Thursday, March 24, 2011 Edition: #4469
Sweet Sheet!
BS SHOW BIZ BUZZ:
Today jury selection is scheduled to begin in LA for the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michael Jackson’s physician Dr Conrad Murray, during which cameras WILL be allowed in the courtroom (here comes 6 weeks of overkill!) . . . A private funeral will be held later this week for actress Elizabeth Taylor who died Wednesday at age 79 at LA’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center from congestive heart failure (the last true ‘movie star’?) . . . 50-year-old Brit actor Hugh Grant has been taken to London’s Chelsea & Westminster Hospital after feeling faint, dizzy, and short of breath, then later discharged to recover at home (maybe it dawned on him he hasn’t had a hit since 2004?) . . . Yet another performer in the trouble-plagued Broadway musical “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark” has been sidelined by an onstage injury; actress TV Carpio is out for 2 weeks after being hurt while replacing Natalie Mendoza – who suffered a concussion (um people, it’s time to give up!) . . . “Jersey Shore’s” Ronnie Ortiz-Magro is applying for a pretrial intervention program to avoid a 2-year-old assault charge for knocking out a guy with one punch – on camera (he needs the app to clear in order to tape the show’s 4th season in Italy next month) . . . 24-year-old “Twilight Saga” actress Ashley Greene has become the official spokesperson for DonateMyDress.org, an organization that urges girls to donate unwanted prom dresses to those who can’t afford their own (great idea for a local promotion) . . . And don’t expect to watch Season 5 of “Mad Men” this Summer; creator Matthew Weiner may be close to a new deal with distributor Lionsgate but it’s too late to get the Emmy-winning show back on schedule for its traditional July debut (great, another long Summer watching “The Singing Bee”).
TODAY’S SHOW BIZ SKED:
• “American Idol” (FOX/CTV) – Performances by Jennifer Hudson and Sugarland; another contestant is eliminated.
• “Conan” (TBS/CTV) – Wanda Jackson (“The Party Ain’t Over”).
• “Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC/CityTV) – Danish singer Oh Land performs her viral YouTube hit “Sun Of a Gun”.
• “Last Call With Carson Daly” (NBC) – Ra Ra Riot (“Too Dramatic”).
• “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon” (NBC/A Channel) – Three Mountains (“Tres Mts”).
• “Late Show With David Letterman” (CBS/Omni) – The Mountain Goats (“All Eternals Deck”).
• “Lopez Tonight” (TBS) – Slash (“Slash”).
• “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” (NBC/A Channel) – Peter, Bjorn & John (“Gimme Some”, out March 29th).
BS MUSIC NOTES:
• Brad Paisley – He set an attendance record for country performers at the “Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo” with his Saturday concert which drew a whopping paid attendance of 73,825.
• Chris Brown – “Good Morning America” is standing behind host Robin Roberts, contending her questions to Brown on Tuesday morning were ‘relevant & newsworthy’. After being grilled about his 2009 assault on ex-girlfriend Rihanna, Brown allegedly became extremely agitated and hurled a chair through his dressing room window. ABC-TV has decided NOT to make a complaint to police about the incident. (So much for that comeback!)
• Kanye West – Producer Guru says Kanye’s collaborative “Watch The Throne” album with Jay-Z is complete apart from ‘little tweaks’ which he’s urging them to hurry up and complete. No release date has yet been set.
• Lady Gaga – She says she only has tattoos on her left side because she’s a lefty and also to please her father, Joseph Germanotta, who asked she remain ‘slightly normal’ on one side.
• Motley Crue – Drummer Tommy Lee is developing the show “Culture Shock With Tommy Lee”, an investigative travel series for the Syfy network in which he attempts to uncover rituals, symbols, and other mysteries of secret societies. (Are we desperate for work?)
• Wyclef Jean – His story that he got shot in the hand during the presidential election in Haiti on Sunday may be a bit of an exaggeration. Doctors are saying he cut it on glass.
COMING ATTRACTIONS:
A BS selection of movies in the making …
• “American Reunion” – Eugene Levy, Jason Biggs, and currently rehab-ing Seann William Scott are set to reunite for yet another sequel to “American Pie” (1999), the 4th film in the comedy series. Former cast members Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, and Jennifer Coolidge are also said to be in talks to come aboard the project, which will start filming in May.
• “The Dark Knight Rises” – Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“Inception) has signed on to play ‘Alberto Falcone’ aka ‘The Holiday Killer’ in the 3rd Christopher Nolan-directed ‘Batman’ movie. He joins a cast that already includes Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway and, of course, Christian Bale as the ‘Caped Crusader’. The film is scheduled for release July 20, 2012.
• “High School” – Rap veteran Snoop Dogg and upstart Wiz Khalifa are teaming up for this ‘comedy stoner movie’. Snoop tells Billboard.com that the project grew out of a musical collaboration with the Pittsburgh MC (“This Weed is Mine”). Filming is scheduled to begin during the first week of May.
• “True Lies 2” – Arnold Schwarzenegger & Tom Arnold are in negotiations for a sequel to their 1994 action thriller, which was directed by James Cameron. The former California Governor recently confirmed he’s considering a number of sequels to his film classics and Arnold has revealed this project is among them. Arnold says he’s ‘excited’ … likely because it’s a job.
• “Untitled Tupac Shakur Project” – Movie producers have launched an online hunt to find an actor to play the hip-hop hero who was gunned down in Las Vegas in 1996. They’re calling for actors to upload a 5-minute audition video, which should include a prepared monologue and a 1-minute performance of a Tupac tune. Director Antoine Fuqua is overseeing the biopic.
LISTEN UP:
March is “International Listening Awareness Month”. It’s estimated we only retain 50% of what we hear immediately after we hear it. Author Travis Bradberry (“Emotional Intelligence 2.0”) says no two people will give the same account of an event, no matter how much they were paying attention. His tips on how to be a better listener …
• Don’t take notes at meetings; watch who’s speaking instead.
• Ask questions or ask for specific examples if you want clarification.
• Focus when you’re talking to others. Pay attention to what they’re saying rather than planning out a response.
– “Chicago Tribune”
MAXI-PAD:
In LA’s Benedict Canyon, whose residents include Bruce Springsteen, David Beckham, and Jay Leno, a mystery landowner is set to build an 85,000-sq-ft family compound that will dwarf surrounding mansions. If the owner gets his way, the 5-acre property will host a main house close to 43,000 sq ft, a ‘son’s villa’ over 27,000 sq ft, 5,300-sq-ft staff quarters, a 4,400-sq-ft guest house, and a 2,700-sq-ft gatehouse. Local residents complain the mega-mansion’s scale ‘pushes the bounds of common sense and decency’. (And in LA, that’s saying a lot!)
– LATimes.com
MINI-PADS:
A rooming house that opened 2 years ago in Seattle WA features tiny units called ‘aPodments’ which are rented for about $600-a-month, including utilities, cable TV, broadband Internet, and access to shared kitchens. Why so cheap? The 46 furnished rooms are as small as 90 sq ft, about the size of a parking space. Each comes with a private bath and refrigerator, but no closet. The developers claim the units suit the budget and lifestyle of young adults. (Who want to live in a coffin.)
– “Seattle Times”
TEMPUS FUGIT:
Just how fleeting is fame? See if you can recall these TV icons of the ’90s who are now total nobodies …
• Andrew Shue (‘Billy Campbell’ on “Melrose Place’).
• Ben Savage (‘Cory Matthews’ on “Boy Meets World”).
• Cynthia Daniel (‘Elizabeth Wakefield’ on “Sweet Valley High”).
• Dean Cain (‘Clark Kent’ on “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman”).
• Dustin Diamond (‘Screech’ on “Saved By the Bell”).
• Joseph Marcell (‘Geoffrey the Butler’ on “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”).
• Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina’ on “Sabrina The Teenage Witch”).
• Peri Gilpin (‘Roz’ on “Frasier”).
• Traci Bingham (‘Jordan Tate’ on “Baywatch”).
– PopCrunch.com
A WING & A PRAYER:
An extended NFL lockout might be bad for football lovers but it’d be devastating for the chicken wing industry. Wings are popular fare at sports bars, especially on Sundays during the National Football League season when most games are played. Wholesale chicken wing prices have already plunged to 95 cents-a-pound compared to a high of $1.74 in 2010. Why? Too many chickens for which there may not be demand. There may be faint hope for chicken farmers … a federal court will hear an antitrust suit filed by NFL players on April 6th. (Buffalo is looking at another recession.)
– HuffingtonPost.com
ALL-TIME MOST ROMANTIC ONSCREEN COUPLES:
As ranked by a new ABC-TV poll of more than 500,000 movie fans …
5. Spencer Tracey & Katharine Hepburn … 9 films including “Pat & Mike” (1952).
4. Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman … “Casablanca” (1942).
3. Richard Gere & Julia Roberts … “Pretty Woman” (1990).
2. Clark Gable & Vivien Leigh … “Gone With the Wind” (1939).
1. Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet … “Titanic” (1997).
– “People Magazine”
FOR THE RECORD:
45-year-old Scott Jorgenson of St Paul MN is set to spend 1 month inside a glass house at the Mall of America in Bloomington. The public will participate by deciding his daily schedule. The purpose of the project is to ‘promote healthy living’. (Well, here’s an idea … get outside for a bit of fresh air!)
– UPI.com
DID YOU KNOW?
• About 0.25% of all plastic ends up in the ocean. That might not sound like much, but humanity produces about 260 million tons of plastic annually. So that minuscule percentage amounts to some 650,000 tons … a year.
– Wired.com
• Former stripper Crystal Deans of Spring, Texas has started a ‘Pole Dancing For Jesus’ class. Women show their printed church program in order to be admitted to the class after worship services every other Sunday.
– Fox News
BS CHRONOMETER 03.24.11
TODAY’S CELEBIRTHDAYS . . .
1936 [75] David Suzuki, Vancouver BC, scientist/environmentalist/broadcaster (“The Nature of Things” on CBC-TV since 1979)/author of 43 books/founder & chair of the charitable David Suzuki Foundation/Order of Canada (1976)
1951 [60] Tommy Hilfiger, Elmira NY, fashion designer (‘Tommy Girl’) who’s name on anything jacks the price about 200%
1970 [41] Lara Flynn Boyle, Davenport IA, TV actress (“Las Vegas” 2005-07, “The Practice” 1997-2003)/movie actress (“Men in Black II”)
1974 [37] Alyson Hannigan, Washington DC, TV actress (‘Lily Aldrin’ on “How I Met Your Mother” since 2005, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” 1997-2003)/movie actress (“American Pie” series)
1973 [38] Jim Parsons, Houston TX, TV actor (‘Sheldon Cooper’ on “The Big Bang Theory” since 2007)
1974 [37] Chad Butler, Amsterdam, Netherlands, rock drummer (Switchfoot-“Mess of Me”, “Meant to Live”)
1976 [35] Peyton Manning, New Orleans LA, NFL QB (2007 Super Bowl MVP-Indianapolis Colts)/11-time Pro Bowl selection BS FACTOID: In 2010, he was ranked the 8th best player in NFL history.
1980 [31] Benj Gershman, Rockville MD, alt-rock bassist (OAR-“Shattered [Turn the Car Around]”)
TODAY’S BS REASONS TO PARTY . . .
• “Chocolate Covered Raisins Day” … but not the kind you find in your kid’s bunny cage.
• “Inspect Your Cat’s Tongue Day”. You know you’ve always wanted to see what makes your cat’s tongue feel like sandpaper … today’s the day to find out!
• “World Tuberculosis Day”, to build public awareness that tuberculosis remains an epidemic in much of the world, causing the deaths of about 1.6 million people each year, mostly in the Third World.
THIS DAY IN SHOW BIZ . . .
2002 [09] Halle Berry (“Monster’s Ball”) & Denzel Washington (“Training Day”) take home the top acting Oscars at the Academy Awards
2005 [06] Sony launches the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which goes on to sell some 60 million units worldwide
TODAY’S FIRSTS . . .
1911 [100] 1st ‘Venetian blind’, patented by Warburton Davis (next day, the 1st ‘Peeping Tom’)
1971 [40] The 1st ‘Pine Tree Air Freshener’ is introduced for automobiles (many are still dangling from rearview mirrors)
TODAY’S RECORD . . .
1936 [75] ‘Longest NHL Game Ever Played’ as the Detroit Red Wings @ Montréal Maroons Stanley Cup Playoff semi-final match finally ends when Detroit’s Mud Bruneteau scores the game’s only goal in the 6th overtime period after 176 minutes, 30 seconds of playing time
AND REMEMBER . . .
[Fri] Pecan Day
[Fri] “Diary Of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules”; “Sucker Punch” open in movie theaters
[Sat] WWF Earth Hour
[Sat] Legal Assistants Day
[Sun] “40th Juno Awards” (Toronto)
[Sun] Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day
[Sun] Viagra Day
This Week Is … World Folk Tales & Fables Week
This Month Is … Deaf History Month
BULL’S BITS
BS THINGS THAT WILL GET YOU KICKED OFF “SURVIVOR”:
• Skipping your turn to scrub down the old guy.
• Mentioning that the ‘island’ is actually a large indoor set at Universal Studios.
• Causing the ocean to always seem a little bit warmer next to you.
• Eating more than your fair share of rat.
• Calling yourself a ‘former federal agent’ when you worked for Social Security as a janitor.
• Touching someone else’s coconuts.
• Only making an alliance with your imaginary friend ‘Harvey’.
• Refusing to kiss Boston Rob’s keister.
BS PHONE STARTER:
Who’s the hottest fictional husband ever? ’Jim’ from “The Office”? ‘Phil Dunphy’ on “Modern Family”? ‘Derek Sheperd’ of “Grey’s Anatomy”? ‘Mike Brady’ on “The Brady Bunch”? ‘Ken’ doll?
BS RANDOM JOKE:
This just in: Red ship crashes into blue ship … sailors marooned.
BS WATER COOLER QUESTION:
Today’s Question: A baby’s first 2 words are commonly ‘Momma’ and ‘Dadda’, and THIS is the most common 3rd word.
Answer to Give Out Next Show: ‘TV’.
BS DEEP THOUGHT:
Failure is an event, never a person.
