Lindsay Lohan back on the streets

Photo: Al Seib/Los Angeles Times -- Lindsay Lohan heading to court in Beverly Hills , September 24, 2010

 After a freaky Friday that included court drama and a short stay in jail, Actress Lindsay Lohan is a free woman once again. After failing a court-ordered drug test, Lohan appeared in a Beverly Hills court yesterday. True to his word, Judge Elden Fox, sent her to the slammer for 30 days without bail.

However within hours, Lohan’s lawyer got another Los Angeles Superior Court judge to reverse the bail ruling. Lohan’s lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, pointed out defendants convicted of misdemeanors are allowed bail under the law. Sometime before midnight, Lohan walked free on $300,000 bond.

Did Lohan get a break because she’s a celebrity? Folks are debating that today. The way I see it, the major difference between Lohan and the average inmate in Los Angeles County jail is the money to pay for lawyers and to post bail.  The Los Angeles Times has more on the debate here.  

Jay-Z’s memoir and hip hop decoder

Business Mogul/Hip Hop Artist, Jay-Z, has a book coming out. It’s a memoir and a decoder for 36 of Jay-Z’s songs — which provide an intimate look at his art, according to the publishing site Galleycat.

The printed and e-book formats of “Decoded” include illustrations and lyric analysis as well as the autobiography content. “Decoded” goes on sale in mid- November, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

 NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker on the way out

No surprise, NBC Universal President Jeff Zucker is leaving the network. Zucker made the announcement himself in a company memo yesterday. NBC is in fourth place and who can forget Zucker’s orchestration of the Conan O’Brien/Jay Leno financial/public relations disaster.

Zucker apparently got the word from Comcast that once it’s deal to buy NBC is official, he would be getting the boot. Unlike most NBC employees who lose their jobs at the network and barely score chump change, Zucker will probably get one of those multi-million-dollar executive parachutes. More on Zucker’s departure at The Wrap.

Madonna sued over “Material Girl”  clothing line

Entertainer, Madonna, has launched a “Material Girl” clothing line with daughter, Lourdes Maria Ciccone Leon. Oops!  L.A. Triumph, claims it’s been selling clothes under that label since around 1997 and at some of the same high-ended retailers involved in the new Madonna deal.

This week, the California company sued Madonna. More details in a story on The Los Angeles Times website.

Dr. Laura’s controversial farewell

In the wake of a controversy over her use of the N-word on the air, Conservative Radio Talk Show Host, Dr. Laura Schlessinger,  announced she would pull the plug on her program at the end of the year. Dr. Laura made the surprise announcement on CNN’s “Larry King Live.”

Dr. Laura says she’s taking the drastic step because she wants  her  ”… First Amendment rights back.” Not everyone is buying that reasoning — here’s a good post about it all on The Wrap. Dr. Laura’s radio program can be heard locally on KFWB News Talk 980. 

Oh, click here for Dr. Laura’s blog where she talks about the controversy, her apology, and the support she’s getting from Sarah Palin.

Betty White’s new two-book deal

UPDATED:  Sunday,  August 22, 2010                                                                                                                                                       

 Actress Betty White has another Emmy to add to her collection. White won number  seven last night for best guest actress in a comedy series for her hosting of a “Saturday Night Live” episode, back in the spring.

That award winner was announced during the creative arts section of the 62 Annual  Primetime Emmy Awards, at the Nokia Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.  The winners in some of the major Emmy categories will be announced on a broadcast next Sunday, August 29, 2010, on NBC. 

Actress Betty White is 88-years-old and has a career that’s on the upswing. The Emmy Award-winning actress has gained new fans with her appearance in a hit Super Bowl TV commercial back in February, then in May as a guest host on NBC-TV’s, “Saturday Night Live,” and now she has a role on cable network TV Land’s popular series, “Hot in Cleveland.”  This week it was disclosed White has sealed a two-book deal with G. P. Putnam’s Sons.

The first book, “Listen Up,” will be about life lessons learned during White’s many years in Hollywood. It’s due out in hardcover next spring. By the way, she has been nominated for 20 Emmy Awards and has won six — including two for her role in the 1970s ”The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and one for starring in the hit 1980s series, “The Golden Girls.”

The second book, “The Zoo and I: Betty and Her Friends” will showcase stories and photographs of White and her friends at the Los Angeles Zoo – scheduled to hit the market in 2012.

In a PR Newswire press release, White said she’s enjoying the new challenge: “Much as I love what I do for a living in show business, I love writing even more – so I am thrilled to be working on not only one new book but two of them.”  White is the author of five other books.

President Obama raises $1 million & snarls traffic in Southland  

It happens almost every time a U.S. President visits the Southland. The bad traffic situation gets worse. That’s what occurred today, when President Barack Obama dropped in for one of those high-ticket priced Hollywood -type fundraisers.

Obama reportedly raised $1 million dollars for the Democrats and the ire of some Southlanders over the traffic problems caused by his visit. Nice report and photo on the Los Angeles Times website.

“The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”

Photo: PR NewsFoto/Columbia Pictures/Merrick Morton -- Actress Rooney Mara

 Actress Rooney Mara has won one of the most sought after roles in Hollywood. Columbia Pictures announced today that Mara has been selected to star in the film version of  Stieg Larsson’s mystery blockbuster, “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” and the other two adaptations in The Millennium Trilogy. David Fincher will direct.

Since being published in the U.S., “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” has sold over 5 million copies. The Millennium Trilogy has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide, according to a PR Newswire press release.

 All three books, including “The Girl Who Played With Fire” and “THe Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest” currently are at the top of the New York Times Best Sellers List.  The  Millennium Triology is considered a literary phenomenon.

Photo: PR NewFoto/Columbia Pictures/Merrick Morton -- Actor Daniel Craig

Also, Actor Daniel Craig is set to star in “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.” Deadline.com has more on the casting and the upcoming productions.

Sylvester Stallone king of the Box Office

Actor and Filmmaker, Sylvester Stallone, is hot again. Stallone co-wrote, directed, and starred in the number one film in country right now, “The Expendables.” The action flick about a group of mercenaries out to take down a South American dictator, debuted over the weekend with a winning $34.8 million.  The cast includes Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, and Jet Li as well.

“Eat Pray Love,” the move version of Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir about her adventures traveling the world, opened in second place with $23 million. Julia Roberts stars, but that was not enough for this chick flick to win the race to number one.

The action-comedy, “The Other Guys” grabbed third with  $17.4 million, the sci-fi thriller, “Inception” earned $11.4 million for fourth and rounding out the top five, the new action-comedy, “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World ” with $10.6 million. Based on a graphic novel, “Scott Pilgrim”  is about a 20-something musician who’s life chances dramatically when he falls for a mysterious woman. Michael Cera and Mary Elizabeth Winstead star.

Rosie O’Donnell gets new daytime talk show

Comedienne/Talk Show Host Rosie O’Donnell is headed back to daytime television on the new Oprah Winfrey Network. O’Donnell’s new talker will debut next year on OWN.

“Rosie is an undeniable talent who has captivated TV audiences for nearly 20 years,” said Oprah Winfrey in a PR Newswire press release. “She’s a true original, who brings her authentic voice, dynamic energy and pure passion to everything she does.”

“It’s an honor and a privilege to work with Oprah Winfrey on her network,” said Rosie O’Donnell. “I’m excited to be back on daytime television.”

O’Donnell has won six consecutive DayTime Emmys for Outstanding Talk Show Host.   “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” ran from 1996 to 2002.

Hollywood producers buy novel for $2 million-plus

Author Nicholas Sparks just scored a major Hollywood deal.  Movie rights for Sparks’ new novel, “Safe Haven,”were snatched up in a bidding war. The book plot centers on romance and a mysterious woman with a dark secret in a North Carolina town. The selling price – $2-$5 million.

“Safe Haven” publishes next month. Reviews and more on the novel up on the Barnes & Noble website.

Hollywood has had a love affair with Sparks’ romantic novels for some time. Several have been turned  into successful films including “Dear John” (2010) , and “The Notebook” (2004), and “Message in a Bottle” “1999.  Deadline.com has more on Sparks’ new deal.

Unauthorized bio of Angelina Jolie

Actress Angelina Jolie has a hot new movie out, “Salt.” In two weeks of release, the spy thriller has racked up about  $79 million at the domestic Box Office, but a new book about Jolie may be even hotter. The  Los Angeles Times has a review of “Angelina” by Andrew Morton. Check it out  here.

Mel Gibson’s mouth gets him in trouble again

The Internet and Hollywood are buzzing about Actor/Director/Producer Mel Gibson’s latest foot-in-mouth performance.  An audio recording of Gibson using the “N-word” in a tirade against his ex-girlfriend, Russian singer, Oksana Grigorieva, was followed by reports that the entertainer is being investigated for domestic violence. And there’s more. WME agency has confirmed it recently fired Gibson as a client.

Remember, Gibson was hit by an onslaught of bad publicity after a tape revealed the drunken actor making anti-Semitic remarks during a DUI stop in Malibu, back in 2006.

Gibson is working on a number of projects right now. It will be interesting to see if Hollywood will again be forgiving of Gibson in order to keep the money and projects flowing.  Nikki Finke over at Deadline.com/Hollywood has a post about Gibson’s latest troubles, with over 200 comments, check it out  here.  The Wrap covered the story as well.

Summer reading:  Bestsellers at Barnes & Noble and Amazon

At the top of the Barnes & Noble bestselling paperback list, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (Millennium Trilogy Series #1). The thriller/murder mystery is about the disappearance of a Swedish heiress and it’s by Journalist, Stieg Larsson. The novel was a big smash in Europe. Now it’s a hot seller here.

Number two on the list, Larsson’s “The Girl Who Played with Fire”  (Millennium Triligy #2), and in third, the romance  ”One Day,” by Screenwriter/Novelist,  David Nicholls.

Over on Amazon, Larsson’s hardcover thriller,”The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” is number one, followed by the paperback version of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” in second place.

Man plays same lottery numbers for two years and wins $10 million

It took two years, but a Southern California player finally hit the jackpot in the SuperLotto Plus game on June 20, 2010.  Last Wednesday, July 7, the man, who wants to remain anonymous, cashed in the winning ticket worth $10 million.

Lottery officials say he told them the numbers came to him in a dream two years ago. He played them religiously and it paid off.  The ticket was bought at Jack’s Liquor, 3720 West Olympic Boulevard in L.A. The store gets $50,000 for selling that winning ticket.

Meanwhile, a winning lottery ticket bought more than two months ago at the El  Mexicano Market, 6625 South Avalon Boulevard in L.A., has not been cashed in yet. That ticket is worth $179,428.

It had five of the winning numbers, but not the Mega Ball, from that historic May 4, 2010 Mega Millions draw. Those numbers are: 21, 9, 36, 43, 31, and the Mega Ball 8.  You might remember, the jackpot of $266 million was won by a producer at NBC-4 here in Burbank and her husband.

Speaking of Mega Millions, the jackpot today stands at $52 million. No one had all of last night’s winning numbers: 1, 31, 33, 34, 50, and the Mega Ball 41. However, three lucky tickets sold in the Golden State are each worth $178, 516.

 A Southland lottery winner cashed in that missing $7 million SuperLotto Plus jackpot winning ticket last Monday, June 14. This is the unclaimed jackpot I posted about a few days ago. The ticket was bought in the 7-Eleven store at 3450 Overland Avenue in Los Angeles for the June 5 draw. Oh, the 7-Eleven gets a $35,000 bonus for selling that winning ticket.

 The owner of the lucky ticket wants to remain anonymous. According to lottery officials, the winner chose the annuity option and will receive increasing payments over 26 years, beginning with the first for $175,000. What are his plans?  The winner disclosed he intends to pay off some credit cards, some other bills, and take a long-awaited trip to Disney World!

Actress Demi Moore nails a $2 million book deal

Movie roles have been pretty slim for Actress, Demi Moore, lately, but she just scored a huge deal in the publishing biz. Over on Deadline.com, Mike Fleming reports Moore’s reps are working on the fine points of a book contract with HarperCollins. The word is this will not be a trip down memory lane. More here.

Screenwriting duo hook a deal to write “Monster High” musical

Alfred Gough and Miles Millar are very busy screenwriters/producers these days. And they are making a lot of dough at it. Gough and Millar are the showrunners for the TV hit, “Smallville.” Also, they wrote such male-focused films as ”Lethal Weapon 4,” “Shanghai Noon,” and “Spider-Man 2.”  For a some variety, they produced last year’s “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” which rang up $80 million at the domestic Box Office.

Now Gough and Millar are working on a monster musical about the trials and tribulations of high school — as experienced by the off-spring of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Wolfman. “Monster High” is based on a new entertainment/toy line from Mattel. The Hollywood Reporter has a nice write up on the project. 

Another 3D flick blows up at the domestic Box Office. Moviegoers are definitely loving their 3D. “How to Train Your Dragon” opened with an impressive debut of around $43.3 million, to become the number one movie in the country.

This DreamWorks animation is about a Viking teenager raised in a tribe that slays dragons, however, he ends up befriending a wounded dragon and that begins the adventure. The star voices in “How to Train Your Dragon” include America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, and Jay Baruchel. The movie is based on a 2003 children’s book of the same title by British author, Cressida Cowell.

In second place, the live action/animated mega-hit “Alice in Wonderland” with an estimated $17.3 million. After four weeks in release, three of those at number one, the domestic tally for this Tim Burton creation stands at around $293 million.

The new R-rated comedy “Hot Tub Time Machine” landed in third with about $13.7 million. The comedy  stars John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke as a group of friends who find themselves transported back to 1986 after a wild night of drinking in a hot tub.  

The romantic comedy/action adventure “The Bounty Hunter” earned fourth with an estimated $12.4 million, bringing its two week domestic total to around $38.8 million. Rounding out the top five, the family film “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” with $10 million.

“Alice in Wonderland” is still packing them in at the movie theaters, especially at the big 3D complexes. Tim Burton’s live action/animated fantasy adventure of the classic tale delighted audiences to the tune of about $34.5 million this weekend. “Alice” easily held onto the title of the number one film in the U.S. for the third straight week. The domestic total for this mega-hit has reached $266 million.

Several new movies opened and two managed to do okay. The family flick,”Diary of a Wimpy Kid, ” debuted better than expected with around $21.8 million. Zachary Gordon and Robert Capron star in the adventures of a middle school kid and his best friend during a school year. The film is based on a book of the same title in a popular illustrated series by Jeff Kinney.

Close behind in third place,”The Bounty Hunter,” starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. It’s about a struggling bounty hunter who gleefully sets out to bring in his ex-wife who has jumped bail. “The Bounty Hunter” captured an estimated $21 million, which is in line with expectations.

In fourth, the new Jude Law and Forest Whitaker action/thriller “Repo Men.”  It’s set in the future where repo men repossess body organs when patients miss their payments. It earned a meager $6.1 million. Rounding out the top five, the R-rated romantic comedy, “She’s Out of My League” with around $6 million.

Hollywood is tapping a new source for movie ideas — blogs!  I have heard of other projects based on websites, but this latest one, being developed for Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon, sounds like a real winner. Over on the deadline.com/New York site, Mike Fleming is reporting that Columbia Pictures has made a deal with blogger/author Ree Drummond for a romantic comedy, ”The Pioneer Woman.”

Drummond is known as ”The Pioneer Woman” who writes a popular blog with the same title,   http://thepioneerwoman.com/  The website description says she’s “plowing through life in the country  …one calf nut at a time.” Drummond is a self-confessed city girl who fell in love with a cowboy and is now making a lot of hay, ah, money writing and blogging about her life on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma. 

 Last year Drummond’s cookbook, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks, recipes from an accidential country girl,” came out and became a New York Times bestseller.

Next Valentine’s Day, William Morrow will release, “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels,” Drummond’s story of love and adventure in the country. On her website, Drummond describes the book as “… the complete saga (to date) of the rip-roaring true story of how I met my husband, Marlboro Man, and how I went from spoiled city girl to domestic ranch wife in the blink of an eye.”

Spec script season in full swing

Some interesting spec scripts making the rounds of the production companies and studios lately. Literary manager Kathy Muraviov is shopping, “The One” by Stan Evans, according to the Spec Chaser site. This is a romance about a woman who gets the ultimate choice: one week with her “soul mate” or a lifetime with a man she cares about, but who is not “the one.”  

Also, spec scripts are being snatched up and bought. On the Spec Chaser, the spec screenplay “Ruthless,” by Cooper Layne, is marked sold!

“Ruthless” is a crime thriller about an ex-con who shows up suddenly in a small Louisiana town and begins to cause havoc by exposing the secrets of the town folks. The script sold to Double Nickel Productions.

Photo: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters– Director/Producer Kathryn Bigelow and Screenwriter/Producer Mark Boal of “The Hurt Locker”

She did it!  Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the best director Oscar at last night’s 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood. Bigelow’s name was announced by Superstar Entertainer/Filmmaker Barbra Streisand, who was overlooked as a contender for the award back when she directed “Yentl” (1983), “The Prince of Tides” (1991), and “The Mirror Has Two Faces” (1996).

Bigelow’s best director Oscar was one of six wins for “The Hurt Locker,” which included  best original screenplay, picked up by screenwriter/producer Mark Boal, and best picture. 

The winners in the other top categories were Sandra Bullock, best actress for her performance in “The Blind Side,” Mo’Nique best supporting actress for her role in  “Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” best actor trophy went to Jeff Bridges for his performance in “Crazy Heart,” and best supporting actor award to Christoph Waltz for his role in “Inglourious Basterds.”     

 A complete list of the winners on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website.

Good coverage of the Oscars on Reuters, CNN, The Hollywood Reporter, and a ton of photos and video moments from the telecast over on oscars.org  

UPDATED:  Latest figures from the rating giant Nielsen shows 41.3 million people watched Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony. That’s the best rating for the Oscars since 2005. Last year, 35.3 million tuned into the Academy Awards to see ”Slumdog Millionaire” win best picture.

A super opening for the latest teaming of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio. The suspense thriller, “Shutter Island” debuted with an estimated $40.2 million this weekend at the domestic Box Office, to become the number one film in the country.

“Shutter Island,” set in the 1950s, is about the investigation of a murder and some bizarre medical practices at a hospital for the criminally insane. This is the film version of Dennis Lehane’s novel of the same title. Lehane’s novels,”Gone, Baby, Gone (1998),” and “Mystic River (2001)” were both turned into successful movies.  ”Shutter Island” is the fourth movie hook-up for Scorsese and DiCaprio. They also worked together on “Gangs of New York” (2002), “The Aviator” (2004),  and “The Departed” (2006).

As for the rest of the weekend contenders, the romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day” came in a distant second with about $17 million. Last weekend, “Valentine’s Day” was sitting pretty in the top spot. No matter, in two weeks the star-studded comedy has raked in around $87.4 million at the domestic Box Office.

The blockbuster hit, “Avatar” landed in third, earning $16 million. The 10 week domestic total — $687 million! The adventure fantasy, “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief,” scored $15.3 million. And rounding out the top five,  the horror drama “The Wolfman” with $9.8 million. 

Director Steven Soderbergh’s action thriller sells to Warner Bros.

The sluggish Hollywood film script market is picking up. After some bidding, Director Steven Soderbergh’s movie project, “Contagion,” sold to Double Feature Films at Warner Bros. The budget $60 million. The script, written by Scott Z. Burns, revolves around a viral outbreak. Several top notch stars are attached to the project including, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, and Jude Law. More on the project and the bidding at Deadline.com/Hollywood.  

 Actress Tori Spellings has two books coming out in 2010

Tori Spelling is having quite a bit of success as an author. The book publishing website Galleycat claims Spelling’s two previous books, the adventures in celebrity parenthood “Mommywood,” and the tell-all memoir, “sTORI Telling” have sold nearly a million copies. Another Spelling adult book is due out in June and it’s tentatively titled, “Uncharted terriTORI.”

Later in September, Simon & Schuster is publishing the actress’ first children’s book, “Presenting… Tallulah.” It’s about a spunky little girl who discovers who she really is with the help of some special friends. More on Spelling and her books here.

Kathryn Bigelow’s star is rising — not the case for most Hollywood female directors and writers! 

“The Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow is the favorite to win the Oscar for best feature film director at the Academy Awards next month. Lately, Bigelow has been showered with awards, accolades, and deal offers. All well deserved. Despite Bigelow’s success, 2009 was a “terrible year” for the majority of female film directors and writers, according to a report on The Wrap website. The stats are grim. Read it here.  

“Valentine’s Day” scores on a record breaking Presidents Day weekend

The new romantic ensemble comedy, “Valentine’s Day” is on a nice roll at the domestic Box Office. “Valentine’s Day” helped produce the biggest February weekend and biggest Presidents Day weekend ever. In four days, Friday-Monday, the celebrity-packed chick flick earned $63.1 million, according to Box Office Mojo. “Valentine’s Day” now ranks up there with “Sex and the City” and “He’s Not That Into You.” Two other very different films debuted well last weekend, too. Details and analysis here.

Sooner or later it was going to happen. “Avatar” getting dethroned, but who suspected a chick flick would kick the sci-fi epic out of the top spot at the domestic Box Office. Yet, that’s just what occurred on this Super Bowl weekend. The military love story, “Dear John” trounced “Avatar” with an estimated $32 million debut to become the number one film in the country.

“Dear John” stars Channing Tatum as a U.S. Special Forces Army sergeant who falls in love with a college student played by Amanda Seyfried, however, their romance gets tested when the sergeant re-enlists after the 9-11 attacks. “Dear John” is based on the best selling novel of the same title by Nicholas Sparks, who has had four of his other books turned into movies as well: “Message in a Bottle (199),” “A Walk to Remember (2002),” “The Notebook (2004),” and “Nights in Rodanthe (2008).”

The mega-hit, “Avatar” slipped to second after seven weeks at number one with around $23.6 million, bringing its domestic take to a humongous $630 million. In third, earning $8 million, another new film, “From Paris With Love.” It’s an action/spy thriller shot in Paris, starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

The Mel Gibson crime drama, “Edge of Darkness” came in fourth with $7 million, followed by the family comedy “Tooth Fairy” in fifth with about $6.5 million.

The recession and the tight job market have made the workplace even wilder and crazier for far too many overburdened employees. No matter how demanding or over-the-top the boss or office manager may be or simple-minded the job, quitting is not an option. Some of these workers need a place to vent and that’s where the website Please Fire Me comes in. It’s a site where workers can anonymously diss the jobs they can’t afford to ditch. 

I found the link for Pleasefireme.com in a post on the book publishing site GalleyCat. The “why you hate the job you can’t leave” site was created by literary manager, Adam Chromy of Artists and Artisans to promote his client, David Ellis Dickerson’s memoir, “House of Cards, Love, Faith, and Other Social Expressions.” The book is about Dickerson’s adventures in corporate America as a greeting card writer at Hallmark.

If the book is half as entertaining as the Please Fire Me website then it’ll be a bestseller. I gotta tell ya, some of the worker gripes and boss-outings are throw-down-funny, in fact, I was screaming with laughter over a few of them. Some comments describe the strangest, the weirdest, and most ridiculous behavior in the workplace. While others were sad and poignant revelations about how workers are mistreated and exploited.  You know, a lot of it has the ring of truth. Whatever happened to professionalism in the office and all those legal and government regulations that are supposed to protect employees from abuse?

Here are some of the worker complaints:

“Please fire me. My boss sent an email asking me to find her a stuffed animal frog wearing pink high heels and order it online pronto. And she prioritized the email.”

“Please fire me. My boss gave me a one-hour lecture on the two most important things in life: a good mattress and good shoes. I feel bad that his wife and three kids didn’t make the list.”

“Please fire me. I just booked Valentine’s Day reservations for my boss at a restaurant that I’ll never be able to afford to eat because of how little I get paid. “

“Please fire me. I just caught my old boss copying down my goals from last year’s review and noting them as his own for this year.”

“Please fire me. I’ve been working here for a year. Since then, my last two bosses were fired and a high school girl who started last month just got promoted to be my new boss.”

“Please fire me. I’ve written four bestselling novels at my desk in the past two years and no one has noticed.”

“Please fire me. I work at NBC.”

For more revelations from frustrated workers click over to the Please Fire Me site.  Oh yeah, I’ve added this site to my favorites list.

“Avatar” has become a phenomenon. The epic adventure held onto the title of number one movie in the U.S. for the sixth straight week. This weekend, “Avatar” sold an estimated $36 million in theater tickets, bringing its total domestic take to $552.7 million. Amazing!!

 Second place goes to a newcomer, the supernatural thriller, “Legion,” which debuted with around $18.2 million. Paul Bettany and Dennis Quaid star in this action fantasy about a fallen angel fighting to protect humankind. Another film with religious overtones, “The Book of Eli” landed in third with $17 million.

The new movie, “Tooth Fairy,” earned $14.5 million for fourth. The family comedy stars Dwayne Johnson and Ashley Judd. It’s about a tough hockey player, Johnson, who gets into trouble and is sentenced to act as the real-life tooth fairy for a week.

 Rounding out the top five, the drama, “The Lovely Bones” with $8.8 million.

Several of the winners at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards ceremony in the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center last night are now serious front runners to collect an Oscar this year. Sandra Bullock took home the Actor statuette for outstanding performance by an actress in a motion picture for her role in the football drama, “The Blind Side.” Jeff Bridges won best actor for his lead role in the film “Crazy Heart.”  Also, Mo’Nique won the most votes from her fellow actors for her supporting performance in the movie drama, “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.” All three won Golden Globes for those roles, too.

Christoph Waltz picked up the award for outstanding male supporting actor for his performance in the Nazi drama, “Inglourious Basterds.” He can sit that award next to the Golden Globe he won for the same performance, last Sunday. Oh, it was a big night for “Inglourious Basterds,” which won the trophy for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture as well.

So I would be very surprised, no, downright shocked, if Bullock, Bridges, Mo’Nique, and Waltz don’t hear their names mentioned on Tuesday, February 2, when the Academy Awards nominees are announced.

Outstanding performance by a male actor in a television movie or miniseries went to Kevin Bacon for his role in “Taking Chance.” Drew Barrymore won the outstanding performance by a female in a television movie or miniseries for “Grey Gardens.” Earlier, Bacon and Barrymore picked up Golden Globes for the same performances.

For a complete list of the winners click here.

Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times – Actress Sandra Bullock and her husband, Jesse James, arrive at the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards last night.

 Actress Sandra Bullock was one of the double winners at last night’s 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Despite the rain showers, Bullock looked cool, dry, and dazzling in a purple chiffon gown by Bottega Veneta. The actress quickly won a spot on most fashion critics’ best dressed list along with Penélope Cruz, Heidi Klum, and Drew Barrymore.

Once inside, both Bullock and Barrymore scored again — by winning Golden Globes.  Bullock won for best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama for “The Blind Side.” Barrymore took home the statuette for best performance in a mini-series or TV film by an actress for her role in “Grey Gardens.” 

Some of the other big winners were:

“Avatar”  Best Motion Picture Drama

“The Hangover”  Best Motion Picture Comedy of Musical

Jeff Bridges  Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for “Crazy Heart”

Robert Downey Jr.  Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for “Sherlock Holmes”

Meryl Streep  Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for “Julie & Julia”

Mo’Nique   Best Supporting Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire 

Christoph Waltz   Best Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for “Inglourious Basterds”

James Cameron   Best Director in a Motion Picture for “Avatar”

Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner   Best Screenplay Motion Picture for “Up in the Air”

For a complete list of the winners click over to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes website.

Movie fans continued to spend beaucoup dough at theaters on this Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. After beating back a threat from the new flick, “The Book of Eli,” James Cameron’s mega-hit, “Avatar” remains the number one film in the country with a take of $41.3 million. “Avatar” is the top film in the country for the fifth straight week.

“The Book of Eli” is a post-apocalyptic action adventure/drama about a drifter who fights his way across America to protect a sacred book that holds the power to save humankind. Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman star. It’s directed by the Hughes brothers, Albert and Allen, and written by Gary Whitta.

On Friday, “The Book of Eli” opened with an estimated $11.7 million beating “Avatar” which took in about $10.5 million that day. Even though “The Book of Eli” slipped to second, behind “Avatar” it made a bundle over the weekend, around $31.6 million. 

“The Lovely Bones,” based on the bestselling novel by Alice Sebold, cracked the top five in its sixth week, landing in third place with $17 million. It’s about a teenage girl who is brutally murdered and later watches her family, friends, and killer from heaven.

The animated family film, “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel” ended up in fourth with $11.5 million, followed by the drama, Sherlock Holmes” in fifth with $9.8 million.

Kindle — Amazon’s popular wireless reading device

On Thursday, Freelance Writer Gayle Trent signed with a big time agent after one of her mystery novels became a bestseller in Amazon’s Kindle Store, which has around 400,000 e-books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs.

Small independent publisher of books set in or about the South, BelleBooks, recently offered Trent’s mystery, “Murder Takes The Cake,” in the Kindle Store as part of a temporary promotion.  Well, the mystery shot to number three on Kindle’s bestseller list.

What happened next sounds like a  writer’s fantasy. Trent told GalleyCat she got an e-mail from Super Agent Robert Gottlieb of the Trident Media Group and first thought it might be some new Nigerian e-mail scam. However, she finally got up the nerve to respond to the e-mail: “I was pleasantly surprised–okay, thrilled–when I called the number at the bottom of the e-mail and learned it was legitimate and that Mr. Gottlieb was indeed interested in talking with me.”

Also, “Murder Takes The Cake” was a semi-finalist in Amazon.com’s Breakthrough Novel Award contest.  Nice to see a semi-finalist score the big win. More on Trent, her novel, and hooking up with a major agent here.

Photo: Annie Leibovitz/Vanity Fair website

Golf Superstar Tiger Woods’ life is a train wreck that we can’t stop gawking at or shaking our heads about. I admit it, I’m shocked at some of the salacious stuff Tiger is accused of doing. Meanwhile, a pre-scandal Tiger is shown on the cover of the February issue of Vanity Fair. Does he look a bit sinister in this photo?

Over on the mag’s website, the photo of the shirtless 33-year-old athlete, staring unsmiling into the camera, appears a number of times. So I couldn’t help but look at Tiger’s face and search for signs of trouble or places where the perfect façade might be cracking.

The cover story is an interesting report about the two Tigers; the congenial sportsman with the incredible golf swing and billion dollar career and the other newly revealed Tiger, embroiled in damaging allegations of sexcapades, which now threaten his marriage and the image he has so carefully crafted over the years. The story is a good read. It doesn’t answer the tough question of who is the real Tiger Woods? A question, I don’t think anyone can really answer, except maybe the golfer himself.  And he’s not talking, at least, not right now.