i have zero clue as to why christina aguilera decided to sign onto this movie burlesque (a small-town girl ventures to LA and finds her place in a club run by a former dancer) girlfriend should be working on her long overdue new album - not trying to go all mariah carey on us! this film is bound to take one of two paths - either the glitter avenue - or the showgirls route! the difference between the two being - one is just plain bad ... the other one is so bad it's actually good (yes, i saw showgirls in the theaters 4x - oh my nomi malone, how i love thee!) there is one huge plus this movie has going for it ... legendary diva cher will also be starring (her last big role was in tea with mussolini back in '99) perhaps this really could be the next showgirls? but i definitely don't think this film is a good move for ms. aguilera (check her out on set below in piru - an LA suburb) unfortunately i do smell a truly disastrous career move coming down the pike! popbytes over & out for now ... xoxo
good evening! i'll warn you i'm running a little behind - it turned out to be a super busy day and earlier tonight i had to run a bunch of errands - now it's almost 9pm and i still have yet to eat dinner - oi vey! now originally when i heard they were going to make a sequel to the sex and the city movie i wasn't so keen on the idea but i've come around - i can't wait to see our ladies back up on the silver screen - i just hope the next one will be as good or even better than the first one! i literally gasped when i saw all the gals filming in NYC together including sarah jessica parker, kim cattrall, kristin davis, and last but certainly not least - cynthia nixon - they all look great and appear to be in high spirits - i'm really excited to see what happens the second time around! i'm assuming the movie will be out before the end of the year (at least i hope it will be) it could be the perfect holiday flick! enjoy the pictures below - right now i'm going to go grab something to eat! popbytes over & out for tonight ... xoxo
oh lordy - please say it ain't so - tom cruise has supposedly set his crazy sights on remaking the classic 1969 film butch cassidy and the sundance kid playing robert redford's part and wants his scientology partner-in-crime john travolta to star alongside him in the role made famous by paul newman - who supposedly gave his remake blessing to mr. cruise before he passed away! (maybe stepford wife katie holmes can take on katherine ross' role - ugh) of course i'm not a big fan of remakes but when it comes to classic award-winning films like 'butch cassidy' - a remake is a complete travesty! what's next - a remake of the godfather? hopefully this is all just a silly rumor - i can't imagine seeing 'em trying to recreate cinematic magic - people need to know when to leave well enough alone! popbytes over & out for now ... xoxo
good evening! oh i bet everyone is watching the superbowl which i actually have on but you know me and sports - not the best of friends - however i am rooting for the pittsburgh steelers to win because of my pals CK and christienne (it doesn't look good right now towards the end of the 4th quarter but that can change in an instant) right now i've got some shots of nicole kidman and daniel day-lewis over in rome filming the screen adaptation of the tony award-winning musical nine - directed by rob marshall (who also helmed bringing chicago to the silver screen) the cast is incredible (posted below ... however there are two weak links - they are listed last!) i'm thrilled that legendary screen beauty sophia loren (age 74) is also starring - she's so awesome - i have a feeling this film is going to kick-ass (and probably pick up some awards) i am familiar with some of the music from the show (by maury yeston) but i've never had the opportunity to see it performed on stage - i simply cannot wait to see this movie which is due to hit theaters on november 25th - i've only got about a ten-month wait! popbytes over & out for now...xoxo (oh my word - is the weekend really almost over?!? it goes by so fast - ugh)
PS i love the large picture below - the light hitting the fountain is stunning!
• Daniel Day-Lewis as Guido Contini
• Marion Cotillard as Luisa Contini
• Penélope Cruz as Carla Albanese
• Nicole Kidman as Claudia Nardi
• Judi Dench as Liliane La Fleur
• Sophia Loren as Mamma
• Stacy 'Fergie' Ferguson as Saraghina
• Kate Hudson as Stephanie Necrophuros
good evening! i simply had to share this hilarious promotional poster for the oliver stone directed film W. (watch the trailer) which opens this friday (october 17th) starring josh brolin as our president george w. bush (oh thank heavens he'll be gone from office in just a few months - get ready to say hello to president barack obama) although i'm not really into politics (and right now i'm particularly sick of the topic) i think i might need to go see this film simply because of mr. stone - he's one of my favorite directors (who else do you know that saw natural born killers 7x in the movie theatre?!?) and i can't wait to see what he did with the subject matter at hand! popbytes over & out for now...xoxo
good evening! can you believe twenty years have passed since the movie child's play first hit theaters?!? the scary flick introduced us to chucky - the 'good guy doll' turned demonic (the doll was possessed by criminal 'charles lee ray' in some kind of wacky voodoo ritual) the film spawned five sequels - my personal favorite is the very campy bride of chucky - mainly because of jennifer tilly (who i'd love to see do more movies - she's always awesome especially in bullets over broadway) to celebrate twenty years of chucky terror - a bunch of impersonators invaded new york city this past tuesday - there's one that hangs around here on hollywood blvd who tries to entice tourists to get their picture taken with him...i always try to avoid 'chucky' since he totally freaks me out! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo
oh my word! this is like seriously the best casting rumor...ever! UK's telegraph is reporting that legendary 62-year old diva cher is in talks with director christopher nolan to take on the role of catwoman in the next batman film (which is set to start filming early next year in vancouver and will feature johnny depp as 'the riddler') i almost passed out when i read this earlier this evening (i will totally do a 'happy happy joy joy' dance if this all turns out to come true) of course cher is an amazing actress (and even won an academy award in 1987 for her turn as 'loretta castorini' in moonstruck plus she was nominated for her work in 1983's silkwood) yet she hasn't acted in years (i believe her last film was 1999's super lackluster tea with mussolini and she made a lame cameo in 2003's stuck on you as herself) i'd love to see cher back up on the silver screen - especially as catwoman!
i also simply adore the sassy kitty character (aka selina kyle who first appeared in the comic book batman #1 in the spring of 1940) michelle pfeiffer did a fabulous job in 1989's batman returns (let's not even mention the disastrous 2004 flick catwoman starring halle berry & sharon stone - although i did superimpose cher's head on ms. berry's body below) but i'd love to see what new direction mr. nolan has in store for the role this time around - supposedly he wants cher to play 'a vamp in her twilight years' which sounds totally delectable to me - if she does land the role it will literally be the cat's meow! popbytes over & for tonight...xxoo
a studio executive said: "cher is nolan's first choice to play catwoman. he wants to her to portray her like a vamp in her twilight years. the new catwoman will be the absolute opposite of michelle pfeiffer and halle berry's purring creations."
here's your first look at the new teaser poster for W. - the upcoming oliver stone film (the trailer is below) about our current president (thankfully not for too much longer...) george w. bush - now normally i'd have absolutely zero interest in a film about president bush (played by recently arrestedjosh brolin) BUT the fact its being directed by mr. stone has me biting at the bit to see this one! yes he's done a few terrible films (alexander & the doors) but he has also done a number of incredible (and award-winning) ones including platoon, JFK, born on the 4th of july, wall street, and my personal favorite natural born killers - i have a feeling this film is going to be amazing and quite controversial (it might even pick up a couple of awards) i highly doubt anyone will catch the president and wife laura bush (played by elizabeth banks) going to the cinemas on october 17th to see this one! popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo
holy cow - i'm so fucking excited for remake of red sonja (based on the marvel comic book character who first appeared in 1973) starring rose mcgowan and directed by her kick-ass director boyfriend robert rodriguez (she was great (along w/ her machine gun leg) in his last outing planet terror - half of the double feature grindhouse) the original flick was released in 1985 and starred arnold schwarzenegger and brigitte nielsen and although i'm usually against remakes - i'm totally stoked for this one (since the first film isn't all that great...) i think this one is going to be super hot - just get a look at the teaser poster below! popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo
good evening y'all! recently new stamps were unveiled over in the UK celebrating hammer horror films which had it's big heyday in the 1950's through the 70's and employed great horror actors such as christopher lee & peter cushing - the studio has an incredible library filled w/ way campy & over the top yet chilling & spooky films - if you haven't seen any i highly suggest checking 'em out - especially if your a fan of the horror genre! in fact when my blogger pal nathaniel from film experience organized a blog-a-thon about vampires - i totally went with hammer's blood sucker flicks! get a look at the kick-ass stamps below - i love the style of those old movie posters - nobody makes 'em like that anymore! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo
PS a special shout out is going to my pal gillian who just landed in los angeles today!
good evening! oh i would have loved being in NYC tonight for the big sex and the city premiere that was held at radio city music hall - i'm so taking my ass to the movies this friday - initially i wasn't all that keen on seeing the ladies do their schtick up on the silver screen (especially since the TV series had a near perfect ending) but i've totally had a change of heart! the crowd tonight was filled with celebs - check out all the pictures below - make sure to get a look at lil' kim - every time she's spotted out & about kim is looking different but she'll forever be my 'queen b' (i used to be scared of the dick, now i throw lips to the shit, handle it like a real bitch...you seriously can't get lyrics like that from anyone else...) popbytes over & out for now...xxoo
good evening! is everyone enjoying their friday night? i'm having myself a glass of red wine and listening to yelle - way enjoyable french pop that i discovered by way of the hills (which always seems to feature decent music) anyways madonna is certainly a very busy lady these days (as per usual) this coming tuesday she releases hard candy (which you can listen to on her myspace right now) plus she screened the documentary (which she produced) entitled i am because we are - last night at the tribeca film festival over in NYC - a five-minute video preview is posted below - the subject matter concerns the dire situation over in poverty & AIDS stricken malawi (where she adopted her son david) it looks quite powerful and it's great to see madonna bringing much needed attention to the many unresolved issues over there - it's overwhelming but i plan on taking myself to see the film (there doesn't seem to be a release date yet - keep checking the website which is chock full of information) she looked spectacular last night - i still can't believe she's turning 50 (that fact makes me feel old at 32) whatever she's doing to look fierce is obviously working - go madonna! popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo
is nothing sacred anymore in hollywood? (duh - of course not!) are original ideas running out? (it certainly sounds like it) just last week i was reading about an upcoming remake of the 80's teen flick the breakfast club which irked me but whatever (it doesn't even sound close to the original plot) but tonight i heard via shock 'til you drop that there could be a remade version of my all-time favorite horror flick rosemary's baby (which i've posted about before here on popbytes) there's simply no way they'll be able to top the 1968 masterpiece directed by roman polanski and starred mia farrow rocking her infamous blonde pixie cut as the young lady who discovers she's given birth to satan's child...however i'd love to see katie holmes star along w/ hubby tom cruise which would for sure increase the creepy factor - but there's no chance in hell we'll see tomkat starring in this one...it hits way too close to home! (not to imply that suri cruise is devil spawn but you get what i mean) the horror films from that period of time tended to be more on the creepy & chilling side without a schlocky gore splatter fest - of course if the film does get a modern day update - the gore will be heaped on and won't work with blood & guts galore (they'd have to alter the original story to accommodate more gore) i seriously hope some executive has the decency to leave well enough alone! (author ira levin totally rolled over in his grave today) i've already resigned myself to the fact there's a remake in the works of a nightmare on elm street - a completely unnecessary venture - blasphemy is alive & well in hollywood today! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
PS thank heavens someone nixed the idea of another adventures in babysitting - you simply cannot fuck with the babysitter!
hey hey! today i actually made it to the movies (a perfect idea since it was so damn cloudy out today) i took my dear mom (who also lovingly checks for any mistakes here on popbytes) to see the other boleyn girl over at arclight cinemas (the best local movie theater around) although i already knew the basic story of king henry viii and the twisted sister drama that went down between mary & anne boleyn which made a few heads roll and produced a future queen of england named elizabeth! the film is based on the best-selling novel by philippa gregory (which i didn't get to read - i need to make book time since i haven't read a novel in a longtime...shame on me!) although my eyelids grew a little heavy in the beginning of the film - i managed to perk up once the real drama started to kick in - i thought both scarlett johansson and natalie portman did an excellent job of playing the boleyn girls (it would be hilariously bad if say the simpson sisters starred in it) plus i adore the guy who played their brother cutie pie jim sturgess (he also starred in across the universe) and there's also hottie eric bana - another nice dose of eye candy! overall i enjoyed the film - plus it totally got me pumped for the second season of the tudors starring jonathan rhys-meyers as the beheading happy king which premieres on showtime on sunday march 30th! a throwback to old time historical scandal and drama is quite refreshing from today's usual drama inducing suspects! popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo!
hey hey! here's a perfect post for oscar weekend - two academy award nominated actors are reuniting in a new film - kate winslet & leonardo dicaprio who starred in 1997's best picture winner titanic (which was up for 14 awards - tying with all about eve (one of my personal faves) for the most nominations ever) are both starring in the upcoming flick revolutionary road (directed by ms. winslet's husband oscar winner sam mendes) based upon the 1961 novel by richard yates (listed as one of time magazine's top 100 novels of all-time!) set in 1955 it tells the tale of a young couple 'frank & april wheeler' who are 'trying to find fulfillment in an age of conformity' unfortunately we'll have to wait until december 19th to see them back up on the silver screen together - maybe next year we'll see mr. dicaprio & ms. winslet up for oscars again! (quick sidenote: if you haven't seen the life of david gale which stars kate winslet, kevin spacey, and laura linney (up for best actress tomorrow) you must!) popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
PS oh my gosh - yes i'm a total video game geek - i beat devil may cry 4 this afternoon - overall it was one of the most satisfying games i've ever played - highly recommended - it's available on both xbox & ps3!
UPDATE! i'm back home - and sadly i was quite disappointed in cloverfield - after all the online hype that has been making the rounds for quite a long time - i was expecting something way better! it wasn't the worst movie ever - but i found myself hoping it would be over - thankfully it wasn't very long although it seemed that way when i was watching it - plus all that shaky camera nonsense got tired oh so quickly - i really can't recommend the film! did anybody else feel the same way?!? popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo!
hey hey! i'm so thrilled to have a mini night out plus it's friday! first up is dinner at bella right here on hollywood blvd with my good pal joey and then we're off to see cloverfield at grauman's chinese theatre! i've been so good about not hearing or reading too much about the movie as i didn't want it spoiled plus whenever i over hype myself for something i usually end up disappointed - so i've kept my excitement for the film at bay! i'll update this post when i get back home - and no worries - i won't reveal any 'spoilers'! rock & blog on - popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
QUICK UPDATE! as expected eddie izzard was great - he's so damn clever & witty - the show was completely sold out - unfortunately the seats were really uncomfortable (it was at the coronet theatre near the beverly center) so i found myself being a bit shifty but i'm so glad i decided to go - i'll write more about his 'work in progress' showcase in a few days!
good evening everybody! oh i'm dying to go see cloverfield which just opened in theaters yesterday - from the reviews and word of mouth - i think it's going to be a smash hit - it looks awesome & really scary! i'm trying not to read too much about it until i see it - probably next weekend - over at the grauman's chinese theatre here in hollywood (where the sound system kicks ass) they've had a statue of liberty with her head blown off set up in front of the place for a few days now - there's a few pictures below which i snapped!
tonight i'm super excited to go see comedian/actor eddie izzard working on his one-man show - it's kinda like a workshop - and he's only doing it a few times - it should be a great show! popbytes over & out for now...xxoo! (when i get home i'll update this post with a few thoughts on mr. izzard's show)
good evening! how is everybody doing? well i was supposed to go down to the san diego zoo but someone (the backseat driver shall remain nameless) wasn't very thrilled with my driving (which was totally fine btw - i pride myself on being an excellent driver) so i decided to turn the car and head home! seriously - who needs headaches & complaints when you're trying to do something nice? i'm so over being nice (my mom will agree with me...) anyways i was able to sleep a little more when i got home - plus i saved some money & time - zoo schmoo!
moving on from dumb ass annoyances - i wanted to mention a little bit about hairspray which hands down was my favorite movie i saw all year (i willingly admit that i didn't see a lot of flicks this year (hence the reason i'm not doing a top ten list) but that is all about to change in 2008 with my new year's resolution to see more movies!) when i first saw hairspray in the theaters i was instantly a huge fan but when the movie came out on DVD recently - that's when i went nuts over it - i must have watched it over twenty times now - it's that much fun! of course i also adore the original 1988 flick directed by john waters but they really are quite different from each other - it's hard to compare them to each other!
i must also mention the amazing cast including newcomer nikki blonsky and hottie zac efron (who i still have a major crush on - which started the day i saw him play 'link larkin') all the supporting cast is excellent too - i'm not a huge fan of john travolta but he really did an outstanding job - by the time it's finished you completely forget that 'edna turnblatt' is actually mr. travolta in drag! then you've got the always awesome michelle pfeiffer, christopher walken, and queen latifah! it's such a feel good movie and lately i've been blue over a lot of things but once i put on hairspray - you for sure can't stop the beat! for those of you who haven't seen it yet - you must - and for those of you who have - i know you'll totally agree with me that hairspray rules! now the movie has secured the third spot in my top movies of all-time - only annie hall & pee-wee's big adventure are ahead! popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo! (hopefully tomorrow will be a better day - i need to start worrying about myself - rather than trying to please everyone else!)
UPDATE! i have three words for you - helena bonham carter! she was the best - i LOVED the movie - johnny depp was great too - oh my gosh - i simply can't say enough about sweeney todd! i can't even think of one thing that was off - everyone was perfect! kudos to director tim burton who managed to handle stephen sondheim's music & lyrics with great care & style - you must go see this movie! i'm done for tonight and tomorrow i'm heading down to the zoo in san diego - which hopefully will be fun and there won't be much traffic getting there and back! popbytes over & out for tonight...xxoo!
good evening! i'm so happy the weekend is here - and tonight i'm getting out of the house and heading over to the arclight cinemas to see sweeney todd which i've been wanting to see for months - plus i've heard some great things about it already - i have a feeling i will love it (but i don't want to jinx it either...) before i head out i dug up this video of the always fabulous angela lansbury in the broadway production of the show in the late '70s singing the worst pies in london (introduced by the late great jerry orbach) in the film version helena bonham carter tackles the role of 'mrs. lovett'! when i get home later i'll do a quick update to this post - rock on - popbytes over & out for now...xxoo!
hey hey! oh my word - i'm super sick of seeing this poster for fred claus (which opens tomorrow) splashed all over town (there's a huge one near the warner bros. studios on olive over in burbank) what annoys me the most is how overly photoshopped vince vaughn looks - he doesn't look like that at all! (does anyone else agree with me? it almost looks like he's wearing makeup - it's just plain odd) i'm all for touching up pictures but this is way too much plus the look on his face is so overly smug - is this a movie you really want to take your kids to? i don't want to go all 'bah humbug' right now since we are heading into the holiday season but this movie looks totally awful - and then coupled with the horrible poster - there's simply no way you could ever get me to see this movie! phew - i'm glad i finally got that off my chest - photoshop vince has been bugging me for some time now! (i'll sleep better tonight!) popbytes over & out for tonight - xxoo!
