Archive: March 2010 (241-250 of 604)

Mar 18 2010 10:00 AM ET

The real Idols? These brave contestants on 'Afghan Star'

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , , ,

On American Idol, they try to create “triumph over adversity” backstories with anyone who’s ever had a paper cut. But if you want to see people putting their lives on the line for their love of singing, you have to tune into Afghan Star tonight on HBO, at 8:30 p.m. (it repeats through March 30).

This documentary explores the lives of four contestants on Afghan Star, an Idol-type TV talent competition in Afghanistan. The show was started after the end of Taliban rule, which had banned TV and even made listening to music illegal. So a TV show about singing was quite a new thing. One woman, the inspiring Setara, gets death threats after she dances on stage. (We’re not even talking Showgirls dancing, we’re talking a little shimmy fully clothed during her singing performance.) And voting for the show’s winner is some people’s first democratic experience(!).

Havana Marking’s Sundance-prize-winning film is enlightening and entertaining. Check it out and you’ll never look at someone like whip girl on American Idol the same way.


Mar 18 2010 09:00 AM ET

This week's cover: 'Date Night' costars Tina Fey and Steve Carell imagine a Liz Lemon/Michael Scott hookup

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

Entertainment-Weekly-coverIn Date Night, a comedy in theaters April 9, Tina Fey and Steve Carell play a married couple with kids whose rare romantic evening on the town goes haywire thanks to an epic case of mistaken identity. Instead of sipping fine wine and strolling through Central Park, they flee dirty cops, seek help from a pathologically shirtless weapons expert (played by Mark Wahlberg), and attempt a comically inept routine at a strip club. Naturally, then, one of the first questions we asked the costars was what would happen if their hapless small-screen alter egos, 30 Rock‘s Liz Lemon and The Office‘s Michael Scott, went on a date of their own. Here’s what they said:

Tina Fey: Oh, Liz Lemon would f— it up. Michael Scott would probably be very open, but Liz Lemon would be sour and judgmental and she’d blow it. [Laughs]
Steve Carell: Blow it? With Michael? I don’t think there’s any way she would agree to go out with Michael Scott unless she had been tricked into it. I don’t think you go from Jon Hamm to Michael Scott. Michael Scott should be so lucky.
TF: We should just say, “That’s the series finale this year!”
SC: “We’re planning a little cross-pollination. There’s a tornado, and we all have to huddle somewhere between New York City and Scranton! It makes complete sense!” [Shakes his head.] No way.
TF: It would be so bad. It’s not gonna happen.

Bummer, right? But a fan can dream.

For more on Fey and Carell, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on stands Friday, March 19.

Mar 18 2010 08:54 AM ET

Betty White to Larry King: 'I'm the luckiest old broad who ever drew breath.'

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The ever-charming Betty White stopped by CNN last night to chat with Larry King about her current status as America’s Sweetheart (AARP Division). She was, as expected, a delight. The Proposal star told King she credits her success to “sheer blind luck,” calling herself “the luckiest old broad who ever drew breath.” She also admitted some nerves about her upcoming SNL gig this May and told King she has no idea what skits they’ll do. “I’m not backseat driving,” she said. “I’ll do whatever they tell me to do.” Check out the clip for your morning shot of adorable. (Warning: You may want to plug your ears around the 1:05 mark if you’d rather avoid the embarrassment of hearing King say “By the way, do you Twitter?”)

Mar 18 2010 07:21 AM ET

'ANTM' recap: Starving, hysterical, naked

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Filed under: Reality TV and tagged: , ,

ANTMImage Credit: Martina Monica Tolot / The CWNudity, screaming, wipeouts, and the dawn of the André era — but remind me again why this week’s Top Model needed to be a grueling 90 minutes? It would have been (barely) permissible were it one giganto episode, but no, it was pretty plainly the ass-half of last week’s also needlessly long episode, plus a full regular episode. I can’t tell what’s worse: that kind of cruddy last-minute patchworking, or Tyra’s wrap jumpsuit with pockets. Just kidding…, of course I can tell.  It was the jumpsuit. Let’s do this, kids. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 18 2010 07:15 AM ET

'High Society' recap: 'People don't have jobs and stuff down here'

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Filed under: Reality TV, Television and tagged: , , ,

high-societyThe second episode of High Society made it clear that socialites are taught to live by a different set of rules. For any Tinsleys in the making, fear not, for here is your introductory course free of charge.

Lesson 1. Always wear heels.

Tinsley, who hates, hates, HATES flats!, pranced around her apartment in Prada heels (she told us so, I’m not that much of a fashionista) while unpacking items from her old life (because it feels more natural than walking in flats or being barefoot).

Lesson 2. If you start a huge screaming match with an ex-friend, make sure to tell him or her that you don’t feel bad about it.

After fighting with Jules last week, P.J.C. had her meet him so they could talk. This led to zero resolution, no apologies, and the trading of  cheap cell phone insults. “I don’t want your crackberry, I have an iPhone!”P.J.C. noted.

Lesson 3. Always be culturally sensitive to those around you.

Jules berated the hotel maid over improperly making her bed with her new Frette monogram sheets. When she saw that the pillowcase was upside down (making the showpiece initials illegible), she flipped out and provided yet another reason why she should be a UN ambassador ASAP, “In our country we don’t spell upside down!” She’s already teaching. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 18 2010 06:45 AM ET

'American Idol': On the scene at the Top 12 results night -- you could cut the tension with a body pillow!

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

Idol-Seacrest-OrianthiImage Credit: Michael Becker/PictureGroupI should tell you up front, I did not get to see Ke$ha perform at last night’s American Idol results show. Or, rather, I did not get to see her perform live. The pop tartlet pre-taped her performance a few hours before the live show, and I couldn’t make it over to CBS Television City in time to see it. So I have no fun anecdotes to share about how her dancers managed those oversized TV-screen headdresses, or whether the production had trouble getting the shot of Sarah Chalke in an SNL skit Ke$ha kicking in that TV set like the iconoclast she is. I know, I know; my snark demon Smirkelstiltskin is disappointed too. He was so looking forward to foraging through Ke$ha’s hair for crumpled Red Bull cans and dried chunks of glitter paint. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 17 2010 10:06 PM ET

'American Idol' Top 12 results night: Did the right person go home?

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

Bam! We’re down to 11! Or, in other words, after tonight’s not terribly suspenseful American Idol results show, we’re a mere 20 episodes away from naming Kris Allen’s successor. [WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD, west-coast readers!] READ FULL STORY »

Mar 17 2010 05:42 PM ET

'American Idol' exclusive: the top 12 are ready for their close-ups

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Filed under: American Idol and tagged: ,

Aw, the top 12 Idol contestants are incredibly adorable in this little behind-the-scenes clip. Look how excited they are! I forgive them for the blah Rolling Stones episode from last night!

Stick a pin in this balloon of preciousness, PopWatchers: Who do you think is going home tonight?

Mar 17 2010 05:34 PM ET

Buzz Lightyear first man to walk on moon, say some children

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Filed under: Those Crazy Kids! and tagged: , , ,

pixarImage Credit: ©Pixar/DisneyIn advance of Britain’s National Science and Engineering Week, 1,000 primary and secondary school children were given a test asking them questions like, Who was the first man on the moon? One in 10 said it was Buzz Lightyear, the Tim Allen-voiced character from the Toy Story movies. Other responses included: Luke Skywalker, Sir Richard Branson, and Lance Armstrong.

“While some findings raise a smile, it suggests that school children aren’t tuned into our scientific heroes in the same way that they might be to sporting or music legends,” Dr. Pam Waddell told The Telegraph. And don’t forget actors! Her study also shows that while 70 percent of nine to 10-year-olds said they would rather win a Nobel prize for science than an Oscar, only 33 percent of 11 to 15-year-olds did.

This article made me remember several things:

• The kid in my third grade class who, when asked what country we lived in, responded “Keystone” because one of the local new affiliates had promos saying “This is Keystone Country”

• How I really liked a boy in sixth grade because he wore a turtleneck with dinosaurs on it, and how in freshman biology, I wrote a rap song about hawks to the B-side instrumental of “Parents Just Don’t Understand” for a project. I may still have chosen an Oscar, but did I not show some interest in science?

• How intimidated I was as a junior in college studying art history in London for a semester, eavesdropping on the little British children on museum visits answering their teachers’ questions more articulately than I could’ve… Knowing they’re not all that smart makes me happy. I’m not gonna lie.

Anything stupid or adorkable you said or did as a child that you’d like to confess now? The lines are open.

Mar 17 2010 04:14 PM ET

St. Patrick's Day: What pop culture event is driving you to drink?

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

Couch-potato-beerImage Credit: Mike Kemp/Getty ImagesI need a drink, PopWatchers. And not just because today is St. Patrick’s Day and hump day all rolled into one. No, it’s because I’m still coping with the depression that kicked off last Thursday after American Idol‘s shockingly disappointing results show. Even during last night’s top 12 performance night, a girlfriend and I downed about three glasses of boxed wine Kathie Lee-style while mourning the loss of Alex Lambert. (You guys, I can’t get over this. And hearing him on The Ellen Show isn’t helping matters! In the name of all things mullet-ed, what do I do?!)

But this isn’t the first time a pop culture event has driven me to drink. Charlie’s death on Lost got me so depressed I immediately went searching for some Dharma beer (I had to settle for some Blue Moons left in the fridge). Then there was reviewing the disaster that was Donkey Punch, a movie that me wish someone had created the vodka shower, since I seriously needed to wash myself of that experience. And then, obviously, there was the alcohol-enabled unwinding after reporting on Michael Jackson’s death, which was both sad and exhausting.

So in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I ask you, PopWatchers: What pop culture event drove you straight to the nearest handle of vodka? And please be honest — we are in a no-judgment zone! (Right? Right?) Oh, and Happy (hic!) St. Pat-(burp!)-rick’s Day!

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