My Publicist Note Book

An Italian court has returned a verdict in the third trial of Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, in the 2007 death of Meredeth Kercher: Knox was found guilty of the crime for the second time in the notorious case. Amanda was sentenced to 28 years and six months in jail, though it's rather unclear if she'll ever serve even a day of that. More on that in a second. The first two trials produced flip-flop verdicts of guilty then innocent for Knox and Sollecito, who were acquitted on appeal in 2011 after four years in custody. An appeals court found that important evidence regarding blood and DNA had been handled improperly by investigators, leading to the released of the duo. It's not really an o-face. More like an uh-oh face! But Italy's supreme court, called the Court of Cassation, dismissed that ruling based on what it said was key evidence that had been omitted during the appeal. A new trial, at which Amanda Knox did not app...

Laurence Fishburne Returns as ‘The Matrix’s’ Morpheus in Kia’s Super Bowl Commercial Kia made a splash when it announced that Laurence Fishburne would revisit Morpheus, his bespectacled, blade-wielding badass character from the Matrix trilogy for a Super Bowl commercial. An unsuspecting couple meets Morpheus at a valet stand. He presents them with two choices: "Take the blue key and go back to the luxury you know. Take the red key and you'll never look at luxury the same again."   Kia Motors America has offered up and extended look at its Super Bowl commercial starring Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus from "The Matrix" franchise. The 90-second video promotes the Korean automaker's new K900 luxury sedan. The company will air a 60-second version during the Super Bowl. Fox is charging $4 million per 30-second spot. The commercial, produced by David&Goliath, will air Feb. 2 during the match up between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahaw...

Music’s biggest night has come and gone as the 56th annual Grammy Awards kicked off at the Staples Center in Los Angeles Sunday. The 56th annual GRAMMY Awards show itself launched a fabulous night with  great performances' from Beyoncé and Jay Z. The power couple was followed by the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Robin Thicke, Daft Punk, Pharrell Williams, and Lorde, who hit the stage with the Song Of The Year . Following various reports, Beyoncé and Jay Z opened this year’s music spectacle by giving viewers a sensual performance of their collaboration “Drunk In Love.” Watch all the excitement and performance's here of the full show in it's entirety after the jump…... Click to watch full screen And check out our Facebook Photo stream  <<by clicking here

The Isley Brothers The Grammys have been a little stingy when it comes to the Isley Brothers. The group, as legendary and influential as any, should have a closet full of Grammy Awards. But there’s only one, a single trophy won in 1969 for “It’s Your Thing.” That’s right, the Isley Brothers missed out on Grammy Awards for “Shout,” “Twist & Shout,” “Between the Sheets,” “This Old Heart of Mine,” “Fight the Power,” “Summer Breeze” or “Harvest for the World,” not to mention any of the band’s albums. Ernie, Ronald, Ronald Jr. and Chris Jasper at the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony Jan. 25 “I don’t know what to call it,” says Ronald Isley from the sprawling basement of his Town and Country home shortly before he and his family flew to Los Angeles for the ceremonies. “Can you imagine not having a Grammy for ‘Between the Sheets,’ the biggest record by anybody?” The song has been heavily sampled by many other artists over the years, including the Notorious B.I....

Kia, the Korean automaker, wants Americans to rethink their idea of luxury as it releases its K900 premium sedan. It has enlisted Laurence Fishburne to reprise his character of Morpheus from "The Matrix." Automotive manufacturers will be back in the Super Bowl this year in full force with at least nine automotive brands aiming to capture the attention of millions of viewers. Most automakers have already started to flood YouTube, Twitter and other social media outlets with teaser ads that are part of broader campaigns to draw attention to their brands. “It’s a four- to six-week period leading up to the Super Bowl,” said Mark Simon, chief creative officer, Lowe Campbell Ewald, an advertising agency that has produced multiple Super Bowl ads in the past. “There is a lot of planning, and advertisers are looking to get their most bang for their buck.” It costs advertisers an estimated $4 million for a 30-second ad; production costs for commercials can cost between $2 mill...

Apparently, love couldn't keep them together. It’s been a rough week for Baby Boomers: First the Professor from “Gilligan’s Island,” actor Russell Johnson, died at the age of 89. And now the Captain and Tennille have called it quits after 39 years of marriage. Toni Tennille and Daryl Dragon, better known to millions as the 1970s singing group The Captain & Tennille, are divorcing after 38 years of marriage. The split was confirmed on the couple’s Web site with the explanation: “…almost all people naturally evolve over time, & sometimes hidden feelings start to be uncovered.” "Until Thursday, January 16th, 2014, when Toni Tennile met with a DIVORCE ATTORNEY, in Phoenix, AZ, everything relating to THE CAPTAIN & TENNILLE appeared to the public as them being the ideal model for a 'rock-solid' married pair. But almost all people naturally evolve over time, & sometimes hidden feelings start to be uncovered when one may read, just a little more in...

Scarlett Johansson is a big fan of Sodastream and is promoting it in an upcoming Super Bowl ad Feb 2. Super Bowl ad rates in recent years have experienced mind-numbing inflation: this year, a 30-second ad is estimated to go for $4 million. That’s up from $1.5 million in 1999. Sure, companies (such as Atlanta-based Coca Cola) are chasing after the largest audience of any TV program in a given year: more than 100 million eyeballs. But they are also hoping for that ancillary free social media buzz and extra free publicity generated by the likes of me. There are common subjects every year: cute animals, cute kids, clueless guys, sexy women, cartoon violence, famous people. Here are some of the buzz-worthy ads forthcoming and many companies are creating “preview” teaser ads for their actual ads. - A “Full House” reunion! Watch  Bob Saget, Dave Coulier  and  John Stamos  in an ad for Dannon’s Oikos greek yogurt. Here’s the warm up, where the trio appear to s...

Up On The Marquee: A RAISIN IN THE SUN Installation! Denzel Washington will star as Walter Lee Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, opposite film, television and Tony Award-winning stage star Diahann Carroll as Lena Younger, in her first Broadway appearance in over 30 years. The production will be directed by Tony Award-nominee Atlanta based,  Kenny Leon .  Previews begin March 8, 2014, with opening night on April 3, 2014 at the Barrymore Theatre (243 West 47th Street), where the original production of A Raisin in the Sun opened 55 years ago.  A Raisin in the Sun is a limited engagement, running 14 weeks only through June 15, 2014. Photo Credit:  Walter McBride The marquee just went up at the Barrymore. Check out photos below! The production will also star Academy Award-nominee Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda) making her Broadway debut as Ruth Younger and Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change) as Beneatha Younge...

Last year, NBC’s drama  Hannibal  closed out its freshman season on a note that was so horrifying—and so well scripted— Hannibal  found itself with a second season  renewal , with the contracts for leads Hugh Dancy and Mads Mikkelsen left intact. If you’ve been dying to see what direction the characters are headed in, you’re in luck. On Sunday, NBC released it's first look at  Hannibal 's new season, which will begin airing on the network this winter.  Many are rarely vociferous about TV trailers, but this one’s a must-watch, giving us an intense look at the episodes to come.  The trailer begins with a voiceover from Laurence Fishburne’s Jack Crawford, a man who has seen a lot of murder and darkness in his time. We then see Dancy’s Will Graham behind bars after getting arrested for the murderous acts investigated during Season 1. He proclaims his innocence, declaring Mikkelsen’s Dr. Hannibal Lector to be the real root of evil. Graham’s actua...

Beyoncé Performs at Michelle Obama's 50th Birthday Party, Barack Does "The Dougie Unfortunately your browser does not support IFrames. As predicted,  Beyoncé  performed at  Michelle Obama 's 50th birthday party on Saturday, Jan. 18. The singer, 32, posted a series of pictures from the intimate gathering via her Tumblr blog the next day. They show the "Partition" singer posing in a Randi Rahm sequined gold mini-dress and nude heels, as well as petting one of the First Family's dogs. Beyoncé has a longstanding relationship with the Obama family. She serenaded the political power couple during the president's first inaugural ball in 2009, and she performed at his swearing-in ceremony in 2013. First Daughters  Sasha  and  Malia  are also big fans. In addition to Beyoncé,  John Legend  also performed at the White House party. Famous attendees includied  Mary J. Blige ,  Jennifer Hudson ,...

Super Bowl advertisers are latching onto celebrities this year like  tar- sstruck teens. More than one-third of the game's 50-some spots will feature a familiar celeb or two — or three. At $3.5 million for each 30 seconds of airtime, advertisers seem hell-bent on attracting attention this year at any cost. Even, in several cases, if it means glomming onto a celeb with zippo to do with the brand. Some are trying to latch onto the stars' social-media following. Some are seeking instant credibility. And some think it's the only way to stand out from the pack of Super Bowl marketers trying do just about anything to get noticed by the 100 million-plus TV viewers — plus untold millions of social-media fans to follow. It ain't cheap. Advertisers have spent $1.72 billion over the past 10 years just for Super Bowl airtime, estimates Kantra Media. Add to that the multimillion-dollar budgets for some of the more extravagant ads, and then they'll also be paying ce...