They're Back!

Remember when Kal Penn selfishly decided to go to the White House? Well, bleary eyed from studying, I had to do a double take when I saw the news: Harold and Kumar will be gracing us with their stoner presence once again on the big screen! Come next Christmas, the boys will be back at it with another installment entitled, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. Thank you Warner Brothers! You guys have single handedly given me a reason to make it out of finals alive.

Octomom Can Have No More Babies

Tax payers of California can now breathe easily. There will be no more babies for Nadya Suleman, of Octomom fame, all thanks to some benign fibroid tumors. In an exclusive interview with Radar Online, Suleman confirmed she plans to check into a hospital this week to have the tumors removed from her uterus. This equates to the removal of about half of her reproductive organs which will make future pregnancies impossible. Meanwhile, the 14 children will be left to the care of nannies throughout the weeklong recovery.

Ledger's Last Film

Not be be insensitive or offensive, but you really are worth more when you're dead. Heath Ledger unfortunately passed before finishing "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus," but fortunately for the film and its all-star cast (Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell), the fact that this was Ledger's last film will mean big bucks. The film wrapped without the star and now sales is deciding how to proceed. "Imaginarium" was initially set for an industry screening at Cannes, but now it seems the film will sell to a studio before the festival. If a deal can be reached, the Cannes screening would be the starting point for the studio's marketing campaign. I'm interested to see how this one proceeds.

And the Nominees Are...

MTV has just opened voting for the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. This is a truly fan-pick type of award since polls will be open online until the show airs on May 31. There is no surprise Twilight and Slumdog Millionaire are the top contenders. Following tradition, MTV has created yet another category for this year, Best Song in a Movie. Vote away!

Hot Guys In Flu Masks

In short, the best blog ever.

Obama's Frist 100 Days

I read a great article in the opinion section in the Daily Trojan today. All I have to say is, Amen Jason Kehe. Speak!!

HUGE Merger, HUGE

William Morris Agency and Endeavor agreed to merge on Monday to create THE premiere mega-agency in the business. There is no question they will change the landscape for talent representation and most likely out-perform their biggest competitor, Creative Artists Agency. William Morris Endeavor Entertainment will be led by WMA CEO Jim Wiatt as chairman and Endeavor head honchos Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell, and WMA's Dave Wirtschafter will serve as co-CEO's. This is foundation-shattering news for the biz but the question remains, despite the culture clash will everyone be able to get along?

Obsessed

It seems Beyonce lucked out this weekend. After horrible reviews, Obsessed surprised us all by opening at No.1 in the box office, raking in a cool $28.5 million. It looks like Beyonce's over-saturation in the media is not an issue for movie-goers, just for me.

Vindicated!

Says Lance on his Twitter account:

"Just got the word from the French agency AFLD on the shower gate incident. Case closed, no penalty, all samples clean. Onward."

All this because he took a shower 20 minutes before testing.

Hollywood Money

The Motion Picture Association of American held a symposium to educate U.S. lawmakers about the entertainment industry in efforts to highlight its importance, especially in creating jobs (about 2.5 million with about $41.1 billion in wages, and 1.7 million indirect jobs) and having a global trade surplus in these times of recession, in addition to encouraging federal involvement in trade issues such as fighting copyright piracy; Vice president Biden was among those who spoke. All of this information indicates that the entertainment industry is actually an integral part of the American economy and thus can have “a big, important, positive factor to economic renewal,” as said by Dan Glickman, chairman and chief executive of the MPAA. Lawmakers apparently failed to see this point as seen by their recent legislation.

The symposium was held in light of the fact the U.S. Senate took away $246 million in tax breaks for entertainment companies in February, excluding the industry form President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package. This was an ill-advised move from the Senate, since it did not get much debate, and may prove detrimental for the industry. As said by Eileen Burke, the principal of West End Capital Advisory, “Consistent with the financial markets as a whole, film lenders and investors are taking a much more conservative approach to structuring deals than they previously had.” As a result, it is becoming more and more challenging to get films financed and made. It does not help that the industry has also lost its tax breaks on top of the challenges it is already facing.

Up until 2008, major banks from Merrill Lynch to Lehman Brothers, supplemented by hedge funds, pumped about $15 billion into Hollywood. However, due to some box office duds and the credit freeze, these banks, with the exception of JP Morgan, have all cut back. Though these moves may not directly affect current films being released, they will have an impact on the kinds of deals able to be made for the financing of future films. As reiterated by Tom Adams, president and senior analyst with Adams Media Research, “It’s a different era from four years ago when people were clamoring to be in film deals.”

To justify recent legislation, lawmakers are using better than average box office sales as an excuse to take away tax incentives, saying there is no need for tax breaks, despite the obvious challenges Hollywood is facing. However, they fail to understand Hollywood depends on much more than just the weekend box office to operate. Willing investors are necessary to keep the Hollywood machine running as aggressively as it has been. Because of the recent actions taken in Washington and the condition of the economy, it is very likely the industry will experience a noticeable slow down. Not only is there less money being pumped in, there is more money being pumped out via taxes. A few good box office numbers may be able to sustain the business in the short term, but the situation will look dire further down the road, especially with big-time investors like banks closing their pocket books.

The credit crisis has forced banks to become much more conservative in their Hollywood investments, and to add to the challenge of getting films financed, DVD sales have slipped 6% in the last year. They are expected to fall further due to the maturing market slowly making its transition to high-definition Blu-ray and digital distribution models, both of which offer lower profit per transaction. This is problematic because operating margins at film studios have come to rely on DVD sales. Bankers say falling sales are factoring into financing negotiations between lenders and studios like Warner Brothers, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, Sony Corporation, and Walt Disney Company. As said by Burke, “If a company’s business plan relies on robust DVD revenues, it’s likely to be an area where lenders will haircut projections and their lending advance rates. It’s part of the overall analysis you do when determining how much ‘lending currency’ is available for a particular deal.”

In agreement, Stephen Prough, founder of Salem Partners, which advises investors on how to maximize on film investments, said, “The decline of video revenue is something the industry will have to deal with. Economic expectations will have to be adjusted and production costs will have to come down,” noting that studios run “green-light” models to analyze releases. This model means studios determine a film’s ability to turn a profit by calculating potential high and low box office ranges and video and TV revenue. Due to lower video estimates, studios are opting either to scrap films altogether or fix elements on the cost side (most of which are cuts at the expense of talent). While some studios like The Weinstein Company and DreamWorks is seeking financing, others like Paramount are co-financing on a film-by-film basis after many of the big slate deals over the last couple of years failed to delver.

Recent box office hits are not necessarily indicative of the trouble Hollywood might experience in the future, something lawmakers fail to see. The downward economy has clearly affected studios and financing of future projects. The industry deserves fair representation in Washington and the MPAA is taking the appropriate steps to see this gets done. Thankfully, Hollywood is not asking for a bail out, yet.

Tea Party

Americans showed up by the thousands all over the States to participate in a Tax Day Tea Party. The event was like an elaborately coordinated Civil War reenactment, but instead of guns, people wielded signs that read “No Taxation Without Deliberation,” “Taxed Enough Already,” and “Stop Generational Theft,” to name a few. Reminiscent of a certain other tea party held in 1773, crowds cheered in Massachusetts as a group dressed in 18th-century fashion tossed crates of tea into the Boston Harbor.

The idea for the tea party has been attributed to a few Seattle bloggers who first brought together conservatives on February 16 to rally against too many government handouts. Colorado and Arizona followed suit, lighting a small fire primarily under Republican Americans that was fanned into flame by CNBC’s Rick Santelli’s public blasting of Obama’s policies on air. He voiced, “The government is promoting bad behavior,” and said that he wanted a tea party to happen in Chicago. Santelli angrily declared, “No more.”

Expectedly, media and “news” outlets had a field day, turning the demonstration into a downright spectacle. It is strange because up to this date, there was little to no media coverage, with the exception of Fox News. One would think that a nationwide demonstration of this size, that has gathered momentum in the way it has, would be news worthy, or at least worth mention. Funnily enough, all of this was breaking news to even the Boston Globe, a newspaper in the city in which the original Tea Party took place; they decided to report from Kentucky and disregard their local angle. The rest of the media finally caught on and “covered” the event.

Putting all political affiliation aside, the unprofessional journalism and biased media coverage was jarring, and Susan Roesgen of CNN is a prime example. In a field report in the middle of the Chicago Tea Party, Roesgen interrogated a young father holding his 2 year old son, asking why he had attended the protest. He began to say, “"Because I hear a president say that he believed in what Lincoln stood for. Lincoln's primary thing was he believed that people had the right to liberty, and had the right…" when Roesgen interrupted and asked, “What does this have to do with your taxes? Do you realize that you’re eligible for a $400 credit?” In response, the man said “Lincoln believed that people had the right to share in the fruits of their own labor and that government should not take it. And we have clearly gotten to that point…" before being, again, rudely interrupted. Roesgen combatively responded, “Did you know, that the state of Lincoln gets $50 billion out of this stimulus? That's $50 billion for this state, sir." She concluded the said interview with, “I think you get the general tenor of this,” and wrote off the entire event as not friendly for family viewing, anti-government, and most laughably, anti-CNN because in her opinion, it was “highly promoted by right-wing, conservative network, Fox.”

Roesgen is right, Fox did advertise the Tea Parties, but she mistakes promotion actual coverage and giving it the appropriate amount of attention, when no other media outlet cared to. In fact, it appears that CNN and others (MSNBC included) ended up ceding coverage to Fox News, but then used Fox’s coverage as a reason to discredit the event.
However, the reprehensible journalism did not stop on the field. CNN and MSNBC anchors in studio made sexually suggestive puns by referring to the event as “tea bagging” and calling the demonstrators a bunch of “tea baggers” (look up the terms on Urban Dictionary if they do not immediately disgust you).

I had no idea that journalistic standards had fallen so low such that reporters and anchors create the news and become the news. I had no idea it was appropriate to outlandishly confront an interview subject or discount what an estimated quarter million Americans have to say. As the Augusta Chronicle commented, “Illegal immigrants marching in U.S. streets demanding tax-paid services and citizenship from the country they entered illegally got better treatment from the media.”

What media outlets should have reported is the objective truth. The common grievance among the party-goers seemed to be a general anger among Americans concerned about excessive government spending, bailouts, and taxes. Much of this anger was aimed at the Obama administration and its recently passed $787 billion economic stimulus bill, mostly by Republicans but by Democrats and Independents alike. The threat of big government was another common theme as former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, who helped to organize the nationwide event said, “The biggest problem we have is the government is too big… real people understand that and say we can’t take the burden of a burgeoning government.”

See, that wasn’t so difficult. The real news is nice and dry. It is supposed to be. Save your comments and opinions for your blogs and cable network mock-news shows. It seems the BBC News has been the only one to consistently get it right.

Simon Cowell Ready to Jump "Idol" Ship?

Simon Cowell confirmed with a laugh that he will indeed leave "American Idol" if it ever slips from the No.1 spot, guffawing at the idea of settling for anything less. Though "Idol" ratings are not what they used to be in the Kelly Clarkson days, it still remains the overwhelmingly most poplular televsion program on air, with 22 million viewers per episode. However, wth Cowelle's deal with Fox expiring at the end of next season, his next move is still up in the air. Perhaps he will renew with Fox and bring "The X Factor," UK's wildly popular singing competiton to the States. Cowell was quoted saying, “We have to bring in another music show. In the U.K., there is more than one type of music show running throughout the year. And I think the same thing could happen here, because for the fall, nothing really happens. It’s something we’ve been thinking about … I would definitely do it now.”

Simon, ever hear of something called "Idol overload"? Please, do not even tease us like that.

LOLLAPALOOZA!!!!

And the lineup is...

Headliners: Depeche Mode, Tool, the Killers, Jane’s Addiction, Beastie Boys and Kings of Leon.

Other Notable Perfomers: Lou Reed, Ben Harper, Thievery Corporation, Snoop Dogg, Rise Against, Andrew Bird, TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend, the Decemberists, Neko Case. STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9), Animal Collective, Band of Horses, Of Montreal, Arctic Monkeys, Coheed and Cambria, Ben Folds and Fleet Foxes.

Additional Acts:

Silversun Pickups
Kaiser Chiefs
Crystal Castles
Bon Iver
Santigold
Atmosphere
Dan Auberbach
Cold War Kids
Deerhunter
Lykke Li
Robert Earl Keen
Peter Bjorn and John
Heartless Bastards
Gomez
Glasvegas
Federico Aubele
Dan Deacon
Passion Pit
The Raveonettes
The Gaslight Anthem
The Airborne Toxic Event
White Lies
Ra Ra Riot
No Age
Asher Roth
Los Campesinos!
Bat For Lashes
Chairlift
Gang Gang Dance
The Virgins
Amazing Baby
Portugal. The Man
The Knux
Ida Maria
Delta Spirit
Friendly Fires
Manchester Orchestra
Constantines
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Hockey
Miike Snow
Alberta Cross
Hey Champ
Sam Roberts Band
The Henry Clay People
Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam
Cage the Elephant
Living Things
The Low Anthem
Blind Pilot
Langhorne Slim
Other Lives
The Builders and The Butchers
Eric Church
Joe Pug
Kevin Devine
The Green Cards
Carney
Thenewno2

DJ sets etc. at Perry's Place
Bassnectar
MSTRKRFT
Simian Mobile Disco
DeadMau5
Boys Noise
KiD CuDi
Crookers
A-Trak
Hercules and Love Affair (DJ Set)
The Bloody Beetroots (DJ Set)
LA Riots
Kaskade
The Glitch Mob
Hollywood Holt
Rye Rye
He Say, She Say
Car Stereo (Wars)
Dark Wave Disco
Moneypenny
Yello Fever
Animal Collective (DJ Set)

The Yakuza

The global recession is really hitting hard, at every level of society. Out-of-work gangsters of the Yakuza, Japan's most notorious gang, are livid over the repercussions of their move away from the instability of drugs, gambling, and prostitution, to legitimate business. The gang's investment in high finance has resulted in heavy losses and now the higher ups in the Yakuza are making some major cuts. Sound familiar? Accomplished gangsters, some with management positions and decades of service under their belt, are finding themselves out on the streets and unqualified for the work force. The once revered and exclusive gang has become subject to the economic downturn and is being downsized just like the rest of us. Isn't life funny that way? I suggest extra work; Hollywood just can't get enough of Japanese gangsters.

Kumar Goes to the White House

Kal Penn, famous for his role as one half of the dynamic duo, Harold and Kumar, is off to the Washington. After a good run on Fox's House Penn left the show in style with a sudden suicide in last night's episode. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, Penn admitted "there's something aching in me to do something completely different and take a break from the acting thing for a while." Penn is set to be the associate director in the White House office of public liaison. When asked exactly what that entails, he said "they do outreach with the American public and with different organizations. They're basically the front door of the White House. They take out all of the red tape that falls between the general public and the White House." The public much appreciates when public figures go out to Washington and do good things for the public. Well, what is John Cho of Harold and Kumar up to? He's in the new Star Trek Movie, a total feast for the senses.

Wait just one second, does that mean no more Harold and Kumar?! Noooooooooo!!!!

This Weekend's Box Office

"Fast and Furious" drifted it's way to the top spot in this past weekend's box office, bringing in a whopping $72.5 million. The numbers broke several records for the franchise and industry overall with several "bests":

- Best April opening ever, beating "Anger Management's" $42.2 million

- Best Universal Pictures opening ever (three-day), beating "The Lost World: Jurassic Park's" $72.1 million

- Best F&F franchise opening ever, beating "2 Fast 2 Furious'" $50.5 million.

- Best opening yet in 2009, easily beating the bows of the more-buzzed-about "Monsters vs. Aliens" ($59.3 million) and "Watchmen" ($55.2 million).

- Best opening ever for stars Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, and Jordana Brewster, as well as for director Justin Lin.

- Best opening ever for a car-themed movie, beating "Cars'" $60.1 million

The $72.5 million was an obivous shock to Hollywood, since no one expected for washed-up actors Paul Walker and Vin Diesel to be able to carry the the franchise anymore. I think the sucess of the fourth installment has a lot of implication for what we might continue to see in the theatres. With the recent successes of sequels like "Hell Boy II," "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," and "The Dark Knight," to name a few, I feel many more sequels coming our way. As long as we never have to see a debacle like the "Indiana Jones" sequel, I'll be more than happy to revisit with some familiar characters I feel invested in.

Golden Globes Live

It seems like just yesterday award show season folded up its tents and rolled up its red carpets. However, it seems producers are planning for next year's shows already. The 2010 Globes will be broadcast live coast to coast, getting rid of that pesky 3 hour delay over here on the west coast. Previously, networks enforced the delay to boost ratings in later slots, but I think it's a great idea to broadcast live. By the time the people on the east have finished watching, information of the winners and mishaps has already been disseminated all over the internet, giving us over in the west less of a reason to watch.

The Hollywood Reporter says that scheduling around the awards shows will be slightly different for next year, but it should be interesting to see the difference, if any, in ratings.

XXX Footage

A revised R-rated version (a notch down from its former NC-17 rating) of the Bruno trailer finally made its way to the internet via Myspace today. Fans can now catch the first few glimpses of Sasha Baron Cohen as an outrageously homosexual Austrian reporter. The promotion period should be interesting. I'm sure movie goers will show up in mass dressed up as Bruno opening weekend. Oh, the humanity.

"Project Runway" Finds a Home

A settlement has finally been reached after a year-long legal battle between NBC Universal and the Weinstein Corporation. The courtroom drama started after a shocking announcement that Bravo's successful "Project Runway" was being moved to Lifetime.

NBC Uni released a statement Wednesday saying that they "have resolved their disputes" with TWC and Lifetime and the delayed sixth season will air this summer. The statement also said TWC has agreed "to pay NBC for the right to move Project Runway to Lifetime."

Hooray!!

Monsters Vs. Aliens Hits Big

"Monsters" won the box office race this past weekend with the best opening of the year at $58.2 million. Paramount released the animated action-comedy on 4,104 screens nationwide with 1,550 of those being 3-D. However, 58% of the entire gross was brought in by the 3-D screens which, if you do the math, makes up only 28% of the total screen count. Too bad and too sad for Jeff Katzenbeg and Paramount who wanted more 3-D screens to start with.

Jeff should have fought harder to get his way especially after Paramount's 3-D success with "Beowulf" just two years ago.

Some more good news: the domestic box office was up 40% from last year thanks in large part to the runaway success of "Monsters."

Phoebe in Wonderland

Alumni Daniel Barnz is making his big Hollywood debut today with his film Phoebe in Wonderland, starring Elle Fanning and Felicity Huffman. The story goes, mentally ravaged 9 year old Phoebe (Fanning) finds solace in her school's production of Alice in Wonderland. The movie premiered at last year's Sundance and was up for the Grand Jury Prize. Forget about Watchmen for a second and be a good sport. Support a fellow Trojan on his big night and get your tickets for Phoebe.

Britney's Back!

Britney kicked off her Circus tour last night in the New Orleans Arena. The world was ready for her come back and from the reviews, she didn't completely disappoint. The concert was broken down into 4 acts with dozens of costume changes during the almost 20-song set. Britney was said to have looked very comfortable on stage but seemed almost dwarfed by the whole spectacle.

I say give her a break. It's been a long time since her last tour (The Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004) and a lot has changed since then. Plus, it was her first show and the first few are always a little rough. I am just praying to God that she can keep up with the tour schedule because I have tickets for April (I'll be ringside on my birthday!).

Oscars 2009

The 81st Academy Awards held at the Kodak Theatre went off without a hitch, or so it seemed. The theme was “bad economy chic” (something Ryan Seacrest mindlessly blabbed on and on about all night), but producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon did their best to advertise that this year they’d be shaking things up a bit.

For one, the names of the presenters were kept secret, though it was leaked that Twilight heartthrob, Robert Pattinson, was set to present. The presenters were also given a separate entryway away from the red carpet (that not all of them used) so their identities would be kept a secret.

Secondly, Hugh Jackman was appointed emcee for the night. This was a big departure from the regular pool of hosts who are usually considered. Comedians have headlined the shows for years, everyone from Whoopi to Billy Crystal. Hugh was an interesting choice. He was of course charming and devilishly handsome, but he lacked the formality of former hosts, which is ironic. His star studded musical numbers , staged by Baz Lurman, replaced a lot of the awkward banter and pre-recorded sketches that plagued the awards before but were a bit baffling to watch.

Lastly, the acceptance speeches were strictly limited to 45 seconds. The rule was observed for the most part, but come on. It’s always really funny to see the music start playing over someone in the middle of a sentence.

These efforts were just different, minimally interesting at best. They were not enough to get ratings .

All of these “changes” were of course in an effort to increase viewership, which in turn might increase revenue. It worked, sort of, not really. ABC, which pays the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences anywhere from the high 40’s to about 50 million dollars in licensing fees to air the show, only made about 72 million. The dwindling economy forced the network to charge only 1.4 million per 30 second ad spot as opposed to last year’s 1.7. Noticeably missing from the list of advertisers were the former Oscar giants Loreal and GM, both of which used to spend up to 10 million a year to advertise during the Awards. However, this made way for newcomers like Audi, Maytag, Coca Cola, and Sprint. It also made way for Disney and Paramount to advertise their up and coming films, something that has never been done before. Maybe when the economy is back up again ABC, or whichever network is licensed at the time, will be able to make big bucks off of movie promos.

But the question remains, why is viewership of the Oscars, and award shows in general, down? And, what does this mean for the future broadcasting of awards?

It’s the irrelevance of the Awards to the audience at home that make us not want to watch. Honestly, I like reading the real-time online bloging or watching the pre-awards red carpet interviews (for the fashion, of course) more than the actual show itself. I had to catch the Awards this year because I had to write some news scripts for these shows I work on (watch Take 5 and Annenberg TV News on Trojan Vision!).

So, the solution? The only way to significantly increase viewership is to award those movies that we care about, the ones that hit big in the box office, case in point, the 70th Academy Awards in 1998. That show had 57.25 million viewers as opposed to this year’s 36.94 (which is up only 6% from last year). Why? Because, Titanic, the overwhelming fan favorite, was nominated for and won for best picture. The fans had a reason to watch and did so mainly to support a movie they could stand by.

Let’s fast forward back to this year. None of the other “best picture” nominated movies were clear fan favorites with the exception of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. While Benjamin has made 177 million dollars in the box office so far, the other four nominees have made that much, combined. Let me reiterate, box office numbers translate into fan favorites. They show what movies we, the audience at home, really care about. Of course, the point of the Oscars is for those of the industry to reward each other. It isn’t the People’s Choice Awards, after all. But, that’s just it. It’s the industry rewarding itself, so where exactly do we fit into that equation? The only truly relevant aspect of the Awards is the fashion, and that’s only because we can anticipate which designer knock offs will be in stores soon. Of course, one might argue that recognition of these less popular movies that truly embody the principles and characteristics of good cinema may make people go out and see them, but ever heard of the "Oscar curse" ? Just because a movie, writer, director, or actor wins recognition, it doesn’t always mean they will become more successful. In fact, it’s just the opposite in some cases (Helen Hunt, James Cameron, and Mira Sorvino are just a few examples).

There it is, the pink elephant in the room. We don’t watch because we don’t care. So, as long as the purpose and structure of these awards don’t change, we won’t budge either. Better luck next year!


Here’s a complete list of all of the winners and nominees, and here’s a countdown of the 10 funniest moments of the Oscars. My personal favorite: #10. Too good.

SAG Rejects AMPTP's Offer!

News straight form the AP! The Screen Actor's Guild was ready to accept the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television's final offer drafted last Thursday but voted by a margin of 73 to 27 percent to reject it. The SAG National Board of Directors sited this as their deal breaker:

"The AMPTP's last-minute, surprise demand for a new term of agreement extending to 2012 is regressive and damaging," says SAG. "[This] was not part of their final offer of June 30, 2008; it was not part of the federally mediated talks of November 2008, and should not have been inserted into the discussions when we returned to negotiations on February 17, 2009."

A 75% union vote is necessary for a strike , and it's still uncertain if SAG can generate that kind of number. But still, AMPTP better move fast!

Perturbed

It's not really breaking news or anything, but I found this kind of disturbing. Oh, by the way, I refuse to talk about the leaked Rhianna pictures so it's not about that. Don't get your hopes up.

I was doing my routine morning news browse at work and concluded with Variety (which I admit I've been neglecting lately in favor of that damn Perez Hilton) and was shocked to find FACEBOOK of all things infiltrating the sacred and holy Variety! The hideous Facebook tab takes up a ridiculous amount of room under the "Hot Topics" section and asks you to share your Oscars predictions with your friends. What the hell?! It's great Variety is trying to stay "hip" but it's not like the youngsters who use Facebook even read Variety or are able to afford the $400 yearly subscription. The sacriest part though, was when my friends list appeared in this skid mark of a tab. MY FRIENDS! Apparently, if you log on to Facebook and just happen to visit Variety online, you're logged on to Variety's version of Facebook.

Honestly, I don't know why I am so perturbed. This just really freaked me out today.

I almost forgot. The Oscars are Sunday. Watch, don't whatch, whatever. No one else (besides Seacrest) really seems to care.

Are You Joking

Please, tell me this is some sort of cruel joke. The E channel has apparently given the green light for an all-girl, haunted house, reality show. The show is called "Hot Girls in Scary Places," but here's the really scary part: the show will star three USC cheer squad friends. That's right folks, USC girls who, ununfortunately, are part of the Trojan family. I wonder if the higher ups know about this or if this kind of thing is even allowed. If you're interested, the show is set to air March 13.

Oh, and prepubescent, 13 year old Alfie Patten fathered a child with his 15 year old girlfriend (who is just about twice his size, by the way). Don't even get me started on this one.

Humanity is slowly but surely going in the crapper.

Disney Loves Spielberg

Please, forgive me for the delay. I was so caught up with the Chris Brown story which, by the way, gets more interesting everyday.

Big news! Disney has agreed to team with DreamWorks to release six of its films, annually, starting next year. DreamWorks will pay Disney a fixed distribution fee of 9% (way under the industry average of 15%) of the box office and in return will receive much needed funding in the amount of about $250 million. The deal is set to last for 30 films and even includes a profitable pay TV slot. The deal was expected after Universal baled last Friday. DreamWorks execs can now breathe easy and focus on the development of the 17 projects brought over after breaking ties with Paramount.

Spielberg's DreamWorks is now privately operated again and the great news is, Disney will be hiring again after a recent round of layoffs. However, some are speculative of Disney's commitment to Miramax, which releases about four to six films annually. I say Disney is the real winner in all of this. It has a real knack of making the right deals (like Pixar) at the most appropriate times. DreamWorks will fulfill Disney's needs to release more films beautifully, especially with projects like "Motorcade," "The 39 Clues," and "The Trial of the Chicago 7" coming up.

Chris Brown Gets Violent

I was planning on just a simple "here are the Grammy nominees and winners" type post, but in light of the whole Chris Brown fiasco that is obviously not going to happen.

Here is the story: After leaving the pre-Grammy Gala at the Beverly Hilton, Chris Brown and an unidentified woman reportedly got into an argument in a Hancock Park neighborhood. The argument escalated and a witness called 911. The unidentified woman identified Chris Brown as her attacker, but by the time police arrived, Brown had already fled the scene. The unidentified woman has since then been identified as none other than girlfriend and pop star, Rhianna. Brown turned himself in last night and was held before positing $50,000 bail. He has been charged with making criminal threats and is still under investigation for felony charges of domestic violence. He is due in court March 5th.

Keep in mind all of this happened during the Grammys at which Chris was to perform "Forever" and Rhianna "Live Your Life" and "Disturbia."

For once I am at a loss for words. I guess I'm just reacting like any other normal human being would to any sort of news of domestic violence. All I'm going to say is he pulled some crazy Bobby Brown-esque stuff right there, and we all know where Bobby and his career is today.

Not that you really care anymore, but here is the complete list of the Grammy nominees and winners.

Oh, and while in the news room this morning, the AP informed me that Wrigley had just suspended all ads featuring the star but stopped short of saying the company will drop him completely. Do I see an anti violence PSA coming up? You bet.

Visit TMZ for the latest news on the case as well as a video of Chris Brown getting booked.

Bale Apologizes

Everybody knows if you're truly sorry for something in Hollywood, you apologize right away. Well, Christian Bale chose today (4 days after the fact) to apologize for his now infamous verbal tirade directed toward a poor lighting guy on the set of his Terminator Salvation last July. Bale called in to the Kevin and Bean Show this morning to apologize. He said "I acted like a punk." Yeah, a big, f*cking punk and maybe a little like a f*cking amateur.

SATC Part Deux

It has been confirmed the girls will be back for the sequel to Sex and the City: The Movie. It will feature the same cast and same writer-director, Michael Patrick King. Filming will begin this summer and the release date has been set for sometime next year. That's what I do know. What I don't really know is what to expect in terms of love-life drama from this cast, since most are pushing 50 and one is already there. Maybe Mr. Big and Carrie will have a miracle baby or something or, better yet, Samantha will be with child (or maybe that's just pushing it)! All I know is Smith Jarred better come back with Marcus, who was noticeably missing from the first installment. I just have one request from the SATC people: please, please, please, no more disturbing sex scenes between Miranda and Steve. I don't think I can handle it.  

Book Deals

Books have been recently making a come back, and it looks like they're here to stay! It has been confirmed that Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe landed a seven figure deal to write about his involvement within the presidential campaign. He is credited with raising up to $750 million, the most ever in campaign history, and winning David and Goliath-like battles against the likes of Hillary Clinton and John McCain. Public interest for his account is evident and Yahoo News reports that 17 imprints, some even within the same publishing house, competed for the rights to the book. Viking, an imprint of Penguin USA, will be publishing the book. I can't wait until the Steven Colbert, David Plouffe interview! Ah, to pick the brain of THE marketing genius.



Maybe even more exciting for some is the news that Twilight director, Catherine Hardwicke will also be writing a book about her experience with the massively popular, movie adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's teenage vampire series. The book will be made to replicate the director's personal notebook she kept on set and will reveal all the bloody details of the behind-the-scenes action. 500,000 copies of "Twilight: Director's Notebook" will be released under the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers name on March 17 to capitalize on the DVD release of Twilight on March 21. Well played, well played. The Twilight people have to do something to keep the girls screaming. Plus, the director gets her last bit of lime light before being replaced by new director, Chris Weitz. I hope his interpretation at least makes sense, though. I really hate it when books, even bad books (not that I'm suggesting anything), are made into even worse movies.



I don't want to be cynical or anything, but I see a movie adaptation of the "David Plouffe Story" coming to theaters soon within the next four years, possibly before Obama is up for reelection. He'll be played by Jake Gyllenhaal and the movie will be nominated for "Best Screen Play," maybe with Jake up for "Best Actor," too. The possibilities are endless, but people, that's the problem! Original screen plays in Hollywood these days are as rare as a starlet without a drug problem. It's sad when authors need to fear the vortex of the "movie adaptation" or worse yet, start to embrace the idea. This recycling of story lines needs to be put to a stop. I think audiences appreciate a truly unique idea and unique perspective. I wish the best of luck to David Plouffe and Catherine Hardwicke (but mostly to David)!

Michael Phelps Apologizes

In a very carefully worded statement to the AP, Phelps admits:

"I engaged in behavior which was regrettable and demonstrated bad judgement... I'm 23 years old and despite the success I've had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner people have come to expect from me. For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again."

I think what he's trying to say is:

"Endorsers, I'm sorry! Please don't drop me! Without you guys, swimming is unprofitable and just 'exercise.' I need you!"

Poor guy, I like him, I really do, but come on! Did you really think you wouldn't get caught? Did you really think some jealous college party goer wouldn't want to take a damning photo potentially worth a gold mine? For the love of God, exercise some caution, man!

UPDATE (2/2/09): Apparently, all is forgiven. Good for him, I guess.

UPDATE (2/5/09): USA Swimming suspended Phelps for three months, effective today. In addition, Kellogs will not be renewing their contract, which ends this month, with the swimmer. 

Michael Phelps Caught with a Bong

Let's forget for just one second that the Super Bowl is today and try to refer back to last year's Olympics. Remember, Phelps the swimmer, the eight gold medals in one Olympics guy, the guy who landed over $40 million in endorsements, that Michael Phelps? Well, it seems that little Mikey is in some big trouble. As reported by The News of the World fellow party goers snapped a photo of Phelps taking a hit from an engraved bong last November, weeks after his Olympics victories, during a streak of parties at The University of South Carolina in Columbia. One source revealed: "You could tell Michael had smoked before. He grabbed the bong and a lighter and knew exactly what to do... Michael ended up getting a little paranoid, though, because before too long he looked like he was nervous and ran out of the place."

Here's the bigger problem. The US Olympics Committee announced laws which specifically banned athletes from taking drugs of any sort within the four years prior to competition. Phelps took a hit (or maybe several, but really, who's counting) in November of 2008 and the London Olympics are in 2012. You do the math.

The Committee, Phelps' coach Bob Bowman, and the World Anit-Doping Agency, all refused to comment on the incident. The News of the World was even offered by spokesperson Clifford Bloxham, a three year commitment from Phelps to write, host events, and to advertise with the British paper if that meant the picture would not be published. Well, the smoking gun is smoking, no pun intended.

The questions remain. Will advertisers pull a Kobe and remove him from their campaigns? Will Phelps be able to participate in the 2012 games? Will the public forgive him for this incident as they did with the DUI and dating ex-stripper Caroline Pal? Will the swimming world be able to afford to give up Michael Phelps as its star? Best of luck to you, Mr. Phelps!

Rod Blagojevich Impeached

Rod Blagojevich was impeached earlier this afternoon. The Illinois, now former, governor was voted out by the senate 59-0. This is some good info straight from the AP (thanks to the news room at Annenberg TV News)! There must be some corruption causing, seat selling, crazy powder in the water over there. Remember, Blagojevich isn't the first corrupt official, or the second or even fourth, for that matter. Maybe now he'll have more time to do more important things, like coiffure his hair.

Welcome to The H Scene

Welcome, readers! This is your one stop for the most relevant entertainment industry news, gossip, and more. I will be pulling information from the Trades (primarily Variety, and The Hollywood Reporter) as well as from other online news sources and credible gossip bloggers. Information about the industry is relevant to all of us because the politics of Hollywood ultimately govern the quality of the movies, TV shows, books, music, etc. that we watch, read and listen to. We all love to be entertained, so why not know more about what goes on behind the scenes? Enjoy!

The SAG Awards

Deja vu. Oh, wait. Tonight wasn't a Golden Globes rerun? Right, right, it was the 2009 SAG Awards at the Shrine Auditorium. If it wasn't for the different venue, I doubt anyone would have noticed anyway. With the exception of a few deviations, tonight's ceremony seemed to mimic the Globes exactly. Slumdog Millionaire and 30 Rock cleaned house and appropriately, Heath Ledger was awarded "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role." Noticeably missing from the stage, however, were the SAG-snubbed Brad Pitt, Leonardo Di Caprio, and Clint Eastwood for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, and Grand Torino, respectively. At least the ceremony went off without a hitch, which is more than I can say for the Globes this year (The official Golden Globes website accidentally revealed Anne Hathaway as "Best Actress" 72 hours before the ceremony, which was better than the blunder of 2008, the total cancellation of the Globes due to the writer's strike). Now, who's looking forward to the Academy Awards?

Here's a complete list of the nominees and winner of this year's Awards.