George Lucas has been based in Marin County, California, since 1978, when he famously built his Skywalker Ranch. The facility sits on 19 km² of land, and contains a barn with animals, vineyards, a garden with fruits and vegetables used in the on-site restaurant, an outdoor swimming pool and fitness center, the man-made "Lake Ewok," a hilltop observatory, a 300-seat theatre called "The Stag," as well as multiple theater screening rooms, and parking that is mostly concealed underground to preserve the natural landscape.
Skywalker Sound was moved onto the ranch in 1987, now occupying the Technical Building.The Main House has a company research library under a stained-glass dome. Lucas does not live on the Ranch.
The ranch also has its own fire station, which is part of the Marin County Mutual Aid system, and is often called on to assist firefighters in nearby Marinwood.
Sounds pretty sweet, except that Lucas' rebellious neighbours are targetting his empire. But as some salty space pirate once said, "It's not wise to upset a Wookiee film legend."
This week I went to see Marvel's The Avengers, and thought it was great. It's the first one, and although we've seen the main characters in the Iron Man movies, Captain America, Thor, and the Hulk, there was a certain amount of time setting up the premise, which made the movie run a little long. It was action packed, though, and funny at times.
Not everyone appreciated the jokes, however. During one scene, Thor is defending the movie's bad guy, his brother Loki. When told that Loki had just killed 80 people in two days, he replies "he's adopted."
This got a chuckle from the audience, but for some in the adoption community, apparently the joke went too far.
The Huffington Post is reporting that actor John Travolta is being sued for assault, sexual battery, and sexual harassment. Initially an unnamed male masseur was reported to be seeking $2 million, plus punitive damages, for an incident where Travolta supposedly "began rubbing the masseur's leg, touched his scrotum and the shaft of his penis" after having stripped naked during an appointment.
But wait... not only did Travolta allegedly try to have sex with the masseur, he is also said to have told him that he got where he is today "due to sexual favors he had performed when he was in his Welcome Back, Kotter days," and that "Hollywood is controlled by homosexual Jewish men who expect favors in return for sexual activity." So move over Mel Gibson, Travolta's in the house.
So, you want to look like Courtney Love? Who doesn't?! The former Mrs. Kurt Cobain gave New York Magazine's Grub Street the rundown of her weekly "New York Diet." Here are a few exerpts. It's... kind of weird.
Friday, April 27
"Every day I have my house manager, Hershey — who I stole from the Mercer Hotel with André Balazs's blessing — wake me up with a hot washcloth for my face, a leg rub, and a plate of toast soldiers.
Then someone always gets chicken potpie and potato salad from D.D., you know, Dean & Deluca. If I can't afford D.D., I just don't eat.
One thing from living next to Paris Hilton in L.A. ... she always had a fresh cake in her house. So I make sure someone gets a full, fresh new one every day, like marzipan. My house manager tries to put it in the fridge, but I don't like refrigeration. I know, so 'Portlandia' of me. But I'm sorry, I'm from Portland!"
"That's what I eat. Every day. And then I need sugar from 4 a.m. to 5 a.m.."
Yesterday I posted about an ad campaign for Popchips featuring Ashton Kutcher portraying various characters on a dating website, worldwidelovers.com. In the ad, Ashton pretends to be several people of different ethnic/cultural backgrounds trying to find love.
One is an English guy with dreadlocks who apparently uses drugs. The idea there is that a. Ashton is using a British accent (how cheeky), and b. anyone with dreadlocks (read: Jamaican in spirit) smokes weed.
One is an effeminate European with a little pet dog and lots of attitude. At one point he claims to have stopped breathing to appear thinner (read: eating disorder, fashionistas must be thin).
One is a tattooed, bearded redneck, but wait... he seems to be sensitive? But that makes no sense! People with tattoos and beards must be lunkheaded neanderthals. This ad campaign is pushing some buttons, I tell ya!
Then there's Raj, a "Bollywood" producer looking for "the most delicious thing on the planet." Here's where the world seems to have stopped in it's tracks, jaws hitting the floor.
Amid all the rumours about Ashton Kutcher dating Rihanna, Ashton Kutcher dating Mila Kunis, even Ashton Kutcher dating his own step daughter, Ashton Kutcher is starring in an ad for a dating service.
In the ad, Ashton plays a Bollywood producer, an English stoner, a "Karl Lagerfeld" guy, a tattooed redneck, and then himself. All of them looking for love, all of them kind of odd.
It's supposed to be funny, and although it's more creepy than funny, what's creepier is that Ashton is associating himself with a dating website. Worldwidelovers.com, to be exact.
Except that it's not exact... as in it's a parody for Popchips, the "delicious, all-natural, healthier" chips that are "popped! Never fried, never baked." It took me a while to figure out what was going on. Popchips do turn up in the video, but only for a second, and it's when the "Lagerfeld" guy lets his dog lick a popchip before eating it himself. Gross!
Update: In the last 24 hours Kutcher and Popchips have gotten a lot of flack for the 'Raj' character, with critics calling the 'Bollywood producer' "racist and offensive". According to The Associated Press a spokeswoman for Popchips says the ad was "created to provoke a few laughs and was never intended to stereotype or offend anyone." She added that the company hopes "people can enjoy this in the spirit it was intended."
Check out these crazy jumping penguins. Of course, this would be so much better if they were playing Van Halen's "Jump" while they were...er, jumping.
Although I have no real use for this, I'm pretty sure need it.
I'm not sure if this makes me more or less scared of flying. If they can land in winds that strong, what should I worry about a little bump here and there? On the other hand, it just goes to show how crazy pilots are. ("Me? Oh I just spend my days moving 970,000 lbs of metal at 500 mph, 30,000 ft above the ground. No biggie.")
Celebrity blowhard Rosie O'Donnell weighed in earlier this week with her two cents about Lindsay Lohan. In other words, a washed up has-been clung to the very last string of controversy she could grasp, as her own career quickly slips under the radar for the last time.
Rosie, on the Today Show, was suggesting that Lohan is not in a place in her life to be working at all, and that she should be taking time away from the Hollywood machine to take care of herself.
“I feel very sorry for (Lohan),” O'Donnell, who's last movie of note was 1996's Harriet the Spy (Remember that one?...No? Me neither.), said Tuesday. “I think she needs a lot of time away... She’s had a lot of trouble doing every single movie, including ‘SNL.' She was out and not in rehearsal. I think she’s not in a place to work."
Because Rosie was there at every day of filming for everything Lindsay has ever done, and knows the full story.
Watching this amazing run kicked in my anxiety right away. Two women longboarding the Maryhill Freeride, all downhill, at 40 mph.
About a minute in, it becomes almost tranquil. Then you realize THEY MIGHT CRASH!!! Except they don't, thank goodness. Pretty brave stuff. I will not be showing this to my 8 year old.
Props to the camera guy, who appears to be skating along with them.
