Archive: January 2009 (121-130 of 354)

Jan 22 2009 09:00 PM ET

Flea joins Faces: Yay?

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Facesrodstewartflea_lFleas and faces are normally an unwelcome combination (scratch, scratch). Less unpleasant, but still surprising, is the news that Flea (the bassist from Red Hot Chili Peppers) is apparently joining Faces (Rod Stewart and Ron Wood et al.’s reunited Britrock band). It’s a weird fit. The things I associate with Flea’s playing — funky riffs, hip-hop-ish rhythms — couldn’t be farther from the straight-ahead blues-rock that Faces laid down in the ’70s. Still, all the people involved here are way talented. And look, this is bound to be more interesting and unpredictable than a regular old Faces reunion with some anonymous session bassist filling in for the late Ronnie Lane. So I’m willing to give this lineup a chance. How about you? If you need help deciding, just listen to Faces’ 1973 "Ooh La La" after the jump and imagine Flea’s bassline from "Around the World" grooving all over that thing.

UPDATE: Looks like those involved are now denying that Flea is doing anything with Faces, sadly. Never mind!

More on Red Hot Chili Peppers:
Flea gave EW his resume in 2006
The PopWatch interview: Anthony Kiedis at Coachella ’07
EW’s review of RHCP’s Stadium Arcadium
EW named RHCP one of 1992′s Entertainers of the Year

READ FULL STORY »

Jan 22 2009 08:00 PM ET

Bill O'Reilly and Dennis Miller vs. Jeezy and Jay-Z: World's lamest tag-team faceoff?

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , , ,

Don’t tell me everything is different now that Barack Obama is president. Not as long as Bill O’Reilly is still starting idiotic feuds with rappers for no reason at all. I wouldn’t watch that clown’s show if you paid me, but Eskay over at Nah Right notes that O’Reilly and guest Dennis Miller spent part of last night’s Factor taking aim at Young Jeezy and Jay-Z for the severe crime of…performing a pro-Obama, anti-Bush rap song a couple nights before the inauguration. Scandal! Watch the clip below, and you tell me if you can figure out what exactly Billo and Millo’s complaint was here. The verses in question contained a couple of emphatic profanities, sure — and O’Reilly knows from those — but otherwise those lyrics were fairly tame. They certainly weren’t "hateful" in any meaningful way. Obviously, though, it doesn’t take very much to get O’Reilly throwing around loaded terms like "low-class" and Miller citing condescending statistics about single parenthood rates (???).

At least O’Reilly’s honest some of the time: "I don’t know much about Young Jeezy," he admitted. "It’s possible he’ll appear on the Factor soon." So maybe this segment was all just a ploy to bait Jeezy — or, as erstwhile comedian Miller inexplicably called him, "Emphysema" — to come on the show. I bet Bill could use the extra ratings. Would you watch it, or are you already as tired of this non-controversy as I am?

More on O’Reilly and politics as entertainment:
EW Gallery: The Great Presidential Pop-Culture Debate ’08
Young Jeezy’s The Recession got a B+ review from EW
On the Scene: Nas vs. Fox News Channel
O’Reilly was one of EW’s Entertainers of the Year in 2001

Jan 22 2009 07:30 PM ET

'Office Space' celebrates 10th annniversary (in perfect economy to watch 'Office Space' again)

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , , , ,

Mike Judge’s Office Space hit theaters in February 1999, and next month, the film’s 10th anniversary will be commemorated with a special screening and reunion at Austin’s Paramount Theatre. Somehow, tickets are still available for the Feb. 8 event, which will be attended by Judge and members of the cast including Gary Cole (Bill Lumbergh), Stephen Root (Milton), David Herman (Michael Bolton), and Ajay Naidu (Samir Nagheenanajar). According to reports, there will be giveaways courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment, which releases the film on Blu-ray Feb. 3, and copresenters SXSW and Fantastic Fest have promised "special Office Space activities" before and after the screening. (I have a copy/fax machine that’s begging to be put down, should organizers be accepting volunteers.) 

In 2005, the real Michael Bolton told me, "I have signed so many Office Space DVDs, and I have it, but I’ve never seen it." I wonder if that’s still the case…

More on Office Space:
EW examines Office Space‘s cult status
Owen Gleiberman’s original Office Space review (a C!)
15 quotable lines from Office Space

Jan 22 2009 07:15 PM ET

Clooney returns to 'ER'! Maybe!

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Filed under: Television and tagged: ,

Clooneyer_lSo according to those crazy "Internet reports," George Clooney will be back on the set of ER this week to shoot a cameo for the show’s final season. This is not particularly shocking news — it’s been hinted at by costar Noah Wyle, the producers pretty much came out and said that a cast of thousands would be returning, and when I spoke to Goran Visnjic here at Sundance, he said to expect a lot of familiar faces in that there finale.

But as Anthony Edwards put it to me yesterday, "Is there even gonna be a finale?" Edwards — who’s also at Sundance — is alluding to the fact that NBC has added three more episodes in what is turning out to be the TV equivalent of a bad breakup. The Man Who Was Mark Green says he’s participated in his last flashback, but now I’m wondering who all else they’re gonna haul back to County before the ER era comes to a close. Is it too much to hope for some Maria Bello up in here?

Anyway. What do you think, PopWatchers? Happy for a return from Clooney? I think it makes me like him more — as though that’s possible; George, call me — to know he appreciates his roots. How do you think the cameo should go down? And who are you still hoping to see come through those ambulance bay doors?

Jan 22 2009 06:45 PM ET

Sarah Palin: Governor, vice-presidential candidate...TV star?

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , , ,

Sarahpalinbook_lFrom the moment John McCain gave his concession speech in Arizona, my desperate hope for Sarah Palin was that she’d sulk her way back to Alaska and quietly resume the job she was elected to do (and when I say quiet, I mean as silent as my Honda Hybrid sounds when I halt at a red light). Alas, stardom is a demanding shrew that continues to poke at one’s ego with its sharp stiletto, so Palin is now looking for a potential book and TV deal since her term as governor is over next year. Acting, we can realistically assume, is out (though God knows Grey’s Anatomy is always looking for yet another lesbian love interest for the lovelorn Callie). A syndicated talk show isn’t much better; Palin only has the gift for gab when someone hands her a script, and even the chatty Rush Limbaugh couldn’t sustain his Roger Ailes-produced yakker beyond four years in the early ’90s. A spot on The View, maybe? Eh, that’ll be like shooting fish in a barrel for Joy and Whoopi, and Elizabeth provides plenty of cringe-worthy moments already. Assuming she’d want to make another (futile) play for the White House later, Palin’s smartest bet would be to beg Fox News for a talking-head job, as long as she’s accompanied by a secret Svengali-like Limbaugh producer Bo Snerdly to keep her sounding intelligent (if not downright coherent).

What do you think? If you had to watch Palin on the small screen, what would you have her do?

More Sarah Palin:
Tina Fey says she’s retiring Sarah Palin impersonation
‘Sassy’ Elisabeth Hasselbeck believes in Maverick Sarah Palin
Watch Fey play Palin on the ‘SNL’ premiere
Lorne Michaels: How SNL got Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin boosts SNL rating

Jan 22 2009 06:30 PM ET

Oscars snub Springsteen: WTF?!

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Brucespringsteenglobes_lThe first thing that jumped out at me from this morning’s Oscar nominations: The Best Original Song category has only three nominees. Two of those are from Slumdog Millionaire, which seems like a bit much. And none of them are Bruce Springsteen’s brilliant, Golden Globe-winning title tune from The Wrestler, as some of you have already noted over at Annie’s Oscar snubs post. For shame, Academy!

I can’t figure out what’s going on here. I don’t think it’s an eligibility issue, since The Wrestler itself got two acting nods. And aside from being totally great on its own terms, "The Wrestler" is an emotional ballad by a mainstream boomer icon — just the kind of song you’d think would appeal to a ton of Academy members. (You can hear it below if you haven’t yet.) It’s certainly comparable to Springsteen’s masterful "Streets of Philadelphia," which took home a Best Song Oscar in 1994. Even putting aside my love of the Boss, how bizarre of the Academy not to fill out this category with a full five nominees, as it’s done in most previous years. Truthfully, the Oscars telecast needs compelling music performances far more than Bruce needs another statuette on his shelf. So the real losers here are all of us in the TV audience, wouldn’t you say?

More on the Oscars and Bruce Springsteen:
EW Gallery: The Biggest Oscar Snubs Ever
EW Gallery: Rare Springsteen Photos Unveiled
The E Street Band ranked high on EW.com readers’ Concert Bucket List
Anticipating Springsteen’s new album, Working on a Dream
Springsteen’s Magic was EW’s Album of the Year 2007

addCredit(“Jason Merritt/Getty Images “)

Jan 22 2009 05:00 PM ET

Exclusive: New 'Grand Theft Auto IV' downloadable-content trailer

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Filed under: Videogames and tagged: , , , ,

I could wax on and on about my love for Grand Theft Auto IV — how I lost 40-some-odd hours playing it while my children wondered why I spent so much time with the "brightly colored ladies," how my dreams started to come with radars/threat meters, how I perfected an awesome Niko Bellic voice (and almost got thrown out of the Russian Vodka Room because of it) — but I’ll just let you imagine me jumping up-and-down at the sight of this, the first trailer for The Lost and the Damned, the first batch of downloadable content for GTAIV.

Not sure how much it’ll cost to download when it’s available on February 17, but I know that my Xbox 360 (the only platform upon which The Lost and the Damned will be available) and I will be taking a "sick day." How about you?

Jan 22 2009 04:15 PM ET

Steve Martin to host 'SNL' for record 15th time

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , ,

Steve Martin will host Saturday Night Live on Jan. 31, with musical guest Jason Mraz. The date marks Martin’s 15th appearance as host of the show (and his best opportunity to promote The Pink Panther 2, which hits theaters Feb. 6).

What’s your favorite Martin sketch? Since Hulu doesn’t have his "Holiday Wish," I’ll go with the one below. (Because when else am I going to get to embed a clip of Steve Martin talking about his penis beauty creme?)

Jan 22 2009 04:01 PM ET

'Tom and Jerry': The film franchise?

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , , ,

Tomandjerrymovie_lWarner Bros. announced plans today to build an Alvin and the Chipmunks-esque family franchise around the classic animated series Tom and Jerry, in which the cat and mouse will be CG characters who scamper around in live-action settings. It certainly worked for Scooby-Doo and those other rodents, so the question is whether Tom and Jerry have enough staying power to match that post-millenial "movie plus merch" madness. (You may recall the terrible 1992 Tom and Jerry movie, the aptly titled Tom and Jerry: The Movie, which bore virtually no connection to the original 114 animated shorts by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.)

Variety reports that the film will focus on an "origin story that reveals how Tom and Jerry first meet and form theirrivalry before getting lost in Chicago and reluctantly working togetherduring an arduous journey home." I guess that’d make for a decent narrative, but I don’t know if I’d buy it as a Tom and Jerry narrative. We never needed to know why these two hate each other, and that was kind of the point. And it’s clearly not even hate, because they’re constantly grinning at each other even whilst jousting with an enormous fork and knife. Maybe we’ll finally learn exactly which medical condition causes seconds-long delays on Tom’s part after he’s inflicted with severe bodily harm, and the real deal regarding the complex chemical repellent Jerry must have applied half-hourly to ensure that he somehow wouldn’t get eaten. Seriously. Tom. EAT HIM. Don’t just swallow! DIGEST. (It bewilders me that I appear to be on Team Tom, as I am terrified of/kind of hate cats.)

Any ideas for the reason behind Tom and Jerry’s mutual distaste, or do you refuse to even comment about it because the idea of a backstory seems so wrong?

Jan 22 2009 04:00 PM ET

Clip du Jour: 'Single Ladies (In Mayberry)' Edition

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The latest from San Francisco "pop bastardizer" Party Ben: The Andy Griffith Show’s theme song and Beyonce’s "Single Ladies," mashed up all buttergarlicky for your pleasure.

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