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19 Nov 2011 16:50

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Culture: J.J. Abrams: “Super 8” child casting agent was former sex offender

  • It’s shocking and it’s devastating, not just as a filmmaker but as a father and someone who is entrusted to make sure that everyone I work with, especially children, are safe. To think that someone like this was among us is unthinkable.
  • J.J. Abrams • Discussing his feeling after discovering that the casting agent he used on his most recent movie, “Super 8,” was a registered sex offender who spent six years in prison for molesting an eight-year-old boy in 1996. The man, Jason James Murphy, got around the limitations of his conviction (which would have prevented him from doing his job) by changing his professional name to Jason James. Among the other films he’s worked on? “Bad News Bears,” “The School of Rock” and “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” — all films with large numbers of child actors. While Murphy hasn’t been accused of committing any crimes during his time as a casting director, his previous conviction wasn’t exactly off the radar — it was featured on an episode of “America’s Most Wanted.” Abrams only learned about the casting agent’s background this week. So wow. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Nov 2011 13:32

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Culture: Yacht captain reopens old wounds in long-dormant Natalie Wood case

  • Three decades ago, Natalie Wood, her husband Robert Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken went out on a yacht. Under mysterious circumstances, Wood fell off the yacht and drowned. Police decided years ago that the incident was an accident, but rumors and mystery still surrounded the November 29, 1981 incident. Now, to stoke the flames around the incident, the captain of said yacht, Dennis Davern, claims that Wagner was involved in said drowning, and encouraged the homicide unit to take another look. (EDIT: The LAPD says Wagner isn’t a suspect.) “I made some terrible decisions and mistakes,” he said on the “Today” show this morning. “I did lie on a report several years ago. … I made mistakes by not telling the honest truth in a police report.” Wagner has long claimed it was an accident, but this is sure to stoke the flames of a long-standing mystery. (photo by Caveman Chuck Coker on Flickr) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Nov 2011 00:50

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Culture: BuzzFeed: Trendsetters or plain ol’ geniuses?

  • Surprisingly, this isn’t an Occupy post: Do you think Ryan Gosling was robbed of People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” title this year? Well, these protesters do, too. Our pals at BuzzFeed started a whole petition to promote Gosling to his rightful place. Today, protesters met outside of People’s NY HQ with chants, signs and masks. We are the 99%, indeed. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Nov 2011 20:42

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Culture: New developments in Jerry Sandusky child sex assault case

  • Alleged Sandusky victim will testifyBen Andreozzi, the defense attorney for one of Jerry Sandusky’s eight alleged victims, has stated that his client intends to testify to being “severely sexually assaulted.” Andreozzi says Sandusky’s recent TV interview hardened his client’s resolve: “He is feeling more comfortable about going through with this. The comments maybe backfired.”
  • Police contradict McQueary’s Email A recently released email sent by former Penn State assistant Mike McQueary claimed he had contacted the police after believing he’d witnessed Sandusky sodomizing a young boy in the Penn State locker room showers. He did not specify which department he meant, but both campus and local police departments have denied receiving any such report. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Nov 2011 15:43

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Culture: Woman drops paternity suit against Justin Bieber

  • DNA, babies, and Bieber: Mariah Yeater, a young woman who accused Justin Bieber of being the father of her child, has withdrawn her paternity suit against the young star. Bieber had vocally denied the claims, and said he would submit to a DNA test once back in the U.S. from touring. When it was revealed Yeater had initially (and falsely) insisted her boyfriend was the child’s father, this outcome wasn’t too hard to see coming. (Photo courtesy of “iloveJB123”) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

14 Nov 2011 23:58

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Culture: “The Hunger Games” trailer launches, internet collectively can’t wait

  • We’re not sorry about how excited we are for this movie. The long-anticipated trailer for the popular book trilogy was released today. Take a look at it. This “young adult” series touches on some very gruesome subjects. 24 enter, but only one will survive the Hunger Games of Panem. The movie is slated to premiere March 23, so mark your calendars and start planning your midnight release parties. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Nov 2011 11:44

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Culture: RIP Evelyn Lauder: Cosmetics executive, cancer awareness hero

  • 1992 Estee Lauder cosmetics company executive Evelyn Lauder worked on a project to raise awareness of breast cancer among women. It started small — with little pink ribbons handed out at department store makeup conters — before eventually moving into fundraising.
  • 2011 Lauder died Saturday at age 75, but not before that little project grew into something massive. With October designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the campaign has raised $330 million in less than 20 years. Lauder’s little idea made a huge mark. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

10 Nov 2011 14:34

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Culture: New Colonel Sanders recipe book discovered

  • This is a new kind of book. There’s never been another written like it as far as I know. It’s the story of a man’s life and the story of the food he’s cooked and eaten, running right along with it. … To me, my recipes are priceless.
  • Harland “Colonel” Sanders • In the introduction to a hitherto unknown manuscript penned by the Kentucky Fried Chicken honcho himself, which is full of down-home advice and plenty of his own recipes through the years. Absent is his most famous one — the fried chicken recipe that the KFC corporation claims to keep locked away in a vault somewhere (this new original manuscript is now in there as well, reportedly) — which is why KFC intends to release this Sanders cookbook for free download on their website. Worth remembering in assessing the Sanders culinary legacy is that he wasn’t so enamored with KFC after he sold his U.S. operations in the 60s’; he was sued by the company in 1974 for calling their gravy “sludge” with a “wallpaper taste.” source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2011 14:44

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Culture: Eddie Murphy drops out of Oscars show over Ratner exit

  • I appreciate how Eddie feels about losing his creative partner, Brett Ratner, and we all wish him well.
  • Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences head Tom Sherak • Giving a cordial farewell to Eddie Murphy, who was slated to host the Academy Awards this coming year but decided to drop out following the dismissal of the show’s producer (and Murphy’s friend and collaborator), Brett Ratner. Ratner was removed from his producer role after he used an anti-gay epithet, and subsequently gabbed about his sex life on Howard Stern’s radio show (in other words, he appeared on Howard Stern’s radio show). What the departure of Murphy and Ratner ultimately means is unclear, as no new host or producer has been announced or proposed yet. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Nov 2011 23:39

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Culture: Brett Ratner learns you can’t use gay slur and produce the Oscars

  • one Brett Ratner, director of a number of famous popcorn flicks (the “Rush Hour” series and the just-released “Tower Heist”) was quoted during a post-screening interview as saying “rehearsal is for f%@!.” That is not a good move in the largely-progressive Hollywood, and his tawdry Howard Stern interview not long after didn’t help matters.
  • two Ratner will also produce the Oscars early next year. Actually, scratch that. Ratner’s out after that comment, and his hand-picked host, Eddie Murphy, may or may not stay as a result. “He did the right thing for the academy and for himself,” Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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