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