Purple Melon, Painting Hollywood Purple

By Piya Sinha-Roy

 

Purple Melon (Creative Commons)

“Eric’s balls.”

“Pardon me?”

“Eric’s balls. That’s what our band name means.”

Purple Melon. That is the name being discussed on a warm sunny afternoon in a parking lot in Hollywood. A quick glance at the smug smile on the face of the owner of the above-mentioned balls that inspired the band name, indicates that this definition for the name ‘Purple Melon’ may indeed be true, although no explanation was offered regarding the choice of color.

The speaker, Owen Barry, a 27-year-old musician hailing from Essex, England, reclines on the ageing but surprisingly clean interior of the band’s decaled van. As well as being a nickname for Eric’s genitalia, Purple Melon is also a band, and presently, the four band members are congregated outside their white van by the iconic Swinghouse Studios, taking a break from rehearsing.

“Oh, I’ve had sex in here,” declares Eric Joyce, the youngest band member at 22. Hardly surprising seeing as he’s almost 6,000 miles away from home and his shaggy dark hair, Indian ethnicity and refusal to wear a shirt seems to entice the local girls.

MTV Movie Awards GBK Gifting Suite

By Frances Vega
 

AnnaLynne Mccord being interviewed (photo by Frances Vega)

The GBK MTV Movie Awards Gifting Lounge was held at the SLS Hotel in Beverly this weekend.

This invitation only lounge was open to various celebrities on Friday and Saturday. Nominees and presenters gathered for afternoons filled with unique gifts and entertainment.  This year’s suite had a vintage cinema theme. Guest entered through a garden decorated with black and white cabanas, mirrored tables, and comfy couches.

GBK Productions, one of the top gifting suite production companies and the recipient of multiple  BizBash Awards for “Best Gift Bag,” offered its exclusive list of invited celebrities, VIPs and media the opportunity to enjoy the fabulous L.A. weather with custom ice cream and free bar drinks.

Stars Gather At Satine For Drug Awareness Benefit

Danica Stewart and Ben Hogestyn at Artists Against Drugs Art Show (Photo by Rosemary Vega)

By Frances Vega

 Various up and coming celebrities and artists gathered at Satine Boutique Saturday to show support for the Say No To Drugs campaign.

The Artist Against Drugs Art Show is part of an annual "Say No To Drugs Race," put on by the nonprofit Say No To Drugs organization. The group tries to bring awareness to the harmful effects of drug abuse through education programs for the local community. Guests at the show had the opportunity to view and buy exclusive art pieces donated to the charity. Proceeds from the event went to local nonprofit, youth-oriented drug education and prevention organizations such as The Boys & Girls Club of East Valley, Drug Free World and Narconon.

GBK Oscars Gifting Lounge

Mike O'Malley

By Frances Vega

The GBK Oscars Gifting Lounge was held at the W Hotel in Hollywood this weekend.

This invitation only lounge was open to various celebrities from Thursday through Saturday. GBK Productions, one of the leading gifting suite production companies, welcomed guests with cake from Hansen's Cakes and large black duffel bags for them to put their presents in.  Various sponsors bombarded Academy Award nominees, comedians and television stars with extravagant merchandise. Guests received trips to Tanzania, designer clothing, jewelry, wine, makeup and much more.

Celebrities to make an appearance throughout the weekend included: Jacki Weaver, Tom Hooper, Beau Bridges, Cloris Leachman, Denise Richards, William Shatner, Justin Long, Tristan Wilds, Camille Grammer, Jaime Pressly, Cheech Marin, Malin Akerman, Lisa Vanderpump, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Eddie Hassell, Taylor Armstrong, Kelly Rutherford, Lauren Velez, Nia Peeples, Tim Daly, Fred Willard, Natasha Henstridge, Nelson Ellis and Raven-Symone, to name a few.

The President of GBK Productions, Gavin B. Keilly, will donated proceeds to A New Way of Life, the American Red Cross, City of Hope and other charities.

Cee Lo And Big Boi Bring The Grammy Pre-Party To Club Nokia

By Frances Vega

Cee Lo Green livens up the crowd at Club Nokia on Friday night before his colorful Grammy performance on Sunday (Photo by Frances Vega)

 Friday night’s Cee Lo Green concert at Club Nokia was an all age event, welcoming a diverse crowd to listen to their favorite rappers, Big Boi and Cee Lo, with Grammy-nominated Melanie Fiona as the evening's MC.

The night began with Big Boi rapping classics like “Bombs Over Baghdad,” “Rosa Parks,” and Outkast's “ATLiens.” Where most rappers expect their rhymes to carry the entire show, Big Boi brought in a few dancers to liven up his set and busted out some moves of his own.

The Rite Premiere at Grauman's Chinese Theater

By Frances Vega

[A video I made for USC's digital news site]
  
Neon Tommy was on the black carpet for the premiere of "The Rite" at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood.

Watch what the stars of the movie had to say about exorcism and what it was like working with sir Anthony Hopkins.

The horror thriller was released in theaters on Jan. 28.

Interview with The Maine 11/18/10

by Rosemary Vega


We sat down with The Maine's John O'Callaghan and Garrett Nickelsen for a short interview before their performance at Best Buy Theater in New York City for the Harmony tour. Check out the video under the cut to find out about their guilty pleasures, covering songs, and more.

Taylor Swift Thanksgiving Special Tapings

HTS went to the two-day taping for Taylor Swift's Thanksgiving Special "Speak Now" which will air on Thanksgiving (November 25) on NBC.

On Monday, Taylor Swift was surprised to see fans surrounding her piano and strings section in the middle of central park. She came out jumping up and down, saying "Wow," a countless amount of times. She sat down on the piano and told the audience of about 250, "I'm sorta losing my mind right now." She had no idea anyone would be there to celebrate the release of her album.

Fun. at the Brooklyn Bell House

by Rosemary Vega

Fun. played a secret show at the Brooklyn Bell House on September 30 for fan club members. Band members Nate Reuss (formerly of the Format), Jack Antonoff (also part of Steel Train, who opened the show) and Andrew Dost (formerly of Anathallo), released their first album Aim and Ignite in August 2009, with music varying from folk, to pop, to emo, to rock. The mix of genres lead to a show filled of fun. (Pun intended.)

After opening from Jarrod Gorbel and Steel Train, Fun. opened with their latest single "Walking the Dog" (video here).  Next, they played one of my personal favorites "I Wanna Be the One," followed by "Light a Roman Candle with Me." The crowd then went crazy for the band's previous single "All the Pretty Girls" (video). As the set continued, the bands energy, as well as the crowd's continued to elevate with songs "Stitch Me Up," and "Barlights."

How about some Boobs and Blood

 By Frances Vega

Outside the New Beverly Cinema at the first Boobs and Blood International Film Festival

   
        If you have ever wondered where you can find a place that provides both nudity and gore, then look no further than the Boobs and Blood International Film Festival.
   
        For the first time ever admirers of grindhouse cinema, lesbian vampire flicks and Japanese pink films had a place to celebrate all things weird and outrageous. Fans gathered at the New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood over the weekend to watch special screenings of their favorite B-movie.
   

Selena Gomez on MTV's The Seven

by Rosemary Vega

I was invited to attend a special acoustic performance by Selena Gomez for MTV's The Seven today (09/24) in New York City. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed, so you guys will have to wait until the air date to see it. But, Selena definitely surprised me. I had heard her singles from her new cd "A Year Without Rain," and although I think they're catchy, I wasn't expecting much from her. But I was very impressed.

Selena only sang two songs; "A Year Without Rain" and "Round and Round," but she sounded great. The stripped, acoustic versions of the songs sounded just as good as the originals, if not better. In between the takes, she sang Pixie Lott's "Mama Do," and told everyone how big of a fan she is. (Not sure if they'll use that for the show!) Four fans got to ask questions, where she revealed she's a huge Cheryl Cole fan. She also said "Rock God," was her favorite song off her new album. Selena was extremely sweet to the fans there, thanked everyone for showing up so early, and made sure to take pictures with everyone who waited to meet her.

Fashion's Night Out on Robertson blvd

  The second annual Fashion’s Night Out came back to Los Angeles on Friday bigger and better than the last.

Photo by Frances Vega

        Vogue editor Anna Wintour created Fashion’s Night Out with hopes of getting people to spend more money shopping during hard economic times. There were parties in many major retailers across the world. This year’s FNO was sponsored by the city of L.A. for the first time, making it the first official FNO in the county. That meant more retailers, bigger parties, celebrities, fashion designers, models, and all sorts of other goodies to entice people through their doors.

Super Secret Movie Project

HTS on set of a super secret movie currently in production. Look out for the lead in future projects. We think he might make it big. 

Let us know if you know who this is or what movie set we're on. 


A $20 gift card will be awarded to the first person to guess the answer.

Charlie St. Cloud Premiere

Hollywood Times Square was at the Charlie St. Cloud premiere yesterday (July 20).

Check out our exclusive photos here.

Also check out our video of Zac Efron meeting some excited fans before he hit the red carpet under the cut.