Natalie Cole slams Amy Winehouse
Singer Natalie Cole had a few unforgettable words for Amy Winehouse after the troubled British singer took home five Grammy Awards Sunday night.
The New York Daily News reports that although Cole has also fought addictions to drugs and alcohol in the past, she told journalists at a Grammys after-party that she thought Winehouse was gifted but crazy.
"I don't think she deserved it," Cole said. "I think she needs to get her life together first and then get the awards later."
She also told People.com that "it's not right for her to be able to have her cake and eat it too ... She needs to get herself together." You don't get to just do your drugs and go onstage and get rewarded."
Former Beatle Ringo Starr, who was nearby and overheard Cole's remarks, quipped, "Man, those are some grapes," the News said.
Winehouse checked into rehab in London last month to deal with her addictions to drugs and alcohol. She didn't get her visa in time to travel to Los Angeles for the Grammys gala but performed via satellite from a studio in London.
'09 Junos to be held in Vancouver
VANCOUVER -- The Junos will be held in Vancouver next year.
CTV is reporting that Canada's biggest music award ceremonies will be held in the city in 2009, one year before the Olympics.
The show has travelled to a different city in recent years, with Calgary playing host this year.
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan recently went to Toronto to convince organizers to let his city host the popular event.
He says it promises to be a big party.
Rock stars courted for curling reality show
Move over American Idol and make room for Rockstar Curling, a reality television show that may indeed have a rock-star connection.
NBC confirmed yesterday it has an exclusive option to air a 10-episode sports reality show that will give the winners a shot at competing in the U.S. championships and even going to the 2010 Olympics.
And one aspect that would make this a draw to the button for NBC is a plan to land closet curlers Bruce Springsteen or Jon Bon Jovi as part of the show, assuming the rockers aren't worried what being connected to a sport with brooms might do to their images.
According to sources, the two rock stars are among a group of entertainment types who rent arena time on occasion to pick up brooms instead of guitars.
Organizers are trying to negotiate a deal to get one of them involved, possibly as a host.
The series is the brainchild of New York-based sports marketing agency mktpartners and Carr-Hughes Productions of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Mktgpartners has an office in Toronto and has an advertising commitment from the likes of Tourism Canada, sources say.
"This show is all about the opportunity to expose American viewers to curling," said Colin Campbell, Canadian president of mktgpartners and one of the creators of the show. "We feel there might be some great athletes out there who might develop into good curlers given the chance."
While a curling reality show wouldn't be considered that unusual in Canada, where top events draw more than 1 million viewers, it's hardly a mainstream sport south of the border.
Generally, the only time it gets mentioned on U.S. television is when comedians make fun of the sport.
The jokes usually revolve around the use of brooms and the belief curlers are the least athletic of all Olympians.
But curling was one of the surprise hits of the last two Olympics for NBC, enough so that NBC aired 24 matches live from Turin on one of its cable channels.
Although curling seldom gets more than 800,000 viewers on NBC, it once drew higher ratings than an NHL playoff game that aired at the same time the next day.
Needless to say, the U.S. Curling Association is thrilled with the prospect of 10 weeks of exposure on a national network.
"We feel that the Rockstar concept is innovative, creative and will help U.S. Curling develop new awareness, interest and participation in our sport across America," said association chief operating office Rick Patzke.
The show would work a lot like the Idol series, though it would most likely air on weekend afternoons.
The show would involve U.S.-wide tryouts starting this year, open to anyone 18 or older. A panel of coaches will select two teams – five men and five women – to train for six months, all expenses paid, at Lake Placid, N.Y.
They would train eight hours a day under professional coaches before going to regional playdowns for the 2010 U.S. Olympic trials in February 2009.
If they win, they're off to the Vancouver Olympics, unlikely as that may seem.
The tryouts, training and national competition will all be part of the series.
"If the winners get anywhere, it will be because they've earned it," said Campbell.
Patzke said the television teams would be given no advantage.
"They would have to enter the U.S. Olympic team trials playdowns like any other U.S. Olympic-eligible team," he said.
"There are no special concessions."
Mktgpartners Canadian president Colin Campbell said in a statement that curling has a unique appeal to advertisers.
"The sport of curling is clutter-free compared to mainstream American sports sponsorship," he said, "and Rockstar Curling is an excellent opportunity for brands to capture the attention of consumers, leading up to the Olympics."
Indiana Jones and the Valentine’s Day Teaser Trailer
Valentine’s Day is coming a little earlier for Indy fans. Paramount Pictures and LucasFilm have announced that the much anticipated teaser trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull will be previewed exclusively on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on February 14th between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m.
The footage will then be immediately available online through the film’s official site IndianaJones.com and Yahoo! Movies.
The trailer will still play on the big screen in front of prints of The Spiderwick Chronicles. This is great news for Indy fanatics, because it means we won’t have to sit through a weekend of YouTube bootlegs. You have to give Paramount credit for not trying to force fans into seeing Spiderwick to catch the teaser, a shady practice adopted by many of the major Hollywood movie studios.
Strike wraps too late for Oscar promo plans
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - The return of writers -- and celebrities -- to the full palette of late-night shows comes too late for studios hoping to swell support for their Oscar-nominated films and stars.
"A week or two ago this would have made a difference," one veteran awards consultant said of the tentative deal to end the three-month writers strike. "But most people already know who they're voting for, and most of the nominees are already done promoting their films."
While Oscar balloting doesn't officially close until February 19, five days before the ceremony takes place, the prime campaigning season is essentially over, with the nominees lunch and assorted guild ceremonies already in the books.
Few nominees are expected to fly to a city for just one taping, though guests might do a one-off in their own city. On Wednesday, for instance, supporting actress nominee Amy Ryan ("Gone Baby Gone") will appear on "The Late Show With David Letterman."
One of the highest-profile late-night shows signaled its return Monday as sources said that "Juno" star and best actress nominee Ellen Page would host "Saturday Night Live" on March 1, the series' first program after the Academy Awards.
But the ability to use late-night for the Oscars itself, given the tight turnaround, is tricky. Miramax said it had no plans to book stars from "No Country for Old Men" on "The Tonight Show" or other late-night programs. Other Oscar nominees, such as Daniel Day-Lewis ("There Will Be Blood") and Julie Christie ("Away From Her"), are not big on the late-night circuit anyway.
George Clooney, who might have had a second round of interviews for "Michael Clayton," which Warner Bros. put back into release after its Oscar nominations, might hold back now that he has a new movie to launch in five weeks, "Leatherheads," which he directed, produced and stars in.
Most nominees this season appeared at the usual round of more intimate events like guild screenings, film festival appearances in Palm Springs and Santa Barbara as well as New York dinners thrown by the likes of Peggy Siegal.
But in the past, late-night shows, particularly "The Tonight Show," have proved a viable launching pad; Oscar historians point to events like Juliette Binoche's late-night tour that helped catapult her to a nomination for "Chocolat" in 2000. The absence of those appearances could impact the race in subtle ways.
Already the weekend's BAFTA win in London for Marion Cotillard ("La Vie en Rose") over Christie, seen as something of an upset, had observers speculating over how the Oscar race would look if Cotillard could have worked the late-night circuit during her recent trip to Hollywood.
Supporting actor nominee Casey Affleck ("The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"), though considered a longshot in the category, could have used the late-night couches to raise his profile and establish himself as a future contender.
Still, it's expected that stars will make appearances on late-night shows for Oscar movies still in theaters -- like "Juno" -- to boost box office.
On Monday, many late-night show were cautious about telegraphing plans for upcoming guests, though the booking action behind the scenes was thought to be frantic as both shows and stars tried to make up for three months of lost time.
NBC declined comment on any guests for "The Tonight Show" and "The Late Show With Conan O'Brien," though both were expected to line up Oscar nominees.
ABC's "Late Show With Jimmy Kimmel" also is expected to be a player as it tries to land Academy Awards nominees to promote the network's Oscar telecast; a rep said it was working to line up Oscar guests.
But one late-night ABC telecast is staying out of the race: a "Nightline" rep said that with the intense political season under way, there were no plans to bring on any Oscar nominees.