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Magazines

Are they that deserving, or was this really that uninteresting a year?

“American Soldier” named Time’s “Person of the Year”
WASHINGTON (AFP) – “The American Soldier” has been named Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year,” the magazine announced.
The weekly said Sunday that it was using the term broadly to include men and women in all branches of the US armed forces — 1.4 million in uniform and 1.2 million in the reserves.
“For uncommon skills and service, for the choices each one of them has made and the ones still ahead, for the challenge of defending not only our freedoms but those barely stirring half a world away, the American soldier is TIME’s Person of the Year,” TIME editor-at-large Nancy Gibbs said in a statement.
Seceretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld suggested the choice when Time editors met with him at the Pentagon in November, the statement said.
The United States has about 120,000 troops currently serving in Iraq and some 9,000 hunting remnants of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, according to the US Central Command.
US soldiers got the salute from Time in 1951 when it named “The US Fighting-Man” “Man of the Year” during the Korean War.
Three women who spoke up about abuses at their workplaces — the FBI, WorldCom and Enron — were named “persons of the year” in 2002, and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani took the nod in 2001 for his leadership during the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

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Magazines

I’ve always considered myself a bit of a pirate.

Michelle Branch Reveals Herself In ‘Maxim’
20-year-old Michelle Branch shows a new side of herself in the January issue of Maxim magazine, where she’s seen in a racy photo spread alongside an equally racy interview. Here is an excerpt of Branch’s Maxim interview:
How can a guy get your attention? “Well, you know that thing where you always want what you can’t have? I like guys who are taken. I can’t help it. It’s the guy who’s not paying attention to you. That just kills me.”
Any other weird obsessions? “This is going to sound stupid, but I have a pirate fetish. It started when someone in my band hurt their eye and had to wear an eye patch. I realized that I always thought pirates were sexy.”
What’s something about you that people might be shocked about? “People have this notion of me being this sweet, nice girl, but I’m kind of a pervert. We’ll be on the tour bus, and me and my makeup artists will be watching porn. Everyone thinks about sex, so why are we pretending that we’re not?”

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Magazines

Get your mind out of the gutter!

Stephen King slams Celine Dion
BANGOR, Maine (AP) — When he was in college at the University of Maine in the 1960s, best-selling author Stephen King had a column, King’s Garbage Truck, that ran in the student newspaper.
Now the Bangor novelist has a column again, this time in Entertainment Weekly magazine. It marks the first time King has written a regularly scheduled column since his university days.
His monthly piece, called The Pop of King, debuts in the Aug. 8 issue. In it, he gives his opinions on books, movies, television, music and more.
In the introduction to his first column, the 55-year-old explains that he wrote a review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the magazine a few months ago. The editors came back to him, he says, because they either liked the review or the fact that it was written in longhand.
“For all I know, they might have thought it would be good to have at least one writer on tap who could turn in copy even after a nuclear pulse wiped out the hard drives on all the laptops,” King writes.
King also says he loved the third Terminator movie (“Arnold is still the perfect machine,” he writes) and slams Celine Dion.
“Steve King thinks Who Let the Dogs Out is better than all the songs Ms. Dion has recorded, put together,” he writes.

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Magazines

Maybe thats what Chantal Kreviazuk is singing about!

Julia Roberts in Pieces Over Pic
Screw the diet and Pilates sessions–even Hollywood’s A-list isn’t good enough to grace the covers of major magazines without a major Franken-chop job.
Julia Roberts is the latest celeb steamed at a magazine for messing with her megawatt mug. Roberts, whose appearance in a flick commands $20 million-plus, was the victim of a mix-and-match cover when Redbook magazine slapped her head onto another body for its July issue.
Roberts’ head was allegedly plucked from a paparazzi shot taken at the 2002 People’s Choice Awards, according to a story in USA Today, while her body was borrowed from the Notting Hill movie premiere four years ago. The clipped-together photo is accompanied by a headline that blares, without a trace of irony, “The Real Julia.”
The practice of airbrushing cellulite and stretch marks or tweaking an errant nipple is standard procedure at most magazines that count on their flawless cover shots to woo readers. But the practice of pasting different body parts together is drawing criticism, especially when said body parts aren’t perfectly proportional.
In light of the controversy, publisher Hearst issued an apology earlier this week. “In an effort to make a cover that would pop on the newsstand, we combined two different shots of Julia Roberts. We acknowledge that we may have gone too far and hope that Ms. Roberts will accept our apology.”
That will come as little consolation to Jennifer Aniston, who was the victim of a butcher job on the June cover of Redbook. Her publicist claims the photo was a composite of three different shots, which gives Aniston an oddly disjointed look, and says the Friends star is allegedly considering legal action over the cover photo.
A spokesperson for the magazine denied the allegations to USA Today, claiming only the length of Aniston’s hair and color of her shirt were changed.
Calls to Redbook were not returned.
Other recent cover controversies include the May issue of Seventeen magazine, which digitally manipulated a photo of Sarah Michelle Gellar until her left hand appeared warped and unnaturally long. A thank-you gift placated her peeved publicist. Meanwhile, Kate Winslet’s suddenly skinny legs were the focus of attention when the February issue of GQ hit newsstands. The admittedly curvaceous actress spoke out against the touch-up, urging other women not to be influenced by her digitally altered image.
No harm, no foul.
A creepier example of media manipulation was Time magazine’s darkening of an O.J. Simpson mug shot. In 1994, the news mag shaded the skin tone of the fallen football hero slightly darker making its cover subject appear even more sinister. Time later apologized after being accused of racism.

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Magazines

Calm down, she’s only speaking with them.

Lisa Marie Presley Speaks To ‘Playboy’
Lisa Marie Presley’s music career may just be blooming, but that didn’t stop the publishers of Playboy from making her the subject of the famed column “The Playboy Interview” in the July issue. Lisa Marie spoke candidly to the men’s magazine about sex, growing up in her father’s shadow, and her three marriages.
When it comes to sexual preferences, Lisa Marie said, “I like it rough, the way they do things in porn movies.” She added, “I didn’t have sex until I was 15… But I was intrigued by sex at a very early age. I think I was a pervert when I was three. I liked looking up skirts.”
Lisa Marie also divulges that growing up in the shadow of her father Elvis Presley was difficult at times. “It’s only a hindrance in that I didn’t particularly ask for all the attention,” Lisa Marie said.
As for her marriage to Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie told Playboy, “He became this bigger-than-life figure. But at some point, it turned on him and he became this freak. And now he can’t get out from under it.” She also said that as soon as Jackson began pressing the idea of having children together, “All I could ever see was a custody battle nightmare.”
Lisa Marie Presley begins her stint as Chris Isaak’s opening act on July 11 in Boston.

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Magazines

I know I should have some righteous, moral thing to say but all I can think of is “Woo hoo”!!!

‘SURVIVOR’ JENNA TO BARE IT ALL
Jenna Morasca, the swimsuit model who won $1 million last month on “Survivor: Amazon,” won’t need the swimsuit in her next photo spread.
Jenna, 21, is taking it all off for the August issue of Playboy – to show viewers what they couldn’t see last season when she and fellow contestant Heidi Strobel went topless for one of the challanges.
Heidi, 24, a phys-ed teacher from Missouri, will also appear in the Playboy feature.
It was something of a first when CBS showed the two women shirtless – albeit with their breasts obscured by video scrambling – on network TV.
“To my mind that was a classic moment of primetime television,” Playboy editorial director James Kaminsky told The Post.
Playboy claims it is another first to get the big-money winner of a reality show – not a runner-up- to pose.
Jenna could earn another $1 million or more – depending on sales of the magazine – with the Playboy cover feature.
The photo session took place in a Brooklyn studio last month, the morning after Jenna was crowned the winner on a live telecast on May 11.
“Jenna actually went from her appearance on the Letterman show directly to our studio,” Kaminsky said.
The sexy pictorial got the green light from “Survivor” executive producer Mark Burnett and CBS – both could have blocked the girls from posing nude. Under the contract “Survivor” contestants must sign, CBS has final say when and where participants may appear and who they may give interviews to for up to a year after the show airs.
Last month, CBS blocked Jenna from posing in an anti-fur ad for the animal rights group, PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The network has since reversed that decision.
“CBS was not the group that engineered this – but they had no problem with it,” Kaminsky said.
“The girls signed off on it. I suppose CBS could have stopped it but they did not,” he said. “And as soon as Mark Burnett found out that we were making these overtures to the girls, he thought that this was a great thing and supported it.”
This latest version of “Survivor,” the fifth since the series debuted two years ago, began as a battle of sexes.
The traditional two teams were divided by gender – which gave the show a new feel and allowed contestants to be less reserved since there was no one of the opposite sex around to object or be offended.
There may have been one hitch, say insiders.
Shortly after the shoot, one or both of the girls were said to have had second thoughts about posing nude and tried to pull out of the deal, a source told The Post.
But Kaminsky said to his knowledge everything went easily.
“As far as I know there was no problem.,” he said. “Everything went as smooth as you hope these shoots go.”
This will also be the fastest Playboy has ever turned around a photo project. The magazine’s editors typically spend months working the photo shoots into each issue.
The “Survivor” project will go from photo session to print in the less than 90 days.
“It’s about as fast as we’re capable of doing it,” Kaminsky said. “I’d love to think that we can use this as a model for the future because we often spend an awful lot of time on the photo shoots, it’s just sort of the process.”

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Magazines

The pictures of her in last month’s BLENDER magazine were a lot better.

Shania bares her wares in Maxim
Shania Twain lets it all hang out on her latest magazine cover for Maxim — For Men.
Beside the headline, “Canada’s finest — the pics we never thought we’d live to see,” the Canadian country superstar is pictured in a black lace bra and black pants.
Inside, Twain talks about witnessing bar fights while performing in Northern Ontario as a young girl, singing Loverboy’s Everybody’s Working For The Weekend, and growing up eating, um, beaver, moose and bear.
She even says she would consider starring in a movie, say with Jackie Chan.

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Magazines

Time magazine gives everything away. We give you nothing! That way you can just let th emovie unfold in front of you, the way it should be. Time magazine, you suck!

‘Matrix’ fans unload on ‘Time’
A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. So can too much.
That’s what Time magazine is learning after revealing most of the plot details of the rabidly anticipated sci-fi thriller The Matrix Reloaded ahead of its opening next Wednesday. The article, by reviewer Richard Corliss, was careful to warn those who wished to remain in “blissful ignorance” of when spoilers began and stopped.
But blissful is not the word for Matrix fans who are upset that the publication not only spilled the beans, but also broke several unwritten rules of cinematic journalism. Namely, thou shalt not reveal surprise twists and film endings.
Expect next week’s letters column to be filled with anger. Time’s Patrick Smith couldn’t give an exact tally but says, “It’s safe to say that people are concerned.”
Joseph Nathan, 26, of Burbank, Calif., who posted a gripe on the Web site ComingSoon.com, says: “I don’t care if the story warned of spoilers or not. You shouldn’t give secrets away to a film this important. You can’t hang a sign in the street that says ‘Don’t look up’ and expect people not to look up.”
Adds comingsoon.com Web master Mirko Parleviet: “Just because fans can’t wait to see a movie, that doesn’t mean they want to hear about it beforehand.”
Word is that Matrix producer Joel Silver is furious as well.
Time executive editor Priscilla Painton says, “It’s part of what we sell when we get exclusive news. We were the only newsmagazine with access, and that’s one of the great assets of the cover story.”
Many question that access. Time and Warner Bros., the Matrix studio, are both part of AOL Time Warner. But Painton denies any preferential treatment and says the story isn’t a review (one will run next week), though Corliss reports mixed crowd reaction.
Asked if her enjoyment of the movie was hurt, she laughs and says, “Did you see the cover line?” Which is, “If we told you everything, they’d have to kill us.”Hope no one takes them up on the offer.

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Magazines

From the “Bowing to stupid public pressure” file

Wal-Mart Pulls Racy Magazines from Store Shelves
NEW YORK (Reuters) – First Sheryl Crow had to go. Then Barbie’s pregnant friend was shunned. Now, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. the world’s biggest retailer, is axing three men’s magazines known for cover photos of scantily-clad models.
Wal-Mart has pulled Maxim and Stuff magazines, published by Dennis Publishing, and Emap Metro LLC’s FHM magazine from its shelves, saying some customers were uncomfortable with their covers.
“Wal-Mart has been the most notorious for refusing to carry, for example, music with warning labels,” said Marjorie Heins, director of the Free Expression Policy Project based in New York. “Some of these large chains seem to have their marketing decisions driven by ideological rather than truly financial motivations.”
In 1996, the retailer refused to sell an album from Sheryl Crow because it contained a lyric talking about children buying guns at Wal-Mart. Last year, it yanked from its shelves Barbie’s long-time pal Midge — a married character doll that featured a stomach with a curled-up baby inside.
The decision to stop carrying the magazines was made last week, company spokesman Tom Williams said. Wal-Mart is the top U.S. seller of products ranging from dog food to diamonds with sales of $244.5 billion in the fiscal year ended January 2003.
All three magazines have seen their U.S. circulation soar, helped by their eye-catching covers and short, cheeky and sex-oriented content.
“We carried those magazines initially in response to customer requests, but we have had customers around the country that have consistently been telling us they’re uncomfortable with us carrying these magazines,” Williams said.
Maxim magazine has a circulation of 2.5 million, with about 900,000 sold via newsstands. Stuff magazine has a circulation of 1.2 million, with about 450,000 sold on stands.
A spokesman for Dennis Publishing said sales of the publisher’s magazines via Wal-Mart accounted for only 1 percent of total circulation.
FHM, or For Him Magazine, has a circulation of 1.1 million. The title was taken off Wal-Mart newsstands in October 2001.
“They put us back on the newsstand with our January and February 2003 issue,” a spokeswoman for FHM told Reuters. The magazine has since been removed again.
“Our sales figures at Wal-Mart this year are not significant, only 1 percent of our total circulation,” the spokeswoman said.
DOUBLE STANDARD?
Racy covers on magazines racks are not hard to find. Recent covers from music magazine Rolling Stone — which is sold at Wal-Mart — featured singer Christina Aguilera wearing nothing but a guitar and heavy make up.
“We are dismayed at the double standard Wal-Mart has set with magazines,” Dennis Publishing said in a statement later on Tuesday.
“We hope Wal-Mart will realize that the front covers and contents of Maxim and Stuff are no more provocative than those of other men’s magazines such as GQ, Esquire, Details, and Rolling Stone — and usually less provocative than the covers and contents of many women’s magazines,” the publisher added.

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Magazines

Ever notice how she never makes their “Most Talented” list?

PRETTY WOMAN
Halle Berry makes People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful list for the seventh time. The special issue, with Berry on the cover, is due on newsstands Friday.