BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
★ HBO has given the greenlight to a remake of “Westworld”, Michael Crichton’s 1973 sci-fi movie. The drama pilot, which stars Anthony Hopkins, Ed Harris, Evan Rachel World, and James Marsden, was considered an odds-on favorite for a series order, in part because of its pedigree … producers include JJ Abrams and Jonathan Nolan (“Interstellar”). It will arrive on HBO sometime in 2015. The project is inspired by the 40-year-old movie about a futuristic fantasy amusement park with malfunctioning robot gunslingers. It starred Yul Brynner.
– IMdB.com
★ Former model-turned-TV personality Janice Dickinson has become the 4th woman to accuse veteran comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault. In an exclusive new interview with “Entertainment Tonight”, Dickinson details an alleged encounter with Cosby in 1982, when he offered to help her with a planned singing career after she left rehab. The former model claims the incident occurred after he offered her red wine and a pill when she complained of stomach pains.
– WENN.com
★ Bob Marley, the legendary Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter, musician, and guitarist, will soon be the face of what’s being called the ‘first global brand of marijuana’. The Marley family and a Seattle WA-based private equity firm have announced the creation of ‘Marley Natural’, a premium cannabis brand that will be sold as loose packed buds, oils, or concentrate. You’ll have to roll the joints yourself. Look for ‘Marley Natural’ in late 2015.
– Today.com
★ And the Staten Island NY house featured in the classic mob movie “The Godfather” is on the market. While only the exterior was used in the 1972 film, the current owner has revamped some of the interior decor to resemble the ‘Corleone’ mansion. Built around 1930, the house was originally owned by a family who remained there for 50 years. Besides bragging rights, the buyer gets a 6,000-plus sq ft Tudor with 5 bedrooms, 7 baths, and a gourmet kitchen that’s said to be ‘to die for’. The asking price is $2.89 million. Hey, make them an offer they can’t refuse.
– AP

TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• Billboard Touring Awards (NYC) – Finalists for the 2014 awards include Arcade Fire, Justin Timberlake, Katy Perry, One Direction, Paul McCartney, and the Rolling Stones. Nominees for ‘Top Festival’ are Austin City Limits, Coachella, and Lollapalooza. Lionel Richie is honored as a ‘Legend Of Live’, celebrating his significant contributions to live music and the touring industry.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Cold War Kids (“Dear Miss Lonelyhearts”).
• “Good Morning America” (ABC) – Nickelback (“No Fixed Address”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Jessie J (“Sweet Talker”); One Direction (“Four”).
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – La Sera (“Hour Of the Dawn”).
• “Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” (CBS/Omni 1) – Metallica’s residency continues.
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni1) – Jessye Norman (“3 Classic Albums”).

BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Ed Sheeran – He’ll perform the network TV premiere of his new single “Thinking Out Loud” on the “Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show”, which takes place December 2nd in London UK and airs on CBS-TV on December 9th.
• Foo Fighters – They’ve announced a major North American tour which kicks off with their previously announced 20th anniversary event at RFK Stadium in Washington DC on July 4th next year. In a special ‘Beat the Bots’ promotion, the 1st round of ticket pre-sales takes place exclusively in person at each venue this Saturday. Here’s the line-up …
NET: http://www.foofighters.com/#tour
• Justin Timberlake – The last leg of his long-running “20/20 Experience World Tour” gets underway tonight in Portland OR. It winds up with a 2-night stand January 1st and 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas NV.
• Lady Gaga – The pop princess has gone under the needle once more to ink a dedication to her following. The singer’s new tribute tattoo has a paisley design in purple ink across her underarm with the words ‘Mother Monster”, her nickname from her fans, written underneath.

COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “Adé: A Love Story” – Madonna’s next directing project is now seeking financial backers. The film centers on a 19-year-old American student raised in a Christian-Jewish home who travels to Africa and falls in love with a young Muslim man on an island off the coast of Kenya. Their hastily-made plans to marry, however, get blown away by cultural and political forces.
• “Jackpot” – Patty Jenkins (“Monster”) is directing this remake of a 2011 Norwegian action comedy. It’s the story of 4 men with shady pasts who win big in a sports pool. When it comes to dividing the winnings, things escalate to lethal proportions. The movie is based on a story by crime writer Jo Nesbo, whose book “Headhunters” was also made into a movie.
• “Joe Dirt 2” – This week the follow-up to the 2001 comedy about a less-than-brilliant man who searches for his biological parents began filming on location in Louisiana. David Spade is back to star, replete with retro sideburns and mullet hairdo. It will debut online in 2015 on all Crackle platforms. “Joe Dirt” grossed $27 million domestically on an estimated $18-million budget.
• “Peanuts” – The beloved comic-strip characters are coming back … only this time they’re appearing in 3-D CGI. The first official trailer for the film is just out, and it’s predictably adorable and sweetly nostalgic. Vince Guaraldi’s familiar jazzy theme song plays in the background, interrupted by Fitz & The Tantrums for part of it. The movie hits theaters in November 2015.
• “The Snowden Files” – Joseph Gordon-Levitt is cast to play former CIA employee Edward Snowden in this new Oliver Stone film. Actress Shailene Woodley (“Divergent”) is reportedly in talks to play Snowden’s girlfriend, a dancer who recently moved to Moscow to live with the infamous whistleblower. Shooting is slated to begin in Munich, Germany in January.

AND THE WORLD’S FAVORITE COUNTRY IS …
According to the latest Anholt-GfK Nations Brand Index, which measures the image of 50 leading nations based on 23 different attributes …
10. Sweden
9. Australia
8. Switzerland
7. Italy
6. Japan
5. Canada
4. France
3. UK
2. USA
1. Germany
Germany appears to have benefited by winning the FIFA World Cup, and by solidifying its perceived leadership in Europe through a robust economy and steady political stewardship.
– USAToday.com

NO MORE MEAN GIRLS?
At almost any high school, the cliques and pecking order of teen social networks are readily apparent. But now a team of researchers at Stanford University says the organizational setting of a school, its ‘network ecology’, has a big impact on these networks. Schools that offer students more choice – more elective courses, more ways to complete requirements, a bigger range of potential friends, more freedom to select seats in a classroom – are more likely to be cliquish and segregated by social status. By contrast, schools that limit social choices and prescribe formats of interaction experience far less discrimination. Smaller schools inherently offer a smaller range of choices, so often suffer less cliquishness. (Our high school was so small, one year the school play was “Snow White & The Dwarf”.)
– NewRepublic.com

WORD OF THE YEAR 2014:
Oxford Dictionaries has chosen ‘vape’ as the word of the year. The dictionary defines the verb as ‘to inhale and exhale the vapor produced by an electronic cigarette or similar device’. Runners-up include …
• ‘Bae’ – A term of endearment for one’s romantic partner.
• ‘Budtender’ – A person whose job is to serve customers in a cannabis dispensary or shop.
• ‘Contactless’ – Technologies that allow a smart card, mobile phone, etc to contact wirelessly to an electronic reader, typically in order to make a payment.
• ‘Indyref (abbreviation of ‘Independence Referendum’) – A reference to the vote held in Scotland on September 18th.
• ‘Normcore’ – A trend in which ordinary, unfashionable clothing is worn as a deliberate fashion statement.
• ‘Slacktivism’ – Actions requiring little time or involvement performed online in support of a political or social cause, ie: signing an online petition.
– “The Atlantic”

BS AMAZING FACT:
Babies born in the Winter start crawling earlier than those born in Summer.
– “Newswise”

BS CHRONOMETER 11.20.14

TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1942 [72] Joe Biden, Scranton PA, US Vice President since 2009/US Senator (Delaware) 1973-2009

1947 [67] Joe Walsh, Wichita KS, classic rock guitarist (“Life’s Been Good”, Eagles-“Hotel California”)/Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1998)

1975 [39] Dierks Bentley, Phoenix AZ, country singer (“Drunk On a Plane”, “5-1-5-0”)

1975 [39] Davey Havok (Passaro), Rochester NY, indie rock singer (AFI-“Medicate”, “Miss Murder”)

1977 [37] Josh Turner, Hannah SC, country singer (“All Over Me”, “Why Don’t We Just Dance”)

1986 [28] Jared Followill, Mt Juliet TN, rock bassist-pianist (Kings of Leon–”Radioactive”, “Use Somebody”)

1995 [19] Michael Clifford, Sydney, Australia, boy-band singer (5 Seconds of Summer-“Good Girls”, “She Looks So Perfect”)

TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Absurdity Day”, a chance to put you hair in pigtails or wear that shirt you like but haven’t because it is too ‘loud’. Today you don’t have to explain anything … just do it.

• “African Industrialization Day”, an annual UN initiative to encourage deployment of new technologies in order to raise living standards on the continent and build industries of the future.

• “Beaujolais Nouveau Day”, the annual release of young Burgundy wines from France as a preview of the year’s grape crop. Scheduled on the 3rd Thursday in November, it kicks off some 120 festivals in the Beaujolais region alone to honor the arrival of the young wine.
NET: http://www.beaujolaisnouveauday.com

• “Globally Organized Hug a Runner Day” (GOHARD), the 4th annual day of support for those who challenge themselves through long-distance running. The day’s motto: ‘Hug a Runner and Share the Sweat!’. Icky.

• “Great American Smokeout”, created in 1977 by the American Cancer Society and observed annually on the Thursday before Thanksgiving to encourage all smokers to kick their butts.

• “Mexican Revolution Day”, celebrating the anniversary of the date in 1910 when the uprising to overthrow dictator Porfirio Díaz began.
NET: http://www.inside-mexico.com/revolucion.htm

• “Name Your PC Day”, a good day to ask listeners what pet names they’ve bestowed on theirs.

• “Transgender Day of Remembrance”, the 16th annual commemorating those who have lost their lives due to anti-transgender bias, prejudice, or hatred.

• “Universal Children’s Day”, 1st proclaimed by the UN in 1954 to initiate action to benefit and promote the welfare of the world’s children.

THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2009 [05] Holding back tears, Oprah Winfrey announces she’ll end her highly successful Chicago-based daytime talk show at the end of its 25th season on September 9, 2011

TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
1984 [30] Michael Jackson is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame directly in front of Mann’s Chinese Theatre, creating the largest crowd-to-date for such an unveiling

2003 [11] Famed “Wall of Sound” producer Phil Spector is formally charged with 1st-degree murder in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson at his LA home (now doing life)

TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1982 [32] Actress Drew Barrymore 1st hosts NBC-TV’s “Saturday Night Live” … at age 7

TODAY’S RECORD . . .
2008 [06] The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level since 1997

AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1” opens in movie theaters
[Fri] World Hello Day
[Fri] Television Day
[Sat] International Aura Awareness Day
[Sat] Adoption Day
[Sun] “American Music Awards” (ABC)
[Sun] “Mark Twain Prize for American Humor” (PBS)
This Week Is … Better Conversation Week
This Month Is … Pet Cancer Awareness Month

BULL’S BITS

INTENSELY ANNOYING CUSTOMERS EVERY BARTENDER HAS SERVED:
✗ The person who doesn’t have ID, but won’t stop trying to get a drink.
✗ The one who elbows to the front despite the fact there were clearly others there first.
✗ The group that aren’t sure what they want, so they order each drink individually. And still end up confused.
✗ People who buy drinks with scraps of change … and drop it in the dregs on the bar.
✗ The one who tries to have a really long conversation with you when it’s super busy.
✗ The guy with very specific views on how his beer should be poured.
✗ The person who tries to get a drink well after closing time.
✗ The tool who waves money in your face.
✗ The PDA couple.
✗ The person who snaps their fingers at the bartender to get attention.
✗ The person who interrupts a customer that’s already ordering.
✗ And of course, the people so drunk they can hardly stay on their stools.
– Adapted from Buzzfeed.com

BS PHONE STARTER:
☎ What condiment should never go on a sandwich?

BS RANDOM JOKE:
If you eat cold meat and beans with jalapeños in Santiago during Winter, then you’re eating chilly chili in Chile with chilies when it’s chilly.

BS U-PICK TRIVIA:
Which activity will cost you 2 friends on average?
a. Graduating high school.
b. Falling in love. [CORRECT. An Oxford University study has found the average person’s group of friends includes 5 people, but that shrinks to 3 after a new partner enters the picture.]
c. Going to jail.

BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Question: A new study shows that the more of THESE a woman has at home, the more productive she is at work.
Answer: Kids.

BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Love is blind, but marriage is a real eye-opener.