Beyoncé Performs In Manila, Upsets Ethiopians
Beyoncé Performs In Manila, Upsets Ethiopians
After heating up the stage in Shanghai, Beyoncé Knowles and her entourage showed up in Manila as planned on Tuesday (November 6).
The Irreplaceable singer arrived at 2:05 p.m. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on board a private plane for a one-night live concert at the Bonifacio Global City on Wednesday.
And now that the Manila show is over and done with, it’s off to Korea for two dates planned for Friday and Saturday at the Olympic Gym in Seoul.
While the most recent performances have gone smoothly, the Dreamgirls actress is facing a bit of a backlash from a September trip to Ethiopia.
According to AP reports, “The 26-year-old singer met with the Ethiopian patriarch, Abune Paulos, before performing in skimpy sequined outfits as part of celebrations of the country’s millennium, which fell in September, according to the church’s calendar. Daniel Techale, a 28-year-old Theological College of the Holy Trinity alumnus who lives at the college, said about 30 of his friends had been hospitalized after a hunger strike they began Sunday. He said students were upset by the closeness of the church to the ruling party and restrictions on their speech, but were also upset over the Beyonce-Paulos meeting.”
“She provoked the whole situation,” Thecale said, accusing the patriarch of “practically a nonreligious act. It’s unacceptable, or inappropriate, to say the least.”
At this time, authorities are trying to persuade the students to end their hunger strike. Nonetheless, the Beyonce Experience keeps rolling along.
Sex and the City Movie Update
Sex and the City Movie Update
We know, we know… Sex and the City: The Movie can’t come soon enough. But until its release in May 2008, we will have to sustain on what we can get.
The latest update is that the Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has agreed to star as himself in the upcoming flick.
According to Bloomberg’s spokesman, Stu Loeser, the Mayor will film an appearance in the movie at Bryant Park in midtown Manhattan.
While we’re pretty sure he’s not in it for the money, one of SATC’s stars isn’t ashamed to admit she’s doing the movie purely for the paycheck. Kim Cattrall told press, “It’s nice to step into Samantha’s skin again, but I’m only doing the film for the money.”
Kim continued, “Samantha is very dear to me and I have such a wonderful time playing her, but I can’t say more for the experience than wanting financial security. We did it, and we did it well. But it was always about the money. When I made a stand about not being in the movie because I thought the money was terrible, there was a backlash of very negative things from some of my co-stars. The role is very much a double-edged sword.”
Vanessa Hudgens Talks Nude Photo Scandal
Vanessa Hudgens Talks Nude Photo Scandal
Looking as cute as ever in a stylishly patterned dress, Vanessa Hudgens was spotted out to the studio in Santa Monica on Wednesday (January 2).
The High School Musical hottie recently opened up in an interview with Seventeen, talking about her rebound from a nude photo scandal that made waves on the Internet in Spetember of 2007.
“I’m much better now,” the 19-year-old said, adding, “But truthfully I don’t like talking about it.”
Speaking of the backlash caused by the private photos, Vanessa says, “It was very traumatic, and I am extremely upset it happened. I hope all my fans can learn from my mistake and make smart decisions. But I wouldn’t have been able to get through it if it wasn’t for my family, friends and fans, who supported me all along the way.”
Meanwhile, when asked how she found out that her nude self was popping up on computer monitors around the world, the Disney star tells: “I found out from my manager. We heard some story was going to break in the tabloids, and I was like, What?!? A few days later, the picture came out while I Was on vacation in Australia. Thank God, I wasn’t home – it would have sucked if I was at home. So I got to be away from L.A. for about a millisecond. But when I came back, it got kind of crazy.”
Continuing on to what could’ve been the toughest part, Hudgens told of how she broke the news to her mom, saying, “I was just open with her, and she was just so cute. She was like, ‘Well, everyone can be naked if they want to.’ ”
TBS pauses a show for a commercial - VIDEO
The relationship between the viewer and the network is one that requires a delicate balance. As the numbers for DVR penetration continue to climb, it’s pretty clear that a great many of us are successfully dodging more and more commercial breaks. And the networks continue to push back, trying different things to get eyeballs on ads. Some are merely annoying. For instance, as much as I like both Kyra Sedgwick and The Closer, I’m annoyed every time Brenda walks out of the corner of my screen while I’m watching another show on TNT.
While that one is annoying, this latest adventure from TBS crosses a line. During an episode of Family Guy (video after the jump), Bill Engvall walks out on the screen, much like the Brenda spots for The Closer. The difference is that Bill holds up a remote and actually pauses the episode before heading into his pitch for his show. When he finishes, he unpauses the show, which runs for two more seconds before going to the regular commercial break. Please, if it’s not too much trouble, strap on your sturdiest combat boots and join me in sending a theoretical kick to the crotch of anyone at TBS that didn’t think this was the dumbest idea since starting everything at five minutes past the hour.
Seriously, what are they hoping to gain from this? That ad is not going to get me to watch The Bill Engvall Show. In fact, it’s more likely to do just the opposite. I’ll now go out of my way to not watch TBS out of spite. This spot is at the precipice of a very slippery slope. It’s just a Family Guy rerun, and it was just two seconds before going to commercial anyway. But that leads to the middle of a first run My Boys segment. And before you know it we have NBA games getting paused mid play so Tom Arnold can sell us toasted subs.
I know, that sounds crazy. But did you ever think that a network would have the nuts to pause an episode for a commercial? Screw that. There needs to be a backlash for this to define the line. Link the video on your blog, your livejournal, myspace, facebook, and whatever other web 2.0 social site that I’m too square to have heard of yet. With any luck, the stank of all the bad press will send the appropriate message. And yes, TBS and TV share corporate overlords, for what it’s worth.
[ via kottke, thanks Adam and Wil ]