Brett Ratner does it the "Old Hollywood" sexist/gay-panic way..

http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/brett-ratner-out-as-oscar-producer/
http://www.deadline.com/2011/11/brett-ratner-explains-his-oscar-resignation/

Adding my perspective to the above:
Brett Ratner's distasteful, unnecessary and regrettable incident (referring to the too-common use of "fag" or "gay" as a synonym for "weak"/"weakling") proved to one of the most egregious examples of reckless and thoughtless "guy's guy" Hollywood behavior since ex-New Line majordomo/now producer Mike De Luca was the recipient of a woman's public sex act at an A-list Hollywood party:
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,282635,00.html

I can't help but wonder what Ratner's career as a producer/director of mainstream star-driven movie/TV entertainment would be like if he put all his attention into making better product (certainly TOWER HEIST could and should have been more than it is)--and less to emulating the never-will-completely-go-away sexist/homophobic "player" behavior prevalent in Hollywood male power figures.

Sins forever considered unforgivable: Jane Fonda, Artie Lange and me.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jane-fonda-criticizes-qvc-far-212264
http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjmnolte/2011/07/16/jane-fonda-blames-canceled-qvc-appearance-on-the-right-wing/
http://www.danpatrick.com/2011/07/15/artie-lange-talks-about-returning-to-radio-to-do-sports/
http://www.tmz.com/2011/07/14/artie-lang-radio-howard-stern-directv-nick-dipaolo-hopfully-supportive-support/
http://poetry-arts-confidential.blogspot.com/2011/04/annual-plea-for-forgiveness-re-ugly-mug.html
http://poetry-arts-confidential.blogspot.com/2011/05/re-ugly-mug-its-all-over-for-me.html

Current and former Howard Stern writers must be weeping: Neil Strauss thinks it's all improv.

Well, it's here.  Neil Strauss' on-bended-knee interview with Howard Stern is now in the current issue of ROLLING STONE.

Expect a fair amount of analysis-speak, some it-was-sad-but-I-won't-be-specific-the-show-was-probably-part-of-it comments about the end of Howard's first marriage and, sadly, a continuing refusal-couched-in-"concern" to allow Artie Lange (who wants to return to the show to talk about his depression and attempted suicide) on-air.

My favorite passage of the article comes in Strauss' sometimes overfawning introduction:
"....someone who can sit in a room and improvise four hours of comedy four days a week."

I'm sure that current Stern writer Benji Bronk and former HS jokescribes Jackie Martling (Stern gave him a lot of credit in a 90s ROLLING STONE interview) and Al Rosenberg are thrilled to hear this.

Random trivial thoughts on pop culture.

1. After the widely lambasted solo project with Timbaland producing, I'm curious how much interest there may be in Chris Cornell reuniting Soundgarden later this year. Also wondering if any new material will be generated--or if it's a Pixies-esque just-play-the-old-stuff tour.
2. If Warren Beatty's so annoyed by the likely-irreverent upcoming bio from Peter Biskind, maybe it would have been a good idea to have just said nothing at all (as Artie Lange is currently doing regarding his hospitalization; Beatty had superattorney Bert Fields issue a "I didn't authorize Biskind's book" denial after Biskind and publicist apparently leaked a five-figure estimate of the number of women Beatty has been intimate with).
3. It's safe to say that Colin Firth is this year's Richard Jenkins--a fine actor who will get no more than a "thanks for your body of work" Academy Awards nomination for the film he's in. The collolary to this axiom is that, as with Jenkins and THE VISITOR, Firth is head-and-shoulders superior to the film he's in (Tom Ford's A SINGLE MAN).