Diaz, Downey, Jackman Flex Star Power
A slew of A-listersand one animated iconare gearing up for a different kind of starring role.
The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce unveiled its slate of 25 stars set to receive, well, stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year in the categories of motion pictures, television, recording and radio.
The motion picture category welcomes the biggest influx of stars: Robert Downey Jr., Cameron Diaz, Hugh Jackman, Ralph Fiennes, Sir Ben Kingsley, William H. Macy, Tim Burton, Leslie Caron and Tinkerbell (the Peter Pan character, not Paris Hilton’s dog…though, never say never) comprise this year’s class of 2009.
On the television side, reality show über-producer Mark Burnett is set for immortality in pavement, as are veteran sitcom writer Chuck Lorre (Two and a Half Men), Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman (who, with hubby Macy, will be receiving his and hers stars next year), CSI’s William Petersen, The Closer’s Kyra Sedgwick andhave mercyJohn Stamos.
The recording honorees include Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, Shakira, the Village People, Rush, Dave Koz, the Miracles and Doug Morris.
Radio welcomes just two new entrants to the famed walk, Bill Handel and comic-actor and all-around Simpsons power player Harry Shearer.
No dates have yet been set for the individual star unveilings.
25 New Stars In Hollywood
There are 25 people (or, groups of people, depending on how you look at it!) set to receive their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next year. Each year, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce’s Walk of Fame Committee chose the recipients, who are then ratified by the board of directors.
The new recipients are:
Hugh Jackman, Ben Kingsley, The Village People and Tinkerbell, along with Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Cameron Diaz, Robert Downey Jr., Tim Burton, Leslie Caron, Charles Durning, Ralph Fiennes, William Petersen, Kyra Sedgwick, John Stamos, Mark Burnett, Chuck Lorre, Kenny “Baby Face” Edmonds, Dave Koz, The Miracles, Doug Morris, Rush, Shakira, KFI radio personality Bill Handel and KCRW host Harry Shearer, who also provides voices for characters on “The Simpsons.”
Congrats to everyone!
Couples Watch: Natalie & Devendra Wear Short Shorts in Israel
• Natalie Portman, grabbing a bottle of water and
browsing in a Jaffa, Israel, souvenir shop with indie-rocker beau Devendra Banhart, who was sporting some weather-appropriate short shorts.
Portman, who was born in Jerusalem, was vacationing in Israel after taking
her boyfriend with her to Cannes, where she sat on the jury at the
annual film festival. (See more actors and
their indie-rock loves!)
• Nicole Richie and Joel Madden, enjoyed one of Richie’s favorite foods – sushi! – while dining with a group at West Hollywood’s Izakaya by Katsu-ya. “They seemed to be having fun,” a fellow diner told us, adding, “just a normal dinner out with friends.”
• Mila Kunis and Macaulay Culkin, holding hands at an afterparty following R.E.M.’s Los Angeles concert. According to an onlooker, when Kunis saw her former That ’70s Show costar Topher Grace, she yelled his name – and he came over and “gave her a big hug.” He also shook hands with Culkin, and the three hung out for the rest of the night. Also there: James Franco, who took in the show with a blonde girl. “He was very attentive to her and was definitely was on a date,” says the source. “They even shared a kiss backstage and mingled with Mila, Macaulay and Topher.”
• Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, checking out the
baubles at Moondance jewelry store on Santa Monica’s Montana Avenue.
The Closer star was wearing a pretty summer dress, while Bacon
rocked his usual biker style. The couple were joined on their shopping
excursion by daughter Sosie.
• Neil Patrick Harris, scoping out the art at the House of
Campari’s artist and gallerist preview of the new exhibition in New York City’s SoHo with
boyfriend David Burtka. The How I Met Your Mother star
was also joined by other guy friends, as he admired the work and chatted
with the artists and curators all night.
• Bijou Philips, supporting her boyfriend Danny Masterson, who was hosting Jazz Night at Teddy’s, inside Los Angeles’s Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The actress sat in a large leather chair in front
of the deejay booth with Masterson, but she moved over to chat up a female
friend when her beau left their table.
• By JENNIFER GARCIA, LISA INGRASSIA and ABBY STERN
Want to see where the celebrity action goes down? Tour all the Friday’s Caught in the Act >
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 ]