Jude's Thursday Dish

I feel like I lost a limb this morning. John accidentally took MY laptop to work with him and left HIS here. This is MUCH worse than the camera incident. I was going to go down there to get it, but since I haven't even unpacked and there's two weeks of laundry I'm going to take a Mental Health Day. I really have a lot of work to do, but I put in a 7 hour day yesterday so I think I can take a break. So, I guess I should be thanking John? Hmm, the verdict is still out on that.

Well, I saw only one celebrity in NYC (that Greenlee from "All My Children" who is married to loser Bob from "The Bachelor"). I've had MUCH better luck in L.A. But then again, we were doing mostly touristy things. So, most of my scoop is coming from Entertainment Weekly since I read 3 of them on my trip! So, sorry for the lack of pictures. I'm having problems uploading pictures with this dumb laptop.

1. So, the election is over. That means the divine SNL political sketches are done. Now we'll be back to uneven SNL where it's so hit and miss. Sometimes it's inspired and other times... It's like what the comedian Jay Mohr said (he was on SNL from 93 - 95) that SNL is a restaurant in a great location that doesn't always serve the best food. I obviously don't know the exact quote. But, I'm loyal. I'll keep watching. John McCain was REALLY funny on Saturday night's show. He's got a great sense of humor. The episode that he hosted back in 2002 is still one of my favorites. And thanks to Tina's Palin impersonation, viewership is up 70%!!! I'm sad to see her retire it. I heard Kristen Wiig is going to take over. Obviously, she won't nail it like Tina, but I think she'll be great. She's hilarious and totally reminds me of my sister, Jennie.

2. On our Delta flight, we were on the cool planes that have private TVs for each seat. John and I naturally assumed all the movies would be edited, so we were stoked to see "Tropic Thunder" available. We each turned our own set on and started watching simultaneously. They have these fake previews at the beginning starring the "actors" filming the movie within a movie. The Robert Downey/Toby Maguire was SO good. They were really funny, but minutes later, the movie started and so did the f-bombs. It took about 10 seconds to realize the show wasn't edited, so we turned it off. I was totally bummed. But, I've heard from people who's seen it that the fake previews are the best part, so I guess we got the good stuff. Instead we watched "Definitely Maybe" which was cute. And on the way home, they had DirectTV so we actually got to watch "Kath & Kim" and "The Office" live -- well, the first 25 minutes of "The Office" until we hit turbulence and lost the connection. I didn't get to see the "30 Rock" premiere live, but it was much better experienced at home on Tivo. LOVE IT! If you aren't watching that show, get off my blog NOW! :) And if you're not sure you want to, at least tune in on Thursday night (8:30 PM) to see Oprah. Oh, and I watched "Mamma Mia!" again. I watched it like I used to watch musicals when I was little -- fastforwarding through the boring parts and the slow songs. That way, it was MUCH more enjoyable and I liked it much better the 2nd time around. John watched "Hancock" and hated it.

3. I read an interesting article about why Terrence Howard is being recast by Don Cheadle in the next "Iron Man" movie. This may not interest you, but "Iron Man" is the only action movie I have liked in a really long time. I guess Terrence Howard was the first to sign on to the movie, so he actually ended up getting paid MORE than Gwynnie, Jeff Bridges and even Robert Downey. He was a real diva on set and since the movie sets up that he'll have a bigger part in the sequel (remember the "Next time, Baby!" line to the suit), they still offered him the part but at a reduced fee. He balked and so he's out. Here's the whole article. Can I just say... what a boob! You're in this $300 mil. + grossing movie and have an opportunity to be a part of this franchise that is just going to keep growing. As an actor, you're critically acclaimed, but the general public doesn't know you at all. This is your chance to keep doing the indie/art movies, but make some money and gain popularity. Actors bug.

4. Speaking of sequels, I am NOT happy they are making a "Sex in the City" sequel. Hollywood... JUST SAY NO! Other sequels I'm ticked over: Beverly Hills Cop 4 (I HATE when they bring back movies from the 80's), National Treasure 3 (AAAH! I hate you, Nic Cage!), Shrek 5 (too many Shreks and now, a Broadway musical!), Little Fockers (Meet the Parents - and what a tasteless title), The Thomas Crown Affair (I loved that movie, but it's been forever) and the worst: It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Sequel -- that movie is a CLASSIC, leave it alone! Next week, I'll vent about the remakes.. um, a remake of "Footloose" starring Zac Efron? Kill me now.

5. Okay, I admit. I'm excited for the "Twilight" movie. My hope is that it will be like the 5th Harry Potter movie which I think improved on screen. Mainly, because they whisked through the boring parts. We didn't have to see Harry being so p.o.ed all the time. I'm thinking "Twilight" will do the same. We won't have to hear Bella's whiny, inner turmoil. Since I read the book knowing who was cast in the 2 leads, I picture Cedric Diggory (I mean, Robert Pattinson) as Edward. But, I do have to say that Stephanie Meyer's original pick is VERY yummy: Henry Cavill (he was Humphrey in "Stardust").


I'm not crazy about some of the cast. I'm just talking appearance here. EW put together this gallery that shows each of the actors and to be completely honest, none of the vampires are good looking enough. Meyers kept going on how gorgeous they all are and it just isn't striking me. Maybe it's too hard to find hotties that can act. But, I'll take actors that aren't quite the physical ideal as long as the can really BE the character and ACT, so I'll give them a chance and see. Anyway, check out this gallery and see what you think.

That's it for this week (now I've GOT to go do laundry!)