BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Riccardo Tisci has confessed he was surprised when actress Julia Roberts agreed to front his latest Givenchy campaign. The creative director of the Parisian-based label was unsure if the 47-year-old “Pretty Woman” star would accept his offer to be the face of his new Spring line as he had never seen her in ‘fashion imagery’ before. The new ad features a classically-styled Julia sporting a box jacket, lace shirt, and smart tuxedo dress and is set to appear in a number of magazines in March.
– “The Guardian”
★ Relatives of Sammy Cahn & Jule Styne are locked in a battle over royalties from the seasonal song “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”. The songwriting duo penned the tune back in 1945 and it’s since been recorded oodles of times by artists ranging from Bing Crosby to Michael Bublé. The estates of the songwriters – who both passed away in the early ’90s – are squabbling over royalties, so record label Warner/Chappell Music is refusing to pay either until an agreement is reached. Cahn’s widow Virginia is suing Warner for $2 million-plus.
– TMZ.com
★ And actor Cuba Gooding Jr is set to play OJ Simpson in an new FX TV series from “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy. The 10-episode miniseries will focus on the infamous 1994-95 trial, with Sarah Paulson (“American Horror Story”) playing the role of prosecutor Marcia Clark. The project marks the debut of Murphy’s “American Crime Story”, sort of a nonfiction version of HBO’s “True Detective”. The full title of the 1st season is “American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson”. It’s said to explore behind-the-scenes dealings on both sides of the court.
– “Entertainment Weekly”

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “BBC Music Awards” (BBC 1) – A new competitor to the “Brit Awards”, hosted by Radio 1 DJs Chris Evans & Fearne Cotton at Earl’s Court in London. Up for ‘British Artist Of the Year’ are David Bowie, Ed Sheeran, Elbow, Jungle, Royal Blood, and Sam Smith. Appearances by Clean Bandit, Coldplay, One Direction, and Paloma Faith.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Bahamas (“Bahamas is Afie”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Blake Shelton (“Bringing Back the Sunshine”).
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – Bob Mould (“Beauty & Ruin”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni1) – Sting (“The Last Ship”).
• “Queen Latifah” (syndicated) – Paul Stanley (KISS).
• “Tavis Smiley” (PBS) – R&B veteran Chaka Khan.
• “Today” (NBC) – This morning actors Jeremy Piven, Kate Beckinsale, Paula Patton, and Peter Krause announce nominations for the “Golden Globe Awards”. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s 72nd annual film & TV awards gala is January 11th, with Tina Fey & Amy Poehler co-hosting for a 3rd year in-a-row.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Rick Ross (“Hood Billionaire”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Avril Lavigne – She’s reportedly revealed to a fan that she’s suffering from undisclosed health issues. When  Billboard.com asked for a comment, her rep would not disclose anything about the illness or its severity.
• Band Aid 30 – Bob Geldof is now encouraging people to download the WholeWorldBand app and, by using its built-in camera and microphone, perform a line from “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” and post it on social media. They’re then asked to nominate 3 other people to do the same, sorta like the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ last Summer. Is this gonna work? Naw.
• Ed Sheeran – He and OneRepublic singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder have collaborated on a new song following their appearance on the same episode of “The X Factor” in the UK.
• Led Zeppelin – Heart singer Ann Wilson has offered Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones a little girl power as they mull over a Led Zep comeback, saying she wants to front the band. Robert Plant has made it clear he isn’t interested in returning as frontman for a reunion tour.
• Lenny Kravitz – He says he thinks women should be running the world because they are so much more sensible, have better intuition, and are ultimately stronger than men. And he’s not even selling anything!
• Lorde – Speaking about her enthusiasm for recycling junk, she’s admitted that she likes to go through other people’s curbside trash. She says she’s had some fantastic finds, including furniture, shoes, hats, and jackets. Guess this qualifies as ‘drive-by shopping’.
• One Direction – They’ve been named “Billboard” magazine’s ‘Artist of the Year 2014’, based on chart performance on the ‘Hot 100’ and ‘Billboard 200′ charts, plus their social, streaming, and boxscore data. Taylor Swift had the honors last year.
• Rihanna – Tonight she stages her 1st annual “Diamond Ball”, a black-tie fundraising event at The Vineyard in Beverly Hills CA benefitting The Clara Lionel Foundation. Jimmy Kimmel hosts; Brad Pitt introduces Rihanna’s performance. The event also includes a dinner and auction.
• Taylor Swift – On last night’s “South Park” episode, entitled “The Washington Redskins’ Go F— Yourself Holiday Special”, she was depicted as nervously sitting next to Bill Cosby on a sofa. The take-no-prisoners satire also featured holograms of Elvis Presley, Kurt Cobain, and Michael Jackson … as ‘Peter Pan’.
• U2 – Their controversial release “Songs Of Innocence” tops “Rolling Stone” magazine’s ‘Albums Of the Year’ ranking. The editors claim there was no bigger album in 2014. The rest of their top 5 includes Bruce Springsteen’s “High Hopes”, The Black Keys’ “Turn Blue”, St Vincent’s self-titled album, and Miranda Lambert’s “Platinum”.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Guardians Of the Galaxy 2” – 44-year-old director James Gunn says he is developing a new kind of story for the next instalment of the superhero movie. The sequel, due in May 2017, will delve deeper into the characters. The first film – which starred Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, and Vin Diesel – made over $770 million in worldwide box office.
• “Inferno” – Brit actress Felicity Jones (“Theory of Everything”) is in talks to join star Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard in a 3rd bigscreen adaptation of author Dan Brown’s mystery series. She’d play ‘Dr Sienna Brooks’ in the movie version of the 2013 novel, who helps Harvard symbologist ‘Professor Robert Langdon’ piece together his memories after suffering amnesia.
• “Minecraft” – Filmmaker Shawn Levy has dropped out of a live-action movie adaptation of the popular videogame. The “Night At the Museum” director signed on to direct the film in February, after it was acquired by Warner Bros, but has now exited due to creative differences. Studio bosses are hoping to announce a new director by early next year.
• “Nottingham & Hood” – Disney is considering a new adventure franchise centered on ‘Robin Hood’. A spec script by newcomer Brandon Barker is said to adapt the ‘Sherwood Forest’ stories closer in tone to “Pirates Of the Caribbean”. Disney last visited the ‘Hood’ in 1973 with an animated adaptation featuring a cast of woodland creatures.
• “Southside With You” – This drama follows the relationship between Barack Obama & future wife Michelle Robinson, who met when he had a Summer job in a Chicago law firm as a 1st-year Harvard student. Already a lawyer, Robinson was assigned to mentor him. Former soap star Tika Sumpter plays Michelle; the role of Obama isn’t yet cast. Filming begins in July.

SPIKING INTEREST:
A new study proves that high-heels really DO have power over guys. Scientists at the Université de Bretagne-Sud in France have found that men behave very differently toward women wearing heels. For instance: If a woman drops a glove on the street while wearing heels, she’s about 50% more likely to have a man fetch it for her than if she’s wearing flats. Another finding: A woman wearing heels is twice as likely to persuade men to stop and answer survey questions on the street. And a high-heeled woman in a bar waits half the time to get hit on by a man. (Christian Louboutin and Jimmy Choo make them seem sexy, but high-heels were originally worn by Egyptian butchers … to avoid treading in bloody offal.)
– AP

HOLIDAY DECORATING DON’TS:
Experts advise you avoid these common decorating mistakes for a festive and stress-free season …
✗ Don’t Go Overboard – Less is often far more. Sticking with simple decorations will save you time and money as well as avoid clutter.
✗ Don’t Expect Things to Be Perfect – Holidays are stressful enough. Recognize that no matter how much you plan ahead, something will go wrong. So take a deep breath and relax.
✗ Don’t Limit Yourself to Red & Green – Yes, it’s the classic color combination, but other hues like gold, pink, and navy blue can work too.
✗ Don’t Ignore the Powder Room – With company dropping in, give the guest bathroom a quick once-over. Try adding a candle or small bouquet of berries to add a festive touch.
✗ Don’t Use Disposables for Holiday Dinners – If there’s ever a time to break out the good china and linens, it’s now. A beautiful table makes for a memorable family meal.
✗ Don’t Expect Your Home to Mirror Your Pinterest Board – Don’t try to make your house look professionally decorated. Instead, make it look like you.
– Adapted from RedbookMag.com

TOP DOG NAMES OF 2014:
Would you name your dog ‘Kale?’ A new survey has found that food & drink names have become more popular for pups than pop culture-inspired names in 2014. ‘Ginger’, ‘Pepper’ and ‘Peanut’ take the top 3 spots in the food-name category, but monikers like ‘Coconut’, ‘Guinness’ and ‘Whiskey’ are also trending. The overall most popular pooch names of the year are ‘Max’ for males and ‘Bella’ for females. “Frozen” mania has also found its way into the doggy world: ‘Anna’, ‘Elsa’, ‘Hans’, and ‘Olaf’ have all seen a surge in 2014. Other trendy categories in canine names for the year include hi-tech (‘Google’, ‘Siri’, ‘Tesla’), sports (‘Jeter’, ‘Payton’), and “Star Wars” (‘Chewbacca’, ‘Leia’, ‘Yoda’). (“Chewy, where’d you hide your chewy?”)
– Rover.com.

THE SECRET TO SAWING LOGS:
Is your partner’s snoring driving you mad? Their tongue may be to blame. Until now, it was thought that a large neck was the problem, but a new study published in the journal “Sleep” has discovered that the tongues of many people who snore are extra-large, a phenomenon that occurs as a result of piling on pounds. It’s well-known that being overweight or obese increases the risk of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), which leads to snoring because the airway becomes blocked. But this is the first research to find a link between snoring and tongue-size. People with OSA have a higher percentage of tongue fat – especially at the base – which makes their tongues larger overall. (Gene Simmons must snore like a chainsaw.)
– DailyMail.co.uk

DID YOU KNOW?
German bosses are forbidden from interrupting an employee’s holiday or vacation with work calls.
– NPR.org

BS CHRONOMETER 12.11.14

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1944 [70] Brenda Lee (Tarpley), Lithonia GA, 4′-9″ oldies singer who was 13 when she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”/Country Music Hall of Fame (1998)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (2002)

1958 [56] Nikki Sixx (Frank Ferranno), San Jose CA, rock bassist (Motley Crue-“If I Die Tomorrow”, “Girls Girls Girls”)

1981 [33] Zacky Vengeance (Baker), Huntington Beach CA, metal rock guitarist-vocalist (Avenged Sevenfold-“So Far Away”, “Buried Alive”)

1984 [30] Xosha Roquemore, LA CA, TV actress (‘Tamra’ on “The Mindy Project” since 2013)/movie actress (“The Butler”, “Precious”)

1986 [28] Karla Souza, Mexico City, Mexico, TV actress (‘Laurel Castillo’ on “How to Get Away With Murder” 2014)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “International Mountain Day”, first declared by the UN in 2002 to draw attention to the important role that mountainous regions play in our water and food supply.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/d4wzrq5

• “Knitters Day”, honoring those who have a passion for needlework. Right about now knitters are working to finish up a special gift for a lucky loved one. (Homemade longjohns … wow!)

• “National Tango Day” in Argentina, particularly in Buenos Aires, where the classic dance was invented toward the end of the 19th century. (Everybody now! Dum, dum dum, dum, da-dadda dum dum, dum dum …)

• “UNICEF Anniversary”, commemorating the 1946 establishment of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2009 [05] Golf and media superstar Tiger Woods announces he’s taking an indefinite leave of absence in the wake of the scandal involving his extramarital affairs

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1964 [50] Soul-singing superstar Sam Cooke is shot and killed under mysterious circumstances at the Hacienda Hotel in Los Angeles CA

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2000 [14] 1st ‘Player-Owner’ in NHL history as Pittsburgh Penquins co-owner Mario Lemeiux announces he’s coming out of 3-plus-years of retirement to play hockey again

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1944 [70] Toronto ON is battered with its worst-ever blizzard in which 21 people die as a result of high winds and a 20-inch (51 cm) snowfall leading to near-zero visibility and massive snowdrifts

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] “Exodus: Gods & Kings”; “Inherent Vice”; “Top Five” open in movie theaters
[Fri] Billboard Women in Music Awards (NYC)
[Fri] “Marco Polo” debuts (Netflix)
[Fri] Ugly Christmas Sweater Day
[Fri] Poinsettia Day
[Sat] International Shareware Day
[Sun] “Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2014” (ABC)
This Week Is … Recipe Greetings For the Holidays Week
This Month Is … Stress-Free Family Holidays Month

BULL’S BITS

MORE APPROPRIATE ALTERNATIVE NAMES FOR EGG NOG:
✓ Christmas Cream
✓ Eggs: The Drink
✓ Congealed Dairy Product
✓ Alcoholic Egg Goop
✓ Beige Sugar Milk
✓ Drinkable Egg Syrup
✓ Holiday Chicken-Baby Refreshment
✓ Caloric Egg Slurry
✓ Melted Ice Cream With a Bonus of Raw Eggs
✓ Try-Not-to-Think-About-It-Too-Much Egg Cocktail
– Adapted from BuzzFeed.com

BS RANDOM JOKE:
I told my doctor I had fluid on my knee. He said, “You’re not aiming straight.”

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
Why did the Russian team arrive 12 days late for the 1908 London Olympics?
a. They were snowed in at the Moscow train station.
b. They were still using the old Julian calendar. [CORRECT. Most countries had long before adopted the Gregorian calendar.]
c. Someone didn’t get the memo.
– “Quite Interesting”

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What’s the best gag gift you’ve ever given?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: The average person will do THIS 3 times during this holiday season.
Answer: Give a gift that the recipient doesn’t really like.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Alcohol doesn’t solve any problems, but then again, neither does milk.