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Archive: December 2009 (91-100 of 461)

Dec 22 2009 11:00 AM ET

Oscars: Would 'Twilight: Eclipse' footage make you watch?

If, on Oscar night 2010, Robert Pattinson showed up, looking drop-dead sexy in a tuxedo, and premiered an exclusive first-look at The Twilight Saga: Eclipse live on the stage of the Kodak Theatre, would you tune in to watch? Matthew Belloni, a columnist at The Hollywood Reporter, proposes that this year’s Oscar producers do exactly that to help boost ratings for the annual awards show. It’s an intriguing idea, but would it work?

When Titanic won Best Picture in 1998 it was the highest-rated Oscars in history, and the ratings have trended downward ever since. Last year’s telecast got a makeover and a new host, Hugh Jackman, and got a 10 precent boost in ratings. Belloni thinks having, say, five stars premiere exclusive footage/trailers of their new films over the course of the Oscar evening would get you all fired up to watch again. (Apparently, when the MTV Movie Awards showed exclusive footage of New Moon earlier this year, ratings shot up 92 percent among the coveted youth audience.)

I think it’s fair to say that the Oscars would get a ratings boost from premiering Eclipse footage, but a) Would you keep watching after you got your Jac0b-Edward-Bella fix? and b) Are there any other movies on the horizon that you’d watch the Oscars just to see footage of? Spider-Man 4? Russell Crowe in Robin Hood? Ryan Reynolds in The Green Lantern?

What do you think, Popwatchers? Is this what Oscar night needs?

Dec 22 2009 10:30 AM ET

Sam Rockwell, triple threat

by Wendy Mitchell

Categories: Movies, Viral Video!!!

Sam Rockwell is a good sport…over at MTV Movies he did a triple role (a la Moon) to introduce their most bizarre interview moments of 2009. Which Sam do you like best — composed on the couch, comic book reader, or drunk and disorderly?

Dec 22 2009 10:28 AM ET

Jimmy Fallon puts new twist on 'SNL' holiday classic: 'I Wish It Was Christmas Today'

by Tanner Stransky

Categories: About Last Night, Happy Holidays, Jimmy Fallon, Late Night, Things That Are Awesome!

Last night, Jimmy Fallon fulfilled a Christmas wish for a lot of fans of his previous work on SNL: He reunited with Horatio Sanz and performed the famed holiday ditty “I Wish It Was Christmas Today.” And: the Strokes’ lead singer Julian Casablancas joined them! Until I saw the performance last night and did a little Googling this morning, I hadn’t realized that Casablancas actually covered the song himself this year. So his addition to the set made perfect sense. See Fallon, Sanz, and Casablancas’ performance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon here:

Seeing this got me thinking of the original, natch. Remember it? The sight of Fallon, Sanz, Chris Kattan, and Tracy Morgan singing it at Studio 8H is forever burned into my brain: Kattan rattled his head around like crazy, Morgan played up his dead-eyed stare, Fallon cracked up throughout. And Sanz’s bad, bad voice—oh my! Oh hell, enjoy the original, too:

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 22 2009 09:15 AM ET

Can Ben Folds get his own TV show, please?

by Wendy Mitchell

Categories: About Last Night, Music, Music + Comedy = Good Thing?, Reality TV, Television

Last night’s finale of The Sing-Off brings the sad development that one of the show’s judges, Ben Folds, won’t be on my TV screen as much now. The show itself was borderline cheesy (but still enjoyable), but Folds himself was a revelation! He was hands-down the best judge I’ve seen on a competition show (EW’s Ken Tucker also loved him from the start). Folds offered the perfect combination of nice-guy genuinely rooting-for-everyone comments, knowledgeable technical advice (without sounding like a snob), and humor. I met him a few times when we both lived in Chapel Hill, NC and he was exactly the same in person — impossible not to like.

Now, I think we MUST campaign for Folds to get his own TV show, or at least be one of the central judges on another show. Given his background, maybe a piano competition or a songwriting competition?

Was anyone else wowed by Ben Folds on The Sing-Off? What would you like to see him do next?

Dec 22 2009 08:45 AM ET

Guilty Pleasures Competition Finals: 'Celebrity Mole' vs. 'Wipeout'

by Wendy Mitchell

Categories: Guilty Pleasures Reality TV Showdown, Reality TV, Television

We’re getting closer to the Final Four, PopWatchers! Our Guilty Pleasures Reality TV Showdown is firmly into the Finals for each of our categories. Now into the Competition category, we have Celebrity Mole facing Wipeout. And check out the full, updated bracket here.

Let’s remind you of just a few highlights from each show:

Celebrity Mole
Mr. Danger, donkeys, Stephen Baldwin (in two seasons, isn’t that illegal!?), sheep, math competitions, Kathy Griffin’s commentary….

Wipeout
People fall off big red balls. What more do you need in a TV show?

Let us know YOUR favorite moment from each show in the comments below. But first, the shows need your votes:

Photo Credit: Mole: Everett Collection; Wipeout: ABC

Also on EW.com
Guilty Pleasures Reality TV showdown begins
Updated Bracket

Other polls still open:
Finals, Relationships: Flavor of Love vs. Rock of Love
Finals, Celeb-Reality: Newlyweds vs. Surreal Life
Finals, “Real” Lives: Say Yes to the Dress vs. Dog the Bounty Hunter

Dec 22 2009 08:40 AM ET

What's the best dress of the decade?

by Wendy Mitchell

Categories: Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion

PopWatchers, we need your help crowning the top dress of the ’00s. Check out our gallery of top fashions and tell us what fa-fa-fabulous looks we missed — what would be YOUR nominations for best dress of the decade? And tell us the event it was worn to or film/TV show it was from, if you remember. Fashion police, over to you…

Photo Credit: HBO

Dec 21 2009 09:45 PM ET

'Toy Story 3' clip: Gasp! Buzz and Co. in the trash?!

by Adam B. Vary

Categories: Exclusive First Look, Movie Trailers, Movies, Pixar, Things That Are Awesome!, Toys

I don’t know who gasped more during this new clip from Toy Story 3: Woody, Buzz, et. al. as they weather the harrowing ordeal that is Andy’s decision about who goes with him to college and who goes in the Black Plastic Trash Bag of Doom; or me, watching it all unfold. I’m going to go with me, since my multiple gasps were more of the OMIGOD melodramatic variety. No, I am not ashamed.

Me = Officially hooked. My favorite Pixarian detail: The quick glimpse of the faded toy height chart on Andy’s bedroom door frame as Woody freaks out that, “That’s not trash, that’s not trash!” So are you hooked, P’Dubs? Were you shocked that Andy chose Woody over Buzz? Or are you a heartless human lump of coal for whom two Toy Story films was apparently enough?

Dec 21 2009 09:39 PM ET

Jeff Probst blogs about 'Survivor' finale: 'Nobody outplayed Russell'

by Jeff Probst

Categories: Reality TV, Survivor

Okay, now that the show is officially over I’m going to take off my hosting and producing hat and just give you my personal reaction to what went down last night.

I think Russell was the victim of a jury of bitter people. I am not taking anything away from Natalie, she clearly did a great job of reading the group dynamic of the jury and as a result she deserves the money.

Oftentimes on Survivor, the vote does come down to a choice where a determining factor is “how nice someone is” but that’s usually when all other criteria being considered is equal. That doesn’t hold up this season. This season was so lopsided in terms of one person (Russell) completely dominating the game that to not give him the money and the title is a bit silly.

If I were playing Survivor, no matter how much I despised someone, if they kicked my ass in the game I would give it to them. Period. Outwit. Outplay. Nobody outwitted or outplayed Russell. Not even close. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 21 2009 08:00 PM ET

EW Exclusive: National Hangover Day video with Justin Bartha

by Wendy Mitchell

Categories: DVD/Video, Food and Drink, Movies

New Year’s Day has unofficially been Hangover Day since, well, champagne was invented. But now Warner Bros. is celebrating the DVD launch of The Hangover with National Hangover Day slated for Jan. 1. One of the film’s stars, Justin Bartha, gets you in the mood with this PSA, launching exclusively at EW. Fans are being encouraged to watch the movie to nurse their hangovers, and visit a special website to share Hangover Day plans.

So, will you watch The Hangover on New Year's Day? What are your other hangover plans?

Dec 21 2009 06:51 PM ET

'Survivor Talk': Natalie responds to being called 'pitiful' by Russell

by Dalton Ross

Categories: EW Exclusive Video, EW.com Video, Reality TV, Survivor

SPOILER ALERT! Trying to avoid news as to who won Survivor: Samoa? Then this is not the article for you. (Seriously, stop reading if you don’t want to know who won.) Okay, everyone all good from here on out? All clear? Then let’s proceed.

Natalie White may not have been the popular choice among viewers to take home the million dollars as winner of Survivor: Samoa, but she was popular with the only nine people who mattered: the jury. The 26-year-old pharmaceutical sales rep called in to talk all about how she knew the jury would be voting along emotional/personal lines and therefore played to her strengths as the sweet Southern belle. She also says there’s plenty that Russell did to hurt himself in ways we never saw on camera, like taunting people after he voted them out. But how does she feel about the person she aligned with on day one of the game telling Survivor Talk this morning that her game was “terrible” and “pitiful”? And we have more questions: Who would she have voted for had she been on the jury: Russell or Brett? (The answer may surprise you.) What was her reaction to Russell’s $10,000 offer for the title of “Sole Survivor”? All those answers and more will be revealed in the 4-part video below as the winner of Survivor: Samoa tells all! And no matter who you think should have won, there is no argument about one thing: Natalie has been (and continues to be) a class act all the way. Don’t forget to keep watching right after to take in our exit interview with the still livid Russell. And to get Survivor scoop sent directly to you all year round (including exclusive on location Heroes Vs. Villains video!), you can follow me on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss.