After finding great success with reality shows such as "Cake Boss," "Sister Wives" and, of course, "Jon & Kate plus 8," TLC is going to make a "docu-movie" about the Chandra Levy case. Levy was a Bureau of Prisons intern who was murdered in 2001 while in Rock Creek Park.
After Levy went missing, attention focused on Congressman Gary Condit (D-Calif.), to whom she was linked romantically. While Condit has never said whether he was involved with Levy, he denied having anything to do with her death. The subsequent media storm drove him out of office.
Years later, another suspect emerged and last November that man -- Ingmar Guandique -- finally was convicted of her murder. The conviction came in part after a lengthy Washington Post series revisited the case and analyzed missteps by the police. The Washington Post also noted that the "police investigation was overwhelmed with the white-hot media coverage fueled by the possible involvement of Rep. Gary Condit, a congressman from California."
For TLC, which has emerged as a powerhouse for parent Discovery Communications, this is the latest step away from its reality bread and butter and seems to be a sign that it wants to branch into territory occupied by other cable channels. Lifetime, for example, lives on this sort of ripped-from-the-headline fare and recently found success with a movie about the so-called "Craig's List Killer."
Next Sunday, TLC goes after History Channel with its own documentary about the Kennedys featuring home movies of the family.
TLC said its Chandra Levy program "weaves dramatizations with original on-camera interviews to recount the events surrounding Levy’s sudden disappearance." In other words, they'll hire an actress to play Levy and show her jogging in the park.
As tragic as Levy's murder was, one wonders whether it would have received the media attention it did almost 10 years ago or whether TLC would be revisiting the case now without the Condit connection. Hopefully TLC's program will focus on the media's role in slowing an investigation as well as the goofs police made rather than just seek to capitalize on the 10-year anniversary of a tabloid story.
A 43-year-old attorney in northern San Diego County was arrested Friday on suspicion of possession of child pornography and of secretly filming women and a teenage girl while they were at a tanning parlor in various states of undress, Escondido police said.
David Taylor Kaye of San Marcos had been the subject of a 10-month investigation involving the Escondido police and district attorney.
At least six women and a 15-year-old girl were secretly filmed, police said. Kaye also faces a possible felony charge of possession of a loaded, concealed, unregistered firearm, police said.
--Tony Perry in San Diego
Photo: David Taylor Kaye. Credit: Escondido Police Department
You can take the barker away from the carnival, but I guess you can't ever suck the carny instincts out of Kevin Smith's brain. For years, the burly filmmaker who catapulted to indie fame with "Clerks" has played the press like a drum, stirring up all sorts of controversies (and making clever use of podcasts and Twitter feeds) to promote his movies and his brand.
But times have been hard for Smith lately, with his recent films taking it on the chin at the box office. So you kind of knew that when he headed off to Sundance this year to sell his new horror film, "Red State," he'd pull a gimmick out of his hat. Sure enough, that's what's happened. According to this post from Variety, Smith will conduct a live auction of the film after its first public showing Sunday night at the Eccles Center. Buyers will have to bid for the picture in front of a live audience -- which, just to make things even more chaotic, will include protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church, whose leader is apparently portrayed as a crazed and murderous religious zealot in the film.
Smith merrily describes the film as "an 'angel worship' movie, where the killers aren't worshippers but God worshippers to some degree. It's about America's dark [expletive] heart." I'm sure a wonderful media circus will unfold, since it's almost impossible to make a cold-eyed assessment of a bloody horror film screened before an audience guaranteed to be crazed Smith zealots. Variety's story, which reads like a Smith press release, also notes that Smith's producers and sales agents already have allowed distributors to make sight-unseen pre-screening pitches to help his team gauge potential interest in the film.
I'm not saying Smith is deluded, but in one of his podcasts, he speculated that if the film played as well a "Godfather" or "Godfather 2," he was hoping for a $6-million to $8-million sale. Yeah, right. Call me a cynic, but I'm betting that in the end, we won't see anything resembling an actual finalized deal happening in public in front of a noisy gaggle of Smith fans. It will happen, if it happens at all, like all film deals happen, in a boring private haggling session in someone's condo, far from the madding crowd.
-- Patrick Goldstein
Photo: Kevin Smith at the premiere of his 2010 film "Cop Out" in New York. Credit: Peter Kramer / Associated Press
Like the first “Kings of Dance” program in 2006, “Reflections” offers an evening of premieres at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, created by choreographers from Europe and the U.S. for stellar, adventurous classical dancers -- in this case, seven Russian ballerinas trained at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy.
On Thursday, the evening began promisingly with glimpses of the magical, long-limbed lyricism of Polina Semionova, now with the Staatsballett Berlin. But, nearly three hours later, we'd been shown nothing more in her art, nothing deeper than that display of her obvious spectacular virtues---and three choreographers had tried.
Similarly, the extraordinary dynamism of the Bolshoi Ballet's Natalia Osipova was demonstrated repeatedly but superficially, and the showpieces for the other women proved no more satisfying. Worse, most of these tailor-made choreographies resembled workshop etudes, far too small in scale for this hall and far from the cutting edge of contemporary work anywhere these women currently dance.
The Bolshoi Ballet visitors seemed especially underserved. Aszure Barton's “Dumka” (to Tchaikovsky) assigned willowy, intense Yekaterina Shipulina an indecipherable action-plan. Lucinda Childs' “From the Book of Harmony” failed to harness the powerful engine of John Adams' music and left Anastasia Stashkevich looking ill at ease. Karole Armitage's “Fractus” (music by Rhys Chatham) used blackouts to splinter an assaultive duet for Yekaterina Krysanova and Denis Savin, but this bold structural experiment ended inconclusively.
Maria Kochetkova (San Francisco Ballet) fared better with Jorma Elo's “One Overture” (to music by Biber and Mozart) in which classical steps kept disintegrating into modernistic spasms and body-squiggles without disturbing the remarkable sense of flow that is a hallmark of Russian classical training. And Olga Malinovskaya (Estonia National Ballet) made the most of surely the strangest repertory selection: George Balanchine's sweet, neoclassical Glinka Pas de Trois (with Stashkevich and Vyacheslav Lopatin). Whatever its stylistic incongruity Thursday, this formal 1955 divertissement filled the stage with dancing: a blessed relief after so many constricted premieres.
Not exactly new, Nacho Duato's “Remansos” (to Granados) took a familiar male trio and added a prologue for three couples that lacked the combination of whimsy and mystery of the original work but provided a showcase for the technical refinement of Semionova, Savin, Osipova, Lopatin, Shipulina and Alexander Volchkov.
Finally, at the end of the evening, Mauro Bigonzetti's “Cinque” (to Vivaldi) enlisted Kochetkova, Osipova, Krysanova, Semionova and Shipulina in a series of gambits involving chairs, wigs, hanging tutus and overlapping solos that might have seemed delightful if only the feeling of been-there, done-that had not tainted the performance by that time.
This partnership between the Bolshoi Ballet and the Segerstrom Center may be big news institutionally, but Diana Vishneva's "Beauty in Motion" program on this same stage in 2008 showed how choreographers can create showpieces for a ballerina that take her and themselves into new creative territory -- exactly what was missing in “Reflections.” And San Francisco Ballet's multi-program New Works Festival the same year made the act of creation the biggest news of all.
The renewal of the classical repertory ought to be a priority for every company, but an ill-assorted, overlong patchwork of novelties serves neither the art nor the artists.
Three pieces used recorded accompaniment, but otherwise two pianists, a singer and members of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra lent their artistry to “Reflections.” Besides those ballets previously listed, Renato Zanella's “Strauss Incontra Verdi” (for Semionova) and Bigonzetti's “Serenata” (for Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev) completed the program. The production moves to Moscow, running Jan. 27-30.
“Reflections,” Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. 7:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. 3 hours. Casting may vary. $20-$126. (714) 556-2787.
(Formerly The Times' staff dance critic, Segal is a freelance arts writer based in Hollywood and Barcelona.)
Photos: Yekaterina Shipulina in "Dumka" and the ballerinas in "Cinque" (from left, Maria Kochetkova, Natalia Osipova, Polina Semionova, Yekaterina Krysanova and Yekaterina Shipulina) during "Reflections" Thursday nigh at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts. Credit: Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times.
It's almost antithetical to brand anything related to Leaving Records as "exclusive," considering the experimental local imprint projects a total air of inclusivity (provided you have a tape deck).
The music of its founder Matthewdavid (also signed to Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder) gravitates toward warm, ambient washes of sound, his beats more auroral haze than aggressive mind-melt. But he and his roster of artists achieve a gentle psychedelia that strikes a perfect equilibrium of futurism and nostalgia. Hence the Space Invaders-like video for Friday night's "Leaving Records Presents Show" at the Public Fiction Gallery in Highland Park.
With performances from Matthewdavid, Asura, M. Geddes Gengras, DubKnowDub and a special video installation, the evening will likely explore interstellar space as seen through the prism of psilyocibin and Serrato DJ software. In honor of the event, Leaving Records is offering a votive consisting of the "MD Ragamix" of Dem Hunger's "Mosque Vibrations," one of last year's most wooly, weird and unsung beat records.
The label is asking for $5 donations at the door. Those looking for a glimpse at the sort of cosmic wandering that will go down tonight would be well served to first check out David's "Open-Wide" mix for Dublab. Sun Ra would surely approve of it, or at the very least, Ras G.
The birth of a big litter of African wild dog puppies at Illinois' Brookfield Zoo late last year is great news for their endangered species. The litter, born to 6-year-old mother Kim and 4-year-old father Digger on Thanksgiving, contains a whopping 10 healthy puppies who were examined by a zoo veterinarian on Thursday.
The puppies, much like their domestic cousins, needed to be vaccinated against canine diseases -- the spread of distemper from domestic dogs is one cause for their steep population decline in the wild -- and have microchips implanted for identification purposes.
Brookfield is a participant in the Assn. of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan program to ensure the survival of African wild dogs. Kim and Digger's puppies are the third and largest African wild dog litter to be born at the zoo so far.
African wild dogs have an "it takes a village" approach to parenting: Not only do Kim and Digger care for the puppies, but Digger's brother Duke also plays a big role in their lives. In wild packs of African wild dogs, all adults pitch in to care for the young, regardless of their biological parentage.
See more photos and video of the puppies after the jump!
Ivanka Trump, daughter of Donald Trump and co-host of "The Apprentice," announced Friday that she is pregnant.
"I have been wanting to share some amazing news with you all some time ... I'm pregnant! Jared and I couldn't be more excited," she said on Twitter.
The 29-year-old got hitched to New York Observer owner Jared Kushner, 30, in October 2009.
Trump, the heiress-turned-entrepreneur, told OK! that her brother Donald Trump Jr.'s kids were the newlyweds' inspiration to start a family.
"My brother is over-the-moon, and he's an amazing father. And his wife is an incredible mother to their two beautiful children," she said in an interview with the mag. "It’s very encouraging to see such a happy, beautiful family, and I hope to have one of my own one day."
We can't wait to see more little Trump-ettes running around solely to hear their imitation of grandpa's "You're fired."
And we genuinely hope that the former model's frame will be able to handle both the Trump-ette and her 5.22-carat Trump diamond ring.
Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman of Warner Music Group, on Friday said he would appeal an insider trading conviction by a Paris trial court handed down earlier in the day.
The French court said Bronfman used insider information to trade shares in the company while he was vice chairman of Vivendi in 2002, netting $12.8 million.
It also convicted former Vivendi Chairman Jean-Marie Messier for lying to investors about Vivendi's finances and misusing company funds in arranging a severance package worth 20 million Euro. Messier later gave up the severance package.
The court slapped Bronfman with a 5-million-euro fine, roughly $6.7 million, and a suspended 15-month prison sentence. Messier received a three-year suspended sentence.
"I will appeal today's decision to the Paris Court of Appeal," Bronfman said in a statement. "As I have consistently stated, my trades were proper."
The case has shadowed Bronfman for years, and his vow to appeal probably ensures that the case will drag on for several more.
[Updated 12:18 PM: Vivendi declined to comment.]
A similar case brought in the U.S. against Vivendi and two top executives led to a split verdict last January. A jury in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan found that the company had misled investors about its finances before a $46-billion merger with Seagram Co. and Canal Plus in 2000. But the jury said the executives, Messier and Vivendi's chief financial officer at the time, were not personally liable. Bronfman was not named in that case.
Messier could not immediately be reached for comment.
-- Alex Pham
Photo: Warner Music Group Chairman Edgar Bronfman, Jr. Credit: Matthew Cavanaugh / EPA
The Lakers have lost four of their last five games to the Nuggets, including a 118-112 loss in Denver last November.
The Nuggets produced a 33-19 fourth quarter in that game, which overwhelmed the Lakers at Pepsi Center.
The Lakers hope to change things when they face the Nuggets on Friday night in Denver.
But the Lakers have lost four games in a row in Denver.
"They just play us extremely well here," Kobe Bryant said at the Lakers' afternoon shoot-around Friday. "Obviously we've had some match-ups in the playoffs. It seems to always be an exciting game. They've gotten the best of us the last four times here."
The Lakers had problems on defense against the Dallas Mavericks during L.A.'s loss Wednesday night.
At practice Thursday and before the shoot-around Friday, the Lakers watched film of their defensive problems, with the hopes of making improvements.
"We've done a pretty good job defensively in terms of holding teams at the right percentage," Bryant said. "There are slips there momentum-wise that kind of shift the game a little bit. The last game was a big step back. But over the last 10 games, we're cool with the way we've been playing defensively."
Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive of AEG--the Kings’ parent company--said Friday the company is not trying to sell the team despite persistent rumors that cite unnamed financiers in saying the Kings are for sale.
In December Forbes magazine, citing unidentified bankers, said owner Philip Anschutz was “shopping the Kings around.” Leiweke refuted that report shortly after it appeared and on Friday refuted the revival of that rumor on the website of L.A. Observed.
“We get calls all the time,” Leiweke told The Times. “We are neither looking at or in talks to sell. Very focused on the NFL.”
AEG, which has owned the Kings since October of 1995 and also owns the Staples Center and an interest in the Lakers, is proposing the construction and financing of a downtown stadium that would house a still-unsecured NFL team.
A hockey source who requested anonymity said that while it's possible Anschutz might be willing to sell all or part of the hockey team, potential buyers have also wanted to buy an interest in Staples Center, which Anschutz would not consider.
--Helene Elliott
Photo: Tim Leiweke in his office with a bobblehead doll of former Kings player Luc Robitaille in January 2010. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times
A fatal hit-and-run in Hawthorne left one man dead, a good Samaritan injured by another car when she attempted to help, and the motorist who stopped to check on her after allegedly striking her beaten and robbed by a mob of bystanders.
The bizarre chain of events unfolded about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday on a busy stretch of Crenshaw Boulevard near the 105 Freeway when a southbound driver struck a pedestrian walking across the street outside the crosswalk.
Hawthorne Police Lt. Gary Tomatoni said the driver of a white or gray minivan fled the scene and as the injured pedestrian lay in the street, a second vehicle ran over the man. That driver also failed to stop and provide aid.
Several pedestrians who saw the two cars hit the man ran to him to try to help. One of the good Samaritans was running across Crenshaw Boulevard toward the victim when she was hit by another motorist traveling southbound.
That motorist stopped to check on the woman, but as he did so, he was attacked by a mob of bystanders.
“These criminal bystanders assaulted the victim and ultimately stole his cellphone,” Tomatoni said. “This victimized driver was able to eventually free himself from the attack and fled the location in his vehicle.”
The man returned a few minutes later, reporting the traffic accident, as well as his assault and robbery, to responding police officers. As police investigators were interviewing the motorist, he saw one of his assailants getting into a nearby car.
Hawthorne police subsequently arrested Tran Lewis, 32, of Long Beach, on suspicion of robbery.
The pedestrian who had been struck by two cars died after being taken to a hospital.
Police found the second driver who hit him based on witness information. That driver was questioned and the vehicle impounded.
No Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lizzy Caplan or Tina Fey. Nope, none of the stars of the 2004 comedy “Mean Girls” — save for supporting player Tim Meadows — appear in the new made-for-cable sort-of sequel “Mean Girls 2.” (ABC Family, 8 and 10 p.m.)
The balcony is open once again. Christy Lemire and Ignatiy Vishnevetsky host “Ebert Presents at the Movies,” the latest iteration of the thumbs-up-or-down film-review format pioneered by critics Roger Ebert and the late Gene Siskel. (KCET, 8:30 p.m.)
MONDAY
A man, a plan, a canal: Panama. All palindromes aside, the design and construction of the waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans — one of the greatest engineering feats of this or any age — is recalled on a new “American Experience.” (KOCE, 9 p.m.)
TUESDAY
Broadcast and cable-news networks offer live coverage of President Obama's State of the Union address, and a former president is remembered in the documentary “Ronald Reagan: An American Journey.” (various channels, 6 p.m.; KCET, 9 p.m.)
WEDNESDAY
Of men and metal: The new docu-series “Sons of Guns” follows a team of history-minded Louisiana gunsmiths, and “Desert Car Kings” rolls into an Arizona shop where restoring vintage autos is their raison d'être. (Discovery, 9 and 10 p.m.)
THURSDAY
As the action-drama “Nikita” returns, Alex (Lyndsy Fonseca) has finally become a full-fledged field agent for the nefarious government outfit she and her mentor (Maggie Q) have sworn to bring down. Let the butt-kicking begin! (KTLA, 9 p.m.)
FRIDAY
“Reba's” Melissa Peterman is a “Working Class” heroine who moves her family to an upscale Chicago suburb in this new sitcom. Ed Asner costars, and don't be surprised if a certain country-music queen puts in a cameo one of these days. (CMT, 8 and 8:30 p.m.)
SATURDAY
Teen queen supreme Miley Cyrus stars in the tune-filled 2010 coming-of-age tale “The Last Song,” and, perhaps, gets a glimpse of her possible future when former teen idols Debbie Gibson and Tiffany (from left) star in the 2011 made-for-cable creature-feature “Mega Python vs. Gatoroid.” (Starz, 9 p.m.; Syfy, 9 p.m.)
Photo credits: "Nikita": Ken Woroner / The CW; "Mega Python vs. Gatoroid": Syfy
It's only been nine days since Lakers forward Matt Barnes began his rehabilitation surrounding his surgically repaired right knee, and he's already spending time Friday getting his stitches out before joining KCAL9's pregame show previewing the Lakers-Nuggets matchup.
It turns out it's possible his expected eight-week absence for suffering a lateral meniscus tear after landing off-balance while pursuing a rebound Jan. 7 against New Orleans won't be so long after all.
"Evrythings going really well," Barnes tweeted Tuesday in what marked his sixth day of rehab. "Can't put my finger on when exactly ill be back BUT I'm pretty sure i won't be out the full 8 weeks."
Don't etch him into the rotation anytime soon, however. Barnes' early optimism came with a qualifier.
"Mayb I stated that wrong," Barnes tweeted moments later. "ill b bak when I'm a %100 & I dnt think it'll take me 8weeks.. Im n great hands with Judy @ the Kerlan Jobe center."
Barnes emphasized that point to several fans, telling Ace32387, "no date just gotta be a 100" and to @Gsloyalty, "I really hv to make sure I'm ready. Dnt wanna return to soon & re injury myself.. Its a thin line between ready & 2 early."
Still, Barnes' tangible progress should be a welcoming sign for the Lakers, who have gone 6-2 in his absence and have missed his 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game off the bench through aggressive and efficient play.
Barnes' significant progress within the last nine days shouldn't be too surprising, considering he shared his initial optimism and determination about expediting the eight-week timetable after the first day of rehab where he measured the knee's flexibility and noticed the knee's swelling was fairly minimal. "That's what the plan is, but you know me, I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can to be back sooner," Barnes said, "but to make sure I'm healthy at the same time." Still it's compelling to read his Twitter feeds that detail how exactly he's making progress while staying mentally engaged, which includes a planned visit Monday afternoon to Mattel Children's Hospital, UCLA and continually studying the guard's role within the triangle offense.
After spending his second day improving the flexibility and keeping the swelling minimal, he watched the Lakers' 100-88 victory last week over New Jersey ("Good win 2nite starting to build some momentum," Barnes tweeted). His third day consisted of lifting weights, which made his knee healthy enough just to have a slight limp. Barnes' mood appeared positive, tweeting "its exciting to see progress each & everyday," before seeing a tattoo artist named Cartoon to get a tattoo on his stomach depicting his mom as an angel in honor of her passing away from cancer in 2007.
The only time Barnes decided not to document his progress via Twitter came in his fifth day of rehab (almost has full flexibility, but needs to get swelling down more) after the Lakers' suffered a 99-92 loss Sunday to the Clippers, an effort that left him "disappointed." That included the ejections issued to Lamar Odom, Ron Artest, Baron Davis and Blake Griffin. "That ejection was terrible," Barnes tweeted to @GenerousHandful. "But 1 thing laker fans should kno is Ron & I will #NEVER get the benefit of the doubt w/refs."
A day later, however, was when Barnes predicted his rehab could finish before the eight-week timetable. But for now, the Lakers still had to play without him. Instead of traveling with the team for a two-game trip against Dallas and Denver, Barnes spent his seventh day performing body-weight squats, biking and working on a shuttle and reported no pain or swelling (no word, however, on whether Barnes ran on a treadmill).
Usually the following day after extensive activity proves most revealing since that provides adequate time for the body to respond. But Barnes described the eighth day as the "most productive" because he wasn't limited with any exercise and reported no swelling or soreness in his knee. If only that productivity carried over the previous night in the Lakers' 109-100 loss to the Mavericks ("Lastnite.. We'll bounce back 2maro nite.. Gotta play better team D & cut down on our TO's") But with that session proving good enough for Barnes to remove his stitches Friday morning, it won't be long until he's watching the games firsthand instead of from a studio set.
"Who would have ever thought u could luv rehab??" Barnes tweeted. "GET RITE."
Photo: Lakers forward Matt Barnes reacts after falling to the court and injuring his right knee on Friday night in a game against New Orleans. Credit: Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press
The Los Angeles Times mobile app is now available for free download on the Android Marketplace.
The Android app works on phones and tablets running Google's Android operating system. Users can access The Times' latest breaking stories, as well as content sorted by category: Local, the L.A. Now blog, National, World, Business, Sports, Entertainment, Living, Opinion and Columnists.
The app also has a Photos section, which shows off shots taken by The Times' award-winning photographers.
If a user sees a story or photo they'd like to share share with friends on Facebook, Twitter or via e-mail, they can do so from within the app itself.
Previously, the Times app was available only on the Apple iPhone.
It wasn't your typical Thursday night event at the posh Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills. Sure, there were plenty of well-heeled socialites and celebrities drinking wine and bidding on silent auction items, but mingling among them were several shelter dogs in need of a home, shaking in the arms of women who cradled them like babies.
"Barks and Botox" was a charity event held in one of the elegant ballrooms of the hotel, hosted by Beverly Hills facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Davis Nguyen and drew a crowd of a couple hundred people, many patients of Nguyen, who came to support the Animal Advocates Alliance.
Songwriter (and recent Golden Globes winner) Diane Warren, singer Taylor Dayne and actress Kathrine Narducci, attended, as well as a slew of people interested in possibly adopting a dog or cat through the Animal Advocates Alliance or, at the very least, to learn about the animals waiting for homes.
It probably didn't hurt that Nguyen added a little incentive to help boost adoptions -- for every animal adopted through the charity, he will donate Botox services to the new pet owner.
"A friend of mine is such a fervent warrior for animals, and I've been so impressed with her level of compassion for this organization," says Nguyen, who is also double boarded and an ear, nose and throat doctor in addition to perfecting the faces of some of Beverly Hills' most well-pampered people. "Tonight it's all about the animals."
-- Melissa Magsaysay
Photos: Kathrine Narducci and Diane Warren at the Barks and Botox event at the Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills. Credit: Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
On Friday, Entertainment One, who's producing the pilot, announced that the show "tracks Antoine, the oldest of six siblings, using the money he is making from his hit song on iTunes and his best-selling Halloween costume to make a fresh start for the Dodson clan on the West Coast. With a potential new record deal in the works and money coming in from a variety of avenues, we show how a news story sparked a new life for him and his family."
"I'm looking forward to exposing my other talents and really taking this industry by storm," said Dodson in a statement.
Now, before you say that's "so dumb, so dumb, for real!" consider that the iTunes sales of "Bed Intruder" have helped Dodson move his family out of the projects and set up a foundation for juvenile diabetes, which both his mother and his sister have. Which we find... well, kind of inspiring!
Dodson once told Katie Couric that the song had a "positive message" about defending your family. He's kinda like the Oprah of the viral-video. We'd love to see him with his own personal OWN network show -- and at this rate, with his ever-expanding empire of T-shirts and ringtones and Sex Offender Tracker apps, it's only a matter of time before that happens.
--Melissa Maerz
Photo: Antoine Dodson. Credit: Bob Farley / Associated Press.