Short Ends: Rent Blows, Borat Speaks, Spielberg Passes
· Our favorite review of the week, courtesy of the LAT's Carina Chocano: "Rent is commodified faux bohemia on a platter, eliciting the same kind of numbing soul-sadness as children's beauty pageants, tiny dogs in expensive boots, Mahatma Gandhi in Apple ads. It's about art, activism and counterculture in the same way that a poster of a kitten hanging from a tree branch ("Hang in There!") is about commitment and heroic perseverance."
· Borat answers the Kazakhstan government's charges: "I like to state, I have no connection with Mr Cohen and fully support my government's position to sue this Jew."
· The LA Weekly's Nikki Finke reports that Steven Spielberg will eschew the Oscar-campaign blitzkrieg typical of high-profile movies like his Munich, choosing to let the work stand on its own over sending out boxes full of "For Your Consideration" ski masks to Academy members.
· AD's George Michael laments Fox's lack of promotion for his show, tips us off that the Tobias hair-plug storyline is about to get really dark.
· Celeb MarriageWatch: Elton John and his partner plan a civil union in Britain, while Peter Brady and that ANTM chick selflessly protect the sanctity of traditional marriage by getting hitched on VH1.