Archive: February 2009 (21-30 of 448)

Feb 27 2009 04:11 PM ET

'90210': Should Brian Austin Green come home, too?

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Filed under: Television and tagged: ,

90210_lIn light of the promising news that Gilmore Girls alum Rebecca Sinclair will permanently take over the writers room of 90210 this fall, an important question has emerged regarding the future of the show: Just how much should the CW continue rely on alums of Beverly Hills, 90210 to prop up the fledgling drama? We already gave an enthusiastic hello to Shannen Doherty’s infamous Brenda earlier this season (and, in fact, girlfriend may stick around for more). Jason Priestley will direct an upcoming episode. And come April, we’ll spread our arms wide for the much-anticipated return of Tori’s Spelling’s Donna Martin for a three-episode arc. Is Donna’s husband, David Silver — aka Brian Austin Green — next?

Sinclair told EW exclusively that she’s certainly open to the idea: "I would love for him to be on the show! It would be great to see them back together to see how their high school relationship has matured." And we suspect that Green might soon be available since his cult-hit on Fox, The Sarah Connor Chronicles, isn’t exactly burning down the house of Nielsen. But even if the 90210 stars were to align and we get our Donna-David reunion, Sinclair admits it could create even more challenges.

"I think the danger of bringing back the old cast is that it’ll look like a stunt," admits Sinclair, who is quick to add, however, that Spelling brings a welcome "effervescence" to the show. "People will tune in and watch. People will be like, ‘oh my gosh!’ But how does it feed into the larger picture? I fundamentally think the show should be able to stand on its own in a new world."

What do you think? Are you biding your time until Luke Perry and Tiffani Thiessen make a triumphant comeback to the zip code? Or are you blissfully satisfied with this new version of Beverly Hills that’s populated with AnnaLynne McCord and (the adorable) Tristan Wilds?

Feb 27 2009 03:06 PM ET

Tom Brady marries Gisele Bundchen: The new Brangelina?

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People is reporting that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and model Gisele Bundchen got married in a ceremony in Santa Monica yesterday. Now that the couple is officially state-sanctioned, I think it’s fair to say that this pairing might actually best the hallowed Brangelina in the sparkly power-couple department. I mean, right? Can Brad Pitt even throw a football? What do you think? Could Tomele take them? How much time would YOU spend spying on them through a chain link fence at LAX?

Feb 27 2009 03:00 PM ET

'Yo Gabba Gabba': A 2-year-old's take

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , ,

Yogabba_chromeo_3If Beck and Deee-lite teamed up to make a kids show, it would probably be a lot like Yo Gabba Gabba. Featuring a freaky DJ named Lance Rock and a cast of colorful creatures who (seriously) live in his boom box, the Nickelodeon show is packed with references aimed straight at 30-something ex-hipster parents: a drop-in from the Shins, an extended riff on 2-Tone ska, regular segments featuring Biz Markie and Mark Mothersbaugh, etc. Today’s episode, which airs at 1:30 p.m. ET, is especially packed, with appearances from Roots drummer ?uestlove and SNL‘s Rachel Dratch, along with a performance from excellent ’80s R&B revivalists Chromeo (pictured).

My 2-and-a-half-year-old son is absolutely obsessed with the show (his favorite phrases, in order of importance: "No," "I want Yo Gabba," "I don’t like that"), so this morning I threw on a DVD of today’s episode and had him weigh in. Overall, his reaction was mixed. An early segment with some nasty-looking cartoon germs scared the hell out of him ("I don’t like that, Daddy. Turn it off!" he said, burying his head in the chair), but he went nuts for a hair-washing sequence with a talking shampoo bottle ("that’s funny, Daddy!"). As for the celebrity guests, well, he thought they were okay. ?uestlove’s drumming demonstration was short enough to keep his interest, and he managed to tolerate Dratch’s "dancey dance" (less so his father). 

Oddly, he didn’t have much of a reaction to Chromeo, whose typically funky tune about hand washing — performed, naturally, inside a sink floating in outer space — was easily the episode’s highlight, at least for those of us less easily amused by animated bathing products. "Nice and Clean" boasts vintage beats straight out of a Klymaxx song and a funny breakdown moment when one band member chastises the other for forgetting to wash his hands before touching the keyboard. Maybe you had to have been into Midnight Star in 1983 to get it (did I just admit to that?). Or maybe my son’s just more interested in funny creatures than bearded old-school beat-crafters. Either way, it’s his loss. Now he’s downstairs throwing plastic balls at his mother’s head. I’m gonna go watch that Chromeo song one more time without him.

Who else enjoys Foofa, Plex, and the gang, with or without their kids as an excuse?

More ‘Yo Gabba Gabba’:
Jack Black rocks ‘Yo Gabba Gabba’ and more first looks

Feb 27 2009 02:30 PM ET

Nice. You made Jeremy Piven cry.

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Piven_lI trust you saw the news yesterday that Jeremy Piven avoided censure from Actors’ Equity over his abrupt exit from the Broadway show Speed-the-Plow in December, which he blamed on mercury poisoning. Well, after an official statement from his reps, he also gave an emotional interview to the NY Times during which he cried, not once, but twice recounting the utter exhaustion he felt during the play’s run. (Medical tests showed he had toxic levels of mercury, he says, due to his habit of eating fish twice a week for years.) "At times I was incapable of getting enough oxygen to get my lines out on stage, and sometimes I’d forget where I was in the play," he said. "This misconception that I was out partying was wrong. My problem was that as soon as I woke up, I wanted to figure out a way to get back into bed."

Now, I know a lot of you scoffed when you first heard that Ari Gold himself was claiming mercury poisoning. (I’m looking at you, David Mamet.) And I’m sure many of you rolled your eyes over sushi-gate. But read this Times interview, then come back and tell me: How bad do you feel now?

More Jeremy Piven:
Jeremy Piven speaks out on mercury pollution after avoiding union censure
Jeremy Piven quits Broadway to focus on strict regimen of not eating sushi all day
Stage review: ‘Speed the Plow’
Ari Gold on the art of the deal
Ausiello Files: Piven roasts the Emmy hosts
Emmys 2008: Backstage with Jeremy Piven

Feb 27 2009 02:16 PM ET

Chen Xiao has a bail-out plan -- fueled by the Internet, of course

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ChenxiaCNN has a report up this morning about Chen Xiao, a woman in China who’s figured out this whole "worldwide financial crisis" thing. Since December, she’s been allowing Chinese Internet users to contract her services through her online shop for $3 an hour. She seems open to whatever anyone requests, as long as it’s not illegal, immoral, or, you know, gross. "When I first started there was this man who would send me these really disgusting text messages." she says.

Mostly, her job sounds like running errands. She’s been asked to do everything from getting pet food to taking pictures at the birth of a baby. She’s not sure how long she’ll keep it up but says, "If somebody asks you to do something, something simple, and you do it, it can make you very happy. You can change from a gloomy person to a very bright one. It can help give you a new sense of self-esteem." I don’t know about you, but I think this story sounds like the perfect premise for an old-school TV series about a young woman running around solving people’s problems — sort of like Highway to Heaven without the angels. What do you think? Is her plan crazy, or sweet and kind of genius?

Feb 27 2009 01:00 PM ET

'America's Next Top Model' casting director talks shorties, what not to wear

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , , , ,

Topmodelcastingtyra_lHoping to get the scoop on the story behind America’s Next Top Model‘s decision to fill season 13 with contestants 5’7" and under, PopWatch phoned the show’s long-time casting director, Michelle Mock-Falcon, and asked what gives. Haven’t we been told for 11 seasons (the 12th cycle premieres March 4 on The CW), that short is bad (hence 5’7" being the show’s previous minimum height requirement)? Why the sudden "short cycle"?

"Since the show started, we’ve always had girls under 5’7" asking and begging, quite frankly, Tyra to please give them a chance," she says. "I mean, she would get stopped in the street, in restaurants, anywhere, by girls asking how they can do it being as short as they are. We’ve been thinking about it for a while now, what a great opportunity to give these girls that opportunity. The show is all about opportunity…." But will these girls seriously have the opportunity to work after the show ends? "Kate Moss is a prime example," she says. "Tyra knows a stream of supermodels that are under that size and are very successful, so she said, ‘Why not?’ It’s gonna be all about the face and the package as a whole." (Since we’ve long stopped expecting any model on this show to actually be "super," we didn’t press her.)

As we’ve already noted, the Top Model application does say, "Producers reserve the right to make case-by-case exceptions" in casting, so if you’re 5’9" and fierce and have a backstory, cause. or prejudice that could make for great TV you might still want to attend one of the open casting calls, which begin Saturday, Feb. 28, in Miami. (Men, you’re still a tough sell, sorry. "Who knows?" Mock-Falcon says. "Maybe one of these days she’s gonna give the guys an opportunity. We get guys that come to the auditions all the time. They’re begging us to do males as well. Maybe they’ll get their wish, too.")

For those of you planning on auditioning for cycle 13, here are Mock-Falcon’s two top tips: (1) "Wear a tank top, jeans, and heels. I think girls think if they come like that, they’ll feel underdressed. Then they’reshocked if I call back the one girl in the line that’s Plain Jane. They’re like, ‘Ohmygod, I got this, I spent thismuch money.’ It’s not about that.’" (2) "Come as natural as can be. We’ve had girls who’ve had to go take all their makeup off because they have so much of it on. Girls come in wigs and all sorts of things. Really, we just need to see through all of that."

Feb 27 2009 12:32 PM ET

Jeff Probst blogs 'Survivor: Tocantins' (episode 3)

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Filed under: About Last Night, Television and tagged: , , , ,

Jeffprobst2_l_2Jeff gets talking about last night’s ousted contestant right away, so click after the jump if you’re not worried about spoilers.

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Feb 27 2009 12:00 PM ET

Jake Owen: The EW Pop Culture Personality Test

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Jakeowen_lIn April, Jake Owen will be vying for the titles of Top New Male Artist and Vocal Event of the Year (for his "Life in a Northern Town" collaboration with Sugarland and Little Big Town) at the Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas. Earlier this week, however, after he rocked Good Morning America in support of his second album, Easy Does It — and before he flew home to Tennessee for a party celebrating his cover of Nashville Lifestyles magazine, which dubbed him country music’s most eligible bachelor — he grabbed a beer with EW in New York City and took the prize for our most revealing Pop Culture Personality Test yet. And not just because he talked about buying condoms…

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Billy Currington told us he hasn’t had a TV since, like, 2001. Say you own a TV, even if you’re lying.
JAKE OWEN: I do have a TV, but I never watch it. I can’t stand to just sit there. If I’m gonna sit down, I usually play guitar or I play with my dog [a bulldog named Vern, after country great Vern Gosdin]. I’ve been dating a girl [2006 Miss Tennessee USA Lauren Grissom] for a while, and she was mad because I don’t have a TV anywhere in my house other than in the downstairs area. I was like, Why? If you’re gonna be in the bedroom, there ain’t no need for a TV. You know what I mean? [Laughs] If you’re that bored, then we don’t need to be dating.

You were on the road to becoming a professional golfer. [After a waterskiing accident in college, he had reconstructive shoulder surgery that put his left arm in a sling for months. That's when he picked up the guitar.] Who’s the best celebrity golfer you’ve encountered?
That’s what kind of bothers me: When I see Golf Digest and they rate the top celebrity golfers, my name’s not ever on there. Not to be cocky, but I’ll take on anybody.

Will you take on Justin Timberlake, who was ranked No. 15 among musicians in 2008?
There’s not a lot of things that I could tell you I’d take Justin Timberlake at, but I would smoke him in a game of golf. Tell JT to bring it. I’ve already tried to set that up.

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Feb 27 2009 11:30 AM ET

Jonas Brothers: Enough with the boots, okay?

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , ,

Jonasbrothersboots_lBy some miracle, even working here at EW, I’ve managed to stay clear of the tunes these brothers have turned out. I know as little about them as possible. I know they are spawns of Disney, I know they wear promise rings, and I heard that they are in fact biological brothers. (Joe Jonas, I think your mother may have had a brief encounter with the milkman, because I’m not seeing the resemblance.)

I can’t help but notice, though, that they have a unique fashion sense. I can appreciate people who want their fashion to speak to their personality; I find that mildly refreshing. However, after seeing the movie stills for their new 3-D flick, I’m going to have to suggest they replace their stylists. This boots-over-the-pants phenomenon is not a trend that should ever cross genders. Nutmeg Man, a.k.a. John Legend, couldn’t pull it off, either. Leave this particular trend for the horse jockeys and us women.

What do you think, do you appreciate the Jonas Brothers’ style for the most part? What other stars unique looks do you admire? Lady Gaga anyone?

Feb 27 2009 11:00 AM ET

Quote of the Day: Rules Were Made to be Broken Edition

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Thewackness_l"Sometimes it’s right to do the wrong thing, and right now is one of those times." — Dr. Jeffrey Squires (Ben Kingsley) in The Wackness

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