The daily gossip: Justin Bieber serenaded his grandmother in the nude, and more
5 top pieces of celebrity gossip — from Katy Perry's suspiciously familiar new single to the role Vin Diesel was born to play
1. Justin Bieber serenaded his grandmother in the nude
Today, in things you can't unsee: TMZ has obtained photographs of pop star Justin Bieber serenading his grandmother in the nude (with a guitar mercifully covering the part you'd most want covered). Sources report that the photos were taken last Thanksgiving, when the buck-naked Biebs approached his grandmother as a "prank" and began improvising a song that included the lyrics, "I loooove you Grandmaaaa…how are youuuu…helloooo grandma." Though the pictures are undeniably disturbing, there is a silver lining: If Bieber's career ever dips in popularity, he can always put on a cowboy hat and play in Times Square. [TMZ]
2. Vin Diesel might be the voice of a sentient tree
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One of Marvel Studios' most anticipated upcoming films is The Guardians of the Galaxy, a big-budget blockbuster about a team of intergalactic superheroes that includes an anthropomorphic raccoon and a sentient tree person — because we live in a world where that is an acceptable movie premise. But who could possibly provide the voice of such outlandish characters? According to Deadline, Vin Diesel is in early talks to provide the voice of Groot, the sentient tree — an apt choice, since Diesel cornered the market on wooden acting ages ago. [FirstShowing.net]
3. Katy Perry's generic pop song sounds a lot like Sara Bareilles' generic pop song
At first listen, the inspiration for Katy Perry's new single "Roar" might seem obvious to anyone who hears her sing the lyric "eye of the tiger." But Entertainment Weekly points out that the song's tune bears a suspicious similarity to Sara Bareilles' "Brave," which Perry tweeted about appreciatively in May. The evidence may seem damning to anyone who listens to both songs in a row, but don't be too mad at Perry: Pretty much every modern pop song sounds more or less the same anyway. [Entertainment Weekly]
4. Kanye West's Hollywood Hills house is now marginally cheaper
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As you've no doubt heard, Kanye West has a baby now, which means that his onetime Hollywood Hills bachelor pad is officially on the market. But West is having trouble moving the property; after putting it up for sale with an asking price of $3.3 million in March, he dropped the price to $3.15 million in June, and recently dropped it again to $2.8 million. Might be time to throw in a few extras, Kanye, like one of those $120 plain white t-shirts. [TMZ]
5. Turns out Americans only want one grim AMC drama starring a bald guy
Last night, after the final season premiere of Breaking Bad, AMC debuted Low Winter Sun, presumably in the hopes that audiences might mistake another grim crime drama about a bald antihero for an episode of Breaking Bad. Alas, the gamble didn't work; the new drama earned a middling 2.5 million viewers, despite checking off virtually every box on the "generic prestige drama" list. On the plus side, Breaking Bad scored big with a series-best 5.9 million viewers. So maybe it's not too late to get the team behind Low Winter Sun to throw in some meth or something. [Vulture]
Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
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