February 2009

Monday, February 23, 2009

Condoleezza Rice gets a multi-million dollar book deal

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is probably hammering away at a computer keyboard today as part of her new job, author. Several major media outlets, yesterday and today, report Rice has signed a three book deal with Crown Publishing, a division of Random House. According to the Associated Press, the deal is worth at least $2.5 million! The 54-year-old George W. Bush confidant will […]
Monday, February 23, 2009

Big Oscar winners: “Slumdog,” Penn, Winslet & Ledger

Heath Ledger as the Joker wins best supporting actor Oscar.   The late Heath Ledger, a talent that left us much too soon, was honored for his incredible performance as the “Joker” in the blockbuster, “The Dark Knight, ” at the 81st Academy Awards last night in Hollywood. Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment a year ago last […]
Sunday, February 22, 2009

Tyler Perry’s “Madea” kills the competition at the Box Office

Critics slammed it, but movie fans packed the theaters this weekend to see, “Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail.”  The new over-the-top comedy racked up a huge $41 million to easily become the number one film in the country.  Variety reports that this is the seventh Perry film distributed by Lionsgate. So far those films have grossed $300 million at the domestic Box Office. Perry is a writer/producer/director/actor. The […]
Saturday, February 21, 2009

Rihanna finally speaks out after alleged assault

  Google Image    Pop star/model and suspected domestic violence victim, Rihanna, is speaking out. Rihanna’s P.R. firm released a statement yesterday. It was the first from Rihanna and her representatives since the February 8th street fight incident in Los Angeles. A story on the People website includes part of the statement: “At the request of the authorities, Rihanna is not […]
Saturday, February 21, 2009

Election Tuesday: Hot race for Burbank City Council

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank City Council candidate, Lee Dunayer, smiles and chats with folks at a campaign meet and greet on January 29, 2009, at the popular Porto’s Bakery & Cafe on West Magnolia Blvd.   You can tell there’s a city primary election coming up by just driving or walking through the neighborhoods of Burbank. Candidate signs dot the […]
Saturday, February 21, 2009

Schwarzenegger, the new state budget, and Hollywood

  photo from http://gov.ca.gov/  02/20/09  — Governor Schwarzenegger holds news conference yesterday to sign the new state budget into law.   After a painful three months of bitter debate, the state legislature finally approved a budget on Thursday and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it into law yesterday. The budget reportedly solves a $42 billion deficit by raising taxes and cutting spending. The […]
Friday, February 20, 2009

LAPD reacts to photo of a battered Rihanna

Google Image   Pop star/model Rihanna remains in seclusion, but a photo allegedly showing her battered face is all over the Internet today. The photo first appeared on the celebrity gossip website TMZ last night. Newsradio KNX 1070  has the photo on its site. Ironically, today is Rihanna’s 21st birthday.  Last night, the LAPD put up a statement questioning the source of the photo […]
Thursday, February 19, 2009

The day after release, new Spidey-Obama comic still in demand

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — House of Secrets in Burbank   The day after the release of the fifth edition of the Amazing Spider-Man #583 featuring President Barack Obama, it’s still very much in demand. Over the past few days, a lot of folks have been calling House of Secrets on West Olive Avenue in Burbank searching for the comic. New issues usually appear in comic […]