Brought to you by asap and The Associated Press, The Slug tastes pop culture for you — just in case it's been poisoned. E-mail us at [email protected].


Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Reese On Topics Not Including Jake Gyllenhaal

091107reese
(AP Photo/HO/Elle)

Reese Witherspoon is gracing the October cover of Elle. The long bangs are rocking our world, but doesn't that dress make it look like her bra is showing? Inside the magazine, Gavin Hood, director of her upcoming film "Rendition" co-starring Jake Gyllenhaal, says the pair didn't have an affair. They didn't even film any scenes together! Witherspoon doesn't address the rumors herself. Here's the juiciest quotes:

On dealing with hard times post-split with husband Ryan Phillipe: "There’s this moment in 'Walk the Line' where June Carter says, 'I was never aware of how much I was seen.' I was very aware of how much I was seen."

On the tabloids: "Everybody is hung out to dry now. It’s one thing if you’re up for it and you want it, and you go out without your panties on. But if you’re wearing your panties, gosh darn it, leave me alone!"

On claims that she is always in control: “I wouldn’t be able to do what I do if I were (always in control). I wouldn’t be able to have the empathy or the capacity to understand different lives.”

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Dear "Diaries"

073107devil
(AP Photo/HO/Twentieth Century Fox/Barry Wetcher)

Layoffs make for great drama! While watching a preview screener for SoapNet's new "Devil Wears Prada" and "Ugly Betty" inspired reality series "The Fashionista Diaries," which chronicles three pairs of assistants in the fashion biz in New York, The Slug couldn't help but wonder what's gonna happen to the two assistants assigned to Jane magazine, which folded earlier this month. According to a press release that landed in our inbox, they'll be "reassigned" to CosmoGirl magazine and the Jane closure drama will be part of the show, which premieres Aug. 1. Now if only the Jane staff members not being chronicled for a reality show were so lucky.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Oprah vs. McConaughey

061407matt (AP Photo/Dima Gavrysh/J.P. Moczulski)

Is it better to be hot or powerful? Oprah Winfrey tops Forbes magazine's "Celebrity Power 100 List" while Matthew McConaughey is People magazine's "Bachelor of the Year." Could these two be any different? She's so smart and inspirational and he, well, he has amazing abs. Whether you responded hot or powerful, you're wrong. The correct answer is both! Next year, The Slug would really love to see these publications pool their resources to find the powerfulest and sexiest celebrity. By this time next year, that just may be someone we'd never expect.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Now Playing at the Peach Pit After Dark

052207maroon (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Every now and then, Entertainment Weekly delivers a delicious lesson. (Full disclosure: We once interned at EW a long time ago during a summer far, far away.) In this week's music section, as a sidenote to EW's review of Maroon 5's "It Won't Be Soon Before Long," the magazine teaches us that the band's previous incarnation, Kara's Flowers, played the Peach Pit After Dark in a "Beverly Hills 90210" episode from 1997. Luckily, the clip is available on YouTube, along with Tori Spelling delivering this line: "Wow, the band sounds great. It's too bad there's not a bigger crowd." Ha! Look who's attracting bigger audiences now, Donna Martin!

Monday, April 30, 2007

Bruce Willis Goes There

043007bruce (AP Photo/HO/Vanity Fair/Annie Leibovitz)

A rugged and big-headed-lookin' Bruce Willis is gracing the June cover of Vanity Fair. (Wait a sec. Wasn't Demi Moore just on the cover, too?) In case you hadn't heard amid the hullabaloo over superheroes and pirates, "Live Free and Die Hard" (or "Die Hard 4," as we like to call it) is hitting theaters this summer. So, after all these years, does Willis still got it? He doesn't think so, at least when it comes to media attention. What does he blame for his lack of press coverage? Naked vaginas, of course. Here's what he told the magazine:

“They’re not writing about guys my age much anymore, unless I do something naughty. They’re writing about the kids. That’s what drives the pop culture now. Anything goes, to the point when if it’s OK for young pop stars or film stars to show photos of their naked vaginas in a magazine, then it’s over, man."

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Drew Barrymore is More Beautiful Than You

42507drew (AP Photo/Stephen Chernin)

Drew Barrymore has been selected as People magazine's covergirl for this year's "100 Most Beautiful" list. Yawn. What's more interesting than that news is People's "Stars Without Makeup" feature in the issue starring the likes of Rosario Dawson, Jessica Biel and Barrymore au natural. It's probably just shameless, but the seventh star without makeup in the online version is a form to subscribe to People. Funny. We actually prefer it with a little mascara.

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Free Wedding Advice!!!

011807bride (AP Photo/Charles Maring/Maring Photography)

Did Christmas come early this year or what? Along with free gasoline, you can get some free wedding advice today. And you don't even have to be in New York for this limited time offer! Modern Bride magazine has assembled a panel of experts — everyone from a cake baker to an interfaith minister — and made them available at 1-866-802-4520 from 2 to 5 p.m. EST today.

We've tried calling before that window to ask about wedding reception garter removal, but nobody was there yet. Blushing brides, don't be surprised if you hear a British lass say, "We are currently experiencing a high volume of calls." Keep trying! Let us know at [email protected] if you actually speak to a real person (and if we can bring a plus-one to your nuptials).

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Demi Moore Returns to Vanity Fair

010207demi
(AP Photo/HO/Vanity Fair/Mario Testino/American Society of Magazine Editors)

Would you look at Demi Moore on the upcoming February 2007 cover of Vanity Fair next to her infamous Annie Leibovitz nakey pregnant cover from August 1991? Other than the white robe, some gold heels, a — what would you call that on her head? — and no bun in the oven, she practically looks the same! (Also interesting: That "How Saddam Survived" story from '91. Creepy!) And speaking of babies, Moore tells VF she indeed wants some lil' Ashton Kutchers. The quote:

"Most definitely. Most definitely. Once you hit three, where you’re outnumbered, it’s really, like, 'What’s the difference between (three or) four or five?' For me, the most important thing that I’ve contributed is my children."

Friday, December 29, 2006

Our Favoritest Things in 2006

122906clay (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Our long national nightmare is almost over! The year-end lists that plague this time of year will be null and void at the stroke of midnight Sunday. So before we take off for a three-day weekend full of speculating and drinking, here's, um, yet another year-end list! We skipped the crap and just went for our favoritiest pop culture nuggets from 2006. If you disagree or think there was something better, we probably didn't see it — or you're just wrong.

Favoritest Viral Video: Reverend Alecia. She simply spun, spun, spun around on a gold lamé-covered office chair to "give praise to the name of the Lord," but there was something so hilariously beautiful about it. And just when you thought you've had enough, she spins via split-screen.

Favoritest Song: "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley. Sure, it's played out now, but we remember when, we remember, we remember at the beginning of the year when the infectious beat and repetitious lyrics shook our tush. While OutKast was busy making a movie, Gnarls Barkley's Danger Mouse and Cee-Lo filled the genre-spanning void with the bestest ditty of 2006.

Favoritest Commercial: Little Richard for Geico. Usually we cringe at celebrities shilling in ads. (Case in point: Alan Thicke offering a "second honeymoon" at the Tahiti Village in Las Vegas. Oh, brother.) But Little Richard steals the show while hawking car insurance with the best description of Thanksgiving dinner ever. Whooo!!!

Favoritest Reality TV Show: "Survivor: Cook Islands." It started with a scandal and could've gone horribly wrong. Instead, viewers of this aging reality show were treated to a season of interesting twists that had nothing to do with that racial divide. By season's end, we were left with a dominating multicultural alliance who concluded the potentially viscous game with more integrity than any previous season.

Favoriest Movie: "Borat" and "The Queen." We know. We know. We're lame for the tie, but we couldn't pick just one. Surprisingly, we sorta loved both for the same reason. These scathing looks at two very different cultures successfully undulated between real and fake, fact and fiction. "Borat" did it for laughs. "The Queen" did it for chills. And we're better for watching both.

Favoritest Roller Coaster: Tatsu. Opened in April, this soaring Japanese-themed coaster, which suspends riders horizontally, whirls 170-feet above Six Flags Magic Mountain's other rides and — gulp! — the ground. When we visited Los Angeles in October, we rode in the front and truly felt like Superman.

Favoritest Game Show: "The Price is Right." You can keep "Deal or No Deal," "1 vs. 100," "Identity" and all those other prime-time game shows. They're boring and, frankly, seem phony. We'll take the crazy everyday men and women who compose "The Price is Right" audience any day of the week. And although Bob Barker announced he's retiring next year, we think he's still got it.

Favoritest Scandal: Clay Aiken's hand. When the "American Idol" runner-up put his hand over Kelly Ripa's mouth on "Live with Regis and Kelly," it ignited a firestorm across daytime television. We're surprised it didn't cause any havoc in Harmony on "Passions."

Favoritest TV Show: "Heroes." While "Lost" was busy dragging out its tiresome mysteries — there, we said it — this superhero drama moved forward with superhuman speed, improving upon a very ehhhh first episode and veering clear of copying "X-Men" by focusing intriguing they-could-be-real characters. We can't wait until 2007 to find out if we're on the list!   

Favoritest Video Game: "Loco Roco." Our favorite game this year wasn't on Wii or PlayStation 3. It was on — gasp! — the PlayStation Portable. With spirited graphics, addictive soundtrack and innovate gameplay, we think this gelatinous puzzle game was more vanguard than anything on those next-generation consoles.

Favoritest Blog: Adrants. We love this marketing and advertising blog for exposing bizarre commercials, flogs and silly P.R. campaigns. In a year when the line between entertainment and advertisement became even thinner, Adrants was there to point its finger and giggle. (And no, we didn't pick Adrants because they linked to our HeadOn post.)

Favoritest asap Story We Did: Waiting for Cats. This past year, we had the opportunity to create stories about amazing people (Mr. T, Bazooka Joe), amazing animals (Lassie, mascots), amazing places (Costa Rica, Flea World) and amazing things ("Second Life," Mardi Gras), but our favoritest was simply tailing a group of talented teenagers who were putting on an amateur production of "Cats."

Friday, December 22, 2006

What a Card!

122206cards (AP Photo/Derrik J. Lang)

Merry Christmas from The Slug! We're peacing out for the next few days. Check back next week as we'll continue to preview midseason shows. Enjoy the holidays. As our Christmas gift to you, we're gonna let you peep at some of our favorite holiday cards that we received from various networks, record labels, media outlets and public relations firms. Come inside and make yourself warm.

Continue reading "What a Card!" »