Archive: June 2009 (131-140 of 438)

Jun 19 2009 08:00 PM ET

Jennifer Love Hewitt writes romance self-help book, 'The Day I Shot Cupid'

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Categories: Books, Celebrity Couples, News You Can Use

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Jennifer Love Hewitt is writing a dating guide, The Day I Shot Cupid, that will be published in March 2010. According to the release, "she will reveal a surprisingly wicked sense of humor as she explores the new landscape of modern dating and offers up a wide range of practical tips, from text-flirting and IM-ing to what men and women really want, and how to start over after a breakup."

Now, I know what you're thinking: Do we really want love advice from a woman who's dated Joey Lawrence, Carson Daly, John Mayer, and now her Ghost Whisperer costar Jamie Kennedy? Well, at least the fact that none of them are A-list keeps her relatable. (She has been known to work the merch table at Kennedy's stand-up gigs — and has bedazzled the T-shirts he sells.) Maybe it's all those tears she's got me to shed on Friday nights (I'm incredibly vulnerable when I'm tired), but I think she just might be honest enough to get me to read this book if I'm sent one for free. "Throughout my career, there has always been so much written about my love life. Some true, but mostly made up," she says in the release. "I thought it was time to share the real story of what I’ve learned navigating the dating waters. Hopefully, in addition to having a good laugh, women reading this will learn from some of my hard lessons.”

What would Hewitt have to share to get you to pick it up and take it to the café in Starbucks and then leave it on the table?

Jun 19 2009 07:02 PM ET

'Twilight' fans should run for cover: The vampire flick gets nasty again with 'Thirst'

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Categories: Horror, Movie Trailers, Twilight

One of my favorite movies is the stylish, but totally nuts, 2003 revenge thriller Old Boy. Directed by Korean auteur Chan-wook Park the film examines the question of what happens when you lock a guy up for years, and don’t tell him why, but do allow him to perfect his fighting abilities. The answer is a lot more complicated than you might imagine but does involve some pretty shocking violence. And “pretty” is the right word for this crazy but beautiful-looking movie.

The latest from Chan-wook Park is Thirst, a vampire epic about an undead priest that comes out next month. My colleague Lisa Schwarzbaum saw the movie at Cannes earlier this year and wrote that it featured “scenes ofvivid, graphic, intently realistic sex between a vampire and avampiress-in-waiting.” I have no reason to doubt her, even if the new red-band trailer below merely hints at such erotic shenanigans (though it does hint strongly enough to make it suitable-only-for-adults.)

Personally, I can’t wait for Thirst and not just because I’m such a fan of Old Boy. This is one of the first vampire movies to come out since the release of the phenomenally successful, if in my view utterly abominable, Twilight and it seems possible that a few Twi-fans might be sucked (ha!) into checking it out. If so, I genuinely hope they like it. But, while both films may technically belong to the same genre, it’s hard to imagine more different sensibilities than those of Chan-wook Park and Stephenie Meyer. I predict scenes of entertaining mayhem aplenty—and not all of it onscreen.

Are you a Twilight follower who is thinking of checking out Thirst? A fan of Old Boy? Or someone who is glad that the vampire movie is getting serious (and in, all likelihood, seriously gruesome) again?

Jun 19 2009 07:00 PM ET

Hayden Panettiere wants you to confess your secrets. (Hers: 'I can't play the guitar')

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Categories: Misc.

Call me a skeptic, but I’m not sure how much of a good idea doling out your innermost secrets to a celebrity is just because they ask you to. But Hayden Panettiere has gone ahead and asked us to anyway for her upcoming teen comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper, in which a nerdy kid confesses his love for the popular girl (Panettiere) in front of the whole school. She, in turn, shows him the night of his life. Because, as we all remember, high school was totally cool and forgiving. Nevertheless, the “Moment of Truth” campaign has people coming out in droves to upload videos of themselves confessing some pretty juicy tidbits about themselves. Everything from revealing crushes to ‘fessing up their worst fibs has become fair game on the movie’s website. Some people will even be “lucky” enough to have their spot played on national television. Heck, even Hayden herself was willing to dish out her own dirt (see below).

To be honest, I’ve always found PostSecret fascinating, but my unwavering fear that someone would recognize my handwriting made me wonder where people found the courage to even do it. And with the growing popularity of embarrassing confessional sites like FML and Texts From Last Night, it shouldn’t be such a big surprise that people are more than willing to share their…lesser moments with the world. But putting it on video really redefines “putting it all out there,” no? Or are these online confessions way more therapeutic than I’m giving them credit for? What do you think, PopWatchers? Would you tell Hayden or another celeb your stories, or are you taking them to the grave?

Jun 19 2009 06:52 PM ET

Spot Inspection: What's the geekiest thing in your pocket?

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Categories: I'm Just a Geek, PopWatch Confessional, Spot Inspection

Darth-Vader-neil-diamond_l Today, Marc Bernardin, whose office is opposite mine, pulled a pocketknife that he bought at the Skywalker Ranch gift shop in August 2001 out of his jeans and used it to skin and carve his lunch. (Lunch was an apple, but that didn't stop him from feeling "muy manly.") My immediate thought: I can outgeek him. In my pocket: My Neil Diamond World Tour 2008 keychain (which is in the shape of a guitar). Also, a Year One ticket stub. My second thought: No, he wins.

What's the geekiest thing in your pocket right now?

Jun 19 2009 06:21 PM ET

DreamWorks CEO demands an all-3D future. Do you?

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Categories: Animation, Movies, To Care or Not to Care

Up-coraline_l Jeffrey Katzenberg is trumpeting 3D technology so loudly he might as well leave DreamWorks and become a band leader. Today, the company's CEO added one new 3D animated movie (called Boo U) to its  slew of upcoming projects (including Kung Fu Panda 2! Yay!). In fact, Katzenberg has mandated that every forthcoming DreamWorks feature be made in 3D. Following the near-$200 million dollar gross of Monsters vs. Aliens, he may be on to something.

In fact, all three of the year's major 3D animated films — Coraline, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Up — have been hits with moviegoers, which might suggest audiences are warming up to the technology. (Except, of course, steadfast skeptic Roger Ebert.) So why do I remain so 3D-resistant? Up is a great movie and possibly one of Pixar's best, but its greatness had nothing to do with it being in 3D. Sure, the balloons popped off the screen, and every time a bird flew it felt like it was going to hit me smack in the head. But I actually found the 3D technology distracting at times and completely inconsequential at others. Each of these animated flicks are visually stunning enough that adding 3D technology starts to seem like overkill. (Not to mention pricier.)

But with nearly every animated film in the works destined for 3D screens (including July's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) and James Cameron's sure-to-be-epic sci-fi adventure Avatar on the way, the technology is obviously here to stay. So I'm curious, PopWatchers: Where do you stand on 3D at the moment? Did it enhance your Coraline/Monsters Vs. Aliens/Up moviegoing experience? Or are you waiting for Avatar to commit one way or the other?

Jun 19 2009 05:35 PM ET

What's your favorite movie to watch with Dad?

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Categories: Awwwwww So Cuuuuuute, Happy Holidays, Movies

Father-of-the-bride-williams-martin_lMine is Father of the Bride, which thankfully made our list of 24 Movies To See With Dad. Awwwwwww. It's not that I would particularly like to deal with anything remotely involving a wedding. Oh hell no. It's the uber-relatable scenes of Annie Banks and George (Kimberly Williams-Paisley and Steve Martin, pictured) playing basketball in the driveway that suck me in. That was soooo me and my dad, the only glaring difference being that Annie Barrett could actually shoot the frickin' ball one-handed and had pretty amazing form all-around, whereas Annie Banks is the sorriest excuse for a student-athlete to hit theaters in the early '90s. (I smell another photo gallery!)

My runner-up dad movie is 2001: A Space Odyssey — I remember the first time we watched it together, the normally sedated Bill Barrett nearly leapt out of his big red chair to punctuate the final fetus-meets-home plant moment with a resounding "F—in A, Ann! Did you see that? ARE YOU WATCHING THIS?" I most certainly was. Hi, dad! Happy early Father's Day.

Is your favorite watch-with-Dad movie on our list?

Jun 19 2009 05:00 PM ET

Tim McGraw's cologne: Smells like...victory?

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Categories: Advertising, Country Y'all!, Grooming, I'm Just a Geek, Music, Ninjas, Paris Hilton

I've got no problem with Tim McGraw, nor his desire to extend his brand through fragrance — if Paris Hilton and Gene Simmons can do it, why can't he? My problem is with this commercial:

The message I get from that spot is: "If you wanna smell like a roadhouse juke joint filled with sweaty musicians…McGraw." Is this really the best the advertising whiz kids could come up with?

Jun 19 2009 04:30 PM ET

NPR’s Terry Gross: Jedi Master?

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Categories: Is This a Rhetorical Question?, Movies, Star Wars, Things That Are Awesome!

Terry-gross_l Don’t let the coy, gentle voice fool you. Terry Gross, who’s been interviewing folks on the radio since 1973, is a bulldog. Did you catch her interview with Woody Allen on Monday’s edition of NPR’s Fresh Air? The director was there to chat about his latest film, Whatever Works (which opens tonight). But Gross didn’t hesitate to probe the filmmaker’s personal life. She found at least three different ways to get Allen to discuss his marriage to Soon-Yi Previn. For example:

GROSS: And again, let's be honest. A lot of your fans were really kind of upset when you married the woman who is the adoptive daughter of your long-time lover. So I wonder if you thought about that kind of thing when you were making the movie, that people would just be, like, looking for clues about the older-man, younger-woman relationship and how that applies to you.

Awwwwwwk-ward.

Actually, not at all. Gross has this unique talent to wrap the bluntest of queries in a bouquet of sweetness. Allen cordially answered her questions and what followed was one of the most engaging and revealing conversations ever with the elusive director.

How does she do it? I imagine her guests’ fingers are wired to a polygraph machine. They’re probably drugged, too. Or she’s simply a Jedi master of mind control: “Those aren’t the droids you’re looking for…but do tell about that embarrassing incident at Studio 54.”

Can we agree that Terry Gross is a national treasure? Three hours with the Gitmo detainees, and I’m convinced she’d have bin Laden.

Related: EW's review of 'Whatever Works'

Jun 19 2009 04:03 PM ET

'Idolatry': LaKisha Jones dishes trifling ex, sings 'Let's Go Celebrate'!

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Categories: American Idol, Idolatry, Music

I spent much of American Idol's sixth season obsessing over LaKisha Jones' powerhouse vocals — let us go back for a moment, and remember her rendition of "This Ain't a Love Song." Sigh — and now (at long last) she's back in the spotlight with the recent release of her debut disc, So Glad I'm Me. Because Idolatry is a vital stop on any former Idol's promotional tour, Ms. Jones swung by my humble office to talk about why she's not wearing her favorite assortment of heels these days, how her personal life has changed drastically since her fourth-place Idol run, and what part of the recording process for her album sent her into a crying fit. Oh, and of course, she grabbed the mic and headed to our conference room to belt out her debut single, "Let's Go Celebrate." So press play, and enjoy!

Jun 19 2009 03:48 PM ET

'Zombieland' trailer: Who knew Woody Harrelson killin' zombies would be so much fun?

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Categories: I'm Just a Geek, Movie Trailers, Movies, Ninjas, Zombies

Everywhere you turn these days, there's a zombie: in Jane Austen, in Harvard lectures, in excellent comic books, and awesomely horrible movies. Undead is the new black. But with the exception of the phenomenal Shaun of the Dead, zombies aren't usually played for laughs. And then comes the trailer for Zombieland.

I don't know if this movie's gonna be any good, or if it's gonna stink like a shambler left out in the sun. But it's got attitude, a sense of humor, and Woody Harrelson, looking like he's having he time of his life.

Whaddya think, P-Diddlies? Are you totally zombied out, or is this flick one for the to-do list?

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