Fan Fare

Christian Bale: the fallout continues

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

Actor Christian Bale’s expletive-laced tirade on the set of the upcoming action movie “Terminator Salvation” has been the talk of Hollywood this week. The widely heard audio tape from that verbal explosion has been remixed into a dance song and has inspired a T-Shirt. 

But on Wednesday, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton linked to perhaps the most creative product of the audio remix cottage industry that has resulted from Bale’s blow-up. It’s a mashup of the Bale tape and footage of television commentator Bill O’Reilly losing his cool on the set of his news program. Be warned, audio from ”Batman” Bale’s tirade is not exactly family friendly.      The recording of Bale’s outburst was first posted at celebrity news site TMZ.com. Bale reportedly lost his temper on the set of “Terminator Salvation” when the director of photography interrupted a scene the actor was playing in.      Hollywood has a long history of on-set tirades and grudge matches. What’s new is that the Internet provides a place to hear exactly how bad Hollywood’s bad boys and girls can be. Does that mean actors like Bale will keep their behavior in check next time? Don’t bet on it.

“Twilight” star remains bright even as movie dims

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

The hit vampire romance movie “Twilight” is seeing box office revenues dwindle now that the wildly successful film has been in theaters since Nov. 21. But that has not quieted any of the buzz surrounding the movie franchise and Stephenie Meyer, the author of the book series behind it.      On Wednesday, a publisher announced that “Twilight” director Catherine Hardwicke will release a book on March 17 giving a behind-the-scenes look at how the film was made.      Meanwhile, earlier this week horror fiction’s ruling monarch Stephen King blasted Meyer’s writing prowess in an interview with USA Weekend, a publication of the newspaper USA Today. King compared Meyer to J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books.      “The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn,” King told USA Weekend. “She’s not very good.”

King also gave his view on the mass psychology behind Meyer’s success at reaching a readership of teen girls.      “People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books,” King said. “It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because they’re not overtly sexual.”      A spokeswoman for Meyer was not immediately available.      In other “Twilight” news, a spokeswoman for 14-year-old “The Secret Life of Bees” star Dakota Fanning says the actress is in talks to play bloodsucker Jane in the sequel “New Moon.” But so far, Fanning has not been officially named for the part.

The dreams of lesser known Oscar nominees

It is a certainty that Oscar nominees like Sean Penn, Penelope Cruz, Robert Downey, Jr., and Brad Pitt will garner the major media spotlight at the world’s top film industry awards on Feb. 22.

But on Monday, at the annual Oscar nominees luncheon, a few of the lesser known stars got the chance to share their thoughts and feelings with reporters about being nominated, and they are some of the best stories to tell.

When asked about his first nomination, Michael Shannon, who earned an Oscar nod for his turn as a voice of reason in suburban adult drama “Revolutionary Road,” related this story. He said when he first started to get steady acting jobs about 10-15 years ago, he received a letter from another actor named Michael Shannon who lived in the United Kingdom. This other actor told him they should talk because Shannon really couldn’t use his name if he planned on having a career. “I’m just so glad I’ve gotten to a point where I can write him back and say, ‘you can’t intimidate me, man.’”

Taraji P. Henson, nominated for her role as a caretaker in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” said it was only at the Oscar nominee luncheon that she finally believed she was really nominated. “Clearly, they’re not going to ask for a recount,” she said. “My insides are crazy, my heart is pounding.” She added that for her, the nomination truly was a dream come true and added, “In my opinion if you’re not dreaming, your not living because dreams can come true.”

But the newcomers weren’t the only ones who were overjoyed or, for that matter, had funny stories to tell. Spanish actress Penelope Cruz, nominated for best supporting actress playing a fiery painter in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” said that when she was nominated she received so many congratulatory calls that her cell phone simply “collapsed.” It quit because it was overloaded. ”I took it to repair and they said they couldn’t fix it because they’d never see that happen before,” she said.

Some Critics toss flags at Bruce Springsteen’s Super Bowl act

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

Nobody can deny that rock icon Bruce Springsteen put a lot of sweat into his 12-minute Super Bowl half-time show. But it left the critics still pining for a little more.      The New York Times wrote in its review that Springsteen “rose to the occasion, but never above it.”     The paper noted that Springsteen, whose songs often run longer than the average two-minute pop hit, dropped verses in the four songs he performed during the half-time show, the better to fit them all into his set.       Todd Martens at the Los Angeles Times music blog Pop & Hiss wrote that the Springsteen show was not a concert “but a teaser — and it was, admittedly, an entertaining one — for Springsteen’s upcoming tour.”       Stephen Metcalf at the online magazine Slate.com wrote that Springsteen misread his television audience with the performance. “The national mood is sober bordering on a galloping panic. Lively as he was, I wouldn’t say the Boss did much to either banish or capture it,” Metcalf wrote. 

And Greg Kot at the Chicago Tribute blog Turn It Up wrote that as entertaining as the show was, it revealed the best and worst of Springsteen. He noted Springsteen’s line telling viewers to put down the guacamole dip, and his play-acting with a referee who ran on stage. “This was Springsteen as song-and-dance man, an accomplished artist reduced to pandering,” Kot wrote.      If nothing else, Springsteen proved himself to be flexible for a 59-year-old man, at one point sliding across the stage and into a television camera. Springsteen had been approached for years to play at the Super Bowl, but he always said no until this year. Was it worth the wait?

Is a show of “risks” enough to save the Oscars?

Oscar organizers are promising a show filled with “risks” by changing the old formula of a comedian telling jokes and film award winners getting all teary when they accept the world’s top film honors. But will ”risk” be enough.

Stung by competition from other awards shows and simply more channels on TV, the Oscars in recent years have seen an almost steady decline in viewership to 32 million last year — the lowest audience ever — from 39.9 million in 2007.

Some have blamed not only the competition, but the movies that get nominated. Last year, the nominees included films such as dark dramas “No Country for Old Men,” which were little seen by audiences.

By contrast, the most recent telecast with huge viewership came when 2003′s box office smash hit, ”The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” swept through many categories and won 11 awards. Oscar watchers had believed that popular Batman movie “The Dark Knight” might land a best film nomination and lure fans to the telecast this year, yet in it’s place is little seen drama “The Reader.”    Hmmmmmmm.

Nevertheless, producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon (“Dreamgirls”) promise a show with a lot of risk-taking and they’ve hired song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman to lead the way. But we wonder whether that will be enough? Or are Oscar voters simply out of touch with mainstream moviegoers who thrill at movies like “Dark Knight” and “Gran Torino”? Put more simply, will you tune in on Feb. 22?

Bruce Springsteen, E Street “still burning”

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

 The Boss is heading into his Super Bowl half-time show on Sunday, and even though he is no football fan, Bruce Springsteen knows how to talk a good game.      Springsteen, 58, told reporters at a news conference ahead of the Bowl that his decades-old E Street Band has just gone through a “golden age” and is playing its best music ever.      “We’re a bunch of old soldiers, but the band is still burning,” he said.      President Barack Obama’s election seems to have lightened up Springsteen, who cast a bleak view at the Bush administration. Click here to read about it.      Springsteen’s new album “Working On a Dream” was released on Tuesday to mixed reviews. The first song on it “Outlaw Pete” has the Internet blogosphere buzzing over suggestions the melody sounds uncannily similar to costumed rock band Kiss’ 1979 hit “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.”      Inevitably, the two songs were juxtaposed on video sharing site YouTube.com to give everyone a chance to judge the similarities.       Did the Boss really do it? In the modern music industry, borrowing a tune quickly gets labeled stealing. But Springsteen also comes from America’s folk music tradition. Folk icon Woody Guthrie took the melody for his anthem “This Land Is Your Land” from the Carter Family, who are also legends in the folk world — and his reputation was never hurt by that reinterpretation. Springsteen has called that song song “one of the most beautiful songs ever written.”      Bob Dylan — another Springsteen predecessor — has made liberal use of “borrowed” material throughout his career in and out of folk music, most recently reworking the Muddy Waters song “Trouble No More” into the strikingly similar “Someday Baby” on his 2006 album “Modern Times.”      So maybe Springsteen gets a pass if his song sounds like a Kiss track, especially since so many pop songs exist out there. Some are bound to start sounding alike. Then again, British supergroup Coldplay could never use the folk music excuse when they were pilloried for recording a song that appeared to resemble a riff from virtuoso guitarist Joe Satriani.       If nothing else, Springsteen can rest assured that with his Super Bowl show and a budding song controversy, music fans are talking about him again. He’s even reaching new audiences.      “If you don’t die, after awhile young people show up in the front row,” Springsteen wryly told reporters this week.

That’s something you probably can’t say about Kiss.

A bailout for the laughing class?

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

Jamie Masada, the owner of L.A. comedy club The Laugh Factory, says he wants a little bit of federal bailout money to take jokes and good cheer on the road to U.S. communities struck by the recession. After all, he argues, if bankers can get a bailout, why not comedians?      But he tells Reuters that he promises not to pocket any of the cash, in the unlikely event he gets it. He just wants to pack comedians in a bus and take them to perform on the road, and buy hard-up Americans some coffee and donuts.      As for that bus, don’t expect any whoopee cushions or rubber chickens onboard.      “We’re not going to do something sleezy with a whoopee cushion or anything like that,” Masada said. “We’re going to really try to bring a smile to someone’s face.”      How much would that cost? Masada pegs his project at $700,000, which he says is a bargain compared to the roughly $800+ billion price tag on President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan.      You couldn’t blame Obama if he’s a little busy these days to consider the proposal, but Masada said he wants to take comedians to Washington, D.C. to plead his case.      Obama himself is no slouch as a jester. Weeks before the Nov. 4 election, he appeared at a formal dinner and simultaneously joked that he was no messiah, while playing up his love of Superman comics.      “Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger,” Obama said. “I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father, Jor-el, to save the planet Earth.”      If Obama keeps jokes like that coming from the White House, maybe he could headline his own recession comedy tour.

Hollywood ponders Jobs-lessness

(Writing and Reporting by Sue Zeidler)

Apple Inc’s Steve Jobs has commanded a leading role in Hollywood for years with his clout and influence in the digital entertainment arena, including Apple’s position as a leading provider of downloads for music and video at its iTunes Web site. 

Jobs also sits on the board and is the largest individual shareholder of the Walt Disney Co., having sold his Pixar Animation Studios for stock in the venerable film and TV studio. Now, his exit from the limelight at Apple has left Hollywood abuzz.

The 53-year-old tech icon and pancreatic cancer survivor recently said he was stepping aside temporarily at Apple due to health problems “more complex” than previously thought, leaving studio execs to wonder if negotiating with Apple, famous for its tight control on pricing, could become easier. Or, has Hollywood lost a powerful visionary and advocate for change at a time when it needs to move fast in the shifting digital landscape?

“Jobs’ role was crucial to online music and his role with movie studios could serve as a similar force, in terms of change and their push into the digital living room,” said Gartner Inc analyst Mike McGuire, referring to Hollywood’s ongoing efforts to provide content from the Web to television. For a full story, click here.

Mickey Rourke stays outside WrestleMania ring — for now.

(Writing and reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis)

“The Wrestler” star Mickey Rourke appeared to back off an earlier boast that he would enter the ring against pro wrestler Chris Jericho, when the two appeared together Tuesday night on the CNN interview show “Larry King Live.”      But World Wrestling Entertainment, the company presenting WrestleMania XXV in Houston on April 5, said on Wednesday that Rourke is still in talks to possibly join the bout.      If Rourke is planning to make an appearance, it would be hard to judge from his exchange with Jericho on “Larry King.” Jericho said that Rourke made “a mistake” on the red carpet at Sunday’s Screen Actors Guild Awards when the actor announced he would take on Jericho at WrestleMania.

“If he got his wish and had a confrontation with me at WrestleMania, I think the ending of the Jericho-Rourke movie would not turn out very well for Mr. Rourke, as it did in ‘The Wrestler,’” Jericho said.      Rourke responded by appearing to back off his red carpet trash talk against Jericho, without mentioning the episode. ”Perhaps I did put my foot in my mouth,” he said.      When Larry King asked Rourke if he will wrestle Jericho, Rourke said no. ”It’s not my world, I was a professional fighter. Would I box him in a boxing ring or a bare-knuckle match? Yeah,” Rourke said. “Wrestling? That’s his world, that’s what this man does.”

That did not please Jericho, who told Rourke he had no respect for the actor. So will the two actually end up fighting in the ring? 

The WWE is playing up the spat for all it’s worth, even without pledging that Rourke will show up at WrestleMania. ”You never know what’s going to happen at the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania,” said Robert Zimmerman, a spokesman for the company.

Pour the Moet please, Oscar

Word comes to us that Oscar has a new favorite champagne, Moet & Chandon.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and the champagne maker have said the company’s White Star flagship champagne will be the “exclusive champagne of the Academy Awards.”

And there will be plenty of it. The bubbly will be poured at the Red Carpet Cocktail Party, the Awards Ceremony, the fabulous Governor’s Ball after the ceremony, the Foreign Language Film Awards Cocktail Party and the New York Oscar Viewing Party. That’s a lot of champagne. But hey, times are tough, and even Hollywood could use a little cheering up. So, break out the bubbly, Oscar.