Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Big (Batman) Brother Is Watching You
3:04PM Clem Bastow | As our siblings at Gizmodo Australia noted today, if you’re planning on filming or vlogging The Dark Knight, or even sending a cheeky MMS of Heath Ledger’s The Joker ramming [SPOILER FREE] into someone’s [SPOILER FREE], think again – robotic cinema ushers will be readying themselves to blast you into a fine, bloody mist with their laser beams.
Well, not quite, but they will be scanning the seats for potential Batman pirates with the help of night-vision goggles:
In what is believed to be a first for an Australian film release, Village Roadshow has urged all exhibitors to use the goggles in the first screenings of the film, which will be seen here almost two days before its US and European release.
In a memo to exhibitors yesterday, Roadshow asked that staff use the goggles to identify anyone filming the movie.
“Should anyone be caught filming on anything, regardless if it is a mobile phone, PDA or camera, security should discreetly walk over to them and ask them to leave the cinema,” the memo says.
And if they don’t leave the cinema, they ushers will turn the lights on, stop the projector, and tell everyone that they’re not watching the rest of the movie until SOMEONE owns up, and you’re also not having any pudding tonight.
And then they blast you into a fine, bloody mist with their laser beams More » 
Guv, Boss, Ma’am
12:49PM Jess McGuire | Continuing our celebration of all things Helen Mirren today, please enjoy this delightful skit from French & Saunders.
More » Paul Weller To Johnny Rotten: “You Can Never Recapture What Has Gone”
12:37PM Jess McGuire | When rock icons of yesteryear clash… Former frontman of The Jam/The Style Council, the mod king himself Paul Weller, has spoken out against Sex Pistol (and reality television star) John Lydon, stating that Lydon has – thanks to his appearances on shows like I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here – become the “antithesis” of Johnny Rotten.
“I don’t really understand him anymore,” Weller explained. “He’s become the antithesis of what he once was. Does he need the money?
And Weller’s opinion regarding Lydon’s recent sookfest about music festivals not being like they were back in the old days, and weren’t the Sex Pistols grand, etc?
“Perhaps he misses the adulation, the buzz. Nostalgia has become a whole industry in itself… and I don’t like it. You can never recapture what has gone.”
We await My Lydon’s riposte.
(Via XRRF) More » 
Won’t You Join Us In Marvelling At Helen Mirren’s Ridiculously Toned Physique?
12:25PM Jess McGuire | Proving once and for all that she cannot actually be a real human being, but instead some sort of sexy fembot whose body never ages or rusts, Helen Mirren has been snapped in a bikini during a holiday in Italy.
OH. MY. GOD.
Granted, Helen Mirren hasn’t weathered the body storm that is child-bearing, but still – the woman is about to turn sixty three, people. SIXTY THREE!
There are more depressingly stunning shots of the Oscar winning dame over at the Daily Mail. I can’t decide if they give me hope for the future, or just make me want to cry. Damn your older lady hotness, Helen. Damn it to bits. More » 
Aussie Hip Hop Star Bindi Irwin Excitedly Talks About Her Exciting 10th Birthday Celebrations: “I’m Very Excited!”
11:44AM Jess McGuire | Rap star, Logie winner, fashion icon, and queen of Australian tourism Ms Bindi Irwin has, on the eve of her 10th birthday, been interviewed by The Courier-Mail – and boy, is she excited about turning double digits!
Using the words “I’m very excited” at least 12 times in as many minutes, she said: “Our tradition is that birthdays are not just for yourself but for sharing.
“Every birthday is very exciting – you wake up in the morning so excited because everyone is coming. It’s so exciting I can’t wait. Double digits means double the fun which is so exciting.”
Uh-huh. Exciting stuff!
I also quite enjoyed her views on her simple living brother Bob-Bob.
(Bindi) said she preferred to focus on the good things in the world and believed in the simple philosophy often demonstrated by her younger brother, Robert, 4, who liked to live in the moment.
“Robert has a great approach to life,” she said.
“He lives one day at a time and doesn’t worry about what will happen in the future. He just likes to play with his chickens and revels in the moment which is happening . . . which is a good way to be.
An uncomplicated four year old – I’ll be damned! I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – Robert “Bob Bob” Irwin is my great hope for the future of not only Australia Zoo, but Australia itself. Although the way Bindi’s taken to describing him in this interview, I can’t help but suspect we might lose him for a couple of years to the Nimbin massive as he explores the appeal of certain herbs and tries his hand at African drumming. More » 
Heath Ledger’s Posthumous Oscar Campaign Rolls On
11:00AM Mark Graham | The eldest denizens of the Dark Knight cast, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, made an obligatory promotional stop-off to hobnob with the ladies of The View this morning. And, of course, they used the opportunity to stump for a Heath Ledger Oscar nomination. We’ll weigh in tomorrow morning with our own thoughts, as both Seth and STV saw the movie earlier this eve. [The View] Woody Allen’s longtime producing partner, Charles Joffe, passed away at age 78. [NYT] Continuing the moribund nature of tonight’s edition of Short Ends, we’re sad to report that nearly 150 staffers at the Los Angeles Times, including publisher David Hiller and truth-challenged reporter Chuck Philips, found themselves on the receiving end of a pink slip. [LA Observed] Even though we don’t know a single person who watches CSI, we’re pretty sure that millions of people will be upset to learn that all-around bad-arse William Peterson is leaving the show mid-season. [Michael Ausiello] Your Uncle Grambo’s dreamgirl extraordinaire, Miss Amanda Bynes, is dating … Seth MacFarlane??? NOOOOOO! We are so glad this day is over, we’re not sure we could take anymore bad news. [ONTD] More »
Sex, Lies, And Videotape: Starring Sienna Miller, Her Tits, And Balthazar Getty As The Adulterous Billionaire
10:40AM Molly Friedman | Confession time: ever since she rescued Alfie: The Version Jude Law Wrecked from racking up Razzies with her sparkly hair and oddly transfixing “good naked” scenes, we’ve been a Sienna Miller fan. One of the few stars to design an actual wearable fashion line, a regular on nude beaches, not to mention her impressive performance in the neglected but excellent Interview, she’s the kind of weird, devil-may-care actress we like. But our girl is in quite the pickle these days. With a loony ex-boyfriend sobbing over her in sappy love songs and telling her to “fuck off” in tabs, and a new set of her trademark topless pics featuring concrete evidence that she’s screwing former heroin addict, richer-than-God oil heir, and married father of four Balthazar Getty, Sienna isn’t exactly having the best month ever. However, it has been an NSFW one… More »
Painful Admissions: Without Hooker Heels And Make-Up, Gwyneth Paltrow Is Still A Knockout
9:30AM Molly Friedman | We’ve given Gwyneth Paltrow some flack lately for her sudden determination to vamp up her prim and proper image using everything from dominatrix footwear to bizarre backless jumpsuits but, with the need to promote Iron Man no longer an issue, the mother of Hollywood’s most promising cross-dressing duo is back to basics. And as it turns out, all those goopy mascara-drenched lashes and see-through mini-dresses pale in comparison to the makeup-free, covered up version of Gwyneth 1.0. In these photos, taken over the weekend at a party in the Hamptons, see why the Madonna make-out partner should give up the hooker heels for good and stick to (painful as it may be to admit) her lucky genetic makeup-free makeup: More »
Seth MacFarlane’s Reign Of Offensiveness Now Includes AIDS Jokes About Karl Rove
9:10AM Defamer Hollywood | Kudos today to James Hibberd, the Hollywood Reporter TV blogger who is perhaps the only reason we have any clue (or rather, care to have any clue) about the horrors unfolding presently at the Television Critics Association summer press tour. Apparently the Florence Henderson/Ed Asner days are over, with the one-two punch of confirmed buddies Karl Rove and Seth MacFarlane taking over Monday as the off-colour star tandem to beat. More »
