BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
“American Idol” is regularly being picketed by members of the Writers Guild of America (picket sign quote: “Simon, Simon, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!”) to protest the working conditions of writers in the reality & game-show sectors (someone actually WRITES that drivel?) . . . A&E has picked up a new reality TV series starring 1990s one-hit-wonder MC Hammer (“U Can’t Touch This”) who, alongside his wife & 5 kids will be the focus of a half-hour, 11-episode series debuting later this year (after blowing millions, this guy really needs the dough!) . . . A legal turf war has broken out between Morgan Creek Productions and the estate of Tupac Shakur, the former suing the latter for backing out of an agreement to sell the late rapper’s ‘life rights’ for a film adaptation (apparently mom realized she can still milk her cash cow a bit more before selling out completely) . . . Nokia’s “Comes With Music” initiative should arrive in Australia later this month and in North America later this year, an innovate plan pioneered in Britain in which a year’s-worth of unlimited music downloads comes with the purchase of a Nokia cellphone (and yes, you can keep the tunes afterward) . . . 43-year-old former rap mogul Suge Knight has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery for beating a woman in a Las Vegas parking lot last year and has been sentenced to a meager $340-fine plus ‘counseling’ (he received a more suitable sentence earlier this week when Akon’s business manager kicked the suge out of him in a Phoenix bar fight) . . . A company that promoted “Hendrix Electric” vodka is being forced to pay $3.2 million to the estate of iconic guitarist Jimi Hendrix, which claimed the hooch infringed on the Hendrix trademark and was ‘created in poor taste’ (besides, they should have named it “Purple Haze”) . . . And 34-year-old actor Scott Siegel has been busted by the DEA for distributing steroids in Westchester NY just months after appearing alongside Mickey Rourke in the Oscar-nominated movie “The Wrestler” as … a drug dealer (seems no acting was required).
WEEKEND SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “Academy Awards” (ABC/CTV) – Sunday actor Hugh Jackman hosts the 81st tribute to film from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. A few facts …
– Live red carpet pre-Oscars coverage is hosted by “Project Runway” fashion guru Tim Gunn, “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts, and “Entertainment Weekly” editor Jess Cagle.
– “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” leads Oscar nominations with a total of 13 but, at this point, who’d bet against “Slumdog Millionaire” in a sweep?
– 9 of the 20 acting nominees are first-timers.
– It’s the earliest date the show has ever taken place.
NET: http://www.oscar.com
• “The Barbara Walters Special” (ABC) – Sunday her annual pre-Oscars talkfest includes actress Anne Hathaway; actor Mickey Rourke; Academy Award host Hugh Jackman; and the Jonas Bros.
• “Hockey Day in Canada” (CBC) – Saturday Ron McLean hosts the 9th annual celebration of Canada’s favorite sport from Cambellton NB. A triple-header of NHL games features all 6 Canadian teams.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/apx4jz
• Kurt Cobain – Today, on what would have been his 42nd birthday, he’s being commemorated with .. a new T-shirt line. Clothing company Worn Free has created a collection of vintage shirts replicating those the late rocker used to wear. (Another sell-out by widow Courtney Love?)
• “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” (NBC/A Channel) – Tonight the White Stripes are the final musical guest before Conan packs up for Los Angeles and “The Tonight Show”.
• “Razzie Awards” – Saturday the annual ‘anti-Oscars’ for the year’s worst in film are announced in LA (‘winners’ rarely show up to collect). This year’s nominations are led by Mike Myers’ box office bomb “The Love Guru” with 7 nominations, including worst picture, director, actor, and screenplay. Others with multiple citations: Jessica Alba, Kate Hudson, and – of course – Paris Hilton.
• “Saturday Night Live” (NBC/Global) – “House” actor Hugh Laurie hosts; Kanye West is the musical guest.
• “Spirit Awards” (IFC/AMC) – Saturday the 24th annual trophies for indie film are awarded just ahead of the Oscars in Los Angeles. This year’s most notable nominees include “The Wrestler” and “Synecdoche, New York”.
NET: http://spiritawards.com
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Flo Rida – He’s broken his own record for ‘Most Weekly Digital Song Downloads’ as his chart-topper “Right Round” has moved 636,000 copies in a single week, eclipsing 2008’s “Low”.
• Gavin DeGraw – He’s releasing the new album “Free” on March 31. The 10-song album was recorded in 2 weeks. (Nice to see he put some time and effort into it!)
• INXS – They’ve booted Canadian JD Fortune from the band, the singer chosen as replacement for late frontman Michael Hutchence on the reality TV search “Rock Star: INXS” in 2005. 35-year-old Fortune claims he was simply abandoned and is now living in his car (again).
• Kid Rock – He’s collaborating with the Michigan Brewing Co on a new line of beer which should be in stores this Spring. The beer’s name, style, and pricing have yet to be determined.
• Men At Work – 51-year-old guitarist Ronald Strykert has been taken into custody by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies for allegedly threatening to kill the 1980s Aussie band’s frontman Colin Hay … back in 2007. Seems he missed his arraignment on the charge last May, leading to an arrest warrant.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Drummer Chad Smith tells “Music Radar” he isn’t sure when the rockers will get back together but it will be for only one reason: to play music with one another.
• Sum 41 – Deryck Whibley notes on the band’s official website that they had started writing for an EP but now have enough material for a full album. It will be released later this year.
• Taylor Swift – The country phenom is on the cover of the latest issue of “Rolling Stone”.
• Usher – His wife Tameka Raymond has finally checked out of a hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil after spending 11 days recovering from cardiac arrest. Hospital reps say she suffered the heart-stopping incident while being anesthetized ahead of a ‘simple liposuction’.
TODAY’S MOVIE OPENINGS:
• “Fired Up!” ( PG-13 Comedy ): 31-year-old Eric Christian Olsen & 28-year-old Nicholas D’Agosto play a pair of high school jocks who decide to ditch their annual football training session for cheerleading camp, which they hope will result in plenty of hook-ups. Sarah Roemer (“Disturbia”) co-stars.
NET: http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/firedup
• “Madea Goes to Jail“ ( PG-13 Dramedy ): Prolific writer/director/actor Tyler Perry is back with a bigscreen version of his stage play about a feisty old lady (himself in drag) whose antics land her behind bars. There she meets a prostitute in need of some tough love (a grown-up Keshia Knight Pulliam, formerly of “The Cosby Show”).
NET: http://www.madeagoestojailmovie.com
MOM, THIS PEANUT BUTTER’S CRUNCHY!
It’s estimated that we each eat between 1-and-2 lbs of flies, maggots, and mites each year in our food. The US Food & Drug Administration’s new booklet, “The Food Defect Action Levels: Levels of Natural or Unavoidable Defects in Foods That Present No Health Hazards for Humans”, outlines the acceptable levels of ‘natural contaminants’ in the food supply. A few examples …
• An average of 30 fly eggs in a can of tomato paste are allowed.
• Just 20 maggots can be present per 100 grams of mushrooms.
• There can be no more than 100 bug bits per 25 grams of curry powder.
• 20 rodent hairs in a container of cinnamon are the limit.
• There may be no more that 145 bug parts in a jar of peanut butter.
(And apparently it’s okay if there’s a fly in your soup.)
– “New York Times”
MORE REALTY REALITY:
The savagery of the global economic downturn holds little regard for the famous, it seems. Here are just a few of the celebs feeling the house-price pinch …
• Model Elle MacPherson has cut the price of her Notting Hill pad in London from $13.7 million to $12.9 million.
• Rocker Lenny Kravitz’s NYC penthouse has slumped from $19.7 million to $15 million.
• Britney Spears has watched her Beverley Hills CA home drop in value from just over $8 million to just over $7 million.
• NBA great Shaquille O’Neal has his Miami FL mansion up for sale at a tad over $25 million. In 2005 it was valued at over $35 million.
• And actor Richard Gere’s $18-million NYC abode dropped to a lowly $15 million before being yanked off the market altogether. (On the upside, after hearing about these monster mortgages your payments seem paltry, right?)
– “GQ”
GOT PEE?
A Hindu nationalist group in India has created the world’s first soft drink made from … cow urine. It’s being promoted as an inexpensive medicinal beverage which can cure a wide variety of ailments ranging from obesity to cancer. The new drink, called ‘Gau Jal’ (Cow Water) also includes ayurvedic herbs to stimulate even more curative powers. Don’t worry, a spokesperson consoles, it doesn’t smell like urine and it’s really tasty. (Particularly when served warm.)
– Times Online
THE DOWNSIDE OF ONLINE SOCIALIZING:
Facebook and MySpace could be detrimental to our physical and mental health an expert claims. UK psychologist Dr Aric Sigman writes in the “Biologist” that although social networking sites may set out to bring people together, they actually separate us physically, with people spending more time writing on each other’s ‘wall’ than actually engaging in the face-to-face contact humans need. Evidence suggests that lack of physical interaction can upset immune system responses, hormone levels, and mental performance. And the problem may get worse – it’s estimated that a quarter of British children, for example, now have a laptop in their rooms by the age of 5. (5-year-olds surf the web? [Co-host] was still potty-training!)
– Presswatch.com
DID YOU KNOW?
• On average, a movie makes about 5 times more from its video sales than from box office.
• The first ‘Best Picture’ Oscar nomination for an animated film was for Disney’s “Beauty & the Beast” in 1991.
– DidYouKnow.org
BS CHRONOMETER 02.20.09
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1941 [68] Buffy (Beverly) Sainte-Marie, Piapot Reserve SK, folk singer/songwriter (“Until It’s Time For You to Go”, “Up Where We Belong”)/Canada’s Walk of Fame (1999)/Canadian Music Hall of Fame (1995)
1966 [43] Cindy Crawford, DeKalb IL, over-the-hill fashion model (over 600 magazine covers, 1st supermodel to pose for “Playboy”)/ex-Mrs Richard Gere/Mrs Rande Gerber since 1998
1975 [34] Brian Littrell, Lexington KY, pop singer (Backstreet Boys-“Just Want You to Know”, “I Want It That Way”)/cousin of BSB’s Kevin Richardson
1988 [21] Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty), Saint Michael, Barbados, pop singer (“Disturbia”, “Umbrella”)/apparent domestic abuse victim
SATURDAY –
Movie actor Alan Rickman (“Harry Potter” films”) is 63; TV actor William Petersen (ex-“CSI”) is 56; TV actor Kelsey Grammer (ex-“Frasier”) is 54; TV actor William Baldwin (“Dirty Sexy Money”) is 46; TV actress Jennifer Love Hewitt (“Ghost Whisperer”) is 30; Movie actress Ellen Page (“Juno”) is 22; TV/movie actor Corbin Bleu (“High School Musical” films) is 20.
SUNDAY –
Ailing US senator Ted Kennedy (Dem-MA) is 77; TV actor Kyle MacLachlan (“Desperate Housewives”) is 50; Fashion guru Clinton Kelly (“What Not to Wear”) is 40; Pop singer James Blunt (“You’re Beautiful”) is 35; Movie actress/producer Drew Barrymore (“He’s Just Not That Into You”) is 34.
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Call An Old Friend Day”, a day to phone someone you haven’t talked to in a very long time. But isn’t there likely a reason you haven’t spoken in so long?
• “Carnival” season begins in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; New Orleans LA; Nice, France and everywhere else people party down before Lent. It culminates in parades & parties on “Mardi Gras” (Fat Tuesday).
• “Jalapeno Festival”, the 31st annual through Saturday in Laredo TX where the current record for pepper-popping is 266 jalapenos in 15 minutes.
NET: http://tinyurl.com/cn9t3w
• “Northern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day”, when you’re encouraged to go outdoors and yell ‘HOODIE-HOO!!!!’ at the top of your lungs at noon local time to relieve winter blahs and encourage the arrival of Spring. Could make an interesting on-air bit with callers.
SATURDAY –
• “Card Reading Day”, which either has something to do with tarot cards or getting around to reading all your Christmas cards so you can finally toss them out.
• “International Mother Language Day”, an annual UNESCO observance. (We always found Latin was a real mother.)
• “Residence Hall Student Staff Recognition Day”, aka ‘Pay Back the Weasels Day’.
• “Single Tasking Day”, a day to quit trying to do 17 things at once and focus on one thing at a time. It’s amazing how much less stress you’ll feel … and how much more you’ll accomplish!
SUNDAY –
• “Be Humble Day”. Just for one day try not to brag or to boast; and try not to talk about your success or accomplishments. Why? Because humbleness is a good thing.
• “World Thinking Day”, an annual celebration of Boy Scouts/Girl Guides founders Lord & Lady Baden-Powell’s joint birthday. Scouts & Guides are encouraged to ‘think’ of good deeds.
TODAY’S MUSIC EVENT . . .
2003 [06] During a Great White concert in West Warwick RI, a pyrotechnics display sets the club ablaze, killing 100 & injuring over 300 fans
TODAY’S FIRST . . .
1945 [64] 1st ‘Family Allowance’ cheques issued in Canada (known as the ‘Baby Bonus’)
TODAY’S RECORDS . . .
1996 [13] Orlando Magic set NBA record for ‘Home Wins at the Start of Season’ (28-0)
1998 [11] 15-year-old US figure skater Tara Lipinski becomes youngest gold medal winner in Winter Olympics history (Nagano, Japan)
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Mon] Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day
[Mon] Curling is Cool Day
[Mon] Chili Day
[Mon] Rose Monday
[Tues] Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day / Mardi Gras
[Tues] Spay Day USA
[Tues]Flag Day (Mexico)
[Wed] Ash Wednesday
This Week Is … Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week
This Month Is … Learn Italian Mont
BULL’S BITS
BS THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER SAY IN AN OSCAR ACCEPTANCE SPEECH:
• “I have something to confess … I’m sleeping with both Price and Waterhouse.”
• “As I look out across the Kodak Theatre, I see loser, loser, loser, loser …”
• “Wow, this thing is solid gold! Goodbye drug dealer debts!”
• “It’s an honor to be included in the same category as the other nominees … except Mickey Rourke.”
• Okay, I won. Now you can all switch over to ‘The Amazing Race’.”
• “And I’d especially like to thank the guy who keeps me supplied with painkillers.”
• “As a little boy, I never dreamed I’d win the ‘Best Actress’ award.”
• “Now that I’m an Oscar winner, I’d like to read a list of people who can kiss my ass …”
BS RANDOM JOKE:
I hope this weekend turns out better than last … I had to keep going back to buy another movie ticket because some guy at the door kept tearing them in half.
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: Every day the average guy will sneak 11 of THESE.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: Peaks at females.
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular.
