Idol Chatter

The basis for the new film “Zen Noir” is a kind of funny concept. A noir-style detective investigates a murder in a Buddhist temple. When he asks questions, he gets slippery, koan-type answers. “My name isn’t me,” says one Buddhist. When pressed, the robed man says, “Articulate Lotus Flowing From the Source,” which later turns…

The HBO documentary “Thin” aired last night, telling the story of four women struggling with anorexia and bulimia. A film directed by Laura Greenfield (also the author of “Girl Culture”), “Thin” introduces viewers to Shelly, a nurse who has been in and out of clinics many times; Polly, a photographer also with many prior experiences…

Do we control our future? Or is everything that happens to us decided by fate? If there is a creator, do we have a dynamic or static relationship with him–or her? Such deep, philosophical questions don’t seem like the stuff of a Will Ferrell movie, but his latest flick, “Stranger Than Fiction,” will surprise many…

Are Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes going to be married before they get to the altar? The couple has booked a romantic, 15th-century castle north of Rome, and international singing star Andrea Bocelli will sing. Katie’s dad has even overcome his misgivings and wishes for a Catholic wedding and agreed to give Katie away. But…

The “Bachelor: Rome” has taken a page out of “The Real World’s” playbook, and it may result in a fairy tale ending. The producers upped the ante this year by finding an actual prince, Prince Lorenzo Borghese–ancestor of Pope Paul V and heir to the Borghese cosmetics fortune–for the ladies to fight over. But unlike…

Their names are wedded for all eternity, and now the world waits with baited breath to see if TomKat–Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes–will finally tie the knot this weekend in Itlay. Speculation is rife that the “Mission Impossible” star and the “Dawson’s Creek” ingenue will wed in a traditional Scientology ceremony this weekend at Odescalchi…

While I understand why so many critics gush about the talent of writer/producer Aaron Sorkin, last night’s episode of “Studio 60” was a blatant reminder to me that this show is quite possibly more about Sorkin working out his personal issues than it is about examining a culture war. In the second part of a…

I read Kris Rasmussen’s blog piece as well as the rest of Elton John’s religion-bashing interview, which has been all over the media the past couple of days, and I was stunned at what he doesn’t realize about, well, himself. I’ve loved much of his music, especially the old stuff he resurrected for the Australia…

According to Sir Elton John, the world could be a more compassionate place free of “hateful lemmings” if only all religion was banned. In an interview with Observer Music Monthly magazine, Sir Elton says that while he loves “the idea of the teachings of Christ,” he still believes that, as a whole, “organized religion doesn’t…

“Saturday Night Live” opened with this Nancy Pelosi impersonation–in which Kristen Wiig, playing the Speaker-elect, gives voice to every conservative caricature of (and fear about) Democrats, including the notion that liberals are anti-faith. “And whatever you might have heard,” Wiig says in a deadpan voice, looking directly into the camera, “the Democratic party is not…

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