Mean Magazine is lining up stars to reenact famous scenes from movies, and first out of the gate is the summer's most squee-inducing duo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel as Sid and Nancy. Go!
The full video isn't embeddable, sadly, but it is hilarious. Just me, or can JGL really rock a wig?
Somewhere in my past or childhood, I must have done something pretty darn good, because hallelujah holy Moses, Dead Like Me is now on Hulu. All of it! Both seasons!
For a show with such a stunning pedigree — holla atcha, Bryan Fuller; we still love you — DLM flew kind of under the radar. It's a show I recommend to people all the time, especially to anyone who mentions liking Pushing Daisies or, seriously, Our Town. That whole "I can't go on. It goes so fast. We don't have time to look at one another" vibe? Combine that with a sense of whimsy and some hyperliteracy, and poof! Dead Like Me, the story of a group of Grim Reapers as told by their youngest member, the angsty college dropout George.
Who's with me, PopWatchers? Did you love this show when it was on, and are you pumped that its made its Web debut?
According to Google's release, the Chrome OS will be "open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks." Fancy!
The major difference between the Chrome OS and the current OS you're probably using is that Chrome will be more Web-oriented, rather than desktop oriented.I'm excited to see Chrome's development because in the last few years, like a lot of peeps, I too have shifted to be more Web-oriented. I type stories in Google Docs, not Word. I edit photos using Picnik, not Photoshop. I play Web-based games, not downloaded ones, and I listen to more music via websites than I do in iTunes. In other words, there are a lot of ways I'm using a browser as a sort of OS already; if there's an OS designed for that, so much the better. Minus a crystal ball, we can't know exactly what Chrome will be like, but so far I've been almost stupidly satisfied with the ways Google has taken over my life so far — would you ever go back to non-Gmail e-mail? I wouldn't. If Chrome can capture a shred of that, it will instantly become my browser of choice.
What about you, PopWatchers? Will you be saying hasta la Vista and heading to Chrome?
* If there had been a way to get "Chrome on the range," "there's no place like Chrome," "Chrome decorating," "Chrome alone," "Chrome sick," "hold the Chrome," or "Chromoerotic" into this post, I would have. Oh, well.
![6a00d8341bf6c153ef011570b81c38970c-pi[1]](http://ewpopwatch.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/6a00d8341bf6c153ef011570e5688e970c-800wi "6a00d8341bf6c153ef011570b81c38970c-pi[1]")
Gangster Movies: The Hip-Hop Connection
Def Jam Records founder Russell Simmons will tell you what the gangster film has meant to him: "Scarface was about empowerment at all costs [and so is] hip-hop." In the 1980s, the gangster film was mostly something studied in film school, and it was commonly thought that its masterpiece era — the first two Godfather movies — had been reached, and the genre could have fallen into obscurity. Instead, it found a whole new life and a whole new audience among a certain group of hip-hop musicians who latched on to gangster movies as metaphors for tough life out on the streets. The first hardcore "gangsta" record — possibly the first to use that phrase on a hit song, at any rate — may well have been "Park Side Killers," by the Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D in 1985. That same year, LL Cool J spoke, on the album Radio, of being "a hip-hop gangsta." 
After the jump: Why gangster movies appeal to hip-hop artists
Hulu is streaming the first eight minutes of the film, and although Renner isn't in the scene, I've embedded it below anyway. What's on your Must List this week, PopWatchers? List up to three items from current TV/movies/music/books/games/online. Don't forget your e-mail address, in case we decide to use your submission in the magazine. Deadline is Thursday, July 9 at noon ET.
I missed last night’s premiere of the newly minted Syfy Channel’s Warehouse 13 — though judging by Ken Tucker’s take, I didn’t miss much — in favor of catching up with a couple of DVR’d episodes of Kings. You remember Kings, don’t you? That fantastic NBC show that reconceptualizes and recontexualizes the story of David, he who slew Goliath? The one that has Ian McShane melting a hole through the screen with sheer acting luminescence? The one nobody watched and is now being unceremoniously burned off on Saturday nights?
That Kings. So, as I was sitting there, basking in the plummy, almost Arthurian dialogue and the stentorian production design, I had an epiphany: Why doesn’t Syfy pick up Kings? Given that part of their whole name-change raison d’etre is to be able to program beyond the sci-fi spectrum, they could do far worse than roll the dice on a show as well-produced as this one.
Yes, I know, there is the whole “Kings had less viewers than my honeymoon video” problem. I firmly believe that isn’t the show’s fault; it’s NBC’s. They had no idea how to market Kings, so they mismarketed it: all those mysterious butterfly posters and trailers that told you nothing about the show besides that it was pretty and it had McShane in nice suits. Was it science fiction? An alternate reality? A soap opera? All of the above? John Rogers, executive producer of TNT’s Leverage, summed up the misfire — and missed opportunity — quite succinctly: “After years of the cultural Right bitching and moaning about how Hollywood doesn’t provide for them, NBC could have gone to every evangelical church in America and said ‘We’re serializing the story of King David in a modern, very relatable way. Here you go, a multi-million dollar series, in prime time, based on a Bible story. You’re frikkin’ welcome.’”
That’s still money left on the table, Syfy. Money that could be yours. The stink of failure would fade, in time, and you’d be left with one of the best shows on television, one that could fill the sucking vacuum left by Battlestar Galactica, and you could sell those DVD sets to church congregations, Sunday schools, and synagogues until kingdom come.
Just look at this clip; listen to the words, watch McShane work like the devil himself, and wonder why you don’t deserve more of this on TV:
Did you know about Kings while it was on? Would you watch it if someone levied some confidence behind it?
We may watch this show twice a week, and with ardent enthusiasm, but we've got to face facts: It's sort of the dumb cousin of other, better reality competitions. Our judges don't have the instant quotability of a Simon, Paula, or Randy. Show name to the contrary, our contestants do not have the talent of a So You Think You Can Dance or Top Chef. And the theme music! (Don't get me started.) At the end of the day, America's Got Talent is summer filler — something to prevent your TiVo from atrophying while you await the return of fall TV. But it's sometimes fun, occasionally heartwarming. And it tries — Lord, how it tries.
You've got to give the ATG editors credit for attempting to wring some dramatic tension from the "lack of talent" at the Hollywood auditions. From the first performer, an androgynous singer called "Nasty Nate," through the fifth, a 49-year-old nurse (who had everyone thinking "Boyle?" until they thought "Not Boyle"), last night's early round had the judges cursing Tinseltown and making plenty of "worst day ever" remarks. Was it really? Of course not. The televised order of performances hardly reflects the actual auditions. But it gave the show 1) a great excuse to have The Hoff don his Baywatch jacket and attempt to "save" the auditions* and 2) a perfect set up for some talent redemption later on.
The debt-ridden City of Los Angeles has set up a Web page inviting its citizens to contribute money to help defray the significant costs of Michael Jackson's recent memorial. At the link, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa requested that folks "Help the City of Angels provide the extraordinary public safety resources required to give Michael the safe, orderly and respectful memorial he deserves…If you're a Michael fan, consider giving a small donation to help us celebrate his extraordinary life and music."
Hmmm. As much as I appreciate Michael's artistry, and agree his life deserves to be memorialized, I'm not sure I'll be logging-in to my PayPal account any time soon. Isn't this like being invited to a friend's New Year's Eve party, and before old acquaintances can even be forgotten, your host hands you a check on Jan. 1? I was 3,000 miles away, so I can only imagine how the Los Angeles-areapeople feel about this after already being inconvenienced by the circussurrounding the tribute.
I understand L.A. is in a financial bind, and I know many of the city's merchants inevitably profited from the event, but please explain to me why the public should shoulder the burden. Surely, Joe Jackson's new record company can pitch in a few mil, right?
How much will you be donating to this cause?
More Michael Jackson memorial service:
Michael Jackson memorial: Ken Tucker's review
Michael Jackson memorial: Who was that singing "Heal the World"?
Michael Jackson memorial: Which performance moved you most?
Sacha Baron Cohen stopped by The Late Show with David Letterman last night to promote his upcoming film, Bruno, and his appearance was full of surprises. For one, he came as himself — not as his outrageously gay alter ego. Then he regaled Dave with the story of his quest to find and interview a real terrorist for the film. "It's not that easy to find an actual terrorist. In fact, your government has been looking for one for about nine years," he joked. Watch:
Honestly, I'll never know whether to believe Baron Cohen, but that hardly matters, I suppose. After some quick research, however, I do have to correct him about one point: There is, in fact, a Beirut Craigslist, so maybe locating a terrorist isn't as difficult as you might think.
Were you anticipating him to appear as "Brüno," PopWatchers? Do you have any difficulty believing his terrorist story, and are you interested in a sublet in Hamra?
So look. I know some of you are probably scoffing at the folly of this exercise, thinking to yourselves, "What's the point? The nods are — as uzh — going to go to James Spader, Hugh Laurie, Holly Hunter, and Mariska Hargitay (even though SVU has gone completely off the rails)." But with Emmy opening up room for a sixth nominee in its main races, maybe there's cause for a little optimism, for the belief that heretofore brilliant-but-unheralded performances might make the Academy of Television Arts and Science' grade. (Of course, if your ideal candidates don't get recognized, they might wind up with a nomination in EW.com's second annual EWwy Awards.) So check out Gold Derby's list of front-runners in the men's and women's lead drama races, then tell us who you'd like to see get his/her name called on July 16. In the meantime, here are four folks I'm rooting for:
Mary McDonnell, Battlestar Galactica: Seriously, Emmy, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE. McDonnell's been revelatory for four seasons of BSG, and her final episodes showcased some of her finest work, as her Laura Roslin convincingly shifted from flirtatious lover to defiant cancer patient to resurgent fleet heroine. Failure to recognize her genius would be like calling Bill Gates a small business owner or saying Michael Phelps is just an okay swimmer. (Okay, so those are frakked up examples, but you know what else is frakked up? The inevitability of another McDonnell snub!)
Edward James Olmos, Battlestar Galactica: Can you imagine one of the best SciFi dramas in recent TV history without Olmos' stoic-but-tender performance? Yeah, me neither. If McDonnell gets her due, so should this dude. So say we all? So say we all!
Regina King, Southland: Maybe her role is too subtle for Emmy voters, but with a single facial expression, the 227 vet Ray star can deliver the equivalent of 1,000 lines of dialog. Witness that rush of maternal love when her Det. Lydia Adams cradles an abandoned baby, or the ferocious lioness who's unleashed when gang members descend on her house to try to gun down a young witness, or even the weary singleton who strains to smile her way through another doomed lunch date. Is there anything King can't do? (And don't answer me by asking, "Win over fusty Emmy voters?")
Simon Baker, The Mentalist: Yes, his CBS crime procedural is a breezy trifle, but is there any TV star who's more enjoyable to watch than Baker? His Patrick Jane may not pack the gravitas of characters in more Important Series, but damned if I didn't find myself completely submerged in his world for an hour every Tuesday night last season.
All right, PopWatchers…you've got my list of Emmy longshots in the Lead Actor/Actress Drama catgeories, now it's time to head to the message boards and share yours (along with your reasons why). Ready, set, argue!
addCredit("Carole Segal/SyFy(2); Robert Voets/NBC")
Related stories:
Michael Ausiello's Dream Emmy Ballot: Best Lead Actor and Actress (drama)
2008's EWwy winners
Marc Bernardin recaps (and pays tribute to) the 'Battlestar Galactica' finale
