Category: News (Page 386 of 401)

George Clooney likes to make little girls cry

January 23, 2006 / Deb Medsker

Following Clooney’s off-color joke at the Golden Globes last week, the father of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff has pulled out a powerful weapon: his granddaughter’s tears.

Blithely overlooking his son’s confession, guilty plea, and subsequent conviction on three felony counts, Papa Abramoff published a letter to Clooney in a Palm Springs newspaper in which he attempted to shame the actor for attempting to destroy the younger Abramoff’s name and family, and for sending Jack’s 12-year-old daughter into “a fit of tears.”

Granted, I’m no 12-year-old…but if I were, I have to think that having George Clooney poke fun at my dad on television would be slightly less mortifying than having my grandfather tell the whole world that Dr. Ross’ dirty joke made me cry.

Actors, News

Box Office Roundup: The world is a vampire

January 22, 2006 / David Medsker

Based on Sunday’s estimates:

1) Underworld: Evolution: $27.6 million (first weekend)
If only the “Underworld” movies evolved the way the band did. “You bring light in, you bring light in…”
2) Hoodwinked: $11 million ($29.3 million, second weekend)
We’re thrilled for Anne Hathaway for putting two movies in the top 5, but we have to say that we’re happier with her more revealing performance in “Brokeback Mountain.”
3) Glory Road: $9.13 million ($28 million, second weekend)
A mere $300K separated Bruckheimer from that feisty, faux rich black girl, or so say the estimates. Which has us thinking that…
4) Last Holiday: $9.1 million ($26.3 million, second weekend)
…we will laugh our asses off if, when the actual numbers come out tomorrow, Queen Latifah winds up straddling Bruckheimer ala Xenia Onotopp in “GoldenEye.”
5) Brokeback Mountain: $7.8 million ($42.1 million, seventh week)
Won a whole mess of Golden Globes, those those were no match for the globes that Scarlett Johannson and Drew Barrymore sported that night.

Movies, News

Sucks to be Heather Graham…

January 22, 2006 / Will Harris

After just one airing of Heather Graham’s sitcom, “Emily’s Reasons Why Not,” ABC has yanked it, with no word on when or if it will return.

One episode? That’s it…?

Look, I’m not ashamed to admit…okay, I’m a little ashamed to admit it…that I saw part of that episode – having little idea that I was witnessing TV history, since very few series get yanked quite THAT quickly – and while it was a really obvious “Sex and the City” rip-off, it was in no way worse than, say, “Freddie.”

Heather Graham has proven that she can be funny with the right material (case and point: “Scrubs”), and while there wasn’t much of that sort of material to be found in what I saw, it’s hard to believe that the president of ABC immediately went on record as saying, “Once we saw it was not launching, we felt like unfortunately it was not going to get better and we had to make a change.”

Good lord, with all of the test audiences and focus groups that Hollywood employs, surely someone could’ve worked out some of the kinks before it actually got on the air…

News, TV, TV Comedies

Heather Graham

Spongebob Squarepants wants to kill your children

January 20, 2006 / Deb Medsker

In the latest example of absentee parenting run amok, advocacy groups are suing Viacom’s Nickelodeon and the Kellogg cereal company for contributing to childhood obesity.

That’s right: It’s not the parents’ fault their kids are fat, and it’s not the fault of the kids themselves; the blame must rest with the companies who market all the food the youngsters shovel into their gaping maws.

Spongebob Squarepants allows his image to be plastered upon bags of fat-filled potato chips? Damn that soulless bastard to hell. Tony the Tiger tells my kids his flakes of corn-filled sugar are “grrrrreat”? Skin that vile feline and use his pelt as a throw rug. Someone has to think of the children.

Of course, there’s another solution to the childhood obesity problem, and one that’s both simpler and more cost-effective than slapping lawsuits on every product that contains an ounce of fat or sugar: Turn off the TV. Buy healthy snacks instead of junk food. Say ‘no’ to your kids once in a while. And send them outside to play.

But of course, that’s crazy talk. Hollywood’s animated icons are fattening up our children for the slaughter, and these insidious characters must be stopped at all costs. The future of our nation depends on it.

News, TV

What? Those shows are still on? Not anymore…

January 19, 2006 / Deb Medsker

Recognizing that the comedies have been running on fumes for a few years now, FOX has announced the official cancellation of “Malcolm in the Middle” and “That 70’s Show.” Both shows will run through the end of the season, and air their final episodes in May.

Unlike cult favorite “Arrested Development”–for which hope still lingers among the faithful, based on recent discussions with ABC and Showtime–it is unlikely that fans of “Malcolm” and “70’s” will launch an impassioned campaign to save their shows. “Malcolm” has already used up the old “add a new kid to the family” ploy (as seen in “The Brady Bunch”, “Growing Pains,” “Married…with Children”, and countless other aging sitcoms), and “70’s” has lost both of its major stars.

Icing the two comedies will make more room in FOX’s schedule…but still not enough room for “Arrested”, nor perhaps “King of the Hill” (currently on hiatus). And yet…the folks who make “Stacked” are still happily cashing their paychecks.

Gotta love those crazy scamps over at FOX.