Archive for August, 2006

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I Need a Good Agent

Thursday, August 31st, 2006

Remember when VH1 played music videos? In their entirety and not just a few seconds of them so some unknown comic could make wisecracks in a snarky soundbite? I know times change and life goes on. However…VH1 — where I interviewed such folks as Paul McCartney, Carlos Santana, Norman Mailer, Dominic Dunne, Kirk Douglas, Meryl Streep, Whoopi Goldberg, Ben Kingsley, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy on my talk show — has given a greenlight to new reality shows for Andrew Dice Clay and actor Tom Sizemore. Andrew Dice Clay. I think Linda Blair’s character said it best in THE EXORCIST: “Mommy, make it stop! Mommy, make it stop!”

I’ll be on “Wake Up with Whoopi” tomorrow. Check my homepage to see (and hear) if that groovy new radio show plays in your ‘hood.

By the way … I heard folks talking in town yesterday about CBS retouching the Katie Couric publicity pics. Personally, I didn’t think she looked bad in the unretouched pic. Also, did they ever retouch Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Bob Schieffer? Wassup wid dat?

Posted in TV | 2 Comments »

Spike Lee, Thank You

Wednesday, August 30th, 2006

Last night, I cried watching Spike Lee’s excellent documentary, WHEN THE LEVEES BROKE. It was repeated on HBO. It airs again this weekend. If you get cable, you must see it. That’s the kind of work that should be required viewing on Capitol Hill and in America’s classrooms. Think about this week in history. Monday marked the anniversary of Dr. King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. 250,000 predominantely Black Americans, my people, marched to that site in Washington, DC to demand civil rights. They wanted help from our government. There are famous photos of those disenfranchised fellow Americans peacefully surrounding the pool at the memorial with the Washington Monument in the background. Black people, White supporters and still, clean, contained water in a pool. Think of what we saw on television exactly one year ago today. Black folks, White folks, uncontained dirty and dangerous water. Those thousands and thousands of disenfranchised fellow Americans, our people, wanted help from our government. Look at what happened. Or, rather, what didn’t happen. 1963. 2005. Civil rights. Spike Lee, thank you for your compassionate and important piece of work. It’s what we needed to see.

Posted in Politics, TV | No Comments »

Nixon II

Tuesday, August 29th, 2006

I just heard some of our president’s statements on this first anniversary week of Hurricane Katrina. Look at how little has been done to rebuild the 9th Ward of New Orleans. We’re still in the most controversial war since Viet Nam during the Nixon adminstration. Our leader couldn’t find weapons of mass destruction, he still can’t find bin Laden, thousands of us can’t afford health care and Ryan Seacrest is making $7 million a year. My question is — where is Monica Lewinski now that we really need her?

Watch the repeat of Spike Lee’s brilliant documentary on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina tonight on HBO.

www.BushsLastDay.com

Posted in Politics | 1 Comment »

News and Notes

Monday, August 28th, 2006

I wrote it before, I’m writing it again — he looks like a character out of a Stephen King story. The District Attorney’s office in Boulder, Colorado decided not to file criminal charges against John Mark Karr in the killing of little JonBenet Ramsey because his DNA didn’t match evidence found at the crime scene 10 years ago. However, just in case Rosie O’Donnell gets out of control, Barbara Walters has signed Karr as a possible new guest host on “The View.”

Matthew Broderick is recuperating. He broke his collar bone when he fell off a horse he was riding near the home he and Sarah Jessica Parker have in Ireland. She stayed at his side when he was rushed to the hospital. Reporters wanted to know if the actor was alright. I want to know what the hell is a 44 year old Jew from New York doing riding a horse in Ireland in the first place? He should stay here and ride an uptown subway train to get some take-out from Zabar’s. It’s safer. He’s not Madonna. Sure, she fell off a horse too…but it was only after the horse said, “Quick, hide! It’s my wife!” I only hope that some hospital intern was bright enough to stand over Broderick while he was resting in his hospital bed and say “Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?”

Did you see the original “Charlie’s Angels” reunite for that tribute to the late TV producer Aaron Spelling on the Emmys Sunday night? Aaron made them stars. The camera kept cutting the Mrs. Spelling in the audience. She cried through the whole tribute. I hadn’t seen so much water come out of one woman since I saw a bootlegged tape of a party at R Kelly’s house.

This upcoming sure-fire ratings grabber edition of “Survivor” with the racially divided tribes has caused so much buzz that CBS is retooling some of its shows to target Black and Hispanic viewers. Come next season, look for “The Colored People’s Court,” “60 Minutes Late” and “The Martin Luther King of Queens.” More later.

Posted in General | No Comments »

The Emmys

Monday, August 28th, 2006

It was a night of Senior Babes. Cloris Leachman makes 80 look good. In fact, she showed the country that 80 is the new 70. Helen Mirren and Joan Collins looked good too. The totally-Caucasian writing team of “The Daily Show” won for its liberal grilling of the news. Can’t Jon Stewart toss at least one Black or Latino into the mix to give it a truly liberal vibe? But that’s just me. As for Barry Manilow, did he win the Emmy for NIP/TUCK? I saw him profiled in a CBS news feature early in the summer. He looked like Barry Manilow. Last night, he looked like Jodie Foster in THE ACCUSED. Frankly, I’m concerned.

Posted in TV | 1 Comment »

Lend Me Your Ears

Sunday, August 27th, 2006

Last week, Rush Limbaugh put something really big in his mouth. His foot. Responding to the news that the next edition of CBS’ “Survivor” will have the tribes divided by race, he gave his opinions and predictions. Basically, he said that Hispanics would have an edge. Why? Well, for one thing, Mexicans have more endurance due to swimming and running to cross the border. We Black folks are athletic but we’re not in the Greg Louganis/Esther Williams category when it comes to keeping afloat. We’re not good at navigating motel pools. Back in the 70s, an ABC sportscaster called Jimmy the Greek said something similar about Black folks and water sports on live TV. He was fired. Rush is still working. Rush’s comments gave Whoopi, Cubby and me something to chat about in the 4th hour of WAKE UP WITH WHOOPI on Friday. You might be able to hear it if you log on to www.PremiereRadio.com. Look for the wonderful Whoopi Goldberg in the lower left-hand corner of the homepage, click on it and you’ll come to a page with selected audio streams. Find 8/25/06, last Friday’s show, and check out Hour #4. Also, I reviewed IDLEWILD, THE ILLUSIONIST, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, and reminded you all that the documentary AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH — Al Gore’s passionate and provocative study of global warming — is still playing around the country.

The Emmys are handed out tonight on TV. I’m so vain. I admit it. One day I’d love to be nominated for an Emmy. In my looooong career, I’ve never been nominated for a local or national Emmy. In the Best Actress in a Drama category, I bet the award will go to Barbara Walters for acting like she didn’t know that Star “Payless” Jones was leaving “The View.” Come one — wasn’t that a brilliant performance?

Posted in Entertainment | 2 Comments »

Gays of Our Lives

Friday, August 25th, 2006

The soaop opera over domestic partnership continues. You can tell from the way he’s dressed that he’s never had a visit from the Queer Eye team. A local politician sounded off against gay people out in California. If you can watch a news video clip on your computer, check out the San Francisco website www.cbs5.com. Look at the guy spouting off and then read what his name is. It will appear onscreen in the upper right-hand corner. Any man with that name should just shut the f*** up and leave gay folks alone.

I’ll be in my apartment tonight with a smart man who’s got salt & pepper hair and gives us the news on cable. He’s made me laugh in bed several times. That’s right — Bill Maher returns to HBO tonight. Boy, do we need him now! One of us his guests will be Spike Lee. THAT will be must-see TV. Have a faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabulous weekend, y’all.

Posted in TV | 1 Comment »

It’s a Jungle Out There

Thursday, August 24th, 2006

Did you hear the news from CBS that the next edition of SURVIVOR will have the competing tribes divided by race? Yes. It’ll be called THE L.A. RIOTS 2, with special guest co-host Rodney King. Early next year, ABC will once again present the reality show in which people of different sexual orientation compete against each other for survival. It’s called the Academy Awards.

Posted in TV | 1 Comment »

Tom Cruise Unplugged

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Let’s think another this — Paramount Pictures, which also has VH1 and MTV in its family tree — has a top exec who looked things over and said to himself, “OK. I’ve got Flava Flav dating a hootchie mama who accidentally defecated on his carpet in a reality series that I renewed and I’ve got Tom Cruise. Which one is more drama? It’s time to kick Tom to the curb.” That is too deep. I can’t wait till SOUTH PARK gets ahold of that news. What’s going to happen now? Will we see an indie sequel called COCKTAIL 2? Or will we all wake up one Saturday morning and hear, “Hi. This is Tom Cruise for AbFlex”? What do you think should be the next career move for Tom? This inquiring mind wants to know. By the way, is that snickering I hear coming from Nicole Kidman’s house?

Posted in Entertainment | 2 Comments »

Whoopi and Cubby and Bobby

Monday, August 21st, 2006

Oh, my! Log on to www.PremiereRadio.com.

When you get there, look for Whoopi Goldberg’s fabulous face in the lower left corner. Click onto it. You’ll come to a Whoopi page with a listing of selections from “Wake Up with Whoopi” that you can hear. Go to 08/18/06. That’s the show I appeared on last Friday. I come on in the last half of Hour #3. Stream on, baby, and let me entertain you with my film reviews.

Check my homepage for stations that make Whoopi available.

I’m still trying to process that I sat right next to and worked with someone who has made positive contributions to entertainment history, feminist history and Black American history. When Miss Goldberg won the Oscar for GHOST, I remember that moment as vividly as when Sidney Poitier won his Oscar in the 1960s. I feel honored, humbled, blessed and extremely grateful to have this new gig. And thanks to you for the messages of encouragement along the way.

Posted in Big Screen, Entertainment, My Life, Work | 2 Comments »

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