Dinah Manoff is best known for playing the flirty Marty Maraschino -- opposite Edd Byrnes as DJ Vince Fontaine -- in the classic 1978 musical "Grease." Guess what she looks like now!
Here's What Marty From 'Grease' Looks Like Now
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Neill Blomkamp Hated 'Elysium' As Much As You Did
Neill Blomkamp exploded on the scene with 2009's "District 9," a box office hit, critical smash and awards favorite. Not bad for a directorial debut. But despite nearly $290 million in worldwide grosses and fairly decent reviews, Blomkamp's follow-up, "Elysium," is considered to be somewhat of a disaster by most, including Blomkamp himself.
"I feel like, ultimately, the story is not the right story," Blomkamp told Uproxx about the 2013 movie. "I still think the satirical idea of a ring, filled with rich people, hovering above the impoverished Earth, is an awesome idea. I love it so much, I almost want to go back and do it correctly. But I just think the script wasn’t ... I just didn’t make a good enough film is ultimately what it is. I feel like I executed all of the stuff that could be executed, like costume and set design and special effects very well. But, ultimately, it was all resting on a somewhat not totally formed skeletal system, so the script just wasn’t there; the story wasn't fully there."
Blomkamp wrote and directed "Elysium," which takes place in a dystopian future where the richest percentage of Earth's population live in a space station above the planet, leaving the poor masses to struggle below.
"The problem with me is I get so caught up in concepts and ideas. Like I just said, the ring is so cool," Blomkamp told Uproxx. "The satirical idea of a diamond encrusted ring above, like, slums is such a satirically cool idea – I’m not like a normal person in the sense that I have to have a story for something to be interesting. Concepts are just as interesting to me as stories are. Where, to normal people, stories are more interesting."
As it turns out, Blomkamp hasn't left concepts behind. In January, he posted concept art from an "Alien" project he worked on during post-production on "Chappie," his next film. This month, Twentieth Century Fox announced that Blomkamp would make the film, which may follow "Aliens" in the franchise's continuity. At least from a conceptual position.
"I want this film to feel like it is literally the genetic sibling of 'Aliens,'" he said in a recent interview. "So it's, 'Alien,' 'Aliens,' this movie."
Head to Uproxx for more on Blomkamp.
"I feel like, ultimately, the story is not the right story," Blomkamp told Uproxx about the 2013 movie. "I still think the satirical idea of a ring, filled with rich people, hovering above the impoverished Earth, is an awesome idea. I love it so much, I almost want to go back and do it correctly. But I just think the script wasn’t ... I just didn’t make a good enough film is ultimately what it is. I feel like I executed all of the stuff that could be executed, like costume and set design and special effects very well. But, ultimately, it was all resting on a somewhat not totally formed skeletal system, so the script just wasn’t there; the story wasn't fully there."
Blomkamp wrote and directed "Elysium," which takes place in a dystopian future where the richest percentage of Earth's population live in a space station above the planet, leaving the poor masses to struggle below.
"The problem with me is I get so caught up in concepts and ideas. Like I just said, the ring is so cool," Blomkamp told Uproxx. "The satirical idea of a diamond encrusted ring above, like, slums is such a satirically cool idea – I’m not like a normal person in the sense that I have to have a story for something to be interesting. Concepts are just as interesting to me as stories are. Where, to normal people, stories are more interesting."
As it turns out, Blomkamp hasn't left concepts behind. In January, he posted concept art from an "Alien" project he worked on during post-production on "Chappie," his next film. This month, Twentieth Century Fox announced that Blomkamp would make the film, which may follow "Aliens" in the franchise's continuity. At least from a conceptual position.
"I want this film to feel like it is literally the genetic sibling of 'Aliens,'" he said in a recent interview. "So it's, 'Alien,' 'Aliens,' this movie."
Head to Uproxx for more on Blomkamp.
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Kanye West Says 'Exclusivity Is The New N-Word,' & 7 Other Amazing Quotes From His Zane Lowe Interview
Kanye West sat down for his second interview with BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe to talk about everything from his Adidas collaboration to having more children to classism to his relationship with Elon Musk. At one point, West could be heard crying after discussing Louise Wilson, a British fashion design professor who died last year. He also coined a new term -- "the futch," short for "future" -- and dropped the best/ worst pick-up line ever: "Your egg my semen, we're gonna change the world." Here are the highlights:
On working with Adidas: "Everyone I talked to would try to level me, and there was this guy named Hermann Deininger, who was the head of Adidas -- I say was because he passed away recently. I showed him what I shot in Qatar [...] He believed I had something more than what my rap record was. He could tell. He knew. He made sure that Adidas deal got done."
On exclusivity: "I want to apologize to everyone right now because I believe Season 1 [of his Adidas line] might still be in that upper price point and there's still the word 'exclusivity' being thrown around. Exclusivity is the new n-word. Nothing should be exclusive. Everyone should have the opportunity to drink from the same fountain."
On his new album: "I'm just working hard on it. It's fun to work hard, and we're being inventive and I've still got a lot of opinions and perspectives that I think are important and can be inspiring to people. 'The College Dropout' came out of a fight to want to rap. This new album's coming out of a fight to want to design. [...] It's a joyful noise unto the lord. It's still the struggle, but the beauty from the struggle. The song 'Amazing Grace,' coming out of the worst pain possible and making the most beautiful song possible. I want to perform 'Only One' as many times as possible. I can be vilified or misunderstood and I didn't come here to be liked. I came here to make a difference. I'm not talking about this interview, I'm talking about life."
On working with Paul McCartney: "We just make song after song after song after song after song. [...] People think our first two singles don't have drums but both of those are percussion instruments [...] Meeting Paul McCartney is like meeting Ralph Lauren. The greatest of their field, period, of all time. [...] The whole cadence was trap, as soon as Paul starts playing I start singing in trap. Fusion is the future. The mixing of ideas, the two lunch tables working together. Humanity, period, we're one people."
On classism: "The juxtaposition of the the front and second rows [of his fashion show] is fusion, is the glass shattering of the class system, which is the new racism. Class is the new way to discriminate against people, to hold people down, to hold people in their place based on where their kids go to school, how much money they make, what they drive, where they live and what type of clothes they have and how much they have in their account for retirement. To somehow say this person right here means more than this person. I know I tweeted, 'Black lives matter,' but all lives matter. My doorman is more important to me than any head of any company. He keeps us safe. My driver keeps us safe."
On the Grammys: "The Grammys are definitely like an ex-girlfriend. As soon as you get in the car with them you wanna go right back home."
On having more kids: "I'm practicing really hard. I try as many times a day as I can. Nori, this one is for you. You need a sibling."
On Drake: "He's delivering a level of product to humanity that is of high quality. I don't have any advice for this young man, but what I can say is, 'Run. Fly. Go as fast as you can. Don't stop. Anytime I can be of any service, advice, beats, whatever you need, confidential design advice on the shoes you're doing at the other company -- anything we can collectively do to deliver more awesomeness to the world as a team.' Not just me and him, us all."
On working with Adidas: "Everyone I talked to would try to level me, and there was this guy named Hermann Deininger, who was the head of Adidas -- I say was because he passed away recently. I showed him what I shot in Qatar [...] He believed I had something more than what my rap record was. He could tell. He knew. He made sure that Adidas deal got done."
On exclusivity: "I want to apologize to everyone right now because I believe Season 1 [of his Adidas line] might still be in that upper price point and there's still the word 'exclusivity' being thrown around. Exclusivity is the new n-word. Nothing should be exclusive. Everyone should have the opportunity to drink from the same fountain."
On his new album: "I'm just working hard on it. It's fun to work hard, and we're being inventive and I've still got a lot of opinions and perspectives that I think are important and can be inspiring to people. 'The College Dropout' came out of a fight to want to rap. This new album's coming out of a fight to want to design. [...] It's a joyful noise unto the lord. It's still the struggle, but the beauty from the struggle. The song 'Amazing Grace,' coming out of the worst pain possible and making the most beautiful song possible. I want to perform 'Only One' as many times as possible. I can be vilified or misunderstood and I didn't come here to be liked. I came here to make a difference. I'm not talking about this interview, I'm talking about life."
On working with Paul McCartney: "We just make song after song after song after song after song. [...] People think our first two singles don't have drums but both of those are percussion instruments [...] Meeting Paul McCartney is like meeting Ralph Lauren. The greatest of their field, period, of all time. [...] The whole cadence was trap, as soon as Paul starts playing I start singing in trap. Fusion is the future. The mixing of ideas, the two lunch tables working together. Humanity, period, we're one people."
On classism: "The juxtaposition of the the front and second rows [of his fashion show] is fusion, is the glass shattering of the class system, which is the new racism. Class is the new way to discriminate against people, to hold people down, to hold people in their place based on where their kids go to school, how much money they make, what they drive, where they live and what type of clothes they have and how much they have in their account for retirement. To somehow say this person right here means more than this person. I know I tweeted, 'Black lives matter,' but all lives matter. My doorman is more important to me than any head of any company. He keeps us safe. My driver keeps us safe."
On the Grammys: "The Grammys are definitely like an ex-girlfriend. As soon as you get in the car with them you wanna go right back home."
On having more kids: "I'm practicing really hard. I try as many times a day as I can. Nori, this one is for you. You need a sibling."
On Drake: "He's delivering a level of product to humanity that is of high quality. I don't have any advice for this young man, but what I can say is, 'Run. Fly. Go as fast as you can. Don't stop. Anytime I can be of any service, advice, beats, whatever you need, confidential design advice on the shoes you're doing at the other company -- anything we can collectively do to deliver more awesomeness to the world as a team.' Not just me and him, us all."
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Selena Gomez Posts Moving Comment On Instagram To Remind Fans That 'Every Life Is Worth It'
On Thursday, Selena Gomez took to Instagram to share a comment she appears to have sent to a fan who's been having a hard time.
The message is an incredibly important one.
This isn't the first time the 22-year-old singer has reached out to her fans with messages of inspiration and love.
"I hear you guys. I hear what you're telling me ... the stories that you guys go through, and I have to say that I know exactly what you feel. Sometimes it is so hard," Gomez said in between songs at concert in 2013. "But I have to tell you, I get it all day, every day. That I'm not sexy enough, or I'm not cool enough, or if I did this I would be accepted. Let me tell you one thing: the sexiest thing ... is class. I promise you that each and every one of you is made to be who you are. That is what's so attractive and beautiful. Please don't forget that, even when it gets hard."
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
The message is an incredibly important one.
This isn't the first time the 22-year-old singer has reached out to her fans with messages of inspiration and love.
"I hear you guys. I hear what you're telling me ... the stories that you guys go through, and I have to say that I know exactly what you feel. Sometimes it is so hard," Gomez said in between songs at concert in 2013. "But I have to tell you, I get it all day, every day. That I'm not sexy enough, or I'm not cool enough, or if I did this I would be accepted. Let me tell you one thing: the sexiest thing ... is class. I promise you that each and every one of you is made to be who you are. That is what's so attractive and beautiful. Please don't forget that, even when it gets hard."
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
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Everything We Know (And Don't Know) About The Allegedly Damning Dez Bryant Video
If you haven’t heard, there is a rumor among NFL reporters of a rumor among NFL insiders that a video may or may not exist of a damning incident that may or may not have happened that may or may not have involved NFL star Dez Bryant.
Confused? So are we! Nevertheless, let us try to break down what we definitively know and don’t know about the situation at current moment.
We know that a rumor about an alleged Dez Bryant video went mainstream last Friday. ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio “let the cat out of the bag” (his words) when he confirmed the existence of a rumor of a tape that could damage Bryant’s career.
"It's one of the … best kept secrets in the media because no one's reported it yet," he said during a radio interview. “But there is a story that all of the major insiders know about ... it involves a videotape and I don't know that it exists.”
Here’s the audio of the interview if you’re interested.
And we know that ESPN’s Adam Schefter has been working on a story about the alleged video tape since September. He told a Chicago radio station on Monday that he knows what’s on the video, but that he has not seen it himself.
We know that the Cowboys have yet to sign Bryant to a long-term extension. Florio said the supposed tape is one of the reasons the team is “very reluctant to commit major money to him,” despite the wide receiver’s 2014 All-Pro selection and 41 touchdown catches in three years.
Some expect the team to use the franchise tag to claim him for two years at $28.6 million or even one year at $13 million, but others expect the team to let him just walk away. So, really, no one really knows, probably not even the Cowboys.
We don’t know why Bryant has sent out two extremely cryptic tweets (and deleted one). They could have to do with the alleged video, or they could not! Who even knows!? From last Friday:
Then from Wednesday (later deleted):
We don’t know what’s on the alleged video tape. One supposed source told the sports gossip blog Terez Owens that he or she has seen it, and that “it’s five times worse than the Ray Rice Video.” But another “source” told the same blog that Bryant has been “brainwashed by Jay Z and Roc Nation Sport,” which makes me question the validity of their sources to be honest.
But we know there are hints it might have to do with a 2011 incident at a Walmart. Florio wrote Wednesday that his “understanding” is that it is related to a 2011 video that “may contain footage of someone other than Dez Bryant.”
Then on Thursday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported that Bryant was involved in an incident that occurred at a Walmart parking lot on July 11, 2011. It’s sort of complicated and hard to decipher Bryant’s level of involvement, but we’ll break it down quickly, according to the police report:
1. Someone called the police after they saw a black man dragging a black female from a white Mercedes-Benz, registered to Dez Bryant, and into another car.
2. When a security guard went to check out a reported “disturbance,” “no one was there except the white Mercedes-Benz [registered to Bryant] with the door open and a child’s toy on the ground,” according to the police report.
3. A few minutes later, a black Cadillac Escalade driven by two black men and also registered to Bryant parked next to the white Mercedes.
4. The two men in the black Cadillac told police that that Ilyne Nash (Bryant’s girlfriend) asked them to pick up “her white Mercedes.”
5. Soon after, Bryant and Nash drove up. Nash told the police that she had gotten in a fight with someone named Alex Penson, then got into a car with him, left her car and told one of the men in the black Cadillac to go pick it up.
6. Nash said she was not “assaulted or injured in any way” and that one of the men in the Escalade convinced her to come back after she was dropped off at “friend’s house” with an “unknown address.” She said she called Bryant to pick her up.
No, we don't completely understand this story either.
We know that people are trying to make money off the video. Supposedly, people are sending a pitch around to media outlets with screenshots of the video.
We can’t say whether that’s true or not. But at a minimum, multiple people are going to Deadspin and demanding money in exchange not for the video, but information on the video, which really shows just how insane this situation has become.
But remember -- and this is important! -- we don’t even definitively know the video exists. Lots of people have said they know people who know it exists, but no one of any authority has said they themselves have seen it. Nevertheless, people seem more and more convinced it's going to get out, maybe soon.
“Eventually, the video is coming out,” ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio wrote Thursday.
Do you know anything we don't? Email maxwell@huffingtonpost.com.
Confused? So are we! Nevertheless, let us try to break down what we definitively know and don’t know about the situation at current moment.
We know that a rumor about an alleged Dez Bryant video went mainstream last Friday. ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio “let the cat out of the bag” (his words) when he confirmed the existence of a rumor of a tape that could damage Bryant’s career.
"It's one of the … best kept secrets in the media because no one's reported it yet," he said during a radio interview. “But there is a story that all of the major insiders know about ... it involves a videotape and I don't know that it exists.”
And we know that ESPN’s Adam Schefter has been working on a story about the alleged video tape since September. He told a Chicago radio station on Monday that he knows what’s on the video, but that he has not seen it himself.
We know that the Cowboys have yet to sign Bryant to a long-term extension. Florio said the supposed tape is one of the reasons the team is “very reluctant to commit major money to him,” despite the wide receiver’s 2014 All-Pro selection and 41 touchdown catches in three years.
Some expect the team to use the franchise tag to claim him for two years at $28.6 million or even one year at $13 million, but others expect the team to let him just walk away. So, really, no one really knows, probably not even the Cowboys.
We don’t know why Bryant has sent out two extremely cryptic tweets (and deleted one). They could have to do with the alleged video, or they could not! Who even knows!? From last Friday:
— Dez Bryant (@DezBryant) February 20, 2015Then from Wednesday (later deleted):
Seems like he deleted it. If you missed the last Dez Bryant tweet. pic.twitter.com/PWINLl46O6
— Justin Brumit (@JustinBrumit) February 25, 2015We don’t know what’s on the alleged video tape. One supposed source told the sports gossip blog Terez Owens that he or she has seen it, and that “it’s five times worse than the Ray Rice Video.” But another “source” told the same blog that Bryant has been “brainwashed by Jay Z and Roc Nation Sport,” which makes me question the validity of their sources to be honest.
But we know there are hints it might have to do with a 2011 incident at a Walmart. Florio wrote Wednesday that his “understanding” is that it is related to a 2011 video that “may contain footage of someone other than Dez Bryant.”
Then on Thursday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reported that Bryant was involved in an incident that occurred at a Walmart parking lot on July 11, 2011. It’s sort of complicated and hard to decipher Bryant’s level of involvement, but we’ll break it down quickly, according to the police report:
1. Someone called the police after they saw a black man dragging a black female from a white Mercedes-Benz, registered to Dez Bryant, and into another car.
2. When a security guard went to check out a reported “disturbance,” “no one was there except the white Mercedes-Benz [registered to Bryant] with the door open and a child’s toy on the ground,” according to the police report.
3. A few minutes later, a black Cadillac Escalade driven by two black men and also registered to Bryant parked next to the white Mercedes.
4. The two men in the black Cadillac told police that that Ilyne Nash (Bryant’s girlfriend) asked them to pick up “her white Mercedes.”
5. Soon after, Bryant and Nash drove up. Nash told the police that she had gotten in a fight with someone named Alex Penson, then got into a car with him, left her car and told one of the men in the black Cadillac to go pick it up.
6. Nash said she was not “assaulted or injured in any way” and that one of the men in the Escalade convinced her to come back after she was dropped off at “friend’s house” with an “unknown address.” She said she called Bryant to pick her up.
No, we don't completely understand this story either.
We know that people are trying to make money off the video. Supposedly, people are sending a pitch around to media outlets with screenshots of the video.
We can’t say whether that’s true or not. But at a minimum, multiple people are going to Deadspin and demanding money in exchange not for the video, but information on the video, which really shows just how insane this situation has become.
But remember -- and this is important! -- we don’t even definitively know the video exists. Lots of people have said they know people who know it exists, but no one of any authority has said they themselves have seen it. Nevertheless, people seem more and more convinced it's going to get out, maybe soon.
“Eventually, the video is coming out,” ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio wrote Thursday.
Do you know anything we don't? Email maxwell@huffingtonpost.com.
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Gisele Bundchen And Tom Brady Celebrate Wedding Anniversary With Adorable Photos
Gisele Bundchen and Tom Brady have been married for six years and they celebrated their love Thursday by sharing some sweet photos.
Bundchen took to Instagram to post a photo from her 2009 wedding to Brady. In the photo, she wears a white gown and stands smiling next to the New England Patriots quarterback. She captioned the shot with: "Magical day! #tbt ❤️❤️❤️ Dia mágico!"
Brady posted a snapshot on his Facebook page, thanking his supermodel wife.
The couple married in a small, private ceremony in Santa Monica, California, on Feb. 26, 2009. In April of that same year, they held a second wedding in Costa Rica.
The two met on a blind date, and the former Victoria's Secret Angel said she knew immediately that they were meant to be.
"I knew Tom was the one straightaway," Bundchen told Vogue U.K. for the March 2015 issue. "I could see it in his eyes that he was a man with integrity who believes in the same things I do."
Bundchen took to Instagram to post a photo from her 2009 wedding to Brady. In the photo, she wears a white gown and stands smiling next to the New England Patriots quarterback. She captioned the shot with: "Magical day! #tbt ❤️❤️❤️ Dia mágico!"
Brady posted a snapshot on his Facebook page, thanking his supermodel wife.
The couple married in a small, private ceremony in Santa Monica, California, on Feb. 26, 2009. In April of that same year, they held a second wedding in Costa Rica.
The two met on a blind date, and the former Victoria's Secret Angel said she knew immediately that they were meant to be.
"I knew Tom was the one straightaway," Bundchen told Vogue U.K. for the March 2015 issue. "I could see it in his eyes that he was a man with integrity who believes in the same things I do."
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Robin Williams' Daughter Honors His Legacy By Vowing To Continue His Charity Work
Robin Williams' daughter, Zelda, is committed to honoring the late actor's life in a beautiful way.
On Thursday, the "Today" show aired an interview with Zelda Williams, in which she talked about her father's death and legacy. While the 25-year-old touched on a variety of details in her dad's life, she emphasized his love for giving back.
"He’s done charity as long as he had the wherewithal and the ability to do it," she told "Today." "That was what his favorite thing, other than comedy, really was."
According to her Instagram page, the 25-year-old will present a $50,000 donation to her father's former triathlon teammates, Ironman Scott Tinley and Paralympian Rudy Garcia-Tolson, from the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a group with which Robin Williams frequently worked, that supports athletes with physical disabilities. The donation, which will be presented at Friday's Noble Awards honoring humanitarians, will go toward a fund created by CAF in the late actor's memory.
Zelda Williams also expressed her commitment to carrying out the work her father was so passionate about.
"I will do everything else in my (decidedly less athletic) power to continue Dad's legacy and support the charities he loved that I've watched firsthand change thousands of lives," she wrote on Instagram.
To learn more about the Challenged Athlete Foundation, visit their website here.
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On Thursday, the "Today" show aired an interview with Zelda Williams, in which she talked about her father's death and legacy. While the 25-year-old touched on a variety of details in her dad's life, she emphasized his love for giving back.
"He’s done charity as long as he had the wherewithal and the ability to do it," she told "Today." "That was what his favorite thing, other than comedy, really was."
According to her Instagram page, the 25-year-old will present a $50,000 donation to her father's former triathlon teammates, Ironman Scott Tinley and Paralympian Rudy Garcia-Tolson, from the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), a group with which Robin Williams frequently worked, that supports athletes with physical disabilities. The donation, which will be presented at Friday's Noble Awards honoring humanitarians, will go toward a fund created by CAF in the late actor's memory.
Zelda Williams also expressed her commitment to carrying out the work her father was so passionate about.
"I will do everything else in my (decidedly less athletic) power to continue Dad's legacy and support the charities he loved that I've watched firsthand change thousands of lives," she wrote on Instagram.
To learn more about the Challenged Athlete Foundation, visit their website here.
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Lee Daniels On Mo'Nique Being 'Blackballed' In Hollywood: 'You Gotta Play Ball' (VIDEO)
Mo’Nique caused quite a stir recently after publicly claiming that director Lee Daniels said she had been "blackballed" in Hollywood since winning her 2010 Oscar for her role in “Precious.”
Her claims have since prompted legendary actress Sheryl Lee Ralph to share her own harsh words of advice -- and also ultimately led to a response from Daniels himself.
The “Empire” director, who previously released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter in response to the comedienne’s comments, went on to clarify Wednesday during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon that what she claimed wasn't exactly what he told the actress.
“I didn’t say that exactly…We were out on the campaign and she was making unreasonable demands…and this is where reverse racism, I think, happens,” Daniels admitted. “I said, ‘You have to thank the producers of the film, you have to thank the studio,’ and I think she didn’t understand that. And I said, ‘Listen, people aren’t going to respond well if you don’t.”
“I love her, and I’ve spoken to her. And she’s brilliant, and I like working with brilliant people. But sometimes artists get in their own way — I know I certainly do often, I have my own demons that I get in front of myself…I think there were demands that were made from her on the ‘Precious’ campaign, that everyone knows about, that hurt her. And I told her that.”
As for his advice to Mo’Nique moving forward on how to improve her chances of thriving in Hollywood, Daniels simply said, “you gotta play ball” when it comes to sustaining a career in the film business.
“This is not just show. It’s show-business and you gotta play ball. I don’t like calling the race card. I don’t believe in it, because if I buy into it then it becomes, ‘real.’ If I knew what I knew when I was 21, I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.”
Check out more of Lee Daniels’ thoughts on Mo’Nique in the clip above.
Her claims have since prompted legendary actress Sheryl Lee Ralph to share her own harsh words of advice -- and also ultimately led to a response from Daniels himself.
The “Empire” director, who previously released a statement to The Hollywood Reporter in response to the comedienne’s comments, went on to clarify Wednesday during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon that what she claimed wasn't exactly what he told the actress.
“I didn’t say that exactly…We were out on the campaign and she was making unreasonable demands…and this is where reverse racism, I think, happens,” Daniels admitted. “I said, ‘You have to thank the producers of the film, you have to thank the studio,’ and I think she didn’t understand that. And I said, ‘Listen, people aren’t going to respond well if you don’t.”
“I love her, and I’ve spoken to her. And she’s brilliant, and I like working with brilliant people. But sometimes artists get in their own way — I know I certainly do often, I have my own demons that I get in front of myself…I think there were demands that were made from her on the ‘Precious’ campaign, that everyone knows about, that hurt her. And I told her that.”
As for his advice to Mo’Nique moving forward on how to improve her chances of thriving in Hollywood, Daniels simply said, “you gotta play ball” when it comes to sustaining a career in the film business.
“This is not just show. It’s show-business and you gotta play ball. I don’t like calling the race card. I don’t believe in it, because if I buy into it then it becomes, ‘real.’ If I knew what I knew when I was 21, I wouldn’t be where I’m at right now.”
Check out more of Lee Daniels’ thoughts on Mo’Nique in the clip above.
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See The First Look From 'Jem And The Holograms' Movie
The film version of "Jem and the Holograms" won't hit theaters until Oct. 23, but Universal released the first photo of stars Hayley Kiyoko, Aubrey Peeples and Stefanie Scott performing as the titular band.
![jem]()
Peeples plays Jem, Kiyoko was cast as Aja and Scott appears as Jem's sister, Kimber. Jon M. Chu directs and Ryan Guzman, Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis also star. The movie follows a similar plotline as the hit '80s TV show and here's the description, per Universal:
Peeples plays Jem, Kiyoko was cast as Aja and Scott appears as Jem's sister, Kimber. Jon M. Chu directs and Ryan Guzman, Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis also star. The movie follows a similar plotline as the hit '80s TV show and here's the description, per Universal:
As a small-town girl catapults from underground video sensation to global superstar, she and her three sisters begin a one-in-a-million journey of discovering that some talents are too special to keep hidden. In Universal Pictures’ 'Jem And the Holograms,' four aspiring musicians will take the world by storm when they see that the key to creating your own destiny lies in finding your own voice.
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Find Out What The No. 1 Song Was On The Day You Were Born
Have you ever wondered what the No. 1 song in the country was on your date of birth? Okay, probably not, but it's still fun to find out!
For example, the No. 1 song on Kanye West's birthday back on June 8, 1977 was "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder:
And when Kim Kardashian was a mere newborn child, born on Oct. 21, 1980, the No. 1 song was "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen.
Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical" was the most popular song when Britney Spears was born on Dec. 2, 1981:
But enough about them. Find out what the No. 1 song was on your birthday over at Playback.Fm, and contemplate if there's some existential correlation between the song and your life. (At least that's what we did, anyways.)
h/t Refinery 29
For example, the No. 1 song on Kanye West's birthday back on June 8, 1977 was "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder:
And when Kim Kardashian was a mere newborn child, born on Oct. 21, 1980, the No. 1 song was "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen.
Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical" was the most popular song when Britney Spears was born on Dec. 2, 1981:
But enough about them. Find out what the No. 1 song was on your birthday over at Playback.Fm, and contemplate if there's some existential correlation between the song and your life. (At least that's what we did, anyways.)
h/t Refinery 29
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Will Smith Responds To Sony Executive's Leaked Email Criticizing Jaden & Willow Smith
--Will Smith responds to Sony Pictures executive, Tom Rothman leaked email where he criticized Jaden and Willow Smith for their Nov. 2014 New York Times interview. (Variety)
More Notable/Quotables:
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Kanye West Apologizes To Beck On Twitter
Kanye West took the Twitter on Thursday to apologize to Beck for blasting the singer at the Grammys.
During the Grammy Awards earlier this month, West almost interrupted Beck when he took the stage to accept Album of the Year for "Morning Phase," beating out Beyoncé. During the E! after-show, West said, "Beck needs to respect artistry, and he should have given his award to Beyoncé." As it turned out, West hasn't even heard "Morning Phase" at the time, but once he listened to it he said it was "kind of good."
West also decided to hand out a public apology to Bruno Mars for calling him out at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Now, apparently, West wants to collaborate with Mars a new song he produced.
I would like to publicly apologize to Beck, I’m sorry Beck.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 26, 2015During the Grammy Awards earlier this month, West almost interrupted Beck when he took the stage to accept Album of the Year for "Morning Phase," beating out Beyoncé. During the E! after-show, West said, "Beck needs to respect artistry, and he should have given his award to Beyoncé." As it turned out, West hasn't even heard "Morning Phase" at the time, but once he listened to it he said it was "kind of good."
West also decided to hand out a public apology to Bruno Mars for calling him out at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards. Now, apparently, West wants to collaborate with Mars a new song he produced.
I also want to publicly apologize to Bruno Mars, I used to hate on him but I really respect what he does as an artist.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 26, 2015I also would love for Bruno to sing this hook on this song 88 Keys / Puff and I produced… I even asked Tyler to shoot the vid.
— KANYE WEST (@kanyewest) February 26, 2015↧
5 Things That Happened To Conan O'Brien When He Went To Cuba
"Hey, who's paying for this?" asked Conan O'Brien as he entered an Italian restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, where about a dozen journalists were sitting in front of appetizers, waiting for him to arrive. The purpose of the luncheon was to hear, first-hand, how O'Brien became the first U.S. late night talk show host to shoot an episode from Cuba since the embargo began. The episode will air March 4.
Those familiar with O'Brien's popular remote segments know that his "fish out of water" approach to new cultural phenomena can be hilarious. After President Barack Obama's announcement that the U.S. was working toward ending the embargo with Cuba, head writer Mike Sweeney casually suggested that they go there. O'Brien took the idea seriously because he remembered when then-"Tonight Show" host Jack Paar shot an episode from Havana after the revolution ended but before the U.S embargo in 1962.
"So the minute I heard [Sweeney suggest] that I was like, 'We gotta go, and we gotta go right away, because we don't know what's going to happen,'" O'Brien said.
And with that, O'Brien and executive producer Jeff Ross began planning a completely under-the-radar trip to Cuba for four days over President's Day Weekend to shoot a 1-hour special completely from Havana.
"I wanted the whole thing to be from Cuba, not a cutaway [from California]," O'Brien said. "We asked a cafe if we could borrow their cafe table, then we put an old microphone on it. There was a band of three or four Cuban women playing and I asked if they would be my house band. Then we found a guy to be Cuban Andy -- who I actually have better chemistry with -- and we shot the wraparounds there, just to give it that sense."
Here's a breakdown of what happened during the trip, which O'Brien explained over lunch.
1. Getting there was an adventure of its own, so much so that O'Brien sought comfort in "The Gilmore Girls."
First of all, the trip had to be covert. O'Brien and his team didn't announce it publicly because they feared the Cuban government might shut it down -- nor did they tell anyone at TBS or Time Warner for the same reason. Ten people traveled in total, six of them being the camera crew who flew out of Toronto, a more accepted way for U.S. citizens to get there. O'Brien, his assistant, Ross and Sweeney flew directly from Miami on a charter flight. They had contacted a Canadian production company in Havana who told them to "just come," saying that they would seek a formal invite from the Cuban Ministry Of Culture and get their Visas upon arrival. What they didn't know, as their charter left them without any way to reach their contact on the other side of customs, was that the Visas were on the plane.
"We see the charter plane start to pull away," O'Brien explained. "We walk up and we're greeted by this very genial man who asks for our papers, so we hand him this form that we were told takes care of everything, and he looks at us and goes 'No, Visa!' and then he folded up the paper and threw it away. Jeff and I are standing there. We don't know if he's coming back, we have no phones, we 're in Cuba. We had this idea that we thought would be pretty cool and now we might just be completely fucked."
Luckily there was a bit of American comfort waiting for them at the airport.
"So we go into this very small, not impressive building where airport workers are sitting around looking so bored because there's nothing to do, and in the corner there's an old television and it's showing 'Gilmore Girls' in Spanish. And I had this feeling of comfort for a second [...] It's the episode where Rory has decided to leave Yale and Edward Herrmann's upset ... I'm just getting lost in it and looking around at these people who couldn't give a shit if Rory leaves Yale or doesn't leave Yale."
Ross explained that after waiting around for quite some time, "the guy who runs the airport" came to them and worked everything out (luckily the charter plane hadn't yet left the airport with their Visas).
2. O'Brien found out he was bad at making cigars, among other things.
The trip was a short one but they planned to visit various sites, such as a cigar and rum factories, and pick up lessons in Salsa dancing, authentic Cuban music and more. "We were winging it, but it was planned winging it," O'Brien said, explaining that much of the trip was spent walking around and talking to people. But it was the cigar factory experience that he spoke about the most.
"They let me into a cigar factory, which is fascinating. It's 400 people in a room where they make them by hand and they're works of art, each one. It takes nine months of study to get to the point where you're even allowed in the factory," O'Brien said. "I actually started improvising with this great woman who tried to teach me how to make a cigar, and obviously I'm terrible at it."
O'Brien wanted to be sure that his special was not a "snarky, American comedy take," instead relying on his ability to be a comedian who makes fun of himself. "I'm not in my own land and I'm not good at things," O'Brien said of the special's ethos.
He said he further proved that intention when he got a traditional Cuban singing lesson and started supplementing the lyrics for 8th-grade Spanish phrases like, "The cat is in the sky" and "The dog has no milk."
3. O'Brien was brought back down to Earth when he saw a familiar face at a paladar.
Restaurants in Cuba are mostly state-run, but years ago it became legal to operate paladars (a.k.a privately owned restaurants run out of people's homes) which has led to some unique dining opportunities in Havana. When O'Brien decided to pay one a visit, he was taken aback by how beautiful and unsuspecting the building was. For a moment, he thought he was the first person to stumble upon this incredible find. But all it took was one photo to give him a wake-up call.
"Imagine a really nice, Upper West Side, beautiful 1900s apartment, and two of the three floors are in ruins, meaning crumbling. But you get to the top and there's a beautiful restaurant. There's no signage. And I'm thinking I'm the first guy here. Then I look up and on the wall there's a picture of Rob Schneider!" O'Brien said with a laugh. "Amongst others ... but Rob Schneider? The guy I shared an office with at 'SNL' like 20 years ago."
4. O'Brien had a great rapport with the Cuban people (even though he was only recognized by Canadian tourists).
Due to the lack of Internet and no access to American television, O'Brien wasn't recognized much in Havana except by Canadians who were there on vacation. But that didn't stop him from trying to convince Cubans that he can make them laugh.
"Everywhere I went, people were very open. When I would improv with them, they were really funny and really quick," he explained. "It's a form of humility to make yourself the butt of the joke in another culture and I think they respond to that."
Using an iPad to show clips of his TBS show, O'Brien did a lot of talking to Cubans about being from the U.S. ("Sometimes I would say I'm the greatest star in America," he joked) and found that many of them seemed relieved to hear that Americans do not harbor ill feelings toward the Cuban people.
"The one thing that was a constant is they were very interested in how Americans feel about [Cubans]. I did not get into how people feel about the Castro regime the last 53 years -- I don't think they wanted me to get into that either -- but I explained that America's a very divided country. We disagree on everything, 50/50, pretty much, and recently they did polls about normalizing relations with Cuba and they were overwhelmingly in favor," O'Brien said. "They were very happy to hear that. They want things to change, very much so."
5. O'Brien realized he might want to do more of this in the future.
O'Brien made a deliberate choice with this special to seek out more than just the funny parts and, now that he's returned, he's thinking outside the late-night show box.
"We're used to only thinking about comedy. For this one we thought: we want there to be funny moments, we want there to be really sweet moments and moments of connection, but we really just want to get the palate of Cuba," O'Brien said. "That was the big difference to me. I've only, for 22 years, been aggressively pursuing what's funny, and this was a different agenda."
O'Brien's career as a late-night host could morph into something closer to what Anthony Bourdain does, but with a comedic bent rather than a foodie one. He explained that in a world where there are more and more talk shows every year, he feels more of an impetus to keep changing and "do something radically different than what [he] did 10 years ago."
"I love travel and I love exploring things and I love trying to see if I can make someone laugh in a different culture," O'Brien said. "That was the most satisfying part of this project, just getting people to laugh who might not speak much English, don't know much about our culture, but they understand this guy not being able to make a cigar."
O'Brien hopes to somehow get a copy of the finished special down to Cuba after it airs so people can watch it, in hopes that his portrayal of the Cuban people helps to heal relations between the two countries, even if the special was done in the name of comedy.
"And maybe it's not a bad form of diplomacy," O'Brien said. "It is a universal language, if you can get it right."
Those familiar with O'Brien's popular remote segments know that his "fish out of water" approach to new cultural phenomena can be hilarious. After President Barack Obama's announcement that the U.S. was working toward ending the embargo with Cuba, head writer Mike Sweeney casually suggested that they go there. O'Brien took the idea seriously because he remembered when then-"Tonight Show" host Jack Paar shot an episode from Havana after the revolution ended but before the U.S embargo in 1962.
"So the minute I heard [Sweeney suggest] that I was like, 'We gotta go, and we gotta go right away, because we don't know what's going to happen,'" O'Brien said.
And with that, O'Brien and executive producer Jeff Ross began planning a completely under-the-radar trip to Cuba for four days over President's Day Weekend to shoot a 1-hour special completely from Havana.
"I wanted the whole thing to be from Cuba, not a cutaway [from California]," O'Brien said. "We asked a cafe if we could borrow their cafe table, then we put an old microphone on it. There was a band of three or four Cuban women playing and I asked if they would be my house band. Then we found a guy to be Cuban Andy -- who I actually have better chemistry with -- and we shot the wraparounds there, just to give it that sense."
Here's a breakdown of what happened during the trip, which O'Brien explained over lunch.
1. Getting there was an adventure of its own, so much so that O'Brien sought comfort in "The Gilmore Girls."
First of all, the trip had to be covert. O'Brien and his team didn't announce it publicly because they feared the Cuban government might shut it down -- nor did they tell anyone at TBS or Time Warner for the same reason. Ten people traveled in total, six of them being the camera crew who flew out of Toronto, a more accepted way for U.S. citizens to get there. O'Brien, his assistant, Ross and Sweeney flew directly from Miami on a charter flight. They had contacted a Canadian production company in Havana who told them to "just come," saying that they would seek a formal invite from the Cuban Ministry Of Culture and get their Visas upon arrival. What they didn't know, as their charter left them without any way to reach their contact on the other side of customs, was that the Visas were on the plane.
"We see the charter plane start to pull away," O'Brien explained. "We walk up and we're greeted by this very genial man who asks for our papers, so we hand him this form that we were told takes care of everything, and he looks at us and goes 'No, Visa!' and then he folded up the paper and threw it away. Jeff and I are standing there. We don't know if he's coming back, we have no phones, we 're in Cuba. We had this idea that we thought would be pretty cool and now we might just be completely fucked."
Luckily there was a bit of American comfort waiting for them at the airport.
"So we go into this very small, not impressive building where airport workers are sitting around looking so bored because there's nothing to do, and in the corner there's an old television and it's showing 'Gilmore Girls' in Spanish. And I had this feeling of comfort for a second [...] It's the episode where Rory has decided to leave Yale and Edward Herrmann's upset ... I'm just getting lost in it and looking around at these people who couldn't give a shit if Rory leaves Yale or doesn't leave Yale."
Ross explained that after waiting around for quite some time, "the guy who runs the airport" came to them and worked everything out (luckily the charter plane hadn't yet left the airport with their Visas).
2. O'Brien found out he was bad at making cigars, among other things.
The trip was a short one but they planned to visit various sites, such as a cigar and rum factories, and pick up lessons in Salsa dancing, authentic Cuban music and more. "We were winging it, but it was planned winging it," O'Brien said, explaining that much of the trip was spent walking around and talking to people. But it was the cigar factory experience that he spoke about the most.
"They let me into a cigar factory, which is fascinating. It's 400 people in a room where they make them by hand and they're works of art, each one. It takes nine months of study to get to the point where you're even allowed in the factory," O'Brien said. "I actually started improvising with this great woman who tried to teach me how to make a cigar, and obviously I'm terrible at it."
O'Brien wanted to be sure that his special was not a "snarky, American comedy take," instead relying on his ability to be a comedian who makes fun of himself. "I'm not in my own land and I'm not good at things," O'Brien said of the special's ethos.
He said he further proved that intention when he got a traditional Cuban singing lesson and started supplementing the lyrics for 8th-grade Spanish phrases like, "The cat is in the sky" and "The dog has no milk."
3. O'Brien was brought back down to Earth when he saw a familiar face at a paladar.
Restaurants in Cuba are mostly state-run, but years ago it became legal to operate paladars (a.k.a privately owned restaurants run out of people's homes) which has led to some unique dining opportunities in Havana. When O'Brien decided to pay one a visit, he was taken aback by how beautiful and unsuspecting the building was. For a moment, he thought he was the first person to stumble upon this incredible find. But all it took was one photo to give him a wake-up call.
"Imagine a really nice, Upper West Side, beautiful 1900s apartment, and two of the three floors are in ruins, meaning crumbling. But you get to the top and there's a beautiful restaurant. There's no signage. And I'm thinking I'm the first guy here. Then I look up and on the wall there's a picture of Rob Schneider!" O'Brien said with a laugh. "Amongst others ... but Rob Schneider? The guy I shared an office with at 'SNL' like 20 years ago."
4. O'Brien had a great rapport with the Cuban people (even though he was only recognized by Canadian tourists).
Due to the lack of Internet and no access to American television, O'Brien wasn't recognized much in Havana except by Canadians who were there on vacation. But that didn't stop him from trying to convince Cubans that he can make them laugh.
"Everywhere I went, people were very open. When I would improv with them, they were really funny and really quick," he explained. "It's a form of humility to make yourself the butt of the joke in another culture and I think they respond to that."
Using an iPad to show clips of his TBS show, O'Brien did a lot of talking to Cubans about being from the U.S. ("Sometimes I would say I'm the greatest star in America," he joked) and found that many of them seemed relieved to hear that Americans do not harbor ill feelings toward the Cuban people.
"The one thing that was a constant is they were very interested in how Americans feel about [Cubans]. I did not get into how people feel about the Castro regime the last 53 years -- I don't think they wanted me to get into that either -- but I explained that America's a very divided country. We disagree on everything, 50/50, pretty much, and recently they did polls about normalizing relations with Cuba and they were overwhelmingly in favor," O'Brien said. "They were very happy to hear that. They want things to change, very much so."
5. O'Brien realized he might want to do more of this in the future.
O'Brien made a deliberate choice with this special to seek out more than just the funny parts and, now that he's returned, he's thinking outside the late-night show box.
"We're used to only thinking about comedy. For this one we thought: we want there to be funny moments, we want there to be really sweet moments and moments of connection, but we really just want to get the palate of Cuba," O'Brien said. "That was the big difference to me. I've only, for 22 years, been aggressively pursuing what's funny, and this was a different agenda."
O'Brien's career as a late-night host could morph into something closer to what Anthony Bourdain does, but with a comedic bent rather than a foodie one. He explained that in a world where there are more and more talk shows every year, he feels more of an impetus to keep changing and "do something radically different than what [he] did 10 years ago."
"I love travel and I love exploring things and I love trying to see if I can make someone laugh in a different culture," O'Brien said. "That was the most satisfying part of this project, just getting people to laugh who might not speak much English, don't know much about our culture, but they understand this guy not being able to make a cigar."
O'Brien hopes to somehow get a copy of the finished special down to Cuba after it airs so people can watch it, in hopes that his portrayal of the Cuban people helps to heal relations between the two countries, even if the special was done in the name of comedy.
"And maybe it's not a bad form of diplomacy," O'Brien said. "It is a universal language, if you can get it right."
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An Oral History of Laurel Canyon, the 60s and 70s Music Mecca
They made music together, took drugs together, formed bands together, slept together. But none of the legends of the Laurel Canyon scene that flowered in L.A. in the late 60s and early 70s—Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt, and others—remember it quite the same way.
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Farewell to Leonard Nimoy
Few fictional characters, particularly from television, have been as enduring in the public consciousness, memorable and profound as Spock, and few actors have both inhabited and created a character as fully and brilliantly as Leonard Nimoy did with Spock. Leonard Nimoy, who died today at 83 years old, played many roles, supported the arts, wrote poetry, published books of photography, and even sang songs, albeit not well, but will always be remembered for being Spock, the character he created and immortalized.
Spock was, of course, the half-Vulcan, half-human science officer and first mate on the original Star Trek television show. Spock possessed a superior intellect but sought to repress any emotions due to his understanding of Vulcan philosophy, which raised the idea of logic to a guiding, almost spiritual, principle. The character could have become a one-dimensional robot-like character, but instead Nimoy turned him into the most profound, and most human, character on the show. Spock, as the only non-human in the crew, wrestled with feelings of alienation, struggled to have his views recognized, and frequently bickered with Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelly), who distrusted the Vulcan Spock and thought his logic was too frequently insensitive and inhuman.
Spock's multidimensionality shone through best in his close friendship with Captain Kirk (William Shatner). The friendship between Spock and Kirk lasted decades and spanned three seasons of the original series and six movies. It even survived Spock's temporary death at the end of the second Star Trek film and only ended when Kirk died in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations. Spock was the ultimate best friend. He was calm and reliable, always had Kirk's back, and was usually smarter and stronger than everybody else in the room or on the planet.
Nimoy, of course, was not Spock, but the actor and the character have always been identified very deeply with each other. Nimoy addressed his concerns about this in a 1975 book called I Am Not Spock but revisited those concerns two decades later in a book called I Am Spock. The character was initially the work of Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry, but Nimoy embraced and developed the character, ultimately making Spock his own, and occasionally making it difficult to determine where Spock ended and Nimoy began.
In this regard, Nimoy was not simply an actor who will be remembered for one major role, like Jason Alexander as George Constanza or Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker. To some extent it can be said that Nimoy created not only Spock and Spock's backstory but the entire Vulcan race and history.
Spock and the Vulcans were not created entirely out of whole cloth, however. Nimoy drew heavily on his own Jewish background to flesh out who Spock was and who the Vulcan people were. It is reasonably well known that the Vulcan salute, created by Nimoy, was taken from the Kohanim blessing, but Jewish influences on Spock go much deeper than that. In an speech given late in his life, Nimoy referred to Spock as "a diaspora character if there ever was one."
It does not take much imagination to see Spock's quest to feel fully part of Starfleet as part of the quest of Jewish Americans to be fully integrated into American society. This is particularly true given that Star Trek was a product of the late 1960s, a period of great societal transition, but also one where anti-Semitism and exclusion of Jews from various institutions was still strong. The themes of alienation, struggling to fit in, and being caught between two worlds, with which Nimoy's Spock wrestled across three televisions seasons, several movies, a few other cameos in later Star Trek programs, and even a few novels, are universal, but they are also distinctly central to the Jewish experience.
In the end Nimoy lived a life that would have made Spock proud. He lived long, and he prospered. Despite his years as a photographer, his work on television shows ranging from Three Men and a Baby to The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and roles including Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Nimoy will always, and rightly, be remembered as Spock. In his later years Nimoy embraced his most extraordinary creation and spoke frequently and often with great profundity about Spock and was aware of the depth of the impact Spock had made.
Spock's home planet does not exist in our universe, but for Nimoy and many of his biggest fans, it is real. Perhaps only Leonard Nimoy knew how to sit shiva on Vulcan, but today that is what they are doing on that not-quite-real planet. I don't know how to speak Vulcan, but I suspect at a time like this the phrase they use there is "Alav Hashalom." Farewell, Leonard Nimoy. We will miss you here on Earth.
Spock was, of course, the half-Vulcan, half-human science officer and first mate on the original Star Trek television show. Spock possessed a superior intellect but sought to repress any emotions due to his understanding of Vulcan philosophy, which raised the idea of logic to a guiding, almost spiritual, principle. The character could have become a one-dimensional robot-like character, but instead Nimoy turned him into the most profound, and most human, character on the show. Spock, as the only non-human in the crew, wrestled with feelings of alienation, struggled to have his views recognized, and frequently bickered with Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelly), who distrusted the Vulcan Spock and thought his logic was too frequently insensitive and inhuman.
Spock's multidimensionality shone through best in his close friendship with Captain Kirk (William Shatner). The friendship between Spock and Kirk lasted decades and spanned three seasons of the original series and six movies. It even survived Spock's temporary death at the end of the second Star Trek film and only ended when Kirk died in the 1994 film Star Trek: Generations. Spock was the ultimate best friend. He was calm and reliable, always had Kirk's back, and was usually smarter and stronger than everybody else in the room or on the planet.
Nimoy, of course, was not Spock, but the actor and the character have always been identified very deeply with each other. Nimoy addressed his concerns about this in a 1975 book called I Am Not Spock but revisited those concerns two decades later in a book called I Am Spock. The character was initially the work of Star Trek creator Gene Rodenberry, but Nimoy embraced and developed the character, ultimately making Spock his own, and occasionally making it difficult to determine where Spock ended and Nimoy began.
In this regard, Nimoy was not simply an actor who will be remembered for one major role, like Jason Alexander as George Constanza or Jean Stapleton as Edith Bunker. To some extent it can be said that Nimoy created not only Spock and Spock's backstory but the entire Vulcan race and history.
Spock and the Vulcans were not created entirely out of whole cloth, however. Nimoy drew heavily on his own Jewish background to flesh out who Spock was and who the Vulcan people were. It is reasonably well known that the Vulcan salute, created by Nimoy, was taken from the Kohanim blessing, but Jewish influences on Spock go much deeper than that. In an speech given late in his life, Nimoy referred to Spock as "a diaspora character if there ever was one."
It does not take much imagination to see Spock's quest to feel fully part of Starfleet as part of the quest of Jewish Americans to be fully integrated into American society. This is particularly true given that Star Trek was a product of the late 1960s, a period of great societal transition, but also one where anti-Semitism and exclusion of Jews from various institutions was still strong. The themes of alienation, struggling to fit in, and being caught between two worlds, with which Nimoy's Spock wrestled across three televisions seasons, several movies, a few other cameos in later Star Trek programs, and even a few novels, are universal, but they are also distinctly central to the Jewish experience.
In the end Nimoy lived a life that would have made Spock proud. He lived long, and he prospered. Despite his years as a photographer, his work on television shows ranging from Three Men and a Baby to The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and roles including Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Nimoy will always, and rightly, be remembered as Spock. In his later years Nimoy embraced his most extraordinary creation and spoke frequently and often with great profundity about Spock and was aware of the depth of the impact Spock had made.
Spock's home planet does not exist in our universe, but for Nimoy and many of his biggest fans, it is real. Perhaps only Leonard Nimoy knew how to sit shiva on Vulcan, but today that is what they are doing on that not-quite-real planet. I don't know how to speak Vulcan, but I suspect at a time like this the phrase they use there is "Alav Hashalom." Farewell, Leonard Nimoy. We will miss you here on Earth.
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Let These 'House Of Cards' Charts Remind You Why You're Binge-Watching So Hard
"House of Cards" is back!
After months of anticipation, everyone's favorite power-hungry, fourth-wall-breaking politician has returned to Netflix for a third season. Here are some "House of Cards" charts to prep you before you disappear into a weekend of binge-watching. If you're not caught up completely, you may want to turn back, since there are a few spoilers ahead.
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After months of anticipation, everyone's favorite power-hungry, fourth-wall-breaking politician has returned to Netflix for a third season. Here are some "House of Cards" charts to prep you before you disappear into a weekend of binge-watching. If you're not caught up completely, you may want to turn back, since there are a few spoilers ahead.
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Lisa Rinna: My Husband Harry Hamlin Said He'd Divorce Me If I Joined 'Real Housewives'
It's hard to imagine "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" without Lisa Rinna now, but had she listened to hubby Harry Hamlin, she might never have appeared on the hit reality show.
In a "Live! With Kelly and Michael" interview Wednesday, the reality star revealed that Hamlin initially had some reservations about her joining the Bravo series this season.
"I went to Harry and said I'm thinking about [doing RHOBH] and he looked at me and said, 'If you do this show, I'll divorce you.'" (The divorce talk starts at 1:29 in the video above.)
So Rinna said she put the thought behind her. "I walked away and was done with it," the 51-year-old said. "I was done with the show idea."
Eventually, Hamlin, 63, caved. "He comes to me a day later...and he said, 'I've thought about this and I think it'll be a good idea if you did it.' He went through it. And I was like 'Okay.' And there you are!'"
All's well that ends well, but it's easy to understand Hamlin's reservations. "The Real Housewives" series has long been said to curse the relationships of its stars -- in 2013, Jezebel's Anna North did the math and found that half of the women on the shows at that time had been divorced, with the Beverly Hills franchise having the worst romantic track record.
"Real Housewives of Orange County" star Vicki Gunvalson has said that appearing on the show played a part in her divorce after 17 years of marriage, comparing the decision to "making a deal with the devil."
"Donn [my husband] said, 'Look at all these reality TV stars that are losing their marriages over this,'" Gunvalson said. "He goes, 'I'll be damned if we're gonna be one of them.' And I said, 'Honey we're never gonna be one of them.' Seven years in, we were one of them."
Below, more "Real Housewives" stars who've gone through divorce.
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In a "Live! With Kelly and Michael" interview Wednesday, the reality star revealed that Hamlin initially had some reservations about her joining the Bravo series this season.
"I went to Harry and said I'm thinking about [doing RHOBH] and he looked at me and said, 'If you do this show, I'll divorce you.'" (The divorce talk starts at 1:29 in the video above.)
So Rinna said she put the thought behind her. "I walked away and was done with it," the 51-year-old said. "I was done with the show idea."
Eventually, Hamlin, 63, caved. "He comes to me a day later...and he said, 'I've thought about this and I think it'll be a good idea if you did it.' He went through it. And I was like 'Okay.' And there you are!'"
All's well that ends well, but it's easy to understand Hamlin's reservations. "The Real Housewives" series has long been said to curse the relationships of its stars -- in 2013, Jezebel's Anna North did the math and found that half of the women on the shows at that time had been divorced, with the Beverly Hills franchise having the worst romantic track record.
"Real Housewives of Orange County" star Vicki Gunvalson has said that appearing on the show played a part in her divorce after 17 years of marriage, comparing the decision to "making a deal with the devil."
"Donn [my husband] said, 'Look at all these reality TV stars that are losing their marriages over this,'" Gunvalson said. "He goes, 'I'll be damned if we're gonna be one of them.' And I said, 'Honey we're never gonna be one of them.' Seven years in, we were one of them."
Below, more "Real Housewives" stars who've gone through divorce.
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Watch 'Frozen' Retold Using Only Emojis
It looks Emojis are taking over more than just your text threads. In the new video "Disney's Frozen as told by Emoji," the blockbuster film gets reimagined with the cutest little animated faces. At less than three (very entertaining) minutes, could the short film nod to a whole new emoji genre? Here's hoping.
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Zachary Quinto Pays Tribute To His Spock Predecessor Leonard Nimoy
The younger Spock has joined the chorus of condolences for Leonard Nimoy. Zachary Quinto, who portrayed the "Star Trek" character Nimoy made famous in two movies directed by J.J. Abrams, posted a shot of his predecessor on Instagram alongside a heartfelt caption that quotes "Hamlet" and mourns the loss of his "dear friend."
Quinto and Nimoy made regular appearances together once the 37-year-old actor was cast as Spock. The duo did press ahead of 2009's "Star Trek," appearing at San Diego Comic-Con and on talk shows. Quinto, Nimoy and Chris Pine popped up during "Weekend Update" on a Justin Timbelake-hosted episode of "Saturday Night Live" the same year. Nimoy also cameoed in the first "Star Trek," and he and Quinto co-starred in a car commercial in 2013.
Quinto and Nimoy made regular appearances together once the 37-year-old actor was cast as Spock. The duo did press ahead of 2009's "Star Trek," appearing at San Diego Comic-Con and on talk shows. Quinto, Nimoy and Chris Pine popped up during "Weekend Update" on a Justin Timbelake-hosted episode of "Saturday Night Live" the same year. Nimoy also cameoed in the first "Star Trek," and he and Quinto co-starred in a car commercial in 2013.
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Khloe Kardashian's Abs Are The Inspiration You Need To Make It To The Gym Today
In the last few years, Khloe Kardashian has undergone a dramatic body transformation. Anyone who follows her on social media knows the woman puts in hours at the gym, sweating it out.
On Friday, she had a bit of an epiphany after taking a selfie in the mirror, which revealed her incredibly toned abs.
"My fitness journey will be a life long journey. Fitness is not about being better than someone else… It's about being better than you used to be. I'm not where I want to be and who knows if I ever will be," she captioned the photo she shared on Instagram. "But I am healthier than ever and due to my consistent workouts, I am slowly seeing results. Hi baby abs !! I see you!!! I hope to meet your other ab friends soon (yes I'm talking to my muscles. I've never met most of them before)."
An hour later, she returned to Instagram, this time posting a before and after photo of herself:
"Looking back at pictures of myself I didn't realize at the time how unhealthy my lifestyle actually was. People love to call me the fat one but as weird as it sounds I still don't think I would consider myself fat back then. Definitely overweight and unhealthy, yes. About two years ago I decided to turn to fitness as a form of therapy and as a stress reliever. I started slow and eventually I started working out 4 to 5 days a week," she wrote in the photo's caption.
She added, "We all have to start somewhere and doing something is better than nothing at all. Start small so you don't get discouraged and give up. Remember it is all about consistency. There are no quick fixes if you want long-term results. Working out is a huge part of my life now. I genuinely enjoy sweating out my frustrations and living a healthier life. My workouts are not all about vanity. They are about clarity for my mind and soul. We all have different journeys in life, make sure your journey is for you and you alone. Remember in the end the turtle won the race. Slow and steady. dedication and tenacity."
Alright! Now who is ready to hit the gym?
On Friday, she had a bit of an epiphany after taking a selfie in the mirror, which revealed her incredibly toned abs.
"My fitness journey will be a life long journey. Fitness is not about being better than someone else… It's about being better than you used to be. I'm not where I want to be and who knows if I ever will be," she captioned the photo she shared on Instagram. "But I am healthier than ever and due to my consistent workouts, I am slowly seeing results. Hi baby abs !! I see you!!! I hope to meet your other ab friends soon (yes I'm talking to my muscles. I've never met most of them before)."
An hour later, she returned to Instagram, this time posting a before and after photo of herself:
"Looking back at pictures of myself I didn't realize at the time how unhealthy my lifestyle actually was. People love to call me the fat one but as weird as it sounds I still don't think I would consider myself fat back then. Definitely overweight and unhealthy, yes. About two years ago I decided to turn to fitness as a form of therapy and as a stress reliever. I started slow and eventually I started working out 4 to 5 days a week," she wrote in the photo's caption.
She added, "We all have to start somewhere and doing something is better than nothing at all. Start small so you don't get discouraged and give up. Remember it is all about consistency. There are no quick fixes if you want long-term results. Working out is a huge part of my life now. I genuinely enjoy sweating out my frustrations and living a healthier life. My workouts are not all about vanity. They are about clarity for my mind and soul. We all have different journeys in life, make sure your journey is for you and you alone. Remember in the end the turtle won the race. Slow and steady. dedication and tenacity."
Alright! Now who is ready to hit the gym?
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