Russell Brand

[Avalon 0]

Film to make star next Brando

 

RANDY comic RUSSELL BRAND could be the next Marlon Brando — after a Hollywood movie is written for him.

 

Brand, 32, has already stolen the show in a new US film watched by preview audiences.

 

He plays a trendy British rocker in the romantic comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And award-winning writer and director Judd Apatow was so impressed he is penning a lead role for the bed-hopping star.

 

A movie source said: “Russell isn’t a big name in the States, but audiences there said he’s the best thing in the film.

 

“Now I’m sure he’ll get cast in a lead role as a ladies’ man and a joker. It would be mad not to.”

 

Bizarre’s Shagger Of The Year Russell, who went to London’s Italia Conti stage school, hits screens this week as Flash Harry in the new St Trinian’s film. Forgetting Sarah Marshall — being renamed Dumped — is due out next June.

 

The source said: “He’s very talented and could become huge in Hollywood. I’m sure he’d enjoy that.”

 

[Avalon 0]

'I'm shagger of the year Ma'am'

 

 

SEX-mad Russell Brand stunned the Royal Variety Performance last night by boasting to the Queen he was Bizarre’s Shagger of the Year.

 

The randy funnyman then made a play for her Majesty’s granddaughter Zara Phillips, 26.

 

Shaggy-haired Brand, 32, on stage at the Liverpool Empire Theatre, said: “I have been thinking an awful lot about Zara recently. No, just wondering if she’s single.”

 

Russell, famed for dating a host of celebs, wondered aloud what he should say to the Queen later.

 

He claimed he would be nervous and say: “Are you aware I’m Shagger of the Year? Not that I’m suggesting a demo.”

 

He added: “When I lick a stamp, I do it with my eyes closed.”

 

Later when asked what he actually said when introduced to Her Maj, Brand joked: “She said she enjoyed my act very much and she wished it had been me who broke into her bedroom.”

 

Ironically, Brand was in the after-show line-up next to another womaniser, singer James Blunt. It was The Sun’s Bizarre pages that crowned Brand Shagger of the Year in 2006.

 

He said at the time: “I’m overjoyed to win this award, it makes that tireless shagging seem worthwhile.”

 

Brand has spent time in a sex addiction clinic and last month bragged he had stayed celibate for 25 days.

[cathmonast 0]

that's weird he has won shagger of the year, but then on the photo he is pictured with James Blunt. the price should have gone to the Blunt.

[Avalon 0]

Brand gets new nookie wook

 

BIZARRE Shagger Of The Year RUSSELL BRAND made the most of Oscar week in LA by charming the corset off DITA VON TEESE.

 

Russell bumped into MARILYN MANSON’s ex-missus at a pre-event booze-up and within half an hour he had her mobile number.

 

As soon as she left, his libido was raging and he started some furious text flirting in a bid to get the burlesque star into bed.

 

And if she thought she had a weird time with rocker Manson, Russell has vowed to show her a whole new level of madness.

 

Taking a break from the Oscars at the Sunset Marquis Hotel, he told me: “I saw Dita von Teese at the Chateau Marmont Hotel. At the risk of looking incontinent, I walked past her several times to the toilet to get her attention.

 

“Eventually she saw me and we started chatting. I was saying some brilliantly funny things, slowly tempting her into my web.

 

“I was thinking to myself, ‘You like Marilyn Manson? You like weirdos? I’ll give you weirdos. Androgynous freaks is it?’ It was going well and she goes, ‘Would you like my number? Call me any time you are bored’.

 

“I said, ‘I wouldn’t have to be bored to ring you, darling’.

 

“Later I texted her, ‘Oddly, now I feel perpetually bored. Everything seems pale having met you’.

 

“She replied, ‘You have a way with words’. So it’s all going well.”

 

Fling

 

Russell has been in LA talking to producers about turning his autobiography My Booky Wook into a movie.

 

MICHAEL WINTERBOTTOM, who directed 24 Hour Party People, is on board and Russell will play himself.

 

But one person who isn’t happy about his appearance in town is COURTNEY LOVE.

 

Russell once had a fling with the rock chick but did not tell her he was in LA — he must have been too taken up with Dita.

 

When Courtney heard during Elton’s Oscar party that he was in La La Land she erupted, calling him a name I couldn’t repeat.

 

What a tangled web that man weaves.

[Avalon 0]

Can sex addict and reformed junkie Russell Brand conquer America (and can America cope with him)?

By LINA DAS

 

A narcissistic, libidinous entertainer with snake hips, hair like a crow's nest and a self-absorption bordering on the comical.

 

If Russell Brand imagined he'd have to delve deep into his own psyche for his latest role, it was an expedition that must have taken all of five minutes.

 

With the release today of his first big Hollywood movie, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Russell Brand plumbs the depths of his personality and comes back up with . . . himself.

 

Brand image: Will Russell wow U.S. stars like Christina Aguilera?

 

And it appears to have worked for him. His louche stand-up comedian persona was unknown in America until a few weeks ago, but with the release of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, all that has changed.

 

Surprisingly, considering their puritanical tendencies, the Americans are now singling out Brand for praise.

 

Brand, in typical braggart mode, says: "I read recently that George Bernard Shaw once said: 'A reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself.' Well, I won't be changing, but America will be."

 

Love him or loathe him - and you would be hard pushed to find a third option - Brand's confidence might, at first blush, appear to be misplaced since the film has been panned by several critics here.

 

But while Sacha Baron Cohen has conquered the States with his twin creations of ineptitude, Ali G and Borat, Brand, too, is looking to make a similar impact after his pilgrimage to Hollywood.

 

Too bad then, that Russell missed out on an appearance on David Letterman's TV chat show this week because of a mix-up over his visa.

 

The funnyman was pulled aside by immigration officers at New York's JFK airport and sent back to Britain after eighht hours because his papers were not in order.

 

But having experienced highs (his autobiography, My Booky Wook, was a bestseller last year) and lows (his dismissal from MTV when he came to work the day after 9/11 dressed as Osama Bin Laden) in his career in Britain, he is looking to make a name for himself in America, as well.

 

Comedy star: Russell Brand with his co-star Kristen Bell in Forgetting Sarah Marshall

 

Forgetting Sarah Marshall follows the tale of Peter Bretter (Jason Segel), a middlingly successful television show composer who has just been dumped by his TV star girlfriend, the Sarah Marshall of the title (played by Veronica Mars star Kristen Bell).

 

In an attempt to alleviate his woes, he goes on holiday to Hawaii and ends up staying at the same resort where Sarah and her new boyfriend, preening rock star Aldous Snow (Brand), happen to be vacationing.

 

Disaster after disaster ensues as the film casts Brand as the foil with a lexicon of Kama Sutra moves and a confidence in his own inanity.

 

Though Aldous Snow may be vain and nonsensical, he is also terribly funny and rather likeable - much like Brand.

 

Reviews of the film in the States have unanimously praised his "oddly insinuating charm", and even the unlikely publication Christianity Today lauds his "subtly hilarious way with ... oddball dialogue".

Russell Brand

 

Brands autobiography details his heroin and crack cocaine addictions and his sexually compulsive behaviour

 

"It's true you want to play approximations of yourself initially," he says.

 

"I don't plan on transforming like Daniel Day-Lewis. I'd like to just carry on like this for a while to let them know who I am."

 

Did he find the Americans puritanical about sex? "No. I found them to be confident, comfortable - and willing," he smiles knowingly.

 

It says a great deal about Brand's persuasive charm that, though the original idea was to have his character be an author with Hugh Grant-esque foppish qualities, after auditioning Brand, the producers turned his character into a rock star with Russell Brand-like qualities.

 

"They were incredibly generous and gave me a lot of freedom," he admits.

 

"They allowed me to improvise lines which was liberating for me because as a stand-up comedian I'm happier when I'm writing my own material.

 

"It was like being a spoiled, precocious and indulged child. Everything I said was applauded and celebrated."

 

Like his screen character, Brand is sporting a serious amount of eyeliner, and in spray-on trousers and black shirt, with his just-got-out-of-a-flowerbed hair in a state of dishevelment, he looks as though he might have sauntered into his Los Angeles hotel straight from the movie set.

 

Though most actors would have relished the two-month filming schedule in Hawaii, Brand admits his stay was fraught with difficulties, beset, as he was, with the dual complexities of learning to ride and surf while keeping his hair just so.

 

"I don't go to the beach, as my hair does not mix well with maritime matters and when I had to do a surfer scene in the film, I had to employ every technique I've ever learned to stop myself weeping for a hairdresser.

 

"When it came to horse riding, that was hard, too, as it was my first time. They were saying 'Oh, do it like you're driving a car', but I can't drive a car.

 

"Also, when you're driving a car, the car doesn't of its own volition wander into a garage and demand food and start eating it. How can I be in the lead in that relationship?

 

Checkmate: Russell gets down and dirty with a giant chess piece on the set of latest film

 

"But I enjoyed my time enormously, even though I missed my life, my cat, my home.

 

"I really like LA - I'd heard it was a superficial and vacuous space and astonishingly, I fit right in."

 

Though he may be only half-joking, there is no masking his ambition to make it big in the States.

 

He has been performing stand-up gigs quietly and to small audiences in LA, "I know, though, that I'm a different phenomenon and I plan to exploit that by being ludicrously English - but I'll speak slowly."

 

Though his film career may be in its infancy - his other most notable role was opposite Colin Firth and Rupert Everett in last year's St Trinian's which opened to mixed reviews - it is as a stand-up comedian and radio and TV presenter that he is primarily known.

 

His two-hour digital music show transferred from BBC6 to Radio 2 amid much hubbub two years ago and his hosting of the Big Brother spin-off, Big Brother's Big Mouth, brought him an even wider audience.

 

However, it is for his stand-up, and by extension his personal life, for which he is known in Britain, and whether his life fuels his art or vice versa is hard to determine.

 

It remains to be seen whether his frequent picaresque exploits will go down as well in the conservative States.

 

This was the man, after all, who boasted at an awards ceremony that he had bedded Rod Stewart's daughter Kimberly, only for a seething Rod, himself a member of the audience, to demand that the sheepish-looking Brand stand up in front of everyone and apologise for his remarks.

 

"What doesn't change is the incessant and relentless embarrassment that pursues me everywhere," says Brand.

 

"My stand-up is defined by being an honest and confessional examination of what it is to be alive and how embarrassing that can be, how funny that can be, and how sexy the whole thing is."

 

Of his co-star, Kristen Bell, Brand says matter-of-factly: "I'm annoyed I didn't get to be naked with Kristen Bell.

 

"I'm very comfortable with her now. We did some sex scenes together but they were awkward, embarrassing, disappointing and expensive."

 

At times one wonders whether Brand isn't too honest and confessional.

 

At 37, he has already published a bestselling autobiography, detailing his descent into heroin and crack cocaine addictions, his sexually compulsive behaviour (he lists Kate Moss and assorted Big Brother alumni as some of his many conquests) and at the root of it all, his horribly troubled childhood.

 

His father left home before he was a year old and his mother was diagnosed with cancer.

 

Added to that, he suffered bulimia and was a self-harmer, and in his most candid confession, revealed he had been abused as a child by a neighbour.

 

That he should have entered adulthood, therefore, with more than a little streak of self-destructiveness in him is entirely understandable.

 

Starring role: Russell is hoping Forgetting Sarah Marshall will give him his Hollywood break

 

Born in Grays, Essex, the only child of Barbara and Ronald Brand, the young Russell had a difficult time from the start.

 

With a dad who "played the role of the absent but somehow glamorous non-maintenance-paying father" and a mother who worked many jobs to make ends meet, Russell, an "effervescent, attention-seeking, fizzy ball of emotion", was at times a self-confessed loner.

 

His mother, to whom he remains devoted, suffered three bouts of cancer (the first when Russell was eight) and as he admits: "At the back of my mind I couldn't stop thinking that if someone keeps getting cancer, they're going to die.

 

"In some sense I'd made the decision that she, the person who'd been the constant reference point in my life, just wasn't going to be around any more. And all those thoughts, well, it was too much."

 

He had a difficult relationship with his stepfather, who was "goodlooking, with all those masculine energies, just sitting around, drinking lager, dominating the sitting room" and as he became increasingly isolated, depressed and overweight, Russell took to binge-eating and vomiting and, later, cutting himself.

 

He was abused by a neighbour as a child, and although he told his parents and never had any dealings with him again, no formal charges were ever pressed on his abuser.

 

With all this going on, it was perhaps understandable that the teenage Brand sought escape in the form of drug-taking, and as he admits: "By now, I was of the attitude that all life was painful and miserable, so why not take drugs?"

 

What saved Brand from self-destruction was a role in the school production of Bugsy Malone when he was 15.

 

It was then he discovered a love of performing, and after winning places at the Italia Conti stage school and the Camden Drama Centre (he was expelled from both for disruptive behaviour), he had found his passion.

 

Inspired by his comedy idols - Eddie Izzard and Reeves and Mortimer - Brand tried his hand at stand-up, going on to be named Time Out's Stand-Up Comedian Of The Year in 2006.

 

With his reputation burgeoning, he fronted several shows on MTV until he was sacked in 2001.

 

He was then sacked from his Xfm radio show for reading out pornographic letters on air, and rather more politely released from his role in the Steve Coogan comedy Cruise Of The Gods.

 

His erratic behaviour and stalling career were not being helped by his dangerous addiction to drugs, and it was thanks to the intervention of his agent, John Noel, who sent him for treatment at the rehab facility, Focus 12, that Brand finally started to pick himself up.

 

"They analysed me and said: 'If you don't stop taking drugs now, you'll be dead, in a mental asylum, or in prison within six months.'"

 

Brand has been clean for six years and is a patron of the rehab facility that helped save his life.

 

Though his battle against drug addiction may have been beaten, his other well-known addiction - to sex - appears still to be full-blown, and he revels in his promiscuity, declaring: "Monogamy isn't necessary. I don't even know if it's a good idea.

 

"I could have a harem situation, like you do in certain tribes on our planet."

 

Others, needless to say, haven't been too comfortable with Brand's brand of sexuality.

 

Dannii Minogue once labelled him a "vile predator", an accusation which rankled as he replied: "If that's the language you're going to use about someone who really ought to be described as 'having a bit of an eye for the ladies', then what sort of language are you left with for Peter Sutcliffe?"

 

And although he is the frequent target of kiss-and-tells, he bears the burden with commendable good humour.

 

"One kiss-and-tell story said: 'He's unusual. He wore slippers in the house and talked to his cat. When we got in, there was a bowl of cat food on the floor.' Well, where else do you put cat food?" he says.

 

It remains to be seen whether Brand's humour will translate well across the Atlantic, but he is lined up to do another film with Judd Apatow (the man behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and is filming Bedtime Stories, a comedy featuring Adam Sandler.

 

"I'm his psychic, called Mickey," he burbles.

 

"I mean, a character called Mickey in a Disney film - isn't that a wonderful name? I'm so excited about that."

 

• FORGETTING Sarah Marshall is out today.

[GimmeSumSugar 0]

I love Russell Brand and I think he's a great character and cute as hell, but I can imagine (jmo) years down the line he'd be the type to come out of the closet.

[Avalon 0]

There's a very funny clip on YouTube from one of his earlier shows where he "tests his sexuality" in a very odd way. I think he's not the type to be in any sort of closet, but could easily see him being a raving bisexual and happy to talk about it

 

The YouTube clip is here ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_eBeVJGYKg

[GimmeSumSugar 0]

There's a very funny clip on YouTube from one of his earlier shows where he "tests his sexuality" in a very odd way. I think he's not the type to be in any sort of closet, but could easily see him being a raving bisexual and happy to talk about it

 

The YouTube clip is here ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_eBeVJGYKg

I don't know, it just a gut feeling. I think the press make up a lot about him, sanctioned by himself and his people, and then he turns round in interviews and says he lives alone with his cat and hints he doesn't get as much female attention as people think. He's very smart and knows how to keep people at bay.

 

Now yeah, sure he could be the type of crazy single guy who loves to play the field and I don't doubt he's probably seen his fair share of frilly knickers in his time. But there's just something about him that pings the old 'dar. But right now, he's enjoying his success as a 'comedy stud', and he can be all things to all people and good luck to him.

[Avalon 0]

He even made it onto the DrudgeReport...

 

I love it Whatever happened to freedom of speech, by the way ? The writer of this article appears to be a little over-outraged over a rather one-sided comedian....

 

Russell Brand calls George Bush a 'retard' at MTV awards(Reuters)

Russell Brand received mixed reactions

Veronica Schmidt

Just who is Russell Brand?

 

If his aim was to be noticed by America, Russell Brand more than achieved his goal last night as he ranted that President Bush was a “retarded cowboy” while hosting the MTV awards.

 

The British comedian, who is a virtual unknown in America, left the crème of the music world stunned as he championed Barack Obama, ran down George Bush and made lewd jokes about the Christian pop band Jonas Brothers.

 

Ignoring the renowned patriotism of Americans, Brand told the Hollywood audience they must vote for Barrack Obama “on behalf of the world”, before insinuating that America had lower standards than Britain when it came to picking leaders.

MTV Awards 2008

"Some people, I think they're called racists, say America is not ready for a black president.

 

"But I know America to be a forward thinking country because otherwise why would you have let that retard and cowboy fella be president for eight years?

 

"We were very impressed. We thought it was nice of you to let him have a go, because, in England, he wouldn't be trusted with a pair of scissors."

 

Members of the studio audience, including Britney Spears, who was making a much-hyped comeback appearance, and Hannah Montana star Miley Cyrus, looked horrified at Brand’s jokes.

 

American Idol winner turned chart-topper Jordin Sparks was so incensed by a joke about Christian band Jonas Brothers that she launched her own tirade at the host.

 

The teenage singer, who wears a ring symbolising her belief in abstaining from sex until marriage, snapped at Brand: "I just want to say, it's not bad to wear a promise ring because not every guy and girl wants to be a slut, OK?"

 

Brand, a self-confessed sex addict known for his huge hair and boundary-pushing act, apologised for the crack but later went on to make another bawdy joke.

 

Yet to really break America, despite a role in spring rom-com Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Brand was considered an odd choice for host, a role previously filled by A-listers including Jack Black and P Diddy.

 

Acknowledging the criticism, Brand joked about his lack of fame in the US: "My persona doesn't really work without fame. Without fame, this haircut could be mistaken for mental illness."

 

Today, his name is much better known. While the event was hyped as the platform for Spears’ return, Brand almost overshadowed the pop singer in the post-awards press coverage.

 

The LA Times wrote: “The 2008 VMAs were poised to mark the return of Britney Spears. Instead, they will go down in history as the night when that English guy from Forgetting Sarah Marshall almost made the Jonas Brothers cry.”

 

The New York Times were appreciative of Brand’s turn, saying the “manic, intelligent English comedian, injected the show with politics (pro-Barack Obama), raunch and philosophical musings.”

 

But others were less charitable. The Chicago Tribune wrote that “Nobody quite knew what to make of the opening monologue of wild-haired host Russell Brand”, while MTV’s online message boards were besieged by confused and outraged Americans.

 

One message read: "Why is it that Brits think the rest of the world doesn't get their humour? The myth is a tired excuse for lack of humour."

 

Another said: "Russell WHO? I didn't realise this show was an Osama (sic) campaign rally. This British nobody looks like he was pulled from the ranks of the homeless - with his unshaved look, rats' nest hair-do and foul mouth."

[ollysmum 0]

I love Russell Brand. He used to host Big Brothers late night discussion show over here and as much as he is very off-the-wall,he's very funny and very honest about his past and is not above taking the piss out of himself. Have to say i loved the quip about we Brits wouldn't allow George Bush to use scissors!

[Antianeirai 0]

Im attracted to him in the worst way. He's got somenasty charm about him *sigh*

[l1zz1e 0]

I'm all for freedom of speech, but I wasn't impressed with Brand.

[krispyinsd 0]

I found it hard to understand what he was saying. Maybe it was the accent.

[Barb 0]

I found it hard to understand what he was saying. Maybe it was the accent.

The accent makes me want to throw him down and rip his clothes off. And I agree with Avalon...I don't believe he's completely straight at all. I think it was the Happy Hooker (yes I'm old) that said "If you're hot, you're hot. And if you're really hot, chances are you're a switch hitter".

[iluvgossip 1]

I like him and his humor, but it really didn't go over too well at the MTV awards. I think because this was the year of the Disney virgins, the "edgy" Brand was just too much for the show. Honestly it wasn't him that sucked as much as the show itself... just uncomfortable to watch.

Oh, and Russell- Americans don't really like being told by the rest of the world how to vote. That left a sour taste in many mouths, including my own and I AM for Obama!

[Lady Frost 23]

I like him and his humor, but it really didn't go over too well at the MTV awards. I think because this was the year of the Disney virgins, the "edgy" Brand was just too much for the show. Honestly it wasn't him that sucked as much as the show itself... just uncomfortable to watch.

I agree, to a point. I also tend to think he didn't go over too well because the majority of those dolts in the audience didn't get the jokes.

[MSQueen 0]

I don't like him a bit. I don't know, it's like if we Americans make fun of our president, I still don't like it but I accept it. He's ours. It's like you can make fun on your own family, but no one else better talk about them or else! So hearing Brand rip into Bush, even though I'm the first to admit he's a joke at times, was just too much. Not to mention I HATE hearing the word 'retard' used as a put down. It's an insult to those who are MR or who know and love someone else who is. I get that he was supposed to be funny, but I was brought up to respect our leaders, even in you don't agree with them. It just made him look stupid to me, even moreso, to hear him say that. And if he'd been allowed to use his Palin Electric Chair joke...I'd probably never watch MTV again. Not to ramble, but here I go anyway.... I never can find the actual timeslot for the MUSIC on MTV. All they show on all the music channels now is dumb crap. WHERE'S THE MUSIC?? WHO CARES ABOUT WHO LOVES MONEY OR WHO LOVES NEW YORK OR WHO NEEDS ONE SHOT AT LOVE??? GIVE ME MY MUSIC BACK!!! I think MTV went downhill when they stopped showing music videos and now they've taken CMT and VH1 with them. I can't stand to watch it anymore.

[Freckles 79]

I'm not a fan, either.

[colorine 26]

I don't think it is right to go to another country and tell them how to vote and make fun of their leader. It is disrespectful.

[krispyinsd 0]

I don't like him a bit. I don't know, it's like if we Americans make fun of our president, I still don't like it but I accept it. He's ours. It's like you can make fun on your own family, but no one else better talk about them or else! So hearing Brand rip into Bush, even though I'm the first to admit he's a joke at times, was just too much. Not to mention I HATE hearing the word 'retard' used as a put down. It's an insult to those who are MR or who know and love someone else who is. I get that he was supposed to be funny, but I was brought up to respect our leaders, even in you don't agree with them. It just made him look stupid to me, even moreso, to hear him say that. And if he'd been allowed to use his Palin Electric Chair joke...I'd probably never watch MTV again. Not to ramble, but here I go anyway.... I never can find the actual timeslot for the MUSIC on MTV. All they show on all the music channels now is dumb crap. WHERE'S THE MUSIC?? WHO CARES ABOUT WHO LOVES MONEY OR WHO LOVES NEW YORK OR WHO NEEDS ONE SHOT AT LOVE??? GIVE ME MY MUSIC BACK!!! I think MTV went downhill when they stopped showing music videos and now they've taken CMT and VH1 with them. I can't stand to watch it anymore.

FYI I think the MTV video's are on early in the morning (when no one is watching)...

Edited September 11, 2008 by krispyinsd

[Avalon 0]

I don't think it is right to go to another country and tell them how to vote and make fun of their leader. It is disrespectful.

Possibly not quite as disrespectful as going to another country and funding military oppositions and backing coups, but I think I see where you are coming from

[mostlylurker 2]

I don't think it is right to go to another country and tell them how to vote and make fun of their leader. It is disrespectful.

Possibly not quite as disrespectful as going to another country and funding military oppositions and backing coups, but I think I see where you are coming from

 

it may be anywhere from uncomfortable to offensive hearing an outsider criticize your country (depending upon how accurate they are or how controversial our actions are). but i think what is worse is trying to stifle that criticism. Allow it to happen and people in the long run will tend to see things for what they are and make reasonable conclusions with regard to that ciricism. they can see ignorance for what it is, and when something is just xenophobic or jealous nonsense. But when we say we can't listen to it we automatically give credibility to the criticism. We become the xenophobic ones. And we cant have it both ways: our decisions effect the world. We cant feel proud of our greatness and get squeamish when others- who are effected by it- chime in with their two cents. Id rather history say Brand, or whoever, made an ass of himself than we as americans couldn't take the crticism, particularly when it is legitimate. So certain comentary may be nonsense (see the UK's Uncut music mag for a lot of nonsense on america), but let it be nonsense. it wont hurt us. we now return to our regularly scheduled programing. Edited September 15, 2008 by mostlylurker

[ElleDriver 0]

BBC suspends TV stars over "juvenile" radio prank

 

LONDON (Reuters) – The British Broadcasting Corporation suspended two of its most successful and highly paid presenters on Wednesday after they verbally abused a 78-year-old comedy actor in a radio stunt that went wrong.

 

Russell Brand, a motor-mouth comedian with a burgeoning Hollywood career, and Jonathan Ross, one of the most highly paid presenters on British television, were suspended for a "gross lapse of taste" during a radio appearance 10 days ago.

 

In the pre-recorded show, the pair left insulting messages on the answerphone of Andrew Sachs, a comedy actor best known for playing the hapless Spanish waiter Manuel in the well-known British comedy series "Fawlty Towers" in the 1970s.

 

In the off-the-cuff calls, the pair joked about how Brand had slept with Sach's 23-year-old granddaughter, and how when Sachs heard the messages he was likely to kill himself.

 

The program was broadcast late at night on October 18 and initially attracted little attention, with the youth audience it pulls in apparently not shocked or surprised by the content.

 

But following coverage in the rest of the media, including transcripts of the calls in which Ross, 47, and Brand, 33, swear and make sexual innuendo, complaints rocketed, with more than 18,000 people making a point of registering their disgust.

 

Ross and Brand, who caused controversy in the United States earlier this year with his hosting of the MTV music awards, apologized to Sachs and the public. But the apologies were perceived to be too late and not sufficiently sincere.

 

Stunned by the furor, the BBC announced that Brand and Ross, who is said to have a three-year, 18 million pound ($27 million) contract with the broadcaster, were suspended.

 

"This gross lapse of taste by the performers and the production team has angered license payers," the BBC's director-general, Mark Thompson, said in a statement.

 

"I have decided that it is not appropriate for either Russell Brand or Jonathan Ross to continue broadcasting on the BBC until I have seen the full report of the actions of all concerned."

 

Brand later issued a statement analogizing again and announcing that he was quitting his program on BBC's Radio 2, an easy-listening station that now has a strong youth following.

 

"I got a bit caught up in the moment and forgot that at the core of the rude comments and silly songs were the real feelings of a beloved and brilliant comic actor and a very sweet and big-hearted young woman," Brand said.

 

MIDDLE CLASS OUTRAGE?

 

The debacle is a thorny one for the BBC, which plays a central role in British life as a broadcaster of culture, sports and arts as well as the nation's leading provider of news.

 

Because its output is funded by the taxpayer -- all Britons must pay a license fee of around $300 a year to receive BBC TV programing -- there is a sense that what it produces belongs to the people and should reflect their limits when it comes to what is considered to be in bad taste.

 

Yet while Brand and Ross's self-described juvenile behavior

 

has outraged Britain's middle-class mainstream, it is notable that many younger people interviewed on television about their thoughts on the affair say the performers did little wrong.

 

It is far from the first scandal to strike the BBC, which started transmissions in the 1920s and is affectionately known as "Auntie" because of its almost familial role.

 

In 2003, its coverage was strongly criticized by the government after the broadcaster suggested the case for war in Iraq had been "sexed up." An inquiry sided with the government.

 

Last year it was admonished alongside commercial channel ITV for misleading the public through fake quizzes and competitions.

 

As satellite and cable channels have grown in Britain, the BBC has sought to keep itself cutting edge and relevant to the youth market, paying large sums of money to keep stars such as Ross and Brand from defecting to competitors.

[GimmeSumSugar 0]

I think people outside the UK are somehow under the impression that people like Brand, Jordan/Katie Price and Peter Andre, Kerry bloody Katona, Posh and Becks actually represent the entire cross-section of Britain and that they also have the backing of the British public in foisting themselves on the US pubic.

 

It couldn't be further from the truth. Just as I don't suppose everyone in the US is a gun-toting redneck or a right-wing evangelico loonbucket, neither is Britain anywhere near what we are portrayed via these celebrity types. Most ordinary, working people in Britain cannot stand them, we have them pushed on us all the time by our own media and most people are not that interested. Over time the media has encouraged people to be shallow and self-absorbed. It's sad really, but for starters Brand is widely disliked here anyway. Most apart from his diehard fans just dont give a toss about him. It's just a shame people like that get to talk for the nation and non-British folks think we all think like him.

 

There was a massive outcry here over his comments to Andrew Sachs. Brand has now resigned and Wossy is also in deep water. I think in general TV and reality media has gone too far and got too spiteful. Maybe the backlash is beginning. I think people have had enough of celebritites tearing others to shreds and getting away with it on big paypackets. It would be nice if celebs could get their opinions across without resorting to nastiness and abuse.

Edited October 30, 2008 by GimmeSumSugar

[Avalon 0]

Th outcry has been ridiculously stoked by the media (and in particular the Daily Mail). Although it was a really REALLY stupid and tasteless thing to do (the prank call), it originally only got a couple of complaints (it was over TWO weeks ago). It's only since the Daily Mail decided to lynch the pair of them that the remaining 18,000 complaints came rolling in.

 

As for the fame-hungry grand-daughter, expect to see her on some reality show in the near future, she's given so many interviews since then that she's eclipsing Paris in the media-whore stakes in the UK tabloids. Until the 'story' broke (two weeks after the show was aired), she had Russell Brand as her top 'friend' on MySpace and now is 'utterly outraged' and calling for their heads.

 

I think it's a damn shame that Russell Brand has resigned, his radio show was great, and depsite the fact that it was a stupid prank, the media seems to have forgotten the fact that it was not even a LIVE show, it was pre-recorded and someone (more than one person, in all likelyhood) must have given permission for it to be broadcast, as it's not a one-man show. So the high and mighty BBC might want to have a look a their production team etc. as a pre-recorded show was transmitted with all this material included. It was not a 'live gaffe' made by rude and lewd presenters, it was recorded and they could easily have edited the section. Obviously they thought it was fine at the time, it was only after the ridiculous media coverage and lynch-party-style reporting that this has escalated to this proportion.