Hollywood, Mexicans, and Mexico

Three parts to this post. First, there was going to be a movie that was to star Eva Mendes called The Queen of the South, based on the novel La Reina del Sur, which is about a Mexican woman who conquers the world of drug trafficking in Spain. That movie has been canceled, evidently because of threats made on the movie's director by drug traffickers. I've not read the book, but it seems odd to me that the criminal groups would worry a great deal about fiction. The movie promised an unusual mix of talent; Ben Kingsley and Josh Hartnett would have been joining Mendes on screen.

Second, this passage at the end of Jody Rosen's review of Prince's new album is worth a laugh:

In the middle of MPLSound is "Valentina," a deliciously perverse Princely come-on. The song is a lustful ode to Salma Hayek—addressed to the actress' 18-month-old daughter. Prince sings: "Hey Valentina tell your mama/ She should give me a call/ When she get tired of runnin'/ After you down the hall/ And she's all worn out/ From those late-night feedings." On the off chance that the song fails to produce the desired effect, Prince includes an insurance pickup line, figuring that the infant Valentina has access to all of Hollywood's A-list Latinas. "If Penélope wants to Cruz," he sings, "there ain't no way that we ain't gon' dance."

Lastly, Justin Timberlake has his own tequila. It's called 901, which doubles as the Memphis area code and the precise time we start craving a tequila shot, at least according to his publicist. I'd have preferred it to be called "Junk in the Box," or something along those lines.