Thursday, June 28, 2007
Once Again With Feeling
Alright ... first things first ... let's get the BIG NEWS out of the way before I burst. The long awaited, muchly rumored, reunion of the Spice Girls was officially announced today in the UK. Scary Spice (Mel B.), Ginger Spice (Geri Halliwell), Posh Spice (Victoria Beckham), Baby Spice (Emma Bunton) and long-time hold out Sporty Spice (Mel C.) came together today to make the world-wide announcement that the Spice Girls will be reuniting for a Greatest Hits World Tour that will kick off this December in LA. Here are a few pictures of the Spices from their official announcement:
Seven years after splitting up, the Spice Girls have announced a worldwide comeback spectacular. The girl band will kick off a world tour in America. The five - now all in their thirties - will start on 7 December in Los Angeles - the new home of Posh Spice Victoria Beckham and her family. The group, including Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton fell straight back in sync, striking familiar poses for the world's media. The reunion tour is set to hit London on December 15 and take in Madrid, Koln, Las Vegas, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires among others (scroll to bottom for a list of dates and locations). Posh said: "My main reason for doing this is for my kids - so they can see what mummy used to do. I'm going to be the cool one in the family for once!" David Beckham will be joining the tour as it will coincide with a gap in the US soccer season, his wife said. "He's going to be on tour with the kids and all of our families. He's so excited about us getting back together," she said. The tour will certainly be lucrative for the Spices - they are expected to pocket about £10 million each. All five insisted they are not reforming for the money. Halliwell declared: "Money is not an issue. We're doing this because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a Spice Girl again. Who would turn that down?" The Spice Girls' contemporaries Take That had staged a hugely successful comeback recently, but the girls were reluctant to draw comparisons. "Why would we want to talk about Take That? We want to talk about the Spice Girls," said a clearly annoyed Mel B. Mel C chipped in: "Take That have had a fantastic comeback. But the one thing that's very different is that we were truly global. No disrespect..." They also claimed there are no hard feelings over Halliwell's walk-out in 1998. "We've forgiven her," Beckham said. "I love all the girls. Yes we argue, but we are like sisters." LOLOLOL! I love it! The drama is already getting underway and they are still half a year away from actually getting back on stage together. I love the cattiness towards Take That and I also love that all the girls claim that they have "forgiven" Geri for abandoning them. It's gonna be a kickass tour! I am deffo planning on seeing this show live ... I'm gonna shoot for LA and NYC. All I have to say is that this reunion is way overdue ... fortunately for them, the public still seems very interested in seeing them reunite. It's about damn time Mel C. came around and allowed the reunion to take place. [Source]
Click HERE for the official announcement video featuring the 5 Spice Girls talking about the big news. I must admit, I'm pretty excited. I just hope they all have enough zig-a-zig-a left in them now that they're older Spices.
The other big news today deals with Paris Hilton's much ballyhooed first "live" post jail interview with Larry King on Larry King Live. For the most part, I was pretty underwhelmed by the whole interview and to be quite honest, I'm not sure why -- I don't even know what I was expecting. Here are a few pics of Paris's arrival and departure from the CNN building yesterday afternoon:
Photo credit: Splash News
It turns out that the "live" interview had to be pre-taped because Paul McCartney was causing a ruckus up the street at his in-store performance at Amoeba Records. CNN decided to tape the interview earlier in the day so that the media onslaught between the 2 events could be minimized ... also convenient was the fact that Paris didn't have to answer any viewer questions. [Source]
But, for the most part, Paris Hilton held her own for the duration of the interview, adeptly handling the soft questions that Larry asked her. I wasn't at all surprised that she invoked God's name in the first 10 minutes of the interview (saying something like God has a reason for everything) nor was I surprised to find that she was still blaming other people for what happened to her (instead of admitting that she violated her probation, she still made sure to note that it was her lawyer's fault for giving her the wrong information). Here are a few screencaps from her Larry King Live appearance:
I think I was most shocked when Paris actually said she has "no idea" why the paparazzi follow her around. Larry asked her why she was such a target for the paparazzi and she actually had the nerve to contend that it was a mystery to her (she even told Larry that it was "nice" in jail because she was away from all the cameras). Let's be honest here, Paris Hilton made her career on seeking out the media spotlight and for her to say that she never brought the attention on herself is ridiculous. It was at this point that I knew that nothing salient would be learned from her interview ... incidentally, this also happened in the first 10 mins of the interview. Paris revealed that she learned a very important lesson while she was in jail -- Don't serve the time, let the time serve you. Personally, I think that would make a bitchin' tattoo. On the plus side, she did take responsibility for the DUI and she claims that she is cuttin' some of her more shady LA friends out of the picture (tho she refused to name names). Larry asked her pointed questions about Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears and Paris was very diplomatic to them both. And really, that was about it. I was pretty sure Larry wasn't going to ask her anything really difficult so I hoped that viewer questions would be a bit more hard-hitting ... the fact that the show was taped pretty much made it worthless. If Paris was more contrite and apologetic instead of appearing victimized I think it would have been more successful for her overall. In the end, it really struck me as just another fluff piece (CNN's own Anderson Cooper wasn't all that impressed either, click HERE to watch video of his reaction to the interview). If you missed it, you can watch the full interview HERE or you can read the entire transcript HERE. [Source]
Next up for Paris, a trip to Hawaii and a gig hosting a poker tournament in Las Vegas. Sounds like life is gettin' back to normal pretty quick.
One last bit of Hiltonness, here are pictures of Nicky Hilton carting around a tacky (yet pink)-looking gift basket full of crap that I'm sure Paris Hilton has no use for but is, apparently, her attempt to convey how much she loves her big sister ...
... and prolly as a bit of an I'm Sorry for not being in town for your release from Jail -- and I'm also sorry for taking over your room while you were away gift. [Source]
Transformers had its official premiere at the LA Film Festival in Westwood, CA last night and all of the principle stars (along with some surprise guests) were in attendance. Here are a bunch of pics from the red carpet last night:
Photo credit: Wireimage
I was very surprised to learn that Academy Award winner Helen Mirren was in the hiz for the Transformers premiere. She never struck me as a fan but I can dig it -- she is a very cool lady, after all. Of course all the main stars were there for the premiere -- Megan Fox brought the sexy, Josh Duhamel brought the hawtness, Peter Cullen brought the voice (of Optimus Prime) and Shia LeBeouf brought the icky slicked back hair -- but he's great in the film so I guess I can cut him some slack. Thanks to Detroit based General Motors, I was able to attend last night's premiere as well. My Detroit homegirl Dawn managed to hook me up with a pair of tickets for the big show so today I send all my lurve to her (and to her hubby Mike)! Unfortch, I wasn't able to go to the afterparty (which means I wasn't able to meet any of the stars) because I had to book it to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Musical Episode Sing-A-Long right after the movie but I had an amazing time nonetheless. I did get to meet one of the movie's stars ... our pic and my review of the film is at the end of today's post. [Source]
Incidentally, I peeped Lance Bass hanging out with a very hot guy (not the one pictured above) at last night's premiere ... I wonder why they weren't photographed together ... could it be lurve?
In Hollywood last night, Mandy Moore performed a showcase of songs off her new album Wild Hope at The Roxy. Here are a few pics from her performance:
Photo credit: Wireimage
Not only is Mandy riding high with the release of her new movie License to Wed but she's also enjoying her time as songstress. I've been listening to Wild Hope for a few months now and I really love it! I hope that Mandy had a great time performing live last night because I think it'd be awesome if she took her music on the road. [Source]
Here are a few pics of Paul McCartney's in-store performance at Amoeba Records in Hollywood, CA yesterday afternoon:
Photo credit: Wireimage
Sir Paul doesn't do many in-store appearances these days so fans camped out for days beforehand just to be among the first to secure their spots inside the venue for his performance (and this is why CNN claims they had to tape Paris's interview early). From what I understand, Ringo Starr had to sleep on the street in front of Amoeba to get in for the show because Paul wouldn't put him on the list. [Source]
Wow ... just when you thought Michael Jackson's childhood/adulthood was the weirdest thing you've ever heard of now we have Michael Jackson's kids to wonder at. Little Blanket Jackson (aka Prince Michael Jackson, II) is growing up so fast ... in fact, it would seem that he has outgrown his blanket and now must resort to covering his face with a mask. What do you suppose it does to a child's psyche when his parent forces him to always wear a mask in public? OY ... that poor kid is prolly so screwed up. Here are pictures, taken last year, of MJ with his kids Paris Michael Jackson and "Blanket" Prince Michael Jackson, II at a Japanese orphanage where they were the guests of honor at a special performance by the orphans:
I have no idea where his oldest son Prince Michael Jackson, I was at ... maybe the kid has already packed up his shizz and run his ass away. I cannot even imagine what kind of life these kids live ... it would be so much more normal if they just played with chimps and llamas like their fatherdid does, right? [Source via ONTD!]
Here are a few pics of Kylie Minogue on holiday in Portofino, Italy yesterday afternoon:
Photo credit: Splash News
Easy does it ... so good to see her relaxin'. [Source]
Here are a couple of cute pictures of Colin Farrell taking his son in for a quick check-up at the doctor's office this week:
Photo credit: INFdaily
See, Brad Pitt isn't the only hot dad in Hollywood who takes a hands on approach to parenting. They're even wearing the same hat. [Source]
Nicole Richie is on the cover of the new issue of Nylon magazine:
The magazine headline reads, "I don't have a clue why I'm famous either". Perhaps she and Paris Hilton can get together and try and figure this mystery out together. [Source]
And finally, I must give singer-songwriter Scott Simons a shout for his amazing cover of Rihanna's new hit song Umbrella. If you don't know what I'm talking about head on over to Scott's official website HERE or his My Space profile HERE and check it out for yourself:
Much like Ted Leo did when he covered Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone a couple of years ago, Scott Simons has taken a hugely successful pop song and given it an indie make-over. It's a pretty straightforward cover (he even keeps in the ella ella eh eh ehs) and it is maddeningly addictive (like the original). Scott is even offering his version of the song for free download HERE. I love it! [Source]
Les News:
It is with great pleasure that I can report that this new Transformers movie turned out very well. Yes, there are a lot of changes to the story as we know it but, over all, the spirit of the Transformers lives on in this version. I was very upset when I learned that Bumblebee would not be a VW Beetle in this movie and would instead be a Camaro but the filmmakers did pay homage and give a little shout out to the original yellow VW Bug in the movie. They used some dialog and lines from the original Transformers cartoon and animated movie which was a nice tie-in ... and Peter Cullen, as the voice of Optimus Prime, really made the movie feel genuine. The special effects are CRAZY! Talk about your blockbusters, there are so many explosions and amazing action scenes, it's really hard to take it all in at the same time. When the Transformers are battling one another it's like a crazy melee of fast moving stuff going on. They really did a great job of making the Transformers look real ... the CGI didn't look fake at all and about half way into the movie, I stopped looking for flaws ... it was just a really fun movie. Big shout out to Detroit Rock City which makes an appearance in the big finale. There's a battle on Fort Street in downtown Detroit and a great scene of Shia's character Sam (who really should be named Spike) running into the old Detroit train station. And it must be said that Megan Fox is all KINDS of hawt in this movie. She looks ridiculously good ... I think she's got a nice future in showbiz to look forward to.
I cannot tell you how relieved I am that the movie turned out so well. I'd be crushed if they had taken such an important part of my childhood and effed it up. I thoroughly enjoyed myself ... and I can't wait to see it again!
Even tho I didn't get to hob nob with any of the celebs at the afterparty, Tom and I did get to take our pictures with one of the film's stars:
Woot!
So as soon as the credits started to roll, we had to book it to the Buffy screening. We made it right on time, managed to find 2 seats next to one another and settled in for a night of amazing Buffyness. The screening was put on by the folks who do BuffySings.com, the traveling Buffy sing-a-long tour especially for the LA Film Festival. Here are a few of my pics from last night's fun:
Before the actual screening, they showed a few fan made music videos which were kinda fun and then filled us in on all the Rocky Horror Picture Show-like rules for participation. They've got a whole system down for the entire show ... if you're a Buffy fan YOU MUST COME OUT TO THIS SING-A-LONG. I had an absolute blast singing my ass off (as my seat neighbors can attest) the whole time. I was a bit shocked at how much the audience hated Dawn every time she came on screen (screaming SHUT UP DAWN whenever she spoke ... or even appeared) but over all, it's just a fun show. Here is a short vid of the closing credits of Once More With Feeling:
You can hear the audience cheering and then hear everyone doing the Grr Argh at the very end.
The really big shock came at the end when Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon showed up as special guests. They talked for a bit at the end of the show ... making everyone's life! Afterwards I got to meet a bunch of Pink readers including Darion, Kirsten (who went to elementary school with Kylie Minogue in Melbourne!), Robert, Nancy (all pictured above), Lauren, Jose, Kat and I'm sure others who I'm prolly forgetting. I heard from quite a few people that they heard about the sing-a-long from my blog and nothing made me happier. It is an honor to spread the Buffy love! Head on over to BuffySings.com to see if the tour is coming to your city (Detroit folks, it'll be there next month!). The show will be back in LA on Sept. 28 and 29 -- so I'm already making my plans :D
OY ... it was a late night ... and tonight looks to be an even later night. I'm seeing Prince at the Roosevelt Hotel tonight and from what I understand he doesn't even take the stage until close to 1AM:
I'm hearing the aftershow jam session goes until 6AM ... but I dunno if I'm gonna be able to stay out that late since I have to be home and blogging at 6AM. Jebus help me! For Prince, it'll all be worth it! I can't wait!
So I guess that is all ... I am out!
[Permalink]
Seven years after splitting up, the Spice Girls have announced a worldwide comeback spectacular. The girl band will kick off a world tour in America. The five - now all in their thirties - will start on 7 December in Los Angeles - the new home of Posh Spice Victoria Beckham and her family. The group, including Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell and Emma Bunton fell straight back in sync, striking familiar poses for the world's media. The reunion tour is set to hit London on December 15 and take in Madrid, Koln, Las Vegas, Sydney, Cape Town and Buenos Aires among others (scroll to bottom for a list of dates and locations). Posh said: "My main reason for doing this is for my kids - so they can see what mummy used to do. I'm going to be the cool one in the family for once!" David Beckham will be joining the tour as it will coincide with a gap in the US soccer season, his wife said. "He's going to be on tour with the kids and all of our families. He's so excited about us getting back together," she said. The tour will certainly be lucrative for the Spices - they are expected to pocket about £10 million each. All five insisted they are not reforming for the money. Halliwell declared: "Money is not an issue. We're doing this because it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to be a Spice Girl again. Who would turn that down?" The Spice Girls' contemporaries Take That had staged a hugely successful comeback recently, but the girls were reluctant to draw comparisons. "Why would we want to talk about Take That? We want to talk about the Spice Girls," said a clearly annoyed Mel B. Mel C chipped in: "Take That have had a fantastic comeback. But the one thing that's very different is that we were truly global. No disrespect..." They also claimed there are no hard feelings over Halliwell's walk-out in 1998. "We've forgiven her," Beckham said. "I love all the girls. Yes we argue, but we are like sisters." LOLOLOL! I love it! The drama is already getting underway and they are still half a year away from actually getting back on stage together. I love the cattiness towards Take That and I also love that all the girls claim that they have "forgiven" Geri for abandoning them. It's gonna be a kickass tour! I am deffo planning on seeing this show live ... I'm gonna shoot for LA and NYC. All I have to say is that this reunion is way overdue ... fortunately for them, the public still seems very interested in seeing them reunite. It's about damn time Mel C. came around and allowed the reunion to take place. [Source]
Click HERE for the official announcement video featuring the 5 Spice Girls talking about the big news. I must admit, I'm pretty excited. I just hope they all have enough zig-a-zig-a left in them now that they're older Spices.
The other big news today deals with Paris Hilton's much ballyhooed first "live" post jail interview with Larry King on Larry King Live. For the most part, I was pretty underwhelmed by the whole interview and to be quite honest, I'm not sure why -- I don't even know what I was expecting. Here are a few pics of Paris's arrival and departure from the CNN building yesterday afternoon:
Photo credit: Splash News
It turns out that the "live" interview had to be pre-taped because Paul McCartney was causing a ruckus up the street at his in-store performance at Amoeba Records. CNN decided to tape the interview earlier in the day so that the media onslaught between the 2 events could be minimized ... also convenient was the fact that Paris didn't have to answer any viewer questions. [Source]
But, for the most part, Paris Hilton held her own for the duration of the interview, adeptly handling the soft questions that Larry asked her. I wasn't at all surprised that she invoked God's name in the first 10 minutes of the interview (saying something like God has a reason for everything) nor was I surprised to find that she was still blaming other people for what happened to her (instead of admitting that she violated her probation, she still made sure to note that it was her lawyer's fault for giving her the wrong information). Here are a few screencaps from her Larry King Live appearance:
I think I was most shocked when Paris actually said she has "no idea" why the paparazzi follow her around. Larry asked her why she was such a target for the paparazzi and she actually had the nerve to contend that it was a mystery to her (she even told Larry that it was "nice" in jail because she was away from all the cameras). Let's be honest here, Paris Hilton made her career on seeking out the media spotlight and for her to say that she never brought the attention on herself is ridiculous. It was at this point that I knew that nothing salient would be learned from her interview ... incidentally, this also happened in the first 10 mins of the interview. Paris revealed that she learned a very important lesson while she was in jail -- Don't serve the time, let the time serve you. Personally, I think that would make a bitchin' tattoo. On the plus side, she did take responsibility for the DUI and she claims that she is cuttin' some of her more shady LA friends out of the picture (tho she refused to name names). Larry asked her pointed questions about Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears and Paris was very diplomatic to them both. And really, that was about it. I was pretty sure Larry wasn't going to ask her anything really difficult so I hoped that viewer questions would be a bit more hard-hitting ... the fact that the show was taped pretty much made it worthless. If Paris was more contrite and apologetic instead of appearing victimized I think it would have been more successful for her overall. In the end, it really struck me as just another fluff piece (CNN's own Anderson Cooper wasn't all that impressed either, click HERE to watch video of his reaction to the interview). If you missed it, you can watch the full interview HERE or you can read the entire transcript HERE. [Source]
Next up for Paris, a trip to Hawaii and a gig hosting a poker tournament in Las Vegas. Sounds like life is gettin' back to normal pretty quick.
One last bit of Hiltonness, here are pictures of Nicky Hilton carting around a tacky (yet pink)-looking gift basket full of crap that I'm sure Paris Hilton has no use for but is, apparently, her attempt to convey how much she loves her big sister ...
... and prolly as a bit of an I'm Sorry for not being in town for your release from Jail -- and I'm also sorry for taking over your room while you were away gift. [Source]
Transformers had its official premiere at the LA Film Festival in Westwood, CA last night and all of the principle stars (along with some surprise guests) were in attendance. Here are a bunch of pics from the red carpet last night:
Photo credit: Wireimage
I was very surprised to learn that Academy Award winner Helen Mirren was in the hiz for the Transformers premiere. She never struck me as a fan but I can dig it -- she is a very cool lady, after all. Of course all the main stars were there for the premiere -- Megan Fox brought the sexy, Josh Duhamel brought the hawtness, Peter Cullen brought the voice (of Optimus Prime) and Shia LeBeouf brought the icky slicked back hair -- but he's great in the film so I guess I can cut him some slack. Thanks to Detroit based General Motors, I was able to attend last night's premiere as well. My Detroit homegirl Dawn managed to hook me up with a pair of tickets for the big show so today I send all my lurve to her (and to her hubby Mike)! Unfortch, I wasn't able to go to the afterparty (which means I wasn't able to meet any of the stars) because I had to book it to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Musical Episode Sing-A-Long right after the movie but I had an amazing time nonetheless. I did get to meet one of the movie's stars ... our pic and my review of the film is at the end of today's post. [Source]
Incidentally, I peeped Lance Bass hanging out with a very hot guy (not the one pictured above) at last night's premiere ... I wonder why they weren't photographed together ... could it be lurve?
In Hollywood last night, Mandy Moore performed a showcase of songs off her new album Wild Hope at The Roxy. Here are a few pics from her performance:
Photo credit: Wireimage
Not only is Mandy riding high with the release of her new movie License to Wed but she's also enjoying her time as songstress. I've been listening to Wild Hope for a few months now and I really love it! I hope that Mandy had a great time performing live last night because I think it'd be awesome if she took her music on the road. [Source]
Here are a few pics of Paul McCartney's in-store performance at Amoeba Records in Hollywood, CA yesterday afternoon:
Photo credit: Wireimage
Sir Paul doesn't do many in-store appearances these days so fans camped out for days beforehand just to be among the first to secure their spots inside the venue for his performance (and this is why CNN claims they had to tape Paris's interview early). From what I understand, Ringo Starr had to sleep on the street in front of Amoeba to get in for the show because Paul wouldn't put him on the list. [Source]
Wow ... just when you thought Michael Jackson's childhood/adulthood was the weirdest thing you've ever heard of now we have Michael Jackson's kids to wonder at. Little Blanket Jackson (aka Prince Michael Jackson, II) is growing up so fast ... in fact, it would seem that he has outgrown his blanket and now must resort to covering his face with a mask. What do you suppose it does to a child's psyche when his parent forces him to always wear a mask in public? OY ... that poor kid is prolly so screwed up. Here are pictures, taken last year, of MJ with his kids Paris Michael Jackson and "Blanket" Prince Michael Jackson, II at a Japanese orphanage where they were the guests of honor at a special performance by the orphans:
I have no idea where his oldest son Prince Michael Jackson, I was at ... maybe the kid has already packed up his shizz and run his ass away. I cannot even imagine what kind of life these kids live ... it would be so much more normal if they just played with chimps and llamas like their father
Here are a few pics of Kylie Minogue on holiday in Portofino, Italy yesterday afternoon:
Photo credit: Splash News
Easy does it ... so good to see her relaxin'. [Source]
Here are a couple of cute pictures of Colin Farrell taking his son in for a quick check-up at the doctor's office this week:
Photo credit: INFdaily
See, Brad Pitt isn't the only hot dad in Hollywood who takes a hands on approach to parenting. They're even wearing the same hat. [Source]
Nicole Richie is on the cover of the new issue of Nylon magazine:
The magazine headline reads, "I don't have a clue why I'm famous either". Perhaps she and Paris Hilton can get together and try and figure this mystery out together. [Source]
And finally, I must give singer-songwriter Scott Simons a shout for his amazing cover of Rihanna's new hit song Umbrella. If you don't know what I'm talking about head on over to Scott's official website HERE or his My Space profile HERE and check it out for yourself:
Much like Ted Leo did when he covered Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone a couple of years ago, Scott Simons has taken a hugely successful pop song and given it an indie make-over. It's a pretty straightforward cover (he even keeps in the ella ella eh eh ehs) and it is maddeningly addictive (like the original). Scott is even offering his version of the song for free download HERE. I love it! [Source]
Les News:
- BAD NEWS :( Britney Spears will not be performing at the True Colors Concert this Saturday. Apparently, Cyndi Lauper has a "no-lipsyncing" policy and well ... there you have it.
- A new report reveals that Lindsay Lohan was drunk and high on cocaine when she was arrested for driving under the influence.
- Ryan Gosling signs on for Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones.
- Have you met Lil' Mama?
- Madonna has no time for Janet Jackson.
- Is there a Led Zepplin reunion in the works? Maybe they could open for the Spice Girls.
- AI's Blake Lewis is screaming outloud that he is not gay.
- Andy Roddick does Wimbledon.
- Leelee Sobieski and her
bowboooo tie. - Kristen Bell does the Sicko premiere.
- Heidi Klum and Seal look ready to start on their next baby project.
- Tyrese is planning a "Girls Only" shirtless concert tour.
- Tichina Arnold is 36, John Cusack is 41 and Mel Brooks is 81 years old today. Click HERE to see who else is celebrating a birthday today.
- Oprah Winfrey plans to open a store in Chicago, tho she's not sure what to sell yet.
- Paula Abdul debuts her own Bravo reality show tonight.
- The Bald Eagle, the symbol of freedom in America, is no longer on the endagered species list.
It is with great pleasure that I can report that this new Transformers movie turned out very well. Yes, there are a lot of changes to the story as we know it but, over all, the spirit of the Transformers lives on in this version. I was very upset when I learned that Bumblebee would not be a VW Beetle in this movie and would instead be a Camaro but the filmmakers did pay homage and give a little shout out to the original yellow VW Bug in the movie. They used some dialog and lines from the original Transformers cartoon and animated movie which was a nice tie-in ... and Peter Cullen, as the voice of Optimus Prime, really made the movie feel genuine. The special effects are CRAZY! Talk about your blockbusters, there are so many explosions and amazing action scenes, it's really hard to take it all in at the same time. When the Transformers are battling one another it's like a crazy melee of fast moving stuff going on. They really did a great job of making the Transformers look real ... the CGI didn't look fake at all and about half way into the movie, I stopped looking for flaws ... it was just a really fun movie. Big shout out to Detroit Rock City which makes an appearance in the big finale. There's a battle on Fort Street in downtown Detroit and a great scene of Shia's character Sam (who really should be named Spike) running into the old Detroit train station. And it must be said that Megan Fox is all KINDS of hawt in this movie. She looks ridiculously good ... I think she's got a nice future in showbiz to look forward to.
I cannot tell you how relieved I am that the movie turned out so well. I'd be crushed if they had taken such an important part of my childhood and effed it up. I thoroughly enjoyed myself ... and I can't wait to see it again!
Even tho I didn't get to hob nob with any of the celebs at the afterparty, Tom and I did get to take our pictures with one of the film's stars:
Woot!
So as soon as the credits started to roll, we had to book it to the Buffy screening. We made it right on time, managed to find 2 seats next to one another and settled in for a night of amazing Buffyness. The screening was put on by the folks who do BuffySings.com, the traveling Buffy sing-a-long tour especially for the LA Film Festival. Here are a few of my pics from last night's fun:
Before the actual screening, they showed a few fan made music videos which were kinda fun and then filled us in on all the Rocky Horror Picture Show-like rules for participation. They've got a whole system down for the entire show ... if you're a Buffy fan YOU MUST COME OUT TO THIS SING-A-LONG. I had an absolute blast singing my ass off (as my seat neighbors can attest) the whole time. I was a bit shocked at how much the audience hated Dawn every time she came on screen (screaming SHUT UP DAWN whenever she spoke ... or even appeared) but over all, it's just a fun show. Here is a short vid of the closing credits of Once More With Feeling:
You can hear the audience cheering and then hear everyone doing the Grr Argh at the very end.
The really big shock came at the end when Joss Whedon and Marti Noxon showed up as special guests. They talked for a bit at the end of the show ... making everyone's life! Afterwards I got to meet a bunch of Pink readers including Darion, Kirsten (who went to elementary school with Kylie Minogue in Melbourne!), Robert, Nancy (all pictured above), Lauren, Jose, Kat and I'm sure others who I'm prolly forgetting. I heard from quite a few people that they heard about the sing-a-long from my blog and nothing made me happier. It is an honor to spread the Buffy love! Head on over to BuffySings.com to see if the tour is coming to your city (Detroit folks, it'll be there next month!). The show will be back in LA on Sept. 28 and 29 -- so I'm already making my plans :D
OY ... it was a late night ... and tonight looks to be an even later night. I'm seeing Prince at the Roosevelt Hotel tonight and from what I understand he doesn't even take the stage until close to 1AM:
I'm hearing the aftershow jam session goes until 6AM ... but I dunno if I'm gonna be able to stay out that late since I have to be home and blogging at 6AM. Jebus help me! For Prince, it'll all be worth it! I can't wait!
So I guess that is all ... I am out!
[Permalink]
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