Paris Hilton might want to dust off her stationery and start penning something to that white-haired dude. Paris, John McCain gave you your relevancy back, and the least you owe him is a thank you.
The Funnyordie.com spoof Hilton filmed in a Hamptons backyard made headlines when it aired Aug. 5, and grew legs on Aug. 6 when news that Hilton didn’t use cue cards for the commercial — but rather memorized the whole thing — broke.
“She couldn’t recite her address without a Teleprompter,” says a Hilton source who’s crying foul on the memorization claim. “If she’s wearing a designer label that has two names, like Dolce & Gabbana, she can only remember the first one. There’s no way that she memorized that whole spot.”
Regardless, the commercial was brilliant, says the source, and proof that Hilton is capable of excelling in the spotlight. “She’s excellent when she’s surrounded by excellent people. The problem is she surrounds herself with morons most of the time,” says the source. “She’s capable of being every bit the celebrity she wants to be.”
Aniston helps those who are really are needy
My favorite Test Pattern comment of the week pegged former "Friend" Jennifer Aniston as looking “miserable and needy,” so Sherrie R., this one’s for you: While Aniston ex Brad Pitt was busy with photo shoots, Aniston was helping people who literally are needy.
Us Weekly reports that Aniston on July 31 filmed a PSA for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The magazine reports that the actress cheered up kids on set, and smiled for pictures and signed autographs, even “after having sat through more than 40 takes and a shoot that went an hour longer than expected.”
Alec Baldwin: Turning 50, longing to sing
Consider it proof that Alec Baldwin really does want to leave “30 Rock,” or call it an explanation for the show’s “Midnight Train to Georgia” musical number, but Baldwin is turning 50 and reconsidering his options.
Slideshow 26 photos
Celebrity Sightings
“The people who can sing are the ones that move me the most,” he told Choire Sicha, who interviewed him for the L.A. Times. “I would give anything if I could sing. I'd never do anything but that again. I'd do a show on Broadway every year and no more ditzy sitcoms.”
He isn’t lumping “30 Rock” into the ditzy category, however.
Baldwin clarifies: “The fact that we have a smart show with nothing that caustic or harsh is a miracle. To talk about what I want to do to Condoleezza Rice sexually without saying something really, really anatomical — that takes a lot of doing." Indeed, it does.
Love ‘The Mole’? Say it with lemons
I’ve never been ashamed to admit I kind of love ABC's “The Mole.” Even though this season pales in comparison to the seasons hosted by Anderson Cooper, I’m sad at the prospect of it being killed, though I’m on the fence about saving it.
Msnbc.com contributor Andy Dehnart reports that plenty of fans don’t want this season, a vapid iteration of what was once a smart and cleverly duplicitous head game, to be the show's last.
Fans, taking cues from an episode in which contestant Paul drew a face on a lemon and turned it into a mascot, are sending lemons to the suits at ABC urging them to renew the show. Will it work? Probably not. But points for creativity.
Courtney Hazlett delivers the Scoop Monday through Friday on msnbc.com.