None More Black: This Was Spinal Tap

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The cult rock film, "This is Spinal Tap" beat out The Band's "The Last Waltz," The Beatles' "Hard Days Night, and The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" to be voted the best music film of all time, according to a poll by Mojo Magazine.

And the music is fab too which is incredible considering the band was fictitious. The MOCK-umentary beats out all other music films which starred legendary bands such as The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash.

Rob Reiner directed the parody,"This is Spinal Tap," as a documentary on a rock group in the 70s. If you enjoy rock music and musicians who are full of themselves, this film contains some of the funniest shit you'll ever see.
, Spinal Tap is: Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) on bass; Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) on lead guitar -- who is the spitting image of Jeff Beck; and David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), the lead singer.

The Tap is followed around on tour which starts out strong but eventually flops. Their North American tour begins in big arenas such as Madison Square Garden, then ticket sales lag and concerts are downsized, and they finish up playing at a dance at an Air Force base. The infamous "Stonehenge" set with the dancing dwarves is a riot, as is their "Bitch School" music video.

They bill themselves as the world loudest rock band. The documentary's director, Marty DiBergi (real director Rob Reiner) interviews clueless Nigel. When Nigel points out that his guitar's amplifier can go louder than the norm because the dials "go to eleven," DiBergi asks him why he doesn't just get a louder amp and call the maximum power "ten." Nigel simply stares at him incredulously and says, "But this one goes to eleven."

The heavy metal music and catchy riffs played by the band rocks as they play classics such as "Big Bottom," "Listen to the Flower People," "Bitch School," and "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You." The first album, "Smell the Glove," (their "black" album) is the sound track for "This is Spinal Tap." In a scene from the film, the band's manager shows the group the cover for their album, which is completely black and an obvious rip-off of the "Beatle's White Album." The band looks at the cover for the first time and don't know what to think. Nigel; "It’s like a black mirror." David: "It looks like death." Nigel: "How much more black could this be? None. None...more black."

As music films go, This one goes to eleven.

Mojo magazine's Top 20 Music Films of all time:

1. This Is Spinal Tap
2. The Last Waltz
3. A Hard Day's Night
4. Gimme Shelter
5. The Wall
6. Ray
7. The Filth And The Fury
8. Quadrophenia
9. The Clash: Westway To The World
10. Help!
11. Rock N Roll High School
12. Jazz On A summers Day
13. The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash
14. The Harder They Come
15. Don't look Back
16. Heartworn Highways
17. Performance
18. Almost Famous
19. 24 Hour Party People
20. The Decline And Fall Of Western Civilisation - Part 2

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Strong Debut Album for Juliette & the Licks

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 9:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you hate the idea of movie stars dabbling in music, you may be pleasantly surprised by the results that actress-turned-garage-punk-rocker Juliette Lewis turns in with her band's first full-length album, "You’re Speaking My Language."

"I'm unstoppable. My band is unstoppable. There's that sentiment in the air about 'actor-turned-rocker,' but for me it's a big yawn because I know how tight my band is, and I know what we mean. I know how much heart is in it and that we're gonna keep on keepin' on."

Juliette Lewis is best known as the Oscar-nominated actress who appeared in "Natural Born Killers" and in "Cape Fear" where she memorably sucked Robert De Niro's thumb. (She was also engaged to Brad Pitt about 10 or 12 years ago.) She is now the frontwoman of Juliette & the Licks, the punk band she formed three years ago.

, She knows that actors-turned-musicians do not have an easy time being accepted for anything more than a novelty act. (Think Russell Crowe's Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts or Keanu Reeves's Dogstar). But Juliette says she's more serious about music than she is about acting.

"I feel like we have so much to prove," she says. "It is a double-edged sword for me. On the one hand I have an audience from films, but on the other, this is ten times harder. The music has got to be rock solid. Hollywood has lost its charm for me. I’ve been a hired actress for so long, I don’t really have a passion for it any more. This is my career now. This is who I am."

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Writing Gig at Elle Magazine Next Match for Anna Kournikova

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 9:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 25, 2005 Husky Rusky Anna Kournikova will begin writing a monthly column on fitness for Elle magazine it was reported today.

In her inaugural column, which appears in the June issue, Kournikova admits she has struggled to stay in shape since leaving pro tennis to correct back and foot problems. She says her new job will give her incentive to find new ways to work out.

"As I've shifted from an intense training schedule to a more moderate pace," she says, "I'm suddenly facing the real issues of a nonprofessional athlete - which means worrying about how often I should hit the gym and what I need to incorporate into my diet and figuring out what fitness and food combination works best for me."
, "Finally I can risk some new activities (such as rock climbing) without fearing that I'll get hurt and be sidelined, and report back on how rigorous and fun they really are."

"When I was playing competitively, I never really thought much about my body. As long as I could slam my serve at a Williams sister (venus or Serena), I didn't worry about what I ate or if I needed to log StairMaster time because I wasn't exercising."

From the looks of Anna's killer bod, I'd say she's been blessed by being born with the right set of genes, more than just playing a few hours of tennis now and again ...

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Lindsay Lohan Wants A Serious Acting Career

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 8:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 25, 2005. Hot teen queen Lindsay Lohan says she is fed up with the press only being interested in her wild social life, and wants desperate to be taken seriously as an actress. That shouldn't be a problem -- since she'll soon play the daughter of Meryl Streep in the upcoming movie from legendary director Robert Altman, "A Prairie Home Companion."

Lindsay sounds like she's a tad jealous that other teen actresses such as Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson, who are both just two years older than her, are landing huge roles and are considered real actresses, while Lindsay is best known for her recent weight loss, boob job speculation, all-hours partying and problem father.
, She says, "It's hard for me to have to watch that. I work just as hard as those people and sometimes the press makes it seem that they're more mature because their fan base is more mature and my fan base is younger So they're writing about me going out all the time. It's easy to over-publicize me. I'm a young kid and I have a lot of pressure... but I know work is work."

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Low Ratings May Sink "Chaotic" Show for Britney

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 8:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's official: You all thought Britney Spears' show "Chaotic" sucked. Overnight ratings put the show at dead last as it lost more than half the viewers it managed to pull in for last week's debut. This is indeed a proud moment for Americans rejecting junk TV...

Reports says that limelight-loving Britney was distressed over last week's horrible ratings, so this week returns will come as further confirmation that her home movies aren't for primetime viewing. There's a rumor that UPN may cancel it before all six skanky episodes are shown. Brit and Kev are simply clueless that people did not want to watch them eating junk food and ask who's gonna clean up after the dog.

Paris Hilton's home videos looked like Oscar-quality productions compared to "Chaotic." And the self-portrait camera shot-up-the-nostrils weren't funny. It was a funny shot in "The Blair Witch Project" -- especially with the snot drool when the hysterical chick was freaking -- but Britney's nose and humongus pores aren't funny, just gross.

Cruise Hypes His Love on Oprah

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 12:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 24, 2005. Scientology evangelist Tom Cruise excused himself for leaping all over TV talk show Oprah Winfrey's couch by declaring his love for publicity Katie Holmes. The star went on "Oprah" and drooled about his young girlfriend, punching the air like people do when they score a touchdown or win a car on "Wheel of Fortune."

He said, "I can't be cool... I can't be laidback. It's something that has happened and I feel I want to celebrate it and I wanna celebrate her. She's a very special woman." But the hyped megastar also said he tried to be cool when they first started dating - as he laid on a series of romantic surprises including a motorcycle ride on a beach and decorating their hotel room in Rome, Italy with rose petals.

Mmm, yet a People magazine poll found that 62% believe the romance is a publicity stunt. A Star cover story posed the question: "Are they faking it?" And even The New York Times ran a story with the headline "I Love You With All My Hype."
, Nice to be in love, fer sure, but it's so odd for a 42-year-old twice-divorced man to act all girly-girlish about a new love. And most megastars don't actively go overboard SEEKing publicity to advertise a new relationship. Most stars lie, run, deny, use fake names and disguises and do everything in their power to flee from paparazzi snapping photos from the bushes.

For example, take Brad and Ang. We're totally with Brad Pitt hooking up with Angelina Jolie cuz they're like the coolest people in Hollywood, and if they want to deny their relationship -- fine, that's the game. They want privacy yet the more they try to hide it the more intrigued we are by it. Not so, Cruise and Holmes who had to issue statements through their publicists to alert the world they were dating. Now Tom is shopping the affair around on talk and entertainment shows such as "Inside Edition," "Access Hollywood," "Entertainment Tonight" and "Oprah." And this from a star who's insisted for 20 years that his private life is none of our damn business?

Rolling Stone magazine's Rob Sheffield writes his take on it, in an open "letter" to Cruise: "This next mission is your toughest yet. Your goal: Convince the world that you and Katie Holmes are caught in a scorching love train, rather than a sad publicity ploy . . . you need her to look like a heavy-lidded, dazed, satisfied w-o-m-a-n, rather than a scared kid who's been told to play along, or she'll never see her stuffed koalas again."

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Phil Spector Plays Sideshow Bob at His Own Trial

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 4:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

What a wild and crazy guy. If music legend Phil Spector wants to plead "Insanity" at his murder trial, with his hair making such a bold statement in the affirmative, I'm all for it.

He's on trial in L.A. after having shot and killed a B-movie actress in his own home. The music producer has a long history of threatening women with guns, and Monday it was decided by the judge in the case that he will allow evidence of four prior incidents that occurred over 10 years ago. For reasons not disclosed, the judge refused to allow six OTHER alleged incidents to be introduced at the murder trial.

Each of the four incidents allowed by the judge involved women who claimed to have dated Spector and accused him of pointing a gun at them. So that's at least 10 women Spector threatened with a gun; the 11th woman he pulled the trigger on. Insane. Yes, insane would be the best plea. Those clown buttons say it all...

Mary-Kate Olsen Sets the Trend

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 9:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MK is dating a richy rich Greek boy now. Here they are taking a casual stroll down the streets of Paris. Wow. You just would never notice MK walking by, would you? ... She's completely anonymous disguised in oversized sunglasses and a large cowboy hat. Apparently, big rich guys are hot for 80-pound chicks who look like a ten-year-old. And I'm sweating just looking at that wool scarf and afghan shawl.

P.S. The photo on the left is the real one, sans cigarette. The smoking picture is fake, but it's the one circulating the internet. And why did someone bother to photoshop a cig into the picture? Isn't MK doing enough damage to her own image as a fashion mogul, with her own line of clothing, cosmetics, hair products and accessories?

Body Count Rises on Desperate Housewives Season Finale

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 9:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With all the whacking going on, "Desperate Housewives" has morphed into something resembling "The Sopranos." The season finale on May 22nd, although it tied up a lot of loose ends and plot twists, came off looking more like the backroom at the Bada Bing club, than suburbian Wisteria Lane.

It turns out that Dana/Zach's mom was a crack whore. She sold her baby to Paul and Mary Alice Young, who change the baby's name from Dana to Zach. Mary Alice, the show's dead narrator, makes her first appearance since fatally shooting herself in the first episode last October (yes, it's been a long season hasn't it?) In a flashback, we see that Dierdre is stabbed to death by Mary Alice -- not Paul. Paul stuffs her body into a toy box and disposed of it, so he's an accomplice.
, Mrs. Tilman is beaten with a hockey stick by Zach, who then gets a gun to go kill Mike. Only Mike's not home (he's taken Zach's dad, Paul, to a quarry to whack him, Sopranos-style. Only he doesn't, after he hears what Paul has to say.) Mike is the former boyfriend of Dierdre who thinks Paul killed her, only she was killed by Paul's wife, Mary Alice. As Paul tells Mike the whole sordid mess, we begin to wonder if Zach is Mike's son after all.

Rex Van De Kamp dies in the hospital, believing that his wife Bree has poisoned him with potassium. He scribbles a dramatic farewell note forgiving Bree "for what she has done." He thinks she killed him. But wait, it was was George the pharmacist. But she's gonna be blamed for it! Next season! Just wait and see.

Carlos is on trial for beating up a gay guy who he thought was having an affair with Gabrielle. John the yard boy finally tells Carlos that HE'S the one who's been doing Carlos' wife, by saying: "Didn't you ever wonder why yours is the only lawn on Wisteria that needed to be mowed three times a week?" Carlos explodes in the courtroom and in the process of trying to hit John, accidently hits another gay guy.

Best line by Gabrielle: "Carlos is a jealous, angry Neanderthal. But he's not a gay basher." Even though he's beaten up three of them.

Stay-at-home mom Lynette has been ordered back to work by hubby Tom, who has left his job after Lynette sabotaged his promotion. He announces that he's going to become a stay-at-home dad and Lynette will have to get a job and support the family.

Soooo... who, exactly, is the father of Gabby's baby? What will Carlos do to the unfaithful Gabby? Will Tom become the new gossipy housefrau now that Lynette has to go back to work? Will George score on the new widow Bree, and how will her explosive delinquent son Andrew react to his father's death? Will she be charged with murdering Rex when the note is found? Will teen Zach shoot Mike, who may be his real father? What about the new family that's just moved in? What kind of skeletons will they have in their closet?

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Kal Penn is on a Role After Harold and Kumar's Excellent Adventure

Posted by Fara Kearnes at 11:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kal Penn's sleeper hit "Harold And Kumar Go To White Castle" made him a sort of celebrity last year and now he's breaking away from the stereotyping that has dogged his career.

"Harold and Kumar" was the popular independent film about about two doped-up Asians who go across town one night in search of the perfect hamburger. What they experience is as epic journey of deep thought and even deeper inhaling.

As one of Hollywood's most famous Indian-American actors, Kal Penn is used to the stereotyping -- he's been around it all of his life. Penn relates that when he saw "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" as a kid, he noticed that the other kids no longer wanted to sit next to him during lunch. "They were convinced I had monkey brains in my lunch box," he says. , But Kal, 28, is not from India exactly, even though his immigrant parents are. His real name is Kalpen Modi and he was born in Montclair, New Jersey.

In his very first audition for a commercial when he arrived in L.A. that he wondered if he'd ever be accepted just as an actor, and not an Indian-looking actor.

"I walked into the audition and the casting director said 'Where's your turban?' I said, 'I don't wear a turban; I am not a Sikh.' I started to explain the difference but she got very upset and said, 'Well, can you go home and put on a bed sheet or something?'

"It is a true story. It was ridiculous, which is why I like telling it."

Mercifully, Penn's days of being asked to wear turbans are past him, even though the American-born actor has pet peeves about his cultural background. “I just go nuts every time I am in a coffee shop and someone walks up and says, ‘Can I get a chai tea latte?’ Lady, do you know how redundant that is—chai and tea—and there’s already milk in the chai, so what’s a chai tea latte?" Then he adds, "You just know she is going to do yoga and watch a foreign film she rented."

As for his role in "Harold and Kumar" and his character's lust for micro-sized burgers, Penn remained a good little vegetarian during filming. He reveals that the burgers he and co-star John Cho inhaled in the movie were actually soy burgers. "I said I’d be okay taking a bit of the beef burger and using the spit bucket. But they said, wouldn’t you rather not have to put it in your mouth?"

The pot the guys constantly toke on was also fake, but that was the real Penn butt in the nude scene at the beginning of the movie. "I had a roommate who did things like that,? says Penn. "So it didn’t seem unreal." Penn sent the script of Harold and Kumar to his parents like he does with all his roles. "I am sure my mom would prefer I didn’t have to do things like that," says Penn. "But I believe what she said was, ‘I know what you kids do.’"

He's currently appearing in Ashton Kutcher's "A Lot Like Love" and will begin filming "Superman Returns" this summer. There is even talk about a sequel to "Harold And Kumar." Penn says the script is ready, but the financial backing to make the film is not.

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