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Wanda Sykes Show: Working Hard, Hardly Working
57 minutes ago
Viewers expecting something fresh and new out of The Wanda Sykes Show —as the unlikely combination of Fox and an African-American lesbian might seem to promise—were sorely disappointed, writes Ken Tucker . The comedian and actor "is terrific: at ease and bawdy," he writes for Entertainment Weekly. But last night's premiere was "awkward: self-conscious and constrained." The first half of the hour-long show sat better with Barry Garron of the Hollywood Reporter. He found the politically tinged late-night offering "a smart start, though it had a few potholes." As for the second half, a boozy panel discussion of not-particularly-topical topics,... »
Christmas Comes Early
3 hours ago
The stop-motion version of A Christmas Carol topped the weekend box office, opening with a $31 million haul. The figure is a slight disappointment, on the low end of the projected range for the family-friendly flick, reports Variety . The Michael Jackson documentary This is It lost 40% off last week's chart-topping opening, raking in $14 million. Buzz machine Precious opened at just 18 locations and broke the record for per-location average with total ticket sales of $1.8 million. The top five: A Christmas Carol, $31 million Michael Jackson's This Is It, $14 million The Men Who Stare at Goats,... »
Gossip Girl Puts Another Nail in Speakeasy's Coffin
10 hours ago
Not event a month after one mag wished for the speakeasy trend to die, Gossip Girl (yes, a show about high school and college kids, but that’s another topic) is pounding another nail in the cocktail conceit, Derek Brown writes. With one of the show’s characters opening a Prohibition-style joint—“an authentic trend … co-opted by teenie-boppers and dumbed-down programming”—the trend has clearly “jumped the shark.” “I appreciate ‘speakeasies’ for the substantive quality they have brought to drinking,” Brown, who has an interest in just such a joint, blogs for the Atlantic . “Without a few pioneers in this genre... »
Inside The Box , a Muddled Surprise
6 November 2009 10:11 AM, PST
Critics are split on The Box , the new film from writer-director Richard Kelly, known for the much-loved Donnie Darko and the reviled Southland Tale s. Some takes on the flick about a box with a mysterious, life-changing button: Pass, writes writes Elizabeth Weitzman in the New York Daily News . Don't "spend your time and money on Kelly's take" on the Richard Matheson short story. Just "watch the original Twilight Zone episode at home on YouTube." Not so, writes Stephanie Zacharek for Salon. The '70s period piece "is deftly unshowy" and "builds suspense the old-fashioned way, sometimes seeming more like a... »
Pre-Scandal Fergie Spills to Cosmo
6 November 2009 9:09 AM, PST
When Cosmopolitan interviewed Fergie for its December issue, no one could have predicted that by the time it hit stands, hubby Josh Duhamel would be embroiled in a stripper-sex scandal. At the time, Fergie sang his praises, Radar reports, telling the mag when it came to her recent weight gain for Nine , “He enjoys having both: the extra meat to grab when it's there and the tight stomach when that's there.” She’s standing by Duhamel, and told Entertainment Tonight , “These allegations are nonsense.” The beleaguered pair also made quite a show out of going to dinner Tuesday, asking to be... »
Rihanna: 'I Was Battered, I Was Bleeding'
6 November 2009 8:27 AM, PST
As he hit her, Rihanna says, Chris Brown had “no soul in his eyes,” and he left her bleeding and swollen. The singer didn't hold back in the second part of her interview with Diane Sawyer on today’s Good Morning America , saying, "All I kept thinking all the time: When is it going to stop?” She continued, "There was no way of me getting home, except to get out of the car and walk. Start walking in a gown, in a bloody face. So I really don't know what my plan was. I didn't have a plan. That whole night... »
What Broke Celebs Can Teach Us
6 November 2009 7:38 AM, PST
Celebrities really are just like us: During these financially stressful times, they’re suffering, too. On Huffington Post, Manisha Thakor points out the takeaway from four high-profile meltdowns. NBA Player Antoine Walker: Squandered away his $110 million fortune by age 33. The lesson? If you have a variable income, don’t spend based on peak earnings—spend based on average earnings. Writer Patricia Cornwell: Suing her money management firm after losses of around $40 million. The lesson? Don’t hand over 100% of the control of your money to anyone—stay involved. Photographer Annie Leibovitz: Facing $24 million in debt and fighting to... »
Shatner Reads the Real Levi
6 November 2009 5:29 AM, PST
The Tonight Show got the last laugh on Levi Johnston. The soon-to-be Playgirl model threatened to sue if Conan O’Brien didn’t retract Wednesday’s poetry session, featuring William Shatner dramatically reading Levi’s supposed Tweets. So O'Brien admitted they were actually written by “a clever impostor posing as the witty Levi Johnston”—then brought Shatner back to read some “real, verified quotes.” Highlights: “The first thing Sarah said to me at the hotel was, ‘You gotta cut your hair.’ I told her I didn’t want to. I had a mullet at the time.” “Guess what? I shot a big-ass bear.” “If... »
Oprah Sets Date for Cable Launch, Show Move
5 November 2009 11:50 AM, PST
The long-awaited launch of Oprah's cable network is set for early 2011, and her syndicated talk show will move to the new Oprah Winfrey Network—and from Chicago to Los Angeles. The switch from Discovery Health Channel to Own was originally set for mid-2009, and Discovery threatened to rescind the offer, saying it wanted her to "move it or lose it," Nikki Finke of Deadline Hollywood reports. The Oprah camp is “trying to figure out what to do with her mini-city in Chicago, and which personnel she can and will move out to La in the next six months,” Finke... »
New Site Decodes Rap Lyrics
5 November 2009 9:42 AM, PST
Jay-z and Alicia Keys’ song “Empire State of Mind” is everywhere, even at the World Series. But do you know what the lyrics mean? If not, Rap Exegesis can clue you in the way it educated Nick Antosca of the Huffington Post. Some of the explanations the site offers: Jay-z and Alicia Keys, “Empire State of Mind” : “Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons whipping pastry” refers first to cooking up crack, second to fellow rapper Rev. Run’s daughters and their clothing line. Lil Wayne, “A Milli” : “Got the Maserati dancing on the bridge, pussy poppin’” refers to a... »
I Went Back to Chris Brown: Rihanna
5 November 2009 8:25 AM, PST
Rihanna returned to Chris Brown after he assaulted her Feb. 8, telling Diane Sawyer, “I fell in love with that person. That’s embarrassing. So far in love, so unconditional, that I went back.” Responding to Sawyer’s estimate in an interview airing tonight and tomorrow on ABC that, “on average, I think it takes a woman seven times before she leaves,” Rihanna says, “Eight or nine, actually.” The singer says her realization that she’s a role model was the “wake-up call” that caused her to finally leave Brown. “When I realized that my selfish decision for love could result in some... »
Stripper: I Had 'Lots of Sex' With Josh Duhamel
5 November 2009 6:48 AM, PST
The stripper who claims to have bedded Transformers star (and Fergie hubby) Josh Duhamel shared all the dirty details with an Atlanta radio station Monday, including her claim that “we did hook up and had lots of sex and we had a really, really good time.” The interview was initially taken off the station's website following a cease and desist letter, but loose-lipped Nicole Forrester passed a polygraph—so back up it went, reports Radar . “I didn’t know who he was at first, but I knew he was really freaking hot,” she says of the client who called himself “Jd”... »
Relationships That Wouldn't Work in Reality
4 November 2009 1:35 PM, PST
Hollywood’s great at making us root for relationships that shouldn’t work. But some of them really shouldn’t work. The Nerve imagines if the following couples moved in next-door: Beauty and the Beast : No, I’m not kissing a dog … he’s really a prince! I swear! Buffy and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) : She’s 16, and he’s more than 200, and, oh yeah, dead. So it’s illegal in multiple ways, and creepy, too. Dexter and Rita (Dexter) : “The baseline for a successful relationship should be just a bit higher than ‘did not kill significant other today.’” Don Draper and Anyone... »
Michelle Pushes Healthy Meals —on Iron Chef
4 November 2009 9:54 AM, PST
Michelle Obama’s campaign to wean kids off junk food is taking a slightly unorthodox turn: The first lady will guest on Iron Chef America ’s Jan. 3 episode. In addition to discussing her crusade for healthy school lunches and more, Obama will reveal the secret ingredient for the show's chefs (anything grown in the White House garden). The White House executive chef will team with Bobby Flay to compete against Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse, the New York Times reports. “What’s exciting for us is this is the first time I can remember the White House taking an active interest... »
Michelle Campaigns for Healty Meals —on Iron Chef
4 November 2009 9:54 AM, PST
Michelle Obama’s campaign to wean kids off junk food is taking a slightly unorthodox turn: The first lady will guest on Iron Chef America ’s Jan. 3 episode. In addition to discussing her crusade for healthy school lunches and more, Obama will reveal the secret ingredient for the show's chefs (anything grown in the White House garden). The White House executive chef will team with Bobby Flay to compete against Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse, the New York Times reports. “What’s exciting for us is this is the first time I can remember the White House taking an active interest... »
Nicole Kidman: I've Explored Fetish Sex
4 November 2009 8:05 AM, PST
She still won’t discuss what went wrong in her marriage to Tom Cruise—but ask her about kinky sex and Nicole Kidman is happy to deliver. “I’ve explored obsession,” she tells British GQ . “I’ve explored strange sexual fetish stuff.” She adds that her second marriage, to country singer Keith Urban, is “incredibly raw, incredibly dangerous,” the Daily Mail reports. As for Cruise, “I want to honor that marriage for what it was, and there is nothing I would go into about that. I have never discussed the intricacies of it and I never will,” she says, adding that she even... »
Winona Talks Jolie, Comeback
4 November 2009 7:36 AM, PST
After two decades in Hollywood, a string of high-profile romances and even higher-profile troubles, Winona Ryder is “the happiest I’ve ever been,” she says. In a wide-ranging interview with BlackBook , Ryder discusses her return to the spotlight in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee , her disdain for the proliferation of Internet culture (she just doesn’t understand the appeal of “Facehook”), and her Girl, Interrupted costar Angelina Jolie. “I never had any bad feelings about Angelina, and I was hurt that people thought that. We said from the very beginning that the actress who played Lisa would probably win an Oscar,... »
Jon Storms Out of Interview With Hailey
4 November 2009 7:08 AM, PST
Jon Gosselin and Hailey Glassman stirred up more heart-wrenching (retching?) drama last night, and this time they maybe—just maybe!—broke up on national television. “I don't want to do this on national TV—this is serious,” Hailey said during an extremely awkward interview yesterday, shortly before Jon got angry and stormed out (watch his exit at Entertainment Tonight ). The other best moment: When Hailey admits "It's hard, because when I do try to leave, he cries." The couple was still sneaking around together as recently as Saturday, sources tell the New York Post . Jon also responded to soon-to-be-ex-wife... »
Prejean, Pageant Drop Lawsuits
4 November 2009 6:12 AM, PST
Have we heard the last of Carrie Prejean? Probably not, but the former Miss California and pageant producers have dropped their dueling lawsuits. A statement says they “wish each other the best in their future endeavors,” but gives no word on the settlement reached. A source tells Radar Prejean decided to drop her religious discrimination suit when the pageant filed a countersuit demanding she pay for her breast augmentation. “We’re so glad to be back in the business of beauty and out of the litigious system that is Carrie Prejean,” the pageant's exec tells the New York Daily News , adding... »
Kate Winslet Wins $40K in 'Body Image' Libel Suit
3 November 2009 7:34 AM, PST
Kate Winslet is serious about positive body image—and her crusade is aimed at more than just the impressionable young women of the world. The actress has won $40,000 from the Daily Mail , which reported in January that Winslet lied when she said she was taking a break from exercising during the awards season, People reports. "I strongly believe that women should be encouraged to accept themselves as they are, so to suggest that I was lying was an unacceptable accusation of hypocrisy," Winslet said in a statement. “I felt that I had a responsibility to request an apology... »
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