August 6, 2015

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Thursday, August 6, 2015               Edition: #5510


Tomorrow’s Show Prep Today!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Robert Downey Jr, for the 3rd year in-a-row, is the world’s highest-paid actor ($80 million), but that’s not the real news in the annual “Forbes” list of leading men. What’s different this year is that for the first time 3 multimillionaire Indian actors are included in an ‘international’ top 10. And Jackie Chan of China ($50 million) is #2. Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, and Akshay Kumar are #7 ($33.5 million), #8 ($33.5 million), and # 9 ($32.5 million). They rank ahead of Mark Wahlberg at #10 ($32 million), Dwayne Johnson at #11 ($31.5 million), and Johnny Depp at #12 ($30 million).
– @Forbes
★ Author Michael D’Antonio’s biography of Donald Trump will be hitting bookshelves sooner than expected. The publisher, St Martin’s Press, has announced that “Never Enough: Donald Trump & The Pursuit of Success”, originally set for a January release, will now come out this Fall. The move is in response to “high demand and heightened interest in Republican presidential candidate Trump”. The book includes interviews with several of Trump’s children and his former wives, as well as The Donald himself. It’s now due to debut October 6th.
– EW.com
★ Brit actor Idris Elba (“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”, “The Wire”) is becoming the first solo male to grace the cover of “Maxim”, a magazine famous for its female photoshoots. Alba is featured on the front of the publication’s September issue. Editor-in-chief Kate Lanphear says: “For me, he was really the perfect embodiment of what I think the new ‘Maxim’ man is. He’s multi-dimensional, he’s complex, he’s sophisticated, but he’s down to Earth.”
– Racked.com
★ And actor Joel McHale has confirmed reports his cult comedy “Community” will not be returning for a 7th season. The program struggled with ratings and showrunner shake-ups throughout its first 5 seasons on NBC-TV and it was finally axed last year, then Yahoo! picked up the show for a 6th season last Fall. But in a new interview, McHale has stated for certain that the show has now wrapped for good. However, it may not be totally dead. Studio executives are said to still be optimistic about a possible movie version.
– “Metro Weekly”

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Daily Show With Jon Stewart” (Comedy Central) – Tonight’s 50-minute series finalé (with surprise guests) is preceded by an all-day marathon (9:30 am-9 pm) of selected episodes from Stewart’s 16-year late-night run. New host Trevor Noah debuts September 28th.
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Britney Spears (“Pretty Girls”). Rerun.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Sheila E (“Icon”). Rerun.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Tijuana Panthers (“NOBO”). Rerun.
• “Live With Kelly & Michael” (syndicated/CTV) – Rick Springfield (“Stripped Down”).
• “Meredith Vieira Show” (syndicated) – Christina Perri (“Head or Heart”). Rerun.
• “Queen Latifah” (syndicated) – TI (“Paperwork”). Rerun.
• “The Talk” (CBS) –  Rick Springfield again.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – ’80s singer Christopher Cross (“Best of Christopher Cross”).
• “The View” (ABC/CTV) – Ashley Monroe (“The Blade”).
• “Wendy Williams” (syndicated) – Nick Jonas (“Nick Jonas”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Beyoncé – It’s good to be the queen. She just bought a pair of heels for … $312,000. What are likely the most elaborate, most expensive shoes ever come from House of Borgezie.  They’re covered in 1,290 diamonds. Bey also picked up an $85,000 belt from the collection. She’s reportedly wearing it all in a new video that’ll be out this Fall. (Ah, tax write-off.)
• Calvin Harris – His new video for “How Deep Is Your Love” stars model-du-jour Gigi Hadid. For now, the video is available exclusively on Tidal, although the streaming service has previewed a few short clips on Twitter.
• Eminem – He tells “Men’s Journal” he used extreme exercise to overcome his drug addiction. At the height of his Vicodin-Valium jag he weighed 230 lbs and decided to run it off at the rate of … 17 miles-a-day.
• Iron Maiden – African nation Djibouti has relaunched its national airline with the backing of Cardiff Aviation, whose CEO is heavy metal frontman Bruce Dickinson (he used to pilot Iron Maiden’s plane during world tours). Air Djibouti, which went bankrupt in 2002, has restarted flights with a cargo plane carrying goods to Somalia.
• Lady Gaga – She’s set to focus on her next solo album now that her co-headlining tour and album cycle with Tony Bennett is complete. She’s captioned an Instagram selfie with “LG5 time”, seemingly referring to a 5th studio release.
• One Direction – The recently departed Zayn Malik has called off his engagement to Little Mix’s Perrie Edwards. Malik (22) reportedly told Edwards (22) the bad news 2 weeks ago. No surprise, she was not happy. They became engaged in August 2013.
• Outkast – Andre 3000 has been cast in Season 2 of the ABC-TV drama series “American Crime”, playing an architect whose son gets embroiled in a scandal at an elite private school. Series creator John Ridley also helmed the Jimi Hendrix bio-pic in which Andre 3000 starred.
• Tim McGraw – This week he sent a 15-second video clip of his new song “Top Of the World” to NASA and the International Space Station via Twitter.
• The Weeknd – He’s set to make his MTV Video Music Awards debut with his first-ever televised performance of the hit single “Can’t Feel My Face”. The awards show airs Sunday, August 30th from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Angry Birds” – Actor Josh Gad says the upcoming film adaptation of the mobile phone game is going to be “surprisingly charming”. It’s said to be subversive and funny and unexpectedly smart. Gad voices the yellow bird named ‘Chuck’. Also in the voice cast: Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Jason Sudeikis, Maya Rudolph, and Peter Dinklage. The film’s set to open next May.
• “Bridget Jones’s Baby” – Some of the first scenes for the eagerly-anticipated 3rd movie in the comedy series were shot at an Ed Sheeran concert at Croke Park in Dublin, Ireland last month. In one scene ‘Bridget’ is shown sitting on the shoulders of a mystery man in the audience, although star Renée Zellweger was nowhere to be seen as a stunt double was used.
• “La La Land” – “All of Me” singer John Legend is in negotiations to join the cast of this musical dramedy starring Ryan Gosling & Emma Stone. The pic is written & directed by Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash”). Gosling plays a jazz pianist and Stone an aspiring actress in the story, in which the duo fall in love but face difficulties as they become more successful.
• “Monty Python & The Holy Grail” – Though the classic comedy already celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year, a cinema re-release is being scheduled. 500 UK screens will show a sing-a-long version one-night-only on October 14th. There are also plans to bring the film back to theaters in the US and internationally this Fall. A Blu-ray edition is on the way as well.
• Untitled Woody Allen Film – The filmmaker’s new feature is set to co-star Anna Camp, Paul Schneider, Sari Lennick, and Stephen Kunken. Bigger names are in the supporting cast: Blake Lively, Bruce Willis, Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, and Parker Posey. No details about the yet-untitled feature have been revealed. Filming is set to begin this month in NYC and LA.

TRADING SHARES:
Amazon.com has updated a policy that limits how many people can share the benefits of each user’s Prime subscription. Originally, Amazon Prime members were allowed to share shipping benefits with up to 4 family members. The updated policy: “Free trial or paid Amazon Prime members can share certain Amazon Prime benefits with ONE other adult by forming an Amazon Household.” Also, both users must authorize each other to use their credit or debit cards. For families, up to 4 children can share benefits, with no accounts required. Prime membership costs $99 a year. Along with free shipping on most items and exclusive deals, a subscription also provides access to streaming video and music services, plus the Kindle lending library. (Will Netflix be next to limit access? Your 17 sharers would be ticked!)
– TechCrunch.com

RICHEST LIVING MUSICIANS IN 2015:
These net-worth numbers change on a regular basis, but here’s one recent rich-list ranking …
10. Mariah Carey … $510 million
9. Jay Z … $560 million
8. Bono … $600 million
7. Céline Dion … $630 million
6. Diddy … $700 million
5. Dr Dre … $780 million
4. Madonna … $800 million
3. Herb Alpert … $850 million (the trumpeter had 28 charted albums; co-founded A&M Records)
2. Paul McCartney … $1.2 billion
1. Andrew Lloyd Webber … $1.2 billion+ (the composer and stage musical impresario responsible for “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Cats”, “The Phantom Of the Opera”, etc)
– Luxpresso.com

HOLD THE SUGAR:
Come September 1st, when you walk into a Dairy Queen, you’ll find that soda pop is no longer the default option for the children’s meal, which will now come with milk or water. Observers say DQ’s move to eliminate sugary soft drinks from kids’ meals could signal real cultural change. Consider that as recently as 2012, Subway was the ONLY chain where sugary drinks did not come standard with kids’ meals. To be sure, soda is still available, and sugary drinks are still the default beverage for standard adult meals. But the changes in kids’ meals send a strong signal that fast food culture is evolving for the good. There may well come a time when soda with meals seems just plain strange. (Already does. Salad & cola anyone?)
– “USA Today”

NAILING IT:
A new trend in the nail industry is dividing opinion. ‘Bubble nails’ first appeared a few years ago, but they’ve really been getting serious Instagram attention in the last few weeks. Also referred to as ‘hump nails’ (if they boast an elongated tip), the trend involves sculpting acrylic gel onto the fingernail to create a dome shape which is then filed down to create a short, square and very arched shape. Typically, the bubbles are painted in bright bubble-gum colors and adorned with glitter, shimmer or, in some cases, fake pearls and gems. Reaction on social media has been quite vocal, and seems evenly divided between dissenters and those who think the fad is fab. One Instagram poster says the look is absolutely disgusting. Quote: “Who would want this on their hands?” (And how can you possibly pick up your car keys or spare change?)
– AFP RelaxNews

BS AMAZING FACT:
If you are a guy, you have a 1-in-3 chance of going bald by the time you are 30. By age 50, your odds increase to 1-in-2.
– List25.com

BS CHRONOMETER 08.06.15


TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1962 [53] Michelle Yeoh (Yeoh Chu-Kheng), Ipoh, Malaysia, movie actress (“Memoirs Of a Geisha”)/voice actress (“Kung Fu Panda”).  COMING UP: “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend” (2016).

1970 [45] M Night (Manoj Nelliyattu) Shyamalan, Mahé, India, movie director (“Unbreakable”, “The Sixth Sense”)/screenwriter (“Stuart Little”)

1972 [43] Geri Halliwell, Watford UK, former pop singer (Spice Girls-“Goodbye”, “Wannabe”)

1973 [42] Vera Farmiga, Clifton NJ, TV actress (“Bates Motel” since 2013)/movie actress (“Up In the Air”, “The Departed”)

1981 [34] Travie (Travis) McCoy, Geneva NY, pop singer (f/Bruno Mars-“Billionaire”)/alt-hip hop singer (Gym Class Heroes-“Clothes Off”)

1984 [31] Eric Roberts, Geneva NY, indie hip hop bassist-vocalist (Gym Class Heroes-“Cupid’s Chokehold”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Fresh Breath Day”, a gentle reminder to maintain oral hygiene. If you’re average, you have over 10 billion bacteria in your mouth right now. Some of them churn out stinky chemicals such as hydrogen sulphide, the same gas that gives rotten eggs their odor.

• “Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony” (‘Toro Nagashi’) at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, Japan, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the 1st atomic bomb by the US bomber ‘Enola Gay’ in 1945.

• “Root Beer Float Day”, saluting the yummy taste-treat that involves plopping ice cream into a flagon of root beer. Did you know root beer started out as a health tonic?

• “Wiggle Your Toes Day”, a chance to air out your piggies, wiggling them around for all to see. The best place to wiggle your toes on a hot August day is in a swimming pool. Or, sit on a dock and stick your wiggly digits in the water.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1996 [19] “A Game of Thrones”, an epic fantasy novel by George RR Martin, is published (basis of the mega-popular HBO-TV show that debuts in 2011)

2009 [06] Movie director John Hughes (“Sixteen Candles”, “Pretty in Pink”, “The Breakfast Club”, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”, “Home Alone”) dies of a heart attack at age 59 in NYC

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2004 [11] Funk legend Rick James (“Super Freak”) is found dead at age 56 in his LA home by a caretaker

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2012 [03] NASA’s ‘Curiosity’ rover lands on the surface of Mars

COMING UP . . .
[Fri] Homemade Pie Day
[Fri] International Beer Day
[Fri] Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day
[Fri] Professional Speakers Day
[Sat] International Cat Day
[Sat] Middle Child Day
This Week Is … Fraud Awareness Week
This Month Is … Goat Cheese Month

BULL’S BITS


BS THINGS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN USEFUL TO LEARN IN SCHOOL:
✓ How to cancel plans and shake off friends.
✓ How to leave group messages politely.
✓ How to interrupt people smoothly.
✓ How to tell when someone has a massive crush on you.
✓ How to send the perfect flirty text.
✓ How to fill awkward silences.
✓ How to dress ‘smart casual’.
✓ How to network.
✓ How to be tired at the time you’re meant to go to sleep.
✓ How to craft the perfect comeback.
✓ How to get cats you meet on the street to like you.
✓ How to be an adult.
– Adapted from BuzzFeed.com

BS WEB GOODIE:
Find out the #1 movie on the day you were born. Just enter the day, month, and year and you’ll get the movie title and be able to view it’s trailer.
NET: http://playback.fm/birthday-movie

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What’s the weirdest thing your pet has ever swallowed? Did you … er … get it back?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
I want patience … AND I WANT IT NOW!

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: If you own a home, there’s an 80% chance you have one of THESE.
Answer: A welcome mat.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Always remember you’re unique, just like everyone else.

Leave a comment