Day: November 8, 2011

Categories
People

May he rest in peace!!

Heavy D Dead at 44

Heavy D, the former leader of the hip-hop group Heavy D and the Boyz, has died at the age of 44. The rapper was rushed to a hospital in Los Angeles earlier this afternoon and was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. PT. Police are investigating his death but there are no signs of foul play.

Heavy D, born Dwight Arrington Myers, broke into the music industry with Living Large, his first record with the Boyz, in 1987. He went on to even greater success with the hit “Now That We Found Love” in 1991, and recorded theme songs for the television series In Loving Color and MADtv. In recent years, D recorded a series of reggae fusion albums.

Categories
Awards

Congrats to them all!!

‘Potter’ tops People’s Choice noms

LOS ANGELES – Nominations for the annual People’s Choice Awards were announced Tuesday, with popular films like the final “Harry Potter” and the latest “Pirates of the Caribbean” and their actors among nominees.

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” will compete for favorite movie, alongside “Transformers: Dark of the Moon,” “The Help” and “Bridesmaids.”

The final “Harry Potter” film in the long-running series was the most-nominated movie of all, with nine nods.

Daniel Radcliffe, who plays British boy wizard Potter, and Johnny Depp, Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates” films, will compete for favorite movie actor, along with “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

Favorite movie actress nominees include Emma Stone, who starred in civil rights drama “The Help,” along with Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway and Reese Witherspoon.

The People’s Choice Awards, which will take place on January 11, come at the start of Hollywood’s annual season of film and television honors leading up to February’s Oscars. But the People’s Choice winners are judged by popular vote, not by critics or industry associations as are many other awards.

The People’s Choice awards also are given in TV and music in some 43 categories. Organizers said more than 40 million people voted online or via mobile phones and social media websites like Facebook or Twitter, for their nominees.

Of the nominees, singer Katy Perry landed in the most categories, seven, including favorite female artist and favorite pop artist. She also crossed over into film with a nod for animated movie voice for “The Smurfs.”

In the category of favorite female artist, Perry will compete with Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Adele. Favorite male artist nominees were Justin Bieber, Blake Shelton, Bruno Mars, Eminem and Enrique Iglesias.

In the TV arena, nominees for best network drama were “The Good Wife,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House,” “Supernatural” and “The Vampire Diaries.”

Nominees for network comedy were Emmy-winning “Modern Family,” which will compete with “The Big Bang Theory,” “Glee,” ”How I Met Your Mother” and “Two and a Half Men.” “Glee” actors including Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer and Leah Michelle all earned nods in favorite comedy actor or actress categories.

Voting ends on December 6. More nominees can be found at www.PeoplesChoice.com.

Categories
Television

I must admit that I expected the list to be a bit more impressive.

‘Live’: Regis’ final week guests

After 28 years, Regis Philbin’s time on “Live! With Regis and Kelly” is coming to a close. To honour the daytime staple, the stars are coming out to bid Philbin farewell.

The line-up for the week of Nov. 14 features a slew of A-Listers including David Letterman, Tony Bennett and Philbin’s old sidekick Kathie Lee Gifford. The show will also feature musical guests including Tony Bennett, Josh Groban and Bret Michaels.

Philbin’s last day is Nov. 18. After that, producers will use a rotating cast of guest hosts while they figure out who will be the permanent replacement.

Following is the schedule:

Nov. 14 – Don Rickles
Nov. 14 – Jimmy Fallon
Nov. 15 – Donald Trump
Nov. 16 – David Letterman
Nov. 17 – Kathie Lee Gifford

Categories
People

May she get well soon!!

Adele Undergoes Vocal Cord Surgery in Boston

Adele has now undergone surgery to stop a recurrent vocal cord hemorrhage that forced the singer to cancel her U.S. and U.K. tour dates throughout October and November. Her doctor “expects Adele to make a full recovery from her laser microsurgery.”

According to a statement from Massachusetts General Hospital — where Adele underwent the surgery with Dr. Zeiteis, who performed a similar procedure on Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler — her “condition is typically the result of unstable blood vessels in the vocal cord that can rupture.”

The statement continues: “Based on the advice of her doctor and voice therapist in the United Kingdom, Adele came to Boston to consult and undergo corrective voice surgery with Dr. Zeitels, the Director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Voice Center. Dr. Zeitels, who is also the Eugene B. Casey Professor of Laryngeal Surgery at Harvard Medical School, has pioneered many vocal cord surgical procedures including the use of specialized lasers to stop vocal cord bleeding in singers. He has performed this unique procedure for many vocalists including Steven Tyler, allowing him to return to full performance.”

“Doctors have ordered her to rest her voice and completely recuperate before looking to schedule any work commitments,” read a statement from Adele’s camp late last month.

Adele’s throat problems have plagued her throughout her year in the spotlight. On October 7, Adele was set to kick off a string of U.S. tour dates — rescheduled from a June bout of laryngitis — but announced that she would be unable to perform due to the vocal cord hemorrhage.

Categories
Television

Sorry Roger, but the show is a snore!! I’ll watch it as long as it is on, but zzzzz…..

Ebert says show in danger of being canceled

CHICAGO (AP) — Film critic Roger Ebert is telling his readers that he may have to cancel his television show “Ebert Presents: At the Movies” unless someone steps up and helps him and his wife pay for it.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic wrote on his blog Sunday night that after an initial contribution of $25,000 from Kanbar Charitable Trust, he and Chaz Ebert have been paying virtually all the bills for the show, which began airing on public television in January.

Ebert said he has been pleased with the program, which is hosted by Associated Press movie reviewer Christy Lemire and Mubi.com film critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky.

But after months of paying for everything from screen tests to interns to lunch on taping days, “We can’t afford to support the show any longer,” wrote Ebert, who can no longer speak after cancer surgery. “That’s what it comes down to.”

Ebert wrote that he had hoped foundations and others would step forward to underwrite the show, but that nobody has. And now, he wrote, American Public Television is asking him whether the show will be back next season, and he has to have an answer by the end of this month. He wrote that Chaz Ebert, the executive producer, will continue to seek funding for the show.

“Unless we find underwriting, I’m afraid our answer will have to be ‘no,'” he wrote.

Lou Ferrara, the AP managing editor who oversees entertainment coverage, said Lemire has reviewed movies for the AP throughout her tenure with the Ebert show.

“Even if the show ends, Christy will continue providing film reviews and other movie coverage for The Associated Press,” Ferrara said.