Archive: January 2010 (71-80 of 461)

Jan 27 2010 10:17 AM ET

Pick Steve Carell's next movie

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Filed under: Movies, Television and tagged: , , , , , ,

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Steve Carell has a difficult decision to make. He can probably only make one movie this spring when The Office goes on hiatus, but he’s currently linked to two promising projects. One is a dramedy from Dan Fogelman (Fred Claus) about a father trying to maintain a relationship with his children while his marriage is in turmoil. The other is a comedy titled Mail-Order Groom, in which Carell would play a poor immigrant acquired by a desperately single Tina Fey.

Steve Carell is our friend, and we all want him to do well, so I think we owe it to him to help think this through. The dramedy sounds reminiscent of Dan in Real Life, a solid hit that showcased the actor’s “family man” sensibility. You liked it. Your mom liked it. A safe choice.

READ FULL STORY »

Jan 27 2010 10:00 AM ET

'Big Chef Takes On Little Chef': Season finale tonight!

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Filed under: Food and Drink, Television and tagged: , , , ,

Over the weekend, I became obsessed with saved-up episodes of Big Chef Takes On Little Chef and grew very upset when there were no more on the DVR. Tragedy! But the final installment of the short 2009 UK series airs on Planet Green tonight. This show is a bit like Kitchen Nightmares, except the restaurant is part of a large chain and the visiting chef isn’t a total lunatic. Despite its Little People, Big World-esque title, the show is not a little person-vs.-big person kitchen showdown, as I had originally suspected…and hoped. Basically, Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal was given six months and a bunch of money to revamp the menu at Little Chef — which, from what I can make out, is like the British version of Denny’s: There’s one in every town, and it’s sort of beloved in a nostalgic way even though the food is gross. Blumenthal took over the branch in Popham, which it turns out is really fun to say in a British accent while thinking about Entenmann’s Pop’ems. There’s not a lot of high drama, as Blumenthal is even-keeled and cares DEEPLY about bringing free-range eggs to the commoners. There is, though, a profound sense of The Office‘s David Brent-iness in Blumenthal’s Little Chef boss Ian Pegler, an absolute joke of an executive who’s fired off inconsistent nonsense toward the earnest chef all season. He’s such a publicity-mongering tool; you can’t look away even though you want to because he is physically disturbing as well.

Tonight’s finale is called “Did Heston Change Little Chef?” I am dying to know that! (I’ll also be forever wondering why you would ever get rid of a side called fried bread, part of Little Chef’s former Olympic Breakfast. I understand that the Little Chef version of fried bread probably sucked, but why couldn’t Heston just retain the essence of fried bread and make it classy like Tyra makes it fashion?) Big Chef airs on Planet Green at 8 p.m. ET and repeats all week; check listings here.

Jan 27 2010 09:30 AM ET

Winter X Games 14: Introducing Snowmobile Knock Out!

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , , ,

The Winter X Games 14 begin Thursday in Aspen, and if you haven’t watched them before, here’s a reason to start: Snowmobile Knock Out. It’s one of the new disciplines added this year, and the name is just too awesome to ignore. Here’s the description:

“Snowmobile Knock Out will feature six Snowmobile athletes whose scores are based on actual distance traveled from a steel take-off ramp over a 75-foot gap to a snow landing. The contest will be in a series of rounds, whereby all riders will start from the same distance, and will be given two attempts to jump their snowmobile as far as possible. The athlete who comes up with the shortest distance per round will be eliminated. The remainder of the field advances to the next round. After each round, the start line will be moved back, creating more run-in room to the take-off jump allowing athletes to jump further and further each round as the contest progresses. One rider is eliminated per round and the last rider to land the furthest wins.”

Right? After the jump, some video highlights from last year featuring Joe Parsons, Simon Dumont, and Shaun White that might also get you to tune in, along with your full Winter X Games 14 TV schedule for ESPN and ESPN2. Which event is your must see?  READ FULL STORY »

Jan 27 2010 09:00 AM ET

'Absolute Justice' absolutely makes our Must List. What's on yours?

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Filed under: Television and tagged: ,

Smallville has been off my radar for a while, even after a friend gave me a two-hour crash course during a long baggage claim wait in a New York airport over the holidays. But the new Canadian promo for Absolute Justice has me running to watch the ”catch up” DVDs (also given to me by my Smallville enthusiast companion) that have been gathering dust atop my TV.

I have a feeling that even though I’ve watched Smallville with (at best) lax consistency, Absolute Justice is made for both devout viewers and lazy ones like me. Much like when I went to see all of the Batman and Spiderman movies in the theaters, I know merely the basics about the back story. Good guy. Bad guy. Superhero. Villain. There’s so much more to learn, I know, but it’s intimidating to be so far behind.

The good news is, I don’t think my lack of comprehensive knowledge will hinder my enjoyment of AJ at all. I mean, look at the promo. The movie looks like anything but a low-quality TV movie you’d find airing on a Saturday night on network X. It looks well made, and thus, I am excited.

Recap: After a one-week delay because of last week’s Haiti telethon, Smallville returns this Friday, and Absolute Justice airs Feb. 5. Watch them both. One for prep and one for fun.

But what about you? What are you excited about this week? Have any TV or movie promos caught your eye? Any books got you buzzing? Sound off below on what’s topping your Must List!

Jan 26 2010 09:26 PM ET

'American Idol' Los Angeles auditions: Going for joke!

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

At the end of tonight’s American Idol episode, Ryan Seacrest explained that Chris Golightly and “22 others” from the Los Angeles auditions scored Golden Tickets to Hell Week. And so, naturally, the producers chose to ignore said wealth of talent, showing only five successful auditions and instead choosing to focus on the sweaty, the sassy, and the possibly psychotic. There was time for other activities, too, like painting womankind with the ancient brush that tells us ladies who have a difference of opinion should be automatically labeled “catty”…by the likes of Ryan Seacrest. (Okay, okay, so Katy Perry bordered on vicious when facing off with Kara The Terrible. But Kara was perhaps more offensive for demanding this week’s guest judge should stand in lockstep with her voting choices just because neither one possesses a Y chromosome.) We also caught glimpses of season 6′s “crying girl” Ashley Furl and Project Runway contestant Daniel Franco during the course of the hour-long telecast — thanks to my hawk-eyed colleague Kate Ward for catching the latter — but I just wish we’d seen a few more Top 12 contenders, don’t you? On that note, I’m gonna get cracking on my full TV Watch recap (update: the article is now live on EW.com!), and until then, you can head to the comments section to share your impressions of tonight’s show, check out my week 2 American Idol Power list and a gallery of your favorite ‘bad’ auditions, then sign up to follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak.

Jan 26 2010 06:42 PM ET

Tilda Swinton would play Conan O'Brien. Did you hear that, Oscar?

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , , , , ,

Remember when Conan O’Brien said he would like actress Tilda Swinton to play him in a movie about the NBC fiasco? Of course you do. Well, it looks like the cheeky actress is all for it. Yesterday, during an interview with Movieline, Swinton was asked if she would be willing to take on the challenge. She responded: “I would just be only too happy…Yes, yes, yes, absolutely.”

Sure, she may have been joking, but regardless, let’s just consider the awesomeness of a Swinton-as-O’Brien movie. (Even if I’m a little surprised O’Brien went with Swinton, and not Finland prez Tarja Halonen.) Do I smell Oscar? After all, not only does she look like the former Tonight Show host, but this dress would also look damn good accessorized with an “In the Year 2000″ collar.

But who else would you cast in a movie inspired by the NBC late-night fiasco? (And let’s think outside the box here — let’s not cast with The Late Shift alums.) Who would play Jay Leno? David Letterman? Jimmy Kimmel? And Jeff Zucker? (I vote Eric Stonestreet, Keith Carradine, Patton Oswalt, and Stephen Tobolowsky.)

Your turn!

Photo Credit: O’Brien: Jay Brady/Everett Collection; Swinton: Bob Charlotte/PR Photos

Jan 26 2010 05:35 PM ET

CBS stands behind controversial Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad; Women's groups continue to protest

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Filed under: News and tagged:

This year, the most talked-about Super Bowl ad won’t likely feature dancing lizards, a steaming hot Cindy Crawford, or a talking baby. Nope, judging by early reaction, it will involve Florida Gators football star Tim Tebow, his mother, and possibly a pro-life message.

The spot — brought to CBS by the Christian organization Focus on the Family — is expected to share the story behind Tebow’s birth: Apparently, his mother refused to have an abortion after being advised by doctors to do so while she was pregnant with Tebow. The ad has caused an uproar among pro-choice advocates, who claim the Super Bowl — the most-watched event of the year — is an inappropriate place to invite political debate. Not to mention put a large percentage of its viewing public in danger. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 26 2010 04:33 PM ET

Taylor Lautner to suit up for DirecTV's Celebrity Beach Bowl

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Filed under: Television and tagged: , ,

Quick, find a friend who has DirecTV. Taylor Lautner has signed on for the 4th Annual DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl, a flag football game featuring NFL greats and celebs, airing live on the 101 Network Feb. 6 at 2:30 p.m. ET from Miami. Lautner will be joined by the likes of Christian Slater, Guy Fieri, and Kevin Dillon — and Eli Manning, Troy Aikman and Warren Moon. While the rest of teams’ rosters are still being confirmed, let no one say that Lautner got the nod on his name alone. At least not anyone who saw him fire a couple of passes to Jerry Rice to earn his Twilight Saga: New Moon plug on The Jay Leno Show.

P.S. Taylor, I’m sure Florida has lots of senior citizen bowling alleys for you to hang out at…

Jan 26 2010 03:36 PM ET

New trailer for 'Repo Man' sequel, 'Repo Chick'

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , ,

The 1980s were a golden age for wonderfully weird independent films. Films like Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy, the Coen brothers’ Blood Simple, David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, and Alex Cox’s Repo Man. Actually, that last one may be the strangest movie of the bunch. But unlike the other directors on that list, Cox never managed (or wanted) to cross over into the mainstream. Instead, he got swallowed up by his own idiosyncratic obsessions and continued to make films that fewer and fewer people went to see. It was clear from the beginning of his career that this was not a guy that was going to play ball with the big studios and wind up cranking out a Spider-Man, a Good Will Hunting, or even a Mulholland Dr. one day. The closest he would come is the brilliant Sid & Nancy. Since then, Cox has remained a true oddball. And like most oddballs in Hollywood, he fell off the map….

Until now.

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Jan 26 2010 03:20 PM ET

Never mind the acting, who gives good speech?

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Filed under: Golden Globe Awards, Television and tagged: , , ,

It’s crazy how an actor’s acceptance speech can sometimes make more of a lasting impression than their award-winning role on the big screen. For those of us at home on our couches, the speeches can make or break an awards show. Golden Globes? Mo’Nique’s speech had me crying, then T-Bone Streep nailed it.

The Hollywood Reporter has some analysis of how speeches leading up to the Oscars can affect a nominee’s chances of winning an Academy Award — they single out the recent podium posturing by Christoph Waltz (whose thematic speeches kind of annoy me) and Sandra Bullock (who scores with charm, humor, and what looks like real, non-Hollywood love for her husband!?). I also find George Clooney to be that perfect blend of classy, funny, and respectful.

So, PopWatchers, your turn. What speeches have impressed you over the years? Sally Field’s old chestnut of “you like me”? Halle Berry’s tears? James Cameron’s “king of the world”? Mickey “If they ain’t got the balls” Rourke?

Who are you hoping wins at the Oscars this year just so you can see them speak? Meryl’s the top of my list!

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