Archive: September 2010 (381-390 of 588)

Sep 13 2010 03:30 PM ET

Jane Fonda is releasing new workout videos...and she's 72 years old!

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Jane-Fondas-work-outI can remember breaking a sweat to Jane Fonda’s workout videos as a child with my mom in our living room. (This is probably neck-and-neck with my mom and I seeing Madonna in concert as the gayest thing we’ve ever done together.) So, I’m pleased as punch to hear that Fonda, now 72(!) and looking fabu, is releasing a new series of workout videos this November, with senior-centric titles like Walk Out. The first photos have been released from the videos, and I’m already obsessed with this bizarre living room that she’s working out in, especially the Philippe Starck-esque chair she uses for leg lifts. But the big takeaway is that Fonda is still looking good — sure, she’s admitted to having work done but, if folks are gonna get plastic surgery, they should check out Fonda’s doctor. The dude (or dudette) knows what he/she’s doing.

Click below for a little flashback to Jane’s old-school videos…Stretch it out! READ FULL STORY »

Sep 13 2010 02:54 PM ET

Lunchtime Poll: Don Draper's new hit single?

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Is anyone considering taking up swimming after last night’s Mad Men? I was going to start jogging one of these days, but that’s so pedestrian. I’m a woman of distinction in New York City. I gotta own it. I gotta go swimming. Swimming is my new thing. You should also be swimming. We should all be in pools all the time. I could blog from the pool. Yes, it is settled. I am going to swim the hell out of autumn.

Don Draper in a Swimsuit. Thank you AMC. Vote below.

Read more:
‘Mad Men’ recap: A swimmingly good time
All Jon Hamm-related items on PopWatch

Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett

Sep 13 2010 01:52 PM ET

Kevin McCarthy: An appreciation of the 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers' icon

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Kevin-McCarthyImage Credit: Everett CollectionThe world of horror and science fiction movies lost one of its totemic actors on Saturday when, according to the Los Angeles Times, Kevin McCarthy died at the age of 96. McCarthy was never really a household name, but he starred in a raft of genre classics including 1978′s Piranha, 1981′s The Howling, and most famously, the seminal 1956 sci-fi movie Invasion of the Body Snatchers, in which aliens attempt to turn the human race into emotionless “pod people.” He was a hugely talented character actor who made whatever he appeared in watchable and could help elevate good material into the realm of the truly great.

The Minneapolis-raised McCarthy was orphaned at an early age. “My parents died of the flu,” he told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 1991. “First my father, then one day later my mother. That happened when I was not yet 5 years old.” McCarthy was sent to a succession of foster homes and turned into “a lazy, good-for-nothing kid.” He found his calling at the University of Minnesota when a friend suggested that he try out for a role in Henry IV, Part 1. McCarthy would later recall how, when he first appeared onstage, he “literally felt a millstone lift from my shoulders.”

In 1951, McCarthy appeared in the movie version of Death of a Salesman and won an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Biff Loman. It was his starring role, however, in Don Siegel’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers for which he will be, rightly, remembered. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 13 2010 01:09 PM ET

Garth Brooks song 'Unanswered Prayers' to become Lifetime movie

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Unanswered-PrayersImage Credit: Sylvain Gaboury/PR Photos; Pixplanete/PR PhotosWell, we already know how it’ll end, but then again, is that different from any other Lifetime movie? The sweet and simple Garth Brooks song “Unanswered Prayers” is being made into a Lifetime original, the network confirms. Without a Trace‘s Eric Close will star as the husband who’s torn between his wife (Samantha Mathis) and what could’ve been with his high school crush (Mädchen Amick), who comes back to town. Brooks is among the executive producers on the film, which will premiere in November. Presumably Lifetime went with “Unanswered Prayers” over the tearjerker “The Dance” because it’s a happier ending. (The husband recalls how he used to pray each night for that crush to be his. As the chorus concludes: “Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers/ Remember when you’re talkin’ to the man upstairs/ That just because he doesn’t answer doesn’t mean he don’t care/ Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers.”) For me, the only question is whether Close will first see Amick at a hometown football game, or if that’s where he’ll have his big revelation. (I vote the latter. Cue the music!)

What do you think? I’m struck by how much this sounds like the idea Clint Black was pitching a year ago — a TV anthology series called American Storytellers that would bring current and classic country songs to life in dramatic one-hour episodes. A Lifetime movie really is the way to go though. What country song would you like to see the network tackle next, should it opt for another? I’d suggest Lorrie Morgan’s “Something in Red.”

Sep 13 2010 01:00 PM ET

'Survivor: Nicaragua': Jeff Probst shows off his heavy metal singing voice while offering a sneak peak at the new season

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Image Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS

I caught up with Jeff Probst on location on day three of shooting Survivor: Nicaragua (which premieres Wednesday at 8pm on CBS) and the host was not a happy camper. The first immunity challenge had not gone according to plan. The challenge department had spent countless hours prepping for it to be performed one way, but the contestants had outsmarted the production staff and gone their own route. Was it a bad omen, or a testament to what makes reality TV so compelling: the fact that you cannot control what happens once you say those three magical words, “Survivors, ready…GO!”? In the first two sections of our four-part chat (parts three and four will be upon Wednesday), Probst talks about what went wrong, why he’s so nervous coming off the greatness that was Heroes vs. Villains, why he was initially skeptical about revisiting the Old vs. Young twist again, and why the phrase Medallion of Power should only be repeated while doing your best Dokken impersonation. Check out the video player below for all the intel and some exclusive on location footage. And for more Survivor scoop all season long, follow me on Twitter @EWDaltonRoss.

Sep 13 2010 12:20 PM ET

Ellen grills Lady Gaga about VMAs meat dress

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Today’s season premiere of Ellen features a post-VMAs interview between vegan DeGeneres and carnivore-couture spokeswoman Lady Gaga. (Video’s embedded after the break.) PETA has already responded to the “meat dress” designed by Franc Fernandez that Gaga wore to accept the award for Video of the Year by issuing a statement including the rhetorical question: “What’s next: the family cat made into a hat?” Don’t think she won’t take you up on that, activists! Anything is possible.

Lady Gaga’s response to Ellen’s gentle prompt — “What is the purpose of the meat?” — was about as jam-packed with crazy as a Top Round London Broil is crammed with protein and other important nutrients. Behold:

“Well, it’s certainly no disrespect to anyone that’s vegan or vegetarian….I, as you know, am the most judgment-free human being on Earth. However, it has many interpretations — but for me this evening it’s that if we don’t stand up for what we believe in, if we don’t fight for our rights, pretty soon we’re gonna have as much rights as the meat on our bones. AND, [holds up Japanese Vogue, on the cover of which Gaga appeared in a (real) meat bikini], I am not a piece of meat.”

What???

Everyone reluctantly applauded! Then Ellen gifted Gaga a kale bikini (pictured, right). And they all lived happily ever after, except for the animals. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 13 2010 12:08 PM ET

'Keeping Up With the Kardashians' recap: Three Things I Learned

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keeping-up-with-the-kardashiansImage Credit: E! NetworksIn between Lady Gaga winning pretty much everything at the VMAs (and gracing the stage with Cher — a gay fever dream if there ever was one) and watching the season finale of True Blood (Tara got a jazzy new ‘do!), I also tuned in to watch the madcap adventures of the family Kardashian. Last night’s episode was pretty much split between two questionable habits: Botox injections and cigarettes. As always, Kardashians taught me some incredibly useless pieces of information that I will now share with you PopWatchers… READ FULL STORY »

Sep 13 2010 09:22 AM ET

James Franco and Danny Boyle's '127 Hours' gets gasps and a standing ovation in Toronto

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james-francoImage Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty ImagesLast night, at the first public screening since its world premiere at Telluride last week, Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours had an audience of eager Toronto Film Festival-goers squirming in their seats — and then jumping t0 their feet for a standing ovation. Based on the true story of outdoorsman Aron Ralston (played by James Franco), who was forced to amputate part of his own arm after it got stuck under a boulder, the film (out Nov. 5) is an intense, graphic, and (at around 90 minutes) compact experience that had plenty of viewers peeking at the screen through parted fingers. The climactic amputation scene in particular drew a a few muffled yelps from moviegoers who broke out in applause when the limb was finally severed. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 13 2010 02:00 AM ET

'Jersey Shore' recap: Wifed Up

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Last night’s special episode of Jersey Shore started with Angelina walk-of-shaming away from Vinny’s increasingly-popular bed. Maybe he realized that he was becoming the human incarnation of the Community Smush room, because Vinny decided to make a change. He met a nice girl in the club, and purposefully did not make moves to smush, smash, or slam. “This is the kind of girl you take out on a date,” he explained, sounding like an archeologist describing the lost city of Atlantis. Alas for our poor openhearted Vin, Ramona the dancer turned him down. Twice. He got flowers, and he got a haircut, but he had no girl. All wifed up with nowhere to go. READ FULL STORY »

Sep 12 2010 10:48 PM ET

Lindsay Lohan's VMA cameo: Does her comeback start here?

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Lindsay-Lohan-Chelsea_320.jpg Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com Did you get that heartwarming feeling that you’re about to start cheering for a comeback, even against your better judgment, when you saw Lindsay Lohan pop up in Chelsea Handler’s taped VMA opening? I’ll admit it: I did. There’s nothing like a Hollywood recovery story, and Linds took the first of those other 12 Steps — the steps toward pop cultural redemption — with her cameo. That is, she got to step in and save Handler’s opening from awkwardness — and when’s the last time Lohan actually got to save something? Maybe Handler tried to suck a little at the beginning just for this purpose? Is she that sneakily benevolent?

Lohan even got to take a self-aware jab at herself — a critical requirement for this particular kind of Step 1 — when she asked Handler why her ankle bracelet was going off. (“That just means my table’s ready at the Cheesecake Factory.”) Lindsay’s response?  “Do you think anyone wants to work with a drunk? Take it from me, they don’t.”

What did you think, PopWatchers? Did you like Lindsay’s VMA appearance? Could this be the beginning of a beautiful comeback?

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