Baby, it's cold outside, and while you're probably looking forward to a weekend spent under the covers, enjoying a hot cup of tea and listening expectantly for the knock of your drug courier (New Yorkers only), in the meantime you have nothing to keep you warm but an itchy sweater and your leftover holiday fat. That's why we invite you to snuggle up to some Friday Buzzkills, guaranteed to get the stomach acid churning and the blood a-boiling. Now isn't that better? See, it's getting hot in here already. Maybe you should take off that sweater…
– You know all that histrionic hand-wringing you've been reading over Fox's new reality show The Moment Of Truth? Turns out your little hissy fit is music to their cold and indifferent ears: According to an interview with Fox president of alternative programming Mike Darnell, the network is "relieved" and pretty much couldn't be happier that critics find the show "boring and vile." While soaking in a hot tub filled with boiling tears, Darnell said, "Generally speaking,if you have a critically acclaimed reality show, it's not a big hit…[Moment] did not get good reviews, and I would have thought I had done something wrong if it did." For those who found the show relatively tame considering the reactions it generated, Darnell proudly avers that "the promised 'end of Western civilization' drama will increase," adding:
"We intentionally opened with a middle-of-the-road episode. I didn't want people from middle America to freak out coming out of American Idol."
Hear that, naysayers? Like Viggo in Ghostbusters 2, your negative vibes only sustain him!
– Speaking of things that are reviled and yet somehow critic-proof, William H. Macy has chimed in from Sundance about cashing his next cred-destroying paycheck—namely, revisiting his universally beloved character "Dudley" (Todd MacFarlane action figure to come) in Wild Hogs 2. About the project, Macy says [spoiler alert, for anyone who likes their turds served up fresh]: "Apparently Dudley is going to get married to Marisa Tomei, and the boys try to take him out on one last trip. I worry for Dudley." As do we all.
– In other reunions-no-one-asked-for news, Scott Weiland is apparently ready to take some time off from Velvet Revolver for some Stone Temple Pilots reunion dates this summer. Frat boys and furries are stoked. [Thanks to Idolator for the clip.]
– Offering further proof (as if we needed it ) that the notion of "fame" is all but meaningless in the YouTube age, 16-year-old Australian "party boy" Corey Delaney is taking his nipples and giant sunglasses on a world tour as an "international DJ and promoter" after signing with one of Australia's leading publicity firms. Corey–who has not been able to return home because of death threats following the worldwide distribution of his infamous newscast appearance–is currently training with "one of Australia's best DJs" while fielding "various commercial offers from party organizers in the US and from clothing labels and international soft-drink makers keen to tap into Corey's image as a poster boy of teenage rebellion."
— Finally, because we'd be remiss without giving a few updates on the week's biggest Buzzkill: The Los Angeles Times has called for the dismissal of Fox News talk-show host John Gibson after he spent most of his radio show this week riffing on Heath Ledger's death, including a segment where he played clips of Brokeback Mountain before hee-lariously quipping, "Well, he found out how to quit you." (And he came up with that one all on his own!) Gibson continued to reference Ledger throughout his show, laughingly suggesting that "perhaps the actor had killed himself because of the stock market downturn, the stalled John Edwards campaign or because he was just a 'weirdo' with 'a serious drug problem.'" Of course, Gibson's callousness is nothing compared to that of the Westboro Baptist Church: Much like wishful gays everywhere (irony!), the controversial group never got over Ledger's Brokeback performance, and recently announced plans to picket both the Academy Awards and the actor's funeral (if they can find it) with signs reading, "God Hates Fags And Fag Enablers" and "Heath In Hell." Onward, Christian soldiers!
Have a super weekend!