Miss California USA, Carrie Prejean, has a new book out, and she was on Larry King Live last night to promote it. Larry asked her about the lawsuit she filed against the pageant, but she didn't want to talk about that and even told Larry he was being "inappropriate." She then talks to someone off-camera and it looks like she's about to walk off the set but then changes her mind (or her handlers changed it for her). She came back after the commercial and said she didn't want questions from viewers.
In her defense, the settlement was private, and that probably includes the reason why it was settled, not just the amount. But she just looks goofy taking off her mic and telling Larry that she can't hear him (even though she can clearly hear him because she answers him). The moral: either answer the questions or just leave the show.
What a mess the whole Jon & Kate Plus 8 Minus 1 debacle is. Apparently, after learning that TLC was moving forward with a revamped show named Kate Plus 8, Jon demanded through his lawyers that the show cease production immediately or face criminal charges.
A letter from his attorney noted, "In the event that anyone enters the marital property, Jon Gosselin will notify the local authorities to effectuate police action against any trespassers." Keep in mind that Jon seemed fine with the kids being on the show last week, when he was still a big part of the show and was, in fact, filming an episode with the kids.
Brown was offended that Oprah did a show last March about domestic violence, based on Brown's public assault on his lover, the singer Rihanna. The incident took place in a car after they had both been to the Grammys. Brown was found guilty, ordered to stay away from Rihanna, sentenced to five years of probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and six months of community service.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP WITH THE SHOWS ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON?!
Honestly, what else can you possibly say? You've already interviewed every Jackson lawyer (past and present), interviewed his dermatologist, talked to his friends, talked to Jermaine Jackson, given a live tour of Neverland Ranch (complete with ghosts), had Marlon Brando's son on almost every night, interviewed Jackson's former nurse, and you actually went to the memorial service itself and reported from there. What else can you possibly do? Are you going to have an exclusive interview with Michael Jackson's nose? Talk to his mailman?
The sheer volume of coverage surrounding Michael Jackson's untimely death has reached such a solid density that you can actually take a hammer to it (and believe me, I've tried).
The man's death was tragic and newsworthy, and the recent memorial was also deserving of some extreme attention, but some of the bits and pieces almost scream for the story to stick around. Mark my words, Michael Jackson will replace Jesus and the Virgin Mary as the holy face that some yahoo will see in their morning batch of French toast.
One of those stories reached such a fever pitch that the network that spawned it tried to put a stop to it. An overly vigilant CNN viewer spotted a shadowy figure walking across the camera during Larry King's visit to Neverland Ranch. The video found its way to YouTube where it garnered over 4 million hits and sparked a wave of news coverage not seen since, well, Michael Jackson's death.
We've talked about this a lot here at TV Squad, how the word "exclusive" isn't used correctly in TV news these days. In fact I'll go one step further and say that networks often lie when they say something is an "exclusive." They'll say that an interview with a famous celebrity or a politician is an exclusive, but you realize you just watched an interview with the same person on another network the night before, or there's an interview with the same person the next day.
Now, some networks will say they have an exclusive before another interview airs, so in that case I guess we can say they're right (if we give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know the other interview was coming, that is), but more often than not they know it's not an exclusive.
Since Michael Jackson died two days ago, TV and radio stations have been busy with around the clock news coverage, specials about the King of Pop, and even non-stop playing of Jackson songs and videos. More special programming is planned this weekend, and AOL has a list of what we'll see.
This morning at 10:30, E! will have the special Michael & Farrah: Lost Icons (good for them to include Farrah, whose death was overshadowed by bad timing). At 8 tonight (and Sunday), CNN will have Man in the Mirror, followed by a rerun of Larry King Live coverage and interviews about Jackson's death. At 10, The Bio Channel will air Bio Remembers: Michael Jackson.
When I heard that David Carradine was found hanging from a closet in his hotel room yesterday, one of the first things I thought was, "Huh. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would commit suicide." He just seemed like one of those full-of-life guys that wanted to experience all he could before he checked out. I even wondered aloud to my fiancee if he died doing something... else, using the rumored cause of death of INXS' Michael Hutchence as a reference.
I guess I wasn't far off. Now Thai police are speculating that Carradine may have accidentally died during a "sex game gone wrong," according to The Washington Post. This is after his manager, who was on Larry King Live last night, his friends and family, and his colleagues all agreed that there was no way Carradine was suicidal.
File this one under the category of really, wild rumors that should become reality: Desperate Housewives wants Governor Sarah Palin to appear as a guest on the show.
Like I said, this is a rumor that cropped up yesterday, saying that head-writer/creator Marc Cherry was "very hot to trot to have her appear in the season finale." That was followed by an ABC spokesman denying that there's a shred of truth to the story.
Still, what if it's not such a Lucy Ricardo idea? Sarah Palin as a visitor to Wisteria Lane would be terrific -- and probably a boost in the ratings (which are doing great anyway, but still why not do even better?).
Somebody give Ed McMahon a job, please! There are more stories emerging about the famous TV sidekick's financial woes, and it's just sad that he's in such dire straits.
Granted, he's not alone in these tough times -- and, yes, he has had millions in his time -- but the revelations that the former Tonight Show star and Star Search host is in money trouble strikes me as really unfortunate. And apparently that help from Jay Leno is slow in materializing. Why isn't Publisher's Clearinghouse giving him a gig?
The latest news is that Citibank is suing McMahon for $200,000, a loan they extended to Ed. In a lawsuit filed in L.A. Superior court on June 9, the bank is seeking $179,687 in damages, plus legal fees. This is on top of the potential foreclosure on his Beverly Hills home.
It's no secret that several networks are interested in Leno after he leaves his NBC show in 2009. Both ABC and FOX have shown interest in offering him a late night spot, and there's even been talk of NBC keeping him in-house to do some sort of new show with them. But Zwecker is reporting that CNN might actually want to grab Leno, give him a show on the network (perhaps even late night), and then when King finally does retire in a few years Leno will be already on the network and ready to take over in the 9pm slot.
Sometimes I wonder if Leno is sitting at home, laughing at all of the rumors and speculation because he really has no intention of doing anything but stand-up and working on his collection of cars.
Yesterday, we wrote about Chris Brown's appearance on Larry King Live, where he tried to ameliorate his image. As Jane pointed out, Chris didn't really say very much. On the other hand, in the new People magazine, Brown has opened up and put his foot directly in his mouth. Chris Brown is ticked off with Oprah Winfrey and thinks she owes him an apology. Or so it seems.
Dear Larry,
The sheer volume of coverage surrounding Michael Jackson's untimely death has reached such a solid density that you can actually take a hammer to it (and believe me, I've tried). 
We've talked about this a lot here at TV Squad, how the word "exclusive" isn't used correctly in TV news these days. In fact I'll go one step further and say that networks often lie when they say something is an "exclusive." They'll say that an interview with a famous celebrity or a politician is an exclusive, but you realize you just watched an interview with the same person on another network the night before, or there's an interview with the same person the next day. 
At 8, NBC has a new I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.
When I heard that David Carradine was found hanging from a closet in his hotel room yesterday, one of the first things I thought was, "Huh. He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would commit suicide." He just seemed like one of those full-of-life guys that wanted to experience all he could before he checked out. I even wondered aloud to my fiancee if he died doing something... else, using the rumored cause of death of INXS' Michael Hutchence as a reference.
File this one under the category of really, wild rumors that should become reality: Desperate Housewives wants Governor Sarah Palin to appear as a guest on the show. 
Somebody give Ed McMahon a job, please! There are more stories emerging about the famous TV sidekick's financial woes, and it's just sad that he's in such dire straits. 
Now that we're past the rumors of Ryan Seacrest replacing Larry King as host of King's CNN show, Bill Zwecker has another rumor to report: it's Jay Leno who might replace the veteran talk show host.
At 8, ABC has Vacation Swap, followed by a new episode of The Bachelorette. 
USA has an NCIS marathon all night. 
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