Posts By Sabrina Rojas Weiss

January 18th, 2012 | 10:58 am by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

LL Cool J To Host The Grammys — Is That A Good Thing?

For the first time in seven years, the Grammy Awards are getting a host: LL Cool J, the veteran host and co-producer of the Grammy Nominations Concert Live show, according to Grammy.com. Now this raises a few questions: 1) For what percentage of the show will Cool James be wearing his sunglasses? 2) Will he be covering up those beautiful arms of his with a tux the whole time? 3) Will he be any good? As we’ve learned from uncomfortable experience (ahem, James Franco and Anne Hathaway), non-comedians don’t have a good track record as awards show hosts. But LL never ceases to surprise us with his many talents. I mean, he has been acting since 1985′s Kush Groove, and he managed to hold his own opposite Queen Latifah in Last Holiday. He’s written four books. And his ex-Navy Seal character on NCIS: Los Angeles speaks Arabic fluently (and yes, that show is still on CBS, the home of the Grammy Awards on February 12). Wrangling a few musicians onstage should be cake, right? Now for the real question — do we really need anyone to host the show? Vote below, and then watch LL’s collabo with Elmo after the jump.


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January 18th, 2012 | 9:58 am by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Adam Lambert Dresses Down For Tonight Show

Adam Lambert has said that his upcoming album, Trespassing, will be “an exciting journey through the past two years of my life.” Our first taste of that has come by way of his first single, “Better Than I Know Myself,” a mid-tempo ballad that features his signature confessional lyrics and soaring notes. But after he performed it live for the first time on The Tonight Show last night, we are curious about something: Was his completely toned-down outfit, a black tux and a white shirt with no tie (pictured right), a sign of things to come? It’s quite a different look from his typical performance-wear (left), but we don’t know if it was just for this occasion or if Glambert is making way for a more subdued, introspective Lambert. You aren’t shy, Glambert Nation, so let us know your theories! And if you missed the performance, a separate clip hasn’t been made available yet, so fast-forward to the last segment (38 minutes in) in the video below.
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January 17th, 2012 | 4:28 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Remodeled Star Plans To Change The World With Beautiful People

Paul Fisher has a lot of things to overcome. The owner of the Network, an umbrella company overseeing something like 150 modeling agencies across the country, has to whip all those small businesses into shape so they can discover new talent and keep it. He’s got to convince models and the people who hire them that it’s not just the big NYC agencies that matter. And he’s got to overcome the revulsion he once felt for the industry that he left for 10 years. And he’s got to convince us that Remodeled, which premieres on the CW tonight, is worth adding to the already full roster of modeling shows on our DVR list. But that’s not enough. He also wants to create models who will change the world. Wait, what?

In the ’80s and ’90s, Fisher rep’d the likes of Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, Carre Otis and Kimora Lee Simmons. But things went sour for him when his sister “came down with a very bad case of cancer.” As he was taking care of her, he recalls, “Two of the most famous models in the world called me up and they were pissed off. ‘Why am I making only $50,000 today, Paul, when this other chick is making $75,000?’

“I said, ‘My sister’s dying and you’re pissed off about $50,000? F— you.’ So I ran away from the modeling industry, and I swore to god I would never never go back into that business ever again.” The only reason he’s going back on his word, Fisher says, is because he thinks his Network can transform the industry into a force for good.

When Fisher told this dramatic story to us at a press event for the show last week, he was no less intimidating than he seems when talking to the owners of floundering agencies in Orlando and Minneapolis on the show. (Yes, he is definitely taking a Gordon Ramsey/Tabitha Coffey approach.) But we dared to ask him what modeling can do for the rest of the world.
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January 17th, 2012 | 1:35 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Lindsay Lohan, “Keep Doing What You’re Doing” (But Find A Hairbrush?)

For many an A-list actress, a Playboy spread and a possible Lifetime TV-movie would constitute a downward slide. But for Lindsay Lohan, it’s progress. Judge Stephanie Sautner thinks she’s on the up and up, at least, as she said during LiLo’s probation progress hearing today.

“Keep doing what you’re doing, and you appear to be doing it well,” the judge said after reviewing the report from Lohan’s probation officer. She’s been staying on track with her community service at the morgue and with therapy sessions. She even managed to attend the Weinstein Company’s Golden Globes afterparty without making any headlines.
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January 17th, 2012 | 12:17 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

The Artist Earns 12 BAFTA Nods — Here Are The Real 5 Reasons To See It

So, The Artist, a movie with by a French director, with French stars, that takes place in Hollywood, is so completely dominating awards season that it’s earned 12 nods for the British kudosfest the BAFTAs. It’s already won three Golden Globes and four Critics’ Choice awards. And it’s nominated for all the other big pre-Oscar awards: NBR, PGA, DGA, SAG and Independent Spirit. But we worry that all this lofty buzz (not to mention the attention it garnered during Cannes) is actually doing the opposite of drawing certain people to the theaters. A critically acclaimed, bound-to-be-Oscar-nominated black-and-white silent movie by a foreign dude? “No thanks,” some of you are saying. But I am here to say you are wrong. Here’s why you should see it:

1. Uggie as “The Dog.” If you saw the Jack Russell terrier hamming it up onstage at the Globes, you got a tiny taste of his scene-stealing antics. Also, Robert Pattinson fans should recognized this talented pooch as Queenie from Water for Elephants. He’s not just a pretty face, either — his heroic feats rival Lassie’s in the pic, and he may have made us cry once or twice. There’s even a campaign for him to get an Oscar.


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January 16th, 2012 | 12:58 am by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Our Favorite Golden Globes Moments: The Artist’s Dog, Penis Jokes And More

We actually had a scorecard ready to mark how many offensive things Ricky Gervais said at tonight’s Golden Globes, but it seems that he decided to leave the raunch and insults to others. Most of it, at least. Anyway, here are our favorite silly, cute, funny and moving moments from the 69th annual awards show, in semi-chronological order:

» Ricky Gervais said he wasn’t allowed to joke about Mel Gibson, or Jodie Foster’s Beaver. “I haven’t seen it myself; that doesn’t mean it’s not any good.”

» Ricky continued his amusing relationship with Johnny Depp by asking him onstage: “Have you seen The Tourist?” To which Depp answered, “No.”

» Julianne Moore and Rob Lowe very gracefully overcame a TelePrompTer fail. And Downton Abbey’s Elizabeth McGovern tripped UP the stairs. And during one cutaway, we saw Dame Helen Mirren chewing. Thus proving stars’ humanness once again.

» While standing next to Kate Beckinsale, Seth Rogen said, “Hello, I’m Seth Rogen, and I’m currently trying to hide a massive erection. ” And then the camera cut away to a show of Jodie Foster’s kids, for some reason.

» Speaking of kids, daughters seemed to be a big theme of the night. Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy winner Michelle Williams thanked her daughter, Matilda, for putting up with having months of bedtime stories in which “all the princesses were read aloud in a Marilyn Monroe voice.” Best Supporting Actor in a TV Series or Miniseries winner Peter Dinklage thanked his daughter who was home with her first babysitter. Best Director winner Martin Scorsese thanked his daughter, Francesca, for introducing him to the book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, on which Hugo is based.

» George Clooney borrowed Brad Pitt’s cane to introduce Moneyball.
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January 15th, 2012 | 10:10 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Golden Globes Red Carpet: The 20 Best-Dressed

We saw a whole lot of cray, even more neutrals and a healthy splattering of color on the red carpet at the Golden Globes tonight. And our favorites of the bunch come from all of the above categories. We weren’t too surprised that Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron and Reese Witherspoon topped the list — after all, they’ve had a lot of practice at these things — but we hardly could have predicted their dresses. They’re the kind of gowns that make little girls and grown women want to play dress-up. Check out our top 20 list below, and then tell us why we’re all wrong in the comments below!

Related: Piper Perabo Proves Golden Globes Neutrals More Colorful Than We Thought
Melissa McCarthy, Nicole Richie Trot Out Pony Manes At The Golden Globes

January 13th, 2012 | 1:31 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Critics’ Choice Movie Awards Reveals Everyone’s Rooting For The Help

As we’ve said before, last night’s Critics’ Choice Movie Awards was the opening act to one of our favorite times of year, ski awards season. And on the red carpet, it was easy to spot who was new to this whole deal and who’s been strolling down carpets for decades.

“My whole body’s shaking right now,” The Help’s Jessica Chastain admitted to us on the red carpet. George Clooney, meanwhile, told us, “I never get truly nervous, but I’m always happy to be here.”

It was a big night for The Artist, which won Best Director and Best Picture, and The Help, which nabbed three acting prizes. Viola Davis moved everyone to tears with her speech, in which said portraying women like her character in the film was basically why she was born. Even the stars who were ostensibly competing against the Help cast were pulling for wins by Davis and company.
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January 13th, 2012 | 12:27 pm by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Madonna’s Most And Least Madonna-Like Quotes Of The Week

We always think of Madonna for being the star who constantly reinvents herself — from club kid to bombshell to dominatrix to British aristocrat to sophisticated director/Super Bowl Halftime performer. But we forget that she is also very, very consistent in another way: Her public personality. You’d know that wry voice and withering look anywhere, right? In fact, we can read her quotes and just hear her voice in our head.

Case in point: The way she’s been answering questions about Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” in interviews this week. “I thought, What a wonderful way to redo my song. I mean, I recognized the chord changes. I thought it was … interesting,” she told Newsweek. And in an interview taped for The Graham Norton Show, she said, “[Gaga] did remind me of me back in the day.”

She’s even icier in the interview with ABC’s Cynthia McFadden, which airs in full on tonight’s 20/20.

“It felt reductive,” she said of “Born This Way.” “There’s a lot of ways to look at it. I can’t really be annoyed by it … because, obviously, I’ve influenced her.”

All of those seem like exactly what you’d expect from the infamous hydrangea hater. So you know what is surprising? What she says about her relationship with 24-year-old dancer Brahim Zaibat. Watch after the jump.
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January 13th, 2012 | 11:06 am by Sabrina Rojas Weiss (@shalapitcher)

Kristen Stewart Shares “Radical Spirit” (And Smell) Of Balenciaga

Kristen Stewart and Balenciaga go way back — she wore that red-and-white one-shoulder number on the left at the world premiere of Twilight back in 2008, and the black-and-brown one is from the New Moon premiere in Madrid. “Even when I first began to consider fashion and admittedly rarely knew the brand I was wearing, I always recognized and loved Balenciaga,” she told WWD today, when it was announced that she’d be the face of the fashion house’s new fragrance for women. And the way she described Balenciaga sounds a lot like the way we feel about her: “The brand is just cool. That’s the way it is. I feel drawn to it. It provokes on a number of levels. It isn’t afraid or contrived. It hits a very cool balance, always. Always pretty undeniable.”

What we find kind of amusing about Balenciaga’s side of the deal is how they seem to be distancing themselves from anything Twilight: “From her early appearance in Panic Room to her independent choice of Welcome to the Rileys, I’ve always sensed her progressive character,” Balenciaga creative director Nicolas Ghesquière told the trade paper. “In 2006, I invited her to appear in a project shot by Bruce Weber. Since then, I’ve always wished to collaborate with her further, knowing that she shares the radical spirit of Balenciaga.”
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