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Archive: June 2011 (361-370 of 401)

Jun 3 2011 10:25 AM ET

Scripps National Spelling Bee boasts frenemies, winner who is much smarter than you

Categories: Awwwwww So Cuuuuuute, Kids' Corner, Made Us Think, Television, Things That Are Awesome!, Things That Make Us Feel Old, Those Crazy Kids!

Forget the Super Bowl or the World Series: The most exciting competition of the year is the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which crowned a new winner last night. Intrigue, nerves, vocabulary — how can you not get revved up watching a competition featuring tweens that are far smarter than you’ll ever be? (Refreshing, though, isn’t it, that there are some out there whose interests extend beyond Justin Bieber and ruining our language one text at a time. Another draw: The competition hosted a pair of frenemies. Amazing.) Fourteen-year-old Sukanya Roy adorably picked up the win for spelling the word “Cymotrichous” correctly — you gotta love the way she knew she had it in the bag as soon as she got to the “t” in the word.

Also, props to Roy for not even breaking concentration when Dr. Jacques Bailly referenced Bon Jovi while using “Cymotrichous” in a sentence. (After all, it does mean “having the hair wavy.”) Whether that’s because she was focused, or has no idea who Bon Jovi is (get off my lawn, kids! I’m old) remains up in the air. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 3 2011 09:30 AM ET

Pee-Wee Herman asks Emmy to 'Consider' him, Melissa Leo-style

by Kate Ward

Categories: Advertising, Emmy Awards, Ridiculata, Television, Things That Are Awesome!

Consider… why this hasn’t already been done. In an effort to score an Emmy nomination for his work in his own HBO special, The Pee-Wee Herman Show, everyone’s favorite man-child (a.k.a. Paul Reubens) has decided to release his own glamorous “Consider” ad. You remember what it parodies: Melissa Leo’s surprisingly effective, yet ripe for parody Oscar ads that you really, really hoped were tongue-in-cheek, but were secretly glad to learn were real in all their Sunset Boulevard-y glory. (Shame on you! But, then again, The Fighter actress got the last laugh, didn’t she?)

So, this time around, consider Emmy fighter Reubens… and how good he looks in that fur coat.

Jun 3 2011 09:00 AM ET

Tonys 2011: First-time nominee John Benjamin Hickey on doing 'The Normal Heart' and 'The Big C' at the same time

by Aubry D'Arminio

Categories: Stage/Theater, Tony Awards

Image Credit: Joan Marcus

No one can talk up The Normal Heart, Larry Kramer’s semi-autobiographical drama about the early days of the AIDS crisis, like John Benjamin Hickey. “It absolutely floored me at what a gut punch the play is,” he remembers about the first time he saw it in 1993. “At how emotionally devastating, how polemical, but also what a heartbreaking love story it is and how funny it is. It’s real thrill ride.” What Hickey doesn’t mention is how his Tony-nominated performance as Felix Turner, the boyfriend of the show’s hero Ned Weeks (Joe Mantello), is key to the current Broadway revival. Or how amazing it is that he spends the other half of his day filming scenes as Laura Linney’s homeless lothario brother on The Big C (which returns to Showtime on June 27). So, during a recent phone call, we tried to squeeze it out of him. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 3 2011 08:45 AM ET

Jason Sudeikis confuses Justin Bieber for 'Make-A-Wish' child

by Kate Ward

Categories: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Justin Bieber, Late Night, Television

On Jimmy Kimmel Live! Thursday night, Jason Sudeikis appeared to talk about the MTV Movie Awards, basketball, and everyone’s favorite pint-sized subject, Justin Bieber. Talking about their respective experiences playing in the NBA All-Star celebrity game — which saw Sudeikis teamed up with “four NBA legends and Common” and Kimmel with Bieber himself — the duo discussed the surprising strength of the “Baby” singer. “He turned out to be the MVP,” Kimmel said. (Of course — it takes a lot of arm muscle to hold up the hair dryer for that long.)

Sudeikis, however, delivered the real zinger of the evening: “I didn’t even know it was [Bieber] for the first two quarters,” he told Kimmel. “I thought it was a make-a-wish situation.” Harsh? Yes. But it’s proof that Sudeikis (who jokingly claimed he’s prepared 4,000 Twilight jokes) will be anything but gentle hosting Sunday’s MTV Movie Awards. A good sign, if you ask me — it’s been too long since Ricky Gervais shook up Hollywood awards shows. Watch a clip from the interview embedded after the jump. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 2 2011 06:36 PM ET

First look at 'The Dark Knight Rises'? Mysterious viral videos might offer plot hints

by Darren Franich

Categories: The Dark Knight Rises, Viral Video!!!

Image Credit: Warner Bros.

It’s best to be skeptical about essentially everything you hear about The Dark Knight Rises. Director Christopher Nolan is famously secretive and mischievous when it comes to releasing any plot information. Even the first shot of the film’s baddie, Bane, reveals just enough to tantalize rather than satisfy. So take this with a grain of salt: Three mysterious videos have been posted to YouTube by a user called “TheFireRises.” The first, titled “419,” features scenes of devastation and the sight of a massive skyscraper burning. The second, titled “Outbreak,” takes you inside of an Abu Ghraib-qsue prison (Arkham Asylum?), while terrifying chanting builds in the background. The most recent video, “GCN,” is the most explicitly Dark Knight-ish, with Anthony Michael Hall’s newscaster apparently reporting on an Arkham Asylum outbreak. Check it out: READ FULL STORY »

Jun 2 2011 06:02 PM ET

Jessica Simpson and Ashlee Simpson launch tween fashion line: See the clothes

by Archana Ram

Categories: Advance Advancement, Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion

Yesterday came news that pop star-turned-billion dollar designer Jessica Simpson and younger sister Ashlee would branch out with a tween collection, and today, we get a sneak peak of the products — faux fur, printed leggings and all — which will be available at 400 retailers, including Macy’s and Lord Taylor, this fall.

Simpson’s designing style has always been trendy without turning customers into crazy-patterns lady. But with this tween line, consisting of sportswear and jeans geared towards girls sized 7 through 16, the line looks more Rachel Zoe than Jessica Simpson, who has already made quite a name — and billion dollar empire – for herself. That credit (or blame?) should probably go to sister Ashlee, who, unlike her big sis, is known for more grungy, vintage-inspired ensembles.

What do you guys think of the looks? Will you be buying the clothes for the little lady in your life?

Photo: Clothing line-Courtesy of WWD; Simpsons-Getty Image

Jun 2 2011 05:10 PM ET

Martin Scorsese to tackle Richard Burton, Liz Taylor romance: Who would you cast?

by Jeff Labrecque

Categories: Casting, Elizabeth Taylor, Movies

Image Credit: Keystone-France/Getty Images

Entertainment Weekly has confirmed a Deadline report that Paramount has optioned Furious Love, Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger’s recent book about the torrid and tempestuous romance of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, as a potential directorial project for Martin Scorsese. This is a biopic where casting is everything. While it would nearly be impossible for the starring couple to equal the celebrity of Liz and Richard, they’ll need to be famous enough themselves to convey the magnitude of their onscreen counterparts. Thus, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are logical suggestions, especially since Jolie is preparing to play the Taylor role in a remake of the infamous Cleopatra, where the couple, then married to other people, first sparked an interest in each other. But Cleopatra remake and previous famous marriages aside, I don’t think Brangelina are the best fit. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 2 2011 04:45 PM ET

'Fear Factor' returning to your TV -- are you already nauseous thinking about it?

by Aly Semigran

Categories: EWWWWWWWWWW.com, Reality TV, Shenanigans!, Television

Oh, Michael Scott, so many things are happening in the pop culture world this week that have made us think of you. First, Donald Trump and Sarah Palin got themselves “a real New York slice” like you did when you visited the Big Apple, and now one of your favorite programs, Fear Factor, is getting ready to head back to television, as EW exclusively reported earlier today.

While there’s no word on whether a Todd Packer-fied mystery carpet will serve as a challenge or if original host Joe Rogan will return (presumably for midseason or next summer), other Fear Factor fans like Mr. Scott should be thrilled that the reality series is being revived by NBC. I, on the other hand, fear the Factor. Not so much for their crazy stunts in which willing (seriously, why?!) contestants dangle from high altitudes or reach excessive speeds, but because I simply cannot stomach all the gross-out gags. Gag being the operative word here. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 2 2011 04:25 PM ET

'Rocky: The Musical' is so much closer to becoming a reality than you have ever imagined

by Darren Franich

Categories: Nostalgia

Image Credit: Everett Collection

In the first half of the 2000s, Sylvester Stallone was stuck in a hell of direct-to-video action films. By 2006, his last two major roles had been a jokey role in the deathly Spy Kids 3 and a guest-starring turn on the gleefully inessential Las Vegas. At the lowest ebb of his career, Stallone returned to the franchise that initially propelled him to ’80s mega-fame. The result was Rocky Balboa, a surprisingly not-bad sixquel that worked as an eerily accurate Stallone autobiography. The film was an unexpected hit, grossing $150 million worldwide, and the star smartly doubled down on his own nostalgia cult with a Rambo sequel and last summer’s The Expendables, which was essentially a reboot of the entire ’80s action genre. How much of a moment is Stallone having? According to a report in the New York Times, Rocky is on its way to becoming a freaking musical — with a hoped-for 2013 Broadway opening. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 2 2011 04:16 PM ET

Leaked phone messages from '80s 'super agent' are a hoax -- but like Milli Vanilli, a funny one

by Anthony Breznican

Categories: Movies, Viral Video!!!

Imagine meeting a name-dropping, bad-movie-premiere boasting, desperately hustling Hollywood agent from the 1980s. The viral video of the “Warren Klein” answering machine tapes would be the one-sided conversation you’d have with such a creature.

The six-minute slide-show, with audio purporting to be messages left by this agent for clients C. Thomas Howell, Jami Gertz, and Kirk Cameron, are currently cracking up the industry as the Funny or Die clip pinballed around Twitter and Facebook today. “Are you ready for the money?” he says to Cameron, about a role in 1989′s forgettable debate-team St. Elmo’s Fire wannabe Listen to Me. “Thirty. Five. Thousand. Dollars.” Take a listen. READ FULL STORY »