Watching New Celebs

The Toddler, despite being lubed up with copious amounts of baby vaporub, is still harboring some nasty nastiness of germ-filled doom (DOOM! DOOM!). As such, not much time to blog today (nor probably tomorrow, though there will be somethingtomorrow, just as there is today). Instead, I bring you a recommendation: read the most recent Rolling Stone. Seriously, Panic!At the Disco is on the cover, there’s a special Grammy insert, and local band the Shins (they live in Portland, Oregon) has a feature, too.

And so we aren’t devoid of multimedia content again today, I bring you this:

When I was younger, CD World, a local music store, used to have these commercials advertising Tuesday as new release day. I can’t remember the exact content, but the concept stuck with me: Tuesday is a big day in the music world.

Today’s big release (as previously mentioned): Katharine McPhee’s self-titled debut. Check out Billboard’s New Release page for the many other albums released today.

Katharine McPhee, American Idol winners, Tuesday, new releases

The Screen Actors Guild Awards were last night. I don’t have cable because I’m a broke graduate student. It’s ironic, though, because I’m in the media studies department. Anywho, three of my faves won last night!

Abigail Breslin and the cast of Little Miss Sunshine.

America Ferrera for her role as Betty in Ugly Betty

And Jennifer Hudson for her role as Effie White in Dreamgirls.

All photos courtesy wireimage

America Ferrera, Abigail Breslin, Jennifer Hudson, Ugly Betty, Little Miss Sunshine, Dreamgirls, Screen Actors Guild Awards

So there’s this kid, Dominic Scott Kay. He was the voice of Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web (I’m assuming the new version with Dakota Fanning). He’s 10. Somehow, when he was NINE, he got Kevin Bacon to star in a short film that Kay directed, a film based on Kay’s real-life experience trying to nurse an injured dog back to health. Did I mention he’s TEN YEARS OLD? Yeah. So the woman who put up $11,000 as a “charitable contribution” is SUING HIM for creative control over the film. I wish I were joking. Her attorney says it’s a dispute between the woman and Kay’s mother, but really I think she’s just being bitchy. Seriously. He’s TEN. Just because you have some weird inferiority complex because a ten year old directed a film starring Mr. 6° of Separation Himself doesn’t mean you can take said ten year old to court. Gah, and $11,000, in Hollywood terms, isn’t even that much money. I mean, I wouldn’t turn it down if someone offered it to me, but it wouldn’t cover 1/3 of my student loans, much less pay for Kevin-freaking-BACON to star in a film I made (If I made films, which I don’t. Maybe I should. I mean, Kevin Bacon, come on!). Petty BS, that’s what this is, and I’ll stay on top of this story & bring updates as I find them.

Photo Courtesy Wireimage

Dominic Scott Kay, Charlotte’s Web, Saving Angelo, Kevin Bacon

You may have missed the news, Dakota Fanning’s most recent movie, Hounddog is getting some flack from the press. Apparently, there’s a five-minute-long rape scene and the movie’s getting a lot of criticism for it. I haven’t seen it (hard to get to the theatre with a toddler and no regular babysitter), so I can’t speak to the necessity of it, but Fanning seems to be dealing with it in an incredibly mature way. Additionally, I’ve found news articles that say the scene contains no nudity or simulated sex, and that those who are calling for the movie to be censored are religious groups. Now, I don’t want to make commentary on religion or gratuity in film, but I do want to commend Miss Fanning for handling the criticism with grace and dignity.

Photo courtesy wireimage

Dakota Fanning, Hounddog

Wow, what a crazy insane-o day I’ve had. Sorry the post is so late, folks, but The Toddler and the Grad School and the Work Stuff pre-empted blogging until now, as The Mister prepares dinner and The Toddler occupies himself with some goat cheese squares.

Now that’s out of the way, I want to talk about an incredibly talented Canadian. Canadians are, in my experience, some of the funniest, nicest, most talented people evar, Alanis Morrisette notwithstanding. Today’s Canadian is Jesse Dangerously (blog here). He’s a rapper in Halifax and he’s awesome. He’s agreed to be interviewed, so as soon as I figure out what format I want it to be in (video podcast would be awesome. I’m in the process of figuring out if I can record incoming video. Any A/V nerds* wanna help me out?), that’ll be here. For today, I just want to turn y’all on to his music and his radio show on the CBC. I’m not usually a hip-hop fan, but this guy is awesome. Videos are also on youtube.

Photo courtesy Jesse Dangerously

*nerd is, of course, used in the most admiring way, of course. I love nerds, am a nerd, married a nerd, spawned a nerdlet-in-training. Without nerds, I wouldn’t have a blog. Nerds=<3

Jesse Dangerously, Canadian musicians, hip hop, smart music

Went to a friend’s house last night for sushi & a movie. The Mister & our friend picked up Little Miss Sunshine on their way home from getting miso soup supplies, and MAN was that a good choice! Abigail Breslin, who plays the seven-year-old daughter of a terribly dysfunctional family, has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. I’m not entirely sure, but I think this makes her the youngest person to be nominated for that award (she’s 10). Wonderfully talented, that girl, and I hope she makes it really really big.

Photo courtesy wireimage.

Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine, Oscar Nominees, Academy Awards

As I’ve said before, I don’t watch American Idol, but I’ve seen the reruns of the clip of some gorgeous brunette sitting on the floor belting out the most heartbreaking version of “Somewhere over the Rainbow” I have ever heard. That young woman is Katharine McPhee, and her debut album is slated to be released a week from tomorrow (that’s January 30 for people unwilling to do math). Lyndsey Parker criticizes McPhee (scroll down, it’s the last paragraph in that column) for sexing up her image, but seriously who the hell does Parker think she is for saying something like that? If she wants wholesome entertainment, I’m not sure where she can turn, but the pop scene ain’t it, hasn’t been it for years, if it ever was. As proved by Paris Hilton’s musical bellyflop*, people won’t buy your albums just because they want to see you naked. I wish McPhee the best of luck, and hope she gets just as much success as Kelly Clarkson.

photo courtesy wireimage

Katharine McPhee, American Idol, American Idol winners, pop music, new releases

*Confession of the day: the only song I heard from her album was the one they played incessantly on the radio, and I liked it

YOU have the opportunity to select the person who will sing with Justin Timberlake at the Grammys. Go to Yahoo’s “My Grammy Moment” page and watch the 5 audition videos. The one I voted for in the top 12 didn’t make it, so I voted for a new gal (all 5 demi-finalists are female) and you can, too, until February 3. Then it’s a top 3 contest, and I’ll remind y’all to vote again

L-R: Africa Miranda, Brenda Radney, Jessica James, Jillian Gaudiou, and Robyn Troup. One of them will get to share a stage with one of the hottest men in show business (we’ll forgive him for shtupping Brit-Brit; that was years ago and he was young).

I don’t watch auto racing. I’ve never seen the appeal, but NASCAR is insanely popular so there must be something to it. Within the world of competitive racing is a subset niche called funny car drag racing. I dated a guy in high school who was involved with drag racing and I have the feeling that Ashley Force is going to do a lot to make the sport even more popular.

Her father says that while he is responsible for training her with the best of the best, her calm demeanor and model-good looks are inherited from her mother. You can read a longer article at the El Paso Times website here.

Ashley Force, NHRA, funny car racing, strong women making inroads

Today’s entry is late because The Mister had a scary event this morning that landed him at the doctor’s office. All is well now and I bring you multimedia funtimes for your patience.

So I was perusing the Billboard website today, and noticed an article about Gym Class Heroes, this new hip-hop band from upstate New York. Apparently they made it big through a stroke of luck and an acquaintanceship with Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz

A number of their videos are available on YouTube, but my favorite is a witty contemporary love song called “New Friend Request.”

Check them out. Get the album, see a show, let me know what you think.

Gym Class Heroes, hip hop artists, music

Remember that part in Jersey Girl where Ben Affleck’s daughter wants to perform a scene from a musical for her school’s talent show and the musical she picks is Sweeney Todd and it’s all greusome and macabre? Come on, I know that 12 of you saw that movie, someone else has to remember…anywho, everyone’s* favorite director of the macabre, Tim Burton, is directing the film adaptation. Joining Burton favorites Jonny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter** is British newcomer Jayne Wisener. Nineteen years old, Jayne studies acting at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama; her appearance with Depp and Carter will be her big screen debut, and if she plays her cards right I predict she’ll be dubbed the next “it girl” within three months of the movie’s release.

*By everyone, I mean Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride fans, of course.

**You know how Quentin Tarantino has said that Uma Thurman is his muse? I get the feeling that Burton feels the same way about Carter.

Jayne Wisener, Jonny Depp, Tim Burton, Sweeney Todd, movies

Alas and alack, I did not watch the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards show. Instead, I was watching 24 with The Mister, who has a bit of a mancrush on ol’ Keef. We only have one television (and it’s in the living room!), so I made do with Cleolinda’s liveblogging. There are a few awards that made me verreh verreh happy. In no particular order:

America Ferrera and the Ugly Betty cast. Are you watching Ugly Betty? You should be! Thursdays at 8 on ABC (as always, check your local listings).

Jennifer Hudson for Dream Girls. I don’t watch American Idol. I can’t stand reality television. I didn’t know who she was, or that Simon hated her, or that apparently the American voters don’t know talent when it hits them square in the eardrum. In any case, she has a very bright future ahead of her and I hope she’s laughing all the way to the bank.

Photos courtesy the Hollywood Foreign Press Association

America Ferrera, Ugly Betty, Jennifer Hudson, Golden Globe winners, ABC tv shows, Dream Girls

The mister and I were watching The Break-Up the other night, and when Jennifer Aniston’s character goes to work, we were like “Hey isn’t that…the dude…the dude from the Apple commercials?” Sure enough, it was Justing Long, who plays the Mac in Apple’s “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” commercials. Given the close-knit nature of Vince Vaughn, John Favreau, et. al., and his award for “Breakthrough Comedic Actor” presented by Hollywood Life magazine, he might have just secured himself a long-running career in comedy.

Photo courtesy WireImage

Justin Long, Apple commercials, movie stars, comedic actors

Are you watching Heroes? If not, you should be! Mondays at 9 p.m. on NBC (check your local listings, just to be sure that’s when it’s on where you are).

Winner of “Favorite New TV Drama” at the People’s Choice Awards, the cast of Heroes is chock-full of awesome new talent. Masi Oka (who’s been around for a while, but is only now getting the recognition he deserves) as Hiro Nakamura is my favorite, but Ali Larter (remember her from Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back?) is awesome, too. Hayden Panettiere is my husband’s favorite, and now finding her myspace page my toddler son is dancing to the music. She might get her own entry here in the next few days, because I didn’t know until now that she’s been signed to Hollywood Records. Here’s to hoping she avoids the Lohan-Hilton-Spears vortex of nastay.

Photo Courtesy Wireimage

Heroes, NBC shows, television, Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, People’s Choice Awards