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Miley Cyrus has beaten Britney Spears and Kanye West in an AOL poll of "worst celebrity influence" of '09. ("Miley: Badder than bad.")
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Post a commentSideshow: MJ hit rivals 'Paranormal Activity'
Michael Jackson Fever is at an all-time high four months after the King of Pop's death.
Contact "SideShow" at sideshow@phillynews.com.
This Is It, a collection of filmed miscellany, bagged $2.2 mil in the United States from late-night shows Tuesday and another $2.2 mil Wednesday, giving it a good shot at beating scary phenom Paranormal Activity as this weekend's No. 1 hit.
Sony paid $60 mil for international rights to the film, which is playing in 3,500 theaters in America. This weekend, it will expand to 110 territories around the world.
Meanwhile, there's speculation that the film, helmed by Kenny Ortega, has good prospects at the Academy Awards, says Variety. While it's too late to enter it in the documentary category, This Is It qualifies for other categories, including best film.
Michael: The other movie
Philly musical heroes Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff have posted a whole other Michael Jackson film, This Was It, on their Web site (www.gamble-huffmusic.com). Shot sometime between 1976 and '77, the footage shows the Jacksons playing and hanging out at a Philly studio with the crew from Gamble and Huff's Philadelphia International Records.
Miley: Badder than bad
The nation's teen 'n' tween citizens say Miley Cyrus is sooo good, she's baaad: The 16-year-old Disney property has been voted the worst celebrity influence of '09. Voters did not specify a reason. Miley was accused of a number of transgressions in '09, including mocking Asians and pole-dancing on an awards show.The poll, sponsored by AOL's teen-friendly JSYK.com (Just So You Know), drew almost 50,000 votes. Miley took 42 percent of the votes. Britney Spears and rapper Kanye West came in at No. 2 and 3, respectively.
But Miley also is beloved: She's No. 4 in the category of fave female artists! (She's like a riddle wrapped in shiny-red Mickey Mouse wrapping paper.) Full results at www.jsyk.com.
Mr. Las Vegas to ditch Sin City?
Is Wayne Newton retiring? Is that even existentially possible, given that the perennial lounge lizard's very Being is to be Mr. Las Vegas?Wayne, whose latest gig premiered Wednesday at the Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, is dropping subtle hints he'll retire once the show wraps up in April.
The crooner, 67, says he wants to spend more time with kin. "I'm enjoying my [7-year-old] second daughter in a way that I didn't get a chance to do the first time around," he says. "The decision that I make, whether or not to perform or retire, will pretty much be based on that."
Wayne has been a Sin City fixture for half a century, having made his debut in 1959 at the Fremont Hotel & Casino. His new show is a memoir that provides an overview of his personal life. Info: www.waynenewton.com.
'Slumdog' kids to lose it all?
Noshir Dadrawala, a trustee for the child stars of the touching international box-office sensation Slumdog Millionaire, says both kids are in danger of losing their trust funds because of their poor school attendance. He says Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail shows up at school 37 percent of the time and Rubina Ali only 27 percent.Slumdog filmmakers set up the funds to provide education, housing, and a living allowance for the kids, who grew up in Mumbai's shanty towns. The kids risk losing their monthly $120 stipends and the rest of the undisclosed sum they are to get once they turn 18 and graduate from school.
U2 rocks, like, a lot
Online news outlet Breitbart.com reports that global saviors U2 will play a free show Thursday in front of the Berlin Wall to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of that infamous East-West barrier. The show is part of citywide "Fall of the Wall" celebrations.Bono and the boys moved to Berlin a few months after the '89 wall-fall to record one of their most momentous albums, Achtung Baby.
"It'll be an exciting spot to be in, 20 years almost to the day since the wall came down," said U2 manager Paul McGuinness.
Meanwhile, Variety says the live broadcast of U2's Rose Bowl show Sunday generated nearly 10 million streams across the world, which makes it the single largest streaming event in YouTube's five-year history.
Tidbits 'n' pieces
Kate Hudson is making the ultimate sacrifice for love, says Life & Style Weekly. The Almost Famous star has canceled her annual Halloween bash so she can be with her alleged lover, Yankees stud Alex Rodriguez, tomorrow for Game 3 of the World Series in Philly.Desperate Housewives exec producer Marc Cherry has signed a deal with ABC that could keep the show on the air through 2013. The cast, whose contracts are up after the 2010-11 season, have yet to sign a two-year extension.
Jolie's 'scary' sexuality
Rosie O'Donnell tells Howard Stern that she and Angelina Jolie were like two ships that passed in the night. Rosie says she and Angie talked on the phone a few times around the time Angie married Billy Bob Thornton. "There was a tentative plan to have dinner that never came through," Rosie says. Angie, she says, is "scary in a sexual kind of way. I have dreams about her a lot still." Join the club.
Contact "SideShow" at sideshow@phillynews.com.
This column contains information from Inquirer wire services.
