Michelle Williams, at Sundance with critical fave Blue Valentine, is adorable singing the names of the 44 presidents with the help of a catchy tune (video embedded below). Pretty impressive, right? I learned this song to remember the states when I was about 11 and it still comes in handy today. And EW’s own Mike Bruno reminded me of the greatness of the Albania song on Cheers.
So, are you impressed by Michelle? What useful songs do you know?
We were just starting to get used to the lustrous chin-thicket Jon Hamm was using to keep warm this winter. Zut alors! Below are some short promos for this weekend’s Jon Hamm-hosted Saturday Night Live, in which the cardigan-ed actor acknowledges his own devastating hotness and defends against the incorrect pronunciation of Michael Bublé’s name.
Funny, the tone of voice he uses when raging against Fred Armisen that it’s not pronounced “Bubble” is the same one Hamm employed when Lemon kicked the crap out of Dr. Baird in tennis in 30 Rock‘s “The Bubble.” I can only assume that the video cut out just as Hamm was about to call Fred Armisen a “Cheating bitch!”
Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett
She claims she’s a “good girl” yet Sandra Diaz-Twine also told me in Samoa before Heroes Vs. Villains kicked off, “You do me wrong, you only do me wrong one time because then it’s over. I’m slicing you up. Slicing and dicing. I’m cutting your throat.” Oooooookay. Better be on my best behavior then. Here’s my take on Sandra. She plays the game of Survivor much more emotionally than strategically. When asked why she’ll win Heroes Vs. Villains, her answer was “Because I’m Sandra. Because that’s just the way it is.” That’s not exactly the height of pre-game strategy. And when asked about how she’ll handle the other contestants, check out this response: “If they’re not crazy yet, by the time I’m done with them, they’ll be crazy. I’m gonna be nice. I’m gonna give everybody the opportunity to come and get to know me. But if you don’t even bother to come and get to know me, you’re done. You dug your own grave. They need to come to me. I don’t need to come to nobody.” Alrighty, then! [Sandra's big advantage heading into Heroes Vs. Villains, plus exclusive on location video, after the jump.] READ FULL STORY »
Steven Seagal’s new flick On the Run has been retitled A Dangerous Man, and to commemorate the change, we get a new trailer. The real-life lawman plays a killing machine who helps a girl who’s gotten herself tangled up with drug dealers and/or senior members of the Chinese Army. I can’t keep up with the plot of a Steven Seagal movie… I’m going to have to have someone push me into a saw now.
It was the wedding that rocked
Hollywood: Sitcom diva Roseanne Barr said “I do” to comedian (and Roseanne writer-actor) Tom Arnold on Jan. 20, 1990 — a mere four days after she divorced her husband of nearly 16 years, Bill Pentland. At the reception, Arnold famously bellowed, “We’re America’s worst nightmare: white trash with money!” The couple’s tabloid-ready antics — out-of-control spending and tyrannical behavior on
the Roseanne set, along with Barr’s dabbling in plastic surgery — were chronicled meticulously by the press, and the public happily devoured every morsel of the
soap opera.
Of course, fans were also eating up Roseanne, which was television’s No. 2 show (tied with The Cosby Show behind Cheers) the week of the nuptials. The relationship drama actually seemed to fuel the series’ top ratings. And although the union was undoubtedly tumultuous (they divorced in 1994), Barr remembers her nearly five years with Arnold — who had a recurring role on Roseanne and soon landed his own sitcom, The Jackie Thomas Show — as an especially creative time in her show’s nine-year run. “The one good thing about Tom was that he did push through
my ideas,” Barr told EW in 2008. “I’d go, ‘I want to do this,’ and he’d say, ‘I’ll make sure it happens.’ I was always trying to find the way to say the right thing at the right time in the right way. That was kind of my art, the thing that turned me on.”
Related:
More “20 Years Ago…” entries
One of the clients on last night’s Millionaire Matchmaker was Justin Shenkarow, a.k.a. Matthew Brock, the sheriff’s son from Picket Fences! Patti Stanger HATED him. My feelings about him weren’t quite as vehement because hello, do we really expect anyone worthwhile to be a client on Millionaire Matchmaker? I tried to divert my attention from what a suckfest he was and focus instead on how his hands appeared to have not grown up with the rest of his body. On the bright side, we will always have part of little Bobby!
Shenkarow posted a “behind-the-scenes of Millionaire Matchmaker” video on YouTube to explain his side of the story and preemptively combat Patti’s scathing reaction video on BravoTV.com today. Justin’s low-rent episode of Cribs features about a billion quick cuts in two and a half minutes, in which he admits he doesn’t know how to dress, complains about his sailboat date, pimps his Twitter account and Facebook page, and includes a special message to President Obama, who is definitely watching: “Call me. Let’s work together.” Ooh. Should he?
Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett
Image credit: Picket Fences: Everett Collection
Image Credit: WETACongratulations to Avatar, James Cameron’s CG-laden sci-fi opus, for its spectacular box-office success. Yesterday, in only its most recent milestone, Avatar became the most popular movie…since Star Wars: Episode I–The Phantom Menace. Yes, I’m well aware that Avatar also surpassed Titanic to become the planet’s biggest box-office grosser. But the fact remains that, due to the rising price of movie tickets, more North Americans saw Phantom Menace in the theater than have seen Avatar so far. In fact, Avatar currently ranks 26th all-time when you adjust for inflation and probably won’t crack the top-10.
I’m not trying to diminish Avatar‘s truly awesome impact, but a little perspective can’t hurt. Yes, James Cameron has the two highest-grossing films of all-time. But in terms of tickets sold — arguably a better reflection of popularity – Titanic and Avatar rank 6th and 26th. Compare that to Steven Spielberg’s resume, which includes No. 4 (E.T.), No. 7 (Jaws), No. 16 (Raiders of the Lost Ark, and No. 17 (Jurassic Park). And don’t get me started on this country’s unrivaled affection for No. 1 Gone With the Wind, which played to packed houses for years.
Comparing the success of blockbusters from different Hollywood eras is a complex and perhaps futile assignment, due to new revenue streams, international markets, etc., etc. But it’s still worth noting that films of yesteryear were every bit the pop-cultural phenomena as today’s Avatar or The Dark Knight, if not more so. And from a bottom-line point of view, forgettaboutit. Star Wars grossed $461 million stateside; E.T. checked out with $435 million. Both films were made for less than $12 million each. No matter Avatar‘s eventual tally, those rates of return will probably never be equaled by a studio film.
Do you find these comparisons and debates as fascinating as I do, or am I simply grasping at straws to defend the blockbusters of my youth?
On last night’s American Idol, Kara “The Terrible” DioGuardi raved on and on about how contestant Chris boasted a just-right-for-baby-bear amount of “story and pain and stuff” and would therefore make a great Idol contestant…and then SMACK! In swept heavily blushed guest judge Katy Perry and her favorite snack, a pen, to read the minds of annoyed viewers everywhere. “This isn’t a Lifetime movie, sweetheart.” EXACTLY. Also: pretty bitchy! Challenge extended: Kara vs. Katy — Woman who acts like she’s talking to puppies vs. mean girl. Your comments on last night’s instant-react PopWatch post weighed heavily in Katy’s favor, and while I do agree, I’m a little put off by the way Katy’s one-episode squat in what Slezak’s calling the “Paula Abdul Commemorative Swivel-Chair” has her practically gunning for Kara’s job already (assuming that in the wacky Katy Perry land of lip gloss and bananas, “host” means “judge”). Katy told MTV, “If I was offered that job as a permanent host, I would ditch my career and take on that career.” Good to know! She could be a real inspiration for others looking to launch careers they can later ditch in similar reality-TV-casting triumph.
How did the Katy-vs.-Kara spat (because we don’t like the word “catfight”) make you feel? Would you want Katy to permanently take Kara’s place on the panel, or are you still on board for Shania In 2011? Or should we can it with all the next-season replacement scenario talk and just let Kara keep her job? Read Slezak’s full TV Watch recap for more of this mess.
Even more ‘Idol’:
Michael Slezak’s week 2 American Idol Power list
Gallery: Readers’ favorite ‘bad’ auditions
An EW.com series that’s way better than Idol because it contains four extra letters
Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett
Next to the “buried alive” episode of television, the “trouble in midair” episode could be my favorite TV staple. Which show has produced your favorite airplane episode? NCIS is a definite contender after last night.
Tony and Ziva went to Paris to escort a whistleblower in a major defense fraud case back to the States. They said there was a problem at the hotel, and they had to share a room. Ziva told the witness, who was even more interested in “Tiva” than your diehard ‘shipper, that she slept on the couch. Tony later told McGee that he took the couch — then he and Ziva called each other out for lying. Do you think they slept together or upheld Gibbs’ Rule #12? Would you like a definitive answer now, or, like me, or you content to let the show tease us and then one day, have an episode in which all is revealed? You know, like someone would recount what happened in Paris, as well as how far things really went in that Season 3 episode “Under Covers,” to their captor while being held hostage or something. I sorta love the idea that Tony and Ziva could have slept together once, twice or more and we wouldn’t have known about it because it’s in both their nature to enjoy an opportunity or “duty” and return to normal. (I also love that the witness compared Tony and Ziva’s compatibility to hers and her work boyfriend’s — and it turned out her boyfriend is the one who put the hit on her. Moral: Tony and Ziva would kill each other.) I suppose though that the two of them sharing the bed and just sleeping would’ve been something they’d also want to hide, since it shows a comfort level and tolerance for each other they wouldn’t want to admit to or have others lord over them. That’s what I think went down in Paris. What about you? PopWatch poll after the jump! READ FULL STORY »
