Alex's Entertainment Report
Alex
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Caught the end of 'Friends', and Rachel is going to have a girl. And, once again,
I wish 'Will & Grace' was 'Jack & Karen'.
Saw the Russell Crowe interview with Richard Nixon's favorite Gal Friday, Diane
Sawyer, and well, Poor Meg -- and what a lard ass he possesses!
Tonight, Friday, CBS starts the evening with a rerun of 'JAG, then
a fresh episode of 'First Monday' (hell, it's the 2nd episode, I'd hope it'd be
fresh - oh, and in spite of the title, it will air on Fridays), and '48 Hours'.
NBC took advantage of ABC's stupidity and has the '25th Anniversary of ''Roots''', then
'Dateline', and also a fresh 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
ABC once again shows it's contempt for the viewing audience and has a repeat of 'Funniest
Videos'. The next show scheduled is 'Once & Again', but, it was put on 'hiatus' yesterday,
so if it airs (& you're a fan), consider it a 'final' fix. They'll probably run another rerun of some
flavor of a so-called 'Funniest Video'. The evening is capped by Barbara Walters triumphant
return to her 'time-slot', and a new co-host on '20/20'.
The WB has a fresh night -- 'Sabrina', 'Raising Dad', 'Reba' & 'Maybe
It's Me'.
Faux has a fresh 'Dark Angel', and the weekly repeat of '24'.
AMC seems to be celebrating Arnold Schwarzenegger with 'Predator', and 'Hercules In
New York' (although his billing is for 'Arnold Strong'...if you think he has a thick accent now,
this is the movie for you - subtitles could only help).
In the middle of the night, TCM has the original 'Scarface'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Updated! (17 January, 2002)
Geneva, the official BartCop Astrologer, always has something interesting to read!
The stars say somebody is lying!
'' .... Taking a look at the chart itself, the first clue I got that something
devious was going on is the appearance of Mars, in Pisces, in an exact square to
the North Node. Interesting thing about the North Node, some astrologers assert
that when it is in the exact degree of another planet, there is something
underhanded going on. In other words, someone is lying. And isn't it just so
fitting that Mars rules the Mid-heaven, the sector of the chart that represents
the Chief Executive. Further, Mars is in the most devious and evasive sign,
Pisces. ''
Newest Star On The 'Hollywood Walk Of Fame'
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Academy Award winning actor Cuba Gooding, Jr. displays a plaque after his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was
unveiled during ceremonies in Hollywood with wife Sara and sons Mason (L) and Spencer, January 17, 2002. Gooding
is currently featured in the new family film "Snow Dogs."
Photo by Fred Prouser
'The Sexiest Woman in Entertainment'
J.Lo Is E!'s Sexiest
Jennifer Lopez is an actress, a singer, a dancer, a J.Lo and, as of Wednesday's episode of E!'s Rank, the
Sexiest Woman in Entertainment.
The way-multihyphenate took the top slot as the network's original series counted down the 25 Sexiest Women
in Entertainment. She joins George Clooney, named the Sexiest Man in Entertainment by Rank last fall,
as a reigning model of--to put it plainly--hotness.
Lopez, who came thisclose to being named E!'s Entertainer of the Year in 2001 (she ran second to Nicole
Kidman), needs no introduction to beautiful-people watchers. She's an alumna of People magazine's "50 Most
Beautiful People in the World" roundup. She's been found to have the sexiest legs of all female
stars (by Hanes Hosiery in 2000). And she's been declared the owner and operator of the world's best
female celeb body (by Celebrity Bodies magazine, of course).
Here's a rundown of the top 10 from Rank: 25 Sexiest Women in Entertainment.
1. Jennifer Lopez
2. Halle Berry
3. Angelina Jolie
4. Charlize Theron
5. Britney Spears
6. Liz Hurley
7. Gisele Bundchen
8. Beyoncé Knowles
9. Jennifer Aniston
10. Madonna
25 Sexiest Women in Entertainment
Wrapping For Good In May
``The X-Files''
``The X-Files,'' the Emmy-winning sci-fi drama that thrust two federal agents into spooky paranormal situations,
will end its nine-season run on the Fox television network in May, Daily Variety reported in its Thursday edition.
Series creator Chris Carter decided to pull the plug on the show, whose ratings have been hurt this season by
the departure of star David Duchovny and by tougher competition.
Carter hoped Duchovny would return as Special Agent Fox Mulder for the two-part series finale opposite Gillian
Anderson's Agent Dana Scully. Both actors, whose mutual off-screen antipathy was well documented, are on
board for a sequel to the 1998 ``X-Files'' feature.
Although ratings were off this season, with the show ranking No. 72 out of 162, it remains a strong performer in syndication.
``The X-Files''
''I Covet Jodie Foster's Mind''
Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe had no trouble researching his role as a schizophrenic professor in "A Beautiful Mind."
"I'm living in Manhattan," he tells The Times of London. "I just go for a walk every Sunday. … There were
certain people in Manhattan I would go and visit regularly. There's a bloke up on E. 92nd St. who would
have a conversation with half-a-dozen imaginary friends whenever he was packing his bed up in the morning,
about how nobody ever helps with the chores."
The cocky Aussie admitted to Diane Sawyer that his mind isn't as beautiful as he'd wish.
"I covet Jodie Foster's mind," Crowe says on "Primetime Thursday."
"I always feel I've gotta be on my best intellectual behavior with her because I hate that look that she gives
me every now and then if I say something stupid."
Russell Crowe
Huge Entourage
Britney Spears
American pop princess Britney Spears breezed into London for a two-day visit with her burly minders taking their
cue from the title of her latest single ''Overprotected.''
The 20-year-old superstar, in London to record two clips music show ``Top of the Pops'' and a handful of interviews,
was accompanied by a huge entourage of security guards, stylists, dancers, hairdressers, make-up artists and
assistants when she arrived at Heathrow airport overnight.
Media reports said a pack of burly guards shadowed the star's every move, including an impromptu shopping trip in
London's exclusive Knightsbridge district and a walk in Hyde Park on Thursday morning.
Security levels at the BBC studios where the pop show will be filmed were said to be at unprecedented levels, but
a spokeswoman for the broadcaster said details were not being disclosed.
``We wouldn't comment on security measures but she is a huge star and we will look after her accordingly,'' she said.
Britney Spears
Updated (Nearly) Daily!
BartCop TV!
Damn near every show on TV must is listed - days & days worth of great reading.
New Mini-Series
``Dreamkeeper''
The myths and legends of Native American culture will come to life via ``Dreamkeeper,'' a $30 million-plus
miniseries just greenlit by ABC.
The tentatively titled four-hour epic will use special effects to dramatize seven or eight Native American
legends, such as the story of a rain god who falls in love with a mortal woman; another is about an outcast
child who attempts to tame a water beast, thus saving his town.
The project will feature a cast made up almost entirely of Native American actors; a huge chunk of the crew
also is expected to be Native American. Production is set to begin May 1 with an air date targeted for November 2003.
Wrapped around the mythology will be the story of a 17-year-old Native American boy (Eddie Spears) who, against
his will, is forced to drive his 100-year-old grandfather to an annual storytelling powwow. During their drive
from South Dakota to Santa Fe, the grandfather recounts the stories of his culture to his grandson, ultimately
convincing the teen of the importance of his heritage.
``Dreamkeeper'' will be produced by Robert Halmi Sr.'s Hallmark Entertainment, the company behind ``Merlin,''
and the upcoming ``Dinotopia.''
``Dreamkeeper''
Where Is Mike Brady?
Robert Reed
It's the Story of a Man Named Brady. So Why Is He No Longer in the Picture?
In the short history of postwar blended-family patriarchy, no one has outdone Mike Brady: He was a successful
architect of strip malls, an amorous and attentive second husband, a capable parent; he was stern when he needed to
be, fun-loving ("We're all going to Hawaii!") and a little bit groovy, as stepdads go. He drove a convertible, wore
a man-perm, had twinkly blue eyes.
Now it seems he's even more nonexistent. Almost 10 years after the death of Robert Reed -- the actor who played
him on the TV series "The Brady Bunch" from 1969 to 1974 -- the character of Mike Brady has faded from the Brady universe.
On the 2002 Brady Bunch wall calendar the original characters from the sitcom are all present and accounted for, in
their eternal circa-1972 states of being, except for one.
Mr. Brady doesn't live here anymore.
Robert Reed Has Been Disappeared...Why?
Water Damaged Books
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton lost part of his priceless rare-book collection when the basement of his Chappaqua home flooded in August.
Damaged volumes included a 200-year-old edition of Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia" and an autographed
copy of JFK's "Profiles in Courage." But expensive waterproofing completed recently should ensure the 55-year-old retiree
keeps his treasures dry long enough for the Clinton Library to be built in Little Rock, Ark.
Bill Clinton
``Drive All Night''
Bruce Springsteen
If Abba can have its own musical, why not the Boss?
The songs of Bruce Springsteen have been fashioned into a rock 'n' roll opera called ``Drive All Night.'' Springsteen
has given his blessing for a reading of the work, which is scheduled for early March in New York after a three-week
rehearsal. It will be his first look at the material.
Darrell Larson and Stephanie Kerly Schwartz conceived the Springsteen opera and have been at work on it for two years. Their entree
to the rocker came after Larson performed on a ``Wizard of Oz'' CD that was produced and engineered by Springsteen's longtime
producer-engineer, Chuck Plotkin. Larson also is artistic director of the Culture Project in New York City.
As for ``Drive All Night,'' Larson described it as ``a sung-through opera. Springsteen's songs are very story-driven,
very character-driven.'' Although there is no book, the opera does tell a story: Eddie, a working-class guy, returns to
his hometown and the woman he loves, seeking to reclaim his dreams.
Bruce Springsteen
Not An Equal Opportunity Employer
''Puppetry of the Penis''
The off-Broadway stage show "Puppetry of the Penis" is not an equal opportunity employer. Open auditions are being
held today at the John Houseman Theater to replace the original genital manipulators, David Friend and Simon Morley,
who are off to tour the world. Of the 82 people who have expressed interest in auditioning, 18 are women. "God knows
what they are thinking," the show's bemused flack said. "I suppose if they have a penis they're welcome to show up."
''Puppetry of the Penis'' Auditions
Hong Kong Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2002
Pollyform Lingerie
Models present locally manufactured lingerie from Pollyform Lingerie during the body and intimate wear show at
the Hong Kong Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2002, January 17, 2002. Despite the economic downturn, more than 900
exhibitors from 19 countries have signed up to showcase their wares.
Photo by Kin Cheung
Scott, Gates, Patrick, Kate & Bill Speak Out
No Gay Star Trek Characters
"Enterprise" star Scott Bakula (Capt. Archer) is speaking out about the dearth of gay characters (how about none?!)
on all five "Star Trek" series.
Bakula, along with ex-"Trek" stars Gates McFadden, Patrick Stewart, Kate Mulgrew and William Shatner, is interviewed
in a three-part series featured in the February/March issue of MetroSource magazine, available in Barnes & Noble and Borders stores.
"I'm really not familiar with the history of this particular issue with regards to 'Star Trek,' " says Bakula about
the long debate between the gay community and "Star Trek" producer Paramount about including a gay "Trek" character.
"I haven't heard anything coming down the pipeline, but I would be in favor of it," he says. "I would hope it would
be handled in a great way. It would be wonderful . . . if it was not such a huge issue, but was just there."
Here's what the others tell MetroSource about the gay issue:
* McFadden: "We've had a lot of exploration of heterosexuality, but if you are going to explore sexuality then you have
to explore what sexuality in on every level."
* Stewart: "Given what growth and advancement has been made in the past 20 years even in the most rigid male
bastions . . . one would have thought that 'Star Trek' would be the ideal environment [for a gay character]."
* Mulgrew: "It can be pushed, it should be pushed and it has been pushed by every actor I know of. "
* Shatner: "True freedom is what time will work toward."
Huh?
Scott, Gates, Patrick, Kate & Bill Speak Out
BC Entertainment Favorite Link
5 Books Under Question Now
Stephen Ambrose
Add one more to the list of Stephen Ambrose books cited for allegedly lifting material from other sources.
Forbes.com reported Thursday that Ambrose's ``Nothing Like It in the World,'' a 1999 best seller about the
transcontinental railroad, contains numerous passages similar to passages in David Lavender's ``The Great
Persuader,'' about railroad magnate Collis Potter Huntington.
Five books by Ambrose, a popular and prolific historian, are now under question. Besides ``Nothing Like It in the
World,'' they include ``Citizen Soldiers,'' Vol. III of Ambrose's Richard Nixon trilogy, ``Crazy Horse and Custer''
and ``Wild Blue,'' the author's latest best seller.
Here is one of the passages from ``Nothing Like It in the World'' cited by Forbes.com:
``At the end of the trip, all were appalled by Panama City. It rained continually. Mud, mildew and fungus oozed
everywhere. Sanitation in the tent city was lacking or completely absent. Unwashed raw fruit caused epidemics of
dysentery. Malaria and cholera were common, as were threats of smallpox. Vice, depravity, and selfishness thrived.''
Here is a passage from Lavender's book, published in 1970, and cited as a source in ``Nothing Like It in the World'':
``All contemporary accounts of the beach at Panama agree it was appalling. Rain poured. Mud, mildew, and fungus
oozed over everything. Sanitation in the improvised tent city was inadequate. Unwashed raw fruit caused epidemics
of dysentery. Malaria swept through the weakened sufferers. There were outbreaks of cholera, threats of smallpox. ... Bayard
Taylor, who also crossed the isthmus in 1849, was horrified by the vice, depravity and selfishness he encountered on all sides.''
The academic and publishing communities have been divided over the Ambrose case. Some regard it as simple carelessness,
while others believe the historian's reputation has been badly damaged and that no student would get away with Ambrose's errors.
``That's what we tell students: It's not OK, and it's equally serious when a famous author does it,'' said Arnita
Jones, executive director of the American Historical Association.
Stephen Ambrose
'No Flavor Of The Month'
Paula Zahn
I'm no "flavor of the month," says CNN anchor Paula Zahn - who yesterday broke her silence on the embarassing
flap over her own network promoting on the air as "just a little bit sexy."
"You and I have both seen in our careers the flavor of the month that's highly promoted that goes down in flames
when a breaking news story hits and they're not capable of covering it," Zahn told a gathering of TV critics.
Zahn said there will never be any more ads about her sex appeal.
"This is just one really bad promo that got on the air," Zahn said. "It never was approved. I hated it, management
hated it, they pulled it off the air and they assured me I never would see a promo like that again."
Paula Zahn
Yeah, Paula, lots of promos 'management hates' makes the air...ROFLMAO.
A Museum For Everything
Toilet Museum
A man looks through exhibits at the Toilet Museum in New Delhi on January 9, 2002. The museum helps lift the lid on
the world of toilets through an inventive use of photographs, copies of old loos as well as trivia on toilet humor,
technology and etiquette through the years.
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
'All Tied Up'?
Suge Knight
West Coast rap mogul Suge Knight seems to have the East Coast hip-hop crowd running.
Sean Combs, Mary J. Blige and Missy Elliott were all listed as hosts Tuesday night at a birthday party in SoHo's
NV club for Misa Hylton Brim, the mother of Combs' son Justin, 7. Curiously, all of them stayed away from the bash.
The no-shows may have had to do with the presence of Knight, who got out of prison in August. Combs, says his rep,
was tied up in the studio and never planned to attend.
Suge Knight
''Luxury Disgusts Me''
Giorgio Armani
Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani, creator of some of the world's most expensive clothes, says he is fed up with luxury.
``I'll tell you something. Luxury disgusts me,'' the designer was quoted as saying in Italian newspapers on Thursday
after showing off his latest men's fashion collection which borrowed heavily from the working class look of miners and soldiers.
``I want to pay homage to the workers, to the dignity of the workers with their simplicity and straightforwardness,''
Armani told reporters backstage as he explained his latest outfits with their flat caps, military boots and donkey jackets.
Asked whether he might also be to blame for the obsession with luxury, Armani pointed to his cheaper clothing lines which
include jeans that sell for about 100 euros ($88) a pair compared with his top-of-the-range suits that fetch around 5,000 euros.
``I have to say that for all the things I design, I put in love and care,'' he said. ``I do not shut myself away in my workshop,
like some others do, to cynically and presumptuously create luxury items.''
Giorgio Armani
New Grand Dad
Julio Iglesias
Singer Julio Iglesias' daughter, Chabeli, gave birth Monday to a son, Alejandro, at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
``They're doing fine,'' said Roberto Somoza, a spokesman for Iglesias.
Iglesias, 58, was not present at the birth. He had to travel out of the country to record a new album.
Grandpa Julio Iglesias
''Little Likelihood Of Confusion''
''Starballz'' & ''Star Wars''
A federal court has refused to block the sale and distribution of an X-rated, animated "Star Wars" spoof.
Lucasfilm Ltd. sued the skinflick's New York producers, Media Market Group Ltd., in October for copyright and
trademark infringement.
Movie mogul George Lucas alleged that similarities between "Starballz" and "Star Wars" could confuse consumers
into thinking that Lucasfilm sponsored or produced the X-rated movie that mocks the "Star Wars" story line.
But a federal judge in San Francisco said Jan. 8 there was "little likelihood of confusion" between the two films.
"The 'Star Wars' films are so famous that is extremely unlikely that consumers would believe that 'Starballz' is
associated with 'Star Wars' or Lucasfilm," said Judge Claudia Wilken.
The case is Lucasfilm v. Media Market Group, 01-4041.
''Starballz'' & ''Star Wars''
A Hero For Our Time
Jane White
A mother of three children became so fed up with Jehovah's Witnesses calling at her home that she interrupted
their Sunday service by banging on their church door and offering them free magazines.
Jane White, 35, who has been visited by the religious group every month for more than 12 years, spent 30 minutes
on the steps of the Kingdom Hall, in Peacehaven, East Sussex, until police moved her on. Afterwards she said:
"I've never done anything like this before, but I had a visit from the Jehovah's Witnesses the day before and
that was the straw which broke the camel's back.
"I've been having regular visits from them in the 12 years I've lived in Peacehaven. It is not the religion I
object to, it is just the intrusion into my privacy which I find annoying."
She added: "I timed my visit for 10am because I knew it would be in the middle of a service. One member of the
congregation thought it was funny, others took it seriously.
"I tried to hand out free magazines to see if they would like a copy, just like the copies of The Watchtower
the Jehovah's Witnesses hand out. Nobody seemed to want them though."
Paul Gillies, a spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses in Britain, said: "If someone states they do not want our
representatives to call we make a note and avoid calling."
Jane White
''Lizard Boy''
Ron Huff
Ron Huff had a penchant for collecting Nile monitor lizards.
He raised seven of the exotic reptiles from the time they were babies, and gave them free rein around his apartment,
a one-room efficiency in Newark.
On Wednesday morning, New Castle County police officers found the 42-year-old lot attendant for an auto dealership
dead in the apartment with some of the lizards on top of his body, which had been partially consumed.
Authorities do not know how Huff died, county police spokesman Patrolman Trinidad Navarro said. The state Medical
Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy. No foul play is suspected, Navarro said.
The lizards ranged in size from 2 feet, 6 inches to 6 feet long and weighed up to 25 pounds.
Acquaintances described Huff as a quiet man who kept to himself, lived alone and had no telephone. Co-workers at
Martin Oldsmobile in Newark said they knew Huff as "lizard boy" because he often talked about his pets.
County police went to the apartment about 10:30 a.m. after getting calls from Huff's family, who also had called the dealership.
Animal control officers from the Delaware Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took custody of the seven lizards,
a cat and a large container of 2-inch-long hissing Madagascar roaches.
Society Executive Director John E. Caldwell said monitor lizards are indigenous to Africa, Australia and Malaysia. They generally
feed on live prey, such as fish, snakes, birds and other small mammals, and can grow to 10 feet long.
Caldwell said Huff's lizards looked "very healthy and robust." He said the society would try to find a home for them in a zoo.
Neighbor Jeff Wildonger said Huff was breeding the roaches to feed to his lizards. Wildonger said Huff showed him the lizards
about four months ago.
Huff also fed the lizards frozen chicks and frozen and live mice, Cassidy said. He talked about the lizards often at work and
would show co-workers marks from when they had bitten him.
State Department of Agriculture inspector Ray Joseph said Huff was granted a state permit in 1999 that allowed him to breed
the exotic Nile monitor lizards as a hobbyist.
Ron Huff
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Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
