“Professor Crumbs” Ian Abercrombie Wizards of Waverly Place dies at 77

Ian Abercrombie, a busy character actor who gained recognition as Elaine Benes’ (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) eccentric boss Mr. Pitt on NBC’s Seinfeld, died Thursday in Hollywood. He was 77.

Abercrombie seemed to be always working, appearing in scores of films, TV shows and theater productions during his 50-year-plus career in show business. The British actor made his American stage debut in 1955 in a production of Stalag 17 opposite Jason Robards, played the Wise Man in Sam Raimi’s comedy-horror film Army of Darkness (1972)

and was 800-year-old wizard Professor Crumbs on Disney Channel hit Wizards of Waverly Place.

Abercrombie also had a recurring role as Palpatine/Darth Sidious on George Lucas’ animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, did voice work on animation hit Rango this year and, just before his death, completed his work on the latest episode of the Green Lantern animated series for Cartoon Network.

American Idol 2012: Houston Did Have a Problem

American Idol was inTexas, that is when some of the contestants did good and some of them went to space and never coming back, they were the bad performers –Houstondid have a problem.

First was Phong Vu and he loves the camera action in his face, is he really 25 or 52? He should be a model, and he is good-looking and chubby. Stay away from Paula Dean recipes it could fatten him up – no offenses. Anyway, he sang “Unbreak My heart” and it was broken by the judges when one of them “Not ready.”

Then they were a montage of guys who audition, and they were trying to imitate Scotty McCreery, deep voice, not deep enough, deep enough to go to the black hole in space! Why imitate the singer who already won last year? It’s not going to happen… They were some wacky auditions.  Be yourself and sing.

Skylar Laine was the cute little girl with an accent and working at the struggling family store. She’s adorable, and her voice is fantastic, a great tone. Her friend is obsessed with Steven Tyler, apparently – which makes me wonder if anyone’s friend is obsessed with Randy? Come on. Just, someone be a huge Randy Jackson fan. He needs the love too.

Some of the contestants think they are really good and determine to goHollywood, only if they have talent and some of them don’t.

Baylie Brown was turned down five years ago, when she auditioned for American Idol, the reason, she forgot the lyrics. Stage fright happens to everyone.  She was 16 back then, by now she’s all grown up, and she’s 22 years old. She auditioned again and she off to Hollywood all those karaoke bar’s lesson really pulled it off.

Kristina Osorio, it’s her first and last opportunity to make it – which would make things sad enough, but she’s a single mom of three! She’s struggling to find work, so shouldn’t she be sending resumes out? Instead of paying her divorce lawyer, she bought a plane ticket to audition. She’s a great singer. However, someone who shirks her financial responsibilities to be on TV can never have my full respect.

Jennifer vs. the boys! Sometime, the men don’t agree with Jennifer, even though the contestants sing good, but Randy see something else and that will save elimination time. Is Randy Jackson reading people when they are singing, if so who trained Randy Jackson in reading potential contestants? Simon Cowell?

Linda Williams was selected by Jenifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. She sang great and everything. Linda was happy that she was selected.

Alejandro Cazares wants to revolt against … the production schedule? The revolution was here. And the revolution left without a ticket toHollywood.  Why was his tongue blue? Too many blue raspberry jolly ranchers whilst planning the revolution? Beside that his song wasn’t a revolution. Good for that security guard for making him leave.

Cortez Shaw sang Adele’s “Someone like you,” he sang it good and definitely he will go places. Very far in the competition.

Julie Shuman, singing with stretch gold pants, did not make it. When she stretch, it ripped, that wasn’t pretty.

Ramiro Garcia, is a worship leader who has undeniably zen his way to win for the day for the final day of audition. He was born without ears and doctors told his parents he would be deaf and mute. But Ramiro’s defied the odds and performs an inspirational rendition of “Amazing Grace” for the judges. “You’re a power of example, to say the least,” says Steven. Off toHollywoodRamiro goes! And his father cries and hearts melt because watching a grown man cry is just gut wrenching. Even I shed a tear. And my tear drop fell on my food and taste good on my hot dog too.

Oscar Nominations were Announce

The announcement of the nominations for 84^th Oscar was announced early this morning on January 24, 2012.

Martin Scorses’s “Hugo” leads up 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The silent film “The Artist” was close behind with 10 nominations. “Moneyball” and “War Horse” with six nominations.

Billy Crystal will host the Oscar, and he’s back. He’s my favorite host, but they should have someone younger who was nominated in the movies. Brad Pitt or George Clooney?

Other surprising nominations are “Transformers: The Dark of the Moon” with visual effects, best visuals especially with the action sequence that was superbly done. I saw the movie, and it was great. Along side with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”and “Hugo.”

Rooney Mara earned a best actress nomination for her role in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” bumping Tilda Swinton (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”) out of the category.

It was expected that George Clooney would earn a best actor nomination for “The Descendants,” but he’s also nominated in the adapted screenplay category, with Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon for “The Ides of March.” George Clooney co-star was not so lucky – Shailene Woodley earned critical praise (and a Golden Globe nomination) for her performance in the film, but that didn’t translate to an Oscar nod. She was good. One day she will get an award.

Melissa McCarthy got a best supporting actress nod for Bridesmaid. Can she get Oscar and an Emmy? But it is nominated for best originally screen play for Kristin Wigg and Annie Mumolo.

So Steven Spielberg always gets to nominate for his films, “War Horse” was nominated for Best Picture but not for Direction. His other film “The Adventure of Tintin” was not nominated for the best animated film. Maybe  next time, it’s always nice to give other people a chance to win.

Here are the nominees:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Achievement in Directing
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Laurence Cendrowizc/The Weinstein Company 

Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help 

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango 

Original Screenplay
The Artist, Written by Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids, Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call, Written by J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris, Written by Woody Allen
A Separation, Written by Asghar Farhadi 

Adapted Screenplay
The Descendants, Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Hugo, Screenplay by John Logan
The Ides of March, Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball, Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin.  Story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan 

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran) 

Original Score
The Adventures of Tintin, John Williams
The Artist, Ludovic Bource
Hugo, Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Alberto Iglesias
War Horse, John Williams 

Original Song
“Man or Muppet,” The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
“Real in Rio,” Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett 

Achievement in Art Direction
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Achievement in Cinematography
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse 

Achievement in Costume Design
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E. 

Best Documentary Feature
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated 

Best Documentary Short Subject
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

 

Achievement in Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

Achievement in Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life 

Best Live Action Short Film
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic 

Achievement in Sound Editing
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse 

Achievement in Sound Mixing
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse 

Achievement in Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Who would you pick?

American Idol 2012: A cannon shot for Steven Tyler

American Idol wanted to do it big, someplace different than ordinary space to hold auditions. It was the aircraft carrier USS Midway, and it was big. And by the New York Giants will play in the Super Bowl on February 5, 2012. Sorry forty niners, better luck next time.

First to audition was Jennifer Diley, she was in her Daisy Duke bikini out fit. Her singing wasn’t that bad, well her singing was not good enough  – it can be better. Her outfit was an eye popping for the judges, but they were judging on voice and performance, wear something decent and keep practicing your singing. Did she hit her head on the low ceiling of the air craft coming in for the audition?  That could be it.

Single mom Ashley Robles, has an adorable five-year-old daughter who tags along on the audition. When she sang Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” she did really good. She told the judges that she can sing J-Lo’s “On the Floor” to her daughter. Overall, she can sing.

Jayrah Gibson, sang Musiq Soulchil’s “Just Friends.” Randy Jackson remarks they haven’t had a good R&B singer. He was the first. He got a golden ticket.

Aubree Dieckmeyer, accidentally gushes to the camera about her dream to be America’s Next Top Model – it’s American idol. If she can model, she can sing. Right? Aubree sang a bluesy rendition of Michael Buble’s “Feeling Good.” She has natural talent. She sails through with a golden ticket.

Ali Shields got her big break by posting a video on YouTube singing a song about how much she loves Ellen. Not only did Ali get an invite to Ellen’s syndicated daytime talk show, but Ellen sent her to be a red carpet correspondent at the American Music Awards. On the red carpet, Ali’s clever co-correspondent told all the celebrities that Ali had never been kissed, so lucky Ali got to smooch Mike Posner and Usher.

Overall, Ali has no shame, so she raps Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” for the judges and busts a move at Randy’s request. When she finally gets serious and sings “Like a Star” by Corinne Bailey Rae, her voice wobbles, but isn’t terrible. “You can sing a little!” She exclaims a shocked J-Lo, winning the line of the night. Ali’s going to Hollywood.

Kyle Crews frat guy from University of California, Berkeley— shows up and shares that he sings all the time in his fraternity house to woo the ladies. Kyle croons Monica’s “Angel of Mine” in a very college A cappella style. He does a few too many runs, but the judges give him a golden ticket anyway. “You sound nothing like you look,” says Randy, who must know by now that’s not a compliment.

Joanne Childers, tells the judges and camera about her hopes and dreams – only to be drowned out by the USS Middway by planes, boat and cannon. When Steven Tyler began to talk, and it was perfect timing when a cannon came out. It was hilarious.  Eventually, she got a golden ticket to go to Hollywood.

When Jane Carrey walked in front of the judges, she asked J.Lo if she remembers her. Until Jane mentioned that she worked with her father. J.Lo asked who is her father. Jim Carrey is Jane’s daughter and J.Lo, and Jim Carrey worked on “In Living Color,” small world with 360-degree turn.  J.Lo was a fly girl dancer, and Jim Carrey was one of the sketch actors’ comedians.  We forget all about that.

Anyway, she’s a waitress and Carrey’s only child from his first marriage. She sang Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” and it’s actually pretty good. She’s not the best audition we’ve ever seen, but certainly she’s good enough to advance. The judges like her voice, but Tyler tells her to work on her volume, and Jennifer wants her to work on her performing and stage presence.

Finally, Jason “Wolf” Hamlin, with a thick beard that resembles a creature, the Wolfman, sang Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Midnight Special,” Steven wasn’t convinced. Wolf takes to his guitar for Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” with a lot more passion than he brought just singing, and the judges reward him with a trip to Hollywood. He howls during the day, but made it through Hollywood.

What did you think, “Idol” fans?

Brittany Kerr: Beauty, Singing voice, and Brains

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you may know, Brittany Kerr, a cheerleader for the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats and now a contestant on American Idol, probably can’t challenge Phillip Phillips on talent alone. Phillip Phillips can sing, but Brittany Kerr has the beauty, the singing voice and brains.

It looks like J.Lo wasn’t impressed, and she said, “She’s not going to survive in a week” probably in Hollywood week; that’s when the drama starts and the call backs. However, we have to see it when it comes out. Can she do it?

A massive surge in traffic from peeps looking for Brittany Kerr bikini photos crashed her manager’s website the following day, according to reports.

Kerr’s management company wasn’t the only thing affected. Jim Merrill, a photographer who recently shot Kerr in a bikini, had to buy more bandwidth.

Merrill typically gets about 5,000 hits a month on his website. Just moments after Kerr’s audition, his traffic ballooned to 20,000 hits … Wednesday.

The moral of the story? People love their American Idol. And cyber stalking pics of hot girls who become Z-list celebrities overnight. U-S-A! U-S-A!

And I hope she will make it and for cyber-stalking, forget it.  Why? She is good looking. How many good-looking  girls and guys survive American Idol? American Idol is looking for performance  and showmanship on stage. Can she do it?