Last night’s episode of “American Idol” was kind of a waste of our time. They do the early auditions in seven cities and then throw in an eighth episode for fluff before Hollywood week begins. Anyway, what they did last night was show some more of the really good and really bad auditions that they did not show over the course of this past month. And while it really was not necessary, they aired it, so we’re gonna write about it.

They began by recapping Larry Platt’s “Pants on the Ground” phenomenon, with Ryan Seacrest tooting the show’s horn as usual and how they made the whole thing into a phenonmenon. Then it was on to the rest of the auditions, and here were some of the highligts and lowlights…..

THE BEST

20 year old Jessica Furney returned to audition, and she was turned away last season. This time, she decided to choose a song that was co-written by a judge. Not Kara, mind you, but Simon Cowell. Seriously? Anyway, Simon was trying not to beam but his ego couldn’t help itself. Jessica was okay, but not as good as the judges made her out to be……same with 19 year old New Yawker Amanda Schectman, who wasn’t that good of a singer but did a nice sell job to all four judges….two contestants who brought guitars but were told they had to sing without them, Lee Dewzye and Crystal Bowersox, both did a nice job a cappella…..Lacey Brown, who made it to the Top 15 last season but was eliminated in favor of “bird girl” Megan Joy, did a nice job with “Over the Rainbow” and made it to Hollywood once again. I’d keep an eye on this one, she has a unique and decent vocal ability…26 year old Michael, a personal trainer, had bigger arms than voice, but the judges liked him, maybe because he sang Simon’s favorite “Unchained Melody” (for the record, I can’t stand this song!)…..Didi, who talked about how her best friend passed away four years ago, was inspired by her friend’s memory, and did a really great, soulful version of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”…..16 year old Aaron Kelly performed Miley Cyrus’ “The Climb” and for a kid that age, he had a nice, raspy, emotive voice….and finally, 19 year old Hope Johnson, who said her family was very poor growing up, did an okay version of “I Hope You Dance,” but the judges somehow loved it.

THE WORST

23 year old Stephanie Fisher was auditioning for the seventh time overall, and did a pretty lame version of “Fever”….17 year old Adrian was 6 foot 8, and was part of a medley of athletes that they showed (Adrian is a swimmer). Anyway, he sang Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and was pretty bad…..20 year old Kimberly Bishop took on Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” and butchered it. Thankfully it wasn’t when Katy was a judge…..and finally Shaddai Harris, who sang Alicia Keys’ “Falling In and Out of Love,” was also not very good.

Come to think of it, it would seem that these were the B-plus and D-minus auditions, as they have already shown us the A’s and F’s. But hey, the early auditions are done with and now we get on to Hollywood, including the debut of new judge Ellen DeGeneres next Tuesday. Are you ready? Let’s get on with this thing….

* Anne Thompson rakes the muck on the Hollywood Film Festival. Fascinating. I have my doubts about L.A. ever getting a really world-class festival, and this one sure doesn’t seem to be helping.

* I caught up with “Zombieland” last night and managed not to become overly upset at the gore. (I have this whole issue with excess blood and ick, yet also like the kind of stuff that sometimes features excess blood and ick — it’s a conflict.) Still, I don’t know if I’ll ever truly understand why people enjoy being disgusted. I find being disgusted disgusting.

Otherwise, it was nicely paced, slightly poignant, and very funny, thanks to a nice and cleverly profane dialogue, decent writing, and a good cast. Unlike Bullz-Eye’s David Medsker, however, I found the movie enjoyable but a little thin, especially during the second half. Some of the most ballyhooed aspects (the superstar cameo, which Dave didn’t love either) were less hilarious than I expected, however. I’m surprised we haven’t heard about a sequel yet as in some ways plays more like a well-produced TV pilot than anything else.

* Not that he hasn’t earned the right to be astonishingly wealthy as much as any human can, but how rich must Steven Spielberg be? I mean, if someone owed you a few hundred million bucks would you be all, like, “ah, that’s okay — you can wait until 2017. Just give me a 5.25% share of your income. I’ll be cool.” And, according to La Finke, the language of the contract refers to him as “Steven.” I know Hollywood loves first names, but it’s a contract. Aren’t those supposed to be formal?

* It’s not really movie news at this point, but speaking of musicals this musical lover never asked for, the Bono/Edge Spiderman musical directed by Julie Taymor continues to gasp. Personally, I’ve had my curiosity about a “Spiderman” musical sated already. Much as I love cocktail lounges and the song “Fever,” this was not a high point.