Sunday, February 1, 2009
SPRINGSTEEN MAKES A MISTAKE!!!!!
NEW YORK – The Boss is owning up to a mistake.
In an interview with The New York Times, Bruce Springsteen says he shouldn't have made a deal with Wal-Mart. This month, the store started exclusively selling a Springsteen greatest-hits CD.
Some fans were critical because Springsteen has been a longtime supporter of worker's rights, and Wal-Mart has faced criticism for its labor practices. Springsteen's team didn't vet the issue as closely as it should have, and that he "dropped the ball on it," he told the Times for a story to be published in Sunday editions and previewed on its Web site.
Springsteen went on to say: "It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be."
"Millions of Springsteen fans have counted on Wal-Mart over the years to deliver his music into their lives, and we will continue to offer those fans this 'Greatest Hits' exclusive and his other popular albums at unbeatable prices," Wal-Mart said in a statement, adding: "We are proud of the good jobs, benefits and career opportunities we provide to more than 1.4 million U.S. associates who choose to work at Wal-Mart and serve our customers every day."
Springsteen released his new CD "Working on a Dream" this week and is performing the halftime show at the Super Bowl.
KANYE WEST...NEW BOOK,C.D.
Los Angeles (E! Online) – Here's hoping Kanye West eases up on the all-caps for his next writing venture.
The blog-happy hip-hop star is collaborating on Glow in the Dark, a "deluxe volume" about his most recent world tour that will feature documentary photographs of West's good life onstage and off, sketches and other conceptual plans for the tour's set design and costumes, exclusive commentary and a greatest-hits CD from the Glow in the Dark set list.
"Kanye West has turned his talents as pop artist to books," Charlies Miers, VP and publisher at Rizzoli New York, said in a statement to E! News.
"With a CD that includes Star Wars-like symphonics from the show as well as interview with Spike Jonze, it is not only a memento of one of the most successful musical performances of the year, it is an experience all its own."
The publishing house confirmed the book is underway and due out in October, after originally being scheduled for a spring release after the scope of the project was truly understood.
West's Glow in the Dark tour crisscrossed the globe between April and December and featured appearances by Jay-Z, Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, Gnarls Barkley, N.E.R.D. and Nas.
—Reporting by Whitney English
"SLUM DOG" TOP DOG AT DGA AWARDS
Los Angeles (E! Online) – There's a reason oddsmakers don't think Slumdog Millionaire is an Oscar underdog. It's not.
The India-set indie cemented its front-runner status with a win tonight for Danny Boyle at the 61st Annual Directors Guild of America Awards.
The Office, The Wire, Recount and America's Next Top Model were among the honorees in the TV categories.
Boyle beat out David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) and Gus Van Sant (Milk), all of whom he'll face at the Oscars, plus Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), whom he won't.
Since 1948, the DGA winner's only missed out the Oscar six times. Half of those instances, however, have occurred since 1995. Ang Lee is the last DGA winner to win Best Director, and not see his film (2005's Brokeback Mountain) win Best Picture, too.
Slumdog's DGA win comes one week after it claimed top prizes from the producers and actors guilds.
Carl Reiner, who was to host tonight's ceremony, was a last-minute scratch (food poisoning, Variety reported). Jon Cryer was a last-minute su
Saturday, January 31, 2009
PAUL BLARTS MALL COP....$100 MILLION PLUS!!!!
LOS ANGELES - Much like its goofy titular character, "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" has defied expectations. The slapstick comedy , which cost a mere $26 million to produce, is speeding toward the $100 million mark following back-to-back weekends atop the box office.
DMX......MORE JAIL TIME
The dog days of two summers ago—make that the mistreating dog days—have resulted in a dark day for DMX.
The rapper today was sentenced to 90 days in a Phoenix jail, stemming from his guilty plea last month to one count each of animal cruelty, theft, marijuana possession and possession of a narcotic.
In addition to his three-month lockup, the minimum he could have faced as a result of last month's plea deal, the arrest-prone artist, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was placed on 18 months probation for his misdeeds.
But if you think he received any special treatment, think again.
"I'm not sentencing DMX today, I'm sentencing Earl Simmons," Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner Phemonia Miller said during the hearing. "I don't know DMX. Mr. Simmons, it's time to do something different. What you have been doing is not working."
To further drive the point home, Miller said she would not give the rapper any credit for the nearly two months he's already spent in police custody.
While he originally faced more than a dozen possible charges as a result of an August 2007 raid on his Arizona home, prosecutors opted not to slap the excess charges on the rapper as a result of his guilty plea.
The sentence is the result of a months-long investigation into reports of pit bull abuse that culminated in a search of his property, during which officials found 12 extremely malnourished pit bulls, three dead dogs, guns and ammunition and a significant amount of drugs and drug paraphernalia.
As it is, the 38-year-old has been held since Dec. 9, when he was arrested in Miami after failing to appear at a court hearing in his Phoenix case. It remains unclear where, exactly, the rapper will be locked up, as the commissioner agreed to let him apply to serve his sentence in Florida rather than his resident state.
KIM K GIVES UP THE "FUR"
"PHOTO TAKEN BY KINGSMEN MEDIA"
Los Angeles (E! Online) – Kim Kardashian may be close to giving up fur.
The E! reality star tells me that she began thinking about losing her animal pelt wardrobe last month when PETA released an "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" ad featuring her sister Khloe in the nude.
"It's baby steps for me," Kim told me at 50 Cent's party at the Vitaminwater House, where she arrived in a fur-trimmed coat and enjoyed braised beef short ribs from the One Group. "I haven't bought anything new since Khloe did the ad."
Even Kim's boyfriend, football star Reggie Bush, gives her a hard time about fur. The two were at Sundance last year when they drove past an animal rights protest in front of a fur store. "I was wearing a fur vest, and he was like, 'This is humiliating. I can't go out with you,'" Kim remembered. "And then we were driving past the protest and he was rolling down the window and screaming, 'She's in here. She's in here
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Friday, January 9, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Will Smith named 2008 MONEY-MAKER
As far as 2008 was concerned, it was Will Smith who banked the Benjamins Hancock-over-fist—the action hero has just been named the Top Money-Making Star of the past year.
The A-lister with the most appeal was determined, per usual, by the annual Quigley Poll. The results are based on which stars movie theater owners and film buyers believe to be the year's biggest box office draws—believe to be being the operative words.
While Smith unarguably banked a bundle last year, with grosses from Hancock and Seven Pounds earning a combined $271.8 million per Box Office Mojo, his total was mere chump change compared with a few ranked below him.
Robert Downey Jr., who came second on the Quigley list, had a total film gross of $432.7 million in 2008, $567.2 million if his cameo in The Incredible Hulk is factored in.
Even Christian Bale, who ranked third, made more money, with his sole 2008 release—The Dark Knight, as if you had to ask—lining theater owners' pockets to the tune of $530.9 million.
Rounding out the Top 10 were the bankable likes of Shia LaBeouf, Harrison Ford, Adam Sandler, Reese Witherspoon, George Clooney, Angelina Jolie and Daniel Craig.
··· THEY SAID WHAT? Get today's most commented stories now at www.eonline.comHookup Alert! Smith & Spielberg Ready to Be BoysSightings: Will and Jada Get Fried in Los AngelesGeek Alert: Terminator, Stargate, Hancock...Oh My!Will & Jada Get Tongues WaggingFair-Weather Movie Fans Freeze Out Jim Carrey, Will Smith?Twilight Was Bigger than Dark Knight?!Will Smith's Karate Kid Ready for Remake
Thursday, January 1, 2009
QUEEN LATIFAH BECOMES LATEST VICTIM
By Chris Richburg
Oscar nominated rapper/singer Queen Latifah became the victim of thieves when more than $10,000 worth of jewelry was stolen from her luxury villa in Tobago on Monday (December 29).
Police investigating the incident believe the theft was an inside job that may have been committed by a member of the house and grounds staff at Stone Haven Villas, Black Rock Tobago.
According to Trinidad and Tobago’s Newsday, authorities state there was no forced entry into the villa, which reinforces the inside job theory. Latifah was in Tobago last week for the Christmas holidays.
The 35-year-old entertainer, who checked into the $1,000 a night villa under the name Cynthia Hadden, reportedly stayed at the compound with a female friend.
Police were informed of Latifah’s visit by Stone Haven management, which asked that special attention be paid to the area.
Despite having three security guards on duty around the clock, a bracelet, two gold rings, a gold chain and a silver ring were taken, as Latifah attended a barbecue brunch in her honor.
Guards conducted a search of the villa after the rapper contacted the Stone Haven manager, when she discovered the jewelry was missing.
Police were notified when the search came up empty. A statement was later taken from Latifah, who has since checked out of Stone Haven.
The rapper was reportedly upset over the theft as she stated the jewelry had a sentimental value and that she would be willing to offer a reward for its return.
Tobago police, who have conducted searches, have questioned staff assigned to the villa and Stone Haven employees.
Acting police commissioner James Philbert expressed his department’s desire to retrieve the jewelry as he told Newsday that “several searches are being carried out and the police are trying to have the jewelry returned to Queen Latifah.”
“Investigators said the larceny seems to be an inside job and efforts are being made round the clock to make a breakthrough,” he shared with the paper.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
DMX PLEADS GUILTY!!!
PHOENIX (AP) — Rapper DMX has reached a plea deal on multiple drug possession, theft and animal cruelty charges.
DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of animal cruelty, one count of theft, and one count each of felony possession of marijuana and a narcotic drug.
A Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner has set a sentencing hearing for Jan. 30.
Additional charges will be dismissed then.
The 38-year-old rapper has been arrested several times in Arizona in the past year and missed several court dates.
Authorities alleged that DMX gave a false name and Social Security number when being treated at a Scottsdale hospital in April. He was indicted on felony charges of theft and taking someone's identity.
The animal cruelty charge, a misdemeanor, came from an August 2007 raid that Maricopa County sheriff's deputies conducted at DMX's Cave Creek home. Authorities investigating a report of animal abuse found three dead dogs, guns, ammunition and drug paraphernalia.
JAY-Z's HOTEL PLANS IN THE "CAN"
Jay-Z’s plans to add the title of hotelier to his ever-expanding empire has been halted, the New York Times reports.
The rapper/mogul’s planned J Hotels, which was scheduled to break ground this year, has been postponed indefinitely, as New York’s real estate development market takes a heavy hit.
The luxury hotel was proposed as the first five-star property in Manhattan’s developing High Line neighborhood, on the city’s Westside.
After purchasing the location, a former Time Warner Cable warehouse, for nearly $66 million, longtime developer Charles Blaichman enlisted partners Jay-Z and Abram and Scott Shnay to create the new full service J Hotels brand.
Blaichman, who is responsible for SoHo House and Spice Market, two of the biggest draws in the Meat Packing district, was also planning two other properties in the High Line neighborhood.
However, the struggling economy can no longer support the $370 million in loans and investment he would have needed to undertake the endeavor.
Still, Blaichman remains optimistic that his plans have been delayed rather than cancelled.
“It’s one of the greatest stretches of undeveloped areas,” he told the Times. “I still think it’s going to take off.”
Still, with the growth rate of construction in New York City down to .08 percent from 11.3 percent last year, experts say it may be as much as two years before any new buildings appear on the city’s sky line.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
SHAWTY LO GIVES BACK!!!!!!
It's been a banner year for Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo and he plans on ending it by doing "good in the hood".
On Tuesday, December 23rd, the D4L boss will be participating in the DJ Holiday-hosted event, Everyday's A Holiday Toy Give-Away
along with other industry labels and artists including the DTP Family, So Icey Entertainment and OJ Da Juiceman.
Shawty Lo will be passing out toys to children in need at 4PM at 5960 Forest Road in Forest Park, Georgia.
"I know what it's like to not have anything to open on Christmas Day" says the Bankhead representer.
"So to be able to give back and make the kids feel special is what this season is all about."
It was also just announced that Shawty Lo was named "Breakthrough MC of the Year" by MTV's Shaheem Reid and Rahman Dukes for the
2008 Mixtape Monday Awards. Other honors were given to 50 Cent and G-Unit, Green Latern, Whoo Kid,
Kanye West, Nas, TI, Snoop Dogg, DJ Scream and more.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
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