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Friday, September 19th, 2003
Saturday Night Live slot machines? Bally's Casino has introduced one-armed bandits based on such classic SNL characters as "the Church Lady," "the Coneheads," "Hanz and Franz," and "the Blues Brothers." Play them long enough and you too can sing the blues! The 29th season of Saturday Night Live kicks off October 4th. Jack Black hosts. John Mayer is the musical guest. Pink was originally going to join Madonna for her MTV Video Music Awards performance, but rehearsals conflicted with her only vacation of the year. Would she have smooched Madonna? Pink says, "Yes," adding that she was surprised it created such headlines. The greatest commercial we'll never see: Britney Spears, Beyonce Knowles and Pink head to Rome next week to film a spot for Pepsi. The ad is for Pepsi's international campaign, so it won't be airing in the U.S. His last album (2002's Born to Reign) was a flop. He currently has no record contact. Nevertheless, Will Smith is recording a new CD. One man, facing incredible odds and a world of doubters--sounds like a plot to an action movie. He should do fine! Alica Keys has named her next album The Diary of Alicia Keys. It's expected in December. Prince has announced a benefit concert in Hong Kong to help the city overcome the economic effects of the SARS epidemic. The Rolling Stones are expected to join his purple funkiness. Insiders now say that when the Bruce Springsteen tour wraps up, it won't just be the biggest-grossing of the year. It could be the most successful of all-time, out-earning the $121 million the Rolling Stones made on the road in 1994. Future instrumental jazz fan: a 19-year-old dude in Oregon told police he crashed his car after a bee flew into his mouth while he was singing along to Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body." The 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards are Sunday night. HBO's Six Feet Under leads the pack with 16 nominations. Fox's telecast will be hosted by 12 different performers. Clay Aiken performs "This Is The Night" at tomorrow's Miss America Pageant. Bachelorette couple Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter will also be part of the broadcast. 80s icons the Bangles perform tonight on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In theaters today: Cold Creek Manor; The Fighting Temptations; Anything Else; Underworld; Secondhand Lions. --Greg Valentine
Was Creed singer Scott Stapp intoxicated at that concert in Chicago last December? We're not gonna find out. A judge has dismissed the lawsuit brought against the band by disappointed fans who say the band's front man was wasted and gave a sub-par performance. Word is Ben Afflict didn't fly to Miami to see Jennifer Lopez. He actually jetted off with his brother and dogs to the estate he recently bought in Savannah, Georgia. If the idea of the break up was to get away from all the media scrutiny--I don't think it's working yet! John Mayer's new CD, Heavier Things, debuts at the top of the Billboard album chart, selling 315,000 copies last week. The tradition of a death-related sales spike continues with purchases of Johnny Cash's most recent album, American IV: The Man Comes Around, jumping 203% since the country legend's passing last week. ABC's one-hour tribute to the late John Ritter was Tuesday night's highest-rated show with 14 million viewers. Cher's farewell tour comes to an end Halloween night in Toronto, with a special disco-themed show featuring guests Thelma Houston, Sister Sledge, the Village People. When the tour ends, Cher will have made 200 stops, entertained two million fans, and given the Village People a reason to call the day "Halloween," instead of "Thursday." The media conglomerate AOL Time Warner could drop "AOL" from its corporate moniker as early as today. Company execs want to distance the rest of their properties from AOL's mounting problems. Hey, maybe AOL should try dropping the name AOL… Get This Party Rockin': Pink's new album hits stores November 11th, and is called Try This. Several of the songs are co-written by Tim Armstrong of the punk band Rancid. Britney Spears will hit the road for a big North American arena tour in 2004. Fred Durst makes out with Halle Barry in an upcoming Limp Bizkit video. How did the band's front man get such a lucky opportunity? He directed the clip, naturally! Usher and Chili are "a thing" again. The two broke up a few months ago because Usher didn't want to get serious with the TLC singer. But it's like the song goes, "I want my baby back, baby back, baby back…Chili's!" Survivor: Pearl Island debuts tonight on CBS. This time, the contestants get a twist right away, and are stranded with only the clothes on their backs. Meet the 16 competitors. --Greg Valentine
ABC says 8 Simple Rules... will continue without star John Ritter. The network will begin airing Tuesday three new episodes that were completed before Ritter's unexpected death last week. The show will pickup after that with an episode in which the character played by Ritter has died suddenly, and continue from there with the existing cast. Extra reports Ben Affleck hopped on a private jet yesterday and flew to Miami to be with Jennifer Lopez. Meanwhile, US Weekly is telling it's readers Ben's gambling, Jen's use of a psychic, and intervention from Ben's mom all contributed to the couple's rumored breakup. Madonna's telling the press she wants to have another baby. She's turned into quite the mother figure. Reading to Lourdes. Playing with Rocco. Teaching bisexuality to Britney. Actually, Madonna told Oprah Winfrey yesterday that the whole kiss thing was Britney's idea. Madonna envisioned a friendly peck, but Britney came at her aggressively and with an open-mouth, and, frankly I'm getting too hot and bothered to finish this sen… Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent, Missy Elliot and Beyonce Knowles all received multiple nominations yesterday for the upcoming American Music Awards. Click here for a complete list of nominees. Britney Spears, Metallica, Ashanti, Hilary Duff and Alan Jackson are the first announced of the 18 acts that'll perform on the AMAs this year. This show's hosted by ABC's Jimmy Kimmel and airs (not-so-coincidently) on ABC. The release date for the new Britney Spears album keeps moving around like an out-of-work DJ. November 18th is the new target date for Get in the Zone. The competition was mostly reruns, but the debut episode of NBC's new show Whoopi got off to a great start, ranking as last week's fourth most-watched show. When the books close on 2003, concert insiders say the year's top tour will belong to Bruce Springsteen, earning an estimated $120 million. A 70-year-old grandma is suing Eminem, saying the rapper used a sample from a song written by her late husband without paying for its use. Even for a 70-year-old grandma, it's all about getting paid! Beyonce Knowles appears on the Tonight Show tonight as both a musical guest and a "sit next to Jay and talk about your new movie" guest. The Fighting Temptations opens Friday. --Greg Valentine
What happened? Someone close to Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck is telling the press the couple had a series of disagreements leading up to what was supposed to be their wedding date. “In the end, Ben simply got cold feet,” the insider says, adding that Ben’s mom talked him out of marriage.John Ritter was laid to rest yesterday in a private funeral attended by family and close friends. Tonight, ABC’s Diane Sawyer hosts a one-hour tribute to the funnyman, whose most popular shows aired on the network. ABC News snags the first TV news interview with former POW Jessica Lynch. Diane Sawyer’s conversation with Lynch airs November 11th, Veteran’s Day. Britney Spears and Madonna are hooking up again. Madonna appears on “Me Against the Music,” the first single from Britney’s upcoming album. That’s the new song she recently debuted at the NFL Kickoff Live concert. Britney’s new CD has been christened Get in the Zone. Britney Spears and her backup dancers suddenly appeared on stage at a Las Vegas hotel nightclub late Saturday night and gave an impromptu performance of three new songs. The crowd of 1,800, which included celebrities Dr. J and Michael Keaton, was totally caught by surprise. Not as surprised as I am to be typing the names “Dr. J” and “Michael Keaton” today. Paying tribute: Bruce Springsteen performed an acoustic version of the late Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line” at his concerts in Washington DC, and Chapel, North Carolina over the weekend. Did 50 Cent really spend all that time in jail, and get shot nine times? Hip-hop magazine The Source says no, and has labeled the popular rapper “a fake.” Their investigation has revealed a much tamer past, saying 50 Cent’s story was concocted to help sell CDs. The Jon-Benet murder remains unsolved—but thank God “investigators” have solved to case of 50 Cent! Beyonce Knowles says Destiny’s Child will return to the studio in January. The members of the group have been working on individual projects. Their next album will be the first since 2001’s Survivor. New CD in stores today: DMX, Grand Champ. Madonna’s on Oprah today. Oprah, have your breath mints handy! An observation: I watched the debut of the Sharon Osbourne Show yesterday. Within the first two minutes, I saw the opportunity for a new “college drinking game.” Every time Sharon says, “Okay,” do a shot of Jäger. Four minutes later, I was passed out! --Greg Valentine
Nick At Nite pays tribute to funnyman John Ritter with a Three’s Company
marathon tonight at 9 p.m. ABC’s Diana Sawyer hosts a one-hour special
devoted to Ritter tomorrow night. Ritter died unexpectedly on Friday
of a heart ailment.
Meanwhile, ABC is considering how to continue John Ritter’s
8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Sources say
canceling the show or replacing Ritter are both out of the
question. One idea has the show centered on co-star Katey Sagal.
Family and friends attended a private funeral service for
singer Johnny Cash today in Hendersonville, Tennessee.
Artists set to perform during the service included
Sheryl Crow, Kris Kristofferson and Emmylou Harris.
People magazine reports that Jennifer Lopez and
Ben Affleck have broken up, at least temporarily,
after canceling their wedding plans last week.
J-Lo was spotted spending the weekend at her Miami home.
Affleck was spotted at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
America was spotted not giving a damn one way or the other.
Once Upon a Time in Mexico earned $24 million
over the weekend to top the box office.
Apple Records is suing Apple computers over the use of
their mutual name for Apple’s iTunes. God, the
actual originator of the name, has not announced his legal plans.
George Harrison, Prince, John Mellencamp,
and Jackson Browne are among the nominees
on the 2004 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot.
Terry Jacks, the singer of 1973’s
“Seasons In The Sun,” was overlooked
by the nomination committee (again).
Rapper Snoop Dogg is coaching football for
his young son's Rowland Heights Raiders in
the Orange County Junior All America Football
League. When I played little league, we went
out for pizza after the game. I’m afraid to
ask where Snoop’s taking the kids!
Madonna’s children’s’ book The English Roses
hits stores today. It’s coming out simultaneously
in 100 countries and in 30 languages, hyped by
Madonna’s people to be the biggest launch of a
kid’s book ever. (I don’t know…ever hear of a
little thing called Harry Potter?)
Michael Jackson will do like the Beatles and
Elvis Presley and release an album that’s a
collection of his number one hits. It’s coming
out just in time for the holiday shopping season
(meaning, you’ll be helping out the cash-strapped
Jackson with his holiday shopping if you buy the CD).
Sharon, the daytime talk-show hosted by
Sharon Osbourne, debuts today with guests
Justin Timberlake and Wynonna Judd.
For those who enjoy watching the stars
squirm: ABC’s Primetime features Celine Dion
tonight, and Cynthia McFadden grills the
singer on the rumors that she’s anorexic,
the short haircut many of her fans dislike,
and talk that her husband has a gambling problem.
--Greg Valentine
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