What’s fake, real people? The week is over and I’m set for
another quick two days before the cycle starts again. With the longest serving
Republican in Senate history, Ted Stevens, leaving his colleagues to carry on
without him as he appeals his recent conviction on federal charges for
concealing more than $250,000 in gifts to George Steinbrenner handing ownership
of the NY Yankees to his son. Add on to all that, the stock market going up and
down with the crazy economy. Yep. Just another five days.
Shout out to Charlize Theron, the new United Nations
Messenger of Peace and the sounding boards for reinforcing the law of numbers.
Here it comes…the Last Word for the week ending Nov. 21,
2008.
1.
Mariah Carey Composes Big Hit on the Toilet
It’s amazing how hit songs are made. From real drama with
exes and former friends to being happy with the perks of fame, inspiration for
a radio friendly No. 1 track can come from a variety of sources.
So why not have it come from doing your business in the
bathroom? It worked for Mariah Carey, who admitted to getting the idea to write
her hit tune “Hero” while using the toilet during a break from recording.
If it doesn’t come to her in the bathroom, Mariah gets her
song ideas from her dreams while she sleeps.
“Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and have an
idea and have to get up and record it straight away before I forget it,” Carey
shared with the TV show This Morning.
“Or with ‘Hero’ I was in the studio and someone was telling me about this film Hero with Dustin Hoffman in it. I took a walk to the loo
and when I came back I had this idea for a song, and that was what then became
‘Hero.’”
I thought it was common knowledge that many artists receive
their inspiration from sitting on the toilet. With all the good and bad sh*t
that’s played 40 million times a day on the radio, are you surprised?
2. Justin
Timberlake Gets Sued By Ex-Busboys
Justin Timberlake may have found time to be one of Beyoncé’s
dancers in a Saturday Night Live spoof
of the diva’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” video, but he’s catching flack
for not taking care of a busboy that used to work at his restaurant Southern
Hospitality BBQ & Bar.
E! Online reports that Felipe Ramales has filed a new
federal lawsuit that alleges that he and some fellow employees were not given
their rightful share of automatic gratuity charges that were applied to tables
of six or more.
The 26-year-old employee, who worked at the eatery for a
year, also claims that he didn’t receive any overtime pay for regularly working
more than 40 hours a week.
As expected, a Southern Hospitality rep disputed Ramales’
allegations by labeling the claims as being “baseless.” as well. The restaurant
manager, Chris Russell, also spoke on the case as he told E! that the workers’
salaries were well over minimum wage and that they took home every bit of their
tips.
No word from Justin or his partners in response to the suit.
3. Tyler
Perry’s Diary Up For Court Exposure
Looks like Madea, or rather Tyler Perry, is headed to court.
The Marshall News Messenger reports the actor/mogul is being sued by a woman named Donna West.
According to the suit, West claims Perry’s#### film adaptation of his stage
play Diary of a Mad
Black Woman was “copied largely from
plaintiff’s copyrighted script.”
The “original script,” created by West in November 1990 and
performed in a play in Dallas in July 1991, is called Fantasy of a Black
Woman.
Perry’s attorneys dispute the copyright infringement
allegations, saying “the materials claimed to have been copied from the
Plaintiff’s work are not protected by copyright law because they are ideas,
facts, conventions or clichés of story-telling, script-writing or
movie-making.”
“Defendants were not aware and had no reason to believe that
their acts constituted an infringement of copyright,” stated the attorney.
West is suing Perry individually and as a businessman
working with Tyler Perry Company, Tyler Perry Company Inc. and Lions Gate
Entertainment Inc. She is seeking a judgment for “actual damages, plus the
amount of defendants’ profits attributable to the infringement.”
In addition, West wants court costs and reasonable attorney
fees paid as well as a an order preventing Perry from “publishing, selling,
marketing, or otherwise disposing of any copies of the infringing material” in
addition to making the entertainer destroy “all infringing copies and all
plates, molds, electronic files and other matter for making infringing copies.”
The recently selected jury for the case is scheduled to hear
evidence before U.S. District Judge Leonard Davis on Dec. 2.
4. The
Wayans Gear Up for Munsters Close-Up
As if we need another TV show to come to the big screen. It
seems that the Wayans’ Brothers are close to bringing a remake of the old hit
series The Munsters to a movie theater
near you. According to MTV News, the third draft of a script for the feature is
being finalized.
Originally airing from 1964 to 1966 on CBS, The Munsters centered on the odd but friendly Munster family with
the head of the house, Herman, being Frankenstein. Part of the sitcom’s humor
involved Herman who could never understand why people reacted to them
strangely.
“We were big fans of The Munsters. We grew up watching them. We loved the characters,”
said Shawn Wayans. “We thought that they would be a very, very funny movie. You
know, they did ‘The Addams Family,’ which I thought wasn’t that funny or
well-thought out of a show, but they did it ‘cuz they had a catchy theme song
and turned it into a movie. I thought The Munsters had the real meat and potatoes rich characters.”
The near completion of the script is the newest development
surrounding the remake since the Wayans first announced their involvement with
the film in the summer of 2004. And if you’re wondering if the Wayans will have
a dominant presence in the film, think again.
“If we do anything, maybe we’ll do a cameo, but we’re not
gonna make The Munsters Black all of a
sudden,” Shawn said. “They’re gonna be green, white people just like they were
in the TV show. Their characters are still who they were in the ‘50s. It’s just
in modern day.”
No word yet on who would be cast for the film. Maybe they
should talk to the Jacksons. With all their issues, they could stand to show
some family unity for a few dollars.
5. Prince
Reeks Under Perfume Company Lawsuit; Coughs Up Dough for Video Editor
Other entertainers may be having a good week, but Prince is
starting to collect cases like R. Kelly.
Billboard reports a
perfume company called Revelations over a deal that went sour is taking the
Purple One to task. The fragrance maker is suing Prince for not making good on
his promise to help promote a 3121 fragrance.
The lawsuit, which was filed in New York State Supreme
Court, states that Prince and music publisher Universal Music Publishing Group
reached a licensing agreement with Revelations in December 2006 to use the
crooner’s name and likeness and the name “3121” to market two fragrances.
“Since July 2007, despite repeated attempts by Revelations
there have been virtually no communications from anyone who could commit to or
coordinate any promotional efforts by Prince,” according to the breach of
contract lawsuit, which also noted that the first fragrance was released in
2007 while the second is slated to come out in 2009
The new case comes on the heels of a recent court order for
Prince to shell out $58,000 to a video editor named Ian C. Lewis. The Grammy
winner was recently ordered to pay Lewis after a short trial last month. Lewis
claims Prince failed to pay him for editing work and unreturned equipment. In
addition, the video editor claimed the vocalist and his company, Paisley Park
Enterprises, broke a $25,000 computer because no receipts were provided.
So much for him being a Sexy MF. I guess in the eyes of
certain folks, Prince is just a regular MF. Fame. Gotta love it.
6. Beyoncé
and Pink Think About Thanksgiving Ups and Downs
With Thanksgiving coming next week, it’s time to make room
for more than enough turkey, cranberry sauce, veggies and dessert to make you
roll away from the table or catch an early nap from being full.
But if you plan to spend the holiday with Beyoncé and Jay-Z,
don’t expect to be stuffed off anything prepared by the artist also known as
Sasha Fierce. Although she feels like she should try her luck in the kitchen,
Bey may end up eating out for turkey day because she’ll readily tell you that
she cannot cook.
“I like the idea of being able to cook but I just can’t do
it,” Beyoncé revealed to WENN. “I have to call my mom and she has to be on the
phone the whole time because I’m burning stuff.”
I guess Jay didn’t put a ring on it for her culinary skills.
At least not in the kitchen. Bang, bang, bang!!
While Bey tries to find another way to make stomachs bust
for Thanksgiving, Pink would rather move past memories of turkey days gone bad.
The cause of it all, according to the pop star, was her willingness to drink
tequila with friends before eating lunch.
“I ended up with 13 stitches in my hand, the food was all
over the floor,” recalled the pop star, who told Access Hollywood that “We decided between six of us to drink three
bottles of Patron before 11am, and when somebody was saying grace, I decided
that the sweet potatoes should be on my father-in-law’s head, so I dumped the
bowl on his head.”
Just when you think the alcohol could not do any more
damage, the mayhem continued as Pink remembers having a close call in the
kitchen and her bedroom.
“I ended up in the pool, and I almost had a heart attack and
then I was chopping ice and I cut my hand open, had to go to the ER but I
couldn’t feel a thing; it was fascinating actually – when you’re that
drunk and you can just watch the stitches happening,” the songstress said. “And
then I set my bedroom on fire because we (Pink and ex-husband Carey Hart) went
upstairs to have a quickie (sex) and I left a cigarette in the oven mitt.”
So there you have it. A few reasons why you should not drink
and give thanks. That’s a lot to go through to get your turkey stuffed on
Turkey Day.
In Other Words…
* Looks like
the ruckus over California’s same-sex marriage ban has brought out comedian
Wanda Sykes, who officially came out recently at a gay right’s rally in Las
Vegas.
“You know, I don’t really talk about my sexual orientation.
I didn’t feel like I had to. I was just living my life, not necessarily in the
closet, but I was living my life,” Sykes told a crowd as she felt like she was
“attacked” when Cali’s Proposition 8 passed. “Everybody that knows me
personally, they know I’m gay. But that’s the way people should be able to live
their lives.”
“Now, I gotta get in their face,” she continued. “I’m proud
to be a woman. I’m proud to be a Black woman, and I’m proud to be gay.”
* After four
years of being out of the public eye, Syleena Johnson is on her way back with
her upcoming album, Chapter 4: Labor Pains.
The album, which includes the singles “It Is True” and “Shoo Fly,” will hit
stores on January 13, 2009.
