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November 27th, 2009
07:56 PM ET
Celebs sincerely moved by CNN HeroesThere's a famous saying attributed to comedian George Burns : "The secret of acting is sincerity. If you can fake that, you've got it made." It's a Hollywood truism, but I really think the stars who turned out for the CNN Heroes show were sincerely moved by the people they honored. Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Pierce Brosnan, Neil Patrick Harris, Dwayne Johnson and George Lopez were among the celebs who introduced the 10 finalists for "CNN Hero of the Year", each of the nominees an "everyday person doing the extraordinary."
October 2nd, 2009
05:34 PM ET
A week of icky entertainment storiesJust when the Mackenzie Phillips "I-had-sex-with-my-father" story was beginning to cool off we've been hit with another spate of cringe-worthy entertainment news. First it was Roman Polanski's arrest in Switzerland, which brought back up all the sordid details of his 1977 rape case involving a 13-year-old girl. To read her original grand jury testimony is beyond disturbing. Regardless of whether you think the famed director should be extradited to the U.S. or left alone due to his age, etc., what he is accused of doing is absolutely shocking. Then last night David Letterman dropped his sex and extortion bombshell on "The Late Show". He acknowledged having affairs with female staffers, information a CBS employee allegedly threatened to bring to light unless Letterman paid him off. Now, Americans love a sex scandal. Washington has provided plenty of them (courtesy of senators John Ensign, David Vitter, former senators John Edwards and Larry Craig, oh and former Pres. Clinton, to name but a few). Maybe Hollywood is just playing catch up. But enough already! It's time to take down the dirty laundry before disgust turns into nausea and nausea turns into... well, something really difficult to clean up.
September 29th, 2009
07:10 PM ET
Hollywood elite to Swiss: free Polanski nowRoman Polanski's got friends in high places. Whether they can really burnish his image is another matter. Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton are among the showbiz luminaries who have signed a petition demanding Polanski's release. The famed director was picked up in Zurich, Switzerland on Saturday and faces possible extradition to the U.S. on a child sex case that dates back to 1977. I can see some value in having Scorsese and Swinton in your corner, but Woody Allen? He faced a sex scandal of his own involving the adopted daughter of his former partner, Mia Farrow. Actor/writer Buck Henry and director John Landis also signed the petition. Landis was charged (and later acquitted) of involuntary manslaughter years ago in the deaths of two child actors on the set of the movie, "Twilight Zone". As for Henry, fans of "Saturday Night Live's" early years will recall he played a recurring character on the show, a cheesy pedophile named Uncle Roy who was always trying to get two girls (played by Gilda Radner and Lorraine Newman) to pose for Polaroid shots. Do you think these are good candidates to speak out on Polanski's behalf?
September 24th, 2009
09:30 PM ET
Doing lunch with Hollywood hottiesHere's to the ladies who lunch (to quote Stephen Sondheim)! Anne Hathaway, Sigourney Weaver, Christina Aguilera, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mad Men's January Jones and Eva Longoria Parker were just a few of the stars who turned out for a "Power of Women" luncheon in Beverly Hills today. Impressions:
September 24th, 2009
07:07 PM ET
'Sasquatch' arrestedI don't envy the guy who took Randy Quaid into custody. It would take courage to slap the cuffs on Quaid. He's huge. When we interviewed him at the Sundance Film Festival a couple of years ago he showed up in a floor-length fur coat. He took up the entire doorway. A wag on our staff promptly dubbed him "Sasquatch." In that coat he certainly did resemble a giant furry beast. Wintry Utah (Sundance is held in January in Park City) seemed like an appropriate place to spot a yeti. So I'm not sure what he was doing in South Texas, where this weekend the temperatures are supposed to be in the 80s.
September 22nd, 2009
08:34 PM ET
Perez Hilton a "cyber-bully"?Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton is "nothing more than a vulgar cyber-bully". So says the conservative Culture and Media Institute (CMI) in a new report that chastises the mainstream media for giving Hilton a platform while failing to challenge him for misogynistic and "vile" remarks. "Perez Hilton has proved that demonstrable talent or skill is no longer a prerequisite for fame," the report says. Ouch! The CMI blasts Hilton for using the "b-word" to describe The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck and former Miss California Carrie Prejean, outing closeted stars and for re-printing a Margaret Cho blog in which the comedian fantasized about having oral sex with Sarah Palin. It's not keen on those "doodles" he draws on celeb photos either, especially the ones showing Prejean speaking into a microphone made to look like a member of the male anatomy. The CMI (a non-profit run by Brent Bozell, the former head of the conservative Parents Television Council) charges the media has given Hilton "a free pass to say and do outrageous things" and spread "his particular brand of venom." It cites examples of interviews on ABC, CBS and NBC where reporters sugar-coated the content on Hilton's popular website. And it chided HLN's Jane Velez-Mitchell (host of "Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell") for defending Hilton in his public spat with Prejean. What's your take on Perez? Is he a cyber-bully or just a cyber-smart aleck? |
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