You know what’s great about the late-night hosts trading barbs on a daily basis: Listening to the sounds the in-studio audiences, now clearly on high alert, make. Jay Leno hit back at David Letterman Wednesday night with a joke that drew applause and “oohs” from his crowd (and a gasp in my living room). “Letterman’s been hammerin’ me every night. Oh, going after me,” he said. “Hey Kev, you know the best way to get Letterman to ignore you? Marry him. Okay, that’s the best way. He will not bother you. He won’t look you in the eye. No problem at all.” (In case you missed it, Jay kinda got served in his interview with James Cameron, which you can watch after the jump along with the latest Letterman clips. At 7 minutes left, the Avatar director mentions that he kept the ship’s wheel from Titanic because he knew what it was like to be the captain of a sinking ship. Leno says he could bring it to NBC. “It could go right over there,” Cameron says. Leno wasn’t as amused as I was.)
Archive: January 2010 (161-170 of 461)
Which scenes were cut from the year's best movies?
The fun of a director’s cut, of course, is being able to watch an elongated version of one of your favorite films, and constantly wonder, “Why did [insert director name here] take that scene out?!” (One of the most egregious cuts in my opinion: Christopher Guest cutting “This Bulging River” from his finalized version of Waiting for Guffman. Why, oh why?!)
Well, even before you see all the director’s cuts of this year’s most celebrated films, you’ll get some answers to that question, thanks to the L.A. Times’ “Envelope Roundtable.” The media outlet gathered some of this year’s award-worthy directors — James Cameron, Jason Reitman, Quentin Tarantino, Kathryn Bigelow, and Lee Daniels — to chat about their films and careers. This is one interesting clip from the roundtable, in which the five discuss the scenes they cut from their acclaimed films.
One common thread between all the slashed scenes? They all seemed to be cherished by the directors. (Well, except for a seemingly ill-advised dream sequence from Up in the Air.) But even if the subject matter of this clip doesn’t interest you, you should check it out anyway: The awkward tension between Bigelow and Cameron — who, at one point, teases his ex-wife about her low budget for The Hurt Locker — is simply too good to miss.
Tell me, PopWatchers, if you had the five directors in one room together, what would you ask them? And what, in your opinion, was the most egregious cut scene from a film?
Stephen Colbert to Dick Ebersol: 'When's the smoke gonna come out of NBC? What's going on?'
On last night’s Colbert Report, Stephen interviewed Dick Ebersol, NBC Universal’s Chairman of Sports and Olympics, who’s come under fire for describing soon-to-be-ex Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien as “chicken-hearted and gutless” and “an astounding failure.” Ebersol gave Colbert an official NBC Olympics sweater vest and invited him to deliver a special report to Bob Costas on the most important speedskating night, Feb. 17, as Colbert will be in Vancouver covering the Games. Did Ebersol have a title in mind for Colbert as part of the NBC team, he wondered? “Because I kind of like ‘host of The Tonight Show,’ Colbert suggested. He continued: “I’m just saying…right now, it’s like there’s gonna be no pope. When’s the smoke gonna come out of NBC to let us know what’s going on?” Ebersol was visibly uncomfortable, then shot back, “Where were you several months ago when an opening was about to happen?” (Seriously?) “Drunk,” Colbert replied.
Don’t miss FIRE ON ICE: Colbert’s race against speedskating nemesis Shani Davis. It’s hilarious and not just because Colbert can’t skate and is swathed in sequins. Winner got the last spot on the Olympic team….
Ryan Reynolds' 'Buried' trailers give me heart palpitations
Ryan Reynolds, you’re making me sweat. And for once, it’s not because of your ab-licious self. Nope, it’s because of the new trailers for your Sundance flick, Buried. (See one embedded below; click here for the other.) In the film, Reynolds plays a contract driver in Iraq who’s buried alive in a coffin with no memory of how he got there. As Sundance’s website describes the film: “Faced with limited oxygen and unlimited panic, Paul finds himself in a tension-filled race against time to escape this claustrophobic deathtrap before it’s too late.”
So why am I sweating? Well, as someone who hates dark, closed-in spaces, the phrase “claustrophobic deathtrap” is slightly unnerving. Yet, after seeing the trailers, I can only hope the film makes its way past the film festival. After all, it’s rare that we get to see Reynolds play a role without a wink and sparkle in his eye.
Tell me, PopWatchers, would you see Buried? Anyone else have a physical reaction to the trailers?
'Ugly Betty' Bites: 20 bright quips from last night's episode, 'Blackout!'
The blackout-in-Manhattan storyline is nothing new (hello, last season’s Gossip Girl!), but regardless, the Ugly Betty producers did a nice job with wrapping last night’s episode around all the lights in NYC going out. And—SPOILER ALERT!—I just love that Marc finally got his due last night. Introducing… Mode‘s new junior fashion editor, Marc St. James! The promotion was, truly, long overdue.
But now, wondering, will there be new assistants for Willy and Daniel? Or will those roles sort of fade into the background as the show focuses more on Betty and Marc’s now-more-important positions? Personally, I hope it’s the later—no need to fumble around with new, annoying assistants when the show is jam-packed with great characters already. I’ll say it again: Ugly Betty is firing on all creative cylinders right now.
And as a bonus, the Marc-getting-promoted storyline also produced one of the funniest lines of the night. “I’m not the emotional type, but you can write yourself a nice note from me,” Willy told her beloved former assistant, after she delivered him the news. Awwww. She loves him, even if she’s a bitch about it. I die over Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater. But that wasn’t the only funny one-liner of the night. Here were the quips that had me busting a gut:
“I have to decide on my comedic monologue. It’s between Moliére and one of Brad’s breakdowns from The Rachel Zoe Project.” —Justin, on prepping for his upcoming audition
“When I say, ‘Don’t go in the hall, it’s there,’ that’s what I mean.” —Amanda, after Betty reminds her and Marc that she lives across the hall from them
“If only she would apply some of that pluck to her chin hair.” —Marc, after Amanda says that Betty is “a real go-getter”
“To what? Schedule your naps?” —Wilhelmina, wondering what kind of work Daniel could be giving their shared assistant, Marc
“I wanna kill myself. Wilhelmina and Daniel will not stop fighting over me. This ménage a moi has got to stop! I hate being in the middle. I mean, unless there’s a Gyllenhaal involved.” —Marc, on the push and pull of being both Daniel and Wilhelmina’s assistant
Conan O'Brien: Adam Sandler explains what NBC stands for, Masturbating Bear returns
It was a wild Tonight Show Wednesday, as Conan O’Brien, just hours from signing his walking papers to leave NBC, continued to rail against the network in his monologue (“Over the past week, ratings for the Tonight Show are up by 50 percent. When NBC executives heard this they told me, ‘See, you really don’t fit in around here’”), and welcomed Adam Sandler, Joel McHale, Ed Helms and the Masturbating Bear.
Watching the Masturbating Bear, who’d been absent from the air for 6 months and 29 days, pleasure himself on The Tonight Show was, arguably, the greatest eff you yet, so we’ll start there. After the jump, watch Sandler — who was a guest during O’Brien’s first week on Late Night 17 years ago — serenade Conan in an attempt to make him cry, then reveal what NBC actually stands for (the “C” is bleeped, but you can read his lips). Then enjoy clips of Helms performing a ditty he wrote for Conan and not to remind Oscar voters that his song from The Hangover is eligible, McHale suggesting Conan become cohost of The Soup, and Conan making NBC pay for a $1.5 million comedy bit featuring “the most expensive car in the world dressed up as a mouse.” (Correction: Conan seemed to enjoy that eff you even more.)
'Project Runway' gets muddy tonight
Runway fans, get ready — Tim Gunn is heading to the farm. I can’t wait for the inevitable cow-milking scene. Here’s a teaser for tonight’s Project Runway, which looks full of both burlap and tears (a delicious combination, perhaps!).
Who else will be watching? Any guesses who will go home this week? After last week, and with these tears, I’d say Ping — but maybe that’s too obvious?
This Week's Cover: TV's 50 Biggest Bombs Ever!
Sometimes TV networks, producers, or actors do something so stupid, it makes you ask: What the heck were they thinking? In that spirit, we decided to take time out to honor (if you want to call it that) television’s biggest bombs and blunders. We’re talking the decisions both bad (hey, let’s give Felicity a haircut!) and bizarre (XFL, anyone?). And at the top of our list: NBC’s decision to put Jay Leno at 10 p.m. It destroyed not only five hours of primetime programming, but also the local newscasts that followed. However, the floppage of the move doesn’t even stop there: The Tonight Show ratings with Leno’s replacement at 11:35, Conan O’Brien, also took a 50 percent dip. And NBC’s attempt to remedy the situation was just as ugly—asking Conan to move back a half-hour to 12:05am so Jay could return to 11:35. Conan refused and negotiated an exit settlement that UPDATE has just been signed. His last show as Tonight Show host will be Friday, Jan. 22 with guests Tom Hanks and Will Ferrell. (For the latest on Conan and Jay, make sure to check out our Hollywood Insider blog. )
So, what other fantastic flops crack our top 50 list? Well, we’ll give you a few hints: READ FULL STORY »
'Modern Family' recap: Seeds of change
Let me start off by saying, nice butt Julie Bowen! When she unknowingly flashed Haley’s boyfriend on video chat, we sure saw a lot of her, and she was looking pretty damn good – especially for someone who was hiding her pregnancy behind laundry baskets in the pilot episode. Tonight’s overarching theme was about change – big and small. From guest star Kristen Schaal’s makeover to Jay’s slow acceptance of his friend’s supposed (but ultimately false) homosexuality, to Claire’s ability to handle technology and admit she can be wrong. But this being Modern Family, no one actually changed that much (and thank goodness for that, we love them all as they are) — just 15 percent.
I love how Family continually embeds some sort of deep message but never takes it so far that it enters into sap-ville. The other theme of tonight was technology and our continual fight with inanimate objects. Who hasn’t smashed a remote on the floor or fought out loud with a car’s voice command? My second favorite interaction of the evening was between Mitchell and his car, which went something like this, Car: “Enter a destination.” Mitchell: “Hell!” The car: “Mexican Food.” Mitchell: “Shut up!” Funny stuff. My first favorite interaction? When Claire and Phil were discussing which of their children is the dumbest. Only this show can make something so seemingly un-PC so hilarious. READ FULL STORY »
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