Archive: January 2010 (51-60 of 461)

Jan 27 2010 10:05 PM ET

'American Idol' in Dallas: Why did that dark-haired boy steal Neil Patrick Harris' seat?

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Filed under: American Idol, Reality TV and tagged: ,

American Idol producers, what’s in your Coca-Cola cups? Tonight’s Dallas audition episode was going oh-so-swimmingly — from a televised-entertainment perspective, if not from a “there’s the next Kelly Clarkson!” viewpoint — but then on Day 2 you had to go and replace witty/caustic Neil Patrick Harris with teen heartthrob Joe Jonas, who appeared to be under the impression he’d signed up for the role of “Chalk Outline” on an episode of Law & Order. I mean, as far as woeful substitutions go, why not just recast Dreamgirls and give Jennifer Hudson’s pivotal role of Effie to Jasmine Trias? But while I’m two kajagoogoomillion percent sure we didn’t hear any singing tonight from the eventual season 9 champ, I at least got the enjoyment of seeing Simon Cowell meet his match in cantankerous bitchery, and of getting to hear at least a few bars out of the mouths of 9 of Dallas’ 31 Golden Ticket-getters — a far better ratio than we got from last night’s Los Angeles telecast.

What did you think of tonight’s Idol episode? Did Neil Patrick Harris strike you as a good prospect to replace Simon next season? What were your feelings on Judge Joe (Jonas)? While I hammer out my full TV Watch recap (it’ll post early Thursday morning) head on down to the comments section to share your thought. Oh, and if you need a little more procrastination fodder, check out my colleague Kate Ward’s interviews with two of last night’s semi-famous blink-and-you-missed-’em wannabes: Project Runway‘s Daniel Franco and Idol‘s season 6 ”crying girl” Ashley Ferl, take a peek at Tanner Stransky’s breakdown of past musical efforts by Los Angeles auditioners, and by all means, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak.

Jan 27 2010 06:52 PM ET

Remembering Zelda Rubinstein, for 'Poltergeist' and beyond

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Filed under: Movies, Television and tagged: , ,

R.I.P., Zelda Rubinstein, you will be missed. This lady truly put the character in “character actress.” She’s best known for Poltergeist of course:

She was also great as Ginny in Picket Fences and the organist in Sixteen Candles. But don’t forget about Teen Witch or Southland Tales.

What was your favorite Rubinstein performance?

Jan 27 2010 06:30 PM ET

Clip du jour: Another kind of Digital Short

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I love Andy Samberg’s digital shorts. I really do. But this takedown — or is it an homage? — is pretty dead-on. (Contains NSFW language.)

Is “Sweater Party” really that different from “Jammy Shuffle,” PopWatchers?

Jan 27 2010 05:46 PM ET

Ashley Ferl, a.k.a. the crying girl, talks about her 'Idol' audition

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Filed under: About Last Night, American Idol, Reality TV and tagged: , ,

Ashley Ferl is so aware of her American Idol legacy, that when she called EW today to talk about her auditioning experience, she introduced herself as: “This is Ashley Ferl, the crying girl.”

As we all remember, Ferl became famous back in 2007 after perceptive Idol cameramen caught her uncontrollably crying during Sanjaya Malakar’s season six performance of “You Really Got Me.” And, as we saw during last night’s L.A. audition episode, the former audience member tried out to perform on the Idol stage this season. (At 16, the Idol fan, who “had been waiting” to audition, was finally old enough.)

So how did it go? Not too well, according to Ferl. “On the actual day of the auditions, I went out at 10 the night before and stood in line,” she says. “They finally let us in, and I auditioned. They didn’t really say anything. They pretty much told me no. It was really fast.” In fact, Ferl — who sang Taylor Swift’s “Tim McGraw” — didn’t even make it past the first round. She might have, however, if the producers recognized her: “I don’t think they knew who I was,” she says.

It was a bummer for Ferl, who says she would have loved to meet the guest judges. “I was kind of mad that I didn’t make it, because I love Avril Lavigne and Katy Perry,” she says. “I really liked Katy judging, because she made all the comments towards Kara.” (For the record, Ferl is on Team Katy.)

But looking at the silver lining, Ferl is still pumped she was shown on screen last night. And she hopes to audition again next year. What tune will she sing? “Maybe ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry,’” she says. Seems like a good fit to us!

Jan 27 2010 05:15 PM ET

'Ugly Betty' poll: Who should she end up with?

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Filed under: Television and tagged: ,

By now, you’ve read the sad news that Ugly Betty‘s current season will be its last. If you want to debate whether ABC should have pulled the plug on the four-year-old show, Michael Ausiello is hosting that debate. Here on PopWatch, we’re accepting the cancellation and moving forward. Exec producer Silvio Horta and ABC president Steve McPherson have confirmed that Betty‘s writers will have time to pen a “satisfying conclusion” and “proper farewell.” So, knowing that they now have less than 10 episodes left, it’s time to seriously ponder that question we’ve all been asking since we first found out that Betty and Daniel coupled up in the original Colombian series:

I don’t want to sway your vote, but I’ll just say that I still think of Daniel as Betty’s older brother, and even though I’ve liked the men who’ve wooed her over the years, I don’t really need any of them to re-enter the picture before the final credits. I am intrigued by this fireman character Mad Men‘s Rich Sommer is set to play in what could be a potentially recurring role. He’s supposed to have the “date from hell” with Betty in an episode this March. The writers could have some fun with that and end the run with Betty realizing that she’s finally found a guy who knows who he is and whose baggage is manageable. That would be nice. But I also think they could end the show with young Betty finally leaving Mode and finding colleagues who truly accept, respect and inspire her. Betty’s a fighter, we get it. But work doesn’t have to be a war. There are tons of magazines in New York. She’s allowed to work for one that matches her interests. We’ll all suspend disbelief and buy that it’s hiring.

How would you like to see the series end?

Photo credit: Patrick Harbron/ABC

Jan 27 2010 04:53 PM ET

'Project Runway' designer Daniel Franco talks 'Idol': 'Musicians, they all have fashion lines. Well, why couldn't a fashion designer sing?'

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Filed under: About Last Night, American Idol, Reality TV and tagged: , , , , ,

daniel-francoImage Credit: FoxOh, Daniel Franco, where did you go? To American Idol, it seems! If you were watching last night’s L.A. audition show, you might have caught the former Project Runway contestant on your TV screen. (Blink, though, and you might have missed him!) Yep, Franco was the guy featured in the Adam Lambert look-a-like montage who told judges: “If Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle had sex, which is pretty far-fetched, I’d be it, pretty much.”

So why did he decide to audition? “Anyone that knows me knows that I love singing,” he says. “I’ve been singing before I thought of becoming a fashion designer. You see, musicians, they all have fashion lines. Well, why couldn’t a fashion designer sing?” READ FULL STORY »

Jan 27 2010 04:17 PM ET

The new iPad? We tried it: Not bad! In fact, it's great

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Filed under: Gadgets and tagged: , ,

It won’t be in consumers’ hands for another 60 days or so, but at today’s Apple spectacle in San Francisco I got a chance to put the future of seemingly everything — video games, books, The New York Times — in my very own two hands. Our dalliance was brief, as there was a huge crowd of other eager test-drivers behind me, but it certainly helped to connect reality with the the mind-blowing presentation Steve Jobs gave — truly, the possibilities of the new Apple product were almost too much to process during the presentation — and it looks to be a very promising and exciting addition to the iEverything family.

I checked out Scrabble, a couple of YouTube videos, the Ted Kennedy autobiography that will be available in the new iBookstore — and I’ll tell ya, moving into a world where virtual things are both lifelike and life-size is nothing short of amazing. Yes, like much of the advance hype said it would be, it is in some ways like an over-sized iPod Touch: everything works off a very intuitive touch screen (i.e. so flipping a book page is very much like flipping a real book page; sorry Kindle!) and sizing and resizing video to fit snugly and appear crisp and clean on the 9.7-inch IPS display is pretty awesome. The weight (a pound and a half) doesn’t feel much heavier than the hardcover edition of Game Change I am currently reading, and the half-inch thickness rests even more nicely in two hands. And, I will be the first to report, the EW.com homepage jumps off the page. Or screen. Or the combo between the two that I was looking at.

For more on the technical specs, check out Margaret Lyons’ excellent earlier post. She asked me to handle the “touchy-feely” side of things, which at the outset of the event we both thought might just be about the geeky emotions a Steve Jobs-led shindig would evoke. But thankfully I got to do to the touchy-feely part literally with the iPad, if even for a few minutes.

I certainly look forward to spending a lot more time in the future with the iPad. But for now the glimpse of that future I got today is very clean, clear, intuitive…and yes, bright.

Not yet sent from my iPad — but hopefully soon!

More on the iPad:
Apple’s iPad: What book lovers need to know

Jan 27 2010 02:35 PM ET

'Pants on the Ground' idea-theft SCANDAL!

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Filed under: American Idol, To Care or Not to Care and tagged: , , , ,

In case anyone still cares about “Pants On the Ground,” there is currently a bit of online outrage that Larry Platt may have ripped off the Green Brothers’ “Pockets on the Floor.” Oh no! A different older gentleman once meandered his way through a song with no melody about pulling your pants up! The Green Brothers posted their 1996 almost-hit on YouTube and wrote in the description: “The General’s song have [sic] the same intent, idea and in part the same message. YOU BE THE JUDGE AMERICA!!” Yes, by all means.

More “Pants on the Ground” on EW.com
Did Larry Platt borrow a Moby riff?
The General on The View
‘Neil Young’ does ‘Pants on the Ground’

Jan 27 2010 01:38 PM ET

Apple's iPad tablet is officially here

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Filed under: Gadgets, News and tagged: ,

Steve Jobs, in his typical black turtleneck and jeans, took the stage in San Francisco today to a standing ovation from the Apple faithful. He promised to unveil some “truly magical products,” and he did: the iPad, Apple’s long-awaited tablet computer.

Jobs called the tablet a “third category” that had to be “better than a laptop and better than a smartphone.” He demoed web surfing, e-mail (in two panels), the touch-screen iPhone-esque keyboard, iTunes, iPhoto, and video.

“When we set out to develop the iPad, we not only had very ambitious technical goals and user interface goals, we had very aggressive price goals,” Jobs said. “We want to put this in the hands of lots of people. … We have met our cost goals. I am thrilled to announce that iPad pricing starts at $499.” READ FULL STORY »

Jan 27 2010 01:33 PM ET

'Psych' returns on a new (better?) night

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Filed under: Television and tagged: ,

Psych returns tonight (10 p.m. ET on USA), and as we prepare for more pop-culture references and Mentalist disses, guest stars (John Cena and Robert Patrick this evening), tension between Shawn and Jules, and reasons to heart Dulé Hill (in addition to his “Private Eyes” run at the end of the promo below), we pause to ponder if the move from Friday to Wednesday will be a good one. Definitely, right? I mean, it was always nice to come home a little tipsy on Friday night — or, if the week was exhausting, just stay in — and watch Shawn and Gus banter and bumble their way through an investigation. But it could also be a nice mid-week pick-me-up, too, when you’re already over taking your own job/life so seriously. And theoretically, more people will now be at home and ready to give the underappreciated show a chance. Give it a go if you haven’t. You can jump right in. All you need to know is that Shawn (James Roday) pretends to be a psychic but is really just the son of a retired cop (Corbin Bernsen) who taught him to be ultraobservant. Shawn and his best friend, Gus (Hill), work with Santa Barbara police detectives Carlton “Lassie” Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) and Juliet “Jules” O’Hara (Maggie Lawson), who have a love-hate relationship with them. Shawn has a girlfriend (recurring guest star Rachael Leigh Cook) but longs for Jules. And Psych thinks The Mentalist stole its hook. After the jump, a tease.

READ FULL STORY »

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