Category Archives: Celebrities

Super Sonic

Posted on March 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Turns out teeny tiny songstress Kristin Chenoweth and I have something in common.

It’s not our singing ability — which I’m sure was your first thought — and it’s certainly not our size.  (I have shoes bigger than her.)  And while it’s true we both love musical theatre, I’m talking more ‘guilty pleasures’ here.

Kristin and I are both fans of chain restaurants.

She waxed poetic for her love of ‘em on Conan last night — Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Applebees.  He called her a ‘cheap date.’  I call her a comrade in arms.

One of her favorites and mine?

Sonic Drive-In

Grilled cheese on Texas toast, tater tots, and a grape slush is my favorite meal at Sonic.  But we don’t have Sonics in Manhattan.  Apparently LA doesn’t have them, either.  So Kristin and I both suffer their national ads.  And dream.

See?  Celebrities are just like us.

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Posted in Advertising, Celebrities, Entertainment, Food, Foods, Humor, Life, Restaurants, Television, TV

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Scare me, please

Posted on March 26, 2012 | 1 Comment

When I was but a wee lass, I watched Dark Shadows every afternoon after school.

It scared the bejeezers out of me.

Barnabas Collins, the vampire who ‘lived’ at the Collinwood estate, made me jump out of my skin.  More than once, I had to walk outside into the bright sunshine because I was too spooked to watch what happened next.

So I was particularly excited to see what horrors Tim Burton’s remake would hold, especially with his favorite lead Johnny Depp occupying the role of Barnabas.

Then I saw the trailer this weekend on television and quickly discovered…

The new Dark Shadows is a comedy.

Depp is sporting white makeup a la Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the script appears to be one deadpan zinger after another.

True, it’s a dark comedy, and I can appreciate their sense of humor.  I’ll no doubt go see it out of curiosity at the very least.

But I’m sad to say that Depp’s version of Barnabas will never elicit a single gasp of fear or horror.

Except, perhaps, at the 70′s clothing.

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Posted in Advertising, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Movies, Television, TV

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Sick

Posted on March 3, 2012 | Leave a comment

I’ve been rather obsessed with Downton Abbey lately, and a good friend asked if it was time for an intervention.

It might be now.  But not just for me.

Adam WarRock, the Internet’s ‘foremost comic book rapper,’ has gone gaga for Downton Abbey, too.

A rapper….all wrapped up in the soap opera at Grantham Hall.  He even posted a confession on his website:

Downton Abbey is the kind of thing that you hear about, and you’re all like, “That sounds terrible.” And then even one of your best friends won’t shut up about it, and then you have to fly to Seattle, and you watch it on the plane, and get completely obsessed with it. And then you’re calling your friend and saying things like “I’m at the part where Matthew Crawley is investigating the entail for Lord Grantham, and the Dowager Countess finds out about it,” and you realize you’re whispering because honestly, what the HELL are you even saying?

I love this guy.

Now he’s gone one step farther and written a rap about Downton Abbey. You gotta give it a listen.

Can’t see any problem with that!

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Posted in Celebrities, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Life, Music, Television, TV

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An eye for talent

Posted on March 2, 2012 | 4 Comments

I cast a major network sitcom.

No — not cast in.  I helped cast one of the guest stars in last night’s episode of Up All Night.

Let me explain.

Earlier this year, Christina Applegate took to Twitter and asked her followers to suggest comedic actors for a project.  Knowing most people would go with the obvious choices, I put forth a recent find:

Steven Pasquale

I happened upon the actor a month or two before in the USA mini-series Marry Me, co-starring Lucy Liu.  The movie wasn’t anything to write home about, but Pasquale was.

He took your typical made-for-TV romantic lead and turned it into something uniquely appealing.  His timing was unique.  I stuck with the mini-series — we’re talking four hours, people — because he made the expected and predictable extremely entertaining.

Christina later tweeted a thank you for our suggestions, saying she had received a couple of names that she didn’t recognize and planned to research.

And look who pops up on Up All Night??

It’s pretty gratifying, I admit.  (Would be even more so with a finder’s fee.)

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Television, TV

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No drama

Posted on February 27, 2012 | Leave a comment

Thank goodness for Facebook and Twitter.

I read them during the Oscars last night, which were boring and predictable.

No disrespect to Billy Crystal intended; it’s not his fault frontrunners won every single gosh-darn award.

I mean, would it have killed Academy voters to give, say,  Brad Pitt the Best Actor Oscar? Or maybe Jonah Hill Best Supporting Actor?  Just for the drama of it all?

(I’m a Moneyball fan. So sue me.)

But instead we sat through the same people winning the same awards and giving very much the same speeches they have given at all the other award shows that have beaten the Oscars to the punch.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

So if you didn’t suffer through the full broadcast like me, you may have missed perhaps the most heartfelt moment of the night — Meryl Streep’s acceptance speech for Best Actress in The Iron Lady.

Her win wasn’t unexpected, but her perspective and sincerity were refreshing…especially at almost three and a half hours in.

Enjoy.

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Posted in Academy Awards, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Movies, Television

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Alien encounter

Posted on February 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

A spaceship crashed in Manhattan last night.

You didn’t hear about it?  I did.  I was in the theatre that it hit.

That’s the back story of the off-Broadway musical Voca People playing now at New World Stages.

I hadn’t heard much about the show until Jimmy Fallon gave it a rave review.  Then it seemed like everyone was talking about it.

The eight performers — residents of the planet Voca performing to gain ‘life energy’ for their spaceship so they can return home — act as alien as they appear.  When they first walk on stage, they can’t even speak English; however, linking hands with an audience member quickly engages their ‘universal translator.’

Space age gimmicks aside, the vocals and harmonies of Voca People are — forgive me — out of this world.  The entire act is a capella; they create every note with only their mouths and microphones.  While I could have done without the narrative, the song selection, quality of performance and sheer energy made me an instant fan.

Seriously — they do a rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody” that is worth the complete price of admission.  And their interaction with audience members is an endearing combination of awkward and awesome.

So, if you’re near the theatre district and see a UFO…

Run towards the light.

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Posted in Broadway, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Travel

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One hit wonder

Posted on February 21, 2012 | 2 Comments

What’s your fantasy band name?

I confess, I’ve never given it much thought.

Until now.

In a current TV ad campaign, a teenage boy asks Siri to remember the band name “Migraine Headache.”

And the terminally-quick Craig Ferguson will label any funny-sounding phrase he utters as the name of his band or the movie he’s writing.

And now I find myself doing the same.

Funny headline on nytimes.com?  Could be a band name.  Someone posts a photo on Twitter or Facebook with an odd title?  Band name.  Someone misspeaks in everyday conversation?  Band name!

My favorite from last night’s Twitter feed?

Mid-Winter Popsicle

Don’t steal that one.  It’s mine.

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Posted in Advertising, Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Life, Movies, Music, News, Television, TV

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Color me cautious

Posted on February 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

On this Presidents’ Day holiday, I find myself pondering a question of suitable gravity:

Why have I never played paintball?

It seems to be the activity of choice for couples in many romantic comedies.

I went to see This Means War, starring Reese Witherspoon, last night.  One of the two CIA agents vying for her affections took her to play paintball.  Of course she misfired a round and got him in his manly parts.

Oh, the sting of high comedy.

Matthew McConaughey also took Sarah Jessica Parker to play paintball in Failure to Launch.  Lucky for Matthew, she hit one of his friends in the foot. And Heath Ledger took Julia Stiles paintballin’ way back in the day in the teen flick Ten Things I Hate About You.

No misfires there…except my admitting I saw it.

I can kind of see the appeal; target practice is fun.  But those paintballs look like they really hurt on contact.  And most people seem to be incredibly bad shots.

Hey — I just figured out why I don’t play paintball.

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Games, Humor, Life, Movies, Relationships, Sports

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Prince charming

Posted on February 13, 2012 | 1 Comment

Colin Firth has been called a prince on several occasions.

Last night, he got a chance to showcase his skills.

As last year’s BAFTRA Best Actor Award winner for The King’s Speech, he was called upon to present the 2012 Best Actress BAFTRA Award at last night’s ceremony.  (I watched the festivities on DVR this morning during breakfast.)

Meryl Streep won for The Iron Lady, but the events that followed prove that winning ain’t always easy.

As Streep started walking toward the stage, she realized she had brought her purse, so she quickly shoved it into the hands of a woman on the aisle.  Then — in a Cinderella moment that couldn’t have been scripted — Streep left a shoe on the stage steps.

Thinking on his feet, Firth rescued her pump, knelt before the newly crowned Best Actress, and put it back on.

He was rewarded with a kiss.

Streep was thoughtful and gracious in her remarks, but I wasn’t really paying attention. We had just witnessed this spontaneous, movie-like moment.

Her speech was simply the credits.

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Posted in Celebrities, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies, Oscars, Relationships, Television, TV

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Double eagle

Posted on February 12, 2012 | 1 Comment

Chalk one up in the ‘life imitating art department’…

Ray Romano, comedian and star of Everybody Loves Raymond and the recently canceled Men of a Certain Age, made the cut at this weekend’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.  Ray tees off in the fourth and final round today with his professional partner, Australian golfer Steven Bowditch.

Go get ‘em, Ray!

Fans of Men of a Certain Age will remember that Ray’s character Joe, party shop owner, gambling addict and avid golfer, had just qualified for the senior tour when the series was unceremoniously dumped by TNT.

We never got to see Joe fulfill his dream on the links, but today Ray is living out his own.

Karma is a wonderful thing.

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