Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
James Sie has Jackie Chan’s moves down pat. Vocally, anyhow. As Chan’s voice double in the animated series “Jackie Chan Adventures,” which will air at 10 a.m. Sundays on WCIU-Channel 26 starting this weekend, the former Chicago actor captures Chan’s energetic nuances so well that the casual listener would have a difficult time figuring out whether it was Chan or Sie doing the talking.
Christina Aguilera, a former Mouseketeer, has set herself apart from the other blonds who have clambered onto radio’s playlists. Sure, former “New Mickey Mouse Club” co-castmate Britney Spears has sold more records. And Jessica Simpson’s climbing the charts, while Mandy Moore has her own show on MTV.
Thirty years after the Fab Four broke up, Paul McCartney has put together a “new” Beatles single. McCartney announced Tuesday that the new single, “Free Now,” offers snippets from the band’s recording sessions in the 1960s.
The song doesn’t always remain the same on Radio Disney. For instance, Lou Bega’s sexually charged “Mambo No. 5” was re-worked–with the artist’s cooperation–so that it is no longer about a string of one-night-stands, and now includes popular Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and his girlfriend Minnie.
Will the real Slim Shady please shut up? That’s the request a Christina Aguilera clone raps on “No Reply.” Sung from Aguilera’s perspective, the parody of Eminem’s hit single “Real Slim Shady” is enjoying its 15 minutes of fame, thanks to a singer who sounds young enough to be Aguilera and some funny lyrics that mock the controversial rap star.
Before No Authority, there was “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.” For Ricky G., anyhow. The 19-year-old member of the boy band No Authority had an acting career going for him before he decided to concentrate solely on the group. Under the stage name Ricky Felix (his mother’s maiden name), Ricky G. danced opposite Mike Myers in “Austin Powers” and appeared in Natalie Portman’s film “Anywhere But Here.”
Sure, Britney, Christina, ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys look pretty cool dancing around onstage at their concerts. But let’s face it–so could you if you had a personal choreographer showing you how to position every part of your body.
After building an empire as a celebrity shoe designer, Steve Madden finds himself in a precarious situation, teetering like someone in the platform shoes that earned him fame and $163 million in sales for his company in 1999.
Come July 8, 12-year-old Allie Greenberg will be one of the first kids in Chicago to own the new Harry Potter book. Allie, who’ll be in seventh grade at the University of Chicago Lab School this fall, put her name on the pre-order list at Barbara’s Bookstore in Old Town, oh, a year ago.
Richard Hatch walked around naked, caught a lot of fish and got on a lot of people’s nerves before winning the million-dollar prize on “Survivor.” And Chicago’s gay community is loving all of the attention being lavished on a man one of his cast mates referred to as “Darth Gaydar.”
After 13 years and 92 stage productions – including the infamous “Real Live Brady Bunch” and “Coed Prison Sluts” – the Annoyance Theatre is closing its doors this weekend.
Temporarily.
When the Chicago Symphony Orchestra implemented its Musicians Residency Program two years ago, its goal was to build bridges through music. The CSO wanted to be accessible to folks who may never have attended orchestral performances before.
By Jae-Ha Kim, Robert Manor, Shu Shin Luh Chicago Sun-Times May 25, 2000 Elliott Gould and a dozen other actors and actresses grabbed the spotlight at AT&T’s annual meeting in Chicago Wednesday, demanding the company support their union’s efforts to […]
There is a moment in Steppenwolf’s production of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” that is especially poignant. Looking nervous and unsure, Tim Sampson, the actor who portrays the childlike Chief Bromden, announces that he doesn’t feel big, like his father. At 6-foot-3, Chief Bromden isn’t talking about his height, but rather his inability to come to terms with self-esteem issues that were passed down from father to son.
When Katie Brown turned 11, her parents didn’t take her to a toy store to pick out a present. They gave her a wallpaper book and some swatches of carpeting and let her redecorate her room. Small wonder, then, that she grew up to be Gen X’s answer to Martha Stewart, the hostess of the Lifetime Channel’s No. 1 show, “Next Door With Katie Brown.”
Directing Gary Hobson wasn’t difficult for Kyle Chandler. After all, Chandler has played Hobson on the CBS series “Early Edition” for four years. What did present a challenge for Chandler was shooting scenes that centered on Gary, without being able to view himself in action as it happened.
A brief statement said the prospective parents “are happy to confirm the rumors that they are expecting a child at the end of this year.” “We would be grateful if the media would kindly allow us some privacy at this special time, and we thank you all for your good wishes,” said Ritchie, director of “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.”
Not yet 20, Jonny Lang is a blues veteran. He’s been on the road touring since he was 13, earned fame by 16 and was nominated for a Grammy at 19.
When your name’s Bela Lugosi Jr., sometimes people don’t hear the “junior” part. “I’m not sure if my name is a blessing or a curse,” says Lugosi, 62, son of the late horror movie legend who starred in “Dracula.” “There are some people who assume that because my dad was an actor, that I must’ve wanted to become one, too. Early on, I took my dad’s good advice and stayed out of the talent side of entertainment. Instead, I became a lawyer.”
In “Scream 3,” the movie’s heroine asks a detective what he knows about trilogies. He answers, “In the third one, all bets are off.” All bets are on that the latest entry in the “Scream” franchise will fare as well as its predecessors. After opening last Friday, “Scream 3” went on to gross $34.7 million in its first weekend–more than all the rest of the films in the top 10 combined.