is johnny depp cashing out?

with no less than 14 films in pre-production, including ‘the lone ranger,’ one film coming out this summer (public enemies), one film in production (sin city 3), and three films in post production (including alice in wonderland) looks like (at least at a glance) that either johnny depp has michael jackson proportion debt or he’s trying to cash in before he hits 50 and may no longer be able to carry a film.

jackson paid kids mother 750K to stay away

this article from the saturday edition of the guardian talks about michael and the seeds that led to his self-loathing. the article also asks us why people had been willing (and now even still) to excuse michael jackson everything, from his bleached out skin to his love of a monkey and the endless trail of little kids and his ‘jesus juice.’ the article also points out that michael jackson paid debbie rowe, the mother of his first 2 children whom he briefly married, $750K per year to stay away from her own children. that she did it is even more bizarre.

isn’t it disturbing that in endless newsreports that this woman, debbie rowe is referred to as ‘the birth mother’ or ‘the biological mother’ but never ‘the mother’ of her own kids? these kids who are whiter than white? if you know anything about biology and how the male has the dominate genes, one has to wonder. if we look at halle berry or barack obama, both of whom had a black father and a white mother, we gotta wonder who is the father of michael jacksons ‘kids.’ did he merely marry debbie rowe so that he could lay claim to the kids knowing that no court in the u.s. (or the world) would allow him to adopt a child. not even malawi? and how in the world did madonna end up with black kids and michael jackson with white ones? the endless questions don’t just stop here.

update: according to an article in the new york post, quoting an interview from the weekly world news, the kids were not fathered by michael jackson.

michael jackson schizophrenia

today’s daily mail goes into details about unconfirmed and confirmed speculations and facts about michael jackson’s life and final days. gay. anorexic. bulimic. pill poper. suicidal. and supposedly, according to the article, michael jackson was diagnosed as schizophrenic as a child. the man whom paul mccartney is quoted as calling a ‘boy-man’ in the saturday edition of the guardian newspaper had a life as colorful if not more so than phil spector. but at least he never shot anybody.

the 70s and 80s are officially over; michael jackson and farrah fawcett both die at ucla

yesterday, the 70s and 80s simultaneously ended upon the death of michael jackson (heart attack) and farrah fawcett (anal cancer).

last year, when john mccain was passed over for president in favor of barack obama, the 60s officially ended. now can we get rid of the 90s?

photos of the self-proclaimed ‘king of pop’ with paramedics can be seen here.

german twilight casting show bites the big one

til schweiger, arguably the most popular actor in germany was part of a small panel of judges charged with finding an extra cast member for ‘eclipse,’ the third installment of summit entertainment’s ‘twilight’ saga.

the whole thing looked like a marketer’s wet dream. a t.v. show that would air weekly giving stephanie meyer and summit entertainment basically one hour of free commercial time in the biggest media market in germany. but after only a handful of shows, the ‘mission hollywood’ casting show has been cancelled after garnering only a 11.5% audience.

this seems to be a ‘twilight’ week for ‘a blog about whatever.’ but although stephenie meyer’s ‘twilight’ and ‘new moon’ books currently hold the first and second place on the bestseller list in germany, could the cancellation of this ‘twilight’ special be the beginning of the end of edward cullen burnout?

this blog tends to venture off in various directions exploring different themes. sometimes this stuff is seemingly somewhat assinine, other times somewhat substantial. but never 100% serious. everything should be read with a sense of humour.

robert pattinson first 21st century teen idol

at ‘a blog about whatever’ we haven’t been overly concerned with whose in and whose out in terms of film or music. about a year ago there was talk about how it seemed that the only teen and tween idol out there was shira la-whats his name. who isn’t actually that attractive. of course zac efron has been around for a whole 3 films. but he’s like gay male fantasy fodder.

since vampire robert pattinson got hit by a taxi a few days ago trying to escape his tween-aged fans. this blogger has decided to invest more thought and time into this whole teen idol thing.

if you think about it. johnny depp is pushing 50 and isn’t tom cruise almost right there too. forever i’ve been wondering, where are the male actors to make women swoon? and as stated, zac efron, with his perfectly waxed body, doesn’t count. daniel radcliff just is not attractive (with or without the HP glasses). there are loads of young actresses who make the grade. but when it comes to teenage girls…well just look at titanic. they weren’t lined up to see kate winslet’s robost bod. they were all drooling over leo.

but what happened to leo. well various films he’d signed up for pre-titantic release suddenly came out all in the row. the worse of which was ‘the man in the iron mask’ in which dicaprio famously declares ‘i wear the mask, it doesn’t wear me!’

he then proceeded to diss his female fans by ignoring them. he wallowed in his 10 million a film pay day and went out and got all bloated and fat from booze and whatever. the he got all PC on the world and started tooling around in a toyota prius and yapping about the environment. which on one level is okay. but tweens don’t really give a s**t.

then he got himself together and started working again. but by then the damage had been done. he may be 35 but johnny depp looks way younger than him.

robert pattinson just might be the first teen idol since duran duran who has the ‘power’ to make girls cry. or maybe that should be revised to ‘new kids on the block.’ although as legend has it, donnie wahlberg only made them scream. the same with ‘nsynch’ –but that’s because the girls already knew lance was gay. pattinson is at least the first actor that the bbc has deamed important enough to show running his fingers through his hair.

does any of this stuff matter. yes it does. at least for selling film tickets and dvds and blue ray discs, and advertising on youtube and so on.

but will pattinson’s instant success come back to (dare we say) haunt him? with this ‘little ashes’ movie in which apparently he shows more than a little ass, he’s having more than a leonardo dicaprio ‘man in the iron mask’ moment. the question is, is there a publicist in hollywood who could take this gay film and couple it with robert pattinson’s ‘because i’m gay’ comment made on mtv news and spin it in a way that will convince female tweens that you know, he’s straight? even if he is. which he probably is. what gay man would be caught dead with bead head and and b.o.?

i would assume that he might be considering that he has already signed up for all 3 sequels to the ‘twilight’ movies. we know why kirsten stewart has, because you know, female leads are always expendable. but any straight guy would’ve waited for each successive film to come out then sign on for the next. that’s how you make money in hollywood, isn’t it?

will twilight new moon tank without catherine hardwicke at helm

if a man had made a film with a $30M budget and it went on to gross almost $400M worldwide, he would’ve been able to choose his asking price for the next film. but catherine harwicke got pushed out while doing press in europe for ‘twilight’ last december. guess summit pictures is hoping that since kristen stewart and robert pattinson are in the film, NOBODY will notice that the direction is totally different.

and to bring in the director who did that piece of s**t film, ‘the golden compass’ just adds insult to injury. or that he directed the massive guy wank films ‘american pie’ and ‘about a boy.’ the ‘twilight’ films are told from bella’s perspective. can a male director capture this? even if the script has been written by a woman?

after viewing the trailer and looking at the photos on ew. it seems the whole gothic feeling of the book and the first film have been banished beyond the pacific northwest.

initially, it was reported, last december, that the stars of the film were really upset that catherine hardwick had been booted from the new moon film and that the film studio was rushing out the second movie.

oh a movie without preparation. we will see what will transpire.

twilight website and netbooks

here’s a tip for anyone making websites these days. loads of people are looking at this stuff now on netbooks and pocket computers. meaning, you know, contraptions with small screens. the website for the ‘twilight’ sequel, ‘new moon‘ is a particular problem. there’s no way to scroll up or down. so when you click on ‘about the movie’ you can only read the first 6 lines.

there are many sites like this. the worst offenders are the flash sites. no way for users to enlarge type. just a few words that should be passed along to webmasters.

vampire robert pattinson clipped by taxi

the bbc reports that robert pattison, while trying to get by fans was hit by a taxi, but not injured.

pattison became a household name last year due to the success of the ‘twilight’ film. apparently he will appear in the remaining 3. if i remember correctly, in the harry potter films his character dies right? good thing for pattison otherwise he would’ve languished in obscurity forever.

i don’t think that daniel radcliff generates such excitement amongst the teenies and tweens.

sacha baron cohen at brüno premiere

the reviews are in. the guardian gives sacha baron cohen’s send up of the so non politically correct take on the fashion industry 3 stars out of 5.

the video of the londonpremiere of the film includes footage from the film.

italian newspaper responds to new york time’s amanda knox hit job on the italian criminal justice system

the italian newspaper corriere della sera responded to the ridiculous ‘innocent abroad’ blog post from timothy egan posted on the new york times website from a couple of days ago. in the post egan bascially called the italian prosecutor inept and declared that knox is innocent because well she’s a white girl from seattle washington and attended a jesuit school. you can read the italian article here. mind you, it’s in italian.

sacha baron cohen aka borat aka bruno

sacha baron cohen, better known as ali g, in his new docu-mocku-mentary plays the flamboyant bruno, an austrian fashionista who works in the fashion industry, declares ‘he wants to live the austrian dream of finding a partner, buying a dungeon and starting a family.”

you can watch the trailer here. or go to the applie website to watch a higher quality version.

alexandra shulman from vogue speaks up about skinng models

it seems that heroin chic is officially over. peaches and pixie geldolf –the scene girls as they’re called in this london times article calls them.

alexandra shulman, editor of the highly influential vogue magazine has had the fortune (or misfortune) of having one of her memos to leading fashion houses leaked to the press.

in the memo she talks about models being sent over with jutting bones and no breasts. one model booker in the article talks about how she’s been required to find five foot ten inch women with size twenty-three waists. if one could imagine.

there is absolutely nothing wrong with thin models. and as many have noted, obesity is a much greater health issue in the developed world than anorexia. and that retailers/designers in the uk and the u.s. and most assuredly other countries continuously alter their sizes to make people feel good about themselves. various women have commented that at 18 they wore a size 5/6 in the u.s. and are now a size 0 at aged 30 when they in fact have gained weight –not a dramatic amount, mind you.

amanda knox symbol of moral decay of society

is amanda knox, the alleged killer of meredith kercher, and her boyfriend raffaelle sollecito as well as the third guy whose already been convicted, symbols of the moral decay of society. are young people, the entitled generation (gen-y) only obsessed with pleasure and what they can get in the short-term? could we tie this narrative to that of the financial crisis and investment bankers who only thought in terms of immediate profit and not long term losses and the disaster the world currently faces?

it’s interesting that none of the reports in the u.s. press really mention meredith kercher. well, her name is mentioned as a victim. but there seems to be thin reporting about her family. and no mention that she, (like barack obama) was black/mixed race. although in this case with a black mother and a white father. was the killing racially motivated? has this possibility been explored?

amanda knox defends self today in italy

accussed murderess amanda knox is scheduled to take the standtoday as her and her lawyer mount their defense against charges that she (and her boyfriend at the time raffaelle sollecito) murdered meredith kercher.

update: you can read more about what she said in court here and watch a video.

did amanda knox and raffaele sollecito kill meredith kercher

for some people the answer is ‘of course’ foxy knoxy and her italian boyfriend did it. for this timothy egan who has written the worst editorializing blog entry ever for the new york timeshe believes, ‘of course she didn’t do it, because she has the face of an angle.’ well, 2 words might clear things up for this writer, ted bundy. he didn’t look like a killer either. google his last video interview on youtube and make the comparison. the american college student (knox) who had been spending a year abroad in a small village in italy dominated by college students is caught up in what some might call a show trial, in italy with sollecito, her boyfriend (who according to vanity fair always carried a penknife), over the murder of her roommate the brit meredith kercher.

carrie prejean audio reaction to being fired

carrie prejean, now the ex-miss california, and the ex-runner up to miss usa has been fired by donald trump and friends. here’s an audio reaction of prejean. apparently the press release went out from the organization prior to them actually ringing her. that’s america for ya.

photos of david carradine surface in thai tabloid

should thai rath, the thailand based tabloid, have run this photo of david carradine? the man who made a living imitating an asian man in the kung fu TV show because hollywood couldn’t bring itself to cast a real asian man, seems to have had a secret alternative life.

the question is, do fans of kill bill 1 and kill bill 2 really need to know that david carradine was into drag and kinky sex. or will they now view these films and his other b-movie romps from a whole new perspecitve?

well, it gives people a whole different perspective about hollywood stars. remember bob crane? don’t you wonder what stuff will surface after billy bob thornton or angelina jolie kick the bucket. or perhaps this is an infomercial waiting to happen about the perils and pitfalls of viagra.

update: david carradine autopsy photos are making their way around the internet. one might asked, ‘can’t the celeb get a break.’ he’s getting the same treatment as the aforementioned bob crane, as well as elvis presley, and river phoenix. the later two were shown in their funeral caskets.

heather graham gains weight

note the headline doesn’t say heather graham gets fat. since she was going from a weight of zero. not a dress size. now she seems to be in the positive digits. although we have to wonder a bit about this flash blue dress with the double slit up top and below.

former dnc chair man mcauliffe blows virginia democratic race

the race for the governorships in virgina has begun. state senator r. creigh deeds upset the carpet bagger terry macauliffe, former chairman of the democratic national committee for the democratic primary.

more proof; michelle obama getting fat

maybe she shouldn’t hide out in the white house eatting doughnuts. or spend so much time at dennys. or maybe she’s been hanging out too much with oprah winfrey. although the bright colours chosen to wander about the set of harry potter with her girls is somewhat refereshing the vibrant colours do have the affect of over emphasising her alleged addiction to doughnuts. but at least she’s ditched the j. crew mass produced clothing for now.

carrie prejean fired as miss california and miss u.s.a.

carrie prejean, who seems to have anticpated the california supreme court ruling regarding homosexual marriage in that western state has been fired as miss california. donald trump, who weeks ago assured her of keeping her crown reportedly gave his blessings. why is donald trump running a beauty pagent? could someone please get him a barber?

what is the ukip party really

nigel farage, head of the ukip party, claims they are libertarians. this could be true. since the european parliamentary elections, they are now the number 2 party in the uk. their platform is like ‘a vote for Ukip, is a vote for flat income tax (and no tax for those earning less than the minimum wage averaged over a year), grammar schools, smoking, small government, and two fat fingers to Europe.’.

turnout for eu vote around 40% in most countries

with malta clocking in at a turnout near 90%. center right political parties have been the biggest winner in the european parliamentary election. but it is the european commission which plays the primary role when it comes to the 27 member states in the european union. the lowest turnout was in slovakia at just under 20%.

according to der spiegel, with germany being one of the few exceptions, far right parties entered the parliament for the first time from member states such as the uk and the netherlands. with countries such as denmark and austria seeing their nationalist parties gaining a huge percentage.

what does this mean for the eu? is the european union moving to the right while the u.s. moves to the left? or is this the result of a low turnout.

the center right parties such as the tories in the uk and the cdu/csu combo in germany, led by angela merkel, are not troubling. it’s more parties like geert wilder’s freedom party in holland, the dvp in denmark, and the british national party (which won’t allow non-whites to join) which has won seats for the first time.

healthcare bill with penalty for not having insurance

sounds like socialism to some americans. u.s. senator, ted kennedy, of the cursed kennedy clan, is proposing to force employers pay for health insurance and force individuals to pay penalties if they don’t get it. the penalties would be added to their tax bill. sounds like time for a tea partay.

james franco replaced as commencement speaker by member of linkin park

i kid you not. there was a campaign to get james franco, aka the other guy in spiderman, pulled from speaking at UCLA, a school he took something like 12 years to graduate from. but apparently he hasn’t really accomplished as much and isn’t as much of a role model as the member of linkin park whose replaced him. go figure. but who the hell cares anyway? but maybe this is a sign that the entitled generation also known as generation y are no longer obsessed with celebrity.

david carradine found hanged in bangkok hotel

revived by that hack quentin tarantino. now grasshopper has died. well, he’s got about 6 films in post production. so guess he’ll live on for a while. there are questions asking whether or not this was a suicide or a sex game gone bad. kinda like the whole amanda knox/foxy knoxy murder sex game situation in italy. but we digress. perhaps the family needs the life insurance money, like heath ledger’s. but um. whether it is or isn’t the facts are, ‘he’s dead, jim.’

this is the first entry in our new ‘recently dead celebrities’ section. so just so people can find this story in the tags we include ‘did david carradine commit suicide’ and ‘david carradine commits suicide’ so we’ve got all the bases covered.

delaying puberty

this abc news story about doctors delaying puberty for children raises all sorts of questions not only regarding ethics and the medical field (see octo mom) but also regarding abc’s news gathering.

the article does not include ANY opinions of medical professionals who are against this controversial procedure. if you google this, you will find plenty.

conservative anthem a hit on youtube

andrew breitbart appears on the national review’s online video program (whatever its called) and said that he was angry that conservatives gave up pop culture to the liberals in the united states. well perhaps with this young con anthem, some people are trying to take it back:

this young con anthem is apparently by a bunch of dartmouth students.

jacqui smith who banned u.s. radio dj from uk to step down

jacqui smith, the home secretary who became famous outside the uk in a little area known as the u.s. last month when it was revealed that the host of the number 3 talk radio show in the united states, michael savage, had been placed on a no fly list for the united kingdom. london mayor boris johnson lashed out at the labour government and jacqui smith last month in an editorial. the tory politican somewhat defended michael savage.

now it seems jacqui smith has been caught up in the parliament expense scandal and is resigning

plane disappears between rio and paris

an airfrance plane has gone missing after taking off from brazil, on its way to paris. it has disappeared from the radar. let the conspiracy theories begin. sounds like an episode from the now defunct t.v. show, the lone gunmen.

rosa luxemburg body found in german hospital

90 years following the murder of rosa luxemburg, a german doctor has found what he believes to be the real body of communist revolutionary rosa luxemburg deep in the cellar of charite hospital in berlin, germany ohne kopf.