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Our Soho neighbours Trashy Times have just softlaunched their new entertainment website. Any writers, comedians or videographers who like to occupy the moral low ground and would like to see their work online email jane@justtrashy.com
Check them out here: http://www.trashytimes.com
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“It is inappropriate for the court to ban people from saying that which is common knowledge” – Mr Justice Jackson
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|_| |_|05.05.15 ISSUE 784
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* Celebs vs The Courts: Round II
* More popcorn with Prince
* Charts: Drake is still no. 1
>> Jolie good show <<
No turn out for Trump
Donald Trump’s emergence has sent the already-marginalised Republicans of Hollywood into disarray. The semi-secret society for A-list conservatives (a group known as “Friends Of Abe”) recently announced they were disbanding, as they were unable to agree on a candidate or strategy.
One LA based Popbitcher who was invited to one of these meetings was pretty impressed to see that it was chaired by Jon Voight (but not surprised, as Voight has always been one of the most vocal right-wing film stars).
He was, however, a little more surprised to discover who he was sat next to. Jon Voight’s daughter… Angelina Jolie.
Anastacia is selling her Beverly Hills mansion. It’s on Bowmont Drive, if you’ve got $3m spare.
>> Netflix and kill <<
Streaming blue murder
Whoever is in charge of PR for Netflix has got their work cut out for them. Not just because their new slate of original programming is deeply underwhelming (naming no Ricky Gervais names, of course) – but because they have just pissed off huge swathes of journalists.
The streaming giant hosted a huge showcase of upcoming exclusives in Paris last week and, to make sure that nobody missed anything, Netflix had the hotel place a 6am wake-up call to every journo staying there (whether they asked for one or not) so that they were all up in plenty of time for the first event of the day.
Which started at 10am.
FYI: Adding salt to the wounds, Ashton Kutcher cancelled his round of interviews at the event because he was “really tired”. No shit!
Worrying days for Eamonn Holmes? Rylan’s recent presenting on This Morning with Mrs Holmes is said to have impressed the ITV big cheeses.
>> Big Questions <<
Who’s asking what this week?
Which frog-faced impresario and noted hater of the poor is hatching plans to spawn further? He has had his sperm frozen at a London clinic.
Talking of old men’s recent outputs, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s School Of Rock got a Tony nomination for Best Score – his first for a decade.
>> Cracking gags <<
No room at the injunction
Looks like all hell is about to break loose in the courts again. While the Supreme Court justices continue to mull over the PJS olive-oil-threesome injunction, a US publication has got wind of another story concerning a UK celebrity (a “world-famous” actor according to the ruling) who has paid to have the courts hush up a rather embarrassing indiscretion of his.
The story in question dates back quite a while (this was pre-2012) and he might have gotten away with it too had it not been for the fact that he’s become a much bigger name in the States over the last few years.
Luckily for him, his recent success means that he has a fair bit of cash to throw at a fresh legal battle.
A little less luckily, he’s just started a new job this week – one which is now going to get a lot of unexpected interest from the UK press.
Funny – because PR has never really been his strong suit…
AC/DC’s people are taking no chances with Axl Rose. His contract has the iron-clad stipulation that he won’t see a penny until the tour is over.
>> In-Jokes and Injunctions <<
We can’t wait for the courts
As we mentioned a few weeks back, we’ve been sitting on an issue of Popbitch Magazine which we have been unable to publish thanks to the tedious and drawn-out fiasco currently unfolding in the Supreme Court.
We have no idea how long the judges are going to continue considering the oiled-up flesh triangle at the centre of the PJS v News Group Newspapers case, but we’re bored waiting.
So we’re publishing 18 of the 20 pages of our special issue. There are two pages which we will have to hold back until the ruling is handed down (and there’s no getting around that, sadly) but we’ll update it when the courts decide – which, we’re told, won’t be in the next week. Possibly longer.
The rest we’ve pruned to within a hair of the edge of the law and offer it up to you now.
Early Eurovision press faves in rehearsals? Sweden, Latvia, Iceland. Early days yet…
>> Sofa, so good <<
Guardian tightens belt
The old guard running the Guardian might have been happy to run up enormous debts, but it seems the new crew have a bit more financial awareness.
Having realised they’d recently taken delivery of 36 grand’s worth of sofas for editorial meeting rooms they did what any self-respecting crowd of cost-watchers would do.
Hid them in a storage room until the current round of 250 redundancies have been safely taken care of.
RIP The New Day. Life *was* short.
>> Pebble dashed <<
Where there’s a will
Next week Joe and Jake take to the stage in Stockholm with the thankless task of representing UK at Eurovision.
We really wish them well. Jake already had the hospital pass on The Voice of working with will.i.am.
He said Will used to wear two of his phone watches, one on each wrist. One was covered with diamonds, the other was gold. When Jake asked why he had two, Will explained he had them specially programmed so that if one failed the other would start working.
A ringing endorsement for their quality, eh?
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The Popbitch Guide To Eurovision will be out in time for the semi finals next week. In the meantime follow @popbitch for on-the-spot news, bets and predictions.
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>> Pop life <<
More memories of Prince
It turns out that we weren’t the only ones to have made mention of Prince’s abiding love of popcorn in the many tributes in the last fortnight.
An ex-manager of the Chanhassen Cinema in Prince’s hometown fondly remembered how Prince would buy three buckets of popcorn for every movie that he went to see there; and Ingrid Chavez (a frequent collaborator with Prince) reminisced about how he taught her to mix bags of peanut M&Ms in with her bags of popcorn.
His legacy will live on.
Weirdest Prince tribute yet? Devon butcher creates purple sausages in the famed vegan’s honour… http://bit.ly/26TNjJo
>> Against all odds <<
Gaffney’s Oscar up next?
So Leicester City went and did it. They won the Premier League at odds of 5,000-1.
To put those odds into some sort of perspective, these are the kind of fanciful bets that bookmakers were offering much, much better odds on:
* A genuine sighting of the Loch Ness monster
* Jedward to win a Grammy
* Dean Gaffney to win Best Actor Oscar
* Simon Danczuk as next Labour leader
And, perhaps most worrying in light of recent events, Kim Kardashian to run for President in 2020.
Q/ What’s blue and white and lives in Jamaica?
A/ A Leicesterfarian.
>> URLs on film <<
Pop legends get technical
Duran Duran are playing the EMC World Conference this week at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
Those attending are promised “four days of cutting edge Data Center Modernization strategies and technologies that will transform IT and your business”.
So no doubt Le Bon and the boys are fucking stoked to be there. What else would you get in the pop game for?
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Media Focus podcast – how does the business of Hollywood work behind the scenes? Interview with leading movie PR Lawrence Atkinson. Listen: http://ow.ly/4noGaF
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>> Hmmms <<
Tom, Jerry, ISIS
Ted Cruz, demonstrating why it’s so crucial to buy up your domain name:
http://www.tedcruz.com/
Eurovision Deepthroat is back and reporting for us from the depths of the rehearsal arena in Stockholm. His dispatches start from here:
http://bit.ly/24ths3F
Egyptian politician blames Tom and Jerry for violence in the Middle East:
http://bit.ly/1Tusiv0
We’ve been speaking to Timothy Spangler on his US radio show, The Bigger Picture, on Sunday nights. Maybe we’ll get to make good use of his First Amendment privileges later this week…?
Listen on iTunes: http://apple.co/1Yadbe5
Listen on Stitcher: http://bit.ly/1VL0Waa
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Thanks to: Gentlemanthug, AM, AK, SW, monstris, C, BD, DW, BH, GSG, llanelliboy, IR, DK
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Old Jokes Home
A woman walks into her GP’s office with a mushroom in one nostril, a carrot in the other, and a runner bean in her ear.
“I think I see the problem,” said the doctor. “You’re not eating right.”
Still Bored?
Huff The Hedgehog was born with a tiny little set of vampire teeth. Cuteness ensued:
http://bit.ly/1VKY25i
