Bonds makes history with 756th home run
SAN FRANCISCO - Barry Bonds hit No. 756 over the right-center field wall Tuesday night, and hammered home the point: Like him or not, legitimate or not, he is baseball's new home run king. Bonds broke Hank Aaron's storied record in the fifth inning, connecting on a 3-2 pitch from Washington's Mike Bacsik. Three days earlier, Bonds tied the Hammer with a shot to left-center in San Diego.
Conspicuous by their absence were the commissioner and Aaron himself.
Bud Selig was on hand for the tiebreaking homer, deciding to put baseball history ahead of the steroid allegations that have plagued the San Francisco Giants slugger. On this night, he sent an emissary, Major League Baseball executive vice president Jimmie Lee Solomon.
As for Aaron, he said all along he had no interest in being there whenever and wherever his 33-year-old mark was broken. He was true to his word, but he did offer a taped message of congratulations.
Absent, too, were the fans who held up asterisk signs, sure that Bonds wasn't the real deal and that his power came from steroids.
Bonds didn't face such suspicions at AT&T Park, in front of a loyal, home crowd that included his godfather, Hall of Famer Willie Mays. Bonds has always denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
Yet even with Bonds at the top of the chart, fans will surely keep debating which slugger they consider the true home run champion. Some will continue to cling to Aaron while other, older rooters will always say it's Babe Ruth.
"It's all about history. Pretty soon, someone will come along and pass him," Mays said before the game.
A seven-time NL MVP, the 43-year-old Bonds hit his 22nd home run of the year. Bonds broke Mark McGwire's single-season record by hitting 73 in 2001 and while he's no longer such a force, opposing pitchers remain wary.
Bonds and Giants management bickered in the offseason over contract issues. This big night was the main reason owner Peter Magowan brought back the star left fielder for a 15th season in San Francisco, signing him to a $15.8 million, one-year contract.
Bonds' once-rapid quest for the record had slowed in recent years as his age and balky knees diminished his pace. He hit 258 home runs from 2000-04, but has only 53 since then.
While steroids have tinged Bonds' pursuit, it was race that was the predominant issue when Aaron broke Ruth's mark in 1974. Aaron dealt with hate mail and death threats from racist fans who thought a black man was not worthy of breaking the record set by a white hero, the beloved Babe.
Former commissioner Bowie Kuhn watched Aaron tie the record but was not present for the record-breaker, a slight that bothered many fans of Aaron. Selig is a close friend of Aaron's and offered Bonds tepid congratulations when he tied the record.
"I think Hank is his own man," Mays said. "I think if he wanted to be here he would be here."
"When he hit 715, the commissioner wasn't there," he said. "You may not blame him because he wasn't represented the right way."
Bonds was destined for stardom at an early age. The son of All-Star outfielder Bobby Bonds and the godson of one of the game's greatest players, Bonds spent his childhood years roaming the clubhouse at Candlestick Park, getting tips from Mays and other Giants.
"I visualized him playing sports at a high level. He was 5 when he was in my locker all the time," Mays said.
In a matter of years, Bonds went from a wiry leadoff hitter with Pittsburgh in 1986 to a bulked-up slugger. That transformation is at the heart of his many doubters, who believe Bonds cheated to accomplish his feats and should not be considered the record-holder.
There are plenty of fans already hoping for the day that Bonds' total — whatever it ends up — is topped. Rodriguez may have the best chance, with his 500 home runs at age 32 far ahead of Bonds' pace.
Honeymoon over for "Greek Wedding" creative team
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Alleging big, fat accounting problems, the creative team behind "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is suing the independent production company behind the 2002 low-budget comedy phenomenon.
Plaintiffs in the suit, filed late Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, include business entities controlled by Nia Vardalos, who wrote the screenplay and starred in the film, and those of producers Tom Hanks, Rita Hanks and Gary Goetzman.
Collectively, the creative team has shared in profits rising into the tens of millions, but it claims that a lack of transparency in accounting by film co-financier Gold Circle Films has left the plaintiffs uncertain of how much they are owed. Gold Circle is backed by billionaire Gateway Inc. co-founder Norm Waitt Jr.
The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a full accounting of film profits under court supervision. In addition to Gold Circle, the suit names as defendants related entities Big Wedding Prods. and Vortex Pictures.
"The accounting statements rendered by defendants have been vague and inadequate in failing to provide information consistent with industry standards," alleges the suit.
The plaintiffs claim Gold Circle reports gross receipts of the film -- produced on a budget of $5 million -- total $287 million, even though media reports indicate a tally closer to $400 million. The defendants have failed to provide an audit requested to clarify the matter, the plaintiffs said.
Vardalos' contract stipulates an 8% participation in adjusted gross profits, while the other three plaintiffs are owed one-third each of the net balance remaining after backend disbursements, according to the suit.
IFC, the domestic distributor of "Greek Wedding," was a nonequity contractor on the film and is not a party to the suit.
Scott Niemeyer, a principal at Gold Circle, issued a company statement denying all claims in the lawsuit, which he labeled as "frivolous."
"The lawsuit filed by the plaintiffs is completely without merit," Gold Circle said. "Gold Circle has fully complied with its contractual obligations and has already paid plaintiffs a combined total of over $44 million in profits on 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding.' Gold Circle has never thwarted the producers' audit rights.
"Since receiving plaintiffs' initial audit request over two years ago in early 2005, Gold Circle has invited plaintiffs' auditors to schedule and conduct their audit," the statement added. "However, for over two years the plaintiffs and their auditors have done nothing to advance an audit. Plaintiffs' representatives have filed this frivolous lawsuit as a desperate attempt to cover up their failure to initiate potential audit claims that have since been time-barred under the express terms of the applicable contracts."
Timberlake, Beyonce top VMA nominations
NEW YORK - Justin Timberlake and Beyonce lead the pop parade of nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards with seven nods apiece, it was announced Tuesday.
Beyonce's "Irreplaceable" was nominated for video of the year, as was Timberlake's ambitiously cinematic "What Goes Around ... Comes Around," which co-starred Scarlett Johansson. Also competing in the category are Amy Winehouse's "Rehab," Kanye West's "Stronger," Rihanna's "Umbrella" (featuring Jay-Z) and Justice's "D.A.N.C.E."
Timberlake was also nominated for male artist of the year and "most earth shattering collaboration" for pairing with Timbaland for "Sexy Back." Beyonce was nominated for female artist of the year and for her collaboration with Shakira on "Beautiful Liar."
West landed five nominations, including male artist of the year. He has often appeared prickly about losing awards, and on Tuesday he was still sore over being snubbed last year for his Evel Knievel spoof video "Touch the Sky." (In 2005, he did win best male video for "Jesus Walks.")
"I come to win. I don't come to lose," West told MTV Tuesday on "TRL," where the awards were announced. "I think there's some really strong competition this year."
Rihanna also received five nominations, propelled by her hit single, "Umbrella," which is up for "monster single of the year."
Also nominated for male artist of the year was Akon, T.I. and Robin Thicke. Rounding out the nominees for female artist of the year were Fergie and Nelly Furtado.
Amy Winehouse, whose album "Back to Black" was her second disc but her first released in the U.S., was nominated for best new artist. She received three nods, including female artist of the year. In the best new artist category, Winehouse will compete with her compatriot Lily Allen, as well as Carrie Underwood, Gym Class Heroes and Peter Bjorn & John.
Up for best group are Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes, Linkin Park, Maroon 5 and the White Stripes.
The 24th annual VMAs will be handed out during a live two-hour show on Sept. 9 in Las Vegas at the Palms Hotel and Casino. Only eight categories will be awarded on the broadcast. Performers will include Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Amy Winehouse, Chris Brown, the Foo Fighters and Rihanna.
Timbaland will serve as "maestro" for the night, booking the show's acts.
"By me being maestro," said Timbaland, "I am the show."
Why the web hates Ratner
Across the entertainment landscape of the Internet, perhaps no director is so reviled as Brett Ratner. The bloggers, it seems really, really hate him. And while they gleefully admit to hating lots of people, their most searing venom tends to be reserved for Ratner.
Defamer has described him as a "preternaturally hacky" director (we can't print what Defamer's readers like to call him in the comments section.) And Suicide Girls' entertainment blogger Kevin Seccia is planning to file a post called "Brett Ratner: Please Kill Yourself" imminently.
Which left us wondering why. Surely the world of entertainment is rife with loathsome people, ruining franchises, destroying beloved characters. What has Mr. Ratner done to upset the fanboys and film loving bloggers so deeply?
There was, of course only one way to find out. Ask the entertainment bloggers themselves. So The Los Angeles Times sent out a mass email to a few of our favorite web folks and asked them the simple question. "Why does the web hate Brett?"
Here's what they had to say.
Chris Thilk, www.MovieMarketingMadness.com
"The net hates Brett Ratner because he symbolizes everything that's slick and soulless about Hollywood right now. So much of the net is devoted toward celebrating films that are off the beaten path and feature original voices and brave performances. Ratner, on the other hand, is all about style with absolutely no substance. He's like a frat boy with a $150 million budget. The net, on the other hand, is all about sending people down the Long Tail toward more worthwhile, artistic films. He's everything the net has set out to protect people from. And to add insult to injury his movies often make decent cash, which just infuriates people."
Jeffrey Wells, www.Hollywood-Elsewhere.com
"Because he gets paid too much and laid too much for being, at best, a passable but mediocre director. It's not that he's greatly hated -- Michael Bay and McG have been much more deeply despised. Last week's Ratner-bash came in response to Scott Foundas' L.A. Weekly piece that argued that Ratner is a serious director who's worthy of respect. That's what caused the big outburst. Ratner's a likable guy, all in all.
Erik Davis, Cinematical.com
"Apart from the fact that he's one casting session away from an appearance on Dateline's To Catch a Predator series, the guy's films are all style and no substance. When he stops using scripts to get himself laid, and starts using them as the first step toward a compelling motion picture, perhaps "The Web" will like him more. But seeing as his smile is creepier than his take on Hannibal Lecter, I'd say most folks aren't very optimistic."
Kevin Seccia, http://suicidegirls.com/members/TheCoolerKing/news/
"I think they hate Brett because, for whatever reason, people enjoy movies that are well made... and Brett has yet to bother catering to that. Also, I think when you're the least interesting person in the room... and this room also contains Paris Hilton, the last thing you should be doing is putting your vision' on screen.
I mean, he accomplishes more in less time. It took him one movie to undo what Brian Singer accomplished in 2."
Berge Garabedian, www.joblo.com
"I don't personally hate him myself ('The Family Man' is actually one of my favorite movies), but the sense is that he comes from a rich background (i.e. he's spoiled), doesn't really know all that much about movies (started as a rap-music video director, I believe) and messed up the 'X-MEN' franchise with part 3 -- although in his defense, the producers who hurried the project were more to blame for that, in my humble opinion. He also seems to be known more for partying and nailing hot chicks than directing, which probably bothers some as well...hehehe. I'd say that he's more of a so-so director who's caught some damn lucky breaks, it seems."
Dave Davis, www.joblo.com (too)
"This isn't necessarily my own opinion (not completely), but I think the general perception is that his success is unjustified -- he seems to have skated on minimal talent, an abundance of luck, and being a very slick talker to the people in the business who matter. Some people are probably annoyed by his socialite behavior and a few bonehead statements he's made to the press (and more than a few rumors about his aloof filmmaking process and extracurricular activities), while he has yet to develop any real visual style to define himself as a director. That said, I wouldn't mind being him for a few days."
Cruise As Pike In "Star Trek"?
IGN Movies says that according to a trusted source, director J.J. Abrams would like to have an A-list star cameo in his forthcoming big-screen reboot of "Star Trek."
The source claims that Abrams is wooing his "Mission: Impossible III" star Tom Cruise to cameo as Captain Christopher Pike. Cruise's last big-screen cameo was in "Austin Powers in Goldmember."
Pike was James T. Kirk's predecessor as captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise and Mr. Spock's first commanding officer. Jeffrey Hunter portraryed him in the unaired TV pilot, "The Cage."
'Once' isn't enough: Film gets marketing push
Once is getting a second wind.
The Romeo and Juliet-style romance about two star-crossed musicians has been maintaining strong ticket sales since May, amid a season of one-weekend wonders.
Once is now attempting to expand on its art-house accomplishments and find a broader audience, after also catching the attention of the stars' musical and filmmaking heroes, Bob Dylan and Steven Spielberg.
Playing in 140 theaters, Once has earned $6.5 million — tiny compared with studio blockbusters playing on thousands of screens, but huge considering its creators thought they'd be selling the movie, which cost a mere $150,000, only at their concerts.
Distributor Fox Searchlight has a new advertising push, while stars Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova are on a seven-city tour with appearances last week on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and a live concert on National Public Radio.
Hansard, frontman for the band The Frames, has dreamed about this kind of exposure his whole life.
"If you flirt with success, don't be surprised if it offers you sex," Hansard jokes. "To be honest, I've spent the past weeks trying to make sense of all this."
They are beginning a low-key Oscar campaign for the original songs, with screenings and performances for Los Angeles' Society of Composers and Lyricists and other Hollywood award-season voters.
Once, written and directed by John Carney, is the story of an Irish singer/songwriter (Hansard) who finds a muse in a Czech flower seller and aspiring pianist (Irglova) he meets on the streets of Dublin.
The film has been praised as a kind of natural musical, loaded with songs by the musicians who play together in real life under the name The Swell Season.
The film has been seen by some of their idols: Spielberg said Monday, "A little movie called Once gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year."
Also, Hansard credits Once with getting The Frames an invitation to open for Dylan's upcoming Australian tour, and he and Irglova were asked to do a cover version of Dylan's You Ain't Goin' Nowhere for the soundtrack of I'm Not There, a reality-bending Dylan biopic.
"It is such a great boost for us," says Irglova. "We've been playing that song together for years."
There are no plans for a Once sequel, but Hansard says the pair has been creating new music throughout the experience: "It's been good ground for growing ideas."