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Archive: June 2011 (11-20 of 401)

Jun 30 2011 01:36 PM ET

'Friends With Benefits'/'No Strings Attached' mash-up trailer: Same premise... same movie?!

Tags: Bitchery, Come here, you...and give me a kiss, Justin Timberlake, Movie Trailers, Movies, Natalie Portman, Sexytimes, That Was Way Harsh Tai, Those Crazy Kids!, Movies, Those Crazy Kids!

If you saw the trailer for the upcoming Justin Timberlake/Mila Kunis comedy Friends with Benefits and thought to yourself, “Hmm, haven’t I seen this before, except it starred Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman and it was called No Strings Attached?”, we wouldn’t blame you, friend-o! In fact, you needn’t look further than the meticulously edited FWB/NSA mash-up trailer of the two 2011 comedies to see that just about everything from the glossy love affairs that don’t end in bitterness to the wacky sidekicks to even wackier parents, is strikingly similar. To be fair, we can’t really say how much Friends With Benefits resembles No Strings Attached, since the former has yet to hit the big screen yet (we’ll have to wait until July 22). But as long as the line “I’m warning you, if you take one step closer, I’m never letting you go” doesn’t wind up in Friends With Benefits, I’ll automatically consider it the better of the two.

Watch the full trailer below and see if you can tell the difference between the flicks. Tell me PopWatchers, is this the best been-there-done-that trailer this year or does that title still belong to the Hangover 1 and 2 mash-up? I smell a new Golden Trailer category! READ FULL STORY »

Jun 30 2011 10:52 AM ET

If you're Selena Gomez, who's your Shia LaBeouf?

by Mandi Bierly

Tags: Inappropriate Crushes, Justin Bieber, PopWatch Confessional

After Another Cinderella Story, the video of Selena Gomez being tricked into meeting her crush Shia LaBeouf — and freaking out — is my favorite thing she’s ever done. Watch it (again) below. Then, because we’re in the mood for a good laugh, share your most memorable/embarrassing celebrity encounter. Think EW’s Sandra Gonzalez being surprised by Nathan Fillion spinning around in a chair on the Castle set to say, “Why, hello.” Think my friend Tamara meeting Ralph Fiennes outside the stage door when he did Hamlet in London, saying two words to him (“Thank you,” because, she insisted, it summed up everything she felt about him), and bursting into tears. Think of me if I ever ran into Alexander Skarsgard after he inspired my original Lifetime movie pitch Spoiler Alert: Love? READ FULL STORY »

Jun 30 2011 10:05 AM ET

Gwyneth Paltrow disrobes for 'Vanity Fair'

by Jeff Labrecque

Tags: Art, Bits and Bobs, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Have You Seen This?, Nudity, Things That Are Classy, This Really Only Needs One Sentence

If you mention the word fishnet stockings, I automatically envision Anne Bancroft. It’s a Pavlovian reaction after seeing The Graduate when I was 16 years old — though in hindsight, I don’t think what Mrs. Robinson wore were technically fishnet. No matter. Well, Anne, it was a good run. May I introduce Gwyneth Paltrow’s Vanity Fair photo (below) for its On Jewellery calendar, which appears in the August issue. (Yes, she’s wearing jewelry. I had to look twice, too.) READ FULL STORY »

Jun 30 2011 10:00 AM ET

Who is the coolest character from 'Pee-wee's Playhouse'?

by Tanner Stransky

Tags: Nostalgia, Pee-wee Herman, Television, Who Else Remembers This?, Who is the coolest..., Television, TV

Image Credit: Photofest

There’s simply no other way to put it: Pee-wee’s Playhouse was a totally bizarre television show, especially when you consider that it was made for children. An effeminate, over-sized man-child ran around like a loon in a giant, surreal house that featured a rotating cast of characters and puppets even wackier than him? Yes, surely, that was Pee-wee’s Playhouse, indeed.

But that description actually brings us to the important thing about Pee-wee’s Playhouse, the thing that made the show so darn addictive and special: its cast of insane, memorable characters, all of which fall into two camps. The humans, led by master-of-ceremonies Pee-wee, of course, and pretty-pretty Miss Yvonne and aww-shucks-ish Cowboy Carl. And then there were all the puppets and object characters, ranging from Clockey, the talking clock, to Pterri, the sweet pterodactyl. Everyone had a distinct and important role on the show. But who was the coolest? Well, the obvious answer would be, of course, Pee-wee. But maybe it’s not quite that easy? We’ve broken down a handful of the faves (sorry if yours didn’t make the list — there are literally dozens on the show!) below:

READ FULL STORY »

Jun 30 2011 09:00 AM ET

This Week's Cover: Behind the scenes of the final 'Harry Potter' film -- and the entire magical, record-breaking franchise

by EW staff

Tags: Harry Potter, Movies, This Week's Cover, Movies

The creators of the $2 billion-grossing Harry Potter movies may be laughing all the way to Gringotts Bank, but the success of the films wasn’t always such a sure thing. “If they had cast American actors or put cheerleaders at Hogwarts — and all these hideous ideas were indeed being pitched and discussed at the time – Harry Potter would have been one movie, not a series,” says Chris Columbus, director of the first two films in the most lucrative movie series in Hollywood history. “It would have just died.”

Thankfully, the filmmakers remained true to author J.K. Rowling’s magical vision — and fans are now eagerly awaiting the final installment in the Franchise That Lived: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, opening in theaters July 15. In the new special double issue of Entertainment Weekly, we bid farewell to the boy wizard and the cinematic magic conjured up around him. The 50 pages of coverage includes: READ FULL STORY »

Jun 30 2011 08:56 AM ET

Melanie LaPatin on 'SYTYCD': About that cha-cha...

by Melanie LaPatin

Tags: An EW Exclusive!, So You Think You Can Dance, About Last Night, Reality TV, Reality TV, About Last Night, TV

Image Credit: Adam Rose/Fox

What a week! I was as thrilled as anybody that no one got cut from the Top 20 last Thursday, but the other tap shoe had to drop eventually and FOUR dancers were eliminated. Yikes! And you know me, or you’re starting to: I’m an emotional kinda gal. So yes, I’ll admit that I MAY have gotten a little misty-eyed when the unlucky quartet were sent home. But ONLY a little misty-eyed. And if it happened to be MORE than a little, hey, my cats will never, ever tell on me!

Now, before we get into last night’s performances, I thought I’d try to address a few of your comments about Missy and why her cha-cha with Wadi was so highly praised. (Well, at least her half of it.) Part of what the judges (on SYTYCD or in any dance competition, really) are looking for is technical accuracy — is the dancer performing the steps correctly and with all the desired nuances? And for the most part, Missy did. This was extra noteworthy because she was dancing outside of her normal genre. Moreover, though, whether her performance made you go “Wow!” it did encapsulate kind of “the cha-cha vibe,” that sorta intangible “something” that a judge will look for from a tango. Will it thrill everyone? Obviously not. But then, the cha-cha, as a dance, may not thrill everyone. Isn’t how we respond to a dance, in the end, as subjective and personal as the way we react to music or sculpture or film? READ FULL STORY »

Jun 29 2011 07:45 PM ET

'The Voice' finale: And the winner is...

by Hillary Busis

Tags: Christina Aguilera, Reality TV, The Voice, Reality TV, TV

Image Credit: Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

(Update: The recap is live!) We’ve obsessively analyzed iTunes sales, dissected the finalists’ performances ad nauseum, and argued about Christina’s image issues until we were blue in the face — and tonight, we’ll learn whether Dia, Javier, Vicci, or Beverly has been crowned The Voice. Yes, that’s right: After just ten weeks on the air, The Voice‘s too-short first season is coming to an end. What? No, I’m not getting teary! There’s just… there’s just something in my eye!

Go ahead and discuss the show’s star-studded finale below; as soon as we find out who’s been named the winner, I’ll update the post with their name. For the record: A whopping 48 percent of you are predicting that Dia will be victorious, and 40 percent also believe that she deserves to win (though 30 percent think Javier should get the title). I think you guys are right on the first count… though if Beverly somehow manages to be number one, I might just do a celebratory chicken dance. UPDATE: So who won? Check it out after the jump! READ FULL STORY »

Jun 29 2011 07:30 PM ET

'So You Think You Can Dance': Discuss the Top 16 performances!

by Adam B. Vary

Tags: So You Think You Can Dance, Reality TV, Reality TV, TV

Image Credit: Patrick Ecclesine/FOX

After last week’s heartbreaking and infuriating double elimination, I can’t help but feel a pang of pity for poor Ryan Ramirez. Yes, she’s been pimped to the high heavens; yes, she dances with a perma-smile; and yes, her dance-for-your-life solo was a crumbly piece of bland candy. But had Nigel and Co. sent home Jordan and Robert like they should have two weeks ago, this post would have instead likely lamented that poor Missy and Wadi just never got a chance to show off their stuff. Now I’m forced to note that Ryan goes into tonight’s Top 16 week with a big ole target painted on her back — then again, maybe that’ll be enough to let her cheek muscles finally rest.

Chat here about how Ryan and the other 15 contestants fared tonight – as well has how Kristin Chenoweth handled herself as a guest judge — and then come back to EW.com tomorrow morning for my full recap!

Follow Adam on Twitter

Jun 29 2011 06:20 PM ET

Which Kroll will dominate 'The Nick Show Kroll'? Troll or Droll?

by Jeff Labrecque

Tags: Late Night, TV

There are really two different Nick Kroll’s, the comic who is getting his own Comedy Central sketch show in 2012. There’s Troll Kroll, who wears flamboyantly grotesque outfits and adopts the slang of an urban caricature. (See: His Fabrice Fabrice character, pictured at left, a craft services coordinator for the sitcom That’s So Raven.) And then there’s Droll Kroll, the seemingly well-adjusted adult who shocks you with his depravity. (See: His incorrigible character from the FX sitcom, The League.) Both Kroll’s can be hilarious, though I’m partial to his Ruxin character from The League, a respected lawyer, father, and husband to a beautiful woman who would trade it all in at the drop of a hat for some $12 fantasy-league football trophy. READ FULL STORY »