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.

Daily Rounds.....

This weekend my car broke down, I had some fine ass brunch, everyone was chatting about Tom Cruise’s visit with Oprah and Iron Man killed it at the box office. Let’s get to the Daily Rounds…

* First things first, Iron Man killed at the box office this weekend pulling in a little over $100 Million dollars and becoming the second-best premiere ever for a nonsequel in box office history. The action film, based on a graphic novel, stars Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow is a departure a bit from the requisite action packed hero films and adds a great deal of drama and storyline to the series. This record breaking weekend all but confirms that we will be seeing an Iron Man 2 in our near future. Here is the rest of the top five films this weekend:
1. "Iron Man," with $100.7 million.
2. "Made of Honor," with $15.5 million.
3. "Baby Mama," with $10.3 million.
4. "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," with $6.1 million.
5. "Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay," with $6 million.

* Speaking of movies, I was finally able to see “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” and I completely fell in love with Jason Segel all over again. My full wrap up on the movie will come later today, but all in all this film was close to comedy perfection for me. It was about ten times better than Knocked Up and followed the post partum breakdown after a breakup so perfectly. It also confirmed to Hollywood that Mila Kunis can carry a movie in a leading lady capacity and hopefully she can do some more quality comedy work.

* Project Runway might not only be moving networks for the sixth season, they might also be giving ELLE the boot for Marie Claire and leave New York City for Los Angeles. Of course, everyone knows that all the couture and runway fashions are created in Los Angeles. I think my love of PR might dwindle insanely fast if Lifetime screws with it anymore!

* So Tom Cruise went on Oprah’s show and discussed the last time he was on Oprah’s show. While the TV goddess addressed a lot of the issues that Cruise was taken to task for, the whole thing felt staged and phony. It did make me feel a little bit bad for the man who seemed to have lost any real full human emotion a long time ago and now just sounds like a bunch of talking points. The second part of the interview continues today and tomorrow we will recap the chat and see what really was going on.

* Sarah Jessica Parker discusses with New York Magazine how the success of Sex and the City has changed her city, New York. Parker also chats about her upcoming flick, returning to Carrie and how her life has changed after the show. The movie opens in theaters nationwide on May 30th. Here is the trailer again in case you missed it.

* In other NYC news, The Tribeca Film Festival wrapped it up yesterday with their awards and final showings. The film festival created after 9/11 decimated the downtown area of NYC financially and spiritually, just had its most successful year yet.

* In TV News, Rich from Four Four provides a wonderful reason to like MTV’s The Paper and her name is Andrea! Also, Lindsay Lohan is at work on her guest stint as a loser from Betty’s past on Ugly Betty. My favorite celebrity was originally slated to star on the program last season but a few trips to rehab squandered it. Lohan’s mug shot from last year is also causing quite a stir right now because it was used in a pro drunk driving ad published in USA Today. Bad taste doesn’t even describe this thing.

* And finally, a second trailer for the upcoming The Dark Knight, the next installment of the Batman series starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger. I was so excited about this film and I do not know how comfortable I will be watching this now knowing this was technically Ledger’s last on screen performance. This trailer is great and the movie looks incredibly gritty, just the way Batman should be.



ENJOY!!!

Daily Rounds.....

So last night I checked out The Kills at Webster Hall here in NYC. First, I would beg of any artist or band coming to play NY PLEASE DO NOT SCHEDULE A SHOW HERE. Seriously, the sound is completely off, there is a dance club going on right underneath you during the whole show and the place blows. It just reminds me how sad some people in NY are that this is a hotspot for them. Secondly, can this hipster nonsense be over? And thirdly, if this band comes to town, YOU MUST CHECK THEM OUT. The two piece, technically from England, brings together a dark BRMC vibe with the unexpected joy of old White Stripes. The chemistry is incredibly apparent between Allison, from punk/emo band Discount fame and Jamie Hince, British rocker and boyfriend of Kate Moss. Hince has an electricity not usually found in a small band and his guitar playing is methodical and emotional at the same time. Allison truly is what a rock star should be. The girl gives some of the best female vocals I have ever heard and brings an energy similar to a Robert Plant or Steven Tyler to her performances. I have to say with the new wave of rock acts marking their territories, I think the ladies my pull ahead finally in this battle. The show was met with a few difficulties like a late start and then being shut down for twenty minutes so the FDNY could inspect multiple electric fires everywhere. It was hard to get back into the groove once they could start playing again and since the crowd were a bunch of wankers. It didn’t matter cause the band was great and I highly recommend checking them out if they come around your way.

Today’s Daily Rounds are just a bit of snippets of stuff I was not aware until this week and some cute little animal news. This weekend we will be putting together what you should be listening to music wise and our TV roundup…

* Barbara Walters used to get crazy. The well known reporter published her memoirs and she revealed that in the 1970’s she had an affair with married U.S. Senator Edward Brooke, who was also the first black Senator elected to the position. She will be on Oprah next Tuesday to dish the dirt. Maybe O will make her cry.

* Lou Reed married his longtime partner Laurie Anderson in a small ceremony in Colorado earlier this month. Congrats!

* Dave Navarro is schtooping my favorite porn star Stormy Daniels! If you don’t know who I am talking about, she is in the R Rated comedy, 40 Year Old Virgin and Busty Cops 2!!!! His ex-wife Carmen Electra just got herself engaged her boyfriend of less than a year Rob Patterson from KORN.

* Its good luck to throw your baby off a mountain in India. Let’s keep that custom over there, okay?

*This little monkey is too much. Conchitta, a white-naped mangabey born at the London Zoo, has taken to a teddy bear as her mother, since her mother was unable to care for her from birth. And in other monkey news, Ricky, the special needs monkey due to an attack at birth, celebrated his birthday at Natureland a small zoo that has been forced to close its doors in New Zealand due to lack of funds. Come on people pony up the dough to help these people out.

* And lastly, Mariah Carey is officially crazy. Carey married Nick Cannon this week in Bermuda. The couple of a few weeks married in a small wedding ceremony at Carey’s new pad down there. Oh and there is no pre-nup. I can’t wait until this bitch loses her mind again. Mariah can make Britney Spears look like mom of the year when she gets on a roll. No confirmation yet from Carey’s or Cannon’s reps, but many relatives and “close sources” have already confirmed the nuptials. Hmm, I give it three months.