Archive: December 2009 (11-20 of 461)

Dec 30 2009 10:00 AM ET

Inside the Final Four: 'Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica' vs. 'Wipeout'

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Tags: , , , Reality TV, Television

Our Guilty Pleasures Reality TV Showdown moves into the Final Four, so we’re analyzing the matchups in the finals (see full bracket here).

Today, we look at the strengths and weaknesses of Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica vs. Wipeout. (See yesterday’s analysis of Rock of Love vs. Say Yes to the Dress.)

STAR PLAYERS
Newlyweds: Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson
Wipeout: John Henson, big red balls.
Advantage: Newlyweds

CHEESINESS
Newlyweds: Have you heard the music of 98 Degrees? Enough said.
Wipeout: Big red balls.
Advantage: Newlyweds

OBSESSIVE FANS
Newlyweds: Hmmm….JSimp and Nick weren’t A-listers, so most viewers were tuning in for the curiosity factor.
Wipeout: ABC runs during the TV wasteland of summer, so it attracts large numbers (around 9 million viewers.)
Advantage: Wipeout

SO-HORRIBLE-YOU-CAN’T LOOK AWAY FACTOR
Newlyweds: Consider the Chicken of the Sea discussion — there is NO WAY you could pick up the remote during that.
Wipeout: The slips start to feel a little same-y, so, yes, it is possible to look away.
Advantage: Newlyweds

AMOUNT OF “REALITY” SHOWN ON SCREEN
Newlyweds: Did Nick and Jessica go camping because they wanted to or because it would make a good episode? The world may never know…
Wipeout: It’s a game show, so of course it’s scripted and a different sort of reality, but those thrills and spills on the obstacle courses certainly look real enough.
Advantage: Wipeout

Come back Jan. 4 when voting starts.

Photo Credit: MTV; ABC

Dec 30 2009 09:30 AM ET

Happy birthday Tiger Woods! At least you aren't blowing out 'Sixteen Candles'

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Nearly nine years ago, I rang in my 16th birthday by blowing out five candles stuck in a single banana. (Eat your heart out, MTV.) Well, I shouldn’t continue bemoaning my lonely sweet 16, because today, someone is likely having a far worse birthday than I could ever imagine: the celebrity philanderer of the moment, Tiger Woods.

But as we celebrate (or not) the golfer’s 34th birthday, we are reminded of others in pop culture who had terrible, lonely birthdays. Take Sixteen Candles‘ Sam Baker, who had to cope with a memory-plagued, frantic family before dreamy Jake Ryan finally saved the day. So don’t get too down, Tiger. At least a nerdy freshman didn’t steal your underpants.

What was your worst birthday ever, PopWatchers? Favorite birthday moment in film?

Dec 30 2009 09:30 AM ET

What's your pop-culture resolution for 2010?

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Here at the EW office, we’ve already made our list of pop-culture New Year’s resolutions — finally watching The Wire; playing more video games; watching all 10 Best Picture Oscar nominees; catching up on Harry Potter; reading a 1,000-page book; and more.

My personal pop-culture resolution is to get ready for Lost‘s final season by re-reading some of Doc Jensen’s theories. (No, he didn’t pay me to say that.)

So, PopWatchers, what are your resolutions? To watch more or less Jersey Shore, to see more live music, to finally quit some lame TV show clogging up your DVR?

Dec 30 2009 09:00 AM ET

This Week's Cover: George Clooney opens up about Oscar campaigning -- and his cuticles

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George Clooney is handsome and savvy, but he’s also self-aware when it comes to his ladies-man reputation. When he signed to play an eternal bachelor in his latest film, Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman (Juno), he immediately saw parallels between the character and himself. “Jason came to my house and brought the script and I read it,” Clooney says. “There were some things that sounded like they were taken from a Barbara Walters special that I had done. I’m not completely unaware of people’s perceptions of me. I sort of felt like, if you were ever going to deal with it, this is probably the best way to do it and the best person to do it with. If you can’t point at what people think are your shortcomings, then you’re boxing yourself in.”

He’s also particular about not allowing a body double in his films, even for the split-second shot of his thumb on a suitcase handle in Up in the Air. “I bite my cuticles so I’m always ashamed,” he admits. “But when you see somebody else’s hand come in and it’s got, like, different fingers or hairy knuckles, it doesn’t look right.”

For more on Clooney and Up in the Air, plus Dave Karger’s fearless Oscar predictions, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on stands January 1.

Dec 30 2009 09:00 AM ET

Grandma + Greenscreen = Good times.

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Need your daily dose of cute old folks? Well, you can skip those Golden Girls re-runs on Lifetime, ‘cuz we’ve got this YouTube video instead for your viewing pleasure! Watch these two young souls try to greenscreen it, and enjoy!

Dec 30 2009 08:41 AM ET

Weather Channel predicts rainbows, with a chance of awwwww

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“I’ll see your sports stadium jumbotron marriage proposal, and I’ll raise you a cold front moving in from the south.” So Marty Cunningham seemed to be saying to Weather Channel meteorologist Kim Perez, when he interrupted Sunday’s on-air telecast to pop the question.”We’ve been talking about this for a long time, and I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Cunningham said. Awwwwww. Happy New Year.

Dec 29 2009 09:41 PM ET

What movie line is currently stuck in YOUR head?

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People talk all the time about songs that get “caught in your head” for days and days and days. Recently, I heard Paul McCartney’s not-quite-classic “No More Lonely Nights” playing at my local supermarket, and I kept hearing it in my head for a week. At least it was better than the song it (mercifully!) displaced: Peter Cetera’s “The Glory of Love,” which had been playing on a loop for what seemed like a month.

But occasionally, I’ll get movie lines stuck in my head the same way I do songs. For example, thanks to the pounding assault of Avatar commercials, my brain keeps belching up Stephen Lang’s gruff line reading of “You’re not in Kansas anymore!”

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 29 2009 09:00 PM ET

Glen Hansard, Bono busk for a good cause

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This would have been a cool Christmas Eve surprise to stumble upon.

Glen Hansard (Swell Season), Bono, Damien Rice, and Mundy teamed for a busking session on Dublin’s Grafton Street (the same street where Hansard’s character performs in the film Once.) They played for about an hour and raised money for homeless charity Simon Community.

Have you ever seen anyone famous busking? I saw Belle & Sebastian play an impromptu set for fans waiting in line for festival tickets in England, which was pretty cool but not exactly busking on the street or subway…

Dec 29 2009 06:17 PM ET

TV catch up: 'Parks and Recreation' mini-marathon tonight

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If you’ve heard “Parks and Recreation is so much better this season” — and chances are you have — believe it. While your regular Tuesday night shows are in repeats, give this sophomore comedy a chance with tonight’s special four-episode mini-marathon (NBC, starting at 8 p.m. ET). You get Leslie (Amy Poehler), a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana, dealing with the fallout of mistakenly marrying two male penguins at the local zoo, staking out a community garden in which someone has chosen to plant pot, judging a beauty pageant, and going on a “practice date” (watch a clip bel0w).

Once you’re hooked, catch up with all 12 season 2 episodes on Hulu.

Dec 29 2009 06:15 PM ET

All right, Mr. del Toro and Mr. Jackson. I'm ready for my 'The Hobbit' close-up!

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OMG guys. I think my head — as well as those attached to the bodies of my fellow Lord of the Rings freakazoids — just exploded, creating a massive blaze that shines brighter than the light of Eärendil. It looks like The Hobbit is officially accepting applications for actors hoping to land roles in the LOTR precursor. But before you prepare to slap on your finest coat of armor and grab your Sting swords, take note of some of the specific guidelines: 1) You have to apply by physical mail (Kids, ask your grandparents about that one), 2) You need to include a casting video, and 3) Though it kills me, New Zealand locals must be hired before overseas actors. Hurumph. So not fair. They already have lush beauty! Since I’m forced to cope with smelly city streets decorated with cigarette butts, why can’t I have one tiny advantage?!

Tell me, PopWatchers: Would you create a casting video to nab a role? And what would you do to grab Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson’s attention? I could kiss my giant poster of Frodo and his furry feet, because this girl totally had a crush on the hobbit as a 16-year-old.

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