Thursday, November 17, 2016 – Edition: #5853

Sheet Happens!

BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ Actress Carrie Fisher waited almost 40 years to reveal a truly shocking secret … she thought no one knew she and Harrison Ford had an affair on the set of “Star Wars”. In her new memoir, “The Princess Diarist” (out November 22nd), the actress finally admits she dated Ford, who was married at the time, for about 3 months while they were filming in London. From the limited excerpts released so far, it sounds like Ford – then 34 – and Fisher – 19 – basically got wasted and messed around a bunch. Fisher claims in the book that Ford wasn’t that great in bed but she thought maybe he would leave his wife for her. (He didn’t.)
– RadarOnline.com
★ JJ Abrams is producing a Broadway comedy. The 50-year-old filmmaker is best known for directing sci-fi movies like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Star Trek” but he’s now turning his talents to comedy as he takes on “The Play That Goes Wrong”. Originally produced for audiences in London’s West End, the play centers around an amateur actors group who attempt to perform a 1920s murder mystery with disastrous – and hilarious – consequences. The Broadway production is opening in April, starring the original (no-name) West End cast.
– Bang Showbiz
★ And Brit film director Reg Traviss, who was in a relationship with Amy Winehouse at the time of her death, is re-releasing his critically-panned gangster film starring Prince Harry’s girlfriend, Meghan Markle. In the 2015 film “Anti-Social”, Markle plays a fashion model who lures a former bad-boy into a whirlwind romance. The gritty film, based on 3 real-life London crimes, was briefly released last year in just 40 cinemas. Traviss says his new ‘special edition’ is titled “Anti-Social: A Way of Life”. (It should be called “Glomming on to a Celebrity to Make a Buck.)
– Telegraph.co.uk

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Clipping (“Splendor & Misery”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Jeezy f/French Montana (“Going Crazy”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Explosions In the Sky (“The Wilderness”).
• “Latin Grammy Awards” (Univision) – The 17th annual gala, live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas NV. Julio Reyes Copello, Djavan, Fonseca, Jesse & Joy, and Ricardo López Lalinde lead nominations with 4 apiece. Jennifer Lopez is among performers.
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – Miranda Lambert (“The Weight of These Wings”, out Friday).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• David Bowie – According to “The Guardian”, musicians around-the-world will celebrate what would have been his 70th birthday on January 8th. An event featuring actor Gary Oldman and some of Bowie’s previous band members has already been announced for London.
• Icona Pop – The Swedish electro-pop duo once shared a house with Oscar-winning actress Alicia Vikander and singer Tove Lo. Located on London’s trendy Portobello Road, the flat was anything but posh. It had rats, and so little heat the girls all slept in their Winter clothes.
• Justin Bieber – An ad posted on social media asked for 8 girls to accompany him on a night out following his recent concert in Prague, Czech Republic. The 22-year-old is believed to have invited 6 of the girls back to his hotel suite to enjoy an ‘after-party’.
• Muse – Frontman Matt Bellamy has essentially confirmed via Twitter that the Brit rock trio will be playing “Lollapalooza 2017” (August 3rd-6th). It would be Muse’s 3rd performance at the mammoth annual Chicago event.
• New Kids On the Block – Jonathan Knight has announced he’s engaged to his longtime boyfriend, personal trainer Harley Rodriguez. The couple, who met in 2008, has yet to reveal a wedding day but they’ll have to fit it in around New Kids On the Block’s upcoming joint tour with Boyz II Men and Paula Abdul. The “Total Package Tour” kicks off next May in Columbus OH.
• Pete Doherty – After being closed for a year, Paris, France music venue The Bataclan re-opened its doors last week with Sting performing. Tonight it’s the Brit rocker (formerly of the Libertines and Babyshambles), who’s most famous for once dating model Kate Moss.
• Rihanna – Her entire discography is being released on vinyl in a new box set next month. All 8 of her albums will be released across 15 vinyl records, alongside a 186-page hardcover book. The new box set arrives on December 16th.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Brother Orange” – “Big Bang Theory” actor Jim Parsons is starring in this movie about the Internet phenomenon revealed by BuzzFeed editor Matt Stopera, who had his iPhone stolen at a NYC bar in 2014. The phone made its way to China and a year later pictures from it began appearing of a man standing in front of an orange tree. A widespread Internet search ensued.
• “Jumanji” – ‘The Sexiest Man Alive 2016’ Dwayne Johnson has announced his upcoming reboot is being delayed 5 months until the holiday season next year. The movie is being billed as a sequel to the 1995 Robin Williams action-comedy of the same name. Johnson stars in the new version, alongside Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas.
• “Letters From Rosemary” – Emma Stone is playing Rose Marie (Rosemary) Kennedy, older sister of US president John F Kennedy, who at age 23 received one of the first-ever prefrontal lobotomies in a bid to cure her of mental illness. Broadway director Sam Gold is making his feature film directorial debut on the project which is still in development.
• “The Man Who Invented Christmas” – Former “Downton Abbey” actor Dan Stevens has landed the role of a young Charles Dickens in this film which tells the story of how the famous author created “A Christmas Carol”. Also aboard are Christopher Plummer as ‘Scrooge’ and Jonathan Pryce as Dickens’ father. The movie is scheduled to for the 2017 holiday season.
• “Tangerine” – Scarlett Johansson is set to star in the screen adaptation of Christine Mangan’s debut novel, which will be adapted by George Clooney and Smokehouse Pictures. The story is set in 1950s Morocco and follows 2 women whose lives intersect in deadly ways. Neither further casting information nor filming & release dates have yet been announced.

PRESERVING YOUR MEMORIES:
Google’s new PhotoScan app promises to help you never lose a family memory again. The new app scans and digitizes old prints without the glare and hassle that comes with using a digital scanner. Here’s how it works: you place the photo in the frame and take a picture. The app then guides you to move the camera around 3 different dots. The end result is a photo that’s stitched together and eliminates glare. You can also edit the photo and make adjustments before saving it to your Camera Roll and the Google Photos app. It’s available free for both iOS and Android. (At last, you can get rid of those dusty old photo albums that are junking up your closet.)
– PopSugar.com

YOUNG & RICH:
A new ranking of the highest-earning stars under age 30, based on earnings over the past year before subtracting taxes and management fees …
1. Taylor Swift ($170 million)
2. One Direction ($110 million)
3. Soccer star Lionel Messi ($81.5 million)
4. Adele ($80.5 million)
5. Rihanna ($75 million)
6. Justin Bieber ($56 million)
7. Tennis player Novak Djokovic ($56 million)
8. NBA star Kevin Durant ($56 million)
9. The Weeknd ($55 million)
10. Golfer Jordan Spieth ($53 million)
– Forbes.com

SAVED BY POKÉMON:
Pokémon Go and similar mobile games could be a force for good during emergencies. Picture this: A major hurricane strikes the East Coast, and Pokémon Go switches into ‘Red Cross mode’. Instead of hunting down virtual monsters, users are rewarded for donating blood, evacuating affected areas, handing out emergency supplies, making donations, and offering temporary housing. What’s called ‘Gamification’ has already been shown to motivate people to do things they wouldn’t do otherwise, from recovering from injury, to learning a language, to reducing electricity usage. So it’s thought the same idea could be used to encourage emergency response tasks when disaster strikes. (If we need a game to motivate us to rescue people, we’re in deep doo-doo.)
– “Smithsonian Magazine”

FANS GO TO ‘WESTEROS’:
HBO is hosting a series of interactive “Game of Thrones”-themed events entitled “Game of Thrones: Season 6 – Behind the Scenes”. The first opens Friday & Saturday in NYC. Next week it travels to Chicago, and in December it arrives in LA. The promotional event offers 5 different experiences: virtual-reality battle training in the ‘Castle Black’ courtyard; VR views of memorable scenes like ‘The Battle Of the Bastards”; standing inside the burning ‘Temple of the Dosh Khaleen’ via green-screen technology; a behind-the-scenes look at how the show’s visual effects are created; and a display of “GoT” costumes and props. You can even sit on the ‘Iron Throne’. (Hopefully, the event expands to other markets in the future.)
– MentalFloss.com

DID YOU KNOW?
Lightning bolts can cover a horizontal distance of 200 miles (322 km).
– “Smithsonian Magazine”

BS CHRONOMETER 11.17.16

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1942 [74] Martin Scorsese, Queens NY, movie director (“Shutter Island”, “GoodFellas”)/2007 Academy Award (“The Departed”)/TV producer (“Boardwalk Empire”)

1944 [72] Danny DeVito, Asbury Park NJ, 5′-1″ ad actor (Nespresso)/TV actor (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” since 2006)/movie actor (“Get Shorty”)/movie producer (“Pulp Fiction”)

1944 [72] Lorne Michaels (Lipowitz), Toronto ON, TV producer (“Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” since 2014, “Late Night with Seth Meyers” since 2014, “Saturday Night Live” since 1975)/movie producer (“Mean Girls”)/Canada’s Walk of Fame (2003)

1977 [39] Aaron Lines, Fort McMurray AB, country singer (“Cheaper to Keep Her”, “You Can’t Hide Beautiful”)

1978 [38] Rachel McAdams, London ON, movie actress (“Doctor Strange”, “The Notebook”)/TV actress (“True Detective” 2015)/Canada’s Walk of Fame 2014

1988 [28] Reid Perry, Ridgeland MS, country bassist (The Band Perry-“Better Dig Two”, “If I Die Young”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Baklava Day”, celebrating the Greek/Turkish dessert treat that’s made from phyllo pastry, honey, nuts, and other yummy ingredients. (Can we get this delivered? Now?)

• “Beaujolais Nouveau Day”, the annual limited release of young Burgundy wines from France as a preview of the year’s grape crop. More than 20 million bottles were trucked to French airports on the weekend, destined for wine enthusiasts in the US, Canada and Japan.

• “Farm Joke Day”, a day to have a chuckle about the rural lifestyle. Go ahead, have a cow!

• “Guinness World Record Day”, when a number of pre-arranged #GWRday record attempts are taking place at events in Beijing, London, NYC, Tokyo, and elsewhere.

• “Great American Smokeout”, the 40th annual on the 3rd Thursday in November. It’s a chance for smokers to kick their butts, at least for a single day.

• “Homemade Bread Day”, when we’re all encouraged to bake a loaf from scratch. It’s a good day to get a bun in the oven! Mmm … can you smell that?

• “Leonid Meteor Shower”, an annual sky show when you can see ‘shooting stars’. It peaks before dawn this morning.
NET: http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors/

• “Take a Hike Day”. Instead of taking your walk today along city streets or in a mall or gym, find a park or place in the country where you can hike. Hiking is great exercise, and even more importantly … a great stress reliever.

• “Unfriend Day”, an idea instigated by late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel in 2010, because you really don’t need to still be Facebook friends with people you went to camp with in Middle School. Or your former co-worker’s boyfriend’s roommate. Kimmel explains his thinking here …
NET: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdrpTqw3SGE

• “World Prematurity Awareness Day”, with the goal of improving the health of babies and striving to prevent premature birth, the #1 cause of infant mortality.
NET: http://www.marchofdimes.org

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2003 [13] Actor and former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger is sworn in as 38th governor of California

2013 [03] On just the first day of its release, Sony’s PlayStation 4 sells 1 million units in the US and Canada

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2000 [16] “Rugrats in Paris: The Movie” debuts, a significant music event because its soundtrack includes “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men, which becomes a worldwide hit

2002 [14] Michael Jackson briefly dangles baby son Prince Michael II (aka ‘Blanket’) over a Berlin, Germany hotel balcony for fans waiting outside (the world quivers)

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
2014 [02] Church of England announces it has changed its rules to allow female bishops

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2003 [13] Two weeks before her 22nd birthday, Britney Spears becomes the youngest singer to ever get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

COMING UP . . .
[Fri] “Bleed for This”; “The Edge of Seventeen”; “Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them” open in movie theaters
[Fri] Apple Cider Day
[Sat] International Men’s Day
[Sun] “American Music Awards” (ABC)
This Week Is … International Fraud Awareness Week
This Month Is … Diabetic Eye Disease Month

BULL’S BITS

BS REJECTION LINES TRANSLATED:
• “There’s a slight difference in our ages.” (I don’t want to do my dad.)
• “I’m not attracted to you in ‘that’ way.” (You are the ugliest dork I’ve ever laid eyes upon.)
• “My life is too complicated right now.” (I don’t want you spending the whole night or else you may hear phone calls from all the others I’m seeing.)
• “I’ve got a boyfriend.” (I prefer my male cat and a half-gallon of Haagen Daz.)
• “I don’t date people from where I work.” (I wouldn’t date you if you were in the same solar system, much less the same building.)
• “I’m concentrating on my career.” (Even something as boring and non-fulfilling as my job is better than dating you.)
• “I’m celibate.” (I’ve sworn off only people like you.)
• “Let’s be friends.” (I want you to stay around so I can tell you in excruciating detail about all the others I meet and have sex with. It’s that perspective thing.)
• “It’s not you, it’s me.” (It’s you.)

BS RANDOM JOKE:
This is more fun than fiberglass underwear!

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What kind of old person do you want to become?

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: Married men are 8 times more likely to do THIS while driving than single guys.
Answer: Obey the speed limit.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Even a broken clock is correct twice a day.