Archive: September 2010 (241-250 of 588)

Sep 18 2010 04:17 PM ET

Amanda Bynes after 'Easy A': To retire or not to retire?

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Categories: Movies, PopWatch Career Counseling

Amanda-Bynes-EasyAImage Credit: Adam TaylorDespite having a certain susceptibility to teen movies — not that there’s anything wrong with a grown woman being able to quote most of Bring It On — I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this weekend’s Easy A. Emma Stone kills it as Olive, a high school student who traps herself in an extremely slutty lie, and as her potential romantic interest, Gossip Girl‘s Penn Badgley evokes the above-it-all cool of, well, Jesse Bradford in Bring It On. (Yes, I am aware that other movies exist.) Hooray, also, for Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as the weirdest, warmest movie parents in a long while. I walked out of the theater feeling like maybe, just maybe, the kidz are gonna be all right.

But we are gathered here today to discuss the strange case of Amanda Bynes, as Easy A marks her first major film appearance since Hairspray in 2007. (I’m not counting Sydney White, since apparently no one did at the time.) Playing a tightly-wound evangelical Christian goody-two-shoes on a rampage against Olive’s alleged behavior, she isn’t given much to do but shoot Jesus lasers from her eyes and blast aggravated steam from her ears, but she slapped on a prissy headband and went for it anyway. Bynes has always exhibited less vanity than her fellow teen stars, a willingness to go for the punchline (even if she’s the punchline) that evades lesser comediennes. So I gotta ask: Amanda, what is up with all this retirement hoo-hah? READ FULL STORY »

Sep 18 2010 01:00 PM ET

Stars for sale: A-lister movies still up for grabs after the Toronto Film Festival

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Categories: Movies, Toronto Film Festival

Will-Ferrell-TorontoImage Credit: Vito Amati/Getty ImagesDistributors have been on a shopping spree at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, snapping up titles like director Robert Redford’s The Conspirator (starring James McAvoy and Robin Wright), the Nicole Kidman drama Rabbit Hole, the Will Ferrell dramedy Everything Must Go, and the action comedy Super (featuring Rainn Wilson and Ellen Page). But now that the fest is over, a few big-name projects are still on the market. Here’s a look at some of the most notable:

Passion Play (Mickey Rourke, Bill Murray, Megan Fox)
This eccentric drama follows a jazz trumpeter (Rourke) who’s in trouble with a ruthless gangster (Murray) and in love with a winged sideshow act (Fox). (UPDATE: Image Entertainment acquired distribution rights to Passion, according to Deadline.)

Beginners (Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer)
An artist (McGregor) reflects on his life after his elderly father (Plummer) comes out of the closet. (UPDATE: Focus has picked up Beginners.) READ FULL STORY »

Sep 18 2010 10:38 AM ET

'Nikita' star Maggie Q talks her new hit series, kicking butt, and being a Jackie Chan protege

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Categories: Fall TV, Nikita, Television

Ben Mark Holzberg/The CW

The fall TV season has just begun but it’s safe to say that Nikita star Maggie Q is definitely one of the breakouts. The actress, best known for her role in Mission: Impossible III, is both beautiful and badass as the titular assassin seeking revenge. EW talked with the star on a break from filming the CW action drama on location in Toronto.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you get attached to Nikita? Did you audition?
MAGGIE Q: The process all happened really fast. It was literally four or five days and the deal was done. It’s like on Monday I knew nothing about Nikita and on Friday I was starring in Nikita. It was that quick.

You’ve had a successful movie career (Mission: Impossible III; Live Free or Die Hard). Did you wanna do TV? READ FULL STORY »

Sep 18 2010 10:29 AM ET

'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' Season 3 Premiere Recap: Full Metal Blaster

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Categories: Animation, Fall TV, Mini TV Watch, Sci-Fi, Star Wars, Things That Are Awesome!, TV Recap

Shaak-TiImage Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd. & TMEW readers, you’ve just taken your first step into a larger world. Okay, no, you’re actually reading a recap of Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ season 3 premiere. Considering it’s one of the highest rated series on basic cable, it’s a shame that Clone Wars hasn’t received more recognition. All you prequel-hating naysayers really need to give the show a try. With bombastically tongue-in-cheek narration and a kid-friendly moral opening each episode, it’s a return to the gee-whiz, B-movie spirit that defined the original trilogy, by which I mean it has more action and fewer monologues about the taxation of trade routes. Clone Wars’ first two seasons found an admirable balance between accessible character-driven stories for casual fans who couldn’t tell the difference between a Gundark and a Kowakian monkey-lizard, and in-universe references to spin-off Star Wars books, comics, and video games for die-hard Jedi wannabes.

Season 3’s opening episodes, functionally titled “Clone Cadets” and “Arc Troopers” respectively, took on the challenge of presenting a story largely from the point of view of the clones themselves. Specifically, a rookie clone platoon, Domino Squad, still in a Republic boot camp under the command of Jedi master Shaak Ti on the storm-swept ocean planet of Kamino. It was a difficult task for Lucasfilm Animation’s writing team, because all the clones look alike, all are soldiers, and they’re all voiced by the same actor, Dee Bradley Baker. How do you make each clone distinct? READ FULL STORY »

Sep 18 2010 07:30 AM ET

Lindsay Lohan fails her drug test. When do you stop rooting for a comeback?

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Categories: Celebrity Scandals, Made Us Think, Ripped From the Headlines!, Things That Are Sad

Lindsay-LohanImage Credit: Jean Baptiste Lacroix/WireImage.comWe’ve spent three years doing it. You know, taking to the Internet and the comment boards after each and every one of Lindsay Lohan’s legal infractions to discuss our hopes that she’ll get it together and make a comeback. How could we not root for the young, freckled actress who first won our hearts in 1998′s The Parent Trap? Who proved her talent as a comedic actress and a leading lady in 2004′s Mean Girls? And who held her own against thesps like Jamie Lee Curtis and Meryl Streep in 2003′s Freaky Friday and 2006′s Prairie Home Companion, respectively?

But now, after news spread that Lohan has failed her court-mandated drug test (and after the actress herself admitted to the failed test) — which stemmed from her post-jail probation — it’s become increasingly clear that the 24-year-old star’s supporters have dwindled to a smaller group than the few who sat through I Know Who Killed Me. (Low blow, I know.) At this point, audiences have all but completely abandoned their sympathy for the actress. When I saw People‘s report in my RSS feed, I’ll admit I was surprised to see that some readers even chose to “Like” (in the Facebook sense) the news that Lohan could be destined for more jail time.

It’s cruel, and very sad, but not completely unexpected, considering the amount of headline-grabbing setbacks she’s experienced — or should I say caused? — in her young life. Yet, we still can’t completely blame a starlet whose fall from grace happened at such a formative age. Whether or not Lohan’s continued troubles are in part the fault of an enabling Hollywood — who have allowed her to continually parody her demons via VMA cameos and FunnyorDie — is moot. We can spend all day like we’ve spent the past three years pointing fingers at her stage parents, at the media, and at the industry, but, for a lack of a better phrase, what’s the point? READ FULL STORY »

Sep 17 2010 07:53 PM ET

ABC nabs 'True Lies' television adaptation

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Categories: Television

Yargh! What’s that? You think I’m angry? No, silly, that was just an Arnold-esque expression of joy! (Or, at least Conan O’Brien‘s Arnold-esque expression of joy.) For how could I not be pumped that the TV adaptation of True Lies — executive produced by none other than James Cameron — is headed to ABC? (The network confirmed the news — first reported by Deadline — with EW.)

This can only mean one thing: With Cameron at the wheel, we need to start picking up some 3-D televisions. Or not — if the TV series finds someone as in shape as 1994 Arnold Schwarzenegger for the plum role of spy/dad Harry Tasker, his veins will pretty much pop off the screen without the help of technology, right?

Either way, may we make a plea once again that Cameron, and ABC, bring back True Lies alum Eliza Dushku for the adaptation? Come on, we have Faith (heh) she’ll be perfect!

Who else is excited to see that this is actually happening?

Read more:
James Cameron adapting ‘True Lies’ for TV

Sep 17 2010 07:00 PM ET

'Supernatural': TNT to air 20-hour marathon. How are you celebrating your favorite show's season premiere?

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Categories: Fall TV, Have You Seen This?, Supernatural, Television

Supernatural-premiereImage Credit: Michael Courtney/The CWIn the television equivalent of pre-gaming, TNT will be airing 20 episodes of Supernatural starting at midnight Sept. 24 (Thursday going into Friday) as a warm up to the show’s sixth (!) season premiere. The marathon will run until 8 p.m. ET, giving you one hour to eat, catch a cat nap, and/or shower, all of which you likely will not have done in the last 20 hours.

As a proponent of proper season premiere planning, I’m on board! I even like the lineup; it gives me one hour of sleep before work (5 a.m. to 6 a.m., not my favorite episode), commute time (Yay for at-desk TVs!), and the aforementioned hour to get home and prepare for amazingness on the CW.

Marathons just seem like the natural way to celebrate my favorite show’s return. But what about you, PopWatchers? How to you celebrate your favorite show’s return? Viewing party? Marathon? Live-blog?

Your response is awarded with this Supernatural promo (which features spoilers from episode 1 and 2): READ FULL STORY »

Sep 17 2010 06:40 PM ET

'Dancing With the Stars': Brandy-Maks, Margaret-Louis have chemistry as expected

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Categories: Dancing With the Stars, PopWatch Dance Party, Reality TV, Television

dwts-partnersThings we learn from the special Tom Bergeron-hosted video ABC shot to promote the return of Dancing With the Stars – and Castle — Monday night (embedded below):

1. Bristol Palin will move her hips even though she’s nervous to, says partner Mark Ballas. “Eventually,” Palin cautions, laughing.

2. Kym Johnson considers her partner, David Hasselhoff, an “American legend.”

3. Brandy didn’t hear any compliments from her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, until they sat down for their interview. “I did say, ‘It was good’… once,” he says. Maks’ streak of love-hate pairings lives!

4. Louis Van Amstel and Margaret Cho are going to be BFFs. You can tell by their body language, the way they’re leaning into each other as she explains her previous dance experience: “Belly-danced a little bit, and I’ve done some stripping, and I’m magic on the pole.”

Watch the video below. Season 11 of Dancing With the Stars premieres Sept. 20, with 12 contestants. Fifty-three percent of PopWatch readers voting in a poll the day the new cast was announced picked Dirty Dancing star Jennifer Grey and partner Derek Hough as the early favorites.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 17 2010 06:17 PM ET

'The Roommate': Leighton Meester and Minka Kelly are THE SAME PERSON or in love or something

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Categories: 100% Pure Cheese, Movie Trailers

Oh my holy god, people, the first trailer for The Roommate is finally here and it looks BANANAS. So Leighton Meester is a crazy college girl who becomes obsessed with her roommate, played by Minka Kelly. Now, we’ve all been obsessed with Minka Kelly, but Crazy Leighton takes it to a whole new crazy level. She sets a dude on fire, tears out naked-Alyson Michalka’s belly button ring, has sex with another dude and totally Basic Instincts him, I think makes out with another girl, and…you know, College! READ FULL STORY »

Sep 17 2010 06:15 PM ET

'As the World Turns' series finale: So long, good people of Oakdale! You will be missed

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Categories: In Memoriam, Mini TV Watch, Nostalgia, Things That Are Sad, Unfortunate Developments, Why Am I Crying?

as-the-world-turns-castImage Credit: John Paschal/2010 jpistudios.com

Bob retired from the hospital, Casey took off to law school, and Barbara dissolved her partnership with Paul — but what happened in today’s episode of CBS’ As the World Turns wasn’t nearly as significant as the reason behind all those major life changes for the folks of Oakdale. Today was the 13,858th and final episode of the venerable soap opera, which was canceled last year because of low ratings. Clearly, the writers took great care to keep things happy and optimistic for all the characters: Janet asked Jack to be Lorenzo’s godfather, Carly looked forward to having another baby, Chris proposed to Katie, and Lucinda and John reunited. Everyone goes on to live happily ever after! (Except, it seems, for poor Luke).

But it was hard not to get a little misty-eyed while watching Don Hastings, as Bob Hughes, take one last look around his hospital office. The scene was particularly poignant because, as Kathryn Hays told EW, they did it with the entire cast and crew watching from behind the cameras. ”I don’t think there should be goodbyes,” her character, Kim, tells Bob before he leaves the gig for good. “Just goodnight. So my sweetheart, it’s time to have fun.”

There’s nothing particularly fun about watching the lights go out for good on another daytime soap. But at least the cast of As the World Turns got the chance to present one last love letter to its (dwindling but devoted) fan base. Let’s hope those viewers will transfer their affection to another sudser so the genre will stay alive and well.

So did you watch the finale?

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