BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ “Game Of Thrones” fans were left reeling after Kit Harington’s character ‘Jon Snow’ was stabbed to death in the final episode of Season 5 last month. Now David Nutter, who directed the key episode, has revealed he’s been grilled about the killing by many, including “GoT”-lover Barack Obama. The news comes amid a slew of rumors suggesting ‘Snow’ is set to be resurrected in the upcoming Season 6 after Harington was spotted arriving in Belfast, Northern Ireland over the weekend just as filming for the next season is getting underway there.
– “Entertainment Weekly”
★ The home of late Hollywood legend Lauren Bacall has been sold for $23 million. Her apartment in NYC’s famous Dakota building went on the market for approximately $26 million in November and now a mystery buyer has snapped up the pad for $3 million less than the asking price. Bacall purchased the sprawling suite for $28,000 in 1961, 4 years after her partner Humphrey Bogart died. She lived at the property with her children and 2nd husband, actor Jason Robards, and remained there until her death last August at age 89.
– “New York Daily News”
★ And emoji are about to get a bigscreen upgrade, as an animated emoji movie is now in the works. After a 3-studio bidding war over the project, Sony Pictures Animation emerged as the winner over Warner Bros and Paramount, but there’s gossip that another emoji pitch is getting shopped around Hollywood soon. Since there are no underlying rights to purchase, the colorful icons are up for grabs. So far there’s no title, no script, and no cast. Who do you think should provide voices for ‘Anguished Face’, ‘Unamused Face’, and ‘Disappointed But Relieved Face’?
– Deadline.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Hippo Campus (“Bashful Creatures”). Rerun.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Meghan Trainor (“Title”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Hundred Waters (“Moon Rang Like a Bell”). Rerun.
• “Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS/M3) – Life of Dillon (“Prologue”).
• “The Real” (syndicated) –  Estelle (“True Romance”). Rerun.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Sage the Gemini f/Nick Jonas (“Good Thing”).
• “Wayward Pines” (FOX/CityTV) – The 1st-season finalé of this spooky show about a bizarre town where you can’t trust anybody, starring Matt Dillon.

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Blake Shelton – Following his split from wife Miranda Lambert, he’s said to be focusing on work on the set of “The Voice” (NBC) as filming wraps up later this week. An inside source tells “People” magazine, “He has been as engaged and friendly as always.”
• Chris Brown – He’s reportedly ramped up security with 24-hour guards since his home in California’s San Fernando Valley was raided by thieves who forced his aunt into a closet before looting money and electronics. He’s also said to be limiting the number of house guests.
• Evanescence – Amy Lee and her bandmates are set to play gigs in Dallas TX, Nashville TN, and Los Angeles in November, as well as at Ozzfest Japan on November 21st. It’s been 3 years since their last run of gigs.
• James Blake – The 26-year-old musician has announced his upcoming 3rd studio album is titled “Radio Silence” and features contributions from Kanye West and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. His last album, 2013’s “Overgrown”, was nominated for the UK’s prestigious Mercury Prize.
• Mariah Carey – She says her shoe closet is her “favorite room in the house”. An Instagram posting reveals she has at least 4 shelves for knee-high boots … and 18 for gold heels.
• One Direction – Niall Horan is said to be seeing one Raquelle Stevens, to whom he was introduced by mutual friend Selena Gomez. Horan has previously been linked to Brit singer Ellie Goulding and Victoria’s Secret model Barbara Palvin.
• St Vincent – She & model-actress Cara Delevingne have reportedly called it quits after 8 months together, according to “NY Post”. But the news comes just after Delevingne gifted the singer with an Airline Twin Tone guitar signed by her hero, David Bowie. So who knows?
• Taylor Swift – She’s launching her own fashion line of Taylor-branded tops, sweatshirts, and dresses available exclusively at online Chinese retailer JD.com. It’s launching a sales platform called ‘US Mall’, which promises to sell authentic American products to Chinese consumers.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Collateral Beauty” – Producers are hoping Johnny Depp will step in to fill the lead role vacated by Hugh Jackman due to his commitment to “X-Men: Apocalypse”. The story centers on a NYC advertising executive who is plunged into a deep depression following a personal tragedy. Jason Segel and Rooney Mara co-star. Production had been due to begin this Fall.
• “Genies” – Disney is reportedly working on another live-action version of one of its animated hits, this one a prequel to “Aladdin”, re-telling the classic story brought to the screen in 1992. It also explores the back-story of how the wish-granting, friendly blue ‘Genie’ ended up being trapped in a lamp. The comedy-adventure is still in the early stages of development.
• “Passengers” – Michael Sheen (“Masters of Sex”) is joining previously signed Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt in this futuristic sci-fi film set on a spacecraft where thousands of passengers are in cryogenic sleep while heading to a new planet. A love story develops when one passenger awakens 90 years before the rest and decides to awaken a female passenger.
• “Star Wars: Episode VIII” – Benicio Del Toro is reportedly in early talks with Disney and Lucasfilm to play the villain in the next installment of the sci-fi franchise. Rian Johnson is directing Star Wars: Episode VIII, which is due to begin filming later this year. It’s slated for a May 2017 release. “Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens” debuts this December 18.
• “USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage” – The late Paul Walker’s 27-year-old brother Cody (who filled in for several scenes in “Furious 7”) has been cast in his first major film role, alongside Nicolas Cage. The WW2 drama tells the true story of Capt Charles Butler McVay, whose ship was attacked by a Japanese submarine in 1945. Filming is now underway for a 2016 opening.

WORDS TO WOODS:
Some people talk to their plants. In Melbourne, Australia they email the trees. This has become possible thanks to a decision to map every tree in the city and give it a unique ID number in order to manage an urban forest in decline. The idea was to enable residents to email if a tree was dropping limbs or in a severe state of decline; then arborists could easily locate it and intervene. But about 3,000 emails have been sent to individual trees over the past 2 years, many of them very personal messages. A few samples …
• “Today I was struck, not by a branch, but by your radiant beauty. You must get these messages all the time. You’re such an attractive tree.”
• “I’m sitting indoors near you and I noticed on the urban tree map you don’t have many friends nearby. I think that’s sad so I want you to know I’m thinking of you.”
• “Dearest Golden Elm: You are the most beautiful tree in the city and I love you. It always makes me so happy to see you standing there minding your own business.”
Soon there could be a lot more emails. City Council believes planting an additional 3,000 trees per year will help bring down Melbourne’s sizzling Summer temperatures. (Forget email, they’re going to need a dating app.)
– “BBC News Magazine”

WHOSE NETFLIX PASSWORD ARE YOU USING?
Last week, Netflix announced it had reached 65.6 million subscribers worldwide. But the company makes it easy to sign multiple people in to a single account. According to some analysts, this account sharing might be leaving hundreds-of-millions of dollars on the table. Results of a new (unscientific) poll about Netflix sharing …
✓ 42% of respondents are shelling out for their own account.
✓ 31% use an account belonging to a family member.
✓ 11% sign on using the account information of a friend.
✓ 7% get Netflix thanks to a boyfriend/girlfriend.
✓ 2% share with a roommate.
✓ 2% use the password of a friend of a friend.
(And .0058% get it from “My friend’s aunt’s ex-husband, the plumber guy.”)
– Condensed from BuzzFeed News

TOP DISHWASHER TIPS:
• To save water and electricity do not use your dishwasher until you have a full load.
• The perfect temperature for washing dishes is 60 C (140 F). Check your manual to find which setting gets closest to this.
• A recent study has found the best way to load a dishwasher is by stacking plates in a circle around the cutlery basket.
• Don’t overcrowd the dishwasher. Make sure there is space between plates and ensure anything facing downward can still be sprayed with water.
• Place cups at an angle so water can run off.
• Don’t put crystal glasses in the dishwasher. They’ll crack.
• Position sharp knives point-down for safety.
• Prevent dripping on clean dishes by emptying the bottom rack first.
(And what’s your best dishwasher tip?)
– @MailOnline

YOUR PHONE KNOWS IF YOU’RE DOWN IN THE DUMPS:
The more time you spend on your smartphone, the more likely you are to be depressed. That’s the conclusion of new Northwestern University research which shows that phone data can predict with 87% accuracy whether or not a user has depressive symptoms. Results show that depressed people spend an average of 68 minutes using their phones each day, while people without depression only spend about 17 minutes on the phone. The study doesn’t track what people do on their phones, just whether or not they’re using them. Researchers note that when people are depressed they tend to avoid tasks, and using phone apps may provide a handy diversion from the reality of what they need to be doing. (What you need to be doing is … putting the freaking phone down!!!!)
– TIME.com

DID YOU KNOW?
“Minions” in the movies are all male because their creator, Pierre Coffin, decided they were too stupid to be female.
– TheWrap.com

BS CHRONOMETER 07.23.15

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1961 [54] Woody Harrelson, Midland TX, movie actor (“Hunger Games” films, “No Country For Old Men”)/TV actor (“True Detective” 2014, “Cheers” 1985-93)

1965 [50] Slash (Saul Hudson), London UK, rock guitarist (ex-Velvet Revolver-“Slither”, ex-Guns N’ Roses-“Sweet Child O’ Mine”)

1971 [44] Alison Krauss, Decatur IL, country/bluegrass musician-singer-songwriter (“Paper Airplane”, w/Robert Plant-“Raising Sand”)/27 Grammys, more than any other female artist

1976 [39] Jon Gallant, Mississauga ON, rock bassist (Billy Talent-“Stand Up & Run”, “Rusted From the Rain”)

1980 [35] Michelle Williams, Rockford IL, R&B/dance music singer (“The Greatest”)/pop singer (Destiny’s Child-“Say My Name”)

1982 [33] Paul Wesley (Wasilewski), New Brunswick NJ, TV actor (‘Stefan Salvatore/Silas’ on “The Vampire Diaries” since 2009)

1989 [26] Daniel Radcliffe, London UK, movie actor (“Trainwreck”, “Harry Potter” films)/Broadway actor (“Equus”)

1990 [25] Neil Perry, Ridgeland MS, country music drummer (The Band Perry -“Better Dig Two”, “If I Die Young”)

BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Collingwood Elvis Festival” through Sunday in Collingwood ON, which culminates with one of the largest Elvis tribute artist competitions anywhere. Why an Elvis fest here? Something to attract Summer visitors to this ski resort.
NET: http://www.collingwoodelvisfestival.com

• “Great Texas Mosquito Festival” through Saturday in Clute TX, home of the world’s largest mosquito, ‘Willie Man Chew’. Participants put on their bug repellent and celebrate with the ‘Mr & Mrs Mosquito Legs Contest’ and a ‘Mosquito-Calling Contest’. This year’s entertainment includes David Allan Coe and Jamey Johnson.
NET: http://mosquitofestival.com

• “Hot Enough For Ya? Day”, when it should be legal to assault anyone who asks you that overused, plain-as-the-end-of-your-sweat-dripping-nose question.

• “Lumberjack World Championships” through Saturday in Hayward WI, where lumberjacks and lumberjills from around-the-world, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the USA, compete in events such as ‘Logrolling’, ‘Single Buck’, ‘Speed Climb’, and ‘Underhand Chop’. Some sounds of the competitions here …
NET: http://www.lumberjackworldchampionships.com

• “Vanilla Ice Cream Day”, celebrating the favorite ice cream flavor of the masses … by far.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2007 [08] Comedian Drew Carey is signed to replace retiring game show legend Bob Barker on CBS-TV’s “The Price is Right”

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2001 [14] 3 years after the death of 1st wife Linda, Paul McCartney becomes engaged to former model & activist Heather Mills (marriage lasts just 4 years)

2011 [04] Brit singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse dies of alcohol poisoning (her album “Back to Black” subsequently becomes the UK’s best-selling album of the 21st century)

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2003 [12] US Registry of Historic Places declares Memphis, Tennessee’s Sun Studios a historic landmark (early recording home of BB King, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, etc)

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2000 [15] Tiger Woods wins the “British Open” to become the youngest golfer (24) to win a career ‘Grand Slam’ (The Masters, PGA Championship, US Open, and British Open)

COMING UP . . .
[Fri] “Pixels”; “Southpaw” open in movie theaters
[Fri] WayHome Music & Arts Festival opens (Barrie ON)
[Fri] Newport Folk Festival opens (Newport RI)
[Fri] Fuji Rock Festival begins (Japan)
[Fri] Tequila Day
[Sat] Day Of the Cowboy
[Sun] “I Am Cait” reality TV series premieres (E!)
This Week Is … Restless Leg Syndrome Education & Awareness Week
This Month Is … Hot Dog Month

BULL’S BITS

BS  SIGNS YOU HAVE A CRAPPY SUMMER JOB:
✗ The uniform includes a name tag, a hairnet, and an orange vest with a fluorescent yellow ‘X’.
✗ Each day begins with the North Korean pledge of allegiance.
✗ They make everyone share the whistle.
✗ A sign in the restroom reads: ‘Employees Must Wash Each Other’.
✗ Your parents lie and tell people you’re temporarily working as a stripper.
✗ A big part of your day involves dodging Federales and the opposing cartel.
✗ Even the interns berate you with “Out of the way, loser!”
✗ To go home at the end of the day you have to escape.

BS RANDOM JOKE:
What has four legs and an arm? A happy pit bull.

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ How do you deal with your car’s unbearably hot steering wheel in mid-Summer?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: It’s estimated there are approximately a half-million tweets about THIS each day.
Answer: The weather.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
A fool and his money can throw one hell of a party.