AP - Veteran Hong Kong actor Shih Kien, who played Bruce Lee's archrival in the 1973 movie "Enter the Dragon," has died at age 96. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 5 Jun 2009 | 10:36 am
Electronic Arts has been playing games with attendees of the nation's biggest video-game trade show. The game publisher hired a group of nearly 20 people to stand outside the Electronic... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 5 Jun 2009 | 10:29 am
Veteran Hong Kong actor Shih Kien, who played Bruce Lee's archrival in the 1973 movie "Enter the Dragon," has died at age 96. "With his death, Hong Kong has lost an outstanding... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 5 Jun 2009 | 10:22 am
(Reuters) Reuters - Bollywood producers have agreed to end a crippling two-month standoff over revenue sharing with Indian multiplexes that had dried up releases and led to large losses in the world's most prolific film industry. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 5 Jun 2009 | 9:17 am
MANILA, Philippines, June 5 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- MTV Revelations, part of the Awesome Philippines campaign to promote the Philippines as a destination for young adults... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 5 Jun 2009 | 9:06 am
(Reuters) Reuters - The New York Philharmonic Orchestra will play the haunting orchestral theme from Oliver Stone's Vietnam War film "Platoon" in Hanoi this October, and the reasons are purely artistic. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 5 Jun 2009 | 4:58 am
Fox tells E! News that this Tuesday's episode of Mental, featuring the Kill Bill star in a guest role, will...
(Reuters) Reuters - Jesse Rosen's microbudgeted indie, in which he also stars, explores the issue of sexual identity in a way that is meant to be thoughtful and provocative but which has little more depth than the old joke about bisexuality being a good way to double your chances for a date on a Saturday night. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 5 Jun 2009 | 1:28 am
There's no such thing as the Oprahcratic Oath.
And Oprah Winfrey expects that her audience knows that her daytime talk show is not the final word on the various medical issues she...
E! Online - Review in a Hurry: It has a couple of stand-out characters in Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, and enough T-shirt-worthy catchphrases to keep the chuckles coming, but for all the outrageousness and raunch in this Vegas-gone-wrong caper, one crucial element too often goes missing: Fun.
Now that he no longer walks the Earth, David Carradine is genuinely missed.
Friends, family and fans are reeling from the news of the sudden, mysterious death today of the...
Even as Caroline Maloney steels her will for a primary run against unelected incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand, fellow congresswoman from New York Carolyn McCarthy said today that she won't throw her hat in. McCarthy was one of the first to vow to topple Gillibrand after Governor Paterson appointed her to replace Hillary Clinton when the latter became secretary of State. "I'm not running," she told Congressional Quarterly. [CQPolitics]
If you're one of those people who enjoys the music of the Beatles, then prepare for your head to explode. This gorgeous animated video is the one that'll play when you put upcoming video game The Beatles: Rock Band into your Xbox, Playstation, or Wii this September (watch it bigger here). You know how every fall they blame low TV ratings on people skipping shows to play video games? That will definitely happen again this year.
• Nielson Co. has shuttered industry newspaper Radio & Records. [FishbowlNY/Mediabistro]
• Nielsen cut ten at The Hollywood Reporter and closed both the web and print editions of Radio & Records. [Romenesko, Wrap]
• Union employees at the Boston Globe can either accept the new contract proposal or take a pay cut of 23 percent. What a choice! [Boston Globe via Mediabistro]
What's that you say, Jeffrey Donovan, star of USA's Burn Notice, which returns tonight at 9 p.m. for season three?
Oh, you're putting on an Irish accent later this season...
As a movie setting, Las Vegas gives a filmmaker license to do whatever the hell he wants. Which means that the “Vegas movie” has birthed a legion of wacky, outlandish, and mind-bogglingly over-the-top moments. The Hangover, the subgenre’s latest proud inductee (out today), does not disappoint: Missing teeth! Tigers! Mike Tyson air drumming to “Something in the Air” "In the Air Tonight"! (And that's all before you get to the credits.) Here are ten of our other favorite insane Vegas-movie moments.
For fall, the thigh-high boot dominated the runways. At nearly every show, suede and leather varieties appeared, making it clear that this tough — yet sexy — trend is here for good. We tracked the style through the ages, beginning with The Three Musketeers and ending with several of our favorite fashion-show looks.
• Denise Richards is the Goldilocks of boob jobs. The E! reality star (new season begins this Sunday!) discussed the history of her breast implants with Howard Stern this morning....
According to Billboard and others, Jay-Z will announce a September 11 release date for The Blueprint 3 — via his Roc Nation label with distribution through Atlantic Records — at Sunday's Hot 97 Summer Jam show at Giants Stadium. There's still some disagreement over whether the deal with Atlantic is for all Roc Nation albums, or if it's just a one-off for BP3. Historians will know that Jigga's original Blueprint album came out on September 11, 2001, so it's weird that he'd want to try that again. [Billboard]
We're not exactly sure why MGMT's infectious single "Kids" seems to be catching fire a full year and a half after Oracular Spectacular came out (and, for that matter, a full five years after it was originally recorded). But don't get it twisted, it's not like we're complaining: we can't help breaking out into a little Stanky Leg every time we hear it. However, one of the reasons the song didn't exactly "pop" prior to now is because the band has been entangled in a lengthy conflict with their record label about the direction their music video takes. But now that the music video has finally been released, we can begin to see why the end result allegedly gave the record company pause. The video is nearly as nightmarish as director Chris Cunningham's legendary treatment of Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy," only instead of featuring an elderly grandmother as a protagonist, MGMT's video features a screaming toddler being accosted by a parade of frightening demons wherever he goes. If you thought that the kids who participated in those bizarre Anne Geddes photo shoots looked traumatized, just wait until you see this youngster's ruddy and teary mug.
A gem from the Cut in-box: "Diesel is currently previewing their Fall 09 collection, which takes inspirations from all things weather related and concepts such as rain, dripping, weathered, cloth faded by water and the overall effects of what weather can do to fabrics." Grammar is so last year. (Oh, and send us more e-mail here.)
Review in a Hurry: It has a couple of stand-out characters in Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, and enough T-shirt-worthy catchphrases to keep the chuckles coming, but for all the outrageousness and...
When we saw Judy Blume at the premiere for Away We Go this week, we asked the author how she liked the movie about a couple expecting their first child. "Some things I related to, like that first scene," she told us, referring to the part where John Krasinski’s character performs oral sex on Maya Rudolph. "Don't blow!" she said, laughingly quoting one of Rudolph's lines. "I love that." View our Party Lines slideshow for more.
Kelly Bensimon is disappointed at how she came off on The Real Housewives of New York, she told us at last night's Gracie Awards at the Marriott Marquis. "I think it was not exactly me just because I was incredibly guarded," she said. "I was a nervous wreck! Like after the show, Jill said to me, 'You’re such a nice person, why weren’t you like that on the show?'" It wasn't just viewers and the rest of the cast who were deprived of the chance of getting to know the Real Kelly; she was, too. "I felt badly too because I didn’t get to see the real me," she mused. Yeah, we said. That must have been really ... difficult. Anyway, tell us about Planet Kelly. What is that? Kelly's eyes lit up. On Planet Kelly, she said, “Everything is happy, the grass is really green, people are really really nice .... There’s, like, fun everywhere and there’s excitement and new opportunities all around. It’s a really great place — you should come!” We felt like we were already there.
Anthony Marshall claims that his mother, Brooke Astor, offered him all of her money in 2003. This issue is at the heart of the trial against him and his former lawyer, who are accused of swindling the aging society doyenne in her final, declining years. Luckily, her estate-planning lawyer, Henry Christensen, backs up the story. Unluckily, he says she said it ironically. Apparently this was the phrase she said, after Marshall pestered her for more funds to give to charity: "Do you want all of my money?" Now, let's look at this, in every way it could be emphasized:
"Do you want all of my money?"
"Do you want all of my money?"
"Do you want all of my money?"
"Do you want all of my money?"
"Do you want all of my money?"
"Do you want all of my money?"
If you say it in your head in an old-rich-white-lady accent, it comes across as sarcastic in nearly every possible permutation. That may be because in our experience, old rich white ladies, including ones related to us, never offer up all of their cash — but still, we're going to have to rule "ironic" here.
The Times "Styles" section has a lovely piece today about why men are going gaga for Michael Bastian's line. The ex–Bergdorf-men's-fashion director, you see, cuts a pair of men's khaki bottoms — shorts, pants, what have you — in a way that is not gay, yet is slim enough to make men feel fashionable. However those awesome-fitting pants are not cheap. The Times wrote two weeks ago about Bastian's $540 khaki shorts with boxer briefs sewn inside. This week, Bastian confesses that his prices are absurd. “It’s crazy,” he said. “I can’t even afford my clothes.” Finally, a designer who says what we're all thinking! Bastian hopes to cut his prices by 30 percent. His dress shirts can cost $425, his pants $550, and his sport coats $1,150. However, if he does cut prices, Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli might not be able to make his line anymore, which means Bastian probably wouldn't be able to use the same fine Italian materials. “Right now, it hurts a little too much,” Bastian said of his prices. “It should hurt a little, but it shouldn’t kill ’em. That’s the law of designer clothes.” Then again if men are so in love with his stuff (his line is in 54 stores and turned $3 million in sales last year), maybe he doesn't need to lower prices. Sweet of him to care, though.
More and more music writers know better than to say they listen to “everything but country,” but it’s still very much the fashion to dismiss rap rock, as if that knee didn’t jerk back in the mid-nineties. So allow us to be obvious and note that, just as there is good country (Darius Rucker, say) and bad country (Rascal Flatts), there is good and bad rap rock. What’s a fan of Linkin Park and Hollywood Undead to make of Brokencyde, whose “Booty Call” combines the grand catharsis of the former influence and piggish attitude of the latter? In truth, the song is terrible. It yields nothing insightful about the culture of booty calls, and the screamo in the chorus sounds out of place. The Lil Jon–style siren hook and the E-40 guest verse serve only to contrast with these kiddos’ charmlessness.
SKIN
• Brad Pitt uses baby wipes under his arms when he doesn't have time for a shower. How many puns can you make that say Pitt is the pits? [NYDN]
• The Spanish cosmetics company Lipotec says it discovered a new peptide that accelerates tanning so your bronze can last for two weeks after your last sun exposure. We want it. [Cosmetics Business]
PLASTIC SURGERY
• As face-lifts get more marketed, people choose procedures they may not need. [NYT]
HAIR
• Penn Badgley could stand to do some manscaping on his face. The actor grew a scruffy beard, and it falls short of being sexy. [Off the Rack/People]
FRAGRANCE
• French actor Alain Delon stars in the latest ad for Dior's Eau Savage men's fragrance. The photo used is from 1966, when Delon was 31, commemorating the year the scent launched. [Now Smell This]
In interviews, Up director Pete Doctor has implied that the look of Carl Fredricksen's house in the movie was inspired by a home in the Bay Area. The San Francisco Chronicle's scatologically named parenting blog the Poop suspects it may have found it. (If you need to see it with balloons Photoshopped to the roof, they have you covered.) [Poop/San Francisco Chronicle via /Film]
Angelo Mozilo is officially the first top financial-services executive to be charged in connection with the financial crisis! The SEC this afternoon filed civil fraud against the tangerine-colored former CEO of subprime lender Countrywide and two other executives. Mozilo was additionally charged with insider trading for selling his Countrywide stock based on non-public information, netting himself nearly $140 million in profits. "This is the tale of two companies," Robert Khuzami, the director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, said dramatically in a press release.
"Countrywide portrayed itself as underwriting mainly prime quality mortgages using high underwriting standards. But concealed from shareholders was the true Countrywide, an increasingly reckless lender assuming greater and greater risk. Angelo Mozilo privately described one Countrywide product as 'toxic,' and said another's performance was so uncertain that Countrywide was 'flying blind.'"
Exciting! It sounds like they're really going to expose his true colors.
Just before Mayor Bloomberg called Observer reporter Azi Paybarah a "disgrace," he penned a loving tribute to the salmon paper in a tribute issue passed around at outgoing editor Peter Kaplan's going-away party last night. "No publication sends up life in New York quite like The Observer," he wrote. "Your work to nurture young reporters and help them find and develop their voices has made an enormous impact not only on The Observer, but also on the national media." And, you know, mayoral press conferences. [Awl]
The video-game industry's star-studded preview expo, E3, dropped eye-popping sci-fi technology and some very A-list music games this week.
It ends today, and had kicked off Monday...
The latest photo in the Carla Bruni nude series was auctioned in Berlin today. An anonymous bidder paid $19,600 for it! The auction house appraised the picture — one of ten prints — at $3,568–$4,997. However, the photography expert at the auction house would probably argue that this person is out of their damn mind for paying almost $20,000 for the photo. "I really don't know why there is such a hype," Schmidt said. "For us it is not the highlight." It might be that she is the First Lady of France and lying naked on a bed. Though this photo impressively fetched roughly four times the asking price, it comes nowhere close to beating the nude photo of Carla that Christie's auctioned last year for $91,000 — 30 times the asking price. We bet that guy feels like a chump. Click on to see the $20,000 picture.
Jon Gosselin is back at home and, more importantly, back in front of the cameras. Not that he ever left them (the cameras, that is).
After two weeks spent shopping and hanging out with...
Why is Ghostface eschewing hard rap for R&B on his forthcoming album? Let him tell you: "You gotta tell the fans that you not gettin' no younger here — we gettin' older! And everybody don’t sell crack no more, man. I don’t sell crack, yo. I ain’t movin' no bricks or none of that other shit. I ain't shoot nobody in like … since the early 90's, man." [Unkut via Idolator]
Rumored Robert Pattinson secret lover and MTV Movie Award hurler Kristen Stewart was in Santa Monica a couple days ago for a photo shoot that required the actress to bring the sexy, which of...
Perhaps you've noticed Candace Bushnell hasn't been out and about as much as she used to be. Like she is only on photographed by Patrick McMullan a couple of times a month! What has she been up to? "I go to Connecticut and I look at bugs and I don't socialize," she tells CNN. "If I'm here for 10 days in a row I'm exhausted."
Because of the vampires.
"New York is a city where ... you're going to see sides of human nature that you're going to be shocked by," the Sex and the City author tells CNN.
When I was younger the energy really fed me. This is a city of energy vampires — people really feed on each others' energies and that's why New Yorkers talk fast and gesture and they'll come in and say "Oh my god you won't believe what happened!" That's a normal greeting in New York.
Wait, wait: That's what all the gesturing and chattering is about? Like when people are waving their hands all around, they're actually performing a complicated ritual in order to steal your energy, until all that is left of you is a shell of a person who likes to stare at bugs? And here we thought it was all the backbiting and insecurity that was responsible for New York being exhausting. We were so naïve.
We've never really understood the rationale that drove network-television executives to completely abandon the 90 or so days that fall between Memorial Day and Labor Day. After all, it's not like people stop watching television just because it's warmer outside than it was a few weeks ago. Case in point, ABC was able to get 8.4 million people to tune in last night just to see random people getting punched in the nards while running through a water-filled obstacle course. Unfortunately, though, NBC hasn't had the same luck getting people to tune into their reboot of I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. Despite the (on-and-off) presence of MTV staples Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag, the show's ratings fell 15 percent from Monday to Tuesday night and then another 22 percent last night. While it's not entirely surprising to discover that there aren't too many folks out there who want to watch Frangela avoid showering for three consecutive weeks, the Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd is reporting that the program is eroding Ben Silverman's already shaky reputation in the television community.
The primary issue at question involves something that occurred during Monday night's premiere episode of the show. After realizing that he and his new (fake?) wife really did have to stay in the jungle and not in some luxury hotel, The Hills' Spencer Pratt threw a hissy fit and put a call directly in to Ben Silverman to complain that the show's D-list cast members were "devaluing my fame." Yes, that's right, Pratt's petulant whining wasn't handled by one of the show's on-site producers or off-site EPs, but rather by the co-chairman of NBC's entertainment group. This surprising turn of events led an insider to e-mail James Hibberd:
“Why would Silverman even touch the phone for this guy,” e-mailed another insider. “Silverman devalued his own fame by talking to that douche-nozzle. How many agents, managers, NBC's own talent can't get Ben on the phone, but by god, he'll take Spencer's call?"
This led Hibberd to editorialize "Can you imagine Coach from Survivor getting Les Moonves on the horn? Melissa Rycroft on a Dancing With the Stars results show calling Steve McPherson for a pep talk?" We certainly can't; at this point, we can only assume that Ben Silverman didn't recognize the area code on his caller ID and mistakenly assumed that it was his white-tiger wrangler calling to confirm this weekend's plans.
Born in Belfast, Tom Binns's no-nonsense personality combined with an anarchic wit have been the foundation for his philosophy in jewelry design. (He once took photos of the crown jewels and used the actual laminated images in his own jewelry.) He plays with the concept of high-low, demystifies "diamonds" by painting them in neon colors, and elevates ordinary sea glass to gem status. His work is intelligent and humorous, and Michelle Obama has also discovered his ironic charm and now owns several of his pieces. Here, five reasons why we love his work.
1. His Dada sensibility.
2. The pieces are feminine but tough at the same time.
3. The First Lady wears him — who doesn't love that?
4. His new-ish store is jam-packed with tons of jewelry.
5. Neon is everywhere this season and the color looks fresh on his chunky jewels.
The movie After Last Season bills itself as a "comedy" with the following plot:
The end of another season has brought more than the usual change in temperature to the residents of a city. As they go through some tragic events, the residents, and especially a group of medical students, must reevaluate their lives and face new questions.
Sounds hilarious. But when tipster Jeni Sue Birnbaum sent the trailer along, asking us if it's the worst trailer & movie we had ever seen, we balked: Could it be worse than The Wicker Man? Surely, no.
And then... then we watched the trailer.
And...
And...WOW.After Last Season is a clear frontrunner for our Worst Movie Trailer of 2009, and a likely recipient of our Worst Movie Overall Award. For a movie that cost $5,000,000 to make (and apparently took 10 years of hard work to complete), not only does the trailer make no sense, but it looks like TOTAL GARBAGE. For God's sake, they have a CARDBOARD MRI MACHINE! Though it's good to see that the man responsible for the special effects in Max Headroom is still able to get work. And while the entire things makes absolutely no sense and looks like hot garbage, we have a feeling the last line of the trailer is what really pulls this thing together. Take a look for yourself:
For more Dada hilarity, check out the clips available on the website. We're especially partial to Clip 2, which borrows clips from your local Institute of Technology commercials.
Feel free to leave your theories as to what the hell this nonsense is in the comments. Source: Best Week Ever | 4 Jun 2009 | 8:56 pm
The Post reports that Rosa Chá's four-figure bathing suits that you can't even swim in are selling briskly this season. Take for instance the leather suit pictured here, which costs $1,200 and is currently sold out at the Rosa Chá store in Soho. But if you prefer fabrics that might breathe, they also make a $1,200 crystal bikini and a $3,200 Swarovski one-piece. Rosa Chá designer Amir Slama has used fur and oversize mirror detailing on his ultrapractical swimwear in the past. The type of shopper who purchases these items, according to the boutique clerk, has many homes and likes to travel to places like St. Barts and the South of France. They usually buy more than one suit. In that case, we shall eagerly await the television debut of these garments on one of the Real Housewives. Kelly Bensimon would totally rock that leather number. As long as one of the ever-lovely New Jersey cast members doesn't beat her to it.
When we read on Guest of a Guest that 21-year-old Liam McMullan was newly engaged, we heaved a sigh. Were we to do this item, we'd have to write a whole section about why you're supposed to care about him in the first place. But, upon further investigation, we've decided that's not even worth it. (If you don't know who the kid is, read the Observer profile Spencer Morgan wrote about him a while back; it's got everything in it, including sex migraines.) It's not because Liam isn't interesting, but because his fiancée, Aesha Waks, is completely stupendous. You won't find out much about the 35-year-old brunette from her iMDB profile (except that she once starred in an independent film called Went to Coney Island on a Mission From God ... Be Back by Five with Ione Skye and John Cryer), and on her personal website there isn't much more than a couple of photos of her and Hillary Clinton. But on her MySpace Music page, there is a piece of spectacular visual and musical wizardry. Please watch — apparently this brand of music is called "strip hop."
I didn't think The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 was an actual movie, but after seeing this picture of John Travolta's villain character, I am now positive that this is not, in fact, a real movie (or at least one that I'm not going to laugh out loud at every time Necktat McGoatee opens his mouth to say something villainous):
So...the movie is about a subway system getting attacked by one of the bikers from the Blue Oyster bar in the Police Academy movies? Source: Best Week Ever | 4 Jun 2009 | 8:25 pm
We highly encourage you to head immediately to the personal blog of Josh Friedman, former executive producer of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, where he's written an awesome post on what it's like to have your show canceled. A sample:
"I guess there were signs that the show was in trouble ... First there was the day I was in my office and looked up to see Chuck Lorre and a Warner Bros. facilities manager standing in my doorway pointing to various features and using their hands to take "air measurements." (Chuck tried to play it off like waving to me God Bless him, but I know an air measurement when I see it.) I know what you're all thinking: Chuck Lorre needs office space? What the fuck for? Doesn't he already have office space spread out all over half the fucking studio? Isn't it enough that Charlie Sheen's trailer is the size of Waylon Jennings' tour bus and it blocks the best way to ride a golf cart from a certain scary robot writer's office to a particular scary robot sound stage? There's only 2 and half men for fuck's sake, and one of them's like, six years old or something."
Apparently, while vice-president Joe Biden was in the city earlier this week insulting the Yankees and buying $2,400 suits, he found time to try to convince Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney not to campaign against unelected senator Kirsten Gillibrand in a Democratic primary. But unlike the threatening and cajoling of Congressman Steve Israel, it doesn't seem to have worked. Congressional Quarterly reported last night that Maloney would announce a primary challenge to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand this morning, and though morning has come and gone with nary a peep, it seems to be only a matter of time before Maloney makes it official. The Upper East Sider recently began staffing up, reports City Hall, and according to the aforementioned CQ report, she has been telling colleagues she plans to run. The White House won't like it, but would it really be so awful if New York Democrats got to choose their candidate? After all, President Obama, more than anyone, knows that sometimes an insurgent primary campaign against the party's establishment candidate can work out pretty well in the end.
EVENTS TONIGHT
• Carroll Gardens boutique Epaulet is hosting a party to introduce the newest styles from its in-house line, including small-batch dress shirts for men and women's dresses and tops. Complimentary sangria and other refreshments will be served. 231 Smith St., nr. Butler St. (718-522-3800); 7–10.
TOMORROW
• Makeup artist Michael Marcus will offer makeup tips and show off his new skin-care and cosmetics collection at Takashimaya. Call for an appointment. 693 Fifth Ave., nr. 54th St. (212-350-0100); F (11–5), S (11–4).
SALES STARTING TOMORROW
• V Is for Vintage is hosting a three-day pop-up shop in Soho, offering labels like Dior, Chanel, Valentino, YSL, Mugler, and more for up to 50 percent off. Seventies round Rochas sunglasses are $80 (originally $200), a sixties silk Bill Blass shift dress is $150 (originally $275), and a Dior alligator portfolio bag is $2,000 (originally $2,750). Through 6/7. 112 Greene St., nr. Spring St.; daily, 12–9.
• The Michael Atchison Showroom is hosting its annual sample sale, featuring American and European designers like Gustavo Cadile, Michel Klein, Monique Lhuillier, and more. 39 W. 38th St., nr. Fifth Ave., fourth fl. (212-967-7979); W–F (10–6).
• Find merchandise from brands like Scervino Strada, Versace, and more starting at $25 at this European sample sale. Precision Photo, 260 W. 36th St., nr. Eighth Ave., third fl.; Th (9:30–7), F (9:30–5:30).
ONGOING
• Men's and women's tees and jeans are 30 percent off and select items from the spring collections are 40 percent off at Rogan. 330 Bowery, at Bond St. (646-827-7567); M–S (12–8), Su (12–7).
• SportMax collection apparel is 30 percent off, excluding runway and swimwear. Through 6/19. 450 W. Broadway, at Prince St. (212-674-1817); M–S (11–7), Su (12–6).
The future is uncertain for Aquascutum's employees. This week, management announced plans to lay off some of its 400-person workforce starting at the end of June. This news adds to the ongoing shakeup at the London-based company. Just last month, CEO Kim Winser suddenly left her post following the collapse of a buyout deal. Aquascutum's parent company, Renown Inc., has wanted to sell the label since last October, and last week, YGM Trading Ltd. said it may want to buy it. And though no buyout agreement has been reached yet, such a deal could change the outcome for Aquascutum's employees for the better. [WWD]
Here's Matthew McConaughey running on the beach alongside his dog in Los Angeles in the month of June, wearing many, many clothes:
In this crazy world of gossip, celebs come and go, couples hook up and break up daily, and ex Kung Fu stars are sometimes found hanging in their closets, but there has always been one constant over the past decade: Constant pics of Matthew McConaughey running on the beach shirtless that we could always point at and go "Of course that's still happening."
Ladies and gentlemen, with this photo, 2 + 2 officially equals five. Mark it down.
One more McConaughey shirted close-up, after the jump:
A look back at five of the star's most memorable roles
A note on David Carradine's official Website
confirms that the 72-year-old actor, perhaps best known for his
role as Shaolin priest Kwai Chang Caine in the 1970s TV series
Kung Fu, died June 3rd in Bankok. Carradine was on
location in Thailand shooting a film called Stretch.
According to a Thai police official, Carradine's body was
discovered hanging by a nylon rope in his closet at the Swissotel
Nai Lert Park Hotel,
Many years ago, back when I was in college, my best friend and I went through our requisite "Elliott Smith" phases, which consisted of: Buying every album he put out, including "The Gramophone Recordings"; seeing him live a minimum of 4 times; and smoking outside of our private school dorm windows while pretending to be broke, unkempt musicians. (Ed. Note: I've since quit smoking, but hipster posing remains one of my few ways to relax.) As you can imagine, these were the golden years of my life. I even had the opportunity to meet Smith around that time, after a concert he gave at a Virgin Megastore of all places, where I believe in a fit of nerves I told him face-to-face that it was obvious he hated every second of playing that corporate gig. While it was meant as an insidery compliment, that conversation hammered a serious wedge between my be-fri and I, who to this day remains mortified at my admittedly "mom-like" behavior.
Sadly, Smith passed away by what was billed as a suicide in 2003. It was a truly depressing set of events for a man with such talent. Smith always stuck to his guns when it came to remaining indie, and died tragically in true tortured musician fashion.
So you can imagine our surprise last night when easily the most indie of all reality competition shows, So You Think You Can Dance?, featured a montage featuring one of Smith's more successful singles, "Waltz #2". So if you happen to feel the Earth shake a little bit last night, this was why:
Here's to hoping his Estate at least got a little cash out of it. (Tip of the hat to Zulkey on this one.) Source: Best Week Ever | 4 Jun 2009 | 6:36 pm
The experts call it "Heal TV". Next season's global television offerings are all about escaping reality, the last best way to cure economic-crisis-blues. "TV has become an alternative to the crisis. Lightness... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Jun 2009 | 6:19 pm
Yesterday, we asked commenters to give us your Top 5 Favorite Pixar Films in order, which we have now compiled into one comprehensive aggregate list to determine once and for all the greatest Pixar movie ever made (or, more accurately, to just create a fun meaningless list with a bunch of numbers.)
Counting #1 selections as 5 points, #2 selections as 4 points, and so on, yesterday's comment thread yielded these results:
10. A Bug's Life (7 points)
9. Cars (8 points)
8. Up (64 points)
7. Ratatouille (65 points)
6. Toy Story (78 points)A Bug's Life actually ends up with the booby prize, though it's still hardly a bad movie (and features a villain named Hopper, which is awesome), with Cars avoiding the distinction by a mere one vote. I imagine Up will climb the list before next year, as many commenters admitting they either haven't seen it yet or wish to see it again before it cracks their beloved Top 5 (I had no such reservations, I thought it was an instant classic).
After the jump, your Top 5 Pixar movies:
5. Toy Story 2 (97 points)
4. The Incredibles (100 points)
3. Monsters, Inc. (101 points)
2. Finding Nemo (139 points)
1. WALL-E (145 points)WALL-E, the dystopian future robot love story, takes the crown (but couldn't even take a Best Picture nomination, despite being prrrrobably the best movie of 2009). I'm surprised at Finding Nemo second; it's a really fun movie with a lot of awesome scenes, great action, and more jokes than most of the other Pixars, and it may be the most watchable Pixar film of all-time (which is saying something) but to me, it didn't quite punch me in the gut with lifeitude the way WALL-E, Up, and Ratatouille did (I realize this is splitting hairs, but the whole list is, any of these movies would be a worthy #1, except, well, you know who.)
Toy Story 3 next summer -- looking forward to an updated list for 2010. Provided, of course, that the internet hasn't imploded on itself by then. Source: Best Week Ever | 4 Jun 2009 | 5:45 pm
The guys from the band Anvil joined Judah Friedlander in this all new Best Day Ever, but if you've seen their movie Anvil! The Story of Anvil, you know things rarely go as planned for Steve Kudlow and Robb Reiner.
Judah returns tonight at 11pm for another new Best Day Ever (provided the band didn't blow out his ear drums). Source: Best Week Ever | 4 Jun 2009 | 5:40 pm
The folks at Serious Lunch raise an interesting discussion point - Did Conan O'Brien intentionally model his new Tonight Show set after the game Super Mario Bros.?
The evidence, in .gif form, is staggering:
Whether or not this is actually intentional (I like to believe it is, just as I like to believe that Conan himself sat down and designed the set), I think we all pretty much have to concede that the new Tonight Show set is therefore already the greatest backdrop in television history. Excluding Best Week Ever's, of course.
I just hope Conan doesn't get eaten by that big red fish while he's still big, because that would be, and has always been, bullsh*t.
(via ONTD) Source: Best Week Ever | 4 Jun 2009 | 5:15 pm
AP - Artist Frederic Edwin Church built Olana, his grandiose, Persian-inspired villa, atop a hill on 250 acres in the Hudson Valley so he could be close to the natural beauty that inspired him. When not traveling the world, he could look out the windows to see the lush landscapes of the Hudson River, the Catskill Mountains and trees stretching for miles and paint them just as he saw them. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 4 Jun 2009 | 5:14 pm
"You know what, Im a classy woman, Im never ever going to battle anything out in the press," Rimes told People.com Source: FOXNews.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:47 pm
Thought Anderson Cooper couldn't seem any more marryable? Well he's gone and done the unthinkable, and managed to make himself even MORE adorable through the help of three simple things:
1. A birthday cake.
2. Balloons.
3. Confetti.
So Happy Happy Birthday Anderson Cooper! Your gift is in the mail (Hint: It's the ghost of our first future baby together.) Plus I'll totally high five you and your crotch next time I see you on the 1 train.
Here is video of Anderson getting accosted on air by two of his favorite people, Kathy Griffin and Suze Orman. NGL, he seems a little terrified.
Just what sorta stuff are Britney Spears' adorable little boys Sean Preston and Jayden James learning on the road while touring with their Mom? Oh, you know, the usual: How to cover your roots with baby powder; what constitutes one's "p-ssy hanging out"; and how to dance like there's no slutty tomorrow. Check out these videos of these adorable youngsters dancing to some pre-recoded tracks sung by their Mommy. It will almost make you want to give birth to your very own band of gypsies!!
(via ONTD)
It seems the Spears Moneymaker is passed down from the maternal side, thanks God. Sadly, their father Kevin Federline gave them a C- in "Bein' Gangsta'".
Ahead, a two-parter, featuring the kids groinding to her "Toxic" remix. They're adorable little animal babies, no?
A 2004 picture shows a cyclist driving past remainings of the Berlin wall, where former USSR communist party central committee secretary general Leonid Brezhnev (L) kissing his East German counterpart... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:12 pm
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, seen here in Sydney in April 2009, voiced outrage on Thursday over a television comedy sketch which lampooned children with terminal illnesses. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:11 pm
Placebo guitarist Stefan Olsdal performs at the 2007 Projekt Revolution Tour at the Hyundai Pavilion in 2007 in Devore, California. Troubled indie rock band Placebo release their first album in three years... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:09 pm
(L-R) Musicians Steve Hewitt, Stefan Olsdal and Brian Molko from the band "Placebo" pose backstage during day 3 of the Coachella Music Festival held at the Empire Polo Field in 2007 in Indio, California... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:09 pm
Placebo singer/guitarist Brian Molko performs at the 2007 Projekt Revolution Tour at the Hyundai Pavilion in Devore, California. Troubled indie rock band Placebo release their first album in three years... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 4 Jun 2009 | 4:09 pm
Four discs worth of unreleased demos, alternate takes, rarities, and live cuts are on tap for cult-rock act Big Star this fall when Rhino releases "Keep An Eye On The Sky" on September 15.
Wisin & Yandel's showing on the Billboard 200, where "La Revolución" debuted at No. 7, is the highest for a Spanish language recording act since Mana's "Amar Es Combatir" debuted and peaked at No. 4 in September 2006.
Candace Bushnell is a New Yorker and the author of five novels, including the best-selling "Sex and the City" and "Lipstick Jungle". She tells My City_My Life about her marriage, real life in New York and the secrets of her success.
Holly Hunter doesn't take roles based on what she thinks viewers want to see and she has a hit on her hands with TNT's "Saving Grace," which is soon to debut its third season. The network has a summer lineup that includes other popular dramas.
Lady GaGa soars into the top 10 with her third single, "LoveGame," as Keri Hilson and Sean Kingston also break into the top tally on Billboard's Hot 100 this week.
With the start of her first headlining tour less than three weeks away, Demi Lovato is preparing a show that she hopes will focus on songs rather than spectacle.
'Kill Bill' star David Carradine was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room Thursday, his manager told FOX News Thursday Source: FOXNews.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 10:11 am
AP - "The Art of Making Money: The Story of a Master Counterfeiter" (Penguin, 304 pages, $26), by Jason Kersten: When the Federal Reserve Bank debuted a redesigned $100 bill in 1996, it was trumpeted as the most high-tech, counterfeit-proof currency to date. It took Art Williams four months to produce a convincing duplicate of it.
Soul man Raphael Saadiq has documented his live show supporting last year's "The Way I See It" with his first-ever concert DVD, "Raphael Saadiq: Live From the Artists Den," which comes out July 21 from Artists Den Entertainment and Columbia Records.
Voth just returned from the Cannes beaches, and was eager to show FOXNews.com her Top 10 sexy picks for summer Source: FOXNews.com | 4 Jun 2009 | 9:28 am
There's no such thing as the Oprahcratic Oath.
And Oprah Winfrey expects that her audience knows that her daytime talk show is not the final word on the various medical issues she...
Now that he no longer walks the Earth, David Carradine is genuinely missed.
Friends, family and fans are reeling from the news of the sudden, mysterious death today of the...
What's that you say, Jeffrey Donovan, star of USA's Burn Notice, which returns tonight at 9 p.m. for season three?
Oh, you're putting on an Irish accent later this season...
• Denise Richards is the Goldilocks of boob jobs. The E! reality star (new season begins this Sunday!) discussed the history of her breast implants with Howard Stern this morning....
Review in a Hurry: It has a couple of stand-out characters in Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis, and enough T-shirt-worthy catchphrases to keep the chuckles coming, but for all the outrageousness and...
The video-game industry's star-studded preview expo, E3, dropped eye-popping sci-fi technology and some very A-list music games this week.
It ends today, and had kicked off Monday...
Jon Gosselin is back at home and, more importantly, back in front of the cameras. Not that he ever left them (the cameras, that is).
After two weeks spent shopping and hanging out with...
Rumored Robert Pattinson secret lover and MTV Movie Award hurler Kristen Stewart was in Santa Monica a couple days ago for a photo shoot that required the actress to bring the sexy, which of...
The movie After Last Season bills itself as a "comedy" with
Counting #1 selections as 5 points, #2 selections as 4 points, and so on, yesterday's comment thread yielded these results:
10. A Bug's Life (7 points)
9. Cars (8 points)
8. Up (64 points)
7. Ratatouille (65 points)
6. Toy Story (78 points)
A Bug's Life actually ends up with the booby prize, though it's still hardly a bad movie (and features a villain named Hopper, which is awesome), with Cars avoiding the distinction by a mere one vote. I imagine Up will climb the list before next year, as many commenters admitting they either haven't seen it yet or wish to see it again before it cracks their beloved Top 5 (I had no such reservations, I thought it was an instant classic).
After the jump, your Top 5 Pixar movies:
5. Toy Story 2 (97 points)
4. The Incredibles (100 points)
3. Monsters, Inc. (101 points)
2. Finding Nemo (139 points)
1. WALL-E (145 points)
WALL-E, the dystopian future robot love story, takes the crown (but couldn't even take a Best Picture nomination, despite being prrrrobably the best movie of 2009). I'm surprised at Finding Nemo second; it's a really fun movie with a lot of awesome scenes, great action, and more jokes than most of the other Pixars, and it may be the most watchable Pixar film of all-time (which is saying something) but to me, it didn't quite punch me in the gut with lifeitude the way WALL-E, Up, and Ratatouille did (I realize this is splitting hairs, but the whole list is, any of these movies would be a worthy #1, except, well, you know who.)
Toy Story 3 next summer -- looking forward to an updated list for 2010. Provided, of course, that the internet hasn't imploded on itself by then.
