Author: Tanner Stransky (1-10 of 433)

Feb 7 2012 01:00 AM ET

'RuPaul's Drag Race' week 2 query: Was 'WTF' one of the most outrageous challenges ever?

Drag-race-wrestling

Over three seasons, we’ve seen boatloads of lunacy on RuPaul’s Drag Race: Everything from dresses made from dollar bills and egregious shoulder flair to huge, raging queens that throw other contestants around and futuristic get-ups that look like they were ripped from the 2050 version of Cats. Last night’s episode, “WTF!: Wrestling’s Trashiest Fighters,” was centered around a ridiculous WWF-inspired challenge, which was pretty nuts and begs the question: Was this one of the series’ most outrageous challenges ever?

For sure. I think last night’s new episode will majestically go down in Drag Race history with those memorable hours mentioned above, as the 12 remaining queens found themselves putting together drag wrestling looks and then putting on an outlandish, drama-filled show for the judges — something they’ve never done before. “Tonight,” RuPaul told the gals before the main challenge, “you’ll be transforming yourself into wrestling’s trashiest fighters.” Yes: WTF. (Ru, your cleverness is always appreciated.)

All the evidence you need of last night’s challenge brilliance is in this post: Just look at the capture of Latrice Royale and Kenya Michaels — excuse me, Latrice the Beast and Killer Kenya. It…is…beyond! These ladies really killed it the crazy department, putting on a show that kept me cackling all night. “Yesterday,” Ru dramatically told all the ladies after the challenge, “you changed the face of professional wrestling forever. I smell a spin-off!” WTF, indeed! It just seems devastating that such a spectacular pair — Latrice Royale and Kenya Michaels — didn’t win the challenge.

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Jan 30 2012 11:35 PM ET

'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 4 premiere query: Is Sharon Needles the most 'sickening' contestant ever?

SHARON-NEEDLES

Image Credit: Mathu Andersen

Logo’s reality indulgence RuPaul’s Drag Race has enjoyed its fair share of intriguing contestants in previous seasons: Glittery gals from BeBe Zahara Benet to Pandora Boxx to Shangela — who reappeared on screen last night, albeit briefly, as a semi-annoying gag — are memorable queens who’ve been of high interest in the past. But apparently the best queen was to come, and she appeared last night in the show’s season 4 premiere: Sharon Needles.

Yes, you read that right: Sharon Needles. Read that name again. And again. Linger over it. And now say it out loud… a little bit faster. Let it wash over you. It’s genius, right?

And just look at Needles here: Have you ever seen a drag queen like her before? She was — in a word — simply divine. For the way she described herself: “Beautiful, spooky, and stupid,” she said in her first interview. For how she whirled onto the show: “I look spooky, but I’m really nice… at least for now,” she promised the other queens while arriving in the workroom wearing a hat fit for the Wicked Witch of the West. For how she reacted when the guest judge was announced: Sharon Needles went into near-hysterics when told that fellow spook-master Elvira would appear on the judging panel alongside RuPaul, Santino Rice, and Michelle Visage.

Now, I wish that the photo here — this is just her standard gallery shot, unfortunately — reflected the gal’s ghastly runway look last night, but never before have I seen a drag queen look so dead. Deliciously dead? Dumpily dead? Disgustingly dead? Honestly, all of the above — pleaseandthankyou. I’m clearly not the only one who felt this way, considering that — SPOILER ALERT — the macabre-focused queen took home the glory last night by winning the RuPocalypse-themed challenge on the main stage.

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Jan 24 2012 08:00 PM ET

'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 4 premiere party pink carpet: EW hosts the livestream at 7 p.m. PT!

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Image Credit: Mathu Andersen/LOGO

Drag Racers, start your engines: Tonight’s the night! I warned you yesterday that I’d be the EW representative hosting Logo’s livestream from the pink — yes, pink! — carpet of tonight’s premiere party for season 4 of RuPaul’s Drag Race at Eleven Nightclub in West Hollywood. All the pink carpet madness begins at 7 p.m. PT — or the late-late hour of 10 p.m. ET for those of you on the east coast. You can catch it all here, below, in this blog post once the livestream goes, well, live.

In the meantime, if you have questions you’d like me to ask RuPaul, permanent judges Santino Rice and Michelle Visage, or other confirmed talent walking the carpet — including all the season 4 queens, various guest judges, and other sundry folks like possibly Jenna Jameson and Jai Rodriguez — feel free to leave questions in the comments section below or Tweet them liberally to #DragRaceEWParty. We’ll pick them up and be sure to ask them. (Check out the season 4 trailer and the contestant bios for question fodder.) May the best question…win!

Check back here at 7 p.m. PT for the livestream below:

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Jan 24 2012 09:00 AM ET

'Jane By Design' star Erica Dasher shares her personal style rules

JANE-BY-DESIGN

Image Credit: Angus Muir/ABC Family

Style is, rightfully so, important for any young actress. And that’s doubly the case when said actress is starring in a super-fashion-conscious show like ABC Family’s Jane By Design. The dramedy finds the young Erica Dasher (pictured here) playing high schooler Jane Quimby, the naive, yet oddly competent, underage assistant to Gray Chandler Murray (Andie MacDowell), a fashion maven fierce enough to give The Devil Wears Prada‘s Miranda Priestly a run for her money.

In celebration of all that fashion and in anticipation of tonight’s new episode of Jane at 9 p.m., “The Finger Bowl” — which guest stars fashion designer Nanette Lepore and finds our leading lady presenting a new fashion line — EW caught up with Dasher to talk about her own style, which isn’t exactly the same as that of her on-screen counterpart. READ FULL STORY »

Jan 23 2012 09:55 PM ET

'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 4 premiere party: EW is hosting the pink carpet livestream!

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Image Credit: Mathu Andersen/LOGO

Like any and all good RuPaul’s Drag Race fans know, season 4 of the reality indulgence launches in just one week — next Monday, Jan. 30, at 9 p.m. on Logo. Praise the sequin gods that it’s back!

But do you think Ru and Co. were really going to let the season start without a little bit of — okay, a lot of — razzle and dazzle? Oh, hell to the no! Which is why Logo is hosting a season 4 premiere party for Drag Race tomorrow evening, Jan. 24, from 7 to 8 p.m. PT at West Hollywood’s Eleven Nightclub. The best part? In conjunction with Logo, your trusty Drag Race reporter and recapper — that’d be me! — will be on hand on the pink carpet outside the venue, interviewing talent as they arrive for the big night. Everyone from host extraordinaire RuPaul to all the season 4 queens to other talent who may show up, possibly including the likes of Jenna Jameson and Jai Rodriguez, will be walking the pink carpet. Let’s just say: It’ll be a fun night. Interesting, at the very least!

The even better part? You’ll be able to follow along live from 7 to 8 p.m. PT via a livestream from Logo. Just check back here on PopWatch for all the details tomorrow evening.

In the meantime, leave any questions you’ve got for Ru, the season 4 queens, or — yes — Jenna Jameson in the comments, and I’ll be sure to ask them while working the pink carpet. Questions or comments during the live pink carpet? Just Tweet them and include #DragRaceEWParty, and we’ll definitely include them in the broadcast.

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Jan 17 2012 09:18 PM ET

Anthony Bourdain calls out Paula Deen (again) in not-so-subtle tweet

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Image Credit: Food Network; Travel Channel

Where Paula Deen goes, Anthony Bourdain seems to follow…and so does a big ol’ serving of controversy.

Shortly after the news came down this morning that famed food personality Deen confirmed that she has Type 2 diabetes, Bourdain — who’s famously had a beef with Deen in the past — made an oddly coincidental and cryptic comment on his Twitter feed, likely referring to his rival’s latest revelation. “Thinking of getting into the leg-breaking business,” Bourdain wrote, “so I can profitably sell crutches later.”

TMZ picked up on the tweet, but Bourdain hedged his response to Deen on Twitter later in the day: “For the record: Never called anybody a “diabetic scam artist”. TMZ’s words. Not mine.”

The tweet likely refers to the fact that Deen officially announced her affliction while also touting her new Diabetes in a New Light Web site and products, thus capitalizing on a disease that — one could argue, and it seems Bourdain certainly is — she helped further in America with the comfort food she teaches the television masses to make. Not to take Bourdain’s side, but all that fried chicken, mac and cheese, and sticks of butter definitely weren’t preventing diabetes in any way.

Bourdain’s bad blood with Deen dates back to last summer, when he called her the “most dangerous person to America” and said that she’s “proud of the fact that her food is f—— back for you.” Deen responded, naturally: “Get a life.”

Love him or hate him, does Bourdain have a point? Is it sick that Deen is profiting from a disease she seems to endorse? Are you Team Bourdain or Team Deen in this feud?

Tanner on Twitter: @EWTanStransky

Read more:
Paula Deen has diabetes, tells ‘Today’ it is ‘not a death sentence’
Paula Deen and Anthony Bourdain are at war

Jan 7 2012 08:37 PM ET

'The Wizards of Waverly Place' signs off: What's next for star Selena Gomez?

Selena-Gomez

Image Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Selena Gomez can put those mouse ears away — she isn’t a Disney baby anymore. Last night, The Wizards of Waverly Place, her teen fantasy series on the Mouse House’s cable network, signed off for good with a special, hour-long finale.

While teens may be mourning the loss of their favorite show, for Gomez, the end of Wizards is a significant in a different way. It presents her with quite the crossroads of sorts: Where does she go from here?

Before we look forward, let’s look back at where Gomez — who turns 20 this July — has already been. Rather impressively, she starred on Wizards for the past four-plus years, and it was only the second show on the Disney channel — alongside Raven-Symoné’s That’s So Raven — to log more than 100 episodes. TV-wise, Gomez also starred in a handful of movies for the network, and last year she hosted both Canada’s MuchMusic Video Awards and the MTV Europe Music Awards, which were held in Belfast. On the movie side of things, she’s had a smattering of success, logging her film debut in 2010′s Ramona and Beezus and last year starring in Monte Carlo alongside Leighton Meester. (And let’s not forget her cameo in The Muppets late last year.)

Gomez is a rising music star, as well. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 15 2011 02:02 AM ET

'The X Factor' on the scene: Paula's strutting, Rachel Crow's doppelganger, and six other things you didn't see on TV

X-Factor-final-four

Image Credit: Frank Micelotta/Fox

You know what being at a live taping of The X Factor is like? A boxing match.

Now, mind you, I haven’t been to too many boxing bouts in my time. (My reputation can’t withstand too many of those, honestly.) But I’ve hit a couple over the years, and being in the studio last night at L.A.’s CBS Television City as Marcus, Chris, Melanie, and Josh battled it out felt something like those nights at the MGM Grand Garden Arena: A big fight was going on in the middle of the venue; the crowd was yelling like crazy, sometimes shaking their fists; and yes, the stands were trembling with all the stomping and jumping from the audience. In fact, there were several moments where I thought we all might be going down in those stands together in one massive heap that would turn the entertainment-news world on its head, but alas, those stands at The X Factor can withstand quite a lot. Not a person was harmed — even those battling it out on stage — last night, thankfully.

The evening, with all its energy, however, did provide quite a few tidbits that I observed from inside that you most likely didn’t gather from watching on screen. (The commercial breaks at The X Factor tapings are rather entertaining!) The most interesting moments included everything from Paula strutting around the judges’ platform to a wave from a super-excited Mackenzie Phillips, who was in the crowd. Enjoy my observations from inside The X Factor dome:

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Dec 5 2011 08:39 PM ET

Good news! 'Les Miserables' movie director Tom Hooper confirms adaptation will be 2-D

Director-Tom-Hopper

Image Credit: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Score one for old-school movie making: Director Tom Hooper confirmed to the BBC that his in-the-works big-screen adaptation of stage blockbuster Les Miserables will be shot in 2-D. “I can definitely announce it’s good old-fashioned 2-D,” Hooper (pictured here) is quoted as saying. This news elicits exactly this response from me: Yay!

Why? It’s as simple as this: Not everything needs to be made in 3-D.

Hooper — who won an Oscar earlier this year for directing The King’s Speech — said that the had been “very tempted” to use 3-D, but he was worried that some moviegoers might “physically struggle” with the format. “If you have a certain type of eyesight it can be more demanding than watching a normal movie,” Hooper told the BBC.  READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2011 09:00 AM ET

'Hot in Cleveland' season 3 premiere: Who will Elka choose?

Hot-in-Cleveland

Image Credit: TV Land

Rejoice! The third season of TV Land’s hit lady sitcom, Hot in Cleveland, returns for season 3 tonight. When the show last signed off back in August, we were left with quite the cliff-hanger: Who would Elka (Betty White) choose to be with after her dead husband Bobby (Don Rickles) showed up at her wedding to new beau Fred (Buck Henry)? And that, of course, happened only after she sidelined Max (Carl Reiner), yet another beau. She’s got three dudes to choose from! (People one quarter her age would kill to get this much action!)

So who will she choose tonight? Well, we can’t tell you what she’ll do exactly (that would spoil all the fun!), but we here at EW have seen the episode and can tell you that Elka does, indeed, choose one of the guys. READ FULL STORY »

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