You might have been too busy reacting to John McCain’s Nov. 4 concession speech to notice the strange choice of music that swelled in the background: The defeated GOP nominee walked offstage to the score from Crimson Tide. Why is that so bizarre? Well, the hit 1995 thriller centers on a power struggle between a square-jawed hawkish Cold War veteran (played by Gene Hackman) and an upstart black lieutenant (Denzel Washington) who wants to avoid another war at all costs. Coincidence? To find out, we got in touch with McCain’s spokesman Michael Goldfarb, who clarified the selection for us — sort of.
“The music had a naval theme,” he replied. “The Top Gun soundtrack also played. Though perhaps there is some racist dimension to Top Gun as well; Maverick did take Cougar’s spot at Miramar. You should look into that.”
Hmm. Last time we checked, Cougar (played by actor-turned-director John Stockwell) was a white dude. Just sayin'...
Forget the Pope or the Dalai Lama. Who better to represent the human race to extraterrestrial spacefarers than Stephen Colbert?
At first glance, I will admit news that the faux conservative pundit having his DNA launched into space seemed like an elaborate publicity stunt for Tek Jansen.* Space tourist and video game designer Richard Garriott will deliver Colbert’s digitized DNA to the International Space Station this October for an “Immortality Drive.” “In the unlikely event that Earth and humanity are destroyed, mankind can be resurrected with Stephen Colbert’s DNA,” Garriott said. Colbert graciously accepted the honor announcing, "I am thrilled to have my DNA shot into space, as this brings me one step closer to my lifelong dream of being the baby at the end of 2001."
If the idea of many Americans now getting their news from late night comedy unsettles you, imagine that aliens might learn about humanity through a cloned Comedy Central pundit! Not that Colbert is the first celebrity to have a piece of himself blasted into the heavens. Star Trek legends Gene Roddenberry and James “Scotty” Doohan had their ashes launched into orbit. So did LSD guru Timothy Leary. And, of course, there was that whole misguided attempt at space tourism by former 'N Sync'er Lance Bass.
What do you think, nation? Should Colbert be our representative to E.T.? And what other 21st-century pop icons should have their DNA preserved if the human species needs to be repopulated?
*Sadly, Alpha Squad 7: Lady Nocturne, a Tek Jansen Adventure still hasn’t hit stores, despite the Jansen theme song pompously declaring that it has sold millions of copies.
Brooks & Dunn have a nifty hit single out now called “Put a Girl in it,” and I only wish the country music industry would take that advice more often. I thought about it as the nominees for the 42nd annual CMA Awards were announced today. Country insiders often bemoan the fact that female artists seem to generally have a tougher time of it at radio than male artists do, or that they at least seem to have fewer slots open to them. That is perennially reflected in the nominations for the CMAs’ highly coveted Entertainer of the Year prize. How long has it been since a woman was even nominated in the category? Here’s a clue: The last female nominee was the then-superstar/now-pariah Dixie Chicks! (You can find a historical list of nominees dating back to 1967 here.) So I was stunned and amazed today when into this reliably vagina-free zone walked Sugarland, who would initially seem, on the face of it, to be half-ineligible. It is no secret by now that the duo are an EW-Approved ™ Country Act (their biggest fan, Whitney Pastorek, found new ways to advocate Sugarland in this very space just yesterday), and thus no surprise that we would endorse this encouraging development on all sorts of levels. Go, “Stay"...etc.
Yet you know I wouldn’t be posting if I hadn’t found some reason to carp, and so here we go: Where is Taylor Swift? If you are an average reader or fan, you are echoing me at this moment and saying, “Yeah, where is Taylor Swift?” If you are in any way connected with the country music industry, you are saying, “Willman, we knew you were an imbecile, but must you so flagrantly trumpet your complete and utter ignorance of the way the world works?” So let me assure you that I had every understanding going in that Swift’s chances of picking up an Entertainer of the Year nomination were roughly less than zero. The category really doesn’t have anything to do with who had a particularly artistic year; it’s largely an ongoing Career Achievement award for performers who are still active superstars. You have to “earn” your way into the category through years of headlining amphitheaters and arenas — I get that, even if I don’t agree with it. And yet, year after year, when Kenny Chesney wins the award (as he will again this time), he comes back to the press room afterward and talks about how good it feels to get the trophy that the industry bestows upon the guy who has been the best or most visible ambassador of country music to the outside world. If that’s really the standard, then, with all due respect to Chesney’s unparalleled live drawing power, wasn’t Swift undeniably country’s Ambassador of the Year in 2008?
Willman's case for Taylor Swift as Entertainer of the Year, after the jump...
To the folks over at Overture films: we love getting goodies in the mail, but we don't particularly like it when they come in the form of a mail bomb. (OK, boxes that maybe resemble an explosive device.) Also, the broken glass (from the enclosed light bulb, which we really would've otherwise used) was sort of scary and threatening. Are you trying to tell us something?
On the other hand, we think said "mail bomb" was actually meant to preview your slate of fall movies, which includes Righteous Kill (you know, the one with PACINO! and DE NIRO!), so we sort of get it now.
While you all were watching the Russell Brand/Britney Spears VMA commercials and saying, "Why, isn't that clever! An elephant in the room! And her hair extensions look good, too!" I've been at my computer biting my nails, aimlessly googling "Britney Spears 2008 VMA comeback," and wondering what will materialize from these witty ads. Britney and her people have been in talks about doing something at this year's MTV Video Music Awards, but "what??" is the question. PDubbers, I've thought long and hard about this, and here are my three best possible scenarios:
1. Realizing that she still has progress to make in her personal quest to return us to the "Slave (4 U)" days of yore (as pictured, at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards), Britney graciously turns down the opportunity to perform, and instead presents a Best Newcomer moonman, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.
2. Britney starts the show off just like last year, but minus the trashy extensions and bundle of nerves. After "It's Britney, bitch!" she begins to actually sing and dance to "Gimme More," redoing last year's routine with the passion, energy, and self-awareness it lacked.
3. Blowing everyone's mind, Britney says she's not going to do anything, but secretly busts out for a cameo during the finale of Madonna and ex-bf Justin Timberlake's "Four Minutes." This time, Madonna and Britney will start to kiss, but Justin will push Madge out of the way and give Brit a smooch, reassuring us that they were just "on a break" and are totally back together now.
Too far? Help me, PopWatchers -- this decision is too much for one anxious fan. I'm going to YouTube some past performances -- ignoring 2007's, of course -- and let you guys decide what Britney's VMA tasks this year should be.
Well, it was only a matter of time. One New York minute after word spread that fans of the Sex and the City movie were logging onto Amazon.com in hopes of purchasing Love Letters of Great Men — the fake book highlighted in the film — publisher Pan MacMillan announced that on Aug. 15, they're planning to release a book with the same title in the U.K., to include "all of the letters referenced in the film."
Now, I have no doubts that Love Letters will sell boatloads of books — He's Just Not That Into You, for example, became a phenomenon thanks to rabid fans of the show — but considering only a few poems were referenced in the film, I'm not sure how Pan MacMillan plans on filling out the rest of the book (hopefully with pieces from poets more adept than Chris Noth's Mr. Big). A forward by Evan Handler (hey, he needed something to do while the movie's writers were busy giving him no lines)? A guide to bad bathroom-related puns by Sarah Jessica Parker? Or a letter to the producers from one angry, poor peacock whose feather was sacrificed in the name of tacky wedding fashion? Personally, I'm a bit SATCed out, and will likely save my money in protest of the fact that my favorite fake prop — buddy bands — still somehow doesn't exist (not to mention all the brilliant fake products you all expressed your love for in the comment boards — hello The Man Inside Me!).
So, PopWatchers, what, or who, would you like to see in the book? Will you order a copy? Or do you, like me, plan on avoiding it like a tempting buff, naked neighbor in a steamy shower?
The most burning question about last week's episode of So You Think You Can Dance wasn't which one of the top 10 dancers is now the front runner. Nope, it was the mysterious "IV REAL" emblazoned across the shirts of a few of the dancers -- clearly, it stood for "For Real," but what the heck does that mean?
Well, we've got your answer. A rep for the show tells EW.com that, as many readers have already speculated on the SYTYCD TV Watch message boards, "IV REAL" is an inside joke among contestants Comfort, Joshua, Twitch, and Will about Dance's fourth season -- i.e. Season 4 = IV = FOR REAL. Now we can move on to the second burning question of the night: What, exactly, was living in host Cat Deeley's hair?!
I was watching The Daily Show last night (it was a rerun that had originally aired June 26th), and Ted Koppel was on, promoting his four-part series, Koppel on Discovery: The People’s Republic of Capitalism. (It debuts tonight through July 12th on the Discovery Channel at 10 PM ET/PT.) This was one of the weirder guest segments I'd ever seen. First, Mr. Koppel brought an adorable black puppy with him, set her on the table, and said that if a lot of people didn't tune in for Koppel on Discovery, he would be forced to send "Pepper" to "the Bide-A-Wee farm." (As Pepper sat there obliviously, lapping water from Koppel's Daily Show mug.) I know it was a joke, but I take the health and safety of adorable puppies very, very seriously.
Then Ted moved on to the topic at hand -- China -- and flubbed some pretty big figures, saying that China's population is "1.3 million, and 300,000 people are doing pretty well... moving into middle class." (The actual pop is 1.3 billion, and 300 million people are now considered middle class. Oops!) But then, apparently a bit discombobulated, Koppel said something else, but the Daily Show people obviously overdubbed his vocals, because his lips were not moving in conjunction the words I heard coming from my TV set. (See the clip below, but be forewarned, due to the wack nature of most video-streaming technology, it all looks a little out of sync.) But I must've rewound and watched that segment 10 times, so I'm pretty sure I know what I saw.
And I felt kind of cheated. I KNOW that The Daily Show is not a "real" news show, and that their producers usually edit segments, but The Daily Show is real-er than most of what's on FOX (my opinion, yes), and literally changing what a legendary newsman said while discussing a very real-world topic just threw me for a loop. I guess I want my fake news to simulate real news as best it can.
What do you think? Being that a lot of people now get their news from sources like The Daily Show, do such shows have an obligation to hew to fact when not, you know, running with hilarious segments like Ed Helms' now-classic "Homometer" sketch? Or is it just a fun show and I should relax already?
How much do the French love Radiohead (pictured)? Not enough to exercise their right to rock, it seems: According to the UK Sun, the band offered up 50 free tickets to their recent Paris show — if fans were willing to bike over to the band's record label office to pick them up. The paper quotes an unnamed source as saying, "Radiohead are using their current world tour to highlight their commitment to green issues. They advise all concertgoers to use public transport and are doing all they can to make their carbon footprint as small as possible." But it seems the French are unwilling to jump on their bicycles unless they're trying to catch up to Lance Armstrong. The result? An empty row of seats at the front of the house. Sacre bleu!
As my PW colleague Gary Susman notes, a band can make a lot more money these days by touring than selling records — especially when said band has already given its most recent album to fans for free — but touring is very environmentally unfriendly, more so when your band schleps gadgets like these around the world (in all fairness, LED lights do use less power than traditional stage lights). But Radiohead has made a much greater effort that most to offset their carbon footprint, notably so when they played a guest spot on Conan from a studio in London.
Had it been Jerry Lewis — a requisite joke here, I think — would the French have gone for it? What's a green-minded band to do?
It's The Parent Trap Meets Saw — See Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me on Starz This Saturday Night
Starz Invites You to Experience the Exclusive Pay TV Premiere
Lindsay Lohan
In I KNOW WHO KILLED ME
Saturday, June 14 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on Starz
Winner of EIGHT RAZZIE AWARDS (2008) including:
Worst Picture
Worst Actress (Lindsay Lohan) - twice
Worst Director
What the critics had to say:
"Gruesomely tawdry and inept." Entertainment Weekly
"A disaster that exerts a perverse fascination." Variety
"Bad is easy: this level of awful approaches the genius." Flick Filosopher
"It is the kind of strangely fascinating terrible that can make for an entertaining time at the movies under the right circumstances." eFilmCritic.com
"No review could really do justice to the monumental trashiness of this mess; it really has to be seen to be believed." New York Daily News
"Exquisite in its awfulness.." Quad City Times
"The film is so cheap, lurid and overwrought, it could be made up of lost reels from Grindhouse, except it lacks the knowing, self-referential humor of that B-movie parody." Minneapolis Star Tribune
If you are an avid Joss Whedonite, you've probably already heard this news, so
either bear with me or skip to the third graph. If not: Given the cautionary example of the
cancellation of Whedon's cult-fave Firefly series, among other ill-fated genre shows past,
fans have united to save the sci-fi/fantasy guru's Dollhouse (starring Eliza Dushku, pictured). According to Wired.com,
DollhouseForums.com is leading a campaign to "urge followers to
organize viewing parties, watch the trailers online, buy Dollhouse-endorsed merch and create more fan sites."
One poster, ultamatt, even suggests making "little cardboard dollhouses
and set them up all around towns.... A viral marketing campaign that gets people
thinking "WTF are all the dollhouses for?" All well and good, save one small detail: The show hasn't failed yet. Dollhouse isn't set to air for another
eight months.
Is this a case of super-fandom gone a tad super-crazy? Or in a
world where presidential candidates battle it out for the nomination for more than a year,
is there no such thing as revving up a campaign too soon? Personally, I think
it's a little silly, especially in light of the fact that Dollhouse seems built
to last — Wired claims the show was greenlit even before the pilot was shot, and
several other sites are reporting that the seven-show season was upped to 13. And as filmjunk.com points out, why not wait to see if
Dollhouse is actually a show worth fighting for?
Assuming Dollhouse is sturdy, what fall network shows are you
hoping get nixed? Which ones are you fighting for? And how far would you go (short
of physical harm to network execs) to save a show that you love?
The first time I watched the trailer for Woody Allen's fall film, starring Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, and Javier Bardem, I wished it'd had dialogue. But then, I realized that would require me to hear Johansson's and Cruz's voices, so now I'm okay with the music. I'm also fine with how hot Javier looks sans "The Bardem," and I'm preparing myself for the inevitable interviews we'll be reading asking Scarlett and Penélope about their kiss.
The answer is not Idolatry. (Although, that would be amazing.) It's that the same man, Ted Kotcheff, who directed First Blood, also directed Weekend at Bernie's (!) and is now an executive producer on 200-episode-old Law & Order: SVU. That delights me more than I can say, which is why when I talked to Kotcheff for EW.com's gallery of SVU's Oscar-nominated guest stars, I had to ask him how exactly that happened.
"Well, I hate to be pigeonholed," he said. "I can do drama and action, and I can do comedy. People thought The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz with Richard Dreyfuss was a comedy. Certainly Fun with Dick and Jane [starring George Segal and Jane Fonda] was a social comedy. Who is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe? [with Segal and Jacqueline Bisset], and, of course, Weekend at Bernie's are comedies. There's nothing more satisfying than making an audience laugh. You go in the audience and you get concrete evidence. But at the same time, I'm interested in serious films about serious subjects. So the reason, I guess, is in my personality: I like both aspects of life, the comedic and the tragic."
How did he make the move from features to Law & Order: SVU, you might be wondering: His agent called and said Dick Wolf was looking for someone to help run a new series that he was calling Sex Crimes. Kotcheff knew nothing about episodic TV, so he asked his agent to get him a gig on another show so he could test it out. That ended up being CBS' short-lived 1998 drama Buddy Faro. I guess he liked it.
After the jump, Kotcheff shares a few stories about his hero Billy Wilder, just to make this audience laugh.
Does teen angst just not seem as, um, angsty as it used to? Do you pine for the days when a bowl of mac 'n' cheese and the dramas of Dawson, Rory, and Seth were all you needed to feel satiated? Well, the media gods have heard your prayers and are bringing back the much-missed WB -- on the web. According to Variety,TheWB.com will feature the channel's oldies-but-goodies like Dawson's Creek, Veronica Mars, and The OC, in addition to NBC's Friends. The site will also stream original, web-exclusive programming from Gossip Girl producer Josh Schwartz and Laguna Beach producer Gary Auerbach.
"It is our belief we are in the multiplatform storytelling business -- no longer simply in the television business," says Bruce Rosenblum, prexy of the Warner Bros. TV Group.
Is it just me, or is Warner Bros. sending mixed signals? Earlier this month, the media company (which co-owns The CW with CBS) quit streaming episodes of cult-favorite Gossip Girl in the hopes more Gen-Yers would watch it the old-fashioned way -- on TV. The show is one of the most downloaded on iTunes, but usually averages only 2.5 million television viewers. Warner Bros. is hoping to boost the show's ratings (and as a result, its ad revenue) by forcing its young viewers to watch the way their parents do. So it seems Warner Bros. hasn't been able to successfully monetize its current CW programming online, but hopes it can do so with its old WB hits.
What do you think, PopWatchers? Are you going to watch all your old favorites at TheWB.com? Or are you still sore Gossip Girl isn't online anymore?
Apparently Law & Order: SVU's child pornography and human trafficking plot lines are a-OK for the Peacock Network, but a show about a do-gooder billionaire? Too much! According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC has parted ways with Emmy-winning producer Tom Fontana (Homicide: Life on the Street, cast pictured) after deeming his take on the upcoming drama The Philanthropist too grim.
The show focuses on a wealthy renegade who uses his assets to help the less fortunate (do student loans count?) while addressing hot-button issues like immigration, drug addiction, and child soldiers. Fontana and his writing team had submitted several scripts to the network when it became apparent the two sides had very different visions. For its part, NBC was looking for something more "escapist and fantastical" to fit the rest of its schedule, and is now searching for Fontana's replacement. But seriously, NBC, what were you expecting from the guy behind Oz and Homicide? (As an aside, Fontana and Law & Order producer Dick Wolf are actually old friends who often swap cast members -- Christopher Meloni and Dean Winters both appeared on Oz and SVU, while Richard Belzer's character John Munch famously jumped from Homicide to SVU.)
So, with a The Philanthropist redo in the offing, we want to know what shows you've found too grim of late. Did a blood-soaked murder scene make you hide under the couch cushions? Did a stomach-turning operation on your favorite medical drama leave you feeling ill? We want to hear about it!
Yes, I'm asking you about the ending of a movie released in 1977. But really, you should be thankful because the other issues I'm dealing with at the moment are: 1) Why did CBS cancel Secret Talents of the Stars before we got to see Young and the Restless star Joshua Morrow's "edgy rock 'n' roll juggling" routine? (I was fully prepared to tune in to find out what made it "edgy.") 2) Why do I feel as though I could crush on C. Thomas Howell if I were to let myself tune in to VH1's Celebracadabra! later this month? 3) Did I like the shoes David Boreanaz was wearing this morning on Regis and Kelly? (They were awfully blue, but they did draw attention to his striped blue socks, which I appreciated.)
Right, so about Orca... Here's the thing: I just watched it (for work!), and though I've seen it before, I don't think I ever fully grasped the ending. As you recall, the killer whale wants vengeance against Captain Nolan (Richard Harris), the man who murdered his mate and unborn baby-whale, and lures his boat into icy waters. After the whale kills everyone onboard but Charlotte Rampling, the movie ends with shots of Orca swimming underneath thick layers of ice (above). Now Nolan pointed out earlier in the film that the ice would cut both ways: It could sink his boat, but it'd also make it difficult for the whale to get to the surface for air. So, I ask you: Was that just a beautiful parting shot, or are we supposed to believe that the whale dies, too? I'm going with the latter, because the whole film was about the bond between Nolan and the Orca (Nolan's wife and unborn child were killed by a drunk driver on the way to the hospital). And the whale was driven insane with grief, like Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon, only with no Danny Glover to talk him down. Also, the whale had to die for biting off Bo Derek's leg, right? It seems obvious when I type it out now, but then you also recall the serious smackdown that Orca gave a Great White shark earlier in the film, and that it broke through the ice several times after Nolan abandoned ship. Does he live or die?
If you're still reading (God bless you), and there's another movie ending that's puzzled you, post it in the comments section below. Maybe someone can help you out, too.
Here's something we haven't done in a while: a PopWatch HeadScratcher:
What do these five movies have in common?
1983's The Big Chill (with Glenn Close and Kevin Kline) 1989's Shag (with Phoebe Cates and Bridget Fonda) 1993's Rich in Love (with Ethan Hawke and Alfre Woodard) 2003's Radio (with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ed Harris) 2006's Slither (with Nathan Fillion and Elizabeth Banks, pictured)
It's not our primary objective to delay gratification on this one, so... the answer is after the jump. In the comments section, feel free to nominate other films which belong on this particular list, even candidates that only partially qualify. Enough hints. Good luck!
I would put a spoiler alert here if there was anything to spoil in discussing the progress of a character's beard in a film, but there isn't. Still, if you haven't seen The Golden Compass and would like to remain in the dark about Daniel Craig's facial hair, read no further.
Craig has only about ten minutes of screen time in The Golden Compass, so why does the film waste our time with an unnecessary shot of him (as Lord Asriel) in the frozen north...shaving? Seriously, the man travels to a freezing cold climate with a full beard — which really added to his character's rough-around-the-edges persona — only to scrape it all off. Is there any logic in this? Practically speaking, the beard would've kept him warm, so perhaps this was an attempt to disguise himself (by doing the opposite of what a typical fugitive might do)? Maybe Lord Asriel decided that he likes the feel of icy wind on his face? Or, maybe the filmmakers decided to indulge the female fans by giving them a better look at at his craggy (and Craig-y) visage? Whatever the reason, the scene had me scratching my head at the climax of the film. Which is pretty sad, considering one of Craig's last appearances in the movie is a bizarre CG glimpse of him through Lyra's alethiometer, looking like he's trying out for the sequel to Zoolander.
What are some other possible explanations for the disappearance of Daniel Craig's beard? And which look do you prefer?
When you hear that title, the moniker given to Paul Thomas Anderson's latest, what images spring to mind? Gothic vampires, sure. A revenge film? Serial killer thriller, perhaps? Torture porn?
Judging by the trailer posted here, you'll get none of the above. Based on Upton Sinclair's Oil!, its about a greedy Texas oil prospector (Daniel Day Lewis). Now, he might (or might not) kill folks, but that's sort of beside the point. (As is whether or not the film is any good. Which it very well might be, given Anderson's track record.) The question is: Would you feel swindled if you showed up to see a movie called There Will Be Blood and got a period piece about crude drilling? Is this a case of smart marketing, or a shifty bait-and-switch?
So, what do Patsy Cline,
Emmylou Harris,
Faith Hill,
Toby Keith, and
Shania Twain have in common? All these country artists have been featured on the soundtrack of what is surely the most eclectic-scored TV series ever, The Sopranos. That's right, the characters on the recently concluded series didn't just listen to Vegas-y lounge favorites (Sinatra, Dean Martin, et al) or New Jersey local heroes (Sinatra again, Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and of course, cast member Little Steven), but to all kinds of music, including hip-hop and country. In season 6, viewers heard Cline's "Let the Teardrops Fall" (in the episode "Live Free or Die") and Keith's "I Love This Bar" (in "Moe n' Joe"). Harris (pictured) sang "Heaven Only Knows," which played during the season 5 premiere "Two Tonys." Hill's hit "Breathe" was heard during season 4's "Mergers and Acquisitions," and Twain's hit "You're Still the One" played during season 2's "Bust Out."
Given how much space we've devoted to the Sopranos finale over the past several days, it's surprising that more readers didn't guess this one. Some entertaining wrong answers: Erika DeGrave wrote that the five singers are "all Democrats." (Um, I doubt it.) "They all wrote songs about being in jail, while they themselves were in jail," claimed Donna Mehnert, "just like Miss Parasite Hilton." Ha ha, but no. But if you'd kept thinking crime, maybe you'd have guessed the connection, just like this week's winners: Brian DiLeandro,
Jesse Hall, and
Patrick A. Yearout. Congratulation, you three. You will all now be placed in the Witness Protection Program.
Thanks for playing, everyone! Come back next weekend for another HeadScratcher...
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five singers have in common?
Patsy Cline Emmylou Harris Faith Hill Toby Keith Shania Twain
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do William S. Burroughs,
Lewis Carroll,
Stephen Crane,
Aldous Huxley, and
George Bernard Shaw have in common? A surprising number of you answered that their greatest works were drug-inspired. (That's probably true for Burroughs; not sure about the rest.) Rather, the answer is that they're all among the luminaries pictured in a famous group photo that marked its 40th anniversary this week, the cover of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. (Other authors featured in the "lovely audience" include Edgar Allan Poe, Terry Southern, H.G. Wells, and Oscar Wilde.) In the inset shown here, you can see Burroughs (upper left corner), Crane (behind Paul McCartney, partially obscured by a hand), Shaw (just above George Harrison's hat), and Wells (upper right corner). Carroll is just out of frame on the lower right, next to Marlene Dietrich.
"This is the first HeadScratcher that I got immediately as soon as I saw the list, without having to do any IMDB or Wikipedia searches!" wrote Kevin Quillinan, one of many of you who got this right. "That either means I'm terribly wrong or I am way too obsessed with the Beatles." (Well, you're not terribly wrong, Kevin.) "You definitely had me going for awhile," wrote Huxley fan Matt Nickerson. "I kept thinking it had to do with the Harry Potter theme park announcement but alas, a Brave New World ride does not exist." (Alas, it does not, but I'd sure like to run the soma concession outside that ride.) Noted Lisa Courtney, "My husband and I are diehard Beatles fans, yet neither of us were born until long after the Beatles broke up. I first heard 'A Day in the Life' in the mid-'80s, and it totally ruined for me a lot of the music of that time (no big loss!)."
The list of winners is after the jump. It's guaranteed to raise a smile.
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five authors have in common?
William S. Burroughs Lewis Carroll Stephen Crane Aldous Huxley George Bernard Shaw
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do Joe Cocker, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Brenda Lee, and Martina McBride have in common? As many of you guessed, it had something to do with this past week's selection of a new American Idol. All of these artists have performed songs that were later recorded by Idol winners. Kelly Clarkson recorded Franklin's hits "Respect" and "(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman" on the season 1 greatest hits CD. On Flying Without Wings, Ruben Studdard recorded "Superstar," a song that was previously best known as a Carpenters tune but was recorded first by Cocker. Fantasia (pictured) included on Free Yourself her cover of "Always on My Mind," a song Lee was the first to record, before the more familiar versions by Elvis and Willie Nelson. Carrie Underwood recorded McBride's "Independence Day" on the season 4 Showstoppers CD. And Taylor Hicks' self-titled debut disc included Gaye's "Wherever I Lay My Hat."
Only a handful of you got the answer we were looking for, though many spotted the Idol-cover connection. Best wrong answer came courtesy of HeadScratcher regular Patrick A. Yearout, who noted that all five artists recorded songs that were performed this week on the Idol finale. Cocker recorded the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends" (sung by the 12 finalists); Studdard sang Franklin's "You're All I Need to Get By"; Gaye also recorded "You're All I Need..." and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (sung by the female finalists); Lee covered "For Once in My Life," covered in turn by Tony Bennett during the finale; and McBride has covered "Silent Night," sung in turn by Sholandric Stallworth during the Golden Idol segment. McBride also recorded "Broken Wing," which eventual winner Jordin Sparks sang during the final competition episode last Tuesday.
PopWatch idolizes this week's HeadScratcher winners: Denise B., Jason Booth, Lisa Menaster, and Katie Phillips.
Thanks for playing, everyone! Come back Friday for another HeadScratcher...
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five performers have in common?
Joe Cocker Aretha Franklin Marvin Gaye Brenda Lee Martina McBride
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Tuesday afternoon.
So, what do Lucy Davis, Ashley Jensen, Kari Matchett, Rita Moreno, and Rena Sofer have in common? All have done double or even triple duty in supporting roles on TV this season. Davis played sketch writer Lucy on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as well as a Fashion TV correspondent on Ugly Betty. Fellow transatlantic transplant Jensen co-starred as Christina on Betty and as Maggie on Extras. Matchett, who's had a recurring role on 24 as slutty vice presidential aide Lisa Miller, also did one-shot guest spots on Studio 60 and Shark. Moreno's had a recurring role as Det. Goren's mother on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as well as turning up on Betty (as gossipy Aunt Mirta) and George Lopez. Special mention, however goes to Sofer. She's appeared on Heroes as Heidi Petrelli, wife to flying politico Nathan (Adrian Pasdar, pictured with Sofer) and on 24 as Jack's sister-in-law Marilyn, which means she's often been on two shows airing on different networks at the same time. That sounds like some kind of Heroes superpower to me, or maybe 24's split-screens now extend all the way over to NBC.
A handful of you got this one. Some guessed that the connection was that they all appeared on freshman series this year (true, but not what we were looking for). Others guessed that the connection was Ricky Gervais, since he co-starred with Jensen on Extras and Davis back on the original Office, but that doesn't account for the other three actresses. No, the inspiration for this quiz was Sofer, who'll be causing plenty of DVR meltdowns tonight as Heroes and 24 air simultaneous season finales.
Those astute readers who saw double (or triple) are listed after the jump.
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five actresses have in common?
Lucy Davis Ashley Jensen Kari Matchett Rita Moreno Rena Sofer
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do Kate Bush,
Lauryn Hill,
Patti Smith,
Britney Spears, and
Moe Tucker have in common? Many of you guessed that this week's theme was Mother's Day. The answer: they all took extended leave from their music careers to raise their kids. Bush and Velvet Underground drummer Tucker took the longest leaves; both went 12 years between albums. (In Tucker's case, after the Velvets split up, she dropped out of showbiz altogether, working at a Wal-Mart in Georgia while raising her five children, before reemerging as a solo artist in the 1980s.) Smith went nine years between albums in the '80s. Spears, despite her ubiquity, hasn't released an album of new material or toured in more than three years, a period that coincides with her starting a family. And Hill (pictured), despite a handful of reunion shows with the Fugees in 2005, hasn't released a new CD since 2002; she, too, has spent most of the last decade being a mom.
Reader Aramis X. Ramirez noted that four of the five have recorded songs about motherhood. Hill sings to her child in "To Zion." Bush's "This Woman's Work," about an expectant mother, is on the soundtrack during the childbirth sequence in the movie She's Having a Baby. Tucker addressed the topic in "Baby, Honey, Sweetie," and Smith sang to her own recently deceased mom in "Mother Rose." Spears confronted her mother issues, sorta, in the movie Crossroads, where Kim Cattrall played her mom.
The winners of this mother of all HeadScratchers are listed after the jump.
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five musicians have in common?
Kate Bush Lauryn Hill Patti Smith Britney Spears Moe Tucker
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Tuesday afternoon.
So what do About a Boy, Addicted to Love, Hollywood Ending, The Love Letter, and The Perfect Man have in common? Like the ironically titled Lucky You, they all were modest romantic tales that had the bad luck to open against — and get squashed by — a big summer action/special effects blockbuster. In 2002, About a Boy debuted opposite Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones. Two weeks earlier, Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending bowed opposite the first Spider-Man. Meg Ryan's Addicted to Love got chomped by the dinosaurs of The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997. The Love Letter was the sacrificial lamb that had to share an opening weekend with the most anticipated movie of 1999, Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace. And two years ago, moviegoers overlooked Hilary Duff's The Perfect Man in favor of Batman Begins. Of these counter-programming tactics, Hollywood Ending's was the least successful, opening with just $2.0 million toward a final tally of $4.9 million. Addicted had the strongest opening ($11.4 million), though About a Boy (pictured) had the highest final gross. During its theatrical lifetime, the Hugh Grant comedy earned $41 million, or about what Spider-Man 3 earned in a few hours on Friday.
Many of you guessed this one easily, though there were some entertaining wrong answers. "None of the movies star a radioactive spider bit photographer and his red-headed ditz of a girlfriend," noted Kirby Holt. (True, but...) Angela Savelle described the five films as "movies I would never, never see." (Also true, but...)
Others couldn't help but editorialize. "I usually hate it when people put their feet on the seats in front of them in theaters, but I'm giving absolution to anyone who saw Lucky You this weekend. Odds are, you didn't bother anyone," cracked Cliff Rives. "Couldn't there have been a better movie that opened against a big Hollywood blockbuster other than Perfect Man?" asked Maxwell Benesi. "I would rather individually break all my fingers and toes over the course of twenty-four hours than sit through this insipid piece of film feces." Tell us how you really feel, Maxwell.
The lucky winners' names are listed after the jump.
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five movies have in common?
About a Boy Addicted to Love Hollywood Ending The Love Letter The Perfect Man
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do Amy Adams, Zach Braff, Claire Danes, Rob Lowe, and Paul Rudd have in common? They all help answer the question: Do the now-unemployed stars of The O.C. have a future in movies? In honor of Adam Brody's starring role in the new In the Land of Women, we rounded up five actors who have costarred with O.C.-ers on film. Adams appeared opposite Benjamin McKenzie two years ago in Junebug. Braff (pictured, right) and Rachel Bilson (left) costarred in 2006's The Last Kiss. Danes played Peter Gallagher's daughter in To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996). Lowe played a Hollywood agent — and Brody's boss — last year in Thank You for Smoking. (Reader Rob Bailey points out that Lowe also starred with Kelly Rowan in a straight-to-video thriller called Proximity.) Rudd is a high school teacher tempted by student Mischa Barton in last year's The OH in Ohio. (He and Brody also appear in the forthcoming The Ten.)
Many of you thought of creative alternate connections for this week's quiz. "Each actor listed has the same amount of syllables in his or hers first and last name," noted Silvia Royer. (Yep. And?) Think that's a stretch? "They have all appeared in films/productions where one of the words started with the letters 'St,'" writes Matthew Lingo, citing such projects as Adams' Standing Still and Braff's Garden State. (Remind me never to play Scrabble with you, Matthew.) "I'll tell you what they all have in common," writes Ben Hanau. "None of them is Natalie Portman. Give me Natalie Portman." Ben, lots of people would like me to give them Natalie Portman, but I just don't wield that kind of influence.
Congratulations to this week's winners: Rob Bailey,
Anne Costello,
Adria Dobkin,
Layla Galise,
JJ Jacobs,
Merigan Mulhern,
Melissa S.,
Brandon Ulman, and
Patrick A. Yearout.
Thanks for playing, everyone! Come back Friday for another HeadScratcher...
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five actors have in common?
Amy Adams Zach Braff Claire Danes Rob Lowe Paul Rudd
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do the Beatles, Canibus, Johnny Cash, Cheap Trick, and Joni Mitchell have in common? This April 15-timed quiz was apparently too taxing for most of you. Just three of you guessed that all five artists recorded songs that mention taxes in their titles. The Beatles grumbled in song about the "Taxman." Canibus rapped about "Collecting Taxes." The aptly named Cash (pictured) sang "After Taxes." Cheap Trick performed "Taxman, Mr. Thief," and Mitchell sang "Tax Free."
Other songs we could have used: Jimi Hendrix also had a song called "Tax Free," while Nona Hendryx sang "Tax Exile," and Too Much Joy performed "Sin Tax." This week's correct guessers were Harold Reynolds, Don Willsey, and Patrick A. Yearout, who noted that Mitchell also sang "Big Yellow Taxi." (Sorry, Patrick, doesn't count.) Congrats to the three of you; everyone else is getting audited.
Thanks for playing, everyone! Come back Friday for another HeadScratcher...
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five acts have in common?
The Beatles Canibus Johnny Cash Cheap Trick Joni Mitchell
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do Glenn Close, Jenna Elfman, Ralph Fiennes, Janet Leigh, and Zero Mostel have in common? As most of you guessed, this quiz was inspired by the Easter bunny: all of these actors co-starred with rabbits in a movie. Close, of course, boiled a bunny in Fatal Attraction. Elfman acted alongside Bugs Bunny and other classic Warner Bros. characters in 2003's Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Fiennes was a hare hunter in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Leigh played a scientist who bred giant killer bunnies in the 1972 horror cult classic Night of the Lepus. And Mostel provided the voice of Kehaar, a bird who befriends a warren of rabbits in the animated Watership Down (1978).
Most of the guessers got this right. Maybe Close was a gimme, though we tried to avoid some of the more obvious members of the Hare Club, like Jimmy Stewart (Harvey), Bob Hoskins (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), the members of Monty Python (who fought the killer rabbit and built a Trojan Bunny in Monty Python and the Holy Grail), and of course, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jena Malone (Donnie Darko, pictured). Harder than answering this quiz, perhaps, is determining why so many of these cinematic bunnies are deadly and ominous instead of fluffy and cheerful. (Darko director Richard Kelly once tried to explain, telling EW, "Rabbits are these harmless, innocent, fragile creatures. So there's an irony in
making them your monster.") Any of you want to take a crack at that question, PopWatchers?
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five actors have in common?
Glenn Close Jenna Elfman Ralph Fiennes Janet Leigh Zero Mostel
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do Mel Brooks, Fraser Heston, Burt Lancaster,Soupy Sales, and Theodore Roberts have in common? You'll have to excuse the delay in posting this week's answer; with the onset of Passover, I'm still in a bit of a matzo coma. (They don't call it the bread of affliction for nothin'.) Passover is also the occasion for this week's roundup of actors, who all played Moses in movies and TV. Brooks (pictured) played Moses as a tablet-dropping klutz in History of the World: Part I. In Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 version of The Ten Commandments, little Fraser Heston was the baby in the basket, who grew up to be played by papa Charlton. Lancaster starred in the 1974 minseries Moses the Lawgiver. Sales played Moses in the 1993 mockumentary And God Spoke. Roberts starred in DeMille's first version of The Ten Commandments in 1923.
Even though we left out some of the more obvious Moseses (the elder Heston, Val Kilmer, Ben Kingsley, Dougray Scott), most of you guessed this one right. "Holy Moses! This is the easiest HeadScratcher yet. I was going to Pass Over it," wrote punster Patrick Kelly. Tim Priester observed that, of all the stars on the list, "Brooks is the only actor great enough to play Moses AND a talking toilet (Look Who's Talking Too)." Several of you used the occasion to recall the best line of dialogue in any Moses biopic, spoken by Egyptian princess Anne Baxter in the 1956 Ten Commandments: "Oh Moses, Moses, you stubborn, splendid, adorable fool." I'll be listening for this line when the movie airs on ABC this Saturday, since I'm still trying to figure out where in the Scriptures DeMille found that line.
This week's chosen people are listed after the jump.
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five actors have in common?
Mel Brooks Fraser Heston Burt Lancaster Soupy Sales Theodore Roberts
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Wednesday afternoon.
So, what do Derek and the Dominos, Herman's Hermits, Judas Priest, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Molly Hatchet have in common? Well, this quiz was inspired by last week's American Idol guest coaching stint of Hermits frontman Peter Noone (pictured, third from left, with his Idol charges), whose last name also can be read as "No one," which is how many members of his band were named Herman. Yep, all this week's bands were named for people not actually in the band.
Extra credit goes to readers Lisa Beach,
Andrea Dresdale, and
Tim Priester, who actually knew the stories behind the cryptic band names. Noone's band got its name because someone thought he looked like Sherman from the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons; someone else misheard the name as Herman, and it stuck. Similarly, lore has it that Eric Clapton wanted to call his '70s band Eric and the Dynamos, but a stage announcer garbled their name. (Another apocryphal tale says that "Derek" was a mashup of "Eric" and "Del," a Clapton nickname.) Judas Priest is named for a Bob Dylan song, the Marshall Tucker Band for a blind piano tuner, and Molly Hatchet for a legendary Southern prostitute who allegedly decapitated her johns.
Some of you thought this was pretty easy. "I would bet a lot of money that the lead singer for Mr. Mister is not named Mr. Mister as well. Ha," wrote Kate Royce. "In addition, all five bands are huge Dungeons & Dragons fanatics," claimed Priester. "Eric Clapton plays as an elf named Wiggly." (Man, if that's true, I've lost any last vestiges of respect for ol' Slowhand.)
Other readers noted the names of other bands we could have included in this quiz, such as Belle & Sebastian, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Camper Van Beethoven, the Dandy Warhols, Edward Bear, Hootie and the Blowfish, Jethro Tull, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pink Floyd, Thompson Twins, Trashcan Sinatras, and Uriah Heep. Feel free to add your favorite band-that-doesn't-include-its-namesake in the comments below. Meanwhile, this week's correct respondents are listed after the jump.
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five bands have in common?
Derek and the Dominos Herman's Hermits Judas Priest The Marshall Tucker Band Molly Hatchet
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So what do Sandra Bullock, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lopez, Moby, and Carlos Santana have in common? They've all had high-profile side gigs as restaurateurs. This week's Premonition-timed Peoplecover story on Bullock gives prominent play to Bess Bistro, her new European/Southern fusion eatery in Austin, Texas. De Niro is perhaps the most successful celebrity gastronome, as a partner in the upscale Nobu chain and other restaurants. Lopez opened Madre's in Pasadena a few years back. Until recently, Moby was an owner of Teany's, a downtown NYC cafe. And Santana recently announced plans to open Maria Maria, a chain of Mexican restaurants.
I especially enjoyed this week's wrong answers. "All of them had parents who performed Opera," wrote Wendy Swerdlow Pederson. (Really? Impressive!) "They've all got sweet asses," asserted Stephanie Carney. (If you say so, Stephanie.) Faith Kurtyka claimed they're all "hot, but married to ugly people!" Ouch!
This must have been a lot harder than last week's quiz, as there were only about one-fifth as many correct guesses. Still, most of you who guessed got it right. Those of you who'll be dining out on your victory for the next week are listed after the jump.
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five performers have in common?
Sandra Bullock Robert De Niro Jennifer Lopez Moby Carlos Santana
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do Anthrax, Genesis, Live, Midnight Oil, and R.E.M. have in common? Apparently, this wasn't much of a HeadScratcher at all. Not just because more than 100 of you got it right, but also because the answer was bald lead singers. Scott Ian (Anthrax), Ed Kowalczyk (Live), Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil), and Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) are all known for their clean-shaven scalps; these days, Genesis' Phil Collins, who didn't have much hair to begin with, is shaving his scalp, too. This week's quiz was inspired by such cueball-crooner current events as the Billboard album chart victory of Chris Daughtry (pictured), R.E.M.'s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and whatever Britney Spears is up to now.
Readers who finessed this week's follicular follies are listed after the jump.
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five bands have in common?
Anthrax Genesis Live Midnight Oil R.E.M.
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do James Brolin, Burt Lancaster, Vincent Price, Elisabeth Shue, and Rip Torn have in common? Well, this week's secret link was the new film Zodiac (starring Jake Gyllenhaal, pictured), and all of these actors starred in movies with signs of the zodiac in their titles. Brolin was a fugitive astronaut in Capricorn One (1978). Lancaster starred in spy thriller Scorpio (1973). Price starred in sci-fi/horror pic The Aries Computer (1972). Shue was in the James Joyce-inspired indie drama Leo (2002). And Torn starred as Henry Miller in the adaptation of Miller's Tropic of Cancer (1970).
This was a tough one, apparently; only Geoff Huntsman and HeadScratcher stalwart Patrick A. Yearout guessed right. Regulars Harold Reynolds and Jan Willemsen noted that all of these actors almost landed some prominent movie roles ultimately played by others. (Brolin, for instance, almost starred in Octopussy before Roger Moore decided to keep playing James Bond; Torn was once slated to play the role that ultimately made Jack Nicholson a star in Easy Rider; and Shue dropped out of The Number 23 when she became pregnant, leaving the role of crazy Jim Carrey's wife to Virginia Madsen.) And this honest response comes from reader Vanessa Bumpus: "I don't have an answer but do you guys think I should get bangs? They seem like they are making a comeback...."
Thanks for playing, everyone! Come back Friday for another HeadScratcher. And let Vanessa know where you stand: bangs or no bangs?
Another PopWatch HeadScratcher to get you through the weekend:
What do these five performers have in common?
James Brolin Burt Lancaster Vincent Price Elisabeth Shue Rip Torn
Your answer should be as specific as possible. Send your best guess to popwatch@ew.com.
Be sure to write "HeadScratcher" in the subject line and include your
first and last names in your e-mail. We'll post the most interesting
responses Monday afternoon.
So, what do Bing Crosby, Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Jimmy Stewart have in common? They all appeared in Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 epic The Greatest Show on Earth, which critics widely regard as the worst movie ever to win a Best Picture Oscar. (It's pretty bad, though with plenty of camp appeal, like DeMille's Biblical spectacles. Certainly, it's not a better movie than fellow 1952 nominees High Noon and The Quiet Man, or Singin' in the Rain, which didn't even get a Best Pic nod.) Heston, in one of his first major roles, stars as the boss of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus; Lamour is a circus performer; her Road movie pals Hope and Crosby have cameos as spectators; and Stewart (pictured) plays a clown with a Terrible Secret who never removes his makeup. (Is it that he's actually a member of Kiss?)
Many of you guessed that this week's quiz was Oscar-related but assumed that the five performers had all hosted or won honorary Oscars. (Actually, Hope and Stewart won honorary prizes; Crosby, Heston, and Stewart all won competitive Oscars; and Lamour never even scored a nomination.) Reader Nicole Odekirk guessed that the five were "the only Republican members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences." (Ha!) Snarky Michael Markowitz, who knew the right answer, also cited several other supposed commonalities, including these: "A search of all reviews of all their work yields not one reference to the words 'pitchy' or 'dawg.'" And: All of them had the middle name 'Hussein.'"
The ring masters who got it right are listed after the jump.
You might have been too busy reacting to John McCain’s Nov. 4 concession speech to notice the strange choice of music that swelled in the background: The defeated GOP nominee walked offstage to the score from Crimson Tide. Why is that so bizarre? Well, the hit 1995 thriller centers on a power struggle between a square-jawed hawkish Cold War veteran (played by Gene Hackman) and an upstart black lieutenant (Denzel Washington) who wants to avoid another war at all costs. Coincidence? To find out, we got in touch with McCain’s spokesman Michael Goldfarb, who clarified the selection for us — sort of. 
Forget the Pope or the Dalai Lama. Who better to represent the human race to extraterrestrial spacefarers than Stephen Colbert?
Brooks & Dunn have a nifty hit single out now called “Put a Girl in it,” and I only wish the country music industry would take that advice more often. I thought about it as the 
To the folks over at Overture films: we love getting goodies in the mail, but we don't particularly like it when they come in the form of a mail bomb. (OK, boxes that maybe resemble an explosive device.) Also, the broken glass (from the enclosed light bulb, which we really would've otherwise used) was sort of scary and threatening. Are you trying to tell us something?
While 
Well, it was only a matter of time. One New York minute after word spread that fans of the Sex and the City movie 
The most burning question about last week's episode of 
How much do the French love Radiohead (pictured)? Not enough to exercise their right to rock, it seems: 
It's The Parent Trap Meets Saw — See Lindsay Lohan in I Know Who Killed Me on Starz This Saturday Night 
If you are an avid Joss Whedonite, you've probably already heard this news, so
either bear with me or skip to the third graph. If not: Given the cautionary example of the
cancellation of Whedon's 
The answer is not Idolatry. (Although, that would be amazing.) It's that the same man, 
Does teen angst just not seem as, um, angsty as it used to? Do you pine for the days when a bowl of mac 'n' cheese and the dramas of Dawson, Rory, and Seth were all you needed to feel satiated? Well, the media gods have heard your prayers and are bringing back the much-missed WB -- on the web. According to 
Apparently Law & Order: SVU's child pornography and human trafficking plot lines are a-OK for the Peacock Network, but a show about a do-gooder billionaire? Too much! According to 
Yes, I'm asking you about the ending of 
Here's something we haven't done in a while: a PopWatch HeadScratcher:
I would put a 
When you hear that title, the moniker given to Paul Thomas Anderson's latest, what images spring to mind? Gothic vampires, sure. A revenge film? Serial killer thriller, perhaps? Torture porn?
So, what do Patsy Cline,
Emmylou Harris,
Faith Hill,
Toby Keith, and
Shania Twain have in common? All these country artists have been featured on the soundtrack of what is surely the most eclectic-scored TV series ever, The Sopranos. That's right, the characters on the recently concluded series didn't just listen to Vegas-y lounge favorites (Sinatra, Dean Martin, et al) or New Jersey local heroes (Sinatra again, Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and of course, cast member Little Steven), but to 
So, what do William S. Burroughs,
Lewis Carroll,
Stephen Crane,
Aldous Huxley, and
George Bernard Shaw have in common? A surprising number of you answered that their greatest works were drug-inspired. (That's probably true for Burroughs; not sure about the rest.) Rather, the answer is that they're all among the luminaries pictured in a famous group photo that marked its 
So, what do Joe Cocker, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Brenda Lee, and Martina McBride have in common? As many of you guessed, it had something to do with this past week's selection of a new 
So, what do Lucy Davis, Ashley Jensen, Kari Matchett, Rita Moreno, and Rena Sofer have in common? All have done double or even triple duty in supporting roles on TV this season. Davis played sketch writer Lucy on 
So, what do Kate Bush,
Lauryn Hill,
Patti Smith,
Britney Spears, and
Moe Tucker have in common? Many of you guessed that this week's theme was Mother's Day. The answer: they all took extended leave from their music careers to raise their kids. Bush and Velvet Underground drummer Tucker took the longest leaves; both went 12 years between albums. (In Tucker's case, after the Velvets split up, she dropped out of showbiz altogether, 
So, what do Amy Adams, Zach Braff, Claire Danes, Rob Lowe, and Paul Rudd have in common? They all help answer the question: Do the now-unemployed stars of The O.C. have a future in movies? In honor of Adam Brody's starring role in the new 
So, what do the Beatles, Canibus, Johnny Cash, Cheap Trick, and Joni Mitchell have in common? This 
So, what do Glenn Close, Jenna Elfman, Ralph Fiennes, Janet Leigh, and Zero Mostel have in common? As most of you guessed, this quiz was inspired by the Easter bunny: all of these actors co-starred with rabbits in a movie. Close, of course, boiled a bunny in Fatal Attraction. Elfman acted alongside Bugs Bunny and other classic Warner Bros. characters in 2003's Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Fiennes was a hare hunter in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Leigh played a scientist who bred giant killer bunnies in the 1972 horror cult classic 
So, what do Mel Brooks, Fraser Heston, Burt Lancaster,Soupy Sales, and Theodore Roberts have in common? You'll have to excuse the delay in posting this week's answer; with the onset of Passover, I'm still in a bit of a matzo coma. (They don't call it the bread of affliction for nothin'.) Passover is also the occasion for this week's roundup of actors, who all played Moses in movies and TV. Brooks (pictured) played Moses as a tablet-dropping klutz in History of the World: Part I. In Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 version of The Ten Commandments, little Fraser Heston was the baby in the basket, who grew up to be played by papa Charlton. Lancaster starred in the 1974 minseries Moses the Lawgiver. Sales played Moses in the 1993 mockumentary And God Spoke. Roberts starred in DeMille's first version of The Ten Commandments in 1923.
So, what do Derek and the Dominos, Herman's Hermits, Judas Priest, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Molly Hatchet have in common? Well, this quiz was inspired by 
So what do Sandra Bullock, Robert De Niro, Jennifer Lopez, Moby, and Carlos Santana have in common? They've all had high-profile side gigs as restaurateurs. This week's Premonition-timed People 
So, what do Anthrax, Genesis, Live, Midnight Oil, and R.E.M. have in common? Apparently, this wasn't much of a HeadScratcher at all. Not just because more than 100 of you got it right, but also because the answer was bald lead singers. Scott Ian (Anthrax), Ed Kowalczyk (Live), Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil), and 
So, what do James Brolin, Burt Lancaster, Vincent Price, Elisabeth Shue, and Rip Torn have in common? Well, this week's secret link was the new film 
So, what do Bing Crosby, Charlton Heston, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Jimmy Stewart have in common? They all appeared in Cecil B. DeMille's 1952 epic