Tuesday, July 19, 2016 – Edition: #5777

Can You Believe This Sheet?

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Johnny Depp has doubled the asking price on his French estate. The 53-year-old actor wants circa $55 million for the Plan de la Tour compound, which is set on 37 acres of land and boasts more than a dozen buildings. Depp, who is in a bitter legal battle with estranged wife Amber Heard, first put the property up for sale last year but later took it off the market. Now it’s back on for twice as much and it is being sold fully furnished … down to the DVDs on the bookshelves. As well as all the buildings, it comes with 2 swimming pools, a gym, a skate park, a restaurant with a professional kitchen, a launderette, and a garage.
– Bang Showbiz
★ Steven Spielberg says he’s been rejected as director for a ‘James Bond’ film … twice. The legendary 69-year-old filmmaker offered his services to the British spy series in the 1970s, after the mega-success of his hit films “Jaws” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. But was turned down both times by Albert ‘Cubby’ Broccoli, late father of current ‘Bond’ producer Barbara Broccoli. Spielberg now jokes: ”Twice I tried to get on a ‘Bond’ film and now they can’t afford me. So Barbara, forget it!”
– BBC Radio 2
★ Carrie Fisher has blabbed that a major scene in the upcoming movie sequel “Star Wars” Episode VIII” involves the funeral of ‘Han Solo’. The 59-year-old actress plays ‘Princess Leia’, now known as ‘General Leia Organa’, in the sci-fi franchise. Fisher says she’s proud that her and Harrison Ford’s characters are central to the plot of the new trilogy due to the quest for power of their son ‘Kylo Ren’ (Adam Driver). The next film’s director Rian Johnson, has revealed that “Episode VIII” picks up from the precise point that “The Force Awakens” ends.
– Contactmusic.com
★ “Game Of Thrones” star Hafthor Bjornsson (Ser Gregor ‘The Mountain’ Clegane) has lost his title as “Europe’s Strongest Man”. The 27-year-old Icelandic strongman-turned-actor has held the title since 2014 but lost this year’s competition in Leeds UK to 21-year-old strength athlete Laurence Shahlaei from Swindon, England. He’s the 1st Englishman to take the title in 27 years. Hafthor was in contention until being bested by Laurence in the ‘Car Walk Event’, a contest to see who can pull a Volkswagen Beetle 20 meters (22 yards) the fastest. Laurence broke his own world record by doing the deed in just 11 seconds.
– WENN.com
★ And a sequel for the “Ghostbusters” reboot has already been confirmed despite a lot of online criticism and less-than-stellar box office results for the new film. A Sony Pictures honcho has confirmed that “Ghostbusters 2” is a go though it’s not yet been officially announced. The reboot, starring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, took in $46 million in its domestic opening weekend, and while that may not be as good as hoped, it seems it’s good enough to warrant another go at the franchise.
– WhatCulture.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “America’s Got Talent” (NBC/CityTV) – The judges push their favorites through to the next round; guest judge George Lopez.
• “Ellen DeGeneres Show” (syndicated/CTV2) – Fifth Harmony (“7/27”). Rerun.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Domo Genesis f/Anderson Paak (“Dapper”)
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Nothing but Thieves (“Nothing but Thieves”). Rerun.
• “Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS/M3) – Lewis Del Mar (“Loudy”).
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – Alessia Cara (“Know-It-All”).
• “Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS/Global) – Jenny Lewis & NAF (“Nice AF”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Lukas Graham (“Lukas Graham”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Carly Rae Jepsen – “Emotion” is on the shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize, awarded to the artist or group that created the best Canadian album of the previous year. The winner will be awarded $50,000 on September 19th at a gala in Toronto.
• Craig Morgan – The country singer has cancelled his remaining July concert dates due to last week’s death of his 19-year-old son Jerry Greer in a boating accident. A total of 9 shows have been axed to allow the family time to grieve.
• Drake – He’s returned to #1 on today’s new ‘Billboard 200’ chart with his album “Views”. It’s become the 10th album in the last 20 years to spend at least 10 weeks at the top. Last week’s #1 album, “California” by Blink-182, has slipped to #3.
• Katy Perry – Her new release “Rise” has been recorded as a theme song for this Summer’s
2016 Rio Games. It is the first new music from Perry since her 2013 album “Prism”. “Billboard” reports that “Rise” will be used extensively by NBC-TV throughout its Olympics coverage.
• Michael Jackson – In Dr Conrad Murray’s new book “This Is It”, out today, he claims the ‘King of Pop’ was introduced to prescription drugs by late screen star Elizabeth Taylor, and that’s what put him ”on the road to addiction”. It’s also claimed that Michael was given injections at the age of 13 to delay puberty and keep his voice high.
• Radiohead – They’re asking for fan submissions for the next video from the new album “‘A Moon Shaped Pool”. Fans are asked to post a 1-minute clip of their ideas for the track “Daydreaming”. Closing date for submissions is July 30th.
• Rob Zombie / KoRn – Tonight in Englewood CO they commence a co-headlining tour that has dates scheduled through September 3rd in Bristow VA.
• Taylor Swift – She doesn’t have any new recordings; she isn’t on tour; and hasn’t made any official public appearances. Yet she’s still unavoidable as the Internet is in a tizzy over her love life (real or imagined) and creative rivalries (also real or imagined). It almost looks as if it is just a series of unscripted events, except every time the story starts to falter a juicy little morsel slips out to stir the pot again.

THIS WEEK’S VIDEO RELEASES:
Coming out on DVD, Netflix, Google Play and/or other video providers …
• “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” ( PG-13 Action Adventure ): With ‘Batman’ and ‘Superman’ fighting each other, a new threat, ‘Doomsday’, is created by ‘Lex Luthor’. The superheroes must set aside their differences and, with the help of ‘Wonder Woman’, to stop ‘Doomsday’ from destroying ‘Metropolis’. Stars Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams.
• “Elvis & Nixon” ( R-Rated Historical Comedy ): The untold true story behind a 1970 meeting between the King of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley (played by Michael Shannon), and US president Richard Nixon (“House of Cards” prez Kevin Spacey). The odd get-together resulted in a memorable photograph that has become the most requested in the US National Archives.
• “Miles Ahead” ( R-Rated Musical Biography ): Don Cheadle directs and stars in this exploration of the life and music of jazz immortal Miles Davis. Co-stars Emayatzy Corinealdi, Ewan McGregor, Michael Stuhlbarg. The movie takes place in New York City but has actually been filmed entirely in Cincinnati OH.
• “The Perfect Match” ( R-Rated Romantic Comedy ): R&B singer Cassie (last name Ventura) gets her first starring role opposite former E! News anchor Terrence J (last name Jenkins) in this rom-com that offers a slight twist … it’s the guy who gets to experience the angst when his love interest isn’t quite ready for commitment. Co-stars Paula Patton, Kali Hawk.
• Also being released: “Bitten: The Final Season” (TV); “The Magicians: Season 1” (TV); “The 100: The Complete 3rd Season” (TV); “Orphan Black: Season 4” (TV); “Person of Interest: The Complete 5th & Final Season” (TV); “The Return of the Living Dead Collector’s Edition” (Special Release); and “Royal Pains: Season 8” (TV).

THE ORIGIN OF EXPRESSIONS:
• The saying, “It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye”, is from Ancient Rome. The only rule during wrestling matches was ‘no eye gouging’. Everything else was allowed. So the only way to be disqualified was to poke someone’s eye out.
• The expression “What in tarnation” is a contraction of the original epithet, “What in eternal damnation”.
• The saying, “It’s so cold out there it could freeze the balls off a brass monkey”, comes from the days when cannonballs were stacked in a pyramid formation called a ‘brass monkey’. When it became extremely cold, they would crack and break off.
– Phrases.org.uk

HISTORY REWRITTEN:
Bill Nye (‘The Science Guy’) says Ark Encounter, Kentucky’s new $100-million Bible-theme attraction is more disturbing than he thought it would be. The park features a replica of Noah’s Ark which is now the largest timber-frame structure in the world. It’s exhibits suggest that the world was created 6,000 years ago and that dinosaurs were still roaming when Noah (who park organizers say lived to be 950), built the ark to house 2 of each animal. Nye claims every single science exhibit (located on the replica ark’s 3rd deck) is wrong. He’s not busting anyone’s chops about religion, he says, but worries that the hundreds of school kids who’ve already visited are being fed false information. (He’s not a total naysayer … he actually helped the park get its funding.)
– “Washington Post”

WACKY PRODUCT LABELS:
• [Blow Dryer] “Do not use while sleeping.”
• “Every rectal thermometer made by Q-Tip is personally tested.”
• [Komatsu Floodlight] “This floodlight is capable of illuminating large areas, even in the dark.”
• [Liquid Plumber] “Do not reuse the bottle to store beverages.”
• [Clairol Herbal Essence Maximum Hold Hairspray] “Avoid smoking until hair is dry.”
• [Baby Oil] “Keep out of reach of children.”
• [Rowenta Iron] “Never iron clothes on the body.”
• [Dial Soap] “Directions: Use like regular soap.”
• [Tesco’s Tiramisu Desert] “Do not turn upside down.”
(Printed on the bottom of the box.)
– Sourced from Forbes.com

HEY, YOU MISSED A SPOT:
When it comes to applying sunscreen, you want to get it right. Soon there will be a gadget that can help you do just that. Sunscreenr by Voxelight is a portable viewer that houses a UV camera. When looking through Sunscreenr, areas of skin to which UV ray-absorbing sunscreen has been applied show up as black, while areas without sunscreen are lighter. This allows you to see what’s covered and what is not. Unfortunately, the gadget isn’t ready to help you stay protected this Summer … it’s still in development. It is, however, currently available for pre-order at $93 on crowdfund site Indiegogo. The working prototype is a small black box, but Sunscreenr will ultimately resemble a small keychain and sell for about $20. (It helps you avoid seeing red.)
– Mashable.com

BS AMAZING TREE FACTS:
• It would take 300 years to catalogue all the tree species in the Amazon rainforest.
– BBC Science
• Every English elm is descended from a single tree imported by the Romans.
– “Nature”

BS CHRONOMETER 07.19.16

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1947 [69] Brian May, Hampton UK, classic rock guitarist-songwriter (Queen-“Bohemian Rhapsody”, “We Will Rock You”)

1974 [42] Jason McGerr, Seattle WA, indie-rock drummer (Death Cab for Cutie-“You Are a Tourist”, “Soul Meets Body”)

1976 [40] Benedict Cumberbatch, London UK, TV actor (“Sherlock” since 2010)/movie actor (“The Imitation Game”, “12 Years a Slave”) UP NEXT: “Doctor Strange”, opening in November.

1982 [34] Jared Padalecki, San Antonio TX, TV actor (‘Sam Winchester’ on “Supernatural” since 2005) COMING UP: “Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life”, out November 22nd.

1983 [33] Trai Byers, Kansas City KS, TV actor (‘Andre Lyon’ on “Empire” since 2015)/movie actor (“Selma”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Buck Moon”, the Full Moon of July, so-named for the season when buck deer develop new antlers. It’s variously known as “Hay Moon”, “Thunder Moon”, and “Wort Moon”.

• “Flight Attendant Safety Professionals Day”. In celebration, please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Also make sure your seat back and folding trays are in their full upright position. And please turn off all personal electronic devices.

• “Stick Your Tongue Out Day”, for some long-forgotten reason. But now that you have it out, try rolling it into a cylinder … only 1-in-14 of us can do that!

• “Triple Play Day”, marking the 1st MLB unassisted triple play, which was accomplished on this day in 1909 by one Neal Ball. It’s one of the rarest events in baseball.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
1961 [55] TWA (Trans World Airlines) shows the first-ever ‘In-Flight Movie’ (“In Love Possessed”, starring Lana Turner & Efrem Zimbalist Jr)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2003 [13] Thousands of fans join the Miami FL funeral procession of Latin music legend Celia Cruz

2010 [06] Ozzy Osbourne and his former Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi ‘amicably’ settle a long-running legal dispute over the use of the group’s name

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2003 [13] During a 14-hour surgery at Vienna’s General Hospital, a 42-year-old Austrian man receives the world’s 1st ‘Transplanted Tongue’

COMING UP . . .
[Wed] International Cake Day
[Wed] World Jump Day
[Thurs] Country Jam USA begins (Eau Claire WI)
[Fri] Way Home Music & Arts Fest begins (Barrie ON)
This Week Is … Space Week
This Month Is … Tahiti Awareness Month

BULL’S BITS

TONIGHT’S HIGHLIGHTS AT THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION:
• UFC 201 is staged on the street in front of the arena, with 800 protesters vs 2,700 cops.
• “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung by Kid Rock (f/Ted Nugent producing rocket SFX).
• Opening speech by the robot baby from “American Sniper”.
• Greetings from high-profile Republicans who refuse to show up, told through the art of shadow puppetry.
• Mike Pence is allowed to be onstage during a Chuck Norris film-clip montage, if Mr Trump feels like it.
• Chris Christie reenacts Mr Trump’s favorite scenes from “Coach”.
• A donkey piñata is lowered, which everyone gets to huck golf balls at.
• Mike Ditka’s PowerPoint presentation about football studio analysts he’s better than.
• Shirtless speech by Vladimir Putin, followed by a weightlifting demonstration.
• Mr Trump finally speaks, offending Lithuanians, Greeks, and the Portuguese among others.
• A “YUGE” indoor fireworks display, setting the Quicken Loans Arena ablaze.
• Presumed VP nominee Pence is allowed to solicit attendees for a ride home.
– Adapted from McSweeneys.net

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
I have to get up with the chickens. And believe me, when that alarm goes off they get a little testy.

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
• Which part of you renews itself every 64 days?
a. Your eyebrows. [CORRECT. How come (co-host) is still drawing them on?]
b. Your skin.
c. Your conscience.

• Which do people in a strange Malaysian cult worship?
a. A NY Yankees ball cap.
b. A Siamese cat with different colored eyes.
c. A giant teapot. [CORRECT]
– “Quite Interesting”

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: According to a recent survey, the average person does THIS about 6 times a month.
Answer: Goes to a fast-food restaurant.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Any philosophy that can be put ‘in a nutshell’ belongs there.