BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 7/2

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:32:44 PDT

According to Variety, Josh Hartnett will be starring in a London stage production of the movie Rain Man, taking on the role originally played by Tom Cruise.
Rapper Young Jeezy will join the cast of Ice Cube's comedy Janky Promoters, Billboard writes.
Michael Imperioli will join the cast of ABC's Life on Mars, Variety reports.
Four more actors have joined the cast of the Night at the Museum sequel, including Christopher Guest, ComingSoon reports.
Entertainment Weekly reports that Criminal Minds looks like the next CBS show to get a spinoff.
Billboard writes that at a private concert this week, Pearl Jam helped raise $3 million for the poverty-fighting charity the Robin Hood Foundation.
TNT will remake the British series Cracker, about an abrasive and heavy-drinking detective, with Robert Duvall as an executive producer, Zap2it reports.
A lost interview with the Beatles has been aired on BBC radio, the Associated Press reports.

Meeting My Sperm Donor

The Good Men Project — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 10:00:50 PDT

We're happy to present this story from one of our favorite sites, The Good Men Project. Ben Sommer, conceived through alternative insemination, is a young man now and tells the story of deciding to meet his donor.

I grew up in a middle-class home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with two loving parents, both of whom are women. My conception was perhaps the most organized and scientific miracle of the modern American family - my architecture, the dream of dozens of individuals conducting their work across thousands of miles.

Objectifying Ryan Gosling

I was conceived through alternative insemination. A donor submitted his sperm to the Sperm Bank of California in Oakland (TSBC). Later, it was sent to the Fenway Community Health Center in Boston. Since opening its doors in 1982, TSBC has helped families without the ability to conceive on their own to birth over 2,000 children. Two thirds of those have ended up, like me, being raised in a lesbian household. TSBC is also the first sperm bank to offer a donor-identity-release program, which allows children of alternative insemination access to their donors' information when they turn 18.

I am not as much an oddity as you might think. As of 2005, some 270,000 children in the United States had same sex-parents. We are a generation that is just now beginning to come of age and able to share our stories. This is mine.

Growing up in a lesbian household was much like growing up in any other family unit, I imagine: vacations to Cape Cod, parents working late and sometimes not, play dates with a diverse group of friends.

I never gave much thought to that mysterious figure across the country. I never questioned the fact that I didn't have a father. As far as I was concerned I didn't need one. Is having two moms really all that different than having a mom and a dad? Parents are parents, right? I didn't see a difference at the time. My parents didn't either - at least at first.

They decided to conceive through a donor, in part, to avoid the complications that a third parent would bring. Asking a close male friend to donate, like some couples have done, can create unforeseen consequences. In the past, there have been custody battles between the donor and the parents raising the child. This was the case with a friend of mine, whose parents arranged donation from a male family friend. With a semi-anonymous donor like the man my parents chose, it would be clear who my parents were. And it was.

That's not to say that it was smooth sailing. "When we first learned you were going to be a boy, we really panicked," my mother told me recently. "Who's going to teach him to throw a ball? We didn't have many male friends. There was even basic stuff, like who's going to teach him to pee standing up. That doesn't come naturally."

Read the rest of the story below.

The Muppets' Music Man Bret McKenzie on His Oscar Nod and Taking a Silly Job Seriously

Lindsay Miller — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:41 PST

Bret McKenzie is up for an exceedingly rare honor this year, with his ballad "Man or Muppet" earning one of just two nominations in the Oscars' best song category. I caught up with The Muppets' musical supervisor today at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to chat about the awards attention and the unique experience of penning music for Kermit and company. The New Zealand native talked about fighting the temptation to use the word "motherfrogger" in his songwriting and the roundabout way he came on board The Muppets project in the first place. Bret - who previously was best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords - also shared his hopes of bringing FOC to the big screen. Check out our conversation below:

PopSugar: It's got to be an honor to be nominated for an Oscar, but also in a year when the Academy only bothered to nominate two songs.
Bret McKenzie: They barely nominated anyone! When I found out, it sounded like there'd been a mistake, and yeah, it's a huge honor. It's great and it's really exciting, and I'm not complaining that there's only two nominees the year I'm nominated. I mean, this is the best chance I'll have of winning an Oscar, ever. It couldn't have been better, unless there was just one nomination, and then it would be a very dull ceremony . . . There's a lot of legendary musicians - tunesmiths - in that list of possible nominations. So it's all very surreal to think that I got in ahead of Elton John.

PS: And Madonna. Those two had a little rivalry going on.
BM: I know. I got nervous about what Elton John's husband was going to say about me. It's crazy, and it's great for The Muppets film, because we're all really proud of the film and it wasn't ever really going to get a best actor. Hey, Jason's good, that's not what I mean, but Kermit, Miss Piggy - they can't win these awards - and comedies don't generally get recognized at these awards ceremonies, so it's kind of cool. It's almost like the film as a whole is being recognized with this category.

For more from our chat with Bret, including what he says about his plans for a Flight of the Conchords film, coaching Jason Segel, and the pressure he felt on the project, just

PS: What was the biggest unexpected challenge for you writing music for the film? I know you talked about one draft of a song where you referred to a Muppet as a piece of felt and were told you couldn't do that.
BM: Yeah. Little piece of felt, and you couldn't say things like motherfrogger, even though it's very tempting. There were lots of hard parts to it. The Muppets can't sing certain notes. They can't sing too high or the voice changes and doesn't sound like the right character. There were so many weird things. I spent hours recording penguins and rats, and what's weird is that it's such a silly job, but you have to take it very seriously. So I would be in the studio for days, maybe a whole day recording penguins, and then I'm like, "I'm not happy with how the penguins are sounding! Where's penguin four?" You know, getting demanding. "We lost penguin track four! I can't hear the penguin!"

PS: I was watching the movie again last night and watching Jason Segel's performance of "Man or Muppet." Did you coach him on any of his rockstar moves? Because he pretty much nailed it.
BM: He nailed it. That's my favorite moment in the film. When he buckles down in the rain, that was one of my favorite shots. I was so proud of what James [Bobin, the director] and those guys achieved, because I wasn't there on set, I just saw them syncing the video, and I was like, "Wow, guys. You nailed it." What we did do in the studio, as Jason and I had a technique where I would sing a line, and he'd watch me through the window, and then he'd sing it back. So we did this thing where, I was really into the drama of it. So, I was like, "Am I a Muppppettt?" [balling his hands into fists] And he'd be like, OK, record. "Am I a Muppppettt!" So we kind of worked together to get that style.

PS: Did it shatter some of your childhood illusions to have the guy that does Miss Piggy's voice come work with you [in the recording studio]?
BM: Yeah. Well, it wasn't Frank Oz. The guy Eric, who does it now, yeah. That was strange. And the day that we recorded Kermit the Frog doing "Rainbow Connection" - I was sort of pinching myself, because that was probably one of the real moments for me where I realized that my world had really changed. That I'd come from New Zealand, I'd grown up with Kermit the Frog, and now I was in Hollywood in a studio recording Kermit the Frog. It felt like worlds had collided.

PS: Was there pressure knowing there was already this great catalog of Muppet songs? To try to add to that or top it in some way?
BM: I knew I wouldn't top "Rainbow Connection," but I was very intimidated, but the way I worked on the job was it actually started with me just writing one song, so I didn't feel the pressure of writing the whole movie. I think it would have been different if I'd been hired from the outset to do all the music. So I wrote one, then another, and gradually wrote more and more, so that helped.

PS: What song did you write first?
BM: The opening song. That's the one they needed, that's the one James asked me to write first. The script was probably on a second draft, and they were in preproduction, so I came in quite late. And the way they were doing it was, they got 100s of demos submitted from all sorts of songwriters, and surprisingly - even though they got some really great people to do demos - people weren't quite hitting the right tone. The Muppet tone. I'd just come off the Conchords tour and I had some time, and James asked if I was interested in doing that opening song, because he had a kind of specific thing he needed from that song. He needed it to be really Muppet-y, that song, and he had a great idea for the whole town joining in, it starting off small and becoming a big musical number, and that came together really well.

PS: Is this experience maybe something you want to bring to a Flight of the Conchords movie?
BM: Yeah, exactly. Having done this movie now, we're in a much better place to do a Conchords film, because James is more experienced - well, we're all more experienced. Not specifically, but James Bobin - well, we're all very keen to do another studio musical, because I really enjoyed being able to do comedy musical numbers on such a grand scale, and I think next time, I really think it will just get better and better. Because it's such a fun genre, and we've done like 50 songs for TV now, and now The Muppets movie, and I feel like we've accidentally sort of become musical comedy experts.

PS: What do you imagine Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords are up to these days, in their universe?
BM: In the Lower East Side? That's a good question. I reckon they probably got a regular gig now. Like, at a Chinese restaurant.

Photo courtesy Disney

50 Geeky Date Ideas For Valentine's Day (and Beyond)

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:30:10 PST

Coming up short for Valentine's Day date ideas? If you and your sweetheart are more of the geeky persuasion, simply hitting up an overpriced restaurant just won't cut it. We brainstormed 50 date ideas that incorporate science, tech, and video games, for a special Valentine's eve. But don't limit yourself - tackle these date ideas all year!

Bundle up, pack a dinner picnic, and head to the park for some stargazing.
Watch Contact (for the millionth time).
Go to a science museum.
Hit the natural history museum and check out your favorite dino bones.
Go retro - grab a roll of quarters, a slice or two, and hit the pizza parlor arcade.
Build your own planetarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers.
Catch up with the Doctor Who craze by watching the series from the beginning.
Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Visit Nerdy Day Trips and find geeky stuff to do near you.
Go to the planetarium.
Take a dream vacay to the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand.
Spend a few romantic nights in the Hobbit House of Montana.
Visit the actual Lord of the Rings movie set.
Travel to the Chott el Djerid salt lakes in Tunisia, which were transformed into Luke Skywalker's home on Tatooine.

See the rest of the list after the break!

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:59:00 PDT

8:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (new)
9:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (new)
10:00 20/20 (new)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live (repeat)

8:00 A Gifted Man (new)
9:00 CSI: NY (new)
10:00 Blue Bloods (new)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (new, with guest Bill Cosby)
12:37 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (new, with guest Neil Patrick Harris)

8:00 Kitchen Nightmares (new)
9:00 Fringe (new)

8:00 Chuck (new)
9:00 Grimm (new)
10:00 Dateline NBC (new)
11:35 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (new, with guests Miss Piggy and Mickey Rourke)
12:35 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (new, with guest Eddie Murphy and Drew Carey)

8:00 Nikita (new)
9:00 Supernatural (new)

Man on a Ledge Trailer: Sam Worthington's on a Suicide Mission

Shannon Vestal — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 05:30:00 PDT

Man on a Ledge starts out with a premise that's not terribly groundbreaking, but the trailer reveals a pretty interesting twist halfway through. A desperate man (Sam Worthington) steps out onto a ledge of a high-rise building with the intention of jumping. As a suicide negotiator (Elizabeth Banks), police, and a crowd of freaked-out onlookers assemble around him, he relates his predicament. The man, Nick, is an ex-con who refuses to go back to prison, and he sees no other way out besides death.

Here's where the twist comes in: Nick is just providing a large-scale distraction while his brother (Jamie Bell) pulls off a massive diamond heist - a crime that's way easier to commit when the police have something better to worry about, like making sure a guy doesn't leap off a building into the city street below. The trailer is tense and heart-pounding, and there's a "make it rain" reference that makes it worth watching, so to check out the trailer for Man on a Ledge, just keep reading.

Justin Theroux Helps Shield Jennifer Aniston From the Rain

Allie Merriam — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:32:39 PDT

Justin Theroux helped shield Jennifer Aniston from the rain as they left their NYC place today. The couple were out on their latest errand-running adventure since touching down in the Big Apple last week. They spent their weekend together, dining out, taking walks, and enjoying the beginning of Fall in the city. Work, though, will soon be keeping Jennifer busy. She's set to do press for her upcoming Lifetime project Five ahead of its debut on the network on Monday, Oct. 10. Jen's clearly focused on her filmmaking and her man Justin, while her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, is trying to clear up some statements he recently made about their marriage. After kicking up controversy by calling the '90s, when he and Jen were married, dull, Brad further clarified his Aniston comments. He said at yesterday's Oakland premiere of Moneyball, "That was never my intention for it to be spun that way. People read things into it that just weren't there."

Brooke Burke and David Charvet Secretly Wed - See Their Pre-Ceremony Bikini and Shirtless Pictures!

Molly Goodson — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 11:09:50 PDT

Brooke Burke sported a perfect tan and a tiny bikini on the beach with her man David Charvet and their two kids, Rain and Shaya, in St. Barts on Thursday. The happy family looked relaxed, and little did anyone know it was just one day before Brooke and David were set to tie the knot. Brooke Burke and David Charvet had a secret wedding on the beach on Friday! Brooke and David lounged in bikinis and shirtless earlier in the week as they geared up for their big day. Brooke and David have been engaged for five years, though they were not public about their specific timeline on making it official. Brooke also has two kids from her previous marriage, and while she looks amazing in her two-pieces, at the moment it's David's time to shine in our 2011 shirtless bracket. Congrats to the newlyweds Brooke and David and their family!

What Odd Mementos Did You Keep From Your Wedding?

Colleen Barrett — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 12:30:18 PST

Keeping the wedding dress, bouquet, or invitation is expected, but now The New York Times is calling out a new trend: keeping something unexpected.

Some out-of-the-wedding-book mementos require planning, but I'd say the best ones are spontaneous, like the couple who kept a Spider-Man water squirter that was a prize from a box of Froot Loops guests opened to use as confetti in a makeshift, postceremony parade. One bride went all Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for her destination wedding by sending her wedding-day shoes to all her female friends who couldn't make it for signatures.

And then there are the unexpected mementos that start traditions. One couple kept a jar of rain from their wedding day, which they've since used sparingly to baptize their children. A little water remains, but the woman has begun collecting rain for other couples with stormy-day weddings. Sunny-dayers, you're on your own!

So planned or not, if you're married did you keep anything out of the ordinary? And if you aren't, would you plan to?

Source: Flickr User tantrum_dan

Screw-the-Snow Fish Tacos

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 04:47:25 PDT

Not quite feeling like Spring yet in your neck of the woods? Don't despair. Rather, follow in Fresh Tart's footsteps and cheer yourself up with gluten-free fish tacos!

The weather, I promised myself I would not talk about the weather.

But forget it man, this is Minnesota, and we talk about the weather. So here it is: It rained ice last night, as John and I were on our way from not one but two fabulous dinners.

See how she conquered the cold with fish tacos (recipe included!) when you keep reading.