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Michael B. Jordan & Kristen Bell to Host Sci-Tech Awards

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Michael B. Jordan and Kristen Bell have been tapped to emcee the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards, which will be held at The Beverly Hills Hotel on Feb. 15.

"We are thrilled to have Kristen and Michael join us as hosts for this year’s Sci-Tech Awards," said Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs in a statement. "They are bright, young talents in the film community and will be a great addition to a night that honors the industry’s technical achievements."

Jordan earned praise for his role in The Weinstein Co.'s Fruitvale Station, which won the audience award and grand jury prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Bell voices the character of Anna in Frozen, which was nominated for an Academy Award for best animated film.
On Jan. 8, the Academy unveiled the 19 scientific and technical achievements that will be awarded next month. The Gordon E. Sawyer award will be presented to visual effects supervisor Peter W. Anderson.
In 2013, the Sci-Tech awards were also presented by a duo, Chris Pine and Zoe Saldana. Milla Jovovich hosted the event in 2012 and Marisa Tomei presented at the gala in 2011.

Source

This also means that they are going to be presenting at the Oscars!

Matthew Vaughn Says He Didn't Direct X-MEN: DOFP Because It Didn't Excite Him

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Layer Cake and Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn is the man who many fans credit for finally doing the X-Men franchise justice with 2011's X-Men: First Class. In the following interview with Empire Magazine, the filmmaker reveals why he chose not to return for this movie...

"It didn't excite me enough," he tells Empire Magazine. "The thing that was exciting about it was bringing all these actors together. What a cast! But I've worked with great actors and I just thought, 'I've got to do my own thing.'" That "own thing" would be the big screen adaptation of Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons' The Secret Service. "The script was great for X-Men, but I had Secret Service in my head. And this has always been Bryan's machine. It's come full circle."

source

'Once Upon a Time' Season 3 Rose McGowan Returning to Series

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When "Once Upon a Time" returns, an evil character will be making a comeback. TVLine reports that Rose McGowan will reprise the role of young Cora in Episode 18.

McGowan first appeared as Cora in the March 2013 episode titled "The Miller's Daughter." In the episode, it was shown through a flashback that Cora and Rumple were once romantically involved. That is, until Cora removed her heart to pursue power as Prince Henry's wife. By episode end, she had given birth to baby Regina.

Cora is expected to add to the show's complicated family tree, which will add two new branches by the end of the season.

The series is also casting the one-episode role of ruthless pirate Blackbeard.

Series co-creator Adam Horowitz also said that the fourth episode back, called "It's Not Easy Being Green,' will shed light on the Wicked Witch, as well as her issue with the Evil Queen. "She's got a whole backstory and mythology," Horowitz said. "We used the original [L. Frank Baum] book as a jumping-off point, and then spun her in a hopefully unique, Once Upon a Time way."

He added that when the Wicked Witch meets with the Evil Queen, "There are sparks that fly."

Also, when the show returns, it will be apparent that the destruction of Storybrooke did not reverse anyone death's--except maybe one.

One death may have been undone due to the burning of the Shadow. (Big hint: Co-creator Edward Kitsis said Rumplestilskin definitely died, but he's "the Dark One," meaning he may not stay dead.)

When viewers last tuned in to the series, Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) attempted to reuse Regina's (Lana Parrilla) curse, which forced everyone back into the Enchanted Forest and destroyed Storybrooke. But Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Henry (Jared Gilmore) were not part of the original curse, so their memories were wiped clean and they stayed in the mortal world. Now they are living in New York City, leading quiet, normal lives. That is, until Hook (Colin O'Donoghue) showed up to tell Emma that her parents are in trouble.

Hook now has to make Emma remember her fairytale past.

Horowitz said Emma will have two sets of memories. "The ramifications of this new life of Emma's that we glimpsed at the end of the winter finale and what would happen if she did regain her memories play a huge part in the second half of the season," he said.

He said that the new Emma will be a bit different, but with similar personality traits. "She has some new memories, but that didn't ruin her upbringing," he explained. "She still grew up tough, she still grew up with a wall. It was her against the world and what we'll see is with these new memories it's now her and Henry against the world. She still is the same person, but we're going to really explore what her life is like in Episode 12 called "New York City Serenade.""

Although Emma's memory was wiped clean, the characters sent back to the Enchanted Forest still have memories of Storybrooke.

"As we laid out in the winter finale, Emma was the one who being back there was going to lose those memories and have this new life," Horowitz said. "The fairy tale characters get left with the pain and knowledge of what happened over the years that the show has been on and what they've been through. None of that is erased."

Snow White may also become pregnant, which would overlap with Ginnifer Goodwin's real-life pregnancy. But, Horowitz noted that Snow's storyline will follow what they've planned since the beginning.

Kitsis said Snow's pregnancy could cause a bit of chaos. "But you know, every time Snow White gets pregnant, hell gets unleashed," he said.

There will also be a wedding, as well as a tough transition for Regina, who is feeling empty after losing Henry. While she does want another child, she will focus on healing first.

"For Regina, it's what is going to make her heal again and where is she going to do," Kitsis said. "We know she filled the hole in her heart by doing the most selfless thing we've ever seen. She did what's best for Henry and gave him up to Emma, her sworn enemy, so they can have a better life. What happens when she returns to the Enchanted Forest? She needs to fall in love first."

Meghan Ory, who played Ruby/Red Riding Hood/the Wolf in season one and two, may also be returning to the series.

src
New York City Serenade airs Sunday, March 9 at 8 p.m. on ABC.

Hilary Duff's Ex Mike Comrie Spotted Partying With Blondes at Super Bowl Bash

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Just weeks after announcing that he was splitting from Hilary Duff, Mike Comrie was spotted relishing a guys' night out in New York City. The former NHL athlete attended Cîroc Presents Bootsy Bellows at the Liquid Cellar in honor of the Super Bowl on Thursday, Jan. 30.
The 33-year-old "definitely seemed to be enjoying himself," according to a fellow partygoer.

"He had a table with a bunch of guys and there were girls all around them."

The eyewitness said that Comrie was dancing throughout the evening and "chatting up a bunch of different blondes."
The insider added, "He stayed until the very end of the party and didn't leave until 3:30 a.m."
On Jan. 10, Comrie and Duff announced that they were splitting up after three years of marriage.

Duff's rep says in a statement, "They remain best friends and will continue to be in each other's lives. They are dedicated to loving and parenting their amazing son, and ask for privacy at this time."

Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan were in attendance, but our source said that the two former pals went to great efforts to avoid any contact with each other.

Oh, the drama!

Source

Dan Osborne On The Cover Of Attitude Magazine’s Naked Issue

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Dan Osborne 24-year-old  graces the cover o Attitude magazine Annual issue. The handsome hunk from The Only Way is Essex ( England’s Jersey Shore)  alternates covers with Olympic gold medal sprinter Greg Rutherford, Dancing On Ice hunk Sylvain Longchambon and former Essex star Kirk Norcross. Inside, a total of 44 guys strip down.

I’ve gotten the odd bit of male attention when I’ve been out and it is a compliment. I’ve had a few bum pinches and I don’t mind that at all,”says Osborne. “Maybe it’s because a guy knows how hard it is to train so the appreciate it more. Girls might think that guys just easily get muscles.”

The issue officially hits newsstands on February 5th.

Source



Zayn Malik's Mum Hates his Tattoos

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Zayn Malik may love his tattoos but it seems his mum is not such a huge fan.
The One Direction star is constantly getting new inkings on his lovely body and just a few weeks ago, when he celebrated New Year with fiancé Perrie Edwards in Weymouth, the star hit a body art parlour for some new markings.
He’s already had Perrie’s likeness inked on his arm, as well as a massive wolf on his leg and speaking to Top Of The Pops magazine Malik admitted that his mother wishes he would stop with the tatt obsession…. (as do we if we’re honest).
He explained:
“Obviously mums don’t really like tattoos, and she’s a bit like, “When you’re older, what are you going to do?” But I think when I’m an older bloke, they’ll still look cool.”

Source

Tattoo sharing post?
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The Money In Music: Top 10 Touring Artists Of The Decade

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1. Madonna – Total gross: $801,299,671

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Madonna Louise Ciccone popularly known as Madonna takes the number one spot on this list with a total gross of $801 million. Madonna holds a Guinness book of world record as the best selling female recording artist of all times. She has sold over 300 million records worldwide. It took her 248 shows only in the past decade to gross over $800 million. 244 shows were sold out boosting the total attendance to 6,387,124 people. She has had 4 successful tours in the past decade namely; Re-Invention World Tour in 2004, Confessions Tour in 2006, Sticky and Sweet Tour in 2008/9 and The MDNA Tour in 2012. Her latest tour (MDNA) performed the best grossing $305.2 million. She clearly deserves to be Number 1 in this list.

2. Bruce Springsteen – Total gross: $688,136,476



Bruce Springsteen or The Boss if you like is another American singer-songwriter with a touring record that deserves one of the top spots in this list. His four tours of the last decade; Devils and Dust Tour (2005), Magic tour (2007), Working on a dream tour (2009) and The Wrecking Ball Tour (2012) grossed over $688 million. Springsteen sold out 248 shows out of the total 403 he had lined up for his fans. He also recorded an impressive total attendance of 8,605,238 people. He isn’t slowing down any time soon. He has already announced a 2014 tour.

3. Elton John – Total gross: $603,804,670




Sir Elton Hercules John is the other Knighted member in this list. Born in England in 1947, this English superstar singer has a record 30 albums under his belt. He has sold more than 300 million records worldwide making him one of the best selling artists of all times. He makes it to this list for grossing over $603 million from the 541 shows he has held over the past decade. He has an equally impressive total attendance figure of (5,789,833 people) and 470 sold out shows. He doesn’t show any signs of slowing down considering his 31st album (The Diving Board) is due to be released soon. He is expected to start touring soon in an effort to promote the album.

4. Celine Dion – Total gross: $536,593,262



Celine Dion is the only Canadian singer to make it to this list. Regardless, she needs no introduction. Dion was already a star at age 13. Three decades later and counting, she is still going strong with numerous tour dates and sold out shows. In the past decade, Dion has sold out 597 shows out of the total 792 she had lined up for her fans. She holds the record of sold out shows in this list. This has helped her gross over $536 million. Her four latest tours; A New Day (2003-2007), Taking Chances (2008-2009), Sans attendre (2013) and Celine (2011-2014) have attracted a total attendance of 4,099,963 people. Dion will definitely continue touring this year to conclude her Celine Tour.

5. Kenny Chesney – Total gross: $477,931,760




American country music star Kenneth Arnold Chesney popularly known as Kenny has 14 gold certified albums under his belt. He can easily qualify as the most consistent touring artist in this list considering he has toured consistently every year since 2001. This explains why he has managed to gross over $477 million in the past decade. He has performed in a record 622 shows selling out 409. He holds the total attendance record in this list (9,210,288 people).


Check whole list at the source

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ONTD ORIGINAL POST: The Top 12 Scandals of January 2014

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There's something we've all noticed about January 2014 - from Madonna to Bieber to One Direction, there were an unusually large number of celebrity scandals, arrests, incidents, and PR snafus. In case you've zoned out over the past few weeks, here's a list of the top 12 celebrity scandals from the past 31 days.

Incidents are ranked in order from least to most earth-shattering, measured by the most scientific metric available to ONTD: comment quotient (CQ), a rough calculation of the number of comments that all posts on the subject received.


Hunter Moore arrested by FBI

When? January 23
CQ: 263


Revenge porn kingpin, founder of IsAnyoneUP, and walking piece of garbage Hunter Moore was arrested by the FBI and indicted on charges ranging from conspiracy to aggravated identity theft. Moore faces up to five years imprisonment if convicted.

"i loved isanyoneup it was pure gold and how i spent nights laughing with friends"prismcess
"was one of the nights the one you got your anchor tattoo"
punishermax


Scarlett Johansson quits Oxfam

When? January 30
CQ: 373


When critics pointed out that Scarlett Johansson's new gig as the spokesperson for SodaStream (an Israeli company long criticized for operating factories in the West Bank) seemed to contradict her ambassadorship with the pro-Palestine Oxfam International, she promptly left the justice and anti-poverty organization. Proof positive that money talks and charity walks.

"pphhtt who needs human rights when u can have dat chedda am i right???"leonardy


The Wanted break up

When? January 22 - 25
CQ: 429


After their latest album flopped, One Direction also-rans The Wanted announced they would be going on indefinite hiatus to "pursue personal endeavours." Though their tens of stans were heartbroken, the rest of us didn't notice until Max George went to The Sun and spilled the dirt on the internal feuds that led to the group's downfall.

"They are totes the UNwanted now"deathcrew77


Beyoncé tributes Aaliyah, crops Kelly

When? January 17
CQ: 466


After riding high on the release of her surprise album, ONTD was well overdue to backlash against Beyoncé. While the "XO" sampling controversy was the kneecap, the nail in the coffin was her removal of Kelly Rowland in an Instagram picture memorializing Aaliyah.

"and they both cropped out Michelle from the full pic, oop"
shinagara


Talk Shit Get Hit 2014

When? January 14-28
CQ: 685


Our most hated couple scored a sort-of win after most of ONTD largely supported Kanye West's assault of an 18 year old who hurled racial epithets at Kanye and fiancee Kim Kardashian. Considering the $250k payout the kid got, I'm sure he's not mad either.

"I'm picturing this part - Kim screamed, "We have it all on tape." - as Kim being so happy for having something interesting to show on KUWTK."rarkon


Michael B. Jordan keeps it old school

When? January 10
CQ: 810


MBJ was a rising ONTD favorite until he showed his ass in an interview with Glamour. We were all turned off by his admission that his type is someone "old school" and "comfortable in the kitchen", and though he would respect you less if you had sex on the first date, his 'checklist' goes down to "two legs" and a "pulse" after midnight.

"im taking all my earrings off
im putting them back on so i can take them off again
im so mad rn"
ctfobro


Amanda Palmer talks racism

When? January 28
CQ: 844


Professional attention whore Amanda Palmer took to Twitter to weigh in on a variety of topics, from Black Twitter's treatment of Macklemore to her thoughts on 12 Years A Slave. According to Amanda, the real moral of that film was "support white people".

"i bet she rsvp'd to that plantation ~feminist get together~ didn't she"nandexdame
"She requested to bunk with LaQueeta, I think."
la_petite_singe


Hilary Duff announces divorce

When? January 10
CQ: 1699


Outside her group of weirdly dedicated stans, few of us have been checking for Hilary Duff since 2007 (I'm being generous here). But when the Agent Cody Banks star announced her divorce from her husband of three years Mike Comrie, we were blindsided by the announcement, and then amused by Aaron Carter's subsequent thirst.

"[Aaron] sounds like half of ONTD during FFAF/Confession posts."bprorsum


Madonna drops the N-Bomb

When? January 17 - 18
CQ: 2155


Could anything get messier than Madonna posting a picture of her son on Instagram with the hashtag "disnigga" and offering a a 'sorry you were offended' non-apology? Turns out, you can make it even messier with a tweet of support from RuPaul.

"America is too obsessed with this subject."byazrov
"I would change that icon before someone rats you out to your government, Vlad"wetnasty


Life in Scrambles 2014

When? January 14 - present
CQ: 2859


The LAPD's raid on Justin Bieber's house for felony vandalism was the spark that sent the long-sizzling Great Bieber Downfall into overdrive. Though the arrest and re-arrest of Bieber crew member Lil Za for cocaine possession seemed impossible to one-up, little did we know it was a mere prelude for events to come.

"disrespect the hen, wind up in the pen"shanny_w


Liam Payne tweets Duck Dynasty

When? January 18
CQ: 4197


One Direction member and noted otter Liam Payne ignited a stan civil war after tweeting his support for the "family values" of Duck Dynasty cast member/homophobe Willie Robertson. Though his "freedom of speech" non-apology didn't help matters, we'll always have the memories of finding the hottest member of 1D.

"can't wait till those moppets and their clipart tattoos are 100% irrelevant"tankmachine


Drinking Under the Influence 2014

When? January 23 - present
CQ: 7700+


It's two scandals for the price of one! Justin Bieber's arrest following an intoxicated drag race in Miami is the gift that keeps on giving, from his admission that his mother buys him pills to being spotted drinking with his father mere hours after posting bail. We're expecting great things from Justin in the next eleven months.

calinewarkwc69's Justin Bieber downfall calendar


What was your favorite scandal of the month?

Harriet Tubman Google Doodle Honors Black History Month

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Today’s Google Doodle depicts American abolitionist and Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman (c.1820-1913) in honor of the first day of Black History Month.

Born a slave in Maryland, Tubman worked as a maid, nurse, and cook before she left her family and fled to Philadelphia in 1849. In Dec. 1850, she returned to Maryland to help her sister and two children escape to freedom. For the next decade, she became the best-known conductor of the Underground Railroad, a secret network that helped fugitive slaves in the South reach safety in Northern free states or in Canada.

Tubman often dressed the escapees in disguises, according to the National Women’s History Museum: ”If it was announced that a group of male slaves had bolted from a plantation, she dressed the fugitives as women for the trip north.” Her dedication earned her the nickname “Moses.”

The abolitionist heroine went on to serve as a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War. She would pretend to be an old, frail woman and wander around towns under Confederate control to get clues about the whereabouts of troops and supplies. In the last part of her career, she campaigned for women’s suffrage.

In March 2013, President Barack Obama signed a proclamation to establish the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument, and a state park is expected to open in Maryland in 2015.



source and PBS' arcticle on her

Mr Jamie Dornan post: Glamour mag with "New Worlds" cast, interview, new ad campaign pics

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Glamour UK March 2014 with the cast of 'New Worlds' series Freya Mavor, Alice Englert and Joe Dempsie






Elle UK March 2014

Before acting you were in a band called Sons of Jim. Did you ever take that seriously?
It was one of those things that moved on its own wave that we weren’t really surfing on. I was young and with one of my best mates in the world – who still is one of my best mates in the world – and we were just having fun, but other people were trying to make us go in a direction we hadn’t envisioned. Eventually something has to give.

Are you a music snob?
I wouldn’t say that, although I probably was when I was younger. It’s funny how you get a bit older and become a more accepting of things. When you’re in your twenties you’re sceptical of everything. I definitely felt like that.

Did you have many fans?
I should be writing a thousand apology letters to the friends and family I dragged to our gigs over the years. Often they would be the only people in the room having to talk amongst themselves.

Ad campaign for Hogan S/S 2014







Ad campaign for Zegna (S/S 2014)


1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

i just can't stop looking at Jamie <3 and his voice is fjhdfkjhdkjdfjgh

National Congress Of American Indians Releases Anti-Redskins Ad for the Super Bowl

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Just in time for the Super Bowl, the National Congress of American Indians has released a simple, yet powerful, commercial directed right at Dan "you can use caps" Snyder. For nearly two minutes we see video and images of American Indians living their everyday lives while the narrator lists the various names they use to refer to themselves. Teacher, doctor, Seminole and Sitting Bull among them. There is one name they do not use and although it is not verbalized, the Washington helmet is a pretty solid clue.






"This week's celebration of football is exactly why we need to keep talking about the D.C. mascot," the organization said in an email toICTMN. "Cheering for a football team should never include the casual use of a racial slur. It is important for all teams and all of their fans that the name of the D.C. team is changed."


The YouTube information urges viewers to contact the team, the NFL, Roger Goodell and theWashington Post to demand change.


source
powerful

Curtain Call: How Shock and Awe Turned Actor Denis O’Hare into a Playwright

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If you only know actor Denis O’Hare from his roles as Russell Edgington, the Vampire King of Mississippi on True Blood, or Spalding in this season’s American Horror Story, then you’ve only skimmed the surface of his career. The Tony-Award winning actor (2003’s Take Me Out) can now add playwright to his credits with his one-man show An Iliad, which opens tonight at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.

Co-writer Lisa Peterson reached out to O’Hare about adapting The Iliad during the first Iraq War in 2003. “Lisa was looking for war plays. Where was theater’s response to a two-year war in Afghanistan and a new war in Iraq? It hadn’t happened yet. She came across The Iliad and wanted to work with a single actor,” O’Hare recently explained. “She thought of me because I was an activist. During Take Me Out, I was printing out anti-war stickers and I put them everywhere. I’d go out of the house with 10 to 20 sheets of them. I was so furious about the war. Lisa thought, ‘This is a good fit.’”

Homer’s epic poem, set during the Trojan War, centers around disputes between the warrior Achilles and King Agamemnon. The process of shaping the work into a play was a lengthy one. “In the beginning we just got together and talked about The Iliad, the war [in Iraq] and people’s reaction to war,” said O’Hare. “We stumbled on a method of improvising on-camera and transcribing that for the text. What is the story we can tell? We spent a lot of time arguing about the gods. Should we include them? What characters do we cut? That honing process took years, partly because we weren’t doing it full time.”

To help shape the play, O’Hare and Peterson took opposing views of war. “My thesis is war is waste. War almost never achieves anything lasting. There’s always one exception, Hitler. Great, that’s one war. Lisa took the position that violence is a part of human nature. We let these two ideas battle it out.”

Of all the attributes of The Iliad, it is Homer’s empathy that most inspired O'Hare. “He has a way of looking at humanity that is really sympathetic. Homer gives each person value when they get killed. Think about The Walking Dead, what’s the body count there? Do you ever get to know anybody? Here’s Homer who in the course of the book kills over a hundred people. Every person gets a small biographical detail. Lisa and I tried to honor that when we could.”

The play is purposely named An Iliad instead of The Iliad. O’Hare explains, “That book is too big to have just one theme. It is too massive to draw one conclusion or reaction. In terms of humility, we are only focusing on a few themes and therefore cannot call it The Iliad but just An Iliad.”

If he thinks The Iliad is too big with too many themes, his next project will be even more daunting. Called The Good Book it is about the Bible. “The reason I want to do it is I’m an ex-Catholic atheist and am obsessed with religion. As an openly gay atheist man, I feel the bible has been used as a weapon against me. I want to understand where it comes from. The history is crazy: the archeology, sociology, linguistics, literary criticism. It’s a rigorous endeavor.”

Does being a playwright mean a change in career direction for O’Hare? “I’ve written since I was 12. I wrote poetry while I was a major at Northwest University. I’ve written three to four screenplays. I was happy to be busy being an actor. Now I get to satisfy a different sort of creative itch.”

Source

When the ‘Saturday Night Live’ Show Ends, Lorne Michaels and the S.N.L. Cast Start the After-Party

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“Got the boss coming!” a security worker shouted.

Lorne Michaels’s foot had hit curbside. It was around 1:30 a.m. outside Buddakan, the Asian-fusion restaurant in the meatpacking district and one of the semi-secret locales regularly used for the “Saturday Night Live” after-party.

“S.N.L.” is an institution of rituals, dating back to its first season in 1975-76: The show ends, the principals wave goodbye, and idling limos await outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza to whisk the cast and their guests to the after-party, the location of which is kept on a need-to-know basis.

On this night, after the Christmas show, Buddakan closed before midnight, or around the time the guest host Jimmy Fallon and the musical guest Justin Timberlake were reprising “The Barry Gibb Talk Show” sketch. By 1 a.m., two young men in suits took up their positions at Buddakan’s heavy door. As Mr. Michaels approached, one of them saw that his partner was in the appalling position of having his back turned to the show’s philosopher-king, and gave a prompt corrective shove.


Mr. Michaels’s entrance came amid the rapid-fire arrival of his cast. “I have six,” Taran Killam said as he entered. “They’re with cue cards, “ another guest said, legitimizing his escorts. One interloper tried the swept-in-with-the-crowd move, and was flagged by security, which nearly touched off fisticuffs behind Nasim Pedrad, still in pancake makeup.

In the confusion, a group of string musicians, all in cocktail dresses and toting their instruments, found themselves stranded. Not an hour ago, they had been live on national television providing string accompaniment on Mr. Timberlake’s performance of the bluesy ballad “Pair of Wings.” Now they were being asked to answer a question no one wants to hear in heaven: “Name?”

Even as Page Six and the like continue to report dutifully on the spirited mingling of Miley Cyrus or Lindsay Lohan, the truth is the “S.N.L.” after-party, now almost four decades into its run and much of that time with the reputation as the coolest party in town, has always been a little ersatz: a conception of an exclusive showbiz bacchanal based on the lore of the good old wild days, when the only thing that would break up this party was the coming of dawn or the depletion of the night’s supply of mind-altering substances.

The lore feels rooted in the drug habits of John Belushi and Chris Farley, both of whom proved to be a danger more to themselves than anyone’s cast party.

And the show itself, under Mr. Michaels’s long stewardship, is as much a fueling station now for other media — movies, talk shows, cable and web series — as it is an independent cultural product to which the improvisational aura of Chevy Chase, Mr. Belushi and Gilda Radner still clings.

It is worth remembering that the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players were relative showbiz newcomers, actually odd-looking or unkempt, stunned by their overnight success and, moreover, lacking iPhone service. With fame came something now out of fashion: fame-related ennui, expressed in the Fellini homage “La Dolce Gilda,” starring Ms. Radner, and shot by the “S.N.L.” writer Tom Schiller at One Fifth Avenue, an after-party hot spot in those days.

Regardless of generation, though, many former cast members and writers who were interviewed, in addition to avowing that they never personally witnessed the consumption of drugs, painted the same after-party triptych: You just had a great show and you need to blow off steam. The show was just horrible, you were barely in it, and you need to blow off steam. You’ve had 10 hours of sleep in the last four days. Family’s in town and they want to meet celebrities.

Molly Shannon developed a rule: She would invite only friends to the show and after-party who understood how hard it was to make it onto a broadcast where every week 40 to 50 sketches are reduced to the 8 or so that are performed live.

“I used to let strangers in a lot,” she said in a phone interview about her after-party passes. This was to avoid the equivalent of a relative asking why you’re still single.

“If you had a good show you’re on cloud nine,” said Jon Lovitz. who had a lot of them in the mid-1980s. On the other hand, Mr. Lovitz recalled the forlorn night when he had appeared in only one sketch, and was sitting at the party with Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey and Mike Myers.

“It feels like your career’s over,” Mr. Lovitz said. “Honestly, they call it the after-party. In my mind, I only know one time when it actually felt like a party.” (That was in 1990, he said, when Technotronic played their hit “Pump Up the Jam” there.)

Still, the last “S.N.L.” show of 2013 had featured celebrity drop-ins by Paul McCartney, Madonna and outgoing Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Perhaps this meant, long about a boozy 3 a.m., the party would resolve into a tableau of had-to-be-there dissipation?

Alas, no. Buddakan, an upstairs-downstairs place that conveys all the hail-fellow-well-met of an Italianate spec mansion, never made it to kooky, much less crazy. They could have used another bartender upstairs. Madonna didn’t show. Penny Marshall was there, if that helps, as were Chris Rock and other comedians like Judah Friedlander and Eugene Mirman.

The show’s cast members each sat at specially assigned, high-backed booths with their guests, while feature players were at A-minus tables throughout three downstairs rooms. Perhaps most surprising of all, the food and beverages were not free, even for the cast. (Mr. Lovitz, when told of this, took a long pause. “Oh,” he said finally, as though suddenly wondering if he had been walking out on checks in nice restaurants from 1985 to 1990.)

Then again, the repertory in Mr. Lovitz’s day tended to top out at eight; having to replace mainstays like Fred Armisen and Bill Hader this season, “S.N.L.” is a brood of new faces, including the most recent addition of a 17th sketch player, Sasheer Zamata (two writers, LaKendra Tookes and Leslie Jones, were also added).

Oddly, the most resonant image of the night at Buddakan was Seth Meyers of “Weekend Update” at last call, head bent and undoubtedly exhausted, signing his bill. Cash bar or not, at least he knew he was a welcome presence.

“It just felt like a wedding I wasn’t invited to, which is fair — I wasn’t,” the comedian Jen Kirkman said of two parties she has attended over the years, in 1998 and then again in 2011.

Ms. Kirkman, who got in the second time via one of Pee-wee Herman’s puppeteers, recalled seeing a television executive later that night, in a sequined top, weeping on the sidewalk after a cast member had her tossed out over an earlier career slight.

It is, after all, still a work party. After the low-polling Republican presidential candidate Jon Huntsman did a “Weekend Update” segment in 2011, a then-top aide to Mr. Huntsman told this reporter he implored Mr. Meyers to convince Mr. Huntsman’s admiring daughters to put a spoofy candidate YouTube video on ice until after the New Hampshire primary.

At Buddakan, Mr. Michaels, who declined to comment for this article, remained glued to one half-hidden spot the entire night, encased by Mr. McCartney and a coterie of female staff members.

Mr. Fallon, the imminent host of the “Tonight” show, mingled jovially while Mr. Timberlake received visitors at a corner booth. By the end of the night, though, both managed to make their way over to Mr. Michaels’s table, like a bride and groom about to leave on their honeymoon, saving the last goodbye for the paterfamilias.

“Going over to Lorne” is more the purview of the guest host than the sketch regular, though Chris Kattan, a former cast member, said there were parties when Mr. Michaels’s assistant asked him to fill out the boss’s table when it was temporarily light.

“Initially, the very first parties after the show felt like Lorne’s personal hospitality,” Laraine Newman, an original cast member, wrote in an email. She also recalled going to One Fifth Avenue, now Mario Batali’s Otto.

But inevitably some went further. Mr. Belushi and Dan Aykroyd took over a dive on Hudson and Dominick streets and called it the Blues Bar. It was dark, with a bathroom that Ms. Newman said was “more disgusting than the one in ‘Trainspotting.’ ” But it was also a respite from the public where, on a given night, Keith Richards, James Taylor or Sam Moore might be jamming with Mr. Belushi and Mr. Aykroyd’s Stink Band, Ms. Newman said.

Apparently, too, there were drugs around the show then. “After the show, the party started up in my office on the 17th floor,” the writer and performer Tom Davis wrote in his 2009 “S.N.L.” memoir “39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss,” in an anecdote whose details include a toy light gun, the very good aim of Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead, and lines of cocaine on a mirror.

These days, with the website Splitsider doggedly reviewing each “S.N.L.” show, down to data-crunching airtime for cast members, the proceedings seem rather more professional.

Cecily Strong, a “Weekend Update” anchor, was noticeably ambulatory and beaming at the Buddakan party. Mike O’Brien, who had a bit part that night, didn’t appear to be sulking, unless that was why Mr. McCartney was seen blowing a small harmonica inches from Mr. O’Brien’s face.

“When you first get on the show, you’re so thrilled, the party is like another part of the whole Cinderella vibe of the whole thing,” Rachel Dratch (a cast member from 1999 to 2006) said on the phone. “You’re not like, ‘What’s up with this party?’ ”

“As the years go on, you know what they entail.” she said. “It’s still such a ritual. I always went to the party. I didn’t miss one party.”

Not so her cast mate Horatio Sanz. Mr. Sanz, an avuncular on-camera presence with a certain gleam in his eye, was on “S.N.L.” for eight seasons, from 1998 to 2006. Though perhaps overshadowed by the likes of Will Ferrell and Amy Poehler, Mr. Sanz earned a certain heroic status inside “S.N.L.” by re-creating the show’s after-after-party Blues Bar period.

“The after-after was ours,” Mr. Sanz said defiantly. “Mad or not, you could come wasted.”

The reprobate tomfoolery and alcohol, he said, “was a part of the creative process in the beginning, and it’s been written about and talked about, and I kind of wanted to have the same thing for our generation.”

It involved securing a location in Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s New York City that would stay open past legal last-call hours and printing special tickets to be handed out to a more-select set at the after-party.

Sometimes, Mr. Sanz said, especially on nights when a sketch of his was cut at dress rehearsal, he skipped the after-party altogether and rode around in his limo with half a case of beer, listening to music and waiting for his after-after to start.

“It’s not healthy politically or emotionally to be pissed off” at the after-party, said Mr. Sanz, who was part of a budget-driven cast purge in 2006.

Finesse Mitchell, Mr. Sanz’s fellow cast mate from 2003 to 2006, recalled going to Jay Z’s 40/40 Club for a dance party or else hanging out at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater after-hours.

“Horatio Sanz was the man,” said Mr. Mitchell, adding that he had recently spoken to Kenan Thompson, a current cast member, who told him the parties haven’t been the same since Mr. Sanz left.

Mr. Sanz, for his part, gently wondered if the comedy on “S.N.L.” was better served when its cast exuded a little less polish and geniality, on-camera or in social settings.

“The whole idea of bad boys at that show is an old one,” Mr. Sanz said, because they don’t want people who are going to be too much trouble.

But Ms. Newman suggested that the idea of the bad boys might be inflated as well as old. “Pretty soon, I avoided them and I think many others did too,” she wrote of her era’s after-bashes. “Although we needed to unwind, there was another kind of pressure at that party that became, well ... work, networking. And who wanted to deal with that when you’ve already been slaying the airtime dragon?”

i have always wanted to act/write for SNL but that sounds like a really shitty party tbh

source: NY Times

New Abercrombie & Fitch Campaign Features Colton Haynes, Steven R. McQueen and Etc

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Abercrombie & Fitch has launched their new spring campaign “The Making of a Star, ”. It features young Hollywood talents Christa B. Allen (Revenge), Diego Boneta (Rock of Ages), Kylie Bunbury (Twisted), Colton Haynes ( Arrow), Jazzlyn Marae (Fred: The Movie), Steven R. McQueen (The Vampire Diaries) and actress Debby Ryan.






SOURCE

Dailyfail does one thing right and gives us a nice Taylor Swift interview

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Taylor Swift is trying to think how to sum up the vocal talents of one of the most high profile men she’s ever shared a microphone with – the Karaoke Kid aka HRH Prince William.

She lets out a couple of slightly supressed, rather ladylike squeals as she works out loud exactly what to say.

'I mean, he is a member of the royal family, this was a private event and I wouldn’t ever want to say anything remotely disrespectful because I absolutely adore William and Kate,' she says.

I tell her not to worry, that beheading is a thing of the past in the British royal family and she laughs out loud.

The clip of them – alongside Jon Bon Jovi – singing Livin’ On A Prayer went viral on You Tube a few months ago. She herself has kept a DVD copy.

'Well both of us were more screaming than singing,' she says.

'But even through all that I could hear his voice and it is pretty good. A nice tone. I’d definitely say he’s got star quality and if he ever wants me to sing with him again I’ll be there.'

At 24, with seven Grammy awards, record sales counted in billions as opposed to millions, a personal fortune of £62 million and all five dates of her current UK tour (which kicks off at The London O2 today) selling out within hours of going on sale, William is just part of a long line of stage partners from Justin Beiber to J-Lo, Stevie Nicks, Ed Sheeran, Carly Simon, Nicki Minaj and the Seventies American singer/songwriter she was named after, James Taylor.

But for a girl who – in a sea of Mileys, Gagas and Rihannas – uses words like 'decorum', absolutely believes in respecting your elders, has turned down millions to pose for Playboy (lmao) ('There are a lot of offers that just don’t make sense to me') and whose dress code limits are hot pants; that infamous Centrepoint charity event at Kensington Palace alongside Jon Bon Jovi and a flushed and delighted looking Prince William was, she said: 'A night I will remember till I’m very, very old.'

She says: 'The whole evening was completely wondrous and felt so special from the start.

'The theme was ‘winter white’ so I wore a long, white ball gown. Just walking through those beautifully ornate rooms and corridors in Kensington Palace with string quartets playing and that sense of all those people in history who’d walked through the same rooms was completely magical.

'I had no idea I’d even meet Prince William. At the reception I saw Jon Bon Jovi talking to him and then he came over, smiled and started talking to me. I’d never met him before, he was so charming, so easy to talk to.

'I know about curtseying in front of the royal family but I didn’t actually do it because it was much more informal.

'Plus I was completely taken aback by his first words to me, he said: ‘I hear you’re heading off to Australia’ and I couldn’t believe this Prince of England actually knew what someone like me was up to.

'Kate wasn’t with him but he actually sat next to me for the concert.

'We were in the front row and there were singers like James Blunt, Tinie Tempah and Eliza Doolittle sitting near us.

'Jon Bon Jovi got up to perform and he called him out because he’d heard William loves singing Livin’ On A Prayer on karaoke nights. Then he said to everyone in the room: "If I put pressure on the Karaoke Kid he’ll have to get up and sing."

'Prince William looked and me and said: ‘I’ll do it if you do it too’ and then took my hand. I was just completely surprised and flattered and it felt surreal and completely natural at the same time.

'We jumped on the stage and started to sing and then we were really yelling into the microphone and clapping hands. I still can’t believe I’ve sung with the Prince of England.

'But I completely love him – and Kate – I wished I got to meet her too because those guys are like this perfect, perfect couple. Looking at them just makes me feel happy.'

You’d think a girl like Taylor would be pretty happy all the time because she’s got everything she wanted. The last time I met her she was 19 and just on the cusp of becoming huge.

Now she is mega-huge, up there with Beyonce, Katy Perry, Rihanna and Adele and with homes in Nashville, Rhode Island and Hollywood, who at this years Grammies stunned everyone by head-banging her way through the ballad ‘All Too Well’.

'God, so much has happened to me in the past few years,' she says. 'It’s true that years in the celebrity world are like dog years and in that sense I feel about 45. It has got crazy but I like to think I’m pretty much the same person I was back then.'

She has not - unlike her peers Miley Cyrus, Justin Beiber and Rihanna – gone wild in an attempt to twerk her way into the credible sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll hall of fame.

'I think I’ve kept to the same goals I’ve always had,' she says. 'I don’t compare myself to anyone else, I don’t make comments about anyone else because they do what feels right for them and that’s okay by me.

'You get to a point where it’s like you can’t really do anything right and people will pick on you for whatever decisions you make, so I just try and take no notice and get on with my music.'


What’s the wildest, most hedonistic thing she has ever done? She laughs: 'That is a tough one, I think I’ll have to ask my friends.'

She has never, she says, done anything illegal. She didn’t have a drink till she was 21 and has recurring panic dreams of being arrested for something she didn’t do.

She’s still thinking about that wild thing and drawing blanks but the more she thinks about it the more unapologetic she becomes.

There is a core of steel to Swift that has – along with her song writing – won her praise from some of the toughest and most difficult to impress.

Neil Young says he likes her. 'I like her music, I like watching her respond to her attacks, I like the way she’s defining herself.'

Elvis Costello says: 'You can see self-possession there and I’m intrigued by that.'


She likes to throw parties for her girlfriend but no TVs are chucked out of hotel windows, no eggs (sorry Justin) are thrown at neighbours walls.

'For me relaxing is cooking, baking. In the winter I bake, I make pumpkin loaves and chocolate chip cookies, in the summer I cook. I do a great Japanese stir fry with chicken and vegetables and pasta with vegetables and vodka sauce.'

When she comes to Britain for her tour she’s hoping to see something of the Great British Bake Off.

'I’ve heard of that show,' she says. 'I really want to see it because I’m completely passionate about baking and I love watching other people bake. I’d definitely like to see Mary Berry.'

Swift is the product of a highly educated, middle class family who put manners, morals and personal development high on the family agenda.

The daughter of three generations of banking executives, she was brought up in the affluent area of Wyomissing, Pennsylvania on an 11 acre Christmas Tree Farm, the family owned as a secondary business.

From the age of nine thanks to a combination of loving Shania Twain, seeing Dolly Parton and listening to a LeAnn Rimes album her parents bought her as her first ever record, she knew she wanted to be a country singer. Her mother, Andrea, encouraged her first to paint then to paint in words.

It was not a decision that made her popular at school where everyone else was into Britney (Spears) Justin (Timberlake) and Destiny’s Child. She’d run into the
toilets during break times to sit in a cubicle and sing a few lines of lyrics she had just thought up.

She wore folk style bandanas in her hair and talked about ‘switchbacks’ (a lyric that zig-zags back on itself, a favourite device in country music) .

'I was an oddball,' she says. 'And I was way taller than everyone else (she is a 5,11) with curly frizzy hair. People can be very mean. I became a target, a very easy target because I was also very sensitive.'

At 12 she went to Nashville with her mum and a stack of CDs she’d made, running in and out of record companies delivering the discs while Andrea waited in the car outside. She persuaded her mother and stock-broker father to move to Nashville.

By 14 she had a record deal but was ‘shelved’ a year later. She pushed on. The words; ‘Never, never, never give up’ are embossed in swirly letters on the inside of her tour-bus.

Success has not dulled her sensitivity. But in many ways it is that sensitivity that has given her success. Her confessional songs – many about lost love and broken dreams – have struck a major chord with her largely female following. She actually looks pretty close to a supermodel but in concert she talks to her audience as if she is the eternal wallflower, the geeky, gawky uncertain one.

She is known for not discussing in interviews past romances with the likes of One Direction’s Harry Styles, the super-bad boy, John Mayer, the American royal, Conor Kennedy, or the commitment phobe Jake Gyllenhaal.

In the press she is sometimes painted as a man-chaser ('I never chase boys, they don’t like it.') whose music consists of revenge songs directed at the men who let her down. There are whole websites devoted to working out which song is directed at which ex – Dear John for John Meyer and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together Again is thought to be about Gyllenhaal. Swift will neither confirm nor deny.

It’s actually a pretty smart policy. Not only does it stoke massive interest in each of her four albums, but any such revelations could spark savage repercussions.

When One Directioners took I Knew You Were Trouble from her best-selling Red album to be about Harry (it was actually written before they even dated) (sob i'll never let it go) she received death threats on Twitter from his fans urging her to 'drink bleach'.

To Swift it is simply what she does. Her idols from Parton to Stevie Nicks to Carly Simon, Eminem and Joni Mitchell all poured their lives and love affairs into their songs.

At school, she wrote about girls being mean, about being the odd one, the kid who didn’t fit in.

'One of the great joys about writings songs is that it enabled me to have the last word.'

She adds: 'Songs are my diaries, they always have been. You have to put your trust in everyone because putting down those real, personal details and thoughts that make a song authentic also opens you right up. I am constantly misunderstood; a lot of people just don’t get me.'

She pauses. 'It’s like how I’m perceived to be constantly going out with people. I’m just not. It’s like she’s a hopeless romantic so she’s a serial monogamist, always dating.

'They look at me and think: ‘Oh she has to be in love or she’s not happy.’ It is possible for a woman to be a romantic but also to be single and to be happy.'

'I am single,' she says. 'To be honest being single is one of the best things about my life right now. And whatever people think I actually love it.

'Life is so much more fun and it’s great not to have to worry about calling someone every night, just doing what you want to do. Hanging out with your friends.'


Swift is far more complex, far more intelligent than most of the stories about her give her credit for. Like Adele, she is one of the few female stars who
writes their own songs. Her lyrics are clever, assured and her progression as a writer is clear.

Stevie Nicks rates her: 'It’s women like her who are going to save the music business.'

She studies the song writing of her heroes.

'Sometimes I’ll go into the Canyons in LA and just think about all those incredible musicians who used to live there. I think you still feel an incredible energy there. I’d love to have been around then.'

For the past few weeks she has had an unprecedented number of days off. She has spent the time hiking, making granola ('It’s so good.') watching re-runs of Friends, Sex And The City, Law And Order and endless loops of her favourite movies 500 Days Of Summer and Love Actually.

She’s also been reading a lot of American classics: 'For Christmas my brother (21-year-old Austin) bought me the best ever present, a collection of books called The University Library, it has poems, novels, short stories. I love it.

'I spend a lot of time at bookstores buying beaten up vintage books. You can lose yourself in a book like you can in a song and as a songwriter, you can learn just by reading the way other people write.'

What makes Swift so likeable is her habit of looking outside herself. She talks about sitting next to Julia Roberts at the Golden Globes: 'We just started talking straight away. What struck me about her was not how beautiful she was but how youthful she was. She seemed younger than me and just extraordinary. She has a real grace.

'She is how I’d like to be. I want to grow up with grace, to age gracefully and to love life. Julia was just so full of life.'


She asks questions, talks about other musicians (Sheeran, Ellie Goulding), movies she’s seen (American Hustle) the way Eminem can tell a story.

She has a lot of friends including the actresses Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence, Selena Gomez and Girls writer Lena Durham who she’s grown particularly close to.

'People say the more famous you become the smaller your circle of friends becomes but for me it’s been the opposite.

'I didn’t have a lot of friends growing up and now I’m surrounded by all these amazing, strong women who are incredibly supportive.

'Like Lena. She’s crazy busy but she’ll always take my call. I can call her in the night and she’d be there to laugh with me or to chill with me or to hold my hand. And I’d be there for her.'

You can’t help wonder if the media misunderstanding of Taylor Swift will put her off dating for good. And what would happen to her music.

There is a pause and then she laughs. 'I just don’t Google. I’m unapologetically okay with myself. I refuse to believe the good hype and I refuse to believe the bad hype. Life is good.' (bless tbh)

src

Box Office: 'Ride Along,''That Awkward Moment' Tie Friday for No. 1

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Holdover Ride Along and new comedy That Awkward Moment -- starring Zac Efron, Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan -- tied Friday at the North American box office with $3.9 million each.

However, Ride Along is expected to pull ahead on Saturday and win Super Bowl weekend with an estimated $12 million, pushing its North American total to a stellar $92.7 million for Universal. The film, teaming rising star Kevin Hart with Ice Cube, will have stayed at No. 1 for three weekends.
Awkward Moment -- marking the first release from Focus Features under Peter Schlessel's rule -- is tipped to take in $10.1 million, a solid start considering the film's $8 million budget. The film hopes to lure younger females uninterested in Sunday's big game.

Schlessel acquired rights to Awkward Moment for roughly $1.5 million when he was running FilmDistrict and brought the title with him to Focus. The film, launching in 2,809 theaters and earning a B CinemaScore, revolves around three friends facing that awkward turning point in their respective relationships.
Awkward Moment could itself in a close race for No. 2 with Disney's sing-along version of animated blockbuster Frozen, which grossed $2.2 million Friday for a projected weekend in the $9.7 million range. The film's domestic total through Friday was $353 million.

Frozen, featuring the movie's nine songs, is also doing blockbuster business and returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in the week ending Jan. 26. Frozen is the first soundtrack since High School Musical 2 in 2007 to spend at least three weeks at No. 1.
Jason Reitman's Labor Day may only eke out at a seventh place finish in its debut. The drama, targeting older women, grossed $1.9 million Friday for projected weekend earnings in the $5.5 million range (Paramount was expecting a debut between $6 million to $8 million). Audiences gave it a B- CinemaScore.

From Paramount and Indian Paintbrush, Labor Day cost $18 million to make and stars Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith and Tobey Maguire. It's the first time that one of Reitman's movies has opened nationwide; the rest have all opened in limited runs before slowly expanding. Labor Day, about a woman and her son who bring a stranger home over the holiday, was originally supposed to debut in theaters late last year, but its release was pushed back.

American Hustle continues to outpace other Oscar frontrunners and will become David O. Russell's most successful film at the domestic box office sometime over the weekend, surpassing the $132.1 million earned last year by Silver Linings Playbook. The film is expected to gross $4.3 million for the weekend for a North American total of $133.5 million.
Source
ONTD, do you plan on going to the movies this weekend or are you gearing up for the Super Bowl?

In Touch Magazine Tries It: Hilary Duff’s Psychic Told Her to Divorce

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A psychic may be to blame for Hilary Duff’s divorce! An insider reveals in the new issue of In Touch that the actress, 26, has been seeing a clairvoyant “religiously” for years, and that it was she who advised Hilary to split in January from her husband of three years, former NHL player Mike Comrie, 33.
“Her psychic actually told her to leave her husband,” an insider tells the new issue of In Touch.“In fact, she told her to never marry him years ago!”
And Hilary believes her psychic so well, “She almost called off the wedding.”
Despite trying to work through their issues,“When the psychic told Hilary that she and Mike weren’t meant to be together,” the insider adds, “it was a breaking point.”

Source

ONTD, do you believe in psychics?

Howard Stern Birthday Bash in NYC

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Ryan Phillips shows that he still got that six pack giving Robin Quivers a lap dance at Howard Stern Birthday Bash held at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.  Other attendees included Heidi Klum, Lena Dunham, Chelsea Handler and Adam Levin.

Source

Ryan Phillips is delicious. I want a lap dance as well.















Teen Petitions Disney: Give Us a Plus-Size Princess!

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It's no secret that Disney has gotten flak for its blond, white princess archetype, and now a Virginia teen has one more suggestion for the animated film company: Create a plus-size princess.

On January 24, Jewel Moore, a 17-year-old junior at Fuqua High School in Farmville, Virginia, launched a Change.org petition asking Disney to give us an interesting female character who isn't stick-thin. As of Friday afternoon, it had almost 2,000 signatures.

"It's extremely difficult to find a positive representation of plus-size females in the media. If Disney could make a plus-size female protagonist who was as bright, amazing, and memorable as their others, it would do a world of good for those plus-size girls out there who are bombarded with images that make them feel ugly for not fitting the skinny standard," Jewel writes in the petition.

"Disney films are highly influential and wide-spread, and they impact the lives of many children, especially girls. It would be revolutionary for Disney to show support to a group of girls who are otherwise horrendously bullied by the media."

Jewel says that being a plus-size kid has been a struggle, and the point of her campaign is to help younger girls feel better about themselves.

"I know the characters are just cartoons but they give girls their first impressions of real-life women," Jewel tells Yahoo Shine. "Now that I’m almost an adult, cartoons don’t impact my confidence, but I have small cousins and I want them to see a wide representation of women. If plus-size girls see characters that look like them succeed, it would show them that they can do anything."

Jewel had initially wanted to express her feelings to Disney in a letter, but she quickly realized that she needed backing in order to be taken seriously by the company. So, last Friday, while home from school on a snow day, she penned the petition.

Over the years, Disney has occasionally strayed from its classic princess aesthetic. Its 2012 Pixar film "Brave" focuses on Merida, a tomboy hero with wild, curly red hair, and 2009's "The Princess and the Frog" features a hardworking African-American waitress named Tiana (who eventually becomes the princess). And of course, there’s the 1995 flick "Pocahontas," which tells the story of the daughter of an Algonquin chief who falls in love with an English colonist, and 1998's "Mulan," about a Chinese warrior who leads her country to battle dressed as a man.
But rarely has the company rejiggered its classic, slim frame.

"To be clear, I’m not asking for Disney to stop making thin princesses," says Jewel. "I would just like to see a princess with a different body shape. Where’s the pear-shaped princess? The short princess? The chubby princess?"

And although Jewel has received plenty of support from her friends, she admits to having experienced some backlash, too.

"I’ve had a few people tell me that I should redirect my efforts to help women not look toward the media to gain their self-confidence," she says. "I wish women wouldn’t listen to the media, but that’s inevitable. If we can’t change people, we can at least start with animated characters."

And there’s one more group of people Jewel would like to reach with her petition: "I want little boys to see plus-size Disney princesses," says Jewel, "so they don’t grow up and think women they date have to look perfect." Smart girl!



source

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