October 31, 2008
Chlothes Whores (Halloween Edition)
It was unanimous that Lydia Rendon should be today's Clothes Whore. As Medusa, she got everyone's oblongata racing.
Casual Premeditated Friday at World of Wonder
The costumed staff at World of Wonder wish you a happy and safe Halloween, or WOWEEN. (Photo by Richard Courtney; click to embalm enlarge; more after the jump)
Ding Dong Jong Might Not Be Wrong
Once again, our favorite liberal left-wing nutbag Erica Jong has issued some provocatively insane statements to mull over. According to Erica, she and her best friends Naomi Wolf, Jane Fonda, and Susan Cheever are deathly afraid that the streets of America will run red with blood if Obama doesn't win – and they are all so worried about it that they are up all night crying, their backs are spasming, and they are forced to pop Valium, poor dears. "Bush has transformed America into a police state," she says. "And it's not a coincidence that President Bush recalled soldiers from Iraq for Dick Cheney to lead against American citizens in the streets." And you know what? She just might be right. (The New York Observer)
– James St James
Snap!
Out and about on the town this week, I had the pleasure of running into everyone's favorite hockey mom. Although she wasn't wearing lipstick, which made me mistake her at first for a pit bull, she still looked beautiful. I asked for her digits and she replied, "Ohhh, don't yah know I only date guys with six packs, yah."
– Steven Sims
The Daily Freak Show
James St James visits the Museum of Death at 6031 Hollywood Boulevard. Led by the museum's co-owner Cathee Schultz, James is privy to all of the fascinating, frightening horrors inside! WARNING: this episode contains scary and REAL imagery of death! Happy Halloween!
Man Bowls First 300 Game, Drops Dead
Michigan man Don Doane, 62, bowled his first perfect game and his heart stopped before he could be congratulated. "You coulda heard a pin drop," said a friend, not realizing the humor. (WZZM-13; t/y Drew)
Flex Your Political Muscle: Vote No on Prop 8
An eloquent essay, "Marriage: Civil and Religious Union...Not Vs" by therapist/opera critic/hand model, Noah Manne – who also happens to be Randy's & my personal trainer – appears in today's Huffington Post. (Photo: Getty Images)
– Tom Campbell
Itemizing
• Precocious teen Miley Cyrus is sweating that some of her nearly naked photos and personal correspondence will be leaked now that her email's been hacked. Wouldn't all that be in Nick Jonas' inbox?
• Seems that "living fossil nest" found on New Zealand was only Keith Richards' summer compound.
• Hamm on wry: TV's best drama and best comedy are set to merge in a multi-episode arc.
• Madonna texts Guy "You're going down" and other off-putting messages. If he took them seriously, "it would drive him mad," says a source.
• You heard Brangelina have six, maybe eight full-time nannies? Not true. Only two part-time helpers who don't live on the premises. They're not made of money, you know – only children.
• That footage of Amy Winehouse smoking crack back in January was orchestrated by a couple who supplied the singer with coke and ecstasy so they could film her and sell the footage to the The Sun. They've been arrested.
• Mackenzie Phillips: "Last August the PD saved my life."
• John McCain will make an unconfirmed, last-ditch effort on this weekend's Saturday Night Live, the show's live broadcast before voting commences.
Snap!
Bee-listers: Tori, Dean, and tiny Chiquita escorted Liam, 19 months, to a trick-or-treat party in Los Angeles earlier this week. (Photo: startracks via Us)
Lindsay and Sam: Five Dollar Foot Long
Lohan and Ronson ride the subway in New York. (Photo: Splash via Daily Mail)
Madonna and A-Rod Make a Porno
It would have been a porno, we presume, rather than just pornographic, if someone had got it on film. Seems those purely platonic friends Madonna and A-Rod took a secret mini vacation from their busyness and got busy in the quietude of Jerry Seinfeld's 12-acre property in the Hamptons. The two lovebirds took separate whirlybirds from Manhattan, with Rodriguez being picked up at the East Hampton landing strip by someone in his ex-wife's Porsche. When Madonna touched down 40 minutes later, a dark SUV and another Porsche with Seinfeld in it arrived to pick her up and take her to the house. "About four hours later, the dark SUV left the house and took all parties back to the airport," said an insider. Why Seinfeld's place for the rendezvous? "The Seinfelds have been friends with Madonna for years. They're neighbors on the West Side, so it's really no surprise," an insider told Page Six. (Insider? I barely touched her!)
It's Birthday, Bitch
Tinkerbell Hilton, 6
Piper Perabo, 32
Vanilla Ice, 40
Adam Horovitz, 42
Rob Schneider, 45
Dermot Mulroney, 45
Peter Jackson, 47
Larry Mullen, Jr, 47
Brian Stokes Mitchell, 51
John Candy, 58 (deceased)
Jane Pauley, 58
Deidre Hall, 61
David Ogden Stiers, 66
Michael Landon, 72 (deceased)
Dan Rather, 77
Dale Evans, 96 (deceased)
Ethel Waters, 112 (deceased)
Juliette Low, 148 (deceased)
John Keats, 213 (deceased)
Jan Vermeer, 376 (deceased)
– Lindsey Hager
Plumbing the Depths of Celebrity
As we reported yesterday, Sam "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher has taken on a public relations team to sift through his many interview and appearance requests and advise him on all the new career opportunities that don't require him to be crouched under a sink or knee-deep in poo water. That team, Nashville-based The Press Office, also has its hands full promoting and protecting much-sought-after musicians Eddie Money and Grand Funk Railroad. Which is likely the reason it was assumed and reported that singer and guitar-picker Wurzelbacher would be recording an album of country tracks. "He's not doing a country record," the agency's owner Jim Della Croce said. "I think that was an angle that was presumptuous." Incidentally, Wurzelbacher's full name is Samuel J Wurzelbacher, with the J standing for Joseph. Thus, calling him Joe the Plumber was a lucky coincidence. (HuffPo; photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Farm Animals Gone Wild
Things were never like this when Old MacDonald was in charge. Vote yes on Prop 2. (t/y Thairin)
Gay Republicans Ask You to Vote No on Prop 8
John Durkin writes:
Last week, World of Wonder donated the use our basement studio and an edit bay to "Republicans Against 8" to produce two new ads for the "No on 8" campaign. Gay Republican blogger Scott Schmidt (a.k.a. BoiFromTroy) spearheaded the project and recruited the celebrated screenwriter of Milk, Dustin Lance Black, to direct the piece. If you don't know anything about DLB, check out Defamer's obsequious profile, "The User's Guide To 'Milk' Writer Dustin Lance Black." Here are the videos "Freedom" and "Join Us":
Photo: Scott Schmidt and Dustin Lance Black in the WOW studio by Joel Chaidez
Kevin Smith: Junk Food, Porn, and Sex
Zack and Miri Make a Porno director Kevin Smith, whose appearance has gone from heavy to nearly morbidly obese of late, says his days are spent lying down watching TV or surfing the Internet and watching homemade porn. His weight, he tells Katherine Monk in an interview in The Vancouver Sun, "is a living example of the consequences of a diet laden with high-fructose syrup." Smith is addicted to Yoo-Hoo, Hostess cakes, and other comestibles of that ilk. "What can I say?" he says. "I guess I'm not interested in living a long life. I think about my weight all the time. Not a second goes by when I'm not thinking about it, Except, maybe, when I'm having sex. For that brief period, I can actually lose myself in pleasure, but that's probably because I'm a bottom. If I had to be on top, and actually move around, I think I'd be a lot more aware – but as it is, I'm the guy who lies back and has things done to me." (WireImage photo: Smith with Harvey Weinstein)
October 30, 2008
Think, Vote, Drink
James is getting ready for the big election results viewing party in the gallery this Tuesday Nov 4. What better place to watch the votes come in than surrounded by political art. Drink until the booze runs out or we elect a president, whichever comes first!
– "famed artist/curator" Steven Corfe
She's With the Bond
We tried not to laugh, we really did, but the hilarity of Best Week Ever's Michelle Collins pried it out of us when we read her caption to this photo of Grace Jones at last night's London premiere of Quantum of Solace. The caption? "FIERCEST FIERCEY TO FIERCE THE FIERCE FIERCE." Because it's so true!
They're Voting. Shouldn't You?
A video for North Carolina voters, by Dave Willis (Aqua Teen Hunger Force,
Squidbillies) and Scott Jacobson (The Daily Show, SNL's "TV Funhouse")
Montag Pricetag Is Just Right (Wing)
Fox News picked up the story of Heidi Montag's giant melons being displayed in the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery's group show, succinctly titled "Svedka Vodka Presents Hollywood DC: Lights! Camera! Election!" WOW Report readers already know that the gallery's co-creator Steven Corfe painted The Hills star (who also co-hosted the show's opening reception with her "boyfriend" Spencer Pratt) in a riff on Shepard Fairey's famous HOPE portrait of Barack Obama. Using Fairey's same color scheme of red, blue, and blah, Corfe painted Montag holding two large melons in front of her own augmented melons above the word GROPE. Was Montag offended? On the contrary. "I am so honored! When I heard about this I seriously almost cried," she exclaimed before forking over $2,000 to buy the piece.
It's Birthday, Bitch
Ivanka Trump, 27
Gavin Rossdale, 41
Kevin Pollak, 51
Juliet Stevenson, 52
Harry Hamlin, 57
Henry Winkler, 63
Grace Slick, 69
Ruth Hussey, 97 (deceased)
Ruth Gordon, 112 (deceased)
Ezra Pound, 123 (deceased)
Fyodor Dostoevsky, 187 (deceased)
John Adams, 273 (deceased)
– Lindsey Hager
Joe the Plumber's Big Plunge
If he's accomplished nothing else from his campaign to become president, John McCain can pride himself on creating the nightmare that is Samuel Wurzelbacher aka Joe the Plumber. Wurzelbacher, who it's said sings and "knocks around on guitar” but is neither an accomplished musician nor songwriter of any kind, has signed with a Nashville PR and management company and may come out with a country album before the inauguration. According to Politico, Wurzelbacher wants to dump the toilet trade and is seeking corporate sponsorship. On a lighter note, Playgirl magazine is searching for "the world’s hottest Joe the Plumber." The magazine wants to celebrate all the currently hot Joe the Plumbers and Joe Six Packs by putting their pecs and other parts in its December online issue. If all else fails, Wurzelbacher may have to settle for fame by proxy.
Don't Speak for Me Sarah Palin
Goosebumps all round from the gorgeous Broadway-quality vocalizing of this hockey mom accompanied on the piano by her hockey son spoofing Eva Peron appealing to the people of Argentina. You'll be crying for both Patti LuPone and Madonna by the time she's finished. (t/y Tom)
Dude Looks Like an Idiot
Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry is supporting John McCain, he says, because he "just felt like What the hell" after "seeing so many people come out for Obama." Logical. With Perry siding with McCain, the celebrities voting for the Republican candidate now total three, the other two being Puerto Rican reggaeton artist Daddy Yankee and the really old Quaker Oats guy, Wilford Brimley. (via Faded Youth)
Single Trannies?
Is one of the ladies in Beyoncé's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" video a dude? The smart money says so.
The Jackson 3
Michael Jackson took his three kids, Michael Joseph, Paris Michael Katherine, and Prince Michael Jackson II, shopping for Halloween costumes in Hollywood yesterday. Paris, 9, chose to be a butterfly, Michael Joseph, 10, the guy from V is for Vendetta, and Prince Michael (formerly Blanket), 5, the Grim Reaper. But since they've always been masked or shrouded in some way whenever they went out in public their whole lives (including this time), wouldn't they seem more mysterious not in costume? Just saying. (Daily Mail; photo: Dean Nat'l Photo Group)
Snap!
We're usually ho-hum to the point of ennui about posting star-baby pics. But come on, seriously, who can resist Zuma Nesta Rock Rossdale, who we have to take at Gwen and Gavin's word is a boy, currently two months old. (via no doubt)
Ice-T and CoCo: a Delicious Holiday Cocktail
On the red carpet at last night's New York premiere of Soul Men, Ice-T and his wife CoCo were asked what they'd be dressing as for Halloween.They were kind of coy on the topic, with CoCo revealing only that "It's my day! I get to get naked! Finally!!!" The usually sedately dressed Coco had let the cat partially out of the bag, so Ice-T added, "You know, a lot of people comment, but some chicks like to be wild. You come home and they're standing on the couch and they want to jump at you and tackle you. CoCo's one of them girls." You never would suspect that just by looking at her. (New York)
Star's Son Charged with Moonshine Possession
Looks like Jack Pullman hadn't finished protesting his arrest when his mug shot was taken. The 19-year-old son of Lost Highway star Bill Pullman and his friend Allan Gaddy were arrested in Asheviille, North Carolina, on Monday and charged with resisting officers, assaulting a government official, underage drinking, and possession of moonshine. But apparently not DUI. Were they on foot? In a news video from local WLOS-TV, fellow students at Warren Wilson College describe Pullman as a hilarious salt-of-the-earth type who would never do any of the things he's charged with. Pullman and Gaddy were released later that night.
October 29, 2008
Armed with Ginsberg
One of the more colorful patrons browsing in the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery today. Of course, you identified the quote on his arm as being Allen Ginsberg's, didn't you. Thairin Smothers, who took this photo, read it as if it were inked in Braille.
Not Chinese Democracy
This "Walking On A Dream" video by Empire of The Sun, directed in Shanghai by Josh Logue of Mathematics, was sent to the WOW Report by WOW's Lindsay Woods because she thinks one of the guys, the brown-haired one, looks like WOW's Joey Maiocco, who happens to be her new husband. Weird, because Joey's not so piggy and his teeth are far superior to the band guy's. Nevertheless, not a bad video, though. So thanks, Lindsay.
Snap!
Leonardo DiCaprio and Entourage star Kevin Connolly at a Lakers game in LA yesterday. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian AP via jjb.yuku)
Pollers in Rollers
Our former WOW colleague Maria Calleia let us know today that Cristophe Salon in Beverly Hills is offering an Election Day special. The salon is extending 50% off all salon services to anyone that votes on November 4. Just take your voting sticker to any Cristophe Salon and get the discount. No matter who you voted for. They'll be accepting appointments and walk-ins.
The Milk of Human Kindness
But the main purpose of Quartknee's email was to send these two photos taken of the 'Stro on the 'Stro in San Francisco. The one on the left shows the daytime preparation for the premiere of Milk, in the city where it takes place, and the other shows the limos that blocked the street while the film was screening that night. We love looking at that old theater and we're hotly anticipating the movie.
A Halloween Serving Suggestion
What are the odds that on the day we posted that stock photo of a teen in Halloween cheerleader drag we'd be sent a photo of what an actual person would look like wearing the costume? Mercury must be out of retrograde. (t/y Quartknee for the photo)
Madonna and Guy: the Marriage Contract
More shit surfaces. It's said that Madonna insisted husband Guy stick to a set of rules drawn up in a contract after the two sought marriage counsel in 2006, and that one of the rules was that "Guy must work to enrich his wife's emotional and spiritual well-being." Also, he was to "resolve conflicts in a constructive way," "never shout at his wife," and "set aside time to read Kabbalah texts" to said wife. But they were both bound to "devote time to sexual expressiveness," which was nice. But another of the rules prohibited the couple from using sex "as a stick to beat one another." Pity. (Telegraph)
You Say Dubai, and We Say Hello: Masterpiece in the Middle East
It's about time the second-largest city in the Arab Emirates had its own primetime reality soap. So World of Wonder's Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey have teamed with old-friend Bravo to develop one. Really, who better? Think about it. The docusoap, still called simply Dubai Project but already starting to cast, will follow a group of American and British expatriates pursuing the American dream (and clotted cream) in an Arab emirate, against the extraordinary backdrops of Dubai's manmade beaches, soaring skyscrapers, and exotic nightclubs. If the boys are still looking for a title, may we suggest Yashmac and Cheese? (TV Week)
Hey One, Hey All, Here's a Crazy Casting Call
A casting-call notice for a movie we can't say the name of just appeared in the WOW Report in-box, so we'll pass it on verbatim to you crazy kids with dreams:
Now Casting FUN, YOUNG EXTRAS for a feature film. Filming will take place in LOS ANGELES sometime between mid-December and mid-January and could be multiple work days. All positions are PAID, both SAG and Non-Union.
We are looking for people with original, fun, creative and interesting, sometimes outrageous HALLOWEEN COSTUMES to be seen in a Halloween scene of the film. Costumes can be sparkly, colorful, scary, sexy but not too sexy, etc. NO super heroes or trademarked costumes please! Costumes can be home made, not too professional looking or professional looking. You MUST be between 18-22 years old, look like a teenager or have a mask or face make up to hide the fact you are a little older. This is supposed to be a High School scene!!
If you are interested please respond via email ASAP to: castsubmissions@aol.com with the following information - First & Last Name, Contact Number and a COLOR PHOTO of yourself in the costume you would be wearing. MUST include the photo IN COSTUME.
The Daily Freak Show
At the opening-night party for the "Svedka Vodka Presents Hollywood DC: Lights! Camera! Election!" show at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery, James St James is on a quest to interview the night's VIP hosts, Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag. Surprisingly, the mission proves to be more difficult than anticipated. The star-studded crowd also includes RuPaul, Jesse Metcalfe, Project Runway's Santino Rice, Alexis Arquette, Bobby Trendy, Allee Willis, Taryn Manning, Heather from VH1's Rock of Love.
No Chorus Line for Cloris
Back when he was casting the Broadway-musical production of Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks broke Cloris Leachman's heart when he said she was too old to reprise her movie role of Frau Blucher (cue whinny) and he was afraif she didn't have the stamina for eight shows a week and might drop dead onstage. Now, having seen the 81-year-old steal the show nightly on Dancing With the Stars, he's changed his mind about her lack of stamina and would like to put her in the musical. Now it's his turn to suffer. Leachman's red hot right now and has a lot of other offers on her plate, including a role in Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards, her own one-woman show, and a grand-marshalling gig in the Tournament of Roses parade. (Page Six)
Hello Dali
Twilight vampire Robert Pattison (at left) will next be playing surrealist artist Salvador Dali (at right) in the film Little Ashes, about the, uh, rapturous relationship between young Dali and the poet Federico García Lorca. (EW)
It's Birthday, Bitch
Amanda Beard, 27
Ben Foster, 28
Winona Ryder, 37
Kate Jackson, 60
Richard Dreyfuss, 61
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, 70
Dominick Dunne, 83
Bill Mauldin, 87(deceased)
Fanny Brice, 117 (deceased)
– Lindsey Hager
With Your Host – Britney Spears!
It's being both confirmed and denied, depending on whom you talk to, that Britney Spears will be hosting Saturday Night Live on November 22, a Saturday. If it happens, it will be the princess' third hosting gig at 30 Rock. Eight years ago, when she was 18, she was the youngest person ever to host and perform as the musical guest on the same show. Two years later, she hosted again. NBC reps have said Spears won't be on the November 22 show, and Spears' people aren't saying anything. But the New Music Tipsheet has her scheduled to perform. (Celebuzz; photo: Spears hosting SNL May 13, 2000)
And the Winner Is... The WOW Report!
The UK's Illuminations blog has awarded The WOW Report with the top spot on its list of the 10 Best Indie Web Sites for our "style, wit, and clarity" and for exhibiting "virtues from which we all could learn." We are most honored and thank the judges. Here's the entry:
1. World of Wonder: we thought long and hard about which site we should honour with our prestigious Best Indie Web Site prize, but The WOW Report blog finally won us over. This is one of the very few sites with a real personality – and also perhaps the only site, Aardman excluded, which might tempt us back simply to be entertained.
After the jump, what Illuminations had to say yesterday about our blog.
More...Return to the Scene: The New York Dolls
"Yesterday I spent the whole day with the New York Dolls at a taping of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson," says Lou Cannizzaro, in Grand Ole Opry T-shirt above. "The show airs tonight on CBS. A few years ago I spent every night of the week with Johnny Thunders at Limelight." And by a few he means 20.
October 28, 2008
A Few More Pics from Svedka Vodka Presents Hollywood DC: Lights! Camera! Election!
Dave DeCaro, a contributing artist to the "Svedka Vodka Presents Hollywood DC" show at the World of Wonder Storefront Gallery, had his camera with him at the cocktail opening on Thursday and posted photos on his website, Daveland Art. Take a look.
Handy Guide to Facial Pubic Hair
Stop shaving for the National Beard Growing Month of November. (via Dyers.org)
Recently Dead/Curb Your Enthusiasm
A wreath honoring Delmar Watson was erected over his family's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame today. Watson, who died Sunday at home in Glendale of complications from prostate cancer, was 82. The distinguished photographer and archivist had been a child actor, one of nine siblings from "The First Family of Hollywood" who between them appeared in over 1,000 movies. (LA Times; photo: Steven Sims)
And You Can Print That
So the LA Times is laying off 75 people, Radar went under last week, and now we see that the Christian Science Monitor is stopping its daily print edition and going online only. According to Gawker, if the CSM can pull it off and remain viable, other newspapers and magazines will soon follow suit, and the death of print might just be the most lucrative option left. These ARE the best of times and the worst of Times, indeed.
– James St James
Snap!
Matt Damon stumps for Barack Obama at the University of Miami. (Photo: Stella Pictures via Posh24)
Itemizing
• Barack Obama will make time to be on The Daily Show Wednesday, taping this appearance via satellite during a campaign swing in Florida.
• Led Zeppelin plans to tour with a Robert Plant replacement. No, really.
• Producers of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? asked Barack Obama, John McCain, Bill and Hillary, Michael Bloomberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer, Brian Williams, a