Nicolas Cage's Mid-Life Crisis

Yep, you heard what I said. The actor used to make pretty good movies like Family Man, Matchstick Men, and Lord of War. Now where is he? He's grown his hair out, has suave lady's man skills, and can predict the future. It's official. Nicholas Cage is having a mid-life crisis, people! But no need to panic. I'm sure it'll pass eventually.. I hope.

It started with National Treasurer. We all generally liked the movie. It was funny and fast-paced, not really his normal stuff, but it wasn't so bad. He won over a pretty woman in the end that wasn't too far off his age range. But sadly, it didn't end there. The events to come are horrifying to say the least.

So what wonderfully action-packed, edge-of-your-seat films has he made lately, you ask? Let's see.. there's been:

Ghost Rider (2007)
Eva Mendez?!?!? 'Nuff said.

Next (2007)
He can see 2 minutes into the future and gets Jessica Biel for Christ's sake!
Bangkok Dangerous (2008)
I haven't even seen this movie but I think he steals cars and shoots people. Knowing (2009)
I actually watched this for some reason... Don't. The ending made me want to gouge my eyes out so I could stop seeing.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010)
That's it! I can't take this! Look at his hair! I mean, look at it! And he has a friggin' goatee! Not to mention his magical powers! Bah!

So I think it's pretty safe to say that my theory is pretty accurate. What happened to the deep, indie films he used to make like Adaptation or Weather Man? What happened to switching faces with John Travolta or creeping on mortal Meg Ryan?

Just face it Mr.Cage. Not to be mean, but look into the mirror! You're 45, you have a receding hair line, and you're average looking! Now, will you take the duster jacket off, put the gun down, and stop pretending you know magic! We loved you when you acted your age.

My Kaitlin Olson Story

In recognition of the new season of Always Sunny in Philadelphia (on FX Thurs. at 10/9c), here is my Kaitlin Olson story. About a year ago, I was traveling from Philly to Los Angeles on business. As I was walking to my seat on the plane, I immediately noticed Kaitlin Olson in first class. At the time, I had only just started watching the show. I recognized her right away but had no idea what her name was. When I got to my seat in coach, I started rapidly shooting emails to Tina, Laura and Huz. You'd think my story ends there, but it doesn't!

I was about to send the email that included tons of caps and exclamation points (to show my excitement of course) when a flight attendant comes up to me. She tells me that there is a first class seat available for me. Because I travel a lot for work, I sometimes get upgraded. I collected my things, and they showed me to my seat. I ended up right next to Kaitlin Olson! OMG! In quiet excitement, I emailed Tina, Laura and Huz about the turn of events.

Okay, I have never approached a celebrity before, except for Hal Sparks (love him!). So what do I say? What do I say?! These are the thoughts that ran through my head: Should I say hello now? But we will be on this flight for six hours. Would it be awkward for six whole hours if I say something now? What if she doesn't want to be bothered? What if she hates people?

So what did I end up doing? I took a nap. Haha. I was really sleepy...from all the thinking. But then I woke up a couple hours later. And she was still there. Really! So for the next hour, I tried to pretend to read my book while I was really

thinking about what to say. I knew I had to say something...anything. I just didn't know how to break the ice. Finally, three hours into the flight, after summoning all my courage (I am a big big wuss), I turn to her and say "I just wanted to say I love your show. I didn't say anything earlier because I didn't want to bother you. But I knew my friends would never forgive me if I didn't say something." I can assure you that this line was rehearsed repeatedly and silently in my head. She was so sweet and said that I should have said something earlier. Then we chatted for the next three hours. We talked about my family, her family, her new husband (her co-star btw) and my husband. I asked her what big celebrities she's met. She said Ed Norton. How cool is that? I asked her about Always Sunny. I noticed she was reading Twilight, so I asked her about that. She was soooo nice. It was awesome...no actually, it was awe quite a bit (think about that one). We totally became BFFs. Oh, and I got a picture with her!! Of course, I look terrible in it because we had been on the plane for six hours, but I don't care. It is definitely epic.

I haven't had many celebrity encounters in my life. One time, Laura and I went to a book signing by Stephenie Meyer. Laura could blog about that. My head hurts just thinking about that day. Four words. Lots of screaming tweens. Not fun.

Did You Notice That Girl on Project Runway?

I just finished watching the season premiere of Project Runway, and Lindsay Lohan was the guest judge. I guess she has nothing better to do nowadays. I've vented about her in an earlier post , so you don't need to read it again. Anyway, I couldn't help noticing that the girl who got eliminated tonight (see pic on the right) looks exactly like Lindsay's girlfriend, Samantha Ronson. RIGHT?!? Isn't that uncanny? No like seriously! You can really tell when you see the girl on TV. I wonder if Lindsay noticed? Hmmm...something to think about.

Old Movie Marathon

Last night at 10:30p, I started my own movie marathon. (Yes, I was very tired this morning.) I have always wanted to look back at older movies that I have never seen or haven't seen in a while. Of course, I hadn't planned on a marathon on a weeknight and certainly not when I started either. I was flipping through the movie channels and started off in the middle of True Romance with Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. It came out in 1993 when Christian Slater was actually a bigger star than Brad Pitt who played a random pot head in the movie. Pretty funny. I have to say that Patricia Arquette was great in it. Then I moved on to The Terminator, a 1984 movie. I don't remember a thing from it, so it was like new to me. Linda Hamilton's hair and clothes were hilarious, and the effects were funny.

After that, it was getting late, sometime around midnight. My husband had already fallen asleep by this point. I was about to go to bed, but I flipped through and saw a movie with Mickey Rourke called 9 1/2 Weeks. I just wanted to see what he looked like when he was younger. Really! For the first ten minutes, I was waiting for him to come on screen. All I saw was Kim Basinger and this really hot guy. Then I realized that hot guy was Mickey Rourke. I had no idea! Then I finished the entire movie. Ahh! I finally went to bed at 1am.

I could not get over how hot both Kim Basinger and Mickey Rourke were back then. If you didn't know, Mickey Rourke recently came back into the spotlight because of his role in The Wrestler with Marisa Tomei. He looks completely different, and it is apparent that he had some plastic surgery done. I was curious about what happened, so I looked it up today. In the 1990s, he went into boxing for a few years. He received many injuries, especially to his face. Supposedly, his plastic surgeon didn't do a great job reconstructing his face. After he went back into acting in the mid-90s, everyone said he was unrecognizable. That is a shame because he used to be so cute.

My impromptu movie marathon was really fun. I think everyone should do an old movie marathon. I would totally do it again, but next time I'll actually watch each of the movies from the beginning and at a reasonable hour.

Kiefer Sutherland and Designer Jack McCollough Butt Heads--Literally

Keifer Sutherland got in a scuffle with women's wear designer Jack McCollough because McCollough almost knocked Brooke Shields over. And how did Sutherland defend her honor? He head-butted him. Haha! Who does that? That only happens in movies and shows like 24, I guess. Maybe that's where he got the idea. Unfortunately for him, Shields isn't defending his honor and is actually siding with McCollough. How ungrateful! Actually, that's probably smart because she doesn't want to side with a head-butter...even if he is Jack Bauer.

What Happened to Lindsay Lohan?

At one time in my life, I had a huge girl crush on Lindsay Lohan, but that was many many years ago. She was a rising star once. She was actually curvy and not stick thin like she is now. She looks kinda freakish, doesn't she? She had so much potential...then came the partying and more partying. Her personal life became more interesting than her movies. I was pretty disappointed because I really was a fan. She hasn't made a good movie since Mean Girls. That was 5 years ago. That is a long time considering she is only 22 years old.

I am hoping she gets back on track. I say this as a former fan. I am still waiting for her to make a dynamite movie. She better do one soon before she becomes obsolete. However, if Britney Spears can come back, so can Lindsay Lohan...because she actually has talent. (Okay, I admit Britney's songs are catchy. Damnit.)

WTF, Jackie Chan!

Celebrities need to learn how to keep their mouth shut. Stay far far away from politics. Stick to safe topics like fashion, crazy vegan diets, absurd baby names, their hate and love relationship with the paparazzi, and whether mom jeans and gladiator shoes are in or not (I really want to know!).

The most recent victim of his own big mouth is Jackie Chan. I grew up watching his movies. He reminds me of my dad a little. I was glad that he was able to transition to American movies and achieve success here. I stuck by him while he was learning the language and when he made corny jokes on The Tonight Show. But I can't defend him when he says dumb things.

On April 18, 2009, at a business forum in Hainan, a southern Chinese island, Jackie Chan was asked whether the Chinese “need to be controlled." He should have politely said "no comment." Instead, he gave a nonsensical response that landed him in hot water. He said, "I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic." He added, "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want."

WTF!

I'd like to believe that he didn't mean anything by it and really didn't know what the hell he was talking about. But Jackie Chan, what were you thinking? He offended so many people...I mean a whole friggin' race and the most populous country in the world. Again, WTF! Lawmaker Albert Ho said it right, calling the comments "racist" and saying "[p]eople around the world are running their own countries. Why can't Chinese do the same?" Jackie Chan's spokesperson said that the comments were taken out of context and Jackie Chan was really referring to the entertainment industry in China. Yeah...nice try...

I Get That A Lot: An April Fool's Special

On April 1st, CBS aired a one-time special called I Get That A Lot. Celebrities like Heidi Klum act like regular people working regular jobs. When people recognize them, they would feign a case of mistaken identity, repeatedly saying the line, "I get that a lot." The show was pretty cute and funny. The segment with Heidi Klum was my favorite. She is so cute and actually pretty hilarious. She was totally messing with people. One moment she was making googly eyes at some guy who eventually gave her his number. The next moment, she got this guy to say that she is thinner than Heidi Klum. Haha!

Other celebrities on the show were Jessica Simpson, Jeff Probst, Mario Lopez, LeAnn Rimes and Ice T. I thought they were all charming and likeable on the show. The concept is the same as Punk'd, I suppose. I thought Punk'd really showed the true colors of some celebrities. However, in this show, the celebrities are the ones in control of the situation and don't end up looking like dopes in the end.

I know this post is kinda late...like 10 days too late. But I just had a chance to catch it online yesterday. You can see the entire episode on cbs.com.

Seth Rogan Is A Cutie Patootie!

Seth Rogan is starring in a film he wrote called The Green Hornet in which he plays a super hero. The film is still in production, so he is losing a ton of weight and is buffing up!Isn't he adorable now! Uh-oh! I see a new crush in my immediate future!

While looking for pictures of Seth, I found a couple random, but interesting, photos:One word: Scandalous

Captain Hammer Is Super!

Haha! I hope you like my cheesy title. My topic is really Nathan Fillion, but I couldn't think of anything clever. =(

I just have to say Nathan Fillion is so awesome. Joss Whedon discovered him, so he must be talented. (Exception: Sarah Michelle Gellar can't play anyone but Buffy.) I hope Nathan Fillon makes it in show biz. He has already been in one TV show that was cancelled prematurely. Ahem, Firefly. You gotta watch it! So recently I followed him to this new show called Castle. I was really skeptical that it would be any good because it seemed like just another cop show. The series premeire was meh, but then he really shined in all subsequent episodes. He is so darn charming and funny. He made a regular cop show actually watchable. I don't know if Castle will be his big break. Can he keep it up? I hope so. Or if not, I hope his next TV show is as awesome as he is.

Why Are Actors in Animated Films?

I've watched animated movies and sat there trying to pinpoint a voice. There's Artie from Shrek III who turned out to be Justin Timberlake and Chicken Joe from Surf's Up whose voice was Jon Heder's. Okay, I watch a lot of animated movies. And Justin Timberlake is not an actor. I admit it.

But I still want to ask when and why did actors start "acting" in animated movies? I don't understand why it is necessary. Do actors tied to movies really get more kids to watch? More adults? Are they any better than voice actors? I doubt it. I remember the days when Disney movies were actually drawn and when you didn't recognize the voices from somewhere else. I kinda liked it that way. I think it all started with Aladdin with Robin Williams as the voice of the Genie. Then it became the trend--JTT and Whoopi Goldberg in Lion King and Mel Gibson in Pocahontas. Now, it has become the standard.

I feel bad for all of those voice actors who are now out of work. That's messed up. Actors should just stick to feature films and leave well enough alone.

I Heart Hal Sparks

Hal Sparks was in town performing at a local comedy club. I just came back from the show, and he was awesome! He was really funny. He got the whole place laughing so hard. I am sure most people recognize him but just don't know where the hell you've seen him. He was one of the main characters in Queer as Folk. He was on Talk Soup for a short stint. And he was the bubble wrap guy in Dude, Where's My Car? I have been a fan of his since his days in Queer As Folk. I didn't realize he was a comic until recently and found out that he performed locally every once in a while. So I had to check him out! And thank goodness I did.

Before the show, I told my husband that I really wanted to get a picture with him. And I did it! He was standing around after the show. We almost passed by him without even knowing it. Luckily, I saw some people crowded around him. So I went up to him giddy-like and gave him an enthusiastic "HI!" My husband told me later that he imitated me. Haha! Hal Sparks made fun of me! How cool is that? I didn't even notice because I was too excited. Then I told him that I loved him in Queer as Folk. He said thanks...I think I recall. And I gave him a hug!! Then my husband took our picture! It was a good one too. Woohoo! It was awesome! I heart Hal Sparks.

Whedon World: One Life, One Death

Good news first: Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof had a baby girl on March 24, 2009. They named her, Satyana Denisof. (What is up with celebrity baby names?) She has been hiding her baby bump on How I Met Your Mother in the past few episodes. Alyson and Alexis met on the set of Buffy. They are so friggin' cute together. They beat the odds in Hollywood and have been married for five years already. Now they welcome a baby to the happy family.

Now to the sad news: Andy Hallett who played Lorne on Angel passed away at 33. He was the green singing demon. He died of heart failure and had been ill for some time.

Disney Ads By Annie Leibovitz

Photographer Annie Leibovitz is most known for her portraits of celebrities on the cover of Vanity Fair. You probably never heard her name before but would recognize her sometimes controversial photos. She is the one who shot the famous picture of Demi Moore naked and pregnant back in 1991. More recently, in April 2008, she did the cover of Vogue with Gisele Bundchen and LeBron James. People thought it looked like King Kong and thought it was racist. Pretty ridiculous. She also photographed Miley Cyrus covered in just a sheet, or at last, that's what it looked like. And that caused a whole fuss, as you can imagine.

She has actually shot G-rated pictures for Disney. She shot various celebrities in beautiful ads inspired by Disney movies. Here are a few I really like:

Rachel Weiss as Snow White

Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella

Zack Efron and Vanessa Hudgens as Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip

The funniest picture of them all is the one for Peter Pan. Tina Fey is in it! She is awesome!

Where is she, you ask? She is Tinkerbell! Haha! Hilarious. Here is a close-up:

Rihanna and Chris Brown

This just in. Rihanna and Chris Brown are back together. This doesn't surprise me in the least. I predicted this would happen when the news first broke about the domestic violence case. It doesn't mean I agree with it. There's no excuse for what Chris Brown did to Rihanna, and he definitely doesn't deserve her forgiveness. But I also think that Rihanna is human. Women have gone back to their men after similar incidents. Except the difference is that Rihanna has the whole world watching. Not only are her family and friends probably questioning her decision, so is the rest of the world. With scrutiny like that, should she be considered strong for it or just weak?

See http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20262240,00.html.

Is Will Smith a Scientologist?!

I was shocked to first hear that Will Smith had made a very large donation to the Scientology movement. Baffled, I went online and searched for more information on the matter, and I was surprised by what I found.

First, Will Smith spent $900,000 to open a private school for his two children, Jaden and Willow, and about 40 other students. The school is called New Village Academy and is located outside Malibu. The teachings are full of Scientology jargon. They say they are using new study technology developed by L.R. Hubbard, the creator of Scientology, and the textbooks are all based off writings of this man. Some teachers in New Village Academy are Scientologists themselves; however, the principle announced that they are a secular school and staff do not promote their own religion. Although Will and Jada say they are not Scientologists, evidence makes this debatable.
Click to see a video of Will Smith on the Tavis Smiley Show talking about what he generally believes in. He does not mention Scientology, but his beliefs are very Scientology-like.

Another tidbit I picked up was a little disturbing. Big movie stars tend to give the whole crew a "wrap-gift" at a wrap-party when shooting for a film is complete. For example, one time Keanu Reeves gave all his production people motorcycles. That was a very lavish gift, but guess what Will gave the staff of a recent movie! He gave them free personality tests that they could redeem at their local Scientology Center. The personality tests are given without charge at the center anyway, so they weren't really gifts in the first place. Weird!

Will Smith supports Tom Cruise and his beliefs. He often defends Cruise and calls the public ignorant for bashing Cruise when they don't know anything about Scientology. So I did some research on it and, now knowing more, I am more appalled. According to Smith, since I know more and I'm not being ignorant, I can say freely that I still disapprove of Scientology.

There have been numerous accounts from Hubbard's fellow science-fiction authors and researchers, notably Harlan Ellison, Neison Himmel, Sam Merwin, Sam Moskowitz, Theodore Sturgeon, Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, and Lyle Stuart, of Hubbard stating on several occasions that the way to get rich was to start a religion. This is referenced, among other places, in a May 1980 Reader's Digest article, which quotes Hubbard, "If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion." I have read numerous personal accounts of witnesses who heard Hubbard say this to them before creating Scientology.

The Church of Scientology and its many related organizations have amassed considerable real estate holdings worldwide, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Scientology encourages existing members to "sell" Scientology to others by paying a commission to those who recruit new members. Scientology franchises, or missions, must pay the Church of Scientology roughly 10% of their gross income. On that basis, it is likened to a pyramid selling scheme. While introductory courses do not cost much, courses at the higher levels may cost several thousand dollars each.

Before Hubbard became a religious guru, he was a science fiction writer. And isn't it fishy that the story behind Scientology is so Sci-Fi-like, like perhaps it was created in Hubbard's sadistic, greedy mind?

I don't know how anyone can defend Scientology when there is substantial evidence that Scientology does not approve of homosexuals and is racist against African Americans. These are only but a few facts about Scientology. If you would like to know more, I would advise you to read up on it and create your own opinion, whether it be different than mine or not.

Joaquin Phoenix Has Gone Completely Nuts

You may have heard that Joaquin Phoenix is quitting show biz to become…drum roll please…a rapper! He says it is his passion now and is basically getting bored with doing movies. People think he's playing a joke on America, and I completely understand why. Let's state the obvious. He's white. And he's an actor. How can he be taken seriously? Remember K-Fed? (Btw, I hate that name).

His first performance occurred a few weeks ago at a Las Vegas club where he jumped up and down, yelled into the microphone and fell off the stage. I am guessing from the lack of headlines regarding his extraordinary hip-hop talent that it didn't go so well. And that falling off the stage wasn't part of the act. Maybe he'll come back to Hollywood one day. But until then the world has yet another actor turned singer…you know how those turn out. Eg. Lindsay Lohan, Russell Crowe, Robert Downey, Jr., Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Eddie Murphy.** The list goes on. But at least they didn't try to become a rapper.

**I would have included Paris Hilton because her one song that made it on air was TERRIBLE but I wouldn't consider her an actor. I am mainly pointing this out because her song was terrible! Did I mention that already?

The Dark Knight Has a Potty Mouth

Turns out Christian Bale can be one mean SOB. A tape turned up today with Bale cursing out a cinematographer during the filming of his new movie, Terminator Salvation, with Bryce Dallas Howard. Supposedly during a scene, the cinematographer walked onto the set behind Howard in Bale's line-of-sight, which is a big no-no. Bale totally went off on him. Click here for some of the dialogue on the tape.

I am one of those people who become disenchanted with celebrities when I hear stuff like this. Am I being too harsh? Don't all people have bad days? Isn't everyone entitled to a pass? Maybe it's that these stories completely validate the stereotypes we have about stars--big-egos and self-important. I guess I'll forget about it soon because really...who cares?

Little tidbit about Bale: He is NOT English! Did anyone know that? He is just proficient at accents and keeps an accent all through filming and even during promotions for the movie. So tricky...