Archive: June 2012 (1-9 of 9)

Jun 29 2012 05:50 PM ET

Sigourney Weaver and David Hyde Pierce will return to the stage this fall

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Sigourney-Weaver

Image Credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images

Sigourney Weaver and David Hyde Pierce are bringing Chekhov characters to life in a new play by Christopher Durang that opens this fall.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike takes inspiration from the Russian writer, but sets the plot and characters in modern-day Pennsylvania. Pierce and Kristine Nielsen will play Vanya and Sonia, step-siblings who have spent their lives caring for their sick parents while envying their sister Masha, a world-traveling movie star played by Weaver. Nicholas Martin will direct the production, which also stars Billy Magnussen, Shalita Grant, and Genevieve Angelson.

Weaver last worked with Durang when she starred in his 1996 Broadway play, Sex and Longing. She also earned a Tony Award nomination in 1985 for a supporting role in David Rabe’s Hurlyburly. Pierce won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical in 2007 for his role in Curtains.

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Jun 29 2012 05:48 PM ET

Dish Network will cut off AMC Networks tomorrow

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Breaking-Bad-Victor

Image Credit: AMC

AMC and DISH have been playing a bitter game of mutual brinksmanship all month long. First, Dish Network banished AMC and its sibling-networks IFC and WE down to the lower reaches of the dial. Then, AMC used the overflowing gravitas of Don Draper to tell everyone that DISH was being totes lame. This was all in good fun, we thought, just the way that media companies do business. But today, DISH implemented the nuclear option: The company announced that, as of 11:59 p.m. tomorrow, AMC Networks will be eradicated from the DISH universe. That means AMC, WE, and IFC will all be gone, although the press release is quick to point out that AMC will be replaced by HDNet Movies. Now, while HDNet Movies does not currently carry two of the greatest TV shows ever made, it is playing Simon Birch tonight. Twice. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 29 2012 03:03 PM ET

Movie and a manicure? Nail polish inspired by 'The Amazing Spider-Man'

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Image Credit: Courtesy of OPI

 The Amazing Spider-Man doesn’t swing into theaters until July 3rd, but  a line of nail polish inspired by the superhero franchise is now available at a salon near you.

While much of the merchandise tied to the summer flick will appeal to a male demographic, Sony Pictures commissioned OPI to create a Spidey-themed nail polish collection in an effort to attract female moviegoers. The limited-edition line includes colors like “Your Web or Mine?” red, “Just Spotted the Lizard” metallic green, and “Call Me Gwen-Ever” coral, as well as a new shade of the beauty brand’s patented shatter polish.

This isn’t the first attempt to get women lacquered up before they head to the movies. OPI has previously released polishes timed to the release of The Muppets and Alice in Wonderland, while earlier this year shopping network HSN packaged two of Hollywood manicurist Deborah Lippmann’s most popular nail shades into its Snow White and the Huntsman fashion collection.

Read more:
‘The Amazing Spider-Man’: How could its debut stack up against past superhero box office?
This Week’s Cover: ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ heads up your Summer Must List

Jun 29 2012 10:55 AM ET

'Brand X': Russell Brand's unfunny but oddly endearing comedy show

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russell-brand-x

Image Credit: Fox

The worst thing you can say about Brand X, Russell Brand’s new FX-sponsored experiment in late-night comedy, is that the show has so many clashing tones and underlying concepts that it feels like a mulch of about 50 different ideas mashed into a half hour. The show looks a little bit like a stand-up set filmed at your local high school. Brand moves around on stage, delivering jokes in front of a studio audience. The show’s logo looks like leftover publicity material from the early days of SpikeTV; the set is backdropped by a John Paul Goode map illustrated (if the end credits are to be believed) by iconic street artist Shepard Fairey. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 29 2012 10:00 AM ET

What is your damage, Ryan Lochte's diamond grill?

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Welcome to ‘What Is Your Damage,’ Annie Barrett’s summer shop of all the melodrama and self-absorption she misses from springtime reality TV. Every Tuesday and Friday, she’ll rant about a current offense to her humanity, then assess readers’ damages via video replies. Don’t be shy about admitting what annoys or intrigues you. We’re all in this pop cult together!

What is your damage, Ryan Lochte’s diamond-encrusted grill?

How was I never aware of you? It seems like we’d be a perfect match as A) You are ridiculous and B) I am what you might call “really into” bling and gems.

You have yet to reveal yourself in this week’s Olympic trials footage, yet I can feel you lurking, ready to clamp. You dominate most of the triumphant medal podium shots of Lochte, your human, that we see in between the races. Your human owns and proudly wears three different versions of you! And he’s teased that the grill he’s having custom-made for the London Olympics will be red, white, and blue to honor the U.S.A. Or might those colors serve to honor bloody England instead? Whose side of the great big swimming pool in between these two countries are you on, anyway, Ryan Lochte’s grill? Do you measure the pool’s distance in meters or yards? What’s your damage? READ FULL STORY »

Jun 29 2012 09:49 AM ET

Katie Couric on Ann Curry departure: 'It really broke my heart to see'

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katie-couric

Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

From one former Today co-host to another: You’re going to be fine.

Katie Couric was taking questions during her web show yesterday, and naturally, the topic of Ann Curry’s departure came up. “It really broke my heart this morning to see Ann, because I know she’s suffering and feeling a lot of pain with this transition,” she said. “It’s really hard for everyone on the show.… This kind of tumult is really hard for everyone.”

Couric said she didn’t have any insider knowledge of the negotiations, but stressed that she thought Curry was a great reporter, and echoed what Curry herself said about her passion for covering important international stories — which will be Curry’s job in her new role. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 29 2012 09:00 AM ET

Love cover star Louis C.K.? Check out these up-and-coming comics

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Image Credit: Lloyd Bishop/NBC/Getty Images

This week’s cover star Louis C.K. is often referred to as a comedian’s comedian, the kind of guy who considers the stand-up form sacred and takes his form and craft very seriously. In carving out his own personal area of the comedy world (one worth millions of dollars), he has not only cast himself as a singularity but also paved the way for a new wave of dynamic stand-ups who have thrived in today’s multi-platform environment mostly by tapping into their purest selves — just like Louis did.

So take a look at these five comics, all of whom seem ready to break out at a moment’s notice. You may not know them now… but you will. READ FULL STORY »

Jun 29 2012 12:49 AM ET

U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials: Things Learned on Night 4 (other than Bob Costas makes it better)

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swimming-michael-phelps

Image Credit: Mark J. Terrill/AP

Did everyone get as excited as I did seeing Bob Costas show up for the fourth night of the swimming trials? It wasn’t so much that I needed to see him interview Ryan Lochte, a conversation that started slow but had a strong finish. It was that it made me excited for the opening ceremony in London, which I assume he’ll once again call with Matt Lauer. I look forward to the trivia they’ll drop: In 2008, I learned that at the 1936 games, Haiti and Liechtenstein realized they had the same flag, and in 2010, I learned that in 1964, a group of Mongolian cross-country skiers showed up unexpectedly at the Innsbruck Olympics but were allowed to compete anyway. Fill, gentlemen! Fill!

In the meantime, here are a few things I picked up during Night 4 (not from Bob, unless noted): READ FULL STORY »

Jun 29 2012 12:05 AM ET

'Awkward' season 2 premiere recap: Holy make out session!

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awkward

Image Credit: http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/i/2012/06/28/awkward_320.jpg

Awkward is back, friends. And it was as drama-filled as ever. Here’s what went down: (Don’t read if you haven’t seen the episode, obviously) READ FULL STORY »

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