Image Credit: Dana Edelson/NBC
It’s been almost three years since Tina Fey debuted her much-lauded and uncanny impersonation of Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. But now, with the news (first reported by TV Line) that Tina Fey will reprise her role as SNL host on May 7, I’m finding myself hopeful that she’ll decide to put a lid on the Tea Party figurehead impression. Why? Here are five reasons why the two-time host should skip a Palin sketch for her third go-round: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Show At Barre
Cabaret and Los Angeles aren’t often uttered in the same sentence. No doubt, New York City comes to mind when one thinks of cabaret. But here’s a shocker: Something fun and cabaret-y is indeed going on in L.A. It’s called the For the Record series, and it’s held at a venue called Barre in the ever-charming Los Feliz neighborhood of L.A. The interesting thing about Record is that it’s not just for New York ex-pats who crave stage shows: Movie lovers — yes, that’s most of you Angelenos! — will appreciate it, too, as the shows are basically revues of the songs used in particular, beloved movie-maker’s biggest flicks. And yes, still, those expecting a New York cabaret experience won’t be disappointed. Everyone wins.
Currently, For the Record is putting on its Baz Luhrmann: The Red Curtain Trilogy show, which features a playlist from three of Luhrmann’s movies: Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet, and Strictly Ballroom. Hits like Romeo‘s “Lovefool,” Ballroom‘s “Time After Time,” and Moulin’s “One Day I’ll Fly Away” are performed in Barre’s intimate bar setting by a motley crew of singer-actors who have histories on Broadway, in music, or in Los Angeles’ burgeoning theater scene.
The show is simple, yet engaging: One minute, Dream Girls alum Dionne Gipson is wailing away stunningly to Prince’s “When Doves Cry” at the back of the bar, while just a little while later Gypsy vet Ginifer King (pictured above) does a sultry, delightful version of “One Day I’ll Fly Away” on a small stage in the middle of the room. A band plays at the front of the bar on yet another stage. With that said, get ready to crane your neck: The performance happens literally everywhere, so as an audience member, you’re constantly whipping your head to follow the action. Even the setting just feels so New York cabaret: The small audience (maybe 50 people?) is crammed into a mish-mash of tables that cause you to rub elbows with your neighbors quite often. It’s called ambiance.
We already knew that next month’s Thor would feature an appearance by Marvel’s bigscreen shaman Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury (not to mention Fury’s right-hand man Agent Coulson). But there have been rumors that one of Thor’s future Avengers teammates would also stop by for a cameo. A new video clip released may hold a clue: In the middle of a fight sequence, there’s a sudden cut to a shadowy figure…who is pointing a rather impressive-looking bow at the thunder god. Could this be our first sighting of Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye? Marvel Studios hasn’t responded to EW requests for confirmation, so you’ll have to decide for yourself by watching the video after the jump. (The maybe-Hawkeye guy is at the 0:24 mark.) READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Carlos Osorio/AP Images
Charlie Sheen and his Torpedo of Truth tour storms into New York tonight for the first of two shows at historic Radio City Music Hall. (Carnegie Hall was already booked, apparently.) Since bombing in Detroit last week, Sheen has revamped his show, and his two recent performances in Ohio proved much more satisfying to the legion of fans who shelled out good money to see their hero pontificate in person. READ FULL STORY »
Expect a lot of touching this Saturday night when Helen Mirren hosts Saturday Night Live for the first time. You see, the Oscar winner is nervous. Or horny. It’s tough to tell. She seems rather comfortable with Fred Armisen — the way they finish each other’s sentences, Mirren would be a logical choice should Garth & Kat ever expand to a trio. Click the jump to see Mirren’s promos, including one where Andy Samberg gets a little “nervous” himself. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Warner Bros.
This week’s trailers feature beautiful, half-naked men. Loads of them. Seriously, it’s like there was a fire alarm in the dressing rooms of the hot guy store and everyone had to ditch their clothes and seek shelter inside a movie trailer. First off, we’ve got a cut-from-marble Ryan Gosling baring (almost) all in our first look at the Steve Carell rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love. After you’ve watched that one on frame-by-frame a few dozen times (I’m not saying I did), see Joseph Gordon-Levitt strut around in his undies in the Sundance dramedy Hesher, co-starring Natalie Portman, while Inception‘s Ed Hardy and Animal Kingdom‘s Joel Edgerton beat each other senseless (and shirtless) in the boxing pic Warrior. But if buck-nekked dudes isn’t your thing, we’ve still got plenty of options for you, including Anonymous, Roland Emmerich’s drama about the theory that Shakespeare got credit for another writer’s work, and Melancholia, Lars Von Trier’s unique take on an end-of-the-world pic, starring Kirsten Dunst and Kiefer Sutherland. Check them all out after the jump! READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Joan Marcus
The boards made very few creaks this week. La Cage aux Folles producers revealed the sad news that the musical will close on May 1 after 433 performances and 15 previews. Billy Elliot celebrated its 1,000th show. The four-night-only star-studded (think: Stephen Colbert, Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Christina Hendricks, Jon Cryer, and more) New York Philharmonic production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company began at Lincoln Center. And our reviewers saw Marisa Tomei return to off-Broadway in a ho-hum revival beneath her talents and Tony winners Sutton Foster and Joel Grey tap the light fantastic in Anything Goes (known now as The Play that Made Mandi Bierly Cry). Check out the highlights from our reviews below. READ FULL STORY »
For months, Javier Bardem has been in talks for the role of Roland the Gunslinger in the big-screen version of The Dark Tower, and sources close to the production say he is just weeks away from finalizing the deal. But with that key component in place for Ron Howard’s adaptation of Stephen King’s fantasy epic, which will span three feature films and two TV miniseries, it’s time to take a closer look at who should play some of the other key roles in Roland’s ka-tet (King’s word for the team joined by fate for the quest).
The series is made up of seven books — so far — with an eighth novel, The Wind Through the Keyhole, planned for publication next year, and set between his previous fourth and fifth books (Wizard and Glass and Wolves of the Calla). The thing is already written, so smart money is that screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who won the Oscar for Howard’s A Beautiful Mind, is already factoring it into the adaptation. There are also scores of characters in the series, some threading through other King works, so we can’t touch on them all… though, maybe Anthony Hopkins can be persuaded to reprise his role as psychic “breaker” Ted Brautigan from Hearts in Atlantis?
Apart from such colorful side characters, there is the trio that makes up the core team of heroes, Roland’s ka-tet, established in the second novel, The Drawing of the Three. Roland draws them into his Mid-World from various points on the space-time continuum, so who should Howard pull in for his multi-platform epic adaptation? Some of my suggestions below: READ FULL STORY »
Gary Busey still seemed a little rattled — more rattled? — on The Tonight Show last night, as Jay Leno asked him about his run-in with Meat Loaf on The Celebrity Apprentice, when the “Bat Out of Hell” singer erupted with a fusillade of profanity because he thought Busey had stolen his paints. “What happened there was Meat Loaf is an incredible stage actor — I don’t know if this is real or put on.”
Busey was a model of Zen calm throughout, except for when he imitated Loaf’s explosion. I still think Meat Loaf got off easy. Sure, he was in Fight Club, but you do not mess with Mr. Joshua and not get burned. Take a look at Busey’s Tonight Show visit below. Were you bummed he didn’t wear his painter’s hat? READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Chris Lee
The stars turned out in force last night for the first performance of New York Philharmonic’s four-nights-only production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company. There was Alec Baldwin, calling out to a pal in the lobby. And there was Broadway vet Elaine Stritch, looking striking in a hat. And oh, look, it’s Michael Kors in a somewhat wrinkly raincoat. And they were just in the audience. On stage, there was a glittery lineup of Broadway pros (Neil Patrick Harris, Patti LuPone, Anika Noni Rose) and stage newbies (Stephen Colbert, Christina Hendricks, Jon Cryer) in a souped-up concert version of Sondheim’s 1970 musical.
Sondheim’s decidedly ’70s-sounding score (orchestrated by Jonathan Tunick), given a rich fullness by the Philharmonic under the baton of Paul Gemignani, has never sounded better. READ FULL STORY »
