Entertaining Posts

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

"Real Housewives" draws fire from TV critics

LOS ANGELES | Tue Sep 6, 2011 2:39pm EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The tragedy-marred "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" reality show went ahead with a 'life must go on' attitude Monday night, but the newly-edited version left an uncomfortable taste in the mouth of many TV viewers and critics.

Los Angeles Times TV writer Mary McNamara said the second season of the Bravo show -- shot months ago -- should have been scrapped after the suicide last month of Russell Taylor, the estranged and reportedly deeply indebted husband of cast member Taylor Armstrong.

"There's nothing that a little cosmetic surgery can't fix, including, apparently, suicide," McNamara wrote Monday.

The new season premiere was prefaced with a discussion among the "housewives" -- except for Taylor -- about Armstrong's suicide and how none of them had seen it coming.

Slate magazine's Jessica Grose said the new segment "was uncomfortable and felt false." But Grose defended the network's right to go ahead with season, saying "It's not Bravo's responsibility to predict how someone will react to minor celebrity."

Meanwhile, some of the "housewives" appeared on the "Today" show Monday and taped a segment for Anderson Cooper's CNN program later in the day.

Former child star Kyle Richards told the "Today" show on Monday the cast had not seen the Los Angeles Times commentary. But she added; "It's very difficult in a situation like this. Yes, we shot this six months ago, and I think Bravo has tried to handle this as responsibly and respectfully as possible."

New York Times TV critic Alessandra Stanley said Monday's premiere "was as spritely and mean-spirited as ever. Even by the low standards of reality television, Bravo's determination to slither past suicide and accountability was, well, chilling."

A scene in which Taylor goes shopping for sexy underwear to spice up her crumbling marriage was cut from the version broadcast Monday. But an uncomfortable dinner party scene where Taylor says she and Russell are in therapy was left in.

McNamara noted that part of the attraction of watching the "Real Housewives" shows was knowing that the biting dinner party conversations and catfights were partly manufactured.

"But now we know that as these...little scenes were nursed into being, the petty tensions fed, the catty diatribes coddled, offstage a man was slowly moving toward self-destruction.

"How can we now watch and think of anything else?" McNamara said.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Regis Philbin sets final day for hosting "Live!"

NEW YORK | Tue Sep 6, 2011 2:22pm EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Television talk show host Regis Philbin on Tuesday announced the final day, November 18, for taping his "Live! with Regis and Kelly," ending his run on the popular program after nearly 28 years.

Philbin, who turned 80 years-old on August 25, said in January that this current season would be his last on the program, and on Tuesday he finally put a hard date on the end.

"Friday, November 18 is my last day," he told viewers of the program. "But don't worry, the show goes on."

There was no word on who will replace the popular octogenarian, but Philbin joked that co-host Kelly Ripa "will be trying out new" men and seeking a "new young hot" one to sit by her side.

Ripa joined Philbin in 2001, replacing his former co-host Kathie Lee Gifford. The duo of "Reege" and a female sidekick on "Live!" has been a winning combination over the years for the syndicated morning talk show.

"Live!" has a loyal audience that brings it good viewership during days, and the show has earned Philbin two Emmys for outstanding daytime talk show host. The announcer also has been given a lifetime achievement award by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which gives out TV's top honors, the Emmys.

The show began in 1983 when Philbin created "The Morning Show" for WABC in his native New York City. Gifford joined him in 1985 and in 1988 the program gained national syndication.

Philbin also hosted the hit game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" when it debuted in the United States in 1999.

Philbin is the Guinness World Record holder for most time on camera, with more than 16,500 hours accumulated over his entire career.

"Live! with Regis and Kelly" is distributed by Disney-ABC Television Group, a division of Walt Disney Co.

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Jill Serjeant)

Telluride film fest concludes, Clooney honored

NEW YORK | Tue Sep 6, 2011 11:12am EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Telluride Film Festival wrapped up on Monday after a long weekend of screenings, seminars and other programs, with George Clooney and Tilda Swinton receiving top honors.

The 38th annual festival in the Colorado ski resort town saw Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" win a rapturous reception, with star George Clooney on hand to discuss the comic drama being released in November.

Other films that drew strong response included silent film "The Artist," which also made a splash in Cannes, and "Albert Nobbs," a period piece in which Glenn Close's character lives most of her life disguised as a man. Close was also in town for the festival.

The festival's three surprise films, which were not announced in advance, included Jim Field Smith's "Butter," starring Jennifer Garner and Ty Burrell, all of whom made appearances. "Crazy Horse," Frederick Wiseman's look at the glamorous Paris cabaret, and "Le Grand Amour," Pierre Etaix's lost masterpiece which was making its North American premiere, were also screened.

Silver Medallion awards for significant contributions to the cinema world went to Clooney, Swinton and Etaix. The Special Medallion, honoring preservation and presentation of great movies, went to British film magazine Sight & Sound, with editor Nick James on hand to accept.

The festival presented 28 new features, as well as six revivals, nine "Backlot" programs, nine classics and restorations, as well as a 30 short and student films.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; editing by Christine Kearney)

Doctor's trial may avoid Michael Jackson's past

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES | Tue Sep 6, 2011 8:39am EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's former doctor faces a tough challenge clearing himself of involuntary manslaughter charges in the pop star's death as his trial, which promises to avoid many dark aspects of Jackson's life, begins with jury selection this week.

While it is Dr. Conrad Murray, who will be on trial when attorneys begin selecting a panel on Thursday, the "Thriller" singer's infamy will loom large over the proceedings.

Jackson was one of the world's most recognizable singers, dubbed the King of Pop, when he died in June 2009, at age 50. He also was known to have battled an addiction to painkillers, and Murray's attorneys had hoped to present evidence of his past drug use at the trial.

But in an obstacle for the defense, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor barred testimony from a half-dozen doctors whom Murray's attorneys had indicated in court papers would portray Jackson as drug-dependent.

"The deck is, for various reasons, stacked against the defense here," said Stan Goldman, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Jackson stopped breathing at his Los Angeles mansion on June 25, 2009, in what authorities say was an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol and various sedatives.

Murray, who pleaded not guilty to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, has admitted giving Jackson propofol, a drug normally used for surgery, as a sleep aid.

During a series of court hearings earlier this year defense attorneys suggested that when Murray was out of the room, Jackson could have given himself a large, fatal dose of the drug, possibly by swallowing it.

Murray faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

FINDING A JURY

As for choosing an impartial jury, legal experts say it will be impossible to find anyone who knows nothing of Jackson. Some will adore him, while others will abhor him. So attorneys will have to work to find the most unbiased jury possible under the circumstances.

"It's going to be like a Ouija board, it's going to be guess work," Goldman said.

After a jury panel is selected, the trial will be recessed until opening arguments begin the last week of September.

Jackson's family has faithfully attended all the court hearings in the case, with his mother, Katherine, 81, often sitting with his father, Joseph, 83.

The King of Pop's supporters also will be on hand, and if earlier hearings are any indication they will wear black as a sign of mourning over their fallen idol. At earlier court hearings, some fans hired a plane to fly a banner over the courthouse that read "Change charges to murder."

"If the jurors walk through, on the way to the courthouse, a massive amount of fans who are declaring the guilt of the defendant in the case, I find it hard to believe it won't have some impact," Goldman said.

But some trial watchers say the circus atmosphere that is expected outside the courthouse may, in fact, never materialize. Indeed, Jackson's fans failed to jam the streets of downtown Los Angeles during his 2009 memorial, as had been widely expected.

Laurie Levenson, a colleague of Goldman's at Loyola Law School, said she does not believe the proceedings will become anywhere near the public and media frenzy that accompanied the 1995 murder trial and acquittal of O.J. Simpson.

For one, the Grenada-born Murray is not a celebrity, just a doctor with patients in Nevada and Texas.

"We have a 'trial of the century' about every six months here in Los Angeles," Levenson said wryly.

(Editing by Chris Michaud and Bob Tourtellotte)

Irish actor Fassbender tipped for Venice glory

Tue Sep 6, 2011 5:54am EDT

(Note strong language in paragraph 10)

By Silvia Aloisi

VENICE (Reuters) - A turn as a sex-obsessed New Yorker has made Michael Fassbender a firm favorite for the best actor award at the Venice film festival, capping what reviewers call a breakthrough year for the 34-year-old Irishman.

Fassbender had already impressed film critics with his interpretation of one of the fathers of psychoanalysis, Carl Jung, in "A Dangerous Method," also in competition at the Venice movie showcase.

But it is his performance in Steve McQueen's "Shame," as a handsome executive living comfortably in Manhattan who can only escape his existential angst by seeking casual sex, that has made him the talk of the festival.

"He's a guy who is trying to feel something and then at the same time can't involve himself emotionally with anybody," Fassbender told Reuters in an interview.

"He has this obsession (with) physical encounters that are pretty joyless and definitely non-emotional, and he is abusing himself, he doesn't like himself.

"After these acts, there is a lot of shame and a lot of self-loathing and so he goes out and has to do it again, to get rid of that feeling, and after the fact there is double the shame, so there is this horrible cyclical pattern going on."

Shame is Fassbender's second film with British video-artist McQueen, whom he credited with changing his life by casting him as hunger striker and IRA member Bobby Sands in "Hunger" (2008), another acclaimed movie.

It is peppered with graphic sex scenes and Fassbender is often shown naked, something he said should be a welcome change for female viewers.

"For women it must be sort of refreshing to not always have to see women parading around naked while the guy always has his pants on," he said.

"I also find amazing how films get those ratings, you can take a cheese cutter and take somebody's head off or riddle somebody with 50 bullets but God forbid if you show a penis and fucking on screen...it seems a bit bizarre to me."

"HE'S GOT IT ALL"

Early reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Trade publication Variety called him extraordinary and La Stampa daily said he may already have the best actor prize in his pocket.

"It's amazing that it has taken him this long to be fully recognized, as he's got it all: looks, authority, physicality, command of the screen, great vocal articulation, a certain chameleon quality and the ability to suggest a great deal within while maintaining outward composure," wrote Hollywood Reporter.

"Whether he becomes a real movie star is another matter but, when it comes to pure acting skill and potential, it's possible that Daniel Day-Lewis now has a young challenger."

Fassbender says he is flattered but does not like to be told he has finally made it.

This year he also starred in the "X-Men: First Class" blockbuster and there have been rumors he could be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig.

"People always like to have this sort of label. I have been breaking through since, you know, 2000 or trying to break through.

"I really just think ... 'OK, what am I going to work on next?' and for the moment I am not going to do anything until the end of the year, I am going to take time out because I have been going 20 months," he said.

"It just happened that the script came and I thought 'God, I have to do this', and then the next one and the next one. I just keep it very simple with things like what people say and what do you think about Hollywood -- it's not going to get me anywhere to dwell on these things and there's nothing I can do about it."

(Reporting By Silvia Aloisi, editing by Paul Casciato)