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Archive: June 2010 (291-300 of 584)

Jun 16 2010 02:30 PM ET

'MythBusters' busts out its top 25 moments. What's your favorite?

Mythbusters Image Credit: Blair Bunting/DiscoveryA special MythBusters episode airs tonight, counting down the series’ top 25 moments. And yes, the never-aired ignited fart makes the cut. Um…yay!

My favorite MythBusters episodes are the ones that actually bust myths; sure, I like a good recreational explosion, and I’ve never watched a slo-mo demolition I didn’t love, but MB‘s best moments (aside from the goofiness) come from testing the veracity of conventional wisdom. Has anyone really wondered if a sailboat made of duct tape would float? Is that a myth? It is not. (But it does in fact float. Thanks, Jamie and Adam!)

Give me the voice that shatters glass, PopWatchers. Bring on the “beer before liquor” hangover testing. Let me know if I should waste perfectly good vodka on a Christmas tree. But maybe I’m not a typical MythBusters fan. What’s your favorite episode? What do you think will make the top 25?

Jun 16 2010 02:16 PM ET

'Karate Kid' sequel in the works: We've got the plot all worked out!

by Missy Schwartz

Categories: Dude, THAT's Your Plot?, Movies, Remakes, Sarcasm, Things That Are Awesome!

In what might be the biggest “Well, duh” of the week, as Hollywood Insider’s Nicole Sperling reports, Columbia Pictures is planning a sequel to The Kung Fu Karate Kid, seeing as the Will and Jada Smith-produced, Jaden Smith-starring remake to the 1984 original kicked such serious butt at the box office last weekend. They don’t have a script or story yet, but that’s where I come in. I’ve got the plot all worked out.

Since the current movie takes place in China (therefore borrowing the whole underdog-fish-out-of-water story line from the original Karate Kid II), the sequel should find Dre, his mama, and Mr. Han headin’ back to the States. Specifically, they will drop anchor in California (tax rebates, every actor lives there, great crews — it’s a win-win!), where Dre would befriend a pack of karate-choppin’ kids who hang out at a zen joint in the Valley called the Mr. Miyagi Karate Academy, run by none other than Daniel LaRusso and his high school sweetheart (now wife), Ali Mills. Every once in a while, a buff chick called Julie Pierce wanders in to visit the place named after her beloved late sensei, though since she won two Oscars retired from the sport to open a boxing studio, she doesn’t do much martial arting anymore. Dre and Mr. Han will try to convince Daniel-san to transform the Academy into a pan-martial arts center incorporating both karate and kung fu. Because Mr. Miyagi, bless his generous heart, would have wanted it that way, they say, even though they never met him, but whatevs. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 16 2010 01:30 PM ET

'Bachelor Pad' contestants revealed. At least two don't annoy us.

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Reality TV, Television, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette

Image Credit: ABCThe 19 Bachelor and Bachelorette alums that will compete for a “second chance at love” (and cash) on ABC’s six-episode Bachelor Pad (premiering Aug. 9) have finally been revealed. According to People‘s tone-setting swimsuit gallery, they include: READ FULL STORY »

Jun 16 2010 01:25 PM ET

Lunchtime Poll: Hey, it's Laurie Metcalf's birthday!

by Annie Barrett

Categories: Celebrity Birthdays, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, Hell to the No!, Horrifying But Hypnotic, Lunchtime Poll, Nostalgia, Ridiculata, Roseanne, Television, Things That Are Awesome!

Image Credit: Everett CollectionHappy birthday, Aunt Jackie! You were totally insane, made some questionable romantic and fashion choices, and your hair almost turned me off from bangs forever, but I will always love you. I really think you were one of the most brilliant characters ever. And now I have bangs!

Vote below, P-dubs, and remember — it’s her birthday. Oh, and speaking of things that happened 20 years ago, the photo of Mariah Carey in 1990 accompanying Simon’s post about the release of her first album is killing me in a great way. I can’t decide what’s best about it — the hair, the brows, or her expression. Maybe that should have been the poll. No, this is the poll.

Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett

Jun 16 2010 12:30 PM ET

20 Years Ago: Mariah Carey releases her first album

by Simon Vozick-Levinson

Categories: EW turns 20!, Mariah Carey, Music, Nostalgia

Image Credit: Deborah Feingold/CorbisBy the time Mariah Carey put out her debut album, she already had a reputation among music-biz insiders as a megastar in the making. “They were saying, ‘This girl has really got it. She’s the next Aretha Franklin,’” recalls producer Rhett Lawrence (Kelly Clarkson, Black Eyed Peas). When Lawrence eventually heard Carey’s demo, he jumped at the chance to work on her first album. “Man, I was knocked out,” he says. “She was even better than the hype.”

Sony Music’s then CEO Tommy Mottola had personally signed the 20-year-old Long Island native (they would later wed and divorce), and it’s easy to see why he was so excited. Carey’s debut introduced the world to a new kind of pop diva. A gifted vocalist, she decorated slow jams like “Vision of Love” (co-produced by Lawrence) with dizzying high notes and operatic trills. Even so, her novel mix of styles didn’t immediately connect. “She went against the norm,” says producer Walter Afanasieff, who would go on to work closely with Carey throughout the ’90s. “That’s not what was on the radio in 1990.” The album debuted at a lowly No. 80.

But the world soon caught on: Mariah Carey eventually hit No. 1 and stayed there for 11 weeks. It has since been certified nine times platinum. The album also netted Carey two Grammys, including Best New Artist. And while the singer, now 41, has seen her ups and downs, her debut remains a high point. “I will always thank Mariah for my experience on that album,” says Afanasieff. “It was like a school that we all graduated from, and everybody went on to achieve massive success — Mariah especially.”

ALSO IN ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY THAT WEEK:
Dick Tracy
Director-star Warren Beatty explained the creative process behind his comic-strip movie in our cover story: “I thought if I could make Dick Tracy the centerpiece of a swirl of color and plot, then maybe I could keep him from being terminally dull.”

TV’S 10 best series
Twin Peaks, thirtysomething, Murphy Brown, In Living Color, The Simpsons, Cheers, and Designing Women were among our picks for the 1989-90 season’s finest.

Bon Jovi
We wondered in News & Notes if the band was on the verge of a split. (It wasn’t.)

Jun 16 2010 11:51 AM ET

'America's Got Talent': At last, a great audition...from Gabourey Sidibe's mom!

by Margaret Lyons

Categories: About Last Night, America's Got Talent, Reality TV, Television

Last night’s America’s Got Talent continued in the mixed-bag trend, with auditions from the straight-up lame (sorry, lute dude) to the honest-to-god fantastic, like Alice Tan Ridley, mother of Precious star Gabourey Sidibe, who completely killed on “At Last.” It was the best audition of the night, but is that really saying much? (Watch Ridley’s audition after the jump.) READ FULL STORY »

Jun 16 2010 11:38 AM ET

Summit sues to stop sale of Bella Swan jacket

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, Lawsuits, Movies, Twilight

Image Credit: Twilight: Deana Newcomb; Inset: BB DakotaSummit Entertainment, the studio behind the Twilight franchise, has filed a lawsuit against BB Dakota claiming copyright and trademark infringement because the label insists upon advertising one of its jackets (pictured) as “JACKET SEEN IN TWILIGHT.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, in their lawsuit, “Summit seeks an injunction against further sale of the item, all profits earned from the jacket, and — the horror! — it wants B.B. Dakota to ‘deliver to Summit for destruction all Bella Jackets.’” (In a statement to EW, Gloria Brandes, BB Dakota owner/designer, says, “We are working to amicably settle the situation with Summit.”)

In my opinion, Summit at least had the right to ask the designer to spell Bella Swan’s name correctly in the jacket’s description on its site: “Bella Swann [sic] wears this jacket in Twilight and scores the hottest vampire in high school, and so can you!” But the fact is, the jacket existed before Kristen Stewart wore it in the first film, directed by Catherine Hardwicke. In fact, that movie’s costume designer, Wendy Chuck, detailed for EW just how it came to be in the picture: ”I was planning to use the brown hoodie for that sequence, but the director of photography hated the fact that [Stewart's] hair and the jacket were both brown and felt she got lost in it,” Chuck told us. So, she made a last-minute run to outlet store Nordstrom Rack to hunt for a replacement. ”I literally brought that blue one on set just before they rolled cameras. Then Catherine said, ‘Wendy saved the day!’ That made me a hero.”

Luckily, Edward’s pea coat was one of a kind.

What do you think of the suit, PopWatchers?

Jun 16 2010 11:30 AM ET

'Hell's Kitchen' recap: Fran Pan Redemption

by Darren Franich

Categories: TV Recap

There’s something adorably wrong about how Team Red lurks on their side of the dorm, anxiously chainsmoking and plotting their vengeance. So far, the men have dominated the challenges, and even the loss of Sharkboy and Shoeless hasn’t dented their fratty resolve. Meanwhile, the women chug their cancer sticks like generals on the losing side of the trenches. They ask themselves, “What the heck keeps on going wrong?” On last night’s Hell’s Kitchen two-parter, much tobacco was smoked and many losses were debated, but by the end, the power dynamics had been completely upended, and Cruel Dr. Ramsay was retreating to his laboratory, planning new methods to drive his contestants into culinary madness. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Challenge #1: Lunchie Munchies, mmm?

I was trying to figure out why Fox ran a two-hour episode so early in the season…until I got through the first half, and realized it was probably just because the first hour was a little bit bland. Take this first challenge, for instance. The chefs had to cook lunch for the USC marching band, including the famous Trojan cheerleaders. So, just so we’re clear: the challenge is Lunch. I get that this challenge was supposed to easy, but come on, there couldn’t even be a tiny twist? Like, maybe the chefs would have to cook while trombonist blurted the evil USC fight song in their ear?

READ FULL STORY »

Jun 16 2010 11:27 AM ET

Nintendo announces the 3DS: Get ready for 3-D gaming without 3-D glasses

by Adam B. Vary

Categories: E3, Gadgets, Games, Ninjas, This Could Be Interesting..., Videogames

Image Credit: Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesIf the folks at Nintendo were worried about Microsoft’s Kinect stealing its innovation thunder at this year’s E3, it was game over for those concerns yesterday after the venerable videogame company debuted the 3DS, a handheld gaming device that features a 3.5 inch 3-D screen that works without 3-D glasses. Just look at the screen with your plain old eyes, and a multi-dimensional Mario brightly smiles back at you. The 3DS case looks basically like the current Nintendo DS handheld device (including a second, 2-D touch screen), with a new analog controller, motion sensitivity, and two external cameras that let you take 3-D photos. I got to use a 3DS for all of 90 seconds after the show, and even though the demo was just a series of screens featuring classic Nintendo characters, I’m fairly certain I briefly achieved Nirvana while holding it.

Okay, not really, but it is an uncanny experience, looking at a flat screen and seeing depth with just your naked eyes. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 16 2010 10:33 AM ET

Jake Harris confronted by his father on 'Deadliest Catch': It's only going to get tougher to watch

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Deadliest Catch, Reality TV, Television, Why Am I Crying?

On last night’s episode of Deadliest Catch, an ailing Capt. Phil Harris caught his son Jake, who’d been slacking off on deck, stealing his prescription pain medicine. The confrontation that followed (Phil: “I want you out of my life. You’re out of my life…. You’re nothin’ but a thief. A thief and a liar”) was painful to watch. Especially if you knew that in next week’s episode, Phil suffers the stroke that eventually took his life.

I don’t know how we’re going to get through the June 22 episode and those airing after it, which will follow Phil’s final days since he insisted cameras keep rolling. (At the end of this post: Discovery’s detailed description of the rest of the season). But I feel like we owe it to him. We’ve been with him for six seasons, we can’t leave him alone in the end. Not when he wanted a great ending to his story. READ FULL STORY »