So … I’m back home again in SoCal after my pretty amazing weekend in Las Vegas, NV. Altho yesterday was our last half-day in the city, I think we made the most of our time there. David had to leave first because of his flight back to NYC so we had to bid farewell to him in the early afternoon but Darion and I ended up hanging out for a few more hours. Here are a few pics from our afternoon yesterday:

We spent some time at the top of the fake Eiffel Tower at the Paris Hotel and Casino and were able to watch one of the Bellagio Water Fountain Shows from way up there … it was pretty damn cool, I must say. The show is amazing no matter what your vantage point but seeing it from above is something I would deffo recommend. The rest of the afternoon was spent eating and taking cheesy pics in the casino. It was a great way to round out the weekend.

In addition to video recording my interview with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails on Saturday night, I also audio recorded the whole experience. Here is the interview in full with the extra banter that went back and forth before we sat down for the formal interview:

One of my fave parts is at the beginning when TR’s assistant Brett formally introduces us by saying “Trent, Trent” … Woot! A few Pink readers asked for copies of the interview so you can download the MP3 above. Additionally, other Pink readers asked for the title of the book that TR says he is reading right now — it is Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I’ve already decided to pick up a copy so that I can read it as well.

So yeah … back home again. It’s very cold and rainy today — it feels like December for reals. I’ll prolly stay inside for most of the day but I will be making my way out to The Abbey to see Candis Cayne’s performance there later on tonight. She’s performing Womanizer … I can’t wait :)

As I mentioned in the previous post (and Twittered all night long last night), I was allowed to meet, hang out with and interview Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails in his backstage dressing room right before the final show of the NIN Lights In The Sky Over North America Tour last night. To say it was a dream come true would not convey the amazingness for me. I was allowed to bring David and Darion backstage with me (David video recorded everything, Darion took tons of pics) and they were integral not only in keeping me from losing my mind and freaking the eff out but also helped with the interview to keep the conversation going for as long as possible. Here are a few of the TONS of pics that Darion snapped thruout my conversation with Trent Reznor last night:

TR was so gracious to give me some time to chat with him … he was so warm and inviting, offering us stuff from his craft services pile (he even had a Power Juicer, like the one that Shar Jackson is spokesperson for) and invited us to make ourselves comfortable. That was impossible for me but I think I did a good job keeping myself together. After the jump, check out my full interview with Trent Reznor where we talked about tour plans for 2009, non-music-related projects in the works — and band camp … (more…)

Last night I was very fortunate enough to attend Neil Gaiman’s sole SoCal stop on his new book tour for his latest work The Graveyard Book. As I mentioned before, Gaiman is touring the country reading chapters from his new book in lieu of his traditional book signing tours — the readings are then posted online HERE so that everyone can enjoy them. It turns out that Neil suffered a broken finger and cannot endure his usual 5-hour booksigning regimen but this book reading tour is, IMHO, vastly more entertaining. There was a nice crowd of folks already in line when I showed up at Lincoln Middle School in Santa Monica, CA (where last night’s reading took place). In addition to hearing Neil read from his new book, we were also treated to preview video footage from the animated version of his book Coraline, that will be released in theaters next February. It was directed by Henry Selick, the same man who directed Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and features the voices of Dakota Fanning and Teri Hatcher. We were also treated to a Q&A and a special reading of his soon-to-be released picturebook Blueberry Girl (illustrated by Charles Vess), which features the prayer/poem that Neil wrote for Tori Amos’s unborn daughter back in 2000. Here are a few pics from last night’s reading and a bunch of great info from the event:

Before the reading, Neil’s book publicist Elise brought me backstage to say hello to Neil before he was to take the stage. Randomly Emmy Rossum was with him backstage helping him sort thru audience questions for the Q&A portion of the night. I got to hang out with them both for about 15 minutes … it was then that Neil allowed me to see, hold and read (for the first time) the Blueberry Girl picturebook which hasn’t been published yet — he had with him the unbound galley version of the book. Neil read half of Chapter 7 of The Graveyard Book (because it is the longest chapter in the book it had to be spilt between two readings) and it can already be seen online HERE. After the jump, read about some of the questions he answered from the audience, check out the cover artwork for Blueberry Girl (which Neil allowed me to photograph for sharing) and watch video of Neil reading the Blueberry Girl poem himself … (more…)

Wee! I managed to get some inside scoop from the set of Britney Spears’s new music video for the single Womanizer from her upcoming new album Circus. The video was filmed on location last night at Takami Sushi & Robata in downtown LA, which is why she was seen wearing that sassy black wig in the wee hours this morning. But, before we get to the spoilery video deets, let’s talk about the track itself. Popjustice was lucky enough to get a listen to the full track and offers some info about the song as well as our first look at the promo single artwork:

Without wishing to stir up any of that boring Christina vs Britney nonsense, Britney’s new single ‘Womanizer’ is exactly what Christina is trying - and failing - to do with her own new single. We heard the track in full earlier today and while we enjoyed (what we could hear of) the clip that leaked on Monday hearing the track in full - and at full volume - throws the whole thing into a brand new realm of amazingness. Stylistically it shares a lot in common with Rachel Stevens’ ‘Some Girls’ but in Britney terms it’s a brilliantly executed mashup of ‘Toxic’ with the last album’s more insane moments like ‘Ooh Ooh Baby’. Most important thing: it doesn’t fade at the end - the beat drops out while Britney trills the main “YOU’RE A WOMANIZER OH WOMANIZER OH YOU’RE A WOMANIZER BABY” hook. This track lays a really strong foundation for the fully-realised comeback that didn’t quite happen last time and it’s hard not to think of it as a late contender for single of the year. Like we said above, it’s literally quite good.

OMG … love it. I now understand that Womanizer is FINALLY GOING TO MAKE IT TO RADIO TOMORROW, so we should be hearing it for ourselves very, very soon. After the jump, find out some deets from the Womanizer video set including some exclusive info sent to me from an insider on set last night … (more…)

Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Jason Biggs and others made their way out to the Cinerama Dome at the Arc Light Theater in LA last night for the Hollywood premiere of their new movie My Best Friend’s Girl. Unfortch, I was not able to attend last night’s event … but my good friends Darion and Kirsten were able to attend and D sends in a few of his photos and his report from the premiere event. First up, here are a few pics of the principal cast on the red carpet at last night’s premiere:

Yes, yes … everyone looked lovely, Dane Cook’s eyebrows looked plucked to near death, yadda yadda yadda. I’m most interested in reading what Darion thought of the movie and the premiere overall. Here are a few of Darion’s fun pics and his report from last night’s event:

Kirsten and I headed over to the Arclight in Hollywood to see the premiere of My Best Friend’s Girl, starring Kate Hudson, Dane Cook, Jason Biggs, and Alec Baldwin. It was held at the classic Cinemarama dome, which is always fun to see things in. On my way to the seat, we had problems finding which row was ours (it was so dark!), and a really nice guy with longish hair helped us out… I realized it was Hal Sparks (of Talk Soup and Queer As Folk fame)!! He was sitting a few rows behind us and was looking for seats at the same time. Only in LA … My Best Friend’s Girl is a romantic comedy about a guy named Dustin (Jason Biggs) who is in love with a girl named Alexis (Kate Hudson). Unfortunately Alexis doesn’t feel the same way, and Dustin comes on way too strong, thus getting dumped by Alexis. So Dustin asks his best friend to help out. Enter Tank (Dane Cook), who is hired by guys to date women and be the ultimate a-hole, thus causing the woman to run straight back to the last guy they were with. Naturally a love triangle follows! What’s really surprising about My Best Friend’s Girl is the raunchy humor. I was really expecting another cute but sleepy romantic comedy, but it really keeps you on your toes with “OMG!” laughter. Dane Cook delivers his lines and jokes with such rapid fluidity it’s like a verbal assault of hilarity. The writing is fantastic and Kate Hudson is ridiculously cute. She can somehow get away with dropping F-bombs on screen and still be adorable. The casting is spot on - I have to give a big shout out to Lizzy Caplan, who was a total scene stealer as Kate Hudson’s roommate. She was amazing in Cloverfield and is so funny in this film! Kirsten and I really enjoyed it and laughed a lot. I’d definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, spunky romantic comedy or a laugh out loud modern comedy in the vein of Wedding Crashers or a 40 Year Old Virgin type film. It’s a movie I can see a girl dragging a guy to on a date, and them both being totally entertained and laughing the whole way. When the movie was over we made our way to the afterparty at Opera/Crimson in Hollywood. It was a blast! While there I had the chance to get photos with some of the great talent in the film - Riki Lindhome (Hilary), Mini Anden (Lizzy), Malcolm Barrett (Dwalu, Dane Cook’s officemate), and of course Mr. Cook. Everyone was super nice and so friendly! I have to give a big shout out and warm THANK YOU to my boy Jean and my girl Danielle from Lions Gate for the hook up to the premiere and afterparty. Kirsten and I really had a blast and it was so sweet of them to host us!

Aww … I think I might have give Darion a job, this is the second report that he wrote for Pink is the new Blog (you can read his first PITNB special report HERE) and I think he is doing an amazing job. It sounds like he and Kirsten had a great time … I really wish I could’ve been there. Thanks D, for making us feel like a part of your night.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin; thanks Darion]

Yesterday afternoon, members of the principal cast of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles came out for an in-store meet and greet with fans of the series at The Golden Apple comic book store in Los Angeles, CA. Because I couldn’t be there in person, I sent my boy Darion to the in-store meet and greet so that he might be able to snap some photos of the event (and castmembers Thomas Dekker, Summer Glau, Brian Austin Green, Richard T. Jones, Garret Dillahunt, Leven Rambin and THE STUNNING Shirley Manson) and write up a report on what went down. First, here are a few of Darion’s amazing pics:

OMG … looks like so much fun, I really wish I could’ve been there to show my support in person for this series but I know that Darion did that for me. After the jump, check out Darion’s report from yesterday’s in-store report … (more…)