Morning Briefing:
Finally, a non-"Brokeback" best pick: The National Society of Film Critics named "Capote" its best film of 2005, but only by a hair: It took six ballots to reach a verdict, and "Capote" beat out "A History of Violence" by only a single vote. Philip Seymour Hoffman received the award for best actor, while Reese Witherspoon took the best actress award for her role in "Walk the Line." "Violence" did take two awards -- for best director (David Cronenberg) and supporting actor (Ed Harris). (L.A. Times)
Belafonte bashes Bush: Harry Belafonte hurled the T-word at George W. Bush this weekend, while on a trip to Venezuela with a group of American supporters of Hugo Chavez's Socialist revolution, including Danny Glover and the scholar Cornel West. Belafonte participated in Chavez's Sunday television and radio broadcast, telling the president on air, "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people ... support your revolution." (Associated Press)
Also:
Michael Jackson's veterinarian, who helped the singer acquire and maintain the exotic animals in his Neverland zoo, is suing Jackson for allegedly unpaid vet bills in the amount of $91,602. (Miami Herald) ... Singer Pink and motocross racer Carey Hart got hitched in Costa Rica over the weekend. (E! Online) ... Macaulay Culkin's autobiographical novel, "Junior," is due out in March, and in it he apparently writes about a child actor who contemplates suicide, deals with an abusive father, and "learned how to read court papers when I was 14 years old." (Rush & Molloy) ... A movie theater in Utah, owned by Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller, abruptly decided on Friday not to open "Brokeback Mountain" -- presumably protesting against the content, though the theater's manager has refused to comment. (Associated Press) ... "America's Next Top Model" winner turned "Surreal Life" star Adrianne Curry lashes out at Tyra Banks in the February issue of Playboy, comparing the "ANTM" host to her arch rival: "She can be the sweetest person in the world, but once that camera is off, she's Naomi Campbell, in your face." (Rush & Molloy) ... Arnold Schwarzenegger received 15 stitches in his lip after a motorcycle accident yesterday; he was riding his Harley with his 12-year-old son in the sidecar when a car suddenly backed up into the Los Angeles street. The son suffered minor cuts and bruises, and the other driver wasn't hurt. (Associated Press) ... According to Kathy Griffin, after her red-carpet joke at last year's Golden Globes about Dakota Fanning being in rehab, Stephen Spielberg's lawyers demanded that Griffin apologize to Fanning and threatened to put Griffin on the director's "s-list" if she didn't do so. (Page Six) ... "Wild Boy" Steve-O told Jimmy Kimmel that he may have given Paris Hilton "some mind-altering substances" before her car crash in L.A. in November. (The Scoop) ... Heath Ledger has moved with Michelle Williams and their new daughter back to Sidney, promising to stop his bratty behavior, saying, "I'm trying to get by back here and live a nice polite life with my family." (Melbourne Herald Sun) ... Horror-flick "Hostel" took over the top box office spot from "Narnia" this weekend. (N.Y. Daily News)
Money Quote:
Al Franken, in a Playboy interview, talks about doing a USO show in Iraq: "We were told we were going to do a show at Abu Ghraib. This was well after the prison abuse scandal ... The sergeant major of the Army, its highest-ranking noncommissioned officer, was with us. So the commander of the base said, 'Let's give a warm Abu Ghraib welcome to the sergeant major of the Army.' He said it with no irony, which just struck me as hilarious." (Lowdown)
Pierce Brosnan on playing golf with Bill Clinton in Hawaii: "The President likes to give golf lessons, apparently. I didn't know this. He said: 'You're doing it all wrong, Pierce ... now let me just hold on your hips here.' I said: 'This is not gonna look too good in a photograph, Mr. President.'" (Irish Examiner via The Scoop)
Turn on:
"The 11th Annual Critics' Choice Awards" kicks off the televised awards season, with host Dennis Miller (WB, 8 p.m. EST). Also, Heather Graham's new sitcom, "Emily's Reasons Why Not," premieres on ABC (9 p.m. EST).
-- Priya Jain
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