In September 2008, Drescher, a Democrat, was appointed as a U.S. diplomat by the U.S. State Department. Her official title is Public Diplomacy Envoy for Women's Health Issues. By traveling throughout the world, she will support U.S. public diplomacy efforts, including working with health organizations and women's groups to raise awareness of women’s health issues, cancer awareness and detection, and patient empowerment and advocacy. Her first trip was in late September and included stops in Romania, Hungary, Kosovo and Poland.
Kudos to Miss Drescher.
]]>Danica Patrick's Go Daddy Ads Don't Work For Mehttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/danica-patricks-go-daddy-ads-dont-work-for-me.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-02-08T04:17:28Z2010-02-08T04:17:28ZDanica Patrick
I adore Danica Patrick, but her Go Daddy ads have to go.
After watching several of them work their way through an otherwise OK Super Bowl telecast, I kept wondering why I didn't like the ads.
Go Daddy has never been much for innovation with their ads.
Boobies.
That's what they use. Titillation. Fine, but you can't sell that to everyone. Just weirdos who want to have their own websites.
Wait, that's what Go Daddy is counting on. They are counting on some idiot to register southbostonpoontangwatch.org and yomamaisadumptruck.info in order to stay in business. The only way to reach that person is to send them to the Go Daddy website in the hopes of seeing a woman almost get naked. So, while Danica's ads didn't really appeal to me (Danica is always appealing, however, and is a fantastic young lady), they probably did send a few louts out there to pay way too much to register website domains they'll forget they own when the next Super Bowl comes around.
What? She looks fabulous. She practically needs her own blog.
]]>I'm Not Buying It For a Secondhttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/im-not-buying-it-for-a-second.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-02-06T03:20:27Z2010-02-06T03:20:27ZCharlie Sheen's new Hoopdie Ride
A Mercedes that Charlie Sheen reported stolen from his Sherman Oaks home was found overturned hundreds of feet down a nearby cliff early Friday, but there's no evidence anyone was in the car when it went into the ravine, police said.
A Bentley was later found off the same road nearby Friday afternoon, and police said three other cars reportedly were broken into in the same area. Police were investigating if the incidents were linked.
Police got an emergency call around 4 a.m. from an OnStar-style alert system that calls emergency officials when there is a problem with the vehicle that may require assistance, Officer Wendy Reyes said. At about the same time, Sheen called police to say his four-door Mercedes-Benz had been stolen, Officer Bruce Borihanh said.
Police and firefighters found the car 300 to 400 feet down a cliff, upside-down in the brushy ravine. They searched the area on foot and with an infrared-equipped helicopter but found nobody in or around the car, Borihanh said.
"They've looked all around the hillside. There's nobody in the car, nobody around (and no) evidence of anybody being around at the moment of impact," he said.
Sheen was not believed to have been in the car because he would have been badly injured in the accident and "I don't know how he would have gotten back up" the cliff, Borihanh said.
All of that CBS money they're paying him to do his sitcom means that Sheen probably doesn't have money problems, but who knows?
Here's what I think happened: he was out of his mind, he thought he was in an action film, and he put some mattresses by the side of the cliff and dove out of the vehicle before it went over the cliff. Four of his friends disposed of the mattresses and helped him with the full body makeup to cover up the fact that he may, or may not, have gotten a boo boo.
I think this might also be a case of "Ghost Riding the Whip" gone horribly wrong. If so, the YouTube video is going to kick ass, even if this was shot at night. I don't know if this is viable, however. Everyone knows that if you Ghost Ride the Whip in a vehicle with OnStar, those nosy bastards are going to tell the cops what you were doing. Trust me on this.
You cannot accept anything Sheen says at this point. He has zero credibility.
]]>Pete Townshend Defends Himselfhttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/pete-townshend-defends-himself.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-02-05T04:28:20Z2010-02-05T04:28:20ZRoger Daltrey, Left, and Pete Townshend, Right (2008)
If you're like me, and I believe that I am like me, then you want the Superbowl over already. I'm not invested in the game; I just want to watch it, enjoy it, have some peanuts and some crackers and cheese, and get it over with.
The Who gave an energetic, acoustic preview of Sunday's Super Bowl halftime show Thursday- but things turned serious when Pete Townshend defended himself against some children's advocates who say he should not be performing.
"I've been really saddened by it, and concerned about it. It's an issue that's very difficult to deal with in sound bites," the legendary guitarist said at an NFL news conference dedicated to the Super Bowl's entertainers, including Carrie Underwood and Queen Latifah.
"I kind of feel like we're all on the same side, I guess that's all I can really say," he said.
Townshend was arrested in 2003 in Britain as part of a child pornography sting but later cleared. He accessed a Web site containing child pornography but said it was for research for his own campaign against child porn. He was required to register as a sex offender, despite being cleared.
Because of that, groups like Protect Our Children have protested the choice of The Who, the legendary group featuring Townshend and Roger Daltrey.
But Townshend said he has been a children's advocate for decades and alluded to his own confession of being abused as a child.
"For a family that has suffered the issue of childhood abuse or anything of that sort, vigilance, common sense vigilance is the most important thing, not vigilantism," he said. "Anybody that has any doubts about whether I should be here or not should investigate a little bit further."
I've already said--if the law says Townshend has to register, fine and dandy. He has to register. He should be treated like everyone else.
It's not clear to me now, however, that he even has to register in this country. We used to have a thing where if you have paid your debt to society, then that's all well and good. Townshend is in perfect legal standing with the authorities in Britain; why does that then mean he cannot perform here in this country?
]]>Janine Lindenmulder Still Denied Visitationhttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/janine-lindenmulder-still-denied-visitation.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-02-03T13:22:30Z2010-02-03T13:22:30ZJanine Lindenmulder
The media loves to set this up as "the good girl vs the porn star" and who can blame them:
Between the box office success of “The Blind Side” and Sandra Bullock’s spate of awards and recognition, the Oscar-nominated actress would seem to be having a great couple months.
Privately, though, Bullock and her husband, former “Monster Garage” host Jesse James, are still in the midst of a custody battle over James’ daughter, Sunny. The two are taking steps to formally adopt the 6-year-old.
“Sandra and Jesse have custody of Sunny, but now they want to take it a step further so that Sandra can become her legal mother," a source told In Touch Weekly.
If you throw in Bullock's Oscar buzz and whatever else, Lindenmulder doesn't have a chance.
]]>Daniel D’Addario, You Need to Stop Criticizing Filmhttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/daniel-daddario-you-need-to-stop-criticizing-film.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-02-03T06:15:32Z2010-02-03T06:15:32ZMeryl Streep in the film Doubt
I'm not going to go completely after Daniel D’Addario, I'm just going to refute one thing.
The rap on Streep has been the same since the beginning of her career, or at least since she won the best-actress Oscar for Sophie’s Choice: she’s an accent machine, without the ability to create empathy from her audience. While this is arguably true, the accents aren’t the issue. What Streep most crucially lacks is the notion of underplaying. The outsized quality of Julia Child speaks exactly to Streep’s weaknesses among moviegoers not predisposed to like her. She plays every role to the absolute hilt, even when she hasn’t, it seems, decided what role she’s playing. Consider Doubt. The part called for subtle shadings of emotion as the nun protagonist began to question whether the priest she accused of sexual misconduct was actually innocent. Streep simply put on a broad Bronx accent and went careening towards a final scene where she weeps and shouts to the heavens. In contrast, watch her rage in Woody Allen’s Manhattan, or her delicate pain in the accent bonanza of Sophie’s Choice. Streep is more subtly emotional in those than she’s been in decades.
In my lifetime as a moviegoer, Streep seems to have chosen one trait to build each of her characters, and dragged the film along behind her. What can a moviegoer who has only seen her warbling in Mamma Mia!, snarking in he Devil Wears Prada, and doing whatever she was trying to do in Doubt make of her sterling reputation?
Now, I want you to watch at least three and a half minutes of this video, of Streep in the film Doubt:
What planet do you live on, sir?
That's the most difficult of roles, the most complicated of scenes, and the greatest challenge an actor can ever be faced with. In heavy, transformative makeup and costume, in a period piece, while walking outside, and with a terrific actress right there with her, Miss Viola Davis in a part that was woefully overlooked and underappreciated in and of itself, Streep does amazing work. At no point does she do anything to take away from what Miss Davis is doing, and at no point does Miss Davis do anything to betray the scene or take away from what Streep is doing. There's more going on in that three minutes than I think anyone realizes, and that just doesn't happen.
That's not even the best work in the damned film, of course, but it neatly refutes what the critic is saying, doesn't it?
Streep plays the scene with conflict, but also with studied restraint. She does nothing easy in the scene. She is, in the emotion of the scene, dealing with child molestation, and is reaching out to a stranger, across all of the pitfalls of religion, race, guilt, duty, and what's right and wrong, and Streep absolutely becomes this woman without a single misstep. Where'd that accent go? It disappears because Streep is carrying the scene without the need for tricks or mannerisms.
What no one really understands is that, if anything about that scene is not paced, presented, or delivered in perfect tone, the whole movie falls apart. The character Streep plays has to be absolutely pitch perfect or her credibility collapses. Without her moral authority and credibility, the film becomes a screwball comedy about a priest abusing children. You cannot understate how difficult it is to carry out that level of work. Oh, sure. Not every role is like this one. Not every actress could pull off what you see Streep do in the scene above. The ones that can are legendary. You can count them on one hand.
There's no bombast, no focus on the accent, and absolutely no focus on "herself."This is pure gut-wrenching emotion, and none of what you see above is overstated or phoned in. Tucked in beneath that bonnet is a brilliant, brilliant actress. It's so far above my pay grade to even try to explain it, but she's the best of her generation. What she tosses off in a week as her regular paying gig is at a level of mastery that sails over the head of commoners like myself. Enjoy it and appreciate it, sir. You're not supposed to get how she can do that and not be dented by your nonsense.
I'd give up the film criticism. Gawker always needs more snark. Go see if you can help them.
]]>Can You Help a Lady Out, Sir?http://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/can-you-help-a-lady-out-sir.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-02-02T17:22:26Z2010-02-02T17:22:26ZRachel Weisz, as Snow White, and as Photographed by Annie Leibovitz
Leibovitz owes $24 million to artshark reputable fine art investment concern Art Capital Group, and her ability to pay it back is predicated on the sale of her photographic legacy as well as her homes in Greenwich Village and Rhinebeck. So if it's true that, as the Daily News reported, Bowie and his wife Iman have kicked the tires on the estate and seem prepared to pay the $11 million asking price, she's one step closer to solvency. And if the $11 million figure is accurate, that's a hefty premium over the $5 million value that the Dutchess County tax assessor assigned the property last year, according to Bloomberg.
The irony here is that Leibovitz's path back to financial sanity involves a system first pioneered by Bowie: According to the New York Times, she has explored issuing bonds based on the value of her photography catalog, a trick Bowie first pulled in 1997 to raise $55 million on the value of his songwriting portfolio.
Always nice to see David Bowie bailing someone out. Without the kindness of people who put up with his early attempts at making music, there'd be no David Bowie.
]]>Miramax is For Salehttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/miramax-is-for-sale.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-02-01T02:08:14Z2010-02-01T02:08:14Z
The Walt Disney Company has been quietly shopping what remains of its Miramax film unit and has secured seven to 10 interested bidders, according to a mergers and acquisitions expert with knowledge of the process.
The initial discussions indicate a price of over $700 million for the Miramax name and its 700-film library, which is essentially all that remains of the once-mighty art house label, according to the person involved who declined to be identified because the negotiations are confidential.
The interest is sharply higher than a year ago, when Disney briefly floated a Miramax sale but reconsidered because of the recession, reflecting a loosening of the debt markets. It may also indicate renewed interest in investing in entertainment.
A Disney spokeswoman declined to comment.
Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein, who founded Miramax in 1979, are not among the bidders – so far. The Weinstein brothers sold Miramax to Disney in 1993 but ran it until 2005, when they left to found the Weinstein Company.
Wasn't this the studio that just won huge awards and accolades for yet another Coen Brothers film that figured out a new way to insult the audience? Interestingly, there's an unreleased Jennifer Aniston film that Miramax is waiting to release, and no, it's not called Boring Shit Sandwich.
I don't have a clue as to what happened here, but it's either tragic or hilarious--take your pick:
Actor Elmore "Rip" Torn has been charged with breaking into a Connecticut bank and carrying a loaded handgun while intoxicated.
State police say the 78-year-old Salisbury resident was arrested Friday night after police found him inside the Litchfield Bancorp with a loaded revolver.
The "Men in Black" actor has been taken into custody and charged with first-degree burglary, third-degree criminal mischief, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, first-degree trespassing and possession of firearm without a permit. He is being held on $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear Monday in Bantam Superior Court.
Last year, Torn was given probation in a Connecticut drunken driving case and granted permission to enter an alcohol education program. He also has two previous drunken driving arrests in New York.
I hope that, when I'm 78, my badassery is as legendary as this, but not so much with the legal jeopardy and all that, okay? Also, what is up with the link between male actors and their appearances on the sitcom 30 Rock? First Alec Baldwin, then Tracy Morgan, now Rip Torn.
Just saying.
]]>Enough With the Jessica Simpson Bashinghttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/enough-with-the-jessica-simpson-bashing.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-01-29T04:22:49Z2010-01-29T04:22:49ZJessica Simpson
A source tells Us Weekly that Jessica Simpson had a, ahem, windy moment during a business meeting for her denim line in late January. "While one of the executives was speaking in a room full of five people, Jessica let out a very loud fart," says the insider.
"Her mother [Tina Simpson] was there, and it prompted her to turn around and yell, 'Jessica!' The tension was extreme. No one knew what to say."
It wasn't Simpson's first brush with public flatulence: She famously cut loose on an episode of Newlyweds, telling then-husband Nick Lachey, "You love my stinky ass," and professed her fondness for between-the-sheets poots (a.k.a. Dutch ovens) to a radio station in 2008.
There's way too much information packed into that little piece, but all I can say is this--everyone passes wind. The only way it becomes a story is when someone wants to take a shot at someone for being bloated and uncouth. And this poor young lady deserves better.
Dutch ovens?
Well, perhaps she has this one coming to her. After this? We can give her a pass.
]]>Mel Gibson Needs a Hit or Something More Than Thathttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/mel-gibson-needs-a-hit-or-something-more-than-that.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-01-28T05:18:16Z2010-01-28T05:18:16ZThis is how you have your mug shot taken. Always smile, even if you are a bit greasy
Roger Friedman does a good job of picking apart the new project from Mel Gibson, and his apparent lack of remorse for his arrest in Malibu a few years back, and that's fine. I think Gibson needs to answer some more questions and I think he will never be able to escape what happened, although I'm not sure what his father has to do with any of it:
Since then we’ve learned that Gibson is a racist and anti-Semite. He’s also a drunk, a liar and a philanderer. His father is a famous Holocaust denier who has a Web site explaining all his crazy beliefs. He also disavows the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church in favor of his own brand of Catholicism.On a radio show called “The Political Cesspool,” broadcast on Jan. 9, 2010, Hutton Gibson went after the late Pope John Paul II for visiting the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, for being a Russian or Communist agent and other crazy stuff.
“The whole bunch at the top,” Hutton Gibson says at 14:58 of the interview, of the current Archdiocese, ”if they’re not outright queer, they’re supportive of it. They do nothing about the terrible things that go on among the clergy and the bishops.”
Audiences do move on, but what strikes me about this film is that it is another fetishization of violence. Mel Gibson is mad, then he hits someone, then he breaks a window, and he walks mad some more, and then he says something through his teeth, then he looks mad, and there's more violence.
Okay, but how is that entertaining? Gibson needs a hit. Barring that, he needs to work and try to restore the bond that he used to have with people who wanted to see his films. He needs to find a way to be likeable, or just exit the industry.
]]>Hardly the Badasshttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/hardly-the-badass.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-01-26T18:48:51Z2010-01-26T18:48:51Z
Gary Coleman
If there's a reason why Gary Coleman decided to pose for his mugshot looking like this, I don't know what it would be.
In the first place, it could have been snapped when he was still upset. That makes the most sense to me. Shame on you, jail photographer. You should have told Gary a joke and you should have had him take off that sweatshirt.
In the second place, Gary Coleman has never really had a leg up on manipulating the media. He's always been behind that power curve.
Third, absent a lawyer or advisor or someone to mentor him, there's no one to tell him how to pose for a mugshot when you're a celebrity. He appears to still have an agent, if you read the story that I have linked above. Fat lot of good it is doing him.
This is how you pose for a mugshot:
Tom DeLay
That's how you do it. You smile. You smile like the dickens. You make it look like there's been a happy accident, and you're the happy warrior, slap-happily obliging Johnny law. Make it look like you just said gosh-darn out loud and offered someone some pie.
]]>Sorry, Not Interestedhttp://www.celebritydisaster.com/cd/sorry-not-interested.htmlNorman Rogers, Celebrity Expert2010-01-26T03:42:59Z2010-01-26T03:42:59ZGremlins
I have very good information from a top source that tells me another GREMLINS movie is coming to the silver screens and it will be in stereoscopic 3D! It is in the early stages with still lots of hurdles to pass, but it is being developed. This is not a 3D conversion of the original to be clear.
Seems like a good idea to me - especially in light of the GHOSTBUSTERS newswe broke on Wednesday. The original GREMLINS was directed by THE HOLE's Joe Dante, with executive producer STEVEN SPIELBERG and writer CHRIS COLUMBUS.
The story centered around a pet purchased at a curious shop in NYC's Chinatown which had some quirks, namely rapid reproduction when introduced to water (one new creature per drop of water) and turning into gremlins after midnight if they feed.
No, I really don't need to see that done all over again. The story is as old as the hills--don't mess with Mother Nature! Yawn.
If there's one thing you can count on, no one will learn the lesson of James Cameron's Avatar: steal the story of Pocahontas, come up with some great special effects, and, whatever you do, don't cast an American actor as the lead character unless it is Sigourney Weaver.
Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher
Fran Drescher
Fran DrescherDid you know that she's a diplomat?
