Isaac Hayes Dead at Age 65
August 10, 2008
The AP – With its riveting orchestration, definitive guitar play and signature sensual baritone vocals, Isaac Hayes’ theme song for the 1971 movie “Shaft” not only became one of pop music’s iconic songs, but also the defining work of Hayes’ career. Yet the “Theme from Shaft,” which would earn both Grammy’s and an Oscar, was just a snippet of the groundbreaking music for which Hayes, who died Sunday at age 65, was responsible.
So the GOP Doesn’t Like “Celebrities” who Visit Europe, Speak Well & are Adored?
August 5, 2008
Here is a new ad coming from the Democrats which is aimed at pointing out the sheer hypocrisy, and down right baseless attacks that have been levied at Democratic hopeful Barack Obama over the last week or so. Specifically this spot takes on the notion that McCain and company have been pathetically attempting to peddle, which claims Obama is too much like a “celebrity”, and because of the high levels of adoration both here and abroad, that he is somehow disqualified or discredited too run the country. Oh how far this country has lowered it’s bar of expectations over the last eight years – clearly another Bush success story…
Angelina Jolie Gives Birth to a Set of Healthy Twin Babies
July 12, 2008
Finally… Various news outlets are reporting that Angelina Jolie has given birth to a healthy set of twins in Nice, France. The birth took place earlier this morning and hospital representatives have released a statement saying that all parties involved (Angelina & the newborns) are in good spirits, and healthy.
“Sources at the La Fondation Lenval hospital in Nice, France, have revealed exclusively to In Touch that Angelina Jolie has given birth to her twins. According to insiders, the 33-year-old had a caesarean today at 6pm French time and delivered two girls. The first baby was born at 6.45 pm and the other at 7pm. The babies are in good health, another insider says. Sources say Brad was present during the birth. When contacted by In Touch, the hospital’s spokesperson, Nadine Bauer, said that journalists would not be notified ”within minutes” after the birth and that the only way they would be told was by a press release posted on the hospital Web site. Another insider adds that Angelina is expected to leave the hospital with her newborns within 48 hours. Angelina checked into the seafront hospital earlier this month. In anticipation of the twins arrival.”
Isn’t it something that those babies have no clue what sort of luxury, bliss, and MILF comments from friends they have in store for themselves.
Sacha Baron Cohen Angers Arkansas Crowd When Filming New Movie “Bruno”
July 9, 2008
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Crowds in Arkansas came for the lure of cage fighting and $1 beer, but police say what they got instead was men ripping each others’ clothes off and kissing – a stunt suspected of being orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen of “Borat” fame.
“We had a contract for cage fighting. We were deceived,” said Dwight Duncan, president and CEO of Four States Fair Grounds in Texarkana, where the first of two Arkansas fights raised suspicions last month.
Matt Labov, a Los Angeles-based publicist for Baron Cohen, said he had no comment Monday about the faked fights. One of Baron Cohen’s movies is due out next year.
The day after the June 5 Texarkana bout, Fort Smith’s convention center hosted “Blue Collar Brawlin.’” Fort Smith police Sgt. Adam Holland said organizers told him a character named “Straight Dave” would goad a planted audience member into the ring for a fight.
The two men would then wrestle, rip away some of their clothes and share a brief kiss reminiscent of one between Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell in the film “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.”
Producers said “there would be a romantic embrace,” Holland said. “They said it was kind of to essentially make fun, poke fun at wrestling, two guys rolling around on the floor, all sweaty.”
An elaborate array of mounted and hand held video cameras caught the crowd of 1,600’s reaction as the two men “went right up to the line” of the city’s morality laws, Holland said. The two men stripped down to their underwear, kissed and rubbed on each other, the sergeant said.
The audience, as well as local fighters drawn to take part in the show, became enraged. “It set the crowd off lobbing beers,” Holland said. “They had beers in plastic cups. Those things can get some distance on them actually.”
Holland said it took officers about 45 minutes to clear the convention center, as the two actors sprinted away through a specially set-aside tunnel.
Those in attendance were told by several signs on display that they’d be filmed, Holland said, and signed waivers before the event. Convention center sales director Karin Hobbs declined to name the event’s sponsor Monday.
Baron Cohen became a national celebrity after his 2006 hit movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” in which he played a bumbling reporter from the Central Asia nation.
News of the faked cage fights comes as Baron Cohen is in production of a movie titled “Bruno,” named after the gay Austrian fashion reporter he developed for “Da Ali G Show.” Baron Cohen, in the guise of Bruno, often interviewed hapless subjects in the South.
If the cage match visits came from Baron Cohen, it wouldn’t be the first time Arkansas fell for a practical joke. In 2000, then-Gov. Mike Huckabee fell for a prank and congratulated Canada for preserving its icebound Parliament, calling it a “national igloo.”
New “Batman” Set to Open July 18th: Theaters are Already Reporting Sell Outs
July 9, 2008
The highly anticipated “Batman: The Dark Knight” featuring the late Heath Ledger, is alsready causing quite a buzz around movie theaters across the country – this is worth noting when you realize the movie isn’t even set to open for another week.
“In a frenzy, fans have bought so many late-night tickets for the July 18 opening of the next Batman movie that theaters in places like San Diego, Chicago, and even Eagan, Minn., are scheduling 6 a.m. screenings for those who can’t get in at midnight or 3 in the morning.”
Early reviews have also praised Ledger’s performance as a “younger” Joker, with some even speculating whether or not an Oscar nomination will be in the cards.
Rush Limbaugh Doesn’t Think Much of Fellow Wingnut Bill O’Reilly
July 2, 2008
This weeks New York Times Magazine front page story goes behind the scenes with infamous talk show pundit, and republican icon, Rush Limbaugh. Aside from the interview being quite interesting as a whole, I was struck by something Limbaugh said about halfway through – that well, is in my opinion the first intelligent thing the man has ever said.
HyerStandard’s First Annual: “The Official Girls of Summer”
June 30, 2008
Let me begin by explaining how this came about. It all stems from an argument I had with a good friend of mine regarding certain celebrities from the world of movies, music, and television were on top of at least our own personal radar. Anyways, to make a long story short, we disagreed – and seeing as though I have a website and he doesn’t, I have decided to list mine, well to make my point.
So whether you are a fan of it or not, at least now you know why I have decided to put together and subsequently list w/pictures my own personal “Official Girls of Summer” list. Hope you enjoy:
1) Sheri Moon Zombie: (born September 26, 1970) is an American actress and fashion designer. She is known by her stage name Sheri Moon and sometimes as Sheri Moon Zombie after her marriage to Rob Zombie. Because of her roles in such films as House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects and the remake Halloween, she has been named as a “scream queen” and “the most iconic female serial killer to emerge on the modern horror scene.”
2) Eva Mendes: (born March 5, 1974) is an American actress. She began acting in the late 1990s, and became known after a series of roles in several major Hollywood films, including 2 Fast 2 Furious, Hitch, Training Day, Ghost Rider and We Own the Night. Along with acting, Eva is employed by Revlon Cosmetics as an international spokeswoman. Maxim ranked her #7 in its 2007 Hot 100 issue. Mendes also made her second Maxim cover in the November 2007 issue. Mendes, despite resisting offers from Playboy, appeared naked in Flaunt Magazine.
3) Meagan Good: (born August 8, 1981) is an American film and television actress. Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, she continued to land roles in television series and films. In addition to film and television work, Good has also appeared in music videos by Will Smith, 50 Cent, & K-Ci & JoJo. In 2006, Good voiced a character for the video game Scarface: The World Is Yours. That same year, she appeared in Waist Deep with Tyrese Gibson and produced her first film, Miles From Home, in which she also co-starred.
4) Rosario Dawson: (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for her roles in the films Sin City, He Got Game, Kids, Rent and most recently as a lead character in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof. On June 26th, 2008, it was announced that Dawson will play Artemis in the upcoming animated Wonder Woman film. Rosario was discovered on her front porch step by photographer Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, where Harmony lauded her with praise as being perfect for a part he had written in his screenplay that would become the 1995 controversial films Kids.
5) Megan Fox: (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress and model. Fox’s career in modeling and acting began with her winning several awards at the 1999 American Modeling and Talent Convention in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Fox’s big break arrived when she acquired the lead female role of Mikaela Banes in the highly-anticipated 2007 live-action film Transformers, based on the toy and cartoon saga of the same name. Fox has appeared in a five page spread for the November 2005 issue of the popular men’s magazine FHM. She also posed, in decreasing amounts of lingerie, for the March 2007 issue of FHM, the June 2007 issue of GQ, the July 2007 issue of Maxim, and the September 2007 issue of Arena. She was voted the Sexiest Woman in the World by FHM magazine in 2008, beating out Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba.
There you have it, HyerStandard’s “Official Girls of Summer” list. If you have any issues with either the list, or the girls making the list please feel free to leave any feedback, and I will definitely take it into consideration – but probably not change a thing.
Angelina Jolie’s New Film “Wanted” a Box Office Success
June 29, 2008
Angelina Jolie is apparently a knockout in terms of being a box office draw, so much so that the weekend numbers her brand new flick “Wanted” produced has many industry insiders pleasantly surprised.. “Wanted”, Universal Pictures production starring Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy, debuted to $19.1M Friday and $17.5M Saturday from 3,175 venues for a $51.1M weekend.
It marks a new franchise for the studio which expected only $35+M from this stylish summer actioner fueled by the Matrix-like high octane provided by hot Russian director Timur Bekmambetov.
Some other breakthroughs this film has accounted for are listed below:
- Wanted was the biggest opening of a live action film in Jolie’s career
- It turned out to be the best June opening ever for an R-rated movie, beating Knocked Up’s $30.6M, and the 6th highest R-rated opening of all time
- The studio expected only a $35+M opening, so the film did much better than anticipated
- Angie proved she is a big draw: Cinemascore said the main reasons given for choosing to see Wanted were the action (67%) and Jolie (61%).
I personally have not seen the movie yet, however I have always though Jolie was an incredibly gifted actress, who always did a good job regardless of the role she was playing. And from the looks of these numbers, it seems like a lot of people think of her in the same light I do.
“McCain Called His Wife a What?” The Story You Haven’t Heard
June 19, 2008
I am sure quite a few of you have already seen this video – I first came across it yesterday, however for some reason or another I didn’t actually get a chance to watch it. Anyways, I finally took a look at it in its entirety and I am still laughing as I type this. Attached is the latest video from “Election ‘08: Public Service Administration” and it highlights how the mainstream media has all but ignored a pretty tell tale instance of McCain’s downright obnoxious, and ignorant behavior – I am referring to McCain calling his wife Cindy, after she made a comment about him loosing his hair, a C-NT. If you haven’t seen this yet, please take a second and watch, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Actor John Cusack Discusses “War Inc.”, the 2008 Election & Bill O’Reilly
June 13, 2008
Actor and political activist John Cusack sat down for a chat with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” earlier today, Cusack however made his appearance via satellite from London, where he’s currently promoting his latest film “War Inc.” The interview wasn’t all Hollywood though, Cusack also touched on his new advertisement in which he compares Senator John McCain, and his policy initiatives to that of our current president – George Bush.
The highlight however came when Cusack offered up a response to FOX News’ prime time “blow-hard”, Bill O’Reilly, who had made a claim earlier in the week that Cusack was “peddling propaganda.” Cool, calm and collect Mr. Cusack simply replied:
“If the New York Times op-ed piece is running in their lead editorial that outsourcing interrogation should be banned, and they’re coming after the private mercenaries, I don’t think we should get any ethics lessons from Mr. O’Reilly.”
Here is the clip of the interview via MSNBC:
