September 10th, 2010
04:21 PM ET

Take an exclusive look at 'Freakonomics'

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's best-seller “Freakonomics” is going Hollywood – if six filmmakers creating a documentary counts as such.

The clip above is an exclusive look at the film’s exploration of incentives, adorably illustrated with a story of how Levitt, an economist, tried to figure out a way to potty-train his daughter with an incentive scheme.

“No matter how smart you are, you come up with some incentive scheme that you think is the perfect one to entice exactly the kind of behavior that you have in mind,” Levitt explained. But, in the course of potty-training three-year-old Amanda, he realized his incentive scheme didn’t go exactly as planned.


Filed under: Books • movies
September 10th, 2010
03:47 PM ET

Gabourey Sidibe is an Elle covergirl

Big things keep happening for Gabourey Sidibe.

The Academy Award-nominated actress is one of four stars chosen to grace the October issue of Elle magazine. Sidibe, “The Hills” star Lauren Conrad, “Transformers" actress Megan Fox and actress Amanda Seyfried were selected as part of the fashion magazine’s “favorite 25-somethings” in honor of Elle’s 25th anniversary.

The plus-sized Sidibe dons a green, jeweled Tadashi Shoji jersey cocktail dress on her cover and told the magazine about her own 25th birthday.

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'Real Housewives of D.C.' heats up
September 10th, 2010
02:26 PM ET

'Real Housewives of D.C.' heats up

Things are picking up in the land of the D.C. "Housewives," but for all the wrong reasons.

For starters, there was the way Tareq decided to wrap up a friendly dinner and a day at the winery. “Hey, come spend the day at my winery, sit down and have a meal and, by the way, your child is a car thief!”

These Salahi people are hardly hosts of the year. Tareq told Mary (and everyone else in the room, not to mention Bravo’s audience) that her daughter was involved with the theft of his $90,000 car and some polo equipment, and that she had posted about it on Facebook. Mary could barely say anything she was so shocked, and she ended the evening in tears.

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'Jersey Shore': And the winner is... Ronnie
September 10th, 2010
02:21 PM ET

'Jersey Shore': And the winner is... Ronnie

Unfortunately, there wasn't a clear winner of the Sammi-Jwoww fight we’d been dying to watch since last week’s episode. Other than Ronnie, of course, who has successfully managed to have his cake and eat it too.

Jwoww and Sammi definitely gave us a good show though - like “firecrackers in a dumpster,” as Ron put it.

And, despite an almost-fight between Ronnie and Vinny… and then Ronnie and Snooki… and then Ronnie and Jwoww (when she threw what looked like a serving platter at his head), the guy who started it all made it out free and clear.

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Behind the Scenes on 'Showbiz Tonight': Which celeb has been the most provocative?
September 10th, 2010
02:20 PM ET

Behind the Scenes on 'Showbiz Tonight': Which celeb has been the most provocative?

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for "Showbiz Tonight" staffers to name the Most Provocative Celebrity of the Week.

At least three people in the morning meeting screamed out “Snooki,” but producer Jenny D’Attoma and I had a serious argument for why Kat Von D should take the title. I mean, she’s going all around town professing her love for Jesse James! That takes serious nerve.

And then there’s the final nominee: Kim Kardashian. The reality TV star is "shocked” that more pictures were released from her 2007 Playboy magazine shoot. Really Kim? It was a best-seller - what, did you think they were just going to keep them in the vault because they were so pretty?

Oh, and we're still talking about Snooki – today we’ve got a mind-blowing poll about her new image now that she's faced the music in court for being annoying! Is Snooki really trying to channel Lindsay Lohan? We’ve got the shocking exclusive poll results today on "Showbiz Tonight"!

Watch “Showbiz Tonight” live at 5 p.m. today. And remember, we’re still TV’s most provocative entertainment news show seven days a week at 11 p.m. ET/PT!

Carrie Underwood: Marriage is a lot like dating
September 10th, 2010
01:33 PM ET

Carrie Underwood: Marriage is a lot like dating

The honeymoon is over for Carrie Underwood – in fact, it feels like she never even said "I do."

That's because being married "is a lot like dating," Underwood told Women's Health magazine for their October issue.

"Sometimes our schedules will click, sometimes they won't," said the 27-year-old country queen, who wed Ottawa Senators hockey star Mike Fisher, 30, in July. "But that's good because we're both independent."

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Snooki: I'm not like Lindsay Lohan
September 10th, 2010
12:26 PM ET

Snooki: I'm not like Lindsay Lohan

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi didn't dispute Judge Damian G. Murray's claims that she's  "rude, profane, obnoxious, and self-indulgent" when she spoke with People magazine, but she did beg to differ on that Lindsay Lohan comparison.

The 22-year-old "Jersey Shore" star - who pleaded guilty in court Wednesday to annoying Seaside Heights, New Jersey, beachgoers with her drunken hijinks - said she took offense to Judge Murray referring to her as a "Lindsay Lohan wannabe."

"I never drank and drove, I don't do drugs – I do nothing that Lindsay does, so it was definitely a little overboard," said the pint-sized Polizzi, who was fined $500 and ordered to perform community service because of her July 30 public intoxication arrest. (She already received credit for caring for zoo animals last Sunday.)

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James Franco: I just play gay
September 10th, 2010
12:23 PM ET

James Franco: I just play gay

Sure he’s played a few gay characters, but don’t get it twisted: James Franco says he’s straight, and if he wasn’t he’d admit it.

“Everyone thinks I’m a stoner, and some people think I’m gay because I’ve played these gay roles,” Franco told The Advocate. "That’s what people think, but it’s not true. I don’t smoke pot. I’m not gay…”

The actor sat down with the publication for an interview appearing in the October issue to discuss his role as iconic gay poet Allen Ginsberg in the soon-to-be-released biopic “Howl.”

FULL POST

Meghan McCain slams Bristol Palin on 'Daily Show'
September 10th, 2010
10:57 AM ET

Meghan McCain slams Bristol Palin on 'Daily Show'

The business of politics got a little dirty on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Thursday night.

Meghan McCain (yes, daughter of Arizona Senator John McCain) joined Stewart last night to chat about her book, "Dirty Sexy Politics," and the conversation soon veered into Palin territory.

The book, Stewart pointed out, "is a view of the campaign trail that’s very personal" - almost like he was reading someone's diary, he said.

FULL POST


Filed under: Books • Celebrities • Late Night comedy • television
Maura Tierney opens up on fighting breast cancer
September 10th, 2010
10:19 AM ET

Maura Tierney opens up on fighting breast cancer

Playing a doctor on "ER" for a decade did little to prepare Maura Tierney for coping with her own real-life health scare: finding a lump on her breast.

"I was so, so scared of going to the doctor," Tierney, 45, admits in the new issue of Parade magazine. "I felt something, and my boyfriend at the time made me go. He said, 'You've got to take care of this,' because I was afraid. That's one thing I will say: Don't be afraid to go to the damn doctor. Just go!"

After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 and backing out of her role in the NBC show "Parenthood," Tierney refused to throw herself a pity party.

FULL POST

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