Monday, February 25, 2008

And The Oscar Goes To....

I was a viewer of the 80th Annual Academy Awards last night. I have watched the Oscars every year for as long as I can remember and often dreamed of wearing an incredibly beautiful gown and proclaiming my gratitude to everyone I know . The closest I can come to that moment is in my leather recliner with remote in hand. The show was very long and I wasn't surprised by any of the winners. I got my Oscar ballot in last week's Entertainment Weekly and if I was a gambling woman let's just say I would be a rich gambling woman today.
I was hoping Johnny Depp would win for Sweeney Todd but I knew he didn't have a chance with Daniel Day-Lewis also nominated and his performance was one of the most talked about of the year. Lewis is highly selective of the movies he chooses to take part in so that also factored into my estimation. Depp is usually in one or two movies a year .
I also had a feeling the Coen brothers would sweep the categories they were nominated in because they too had one of the most critically acclaimed movies of the year. Enough of my rambling and on with some winners:

Best Picture: No Country For Old Men
Best Actor in a Lead Role: Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood
Best Actress in a Lead Role: Marion Cotillard in La vie en Rose
Best Directing: Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country For Old Men
Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Javier Bardem in No Country For Old Men
Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Tilda Swinton in Michael Clayton
Best Animated Feature: Ratatouille

For a complete list of winners and technical Oscar winners check out www.oscars.org
Also, you can view the history of the Oscars , pictures and information about their music education program. It is very cool and interactive site.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are expecting their second biological child and if you're keeping count also the fifth child. Pitt and Jolie have one biological daughter and three adopted children.
After much speculation and clever bump-hiding , Jolie revealed her growing belly at Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards.

Matt Damon announced today that he will film a fourth Bourne movie. The Bourne Ultimatum won three Academy Awards last night.

Friday, February 22, 2008

What I Know

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are the proud parents of twins. The boy and girl were born this morning in New York.

MC Hammer ( remember him? 2 Legit 2 Legit to quit hey hey!!!) is reportedly shopping around a reality show to different television networks to show his troubles with rising to fame and then losing it . Just what we need,another reality show from some hasbeen or still wannabe to show their life and then complain that they don't have any privacy. I for one am fed up with "reality" shows,they are not reality. What is real about them?

I love to check my mail ( the kind from the Post Office ) on Fridays because I usually have my People Magazine and Entertainment Weekly waiting for me to unlock the box and take them into my hands and devour every word. Well,this week's magazine features Tori Spelling on the cover to promote her memoir and to talk about her second pregnancy. I admit I was a viewer of her reality show Tori and Dean Inn Love and I find them both , how shall I say ?, "cheesy" is pretty much all I can think of. Her memoir talks about her 90210 days and her now very public feud with her mother after her father Aaron Spelling passed away last year. My whole point is the title of the book which I found quite amusing. Are you ready for this? sTORI Telling..get it? story telling , Tori Spelling? yeah me neither. She had a show on VH1 not long ago and it was called so NoTORIus. Again with the Tori in the title.

Do not pass go ! Monopoly might be headed to a theater near you! Universal Studios has signed a six-year deal with Hasbro games to producs four movies. Really? Is Hollywood that desperate for new ideas that they are going to make four movies out of a board game? And they wonder why box office numbers are low.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Tuesday Tidbits

Pop singer Pink and her motocross racer hubby Carey Hart announced today that they are divorcing. Hart and Pink were married two years. Work schedules were cited as the reason for the breakup. Pink is busy with her music and Hart is busy opening nightclubs in Vegas. A marriage ending because of work commitments? Come on! A marriage is a compromise , you work together and support each other even if it means sacrificing something the other one wants to do. This is setting a bad example for our young adults today. Does the sanctity of marriage mean nothing anymore?

The new lineup of "stars" was announced yesterday for the new season of Dancing With The Stars. Competing this season will be :
Actress Shannon Elizabeth ( American Pie)
Actor Steve Guttenberg
Priscilla Presley
Radio personality Adam Carolla
Actress Marlee Matlin
Tennis champ Monica Seles
Magician Penn Jillette
R&B Singer Mario
Broadway actress Marisa Jaret Winokur
Figure Skater Kristi Yamaguchi
Chilean actor Cristian de la Fuente
NFL player Jason Taylor

While I do not consider any one of these contestants "stars" it is still a fun show to watch. I could do without the judges though just the dancing would be nice.

Friday, February 15, 2008

Finally Friday

It seems Britney Spears might be on the right track. LA County Court gave her father control over her estate and finance and now her brother Brian Spears will be helping with her daily finances. Spears was also spotted out this week shopping with her estranged mother.
Writer's returned to work Wednesday and I can't wait for new episodes of my favorite shows to return.
There are at least seven or eight more new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives left to air.
ABC's Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money may not return with new episodes until the fall. Fox's big hit 24 will not return with new episodes until next year. My opinion on this strike is that it was selfish and greedy. Yes , the writer's should be paid for their work but look at how many lives and jobs they affected by going on strike. For months producers, directors, grips and gophers didn't receive paychecks. I don't know the whole story and I don't know specifics , I only know what I see on the news and on the internet but from what I can see it was just selfish and could have been handled in a quiet manner and not take paychecks from anyone.
I have to apologize , the video link I provided from Tuesday's post does not work.

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards were last night and I have to say I wasn't very wowed by them. It seemed the performances were too long and not very good. The "duet" with Alicia Keys and the late Frank Sinatra was cheesy and overdone. Her voice didn't match with his and it was just not a good idea. I was able to guess nearly every winner based on who was on the radio and in the news the most. It seems that the Grammy's have become a popularity contest and not the prestigious ceremony it once was. I feel like popularity and commercial success are awarded more than actual talent. Although, I was thrilled that Vince Gill won for best country album. He is one of my absolute favorites and I have had the honor of meeting him and he is so nice and genuine and I think one of the most talented musicians around.
How about troubled singer Amy Winehouse? Winehouse was approved for a Visa to come to the U.S for the show but it was later taken away. She beat out country fave and Nashville native , Taylor Swift, for Best New Artist. Winehouse performed via satellite from London. When they showed her she looked so stunned that I wondered if she was so high she couldn't function or if that was a genuine reaction. She has such tremendous talent and her album is one of my favorites . I hope that she can get her life together and stop taking drugs and drinking because I would love to hear more music from her in the future.
Kanye West performed his hit Stronger and then a very moving tribute to his late mother Donda West who died suddenly just a few months ago.
Now , for some winners:
Record of the year: Rehab by Amy Winehouse
Album of the year: River:The Joni Letters by Herbie Hancock
Song of the year: Rehab by Amy Winehouse
Best New Artist: Amy Winehouse
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Rehab by Amy Winehouse
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance : What Goes Around..Comes Around by Justin Timberlake
Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals: Makes Me Wonder by Maroon 5
For a complete list of winners and Grammy history visit www.grammy.com
Also, check out this video of Vince Gill taking a jab at Kanye West . It was my favorite moment from The Grammy's !

Friday, February 8, 2008

New This Week

What happened this week:
The Spice Girls cancelled the last of their world tour citing personal obligations and family reasons. I think it was 5 diva egos trying to share a stage and spotlight. *sigh* Maybe one day my adolescent dreams of seeing the Spice Girls will come true but by that time wouldn't they be the Spice Grandma's? Just a thought .

Another group trying to bring back that loving feeling is The New Kids On The Block . I am not really that excited about NKOTB since their heyday was quite a few years ago. I believe they were at the peak of their success before I was even ten-years-old so it's not like N'SYNC or Backstreet Boys from just a few years ago. I did cheer Joey McIntyre on when he was on Dancing With The Stars. He was my first crush so I had to support him for old times sake.

Heath Ledger's official cause of death was an accidental overdose of prescription drugs. I still have to repeat to myself daily " Heath Ledger is dead." I seems so surreal and so very sad. It is tragic because it takes something like this to happen for us "normal " people to realize that celebrities are human too. They are portrayed as having perfect lives but the truth is we don't know what their lives are really like. We only get pictures and speculation as we should , they deserve to live a private life just like I do. Nobody knows who I am and I want to keep it that way.

Movies Opening Today :
Fool's Gold with Kate Hudson and Matthew Mccounaghey
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show with Vince Vaughn and his comedian friends
The Spiderwick Chronicles with Freddie Highmore
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins with Martin Lawrence and Michael Clarke Duncan

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Tears over a motorcycle

According to TMZ.com Brad Pitt sent emails to UPS demanding that shipment of the new Ducati superbike be stopped until he received his. Bikes were being shipped to Michael Jordan and Denzel Washington. UPS representatives say the do not want to comment on the situation and reps for Pitt say he never ordered a bike. Hmmm... is this a case of someone getting too big for his britches? I think so !
Britney Spears mother alleges that Spears' manager Sam Lufti drugged Britney and yelled at her and claimed to control everything she did. This from TMZ.com as well which obtained court documents filed in Los Angeles.
Heath Ledger will be buried in his hometown of Perth , Australia this weekend . A final farewell ceremony was held over the weekend in Los Angeles, Cal. for friends and family. Autopsy results are expected as early as today to determine the official cause of death.
Jack Johnson's new cd arrived in stores today and from what I have heard so far it's a keeper! Johnson added a few more instruments to songs adding a richer and mellower sound. His usual setup is just acoustic guitar , bass and drums but on this album he has added electric guitar and piano.
It seems that the writer's strike is getting closer to a deal every day. Check out www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com for the latest and detailed information on the strike and the studios.

Friday, February 1, 2008

FYI

Watch out everyone Jessica Simpson is in town ! Simpson is in town to continue recording for her country music album.
Britney Spears is back in the hospital and is being treated by a top psychiatrist at UCLA . Maybe this time treatment works and we will see her in the papers doing positive things and regain custody of her children.
It is Super Bowl weekend and time for some great commercials ( hopefully) . The commercials are better than the actual game sometimes. Is it just me or has the Super Bowl turned into a see and be seen event ? They even have swag bags that they are giving out to celebrities as well as a hair styling station where they can get their hair done. Correct me if I am wrong , but I thought this was a football game.
That is all I have for now . I have caught the flu bug that has been biting everyone I know and it finally got me . I am in hopes that I will feel better by Sunday and can give you more news.