New Vocabulary

Here are a few useful terms for you all to toss into conversation over your long holiday break.

Hmmm...I am home alone this weekend.

Perhaps I should go out and buy some sunflowers and start...dancing!

Old Chum

Award-winning creature designer and judge on Face Off (and my old roommate), Neville Page, recently uploaded some of the cool Klingon designs to his site that were being considered for Star Trek Into Darkness. Pretty awesome...









They look so life-like and, oddly...kind of attractive.



How YOU doin'?



It's really inspiring when someone you know is so talented, works very hard, and then ends up building an amazing career out of doing something that they actually love.

I remember when Neville was just one of my roomies, sitting around the apartment molding utensils out of Silly Putty so he'd have something to eat his instant Ramen Noodles with...and now look at him...



I told him those soups had too much salt and were bad for his skin.

No one ever listens to me...

The last pic is really Neville made up as one of the Romulans he designed and wore in the first Star Trek movie he did with JJ Abrams.

His actual moisturizing regime is Hollywood-approved and child-safe.

To see more samples of some of his work from such films as Prometheus, Avatar, Cloverfield, Tron, and more..check out his cool Web site.

via: Gawker

Leaping Lizards!

I hope the people of Japan have good health insurance, because their popular prank shows really seem to do their best to give the unsuspecting locals a heart attack...



With the added Jurassic Park raptor screeches, I think most of us would be in desperate need of a Depends change if we encountered that as we were strolling casually through a building.

Now, I'm certainly not saying I support this kind of prank...however, the reaction and big reveal that occurs when this "fashionable" lady encounters the same velociraptor is HILARIOUS.



Priceless.

Busted

The latin Ryan Seacrest, Mario Lopez, seems to have found a new way into the hearts and clogged arteries of world by allowing Dove to sculpt his heaving bosoms out of chocolate for their recent "Mint and Dark Chocolate Candies" promotion.



The "frosty" head is somewhat creepy and the overall bust looks like it should be guarding some sacred temple out on Easter Island (or Fire Island, for that matter).

But, as far as the overall likeness to Mario...



I suppose we can all look past the minty Ted Danson eyebrows and hair and support Dove for the greater good.

And for the children.

If you'd like to recreate a similar chocolate lover of your own for a lonely weekend or as a date to an upcoming wedding or family reunion...here is how Dove did it:

A Magic Moment

Kristin Chenoweth gave a concert at the Hollywood Bowl over the weekend and invited someone from the audience to come up on stage with her to sing "For Good" from the Broadway musical Wicked (which Kristin starred in when it first opened). She and the audience were obviously very surprised at how well it went...

When musicians call audience members up on stage to perform with them, the results are usually fun but a little cringe-worthy. During the show, she [Chenoweth] called Southern California resident Sarah Horn to the stage and invited her to sing "For Good," a duet from the musical "Wicked." (Chenoweth, of course, played the original "Glinda"). Once on stage, Horn revealed that she is a voice teacher and loves musical theater. Still, it seemed that Chenoweth didn't truly understand who she had called to the stage. In the video, Chenoweth playfully instructs Horn to wait her turn. But as soon as Horn belts out her part, Chenoweth throws her hands up in the air. "Oh sing it, sing it!" said Chenoweth, laughing. Toward the end of the duet, Chenoweth exclaims again: "Holy crap, harmony!"



The video of that performance has already received over 1.1 million views as of this morning and continues to grow. Some folks tried to say it was all rehearsed and planned, but that is not how it actually happened, if you read the full report from the singer, Sara Horn, over on BroadwayWorld.com...

Toward the end of the second half of the performance, Kristin wanders on to the pasarel. She held a mic up to a lady in front of me and asked if she knew the song "For Good." Nope. I took the chance, as I was directly behind Kristin, to stand up and wave and say, "I know the song!" This is not like me - to jump up and wave my arms like a crazy person and raise my voice at a celebrity. One of Kristin's backup singers held a mic up to my face so I could answer some questions: "What's you're name?" - "Sarah." "Who's your favorite Broadway star?" I sarcastically hummm as if it's a difficult question to answer. "Do you know the song 'For Good'?" - "Yes. It's one of my favorites." This seemed to peak her interest. After this, she moved down the line and asked a guy if he knew the song and bantered with him for a few seconds. Afterwards, she said something about going back to pick me because I was a girl. Then, she invited me up on stage.

I love this video and thought Sara did an amazing job. Wicked is my favorite musical and "For Good" is one of my favorite songs from that show. I can't count the number of times I've watched this video in the past 24 hours and it still makes me grin like a loon.

With all the awful news out in the world these days, it's just so nice to see something that actually touches your heart and, if only momentarily, reminds you that there is a lot of good in the world.



And, not only did she get to sing with Kristin and hang out backstage, she also got to meet Darren Criss that night too.

Lucky, bit...nice singing lady.

He is Batman

The Internets are all a flutter over the announcement that Ben Affleck will be playing an older Batman who battles Superman in the upcoming Man of Steel sequel Batman vs Superman (July 2015).

The clenching of geek-sphincter all around the world has gotten out of control.



Honestly, I really don't think it matters. He'll be just as good as almost anyone else playing Batman. Lord knows we've gone through enough of them over the years. I don't recall anyone thinking Michael Keaton was the perfect person to play Batman (myself included) and he surprised us all.

Of course, people are over-reacting all over Twitter...which is actually pretty entertaining. If you want to see a great collection of the many responses to this announcement, check out this list of the 50 Greatest Tweets about Ben Affleck's casting as Batman.

This one is my favorite...

NATH @IronCoreMedia

 #BetterBatmanThanBenAffleck 

1 Paula Deen 

 2 A cats butthole 

3 Ben Affleck's mom 

4 A No. 2 Pencil 

5 Don Knotts 

6 Caulk 

7 All of China 

8 AC/DC 8:39 AM 

Oh...the kids.

It's not like the movie is a serious drama based in reality. It's Batman fighting Superman. In that reality, that fight should last about all of one minute.

• Batman punches Superman in the face.
• No affect.
• Superman punches Batman in the face.
• No face remains.
• Game over.

We all know it's not going to end that quickly...it'll be dragged out for at least a half hour or more. So why even care about the "reality" of a Superhero movie anyway. Just git yer popcorn, a giant sody pop, and sit back and enjoy.

Someone mentioned that they should cast Tilda Swinton as Lex Luthor and, as funny as that was, I would be psyched if they cast her and made Lex an Alexis Luthor.



No one in their right mind should ever mess with Tilda Swinton.

In other Superhero movie news...



Bradley Cooper is finalizing his deal to do the voice of the "Rocket Raccoon" character in the now-filming Guardians of the Galaxy movie.

I can see that. I mean, HEAR that.



And, Elizabeth Olsen is finalizing her deal to play the "Scarlet Witch" in the upcoming Avengers:Age of Ulton sequel.

Yes, she is the sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

And NO, neither of them will be in any of the movies mentioned above.

So...carry on people.

Nothing to see here...

Closet Break

Actor/writer Wentworth Miller came out yesterday in a letter that was in response to an invitation he received to a Russian Film Festival in Florida.

During the filming of Prison Break, he claimed that he was straight, which is not uncommon in Hollywood. However, several sources have reported over the years that he has been dating Luke MacFarlane (from the TV series Brothers and Sisters) since 2007.



I'm sure People and Entertainment Weekly are already scheduling their "in-depth" interviews, so expect to see him gracing the covers in your mailbox very soon.



Frankly, I'm more surprised to find out that he wrote the feature film Stoker (which starred Nicole Kidman) than finding out he's gay.

That's just a nice bonus.

Into Snarkness

As many of you know, I was very disappointed with Star Trek Into Darkness, especially after loving the first Star Trek reboot (2009) so much. So, today's release of the "Honest Trailer: Star Trek Into Darkness rings especially true for me and, like the one they did for the previous film, is just as entertaining to watch.



Honesty really is the best policy...at least in this case.

For better, For worse

Although this is a pretty cruel prank to play on your wife, you can tell that the two of them must really love each other and that their sense of humor has probably helped keep them together all of these years.



He is an idiot, but obviously a lovable one.

Krafty

The Kraft "Zesty Guy" commercials and print ads have stirred up a bit of controversy over the past couple of months.



Some folks feel like the ads are too sexualized, while others are just enjoying them for their comedy and entertainment value.

I mean, it is just salad dressing after all.

Kraft has been very pleased with the response and has already moved on to their next series of ads and, as you'll see here, he's just as "zesty" as he was before.













I really don't see what all the hoopla is about.

I mean, when I'm headed to the beach, tennis courts, orchard, or barn...the first thing I always take with me is salad dressing.

Damn! I just realized I left my Zesty Italian at the gym in the cup holder on the treadmill today.

Hopefully Luigi was able to find a ride home...

Buzz Kill

The madness that ensued when Oprah gave away those cars on her show continues to be a fine source of comedy to this day. I think my favorite example, by far, is this video that shows what would happen if she gave away something just a little bit different...



Hilarious!

And, of course, that reminds me of my other favorite Oprah parody, entitled "Tom Cruise Kills Oprah".



I never stops slaying me.

Never.

Out in the ring

WWE wrestler, Darren Young, casually came out today at an airport while talking to a TMZ reporter who asked him if he thought a WWE wrestler could be gay and happy...

“Absolutely. Look at me. I’m a WWE Superstar and to be honest with you, I’ll tell you right now I’m gay and I’m happy. Very happy.” 

Here is the complete interview...

John Cena, one of WWE's most popular wrestlers had this to say about it...

"Good for him. That's fantastic. I know Darren personally. Darren's a great guy. That's a very bold move for him. And congratulations for him for actually finally doing it. It's all about being professional, and Darren Young is a consummate professional. For us, it's entertainment, and if you're entertaining you shouldn't be judged by race, creed, color or sexuality ... as long as you're entertaining."

John makes a very good point.



I mean, I find he, Darren, and Randy Orton (above) all VERY...entertaining.

So, no judgement here.

Sticker shock

Now that's something I might consider putting on my car....

Turn around...

Enjoy comedian/singer Christina Bianco singing a very entertaining version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart" as 19 different Divas.



Her Julie Andrews, Kristin Chenoweth. and Bernadette Peters were spot-on.

She won't be ignored

The first pics of Glenn Close (left) as "Nova-Prime" in the upcoming Marvel movie Guardians of the Galaxy have surfaced...



She's got quite and "up-do" there on her noggin.



Glenn plays the leader of this motley crew of unusual superheroes...



I don't know anything about this part of the Marvel Universe, but they've pulled together a pretty interesting group of actors for various parts:



Chris Pratt (Parks and Recreation and Zero Dark Thirty) as Star-Lord



Zoe Saldana (Star Trek and Avatar) as Gamora



Dave Batista (WWE wrestler) as Drax the Destroyer.



Benicio del Toro as The Collector.



Michael Rooker as Yondu.



Lee Pace (Pushing Daisies and The Hobbit) as Ronan the Accuser.



Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) as Nebula.



And, although it's not "officially" confirmed..the word on the street (and "accidentally" earlier on his Facebook page) is that Vin Diesel is about to be announced as the voice for the tree character, Groot.

Let the "wooden acting" quips begin...

Elves on the shelf

A new pic was released this week of Evangeline Lily (as Tauriel) and Orlando Bloom (as Legolas) from the upcoming The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

Enjoyable.

Toil and Trouble

The first trailer for the upcoming season of American Horror Story: Coven (with Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Angela Basset, Frances Conroy and many of the cast from previous seasons) was released this week and it's just as weird and creepy as you'd expect...



Now, that's some messed up planking!

::Shudder::

::Squeee::

Hammertime 2

The new Thor: The Dark World trailer was released today and it's looking pretty good...



It was also announced today that the movie will be released a week earlier in the UK (Oct. 30th) before the rest of us get to see it.

Why must the Brits get everything before us? It's bad enough we have to wait almost a month to see the new seasons of Downton Abbey after they air in the UK.

Even the Dowager Countess agrees with me on this topic...

Trailer Tuesday

There are a few trailers for upcoming movies that were released recently that look pretty good, for different reasons.



Enough Said stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and the late James Gandolfini. I love Julia Louis-Dreyfus (if you haven't seen Veep, you should). Plus it's got Toni Collette and Catherine Keener, also enjoyable. If nothing else, it'll be a good OnDemand feature.



The Secret Life of Walter Mitty stars the always-entertaining Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig. Plus, for some reason, its theme and music resonates emotionally with me like The Tree of Life trailer did.



Diana stars Naomi Watts as Princess Diana and covers her life and affair during her marriage to Prince Charles. It looks pretty interesting and she does look a bit like Diana, so that helps. Plus, it's got Naveen Andrews from Lost playing the doctor. Nice to see him in a feature film now that he's off the island.



Ender's Game released it's first full trailer today and, overall, it looks pretty good as well. Although, it makes me feel old and kind of sad that Harrison Ford, once such an energetic charismatic action hero, is looking/sounding so....old and sad.

I mean, TODAY he even signed on to do Expendables 3...the oddly popular film series where old action heroes prop themselves up for ONE MORE MISSON.

Couldn't he have at least held out for Reds 3? At least those movies are well-written and feature Helen Mirren.

::Shakes Head::

Twit Pics

Kellan Lutz tweeted a pic of himself from the Hercules movie that he is currently filming (which will compete with the one that Dwayne Johnson is also filming now).

I don't think Dwayne has to worry too much about Kellan's version, which I imagine might head direct to OnDemand upon release.



Also, Brian Singer tweeted a pic of a full-size Sentinel that will be featured in his upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Here's a little clip that explains the origin of the Sentinels...



Those would be a huge help in the fall when the gutters need to be cleaned out.