Howie @ JoJo Jam Aug. 20
Howie announced on KIIS-FM (LA) that he will be a special guest at JoJo Jam on August 20 at Knottsberry Farm in California. The show will feature performances by BBMak, Soluna and Mario.
Preview of Aaron's new CD : 5 songs
Below is your link to a Special Aaron Carter Instant Player JUKEBOX! Where you get to Preview tracks and videos now - before they are released! Simply click on this link to Launch Your Player!
If you like what you hear and want the chance to WIN some Great Prizes & Get Free Stuff - then Join the Aaron Carter i-squad! Where, as a Member, Points you accumulate get you Entry into exclusive Contests, Sweepstakes and a whole lot more. And it's absolutely FREE TO JOIN! Just click on the link on the counterpad.
'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' Rolls on
From Access Hollywood: "LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In a summer of huge movies that last just a few weeks in theaters and are lucky to break even, one little film won't quit.
The celebration has lasted all summer for "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," a micro-budgeted romantic comedy with great word-of-mouth that has steadily climbed from 20th place on the box-office chart to No. 8 last weekend.
The film, about a woman who defies the traditions of her loud Greek family by marrying a man who isn't Greek, cost only about $5 million to produce. It has collected nearly $45 million since it's April debut, and the end of the honeymoon is nowhere in sight.
"I feel like I connected with absolute strangers across America. That's what I love more than anything," said Nia Vardalos, the star and writer, who adapted the film from her one-woman stage show.
"The money is like, 'Yeah, yeah.' ... That works in the Hollywood system," she added. "But this is the greatest feeling in the world: when women are coming up and saying 'I'm you.'"
Vardalos, 39, said she had thought the film would cover its cost and maybe turn a small profit. "I thought I could just die happy that I made a Greek-American movie and I actually got to star in it and that's it," she said.
While "Men in Black II" and "Minority Report" have earned three times as much as Vardalos' film, they also cost about 20 times more to produce. Once marketing costs are factored in, those movies will likely show a profit only on home video.
By comparison, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," playing in only 723 theaters, continues to add screens and draw packed houses. Brian Fuson, box-office analyst for The Hollywood Reporter, said it could hold a spot in the top 10 for several more weeks.
"It was a slow roll-out, a few more theaters each week, building its way up," said Fuson. "It's basically what every small independent film hopes will happen."
The project developed after actor Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, who is Greek-American, saw Vardalos' Los Angeles stage play in 1998. They liked it so much that Hanks purchased the rights through his production company, Playtone Co., and agreed to let Vardalos adapt the story and take the starring role.
Other producers had shown interest in the story, but most wanted to change the family's ethnicity to Hispanic or Italian, saying Greeks wouldn't resonate with mainstream audiences, Vardalos said.
"They came to me and said, 'We saw your play,' and it's almost like the subtext was: 'And now we're gonna wreck it,'" Vardalos said. "They said, 'Greek, Italian -- it's the same, isn't it?'"
The difference may just be the details -- baklava vs. cannoli -- but Vardalos wanted to express pride in her heritage while poking fun at universal idiosyncrasies: prying parents, overprotective brothers, oddball aunts and uncles, and the ritualistic force-feeding found at big family gatherings.
Raised in Winnipeg, Canada, Vardalos started her career studying musical theater and worked in the box office of the Second City comedy troupe in Chicago. When one of the actors missed a performance one night, she filled in because she knew all the lines.
The next day, the group hired her as a performer, and the rest played out like a Hollywood movie: Among the Second City performers was her future husband, Ian Gomez, who appears in the movie as her fiance's best friend.
Her own traditional Greek wedding -- full of boisterous relatives, oodles of food and the grudging fusion of cultures -- inspired her stage act.
She is considering a sequel set in Greece, perhaps something along the lines of "My Big Fat Greek Honeymoon," and has received numerous other acting offers.
Vardalos is reluctant to specify future plans or take a guess at her movie's final box-office take. She doesn't want to jinx anything.
"I'm a Greek tragedian, so we're scared of stuff like that," she said.
Justin's New Home!
You know how I announced on the news page that Justin brought a new home in the Hollywood Hills area well I managed to find the pic of the house so here it is! A big thank you to NSYNCstudio.com
CFTC Goodie Bags: Spoil Sports
ESPN the Magazine 8/5/02
Spoils Sports
"When we doled out PS2 consoles to VIPs at the ESPY awards, we figured we'd be fielding calls all summer from thankful celebs inviting us over to play. Then we heard about the VIP goodie bags *NSYNC doled out at their charity hoops game. Little brats made us look cheap. Here's how some recent summer jock fetes stack up in the parting-gifts department.
Event: *NSYNC's Challenge for the Children, to benefit various children's foundations
VIPs: Shannon Elizabeth, Sisqo, Baron Davis, Grant Hill, Warren Sapp
Goodie Bag Highlights: Sandra Leal jeweled sandals, *NSYNC slippers, Elara Three Stone necklace, MAC cosmetics, Godiva chocolate, MP3 player, collector Barbie, sterling silver CD case
Booty Call: Shoes, makeup and jewelry? We call that overcompensation, fellas.