Surfers Protect McConaughey, Attack the Paps
A brawl broke out on the beaches of Malibu Saturday afternoon when a group of surfers attacked paparazzi who were snapping pics of Matthew McConaughey.
One shutterbug told police that a mob of surfers approached the photogs near Paradise Cove where the often-shirtless actor was surfing with friends. The surfers demanded everyone stop filming and taking pictures, but when that didn’t happen, things got physical.
“[The surfers] formed a semicircle in front of his camera and they said [McConaughey] didn’t want him to film,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Steve Whitmore told the Los Angeles Times. “They got into an argument, and [the photographer] indicated that he received injuries…[The surfers] took the video camera and threw it in the water.”
There are reports that another paparazzo suffered a broken nose.
Detectives are investigating the melee, which was caught on tape by TMZ.com and X17online.com.
McConaughey’s people have yet to comment.
Scorned Shutterbug Sues Woody Harrelson Again
This guy knows his name but doesn’t wish Woody Harrelson any good cheer.
Photographer Josh Levine sued the Oscar-nominated actor for $2.5 million Friday, claiming Harrelson injured him both physically and emotionally when he roughed him up two years ago outside a Hollywood club, per the Los Angeles Times.
According to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Levine was working for TMZ.com on June 29, 2006, when he approached Harrelson near the intersection of Las Palmas Avenue and Hollywood Boulevard, only to tape the actor going medieval for the camera.
The video Levine shot at the time shows the paparazzo approaching Harrelson and calling out to get his attention.
The White Men Can’t Jump star broke Levine’s camera, choked him and shoved the camera into his ribs, the complaint alleges.
Levine is seeking $2.5 million in damages to compensate for mental, physical, nervous and emotional pain and suffering. He is also suing one of Harrelson’s bodyguards, who he claims was ordered to attack him.
Harrelson’s camp couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. The L.A. District Attorney’s Office investigated the incident at the time but no charges were ever filed.
Levine originally sued the former sitcom star for assault and battery last year but dropped his case in January. His attorney said at the time, however, that the photog was contemplating revisiting the matter in the future.
M. Night Shyamalan Rant
For starters, to make sure we’re all clear on this, I’m not a HUGE M. Night Shyamalan fan. I think that The Sixth Sense was a cinematic breakthrough in the way people think of psychological thrillers, and Unbreakable is a great movie, but I could really care less about the rest. Yet, even though he has proven his directorial prowess time and time again (they’re not BAD movies, after all), all people expect from him is to be a one-trick pony.
This is a recent article about him from IMDb:
M. Night Shyamalan, the writer-director famous for ending his films with surprising twists has returned to the screen with The Happening. But those expecting to see his signature ending will likely be disappointed. As Elizabeth Weitzman writes in the New York Daily News, “The big twist is that… there’s no twist at all. None. Zip. Nada.” Several critics express disappointment that Shyamalan, after a series of blunders, has not made the kind of comeback they were hoping for. Claudia Puig in USA Today concludes her review by remarking, “Shyamalan’s work has been deteriorating since the stir he caused in 1999 with The Sixth Sense. … His last couple of movies — The Village and Lady in the Water — have been particular disappointments, and The Happening continues the trend.” Kyle Smith in the New York Post gives mostly two-word reviews for all of Shyamalan’s movies since The Sixth Sense: “Stupid ending, stupid ending, stupid ending and, in a change of pace with his last film, Lady in the Water, stupid all the way through.” Carina Chocano in the Los Angeles Times says that not all the blame should be laid at Shyamalan’s feet. Costar Mark Wahlberg, she writes, gives “one of the worst performances of his career.” But Manohla Dargis in the New York Times comments that the critics’ knives were sharpened for Shyamalan even before the movie was screened for them. As for herself, she considers the film, “a divertingly goofy thriller with an animistic bent, moments of shivery and twitchy suspense and a solid lead performance from Mark Wahlberg.” Likewise Glenn Whipp concludes in the Los Angeles Daily News that The Happening is “creepy, silly fun. And if it came from anyone else, it would be recognized as such. One thing is certain: The man hasn’t lost his ability to entertain.”
Why are all of these critics bitching that his other movies don’t have some kind of insane twist? WHO CARES. He was going to be damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. I’d bet that, if he had come out with another movie with the same kind of twist, the same style of storytelling, people would have found excuse to complain about that as well. Why don’t they just critique the movie for its own merit, without any regard for what came before it? Were they entertained? Or would they have been pissed if they’d paid $11 to see it in theaters? M. Night should be allowed to tell any story he wishes, including ones with a straight-forward plotline.
Mark Wahlberg is a good actor and Shyamalan is a good director. Don’t pay attention to the critics (I sure don’t!), and see the movie for yourself before you judge.
Rant over.
Lindsay Not Asking for Your Consideration
Edie Falco, Elaine Stritch, Carrie Fisher, Vivica A. Fox, Sarah Silverman and the 35 other women who were good for a hearty laugh over the last year can rest easy.
Lindsay Lohan has decided not to submit herself for consideration at the upcoming 60th Annual Emmy Awards, despite being eligible for an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series trophy for the not-quite-60 seconds she spent on screen in the season finale of Ugly Betty.
“The appearance was brief,” Lohan’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, told the Los Angeles Times’ Gold Derby blog. “We made a decision to wait.”
To be fair, Lohan’s Betty-tormenting character will have at least five episodes to strut her stuff next season, so no one can say for certain that the comebacking actress won’t leave an Emmy-worthy comedic footprint on the ABC comedy in the future.
Also in the running in 2008 after submitting their names to the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences are Mary-Kate Olsen, Jenny McCarthy, Alyssa Milano, Sherri Shepherd, Heather Locklear and, speaking of much-needed positive moments in the spotlight, Britney Spears.
A couple days ago, Grey’s Anatomy star Katherine Heigl said she didn’t give herself a chance for a Supporting Actress Emmy repeat this year because of her character’s lack of meaty material this season.