News & General Info

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Holiday Spirit

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove I don’t know about you, but sometimes wrapping gifts can be a major hassle during the holiday season. Many charities and volunteer groups are helping out shoppers by offering low cost or free gift wrapping services at businesses like Barnes & Noble. When I dropped by the Barnes & Noble on North San Fernando Boulevard in Burbank late one evening last […]
Saturday, December 13, 2008

Fresh Christmas tree sales still strong

FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove Two shoppers purchased a fresh Chrstmas tree at a Burbank lot and then stuffed it into a convertible VW.   Shoppers are cutting back on a lot of things this holiday season, but apparently that does not include natural Christmas trees. I can’t really blame them. Artificial trees are economical. Yet, you don’t get that special fragrance and feel of a […]
Friday, December 12, 2008

Famous pin-up model Bettie Page dead at 85

Bettie (also known as Betty) Page’s sexy, but fun photos became all the rage in the 1950s. Page is credited with helping usher in the sexual revolution of the 1960s. Last night, Page died at a hospital in Los Angeles. Page had been battling pneumonia when she suffered a heart attack on December 2. Page’s most famous pictures showed her in high heels, swimsuits, […]
Thursday, December 11, 2008

2008 Golden Globe Award nominees announced today

  The race for the 2008 Golden Globe Awards began today with the announcement of the nominees. Getting the most nominations on the film side, “Doubt”, “Frost/Nixon,” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Each movie was nominated in five categories by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Frost/Nixon” were both nominated for best picture, […]
Thursday, December 11, 2008

The producers react to SAG’s strike authorization vote

  The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers wasted no time in creating a response to yesterday’s announcement of a strike authorization vote by the Screen Actors Guild. On its website the AMPTP, the representative for the big studios, slammed SAG’s leadership for the breakdown in the contract talks. The AMPTP warned the actors that, “… no strike can solve the problems […]
Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Screen Actors Guild moves closer to a strike vote

The Screen Actors Guild is gearing up for a strike authorization vote. Today on its website, SAG announced the ballots for that vote will be going out to the membership on January 2, 2009. This is a serious step in the direction of another crippling labor strike in the entertainment industry. On Monday, SAG leaders reportedly got a lot of positive feedback to their […]
Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Jay Leno gets a new NBC deal

Today NBC revealed some details of that new primetime gig for “The Tonight Show” host Jay Leno. Hollywood and the media have been buzzing about the new Leno show since yesterday. NBC Entertainment/Universal Media Studios co-heads, Ben Silverman and Marc Graboff, joined Leno to make the official announcement at a news conference in Universal City. Leno will vacate “The Tonight Show” desk on Friday, May 29, […]
Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Ex-Wal-Mart employee recounts Black Friday experience — Part 2

    There is a lot of fallout from the Black Friday death of a temp employee at a New York Wal-Mart store. The worker, Jdimytai Damour, was 6-5 and tipped the scales at 270 pounds. Nevertheless, when a bargain hungry throng of two thousand or so shoppers rammed through the doors, Damour was trampled to death. A few days ago, […]
Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Fourth grader’s dating book gets a movie deal

Alec Greven is only 9-years-old, but he knows a thing or two about sweet talking girls. The Colorado fourth grader wrote a self-help pamphlet for his fellow students at the age of eight. “How to Talk to Girls,” was a big hit at a school book fair. Publisher Harper Collins snatched up the dating book and released it last month.     […]