Welcome again to the weekly Pop Culture Club, where each week I make an assignment, and we meet back here on Thursdays to discuss, compare notes, argue, stew, and, time permitting, write a song cycle. This week we take on a topic that I feel very strongly about: People getting hurt. And what better way to address this hot button issue than through ABC's Wipeout?
I should clarify: I don't have an issue with people getting hurt on TV. On the contrary, I encourage it. My issue is the importance of people getting hurt in a funny way. For over 25 years,I have honed my appreciation for all things bloopered. You know how some film directors talk about the first time they saw a Truffaut film and had their eyes opened to a whole new world? I had the same thing one cold day in high school while sitting in a cafeteria, watching through the window as fellow student after fellow student pinwheeled their arms wildly as they tried — and then failed — to cross the school's icy courtyard. This is art, I whispered to myself as yet another classmate picked himself off and dusted the snow off of his snorkel jacket.
The whole CGI-enabled "babies talking and/or acting like adults" thing kinda creeps me out, and this ad for Evian, in which babies are doing rollerskate stunts and breakdancing to "Rapper's Delight," is no exception. That said, it's pretty seamless, definitely hilarious (love the cocky "What?" stance at 0:43), and a marked improvement on the ho-hum synchronized swimming Evian ad from a couple months ago. Plus, they toss in a few giggles, coos, and toddles to help cute it up a bit. Definitely a clever way to hammer home Evian's "Live Young" slogan and help bring a hip-hop coolness to a brand that could still benefit from anything that helps shed its lingering Yuppie-Water stigma. What think ye?
So no sexified kids tonight. No forced narrative, either, or mean-spirited bait-and-switch critiques. Tonight…felt different. America's Got Talent is still missing that moment of transcendence known worldwide as the "Boyle moment," but tonight's episode got closer than any previous installment to justifying that word in the title. Yup, tonight's crew was TALENTED — no asterisks — and in a wide variety of disciplines, to boot. Opera singing! Rapping! Belly dancing! Stand-up comedy! Crazy trampoline basketball! Performers ran the GAMUT, and in a way that was consistently entertaining and engaging. Take THAT, episodes 1-5.
As forthe Potter phenomenon, the movies are slowly coming to an end, with theremaining JK Rowling novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, to be splitinto two movies. During the production of Half-Blood Prince — the final chapterto be set within Hogwarts School — Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Watsonwore their characters' Gryffindor House robes for the last time. "I was like 'Burn it!' Oh my god, to be done with those shoes and that uniform — that was anexciting day," says Watson. Radcliffe adds, "When you're 18, one of the worstthings to be wearing while trying to chat up a girl on the set is a schooluniform. You look like a kid! You’re not going to score dressed like that!"
All of the stars are aware that pursuing acting will be tricky,post-Potter. Watson isn't even sure she wants to try. She's decided to go tocollege (at Columbia University, reportedly), but still has about a year of workon Deathly Hallows to finish first. "My world is still all about Harry Potter,"she says. "I really can't see anything beyond it." Radcliffe, on the other hand,is ecstatic about acting. "I have come to the conclusion that I am never happierthan when I am on a film set," he says. "This is what I want to be doing.Totally. Absolutely. Unequivocally!"
Production on the Deathly Hallowsmovies began last February and could stretch well into next year. For Grint andWatson, their hardest scene was (spoiler alert if you've never read the books!)a kiss between Ron and Hermione. "I remember being inches away from her lips andthinking, 'Good lord, this is going to be strange,'" says Grint. Adds Watson: "Rupert is like a brother to me, and our relationship couldn't be more platonic.So kissing him –- well, it felt like incest, to be honest. But I think it's goingto be very sweet."
For more about Harry Potter — including highlights fromthe new film, and Radcliffe talking about a Deathly Hallows scene he dreadsfilming — pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on stands Friday, July10.
For the past few months, it seems as if gossip blogger Perez Hilton was involved in a new controversy every week, from his public debate over gay marriage with former Miss California Carrie Prejean to his recent altercation with Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am in Toronto. Hilton, though, is determined to continue building his brand, with a new site and his own music imprint on Warner Bros. set to debut by the end of summer. “Whether you like me or not, I’m not going away anytime soon,” says the 31 year old. “And I don’t care if you like me, I just care if you read my website.” EW sat down with Hilton in his L.A. condo, filled with fan portraits of Hilton, for a revealing interview.
On his friendship Lady Gaga: “I consider her more than a dear friend. I consider her my wife, my sister, my daughter. I‘m so thankful for her success and I feel like I’m succeeding because she’s succeeding. It’s that close of a bond. I saw the potential in her from the very beginning before anyone else.”
On why he’s good for gay America: “I think I am just by the sheer fact of my existence. I know that I personally would have loved to have me around when I was a gay teenager. Because when I was a gay teenager there weren’t that many openly gay celebrities. And I would have loved to have been like, ‘Wow look at that dude. He’s gay. He’s REALLY gay. And he’s successful and he’s not apologizing for that and he seems really happy.’ So I hope that though they may not agree with everything I say that I inspire gay youth to be themselves and to say what they think and to be proud of who they are.”
On the Funny or Die spoof, featuring Breckin Meyer and Zac Efron, of his tearful post-will.i.am encounter video post: “It was funny, but at the same time it was making fun of a violent attack. I wasn’t hurt but I was surprised because I’ve been nothing but glowing about Zac Efron. Maybe I was hurt a little, yeah.”
For more on Hilton, including his much-criticized treatment of Michael Jackson’s death, pick up the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly hitting stands Friday, July 10.
More Project Runway:
Project Runway on Lifetime: 'It's a good thing'
Self-obsessed jocks. Over-aggressive jerks. Ditzes with clown boobs. Token “old fogies” who are usually only in their forties. These are the archetypes that always make up a Big Brother cast. We love, loathe, and laugh at them in equal measure, watching them obsessively all summer while feeling the constant need to scrub our eyes out with industrial strength soap. As season 11 kicks off this evening, Jessica Shaw and I take a look at some of our pre-season favorites on Must List Live! Which tools and tramps will we be rooting for this summer? Watch the video below to see for yourself. And let us know which sleazeballs you’re pulling for in the Big Brother house as we all prepare to hand our nice peaceful summers over to Julie Chen.
Anyone else preparing to make that trip? And since we're sharing…. Be honest: Have you ever thought about how you'd make ends meet in the Potterverse? I'm not sure if I decided to work for the Daily Prophet because I've always liked my fantasies to be based in reality or because I'm too much of a wimp to wield anything other than a magic pen….
More Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
Sex and the Harry Potter movies: Does anyone want this?
Poll: Will you reread Half-Blood Prince before seeing the film?
Harry Potter: On the Half-Blood set
Michael Jackson loved the movies. And for years, he hoped to complement his staggering accomplishments in music with a career in film. Sadly, he never got to realize that dream before passing away. Of course, he did dabble over the years — from The Wiz to scores of groundbreaking cinematic videos, to a funny cameo in Men in Black II.
Jackson also spoofed his MiBII appearance with another cameo, this time in his friend Bryan Michael Stoller's Miss Cast Away, an unabashedly campy flick that went straight to DVD in 2005 and starred Eric Roberts and (gulp) Evan "Joe Millionaire" Marriott. (Props to Movieline.com for first reporting this.) Jackson played Agent MJ, an Obi-Wan-like character who dispenses wisdom to a group of island castaways via a hologram generated by an R2D2-y robot.
You can see the trailer here. But far more interesting is the bizarre making-of footage (embedded below), in which Jackson, filming a scene in his library at Neverland, stops the take as a noisy choo-choo train makes its way around the ranch. He also sings a line: "She's out of your life." He seems subdued and, until a friendly wave and little giggle near the end, it's hard to tell if he's having much fun. But considering that the footage dates from the time Jackson was dealing with the second round of child molestation allegations, that's not so surprising. In any case, it's a rare look at the pop icon in a more intimate setting towards (what turned out to be) the end of his life. Also, it's hard not to watch Jackson interact with They Cage the Animals at Night author Jennings Michael Burch and wonder what those two kindred spirits said to each other. Think we'll ever get to see more of that footage?
