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American Idol Judge Simon Cowell to Leave in Season 8

20 Dec 2008 - admin

The FOX reality show American Idol Season 8 is only one step away, as it is going to start on January 13th. However, it is still not clear yet who the four judges are going to be. First, there were rumors about Paula Abdul leaving the show. After she and Ken Warwick, the producer, denied the gossip and stated that she’s going to stay for the next season, now it’s the turn of Simon Cowell to say that he’s not made up his mind yet for his presents as a judge in American Idol 2009 season. His motives seem to be not that he’s not enjoying the show, but he has a lot of work to do, a lot of ongoing projects, so he has to focus.

Simon Cowell is also involved in the British version of the American Idol, called X-Factor. Indirectly, the UK show is bringing him a very nice, passive income, thanks to one of the show winners, Alexandra Burke, who has been extremely successful with her version of the well-known song Hallelujah.

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American Idol 2009, Season 8

18 Dec 2008 - admin

The American Idol Season 8 premiere is scheduled for January 13th, 2009. The 4 hour show will be broadcast on FOX and it will feature the main moments from the auditions which were held in the summer of 2008 in locations such as San Francisco; Louisville, Ky.; Phoenix; Salt Lake City; Kansas City; Jacksonville; East Rutherford, N.J.; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. These auditions invited men and women between 16 and 28 years of age, eligible for working in the US, to run for getting into one of the most watched and most expected TV shows, which will be at its 8th season of success. Future contestants are probably training their artistic skills, hoping to become the American Idol of millions of teenagers and not only.

Paula Abdul to Judge American Idol in 2009

Paula Abdul was one of the American Idol judges in the 2008 contest. Despite the rumors that she’s not going to be in the team for the 2009 competition, it seems that she’s going to stay with the show for one more season. This is good news, because Paula is very popular among Americans, so she’ll be welcome. The judges team will expand with the addition of Kara DioGuardi, a famous song writer and music producer. She has written songs for artists such as Santana, Christina Aguillera, Celine Dion, Gwen Stefani or Carrie Underwood, and she’s really cool and energetic, and a true professional, committed to her work.

Changes for the New American Idol Season

One of the main changes is that the number of judges will increase by one. Another change is getting back to the wild-card system. Moreover, there will be 36 semi-finalists in 2009, by comparison with past editions, when there were only 24 contestants competing in the semi-finals. Rumors tell that in this new reality show, we are going to see more of the off-stage interaction of the contestants. This means that the broadcast time will be probably increased compared to previous years. It’s interesting how Idol Watchers will receive the new format. In case they might not be true fans of Big Brother, they’ll lose interest in the American Idol and not watch what’s going on in the house on regular basis.

On the contrary, the changes may bring in new watchers, new fans for the Idols to be, and more money from TV commercials, of course. Besides, it is possible that more viewers will be tempted to vote for their favorite contestant.

The group will be winnowed down to 12 finalists, with nine chosen by audience voting and three wild-card singers selected by judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and a previously announced newcomer, singer-songwriter Kara DioGuardi.

In 2008, the American Idol contest was won by David Cook, voted over runner-up american idol David Archuleta.

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Mineola Texas Rocked

23 Jun 2008 - admin

Mineola, Texas is one of those places where nothing ever happens. However, Mineola has recently been shattered by a law suit in which some very young children were abused and given some drugs, and then forced to appear in some adult movies. The accused are six adults, out of which two have already ben found guilty as charged and sentenced to life in prison.

For the others, I’ve found on Associated Press that the jury selection process will start today.

What those six adults did is outrageous, and if we think that all these happened in the conservative Mineola, Texas location, it’s even worse: it means that mone and more people have no shame, and no fear for God, creating big concerns for all other members of an otherwise quiet community.


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Joe Pesci Golfs For Charity

23 Jun 2008 - admin

Joe Pesci, the well-known to you actor from so many movies, in more than a comedian. He is also a pretty good golf player. Together with his friends, Joe Pesci decided to have a golf play in the benefit of the St Barnabas pediatric care hospital. This is a very nice gesture, and those ill children would certainly benefit a lot from it.

The latest celebrity gossip says that Joe Pesci, together with his friends, some of them famous names like Nathalie Gulbis, 2007 LPGA Tour/Evian Masters champion, Cristie Kerr, winner of the 2007 US Women’s Open, managed to raise about $250,000 in the benefit of the St. Barnabas hospital. Amongst other guests who joined the game there were comedians like Tom Dreesen and Tim Peel.

The charity action got a lot of buzz, being featured all over the online and offline media. Joe Pesci acted like he was one of his movie characters, giving autographs on golf hats to all his fans, and letting himself photographed a lot with  many of his golf partners.

The Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster was the host of this event.

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Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV: George Carlin Dies at 71

23 Jun 2008 - admin

George Carlin. The comedian. The man. Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV.

For many of us, these words have a special meaning. Unfortunately, George Carlin, the great comedian and host of the entertainment show called 7 Words You Can Never Say on TV, died yesterday, at the age of 71 by a sudden cardiac arrest.

Carlin began his adventure back in the late 70s, when he got the radio station in trouble because of his 7 words show. The radio station got accused of offensive language and it was in danger of getting suspended or pay a big fine.

Spoken comedy has got a new meaning, once George Carlin started Saturday Night Live, the show which entertained so many comedy lovers across so many years. During his long and fruitful career, he got multiple Grammy awards and he was nominated for Emmy awards. If you didn’t know it yet, find out that George Carlin was also a writer: he wrote a comedy book which got him the Mark Twain award.

Now George Carlin dies, but he is still alive in our memory. We will remember him as he was the rebellious guy who even got arrested for disturbing the peace of the community while he was living in Milwaukee.

Rest in peace, George Carlin. Thank you for being you. These are the Seven Words You Can Never Say On TV.

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June 17: The First Day Of Legal Gay And Lesbian Marriages In California

16 Jun 2008 - admin

Tomorrow is June 17th. Nothing special, and yet an important day for Californian gay or lesbian couples: on June 17th the new law which makes gay marriages legal and possible will be reinforced. The thousands of couples which have been waiting for this moment since so long ago, saw their dream come true last month, when California decided to give gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couple had.

There are so many couples wanting to take advantage of the new law as soon as possible, that all county offices expect to be overwhelmed with the multitude of marriage ceremony requests. Some of them, like the San Francisco County, even thought to increase the number of clerks, in order to cope with the increased demand for matrimony services.

June 17th is going to be a big day for California’s history, and many celebrations have already been announced within the lesbian ans gay communities.

Gay couples marriages were already legal in several countries, like UK, as more and more, conservative people start to realize that the right to get married to whom you want should be part of the human rights. Now gay people in California will share the joy of being granted all other rights of heterosexual married couples, like inheritance rights.

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The US Open: Omaha Golfer Wins Golf Digest Contest

16 Jun 2008 - admin

John Atkinson, the golfer from Omaha participated into the golf digest competition and won it, against the other 50,000 participants.

He trained a lot for this performance, as some sources spotted him during his long practice hours. Why did John Atkinson take this golfing challenge? Simply because he wants to draw the attention of the world towards a non-smoker inoperable lung cancer. John was diagnosed with the disease last year and he tried to bring it into the public attention ever since.

John was featured on Channel 6 News, in an interview about his performance of a lifetime. He confessed being very excited about performing in front of such a huge audience, but he managed to cope with his shyness, get over it and win.

He thinks golf is a great game and the best part is that through golf he can better spread his message about lung cancer around.

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US Open Playoff

16 Jun 2008 - admin

The 72 holes of the US Open playoff set the whole world on fire, as Tiger Woods was not sure he could make it. This happened due to his left knee injury which gave him troubles. Nevertheless, he managed sinking a birdie putt on the 18th green, thus forcing a playoff against Rocco Mediate during the fourth round of the US Open championship which is ongoing these days. Earl Woods, Tiger’s father said he was so proud of his son’s toughness of mind. It is not so easy to overcome pain, you know.

This birdie of Tiger Woodws concluded the difficult week in which he played the first two rounds with Phil Mickelson, shot 30 on his back nine Friday to get into contention, took the 54-hole lead Saturday with two eagle putts totaling 100 feet, and wobbled on his surgically repaired knee which hurt him a lot every now and then, especially on the most important moments of the game, when concentration would have been the crucial thing to do in order to manage to execute those difficult putts.

Well, I suppose that at 45 years of age, Woods has nothing more to lose, so we expect him to force a victory in this US Open playoff. For those of you who may not know, Tiger Woods was about to go for retirement not very long ago, due to health issues. He’s changed his mind, but I think we should enjoy his performance as we see it now, because tomorrow it may be gone, with his retirement.

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Never Gonna Give You Up

15 Jun 2008 - admin

The Rick Astley hit made the fun of many internet marketing newbies visiting certain niche forums. In fact, “Never Gonna Give You Up” has just turned into a kind of a slogan for the internet marketers at the beginning of their careers. On the other hand, it can be perceived as an attention signal for people who tend to spend too much time reading posts and chatting, rather than working.

The best part of this song goes on like this

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

If you don’t understand what Never gonna say goodbye means, just imagine how it would be if you were not able to shut down your internet browser no matter what you do?

Anyway, for the big fans of Rick Astley and of internet marekting, here’s the full version of the Never gonna give you up lyrics:

We’re no strangers to love
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitments what I’m thinking of
You wouldn’t get this from any other guy

I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling
Gotta make you understand

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

We’ve know each other for so long
Your hearts been aching
But you’re too shy to say it
Inside we both know whats been going on
We know the game and were gonna play it

And if you ask me how I’m feeling
Don’t tell me you’re too blind to see

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

Give you up. give you up
Give you up, give you up
Never gonna give
Never gonna give, give you up
Never gonna give
Never gonna give, five you up

I just wanna tell you how I’m feeling
Gotta make you understand

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry
Never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you

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Tony Awards

15 Jun 2008 - admin

Here’s the time again for the Tony Awards. Maybe some of you were already waiting for this important event which would put into the lights your favorite actors, actresses, movies or music hits. The award ceremony was broadcast on Sunday, June 15th on CBS, and it was proudly hosted by the well-known already Whoopi Goldberg, who is a co-host of The View television show.

The Tony Awards attracted other celebrities from the showbiz world, who were delighted to be presenters of the ceremony: Brooke Shields, Alec Baldwin, Liza Minelli, Barry Bostwick, Kristin Chenoweth, Daniel Radcliffe, and other personalities known to you from your favorite movies, blockbusters, video clips, etc. The broadcast happened live from Radio City Music Hall and it was the 62th edition of the Tony Awards.

Tony Awards Origin

How did the world of the show biz end up with this event which attracts every year the biggest names in the industry? The Tony Awards were named after Antoinette Perry, an actress, director, producer and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing. The awards debuted in 1947, when the program was established to celebrate and recognize excellence in theater.

Since then, lots of generations of great actors got nominated and made the delight of millions of people in the audience.

Tony Awards Nominees

Nominations for the 2008 American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards

Presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing

Tony Awards Best Play

August: Osage County
Author: Tracy Letts
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler, Jerry Frankel, Ostar Productions, Jennifer Manocherian, The Weinstein Company, Debra Black/Daryl Roth, Ronald & Marc Frankel/Barbara Freitag, Rick Steiner/Staton Bell Group, The Steppenwolf Theatre Company

Rock ‘n’ Roll
Author: Tom Stoppard
Producers: Bob Boyett & Sonia Friedman Productions, Ostar Productions, Roger Berlind, Tulchin/Bartner, Douglas G. Smith, Dancap Productions, Jam Theatricals, The Weinstein Company, Lincoln Center Theater, The Royal Court Theatre London

The Seafarer
Author: Conor McPherson
Producers: Ostar Productions, Bob Boyett, Roy Furman, Lawrence Horowitz, Jam Theatricals, Bill Rollnick/Nancy Ellison Rollnick, James D’Orta, Thomas S. Murphy, Ralph Guild/Jon Avnet, Philip Geier/Keough Partners, Eric Falkenstein/Max OnStage, The National Theatre of Great Britain

The 39 Steps
Author: Patrick Barlow
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy, Bob Boyett, Harriet Newman Leve/Ron Nicynski, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Manocherian Golden Prods., Olympus Theatricals/Douglas Denoff, Marek J. Cantor/Pat Addiss, Huntington Theatre Company/Nicholas Martin/Michael Maso, Edward Snape for Fiery Angel Ltd.

Tony Awards Best Musical

Cry-Baby
Producer: Adam Epstein, Allan S. Gordon, �lan V. McAllister, Brian Grazer, James P. MacGilvray, Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Anne Caruso, Adam S. Gordon, Latitude Link, The Pelican Group, Philip Morgaman, Andrew Farber/Richard Mishaan

In The Heights
Producers: Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller, Jill Furman, Sander Jacobs, Goodman/Grossman, Peter Fine, Everett/Skipper

Passing Strange
Producers: The Shubert Organization, Elizabeth Ireland McCann LLC, Bill Kenwright, Chase Mishkin, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, Broadway Across America, Emily Fisher Landau, Peter May, Boyett Ostar, Larry Hirschhorn, Janet Pailet/Steve Klein, Elie Hirschfeld/Jed Bernstein, Spring Sirkin/Ruth Hendel, Vasi Laurence/Pat Flicker Addiss, Wendy Federman/Jackie Barlia Florin, Joey Parnes, The Public Theater, The Berkeley Repertory Theatre

Xanadu
Producers: Robert Ahrens, Dan Vickery, Tara Smith/B. Swibel, Sarah Murchison/Dale Smith

Tony Awards Best Book of a Musical

Cry-Baby
Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan

In The Heights
Quiara Alegria Hudes

Passing Strange
Stew

Xanadu
Douglas Carter Beane

Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre

Cry-Baby
Music & Lyrics: David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger

In The Heights
Music & Lyrics: Lin-Manuel Miranda

The Little Mermaid
Music: Alan Menken
Lyrics: Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater

Passing Strange
Music: Stew and Heidi Rodewald
Lyrics: Stew

Tony Awards Best Revival of a Play

Boeing-Boeing
Producers: Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Boyett, Act Productions, Matthew Byam Shaw, Robert G. Bartner, The Weinstein Company, Susan Gallin/Mary Lu Roffe, Broadway Across America, Tulchin/Jenkins/DSM, The Araca Group

The Homecoming
Producers: Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel, Jam Theatricals, Ergo Entertainment, Barbara & Buddy Freitag, Michael Gardner, Herbert Goldsmith Productions, Terry E. Schnuck, Harold Thau, Michael Filerman/Lynne Peyser, Ronald Frankel/David Jaroslawicz, Love Bunny Entertainment

Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy

Macbeth
Producers: Duncan C. Weldon & Paul Elliott, Jeffrey Archer, Bill Ballard, Terri & Timothy Childs, Rodger Hess, David Mirvish, Adriana Mnuchin, Emanuel Azenberg, BAM, The Chichester Festival Theatre

Tony Awards Best Revival of a Musical

Grease
Producers: Paul Nicholas and David Ian, Nederlander Presentations Inc., Terry Allen Kramer, Robert Stigwood

Gypsy
Producers: Roger Berlind, The Routh-Frankel-Baruch-Viertel Group, Roy Furman, Debra Black, Ted Hartley, Roger Horchow, David Ian, Scott Rudin, Jack Viertel

Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Producers: Lincoln Center Theater, Andr� Bishop, Bernard Gersten, Bob Boyett

Sunday in the Park with George
Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Harold Wolpert, Julia C. Levy, Bob Boyett, Debra Black, Jam Theatricals, Stephanie P. McClelland, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Barbara Manocherian/Jennifer Manocherian, Ostar Productions, The Menier Chocolate Factory/David Babani

Tony Awards Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play

Ben Daniels, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
Mark Rylance, Boeing-Boeing
Rufus Sewell, Rock ‘n’ Roll
Patrick Stewart, Macbeth

Tony Awards Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play

Eve Best, The Homecoming
Deanna Dunagan, August: Osage County
Kate Fleetwood, Macbeth
S. Epatha Merkerson, Come Back, Little Sheba
Amy Morton, August: Osage County

Tony Awards Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical

Daniel Evans, Sunday in the Park with George
Lin-Manuel Miranda, In The Heights
Stew, Passing Strange
Paulo Szot, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Tom Wopat, A Catered Affair

Tony Awards Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical

Kerry Butler, Xanadu
Patti LuPone, Gypsy
Kelli O’Hara, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Faith Prince, A Catered Affair
Jenna Russell, Sunday in the Park with George

Tony Awards Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Bobby Cannavale, Mauritius
Raul Esparza, The Homecoming
Conleth Hill, The Seafarer
Jim Norton, The Seafarer
David Pittu, Is He Dead?

Tony Awards Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play

Sinead Cusack, Rock ‘n’ Roll
Mary McCormack, Boeing-Boeing
Laurie Metcalf, November
Martha Plimpton, Top Girls
Rondi Reed, August: Osage County

Tonty Awards Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical

Daniel Breaker, Passing Strange
Danny Burstein, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Robin De Jesus, In The Heights
Christopher Fitzgerald, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Boyd Gaines, Gypsy

Tony Awards Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical

de’Adre Aziza, Passing Strange
Laura Benanti, Gypsy
Andrea Martin, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Olga Merediz, In The Heights
Loretta Ables Sayre, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific

Tony Awards Best Scenic Design of a Play

Peter McKintosh, The 39 Steps
Scott Pask, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Todd Rosenthal, August: Osage County
Anthony Ward, Macbeth

Tony Award Best Scenic Design of a Musical

David Farley and Timothy Bird & The Knifedge Creative Network, Sunday in the Park with George
Anna Louizos, In The Heights
Robin Wagner, The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein
Michael Yeargan, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific

Tony Awards Best Costume Design of a Play

Gregory Gale, Cyrano de Bergerac
Rob Howell, Boeing-Boeing
Katrina Lindsay, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Peter McKintosh, The 39 Steps

Best Costume Design of a Musical

David Farley, Sunday in the Park with George
Martin Pakledinaz, Gypsy
Paul Tazewell, In The Heights
Catherine Zuber, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific

Best Lighting Design of a Play

Kevin Adams, The 39 Steps
Howard Harrison, Macbeth
Donald Holder, Les Liaisons Dangereuses
Ann G. Wrightson, August: Osage County

Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Ken Billington, Sunday in the Park with George
Howell Binkley, In The Heights
Donald Holder, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Natasha Katz, The Little Mermaid

Best Sound Design of a Play

Simon Baker, Boeing-Boeing
Adam Cork, Macbeth
Ian Dickinson, Rock ‘n’ Roll
Mic Pool, The 39 Steps

Best Sound Design of a Musical

Acme Sound Partners, In The Heights
Sebastian Frost, Sunday in the Park with George
Scott Lehrer, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Dan Moses Schreier, Gypsy

Best Direction of a Play

Maria Aitken, The 39 Steps
Conor McPherson, The Seafarer
Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County
Matthew Warchus, Boeing-Boeing

Best Direction of a Musical

Sam Buntrock, Sunday in the Park with George
Thomas Kail, In The Heights
Arthur Laurents, Gypsy
Bartlett Sher, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific

Best Choreography

Rob Ashford, Cry-Baby
Andy Blankenbuehler, In The Heights
Christopher Gattelli, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific
Dan Knechtges, Xanadu

Best Orchestrations

Jason Carr, Sunday in the Park with George
Alex Lacamoire & Bill Sherman, In The Heights
Stew & Heidi Rodewald, Passing Strange
Jonathan Tunick, A Catered Affair

* * *

Regional Theatre Tony Award
Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Special Tony Award
Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981), in recognition of his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations, as represented on Broadway this season by Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific.

Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre
Stephen Sondheim

* * *

Tony Nominations by Production

In The Heights – 13
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific – 11
Sunday in the Park with George – 9
August: Osage County – 7
Gypsy – 7
Passing Strange – 7
Boeing-Boeing – 6
Macbeth – 6
The 39 Steps – 6
Les Liaisons Dangereuses – 5
Cry-Baby – 4
Rock ‘n’ Roll – 4
The Seafarer – 4
Xanadu – 4
A Catered Affair – 3
The Homecoming – 3
The New Mel Brooks Musical Young Frankenstein – 3
The Little Mermaid – 2
Come Back, Little Sheba – 1
Cyrano de Bergerac – 1
Grease – 1
Is He Dead? – 1
Mauritius – 1
November – 1
Thurgood – 1
Top Girls – 1

www.TonyAwards.com

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