It didn't surprise me that Birdman won Best Picture last weekend. What surprised me is that the movie isn't very good. In fact it's kind of bad. Not, you know, Titanic bad, but around there somewhere. So how does a mediocre movie with schticky camerawork and the most self-serving premise since The Player win filmdom's most coveted statuette? Dirty pool, most likely. I'm not saying that the publicists for Birdman necessarily played said pool, but somebody sure did. I'm talking about underhanded O...
Feb 27, 2015
Morning, kids! I promised a new podcast. Ergo and thusly, here it is. Three whole people have won free copies of my new book this week. (Congrats, three people!) Is one of them you? Listen to this latest episode to find out. What's inside? Well... How about what it's like to buy a car while famous? (Hint: Do you get to take possession of a car before paying for it? Celebrities do!) How about what it's like to dodge, I mean do, jury duty while famous? How about some celebrity dish from Chill City...
Feb 05, 2015
So it's Oscar season, and lo! A certain popular historical drama has found itself largely shut out by the powers that be at the Academy. Could it be because the director of Selma is an African-American woman, and the Academy, in contrast, is largely white and male? (That's a silly question. Of course it could be.) But there's more to the snubbing of Selma than just run-of-the-mill, everyday bigotry. There are other factors in play. There are politics. There are sensitivities. There are... screen...
Jan 22, 2015
Another week, another two lucky listeners are getting free autographed copies of my new book! A book that's available in paperback or on Kindle here in the U.S. as well as across the pond ! Are you one of the two new champions of Hollywood truth and justice? Have a listen to this brand-new episode to find out. (Hint: I answer your questions about how stars open checking accounts and navigate rush-hour traffic. Yes, they do it differently than we do.) Plus! Ever wonder exactly how an Oscar gets w...
Dec 04, 2014
I told you I was going to give away free signed copies of my book , and—unlike many a Hollywood publicist—I do not lie to my public. In fact, whenever possible, I double the hell down. On truth. As in, what if I select not one lucky book winner this week, but two ? Yep, this week, two lucky listeners wrote in celebrity-related questions that I answer on this week's edition: a) Is booking a ski vacation the same when you're famous? b) What about, you know, birthing? The quick answers: a) No. And ...
Nov 19, 2014
My new book is out! My new book is out! Maybe you're not familiar with my conquests in the world of publishing. Maybe you remain ignorant of my bestselling sort-of selling book , which exposes the real secrets behind how celebrities operate. (Hint: Stars are not just like us.) Maybe you've been waiting for such a book your whole life. Well here comes your second chance. The second edition of my book is now out! The Celebrity Playbook gives you all the updated dish on what it's really like to be ...
Nov 12, 2014
So, it's no secret that Renee Zellweger looks... different. Radically. (If you care to remember her how she was, here's an old-timey photo of her. I even put a sepia tone on it for an added level of feel-good nostalgia.) The only question remaining: Precisely what did she do, and, more importantly, was this a good idea? You listeners have been writing to me this week with those very questions. So I wrangled a top Hollywood plastic surgeon, John Vartanian, who has famous clients of his own, and a...
Nov 04, 2014
Tonight marks the return of American Horror Story , the beloved series that's kind of like a toddler's birthday party: It starts off so charmingly, but ends up a total hot mess by the end of its run. One element of AHS that never fails to disappoint—because it always stays the same, episode after episode—is the opening title sequence. Season four is no exception. In fact the opening titles for Freak Show are so memorable, so mesmerizing, that I had to call the guy who made them to find out how h...
Oct 09, 2014
This just in: Pretty much every single new TV show debuting right now is not worth your time. I found this out because one of you asked, and because one of the greatest authorities on fall TV subsequently told me so. Let the flame wars begin. Just in case you need details—precisely how cringeworthy is The Mysteries of Laura ? Is Shonda Rhimes the Antichrist or a mere limb of Satan?—that's what this new podcast is for. Along with this week's co-host, Dan Fienberg of Hitfix , I get down and dirty ...
Oct 01, 2014
No, people. No, Matthew McConaughey is not hurting for money. Sure, he earned an upfront salary of only $200,000 for Dallas Buyers Club —not nearly enough to keep an A-lister in marijuana and bongos. And yes, he just shot a commercial for Lincoln, part of a multi-year deal that seems—seems—to demote him to the farm leagues, warming the B-list benches with the likes of The Silver Fox . But all that does not mean that McConaughey is somehow lurching into the same financial straits as, say, a Nic C...
Sep 17, 2014
When it comes to red carpet events, Hollywood is kinda like India: There's a caste system. The brahmins at the top get to arrive whenever they want, diss whoever they want, talk to the masses, or not. And the untouchables--fledgling pop singers, wannabe reality sensations, regional beauty queens--scrape and hustle for whatever they can get. A lot goes on behind the scenes of a movie premiere or awards-show arrival schedule. And in this, my latest episode, I break it all down: Why do you hear fro...
Sep 11, 2014
Well, look at that. We're at our 61st episode already. That's no small feat, given that I'm starting to rack up mortal enemies. Take the film office for a certain southwestern metropolis, for example. I hear that someone over there considers me formidable, or, at least, enough of a threat to shut out my sources down there. I feel so important! This week's co-host is Friend o' the Show Clint Wells, who, for reasons yet unclear, has decided to play the Kim Kardashian Hollywood mobile game until he...
Aug 20, 2014
Welcome to Episode 60 of my show! A listener has written in asking why "all" of the celebrities are currently on Ibiza, that sexy Mediterranean island that features eight Scandinavian models for every fake Rockefeller in a sweaty silk shirt. In this latest episode, I reject the premise of this question. "All" of the celebrities are not currently in Ibiza. All of the single, horny celebrities with an Instagram account are in Ibiza. And they're attracting others of their kind. It's kind of like Da...
Aug 12, 2014
That's a long headline up there. Deal with it. It's a jam-packed podcast, and that's what happens when you record a jam-packed podcast that's jam-packed with jammy-packy dish. For instance: My co-host this week is none other than Harmony Walton of the Bridal Bar , the celebrity wedding planning company that knows more secrets about star nuptials than pretty much every other person on the planet. You all wrote in with questions about said weddings: Do stars really marry for profit? Who really han...
Jul 30, 2014
No they're not . But in my latest podcast, my co-host delves deep into the world of fake documentaries, particularly Animal Planet's amazing two-part "scientific" series that drew millions of Americans in the wild, wonderful and completely fake world of fish people. The Nerd Out 's Lisa Jenkins admits she's kinda mesmerized by what Animal Planet has accomplished...and reveals just how devious such shows can be. Plus! A listener writes in to ask whether anyone who has ever worked as a production ...
Jul 23, 2014
The Emmy nominations are out! And they're as confusing and poorly reasoned as an episode of The Strain ! But fret not, TV watchers. You have questions about why the nominations came down the way they did, and I have answers. This whole episode is dedicated to your queries about the 66th Annual Emmy Awards. Bonus points to me for managing to mention Murder She Wrote , Cher and Julia Duffy in an episode that–I swear–was taped in 2014. Yesterday, in fact. Wondering how Martin Freeman qualifies as a...
Jul 15, 2014
Happy week of Fourth of July! Nothing says American independence like showing up at a synagogue and strippin’ down, amiright, fellow patriots? This week’s podcast features a nifty celebrity sighting that, if not red or white, is certainly blue. Find out which star recently shot a film at a synagogue, and used one of the offices as a changing room before settling down and taking a good old, all-American nap under the congregation’s tree. Plus! Casting expert Bonnie Gillespie of Cricket Feet expla...
Jul 01, 2014
I’m back with a brand-new podcast, people! For those of you who voiced concern over the utterly vicious, Uruk-Hai army of a head cold I had last week—and to those three of you, thank you—know that I am back. I am alive. I am ready to, once again, answer your questions about what’s really going on in show business. As promised, this week I dig deeper into the Hollywood Black List, the annual survey of the most popular scripts that, for whatever reason, have yet to make it to the big screen. As Bl...
Jun 24, 2014
If you've ever wondered why so many pop stars like to compare themselves to slaves– I'm looking at you, Prince –this is the episode for you. Yes, famous musicians are insanely rich, so rich that they can wear mountie hats made by Vivienne Westwood and not lose any of their friends . But that doesn't mean that record labels are beneficent overlords. They're pretty cut-throat when it comes to money, actually. Spurred on by listener James L. and assisted by music industry vet Lisa Jenkins (co-host ...
Jun 10, 2014
This week I promised you a podcast jam-packed with answers to your burning Hollywood questions, and here it is. Red carpet reporter and reality TV obsessive Lawrence Yee joins me for this episode, in which… A listener named Kaitlin wonders what goes on behind the scenes whenever a star appears on a talk show. (Hint: Absolutely nothing that hasn’t be pre-approved by at least 6 people.) And by the way: The typical talk show guest makes more in a day than many people make in a week. God bless Ameri...
Jun 04, 2014
Adam Sandler’s latest movie has a Rotten Tomatoes metascore lower than Jennifer Lopez’s necklines, at 15 percent. (For the record, the film, which Shall Not Be Named, is also a flop, having earned a mere $14.3 million since it opened.) This isn’t the first Sandler film to spur film critics to hastily empty their popcorn onto the theater floor so they’ll have something absorbent to heave into; Jack and Jill merited a mere 3 percent in 2011. And then there was That’s My Boy , co-starring comedy ri...
May 28, 2014
It’s been roughly 8 months, and actress Cote de Pablo has yet to reveal what really led to her departure from oldster favorite NCIS . Indeed, with few exceptions, there's been a nearly Beyonce-level silence about what led the ersatz Israeli to up and leave Scoob and the gang all sudden-like. Listener Kristy wrote in to ask why our favorite Chilean rock-and-roll military crime fighter might be giving us such a silent treatment. And I answer that question like it’s my job. Because it is. Also this...
May 20, 2014
Congratulations to me. The Fame Fatale turns 50 this week! Sort of! This marks our 50th episode. I wanted to celebrate. But I had so much hot Hollywood info to share with you that I kind of forgot to get bombed on champagne. (Looks like Episode 51 is gonna be all kinds of raucous. I apologize to my liver in advance.) In this edition: Baby Vegas has a hot (yoga) encounter with a star from Glee . I get a misdirected email meant for the publicist of a movie actress. And the contents of that email r...
May 06, 2014
Remember Brandon Chase , that cute l’il country singer from Texas who set off not one but two buzzers during last season’s The Voice ? He may not have won, but so what? This is a guy who already had sold 20,000 records before show producers even invited him to audition. What’s that you say? You didn’t know that Voice contestants often skip the cattle call lines and go straight to top of the audition heap via direct invitations from casting directors? It’s true. And it happens much more often tha...
Apr 29, 2014
No, I'm not talking about Coachella, though that could fall under the above category. I speak of the big gay Hollywood sex parties that are all the rage among breathless reporters, ever since news broke that a onetime underage boy is suing mega-director Bryan Singer. The allegations: That Singer invited the young actor to a big gay industry party, and then sexually abused him. For this episode, I speak with someone who actually has attended soirees at Bryan Singer's place. Yep, they're big and g...
Apr 22, 2014
That headline up there’s for my new UK fans. I now appear weekly on iTV’s This Morning , see, and I need to do all I can to charm the home of wee Prince George and the beans and toast. If you’ve seen me on Friday’s Showbiz Showdown , and you’ve been curious about me gobby podcast, welcome to The Fame Fatale , innit? This week’s bits ’n’ bobs : A reader asks whether the Divergent films might be saved by an ending less rubbish than the source material. And I find out, like. Another reader wonders ...
Apr 08, 2014
Now that Gwyneth Paltrow has consciously uncoupled, it’s time to talk about the purposeful divorce and volitional single life that will likely follow. Will GOOP be able to expand her rabid fan base of urban backyard beekeepers and kale juice enthusiasts? Or will her haters increase their number, swelling into a mob that stages barely civil, bonfire-sized burnings of organic cotton T-shirts and reclaimed wooden cutting boards? If you have high hopes for the latter outcome, you’re not alone. One o...
Apr 01, 2014
So True Detective is over. Now what am I supposed to overanalyze on Reddit? Sure, the food on Hannibal looks amazing, but the show lacks that certain je-ne-sais-Carcosa . I need a crime TV fix, people! Luckily, I have a friend in Nancie Clare, founder of the forthcoming Speaking of Mysteries blog and podcast. When it comes to ferreting out the best in crime TV and books, Clare is the Rust Cohle—the most dogged of them all. And she just happens to be my special guest co-host this week, dishing on...
Mar 18, 2014
In case you’ve stepped away from Twitter for more than eight seconds, the South by Southwest festival continues apace in Austin. (Can't understand what I'm saying? Here: #SXSW is happening in #Austin.) If you remain unimpressed by this festival of music and interactive shenanigans and Justin Bieber , you are not alone. A loyal listener wrote in essentially asking me to please explain WTF is the deal with SXSW. With the help of music industry veteran and Nerd Out podcast co-host Lisa Jenkins, I d...
Mar 11, 2014
Now that the Oscars are over, can we talk about that cheesy pizza that Ellen Degeneres had delivered in the middle of the telecast? Answer Dad loved that stunt. Thought it was brilliant comedy. I was more curious about the pizza itself—whether the whole jape was real, an elaborate bit of theater, or just an excuse for Jennifer Lawrence to actually get to eat something on Oscar night. So I found out for you. (Bonus fact: Scuttlebutt among rival pizza makers in Los Angeles is that Lawrence’s slice...
Mar 04, 2014
