Archive for October 17th, 2008
Nelly Furtado Reveals That She’s Already Married
Who knew that Nelly Furtado secretly got married this summer to Demacio “Demo” Castellon?
We certainly didn’t, that is, until we picked up on the news that Furtado revealed to ET Canada on Friday: she’s been married since last July – and she’s loving every minute of it.
Pop star Nelly Furtado has confessed she’s a married woman — the singer secretly wed fiance Demacio “Demo” Castellon over the summer.
The singer, 29, made the revelation during an interview on “Entertainment Tonight Canada,” which is due to air in the country on Friday night.
And Furtado admits she is enjoying every minute of being Mrs. Castellon.
She says, “We got married July 19th. I love it. It’s a nice phase of my life.
Tags: Canada | Culture | Singer | Nelly Furtado | Demo Castellon | nelly furtado married | nelly furrtado marriage | Demacio Castellon
Naked Women, Kanye West, and an Album of AutoTune
Kanye West has got a knack for provocation.
But this time he’s not storming stages, holding up fashion shows, or punching paparazzi.
No, this time it’s all about nudity.
With the upcoming November release of his new album 808s & Heartbreak already being anticipated in blogospheric proportions, the shutter glasses-clad rapper saw fit to host a listening party for the album that was decidedly raunchy.
The party featured more than 35 naked models standing amidst a bunch of music industry execs.
Was this inspired and clever? Or boring and redundant?
at the Ace Gallery in Hollywood, a warehouse-like space where a few hundred music industry types were herded up a ramp and confronted with about 35 motionless and completely naked (except for their high heels) ladies. But there was nothing to say to them, because we were all there to hear the world premiere of Kanye West’s forthcoming 808s & Heartbreak, with the stationary models as a sort of accompanying art installation, as imagined by Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft.
So what did Kanye have these nude women to do during the “party”?
Stand around for most of it. And then, a while later, sit down.
The women stood motionless as most of the album played out, backlit by a large, glowing screen controlled by a visual DJ in the corner. The crowd — which included hip-hop luminaries like Rick Ross and Will.i.am — gathered around the dimly lit gals in a semi-circle, as guards paced an invisible perimeter to make sure no one tried to engage the models.
But couldn’t this nude listening session be overly intellectualized and re-framed as an anti-establishment work of contemporary performance art?
Ah, why not…
West finally appeared after the album had run through in its entirety and offered some explanations. “I’ve always been a fan of Vanessa’s work and its strong imagery,” he told the crowd, explaining that Beecroft had only had a week to put the event together. “I liked the idea of nudity, because… in society, they tell us to wear clothes at a certain point… Crazy is anyone who breaks from the norm.”
Unfortunately, once the models are gone and the album is left to its own naked sonics, Kanye’s break from the norm is just an album’s worth of emo-rap filtered through the most normatively generic of pop music’s latest clichés: the ubiquitous Auto-Tune — a ProTools plug-in so ruthlessly annoying that it has convinced everyone from T-Pain to Lil Wayne that they can actually sing.
And Kanye’s made an entire album with it.
So, I’ll leave it to the millions of Yeezy fans out there to rip, burn, and remix this record into something praise-and-purchase-worthy but, for me, Kanye’s continually contrived attempts at originality are simply overwrought and uninspired.
And the purpose of the naked models was what again?
Tags: Culture | Music | Entertainment | hollywood | Celebrity | rapper | Kanye West | kanye west nude listening party | kanye 808s and heartbreak | nude models | kanye naked women
Tina Fey Shares Secrets of Palin Impression
Claiming that Sarah Palin has “a voice that anybody can do”, occasional Palin-parodist Tina Fey has finally shared the secret of her successful imitation.
“It’s a little bit `Fargo,’ it’s a little bit Reese Witherspoon in `Election,’” said Fey, adding she also borrowed the Midwestern accent of her friend Paula’s grandma, “a sweet, sweet old lady from Joliet, Ill. She would always say, `Ohhhh, this and that and stuff like that!’”
Tags: New York | Culture | comedy | snl | Saturday Night Live | imitation | Tina Fey | sarah palin impression | sarah palin voice
‘Four Tops’ Singer Levi Stubbs Dies at 72
Legendary Four Tops vocalist Levi Stubbs has died at the age of 72.
Motown legend and Four Tops lead singer Levi Stubbs passed away in his home today (October 17) following a series of illnesses, according to Billboard.com. He was 72.
Stubbs and the Four Tops were responsible for some of the most enduring songs in pop and R&B history, from “Baby I Need Your Loving” to “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)” to “Reach Out I’ll Be There”. Over their storied career, the Tops sold more than 50 million records and scored 45 chart hits, maintaining their original lineup of Stubbs, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, and Lawrence Payton for more than 40 years.
Stubbs continued regularly performing with the group until 2000, when illness forced him off the road.
Tags: Culture | Music | United States | Singer | motown | levi stubbs dies | levi stubbs four tops | levi stubbs | four tops
UK TV Host in Harassment Claim
NowPublic will be updating this story with more information.
Sky News presenter Kay Burley has made an allegation of harassment against Barry George, the man acquitted of Jill Dando’s murder, the BBC understands.
It follows a visit by Mr George to Ms Burley’s workplace in west London.
A Scotland Yard spokeswoman confirmed a woman had made an allegation of harassment and it was investigating.
A spokesman for Mr George, 48, of west London, said he denied harassing Ms Burley, 47, and that he was “mystified” by the allegations.
Ms Burley has been off work since Tuesday. A Sky spokesman said she hoped to return to work soon.
Tags: Culture | London | UK | harassment | kay burley | barry george
Katie Holmes Does Broadway
Famed Scientologist, Suri-baby mama, Tom Cruise accessory, and occasional actress, Katie Holmes, is taking on Broadway.
After debuting her protest and praise-worthy preview performance last month, Holmes makes it official this week, when this revival of the Arthur Miller classic All My Sons opens in New York City.
The latest Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons opened last night! It stars John Lithgow and Patrick Wilson, who some are saying are quite good, Oscar winner Dianne Wiest, maybe a bit off, and some girl named Katie Holmes. As she’s a newcomer to the Broadway scene, and is apparently married to some sort of mega moviestar turned Scientologist crazy named “Tom Cruise,” let’s take a moment to at look the top critics’ takes on this exciting new starlet’s big bow.
[...] The Daily News‘ Joe Dziemianowicz is a little more positive:
Holmes, a TV and film vet, makes a fine Broadway debut. Her rather grand speech pattern takes getting used to, but she seems comfortable and adds a fitting glint of glamour. Dancing with Lithgow, kissing Wilson, she makes you forget about her being Mrs. Tom Cruise. At times, however, Holmes is strangely shrill.
Yes, “strangely shrill” sounds about right.
Tags: New York | Culture | broadway | Theatre | Tom Cruise | Katie Holmes | Arthur Miller | all my sons
Sarah Palin To Appear On SNL This Weekend
Following Tina Fey’s spot-on, popular Palin parodies in recent episodes of SNL, Governor Sarah Palin has confirmed that she will appear on Saturday Night Live this weekend.
Palin will be featured in an episode hosted by actor Josh Brolin who, himself, is taking on a noted political personality in his latest role, portraying President George W. Bush in Oliver’s Stone’s new Bush biopic ‘W’.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is set to appear on this week’s broadcast of “Saturday Night Live,” the entertainment show that has featured a popular parody of the Alaska governor by former cast member Tina Fey.
Tags: Culture | United States | snl | Saturday Night Live | Tina Fey | Palin | Sarah Palin
‘Masters of the Universe’ Movie Won’t Be Made
He-Man fans don’t despair too much, the dream of a redux, live-action Masters of the Universe movie may one day be realized — it just won’t be this time around.
Despite all of the action figures, the four different television series, the Dolph Lundren-starring, masterful 1987 pre-cursor flick, and even despite enlisting the formidable talents of director John Woo for the project, the planned Masters movie remake, Grayskull, has been dropped by Warner Bros.
In a crushing setback for Hollywood’s War on Originality, Warner Bros. has apparently decided not to follow through on plans for a Masters of the Universe movie. After thoughtful consideration, studio executives just decided that a film version of the eighties cartoon would not be a very good idea. This is the first time that anything like this has ever happened. [Latino Review via /Film]
Tags: New York | Culture | hollywood | movie | He-Man | warner brothers | masters of the universe
Oliver Stone’s ‘W’ Biopic Released
Director Oliver Stone is at it again, with his latest politically-charged biopic, W, that takes on the legacy, life, and lineage of one George W. Bush.
Democrat or Republican, you may not be used to pondering the following about the American president. How many fraternity names did George W. Bush remember during a drunken hazing ritual at Yale? How did a baseball-obsessed screw-up find God and become our leader? How did he and Vice President Cheney convince a cabinet and country to invade Iraq? And, just for fun, does the 43rd president of the United States wear boxers or briefs?
Prepare yourself to face these questions and more if you see Oliver Stone’s “W.,” which was shot in Shreveport and northwest Louisiana.
The film opened in theatres Thursday and aims its satirical barbs squarely at the man in question:
“W.” MAY sound like the story of the initial that rocked the world, but it turns out to be the tale of a mouse that roared. Director Oliver Stone and writer Stanley Weiser’s unexpected take on the life and times of our 43rd president will surprise a lot of people, especially those not used to seeing the words “Oliver Stone” and “carefully modulated” in the same sentence.
Yes, “W.” is definitely satiric in intent and execution, and it has no love for the actions and policies of the man who has led, as the film’s advertising puts it, “a life misunderestimated.”
Tags: Culture | Entertainment | W | movie | United States | dubya | GEORGE W BUSH | Oliver Stone
Grammy Nominations To Air in Primetime
The producers of the annual Grammy Awards are looking to spice things up this year by making more of a spectacle out of the nomination announcements.
Instead of simply hiring a couple of well-known faces to read out the list of nominees, this year the nominees for the awards will be included in a primetime television special, complete with performances by past winners.
Nominees will be announced in Los Angeles on December 3rd.
This seems like an obvious ploy to boost ratings but I doubt that audiences will be particularly interested in an nomination gala — why not save the primetime spot for the actual awards?
The Grammy Awards, plagued with declining ratings, are trying to liven interest in the annual gala by moving the nomination announcement to primetime.
Usually the nominees for the annual U.S. music awards are named by a couple of celebrities — last year it was Justin Timberlake and Mary J. Blige — during the morning news shows.
The 2008 nomination announcement, scheduled for Dec. 3, will be a primetime special with performances by past Grammy winners.
The U.S. Recording Academy announced the new format Thursday, but did not name any of the performers.
Tags: Culture | Los Angeles | grammy awards | grammy nominations
