Archive: May 2009 (51-60 of 467)

May 27 2009 04:12 PM ET

Dancing Gokey with the Stars?

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Filed under: American Idol and tagged: , , , , ,

Dannygokeydancing_lAmerican Idol second runner-up Danny Gokey has expressed interest in competing on Dancing With the Stars. Way to focus on that music career, sweet songbird. Scream on.

I’d like this to not happen, mostly because I was somehow able to avoid peer pressure from Idolatry‘s anti-Gokey brigade and have somehow managed to remain relatively unbothered by Danny Gokey. I gather that he’s a total doofus, but come on — he was an American Idol contestant. I don’t expect American Idol contestants to be cool. Blasphemy, I know, but I’ve found the only way I can digest the show is if my standards are super low. They make my midseason breakthrough revelations — "Wait a minute…Adam Lambert seems smart!" — much more satisfying.

But back to Gokey. I’m not sure I’m ready for another season’s worth of Gokey on the television, especially since (as EW’s DWTS TV Watcher) my fast-forward button would be off-limits. Welcome to Gokey in Real Time, Annie! Gokey getting a spray tan. Gokey mouthing the words to his Viennese Waltz accompaniment. Gokey wedging a meaty palm in Cheryl Burke’s crotch for a probably illegal lift.  I’m sure I’d begin to dislike him in episode 1! I suppose it would be about time.

P-Dubs, what do you think? Should there be a one-reality-show limit for all attention-mongering humans? Would you watch Gokey on DWTS because you love him? Because you hate him? For the sheer spectacle of it all? Would you rather see Scott MacIntyre, who told Slezak he’d want to do DWTS, try it out? Or will you never watch that ridiculous show ever in your life regardless of who’s on it, because YOU’VE GOT STANDARDS, DAMMIT?

May 27 2009 04:06 PM ET

Zune HD: Is a touch screen enough?

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Zunehd_lTiny software start-up Microsoft announced a big development for its Zune today: Zune HD! And the Internet heaved a collective sigh of "no joke."  Indeed the Zune HD — in all its touch-screen glory — has been a badly kept secret for months. But now the zunecat’s out of the zunebag, although pricing and capacity are still under zunewraps.

The new gizmo, set to come out this fall, sports a 16:9 widescreen, though the "HD" in the name is a teeeeeny bit  misleading: It’s HD radio, no video, though the gadget can do HD video output with the right docking station. That means  you can use the Zune HD like a portable HD player, but you still need an HD monitor (like your HDTV) to actually view it.

The major development is Microsoft integrating Zune HD with Xbox Live, though details of said integration won’t be available until the dog-and-pony show at E3 next week. Games? Something along the lines of an app store? A magical download that turns your Zune into a wand that grants wishes and makes kittens giggle? Anything is possible, you guys.

Confession: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Zune out in the wild. I’ve seen it in photos online, I’ve heard people use it as a punchline, and it comes up on my favorite podcast now and then.

Is the ZHD a splashy enough product to entice would-be iPod folk to switch? Is the draw of an HD radio a big enough deal — or will the Xbox Live integration be the real draw?What do you think, PopWatchers? Any hardcore Zuneophiles out there?

May 27 2009 03:23 PM ET

'Anchorman 2'? That is not a typo on the Teleprompter.

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Filed under: Movies and tagged:

Anchorman_lGreat Odin’s raven! An Anchorman sequel might finally be moving forward. Last year, Will Ferrell told EW.com that he and Anchorman director Adam McKay were working on a followup that would bring classy 1970s newsman Ron Burgandy into the 1980s. By the hammer of Thor! On Monday, Ferrell, in Australia promoting Land of the Lost, told Aussie radio hosts Jono & Dano (fastforward to the 8:20 mark) that he expected to meet with Paul Rudd and Steve Carell "next week" to discuss ideas…and salaries: "[Because] believe me, I’m not taking a pay-cut. No way!" Sweet Eli Whitney’s nose! While we make some phone calls to confirm these promising rumors, enjoy a little afternoon delight (and tell us what ’80s tune you’d like the news team to croon a cappella):

May 27 2009 03:00 PM ET

Seth Green on ABC's 'Un-Broke' special, his new Adult Swim show, and 'Robot Chicken'

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , ,

We’ve known Seth Green had a serious side to him since he took the EW Pop Culture Personality Test last fall and told us that the last time he yelled at the TV was when Joe Biden and Sarah Palin debated health care. This Friday, he’s among the stars (including Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, and the Jonas Brothers) bringing humor to ABC’s Un-Broke: What You Need to Know About Money special (May 29, 9 p.m. ET). Hosted by Good Morning America‘s financial contributor Mellody Hobson, Un-Broke aims to educate children and adults about credit cards, mortgages, the stock market indexes, investing, 401(k) plans, and recovering from a personal credit crisis. Green phoned us to chat about his Cribs-inspired sketch, embedded below, and, because everyone is forced to multi-task in this economy, also his new Adult Swim series Titan Maximum, and the upcoming/very special Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II DVD release.

 

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you get involved in Un-Broke, and where did the idea for your bit, on potential homeowners buying what they can afford, come from?
SETH GREEN: I know Mellody Hobson, and she asked me if I wanted to be a part of it. It was all their idea. They were lookin’ for a way to talk to kids about how to preserve the security of their financial future in a way that didn’t seem dry. In this day and age, our attention spans are so short because we’re just being bombarded with infinite amounts of media everyday. You can see it reflected in the fact that if an actor doesn’t have a movie out at that moment, people are like, "What the hell is that actor doing?" Green Day’s album and Eminem’s album came out, and I didn’t even know. I can guarantee both of their distribution companies were advertising the hell out of it. There’s too much information. There’s a lot of basic how-to truths to living that are getting lost because no one’s taking the time to explain them to kids, and kids, quite frankly, don’t have the interest or attention span to learn stuff that isn’t fun. I think Mellody’s whole plan was to try to make this necessary education a little more fun and relatable so that kids who have no idea how to make sure they’re not broke by the time they’re 17 have something that they can listen to without getting exhausted.

Has the economy affected the Robot Chicken offices?
Well, we used to have $30 to make this show, and now we’ve got $29.60. We’ve had to tighten our belts a little bit. Not as many Mike and Ikes in the candy dish. [Laughs]

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May 27 2009 01:00 PM ET

Clip du Jour: Pigeons vs. Spider-Man

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With great power comes great responsibility. And with a great big bag of seeds comes a great number of pigeons. I’m not sure why this is so funny to me, but it is! [Via Buzzfeed]

May 27 2009 12:00 PM ET

Must List poll: What is the best reality-competition TV show of the summer?

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Filed under: Television and tagged: ,

EW’s annual Must List issue is coming in June (get excited!), but until then we need your help. Each day for the next two weeks, we’ll be asking you a series of Must-y questions that you can conveniently vote on in poll form.

First up: reality-competition TV, of which there is plenty this summer. Does Tim Gunn’s calming presence put Project Runway on your Must List? Or does the fact that you can feed your voyeuristic tendencies by watching Big Brother on CBS, Showtime, and the Internet (CBS.com) make it your top choice? Vote below!

 
May 27 2009 10:00 AM ET

Quote of the Day: 'Futurama' edition

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"Femputer sentences them to death…by snu snu!" — Femputer on Futurama

May 27 2009 12:19 AM ET

Jon Peters' Hollywood tell-all proposal: Will anyone air all their dirty laundry in this town again?

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Jonpeters_lIn an event reminiscent of a bygone Hollywood era, producer Jon Peters — the former hairdresser-turned Hollywood playboy-turned co-honcho of Sony Pictures — re-entered the town’s gossip mill last week as he ignited a brush fire of controversy. First, a proposal for his memoirs leaked online, promising to leave no piece of dirty laundry in the proverbial hamper. Then, days later and under threat of lawsuit (Hollywood’s version of knee-capping), Peters put the project on hold. What’s interesting here is not that some superstars and their lawyers sent Peters scampering. It’s that Peters, still a powerful producer (Superman Returns), is among the last of a dying breed of large-living Hollywood players who flaunted their outsize egos and eccentricities and made the business of making movies worth reading about. These days, the guys running show business are as discreet and vigilant as Secret Service agents. Is it any wonder that the movies they make are so formulaic and safe?   

Granted, the proposal, written in the most self-aggrandizing language imaginable, was undoubtedly full of embellishment. Peters cast himself as a rags-to-riches character of such mytho-operatic proportions that a Jackie Collins/Joseph Campbell collaboration couldn’t have dreamed up anything more over-the-top and full of portent. By his account, he’s the womanizing Beverly Hills hair stylist upon whom Warren Beatty’s character in Shampoo was modeled. His list of conquests is too long to name in full, but he claims that its highlights include Barbra Streisand, Sharon Stone, and Kim Basinger. He’s also the guy who somehow made the unheard-of segue from trophy date to studio chief when he and Peter Guber were handed the keys to Columbia and Sony in the early ’90s and nearly ran the place into the ground. All of which makes for great copy — Peters has traded on it his entire career — the likes of which we just don’t see anymore in Hollywood.

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May 26 2009 11:45 PM ET

Kate Moss, novelist? I just died a little inside

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Katemoss_lKate Moss, author? Although Hell hasn’t frozen over yet, the supermodel just might be able to add that credential to her resume. Believe it or not, Moss is rumored to be teaming up with a ghostwriter (singer-turned-writer Louise Wener) to pen a novel about a young model plucked from obscurity and hurled into the spotlight (her reps have yet to return EW’s confirmation requests). To which I say: Really, Kate? Now, I understand that book sales are often celebrity-driven — I’m sure a doodle book by Stephen Baldwin would even attract a few consumers — but is the literary universe really begging for a Kate Moss byline? And if Moss is going to write a book, why not give us what we want: a full-fledged memoir, not just a thinly veiled novelization of her life?

Of course, at this point, we’re working on pure conjecture, so it’s hard to judge any future Kate Moss-branded novels. But if said novel does end up on the bookstands, I have a feeling it might resemble L.A. Candy, Lauren Conrad’s upcoming YA novel about a California girl who moves to the big city, only to find herself smack dab in the middle of a reality series (original, no?). And while Conrad’s novel does actually provide a bit of insight into the world of fake-reality television, I doubt Moss will be able to honestly portray the world of modeling without inciting a media s—storm. Finally, England already has one author named Kate Mosse, so why add to the confusion?

Anyway, would you read a Kate Moss novel? Or would you, like me, prefer to leave writing to the John Updikes and Margaret Atwoods of the world?

May 26 2009 11:27 PM ET

Pop culture pet peeve: Lacey Smithsonian and other absurd character names

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Csimiami_lWhat does the name "Lacey Smithsonian" conjure for you? Maybe you’re a fan of Ellen Byerrum’s Crime of Fashion series? Or maybe you’re looking forward to the Lifetime movies based on those books this summer. But I don’t care how street smart this crime-solving fashion reporter is: All I can think about is my Pop Culture Pet Peeve. Ridiculous Names, you drive me crazy!* And not in the fun, we’ll-get-together-at-the-end-of-this-rom-com way. In the real way.

Historically, my least-favorite, OMG-no-one-is-named-that name might be "Serena Sutherlyn" on L&O, although "Arizona Robbins" on Grey’s Anatomy definitely earns a spot on my wall of shame. (I’m excluding soaps and shows like Gossip Girl that acknowledge, embrace, or otherwise use unusual nomenclature as part of the essence of the show.) CSI: Miami is an across-the-board offender — Horatio Caine, Alexx Woods, Calleigh Duquesne — unlike most cop shows, which tend to pass the "Does this sound real?" test. Next season, we’ll have to tolerate such names as "Auggie Kirkpatrick" (new Melrose Place) and "Chloe Payne" (on Mercy), both of which might as well be "[Nails on a chalkboard sound] Jones." Seriously, drag queens have more believable names.

What about you, PWers? Are there character names that make you batty?

*My obsession with character names hardly ends there: Why must characters named Sookie have unusual last names that start with S? Sookie St. James on Gilmore Girls, Sookie Sapperstein in Igby Goes Down, Sookie Stackhouse on True Blood…three is a trend, so QED.

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