Charm Conan. Check. Wink at 50 Cent. Check. Embarrass Andy Richter for not paying his parking tickets 15 years ago. Check. Jane Lynch simply nailed her guest performance on The Tonight Show last night. Let’s hope Lorne Michaels took notice, because she’d kill as host of Saturday Night Live. READ FULL STORY »
Archive: November 2009 (171-180 of 429)
Nov 18
2009
09:04 AM ET
Nov 18
2009
09:00 AM ET
'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia': The cast tells their story
It’s quite fitting that the concept behind It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was born out of a nightmare. (After all, we are talking about a sitcom that follows five deranged losers as they attempt to profit off of dumpster babies, have sex with each others’ mothers, and develop a crack addiction to collect welfare.) One night in 2004, Sunny‘s creator and star Rob McElhenney literally dreamed up an outline for a pilot involving a cancer-plagued man and his insensitive pal. By 2005, McElhenney and co-stars Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton and Kaitlin Olson were shooting a tweaked version of that exact pilot for FX. (Danny DeVito joined the show in season two.) “The show started as a night terror, basically,” says Howerton. “A late-night sweating station.”
These days, however, we imagine McElhenney is having better dreams — season five of the FX comedy has scored an average of nearly two million viewers, and the show was recently picked up for syndication by Comedy Central. A few months ago — while in New York City for their tour of their season four musical finale, “The Nightman Cometh” — EW sat down with the Sunny fivesome to chat about the show’s evolution. Here’s how the series grew into the cult phenomenon it is today. But before you click on the “read full post” link below to read all about it, check out this this exclusive video, filmed on the set of EW’s photo shoot with McElhenney, Day, Olson, Howerton and DeVito. Then head over to EW’s Facebook page for a special pottymouthed bonus video!
Nov 18
2009
09:00 AM ET
Sacha Baron Cohen talks -- as himself!
Beyond discovering that you can lick a nipple—but can’t cup a buttock—in Arkansas, you won’t learn much from NPR’s Brüno-centric interview with Sacha Baron Cohen. But it’s worth checking out anyway, since it’s one of those incredibly rare interviews in which the actor speaks as himself, and not one of his famed outlandish characters (Borat, etc.).
With director Larry Charles in tow, Cohen talks with Fresh Air about some of the film’s most notable scenes—the hunting trip, cage match, etc.—and the dangers he faced while going undercover in the deep South. The most interesting tidbit from the interview: Cohen taped versions of the film’s Ron Paul scene with Tom Ridge, John Bolton, and Gary Bauer. (He says he ultimately went with Paul’s take because of its comedic prowess.)
Do you enjoy Cohen more as his characters, or as himself? Did you, like me, wince just a bit when Charles claimed they were “doing God’s work” while filming? And are you rushing to buy the DVD, which was released yesterday?
Nov 18
2009
08:32 AM ET
'90210' recap: Secrets, secrets are very fun
As we all learned at some point in our lives: “Secrets, secrets are no fun; secrets are for everyone” and last night’s episode of 90210 took that mantra and rolled with it, unveiling some, but not all of everyone’s secrets to those closest to them. The secrets might not have been fun for them, but it certainly made for juicy drama for us. I’ll take you through the tangled web that West Bev weaves since your regular recapper, Jennifer, had the night off.
The meat of the episode focused on the creepy trainwreck-to-be relationship that is Annie and Jasper. The couple, who now sleep at each other’s homes—on a weeknight!—are pretty much head over heels in love with each other, which, as anyone who has graduated from high school will tell you, isn’t love but infatuation. And with it came one of the bigger proclamations of so-called “love”—meeting the parents. Except Jasper’s meet-and-greet with the Wilsons was doomed from the get-go because Dixon had blurted out that Annie’s new boyfriend was a drug dealer. Mom and Pops Wilson were clearly perturbed, making for pretty awkward appetizer conversation that even Deb’s famous dip couldn’t save. READ FULL STORY »
Nov 18
2009
06:13 AM ET
'V' Week 3: Better or worse than last week?
In one week, we will gather here to discuss the calendar year’s final episode of the brand new V. You might want to dress in dark colors, because our meeting might take on the mournful tenor of a wake. ABC will reportedly make a decision on ordering more episodes of the sci-fi reboot based on ratings and audience reaction to this first “pod” of episodes. Based on what I’ve seen so far, I’d say it’s a toss-up. Last week’s episode was mediocre but last night’s episode was an improvement. I enjoyed the mounting intrigue about the Vs—their 20-year history of human infiltration, their addictive, possibly mystical “Bliss,” their uncanny knack for media manipulation and their nifty video camera coats. I want to know more about this mythical John May and the doomed history of the original Fifth Column resistance. Ryan, the reptilian extra-terrestrial in disguise determined to stop his species from doing whatever it is they intend to do with Earth, morphed into a dangerous, cold-blooded rebel leader. His pal Georgie, something of a raving wahoo in the pilot, took on tragic pallor (we learned his family had been killed by the Vs) and became infinitely more interesting. And Anna and Lisa are mother-daughter! I wonder what the family resemblance looks like underneath their respective flesh-suits. READ FULL STORY »
Nov 18
2009
06:00 AM ET
'Melrose Place' recap: The bitch is back...with juicy new secrets
Wow…Amanda Woodward is back and it already feels like Melrose Place has been elevated to another level. This was certainly the reboot’s sharpest, sexiest and bitchiest episode, which I obviously mean as a compliment. Bravo, Heather Locklear, you still know how to rock a mini-skirt and infuse any scene with crackling energy.
Amanda revealed herself as the “W” in PR firm WPK, which is of course Ella’s employer. Amanda, who had been living in New York, swept through the L.A. office with swift firings (casualties included Ella’s boss Caleb) and some sassy talk. “This L.A. branch is drowning in red like a steer in a slaughter house. Now when I hired you to give this place a makeover, I didn’t mean smear it with lipstick and turn it into a five-dollar hooker. This office is pathetic,” Amanda announced with her jaw-dropping entrance.
Amanda had plenty of zingers — after Ella came into her office gushing about how Amanda’s profile in Vanity Fair had inspired her career in PR – the boss cut her off quickly: “Shockingly, I didn’t call you in for your life’s story, but your absentee father and pill-popping mother make for a very juicy tale.” She then told Ella to force Riley to sell the press on a fake bio to make the Anton V Real People jeans ads more interesting. Ella protested at first but Amanda put her in her place: “If you have a problem there’s a long list of eager assistants willing to take your place.” READ FULL STORY »
Nov 17
2009
09:33 PM ET
After Ken Ober's death, remembering the Gen X touchstone 'Remote Control'
Ken Ober, the comedian and TV producer best known for being the host of the late eighties MTV game show Remote Control, died on November 15 at the age of 52. For those of us who were weaned on MTV during the Reagan/Bush era, Remote Control was an important touchstone, tailor-made for Gen Xers—a game show that was all about pop culture, that was deeply ironic about pop culture, that was peppered with absurdist humor from comedian bit players that were about to become household names: Adam Sandler, Denis Leary, Colin Quinn. I remember watching the show religiously with my fellow pop culture-crazed high school friends; it was our Jeopardy! I remember so much of it with great fondness… except for the Ken Ober part. Isn’t that terrible? I feel horrible writing this, considering the only reason why I’m even waxing nostalgic about Remote Control is because of Ober’s death, but for the life of me, as I sit here trying to summon an image of Ober hosting the show, and I can’t. I even had to look on Wikipedia to be reminded that, per the theme song, the whole premise of the show completely hinged on Ken Ober. Reading about his death fills me with melancholy—but to be honest, I think it’s more about feeling me my age and mourning my youth than it is about missing Ken Ober. Nonetheless, allow me to pay some respect to guy whose signature work made me laugh as a kid–and reflected, affirmed and further nourished my own pop culture sensibility.
Photo Credit: Everett Collection
Nov 17
2009
08:37 PM ET
GQ's Men of the Year: Clint Eastwood, Chris Pine, and 'The Hangover Guys'
GQ is about to hit newsstands with its annual Men of The Year issue, but the magazine’s website is offering a sneak peek of its selections and covers. Its picks are organized into categories: President Barack Obama is “Leader of the Year,” Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms—the stars of The Hangover—are “Funnymen of the Year,” Chris Pine (the new Kirk of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek) is “Breakout of the Year,” New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is “Comeback of the Year,” and Clint Eastwood is “Badass of the Year.”
GQ’s MOTY franchise provides a provocative starting place to begin our annual season of awards and looking back. Having had the opportunity to interview Chris Pine for EW’s Star Trek coverage, I second GQ’s motion—the dude exudes superstardom. The Hangover guys deserve all the plaudits coming to them—headlining an R-rated comedy to a $276 million gross is one effin’ amazing feat—but I would have nominated Cooper for Makeover of the Year. Until recently, Cooper for me could only ever be Will Tippin, the nice wimpy reporter guy with hopelessly unrequieted crush on Jennifer Garner’s Sidney Bristow in Alias. Since then, he’s been repositioning himself as Hunky Super-Jerk in movies like Wedding Crashers and He’s Just Not That Into You, but The Hangover was the first movie that really made me buy it. GQ’s exultation of Eastwood feels a little stale—Gran Torino was so last year, because it was last year. (Although I am eager to see Invictus, his newest directorial effort, starring Morgan Freeman and some Chris Pine lookalike named Matt Damon.) And Tom Brady feels a little premature, especially mere days after the Patriots blew a 17 point lead in the fourth quarter to Peyton Manning’s Indianapolis Colts. Now that was a comeback. (In fairness: I actually think Bill made the right call.) (Sorry: I’m a sports geek, too.)
What do you think of GQ’s picks? And if you don’t like ‘em, who would you have selected as men of the year?
Nov 17
2009
06:06 PM ET
AnnaLynne McCord on 90210's Naomi Clark: 'She's the bitch with soul!'
AnnaLynne McCord’s two most famous characters—90210‘s Naomi Clark and Nip/Tuck‘s Eden Lord—have a lot in common: They’re big ol’ B-I-T-C-H-E-S. Naomi, who has been scheming her way around West Beverly High more deliciously than ever this season, is so much the bitch that she recently made EW’s list of Best TV Bitches, which is on newsstands right now. Making the list, which got some expanded treatment here on EW.com, is truly no small feat, as she’s there alongside such awesome TV personalities as Vanessa Williams’ Wilhelmina Slater from Ugly Betty and Ian Somerhalder’s vampire Damon from The Vampire Diaries. READ FULL STORY »
Nov 17
2009
05:43 PM ET
Tim Burton brings us 30 seconds of awesome
Any New York-based Tim Burton fan should rush over to 53rd Street sometime between Nov. 22 and April 26, 2010. Why? The Museum of Modern Art will be running a retrospective exhibition on the imaginative director. And, if you ask me, an exhibit on the man behind Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, would include too much glorious quirk and animated derangement to ignore!
MOMA hardly needs to advertise such a cool exhibit—I was there before you could even say Mars Attacks!—but they’ve released this fun 30-second animated spot from the director anyway. So take a look and enjoy 30 fun seconds from Burton. READ FULL STORY »
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