Entertainment News
Alex's Entertainment Report
Alex
Hello from Moscow!!! How's everybody? We are good, freezing our a$$ off
though, it's winter here already, snow and cold! Going home tomorrow!
Bye!
~~ Alex
Alex's Site
In case you haven't noticed, Alex has been in Moscow for the last couple of weeks.
Hope he's had a great trip, but it'll sure be nice to have him back at 'work'.
30 Years Ago, Saturday
D.B. Cooper
Thirty years have passed since D.B. Cooper jumped from a hijacked, Seattle-bound jetliner with
$200,000 in ransom money and disappeared into a remote forest.
With the 30th anniversary of the crime coming on Saturday, Cooper's escapade remains the only
unsolved skyjacking in the United States. The FBI has received thousands of tips, but investigators
have nothing to go on - no suspect, no leads, nothing to prove who Cooper was or where he went.
Many who have studied Cooper's actions on Thanksgiving Eve in 1971 are certain he died trying to
escape. They have reason to believe that, too. He exited the plane in heavy rain and jumped over
a dense forest of pine and Douglas fir. He was dressed in a suit and loafers and one of the two
parachutes he used was defective.
But his story continues to fascinate.
On Nov. 24, 1971, a thin man in his 40s calling himself Dan Cooper showed up at the Northwest
Orient Airlines ticket counter at Portland International Airport in Oregon. He paid $20 in cash
for a one-way flight to Seattle departing at 4:35 p.m. He boarded the plane and took a seat
near the back, where he had the row to himself.
Soon after takeoff, Cooper handed a note to a stewardess and said he had a bomb on board. He let
her peak into his briefcase at wires and red sticks that looked like explosives. He then demanded
$200,000, four parachutes and "no funny stuff." At 5:40 p.m., the plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma
International Airport and authorities met his demands.
He ordered the plane back into the air and demanded that it fly toward Mexico through Reno at no
more than 10,000 feet. He later jumped, and hasn't been seen or heard from since.
He's beaten the best crime fighters in the country, earning him folk hero status among some. On
Saturday, the tiny town of Ariel, Wash., will throw a party for Cooper for the 27th straight year
at a bar called the Ariel Store.
Along with earning him admirers, his case inspired some copycat attempts and prompted new airport
security measures nationwide.
After years of investigating the case, all authorities know about Cooper is that he smoked Raleigh
cigarettes, drank whiskey and was familiar with aerodynamics.
Only some of his ransom money - a bundle of $20 bills - has turned up. A child digging in a sand
bar on the north bank of the Columbia River west of Vancouver found the money in 1980. The serial
numbers had been recorded by the FBI.
"The fact that it's the only unsolved hijacking keeps it high profile," said FBI agent Ralph Hope of
Seattle, the latest agent in charge of the case. "It will remain that way until we know the
individual could not be alive."
30 Years Ago Saturday, DB Cooper
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In The Chaos Household
Last Night's TV
Started the evening with 'Friends' on NBC, and then did dishes
to the repeat that followed. 'Will & Grace' with Gwyneth Paltrow's mom,
Blythe Danner playing Will's mom.
Also watched 'Being Mick' on ABC, and while it was fluffy, I liked it
overall.
Still waiting for 'U2' on Leno, currently.
Tonight (Friday), CBS panders to kids with 'The Rugrats Movie'
followed by an 'N Sync' concert 'live'.
NBC has fresh episodes of 'Providence' and 'Law & Order: SVU'
bookending an episode of 'The Jane Pauley Show'.
On ABC 'Thieves' and 'Once & Again' are fresh. Have no idea of
what they're starting the evening with since they cancelled 'America.01'.
The WB has nothing but reruns.
TNN has an all day - all night fest of 'Star Trek - The Next Generation'.
And, VH1 has a 'legends' show on 'U2', preceding the ''live'' (depending on
where you live) concert 'Elevation Live 2001', scheduled for 9 pm (est). Thanks
to Dish Network, we can watch the live feed on the east coast from LA!
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Morning 'News' Shows - Sophisticated Corporate Infomercials
Project For Excellence In Journalism
A journalism think tank suggests that network morning shows are as efficient in promoting the products
of their parent corporations as they are in providing news.
The Project for Excellence in Journalism, in a report studying the content of the ABC, CBS and NBC
morning shows, said all of them had become, partly, ``a kind of sophisticated infomercial.''
Take away the local news inserts and commercials, and one-third of the content on morning shows is
essentially selling something: a book, a compact disc, a movie or another television program, the group said.
and
The corporations that benefit most from the promotion are the ones that own the shows, according to the
study. Twenty-seven percent of the products promoted on ``The Early Show'' are owned by Viacom, the
parent company of CBS, as well as MTV, Paramount Pictures and other media properties.
The Walt Disney Co., which owns ABC, was the recipient of 21 percent of the ``Good Morning America''
promotion, the study said. General Electric is the beneficiary of 12 percent of ``Today'' show
promotion on NBC. The number is smaller for NBC because GE's holdings are not as heavily concentrated
in media as Viacom and Disney. The organization based its figures on content studies during four
separate weeks in June and October.
For example, ``The Early Show'' originated from the Super Bowl this year because CBS was broadcasting
the game. Similarly, NBC's ``Today'' show originated from Sydney during the Olympics last year and
will do the same for the winter games in February.
CBS has taken advantage of its ``Survivor'' connection by heavily featuring the reality show in the
morning. Despite criticism for going overboard, Friedman said people are interested in the topic.
Morning News Shows More Like Parent-Company Infomercials
The first principle taught in broadcasting courses on a college level is that TV is here to sell, not
entertain. That is its primary function, and from there it's easy to understand ''follow the money''.
Even back in the days when there was an FCC, there were 14 criteria to be met, including religion, news
and education. Entertainment was never one of those 14 criteria.
New! Updated!
(20 Nov, 2001)
The official BartCop Astrologer, Geneva, has provided another eye-opening set of charts!
A brief excerpt: " In January 2002, New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani will intimately know an experience and feeling that more and more of us are reluctantly facing: He'll join the ranks of the unemployed. Due to term limits Giuliani has not been able to seek re-election, after 8 years as one of New York's more popular mayors.
The question on most New Yorker's minds and lips is "What is Rudy going to do NOW?" Well, maybe The Stars can give us some clues.
"
Very interesting reading!
''Lord Of The Rings''
Frodo vs. Harry
First came ``Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone,'' the film version of the first of author
J.K. Rowling's tales of a young wizard, which have sold 100 million copies in just four years.
Now it's the turn of ``The Lord of the Rings,'' the J.R.R. Tolkien trilogy that has sold 100 million
copies in half a century and was voted the book of the 20th century in many millennium polls.
Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson, whose ``The Fellowship of the Ring'' -- the film version
of the first book of the Tolkien trilogy -- has its world premiere in London on December 10, has
insisted there is no wizard rivalry.
But inevitably fantasy fans will compare notes and critics watch to see which film wins at the box office.
Making the trilogy amid the picturesque splendors of New Zealand was a mammoth 274-day undertaking
for Jackson and his army of actors, designers and special effects wizards.
The $300 million series is billed as the first time a director has made three films at once. The movies
are to be released one at a time over the next three Christmases. December 19 is the first release date.
The films look set to make an international star of 20-year-old American Elijah Wood, who plays the pivotal
role of Frodo Baggins, the shy but intrepid hobbit at the heart of the epic tale.
Wood loved the location: ``New Zealand is Middle Earth. It has every geological formation and geographical
landscape you can imagine and some you couldn't.''
He is given solid backup by Ian McKellen as Gandalf, who the British actor described as ``the archetypal
wizard. He is related to Merlin and maybe Prospero but is very much his own man.''
''Lord Of The Rings'' Is Coming
An Apology & A Check
Van Morrison
Singer Van Morrison has won an apology from an Irish tabloid newspaper over an allegation he had an
affair with American singer Linda Gail Lewis, court officials say.
According to the BBC, Belfast-born Morrison also received an undisclosed sum in damages from Independent
Star, publisher of the Dublin-based Star newspaper.
``The terms of the settlement were agreed between the parties, but an apology from the publisher was
read out in court,'' a spokeswoman for the High Court in Belfast said on Thursday.
Earlier this month Morrison and his long-term partner Michelle Rocca received damages and an apology
from another Irish paper, the Sunday Independent, over similar allegations.
Morrison recently recorded an album with Lewis, a sister of rock'n'roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis.
Apology For Van Morrison
Tonight - Look Who's On VH1
U2
It's been a beautiful year for U2.
The Irish rock veterans have enjoyed the success of a multi-platinum album, nabbed three Grammy
awards for their hit ``Beautiful Day,'' and staged their most successful tour to date with
sold-out dates across the country.
Now, the band begins to wind it down with ``U2: Elevation Tour 2001,'' which airs Friday on VH1.
It's the band's first full-length televised concert.
``This thing that people are going to see on Friday is a moment in time where everything came
together for us,'' lead singer Bono told The Associated Press.
Taped this past summer at Boston's Fleet Center, the concert airs a week before the band
concludes its world tour in Miami on Dec. 2.
``We've been waiting since we were kids to play this tight and to have this kind of material.
It took awhile and we've done some good stuff along the way, but this is our finest hour to date,'' Bono said.
For years, the group resisted doing a televised concert.
``It's hard to fit a head this big into a box that small,'' Bono joked.
The real reason was that band felt its live performances didn't translate well to television.
``I think we've always been suspicious of television because it's such a passive medium. ... People
keep walking in and out of a room, and turning you up and down,'' Bono said. ``There's no control
over the environment. Whereas when people are in the arena, you've created the environment.''
But Bono said when the band released its album ``All That You Can't Leave Behind'' last year,
U2 was committed to reintroducing itself to the United States.
``The lesson we learned from going on TV early in the year and now is that there's something sort
of democratic about it. You just have to not fear the flaws. The flaws are what make it interesting,'' he said.
U2 On VH1
On the Net: www.u2.com
New!
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
To check out 'Train Station Chicken', and more (like 'Cranberry Autumn Tea'),
In The Kitchen With BartCop
Becoming Oh, So Proper...
Mrs. Ritchie
Madonna's husband, British film director Guy Ritchie, says he hates it when his wife wears revealing
see-through T-shirts.
``He doesn't want anyone to see my raspberries,'' the American superstar told BBC Radio One in a
rare interview on Thursday.
Madonna said he tells her to cover up and she obeys ``unless I'm crunched for time.''
But surely one of the world's most famous pop stars and fashion icons can dress how she likes?
``Sometimes I do. I have to pick and chose my battles. He doesn't want me to dress like an old slapper!
Those are his words,'' the 43-year-old Madonna said.
Madonna, who married the 33-year-old director of ``Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' in a fairytale
Scottish castle in December last year, admitted to a few marital niggles.
``He hates that I remember everything and he forgets everything. I'm very punctual and he's very
unpunctual,'' she said.
Madonna confessed that her most expensive fashion item is a $16,980 Fendi bag.
``It's just an aubergine-colored alligator bag. It's gorgeous,'' she said. ``Fendi are obscenely
expensive but I figure that is the kind of thing that will last forever.''
The singer, who also found screen fame as ``Evita,'' was asked which would mean most to her -- an
Oscar for best original song or for best actress?
``Best actress -- because I've won so many awards for music,'' Madonna replied.
Mrs. Ritchie Speaks
Liberal Radio !
Erin Hart
Liberal radio online - what a concept! Listen from 9pm to 1 am (pst)
at www.710kiro.com on Saturday & Sunday.
There's even a chatroom!
We generally have a pretty good time...
Egg-stra! Egg-stra!
O'Really, O'Reilly?
Bill O'Reilly has suspended negotiations for his network radio show until he talks to Rush
Limbaugh about insinuations that he's taking advantage of Limbaugh's deafness.
The Fox News Channel star interrupted his Virgin Islands vacation Tuesday night to call the
guest host of his TV show and deny that his timing has anything to do with Limbaugh's hearing problems.
"We're going to pull back until I can talk to Limbaugh myself because, look, I don't want
to bring this guy any pain," O'Reilly told stand-in host John Kasich.
"Everybody sympathizes with any American who would have this kind of thing happen in the prime
of their life - you lose your hearing."
O'Reilly was apparently unaware that Limbaugh told listeners earlier this week that he not
only welcomed head-to-head competition but applauded the arrival of another conservative voice on radio.
Limbaugh even offered, jokingly, to help O'Reilly find affiliates.
O'Reilly claims hetalked about a network radio show long before the top-rated Limbaugh
announced his hearing loss last month.
He blasted Internet reporter Matt Drudge for implying otherwise, accusing Drudge of a
"vicious assault . . . designed solely to hurt me.
"If this was 200 years ago, there'd have to be a duel and, believe me, I'd win," he said.
Meantime, Limbaugh told listeners earlier this week that, although he's now "totally deaf
in both ears," doctors say they're "very optimistic" that an imminent cochlear implant
operation will restore some hearing.
Rush, O'Reilly & That Drudge Boy
Audio Files From BC
Bonus Page Link
Looking for some 'Garbage'?
Here are some MP3 files from BC
Aw, come on....isn't anyone curious?
Censorship In Reverse?
''Ulysses''
A cleaned up and reader-friendly version of the bawdy James Joyce novel ``Ulysses'' breached copyright,
a High Court judge has ruled.
He ordered that undistributed copies of a ``Reader's Edition'' of the book published by Picador under
the Macmillan imprint be handed over to the trustees of Joyce's estate.
The novel, famous for its innovative stream of consciousness style, took Joyce seven years to write and
was published in 1922. Initially censored as obscene, it is now regarded as a masterpiece.
The judge said the ``Reader's Edition'' version, produced in 1997, breached copyright because it contained
words not published in Joyce's lifetime, although they formed a very small part of the book.
If the book had only involved copying material published when Joyce was alive it would have been too
late to mount a copyright claim, though the trustees were still entitled to royalties, the judge said.
He banned further breach of the copyright but dismissed a claim that the book amounted to the legal wrong
of ``passing off'' -- not being what it purported to be.
The judge granted a stay on the orders an pending appeal by the publishers.
Cleaned Up Ulysses Won't Fly
They Call It 'Consolidation'
Monopolies Ahoy!
U.S. regulators voted on Thursday to gradually phase out limits on how much of the airwaves mobile telephone
companies can hold in a single market, a move that could spark consolidation in the industry.
THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION Commission voted 3-1 to lift the spectrum cap in urban markets to
55 megahertz immediately and eliminate it completely on Jan. 1, 2003. The agency also voted to scrap the
55 megahertz limit in rural areas at the same time.
"By any standard, this is the most competitive market in the telecommunications industry," FCC Chairman
Michael Powell said at the agency's monthly open meeting.
Lifting the limits will aid companies that are bumping against the cap in major cities including Verizon
Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc, as well as AT&T Wireless Services Inc.
and
There are roughly 123 million mobile telephone subscribers, dozens of providers and six with nationwide footprints
including Verizon Wireless, Cingular Wireless, AT&T Wireless Services, Sprint PCS, Nextel Communications
Inc. and VoiceStream Wireless.
The move by the agency, headed by Powell, counters the wishes of the Bush administration which took the unusual
step of urging the independent panel to lift the limit immediately.
and
The move will have an immediate effect on Verizon Wireless, and AT&T Wireless which are bumping up against the
cap in key markets like New York and Los Angeles.
and
Several smaller companies have been mentioned as possible targets, including Western Wireless Corp., Dobson
Communications and Leap Wireless Inc.
Competition? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Competition!
'Late, Late Show' On The Road
Craigers Does Knoxville
Craig Kilborn brushed up on Knoxville and the University of Tennessee in preparation for his
Thanksgiving-night show.
Kilborn's ``The Late Late Show'' began focusing on different colleges last week, starting
with Florida State University. This week, it's the University of Tennessee.
``I know everyone is excited about `Cats' coming to town, and, well, they should be,'' joked
Kilborn, referring to the touring Broadway show that's visiting Knoxville.
For Kilborn's show, airing at 12:35 a.m. EST Thursday on CBS, ``Late Late'' researchers
delved into Knoxville's local color - the Old College Inn, O'Charley's restaurant and
other campus hot spots.
Kilborn, 39, knew something about Knoxville already. He visited the city as a college
basketball player for Montana State some years ago. It was a tournament, but ``I didn't
get to play much,'' he said.
Craigers Goes To Knoxville
Updated!
BartCop TV!
Visit the site at BC TV
The 'Vidiot' never seems to rest - and doesn't let little things like laundry or
housekeeping get in the way!
Damn near every show on TV must is listed - days & days worth of great reading.
If you have any questions about nearly any tv program, check out
BC TV!
Must Be Owned By Rupert
Snarky Tab
Britain's best-selling tabloid launched ''Mick Aid'' on Friday in a tongue-in-cheek bid to boost
the flagging sales of Mick Jagger's solo album.
Anyone buying a copy of ``Goddess in the Doorway'' was promised a ``Mick Aid: I did my bit for
the old git'' badge by the Sun whose showbusiness columnist Dominic Mohan said he was ''trying
to save a prehistoric animal from dying out.''
The 58-year-old Rolling Stones frontman launched a major publicity blitz for his fourth solo
album but sales have been disappointing.
``Help rescue the legend'' pleaded The Sun which bought 100 albums to give away to readers.
It reported that the album had reached number 82 in the album charts, selling just 2,324 copies.
Mick Aid
Disney News
Disney, Hong Kong
For millions around the world, Mickey Mouse means laughter and magic. But for some in Hong
Kong, Disney has brought only sadness.
For three generations, Chan Chi-sing's family lived off the sea around their home, but they
hung up their nets for good this year when the water turned yellow.
Staring wistfully at it, Chan shakes his head.
``It's a dead sea,'' he said, his weather-beaten face tightening.
Dredging and dumping to reclaim land for a planned $1.8 billion Walt Disney theme park have
disrupted the lives of what is already a shrinking number of fishing families in the territory.
and
A Disney spokeswoman in Hong Kong told Reuters: ``To date, there's no evidence that links the current
issues that the fishermen are saying to the reclamation at Penny's Bay.
and
Expected to bring 36,000 new jobs, many observers hope the project will reinvigorate Hong Kong's tourism
industry, especially during the current economic slowdown. Tourism is the territory's top foreign currency earner.
Disney Spreading Joy Wherever They Go
BC Entertainment Favorite Link
Moose & Squirrel Information One-Stop
http://geocities.com/mooseandsquirrel1
What a great site! Information and reference materials of the first order!
Between 'Moose & Squirrel' and 'Google', who needs 'refdesk'!
Another 'LOTR' Story
Hobbling Hobbit
For a time, while making ``The Lord of the Rings'' movies, Sean Astin was a hobbling hobbit.
Astin was wearing his foam latex hobbit feet for a scene where he had to run into the water.
Something - perhaps a stick, a branch or a bottle - ``just punctured right through'' his costume,
``and there was a lot of blood,'' he told AP Radio.
He was back on the set the next day.
Astin plays the hobbit Sam in the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece, directed by Peter Jackson.
The 30-year-old had to pack on 30 pounds for the role.
``When I stopped weightlifting and kept eating, it's amazing what happens to the metabolism as it
slows down and the belly appears,'' he said.
And when it came time to lose the belly, ``I didn't change my diet at all. Literally, I was like
Forrest Gump. I was running and running.''
All three ``The Lord of the Rings'' films were shot together in New Zealand.
The first installment, ``The Fellowship of the Ring,'' will be in theaters on Dec. 19.
The Hobbling Hobbit
Official ``The Lord of the Rings'' Web site: www.lordoftherings.net/
Sad Story, Continued
George Harrison
George Harrison is in L.A. for chemotheraphy at UCLA Medical Center, sources tell us.
Friends of Harrison say he wants to extend his time with his wife, Olivia, and son, Dhani,
but he has also embraced his fate.
"I don't think he'd ever have an unrealistic perception of his [grave] condition," says one
pal. "George Harrison is a very spiritual person. He believes death is part of life. I
doubt he'd fight death."
Harrison recently showed his dark wit by copyrighting his latest song under "Rip [Rest
In Peace] Limited, 2001," rather than his music company, Harrisongs.
George Harrison In LA
KNBC, NBC 4 Los Angeles is reporting that the hospital says ''No one using the name of
George Harrison has checked in or out".
In Memory
Gardner McKay
Gardner McKay, who starred in the early 1960s television series ``Adventures in Paradise'' before
turning to writing, died Wednesday after battling prostate cancer for about two years. He was 69.
McKay played Capt. Adam Troy, skipper of the schooner Tiki, on the ABC series that was broadcast
from October 1959 to April 1962.
After the show was canceled, McKay lived in the Amazon jungle for three years. He also lived in Ireland,
Paris, Egypt and the West Indies before moving to Hawaii about 25 years ago.
McKay, who was born in New York, wrote the novels ``Toyer,'' ``Trompe L'Oeil'' and ``The Last American,''
as well as dozens of plays, including ``Masters of the Sea'' and ``This Fortunate Island.''
In 1995, McKay began a weekly program on Hawaii Public Radio, ``Stories on the Wind,'' reading from
his collection of short stories.
McKay had been working on a series of biographical reflections, entitled ``Journey Without a Map.''
Gardner McKay
"Boondocks" (22 Nov 01)
"Boondocks" (15 Nov 01)
"Boondocks" (9 Oct 01)
Still MISSING
Marc Chagall's "Study for 'Over Vitebsk'"
