Nov 21 2009 06:28 PM ET

'Survivor Talk': Laura on being betrayed by colored rock-fearing John

Laura Morett came to Survivor: Samoa to kick, scratch, and claw her way to a million dollars, but, unfortunately for her, she picked two fights with the two wrong people: Russell and Shambo. And it came back to bite her. Now, the 39-year-old fitness instructor joins Survivor: Tocantins runner-up Stephen Fishbach and me on the latest episode of Survivor Talk to discuss her ultimate undoing in the game. Should she have been nicer to Shambo? Did she underestimate Russell? (Well, clearly.) And how does she feel about alliance member John wimping out selling her out on the tiebreaker re-vote to avoid possibly going home himself? Answers to these questions and more await in the video below as we talk to yet another person responsible for the most epic tribal collapse in Survivor history! And remember to get all the Survivor scoop and pop culture ramblings delivered right to you by following me on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss. Worth playing for? Survivor Talk video watchers ready…GO!

Nov 21 2009 01:30 PM ET

What TV or movie death scenes have left you disappointed?

I love a good death scene. Ronald Lacey’s Arnold Toht in Raiders of the Lost Ark. Samuel L. Jackson’s Russell Franklin in Deep Blue Sea. Sean Bean’s Boromir in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. (“My brother…my captain…my king.” Cue: me, sobbing.)

So imagine my disappointment upon seeing 2012. (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.) I finally caught up with last weekend’s box-office champ, and though I agreed with our critic Lisa Schwarzbaum, finding the film to be a fun spectacle, I couldn’t get over one of the most nonsensical and unnecessary death scenes I’ve seen in a big-budget disaster flick: (Read full post)

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Nov 21 2009 11:33 AM ET

'Medium' recap: A shade shady

After a somewhat ho-hum start to its sixth season — and a move to a new night and network (Fridays on CBS) — Medium has gotten back on stride, and last night’s “The Future’s So Bright” found the procedurals-are-better-with-psychics drama back at its creepy, inventive best. The episode followed Patricia Arquette’s Allison after she borrowed a pair of sunglasses from the department’s lost-and-found drawer to deal with a sudden sensitivity to light — and discovered every person she encountered had a number floating over his or her head that corresponded to the number of days that person had left to live. (If correct, looks like Devalos has just under 33 years left, while Scanlon’s got 42 years to complete his bucket list.) But talk about moral conundrums! How do you avoid slipping on the shades and checking the lifeline of your husband, your children, yourself? And should you? I loved the scene where Allison stood facing the bathroom mirror, grappling with turning Pandora’s predictor on herself.

Luckily, the magic accessory did more than offer ultimate expiration dates. (Read full post)

Nov 21 2009 09:00 AM ET

This Week on Stage: 'Ragtime,' 'Equivocation' in L.A., and vibrators!

It was a busy week on the boards. Sunday saw the opening of a Broadway revival of the musical Ragtime (pictured right), which EW’s Melissa Rose Bernardo calls “dazzling” and gives an A. Also on Broadway, Sarah Ruhl’s provocatively titled comic play In the Next Room, or the Vibrator Play opened to a decidedly lukewarm review from yours truly: “Ruhl’s play could have benefited from a broader, farcical touch.” Elsewhere on Broadway, the Julia Stiles-Bill Pullman revival of David Mamet’s Oleanna announced plans to close on Jan. 3.

Off Broadway, we raved about both Alan Ayckbourn’s My Wonderful Day (“It’s a rare writer who can wring fresh laughs out of two-timing spouses and slutty secretaries”) and Horton Foote’s The Orphans Home Cycle Part 1 — The Story of a Childhood (“With its tales of harsh times, social and economic change, Reconstruction, education, and industry in small-town America, The Story of a Childhood heralds the beginning of something extraordinary”).

And who says New York is the only center of live theater? The national touring production of Disney’s Mary Poppins opened in L.A., and Nicole Sperling gave the production a B-: “For all the changes to the original film, the new elements are seldom improvements.” Also in L.A., Adam B. Vary checked out Bill Cain’s new play, Equivocation, about some theater slacker named William Shakespeare — actually, he’s dubbed Shagspeare here. “Even expert acting can’t quite salvage the feeling that Cain’s reach far exceeds his grasp.”

Check out the EW.com Stage hub for up-to-date news and reviews; or consult this handy guide below, which includes links to all of our stage reviews of current shows. (Note: The reviews are typically of the show’s original casts.)

BROADWAY

The Addams Family — Musical; opens 2010

After Miss Julie — Drama starring Sienna Miller; opened 10/22/2009 – 12/6/2009; EW grade: C

Billy Elliot — Musical; opened 11/13/08; EW grade: B+

Burn the Floor — Musical; opened 8/3/09; EW grade: A-

Bye Bye Birdie — Musical Revival starring John Stamos; opened 10/15/2009 – 4/25/2010; EW grade: C+

Chicago — Musical Revival; opened 11/14/1996; EW grade: A+

Fela! — Musical; opens 11/23/2009 (Read full post)

Nov 21 2009 01:41 AM ET

'Project Runway Talk': Irina explains herself

Who is Irina Shabayeva? The back-stabbing mean girl that this season made her out to be? Or victim of a “bitch edit”? Why was she always ragging on her colleagues? Did she have any doubts that she’d beat Althea and Carol Hannah to the Bryant Park finish line? Dalton and I covered these burning questions and more (!) when the divisive season six winner sat for her Project Runway Talk grilling. Press play on our two-part interview below to see what Irina had to say about her controversial all-black collection, how the nickname Mean-a Irina came to be, and her claim that behind whatever bitchery she displayed on screen, there was always a good reason for it…only, it consistently ended up on the cutting-room floor.

Enjoy! And don’t forget to check out our chats with runners-up Althea and Carol Hannah.

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Nov 20 2009 10:46 PM ET

'Project Runway Talk': Althea talks Sweatergate, embarrassment over losing her temper with Logan and more!

Holy smokes is Althea tall. She’s 5′11″ to be exact, but when she came to the EW offices this morning, she looked more like 7′11″ thanks to the fierce-ass stilettos she was sporting. Of course, I’m barely 5′6″ in my highest heels, so even Tom Cruise looks like a skyscraper to me. Anyway, what was I saying? (Sorry, brain still fried from staying up late writing my TV Watch and getting up early. Tough life, Schwartz.) Ah yes, Althea. She was a great sport during her Project Runway Talk segment. We covered Sweatergate, Smokey Eye-gate and Zippergate. (She’s pretty embarrassed about the last one.) All the while, her new NYC roommate Carol Hannah watched in the wings. Maybe she was texting Logan? (“Hey, Althea’s talking about you again!”) I kid.

Enjoy! Plus, don’t forget to watch Carol Hannah’s interview, and, of course, our grilling of Irina.

Nov 20 2009 07:29 PM ET

'Project Runway Talk' with Carol Hannah: 'I don't think I've been that depressed in a really long time'

She didn’t trash talk. She accused no one of cheating. She never indulged in gratuitous self-aggrandizing. In fact, unless you consider crushing out on the hot guy or barfing on camera as high-stakes drama (okay, well the last thing kinda is), it’s fair to say that Carol Hannah sailed through her season remarkably crisis-free. The self-taught designer from Charleston, S.C. made it all the way to Bryant Park with her head down and her mind focused on one thing: her work. Well, and maybe a little bit on Logan, too.

As Dalton and I learned this morning, season six’s third-placer is every bit as level-headed off the Project Runway set. Sporting a new set of bangs (a suggestion from Logan!), Carol Hannah chatted with us about everything from being told she has the psychological profile of a man, to making goo-goo eyes at Logan in the workroom, to feeling massively depressed while designing her final collection last winter. Click below for the goods. Then check out our chat with Althea (CH’s new roomie!) and of course, our grilling of Irina.

Nov 20 2009 06:51 PM ET

'New Moon': A Hater's Guide

Categories: Film, New Moon, Vampires

Can it really be just a year since, in my previous Hater’s Guide, I compared the then just-released Twilight to “the lamest episode of 90210 ever made combining forces with the second-lamest episode of 90210 ever made”? So much has changed! For one thing, there is the alarming number of my previously sane female acquaintances who this year fell under the sway of Stephenie Meyer’s vampire books and the first film adaptation. One minute they’re all, “I agree, Clark, this all sounds like a bunch of crap.” The next, it’s, “Ooh, Robert Pattinson is so dreamy,” and “Go, Team Jacob!,” and “Dude, you’re sleeping on the couch.”

So what do those few remaining Twilight-haters who want to remain within the cultural loop need to know about the second cinematic offering about the supposedly tragic romance between Pattinson’s pasty immortal Edward and Kristen Stewart’s sulky human Bella? Well, New Moon is really no better than Twilight.  It certainly seems much longer, though.

I’ll spare you the not-gory-at-all details: doubtless you’ll hear a full regurgitation of its plot from some yammering band of tweens next time you take public transportation. The big news is that Taylor Lautner’s Jacob, who developed a “thing” for Bella in the first movie, is really great at repairing motorcycles. Oh, also? He’s a werewolf. But the bike repair thing seems more interesting, as it turns out being a werewolf largely involves running around wearing a pair of cut-off jeans like some post-Hulk-ing Bill Bixby. You wouldn’t like it when he’s furry! Actually you might. Jacob and his fellow were-folk are far more cuddly than carnivorous, as tends to be the way in this un-monstrous monster franchise.

The other major development is the introduction of a vampiric upper class called the Volturi who rule their fellow immortals with an iron fist and a wardrobe borrowed from “Notorious”-era Duran Duran. We can thank the Volturi for by far the best thing about this movie, which is the always great Michael Sheen’s bloodsucker-overlord Aro — a character who serves as a reminder that vampires are actually supposed to be kind of scary.

Okay, let the hate come back at me, if you must. But I know there are plenty of folks out there who will back me up on this. Speak now or forever hold your peace, fellow Twi-Haters!

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Nov 20 2009 06:16 PM ET

The 'Twilight' at midnight experience: tears, screams, heavy medication

Thursday Evening: We’re going to see the midnight opening of New Moon. The theater is already half full at 10 pm. Lots of teenagers, lots of females. High school-ers are snapping pictures of each other. The girls sitting in front of us are watching the first Twilight on an iPhone. Across the aisle, a teenage blonde girl in sneakers reaches into her purse and starts counting prescription pill bottles: “One. Two. Three. Four. Controlled. Controlled.”  The girl behind her (a brunette in boots) opens her own purse. “I have five,” she says. Teenagers are weird.

The theater is selling T-shirts by the snack stand: Team Edward (Rob Pattinson wearing his constipated James Dean frown) and Team Jacob (Taylor Lautner modeling his cocky roid-rage sneer.) Me: “I’m from Entertainment Weekly. Which shirt is selling more?” Theater employee: “We’re actually not allowed to talk to anybody from the media.” You and everyone who works on Avatar, dude! (Read full post)

Nov 20 2009 06:01 PM ET

Doc Jensen geeks out on 'FlashForward': Follow the clues; crack the mystery! (maybe)

In the new issue of Entertainment Weekly now on newsstands, you’ll find a story written by yours truly in which I geek out on my new TV obsession, the ABC sci-fi drama FlashForward. If you’re new to the show, here’s what you need to know: On Oct. 6, the planet blacked out and for 2 minutes and 17 seconds, and everyone on earth saw a brief vision of their respective futures. The saga’s center is FBI agent Mark Benford (Shakespeare In Love’s Joseph Fiennes), who during his brief quantum leap saw himself investigating an elaborate conspiracy behind mankind’s perplexing power nap. The day glimpsed in all the flashes: Thursday, April 29, 2010. (Yep, the show will air that night.) Will Mark’s faithful wife Olivia (Lost’s Sonja Walger) find herself in bed with another man? Will vaguely sinister scientist Simon Campos (Dominic Monaghan, another ex-Lostie) strangle a dude to death? And will FBI agent Demetri Noh (Star Trek’s John Cho), who saw only darkness during his flash, be (gulp) dead? “The high concept pitch is simply this: if you were given a glimpse of your future, what would you do with it?” says FF’s exec producer David S. Goyer. “If you see something bad, can you change it? If it’s good, how do you make it come true?” (Read full post)

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