While you were working...Today's news you might've missed:
'Return' actress says role lets 'audience fill in the blanks'Director Liza Johnson's debut film, "Return" hits theaters in a limited release Friday. The story of a woman who comes back to her Rust Belt Ohio hometown following a military tour of duty stars Linda Cardellini ("Freaks and Geeks" and "ER"), Michael Shannon ("Boardwalk Empire") and John Slattery ("Mad Men"). "Return" premiered in the Directors' Fortnight at last year's Cannes Film Festival. In the film, Cardellini's character, Kelli, is having a hard time readjusting to civilian life. While she relishes being able to once again enjoy simple things, like pushing her baby in a store shopping cart, relaxing in the backyard and sipping a beer, she's simultaneously detached herself from her loved ones in many ways. The factory job she held for 12 years is suddenly meaningless. She has trouble concentrating. When her friends prod her for details about her deployment, she non-descriptively tells them there are others who had it worse. And, in an immense credit to the director, the film contains no flashbacks. There is no political agenda. Here's what Vieira and Cardellini told CNN about the film, produced in part by Meredith Vieira Productions: Mary J. Blige looking on the bright side after Oscar snubPatton Oswalt and Daniel Radcliffe weren't the only ones feeling the burn of being overlooked by the Academy: R&B star Mary J. Blige says she too was disappointed that her song, "The Living Proof" from "The Help," wasn't nominated in the best original song category. The artist tweeted about it when the nominations were announced, and tells CNN that the snub "hurt because we put our heart and soul into it and we worked really hard." "You know, I wrote that song from [the] heart," she went on, adding that she's chalking it up to a learning experience. "I believe that God has something better. When something like that happens you just got to look at the bright side and say, 'Something better will come along.'” Oscar nominated directors: Short film allows artistic freedomWith the Oscars just two weeks away, predictions and buzz continue to surround “The Artist,” “The Descendants,” and the feature-film categories. By the time the stars line up at the red carpet on February 26, names like Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo will have become household names. But what of the often ignored, yet just as important, two short film categories (live action and animated)? On Friday, ShortsHD and Magnolia Pictures will be releasing all the nominated short films across the United States and Canada. This year, the live action nominees include “Pentecost”; “Raju”; “The Shore”; “Time Freak”; and “Tuba Atlantic,” with the animated shorts including “Dimanche”; “The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore”; “La Luna”; “A Morning Stroll”; and “Wild Life.” CNN spoke with the directors of “The Shore” (Terry George) and “Wild Life” (Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby) about their shorts and the artistic freedom the medium provides. Sheldon's idea of vacation on 'Big Bang Theory'You knew it was going to be bad news when Sheldon was forced to go on vacation from the university on Thursday night's "Big Bang Theory." Of course, Sheldon couldn't bear to be away for a whole week, so he snuck into the back of Leonard's car. Leonard promptly turned the car around, once he found out (in the midst of singing along with the Black Eyed Peas, something Sheldon couldn't stand to hear). Then Sheldon decided he could spend his vacation helping Amy out in the lab. He just loved the sound and smells of a lab as part of his vacation (a vacation which is pretty much from his other lab). Madonna on M.I.A. bird flip: It was out of placeMadge stayed mum when her co-performer, M.I.A., flipped off America during the Super Bowl, but the singer is now speaking out. In an interview with Ryan Seacrest on his radio show Friday, Madonna said she honestly had no idea M.I.A. had even done it. "I was really surprised," Madonna tells Seacrest. "I didn't know anything about it." Madonna stalker in police custodyMadonna is likely breathing a sigh of relief right now: The Los Angeles Police Department tells CNN that Robert Dewey Hoskins, the man who's been convicted of stalking Madge and who escaped from a southern California mental hospital on February 3, has been apprehended. Police tell CNN that he's now in police custody after being caught in Long Beach, California. Investigators tell CNN that Hoskins, 54, already served his sentence in the Madonna stalking case and was just receiving treatment at the southern California facility. Detectives told CNN Friday that the facility where Hoskins was being held wasn't secured because he had already served his prison time. However, the LAPD has a court order for Hoskins to be in a facility receiving mental health treatment until the end of August 2012. Police warned the public in an earlier statement, "Hoskins is highly psychotic when not taking his medication and has very violent tendencies." 'Bachelor' host talks Casey's eliminationWhenever controversy breaks on "The Bachelor" and its spin-offs, chances are that host Chris Harrison will find his way into the middle of it. It was Harrison who was criticized last summer for his handling of "Bachelorette" contestant Bentley Williams, who admitted on-air that he'd rather do anything else than connect with "Bachelorette" Ashley Hebert, and then walked off the show. Harrison admits that what happened last summer forced him to take a more proactive role in dealing with now-former "Bachelor" contestant Casey Shteamer. Daylight is annoying on 'Jersey Shore'With Unit away on vacation, The Situation was forced to postpone his plans to expose Snooki’s disloyal ways. And so, the meatball’s relationship with Jionni is safe… for at least another week. JWoww and Roger, on the other hand, appear to be on the farewell tour - without any help from Sitch. Steve Carell's 'Seeking a Friend for the End of the World'What would you do if you had three weeks left to live before the world came crashing down around you? If you're anything like Steve Carell's character in the forthcoming romantic comedy, "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World," you'd find a way to reunite with a long-lost love. The trailer for Lorene Scafaria's film has arrived, and we see Carell's character, Dodge, hit the road with Keira Knightley's Penny to track down his first love as well as Penny's family before an asteroid called "Matilda" hits the Earth in three weeks. |
About this blog
Our daily cheat-sheet for breaking celebrity news, Hollywood buzz and your pop-culture obsessions.
Sharon Stone sued by former nanny http://t.co/eIGfMEQv 5:58 am UTC, May 24 2012
'Idol' winners: Where are they now? http://t.co/xSsJ3nFs 9:05 pm UTC, May 23 2012
Shirley Manson on Garbage http://t.co/F40e1iya 9:05 pm UTC, May 23 2012
Have a question for Tia or Tamera Mowry? Here's your chance to ask! Act fast and submit an iReport: http://t.co/Ts1ZS6TV 7:22 pm UTC, May 23 2012
Donna Summer's friends gather for disco queen's funeral http://t.co/cm84Zgvx 5:47 pm UTC, May 23 2012
Marquee's lists to follow:
|