R.I.P. Corey Haim (1971-2010)

It seems crazy to have our second former teen star obituary in as many weeks,  but the sad news of yesterday was of course the untimely passing of actor Corey Haim. Reportedly the 38-year-old  – who had battled substance abuse for years –  was getting his act together, even going so far as to take out a full page ad in the Hollywood trades announcing he was “back”. Over the past few years Haim landed several film roles and starred alongside BFF Corey Feldman in a reality show. Haim had also signed on to direct, which the handsome star of “Lucas” and “The Lost Boys”,  among others, had long wanted to do. The death has been called an accidental overdose, although there are additional medical reports pending. Very sad news indeed, and it casts an even longer shadow upon Hollywood’s young actors and actresses who may encounter too much fame, too much money, and too much catering to one’s every whim — way too soon. Our condolences go out to Haim’s family at this time. In happier news, we have a birth announcement.  The star of “FlashForward” and Ralph’s kid bro Joseph Fiennes and his wife, Maria Dolores Dieguez welcomed their first child, a daughter. Congratulations to the couple. Similarly, Mario Lopez – actor/singer/”Extra” host and onetime Dancing With The Stars star -  is about to add another title to his resume: “Dad”. Lopez and girlfriend actress Courtney Mazza are expecting a child this fall. Bravo. Now last week we told you that Eric Dane and wife Rebecca Gayheart had a baby girl, but that she was nameless (aka “McTBDeamy”)  until such time as they got to know her personality a bit. Well, they’re now acquainted, so we can all rest easy and say hello to Billie Beatrice Dane. Get ready with those monogrammed towels for Little Miss B.B.D.(eamy). And now, let’s turn our attention to today’s poll, and take a look at some of Corey Haim’s roles. He was one of those boys who, howsomever “lost”, managed to touch a lot of lives and he will be fondly remembered. Now voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which of these Corey Haim movies is your favorite.

1) License to Drive

2) The Lost Boys

3) Lucas

4) Dream a Little Dream

Post a Comment (1) 9:56 am on March 11, 2010

Who Should Play Kurt Cobain?

Happy birthday Chuck Norris, Jon Hamm & Sharon Stone. Great feedback on yesterday’s poll. Turns out you were pretty sold on Hugh Jackman as fave Oscar host. So the entertainment world’s evidently moved past the Oscars, and is now busying itself with legal issues – of the dicey and expensive variety. So here goes. First up: that guy who allegedly tried to extort $2 million from David Letterman by threatening to expose some of Dave’s dalliances with members of the fairer sex who also happen to be on his em, payroll,  pleaded guilty. He’ll  get “six months of jailtime, five years probation and 1,000 hours of community service”. Also in trouble, rapper Lil Wayne has headed to Rikers Island for  a lil jailtime — on account of his gun possession. How much of the yearlong sentence he’ll actually do remains to be seen.  In other legal news, Lindsay Lohan is suing E-trade for $100 million dollars because of an ad they ran about a “milkaholic” kid who’s name also happens to be Lindsay. Not sure this one’s going anywhere. But let’s us go to movie news. In what seems to me to be a good idea all around, Robert DeNiro has signed on to play Vince Lombardi in the biopic of the beloved Green Bay Packers coach.  Who’s not going to see that?  Even if you don’t care about football…or DeNiro…seems like too much of a delicious comb to skip. Maybe they’ll get Sandy B. to play his wife. And here’s more casting news, which brings us to today’s poll. Woody Harrelson was nominated for an Oscar for  “The Messenger” (an awesome film by the way). Now, the guy who wrote and directed that movie – Oren Moverman – is directing the new movie about the late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain. Courtney Love is attached to the project, so anyone who thinks she may have had something to do with her hub’s untimely death is going to have to watch someone else’s movie. We have reports that she wants Ryan Gosling for the part. That said, who do you want to see step into Kurt’s shoes? If you have other suggestions, by all means let us know. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which of these actors you’d most like to see play Kurt Cobain in the movie  about his life:

1)  Ryan Gosling

2)    Emile Hirsch

3)    Jared Leto

4)    Zac Efron

Post a Comment (2) 9:35 am on March 10, 2010

Oscar Snubs & Your Favorite Hosts?

So now that SOME of the Oscar smoke has cleared and Kathryn Bigelow’s week is probably off to a pretty good start, a couple of items remain. First of all, there was a huge outcry over the fact that both Farrah Fawcett and Bea Arthur were omitted from the “In Memoriam” section of the Academy Awards’ broadcast. People were furious. Celebrities and fans alike tweeted their outrage (because nothing confers outrage like a ‘tweet”) The producers explained that it’s very tough to fit everyone in, and that time was running out (really? Looked like the show took its own sweet time). Lots of people quite disappointed about that oversight. Now John Hughes on the other hand — the man who brought us the Brat Pack and essentially defined a cinematic generation — was lauded with a very special presentation which this blogger (who fits into that very demographic) really liked. But Sandy B. was certainly the  big winner – did the People’s Choice voters see that coming or what? In other  news, seems Brooke Burke got the nod as Dancing With The Stars’ brand new co-host, as announced by her partner-to-be Tom Bergeron. Remember  DWTS kicks off March 22nd. And we have reports that Idol judging/empire-running/collarless-shirt-favoring Simon Cowell is getting married, and his hot GF Mezhgan Hussainy has the ice to prove it. Speaking of hot GF’s, lots of curiosity surrounding George Clooney’s sour puss scowl during the Oscars (even before he didn’t win the award nobody thought he’d win anyway on account of ole Jeff Bridges). But it turns out the frown was in fact scripted.  Here’s hoping his lengthy locks were somehow scripted too. As for his GF, no excuse was given for her frequent pout. Now yesterday we asked about the ladies and their dresses, and rather than ask you about the men (whose only creative fashion outlet is frequently facial hair)  let’s get to a non-clothing-related question for today’s poll. Let’s talk hosts. New and old. And who did the best job. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which of these host(s) from the past 10 years is your favorite?

1)    Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin

2)    Whoopi Goldberg

3)    Billy Crystal

4)    Ellen DeGeneres

Post a Comment (2) 9:36 am on March 9, 2010

Oscars: Who Was Best Dressed?

Wow. What an Oscar night it was…from The Hurt Locker’s six (6) wins to Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin’s funny (if sometimes lengthy/awkward)  tag team of hosts…to Kathryn Bigelow taking home the very first LADY Director trophy EVER and Jeff ‘The Dude’ Bridges winning the one many feel he has long deserved. We had  George Clooney’s strangely (although one guesses, scripted) serious demeanor and a misfire from the normally hilarious Ben Stiller. Christoph Waltz from Inglourious Basterds and Monique from Precious surprised no one with their trophies. Did you watch? Did you like? This year they tried to pull out all the stops and attract multiple audiences. There were hot young guys (like Chris Pine & Ryan Reynolds & Bradley Cooper ) for the ladies, werewolves  and werewolf buddies (Taylor Lautner & Kristen Stewart) and the actors we typically associate with them (Zac Efron ) for the young and the Twi-Moms. There were older beloveds with the big prizes (Tom Hanks & Barbra Streisand & Oprah) to lend an air of gravitas to the whole thing. There were  great huge Busby Berkeley style dance numbers, followed by other just plain odd modern dance numbers that many people (including this viewer ) didn’t understand. Sandra Bullock (see today’s dress poll) gave a pretty classy acceptance speech and kind of ruled with it, Queen Latifah was poised and looked amazing. Neil Patrick Harris came and made people laugh for a moment before disappearing altogether, and The Hurt Locker managed to beat out the highest-grossing film ever in a total David & Goliath scenario. Avatar did win some awards, but none of the big ones that many felt the megajuggernaut  could easily take home. Before we get to today’s poll, Alice in Wonderland did indeed  – as expected – come away  box office champ and with over $116 million dollars in the bank this weekend,  turned out  to be the biggest moneymaker for a  spring opening weekend. Ever.  But back to last night. We’ll let you know just how many people tuned in, but for now, let’s get to what’s really the most important part of the Academy Awards: the clothing. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know which of these ladies sported your favorite look?

1) Sandra Bullock

2) Zoe Saldana

3) Penelope Cruz

4) Queen Latifah

Post a Comment (0) 9:56 am on March 8, 2010

New Arrivals: McSteamy & The Mad Hatter

So the weekend’s here. And of course, Hollywood is busy-busy (read: even more congested ) getting ready for Sunday’s Oscar broadcast. In New Arrival News, congrats to “Grey’s Anatomy” star  Eric Dane (McSteamy)  and his wife Rebecca Gayheart on their brand new baby girl. She has yet to be named (the couple want to get to know her first) so for now we’ll just call her ‘McTBDeamy’ til she gets a proper moniker. We move now to things that are born again, like remakes. They’re everywhere, from the TV shows we/our parents loved as kids to any number of movies that maybe shouldn’t have been “reimagined” in the first place. Anyone remember Police Academy? (If you’ve somehow forgotten, there were seven of them) – that’s getting relaunched. We already know about  “The Rockford Files”(starring Dermot Mulroney), plus the new “Hawaii –Five-O” with  hunky “Moonlight” star Alex O’Loughlin. They’ve now added Scott Caan  to that cast to play Danny Williams, of “Book ‘em Danno” fame. In other popular retreads we have reports that Neil Patrick Harris has signed on to star in a new Smurfs movie. Not sure what that’s about although NPH is also guest starring on “Glee” (is there anything this guy can’t do?) And while we’re on the topic of things people grew up with, let us turn to movies this weekend. The big one? The multicolored, 3-D, star-studded, Tim Burton-directed elephant in the living room that nobody wants to go up against (hence the dearth of openings): Alice in Wonderland. The movie everyone’s been waiting for, which will probably make money hand over fist before Monday dawns. And star Johnny Depp, who’s seemingly cornered the market on odd/fantastical/magical/murderous/implement –appendaged creatures looks like he’ll ace the Mad Hatter bit in no time flat. Alice also stars Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway and Crispin Glover. Here’s where you all come in -  to vote on other live-action movies based on beloved children’s literature. So here goes. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know which of these movies based on kid’s books was your favorite?

1)    Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2)    How The Grinch Stole Christmas

3)    The Princess Bride

4)  Where the Wild Things Are

Post a Comment (0) 9:42 am on March 5, 2010

Oscars 2010: You Pick Best Actor

Happy Thursday. Given yesterday’s poll, you seem to agree with  iTunes customers on the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga tracks. (By the way, is it me or does part of the very awesome “Poker Face” remind anyone of that Glenn Frey song “You Belong to The City”? Just curious). Anyway, in other music news, we have one word: Sade. Billboard Champ. Third Week in a Row.That’s right.Who knew she’d pull that off? Lady Antebellum continues to nip at her heels, and this country trio has plenty to crow about.  Like being nominated for 7 trophies in this year’s Academy of Country Music Awards.  (Hosted by Reba McEntire, the ACM broadcast will be April 18th on CBS). Speaking of trophies, it really is Almost Oscar Time. Will we see a Big Former Mr. and Mrs. James Cameron Showdown on Sunday?  Now this year, in addition to a) expanding the Best Picture category to 10 movies  b) squishing thank-you speeches and c) eliminating live Best Song performances, we will of course be treated to not one but two Oscar hosts: Alec Baldwin & Steve Martin. Say what you will, here’s predicting a pretty funny show. As far as presenters go, they’ve got plenty of young, hot stars lined up, among them: Gerard Butler, Bradley Cooper, Jake Gyllenhaal,  Sam Worthington, & Chris Pine. That’s in addition to Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart  (sorry, we’re told Rob Pattinson will be shooting a film, so fans will have to make do without the complete Twiumvirate).  Planning on staying in this weekend while you make decorations for your Oscar party? You might want to check out some of this week’s brand new DVD releases, like  2012, Where The Wild Things Are,  & The Pivate Lives of Pippa Lee. If you want to go to the movies, you’ve got some options too – more on them tomorrow.  Suffice it to say, Johnny Depp’s probably going to have a pretty good weekend. But now, let’s take another early Academy Awards vote with YOU as judges. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know, if the Oscars were today, which one of these guys (other than apparent front-runner Jeff Bridges) would be your pick for Best Actor?

1)    George Clooney

2)    Morgan Freeman

3)    Jeremy Renner

4)    Colin Firth

Post a Comment (0) 9:23 am on March 4, 2010

What’s Your Favorite Download of All Time?

It’s Wednesday. Holy smokes, but you people are outspoken when it comes to DWTS’ Tenth Season Stars. As ever,  thanks for your feedback. Seems you’re not all that psyched about some of the contenders  mentioned.  Don’t worry, we’ll still be asking you about the others down the road.  Although, it turns out somebody was watching “The Bachelor” (or maybe folks just tuned in for the DWTS announcement) – oh say, maybe 15 million of you and your closest friends thought you’d make ABC’s day with  a whopping turnout on the Jake/Vienna/Tenley  situation.  It’s fair to say that at the very least, regardless of your feeling about some of its “Stars”,  this next season of DWTS will be an entertaining one. Now, in news of the less-than-savory sort, seems Naomi Campbell may have lost her temper once again and someone’s going to tell on her. Allegedly, the supermodel assaulted her limo driver, before bolting from the Escalade he was driving in midtown Manhattan. Who knows what’ll happen next (you’ll recall, this is not Nay-Nay’s first run-in with the authorities). In “American Idol” news, everyone’s hoping Crystal Bowersox is going to be ok (docs say she will, they just didn’t want her performing last night) which prompted the unusual switcheroo resulting in 10 fellas doing their thing on the show instead of the gals – stay tuned for Crystal & Co.  tonight. And while we’re on the subject of tunes, you know that  last week someone actually hit “buy” for ITunes’ 10 billionth download. BILLIONTH! (If you’re wondering, the song was Johnny Cash’s “Guess Things Happen That Way”and the guy behind the download won himself a $10,000 ITunes Gift Card). Which made us wonder – what are the most frequently downloaded songs on ITunes? So we checked. Here are the top 4 acts on ITunes most downloaded tracks of all time. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know which one of these tunes is your favorite:

1)    The Black Eyed Peas: I Gotta Feeeling

2)    Lady Gaga; Poker Face

3)    Jason Mraz: I’m Yours

4)    Coldplay: Viva la Vida

Post a Comment (2) 9:50 am on March 3, 2010

Dancing With The Stars Stars Are Here!

Great feedback yesterday from our Movies With The Best Twisty Ending poll. Upshot of the whole deal is that Primal Fear has indeed got a fabulous killer ending, but that not everyone got to see it and most thought Sixth Sense was purdy chilling. Okay. Did anyone watch “The Bachelor”? Who’s apparently also a hoofer now? (more on that later) So he picked Vienna. End of story. Almost makes you miss the messy drama with Jason Mesnick, doesn’t it? Next topic. Have you been watching “The Today show” this week? They’re actually profiling  the great family shows. As in, the ones with the great, seemingly unforgettable families, not necessarily for the family. And  this week they’re even bringing  in the live actors from the casts to demonstrate the wildly popular phenomenon! For example, yesterday they had the cast of “Eight Is Enough”, today they welcome “The Partridge Family”, and day after tomorrow the cast of “227″ will be guests.”The Brady Bunch” canceled however, which is a complete bummer of course. And not a little suspicious. Now, for the “Dancing With The Stars” stars. Okay, not a lot of huge surprises – let’s begin with the least surprising: Kate Gosselin (who says she can rehearse at home because people are already peeved about her bailing on the kids),  Pam it-was-just-a-matter-of-time Anderson, pouty but popular actress Shannen Doherty, Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek, Pussycat Dolls star (and People’s Choice Award hottie ) Nicole Scherzinger,  “The Bachelor”’s  um,  bachelor, Jake Pavelka, 80-year-old astronaut Buzz Aldrin,  ESPN’s Erin Andrews, soap star Aiden Turner, NFL star Chad Ochocinco, and actress-comedian Niecy Nash. There are your landmark Tenth Season stars. The show’s producers are of course over the moon and admit that they’ve been chasing some of these stars since season 1 (do you think we’ll ever find out who they’re talking about? I don’t). So that’s your DWTS lineup…now get ready for the show on March 22nd. And of course, it wouldn’t be a DWTS Stars Reveal Day without a Dancing With The Stars stars’ poll, would it? So right off the bat voice your choice  in today’s featured poll &  tell us which of these 4 DWTS new cast members you’re most excited about.

1)    Jake Pavelka

2)    Pam Anderson

3)    Nicole Scherzinger

4)    Shannen Doherty

Post a Comment (1) 9:45 am on March 2, 2010

Padalecki Weds & Best Movie Twist Endings

Hope you had a great weekend. We’re pretty sure Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney did, since they got married in Los Angeles in front of 250 adoring celebrities/family members and her dress cost $45,000. If those names don’t ring a bell, Jason was the star of ABC’s “The Bachelor” and Molly was the gal you may recall he wooed, then dumped before selecting Melissa Rycroft, only to turn around and dump her — and take back up with Molly. The whole ordeal caused lots of controversy, made tons of people furious and predictably, “The Bachelor”’s ratings went through the roof. Funny how that works. Anyway, the two of them enjoyed a lavish ceremony (albeit in the pouring rain), with American Idol alum Jason Castro crooning. And if for some reason you weren’t a guest at the wedding, fear not. The whole thing will be broadcast on March 8th. So stay tuned. One person who won’t need to tune in on account of the fact that she was a guest?  Melissa Rycroft. Congratulations to Mr. And Mrs. Mesnick.  In other nuptial news (cue noises of a million tween hearts breaking here ) “Supernatural” star Jared Padalecki married costar Genevieve Cortese in Idaho this weekend. Jared’s best man was his real-life bro Jeffrey, while his real-life BFF Jensen Ackles was a groomsman.  In other TV news,  they’re bringing back another old (and much beloved) chestnut for a younger audience. Remember “The Rockford Files”? If you do, it was James Garner solving crimes. Well, NBC’s bringing it back and this time Dermot Mulroney will star …there’s a remake we’ll definitely watch.  See any movies this weekend? How about Shutter Island which whomped  the competition to prevail at #1 again in the box office race w/ $75 million clams. The #2 film was Cop Out, and third place went to horror newcomer  The Crazies – which brought in $16.5 million. Avatar, if you still care, crossed the $700 million dollar mark. Can’t you buy a number of tropical islands with that kind of cash? I was thinking about Shutter Island, and whether you’ve seen it or not, it’s no secret that the movie has a  twist ending. Which of course made me think about other movies’ cool twist endings  –  and naturally, a brand new poll was born. Now we know there are many, many great ones out there but here are just a few for your consideration. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know which of these films has your favorite twist ending.

1)    The Sixth Sense

2)    Fight Club

3)    Primal Fear

4) The Usual Suspects

Post a Comment (0) 9:41 am on March 1, 2010

Angelina Jolie & Patricia Cornwell’s Angry Mob

It’s Friday, and we start our blog today with an obituary. Sad news for fans of TV’s “Growing Pains”. One of its stars, Andrew Koenig, the 41-year-old son of actor Walter Koenig (the original Chekov on “Star Trek”) apparently took his own life in Vancouver this week. Koenig played Kirk Cameron’s best friend Richard Stabone,  and was suffering from depression prior to his death; our condolences go out to Andrew’s family at this time. Now, moving on to cheerier  (or at least absurd-er)  fare: here’s some Hollywood casting news that apparently has lots of people in a tizzy. If you’re familiar with Patricia Cornwell’s bestselling Kay Scarpetta  crime thrillers, you may also know that the extremely lucrative franchise is headed for the big screen. The only problem among Scarpetta fans now is the movie’s casting choice. Angelina Jolie has been tapped to play the middle-aged Medical Examiner.  The problem? The lovely actress is apparently too that, and Cornwell fans are crying foul. They say she’s too young (Jolie’s 34),  and way too exotically stunning. They’re also saying AJ’s too thin.  Filmmakers say she’s the perfect choice, especially since Jodie Foster passed on the role. This outcry, while diverting, will likely blow over  for several reasons. A) Does anyone remember how all the insane Twi-Hards took to the streets complaining bitterly at the initial casting of “ugly” Robert Pattinson — saying the movie would bomb and no one would see it? Exactly. And  B) fans of a book, even a huge book, tend not to dictate casting where A-list megastars are concerned. So we’ll check back and see who pickets the film’s opening. Speaking of openings, your new weekend  movie options are as follows. In wide release you have two choices: first, The Crazies. This, a remake of the George Romero horror movie about a sheriff dealing with something toxic in the water stars “Deadwood”’s Timothy Olyphant and looks scary as hell. It will probably also make tons of money. The other big opening this weekend?  Cop Out, the buddy comedy with  Bruce Willis, Tracy Morgan & Seann William Scott (and some really foulmouthed children). Also looks to be popular. While we’re at it, let’s talk about Bruce Willis. He brings a certain charm to an awful lot of roles he plays. With this in mind voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know which of Bruce’s films is your favorite?

1)    Die Hard

2)    Pulp Fiction

3)    The Sixth Sense

4)    The Whole Nine Yards

Post a Comment (0) 10:31 am on February 26, 2010

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About Liz Warner

People's Choice staffer Liz Warner has been delivering news, entertainment & arts coverage to entertainment fans for years, most recently on air and online at LA's Indie 103.1 FM. Liz is also an author and actress who appears frequently in both LA and New York. Her solo monologue show The Wandering Eye premiered at HBO's Aspen Comedy Festival. Her critically acclaimed first book of essays, "Ditched by Dr. Right" (Random House) was published July 2005. Most recently, she was one half of the "He Said/She Said" Official Blogging Team for ABC's The Bachelor, and she is also announcer for Twentieth Century Fox TV's new series "Wedlock or Deadlock". Her second book is due for publication in 2011.

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