Kevin Sorbo stars in Hercules: The Legendary JourneysThe Canadian Press
SORBO SOURED
There's one face notably absent from the upcoming movie reboot of Hercules starring ex-wrestler Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Conspicuously missing in action: Kevin Sorbo, who portrayed the heroic demigod on the seminal nineties TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
And what makes the omission even more egregious is that Sorbo actually contacted Hercules director Brett Ratner to let him know he was available for a cameo.
"We approached the director," said the 55-year-old Sorbo in a recent interview with the syndicated entertainment program Dish Nation. "I don't know what his reasons are. I don't know if it was political or ego or what it is. To not put me in for a stupid little cameo? The audience would have loved it."
Launched in 1995, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys was a syndicated U.S./New Zealand coproduction that ranked among TV's most-watched programs throughout its six-season run. The show also spawned the successful spinoff series Xena: Warrior Princess.
After hanging up his loincloth in 1999, the strapping Sorbo went on to star in the sci-fi series Andromeda and headline a steady string of low-profile features, including Kull the Conqueror and Tales of an Ancient Empire.
All of which might have made Sorbo's presence, however fleeting, in the new Hercules film a logical nod to Hollywood kitsch, but the idea never seemed to get past stage one.
"I think it's kind of stupid, really," said Sorbo. "To not put me in a cameo is taking the business out of show business."
Meanwhile, Sorbo isn't the only person unlikely to line up for Hercules when it opens in theatres this Friday: Renowned comic-book figure Alan Moore is urging moviegoers to boycott the film.
In a recent interview with the website BleedingCool.com, Moore, best known for writing the graphic novels Watchmen and V For Vendetta, made no secret of his distaste for the new Hercules.
More specifically, Moore is unhappy at the fact that the new Hercules movie is largely based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars, which was written by his friend Steve Moore (no relation), who passed away earlier this year.
According to BleedingCool.com, Steve Moore received no compensation for the Hercules film and asked that this name not be connected to the project.
But soon after his death last March, the prolific author's name suddenly began appearing in publicity material for the film, presumably to take advantage of any posthumous interest in his work.
"I'd have to look at my thesaurus and see if there are any words other than 'vile' which I could use for that," said Alan Moore in the interview. "But even in the low estimation in which I hold the greater part of the comic industry, that is a new low."
Even more pointedly, Alan Moore – who defiantly took his name off the big-screen adaptations of the movies based on his novels V For Vendetta and From Hell – is advising fans to skip the new Hercules movie altogether.
"I would ask that anybody out there who gives a damn about Steve Moore or his legacy not go to see this wretched film," said Moore. "It is the last thing Steve would've wanted. And I cannot un-recommend it too highly or anybody involved in it."
MAKEUP TEST
Kelly Ripa has admitted that her biggest beauty secret is Botox. The co-host of Live! with Kelly and Michael did not hesitate to reveal her repeated use of the injectable botulinum toxin during a recent appearance on the cable program Watch What Happens Live. When a viewer called in to ask Ripa for her beauty secrets, she replied, "Beauty products – Botox. And that's pretty much it. People are very ritualistic about their beauty routine. I am not." When host Andy Cohen asked the 43-year-old Ripa to expand on her answer, she said, "I'm not advocating one way or the other, but I'm just saying Botox has changed my life. It's cut my getting ready time in half."
Source: Us Weekly
FALL FROM GRACE
Former Destiny's Child member Farrah Franklin has been arrested in South Carolina for disorderly conduct. The 33-year-old singer, who was fired from the all-female band after only five months, was arrested in Myrtle Beach on Sunday morning after police found her in a stranger's front yard. According to the Daily Mail, Franklin told arresting officers that she wanted to sleep in the woods because she had nowhere else to go. Franklin was also arrested in 2011 on charges of disorderly conduct in Culver City, Calif.
Source: Daily Mail
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Prince George will celebrate his first birthday this week in a humble fashion. The future heir to the British throne will mark his one-year on earth in a low-key party scheduled to take place Tuesday and include the participation of his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth, and his uncle, Prince Harry. A spokesman for Buckingham Palace told Us Weekly: "The family is marking it privately with close family and friends at Kensington Palace." A separate source told Us Weekly that the event will very likely be an indoor tea party that "may extend to the garden if the weather remains glorious."
Source: Us Weekly
SAFETY FIRST
The Backstreet Boys have cancelled their upcoming concert dates in Tel Aviv. The nineties boy band announced on their personal website that the concerts planned from July 29 to July 31 at the Raanana Amphitheater will not take place due to ongoing military escalation in Israel. In the same post, the band promised to make good on the dates in the distant future. "To assure the safety of the audience in the events, we will schedule new dates during spring 2015," said the statement. Last weekend, Canadian-born singer Paul Anka also announced that he would be cancelling and rescheduling his upcoming concert in Israel.
Source: ET Canada
NO SWEAT
Elizabeth Berkley isn't losing any sleep over the planned Saved By The Bell movie. The 41-year-old actress, who played Jessie on the nineties-era tween sitcom, recently told Us Weekly that she's not the least bit curious about the upcoming cable movie expected to focus on cast relationships and drug use and is slated for broadcast on Lifetime later this year. "I know nothing about what they're planning," said Berkley, who also essayed an infamous screen portrayal in the 1995 film Showgirls. "I'm not really curious about it because we know the life we led, and I have no idea what their picture of it is. So who knows?"
Source: Us Weekly