Oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhh Nooooooooooooooo. I knew it. I knew this was going to happen. However, I thought it was going to be after the movie Duets when he fabu duet with Huey Lewis was booming on the adult contemporary charts. Oh yes, my friends. It’s happening. I guess Reese Witherspoon is next because she really sang in her movie, Walk The Line.
Gwyneth Paltrow is pulling a J. Lo. The big-screen beauty, who is married to Coldplay crooner Chris Martin, is reportedly in the studio working on an album with producer William Orbit, the man behind Madonna’s Ray of Light.
“We bumped into each other and got talking and it turned out she was keen to do some recording,” Orbit told MTV. “We’ve already done a track, which will make a brilliant first single.â€
Paltrow chose not to work with her famous husband on the disc because she felt it would be too complicated, a source told the U.K.’s Sun.
“Gwyneth has messed around with Chris, so to speak. She would not work on musicwith her husband. She feels like she would be treading on his toes,” the spy said. “When they are together, they like to be away from work. But Gwyneth has got a fantastic voice.”
Ashlee Simpson has a new nose and a new look and is now considering showing it all off in the pages of Playboy, according to media reports. The famous men’s magazine has reportedly offered the singer $4 million to strip for the cameras.
A source tells In Touch Weekly the 21-year-old is seriously considering the offer. The insider says, “Ashlee figures she’s never looked better, so this may be the perfect time to do it. “She feels confident and sexy and thinks this is one way for her to separate her image from (sister) Jessica’s.”
Simpson’s musician boyfriend, Braxton Olita, is said to be supportive of the idea.
I bet.
Sadly, it’s not to be. TMZ reports she turned down the cash.
I can’t believe nude photos of Ashlee Simpson would be worth $4 million in increased sales to Playboy. Nude photos of Jessica Simpson? Probably. But Ashlee? (Update: ASL and her early commenters seem to agree.)
And what’s up with “In Touch”? They have a website but never put anything useful up on it, meaning they’re quoted but never linked on the gossip blogs.
My wife and I went to the 10:00 p.m. showing of “Superman Returns” last night. No real spoilers below for any who have seen any of the pre-release publicity but my review is hidden after the jump just in case.
Overall, it was an enjoyable movie but not one that lived up to the hype, let alone an eighteen year wait. It wasn’t nearly as good as most of the other superhero movies that have come out over the last few years.
Bryan Singer is an excellent director but his X-Men films were far superior to this one. The special effects were excellent, especially compared to the Christopher Reeve “Superman” films, but nothing special in comparison to the X-Men, Spiderman, and Fantastic Four movies. The plot moved very slowly, with long setups for a rather mundane story.
The premise of the movie is that our hero departed five years earlier to explore Krypton after its remains were discovered by astronomers. Yet, all we learn of that trip is that the planet was “a graveyard.” Why, then, was he gone five years? One would think a man who can fly at light speed could have explored a barren planet and returned home in time for dinner. No explanation is offered.
The Fortress of Solitude as crystals from Krypton angle, one of the most annoying aspects of the Reeve “Superman” series given its departure from the comics (although since woven into the two television adaptations) is central to the plot of this film. That the crystals can be easily removed by human hands and dumped into water — “like sea monkeys!” — with literally Earth shattering effect struck me as highly implausible. And Luthor’s motivations for a plan that would kill “billions,” including destroying the wealth of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, were at best puzzling. How, exactly, he hoped to get rich with those people gone, especially living out on a barren Kryptonian-technology-laden island, was unexplained.
Singer is obviously a comic book fan and there were numerous clever homages to the genre throughout the movie. Not only did Brandon Routh look eerily like Reeve, especially in his Clark Kent guise–down to a 1970s haircut and outdated three piece suit and tie–but he worked in most of the standard cliches and even evoked the cover of Action Comics #1, where Superman made his debut.
Routh did a creditable turn as Superman and Clark Kent, although nothing spectacular. For my tastes, Reeve’s was the best “Superman” portrayal and Dean Cain’s (“Lois and Clark”) the best “Clark Kent.” (Tom Welling’s “Smallville” version is also compelling but a radical departure from the canon.)
Kate Bosworth was an excellent Lois Lane, portraying the role more powerfully than Margot Kidder. Mostly, I suspect, this is just a function of it being 2006, where a strong professional woman can be played effortlessly, vice 1978, where one had to introduce a campy “women’s libber” angle. She’s also, frankly, much better looking than Kidder, although perhaps no Teri Hatcher.
Kevin Spacey stole the show with his variation on Lex Luthor. His interpretation is much more theatrical than past versions, borrowing somewhat from Jack Nicholson’s Joker. He had several great lines and pulled off the role superbly. It’s been too long since I’ve seen the Gene Hackman version to compare them. It seems clear, though, that the Luthor role is the premier one in the Superman stable. Michael Rosenbaum’s portrayal in “Smallville” is probably my favorite, just in terms of showing the man’s brilliance and complexity, but it’s not fair to compare a 2-1/2 hour film with an episodic format.
Parker Posey was also quite funny in her portrayal of Kitty Kowalski, Luthor’s nitwit girl Friday. Like Valerie Perrine in the Reeve movies, though, one wondered why Luthor would consort with such an obviously stupid woman. Indeed, more so given Perrine’s rather obvious compensating qualities.
Overall, I’d say the movie is worth seeing in the theater but certainly not worth camping out overnight for. It’s a cultural event moreso than an ordinary movie, just because of the character’s staying power–now going on 70 years. If this were the debut of Superman, though, I don’t think he would catch on.
SUPERMAN’S motto, “Truth, justice and the American way,” has been rewritten in the new “Superman Returns” to “Truth, justice and . . . all that stuff.” Jeannie Wolf reports on Movies.com that screenwriters Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris wanted to avoid outdated jingoism. Dan: “I don’t think ‘the American way’ means what it meant in 1945.” Mike: “He’s not just for Metropolis and not just for America.” Dan: “He’s an alien, from Krypton; he has come to Earth to be kind of a savior for this world, not our country . . . And he has no papers.” Mike: “What would happen with the immigration laws we have now?” Dan: “I’d like to see someone kick him out!”
Lovely. I understand the sentiment–Superman has been saving the (fictitious) world (he fictitiously inhabits) for decades. Still, it’s just wrong somehow.
Via “Tyler Durden,” who is somewhat less understanding.
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were never married. At least, not as far as the Pope is concerned.
How did Nicole Kidman, one-time spouse of Tom Cruise, get re-married in a Catholic church if she didn’t have an annulment? Clue: she wasn’t actually married before. Nicole Kidman’s wedding to country singer Keith Urban in Sydney at the weekend drew plenty of media attention. But some Catholics will have looked on perplexed at how the former bride of actor Tom Cruise managed to tie the knot for a second time, in a Catholic church.
It was widely reported in the run up to the weekend wedding that Ms Kidman had received an annulment for her previous marriage – the Catholic Church’s procedure for allowing a follower to wed again.
[...]
In fact, Kidman didn’t need an annulment for one simple reason: in the eyes of the Catholic Church her 10-year union with Tom Cruise, a renowned Scientologist, never happened. The original wedding was performed in the Church of Scientology and wasn’t recognised by the Catholic faith. The divorce granted to the couple in 2001 was a legal rather than religious procedure for Kidman.
[...]
According to the Holy See, 43,153 straightforward annulments were granted worldwide, almost 29,000 of which were issued in north America in 2003. This compares with 511 in Great Britain and 304 across Ireland. Many of these were later overturned by the Vatican. Rome has long been concerned that priests in the US are handing out too many annulments. The Vatican argues that American culture demands maximum self-fulfilment and that includes what can be expected from a marriage. As a result, more annulments are granted in the US, leaving Rome worried that the Americans are, essentially, letting divorce in through the back door.
For Kidman, however, such difficult questions never needed to be answered.
Hat tip to Doug Mataconis. Of course, as I noted in his comments section, this means Kidman spent ten years fornicating with a Scientologist.
UPDATE: ASL thinks Catholics might be a wee bit too technical.
Star Jones Reynolds will announce her departure from “The View” this week, Access Hollywood learned. A source close to “The View” told Access Monday that Star Jones Reynolds will leave “The View” in July and will announce the departure on the show this week. As a result, the much discussed face-off between Star and incoming co-host, Rosie O’Donnell, will never occur. O’Donnell is not joining the gals until September.
By July, Star will have been at “The View” for close to nine years, having been a part of the show since its inception in August 1997.
Actually, since it’s late June, I’d say she’s already been there close to nine years.
ASL and her readers care much more about this than do I. Then again, that wouldn’t be hard. I guess if I ever want to see an episode of “The View” with Star on it, I’ll have to hurry up. It’s one of those things I’ve avoided thinking “it’ll always be there.” But life is so fleeting.
William F. Buckley, Jr. once noted that he had never seen an episode of that program featuring the black woman who was alternately thin and fat. He was referring, I believe, to Oprah Winfrey. But, I’m sure he’s never seen “The View,” either, and the observation would be equally germane.
UPDATE: It appears Star was fired. Post title adjusted accordingly.
Star Jones Reynolds announced Tuesday morning on The View that she’ll be leaving the show in July after nine years as a cohost. “Something’s been on my heart for a little bit, and after much prayer and counsel I feel like this is the right time to tell you that the show is moving in another direction for its tenth season and I will not be returning as cohost next year,” she said on the air. “That’s shocking to me,” interrupted Joy Behar, prompting Jones Reynolds to link hands with her cohosts. As for where she’ll go next Jones Reynolds said, “I’m not sure what the future holds, but I’m absolutely sure who holds the future.” The show’s creator, Barbara Walters, wrapped up the discussion by saying, “It is a new chapter for Star. It will be a new chapter for The View in the fall.”
So why is Jones Reynolds leaving? Contrary to speculation that she’s unhappy about the upcoming addition of Rosie O’Donnell – one of her most vocal critics – to the show this fall, she reveals exclusively in this week’s PEOPLE magazine that the departure was not her choice. “What you don’t know is that my contract was not renewed for the tenth season,” she tells PEOPLE. “I feel like I was fired.” She adds that she was told her contract wouldn’t be renewed just days before news leaked that O’Donnell would be joining The View.
UPDATE: Trikc observes, “That’s not like being fired… that’s just being fired.” At least technically, though, Star can tell future employers that she’s never been fired, her contract just ran out. But, yeah, she was fired.
Moose, the feisty Jack Russell terrier who played Eddie for 10 years on TV’s Frasier, has died, his trainer Mathilde Halberg tells PEOPLE. “He was 16-and-a-half years old, and he just had an incredible charisma and was a such a free spirit,” said Halberg. Moose, considered the Lassie of the ’90s, died Thursday night of old age at Halberg’s Los Angeles-area home.
Moose retired from showbiz when he was 10, and, although he also played a starring role in the 2000 Frankie Muniz-Kevin Bacon feature My Dog Skip (as the older Skip), he was best known for stealing scenes from Kelsey Grammer on the long-running Emmy-winning NBC sitcom. “He was always trying to put Frasier in uncomfortable circumstances,” said his trainer, who had rescued him in the early 1990s.
Children’s author J.K. Rowling has revealed that at least two characters will die in the seventh and final installment of her bestselling Harry Potter series, but was careful not to say who.
[...]
Rowling has already said that the final chapter of the seventh book was written long ago. “The final chapter is hidden away, although it’s now changed very slightly,” she said in an interview broadcast on Monday on Britain’s Channel 4. “One character got a reprieve, but I have to say two die that I didn’t intend to die.” When asked to be more specific, she added: “No, I’m not going to commit myself, because I don’t want the hate mail or anything else.”
She did explain that she understood an author’s desire to kill off the main character of a successful series. “I’ve never been tempted to kill him (Harry) off before the end of book seven, because I always planned seven books and that’s where I want to go. “I can completely understand, however, the mentality of an author who thinks ‘Well, I’m going to kill them off because that means there can be no non-author-written sequels … so it will end with me, and after I’m dead and gone they won’t be able to bring back the character’.”
Rowling, 40, wrote the first Harry Potter adventure when she was an unemployed single mother, but has gone on to become one of the richest authors in history with a personal fortune estimated at more than $1 billion. The Harry Potter series has sold an estimated 300 million copies worldwide.
“The last book is not finished. But I’m well into it now. I wrote the final chapter in something like 1990, so I’ve known exactly how the series is going to end,” she said.
Some characters might die, but the blockbuster movie franchise lives on. Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that the fifth installment will be released in U.S. theaters, including Imax screens, on July 13, 2007. In “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” directed by David Yates, the teenage Harry continues to battle the evil Lord Voldemort (again played by Ralph Fiennes) and his followers. Daniel Radcliffe is returning as the title character, and Emma Watson and Rupert Grint reprise their roles as Hermione and Ron. Oscar-nominated actress Imelda Staunton plays the malicious, frumpy Professor Dolores Umbridge, who tortures Harry.
[...]
Whatever she writes next, Rowling is sure of one thing: It won’t be as successful as Harry Potter. “I don’t think I’m ever going to have anything like Harry again. You just get one like Harry.”
Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after authorities said they found a bottle of Viagra in his possession without a prescription. Customs officials found a prescription bottle labeled as Viagra in his luggage that didn’t have Limbaugh’s name on it, but that of two doctors, said Paul Miller, spokesman for the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
A doctor had prescribed the drug, but it was “labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes,” Roy Black, Limbaugh’s attorney, said in a statement.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection examined the 55-year-old radio commentator’s luggage after his private plane landed at the airport from the Dominican Republic, said Miller. The matter was referred to the sheriff’s office, whose investigators interviewed Limbaugh. According to Miller, Limbaugh said that the Viagra was for his use, and that he obtained it from his doctors. Investigators confiscated the drugs, which treats erectile dysfunction, and Limbaugh was released without being charged.
One could understand the fuss if Limbaugh were carrying Viagra in case quantities, raising the possibility that it was for resale. But, really, they’re detaining people for hours for a mismatched drug label? Indeed, devoting man-hours to reading the labels on drug bottles and cross-checking them with ID cards?
Further, granting that Limbaugh is a public figure, why are they having a news conference about what, at most, is a second-degree misdemeanor? Unless they’re charging people with something, one would think citizens have some right to privacy in these matters.
Crooks and Liars has video from an early report on this by Keith Olberman.
UPDATE: Much discussion in the comments about the nature of Limbaugh’s “probabation.” Commenter just me provides a link to the plea agreement. I’ve thumbnailed it below.
If he’s actually charged with a crime here, he’s clearly in violation of #1. One wonders if “the Dominican Republic” constitutes a violation of #9; methinks not. Of course, the reason Limbaugh was allowed to cop to a non-plea was not, as many commenters claim, he’s a bigshot but, because the prosecutors didn’t think they had enough to convict. That’s unlikely to change with the discovery of improperly labeled Viagra on his person.
UPDATE:Michelle Malkin agrees, wondering where the “privacy mongers” are on this issue. She also observes, “Why the hell is the Sheriff’s Office releasing the name of the drug–other than the attempted public humiliation of a conservative icon? Why wouldn’t it have sufficed to identify it as a non-narcotic prescription drug?” Indeed.
UPDATE: Limbaugh joked about the incident on today’s show, according to AP:
Limbaugh joked about the search on his radio show Tuesday, saying Customs officials didn’t believe him when he said he got the pills at the Clinton Library and he was told they were blue M&Ms. He later added, chuckling: “I had a great time in the Dominican Republic. Wish I could tell you about it.”
Later in the piece, we get some legal analysis:
This latest case may simply be dismissed if prosecutors can confirm with Limbaugh’s doctor that the prescription was indeed for Limbaugh, said Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. attorney in Florida. “It’s perhaps a little embarrassing but not highly incriminating,” Coffey said. In addition, possession of Viagra is in a “completely different universe than a matter that would involve Schedule Two (controlled) substances such as OxyContin” Coffey added.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, Viagra is not considered a controlled substance because “it’s not something you can be addicted to,” said DEA Investigator Maria Gilbert.
Nelly Furtado was in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico while filming the video of the song “No Hay Igual,” from her latest CD “Loose” today. The dude with her is Puerto Rican rapper Residente Calle 13. Yeah, that’s his name. I’d keep making fun of him and his wacked out fade, but he has a Basquiat tattoo, and that make’s him more original than most of the rappers that I like.
Like I’ve posted before, I’m liking this new hip-hopped version of Nelly Furtado! She looks like a nasty little thing. Down for whatever, and totally doable.
My boy, Residente Calle 13 looks like he’s having some fun in these pics, too. Did she give him a little piece of that nasty? They’re doing a good job of making it look that way.
The OH in Ohio is going to be Mischa Barton’s test to see if she can hold her own on the big screen. If the movie does well, she’s got potential to be a real movie star, if it doesn’t, she’ll regret ever leaving The O.C., and her agent will beg the writers to pull a J.R. from Dallas.In any case, I still think she’s the most stunning young woman in all of Hollywood.
Pamela Anderson answers questions during a news conference in Athens today. Anderson is in Athens on behalf of the Mac Aids fund, the charity group formed by MAC Cosmetics to help AIDS patients.
I think it’s funny how the poster she’s posing in front of is a huge re-touched photo of herself, and in the same picture you can see that her skin is not that smooth. Why stop there? Let’s just put a picture of when she was 19 and photoshop it in there somewhere.
Everyone seems to have photos of Keira Knightley’s barely-perceptible nude breasts peering from beneath a soaking white white top at a beach. Given that plenty of fully nude photographs are available on the Internet, I’m not sure what the big fuss is about. Still, consider this my due dilligence:
Let it never be said that Gone Hollywood shirks its civic responsibilities.
