Kaba Wows Kelly’s
June 16, 2008
Red Mango and ‘Hyphen’ Partner for Benefit
Yul Kwon and Mark Young hosted a charity event benefiting the victims of the China earthquake on June 7 at the South of Mission restaurant Circolo. The entertainment power duo and their Red Mango business partner Richard Choo sported red gear from their Palo Alto-based probiotic frozen yogurt franchise. Kingston Wu, who organized the fund-raiser, announced on Tuesday that the 500-plus attendees raised $15,000 at the door, and that a matching corporate grant would deliver the grand total of $32,000 to the Tzu Chi Foundation.
Kaba Modern Wows Kelly’s Mission Rock
Kaba Modern dipped into San Francisco’s favorite Mission Bay nightclub on June 5 for a stellar performance. Wild 94.9 DJs Romeo and Maniakal kept the hip-hop and mash-ups spinning, while Kaba Modern proved that black is the new black in full-coverage gear — running contrary to the crowd, who apparently took their fashion advice from Britney Spears during her Cheetos/Starbucks days. Want pants to go with that shirt?
Wahlberg Fears Fatherhood Failure
China Chow’s ex Mark Wahlberg is expecting a third baby with his fiancée, Rhea Durham, but he isn’t ready for Father’s Day. “My fear is failing as a father, as a friend, as a son. I have a lot of responsibility and a lot of people counting on me. And I know God has put me in this position to put back and try to create some opportunities for others, show kids there is another way,” he told People.com. Maybe Wahlberg should have saved the self-pitying monologue and used a condom instead. Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder after a 1988 robbery attempt that left a Vietnamese American man permanently blind in one eye.
Pennywise and Aoki Collide at BFD
Pennywise’s Jim Lindberg razzed Steve Aoki’s DJ set from the safety of the Budweiser stage at LIVE105’s BFD concert on June 7, joking that Lindsay Lohan and Ashlee Simpson were rocking out to fake punk at the Subsonic Tent. “F— people who think they’re better than you just because they’re beautiful,” Lindberg screamed, adding that pumped-up “heirheads” simply wasted space. Aoki didn’t seem to care as he delivered a megaset
following Santogold and DJ AM.
Dengue Fever Spreads at Jewish Museum Opening
Many are still wondering how Cambodian punk band Dengue Fever figured into last Saturday’s opening party for the new Contemporary Jewish Museum near Yerba Buena Gardens, but, regardless, front woman Chhom Nimol was the subject of an amazing documentary film at last year’s San Francisco Independent Film Festival. Sleepwalking Through the Mekong chronicled Nimol’s return to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in 2005. The band told the San Francisco Chronicle that they always plop Khmer-speaking Nimol at The Fairmont Hotel’s Tonga Room when she feels homesick for Cambodia’s lush tropical weather.
Crash Kills Stuntman, Woo Stunned
John Woo has been working on Red Cliff for an eternity now, but this time, filming will have to stop for the latest tragedy to hit the set: 23-year-old stuntman, Lu Yangqing, died when his small boat crashed on location in Beijing and caught on fire. News.com Australia reported that rescue teams suspect the crew accidentally ignited a flame, which caused the gas-filled boat to explode. Woo was not on set at the time for the Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro epic. Three other people were rushed to the hospital following the accident.
Be Nice to Nerds, Say Lesbians
Angelina Jolie, long-touted as THE celebrity desktop wallpaper icon, has officially fallen out of favor … for lesbians, at least. AfterEllen.com reports that its second annual “Hot 100″ list voted a new number one — and you’ll never guess who. Okay, I’ll be nice: it’s Tina Fey. Granted, Fey has come under fire for her seemingly racist portrayals of Asian Americans in films such as Mean Girls and off-color SNL jokes, over 100,000 lesbians agree that “smart, sexy, funny and down-to-earth: That’s what lesbians like!” AfterEllens.com’s top five consisted of The L Word actresses and comedian Bridget McManus, a stark contrast to men’s magazine Top 100 list favorites Jessica Biel, Eva Longoria, Lucy Liu, and Megan Fox.
Spike Disses Dirty Harry!
Jeff Adachi‘s The Slanted Screen critiqued Clint Eastwood’s crude portrayal of a Chinese immigrant waiter in the film, Human Factor, but only director Spike Lee had the balls to actually confront the actor-cum-mayor-cum-director in a heated tête-à-tête. TMZ reported that Eastwood had told Spike Lee to “shut his face” after Lee complained about the lack of African American soldiers in Eastwood’s World War II films. Lee, whose got a natural knack for drama, retorted with: “First of all, the man is not my father and we’re not on a plantation, either. He’s a great director … I didn’t personally attack him. And a comment like, ‘A guy like that should shut his face,’ come on Clint, come one. He sounds like an angry old man right there.” Let the orneriness begin!
Metallica Hates Freedom of Speech
First, it was Lars Ulrichs who attacked music downloads via Napster, saying that the Internet would kill the music industry. Well, it didn’t, and social networking for musicians and artists is booming with Alive Not Dead, Imeem, SnoCap, and MySpace Music. Next on the kill sheet: BLOGS. Metallica went all China Censorship Board on The Quietus’ mildly negative review of their new album (posted after attending a London listening party), and the posting is now only found through Google’s vast archive of deleted Web content. “[It] was full of praise about a return to form,” The Quietus editor Luke Turner told Blinded By The Hype. “We only eventually removed the article earlier today to protect the professional interests of the writer concerned.” Maybe the Internet phobes should have skipped the preview party, and sent the old bait-and-switch review to Rolling Stone magazine instead.
Brit’s Papp Ex Leaks Sex Tape
The honeymoon is officially over for everyone’s favorite scumbag, Adnan Ghalib, but Kevin Federline isn’t the only one benefiting from Britney Spears‘ latest “What was she thinking?” conquest (Federline recently won the Father of the Year Award from Prive nightclub in Las Vegas). Ghalib is keeping a low profile after he was allegedly stabbed for trying to sell a video of Spears stripteasing for him during a trip to Mexico in 2007. “Yes, I was injured by an attacker,” Ghalib was quoted on StarPulse.com, “I can’t say much about the cowardly attack other than: a) you better come a lot stronger than that if you want to make a point, and b) most will be surprised by those behind it.” In other news, there’s one man who can’t make money off Britney Spears’ backside: Ed McMahon. “There were about 100 paparazzi there,” complained his real estate agent.
QUOTE
“That moment may have been the biggest mistake that I have to undo over 10 years so the little old lady doesn’t go, ‘Oh, he’s the guy who makes the scary movies with a twist.’”
– M. Night Shyamalan on how Disney screwed his career, but you already knew that halfway through (New York Times)
Obama-mania Hits Japan
Technically, they were there first. The sleepy town of Obama, Japan, is milking the U.S. Democratic Campaign master for all its worth by hawking sweet bean treats stamped with “I [heart] Obama” and a cartoon image of the State Senator’s likeness. Barack Obama even received a pair of chopsticks from the city’s mayor. “I look forward to a future marked by the continued friendship of our two great nations and a shared commitment to a better, freer world,” Obama replied. In the meantime, Obama’s hometown (Honolulu, Hawaii) will have to prepare for the Obama Girls, a troupe of hula dancers who hope to “dance before Obama as he becomes president,” said team leader Chikako Shimizu. (source: Inventor Spot)
‘Brokeback’ Opera in the Works
And, why not? Hollywood is officially out of ideas … and it seems like the opera world is, too. Not only will Amy Tan’s The Bonesetter’s Daughter be turned to the stage this Fall in San Francisco, but Annie Proulx will see her Ang Lee-directed Oscar favorite, Brokeback Mountain, light the stage in New York City in time for the 2013 spring season, reports the Los Angeles Times. “Ever since encountering Annie Proulx’s extraordinary story I have wanted to make an opera on it,” said composer Charles Wuorinen, who also did the treatment for Salman Rushdie’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Hey, if they can turn a bunch of Abba records into a Broadway musical, then the sky’s the limit. Though, I just can’t see the solo for “I Can’t Quit You” without the obligatory spooning.
Zhang and Grant to Shoot in September
Variety reports that Zhang Ziyi and Hugh Grant will star in Danish director Susanne Bier’s latest romantic comedy, Lost for Words, starting in September 2008. Zhang will be playing a Chinese movie star and Hugh Grant will be playing a caddish British comedian trying to score with Zhang for a role in an upcoming film. In other words, they’ll be playing themselves to a tee. Grant, I hear, has been remarkable thus far in researching the role by getting himself in the tabloids for crashing an all-girls school house party and getting sauced in public. In other news, Zhang is still A-list Cannes bait on the red carpet.
Rushdie an Unlikely Gold Digger
Salman Rushdie is tired of angering conservative Muslims, so he’s returning to his days as a young, 20-year-old university student in the “Mud Angels” volunteer troop. “They got a bunch of us students to go through the rubble of churches with plates and tweezers to see if we could find bits of gold flake on the floor,” Rushdie recalled to TheStar.com. “When we found some, we would pick it up with the tweezers and put it on the plate because it might belong to a Cimabue or a Giotto.” The Arno River flooded in 1967, destroying many artifacts, and Rushdie volunteered that year to restore the broken works.
Imbruglia Snuggles to Campbell’s Ex-Con Ex
Natalie Imbruglia never lost her taste for the bad boys, even though she and estranged husband, Silverchair’s Daniel Johns, are seeing other people. The Australian singer, who once dated Lenny Kravitz, is now seeing Naomi Campbell’s ex, nightclub visionary Chris Paciello. “We go out when I’m in LA. He’s sweet and funny, but I don’t want to say any more than that,” Imbruglia told News.com Australia. Paciello has not only been linked to celebrity sweethearts Jennifer Lopez and Madonna, but also served seven years after pleading guilty to armed robbery in New York City in 1993. Maybe Imbruglia’s just looking for a new muse? “I think when it comes to creativity, I am more inspired by suffering than happiness,” said the broken-hearted gal.
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