BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Bravo-TV has cast transgender model Amiyah Scott on “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” for its upcoming 8th season. The casting marks the first-ever transgender woman to be featured in the “Real Housewives” franchise. One of the reasons for the signing is likely Scott’s avid social-media fanbase of just under 700,000 Instagram followers and nearly 160,000 Twitter followers. Scott was born with the given name Arthur and began her transition 10 years ago at the age of 17.
– Variety.com
★ Two women who were allegedly assaulted by Dr Dre in the 1990s have spoken out about the NWA biopic “Straight Outta Compton”, saying it ignores the rapper’s abusive attitude towards women during his early career. Singer Michel’le, a former girlfriend, and journalist Dee Barnes have both accused Dre of violence during the early 1990s. In an interview with “Rolling Stone” earlier this month Dre addressed the 1991 incident with Barnes as well as the claims of abuse made by Michel’le. Quote: “I made some f—king horrible mistakes in my life.”
– Gawker.com
★ Oscar-winner Anne Hathaway is the latest movie star heading to the small-screen after signing to appear in a TV drama entitled “The Ambassador’s Wife”. The “Les Misérables” actress has been cast as the lead in the show, based on the novel of the same name by Jennifer Steil about a Brit woman who is kidnapped in Yemen, where her husband serves as the ambassador. It will be her first regular TV role in 15 years since her short-lived sitcom, “Get Real”, ended in 2000.
– WENN.com
★ Actor William Shatner and his “Star Trek” cohorts have signed up to embark on a fan cruise to mark the TV & film franchise’s 50th anniversary. Shatner, the original ‘Captain James T Kirk’, will be hitting the high seas with other “Trek” favorites from TV spin-offs, including Jonathan Frakes, Denise Crosby, Robert Picardo, and James Darren. During the cruise, fans will be treated to a ‘totally immersive’ experience featuring lectures, parties, and contests. The 6-day jaunt departs Miami FL in January 2017 … a couple months before Shatner’s 86th birthday.
NET: http://startrekthecruise.com
– ContactMusic.com
★ Now that she’s 18, Kylie Jenner has been offered $10 million to make a sex tape, according to several reports. The offer from porn purveyor Vivid Entertainment is for Jenner and current squeeze Tyga in said mini-movie, but we suspect she could pick another guy and the offer would still stand. f Kylie Jenner plans to negotiate, she should know that stories floated here and there several years ago suggested Britney Spears was being offered $100 million for a sex tape. So, yeah … it’s Britney, bitch. $10 mill is chump change.
– TMZ.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Mary J Blige (“The London Sessions”). Rerun.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Above & Beyond (“We Are All We Need”). Rerun.
• “Meredith Vieira Show” (syndicated) – Eve (“Lip Lock”). Rerun.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – 1970s band Doobie Bros w/Michael McDonald.
• “The View” (ABC/CTV) – Vintage Trouble (“1 Hopeful Rd”). Rerun.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Black Eyed Peas – “My Humps” (2005) was originally written for The Pussycat Dolls.
• Dolly Parton – NBC-TV has announced that its upcoming bio-film “Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors” will air December 10th. The movie, which includes Jennifer Nettles as Parton’s mother, is based on the true story of Parton’s upbringing. Filming is underway this week in Atlanta GA.
• Ed Sheeran – He tops Spotify’s new list of ‘Most Influential Artists Under Age 25’. The 24-year-old was Spotify’s most-streamed artist of 2014 and his ballad “Thinking Out Loud” is the most-streamed song of all-time. Filling out the top 5: Ariana Grande, Sam Smith, Miley Cyrus, and One Direction.
• Lionel Richie – The 66-year-old is being honored as 2016 MusiCares Person Of the Year in recognition of his long career as well as his charitable efforts for AIDS, breast cancer, poverty, and human trafficking. The 26th annual benefit gala takes place 2 nights before the Grammy Awards in February.
• Meghan Trainor – The 21-year-old “All About That Bass” hitmaker is unable to talk or sing after suffering another vocal hemorrhage so she’s channeling all her energy into taking dancing lessons. She recently revealed she’ll have to undergo vocal surgery to fix her hemorrhage ”once and for all”.
• Metallica – The band’s Euro tour begins tonight in Bergen, Norway. The trek then moves through Sweden and Russia before winding up with gigs at England’s Reading & Leeds festivals August 29th-30th.
• Nickelback – They’ve been forced to cancel all remaining dates of their “No Fixed Address” tour due to 6-to-9 months of vocal rest ordered by doctors for frontman Chad Kroeger. He was diagnosed with an intracordal cyst on his voice box in June and recently underwent surgery.
• Train – “Drops of Jupiter” (2001) was inspired by a dream lead singer Pat Monahan had about his late mother.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “King Of the South” – Queen Latifah has signed on to star in this upcoming biopic based on the life of rapper Master P. The singer/actress is set to portray the hip hop star’s mother in a film which details his journey from a life of poverty to becoming a successful music mogul. Master P (Percy Miller), co-wrote the film. A release date is yet to be announced.
• “Our Brand is Crisis” – Sandra Bullock convinced producers to change the lead character from male to female so she could tackle a role originally intended for her longtime pal George Clooney. She plays a political consultant who comes out of retirement after being employed by a much-hated Bolivian president to help his re-election campaign. The film opens October 30th.
• “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2” – Star & screenwriter Nia Vardalos says fans of the 2002 romantic comedy started asking for a sequel just after the original film’s release. She’s reunited the entire “Greek Wedding” family for the followup, including Andrea Martin, Joey Fatone, John Corbett, and Michael Constantine. The just-wrapped sequel has a March 2016 release date.
• “Scooby-Doo 3” – The former Hanna-Barbera cartoon is coming to the bigscreen yet again. Two previous live-action movies starring Freddie Prinze Jr and Sarah Michelle Gellar hit the silver screen in 2002 and 2004. Tony Cervone directs the new project, though there’s no word on cast as yet. Warner Bros has confirmed the next “Scooby” is screening in September 2018.
• “Star Wars: Episode IX” – 38-year-old “Jurassic World” director Colin Trevorrow has been lined up to helm the 3rd movie in the latest “Star Wars” trilogy, which begins with “The Force Awakens” this December 18th. He says he’ll channel what George Lucas instilled in all of us: “Boundless creativity, pure invention, and hope.” The film’s not due until 2019.
• “Sully” – Actress Laura Linney has signed on to star opposite Tom Hanks as the wife of the heroic pilot who saved more than 150 lives by landing his airliner on NYC’s Hudson River in 2009. The bio-pic about Captain Chesley ‘Sully’ Sullenberger is based on his memoir, “Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters”. Clint Eastwood is directing.

ROAD-WEAR:
Well-placed pockets can make or break your outerwear. The folks at BauBax LLC understand this and have responded by creating the jacket of every travel nerd’s dreams. “The World’s Best Travel Jacket” is a Kickstarter project that aims to make traveling as painless as possible. The jacket comes with 15 highly-specific features, including built-in gloves, a zipper that doubles as a pen, and a koozie drink pocket. Perhaps the most exciting feature is the built-in inflatable neck pillow. The travel-wear is available as a sweatshirt, windbreaker, bomber, or blazer for both men and women. Just don’t forget to empty all 9 pockets before getting it cleaned. (If it’s really a travel jacket, why not incorporate GPS while they’re at it?)
– MentalFloss.com

NOXIOUS NAMES:
Not just any baby name will do these days. A so-called ‘word name’ trend has parents forgoing common given names for more unique words like ‘Afternoon’ and ‘Arrow’. A baby-naming website has compiled a list of some of the most out-there names that have recently been registered. Among them …
✓ Alias
✓ Awesome
✓ Boss
✓ Captain
✓ Eliminate
✓ Halo
✓ Handsome
✓ Majestic
✓ Savvy
✓ Wise
(Hope these kids have tough skin.)
– NameBerry.com

A FRIEND YOU CAN BUY:
A prototype ‘companion robot’ which will cost just under $650 (plus $50 shipping) has been unveiled in London for the first time before its expected launch next year. ‘Buddy’, developed by French tech firm BlueFrog Robotics, is touted as the first social robot that connects, protects, and interacts with each member of the family. The bot comes equipped with a tool kit that includes multimedia, gaming, and educational functions. It also offers a centralized agenda, multi-alarm clock, home security, and connection to most smart home devices. The project has raised more than 3 times its target on crowdfunding website Indiegogo. (Advantages over a cat: Doesn’t eat, poop, shed, or lie around on the couch all day.)
– Sourced from BBC News

STICKING IT:
Some of the latest foods-on-a-stick being offered at fairs and elsewhere …
• Pork Chop On-a-Stick
• Chocolate Covered Cheesecake With Sprinkles
• Deep-Fried Twinkies
• Southern Fried Chicken On-a-Stick
• Cajun-Fried Shark Bites
• Batter-Fried Bacon With Wasabi Mayo
• Apple Pie-On-a-Stick
• Mango Covered in Chili
• Corn Dog With a Ring On It (an onion ring)
• Chocolate Covered Beer-and-Bacon-Battered Deep-Fried Ice Cream Sandwich
– Condensed from “Metro”

BS AMAZING FACT:
Fredric Baur invented the Pringles can. When he died in 2008, his ashes were buried in one.
– “Mental Floss Magazine”

BS CHRONOMETER 08.20.15

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1948 [67] Robert Plant, West Bromwich UK, classic rock singer (w/Allison Krauss-“Raising Sand”, Led Zeppelin-“Stairway to Heaven”)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1995)

1956 [59] Joan Allen, Rochelle IL, movie actress (‘Jason Bourne’ films, “The Upside of Anger”)

1969 [46] Billy Gardell, Pittsburgh PA, TV actor (‘Mike Biggs’ on “Mike & Molly” since 2010)

1974 [41] Amy Adams, Vicenza, Italy, movie actress (“American Hustle”, “Trouble With the Curve”)  COMING UP:  Plays ‘Lois Lane’ in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” 2016.

1983 [32] Andrew Garfield, Los Angeles CA [raised Surrey UK], movie actor (“The Amazing Spider-Man” films, “The Social Network”)

1992 [23] Demi Lovato, Albuquerque NM, pop singer (“Heart Attack”, “Skyscraper”)/TV personality (“The X Factor” 2012-13)  BS FACTOID: She’ll be an advisor for Gwen Stefani’s team on the upcoming season of “The Voice” (NBC), which begins September 21st.

BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Lemonade Day”, set aside to honor the old-fashioned Summer refreshment favorite. Many sources indicate that lemonade was invented in Paris, France on this day in 1630.

• “Radio Day”, for no apparent reason other than someone penciled it in on a calendar years ago. To celebrate, all on-air personalities get a hefty raise and a day off. (In your dreams.)

• “World Mosquito Day”, observed annually to commemorate the 1897 date when British doctor Sir Ronald Ross discovered the link between malaria transmission and mosquitoes. At the time it created a lot of buzz.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2012 [03] Groundbreaking comedian Phyllis Diller dies at her Los Angeles CA home at age 95

TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1920 [95] American Professional Football Conference (APFC), forerunner of the NFL, is created during a meeting at the Jordan & Hupmobile Auto Showroom in Canton, Ohio

2000 [15] Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship to become the 1st golfer since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win 3 majors in a single year

2012 [03] Augusta National Golf Club (home of The Masters) announces it’s finally opening its doors to women (former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and banker Darla Moore become the 1st female members)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2004 [11] In an event arranged by the Washington Tow Truck Association, 83 trucks roll through Wenatchee WA, setting a Guinness Record for ‘World’s Largest Parade of Tow Trucks’

COMING UP . . .
[Fri] “American Ultra”; “Hitman: Agent 47”; “Sinister 2” open in movie theaters
[Fri] Men’s Grooming Day
[Fri] Hug Your Boss Day
[Sat] International Tongue Twister Day
[Sun] Go Topless Day
This Week Is … Don’t Wait, Celebrate! Week
This Month Is … Cataract Awareness Month

BULL’S BITS

REAL BUT REALLY WEIRD FORTUNE COOKIE FORTUNES:
• “It’s about time I got out of that cookie.”
• “You will be hungry again in 1 hour.”
• “You are not illiterate.”
• “If you eat something and nobody sees you eat it, it has no calories.”
• “You are about to become $8.95 poorer ($6.95 if you had the buffet).”
• “Ignore previous cookie.”
• “The fortune you seek is in another cookie.”
• “You are about to finish reading a fortune cookie.”
• “You laugh now, wait till you get home.”
• “Pigeon poop burns the retina for 13 hours. You will learn this the hard way.”
– Adapted from TwentyTwoWords.com

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
English astronomer & science fiction writer Fred Hoyle died 14 years ago today (2001) at age 86. Which term is he credited with inventing?
a. ‘Outer Space’
b. ‘The Big Bang’ [CORRECT]
c. ‘Star Trek’
– Wikipedia.org

BS RANDOM JOKE:
When I want your opinion I’ll remove the duct tape.

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ Who did you know BEFORE they became famous?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: 1-in-11 people surveyed say THIS is their favorite dessert.
Answer: Fruit.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
When it comes to giving, some people stop at nothing.