The Fame Fatale

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 ripoff artist Andy Samberg. Nothing else need be said.

And yet Sandler just keeps on working. He has no fewer than four more films in the offing. Two are in post; two are currently being forged by Sauron in the Cracks of Doom. (If that fact doesn’t have you running scared, consider: Per IMDB Pro, Sandler is threatening us with no fewer than 13 future movies in various stages of development, including one with the tentative tag of Untitled Stephen Dorff Project.)

How does this person keep getting jobs? That’s not me asking the question to myself. A listener wrote in with the same very excellent question. And I answer it in my latest episode like it’s my job. ’Cause it is.

Also in this new edition!

Have a listen.

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 week!

Plus so much more!

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:

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 than you might think.

Chase visited Los Angeles recently to promote his new single, “One.” He sat down with me for an interview at the bustling Paper or Plastik Cafe, right around the corner from my recording studio, to discuss that single, plus, of course, what it’s really like to audition for The Voice. (Hint: If you’re not ready to spend three months living in a hotel room being groomed for a single TV appearance, go home now.)

What else have I got for you this episode?

How about a highly contagious Baby Vegaz? A ridiculously sad blind item? A truly meaty Cage Match? And an answer to listener Robert Gervais’s question about why, nearly 76 years after he first debuted, Superman is still locked down by copyright kryptonite?

Have a listen!

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 gay and Hollywood, all right. But they may not necessarily be the wretched hive of scum and villainy that plaintiff Michael Egan implies. Do you believe Egan or Singer, who denies the accusation? Listen to party eyewitness and podcast favorite Guy Branum, and then decide for yourself.

And what else have I got for you in this episode?

How about the answer to your question about Katherine Heigl and her new paparazzi-related lawsuit? (That's right: Someone actually took a picture of Katherine Heigl, and then sold it for money.)

Also! Yeah, I have dish from Coachella, including perhaps the nicest celebrity that the harsh, forbidding desert has ever seen. Thanks to Nerd Out co-host and Coachella insider Lisa B. Jenkins for her firsthand report.

Plus! One very hairy blind item!

Let's commence to listenin'!

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:

And still more tosh: How many barmy hairdressers it takes to make a celebrity ginge. Why Frozen really ain't all that cracking. And Baby Vegas is back, well-nigh starkers as usual. 

Bob's your uncle! And he's a tosser! So have a butcher's!

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 of my loyal listeners can’t stand Paltrow, either. But why? In this new episode, we delve into the phenomenon of Gwyneth haters, with a little defensive help from someone who has met her.

Also in this edition:

Have at it!

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 exactly what you need to be watching next (and reading, now that Malcolm McKay, author of the breakout Glasgow Trilogy of crime novels, doesn’t have anything new on the shelves this very second).

What else do I have for you this week? 

Ever wonder if those pricey makeup brands—the ones so often slathered on celebrities during the Oscars—are really worth it? For the next several weeks, I’ll be drilling down on a variety of beauty categories, getting the straight dish from top-of-the-line red carpet makeup artists about what they really carry around in their handbags. And it ain’t always the spendiest of balms.

Plus! TV industry vet Marrissa O’Leary answers a question that you yourself have probably wondered—that is, if you’ve ever watch the end credits of a network TV show. O’Leary, a former head of business affairs for not one but two major TV production studios, dips into her vast pool of knowledge—and shares wisdom from a couple of her favorite showrunners, John Rogers and Javier Grillo-Marxuach—to answer a burning question from listener AdamX6000.

Enjoy!

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 do just that in this latest episode.

Plus! Four of your lingering Oscar questions answered…and Lisa reveals her ideal four-man sandwich. Is your favorite hunky celeb among the fixins? Find out by hitting the play button!

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 was—and I quote—“crap.” I'm just relaying what I heard, so don't shoot the messenger. Unless, of course, that messenger is delivering crap pizza.)

What else have I got for you this week?

Have a listen!