A Tribute

I know I haven't kept up with this blog much since The Justin Files feature stopped on the air, and I'll try to update it more often. The reson I'm posting today is to pay tribute to a man who I can personally thank for getting me to 94.3 The Point.

Thank you, Mr. Ed McMahon.

Obviously it wasn't a direct line from the most famous sidekick in late night TV history, but I truly feel that Mr. McMahon's generosity is what helped me get a demo tape onto Lou Russo's desk. You see, Ed's daughter went to Quinnipiac University many years ago. Back in the early 90's, he made a generous donation for the school to build a mass communications center. I took a tour of Quinnipiac when I was in high school, and it was seeing the Ed McMahon Mass Communications Center that helped me to make the decision to enroll at Quinnipiac.

Thanks to his donation, I was able to learn my trade on state of the art equipment and I was taught by living legends in the broadcasting business (Lou Adler, formerly of WOR radio, Bill McLaughlin, formerly of CNN, etc).

Quinnipiac might not be as big or as well known as Syracuse's Newhouse School of Communications (which I also applied to), but I think that anyone considering a future in communications, broadcast or print, should give Quinnipiac a serious look.

Because one of the biggest television stars of all time was kind enough to "pay it forward" to future generations of entertainers, I can sit here in my office at a job I love.

Thank you, Mr. McMahon, your influence on modern entertainment will be remembered by all, and your generosity will be admired and appreciated by many college students; past, present, and future.

The Justin Files, 1/9 Weekly Wrap Up

Hey everybody, The J-Files are back after taking some time off for the holidays, so let's jump right in!

---

Brad takes his turn
It seems like a week doesn't go by where either Brad, Angelina, or Jen aren't in the news, this week it's Brad's turn. Responding to the recent comments by Jennifer Aniston that Angelina Jolie's behavior on the set of Mr. & Mrs. Smith was "uncool", Brad said that, "we started filming after Jen and I split up. . .it doesn't mean that there was some kind of dastardly affair." He goes on to call his ex, "a sweetheart" and says that the feud between the three of them is, "so created" by the media.

---

More fun with celeb baby names
I'll admit, this one was more fun on the air, but there's also a certain amount of novelty getting to see it written out. Former Cosby Show star Lisa Bonet gave birth to a boy this week. The new addition to the family, Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa joins two girls, Lola and Zoe...and will forever be jealous of their simple names.

---

Quick Hits
* The new season of The Celebrity Apprentice is getting ready to hit the air and the cast has been announced. Among the contestants are Tom Green, Dennis Rodman, Clint Black, and a truly terrifying threesome; Joan & Melissa Rivers and Andrew "Dice" Clay. A network censor's nightmare.

* Apparently Katie Holmes is single-handedly supporting the New York City economy. She's been on Broadway for around six months now, in that time she has reportedly spent around $14 million on dining and shopping.

* Get ready for a new celebrity memoir (and I use the term "celebrity" loosely) from Sanjaya Malakar, of American Idol infamy. Dancing to the Music in my Head is due out on January 20th. It might be a good read though, Blake Lewis recently commented that Sanjaya's life story is, "super shocking"...let's be honest, so was his singing.

The Justin Files, 12/5 Weekly Wrap Up

Awards season is on
This week we had one awards show and one awards nomination show. Here's how things shaped up for the Point artists at the American Music Awards:

*Chris Brown was the big winner with three trophies, including Artist of the Year. Rihanna took home a pair. Alicia Keys adds two statues to her collection. Other Point artists winning some honors; Daughtry, Carrie Underwood, and Jordin Sparks. By the way, sign #22 that the Apocalypse may be upon us, Alvin and the Chipmunks even took home an AMA.

We also had the Grammy nominations this week. Here's what the field looks like for the big music prizes:

*Coldplay were the ones getting all the glory with a total of 7 nominations including Album of the Year and Song of the Year. In the latter category, "Viva La Vida" will battle Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love", among others. Other Point artists with nominations include; Jason Mraz, John Mayer, Pink, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Sarah Bareilles, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and the Jonas Brothers will try to grab Best New Artist accolades.

The Grammys happen February 8th.

---

Be careful who you say things in front of
Jennifer Aniston is firing back at Vogue for publishing her not-so-nice comments about Angelina Jolie recently. She said, "I was surprised that Vogue would go so tabloid". She also told Entertainment Weekly that the rumors of her being pregnant with John Mayer's baby are, "hysterical", but says that motherhood is something that she, "longs for".

Speaking of John Mayer. If you have some baking skill, check out his blog to find out how your cake baking prowess could win you an autographed guitar.

---

Lists, lists, and more lists
It's that time of year, time for the best of this and the worst of that from all different sources. Entertainment Weekly put out a list of "The Smartest People in TV". Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane was #1 in that poll for resurrecting the show from the dead and turning it into a $1 Billion dollar empire. Tina Fey was #2 on that list. Oprah made the cut at #6. However, "O" scored a bit higher on The Hollywood Reporter's list of the most powerful women in entertainment. Most of the entries were executives, but there were a couple recognizable names, like Angelina Jolie (#24), Tyra Banks (#36), Tina Fey (#51), and the woman who only needs one name...Oprah was #1.

---

Talk about Karma
It looks like Boy George didn't learn his lesson about Karma, the former Culture Club singer could be spending some time in jail. A London court found him guilty of false imprisonment following an incident last year where he allegedly handcuffed an escort to the wall of his London home. The charge carries a possible sentence of life in prison. While he probably won't get that harsh of a punishment, the judge did warn him that he will likely spend some time behind bars.

---

Quick Hits
* Point artist Gwen Stefani is returning to her rock roots with No Doubt. Next year the band will reunite to tour and record a new album. They'll stop by the Meadowlands in the Spring.

* It looks like Rosie Live! was a failed experiment. Last Wednesday's live variety show, which could have lead to a regular series if successful, tied for the lowest ratings of the night. On her blog, Rosie simply said, "there will b no more".

* Some gossip columns are disputing the report that no money will change hands in the Madonna/Guy Ritchie divorce. Gossip maven Liz Smith alleges that Guy will get $70 Million out of the split.

The Justin Files, 11/14 Weekly Wrap Up

Jen tells all
The biggest story of the week is probably Jennifer Aniston's upcoming interview in next month's issue of Vogue. In it, she tells all about her past relationship with Vince Vaughn, calling him her "defibrillator" after her painful split from Brad Pitt. She talks about John Mayer, saying that, "I deeply deeply care about him. . .we adore one another". She also opens up about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, saying that Angie's recent confession that she fell in love with Brad on the set of Mr. and Mrs. Smith was, "uncool". Brad's apparently not too happy about the confessions, reportedly calling Jen to say that he and Angie were "totally thrown" by the piece.

The issue hits newsstands on Wednesday.

---

Rejection turns into tragedy
Earlier this week a story came out about an alleged stalker of Paula Abdul's being found dead of an apparent drug overdose suicide near the American Idol judge's L.A. home. As more details came out, it was revealed that the victim was Paula Goodspeed, a former contestant on season 5 of the show in 2006. Goodspeed did make it on the air, during the auditions, where Simon ridiculed her look and talent.

In the two years since her Idol appearance, Goodpseed has sent more than 100 letters to Abdul. She allegedly recently sent flowers that appeared to be from Abdul's boyfriend, but had Goodspeed's cell phone number on the note. Also, her birth name is Sandra, it would appear that she changed it to Paula as an homage to Abdul.

The Idol judge said that she is, "shocked and saddened" by the incident.

---

Quick Hits
* Disney divas Miley Cyrus and Vanessa Hudgens have already been through their own racy photo scandals, you can add Cheetah Girl Adrienne Bailon to the list. Her laptop , containing "private photos" was stolen recently. Well, the pictures of her in only a bra have made it to the internet. Her reps are currently looking into their legal options since it would appear that blackmail is involved.

* Donald Trump's recent spate of bizarre behavior continues. Remember a little while back when he offered to bail Ed McMahon out of his foreclosure nightmare...even though he's never even met the guy? Well now, in the wake of Jennifer Hudson's family tragedy, Trump cryptically said that he is "protecting" Hudson and her family in one of his high-rises...whatever that means.

* Britney Spears had a scare last weekend. While visiting family in Louisiana with her kids. 2 year old Jayden had to be rushed to the emergency room with what was described as a, "terrible allergic reaction". They're not sure what caused the breakout of hives, but it could have been from watching Momma's "Baby One More Time" video from back in the day.

The Justin Files, 11/7 Weekly Wrap Up

Paging Dr. Greene, Dr. Benton, Dr. Ross...
The current news on ER is the fact that Anthony Edwards, Dr. Mark Greene, is returning. Obviously it's a flashback since his character was killed off six years ago. This week though, former cast member Noah Wyle said that two other former County General docs would be putting their scrubs back on. Eriq La Salle, Dr. Peter Benton, will be directing an episode and showing up on screen next spring, and the Dr. Doug Ross rumors are coming back up. George Clooney's rep is neither confirming nor denying the reports.

---

Ready for the Idol hype?
American Idol has announced the date of their season premiere...Randy, Paula, Simon, AND Kara will invade our homes on January 13th. The new season will feature a fourth judge, Kara DioGuardi, and the Meadowlands auditions from earlier in the summer. Who knows, you might see someone you know!

In other Idol news, Randy and Paula apparently aren't happy with the pay disparity between them and Simon. Paula is apparently due to make between $5 and $8 million. Randy's in line for around $1 to $3 million...and Simon is allegedly making somewhere in the neighborhood of $45 million. In his defense however, he is credited as a producer on the show.

---

Quick Hits
* Kim Cattrall is confirming that there will be a sequel to the Sex and the City movie.

* Sad news, this week Jurassic Park author and ER creator Michael Crichton died. He'd been quietly battling cancer. He was 66.

* A face we haven't seen on TV in a while will be back on the tube. Michael J. Fox will guest star on a couple episodes of Rescue Me. Of course he's been busy as an advocate for Parkinson's research.

* Happy birthday to Jonas Brother, Kevin. He celebrated his 21st this week by buying himself a $225,000 Lamborghini. Clearly the tough economy isn't hitting everyone.

The Justin Files, 10/24 Weekly Wrap Up

Reunited and it feels so good
So now that it looks like Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer are actually back together, what's changed? According to sources, Jen asked the music man to be less messy, try to cut back on the chain smoking and drinking, and to stop blogging about their personal life. He's also apparently written her a love song. They did not get back together, according to her publicist, due to a pregnancy.

---

Got'cha last!
Apparently country artist Brad Paisley is quite the prankster and Jewel was his victim on more than one occasion on his recent tour. Well, the Alaskan songstress got her revenge last week when Brad was arrested immediately upon disembarking from his plane in Nashville, put into handcuffs and hustled into a police car to his protests of, "I've never done anything wrong in my life!!". Upon learning that the whole thing was set up by Jewel, he was a good sport about it and responded, "this is the best I've ever been had".

---

What's the point if you can't brag?
Remember a couple months ago when those racy pictures of underage popstar Miley Cyrus hit the internet after allegedly being stolen from her personal email and MySpace accounts? This week the FBI raided the home of the 19 year old computer hacker who was responsible. So how did they catch him? He bragged about it, of course. He posted about the deed on internet discussion boards, commenting that he'd never get caught.

Oops.

---

Quick Hits
* Britney's next comeback attempt will be televised. After a bidding war with The Today Show, the pop princess will appear on Good Morning America on her birthday, December 2nd.

* Lindsay Lohan's guest stint on Ugly Betty has been cut from six episodes to four. Sources allege bad on-set behavior ranging from constant chain smoking, to a huge entourage, and her refusal to step on the set until star America Ferrara was present. The same source also claims that her dressing room was left a disaster area. Her rep has, of course, denied the stories of bizarre behavior.

* In the wake of the announcement of David Duchovny's pending divorce, London's Daily Mail claimed that Tea Leoni wasn't the only one being unfaithful. They said that the former X-Files star was having an affair with his 28 year old tennis coach. Not only is he denying the story, but he's denying it to the tune of $1 million...he's suing the paper for defamation and invasion of privacy.

The Justin Files, 10/17 Weekly Wrap Up

Don't say we didn't call it
Remember months ago when all the gossip shows, blogs, articles, etc were speculating about the breakup of Madonna and Guy Ritchie's marriage? Well, what we knew back in the summer is now official, her spokesperson confirmed the split. Of course the story has snowballed since then with some interesting details coming out:

*Apparently Guy claims to have no interest in getting any of Madonna's alleged half a billion dollar fortune.

*At her Boston concert earlier this week she introduced a song that is allegedly about her soon to be ex by saying that the tune is, "for the emotionally retarded".

*At her Madison Square Garden show last weekend who was front and center? If you guessed New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez, you get a cookie.

Obviously this is a developing story.

---

Sick celebs
A number of celebrities had bad weeks as far as health goes. First of all, we finally know what Janet Jackson's "mystery illness" is. According to a spokesperson she is suffering from "vestibular migraines" which give her a sensation of vertigo. Not exactly conducive to singing and dancing around a stage.

Actor Gale Harold, who's playing Teri Hatcher's new boyfriend on the current season of Desperate Housewives was in a serious motorcycle accident earlier this week and was suffering from a broken shoulder and swelling of the brain. According to reports he is improving but is still in the intensive care unit.

Former first lady Nancy Reagan took a spill last week at her home and went to the hospital after a few days only to find out that she sustained a broken pelvis. She was checked out at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center...I wonder if she gets free lifetime treatment there.

---

Is Ringo's phone ringing too much?
Former Beatle Ringo Starr posted a video message on his website earlier this week begging fans to stop sending him mail and asking for autographs. In fact he said that anything he gets that is postmarked after October 20th will be thrown out. He claims to just be too darn busy living off the residual talent of the other three.

---

Quick Hits
* Rumors of another pregnancy for Britney's little sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, are heating up. The family has officially denied the stories but a "source close to the family" (naturally) claims that the rumors are true and that they're just buying time to decide how to deal with the press.

* The economic crisis apparently isn't hurting Disney. According to reports they're working on another installment of Pirates of the Caribbean. Johnny Depp's rumored paycheck? A cool $55.8 million.

* Another celebrity split was confirmed this week; only days after leaving rehab for sex addiction, David Duchovny announced his separation from his wife of 11 years, actress Tea Leoni. The interesting part of the story, the split apparently wasn't due to his issues, reports say that he found racy text messages from Billy Bob Thornton on his soon to be ex-wife's cell phone.