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RIM REVIEW • AUGUST 8, 2012
JILL JACKSON’S HOLLYWOOD | TONY RIZZO
Former New Kid has accomplished a lot HOLLYWOOD — Mark Wahlberg has left “Marky Mark” in the dust, and nobody remembers that he started as a “New Kids on the Block” dropout and a rap singer. He first hit the big screen in l994 in “Renaissance Man” with Danny DeVito, followed by “The Basketball Diaries” with Leonardo DiCaprio. Ten years and 12 films later, he executive-produced the hit HBO series “Entourage,” which ran for seven years. Then he produced and starred in “We Own the Night” (2007) with Robert Duvall, Eva Mendes and Joaquin Phoenix. In 2008, he exec-produced the HBO drama series “In Treatment” with Gabriel Byrne, and then “Boardwalk Empire,” which received 18 Emmy nominations in 2010, winning eight awards (it received 12 nods this year). Wahlberg also exec-produced the HBO series “How to Make It in America,” and was one of the producers and stars of “The Fighter,” which received seven Academy Award nods, winning two: Best Supporting Actress and Actor, for Melissa Leo and Christian Bale. He also produced and starred in “Contraband,” which cost $25 million to $40 million to make and earned $95 million. He only acted in “Ted,” which cost less than $65 million to produce, but his star power has driven it close to $250 million already. Wahlberg is one of the producers and stars of “Broken City,” with Oscar winners Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta-Jones, as well as Kyle Chandler, set for January release. He is currently an actor-only in the $20 million black-and-white film “Pain & Gain”
with Dwayne Johnson, Ed Harris and Tony Shalhoub. For director Michael Bay of “The Transformer” franchise, this is his first low-budget, non-epic IMAX/3D film in some time. Who could imagine that the same Marky Mark who stood 50 feet high on a billboard in Times Square, in his underwear, could accomplish all this? *** Another boy-band alumnus making it big in movies is Justin Timberlake from ‘N Sync. Hollywood took notice of him in “The Social Network,” and now he’s starring in three upcoming films. First is “Trouble with the Curve,” starring and produced by Clint Eastwood, with his partner Robert Lorenze (who is directing), along with Amy Adams, Matthew Lillard and John Goodman, set for Sept. 28 release. Carey Mulligan, Garrett Hedlund, John Goodman and F. Murray Abraham co-star with Timberlake in “Inside Llewyn Davis.” No release date yet. Timberlake currently is shooting “Runner, Runner” with Ben Affleck and Gemma Atherton (“Quantum of Solace,” “Prince of Persia,” “The Clash of the Titans” remake and the upcoming “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” with Jeremy Renner). Affleck plays a businessman caught up in offshore online gaming. So if you’re looking to break into the movies ... try joining a boy band! Send letters to Tony Rizzo’s Hollywood, 8306 Wilshire Blvd., No. 362, Beverly Hills, CA 90211.
STRANGE BUT TRUE
Housebroken armadillos? BY SAMANTHA WEAVER KING FEATURES
• Those who study such things say that armadillos can be housebroken. • The longest war in history lasted 335 years and resulted in exactly zero casualties. In 1651, the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly off Great Britain declared war upon each other, but nothing ever came of the conflict and it was soon forgotten. Finally, in 1986, the two combatants agreed to a peace treaty. • Do you suffer from cacodemonomania? If you believe that you are possessed by an evil spirit, you do. • The world’s smallest mammal can be found only in Thailand and Myanmar. Weighing about as much as a dime, Kitti’s hog-nosed bat is sometimes called the bumblebee bat due to its diminutive size. • You might be surprised to learn that an eagle can kill a young deer and fly away with it. • The Beatles was not the first band in which John Lennon played. Those previous groups obviously didn’t work out, though; in fact, at one point Lennon broke a washboard over a bandmate’s head during a dispute. After the Beatles’ success, though, Lennon apologized in style: He bought the poor guy a supermarket. • At sea level, water boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit. At the top of Mount Everest, though, the lower air pressure reduces the boiling point to 156 degrees. • If you recycle one glass jar, you’ll save enough energy to power a TV for three hours.
©2012 King Features Synd., Inc.
Mark Wahlberg
NOW HERE’S A TIP | JOANN DERSON
TAME EXTRA BUBBLES
• If your washer oversuds because you accidentally added too much detergent, just add a half-cup of white vinegar to the wash water. It will dampen the extra bubbles. Then make sure to put the load through an additional rinse to eliminate soap residue in your clothes. • Lunchbox tip: Assemble your sandwich the night before (without veggies). Wrap in waxed paper and freeze. Add veggies and a condiment packet in a separate bag. Your sandwich will thaw by lunchtime and will stay cold! • “Plant banana skins in your garden, just below the surface. They rot quickly and provide nutrients for growing plants.” — A.R. in Ohio • “My girls get a little crazy with back-toschool clothes shopping — they want everything! Before we go, we pull out all the clothes they have and assess their needs. We keep a count of shirts, skirts, shorts and pants so we don’t overbuy and have too many. They also make outfits out of what they have, so we can see if anything needs to be bought for that purpose. And undergarments and socks are replenished first, so they get included in the budget!” — S.S. in South Carolina • “Always keep two needles threaded, one with black and one with white. When you have a rip, a button comes off or a hem comes out of your clothes, and you are in a hurry, you can use one of these for a quick repair.” — J.R. in Virginia • “This is a great tip for the new school year. It’s hard to keep track of names of
classmates anyway, but trying to remember who’s who from last year or the year before can be impossible. When class pictures come out, I make a photocopy and write the names of the children on the copy, right next to the child in the photo. I keep the photocopy handy throughout the school year and then file it away later with the actual photo. Our family has been doing this for almost 10 years, and it makes for great recall when looking back.” — Y.O. in Utah • When patching cracks in plaster walls, if the crack is large or it’s a small hole, stuff it with wadded-up newspaper or steel wool in order to fill the gap. Apply the plaster over the top. • Recipe substitution: For each cup of brown sugar needed, use 1 cup of white sugar and 2 tablespoons of molasses. • Add these to the list of items to eliminate the odor of cooking cabbage: a heel of bread, a whole walnut or a pinch of baking soda. • To travel with pleated skirts, use this packing trick: Turn the skirt inside out and straighten all the pleats. Then tape the bottom so that all the pleats are held together. Next, feed the skirt into a leg of pantyhose with the foot cut off. You’ll end up with a nice tube, which you can tuck into the sides of your luggage. Send your tips to Now Here’s a Tip, c/o King Features Weekly Service, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475 or e-mail JoAnn at heresatip@yahoo.com. © 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.