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East has 'Answer' in All-Star win DENVER – LeBron James and a host of outstanding young players are knocking on the door of NBA stardom. But Philadelphia's Allen Iverson showed Sunday night that not all of those old stars are ready to open the door just yet. In an All-Star Game that was more about balance than brilliance, Iverson led the way. His 15 points, 10 assists and five steals is not the stuff of legend, but the East fed off his energy on its way to a 125-115 victory over a more talented West team. It also gave the 29-year-old Iverson the Most Valuable Player award over James and those other young guns that everyone has spent the weekend raving about. "More than anything, he just kept pushing the other guys," said Miami's Stan Van Gundy, the coach of the East team. "He got everyone else rolling." James had his moments. So did Miami's Dwyane Wade, Phoenix's Amare Stoudemire and the 10 players in the game who are 26 or younger. But youth wasn't served this night. Iverson was the MVP. The best dunk belonged to the 28-year-old Vince Carter, who threw the ball off the backboard, caught it in the same hand and rattled the rim as he soared down the lane. I don't point out these things because I happen to be old myself. The point is that no matter how much good, young talent comes into the league, the pool of veteran talent is deep and shouldn't be overlooked. Now, onto the game. Teamwork, defense and balance have been hot-button words in the league since last June when the Detroit Pistons won the championship. It's what every coach strives for, and the Pistons give them the leverage to make the argument. All of the qualities we mentioned are good for the league, but bad for the All-Star Game. In terms of electricity, Sunday night's game was a power plant short. The game failed to produce a 20-point scorer for the first time in 24 years. Neither team shot more than 46 percent from the field. There were as many steals (14) as dunks in the first half. This wasn't an All-Star Game as much as it was a typical February game between the Mavericks and Sacramento, with one key difference. More defense was played. Drives to the basket were contested. The two teams combined for 16 blocked shots. A weekend of concerts, celebrity sightings – yes, that was Justin Timberlake and Cameron Diaz shopping together at Cherry Creek Mall – subsided for a few hours Sunday night so everyone could turn their attention to the game. As always, there were plenty of subplots. We just can't get enough of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, even though it's clear they've had enough of each other. Each refused to acknowledge the other before the game as players from both teams gathered at midcourt for the opening tip. O'Neal actually gave Bryant a warmer reception than many of the fans who booed when the Los Angeles Lakers star was introduced, the ongoing fallout from Bryant's legal troubles in the state. But as Bryant said afterward, the All-Star Game isn't the platform to analyze his relationship – or lack of one – with O'Neal for the umpteenth time. It's about the game. And this game belonged to Iverson. Score one for the old guard.
JUSTIN DISSED & KISSED Soul superstar James Brown rode Justin Timberlake pretty hard
during a pre-Grammy rehearsal for their duet performance of "Papa's
Got A Brand New Bag." A source says Justin had trouble with
the song, and "Brown kept telling him that if he wanted to
last in the music business, he had to work harder and perfect
his craft." At least Cameron Diaz was on his side -- she
was spied making out with him during a break backstage.
Gawker Stalker Sightings sent in by readers Wednesday night at Marquee was odd. Sat at JC Chasez’s
table (he felt special) and then an hour later he leaves and there’s
this whole fuss about clearing a banquet for someone, im thinking
ok finally I get to see the infamous Olsen twins or Lindsay but
no, its freakin’ Shannon Doherty making this whole mess.
She sits down, introduced herself, and downs her martini. Then
Sarah from the real world is running around the place showing
off her new fake boobs which she is very proud of because she
paid for half, and her parents the rest…(heartwarming no?)
then markus shankenburgerer whatever walks around like he is an
A list celebrity….surreal life kills.
Justin Timberlake Evaluates Chances Of NSYNC Reuniting Now that Backstreet Boys have reunited, will *Nsync be far behind? Former *Nsync member Justin Timberlake tells Extra, "There's still a chance that *Nsync could get back together. There's a chance that Lance could still walk on the moon." Timberlake added that he's remained close friends with the other members of Nsync. He said, "Our relationship goes way deeper than records. We're friends, those are my brothers." Bass is a certified Russian Cosmonaut and was set to go on a space mission in 2002, but failed to raise the $20 million for the journey. According to MTV News, Bass hasn't given up on the idea and is still working on a financial plan for the trip. Timberlake appeared at a tsunami relief benefit hosted by the
Black Eyed Peas last week where he sang "Papa's Got a Brand
New Bag" with James Brown and the Peas' Will.I.Am, and "This
Love" with Maroon 5's Adam Levine.
Ferrari on the fritz doesn't faze producer Record producer and "Drumline" inspiration Dallas Austin required some alternative transportation when he popped into Midtown to check out Tom Catherall's hot new eatery, Shout, on Tuesday night. The hip-hop impresario and friends, including 'N Sync member J.C. Chasez (alas, without his stunning "Desperate Housewives" gal pal Eva Longoria) ordered up "tons" of yellowtail sushi, eel, lobster rolls, shrimp cakes and chicken during their outing. As always, Austin required no special celeb treatment. He, Chasez and guests dined at a banquette in the main dining room. Outside, however, the Shout valets were freaking out. It seems that Austin's $200,000 Ferrari was experiencing a malfunction with the vehicle's automatic key starter. Even though the Ferrari ultimately had to be towed from the restaurant, Shout's Sari Bernstein told Buzz Thursday that Austin wasn't bothered by the mechanical glitch. "He just made a call and an Escalade rolled up to meet them,"
said Bernstein. "You're probably not all that upset when
your Ferrari doesn't start if you have a back-up Escalade to ride
around in!"
DO THE FUNNY 'CHICKEN,' KIDS YOU don't have to be a 30-year-old guy to laugh your pants off at "Robot Chicken." But it will help. The newest entrée to plop itself down onto Cartoon Network's Adult Swim has nothing to do with chickens but a lot to do with robots — sort of. The 15-minute episodes, which will begin airing Sunday night, combine classic (and not-so-classic) action figures in stop-action parodies, if that makes any sense to you. And the targets are, more often than not, pop-culture icons, particularly TV pop-culture icons, if the term "culture" can even be applied to shows like "Tranformers," "TVs Bloopers & Practical Jokes," and, God forbid, "The Dukes of Hazzard." Created by my favorite maniacal funny guy, Seth Green (of Fox's too-quickly canceled show, "Greg The Bunny"), and his best bud in comic-book and action-figure land, Matthew Senreich, the show rips mostly Gen-X icons to ribbons. The show's creators met when Senreich was working at Wizard Entertainment and attempted to interview Green about his gigantic collection of action figures — apparently something worthy of envy and adoration. Each 15-minute episode of "Robot Chicken" is made up of a series of even shorter takes, some of which are down-right hilarious. Others, like I said, are best left to 30-year-old guys. But Optimus Prime, the lead "Transformer" action figure doing an infomercial for prostate-cancer prevention, and the Strawman from "The Wizard of Oz" getting stabbed in jail on the TV show "Oz," and an MTV-version of C-Span called X-Span, with rappers and the same boring old white pols droning on at the mikes are all worthy of a big, fat, out-loud laughs. Somewhere in the middle of drop-dead funny and pretty-darned funny are "The World's Most One-Sided Fistfights Caught on Film," and an "X-Files" audition with the action figures of Keanu Reeves, Mr. T and Corky the Down Syndrome kid from "Life Goes On," reading for David Duchovney's part with a Dana Scully/Gillian Anderson action figure. Oh, come on now, that's funny — especially when you hear the Keanu Reeves action figure reading astrophysics dialogue. You'll also be surprised at the guest voices of Hollywood's newest brat packers Lance Bass, Macaulay Culkin, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Joey Fatone and, yes, that other hunk, Dom DeLuise!
Sunday night at 11:30 on Cartoon Network
THE SUBSTITUTE Rasha & Stephanie Drachkovitch's 44 Blue Productions ("Caesars
24/7") and singer Lance Bass's Bacon & Eggs Productions
are developing a new unscripted project that places an extraordinary
teacher in some of the country's most challenging classrooms.
Said project would in fact track two teachers as they transition
into new schools in different towns. No other details were given
about the series, which is currently being pitched to various
outlets.
ASCAP Reports Record Member Distributions in 2004 ... New additions to the ASCAP family in 2004 included Andrew Adamson, Monchy y Alexandra, Lance Bass, Stephen Bishop, Jeremy Camp, Ciara, Franz Ferdinand (PRS ...
Reality 'Substitute' Reality outfit 44 Blue Prods. (A&E's "Caesars 24/7")
is taking out a trio of unscripted series projects, including
one from Lance Bass that places an extraordinary teacher
in some of the country's most challenging classrooms....
Cursed cast talk changes Tween star Christina Ricci, stopped by Sci Fi Wire to wax lyrical about the multiple versions of her latest pic "Cursed" that were filmed before the studio eventually got what they howled for. "It changed quite a bit," Ricci says. "[Jesse Eisenberg and I] weren't related in the original version. We just both happened to be involved in this crash, and then when we came back we were brother and sister." "Cursed" shut down for a few weeks - due to numerous things, including script rewrites - and when it got back on track some of the original players weren't available, like Skeet Ulrich. As for the film's storyline, it did change a bit, but Jesse Eisenberg said that Director Wes Craven retained some of the material from the first version of the film, but he and Williamson changed the story to improve the flow of the narrative. "They were able to keep some of the [scenes]," Eisenberg said. "The overall story, I think, is improved, [and] I think the final product is now better, but I think they were able to keep some of the great effects, which were more expensive, but they were still put into the story." Ricci pointed out a couple of differences between the latest cut and those early cuts - there was a never a club backdrop, and Josh Jackson was never a cast member. "Josh wasn't in the original one," she said. "There was no club that anybody was opening." Eisenberg added that the original film featured a different setting. "There was a wax museum," he said. The film - about a werewolf loose in Los Angeles - 'now' stars Ricci, Eisenberg, Josh Jackson, Mya, Michael Rosenbaum, Portia De Rossi, Judy Greer, Shannon Elizabeth, Milo Ventimiglia, Kristina Anapau, James Brolin, Robert Forster and Scott Baio. Those no longer in the film - for numerous reasons, largely unavailability - include Skeet Ulrich, Omar Epps, Scott Baio, Lance Bass, Corey Feldman and Mandy Moore, who was replaced by the abovesaid Mya. "Cursed" hits theatres in a couple of weeks.
Bruce is a big Justin fan Bruce Willis has been telling us about how Justin Timberlake's been getting on as an actor. They star in 'Alpha Dog' which is based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever to be on the FBI's most wanted list. Bruce gave us his verdict on Justin: "I only had a couple of scenes with him but he did a really great job." "I do have a little bit of fame myself but it's really interesting
to see how crazy people go over Justin."
Peas' Benefit to Be DVD Timblerlake, James Brown, Maroon 5 lend their pipes to tsunami relief The Black Eyed Peas plan to bring their star-studded tsunami
relief benefit to DVD. "Everything that we do today is being
documented by eight high-definition cameras," the Peas' Will.I.Am
said backstage at Los Angeles' Avalon Friday, two nights before
the Grammys. The DVD -- which, like the concert, will benefit tsunami relief
-- is slated to be the first release from the new Will.I.Am Music
Group. "This will also be the first record that we don't
make any money off of," Will.I.Am said, laughing. "It's
all good though."
Grammy Moments You Didn't See The Black Eyed Peas gave the media a bit of news about their
upcoming album, telling reporters that they are trying to complete
a song with Justin Timberlake and producer Timbaland called
"Monkey Business," which Will.I.Am described as "funky
fresh."
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