care industry to the Bush administration to the vagaries of the Second Amendment, has set his sights on Wall Street. His next project, which is currently untitled, will be rolling out in theaters nationwide on October 2, just in time for the one-year anniversary of the financial meltdown. [Reuters]
It was back in March that the Sad Panda first came into our lives. Our eyes first fell upon him during a casual perusal of Gothamist, and we were hooked. Who is this mysterious creature, with his furry suit, and deep dark eyes, and air of ennui, that seems to be haunting Lower Manhattan? we asked ourselves, and you. We asked you to send in sightings of him, and you did. Now, we've compiled several of them into a slideshow chronicling our obsession — and ultimate disillusionment — with the world's saddest bear. Be forewarned: This story does not end happily.
Mischa Barton stars in a new Gossip Girl–esque show for the CW called Beautiful Life. It's about a group of models who live and work together. Zac Posen plays himself in the first episode, in which the girls walk his fashion show. A clip with Posen from the first episode makes the series look like a Gossip Girl rip-off. The girls seem to hate each other and are prepared to do anything to see one another fail. The acting is as spectacular as the depiction of Posen's show is realistic. Can't someone just bring back VH1's The Agency already?
AP - The off-Broadway revival of Norman Corwin's 1959 political drama, "The Rivalry" is quite timely during this 2009 bicentennial celebration of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
The early reviews of Terminator: Salvationweren't promising, but on the eve of the movie's release, things are looking even worse:
I really, really want to like Terminator, and I'm still going to see it, but it's currently doing worse on Rotten Tomatoes than frickin' DANCE FLICK.
I realize that only 12 people have reviewed Dance Flick and that those 12 probably went in expecting total crap and gave a good review if the movie didn't cause them to vomit their souls out of their eyes, whereas the Terminator reviewers were probably hoping for something loosely resembling a movie, but still, these numbers are depressing by any conceivable measure.
If there's a scene in Terminator where Christian Bale farts on a Robotic Zac Efron and yells "you got served, BITCH!" then maybe I'll stand corrected. Source: Best Week Ever | 21 May 2009 | 10:30 pm
Unless you're a Hollywood insider, chances are you've never heard the name James Ulmer. However, you almost certainly have heard terms like A-List and B-List as they relate to celebrities. The correlation is this: Each year, James Ulmer publishes the Actors Hot List, a statistical analysis of the "bankability" of actors and actresses. The terms A-list and B-list correspond to actual rankings that Ulmer compiles, which is based both upon hard data like box-office results and slightly more murky variables like willingness to travel/promote and professionalism. In advance of the release of this year's list on May 30 (if you're curious, Ulmer sells copies of his list in book form for $200), Ulmer sat down with those noted stat hounds over at Entertainment Tonight to preview some of his latest findings.
According to Ulmer, only two movie stars receive his perfect A+ rating: Will Smith and Johnny Depp. Regarding the latter, Ulmer tells ET, "you give him a lemon, he can make lemonade" (it's important to note that people don't pay him for his quips, but rather for his data). He also discusses the sinking star power of Brad Pitt ("He's falling a bit, but ... he has huge wanna-see value") and Russell Crowe ("His professionalism level has gone down a bit"), but he doesn't mention anything about Crowe's oft-discussed weight issues. And if you're wondering what he thinks about actresses, the only one he mentions in his short interview is Reese Witherspoon, but only in the context that "even her position isn't that stable." We're going to try to get our mitts on a copy of the new Hot List when comes out next week, and we'll certainly keep you posted!
E! Online - He may have been all smiles and standing O's at last night's Kris Allen-crowning American Idol finale, but this morning, Simon Cowell was speaking out on this week's other big showdown: ex-girlfriend Terri Seymour versus a female attacker.
Much the way Intel Chris finds himself involuntarily gasping, "oh, HI!" to cute dogs when he sees them, he also has a very similar reaction to seeing sailors in their lower-quadrant-hugging "Shore Dress." Anytime a gaggle of sailors walks by during Fleet Week, instead of saluting, nodding, or even showing respect by getting out of the goddamn way, DI Chris gasps: "OH MY GOD, FLEET WEEK" — even though it has now technically been a few days that we've been privy to the spectacular front and rear naval access here in NYC. Anyway, surely there are others of you who have involuntary crotch knee-jerk reactions to this most celebrated of weeks. Please let us know how (and who) you've felt in the comments.
Sean Penn's differences with Robin Wright Penn apparently aren't so irreconcilable. Yet again.
For the second time in the past two years, the Oscar-winning actor and his missus...
This morning, a handful of members of the Golden Knights parachute team were allowed to jump out of their planes and plummet to the earth over Liberty Island, the home of the recently reopened Statue of Liberty. They took Timesscribe wingwoman Jenny 8. Lee along with them to document the experience. Since the much-publicized terrifying fly-by of Air Force One, air traffic over our southern landmarks has been limited. But for a handful of jumpers, the leap "of a lifetime" seems to have been worth it. Mostly because our brave friend Jenny 8. was in the cramped plane but wisely refrained from sticking her foot out the door because she ran the risk of losing a shoe. Lower Manhattan has had enough trouble lately, thank you very much.
Front Page: Studio also nabs 'Lord of the Rings' from EA -- Warner Bros. is making big moves in the vidgame space to bolster its interactive biz and is snatching up the rights to a number of tentpoles.
According to WWD, an increasing number of men are shopping unabashedly in ladies' departments. Mostly because they can't find pants made for men that are tight enough. Andrew Bolton, curator of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute argues Hedi Slimane sparked the tight-pants movement by promoting the slimmer body type. “It’s this idea of the heroin-chic body — very thin and pale and underfed. That’s a very hipster look at the moment and exacerbated by wearing women’s clothes, which are tighter.” You know, the look favored by rock stars. But men in very-tight pants have been around for a few years now. Bystanders probably wouldn't bat an eye if they saw a dude on the subway in jeggings. So is it not time for the trend to evolve? For there exists a rock star ripe to pioneer the next wave of tightly clothed men: Adam Lambert
Lambert has pranced around on American Idol in tight pants ranging in materials from acid wash to distressed leather, embellished to plain. He pairs these with equally tight tops and eye-catching extras like handcuffs on his belt loops, cages on his shoulders, and platform boots. He is the male version of Lady Gaga. “Just as now Lady GaGa is bringing back real glam rock for women, Adam is opening that door up for men," Barneys' Simon Doonan tells WWD. "You can wear the python boots and the shiny jacket.” And the fingerless gloves, and the black nail polish, and the deep V-neck shirts, and the pants that may or may not connect to your boots. It is time. The years of tight pants have primed the general populace. Now, men, it's time to go all out. And maybe put some meat on those bones.
Jay-Z's next album (presumably The Blueprint 3) was supposed to be the final one on his Def Jam contract. He tells Rap Radar, though, that he's bought out of his deal with Universal ("I thank [Doug Morris] for allowing me to be a completely independent artist"), making it likely that said record will be the first release from his new Live Nation venture, Roc Nation. What does this mean for you, the listener, who cares about none of this? We hope it means B3 might actually happen soon. [Rap Radar]
ESPN announcer Steve Phillips gave viewers a vivid description of Carlos Beltran's shortcomings during Sunday's night Game of the Week telecast. Beltran is a very good player "in his own world," Phillips told us. "While he has that great talent, there are times when he doesn’t play the game and make plays."
Phillips’s cryptic and derogatory comments could mean he has an ax to grind (he was once the Mets' general manager, and was critical of other players, too), or that he's trying to rile up viewers (common practice) ... or he truly believes Beltran is deeply flawed — even though he's one of the ten best players in baseball.
And yet by any objective standard, Beltran is a true five-tool player, one of the best in the game by conventional or advanced measures. In his worst seasons he'll hit .275 with 70 walks, 25 homers, and 30 doubles while playing Gold Glove defense at one of the toughest positions on the diamond, all while stealing lots of bases and almost never getting caught. Despite his reputation for choking, Beltran's track record is actually better in clutch situations than otherwise. His run during the 2004 playoffs ranks as one of the greatest individual postseason performances in Major League history.
Why the disconnect? Many of Beltran's best talents are subtle, and subtlety doesn't always win you friends in baseball. (Beltran is cut from the same cloth as obscure greats like Bert Blyleven and Tim Raines.) Subtlety might be even less appreciated in New York. Beltran is an elite defender who glides to the ball, rather than manipulating plays into Jim Edmonds–style web gems. He's the best percentage base-stealer of all time. He walks a lot. He's smooth and graceful, without pumping his fist or sounding off to reporters or doing much of anything to draw attention to himself. Combine those broad, quiet skills with an unremarkable demeanor and a lack of quotability, and Beltran somehow comes across as an aloof overachiever, a player who doesn't get the most out of his talents, who "doesn’t play the game and make plays." The New York media, fixated as it is on bigger, splashier, personality-driven stories, only fans the flames. Why talk about Beltran's subtle talents when you can instead paint him as a fat, overpaid, lazy choker?
Most of the criticisms leveled against Carlos Beltran have little or nothing to do with Carlos Beltran. The Mets have underachieved in the past two seasons, folding down the stretch in spectacular fashion. Competing again for first place this season, the team still gets more flak than virtually any other contender. Granted, the Mets sometimes deserve that criticism, as Monday night's debacle illustrated. But poorly constructed rosters, lousy bullpens, bad luck, and ridiculous management have been the biggest reasons for the Mets' failures; they've fallen short in spite of Beltran, not because of him. Carlos Beltran's few failings as a baseball player get magnified because he's Carlos Beltran — a player with Hall of Fame talent who might never excite people.
AP - "Up." The title is deceptively simple, which is fitting, because the latest achievement from Pixar Animation is deeper and more complex on every level than it would initially appear.
SKIN
• Hayden Panettiere's tattoo on the left side of her back is spelled wrong. It is supposed to say "Vivere senza rimpianti," which means "live without regrets" in Italian. Instead, there is an extra "i" in the last word and it says "rimipianti." This could have been avoided with a simple Google search, but alas. [HuffPo]
MAKEUP
• Model Emily DiDonato is the new face of Maybelline New York. The 18-year-old upstate New York native already has a Guess by Marciano campaign and a twelve-page Glamour shoot under her belt, and will graduate from high school this summer. Sounds like the best summer job ever. [WWD]
• Pat McGrath's skills as a makeup artist transcend putting on makeup: "It’s a little like being a shrink, though at times, you know, it’s going to take more than a lipstick." [NYT]
• A San Diego waitress is claiming that her manager fired her after she refused to wear makeup. She had been working at the restaurant for five years when it was sold to new management and the rules changed. [Sign On San Diego]
FRAGRANCE
• The pink gown Mariah Carey wore in Cannes was designed by one of her fans and inspired by the singer's latest fragrance, Luscious Pink. It is now up for auction on eBay, with proceeds going to the Breast Cancer Foundation. [Off the Rack/People]
MOST CONVINCING "DEATH BY MAZE"The Black Eyed Peas
ONE PHOTO IS WORTH ALL TWO HOURS OF I LOVE YOU, MANThese Two Fellas
PATRICK BEIGE-YHeather Locklear
LEAST REALISTIC MADAME TOUSSAUD'S EXHIBITIONSimon Cowell and David Hasselhoff
MOST ROMANTIC HOMECOMING PHOTOSimon Cowell and David Hasselhoff
WE DON'T KNOW WHO THE HELL THIS GUY IS, BUT BY THE LOOKS OF HIM, HE IS CLEARLY A SHOE IN FOR NEXT YEAR'S AMERICAN IDOL CROWNHot Man McGintee
EXCLUSIVE PHOTOGRAPH FROM MY DEEPEST AND DARKEST OF UNSPOKEN NIGHTMARESKiss
THE HIGHLIGHT OF RUBEN STUDDARD'S CAREERPosting with Christina Applegate
DEEPEST VOICE IN THE BECKHAM HOUSEHOLDRomeo Beckham
MOST SUBTLE DEAD WIFE REFERENCEDanny Gokey
YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOU, NO YOUKris & Adsies
"YOU KNOW, I'VE SLEPT WITH CLAIRE DANES..."Steve Martin
REMIND ME WHICH IS THE BLIND ONE AGAIN?Scott & Megan Joy
THANKSScott & Megan Joy
MOST LIKELY TO DIP HIS CHEEK INTO AN ACID VATRyan Seacrest
MOST UNAPPETIZING PORN COVERJanice Dickinson
MOST PUNCTUALRandy Jackson, Seen Above in the 5th Grade
FASTEST "FELL OFF A WALL" RECOVERY TIMEQueen Latifah
TETNUSIESTGene Simmons
IT'S POSSIBLE THIS IS HOW ALIEN LIFE FORMS MATEAdam and Fergie
AT TIMES LIKE THESE, HOPE THAT ELVIS REALLY ISN'T ALIVEPriscilla Presley
#1 VISUAL REASON WE WISH MEN COULD HAVE EACH OTHERS BABIESLambert & Allen, whose child has a 50 percent change of having a decent singing voice, and a 100 percent change of being H as Hell.
Video of Jimmy Kimmel's stand-up routine at ABC's upfronts finally hit YouTube this afternoon, and, like Nikki Finke said yesterday, it's not quite as incendiary or button-pushing as early reports might've suggested. Until, however, he gets to the joke about the network's tragically canceled Cavemen, which we just found below the belt, quite frankly. [YouTube]
Abduwali Abdukhadir Muse, the lone survivor of the group of Somali pirates that attempted to hijack the American-flagged Maersk Alabama last month, pleaded not guilty to piracy and conspiracy at his hearing in Federal District Court in Manhattan today. While in court, his lawyers also argued that since being in custody, Muse has been treated unfairly: He was allowed only one one-minute phone call to his mother back in Somalia, with whom he wanted to discuss his injured hand, and he's being kept practically in solitary confinement — even when he's around people, he can't talk to them, they said, because (unsurprisingly) there's a dearth of Somali translators in prison.
"He’s confused. He’s terrified,” one of the lawyers, Deirdre von Dornum, said. “As you can imagine, he’s a boy who fishes, and now he’s ended up in solitary confinement here.” She added, “He’s having a very difficult time.”
Okay, "a boy who fishes" is an understatement, but we get it; we feel for the kid. But frankly, we're not sure this solitary confinement thing is such a bad idea. Who would want to expose this sweet young man to the kind of creeps they keep in federal detention centers?
Eighty-year-old luxury stationer Mrs. John L. Strong is closing due to the economic downturn, according to a press release CEO Nannette Brown sent out today. "This is a sad day for Mrs. John L. Strong and a sad day for luxury as the world has become increasingly bereft of unique, hand-finished products," Brown says in the release. The brand's Madison Avenue atelier and Barneys boutique will both close, as well as its finishing facility in the garment district and outpost in Beverly Hills. The company built a following of A-list clients over the years, from Oprah Winfrey and Bruce Springsteen to Tommy Hilfiger and Anna Wintour.
Marisa Noel Brown, the youngest daughter of Fairfield Greenwich head Walter Noel (and the wife of one of the scandalized hedge fund's directors) has, after much alleged hemming and hawing, officially capitulated and put her Upper East Side townhouse on the market. Per the Observer: "The price is $12 million — even though it's well-known the couple is willing to take much less." That seems cruel! It's not that they need the money, it's just that they're trying to escape the crime. [Stribling, NYO]
Men are relatively new to shopping for themselves. Could designers be trying to take advantage of them? Eric Wilson penned a piece for today's "Styles" section in the Times about how ridiculously overpriced men's shorts have become (maybe $750 Hervé Léger bikinis that can't get wet will get their day in the sun next week). Spending $195 on shorts used to be insane. But now you can buy Tom Ford's cotton chino tennis shorts for $650, Giorgio Armani's cotton drawstring shorts for $775, or Thom Browne's seersucker man skort for $1,495. So illogically priced are shorts, some of them even cost more than pants. Neil Barrett makes gray tropical-weight wool city shorts that cost $615 and pants of the same fabric that cost $485. Do designers take men for fools?
Designer Michael Bastian defends the extravagant shorts, arguing that the work that goes into them is the same that goes into pants — pants just happen to have more fabric at the bottom. Bastian makes $540 cutoff khaki shorts with boxer briefs sewn inside. The cotton is hand-dyed, the buttons are pearl or horn, and the frayed edges are hand-ripped and washed a few times at extreme temperatures. And did we mention the manties are sewn in? At least if you men buy them, you know what you're paying for. The outside world might only notice you have underwear sewn into your shorts, but that doesn't mean you can't appreciate the craftsmanship.
Following their incredible success curing swine flu last weekend, moneyed power trio the Jonas Brothers are certainly due a little R&R — or they would be, that is, if their superhuman constitutions required such things, which they obviously do not. Instead of relaxing, for their next miracle they'll be doing no less than saving the Hamptons' broken economy. Today's Post reports that the brothers may be renting a 31,000-square-foot, nineteen-bedroom house in depressed Long Island hamlet Bridgehampton for two weeks this summer, around the time of their three-night residency at Nassau Coliseum in July. The price tag? An economy-stimulating $500,000 for fourteen days. While there, Joe, Nick, and Kevin will enjoy a skateboard half-pipe, a rock-climbing wall, an in-house movie theater, a recording studio, a bowling alley, a disco, an electric-train room, and a Ferrari that comes free with the rental, thereby returning Suffolk County to its once and former opulence. Is there anything they cannot do? No.
We'll have to wait until September for the next Gossip Girl blast, but lucky for us, we won't have to wait for teasers about season three.
On the fitting green carpet at the...
He may have been all smiles and standing O's at last night's Kris Allen-crowning American Idol finale, but this morning, Simon Cowell was speaking out on this week's other big...
Chloë Sevigny first revealed her second collection for Opening Ceremony back in February. And while the rest of her line will hit this fall, the buckle boots she models in the look book are available for presale now. The retailer just extended the sale for one more day (they are placing the final order at the end of the today), which means you still have a chance snag your own before they arrive at the end of August or early September. A pair will cost you $625, so fax in your order now ... if that price tag fits your budget. [Nitro:licious]
• Another fierce music video from Beyoncé. Two backup dancers, leotard, Fosse-inspired choreography—we've seen it from B. before, but it doesn't stop being...
Denise Richards isn't looking to have any more kids anytime soon.
"I always say, 'I used to have plans, but those went out the window because of the last three...
New York Magazine design editor Wendy Goodman has spent the last two weeks trekking around the city — Brooklyn, the meatpacking district, and the vast Javits Center — looking for high points from the annual New York Design Week. What follows is a selection of her favorite finds, from dumpster-diving cardboard designers Graypants Inc. to Royal Botanica's outdoor furniture for a pedestrian city to some surprisingly creative new Ikea products.
In a village in early-twentieth-century Korea, a widow lives with her young daughter. As the girl, Ehwa, begins to flower into womanhood, her mother meets a traveling artist and begins imagining a different future than the one that's been laid out for her. But she must also help her daughter learn that relations between men and women aren't exactly the same as relations between "stinky poo trees" — that is, ginkgoes.
A quiet story of yearning in daily life, The Color of Earth is the first volume in an acclaimed trilogy by Korean comics master Kim Dong Hwa. A beautifully drawn manhwa, or Korean manga, The Color of Earth has just been published in English for the first time by First Second Books. Vulture is proud to present a sixteen-page excerpt from the book.
I get the impression that Fox's new show Glee is trying to piggyback off a huge, already popular phenomenon, possibly something from Disney, but I juuuuuuust can't quite pinpoint which one it is...
Let's see -- attractive high school kids of mixed ethnicities joining together to sing a triumphant musical number in an auditorium? Waaaaaaaittttttt...aaaaaaa...miiiiiiinuttteee... This is an EXACT COPY off of HARRY POTTER! Nice try, Fox, but we're totally on to you.
If you don't believe me, check out the big Glee "Don't Stop Believing" closing number -- keep an eye out for the Wheelchair-Kid guitar solo at 2:23, the most triumphant moment of awkward pop-culture "wheelchair kid cool-ization" since the Burger King Kids Club.
We've brought you the side-by-side arguments of President Obama and former vice-president Cheney, and now the blogosphere is weighing in. In a completely unsurprising turn of events, conservatives and liberals do not see eye to eye on who won the day, but this debate seems even more starkly partisan than usual, with neither side apparently willing to acknowledge any positive points from the other side. Add to the lack of anything resembling a consensus the fact that both speeches are pretty long, cover a ton of ground, and aren't easily digested by the public, and we'd hazard to guess that, despite the importance of this morning's events, the national-security debate didn't change much today.
• Michael Crowley thinks Obama's speech "was characteristically thoughtful and elegant — if anything, perhaps even too nuanced for the soundbite culture to do it justice." He also notices that Obama "repeated some variation of the word 'safe' ('safety,' 'safer,' 'safeguard') sixteen times," demonstrating that he thinks he's vulnerable on the security issue. [Plank/New Republic]
• Joe Klein believes that from the start, Cheney, in demagogic fashion, "proceeded to mischaracterize, oversimplify and distort the views of those who saw his policies as extreme and unconstitutional, to say nothing of the views of the current Administration." Obama, meanwhile, "spoke with reason and dignity. He treated his audience — the American people — as adults, capable of assimilating a difficult argument. He presented the views of his opponents, on both sides, fairly. His speech acknowledged the difficulty in balancing our democratic values against our very real national security needs." [Swampland/Time]
• William Kristol thinks Obama was "platitudinous and preachy, vague and pseudo-thoughtful in an abstract kind of way." Cheney's speech was that "of a grownup, of a chief executive, of a statesman. He's sober, realistic and concrete, stands up for his country and its public officials, and has an acute awareness of the consequences of the choices one makes as a public official and a willingness to take responsibility for those choices." [Blog/Weekly Standard]
• Greg Sargent thinks Obama's speech "is a sign that he has returned to persuasion mode with a vengeance." His "aggressiveness and coherence today was a strong reminder of just how absent this sort of push-back has been in recent weeks and just how incoherent the Dem response has been." [Plum Line/Who Runs Gov]
• James Fallows finds Cheney's approach "ineffective not just because of its anger/contempt but also because what is billed as a response is in fact one cycle late, simply re-stating the claims Obama went out of his way to rebut (rather that [sic] keeping up with the cycle by answering anything Obama said)." [Atlantic]
• Jacob Heilbrun writes that Cheney "offered a deceptively consoling vision of an America that can't lose its moral bearings because any measures that are deemed necessary to protect it are, by definition, just and righteous. Why is anyone even listening to him?" [HuffPo]
• Jason Zengerle was "mostly impressed" with Obama's speech and was "particularly struck by his repeated linking of his policies to those of the late Bush administration." His basic point was: "Look, we've got to do something so if you don't like my idea, come up with a better one. But we can't keep doing the same thing." [Plank/New Republic]
• Josh Marshall whittles down Cheney's argument to: "If you don't agree with my torture policies, you don't take 9/11 seriously." [TPM]
• Kevin Glass claims that Obama "blame[d] the previous administration for every challenge we face today" and "whined that his critics expect too much from him." Cheney, meanwhile, "put forward a fierce, eloquent and powerful defense of Bush administration policies." [Town Hall]
• Taegan Goddard thinks Obama gave a "truly excellent speech" that "firmly framed his approach to combating terrorism in both American law and values." [Political Wire]
• David Frum wants Obama to respond to Cheney's "serious charge" that the president isn't releasing all the torture memos for political reasons. [New Majority]
• Michelle Malkin's Cliff Notes of Obama's speech read: "I blame Bush (but, uh, I will follow his 'lost way' on preventive detention. Just in a kinder, gentler, more, uh, moral way)." [Michelle Malkin]
• Adam Serwer believes that "[w]ith his soaring and sincere rhetoric, the president has done an incredible job of selling his kinder, gentler War on Terror, and ultimately, the American people will likely have his back, if only because they trust him." [Tapped/American Prospect]
• Abe Greenwald found Obama's tone "so defensive as to be nearly adversarial. But whose wouldn’t be if they were trying to convince the country that having no plan is better than using the plan that kept them safe for nearly eight years?" [Contentions/Commentary]
• Jennifer Rubin claims Obama's "address was not a serious one, not one of a leader. As a grad student paper it might rate a B-." Cheney clearly had "more gravitas" and "furthered his rhetorical aims." [Contentions/Commentary]
• Glenn Greenwald says Obama "made pretty points in rhetorically effective ways about the Constitution, our values, transparency, oversight, the state secrets privilege, and the rule of law. But his actions, in many critical cases, have repeatedly run afoul of those words." [Salon]
• Mike Madden calls the president's speech "classic Obama; he argued that his pragmatic approach was still the right way to uphold deeply held principles. It probably won't reassure anyone who wants the government to delve more deeply into what the Bush administration did. But it should go a long way toward answering the GOP's newly aggressive defense of those Bush-era tactics." [War Room/Salon]
• Steve Benen believes Cheney's speech "was clearly a mistake." He notes that Cheney "referenced 9/11 25 times ... enough to make Rudy Giuliani blush," and lacked "anything new or compelling. Even casual political observers probably could have sketched out the framework of the speech in advance, and been pretty close to the actual thing." [Political Animal/Washington Monthly]
• Jim Geraghty says that "Obama's speech was about theory, and even in this circumstance, where a foiled plot to blow up synagogues in the Bronx isn't even the biggest news of the day, it felt professorial, esoteric, abstract, and strikingly lacking in specifics." [Campaign Spot/National Review]
• Jay Nordlinger finds it "ridiculous" that Obama could assert that brutal interrogation methods make it "more likely that Americans will be mistreated if they are captured." [Corner/National Review]
• Katherine Mangu-Ward is just pleased at the "free speech" and "free society" on display today with the open airing of a speech dissenting against the president. "It's easy to forget that a rich, multifaceted civil society is a tremendous luxury — and a rarity." [Hit & Run/Reason]
The Forever 21 shirts are on the top row, Trovata's are on the bottom.
Forever 21 co-founder Jin Sook Chang testified in the trial brought against her company by Trovata, which alleges that the fast-fashion chain knocked off a few of its tops. Chang examined the striped Trovata cardigan and the alleged copy on the witness stand, and said she didn't see what the problem was. “Even at Gap, Old Navy and those stores, they sell this similar type of stripe. It is available at all places," she said, "Stripes, they are always similar.” And that is why arguing this case could be tough for Trovata, no matter how blatant the knocking off may seem. Trovata is trying to argue that Forever 21's use of similar design details constitutes an infringement of the label's intellectual property.
Chang, speaking through a Korean translator, said she had never even heard of Trovata until they sued her. Burn. She didn't know much more about her own company. Other than her husband, she couldn't identify Forever 21's officers. She said she had never seen the company's financial statement:
Asked by Colucci whether she would be “surprised” if Forever 21’s sales exceeded $1.5 billion annually, Chang responded, “Yes, it’s surprising. I didn’t know.”
So she doesn't know who runs her company or how much it makes. Amazing. As head buyer for the chain, Chang oversees a team of six or seven who select what to purchase from vendors. She doesn't know how the garments are made — "we simply trust the vendors and they manufacture the garment for us.” Selecting from the samples is easy. "We choose pretty ones," she explained. Sometimes she purchases things and then asks the vendors to alter them to make them pretty. She added that her team is aware of the copyright issue — for which Forever 21 has been sued more than 50 times over the last three and a half years — and tries to select garments that won't present legal complications. "[W]e thought this particular stripe would not cause any problems, so we didn’t review this,” Chang said.
Oh, man. This is not looking good for Trovata. It's like when women compete for male attention in bars. It's hard to beat the girl who's just as pretty as you but acts really, really dumb, even when she's not.
Eighty-six-year-old Henry Kissinger once again proved power—even old, Gold Bond-with-a-hint-of war crime-scented power—is an aphrodisiac when he testified at this morning's Astor trial. According to City Room, "everyone from the judge to the court officers seemed enamored" with the former secretary of State, who they themselves refer to as "charmingly short and stout." And self-deprecating, even! While on the stand, Kissinger told his rapt audience a funny story about a faux pas he made while giving Mrs. Astor a toast at her 80th-birthday party.
“I ended it by saying, ‘We would all be proud of the fact that we were all invited to celebrate the 80th birthday with Brooke Astor,’” he said. “She shot up from the chair denying she was 80. Several of the other guests got up and commented that I obviously didn’t know what I was talking about.”
This wasn't because of the dementia, by the way. Astor was pissed because, apparently, she had told everyone she was still 29.
For several days, Dr. Kissinger said, Mrs. Astor did not speak to him or take his telephone calls. Eventually, knowing her love for China, he said, he sent her flowers and a note saying the Chinese take age to be a sign of respect. She eventually forgave him, he said.
“Can we call that a traumatic incident for you?” Kenneth E. Warner, one of Mr. Marshall’s lawyers, asked under cross-examination.
“It made quite an impression, yes,” Dr. Kissinger said.
And remember: This is a man who experienced both the Nazis and Vietnam. We're really starting to respect this broad.
We don't blame the CW for scheduling a slot in their fall lineup for The Vampire Diaries, not in the slightest. In fact, their idea to pair it with their other things-that-go-bump-in-the-night drama, Supernatural, could prove to be a pretty inventive programming decision. That is, so long as tweenage and teenage girls don't get swept off their feet by some other debonair monster in the next few months (fingers crossed that we're able to sell our long-gestating script about celibate Sasquatches!). Still, if any of you were holding out hope that the production would be able to eclipse the bar set by Stephenie Meyer's paean to the joys of teenage abstinence, you'll likely end up a smidge disappointed. This three-minute teaser trailer (which, in reality, is less of a trailer and more of a mash-up of three tenuously related clips) features not one but two scenes of vampires leaping from suburban houses to the ground without injury (they must hate stairs!), but the best/worst moment comes courtesy of Ian Somerhalder, who you might recall played the part of Boone on Lost. The only thing goofier than his line reading of "IMAGINE WHAT HER BLOOD TASTES LIKE!" is his facial expression while saying it.
Several panelists went missing at the Tweet Up on Tuesday, so there will not be a new Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins until next Friday. (If you do have them, please return them to the cardboard box marked "Best Week Ever Comedians" in Times Square. No questions asked. Thanks.)
While this week we're not officially honoring any person, place or thing with the title of "Best Week Ever," we'd love to hear who YOU, the beloved readers, think should have received the honor. Maybe Adam Lambert? Yeah he may have lost American Idol, but who wants to lug around that tacky microphone trophy anyhow? Maybe 'old men complaining on the Today Show'? Bill Cosby and Larry King seemed to think it was their week. Or, perhaps Jon and Kate Gosselin are the real winners for barely making it through one more week of wedded bliss and child exploitation. Tell us in the comments section who you believe to be having the Best Week Ever.
And don't forget to check out Best Day Ever tonight with Doug Benson at a special time-- 11:30pm on VH1. The floor is now yours. Source: Best Week Ever | 21 May 2009 | 7:08 pm
So some big singing competition or something happened last night and everyone, even the famous people, is all a-Twitter about it. Let's all quiet down and see if we can hear what the...
After winning American Idol, giving his wife a celebratory kiss and fielding questions right and left from a hungry room of press, Kris Allen got to say those infamous postwin words when asked...
Vandals be damned! Despite a little tagging drama, Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian celebrated the grand opening of their Dash clothing boutique in Miami at the Clevelander...
Alternate post titles:
Johnny ShoemonicRocky Road FiveThe BunnysherUniversal Soldier Polka
(thanks to longtime commenter Declan Dempsey for the heads-up) Source: Best Week Ever | 21 May 2009 | 6:40 pm
No boundaries? Not for newly crowned American Idol Kris Allen. Or even Adam Lambert, despite (or, depending on who you ask, because of) his second-place finish in last night's...
Let me be honest from the beginning: I voted for Kris Allen. Three times — in spite of a longtime personal policy against voting for American Idol, and a similar discriminatory attitude toward people who spell my birth name with a "K." I just didn't LIKE Adam Lambert. Not his screechy sameness, not his look, and not his endless vamping. But over the past few days, I've spoken to several gay friends (and read some screeds online) that suggested I should have voted for Adam out of loyalty to my kind.
In a way, it doesn't matter whether Lambert is gay or not. When placed in the context of Kris, or even Danny Gokey, he represents The Other. He comes across as obscenely gay, in the sense that eyeliner, high-pitched wails, and camp costumes say (nay, scream) queerness. He wore WINGS last night, for the love of Dorothy. The online pictures of him kissing men and his refusal to specify his sexuality are immaterial in the end. I think we can all agree that by the end of the season, Kris was the straight heartthrob, and Adam was, well, the alternative. The more talented, vocally gifted, riveting alternative.
But for me, seeing him perform with Kiss was an important reminder: Adam, for all his talent, wasn't breaking any camp boundaries that hadn't been broken before. When he and Kris sang "We Are the Champions" with the surviving bandmembers of Queen, it wasn't Adam's (admittedly stronger) performance that felt transgressive. It was Kris's. The squeaky clean, Über-Christian poster boy vamping it up to Freddie Mercury's lyrics was more of a revelation than Adam's slash-and-burn versions of Aerosmith or Led Zeppelin could ever be.
Sure — Adam's success feels like a revolution because America VOTES on American Idol. The winner is chosen by US. But for decades now, the success of artists has been decided democratically. Public referendum is what determines the Billboard charts and platinum-record lists and MTV Video Music Awards. Sure, it's also largely based on marketing and record-company deals with radio D.J.'s. But the ability to capture the public imagination is what makes an artist catch fire — whether it's Bruce Springsteen (straight), David Bowie (officially gay when he was at his peak), or N*Sync (something in between). We're now in the era of Lady Gaga, a straight woman who performs as a transsexual man, for Pete's sake.
Of course I was hoping that Red State America would find it in their hearts to embrace Adam Lambert. That's what the judges of American Idol were so desperately, baldly hoping to accomplish. But as a gay man who just wants his way of life to be normal, I can't help but be satisfied with Lambert's second-place finish. He'll have an amazing career for the rest of his life, where again public affection will determine his success. But for me, having him not win was telling. Not every gay needs to be universally likable. And in a competition where the obvious talents of an Allison Iraheta fell to the boyish charm of a Danny Gokey, it's important to recognize that straight women rule the results. There's nothing wrong with that — they're the demo.
Gays just want to get in the game. Adam Lambert, whatever he is, got us in the game on American Idol for the first time ever. Everyone will remember him as the more talented performer who lost to the more appealing one. And that's enough for me. I live in America, after all.
Once Idol auditions are done, the weekly soulless Ford commercials instantly become my favorite part of the show, and last night's Finale certainly didn't disappoint. The following "surprise" commercial tie-in featuring Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, and David Cook couldn't have been more phoned-in if the CEO of Ford literally described it to the viewers over the phone while a spinning JPEG of a phone took up the entire screen.
Kris and Adam clearly didn't enjoy doing this, Ford couldn't possibly have been happy with the result, and I can't imagine even the most ardent Idol fan coming away with a 1% increase in their desire to buy a Ford. The whole thing was like the National Anthem at the beginning of sporting events; just like, "I guess we have to do this just because, you know, we do. 'Let us now go for a ride,' Take Six."
''I had people telling me, 'Don't do it, Christian. Don't go with that guy.' In a strange way, I like the fact that he keeps that name because it does him no friggin' favors. But people hear it and they go, 'Fuck him!' People were telling me, 'Christian, you're too good for Terminator.' And I'm thinking, I'm too good? I'm not a snob. I really fucking enjoy watching a good action movie. Who do you think I am?!'' —Christian Bale loves action movies and his Terminator Salvation director's ludicrous name, McG [EW]
"I was very much counting on the fact that the interest in her would be greater than the interest in the movie. We would be drafting off her notoriety rather than vice versa. I needed her. That's no different than getting Brad Pitt to be in your movie, albeit in a different context." —Steven Soderbergh on shamelessly exploiting Sasha Grey's porn-star background for The Girlfriend Experience [LAT]
"She's not the best singer in the world, but she doesn't give a shit." —The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne on Madonna [Spinner]
"People see me as this Barbie, with this perfect life. Whatever. That's not what I wanted when I was a little girl.This is not what I planned. I always looked up to people like Princess Diana and now I can never be like that." —Paris Hilton finally speaks, in the documentary Paris, Not France [/Film]
"Who is on the poster of this film? I am on the poster of this film. No one knows who you are, Ryan! Betty White? They know who Betty White is. Sandra Bullock? They know who Sandra Bullock is!" —Sandra Bullock joshes Ryan Reynolds [Funny or Die]
"On the one hand, you could answer the question by saying that history got a boost, an adjustment, from this moment at the beginning of the film. And if you don't want to answer the question, you could say it's just a movie." —J.J. Abrams has been answering Trekkies' theories on hidden messages in the movie, mostly in the negative [MTV]
US director Sam Raimi, seen here in Cannes, was shocked Thursday when he learnt that British actress Lucy Gordon, who played a role in his "Spider-Man 3" blockbuster, had been found dead in her Paris flat... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 May 2009 | 5:21 pm
No matter how you felt about the outcome on American Idol last night, Larry King proved on the Today Show HE is still America's greatest (and oldest) treasure. Let Doug Benson show you why.
Check out another all new Best Day Ever tonight at a SPECIAL TIME-- 11:30pm on VH1 after the finale of Free Radio. Source: Best Week Ever | 21 May 2009 | 5:21 pm
Tonight, in a finish that left even the winner shocked, Kris Allen, a 23-year-old from Conway, Ark., came in first on season 8 of "American Idol." Source: FOXNews.com | 21 May 2009 | 5:06 pm
It's hard to believe this ad is actually real, but I don't think anyone could've written a funnier anti-gay-marriage parody, so I'm inclined to just accept it.
The basic message: If gays are allowed to marry, children will be confused. And we can't have things in society that confuse children. While we're at it, we're axing the F.D.I.C., cancer research, quantum physics, and the majority of the judicial system, because children cannot even BEGIN to understand those things, and I'm sure as hell not gonna waste my time explaining it to them. As we all know, children are innately born with the knowledge that being straight is the only correct thing, so why would we allow gay marriage and invite all these annoying, slowly-worded questions?
Today, a realization: On paper, Adam Lambert might just be the perfect husband. Think about it... he's tall, handsome, talented, gay, and Jewish. (Hava Nagila record screeches to a stop.)
That's right: Jewish. Our little glam rock star from the Planet Blue Eyes is indeed an undercover J person. At first, we were shocked, as we had never seen a Jewish person able to inseminate people through their eyeholes before. But the more we martin mulled over it (and believe us, we mulled), it all started to make sense...
Jewish people have suffered through thousands of years of oppression and battled some of the most brutal forces in history. But, instead of setting it to music, as black people did with the blues, we just got really good with money. UNTIL Adam Lambert. Those screams you heard up there on that American Idol stage were not just the freakish skills of a young boy with a magical fairytale dream. They were the shrieks of the ghosts of our tragic history.*
*Ed. Note: Nothing stated above is meant to make any sense.
Where was I? Ah yes. Move over Gene Simmons: The world has a new Jewish Glam Rocker to worship. First, we bring you a clip of Adam singing "As You Walk With Me" in Hebrew at a 2005 Yitzhak Rabin's "Celebration of Life" concert. If you've never heard Jewish music before, and find this song a bit tedious, a. join the club and b. understand why Lambert now identifies as "agnostic." If Jews had invented gospel, you can be damn sure this em-effer would be davening the day away every Sabbeth.
Ahead, we offer evidence that each and every Adam Lambert song should be 8 minutes long, with his studio version of "Long Time Coming". If you can't understand why we were a little upset last night, take a listen.
Front Page: Midnight screenings give pic an early start -- "Terminator" fans showed their support for the franchise with $3 million at the box office for Thursday midnight screenings of "Terminator Salvation" in an early start to what should be a robust Memorial Day weekend.
Chinese film director Zhang Yimou smiles after receiving an award for being "one of the world's most influential Chinese," at a ceremony in Beijing in March 2009. Zhang will return to Beijing's Bird's... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 May 2009 | 4:09 pm
Front Page: Fox's megahit was down 10% from last year -- Fox's "American Idol" was never more dominant than this season, but its finale on Wednesday drooped some.
US actress Sharon Stone on the red carpet at Cannes on May 20, 2009. Cannes turns up the star voltage Thursday with rapper 50 Cent and Prince due to play at a mega-party that could host the likes of Bill... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 May 2009 | 2:53 pm
German actress Leonie Benesch at a press conference in Cannes. She stars in "The White Ribbon" - a stark and chilling black-and-white portrait of a Protestant German village on the eve of World War I... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 May 2009 | 2:51 pm
Michael Haneke's latest film, in black and white, premieres in Cannes on Thursday. "The White Ribbon" tells the story of the children and teenagers of a choir set in a small Protestant village in northern... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 May 2009 | 2:51 pm
Austrian director Michael Haneke at a press conference in Cannes on May 21, 2009. His stark and chilling black-and-white portrait of a Protestant German village on the eve of World War I on Thursday joined... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 21 May 2009 | 2:51 pm
Massive Attack vocalist and musician Robert "3D" Del Naja has revealed plans for a huge world tour to support the release of their long-anticipated fifth album out in October via Virgin/EMI.
Front Page: As expected, 'Melrose Place' to be paired with '90210' -- The CW has unveiled a lineup that's both downsized and more cohesive than those of prior years.
Pitbull unleashes his first top 10, "American Idol" spurs movement for Katy Perry, Jordin Sparks and the Fray, and Jeremih jumps into the top 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart this week.
Creed frontman Scott Stapp says the reunited group is about "a week and a half away" from pre-production for its new album, tentatively titled "Full Circle." And he promises that "we're gonna have an album mixed and mastered in the next five weeks" -- hopefully for an August release.
Robert Pattinson gives good lip service.
Kisses from the man himself were just auctioned off for oodles of money at the Cannes Film Festival.
Read on for all the kiss-and-tell...
Sean Penn's differences with Robin Wright Penn apparently aren't so irreconcilable. Yet again.
For the second time in the past two years, the Oscar-winning actor and his missus...
Queen Latifah
Fergie
Nigel Lythgoe
Randy Jackson
Adam Lambert
David Faustino
Jorge Nuñez 
Rod Stewart
Kara Dioguardi
Lionel Richie
Steve Martin
Adam Lambert
The Black Eyed Peas
These Two Fellas
Heather Locklear
Simon Cowell and David Hasselhoff
Hot Man McGintee
Kiss
Posting with Christina Applegate
Romeo Beckham
Danny Gokey
Kris & Adsies
Steve Martin
Scott & Megan Joy
Scott & Megan Joy
Ryan Seacrest
Janice Dickinson
Randy Jackson, Seen Above in the 5th Grade
Queen Latifah
Gene Simmons
Adam and Fergie
Priscilla Presley
Lambert & Allen, whose child has a 50 percent change of having a decent singing voice, and a 100 percent change of being H as Hell.
We'll have to wait until September for the next Gossip Girl blast, but lucky for us, we won't have to wait for teasers about season three.
On the fitting green carpet at the...
He may have been all smiles and standing O's at last night's Kris Allen-crowning American Idol finale, but this morning, Simon Cowell was speaking out on this week's other big...
• Another fierce music video from Beyoncé. Two backup dancers, leotard, Fosse-inspired choreography—we've seen it from B. before, but it doesn't stop being...
Denise Richards isn't looking to have any more kids anytime soon.
"I always say, 'I used to have plans, but those went out the window because of the last three...
A quiet story of yearning in daily life, The Color of Earth is the first volume in an acclaimed trilogy by Korean comics master Kim Dong Hwa. A beautifully drawn manhwa, or Korean manga, The Color of Earth has just been published in English for the first time by First Second Books. Vulture is proud to present a sixteen-page excerpt from the book.
Several panelists went missing at the 
So some big singing competition or something happened last night and everyone, even the famous people, is all a-Twitter about it. Let's all quiet down and see if we can hear what the...
After winning American Idol, giving his wife a celebratory kiss and fielding questions right and left from a hungry room of press, Kris Allen got to say those infamous postwin words when asked...
Vandals be damned! Despite a little tagging drama, Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian celebrated the grand opening of their Dash clothing boutique in Miami at the Clevelander...
No boundaries? Not for newly crowned American Idol Kris Allen. Or even Adam Lambert, despite (or, depending on who you ask, because of) his second-place finish in last night's...
Today, a realization: On paper, Adam Lambert might just be the perfect husband. Think about it... he's tall, handsome, talented, gay, and Jewish. (Hava Nagila record screeches to a stop.)
That's right: Jewish. Our little glam rock star from the Planet Blue Eyes is indeed an undercover J person. At first, we were shocked, as we had never seen a Jewish person able to inseminate people through their eyeholes before. But the more we martin mulled over it (and believe us, we mulled), it all started to make sense...
Jewish people have suffered through thousands of years of oppression and battled some of the most brutal forces in history. But, instead of setting it to music, as black people did with the blues, we just got really good with money. UNTIL Adam Lambert. Those screams you heard up there on that American Idol stage were not just the freakish skills of a young boy with a magical fairytale dream. They were the shrieks of the ghosts of our tragic history.*
*Ed. Note: Nothing stated above is meant to make any sense.
Where was I? Ah yes. Move over Gene Simmons: The world has a new Jewish Glam Rocker to worship. First, we bring you a clip of Adam singing "As You Walk With Me" in Hebrew at a 2005 Yitzhak Rabin's "Celebration of Life" concert. If you've never heard Jewish music before, and find this song a bit tedious, a. join the club and b. understand why Lambert now identifies as "agnostic." If Jews had invented gospel, you can be damn sure this em-effer would be davening the day away every Sabbeth.
