Archive: August 2011 (101-110 of 295)

Aug 19 2011 11:16 AM ET

Christine O'Donnell blames walk-out on cheeky bugger Piers Morgan

Christine O’Donnell made it all the way to the end of a 10-minute segment with Today Show‘s Savannah Guthrie this morning and addressed the infamous “walk-off” interview she did with CNN’s Piers Morgan on Tuesday night. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 19 2011 02:51 AM ET

'Project Runway': Best stinkface of the night?

Project Runway consistently serves up some of the most vile/awesome stinkfaces on television. Last night’s episode, which had the contestants designing for evil overlord Nina Garcia, was no exception. Vote below for the week’s best.

Some context: Contestant Olivier (bottom right) has just learned that Bert, who is sitting directly next to him, didn’t realize he was in the room. It happens! READ FULL STORY »

Aug 18 2011 09:45 PM ET

'Big Brother': Talk about tonight's eviction!

Filed under: Television, TV and tagged: ,
bigbrother13

Image Credit: Cliff Lipson/CBS

As Daniele told us last night, Brendon is a zombie whose head needs to get cut off. So I imagine the Head of Household will spend tonight’s new episode getting in the heeeeeads, in the heeeeeeads of the voting houseguests. Will her plan to re-evict Brendon work? Or will the zombie live on and melt our eyeballs every time he makes out with Rachel? Will Shelly cry? (Is the sky blue?) Will Rachel cry? (Do her boobs defy gravity?)

Come here during the show to discuss the happenings of the tonight’s show, and be sure to come back later for my full recap of the night’s events. I’ll be wearing my Humilitard. UPDATE: The house has voted. Click the jump to find out who went home! READ FULL STORY »

Aug 18 2011 06:52 PM ET

Do you trust Betty White? Survey says you do!

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Image Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com

I have trouble believing that people “trust” celebrities. That’s probably because I have trouble trusting anyone. (My sister: “Try this mascara!” Me: “What’s your motive?”) At any rate, a survey of humans claims Betty White is the most popular and “most trusted” celebrity.

Meanwhile, you wouldn’t let Paris Hilton or Charlie Sheen babysit your hamster, much less consider them worthy of your “trust.” Lauds to you, America, for your excellent judge of character. (But jeers for making Paris Hilton a celebrity in the first place. Thankfully, you’re over that.)

More fun facts from said poll, conducted by Reuters/Ipsos to determine the celebrity most likely to drive up the business of a brand they endorse: You also trust the likes of America’s male sweetheart Tom Hanks; America’s actual sweetheart Sandra Bullock; the man who narrated a movie about little adorable penguins, Morgan Freeman; and Kate Middleton, who reuses her clothes, officially giving us all no reason not to trust her. Joining Hilton and Sheen at the bottom (of humanity), is Britney Spears, Kanye West, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, Kim Kardashian, Mel Gibson, Donald Trump and LeBron James.

What do you think of that list, PopWatchers? Who would you add/subtract?

Aug 18 2011 06:47 PM ET

Does Lea Michele make you want to buy a TouchPad? You're too late.

Filed under: News and tagged:
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Celebrity endorsements can sell anything, right? I mean, every time I see a fresh-faced starlet sensually rubbing the latest Neutrogena something or other all over her flawless skin, I simply have to have it. My pores are shrinking as I type! Well, as it turns out, even the likes of Lea Michele, Russell Brand, and Manny Pacquiao couldn’t save Hewlett-Packard’s TouchPad from a cruel and bitter end. CNN confirmed Thursday that the company aims to spin-off its struggling PC business, and has already killed the TouchPad tablet that was launched less than two months ago. But those Russell Brand commercials were so funny! READ FULL STORY »

Aug 18 2011 05:30 PM ET

Could Sarah Silverman and Whitney Cummings pave the way for more female-led series?

Sarah-SilvermanPW

Image Credit: John Shearer/WireImage.com

Call it the Bridesmaids syndrome: The obvious, but long-overdue recognition that not only can women be a mix of funny and smart and brazen and daring, but people are very much interested in seeing women like that in their entertainment.

Perhaps that explains the recent trend on the small screen that’s allowing some of today’s biggest female comedians a chance to share their humor with the masses. As we reported earlier today, Sarah Silverman, whose last show was the subversive The Sarah Silverman Program that ran on Comedy Central for three seasons, has landed her own sitcom on NBC. The currently untitled program will take a page from the book of Louie and Curb Your Enthusiasm in that it will mirror the comedienne’s personal life. In Silverman’s case, the series will follow her chapter in life as a woman who just broke out of a long relationship (Would it be uncouth to suggest Matt Damon play this part? Sorry, Jimmy!)

The Silverman news comes on the heels (or flats, even) of NBC turning funny lady/talk show host Chelsea Handler’s escapades from her best-seller Are You There Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea into a multi-camera comedy. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 18 2011 05:05 PM ET

When Boy Met Curl: The mane lessons of 'Boy Meets World'

boy-meets-world

Image Credit: Buena Vista Home Entertainment

I watched Boy Meets World  for two reasons.

First, it was a show that made me feel like I wasn’t alone in life. Like Cory Matthews (Ben Savage), the show’s protagonist, I didn’t have the answers growing up. He muddled his way through high school, puberty, friendships and sex, just like me. Amidst a sea of sitcom Smart-Alecks and Sassers, he was an Everyman, instantly relatable to me on every level. When it first aired, my takeaway from every episode was that nobody gets an A in the course of life, no matter how hard they try. But even more importantly — especially for someone like me who worried about grades all the time — was that in real life, you don’t even get grades. You just live life as best you can, and everyone is doing the same. Now, whenever I am fortunate enough to come across an episode online or on TV, I smile for a half hour, a reminder that it’s all going to be okay. Maybe not great, maybe not even what I wanted, but alright.

Really though, Boy Meets World had a bigger meaning to me: Hair. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 18 2011 04:32 PM ET

Judy Garland story to hit Broadway in Spring 2012

Tagged:
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Image Credit: Robert Day

End of the Rainbow, the Peter Quilter play about Judy Garland’s final months that received four Olivier Award nominations in London, is scheduled to hit Broadway in Spring 2012. Following a tune-up run at Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theatre that begins Jan. 28, previews for the New York production, directed by Terry Johnson, will begin March 19, with opening night to follow on April 3. Two-time Olivier Award winner Tracie Bennett will reprise her role as Garland.

End of the Rainbow is set in December 1968, as Judy Garland, who died in June 1969, is about to make another comeback. As EW wrote in 1994, remembering the 25th anniversary of her passing: “An engagement at London’s Talk of the Town in early 1969 tragically confirmed her decline. When a disoriented Judy struggled through her signature song, ‘Over the Rainbow,’ the audience pelted her with bread sticks and cigarette butts. Garland sought solace that year in a fifth marriage to nightclub owner Mickey Deans, who was arranging a small European tour for her at the time of her death.”

Aug 18 2011 02:34 PM ET

Aaron Paul and Teresa Palmer slay us in Funny or Die's 'Quirky Girl' indie rom com parody

Since we already know the rules of horror movies (R.I.P. Randy), it’s time we establish the rules of an indie romantic comedy. If you’re an off-beat guy who desperately wants to be in love and digs sad rock, you will inevitably fall for an equally off-beat hipster girl, who, in addition to sporting frustrating bangs and liking the same brand of sad rock, is emotionally stunted and actually kind of mean. Lovelorn fellow will ignore all the warning signs that she isn’t so much “original” as she is just plain crazy, and said kooky girl will pretty much get away with murder thanks to her American Apparel good looks and collection of Cure records. In fact, in Funny or Die‘s latest parody, Quirky Girl, that is exactly the case.

In the clip, Breaking Bad‘s Aaron Paul and Take Me Home Tonight‘s Teresa Palmer riff on (500) Days of Summer (bonus points for the Geoffrey Arend cameo, which sees the actor reprising his role as the humorous best friend/voice of reason) and the worst offender of all, Garden State, as Joseph and Claire, a couple who fall in love despite the odds. READ FULL STORY »

Aug 18 2011 12:00 PM ET

Videogames vs. Movies: Have games replaced films as the modern popular narrative medium?

Red-Dead-Redemption-vs-Inception

Image Credit: Melissa Moseley

Comparing one narrative medium to another is a tricky business. Anyone who has read a Harry Potter book and then seen the ensuing film adaptation — which is to say, almost everyone on earth –  knows that every storytelling method has its own strengths and weaknesses. Still, there is something particularly fascinating about the rivalry between movies and videogames. Cinema was the original popular art form, but it has spent over half a century fighting against rival media: Television, home video, and finally the videogame, which has evolved in just a few short decades from the primordial elements of Pong into the culture-defining medium of Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto, and The Legend of Zelda.

The key to the great Film/Videogame debate is that the two have evolved alongside of each other. Videogames have become more “filmlike,” with more realistic characters and complex plotting. In turn, movies have absorbed many lessons from videogames, some of them good (films like The Hurt Locker and Children of Men have a you-are-there grandeur that feels very gamelike) and some of them not so good (watching Michael Bay’s Transformers trilogy is are exactly as enjoyable as watching your little brother play videogames you used to love before you turned 6). Now, I and fellow videogame fiend Adam B. Vary debate whether videogames have outright passed the movies as the popular narrative medium. Tell us your own thoughts in the comments. READ FULL STORY »

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