Yeah, Paris Hilton Needs to be Banned From Music

So, in celebration of her new reality TV show My New BFF, Paris Hilton has recorded its theme song. Its all over the internet right now. I haven't been able to bring myself to listen to it yet, but it is getting some halfway decent reviews. You can check it out here and here and here, plus a trillion other places as well. I realize that her boyfriend, Benji Madden, is in Good Charlotte and helped her a lot with writing, producing and probably even singing the damn thing, but I still just can't make myself listen to it. There are numerous reasons.

1. I spent the majority of a week trying to get that stars are shining song of hers out of my head a year or so again and am not looking forward to repeating the ear drum puncturing that it required.

2. The basis of her new show is for people to compete to be her best friend. Since when does being Paris Hilton's BFF really help a person in the real world? She's just going to start some battle royale with the winner within three weeks anyway, what's the point? Unless you enjoy being verbally abused and puked on after a long night of clubbing and driving her drunk ass to Taco Bell at 4 am.

3. She's famous for being famous! I can't condone that! I just can't do it.

So, no Paris Hilton theme song for me. But feel free to indulge all you want. I'm sure I'll end up hearing it at some point inadvertantly anyway. Now I'm going to go shower to try and clean of the residue of my principles shattering from actually dedicating a whole blog post to Paris Hilton's music career. Blurg!
Later!

Color me... Not Surprised

Well big surprise, people, Clay Aiken just came out of the closet. Check it out:

Clay Aiken has revealed that he is gay in an upcoming cover story for People Magazine, on newsstands Friday. The magazine's cover boasts the pullout quote: "Yes, I'm gay." "It was the first decision I made as a father," Aiken says inside the magazine. "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things. I wasn't raised that way, and I'm not going to raise a child to do that." The 29-year-old pop star's sexuality came under increased scrutiny when he admitted to fathering a child with fiftysomething Jaymes Foster, sister of famed music producer David Foster. Parker Foster Aiken was born Aug. 8 in North Carolina, with Aiken writing on his blog that all families involved were "thrilled." The born-again crooner acknowledges that revelations regarding his sexuality may be difficult for some in his fan base. But he also stressed that it was necessary for him to own up to what everybody kind of already knew for Parker's sake, so his son can be raised in an atmosphere that is "accepting and allowing him to be happy." (Source: E Online)

Sorry Claymates, but that guy has screamed "I'm gay" from the moment he walked on the American Idol stage. I applaud him for finally being honest with his fans and respect his need for privacy, but really, was it so bad to come out? Well that's all water under the bridge now. Congrats on having the courage to come out, Clay. Now do something about your hair already! You remind me of Chucky from Child's Play. Eww!

Later!

Of Course There's Video...

No word on whether Kanye has posted bail yet, but I did return from lunch to find the video of the attack on TMZ.com. Click on the link to check out Kanye and his bodyguard going all crazy on some camera men.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid285859616/bclid294430730/bctid1788889337

I particularly enjoy the part where Kanye is saying there are no police. Good stuff man, good stuff. You know that TMZ camera man just made a lot of money today.

It Was Only a Matter of Time

Things have been a bit busy around here lately, so I haven't had much of a chance to write. I'm hoping my schedule frees up a bit more soon so I'll have a chance to write more. Luckily, I have a little bit of time today, so here we go.
The biggest story that happened this morning was Kanye West. He's been all over the place lately, starting and ending feuds left and right. First he was never going to be on the Mtv Video Music Awards again, then he closed the show. Stuff like that. It was only a matter of time before he started a feuds with the paparazzi. Unfortunately, this was not a feud of words. Here's the scoop:
Kanye West and one of his bodyguards were arrested Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport after an altercation with paparazzi in which the rapper allegedly smashed a camera on the floor. Airport police arrested West and his road manager, Don Crowley, who also serves as a bodyguard, on suspicion of felony vandalism shortly before 8 a.m., LAX spokesman Marshall Lowe said. He said early reports indicated that a camera valued at more than $10,000 was broken. The incident happened before West and his bodyguard passed a security checkpoint at an airport terminal that houses American Airlines. The pair were scheduled to board a flight to Honolulu, Hawaii, Lowe said. West's publicist declined to comment Thursday. (source)
I can't say I'm surprised by this news. Kanye's a powder keg waiting to explode. What I'm surprised about is that it took him this long to explode at the paparazzi. I think this is the first time he's been arrested for assaulting the paparazzi, which must have taken a lot of restraint on his part. The details are still emerging on this one and West is still in jail, though I'm sure he'll be out by the time my lunch break is over. Then he gets to join the illustrious group of celebs who've assaulted a camera man. Welcome to the club Kanye, we've been waiting for you!
In other timely news, Warner Bros. studios announced today that they will indeed be re releasing The Dark Knight in movie theaters sometime in January. This is basically to generate more Oscar buzz for Heath Ledger and crew. Here's the story:
No exact date has been settled on, but Warner Bros. is planning to rerelease the box-office behemoth in January, just in time for a final Oscar-season push before Motion Picture Academy members have to turn in their ballots. The relentlessly bleak and critically beloved Batman sequel is already the second-highest grossing movie of all time in the U.S., where it falls about $78 million short of Titanic's $600.8 million in box-office receipts but towers over fellow comic-book-inspired films. But it was the early Oscar buzz for Heath Ledger, who curdled blood as the murderous Joker, as well as for Christian Bale, director Christopher Nolan, and the film's effects and visual artistry that really differentiated The Dark Knight from its superhero brethren. And while Ledger's performance will still be rattling around in most brains even without the extra theater time, the fact that the film will be back on the big screen just in time for the one-year anniversary of his death on Jan. 22 will make the late actor doubly hard to ignore when it comes time to pick the '08 Academy Awards field. (source)
I've been saying this was going to happen ever since the movie was released. Many summer movies that are considered award favorites use this particular technique to remind voters and the public of their movie, which can get lost among the deluge of Oscar baiting films that are released from October through December. Now, I kind of doubt that Warner Bros. would be so tacky as to re release the movie on the anniversary of Heath Ledger's death, but I wouldn't be surprised if they released it the week before, just to generate some buzz. The only way The Dark Knight is going to surpass Titanic as the number 1 grossing movie of all time is by re releasing it in January. The movie's been out for over two months and its losing steam. It needs to keep a low profile, then burst back onto the scene at just the right time in order to make that last $78 million that its missing to become number 1. And pick up a few Oscar nominations. And I'm the kind of gullible movie viewer who will go back to see it in January. What can I say, I loved this movie!
That's about all I've got time for right now. I'll keep tabs on the Kanye thing and see if anything interesting comes of it. More than likely, he'll make bail and get probation, but it is Kanye, so you never know.
Well, I'm off to lunch!
Later!

Stop the Madness!

Seriously, Hollywood needs to find some new creative people because this whole remaking old movies thing is getting really old. Word came down the wire today that the powers that be are contemplating making a sequel to Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II. Say it ain't so!

Variety reports that Columbia Pictures is gearing up to bring another Ghostbusters film to the big screen, ideally featuring all four main characters from the 1984 blockbuster and its 1989 sequel—Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson. Both '80s-era films were cowritten by Aykroyd and Ramis and directed by Ivan Reitman. Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, both executive producers on The Office, have been tapped to pen the new installment—after which, Columbia will approach its would-be leading men. (source)

So its not a done deal and Dan Aykroyd was quoted as telling a radio station last year that if they ever made a sequel, it would have to be CGI or something because Bill Murray wouldn't appear in a live action sequel. So there's hope that the Ghostbusters franchise won't be further tarnished. I mean Ghostbusters II wasn't that great but the original was awesome. Please, someone make them stop!

Bad news for Watchmen Fans, or is it?

So things have been pretty hectic around here lately. Between the holiday weekend, the Vine VIP party and Ron going on vacation, there hasn't been much time for writing. Well really any time for writing. So I took a mini blog vacation. But I'm back, as much as I can be. We're gearing up for the new local sports season, which starts on Friday, and you would be surprised at how much that includes me. But on to some entertainment news.

A few weeks ago, I posted a story about 20th Century Fox's lawsuit against Warner Bros. over the rights to The Watchmen, which is supposed to be released in March of 2009. At the time, it looked like Fox was actually trying to block the film from being released. News comes today of a further development in the case:
A federal judge in Los Angeles has set Jan. 6 as the start of the showdown between 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. over the movie adaptation of the vaunted graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Gibbons. Watchmen has devolved from a comic book flick into a courtroom drama in recent months, as Fox came forward with a complicated case claiming it still owns the rights to Watchmen and is seeking to block the release of Warners' anticipated film. Fox scored a legal victory last month when U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess ruled there was enough evidence to go to trial. But on Tuesday, he shot down Fox's request to halt the March 6 release of the Warners movie, helmed by 300's Zach Snyder and starring Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino, Billy Crudup and Jackie Earle Haley as a group of ostracized former superheroes trying to save the world and themselves. Instead, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Feess fast-tracked the trial, presumably giving the two studios a chance to reach a settlement in the matter before deciding on potentially harsher measures. (source)
So good news and bad news right? The movie is still coming out on schedule, but there's still going to be a trial. Which could still affect the movie's release, especially if Fox wins. But, most of the media is pretty convinced that Warner Bros. will eventually offer a decent enough settlement to Fox that will probably include a percentage of the film's earnings. Money does make the world go round after all. Especially in the movie business.

That's it for now. Hopefully something interesting will happen in Hollywood later today. Lately its been all about lawsuits and criminal charges, which does nothing for my optimism.
Later!