CNN’s coverage of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden accepting their nominations at the Democratic National Convention last night (read Ken Tucker’s review of their speeches) taught us 10 things:
1. Some cutaway shots are simply too brief.
“Gentlemen, it’s never been a good bet to bet against the American people.”
There is little doubt that former President Bill Clinton’s speech during Wednesday night’s Democratic National Convention was nothing less than a barn-burner. “Loose and ebullient, sprinkling his text with ad libs, Clinton reminded viewers what a powerful speaker he is, and how his pleasure in speechifying can be contagious,” wrote EW’s Ken Tucker. “Obama has his work cut out for him [Thursday] night to top this.”
Clinton’s oratory had the added effect of blasting away the cobwebs from an evening of speeches from non-professional speakers that ranged from agreeably engaging to stilted and bland — in marked contrast to the DNC’s first night of expertly choreographed and electrically delivered addresses. One need only look over the faces of the convention crowd Tuesday night to get a sense that many attendees were pretty much just waiting for the evening’s headliner to show up already. Forthwith, I give you the top 15 faces of people biding their time for Bill Clinton, rating their state of political lethargy ranging from 1 (fifth season of The West Wing) to 10 (five-hour C-SPAN broadcast about sorghum futures). Enjoy! READ FULL STORY »
As far as celeb attendance goes, the DNC tends to be where it’s at — Hollywood does have a reputation to live up to, after all. But 2012 is not 2008 and while the Dems have certainly attracted a few ounces of star power to the convention, it’s not going to be the first-class lounge/Oscar backstage feeling it was four years ago, when the Cold War Kids opened a Shepard Fairey art exhibit and Google co-hosted a party with Vanity Fair. While the RNC had Clint Eastwood and his now even-more-famous sidekick — the chair — the DNC boasts parties with Will.i.am, the Roots, the Foo Fighters, and Flo Rida. The left also got an extra day to party – while the speeches start Tuesday, an all-day Labor Day fest Monday provided free entertainment from Janelle Monae and James Taylor for Charlotte residents and convention-goers alike.
Image Credit: Jeff Daly/Invision/AP
Eva Longoria is no longer a desperate housewife — but she is desperate for Barack Obama to win a second term in office. The actress was an extremely vocal Obama supporter in 2008, and she’s been serving as a co-chair for the president’s reelection campaign since this past February. Now Longoria will show her support on an even bigger platform: She’s giving a speech at this year’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte.
The Republican party doesn’t have any similar politically-minded stars speaking at its own convention in Tampa Bay, at least as of now. Still, Longoria’s selection means that future quadrennial assemblies — as well as smaller events throughout the year — could include even more boldfaced names someday. Yeah, yeah, these events are about politics, not Hollywood — but wouldn’t a few more speeches from people like Longoria liven up the proceedings just a bit? They’d be worth it for the resulting Daily Show segments alone!
Image Credit: John Shearer/Getty Images
Forbes’ recently released list of top-paid movie actresses reflected Kristen Stewart’s secure foothold in modern pop culture. Now the business magazine has unveiled the list of TV actresses who earned the most between May 2011 and May 2012, and seems if you follow the money in TV land, it leads straight to funny gals and reality stars, with some housewives peppered in here and there.
Modern Family star Sofia Vergara tops the list with $19 million. Anyone who’s seen the Colombia native’s ubiquitous Kmart or Cover Girl ads knows that she’s also doing pretty well for herself with all those endorsement deals.
All four stars of Desperate Housewives, which concluded its series on ABC this May, made the list: Eva Longoria, followed by Felicity Huffman, Teri Hatcher, and Marcia Cross.
Reality TV has become even more of a major money-maker over the past year. With a wedding special watched by over 10 million people and continuing ratings success for Keeping Up with the Kardashians following the end of her 72-day-long marriage, reality star Kim Kardashian settled in at No. 2 on the list. Not far behind is her sister, Khloe. Last year they didn’t even make the top 10. Also new to the list this year is Bravo favorite and Skinny Girl entrepreneur Bethenny Frankel.
There are some familiar faces among this group, like Marg Helgenberger, whose 12-year-long run on CSI has kept her on the list for many years. Then there are rising stars like Zooey Deschanel, who has become a new comedy force to be reckoned with on Fox’s New Girl.
Last year’s list was topped with a tie between Eva Longoria and Tina Fey. The actresses come in third and fifth, respectively, this year. Check out the entire list below: READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Ron Tom/ABC
Spoiler alert! If you haven’t seen the two-hour Desperate Housewives series finale and intend to, stop reading now. If you haven’t seen it but want to know how it ended, continue. We break it down below. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Moshe Brakha/ABC; Matthew Rolston/ABC
Tonight, television doesn’t just lose a legend: it loses four. Despite how your feelings about ABC’s outgoing dramedy may have fluctuated over the years, there’s no denying that the four women at the center of the soapy, frothy Desperate Housewives have given modern hour-long television a new definition, and tonight–after eight seasons–all that ends. But how?!
I’m not out to predict the twists and turns that will no doubt occur on the long-awaited series finale of the Sunday night staple, but rather, I pose a different question: what would have to happen tonight for you to be fully satisfied with the show’s swan song? A major shake-up? flash forward? Or a neat resolution for each resident of Wisteria Lane? READ FULL STORY »
For the first time in years, Desperate Housewives is captivating America again — for reasons its creator and cast can’t be happy about. Former star Nicollette Sheridan sued Touchstone Television for wrongful termination after the show’s creator Marc Cherry killed off Sheridan’s man-eating alter ego, Edie Britt, in spring 2009. The details were scandalous — for instance, Cherry testified that Sheridan once called costar Teri Hatcher “the meanest woman in the world” — and the juicy, three-week trial culminated in a verdict reminiscent of Housewives’ famous cliff-hangers: A judge declared a mistrial due to a hung jury.
The publicity around the trial is a fitting coda for the eight-year-old ABC dramedy, which will finally sign off with a two-hour finale on May 13 at 9 p.m. To commemorate the end of this pioneering series (and in light of the show’s recent return to newsy relevance), EW decided to put the ladies of Wisteria Lane — klutzy divorcée Susan Mayer (Hatcher), frazzled mom Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), WASPy homemaker Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross), and suburban sexpot Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) — on the cover of EW one last time. We conducted two dozen interviews with the cast, crew, and writers, who recall Housewives’ provocative premise, its controversial story lines and effect on the TV industry, and one very gnarly Vanity Fair photo shoot.
The chats with major Desperate players reaped delicious behind-the-scenes details from the series: On-screen husband Doug Savant blames the brouhaha over the much talked-about Vanity Fair cover on an “inhospitable” environment created by the production team at the photo shoot; Cross admitted that “people thought for a long time that I was the bitch” of the show; James Denton — whose character Mike Delfino was killed off the show on March 11 — told us about how much of a “bummer” the Sheridan lawsuit was and that she was “fun to work with”; Huffman admitted to being such a fan of her on-screen husband, played by Savant, that she offered to pay part of his salary so he wouldn’t make less money in the show’s final season; and all the ladies shared their favorite moments from the series — for Hatcher it was being “naked in the bushes” and for Longoria it was mowing the Solis’ lawn in the pilot while wearing heels. “Most of my favorite memories about the show have to do with sitting in my trailer with Marcia or Felicity,” Longoria continued, “and talking about life.”
For all of that and more about Desperate Housewives pick up the new issue of Entertainment Weekly on stands March 23. Also, remember to follow @EW on Twitter.
Entertainment Weekly is now available on most tablets, including the iPad, Nook Color, Kindle Fire, and Samsung Galaxy. Think of it like the EW you already love, but on steroids: With our digital magazine, you can buy the recommended movies, albums, books, and DVDs while you’re reading about them. Plus you can watch music videos and film trailers, and find movie showtimes in your neighborhood. Current subscribers can access the digital version of EW for free by downloading EW app (also free) and logging in using your name and address or the information on your subscription label. Single copies of the magazine are also for sale through the app if you prefer to read EW that way. If you’re not a subscriber, but would like to become one, you can can do so by going to ew.com/allaccess.
Read more:
Mistrial declared in Nicollette Sheridan case
‘Desperate Housewives’ major character death revealed: Read an EXCLUSIVE interview with the star!
‘Desperate Housewives’ star Teri Hatcher thinks SPOILER death ‘was a bad idea’
