People's Choice Buzz Blog » Queen Latifah

Daytime Emmys: Did You Watch?

pcavote — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:28:18 +0000

Part of why I asked you to vote on Grown Ups, Knight and Day and Toy Story 3 on Friday was because even though the new movies boasted big stars, I sorta thought TS3 might prevail at the box office again, which it did. This weekend I caught a bunch of movies at the Los Angeles Film Festival and as I waited to enter screenings for (important, vaguely artsy but very good) movies, I couldn’t help noticing all of the kids at the concession stand jumping out of their skin to catch TS3 (which happened to be playing in the next theater) for the second, third and fourth time. Don’t get me wrong – the films at LAFF rocked, but it made me feel vaguely nostalgic for the days when you just couldn’t get enough of a movie. So much so, that you saw it over and over and over.

Also this weekend, PCA’s own Queen Latifah hosted the star-studded BET Awards — anyone want to weigh in on Chris Brown’s tribute to Michael Jackson? He broke down while singing Man in the Mirror which seems in no way surprising since I couldn’t get through the video when Michael was alive and singing it himself.

Who caught the Daytime Emmys? It was good Sunday night TV. Plus, it turned out to be a fitting farewell to As The World Turns. Did you think Regis did a good job hosting? I don’t know what it is about Reeej, but if anyone else said nine of ten things that come out of that man’s mouth I would accuse them of spewing of disingenuous platitudes. I’d call that person an affront to sincerity and all who practice it. For some reason, however, I totally buy Regis. Always have. I watch him and there’s something about his wide-eyed good nature, combined with his if-you’d-seen-what-I’ve-seen-in-this-biz demeanor that makes him, for me, ultimately charming. And he made the show move along nicely. Plus he weathered insults from David Letterman (who’d obviously hired a twelve year-old boy to author them) and that’s never easy. The Dick Clark tribute was excellent, peppered with acts whom Dick brought to American Bandstand just after World War 1, singing abbreviated versions of their songs. Now let’s take note here, because I think from now on this should be the super-smart way to go with musical numbers. If we agree that the best tip in showbiz for any live performer is “leave the audience wanting more” – let’s also agree that everyone should follow this mantra. Shortened songs are perfect! We get the taste, but we don’t have to regret having ingested the entire meal. It’s win-win. We all have YouTube. We can all watch extended versions of anything we want, any time we want. But here’s the what – when time is of the essence – like it is on these shows, let’s create musical numbers that keep everyone desperate for more. Then they went and honored the lovely Agnes Nixon – queen of daytime drama, who happens to live in suburban Philadelphia, where I happened to grow up. Did she base characters and plotlines on that area? Nobody knows for sure, but there are an awful lot of familiar family names getting tossed around whenever I tune in. Just saying. The show was good, nobody talked for too long, and ATWT Best Actress winner Maura West brought her pretty adorable kid on stage, which kinda got me too. I’m not quite sure why David Copperfield was there, unless he happened to be walking by (or I guess levitating near) the venue before they began the show. But if the inclusion of David Copperfield is the least interesting part of your awards show, you’re definitely doing something right.

That said, let us know which of these was your favorite part of the Daytime Emmys:

1) Maura West (& kin)

2) Honoring Dick Clark

3) Regis

4) Honoring Agnes Nixon

Tagged: agnes nixon, chris brown, daytime emmys, dick clark, kelly ripa, maura west, Michael Jackson, michael park, Queen Latifah, regis philbin, Toy Story 3

Queen Latifah Leads The Pack: New Movies

pcavote — Fri, 14 May 2010 13:50:13 +0000

Happy Friday. Well, you all had plenty to say yesterday about your favorite musicals. So much that we’ll absolutely bring that topic up again (hadn’t known you were such showtunes fans & now I’ll be sure you have even more choices!) Speaking of choices, let’s get right to movie openings – because you’ve got a few of them today at your local cineplex. First, there’s one about a hot but scruffy guy who’s very hands-on when it comes to a) his bow & arrow b) Cate Blanchett and c) evil sheriffs. It’s called Robin Hood, it stars Russell Crowe and, well, you pretty much know what you’re getting with this one. I’m thinking a lot of dark forests, pounding horses’ hooves and not a ton of bathing going on. But I could be mistaken. One thing we do know – it’s going to make money. Honestly, when’s the last time a director gave Russell Crowe a weapon and a reason to be really irritated and the film didn’t make tons of cash? The next movie looks more lighthearted, largely because it’s got the word “Letters” and a woman’s name in the title. It’s called Letters To Juliet and it stars Amanda Seyfried (amazing in Mama Mia) plus Vanessa Redgrave, and they’re in Italy with a romantic premise and a lot of good-looking men. I see date nights this weekend split down boy/girl lines about these two films, when all they should probably do – to insure themselves a good time all around – is see Just Wright. This may satisfy everyone, for three reasons: a) it stars the astonishing Queen Latifah who seems only to get more appealing with every move (and movie) she makes. Another reason is b) it’s a romantic comedy about c) basketball. So that pretty much covers everything – and everyone – thus solving all movie-going dilemmas with one cool flick. Oh, and did we mention it also stars Common? Enough said. My money’s on Just Wright this weekend. Looks like a pretty great time. And while we’re at it, let’s take a peek at some other sports films. Here are a few; voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know which one of these sports-movies-with-a-romance is your favorite?

1) Jerry Maguire

2) Bull Durham

3) Love and Basketball

4) Rocky

Tagged: Amanda Seyfried, Bull Durham, Cate Blanchett, Common, Jerry Maguire, Just Wright, Love and Basketball, Queen Latifah, Robin Hood, Rocky, Russell Crowe

Happy Birthday Queen Latifah!

pcavote — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:35:16 +0000

Happy Birthday Queen Latifah! Hard to believe this lovely and very stylish lady – who acts, sings, AND hosts the PCA’s – is 40 today. Hope she’s doing something very special. Also hope you all recovered from a fantastic St. Patrick’s Day. “Idol”’s Lacey Brown probably didn’t, although we’re sure a nifty career awaits her. Brown’s number was up last night, and not even the “Judges Save” could grow any moss on that rolling stone, who was out the see-ya door in no time, leaving behind Tim Urban and Paige Miles. Now, if you happen to be anywhere near Austin, Texas, there’s a very cool event going on this week. It’s “South By Southwest” – a huge film/music/interactive bonanza of new stuff, new movies, and general hipster activities in a town already known for its hipsterishness. “SXSW” (as it’s abbreviated) runs through Sunday. Now in a sad twist, one of SXSW’s most beloved & eagerly anticipated performers has passed away. Singer/songwriter/guitarist and all around music-influencer Alex Chilton succumbed to a heart attack at age 59. His name might not ring a bell, but he was an important figure who sang with Big Star and The Box Tops. In fact, the Replacements wrote a song called “Alex Chilton” in 1987, and his “In The Street” was the theme song from “That 70’s Show”.While he never earned tremendous fame, a great many artists who actually did credit his inspiration regularly. RIP Alex Chilton (if his name comes up in conversation, you can always point out that his songs were performed by The Bangles, Counting Crows, Wilco and Cheap Trick – just to name a few). Last week we told you that Simon Cowell’s decided to make it official and get himself hitched. This week’s news? Guess they’ll be able to skip the boombox and someone’s nephew as deejay – reportedly Elton John has been tapped to sing at the wedding. Maybe it really is all about who you know. But back to our birthday girl: what’s your favorite Queen Latifah movie? Voice your choice in today’s featured poll.

1) Bringing Down the House
2) Chicago
2) Hairspray
4) The Secret Life of Bees

Tagged: Alex Chilton, Elton John, Halle Berry, Lacey Brown, Oscar Curse, Queen Latifah, Reese Withersppon, Simon Cowell, Tim Urban

The Queen & The Saints Score, Pick Sunday’s Best Ads!

pcavote — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:01:54 +0000

Happy Monday! Are you fully recovered from your Super Bowl watching/supporting/partying/avoiding? Regardless of your rooting preferences, I’d have to say it’s still a nice victory for New Orleans – which has really been home of the raw deal these past few years. Speaking of cool things that benefit places facing genuine hardship, did you catch Queen Latifah, Diddy and Pharrell on Friday night, live from Miami? The SOS Haiti telethon was a huge success with everyone from Spike Lee, Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige and Ludacris to Justin Bieber & Mike Tyson answering phones. And how about Bill Clinton and Busta Rhymes taking the stage? The whole thing was a slam-dunk, providing much-needed funds to help those affected by Haiti’s quake. In other weekend news – how about the fact that after 7 weekends at the top of the box office heap Avatar has finally been unseated? That’s right. Evidently while all the gentlemen spent their weekends focusing on The Game, all the single ladies took it upon themselves to hit cineplexes nationwide and to bring all of their ticket-buying friends, so that Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried had a #1 box office hit with their romantic drama Dear John. To the tune of $32.4 million which is music to the ears of anyone hoping to usurp James Cameron’s epic. (Avatar still took in $23 million this weekend, and remains the biggest box office champ ever, ever, but it’s nice to see another film give those Blue Cats a run for their (whoppingly amassed) money. The weekend of course culminated with the Super Bowl. Which was certainly a fun show featuring some some pretty wild commercials. Now, in terms of Super Bowl’s own box office numbers, let’s just say they estimated $90 million dollars was bet legally on the Colts/Saints showdown. And that’s the legit part. How about Carrie Underwood’s Super Bowl Star Spangled Banner (with her matching Star Spangled Outfit?) By the way, did you know that Carrie’s also scored her very first movie role? This one’s called “Soul Surfer”, and it’s the true story of an intrepid young surfer who lost her arm to a shark bite and recovered, to surf again. And in addition to Carrie, the stars were out in full force in Miami this weekend – with everyone from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie to J.Lo, Kate Walsh, Blake Lively, Chace Crawford, Taylor Lautner and Kellen Lutz — just to name a few. So back to The Game – or at least my favorite part of The Game: the ads. Did you watch them? Did you enjoy them? Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know which Super Bowl commercial was your favorite:

1) Megan Fox – Motorola

2) Betty White – Snickers

3) Tim Tebow & Mom

4) Doritos: “House Rules”

Tagged: Avatar, Blake Lively, Carrie Underwood, Chace Crawford, Channing Tatum, Chris Brwon, Colts, Diddy. Super Bowl 44, J.Lo, Justin Bieber, Kate Walsh, Ludacris, Mary J. Blige, Mike Tyson, Queen Latifah, Saints

Queen Latifah to Host All-Star Haiti Telethon

pcavote — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:43:29 +0000

Happy Super Bowl Weekend. (Now, be honest: are you actually planning to watch the game, or are you just in it for the commercials - or both?) Queen Latifah’s also got a pretty special gig going on tonight in Miami, but before we tell you all about that, we have an obit: one of TV’s Grande Dames has left us. Frances Reid, star of “Days of Our Lives” for over 40 years, has passed away at age 95. Reid also had roles on Broadway, in “As The World Turns” and “The Edge of Night”. A fond farewell to a daytime icon. And now, for something that’s going to bring more much-needed relief to lots of people who desperately need our help (turns out, Super Bowl XLIV isn’t the only event in Miami where the stars will be out in full force). Tonight, People’s Choice’s own Queen Latifah will be hosting a very special benefit concert to help earthquake-ravaged Haiti. The “SOS Saving Ourselves – Help For Haiti” telethon will air live from the American Airlines Arena in Miami, at 8PM ET, on BET, MTV, VH1 and other cable channels. Sean “Diddy” Combs and Pharrell Williams will share hosting duties with the Queen in what promises to be a spectacular evening of words & music. As I write this, performers are still being added to tonight’s roster (as well as a few surprise guests), but the acts already on board are mighty impressive, to say the least. As in: Mary J. Blige, Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Robin Thicke, Justin Bieber, and Wyclef Jean, as well as Nas and Jamaican reggae artist Damian Marley. Children’s Safe Drinking Water, the Yéle Haiti foundation, CARE, and Project Medishare will be some of the night’s beneficiaries . Want to help out and be a part of it? Tune in tonight and give them a call OR, if you happen to be in the Miami area, “SOS Saving Ourselves – Help For Haiti” tickets are available through Ticketmaster, although at press time they were going fast. It’s going to be a unique and very powerful show indeed, and a great example of what happens when genuine talent decides to take a stand for those who need it most. We’ll be talking about it on Monday, but for now, we want to know which acts you’re looking forward to catching. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and let us know which of SOS Haiti’s performers you’re most excited about seeing tonight:

1) Queen Latifah

2) Pharrell

3) Mary J. Blige

4) Ludacris

Tagged: BET, Carrie Underwood, Damian Marley, Frances Reid, Justin Bieber, Ludacris, Mary J. Blige, MTV, Nas, Ne-Yo, Queen Latifah, Robin Thicke, Sean Combs, SOS Haiti, Super Bowl, VH1, Wyclef Jean

Best of: The Worst Actors Ever?

pcavote — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:32:28 +0000

It’s Thursday…have you recovered from the NonFallout of the NonSurprising Oscar nominations? That’s cool because we’ve got lots of other topics. In TV news, all of you polygamy fans can rejoice because HBO has given the go-ahead for another season of “Big Love” …the one with Bill Paxton and his numerous, trouble making brides. In other TV news PCA’s own Queen Latifah is undertaking yet another very cool initiative (does this gal ever stop?), this time to help those in Haiti. More details tomorrow, but stay tuned, because she’s getting a little help from some of her more well-known friends and it’s one great gig. In legal news: remember Men At Work? Remember their song “Down Under”? Well, a court has determined that part of that zillion-selling hit was plagiarized from another, er, hit. According to the BBC, the flute part from the 1981 track was stolen from “Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree”. Now that song, written in 1934, was – and is – extremely popular among Australian schoolchildren. Did you learn it as a kid? I did. Unfortunately now Men At Work are looking at some serious overtime, because they have to pay back tons of royalties. That’s a lot of vegemite. Now you know we rarely trade in gossip, but it does seem worth mentioning that Madonna has decided to call it quits with hunky beau Jesus Luz — citing their 28-year age difference. Can’t imagine what could have gone wrong there. Somehow, we know Madge will bounce back (she’s 50, by the way). If that’s not bad enough, the Material Girl’s also been nominated for yet another Razzie Award (that’s the Golden Raspberry Award – the anti-Oscars who celebrate the worst in entertainment). This time Madonna’s up for ‘The Worst Actress of the Decade’ (seems kinda harsh to me, but maybe I just like her music too much to be truly objective). Anyway, Madonna is competing for the Decade’s Worst against Paris, Lindsay, JLo, and Mariah. A quick check to the Razzie’s history revealed that in fact they’ve been razzing Hollywood since 1981. So today, for fun, let’s take a look at the stars with the most Razzie nominations. I found a sampling of the top contenders on Moviefone. Now voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which of these Razzie Champs is your favorite…

1) Sylvester Stallone (30 noms)

2) Kevin Costner (14 noms)

3) Madonna (13 noms)

4) Eddie Murphy (12 noms)

Tagged: Big Love, Bill Paxton, Down Under, Eddie Murphy, Kevin Costner, Madonna, Men At Work, Queen Latifah, Razzies, SOS Haiti, Sylvester Stallone

Awards Recap # 1 – Pick Your Best Moments…

pcavote — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 05:44:24 +0000

Wow…what a show last night. The 2010 People’s Choice Awards pretty much owned the evening. Did you catch it? I was there, alongside a zillion other screaming fans and I have to say that, pretty much, the people got what they asked for. As in, two words: Johnny Depp. Among other things. I was there blogging in the audience and I have to say I was pretty blown away by the talent in attendance and on stage. Queen Latifah ran the thing beautifully, I thought.Twilight & New Moon’s Taylor Lautner & Kellan Lutz made sure nobody’s lungs were malfunctioning in the audience. Carrie Underwood was on fire, Cobra Starship RULED I felt (even though I was pretty unfamiliar with their work until somewhat recently) and the most embarrassing thing for me to admit? Mary J. Blige…what PIPES! (Duh). And then there’s Glee. Did we mention how great it was that the People Chose Glee?? I was over the moon with this. What were your highlights? Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which PCA 2010 moment was your own personal favorite. Was it:

1) Hugh Jackman

2) Sandra Bullock

3) Johnny Depp

4) Mary J. Blige

Tagged: Glee, Hugh Jackman, Johnny Depp, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Twilight, Underwood

Best of: Movies You Suggested…

pcavote — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:42:31 +0000

The People’s Choice Awards are here! Tune in tonight — 9/8C on CBS — to see Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Taylor Lautner, Ryan Reynolds, Carrie Underwood, Cobra Starship, Kellan Lutz,…and that’s just the beginning. The evening will — I promise — deliver some astonishing, blow-your-doors-off appearances by some PHENOMENAL surprise guests stars. Just wait and see…it’s going to be a great show. Plus, I’ll be there keeping you up to date with a live blog on all the goings-on and you can give us feedback all night. So stay tuned. Now, even though it’s hard for me to imagine too much else going on in the world of entertainment today, I should point out a few fun facts. First up, in place of a recent box office hit Matthew McConaughey and partner Camila Alves have delivered something else equally joyous: a brand new baby girl, named Vida. She joins big brother Levi (17 months old) in comprising what may be one of the more visually appealing families on earth. In other coupl-ey news, Katy Perry may have kissed a girl but she’s decided to make it official with dashing/controversial/funny/filthy/rogue/English comedian/actor Russell Brand.US Magazine reports the pair — who began dating in September — got engaged in India. So there’s that. So on to today’s poll. Now, over the past few months I’ve asked you about lots of stars and their movies — you voted on your favorites but in more than a few instances you emphatically pointed out the movies you thought we’d left out. So now, I’m creating a poll just for you — with the movies you suggested. Voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which of these PCA stars’ films is your favorite:

1) Mama Mia

2) Bringing Down the House

3) Meet Joe Black

4) Hope Floats

Tagged: Camila Alves, Carrie Underwood, Kellan Lutz, Matthew McConaughey, Queen Latifah, Ryan Reynolds, Taylor Lautner, Twilight

Best Of: Pick Your Favorite “Other” Awards Show…

pcavote — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:45:16 +0000

Tomorrow’s the DAY! This year’s People’s Choice Awards will be bigger and better than ever, so check us out live tomorrow on CBS. Plus, the lineup already looks pretty awesome. Just for starters, we have of course Queen Latifah running the show (and yes, yes, you were right…I should have included Bringing Down the House in her movie poll — next time, I promise!) So we have the Queen herself, and then how about a few Twilight/New Moon hunks? Along the lines of, say, Taylor Lautner and Kellan Lutz. They’re in. Not bad. Or perhaps you’re wondering what Ryan Reynolds, Carrie Underwood and Mary J. Blige are up to tomorrow? Turns out, they’ll be at the Nokia Theater too. Cobra Starship as well. And one more thing…these are the folks we KNOW will be there…I have it on pretty good authority that we can expect a few unbelievable surprise guests as well — and all I can say is you won’t be disappointed. I’ll be blogging live from the show, so you guys will get a complete play-by-play. I’ve decided I need to catch a glimpse of Carrie Underwood’s new diamond. Up close. Speaking of diamonds, Vince Vaughn got married this past weekend to real estate agent Kyla Weber in Chicago (sorry, ladies). Guess there’ll be no more swinging for that heartbreaking wedding crasher. Congrats, Vince. But let’s talk about tomorrow. As in, who else brings you the stars you actually want to see, and then gives them the awards you want them to get? Who else lets you guys pick the top dogs? I can’t think of another awards show that does just that. Although, to be fair, there are certainly some other fun ones out there. For years, there are the trusty other awards shows we’ve all watched, loved, hated, laughed at, cried along with, been shocked by, wanted to turn off, wished better & more deserving folks had been honored at, etc, and yet we still tune in because in the end, who doesn’t love entertainment? So now, with this in mind, voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which one of these OTHER awards shows is your favorite?

1) Grammys

2) Oscars

3) Emmys

4) MTV Movie Awards

Tagged: Carrie Underwood, Emmys, Grammys, Kellan Lutz, Mary J. Blige, MTV Movie Awards, New Moon, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, Twilight, vince vaughn

Singers Who Act…or Shouldn’t They?

pcavote — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:30:05 +0000

It’s Wednesday. Halfway there. In TV news, you all were right, if how you voted yesterday was any indication of how Dancing With the Stars would turn out after another double elimination round. Appealing as they were, we had to say buh-bye to Michael Irvin and Mark Dacascos. But far more enlightening for many of us was the performance of the Ballas Hough Band, comprised of dancers Mark Ballas and Derek Hough, Did you see it? Should dancers be allowed to sing? This notion of crossovers is of course where we’re headed with today’s poll, but we’ll get to that in a minute. First up, some big award show news — it seems Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin have both been tapped to host the Oscars…how do you feel about that? We will of course be asking you more pointed questions about your favorite Oscar hosts in the coming weeks. But for now it’s something to consider, and it’s probably a pairing, regardless of its success in terms of ratings, that will make more than a few of us laugh out loud. A lot. In other TV news, many of you were very, very pleased to learn that TNT has rescued Southland, but how do you feel about NBC’s decision not to keep going with Trauma, another brand new medical show barely on its feet before it got the axe? Now let’s get back to today’s business at hand, which is crossover talent. Because the appearance of the Ballas Hough Band made me wonder where genuine talent ends, and where skill — and vanity – begins. Although to be fair, there are a number of actors who have taken to song when we didn’t know they could, with excellent results. Meryl Streep can absolutely sing. Kevin Kline can entertain us with song and dance. Mandy Moore does everything. Hugh Jackman too. Billy Ray Cyrus had a series, and then some. Christopher Walken can totally dance. Patrick Swayze had real pipes. And so on. So now, while we’re on the subject of crossover talent, let’s go the other way and see which singers you think should act more. Herewith, four singer performers who have appeared in movies and TV. Of them, please voice your choice in today’s featured poll and tell us which of these singers who decided to act is your fave.

1) Madonna

2) LL Cool J

3) Bon Jovi

4) Queen Latifah

Tagged: Alec Baldwin, Billy Ray, Bon Jovi, Derek Hough, Hugh Jackman, Kevin Kline, LL Cool, Madonna, Mandy Moore, Mark Ballas, Meryl Streep, Michael Irvin, Patrick Swayze, Queen Latifah, Steve Martin