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Archive: October 2010 (121-130 of 590)

Oct 25 2010 06:30 PM ET

LOLcats 'Teh Itteh Bitteh Book of Kittehs' giveaway

itteh-bitteh-book-kittens Oh, hai! We’re giving away 25 copies of Teh Itteh Bitteh Book of Kittehs, the LOLcats guide to kittens!

Brought to you by Ben Huh and the makers of Icanhascheezburger.com, this collection of cutesy kitten photos will warm even the coldest of hearts, complete with classic LOLcats captions. The books are courtesy of Gotham Books, and are available while supplies last. Professor Happycat approves this message, okai? Kthanxbai!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Go to our Facebook page.

2. Click “Like” at the top of the page

3. Find the post on our Wall announcing the giveaway, click Comment, and explain — in “lolspeak” — why you deserve to win (prove your LOLcats knowledge and lolspeak fluency!). (Note: Commenting on this post won’t enter you in the giveaway; see the official rules after the jump.)

4. If you’re a winner, we’ll contact you via Facebook message to request your mailing address.

The giveaway starts NOW! READ FULL STORY »

Oct 25 2010 06:10 PM ET

Madonna wants you to get hard at her gyms. Workouts gone fabulous?

by Sandra Gonzalez

Categories: 100% Pure Cheese, Everything Reminds Us of 'Friends', Have You Seen This?, Madonna, Music, Ridiculata

Image Credit: Solarpix/PR PhotosHere’s an entry for the News that is Fabulous files: Madonna announced today that she has partnered with the people behind 24 Hour Fitness for her newest venture, Hard Candy Fitness global gyms.

According to a release, the facilities will combine fashion, fitness, and entertainment for a very special Madonna-approved experience. Partner Mark Mastrov said the gyms will be “a reflection of Madonna’s point-of-view and will reflect her input on every detail including music space, light and other design cues. Madonna’s touch will be everywhere.” I have chills.

Now, I hate exercise. Passionately. I’m also a proud member of the I Run Like Phoebe Buffay Club. But the thought of working up a (faux) sweat in a gym designed by Madge herself inspires me to levels I never thought possible. I want to Zumba to “La Isla Bonita” and cardio kickbox to “Material Girl”!

Hard Candy fitness is starting its operation in Mexico City — the first opens in November — and there are plans to open 10 more locations throughout the world. No mention of the U.S., though. What do you say, PopWatchers? Would you work out at Hard Candy? Will there soon be an army of freakishly buff Madonna fans walking around? Do you think Madonna and her muscles will come find you if you become a member and end up not going for three months? And when you hear the name of the gym, do you think of actual candy, Madonna’s album of the same name, or that 2005 movie where Ellen Page tries to castrate a sexual predator?

Oct 25 2010 05:45 PM ET

This year's Halloween episodes: Which will be the best?

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Chuck, Community, Cougar Town, Desperate Housewives, Glee, Halloween, How I Met Your Mother, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, King of the Hill, Modern Family, NCIS, Private Practice, Television, The Office, The Simpsons, The Vampire Diaries

Image Credit: Danny Feld/ABCHalloween episodes are always fun. But the best ones still manage to reveal something about their characters, such as that Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s former vengeance demon Anya is afraid of bunnies, and Bones‘ Brennan, who doesn’t understand 99.9 percent of pop culture references, insists upon dressing up as Wonder Woman every year. Which of this year’s remaining Halloween-themed episodes (sorry, Parenthood and One Tree Hill) sounds like it will become a classic? (We’ve got details straight from the networks on 22 shows. If we’ve missed one, add it in the comments.) Spoiler alert! READ FULL STORY »

Oct 25 2010 05:25 PM ET

Excess Hollywood: Antonio Banderas to direct psychological thriller

by Kate Ward

Categories: Casting, Deals, Excess Hollywood, Movies

Antonio Banderas is on board to direct Solo, a psychological thriller about a Spanish colonel, played by Banderas, who deals with post-conflict trauma. So he saw Shrek the Third, too? [Variety]
Hilary Duff will star in She Wants Me, an indie flick about a movie writer (Josh Gad) who finds himself in trouble when an A-list actress (Duff) becomes interested in a role in his film that he promised to his struggling actress girlfriend (Kristen Ruhlin). [Variety]

Oct 25 2010 05:05 PM ET

'The City' canceled? Whitney Port tells Ryan Seacrest it's over

by Emily Exton

Categories: Bitchery, Reality TV, Television, That Was Way Harsh, Tai

Image Credit: Jim Wright/MTVJoin me in a champagne toast to the end of MTV’s Fabulous Life era. After this summer’s (surprisingly self-aware) series finale of The Hills, it looks like its tamer, slightly more tasteful East Coast little sister, The City, is no more — or so says star Whitney Port. After rumors of cancellation earlier this year, reality star-turned-fashion designer Port called into Ryan Seacrest‘s radio show this morning with an update. “As of right now it doesn’t really look like we’re doing it anymore,” Port told Seacrest. “But it’s okay, one door closes and another opens,” she said cheerily. According to Port, The City will not pull a Project Runway and move to another network. Instead, she plans to keep busy by “working on some other things.”

MTV has yet to return EW’s request for comment. It seems likely, however, that the cancellation is true, what with the network’s recent move taking strides towards — and receiving accolades for — more “realistic” reality programming (like 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom). While I’ll miss my guilty pleasure glimpse into the fashion world, the cancellation of The City will put a stop to Olivia Palermo’s impending attempts world domination, one large barrel curling iron at a time.

Will you miss The City, PopWatchers? What should Whitney Port do next?

Oct 25 2010 05:04 PM ET

'Dancing With the Stars': Derek Hough on rehearsal footage flare-ups, being 'in jeopardy,' and Len's bizarre lenience towards props

by Annie Barrett

Categories: Dancing With the Stars, Derek Hough

On tonight’s Dancing With the Stars, each couple will perform one solo routine and then participate in a “Rock and Roll Marathon.” Professional dancer and enthusiastic infomercial actor Derek Hough checked in with EW.com between last-minute touch-ups!

The rehearsal footage for you and Jen on Week 5 suggested MAJOR DRAMA. How often are the cameras actually there with you in the studio and how much does their presence heighten the drama?
If we’re in the dance studio, cameras are there. Always. Can you imagine if something happened in a rehearsal session and it wasn’t on camera? A fall, a fight, an injury. For better or for worse, those are some of the things that make our show so audience-engaging. After a few moments, though, you’re so busy concentrating on teaching and learning that you forget about the cameras.

Don’t you think the manufacturers of Easy Steps sold you a little short? Similar products were valued at $300 but your price was only $150. What is the true market value of Derek Hough?
Can someone’s true value really be estimated? Maybe there needs to be an Edmunds.com for people on TV. That would be funny and possibly cruel. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 25 2010 04:40 PM ET

'Saw 3D' director Kevin Greutert on making Jigsaw's final movie (and NOT making 'Paranormal Activity 2')

by Clark Collis

Categories: Halloween, Hollywood, Horror, Movies

Image Credit: Brooke PalmerKevin Greutert edited the first five Saw movies and directed the most recent pair—last year’s Saw VI and Saw 3D, which opens Friday. So it isn’t a huge surprise to discover that the horror franchise, in which victims must try to escape torture-traps set by Tobin Bell’s character Jigsaw, has infiltrated his subconscious. “I do have Saw dreams,” says the filmmaker. “I can’t even escape it in my sleep.”

Nor has he been able to escape it in real-life, despite his best efforts to do so. Following the huge success of last fall’s Paranormal Activity, Greutert and TV writer Michael Perry (The Dead Zone, Millennium) were approached to oversee the second film in the PA franchise, despite the original movie taking a big bite from the box office of Greutert’s Saw VI. “When I was approached by the Paranormal guys, I was thrilled,” says Greutert. “We had quite a few meetings and did a lot of pitching with them. And of course Michael stayed on.” Greutert did not. In January, the producers of the Saw movies exercised an option in the director’s contract, which allowed them to extract Greutert from Paranormal 2 and deposit the director on the Toronto set of Saw 3D, shortly before the film was due to start principal photography. Greutert reportedly responded by blogging that “lawyers are sending me to Canada.” “I don’t remember that!” Greutert protests, with mock innocence. “Starting with the release of Saw VI, and the disappointing box-office performance, it’s been a dark time for me, no question. But honestly, this subject, while it’s fascinating, I should probably not say more on it.”

READ FULL STORY »

Oct 25 2010 03:45 PM ET

Ben Silverman, MySpace creating online dance contest

by Margaret Lyons

Categories: PopWatch Dance Party, Tech

Image Credit: Sylvain Gaboury/PR PhotosMySpace and Ben Silverman are teaming up to build a time machine to travel back five years to when they were the new hotness, before Facebook took off and the Knight Rider reboot did not. I mean, a dance contest. They’re teaming up to create a dance contest.

Jerk All-Stars will be an original web series in which 10 dance crews will compete, a la America’s Best Dance Crew, according to THR. But Jerk All-Stars will focus exclusively on jerkin’, which is a dance style marked by loose knees and a bouncy style, like so (warning, sensitive viewers: in addition to some rad dance moves, this video contains some salty language): READ FULL STORY »

Oct 25 2010 03:15 PM ET

Lea Michele in 'Dorothy of Oz': New footage. Are you excited?

by Sandra Gonzalez

Categories: Animation, Movies, Music, Television

A single thought ran through my head as I looked at new footage of Lea Michele in a recording session for Dorothy of Oz: This is the side of her I prefer. (Although, what we saw last week was technically the front, not a “side.”)

Following last week’s GQ controversy, I had wanted to believe that she was better than that. Then this footage arrived in my inbox to prove me right.

There are two main reasons I have been excited about the Glee star’s role in the upcoming animated feature since it was announced. First, I was ridiculously excited about the music. (It’s worth noting that I’ve never met another person with more music from animated movies on their iPod.) Judging by the video below, I won’t be disappointed. Second, this is exactly the kind of role I envisioned for the young actress. It’s a natural fit that harnesses her energy and enthusiasm. “[Dorothy] does definitely have that elegance and softness that Judy Garland brought to the role, but I feel I’m showing a little bit more of her youthful side,” Michele says in the video below. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 25 2010 02:25 PM ET

Memo to the Parents Television Council: We're boycotting your boycotts

by Jennifer Armstrong

Categories: Advertising, News You Can Use, Politics as Entertainment, Sexytimes, ShePop, Television

Image Credit: GQHey, Parents Television Council: We hereby declare ourselves morally outraged by your moral outrage. We are red-alerting your system of constant red-alerts. We are boycotting your boycotts.

The fact is, this so-called “non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment” seems more concerned with grabbing headlines than exercising responsibility itself. The group has often employed a tiresome alarmist attack strategy: It seems preoccupied, for instance, with unsaid profanity — yes, really, profanity that was not actually uttered, as in the title of the CBS sitcom $#*! My Dad Says and, a few years back, The CW’s sexy “OMFG” campaign for Gossip Girl. It spends a lot of time policing the content of shows meant to provoke — and meant, by the way, to be aimed at adults — like perpetual offender Family Guy. You think an episode including orgies and bestiality wasn’t basically meant to upset you, PTC?

But the council has never made its true mission clearer than when it spoke out against last week’s much-debated GQ photo shoot featuring three Glee stars, two of them in very little clothing. The group seems more interested in getting in on any hot topic trending online than in fulfilling its stated mission. Even though the debate had nothing to do with actual television content, and even less to do with media aimed at kids (GQ is for grown men, guys!), they hijacked the debate with their hysterical assertions that the shoot “borders on pedophilia.” READ FULL STORY »