680News - Lisa Brandt

And now, another edition of “Stars In Rehab!”

Sean Young is the latest actress to admit herself into a treatment centre. You may remember her from roles in Blade Runner, No Way Out, The Boost and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.

She went a little loopy this week at a Director’s Guild ceremony, heckling a director who was a little slow to get going at the podium. The poor guy yelled back a bit and then started to leave the stage as Young continued to loudly berate him. But the rest of the audience shouted her down and convinced him to stay and say his piece. But the damage was done and Young was forcibly removed from the room, apparently she was literally dragged out!

Young has had a long battle with the bottle and I’m certainly not making light of her addiction. She famously stalked her ex-boyfriend James Woods back in the day, and harassed his then-new girlfriend. She showed up unannounced and uninvited to audition for the role of Catwoman, complete with a homemade black catsuit and was reportedly “impaired.” The role went to Michelle Pfeiffer.

Sean Young is 48 now and it’s not just a myth that roles dry up for women over 40 in Hollywood - unless they’re a Nicole Kidman or Julia Roberts. However, a check of her credits on imdb.com shows she has been working steadily over the years. But Hollywood dreams don’t often match reality and some people aren’t equipped to deal with it. Let’s hope she gets help. She’ll probably have a famous roommate or two, wherever she is, the way things have been going lately.

As a self-confessed media weasel (my affectionate, hopefully mildly funny term for me and my ilk!), I’ll admit to not being even a little bit objective about what goes on with other media. I’ve worked in them all and I’ve seen behind the curtain, so to speak.

But I am extremely irked by misleading headlines! We create headlines here at 680News, of course, but I try my very best not to inflame what I write in a bid to be more flashy or interesting - unless I do it in a cartoonish manner over a humourous story. The news is what it is, in my opinion, and it doesn’t need a revision of the facts to make it sound sexier or more dramatic. That’s my view.

So it makes me a little bit buggy when I read a newspaper headline that ends up having little or nothing to do with the actual story. It happens quite regularly! And this past weekend it happened in a New York paper concerning the death of actor Heath Ledger.

“THE BODY WAS STILL WARM,” it screamed out. This particular tabloid style paper is making Ledger’s death the pantleg on which it has trained its attack dog teeth. Police have decided not to question Mary-Kate Olsen, who got the first few calls from Ledger’s panicked masseuse after she found his body, but this paper is skewering the young actress for not making a statement about it.

On Sunday, the “warm” headline was meant to give the impression that Ledger may have died later than first reported, meaning that a call to 911 instead of a flurry of calls to Olsen, might have resulted in paramedics arriving earlier and saving the 28-year-old’s life. But if you actually read the story, which I did, you find that the “warm” comment came in the midst of several other sentences written down by attending paramedics, that make it clear the actor had already been dead for some time and was beyond reviving. There was no question about that. The headline was taken from an insignificant line that had said, “torso warm to touch.”

A promising and talented young actor is dead. I enjoyed his work and his name on the credit list was enough to convince me to watch a movie. But toxicology results are still pending. Prescription drugs were found near him. No one suspects murder so it’s not as if some crazed killer is on the loose. There is just no need to try to boost this already tragic story, planting hype where no hype should be. I like to get my information as directly and honestly as possible and I like to give it the same way.

This morning we learn that Bandit, the pit bull put on death row four years ago, is still alive and well and a friendly member of the “inmates” at the Toronto Humane Society. Now Bandit is being joined by Rambo, the pup that got out of a back yard on Christmas Day. Rambo’s owners are appealing the automatic death sentence.

This comes from a law that was enacted a couple of years ago when then-Attorney General Michael Bryant reacted to several pit bull attacks and decided to take, in my view, a canine version of a racist approach to the problem.

My nephew has a pit bull. Maggie is 11 years old and a very sweet and compliant dog. That’s due to my nephew’s training and loving control of her. She is a big suck that loves belly rubs, her special pillow and her squeaky toys. She willingly follows commands and has never given anyone a second’s worry about her behavior or demeanour.

On the other hand, once when I was walking my beloved Border Collie Lee Roy, a leashed pit bull suddenly broke loose from his owner’s grip and in a flash, had my dog in the middle of a street, his jaw clamped on Lee Roy’s neck. That dog fully intended to kill my four-legged friend and its owner was paralyzed. I’m not proud of it, but adrenaline kicked in and literally kicked that pit bull to get it off my dog. It didn’t seem to have gotten hurt and looking back now, I’m quite lucky it didn’t clamp onto my leg. Lee Roy was shaken and wet with saliva but unhurt. I was in tears and almost hysterical with fear. The other owner spit out a string of apologies, scooped up his dog and ran away! It was truly terrifying.

And then again, my Beagle was once severely attacked by a black lab and I was bitten by a Yorkie.

I fully understand the history of the pit bull but I blame the owners, not the dogs. And there are people who deliberately exploit their inherent tendencies to fight and be aggressive. But Bandit is proof positive that a ban on the breed isn’t likely sustainable or sensible and probably won’t stand, in the long run.

Ironic, isn’t it, that an introspective piece came out this week about whether it’s morally and ethically correct for the media to prepare obituaries for young celebrities.

It shouldn’t shock you to learn that we have pre-written obits for aging stars, politicians, etc. There’s no way anyone could say a Bob Hope or a Ronald Reagan were going to fully recover. They were old and old people die and we report on well-known old people when they die. And like Boy Scouts, we need to be prepared.

But during Britney Spears’ latest meltdown we did have a discussion in the newsroom about her best-before date. She certainly seemed out of control and potentially liable to do something stupid that could result in her death. Actor Brad Renfro then overdosed at the age of 25.

But it was pretty much collectively decided that it would be tacky and icky and wrong to prepare something ahead of time to read in the event of a 20-something’s untimely death.

Then Heath Ledger goes and dies at the age of 28 and the subject of untimely celebrity expirations rears its unpleasant head again. However, no one could have forseen this one.

So, we in the media will continue to do what we do and keep files containing the highlights and lowlights of the famous and infamous, but not actually prepare for their demise unless that demise appears to be imminent. We’re only human and we’re only doing our jobs the best we can.

Here’s an example of where we have to be very careful in radio. I love the fact that radio performs for the ear and we have to think about painting the pictures with our words so you can supply them for yourself, via your imagination.

So here was one of my challenges this morning.

John Stewart has died. This is not Jon Stewart, the host of The Daily Show and the Jon Stewart whose identity would likely first come to mind if we simply said, “John Stewart has died.”

So instead, I chose to say, singer-songwriter John Stewart has died. At least that would give a listener’s brain a fighting chance to think, hmm, does the Jon Stewart I know and love write songs?

The end of the first sentence also referred to Stewart’s folk hero status in the 1960s.
Hopefully that would also help separate the two men in the mind of a listener.

But you know that someone somewhere on radio is simply saying, “John Stewart has died” and striking fear in the hearts of fake news fans everywhere!

That’s why we like to think we are different than the other news outlets. Because we try to anticipate what it’s like to be you, while we do what we do for you.

Here’s an old joke: Q. Why can’t Hamilton have a pro hockey team? A. Because then Toronto would want one too!

Maple Leaf fans are a hardy breed of folk. I stand back and watch them with wonder. The team is having a pretty lousy year by any definition and there are a lot of long faces in Leaf-land. Some of the longest among them work at 680News and the FAN 590. Every morning they discuss what needs to be done to make the team a winner. Lately the talk has been about just blowing up the line-up and starting fresh. That’s drastic!

You either understand fandom or you don’t. I’m afraid I don’t! That doesn’t mean I judge or look down upon fans, not at all. I just can’t get on board with them. And I mean fans of just about anything.

I like the Maple Leafs, truly I do, and I would love for them to bring home the Cup, I really would. But if they have a crummy season it doesn’t have any effect on my psyche! I’m not invested in them, like a true fan would be.

I realize my standoffish perspective puts me in the minority in this hockey crazed city. So while we watch the Leafs unfortunately linger near the basement this season, all I can say to my rabid-fan friends and colleagues is the same old cliche - there’s always next year!

How interested are you in U.S. politics?

This is something we discuss a lot lately with the primary season well underway in the States. I was amused to see an ‘expert’ on Canadian news television last week admit that even she didn’t totally understand the process because it’s so complex. And yet there she was, a panel “expert” on it. That just shows how complicated it really is!

Who will ultimately run the most powerful nation in the world is obviously of great importance to those of us here. The fact that the first black president or the first female president could occupy the White House adds another exciting dimension.

So my question to you is, do you want to know each advance made by each candidate, or only about the surprises and ultimately, the presidential election decision? Do you understand the long and winding process of the primaries, or does it even matter that you don’t really know how it works, and you’d still like to know who takes those baby steps ahead to win the nominations before November’s election?

I’m looking forward to your comments. Thanks!

This Hollywood writers’ strike is taking the fun out of awards season. Someone usually wears something totally insane to these shows, so that we can all point and laugh and get a few minutes of mindless entertainment! Or they say something silly in an acceptance speech, or bring someone unexpected as their date. But not this year.

The Golden Globe awards last night was reduced to a half-hour news conference. Boooooring! Who wants to watch that? No one, it seems. Where’s the joy if there are no acceptance speeches, or wardrobe malfunctions, or inside jokes? There isn’t any.

It’s a drag for the stars, too. They like to trot themselves out for the cameras and strike a pose, not to mention thank their mum, their God and their bestfriend’s brother’s Pekingese for the support.

The grand-daddy of awards shows, the Oscars broadcast, is now in jeopardy. This may seem like frivolous stuff for those of us on the outside — how many pats on the back to these folks really need? But struggling clothing designers count on the attention for their creations on the red carpet to grow their brands and ordinary folk like caterers, florists and limo services all wait for this night for a guaranteed boom.

And let’s face it, when Bjork shows up on the red carpet wearing what looks like a dead swan around her neck, it’s worth a look and a laugh.

George Clooney is trying to heal the rift in the strike. He has already donated cash to help struggling writers and now he is offering to set up a strike mediation panel reportedly involving himself and friends Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and others. Clooney apparently envisions the key players being locked in a room and not emerging until a deal is reached. Locked in a room with George Clooney? Ladies, the line for volunteers forms to the right!

Everyone seems to be battling some sort of illness. Whether its just low energy due to a lack of sunshine, or the post-holiday blahs, or a flu or cold, most of us seem to be battling something or another.

Last week, 680News reporter Shauna Hunt covered a story about the peak of flu season and advice from medical experts to get a flu shot. I got a shot. I always get a shot. I started getting them several years ago when my father, who has Parkinson’s, underwent major surgery and stayed with me for his recovery. I didn’t want to be responsible for giving him the flu. After a flu-less season that year, I figured the shot was responsible and kept it up every year.

After the holidays I got this bit-of-a-cold – sore ears and throat and a little sneezing. Then it migrated to my head. Then my nose. Now it’s sitting like a baseball in the middle of my chest. But it has never fully materialized, just moved around and continued to be annoying! Some say that’s because I have a good immune system.

In chatting with colleagues here at 680News I’m finding we’re split; either we get a full-blown cold that knocks us off our feet or, like me, we get the little, teeny, migrating symptoms that work their way around and then disappear.

Many of us have become maniacs about antibacterial gels and wipes. (Some of us leave coffee spills and crumbs they wouldn’t dare walk away from at home…but, I digress!) Whatever the situation at your workplace, I hope you stay healthy and avoid getting knocked down by a bug this winter.

I consider myself to be fairly tech savvy, not an expert by any means, but I can get by. But it’s no wonder I can’t convince my Mom to buy a computer and get on the Internet. Things are moving so quickly, it’s very hard to keep up.

I got an iPod for Christmas and the choices totally boggled Santa’s mind and mine too. You can’t just ask for an iPod. You have to know how many hundreds or thousands of songs you want it to hold, and which of several abilities you want it to have. For example, I rejected the little Shuffle because I figured it was so small; I’d lose it in a day! And I didn’t want video capability or other doodads – just something to play my music at the gym and in the car.

This week a new Taser for women was released. But it’s not just a Taser! No, self-protection for women comes in an animal-print case with a one-gig MP3 player. Because you apparently want to hear Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive while you’re zapping an attacker!

And now Research In Motion is about to launch its answer to the Apple iPhone with a new BlackBerry. My BlackBerry can do everything I want it to — except take pictures — and it’s rapidly becoming obsolete! And it’s by no means an old model. But like I said, I can hardly keep up. I feel sorry for anyone just trying to get up to speed to join any of these markets as they rush along the information freeway!