BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ “Hunger Games” theme park rides are in the works. Fans will be able to experience ‘Katniss Everdeen’s life on heart-racing hovercraft and bullet train rides starting next year. Dubai Parks & Resorts have unveiled details of the 2 attractions, part of the Motiongate Theme Park opening in 2016 in Dubai UAE. The timing for the announcement couldn’t be better … “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” opens in movie theaters tomorrow.
– THR.com
★ David Beckham is named the 2015 ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ in this week’s “People” magazine. The 40-year-old former soccer star takes the crown from actor Chris Hemsworth, who was last year’s winner. Beckham admits he likes to wear nice clothes and feel good, but says he never thinks of himself as a sexy person. He’s taken to social media to share the news, quote: “I thought I was past my sell-by date, but thanks to ‘People’ for the accolade and the compliment!”
– WENN.com
★ And Charlie Sheen may be on the brink of a legal fight with the people he claims shook him down for millions. Sheen says some of his sex partners threatened to expose his HIV unless he paid them big money. But attorneys who rep some of them say they didn’t shake him down at all … the settlements are legal and structured in installments over a period of years. If he misses an installment, the entire sum becomes due immediately. The lawyers say their clients are victims … people who didn’t know they were having sex with someone who has HIV.
– TMZ.com

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “The Hunting Ground” (CNN) – A film by Kirby Dick & Amy Ziering receives its first network airing. CNN Films’ landmark documentary exposé of campus sexual assault has been shown at more than 1,000 colleges and already inspired a flurry of legislation.
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Hollywood Boulevard is shut down outside the theater for an outdoor performance by One Direction (“Made In the AM”).
• “Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS/M3) – X Ambassadors (“VHS”).
• “Late Night With Seth Meyers” (NBC/CTV) – Dead Sara (“Pleasure to Meet You”).
• “Live With Kelly & Michael” (syndicated/CTV) – A Great Big World (“When the Morning Comes”).
• “Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/CTV2) – R Kelly (“The Buffet”, out December 11th).
• “Wendy Williams” (syndicated) – Mary J Blige (“Share My World”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Adele – Her new video “When We Were Young” was taped at The Church Studios in London UK, where some of the songs for her third album, “25”, were recorded. The album’s out Friday.
• Carrie Underwood – In the “Cosmopolitan” December issue she says her and hockey player-hubby Mike Fisher’s personalities are such that the don’t need to be together all the time. Quote: “I kind of like it when I go away for a couple of days … it’s nice to miss the person you love.”
• Kesha – Fans have begun an online petition calling for new music from the pop star. She’s been locked in a legal battle with producer Dr Luke for a year, accusing him of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and emotional abuse. Until it’s settled, Sony refuses to release any new recordings.
• Miley Cyrus – Tonight a 5-city “Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz” (aka The Flaming Lips) club tour launches in Chicago IL and runs through December 6th in Boston MA. She and frontman Wayne Coyne reportedly bare all in a new music video that’s part of the show.
• Morrissey – He’s received an embarrassing literary nomination for his debut novel. “List Of the Lost” is nominated for the annual ‘Bad Sex in Fiction Award’ thanks to passages like this: “Ezra’s howling mouth and the pained frenzy of his bulbous salutation extenuating his excitement as it whacked and smacked its way into every muscle of Eliza’s body except for the otherwise central zone.” The ‘winner’ is announced December 1st.
• Reba McEntire – Earlier this year she launched a beauty line with her makeup artist Brett Freedman. Their new ‘Deluxstick’ lip colors are available in ‘Georgia’ (a coral pink), ‘Survivor’ (a rosy pink), and ‘Fancy’ (a fiery red).
• Taylor Swift – She’s leading the ‘Open a World of Possible’ initiative, which aims to promote independent reading among kids. Thanks to her support, 25 schools in NYC are each receiving 1,000 new children’s books.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Birth Of the Dragon” – Actor Philip Ng has been cast as iconic late martial artist Bruce Lee in this new action film based on real events. It chronicles a legendary mid-1960s fight between Shaolin master Wong Jack Man and the young Lee, considered one of the greatest martial arts battles in history. The film begins shooting this week in Vancouver BC.
• “Fifty Shades Darker” – Filmmaker James Foley is onboard to direct both this “Fifty Shades Of Grey” sequel and the final movie in the series, “Fifty Shades Freed”. Original director Sam Taylor-Johnson parted ways with the franchise earlier this year after reports of creative differences with author EL James. The films will be shot back-to-back starting next year.
• Untitled Oasis Documentary – Following the success of the Amy Winehouse documentary “Amy” ($25 million globally), the iconic British rock band is next to get the documentary treatment from the same team. Oasis has sold in excess of 70 million records and was arguably the defining band of the ‘Brit-pop’ era in the 1990s after forming in Manchester in 1991.
• Untitled Richard Leakey Story – Actress/director Angelina Jolie is set to film the life story of conservationist Richard Leakey in and around Nairobi, Kenya. The 70-year-old says he and Jolie discussed the project earlier this month and agreed on a new script, which is far less violent than the original. Filming could start in early 2016.
• “Where Did You Go Bernadette” – Cate Blanchett’s streak of portraying off-kilter rich women may continue as she’s in talks to star in this story of a mom who disappears on the eve of a family trip to Antarctica. Director Richard Linklater is slated to direct the movie adaptation of Maria Semple’s 2012 novel. No word yet on when the movie’s out.

‘WORD’ OF THE YEAR:
While this year’s “Oxford Dictionaries” word of the year is not an actual word, it IS a popular image … the ‘face with tears of joy’ emoji. A rep for the publishing house says the selection reflects how traditional alphabet scripts have been struggling to meet the rapid-fire, visually focused demands of 21st century communication. It’s not surprising that a pictographic script like emoji has stepped in to fill those gaps, he says, because it’s flexible, immediate, and ‘infuses tone beautifully’. (BS translation: A picture is worth a thousand words.)
– Newsweek.com

FINANCIALLY REWARDING FUN JOBS:
Looking for a career change? Check out this selection of high-paying jobs that also seem like fun …
✓ Airline Pilot – It’s been one of the most prestigious professions for decades now. And even better … average pilots make about $90,000 per year.
✓ Club DJ – Tiesto, the highest-earning DJ in the world, has an estimated worth of $75 million. The DJ at your favorite local club, however, is worth much less.
✓ Dog Walker – You can earn up to $50/hour for just walking someone else’s dog. Not bad if you take into account that you also get a chance to workout while having some loyal company.
✓ Fashion Designer – The average annual salary is estimated at $64,000, but if your name happens to be Yves Saint Laurent or Calvin Klein the numbers are in the hundreds-of-millions.
✓ Ferrari Test Driver – They will pay you an average annual salary of $120,000 to test-drive the most expensive, luxurious, and speedy cars in the world. Great gig if you can get it!
✓ Magician – Criss Angel and David Blaine are multimillionaires, but even the average humble magician makes about $49,000 per year.
✓ Professional Poker Player – Some of the top players make millions. Unfortunately, some of the top players also lose millions
✓ Videogame Player – An elite gamer who participates in top tournaments makes an average of $50,000 per year. The world’s top 10 players can top $1 million or more annually.
✓ Voice-Over Artist – Doing a wide range of voices for commercials, jingles, film, and animation pays an average annual salary of $80,000.
✓ Winemaker – Wineries pay good ones $93,000 a year on average. Some of the best in France and Spain make over half-a-million.
– Condensed from List25.com

PROTECTING TENDER TOOTSIES:
Lego is great … until you’re trying to negotiate your way to the bathroom in the dark with piles of tiny little bricks lying in wait. We all know the pain of stepping onto one of those jagged little landmines. Which is why French ad agency Brand Station has come up with the perfect gift for parents … the ‘Official Lego Slipper’. The square-toe slippers come in the famous Lego colors; are interchangeable between right and left, so it doesn’t matter when putting them on in the dark; and have a massive amount of padding so you can run across a minefield of little bricks without feeling a thing. The bad news is, Brand Station has only made 1,500 pairs which will be given away in an online contest. (Seems we’ll have to make do with homemade solutions … oven mitts?)
– “Metro”

BS AMAZING CRITTER FACTS:
• A cockroach can bite 5 times more forcefully than a human.
– Gizmodo.com
• Humans have been exploiting honeybees for almost 9,000 years.
– BBC Science
• Some fish can leap out of the water to attack their prey from above.
– “New Scientist”

BS CHRONOMETER 11.19.15

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1942 [73] Calvin Klein, Bronx NY, fashion designer (Calvin Klein Jeans, CK One, CK Be)

1959 [56] Allison Janney, Dayton OH, 6-ft TV actress (‘Bonnie Plunkett’ on “Mom” since 2013, “The West Wing” 1999-2006)/movie actress (“The Help”, “Juno”)

1960 [55] Matt Sorum, Mission Viejo CA, rock drummer (Velvet Revolver-“Fall to Pieces”, Guns N’ Roses 1990-97)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2012

1961 [54] Meg Ryan (Margaret Hyra), Fairfield CT, movie actress (“Sleepless in Seattle”, “When Harry Met Sally”)

1962 [53] Jodie (Alicia) Foster, LA CA, movie actress (2 Oscars-“The Accused”, “Silence Of the Lambs”)

1973 [42] Billy Currington, Savannah GA, country singer (“Hey Girl”, “Let Me Down Easy”)

1976 [39] Jack Dorsey, St Louis MO, billionaire businessman/web developer (co-creator of Twitter.com)

1983 [32] Adam Driver, San Diego CA, TV actor (‘Adam Sackler’ on “Girls” since 2012)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Educational Support Professionals Day”, the 27th annual observance honoring the school support staff who help take care of students every day. It’s a day to salute admin assistants, custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, etc for their contributions to school communities.

• “Great American Smokeout 2015”, slotted on the 3rd Thursday in November to encourage smokers to butt out for a day. This was created in 1977 by the American Cancer Society.

• “Have a Bad Day Day”, for all the grouches who can’t stand being constantly told to ‘Have a good day’.

• “International Men’s Day”, now celebrated in over 60 countries (including Trinidad & Tobago where it began in 1999, as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, South Africa, UK, and USA). It is an occasion to highlight discrimination against men & boys and to celebrate their achievements and contributions, in particular to community, family, marriage, and childcare.

• “Women’s Entrepreneurship Day”, a global movement to celebrate, empower, and support female entrepreneurs around-the-world.
NET: http://www.womenseday.org

• “World Toilet Day”, to encourage toilet hygiene. The Singapore-based World Toilet Organization promotes better design, ventilation, and sanitation for the device that is still a luxury in many parts of the developing world. ‘The Urgent Run’ is being staged to highlight the need to end the world sanitation crisis.
NET: http://urgentrun.com
NET: http://worldtoilet.org

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2004 [11] “The Spongebob Squarepants Movie” opens in movie theaters

2014 [01] Mike Nichols – director of a long list of movie, TV, and theater productions – dies at age 83 of a heart attack (one of few to win all 4 major industry awards: Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar, and Tony)

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENTS . . .
2005 [10] Pop star Christina Aguilera weds music exec Jordan Bratman in California’s Napa Valley

2007 [08] Queen guitarist Brian May is named chancellor of Liverpool’s John Moores University

2007 [08] At Caroline Kennedy’s 50th birthday party, guest performer Neil Diamond reveals his 1970 hit “Sweet Caroline” was actually written about her

TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
2004 [11] “The Malice at the Palace”, the worst brawl in NBA history, occurs during a Indiana Pacers @ Detroit Pistons game (Ron Artest suspended 86 games, the rest of the season; Stephen Jackson suspended 30 games)

2014 [01] A second round of heavy snow hits the Buffalo, New York region, accumulating over 5 feet and causing 7 related deaths plus dozens of stranded travellers

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Mercury Prize (London UK)
[Fri] African Industrialization Day
[Fri] Name Your PC Day
[Sat] International Games Day
[Sat] Adoption Day
[Sun] “American Music Awards” (ABC)
This Week Is … Better Conversation Week
This Month Is … Movember

BULL’S BITS

BS SIGNS YOU HAVE A BAD DENTIST:
✗ Both of his teeth have cavities.
✗ 4-out-of-5 dentists thinks he’s nuts.
✗ Admits he quit dental school to join the Singapore cast of “My Fair Lady”.
✗ Begins examination by saying, “Drop your pants.”
✗ Cleans your teeth … then shaves your back.
✗ Accidentally whitens your lips.
✗ Whispers in your ear, “Mmm, nice gums.”
✗ Waiting room has a receptionist … and a lookout.

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ How much it does it actually cost to be a bridesmaid?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be. To the plumber, any liquid in the glass is potential income.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: You are average if you do THIS 6 times a day.
Answer: Talk to yourself.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Do not put statements in the negative form.