It's not every day that we run into the president of the United States. Not that one, mind you, but another really smart, heroic yet human commander-in-chief. We speak, of course, of Bill Pullman. Who didn't love him in "Independence Day"?
Truth be told, we're kind of partial to the flip side of his range, i.e. the sociopathic con man in "The Last Seduction."
We spotted the veteran actor at Peet's in Larchmont this morning -- we should hang out in this 'hood between meetings more often. Deep in discussion with a script-clutching woman (a producer?), unconcerned about who might be spying on him (that would be us), Pullman looked relaxed and robust.
See, they're just like us! Except for the relaxed and robust part.
We say that because a recently released study has been much on our minds the past few days. Brother blogger James Hibberd uncovers research that says the more TV we watch the more unhappy we are. At the same time, the more miserable we are the more TV we consume. So, you see, it's both a chicken and egg situation.
And they're looking at 34 years of collected data here, showing that TV's a penultimate electronic drug.
Among the findings:
"Television viewing is a pleasurable enough activity with no lasting benefit, and it pushes aside time spent in other activities -- ones that might be less immediately pleasurable, but that would provide long-term benefits in one’s condition. In other words, TV does cause people to be less happy."
Nooooooooo!
What if we only watch Emmy winners, the Sundance Channel, big budget HBO made-for-TV miniseries and PBS documentaries? Well, we don't (Note to self: Erase all "Gossip Girl" from DVR).
Take it for what it's worth, and remember all those studies that are later completely debunked. We'll choose to believe that TV is Good (like the old ABC slogan) if only to justify our plans to immediately go find "Zero Effect" somewhere on the dial. That'll make it all better.
They continue to get stiffed by the Emmys, but the women of "The View" have apparently given daytime TV viewers what they want -- verbal slapfights, wildly uninformed rants on current events, a slight evisceration of John McCain and, this morning, Elisabeth Hasselbeck chucking a handmade Gloria Estefan potato ball at some unsuspecting audience members.
Mmmm, potato mush.
In return, fans have flocked to the show, making it the top-rated daytime program for the first time in its 12-year history. The hordes, to the tune of 4.67 million people, showed up the week of the presidential election. Yes, Sherri Shepherd let flow the water works, with 6.17 million people tuning in on Nov. 5.
In case you missed today, some other highlights included Shepherd trying unsuccessfully to interview a soap star after a few mojitos (who knew that Grammy-laden Estefan was such a whiz in the kitchen?) and collective shock and outrage -- outrage! -- at Walters' upcoming ABC interview with The Pregnant Man. He's pregnant again!
No one seemed to be bothered, though, about the on-air plug that stretched over two days for the primetime show tonight.
And in other Baba news, Walters is gearing up for her annual see-me-make-fascinating-folks-break-down special on Dec. 4. So far, there's Emmy collector Tina Fey, multiple Oscar nominees Will Smith and Tom Cruise, potential Oscar nominee Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon"), Miley Cyrus and Rush Limbaugh. There's also Olympic golden boy Michael Phelps, but no one will be able to understand what he's saying, blubbering or not, so his segment will be kind of a wash.
The rest of the 10 are still to be revealed, and if you guess a certain president elect is somewhere in there, if not at the top of the list, we're guessing you're on the money.
"Knight Rider" would kill for those ratings, and so would most network primetime shows, for that matter. The CMA Awards pulled in 15.9 million viewers last night, carving a fat path through the night and taking down all comers.
Though it slipped a little from the prior year, it's one of the healthy awards shows, and those are in short supply. Note to Oscar producers: Think you could find something for Brad Paisley to do?
Kenny Chesney took the top Country Music Association trophy -- entertainer of the year -- making this his fourth win in the category in five years. He's had 29 nominations over the years for seven total wins. Something to crow about? Or just a backhanded compliment? You decide.
Full list of winners here, including George Strait, who knocked Brooks & Dunn off their perch to become the winningest artist in CMA history.
Elsewhere on the dial, cable's still on fire, but Emmy nominated "Top Chef" is braising, sauteing and flambeing. On the opposite end of the spectrum, "Pushing Daisies," which picked up a dozen Emmy nominations and three wins in its first season, is cold to the touch though rigor mortis hasn't set in yet. Go here to join other obsessive fans in the fight to keep the show alive. See you there!
No better time to open a couple comedies than a few days after the end of a protracted and emotionally draining presidential race. So what happened to "Soul Men?"
"Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" (alive with Oscar possibilities) and "Role Models" (not so much) provided the much-needed post-Prop 8 comic relief at the boxoffice, sailing past projections with $63.5 million and $19.3 million, respectively. "Soul Men," the late Emmy nominated comedian Bernie Mac's last film, only scratched out $5.6 million for sixth place.
We did a 180 ourselves, with back-to-back Serious Fare that included John Patrick Shanley's "Doubt," more-indie-than-indie "Wendy and Lucy," and WWII-era "Defiance." Details on those later, and needless to say, before or after we borrow a neighbor kid and hit a "Madagascar" matinee.
In another classic case of giving the people what they want, the upcoming Stallone action flick, with the once and forever Rambo in front of/behind the camera, emerged as a star this weekend of the otherwise lackluster American Film Market.
Those international buyers, they sure love their movies big, loud and monosyllabic. ("The Expendables," with Stallone, Jason Statham and Jet Li as a team of mercenaries, to the rescue!)
As they were pitching their hearts out, the film executives assembled at the yearly sale-a-thon in Santa Monica had some sobering thoughts, a la the crashing global economy and the palpable lack of interest in anything that doesn't star Johnny To.
Nu Image chief Avi Lerner says there are too many movies, not enough investment money and escalating piracy. Consumers are calling the shots. His assessment:
"People don’t just buy a ticket to any movie any more; they choose what movie they go to. That is why the (Hollywood) studios are cutting the number of films they make and are making them bigger. In 2009 we will make less films and at lower prices."
There's your accu-prediction for the day. It's up to you to decide if that's good Monday morning news or not.
If Ellen DeGeneres talked about the now legally disputed passage of Prop 8 this afternoon, we blinked and missed it. She's been a vocal opponent of the gay marriage ban, for obvious reasons, contributed six figures to the No on 8 campaign and starred in a PSA.
Since her own marriage this summer to longtime love Portia de Rossi, she's made the formal coupling part of her on-air schtick (ball and chain jokes, wedding album splayed for all to see, etc.).
Maybe she's still too shocked?
At any rate, her Emmy-winning talk show wasn't without its moment of controversy surrounding The Gays. In this case, it was guest Patrick Dempsey tersely reading a statement that he'd been given by ABC about the unceremonious axing of a lesbian character on "Grey's Anatomy."
Dempsey, a Golden Globe nominee for the ensemble drama, tried to stick to the script, but it seemed clear that he was befuddled and none-too-pleased about the situation in which Brooke Smith's role as a lesbian doctor was hacked. Smith's last episode is tomorrow night.
Show creator Shonda Rhimes has denied that the character was cut because of her gayness or that the Emmy-winning show is being systematically de-gayed.
Maybe we're reading a little too much into it, but a non-poker-faced McDreamy seems to differ.
What, no Election Bot? CNN's promising us holograms tonight so viewers can see voting results, and the cable network's correspondents, in a whole new "Star Trek" meets "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" kind of way.
Wolf Blitzer visual trickery! Creepy!
We'd rather see lovable trash compactor Wall-E run down the red state/blue state divide.
Can't help but be distracted today by, you know, the Most Important Election in our Lifetimes. We'll try to stay on point, using our patented Six Degrees of Awards Coverage where everything, including our early morning trip to the neighborhood Korean church/polling station, somehow relates back to major Hollywood trophies.
Speaking of which...What does the presidential election have to do with the Oscar race? Plenty, says brother blogger Steven Zeitchik.
The parallels between candidates in the spotlight and potential Oscar films are everywhere, from Clint Eastwood doing his best shotgun-toting "you kids get off of my lawn!" impression of John McCain in "Gran Torino" to Joe Biden as an off-the-ropes comeback kid a la Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler."
We would've backed a "Saw V"/Sarah Palin analogy, but that's just us.
Former Disney boss Joe Roth, whose Revolution Studios gave us a string of "comedies" like "Little Man," "White Chicks," "The Benchwarmers" and "Gigli," has made a groundbreaking discovery: African-Americans and Latinos are likely to vote Democratic! And they're soccer fans!
Our revelation about that Patrick Goldstein column: What a waste of the ever-shrinking L.A. Times news hole.
THR reports that networks are prepared to call the race when a candidate hits 270 electoral votes. That could be before our West Coast polls close. Don't let that discourage you, Californians -- there's still farm animals, the gays and gridlock to think about.
Counting down the hours until Emmy winners Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert will arrive and make everything OK. Or at least make funnies.
Everybody -- go vote!
Pinkies extended, china buffed, and crumpets ready. Just high tea with The Prince of Darkness.
We've seen Ozzy's domestic side (in his former fly-on-the-wall MTV series "The Osbournes," which won an Emmy), so it's no wonder the double Grammy winner also has a civilized one. No headless animals on that table!
Not sure what that French maid has to do with anything, but former Guns N' Roses/current Velvet Revolver rocker Slash (aka Riff Lord -- and yes, that is a formal title) is there with his buddy in advance of dubbing him a living legend at the Classic Rock and Roll Honour Awards today in London.
Last year's winner was Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame. His band is nominated this year, as are Kiss, Def Leppard, Whitesnake Foo Fighters, Metallica and AC/DC. More here.
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Mmmmm, chocolate Oscar. Not every star will walk away from the 81st annual Academy Awards with a trophy, but if they hit the high-profile Governor's Ball they can have pastry chef Sherry Yard's gold-dusted candy version. Also on the menu from celeb chef Wolfgang Puck is tuna tartare in sesame miso cones, chopped Chino Farms vegetable salad with ginger soy vinaigrette, Maine lobster and caviar. Serve it up! (Getty Images)
