December 16, 2009

Celebrity Sleaze 12/16

IS TIGER WOODS DUMPING HIS FAMOUS FRIENDS??? 

CHARLES BARKLEY has accused TIGER WOODS of changing his phone number and ditching his famous friends.

--During a taping of "With All Due Respect" . . . a show that airs on a cable channel you may have heard of called HLN . . . Barkley said, quote, "I've been trying to get to him and can't get to him.  It's very frustrating.

--"I think when you have these fires in your life, as I call them, you need to talk to somebody else who is famous who [has] been through things in their life.

--"I don't think you can talk about it to your family and friends, because your family and friends, they're not famous."

--SPIKE LEE . . . who was a guest on the show . . . added, quote, "If Charles Barkley and MICHAEL JORDAN can't get to him, and those are his boys, then other people are making bad moves."

--Barkley said that all he wants to do is tell Tiger, quote, "Hey man, we love you.  If you need anything, pick up the phone."

NIKE BOSS PHIL KNIGHT SAYS ALL THIS CHAOS IS JUST A "MINOR BLIP" IN TIGER'S LIFE: 

Nike continues to stand firmly in TIGER WOODS' corner.  Yesterday, company boss PHIL KNIGHT said, quote, "When his career is over, you'll look back on these indiscretions as a minor blip, but the media is making a big deal out of it right now."

--Knight also noted that when the company checked out Woods as a potential pitchman, he definitely met their criteria.

--He said, quote, "There's always a risk.  One of the things we always try to do when we have a big endorsement is check out the character and the pattern of the individual.

--"But you're not going to get it right all the time, and if you're going to be in the business you have to recognize that.

--"Obviously, [Tiger was] one we checked out and he came out clean, and I think he's been really great."

DOES TIGER WOODS' HANDWRITING SHOW THAT HE'S SEARCHING FOR SEXUAL GRATIFICATION??? 

It's pretty shameful and embarrassing to see the lengths that some of these media outlets are going to in order to wring more mileage out of the TIGER WOODS story.  But it's also fun to watch.  (???)

--"Us Weekly" enlisted some handwriting experts to analyze Tiger's signature for hidden meaning.  Not surprisingly, they found some.

--For instance, the "g" in Tiger is, quote, "greatly disproportionate to the rest of the writing".  This represents, quote, "the SEARCH FOR SEXUAL GRATIFICATION and the acquisition of money."

--Meanwhile, the "w" in Woods points back at "Tiger", which can be seen as an ACCUSATION.  One of the experts says, quote, "This suggests to me that he felt guilty about some of his activities and, in some sense, felt that he deserved to be caught."

(--You can see Tiger's signature and read more of the "analysis" here . . .)

http://www.usmagazine.com/celebritynews/news/tiger-woods-signature-shows-he-viewed-sex-as-a-form-of-release-20091512

A DOCTOR WHO HAS TREATED TIGER WOODS IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ALLEGEDLY PROVIDING ATHLETES WITH PERFORMANCE-ENHANCING DRUGS: 

This would be all TIGER WOODS needs right now:  A doctor who has treated him and other professional athletes is being investigated for allegedly doling out performance-enhancing drugs.

--Dr. Anthony Galea was stopped at the U.S.-Canadian border with Human Growth Hormone and Actovegin . . . a drug extracted from calf's blood.

--According to the "New York Times", the FBI is in on the investigation.  Nobody has named any athletes Galea supposedly gave performance-enhancing drugs to.  Galea denies any wrongdoing.

--Galea works a lot with athletes because of some plasma-therapy technique he invented that speeds up the recovery process after surgery.  As far as anyone knows, the technique is legal.

--Tiger had it done several times in February and March of this year, to help him recover from knee surgery the previous summer.

--Reached for comment, Tiger's agent said, quote, "I would really ask that you guys don't write this.  If Tiger is NOT implicated, and won't be, let's please give the kid a break."

TIGER RANDOMS: 

#1.)  We've got a brief promo clip from that interview where TIGER WOODS talks about putting his family first.  (--The interview was for some New Zealand sports show.  Check it out . . .)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amPPrckjdJY

(--Elsewhere in the interview, Tiger says that having a family has been, quote, "great, actually, the best thing that ever happened.")

#2.)  ELIN NORDEGREN was spotted out in public again yesterday.  She took the kids . . . 2-year-old Sam and 10-month-old Charlie . . . with her to get some takeout Thai food.  And once again . . . no wedding ring.  (--Here's a boring paparazzi video . . .)

http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=8f4f9ed9-57aa-4d48-b55b-d108c61677fc

MORE TIGER RANDOMS: 

#3.)  Before she was famous for being a delusional slut, JAIMEE GRUBBS appeared in a video for some band called CASUAL MAFIA.  The song is called "Druncle" . . . which is short for "Drunk Uncle".

--Jaimee quite fittingly plays the part of the SLUTTY GIRLFRIEND.  (--Jaimee only appears for about a second.  Look for her at around the 1:20 mark . . .)

(--WARNING!!!  This clip contains UNBLEEPED PROFANITY . . .)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PczcEVcesuw

#4.)  There's talk that TIGER WOODS may have been doling out MONTHLY PAYMENTS to his girlfriends.  According to MSNBC, some women have mentioned receiving between $5,000 and $10,000 a month.

--Some may have been getting as much as 20-GRAND.  According to one chick, there was no official agreement, but it was implied that this was HUSH MONEY.

JOHN MAYER IS TAKING A BREAK FROM DATING: 

JOHN MAYER wore a reindeer sweater on "Ellen" yesterday . . . and you have to give the guy props for that.  (???)

--As for the interview itself, John said he's taking a break from dating . . . quote, "I'm not dating.  I don't know if you know this:  I have sort of a funny track record, which is actually not that strange given my age.

--"I'm a little freaked out right now about it, to be honest.  I'm a little freaked out about dating, so I'm just gonna let time pass and just do my thing." 

--He also admitted, though, that he can't complain about his love life being public when he dates famous chicks.  He said quote, "I can't sit here and be like, 'Oh, please let me live my life in private with this famous person who's been around for 15 years.'"

(--Here's video . . .)

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b158099_john_mayer_taking_break_from_ladies.html

CHECK OUT RIHANNA IN THE NEW ISSUE OF "GQ": 

RIHANNA goes topless . . . but with her breasts creatively covered . . . in the new issue of "GQ" magazine. 

IS TONY ROMO ENGAGED??? 

There's a report going around the not-always-reliable celebrity blogosphere that TONY ROMO is ENGAGED . . . just five months after he dumped JESSICA SIMPSON.

--Tony's new girlfriend, former Miss Missouri CANDICE CRAWFORD, was spotted at the Cowboys game over the weekend wearing a diamond on her wedding finger.

--Talk about cruel irony . . . because Fox News reported yesterday that Jessica wants to design her own line of . . . WEDDING RINGS.

--A so-called "source" says Jess is in talks with a designer about an entire jewelry line, but she's really psyched on the idea of building it around the wedding rings.

--But the source says, quote, "[The jeweler] wants to work with her, but definitely doesn't think wedding rings would be appropriate for Jessica."

(--These days, Jessica is allegedly involved with the Last Smashing Pumpkin Standing, BILLY CORGAN.)

DID GREG BRADY'S GIRLFRIEND THREATEN TO KILL HIM??? 

BARRY WILLIAMS . . . a.k.a. Greg Brady . . . got a restraining order against his live-in girlfriend after she allegedly threatened to kill him.

--Barry says Elizabeth Kennedy is, quote, "mentally unstable", and has threatened more than once to off both him and herself.

--On November 23rd, Barry claims he had to physically subdue Elizabeth when she came at him with a kitchen knife.  Apparently, she thought he was having an affair with a co-star.

--He also accuses her of stealing $29,000 from his bank account.

--Barry told the court, quote, "I know that she will definitely try to harm me once she is aware that our relationship is now over."

--As per the restraining order, Elizabeth has to move out of the apartment they shared, and stay at least 100 yards away from him.

(--Barry is 55 . . . Elizabeth is 30.  So don't feel bad for Barry . . . he probably had fun with it while it lasted.)

RANDY AND EVI QUAID ARE WANTED . . . AGAIN: 

Here we go again:  RANDY QUAID and his wife EVI are on the lam again.

--They were scheduled to appear in a Santa Barbara courtroom yesterday to face charges that they skipped out on a $10,000 hotel bill.  But they pulled yet another NO-SHOW.

--Arrest warrants were issued.  The D.A. says, quote, "Now they are felony fugitives.  They forfeited their bond.  If the [bail bondsman] wants his money, they'll have to go and get it."

(--This is the FIFTH court no-show for the Quaids since their arrest in September.)

RACHEL MCADAMS DIDN'T SHAVE HER LEGS IN HIGH SCHOOL: 

RACHEL MCADAMS may be hot now, but in high school she was teased . . . for NOT SHAVING HER LEGS. 

--She says, quote, "My mother never put an emphasis on looks.  She let us grow up on our own timeline.  She never forced any beauty regimen into my world."

SARAH JESSICA PARKER DOESN'T DECORATE HER CHRISTMAS TREE UNTIL THE KIDS ARE ASLEEP ON CHRISTMAS EVE: 

SARAH JESSICA PARKER is keeping a Christmas tradition from her childhood alive . . . by letting Santa decorate her Christmas tree.

--She says, quote, "When I grew up, we had a 'naked tree' on Christmas, meaning it was unadorned.

--"On Christmas Eve, those of us who still believed in Santa Claus . . . and some of us who still do . . . would go to bed and when we woke up in the morning the tree was decorated.

--"We were told Santa wrapped our presents and decorated our tree in his spare time and we believed it."

--Sarah and MATTHEW BRODERICK have three kids . . . 7-year-old James and 6-month-old twins Marion and Tabitha.

THE HIGHEST-GROSSING ACTRESS OF THE DECADE IS "HARRY POTTER" MINX EMMA WATSON: 

The "Guinness Book of World Records" has named "Harry Potter" minx EMMA WATSON the highest-grossing actress of the decade . . . meaning that her movies raked in more cash than those of any other actress.

--Emma has only done six live-action movies this decade . . . but they were the "Harry Potter" flicks.  Collectively, they took in $5.4 billion worldwide.

--As for Emma's male counterpart, "Guinness" lists SAMUEL L. JACKSON . . . but they don't provide any numbers.

--Popwatch.com . . . which is an "Entertainment Weekly" blog . . . is disputing that.

--They say Sam's movies this decade have "only" made $3.3 billion.

--Meanwhile, JOHNNY DEPP has raked in $4.2 billion, thanks to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and other hits.

--But Johnny doesn't get the nod, either.  Because the deliciously gay SIR IAN MCKELLAN has him beat.  McKellan's flicks . . . which include the "Lord of the Rings" and "X-Men" trilogies . . . have made $4.8 billion.

--But McKellan doesn't top the list, either.

--It would appear that the actor whose movies have generated the most cash this decade is ORLANDO BLOOM.  Thanks mostly to his appearance in both the "Pirates of the Caribbean" AND "Lord of the Rings" trilogies . . . he's at the top with $6.5 billion.

NONSENSE IN BRIEF: 

#1.)  This is pretty sad:  MAURA TIERNEY just had to back out of the new NBC series, "Parenthood", after being diagnosed with breast cancer.  And now we find out that her father died on Saturday . . . of cancer.

--Maura's dad, Joseph M. Tierney, was a former president of the Boston City Council.  He was 68.

#2.)  There's no explanation necessary here . . . just a video of MILEY CYRUS' 9-year-old sister NOAH backstage at one of Miley's gigs, slapping her butt and singing AKON'S "Smack That".  (--Check it out . . .)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypwf4ompIpQ

#3.)  Michael David Barrett officially pleaded guilty yesterday to filming ESPN minx ERIN ANDREWS nude in her hotel room.  Erin showed up to face Barrett personally.  Afterward, she spoke to the press.  (--Here's her press conference . . .)

http://www.tmz.com/videos?autoplay=true&mediaKey=e2300c84-a144-4da6-ac26-c23215e7b0e7

THE GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS

"UP IN THE AIR" AND "GLEE" LEAD THE "GOLDEN GLOBE" NOMINEES:

Nominees for the "67th Annual Golden Globe Awards" were announced yesterday. 

--The GEORGE CLOONEY flick "Up in the Air" led all movie nominees with SIX nods . . . while the Fox comedy "Glee" topped the TV category with FOUR.

--"Up in the Air" is a Best Drama nominee, along with "Avatar", "Inglourious Basterds", "The Hurt Locker" and "Precious".

--The Best Comedy nominees are "500 Days of Summer", "The Hangover", "It's Complicated", "Julie & Julia" and "Nine".

--"Nine" was second to "Up In the Air" with five nominees.  "Avatar" and "Inglourious Basterds" had four each.

--"Glee" is up for Best Comedy Series.  It's competing with "30 Rock", "Modern Family", "Entourage" and "The Office".

--The Best Drama Series nominees are "Big Love", "Dexter", "Mad Men", "House" and "True Blood".  (--"Big Love", "Dexter" and "Mad Men" all had three nominations apiece.)

--The "Golden Globes" air on January 17th on NBC.

--Here are the nominees . . .

DRAMA:

--"Avatar"

--"The Hurt Locker"

--"Inglourious Basterds"

--"Precious"

--"Up in the Air"

ACTRESS, DRAMA:

--Emily Blunt,  "The Young Victoria"

--Sandra Bullock,  "The Blind Side"

--Helen Mirren,  "The Last Station"

--Carey Mulligan,  "An Education"

--Gabourey Sidibe,  "Precious"

ACTOR, DRAMA:

--Jeff Bridges,  "Crazy Heart"

--George Clooney,  "Up in the Air"

--Colin Firth,  "A Single Man"

--Morgan Freeman,  "Invictus"

--Tobey Maguire,  "Brothers"

MUSICAL OR COMEDY:

--"(500) Days of Summer"

--"The Hangover"

--"It's Complicated"

--"Julie & Julia"

--"Nine"

ACTRESS, MUSICAL OR COMEDY:

--Sandra Bullock,  "The Proposal"

--Marion Cotillard,  "Nine"

--Julia Roberts,  "Duplicity"

--Meryl Streep,  "It's Complicated"

--Meryl Streep,  "Julie & Julia"

ACTOR, MUSICAL OR COMEDY:

--Matt Damon,  "The Informant!"

--Daniel Day-Lewis,  "Nine"

--Robert Downey Jr.,  "Sherlock Holmes"

--Joseph Gordon-Levitt,  "(500) Days of Summer"

--Michael Stuhlbarg,  "A Serious Man"

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:

--"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs"

--"Coraline"

--"Fantastic Mr. Fox"

--"The Princess and the Frog"

--"Up"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

--Penelope Cruz,  "Nine"

--Vera Farmiga,  "Up in the Air"

--Anna Kendrick,  "Up in the Air"

--Mo'Nique,  "Precious"

--Julianne Moore,  "A Single Man"

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

--Matt Damon,  "Invictus"

--Woody Harrelson,  "The Messenger"

--Christopher Plummer,  "The Last Station"

--Stanley Tucci,  "The Lovely Bones"

--Christoph Waltz,  "Inglourious Basterds"

DIRECTOR:

--Clint Eastwood,  "Invictus"

--James Cameron,  "Avatar"

--Quentin Tarantino,  "Inglourious Basterds"

--Kathryn Bigelow,  "The Hurt Locker"

--Jason Reitman,  "Up in the Air"

ORIGINAL SONG:

--"Cinema Italiano" from "Nine"

--"I Want to Come Home" from "Everybody's Fine"  (performed by Paul McCartney)

--"I Will See You" from "Avatar"

--"The Weary Kind" from "Crazy Heart"

--"Winter" from "Brothers"  (performed by U2)

ORIGINAL SCORE:

--"Up",  Michael Giacchino

--"The Informant!",  Marvin Hamlisch

--"Avatar",  James Horner

--"A Single Man",  Abel Korzeniowski

--"Where the Wild Things Are",  Karen O and Carter Burwell

SCREENPLAY:

--"District 9"  (Written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)

--"Inglourious Basterds"  (Written by Quentin Tarantino)

--"The Hurt Locker"  (Written by Mark Boal)

--"It's Complicated"  (Written by Nancy Meyers)

--"Up in the Air"  (Written by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner)

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILM:

--"Baaria",  Italy

--"Broken Embraces",  Spain

--"The Maid",  Chile

--"A Prophet",  France

--"The White Ribbon",  Germany

DRAMA SERIES:

--"Mad Men"  (AMC)

--"House"  (Fox)

--"True Blood"  (HBO)

--"Dexter"  (Showtime)

--"Big Love"  (HBO)

ACTRESS, DRAMA:

--Glenn Close,  "Damages"

--Julianna Margulies,  "The Good Wife"

--January Jones,  "Mad Men"

--Anna Paquin,  "True Blood"

--Kyra Sedgwick,  "The Closer"

ACTOR, DRAMA:

--Jon Hamm,  "Mad Men"

--Hugh Laurie,  "House"

--Simon Baker,  "The Mentalist"

--Michael C. Hall,  "Dexter"

--Bill Paxton,  "Big Love"

MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES:

--"30 Rock"  (NBC)

--"Glee"  (Fox)

--"Entourage"  (HBO)

--"The Office"  (NBC)

--"Modern Family"  (ABC)

ACTRESS, MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES:

--Tina Fey,  "30 Rock"

--Toni Collette,  "United States of Tara"

--Courteney Cox,  "Cougar Town"

--Edie Falco,  "Nurse Jackie"

--Lea Michele,  "Glee"

ACTOR, MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES:

--David Duchovny,  "Californication"

--Alec Baldwin,  "30 Rock"

--Steve Carell,  "The Office"

--Thomas Jane,  "Hung"

--Matthew Morrison,  "Glee"

MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE:

--"Georgia O'Keefe"  (Lifetime)

--"Grey Gardens"  (HBO)

--"Into the Storm"  (HBO)

--"Little Dorrit"  (BBC)

--"Taking Chance"  (HBO)

ACTRESS, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE:

--Joan Allen,  "Georgia O'Keefe"

--Drew Barrymore,  "Grey Gardens"

--Jessica Lange,  "Grey Gardens"

--Anna Paquin,  "The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler"

--Sigourney Weaver,  "Prayers for Bobby"

ACTOR, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE:

--Kevin Bacon,  "Taking Chance"

--Kenneth Branagh,  "Wallander:  One Step Behind"

--Chiewetel Ejiofor,  "Endgame"

--Brendan Gleeson,  "Into the Storm"

--Jeremy Irons,  "Georgia O'Keefe"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS, SERIES, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE:

--Jane Adams,  "Hung"

--Rose Byrne,  "Damages"

--Jane Lynch,  "Glee"

--Janet McTeer,  "Into the Storm"

--Chloe Sevigny,  "Big Love

SUPPORTING ACTOR, SERIES, MINISERIES OR TV MOVIE:

--Michael Emerson,  "Lost"

--Neil Patrick Harris,  "How I Met Your Mother"

--William Hurt,  "Damages"

--John Lithgow,  "Dexter"

--Jeremy Piven,  "Entourage"

"PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES" IS COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN: 

"Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" . . . one of the surprise hit novels of the year . . . is heading to the big screen.

--For those few of you who haven't heard of it, "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" takes the classic JANE AUSTEN novel, "Pride and Prejudice", and adds . . . say it with me, people . . . ZOMBIES.

--No details are set in stone yet, but here are a few rumors going around . . .

--First, there's talk that DAVID O. RUSSELL is going to direct.  Russell's films include "Three Kings" and "I Heart Huckabees".

(--Russell is notorious for his temper.  He got into it BIG TIME with LILY TOMLIN on the set of "I Heart Huckabees".  Here are two videos of their blow-outs . . .)

(--WARNING!!!  These videos are full of unbleeped profanity . . .)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Qls1rAfYs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4uTGvTFzyQ

(--GEORGE CLOONEY also allegedly HEADBUTTED Russell during an argument on the set of "Three Kings".)

--There's also a rumor going around that NATALIE PORTMAN will play the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet.  (--We'll let you know if any of this turns out to be true.)

QUENTIN TARANTINO'S FAVORITE MOVIES OF THE YEAR: 

Do you care what QUENTIN TARANTINO'S eight favorite movies of the year were???  If so, you can watch a video of him giving his list.  (--"Star Trek" is #1, followed by "Drag Me To Hell".  Here's the clip . . .)

http://video.hollywoodreporter.com/services/player/bcpid30780834001?bctid=57142806001

IS JON GOSSELIN BROKE??? 

Fox News is reporting that JON GOSSELIN is BROKE . . . and doesn't have the money to cover his legal bills.

--There's no real proof to back that up, although it kind of makes sense.  Jon's two main sources of income . . . being a reality show star and selling interviews to talk about, uh, being a reality show star . . . are drying up.

--"Jon and Kate Plus Eight" is over . . . and last week, a judge granted TLC an injunction against Jon, forbidding him from making unauthorized media appearances.

--A so-called "source" says, quote, "Jon's in pretty serious financial trouble because his plan for making money was shut down in court.  He has warned his lawyers that he can't pay them if he doesn't succeed against TLC.  He will have no funds. 

--"He's even gone so far as to say that if they want to be paid, they will have to sue him."  (--Why can't the lawyers earn money selling interviews to discuss how Jon is being silenced by TLC???  America loves ANYTHING related to Jon and Kate!!!)

--Jon's reps . . . the father / son tag-team MIKE and MARK HELLER . . . deny that they're having any problems draining money from Jon.

--They say, quote, "The Hellers have no concern relevant to being paid by Jon for their services and see no circumstances under which they would ever sue Jon."

HERE'S A QUICK LOOK AT THE TOP 20 SHOWS IN THE RATINGS: 

"Sunday Night Football" won the week again, with 21 million people tuning in to see the Eagles take down the Giants with a score of 45-38 . . . despite the fact that Giants quarterback ELI MANNING passed for 391 yards.  Here are the Top 20 shows . . .

1.)  "Sunday Night Football",  NBC,  20.9 million viewers  (--The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants 45-38 . . . even with Eli Manning passing for 391 yards.)

2.)  "CSI",  CBS,  16.4 million viewers

3.)  "The Mentalist",  CBS,  16.4 million viewers

4.)  "60 Minutes",  CBS,  16.2 million viewers

5.)  "NCIS",  CBS,  15.1 million viewers

6.)  "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick",  NBC,  15.1 million viewers 

7.)  "Two and a Half Men",  CBS,  14.8 million viewers

8.)  "Criminal Minds",  CBS,  14.4 million viewers

9.)  "Big Bang Theory",  CBS,  14.4 million viewers

10.)  "Biggest Loser",  NBC,  13.5 million viewers

11.)  "Survivor: Samoa",  CBS,  13.3 million viewers

12.)  "CSI: New York",  CBS,  13 million viewers

13.)  "CSI: Miami",  CBS,  12.7 million viewers

14.)  "NCIS:  Los Angeles",  CBS,  12 million viewers

15.)  The Disney Christmas special "Prep & Landing",  ABC,  12 million viewers

16.)  "Christmas At the White House",  ABC,  12 million viewers

17.)  "A Charlie Brown Christmas",  ABC,  11.2 million viewers

18.)  "Bones",  Fox,  10.9 million viewers

19.)  "Barbara Walters: 10 Most Fascinating",  CBS,  10.5 million viewers

20.)  "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition",  ABC,  10.3 million viewers

WEDNESDAY TV REMINDERS:

--"So You Think You Can Dance" [6th Season Finale] . . . 8:00 to 10:00 P.M. on Fox.  (--The Groovaloos perform.  Music Guests:  Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis.)

--"The New Adventures of Old Christine" . . . 8:00 to 8:30 P.M. on CBS.  (--Molly Shannon guest stars as Christine's neighbor.)

--"Christmas With the Mormon Tabernacle Choir" . . . 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. on PBS.  (--Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell . . . who you'd know best as Hilary's fiancé Trevor on "Fresh Prince of Bel Air". . . performs with the choir.)

--"The Sing-Off" [Part 3 of 4] . . . 8:00 to 10:00 P.M. on NBC.  (--The five a cappella groups perform songs chosen by the judges.)

--"Top Chef" [Reunion Show] . . . 9:00 to 10:00 P.M. on Bravo.

--"Ghost Hunters" [5th Season Finale] . . . 9:00 to 10:00 P.M. on Syfy.

--"Ghost Hunters Academy" [1st Season Finale] . . . 10:00 to 11:00 P.M. on Syfy.

--"The Real World/Road Rules Challenge:  The Ruins Reunion" [Reunion Show] . . . 10:00 to 11:00 P.M. on MTV.

--"Nip/Tuck" [6th Season Finale] . . . 10:00 to 11:00 P.M. on FX.  (--"Modern Family's" Eric Stonestreet guest stars as an obese criminal who is slated for execution.)

--"Spectacle:  Elvis Costello With…" . . . 10:00 to 11:00 P.M. on Sundance.  (--Sheryl Crow, Neko Case, Ron Sexsmith and Jesse Winchester guest.)

MUSIC QUICK HITS

GENESIS, THE STOOGES AND ABBA WILL BE AMONG the rock and roll hall of fame's CLASS OF 2010: 

The rock and roll hall of fame announced its Class of 2010 yesterday.  They include:  Genesis, The Stooges, ABBA, The Hollies, and reggae legend Jimmy Cliff.

--The Stooges . . . led by IGGY POP . . . were finally inducted after being nominated and rejected seven times before.

--Speaking of being rejected, this year's nominees who DIDN'T make the cut included some big names.

--Those were:  KISS, the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS and rapper LL COOL J.  KISS has been eligible since 1999, but this was the first year they were nominated.

--The non-performers that are being honored this year are record executive David Geffen . . . and seven songwriters:  Barry Mann & Cynthia Weill, Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry, Jesse Stone, Mort Shuman and Otis Blackwell.

--The ceremony goes down on March 15th, at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City.  (--Of course, the rock and roll hall of fame museum is located in Cleveland.)

--It'll air live on Fuse TV.

--In order to be eligible for the rock hall, a musician or group must have released their first single or album at least 25 years ago.  (--So this year's nominees had to release their first single or album no later than 1984.)

--Technically, each band is scheduled to perform at the ceremony, but don't expect to see ABBA there . . . they've been rejecting lucrative offers to reunite for decades.  In 2000, they reportedly turned down a $1 BILLION offer.

--But ABBA's BENNY ANDERSSON says there's a 1% chance of it happening . . . quote, "The people who are really fond of ABBA for what we did, I think we are doing them a favor by not going out.  It's 99 against 1 [odds], though."

--He adds, quote, "I didn't think this would happen, because we were a pop band, not a rock band.  Being a foreigner from the North Pole, this feels really good."

--The Stooges, however, were already planning a 2010 tour, so they should be onstage.

--Here's what Iggy Pop had to say about the Stooges finally getting in to the rock hall:  Quote, "We've been rejected seven times, and we would have set a record, I think, if it happened again.  It started to feel like Charlie Brown and the football.

--"I had about two hours of a strong emotional reaction after hearing the news.  It felt like vindication.  Then I kind of scratched my head and thought, 'Am I still cool?  Or is that over now?'"

--Another thing to follow is whether or not PETER GABRIEL will reunite with Genesis onstage.  They haven't played together since a one-off show in 1982.

--Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks says, quote, "I don't think he'd be itching to play early 1970s Genesis music at the moment.  Peter is a bit elusive . . .

--". . . but I'll probably talk to him soon and see if he has any concept of what he wants to do.  I don't feel a great need to play.  I'm happy just to drink."  (???)

--The rock hall will be making further announcements on the presenters and performers that will be at the ceremony early next year.

BRIAN SETZER IS OK AFTER COLLAPSING AT A CONCERT: 

BRIAN SETZER fell ill two songs into a BRIAN SETZER ORCHESTRA gig in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Monday night.  According to TMZ, he became, quote, "shaky" before walking off-stage and collapsing.

--He was hospitalized briefly, but he's OK . . . and as far as we know, he went ahead with a show in Phoenix last night.

--A statement on his official website reads:  Quote, "Brian was briefly hospitalized in Albuquerque, NM [Monday] night after a combination of dehydration, high altitude, and vertigo made him unable to continue his performance.

--"Brian has completely recovered and will perform [Tuesday night]."

LIL WAYNE WILL BEGIN HIS PRISON SENTENCE IN FEBRUARY: 

LIL WAYNE will begin his one-year prison sentence in February.  In October, he pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree.  That's a felony.

(--Since you probably get your Lil Wayne arrests confused, this is the one where New York cops boarded his tour bus because they smelled marijuana . . . and later found a loaded handgun.)

--Wayne was in a New York courtroom yesterday, where the judge set February 9th as the day that he'll be sentenced on felony gun charges.  His lawyer said he'll report to prison immediately after he's sentenced.

--There's no word yet on where he'll be doing his time.

--The charge carries a one-year sentence . . . and he'll probably have to serve at least eight months of that.  If the case had gone to trial, and he was convicted, he'd be facing between three-and-a-half and seven years in the clink.

--Unfortunately for Wayne, this is not the end of his legal issues. 

--He's also got trouble in Arizona from a bust last year.  Once again, it began when authorities searched his tour bus.  That time, they found 105 grams of marijuana, 29 grams of cocaine, 41 grams of ecstasy and a handgun.  The case is still pending.

A NEW LIL WAYNE TRACK FEATURING EMINEM HAS LEAKED ONLINE: 

Yet another LIL WAYNE track off his upcoming "rock" album, "Rebirth", has been leaked online.  This one's called "Drop the World" . . . and it features EMINEM.

(--This track is pretty sick . . . so if you like Wayne or Eminem, you need to hear it. But know that it's uncensored and LOADED with profanity.)

http://nahright.com/news/2009/12/15/lil-wayne-feat-eminem-drop-the-world/

--"Rebirth" was supposed to come out Tuesday, but it was pushed back again.  The current release date is February 1st . . . or eight days before Wayne goes to prison.

--By the way, some people already have a copy of "Rebirth", thanks to a mix-up at Amazon.com.  Amazon mistakenly sent around 500 copies of the album to people who had pre-ordered it.

--About one million copies of "Rebirth" had been made . . . and a few hundred thousand had already been sent to retailers when the label announced that they were pushing back the street date.

--The discs were recalled, but apparently Amazon lost track of about 500 of them.

IS T.I. PREPARING TO MOVE TO A HALFWAY HOUSE??? 

The "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" is reporting that T.I. may be transferred from prison to a halfway house "shortly after the first of the year."

--A prison spokesman said it wasn't unusual for an inmate to spend the latter part of their sentence at a halfway house as long as there is no danger to the community.

--T.I. began his one-year prison sentence last May.  He's still expected to serve 85% of his time, meaning that he'll be eligible for freedom on March 23rd.

posted by Kim Zandy on 12/16/2009 5:34:08 AM