Friday, August 22, 2008
Preemptive Australian Idol Round-Up: SMS Will Be Charged At 50c Per Message
10:49AM Clem Bastow | So it’s now T-minus three days and counting until Australian Idol hits our airwaves once more, and I am personally eagerly waiting for the Coming Of God (aka James Spargo) but Channel Ten have SIX DAYS of auditions all up in this bitch; from Sunday to Friday they’ll be wheeling out their best loonies and young girls singing Whitney Houston songs and making Marcia cry. Ten have also announced changes to the voting system that will mean Monday elimination nights will begin with a “last chance” sing-off for the bottom three contestants:
The three facing elimination will take to the stage to perform once more in “a last-ditch effort to win over the audience, build on their vote and prove worthy to continue the Idol journey”.
After their performances, the voting lines will re-open, to enable Australia to save their favourite two singers. Then co-hosts James Mathison and Andrew G will join them on stage to reveal the contestant leaving the competition.
While this looks like a fair go for all, all it really means is mo’ money for Ten, which is unsurprising, but I’d like to take a moment to discuss what is possibly the most terrifying publicity photo I have ever seen: More » 
Will Sophie Monk Do The Motorbike Dance For Playboy?
10:20AM Clem Bastow | Generally speaking, when rumours of the “OMG nude!” variety start flying around a starlet, there’s usually an awful lot of gnashing of teeth and wringing of hands, and a lackey is dispatched to pour cold water on the whispers, and said starlet starts getting around in hessian sacks and tracksuits. Not so our Sophie Monk, however! When buzz began circulating that Bardot’s finest Marilyn Monroe impersonator had been touched – potentially – by the hand of Hef, her publicist stood to attention.
“Playboy has always done classy portfolios, so I’m sure if this was real, it’s something that would be considered,” Weinman said via email.
More » 
The Most Exciting Facebook Ad Ever
9:55AM Clem Bastow | Well, perhaps that headline is a touch hyperbolic, but when I got online this morning to check my pokes work really hard, I was greeted by the banner ad you see at the left. (Suffice to say it was a pleasant change from the usual “26 And Still Single?” varieties.) Anything combining the words “Alan Fletcher” and “musical” is bound to snare my attention – because we all love it when Dr Karl brings that old guitar out of the shed and Susan rolls her eyes – so I clicked through. Cop a load of these highlights from the cast! More » 
“He’s Got No Bodyflight”: The Jason Coleman Dance Studio War
9:22AM Clem Bastow | Are the suburban dance schools of the country out to smear the name of affable So You Think You Can Dance Australia judge and frosted tips enthusiast Jason Coleman? That’s the word from the man himself, who reckons that the stage mothers and fathers of the country are unimpressed with his decision to have a break from choreographing major events while stepping into the razzle dazzle world of ten-year-old prima donnas. His competitors have hit him with everything from rumours of impending bankruptcy to his supposed lack of skills as a choreographer.
One competitor admitted his nose was out of joint, saying the well-known choreographer was “selling a dream that doesn’t exist”.
More » 
Shannen Doherty, ‘Icon’, Wants To Know If You Miss Her
9:00AM Defamer Hollywood | Though the new 90210 has booked Jennie Garth for a major recurring role and relegated Shannen Doherty to only a handful of episodes, it’s the latter who merits “icon” status according to this brand-new CW promo. In it, Doherty shows up in special new footage taped just for you (but not for you, Tori), coyly flipping her hair as she asks the camera, “Miss me?” While we do, Shannen, we must remind you that there’s someone in the 90210 cast who tops even you in our estimation: Jessica Walter, aka Lucille freakin’ Bluth. While we’re certain that she’s the last actor the CW cares to build a promo around (even Mark the Cobrasnake would probably get one first), to us, she’s the show’s true, alcoholic icon. CW, hear our cry for footage of Walter, or we’ll be forced to mount a “Save our Bluths” campaign the likes of which even EW cannot contain. [The CW] More »
Gold Medal Deathmatch As Rival Networks Try To Ruin Seven’s Party
8:55AM Clem Bastow | It was bound to happen: tired of pumping out ads with a not-so-subtle “just wait until after the Olympics because we’re not going to waste our A game while you’re watching the Greco-Roman Wrestling heats” subtext, Channel Seven’s rivals (which for the most part means Channel Nine, as ABC are too busy being seriose cats and Channel Ten are off packing bowls and hanging ten, or something equally hip and youthful) have started coughing up the mad bucks to get gold medalists on their shows – and, naturally, Seven is pissed.
“This is unprecedented, the level of desperation, the underhandedness and ugliness that went on,” a source said.
More » 
Inaugural ‘Celebrity Babymaking Month’ Sets High Affleck-Damon Standard For Years to Come
8:40AM STV | The pitter-patter of little feet is getting kind of annoying today at Defamer HQ, where news of not one, not two, not three, but four celebrity pregnancies and/or births have us hand-delivering sex-ed pamphlets to front desks everywhere from CAA to ICM. Even in this uncertain era of creative gas-rationing and looming SAG strikes, Hollywood seed is flying, and nowhere is it landing more conspicuously than in the always-competitive sphere comprising Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner; just when Damon and wife Luciana had welcomed Gia Zavala Damon into the cruel, cruel world, Garner confirmed her pregnancy with her and Affleck’s own second child. Then, as the rivals regrouped to plot their escalation, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale went and blobbed at Cedars-Sinai: More »
Unearthed Britney Spears Concert Footage Demonstrates The Value Of Lip-Syncing
8:20AM Mark Graham | · You know how everyone used to complain that Britney Spears lip-synced her way through all of her concerts? Well, after seeing this video that isolates Britney’s vocals during her “Live From Las Vegas” show, we’re pretty sure you’ll be thankful that backing tracks exist. [Funny Or Die via Buzzfeed] · We know that we’re supposed to bow at the feet of Radiohead because, well, everyone bows at the feet of Radiohead. But we can’t help but concur with Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler’s recent comments about the band: “I think they’ve lost the plot. I like them as a rock band, all the buttons and sequencing and stuff like that I don’t really care for. I’m a fan of rock music, and what they’re doing now I don’t think is very good.” [Vulture] · We’ve been thinking a lot about Sharon Stone ever since we revealed her new twentysomething boyfriend yesterday. While her film career is stalled, we think we spotted a reality show opportunity that would be a perfect fit for her brand of crazy: Vh1’s Cougar Camp. [NY Post] · This headline has us thankful all of the film critics haven’t been killed off yet: “Hamlet 2: The First One Was Better.” [Time] · Most of our favourite movies of the ’80s require a healthy suspension of disbelief to enjoy. Teen Wolf was one of those films. But now, thanks to the comedy troupe Summer Of Tears, we’re not sure we’re ever going to be able to watch it again without contemplating how none of the characters raised an eyebrow when the bestiality angle came into play. [/Film] More »
Sienna Miller Wondering If She Can Borrow A Can Of Slut-Off
7:45AM STV | “Scandalism” is all the rage these days in London, where the hottest gossip of the day is found in neither Fleet Street rags nor blogs but rather spray-painted on the very walls of its subjects’ homes. Exhibit A: Sienna Miller, whose recent, only slightly immodest dalliance with married father Balthazar Getty (among other tormented ex-flames) may or may not have prompted the scandalism above, which materialized on Miller’s home late one recent evening. The ensuing investigation is going pretty much as sluggishly you’d expect; we’re told a reward is available for information leading to the culprit’s capture and conviction, just as soon as Nottingham is green lit again. More »
