the early-evening news

Does Ludacris Have Hos in Your Area Code?

Photos: Getty Images, strangemaps.com


Finally, Geographers Get Their Act Together: Where has Ludacris committed perpendicular vehicular Ho-micide? Where has he eaten Hos d’oeuvre? One brave geographer has finally mapped it out. Of note: Who would have expected that Ludacris has a ho-zone in East St. Louis, but not in St. Louis proper? Update: Ludacris does so have hoes in St. Louis! We guess we don’t know where the Mississippi River actually is. [Strange Maps]

Heath Ledger, Posthumous Oscar Nominee?: Was this weekend’s “Arts & Leisure” profile of Christopher Nolan the first salvo in an Oscar campaign for Heath Ledger as the Joker? [Gold Derby]

The Death of Late Night: While Jay Leno still leads the late-night-ratings war, the real news is that ratings are down more than 20 percent overall from last year as consumers watch DVRed prime-time programming (or, in our case, Pardon the Interruption) during the late-night hours. This evening, Jay Leno will begin a joke about the ratings drop, then burst into tears in the middle, unable to continue. [Variety]

Golden Compass a Success After All?: The Golden Compass attains the dubious honor of being the first movie ever to exceed $300 million in foreign box office while failing to clear $100 million in the United States. Producers speculate that the results — though disappointing in the short term owing to New Line’s sales of foreign rights — might encourage New Line parent Warner Bros. to green-light the sequels after all. Dibs on Sir Charles Latrom! [Variety]

Idolers Steer Clear of George, Ringo: According to Nigel Lythgoe, the Beatles songbook being sung by American Idol contestants this week is “all the early songs” and apparently doesn’t extend past Revolver. Also, it includes only Lennon-McCartney tunes, so all those hoping to see Syesha sing “Octopus’s Garden” are shit out of luck. [MJs Big Blog via Idolator]

Does Ludacris Have Hos in Your Area Code?