Weekly Round Up....

Gossip Roundup will be short and succinct today because I would rather get into the SATC mania and some Cannes info for you dear readers. The one thing I love about traveling, which I just did some of, is the ability to buy 5 + gossip magazines all in one shot and read them completely through on the plane. And with the added jolt of Jetblue’s DirectTV service, I get my pop culture fix on my way to and from my destination and do not have to waste any time during my travels to know the comings and goings of Lilo or Angelina Jolie.

So let’s get down to the nitty gritty. And by the by, I caught Carmen Electra and her nu-metal fiancée in the airport en route to New Orleans. Homegirl is much taller than I expected and was quite pretty for being up at 9:00 AM after a long flight. Ok so let’s get to it…

* Well soon there will be another two babies prettier than me. Today the gossip hounds were swirling with rumors of Angelina Jolie giving birth to twins in France earlier in the week. People has confirmed that the rumors are untrue and that Jolie and Brad Pitt are in France, at there new $60 million home, with their family. Anyways, if these babies look anything like their older sister Shiloh, we might as well just pack it in now.

* Things have not been going well for the Murrays recently. Bill Murray’s wife of twelve years Jennifer is has filed for divorce from the comedian sighting physical abuse, isolation, drug abuse and adultery has causes for the split. Jennifer has apparently been living in a separate house with the couples’ four children since 2006, but just filled for the split recently. See, Bill has always seemed like a dick to me and I do know for a fact he stole my friend’s French fries right out of his hand, but why would it take years of this kind of treatment to stand up to this dude. Uggh. I wonder if Bill likes them old or young. Well I am sure this is just the beginning of this mess.

* 50 Cent might have had something to do with a fire that burned down the Dix Hills home his ex and his 10 year old son were residing in. The fire department in Huntington does NOT believe this was an accidental fire and since 50 Cent and his ex, Shaniqua are in the middle of a very BITTER custody battle over the house and child, his ex believes 50 Cent is responsible for the fire. And since TMZ is updating every 5 minutes about this story, I am sure we will find out more before we care to.

* Lindsay Lohan, my favorite gal, and her fave gal Samantha Ronson were caught all over each other at party thrown by P. Diddy or whatever he is calling himself nowadays in Cannes this weekend. I for one hope these two make it official and feel free to leak a sex tap girls. Lilo and her gal headed back to Los Angeles yesteday on a flight from NYC and Lindsay was reportedly having a hard time breathing on the flight. Bad enough, she stopped by an ER once she landed in LA. And seriously, I get the same shit when I fly so lay off the girl. In other Lohan news, her mother is still fame hungry narcissist who loves the fact that she reads gossip sites everyday looking for shit on her own kids. I am getting to get a bit more in depth like Rich from FourFour on the dynamic that is Lohan this weekend.

*Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are not only married and embarrassing their bulldog, but they will soon be able to embarrass a little emo baby. The couple has confirmed that Ashlee is indeed preggers and that they denied it until she was safely into her second trimester, which make sense to me.

* Eddie Murphy hates letting sleeping dogs lie. Brett Ratner, of course, is negotiating a fourth installment in the Beverly Hills Cop movies. The only good thing that might come out of this is giving work to Judge Reinhold once again.

*And finally, here are some fun facts about one of my favorite bands, Red Hot Chili Peppers put together by Blender.

More later on SATC, Scary Sadshaws, LOST and the reality of reality.

A return from the Spielster and sad news in Tinseltown...

Wow does a lot of stuff happen when a chickadee heads south? I have just returned from a week in New Orleans/Baton Rouge for a celebration of my friends’ wedding and the ability to drink Hurricanes anywhere in the city and it was fabulous. First off, its always nice to get away from New York and get to see another part of the US, especially one that loves fried shrimp so much. I was able to see how a bunch of my friends lived before they moved to the city, see what happens when your gov’t doesn’t help out groups of people during Hurricanes and again drink alcohol in the middle of the street at 11AM. Now I am back to the crane collapsing, Sex and the City obsessed NYC and damn has a lot of stuff gone down while I was gone. First, let’s get to the sad news….

Sydney Pollack, one of my favorite directors and a Hollywood legend, passed away at age 73 this past Monday. Pollack was suffering from cancer and passed at his family home in Los Angeles. The man who aided in the revolution of the Easy Riders/Raging Bulls of the 1970’s film community, Pollack was responsible for some of the most memorable movies in American Cinema. Sydney directed, to name a few, Tootsie, The Way We Were, The Firm and Out of Africa, consistently working with huge Hollywood players and occasionally making appearances on the other sides of the camera lens.

He is survived by his wife, two daughters and many many cinemaphiles, like myself, who appreciate the ability Pollack had to merge comedy with the drama of every day life. Here is a priceless scene from Tootsie, starring Dustin Hoffman and the wonderful director.


Also in sad news, Harvey Korman, star of The Carol Burnett Show and Blazing Saddles, passed away yesterday from complications from rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The comedic master was 81 years old at the time of death and had been suffering from the aneurysm's effects for the past four months. Korman was a mainstay in the comedy world of New York City, Chicago and the 1970's and 80's. Mel Brooks said that it is a sad world "without Harvey". Korman is survived by his wife and four children.



Later today, we will rounding up the week's gossip, news bits, reality TVs winners and losers and LOSTs big finale, an update on the Summer movie season, Cannes Film festival and the sheer madness that is Sex and the City. ENJOY!

SPOILER ALERT!!! - David Cook wins American Idol

So, if I was a betting woman, I would blind stinking rich right now. David Cook won the top prize last night at the American Idol finale. Cook won the battle after 100 million votes were placed and he beat out David Archuleta by 12 million of them. All the finale needed was some NKOTB and it would have been my wet dream as a little girl. George Michael, Bryan Adams, Donna Summers and the cast from the "Love Guru" and "Tropic Thunder" all came to the AI stage to promote something or the other. Last night's finale was probably my favorite to date. The numbers were a bit weak, but what they were able to do was showcase the weaknesses of those already kicked off. It was almost like a "told you so and good job" on the voters. Carrie Underwood came out and rocked the stage like the diva she is, last year's winner Jordin Sparks also sange her new hit and George Michael sung one of my favorite songs by him, but he sounded and looked bit off. He blamed a cold and I hoping that's all that it was, because now my mom wants to see him perform at MSG.

Throughout the night, the one thing that stood out other than the producers pushing Michael Johns, a contestant who lost out in like seventh round, was that David Cook really owned the stage when he was performing. He seemed calm, cool and like a man who already knew he lost. Archuleta, in my opinion not only lacked spunk, but lacked harmonies with his fellow singers. But nothing was worse than watching Brooke White dance. She could be the most textbook example of why white people are requested not to dance anywhere other than a wedding. Before they announced which David won, Simon Cowell apologized for ripping into Cook the other night and said that for the first time in American Idol history, either final contestant winning would be great. Anyways, I am very glad the best man won and I think this is just the beginning of what could be a great career. The expression on his mother's and brother's faces was priceless and it was wonderful to watch everyone celebrate his win.

Here is the video of the announcement and his final performance.

Daily Rounds...Political Stylings...

Let’s get to the mid week recap…Political edition

* Sad news hit the political world yesterday when it as reported that Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after being admitted to the hospital for stroke symptoms. The 76 year old and lone surviving male of the Kennedy clan, has been championing rights and helping govern America for thrity + years. He has been receiving get well wishes from all over the poltical spectrum and his wife Vicki said the diagnosis came out of nowhere and it is incredibly shocking. We wish Senator Kennedy and his family strength during this trying time.

* The news of Senator Kennedy’s brain tumor has resparked the conversation about the bad luck and curses which have fallen onto the Kennedy family, specifically the men. Anyone with an Irish grandmother has heard the curse on the Kennedy clan more times than they care to mention.

* Speaking of Irish heritage, Senator Jim Webb discussed what could be behind the staunch support of Hillary Clinton by Scots-Irish Americans. I have to say his look at the similar American lives of the Scots-Irish and African Americans in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s is quite interesting.

* Obama continues to out raise his presidential campaign after his big win in Oregon yesterday. Clinton will continue in the her race to the White House after her sizable win in Kentucky.

* And finally, New York Magazine has an in-depth look at the final hours of Robert F. Kennedy before his assassination on June 5, 1968. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of that sad and devastating date in American history. It’s amazing that in 40 years so little and at the same time so much as changed in our political world.

American Idol - Who will come out on top?

Ok so for any of you who have watched this season of American Idol, I am sure you know what I am thinking. That little creepy Archuleta kid is gonna steal the crown from David Cook tonight, ain’t he? Yeah so Arch did really well last night and sung his heart out through his ballads and I heard even creepier little girls oohing and declaring love for him, but seriously, you think this kid is a pop star? He creeps me out soooo much! I don’t know if it’s the fact that he looks like a ventriloquist dummy or one of those hairy toys from the 80’s. The main reason why this kid should not win is he has ZERO personality. In fact, I would dare anyone out there to find a kid more deprived of any soul or personality. Yech! David Cook, while not my cup of tea, breathes fresh air into this stale pop star show American Idol. His rock, yet way too radio friendly, sound is refreshing on this show, which usually churns out karaoke performer after karaoke performer. After watching last night’s performances, I was a bit mad the judges didn’t take any time to discuss the competition and performances as a whole. IT’s one thing to have a great night, anyone can, but to be consistently good and keep bringing you’re A game is a very tough thing to do and I think the only person throughout this whole thing who has done this is David Cook. Simon last night acknowledged that Cook didn’t play the better game last night and by that he meant pander to the public. Archuleta did that and very well I might add. The show was configured around some hooky “boxing” angle, where each performer would be crowned “winner of the round” and at one point came out in boxing robes. Yikes was that lame.
I would like Cook to win because he is a talented and different type of performer for the show and I think it would confirm that the show is more than just a few musical theater geeks performing on a big stage. But many people think that it would actually be better for Cook’s career if he did come in second place. Overall, the producers and the network really need to sit down and figure out a way to change this program because the ratings are falling and interest is waning. So I will be watching tonight to see if the true star gets his due or if the American Idol viewers fall for another creepy dude singing ballads. Unfortunately, I am afraid it will be the later.

Entertainment Weekly interviewed the two Davids after last night’s show

Here is David Archuleta’s best performance last night



Here is David Cook’s best performance last night

Juno.....quite a little film...

Ok so to be honest I really thought I was going to hate Juno. Like blind stinking rage filled hate and I actually enjoyed it - a lot! I waited and waited to see it once the spin and publicity and hullabaloo surrounding it died down and I could actually enjoy the film for what it was.I have to say that the first ten minutes were cringe worthy with enough puns and ill fitting jokes to fill up a Comedy Central Roast, but once I got past it, I sort of fell in love. It was quite refreshing to see a character like Juno, played flawlessly by Ellen Page, where her alternative and irreverent nature was honest and real and not a defensive mechanism. I thought it was interesting that the story wasn't simply about her pregnancy, which a lot of screenwriters would have done, but the complete confrontation she had with the real and a very adult life that had punched her square in the face. What I also found interesting is since she distanced herself from the baby so early on into the pregnancy, it wasn't at all shocking that she had a more visceral reaction to the break up of the "happy home" her baby was going to than actually giving up the baby.

The points that the movie touched on like how easy it is for kids to end up pregnant, how it so directly effects the girl in a negative way and actually works in upgrading the perception of the guy, how difficult a choice of abortion is and how sobering it is to realize you were working so hard at love it didn’t even exist anymore were what made it worth watching. Juno confronting her best friend, the boy she is actually in love with and the father of the baby, Paulie, again with a wonderful performance from Michael Cera, was truly inspirational since it always seems, even when the baby daddy is a good guy, the female is the only one to truly suffer. Another poignant scene was where Vanessa, which was Jennifer Garner's best work to date, tries to talk to the baby in Juno's belly in the mall was one of the most human and real life things I have ever seen in a movie. The authenticity of this woman, struggling with the hand she had been dealt and the desperate want for a child, was an incredibly sad and common story. And the fact that she was continuously relying on her husband to help her in this search to no avail was even more soul crushing. This movie, more than anything, celebrated the strength in women during certain times of their lives and allowed for a very different outlook on a not such peachy situation. For all those who were yelling about this movie a few months back not confronting the issues in a real way, I believe Juno could not have been anymore authentic. And the whole movie was worth the line "No, it's Morgan Freeman. You have any bones that need collecting". The casting was flawless, soundtrack emotional and it really was a wonderful film worthy of all its accolades. After watching this movie, I can see the positive direction many of the star's careers can take, but also the development of the teen movie, where real life issues do not have to be a comedy killer and we can look at dramatic results with a glimmer of hope. I hope this little film that could aids others in their attempt at giving humor to the angst that is teenagedom and life.

The beauty that is Lohan.....

Even though my boyfriend promised to break up with me if I watch the upcoming Lohan family reality program, Living Lohan on E!, I will still tune in. I mean what kind of pop culture blog journalist would I be if I didn’t research this firsthand? My ass is all excited after seeing the following clip of the highly anticipated program that highlights why stage moms should receive special places in hell. This coupled with Vh1’s I Know My Kid’s a Star can truly explain why success stories like Lindsay Lohan, Dana Plato and Corey Haim were possible. Maybe in the next few years parents will push their kids to read books more and become scientists, but who knows. I know I will be fully participating in the corrupting of the minor that is Ali Lohan and can not wait to see my hometown, Merrick, all over E!, while hearing the word song pronounced SAWNG! The show will focus on the "momager" to Ali Lohan, young sis of my starlet crush Lindsay, and her quest for the fame and fortune that sent her sister into rehab three times before age 21. Got to love a chick with goals. Capitalizing on the success of her eldest, Dina ushers her youngins around town, lets her fourteen year old daughter dress like a mini-me and has no problem avoiding sending any of her daughters to school. Enjoy the bliss that is Mama Lohan….

Daily Rounds....

So apparently Blogger had been having fun at my expense ALL LAST week. What in my mind were posts, were apparently saved drafts and even though I went in and updated the posts, they remained drafts. Ironically traffic was up, so maybe y’all like reading the same posts over and over. I will try and do better my friends and this week we can make up for very lost time. The Daily Rounds will be a today only feature this week, as I am preparing for a very long weekend in NEW ORLEANS!!!! I am extremely excited about the visit and the chance to see a part of America that I have never been to. I would love to hear any ideas about favorite restaurants, sights or simply favorite bars from my readers. I am heading out this Friday, so please email them before that.
So let’s get to the box office news…..
This weekend was a bit of a bummer for the execs at Disney with the low turnout for Prince Caspian. the second installment in The Chronicles of Narnia franchise. Not sure if it was due to the continued strength of Iron Man, the poor reviews or the lull before the summer blockbuster storm, but Prince Caspian underperformed the projections and came in $10 million less than the weekend box office total for the original movie in the Chronicles of Narnia story. This will definitely play a part in where Disney goes with the rest of the series and how they will market it in the future, since they put a lot of emphasis on it’s “Christian friendly storyline” and promoted it heavily within the Evangelical Christian markets. And since next weekend is the official start of blockbuster summer, with the highly anticipated premiere of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the first movie in the action series in almost 20 years, Caspian will most likely find a place in second or third in next week’s totals.

















Here is the full list of the top 10 movies from this weekend’s box office totals.
1. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - $56.5 million
2. Iron Man - $31.2 million
3. What Happens in Vegas - $13.9 million
4. Speed Racer - $7.7 million
5. Baby Mama - $4.6 million
6. Made of Honor - $4.5 million
7. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - $2.6 million
8. Harold and Kumar 2 - $1.8 million
9. The Forbidden Kingdom - $1 million
10. The Visitor - $687 thousand

Later today, there will be reviews of “Juno”, “Stranger than Fiction” and some chit chat about “Sex and the City”. Welcome to Monday’s Movie ReCap ladies and germs!

Sometimes I wish I was an artist....

Below is probably one of the coolest things I have ever seen on video or film, let alone how amazingly beautiful it is. Experimental artist Blu used public walls in South America to create the crazy video below. Please check this out.


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Robert Rauschenberg: A Celebration of a Gifted Artist....

One of my favorite artists, as well as one of the most influential American artists of the 20th century, Robert Rauschenberg passed away last night at the age of 82.
A man who was able to mix sculpture and printmaking with painting and photography, created an area of art where the artists were not tied down to one specific medium and led the movement to postwar modernism.



He used the work and experience of Marchel Duchamp and others to breath new life into art with the mixing of various mediums, including technology and performance art. He bridged the gap between Expressionism was able to aid the leap in American art between Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Rauschenberg was able to take a stuffed bird, an empty drawer and a collage of hot air balloons and transform it into a beautiful piece of art. He was an inspiration to others in his field and will go down as one of the formative names in the art world.


Robert served in World War II and used the money he received from the GI Bill to study art in Kansas City and Paris, France. After a few years on the circuit, he traveled to Europe and Africa with fellow artist Cy Twombly in the mid 1950’s and began piecing together found objects and formulating them into works of art. Once he returned to New York and began spending time with an at the time unknown Jasper Johns, the two began to produce some of the most foremost pieces of postwar American artwork. While the two lived together, they continued to work on and produce art together as well as fan the flames of rumors and gossip discussing a more “intimate” relationship between the two. By the mid 1960’s, Rauschenberg had been touted as the most important American artist since Jackson Pollock and had won the grand prize at the Venice Biennale, the first modern American to win such an award. His name became synonymous with progressive, modern and awe inspiring artwork. He held many shows throughout the following years and celebrated retrospectives at such respected museums like the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum.

In the last few years, the artist created a home base and studio in Captiva, a small island off Florida’s Gulf Coast and returned to his residence in New York City often. He leaves behind years and years of wonderful work and the lesson that art is all about pushing boundaries and creating beauty. I had the opportunity to see a retrospective of his work at MOCA a few years ago and in person, I was blown away. A fan of his work for years, his ability to produce though provoking work with the simplest of materials is awe inspiring and has changed the way I look at art.

Sources: * NY Times
* Gawker

Match Game....not much else to say...

Daily Rounds....

So this weekend was riddled with cupcakes, family members, surly puppies, and unfortunately disasters worldwide. I discussed a Tom Cruise article I have been penning or typing technically, but with a few morning updates, i.e. Valkyrie being postponed once again, I am re-editing it and will publish it later today. I only let y’all know because I have some overzealous TC/Scientology info fans that are quite interested in his going ons and flatteringly enough, what I think about it. Anyways, let’s get to the Daily Rounds….

* Thousands were killed in a 7.9 magnitude earthquake, which hit central China this weekend. At this time, around 10,000 people were found to be dead from the quake and miles and miles of ruins surrounding the area. China has already released around $3 million to respond to the after effects of the disaster. While this was going on, Mynamar finally accepted aid from the US after the devastating cyclone it suffered from last week. Oxfam is reporting that we are looking towards a public-health catastrophe if survivors of the cyclone did not begin to receive aid and the medical attention they needed.

* Jenna Bush, twin daughter of our President, was married this weekend in a quiet ceremony at the Bush family’s home in Crawford,TX. And to be honest, it looked like quite a pretty ceremony and her gown was gorgeous.

* And I thought Jay Leno was boring. Well look out for NBC’s late night line up come 2009. When Jay Leno is forced out retires, Conan O’Brien will replace him as the lead in for the late night line up and NBC announced its plans to have Jimmy Fallon take over the Conan time slot. No explanation from the network why they wanted to make their viewers fall asleep at 12:40 AM, but this story has just begun. While the guy is affable, Fallon is almost a picture perfect example of how not to need an overwhelming talent can actually be a valuable thing in Hollywood.

* David O. Russell strikes again. I can’t believe this dude can movies anymore. Nikki Finke is reporting that Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel left the set of Russell’s latest film after SAG pulled the plug over financing. This is latest part in the saga that is Nailed the first being James Caan, a veteran of Hollywood for over 40 years, leaving the set and movie when he could no longer work with the “difficult” Russell.

* Finally, Jackie Warner from Bravo’s Work Out said some insanely harsh things about a gym client of one of her staff member’s on last week’s episode. The comments were directed towards a women and her breast implants. What was not known by Warner was the woman was a Breast Cancer survivor and her boyfriend overheard the nonsense. Brian, the women in question’s trainer and pain in the butt to Jackie, was fired over a confrontation about the negative comments. Well I was offended by the episode and thankfully so were sponsors, since Propel water by Gatorade pulled all their sponsorship of the series after the incident. For a chick who appreciates “strong women”, I would have liked a little more than that nonsense directed towards a breast cancer survivor. Feel free to echo my sentiments with Bravo.

* Jennie Garth has been confirmed as a recurring character on the 90201 spin off for the CW. Also rumored to be a part of the cast is ex-costar, Tori Spelling. I can not wait for this hot mess!

* Alec Baldwin defended himself on 60 Minutes this weekend over his divorce from Kim Bassinger and the very public custody battle. I don’t care what anyone says, I honestly believe this crackerjack. And speaking of Long Islanders, Lindsay Lohan is reportedly having problems with her “close friend” Samantha Ronson. The two were reportedly fighting at a West Hollywood club the other night and Lohan needed to be comforted by Lauren Conrad.

Later today hopefully, we will publish the Tom Cruise piece.

ENJOY!

Iron Man stops Speed Racer at the Box Office.

UPDATED: Since Warner Brothers were a little more than generous with their forecasting for "Speed Racer"'s weekend box office numbers, the film ACTUALLY CAME IN THIRD PLACE last weekend. My list below has been updated with the correct figures and I just want to say to WB that mistakes do happen, but losing out to a romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher should let you know your action movie stinks!

Let’s start things of easy this morning…
Iron Man maintained its top spot at the box office this weekend, pulling in another $50 million, which makes its bank for the past two weeks a little under $180 million. Nicely done Mr. Downey Jr. Surprisingly though, Speed Racer actually snagged the second spot on the top grosser this weekend with $20 million. Didn’t anyone read the reviews last week? The romantic comedies filled out the rest of the top spots with What Happens in Vegas at $20 million, Made of Honor in fourth with $7.6 million and Baby Mama in at 5th with $5.8 million.

Here is the full list of the top 10 movies from this weekend’s box office totals.
1. Iron Man - $50.5 million
2. What Happens In Vegas - $20 million
3. Speed Racer - $18.6 million
4. Made Of Honor - $7.6 million
5. Baby Mama - $5.8 million
6. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - $3.8 million
7. Harold and Kumar 2 - $3.2 million
8. The Forbidden Kingdom - $1.9 million
9. Nim's Island - $1.3 million
10. Redbelt - $1.4 million

This weekend is set to give Iron Man some stiff competition with the release of the next installment in the Chronicles of Narnia franchise, Prince Caspian. Disney has gone above and beyond, courting the “family focused red states” for this movie and since C.S. Lewis’ books are Christian friendly, this franchise is expected to continue to set box office records, possibly being one of the biggest grossing films of the year. We will see, but I do hope that Iron Man retains its hold on the box office, if only to celebrate talented acting and thoughtful plot lines within an action/super hero based movie.

The next few weekends are going to be very exciting for box office trackers with some of the most anticipated follow up to movies in history being released this year. Next week, we will be seeing Indiana Jones returning to the screen after almost a twenty year hiatus and The Dark Knight, starring late actor Heath Ledger as the Joker will be released after much fanfare this July. All in all, this summer is going to be quite an exciting time for action loving film-goers, like myself.

Which movie are you all most excited about?

Weekly Rounds....

This week has been a bit bizarre for me and while I would love to recap you all on the events that triggered the bizarreness, I am saving it for another time. Not sure if it’s just me, but NYC has become way too demanding on my psyche recently and seems to sucking the sheer life out of me. I am working on a few updates, new features and a little more cohesion/schedule to the posts here and in the coming weeks you will see a very big difference in lil’ ol Spielster. Today’s Daily Rounds will be more of a Weekly Rounds, which is to be a regular addition to our Friday’s here. I have also received many emails on my take on the Tom Cruise/Oprah two parter from earlier in this week and believe you me my friends I am putting together my article on him and really what the mess of an interview meant. It’s deep and should be posted on Sunday.

Also, this weekend brings us Mother’s Day and I for one would like to thank my mommy for being there for me and not reading my blog, since well she doesn’t even know what a blog is, I think? So to any and all moms out there, thanks for everything that you have done and please enjoy Sunday! Anyways, let’s get to the Weekly Round Up…

* Speaking of mom, meet Mrs. Michelle Duggar, who is pregnant with her EIGHTEENTH BABY and only nine months after having her 17th. I got to give it up to crazy Christians. Her and her husband made the TV rounds this morning explaining how normal this really is. Oh Duggars don’t worry about that upcoming food shortage, I really have no problem having my tax money helping you take care of your kids.

*Here is the first seven minutes of “Speed Racer” and from all the reviews, it might the most you will need to see of this one star film.

* Vh1 has announced its lineup for its well conceived upcoming reality program, I Love Money. The “star filled cast” will feature rejects from Flavor of Love, Rock of Love and I Love New York. You have to give it up to the network and these reality hooligans – at least they are being HONEST this time around. And yes, my ass will be tuned into this hot mess every week. Who votes for a live blog?

*Also in VH1 reality news, last night bastion of talent and man I am oddly attracted to, Danny Bonaduce, made two little girls cry and one scream with joy, and no dirty minds he wasn’t doing anything perverted. He was simply crowning little Mackenzie from Baron Rouge the winner on ”I Know My Kids a Star”. The cute as a button nine year old seriously deserved to win the honor just to rub it in Helene and her headed towards rehab kid, Cheyenne.

* The LA Times dissects the Heidi and Spencer nonsense with journalistic integrity. No really, the paper goes in depth on how, why and what it means that this nobody couple catapulted themselves to “stardom” with their “own brand of reality”. And in other not incredibly relevant MTV news, they announced their Movie Awards Nominees. No surprise with this but Superbad led the nomination counts as well as Juno. Ugh and while I don’t want to admit this, I will be tuning into MTV for this or at least I will catch it during the 2,000 re-airings of the program.

* Just when I start singing her praises…Lohan is designing a new line of leggings and is casting models for the line with a “trade agreement”. She was also reportedly kicked off the Manson family biopic because no other “big name actors in Hollywood” wanted to work with her. Don’t worry, she is still confirmed for the season finale of “Ugly Betty” and Labor Pains. Next week I am starting a post that will be a recurring feature here where I play imaginary agent to a fallen star – guess who is going to be our test case?

* Harpers Bazaar featured Nicole Richie and her cute little baby in the latest issue. They also caught up with her fiancée Joel Madden and proud grandpa, who obviously has a wicked sense of humor with his “Hello” t-shirt. In other baby news, Angela Kinsey from The Office gave birth to a baby girl. Congrats ladies and happy first Mother’s Day.

* Mischa Barton is fighting back at recent photos of her with bad cellulite claiming the photographer doctored the photos because of a previous incident with the actress. To be honest, I don’t care either way but I am sick of these people not being able to go vacation without invasive photogs everywhere.

* Saturday Night Live launched a political satire sight to keep up with the fun of the 2008 Presidential election. Except most of us voters are plain old done with this race already.

* Ruining it for mother’s worldwide, Beyonce and her momager are corrupting little girls everywhere with their distasteful ad for their tacky ass House of Derrion kids collection.Here is the add celebrating six year old girls wearing heels and giving come hither stares. Ick!

* Nick Hogan was was sentenced to eight months in jail and probation time after he plead guilty earlier today to felony reckless driving case after severely injuring his friend last year in a crash. His sentence started today!

* Nina Garcia aint out of work no more. She is reportedly taking a head position over at Marie Claire, which should be perfect for when Project Runway moves to Lifetime and gets a new magazine friend, namely Marie Claire.

*And finally, in honor of mom’s day TIME compiled the best moms and the worst moms in pop culture. Some of the winners are Dumbo’s mom, Cher in “Mask” and Whistler’s mother. “Joan Crawford” and Tony’s Ma on “The Sopranos” rounded out the worst.


ENJOY MOMS!!!! YOU and YOUR UTERUS DESERVE IT!

Mariah Carey and the never ending press tour for craziness.

Mariah Carey continues her publicity campaign of craziness. The living poster girl for celeb crazy and singer married “hilarious” Nick Cannon last week at her new home in the Bahamas. The couple had reportedly been dating for a mere six weeks when they were married. Fox News is reporting that Carey was smart enough to put together a pre-nup before the two crazy kids were married, which was probably brought on by the thought of someone getting as much money out of her as she did Tommy Matola after their divorce.

Carey is telling People that she can not wait to bring children into “their happy home”. She also got a tattoo “Mrs. Cannon” to celebrate her lifelong bond with Mr. Cannon. If this guy can make it through six months of being married to her, I say he should receive a medal of honor. Is it honestly this competitive of a market for CD sales that one has to perform on The Hills, American Idol and have a fake wedding? Dang, I knew things were bad, but I didn’t think they were this bad.

Liv Tyler and Royston Langdon are Dunzo!

Liv Tyler has officially separated from her husband People is reporting. There have been rumors swirling after the actress was overhead discussing a possible divorce from her rocker husband Royston Langdon. Tyler was also searching for a West Village townhouse late last month without her husband and had been going out a lot without her man, which fueled the fire over a possible split. This was the first marriage for the two and no other information has been given out from her publicist. The couple have a son Milo together and it appears the split is amicable.

Is American Idol doomed?

The ratings are slipping and those of us who end up tuning in already figured out who would win back when there were twelve finalists, so when will the jig be up for American Idol. This season started off fairly strong and it was obvious that it wasn’t filled with a lot of screen time stealers, but more talented musicians. We had a few who had already received a record deal and some more who were destined for the Top 100, so what’s going wrong? Fox has been switching things up a bit to see if that would pull in stronger numbers or more callers, but it hasn’t seemed to work in their favor. The judging incident last week with Paula when she commented on two of Jason Castro’s songs, even though he only performed one, it confirmed to critics and some viewers that things weren’t as “live” as we were to believe.

So where do you go from here? It will be a cold day in hell when they finally pull the plug on this show, but the time between them announcing this season’s winner and next years’ auditions, you can believe that there will be many changes on the show and possibly some replacement judges. A show, which is targeted to younger audiences and that allows them to pick their next “star” needs to be much more hip, which is really the bigger problem with “AI”. Having Mariah Carey as a mentor this year was a stroke of genius and hopefully next year there will be more currently influential artists. Unfortunately, Neil Diamond and Dolly Parton just don’t draw in the kids anymore.
If you want to keep credit and the history flowing, add a Bob Dylan night – that could be incredibly interesting. What the producers of this show need is a gut renovation. I don’t necessarily think the judges need to change but I feel the method of judging isn’t the best. I think a panel like “Top Chef”, where one judge is present for the rehearsals and sees the work and preparation going into the performance would be great and this could be a role that Abdul could fill perfectly. Also, the producers need to contact a rock singer, a hip hop artist and maybe Carey again to have hipper mentors. And personally, if you don’t want these people to be Broadway bound, then don’t have them perform Andrew Lloyd Weber songs. The show can come back and be better than before. It just needs a whole lot of shaking.

What do you all feel about “American Idol”? What can this show do to bring back it’s audience or even better increase its audience?

Linsday's picking herself up and dusting herself off.....

It looks my Lil Lohan is finally getting back into the swing of things and actually acting. The massive girl crush I have on my hometown hero is relatively known by my readers and friends and I was so glad when she was able to resurrect herself and career after Rehabgate of 2007. In the past few days, she has found her way into about a bazillion news/gossip stories and only one of them is actually negative. First, let’s discuss the positive. Lohan has started filming on the season finale of “Ugly Betty” and she reportedly plays a Mean Girl from Betty’s high school that used to torture her. Ok, this is perfect casting. My Long Island girl will present one of the finest Queens accents you have ever seen. I actually might tune into this hot mess to check out this performance. Secondly, Lindsay is currently working on the comedy “Ye Olde Times”, starring Jack Black and will be in production until late 2008. And today, the New York Post reported that the actress will also star in “Labor Pains”, a movie about a girl who fakes a pregnancy to keep her job. So congrats my little lady on the positive news coverage you have received this week.

And now to the negative, Lohan is being accused of stealing an $11,000 fur coat from a party at 1Oak a few months ago. The woman who claims her coat was taken from the party’s coat bin, said she contacted Lohan’s lawyers to get the coat back once she saw Miss Lindsay in it in some paparazzi shot. The woman, Masha Markova, a 22 year old student, is now suing Lohan for rental or damages or some other kind of bullshit for “damages” on the coat once she got it back from the lawyers. I don’t really care either way and I know how much it sucks because my favorite jean jacket in the world was stolen from me at a party and I still miss it 5 years later, but who the hell is dumb enough to leave an $11,000 coat anywhere? Ugh! Keep your head up LiLo!

Uma Thurman's Stalker Found Guilty.....

Uma Thurman just got a bit of justice, since her accused stalker of two and half years was was found guilty of the charges in a New York City courtroom yesterday. Jordan was found guilty of the charges that came from his various letters, appearances at the actress’ house and his sheer determination to be around her whenever he could. He also called her two children from ex-husband Ethan Hawke and illusion.

What’s interesting about this case is there was a Wall Street Journal reporter on the jury and she has writtenabout her experience and the reason why the jury found him guilty of one count of stalking and one count of aggravated harassment. Emily Steele, the WSJ reporter goes into great detail about the jury process and how they came to the final verdict. It was interesting to hear about the twelve people who ultimately decide this man and many other accused criminal’s fates. It was appreciated that Ms. Thurman’s case was not handled any differently because she was a celebrity. Jordan faces up to a year and half in prison for the charges.

Daily Rounds.....

My car is officially close to being dunzo, so I am a bit sad today or actually more annoyed. Let’s get right to the news…..

* Its official. Scarlett Johansson and Ryan Reynolds are engaged. They way too good looking couple have been dating quietly for more than a year, but with recent rumors of an upcoming marriage, their reps confirmed the news yesterday to People.

* Warner Brothers will be producing daytime content for its “cousin” network, the CW. The deal will allow WB to “own” two hours of daytime programming beginning this fall. How successful this is will dictate how much more airtime will be given to the production company on the CW network, which houses America’s Next Top Model and Gossip Girl.

* Arrgh! Why won’t this whole Project Runway nonsense end? Apparently now not only are they moving "Project Runway" to Lifetime after the fifth season airs and are in secret deals to change the magazine sponsoring it and possibly moving it to Los Angeles, now there are new changes coming. NBC Universal has made an exclusive first look deal with Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, PR producers and owners of Magical Elves. This means that Cutforth and Lipsitz will stay on to guide “Top Chef” and other reality programs they produce for Bravo under NBC. Uggh I know this nightmare is not going to end well at all. I just beg Tim Gunn to keep some class in it.

* While Oprah was fawning all over Tom Cruise and his 25 years of acting, 23/6 decided to thank the man they believe really propelled Cruise’s career, Curtis Armstrong. The man usually known as Booger has 25+ years of undeniable service to the entertainment industry.

* Dreamworks is up and ready looking for a new studio to call home. Spielberg and Geffen’s baby has been searching for a new place to land their production company since the beginning of month, per the terms of their ill fated contract with Paramount Pictures Sumner Redstone. Reportedly, Dreamworks might actually be looking to obtain a studio of their own and some say Spielberg has his hear set on Universal. While details of any split, acquisition or other changes in the studio lineup won’t be confirmed till later this year, we do know that the rift will not affect the box office numbers for the upcoming installment in the Indiana Jones saga.

* As we get closer to truly finding out how Ted finds his true love on How I Met Your Mother, the guest stars are actually doing a great job. Sarah Chalke from Scrubs fame plays Ted’s new leading lady Stella and now Britney is returning to play girlfriend to Barney.

* And finally, one of my new favorite shows on TV right now is Miss Rap Supreme on VH1. The show had ten female rappers battling it out for who reigns supreme over hip hop. With the drama, the challenges from Serch and campy set, this show is priceless. Last night unfortunately, we had to say goodbye to one of my favorite rappers, Lady Twist. If you have not taken a look, please check out this show.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall....

So I have to admit that I am completely bias when it comes to anything Apatown as you may have already learned dear readers. I fell in love with all things Apatow back when I first got hooked onto the genius teen series Freaks and Geeks. I am quite aware of the part that others have made in the goldmine that is Apatown, but since he sang "Lady" to Lindsay Weir Jason Segel was always been the anticipated breakout star from the series in my mind. Segel has the charm and looks of the leading men in silly romantic comedies from the 1980's with the pop of now. He is an affable goof, who you know you could trust with your car and would laugh with you until the wee hours, yet would be insanely romantic and make you mix tapes and all the other cheesy crap us chickadees like. And while Seth Rogen and Steve Carrell were the first real breakouts from the troupe, Segel waited for the appropriate time to knock something out of the park and shine, which is what he did with "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". The romantic comedy about the heartbreak of love ended is a perfect vehicle to introduce the mainstream moviegoers to this inevitable star.

The film, based in Los Angeles and Hawaii, focuses on a somewhat familiar twenty-something who works a day job he can't stand, yet gets paid well enough not to quit and do what he really wants to do. Its the modern day saga for us who grew up in the overstimulated and overpraised generation of kids (i.e. those of us born after 1975 and before 1985). Peter Bretter (Segel) lets his self loathing ways get in between him and his on the way up the red carpet quasi-celebrity girlfriend, Sarah Marshall, played effortlessly by Kristen Bell, and in the first ten minutes of the movie we not only see Segel full frontal nude, but we also see his character lose any sort of dignity that was left. We watch as a couple breaks up and Peter life fully crumble. He does what any other normal human does, goes out and tries to sleep with as many people to remove the idea that he ever loved, yet no luck. Its pretty hard to remove a cute celebrity girlfriend from your head, so he makes the mistake of traveling to Hawaii to clear his mind, with the half ass approval of his step brother, played by Bill Heder of SNL fame. Peter shuffles up to the retreat his ex Sarah discussed on multiple occasions and wouldn't you know it, she is there with her new boyfriend,Aldous Snow a skeezy version of Noel Gallagher mixed with an unskeezy version of Pete Doherty, played by the hysterical Russell Brand. Running interference is the concierge with the best tan I have ever seen, Rachel Jensen, played by Mila Kunis. By the by, this is the first of what needs to be many adult/mature roles to come to Mila and she stole so many scenes and played the part incredibly organically. What happens next, Sarah figuring out the rocker type isn't faithful, Rachel falling for a guest and Peter finally picking up his balls and putting them back in his pants happens fluidly and represents my generation so well.

The supporting cast helps develop the main characters, but were probably my least favorite parts of the film. But the main core of the film is a situation anyone can find themselves in. Our generation has a plethora of choices around us and for most, the familiar as slogan of Nike in the back of our heads about just doing it. We have found ourselves supported in even the lamest of the arts, that its okay to just wander about, searching for your course in life and that being "tied down" too young doesn't have to be an option. The film focused, as many do in Apatown, on "lost" people. These are not losers. They are not lepers, rejects who have not been asked to move to caves yet, they are normal archetypes of regular people searching for meaning, love, life and purpose. Apatown just finds the comedic genius behind it all. He is able to pinpoint that moment when we all know that we have to grow up and evolve, yet we piss and moan about it. What was also done masterfully was the underlying competition between Sarah and Rachel, which was mainly a battle for Peter's heart. But what was great was that it showcased the backhanded compliments and sheer competition women go through and yet willingly participate in every day. This point could not be illustrated better than the awkward dinner between Peter and his new lady Rachel and bitter Sarah and hilarious Russell Brand. Sarah puts down living on Hawaii and Rachel comes right back with mocking the Hollywood lifestyle, and just the seemingly innocent chatter goes right over the men's heads at the table. Scenes like this could be why feminists are whining about this and the Apatown troupe being a bit anti-lady. I still don't see anything that could possibly deem that close to the truth in any film.


For Segel, this movie cemented his ability to bring down Tom Hanks as the rom-com golden boy. It has also allowed us to view the heartbreak of men in relationships as valid and real. Tonight, I watched "How I Met Your Mother" and realized that Nick Andopolis can easily steal anyone's heart and he surely stole mine. I can not wait for the next installment in this very funny and affable actor's career. And if you can't guess, I recommend this movie for anyone out there who likes to laugh and doesn't mind a few up close penis shots.