Monday, September 5, 2011

              

Friday, September 2, 2011

NBC4 Is Gonna Need A New Truck


LAObserved -- Twitter user @veisandrew posted a cellphone picture of an NBC truck burning up on the 405 freeway in Sepulveda Pass.

"Hey @NBCLA I think your news van is on fire!," he tweeted, sensibly enough.

A few minutes later, the channel's Twitter acount replied: "Update on our truck fire. No injuries."

LAMediaWatch.com

TNT Cancells 'HawthoRNe'


TNT is calling Season 4 of its medical drama starring Jada Pinkett Smith, HawthoRNe, dead on arrival.

The network announced on Friday that it will not be going forward on a new season.

“TNT has decided not to order a fourth season of HawthoRNe,” the network says in a statement.

“TNT truly appreciates the tremendous dedication of everyone involved in HawthoRNe,” the network continues. “The series gave TNT the opportunity to work with many outstanding people, including Jada Pinkett Smith and the rest of the show’s talented cast, crew, producers and writers. We wish everyone involved with HawthoRNe nothing but the best.”

LAMediaWatch.com

Oprah Plans Live Facebook Chat

Oprah Winfrey is coming back for another interview, former TV talk show titan will sit down for a live Facebook chat on September 8.

The streaming interview coincides with Winfrey's big tech industry meet-up at the home of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg with Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and other big names from the online world to figure out how to boost traffic to Winfrey's faltering website, Oprah.com.

Though Winfrey's website showed a comScore rating of just 2.4 million unique users in July, her official Facebook page has nearly 6.3 million fans. The live chat is no doubt designed to drive some of those fans back to Oprah.com.

Facebook is currently soliciting questions for the chat which begins at 1:30 PST on Thursday.

LAMediaWatch.com

Mel B Welcomes Baby Girl


Former Spice Girls singer Mel B gave birth to a baby girl late Thursday evening.

The 36-year-old checked into an LA hospital Thursday morning, and by Friday morning she made the official announcement on her Twitter account.

“Finally our baby arrives, Stephen nearly passed out, Phoenix screamed, I laughed so hard the baby popped out!!!” Mel wrote. “She is just sooo amazing!!”

Mel’s 12-year-old daughter Phoenix — from her previous marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar — was at the hospital for her little sister’s arrival, and it’s her first child with hubby of four years, Stephen Belafonte.

LAMediaWatch.com

Jose Canseco's Ex Granted Permanent Restraining Order


Baseball great Jose Canseco has been slapped with a permanent restraining order by his ex-girlfriend and RadarOnline.com obtained the court-ordered documents.

Jose’s ex, Leila Shennib, was granted a three-year restraining order against him on August 11, 2011 at the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse.

According to the Order of Protection, the 47-year-old is prohibited from contacting Leila via email, telephone, third party or messages.

Jose didn’t show up to the August 11 hearing, thus Leila was automatically granted the restraining order.

“He's just an ex-athlete whose ego got hurt that a woman actually left him and has completely gone off the deep end." Leila said.

Leila sought the restraining order after claims that Jose was “harassing and threatening” her.

LAMediaWatch.com

$1B bid for Boys in Blue


DN -- It seems more appropriate than ever that the baseball movie "Moneyball" hits theaters this month, considering the $1.2billion cash offer Bill Burke reportedly made to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt to buy the team and all real estate and media rights related to the team.

The whopping offer, arrived in a written letter to McCourt - with Burke the main investor and backed by some state-owned Chinese investors and unnamed American investors.

Burke is an accomplished business and political leader in Southern California, best known as the founder and former longtime president of the Los Angeles Marathon. 

Though a spokesman, McCourt issued no comment Thursday.

What will Major League Baseball think of "certain state-owned investment institutions of the People's Republic of China" owning one of its storied franchises? And how inclined will McCourt be to give up his silly fight to retain ownership?
 
The offer expires in 21 days, so we'll know near the end of the month what this all means.

LAMediaWatch.com

'NCIS' Actor Busted In Laundry Altercation


NCIS actor David Dayan Fisher was arrested Thursday in Hollywood on suspicion of felony battery after getting into an argument with a neighbor about laundry, TMZ reported.

On Thursday afternoon, Fisher reportedly confronted one of his neighbors about some towels hanging outside. When the argument turned physical -- TMZ claims the alleged victim told police Fisher choked him -- the neighbor called 911 and was taken to a nearby hospital.

The LAPD inmate information center website, which confirmed that bail had been set at $50,000. It also noted that the actor was released around 9 p.m. Thursday.

Fisher plays Trent Kort on CBS' NCIS. His rep has yet to comment on the arrest.

LAMediaWatch.com

Test Your Movie Knowledge with Alex Trebek this Sunday


AFI's Great American Movie Quiz hosted by Alex Trebek.  The event will feature the Los Angeles Philharmonic, who will play snippets of classic film scores, as audience members try their best to answer a variety of movie-related questions during 20 rounds.

There will not be a massive buzz in station where anyone with a thumb can ring in the right answer. They have glow sticks for that.

AFI's Great American Movie Quiz is taking place Sunday at 7:30pm at the Hollywood Bowl.

Tickets start at 11 bucks at Ticketmaster. Click for more info.

LAMediaWatch.com

DWTS Defends the Casting of Chaz Bono


This week’s announcement that female-to-male transsexual Chaz Bono will be a contestant on the upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars has proved a controversial choice for the hit show.

ABC’s DWTS message boards have been flooded with transphobic remarks, with some viewers accusing the show of pushing a political agenda.

Conrad Green, executive producer of DWTS, responded to the controversy. He told The Hollywood Reporter:
We don’t have an agenda of any sorts. I think of the 120 celebrities we’ve put on the show, we’ve had, I think now, three transgender or gay contestants. If that’s a homosexual agenda, we’re not doing very well at it.

Chaz, child of Sono Bono and Cher, is a longtime advocate for LGBT rights. Becoming Chaz, a documentary about his gender transition, aired in May on The Oprah Winfrey Network and has been nominated for three Emmy awards.

LAMediaWatch.com

Verizon Has $10K If You Know Who's Stealing Copper Cable


LAist -- Phone, cable, and internet provider Verizon has announced they'll give a $10,000 reward for info that gets the perp(s) arrested and prosecuted in a string of recent copper cable thefts in Southern California.

"In recent weeks, thieves have cut and stolen thousands of feet of copper cable at nine locations, resulting in thousands of dollars in damages," explains Verizon.

Verizon notes that this is not only a huge inconvenience for customers who lose phone and internet service, but can also cut people off from vital means of communication.

Offering a reward for information about thefts is not a new approach by Verizon. If you have legit info call Verizon Security at 1-800-997-3287, or your local law enforcement.

LAMediaWatch.com

Gene Simmons & Shannon Tweed Wedding Announcement

Gene Simmons is finally revealing what Shannon Tweed said when he asked for her hand in marriage ... and she didn't say no.

Now, the couple is planning the wedding -- with invitations already sent -- complete with a sarcastic wedding announcement from their kids.

"After 28 years of loose strings, our parents have finally decided to tie the knot. Our mother will share our horrendous hyphenate of a last name and our father's life ... well, it doesn't change that much."

It continues on a heartfelt note -- saying, "But we will be united as a family in spirit and in title forever."

The wedding is set for October 1 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

LAMediaWatch.com

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Food & Fun at 'The Taste' This Weekend


Labor Day weekend the L.A. Times, in partnership with Food & Wine magazine, invite you to enjoy unlimited food, wine, beer and spirits at its inaugural "The Taste" celebration.

The event takes place in three different locations, Beverly Hills, Downtown, and Hollywood, over the course of four days, with creations from 40 of L.A.'s best restaurants.

Tickets to the event are all-inclusive and offer unlimited tastings from some of  SoCal's top wineries and breweries, live music and panel discussions from celebrity chefs.

"The Taste" begins on Friday, September 2nd and lasts through Labor Day. You can purchase tickets by visiting here.  Check out the website for a complete schedule.

LAMediaWatch.com

Drum Downtown on Saturday for free


Saturday everyone can learn how to bang out a beat when Drum Downtown comes to the Music Center Plaza.

The event is free to the public of all ages to bring along any type of household item to make music with. We're talking wooden spoons, chopsticks, even empty coffee cans! Anything and everything that can double as a makeshift drum will suffice, just as long as they're not sharp and dangerous, like knives.

Drum Downtown will take place this Saturday, September 3rd from 10am to 11:30am at the Music Center Plaza.

Admission is free and will be on a first come, first serve basis. No experience is necessary! More info.

LAMediaWatch.com

Rihanna Sues Over Beverly Hills Mansion


Rihanna has filed a lawsuit in L.A. County Superior Court, claiming she bought a 2-story home in Bev Hills in 2009 for $6.9 mil ... after the seller claimed she was not aware of any major defects with the property.

But Rihanna claims the woman was lying -- and knew about problems with the home ... including numerous waterproofing defects, evidence of water intrusion and other construction defects.

According to the docs, Rihanna's home was hit by a "moderate rainstorm" in January 2010 ... but because of the defects, water leaked into multiple rooms ... causing some serious damage.

Rihanna claims the actual value of the property at the time of purchase, taking into consideration the extensive construction defects ... was millions of dollars less" than the price she paid for it.

She is now suing the former owner ... along with the inspector, the real estate agents involved with the sale, and engineers who worked on the house.

LAMediaWatch.com

Javaris Crittenton Appears In Court


Former Laker Javaris Crittenton made his first court appearance this morning.

It was a quick hearing. Crittenton waived his right to an extradition hearing and now heads back to Atlanta to face murder charges.

The judge said Crittenton will be returned to Atlanta between Sept. 15 and Sept. 30.

The FBI arrested Crittenton at John Wayne Airport in Orange County on Monday about 8 p.m. after checking in for a flight to Atlanta. He was booked at LAPD headquarters.

LAMediaWatch.com

Jerry Lewis Gone From Telethon After 45 Years


No one would sniff at all the dollars Jerry Lewis raised for muscular dystrophy: a couple of billion during his 45-year reign as host of the MDA Telethon. Jerry put on a show like no other.

Labor Day this year promises to be bland by comparison, with the 85-year-old Lewis now banished from the annual rite he built from scratch and molded in his image.

As if deflated by the absence of its larger-than-life host, "The 46th Annual MDA Labor Day Telethon" will fill just six hours on Sunday from 6 p.m. to midnight.

Celebrities will include Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Lady Antebellum, Richie Sambora and Jordan Sparks.

On Aug. 3, when, with no elaboration, MDA announced that Lewis had "completed his run" as national chairman, and that he would not be appearing on the telethon, as promised earlier.

The telethon will be on again this Labor Day weekend, in some faint version of what Lewis wrought. But for those who watch, and remember it with Jerry, it is likely to feel like a lonely affair.

LAMediaWatch.com

Courtney Thorne-Smith Returning to 'Men'


Having lined up an ex for Ashton Kutcher's character on the upcoming season of "Two and a Half Men," the show's producers have now made sure that Jon Cryer's character will have his own former flame to torment him.

Courtney Thorne-Smith will return to "Men" for the series' upcoming ninth season, reprising her recurring role as Alan Harper's ex-girlfriend, Lyndsey Makelroy.

The actress last appeared on the show in January -- at about the time when CBS and Warner Bros. TV pulled the plug on production for the show's eighth season, due to since-ousted star Charlie Sheen's increasingly erratic behavior.

LAMediaWatch.com

Ed Helms' Stunt Double Sues

The man who was Ed Helms' stunt double in "The Hangover 2" is suing Warner Bros -- claiming he was badly injured during a high speed stunt-gone-wrong for the movie last year in Bangkok, Thailand.

The stunt man -- Scott McLean -- filed a lawsuit in California federal court on Tuesday ... claiming he was participating in a stunt where he had to lean out of the window of a moving truck ... when something went terribly wrong.

According to McLean, another car involved in the stunt skidded out and crashed -- resulting in a major collision. McLean claims the stunt required "precision and timing" -- but after the stunt was underway, the stunt coordinator changed the timing ... which screwed up everything.

McLean's reps told The Hollywood Reporter he suffered, "likely permanent brain and physical injuries," including ongoing seizures, speech impediments, physical impediments, and brain trauma.

A rep for Warner Bros. tells TMZ, "We were shocked and saddened by this accident and have been working closely with Scott and his family throughout his treatment and recovery."
"We have offered continual support since the accident occurred and we are working together to try and resolve any outstanding issues."

LAMediaWatch.com