Entertainment

Summer’s here. All right, all right, all right. (HO - PHOTOFEST)

You could kick off your Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer the way you usually do: by eating seven consecutive hot dogs off the grill, then jumping into a swimming pool and timing how long it takes your stomach to start cramping.

Or you could do what normal people do: completely disengage from real life and usher in the season of lightning bugs and oppressive heat by watching a movie. Summer: the only way to truly experience it is by sitting in an air-conditioned room, watching other people experience it on a screen.

Many, many fine movies have been made that take place in the months between May and September. But if you had to pick only one film to watch this weekend that would make you feel summery, what would it be? My answer can be found below. Share your own answer by posting a comment, or tweeting @celebritology with the hashtag #bestsummermovie.

At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the glamorous gowns worn by female celebrities have been spiced up a bit with thigh-high slits, a style made infamous by Angelina Jolie and her right leg at the Academy Awards.

You know, the look that launched a parody Twitter account and was gently mocked by “Community” actor Jim Rash when he accepted his Oscar.

Among the many actresses rocking this look are “Twilight’s” Kristen Stewart, Freida Pinto and (surprise, surprise) Kim Kardashian. See the trend in action below.

Read more about Cannes 2012:

Cannes fashion: Diane Kruger, Freida Pinto stealing the spotlight

Ann Hornaday: Stalled in the past, with few surprises

Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron and the response to the raciness in ‘The Paperboy’

Brad Pitt film, ‘Killing Them Softly’ premieres at Cannes

(For the record, this is not a judgement on the style. These women have lovely limbs and should do whatever they please with them.)

On this day — May 25, 1977, the Wednesday before the Memorial Day weekend — “Star Wars” opened in theaters and changed the pop cultural landscape.

Our three “Star Wars” heroes. (Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved)

To borrow the words of a Washington, D.C. resident whose Cleveland Park neighborhood was overrun that summer with “Star Wars” fans, waiting in line over and over to see Luke, Han and Leia at the Uptown Theater: “It’s ... it’s an invasion.” (Read this whole Washington Post article about the neighborhood consternation back in ‘77. The quotes in it are a riot: “I told my wife, ‘Hey, some clown is blocking the driveway.' The funny thing is that it turned out to be a friend of my wife whose car was blocking the drive, a person who had just graduated from clown school.")

Indeed, “Star Wars” was an invasion, and not just on the once pleasantly serene streets of D.C.’s Cleveland Park. It firmly established the power of the summer blockbuster, surpassing “Jaws” as the highest-grossing movie of all time and making every studio executive in Hollywood anxious to replicate its secret Skywalker sauce. It ushered sci-fi into the mainstream. It made us believe that wearing buns on either side of your head was in­cred­ibly cool. It gave us the best movie theme song ever, and the best villain’s theme song ever, and made us giddy every time we saw words written in Franklin Gothic font soaring off into a black sky.

It also proved, without a shadow of a doubt, that Han shot Greedo first, since we saw the movie in the ‘70s and didn’t even think there would be a debate about this 20 years later when a special edition came out because, for God’s sake, Han totally shot first.

But perhaps the biggest game-changer that “Star Wars” led to is this: it created a generation of people desperate for pop culture merchandise.

Keira Knightley (Gareth Cattermole - GETTY IMAGES) Keira Knightley is taking on a new role: fiancée.

The 27-year-old actress is engaged to James Righton, a musician with the British indie rock band Klaxons, her rep told the Associated Press. No other details were provided.

The two were reportedly introduced by a mutual friend, British TV presenter and fashionista Alexa Chung, in March 2011.

The “Pride and Prejudice” actress can next be seen in the comedy “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World” alongside co-star Steve Carell. The film opens in June.

Doc Watson. (Lauren Carroll - The Winston-Salem Journal/AP) Update: Folklore Productions told the AP Watson underwent colon surgery and is improving.

Original post

Famed folk and bluegrass musician Doc Watson is in critical condition at a North Carolina hospital after suffering a fall at his home earlier this week and undergoing colon surgery, the Associated Press reports.

Watson’s daughter Nancy told the Winston-Salem Journal her 89-year-old father did not break any bones, but is “real sick.” A friend of the musician told the Watauga Democrat that Watson has an infection.

Born Arthel Watson, the blind musician, known for his flatpicking guitar skills, has won seven Grammys, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award. He created Merlefest, a traditional” music festival named after his late son Eddy Merle, in 1988.