In Contention

Tag: Paris Hilton

  • ‘Love Guru’ not so loved

    I must admit I feel pretty proud of myself: the Razzie nominations have been revealed, and I have not seen a single one of their Worst Picture nominees. Not one.

    Not Paris Hilton vehicle “The Hottie and the Nottie” — uh, did anyone? Not the latest nail in Shyamalan’s career coffin, “The Happening,” though I admit I came close. Not “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale,” which I must confess I haven’t heard of here in the UK. And certainly not Mike Myers’ “The Love Guru,” which leads the field with 7 nods. (The film’s “American Idol” promo spots were traumatic enough.)

    I find myself a little bored with the Razzies lately… it’s not much fun to pick on films that, for the most part, nobody saw. Also, singling out films like “The Hottie and the Nottie” seems like a futile exercise when they never had any intention of being good in the first place. Far more rewarding, I think, is when they celebrate (so to speak) high-profile, high-stakes projects that failed miserably. “Striptease,” for example. “Catwoman.” “The Postman.”

    But does anyone really care whether Jenny McCarthy is deemed marginally worse than Carmen Electra? If you do, feast your eyes on the nomination list below. (But hey, good call on Pierce Brosnan, guys.)

    Worst Picture
    “Disaster Movie” and “Meet the Spartans”
    “The Happening”
    “The Hottie & the Nottie”
    “In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale”
    “The Love Guru”

    (more…)

  • What the… ?

    Insane pre-production news for the day: Charlotte Rampling and Paris Hilton are to appear in the same film. I could make some crack about moving from the sublime to the ridiculous, but… oh wait, I already did.

    If that tidbit isn’t enough to blow your mind, let me put it in context — they have been added to the cast of the new film from Todd Solondz, which is to be a “part-sequel, part-variation” to his boundary-pushing 1998 masterpiece “Happiness.” Also lined up for the ensemble are Allison Janney, Michael Kenneth Williams and Paul Reubens, among others.

    The very idea of it all makes my head swim. I’ve always thought Paris Hilton was destined for an ironic moment of arthouse lunacy some point in her career — a la Shania Twain in “I Heart Huckabees” or, well, the entire cast of “Southland Tales.” This looks like it. Meanwhile, the thought of Rampling and Solondz joining their very intense forces makes me positively tingly.

    Can this year be over already? 2009 sounds so much more exciting.

  • Banning the paparazzi

    City Councilmember Dennis Zine has proposed an anti-paparazzi Public Safety Law in Los AngelesI’ve been mulling over this story all day, wondering where I stand, weighing the pros and cons of any legislation whatsoever that could be painted as First Amendment violation.  I’ve come to the conclusion that Los Angeles is incredibly inept at addressing serious concerns (traffic, a new spike in gang violence, managing tax dollars with an appropriate balance), let alone issues of such triviality.

    Then the local news ran a package a few moments ago, and my brains is turning over the matter all over again.

    In a nutshell, City Councilmember Dennis Zine proposed a “Personal Safety Law” in Februrary, essentially to afford a personal space of some sort for celebrities and a protection against paparazzi packs that tend to prohibit stars from entering or leaving medical facilities.  Today, a number of individuals testified on the matter, including actor Eric Roberts (spinning something about celebs naming their kids after fruits for a reason…or something) and singer John Mayer (proclaiming himself a “rock star” in the linked item, a stretch by my standards but so be it).

    Being a former police sergeant, one would think Zine would understand the futility of the attempt, just as Chief Bill Bratton does.  Of course, the ever-colorful Bratton presents a carnival of ignorance when he proclaims at press conferences, “Stay home, it’d make our job a lot easier” (quoted from the news package, not the NY Times story).

    The paparazzi issue has hit a new level of saturation in the Britney/Paris/Lindsay era, and we all recall that surfer pack throwdown on paps trying to snap shots of Matthew McConaughey.  The environment is ripe for such a legislation to recieve some fair attention, but…I don’t know…it all seems like a giant waste of time and a distraction for an underpaid, understaffed police force that is challenged with the law and order of typicality as it is.

    So what if a few paps suffer broken toes because they can’t get the fuck out of the way when a star’s SUV is plowing through?  So what if a group of paps get their asses kicked by sun-stained beach bras with nothing better to do but play out Darwin’s law for our viewing pleasure?  No one wants to suffer through something like the Princess Diana trgedy again, but this is the life.

    I spent a lot of my time writing about this Amy Winehouse breakdown or that while I was in London over the summer.  The issue of stars gone stupid isn’t relegated to La-La Land.  And of course, the morons of celebrity are not the only ones hounded (poor Eric Roberts seems unable to handle the attention in the weeks since “The Dark Knight” landed).  But presenting legislation — vague, ill-advised and thin legislation at that…sigh.  At least the local news had something to cover this evening.

    You tell me.  Am I out of line here?

    (More coverage at the Los Angeles Times.)