Archive: October 2010 (321-330 of 590)

Oct 14 2010 06:10 PM ET

Bret Michaels claims he was a top five finalist for 'American Idol' judge job

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Categories: American Idol, Bret Michaels, Television

brett-michaelsImage Credit: Jordan Strauss/WireImage.comIt was only a matter of time before the rumored American Idol season 10 judge contenders started sharing stories about being courted for the show. Bret Michaels recently told reporters that he made it to the list of top 5 contenders, which, given the laundry list of rumored judges we’ve been hearing about all summer, is quite an accomplishment.

The rocker told MTV, “I was disappointed. I’d love to have done it. I’m competitive, so it would have been great. On the other hand, to have J. Lo and Steve Tyler — one’s a pop icon and one’s a rock legend and both, along with Randy, are going to make such awesome TV … I can truly say I lost to a worthy opponent.”

In a way, I was rooting for Michaels to sit in Cowell’s vacated chair — after all, one of my favorite moments last season was the duet between Michaels and Casey James at the live finale. READ FULL STORY »

Oct 14 2010 05:50 PM ET

Excess Hollywood: E! nabs Rob Lowe's Washington, D.C.-set reality show

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Categories: Deals, Excess Hollywood, Reality TV, Television
  • E! is going to Washington: The network has nabbed Rob Lowe’s D.C.-set reality series, which follows real-life politicians who are trying to succeed in the capital. WWJLT? (What Would Josh Lyman Think) [Variety]
  • Too Big To Fail gets even bigger: HBO has added Sex and the City‘s Evan Handler and John Heard to the cast of the TV movie. Heard will play former Lehman Brothers prez Joe Gregory, while Handler will play Goldman Sachs CEO and Chairman Lloyd Blankfein. [Deadline]
  • Syfy — the same network behind Sharktopus and Dinoshark — will return to semi-normalcy when it airs Sinbad and the Minotaur in 2011 as part of the network’s Saturday Original Movies series. Whether the Minotaur is a piranha hybrid remains to be seen. (Fingers crossed!) [Variety]
Oct 14 2010 05:45 PM ET

Barbara Walters plotting to make Oprah Winfrey weep. Suggested questions?

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Categories: Misc., Oprah Winfrey, Sarcasm, Shenanigans!, Television, This Could Be Interesting...

Barbara-Walters-OprahImage Credit: Bob D'Amico/ABC; Brigitte Lacombe/Harpo ProductionOprah Winfrey, it’s time for your exit interview. And who better to serve as pop culture’s human resources rep than the grand inquisitor herself, Barbara Walters? Currently shooting the final season of her 25-year-old talk show, the cultural icon, daytime do-gooder, and occasional book enthusiast will sit down for a chat with the legendary broadcast journalist, headmistress of The View, and notoriously cruel tearjerker that ABC will air on Dec. 9.

According to Associated Press, the conversation — which will be taped at Oprah’s Chicago studios — will precede Walters’ annual salute to the year’s most “fascinating” people. (I’m predicting a 33-way tie for first place, all of them from Chile.) After 25 years of extraordinarily candid disclosures and mem0rable conversations on her own show, I can’t possibly think of anything new Oprah has to say — you know, other than “I do” to that Stedman guy.

Which suddenly hits me: How awesome would it be if Oprah was the next The Bachelorette? Imagine the ratings that would be generated by the spectacle of Oprah holding court in a Hollywood Hills mansion as a bunch of studly guys angle for some precious one-on-one time! Imagine Oprah going on those intimate overnight dates with her final three picks! Ratings gold! Imagine Kristen Baldwin’s recaps! Anyway, what am I supposed to be writing about? Oh, yeah. Oprah. Walters. The Conversation. Will tears flow? And what question would you like to see put to Oprah? Feel free to post below. Or not!

Related:
‘The View’: Joy and Whoopi walk out on Bill O’Reilly

Oct 14 2010 05:39 PM ET

'Vampire Diaries': Who should die next?

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Categories: Television, The Vampire Diaries

Vampire-Diaries-deathImage Credit: The CWFans of The CW’s Vampire Diaries know that exec producers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec aren’t afraid to say goodbye to recurring characters (R.I.P. Vicki and Anna). So the rumor that another one may soon bite the dust isn’t that difficult to believe. Who do you think it’ll be? Who do you hope it’ll be? The likelihood of it being Elena, Stefan or Damon is about the same as it was that Booth (David Boreanaz) wouldn’t survive the karaoke shooting on Bones in 2008. (Note to The CW: When the moment comes, don’t even try to pretend in promos that it’s possible one of them won’t live; Fox looked ridiculous.) Since The Vampire Diaries is a repeat tonight, let’s take some time and examine the other options:

• Aunt Jenna: I’m enjoying her slightly more now that she and Alaric are officially “on,” but really, the only thing keeping her alive is the fact that Elena and Jeremy need to live with some adult. Why not give her a great death at the hand of Katherine and bring back Uncle John? The writers could do so much more with him. Plus, her death adds to Alaric’s pain. This is what I hope will happen.

• Caroline: Katherine has already threatened to kill the newly-turned vampire (again) and it would keep up her villain status to follow through, but unlike vamp Vicki, Caroline is a survivor and frequently fun. I don’t see it.

• Matt: We know that Katherine finds him attractive and would enjoy getting close to him by pretending she’s Elena. We also know this show loves its cliffhangers, and it would be a great one to have Katherine luring Matt in and Caroline showing up willing to sacrifice herself to save him. I’d hate to see him go because he brings a different kind of masculine energy to the show — human, decent, studly but sweet. If Caroline were to die, it’d be great to see him realize how much she did love him, but then there wouldn’t really be a reason to have around… unless the grief drove him into Bonnie’s arms. Maybe Matt watches Caroline die first, then follows?  READ FULL STORY »

Oct 14 2010 05:25 PM ET

'Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue' and other anti-drug PSAs from childhood: Which was the best?

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Categories: Advertising, Animation, News You Can Use, Nostalgia, Television, The Bad Man Scares Me!, What's Weirder?, Who Else Remembers This?

I remember the first and only time I was sat down and lectured about drugs, mostly because I think my reaction was something along the lines of “Can I go now?” My attention span lasted far longer when my parents decided to let Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue do the lecturing, but I gather that the improved attentiveness was a direct result of the special’s gross overuse of the ever-hypnotic sparkle sound.

There are no sparkle sounds in any of the advertisements highlighted in this piece about anti-drug PSAs, but there are some memorable ones. I am, however, surprised I don’t remember more of them. (Especially the one featuring the Ninja Turtles. I would have liked to sling the insult “You’re a turkey” back when it was cool — um, assuming it ever was.)

I’m going to go befriend a magician now. Meanwhile, tell me: Do remember any/all of these advertisements? Did any of these specials/commercials actually have an effect on you back in the day? Which was the best?

My vote for the best still goes to Cartoon All-Stars. My biggest fear, of course, being that I would get high and cartoons would start talking to me.

@EWSandraG on Twitter READ FULL STORY »

Oct 14 2010 05:00 PM ET

40 under 40: Why so serious? Where are all the comedy franchises?

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Categories: 40 under 40

radcliffe-diazImage Credit: Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com; Vera Anderson/WireImage.comIn going through our 40 under 40 box-office star list, one trend became really clear: The best way to get on the list is be in an action or drama franchise. Stars from Star Wars, Harry Potter, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, Spider-Man, Fast and the Furious, even the Star Trek reboot were all thoroughly represented. But the comedy side of the story was relatively franchise-light. (Here’s the full list: #40–21 and #20-1.)

The highest-ranking comedy stars on the list are Bradley Cooper (The Hangover, duh), Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up, 27 Dresses), Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears Prada), and Seth Rogen (come on, you know what Seth Rogen is in). Macaulay Culkin is the only real comedy franchise star, and go-to comic actress Cameron Diaz’s big live-action franchise is, well, an action franchise with Charlie’s Angels.

What does this mean? That the world is a cold, unforgiving place, mostly. Just kidding, it means some high-grossing comedies are animated — we were only counting live-action movies — and also that generally, comedies don’t rake in the dough the same way action or fantasy movies do.

Draw your own conclusions, PopWatchers: Why aren’t there more comedy franchises for stars under 40?

Oct 14 2010 05:00 PM ET

'The Real Housewives of D.C.' reunion preview: The ladies -- and gents -- come out swinging

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Categories: Advance Advancement, Bitchery, Hell to the No!, Real Housewives, Reality TV, Ripped From the Headlines!, Television

salahi-party-crashersImage Credit: Scott Barbour/Getty ImagesThe majority of the drama on the first season of The Real Housewives of D.C was focused on the strange and confusing ways of Michaele Salahi and her husband Tareq (who is the unofficial sixth Housewife), leading up to the now infamous White House State Dinner last November. While the Salahis feel that last week’s finale left them “vindicated,” the rest of us were left scratching our heads. Are they for real? Thankfully, Andy Cohen is armed and ready…with a slew of tough questions (though he might want to consider packing something else after what went down during last month’s Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion). Some of the highlights include Andy to Cat: “Are you uncomfortable around black people?” Andy to Michaele and Tareq: “Did you get yourselves into the White House without an invitation?” Lynda to the room: “This is a goat rodeo!” READ FULL STORY »

Oct 14 2010 04:47 PM ET

Teresa Giudice, Danielle Staub react to 'South Park' episode, look to 'SNL' next

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Categories: About Last Night, Bitchery, Have You Seen This?, Jersey Shore, Reality TV, South Park, Television, The Real Housewives of New Jersey

south-park-1409-jerseyOn South Park, no one is safe from ridicule, and considering the ridiculous behaviors from the casts of Jersey Shore and The Real Housewives of New Jersey, the Garden State reality stars seem long overdue for the Comedy Central treatment (imitation is the sincerest form of flattery). New Jersey’s most famous inhabitants were the subject of last night’s “It’s a Jersey Thing,” in which animated versions of the smush-loving, table-flipping gang moved to South Park, Colo. Jersey Shore‘s Snooki was seen as a snorting, crawling Pickle Monster, while Real Housewives‘ Teresa Giudice was a loud, foul-mouthed mother, whose husband Joe’s rippling biceps blinded his fellow dinner guests … so basically, they weren’t too far from their actual selves. All in all, the reality stars couldn’t be happier (a spoof is better than silence, no?) — or so some of them tell EW.

Former cast member Danielle Staub, who’s been portrayed as the villain of the series, got a laugh from the depiction of her former castmates. “I was pleasantly surprised it wasn’t just me being made fun of for a change,” Staub tells EW. “You realize you’re something else when you’re being made into a cartoon. It’s pretty funny.” Giudice, for her part, released a statement to EW saying she is “honored to be mocked by them,” yet considers herself lucky by default. “Poor Snooki though! I got off easy compared to her!”

Speaking of Snooki, the Jersey Shore cast took to their Twitter pages to respond to the episode: READ FULL STORY »

Oct 14 2010 04:40 PM ET

'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' premieres tonight: We pre-rate the ladies' ridiculous lines from the opening credits!

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Categories: 100% Pure Cheese, About Last Night, Apropos of Nothing, Bitchery, British Things, Everyone's a Critic, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, Gay/Lesbian/Kathy Griffin, Guess Who!, Guilty Pleasures Reality TV Showdown, Have You Seen This?, Mini TV Watch, Real Housewives, Reality TV, Ridiculata, Television, Water Cooler

real-housewives-beverly-hillsBravo’s Real Housewives franchise is nothing if not known for its plethora of drag-fabulous, ever-repeatable sound bites—everything from gems like Danielle Staub’s “pay attention, puh-leeeeze!” to Shereé Whitfield’s “who goin’ check me, boo?” But newsflash! One of the best, most sound bitey part of Housewives is during the show’s glitzy credits, where the ladies are introduced and each have a few seconds to utter one ridiculously narcissistic line. There are some classics from the five iterations of the show that are already out there, including Kelly Bensimon’s “I’ve created a great life, and I love living it”; Cat Ommanney’s “I’m not here for a long time—I’m here for a good time”; and Cynthia Bailey’s “I know how to work it—and be seen.” And with the franchise’s sixth iteration, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, premiering tonight (T-minus five hours!), we here at EW thought, why not preview—and, most importantly, rank!—the opening lines from the current crop of ladies? In case you don’t know the ladies yet, you can meet them in our handy meet-the-cast gallery. Here’s our ranking:

READ FULL STORY »

Oct 14 2010 03:40 PM ET

Steve from 'Blue's Clues' tells the fantastic story of his horrible date with a Playmate

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Categories: Tech, Television, Those Crazy Kids!

steve-blues-cluesImage Credit: NickelodeonI’ve been obsessed with The Moth podcast for a while now, and, in the last few months, have forced my friends to listen various episodes because I’m convinced if I can get everyone hooked on the storytelling series, the world will be a marginally better place. (It can’t hurt, right?) I thought nothing could top Tony Hendra’s story about satire and spirituality, but then I heard last week’s episode. Steve Burns, better known as Steve from Blues Clues, told a story about being “fame-ish,” and it’s fantastic. Listen to it here, or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here.

All Moth stories are true, and told live without notes, so they have this combination of authenticity, earnestness, and a jittery stage fright, even from seasoned performers. Burns’ story is about a horrible date he went on with a Playboy model — whom he met when she sent him her photo. READ FULL STORY »

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