Idolatry producer Jason Averett is still under the weather, but he dragged himself to the office today to finish editing our final regular episode of the season — not counting next week's bonus LaKisha Jones performance, of course! — and we hope you'll agree it was worth the wait. Press play below to get our five-part Kris Allen interview, where the season 8 champ talks about overcoming his early cannon-fodder status, struggling during his duet with Danny Gokey, and dismissing critics who say he's not as good a singer as some of his Idol competitors. Kris also weighs in on which former contestants advanced his Idol aspirations, what part of the Idol stage future contestants should always avoid, and why he was confident America would love his unexpected Kanye West cover during final three week.
He has already tackled brains, safety, and, naturally, chairs, but Demetri Martin has officially been given the go-ahead by Comedy Central to address another slew of important things for a second season of his clever show, Important Things With Demetri Martin. To which I say: woot! This news makes me feel so warm and fuzzy, I just might buy a De Veers ring for Comedy Central to toast the occasion.
That said, I hope the brainy comedian decides to make just a few changes in season 2. For one, I would love to see a yellow belt toss out Martin's ho-hum yellow belt sketches. And for whatever reason, I never jumped on board with his slam poet champion. But here's hoping Martin holds onto the show's most important element: plenty of hysterical pie charts and graphs — as well as guest spots from the likes of John Oliver and David Cross — to accompany his hit-or-miss sketches.
What changes, if any, would you like to see in season 2? And what important things should Martin address? I vote hair, cheese, and Patrick Swayze movies. Because what's more vital to life than Roadhouse? Finally, enjoy one of my favorite sketches from season 1 — "Urinal Talk" — below!
How deep is your love for Twilight: Deep enough to go on a week-long Alaskan cruise if the only stars you were promised — so far — are Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen) and Kellan Lutz (Emmett Cullen)? I'm sure the actors are lovely people, who will be in it to win it at the Q&A and autograph sessions and costume ball, but this star power would not be enough to make this the Alaskan cruise I'm going to take someday. Actually, I don't know that even Robert Pattinson sitting on the veranda of my ocean view suite with his guitar in one hand and a mango margarita for me in the other would get me on this ship — unless EW let me expense it. (Damn economy.)
Who or what would it take to get you on board a fan convention? I fear a semi-lame Buffy the Vampire Slayer conference in 2003 has ruined my enthusiasm for the single-subject fan fete for eternity….
Rumors have been flying around the Internet today that Heidi and Spencer have left I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here. TMZ reported that "a source close to production" says they walkedoff the show for good after the live portion of last night's series premiere, and Daily Fill says Daniel Baldwin will join brother Stephen as their replacement. Repsfor the duo are deferring to NBC, which will only say that we all haveto tune in to find out what happened, and as one of the shameful millions who voluntarily watched last night, I'm of two minds about this. On one hand, I'm overjoyed to hear that my television won't be emitting any more of the high-pitched barking that I'm told is Heidi's speaking voice. And the thought of never again seeing Spencer cover his woolly head in something called "dry shampoo" leaves me at ease. But my happiness is put on hold by a nagging thought: The show will be less fun without them.
Between the constant hissy fits and the moments of stomach-churning codependence, The Hills' duo all but turned last night's episode into an hour-long infomercial for own their two-person cult of craziness. They lasted about five seconds into their stint before threatening to leave for the first time, each for their own warped reason. Spencer, as always, had business in mind. "This cast is devaluing our fame," he hissed to NBC honcho Ben Silverman on a satellite phone. But Heidi, clinging to her man like a fanny pack, said she had a more immediate worry: "I cannot not have sex with you for that long."
Then there was the business with the hair products, a few more aborted escapes, and some brain-bending shots of Heidi committing metaphorical cannibalism by eating roasted scorpions whole. By the end of the episode, the couple had ticked off pretty much every other cast member, turning themselves into the de facto stars of the show. "I'm a villain, so why wouldn't I want my brand being negative everywhere?" Spencer asks. Why, indeed? They are hired "bad guys," and they're good at their job.
So if the Pratt pack really is gone, what's left for us? Scenes of Lou Diamond Phillips thoughtfully delegating work as the team leader? Hours of twin-speak wisecracks from Frangela? The inevitable Janice Dickinson meltdown followed by the inevitable Janice Dickinson resurrection? Because if that's the case, I have plenty of DVR'd MTV True Life episodes that need watching. I hate to say it, but if Speidi goes, so do I.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Will you watch if Heidi and Spencer leave? Take our poll below and let us know what you think in the comments.
"How very"…encouraging. After months of speculation, Winona Ryder said in an interview appearing in the July issue of Empire that a sequel to the 1988 cult film is in the works. "I swear to God," she said. "But for some reason Dan [Waters, writer] and Michael [Lehmann, director] don't want to talk about it." Maybe you shouldn't be talking about it then, lady! Oh, but she went on. "There is a story, and Christian [Slater] has agreed to come back as a kind of Obi-Wan character."
This just got good. When I first heard rumors of a "new Heathers," I imagined a pointless remake along the lines of Footloose or the recently announced Girls Just Want To Have Fun. But a sequel? I love Heathers more than I love BBQ Corn Nuts, but how exactly might a Heathers sequel work? If J.D. has become an Obi-Wan type, will Shannen Doherty play a droid who manages a vintage shop specializing in late-'80s fashion hats? Will the teen queens abandon croquet for Wii Croquet?
Who else would be psyched for a freaky-sounding Heathers sequel? Or Wii Croquet? I'm digging Wii Croquet. You could choose which Heather (or Veronica) you wanted to be. And which color. Except red. Heather Chandler is always red.
If you needed any reassurance that the videogame industry is doing just fine, thank you very much, then Microsoft's E3 press conference Monday morning provided it. Hundreds of journalists and industry members crammed into the Galen Center in Los Angeles, creating an unending sea of Twittering laptops and iPhones. The fellow next to me had journeyed all the way from Sweden to be here. Luckily for him, and us, Microsoft delivered. It was a splashy presentation with surprising star voltage — look, it's Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr! And what's this? Steven Spielberg at a video game show? But all the razzle-dazzle didn't overshadow the fact that Microsoft had some pretty substantial products to show off.
The coolest, by far, is a motion-capture camera for the Xbox 360 that Microsoft is currently calling Project Natal. This is what's making Spielberg so excited. Natal, which looks like a rectangular bar that sits above or below your TV, can track your body's movements in three dimensions. Thus, there's no need for a game controller, or as Don Mattrick, the senior VP of Xbox, puts it, "We're using the best controller ever invented: you."
Natal is Microsoft's response to Nintendo's extremely successful Wii, and it promises to trump the Wii in a couple of ways. First off, Natal utilizes face recognition — simply stand in front of your TV, and Natal will figure out who you are and sign you in. Second, Natal features voice recognition, so you can use verbal commands to do everything from playing a movie (simply say "play movie") to having a conversation with a virtual character. The latter is where we enter groundbreaking (and potentially unnerving) territory. Developer Lionhead Studios showed off a Natal project in which players can interact with a virtual boy named Milo, who responds to your voice, movements, and facial expressions. It's best to check out the demo video yourself, embedded below:
With inventions such as Natal, we're quickly approaching a future in which humans can partake in a virtual experience that's nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. And then we'll be faced with intriguing decisions: If a skateboarding video game requires the same body movements as actual skateboarding, why not simply go outside and ride a skateboard? If you can have authentic conversations with a virtual person, will you choose to do so — possibly at the expense of your true relationships? For now, let's admit that Microsoft's Natal made quite an impression. There's no word yet on when the device will be available or how much it'll cost, but it will be compatible with every Xbox 360 system.
PopWatchers, what do you make of Natal? Think it'll be the death of the Nintendo Wii? Or are you not convinced? And who here thinks Milo is a bit too charming for his own good? I think the little guy may be up to something…Skynet, anyone?
According to Totalscifionline.com, Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley, the heroine of the Alien films, tops a list of the 25 Women who Shook Sci-Fi. Which is fine and defensible and totally right — Aliens, in particular, is a masterful action film entirely about women: two leaders of their respective tribes, engaged in all-out war in defense of their species. In Sigourney's words: "Ripley was like a samurai, a warrior. I'm so glad I got to wear actualclothes instead of a tiny little suit or something. And I'm glad Ididn't feel I had to be glamorous….You didn't haveto be a sex symbol."
But the list — which also lauds Kara Thrace, Dana Scully, and Sarah Connor — loses most of its credibility by putting Buffy Summers in the No. 2 slot. Because, you know, Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn't science fiction. Buffy is fantasy, through and through. Vampires, werewolves, mummies, really hot witches who don't figure out they're hot until they turn all evil and then are even hotter…pure fantasy. (And don't tell me that just because there were robots on Buffy, it's sci-fi. Fail.)
I'm all for celebrating positive female role models in science fiction — the world's girls can always use characters to look up to — but let's get our terminology right.
What do you think? Am I being too harsh on this well-intentioned list? Or should the dudes behind totalscifionline.com know better than to play fast and loose with subjects of such high geek importance?
The media's relentless coverage of President and First Lady Obama's extravagant dinner/theater DATE NIGHT! pissed Jon Stewart off. How are the normals supposed to compete with the studliness exhibited by America's #1 Most Wanted? Skip, if you must, to 3:35 for some practical advice: Men should just pony up already for some POTUS cologne already.
There's a lot of awesome action coming out of E3 this week, but the biggest release might actually be a familiar one: The Sims 3 comes out today. Cue a little green diamond dancing over my head.
The latest installment in the megapopular franchise has more customizable characteristics and more sophisticated AI, but the big change to me is the ability to record in-game movies, which emphasizes and facilitates that Sims-as-performance aspect of the game. (The massively expanded town looks amazing, but that's not a conceptual shift so much as a blanket improvement.)
I know the second I start playing, I'm looking at, oh, hundreds of hours being devoted to this game. What about you, PopWatchers? Are you all Simmed up?
Hot on the heels of the Beatles: Rock Band trailer comes this dark, awesome nugget out of E3: A spot for the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic game. And this may actually be the best two minutes of Star Wars footage I'VE EVER SEEN.
It's amazing what you can do with this universe once you pry it from George Lucas' hands.
Where does this rank for you? Do you, like me, wish you could trade the Clone Wars stuff for a TV series that looks like this? Or am I overselling it a bit? (I'm not, but you're entitled to your opinion…so long as it agrees with mine. Welcome to the Dark Side.)
