Gwendolyn and Kendall Myers, the septuagenarian couple who were arrested earlier this month for passing classified information to the Cuban government back in the eighties, were not motivated to treason by money. Rather, the weed-growing, environmentally conscious pair was like the hippie version of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, disillusioned by the American government and committed to the good-in-theory, bad-in-practice Communist cause. But what drove them to take such extreme action? This morning's Times offers a clue:
Mr. Myers’s diary described watching the television news as a “radicalizing experience”
Really? The news? Like Peter Jennings and Connie Chung? We're just glad that this happened back in the eighties. Imagine how this couple would have felt watching The Hills.
Denying a Sex Tape, Step One: Wear blousy dresses.
In the Los Angeles–New York orbit, there are sex tapes that we want to believe in. Dustin Lance Black's, for example, which showed that it is actually possible to look attractive while getting boned by an un-famous stranger. And Colin Farrell's, which not only proved that famous people encounter awkward bedroom hygiene problems like normal people, but which also contained the line: "I could do this breakfast, lunch, and dinner," regarding an act not allowed by the MPAA in R-rated movies (even starring Ben Kingsley). But there are some sex tapes that we just cannot abide. Like the one reported by TMZ early this morning:
We've learned a Meester tape is being shopped around town. It was shot a few years back, and shows Leighton in mostly innocuous though nude scenes — with several big exceptions ... one involving her very talented feet. We're told a company called celebhotline.com is negotiating for the video. The company's spokesperson, Kevin Blatt told us, "We've seen the tape and we're hoping to close the deal."
Okay, three things. One, when someone reports that there's a sex tape "being shopped around town" but hasn't actually seen it, it's our experience that no one ever ends up seeing it, because it doesn't exist. (See: Lauren Conrad, Angela Lansbury.) Two: Come on, people. The Haunting of Sorority Row may have been a B movie, but it hardly qualifies as amateur porn. When was the last time you saw a college-coed zombie in a celebrity sex tape?? (Don't answer that.) And three: Ew! Talented feet?
Jailhouse Blues:Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Elijah Wood, and Cam Gigandet are onboard for The Experiment, a remake of the German film Das Experiment, being adapted and directed by Prison Break creator Paul Scheuring. The plot is a fictionalization of the Stanford Prison Experiment, in which a group of men assigned guard roles in a simulated prison accept their tasks with a bit too much sadistic glee. Oh, Germans! [Variety]
Rap Love: Rapper-actors Common and Queen Latifah will share the spotlight in the romantic comedy Just Wright. Latifah plays a sports trainer who falls in love with Common’s character, a pro basketball player, while rehabbing him from a serious injury. We don’t know about Common’s athletic acumen, but we’re going to push for a stunt double in the sports scenes anyway; nobody wants a Leonardo DiCaprio–in–Basketball Diaries situation on their hands. [Variety]
Shaq Fu:Shaq is producing a series of comedy specials for Showtime under the title All-Star Comedy Jams. Cedric the Entertainer’s special aired this week; up next is D.L. Hughley, who is shooting his special this month at the American Black Film Festival for a January airdate. Please say this means it’s now inevitable Shaq gets his own comedy special? [Variety]
Ghost Tribulations: DreamWorks Animation is planning a new project for late 2012. Untitled, but referred to internally as Boo U., the movie will revolve around a ghost who is bad at its job and must return to ghost school. Igor’s Tony Leondis will direct and The Simpsons Movie’s Jon Vitti will write. Will the main character bring ghost shower shoes and eat bad ghost cafeteria food? [HR]
Arnold II: Austrian actor Roland Kickinger is in talks to be the next Conan the Barbarian. Like the original, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kickinger is a former bodybuilder and played a T-800 (in Terminator Salvation); he also played Arnold in 2005 A&E biopic See Arnold Run. [HR]
Fairy Tales:Mike Mitchell, the director of Shrek Forever After, will go live-action with the fantasy flick Once Upon a Time. The plot revolves around Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty, who have all married their princes, the Charming Brothers; when their husbands go mysteriously missing, the trio takes action. That sounds like it’d make a good animated movie. [Variety]
On any typical night out, you need a compact mirror to spot-check your makeup, even in dark bars. These adorable Actress Mirrors from Train Corporation allow you to see every little pore, mascara flake, and misplaced hair with the benefit of full light. They debuted in Japan in March 2008 and arrived Stateside this spring. Flip open the compact and there's a double-sided mirror complete with eight little lights that can be turned on and off with the click of a button. Five new styles are introduced every month, ranging from geometric prints to skulls and crossbones, but the cute Love in Black lets us tap into our inner girlie-girl.
$30 to $40 at Paul Smith, 108 Fifth Ave., at 16th St.; 212-627-9770; Patricia Field, 302 Bowery, nr. First St.; 212-966-4066.
AP - Jessica Alba has made a donation to the United Way in Oklahoma City, where she ran into trouble for attaching a poster to one of the charity's billboards.
(AP) AP - Police say a major fire has erupted at the landmark Georgia Theatre in Athens that has been a venue for Georgia bands including REM., Widespread Panic and the B-52s. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 19 Jun 2009 | 1:31 pm
AP - Police say a major fire has erupted at the landmark Georgia Theatre in Athens that has been a venue for Georgia bands including REM., Widespread Panic and the B-52s. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 19 Jun 2009 | 1:31 pm
Katherine Heigl is returning to Grey's Anatomy. I guess she can't make ends meet trying to squeeze by on those seven romantic comedy leads a year? Someone should start a heroin rumor about her.
Robert Pattinson was hit by a taxi yesterday while attempting to escape rowdy fans, proving that even taxis are trying to f*ck Robert Pattinson.
Uh oh, Jon & Katehave an "announcement" on their show next week! For the record, you two, an admission that you beat each and every one of your children would not count as an "announcement," as that's been implied for some time now.
And finally, here's Bruno dressed up in a bull costume. I really am two viral publicity stunts away from deciding to never see this movie. Please don't make me do it.
Backstage meddling has caught up with "American Idol" favorite David Archuleta's dad, who's been banned from rehearsals, a person working for the TV talent contest said Friday. Source: FOXNews.com | 19 Jun 2009 | 1:16 pm
• This rumor's dirty, even for Gossip Girl. Supposedly Blair Waldorf herself, Leighton Meester, has a sex tape being shopped around. Word is it's from a few years ago (so...
Reuters - The Minneapolis Star Tribune said it had filed a plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy by autumn, in a report on its website. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 19 Jun 2009 | 9:36 am
DUBLIN, June 19 /PRNewswire/ -- - With the World Series of Poker in Full Swing The Poker Show lines-up Bracelet Winners and World Champions Including Chris... Source: RSS feed - channel BNewsEnter | 19 Jun 2009 | 9:25 am
With three successful records under their belt, eclectic lounge-pop act Pink Martini will return October 13 with "Splendor in the Grass" on the band's own label, Heinz Records.
Music publisher EverGreen, which owns the catalogs of 2 Live Crew, Third Eye Blind, MC Hammer, Tupac Shakur and others, has signed a deal with WIDEawake, the Canada-based development company that acquired the assets of Death Row Records earlier this year, to be the worldwide administrative company of the legendary rap label.
Reuters - When it premiered on Broadway in 1975, "The Wiz" proved itself to be an entertainingly new take on "The Wizard of Oz," infused with an irreverence and black sensibility. Nearly 35 years later, its freshness has been decidedly dimmed, and the new revival being presented by Encores! Summer Stars doesn't do it any favors. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 19 Jun 2009 | 6:34 am
"Balibo," a new film about the alleged executions of five journalists by Indonesian troops in East Timor in 1975 fails to depict the true cruelty of the killings, according to East Timorese President Jose... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 19 Jun 2009 | 6:29 am
East Timorese act in a movie "Balibo" directed by Australian director Robert Connolly and starring Australian-born Hollywood actor Anthony LaPaglia, in Dili, in July 2008. Yet, the new film about the alleged... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 19 Jun 2009 | 6:29 am
Reuters - Frank Lloyd Wright's famed, long-endangered Ennis House, which served as a location for films such as "Blade Runner," is putting out a "for sale" sign with a $15 million asking price, Christie's said on Friday. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment News | 19 Jun 2009 | 5:57 am
Reuters - Given the interest in such shows as "Nip/Tuck" and "Dr. 90210," it comes as no surprise that the nation's reluctance to embrace the notion of growing old gracefully has created a $60 billion-a-year anti-aging industry. Source: Yahoo! News: Entertainment Reviews | 19 Jun 2009 | 3:58 am
AFP - Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has been many things in his life from an award-winning novelist to a sailor, a sometimes controversial member of the Diet and now the president of the bid to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to the Japanese capital.
Being cut this early in the So You Think You Can Dance season can be brutal on the dancers since they just made the Top 20, but for us spectators, at least we have the small mercy of...
A federal jury Thursday found a 32-year-old Minnesota woman guilty of illegally downloading music from the Internet and fined her $80,000 each -- a total of $1.9 million -- for 24 songs.
Front Page: Scheuring to direct remake of German thriller -- Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Elijah Wood and Cam Gigandet will star in "The Experiment," a remake of the German psychological thriller "Das Experiment" for Inferno Entertainment and Magnet Media Group.
Front Page: First-look deal includes two potential projects -- Focus Features has made a two-year first-look deal with Sam Mendes and Neal Street Prods., the company the helmer partners in with Pippa Harris and Caro Newling.
Front Page: Thesps to co-star in Fox Searchlight comedy -- Fox Searchlight has tapped rapper-turned-actor Common ("Terminator Salvation") as the lead opposite Queen Latifah in sports romancer "Just Wright," with Sanaa Hamri directing.
Front Page: Contract requires guild to initiate negotiations -- The majors have ensured that SAG won't be able to drag its heels in the next round of contract negotiations.
French actor Vincent Cassel (pictured in May), who featured in "Ocean's 12", is to head to Australia soon to film a sci-fi movie starring Orlando Bloom and Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, he told AFP. The multi-national... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 19 Jun 2009 | 1:33 am
AP - David Adjmi's "Stunning," which opened off-Broadway Thursday at the Duke Theatre, reveals how suddenly and subtly relationships can shift and power struggles ensue.
For his inaugural contribution to the Vulture Reading Room discussion of Bill Wasik's And Then There's This, cartoonist David Rees (Get Your War On) has submitted his commentary in the form of an awesome PowerPoint presentation. [Vulture Reading Room]
Angelina Jolie was on a stage Thursday but wasn't performing. Instead, she paid tribute to the millions of uprooted people across the globe made homeless by war.
Angelina Jolie's mighty heart is showing.
"I usually just explain to [my kids] that there are other families in the world that aren't as fortunate as ours and other...
The cast lineup for season six of Grey's Anatomy is becoming clearer by the day.
Following on Marc Malkin's report last month that star T.R. Knight is leaving the series, a...
A US jury on Thursday ordered a 32-year-old woman to pay 1.92 million dollars in damages for illegally downloading 24 songs in a high-profile digital piracy case. Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 19 Jun 2009 | 12:00 am
Well, so much for plain white runways and a CD of "Pachelbel's Canon." Local heroes Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez (or "Proenza Schouler," your choice) have whipped up quite a pre-collection show for their first out-of-the-U.S. presentation, at Florence's Pitti W this coming week. The bill includes the boys' clothes (naturally), a performance by the newly re-ascendant blue-faced–performance-art punk stalwart Kembra Pfahler (the Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black), a video by similarly overhyphenated drag-art chanteuse Kalup Linzy (click for camp on an epic scale), and an installation by sculptor Haim Steinbach. Messrs. McCollough and Hernandez said they just wanted their show to be "really American." Mission accomplished, countrymen.
The Tonys’ administration has announced it will discontinue the award for Special Theatrical Event, which was won two weeks ago by Liza Minelli for her Liza’s at the Palace (she beat Will Ferrell) and was meant to honor miscellaneous shows that don't fit neatly into play or musical categories. All performing Tony winners will now be required to act or sing, which greatly reduces our chances of winning a Tony. [ArtsBeat/NYT]
Not surprisingly, Jessica Alba is dealing in a different type of paper these days.
The actress has made an undisclosed donation to the United Way of Central Oklahoma as part of her...
The Standard Hotel New York has paid artist (and Demolition Man director) Marco Brambilla and Canadian studio Crush an undisclosed sum of money to make an incredible video installation for its elevator, which gives the effect of either ascending to heaven or descending to hell, depending on which floor you're headed to. Civilization was inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy and combines looped footage from over 400 sources (including Ghostbusters, we notice). According to an artist from Crush, they're reasonably certain it won't cause motion sickness, though we're pretty sure our stomach could find a way to prove him wrong on that particular count. Even so, this is totally awesome. Click to watch a demo!
Everyone's been nattering on about Alexandra Shulman's anti-waif missive — but only this article by aspiring Gaelic bard Kevin Myers of the Irish Independent puts it in historical perspective. Speaking out against "Cosmosexuals" (apparently, space-age metrosexuals) and the "fascist, woman-hating ethos" of "gay designerdom," Myers intones, "May they engrave the name Alexandra Shulman in stone at that point where history turned."
Comparing the "denizens of the Cosmosphere" to Marxists and Fascists out to create the New Woman, he notes that most designers are themselves openly homosexual, except for "Gaultier, Lagerfeld, and Valentino," who are, to him, somehow "ambiguous" in their preferences. Only a straight man like Tommy Hilfiger or ex–rugby-player Paul Costelloe can craft clothes that "celebrate women's carnality, their sexuality and the sheer exuberant bodiness of the female form." Shades of Joyce there.
And who is this "New Woman"? "This emaciated elf eats on Tuesdays and her tiny peapod of a bowel sheds a shrivelled [sic] pebble or two about once a month. She hourly snorts cocaine like a bee smothering itself with pollen. At night, she lies listlessly akimbo beneath her many lovers, a comatose orchid being ravished by a series of priapic wasps. Then up at dawn, to stride the gaunt catwalk, all skin and shin and rib and polished pubic bone." Coleridge would be proud. We are speechless.
Front Page: Eligibility will be funneled into other categories -- The administrators of the Tony Awards have jettisoned the special theatrical event category, choosing instead to funnel eligibility into other categories including best play and musical.
There are a lot of bands out there who have been through some shit. It's just part of the lifestyle, you know? You've got the Crüe, who had to deal with Nikki Sixx's heroin addiction. Poison and their little shakeup with C.C. Deville. Metallica, who had to work out all those complicated feelings they had. Anvil. And Aged Inventory, a band made up of former Credit Suisse traders and named for a bond that sits in a trading book for more than 60 days, which is playing at a benefit tonight, has had to struggle with the financial crisis. Quoth Bloomberg:
The lead singer of Aged Inventory spent last year looking for a job after cutbacks at Credit Suisse Group AG. Three other members of the band, formed by mortgage-bond traders at the bank, no longer work there.
The group has kept playing, belting out covers of U2’s “Vertigo” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Gimme Three Steps” even as members have been shaken by the financial collapse. Front-man Allen Oppici, 45, and saxophonist Jason Weyeneth, 30, are working elsewhere on Wall Street, trumpeter Mike Marriott retired, and vocalist Carla Lynne Hall, 41, has changed careers.
“It’s the music that keeps us together,” Marriott, 46, said from his vacation home in Naples, Florida. “The fact that I’m hanging out at the beach and a lot of guys have left the firm hasn’t diminished our desire to play together.”
Fuckin' A. That's some tough luck. For those mortgage-bond traders about to rock, we salute you!
Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya and production duo Radioclit aren't simply the best. Peep the title of their mix tape from last year: Esau Mwamwaya and Radioclit Are the Very Best. On this blog-approved mash-up, Mwamwaya’s jubilant vocals and source material like Vampire Weekend and the Beatles ran through Radioclit's cracked filter. The crew’s coming back in the fall with Warm Heart of Africa, a proper full-length with all original productions, and the first single, “Ntende Uli” — built on a solitary synth burble and big angry drums that make Mwamwaya sound absolutely epic — promises something special. This isn’t quite another stop on the indie-rock-dips-a-toe-into-world-music tour (previous stops: Konono N°1, Staff Benda Bilili), thanks to those crafty Radioclit productions, which run a common thread through some of that other stuff from the Pitchfork homepage.
LeAnn Rimes isn't looking to get unhitched.
That's what the singer's rep, Rhett Usry, told E! News in response to an In Touch Weekly report that claimed Rimes' hubby,...
Front Page: Comedies hit U.S. as 'Transformers' bows abroad -- Paramount's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" begins its worldwide march today with debuts in the U.K. and Japan, nearly a week before the pic's domestic debut on June 24.
The latest edition of WWWWD, fashion's answer to the Onion, has landed in our in-box. This week, it's all about the brains behind fashion: Victoria Beckham's commencement address to Columbia's class of '09, NASA's investigation of Miuccia Prada's "obnoxious genius," and Agyness Deyn's touching, poetic eulogy for the Beatrice Inn. It's good to know that some publications out there are still willing to approach the subject of style with an appropriate amount of seriousness and academic rigor. [WWWWD]
Carrie Prejean insists she didn't shirk her duties as Miss California—and she wants to make sure the people she might sue know it.
In a letter dated Wednesday, attorney Charles...
Hana Soukupova interpreted retro-futurism in her own special way last night at the Whitney Art Party, when she showed up wearing a metallic bra built into a sheer top with a black skirt.
Could Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) be leaving Miami for his old job of government intelligence operative?
That's the big question of Burn Notice season three, and we just...
World champion mountain biker Missy Giove was in custody today after police busted her with 200 pounds of marijuana in her truck, and another 150 pounds and a million bucks, cash, at the upstate New York home of her buddy conspirator. Authorities got wise to the plan last weekend when they intercepted another woman driving the same truck in Illinois. They took the wheel, drove to New York, and busted Giove. After we read the story, we did a little research on the extreme cyclist, and we'd submit that authorities should have been on her case years ago — ever since David Browne’s New York Times Magazine article on her in 1996, which included the following clues:
Addictive Personality: "Most extreme athletes ply their trade for little money. The lure is the rush … "
Record of Criminal Behavior: "In 1993, while skateboarding off the back of a car, she was arrested and fined $45 — but not before she smacked the arresting officer with her skateboard."
Lack of Strong Role Models: "To most extreme athletes, the pomp and circumstance of the official sports world is utterly passe. ‘When they were growing up, the first President in history resigned, and baseball and basketball players were doing cocaine,’ an ESPN2 producer explained."
Suspicious Backstory: "She encountered aggressive biking for the first time during a summer job delivering 'Chinese food' in Manhattan." [Have you ever seen a white person, much less a white lady, delivering Chinese food on a bike? Also: "Chinese food" is a lame euphemism.]
Suspicious Behavior: She wore her "dead pet piranha and the ashes of her childhood dog in a sack around her neck during races" and "had road kill woven into her hair for a while." Said her friend: "If anyone else did that, they'd be considered a street person.” ["Dead piranha," however, is a great euphemism.]
Case Closed: "Yet at some point — 10 years down the line ... Missy will stop racing. At that time, she may finally devote herself to holistic medicine ... "
Tagline: "Mankind's earliest civilization warned us this day would come."
Translation: On the bright side, at least this movie will be released before the world comes to an end!
The Verdict: There are a lot of reasons to fear the year 2012, chief of which these days seems to be the threat that Sarah Palin might make a serious run for the presidency. As scary as that seems, we also have this to worry about: The Mayans long ago predicted that the world would come to an end on December 21, 2012. It's the latter theory that disaster-porn fetishist Roland Emmerich is more concerned with, mainly because it allows him an opportunity to do what he does best: annihilate historic landmarks in the most imaginative way possible! Rebounding after the colossal failure that was 10,000 BC, this trailer is nothing short of bananas in its awesomeness. Fire and brimstone (in the form of meteors) rain from the sky, an earthquake rips apart Michelangelo's masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, cities slide off the continental shelf directly into the ocean, and, most impressively, an outrageously massive wave carrying the USS John F. Kennedy barrels directly into the White House. We sure hope the Obamas waterproofed that swing set they just built!
Gossip goddess Michael Musto reports on his blog "La Daily Musto" that Susanne Bartsch, club kid and wife to muscle-bound gym magnate David Barton, was asked to be on The Real Housewives of New York City. Musto, who is the monarch butterfly to our gay caterpillar, doesn't explain much about the offer, except that Bartsch turned it down because "she'd rather do something with intelligence and some meaning." Apparently she's working on such a project on her own at the moment. We can't wait to read Musto's column, because this seems so out of the realm of possibility that it might actually be true. And if so, what a missed opportunity! Bartsch became a legend in the eighties with her parties at Copacabana, and is known for giving club kids a place to rally every Sunday night at her insane and energetic party Vandam at Greenhouse. Look at the woman. Having that interact with Ramona Singer and (we actually squeaked when we imagined this) Kelly Killoren Bensimon? We could watch that every night for the rest of our lives.
As many of you may have noted, Mr. Jesus Luz, currently serving as Madonna Ciccone's boy toy, has appeared shirtless, tanned, and ready for model fight club in the latest round of Steven Klein–shot Dolce & Gabbana ads. So taken is the design duo with Luz — to them he is “a modern emblem of hopes and dream [sic]” — that they have made sure he walks exclusively for them during the spring/summer 2010 menswear shows in Milan this week. Greedy, greedy. In any case, Luz's trajectory from mere-mortal male model to celeb in his own right continues. They grow up so fast.
Modern Guilt was okay, we suppose, but it was certainly wasn't as good as the Velvet Underground's first album. So, today Beck has announced plans for a "record club": He and famous friends will rerecord famous LPs in their entirety — all in one day and without rehearsal — then release a track at a time on his official website. Up first is Velvet Underground, featuring collaborators like Nigel Godrich and, for some reason, Giovanni Ribisi; "Sunday Morning" is currently streaming on Beck.com. As long as they never remake Guero, we totally support this. [Beck]
Finally, a public place where celebrities can go if they don't want to get their picture taken.
No cameras will be allowed in the courtroom Monday for Chris Brown's preliminary...
A friend passed along this clip of actor Patrick Wilson singing at some sort of piano bar along to us, and it got us thinking. Patrick Wilson already seems to have it all: He's drop dead effing gorgeous, has an incredible body, is a more than competent -- dare we say extremely talented -- actor (so much so that even after Hard Candy, you still have to love the guy), and is starring as characters named Barry Munday and Sloppy Unruh. For most people, this would be enough. But not for Patrick. Because Patrick also possesses something so few have: The ability to sing showtunes in a hypermasculine manner. Really -- here is video of the captain of America's football team, singing "If I Loved You?" in some sort of random piano bar... and after watching it 11 times, I'm pretty sure I need to take a pregnancy test in my earholes because Damn:
MAKEUP
• The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that a Rimmel London ad asserting that its Lasting Finish Minerals Foundation lasts for twelve hours is not misleading. The fact that only 20 out of 99 women agreed to the claim is within standards. [Cosmetics Business]
• Stock up on eyeliner — raccoon eyes is the must-have look. Heidi Klum, Ashley Olsen, and Kirsten Dunst all love layering on dark pencils. [BellaSugar]
• Eye makeup sales are the new replacement for the Lipstick Index. Sales of eye makeup increased by 8.5 percent at supermarkets and drugstores. [Daily Beauty Reporter/Allure]
SKIN
• An 18-year-old is suing her tattoo artist after he painted 56 stars on her face, when she claims she only asked for three. The alleged victim said she fell asleep during the procedure and woke up with her face destroyed. [Daily Mail]
FRAGRANCE
• The latest brands offering limited-edition perfumes include Calvin Klein, Pucci, Cartier, and Sephora. With all these releases, being limited isn't so special anymore. [Now Smell This]
I would love to be able to take my daughter to the New Moon premiere. Is it possible for a regular person to get tickets?
—Shawnyray, via the Answer B!tch inbox
As...
In the new movie Cheri, a Belle Epoque Parisian courtesan played by Michelle Pfeiffer enlists one of her middle-aged colleagues to teach her 19-year-old son about, ahem, love. So we got to wondering whether the movie’s star had ever been mentored in the art of romance and sex. "My parents' generation wasn't so good at that," Pfeiffer told us at a screening for the movie this week. "Now, I try to talk to my kids — they don’t want to hear it from me. They know." View our Party Lines slideshow for more talk about the birds and the bees.
In his public appearances, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has, to his great detriment, come off as timid and ineffectual. He can't really help it; his physical presence works against him: He has a baby face and the mottled complexion of someone who blushes easily, and his darting eyes suggest he just knows he's about to get his ass kicked and is just trying to anticipate what direction the blows are going to start coming from so he can duck. But today in front of the Senate Banking Committee, things seemed different. "This is a critical debate for our country," he began. "Let's get to it."
Indeed, it seemed that the Treasury secretary was anticipating guff, especially about the expanded authority the plan would confer on the Federal Reserve, and he was not taking it.
For instance: When Chris Dodd blamed the Fed for "dropping the ball" on consumer protections and said that giving the Fed more power was like awarding your kid a "bigger, faster car right after he crashed the family station wagon," Geithner reminded him that actually most of the institutions that failed were not under the Fed's watch, if he remembered correctly. Furthermore, he added, the Fed "has a greater knowledge and feel for broader market developments than is true for any other entity" — giving those powers to a council of regulators wouldn't work.
"You don't convene a committee to put out a fire," he added
Or do you, Chris Dodd? The senator from Connecticut was apparently so stunned (and/or afraid Geithner would bring up the AIG-loophole thing) that he couldn't even bust out with, "Then why is your proposal so chock full of new committees, boss?"
When Senator Bob Corker asked him if Obama should pledge in writing that none of the administration officials who worked on the proposal would become Fed chairman (since rumor has it Larry Summers has been angling), Geithner shot him down:
“No,” Geithner said. “I don’t think that will be appropriate, nor do I think that will be necessary.”
He had some tough words for institutions, too: From now on, he said, "No one should assume that the government will step in to bail them out if their firm fails.”
That's right, everyone, watch out. There's a new Treasury secretary in town!
When Carol’s Daughter unveiled its new hand-and-foot spa called the Back Room on Tuesday, celebs like LeBron James came out to show support (he's friends with one of the venue's investors). The NBA MVP claimed he isn't into the whole spa-treatment scene, but when we chatted him up, he was about to sit down for a cucumber-and-lavender manicure. Ahem. So is LeBron's beauty stash bigger than ours? "Man, I'm not into that stuff. All I need is a brush. That and some Carol's Daughter Body Butter to keep off the ash," he insisted. "My family, we use this stuff at home." But surely he must need pedicures to keep his feet callous-free? "I wish I had the time to get manicures and pedicures, but the season is so crazy. Some people make the time, but I don't." So there you have it: LeBron James doesn't do beauty treatments. Except for the occasional cucumber-and-lavender mani. Ahem.
OK, we'll give you a hint...
It's NOT Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray, South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio.
It ISN'T Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television, North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe.
Also not single? Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom, Brando, "The King and I", and "The Catcher in the Rye"
More hints needed? Well it isn't Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen, Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye!
IT'S THIS MAN:
BILLY JOEL! Him and his daughter wife Katie Lee Joelare separating, officially making the Piano Man crooner the Hamptons' Most Eligible Bachelor. So if you are 18-24, 4 feet tall, have breast implants that can double as passenger seat airbags, and have issues with your "daddy", Billy JJ is ready and waiting!*
(*I ain't gonna frunt: "Downeaster Alexa" alone is enough to get me in bed. But don't tell him I said that.) Source: Best Week Ever | 18 Jun 2009 | 9:19 pm
The "Katcha Bug (TM) Humane Bug Catcher." Yes, this is a real thing.
After Obama awesomely swatted down a fly during a CNBC interview earlier this week, gonzo advocacy group PETA condemned the action, and sent him a device with which he could trap flies in the future and release them in the outside world where they could later go on to bother another human, or worse, an adorable deer. We've been thinking about this all day. PETA was much more tongue-in-cheek with this publicity grab than they normally are — apparently the consequences for running up and trying to throw a bucket of red paint at the president are more dire than doing the same for, say, Anna Wintour. But still, they're playing a risky game. By siding with flies, they're really extending their reach to all living creatures except plants, bacteria, fungi, and protists. Now, sure, you're thinking, PETA people don't eat meat or fish, and they probably try to even avoid harming gross things like snakes or rats or that squishy little orphaned alien from Flight of the Navigator (it's still on Earth, you know). But by opening the qualifications for their protection to all invertebrates, they're setting a pretty impossible standard. What about daddy longlegs and earthworms and ant lions — things you kill merely by moving around in the world? And what about things that attack humans, like leeches and mosquitoes and water bugs? (They're attacking us with their looks, okay?) Do they really think they can go through life without harming any of those? And forget about microscopic protozoa, which you are probably killing right now, in your office chair, just by sweating and blinking.
Just stick to cute puppies and cows, okay, PETA? We don't want to ever have to Google "Animal Kingdom" ever again, because it just serves to remind us of how much more knowledgeable about the world we were when we were 9.
Reuters - Singer Katy Perry's representatives are attempting to block an Australian fashion designer from trade-marking her clothing range with the brand name Katie Perry. Source: Yahoo! News: Fashion News | 18 Jun 2009 | 9:05 pm
Rarities with Carol Brodie Prasiolite & Diamond Ring, $129.90.
Former jewelry publicist Carol Brodie is launching her own line of gems, called Rarities, this weekend on HSN. And the prices are unbelievable. We're hooked on the jewels, and here are five reasons why.
1. They look like Harry Winston, feel like Cartier, are as classic as Tiffany, but cost less than a weekly stop at Whole Foods.
2. The rocks are big and the colors are bold — fabulous for making a super-statement.
3. Most have coordinating pieces, so you can collect the “crown jewels” over time.
4. She knows her stones and is passionate about jewels.
5. Carol is adding new pieces every month.
Thousands of people showed up at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on a muggy June morning with stars in their eyes -- and not just because they arrived before dawn.
EVENTS
• Members of Sephora's beauty team will offer free makeovers with master makeup artist Sara Biria. 597 Fifth Ave., at 48th St. (212-980-6534); noon–6. Call for appointment.
• The artists' group Sprout will exhibit work by the winner of its first competition, starting on June 19. The winner, artist Ari Tabei, will create nests of garments and bags on display at Rebecca & Drew. Through July 19; 342 W. 13th St., nr. Hudson St. (212-647-8904); M, T, W, S (11–7), Th, F (11–8), Su (noon–6).
SALES STARTING TOMORROW
• Find 30 to 60 percent off of Falls, including beach dresses and silk tops. Through 6/21. The Bathroom, 94 Charles St., at Bleecker St.; F (noon–8), S (11–8), Su (11–7).
ENDING TOMORROW
• Dresses are $25 and tops, pants, shorts, and skirts are $15 at the Cynthia Steffe sample sale. Through 6/19. 550 Seventh Ave., nr. 39th St., tenth fl.; Th–F (10–5).
• Stock up on ten years' worth of sweaters, textiles, and more from designer James Coviello’s archives. Through 6/19. 208 W. 29th St., nr. Seventh Ave., Ste. 603 (212-695-8082); W–F (10–8).
• Select ready-to-wear pieces and vintage runway items by Catherine Malandrino are 75 to 90 percent off. The sandbar-print maxi dress is $125 (originally $695), the napa-leather motorcycle jacket is $225 (originally $895), and the pencil skirt with a scalloped hemline is $60 (originally $325). Through 6/19. Metropolitan Pavilion, 123 W. 18th St., nr. Seventh Ave. (212-947-8748); W (10–9), Th–F (8–8).
• Try DL1961’s XFIT Lycra-blend denim jeans — they are over 50 percent off. Through 6/19. 530 Seventh Ave., at 39th St., Ste. 1108 (646-514-9736); W–F (10–6).
• Indulge yourself with Diptyque’s candles, perfume and body washes. Items are 40 to 90 percent off. Through 6/19. 11 E. 26th St., nr. Fifth Ave., Ste. 600 (212-684-3140); Th (9:30–6), F (9:30–4).
Yesterday at a zoo in Canada, a gorilla picked up a knife that a zoo employee accidentally left in his cage and appeared to threaten another gorilla with it. He eventually put the knife down and neither animal was injured, but the resulting photograph of the incident, as shown on the Today show this morning, is a stark reminder that violence against one another is something that is innate to our species. HA. Just kidding! The picture of the monkey "monkeying around" with the knife is hilarious! He's like, "You take-a my banana, I break-a your face."
Most of you are probably super-stressed out right now, and for very good reason: You still haven't purchased my birthday present, even the big day is nearly upon us (21 days away, to be exact). Well, there is good news: There are really only two things that I would even consider wanting for my birthday. And those two things are:
1. This signed photo of William Hung, available for purchase for only $9.99:
Anddd....2. This OTHER signed photo of William Hung, available for purchase for only $9.99:
I would want other things for my birthday, but unfortunately he only has two different poses for purchase. ps I prefer "Photograph B", for those of you looking to impress...
YOU CAN PURCHASE THEM HERE! Have them sent to your home address and then I'll e-mail you my fax number. Source: Best Week Ever | 18 Jun 2009 | 8:00 pm
No matter who you are, chances are slim that you're as busy as Harold Ramis this week. Tomorrow, his biblical comedy Year One, starring Michael Cera and Jack Black, hits theaters, and on Saturday, he'll be honored at the Nantucket Film Festival with a special screening of Ghostbusters (released 25 years ago this month). Also, perhaps most important of all, this week sees the release of the massively anticipated Ghostbusters the Video Game. Vulture spoke with Ramis about Year One and his aversion to sequels (with the exception of Ghostbusters 3).
This is the first ensemble comedy you've made since Caddyshack. Why did it take so long for you to get back to your roots?
Well, my roots are part of me, so everything I do is an extension of everything I've always done. My last film, The Ice Harvest, was a bit of an anomaly. This one, I actually had a conscious desire to get back together with people who were more active. I brought these two young guys in, Gene Stupinsky and Lee Eisenberg, writer-producers on The Office. It was an important first step, to bring in young writers who would help link it to a younger audience. Then, Judd [Apatow] and I started to bond. I invited him to join me as a producer. That was very important, because with Judd came a lot of really good people, both in production and with the actors.
The movie seems like it's rooted in a much earlier comic tradition. There's the Monty Python biblical comedy, and even some of the Bob Hope–Bing Crosby chemistry shared by Jack Black and Michael Cera.
The shorthand for what I was doing was that I would be doing for Genesis what Monty Python did for the Gospels. But they're more conceptual. I don't bring the conceptual frame in this film. The main conceit is having characters with contemporary consciousness in the ancient world. That's something comedians have always played with, from Mel Brooks's The 2000 Year Old Man to A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. I do have more references from the thirties, forties, and fifties than young people working today because they didn't grow up with that stuff. Maybe everything I do is an attempt to be a Marx Brothers film or some kind of forced fantasy film. I have described this film as Hope and Crosby: Road to Sodom.
We suppose you can't get much more serious than the Bible.
I felt safe. Something I've realized — I actually wrote an op-ed piece when Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ came out. Everyone was so outraged. The premise of my article, which didn't get published, was that some of our most important ideas about the human experience come from Greek mythology, theater, and literature. Those ideas were actually part of a living religion. That religion is long gone, so no one cares if I bash an ancient religion that no longer exists. It's easy to topple that religion without offending what Muslims and Christians believe. It's them I'm afraid of. I wasn't afraid of offending Jews, because it's very hard to offend Jews. I showed about half an hour of this movie to the Anti-Defamation League. They thought it was really happy.
Religious dogma has dominated the country for the last eight years or so, although that appears to be changing with Obama. It seems like an appropriate time for this movie. Do you want it to spark discussion of the role of religion in modern times?
Oh, absolutely. That's the intent. It's funny, because we had two endings for the movie, because the last act is set in Sodom. My natural instinct was to create an ending that had a Frank Capra populism to it. They win and the city gets saved by the goodness of the people — and by Jack and Michael. We tested that ending, and some of the audience said, "I thought Sodom was supposed to be destroyed." So we went out and shot an alternate ending where Sodom is destroyed by a meteor, and looked at that ending, and passed at that ending. It wasn't as successful as the populist ending. I thought, "Wow, bombing Sodom is the age of George Bush." Now we have Barack Obama, and the old ending, the one written by my natural instincts, is the Obama ending. It's the "Yes We Can" ending. In fact, Michael Cera's character has a line when the people are in revolt — you hear Michael yell, "Yes we can!"
Should we not expect a Year Two? You seem to have an aversion to sequels. The only one you directed was Analyze That.
Actually, I've made that mistake three times [laughs]. One was they convinced me that a sequel to Caddyshack was a good idea, because Rodney Dangerfield really wanted to do it, so I worked on that script. Then Rodney pulled out and they made a terrible movie without my help or cooperation. Then we did a Ghostbusters sequel, of course, which was not as successful. Based on that experience, I resisted doing Analyze That because — as I said to my Analyze This partners — sequels, in my experience, cost twice as much and are half as successful. Which is probably true and that's probably what happened with Analyze That. I would happily have done any of the Bourne Identity sequels. There are good sequels, but I'm not good at making them.
Your eighties cohorts haven't been nearly as active as you have. People like Dan Aykroyd and John Hughes appear to have lost interest in making movies.
Yeah, one of my slogans is that "character is destiny." It seems like some of my old peers have already exploited some of their best ideas. They've used up the energy, the fire's gone out, whatever metaphor you want to use. There's a generational difference. A lot of us did our best work in comedy when we were part of groups. That was very important for comedy. With those collaborations, the group is the audience, and we just made our best ideas there. There was just a desire to hang out. As people get older, they start their own families. Success can be very isolating in a way. It seems that, culturally, young people function more in groups. They know each other through digital media. All the young comedy people who work in TV are really used to working at the table with lots of writers around. They're comfortable in the group; they don't assert their own egos over everyone else. So that's part of it, too. The groupthink kind of drives a lot of comedy.
You were an adviser on the Ghostbusters video game. Was that an attempt to repackage the story for newer audiences?
We didn't motivate it. They came to us with the game. We did function as consultants and did more specific work as we got closer, and provided the voices. We were in touch all along the way, approved the drawings and the whole story line, and the environments the player goes through. Someone had thought that with the 25th anniversary of the movie coming out, there would be renewed interest. No one had done a really good game. The only exploitation had been the characters in the cartoon show. This game feels much more like the movie. Having our voices certainly nails that down. There's even a new toy line coming out to celebrate the 25th anniversary. For the first time, those action figures will have our likenesses, based on how we looked in 1984. Dan Aykroyd was much more active in the idea of the sequel.
Have you played through the game?
With sons who are 19 and 14, I've seen enough video games, and I'm always completely blown away by the graphics. This looked like a state-of-the-art game. It's flattering to see yourself running around as an animated avatar. I have no interest in playing the games. I have enough obsessions already.
You said earlier that you made the "mistake" of working on sequels three times. We assume you're very confident about this Ghostbusters 3 project in development.
Well, I'm not alone this time. There are people even more skeptical than I am who are involved with it. That's kind of a protection against doing a bad one. Bill Murray would not be involved if he didn't believe in the script. Ivan Reitman won't sign off on it unless he thinks it's really worth doing.
But Reitman isn't going to direct it, is he?
I don't think he wants to. It's an open assignment at this point. The script is being written by Gene and Lee, whom I collaborated with on Year One. We wrote the story together. Dan and Ivan have consulted.
Do you have a dream cast in mind?
I had a dream cast when Dan first went off and wrote Ghostbusters 3 by himself. It was so long ago that my dream cast was Ben Stiller, Chris Farley, and Chris Rock. That would have been cool. Now a lot of time has passed and there are a lot of young funny people. Every word I've said about this has started an Internet rumor. People thought Judd was directing and Seth Rogen was starring. None of that's true. Everyone can pretty much pick their own dream cast at this point.
But you and the rest of the original Ghostbusters will appear in it.
Yeah, we'll be the advisers. The quick reference I use is Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future. We'll provide the tools, the information, and the comedy — hopefully. People have seen the original movie. Even adolescents now are being forced to watch it by their older siblings and parents. I hear from very young people that they just saw it and loved it, or that they just showed it to their 7-year-old. If anything, I think we have a responsibility to live up to people's expectations based on the early movies — and make them contemporary enough to bring something new. I would hate to come back and do a rehash of the first movie with new faces.
Frankly, the only reason we're really posting this is to reference NO MA'AM -- Al Bundy's notorious "National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood" from the hit show on Fox called Married with Children. Oh, and also? Because the G.I. Jane inside us all would be proud. Senator Boxer requests that Brigadier General Michael Walsh refer to her as "Senator" and not "Ma'am". To be fair, he didn't do it to belittle her... check it out:
So -- is Ma'am that offensive? Would he not refer to a male Senator as "sir"? Go at it in the comments, folks. Source: Best Week Ever | 18 Jun 2009 | 7:23 pm
"I’m being honored for a Lifetime Achievement Award and you ask my wife what she is wearing. Not even the second question, you ask it straight up." —Michael Douglas on wanting the night to be about him [Fox]
"I would die if someone took [fame] away. I wouldn't be a person anymore." —Lady Gaga [Spinner]
"If you take any of that sex symbol stuff seriously, you need to be euthanised — ASAP. There are moments when you can use that to your advantage. But it's really embarrassing. I think I fear more than anything just sounding like a complete asshole when I have to answer that question." —Ryan Reynolds on his fear of being hot [Female First]
"Last night, I had a driver when I went from Santa Cruz to San Francisco, and she was from Mexico, and her cousin had both his arms eaten off by pigs, and then he had to learn to do everything with his feet, and now he's a lawyer. I just love that." —David Sedaris on the stories that fall in his lap [Indy Week]
"When we started in television, there was that magic box in the corner of the room, and 'Oh my gosh—look what it’s doing!' But as the years went on, the audience has become very jaded. They’ve heard every joke, they’ve seen every story line, they know where you’re going before you even start to get there. And that’s a hard audience to keep interested, and that’s why I think so much of the shows now try to throw language, or situations, or sex — anything to get the audience’s attention. I think it’s hard to go back and find that innocence. You can’t. Once it’s gone, it’s gone." —Betty White on the loss of innocence [Movieline]
"I've never cared about representing it naturalistically. I always tried to show it the way I felt about it. I'm always attracted to the unreal New York. Guys like Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee depict New York very often very realistically. Very, very beautifully and very correctly. I don't. The New York I've shown over the years is the New York I got from Hollywood movies." —Woody Allen prefers fantasy [USAT]
The folks at Deutsche Bank unveiled a new real-time "Carbon Counter" in downtown Manhattan today, making sure that pedestrians walking around Penn Station now know exactly how screwed the earth's atmosphere is to the exact metric ton during every second of their lives (FINALLY!)
I don't have any frame of reference to know if 3.6 trillion metric tons of greenhouse gas is a lot, but it sure sounds like a lot. 3.6 trillion grains of rice is a lot. It's almost kind of impressive.
Still, there's no better way to fix this whole environmental deelie than to constantly bum out train travelers, Knicks and Ranger fans, and lost tourists desperately looking for a place to eat that isn't disgusting. Hopefully they won't need to add an extra digit anytime soon. Source: Best Week Ever | 18 Jun 2009 | 5:45 pm
As you've heard, Sean Penn has dropped out of the awful-sounding Three Stooges reboot that is nevertheless feverishly anticipated, since the Farrelly Brothers are clearly not out of ideas and are actually riding high on the stupendous buzz generated from their last four comedy classics: Fever Pitch, Heartbreak Kid, Stuck on You, and Shallow Hal. So who will join Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Toro? So far, suggestions include: Paul Giamatti, Zach Galifianakis, Matt Damon, Larry David, Ben Stiller, Jack Nicholson, Simon Pegg, Chris Tucker, and skater Tony Hawk. Obviously, these ideas are all terrible — but not quite terrible enough, in part because none of these actors needs to take such on such a foolhardy mission. One man does: Tom Cruise.
Not Jewish, curly-haired, or funny, Tom Cruise is the right wrong man for the job. In fact, he needs this: Paramount just announced M:I 4, but the last one flopped because of Cruise’s too-serious, too-crazy, stuck-in-1986-wearing-jeans-with-white-sneakers-while-wed-to-a-girl-with-pegged-jeans image. If M:I 4 is going to be a hit, he needs to do a little more image rehab to get over the couch-jumping, Shields-bashing hump (that allegedly funny cameo in Tropic Thunder was just a start). Like Kobe Bryant, Cruise needs to prove he can be a team player and share billing with a major star whom he doesn't eventually date or marry.
At the very least, this makes as much sense as casting Benicio Del Toro as Curly Moe: Like Tom, Larry is an insane brunet who dances and does hilarious spoofs of Nazis. And the Stooges are an excellent justification for Scientology's anti–psychiatric-drugs credo. (Just think how boring they'd be on Zyprexa.) At the very least, no matter how bad this Stooges remake is, it can't be worse than Cruise's next announced movie, Wichita, an action-comedy starring Cameron Diaz and directed by the ever-hilarious James Mangold, whose last four movies (3:10 to Yuma, Walk the Line, Identity, Kate & Leopold) were even less funny than those four by the Farrellys. What's the worst that can happen? If Tom gets poked in the eye, he already has an eye patch.
Cher says despite questioning her daughter Chastity's decision to become Chaz, she will support the surgery Source: FOXNews.com | 18 Jun 2009 | 4:46 pm
Spending way too much time on the internet renders one's mind incapable of experiencing joy, or at least incapable of watching videos without sporting an automatic, judgmental scowl the whole time. Some videos, however, manage to transcend this jadedness, and for whatever reason, no matter how many times you've seen them, they just stay funny.
Basically, this is a long-winded way of saying that I still always laugh at crappy Wheel Of Fortune contestants. This Manofest list of the 10 Dumbest Moments In Wheel Of Fortune History is aptly titled, and even the familiar clips from the list stand the test of internet-boredom time, especially this good ol' Wizard Of Oz failure jamboree:
Front Page: Network reorganizes staff, hands out pink slips -- ABC has finally announced its new entertainment executive structure under ABC Entertainment Group prexy Steve McPherson.
Fashion Wire Daily - We got a small army of freakish dolls, penitential models and a Japanese Punk moment from Undercover at Pitti in Florence on Wednesday, June 17, the first runway show in Europe presenting menswear for spring 2010.
James Symington, a former Canadian police officer, choked back tears as he formally took possession of the five descendants of his beloved German shepherd named Trakr, who died in April.
Symington was presented with Trakr's offspring after winning a competition organized by California firm BioArts International -- the "Golden Clone Giveaway" -- to find the world's most "cloneworthy" dog.
BioArts International chief executive Lou Hawthorne said canine cloning would remain beyond the reach of ordinary pet lovers, with cloned dogs costing an average 144,000 dollars each.
"I think 99 percent of the time people should get their pets from shelters," he told AFP. "But can we agree though that one percent of the time if you have a one in a million dog and you have the money to pay for it, you should be able to go to either a breeder or a cloner?"
Why stop with 9/11 hero dogs? Here's some other happy cloning stories I'm looking forward to:
-- Freezing Chesley Sullenberger's brain when he dies and inserting it into a fuzzy kitten, then conducting a photoshoot with the kitten in the cockpit of a jet.
-- Splicing the DNA of Pat Tillman with that of a meerkat and taking the meerkat around to lecture high school students about courage.
-- Spending billions of potentially useful biotechnical grant dollars to resurrect Leona Helmsley's dogs; story gets bottom-left corner of an Us Weekly cover.
-- Bringing back Spuds MacKenzie.
Also, the puppies are named Trust, Solace, Prodigy, Valor and Dejavu. What the hell? These are puppies, people, not frickin' celebrity children. Source: Best Week Ever | 18 Jun 2009 | 3:50 pm
TLC isn't commenting on what the news will be, but viewers clearly welcome to wonder if couple calling it quits Source: FOXNews.com | 18 Jun 2009 | 3:46 pm
Jamey Johnson still has plenty of life left in his current album, the gold-certified "That Lonesome Song." But the country artist, whose single "In Color" was the Academy of Country Music's Song of the Year, says that he's "so far ahead of another album it's not even funny."
The Hall of Mirrors in Versailles Castle, west of Paris in 2008. An 18th century royal opera house in France's Chateau de Versailles is to reopen in September after a two-year security and safety upgrade,... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 18 Jun 2009 | 3:14 pm
"Ladies Day" at the Royal Ascot Horserace in England is a traditional venue for attending women to show off their most intentionally garish, fancy attire, and giant unwieldy hats are common, but that being said, there's a fine line between "extravagant formal hat" and "wearing a giant ice cream cone on your head":
Four more ridiculous Royal Ascot hat photos, to inspire the unemployed:
Poor People Joke:
Bird's Nest:
And last but not least, the Happiest Woman In The World:
Reunited '80s boy band New Kids On The Block has canceled a planned tour of Australia, blaming the economic downturn amid reports of poor ticket sales.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams have signed on with Paramount to produce a fourth Mission Impossible movie. Cruise's new mission? To convince the American public that he's still a viable blockbuster movie star.
David Archuleta's father has been charged with soliciting a prostitute. Trust me, you do not want to see the reaction of those Youtube David Archuelta fangirls crowded around the tv when this news broke.
The Black-Eyed Peas snagged the number one spot on the Billboard charts with their new album The E.N.D., selling an astonishing twenty-nine copies, a 2009 record.
T.R. Knight has officially left Grey's Anatomy. It was bad enough when the doctors were having sex while people were dying, but now they'll be having sex while people are dying and be severely understaffed.
And finally, Lindsay Lohan posted a topless picture of herself on Twitter today. Google it if you'd like to be disappointed.
Also, I will be eventually writing about Top Chef Masters, but I've been real busy the last two weeks and I'm still behind. Awful Photoshops coming next week, I promise. Source: Best Week Ever | 18 Jun 2009 | 1:50 pm
Statues are on display at the new Acropolis Museum in Athens on June 17. Designed by celebrated Franco-Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi, the museum offers panoramic views of the stone citadel and showcases... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 18 Jun 2009 | 1:39 pm
Statues on display at the new Acropolis Museum on June 17. The museum will finally be unveiled on Saturday, an ultra-modern glass building at the foot of the ancient citadel originally intended to be open... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 18 Jun 2009 | 1:39 pm
Statues are displayed at the new Acropolis Museum in Athens on June 17. The museum will finally be unveiled on Saturday, an ultra-modern glass building at the foot of the ancient citadel originally intended... Source: RSS feed - channel BNImagesEnter | 18 Jun 2009 | 1:39 pm
He arrived at the London premiere of his self-titled mockumentary dressed in an enormous bearskin hat, cropped red army tunic and barely there hot pants: Flamboyant Austrian fashionista, "Bruno," paid sartorial tribute to the British as only he knows how.
• This rumor's dirty, even for Gossip Girl. Supposedly Blair Waldorf herself, Leighton Meester, has a sex tape being shopped around. Word is it's from a few years ago (so...
Being cut this early in the So You Think You Can Dance season can be brutal on the dancers since they just made the Top 20, but for us spectators, at least we have the small mercy of...
Angelina Jolie's mighty heart is showing.
"I usually just explain to [my kids] that there are other families in the world that aren't as fortunate as ours and other...
The cast lineup for season six of Grey's Anatomy is becoming clearer by the day.
Following on Marc Malkin's report last month that star T.R. Knight is leaving the series, a...
Not surprisingly, Jessica Alba is dealing in a different type of paper these days.
The actress has made an undisclosed donation to the United Way of Central Oklahoma as part of her...
LeAnn Rimes isn't looking to get unhitched.
That's what the singer's rep, Rhett Usry, told E! News in response to an In Touch Weekly report that claimed Rimes' hubby,...
Carrie Prejean insists she didn't shirk her duties as Miss California—and she wants to make sure the people she might sue know it.
In a letter dated Wednesday, attorney Charles...
Could Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan) be leaving Miami for his old job of government intelligence operative?
That's the big question of Burn Notice season three, and we just...
Finally, a public place where celebrities can go if they don't want to get their picture taken.
No cameras will be allowed in the courtroom Monday for Chris Brown's preliminary...
I would love to be able to take my daughter to the New Moon premiere. Is it possible for a regular person to get tickets?
—Shawnyray, via the Answer B!tch inbox
As...
When does "feel-good news story" cross over to "holy crap that's desperate and creepy?" This story about a 
