day 256

heigl gets hassled

katherine heigl is finally getting it handed to her. the grey's anatomy actress has become infamous for her not-so-friendly comments regarding the people she works with. when promoting knocked up, her first big picture role (which was originally anne hathaway's), heigl said that she felt the film "paints the women as shrews," while the men come across "lovable." while that might be true, heigl isn't exactly picking roles that make women look great. if she wanted to do that, she probably wouldn't be going the romantic comedy route. in 27 dresses, heigl played a desperate woman who would do anything to make her boss happy because she lusted after him, even though her feelings were not reciprocated. and, in her latest effort (last week's the ugly truth), heigl's character dons a pair of vibrating panties and sluts herself up to get the guy. real dramatic, career defining stuff. so, when judd apatow and seth rogen appeared on the howard stern show, they got their chance to sound off on the ungrateful actress. in response to the vibrating pantie scene, rogen said, "i'd have to see if that was uplifting for women." when apatow tried to stand up for the star, rogen retorted back, "i didn't slip and i was doing fucking interviews all day too ... i didn’t say shit!" sounds like there's more than a little bit of bad blood between the duo." to backtrack a little, apatow and rogen did give heigl praise for her work on knocked up, claiming she could improvise with the best of them and "could not have been cooler" during filming. i guess they don't exactly want to burn bridges, like katherine. known to be unhappy with her grey's anatomy deal, heigl has been mouthing the show's production while making the talk show rounds for the ugly truth. heigl keeps telling the story of how, on her first day back on set, the cast and crew were there for 17 hours, adding "i hope this embarrasses them." why leave such a cushy job? i've said it once and i'll say it again. patrick dempsey has had just as many box office successes as katherine and isn't bolting from the top drama. have a little gratitude. dempsey and heigl's former grey's costar, tr knight (george), recently made the cover of entertainment weekly. in the issue, show creator shonda rhimes was quoted as saying that she was disappointed that knight would not come back for a final episode she had planned as part of the season opener. the episode would have followed george's final day alive, documenting the heroism he demonstrated in the bus crash that left him as a disfigured john doe. just one more episode can't be that hard. it appears like knight didn't have enough respect for the cast or his character, george. a final episode in his memory would have given closure to the character and finished his story line gracefully. now we'll just be stuck with another hospital death. no wonder knight and heigl are bffs.

day 255

No blog today, folks. Check back tomorrow.

day 254

poor jimmy fallon

from the looks of this funny or die video, the saved by the bell cast won't be reuniting anytime soon. tiffini (formerly amber) thiessen took to the will ferrel viral vid site to discuss exactly why she is unable to become a part of his saved by the bell reunion (she and dustin diamond - aka kelly and screetch - are the only 2 cast members who have refused to commit); in the viral parody, tiffany says that her career and life are just too busy to add another thing. she's juggling directing, producing, and acting in a live action cat comedy and spending time out by the pool, while helping nasa on a new space initiative. where is she going to find time for a reunion in there? well, apparently, on the cover of people magazine.

to the dismay of jimmy fallon and late night, people mag was able to nab the entire cast (minus diamond) for a cover story all about their time on the iconic saturday morning show. on newstands friday, the issue boasts "the hookups, the meltdowns, the memories: the cast reveals what was really going on...and what they think of each other now." hopefully some of this interview will leak online in the next few days so we can all really know what's going on between the 30-something stars now. there's no word on whether or not the cast will make a surprise appearance on late night (or any appearance, for that matter) to promote the issue. it seems like that would be a good thing, right. but here are my issues with the issue. first of all, why did you screw jimmy fallon over, people? i'm sure it was a money thing, but still! second, i can't tell if dustin diamond was photoshopped out of the 1989 photo of the cast also featured on the cover. and, though i know the character of "tori" isn't really a real sbtb alum, i still decided to look up what was going on with leanna creel, the actress who played the kelly/jessie replacement for the show's final season. it turns out leanna is a married lesbian living in california with her partner and a year old son. she graduated from ucla and is currently a wedding photographer. the former actress tried her hand at producing for a short time in the late 1990s with her own company, ignite entertainment. she produced movies like but i'm a cheerleader, the cell, and the kirstin dunst teen comedy get over it. sounds pretty successful compared to some of her sbtb classmates, huh?

day 253

miley goes mainstream

with only one season of hannah montana left to film, miley cyrus and her team are looking for ways to make her fame last more than 15 minutes. the tween queen is almost done filming the nicholas sparks vehicle the last song and already has a contract to appear in a twilight-style franchise for disney based on the new teen series wings, about a girl who learns she's really a fairy. and, now, miley is taking another shot at the whole music thing. the hannah montana season 3 soundtrack recently appeared on store shelves and a third solo disc from the multi-hyphenate cyrus is expected later this year. the rumored first single off the new cd, "party in the usa" as leaked online earlier today (and you can listen to it above). the song is very different from anything cyrus has released previously, and sounds a lot more grown up. it's the first mainstream radio-friendly track from cyrus that might catch on with the teen and up crowd at the same time as the tweens. the song talks about making it in la, which...i guess, can appeal to half of the people in california...but, overall, its a stick-in-your head kind of tune. i don't know if it will be a huge success, but it might be the biggest single for cyrus beyond "the climb." and, if it bombs, then she can stick to "the climb" type stuff. country music is always a fall back.

day 252

no more push for the tush

kim kardashian and reggie bush are officially dunzo. the couple, together almost two years, have amicably split ways because of their careers requiring more attention than they can share between work and life. because, you know, kim is contracted to start shooting the next season of keeping up with the kardashians and that is too strenuous to focus on her boyfriend. apparently, reggie was hoping kim would move to the new orleans area to be close to him on a full time basis, but she can't part ways with her west coast life style. sounds like someone needs to take a page out of the kendra wilkinson-baskett playbook. kim's fellow e! reality star has already said that she is relocating to the east coast (new jersey, to be exact) in order to maintain a more normal family life. truthfully, i can see kendra surviving in new jersey moreso than kim living in louisiana, but if the love is there, how can you give up? kim and reggie allegedly want to reconcile eventually, but when? it's going to be a while before either of their careers cools off. plus, kim totally could have gone the kendra-route, with her very own spin off show about her new life as an nfl wife. hell, her sisters got a spin off and they're only famous because of the show! silly, silly kim.

day 251

kelly clarkson proves she's a diva

kelly clarkson's latest video - for her next single, "already gone" - has been released and the first american idol proves why vh1 recently tapped her to become one of their "divas." the video, while lacking a plot line, really amps of the drama. kelly is shot (beautifully, to give credit to the director and editors) sulking about a mansion as inanimate objects take on life around her. the vocals are powerful and the cinematography is awesome. check it out above. while it might not be kelly's best song, nor her latest effort all i ever wanted's best offering, it definitely proves why kelly took home the crown on ai's first season and remains as one of the strongest winners in the show's history. hopefully kelly will be able to bring this kind of power to the diva's stage in september and to her recently announced north american tour.

day 250

casting news...for movies!

yay! a little bit of a change, right? in a turn of events, the movie industry is leaking out casting news rather than television. woo. the trailer for machete (above) ran as a spoof before the theatrical presentation of quentin tarantino and robert rodriguez's 2007 double-feature grindhouse. now, it seems, rodriguez is actually turning the mock-film into a full fledged movie. danny trejo (the "machete" of the title) will reprise his role and is joined by michelle rodriguez. but, those two names aren't the surprising casting news. instead, rodriguez says he has a certain starlet in mind for a "cool part" in the film: lindsay lohan. yep. rodriguez told mtv that, if lindsay decides to take the part, he'd be happy to have her, even though filming starts in just a couple weeks. this might be just the perfect vehicle for lindsay to get back into the "mainstream." still, i think she should attempt a career in tv ... and in even wackier news, miley cyrus is attempting to parlay her tv stardom into a full fledged movie career. the disney actress reportedly stopped by warner brothers in a batsuit in an attempt to get the role of batgirl in the upcoming dark knight sequel, which starts shooting next year. miley even came equipped with some "batgirl themed" dialogue to show off her acting chops. problem? the dialogue and cyrus' acting chops apparently didn't add up to much for the execs. yet, there is still hope; cyrus is a big name to grab. but, is batgirl supposed to be a southern belle? i don't know if that will fit in with gotham city vibe. if they're angling younger, i'd say go with emma roberts. she's proved herself in some more dramatic fare and would fit in better with the edgier look of the recent batman films.

day 249

katie holmes underwhelms

last night marked fox's so you think you can dance's 100th episode. while the show was much hyped - and featured guests like ellen degeneres - it pulled in relatively average ratings and pissed off a lot of people by having katie holmes do a "homage" to judy garland and broadway. mrs. tom cruise sang and danced to the garland standard "come on get happy," but not all that well. the singing is a bit nasally and computer enhanced (though we don't have anything to compare holmes' style to because she's never sang before pubically) and it looks like katie is just going through the motions of dancing. for an "actress," katie isn't very good at taking on the character of a broadway star. while katie was mainly doing the performance to bring attention to her dizzy feet foundation, which provides kids with the opportunity to become involved with the arts through music and dance, a better idea may have been to include fellow foundation founders as carrie ann inaba in the performance. or get a "real" singer. plus, what person who is watching sytycd is completely familiar with the musical era of judy garland? most people just know her from the wizard of oz. a modern take on the song may have been better received. the fact that katie couldn't even be bothered to do the number in front of a live audience makes this seem even more like a publicity stunt than it is. had she gone on the sytycd stage and performed alongside the competitors, the audience would have gone crazy. and, come on, the male performers really do all the work in the video above. better luck next time, katie.

day 248

tv updatesss

i know it's boring, but it's all there is to talk about today. fall shows are officially back in production and casting news and plot lines are starting to leak out. first up: ugly betty. betty has officially been replaced by soprano's star jamie lynn sigler. don't worry; sigler is just taking over betty's old job as assistant to daniel meade (becuase betty got promoted to editor in the season finale). jamie will play natalie, a recurring character who is part sexy, part spiritual. sigler will first pop up on the second episode of the season on october 16th. yep, betty won't be back until october 9th. starting so late and the move to friday for the abc show really makes me nervous. hopefully the alphabet net has some really creative advertising efforts and knows that friday ratings are always less than stellar; betty deserves more than just one final, crappy season. reports are surfacing that a long planned musical edition of the show will take place this coming season to keep interest ... in grey's anatomy news, creator shonda rimes is preparing herself for inevitable cast exits. after tr knight's not so shocking departure from the show, rimes knows that an ensemble drama is bound to have a revolving door of cast members sooner or later. the next cast member to leave the show is ellen pompeo, aka meredith grey. but, don't worry - ellen is just leaving for maternity leave and plans on getting back as soon as possible. there's no word on just how meredith's leave will be explained, but it definitely won't be because she and mcdreamy are also with child. shonda plans on taking the show in a more stand alone direction during meredith's absence. rimes also has plans that - if ellen ever did decide to leave the show - little grey (chyler leigh's lexi) could take over the as the "grey" in grey's anatomy.

that's all folks.

day 247

and i thought where the wild things are looked creepy...

the first official trailer for tim burton's take on the disney classic alice in wonderland has just hit the internets and let's just say this is a "what the eff?" moment. burton is well known for his "darker" take on traditional tales, but this just looks plain creepy. if i were a child - based solely on this preview - i don't think i'd be able to sleep for days. johnny depp (burton's muse for some odd reason) looks completely crazy as the mad hatter - which i guess in a way is fitting - but shouldn't the mad hatter provide comic relief? not induce nightmares? i don't see one joke coming out of this movie. hopefully more previews will come out between now and march that might change my mind, but i'm unsure. not even anne hathaway's involvement is a big enough draw to torture myself. check out the wacky wonderland trailer above.

day 246

mischa's not so beautiful life

current psych ward patient mischa barton is screwing up a lot of stuff (aside from her life). amidst rumors that the former oc actress's hospital stay was preceded by a three-day coke binge, the producers of her new fall show, a beautiful life (watch an extended preview above), are taking the show in a separate direction that could exist with or without mischa. plan b would keep mischa's character, sonya, involved in the show - at least in the pilot - while a separate character, jane, with a very similar story line to sonya's, is current being casted. sonya and jane are supposed to be supermodels who are starting to get a little too old and a little too pudgy to compete with the younger models just entering the scene. and they all live together. having two characters who are virtually the same could be a really interesting plot device - competition, scheming, etc - or extremely confusing (as in who is who?). filming on a beautiful life has already been pushed back a week from tomorrow's start date due to sets not being finished on time; though, i feel like they did the push back just to give barton a little extra time to pull it together. the good thing about life is that mischa isn't the only recognizable name attached - sara paxton, corbin bleu, and elle mcpherson all costar on the show. in other cw show news, jennie garth has just inked a deal to return this fall for season 2 of 90210 in the same recurring capacity as the first season. this is really good news after the new show runner said she wasn't all that interested in focusing on the original cast (which is what makes the show!). jennie's kelly will play a big role in the whole annie having (maybe) killed someone. 90210's new partner show, melrose place, also has a semi-famous face coming aboard. well, actually, they have a couple. nip/tuck's kelly carlson (kimber) will be a recurring guest star on the apartment-themed relaunch as a prostitute ring madame who lures at least one of the melrose residents - med student lauren - into working for her. carlson obviously has huge range as an actress as she plays a porn-star/entrepreneur on nip/tuck. the second face you might recognize is brooke burns (known for hosting dog eat dog). the actress will be playing the young wife of original place-er thomas calabro, who returns as michael mancini. she should be playing arm candy as she was once bruce willis' fiance.

vh1 brings divas back...sort of

after a four year hiatus of the concert series divas, which brought together the likes of the most iconic female singers of the 90s and before (like celine dion, whitney houston, and aretha franklin), the mtv-for-older people channel is brining back the special. surprisingly, though, the line-up isn't all that impressive. there hasn't really been a "diva" since the last special, mostly because that style of music has come and gone, replaced by synth beats and autotuned tracks. the 4 confirmed "divas" are leona lewis (known in america as a one-hit-wonder with "bleeding love"), adele ("chasing pavements"), kelly clarkson (the one act with more than one hit stateside), and - most surprisingly - miley cyrus. yes, tween "sensation" miley cyrus is being crowned a "diva" by vh1. the only explanation for this has to be to gain ratings and bring attention to the show that everyone has forgotten about. the cool thing about the choices is that we'll get to see the 4 women perform together multiple times. i cannot wait to see miley try to hold her own against voices like leona and adele. the show will air september 17th on vh1.

day 245

lots 'o casting

with fall tv production starting this week, the networks are already trying to come up with shows to replace those that might fail - that could also be used at midseason, too. nbc is keeping it in the nbc/universal family by landing a deal with top chef host padma lakshmi for her own sitcom. the former model and current foodie will exec produce and star in a comedy pilot allegedly being called single serving. the plot would revolve around a woman (padma) working in the culinary world while juggling everything else life has to offer. that's a real stretch, huh? i'll be interested to see padma's acting skills - the biggest acting job on her resume is the mariah carey "classic" (and, by that, i mean classically bad) glitter ... erika christensen (hayden's sister) is taking the unexpected break from the nbc series parenthood to jump over to fox's lie to me. in the season premiere, erika will play a law student struggling with multiple personality disorder. that shouldn't be a big stretch for erika - she played a psycho in the early 2000's swimfan ... if you're a csi fan, you might be happy to learn that original series star jorja fox (sara) is returning to the cbs hit. bad news? she'll only be back for a few episodes. and there's no sign of william peterson (aka grissom). the production team is trying to keep details of sara's return - in one of the first few eps of the new season - hush, hush but all signs are pointing to some sort of break up with grissom. why else would she return to las vegas? too bad we'll all have to just wait and see ... and that's all folks.

day 244

the wild things are coming

the 1963 children's book, that's been a staple in ever kid's bedroom since then, is finally getting the 21st century treatment with a full on, big screen adaptation. maurice sendak's where the wild things are always used to creep me out when i was little and, to be honest, i have no clue why. i don't remember the story at all, but the illustrations still haunt me today. the film is being helmed by music video master spike jonze, and definitely has his signature flair - well, from the trailer at least (which you can check out above). the look of the film, as well as the interpretation of the monsters, seems pretty true to the source material, which is always a plus when adapting a classic. this is the second film adapatation of the book, the first being a 1970s animated take that i think i remember seeing in elementary school (though i probably didn't pay much attention because of the creep-out factor). surprisingly, disney owned the rights to the book in the 1980s, but failed to produce anything. they mouse house attempted one of the first cgi animated films ever with the project, only coming up with a tester preview. this version is a warner brother's property, but it wasn't always that way. the movie has been in the works since 2000 at universal studios, with a teaser trailer premiering before the jim carrey version of the grinch. repotedly, spike jonze's vision was not one universal cared to support. warner bros picked up the rights sometime around 2006, with filming begining soon after. the reason jonze's vision was so controversial is that he wanted - and did - film wild things with a handheld camera, a technique usually reserved for low budget indies. while reports recently said that the wb wanted to reshoot the entire film, they shot the idea down, saying they supported spike and his version of the film. amongst hollywood's creative community, like chronicles of narnia make-up artist howard berger, the film is bound to fail. berger allegedly got into special effects artistry because of the book, but has been cited as saying turning it into a feature film was a "horrible idea." i can see where he's coming from, especially after reading that the creatures are actually actors is giant suits, built as tall as 9 feet, with computer generated faces. but, i guess the truth will be had when the film hits theaters in mid-october. though, i probably won't be there.

day 243

day o travel

nothing to report today.

day 242

barrymore's whip it
drew barrymore forays her career into directing with this comedy starring juno's ellen page. the film follows fish-out-of-water bliss (page) as she discovers she can "whip it" as one of the stars of a local roller derby league. cue lesbian jokes...now. from the looks of the trailer, the film looks pretty damn good - both in terms of writing and casting as well as cinematography and art director, which drew was in charge of. makes you think drew probably could have helmed at least one of the twilight flicks; maybe she'll take over the 4th and final (and allegedly most challenging piece) breaking dawn? with a cast including juliette lewis, kristin wiig, eve, and barrymore herself, i'm thinking the movie will do pretty well - maybe along the lines of a sleeper hit like juno or little miss sunshine? i hope so. the only problem facing the film is its october release - post summer and pre winter, that's kind of where movies go to die. most audience are too occupied with work/school/their television to make it to the theater. but, who knows? it could be the star of turkey season. the movie is adapted from a teen novel, derby girl, by the book's author - shauna cross - so the material should at least be true to form (ie if you've read the book, it shouldn't disappoint, though i don't know of anymore who has read the book). check out the trailer abovbe and see for yourself. i'm excited.

day 241

emmy schmemmy

i don't have much to say about this year's nominations other than congrats to 30 rock, weeds, and the ladies of saturday night live. here's a complete list of nominees this year. the categories were expanded from 5 nods to 7, making room for a lot of unexpected contenders. the most unexpected? the best comedy series nom for fox's family guy. is it just me or is the show the same thing every week? same jokes, same story, same...everything. the - what i think is inane - cartoon series has been a big ratings winner (only god knows why) for the network and bypassed the line for animated series, straight into contention with shows like the office and how i met your mother. the primetime emmys air september 20th live from hollywood.

giving lindsay a run for her money

we all know that lindsay lohan is my numero uno hot mess. but, that might be changing quite soon. former oc star mischa barton just went up a notch on the crazy scale. the actress called the police - through the non-911 number - on herself last night for a "medical issue" and was taken straight to the hospital. according to us weekly, the actress had a major-minor meltdown and felt the need to call the authorities. because therapy is too expensive i guess? now this is where is gets complicated and you can guess which story i think is more interesting - and hopefully real. some reports claim mischa just had complications with the sockets left from her wisdom teeth removal earlier this month and that she didn't know what else to do. really? because i would just have called the doctor or a friend/family member to take me to the emergency room. but, i guess i'm not a washed-up(ish) tv star. the other (better) story is that mischa was picked up and taken to the hospital and was put on a - wait for it - 51/50 psychiatric hold. yes, some britney (circa 2007) shiz. that means she's being held against her will because she poses a threat to herself and/or others. woohoo! where she goes from here is unknown, but hopefully something will leak out soon. the actress is slated to resume production on her new cw show (a beautiful life) about supermodels living in new york. no word on whether this will delay said production. if it does, i'd say barton's replaceable.

day 240

back to binging for zellweger

it looks like renee zellweger will be hitting up plenty of fast food chains in the coming months. the petite actress will be taking on the character that made her a movie star once again in a third bridget jones film. no official word from working title, the production center for the films, has been had, but rumblings are that a script is currently being drafted in hopes to start production in about a years time. this will allow renee to pack on the lb's that make her character the lovable pudgy reporter lovable once more and for sure to be script redrafts and contract negotiations for the franchise's three stars - zellweger, colin firth, and hugh grant. the first two films were inspired by and adapted from helen fielding's books of the same names - bridget jones' diary and bridget jones: the edge of reason - but the third flick will be compiled from a series of columns fielding wrote overseas about bridget's quest to have a baby before her biological clock runs out of time. it's been 5 years since edge of reason hit theaters, meaning - at the least - it will be 7 years between reason's release and the untitled third film's release. are you ready to see renee zellweger bigger than life again on the big screen? while the film is sure to be successful, i still don't understand why renee has to get soooo big for the role; in the book, the character is maybe 15 pounds overweight, not 25 or more like in the second film. but oh well. if you haven't seen the first two films, the trailers are posted above for your viewing uhrmm...pleasure?

day 239

blippity blurbs

there's not really a story worth writing today, so let's play catch-up. is that okay? no? too bad. okay, first up, mariah carey's latest singe - "obsessed" - has been released in music video form. well, kind of. the video will technically premiere tonight during nbc's america's got talent, which mariah's husband, nick cannon, just happens to host. hmm, i wonder how they worked out this whole premiere deal? if you just can't wait (which, i don't know why you couldn't - the video isn't all that great), then click here to check out the "early premiere." the video was accidentally published on yahoo music earlier today and someone was smart enough to video capture it ... as we head back into the start of awards season - i know, it feels like we just finished, right? - hosts are slowly being announced. neil patrick harris was officially confirmed yesterday as the host for this year's primetime emmys as was speculated last week. joining him as an emmy host will be kathy griffin. the d-list star has been tapped to host what she calls the "schmemmys," otherwise known as the creative arts primetime emmys, where all the behind the scenes work and some lesser awards - like guest actor and actress and best reality show (which griffin has won for the past 2 years) - are handed out. this is the first time an emmy winner has hosted the creative arts ceremony ... mtv has tapped comedian russell brand to helm the video music awards for the second year in a row. the british star gained record ratings for the show last year, which included britney spear's return from crazy land and a performance by the jobros, which led to a big virgin joke controversy involving brand, jorin sparks, as well as the brothers jonas. the show will move back to its home in new york this year - after moving to the paramount lot in california last year and the palms the year before - to radio city music hall. the only confirmed performer thus far is taylor swift, who will be doing a "never before heard" rendition of her new hit "you belong with me." that should be good - swift always brings it. i'll be interested to see how brand does this year; he wasn't my favorite last year. but, his scatterbrained style is probably the most appropriate for the add audience of today ... with scream 4's script being drafted right now, the cast list is starting to add up. the first two cast members to be confirmed for the project are husband and wife team david and courntey cox arquette. the couple met on the set of the first movie and will reprise their roles of deputy dewey and gale weathers, respectively. the announcement was made today on nbc's todat show by david, who added he is hoping that series star neve campbell will come back for the fourth go around. this move could either be great or horrible - it's been long enough that a new audience is there for the franchise, but if they don't show up, will the old fans? ... and a bromance is officially dead. okay, maybe not dead, but not quite as close as it used to be. mostly because the duo of ed westwick and chace crawford have decided to part realty ways, with chace moving out of the buds' shared apartment in new york.

day 238

jessica simpson just can't win

when j simps gets one thing going on the right path in her life, something else being derailed never seems to be far behind. this time around, it appears jessica's career is getting better while her romantic life is mia. the pop star turned reality show star turned country singer is back to being a reality star, with vh1's the price of beauty starting production this fall, in which jessica will go around the world seeing what beauty means - and what it takes to have it - worldwide. but, jessica will be traveling the globe as a single lady. reports are surfacing that simpson and longtime beau, dallas cowboy tony romo, have called it quits. as both of their careers begin to take off, again, it just didn't seem possible for them to stay together. the biggest indicator of the split came this past weekend. jessica turned 29 over the weekend and was set to have a ken and barbie themed party, which she canceled - unexpectedly - at the last minute. while tony was in los angeles at the time, he apparently didn't want to put on a rouse for simpson's guests and stayed at a hotel rather than her house. although not totally unexpected, the split is said to be amicable, though jessica is "heartbroken" according to people magazine's source. it seems this whole shebang is just the right thing for the duo to do, even if not what they want. from everything that's out there, it seems like there is hope for jessica and tony to get back together, just after a break. it's kind of like a whole ross/rachel thing, right? okay, not really because they're not witty new yorkers with one of the weirdest sexual histories ever....but nonetheless.

day 237

today

there is nothing. see you tomorrow.

day 236

nbc just can't win

oh, nbc...two steps forward, three steps back. the peacock net has been focusing nearly all their advertising efforts for the fall on jay leno's new 10 o'clock show and the only chance they have for a series with longevity, parenthood. now, only one of those shows will be premiering on schedule. parenthood's premiere has been shifted to midseason, while midseason grey's anatomy rip-off mercy - the nursing dramedy staring michelle trachtenberg - will take the wednesday slot come september 23rd. why, you ask? nbc says its because parenthood star maura tierney, who gained fame on nbc's er, requires an 8-week medical leave. what medical problem she allegedly has is unknown. however, because there's not much of an explanation, nbc may have just wanted to retool the series before it started regular production later this month. this is the second time parenthood has been cursed with medical emergencies and scheduling push-backs. when the pilot was being filmed in april, the nbc vice president of drama dropped dead on the hollywood set, halting all work for 2 days. maybe parenthood isn't destined to make it to the small screen. nbc has yet to release an official announcement on whether or not their schedule will only have the one change or if a complete retooling is coming. with the addition of mercy, nbc will be launching two medical skeins at the same time; trauma will premiere two days earlier on monday the 21st. plus, is mercy even suited for an 8/7c debut? jay leno's 10/9c nightly talk fest has forced nbc to be completely devoid of late night drama, their bread and butter since the launch of the law and order series. as of now, it doesn't look like nbc will be getting back on their feet as the 4th place network anytime soon. it's pretty sad that they've faltered since the loss of friends 5 years ago.

day 235

funny funny

here's some great jon and kate parodies that have hit the web recently.

Kate Gosselin Match.com Profile Video - watch more funny videos

Match.com-Jon Gosselin - watch more funny videos

day 234

i might personally bitch slap beyonce knowles

okay, that's probably not altogether true - especially because what are the chances i'll actually get into close enough proximity to actually perform said bitch slap? - but if she makes one more damn video with two female back-up dancers doing an overly choreographed routine, i don't know what i'll do. apparently beyonce left behind the success that was destiny's child - in which, to be honest, she was the only one you really knew the name of, right? - to just become a solo act with the same routine and style. lady b's latest offering, "sweet dreams," is one of the best offerings off the sasha fierce side of her duel disc i am...sasha fierce, but she couldn't back up the super creative effort with a creative video. while the "sweet dreams" video most definitely does knock "single ladies" and "diva" out of the water in terms of styling and trippiness, it's still the same shit, different day. at least beyonce gets some quality solo time with a mirror in the vid. i'd be happier if she just used three of her own images to do the choreography, similar to how the whole mirror work goes down in this vid. i can understand being consistent and having a collective look to your work on one album, but there are other ways to do that. doing all the vids in black and white would have been enough. but, anyway, judge the video for yourself above.

day 233

disney channel loves west side story

with the previously announced high school musical: east meets west, you would think disney wouldn't try their hands at the whole west side story/romeo and juliet concept for a second go around until after the film's premiere. but, that isn't the case. the mouse house has green-lit the script for their other musical movie franchise, camp rock's, sequel, camp rock 2: the final jam. the second installment of the demi lovato/jobros series will follow mitchie (lovato) and the boys from "connect 3" (the brothers) will head back to camp rock for another summer, but will come to find that a lot of their close friends have jumped ship to newly opened camp star. some of the most talented kids and instructors are now traitors and camp rock is suffering. so, what are the camp rock-ites to do to keep the camp afloat? a big musical rock-off between the rival camp. duh. while joe was the only brother to really star in the original flick, nick will take romantic center stage in this go around. as joe's shane and demi's mitchie continue to go strong in their relationship, nick will find love with - shocker! - one of the rival campers. said camper is the daughter of camp star's owner, a talented pianist to be played by chloe bridges, who most recently appeared in the straight to dvd trequel legally blondes. the movie will start production this summer (hsm4 goes into production this fall) and some tracks have already been recorded (demi lovato tweeted she had laid a track called "never let it go"). american idol's newly married judge, kara dio guardi, is set to pen the music for the sequel. hopefully the jonai have improved their acting skills since the first movie, but from what i've seen of their sitcom jonas, i'm not so sure.

day 232

mj memorial

today was probably the biggest memorial ever held for anyone who has passed. michael jackson's life was honored in los angeles at the staples center (and all around the world on tv) with a bevy of celebrity guests. most of today's celeb news is focused on mj, so there's nothing to talk about other than that. here are some select performances from the memorial.

day 231

leighton's leakage

now that leighton meester is back to shooting the new season of gossip girl, she's taking time off of her burgeoning music career. but, to remind us that she is, in fact, a singer, someone leaked a new track - "body control" - onto the internets. it seems like leighton is going gaga - and i mean that she's taking some inspiration from lady gaga. the song is a fast paced, radio friendly, dance track with plenty of synth beats, much like the material lady g included on her debut album, the fame. it sounds like it could have come right out of the 80s. no word on whether or not this is an official single or just a demo, but either way it's a going to get stuck in your head after you listen to it. you're welcome. or not. check out the song above.

diablo's back

if you were a fan of 2007's juno, then you might be in for a treat come september. diablo cody, who wrote juno, is back with her second film, jennifer's body. out september 18th, the film follows a mean girl/cheerleader (megan fox as jennifer) who is possessed by a demon to destroy all that is evil. sadly, all that is evil entails almost every boy in the girl's high school. when her nerdy friend, needy (played by mamma mia's amanda seyfriend), discovers jennifer's secret she has to battle back, tracking down the demon's source. sounds like some heavy stuff right? well, after watching the preview, it's not that bad. the dialogue appears to have diablo's trademark wit - more of a dark comedy vibe than a slasher film. in fact, the movie has already been compared to one of my favorite flicks, heathers. check it out for yourself above.

day 230

youtube'n

because of the holiday weekend, no one really acted up. or, if they did, everyone else was too occupied with the nation's birthday to pay attention. so, here's some good youtube stuff from this week - including britney spears' new video for her single "radar," which appeared on both her albums blackout and circus, and madonna and beyonce's tributes to the late king of pop, michael jackson.

day 229

happy birthday, america

day 228

the emmy's will be legen - wait for it - dary

after the fiasco of last year's emmy ceremony, which was hosted (poorly) by the first time ever nominees for best reality program host - tom bergeron, heidi klum, howie mandel, jeff probst, and ryan seacrest - the academy of television arts and sciences has decided to go a more traditional route for the 2009 production, with just one host. and who will said host be? doogie houser and how i met your mother star neil patrick harris. the actor/magician/performer recently hosted the tony awards (really well, if i may add) and, therefore, became the blogosphere's champion to take the helm. as interest in nph continued to grow, i guess the academy started to take note. it also helps that neil works for the network that is home to the awards show this year, cbs. while the atas is putting together their presentation to announce, officially, neil's appointment, variety has already confirmed the news. last year's reality show-centric show was one of the least watched telecasts of all time, with many viewers tuning out within the first few minutes due to a less than stellar opening comedy routine by the aforementioned talking heads. the nominees for this year's show will be announced on the 16th, with the show taking place about two months later on september 20th. while i am more partial to having a comedian host an awards show, neil would definitely be my choice outside the professional comics realm. watch the vid above to see neil's closing number from the tony's this year if you need convincing he has the chops.

day 227

what radio station is going to play this?

whitney houston's comeback single has made it's way to the internet and, well, it's pretty weak. the song, in the video above, is a ballad (obvi), but there's no kick to it or whitney-izing (think "i will always love you"). it sounds like a mary j blige reject, really. i'm all for an r&b style career for whitney - the day of the 90s crazy singing chops diva has gone far, far away - but the song needs to be catchy at least. this isn't an "official" release, so maybe this is just something they were playing around with in the studio...and hopefully so. if whitney's coming back, she needs to comeback in a big - and i mean big - way. songs like "i wanna dance with somebody" could be played today, with a little updating, so why not do something like that? the 80s are back, right? i know whitney isn't a fresh-faced 20something anymore, but that's what people remember her for. that and this crazy being bobby brown moment. if her singing career fails to take off again, i wouldn't mind seeing batshit crazy whitney again.

day 226

lizzie mcguire meets the upper east side

nbc is probably kicking themselves right now. the peacock net passed on hilary duff's pilot, barely legal, after shelling out millions to add the star to their roster and now another net - the cw - has picked up the former disney star. how crappy was legal that nbc was willing to lose that much money on duff? hilary has been added to the gossip girl young hollywood roster as a heavily recurring character who has potential to become a series regular. duff will play olivia burke, a famous teen actress who decides to take a shot at having a normal life by enrolling in college. olivia enrolls at nyu (where most of the gossip characters are headed) and is roomed with jessica szhor's vanessa. placing a famous actress with a budding film maker? sounds like drama is definitely ahead. there's no word as to how many episodes duff will stick around for as of yet, but she'll make her debut in the season's fourth episode, premiering october 5th. if we don't meet roomies until then, and the show premieres early on in september, then i think it's safe to say there's going to be at least 2 episodes focused on summer drama. i think this is a really good nab for the gossip net. the ceedub reportedly offered duff the lead role of annie in the relaunch of 90210, but she passed, not wanting to return to teen tv. it appears her opinions have changed, huh? i bet hilary wished she had taken that role now that she's kind of job-less, minus the guest stint here and there. hopefully she'll get a lot of screen time on the upcoming season. duff will be joined by michelle trachtenberg, who is returning as bitch in hells georgina sparks. trachtenberg's nbc pilot - mercy - was actually picked up by the peacock net, but won't launch until midseason and probably won't take off. it looks like some weird combo between grey's anatomy and showtime's nurse jackie. hopefully that means georgina will be able to come back full time.