Kevin expose. Elmo scarred for life.

You may remember yesterday when TMZ and others were reporting that Being Elmo‘s Kevin Clash was taking a leave of absence to deal with allegations that he’d had a sexual relationship with a kid when Clash was 45 and the accuser was 16. Clash had maintained the relationship occurred when both were adults, and now the accuser, who has still not been identified, has since recanted his story. Phew, good thing that’s out of the way before anyone’s reputation got ruined.

Andreozzi & Associates, a law firm that said it represented the accuser said in a statement that “he wants it to be known that his sexual relationship with Mr. Clash was an adult consensual relationship.” The statement added, “He will have no further comment on the matter.” [NYTimes]

Well sure, I can’t imagine anyone might have follow-up questions.

It’s unclear why the accuser suddenly changed his story … but sources close to the situation tell TMZ … the accuser’s attorney had been meeting with Clash’s attorney as recent as an hour ago, discussing a financial settlement and 6-figures were on the table. [TMZ]

Don’t tell me I’m the only one who imagined The Count counting each figure as it was laid on the table there. Now, granted I’m not a lawyer, but this isn’t how extortion usually works, is it? Anyway, move along, folks, nothing to see here. We can all sleep easier knowing that a 45-year-old puppeteer was blowing an 18-year-old, not a 16-year-old like some kind of perv.

Being Elmo rightfully won raves for its surprisingly entertaining portrayal of Kevin Clash, the puppeteer who fists Elmo. Clash was one of those obnoxious people who knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life by the time he could put on pants, and used his passion for puppeteering as a ticket out of poverty.  And now he’s taken a leave of absence from Sesame Street amid allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old boy, you know, that old story.

The accusations were made in June by a 23-year-old man who claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Clash when he was 16. In a statement issued Monday, Sesame Workshop said an investigation into the matter “found the allegation of underage conduct to be unsubstantiated” and that Clash was granted a leave of absence as he’s “taking actions to protect his reputation.” [HollywoodReporter]

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Yes, I'm going to hell

Admittedly, it’s kind of a disappointing week for mainstream releases, but as usual, the more obscure new films offer some promise. This week we’ve got another Best Picture Oscar nominee, Matt Damon’s zoo, Father ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper, Mat ‘Bruce Willis with flippers’ Fraser, a bad case of writer’s block, and Chloë Grace Moretz might be a Commie bitch.

The DVDs:
War Horse
We Bought A Zoo
Tyrannosaur
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey
Space Dogs
A Turtle’s Tale: Sammy’s Adventures
Angels Crest
Redemption Road
The Odds
Chasing Madoff
Alien Opponent
NoBody’s Perfect
Enter Nowhere
Hellacious Acres: The Case Of John Glass
The Afflicted
The Midnight Disease

To find out which is worth watching, keep reading.  For some Netflix streaming suggestions, click here. Read the rest of this entry »

Classy move, guy who put Gabourey Sidibe next to the Empire State Building

It’s Tuesday and you know what that means – we’ve got a bunch of new old movies from which to choose for our home viewing pleasure.  This week we’ve got quite an eclectic mix: a couple movies that were snubbed by the Oscar nominations, two of Burnsy’s 10 Worst Films of 2011, some British imports, the usual gems that got lost at the theaters, and a half dozen awful looking amateur grindhouse flicks.

Today’s DVD releases:
Tower Heist
The Son Of No One
J. Edgar
Martha Marcy May Marlene
The Way
The Mighty Macs
London Boulevard
Retreat
5 Star Day
POP-U-larity!
Zaat
Jesus, The Total Douchebag

Click on over to the next page for the details.  To jump straight to some new additions streaming on Netflix, click here.

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