April 15, 2004 |
PAGING CAMILE VELASCO...
The WB has quietly wrapped production on Superstar USA, a bizarre version of American Idol that tosses out great singers while rewarding the William Hungs of the world. But in typical reality fashion, the contestants are not in on the joke. In fact, the judges must keep a straight face when they heap praise on tone-deaf singers and send truly gifted crooners home. "These people believe they're the next pop superstar, even though they're horrible singers," exec producer Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor) tells Variety. "This is about people who are clearly delusional and watching them butcher song after song." That is just plain cruel. I love it! |
IN RELATED NEWS...
American Idol reject William Hung's debut CD, Inspiration, sold 38,000 copies in its first week to land at No. 34 on Billboard's album chart. Usher's Confessions remained No. 1 with 463,000 copies sold, while Janet Jackson's Damita Jo dropped 61 percent to 147,000 copies for third place. |
PRIVATE PARTS
The scandal surrounding British soccer stud David Beckham's alleged infidelity is getting personal and we mean personal. Beckham's former assistant, Rebecca Loos, says she can prove she had an affair with Posh Spice's hubby and she'll do just that if the issue goes to court. "There's something I know about him," she says, "an intimate part of his body that I think only women who have been in bed with him would know." (Insert requisite Bend It like Beckham joke here.) |
LIL' KIM TAKES THE RAP
Risquι rapper Lil' Kim pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts of perjury, conspiracy and obstruction of justice on Wednesday and was released on $500,000 bail. She's accused of lying during three grand-jury appearances she made last year about the February 2001 shootout she witnessed outside Manhattan radio station WQHT. At the time, Lil' Kim and her posse were reportedly involved in a dispute with her rival rapper, Foxy Brown. |
BREAKING HIS SILENCE
Dick Clark, 74, has had adult-onset diabetes for the past 10 years, but kept it a secret from everyone except close friends and family. Clark's public disclosure coincides with his new role as a spokesman for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. |
MONEY TROUBLE
As if Courtney Love didn't have enough to contend with, now comes word that the lunachick is in a hole financially. Kurt's 39-year-old widow tells Blender magazine that she has been swindled out of $40 million. "I found out that our dog walker was making $100,000," she says. "One person put a BMW on my credit card. My daughter's trust fund has been stolen from... I can't let this happen to Frances." Now she's thinking of Frances?!?! |
G'DAY INDEED
Oscar winner Nicole Kidman earned an estimated $18.6 million last year, making her Australia's richest entertainer, according to Business Review Weekly. Singer John Farnham (who?) came in at No. 2, followed by rockers AC/DC, children's entertainment group The Wiggles (again, who?) and Master and Commander director Peter Weir. |
KILLING SPREE
Kill Bill Vol. 1 made a killing during its first day on DVD, selling more than 2 million units Tuesday. The sequel opens tomorrow. |
SHORT CUTS
Good Morning America chief Shelley Ross, whom many credit with turning the morning show around, has been named the new exec producer of Primetime Thursday... Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay aka TV's most underrated actress will play a cynical lawyer who defends an 18-year-old Amish woman accused of murder in the Lifetime movie Plain Truth. |
DREAMS DASHED
NBC has wiped City of Dreams off the map. The highly-touted fall drama starring NYPD Blue grad Jimmy Smits as a private eye has been scrapped, Variety reports. |
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