day 67

inauguration shenanigans 

while the focus this week has been on our newly sworn in presidente, word of various celebrity craziness in and around the festivities is starting to trickle out.  first up is none other than repeat diva mariah carey.  the songstress formerly know for her high pitched notes (now known more for her club beats) was apparently so dissatisfied in her treatment at the affair, that she bailed out of the ceremony altogether.  now, you ask, what could have been so bad that mariah stormed off? her seat.  mariah was disappointed with the fact that she had to sit with the "commonfolk" (aka her celebrity peers, like jon bon jovi, mary j blige, alicia keys, and bruce springsteen); she wanted to sit with the obamas themselves.  now, the "front row" seats are almost exclusively for family and government officials, past and future.  where carey got the idea she was a relative of the obamas or a member of barack's cabinet is beyond me.  before mimi left dc, however, she did get a chance to sing "hero" at the neighborhood inaugural ball, an event created by obama to make all neighborhoods across the country aware, at the same time, of what was going on in washington the day of the inauguration through a variety of web-based components.  carey wasn't the only star disappointed in her role at the inauguration.  fellow diva sean "diddy" combs is said to have been frustrated with his seating arrangement as well, in addition to not being asked to perform and his "second fiddle" role to more prominent jay-z (diddy even had to sit next to mr beyonce during the ceremony - how tragic!).  where do these people get off thinking it's their day?? diddy's people did refute the claims, saying the inauguration was "one of the greatest moments of his life." okay...

twilight lands another name

in addition to dakota fanning (and possibly vanessa hudgens, though reports are now claiming that the character she auditioned for won't even be making an appearance in new moon), america ferrera is said to be joining the cast of the vampire/werewolf mega franchise.  while the first move featured a virtually unknown cast of actors only known for their former, small supporting roles, the sequel is shaping up to be a big name blockbuster.  the ugly betty actress, and reported avid fan of the series, has reportedly auditioned for the role of leah clearwater, the only known female werewolf in the stephanie meyer-created quileute tribe.  there's no official word on this casting decision, but if it's true, word is sure to break soon - why would they want to keep such a "name" a secret? while the film series really doesn't need any more publicity, adding actors and actresses with names is sure to draw more attention to the franchise and more fans to the box office, which means even more money for the films.  

paula abdul, responsible for all music videos

or, so, she would like us to believe.  the lakers girl-turned pop star-turned american idol judge has been quoted as saying that her videos, like "opposites attract," are the "almanac" for for current stars like beyonce and rihanna, and the videos they've created. now, i don't know about you, but i don't really recall beyonce and rihanna dancing and singing with an animated character...and, if paula is referencing the rap-singing duet, i don't think she invented that, either. had paula called attention to the "straight up" video, then, maybe, i could see where she's coming from.  that video is much more, stylistically speaking, like the videos of today.  sometimes we just have to excuse miss abdul's comments (to be real, we have to do this most of the time)...but this one struck me as quite the quote.  to say that abdul's videos have stood the test of time is a bit extreme, even for abdul to say herself.

day 64

labeouf is license-less

shia labeouf, former child star and current hollywood it-boy, won't be driving around the hollywood hills anytime soon.  the actor, who was in a major wreck last year, which left him with an injured hand and delayed shooting on transformers 2, has had his license suspended for "refusal of chemical tests." that means shia would not hand over his blood and, therefore, the state could not get shia's blood/alcohol level.  states view this as a separate criminal offense than driving drunk and the punishment is (shocker) a suspended license.  shia will be without a valid license for at least one full calendar year.  at the time of the accident, shia had physical signs of being intoxicated - stumbling and stuttering - but there was no evidence to prove he was actually a dui case.  that's probably why they went after the "refusal of chemical tests" charge - they needed to teach the star a lesson one way or another.  hopefully shia learns his lesson and does not become a part of the repeat offender club.  why didn't lindsay lohan get her license taken away? all these stars just need to learn to higher drivers...god knows they have the money.

jennifer lopez hides xenu

jennifer lopez, who has repeatedly told the press she is a catholic, was seen leaving the celebrity scientology center today.  the star stuck a purse over her face immediately after stepping out, but quite a few witnesses reported lopez's appearance.  lopez has quite a few connections to the church, with both her father and good friend leah remini being practicing scientologists.  maybe lopez is converting? even though the star has been divorced twice, the catholic church does frown upon divorce.  and with rumors constantly surrounding the star's marriage to singer marc anthony, maybe the leap to scientology would separate her further from her baby daddy and allow her to escape the reportedly hostile relationship.  

most of the celebs were in washington today, either with an official invite (like beyonce and jay z) or unofficially (blake lively and justin long were spotted amongst the crowd), so they were keeping themselves well behaved for obama's inauguration.  

day 61

hannah heads to hollywood

hannah montana: the movie is set to hit a theater near you april tenth.  click here for your first look at the film.  the trailer features some new songs (seemingly of the hannah - and not miley - variety) and alludes to some of the plot points which have been rather quiet until now.  it looks like after a fight over a pair shoes with tyra banks, miley's dad tricks the hiding pop star into returning home to tennessee where she'll have to live her un-hannah life, reevaluate some things, and decide if she wants to continue her pop star life.  only a disney movie would cause a life altering rehabilitation in tennessee from a shoe fight.  the movie does look like it will be perfect for the hannah-centric set with plenty of physical comedy.  the one thing that gets me with all these tv shows-turned-movies is the way they're filmed.  i understand that there are differences between tv and film cinematic techniques, but why must the movie versions and tv versions of shows exist in alternative universes? the hannah montana sets have been traded in for real life locations (mostly shot in tennessee) and on-location filming.  why do they do that? the only film which seems to be an exception is sex and the city because, well, the tv show was shot like a movie.  but, we'll have to wait just under 4 months to see what the movie is really like.  

beyonce to ballad barack

beyonce is set to sing president elect barack obama and his wife, michelle, their first dance together as president and first lady tuesday night at obama's election. but, it seems no one told beyonce that the performance's song was supposed to be a secret.  the singer-turned-actress let it slip that her "big number" from her performance as etta james in the commercially ignored film cadillac records, "at last," will be the first dance of our nation's new leader. while the song seemed to be an obvious choice (can you see barack and michelle slow dancing to "single ladies - or even "if i were a boy??"), the presidential inaugural committee was trying to keep the number a surprise.  anyway, we'll all still get to see what kind of dance skills barack and michelle have.  

while there were two days of news to report, nothing big really happened.  oh well, stay tuned...there's bound to be some major drama somewhere, sometime soon.