Nearly 40 years after outré comedian Andy Kaufman’s death from cancer, there remain fans who are certain that a faked demise was Kaufman’s most ambitious and committed hoax.
Until proven otherwise, this is a ridiculous conviction. That said, it’s probably no more or less absurd than believing that Andy Kaufman is a figure who could be explained or even adequately summarized in a conventional documentary. There are some outsized personalities so cloaked in mythology that even the tallest tales about them seem believable, but Kaufman’s personality was so cloaked in subterfuge that any attempt to deconstruct that personality or his behavior is going to come across as a bit within a bit.
This is the problem that Alex Braverman’s new documentary Thank You Very Much runs into. The documentary is filled with fantastic footage from Kaufman’s fearless performances, mostly familiar but still wildly iconoclastic. It...
Until proven otherwise, this is a ridiculous conviction. That said, it’s probably no more or less absurd than believing that Andy Kaufman is a figure who could be explained or even adequately summarized in a conventional documentary. There are some outsized personalities so cloaked in mythology that even the tallest tales about them seem believable, but Kaufman’s personality was so cloaked in subterfuge that any attempt to deconstruct that personality or his behavior is going to come across as a bit within a bit.
This is the problem that Alex Braverman’s new documentary Thank You Very Much runs into. The documentary is filled with fantastic footage from Kaufman’s fearless performances, mostly familiar but still wildly iconoclastic. It...
- 8/31/2023
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Actor whose television character Pee-wee Herman delighted children and their parents in the 1980s
One of the most subversive and original figures in 1980s popular culture was a whey-faced, cherry-lipped, matchstick-thin child-man who wore a red bow tie, white tasselled loafers and a shrunken grey suit, and lived in a giant playhouse with sentient furniture and a floating head. This was Pee-wee Herman, created and played by the actor Paul Reubens, who has died aged 70 of cancer.
The character appeared on stage in The Pee-wee Herman Show during the early 1980s but did not become known internationally until the release of the film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), which marked the doolally debut of the director Tim Burton. US cinema in the Reagan era drew heavily on the iconography of the 50s and early 60s, whether for purposes sweet or unsavoury; this big-screen outing for Pee-wee, who was already suffused with the...
One of the most subversive and original figures in 1980s popular culture was a whey-faced, cherry-lipped, matchstick-thin child-man who wore a red bow tie, white tasselled loafers and a shrunken grey suit, and lived in a giant playhouse with sentient furniture and a floating head. This was Pee-wee Herman, created and played by the actor Paul Reubens, who has died aged 70 of cancer.
The character appeared on stage in The Pee-wee Herman Show during the early 1980s but did not become known internationally until the release of the film Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985), which marked the doolally debut of the director Tim Burton. US cinema in the Reagan era drew heavily on the iconography of the 50s and early 60s, whether for purposes sweet or unsavoury; this big-screen outing for Pee-wee, who was already suffused with the...
- 8/1/2023
- by Ryan Gilbey
- The Guardian - Film News
Hollywood stars are reacting to the the news of Paul Reubens’ death. The late actor known for playing Pee-wee Herman on stage, television and film died Monday at age 70. His death was announced on his official Facebook page revealing that the actor had cancer for years, a diagnosis he had not shared publicly.
“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” a statement read. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
A statement from Reubens was also shared with the announcement, in which the late actor said,...
“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” a statement read. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
A statement from Reubens was also shared with the announcement, in which the late actor said,...
- 7/31/2023
- by Lexy Perez
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Paul Reubens, who disappeared behind a tight gray suit and bright red bow tie to create and star as the awkward man-child Pee-wee Herman onstage, on a groundbreaking kids TV show and on the big screen, has died. He was 70.
His death in Los Angeles was announced Monday on his official Facebook page.
“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” a statement read. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
Reubens created Pee-wee (named for a brand of harmonica he had when...
His death in Los Angeles was announced Monday on his official Facebook page.
“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” a statement read. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”
Reubens created Pee-wee (named for a brand of harmonica he had when...
- 7/31/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
More than 1,000 artifacts from decades of television will hit the auction block on June 2-4.
Among the items up for bids are The Tonight Show set from which Johnny Carson kept a nation awake and entertained until his 1992 farewell; the desk and New York City skyline from David Letterman’s Late Night; Archie and Edith Bunker’s Queens living room from All in the Family, including the two most famous chairs in sitcom history; and the bar around which the Cheers regulars congregated.
Heritage Auctions is handling what’s termed the “Landmark Comisar Collection.” It was amassed by collector James Comisar for three decades, with the goal of housing the items in a museum.
It began simply enough in 1989, with two hand-painted title cards from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson that appeared before commercial breaks and promised “More to Come.” These were the first of more than 10,000 artifacts Comisar acquired.
Among the items up for bids are The Tonight Show set from which Johnny Carson kept a nation awake and entertained until his 1992 farewell; the desk and New York City skyline from David Letterman’s Late Night; Archie and Edith Bunker’s Queens living room from All in the Family, including the two most famous chairs in sitcom history; and the bar around which the Cheers regulars congregated.
Heritage Auctions is handling what’s termed the “Landmark Comisar Collection.” It was amassed by collector James Comisar for three decades, with the goal of housing the items in a museum.
It began simply enough in 1989, with two hand-painted title cards from The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson that appeared before commercial breaks and promised “More to Come.” These were the first of more than 10,000 artifacts Comisar acquired.
- 5/27/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Studying the cultural and political revolutions of the late 60s and early 70s won’t earn you any points for originality. It’s not that this period in world history isn’t important — it’s continually worthy of assessment, if only because history, as you know, repeats itself. Just look at the Trump years, the pandemic, and the years of protest over racial discrimination and police brutality — they mimic how Western culture shifted during the Civil Rights movement, the anti-Vietnam War/Nixonism protests, and the countercultural movement to push against the 50s Howdy Doody nuclear family, structural biases and lingering stains of McCarthyism.
Continue reading ‘1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything:’ AppleTV+ Docuseries A Sturdy Overview Of Early ’70s Culture [Review] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything:’ AppleTV+ Docuseries A Sturdy Overview Of Early ’70s Culture [Review] at The Playlist.
- 6/20/2021
- by Cory Woodroof
- The Playlist
“Elfman sings!” It’s almost as grabby a potential catchphrase as “Garbo speaks.” But of course, Danny Elfman has participated in the talkies before… or, to put it in plainer terms, his new album, “Big Mess,” does not mark the first time he’s stood in front of a rock ‘n’ roll band in the studio to make a vocal record. It’s just the first time he’s done it since 1994, when his band, Oingo Boingo, released its final album.
Since then, Elfman’s been content to let the orchestra do the talking, as one of Hollywood’s preeminent film composers, best known for his long association with director Tim Burton, along with many dozens of non-Burton titles. But somehow, when it came to his dormant rock side, he got the bug again… enough so to even include a cover of Boingo’s “Insects” on the new album. Will...
Since then, Elfman’s been content to let the orchestra do the talking, as one of Hollywood’s preeminent film composers, best known for his long association with director Tim Burton, along with many dozens of non-Burton titles. But somehow, when it came to his dormant rock side, he got the bug again… enough so to even include a cover of Boingo’s “Insects” on the new album. Will...
- 6/11/2021
- by Chris Willman
- Variety Film + TV
As a brief distraction from the nail-biting presidential election we’re in the middle of, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz, and more politicians appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in a political edition of the show’s regular segment, Mean Tweets.
Like other installments of the segment, the guests read aloud various mean statements that had been directed toward them on Twitter, whether insulting their appearance, making fun of their demeanor or — in former Ohio governor John Kasich’s case — threatening to throw “collected, stored, warmed up cat piss” into their face.
Like other installments of the segment, the guests read aloud various mean statements that had been directed toward them on Twitter, whether insulting their appearance, making fun of their demeanor or — in former Ohio governor John Kasich’s case — threatening to throw “collected, stored, warmed up cat piss” into their face.
- 11/5/2020
- by Claire Shaffer
- Rollingstone.com
Welcome to this week’s review of Major League Wrestling: Fusion, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and this is CNN. Howdy Doody was a rolling stone and it always rocked me gently, rocked me so. My name is Edith Ann and that’s the truth. Lppllsxslxpslspsls! That’s the sound of a tongue being stuck out and making that spitting raspberry noise. Okay, we’ve got a special global version of Fusion to get to, so let’s jump right into a massive undertaking that concludes with a modern wrestling icon fighting Hammerstone in the biggest match of his career, so far.
Match #1: Jordan Oliver defeated Gringo Loco The following is courtesy of mlw.com:
Jordan Oliver has a score to settle with Gringo Loco as he seeks retribution for his Injustice buddy Myron Reed after Loco used some brass knucks on Myron’s midsection in...
Match #1: Jordan Oliver defeated Gringo Loco The following is courtesy of mlw.com:
Jordan Oliver has a score to settle with Gringo Loco as he seeks retribution for his Injustice buddy Myron Reed after Loco used some brass knucks on Myron’s midsection in...
- 9/9/2019
- by Nathan Favel
- Nerdly
The Cannes Film Festival is too rich an event to truly have an “off” year, but by the end of the 72nd edition, it was more or less universally acknowledged that the festival had regained a full-on, holy-moutaintop-of-art luster that was a bit lacking the year before. It helps, of course, to have headline-making movies by iconic auteurs, and Terrence Malick, Pedro Almodóvar, and Quentin Tarantino all had films in competition that delivered that blend of artistic rush and gravitas. But there were, in addition, many up-and-coming voices who rose above the fray, from Céline Sciamma (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”) to Robert Eggers (“The Lighthouse”), pointing the way to cinema’s future.
La Belle Époque
Hidden in plain sight among the out-of-competition premieres at Cannes, this mainstream French comedy from writer-director Nicolas Bedos is the kind of movie that journalists routinely ignore in favor of flashier titles from international directors.
La Belle Époque
Hidden in plain sight among the out-of-competition premieres at Cannes, this mainstream French comedy from writer-director Nicolas Bedos is the kind of movie that journalists routinely ignore in favor of flashier titles from international directors.
- 5/25/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman and Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
There’s a long-standing Hollywood tradition of comic characters who are patently disreputable anti-social f—ups. It’s the comedy as rock ‘n’ roll school of bad behavior, and its exemplars are legend: John Belushi turning wreckage into blissed-out anarchy in “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” Bill Murray and his jabbering slob irony in everything from “Meatballs” to “St. Vincent,” Will Ferrell’s destructive moronic narcissists, Jim Carrey’s media-wired lunatics, the revenge-of-the nerd horndog teen partiers of “Superbad.”
So when you first see Pete Davidson in “Big Time Adolescence,” where he plays a druggie wastrel loser who, from his look to his attitude, is very Pete Davidson, you naturally assume that he’s one of those characters: an outrageous homeboy douche we’re going to be laughing with, rather than at.
He is, maybe slightly. Yet the movie isn’t actually that kind of comedy. Davidson plays Zeke, who...
So when you first see Pete Davidson in “Big Time Adolescence,” where he plays a druggie wastrel loser who, from his look to his attitude, is very Pete Davidson, you naturally assume that he’s one of those characters: an outrageous homeboy douche we’re going to be laughing with, rather than at.
He is, maybe slightly. Yet the movie isn’t actually that kind of comedy. Davidson plays Zeke, who...
- 1/29/2019
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Just four months before his own death in June by suicide, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain fantasized in an interview – published Sunday – about the demise of Harvey Weinstein, the accused rapist and harasser whose alleged victims include actress and Bourdain romantic partner Asia Argento.
In the lengthy Q&A published by the new Popula journalism website, Bourdain, during a discussion that also had him describing Bill Clinton as “a piece of sh*t, entitled, rapey, gropey, grabby, disgusting,” mused on how Weinstein might depart this world.
“As much as I’d like to see him, you know, beaten to death in his cell,” Bourdain says before offering another scenario:
My theory of how he goes is uh, he’s brushing his teeth in a bathroom, he’s naked in his famous bathrobe, which is flapping open, he’s holding his cell phone in one hand because you never know who on...
In the lengthy Q&A published by the new Popula journalism website, Bourdain, during a discussion that also had him describing Bill Clinton as “a piece of sh*t, entitled, rapey, gropey, grabby, disgusting,” mused on how Weinstein might depart this world.
“As much as I’d like to see him, you know, beaten to death in his cell,” Bourdain says before offering another scenario:
My theory of how he goes is uh, he’s brushing his teeth in a bathroom, he’s naked in his famous bathrobe, which is flapping open, he’s holding his cell phone in one hand because you never know who on...
- 7/16/2018
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Chelsea Clinton clapped back at a few Twitter trolls on Tuesday after the social media users compared her to Howdy Doody. It all started when Twitter user Richard Rothchild shared a photo of the former first daughter in which her face was replaced by the marionette's mug. The She Persisted author replied to the tweet by thanking her haters for the comparison. "Thanks to Richard & all the people on @Twitter who've compared me to Howdy Doody," she wrote. "I now know a bit about him, including that he stood up to bullies & believed in being kind to animals. I'm always happy to be on the side of allyship & kindness. Thanks again!" However, the comebacks didn't end...
- 6/13/2018
- E! Online
Chelsea Clinton has a word or two for the trolls who have compared her to Howdy Doody on Twitter — and they might not be the words one would expect.
Former first daughter Clinton took to Twitter on Tuesday to thank those who have likened her to the iconic puppet, saying that, thanks to the comparisons, she learned about his positive attributes.
Clinton’s thanks came in response to a Twitter user identified as Richard Rothchild, who tweeted a photo at Clinton which depicted her with Howdy Doody’s famously freckled face superimposed over her own.
Also Read: Chelsea Clinton Fact Checks Roseanne Barr on George Soros Dig, TV Star Gives Backhanded Apology
“Thanks to Richard & all the people on @Twitter who’ve compared me to Howdy Doody, I now know a bit about him, including that he stood up to bullies & believed in being kind to animals,” Clinton wrote.
“I...
Former first daughter Clinton took to Twitter on Tuesday to thank those who have likened her to the iconic puppet, saying that, thanks to the comparisons, she learned about his positive attributes.
Clinton’s thanks came in response to a Twitter user identified as Richard Rothchild, who tweeted a photo at Clinton which depicted her with Howdy Doody’s famously freckled face superimposed over her own.
Also Read: Chelsea Clinton Fact Checks Roseanne Barr on George Soros Dig, TV Star Gives Backhanded Apology
“Thanks to Richard & all the people on @Twitter who’ve compared me to Howdy Doody, I now know a bit about him, including that he stood up to bullies & believed in being kind to animals,” Clinton wrote.
“I...
- 6/12/2018
- by Tim Kenneally
- The Wrap
In news that confirms the commitment to continuity that is the hallmark of the franchise, Variety reports that Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo are in talks to return as Clark and Ellen Griswold in New Line’s upcoming Vacation continuation—roles that are “more on the cameo level,” but roles nonetheless. Real movie roles that demonstrate Chevy Chase doesn’t need your little Howdy Doody sitcom, because he’s a movie star. Anyway, it’s long been assumed Chase and D’Angelo would be back, and it definitely seemed pretty clear they were angling for something besides artistic respect ...
- 3/28/2013
- avclub.com
There's always been an important cultural link between the history of the United States and our country's TV shows and now Et can exclusively announce a partnership between the Smithsonian and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to collaborate on showcasing iconic daytime TV memorabilia.
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will cooperate with NATAS to obtain costumes, scripts, props, awards, photographs, promotional material and other artifacts that reflect the contributions of daytime television programming to the national collections.
Pics: Emmy Gold! Winners Pose with Statuettes
NATAS will work with the museum to identify actors, writers, talk show hosts, game show hosts, journalists, producers, directors and others who have influenced America's cultural identity and extended that culture to global audiences. One of the stars already confirmed to participate is Susan Lucci, who is best known for portraying the iconic character Erica Kane on the long-running soap opera All My Children.
The partnership...
The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History will cooperate with NATAS to obtain costumes, scripts, props, awards, photographs, promotional material and other artifacts that reflect the contributions of daytime television programming to the national collections.
Pics: Emmy Gold! Winners Pose with Statuettes
NATAS will work with the museum to identify actors, writers, talk show hosts, game show hosts, journalists, producers, directors and others who have influenced America's cultural identity and extended that culture to global audiences. One of the stars already confirmed to participate is Susan Lucci, who is best known for portraying the iconic character Erica Kane on the long-running soap opera All My Children.
The partnership...
- 3/20/2013
- Entertainment Tonight
Many "Community" fans certainly thought the show could go on without Pierce Hawthorne and Chevy Chase, the actor who played Pierce, finally did leave the NBC comedy in the middle of Season 4 this past November. But did he leave "Community" in a lurch?
"Chevy had a really great year here creatively, and the show's gonna miss him," David Guarascio, one half of the new "Community" showrunner team, told TV Guide. "The show, while being very out there sometimes, also has this grounded sensibility of what happens in life can happen in the show. And people move on and do other things, so I think the show could go on brilliantly without him."
Chase, who appeared on the first three seasons of "Community" and most of the fourth, had a very tumultuous relationship with the show. The actor told us at HuffPost TV that he had "creative issues with this show,...
"Chevy had a really great year here creatively, and the show's gonna miss him," David Guarascio, one half of the new "Community" showrunner team, told TV Guide. "The show, while being very out there sometimes, also has this grounded sensibility of what happens in life can happen in the show. And people move on and do other things, so I think the show could go on brilliantly without him."
Chase, who appeared on the first three seasons of "Community" and most of the fourth, had a very tumultuous relationship with the show. The actor told us at HuffPost TV that he had "creative issues with this show,...
- 2/7/2013
- by Jaimie Etkin
- Huffington Post
Joel McHale opened up about his former co-star Chevy Chase's tumultuous "Community" tenure on "The Howard Stern Show" this week.
Chase parted ways with "Community" in November 2012 after repeatedly ripping the show and engaging in a public feud with its now-fired showrunner Dan Harmon, although he will appear in most of the upcoming fourth season.
When asked about Chase's generally negative attitude towards the show, McHale replied, "He just didn't want to be there." He added, "When I would try [to talk to him about his attitude], he would just try to fight me ... He physically wanted to fight me."
Chase's distaste for "Community" boiled over in the press. In March, he told HuffPost TV that he had "creative issues with this show," then compared the show's sense of humor to "being relegated to hell and watching 'Howdy Doody' for the rest of your life."
The tension came to a head when Chase, apparently...
Chase parted ways with "Community" in November 2012 after repeatedly ripping the show and engaging in a public feud with its now-fired showrunner Dan Harmon, although he will appear in most of the upcoming fourth season.
When asked about Chase's generally negative attitude towards the show, McHale replied, "He just didn't want to be there." He added, "When I would try [to talk to him about his attitude], he would just try to fight me ... He physically wanted to fight me."
Chase's distaste for "Community" boiled over in the press. In March, he told HuffPost TV that he had "creative issues with this show," then compared the show's sense of humor to "being relegated to hell and watching 'Howdy Doody' for the rest of your life."
The tension came to a head when Chase, apparently...
- 2/6/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:11
Uh uh.
Leaving aside the gender issues that run rampant through our so-called holy books, I find myself about to enter my seventh decade with a computer full of rock’n’roll songs, shelves full of toys, and a plastic figure of Howdy Doody watching over my bed as I sleep. I revel in childish things.
So when I saw a story about Mattel’s latest attempt to revive the Max Steel line of action figures, I was curious. And then a little bit horrified. And then fascinated again.
When I was a kid, I loved team-up comics. The Legion, the Justice League, the Teen Titans – they were great because I could imagine myself as different characters depending on my mood.
– 1 Corinthians 13:11
Uh uh.
Leaving aside the gender issues that run rampant through our so-called holy books, I find myself about to enter my seventh decade with a computer full of rock’n’roll songs, shelves full of toys, and a plastic figure of Howdy Doody watching over my bed as I sleep. I revel in childish things.
So when I saw a story about Mattel’s latest attempt to revive the Max Steel line of action figures, I was curious. And then a little bit horrified. And then fascinated again.
When I was a kid, I loved team-up comics. The Legion, the Justice League, the Teen Titans – they were great because I could imagine myself as different characters depending on my mood.
- 2/1/2013
- by Martha Thomases
- Comicmix.com
So there I am, about to do a column themed to last Sunday’s episode of The Good Wife, when the telephone rings. It’s my main DNA-sharer and in the course of the ensuing chat, I mention the column idea and while we talk he does a Google search and – egad! – the digital oracle indicates that my premise is wrong.
Thank whatever benevolence caused Larry to call when he did, even if that benevolence is, in this instance, blind coincidence, because I really dislike being ignorant in print.
What I was going to impart to you is that on the aforementioned television program, a quiet revolution occurred. The title character, who is admirable and capable and sympathetic, came out of the ecclesiastical closet and pronounced herself an atheist. My thesis: with non-Caucasian and gay characters pretty common on the tube these days, the last barrier is the religious one.
Thank whatever benevolence caused Larry to call when he did, even if that benevolence is, in this instance, blind coincidence, because I really dislike being ignorant in print.
What I was going to impart to you is that on the aforementioned television program, a quiet revolution occurred. The title character, who is admirable and capable and sympathetic, came out of the ecclesiastical closet and pronounced herself an atheist. My thesis: with non-Caucasian and gay characters pretty common on the tube these days, the last barrier is the religious one.
- 1/31/2013
- by Dennis O'Neil
- Comicmix.com
Just when we thought Nicki and Mariah were finally starting to get along, the two divas proved there’s only room for one Queen Bee on this show! Read on for all the juicy Nicki/Mariah drama — and, oh yeah, did I mention there were contestants?
We all know Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj aren’t ones to shy away from confrontation, but we never thought it would go this far! Aside from the typical battling egos, raised voices and fabulously big hair, there were some major threats made on the Jan. 23 episode. Hey Nicki and Mariah, why can’t we all just get along?
They say that third time is the charm, but after night three of American Idol Season 12 auditions, I’m not so sure! The Idol judges headed to the South and had high hopes for Charlotte, N.C. Yes, there were some major hits, but there...
We all know Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj aren’t ones to shy away from confrontation, but we never thought it would go this far! Aside from the typical battling egos, raised voices and fabulously big hair, there were some major threats made on the Jan. 23 episode. Hey Nicki and Mariah, why can’t we all just get along?
They say that third time is the charm, but after night three of American Idol Season 12 auditions, I’m not so sure! The Idol judges headed to the South and had high hopes for Charlotte, N.C. Yes, there were some major hits, but there...
- 1/24/2013
- by Caitlin Miller
- HollywoodLife
Using the new Doctor Who Limited Edition Gift Set, your noble author will make his way through as much of the modern series as he can before the Christmas episode,The Snowmen.
The Queen’s coronation increased sales of televisions in Britain faster than Howdy Doody did in the Us. But when one store sells sets for less than could possibly be profitable, The Doctor fears they may have an ulterior motive to expose everyone to…
The Idiot’S Lantern
by Mark Gatiss
Directed by Euros Lyn
“Are you sitting comfortably? Good! They we’ll begin…”
The proprietor of Magpie Electricals is near bankruptcy until a strange new partner offers a way to turn his business around. With the queen’s Coronation coming up, he suddenly finds a way to make TVs available for the outrageous price of five pounds a pop. Needless to say, they’re selling like mad.
The Queen’s coronation increased sales of televisions in Britain faster than Howdy Doody did in the Us. But when one store sells sets for less than could possibly be profitable, The Doctor fears they may have an ulterior motive to expose everyone to…
The Idiot’S Lantern
by Mark Gatiss
Directed by Euros Lyn
“Are you sitting comfortably? Good! They we’ll begin…”
The proprietor of Magpie Electricals is near bankruptcy until a strange new partner offers a way to turn his business around. With the queen’s Coronation coming up, he suddenly finds a way to make TVs available for the outrageous price of five pounds a pop. Needless to say, they’re selling like mad.
- 12/21/2012
- by Vinnie Bartilucci
- Comicmix.com
"Community" has a cliffhanger on its hands. According to TVLine, the "Community" Season 4 finale will feature a cliffhanger that will see many of the characters' fates in question. One of those Human Beings? Pierce Hawthrone.
In late November 2012 news broke that Chevy Chase was exiting "Community" after four years -- and countless incidents of bashing his own show -- with a few episodes left to shoot on Season 4. However, Chase will appear in the finale because it was shot out of order, but if Season 5 happens, his fate is sealed. TVLine reports the Season 4 finale wasn't intended to be the farewell episode for Chase, it just worked out that way.
In March, Chase told HuffPost TV that he had "creative issues with this show. I always have." He compared elements of the show to "being relegated to hell and watching 'Howdy Doody' for the rest of your life.
In late November 2012 news broke that Chevy Chase was exiting "Community" after four years -- and countless incidents of bashing his own show -- with a few episodes left to shoot on Season 4. However, Chase will appear in the finale because it was shot out of order, but if Season 5 happens, his fate is sealed. TVLine reports the Season 4 finale wasn't intended to be the farewell episode for Chase, it just worked out that way.
In March, Chase told HuffPost TV that he had "creative issues with this show. I always have." He compared elements of the show to "being relegated to hell and watching 'Howdy Doody' for the rest of your life.
- 11/30/2012
- by Chris Harnick
- Huffington Post
"Community" has a cliffhanger on its hands. According to TVLine, the "Community" Season 4 finale will feature a cliffhanger that will see many of the characters' fates in question. One of those Human Beings? Pierce Hawthrone.
In late November 2012 news broke that Chevy Chase was exiting "Community" after four years -- and countless incidents of bashing his own show -- with a few episodes left to shoot on Season 4. However, Chase will appear in the finale because it was shot out of order, but if Season 5 happens, his fate is sealed. TVLine reports the Season 4 finale wasn't intended to be the farewell episode for Chase, it just worked out that way.
In March, Chase told HuffPost TV that he had "creative issues with this show. I always have." He compared elements of the show to "being relegated to hell and watching 'Howdy Doody' for the rest of your life.
In late November 2012 news broke that Chevy Chase was exiting "Community" after four years -- and countless incidents of bashing his own show -- with a few episodes left to shoot on Season 4. However, Chase will appear in the finale because it was shot out of order, but if Season 5 happens, his fate is sealed. TVLine reports the Season 4 finale wasn't intended to be the farewell episode for Chase, it just worked out that way.
In March, Chase told HuffPost TV that he had "creative issues with this show. I always have." He compared elements of the show to "being relegated to hell and watching 'Howdy Doody' for the rest of your life.
- 11/30/2012
- by Chris Harnick
- Aol TV.
After all that, Chevy Chase is leaving "Community," Sony TV has confirmed.
Chase's departure from the show's fourth season is effective immediately, according to Deadline. The majority of "Community's" long-awaited Season 4 has already been filmed, but Chase will not appear in the few episodes that haven't yet shot, Deadline reports.
There is no word yet on whether or not Chase's departure will be written into the remaining episodes of "Community" Season 4, which was only scheduled to be a 13-episode season. But we do know that "Community" was shooting its last several episodes of this fourth season out of order. Having already shot what will be the Season 4 finale, we wonder if they'll be able to go back now and write Pierce's departure into the episode.
Chase, who's played Pierce Hawthorne on "Community" for three seasons and most of the fourth, has had a very tumultuous relationship with the show,...
Chase's departure from the show's fourth season is effective immediately, according to Deadline. The majority of "Community's" long-awaited Season 4 has already been filmed, but Chase will not appear in the few episodes that haven't yet shot, Deadline reports.
There is no word yet on whether or not Chase's departure will be written into the remaining episodes of "Community" Season 4, which was only scheduled to be a 13-episode season. But we do know that "Community" was shooting its last several episodes of this fourth season out of order. Having already shot what will be the Season 4 finale, we wonder if they'll be able to go back now and write Pierce's departure into the episode.
Chase, who's played Pierce Hawthorne on "Community" for three seasons and most of the fourth, has had a very tumultuous relationship with the show,...
- 11/21/2012
- by Jaimie Etkin
- Huffington Post
After all that, Chevy Chase is leaving "Community," Sony TV has confirmed.
Chase's departure from the show's fourth season is effective immediately, according to Deadline. The majority of "Community's" long-awaited Season 4 has already been filmed, but Chase will not appear in the few episodes that haven't yet shot, Deadline reports.
There is no word yet on whether or not Chase's departure will be written into the remaining episodes of "Community" Season 4, which was only scheduled to be a 13-episode season. But we do know that "Community" was shooting its last several episodes of this fourth season out of order. Having already shot what will be the Season 4 finale, we wonder if they'll be able to go back now and write Pierce's departure into the episode.
Chase, who's played Pierce Hawthorne on "Community" for three seasons and most of the fourth, has had a very tumultuous relationship with the show,...
Chase's departure from the show's fourth season is effective immediately, according to Deadline. The majority of "Community's" long-awaited Season 4 has already been filmed, but Chase will not appear in the few episodes that haven't yet shot, Deadline reports.
There is no word yet on whether or not Chase's departure will be written into the remaining episodes of "Community" Season 4, which was only scheduled to be a 13-episode season. But we do know that "Community" was shooting its last several episodes of this fourth season out of order. Having already shot what will be the Season 4 finale, we wonder if they'll be able to go back now and write Pierce's departure into the episode.
Chase, who's played Pierce Hawthorne on "Community" for three seasons and most of the fourth, has had a very tumultuous relationship with the show,...
- 11/21/2012
- by Jaimie Etkin
- Aol TV.
In 1966, a little show called "That Girl" starring Marlo Thomas as accident-prone Ann Marie burst onto the small screen, breaking ground as the first TV series to feature a "career woman" in the big city, seeking to make it on her own (with just a little help from boyfriend Donald Hollinger.)
That Guy behind "That Girl" is Bill Persky, a five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, director and producer for such hit TV shows as "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Sid Caesar Show," "The Bill Cosby Show" and "Kate & Allie."
Persky's new book "My Life Is a Situation Comedy" is a memoir that describes how the 81-year-old legend blazed a trail in television and created some of the most engaging female characters in TV history.
The book, as the author describes it, stars a wide range of well-known figures, from Orson Welles and Cary Grant to Fred Astaire and Peter Sellers...
That Guy behind "That Girl" is Bill Persky, a five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, director and producer for such hit TV shows as "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Sid Caesar Show," "The Bill Cosby Show" and "Kate & Allie."
Persky's new book "My Life Is a Situation Comedy" is a memoir that describes how the 81-year-old legend blazed a trail in television and created some of the most engaging female characters in TV history.
The book, as the author describes it, stars a wide range of well-known figures, from Orson Welles and Cary Grant to Fred Astaire and Peter Sellers...
- 11/16/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
In 1966, a little show called "That Girl" starring Marlo Thomas as accident-prone Ann Marie burst onto the small screen, breaking ground as the first TV series to feature a "career woman" in the big city, seeking to make it on her own (with just a little help from boyfriend Donald Hollinger.)
That Guy behind "That Girl" is Bill Persky, a five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, director and producer for such hit TV shows as "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Sid Caesar Show,""The Bill Cosby Show" and "Kate & Allie."
Persky's new book "My Life Is a Situation Comedy" is a memoir that describes how the 81-year-old legend blazed a trail in television and created some of the most engaging female characters in TV history.
The book, as the author describes it, stars a wide range of well-known figures, from Orson Welles and Cary Grant to Fred Astaire and Peter Sellers...
That Guy behind "That Girl" is Bill Persky, a five-time Emmy Award-winning writer, director and producer for such hit TV shows as "The Dick Van Dyke Show," "The Sid Caesar Show,""The Bill Cosby Show" and "Kate & Allie."
Persky's new book "My Life Is a Situation Comedy" is a memoir that describes how the 81-year-old legend blazed a trail in television and created some of the most engaging female characters in TV history.
The book, as the author describes it, stars a wide range of well-known figures, from Orson Welles and Cary Grant to Fred Astaire and Peter Sellers...
- 11/16/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Aol TV.
Don't read on unless you've seen "The Phantom," the "Mad Men" Season 5 finale.
I love what I do, but I do sometimes think about the absurdity of this task.
There's no science to criticism. We TV critics expend thousands of hours and epic amounts of digital "ink" analyzing, scrutinizing, pondering episodes of TV. But for all that, we can can't necessarily explain to you -- or ourselves -- why something moves us, tantalizes us or leaves us cold. There's no graph or chart that we can slot a scene or an episode into, no ready-made formula that explains what works and what doesn't and why. Sometimes, if we're lucky, we get near an explanation that makes both emotional and intellectual sense, but a lot of the time, we're merely fumbling around, trying to figure things out on the fly, hoping to death we're not boring our wonderful, patient readers.
Having said all that,...
I love what I do, but I do sometimes think about the absurdity of this task.
There's no science to criticism. We TV critics expend thousands of hours and epic amounts of digital "ink" analyzing, scrutinizing, pondering episodes of TV. But for all that, we can can't necessarily explain to you -- or ourselves -- why something moves us, tantalizes us or leaves us cold. There's no graph or chart that we can slot a scene or an episode into, no ready-made formula that explains what works and what doesn't and why. Sometimes, if we're lucky, we get near an explanation that makes both emotional and intellectual sense, but a lot of the time, we're merely fumbling around, trying to figure things out on the fly, hoping to death we're not boring our wonderful, patient readers.
Having said all that,...
- 6/11/2012
- by Maureen Ryan
- Aol TV.
A review of tonight's "Mad Men" season finale coming up just as soon as I'm president of the Howdy Doody Circus Army... "I thought it would go away." -Don This has been a transformational season of "Mad Men," in terms of both what's been happening on screen and how the show has chosen to depict it. It's the first season of the series where it feels like society itself changed significantly from the beginning to the end. It's a season that barely featured Don Draper's first wife while turning his second wife into the second most prominent character on the show,...
- 6/11/2012
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Hitfix
Just as the dust has begun to settle on last year's epic feud between Charlie Sheen and "Two and a Half Men" creator Chuck Lorre... this happens. "Community" actor Chevy Chase and the series' creator, Dan Harmon, are currently embroiled in an unfortunately public war of words, which leads us to wonder if Chase's character, Pierce, is headed for expulsion.
Here's how it all went down. Allegedly.
Chase has never been particularly vocal about loving his job on "Community," but toward the end of Season 3 filming, he began to speak out against the show. When The Huffington Post was on set, he was candid about his dissatisfaction with his character. "I'm funny. Pierce isn't funny," he said, later adding, "I have creative issues with this show. I always have."
He said that watching Joel McHale's character wrap up each episode is "like being relegated to hell and watching '...
Here's how it all went down. Allegedly.
Chase has never been particularly vocal about loving his job on "Community," but toward the end of Season 3 filming, he began to speak out against the show. When The Huffington Post was on set, he was candid about his dissatisfaction with his character. "I'm funny. Pierce isn't funny," he said, later adding, "I have creative issues with this show. I always have."
He said that watching Joel McHale's character wrap up each episode is "like being relegated to hell and watching '...
- 4/1/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
When the cast of "Community" tweets quotes and anecdotes asking "Pierce or Chevy?," it's not always easy to tell. Just like his "Community" alter ego, Pierce Hawthorne, star Chevy Chase doesn't always know how or when to edit himself.
On the heels of Deadline's report that Chase is in a feud with "Community" creator Dan Harmon -- and the airing of a profanity-laden voicemail Chase left Harmon (warning: very Nsfw) after Harmon reportedly called Chase out for storming off the set and then gave him an unfiltered roast at the show's Season 3 wrap party -- here's some more insight into Chase's attitude about the fan-favorite show.
The last time I was on set, right before they wrapped production for Season 3, Chase was even more fired up than usual, going as far as saying, "I have creative issues with this show. I always have," before comparing elements of the show to...
On the heels of Deadline's report that Chase is in a feud with "Community" creator Dan Harmon -- and the airing of a profanity-laden voicemail Chase left Harmon (warning: very Nsfw) after Harmon reportedly called Chase out for storming off the set and then gave him an unfiltered roast at the show's Season 3 wrap party -- here's some more insight into Chase's attitude about the fan-favorite show.
The last time I was on set, right before they wrapped production for Season 3, Chase was even more fired up than usual, going as far as saying, "I have creative issues with this show. I always have," before comparing elements of the show to...
- 3/31/2012
- by Maggie Furlong
- Huffington Post
When the cast of "Community" tweets quotes and anecdotes asking "Pierce or Chevy?," it's not always easy to tell. Just like his "Community" alter ego, Pierce Hawthorne, star Chevy Chase doesn't always know how or when to edit himself.
On the heels of Deadline's report that Chase is in a feud with "Community" creator Dan Harmon -- and the airing of a profanity-laden voicemail Chase left Harmon (warning: very Nsfw) after Harmon reportedly called Chase out for storming off the set and then gave him an unfiltered roast at the show's Season 3 wrap party -- here's some more insight into Chase's attitude about the fan-favorite show.
The last time I was on set, right before they wrapped production for Season 3, Chase was even more fired up than usual, going as far as saying, "I have creative issues with this show. I always have," before comparing elements of the show to...
On the heels of Deadline's report that Chase is in a feud with "Community" creator Dan Harmon -- and the airing of a profanity-laden voicemail Chase left Harmon (warning: very Nsfw) after Harmon reportedly called Chase out for storming off the set and then gave him an unfiltered roast at the show's Season 3 wrap party -- here's some more insight into Chase's attitude about the fan-favorite show.
The last time I was on set, right before they wrapped production for Season 3, Chase was even more fired up than usual, going as far as saying, "I have creative issues with this show. I always have," before comparing elements of the show to...
- 3/31/2012
- by Maggie Furlong
- Aol TV.
The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast got its Crunch
By Marty Gitlin and Topher Ellis
Abrams Image. Hardcover. 368 pages. $19.95
Come breakfast time, my kitchen cabinet holds a limited, and boring, offering of ready-to-eat cereals; just some Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and a box of Honey-Nut Cheerios. In my mid-fifties, breakfast cereal no longer holds any importance in my life. To tell the truth, if I’m going to have cereal, I would much rather sit down with a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal and leave the cold, crunchy stuff for when I’m feeling especially lazy.
But, as The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch reminds me, once upon a time, in that galaxy far, far away of childhood, breakfast cereal was important. Very important. The Golden Age of comic books, as someone once observed, is eleven years old. That is, whatever it is we’re exposed...
By Marty Gitlin and Topher Ellis
Abrams Image. Hardcover. 368 pages. $19.95
Come breakfast time, my kitchen cabinet holds a limited, and boring, offering of ready-to-eat cereals; just some Kellogg’s Raisin Bran and a box of Honey-Nut Cheerios. In my mid-fifties, breakfast cereal no longer holds any importance in my life. To tell the truth, if I’m going to have cereal, I would much rather sit down with a bowl of Quaker Oatmeal and leave the cold, crunchy stuff for when I’m feeling especially lazy.
But, as The Great American Cereal Book: How Breakfast Got Its Crunch reminds me, once upon a time, in that galaxy far, far away of childhood, breakfast cereal was important. Very important. The Golden Age of comic books, as someone once observed, is eleven years old. That is, whatever it is we’re exposed...
- 2/23/2012
- by Paul Kupperberg
- Comicmix.com
It seemed like there was nothing to be really thankful for in Beverly Hills this week - and "Smoked Turkey" really slammed that sentiment home.
Let's start with Ivy and Raj. Face it, folks, Raj may have set Ivy free by pretending to still be cancer-free (really?!? Yet another phone call from his doctor? This time plunging Raj to the depths of despair?), but that marriage started showing cracks when freelance photog, Nick, started sniffing around Ivy. And, like catnip, Ivy was all over his scent.
Ivy decided to stay with Raj out of guilt because she certainly didn't hold back when she yelled at Raj that she hadn't realized marrying him meant giving up her dreams. Maybe you should've thought of that before taking those vows, little girl. And, yes, you will be an 18-year-old divorcee before the end of the season. Big surprise.
Naomi and Austin were just two big pills this week.
Let's start with Ivy and Raj. Face it, folks, Raj may have set Ivy free by pretending to still be cancer-free (really?!? Yet another phone call from his doctor? This time plunging Raj to the depths of despair?), but that marriage started showing cracks when freelance photog, Nick, started sniffing around Ivy. And, like catnip, Ivy was all over his scent.
Ivy decided to stay with Raj out of guilt because she certainly didn't hold back when she yelled at Raj that she hadn't realized marrying him meant giving up her dreams. Maybe you should've thought of that before taking those vows, little girl. And, yes, you will be an 18-year-old divorcee before the end of the season. Big surprise.
Naomi and Austin were just two big pills this week.
- 11/23/2011
- by arlene@tvfanatic.com (Arlene G.)
- TVfanatic
Theatrically re-releasing popular films from the past is a trend that seems to be on the rise. Ghostbusters got another theatrical run this past October. Star Wars and Titanic will be returning to theaters in 3D next year. So why not Santa Claus Conquers the Martians?
Holland Releasing is behind what is being billed as Santa’s Cool Holiday Festival, or as I feel compelled to call it, “The First Annual Public Domain Christmas Kitsch Filmstravaganza!”
You’ll see a pair of vintage Technicolor Fleischer Brothers Christmas cartoons.
You’ll see rare holiday shorts featuring Howdy Doody, Ozzie & Harriet, and ventriloquist Shari Lewis with her puppet Lambchop.
You’ll see a series of old “Greetings from Theater Management” trailers.
Most importantly, you’ll see a digitally restored print of the all-time bad movie holiday classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians directed by Nicholas Webster. The producers are promising that Pia Zadora...
Holland Releasing is behind what is being billed as Santa’s Cool Holiday Festival, or as I feel compelled to call it, “The First Annual Public Domain Christmas Kitsch Filmstravaganza!”
You’ll see a pair of vintage Technicolor Fleischer Brothers Christmas cartoons.
You’ll see rare holiday shorts featuring Howdy Doody, Ozzie & Harriet, and ventriloquist Shari Lewis with her puppet Lambchop.
You’ll see a series of old “Greetings from Theater Management” trailers.
Most importantly, you’ll see a digitally restored print of the all-time bad movie holiday classic Santa Claus Conquers the Martians directed by Nicholas Webster. The producers are promising that Pia Zadora...
- 11/21/2011
- by Foywonder
- DreadCentral.com
Ladies and gentlemen, one of the cultiest cult movies of all time is coming back to the big screen just on time for the holiday season. Yes, it's 1964 gem Santa Claus Conquers The Martians - in which Santa Claus is kidnapped by aliens who want him to make toys for their children instead of humans - and it's hitting theaters across the nation as part of a revival of classic cult holiday titles.Delightful two-hour holiday program for the whole family. A retro-rocket flashback to the Sixties that's chock-full of happy Christmas memories including vintage "Greetings From The Theater Management" ads, two charming Max Fleischer Technicolor cartoons ('Christmas Comes But Once A Year' and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer'), wacky 1950's shorts like "Howdy Doody's...
- 11/21/2011
- Screen Anarchy
Once again, a look into the future, with some very interesting looks at the past, including the reprinting of a comic that was never released in America in the first place, the infamous Elseworlds 80 Page Giant that was pulped because of concerns about Superman’s babysitter.
And of course, a whole lot of #3 issues, which is traditionally the issue where Spider-Man guest stars.
Shall we? Surely!
As usual, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.
Justice League #3
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams
1:25 Variant cover by Greg Capullo
1:200 B&W Variant cover by Jim Lee
On sale November 16 • 40 pg, Fc, $3.99 Us • Rated T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 Us
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
The superstar team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee continue to make history as they unleash the amazing Amazon,...
And of course, a whole lot of #3 issues, which is traditionally the issue where Spider-Man guest stars.
Shall we? Surely!
As usual, spoilers may lurk beyond this point.
Justice League #3
Written by Geoff Johns
Art and cover by Jim Lee and Scott Williams
1:25 Variant cover by Greg Capullo
1:200 B&W Variant cover by Jim Lee
On sale November 16 • 40 pg, Fc, $3.99 Us • Rated T
Combo pack edition: $4.99 Us
Retailers: This issue will ship with three covers. Please see the order form for more information.
The superstar team of writer Geoff Johns and artist Jim Lee continue to make history as they unleash the amazing Amazon,...
- 8/15/2011
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
It’s hard to believe, but starting in 1947 (Howdy Doody), with very few exceptions, there has been at least one Western on TV every season. In 1984, the genre took the year off (probably due to Little House fatigue), and there was some downtime after Deadwood ended and before Justified premiered (2007-2009), but other than those four years, some form of Western, be it traditional, revisionist, steampunk, or sci-fi hybrid, has always graced our screens. Here is a brief rundown of the history and trends of the Western in American television.
In the 1950s and 60s, Westerns ruled the air. There were at least 98 distinct shows during the 50s and 89 in the 60s. In 1959, there were 26 Westerns during primetime alone, and keep in mind that these were the days of three-channel TV. Shows such as The Lone Ranger, Have Gun—Will Travel, and Maverick were huge hits and Gunsmoke and Bonanza premiered and became decade-spanning institutions.
In the 1950s and 60s, Westerns ruled the air. There were at least 98 distinct shows during the 50s and 89 in the 60s. In 1959, there were 26 Westerns during primetime alone, and keep in mind that these were the days of three-channel TV. Shows such as The Lone Ranger, Have Gun—Will Travel, and Maverick were huge hits and Gunsmoke and Bonanza premiered and became decade-spanning institutions.
- 7/28/2011
- by Kate Kulzick
- SoundOnSight
Just because many of us here at AfterElton.com happen to be gay doesn’t mean the only films we are interested in are bad indie flicks about gay guys living in Chelsea or brooding coming out stories from South America. We also want to see big budget Hollywood movies that are probably going to suck and won't have any actual plot that makes sense.
Which brings us to … Cowboys & Aliens! Which just released a new trailer. Which is totally cool. Check it out.
When DreamWorks announced that they were adapting Scott Mitchell Rosenberg’s graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens for the big screen, not many people were clamoring for plot spoilers. After all, anyone who reads the title could probably tell that this is going to be a high-concept action film that stages an epic fight between two of pop culture’s most iconic characters: mummies and Frankensteins.
Kidding! Hollywood...
Which brings us to … Cowboys & Aliens! Which just released a new trailer. Which is totally cool. Check it out.
When DreamWorks announced that they were adapting Scott Mitchell Rosenberg’s graphic novel Cowboys & Aliens for the big screen, not many people were clamoring for plot spoilers. After all, anyone who reads the title could probably tell that this is going to be a high-concept action film that stages an epic fight between two of pop culture’s most iconic characters: mummies and Frankensteins.
Kidding! Hollywood...
- 6/16/2011
- by Evan...
- The Backlot
Randy Jackson nicknamed "American Idol" season 10 "The Remix." As the Simon-less cycle starts its final descent, and as teenage country singers Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina compete on TV one last time, it's clear that Randy's premonition was 100% accurate. (At this point I should mention that I think remixes are often endless, repetitive, lazy cash grabs, more about the producer than the original artist.)
At this point, I'd urge everyone to raise your seat backs to their full, upright position. Failure to do so will result in you falling asleep within eight minutes. Unless you're a country fan, this will be the most boring "Idol" finale since Katharine McPhee sat down to sing "Over the Rainbow" for the 900th time.
But wait! What's this? A carefully worded post on TMZ hinting that Lauren Alaina may be too sick to perform and producers are scrambling to reinstate third-placer Haley Reinhart in the eleventh hour?...
At this point, I'd urge everyone to raise your seat backs to their full, upright position. Failure to do so will result in you falling asleep within eight minutes. Unless you're a country fan, this will be the most boring "Idol" finale since Katharine McPhee sat down to sing "Over the Rainbow" for the 900th time.
But wait! What's this? A carefully worded post on TMZ hinting that Lauren Alaina may be too sick to perform and producers are scrambling to reinstate third-placer Haley Reinhart in the eleventh hour?...
- 5/24/2011
- by Jim Cantiello
- MTV Newsroom
The home visits are in the can! The judges have their strategies set! The contestants have their hideous flower earrings picked out!
Wednesday was Top Three night on "American Idol X: Scotty McCreery or Bust!"
Sorry, females of the world. The two representative specimens left in this high pressure ultra-important competition had a night full of stumbles, bumbles, and crumbles. And while fans debate which is worse — tripping on a step, or tripping on a key change? — some of us are busy asking the important questions. Such as, do we prefer Scotty with a buzz-cut or Scotty with an inch of hair? Have we ever heard Scotty "sing a chorus like that" before? What about one song later? And are you going to kiss him or not?!
Before I start pointing out how ... energetic ... Jimmy Iovine looked in the audience Wednesday night, here's a quick reminder to tune into my weekly Web show,...
Wednesday was Top Three night on "American Idol X: Scotty McCreery or Bust!"
Sorry, females of the world. The two representative specimens left in this high pressure ultra-important competition had a night full of stumbles, bumbles, and crumbles. And while fans debate which is worse — tripping on a step, or tripping on a key change? — some of us are busy asking the important questions. Such as, do we prefer Scotty with a buzz-cut or Scotty with an inch of hair? Have we ever heard Scotty "sing a chorus like that" before? What about one song later? And are you going to kiss him or not?!
Before I start pointing out how ... energetic ... Jimmy Iovine looked in the audience Wednesday night, here's a quick reminder to tune into my weekly Web show,...
- 5/19/2011
- by Jim Cantiello
- MTV Newsroom
What do you call it when you take a character and remove him from the environment that made him who he is? The new Zorro Reborn project. Set to be directed by pre-viz artist Rpin Suwannath, this new story would take Zorro away from the desert of the southwest during a time where phones and clean water don’t exist and place him in a post-apocalyptic future desert during a time where phones and clean water don’t exist. Zorro will just never get to know the pleasure of watching Golden Girls in an air conditioned room. I’m no purist, but taking a character from the environment that made him is always a dangerous prospect. Then again, that very type of What If? game gave the world “Superman: Red Son” so it can’t be all bad. On the plus side, it might be thrilling to see a masked desperado taking on the likes of irradiated...
- 4/27/2011
- by Cole Abaius
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
(A waiting room of ventriloquist dummies, in Dumbstruck, above.)
by Terry Keefe
For any of our Hollywood readers who are struggling to succeed as a writer, actor, director, or musician, you already know that it's hard. If you've been at it for a while, you also probably love your chosen art form enough to continue to pursue it against some pretty long odds, because otherwise, it would be easier to just hang it up.
Now just imagine how long the odds of success would feel if the art form you loved so deeply, and were willing to give up everything else for... happened to be ventriloquism.
The world of ventriloquists, or "vents" in their own parlance, is the focus of director Mark Goffman's funny, and extremely poignant, new documentary, Dumbstruck, which is being released tomorrow (4/22) in New York and Washington, D.C., followed by a Los Angeles roll-out the following weekend (4/29).
Goffman,...
by Terry Keefe
For any of our Hollywood readers who are struggling to succeed as a writer, actor, director, or musician, you already know that it's hard. If you've been at it for a while, you also probably love your chosen art form enough to continue to pursue it against some pretty long odds, because otherwise, it would be easier to just hang it up.
Now just imagine how long the odds of success would feel if the art form you loved so deeply, and were willing to give up everything else for... happened to be ventriloquism.
The world of ventriloquists, or "vents" in their own parlance, is the focus of director Mark Goffman's funny, and extremely poignant, new documentary, Dumbstruck, which is being released tomorrow (4/22) in New York and Washington, D.C., followed by a Los Angeles roll-out the following weekend (4/29).
Goffman,...
- 4/22/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Matt Zoller Seitz asked an intriguing question at Salon recently: Will future generations understand The Simpsons? Regarding one episode in particular, by example, Seitz wrote: Brockman's moonlighting on "Hollywood Squares" acknowledged a long tradition of newscasters working as game show hosts and commercial pitchmen on the side (see Wallace, Mike). And "Springfield Squares" is a sendup of 1970s game shows in the vein of "Hollywood Squares" and "Tic Tac Dough." The rest of the episode contained references to the 1929 film "The Great Gabbo," Eastern European animation, Joey Bishop, "Howdy Doody," Ed Sullivan's censoring the lyrics of the Doors' "Light My Fire," the 1968 "Elvis" TV special, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' penchant for nudity, and Bette Midler serenading Johnny Carson during his final week on "The Tonight Show."...
- 3/15/2011
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
I never thought I'd see anyone on Mad Men shouting "Monster!" at a movie screen but that's why Mad Men at the Movies is great fun to write. You never know what's coming.
Episode 4.3 "The Good News"
In this episode, Joan focused for once (yay Christina Hendricks!) the worlds curviest office manager handles her confusing marriage with surprise tenderness and her career with less control than usual, her temper flaring. Meanwhile, Don (Jon Hamm) travels to see his first ex-wife and gets very bad news. He returns home early, ditching a planned Apaculpco vacation. Come the middle of the holiday afternoon, Lane (Jared Harris) and Don are already drunk and planning a boys night out. Don: [drunk, with mouth full] We're going to the movies.
Lane: Do you think we should?
Don: Does Howdy Doody have a wooden dick? [reading from newspaper] Zorba the Greek -- seen it, but would see it again. It's a Mad Mad Mad World -- no kidding.
Episode 4.3 "The Good News"
In this episode, Joan focused for once (yay Christina Hendricks!) the worlds curviest office manager handles her confusing marriage with surprise tenderness and her career with less control than usual, her temper flaring. Meanwhile, Don (Jon Hamm) travels to see his first ex-wife and gets very bad news. He returns home early, ditching a planned Apaculpco vacation. Come the middle of the holiday afternoon, Lane (Jared Harris) and Don are already drunk and planning a boys night out. Don: [drunk, with mouth full] We're going to the movies.
Lane: Do you think we should?
Don: Does Howdy Doody have a wooden dick? [reading from newspaper] Zorba the Greek -- seen it, but would see it again. It's a Mad Mad Mad World -- no kidding.
- 8/10/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
This is a recap for the third episode of Season 4 of Mad Men starring Jon Hamm, Christina Hendricks, John Slattery, January Jones, and a slew of other talented actors, on an episode called “The Good News.” And here if your For Your Consideration Recap: Proof That Hospital Gowns Are Unflattering On Everyone Sideview of Joan, post Gynie visit. How Don Should Have Broken The News… Gently, and with paint. Seriously, the opportunity was right there. (Thanks to Dan Hopper for this genius photoshop & joke.) Matthew Weiner Really Does Get Every Detail Down, Including British Teeth Alfred E. Flossman, seriously. Johnny Tarlungs, M.D. Did he light that thing up to get a better look or what? How I Would Like To Wake Up Every Day To Draper, in his boxers and undershirt, painting our living room wall. Sure, within a couple of years we’d be living in a 3 by 3 foot box,...
- 8/9/2010
- by Michelle Collins
- BestWeekEver
Walt Disney Co. chief Robert Iger, is reportedly looking at 'obscure' Marvel super heroes among the company's 5,000 proprietary characters, for development into branded film properties.
Currently Paramount distributes Marvel movie properties "Iron Man","Captain America", and "Thor", Sony handles "Spider-Man","Ghost Rider" and "The Punisher", Fox has "X-Men", "Wolverine" and "Fantastic Four" and Universal has "The Hulk" and "Namor: The Sub-Mariner". Artisan and Lionsgate also produced a "Man-Thing" feature in 2005.
Iger said that Disney may 'test' different Marvel characters on cable TV, similar to how Warners showcases its DC Comics super-hero properties on the Vancouver-lensed 'Superman' TV series "Smallville".
"Instead of making a $200 million movie and kind of betting the farm on one character," said Iger, "you can develop a television pilot, or a television series."
Marvel characters with film potential include "Doctor Strange","Ant-Man", "The Black Panther", "Skrull Kill Crew", "Luke Cage" and "Deathlok".
Marvel topper Kevin Feige...
Currently Paramount distributes Marvel movie properties "Iron Man","Captain America", and "Thor", Sony handles "Spider-Man","Ghost Rider" and "The Punisher", Fox has "X-Men", "Wolverine" and "Fantastic Four" and Universal has "The Hulk" and "Namor: The Sub-Mariner". Artisan and Lionsgate also produced a "Man-Thing" feature in 2005.
Iger said that Disney may 'test' different Marvel characters on cable TV, similar to how Warners showcases its DC Comics super-hero properties on the Vancouver-lensed 'Superman' TV series "Smallville".
"Instead of making a $200 million movie and kind of betting the farm on one character," said Iger, "you can develop a television pilot, or a television series."
Marvel characters with film potential include "Doctor Strange","Ant-Man", "The Black Panther", "Skrull Kill Crew", "Luke Cage" and "Deathlok".
Marvel topper Kevin Feige...
- 5/3/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Art Clokey, whose bendable creations became a pop culture phenomenon through countless satires, toys and revivals, has died at age 88.
Caretaker Chrisanne Wollett Clokey says Clokey died Friday in Los Osos on California's Central Coast.
Clokey is best known for the creation of Gumby, the green clay character with his horse friend Pokey. Clokey first molded Gumby for a surreal student project at the University of Southern California called "Gumbasia." That led to his making shorts for the Howdy Doody Show and several series through the years. He said he based Gumby's swooping head on the hairdo of his father, who died when Clokey was nine.
Clokey also created the moralizing and often satirized claymation duo Davey and Goliath, which became the direct inspriation for Adult Swim's Moral Orel.
Eddie Murphy restored Gumby's popularity in the 1980s with his send-up of the character on "Saturday Night Live" as a cigar-smoking primadonna.
Caretaker Chrisanne Wollett Clokey says Clokey died Friday in Los Osos on California's Central Coast.
Clokey is best known for the creation of Gumby, the green clay character with his horse friend Pokey. Clokey first molded Gumby for a surreal student project at the University of Southern California called "Gumbasia." That led to his making shorts for the Howdy Doody Show and several series through the years. He said he based Gumby's swooping head on the hairdo of his father, who died when Clokey was nine.
Clokey also created the moralizing and often satirized claymation duo Davey and Goliath, which became the direct inspriation for Adult Swim's Moral Orel.
Eddie Murphy restored Gumby's popularity in the 1980s with his send-up of the character on "Saturday Night Live" as a cigar-smoking primadonna.
- 1/9/2010
- by Glenn Hauman
- Comicmix.com
Walt Disney Co. chief Robert Iger, overseeeing the final acquisition of Marvel, is reportedly looking at 'obscure' Marvel super heroes among the company's 5,000 proprietary characters, for rapid development into branded film properties.
Currently Paramount distributes Marvel movie properties "Iron Man" and "Captain America", Sony handles "Spider-Man","Ghost Rider" and "The Punisher", Fox has "X-Men", "Wolverine" and "Fantastic Four" and Universal has "The Hulk" and "Namor: The Sub-Mariner". Artisan and Lionsgate also produced a "Man-Thing" feature in 2005.
Iger said that Disney may 'test' different Marvel characters on cable TV, similar to how Warners showcases DC Comics super-hero properties on the Vancouver-lensed 'Superman' TV series "Smallville".
"Instead of making a $200 million movie and kind of betting the farm on one character," said Iger, "you can develop a television pilot, or a television series."
Marvel characters with film potential include "Doctor Strange","Ant-Man", "The Black Panther", "Skrull Kill Crew", "Luke Cage" and "Deathlok...
Currently Paramount distributes Marvel movie properties "Iron Man" and "Captain America", Sony handles "Spider-Man","Ghost Rider" and "The Punisher", Fox has "X-Men", "Wolverine" and "Fantastic Four" and Universal has "The Hulk" and "Namor: The Sub-Mariner". Artisan and Lionsgate also produced a "Man-Thing" feature in 2005.
Iger said that Disney may 'test' different Marvel characters on cable TV, similar to how Warners showcases DC Comics super-hero properties on the Vancouver-lensed 'Superman' TV series "Smallville".
"Instead of making a $200 million movie and kind of betting the farm on one character," said Iger, "you can develop a television pilot, or a television series."
Marvel characters with film potential include "Doctor Strange","Ant-Man", "The Black Panther", "Skrull Kill Crew", "Luke Cage" and "Deathlok...
- 1/3/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
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