Apolo Anton Ohno, an Olympic champion speed skater, was declared the winner of the fourth season of the hit ABC series, Dancing with the Stars, becoming the youngest contestant to ever hoist the disco ball, as well as the third man in a row.
“I feel amazing,” said Ohno, who also happened to be celebrating his 25th birthday today. “Like I said from day one, everybody here is a champion…The lessons to be learned from this competition are amazing—if you put your mind to something and give it 100 percent, you give sacrifice and dedication, anything is possible.”
So here’s the deal. Jackie Chan is looking for the next big action star in China on his TV show, The Disciple (Think The Apprentice for movies). Thing is, Jackie doesn’t seem too impressed with what he’s seeing. His words of advice: You don’t have to crack heads in kung fu to make it big.
In fact, the drunken master himself is frustrated by the emphasis placed on kung fu skills. He said in a blog entry on his Web site that he’s looking for grace in movement, be it from sports, dance or kung fu.
Chan said a background in kung fu was not necessary to succeed as an action star, citing former Bond girl Michelle Yeoh and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” star Zhang Ziyi as examples.
Why have talent when modern movie technology can enhance the look of kung fu moves!
“In my movies, I don’t want any violent action. I’m looking for people who have beautiful and rhythmic movement so that the action can look something like dancing,” Chan said.
Chan himself was trained in Peking Opera and is known for his comical, dance-like moves and stunts.
By contrast, another action star, Jet Li, was a national kung fu champion in China before he crossed over to the film industry. [IHT]
White sand beaches, tropical jungles… they ain’t got nothing on the next location of Survivor. CBS is filming its next installment of the still popular and granddaddy of reality television series in (drumroll pls)… CHINA!
The China setting should also boost Survivor’s appeal to overseas audience. The series airs in numerous countries around the world.
The move to China for the 14th edition takes the series away from an island setting for the first time since the sixth installment, set in the Amazon jungle. [Variety]
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba, 38, of the hit US show Dancing with the Stars, tells People Magazine that she is in love with 24-year-old Russian ballroom dancer Artem Chigvintsev.
“He’s my ballroom champ,” says the Honolulu-born Inaba. The couple have been dating for about eight months.
Chigvintsev starred on season one of Fox’sSo You Think You Can Dance. He also served as a choreographer on that show’s second season.
Inaba and Chigvintsev were spotted cuddling following the Oct. 11 results show, in which Jerry Springer and partner Kym Johnson successfully pleaded to be spared, while Willa Ford and Maksim Chmerkovskiy were eliminated.
Just to jog your memory, you might remember her as one of the Fook twins in Austin Powers’ Goldmember
The Apprentice, The Disciple… To-MAY-to, To-MAH-to…
There are no new ideas in Entertainment, folks. Hate to break it to ya, but originality is about as common as a talent agent who cares about his clients. DaDump digresses…
Jackie Chan is throwing his hat into the reality TV contest ring by launching a Chinese reality TV show with hopes of finding new martial arts film stars. It’s The Apprentice meets Survivor with a sprinkling of Dancing with the Kung Fu Master. Instead of “You’re fired!”, Jackie will simply tell the losing contestant that his mother would be so disappointed. Asian maternal guilt has ruined many a life and will prove as effective here.
“A lot of actors are good at fighting but their style is not beautiful,” Chan said. “If you can incorporate dance and an ability to perform kung fu, that would be better.”
“The Disciple,” produced by Chan and BTV, a Beijing station, will run next year from March to October with more than 100,000 people having already signed up to try out for the new show.
Winners will appear in a movie Chan will produce, most likely Rush Hour 7. The film will be released before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing and will feature 10 winners from the show.
“Welcome to the Universe of Sanjaya”. No truer words were spoken last night than those by American Idol sensation, Sanjaya Malakar after his rendition of Tony Bennett’s classic “Cheek to Cheek” (CLICK HERE to see the performance). Sporting a slick back hairdo and a black/ white suit attire combination after last week’s wild “Pony-hawk”, the judges had the following to say:
Randy said, “I can’t even comment on the vocals anymore. What I like about you now is that you’ve turned into a great entertainer. You’ve got the different hairdos every week. You’re dancing with Paula. He’s an entertainer! He’s ready!”
Paula said, “He is an entertainer! I get why people love you. You’re charming. Vocals were a little off at the beginning but I understand what Tony says. You’ve got this charm about you. And I love the suit. But thank you for the dance.”
Simon said, “Let’s try a different tactic this week. INCREDIBLE!” [JJ]
Like he said, it’s Sanjaya’s Universe and we’re just living in it…
My singing is weak but my smile mesmerizes America - muahhahaha
Another week, another American Idol, another 3,452,919 more theories about how Sanjaya Malakar, the off-key, lyric fumbling, elaborately coiffed teenager has the online world abuzz as perhaps the most talked about contestant ever.
Will he survive another week? Will he win the whole competition!? Will Sanjaya be the one to finally bring the Idol juggernaut machine down to its knees?!?
Whether its his hot Hooters sister, Shyamali, or his trend setting “Pony-hawk” hairstyle, or the time his singing finally brought a girl to tears, one thing is for sure. Sanjaya has no lack of fans or detractors.
In fact, even Howard Stern, the self proclaimed King of All Media, has entered the fray. Mr. Stern has been promoting the web site votefortheworst.com (VFTW) which encourages people to support the worst performer on the popular talent show.
And wouldn’t you know it…Sanjaya has even inspired a one person hunger strike by a fan which is diligently updated on MySpace in addition to conspiracy theories ranging from the producers rigging the voting to increase ratings to the idea that calling centers throughout India have banded together to create a massive voting bloc.
Whatever the reasons, whatever the outcome, it just goes to show that we TV enthusiasts aren’t such lazy couch potatoes after all. We vote and we debate about the issues that really matter today. So thank you, Sanjaya, for showing us that there are still things in this world worth fighting for. Angelina Jolie doesn’t have a monopoly on compassion ya know.
…by the way, DaDump is betting that you’re one of the next three to get booted. Enjoy your 15 minutes, buddy, you’ve earned it!
Sanjaya is proving that American Idol is more of a popularity contest than ever before. Playing to his strengths (and it’s not his singing), he sported a crazy new look, the “ponyhawk”, half ponytail, half Mohawk! Sanjaya’s fan base expect the unexpected, the better singers on the show are shaking in their boots while the rest of us are just along for the ride.
Simon put it best when he said, “I presume there was no mirror in your dressing room tonight. I don’t think it matters anymore what we say. I genuinely don’t. You’re in your own universe and if people like you, then good luck.”
Conspiracy theorists abound, the Dumpling has discovered why Sanjaya Malakar has not yet been eliminated from American Idol. Despite his weak voice and lack of stage presence, America has voted Sanjaya to stay over his stronger, more vocally talented competitors.
Initially DD thought his performances were comic relief for a humor-less show. Then we played around with the notion that American audiences fell in love with his wavy, feathery locks and blinding toothy smile. Neither those nor a dozen other theories really held water until now…
Shyamali Malakar. She is the 20-year old sister of Sanjaya who was eliminated as a contestant earlier in the season. She was shown last week with her mother in support of her lil’ bro. You can check out a video clip of her eagerness by CLICKING HERE.
You can also check out more pics/ evidence which fully supports the Dumpling’s assertion that Shyamali is channeling lots of votes towards Sanjaya’s bid towards superstardom.
By the way, Shyamali’s got a MySpace page HERE.
By the way, the Dumpling has a MySpace page HERE too (shameless self-promotion)
American Idol’s Sanjaya Malakar rendition of The Kinks’You Really Got Me Now moved a poor little girl Ashley from the audience to tears. TEARS!
* Randy said, “You shocked me tonight. Usually, you’re this reserved, mild, meek, very cool guy. You came out of your shell. That was your best performance to date.”
* Paula said, “That’s what we’ve been waiting for. Go for it. You went for it. It was a lot of fun.”
* Simon said, “I think the little girl’s face says it all.” (points to little girl crying)
After the judges’ comments, Sanjaya gave Ashley a great big bear hug.
You’ve go to check out the video clip of Sanjaya singing and this girl’s reaction. It’s either the sweetest, saddest, scariest, funniest or oddest thing you’ve seen in a long while. Check it out atJustJared!
Either way, Sanjaya redeemed himself from his prior performances. He still doesn’t belong there but at least it won’t be as difficult to justify if he doesn’t get voted off.
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