Maurice Sendak, the author of one of the most popular children’s books of all-time, has passed from complications related to a stroke. He was 83. A writer and an illustrator, Sendak rose to prominence in 1963 with the publication of “Where the Wild Things Are.” It was made into a movie in 2009. Sendak’s reputation grew over time as someone with frank opinions and a dark sense of humor. His works often featured especially angry, rebellious young children and he made headlines against in January during an appearance on The Colbert Report (excerpted in the following video), during which he said: “I don’t write for children. I like them as few and far between as I do adults.” Maurice Sendak on The Colbert Report Sendak resided with his partner, psychiatrist Eugene Glynn, for 50 years before the latter died of lung cancer in 2007. We send our thoughts to his loved ones.
According to a new report, the family of Whitney Houston has more reasons than ever to be concerned over the future of Bobbi Kristina Brown. The 18-year old daughter of Whitney and Bobby Brown has been in the spotlight ever since her mother passed away, with loved ones supposedly so concerned over her spiraling state that they were pushing all week for her to enter rehab – and that was prior to the latest alleged incident. Whitney and Bobbi Kristina, during healthier times. Following Houston’s funeral on Saturday, sources tell The Daily Beast that family members were “freaking out” because they could not locate Bobbi Kristina. The combination of her mother’s passing, and the controversy surrounding her father’s early exit from the memorial – Bobby Brown showed up with an entourage, got angry over his seating assignment and departed after just 20 minutes – was just too much for the teenager to handle, according to those on the scene. She was reportedly found at a hotel “getting high.” “It’s a horrible situation for everybody,” says this family friend. “They tried to save Whitney, and it didn’t work. Now with Bobbi Kristina, they fear the same thing is happening again and they won’t be able to stop it either. Bobbi Kristina is all Ms. Cissy has left of Whitney. She’s so tired, but she’s ready to fight again to save her grandbaby.” Whitney was buried yesterday and now the Houstons will truly start to consider whether Bobbi should be entered into a treatment facility. Says a family spokesperson of the incident on Saturday night: “There was some confusion about Bobbi Kristina’s whereabouts last night for a short time, but she’s OK. She needed some time alone…. She is going through a very hard time as you can expect.”
The Vow and Safe House were neck and neck at the box office this weekend, but Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds’ action flick narrowly eked out a #1 showing. In the second weekends in theaters for both, Safe House pulled in $24 million while The Vow , starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams grossed $23.6 million. Last week, The Vow was #1 with $41.2 million to Safe House ‘s $40.2 million. Safe House Trailer Nicholas Cage’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance made its debut at #3, making $22 million. Josh Hutcherson’s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island made $20 million. A not-so-great debut at the box office? Reese Witherspoon’s This Means War , which was reportedly held for a week because of the anticipation for The Vow . It held down the #5 spot with $17.5 million.
Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report will resume taping today after a three-day hiatus prompted by the poor health of the mother of the Comedy Central host. The political satirist canceled two shows last week without explanation to travel to Charleston, South Carolina, when he heard his 91-year-old mom, Lorna, was sick. Looks like the Super PAC is back in effect as of this evening, though. Stephen Colbert Super PAC Ad (Ft. Samuel L. Jackson) Comedy Central announced on Sunday afternoon that taping will resume on Monday, and new episodes of The Colbert Report are expected to air all week. The dedicated family man, one of 11 children, who lost his dad and two brothers in a plane crash in 1974, responded to his fans’ recent support on Twitter. “My family and I would like to thank everyone who has offered their thoughts and prayers. We are grateful and touched by your concern,” he wrote.
Leona Lewis now has something in common with Melanie Amaro: each was named the first-ever winner of a version of The X Factor ; Lewis in Great Britain and Amaro, of course, in the United States. So it was only appropriate that Leona was present during last night’s first season finale of this Fox competition, singing a beautiful version of her hit single, “Run.” Watch and listen now: Leona Lewis – Run (The X Factor Finale) Lewis wasn’t the only superstar to take the stage prior to Amaro being crowned champion. Justin Bieber actually performed a pair of holiday tracks, teaming with one legendary artist and another young, up-and-comer. As always, he put on a great show .
The South Carolina Republican Party rebuffed a $500,000 donation from Stephen Colbert Thursday because it came with a catch: naming rights to its presidential primary. Colbert, the host of The Colbert Report on Comedy Central, and a native South Carolinan, writes in Columbia’s State newspaper that he was serious – and they agreed. After learning that the cash-strapped South Carolina GOP and local officials were at odds over who would pay for the January 21 Republican primary, Colbert offered a plan. He would subsidize the cost , through his “Colbert Super PAC,” to the tune of $500K. In return, it would become “The Colbert Super PAC South Carolina Republican Primary.” “I said, ‘I can cover that. No strings attached,'” Colbert writes. “Of course, I can’t offer that kind of no-strings-attached-money without getting something in return.” Colbert also wanted to add a non-binding referendum question on the ballot – referring to a controversial remark by Mitt Romney – asking whether “Corporations are people.” Apparently there was some confusion over how seriously this plan was taken, because “The GOP agreed to everything,” according to Colbert … but not the GOP. Executive director Matt Moore says “Stephen Colbert, the private citizen, called out of the clear blue and made an unsolicited offer to help his home state.” “We were intrigued and met with him, but also wary … ultimately we determined it was not in the state party’s best interests to accept Mr. Colbert’s offers.” “Everything was not ‘agreed to.’ We did not sign his contract. Despite our repeatedly saying ‘no,’ Stephen Colbert, the comedian, seems intent on being involved.” Thank goodness for that.
Stephen Colbert will not be our next President. But he may have a say who gets the job. The comedian/talk show host won approval today from the Federal Election Committee to form a SuperPAC, meaning Colbert can raise money and produce/buy television time for political advertisements. “Moments ago the Federal Election Committee made their ruling,” Colbert said ta crown below outside the FEC headquarters. “And ladies and gentlemen I’m sorry to say, we won!” Stephen Colbert Super PAC Announcement How did this come about? Former FEC Chairman Robert Lenhard said the ruling “means people can use their network’s resources to fund their own PAC ads without needing to report it on their network, on their show.” As for the host of The Colbert Report? Added Lenhard: “I think he’s going to have fun. But until he gets at least a million dollars he’s not going to run many ads outside of his show.” Colbert is already working on that, however. He solicited donations from fans during his speech, telling supporters: “I don’t know about you but I do not accept limits on my free speech, I don’t know about you but I do not accept the status quo. But I do accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express.”
Stephen Colbert tried his best to absorb Keith Olbermann’s essence Highlander -style on last night’s Colbert Report , but found that his body rejected it like a pompous kidney. Elsewhere, Conan O’B rien sympathized with the former MSNBC pundit, Cory Monteith talked crashing a school bus and Jon Stewart challenged his staff to a Nazi-themed scavenger hunt.
Movieline didn’t flag him among the 2011 comeback candidates , but might this be the year everyone remembers Jim Carrey? On the heels of hosting the highest rated Saturday Night Live of the season , the first official images of Carrey in next summer’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins have arrived, and they look quite promising. Or at least promising if you fondly recall Carrey’s animal loving turn as Ace Ventura — and, really, who doesn’t? Click ahead for the pics of Carrey breaking one of W.C. Fields’ most basic rules, and feel free to caption away in the comments section.
Last night, Stephen Colbert did his best to make sense — and make light — of Sarah Palin’s unfortunate and incorrect use of the term “blood libel” on The Colbert Report . Elsewhere, Olivia Munn told David Letterman how to avoid the cops, Seth Rogen talked about Cameron Diaz in her underwear, and Conan punished his audience for laughing.
