Crushable » fans

The 12 Most Insane Pieces Of Official Hunger Games Merchandise

Natalie Zutter — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:54:02 +0000

On last night’s Hunger Games Fireside Chat podcast, I discovered something I had missed in all the movie news last week: Lionsgate has released the official Hunger Games merchandise! Confoundingly, it’s being sold through what I thought was the defunct video store chain Hollywood Video, but they went all out on this stuff. It’s everything that a dedicated fan would want: Clothing, accessories, props, and action figures.

We pulled our favorite pieces from the collection; when I say “insane,” I mean it less critically and more “I can’t believe they thought of that!” Because it shouldn’t be a secret that if I had more money, I’d probably buy half the stuff here.

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

Madonna-Bashing Blog ‘The Lady Gaga Project’ Is A Fake And Has Been Shut Down

Natalie Zutter — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:51:45 +0000

Last week, I stumbled upon an alleged Lady Gaga fansite that promised to pay “little monsters” (her fans) to post negative comments about Madonna‘s music, movies, and body on the internet. But over the weekend, one blogger revealed that The Lady Gaga Project is a fake.

Singer and blogger Super Amanda reached out to us because the people behind the project have been impersonating her; the original blog post thanks “Little Monster Super Amanda for suggesting we do this in the first place. PAWS UP!” (Most ironic is that she doesn’t even seem to be a huge fan of either performer; her blog is dedicated to British filmmaker Ken Russell.)

Super Amanda has spent the last few days taking legal action against the creators of the Lady Gaga Project blog, and she’s even put forward the fascinating theory that it’s a bunch of pro-Madonna fans who started this up. The whole explanation is on her blog, but we’ve excerpted it here. Her reasoning is that pro-Madonna fans wanted to make it look like Gaga’s people were trying to bring Madonna down, thus giving her more sympathy and support. That’s twisted.

As previously stated, I have a psychotic Madonna fan stalking me who can’t accept I dislike their talentless corporate icon. You can see a few of their sick comments in the recent threads below telling me to “kill myself”. They impersonate me on Salon, Huffington Post, Perez Hilton, Facebook, You Tube, IndieWire and many other websites. It has been going on for about a year or so. As a US Born , US citizen , I FULLY support their right to LEGALLY say whatever they want about me, mock me, lampoon me, call me names etc but falsely claiming I’m a “criminal” and impersonating me is ILLEGAL.

…It is such an obvious Crypto-madonna fan blog that it is a joke. They are libellously claiming that I, Super Amanda, suggested they “offer money for negative madonna posts”. A TOTAL LIE! The give away is that they are asking for Huffington Post comments. (Sorry, NO ONE under 30 wastes their time on Huffington Post).

…I am one of the only bloggers to criticize Madonna using their real name.

The site has since been shut down, and the Twitter account (@GagaProject2012) is no longer functional. Unfortunately, Gaga herself has not responded to this fan drama over Twitter. It’s come and gone without her seemingly being aware of it.

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

Conspiracy Theory: Georgina Sparks Is A Gossip Girl, But Not The Gossip Girl

Natalie Zutter — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:24:01 +0000

“But who am I? That’s one secret I’ll never tell.”

That’s the promise that Gossip Girl gives us in every opening of the teen soap on The CW. But then the writers decided that they needed a stunt for last night’s 100th episode… and that’s how in the last twenty seconds we saw Georgina Sparks typing away merrily at the Gossip Girl blog after sabotaging Blair‘s wedding to Louis. As a fan of the books, I think this reveal wasn’t worth blowing their load on such a big secret, so I’m calling bullshit.

There’s an excellent fan theory detailed on Cracked.com: James Bond is not a single man, but a code name that many men have used over the decades in their work for the British government. It explains how he never ages, the different personalities of Bonds played by Roger Moore and Daniel Craig, and how there’s always a Bond fighting everything from Russians to 9/11 terrorists.

I believe that Gossip Girl is the same deal—a code name for in-the-know New Yorkers with exhaustive connections to tipsters and the capacity to write snarky copy. The site and its mission stays the same, but different characters take the mantle every so often depending on the needs of the site.

	Gossip Girl‘s Georgina Sparks Reveal And Reversal Was A Cheap Trick
	Gossip Girl Power Ranking: ‘The Backup Dan’
	Gossip Girl Power Ranking: ‘G.G.’
	Penn Badgley Wore An Occupy Wall Street Shirt To Meet NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg

After all, Serena van der Woodsen just spent the last few episodes of season 5 struggling with the idea of being “the next Gossip Girl” after she shuts down GG’s site but all the tipsters start sending her their photo and gossip blasts instead. (Bear with me, since I haven’t watched the show consistently since season 3 and I’ve been trying to play catch-up via Wikipedia. But I think I have that right.)

TVLine flat-out asked executive producer Josh Safran if Georgina has always been Gossip Girl. If it were the case, you’d think that he’d be relieved to finally put all his cards on the table; instead, he continued to play coy. Let’s look at the quotes:

Georgina “has this role” now: The specific present tense adds to the above “code name” theory.
She’s staying on for the near future to “get even more dirt and gossip… and cause so much more trouble”: This seems to speak more to Georgina’s vendetta against Blair and the other UES kids, as opposed to the larger scheme Gossip Girl had of breaking scandalous news.
“You’re now invited into a process that for years you haven’t seen. Seeing just how Gossip Girl gets her tips and what she does to get her tips is really fun and a new thing”: For all we know, they’re setting it up so we meet GG’s various informants around the city, and whenever the producers and/or Michelle Trachtenberg are ready for her to leave, they’ll draw on one of these new underlings to be the next incarnation of GG.

Recall how Georgina’s big disguise to get into Blair’s wedding was an altar-boy outfit; that could be a nod to the fact that she’s merely Gossip Girl’s latest disciple. Furthermore, it would let us continue to entertain old theories that at one point in time GG was Eric van der Woodsen (who’s the TV version of gay Chuck in the books) and Vanessa Abrams.

The one consolation in this is that Kristen Bell will continue to voice GG from afar.

Update: We were right! Gossip Girl decided to basically scrap their big “reveal” and make Georgina just as powerless as before. At this point, we would’ve preferred her to be Gossip Girl.

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

Original Cast Confirmed For Arrested Development On Netflix In 2013

Natalie Zutter — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:26:18 +0000

Since it was announced that Arrested Development would be coming back to TV — meaning Netflix on your TV or computer – news has come in drips and dribbles. So today’s update isn’t anything earth-shattering, but it’s also yet another validation that our favorite dry sitcom is as scrappy as ever.

Writer Dean Lorey posted a quick update to his blog confirming that beloved cast members Jason Bateman, David Cross, Will Arnett, and others had returned. He also reiterated the promise of the new season premiering on Netflix next year. (The movie is set to come after.) Here’s the whole post, pithy as it was:

We’re really doing this thing. Mitch Hurwitz, Jim Vallely and I are off writing the new season of ARRESTED to premiere on Netflix in 2013. The original cast is back. There are offices and parking spaces. We’re shooting this year. I wish I could give more specifics but, for the moment, even the schedule is being kept under wraps. But it’s happening and it’s great to be back with my pals from the show. More later as it becomes okay to release further details…

Even though Lorey and co. can’t yet give us any more insight into the movie’s plot, we know that it’s not going to be as meta as “insiders” say. Last fall, a rumor went around that the story would be a movie-within-a-movie, with the Bluths against Hollywood. But producer Brian Grazer shot that down; according to MTV News, he “denied rumors that the plot would follow Ron Howard as he tries to make a movie based on the series’ characters the Bluths.”

So, all we can do is wait. And watch this clip:

There are so many good ones, but this is a favorite. Also:

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

Slap These Twilight Family Car Stickers On Your SUV

Natalie Zutter — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:35:32 +0000

Now this is some Twilight merchandising we can get behind (and not something from Hot Topic, thank God): A snarky take on the typical family car stickers you’d see plastered to other people’s SUVs while driving along the freeway. Cartoon Solutions, Inc. (via Twilightish) has created two sets of stickers, one for each of Bella Swan’s supernatural lovers.

You can go the canon route and do Bella and Edward, with little Renesmee and — this kills me — a lion and a lamb.* The Jacob one is incredibly accurate; that pairing gets a wolf in the “pet” category. You’ll also notice that you can get the characters in “adult” and “child” formats; I’d have to say that the little Bella and Edward look a lot more like Buffy and Spike than their actual selves. (Little Jacob’s face is still perfect.)

The stickers cost $2.75-$4.75 a pop; unfortunately, there don’t seem to be any group rates. But I’d recommend this for any rabid Twilight fan—especially to watch through the rearview mirror and see the look of slackjawed surprise on the face of the driver behind you as s/he almost rear-ends you trying to figure out who’s on your window.

*“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb,” of course.

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

Video: Ralph Fiennes Reads Erotic Harry Potter Fan Fiction In His Pajamas

Natalie Zutter — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 19:46:46 +0000

Bet you never thought you’d hear the phrase “Lord Voldemort reads Harry Potter erotica in his pajamas,” right? But that’s the beauty of Andy Cohen‘s Sunday night show Watch What Happens Live—he wrangles the most random guests and puts them in uncomfortable situations for our enjoyment. Last night, he and Ralph Fiennes – who played Voldemort throughout the Potter films — both donned striped jammies and slippers before Andy made his move.

Holly Hunter was there too, but this story is about Harry Potter and not Thirteen.

Poor Ralph (which is actually pronounced like “Rafe”) looked like he was trying to curl into a little ball of embarrassment when Andy started in on Potter erotica. (Which, to be fair, is so 2001.) He definitely didn’t seem to be having as much fun as Michael Sheen did reading Twilight fanfic, but that’s probably because here poor Ralph had to face the knowledge that thousands of fans had imagined him having sex with a thirteen-year-old boy. So overall, Andy’s joke was about half as effective as he must have intended: He got Ralph to read a few lines while sexy saxophone music played, but Ralph didn’t look like he actually had a lot of fun doing it.

I was going to link to the entire “Broken Innocence” fic, but wow is it dirty—and not in a good way, since it involves underage Harry and rape. The Watch What Happens interns who had to troll the internet for the most graphic porn fic also managed to pull out the only five clean lines for reading it on-air.

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

Snooki Follows Sammi Giancola In Getting A Drastic ‘Makeunder’

Natalie Zutter — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:57:43 +0000

Remember when no one had seen Lady Gaga without makeup and it was a big mystery as to what she actually looked like? Well, once she started going out with a fresher face, that mystery moved on to pint-size Jersey Shore star Snooki. Since we met the guidette a few years back, her true form has been hidden beneath her signature pouf, greasy self-tanner, and way too much makeup.

However, probably prompted by Sammi Giancola‘s successful “makeunder,” Snooki decided to post this bare-faced photo to her Facebook page this morning. The caption reads no make up today, and IDC… and her fans are eating it up. (It’s got over 15,000 likes.) Honestly, we’re astonished by the transformation; we have to say, Snooki looks pretty here! Also, younger and more Chilean.

Here’s hoping the overwhelmingly positive response will inspire Snooki to stop relying on heavy makeup and skanky outfits. After posting the photo, she tweeted, Can I just say how AMAZING my fans/supporters are! You guys really know how to put a smile on my face! Love You all beyond words….

[via]

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

A Look Inside The New Hunger Games Site Capitol Couture

Natalie Zutter — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:47:08 +0000

Yesterday, Crushable received a mysterious envelope from “The Capitol” in Victorville, CA. Inside was a single business card, for the new Hunger Games fansite Capitol Couture. The site went live on Monday, but it was password-protected. Fans drove themselves crazy typing in character names, catchphrases, and any possible code that could get them inside.

With the business cards, the answer was now in our hands. What looked to be just the Twitter hashtag #lookyourbest turned out to be the actual password to the Capitol Couture Tumblr. (Make sure you include the hash mark! That delayed a lot of us.)

Once inside the site, you see that it’s just in soft-launch; you can add your e-mail address to get notifications about Capitol Couture’s official launch soon. The site description reads,

Whether you’re a Capitol citizen or a style-crazed District citizen, there’s only one place to return for all the tips, tricks and trends you need to look your best.

Plus, this quote from Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci):

The Hunger Games is the most public, prestigious event of the year in Panem. Cleanliness, dress and comportment offer an opportunity to affirm District pride and Capitol loyalty.

I’m so glad that Lionsgate is jumping in with all the in-character tie-ins for fans! The Capitol is such a big part of the first movie that it was necessary to play up how crazy their beauty standards are when they’re dressing up tributes to send to their deaths in the Games.

As you might notice, I’ve cut off the page without showing the lovely new photo of Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks), but that’s because there’s this HQ still so you can further drool over her kimono-inspired dress.

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

All Aboard The Kate Gosselin Cruise!

Natalie Zutter — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:55:30 +0000

When TLC cancelled Kate Plus 8 got, we contemplated what could be Kate Gosselin‘s next move to hold on to fame and exploit her little moneymaking brood. But we couldn’t have anticipated this: A week-long cruise around the Western Caribbean with the reality-TV mom! How could you say no?

The Kate Gosselin Cruise (via BuzzFeed) mostly boasts about all the amenities onboard — including margaritas, a performance of Chicago, and “Kate’s exclusive events” — there are also excursions to Jamaica and Cozumel, Mexico. Who are we kidding, no one cares about snorkeling in the bright-blue ocean. Here’s all the ways you can rub elbows with Kate since you’ll be trapped on a ship with nowhere to go:

Morning brunch, welcome cocktail party, and private BBQ — it’ll probably cost you extra — with Kate
Attending her Q&A sessions and book signing
A charity dinner that’s optional, but if you decide to go will probably cost you extra
Crafting with Kate
“Fun family games” with Kate and staff
Take a personal photo with her
Receive a personalized gift (limit one per person)

Seriously, Kate is gonna make bank on this ride! It’ll be the easiest week of her life, and that includes the road trip arc of Kate Plus 8 where she made her poor babysitter take care of the kids in the other bus. Now, let’s talk prices: The cabins range from $1,500-$5,000 a person, and that’s not including the Kate Gosselin Pre-Cruise Hotel Package for your first night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Definitely check out the website; it’s hilariously pink/magenta with a weird font, guaranteed amusement.

So, which celebrity will you be cruising with in 2012—Kate, or R. Kelly?

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable

You Can Buy Hunger Games Tickets Starting On February 22nd

Natalie Zutter — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 21:31:51 +0000

Today marks 74 days until the 74th Hunger Games—that is, the release of Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games in theaters on March 23, 2012. To commemorate the auspicious occasion, the studio has revealed when you can start buying your movie tickets: Wednesday, February 22, 2012.

You can set up a reminder — as if you’d forget the date! — via text message or e-mail by RSVPing on the movie’s official Facebook page. You can also follow along on Twitter using the hashtag #HungerGames74. On the 22nd, tickets will go on sale on Fandango and MovieTickets.com. I don’t know about you guys, but I’ll probably need at least two viewings of the movie, so it’s good to snatch up the first round of tickets now, considering how big the fandom is.

In the meantime, check out the Hunger Games Fireside Chat’s (the podcast on which I’m a panelist) list of 100 Things to Do Before The Hunger Games Opens in March:

Related posts:

Post from: Crushable