August 2013

-All that twerking helped the VMAs score big ratings last night.

-Everyone’s still talking about Miley Cyrus‘ desperate performance (as well as Will Smith and Taylor Swift’s reactions to said twerkfest  — though Smith might have been reacting to Gaga instead). Vulture posted a pretty great analysis of Miley’s performance, saying it wasn’t about sex, it was about race and calling her ratchet display a “minstrel show“. It’s an interesting point of view, but I think they’re giving Miley too much credit. I’m guessing her thought process went something along the lines of “tongue = good; clothes = bad.”

-Meanwhile, Miley‘s manager says her “evolution” is “healthy” and “organic.” In case you didn’t know, this is the same guy who used to manage Britney Spears, so…yeah.

-Also, the Onion hilariously predicted Miley’s VMA performance back in 2008.

–Miley found time to drop a new single amid all the grossness.

-Meanwhile, Kelly Clarkson deemed a couple VMA performers “pitchy strippers,” making me love her even more.

-In other VMA news, Jessica Biel didn’t show up to the ceremony, but Justin Timberlake at least let her attend the afterparty (in a super unflattering dress, but still).

–Ellie Goulding is rumoured to be dating One Direction’s Niall Horan, but that didn’t stop her from getting handsy with Ed Sheeran during the VMAs. She later pooped the gossip party by tweeting that they’re just “friends.”

–Taylor Swift may have mouthed STFU during the ceremony at Harry Styles, but the exes made nice at a VMAs afterparty.

-Also last night, One Direction got booed for winning the Song of the Summer, and Lady Gaga was having none of it.

–Anna Gunn wrote a great op-ed piece in the New York Times about fans’ hatred of her Breaking Bad character, and how such vitriol only seems to rain on female characters.

-Speaking of Breaking Bad, last night’s ep gave me a mad case of the OMGs.

-For those of you who just couldn’t sit through Low Winter Sun last night, here’s the Walking Dead sneak peek that aired during the commercial break.

-The other big entertainment event that happened last night was the taping of James Franco‘s Comedy Central roast. So just how many gay jokes were there? Not surprisingly, a LOT. (And here’s a selection of the non-gay jokes, in case you’re wondering what else they teased him about.)

–Chris Brown keeps tweeting about how he’s ready to be “a leader.” He better be talking about the comic book character, or else we’re all in trouble!

–Jenny McCarthy is gearing up for her View debut by trotting boyfriend Donnie Wahlberg out on red carpets.

-The Lamar Odom saga has taken a dark, disturbing turn. Khloe Kardashian reportedly separated from him after a failed intervention last week, and now comes reports that he spent the last few days in a hotel room where friends “are trying to get him help for unspecified drug problem.” Khole is the only Kardashian I find tolerable; I hope it all works out for them.

–Joss Whedon has defended Ben Affleck being cast as Batman, so I guess we should all just shut up now and bow down to his nerd judgement. Bryan Cranston has reportedly already signed on to play Lex Luthor, so I’m already on board.

-Even Lindsay Lohan isn’t immune to auto-correct fails.

–Kate Gosselin is reportedly suing ex-husband Jon for millions, claiming he hacked into her computer, bank accounts and phone lines and used what he found to publish a tell-all book about her. Glad to see some things never change.

-Looks like someone can afford a new pair of grills! Forbes just named Madonna the highest paid celebrity of 2013.

-This might be a little too “inside baseball” for most, but the feud between Nikki Finke and her boss is riveting stuff in the gossip world.

–George Clooney starts filming his new movie Tomorrowland in Vancouver this week. Is this why he can’t make it to TIFF? *pout*

–Brad Pitt (who’s also not scheduled to attend his TIFF premiere – WTF?) and Angelina Jolie were reportedly in Canada recently scouting locations for her new film, and they took a break to enjoy a daredevil date at a racetrack.

–Kevin Spacey had some tough talk for TV network execs. I spent a lot of time vigorously nodding while listening to this.

-The Church of Scientology held a big gala this weekend, which served as a reminder that people who otherwise seem pretty awesome (like Laura Prepon and Erika Christensen) are members.

-A bunch of directors, including Edgar Wright, James Ponsoldt, and Lynn Shelton, started tweeting nice things about each other last night, and it quickly devolved into a “Twitter group hug,” which was kind of adorable.

–Arcade Fire will be doing…something…to promote their upcoming album on Sept. 9 at 9pm. Smack in the middle of TIFF, so that’s just swell.

–Scarlett Johansson plays a tease in the new trailer for Joseph Gordon-Levitt‘s Don Jon.

-Speaking of trailers, the first one for Divergent premiered last night. I’m loving Kate Winslet as Jeanine in this!