George Clooney is hopping mad. Apparently photographers climbed over the wall of his Italian estate and snapped some pictures that ended up published in two magazines. The pictures were of a topless 13 year old girl changing in one of the guest rooms of the estate. The thirteen year old was the daughter of Clooney’s house guest. Photographers also snapped pictures of Clooney and new gal pal hottie, Sardinian TV presenter, Elisabetta Canalis sharing a few moments in his yard.

etonline:

ET has learned that George Clooney will file suit against two magazines and a photographer after photos of a 13-year-old guest in his Italian home were taken and published.
The actor released the following statement to ET:

“We’re suing two magazines AND a photographer. I don’t know about the law in the United States but in Italy it’s illegal for photographers to climb over my wall and to take long lens pictures of a 13-year-old girl in her bedroom. I draw the line of privacy at that.”
The shots were published in two magazines. Keep checking back here for the latest details on this story.

Clooney’s summer home is a 15 room estate in Laglio called Villa Oleandra on Lake Como which he bought for a little over seven million from John Kerry. I am sure the property has doubled if not tripled in value by now.
This little bungalow,*snicker* has been SO advertised over the years, it is not a secret where Clooney likes to stay and play while in Italy. It also happens to sit on a Lake Como where anyone is free to travel on. Just one trip to YouTube revealed SEVERAL videos of Clooney’s estate from several people.

Clooney also did an Italian Fiat commercial in the past, and was interviewed at his estate not only by Italian reporters when he was promoting Good Night and Good Luck, but also filmed an entire interview with Diane Sawyer for ABC.

So my question is, did Clooney really think that having such a publicized estate would not blow up in his face some day?  Now I am of course not defending the photogrpahers taking pictures at all, but his residence has been so HIGHLY publicized, you would think at the very least he could of invested in some curtains or some blinds for all the windows? Or if he does have them for all the windows, he should tell people using his estate to close them while  they are changing? If you look at his estate in the picture above, you can see many windows lack any privacy. It’s a shame that celebrities can not buy a home and enjoy it in private, but everyone knows unfortunately that  being hounded is part of the not so fun world of being in the lime light.

Supposedly, Clooney was thinking of selling this Summer estate, when the Mayor of Laglio had big plans to include building a parking lot complete with lifts and moving walkways across the street from the village, as well as a floating bridge that would pass close to Clooney’s villa, Clooney said no dice. Clooney was so opposed to the plans, he joined a committee with locals to have the plans haulted. In 2007, he was quoted as saying:

“I don’t want my presence here to be a pain to the other citizens, but if you ask me these proposals are in every probability just to exploit the fact that I live here,”
“I have no problems with plans that are welcomed by the rest of the community,” he continued. “I am more than happy to sell up and move elsewhere — this project is absurd.”

The mayor did listen, and stopped the plans and stated:

“I decided to give up the project,” adding that Clooney is one of the village’s most beloved residents. “To mister Clooney we gave the honorary citizenship. We all are proud of his choice to live here on Lake Como.”

So kudos for Clooney for keeping Laglio the quaint place that it remains, but with this new development, honorary citizen or not….Clooney may feel that it may be better to pack up and move to a more private area, away from prying eyes.

I do think that Clooney should have kept his estate purchase a little bit more secretive and not publicize it as much as he did. People have camped out around his property to try to catch a glimpse, and security has even resorted to throwing apples at people to shoo them away. Although even with beefed up security, I still don’t see how that would stop tourists or others from taking a camera with a powerful lense and snapping some pictures from a boat on the lake. People can take site seeing tours on the lake. And let’s not forget high power binoculars too. Besides the fact that Clooney has had many famous pals visiting him, and recently offered his estate to David Beckham to stay in. So the photo ops for some juicy and very sellable photos are endless.

If you go to the Clooney Unlmited website, (I never knew this website existed, and it’s a bit obsessive to say the least) you will see TONS of pictures of Clooney in Lake Como. Clooney on his motorcycle, Clooney on his boat, Clooney swimming, you name it. The Mayor of Laglio even declared that Clooney’s estate was off limits and that anyone who did not abide by the ordinance, would be fined:

And the decision of the First citizen to sign an urgent, “with immediate effect and until a new provision – we read – there is no parking near the entrance of Villa Oleandra and related appliances (inputs Villa Margherita and properties up the road 71 Old Queen) and the formation of Capannelli 2 or more people in the stretch of road from the Queen of Laglio pier to the end of the house owned by Margaret and parking in the square of Soldino place in front of villa Oleandra. The order has no value for citizens or residents in the town of Laglio. For offenders, a minimum fine of 19 euro will be the warning, but to repeat the amount could rise rapidly.

Well I guess that didn’t work.
AGAIN, maybe an easier solution would be to make sure that all blinds are kept closed.When Clooney buys his next estate, perhaps he should try to keep the purchase more on the DL and close the damn blinds!

By Golly These Things Really Do Work!

Look Edward! You Can Suck On That Rabbit Over There!

Ok all you Twilight freaks out there. Now you can have Bella and Edward to play with in your home!
Well, not exactly. Barbie has jumped on the Twilight movie merchandise band wagon and they have just introduced Edward Cullen and Bella Swan Barbie dolls. Edward Cullen is Barbie’s first vampire doll, complete with shiny skin. No mention if the doll actually has fangs or not. *snicker*

Twilight, which was released last year, was pretty much bashed by movie critics and people who read the book. But it was uber popular with the yougin’s. It raked in $383,489,834. world wide and won several awards. It won the Teen Choice Awards, Young Artist Awards, MTV Movie Awards and  Bravo’s A-List Awards. Granted all the awards lean towards the youngsters, but hey isn’t that were all the money is? Right Hanna Montana?
You can buy Twilight posters, clothing,a soundtrack,key chains,jewlery,t-shirts,back packs,messenger bags,pillow cases, etc… and now of course… Barbie dolls.

People reported:

If Twilight-inspired greeting cards and clothing weren’t enough to satisfy fan-pires’ desires, now they can add Edward
Cullen and Bella Swan Barbie Dolls to their collections! As a tribute to the on-screen lovers, Barbie has created a set of dolls modeled after Robert Pattinson’s Edward Cullen and Kristen Stewart’s Bella Swan. Featuring Robert’s strong jawline and vampire-glow and Kristen’s long brunette hair and innocent face, the dolls are almost an exact replica of the stars. Looks like Bella’s wish for immortality is finally coming true! The Twilight Barbies, $25 each, will be available starting November 1, 2009 — just in time for the release of New Moon.

Where did this mania begin? With a book by author Stephenie Meyer.The book became a best seller. Many people thought the book was ten times better than the movie. But I think that consensus was from a crowd that was a tad older and from those who read the book first before seeing the movie. And rightly so. The movie was just not that good.Young gals think Robert Pattison is the cat’s meow, and they didnt’ really care if the movie did not receive the critic’s nod.
With the movie sequel ”New Moon” coming out  soon, I am sure movie producers will have a bigger budget to work with this time around and the Twilight stars will be staying on the top of the heap once again in popularity polls among young teens.

Of course the mystique and sexiness of vampires has been around a long time. One of my all time favorite movies was simply called Dracula and starred a very young Frank Langella and seasoned actor, Laurence Olivier. (you just have to get over Langella’s late 70’s poofy hair in this movie) This was the first movie to bring sexy to Dracula in my opinion.

Langella was quoted as saying:

‘It was like being Elvis Presley for two years. It was like being a rock star”

The movie came out in 1979 and it was well filmed, frightening and steamy. The underground scenes in this movie were totally gruesome and the end of the movie was simply incredible. I won’t spoil it for you. If you haven’t seen it, walk don’t run and rent it. Or I guess it’s download or “click to order” these days. This movie also has one of my favorite lines in the whole world.
Dracula says:

“If at any time my company does not please you…you would have only yourself to blame”

Wow talk about cocky! You can see the original “fuzzy” trailer with Langella as Dracula on YouTube, along with other countless clips from the original movie. Keep in mind the trailer does not do the movie ANY justice at all.  And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Christopher Lee  in Dracula Has Risen From The Grave.  NOT at all sexy, but totally creep and the ending is classic.

I was always afraid of Dracula when I was young. The Dracula movies from way back were ultra creepy and I always had nightmares. From the early Bella Lugosi movie to Christopher Lee, they always scared the crap out of me. But then later in the 70’s, they made Dracula sexy. And in the same year decided to also give Dracula a sense of humor, in the movie Love At First Bite. That film’s tagline was: “Your favorite pain in the neck is about to bite your funny bone!” Egad, they would never get away with that corny stuff today.

But then Dracula took a second seat to just plain vampires. More edgier and creepier vampire movies sprouted up in the 1980’s like The Lost Boys which was about a gang of fighting teenage vampires. Sounds silly, but it was it was pretty freaking scary. Then on to Anne Rice’s Interview With A Vampire, which became a cult classic in 1994 and brought back creepy to vampires once again, and this movie even featured a child vampire. And let’s not forget the whole Goth culture of kids that sprouted up and really got into the whole vampire thang.

But today, producers thought that vampires needed an update. So in Twilight, vampires were not only going to high school, but also going to the prom. They frolicked around during the day in the meadow and perched in trees. But creatures going to highschool is not a new concept. Let’s not forget the corny movie Teen Wolf  which starred Michael J. Fox. He wasn’t a vampire, but a werewolf. And he was quite popular in school I might add. *snicker*

Twilight also put a bit of a spin on their leading vampire. Edward only drinks animal blood. That way his love interest Bella, would remain mortal and not be ”vampirized“. Perhaps Bella’s wish to become immortal will happen in the upcoming movie(s). After all, vampires are once again… back in. And back in a BIG way. With all the merchandising  that goes for movies these days, you can buy anything under the sun. (or should I say moon). I am really  surprised that Burger King didn’t come out with “Twilight Burgers” yet. I guess there’s always the next movie! 

So back to vampire Barbie dolls. I wonder if Edward comes with a mirror, some garlic, a cross and wooden stake?  Nah.. that’s the old vampire image. It’s more likely that if these Barbie dolls came with any accessories, they would probably come with a mini mp3 player and a skateboard.
After all Edward is forever 17 years old.

Yes Barbie has come a long way. Barbie Corvettes and Barbie Dream Houses are totally out, and Ken has been replaced by a hunky vampire.
And now I feel officially old.
What’s next ? Vampire baby dolls in Osh Kosh overalls? Oh wait….

No, Michael Jackson isn’t going to be buried on the moon. But it wouldn’t surprise me one iota and perhaps LA would agree to pay for that too. *snicker*
Now I promised myself that I wasn’t going to write anything about Michael Jackson, because he is in every tabloid, on every TV channel and everything else in between. I turn on the TV… Jackson, Jackson, Jackson, a newspaper… Jackson, a magazine…. Jackson, the Internet… Jackson. Look up at the moon… Jackson. Wait! Huh? 
Yes the Lunar Republic Society has renamed a crater on the moon in memory of Jackson. Ok, that’s freakin’ it!  The world has spun off it’s axis.
The crater was previously named Posidonius J.
From The Telegraph, a spokesman for the society said:

 ”The official designation of a Lunar crater is a singular honour bestowed upon only a select few luminaries.
“Among those receiving this rare tribute over the past century are Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, Sir Isaac Newton, Julius Caesar and Jules Verne.”

Evidently, the Lunar Republic Society felt that Jackson was a luminary and deserved the same honor as Columbus the explorer, Newton who discovered gravity and was a brilliant physicists, and da Vinci who painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. Hmmm..Their reasoning is a bit ridiculous, to say the least, but then again, do we really care who the Lunar Republic Society names craters after? I don’t. I really don’t have any plans on going to the moon any time soon. It’s the Society’s reasoning that makes me scratch my head. They can go ahead and name a crater after Steve Urkel for all I care, but please don’t lump him in the same group as da Vinci and Newton. Did I do that???

Now you can’t take away the fact that the world has made Michael Jackson into an icon, and that he will be missed by many. Certainly not by all… but many. Ok, we get it . But can we all move on now? PLEASE?
Everyone knows what happens from here. All the admiration in the tabloids will now turn to finger pointing, more scandal, people coming forward with new evidence, writing stories,books, movies, new clothing line, new music releases that were never heard, people wearing sparkly gloves again and then Ben and Jerry’s will name an ice cream after him and then I will move to the moon. 
Trust me, this Jackson mania is only the tip of the iceberg ladies and gents. It’s going to get a whole lot uglier from here.

So remember, the next time you are looking  up at the moon while eating your Ben and Jerry’s Marshmallow Mocha Moonwalk… there is a crater named Michael Joseph Jackson located in the Lake of Dreams, sitting right next to the 1,200 acre parcel that Jackson purchased for himself  previously  in 2005. *sighs* 
Take me back to the day, when I thought the moon was made of cheese.

If anyone tells me it is normal behavior for an actor or actress to ask a film crew to sign waivers stating that they promise not to ask them about their religion, then let me show you the door. Is it me? Or aren’t people supposed to be proud of their religion? Wouldn’t people be excited to tell you about it? Granted Scientology is certainly NOT a religion by any far stretch of the imagination, but obviously its members believe it is a religion.

Even though, oddly enough, Scientology con man and founder L. Ron Hubbard himself once stated that Scientology was in fact NOT a religion. Confused? So are its cult members.
Scientology thrives on keeping its members in the dark about its teachings. If you ask any Scientologist what Scientology is about, most will tell you it’s best for you to go buy their book Dianetics. Which is only one of many books written by sci fi hack Hubbard and also one of the biggest pieces of dribble in his collection of gobbledy goop “teachings” that will leave you scratching your head.

So getting back to Katie and her upcoming film, Who’s Afraid of the Dark? which she is filming in Australia, and  we reported on a short while back.
Apparently Katie is more afraid of being asked about Scientology, than she is the dark. So afraid in fact, that she (or most likely Tom) has asked the film crew for her new movie to sign agreements stating that they will not ask her anything about Scientology. And sure, one can argue, that Katie is at work, and does not want to talk about her private life, but to have people sign agreements? I think that is a little overkill. Maybe this has something to do with the recent story of four ex-Scientology top execs that have finally come forward and spoken out in a scathing three part series from the St. Petersburg Times.

But then again, maybe it’s the fact that Scientology has become a complete and utter embarrassment now.

I find this request of the film crew beyond telling, especially for the mere fact that Tom Cruise and many other celebutards have dumped SO much money into the cult, but yet he doesn’t want Katie or himself to be asked about it. Can it be because the last time he spoke about Scientology, it created such a circus of backlash that he still hasn’t recovered from it and probably never will?  Everyone remembers what happened when Tom spoke about Scientology in the past, it only made a giant mess for Scientology, and made him look like the arrogant, brainwashed buffoon that he is. Perhaps I am being glib.

Who Can Forget This Disastrous Interview?

You would think if Scientology was so fantastic, and had ANY proven data about their “tech” working and that “Clears” actually existed, then members would want to shout it from the mountain tops and share it with the world. Oh Scientology wants to share it with the world alright, but not for free. They are not willing to let you in on what Scientology is all about completely until you plunk down hundreds of thousands of dollars so you can start your “journey” up their many levels to the ”Bridge To Total Freedom“, which we at Glosslip call the “Bridge To Nowhere and Financial Ruin,” and also which is obviously nothing more than a money making pyramid scheme.

Not for nothing, but I would be REALLY pissed if I spent all that money, only to find out that the information they are selling for loads of money, I could learn for free on the internet. To make matters worse, to then find out (after a butt load of MORE money) that my “meat body” is covered with space alien body thetans that I have to audit away on an e-meter. See! I just saved ya a ton of cash there!

What I find more ironic or I should say moronic, is that L. Ron Hubbard stated “When in doubt, communication is the universal solvent“. This couldn’t be farther from the truth when it comes to the cult Scientology.  If this was the case, they why are members so tight lipped and forbidden to talk about the levels of Scientology? And why do members speak in the beyond dorky Scientlogese lingo in which they use acronyms that only other Scientologists can understand? Speaking Scientolgese is not about being part of an elite “church” of Homo Novis. (an elite race of their own, supierior over all others) It’s about being secretive and childish. But that’s what Scientology’s behavior is all about.

The Herald Sun reported Katie and Tom’s visit, the film crew signed statements and a little bit of shopping:

KATIE Holmes is about to start filming her new movie, Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark, but some questions from the crew will not be allowed.

The Batman Begins actor will begin filming on the closed Docklands set this week, as she, husband Tom Cruise and daughter Suri continue to explore Melbourne’s sights and stores.

One film source from the set said that each crew member had signed agreements saying they would not ask the superstar about her religion, Scientology.

The couple, who have braved chilly weather to explore the city and have happily chatted to locals, are notoriously private when it comes to questions or discussions about their religion.

Holmes has never publicly addressed converting to Scientology since she started dating Cruise in early 2005.

The famous family was entertained late on Friday night for Cruise’s 47th birthday celebration by singer Kate Ceberano, a fellow Scientologist who has known the couple for years.

Good friend and Crown casino owner James Packer also attended.

Cruise and Holmes are staying at the luxury Crown penthouse after searching Melbourne for appropriate accommodation, including some Toorak mansions.

Crown staff remain tight-lipped about the exact details of the star couple’s stay, most likely at the direction of Packer, who has taken a personal interest in their time in Australia.

But Holmes and Cruise have taken advantage of some of Crown’s shops, with Burberry reportedly closing its doors during the week to let Holmes go on a shopping spree.

Reports suggested the actor spent $50,000 on an alligator skin handbag, as part of an $85,000 bill, but staff would not discuss any details.

However, a spokesperson did confirm the store does stock an alligator skin handbag worth $50,000 – a favourite with wealthy VIP customers – which is locked away in a private safe.

Cruise was a vocal supporter in the Crown box at the Collingwood-Essendon game at the MCG on Friday night before his party, while his wife appeared less interested in what would be a foreign game.

The Valkyrie actor is no stranger to football – while married to Nicole Kidman in the 1990s, he went to see the Sydney Swans.

It is believed Cruise will not be in Melbourne for the entirety of his wife’s movie shoot.

SCIENTOLOGY:

Scientology is a controversial religion based on the theories of science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard.

The church claims Earth is a prison planet, home to the souls of millions of inter-galactic beings murdered by an evil alien overlord named Xenu.

French and German governments have begun actions to ban Scientology.

But wait, there’s more…

What is this world coming to when even Girl Scout Cookies aren’t safe?  In Washington, somebody has been passing fake twenties to get their cookie fix:

Trooper leader KC Gettings made the discovery Saturday while making change.

“I went to the bank, right inside Safeway, and she told me two of the $20s were fake,” said Gettings.

Gettings quickly left, returning with a counterfeit detecting pen. Its mark shows yellow on real U.S. currency, but the mark turns black on fake money.  She discovered an additional $60 in fake bills.

That brought the total to $100 Troop 40411 may make up themselves. Two of the bills even had the same serial number. Troop 40411 isn’t alone; others around Bremerton invested in the pen.

“Another troop has come to buy them because they noticed they were getting fake money,” said Gettings. She said they’re being told to stop accepting $20 bills unless they use the pen.

But who is passing the fake money is still a mystery. Silvia Swanson knows what she’d do if they try again.

“I’d call the cops, that’s what I’d do — call the cops,” said Swanson.

Listen, don’t even tick off the Girl Scouts.  They’ll tie you up using the skills learned when they earned their Knot Tying badge, and then they’d work real hard on getting their Butt-Whuppin’ badge, and they’ll finish off with earning their Oh No You Didn’t badge.

But here’s the kicker…what happened when the troop leader tried to report the crime?

Troop leader Gettings tried to report the crime, but the local police station is closed on weekends. She planned to file a report on Monday.

What in the world!  What kind of police station takes the weekend off?  Let me see if I can channel the criminal mindset here…”I think I’ll steal this car, but I’ll wait until Saturday morning when the popo are gone fishin’.  And nobody can even report it until Monday!  Ahahahaha!”

But the good news is that the little girls earned a Fraud badge for helping uncover the crime, which will go right beside their Entreupenur badge for selling the cookies to start with and their Super Cuteness badge for being so darn irresistible with their little boxes of crack cookies.  I tried to resist, but they drew me in yet again.  Darn you, Samoas, and your evil little friends Do-Si-Dos!  Darn you all to heck!

David Blaine, that master of pointless stunts, has done it again…he just finished a stint of hanging upside down in Central Park, where he claimed his latest stunt would see him hanging upside down for sixty hours, a not-to-be-imitated move which could cause blindness, among other nasty side effects:

Blaine stopped eating “about a week ago,” he told Ripa, so that he won’t have to go to the bathroom, other than using his catheter.

“I’ll need lots of liquids so I won’t have to go into organ failure again, which has happened twice,” he said.

Other medical difficulties: Swelling of the eyes and “there’s the possibility of blood hemorrhaging in the brain,” he told Ripa, along with going into an altered state due to sleep deprivation.

Doctors, who will be monitoring him throughout the feat, say the increase in blood pressure raises the risk of stroke or blindness, and gravity could restrict the blood flow to his lower extremities.

Now, when this stunt was first advertised, they made it pretty clear that there would be hanging upside down action for sixty hours, and no mention of anything other than hanging upside down for sixty hours:

For three days and two nights, illusionist David Blaine will enjoy an unusual view of New York City’s Central Park — one that can only be enjoyed from six stories in the air, while hanging upside down. [...]

Considering the various health hazards Blaine may face as he hangs in the position for about 60 hours, [Doctor Ronald] Ruden’s concern is warranted. He said the stunt will be all endurance — no smoke and mirrors. [...]

Blaine said he has prepared for the challenges of the 2½-day hang by losing some weight, performing special exercises and practicing dangling upside down.

But there are certain health considerations that simple conditioning cannot address. During his ordeal, Blaine will not eat or sleep. He will urinate through a catheter. And doctors not involved with the stunt say there are definite risks involved with his attempt.

“He’s practiced a lot, but I’m not sure how long he has done it,” Ruden said. “I’m pretty certain that the longest he has done it so far is around six hours.”

However, he has been roundly criticized for not staying upside down for a total of sixty hours, but for taking breaks about once an hour to stand on a raised platform, go pee and get a once-over by doctors:

Yesterday we (and others) pointed out that “magician” David Blaine is a big fat cheater, because his current death-defying stunt—hanging upside-down in Central Park for 60 hours—involves hourly ten-minute breaks. As one commenter put it, “I’m going to eat a thousand hard-boiled eggs, but I’m only going to eat one a day for a thousand days, because otherwise I might get sick.” Yes, that about sums it up.

For his part, David’s spokesguy says that there was no intent to stay upside down for the whole sixty hours:

Rubenstein Associates represents David Blaine and I personally have handled publicity for every one of his challenges. There has been no claim that David was going to hang upside down for 60 hours without a break. In all of his discussions with the media, he said he would have to occasionally get his head above his heart and lower his legs to correct circulation. About once every hour, David comes upright for about five minutes for a medical and equipment check. He has something to drink and he relieves himself, something even David can’t do upside down.

 And I point you to the above ABC News article, where it says:

Considering the various health hazards Blaine may face as he hangs in the position for about 60 hours….During his ordeal, Blaine will not eat or sleep. He will urinate through a catheter.

Hmm.  Sounds pretty much to me like he was supposed to hang upside down for sixty consecutive hours and pee through a tube.

Now, I’m not saying he should have hung upside down all that time just to satisfy us.  Personally, I think hanging upside down for that length of time is pretty dumb.  It’s obvious to anyone with half a brain that you could do yourself some serious harm by doing so…I’m not a doctor and even I figured that one out.  Of COURSE he should have taken breaks.  I’m not criticising him for taking breaks, but for billing his stunt as one thing and then doing another.  If he had figured out it was too dangerous to hang upside down for that long without breaks, then he should have said so to start with…it would not have made his stunt any less dangerous.  Or less stupid.

Oh, and the Dive of Death?  Pretty anti-climatic in and of itself…he jumped off the platform wearing a safety harness and then disappeared.

I guess I don’t see the point of these stunts.  Among other things, David has been encased in ice, lived underwater, squatted in a clear box hung over the Thames, held his breath underwater for seventeen minutes, and been buried alive in a glass coffin.  I guess if it’s your thing, more power to ya.  I just don’t get my kicks watching somebody try their best to kill themselves in the most imaginative way possible.

You learn something new every day!

In his documentary An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore made the decision to not use actual footage of collapsing ice shelves in Antartica, but instead to use special-effects shots created for the movie The Day After Tomorrow:

Al Gore’s “traveling global warming show,” the award-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” includes a long flyover shot of majestic Antarctic ice shelves. But this shot was first seen in the 2004 blockbuster “The Day After Tomorrow.” Sculpted from Styrofoam and later scanned into a computer, the ice shelf “flyover” looks real.

Karen Goulekas, the special effects supervisor for “The Day After Tomorrow” said the shot is a digital image. She was glad Al Gore used it in the documentary since “It is one hell of a shot.” Both movies use the shot to convincingly portray global warming, but it is left to the audience to decide if this created image can both entertain and educate us about our changing planet.

Wait, what was that again?  Styrofoam?

Well, it’s fake but accurate, you might say. “Just because Big Al manipulated my emotions with spectacular Hollywood fakery doesn’t mean we’re not ALL GONNA DIE FROM GLOBAL WARMING!!!” If you really believe that, there’s no point in arguing with you. But you’ll have to forgive me for laughing at the look on your face when you find out what the effects guys used to make all those “glaciers”:

Sculpted from Styrofoam and later scanned into a computer, the ice shelf “flyover” looks real.

That’s right, Styrofoam! You know, the evil, evil stuff that’s being banned all over the place because it’s destroying the environment. Wonder what the studio did with it when they were done with their dumb movie? Five hundred years from now, will the last few survivors of the human race stumble upon those beautifully sculpted glaciers, completely intact, in some forgotten landfill?

Uhm…mmmmkay.  I ain’t sayin’, I’m just sayin’.

hattip Deceiver

 

Have the folks over at Today gone off their rocker?  When I first heard this, I thought it had to be a joke…but no, it isn’t, the news is true:  Kathie Lee Gifford is joining Today:

Kathie Lee Gifford, right, the former longtime co-host of “Live With Regis and Kathie Lee,” is returning to morning television as the host of the fourth hour of NBC’s “Today” program, the network confirmed Monday. [...]

 The assignment, beginning April 7, will be Ms. Gifford’s third morning show stint: she reported for “Good Morning America” before becoming Mr. Philbin’s co-host on “Live” for 15 years. Ms. Gifford was introduced on “Today” by Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira, the hosts of the first two hours. “I’m 8 years older, 10 pounds heavier and a half-inch shorter, just in time for HD television,” Ms. Gifford joked. [...]

Ms. Gifford will join Hoda Kotb, her co-anchor for the fourth hour. Ann Curry and Al Roker, two members of the 7 to 9 a.m. team, will continue as co-hosts of the third hour but will no longer contribute to the fourth. Natalie Morales, who was named a co-anchor of the fourth hour last September, will become a host of the third hour.

Apparently the fourth hour of Today focuses more on “soft” news, things like fashion and makeup and women’s health and children and whatnot.  It’s news to me…I didn’t even know they had a fourth hour on Today.

Will anyone even tune in to see this woman?  Does anyone care?  Has there been a dearth of mindless, inane chatter in the morning shows that I was unaware of?  I know I had enough of Kathie Lee and her obnoxious voice back when she was with Regis.  The woman Never. Shuts. Up.  And while I’m at it, I’ll ask this…does anyone really watch four hours of Today?  I know when school is going on that’s what is playing in the background, but once I come back home the TV gets turned off.  It gets to be about eight o’clock and I’ve had all I can take.

Matt Lauer is okay and I hope he stays, but as far as the rest of the show…pfft.  Boring.  I can’t see how adding a blowhard like Kathie Lee doing segments on how to seasonally organize your kitchen towels and just what method of Botox application is ‘in’ this season is going to help matters any.

But, at least we can be thankful it isn’t Katie Couric!

Will this woman never stop?  She’s still convinced that she can be as big of a force on the silver screen as she was in music.  Madonna has her sights set on remaking the classic war-time movie Casablanca, and she wants to set it in modern-day Iraq.  Oh, and did I mention she wants the starring female lead for herself?

The singer, whose previous film career has been littered with critical and commercial turkeys, is also planning to take the lead role of Ilsa Lund, which originally made a star of Ingrid Bergman.

A source at a major Hollywood studio that was recently approached by the 49-year-old star said: “She is still determined to make it in the movies.

“She and her representatives have been touting around a project which is a remake of Casablanca. The reception has been lukewarm to say the least. No one can understand why she wants to redo what many people consider the greatest film of all time.” [...]

The source said: “Madonna is talking about taking the Ingrid Bergman role for herself, even though Bergman was in her 20s when she played Ilsa and Madonna is nearly 50.

“She wants to update the story and maybe set it in a modern war zone such as Iraq. There is no script yet.

“Madonna and her people are testing the waters to see if this is the right vehicle for her and if a major studio will get behind the project.”

Hmm…if you take the story out of Casablanca, and put it in Iraq, and modernize it, do you really have a remake, or just an entirely new film with a few plot similarities?  You could say that about any movie that’s been made in the last forty years.  Let’s hope that, for once, studios will show some restraint and turn Her Madgesty down flat. There’s no need to remake one of the most famous classic films of all time, unless it’s to try and show off the size of Madonna’s ego.

What is it with famous people, anyway?  They can’t be happy with the talents they have?  Madonna has conquered the music world, but she still feels this need to branch out into acting.  Well, I’ve seen her act, and trust me…Casablanca isn’t going to be remade any time soon.  Besides, no matter how much touch-up work she has done to her face, and no matter how much she exercises, and no matter how much Kabbalah water she drinks, ain’t no way she’s passing for a twenty-year-old, or even a thirty-year-old.

Don’t be too upset, Madonna…we’ll always have Shanghai Surprise.

We just aren’t sure what it is that’s broken.

For one thing, I’m not crazy about the animation.  Yes, I know it’s supposed to be anime, which I don’t have a problem with.  But this brings to mind comparisons with Aeon Flux, and that particular style just isn’t my thing.  If they’re trying to make Brit sexy in this vid, I don’t think they succeeded.  Anime Brit breaks into a building where a dual anime Brit is being held in some sort of cryogenic state, along the way kicking some anime butt.  But I don’t get it…she kisses the glass holding back her twin self?  She kills the baddie with what, her sex appeal?  He self-destructs because she broke his…ice?  Too confusing.  In short, they made anime Brit do all the things real-life Brit can’t (or won’t) do any more in videos.

So let’s move on to the song.  First, what is it with starting songs with spoken lyrics?  She already tried that in “Gimme More”.  Basically, the song is about, you guessed it, sex.  She spends the song breathily panting about how ”You ain’t gotta be scared/We’re grown now” and “Can you rise to the occasion/I’m patiently waiting…I can’t get enough/So let me get it up.”  It’s techno pop, the sort of thing clubs ought to eat up, but that will seem hopelessly dated in a few years (Rick Astley, anyone?).  Then again, this album wasn’t made to stand the test of time, but to earn some bucks.  In that, it’s probably succeeding.

It takes longer than a few weeks to animate a video, so maybe she just wasn’t capable, interested in, or together enough to make a video for this song.  Jive has to make their money back on this CD some way, so an animated video was undoubtedly the next best thing.

The song is very much about Britney taking control of a sexual encounter, and I wonder if it is a metaphor for her wishing to take control of her life.  I know the song was written, recorded, and produced a long time ago, but she also took steps a while back to cut herself off from everyone who had previously helped her and took “control” of her own life.  Or it could just be another generic song about sex.

It’s not horrible…it’s just not all that great.  Meh.  However, if you like it, more power to ya.

Break the Ice