I don’t like that it took two accusations of illegal boy boning, but I am glad that Elmo can’t let out another nerve-killing, soul-butchering annoying cackle for now. Elmo is temporarily mute today, because his voice box has quit this bitch and is done fisting Muppets. After 28 years of being the voice of Elmo, Kevin Clash is no longer the voice of Elmo. Sesame Street released this statement to everyone today:
Sesame Workshop’s mission is to harness the educational power of media to help all children the world over reach their highest potential. Kevin Clash has helped us achieve that mission for 28 years, and none of us, especially Kevin, want anything to divert our attention from our focus on serving as a leading educational organization. Unfortunately, the controversy surrounding Kevin’s personal life has become a distraction that none of us want, and he has concluded that he can no longer be effective in his job and has resigned from Sesame Street. This is a sad day for Sesame Street.
Usually, when a dude resigns from his job while in the middle of a sexo escandalo, it means that more accusers are about to come forward and another one has. 30-something Cecil Singleton, the one on the right serving up some subway-style El Debarge-ness, has gone
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Full Story »Get ready for more Star Wars, and possibly further incarnations of your favorite George Lucas properties: The Walt Disney Company is buying LucasFilm for $4.05 billion, with plans to release Star Wars: Episode 7 in 2015. Great idea, or “Nooooooo!” worthy? Weigh in, Movieliners! [UPDATE: Disney head Bob Iger says Disney's planning Star Wars 8 and 9 to follow.]
Disney CEO Bob Iger discussed the deal in a press release:
“Lucasfilm reflects the extraordinary passion, vision, and storytelling of its founder, George Lucas. This transaction combines a world-class portfolio of content including Star Wars, one of the greatest family entertainment franchises of all time, with Disney’s unique and unparalleled creativity across multiple platforms, businesses, and markets to generate sustained growth and drive significant long-term value.”
Lucas addressed the sale and what it means for the Star Wars franchise, which will continue under Disney in 2015:
“For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails in film, television, interactive media, theme parks, live entertainment, and consumer products.”
I can’t imagine classic Star Wars fans are excited about the prospect of the franchise chugging along without its guiding…
Full Story »The Academy Awards could finally get the dynamic host they’ve been looking for in Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane, whom Deadline reports has been anointed emcee for the 2013 Oscars telecast. Given his solid SNL hosting debut (which began with an Oscars-appropriate song-and-dance monologue) the Ted creator is a well-rounded choice in a town that doesn’t actually have many writer-actor-producer-singer-funny voice-doers, let alone any willing to regularly push the boundaries of good taste. [UPDATE: Watch Seth MacFarlane as he makes his official Oscar announcement via video.]
But let us not forget, as Deadline reminds us: “Of course during the Emmys he didn’t find his mark and stood on the stage awkwardly when he was a presenter. But, that said, it’s an inspired choice by the Academy…”
The man loves to sing and loves to put teddy bears in compromising positions. He’s got my vote of approval. The question is, will the over-50 Oscar-watching crowd take to a little giggity-giggity in their Academy Awards?
[Deadline]
Dane Cook must’ve looked at all the free attention Daniel Tosh got for that whole “Wouldn’t it be funny if 5 guys raped her right now?” thing and thought to himself, “I can do that too!” And he did at The Laugh Factory in L.A. last night when he tried out this joke:
“I heard that the guy came into the theater about 25 minutes into [The Dark Knight Rises]. And I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie, but the movie’s pretty much a piece of crap. Yeah, spoiler alert. I know that if none of that would have happened, I’m pretty sure that somebody in that theater, about 25 minutes in realizing it was a piece of crap, probably was like, ‘Ugh, fucking shoot me.’”
The comedian he stole that joke from should be ashamed of themselves! But really, Dane Cook has a point. The Dark Knight Rises was a total piece of crap compared to the cinematic brilliance of Employee of the Month.
UPDATE: Dane Cook’s ass farted out an apology today, “I made a bad judgment call with my material last night & regret making a joke at such a sensitive time. My heart goes out to all of the families & friends of the victims.”
via Vulture
And it keeps getting messier. The executors of Michael Jackson’s Estate and his three kids, Prince, Paris and Blanket all want the court to give Tito’s son and the Hot Slut of my heart, TJ Jackson, temporary guardianship, because they believe that their aunties and uncles have kidnapped Katherine Jackson. Meanwhile, Katherine Jackson is far from the drama in Arizona and busy worrying about whether or not she’s going to beat Rebbie’s ass in a game of Uno.
TMZ says that 34-year-old TJ Jackson, who is married with two children, is having his lawyers put together the legal documents and he’s expected to file them any day now. Michael Jackson’s Estate and MJ’s kids all want TJ to take over as guardian until all this messy drama gets cleaned up. If it ever will (this is the Jackson family we’re talking about, it never will). All of this went down just hours after Janet Jackson went crazy on Paris Jackson by trying to snatch away her cell phone.
So if the kids want the always gorgeous TJ Jackson to be their guardian, does that mean Tito isn’t in on the kidnapping scheme? Or maybe the kids specifically said they want TJ Jackson’s luscious otter brows to be their guardian, because his eyebrows would probably do the best job and they look pretty
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Full Story »At least one gunman opened fire at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises early Friday morning in Aurora, Colorado, injuring as many as twenty people. An early report from local radio station 850 KOA cites witness reports that a shooter, possibly wearing a mask, opened fire and set off tear gas during a shoot-out scene in the film. Various reports cite at least ten 12 people dead, although details are still emerging with at least one suspect in custody. [UPDATE: 50 others have been wounded in the attack.]
UPDATE: Video purported to show the scene at the Aurora Century 16 following the shooting has hit YouTube. Be warned – it’s unverified (although at least one fan in full Batman costume can be seen), disturbing, and contains footage of an apparently bloodied cinemagoer exiting the theater.
UPDATE: Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates shared details of the shooting via press conference:
The violence erupted about 12:30 a.m. MDT as the gunman stood at the front of one of the Century 16 theaters at the Aurora Mall.
“Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire,” Oates said at a news conference.
One suspect is in custody and there’s no evidence of any additional shooters, Oates said.
UPDATE: The 24-year-old suspect is in police custody and his North Aurora apartment is being searched for explosives. Eyewitnesses say the gunman, dressed in black, entered the Century 16 theater around 12:30 am, set off tear gas canisters, and began shooting patrons in multiple theaters within the cinema before being apprehended by police.
Many of the wounded are children, with one gunshot victim reported to be as young as 6 years old.
![12 Dead, 50 Wounded at Midnight Screening of The Dark Knight Rises [UPDATED]](http://www.celebrities.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/e8ab4_b.gif?host=movieline.com&blog=31106521&post=161628&subd=pmcmovieline&ref=&feed=1 "12 Dead, 50 Wounded at Midnight Screening of The Dark Knight Rises [UPDATED]"){kind=small}
At least one gunman opened fire at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises early Friday morning in Aurora, Colorado, injuring as many as twenty people. An early report from local radio station 850 KOA cites witness reports that a shooter, possibly wearing a mask, opened fire and set off tear gas during a shoot-out scene in the film. Various reports cite at least ten people dead, although details are still emerging with at least one suspect in custody. [UPDATE: 14 people are reported dead, with 50 others wounded in the attack.]
UPDATE: Video purported to show the scene at the Aurora Century 16 following the shooting has hit YouTube. Be warned – it’s unverified (although at least one fan in full Batman costume can be seen), disturbing, and contains footage of an apparently bloodied cinemagoer exiting the theater.
UPDATE: Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates shared details of the shooting via press conference:
The violence erupted about 12:30 a.m. MDT as the gunman stood at the front of one of the Century 16 theaters at the Aurora Mall.
“Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire,” Oates said at a news conference.
One suspect is in custody and there’s no evidence of any additional shooters, Oates said.
![Report: Mass Shooting at Midnight Screening of The Dark Knight Rises [UPDATED]](http://www.celebrities.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/90732_b.gif?host=movieline.com&blog=31106521&post=161628&subd=pmcmovieline&ref=&feed=1 "Report: Mass Shooting at Midnight Screening of The Dark Knight Rises [UPDATED]"){kind=small}
While official confirmation has yet to be reported, columnist Liz Smith eulogizes friend and filmmaker Nora Ephron, writer and director of films including Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and 2009’s Julie & Julia. “People who never dreamed she was ill, are crestfallen. Amazed. Stunned,” Smith writes. “I won’t say, “Rest in peace, Nora” – I will just ask “What the hell will we do without you?” UPDATE: Sources clarify that Ephron is alive, but “gravely ill.”
Meanwhile, advice columnist Margo Howard, who also writes for the online publication The Women on the Web, where Smith’s remembrance appeared today, Tweeted the news citing Smith as her source:
Well, to those of you who can't find the news of Nora Ephron's death, the funeral is Thursday – and maybe that's the way she wanted it.—
Margo Howard (@Margoandhow) June 26, 2012
Contradicting the odd announcements, the New York Times contacted Ephron’s publisher, Knopf, who said she has not died:
Nora Ephron's publisher, Knopf, tells the NYT that she is still alive.—
Julie Bosman (@juliebosman) June 26, 2012
UPDATE: Newsweek/Daily Beast reporter MariaElena Fernandez chimed in through the confusion, adding that Ephron, who is battling cancer, is alive but near death.
Nora Ephron news is not a hoax but she has not passed away. She is not expected to make it through tonight. This is the truth.—
MariaElena Fernandez (@writerchica) June 26, 2012
UPDATE: TMZ cites family members who say Ephron is “gravely ill,” while Roger Friedman has been told that she’s in a New York hospital suffering from “a rare form of leukemia.”
Developing…
[WOW]
It’s been exactly six long minutes since the last “Brangie’s getting hitched” rumor, so THANK MADDOX that The Hollywood Reporter ended that dry spell by giving us a new one. Robert Procop, who worked with Angie Jolie on her The Style of Jolie (barf) jewelry line, says that she’s wearing an engagement ring designed by him and Brad Pitt. Angie wore a huge ass diamond on her left vein claw while walking through LACMA’s Chinese Galleries collection with Pax and an unidentified freeway underpass hobo, and Robert says that is the ring every Brangeloonie is going to try to recreate using foil from the mental hospital’s kitchen pantry. Robert confirmed that it is an engagement ring and explained it like this:
“Brad had a specific vision for this ring, which he realized over a yearlong collaboration. He wanted every aspect of it to be perfect, so I was able to locate a diamond of the finest quality and cut it to an exact custom size and shape to suit Angelina’s hand. Brad was always heavily involved, overseeing every aspect of the creative design evolution. The side diamonds are specially cut to encircle her finger. Each diamond is of the highest gem quality.”
Highest gem quality? That confirms Angie’s ring is made from one of
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