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Archive: December 2010 (21-30 of 304)

Dec 29 2010 01:36 PM ET

'I Used to be Fat': MTV plays cruel joke on holiday overeaters with tonight's premiere

Categories: Dude, THAT's Your Plot?, Food and Drink, Happy Holidays, Lunchtime Poll, Things That Make Me Die Inside, Unfortunate Developments, Whining

used-to-be-fat Image Credit: MTVI don’t always feel the need to alert people when there’s a new series on MTV, but there’s nothing new on lately, and yesterday Kristen Baldwin and I realized that even though it’ll probably just be The Biggest Loser for teenagers, we’re both “pretty into” tonight’s premiere of I Used to be Fat. (Trailer here.) But seriously, MTV, the timing on this thing? Right after the stupid holidays? I’m about to polish off the last of a Paula Deen french toast casserole that’s been sitting in the fridge since Sunday (gross), and for a mid-afternoon snack I plan on reheating a complicated “brie melt” (featuring: jam!) for no reason other than “it’s there.” These two dishes look eerily alike (SORRY). I Recently Became Fat would have been much more relatable. Stop effing with us.

In more pathetic news, I’ve taken advantage of my parents’ On Demand privileges to watch two episodes of True Life called “I’m Happy to be Fat” and “I’m Addicted to Food.” Um. Hello. Lunchtime poll! Vote for the show you’d be most likely to star in, below.

Annie on Twitter: @EWAnnieBarrett

Dec 29 2010 01:34 PM ET

'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark': The first (unofficial) reviews are in

by Adam Markovitz

Categories: Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, Stage/Theater

With buzz about the troubled Broadway production Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark reaching a fever pitch online, a few news outlets have decided to publish unofficial early reviews of the show more than a month before its current slated opening on Feb. 7. Breaking a longstanding tradition of withholding judgment until opening night, the critics for Bloomberg news service and Newsday have both posted quasi-critiques of the show — and neither paints a flattering picture.

Jeremy Gerard of Bloomsberg (who paid $292.50 for an orchestra seat) calls the musical “an unfocused hodge-podge of story-telling, myth-making and spectacle that comes up short in every department.” He also blasts the “incoherently executed” character Arachne, a new villain invented by director Julie Taymor. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 29 2010 12:00 PM ET

'Pirates of the Caribbean 4,' 'Fast Five,' and 'Transformers 3' top IMDB's 2011 MOVIEmeter list

by Darren Franich

Categories: Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers

Image Credit: Peter Mountain2011 is jam-packed with sequels, prequels, spin-offs, hotly anticipated literary adaptations, whatever X-Men: First Class is, and that rarest of rare creatures: a completely original movie. A couple weeks ago, EW’s Adam B. Vary asked for your most anticipated 2011 film, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 walked away with nearly half the vote (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1 was a close second and Every Other 2011 Movie — Part 1B came in a very distant third). However, we all know that 50 percent of all statistics are completely made up, so for a handy comparison point, it’s interesting to check out IMDB’s MOVIEmeter ranking of 2011 movies. The list measures user-based interest, and a close reading provides a window into the collective American moviegoer mind. For one thing, people don’t seem to mind that Pirates of the Caribbean 4 is Orlando/Keira-free: It’s No. 1 on this list. More intriguingly, IMDB users have anointed their emerald superhero…and it’s not who you think. Seth Rogen’s The Green Hornet is currently sitting pretty in the No. 5 slot, while Ryan Reynolds’ considerably-more-expensive Green Lantern ranks a mere 18.

The list arguably skews a bit geeky and highbrow — much as I’d love to live in a world where Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life and Simon Pegg’s Paul make as much money as Cowboys & Aliens. Still, it’s interesting to parse the list just to see a real-time indicator of a movie’s buzz — Pixar can’t be happy that Cars 2 currently ranks at 52. PopWatchers, do you think IMDB’s MOVIEmeter list is a good crystal-ball look into the next year in movies? Will Thor (#4) be this year’s No. 1 superhero movie? And man, are we all really excited about Fast Five (#2), or what?

More:
What is your most anticipated movie of 2011?
Studio exec on grim holiday-movie season: ‘If I were a projectionist, I’d want to shoot myself’
‘True Grit’: the Duke or the Dude?

Dec 29 2010 11:22 AM ET

This Week's Cover: The Oscar Race is On!

by EW staff

Categories: James Franco, Movies, Natalie Portman, Oscars, This Week's Cover

Natalie Portman took her fans by surprise this week with a big announcement: She’s pregnant and engaged to marry her Black Swan choreographer, Benjamin Millepied. But that’s hardly the only excitement she’s got coming in the new year. The 29-year-old actress — who graces the cover of this week’s Oscar Race issue — is poised to score a Best Actress nomination for her career-high turn as a tormented ballerina in Black Swan, a role she says nearly destroyed her. “There were some nights that I thought I literally was going to die,” she says. “It was the first time I understood how you could get so wrapped up in a role that it could sort of take you down.” Instead, the performance has lifted Portman into the ranks of Oscar shoe-ins this year (alongside 127 Hours star and Oscar co-host James Franco, who also gets his own EW cover this week) and turned Black Swan into an unlikely box office star — with a little help from a steamy love scene between Portman and co-star Mila Kunis. “Everyone was so worried about who was going to want to see this movie,” Portman says. “I remember them being like, ‘How do you get guys to a ballet movie? How do you get girls to a thriller?’ And the answer is a lesbian scene. Everyone wants to see that.”

For more on Portman and Franco, plus Oscar picks from EW’s Dave Karger, check out this week’s issue, on stands Friday, December 31st.

Dec 29 2010 11:10 AM ET

2010's Most Bizarre Reality TV Moment: What's your pick?

by Annie Barrett

Categories: American Idol, Best of 2010, Bitchery, Dancing With the Stars, Ellen DeGeneres, EWWWWWWWWWW.com, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, Horrifying But Hypnotic, Kate Gosselin, Project Runway, Reality TV, Simon Cowell, That Was Way Harsh, Tai, The Hills, What's Weirder?, Why Am I Crying?

“Most Bizarre” seems like the reality TV equivalent of “Best.” You gotta consider your genre!

Image Credit: Adam Larkey/ABC; Lifetime; MTV

It’s been a ridiculous year in “reality.” Bristol Palin outlasted fallen pop star Brandy in a televised ballroom dancing popularity contest. Ellen DeGeneres was suddenly sitting on Simon Cowell’s lap and then –poof!– both of them were gone. The Hills may have been fake molehills all along. And bangin’ Gretchen Jones took center stage on Project Runway, transforming the competition series into a riveting character study that often seemed like a senior-year elective for psych majors (PS 801: Raging Narcissism in the Age of Reality Television). READ FULL STORY »

Dec 28 2010 09:08 PM ET

The 'ALF' controversy: To care or not to care?

by Adam B. Vary

Categories: Television, Things That Make Me Die Inside, To Care or Not to Care, Viral Video!!!

Image Credit: Everett CollectionOn the one hand, the Interwebs have been all in a tizzy of late about a leaked gag reel from that paragon of 1980s sitcom excellence, ALF, in which the title ~~puppet~~ alien life form partakes in some ribald shenanigans with the cast and crew before dropping the N-word in a not-so-funny riff on Tourette’s syndrome (he’s doing a spoof of an old LA Law episode). TMZ even got actor John LaMotta — a.k.a. prying neighbor Trevor Ochmonek — to admit today in reaction to the video that “ALF was a piece of s–––. Worst work I ever did.”

On the other hand, associate producer Steve Lamar also told TMZ, “You’re talking about 20 years ago when the world was not so ridiculously PC. Anyone that’s offended needs to lighten up already.”

So: Offensive? No big deal? Piece of s—? Or, perhaps, an offensive piece of s— that’s no big deal? Check out the obviously NSFW video below (the N-words show up at the 4:40 mark), and decide for yourself: READ FULL STORY »

Dec 28 2010 08:36 PM ET

Mickey Rourke keen to do biopic about 'a man who plays rugby who is gay.' Don't forget Welsh, bald, and kinda scary looking!

by Adam B. Vary

Categories: Gay/Lesbian/Kathy Griffin, Movies, Ripped From the Headlines!, Sports

Image Credit: Chris Hatcher/PR Photos; Stu Forster/Getty ImagesWhile appearing on a British chat show on Sunday night, actor Mickey Rourke discussed his plans to play openly gay rugby player Gareth Thomas. But when the show’s openly gay host Alan Carr put it like that to Rourke, the actor gently scolded him. “You’re not supposed to say that,” Rourke said, pointing his finger. “When I met the rugby player, Gareth Thomas, this is one thing that he and I talked about….We’re doing a movie about a man who plays rugby who is gay.”

Okay. Granted, Thomas himself said in his coming out interview with the Daily Mail, “I don’t want to be known as a gay rugby player. I am a rugby player first and foremost.” But earlier this year, Sports Illustrated noted in its story about Thomas that the man was literally the only active professional male athlete in a team sport who was openly gay — in the world. Rourke even went on to note that rugby is “one of the toughest, hardest sports in the world to play,” and that “it [took] a lot of courage” for Thomas to be a top tier player in that sport, living with the secret that he’s gay for years before he came out a year ago. But if I’ve got this, er, straight, the movie about Thomas wouldn’t be about that part of his life?

Balderdash. Of course it would. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 28 2010 06:03 PM ET

'Glee' star Chord Overstreet reveals 10 semi-interesting things about himself

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Glee, Television

The latest Glee video from Fox features Chord Overstreet (a.k.a. Sam) revealing 10 things we don’t know about him. I wish one of them would have been how he feels about looking exactly like what I imagine Home Alone‘s Kevin McCallister would have looked in high school. But alas, we only found out things like: He has a dog back home named Harley, caffeine makes him sleepy, he bites his nails, he plays the flute (band Gleek!), and he enjoys sweets, reading, mowing grass and Riverdancing. I can’t tell whether he was serious about that last one. Thoughts? Watch the video below. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 28 2010 04:08 PM ET

PopWatch Confessional: I live in fear of my 2-year-old niece finding out Dora isn't real

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Animation, DVD/Video, PopWatch Confessional, Television

Image Credit: NickelodeonWe all get emotional watching the Toy Story movies because we love the idea that our toys are real. But how do you handle it when a child finds out they aren’t? Here’s why I’m asking: My two-year-old niece Coco is obsessed with Dora the Explorer. So much that it’s hard for anyone in my family now to say Dora’s name because we’re so used to having to spell it out in front of her. She loves the videos, and on Christmas night, she was watching one in which Diego, Dora’s cousin, got trapped dangling off the side of a mountain while rescuing a baby parrot. Dora was about to save Diego, when we had to turn it off so Coco could take her bath. That didn’t go over well, even though Coco was told her new Splash Around Dora doll could come in the tub with her. Cut to the end of the bath, and all the water having drained. My sister asked Coco if she was coming out, and Coco just sat there and said, “No, stuck in tub. Dora come save me.”

It was the cutest thing I’d ever seen, until, of course, Dora didn’t come. My sister tried to pretend the Splash Around Dora (new codename: SAD) was there to rescue her, but even a 2-year-old could figure out there was no way the small doll was lifting her out of there. “No,” Coco said. We waited some more. Coco’s since recovered — she’s watched Dora videos, read her Dora books, worn her Dora jammies, etc. — but I haven’t. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 28 2010 02:32 PM ET

Jane Lynch's next stop: NYC's Charmin Restrooms

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Happy Holidays, Jane Lynch, Things That Are Awesome!, Things That Are Classy

Image Credit: Chris Hatcher/PR PhotosIf anyone thinks Glee‘s success has gone to Jane Lynch’s head, let this appearance ease your mind: Tomorrow, she’s set to help Charmin crown its “King or Queen of the Throne” at its public Charmin Restrooms in New York City. Lynch will officiate the two-part competition, after which, one of the five finalists will walk away with $50,000 and the honor of “presiding” over the Charmin Restrooms for the final days of 2010 and “sharing their Charmin enthusiasm by greeting and welcoming visitors and their families.” Round 1 is Toilet Tissue Trivia, while Round 2 involves physical challenges (a Charmin stacking competition, a Charmin tossing competition, and a Charmin mummy competition).

Man, I wish Christopher Guest was around to film this. You just know Lynch is going to end up taking advantage of the “Oversized toilet photo-op,” one of the Restrooms’ 2010 amenities. (Those also include: a Smartphone-shaped “Sit or Squat” application display and a dance stage for kids to learn the Charmin potty dance. Please let her get on stage.) This could be my favorite Media Alert of 2010. And I haven’t even mentioned the fun facts the press release includes, like the fact that since the Charmin Restrooms opened in 2006, three couples of have gotten engaged there, and one couple got married there. If you suddenly need a tour, click here.

More Jane Lynch:
‘Glee’ dish from Jane Lynch
‘Glee’: 30 quippy Sue Sylvester gems
‘Glee’: Sue Sylvester fashion show
‘Glee’: YOUR top 10 moments