Archive for December 12th, 2008
Hugh Jackman ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ to Host Oscars
Goodbye Jon Stewart, your satirical skewering of Hollywood’s elite has run its course.
It’s time to make way for Hugh Jackman, the Australian actor will host the 81st annual Academy Awards.
Jackman has usurped Matt Damon as People magazine’s ‘Sexiest Man Alive‘ and become a huge Hollywood star in recent years, following his casting as the comic book action hero Wolverine in the ‘X-Men’ movie series and starring with Nicole Kidman in the epic romance “Australia”.
The 2009 Academy Awards will be held in Hollywood on February 22, 2009.
Oscar nominations will be announced in January 22nd.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has confirmed that Hugh Jackman will host the 81st annual Academy Awards.
The academy said Friday that the 40-year-old Australian actor, recently named People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive,” will host the Oscars
Jackman stars in Baz Luhrmann’s romantic adventure film “Australia” with Nicole Kidman.
The actor first claimed fame as Wolverine in the “X-Men” movie franchise. His other movie credits include 2006’s “The Prestige” and 2004’s “Van Helsing.”
With new producers, a new set director and even a new music director, the Academy has been hinting at an all new look and feel for this year’s Oscars telecast on Feb. 22.
Tags: Culture | Movies | hollywood | Los Angeles | Oscars | Nicole Kidman | Film | Academy Awards | actor | Jon Stewart | x-men | wolverine | Hugh Jackman | australia movie | hugh jackman sexiest man alive | hugh jackman oscar host
Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber Sold for $240,000 at Auction
Fans love their movie swag, especially when it comes to Star Wars.
And they’re willing to pay big bucks for their piece of Hollywood memorabilia.
The original lightsaber used by Luke Skywalker in the first two original Star Wars films has been auctioned for $240,000.
Also on the auction block were C-3PO’s helmet, which sold for $120,000.
These prices seem astronomical to me.
How much would you pay for a piece of movie history?
Luke Skywalker’s light saber has been on Star Wars fans’ Christmas lists for more than 30 years.
On Thursday, one fan spent $240,000 to get the real thing: the prop that Mark Hamill used in the first two movies in the original “Star Wars” trilogy.
The light saber highlighted several Hollywood memorabilia sold at an auction in Los Angeles by Profiles in History. The auction house said it sold about $3.5 million in memorabilia.
The droid helmet worn by Anthony Daniels to play C-3PO sold for $120,000, and the costume Marlon Brando wore in the “Superman” movie went for $72,000.
The first British edition of “You Only Live Twice” inscribed by Ian Fleming sold for $84,000. Roald Dahl’s handwritten screenplay for the film of the same title sold for $96,000.
Tags: New York | Culture | Movies | hollywood | star wars | United States | auction | lightsaber | Ian Fleming | superman | c3po | Luke Skywalker | Marlon Brando | luke skywalker lightsaber | hollywood memorabilia
Bettie Page, Notorious Pinup Model, Dies at 85
Bettie Page has died in Los Angeles at the age of 85.
See additional NowPublic coverage on this story:
1950s Pinup Model Bettie Page Dies in La at 85
Pinup Queen Bettie Page Dies at Age 85
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became infamous for her “fetish modeling and pin-up photos” in in the 1950s.
She was one of Playboy magazine’s “earliest Playmates of the Month”.
In the 1960s, Page concluded her modeling career and volunteered with a number of Christian organizations and began work for Rev. Billy Graham in Nashville, Tennessee.
She subsequently moved to California where she continued to live until her death.
Page suffered a heart attack in early December 2008 that put her in a coma — and she had been on life support until her family agreed to discontinue it.
Bettie Page, the 1950s secretary-turned-model whose controversial photographs in skimpy attire or none at all helped set the stage for the 1960s sexual revolution, died Thursday. She was 85.
Page was placed on life support last week after suffering a heart attack in Los Angeles and never regained consciousness, said her agent, Mark Roesler. He said he and Page’s family agreed to remove life support. Before the heart attack, Page had been hospitalized for three weeks with pneumonia.
Tags: Culture | Entertainment | hollywood | Los Angeles | Celebrity | United States | Model | pinup | Bettie Page | betti page | bettie page dies | gretchen mol | notorious bettie page
Snl’s Andy Samberg Gets T-Pain, Timberlake for New Album
Photos
Andy Samberg (and writer pal)
uploaded by brianvan
Andy Samberg has come a long way since “Lazy Sunday“. That parody rap clip was the first video that I witnessed go viral and, incidentally, my introduction to a then little-known video sharing site called YouTube.
It’s perhaps ironic, then, that the video is no longer available on YouTube — and not streamable in Canada on the official NBC site, on Hulu, or on any other video sharing site that I could find.
Videos
Nevertheless, in the years since that seminal “Chronic-what!?-cles of Narnia” cry — Samberg and his cohort have collaborated on an array of hit videos and hilarious parodies for Saturday Night Live and TheLonelyIsland.com.
And now, following in the folky footsteps of Flight of the Conchords, Samberg & Co. have formed the musical group Lonely Island and they will be releasing their first album, Incredibad, in early 2009.
Want a preview? Have a listen.
To prove not only their comedic greatness, but also their musical legitimacy they’ve enlisted some fun collaborators, including: Justin Timberlake, T-Pain, Norah Jones, E-40, Julian Casablancas, and, er, Jack Black.
It takes a lot of, um, guts, to name your first single “Ji– in My Pants.” But that’s the plan for the unabashedly raunchy debut album from Lonely Island, the three-man musical wrecking crew led by “Saturday Night Live” It Boy Andy Samberg and his writing buddies, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. The disc, Incredibad, is due out on February 10 and will feature some help from an impressive roster of heavy hitters, including T-Pain, Norah Jones, Jack Black, E-40, the Strokes’ singer Julian Casablancas and, of course, Justin Timberlake.
With a mix of songs made famous in digital shorts on “SNL” over the years — including the Emmy-winning Timberlake collaboration “Di– in a Box,” as well as “Lazy Sunday” (co-starring Chris Parnell) and the Natalie Portman-assisted “Natalie Raps” — the album is meant to make you laugh, but Samberg said he wouldn’t mind if you nod your head to it a bit too.
Tags: New York | Culture | Music | TV | hollywood | Celebrity | television | United States | NBC | snl | album | Saturday Night Live | jack black | Timberlake | Natalie Portman | norah jones | Samberg | T-Pain | andy samberg | lonely island | flight of the conchords | incredibad | jizz in my pants | julian casablancas | lazy sunday
Snl’s Andy Samberg Gets T-Pain, Timberlake for New Album
Andy Samberg has come a long way since “Lazy Sunday“. That parody rap clip was the first video that I witnessed go viral and, incidentally, my introduction to a then little-known video sharing site called YouTube.
It’s perhaps ironic, then, that the video is no longer available on YouTube — and not streamable in Canada on the official NBC site, on Hulu, or on any other video sharing site that I could find.
Nevertheless, in the years since that seminal “Chronic-what!?-cles of Narnia” cry — Samberg and his cohort have collaborated on an array of hit videos and hilarious parodies for Saturday Night Live and TheLonelyIsland.com.
And now, following in the folky footsteps of Flight of the Conchords, Samberg & Co. have formed the musical group Lonely Island and they will be releasing their first album, Incredibad, in early 2009.
To prove not only their comedic greatness, but also their musical legitimacy they’ve enlisted some fun collaborators, including: Justin Timberlake, T-Pain, Norah Jones, E-40, Julian Casablancas, and, er, Jack Black.
Want a preview? Have a listen.
It takes a lot of, um, guts, to name your first single “Ji– in My Pants.” But that’s the plan for the unabashedly raunchy debut album from Lonely Island, the three-man musical wrecking crew led by “Saturday Night Live” It Boy Andy Samberg and his writing buddies, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. The disc, Incredibad, is due out on February 10 and will feature some help from an impressive roster of heavy hitters, including T-Pain, Norah Jones, Jack Black, E-40, the Strokes’ singer Julian Casablancas and, of course, Justin Timberlake.
With a mix of songs made famous in digital shorts on “SNL” over the years — including the Emmy-winning Timberlake collaboration “Di– in a Box,” as well as “Lazy Sunday” (co-starring Chris Parnell) and the Natalie Portman-assisted “Natalie Raps” — the album is meant to make you laugh, but Samberg said he wouldn’t mind if you nod your head to it a bit too.
Tags: New York | Culture | Music | TV | hollywood | Celebrity | television | United States | NBC | snl | album | Saturday Night Live | jack black | Timberlake | Natalie Portman | norah jones | Samberg | T-Pain | andy samberg | lonely island | flight of the conchords | incredibad | jizz in my pants | julian casablancas | lazy sunday
