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Archive: June 2010 (221-230 of 584)

Jun 18 2010 06:42 PM ET

Lohans gets their free ice cream card revoked. The downfall begins.

Categories: 100% Pure Cheese, Bitchery, Celebrity Feuds, Have You Seen This?, HeadScratcher, Movies, Press Release of the Week, Ridiculata, Sarcasm

Lohan-ice-cream Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.comThese are the moments they talk about 25 minutes into any decent episode of True Hollywood Story. You know the ones I’m talking about. The catalyst, the one thing that eventually leads to a flurry of bad happenings; usually, it’s some form a horrific personal tragedy. I’m sure all other things that have happened to the Lohan family have been mere life hiccups compared to the indefinite revoking of Lindsay and Ali’s Carvel Ice Cream Black Card, which awarded them free frozen treat for 75 years.

In 20 years, when I’m watching the dynasty’s THS reboot (yes, Lindsay’s already had one) while bed-ridden on a Saturday afternoon, they’ll talk about how Lindsay was so crushed by the development — caused by her mom’s abuse of the card (so said the ice cream company in their press release) — she refused to make I Know Who Killed Me II and Ali refused to… do whatever she does; thus, beginning the family’s decent all kinds of turmoil.

The release from the company included this stinger:

“This is an unfortunate situation where certain people feel entitled to use a celebrity’s name for their own purposes.”

For the record, I’m with Carvel on this one, but I hope they realize they shouldn’t hand those out to just anyone. I’ll take mine now, please.

Jun 18 2010 06:38 PM ET

Ashton Kutcher describes Superman audition. Dodged a speeding bullet?

by Kerrie Mitchell

Categories: Casting, Genres, Movies

Picture, if you will, Ashton Kutcher as the Man of Steel. That’s what Kutcher invites us to do in a video that’s currently up on MTV’s Splash Page (and embedded after the jump) that was shot during a junket for Killers. In it, he describes a much skinnier version of himself donning the famous tights and reading lines with Keri Russell (as Lois Lane) for what was then Brett Ratner’s version of the Superman story. (Bryan Singer eventually went on to direct.) Kutcher is actually kind of endearing explaining why he thinks he looks weird in tights — saying “my legs are kind of not proportionate” — before launching into a credible impersonation of the superhero he thinks he can play — given the time to work out — He-Man. Would you buy Kutcher as He-Man? Or are you still recovering from Killers? READ FULL STORY »

Jun 18 2010 06:20 PM ET

James Cameron issues Gulf oil spill report

by Kerrie Mitchell

Categories: Current Affairs, Genres, Movies

Image Credit: Jesse Grant/WireImage.comIn the race between Kevin Costner and James Cameron to see which action movie impresario will solve the Gulf coast oil spill first, Cameron appears to have taken the upper hand with yesterday’s issue of his report from a meeting of deep-sea experts he assembled, who met in Washington D.C. on June 1 to brainstorm possible solutions to the never-ending s—storm the Deepwater Horizon oil leak has become. While the urge to proceed tongue-in-cheek is compelling, make no mistake: The report does include some informed-sounding opinions from some pretty hefty minds — Cameron included — in the world of deep-sea exploration.

The NY Times’ Andrew C. Revkin notes that at this point most of the group’s ideas have been considered or initiated by BP, but he does pull out one interesting suggestion from the report: “Creating a definitive seafloor survey of the site, including the wreck of the Deepwater Horizon, will be a critical part of the accident investigation. Members of this group have extensive experience operating small fiber-spooling ROVs inside shipwrecks hundreds of feet and several decks away from the entry point.” Filming the seafloor? Sounds like a job for someone we know.

Jun 18 2010 05:56 PM ET

Grappling Hook Videogames and Me: A Love Story

by Darren Franich

Categories: I'm Just a Geek, The 30-Second Plea, Things That Are Awesome!, Videogames

With all due respect to cars, guns, and cars that fire guns, there’s only one thing I care about when it comes to videogames: Is There A Freaking Grappling Hook? The mere presence of a grappling hook (or its sibling-clone, the plasma grappling laser) is an easy indicator that the game is A) awesome, B) too awesome for words, or C) so awesome you’ll go to the hospital with awesome-poisoning. You’ve got the classic franchises, like Legend of Zelda (hookshot) or Metroid (grapple beam). You’ve got the stealth masterpieces, like Wild 9. Adding a grappling hook to a game series is the equivalent of adding steroids to a vegan diet: Just Cause was a meh GTA rip-off, but Just Cause 2 is a meh GTA rip-off with an awesome grappling hook. And now, you have Super QuickHook, released today for the iPhone from the makers of Hook Champ, which might just be the ultimate grappling hook game.

Apparently, the grappling hook was a real thing with an actual real-world purpose once upon a time, or so Wikipedia claims. But starting with Bionic Commando, the grapple has achieved a kind of digital immortality. I didn’t play Bionic Commando, since a certain set of parents didn’t see the obvious redeeming intellectual value in owning a Nintendo Entertainment System.

READ FULL STORY »

Jun 18 2010 05:30 PM ET

Joan Rivers talks about plastic surgery, hecklers, and her new documentary 'Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work'

by Chris Nashawaty

Categories: Documentaries, Movies

Joan Rivers is having a moment. At 77, the raunchy comedy icon is coming off one of the biggest years of her career, what with The Celebrity Apprentice, her string of sold-out stand-up shows, and her new TV Land series, How’d You Get So Rich? Now, as you may have heard, she’s the subject of a terrific new documentary, Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. We spoke to the lightning-quick comedienne about her fondness for plastic surgery, how to deal with hecklers, and what she thinks about seeing her life on the big screen.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is surprisingly honest about your ups and downs. What did you think of it when you first saw it?
JOAN RIVERS: I’m too close to it. When I first saw it I thought, Why did you leave out this or that? But the directors did a great job. It was a year and a half of my life! To find 85 minutes out of all that they shot…

I liked how unvarnished and honest it was…
That was me…she said humbly. I thought, if we’re doing a biography with talking heads saying, “I love you Joan,” then I don’t want to do it. The deal is you have total access and put in what you want. I’m not going to name names, but there were two documentary biographies last year where at the end you didn’t know a damn thing about the subjects. What am I wasting my time sitting in a theater? I could have seen Avatar instead! READ FULL STORY »

Jun 18 2010 05:03 PM ET

Johnny Depp in 'The Rum Diary': Hunter S. Thompson 'lives' again!

by Darren Franich

Categories: Advance Advancement, This Could Be Interesting...

Over a decade after Terry Gilliam’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas tanked at the box office and became the best movie ever to watch in a college dorm, Johnny Depp is returning to the land of Hunter S. Thompson with The Rum Diary. The first photos from the film have just been released, and looking at them feels, to me, like a hallucinogenic dream come true. Johnny Depp’s role in Fear and Loathing is one of the great over-the-top performances. His bizarro-delivery of the gonzo journalist’s dialogue resulted in one of the most quotable movies ever. I used to spend whole hours just quoting Fear and Loathing back and forth with one of my college buddies. This made us super-popular and got us dozens of girls.

Depp’s role in The Rum Diary is superficially similar to Fear and Loathing. Thompson based the novel’s main character on himself. I haven’t read the novel, but my understanding is that it’s slightly less madcap-zany-incoherent than Fear and Loathing. Although the site of Giovanni Ribisi in a motorcycle sidecar screams “a touch of surrealism.” (“Giovanni Ribisi in a Motorcycle Sidebar” is the name of my jam band, BTW.)

What do you think of this first look of Rum Diary, PopWatchers? Was anyone else as obsessed as I was with Fear and Loathing? (“Tell me about the golf shoes!”) And does this mean that we’re one step closer to Depp starring in a film adaptation of Thompson’s Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72, the best work of political journalism to ever accuse a presidential candidate of an Ibogaine addiction?

Jun 18 2010 04:57 PM ET

Former 'Biggest Loser' contestant claims show is 'dangerous'; NBC issues response

by Kate Ward

Categories: Reality TV, Television, The Biggest Loser

Image Credit: NBC About twice a year, we tune into the latest season of The Biggest Loser and watch in admiration and awe as a dozen or so contestants quickly shed pound after pound from their bodies, until they’re left looking like healthy, happy individuals. But, if former contestant Kai Hibbard is to be believed, oftentimes Biggest Loser graduates are anything but.

The season 3 contestant — who lost 118 pounds on the show — appeared on CBS’ The Early Show this morning to discuss her claim that the NBC show is hurting its contestants, and promoting an unhealthy body image. (See the video embedded after the jump.) Beginning her interview by voicing appreciation for being part of something that has inspired people to lose weight, Hibbard went on to accuse Biggest Loser of supporting a “myth that’s dangerous,” and claims the show stretches the truth when it comes to its shooting schedule: “I have people that come up to me and talk to me and ask me why they can’t lose 12 pounds in a week when I did. It didn’t happen. It’s TV…a week is not a week in TV.” (Hibbard also discussed dehydration, which is used to affect the outcome on the scales, something Biggest Loser fans are already fairly knowledgeable about.)

The former contestant also went on to explain how Biggest Loser affected her own health: READ FULL STORY »

Jun 18 2010 04:46 PM ET

Eminem supports my same-sex marriage? Okay. Where's my gift?

by Michael Slezak

Categories: Current Affairs, Gay/Lesbian/Kathy Griffin, Hip-Hop/Rap

Dear Eminem,

I was totally stoked to hear the news that you’ve decided to not only stop calling me a f*****, but to also support my gay marriage. Unfortunately, it’s been almost six years since the big day, so unlike Star Jones, my wedding registry is no longer active over at crateandbarrel.com. Sad the way time flies, no? But the good news is, I’ve broken more wine glasses over the last six years than you’ve had radio hits. A lot more. Yes, what I’m trying to say is that we’re equally low on both red and white stems, so whatever you want to get us, really! Oh, but did I mention I’m partial to a massive goblet? Yeah, some things never change: I’m into a healthy pour.

So anyway, best of luck with your upcoming Recovery album, and thanks for finally hopping off the “Sanctity of Marriage” Express (which really ought to be pulling up outside the Bachelor/Bachelorette offices any minute now). Keep an eye out for your honorary toaster! (Two more converts, and I’ll qualify for an iPad!)

Hugs,
Slezak

Jun 18 2010 04:43 PM ET

Isabella Rossellini is 58 today. To do list: Steal her age-reversing potion

by Sandra Gonzalez

Categories: 100% Pure Cheese, Celebrity Birthdays, Television

Image Credit: Gilbert Carrasquillo/WireImage.comWhen I saw Isabella Rossellini earlier this week at the Webby Awards, where she was accepting her second Webby for her Sundance Channel (trippy, yet, randomly interesting) online series Green Porno, my first thought was a corny one: “The magical potion from Death Becomes Her is real after all!” I didn’t get a chance to ask her about it. We were busy chatting about her pregnant dog that was about to give birth — yes, it was one of those 60-second red carpet interviews that just goes in a direction you never see coming but is too short to repair. Tragic.

I can forgive myself for the blunder, but I don’t think it will be so easy to forgive myself for associating the biggest piece of packaged cheese movie (that I secretly love) with this classy lady. She’s aged with such grace, PopWatchers. Definitely tops my list of favorite celebs time has been kind to. Agree?

Jun 18 2010 04:42 PM ET

'Harry Potter' vs. 'Twilight': Can't we all just get along?

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Eclipse, Harry Potter, Movies, Twilight

Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com; Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesFirst, there was the battle between Harry Potter and Voldemort. Then the fight between Edward and Jacob. And now, the war between Harry Potter and Twilight fans. I’m not sure when that last tiff began, but as both franchises near their big-screen conclusions, it’s heating up. Sometimes it’s encouraged (okay, like when EW asked which clip that premiered during the MTV Movie Awards looked better, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows or The Twilight Saga: Eclipse — Deathly Hallows won with 88 percent of the vote, FYI). But sometimes it’s not, like when news first broke that Breaking Dawn might be two films and the comments section on our post about it turned into a forum for people to flame about how Twilight was just copying Harry Potter and milking its final installment. READ FULL STORY »