The rumors are true. Prepare to say goodbye, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills viewers. Via a Twitter message and blog post, Adrienne Maloof has confirmed her departure from this Bravo franchise. “To my loyal fans . . . It was time to exit RHOBH. The show served as a wonderful platform, stay tuned!” she Tweeted yesterday, adding via blog: “The show served as a wonderful platform for all the amazing projects that I have in the works. I am forever grateful to my fans, thank you for your support, and stay tuned!” While she has not issued a statement, Camille Grammer will not be returning to the series either. Maloof had been scheduled to tape the Season 3 reunion special – along with Lisa Vanderpump, Brandi Glanville , Kim Richards, Kyle Richards, Taylor Armstrong and Yolanda H. Foster – on Friday, but chose not to attend. With whom will the show replace Adrienne? Reports state some kind of Real Housewives boycott may be in effect. Will you miss Maloof? Yes, she’s a blast! No, good riddance! View Poll »
Demolition crews are working on razing the Florida home where a sinkhole opened up last week underneath a bedroom, swallowing a sleeping man. Jeff Bush, 37, was declared “presumed dead” by Hillsborough County officials on Sunday as rescue workers abandoned hope of recovering his body. Looking at photos of the Florida sinkhole , you can see why: The goal now is to demolish the rest of the house before efforts will begin to stabilize the sinkhole, said William Puz, a spokesman for Hillsborough County. The hole was about 30 feet wide and 60 feet deep and filled with clay and debris. It is unlikely that Bush’s body will ever be retrieved, officials said. Two nearby houses have been evacuated because the sinkhole has weakened the ground underneath them; residents probably will never be allowed inside. Bush, a landscaper, had moved into the four-bedroom home only two months ago; he shared it with his brother, Jeremy Bush, 36, and four others. A wrecking crew on Sunday began the demolition of the house, going about its job as carefully as it can to preserve any and all contents for survivors. Bush disappeared into the sinkhole under his bedroom Thursday night. The other occupants of the house, owned by the family of Jeremy Bush’s fiancee, were preparing for bed when they heard a loud crash and Jeff screaming. Engineers placed listening devices, microphones, ground-penetrating radar and other equipment testing the soil on the site to seek a safety zone. They looked extensively for signs of life, but never detected any. Sinkholes in Florida are largely caused by the state’s porous geological bedrock, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. As acidic rainwater filters into the ground, it dissolves rock, causing erosion that leads to underground caverns, which cause sinkholes when they collapse.
Our best wishes to out to pop star Anastacia. The singer has been forced to cancel shows in Dubai, along with a handful in Europe, after being diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in a decade. The 44-year old – who had been scheduled to perform March 30 at the Dubai World Cup and who has gone multi-Platinum overseas – will cancel all appearance and travel until further notice. In 2003, she successfully defeated this same illness. And let’s all hope she can do so again.
Earlier this week, Joan Rivers slammed Adele for being fat. But that diss was nothing compared to what this supposed fashion expert said about the Heidi Klum Oscars dress . Referring to the model’s plunging neckline, Rivers quipped on Monday “The last time a German looked this hot was when they were pushing Jews into the ovens.” No, really. She said that. In response, the Anti-Defamation League posted the following statement on its website: “Of all people, Joan Rivers should know better. This remark is so vulgar and offensive to Jews and Holocaust survivors, and indeed to all Americans, that we cannot believe it made it to the airwaves. “Making it worse, not one of her co-hosts made any effort to respond or to condemn this hideous statement, leaving it hanging out there and giving it added legitimacy through their silence. Almost as bad as her original comment is the fact that she sat there doubled over with laughter after saying it.” What do you think, readers? Should Rivers apologize for the remark? Yes! Absolutely! Of course! View Poll »
The hardest thing about separating the cookie from the cream in your Oreos? Learning how to build robots and make them function to complete said task. Also, keeping warm. Hands and cookies do get cold out there in the garage. Oreo Separator Nothing is worth doing if it’s not done right, though, and physicist David Neevel decided he just had to make an Oreo Separator machine (or OSM) to do the job. NOTE : This is a viral ad sponsored by Oreo. But it’s still pretty funny, right? NOTE : This chocolate chip cookie recipe is also good. Change of pace!
And then there were 15. American Idol narrowed down its Season 12 field some more last night, as 10 women sang for five spots. In the end, half were eliminated and we were left with the 10 total female semifinalists – a quintet from last Wednesday mixed with these Sudden Death survivors – who will battle it out next week on the first live shows of the season.
The biggest upset of this year’s Oscars took place weeks before the actual ceremony, when Zero Dark Thirty helmer Kathryn Bigelow was snubbed for a Best Director nod. Conventional wisdom holds that debates about torture and political bias in the Osama Bin Laden thanato-pic, which began weeks before the film’s release, derailed Bigelow’s chances at a second statuette. But the bigger story – one that’s hardly been told – is that Bigelow’s partnership with the Central Intelligence Agency during the production of ZDT inadvertently shined an unwelcome spotlight on the military-entertainment complex: the surprisingly close and definitely reciprocal relationship between Hollywood and the Pentagon. If, as some have alleged, the CIA did share confidential information with Bigelow and ZDT screenwriter Mark Boal – or lied to them – about the role of torture in the manhunt for Bin Laden, that’s certainly cause for debate, censure, and possibly even stronger measures.(Right.) But it’s not just the isolated cases of Bigelow, Boal and their sources that merit closer political scrutiny: It’s time we took a good, hard look at how the military-entertainment complex operates. Cooperation between Hollywood and the military brass goes back to the 1920s, when the Pentagon helped produce Wings , the first Best Picture Oscar-winner. The relationship between the studios and the armed forces has waxed and waned in the decades since, but tends to get cozier in times of conflict. During World War II, for instance, the Department of Defense enlisted Hollywood as its virtual press agent: one Pentagon memo called wartime Disney shorts aimed at children – tomorrow’s recruits – “an excellent opportunity to introduce a whole new generation to the [newly] nuclear Navy.” According to The Hollywood Reporter , it wasn’t until the 1980s, after memories of Vietnam had begun to fade, that “a steady growth [occurred] in the demand for access to military facilities and in the number of films, TV shows and home videos made about the military.” Sure, the decade saw the release of a number of searing films about Vietnam, such as Platoon and Full Metal Jacket , but most of the military-themed films fed to the public were hyper-macho, bazooka-toting fantasy fare like Top Gun , Red Dawn , Rambo II , and Predator . That increasing synergy between Hollywood and the Pentagon led to the current military-entertainment complex in which studios get to use taxpayer-subsidized military locations, equipment, personnel, and expertise in exchange for giving the military script approval. In this disproportionate exchange of power, the studios get significantly reduced production budgets, while the Pentagon gets to harness the power of cinema (and television) to advance a pro-war, pro-military agenda where multiplexes, flat screens and PCs become virtual recruitment offices. A prime example of this dynamic at work was last year’s Navy SEAL porn flick, Act of Valor , which hit theaters just a few months after SEAL Team Six assassinated Bin Laden. As a film drafted within the Pentagon and pitched to studios — a reversal of standard operating procedure — Act of Valor hails back to the days of World War II, when the military enlisted Hollywood in the production of naked propaganda. (In an inspired but ultimately unsuccessful move, active-duty NAVY Seals also made up the cast.) The film was received as the propaganda that it was; the San Francisco Chronicle wrote in its review that ” Act of Valor is intended to wow audiences with high-test action while planting a giant wet kiss on the smacker of the U.S. military – and it scores at both tasks.” The Military-Entertainment Complex doesn’t just produce overt propaganda, by the way. It has also had a hand in mindless, seemingly apolitical popcorn movies. Take Battleship , director Peter Berg’s board game-based stinker from last summer. (The picture is noteworthy for practically ending the big-screen dreams of Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna .) Along with Act of Valor and the upcoming Captain Philips and Lone Survivor , Battleship was one of four films that the U.S. Navy had a hand in producing last year. U.S. Navy documents, acquired through a Freedom of Information Act request via Muckrock (where you can view them in their entirety), show that the Department of Defense’s decision to work with Berg and Universal hinged on one main question: “Do we believe that [the movie] could have a positive impact on recruiting?” The Navy concluded yes, confidently declaring, “ Battleship will certainly continue to be a conversation starter that carries our ‘brand’ to many Americans who aren’t familiar with their Navy.” Apparently unconcerned that Battleship is about naval forces battling an alien invasion, Navy officials got Universal to agree “to consult with the DoD Project Officer [the technical advisor] in all phases of pre-production, production, and post-production that involve and/or depict the U.S. military” in order to ensure that the script “positively represents our service and our Sailors” and “accurately portray[s] the Navy.” Specifically, that meant the Department of Defense had veto power over every word of the script, with any military-related changes having to go through another approval process. The DoD also mandated contractually obligated screenings of the rough cut, when changes to the film could still be made, as well as a screening of the final cut in Washington, D.C., before the film’s theatrical release. The Department of Defense also insured that its public affairs personnel were able to take pictures and videos of the film’s cast, crew, and sets and were granted full permission to use those images, as well as any of the film’s marketing materials. The Department of Defense Production Assistance Agreement states that the Navy would employ those pictures and videos solely for internal use, but doesn’t guarantee that they won’t be visible to the public. “Some of the imagery may be viewed by the general public if posted on an open DoD web site or on ‘The Pentagon Channel,’ or other publicly-accessible media source,” states the agreement, opening the door to use those backlot shots as a recruitment aid. As if life as a Navy sailor had anything to do with a mission to destroy an alien mothership hovering over Hawaii. In the case of Battleship , the Navy reportedly agreed to participate because “whether or not we supported Battleship , the film was going to be made – it was going to carry our brand and represent who we are to the American people.” That would have been an unfavorable scenario for the Navy, but also an extremely unlikely one, since Battleship ’s production budget – already $209 million with the help of the Navy’s resources, including props, backgrounds, extras, and technical expertise – would have probably been too prohibitive had Universal been forced to bear all those costs. The Navy also considered the question “Can we support a film without impacting our operations?” It answered for itself: “Because filming took place on top of already scheduled training events, it did not impair the exercise and there was no cost to the Navy or American taxpayers.” But the lack of any immediate or upfront costs in this one case doesn’t address the questions of why citizens should subsidize Hollywood films – since all the military expertise and materiel appearing in these films are paid for with taxes – or how Americans would benefit from publicly funded propaganda for state-supported violence. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times , an Army spokesman indirectly responded to those concerns, stating, “We [the military] get asked all the time, ‘Why do you market?’ We’re a nation at war going on 11 years, which is … the longest period of consistent conflict that the U.S. Army’s ever been involved in”. Given the recent news that military suicides surpassed combat deaths and surged to a record high in 2012 and that sexual assault remains a disturbingly frequent and unpunished behavior within the armed forces, you can expect Pentagon brass will be looking for more positive depictions of the lives of U.S. soldiers and sailors in the coming months. And as studio budgets continue to rise and military enlistment continues to decline, neither Hollywood nor the Pentagon has any reason to disengage from the military-entertainment complex. And if studios are going to continue to get into bed with the military then taxpaying moviegoers have a right to know when they are being bombarded with propaganda that they’ve essentially financed. A modest step toward greater transparency – one that’s easy and cost-efficient to boot – would be adding a disclosure tag at the beginning of movies that have involved the participation of the armed forces. The Department of Defense already mandates that all movies the military helps to produce must thank the relevant branch of service, but that acknowledgement typically occurs at the very end of the closing credits. Such a disclosure tag wouldn’t just provide a franker context for the film to come. Given the Pentagon’s less-than-stellar track record with film production, it would also serve as a warning to audiences that they should lower their expectations. Now that’s patriotism. Inkoo Kang is a film critic and investigative journalist in Boston. She has been published in Indiewire, Boxoffice Magazine, Yahoo! Movies, Pop Matters, Screen Junkies, and MuckRock. Her great dream in life is to direct a remake of All About Eve with an all-dog cast. FOIA battleship Follow Inkoo Kang on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
It’s nice to see that cancer didn’t get Kylie Minogue down…unless it was just a publicity stunt to justify why her pop albums were awkward….seeing as she was in her 40s…pretending it was still the fucking locomotion…. When it doubt blame it on cancer…I mean it’s something I’ve been doing for years in efforts to get free meals at restaurants….free movies…and free trips to Disneyland…. But cancer or not…she’s a survivor…and more importantly a patriotic as she’s doing her country like it was a record exec in the 80s before she got her first deal….rocking this Australia flag in her Australia Day pics….like it was a cumshot….
Gene Rosen, a Connecticut good Samaritan who harbored six survivors of the Sandy Hook shooting, has become a target for “Truthers” accusing him of being a liar and/or actor. Yet another element of the Sandy Hook conspiracy , if you believe that sort of thing. How it come to be that an innocent bystander – some say hero – is now being harassed for it? On the morning of the infamous shooting, the Newtown, Conn., resident was feeding his cats when he discovered four terrified children hiding out in his driveway. They told Rosen their teacher was dead, and he listened to their chilling account of the tragedy that was still going on at the nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School. Rosen, 69, was subsequently interviewed by many of the media outlets that descended on the small community, his anguished face flashed across TV screens around the world. The sincerity of that anguish has since come into question by a group of Sandy Hook conspiracy theorists who call themselves “Truthers” and have made his life difficult. These individuals have so far posted Rosen’s personal info online, created fake social media accounts using his name and harassed the Newtown resident via email and phone. “I don’t know what to do,” retired psychologist Rosen told Salon . “There must be some way to morally shame these people, because there were 20 dead children lying there, an eighth of a mile from my window.” “I thought of an expression, that this ‘adds insult to injury,’ but that’s a stupid expression, because this is not an injury, this is an abomination.” Unfortunately for Rosen, it is an abomination that has gained traction. Websites have questioned Rosen’s motives for sharing his story, even suggesting that he made an “audition” tape and accusing him of “pedo under-tones.” A YouTube video suggests Rosen is a actually Screen Actors Guild thespian, and that “The only thing consistent about this clown’s act, is all the fake crying.” “The man has never shed an actual tear in a dozen interviews.” Yet another conspiracy theory blog calls Rosen a “bad crisis actor” who changes his story and focuses on the sound of Adam Lanza ‘s gunshots for political effect. His explanation for being so public about his experience? “I wanted to speak about the bravery of the children, and it kind of helped me work through this,” Rosen told Salon of his decision to give multiple interviews to the media. “I guess I kind of opened myself up to this.”
Consider yourselves warned, readers: Destiny’s Child has gone “Nuclear.” With news breaking last week that Beyonce would be reunited with Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams both at the Super Bowl and for an upcoming album, the first Destiny’s Child single in eight years has leaked online. Give it a listen now: Destiny’s Child – “Nuclear” The new Destiny’s Child album , titled “Love Songs,” will be released on January 29. Pre-order it now on Amazon and check out the track list below: Cater 2 U (2004 – Destiny Fulfilled) Killing Time (1998 – Destiny’s Child) Second Nature (1998 – Destiny’s Child) Heaven (2002 – Simply Deep) Now That She’s Gone (1999 – The Writing’s On The Wall) Brown Eyes (2001 – Survivor) If (2004 – Destiny Fulfilled) Emotion (2001 – Survivor) If You Leave (featuring Next) (1999 – The Writing’s On The Wall) T-Shirt (2004 – Destiny Fulfilled) Temptation (1999 – The Writing’s On The Wall) Say My Name (Timbaland remix) (2002 – This Is The Remix) Love (2004 – Destiny Fulfilled) Nuclear (2013 – Destiny’s Child – Love Songs)
