Archive for April, 2010

The Wanna-Be Kardashians….The Sisters of ‘Pretty Wild!’

{ April 28, 2010 @ 9:49 am } · { Celebrity, Entertainment News, Hollywood, Pop Culture }
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Hello and Welcome Back, I’m so glad you came!  My last blog dedicated to Earth Day was my lowest rating blog since I’ve started blogging, and as a result I now have a better understanding about my readers.  I have come to realize that you guys don’t give a shit about the Earth, all you guys want is your Hollywood Dirt, I mean Dish, and you know what that’s okay!  I’m totally cool with that, after all this is an entertainment blog.  So I now ask my readers to forgive me for mistaking them for tree huggers, although trees can be quite huggable, don’t you think?  Well now on to my rant of the day!

So I ask of you….have any of you watched the reality show on E! Entertainment called, ‘Pretty Wild?’  If you have I want to hear from you.  Now I must say I absolutely love E! Entertainment and it is absolutely my dream to host and/or report entertainment news for that channel someday and several of their shows are guilty pleasures of mine too…for instance I love ‘Kendra’ and I was also a huge fan of ‘The Girls Next Door’ (Hugh’s old girls, not his new ones), and yes I really do record ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ on my DVR.  However, can someone, anyone please explain to me how the hell the sisters of ‘Pretty Wild’ got their own reality TV show on E!?

I really did try and sit down and watch ‘Pretty Wild’ to see why it is that E! felt compelled to give these girls a show and after careful review, my answer is “I don’t know?”  I can’t find anything redeemable or likeable about these girls.   For example, I like Kendra because of her goofy, yet endearing personality.  I like the fact that she was a messed up kid on drugs who saved herself, and I can relate to her even more now because she’s a wife and a new mommy.

I liked ‘The Girls Next Door’  because first of all I found it fascinating to see life in the Playboy Mansion from Hugh Hefner’s girlfriends’ point of view, rather than his, and I found it even more fascinating that these girls were actually funny and engaging, and even somewhat smart (well 2 out of 3 of them are-I won’t comment on who specifically).

I like the Kardashians because I love their family dynamic and I really do see a sincere closeness and bond between them all.  I also think Khloe Kardashian is hilarious in an endearing self-deprecating way and her irreverence sometimes just cracks me up!

But now back to the show ‘Pretty Wild’ and back to the 3 sisters who are the stars of this show, Tess Taylor (19 yrs old), Alexis Neiers (18yrs old), and the youngest Gabrielle Neiers (16 yrs old).  So quick question, does anyone remember the Celebrity ‘Bling Ring’ that took place here in Los Angeles this past year?  Yes this is related to the show ‘Pretty Wild’ if you’re wondering why I am asking this.  Anyhow, the ‘Bling Ring’ was a group of teenage kids who robbed several celebrities’ houses, literally ransacking the houses of celebrities such as Paris Hilton, Audrina Patridge, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, and Brian Austin Green (no not David from 90210!) and Megan Fox, just to name a few.

Now Alexis Neires of ‘Pretty Wild’ was arrested for allegedly being a member of this’Bling Ring’ and she is now facing very serious charges of theft and criminal prosecution. Police searched Neiers’ home with a search warrant and found a Marc Jacobs handbag allegedly belonging to Rachel Bilson and a Chanel necklace allegedly belonging to Lindsay Lohan. Neiers told Vanity Fair, “I have receipts for everything.”  Yeah, well you better bring those babies to court then.  So now what appears to be a result of this bad behavior, one of the consequences I presume, is that Alexis Neires got her own reality TV show on E! with her sisters included, of course. So I ask again…..WHY!!!!!!!!!??????????????

I may run the risk of losing my dream job at E! someday because of this blog post, but I don’t understand why these girls have their own show?  The show is called ‘Pretty Wild’ and they’re not even that pretty.  In my opinion the Kardashian sisters blow these little girls away in the looks department…And quite frankly there is nothing wild about them either.  Some people may say that being involved in a burglar heist is wild, but no I wouldn’t call it that, I would call that more like stupid.  Now if E! followed the ‘Bling Ring’ on camera while they were actually burglarizing these celebrities homes, now that I would call wild!  And that show I might even watch, if I may add. No I think that the show ‘Pretty Wild’ probably should have been called something else instead like, ‘Pretty Stupid.’  Yeah, that’s a more appropriate title, don’t you think?

Also, does anyone else see them trying to be like the Kardashians?  Like one of the sisters screamed on camera “BITCHES” when she was trying to be sassy or whatever.  Now if you are a ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians’ fan then you already know that the phrase ‘BITCHES’ is a trademark Khloe expression!   C’mon ‘Pretty Stupid’ sisters get your own personality.

Also, if I have to see or hear the ‘Pretty Stupid’ sisters cry or whine one more time I may have to scoop my eyes out with an ice cream scooper, or pull a Van Gogh, but do away with both of my ears instead of just one!  Seriously, it’s that annoying.

Also, does anyone else wonder about their prayers that they do?  They end each prayer with the saying, “And so it is!”  This is their version of “Amen,” I guess.  To be honest this really is the only somewhat interesting thing I find about these people, so of course I had to investigate.

Turns out that their belief system is a secret, sorta.  It’s based on a feature film called, “The Secret.”  The movie teaches the audience to believe in positive thinking and that with positive thinking you can will the universe to give you what you want such as wealth, fame, health, or whatever it is your little heart desires.  Some people may think that this is a ‘Pretty Selfish’ belief system, but maybe it’s working for them because these nobodies now have their own reality TV show on E!

It also turns out that the ‘Pretty Stupid’ sisters’ mom is a minister or something along those lines for “The Secret,” does anyone else here think that there could be a possible cult on our hands, or maybe even another Scientology of some sort?Hmmm…..just makes me wonder?  Anyhow, I read somewhere that the mantra for “The Secret” is yep you guessed it, ‘And so it is!’  So there you have it the ‘Pretty Stupid’ sisters’ beliefs in a nutshell.

Now I always welcome everyones comments and opinions on my blog, even if you don’t agree with me.  A good discussion is always welcome.  So if you like the reality TV show ‘Pretty Wild’ then please tell me why, I’d really like to know.  Maybe there is something that I’m just missing or not appreciating.  Or maybe you dislike this show as much as I do.  Either way, speak up and let everyone know.  So that’s all folks…….AND SO IT IS!

In Honor of Earth Day…..

{ April 21, 2010 @ 10:32 pm } · { Uncategorized }
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The health of our planet is in our hands.

I will not talk about the usual Hollywood/Celebrity hoopla that you would normally read about in my blog.  I will also not fill you in on any new happenings going on in my life as a re-aspiring TV Host.  Instead I would like to share the following information with you that I read on http://www.earthday.org/earthday2010.  I encourage everyone to visit this website and even go beyond that, take action.  Afterall, we can’t lay out a Red Carpet on a planet that no longer exists, so let’s save our Earth.

The following is from http://www.earthday.org/earthday2010:

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

My Letter To Kate Gosselin….

{ April 14, 2010 @ 7:47 am } · { Celebrity, Pop Culture }
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Dear Kate,

Congratulations you made it through to the next round of ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ and I must admit that I didn’t cringe or get that most uncomfortable, awkward feeling watching you this week.  However, I can’t help but think what your kids must be thinking as they are staying up with their popcorn rooting you on (as you say), while continuing to watch you week after week publicly bash their father.

Now Kate, believe me when I say that I know Jon Gosselin is a LOSER and my husband actually told me that there is a list he saw that has Jon’s Top 10 Douche Bag Moments, and I do take pleasure in Mr. Gosselin’s stupidities, so of course I thought this was funny.   However, do you think it’s healthy for your kids to hear you talk bad about their father on national television?

During your big blow out with Tony Dovolani you said, “I’ve had a lot of people quit on me in life,” presumably referring to Jon, and on this week’s show you spoke about the custody battle and Tony told you to not let “him” win (meaning Jon again of course), and you said you wouldn’t.

Kate I beg of you…..PLEASE STOP!!! Do you really have this much trouble censoring yourself when it comes to your personal problems?

It’s bad enough that the kids are already exposed to it on the sensational level that they are, but do you have to add to it?  Really?  Are ratings that worth it to you?  Or do you really just not realize what you are saying and how it is effecting your children when they hear these words coming out of your mouth?

The sextuplets are going to be 6 years old in May, and Cara and Mady I believe are about 10 years old already, so c’mon Kate they are not babies anymore!  They understand you now, so please shut up about you and Jon already!

Now I understand this may seem a little harsh and I’m not accusing you of being a bad mother, just a bad dancer who needs to learn to think before she speaks.

Now in regards to your upcoming DWTS performance next week……Break A Leg!

Sincerely,

Michelle Rivera

I’m Convinced, Satan Runs Hollywood!

{ April 9, 2010 @ 8:07 am } · { Hollywood, Michelle's Life, Pop Culture }
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Today (which will be yesterday, by the time you all read this) was a hard day.  It was just one of those days in life when you wake up thinking you are two steps ahead, only to have something happen that makes you feel like you’ve just fallen five steps behind. We’ve all had those days.

Now the “something that happened” that made me feel this way today is not even a big deal, or even worth writing in detail about specifically, it’s just something that makes the career path that I’ve been trying to follow a little bit more challenging, that’s all….and considering the entertainment business is already extremely challenging as it is, who really needs another obstacle, right?

I have often thought, and I swear by this, that “Satan” or ‘The Devil” or whatever you want to call it runs Hollywood and I do not mean this metaphorically either.  I’m actually laughing right now as I type this because I mean this in the most literal sense there is.

I am a believer in God and therefore I think the opposite of Him exists as well, and I have often contemplated for many years that “he,” as in Satan or The Devil, lives on the corner of Hollywood and Vine….or perhaps up in the Hollywood Hills with Heidi and Spencer, or maybe even sitting up on the Hollywood sign itself, pulling the industry’s puppet strings and laughing at all of us as we watch Kate Gosselin snag another TV deal just because she had eight kids, now talk about twist of fate (I meant ‘Twist of Kate’, the title of her new summer show coming up on TLC).

Anyway, it’s just that in most of my experience within this business starting way back to when I was recording music and “almost” getting signed to record labels, it always seemed to me that the shady people would prevail, while the good people constantly got screwed over.

There appears to be no moral value system here in Hollywood.  It’s a place where porn stars can be mainstream actors, reality TV stars, television executives, and/or rock star vixens. “Whoa! How judgemental of you Michelle to say this!”  Trust me I don’t care if a pornstar can break into mainstream Hollywood, that’s not my main point here…more power to them!  And no I don’t hate porn stars, some of my closest friends are porn stars!  Okay not really, but I still don’t hate them.

However, it does piss me off to see talented, well educated and/or hardworking, aspiring writers, directors, actors, comics, singer-songwriters, or whoever not be able to break into this fickle industry because they didn’t sleep with somebody, or because they’re not a rich social-lite who leaked a sex tape, or they weren’t born into the right Hollywood family because we all know nepotism runs rampant in this industry. That’s what really pisses me off!  Those talented, well educated and/or hardworking, aspiring writers, directors, actors, comics, singer-songwriter people are always considered, “The Few,” or “The Lucky Ones” if they make it in this industry.

Why is it in today’s society  we love to celebrate mediocrity, but not talent?  It’s now become a place where the Snookis and The Octomoms of the world are celebrities…Is this because as a society we feel that badly about our own lives, that we have to relish in the train wreck of other people’s lives?  Is that ‘The Situation,’ so to speak?

Don’t get me wrong, I love reality television and I watch a lot of shows that would be considered “a guilty pleasure,” so yeah maybe I’m a hypocrite.  However, I would like to see a lot more quality programming get on the air as well, along with some new quality talent too!

Maybe I’m just feeling sorry for all the people that I know who are so freakin talented and so freakin driven, that it’s just plain stupid that they have not been able to break into this industry.

Maybe I’m just feeling sorry for myself today, that I have a degree in Broadcast Journalism, that I have Interned at news stations and major studios, that I have won a Regional Emmy Award for on-air work, and that I have worked my ass off and paid my dues for years trying to have a successful career in this industry and still I find myself competing in this Hollywood race with the girl who has the sex tape with the NBA player that leaked on the Internet.  Maybe I’m just jealous that I was raised with a conscience and I can’t bring myself to do such a thing to make it in this industry.

So yes I’ll still talk, blog, and tweet about the Hollywood dish because that’s what I’m passionate about, so does that make me hypocrite, maybe or maybe not? Perhaps I contribute to the devil’s plan without even knowing it.   After all the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

….And what does this all have to do with that “something that happened” that made me have a hard day?….Frankly, I’m not really sure…..maybe I just needed to vent.

Billy Kemp’s Shocking Advice To Me….

{ April 7, 2010 @ 8:24 am } · { Michelle's Life }
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Well Monday night was my first on-going class with Marki Costello’s ‘Become A Host’ program and I loved it.  Billy Kemp who is the V.P of Casting for Fremantle Media which is responsible for shows like ‘American Idol’ and ‘America’s Got Talent’ was our teacher that night.

Billy Kemp is amazing as a teacher.  He has a friendly and approachable way about him, but at the same time he is bluntly honest.  This is good though, because that’s the only way we’ll get better and his honesty is constructive, not destructive, if that makes any sense.

Billy did manage to shock me though with my first copy read of the night.  In my first read he said that he felt I was holding back a bit.  I told him I was holding back because I had noticed, and this is kinda funny, but I told him that I had noticed in the past that my eyebrows have a tendency of moving up and down a lot on camera. Therefore this was on my mind during the read.

He said everyone has “ticks” like this and he asked me to not sensor myself because it was causing me to not connect with the audience and was coming off as me not being warm, but instead too serious.  This is not what shocked me though, of course.

Billy asked me to do the read again, but this time to just be myself and to not worry about anything else, like my eyebrows for instance, so that’s what I did.

I read the copy again, and when I was finished Billy said it was much better, but he did have a piece of advice for me and this is what he said, “When you do a read be careful not to f**k the camera.”

I think my face said it all when he said this to me. How could this good Catholic girl be F-ing the camera?  What in the world does this mean? I wasn’t offended at all though, just mostly perplexed, after the brief shock subsided.

He then further explained in different words.  He went on to say that women could get away with flirting with the camera, but that men can never do this, however, he said women have to be careful about how much they flirt with the camera, so there has to be a balance.  Apparently something in my read must have been too flirtatious, which is hysterical to me because the copy was about the product AT&T U-Verse!

Now I trust Billy’s opinion because he casts major shows for a living, but I’m not sure what in the world I did that was so flirtatious?  What was it about my read that came off that way? Was it my facial expressions, my voice, I don’t know?  The worse part about it though is that I didn’t ask and I should have. How dumb of me!

Now my second read of the night was a co-host copy.  Overall Billy said I did good and that my co-host and I were having fun with it.  However, he thought we were too rehearsed and he said he could tell that we have a lot more personality that we could be putting out there, but weren’t….all great critiques in my opinion.

By the way, Billy said he never saw my eyebrows move.

Become A Host Bootcamp: Marki Costello meets Pinky Tuscadero

{ April 5, 2010 @ 12:31 am } · { Michelle's Life }
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Hello all!  I don’t want anyone to think that I have forgotten about my blog, it’s just been a very busy Easter Weekend with the family, that’s all.  I hope everyone had a fabulous weekend though.  I had a great one, but I’m just extremely tired and ate way too much!  I have been busting my butt at the gym and I feel like I need to go for 3 hours tomorrow just to burn off tonight’s Easter dinner, but who am I kidding, I can’t go to the gym for 3 hours, I’m a mommy to a 15 month old!  Hopefully, I can get in at least an hour tomorrow.

I have no choice, but to go to the gym.  I want to get back on television and have you seen all of these skinny bitches (I’m just kidding about them being bitches, I’ve just always wanted to use that phrase “skinny bitches”)?  Anyhow, it’s an extremely competitive industry and I want to be able to compete.   Therefore, I’m trying to prepare myself for the career I want in so many ways, working out in the gym is just one small element to it all.  How does that expression go?  ”Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”  Yes, I’m pretty sure that’s the quote…. and I have been preparing my career for a long time and I hope opportunity is right around the corner.

One way I am trying to continue my preparation, so that I can continue to pursue this on-air career of mine is by training in TV Hosting classes.  I took an excellent TV Hosting Bootcamp with Marki Costello who is an extremely well-respected Casting Director and Manager in Hollywood.  This woman knows her shit and she scared the shit out of me at bootcamp as well.  The thing is she’s actually very cool and funny too, but she has an intimidating presence about her and since I have not been on TV for over 2 years and have been in “mommy-mode” practically that whole time, I felt extremely rusty and frightened! (Yes, me frightened!)   I was challenged throughout that entire weekend.

At the end of our bootcamp weekend when Marki called me into the room to read my final copies on camera in front of the green screen, so that she could do my written evaluation, Marki said, “Hey Pinky Tuscadero come in.”  I thought Pinky Tuscadero was from ‘Grease,’ but she is actually from ‘Happy Days,’ but I digress.  Anyhow, she called me ‘Pinky’ because I was wearing a pink, somewhat 50′s style looking dress, and she did not know my actual name, so that’s what she came up with.  All I could think was, “Geeze she hates me,” however, there were probably 40 people in our bootcamp class, so she couldn’t learn everyone’s name in one short weekend, but I was bummed because I had hoped I could stand out so that she would know my name, but I didn’t stand-out because I let my insecurity of not being on-air for so long get the best of me.  This was my fault, not Marki’s.  When I went in for my evaluation, I knew I had to give a strong read if I wanted to be invited to join her on-going classes (yes they are by invitation only).  So I dropped my insecurities at the door and went in and gave the best read I could and you know what, it wasn’t bad. As a matter of fact, it was actually pretty good and it was the first time Marki complimented me throughout the entire weekend.  I was very excited about that and now I will be starting her beginning on-going classes and I am so appreciative to Marki for this amazing opportunity.

Now I can really keep working on honing my on-air skills, and it will be so invaluable to put this on my resume and to also network with big names in the industry.  So hopefully this preparation, meeting this opportunity will bring me the luck I’ve been needing.

So now my next goal is for Marki to learn my name.   I start class tomorrow on Monday, wish me luck!  :)

Happy Fool’s Day! Feels like the perfect day to start my Blog and talk about some Hollywood Fools!

{ April 1, 2010 @ 8:39 pm } · { Celebrity }
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Hey everybody, I’m Michelle Rivera and I’d like to welcome you to my blog, a little contribution to the already overloaded digital world.  My blog will mostly focus on Entertainment News, Celebrity and Pop Culture, and of course let you follow me along my journey of getting back into the TV Hosting world.

A quick tidbit about myself: In 2007 I married a great guy (at least so far he’s great), and I also started entertainment reporting on a show called ‘Around the Town,’ in Denver, Colorado.  In 2008 I won a Regional Emmy Award for the on-air work that I did on ‘Around the Town.’  In January of 2009 I became a first time mom to a beautiful, bouncing, baby girl.  She is my life. Now in 2010 I find myself back here in Southern California (where I grew up) trying to land another professional television hosting gig, but this time on a much bigger scale in a very competitive market…and I’m starting all over again, from trying to land a new agent, to manager, to on-air job. Hmm…I’m exhausted just thinking about it.

Now let’s get ready to dish about hollywood.  I know, my subject line says I’m going to blog about some fools and then all I do is talk about me, yeah that’s kinda funny, but now I want to discuss someone who I really think is a major fool and that is Jesse James!  Did you think I was going to say Tiger, well trust me he’s up there too, but today it’s all about Jesse.  So I guess really it’s not some fools, it’s just one fool.

Here are my 5 reasons why I think Jesse James is a Major Fool!

5. Jesse James was just a guy who had a really cool shop where they custom built bikes.  He was able to turn this into a successful television career: Monster Garage, Celebrity Apprentice, and so forth.  However, even with this success I would categorize him on the Celebrity B List.  Yet, even though he was in Category B, he managed to land himself a major movie star who screams Celebrity A List and on top of it she is also America’s Sweetheart, Sandra Bullock!  Oh Jesse you fool!  You know deep inside you are just a bad boy and that eventually your bad boy ways would creep out.  So why did you marry a good girl and not just any good girl, but America’s Good Girl, how foolish of you.

4. Jesse James didn’t use a condom.  Like having several affairs with strippers wasn’t enough, the guy couldn’t even give Sandy the courtesy to wrap it up!

3. He was involved in “sexting.”  When will these fools learn to stop putting their evidence in writing or texting, or emails for that matter!  I don’t condone cheating, but if you’re going to do it at least be smart about it.

2. He has children!  Jesse, like Tiger decided to think with his unit instead of think about the welfare of his family unit.  What a fool! What a loser!

1. He paraded himself around the Red Carpet with Sandra Bullock during Awards Season playing the part of the devoted husband.  Jesse James made himself a target by doing this.  He pissed off Michelle “Bombshell” McGee by doing this and he also made himself look even worse in the public eye.  This fresh image is embedded in all of our minds of Jesse James tearing up during Sandy’s acceptance speech at the Oscars, while us onlookers were saying, “Oh he’s such a loving husband.”  Now it just makes everyone think even more “LIAR!!!!!”   And now Jesse James is in rehab for the old cliche’ of “Sexual Addiction.”  Like we didn’t see that one coming!  This is the new trend of the last ditch effort to win the scorned wife back, just claim sexual addiction and then you’ll be pardoned for your sins!  GIMME A F**KIN BREAK Jesse James.  You Fool, don’t you think Sandy is smarter than that?

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