Britney Spears has made her own list of who’s been naughty or nice this year. Well, at least the naughty part. At her official blog, Britney’s camp has posted the “Year in BS,” which is the 75 stories published about Britney last year that they deem to be untrue or “simply offensive to the sensibilities.” Seems pretty self-absorbed to make this list in the first place, but I had to crack up that number 57 is a story saying she was into gardening. Uh,growing a green thumb would have been the most normal thing she did all year, why not let us think that’s true!?
What were your favorite Britney moments of the year? Seeing her back in form for that steamy ’3′ video perhaps?
Diane Sawyer’s tenure as anchor of ABC’s World News begins tonight at 6:30 ET. The former Good Morning America co-host has an exclusive interview with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad about three American hikers who accidentally crossed into Iranian territory and whether Iran has been testing a neutron initiator. You can watch part of the interview, as well as a snippet of Sawyer’s appearance on today’s GMA in which she and Robin are so excited to see each other that they clasp hands for a bit,at ABC.com. Diane’s also hosting a web-only series called The Conversation. In today’s, she and John Karl talk health care and Diane is wearing a hoodie!
Planning on tuning in? And if you already have, what did you think of Diane’s first show?
A new trailer’s out online for Valentine’s Day, and as a rom-com addict there is no way I’m missing this one. What a great ensemble cast. Two quick notes on the new trailer:
1) Yes, Swift and Lautner fans, we finally get to see Taylor Squared making out!
2) I’m taking a flight tomorrow and fingers crossed Bradley Cooper is sitting next to me.
This is a few days old, but if you haven’t checked out this 70-minute review of The Phantom Menace, then you’re a menace to all the Star Wars: Episode I haters out there. Need an additional reason to sit through an hour-plus review? The series of awesome YouTube videos — made by a man named “Mike” in Milwaukee — won the approval of Lost and Star Trek‘s Damon Lindelof, who reportedly said about the review, “Your life is about to change. This is astounding film making. Watch ALL of it.” So sit back and watch all of this slightly NSFW 70-minute review about the film that “Mike” says “was the most disappointing thing since my son.” (Part 1 is embedded below.) Enjoy!
I’m just happy to see that J. Lo actually did throw on her Louboutins to hobble down the hallways of a doctor’s office in this movie and therefore wasn’t lying in her song. Looking forward to this one in April, P-dubs, or does the trailer leave you on the same page as O’Loughlin’s character when he says “We shouldn’t have seen that?”
But were they tears of joy or pain? SPOILER ALERT! Read no further if you’re trying to avoid news as to who won Survivor: Samoa. (Seriously, stop reading if you don’t want to know who won.) Okay, everyone all good from here on out? Then awaaaaaaay we go.
Survivor: Samoa’s shoulda been winner, Russell Hantz, talked as big a game as he played all season long. And he’s not about to stop now. The morning after watching the game that he strategically dominated from start to finish be won instead by soft-spoken alliance mate Natalie, Russell was still fuming as he sat down for his big Survivor Talk chat. Obviously, the bulk of his ire is directed at a jury that refused to recognize his superior gameplay. Former ally Jaison takes a verbal beating from the oilman, as do Laura and Dave, who Russell says planned to throw his hat into the fire at the reunion show. But the fireworks don’t stop there, as Russell describes his friend Natalie’s game as both “terrible” and “pitiful.” And what about the sour expression he wore the entire reunion show? Was he as crushed at losing as he appeared? Ummmm, yeah. Turns out the acid-tongued assassin was on the verge of shedding tears…if he were a crying man, that is. All that and more await you by clicking on the 6-part video below — a video that almost did not happen due to some last second technical difficulties. (Luckily, a handyflipcam saved the day.) Stay tuned for our interview with Survivor: Samoa winner Natalie, which will be up shortly. In the meantime, check out Russell in all his pissed-off glory. And to get Survivor scoop sent directly to you all year round (including exclusive on location Heroes Vs. Villains video!), you can follow me on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss. Okay, take it away, Russell…
Today, the 21st of December, marks the shortest day of 2009. Unfortunately, that means I’ll be donating just that much more cash to my electric company today, but it also means the days will start to get longer. (Holla!)
But, about 10 minutes into discovering this fact, I discovered that my pop culture subconscious already seemed to be celebrating the shortest day of the year. How? Not only have I caught up on a DVR’d episode of Jersey Shore — featuring the tiny orange ball of moxie, Snooki — but I also plan on watching a DVR’d showing of School of Rock, featuring the 5’7″ Jack Black. Plus, for whatever reason, the pint-sized Dora the Explorer is currently on my TV — regardless of the fact that I don’t have children and already know how to identify (many) objects. Heck, maybe I’ll even listen to some She Wolf, recorded by the 5’2″ Shakira.
What are you doing for the shortest day of the year, PopWatchers? And who is your favorite tiny celebrity?
Set your DVRs, nerds! Tonight at 9 p.m., PBS airs a repeat of last year’s Dance in America: San Francisco Ballet’s Nutcracker, hosted by Dancing With the Stars‘ season 6 winner winner Kristi Yamaguchi. She does not dance, but we wanted to stage a dramatization of that scenario, at left. I know that if I wasn’t totally committed to keeping up with the PBS schedule (can’t wait for Local Programming at 3 a.m.!), I would have wanted a reminder. My favorite Nutcracker scene is without a doubt the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, because I like to imagine that the fairy is frolicking in a live-action version of the Candy Land board game and that she’s kind of cheating with all those series of intricate steps. (And because the music takes me back to Tetris on NES, but that is secondary.) What’s your favorite scene in The Nutcracker, Pistachio-dubs?
Want to give the gift of gaming on-the-go, so your loved ones can play at work, at school, on the bus, during childbirth — whenever? Face-Off has you covered. Today, Nintendo’s lastest goes head-to-head with Sony’s higher-end system. Check back each weekday through Dec. 24 for a new match-up.
In this corner… Nintendo DSi with The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks(System: $169.99. Game: $34.99) Earlier this year, Nintendo slimmed down its popular DS portable gaming system (grandchild of the Gameboy — remember those?), and embedded two cameras: one on the outside, for snapping pictures, and one on the inside, to be used for motion-capture games. The technology for the latter is still a work-in-progress, but there’s no denying this stylus-totin’ system is the sleekest it’s ever been. And its reputation for cartoonishly fun, unbearably addicting games continues with the recent release of The Legend Of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. This sequel to 2007′s Phantom Hourglass once again has a hesitant Link stumble into an epic battle, this time taking on an evil chancellor who’s trying to unleash a demon onto the world. Of all the franchise’s 15 titles, this one embraces its silliness the most—Link gets around via an ancient train, is haunted by the shrill ghost of Princess Zelda, and finally rocks his woodland nymph-like persona by literally playing a pan flute. And given most of the game’s controls are done by slashing and swinging the stylus, it’s also as fervent a gaming experience as you can get on the small screen.
In the other corner… PSP Go with LittleBigPlanet(System: $249.99. Game: $39.99) This new companion system for the longstanding PlayStation Portable does away with playing games on the pint-sized Universal Media Discs; instead, games are downloaded via Wi-Fi from the PlayStation Store directly onto the 16MB system. So there’s no need to carry around your game library, and the unit has a compact design where the screen slides up to reveal the controls. This is by far the most “portable” PlayStation Portable yet. That doesn’t mean it lacks the punch of its big-system counterparts. Take LittleBigPlanet, a popular 2008 PS3 title that was given its own title for the PSP last month. The game’s trippy, Tim Burton-like aesthetic and simple platformer gameplay survived the transition nearly flawlessly. The smaller game even includes a favorite feature from the PS3 version: the ability to build your own levels from scratch—hell, the creation mechanisms have even improved somewhat.
Yesterday, NPR printed an article about the best and worst movie accents of the decade, asking readers to submit their votes on what actor should nab the award in both categories. As the EW writer who a few years ago helmed our Worst Movie Accents gallery, I decided to look at their choices. (And, unfortunately, since film’s all-time worst movie accent — Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves — was brought to screens in 1991, it is not eligible for this award.)
As far as the best accents go, NPR offers up four: Morgan Freeman in Invictus, Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, Meryl Streep in Julie & Julia, and Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat.
Tragically absent from this list is Aussie Toni Collette, who manages to perfect any accent demanded of her. (See: About a Boy or Little Miss Sunshine.) Also missing is Christian Bale, who, as NPR mentions in their piece, has such an amazing American accent — see: American Psycho – ”it’s a shock to hear [his] actual accent.” And though I know the small screen doesn’t count in this race, how can we not give special accolades to the Brit with the best American accent ever, House‘s Hugh Laurie?
And then there’s the bad accents. NPR offers up four picks: Adam Sandler in You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Steve Martin in The Pink Panther, Angelina Jolie in Alexander, and Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’ Diary. My personal picks? Well, Jolie, for one, certainly deserves to be on this list, but so does Jessica Simpson in The Dukes of Hazzard, Harrison Ford in K-19: The Widowmaker, and Cate Blanchett in The Man Who Cried.
Your turn, PopWatchers: Who had the best and worst movie accents of the decade?