Tag Archives: celebrities

Most Annoying Celebrity Rag

You know how some TV show plot lines are ‘ripped from the headlines?’ I’ve decided People magazine rips theirs from any handy movie premiere calendar.

Easier than workin.’

people gwynethTake their latest World’s Most Beautiful Woman issue featuring Gwyneth Paltrow.

Gwyneth is lovely — I’ll give you that.  But the most beautiful woman in the world?  Of all the choices in Hollywood and around the globe?

In the words of Jerry Seinfeld — speaking to his young son outside my brownstone one Saturday afternoon –

“Probably not.”

But it is far simpler — isn’t it People editorial staff — to crown Ms. Paltrow?   She has Iron Man 3 coming out in a theatre near you…plus, your rival Star magazine just named her Most Hated Celebrity (which is probably more accurate).

Your advertisers are happy!  Moms her age are happy!  And Star has been put in its place.

Who cares if it isn’t true?

Seven years or less

Can you believe The Rachael Ray Show has been on the air since the fall of 2006?

I moved to Manhattan that July; her show debuted a few months later.  And I signed up for free tickets on the website.

They arrived in my inbox today.

rachael rayCan you believe that??

I mean, I don’t watch the show anymore, so I don’t really care.  But how can The Rachael Ray Show have a seven-year waiting list?

I live right down the street, for cripes sake.  You’d think at some point they would have called me to fill in on a slow taping day.  Other more popular shows certainly have once I was on their mailing list.

Even Late Show with Jimmy Fallon reserves seats a month out.  I’ve been able to see Daily Show several times.  Saturday Night Live and Late Night with David Letterman are harder tickets to score, but even they have standby lines.

So what’s the deal with The Rachel Ray Show?

Maybe it’s her Oprah-esque giveaways that limit her tickets.  I want to think that.  Let’s think that.

Wonder what I’ll get…

The noise, noise, noise

They began in movie theatres months ago, and now they’ve hit TV  –

Trailers for Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.

robert redford gatsbyI’ll admit — I didn’t think this movie needed to be remade.  It’s a classic in my mind, as is the book.

And Leonardo DiCaprio playing Gatsby in place of Robert Redford?

Uh, no.

gatsby newBut now that I’ve seen the trailers — many, many times — the casting isn’t even the issue. 

This Gatsby is unrecognizable.  Luhrmann has — well — Luhrmann-ized it; the glitz and glitter is a visual assault.  The soundtrack, too, is so brash and overwhelming, I have actually checked for blood in my ears in the theatre.   Imagine the damage after two hours.

I’m sure Luhrmann has included that, too — in gold…with a dance number.

Great scott

If you didn’t watch today’s final round of the Masters because you think ‘golf is boring,’ you couldn’t be more wrong.

This year’s tournament, which was played in the pouring rain for much of the back nine, went to a sudden death playoff.

And more importantly…

adam scott

This guy won.

Not so boring after all, huh?

 

Who is that masked Longbottom?

It has been two years since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II was released in theatres, bringing the decade-long movie franchise to its satisfying conclusion.  The ending evoked a lot of emotions from us all, one of the more surprising being –

Neville Longbottom is a hunk!

Neville before and afterAt the time, I celebrated the transformation of actor Matthew Lewis on many levels.

First and foremost, I like pretty things, and Matthew had become one.  But as a geek whose own awkward period extends even into today, I was gratified to see how far he had come during the 10-year span…and gave his movie connections no small amount of the credit.

But it turns out the studio’s efforts were actually in the opposite direction.

Matthew Lewis was never the chubby, ear-sticking-out, buck-toothed character that we saw on screen.  The wardrobe and makeup departments created Neville’s persona and ‘plopped it down’ — fat suit and all — upon Matthew’s more leading man frame.  They even used extra-large shoes because that’s how JK Rowling described him in the her novels.

That’s why Neville was such a ‘boy toy’ surprise in the final film!

Famous face in an endless line

Today I went to see the new Christopher Durang play Sonia and Vanya and Masha and Spike…

…and who should I happen to meet in the line for the ladies room?

alexis-bledelRory Gilmore

I believe she goes by Alexis Bledel these days — since Gilmore Girls sadly is no more — but she sees Broadway shows and uses the restroom..

Just Like Us.

The line for the ladies room before the show today was epic, it was so long.  And when Alexis entered the lounge, she walked up to the midpoint (where I was standing) to confirm that she was in the right place.  When I showed her the end of the line, she commented — in true Rory fashion –

“Geez.”

She headed that way — seemingly not expecting or requesting special treatment — but soon abandoned the line and headed upstairs to the theatre.  Perhaps her fiancee was waiting for her….with a Port-A-Potty.

Celebrities have all the luck.

The same, yet different

It’s not often I can say this to a member of the royal family:

“Kate, this has so happened to me!”

The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge Visit the 1st Battalion Irish Guards On St Patrick's DayDuring yesterday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade at the Aldershot Barracks, the Duchess of Cambridge got her high heel stuck in a grate. Husband William offered a supporting arm — and a giggle or two — while she freed her stiletto.

The soldier saluted.

Funny — almost the exact same thing happened to me during a business trip to Chicago!

I was walking with my colleagues to a nearby restaurant for dinner when a grate ate my heel. Two friends held me upright, saving me from an almost certain face plant.  So, let me belatedly salute their heroics –

Sans headpiece.

Fake Hollywood couples who make me happy

Adam Sandler is a man of extremes.

When his movies are good (The Wedding Singer, 50 First Dates), they are very, very good.  And when they are bad (Little Nicky, Jack and Jill, That’s My Boy)…

They’re horrible.

wedding singerMe thinks Sandler has been looking at his filmography and noticed a common thread running through his very best films — Drew Barrymore. Could that be why he’s starring in and co-producing a new film with her?

The Hollywood Reporter says yes!

In the rumored film, the two portray single parents who had a bad first date, but soon after are trapped together at a vacation resort with their kids.  Hilarity ensues.

I loved The Wedding Singer.  It’s my very favorite Adam Sandler film.  And I just re-watched 50 First Dates last weekend and laughed myself silly when Drew Barrymore — to protect Sandler — beats the crap out of Rob Schneider with a baseball bat.

Good times.

Both films made big bucks at the box office, so I know I’m not the only one who loves this duo.  Let’s get excited!!

Yellin’ and screamin’ and dancin’

Back in my improv days, we learned that agreement was the name of the game. Audiences don’t want to sit and watch people disagree, right?

Then why do I enjoy Dance Moms so much?

grrrrrI started watching the Lifetime reality show at first out of simple curiosity.  But I was quickly sucked in.

I could pretend it’s the dance numbers.  Or the rehearsal process.  But let’s be honest –

It’s the conflict.

Abby, the dance teacher, yelling at the kids.  The moms yelling at Abby.  The entire group yelling at moms and dancers from other troupes.  They are whackadoodle, and I love every minute of it.

I’m not sure what that says about me.  Perhaps my life is just so calm and centered that I am looking for vicarious insanity?

Doubt it.

Spring fever

Look who’s waiting for us in Esquire UK!

james-mcavoy-esquire-uk-feature-april-2013-03

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That’s the April issue for those of you like me who want to appreciate this pic of James McAvoy — and the article, of course — in an honest-to-goodness magazine.

Long live glossies!