Porn Industry wants government bailout

This news item has got to be the biggest “are you kidding me?” of the year so far. Porn magnates Larry Flynt and Girls Gone Wild King Joe Francis are lobbying Washington for a $5 billion porn bailout. I’ll give you a few moments to pick your jaw up off the floor before you continue.

With me again? Okay. Are you ready for these awesome verbal nuggets from the two porn peddlers? "With all this economic misery and people losing all that money, sex is the farthest thing from their mind," Flynt says. "It's time for Congress to rejuvenate the sexual appetite of America."

Francis sees his industry like the big three automakers, only BIGGER: "Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation's most important businesses we feel we deserve the same consideration."

Wow. This is beyond amusing. Talk about a stripped down economy! It really IS hard out there for a pimp.

First link is a story from the Huffington Post, but DO NOT miss the second link, which is video from a hilarious chat on the subject with Keith Olbermann and Michael Musto. We happened to catch it live last night on MSNBC and I was able to track it down for you.

Porn industry gone limp

Must see video discussing the porn bailout

Anne Hathaway challenges Obama

Keeping up with the government theme, we have Anne Hathaway, who showed up on the red carpet at the Palm Springs Film Festival yesterday and had some words for Barack Obama. Hathaway is upset with the president elect for his choice of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his Presidential inauguration, which is scheduled to take place on January 20. Warren is the founder and evangelical leader of the Saddleback church, and has been very vocal about his opposition to the gay community.

"I expect him to explain that choice of Rick Warren. I don't get it. All my friends and I were trying to figure it out, but we just can't. So I'd love that."

I agree with Hathaway on this one, as do most people. But sometimes it bothers me when Hollywood stars try to use their power to influence politics. It will never stop happening, but it’s often annoying. Don’t expect Obama to change his mind because of little ol’ Annie, despite the fact that they’re good buddies.

Hathaway vs. Obama

Cindy Crawford bans Hannah Montana

Watching Hannah Montana can be hazardous to your children’s behaviour, at least according to supermodel and supermom Cindy Crawford. Crawford tells the UK’s Daily Star, "I love Hannah Montana, but she (daughter) learns to be sassy from that show. I'll say to her, 'I don't let anyone talk to me like that. I'll certainly not take it from a seven year old, in my own house.'"

Just wait until Miley goes through her Britney Spears phase – then we’ll see even more parents pull Hannah Montana from their kids’ TV schedule. C’mon, you just KNOW that something like that is going to happen. Either that, or she’ll pull a Jamie Lynn and get pregnant. Or will she surprise everyone and just go on and lead a normal life? Nah.

No love for Miley from former supermodel

Kanye proud of himself, his art

Kanye West’s latest CD, 808s and Heartbreak, has moved up on the Billboard album charts from #5 to #3 this week. To celebrate, Kanye has taken to his blog to shout out to the world how proud he is:

THANKS HYPEBEAST FOR POSTING THIS... AT LEAST SOMEBODY SAW IT LOL! AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PIC THE BILLBOARD IS PLACED THE OPPOSITE THE FLOW OF DRIVING TRAFFIC. WE GOING TO THE OFFICE AND WE GONNA GET MORE BILLBOARDS!!! MORE PRESENCE!!! KAWS T'S!!!!!!!!!!! WE SOLD 72,000 LAST WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YO PEREZ POST THAT!!!! TOP 3 ALBUMS IN THE COUNRTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEARTLESS 12,0000 SPIIIINS!!!!!!!! LOVE LOCKDOWN 9,000 SPINS!!!!!!!!!!!!! ART WINS!!!!!! ART WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ART WINS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, Kanye, the CD is definitely not your typical rap CD. It’s a huge departure for him in terms of musical style, and yes, anything a musician does is art. But there are as many catchy “hooks” in the music as there are in any other top selling CD, so I think his perception of art is being stretched a little bit. Still, it’s good to see people embrace the new CD. It grows on you.

More self love from Kanye

Meet the contestants of Celebrity Apprentice

We’re using the term celebrity loosely, for the 16 “celebrities” who are joining Donald Trump on March 1st when another season of The Apprentice begins. This time around we’ll be treated (?) to double the fun, as each episode will last two hours. I’m smelling disaster already.

Gotta love Trump, though. He’s always the salesman, overhyping everything he does. "Last season's 'Celebrity Apprentice' became one of the hottest shows on television" (the show finished 46th overall) "and this season will be even better," he says. "We have an amazing cast of celebrities, and we are looking forward to some fantastic entertainment."

We’ll probably watch the first episode or two, just to see if Khloe Kardashian can finally step out from her sister’s shadow. And to see how many fights train wreck Dennis Rodman can get himself into. Take a look at the list of “celebs” in the link below:

If ratings meant anything to NBC, Trump would be fired.

Brad Pitt conducted an interview with W magazine recently and opened up about the never-ending rumors regarding timing of the birth of his relationship with Angelina Jolie. He is still denying that he stepped out on Jennifer Aniston, and that the Angelina thing came after he and Jen split up. He also goes on to call Jen “a sweetheart,” and that she is still part of his life.

From W mag: “What people don’t understand is that we filmed [Mr. & Mrs. Smith] for a year,” he explains. “We were still filming after Jen and I split up. Even then it doesn’t mean that there was some kind of dastardly affair. There wasn’t. I’m very proud of the way that it was handled. It was respectful. [The film] will mean something to our kids. It will, that’s all.”

As if to settle this thing once and for all, Pitt says, “Listen, man, Jen is a sweetheart. I think she got dragged into that one, and then there’s a second round to all of that Angie versus Jen. It’s so created.” Of his current relationship with Aniston, he says, “We still check in with each other. She was a big part of my life, and me hers. I don’t see how there cannot be [that]. That’s life, man. That’s life.”

Ya know, Pitt seems like a pretty upstanding guy. There doesn’t seem to be anything phony about him. So if that’s the way it is, perhaps everyone in the media should finally put the whole Angelina/Jen feud to rest. For good. Amen.

Still, for the record, it must be said that Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the film in which the Hollywood super couple was born, really wasn’t all that good, and shouldn't exactly be something to be proud of for the kids.

Brad on Jen. Not literally, of course.

Paris Hilton has “only slept with a couple of guys”

In an interview with Glamour magazine, Paris Hilton proves she really doesn’t know how to count past two or three. She tells the mag that she has only slept with "a couple of people," because she respects herself too much.

"I've only done it (had sex) with a couple of people. People make up stories, but mostly I just kiss. I think it's important to play hard to get. Nobody wants the fake Prada bag they want the brand new bag that no one can get and is the most expensive. If you give it up to a guy he won't respect you he'll want you much more if he can't have you."

Is she for real? First of all, she’s comparing herself to a bag. Secondly, this all sounds a little too unrealistic for someone who catapulted into the spotlight for having sex on tape for all the world to see. Saying she’s only slept with a few people is like saying the Beatles have only had a few hits, or saying Ann Coulter has only pissed off a few liberals. Or saying Oprah only has a few dollars to her name.

Hey, maybe this is true. For all the negative press she gets, I haven’t heard from one person who has actually met her that has anything bad to say about her. But still, you gotta love how EASY this quote is to pick apart.

According to her, very few have ever spent a night in Paris

Ben and Jen 2.0 have baby girl!

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, a couple that likely has the best chance of staying together the longest, became proud parents to a second child yesterday. Garner’s rep told People (in a very dull statement, if you ask me), "Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck gave birth to a healthy baby girl. The baby was born Tuesday in Los Angeles." No other details were immediately available.

Hopefully when they name the baby it will be more like their daughter Violet, as opposed to other silly baby names that have come out of Hollywood lately (like Bronx Mowgli). Congrats to the Affleck/Garner clan!

A new baby Garnifleck!

Mickey Rourke in talks to play villain in Iron Man sequel

This just in - Variety is reporting that Mickey Rourke, who is enjoying a resurgence in his career for his role in The Wrestler, is considering taking a role as a villain in the Iron Man sequel. The sequel to the hugely successful spring hit starts filming in a few months. The script is a hugely guarded secret. Iron Man did wonders for Downey Jr. - can it do the same for Rourke?

From Wrestler to Iron Man villain?

Biggest Loser biggest winner in key demographic

Last night on the tube, the major networks were back with new episodes, including the ABC debut of Scrubs (which I wrote about yesterday). ABC aired two episodes of the former NBC comedy and we watched the first one. Honestly, it was pretty much more of the same. It was just okay, but not all that great – even with Courtney Cox. Scrubs ratings weren’t great either, though they weren’t bad in the 18-49 demo. At least the show faired better than According To Jim, which normally airs in that time slot. The big winner of the night, at least in the 18-49 demo, was NBC’s Biggest Loser: Couples. I can understand the appeal to a degree, but for a show about weight loss, there are only one or two shows on television that are more bloated than this one. WAY too much filler! Ooh, the irony.

Anyway, here are the ratings for last night, courtesy of hitfix.com:

CBS kicked the night off strongly with an 11.6/18 for "NCIS." The first hour of NBC's "Biggest Loser: Couples" was second with a 6.5/10. ABC's "Homeland Security USA" had a 4.8/7 in its premiere. FOX's "House" was third, followed by The CW's "90210," which was down to a 1.8/3 in its 2009 premiere.

At 9 p.m. CBS' "The Mentalist" delivered the night's biggest audience with a 12.3/19. NBC's "Biggest Loser: Couples" was second for the hour, but topped "The Mentalist" in the key 18-49 demo. "Scrubs" was a distant third for ABC with a 4.0/6, though the show's 3.1 rating in the 18-49 was respectable. FOX's "Fringe" was fourth, while The CW's "Privileged" had a 1.1/2.

"Without a Trace" closed prime time with an 8.5/14 for CBS. NBC's "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" was second with a 7.0/12. ABC's "What Would You Do?" special was third.

There has always been a connection between Hollywood starlets and NHL hockey players. The directory of hookups goes on forever. So it should come as no surprise that we have another budding romance to add to the list. Yesterday the Ottawa Citizen reported that the Senator’s own Mike Fisher has been dating country hottie Carrie Underwood for quite some time. They met 9 months ago backstage after an Underwood performance at Scotiabank place. The couple apparently hit it off and began dating soon after.

Seems like it took a Jumbotron “Hug Cam” at the ACC in Toronto for the link between the two to be established. Ms. Underwood, 25, was at the Sens-Toronto Maple Leafs game Saturday night where the cam at the Air Canada Centre spotted her in a private VIP box hugging two people sitting next to her. The people with her were members of Fisher’s family.

Mike Fisher had this message to pass along to Sean Avery: “Eat your heart out, beyotch.”

Mike Fisher spending time in Underwood's penalty box

Ashton Kutcher: full of love or just BS?

Is Ashton Kutcher all that he’s making himself out to be here in his appearance on Tyra Banks? Or is he just being all kind and sensitive for show? Ya know what, I’m actually quite sure that the guy is being genuine.

Take a look at his body language – he’s either a great actor (and we KNOW that isn’t true) or he’s just being real. None of the Tom Cruise theatrics here – I think this is a guy who really loves his wife.

Maybe people have been giving Kutcher a bad rap all this time. Take a look – what do you think? Real, or for show?

This is how Tom Cruise should have handled it on Oprah's couch

Eva Mendes has big love for Kate Winslet

Actress Eva Mendes has a huge admiration for fellow actress Kate Winslet, almost to the point of being afflicted by the green-eyed monster. Mendes spoke with the UK’s Daily Mirror and had many glowing things to say about the star of two Oscar buzzed films, Revolutionary Road and The Reader.
Mendes says, “I would steal Kate Winslet’s roles. All her roles. Don’t talk to me about it because she can do no wrong in my eyes. Not only is she the most amazing actress in the entire world, she’s nude in a lot of her films which shows she’s just fearless. Her choices are impeccable. She literally can do anything. If she can just give me two of her roles, I’d be happy.”

Is this kind of talk healthy? I hope she doesn’t go all Single White Female on Kate. But seriously, I think it’s merely one actress admiring the work of another. And definitely all true, since I agree that Winslet is the best actress working today. Even if you don’t like the movie, I encourage you to see Revolutionary Road whenever it opens here if only to see her amazing performance.

Eva Mendes lays it on pretty think about Winslet

Zhang Ziyi topless bikini shots

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi, who made a name for herself in the masterpiece Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, (and also went on to become a spokesmodel for many huge companies) was captured here at the beach with her Israeli multi-millionaire fiancée. You can click on the images with the star covering them to reveal the goodies, which are NSFW (not safe for work).

But I gotta ask – is being that thin really attractive? She’s a beautiful woman, but being so lean just doesn’t do it for me. Guys, what do you think?

Crouching actress, hidden... ok, nothing's hidden here

Something’s fishy going on in Lohan/Ronson land

Yesterday, not long after I reported about the huge New Years fight between Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson, the Hollywood media was debating over whether the pair had finally broken up. Some websites and TV shows even changed their story by the end of the evening. Nobody seems to know what the story really is, despite Lohan taking to her blog and shouting out to the world that they are still together.

Ya know what, I’m getting sick of them. Not sick in a Heidi/Spencer sort of way, but if this rhetoric doesn’t let up it may just reach that level.

Lohan, Ronson, blah blah blah. Enough of them!

Scrubs back on ABC tonight – with Courtney Cox!

The doctor comedy Scrubs, which had a home on NBC for over seven seasons, has moved networks to ABC, and will air their first episode for the alphabet network tonight. I’ve heard from members of the TV media who have seen the first few ABC episodes that things are back on track for the show, and for us to expect great laughs and strong drama. And don’t forget that Courtney Cox will be a part of the cast for several episodes, starting tonight. I haven’t seen the show in several years, but I’ll probably tune in tonight to see what it’s all about.

Lohan’s lovers quarrel trashes hotel room

Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson just need to come out already. Maybe if they were to finally admit their love for each other – in public – they wouldn’t be spending so much time fighting.

On New Year’s Day, they had their biggest fight yet. The pair was in Miami to host a New Year's bash at a club called Mansion. According to multiple eyewitness reports, it was there that things took a turn for the worse for the couple that won’t admit they’re a couple. Tension between Lohan and Ronson got so heated that they screamed at one another in full view of party goers. The fight even spilled out into an alley behind the club. A source claims that Lohan was "really unstable and flipping out" and screeched at her partner, "When I storm off, you are supposed to follow me!"

After ringing in the New Year, the fighting continued on at their hotel. Several sources say they heard 'crashing sounds and screaming' coming from the lovers' room until the fight made its way out into the hall at about 11 a.m. An eyewitness said, "They were punching each other - it was bad. And they were doing this in front of all of us. It was scary." And, at one point, Lindsay allegedly dropped to her knees and cried, "Why are you doing this to me?" Samantha supposedly responded, "I don't know you." Hotel security was called in, and took photos of the lovers' "trashed" room. "Mirrors were broken and it was a complete mess," said a snitch.

Could the cause of all their fights be that one of them just doesn’t want to come out? It’s time for these two to stop beating around the bush and either come out or stop seeing each other.

Time for these two to dive into the cause of their fighting

Best reality TV moment ever?

You can mess with Sharon Osborne, but don’t mess with her family. On her reality show - Charm School, on VH1 (not seen in Canada) - one of the contestants who was just told by Sharon that she shouldn’t ever breed, responded with a diss of Ozzy. Sharon looked like she was about to take the high road and just walk away for a moment, quickly grabbed her beverage and threw it in the contestant’s face! Fight ensued. Audience went crazy. Jerry Springer was nowhere near the set.

Watch the fun go down!

Sharon goes all crazy train on a Charm School wannabe

Tara Reid out of rehab

Tara Reid, who gained fame in the American Pie movie series, has essentially made herself more famous for her alcohol-fueled behaviour. The actress (?) checked herself into rehab three weeks ago, but checked herself out on Saturday.

"She's doing well. The whole family is very positive about this being the new beginning for her," says a source for People magazine, who is close to the family. "They are taking steps to do everything they can to help Tara keep on the right track.”

In Hollywood speak, that translates to: “We’re going to keep a close eye on her and lock up all our liquor. She didn’t complete treatment, which means that she’s still not better. We’re just as worried as we were before she entered rehab. We’re very disappointed.”

Rehab only works if the patient wants it to work. Haven’t people learned that from watching Dr. Drew and Intervention yet?

Tara Reid says no, no, no to Rehab

Madonna spreads legs for Louis Vuitton, may join Britney on tour

Do we really need to see more pictures of Madonna’s legs splayed out? Somehow, the folks behind the ads for Louis Vuitton beg to differ, and are going to inundate us with more of these mildly disturbing images. Sure, she looks good for 50, but given the lengths she goes to in order to attain that look, she better look good!

Here’s some pics from the LV ad photo shoot, along with a story that may see Madonna joining Britney for several shows on Brit’s upcoming Circus tour. I’d classify that as merely rumor right now, but we’ll have to follow up on that one, as it would be kinda cool to see the both of them share the stage for more than 4 minutes.

Too much of Madonna isn't always a good thing

More on the films of 2008

On Friday I listed my top 10 films of 2008, and promised that I’d be back with more movie talk today. So today we’ll talk about some of the best in various categories, and also bring up some of the disappointments.

Most fun at the movies: Three films, with respect to pure entertainment, stood out in 2008. Dark Knight, which was a very entertaining movie but just didn’t achieve the same heights reached in 2005’s Batman Begins. Mamma Mia, a film that I really wasn’t looking forward to had me smiling all the way through and loving all the ABBA music, even though Pierce Brosnan couldn’t sing if his life depended on it. And Wanted, with Angelina Jolie, which wasn’t the greatest movie but boy was it fun - spectacular action sequences and cool violence.

Most over hyped movie in cinematic history: Wall-E. Still being considered as a possibility for Best Picture (not just best animated film), Pixar’s big hit just didn’t strike a chord with me at all. I found it overly preachy, not at all subtle, and lacking in narrative. It wasn’t a terrible movie, but nowhere near as good as people are making it out to be.

Most over hyped “Oscar caliber” film of 2008: The Wrestler. Mickey Rourke is enjoying a resurrection of his career for his work in this film that has made many critics’ top 10 list for the year. Don’t get me wrong, The Wrestler is a good film, but it isn’t great. Mickey Rourke’s performance is nomination worthy, but not worth a win. And Marisa Tomei proves that you don’t have to be under 40 to keep doing tons of nudity in a film. She looks great! The film works best when it explores the relationship between Rourke and Tomei, and in that respect it really shines. Too bad the rest of the movie can’t keep up.

Most likely to win the Razzie for worst picture: The Spirit. I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m hearing that this comic book caper gone wrong has a very good shot at winning the Golden Razzie. It looks awful! Perhaps it will be a renter on Blu-Ray for me, just for the eye candy.

Most disappointing film of 2008: Zack and Miri Make a Porno. I love Kevin Smith, and until this film I’ve enjoyed every one of his movies. But Zack and Miri was really bad. Not the worst movie of the year, but certainly the worst that Kevin Smith has ever made.

Worst movie of 2008: I wish I could tell you. This year was one where if I heard too much negative buzz on a film, I just stayed away. So if there is a worst movie of the year out there somewhere, I know I haven’t seen it so I’ll reserve judgment.

How about you? What was the worst movie you’ve seen this year? Email me!