Saturday, August 2, 2008
When Fanboys Attack: A ‘Dark Knight’ Critic-Death Threat Roundup
10:10AM STV | The backlash to the Dark Knight backlash isn’t exactly news — not after two weeks and almost $400 million dollars silencing even the most vehement of the film’s critics. But today we direct our attention to the more disturbing phenomenon of physical threats against some of those same critics, a few of whose lives have even been targeted by rogue fanboys with a taste for reviewer blood. We hardly believed it ourselves until an unsettling taxonomy of freaks coming after reviewers Jürgen Fauth and Keith Uhlich showcased the worst of it:
9:30AM Defamer Hollywood | Is Johnny Depp Set to Celebrate His Unbirthday? Those casting rumors just continue to pile up for the actor, with unconfirmed reports that director Tim Burton has selected him to play the Mad Hatter in his forthcoming 3-D (!) adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. So far, only In Treatment’s Mia Wasikowska has been confirmed to star in the megabucks live action/CGI film, but we expect an imminent announcement of Burton’s wifely muse Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen of Hearts (even though we’d much rather see the wild-haired actress essay the Cheshire Cat). [The Herald] More »
Where Were You When the Quake of ‘08 Hit? (Don’t Answer That, Mark McGrath)
9:00AM STV | When the city shook this week, scattering whole herds of TV paragons from their studios in bug-eyed panic, one institution stood firm: Dirt Sandwich. Better yet, the week’s greatest hits in entertainment news saw it all, from Billy Bush’s pants-soiling to Mark McGrath’s penultimate humiliation as the outgoing host of Extra! to the seismic justice rocking Judge Judy’s courtroom. And when the Earth stilled, there were Elizabeth Taylor and Miss USA (among others) to give the aftermath a touch of awkward class. Yes, behold Dirt Sandwich, as assembled by noble Defamer videographer Molly McAleer — monolithic, omniscient, sturdy and altogether delicious. Take a bite, won’t you? More »
Republicans Hate Celebrities So Much That They Keep Electing Them
8:40AM Defamer Hollywood | If there’s one class of people that consistently draws the ire of the Republican party, it’s celebrities. Perhaps mindful of the fact that all the cool kids in Hollywood vote Democrat, the GOP is forever on the attack against celebrities, their political views, and all they represent, and John McCain’s attention-getting “Celebrity” ad is just the latest example. Yessir, there’s nothing the Republican party hates more than celebrities. More »
Sarah Jessica Parker Project To Contain Near-Lethal Estrogen Levels
7:35AM Seth | · The Ivy Chronicles, a Sarah Jessica Parker project about an “upper-middle-class New York mother” who loses it all, has signed The Devil Wears Prada writer Aline Brosh McKenna take on the screenplay. And we just grew a set of ovaries typing that. [THR] · The Prince of Persia, Disney’s Bruckheimerian take on the popular video game series starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the shirtless, saber-wielding warrior, has been delayed by a full year. Excuse us for one moment, will you? THERE IS. NOOO. GODDDD!!!! OK! Back! [Variety] · Nicolas Cage and director John Carpenter are close to signing on for Scared Straight, about a wayward teen held hostage during a jail riot who turns to prisoner Cage for a way out. Cage agrees, but not before making the teen his bitch. [THR] · Thomas Jane will play the lead in HBO’s pilot Hung, an hour-long “dark comedy” about a man with an enormous manhood, and all that that implies. And we think you know what we mean. Yes, we thought so. [THR] · Speaking of ubiquitous Dicks, Dick Wolf’s pilot Lost and Found has been picked up by NBC. It involves law enforcement and crime-solving of some kind. [Variety] More »
BREAKING: Nikki Blonsky Injured, Arrested in Brutal Luggage-Defense Melee
7:10AM STV | Word just over the Defamer transom reveals that Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky and her father were arrested after an airport brawl that left the Golden Globe-nominated actress in a neck brace. Reportedly, on a stopover in Turks and Caicos during her long flight from Long Island sweets-slinger to pugilist diva, both Nikki and Pa Blonsky went to war rather than move their luggage for an unnamed woman. More details — including a cameo by an America’s Next Top Model contestant(!) — after the jump. More »
How I Popped My Moby: Adventures In Oversharing
6:40AM Defamer Hollywood | Would you pay $150 to see a “weird, bald man,” as KCRW radio host Nic Harcourt lovingly described Moby at a fundraiser last night for KCRW at the Malibu Performing Arts Center for the experimental station? Well, a few hundred people had no qualms with the “Little Idiot,” as Moby likes to call himself, and shelled out big bucks in the name of sustaining their favourite local radio station. More »
‘Hills’ Star Audrina Finds Her Product Placement Blog Overwhelmed By Cringe-Inducing Comments
6:20AM Defamer Hollywood | Free from the vapid small talk she’s forced to spout on MTV’s The Hills, co-star Audrina Patridge finally has her own blog, a forum where she can finally unfetter her voice and speak from the depths of her very soul (“First I use the Dermalogica face cleanser, then the toner, and then Active Moist the moisturizer!”). In between pitching skin care products and admonishing paparazzi for spying on her (then using those pictures on her blog with a Splash photo credit), Patridge operates an advice column called “Ask Audrina,” where the boring sample questions are quickly outshone by the icky, feeble requests from the comments section: More »
Mindy Kaling’s Misadventures in Ethnic Stereotypes Have ‘em Rolling at ‘Letterman’
6:05AM STV | Our hearts go out today to Mindy Kaling, the Office co-writer/producer/star who last night confronted the indignity of Indian-American typecasting in a wrenching appearance on Letterman. That said, to the extent we acknowledge her Emmy-nominated prime-time offerings over the last few years, we also think it best for everyone’s sake that her call-centre appearance in Baby Mama — complete with accent admittedly lifted from The Simpsons‘ Apu — found its way to history’s dustbin with no more damage than it caused during last night’s broadcast. We guess we can all laugh about it now, but hear the full, traumatizing story after the jump. Stay strong, Mindy. [CBS] More »
