Gawker
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oscars
Iron Man's Rap Sheet Of Drunken Break-Ins Confuses Japanese Populace
Before his career resurgence in Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.'s best-known performances involved Wild Turkey, aluminum foil-wrapped inducements, and the cushy beds of strangers. As the actor recounts, these roles apparently never made it overseas. More » -
tom cruise
Tom Cruise Inherits Coveted K-Fed Spot on 'Details' Magazine's 2008 Power List
Details unveiled Tom Cruise this morning as the cover boy of its annual Power Issue. Sadly, Cruise only makes No. 7 — a position shared last year by Kevin Federline and Larry Birkhead. But perhaps it's the thought that counts: Previous Power Issues have ranked the "most influential men under 45," but the magazine has expanded its age range in 2008 to include "the most influential men under 47," thus barely qualifying the 46 year-old star in time for his Valkyrie promo tour. Excerpts of his acceptance speech follow the jump. More »
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Comment by Miss d: When did Details turn into The Advocate? Oh wait... it's transformation from engaging, thoughful, well written Mens magazine to vapid,... 1 Responses | Other threads
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the soloist
Robert Downey Jr. Saved, Jamie Foxx Doomed in 'Soloist' Oscar Oblivion
The fallout from Paramount's recent release-date shuffle continues today, with agents and saber-rattling DreamWorks brass continuing their protest over The Soloist's move to 2009. While we sustain our first impression that the Jamie Foxx/Robert Downey Jr. tearjerker will in fact be better than the diabetic-coma inducing trailers already in circulation, that's not much comfort to those who fear the bump from November to March will impugn Soloist's profile among critics and audiences alike. But now, as a peace offering to the angry gods at CAA who packaged the film for the 'Works with its clients Downey, Foxx and director Joe Wright, Paramount has forged a silver lining for one-third of that jilted braintrust. More » -
tropic thunder
Going Full Fair. We've already had our day of fun at the L.A. County Fair this past Saturday, but if you stop by tomorrow, make sure to check out the Pepper Street Stage at noon. It will play host to a whole array of planned "Activities for Retarded Children & Adults," which you'll either want to check out, or picket, depending upon which side of the Simple Jack controversy you fall. [LA County Fair] -
tropic thunder
'Thunder' Strikes Again in Hollywood Holiday Wasteland
Rising and shining today after a long, lucrative season of hits and hits and hits — the second richest on record, we're told — what better way to welcome fall than with a hungover glimpse at the Labor Day weekend's multiplex triumphs? Another day off, you say? We're afraid we can't help you there, so for now, behold your Tuesday Morning Box Office: More » -
college
Hollywood Treats Labor Day Moviegoers to Festive Abundance Of Crap
Welcome to a special Labor Day edition of Defamer Attractions, your regular guide to what's new, noteworthy and potentially nausea-inducing this week at the movies. We're as shocked as anyone to see another bottleneck for wide releases, with five films vying for scarce holiday dollars before studios roll out their fall collections. Alas, there they are — only one dumpee can finish on top, and our overeducated guess follows below. We've also got a hunch over who stands to lose big, our regular underdog pick for your consideration, and the best of the best new DVD releases for you three-day-weekend homebodies. As always, our choices are our own but positively elegant in their accuracy. You're welcome! More »
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By STVComment by RonMwangaguhunga: Is this the week the excellent Don Cheadle actually becomes a solid A-Lister -- and not just a great character... 3 Responses | Other threads
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monday morning box office
'Tropic Thunder' Makes America's Pee-Pee Maker T-t-tingle
Having been nudged awake this morning by a shirtless man in a fedora and pink Chuck Taylors as you snoozed peacefully beneath a table outside Intelligentsia Cafe, another Sunset Junction appears to have come and gone—as has any memory of the last seven hours you spent there. We'll give you a moment to gather your belongings before inundating you with the weekend's box office receipts: More » -
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tom cruise
Will This Performance Save Tom Cruise's Career?
If nothing else, Tropic Thunder will go down as summer 2008's greatest single incubator of distractingly hairy outcroppings. Having already been lulled into a heady 'stache trance by the marvelous things happening atop Robert Downey Jr.'s lip on a recent GMA appearance, we now present for you a scene featuring Tom Cruise's much buzzed-about cameo as Les Grossman, the furry-knuckled, sociopathic studio chief who wants his war movie delivered on time and under budget. More » -
monday morning box office
'Thunder' Ushers In Tom Cruise's Bear Period
Having paid tribute this weekend to Michael Phelps's historic athletic achievement with a record-shattering of your own in the 200-liter grain-alcohol-medley, your soaring national pride has likely given way to the agony of hangover defeat. Have some box office number; they're full of electrolytes: More »
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By SethComment by michaelmadison: AWESOME move!! His dancing...ahhh...not so much. But the movie was great! Full Retard [www.michaelmadison.com] more » | Other threads
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Comment by FlangeSqueal: Poor Teeny Tom. Check out the platform shoes. This retard needs some serious help. more » | Other threads
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tropic thunder
Weak 'Thunder' Still Strong Enough to Rain on 'Dark Knight' Parade
Welcome back to Defamer Attractions, your bulletproof one-stop resource for the weekend in new moviegoing. Or sort of bulletproof — Pineapple Express burned us last week with a late slowdown, but we're preparing to bet the farm on The Dark Knight's fall from box-office supremacy by Sunday night. But is what's replacing it even any good? Yes and no, but we'll get to that, as we will with this week's best release off the beaten path and a look-see at new DVD releases for the tired, cheap and/or agoraphobic among us. As always, our opinions are our own, but as long they're right, what's to argue? More »
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By STVComment by joerosenberg: Thunder was awesome! Might resurrect Cruise. more » | Other threads
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Comment by overqualified: It's like a cooler version of the infinite cat project. www.infinitecat.com more » | Other threads
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robert downey jr
Actor's Mustache Hijacks Candid 'GMA' Discussion of Race and Entertainment
If you think you've had about all you can stand of whatever controversy Tropic Thunder is shoveling today, try notching down the dosage a bit with Robert Downey Jr.'s appearance today on Good Morning America. Eschewing a straight discussion of his ostensibly incendiary portrayal of an Australian Method actor in blackface, RDJ brought his over-lit facial hair to bear on Chris Cuomo and the rest of the studio crew, whose early laughter fades into a riveted 'stache trance unseen since then-UN Ambassador John Bolton made a news round-up way back in 2005. Try for yourself, but only if you're insured and have a friend nearby to spot you. We can't have that many lost work hours on our conscience, at least not in this economy. [ABC] -
tropic thunder
'Tropic Thunder' Offensive Repelled at Box Office with $7.5 Million Opening
Attribute it to whatever phenomena you want — the potheads stayed away, the groupies weren't interested, RetardGate '08 — but Tropic Thunder opened softer than planned on Wednesday. Ben Stiller's Hollywood satire pulled in around $7.5 million, prompting observers to downgrade their weekend estimates that should nevertheless keep the film in first place above Star Wars: The Clone Wars and The Dark Knight this weekend. The turnout looked that much worse when compared to that of Pineapple Express, which drew more than $12 million last Wednesday — the best midweek, R-rated comedy opening in ages. More »
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By STVComment by Adora Belle Dearheart: I saw it on Saturday afternoon. There was a little girl sitting right in front of me, no more than 5... more » | Other threads
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etan cohen
Exclusive: 'Tropic Thunder' Writer Stops Making Fun Of Mentally Challenged People Just Long Enough To Let Us Interview Him
Take a good look at that Tropic Thunder poster. Go past the glossy, airbrushed photos of the film's many stars, past the lush jungle setting, past the fiery explosions, and you might notice something. See there? Down at the bottom? It says "Screenplay by Ben Stiller & Justin Theroux, and Etan Cohen." Sure, other more "legitimate" media outlets may give all the ink to those first two dudes, but here at Defamer we like to dig a little deeper. Just who is this Etan Cohen fellow and how did he get roped in to working on the biggest comedy of the summer? Stick around after the jump to hear one of Hollywood's newest writing stars dish the dirt about meeting Tom Cruise for the first time, what it feels like to suddenly have people kissing your ass, and why you shouldn't be offended by all that Simple Jack stuff. More »
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By nickmComment by Josh Heflin: um...Tropic Thunder was great, and Religion has nothing to do with anything you judgmental ass. more » | Other threads
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jack black
Ben Stiller And Jack Black Draw Clear Line Between Movie Retardation/ Flatulence And The Real Thing
With Tropic Thunder —the product of Ben Stiller's harrowing journey into the heart of retarded darkness— storming multiplexes today, the film's stars are going into promotional hyperdrive. And nothing sells your movie more than some old-fashioned controversy—particularly one in which you're accused of being insensitive to the disabled. (Semitic advocacy groups, meanwhile, surprised everyone by seeing nothing objectionable in Tom Cruise's minstrelsy, Jewface performance.) On the GMA hotseat today was Stiller and co-star Jack Black, both of whom calmly explained that in matters of insensitivity and bodily function, context is everything; framed by the movie's central comedic conceit of actorly self-indulgence, then, not a single dropped R-bomb or ass-bomb should be considered anything other than purely satirical. More » -
tom cruise
Cruise to Jolie: Have My Spy Thriller, I Want 'Food Fight'
Have you heard? Tom Cruise has positively rejuvenated his career with an unbilled, unrecognizable cameo in an R-rated action comedy yet to open! How should he best ride the buzz from his shockingly profane comic role in Tropic Thunder, the likes of which we have never seen him play before? What career move could he possibly make to show discerning audiences that his edgy side is no fluke? More »
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Comment by Dr_Venkman: @Greasy Thumb Guzik: Juliette Lewis and Giovanni Ribisi are missing from the cast. more » | Other threads
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tropic thunder
'Thunder' Premiere Showdown Pits Megastars Against Disabled Who Obviously Don't Get The Joke
Despite all traces of Simple Jack—veteran fake-action-star Tugg Speedman's brazen Oscar-shot playing a stuttering, simpleton farmhand—having been literally whitewashed from the web, activists remain outraged over Tropic Thunder's depiction-within-a-depiction of the developmentally disabled as bucktoothed "retards" incapable of expressing affection without the use of the phrase, "You mm-mm-m-ake my p-p-pee-peemaker t-t-t-tingle." (Sheesh—so touchy.) As threatened, dozens of placard-wielding protesters outfitted in 'Retard'busters T-shirts marched outside last night's premiere in Westwood, giving the proceedings the strangely familiar air of an RGA West strike line. From the AP report: More »
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By SethComment by NotReadyForPrimeTime: Maybe the "Retard Busters" should think about protesting CO$, since Tom Cruise is in this movie. Scientologists believe that... more » | Other threads
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tropic thunder
'Retard' Wars Heat Up as 'Tropic Thunder' Boycott Imminent
After two consecutive close calls, The Dark Knight's stunning box-office reign faces More » -
megan fox
Megan Fox In The Role She Was Born to Play: An NC-17 Mother Teresa
Hot on the heels of Simple Jack (the fake, controversy-baiting trailer from Tropic Thunder that was eventually yanked) comes the trailer for Teresa: The Making of a Saint, an NC-17 Mother Teresa biopic starring Transformers actress (and parrot lover) Megan Fox. But wait! Could this, too, be a fake trailer, what with its cast made up of Hollywood heavyweights like "Sir Ben Queensly"? Indeed, it's just the latest in Hollywood's brand-new obsession with fake ads for real movies, this one designed to draw buzz for the Vanity Fair-set roman à clef How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, starring Fox as actress "Sophie Maes." Forgive us, but we'd much rather see Teresa than the real movie it's designed to promote — especially if the saintly missionary arrives in Calcutta tossing off Diablo Cody-penned bon mots like, "Fried bologna is the bomb!" More »
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Comment by kyle4: She's just so hot I can't take it. Maybe they got the fake trailers idea from Grindhouse? They worked there. more » | Other threads
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tropic thunder
DreamWorks Goes 'No Retard,' Yanks 'Simple Jack' Site
Well, that was fast: Mere days after first drawing attention on a disability issues blog (and eventually going under magnifying glasses at the NY Times and here at Defamer HQ), DreamWorks's mock Web site for Simple Jack is gone. The site had been part of the studio's complex interweaving of Tropic Thunder tie-ins, with its "Once upon a time... there was a retard" tagline tipping the story of a disabled farmhand whom Ben Stiller's character portrays in pursuit of an Oscar. But activist Patricia Bauer's vigil continued, culminating late Monday with a handy restitution checklist for Stiller, DreamWorks and their distribution partners at Paramount: More »
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By STVComment by EuroDad: all i have to say is... OOOOOOOOOKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA!!!! 1 Responses | Other threads
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robert downey jr
Downey Jr.'s Nodding-Off Attributed To Debbie Matenopoulos's Droning Voice, Not A Heroin Relapse
We have been overcome today by a tidal wave of sympathy for everyone's favorite non-silly-voiced summer superhero Robert Downey Jr., who just can't seem to catch a break on his Tropic Thunder press junket. No sooner had he been ambushed by a rogue reporter from the I'm A Drunken Stoned Moron Entertainment News Syndicate, he then came face to face with E!'s Debbie Matenopoulos. More » -
tropic thunder
How to Derail a Junket: Ask Robert Downey Jr. Who He'd Like To 'Smoke a Blunt With'
Can't a little movie like Tropic Thunder catch a break? The Ben Stiller comedy has thus far managed to survive racism, ratings, "retards," and American Idol — and that's before it's even come out (Wednesday, August 13!). Still, all that was child's play compared to the newest Tropic trouble, instigated by an overzealous radio DJ who crashed the film's junket to ask Robert Downey Jr. some of the most inane questions Iron Man has ever had to face. Listen in horror as the notoriously rehabbed actor is asked which costar he'd like to “drink a brew and smoke a blunt with” (only the first of many, many stupid questions) — we've even provided a helpful assortment of what we can only imagine were Jack Black and Ben Stiller's reaction shots. Enjoy! More »
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Comment by kyle4: Downey Jr. handled it nicely, most others would've flipped on him quicker. more » | Other threads
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tropic thunder
'Tropic Thunder' Braces For 'Retard' Backlash
Several months ago, the red-band trailer for Tropic Thunder suggested that not only could Ben Stiller's Hollywood satire be summer's most surefire gutbuster, but also that its trailer-within-a-trailer — featuring Stiller as the developmentally disabled title character of the Oscar-bait drama Simple Jack — portended perhaps the best movie never made. (And look! It even has its own Web site!) But having seen Thunder and thus the degree to which Simple Jack plays a role in the story, we think we got our fill: "You went full retard, man" Robert Downey Jr.'s Method actor (in blackface!) tells Stiller's slumping action hero. "Never go full retard." More »
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By STVComment by Costermonger: I felt Simple Jack's pain, I laughed, I cried when Jack didn't understand that his mother had de-de-died. This is not... more » | Other threads
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tropic thunder
Rating Woes, August Blahs Threaten 'Tropic Thunder' Storm at Box Office
While we refuse to believe Nielsen actually spent money to discover that R-ratings hinder comedies more than horror films, the results of its recent survey dovetail interestingly today with a companion piece about Tropic Thunder's potential for August domination. We've seen Tropic and can vouch for it living up to most of its hype, from Tom Cruise's sociopath studio boss to Robert Downey Jr.'s otherworldly, meta-Method blackface turn. But rating and timing are everything, as always, prompting The Hollywood Reporter to foretell a relatively floppy future: More »
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By STVComment by spikespeigel: RDJ is the reason I'm going to see Tropic. Everything else? Not so much. more » | Other threads
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Comment by Omelas: I can't figure out the angle from which this was taken ... Foot Locker just lets photogs stand in their... more » | Other threads
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Pips
Digital 'Idol' Magic Transforms The Cast Of 'Tropic Thunder' Into Gladys Knight's Man-Hungry Pips
Where to even begin with last night's American Idol Results Show Grand Finale Spectacular? While it may not have provided the knee-buckling rush of emotion that accompanies a shot of a moist-eyed David Hasselhoff witnessing the coronation of his prematurely graying Soul King, there were more than a few unmistakable moments of true poignancy: from George Michael's haunting "Praying For Time," to David Cook's landslide victory lap, to the Jonas Brothers' heartfelt plea on behalf of the Aging Sibling Pop Star Fund, with every dollar pledged earmarked for famine-relief among surviving members of The Jets, DeBarge, Hanson, and the like. More » -
defamer
Pee-Pee Makers, Infanticide Keep the 'Tropic Thunder' Train Rolling Toward Opening Day
First, the bad news about the new red-band trailer for Tropic Thunder: Alas, there is no trace of Tom Cruise's fat-suited, filthy-mouthed studio boss cameo that so entranced insiders at an early screening last month. The good news: Ben Stiller does throw a murderous Viet Cong toddler off a bridge, which is only about a 6 on the teaser's overactive, oft-peaking transgression scale. More bad news: The trailer appears to promise more than anyone can rightfully expect it to deliver, and Jack Black does appear in his underwear. More good news: Black in packing more than his junk in said underwear. More bad news: The trailer does zero favors for the squeamish. More good news: The trailer does zero favors for the squeamish. So we guess we're in! NB: Simple Jack could quite possibly turn out to be the best film never made. [Tropic Thunder] -
golden trailer awards
The heartiest of Defamer congratulations go out today to the marketers behind The Dark Knight and Iron Man, whose savvy trailers have now captivated legions of inhaler-clutching fanboys and the highly discriminating eyes of those judging the Golden Trailer Awards. The films claimed the top prizes in the Action and Summer Blockbuster categories respectively at last night's ceremony at the Orpheum; other notable winners included Tropic Thunder (Comedy), No Country For Old Men (Drama), Atonement (Romance) and, in a miracle of better-late-than-never recognition, The Assassination of Jesse James took home the evening's Best Voice-Over hardware. Even the Weinsteins didn't go home empty-handed, as their teaser for Awake won the Golden Fleece prize for best false advertsing. Way to go, Harvey; we hope you can remember where you put the key to the trophy case. [Golden Trailers via Spout Blog] -
defamer
Tom Cruise Owes Sumner Redstone Lunch Again After Scathing 'Tropic Thunder' Cameo
Oh, now we get it: That Polo Lounge power summit last week between Tom Cruise and Sumner Redstone was not the prodigal-son mea culpa we thought it was, smoothing the waters on which Cruise would coast back into the safe harbor of Redstone's reeling Viacom flagship. Rather, it was just a quick bite to catch up about Katie, Suri, Laurie and maybe for Cruise to apologize in advance for his scathing, fat-suited cameo as a depraved studio boss in Tropic Thunder: More »
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By STVComment by HappyBlues: I feel like I Need a shower just looking at it! more » | Other threads
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defamer
'Tropic Thunder' Trailer Doesn't Exactly Bury The Whole Robert Downey Jr. Blackface Subplot
You'd be forgiven if a visit to Tropic Thunder's website—where the trailer premiered today—led you to believe the movie featured billed stars STILLER and BLACK DOWNEY, as the preview ballsily features a good deal of Robert Downey Jr.'s white-Method-actor in blackface (and muttering stereotypical, The Jefferson's-theme-inspired dialogue in blackvoice). That said, there's lots to enjoy here, including the movie star archetypes that inhabit this Platoon-set-turned-real scenario—particularly Stiller's "Action Guy," whose previous roles required him to deliver catchphrase, "Who left the fridge open?" while BabyBjörning two tiny pandas. More » -
dicey propositions
Black Like Downey: The Dark Overtones Of 'Tropic Thunder'
Unlike other, more culturally acceptable Hollywood race-swapping depictions—say, Rob Schneider's exciting work in the ugly-Asian-caricature arts, or even the Wayans brothers' attempt to slip into the alabaster skin of two chihuahua-toting cruise line heiresses—blackface steadfastly remains as reviled and controversial as ever. Which brings us, courtesy EW.com, to this first glimpse of Ben Stiller's "epic action comedy" Tropic Thunder—a movie he first conceived of as a young extra on the set of Steven Spielberg's Empire of the Sun. (Why does that one detail suggest what we might be looking at here is Stiller's own Heaven's Gate?) In it, Robert Downey Jr. plays an actor so committed to craft, he becomes African American: More »
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By SethComment by DaleKhayos: Lighten up people (no pun intended). Being black is not a 'gift' any more than being white is. Too... more » | Other threads
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defamer
Tom Cruise Acknowledges His Bear Fan Base
With preview scorecards rating his upcoming turn as a Hitler-hunting WWII war hero as "simply darling," and "eye-patch adorable! When and where can I get my kids a plush Col. Claus von Stauffenberg doll?" Tom Cruise has decided to take another drastic turn with his scrupulously managed big screen persona. A photo snapped on the set of Ben Stiller's superstar-cameo-packed Tropic Thunder reveals the actor has finally rid himself of his distracting Nazi bangs and SS uniform, replaced by a bald wig, prosthetic chest-fur collar, and a strap-on belly. (It bears mentioning that the latter is a mere enhancement, as his own doughy physique suggests one too many trips to Valkyrie's sauerbraten-and-strüdel-heavy cräft services table). More »
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By SethComment by Cultmember: He's gotta lay off the Travolta-tech. His chest merkin doesn't look like it fits. more » | Other threads
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defamer
Steve Coogan Finally Gets His Breakthrough Moment As Owen Wilson's Enabler
At the height of Owen Wilson's very public personal crisis, Courtney Love uncharacteristically offered up her own, highly opinionated views on the topic—suicide and hard drugs being two subjects that run, pun only partially intended, deeply in her veins. Suspecting she knew exactly who and what led Wilson to his act of desperation, the singer told Us magazine that the culprit was Steve Coogan: A far bigger star in the U.K. than in the U.S., Coogan gained fame overseas for his TV portrayal of dim-bulbed newsman Alan Partridge. (In this clip, he fittingly admits he has no idea who Kurt Cobain is, and is baffled over why he might have taken his own life.) Coogan and Love had a brief affair, which was rumored to have caused a pregnancy, but that thankfully produced no illegitimate children—between Love's body dysmorphia and Coogan's English dental genes, the kid never stood a chance. More »
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By SethComment by Allie Anne: I think Owen's great but (from what I've read) he's been secretly unhappy and "acquainted" with heroin for a pretty... more » | Other threads
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