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Exclusive: Brad Meltzer's The Book of Fate

PopSugar — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 09:56:11 -0700

So we were asked to be a part of a "blog tour" for Brad Meltzer's latest thriller, The Book of Fate. Brad is known for his bestseller's, The Zero Game and The First Counsel. Just because summer is over doesn't mean you still don't need a great book to read and this one is bound to be a page turner. The other exciting part of the blog tour is that we got an exclusive interview with Brad being interviewed by Tommy Schlamme who is the creator and writer of The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The new NBC show is one of our fall favorites (more on that later) and the two geek out over comic books and more.

Others exciting interviews on the blog tour include:

PopCandy with Brad Meltzer interviewing former First Lady Barbara Bush
Perez Hilton where he'll be interviewed by Lost's Damon Lindelof
AOL where he talks to The OC's Adam Brody
NASCAR.com for a talk with David Stremme
You can also click here to read an excerpt from Meltzer's new novel, The Book of Fate

Now to check out the exclusive interview, read more

Thomas Schlamme: Who would win in a fight -- real fight -- between the comic book Superman and the movie Superman?

Brad Meltzer: The true sad part is, this is a really good question. And the even sadder part? I'm fascinated by the answer. And so...I have to go with the comic book Superman for the win. Sure, the movie one can fly around the world to turn back time to save Lois...and he can lift that kryptonite land mass that was gonna make Luthor...um...have something to do in the movie...and yes, he has that cellophane S from Superman II. But in the full annals of Superman history, the comic book version has survived 14 types of kryptonite, a dozen trips to the Phantom Zone, hundreds of villains trying to beat him down on a monthly basis, death itself, and even that bad redesign of his costume in the 90s that made him look like an ice skater. Not in a good way.

Schlamme: What about a race between Superman and Flash?

Meltzer: If they run, Flash. If flying's allowed, Superman. What's strange is how sure I am of this. Sometimes, truly, I'm a sad pathetic man.

Schlamme: What's the hardest part about writing a fight scene?

Meltzer: Oh, I hate writing fight scenes. It’s a minefield of clichés. But people want ‘em. Don’t say no. They do. In the very first book I wrote, I was determined to challenge the genre. I had the big ending, and the big confrontation, and the gun to the hero’s head – and then, hoping to make it completely realistic, instead of having the hero kick the gun away like in the other thousand thrillers out there, I let the FBI come bursting in the door to save the day. That was my solution: be real and show how it really happens. Every reader of that draft – even the snobby ones – they just destroyed it. They needed to see the hero save that day. The only good news was, in the final version, I didn’t have him kick the gun.

Schlamme: Does anyone even care if fight scenes are realistic anymore, as long as they're entertaining?

Meltzer: In a movie, the fights are ridiculous. I love Rocky III. I truly do. But if any single man took that many punches to the face, they'd look like...well...let's just say there'd be no Rocky IV (which I realize is probably a good thing). But the point is, we don't care in a movie. We want to see the action go all fast and all furious. Did you see the recent Batman movie? I loved the fight scenes in there. I couldn't tell what the hell was happening or who was punching whom, but man, it was pretty. In a novel, people want it far more realistic. In The Millionaires, when they were in the underground tunnels under Disneyworld, I had the villain hitting the hero in the face three or four times, and the editors were like, “Whoa, whoa – he’d be unconscious by now.” And I’m thinking, “Didn’t you see Rocky III?”

Schlamme: Have you ever actually been in a fistfight?

Meltzer: Once. In Brooklyn, in fifth grade. But it wasn’t one of those someone-throws-a-punch- and-it-turns-into-a-wrestling-match fight that you usually see in the schoolyards. It was a fistfight. The first punch was thrown by him – he put his entire fist in my eye. And that’s when the switch flipped for me. I just started swinging and swinging and swinging at his face. My hand got so swollen from where my fingers were digging into my palm, I could barely make a fist. Finally, he collapsed, his nose and chin covered in blood. When we eventually got dragged up to the principal’s office, they made me wait there while they called his parents to take him home (he was too beat up to send back to class). The worst part was, he had one of those dads who was older than everyone else’s dad -- and when his dad came into the office, I’ll never forget the look on his face as this old man had to go over to his broken son. I still can’t shake the image. I eventually got sent back to class with a nice shiner, and when I walked inside, my class cheered. It was the worst victory of my life.

Charlize Shares Her Big Love With the World

PopSugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 15:00:40 -0700

Charlize Theron got to show off those seriously hot legs for the August issue of Elle UK in her sexy mini dress and heels. Speaking of how stunning she is Bella had a chance to interview her makeup artist so check out what it takes to create her red carpet looks. Charlize has been all over getting ready for the big opening weekend of Hancock - check out Buzz's review here - but she's got more going on than superheroes. In the article, she talks about body image, her rise to stardom and can't help gushing about her man Stuart. Here are highlights:

On moving to Hollywood: "I left home on my own. It was hard but I had been taught not to feel sorry for myself and to do things on my own. Even at school if me and some friends were in trouble, I would be the only child sitting in the head’s office without a parent. From a young age my mum taught me to look out for myself and deal with my own consequences. She had to give me armor."
On what attracted her to Stuart: "The most amazing thing about Stuart is he got through to me on a level that no one else did. In my life there have been two people who formed me. My mother made me strong and wanted me to be invincible. Stuart made me softer. He was one of the few guys who wasn’t afraid of me. What he saw was not toughness but vulnerability. I am massively vulnerable, and for so long I just worked hard to cover that up. Stuart wasn’t scared to confront that. He is the one man who never worries about kicking me up the backside. It’s a good thing."
On how their relationship began: "At first neither of us would admit to being a couple, but fate kept conspiring to put us together. He left Los Angeles and within a matter of days I had a shoot for ELLE in Paris. We met up afterwards in Dublin. Then he had more work booked in LA. I went out again to his flat in Ireland. It was just a couple of weeks into the relationship but I knew I was falling in love. We had a bottle of wine and just talked and talked. I stood up and said, 'Let’s pack up your stuff and ship everything to LA.' We spent all night packing and that was it."

To read a whole lot more about what Charlize had to say about her man, babies, and more, just read more.

On love: "I know I have been in love before, but I’ve never been with anyone who was a whole part of me and who was a friend as well as a lover. When Stuart couldn’t get the work he wanted he wrote a screenplay. I read it and was just amazed. He can inspire me and he’s also the sexiest man ever. When I’m going to see him I get all fluttery in my tummy. No matter how much I love working on a movie, the best bit always is when I get to go back home to my sexy Irish guy."
On her looks: "I don’t have hang-ups about the way I look. I can see myself in the mirror when I’m all done up and think I look pretty hot, but I can see myself every day and see this round Dutch doll face. We’ve got so crazy about our faces and our bodies. I guard my privacy partly because I like to keep my head free from all that paranoia. I’m not super-skinny. I have curves and they belong on my body."
On fashion: "As for fashion, I couldn’t ever be a slave. I don’t do scruffy because I can’t do it. It doesn’t suit me. I like clean, classic looks. Just because skinny jeans are in fashion you don’t wear them if they suck on you."
On children: "I’d be delighted if I found out I was pregnant tomorrow. But I’d also be delighted if nothing happened for a couple of years. I know I’m going to be a mother. And Stuart will be our baby’s father. That is something I’m sure of."
On finding happiness: "It’s been a deliberate thing. I needed happiness to resolve my past. Every move I have made in life has been towards making me and my mother happy. Things happen in life and you can choose for them to destroy you. You can choose to be sad. You can choose to be happy. You just have to be determined about it."

Charlize may come across as a tough girl, but it's sweet she's such a huge softie for Stuart. These two seem to really be made for each other, and it sounds like Charlize has plenty to smile about, no matter what happens at the box office this weekend.

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Lohan Gets Booked and Canned

PopSugar — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 08:06:06 -0700

Now that Lindsay Lohan is out of rehab she needs to settle that nasty DUI problem that landed her there in the first place. The actress went to the Beverly Hills police yesterday to be officially booked. Hopefully she put on a bra before she headed over there for an hour and was then released on $30,000 bail. A court date was also scheduled for August 24th. While this seems like a proactive thing for LL to do, she is already causing career problems again. The actress held up the movie Poor Things since she headed to rehab and while they were willing to wait for Ms Lohan to get out, apparently after she headed directly to Vegas without stopping at Go, the studio and sponsors got scared of LL's sketchy ways. Page Six reports:

Lohan was supposed to start filming "Poor Things" with Shirley MacLaine when she was out of rehab. But last week, product vendors including GE and Dell computers, who had been promised placement in the movie in exchange for cash, got a disturbing e-mail from set designer Fontaine Beauchamp Hebb.

Hebb's e-mail, with the subject line: " 'Poor Things' has been cancelled," said, "Sorry to be the harbinger of bad news, but I just received a call from Jacky Gilardi, the producer, pulling the plug on the ill-fated film.

"Apparently, Ms. Lohan's antics in Las Vegas over the weekend have scared the bond companies and all of the funding has been pulled . . . I look forward to working together in the future and trust our next project will not be as fraught with difficulty."

Some say the movie was doomed from the start and LL had nothing to do with its downfall, but it's no surprise that studios don't want to gamble or deal with insurance costs of an unstable star like Lindsay. Even while she is trying to prove her soberness via ankle bracelets, she is being called out and partying at Pure isn't going to help stop those rumors. Well, she's always have her fabulous bags but in this case the huge LV is ridiculous.

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X17 Online

Harry Potter Will Die

PopSugar — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 07:56:00 -0800

Harry Potter Will Die
I hope I didn't ruin it for you all but it seems Harry's fate will be met in the final book and he will eventually have to accept defeat. Kids and parents everywhere will weep.