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Happy 4th of July!!!

Its a busy week here at Wine Country Broadcasting and this is the first time I've had a chance to post anything all week long. And, unfortunately, I'm going to have to make it a short one. But there are a few things I wanted to go ahead an write about before they become old news.
First of all, and most importantly, I wanted to get my prediction in for the birth of the Bragelina twins. While I realize that Angelina's doctor has told the world that she checked into the hospital for a few weeks of rest and probably won't deliver for at least two weeks, I'm calling bullsh*t on that and predicting that those twins will be born sometime during the long weekend (though probably not on the 4th because that would be a bit too patriotic for the worldly Jolie-Pitt clan). What evidence do I have to back me up on this? Aside from the fact that the woman checked herself into the hospital, I also remember them pulling the same tactics when Shiloh was born in 2006. Remember that? Angelina gave a fake due date and waited until the majority of the media was on vacation for Memorial Day, then went ahead and had her C-section. That way, everyone came back to work on Tuesday and Shiloh was already three days old and her baby pictures were sold to People magazine for trillions of dollars. So there you have it, the Brangelina twins will be born before everyone gets back to work on Monday, mark my words. If I'm wrong, then I'm wrong, but I'm feeling pretty strongly on this one. I'll keep you posted on any twin developments next week.

Moving on to things that have actually happened. Well, they've happened according to the media. I know its not good to speculate about the state of celebrity marriages and I rarely listen to the "this person is filing for divorce, no they've reconciled, no wait, now they're separated" gossip that is always in the tabloids, but this whole Madonna/Guy Ritchie/Alex Rodriguez thing has just been too funny. A day after Maddy's publicist finally went ahead and denied everything while Maddy and Guy had a very public dinner date, work comes that A-Rod's wife has run off with Lenny Kravitz of all people! Here's the story:
In the wake of reports that he's in a relationship with Madonna, several media outlets reported that his wife has left him for Lenny Kravitz. In response to reports that Cynthia Rodriguez, 34, ran off to Paris with him, Kravitz issued a statement first posted on perezhilton.com Thursday: "There is absolutely no affair between Cynthia Rodriguez and myself. This is unequivocally 100 percent not true." Kravitz, who is currently on tour in Europe, said that Cynthia is there with him as a friend. "Cynthia is a friend and is here with the godfather of her baby, who is also Alex's trainer, his wife and their baby girl," Kravitz said in the statement. "She came here to escape from everything happening in New York City. I opened my home to her as a friend and I find it extremely hurtful that I am now being referred to as an adulterer." (Source People Online)
I'm not sure why I find all of this so amusing, I mean, we're talking about a marriage here. But I do. Maybe because its all speculation to begin with. There are only a few people who really know the truth of what's going on in this situation. But where there is smoke, often times there is also fire. We'll find out soon enough what's really going on. In the meantime, don't be surprised if you hear stories of A-Rod having an affair with Will Smith and being seen with Elizabeth Taylor in a compromising position.

And finally, a little 4th of July cheer for you all, courtesy of The Muppets and the Best Week Ever blog (which I totally love!). Your welcome!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDA9NbP

Sorry, I haven't quite figured out that whole embedding video thing. Anyway, I need to get back to doing my thing here at the station. Its going to be a busy weekend for me. I'll be broadcasting live from downtown Napa tomorrow from 1-3 pm at the July 4th Festival and then on Saturday I'll be broadcasting live from 5-6pm at the Robert Mondavi Winery in Rutherford to kick off the first of the summer festival concerts. This week The Preservation Hall Jazz Band are going to be performing. They're lots of fun to watch and there's going to be fireworks and everything! In between all of that fun I will probably be playing with the other distraction in my life, our new kitten Halo.

She's eight weeks old and freaking adorable.

So that's what I've got planned.
Have a good Fourth everyone!
Later!

I'm Back!

Between people going on vacations and the fires that are going on all around California, I've been a bit busy lately. Which means I haven't had a chance to write in a while. Many apologies. But so much has happened between now and the last time I wrote that I'm not sure I'll be able to comment on it all. So I'll just start with the worst and move on from there.

First off, I was very sad when I heard that George Carlin had died. You probably all know the details of that one, I just wanted to mention it because he was a very talented man. He will be missed.

Moving on. I'm trying to decide who's crazier Amy Winehouse or her father. Because she's got the beginnings of emphysema, which no one should have at age 24, and he can't stop talking to the press about it. Here's the latest (which is actually from this morning, but whatever):

Amy Winehouse's rep is saying that the 24-year-old Brit does not have emphysema, as her father told Britain's Sunday Mirror over the weekend. Rather, she has "early signs of what could lead to emphysema," rep Tracey Miller said Monday. Mitch Winehouse was only speaking "out of his concern for her" when he told the press that his little girl was suffering through the early stages of the chronic respiratory disease. Winehouse was hospitalized last Monday after fainting outside her London home and remained on bed rest throughout the week while doctors performed various tests to identify the cause of her collapse. "With smoking the crack cocaine and the cigarettes her lungs are all gunked up," the Grammy winner's dad told the Mirror. "There are nodules around the chest and dark marks. She's got 70 percent lung capacity. "To think this could be my beautiful 24-year-old daughter's life is preposterous. But if drugs mean more to her than breathing properly, then so be it. But the doctors have told her if she goes back to smoking drugs it won't just ruin her voice, it will kill her. It's been a tough week." But apparently there's hope—and Mitch Winehouse seems to be looking on the bright side now. "Amy really hasn't got emphysema, there's traces of emphysema," he told BBC Radio 1 today, downgrading his earlier remarks. "Obviously, if she doesn't quit smoking, it's going to get worse, like everyone else...with patience, her lungs will recover completely." "With no more inhalation of smoke of any kind, she's going to be absolutely fine." (source E Online)

He goes on to talk about how, just because she's been in the hospital doesn't mean that she can't perform at the Glastonbury Festival this weekend. And asking crack dealers not to sell her crack anymore so her lungs don't collapse or something (because, you know, crack dealers are upstanding moral people who would never endanger some one's health or anything). But he seems pretty sure that Amy's going to quit smoking. Of course, she has since been photographed at least once smoking a cigarette, but that's neither here nor there really. This whole thing has been going on for over a week now, starting with her being hospitalized and going through her diagnoses and her father has been there every step of the way, talking to the press. I never thought of Mitch Winehouse as a stage dad, but maybe he's worse the Lindsay Lohan's mother. I mean, he obviously has no problem going to the press every time something is going on with Amy and is always talking about how her problems either will or won't affect her career. That seems pretty stage parenty to me.

Speaking of stage parents and their spawn and their spawn's spawn, its been a pretty good week fro the Spears clan. First came the birth of Maddie Briann to 17-year-old Jamie Lynne (the first pictures of the child have been sold exclusively to OK Magazine around the time the child was conceived by her grandmother Lynne Spears) and now its seems that Britney has managed to keep it together enough to be allowed to see her children over night.
Britney Spears was awarded overnight privileges with her sons, PEOPLE confirms. The pop star hasn't had her children overnight since January following her forced hospitalization at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. A closed-door hearing Tuesday, attended by Spears and her ex, Kevin Federline, also saw the return of Spears's first divorce lawyer, Laura Wasser, who has officially replaced Stacy Phillips. L.A. Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini confirmed that Spears's parenting coach attended the hearing and made statements to the court, and that Spears's demeanor before the commissioner was "businesslike." "I think any judge is pleased to see progress being made by parties in a case," Parachini added. Details of the hearing's outcome were not announced. But a source confirms for PEOPLE that Spears will now be allowed to have her sons Preston, 2 1/2, and Jayden, 1 1/2, with her overnight. (PEOPLE)
Congrats to Britney and whichever doctor prescribed her the pills to keep her craziness under control. Its always sad when a person's life has spun so out of control that they are no longer capable of looking after their children. But Britney's gotten it together enough to get some of her visitation back. Who knows, maybe there will come a time when her daddy doesn't have to live with her but her children can. The Spears family must be pretty excited for the way things are going. Hope they don't mess it up.
And finally, this whole thing with Anne Hathaway's ex boyfriend is just getting too weird. First he bounces a check for $215,000 back in April, for which he was arrested for, but eventually paid off. Then the news comes today that he was arrested again for just being an over all phony.

Just one week after E! News confirmed that he and Anne Hathaway parted ways after four years together—in the nick of time, as it turns out for her—Italian businessman Raffaello Follieri has been arrested in Manhattan on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering. Follieri allegedly padded his résumé a bit too liberally. He's accused of telling an investor that no less an institution than the Vatican had appointed him its chief financial officer. It hadn't. Hathaway's ex is scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court later today to face the charges. According to prosecutors, the newly single businessman claimed the holy connection in order to purchase U.S. properties owned by the Catholic church at a discounted rate. Unfortunately for him, it's not the first time the 29-year-old has had a run-in with the law. Last week, E! News learned that a default judgment had been filed against the businessman after he failed to pay American Express Bank $499,100.21, with interest dating back to last September. Earlier this month it was also revealed the entrepreneur was under investigation by the New York State Attorney General after it was discovered he failed to file the requisite IRS tax disclosure forms for his charitable Follieri Foundation. (Source: E Online)

Its a good thing she got out when she did, because this guy seems pretty slimy. How could she not know about all of this when they've been together for four years? Seriously, either the guy is a master of deception, she's a total air head or there' s something shady going on in their relationship. I'm sure we'll all find out eventually because this doesn't look like its going away any time soon.

Oh, there's one more thing I wanted to write about. I've actually managed to stay away from writing a lot about Paris Hilton because I've been totally burnt out on her ever since her whole jail time thing. But this latest little blurb just makes me giggle a little inside, so I have to share. I reported on my show last week that a pet store in Melrose refused to sell her a Yorkie puppy after she requested one for a photo shoot. But Paris swears this is not true.

Paris Hilton is now barking back at recent reports claiming she was prevented from purchasing a pooch. "I was catching up on news last week, only to read a story about me walking by some puppies for sale and demanding that I be given a Yorkie puppy to be an accessory for a photo shoot," Paris wrote Monday on her MySpace blog. "I wasn't looking for a new pet. I wasn't even at a photo shoot that day," she clarifies, before quickly pointing out: "Puppies are not accessories or toys." (Source: E Online)

This is coming from a woman who frequently graces the red carpet with a monkey or puppy in her arms and single handedly made it fashionable to carry a dog around in your purse. Yet "puppies are not accessories". Well that's good to know, I was a bit confused on that one. While I didn't quite believe the story when it was first reported, I could still see it happening. Her defensive blog post really doesn't do much to convince me either way, especially because she managed to promote her new reality show at least three times during it.

So that's all I've got to say today. The smoke from the wild fires is killing my allergies, so I've been a little out of it today anyway. Plus I've got to get back to work on my other job here at the station. Those commercials won't schedule themselves after all.

Later

Well that's one way to spin it.

Another day, another batch of gossip. What amazes me the most about Hollywood is the P.R. people. They have an amazing sense of spin control that lets them get away with practically anything. If their client really messes up, just ship'em off to rehab for a month or so and claim it was for depression. If they can come back married and pregnant, all the better, right? Three particular stories have really impressed me this week. The use of spin is actually making me a bit dizzy!
The biggest news that broke today was the acquittal of R. Kelly. I've been trying to avoid this trial as much as I possibly can, because it grosses me out, but with this final verdict I just have to say something. But first, the details:
It took more than six years for the case to go to trial, but after less than a day of deliberations, a Chicago jury has found R&B superstar R. Kelly not guilty of all 14 counts of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl. Kelly's acquittal essentially came down to whether or not his legal eagles instilled enough reasonable doubt in the panel of nine men and three women as they debated the kiddie-porn charges over seven hours. Obviously, Kelly's camp succeeded. Helping the jurors in their decision to acquit was skepticism about a mole on his back that prosecutors claimed was proof that Kelly was indeed the man in the video who participated in the three-way with another woman and the minor in question and was seen urinating on the latter after engaging in various sex acts. The alleged victim, now 23, refused to cooperate with the Cook County District Attorney's Office, did not testify against Kelly and neither did her parents. (source E Online)
Now I'm not sure whether I believe that it was R. Kelly on that tape or not, but whoever it was should go to jail for it. You know, I started out not believing that the guy who sings I Believe I Can Fly could do such a stupid thing, but then I remembered Bump and Grind and I started to think maybe it could be him. If you go by his music catalog alone, things tend to get a little confusing. But you've got to admit, it takes a lot of spin to convince, not just a jury, but the whole public that he was not the guy on that tape. And convince the public to listen to his music again. The world waits with baited breath for the next Trapped in a Closet chapters. Bring it on!
The next story that I found particularly interesting, in regards to spin control, actually broke Wednesday night and really picked up steam on Thursday. I'm talking about the whole Katherine Heigl refusing to be nominated for an Emmy. Here's the story:

It's very strange that Katherine Heigl's name is not on the TV academy's list of Emmy contenders after she won best supporting actress last year for "Grey's Anatomy." Over the past few months, as Emmy campaign season began, Katherine Heigl didn't announce that she'd be bowing out. Her omission from the official ballot just happened to be noticed yesterday by one of our forum posters. So we asked Heigl: Whazzup?
"I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention," she tells Gold Derby. "In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials." (source goldenderby.latimes.com)

Now this story, taken face value, paints Katherine in a very good light. She doesn't feel like her work this year on Grey's Anatomy was up to her standards and wants to give other people a shot. She's got integrity. That's a good thing.

Until other people start talking about it. Of course, once the media get a hold of these comments, they start asking for comments from her co-workers. And they're not too happy with her.

One day after Grey's Anatomy's Katherine Heigl announced that she would drop out of this year's Emmy race, because "I do not feel I was given the material this season to warrant a nomination," a key show insider contacted EW.com to express regret that the actress publicly complained about the drama. “The show bent over backwards to accommodate her film schedule, and then she criticizes the show for lack of material?" the insider said. "It's an ungrateful slap in the face to the very writers responsible for her Emmy win in the first place.” (Source EW.com)

Looking at it in this light , Katherine's not looking so rosy anymore. And thinking back on the amount of films she's done over the past year, you have to wonder if there might be something to the writer's complaints. I don't actually watch Grey's Anatomy, but I loved Knocked Up and I enjoyed 27 Dresses way more than I thought I would when I watched it last night, but those are just two of the movies she's done in the past year. According to her IMDB page, she currently filming one movie and she's already signed on to film another one after that. IF she's filming all of these movies, how is going to have time to film next season of Grey's Anatomy? Will next season lack material worthy of Katherine too? Or is she just trying to get out of her contract by annoying the show's creators? See, its all about spin!

And finally, one of the best uses of spin that I think I've ever seen comes from a press release sent to the Entertainment Weekly blog Popwatch. It has to be seen to be believed:

It's The Parent Trap Meets Saw — See Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me on Starz This Saturday Night

Starz Invites You to Experience the Exclusive Pay TV Premiere

Lindsay Lohan
In
I KNOW WHO KILLED ME
Saturday, June 14 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on Starz

Winner of EIGHT RAZZIE AWARDS (2008) including:
Worst Picture
Worst Actress (Lindsay Lohan) - twice
Worst Director

What the critics had to say:
"Gruesomely tawdry and inept." Entertainment Weekly
"A disaster that exerts a perverse fascination." Variety
"Bad is easy: this level of awful approaches the genius." Flick Filosopher
"It is the kind of strangely fascinating terrible that can make for an entertaining time at the movies under the right circumstances." eFilmCritic.com
"No review could really do justice to the monumental trashiness of this mess; it really has to be seen to be believed." New York Daily News
"Exquisite in its awfulness.." Quad City Times
"The film is so cheap, lurid and overwrought, it could be made up of lost reels from Grindhouse, except it lacks the knowing, self-referential humor of that B-movie parody." Minneapolis Star Tribune

(source EW.com)

Kudos to Starz for not only making me laugh my butt off, but also coming up with a pretty ingenious way to get people to watch what could be the worst movie ever. I've never seen it, but this press release makes me kind of want to. Though I think that lots of cocktails will need to be imbibed before I can follow through on that particular whim. Well, it is Friday after all. That whim may just become a reality!:)

So that's my spin on this particular post. Its almost the weekend and I've got more work to do before I can start mine off right, so I am outta here! Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers out there. Especially mine!

Later!

I think I just died a little inside.

So I was looking around the Internet, trying to decide what to write about today. Nothing was really striking me as post worthy, but I was a slacker yesterday and didn't get around to posting, so I knew I needed to do it today. But the news has been pretty slow this week. I had about given up hope when I stumbled across something so completely stupid, that my writer's block was shattered by the supreme idiocy that is reality television. So here it goes.

It seems the The Hills stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are totally willing to whore out their wedding to the highest bidder. This isn't really all of that shocking, but now MTV wants to help them too.

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt want to do it on live television. The pressaholic reality-television couple have been talking to MTV honchos about a live telecast of their upcoming nuptials! Montag, 21, has told MTV programming and development honcho Tony DiSanto that they’re ready to say their I-do’s for the cameras, a source reports. No surprise, but DiSanto is said to be keen on the idea. According to Montag and Pratt’s weekly latest cover story in Us, their dream is a small wedding on Sir Richard Branson’s Necker Island in the Virgin Islands, with catering by Wolfgang Puck’s Cut restaurant, watches by Jason of Beverly Hills for all their guests and a performance by U2. (source E Online)

Obviously these two are shameless when it comes to shoving themselves in the faces of the public day in and day out, hour after hour, minute to minute. I don't think a day has gone by that I haven't seen something about Speidi in the entertainment news. So the idea that they want to broadcast their wedding on MTV is not shocking. Nor is it shocking that MTV thinks its a good idea too. After all, The Hills has made them good money and everyone knows that the show would have dies after two seasons if it hadn't been for that whole L.C.-Heidi battle royale, so how could they refuse? No, what gets me about this whole thing is that the whole wish list wedding that she's talking about will probably happen. She'll probably get Wolfgang Puck to cater and have watches by Jason of Beverly Hills as favors. And those people would be stupid to turn her down because its national TV, which is great exposure, especially because there's going to be so many impressionable teens watching this wedding and tormenting their parents with their insanely expensive wants inspired by the Speidi wedding. So what am I complaining about? The fact that I vowed to myself that I would never blog about The Hills, and yet I can't seem to stop! I'm quite disappointed in me.

Moving on to other scandalous gossip, it seems that Madonna's brother is planning to write his memoirs. Here's the details:
Madonna's brother, Christopher Ciccone, is writing a memoir about his sister, to be released in mid-July by an imprint of Simon & Schuster, the publisher told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The imprint, Simon Spotlight Entertainment, had been promoting a celebrity memoir for July, without identifying the author or contents. "Life With My Sister Madonna" will have a first printing of 350,000. Financial details were not disclosed. "Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his life and 47 years of growing up with and working with his sister — the most famous woman in the world," the publisher said Wednesday in a statement. Ciccone, 47, has worked often with his older sister, designing and directing her "Girlie Show" tour in 1993 and serving as artistic director of her 1991 documentary, "Madonna: Truth or Dare." But according to Madonna's spokeswoman, Liz Rosenberg, they are no longer close. (Source Associated Press)
I'm actually surprised that it took this long for her brother to write anything about her. And that no one else in her family has. Though Madonna is kind of scary. I'm sure she's got an iron grip on her family that prevents them from writing tell all memoirs about her. Didn't she have a nanny killed once or something? Anyway, free speech is free speech and I'm sure that Madonna's brother will write a very loving tribute to his sister. Or not. Yeah, probably not.
And finally ( I'm cutting things a bit short today due to some Internet bugs that are making posting a bit difficult today. This is my second attempt at posting!) The Forbes Annual Power List was released today with some interesting additions:

Angelina Jolie is the powerful than beau Brad Pitt, according to Forbes' annual Power List, which ranks celebrities on money and fame. Oprah Winfrey topped the the list for the second year in a row with a media empire that earned her $275 million. Notable newcomers included Hills star Lauren Conrad (#97), Sex and the City's Sarah Jessica Parker (#72), singer/designer Gwen Stefani (#63) and Tina Fey (#99). Newlyweds Beyonce and Jay-Z ranked No. 4 and No. 7 respectively. Miley Cyrus (#35); Zac Efron (#92), and the Jonas Brothers (#89) accounted for teens on this year's list. Celebs that fell off the list? New mom Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson, Scarlett Johansson and Adam Sandler. (source US Weekly)

Is anyone really all that shocked that Angelina Jolie is more powerful than her partner Brad Pitt? If he wanted to be the powerful one in the relationship, he should have stayed with Jennifer Aniston. I am a bit surprised that this is only the first year that Sarah Jessica Parker has been on the list, though I guess it probably took a clothing line and a number one movie to get her there. Then how does someone like Lauren Conrad get on the list? Oh wait, doesn't she design socks or something when she's not pretending to work, I mean working for Teen Vogue? There I go again, blogging about The Hills! The madness must stop! You can check out the full list here.
Ok, that's all for me. I've got to quit before my computer dies and makes me write this post all over again. Plus its freaking hot outside and the wind is killing my sinuses, so I'm going to go stand under the air conditioning vent and turn myself into a Popsicle before I go home to my un-airconditioned house and sweat my way through the night.
Later!

Odds and Ends and Happy Friends

Well, its Friday again and boy has it been a day! Fridays are usually busier for me than most days, but today seems to be pretty non-stop. But luckily, I was able to carve out an hour to get this post going. Though its probably going to be a little unorganized, at least I'm doing it right?

Its been a rather chaotic Friday in the gossip world too. There's been so many stories going around the web that I wasn't sure which ones to talk about. I could continue the Nick Hogan saga, but I am so over that one already. Or I could weigh in on the whole Real Housewives of the O.C. and N.Y.C. cat fight, but that's going to be done to death by the time this post is finally finished. So I decided to draw four stories out of a hat and that's what we're stuck with. Let's get started!

I wasn't planning on talking about this particular story when it broke Wednesday, because I really do feel bad for the guy, but then he had to go on Larry King Live and ruin my sympathy, so now its on! The news broke that Ed McMahon and his wife are on the verge of foreclosing on their multi-million dollar home. Here's what he had to say about it:

Ed McMahon blames the possible foreclosure of his multimillion-dollar Beverly Hills house on a set of problems all too familiar to many Americans: a foundering economy, health problems and poor planning. "If you spend more money than you make, you know what happens," McMahon said Thursday night on CNN's "Larry King Live." "You know, a couple of divorces thrown in, a few things like that. And, you know, things happen." McMahon, 85, appeared with his wife, Pamela. The couple said they are $644,000 behind on their mortgage payments and are in negotiations with lender Countrywide Home Loans Inc. to set a foreclosure date. McMahon, in a neck brace, said he had stopped working since he broke his neck in a fall 18 months ago. He didn't elaborate. Still, McMahon said he was hopeful. He said there has been renewed interest in the house this week. (source Associated Press)

While I feel bad that the man broke his neck and that he's on the verge of losing his home, it doesn't seem like he's too upset about it. The whole "a couple divorces thrown in" bit made it seem a bit glib to me. And the fact that he's comparing himself with the hundreds of men and women who are losing their homes everyday is a bit tough to swallow in my opinion. Those people are losing the only home they have. He's losing his winter property. Its not the same situation. I just hope he's not using this whole experience as a way to get back on top like a lot of celebrities are doing (yes Nick Hogan, I heard about your post-prison reality show. Ew!). If Ed McMahon ends up on reality TV because of this, I will never watch a rerun of Star Search again. And forget about that whole Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes thing. I will not be conned like that again:)

On to other, hopefully less depressing, topics. Adam Sandler announced today that he will be branching out his production company (Happy Madison) and creating a branch that produces horror movies (to be named Scary Madison). Here are the details:

Adam Sandler has decided to branch off his production company Happy Madison with a separate division called Scary Madison, which will develop horror flicks. Per the Hollywood Reporter, the first project the shingle will produce is a thriller called Shortcut, following two brothers who stumble on a shortcut into their new town and, unfortunately for them, learn why it's so rarely used. Sandler and partner Jack Giarraputo will executive-produce the film, which will be helmed by Nicholaus Goosen (Grandma's Boy) and star newcomers Andrew Seeley, Shannon Woodward and Dave Franco. The script was penned by Adam's brother, Scott Sandler. (source E Online)

Adam Sandler has always been about keeping his friends and family employed. If you haven't noticed, he puts the same people in his films over and over again. So it makes sense that he starts an entire new company to make sure his brother's script get filmed. I hope his finance people have him well covered, because I don't know how well a Sandler-written horror movie will turn out. But I have been wrong before and I'm more than willing to be wrong again. I also didn't think he could sing, but The Wedding Singer proved me wrong. Maybe I shouldn't underestimate the power of the Sandler. He may be delivering box office gold this weekend. But Shortcut sounds pretty lame. I'm just saying.

Moving on. It was announced last night that the friends and family of the late Heath Ledger are planning on setting up a scholarship for struggling Australian actors.

Teaming up with the Tinseltown-based organization Australians in Film, Heath Ledger's relatives, friends and ex-fiancée Michelle Williams last night unveiled the Heath Ledger Scholarship Fund, which will provide financial aid for Oz expats struggling to break into Hollywood. The scholarship will help cover the costs of acting classes and rent. The amount of the award has yet to be finalized, but it will be doled out annually beginning in 2009 in memory of the 28-year-old Brokeback Mountain star, who died Jan. 22 from an accidental prescription overdose. (source E Online)

This is a very positive step in a very tragic situation. I'm sure that starting this scholarship fund will help Heath's friends and family focus on something positive and move on.

And finally, one of my favorite singers from when I was in high school was honored yesterday for her achievements. Jewel was honored by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling a whole bunch of albums.

Having sold more than 18 million albums in the U.S. and 27 million albums worldwide since her professional debut in 1995, Jewel has been honored by the Recording Industry Association of America – which surprised her with a career-milestone plaque on Thursday as she prepared to sign autographs at the Country Music Association festival in Nashville. Jewel released her new album, Perfectly Clear on Tuesday. Its lead single, "Stronger Woman," is already No. 15 on the Billboard chart. This summer, she tours with Brad Paisley. (Source People)

I think I listened to Pieces of You so many times in high school that I was singing it in my sleep (which is not an uncommon thing for me, I've been waking up with the ending song from Juno [the Moldy Peaches one] for about two months now). So congrats to Jewel on her success. I haven't really been following her career the past few years, but I may have to check out her new album. Even though country really isn't my kind of music (I managed to survive living in Texas for five years and working in country radio without being converted. That is a rare thing).

So that's it for me today. Sorry for the abbreviated and rather sappy and happy post. The weekend is almost here and I'm looking forward to enjoying it. But I have to get the rest of my work done before I can do that, which means I'm out of here!

Later!

Father of the Year?

Another Tuesday, another round of gossip to skewer. Let's do away with all the formalities and just get to it, shall we?
Lets kick it off with one of the more ludicrous stories I've found today. Its seems that the ex Mr. Spears, Kevin Federline, has been named Father of the Year...by a night club in Vegas. Here's the details.
Kevin Federline is the new father of the year! Just in time for Father's Day, Prive Las Vegas will award the proud papa of four his "father of the year" status at a party he is slated to host there June 13. Sources tell PEOPLE he will be awarded the title during a presentation at the club. (Source: people)
I find this story funny on many levels, the first on being that Kevin Federline could be considered Father of the Year at all. Now, I realize that he's really stepped up and taken control of the kids since his ex wife went crazy, but the man has two nannies taking care of his kids for him! I'm not sure how much of the day to day parenting he actually does. I also find it ironic that a night club in Vegas is the one naming him father of the year. Because Vegas nightclubs are know for encouraging responsible behavior. And Kevin would know all about that because he seems to live in Vegas on the weekends. And the final reason this particular story amuses me is because this is actually the second time he's been named father of the year in the past year. Details magazine named him and Larry Birkhead (the famous Anna Nicole Smith impregnator) father of the year last November. If these are the types of guys that are supposed to the father role model, I'm a little concerned for the future of our planet. Luckily, its all just a publicity stunt that will blow over soon.

Something that just doesn't seem to blowing over at all is this whole Hulk Hogan's son, Nick's issues with the law. I thought that once he got sentenced to eight months in prison, we wouldn't have to hear from him for a while. Which was rather naive of me, I realize. I guess I was just hopeful. I was wrong. He's only been in the clink for maybe a month, and he's already whining about how awful it is. Here's the scoop:

Nick Hogan, who, after being sentenced to 8 months in jail, has been cooling his heels in solitary confinement because he's too young to join the general population, filed a motion asking that he be placed on house arrest until July 27, his 18th birthday, or moved into the minimum-security lockup. Because Hogan, whose real last name is Bollea, is a minor, he has been isolated in a maximum-security cell at Pinellas County Jail, according to his attorney, Kevin Hayslett, who says the teen has lost at least 10 pounds and has no access to a telephone or TV, privileges enjoyed by inmates serving time for similar offenses. (source EOnline)

So, he's been put in solitary confinement for his own protection, but he's lonely and wants his mommy, so he wants to be under house arrest instead. I saw ten seconds of Hogan Knows Best once and saw the house Nick lives in. There is no way that being under house arrest in that house would in any way shape or form punish him for nearly killing and permanently disabling his friend. I think they should let him out into the general prison population. He wouldn't be as lonely then and he could watch TV.
In other reality-stars-behaving-badly- then- trying- to- get- out- of- jail- time news, Jackass star Steve-O was in court today to face charges stemming from his March cocaine bust.
Jackass star Steve-o is heading to rehab after reaching a deal with prosecutors and pleading guilty to felony drug charges. The troubled 33-year-old - real name Stephen Glover - had previously pleaded not guilty to counts of cocaine possession following his 3 March arrest on suspicion of vandalising his neighbours' property in Los Angeles. But the professional stuntman decided to confess to the crime on Tuesday in a bid to rid him of his legal woes. His lawyer Barry Sands tells website TMZ.com that if the star enrolls in a narcotics programme within the next 48 hours and remains "on good behaviour", the case will be dropped altogether. (source imdb.com)
While I applaud Steve-O's behavior since his arrest (i.e. going to rehab on his own accord and staying clean for the past 85 days) I just hope that this sentence is enough to keep him out of trouble and off the drugs. This kind of leniency hasn't proved very effective among the Hollywood set in the past.

Lets finish up with a more positive story. I feel like I've been ranting a bit too much today and its totally messing with my positive thinking (which I've been meaning to start doing since the whole Paris went to jail debacle). The cast of The Simpsons has been in some pretty intense contract negotiations for a while now, and I am happy to report that they have finally sealed the deal!

"The Simpsons" cast has sealed a four-year deal that hands it more "D'oh" and solidifies the animated hit's 20th season. Production on the show has been delayed for several months as voice actors and 20th Century Fox TV hammered out a deal. New pact bumps the stars' salaries up to about $400,000 an episode; the thesps previously made somewhere in the mid-$300,000 range. The deal, firmed up over the weekend, means most of the key "Simpsons" cast members -- Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Hank Azaria (Moe) and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns) -- will be back to work and attending the show's first table read of the season this morning. Because of the late start, 20th will produce just 20 episodes of "The Simpsons" this season instead of the usual 22. (source Variety)

More than one option

• (Co) Daily Variety
  Filmography, Year, Role
• (Co) Daily VarietyThe deal, firmed up over the weekend, means most of the key Simpsons" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/TVSeries/main/30746/Simpsons.html?dataSet=1">"Simpsons" cast members -- Castellaneta" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/49559/Dan%20Castellaneta.html?dataSet=1">Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Kavner" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/44232/Julie%20Kavner.html?dataSet=1">Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/959463/Yeardley%20Smith.html?dataSet=1">Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Azaria" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/29597/Hank%20Azaria.html?dataSet=1">Hank Azaria (Moe) and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns) -- will be back to work and attending the show's first table read of the season this morning. Because of the late start, 20th will produce just 20 episodes of "The Simpsons" this season instead of the usual 22.

This is very good news indeed. Sunday nights just wouldn't seem the same without the Simpson family. It would be like taking away Monday Night Football or Saturday morning cartoons or something. Though the cast is renewed for another four years, it remains to be seen if the show will be renewed beyond its 20th season on Fox. I'm pretty sure it will, even if the ratings have been falling for the past few years, if only to make it the longest running prime time show ever (right now its tied with Gunsmoke at 20 seasons).

So that's it for this ranting redhead. The news has been rather slow, so I'm off to obsess about whether the tomatoes I had on my pasta last night were from salmonella infested Texas!
Later!

More than one option

• (Co) Daily Variety
  Filmography, Year, Role
• (Co) Daily VarietyDeal, firmed up over the weekend, means most of the key Simpsons" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/TVSeries/main/30746/Simpsons.html?dataSet=1">"Simpsons" cast members -- Castellaneta" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/49559/Dan%20Castellaneta.html?dataSet=1">Dan Castellaneta (Homer), Kavner" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/44232/Julie%20Kavner.html?dataSet=1">Julie Kavner (Marge), Nancy Cartwright (Bart), Yeardley Smith" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/959463/Yeardley%20Smith.html?dataSet=1">Yeardley Smith (Lisa), Azaria" href="http://www.variety.com/profiles/people/main/29597/Hank%20Azaria.html?dataSet=1">Hank Azaria (Moe) and Harry Shearer (Mr. Burns) -- will be back to work and attending the show's first table read of the season this morning.