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Archive: May 2011 (181-190 of 457)

May 18 2011 05:41 PM ET

Burning Questions! What's up with the vamps in 'Priest'? And why isn't Loki blue in 'Thor'?

by Darren Franich

Categories: Burning Questions

Image Credit: Scott Garfield

The “vampires” in Priest are inhuman alien-like creatures. Their bite appears to turn humans into lobotomized slaves known as “familiars.” So how come Karl Urban’s villainous Black Hat turns into an classically humanlike vampire?
As established in a flashback, Black Hat didn’t just get bitten by a vampire; he had to drink the blood of a vampire Queen, a biological irregularity that apparently turned him into a “vampire-human hybrid.” (It might also help that Black Hat wasn’t just a normal guy; he was a Priest, a member of an elite group of soldiers who occasionally appear super-human.) As for why Black Hat is able to walk around in the broad daylight…well, maybe he was wearing sunblock? READ FULL STORY »

May 18 2011 04:55 PM ET

Lady Gaga edges Oprah atop 'Forbes' Celebrity 100 list

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Facebook, Hollywood, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey

Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

It’s official. It’s Lady Gaga’s world, and we’re simply living in it. She’s bigger than Madonna, greater than Angelina. Heck, she’s more powerful than Oprah! [Beware of incoming lightning bolt!] Forbes placed the singer at the top of its Celebrity 100 list, which ranks the most powerful people in the entertainment business.

Let’s not quibble too much with Forbes‘ methodology, which credits celebs with the strongest web presence. In this case, they might be confusing simple popularity and crass self-promotion with real power, but let’s move on. Oprah, who earned $290 million in the last 12 months, ranked second, and Justin Bieber debuted on the list in the third spot. READ FULL STORY »

May 18 2011 04:30 PM ET

Why are we all so scared of Ronald McDonald?

by Darren Franich

Categories: Advertising, Not Jon Hamm, Now That's What I Call a Face!, The Bad Man Scares Me!

Image Credit: Everett Collection

Ronald McDonald is the most terrifying inhuman creature on the face of the earth. A tall clown with hellfire-red hair who enjoys hanging out with children when their parents aren’t looking, Ronald has terrorized young people across the world for nearly five decades. Apparently, there was a time when Ronald’s shenanigans were actually somewhat amusing. Perhaps that was before he started wearing a bright yellow jumpsuit, which makes him look like a psychotic hermit on his way to mopping up a bloody crime scene. God, just look at the above picture! It’s like you can read his thoughts, and his thoughts are “I’m going to enjoy eating your brains, sonny! Yuk Yuk Yuk!” READ FULL STORY »

May 18 2011 03:35 PM ET

Broadway’s 'Annie' announces open auditions for girls 6-12: Where's the reality show?

by Aubry D'Arminio

Categories: Stage/Theater

Redheaded mamas with similarly genetically blessed female offspring, get your little girls ready. The casting directors of Broadway’s upcoming Annie revival want a look at your singing, dancing daughter to play their young lead. (Blonds and brunettes, they’d like to see your kids too, but for the lesser-known orphan roles.) Can’t get to NYC on June 12 for the open call tryouts? This is also the first time a Broadway production will accept online audition submissions. So charge that Flip camera (hands off the Botox) and get to work on the red dress.

Those without stargazing 6- to 12-year-olds, let’s ponder: While we are always proud of Hollywood when it passes on the chance to exploit children and parents, isn’t there the missed opportunity for a reality show tucked somewhere in here? READ FULL STORY »

May 18 2011 03:10 PM ET

Tom Bergeron invites EW's Fringe Fairy Annie Barrett into his dressing room to discuss his decor and her self-esteem. Also to mime. Watch!

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Dancing With the Stars, EW Exclusive Video, On the Scene, Reality TV, Shenanigans!, Television, Things That Are Awesome!, Tom Bergeron

Who’s happier when Dancing With the Stars expert Annie Barrett joins host Tom Bergeron in his dressing room? Judge in the video below. (If you’re having trouble, try watching the video here.) READ FULL STORY »

May 18 2011 02:55 PM ET

This Week's Cover: First look at Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss in 'The Hunger Games' -- EXCLUSIVE

by EW staff

Categories: Exclusive First Look, The Hunger Games, This Week's Cover

Fans of The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins’ terrifically urgent dystopian trilogy about children forced to fight to the death — have always been protective of 16-year-old heroine Katniss Everdeen. So when Lionsgate and director Gary Ross announced that they had cast 20-year-old Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) in the lead role, the community was thrown into an inevitable tailspin. Was she too old, too blonde, too pale, too pretty to do the gritty warrior girl justice? In this week’s cover story, EW was granted an exclusive interview with a newly brunette Lawrence, and spent hours watching her train on a Los Angeles archery range and track, just days before she was due on the North Carolina set. READ FULL STORY »

May 18 2011 02:45 PM ET

Using a very loose definition of the word 'best,' here are the 10 best fourquels of all time

by Darren Franich

Categories: Pirates of the Caribbean, Sarcasm

Image Credit: Everett Collection

When Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opens this weekend, it will continue one of the most fascinating cinematic trends of the last few years: the Rise of the Big-Budget Fourquel. Third sequels didn’t use to exist outside of low-budget horror cash-cows and Z-grade monster franchises. Trilogies simply felt more dignified, whether you were designing an action-adventure saga (Back to the Future, Star Wars) or a soul-searing work of cinematic artistry (The Godfather, the Apu series.) But we live in undignified times. As Roger Ebert recently pointed out in Newsweek, 2011 features the highest number of fourquels ever: Besides Pirates, there are new volumes of Mission: Impossible, Spy Kids, and Twilight, not to mention the already-released, already-disappointing Scream 4. As part of PopWatch’s ongoing effort to look on the bright side of life, here’s a rundown of the best fourquels in film history. Hooray for the process of elimination!

10. Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
In the unfortunately-expanding subgenre of Barely-Awaited Sequels to Once-Beloved ’80s Action Franchises, we’ll give a slight edge to Bruce Willis over Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), Sylvester Stallone (Rambo), and Sigourney Weaver (Alien Resurrection). READ FULL STORY »

May 18 2011 02:17 PM ET

A skimpy 'Glee' cover that's appropriate!

by Mandi Bierly

Categories: Glee, Sexytimes, Television

Kudos to Glee star Heather Morris for finding a way to wear a bikini on the cover of a magazine and not stir controversy. The professional dancer bares her toned bod for Women’s Health‘s June issue. A sample tip for staying fit: “The secret behind my fabulous legs? Eat a lot of goldfish!” We assume she means the tiny cracker kind.

May 18 2011 01:48 PM ET

Gwyneth Paltrow 'do[es] not have time to bathe,' may have hidden a surprise in your spaghetti

by Hillary Busis

Categories: Food and Drink, Gwyneth Paltrow, Have You Seen This?

Love Gwyneth Paltrow? Loathe her? Either way, you’ll probably have something to say about the star’s picture on the cover of Bon Appétit‘s June issue. In it, the actress-slash-singer-slash-lifestyle guru is smiling and biting her lower lip in a manner that’s either charmingly mischievous or slightly creepy; I haven’t quite decided which camp I’m in yet. It looks like she might have concealed some sort of surprise in that bowl of spaghetti — an annotated version of the dedication in her new cookbook? A tiny umbrella? A microscopic Mary Todd Lincoln costume?

In the accompanying interview, Gwyneth discusses her love of cooking and shuts down speculation that she’s developing her own food magazine. “Don’t know how that rumor got into the papers,” she tells Bon Appétit. “It could not be further from the truth. I literally do not have time to bathe, let alone start a magazine.” Somehow, Gwynnie, we doubt the veracity of that last part… though if it is true, we’re pretty envious of your ability to look fabulous despite secretly being covered in filth.

Think you’ll make an effort to purchase this magazine, PopWatchers?

May 18 2011 01:20 PM ET

What is the most exciting new show of the fall season?

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Steven Spielberg, Television

Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC

The fall television season is still months away, but excitement peaked this week, when the networks announced the shiny new shows that will replace last year’s dregs. Back are some of our favorite faces in new vehicles: Tim Allen in Last Man Standing, Christina Applegate and Will Arnett in Up All Night. There’s the Mad Men Effect (see: Pan Am, right, and The Playboy Club), and the Lost Effect (see: The River and Alcatraz). There’s the latest U.K. imports (see: Prime Suspect and Free Agents). And then there’s the Jurassic behemoth in the room, Steven Spielberg’s Terra Nova. READ FULL STORY »