PARIS HILTON IS IN JAIL!

After putting up with a lot of comedic abuse while seated in the audience from MTV Movie Awards host Sarah Silverman, Paris Hilton seems to have decided that jail certainly can't be worse than this and in a move that caught everyone by surprise, she left the awards show and went straight to jail. Paris Hilton was scheduled to begin her sentence tomorrow, but she avoided photographers and reporters by being booked at 11:38 last night. Paris Hilton, known primarily for being famous for being famous, is now famous for ruining a lot of fun and money making opportunities for parasitic photographers who were anticipating big bucks for photos of Hilton doing a perp walk. As long as Hilton doesn't do anything against the rules, her 45-day sentence will be reduced to 23 days which means she'd be out of jail before the end of the month.

And as long as we're talking about entertainment...

I had the pleasure of seeing two new films this past Friday. "Knocked Up" followed by "Mr. Brooks".

"Knocked Up", delivers! Big time! Katherine Heigl is apparently having contract problems with "Grey's Anatomy", the television show she's a regular cast member of, but timing is everything and ABC has to be looking at her performance in "Knocked Up" and saying to themselves, "Do we want to be known as the network that let her get away?" In "Knocked Up", Katherine Heigl shows potential of becoming a major comedic film actor. There are lots of laughs in "Knocked Up" and those laughs are delivered and set up terrifically by Heigl, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd. The supporting players contribute mightily as well which means the film was the beneficiary of some darn good writing and directing. Oh...in a review of this film that appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the cameo by Ryan Seacrest was described as hysterical or hilarious, but I didn't think it was either. The role was tailored for Seacrest and his performance fulfilled expectations. "Vanilla deluxe".

"Mr. Brooks" is an entirely different kind of film. Kevin Costner, in what some critics are saying might be the finest performance of Costner's career, plays a very smart serial killer who listens to an inner voice provided by William Hurt. Dane Cook is very impressive as the dreaming doofus who wants to learn how to be a murderer and Danielle Panabaker turns in a very fine performance as Costner's daughter who just might be more dangerous than her dad.

For laughs, I highly recommend, "Knocked Up". For some serious and sometimes scary fun, I highly recommend, "Mr. Brooks".

Saw a couple of serious films on The Movie Channel this weekend. Two films that came out in 2005. "Down in the Valley" and "Edmond". "Down in the Valley" stars Edward Norton, Evan Rachel Wood, David Morse and Rory Culkin about a whack-job wannabe cowboy played by Norton, a lost in her own world young woman played by Wood, a dangerous dad played by Morse and a young dreamer played by Culkin. It was at times ugly, pretty, scary and I couldn't take my eyes off it.

The film "Edmond" stars William H. Macy as a whack-job who's crazier than the Norton character. I mean, Macy plays "nuts" as good as "nuts" can be played. He is helped by a fine supporting cast, but "Edmond" is all Macy which makes it all good, but this film ain't for everybody by a long shot.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION:

I don't think much was talked about regarding illegal immigration in the Democratic presidential debates last night, but there was a whole lot of barking about illegal immigration on the Republican side this weekend. Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff made references to opponents of the Senate bill preferring that illegals "be killed", which takes hyperbole to a new level...Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said opponents of the bill want "mass deportation"...President Bush said people against the bill are "unpatriotic", but Bush later backed off on that statement...But in a Saturday night speech delivered to people in Virginia, unannounced presidential candidate Fred Thompson got a standing ovation when he said, "You've got to secure the border before you do anything else. This is our home, and we get to decide who comes into our home!"

I agree with Thompson about the border issue. I also think we need to pass bills that don't grant automatic citizenship to children of illegal immigrants here and bills that would prevent illegals from getting anything free here. You're illegal! We're supposed to give you stuff?!?

A long time actor, comedian, magician friend of mine named Wayne Powers has checked in from North Carolina with the following; "My mailbox is being flooded with mail concerning gas prices and illegal immigrants. Here's what I came up with to address both the high price of gasoline and our illegal immigrant problems. I have hired illegal aliens to push my car. Think about it. They're more plentiful every day and cheaper than buying gas. I then pay them in Pesos so they have to go home to spend it."

EDITOR's NOTE: If you read this before pictures have been added, come back! Pictures will be up soon. A new blog is written every morning, Monday through Friday and is posted between 7 and 7:15. Any comments and or suggestions should be sent to scottstjames@sbcglobal.net I do write back.

TOMORROW: Is someone benefitting from the fact that Osama bin Laden is still free?