- Fans to HBO’s Entourage, today is a great day for you. Hug it out, b*tches, because although Season 5 just started, the network is already pushing ahead to Season 6 of the show. It was just announced that the Mark Wahlberg-produced hit has been renewed for a sixth season. “Entourage is that rare phenomenon in TV: a smart, sharp comedy series that continues to evolve,” Michael Lombardo, HBO president of programming group and west coast operations, says in a statement. “Doug Ellin and his remarkable team consistently deliver a show that's must-see viewing.” The show, a sarcastic, tongue-in-cheek take on Hollywood centering on Jeremy Piven and his crew, is fresh off a third consecutive supporting comedy actor win for Pive. The current season will chronicle Vince's (Adrian Grenier) desperate attempt to escape “movie jail.” It premiered Sept. 7, but less than a month later, fans have even more good news. Personally, I don’t have HBO and have never really been inclined to watch, but this is a show with a huge following and some pretty good actors in it, so it can’t be all bad…..
- This next bit of news is a little sad, if only because it somewhat denigrates the life of a deceased legend, one of the biggest, toughest badasses in American cultural history. Evel Knievel was one of the toughest, craziest SOB’s you could ever meet, a man who never denied his scrapes with the law and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind to anyone at any time. Even before his passing less than a year ago, it was known that he had been the subject of a 1970s FBI investigation of whether he was involved in a string of beatings. According to documents recently released by the Bureau, the federal government came close to charging Knievel, who in turn threatened to sue the FBI for alleging he was connected to a crime syndicate. “Knievel stated that he was not responsible for what just happened to (name redacted) and that he had no control over the 'thing”' according to one phone conversation recounted in an FBI interview. Look, I don’t know what Evel was guilty of, but I am sure he broke the law a few times during his life. His had a run-in with the law was a 1977 attack on movie studio executive Shelly Saltman, whom Knievel beat with a baseball bat in the parking lot of 20th Century Fox. That attack came after Saltman promoted Knievel's infamous attempt to jump Idaho's Snake River Canyon and then wrote a book about the experience that painted Knievel as "an alcoholic, a pill addict, an anti-Semite and an immoral person.” In the end, Knievel was sentenced to six months in jail and Saltman won a $12.75 million judgment that he never collected. There were other incidents as well; a threat in Phoenix, an attack in a Kansas City hotel room and a vicious beating in San Francisco. Even Bob Gill, a competitor of Knievel's during the 1970s and someone who had a showdown with Evel, seems to have the right perspective of letting things go that are past. After their battles, Knievel apologized and the two became friends. “I was really, really mad at Evel over the whole thing, but he apologized at least 10 times, and said it was out of his control and I believed him,” Gill said. Evel's never done any wrong besides that one little incident," Gill said. "And he's made up for it 1,000 times.” Agreed. True is true, and Evel Knievel should be left to rest in peace instead of having his legacy dragged through the mud at this point….
- What a sad, sad weekend for movies. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua the No. 1film for the weekend with a $29 million debut. I could basically stop there and have said everything I need to say, but where would the fun be in that? I simply cannot keep quiet when a terrible movie featuring a talking Chihuahua with Drew Barrymore's voice, and telling the story of a pampered pooch lost in Mexico. I know, it’s a family movie….but that doesn’t mean it gets a free pass simply because it’s kid-friendly. The rest of the top 10 shook down thusly: 2) "Eagle Eye," $17.7 million, 3) "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," $12 million, 4) "Nights in Rodanthe," $7.4 million, 5) "Appaloosa," $5 million, 6) "Lakeview Terrace," $4.5 million, 7) "Burn After Reading," $4.08 million, 8) "Fireproof," $4.07 million, 9) "An American Carol," $3.8 million,
10) "Religulous," $3.5 million. Nice showing, by the way, by Bill Maher, basically making an entire movie attacking religion, raking in a whopping $3.5 million. Way to knock one out of the ballpark, B. Overall, the top 12 movies hauled in $95.4 million, up 42 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when the “The Game Plan,” starring The Rock, a.k.a. Dwayne Johnson, was No. 1 with $16.6 million. Impressive on the weekend was Sony's "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, with a solid No. 3 debut of $12 million. It’s definitely a hundred times better than the weekend’s top movie and probably a slight improvement over the No. 2 movie. All told, a typical mix of good and bad in the top 10, but a nice earnings weekend nonetheless at the box office….
- Aside from violent or sexual crimes against humans, the most stomach-churning crime I can think of is cruelty to animals. There never has been and never will be any excuse for mistreating animals who are mostly or entirely dependent on you for survival. As such, I was pissed to hear about a situation in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, where officials found hundreds of animals crowded into a filthy, rank-smelling compound and dozens of puppy carcasses stored in a freezer on the premises. It was a revolting, disheartening scene, one that led to the kennel's owner losing his license to operate and being charged with animal cruelty. Thankfully, authorities were able to take custody of dozens of ailing dogs and cats and see that they received proper medical care after the raid at the Almost Heaven Kennel in Upper Milford Township. Never has a business name been less aprropriate than in this case, as this kennel was definitely no heaven and more hellacious than anything else. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to find a freezer containing 65 carcasses, mostly puppies and some adult dogs. Add to that 800 to 1,000 live animals, including monkeys, miniature horses and turkeys, living in filth and without access to fresh water, and you have a truly disgusting mess. . The raid came after resident complaints and an undercover investigation, leading to the citataion and hopefully vigilant prosecution of confirmed ass hat Derbe "Skip" Eckhart , owner of this hell hole. He stands accused of keeping animals in unsanitary conditions and failing to provide proper veterinary care for 43 dogs, nine cats and a guinea pig. These poor animals suffered from skin and eye ailments, upper respiratory diseases and lameness. Eckhart faces a maximum fine of $750 for each count, not nearly enough to punish this knob. He has the audacity to dispute the allegations. “What they tried to do yesterday was paint a picture that wasn't there,” Eckhart said Thursday. Are you freaking serious? Dude, do not sit there and try to tell me that the authorities made up those dozens of dog carcasses in your freezer; those are hard to fake. No one is setting you up, but if you keep this up, I’ll set you up on the nearest curb, plant you face-down and mouth open on the concrete and curb your sorry ass with a knee to the back of the head. Let’s hear from one of your neighbors, Phil Miller, and see if he agrees with me. “In the summertime, in August, you can't even open a window without being overcome with stench,” Miller said. Hmm, seems he’s on board with me, Skip. So shut your hole, make amends for your crimes and hope I never run into you on a dark street at night…..
- What is it with idiot, D-list celebrities offering money to get in the boxing ring with them? First, it was confirmed ‘roid-head Jose Canseco, offering $5,000 to get into the ring with him and go a few rounds. Former NFL player Via Sicahema took Canseco up on that offered and dropped Jose within one round. Now, Michael Lohan says he is ready to fight anyone who wants to take him on. He is auctioning off the chance to knock him out in a charity boxing match Nov. 24 at the Hilton Long Island in Melville, N.Y. and is clearly banking on the fact that there are a lot of people who would take joy in punching him in the face repeatedly. Bidding begins at $5,000 and proceeds will go to charities including the Long Island Community Chest, which provides financial support to needy families. That’s all well and good, but unless this bout comes with the guarantee that Michael Lohan will also be shutting up on a permanent basis when it comes to making public comments about his ex-wife (who he recently called a “two-face”), his daughter (whom he dubbed “out of control”) and her lesbian gal pal Samantha Ronson (for “using my daughter”), I’m not interested. You are no one, M. Lohan, and no one cares what you think. Having fathered a famous kid doesn’t make you worth anyone’s time, nor does trying to gravy train your own 15 minutes from her success…….
No comments:
Post a Comment