Actor Seth Rogen at the Intercontinental Hotel during TIFF 2011, Toronto September 10, 2011.Fernando Morales/The Globe and Mail
SEETHING SETH
Seth Rogen is speaking his mind on Twitter again – and this time nobody is laughing.
In a series of blistering tweets, the Canadian actor has singled out Washington Post film critic Ann Hornaday for her recent article suggesting that movies like Neighbors – Rogen's latest big-screen comedy – played a part in Elliot Rodgers's mass shooting in Santa Barbara, Calif., last week.
Rodger, the 22-year-old son of Hunger Games assistant director Peter Rodger, is suspected of killing six victims and himself.
Rodger left behind a 141-page manifesto as well as several videos in which he pledges to "punish" women for the "injustice" of not finding him physically attractive.
"College is the time where everyone experiences things such as sex and fun and pleasure," said Rodger in the video confession. "But in those years, I've had to rot in loneliness. It's not fair."
In her op-ed piece published Sunday, Hornaday theorizes that Rodger's delusional behaviour was "inflated, if not created, by the entertainment industry he grew up in."
From the same article: "How many students watch outsized frat-boy fantasies like Neighbors and feel, as Rodger did, unjustly shut out of college life that should be full of 'sex and fun and pleasure?' "
Hornaday also asks: "How many men, raised on a steady diet of Judd Apatow comedies in which the shlubby arrested development adolescent always gets the girl, find that those happy endings constantly elude them and conclude, 'It's not fair?' "
The article obviously found its way to Rogen (@Sethrogen), who went on Twitter late Monday to direct a tweet toward Hornaday stating, "I find your article horribly insulting and misinformed."
Rogen was equally indignant in his followup tweet: "How dare you imply that me getting girls in movies caused a lunatic to go on a rampage."
Within the hour, writer-director Apatow (@JuddApatow), who has worked with Rogen in such films as Knocked Up and Funny People, retweeted the actor's comment and explained Hornaday's article thusly: "She uses tragedy to promote herself with idiotic thoughts."
Soon after, Apatow attempted to explain the line of thinking that possibly inspired Hornaday to write the article in the first place: "Here's how it all works. Anne says something thoughtless. I say it is wrong then CNN asks everyone to debate and it becomes TV."
As of Tuesday morning, Hornaday (@AnnHornaday) had not responded to either Rogen or Apatow on Twitter.
DEAR LEO
An adorable fan letter sent to Leonardo DiCaprio by Canadian filmmaker Xavier Dolan as a child is making the rounds all over again. Originally posted to Instagram 13 months ago, the neatly typed missive was sent to the actor by an eight-year-old Dolan, the recent winner of the Cannes Jury Prize award for his film Mommy. In the letter, Dolan tells DiCaprio, "You are a great actor and I admire you. I am an actor too. I've done a few commercials for a very known drug store chain and I had some good roles in four movies in French." Dolan also tells his hero: "When you'll come in Montreal to shoot a movie I will for sure be passing the auditions in case you need a young boy in the cast."
Source: Instagram
DRIVE, SHE SAID
Why does January Jones hate taking selfies while driving? Because she looks so darned distracted in the pictures! The Mad Men star has raised eyebrows with her recent Instagram post showing a close-up photo of her face with a car dashboard and roadway clearly visible in her sunglasses. The 36-year-old actress posted the picture with the comment, "I hate selfies while driving, I look so distracted." No word on whether Jones' two-year-old son Xander was in the car at the time of her impromptu photo session.
Source: Huffington Post
ROAD WARRIORS
The Rolling Stones have resumed their world tour two months after the death of frontman Mick Jagger's girlfriend. The group suspended the tour in March following the suicide death of fashion designer L'Wren Scott, who had been dating Jagger for the past several years. The Stones picked up the tour on Monday night with a sold-out show at Telenor Arena in Oslo, Norway. The group's next scheduled concert will take place on Thursday in Lisbon, Portugal.
Source: People
SHOW-STOPPER
Macaulay Culkin and his band were doused with beer by fans at a recent U.K. performance. The former Home Alone star, now 33, was booked to perform with his band The Pizza Underground at the Dot To Dot Festival in Nottingham, England, on Monday. The group were barely into their set before booing started and spectators began throwing full pints of beer at them. Culkin and the band reportedly left the stage after 15 minutes of abuse. An unnamed fan told the local Nottingham newspaper: "It just sounds awful. I can't believe he is doing this. Why bother? It must go down well in America or something."
Source: NME
BAD TO THE BONE
Rapper Wiz Khalifa is being credited with a brand-new social media phenomenon: the "jail selfie." The rapper was arrested at a Texas airport last weekend after security officers found a "green leafy substance" in his possession. After being taken into custody, Khalifa (real name Cameron Jibril Thomaz) posted a picture of himself behind bars with the caption, "Jail selfie." Khalifa was released after a few hours and charged with being in possession of 0.5 grams of marijuana.
Source: CNN