• Ellen DeGeneres quit American Idol and rumors are the Jennifer Lopez will be taking over as a new judge.  Feel free to cite the fact that “JLo” started as a Fly Girl dancer on the Fox sketch comedy show In Living Color, but it’s a tidbit that’s starting to become common knowledge so don’t sell it too hard.
• The two big movies released today are Dinner for Schmucks and Charlie St. Cloud.  Schmucksstars Steve Carell and Paul Rudd and is based on a more mean-spirited French movie released years ago.  It doesn’t appear to have mass appeal like The 40 Year Old Virgin and reviews have been mixed.  St. Cloudis the new Zac Efron movie but it’s not of the High School Musical variety.  It has received mostly negative reviews (a 26% on the TomatoMeter), not so much a result of Efron but rather it being a movie that’s nice to look at with little behind it.
• Miramax, the smaller movie studio that used to put out solid movies and promote them heavily during Oscar season (Shakespeare in Love, etc.) was owned by Disney but has now been sold to a group of investors for $660 million.  The whole story is here, but if you need a tidbit, the name Miramax comes from the founders’ (Harvey and Bob Weinstein) parents names, Miriam and Max. ¹
• Trying to pass Steig Larsson on the NY Times Best Sellers list in Hardcover Fiction is Fly Away Home(Jennifer Weiner).  It’s described as: “A senator’s extramarital affair affects his wife and daughters.”²  Sounds more non-fiction than fiction to me based on many recent events by politicians, but in any case, it’s at #2 in just its first week.

Plenty of music and other activities in the art world are happening, but the above should at least get you through a conversation.  Happy weekend!

(image above taken from: http://socialbutterflies.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/)

So how did Platt get on the show?  No one will say.  Platt was rejected thanks to the age limit (and the fact that he’s not a singer) but only after he performed on live television.  Now, he is a sudden celebrity, appearing on talk shows, radio programs, etc. 

I’m guessing an American Idol exec saw his act and thought it would make for good television, rules be damned.  For those of you who didn’t already know, reality television is a bigger oxymoron than jumbo shrimp.  At least now you know that American Idol has an age limit, even if the show only holds to its rules when convenient.

One guy who already knew about the age limit was Michael Riser, a musician who already filmed a YouTube bit about being too old for the show before Platt was a household name.  His video is below.

Read on:

RealityTVWorld.com – ‘Idol’ auditioneer Larry Platt taking ‘Pants on the Ground’ to ‘The View’

Don’t try throwing out the “did you know she was a cheerleader for the Lakers in the 80s” bit, because most people know that already.  Go a little more obscure.  Try this: Keanu Reeves (whoa.) was in Abdul’s video for “Rush, Rush”, playing the James Dean role in the Rebel Without a Cause nod.  When you get into a “Way! No Way! Way!” shouting match with your friends, show them the video below and also tell them that “Opposites Attract” won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Short Form).  But no, MC Skat Kat is not rumored to take Paula’s place on Idol.

Read on:

ChicagoTribune.com – Straight up: Paula Abdul exits ‘American Idol’

Wikipedia.org – Paula Abdul

Kris Allen won American Idol last night.  It was a bit of an upset, and he is NOT the guy that wears dark nail polish.  That dude is Adam Lambert.  He came in second place.  You’re not going to tell an Idol viewer anything he doesn’t know already about these guys, so your best shot is to go off the board and mention Kris Allen’s missionary work in Burma and Mozambique ¹, if for no other reason than to use the word “Mozambique” in casual conversation.

Two nights ago, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson won Dancing with the Stars.  Johnson is a mere 17 years old, a gold medalist, and an endorsement machine.  She has deals with Coca-Cola, Adidas, McDonald’s, CoverGirl, Kraft, and others.  Oh, and she still goes to high school. ²

Read on:

Wikipedia – Kris Allen

Wikipedia – Shawn Johnson

Swift

Hicks

Throughout the music world, the names Taylor Hicks and Taylor Swift have been popping up like mad the past couple years.  If you are not a fan of American Idol or country music, you’ve certainly still heard the names but don’t know who they are.  Make no mistake, they are very different people!

Taylor Hicks is the “salt and pepper” haired dude who surprisingly won American Idol a couple years ago (2006?).  He typically plays blues-rock type music but is currently playing the role of Teen Angel in the Grease touring show while still playing some small clubs when possible.

Taylor Swift is the ubiquitous country singer who has crossed over into mainstream pop and become the biggest selling musical artist in 2008.  Her debut album released in 2006 was still selling well in 2008 and, combined with her new album released in November 2008 (“Fearless”), Swift sold over four million albums, according to sources all over the web.  Her songs are everywhere, but “Love Story” and “Teardrops On My Guitar” are probably her most famous to date.  Oh, and she’s really hot.

Read on:

Taylor Hicks official website

Taylor Swift official website