Watching New Celebs

She’s even on the cover of gossip magazines!

Before this week, only her constituents in Alaska are familiar with her. Now though, the world is aware of Sarah Palin. And the world is also aware of the scandals rocking her family even since presidential candidate Senator John McCain announced she would be his running mate for the 2008 Republican ticket.

Now if there’s one thing I steer clear away from in discussions and small talk among groups, it’s politics. So, I pretty much am unaware of the actual Sarah Palin issues, except that her name keeps screaming at me in the headlines.

So what is the fuss about Sarah Palin? According to some celebrity columnists, we’ve not had this kind of controversial person since the Jolie-Pitt-Aniston story. Palin has actually appeared on four gossip magazines this week!

This mother of five is a pro-lifer and is a supporter of abstinence-only education in schools. She’s heavily criticized for this after the public learned her 17 year old daughter is in the family way.

There are allegations to violations of state laws  in relation to a scandal involving his ex-brother in law.

She is said to be pushing for schools to teach creationalism and evolution as whole subjects in public schools.

She is said to be opposed to same-sex marriage and is supporting an amendment to deny health benefits for same sex couples.

These are just the tip of the iceberg.

Some quarters are very surprised with McCain’s choice. The former beauty queen does add a different life and flavor to the Republican ticket but will all these issues surrounding her, on the first week of her new celebrity status… is the voting public ever going to take her seriously?

Seriously, what are they thinking? Or should I even bother for an answer?

These thimbles, with images of Kate Middleton, said to be the future bride of Prince William, is selling for £4.40 a set.

This isn’t the first time the market has been besieged with such display of consumerism. Because apparently, ever since speculations grew ripe there was going to be a Royal Wedding, souvenirs and memorabilia sprouted here and there.

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I forgot that she was nominated for an Emmy this year.  For her role as Maggie Jacobs on the comedy series Extras, Ashley Jensen has earned a Best Supporting Actress (Mini-Series) nod and is competing against Alfre Woodard, Audra McDonald, Laura Dern and Eileen Atkins. I dare say, she’s in very good company.

I don’t know what her chances of winning an Emmy are. But if she does bring home the trophy, it would have to be well-deserved. I’ve loved her in Extras as the ditzy Maggie. She was hilarious in that program, amusing and funny without even making an effort to be so. But American viewers will probably be more familiar to her as Christina, Ugly Betty’s friend. Talented people like Ashley ought to be seen on television more…

We wish her well at the Emmy’s and hope she wins!

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I think I’m going to love Joanna Garcia this TV season. She is starring in this show on The CW called Privileged and Joanna plays a tutor to two rich sisters.

It’s probably not the first time I’ll see Joanna’s work. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen her somewhere before. But this is the first time I am taking notice of her. Maybe its because the show, Privileged, is such good material for her. You can watch a preview of it here. I’m actually loving what I see; she seems to have the right charisma and charm this show needs.

Joanna Garcia is of Cuban American heritage who started performing at local productions in Tampa Florida, where she grew up. She is probably pretty popular in school, having been voted Homecoming Queen during her time.

Her first dabbling at TV acting started with Nickelodeon but what probably launched her career full time was the recurring role she bagged on Party of Five and Freaks and Greeks. She was also a guest on Dawson’s Creek and What I Like About You. Her biggest role to date has been playing the daughter of Reba McEntire in the sitcom Reba (also on The CW).

So, as you will find, she knows her way around the TV business.

With Privileged, Joanna takes the lead and will be the biggest factor to whether or not this show stays on the air. Will she find success?

Watch this recent interview of Joanna talking about her new TV show:

It’s hard to step out of the shadows of your famous parents, especially when they are Bruce Willis and Demi Moore. But Rumer Willis, who started acting in her parents movies as a child, is now carving her own niche in Hollywood and is carrying on quite successfully with the family business.

TV Guide has just reported Rumer is guest starring on Army Wives, a series running on the Lifetime channel. She will play…an army wife, (what else?) and the episode is expected to air on October 12th.

Rumer began acting in 1995 in one of her mother’s movies and has since played bit parts on Striptease, The Whole Nine Yards and Hostage (also all of her parents’ movies). Recently turning 20 years old, it seems her acting career is on full throttle. Rumer has a cameo in the Anna Faris movie (now running in theaters) The House Bunny. She also starred in the thriller, From Within.

Personally, I’ve only watched Rumer in her step-dad’s (?) TV series, Miss Guided. She played a character that reminded me so much of Ally Sheedy, one of her mom’s contemporaries.

Rumer is fast becoming a woman of style. Elle has listed her as one of their style crush while People Magazine has chosen Rumer as one of the Most Beautiful People of 2008. Her mother was in the same list back in 1996. A few people think she’s not that pretty  and  I prefer her mother’s beauty myself. Though I admire Rumer’s spunk. She’s very much living and enjoying her young life as it should be!

She looks just like her sister and has a similar unique name as her. But is Solange Knowles following in her famous big sister’s footstep or is she out to carve her own path in the music world?

For so long, Solange has been trying to break the music seen. This dream had to take a back seat though when she got pregnant at 17. Solange instead watched her sister, Beyonce, rise to superstardom.

But in 2000, she joined Destiny’s Child as they were working on their album and did a few vocals for their Christmas release. Here’s a video of her with the group.

The following year, together with the guidance of her father who also stood as her manager, Solange worked with the likes of Luther Vandross, rapper Lil’ Romeo and Kelly Rowland.

In between this, she also began working on her first album, Solo Star, which eventually didn’t take off the charts at the Billboard 100. The album performed better domestically, selling about 112,000 copies.But this didn’t stop her for working on her music. In 2007, she signed a record deal with Geffen Records and started work on her second album, Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams which she is now promoting this year.

For this album, Solange worked with top producers like Mark Ronson, Pharrell Williams, Cee-Lo and Raphael Saadiq.

Because of her background, comparisons to her sister can’t be helped. But Solange is least bit worried this is the case. She does have a different sound and vibe than that of her older sister.

Check out Solange’s music video, I Decide:

The people behind American Idol called a press conference yesterday to introduce its newest addition. American Idol has added a new judge to their panel. She will join Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell.

Who is she? And what will happen if their votes are split 2 to 2?

Kara DioGuardi is not new to the music business. She is a Grammy nominated songwriter who has written hits for Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera and former Idol winners Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson. She also has worked together with Paula Abdul by writing a song for Kylie Minogue before. Her addition to the judging panel should been seen as something that would favor Paula, since they now have equally two men and two ladies. But it sounds like DioGuardia has more in common with Simon Cowell when it comes to judging. She says to the press, “I’m going to be a straight shooter and say it like I see it. I’m just going to speak to Simon the way I speak to everybody. “I think Simon’s pretty spot-on most of the time.”

Meantime, how is Paula taking all of this? According to USMagazine, she has “mixed feelings”.

“I am concerned about the audience and acceptance. Time will tell. We’ll see. They always tried for a fourth judge because it followed the format of the original show, Pop Idol. We haven’t had much luck with that working, but we’re gonna give it another try.”

American Idol has already started shooting. The judges are going to see people auditioning in New York this week.

With the search fpr a new best friend (via her latest reality series, Paris Hilton’s My New BFF) over. heiress Paris Hilton is now considering going to England to find her next new best friend.

As written on her MySpace, Paris said she had too much fun working on her latest series, that she wants to do another one in London.

• “Imagine all the trouble and fun I could cause all at once just with a text on my Blackberry, from me to them. And because I had so much fun doing this one, I decided I need to find my new British BFF … Everyone knows I love LA. But London, watch out.”

Her considerations for her new best friend? That she would have to be “hot” and she must not be a “backstabber”. She has to be between the ages of 18 to 28; someone who can keep up with the heiress’ posh lifestyle and harrowing social schedule. The potential best friend may also not be necessarily a woman, as men are also encouraged to apply.

Britain’s ITV2 is said to be taking care of the logistics for the next best friend search and will be setting up “auditions” and a series of test to determine if they qualify.

In the meantime, Paris Hilton’s My New BFF, which first started with a casting call and has now been narrowed to about 20 hopefuls and is set to air on September 30th on MTV. Among the new best friend’s role in Paris’ life? Carrying her handbag and walking the dog, according to this news feature:

Which of these girls do you think will become the newest media magnet, if that? And if she has found her new BFF when this show ended, why is she shopping for a new one? Does best friend actually mean personal assistant?

A star is definitely born! Not only does this guy have plenty of gold medals to dangle down his neck, he now has a DVD to boot. What’s next I wonder? A TV series? A remake of The Man From Atlantis?

• NBC Olympics is offering fans the chance to relive the greatest moments from the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games, including all eight of Michael Phelps’ gold medal races, through a trio of DVDs available for sale on NBCOlympics.com. Also available is a two-volume set with the complete Opening Ceremony and a highlight DVD recapping all the great moments and stories from the Beijing Games. Michael Phelps: Greatest Olympic Champion…The Inside Story (19.99):
  Having stood on the gold medal podium a record eight times during one Olympic Games, Michael Phelps now stands alone as the greatest Olympic champion in history. With exclusive interviews and commentary, Michael takes us on his personal journey to Olympic stardom. This compelling DVD includes all of his races and special behind-the-scenes footage… a DVD to be cherished for years to come.

  2008 Beijing Opening Ceremony 2-Volume DVD ($29.99):
  This two-volume set is your opportunity to once again witness the most memorable Opening Ceremony in Olympic history, the complete four-hour extravaganza. A special index allows you to easily navigate throughout the entire ceremony. Own the celebration that people will be talking about forever.

  2008 Beijing General Highlight DVD ($19.99):
  Relive the drama and excitement…all the incredible performances and athletic achievements that captivated the world are captured on the official Olympic DVD from NBC Sports. The DVD includes special bonus chapters featuring gold medal performances of Olympic champions.

  The DVDs will ship Sept. 15.

Source: NBC Press Release

Who are these three guys you see?

These are the stars who will hopefully penetrate and do well this Fall TV Season with the launching of their new TV shows.

Simon Baker is not a new face. He’s been in the industry since the late 80’s. He’s quite a familiar face in Australia though starting off on television, too. When he moved to the US in the 90’s, he landed a role in the movie LA Confidential and has been in films like Land of the Dead, Red Planet and The Devil Wears Prada. His career in the states is pretty much accomplished. In fall, Simon Baker will star on prime time in yet another CBS crime drama, The Mentalist. It’s a TV series that’s dubbed as the serious version of Monk.

Craig Horner is another Australian actor trying to make it to the US. He’s relatively young and has in fact started out in a kids sci-fi program in the land down under. He will be playing the role of Richard Cypher, the leading character in the TV adaptation of Terry Goodkind’s novel, the Sword of Truth series. Legend of the Seeker will be syndicated and won’t be carrying a prime time slot.

Philip Winchester is a theater trained American actor who will be starring in the epic series Crusoe. It will be airing on NBC this October. Although with a little credit of films and TV appearances to his name, this young actor is pretty much seasoned, thanks to his theater experience. Philip’s first movie was with Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger in The Patriot.

And here are the teasers to their TV series:

The mom of Kate Perry, rising pop star with quite a unique package, is becoming more and more worried her daughter’s celebrity status and fame is leading her daughter astray.

It should be noted that Kate Perry’s family is strictly Christian. And the 23 year old pop singer grew up listening to Gospel songs, which makes her hit single, “I Kissed A Girl” a problem. The song may be interpreted as alluding to lesbianism.

Mary Hudson says of her daughter, “Katy is not a homosexual, but I fear she has been led astray by the Hollywood crowd. I pray all the time that God will work through her and help her find salvation.”

She also isn’t keen on her daughter’s outfits, saying it is provocative and it shocks people.

Kate Perry first released a Christian album in 2001 before all these. In 2005, she began to track the mainstream circuit and was considered by Blender Magazine as “The Next Big Thing”.

Her latest album, One of The Boys (released in June 2008) sparked a lot of controversy mostly coming from Christian radio stations and critics, as the songs in the album were mostly against her beliefs and upbringing.

However, none of these faltered Kate Perry’s star. In fact, many of her songs are featured in TV shows and the movies, most notable of which is Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s Baby Mama.

The star has also embarked on an acting career by appearing in cameos, but mostly portraying her very own character.

Source

The ALMA Awards, now running on its 3rd year, has just concluded its ceremonies last weekend. Ugly Betty emerged as its strongest winner. Below is the complete list of winners in the recently concluded 2008 ALMA Awards:

• Entertainer Of The Year: America Ferrera
• Humanitarian Award: Shakira
• Trailblazer Award: Linda Ronstadt
• Performance by a Latino Ensemble in a Television Series: “Ugly Betty,” ABC.
• Actor in a television series, Drama: Edward James Olmos, “Battlestar Galactica,” SciFi Channel.
• Actress in a television series, Drama: Roselyn Sanchez, “Without A Trace,” CBS.
• Actor in a television series, Comedy: Charlie Sheen, “Two and a Half Men,” CBS.
• Actress in a television series, Comedy: Judy Reyes, “Scrubs,” NBC.
• Supporting actor in a television series, Drama: Jorge Garcia, “Lost,” ABC.
• Supporting actress in a television series, Drama: Julie Gonzalo, “Eli Stone,” ABC.
• Director of a television series: Linda Mendoza, “Ugly Betty,” ABC.
• Writing for a television series: Gloria Calderon Kellett, “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS.
• Comedy special: “George Lopez: America’s Mexican,” HBO.
• Made-for TV documentary: “American Experience: Roberto Clemente,” PBS.
• Career achievement award: David Wader, Stage Manager.
• Special Achievement in Fashion: Narciso Rodriguez.
• Special Achievement Award: Spanish-language motion picture: “La Misma Luna.”
• Special achievement award: Director of a made-for-TV movie: Kenny Ortega, “High School Musical 2,” Disney Channel.

About the ALMA:

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S. NCLR created the ALMA Awards in 1995 as part of its strategy to promote fair, accurate, and balanced portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry. The show was named “ALMA” (Spanish for “spirit” or “soul”) which represents the determined spirit of the Latino people in an effort to reflect the spirit as well as the scope of the awards program.

For 40 years, NCLR has been promoting the advancement of Latino families in this country, creating opportunities and opening doors. The NCLR ALMA Awards are an integral part of that mission: a television entertainment special with a cause - to show how diversity strengthens our country and how inclusion strengthens the entertainment industry.

Don’t count out Alex O’ Loughlin from leaving a mark on television just yet. While his vampire series, Moonlight, has left many fans terribly upset at CBS, the actor is going back to the network with a brand new television series.

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American’s Next Top Model’s new season has yet to air on September 3rd but people are already talking about one of the contestants. And it’s because s/he happens to be a transgender.

Twenty two year old receptionist, Isis, a native of Maryland sees herself as “a woman born physically male.” But this didn’t stop her from pursuing her dream.

It’s a first for the show. And it doesn’t take a genius to note that Isis will be getting a lot of airtime explaining how she has become who she is.

While other groups, like GLAAD, praises this move from Top Model and its producer Tyra Banks, there are those who may be thinking this is a really crazy stunt pulled by the producers to keep the show abreast especially since the show is now in its 11th season. As with many reality shows lasting this long, the format has become tired, predictable and weary. They have to cook up something new and knowingly, the show could never pull an All-Stars edition, right?

What are Isis’ chances of winning and fulfilling her dreams?

Will the show keep her longer as expected…for the buzz, drama and ratings?

I haven’t had the chance to follow a lot of what has been going on at the Olympics but I do know there’s a big cheering crowd, composed of mostly ladies, for swimmer Michael Phelps. The 6′4″ athlete just won his 10th and 11th gold medals to date (and for his career so far). His latest win has earned him the honors of being the most medaled Olympic champ. In all its history? I think so.

The National Aquatic Center names him the Greatest Olympian of all time.

And the man is only 23 years old.

Outstanding, isn’t it?

A native of Baltimore Maryland, Phelps had quite a childhood with his parents divorcing and being diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. But he did take a love for swimming at a young age, mostly influenced by his two older sisters who are also swimmers. Swimming helped him channel his energy into something really very productive for him. He trained under the North Baltimore Aquatic Club and then later with the University of Michigan swim team (Club Wolverine). As he has rapidly improved the skill, by the age of 15, Phelps went on to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics, where he was one of the youngest competitors. He didn’t win any medals for this though, but continued with his training and broke world records in swimming.

Michael Phelps intends to return to Baltimore after the Olympics and will join his former coaches there, saying this during an interview, “I’m not going to swim for anybody else. I think we can both help the North Baltimore Athletic Club go further. I’m definitely going to be in Baltimore.”