Archive: September 2010 (1-10 of 588)

Sep 30 2010 07:11 PM ET

Disney's 'Tron: Legacy' and 'Tangled' event makes for some rather enjoyable whiplash

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

TRON-TANGLEDImage Credit: Douglas Curran; Disney EnterprisesWhen I say the words “a Disney movie,” I think we can agree that we all have a pretty clear vision of what I’m talking about: Family friendly, bright, adventurous, bold themes, big characters, obvious marketing tie-ins, etc. Well, last night I attended a special event showcasing two big Disney movies slated for the holiday season: Tangled (Nov. 24) and Tron: Legacy (Dec. 17). And while both films live up to all those aforementioned Disney movie traits, I am hard pressed to think of a more jarring double-feature I’ve experienced outside of a major film festival. The whiplash of going from a dark-and-glossy futuristic action adventure epic scored by Daft Punk to a storybook musical about a teenage girl with a lustrously magical mane of blonde hair is something I will not soon forget.

The evening started with footage from Tron: Legacy — first its 3-D trailer, and then about 20-or-so minutes of completed scenes in 2-D, all from what appear to be the film’s first and second acts. Many of these scenes fill in the missing bits already glimpsed in the movie’s gonzo trailers: READ FULL STORY »

Sep 30 2010 06:50 PM ET

Did Michael Caine just explain the ending of 'Inception'? Or did we just dream that he did?

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , ,

Michael-CaineImage Credit: Solarpix/PR PhotosFor those of you who are still scratching your heads over the ambiguous spinning-top ending of this summer’s mind-bender Inception, one of the film’s stars, Sir Michael Caine, has weighed in with his own explanation of what it all means. (For anyone who hasn’t seen the movie yet: SPOILER ALERT!) In an interview with BBC Radio, Caine — who plays Leonardo DiCaprio’s character’s father-in-law and mentor in the film — revealed that, as he sees it, the end of the movie isn’t just a dream (within a dream within a dream within a dream…). “[The spinning top] drops at the end, that’s when I come back on,” Caine explained. “If I’m there it’s real, because I’m never in the dream. I’m the guy who invented the dream.”

So if the top dropped and didn’t keep spinning, then DiCaprio’s character really is reunited with his kids at the end, which would certainly make sense in a Hollywood-happy-ending kind of way. But what do you think? Does Caine’s theory work for you? What do you think he meant by the fact that his character “invented the dream”? Do you have a different theory?

Sep 30 2010 06:15 PM ET

Paris Hilton will star in a new reality series. You've been warned.

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Filed under: Reality TV, Television, To Care or Not to Care, TV and tagged: , , , ,

paris-hiltonImage Credit: PRN/PR PhotosEvidently Paris Hilton hasn’t been getting enough attention lately. According to People.com, the celebutante-model-actress-singer-sex-tape-maker-author-dubious-purse-borrower will soon be starring in her own new reality TV series, which will air on the Oxygen Network. In contrast to Hilton’s previous reality shows, The Simple Life and Paris Hilton’s My New BFF, the as-yet-untitled new series, People reports, will focus on “the serious side of her life beyond tabloid headlines.” What that means is pretty much anyone’s guess at this point, though we’re assuming it’s not going to focus on her research in the field of particle physics or her passion for quietly sitting and doing macramé.

I hesitate even to ask, but would you watch another Paris Hilton reality show? If so, what kind of a show would you want to see? If not, could she do anything at this point to change your opinion of her?

More Paris Hilton:
Paris Hilton, Hallmark settles ‘that’s hot’ lawsuit
Paris Hilton pleads guilty to misdemeanors, avoids jail
Paris Hilton denies purse was hers, according to police
‘Simple Life 2′ star Paris Hilton’s adventures

Sep 30 2010 05:45 PM ET

Excess Hollywood: Sully's story to fly to the big screen

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Filed under: Movies, News, Television, TV and tagged: , , , ,
  • The Kennedy/Marshall Co., and Flashlight Films are hoping for a miracle on the big screen: They have optioned Capt. Chelsey “Sully” Sullenberger’s memoir about landing U.S. Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson. [Variety]
  • Everybody Loves Raymond‘s Brad Garrett will host a modern version of Kids Say the Darndest Things. Kids Tweet the Dardest Things? [THR]
  • The producers of Anything Goes announced in a press release that Cabaret star Joel Grey will return to Broadway, playing “Moonface Martin.”
  • How are Broadway audiences going to take it? The producers of Rock of Ages announced via press release that Twisted Sister rocker Dee Snider will make his Broadway debut in the show Oct. 19.
  • NBC will adapt U.K. reality show The Boss Is Coming to Dinner for U.S. audiences. The show revolves around job applicants who must throw a party for a possible employer, who will make hiring decisions based on the party. Look, P. Diddy has enough jobs, m’kay? [Variety]
  • Nickelodeon has ordered Supah Ninjas — starring George Takei in the pilot — for 26 episodes. Supah, yes, but are there three of them? [Variety]
Sep 30 2010 05:44 PM ET

The CW plans to push the envelope of voyeurism with a new reality series, The Frame

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

Have you ever watched Big Brother and thought to yourself, “Those contestants have way too much privacy and far too much space to move around”? Well, do we have a show for you! According to Vulture, the CW is developing a new reality series called The Frame that will essentially take the human-Habitrail concept of Big Brother and squeeze it into one little room. The series will pit seven or eight teams of two players — couples, siblings, etc. — against one another. Each team will have to live in a single room as small as 10-feet-by-10-feet, with a camera recording everything they do, though they will presumably get bathroom and personal-hygiene breaks (at least we hope). The teams will compete in various challenges — although it’s safe to assume the biggest challenge will simply be maintaining their sanity — and viewers will vote on who should get booted off the show. For the especially voyeuristic, a continuous live stream will be available on the Internet in addition to the twice-weekly telecasts. If you want to get a sense of what The Frame will be like, click here to see a version that has aired in Spain (I’m guessing the American series will have a lot less flamenco guitar).

Sounds a little sadistic, right? But would you watch? For that matter, could you imagine being a contestant? If so, who would you be able to share a small room with 24/7 without wanting to kill?

Sep 30 2010 05:30 PM ET

Adam Scott set to star alongside Jon Hamm in my dreams, and in an actual movie

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Filed under: Mad Men, Movies, Television, TV and tagged: , , , , , ,

Adam-ScottImage Credit: Amanda Meredith/PR PhotosAdam Scott will star in screenwriter Jennifer Westfeldt’s upcoming Friends With Kids, the actor’s rep confirms. He’ll be in good company, too, alongside Kristin Wiig and Westfeldt’s longtime partner Jon Hamm. Adam Scott and Jon Hamm on the same screen? Be still my heart.

As a slavish fan of Party Down, Mad Men, and stories written by women, this is pretty much the best news I’ve ever heard. Westfeldt’s previous films — the indie classic Kissing Jessica Stein and the less-seen-but-totally-cute Ira and Abby — combine wry social observations with genuine warmth and stylized storytelling. Yay for everything. Even Piranha 3-D.

Does this take the sting away from Party Down being canceled, PopWatchers? (Not for me.) Do you want to see Hamm and Scott play snuggly besties, or might they be a little more fun as adversaries?

Sep 30 2010 05:01 PM ET

Lady Gaga moves on from meat, steps out in hairy dress

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Filed under: About Last Night, Music and tagged: , , ,

Lady-Gaga-hair-dressSome of us were still reeling from Lady Gaga’s meaty VMA dress, but since it’s been nearly a month and shocking and awing is in her DNA, she’s back with some new fodder. Last night, the pop star made a surprise appearance at New York’s The Oak Room wearing — wait for it — a dress made of strawberry blond hair.

Much like the meat dress, it begs the question: Is it real? And the follow-up question: Does it itch?

The jury’s still out, but what do you think of Gaga’s newest get-up? Her meat dress will be turned into jerky, so what could her hair dress come back as?

Read more:
Lady Gaga: 18 Outrageous Outfits

Sep 30 2010 04:33 PM ET

'ControlTV': Meet the star of Seth Green's new online experiment

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

Tristan-ControlTVImage Credit: Tao RuspoliThe argument regarding predetermined fate versus free will may never be settled, but starting Oct. 6, at least one 25-year-old guy will know who’s calling the shots. ControlTV, the new online reality series from Robot Chicken creators Seth Green and Matthew Senreich, stars a former IT recruiter named Tristan Couvares (pictured, left). Like most reality shows, Tristan will be constantly followed around Los Angeles by cameras, and like the voyeuristic experiment If I Can Dream, it’ll all be streamed live on the show’s official site. But with ControlTV, there’s one key difference: You get to decide what Tristan does.

At least a dozen times throughout each day, a poll will appear allowing viewers to vote on whether Tristan should wear boxers or briefs, date a blonde or brunette, buy a ticket for The Social Network or Case 39, that kind of thing. So for six weeks this poor young man will not only give up every ounce of privacy, but he’ll also become the Internet’s human puppet — an interactive lab mouse that may or may not reach the cheese at the end of the labyrinth. It all depends on how wisely (or poorly) y’all guide Mr. Couvares along.

EW.com recently talked to Tristan about handing his life over to the Web and becoming a digital Truman Burbank. His responses, plus the show’s trailer, just ahead: READ FULL STORY »

Sep 30 2010 03:35 PM ET

Bryan Cranston's 'SNL' promos: Bill Hader thinks he's 'adorable'

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Filed under: Television, TV and tagged: ,

“You may know Bryan from his hit show Breaking Bad, about a terrible middle-aged breakdancer,” says SNL‘s Bill Hader of the show’s Oct. 2 host, Bryan Cranston, in a series of ads. (Though not true, it’s still funny — and is it wrong we kind of want to see that show?) Hader also shows Cranston love for his work on Malcolm in the Middle, saying that the actor was “so adorable” — before he finds out Cranston did not play Malcolm. Check out Hader and Cranston’s promos after the jump. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 30 2010 03:00 PM ET

'Social Network': Natalie Portman was Aaron Sorkin's secret weapon

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Filed under: News and tagged: , ,

Natalie-PortmanImage Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty ImagesIn The Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) models Facebook on Harvard’s legendary final clubs, private groups made up of some of the school’s most privileged students. But the clubs are as secretive as they are exclusive, which meant researching them was no easy task for screenwriter Aaron Sorkin. Luckily, he got a hand from one of the school’s most famous alums: Natalie Portman. The star studied at Harvard from 1999-2003 and dated a member of the famous Porcellian Club — and she couldn’t wait to tell Sorkin all about it.

“Natalie Portman got in touch with me when she heard that I was doing this to say, ‘Listen…come over for dinner and I’ll tell you some stories,’” Sorkin said to a group of Harvard students at a sneak preview screening last week. “I would’ve come over for dinner under any circumstances. But that was really helpful.”

Portman also gets a tongue-in-cheek reference in the movie itself, when one character mentions that Zuckerberg became the hottest thing on a campus that included Nobel Laureates, Pulitzer Prizer winners, future Olympians, and a movie star.

For more on The Social Network, pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly, on stands Oct. 1. To watch Dave Karger’s video chat with the stars and screenwriter (part 1 embedded below), go to EW.com/socialnetworkvideo. READ FULL STORY »

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