Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Cele|bitchy

Cele|bitchy


Jackpot winner won’t share with coworkers who paid for the tickets: fibbing, cruel?

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 09:17 AM PDT


Did you guys buy Mega Millions tickets? Some of my friends here in Virginia did, but I heard on the radio that you were 50 times more likely to get hit by lightning so I didn’t bother. Occasionally I play the lottery, and about 15 years ago I hit 5/6 two digit numbers and won about $2,400 in NY State. I know the odds are independent each time, but I assume I won’t get that lucky again. Plus you always hear those stories about people winning the lottery and their lives getting messed up, but who am I kidding? It’s not like I haven’t bought tickets and fantasized about it.

There were three winning tickets issued for the $640 million Mega Millions jackpot, the largest jackpot in US history. Lottery spokespeople confirmed that winning tickets were sold in Maryland, Illinois and Kansas. None of the winners have officially stepped forward, either anonymously or otherwise (it depends on the state whether you can collect winnings anonymously) to claim their earnings. Miranda Wilson, a McDonalds worker in Baltimore and a single mother of seven, claims she hit the jackpot. Wilson’s coworkers pooled their money and asked her to buy tickets for them, but she refuses to share. Wilson claims that she bought the winning ticket separate from the tickets she purchased with her coworkers’ money. She even went so far as to claim she found a dollar on the floor with which she bought the winning ticket. Only she sent a coworker into the 7-Eleven to buy it for her. It’s confusing and it’s not adding up for me. Wilson hasn’t show lottery officials her ticket, and she wouldn’t show it to any reporters who interviewed her either. Here’s more, thanks to Radar:

In a story hotter than the franchise’s coffee, the mystery continues over a Maryland McDonald’s worker who claims she won a third of Friday’s Mega Millions grand prize — $218 million in installments, or a lump sum of $105 million — as she refused to show the ticket to a reporter Monday.

As we previously reported, Mirlande Wilson infuriated 15 of her McDonald’s co-workers, who claimed she’s trying to hoard the super-size serving of cash with tickets they all pitched in for. Wilson says she purchased the winning ticket in a separate batch, apart from her colleagues at the Golden Arches.

“I’m so shocked, I don’t know what’s going on,” Wilson, a single mother-of-seven, told a reporter from NBC’s Washington D.C. affiliate Monday from her Baltimore home, when asked about her huge windfall.

The reporter asked Wilson, “Where is the winning ticket? Is it here?” to which she responded, “I cannot show you.”

Wilson said McDonald’s co-workers crying foul “have the copies” of the tickets purchased as a group, which would back up her story over the winners being bought in a separate batch.

Authorities with the state’s lottery commission have confirmed the winner was bought at a 7-Eleven store in Milford Mill, Maryland, but said no one has come forward to cash it in yet, meaning the scuttlebutt over Wilson is meaningless until she steps forward to redeem her riches.

[From Radar]

A Fox News story states that the McDonalds where Wilsonworked is in Westport, a section of Baltimore, MD. I found the location of the 7-Eleven in Millford Mill where the winning ticket was sold, and Google Maps has it as a full twenty minutes away from the Westport area. So it’s possible that that the ticket was purchased all the way over there if the woman had to drive to work or was in the area, but it’s not like it’s right nearby.

This lady’s story is sketchy to me and I doubt she actually won the lottery or she would have shown the ticket to a reporter. (Video of two interviews with her are below.) Plus her affect seems off to me, like she’s too haughty and cold about the whole thing. Whether she’s lying or telling the truth, it’s incredibly cruel to the people she works with. If she’s telling the truth about hitting the jackpot (not about buying the ticket “separately,” that’s another issue), she’s facing a bunch of well deserved lawsuits. If she’s lying, I hope she didn’t need the money from working at McDonalds, because she’s probably going to get fired.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tom Cruise sings “Wanted Dead or Alive” in new ‘Rock of Ages’ trailer: dreadful?

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 09:08 AM PDT

It seems like forever since Tom Cruise was announced to play Stacee Jaxx in the movie adaptation of Broadway’s Rock of Ages, and at this point, I’m just ready to get this painful mess over with when the movie releases on June 15. Of course, we’ve already had to endure Tom rocking out on a balcony to universal cringes because he (presumably) felt the world deserved a preview of the fruits of his 10 hour per day song and dance regime. This is not to say that witnessing Tom as a rock star hasn’t been somewhat enjoyable, what with the rock-star lifts and the shirtless writhing from the movie’s first trailer. I’ll admit that the first one really was a campy and fun trailer to behold in a “so bad it’s kind of good” sort of way, but the second theatrical trailer has been released, and it’s just a mess. Check it out, and we’ll discuss:

This trailer really seems like no one bothered to seriously edit it beyond tossing a bunch of flashing lights and scenes together. Why did anyone feel that including anger-bear Alec Baldwin saying “omigod, I just threw up … in my pants” was a necessity? Beyond that, Julianne Hough is a cutie (on paper, this movie seems like the ideal role to showcase her talents), but try as I might, I just can’t warm up to Diego Bonita. Russell Brand’s hair looks even more ridiculous than usual, and Paul Giamatti and Catherine Zeta-Jones are clearly there for the paychecks. As for Tom belting out Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive” … I’m feeling very underwhelmed. Tom should’ve added more cheese, but it seems like he’s taking the role quite seriously. No surprises there, right?

Photos courtesy of AllMoviePhoto and New Line Cinema

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Cate Blanchett spends the day sightseeing in Paris with her rowdy, adorable boys

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 08:45 AM PDT

Cate Blanchett

These photos are a rarity. Cate Blanchett is in Paris with her husband and her three boys, and the paparazzi got lots of photos of the family while they were sightseeing yesterday. The photos are AMAZING! You know how I feel about Cate and how I find her to be an extremely inspirational woman, right? Part of my love for her is that she's not constantly talking about motherhood for some kind of profit, angle or relatability. She's an Oscar-winning movie star, she runs a theater, AND she's the loving mother of three boys – she doesn't bash us over the head with tales of motherhood and stuff.

I had to actually look up the boys' names and ages because I didn't know them off-hand. The names? Roman Robert Upton, Ignatius Martin Upton, and Dashiell John Upton. Don't ask me which is which. If you ask me, they all look like Cate. They seem to have all gotten her coloring and I can see a definite resemblance. The littlest one – Ignatius (I hope they call him Iggy or Nate) – is not happy to be spending a day in Paris. Iggy is all "FML." Iggy seems to be bored, tired and over it. I love the look on Cate's face as she's soothing him too. She has a great Mom-Face. It's basically the look of, "You think I haven't seen a tantrum before? I have. Now behave."

I also love the way the boys pose for their mom's camera. This family is adorable. Those boys must be super-rowdy – I wonder if Cate ever feels outnumbered?

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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Jennifer Lawrence on “fat” criticism: “they are criticizing me for looking normal”

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 08:45 AM PDT

Well The Hunger Games shows no signs of slowing down at the box-office, where it passed the $253 million mark during its second weekend. Naturally, such a cultural zeitgeist can be expected to receive a certain amount of backlash, including some very rude audience members who took to Twitter and expressed their displeasure that the Rue, Thresh, and Cinna characters were portrayed by black actors. That sort of thing makes one imagine some serious reading comprehension issues.

Another equally troubling source of backlash has centered around Jennifer Lawrence’s weight, who delivered in her role but who some think is simply too “fat” to play Katniss. I think the descriptor that’s troubled me the most on this issue is “beefy,” which is something that I’ve heard not only within our comment section but on Twitter as well. First off, JLaw has a much more realistic body than most Hollywood actresses, but she’s anything but fat. Secondly, Katniss is a hunter, so her family isn’t nearly as emaciated as the other District 12 residents. She still has a very slight build in comparison to many of the other tributes in the arena, and I think this is reflected quite well in this movie still that shows Katniss’ relatively tiny waist in comparison to the Peacekeepers:

However, Hollywood prefers truly tiny women (remember, someone tried to make Zoe Saldana happen as an action star in 2011′s Columbiana), so JLaw isn’t getting off without a great deal of unfair criticism for not being utterly emaciated. Even the Chicago Suntimes, who claims to be on JLaw’s side, has actually titled their article “The ‘fatness’ of Katniss?” For her part, JLaw seems to have a good attitude about this very unnecessary kertuffle over her bod:

The Hunger Games star Jennifer Lawrence has both a great sense of humor — and a very good sense of self.

A source close to the actress told me Sunday that the Oscar nominee had a sarcastic reaction to some of the critics of her mega-hit movie who basically claimed she was too chubby-looking to convincingly play Katniss Everdeen in the blockbuster, based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel.

“Jennifer told me, ‘This is hilarious. First, people say how so many actresses in Hollywood look anorexic, and now they are criticizing me for looking normal,’” the source recalled. The actress reportedly added that overly thin body images “are too often adopted by young girls and women — thanks to what they are constantly being shown as being attractive.”

Another point supposedly made by Lawrence was that nothing was written about her two main co-stars — Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth — who both also play residents of the film’s fictional District 12, where people are constantly facing starving conditions.

While most critics raved about the film and Lawrence’s performance, it was comments from the Hollywood Reporter’s Todd McCarthy (about the actress’ “lingering baby fat”), Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir (“well-fed” body) and Hollywood Elsewhere’s Jeffrey Wells (calling Lawrence a “big-boned lady”) that have unleashed a torrent of furious responses from the legions of loyal Hunger Games fans.

[From Chicago Suntimes]

Quite possibly the most outrageous aspect of JLaw being called too fat for the Katniss role is that these aren’t just idiots on Twitter. In fact, these are seasoned and fairly well-respected critics, and of course the vast majority of them are male. Naturally, not much of a fuss is made about the physiques of Katniss’ fellow hunter, Gale (Liam Hemsworth), and the very stocky Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), whose family never wants for (stale) bread and who definitely hasn’t gone hungry a day in his life. No wonder so many women have body image problems. Good on JLaw for focusing on the humor in this situation, and hopefully, her message will be received by an entire generation of impressionable young female fans.

Photos courtesy of AllMoviePhoto

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Khloe Kardashian covers Cosmo, talks about ovulation and her sex life

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 07:45 AM PDT

Khloe Kardashian

Khloe Kardashian covers the May issue of Cosmopolitan. Please don't make any "jokes" about how she's a Wookie or Big Foot or something. I hate when people do that to Khloe just because she's a tall girl with an athletic body. If you want to make fun of the way she styles herself, go ahead. That's something she CHOOSES. And if you want to make fun of the funky Photoshop work on this cover, go ahead. That was the magazine's choice. All I know is that I usually think Khloe is a lot prettier than people give her credit for, and this magazine cover is doing her no favors. Here are some highlights from the interview:

On her mom, Kris Jenner, calling her out for gaining a few pounds: "Listen, my mom believes in us more than we believe in ourselves. But she is also our manager and trying to protect our brand. She'll say, 'Oh, you're a little too fat right now.' If she were just my manager, I'd have fired her right then. You can't talk to me like that."

On whether she cooks or does stripteases as a kind gesture for hubby Lamar Odom: “Both… together! I cook for him naked.”

On being hassled for not having kids yet: “People make me feel like I have a problem because I haven’t had a kid yet. We were thinking we had to know when I was ovulating. But seriously? That took the fun out of everything.”

They want kids: "Lamar and I definitely want kids, and when it happens for us, it will happen," she said.

[Via Hollywood Life]

It's worth noting that Khloe denied last week's reports about her marriage dramz with Lamar Odom. Star Magazine claimed that Khloe and Lamar's marriage was suffering because of their years of fertility issues – they've been trying to get pregnant for several years. At this point, it feels like Khloe is just getting beaten up in the press over everything – her weight, her fertility, her marriage, all of it. Poor Khloe. I don't care if you yell at me for saying something nice about a Kardashian, I don't think Khloe deserves all of this crap. She's dealing with all of it with more grace than I could manage.

Khloe Kardashian

Oh, I keep meaning to use this in a post – have you seen the print ad for the Kardashian Lingerie line? It's ridiculous.

Khloe Kardashian

Photos courtesy of WENN.
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Lara Flynn Boyle’s “face looks like it’s melting,” says cosmetic surgeon

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 07:03 AM PDT


The last time we covered Lara Flynn Boyle was in October, 2010, when Deadline reported that E! had picked up a reality show pilot with her. That was the last we heard of it, and Deadline is a reliable source so it’s safe to assume that the deal fell through. At that time they claimed that Lara “splits her time between her life in Texas and her marriage to real estate investor Donald Ray Thomas II and her Hollywood-centric lifestyle in Bel Air.”

In case you don’t remember Lara, she’s now 42 and starred on Twin Peaks and “The Practice.” She also dated Jack Nicholson for a while, and famously wore a tutu to the Golden Globes in 2003. She’s had some television roles recently, but hasn’t been around much. She’s been looking puffy for some time, for lack of a better word. The first time people noticed was around 2008, and a lot of us thought she might be on steroid medication like Prednisone for an unknown medical condition. She’s definitely had her lips plumped, but it looks like she also has a kind of “moon face” that could be caused by steroid use.

Well Lara was photographed this week, and a lot of outlets are being less than kind about how she looks. I mean I get it, we point out obvious surgery too, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on with Lara. Who knows, though. Here’s a report from a plastic surgeon, quoted by Radar, who claims her face is “melting” after years of filler abuse:

After many years of rumors that she’s gotten too much plastic surgery, Lara Flynn Boyle appears to have finally laid off the procedures, but with scary results.

The 42-year-old actress, who found fame in the 1990s in the cult classic Twin Peaks, barely resembles the beautiful brunette who once stole the heart of confirmed bachelor Jack Nicholson.

“Lara Flynn Boyle’s face looks like it’s melting,” celebrity plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn, who has not treated the star, told RadarOnline.com in an exclusive interview.

After many years of plumping, “Now her face looks like it’s deflated, with resultant loose skin,” revealed Dr. Youn.

“I suspect that she’s either undergone corrective surgery to reverse some of the work that was previously performed, or has just plain allowed the plumping fillers to dissipate, leaving her with sagging cheeks.”

[From Radar Online]

This could be the case if Lara looked more plumped and filled a few years ago, but she definitely looked like she was on some kind of medication back then. It’s hard to tell, and maybe she had bad work done like Tara Reid except she had the misfortune of having it affect her face. Either way, she’s definitely had lip injections to get those cupid lips. I’ve never seen good lip injections, but maybe I just don’t notice the subtly plumped lips, if they even exist. Poor Lara.

Lara on 12/9/10

In 2004:

In 2002:

photo credit: WENN.com and Fame/Flynet

J.Lo & Casper Smart pose with blindfolds for her new single: cheesy & unsexy?

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 05:35 AM PDT

Jennifer Lopez

These are some photos that Jennifer Lopez just released yesterday to promote her latest single, "Dance Again". Ugh. That's Jennifer's facially-challenged boyfriend in the photos with her. Can I just say? The blindfold is a minor improvement for his face. I'm not being mean or anything. I'm just saying, part of "facial challenge" is the area from his cheekbones to his forehead, and the blindfold helps significantly. He should wear it more often. Anyway, the music video won't be released until Thursday, during American Idol, because Jennifer is now the Queen of Cross-Promotion. Guess who's in the music video? Casper Smart. Here's the song:

I find Pitbull to be a very overrated artist, but… whatever. He and J.Lo have collaborated several times now, so I guess we'll just have to live with it. As for the song… meh. I'm not into it.

Getting back to the photos Jennifer released, and what it means for her relationship with Casper… let's face it. She's going to marry him. I had a brief, joyous moment where I thought, "Maybe she's kind of ashamed of her boy-toy, maybe she's learned that she doesn't have to marry the first loser she has sex with." But no. She's going to marry him. A source "close to the couple" claims “There is a lot of love between [them]… He treats her like a queen.” Yes, he treats her like a queen… on her dime. Radar reiterates that Jennifer is paying Casper $10,000 a week because, “She hated having to whip out her credit card every time they go to dinner. And it bummed her out that Casper had to borrow money from her to buy Christmas presents, including hers." He's getting paid $10,000 a week to wear blindfolds and hang out with Jennifer's air-brushed abs.

Jennifer Lopez Casper Smart

Jennifer Lopez Casper Smart

Photos courtesy of Jennifer Lopez's website.
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Vanity Fair’s “The Ladies of Television” issue features mostly young, pretty women

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 05:17 AM PDT

Vanity Fair

I heard rumors about this cover back in February, and now we're finally seeing it – Vanity Fair's cover story on "The Women of Television". Featuring a cover with Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Sofia Vergara (Modern Family), Claire Danes (Homeland) and Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary Crawford on Downton Abbey). I'm happy to say that I watch all of the TV shows represented on this cover. Unfortunately, for the inside pictorial, the Vanity Fair editors seemed to only prioritize boobs, not quality talent. Here's another photo, featuring Emily Deschanel (Bones), Grace Park (Hawaii 5-0), Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife), Emmy Rossum (Shameless), Emily Van Camp (Revenge), Kerry Washington (Scandal), and Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls). I'm telling you… all young, all booby.

Vanity Fair

Not, of course it's nice to see diversity in at least ONE photo from Vanity Fair – even though they only managed three white women and one Latina woman for the cover. But inside, there's an Indian woman, an African-American woman and a Korean-American woman. So… that's nice. But it's still incredibly ageist (I think Margulies is the oldest woman featured), and slightly out of touch. One of the biggest hits of the year is The New Girl – so where's Zooey Deschanel? Where are any of the ladies from Mad Men? Or Game of Thrones? Or Mireille Enos from The Killing? Edie Falco? Laura Dern? Laura Linney? Glenn Close from Damages? Or Jennifer Carpenter from Dexter? Or Kyra Sedgwick from The Closer, arguably one of the best female characters on television? I could go on and on about the ladies that were left out.

Still… I guess I should be happy that Vanity Fair is doing such a gyno-centric television issue, right? And I should be happy that there are so many good parts for women in television these days. But the cause is not helped by just shoving random, young, scantily-clad ladies into a room, you know?

Vanity Fair

Vanity Fair

Photos courtesy of Vanity Fair.
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Beyonce goes furniture shopping with Blue Ivy, wears hideous outfit

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 04:20 AM PDT

Beyonce

Here are some new photos of Beyonce and baby Blue Ivy in New York City yesterday. According to Fame/Flynet, Bey took Blue furniture shopping at DCC. You can't see anything of Blue here – no hair, no feet, nothing. Was it really cold enough in NYC yesterday for Bey and Blue to be bundled up like this? It was low to mid-70s most of the day in Virginia – let me look it up. The Weather Channel says it was high 50s and low 60s. Sure, that's cold enough for a light coat for Bey and a blanket for Blue. But it still seems like Beyonce is dressed for a winter day. As for the "fashion" of Beyonce's layers. The menswear jacket is awful. The pants are HIDEOUS. The black scarf is nice. And I'm still enjoying how Bey is wearing flats and low heels nowadays. The Mail breaks down the disastrous look:

Beyonce stepped out in New York today and offered a timely reminder that fashion is not always our friend. The 30-year-old is one of the sexiest women in the world – she has incendiary body, an incredible smile, impossibly luxuriant hair and that most elusive quality, a sparkly personality.

So if she doesn’t look good in three of this season’s key trends, there is no hope for any of us. Purveyor of the staggering heel and the tiny bottom-skimming sequinned mini, it’s almost a travesty to see Beyonce swamped in boyfriend style printed chinos. Both this style and crazy prints are on point this season, and there can’t be many patterns wackier than this black and white cartoon characters in lingerie affair. They’re difficult trousers to wear, but with a pair of the aforementioned heels, might’ve worked.

The boyfriend blazer, too, would look fine, sharp even, over a pretty fitted dress. But the superstar has paired the masculine items with loafers, again, super-fashionable for women to wear this season, but still a mannish style. The whole look fails, but Beyonce is of course, slightly more concerned with looking after her four-month-old baby, Blue Ivy. And the loafers do offered a smart alternative to the flash heel, without resorting to the ubiquitous ballet pump.

Mother and daughter were out and about to check out yet more furniture stores. The Superstar couple are said to have splashed out on items – to outfit THREE nurseries in their various homes – including a solid gold rocking horse and a diamante-encrusted high chair among a list of extravagant goods for their baby. With an alleged £240,000 alone dropped on the special bedrooms for the baby.

A source told Star magazine: ‘Together they've bought a Swarovski-studded high chair by Carla Monchen for £10,000, and a Fantasy 'posh tots' coach carriage crib for £30,000. Jay-Z bought Beyonce a solid gold handmade Ginza Tanaka rocking horse for £400,000. They've even splashed out on a £20,000 magical windmill playhouse for the garden and a mini Bugatti car, too.’

[From The Mail]

Something really funky has been going on with Beyonce's post-baby style. It's like she doesn't know who or what to "homage" now. Some days she's trying to find her way back to skin-tight and sexy, some days she's "homage-ing" Zoe Kravitz, and with this look, she just seems… I don't know. It's funky. And before you yell at me for judging a new mother's clothes – please. Beyonce wants to be photographed with Blue. That's what these little outings are for. Beyonce is color-coordinating everything, and some of these "candid" photos are so posed. What I can't understand is why Bey can't decide on one "look" for her new motherhood role.

As for the furniture shopping… I find it really weird. Beyonce and Jay-Z were said to have spared no expense outfitting the multiple nurseries and having everything prepared for when Blue came. But now Bey is out furniture shopping, and last week, paparazzi got photos of a little white crib (bassinet?) being delivered (photo below). Could it be that Beyonce still needs to buy even more stuff for Blue?

Beyonce

Beyonce

Beyonce

Beyonce

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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Mark Wahlberg goes shirtless in Miami: super-sexy or gross and ‘roidy?

Posted: 03 Apr 2012 04:14 AM PDT

Mark Wahlberg

These are photos of Mark Wahlberg in Miami, Florida over the past few days. He's shooting a new film there called Pain and Gain. In which he seems to have bulked up for the role? Or is this how he always looks? I could have sworn that his muscles weren't quite so BULGY just a few months ago. But then again, I haven't seen shirtless photos of him in a while. Here's a question for all of the ladies (and some of our gentlemen readers): when a dude gets this bulgy, is it a turn-on, a turn-off, or do you just not care either way? Like, I appreciate when a man is well-built, when he's muscular and fit. I appreciate when a man's muscles fit his frame too – someone like, say, Michael Fassbender or Brad Pitt or Ryan Gosling is NOT supposed to be all bulgy with giant arms – that's not their frame. But someone like Jason Momoa? That man bulges all over the place, and it's just fine with me. My point? I think Mark Wahlberg looks kind of gross and 'roidy. His upper-body is too over-developed for my taste. He looks better when he's leaner all over.

Also, the new red-band trailer for Mark's new film has come out. The film is called Ted. It was written and directed by Seth MacFarlane, and Mark costars with Mila Kunis and… a talking stuffed bear…? This video is NSFW because of language.

Yes, it looks like a giant pile of "WTF?" I cringed during "The Thunder Song". But I laughed at Mark's commitment to the "white trash name" bit. Of course, I laughed because I didn't hear my name in there. Thank God.

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg

Mark Wahlberg

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
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