Salon.com > Karen Croft http://www.salon.com Sun, 27 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/23/mon_29/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/23/mon_29/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2004 22:02:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/23/mon Afternoon Briefing:

OK, one last Golden Globes moment before we move on to the next awards show: Since no one else mentioned it, my favorite moment was when "The Office" won for best comedy television series and the co-creator and star, Ricky Gervais, got up to accept. Obviously an inherently witty man, he seemed genuinely surprised at the win. He ended by quipping, "I'm not from these parts ... I'm from a little place called England. We used to run the world before you." (BBC)

Fidel Castro and the Sundance Kid: Robert Redford was in Cuba over the weekend for a screening of "The Motorcycle Diaries" -- a film he produced about Che Guevara -- and got a surprise visit from Castro at the Hotel Nacional. Seems this is their second date; Redford went scuba diving with Fidel in 1988. (Reuters)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/23/mon_29/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/23/friday_108/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/23/friday_108/#comments Fri, 23 Jan 2004 15:56:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/23/friday Afternoon Briefing:

Sorry, Silvio, but Marcello Mastroianni you're not: Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is rumored to have had plastic surgery to tighten things up around the eyes. (Reuters)

The tabloids will be sizzling: Looks like Prince Charles will be questioned this summer about conspiracy theories that have him plotting to kill Princess Diana. (Sky.com)

Lucy was turning over in her grave: NBC ran an ad for the last season of "Friends," calling it "The best comedy ever," but then thought better of the hyperbole and pulled the spot. Now, if they had said "Comedy with the best hair" that would have been more accurate. (CNN)

Fair trial for Martha? Maybe if they held it in Mongolia or some other place where people aren't divided into two camps -- those who want Ms. Stewart skewered and those who want to move in with her and make cookies together. Evidence that finding unbiased jurors is going to be harder than making puff pastry: This week when a juror was excused she said to Martha: "I am a huge fan of yours. Good luck." (AP)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/23/friday_108/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/21/fix_wed_10/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/21/fix_wed_10/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2004 20:16:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/21/fix_wed Bonnie Fuller wants what Bonnie Fuller wants! The Wall Street Journal got an inside look at the new editor of Star and found that she's a bit on the demanding side -- asking for things that don't exist (milk chocolate Mounds) and things that her former boss, Jann Wenner, deemed excessive (a car and driver, plus an expense account for hair styling). But thank god Jann gave her the job at Us magazine. If she hadn't gotten that gig, word was that she was set to write her memoirs, tentatively titled "From Geek to Oh My Goddess." (Wall St. Journal)

Bonnie Schmonnie: The late mob boss John Gotti's daughter, Victoria Gotti, is going to be editor of American Media's new pub, Red Carpet. Can't wait to hear what her demands are going to be. Bet it's not about chocolate. As for a car and driver -- she probably has her own already. (USA Today)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/21/fix_wed_10/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/20/wed_35/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/20/wed_35/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2004 20:22:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/20/wed Afternoon Briefing:

Award season begins now: Amid the political races and the run-up to Oscar fever, the movie awards are starting to be announced. The early winner is "The Lord of the Rings" -- named today as best picture by the 45-member Chicago Film Critics Association. The big-shouldered reviewers also loved Charlize Theron in "Monster" and Bill Murray in "Lost in Translation." (Reuters)

Life imitates art: Sean Connery, in a real-life scenario right out of "Lost in Translation," will shun his vodka martini and appear in ads for Dewar's scotch. The campaign is based on the phrase "Some age, others mature." Unfortunately, TV viewers in the U.S. and Britain won't have the pleasure -- they'll have to go to Venezuela, Greece or Russia to see Bond imbibe. (BBC)

The bloviator comes to the City by the Bay: Director James Cameron (aka King of the World) is hinting strongly that he's going to come to San Francisco to "play" with the digital genius gnomes who populate the area for his next film. He is being coy about details, except to say it'll be science fiction. (SciFiWire)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/20/wed_35/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/20/tuesday_108/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/20/tuesday_108/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2004 15:00:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/20/tuesday Afternoon Briefing:

Clark fires first: While everyone is still deconstructing the Howard Dean post-caucus speech, the duel of the military records has begun between Clark and Kerry, with the general saying, "It's one thing to be a hero as a junior officer. He's done that, I respect that, but I've got the military experience at the top as well as at the bottom." (Yahoo)

Martha's stylish perp walk: Looking chic in brown and gray, The Martha made her way through the slush to the courtroom today to plead "not guilty" while a fan stood outside dressed in a chef's hat and matching apron. (AP)

Paris Hilton Boulevard? Yep. And it intersects with Nicole Richie Avenue in Altus, Ark. (pop. 800).

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/20/tuesday_108/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/16/fri_29/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/16/fri_29/#comments Fri, 16 Jan 2004 15:39:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/16/fri Afternoon Briefing:

Will Alec Baldwin play Halston? Rumors are that Alec is preparing to play the late, gay fashion designer to the stars, who died of AIDS. Baldwin is already losing weight and preparing himself for "a full-blown love scene with a guy." The mind boggles at who will play Liza, Andy and Bianca ... (IMDB)

Where were you when the Beatles arrived? The fab four appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" Feb. 9, 1964, and if you were older than about 2 you probably remember the frenzy that one show caused. A group called the Fab 40 Committee has tracked down some unlikely characters from that time, including the Pan Am greeter who met the plane and the woman who played hooky from school that day and showed up at the Plaza Hotel with a sign saying: "Elvis is dead. Long live the Beatles." (Newsday)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/16/fri_29/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/15/thurs_30/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/15/thurs_30/#comments Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:10:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/15/thurs Afternoon Briefing:

Judy Dean laughed, and the rest is history: Presidential candidate Howard Dean told People magazine that on his and his future wife's first spaghetti-dinner group date someone told a "ribald" joke and he told himself that if Judy laughed he could see her again but if she didn't it might be their last date. She laughed. (People)

Robert Redford says Sundance is still all about independent film: It's festival time again, and the same criticisms of commercialism and too much fabulousness are hitting founder Redford, who says, "They say ... there are too many cellphones on the street. Well, that's not our invention. And [they say] they're all wearing black. Well, we're not in the fashion business." (CNN)

Go Salman:"Satanic Verses" author Salman Rushdie is set to write the screenplay for his short story "Firebird's Nest" and the film will star his gal pal Padma Lakshmi (a former Food Network and Bollywood babe who is 25 years his junior). What's the movie about? A romance between an older man and a younger woman, of course! (BBC)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/15/thurs_30/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/14/wed_34/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/14/wed_34/#comments Wed, 14 Jan 2004 17:01:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/14/wed Afternoon Briefing:

Sean Penn reports from Baghdad: The San Francisco Chronicle gave actor Sean Penn a press credential and he went to Iraq after Thanksgiving. His first report is a well-written account of what he saw -- including signs saying "Killer for Hire." (SFGate)

Jennifer still not talking to Mom: Jennifer Aniston still hasn't introduced her hubbie, Brad Pitt, to Mom. Seems the cute-haired starlet is still upset that Mommy wrote an unauthorized book about her famous offspring. She probably used wire hangers, too. (ABC News)

Fighting words at MoveOn.org gathering in New York: Margaret Cho says she's more afraid of the PATRIOT Act than of terrorists. Moby calls Bush a "big fat f---ing liar" and Chuck D says "we do not want eight years run by a Colon, a Bush and a Dick." (Drudge)

Candidate Dean was a looker: In case you vote according to cuteness factor, some old shots of Howard in his hunky period might be of interest. (Gawker)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/14/wed_34/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2004/01/13/tues_29/ http://www.salon.com/2004/01/13/tues_29/#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2004 15:29:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2004/01/13/tues Afternoon Briefing:

NFL says no to Bono: The Super Bowl this year is going to be all about fun, not AIDS, so the planned halftime entertainment from U2 and Jennifer Lopez, which was going to try to focus the huge audience's attention on the disease, was axed by the football leaguers. Still scheduled are Janet Jackson and Beyoncé Knowles (the latter to sing the national anthem). (Rolling Stone)

If Bono isn't singing at the Super Bowl, he has plenty of other things to do: Not that he should give up his other jobs (rock star, AIDS activist, generally trying to make the world a better place), but he's also an artist. A set of lithographs by Mr. Hewson is going on sale at the London Art Fair to benefit the Irish Hospice Foundation, which took good care of Bono's dad until his death three years ago. (Guardian)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2004/01/13/tues_29/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/19/fri_26/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/19/fri_26/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2003 14:33:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/19/fri The suave one is single again. Seems George Clooney broke up with his latest squeeze, Krista Allen (who had a small part in Clooney's directorial debut "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.") A friend of Allen's was quoted as saying "Krista is really unhappy. It looks like George broke her heart." It would be worth a heartbreaking interlude with Giorgio for a trip to his villa in Italy ... (IMDB)

What is this obsession with celebrity we Americans have? A USA Today story quotes many of the famous about fame and what it does to them. Donald Trump says he can't go out alone anymore because people touch him thinking "luck will rub off and they'll make a lot of money." Poor Pamela Anderson has a problem with her grammy: "My poor grandmother believes everything she reads about me," says Anderson. Noting that one tabloid had a story about Pammy gorging on a Queen Mary ocean-liner buffet, she says, "I can't convince her that I didn't eat at a buffet -- nor had I been to the Queen Mary." The celebrity shrink has it figured out. Dr. Joyce Brothers says our fascination with famous people is an indication our basic needs are taken care of, "So we have time to fritter away on less important things." What could be more important than Pam Anderson's eating habits? (USA Today)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/19/fri_26/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/18/thurs_28/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/18/thurs_28/#comments Thu, 18 Dec 2003 14:32:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/18/thurs The Golden Globe nominations were announced today and they are such a mishmash of television and film and drama and comedy that it's usually best to just wait for the inevitable stories that come out of the awards show (Jan. 25) when people get drunk and say and do great things they'd never show at the Oscars. This morning the only surprises were when Alicia Silverstone announced a nomination for Uma Thurman and said the film's name backwards ("Bill Kill") and when Scarlett Johansson got two nominations (for "Lost in Translation" and "Girl with a Pearl Earring"). The fact that this morning's host Dick Clark looked exactly the same as when I watched him on "American Bandstand" in the 1960s was no surprise at all. (Reuters)

Nicole Kidman got to say something to Diane Sawyer that many people probably have wanted to say. It came during one of those touchy-feely interviews Diane does in her attempt to push Barbara Walters off her throne as interview queen. When Di asked Nic about her relationship with Lenny Kravitz Kidman said "I don't mean to be impolite." Sawyer said "Go for it" so Nicole let 'er rip, saying "Oh, all right. Shove off!" (ABC News)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/18/thurs_28/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/17/wed_31/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/17/wed_31/#comments Wed, 17 Dec 2003 14:26:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/17/wed Mo Rocca and one of the founders of the Smoking Gun Web site were on the "Today Show" this morning to promo a TV special about the highlights of the year. The number one celebrity story was, of course, Liza Minnelli and her macho husband David Gest, because what could be better than a diva being accused of hitting her gay husband? But there was also Courtney Love who, as Mo pointed out, was getting "white trash heroin" (Oxycontin) from her docs. When asked why that was a story, Rocca said, "Because she has a personality!"

I've never quoted Peggy Noonan about anything, because then I have the sound of her voice in my head all day. But you can't ignore her when she quotes the pope on a Mel Gibson movie. Seems Pope John Paul II knows how to run a DVD machine (or at least his pals do) and he watched "The Passion" the other day. No doubt emulating Gene Shalit's way with brevity and wit, the holy father gave this five-word review: "It is as it was." Think that'll be the end of the controversy? Not a chance in hell. (Wall St. Journal)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/17/wed_31/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/16/fix_tues_10/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/16/fix_tues_10/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2003 20:47:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/16/fix_tues Sorry, gals (and guys with fantasies), Viggo Mortensen has a love interest. Seems he spent a French weekend at the swankalicious George V hotel with Josie D'Arby -- a British telly star. And she sounds quite the practical sort, telling the British press, "I'm not naive -- he's a big movie star and I don't expect him to become a permanent boyfriend. It's early days and it may not come to anything -- but who knows?" Whatever happens, they'll always have Paris ... (WENN)

Speaking of Paris -- the other one ... wild child Shannen Doherty has reportedly taken her bad boyfriend Rick Solomon back. They had broken up after the release of his videotaped romp with the Hilton hussy. Even thought it was made before Shannen and Rick got together, it did up the scandal meter way higher than "90210." (IMDB)

More sex-on-tape news: Snoop Dogg and MTV are being sued by an actress, Doris Burns, who claims her performance in a skit on the show "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle" was edited to make it look like she was naked and having sex when she was wearing clothes and just holding his hand. That's some editing. (E! Online)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/16/fix_tues_10/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/15/mon_26/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/15/mon_26/#comments Mon, 15 Dec 2003 14:36:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/15/mon Because of the events in Iraq over the weekend, bloviator Bill O'Reilly, on the "Today Show" this morning to promote his new book "Who's Looking Out for You," got the chance to rant on the capture of Saddam Hussein. When Matt Lauer asked what should be done with Saddam, Bill yelled, "We should give him sodium pentathol, deprive him of sleep and play rap music!" Then he added, "If we can't break him, we can offer him life at Guantánamo!" Sounds like a plan.

Is Tim Russert psychic? He chatted with CIA director George Tenet at a party Saturday night and said he had dreamt Saddam Hussein had been captured. Tenet, who probably knew what would become public about nine hours later, just smiled and said, "Have a nice holiday." Maybe those quirky Russert eyebrows are antennae, pulling in information the rest of us miss. (USA Today)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/15/mon_26/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/12/fix_6/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/12/fix_6/#comments Fri, 12 Dec 2003 20:57:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/12/fix Cher told Katie Couric this morning that she was kinda tricked into playing herself in the new Farrelly Brothers movie "Stuck on You." In it, she plays the Bad Cher -- a wildly demanding diva. She says she was given the script, with her part unnamed and then during the shooting the wacky brothers had the inspiration to have her play herself. It all worked out, though, and everyone's happy. Cher says it was so over the top she expected a broom to come flying by for her to get on and ride away ...

Maybe Victoria Beckham is trying to emulate John Lennon or maybe she's just going for her weekly dose of Posh press but she was quoted as saying her hubby David Beckham's new 'do makes him look like Christ. Actually, Victoria's mother was the first to mention the resemblance so maybe Mum is the one who will get all the mail. (Ananova)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/12/fix_6/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/11/fix_thurs_5/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/11/fix_thurs_5/#comments Thu, 11 Dec 2003 20:08:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/11/fix_thurs I didn't watch Trista marry Ryan last night, but lots of other people did. Is there anything more perfect for right now than a cheerlearder marrying a fireman on TV? It's America's finest romantic vision of itself condensed into a two-hour special. And ABC touted it as "the most anticipated wedding since Charles and Diana." They had to, since the network spent more than $3 million for the event. Early word from Drudge has the show winning the ratings race for the night so maybe it was worth the expense. Best line of the wire story? The groom's father's last words of advice to his son before the ceremony: "Hang in there, Ryan. It will soon be over." (AP via ABC News)

It's probably safe to assume that Brit rocker Robbie Williams wasn't invited to Trista's wedding. Nope -- he was prancing around in a hotel room naked instead! Robbie's official German Web site has a shot of him mostly naked (with strategic blurring) with the promise that when the site gets a million visitors, Williams will be fully exposed. Robbie just has to get over his shyness problem. (Ananova)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/11/fix_thurs_5/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/10/wed_30/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/10/wed_30/#comments Wed, 10 Dec 2003 15:28:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/10/wed It's the 50th anniversary of Playboy magazine and fans of Hugh Hefner's way of life will be able to buy a bit of it at Christie's on December 17 when memorabilia such as manuscripts, a bunny costume and some of Hef's little black books go on sale. When the New York Observer called the ur-playboy at his mansion in Holmby Hills, Hef told them that his real black book would never see the light of day. And, in a touching moment, the 77-year-old said "Westwood cemetery, which is located not too far from where I live, is where Marilyn Monroe is buried, and where I will be buried, in a vault right next to her." When asked what his epitaph would be he said: "[He] had some positive impact on changing the sexual and social values of his time -- and had a lot of fun in the process."

Best holiday spirit award goes to Nicole Kidman. She and ex Tom Cruise are planning to spend the holidays on an island in Fiji with their kids and Nic has invited Tom's girlfriend, Penelope Cruz, to join them on Christmas Day. (Ananova)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/10/wed_30/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/09/tues_28/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/09/tues_28/#comments Tue, 09 Dec 2003 14:52:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/09/tues Matt Damon was on David Letterman last night and Dave asked Matt what was up with his buddy Ben Affleck and that chick J.Lo. Matt said, "Hey, I was just in a writing class with Ben for six weeks, then the movie came out. I don't know the guy." Damon said it was great to meet huge superstars like J.Lo and Cher (who is in Matt's latest movie, "Stuck on You") and find out they are just regular people. "Hey," suggested Dave, "why doesn't Ben marry Jen and you marry Cher?!" "Yeah," replied Matt, "and we can all have a nice quiet double wedding somewhere." It's late-night TV banter at its best, folks.

Poor Ozzy Osbourne keeps getting in fixes. Yesterday he had a terrible all-terrain bike accident that put him in the hospital for emergency surgery after he broke his collarbone, eight ribs and a vertebra in his neck. The Oz was in England promoting a duet he did with his daughter, Kelly. Sharon Osbourne flew to his side from the set of the MTV show they are taping. Do more things happen to families that put their lives on TV? (BBC)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/09/tues_28/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/08/mon_25/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/08/mon_25/#comments Mon, 08 Dec 2003 14:38:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/08/mon The Kennedy Center honors are always a curious mishmash of talent and celebrity that come together like a themeless variety show booked by a drunk person. This year's roster of honorees included Carol Burnett, Mike Nichols, Loretta Lynn, Itzhak Perlman and James Brown -- all in the same room with Presidents Bush and wives. Caroline Kennedy stood in for ailing Walter Cronkite as emcee. Sounds like the reason to tune in to the broadcast of last night's events (Dec. 26) -- or to keep the TV off as the case may be -- is the following description from the Washington Post: "The most exuberant moment came when Anastacia demanded the audience rise from their seats and move to 'Sex Machine.' On the line 'Shake your moneymaker,' even Laura Bush could be seen shaking." (Washington Post)

As for the first lady, does she have some kind of warm and fuzzy agreement with CNN? Check out its banner ad for Lary King tonight. I didn't know Laura was down-filled. (CNN)

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]]> http://www.salon.com/2003/12/08/mon_25/feed/ 0 The Fix http://www.salon.com/2003/12/05/fix_fri_10/ http://www.salon.com/2003/12/05/fix_fri_10/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2003 19:56:00 +0000 http://www.salon.com/entertainment/col/fix/2003/12/05/fix_fri Lots going on this morning at the "Today" Show. Bono played politics brilliantly, using the word "frustrated" instead of angry to describe how he feels about the billions promised to Africa to fight AIDS and how it's being held up by the U.S. political machine. He said it was like a house was burning, a fire truck finally showed up but the water hadn't been turned on. But he played nice, saying the president didn't have to listen to an Irish rock guy, but did. Bono's mix of passion and diplomacy is amazing. He could definitely run for office and win.

Then the luminous Meryl Streep chatted about her roles in this weekend's HBO mega production of "Angels in America." But, in a slightly inappropriate aside she said she was paid for three of the four roles she plays in the Mike Nichols-directed production and not the fourth. TMI, Meryl.

Should be worth getting up early this Sunday to see Hillary Clinton and George Stephanopoulos together again after so much water under the bridge. Hill is going to make the rounds -- visiting not only ABC but CBS and NBC political talk shows the same day. Watch the sparks fly, folks! (NY Daily News)

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