Liam Hemsworth In The Hunger Games, American Idol Stars At Reality Rocks Expo

A lot of news today. Liam Hemsworth, best known as Miley Cyrus once-former boyfriend, is starting in The Hunger Games, it was announced on Twitter by TheHungerGames (a Lions Gate Production).

And American Idol stars, along with Nick Cannon, DeAnna Pappas, Audrina Patridge, Eric Roberts, Karina Smirnoff, Jack Osbourne, and stars from Keeping Up With the Kardashians, Project Runway, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Dancing with the Stars, RuPaul's Drag Race, Food Network, Cooking Channel, and Bravo, will appear at the first Reality Rocks Expo April 9th - 10th, 2011 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA.

But first, the Twitter tweet about Liam Hemsworth in The Hunger Games:

TheHungerGames LionsgateMovies
We are pleased to announce that actor Josh Hutcherson has been cast as Peeta Mellark, w/ Liam Hemsworth cast in the role of Gale Hawthorne!
1 hour ago Favorite Retweet Reply

(An aside: Lions Gate almost has its' social media act together. If I click on this: http://www.facebook.com/OfficialHungerGamesMovie - it reads, as of this writing, "the page you requested was not found.")

The Hunger Games is a sci-fi novel by Susan Collins that according to Wikipedia,...

is the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy. It introduces sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a post-apocalyptic world in the country of Panem where North America once stood. This is where a powerful government working in a central city called the Capitol holds power. In the book, the Hunger Games are an annual televised event where the Capitol chooses one boy and one girl from each district to fight to the death. The Hunger Games exist to demonstrate not even children are beyond the reach of the Capitol's power.

The Hunger Games has a budget of $80 million and is set for release March 23, 2012.

And so we go from news about a movie about a reality TV show, to news about an expo that features reality TV stars. There's so much info from the press release about Reality Rocks, this blogger's going to post parts of it below, just to make sure you get all of the relevant information about this weekend's Reality Rocks Expo:

What is it? This is what the press release explains:

Reality Rocks Expo is the first and only comprehensive, live fan-based happening that brings the invaluable world of avid and loyal viewers of Reality TV together in an up close and personal setting with their favorite reality, unscripted, factual, and lifestyle shows, celebrities, hosts and judges networks and producers. The ultimate Realty TV fan experience, Reality Rocks Expo is about the fans, for the fans and by the fans.

The inaugural edition of Reality Rocks Expo will be held April 9-10, 2011 at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, CA.

Reality Rocks Expo is a production of Prometheus Global Media, a diversified company with leading assets in the media and entertainment arenas, including: Music (Billboard and its related conferences and events, including The Billboard Latin Music Awards), Entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, ShoWest, ShowEast, Cineasia, and CineEurope); and Advertising & Marketing (Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek, Adweek Conferences, and The Clio Awards).

Official media sponsor for Reality Rocks is the Los Angeles Times and additional media sponsors include Access Hollywood, GotCast.com, KIIS-FM, MySpace, On the Red Carpet, RealityWanted.com, TVLine and Zap2it.com.

The inaugural Reality Rocks Expo is bringing fans the ultimate opportunity to interact with some of their favorite stars from building with the stars of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to pitching the stars of Shark Tank and a reunion of Rockstar Supernova, Q&As with cast members of Big Brother and performances by past contestants of American Idol, when the ultimate reality TV experience, about the fans, for the fans and by the fans, comes to the Los Angeles Convention Center on April 9-10, 2011.

These stars join what is already a star-studded cast of reality TV favorites that includes previously announced Nick Cannon, Adrianne Curry, Christopher Knight, DeAnna Pappas, Audrina Patridge, Eric Roberts, Karina Smirnoff, and previous contestants and cast members from American Idol, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Project Runway, The Real World, Survivor, The Amazing Race, So You Think You Can Dance, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and top shows from Food Network, Cooking Channel and Bravo.

The Reality Rocks Expo will feature two jam - packed days filled with previews of brand -new television shows, meet and greets with fan-favorite reality TV stars and insightful panel discussions, as well as a special VIP Awards program for the Reality Rocks Fan Awards honoring fans’ favorite talent and programs. For an updated list of scheduled events and to purchase tickets starting at $35 for a one-day pass or $65 for a two-day pass to the Reality Rocks Expo, visit www.realityrocks.net.

Really exciting stuff. So many stars, one should expect to see Liam Hemsworth there. Get down to LA this weekend, if just for one day, to the Reality Rocks Expo.

Katie Couric Quits? CBS Evening News Anchor Still There

A katie-couric-getty-images, a photo by JTDGarlic on Flickr.

Katie Couric. Many have tried to push the CBS Evening News Anchor - the first woman to hold the role for CBS News - out of the door almost since she arrived in 2006. There were men like Sports Illustrated's Paul Zimmerman who in my 2006 interview with him at the NFL Draft that year, questioned the choice of the then-Today Show host as the choice to be the latest in a long, distinguished line of television journalists, featuring the legendary Walter Cronkite.  There's even something called The Katie Couric (Blank) Death Watch, where you fill in the blank, with "career" or "credibility."

This corner believes in Katie Couric, and has from day one.  But, as a woman friend with one of the news networks in New York observed today, Katie "Makes a lot of money.  That kind of money is rare in this business." And the point is CBS may be looking to pair down the payments to any current or future CBS Evening News face.

So with all that sexist crap, it should come as no surprise that, when the leggy face of CBS News announces that she wants to expand her role beyond just reading the news, the word is somehow translated into "Katie Couric Quits."

Even our own Nikky Raney at Zennie62.com got into the act, quoting the LA Times blog, and the AP. Geez.

Thankfully, it took non-mainstream media site TMZ.com to set the record straight:

Sources connected with Couric tell us ... Katie has no hard feelings toward CBS and may end up staying at the network, but feels her role as anchor of the CBS Evening News has been way too confining.

We're told Couric is most interested in doing a syndicated show -- probably a talk show -- but wants to end up somewhere that has a news operation where she can contribute. Sources say she's in serious talks with CBS, NBC and CNN. Her reps are talking to ABC, but that's a long shot.

Katie's exit from CBS Evening News is "not 100%" but it's just a matter of time before Katie announces her departure -- sources say it will come in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned.

Katie Couric Calls It Quits

Katie Couric will be leaving "CBS Evening News" as reported by the Associated Press. A blog on the LATimes reports:

"Couric has not officially announced what her next move will be, but her contract expires in early June, and she is expected to launch a syndicated talk show in 2012. Meanwhile, she has been in talks with NBC, ABC and CBS, as well as Jeff Zucker, the ex-chief executive of NBCUniversal, who produced NBC's "Today" when Couric co-anchored the show."

Charlie Sheen Detroit Bomb: He Should Have Taken 'Afro Sheen'

The reviews are in and the first show of legendary Two-And-A-Half-Men star and Hollywood Bad Boy Actor Charlie Sheen's sold out My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat Is Not an Option tour was a total bomb. According to this Detroit News telecast and US Magazine, Sheen's event was so terrible, people walked out of it.



Moreover, some Detroit patrons paid a reported $300 to see a bad comedian, then Sheen's "goddesses," and Sheen himself going off on one of his mindless rants, and finally telling someone "I already got your f___ing money dude!"

Nice.

Sheen would have done better to take 'Afro Sheen' on tour with him. 'Afro Sheen' is a comedian sho surfaced at WonderCon claiming that he's Charlie Sheen's long lost brother. Here's Afro Sheen:



'Afro Sheen' would have been a hit, if only because he would have been on the Detroit stage, in a way, making fun of Sheen's personality.

WonderCon SF Update, MAD Magazine's Sergio Aragonés, And More

MAD Magazine's Sergio, a photo by zennie62 on Flickr.

As this is blogged it's 3:40 PM and the 25th Anniversary WonderCon SF is slowly winding down. This day, the objective of capturing ordinary people and talking to cultural icons continued. Among them, I met MAD Magazine legend Sergio Aragonés, Bobby Clark, who played The Gorn on Star Trek TOS' "Arena" episode, and many others in this brief post before I go back to interview Enter The Dragon's Jim Kelly (yep, for those who remember my 2010 video, this is a follow-up.)

Observations and News

As for what I think about my 10th WonderCon, and second as press, it's amazing to see more women and people of color than ever before. That, plus the comic book legends and movie properties here, has caused attendance to set a record over 2010.

In my interview with David Glanzer, Comic Con International Director of Marketing and Public Relations, he said not only that a record would be set, but that plans were to expand to the North side of Moscone Center.



That's evidence of the growing hunger to consume the brand of pop-culture content presented at WonderCon; a desire that extends to man, woman, and child. It's the kind of event that binds families together.

It's normal to see the elderly, babies in strollers, and whole families walk around the floor here, many letting their pure excitement over seeing their favorite comic book producer or movie personality (as up close as they're going to get), pull them along in combat agains their own fatigue.

Ok, times' up. Kelly awaits.

Seal Looks Like Zennie Abraham?

seal-zennie, originally uploaded by zennie62.

A WonderCon break between events finds the blogger typing away at Bin 55 at The San Francisco Marriott, watching UConn vs. Kentucky, and tired as hell.

How all this Seal / Zennie stuff started - that the singer Seal looks like this blogger, Zennie Abraham - was by a person known but who's name will not be mentioned.

Of course that will start a number of rumors, but let's get this out of the way: it wasn't Heidi Klum, Seal's wife.

The Seal / Zennie issue started a bit of conversation on Facebook, with most women saying there's resemblance, and guys saying that the prize should be Heidi Klum. That's just not possible, as married women just aren't done here.

Well, what's done here right now is this blogger. it was a long day and a the equivalent of a good four mile walk must have been executed. Got a lot done, from meeting (but not yet interviewing) Berkeley Breathed, to interviewing Lacie Underall (remember her?), and a number of just plain folks at WonderCon, trying to get a sense of what they thought about the event and the latest in sci-fi.

But right now, off to the Geek Girl mixer! Tired ass and all!

Right now, I might look like Seal, but I feel like crap.

On YouTube - Charlie Sheen Meet Your Brother 'Afro Sheen' At WonderCon SF

WonderCon SF is a place where the weird is normal and expected and welcome - 'Afro Sheen, brother of Charlie Sheen' is a great example.

As this blogger was standing in line and doing interviews for the Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Green Lantern panel on Friday, an African American brother (or "brother," though he could just as well be a white or Asian or Latino brother, too), stepped forward to announce that he was Charlie Sheen's brother Afro Sheen, and launched into a monologue that left the crowd in line in stitches. I thought: 'this guy's got to go on my YouTube channel (Zennie62).'

Arfo Sheen:

"I just came back with (Avatar producer) James Cameron, did Avatar 2 Back In The Hood, so I did that. I'm taking a little break to watch (the) Green Lantern (panel at WonderCon). Let me tell you about my new series: 'Three-And-A-Half Babies Mamas.' It's coming to TV. We're trying to get to URN. If we don't get UPN, we get BET. If you don't know, it's not about winning, it's about pimping."

And that was that, until a curvy woman dressed as one of The Green Lantern Corps walked up, then he posed with her for pictures, and I had to ask him to get out of the way so I could get one of her.

Too funny. Usually, costumed WonderCon attendees have great dress concepts, but no line of sayings to go with it; they're just walking around for photos. This guy is a walking performance.

(No word on what Charlie Sheen thinks of the news of the existence of his brother, Afro Sheen, but stay tuned.)

I'll reveal who Afro Sheen is in the next blog post on this. Off to WonderCon, Day 2. Follow me on Twitter at Zennie62 and visit YouTube.com/zennie62, too.

2011 NFL Draft: Cam Newton Victim Of USA Today's Apparent Racism

The 2011 NFL Draft is taking a turn for the worst. "Dog Whistle" racism's playing a role in this year's draft, with some unlikely names using the tactic to advance their own favorite quarterbacks. The question is why, and why is the USA Today the publication at fault?

In the USA Today NFL Draft Special Edition, two articles, both by USA Today Reporter Jim Corbett, have so much misinformation on Auburn Quarterback Cam Newton, the Heisman Trophy Winner of last year, especially when compared with Missouri Quarterback Blaine Gabbert, that the work winds up reading like a marketing puff-piece for Gabbert, rather than a valuable, informative document.

And when USA Today NFL Draft Special Edition is not pumping up Gabbert with inflated claims, the articles compare Newton with black quarterbacks of years past, rather than his contemporaries of today, which happen to be white.

This awful work of fiction, which you can get at Chicago O'Hare Aiport's Hudson News Stand, hits its stride on page 4, when Corbett uses a quote that Gabbert's a "traditional pocket passer." Everyone who's seen Gabbert play knows that, like Cam Newton, he played in a shotgun-spread offense, with Gabbert five yards back from the center. The term "traditional pocket passer" implies throwing after dropping back from under center, something Gabbert did not regularly do at Missouri.

Then, Corbett uses ESPN's Mel Kiper to aim one of a couple of hum-dinger, head-scratcher negative statements about Newton and about Gabbert. On Gabbert, Kiper obviously never watched him play at Missouri, because Kiper said that Gabbert struggled on third down completions in college because he "didn't have Daranio Alexander (Rams wideout). He didn't have Jeremy Macklin, (Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver). The receiving corps wasn't nearly what it used to be at Missouri."

Really?

If that's the case, Kiper's not watched any tape on Gabbert at all. If he did, he'd have to note that Gabbert has a tendency to fail to quickly find the "hot" receiver when he's being rushed on third down. That's not the receivers fault at all. It's also not the formation itself, as Mizzou commonly throws out of five receiver sets, at times with four receivers on one side of the ball.

Even with that, Gabbert's performance on third down hasn't been great; blaming the Missouri receivers for this is misinformation.  But then Kiper talking about Gabbert not having NFL receivers is just making excuses for Gabbert's poor performance in that area.  Now Kiper sounds like a homer rather than a Draftnik.

Another work of misinformation by USA Today's Corbett is in the sidebar article on page 5 called "Newton Offers Risks, Rewards." Gabbert opens the article by comparing Newton with Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith, both who really have nothing in common with Cam Newton other than skin color, because they're all black men.

It would have been better for Corbett to explain why he was picking two black quarterbacks to compare Cam Newton with, but it seems to this blogger Corbett knew he would not only be charged as being racist, but have to explain in detail a decision of little real substance and a lot of irrational emotion.

But, believe it or not, it gets worse.  It's not that Mel Kiper's comparison to Akili Smith is wrong - where Smith was a one-year wonder at Oregon, Newton was the top junior college player in America before coming to Auburn - but that Corbett didn't call Kiper on it.

He apparently used the Kiper "Akili Smith" quote just to discredit Newton.  Then he followed that punch with the mention of Newton's legal problems from the "hot laptop" incident of 2008, but fails to mention, at any point in the entire paper - not just that article - that Gabbert and his brother Tyler got into a fight with some other men at a pizza joint called Gumby's last year over lack of space at a urinal in the Columbia, MO establishment.

Yep. You read that correctly.  Blaine Gabbert was almost arrested for fighting and drinking.  But he got away with what's basically a slap on the wrist Cam Newton only sees in his dreams.

So ask yourself why you're not reading more about the Blaine Gabbert Pizza Fight Over Urinal Space? Then consider that if it were Cam Newton and not Blaine Gabbert, you'd have known about it because it fits the American stereotype of the black male in trouble - a racist stereotype that's being used to hammer down Cam Newton's NFL draft value, and elevate Blaine Gabbert at the same time, and by painting Gabbert as a choir boy white male with "good character."

And while you're rolling around the concept of a small urinal in your head, consider this question: was Blaine Gabbert drinking? Officially we will never know because no arrests were made, but the police report said they were drinking, and below the legal drinking age at the time.

High character guy, eh?   Where's Jim Corbett now?

Stay tuned.

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Talk Green Lantern At WonderCon SF

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, the acting pair that star in the upcoming movie take of the legendary comic book series called The Green Lantern, were introduced to the WonderCon crowd to cheers and ovations, mostly for Ryan Reynolds, the man People Magazine once gave the title "Sexiest Man Alive" to.

Because of that, came almost immediate yells for Reynolds to take off his shirt, to which a minority asked to see Blake Lively's legs.

Hey, the Gossip Girl star's sexy too!

But the subject really was The Green Lantern Movie.

Before Reynolds, Lively (who plays Carol Ferris), and DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Jeff Johns (the "Green Lantern guru") were introduced, the standing-room only crowd was given a taste of The Green Lantern movie to come: a well-done 10 minute segment that starts with a visit to "Section 2814," and has Abin Sur, the best warriors of the Green Lantern Corps, escaping near death from a space creature by getting away in a pod headed for Earth. Upon crash-landing, he's rescued by Hal Jordan, a test pilot, but dies before Hal can get help. As he's dying, Abin Sur explains that the "ring" chose Jordan.

The clip was very well done, and should go a long way toward silencing people who speculated that there may be a problem with the special effects in the movie. What this blogger and the audience saw was breath-taking, and will look even better in 3-D, even though the effect really isn't necessary.

That set the stage for Reynolds, Lively, and Johns.

Some highlights from this 31 minutes of video - the entire talk is on it:

1) The movie was made in Louisiana, which points to another trend of Hollywood going to the South (The Last Dance, for example) to make movies.

2) The Green Lantern was the first "super-heavy" special effects movie for both Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, causing Reynolds to deliver a number of funny quips. "You know. Spending six months in a sound stage in Louisiana, staring at the color blue, until you have two large occular cavaties actually feels pretty good when you see that shit right there," Reynolds said, "I highly recommend it." (Referring to the clip that was just shown.)

3) Blake Lively shared that turning brunette to fit the character of Carol Ferris was a "matter of national security" to her bodyguard, who's normally quiet, but is such a Green Lantern fan he was instructing Lively on what to do with respect to her role.

4) Johns says that the movie is "sticking pretty much to the mythology," which shows the high level of respect DC Entertainment has for The Green Lantern's fan base.

5) Ryan Reynolds said his diet while filming in Louisians was awful "All I ate were orphaned children." Mr. Reynolds shared that he spent six months in training before filming, including learning gymnastics. "I'm not an old guy, but I'm not a young guy anymore, when landing from 20 feet onto concrete was hilarious...You can't tell that those (gymnastics guys) aren't six-two. It's pretty hard to back-flip when you're over five-foot-seven."

6) Reynolds says he's a "Star Wars kid" and sees his character as a mix of Chuck Yeger and Han Solo. Someone who can whip out a wise crack and set everyone back to reality.

That's some of the highlights of the panel discussion. The video, at 31 minutes, has it all.

Will Green Lantern Score?

With all of the super hero movies coming out, it's going to be an exciting, yet rocky year for sci-fi movies. The reason is with so many special effects, the audience may be less interested in a movie driven by visuals and want more story. To the extent The Green Lantern delivers on the latter, it may overcome such issues, and if that's the case, it could be considered one of the best movies of its kind ever made.

Stay tuned.

WonderCon SF Day 1: Unemployed Man, Carla Speed, Femme Fatale,and Afro Sheen

Day one of WonderCon San Francisco featured the usual sights and sounds, which also means the unusual sights and sounds. First, Friday, wasn't as crowded as it's going to be on Saturday, Day Two, because the event happens at a time when many would-be patrons are working. Still, there were enough people for Foursquare to read "it's packed in here," when this blogger checked in.

The highlights were meeting one of the writers of "Unemployed Man," a graphic novel that's received great acclaim in the UK (so says it's writer). The creators brand is such that they didn't even have a common booth; the books were presented on a cart outside Moscone Center.

The next highlight was a talk with legendary comic book publisher Carla Speed, who says that within nine hours she can churn out 40 pages of comic book illustration work. She also says that she's learned over the years that everything is normal to someone. Carla says that there are more women in the field now than ever, so much so that she met three women on the floor that day who went right from high school into an art or gaming animation education program.

CineMax, the cable network, used WonderCon SF to present its new show called Femme Fatale, due to air Friday, May 13th. (Yes, Friday the 13th.) The idea is that we like to see sexy women doing bad, and Femme Fatale has an ensemble cast (the common formula for many female-oriented shows), which will be giving interviews on Saturday.

Finally, we have a man in blue wig who calls himself Afro Sheen. This dude, who was in the line with us waiting to see The Green Lantern Panel, was a total riot. So much so that he earned his own video!

Those were the highlights. WonderCon Day Two is tomorrow.

April Fools Day Doesn't Stop WonderCon SF, Ryan Reynolds No Joke

Today is not only April 1st, it's April Fools Day, that day of pranks, some funny, others not, but it's the first day of the 25th WonderCon in San Francisco. WonderCon starts this morning and this blogger's headed over for three days of comics, tech, geeks, nerds, people trying to be geeks and nerds, and geeks and nerds trying to win a costume contest (tonight) and meet The Green Lantern's Ryan Reynolds.

(Why is there the urge to say "The Green Lampshade's Ryan Reynolds?")

What's to look forward to, today at WonderCon? Well, it's the first day of the presentation of a number of works, both established and new, not just from Marvel and DC Comics, but from BOOM!, Image, and a number of alternative comics publishers. It will also be interesting to see just how much of the Moscone Center South space is taken up, because there's been a trend of sorts of smaller events just because there's not as much money sloshing around.

In other word, less overall money to spend on comics, and due to job loss and credit reductions, theoretically translates to more publishers skipping WonderCon and ComicCon. Note, theoretically. The objective today will be to determine if facts fit that hypothesis.

But I digress.

Ryan Reynolds will appear at the Esplanade Room at 5 PM, and that's certain to be a major event. Many fans will be looking not just for him and Green Lantern co-star Blake Lively, but for any new clips from the movie. That's important, because buzz has grown over the lack of new footage, leading to speculation that there may be a problem with the production of special effects.

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See ya at WonderCon SF, and that's no April Food's Day joke.

Oakland: John Russo To Alameda Decision Reversed, Russo To Remain In Oakland

Earlier this week it was announced that Oakland City Attorney John Russo was leaving his post in Oakland to become Alameda's City Manager. Now, according to sources, that decision has been reversed, and by Russo himself.

"I can't tun away from the unfinished work around the Gang Injuction issue," Russo said early this morning. And Mayor Quan and certain councilmembers need a breakwater; someone to make sure they're not taking the city down the wrong legal path. That's where I come in."

This space isn't surprised that Russo changed his course. In a recent video interview for Zennie62.com, it was clear the avid Oakland A's baseball fan from Brooklyn wasn't looking forward to making the change. When asked about the possible Alameda move, Russo would only say "How 'bout those A's!"

Of course, Russo said more than that; the video's 31 minutes long.

Video:



The announcements' certain to come as a shock to Alameda Officials, who were excited to be able to quickly move beyond the less-than-stellar tenure of now former City Manager Ann Marie Gallant.

As of this writing, Mayor Quan had no comment, but you can guess she's not happy today. Reportedly, Mayor Quan said "Oh, my. John's really going to be a thorn in my Lirpa Sloof."

Stay tuned,