Showbiz Sandbox 14: Zooey Deschanel Proves It’s Twee To Be You And Me

First off, we took care of a little internal business by welcoming entertainment journalist Michael Giltz as an official co-host.

Alonso Duralde joins us this week. Alonso is the film critic at MSNBC.com and the author of “101 Must-See Movies for Gay Men“. His reviews are featured regularly on The Rotten Tomatoes Show. A member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, Alonso spent six years as Arts & Entertainment editor at The Advocate where he is still a contributing writer. His work has also appeared in such publications as the Village Voice, Movieline, Detour among many others. This month Alonso will be curating a the series “So Bad They’re Brilliant” at the American Cinematheque. You can follow him on Twitter at @MSNBCalonso.

We asked Alonso to join us because of a story he wrote for msnbc.com called “Do You See What I Twee?”, as it related to the latest movies. He described the essence of twee as “avoiding the fashionable, the obvious, the predictable, the mundane in an attempt to be, for lack of a better phrase, showily unshowy…It’s about replacing one calculated technique of visual and cultural cues with another.” It’s an apt description of one of the more popular movies out this summer, “(500) Days of Summer,” and its lead, Zooey Deschanel. We also just love saying the word “twee.”There was some interesting movie news this week, including the recasting of Rachelle LeFevre in “Twilight: Eclipse” – was she wronged, or is she an uncooperative diva? (A correction from the podcast: the actress’ name is pronounced “Rashelle LeFevv.”) Ridley Scott is set to direct a prequel to his hit 1979 film “Alien”, but without Sigourney Weaver, will anyone care? It looks as if Disney is chasing Rob Marshall (“Chicago,” “Nine,”) to direct the fourth installment of “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which leads us to wonder if there will be singing and dancing in this one! And Steven Spielberg is hopping on the remake wagon with an adaptation of the 1950 film “Harvey,” which originally starred Jimmy Stewart. (Quick – get Tom Hanks’s agent on the phone!)

In television news, the Emmys will be revamped to show almost no Emmys, Kara DioGuardi will definitely return to “American Idol,” but Paula Adbul will only return “if a deal is fair” (e.g. she gets the $20 million contract she’s looking for).

A cute wedding video viewed more than 15 million times on YouTube is making money for singer Chris Brown, his record label, and iTunes. Who said YouTube would never find a way to monetize itself?

In Michael Jackson news, Sony has purchased his concert rehearsal footage for $60 Million. The next question is, will it be worth it? It was certainly worth it for Amy Winehouse’s father to fake a heart attack to help get the young singer off drugs. Her father reports Winehouse has been drug free since December. . . that is if you don’t count all the alcohol she now seems to consume.

Finally, Ben Stiller put together a “secret” short film that pokes fun at Twentieth Century Fox, it’s chairman Tom Rothman and mogul Rupert Murdoch. No, Stiller isn’t not angry with them, in fact he just moved his production company to Fox, though we’d hate to see the video the multi-hyphenate would make if he were upset.

Do You See What I Twee?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31048866/ns/entertainment-movies/

Twilight Saga – Rachelle Lefevre: Wronged or uncooperative?
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006674.html?categoryId=3565&cs=1

‘Alien’ Prequel Takes Off
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006722.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Marshall Steering Disney’s ‘Pirate’ Ship?
http://weblogs.variety.com/bfdealmemo/2009/07/marshall-steering-disneys-pirate-ship-.html

Spielberg Hops To ‘Harvey’ Remake
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118006812.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

YouTube Wedding Video Spurs Music Sales
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/30/youtube-trumpets-popularity-of-viral-wedding-dance/

Sony’s $60 Million Michael Jackson Gamble: Creepy Exploitation or Showstopping Hit?
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/the_big_picture/2009/07/sonys-60-million-michael-jackson-gamble-creepy-exploitation-or-showstopping-hit.html

Amy Winehouse’s Dad Says He Faked A Heart Attack To Try and Get His Daughter Off Heroin
http://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2009/07/30/amy-winehouse-s-dad-mitch-says-he-faked-a-heart-attack-to-try-and-get-his-daugher-off-heroin-115875-21557173/

Ben Stiller’s Super Secret Video Mocking Fox
http://current.com/items/90568812_ben-stillers-super-secret-video-mocking-fox.htm

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