Archive: December 2010 (131-140 of 304)

Dec 15 2010 09:39 AM ET

Mark Zuckerberg named TIME's Person of the Year

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mark-zuckerbergImage Credit: Tony Avelar/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been named TIME’s 2010 Person of the Year, and the 26-year-old billionaire talked to the magazine about himself, his company’s future, and that blockbuster movie about his life. “I found it funny what details they focused on getting right in [The Social Network],” Zuckerberg told TIME. “I think I owned every single T-shirt that they had me wearing. But the biggest thing that thematically they missed is the concept that you would have to want to do something — date someone or get into some final club — in order to be motivated to do something like this. It just like completely misses the actual motivation for what we’re doing, which is, we think it’s an awesome thing to do.”

Zuckerberg edged out the Tea Party, Julian Assange, Hamid Karzai, and the Chilean miners for the annual honor.

Read more:
Mark Zuckerberg pledges to give away half his fortune
‘Oprah’: Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg (officially) gives away $100 million on show
Mark Zuckerberg says ‘The Social Network’ got his clothing exactly right
Mark Zuckerberg on ‘The Simpsons.’ Click here if you Like

Dec 15 2010 08:57 AM ET

Donny and Marie on Broadway: A little bit country, a little bit rock & roll, plus wind machines!

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A-Broadway-ChristmasImage Credit: Kim GoodwinDonny & Marie — A Broadway Christmas opened last night on the Great White Way, and we couldn’t be happier. EW critic Melissa Rose Bernardo gives the Vegas-style production a solid A– grade, and it’s easy to see why. They call it puppy love. For pop culture fans of a certain age (and you know who you are), the brother-sister act from that ginormous Mormon clan of singer-musicians represents a touchstone of childhood. Every Friday night, we’d tune in to see the chubby-cheeked siblings gently squabble with each other and belt out bubblegum hits like “Paper Roses” and “Go Away Little Girl.” They were the safe, wholesome pop idols — the ones our parents wouldn’t mind us hanging out with (and the ones we’d consider going to the church mixer to see).

And is there a better time than the holidays to evoke that warm glow of nostalgia? Donny & Marie are fiftysomething showbiz survivors now, with a history of tabloid scandals and reality show triumphs. (He won season 9 of Dancing With the Stars; she was a season 5 finalist.) And their Broadway show is as hokey as you’d expect: There are dance numbers, medleys in various musical genres, costume changes galore (typically involving tight jeans for him, sequins for her). Oh, and wind machines. You know Donny can rock a wind machine — though perhaps not the heavy-metal hit “Crazy Horse.” (Really, Donny?)

Is anyone else considering a trip to the Marquis Theatre for Donny & Marie’s holiday revue?

Dec 14 2010 07:00 PM ET

'Despicable Me' DVD giveaway

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , ,

Steve Carell brings Gru to life in the Golden Globe-nominated animated film Despicable Me. In the film, Gru is able to control a herd of loyal yellow minions, but how does he compare to some of our other animated favorites? Speak up, PopWatch minions: Who is your pick for the funniest animated character of all time?

To celebrate the film’s release (and lend a hand to any last-minute holiday shoppers), we’re giving away 20 copies of Despicable Me on DVD. The prizes are courtesy of Universal Studio Home Entertainment, and are available while supplies last. It’s so fluffy!

To win…

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 tell us who you think is the funniest animated character ever, and why. (Note: Commenting on this blog post won’t enter you in the giveaway; see the official rules below.)

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 »

Dec 14 2010 05:10 PM ET

Excess Hollywood: Carrie-Anne Moss heads to Lifetime

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Filed under: Movies, News, Television, TV and tagged: , , , ,
  • Matrix star Carrie-Anne Moss will headline a Lifetime pilot about a celebrity psychologist who becomes the chief of staff at a teaching hospital’s psych ward. ‘Cuz if you’re going to trust anyone to make you sane, it’s the woman who swears she fought evil while living in an alternate reality inside a computer. [Deadline]
  • There’s a star… in Twylight Zones‘… wing: Bella Heathcote, who appears in Andrew Niccol’s upcoming Now, will star in David Chase’s feature directorial debut, Twylight Zones. The film centers on three friends who form a band in the 1960s. [Deadline]
  • Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen has been promoted to executive vice president of original programming and development at Bravo. Obviously, compensation for sitting through this. And this. (In that logic, all of us deserve life promotions.) [Variety]
  • BBC America has raised its head to Showtime’s The Tudors, acquiring rights to all four seasons of the sexy/naked/angry series about Henry VIII. [Deadline]
  • Current TV has announced via press release that it has required rights to This American Life and Kill It, Cook It, Eat It. No, that’s not the follow-up to Sarah Palin’s Alaska.
Dec 14 2010 04:51 PM ET

Who do you think should play Snow White?

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snow-whiteImage Credit: Walt DisneyWhich fair actress might play the part of a storybook princess with “skin white as snow, lips red as a rose, and hair black as ebony”? Universal Pictures is reportedly looking for a young actress, possibly a lesser-known one, to play the starring role in Snow White and the Huntsman (Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender are rumored to be in talks for the roles for the evil queen and huntsman). So far, some of the names on the supposed shortlist have been Swedish actress Alicia Vikander, Felicity Jones (who was in 2008′s Brideshead Revisited and can be seen in Julie Taymor’s The Tempest), Bella Heathcote and Riley Keough — the granddaughter of Elvis, so no stranger to (rock) royalty.

If we had the power to control Hollywood casting (would that we could) and the time/space continuum (ditto), it’s fun to imagine a still-undiscovered Anne Hathaway or Mila Kunis in the role. Or push for Friday Night Light‘s Aimee Teegarden, True Blood‘s Deborah Ann Woll, or Harry Potter‘s Evanna Lynch, aka Luna Lovegood, to get a shot (What? They can dye their hair!). Plus, there’s reportedly a rival Snow White production in the works at Relativity Media entitled The Brothers Grimm: Snow White so perhaps plenty of apple-cheeked actresses might be in luck.

So PopWatchers, who do you think would be best in the role of Snow White?

Read more:
10 Disney princesses: Ranking their hairdos — and don’ts



Dec 14 2010 04:39 PM ET

Which TV character is yelling at you... RIGHT NOW?

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Filed under: Glee, TV and tagged: , , , ,

As we prepare for tonight’s season finale of The Biggest Loser, we ponder: When did people on TV get so freakin’ loud? Political pundits scream loud opinions. Sitcom characters scream loud punchlines. On Reality TV, hosts and judges hurl screeching insults into contestants’ faces… and it’s all for their own good! Maybe it’s because, in the modern age of overstimulation, we gravitate to strong personalities who cut through the cacophonous din, one megaphone-blasted syllable at at time.

But now, things have gone too far. Everyone is yelling. The deafening roar from your television has left you dizzy with confusion. “Who,” you ask yourself, “Is yelling now?” Is it Sofia Vergara screeching at her husband on Modern Family? Or Jane Lynch berating the Glee kids? Or The Real Housewives screaming over some arcane point of rich-person social etiquette? You poor deafened soul, you probably can’t even figure out the difference between Glenn Beck and Keith Olbermann anymore. (It’s a scientific fact that political differences burn away in the upper decibels of sound, leaving nothing but sound, fury, and gray hair.)

Well, beleaguered TV viewer, open your ears! The fabulously attractive research scientists here at the PopWatch Medical Center have put together a handy little guide to TV’s loudest people. When someone on TV is yelling you into disorientation, just refer to this flowchart. We promise you won’t be confused anymore. As for your eardrums… well, think of how fashionable hearing aids will be a few decades from now! Check out the full chart after the jump… READ FULL STORY »

Dec 14 2010 02:35 PM ET

It's man vs. machine in new 'Jeopardy!' battle!

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Ken-JenningsImage Credit: Jeopardy/Getty ImagesWhat is totally awesome, Alex? The headline wouldn’t lie, PopWatchers. Jeopardy! will take two of its most popular former contestants — Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter — and pit them against Watson, a computer program developed by IBM’s artificial intelligence team.

Watson, named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson and not this guy, has already been tested in about 50 matches against former Jeopardy! contestants. Unfortunately, no one’s sharing the results. How rude! Jennings and Rutter will play two games against Watson with a $1 million prize at stake. (IBM says they’ll donate the prize money to charity, and Jennings and Rutter plan to give away half of the winnings.) The matches will air Feb. 14-16.

What do you think, PopWatchers? Will you tune in to see another man versus IBM machine competition? Who do you think will walk away with the million dollar prize? And should they battle to the death next? Let me know in the comments below.

Read more:
‘Jeopardy!’ contestant breaks Ken Jennings’ one-day winnings record
‘Jeopardy!’ celebrates its 6,000th episode

Dec 14 2010 02:11 PM ET

'Yogi Bear' alternate ending creator: 'It seemed ripe for parody'

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yogi-bear-endingThe Yogi Bear “alternate ending” video that took the Internet by storm yesterday is the handiwork of New York-based animator Edmund Earle, whose 3-D modeling and animation work can be seen on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and elsewhere. But when he saw the trailer for Yogi Bear, his attention turned to pic-a-nics. And … brutality. We caught up with Earle to ask him about Boo Boo, shotguns, and his rise to viral video fame.

“This started in September, when they released the trailer, and it seemed ripe for parody,” Earle says. “It’s a sad trend to revamp these old shows in pretty horrifying CG films, and my brand of humor is always to put something ridiculous and stupid into a dark and serious situation. I’m a big fan of [The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford] … and it seemed like a good mix, the goofiness of Yogi Bear mixed with about the darkest thing you can get.” READ FULL STORY »

Dec 14 2010 02:00 PM ET

'Hawaii Five-0' Bingo: Merry Christmas, evildoers!

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HAWAII-FIVE-0-BingoImage Credit: Neil Jacobs/CBSTerrorists, gangsters, and an inquisitive old lady with a thirst for justice: Together, they staged a Christmas Eve supervillain team-up on last night’s episode of Hawaii Five-0. Perhaps unsurprising for an episode that was a kind of direct sequel to the series premiere, Five-0 pulled out all the stops: Christmas trees! A sniper rifle! Alas, even though Oahu is still nice and warm in mid-December, no one went for a boat ride, and Alex O’Loughlin and Grace Park made the unfortunate decision to keep all their clothes on. (At one point, Grace Park went undercover in an incredibly non-skimpy outfit. They’re just teasing us now, Bingo fans.)

I suppose you could argue that Steve didn’t break any police brutality laws when he beat his archnemesis senseless, but I’m going to fill that square, because Steve did lead the team in a freaking $10 million heist. $10 million! And the archnemesis just burnt that money in a fire pit! Put that on a billboard, CBS: “Hawaii Five-0: Money to burn!” Click forward for the full bingo… READ FULL STORY »

Dec 14 2010 01:33 PM ET

Golden Globe nominees: Read their reactions here!

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Filed under: Golden Globe Awards, Movies, Television, TV and tagged: , ,

Nominations for the 68th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning. You’ve heard our thoughts on the surprises, snubs, and sure things, but what about the nominees themselves? Reactions are coming in; here’s what some of this year’s nominated class has to say:

Mila Kunis, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Black Swan: “I don’t think it’s sunk in yet … [Darren Aronofsky] is truly one of the greatest directors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. [The movie] was truly made from tears and love and for all the right reasons … [To celebrate], I’m taking my dogs to the vet. It’s pretty exciting, right? They’ll get their nails clipped, they’ll get a bath and won’t be stinky. It’s a good day for the household.”

Mark Wahlberg, executive producer of Boardwalk Empire (nominated for Best TV Drama), nominated for Best Actor for The Fighter:  “I’m kind of under the weather. I’ve been so in the world of The Fighter that I hadn’t thought too much about Boardwalk Empire. But it was certainly a nice wake-up call to get, even though it woke up our 11-month-old daughter, whose crib is right beside our bed.”

David O. Russell, nominated for Best Director for The Fighter: “We had a screening in New York last night hosted by Robert De Niro — which just meant the world to us, because he liked the film so much — and then this morning I was awoken by a banging on the hotel room door. It’s just so great. It’s just so fantastic to be recognized in a year with such good movies. You just want to savor the moment, you know? Take it in and appreciate it because you never know when you’ll be back here again. We’re flying back to L.A. now for another screening and then I’m sure I’ll have drinks with some friends.”

Geoffrey Rush, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for The King’s Speech: “I went out and had my late-night supper as I’m doing a play here [Diary of a Madmen] in Sydney and then experienced the curious phenomena of not being able to connect to the Internet. I was in a complete technological funk — I couldn’t get onto the wifi at my hotel, I couldn’t find a TV channel that was broadcasting the announcements, so my 15-year-old son in Melbourne was holding his phone to the television there to get the information. [The nomination news] was a kind of dad-and-son thing, which is really quite nice. It’s 1:45 a.m. And I should be out clubbing but I have to get to sleep now as I have a matinee tomorrow … We just took [The King's Speech] from square one and tried to make it as vivid and as lively and as intriguing as we possibly could and that seems to be radiating out to the office, which is great.” READ FULL STORY »

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