BuzzSugar

Would You Ever Get Married on TV?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 06:30:51 -0700

This year, for the ninth time, NBC's Today is offering one couple a chance to get married in a lavish ceremony, all expenses paid, with only one catch: everything, from the dress to the cake design, is up to Today viewers. After planning a Martha Stewart wedding, a destination wedding, and several regular ol' weddings, this year's challenge is taking a page from reality shows and putting potential couples through a series of challenges to prove they're the ones who should be married on TV.

The Today wedding isn't the only way couples can get their nuptials on TV (though it may be the only one that pays for it). From A Wedding Story on TLC to Bridezillas on WE, there are a wealth of opportunities for couples to have their wedding filmed for all to see. Would you consider having your wedding televised?

For more wedding coverage, be sure to check out IDoSugar.com.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Top 5 TV Moments That Always Make Me Cry

BuzzSugar — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 11:29:34 -0700

I've said before that I'm a bit of a sap, and it's never more evident than when I break into tears while watching TV. There are a bunch of moments that always make me lose it - no matter how predictable or silly they are, no matter how many times I've seen them - and so, just in case you're feeling mopey today, I'm counting down a few of the scenes most consistently guaranteed to leave me drowning in a pile of soggy tissues.

No. 5: The final moments of "A Wedding Story"
There was a period in my life when I worked nights and had days free, and so my morning routine went a little like this: Wake up late, make lunch, turn on TLC, cry. The whole "A [Something] Story" block of programming could make me weepy - yes, even "A Makeover Story," in my weaker moments - but "A Wedding Story" was by far the worst. No matter what squabbles the couples had on their way to the ceremony, no matter how many disasters with the caterers or the parents, the couples always made it down the aisle just fine, looking beautiful and ready to say "I do."

No. 4: The crowning of the "American Idol"
It's one of the most predictable events in television, at this point. Most of the time, it's not even surprising to learn which of the final two "Idol" contestants is going home with the crown, and we've already heard the cheesy coronation song at least twice. But there's still something about an overwhelmed teen or 20-something getting showered with confetti and balloons, singing in front of an audience of millions and somehow holding it together despite the overwhelming emotions, that gives me chills - regardless of whether I even like the winner.

Three more, including my No. 1 scene guaranteed to bring the tears, so read more

No. 3: The big reveal on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
My gym used to show ABC's programming block on Sunday nights, and I'd go early to make sure I snagged a treadmill in time for "Desperate Housewives." But I had to stop, because getting there early meant catching the part of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" where the family in need gets their first view of their new house. I don't even like the show, but as soon as the kids of the family began screaming at the sight of their new racecar- or dolphin-themed bedrooms, I became mayor of Waterworks City - while simultaneously stumbling through a jog.

No. 2: The end of the "Grey's Anatomy" pilot
I was hooked on "Grey's" the moment the very first episode revealed that Meredith's narration had actually been a speech to her mother, who is so ravaged by Alzheimer's Disease that she no longer knows who Meredith is. There's this one perfect shot when Ellis looks up at Meredith blankly and asks "Are you a doctor?" that just makes me feel like I've been socked in the stomach - no matter how many times I watch it, even now that I know it's coming.

No. 1: The final moments of "Six Feet Under"
I always say that the ending of "Six Feet Under" is my favorite series finale ever, but to be honest, I didn't really even see it until the day after it aired - simply because I was too busy sobbing the first time through to see much more than a blur of shapes and colors. I don't want to say too much about it so as not to spoil it for anyone who might still be catching up on DVD, but it's the perfect mixture of satisfying moments and heartbreaking revelations. Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I dug up the YouTube video, but I seriously advise against watching it in public.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and "Grey's Anatomy" photos copyright 2007 ABC, Inc.
"Six Feet Under" photo Source
"A Wedding Story" photo Source
"American Idol" photo courtesy of Fox

Talking New Moon With Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:15:50 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner may be dominating the promotional circuit right now, but they're not the only cast members with something to say about New Moon. I had the opportunity to chat with costars Kellan Lutz and Ashley Greene, aka Emmett and Alice Cullen, during their recent stopover in SF. They chatted about their characters, the vampire craze, and what it's like to be a "Twilight celebrity." Here are highlights:

On why so many people are crazy for the Twilight Saga:
Ashley: I think this film in particular is highly relatable. There are a lot of situations that people can relate to. The love story - everyone can relate to being in love or being in lust. You add the vampire, and it adds that next level fantasy. Vampires are mysterious and sensual and dangerous and unattainable. And everyone wants what they can't have. I think on another level that this came together at the perfect time. All the elements just fit, the casting was spot on, and we're in a difficult time right now with our economy. That's why you never have a drop in ticket sales because everyone wants an escape, and this movie is very much an escape from reality.
Kellan: It's a good escape but also it deals with so many situations, on so many positive notes. Just looking at it from the vampire coven to the wolf pack. It just deals with everyday issues just on bigger levels, in a way. And you have Bella as the keystone in many situations. You can just all relate from different countries to issues within the United States. It's easily relatable.

To read a lot more about working with three different directors and why they feel so lucky, just read more.

On how their portrayals of the Cullens are similar or different from the books:
Kellan: We got the jobs because we brought something new to it. You can interpret the characters each their own, but I think it's what we did alongside. Just like Kristen said - she's playing Bella but she's putting her Kristen spin on it, just like all of us are. And I think that's what's making it unique. We're still following the cheat sheets that Stephenie created by making the books, and there's Wikipedia. We have a lot of information to go off of. But I hope it's what I did in my audition that set it apart from the other guys trying out.

Ashley: I think it's mannerisms too. People do fall in love with this book, but I think part of it is that they always want more. You can't write out every human mannerism. You can imagine it, but seeing the emotion in someone's eyes and seeing them be affected it - it was kind of easy to give something to it, because we were just being people. We kinda just got lucky.
On how much more of the Cullens we can expect in the remaining movies:
Kellan: Realistically, we stick pretty close to the books. Obviously us Cullens would love to be in the books a lot more, which would mean we'd be in the movies a lot more. Talking New Moon, the scenes that the Cullens - except for Ashley, playing Alice who gets to go to Italy and be a main lead in the movie - us Cullens, we have to stick really close to the books, and the scenes that we're in are really crucial to the story, as you know - the birthday scene, the voting scene. I don't know, it was kind of a tease. Chris Weitz is such an amazing director, and for us, for myself - I only worked about a week on that movie. And it didn't even seem like I really got a taste for what it was.

Ashley: In the third film, you'll see a lot more of the Cullens because it's all of us collaborating and then getting ready to fight this war that's coming up. In the second one, my character got a much larger role because Alice is the Cullen, other than Edward, that really embraces Bella and they end up becoming best friends. In the beginning, you see her throw this huge party for Bella, and then Alice is the one who does, in fact, come back for Bella when everyone else decides to skip town. Alice is responsible for dragging Bella over to Italy, and she and I the whole time are fighting to save my brother's life. And then of course we get held up by the Volturi and stuff like that. My character got to grow a lot, which is really cool. You get to actually see the relationship develop between Bella and Alice, where in the first one you didn't. The first one was very much about the romance and showing the audience why these two people are willing to die for each other.
On working with a different director on each film:
Ashley: Each director is going to be very different. They're artists as well, and I don't think any of them are quite the same. The books, when you read them, all have very, very, different tones. So I think it's highly appropriate that we switch directors each go. The first one is very much a romance and is a very scenic, beautiful film. And Catherine's really, really great at capturing that. She's very high energy and works well in chaos and stuff like that. And it was fantastic because we didn't quite know what we were getting ourselves into, and so it was nice to have her to guide us when we were freaking out a little bit. She was just so high energy, and it was really contagious. We were sad to lose her and move on to the second film, but then we got Chris Weitz and he's the complete opposite! But great as well. He's so giving and caring and collaborative and created this atmosphere that was kind of a safe haven for us. And it was really nice because we didn't know, switching directors, if they were gonna embrace us or if they had a completely different vision than what we created in the first one. It was nice that he was right there on the same page with us. And the second one is a warmer film, even from the color scheme. The first one is very blue tones, and the second one is much richer and warmer and I think he did a great job at capturing that. And we just finished shooting with David Slade, and I think he's highly appropriate as well. He just finished shooting 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy, and they're both very dark, edgy films. And Eclipse is very much that. It's all centered around the anticipation and us getting ready to fight this huge war. We just finished filming, we haven't gotten to see much of it, but I think it's gonna be fantastic. He is, technically, the most advanced director. The angles that he shot and how he knows that tweaking something can affect a whole scene and the lenses. He was really nice to work with.
On coping with the fan effect and being a "Twilight celebrity"
Kellan: That's what blows my mind, 'cause I feel like it's really unearned in a way. The fans are making our careers. Without them, we wouldn't be working and doing the saga. There's so many times that trilogy books become a movie and the first one bombs, and then that's it. And you're always hopeful that you get to do them all. Especially since we're all in love with our characters. I love Emmett Cullen to death, he's my favorite character I've ever played. It's just so cool to have made it this far, and I think we all hope that we get to finish this series and do Breaking Dawn. This is such a blessing, it's every actor's dream to be part of something like this. It's not terribly hard either. We don't shoot halfway around the world; we don't shoot for a year of our lives. I know a lot of us have homes, we have pets, we have family. And it's really nice to shoot on the West Coast, either Portland or Vancouver, and have the chance to fly down if we need to. But it's definitely amazing to be part of something like this. And I don't think any of us knew how crazy it would be and how exhilarating it would turn out to be. Going to the premiere, really just, wow. I don't even remember it because I was really just starstruck by how many fans and signs and cameras. It felt like I was just walking through a strobe light room. It's amazing.

Ashley: I still think we can't really wrap our heads around what's going on and what's happening. We're still in the midst of filming and kept very busy from one film until the next. It's only these brief moments where you sit back and are actually able to take a breath where you go "Whoa. Wow. This is crazy." I mean, the amount of tickets they've already sold for New Moon - I'm pretty sure I can't even get a ticket if I tried to see my film in Jacksonville and it's mind boggling. We're just very lucky. I went into this film thinking "Oh my gosh, I got a job" and the it turned into the biggest break of my life. I think we all feel very blessed to be a part of this.
On how it feels to be part of Twilight fan fiction:
Kellan: It's an escape, in a way. We do live in a trivial time period right now. There's so much depression that it's kinda cool to be a part of something where people use it to be an escape. In a way that's kinda what Stephenie did -she had a dream and just elaborated on it. It became a huge success and it's really encouraging that people are doing the same and just making up this journey.

Ashley: That's why people love it so much I think. You can take it and make what you want of it. Before the demographic was teenage girls, but now it's women of every age and guys are starting to get into it, too. It's because there is that element of fantasy. If you're 8 years old you look at it one way; if you're 80 years old you look at it another. I think it's fantastic that we can draw such a huge crowd. The other thing is - it blows my mind but people are making connections over this film and over this book. there are mothers and daughters and grandmas who can all sit and talk about the same story and all fantasize about it and I think that's a really cool thing. I think it's rare.

To see all of our Twilight and New Moon coverage, check out TwilightSugar!

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:30:04 -0700

Mad Men's Christina Hendricks got hitched! Check out the wedding photos - PopSugar
Bryan Singer calls dibs on another X-Men movie - Collider
Macy's Parade turns down the cast of Glee. Huh?! - TMZ
Alicia Keys is releasing her new album on Dec. 1. Get an early listen - HitFix
Think you know your Survivor history? Take the TV trivia quiz! - TV.com
Jimmy Kimmel follows in Letterman's footsteps and admits to a relationship with a staffer - Vulture
The new Chuck season may get bumped to an earlier premiere date - Ausiello Files
Jamie Oliver is taking reality TV to America's unhealthiest city - FitSugar
The biblical story of Moses is getting Hollywood's 300-style treatment. Here are five other ancient epics that should too - Cinematical
Where the Wild Things Are and eight other books that are impossibly hard to film - MTV Movies Blog

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 07:30:44 -0700

I unveiled my Scariest Movie Bracket! Vote for the scariest movie of all time and you could win a collection of freaky flicks.
I kept tabs on the ladies of Mad Men and told you where they'll be appearing next.
Jessica Alba and Leonardo DiCaprio scored new movie roles, while Matt LeBlanc made plans for his next TV show where he'll play himself.
Rachel Bilson may very well be "the mother" on HIMYM!
Buzz Battle! BuzzSugar editors debated whether or not Kristin Cavallari makes a good lead for The Hills.
The wedding bells are getting louder! I gave you a video sneak peek of Jim and Pam's wedding on The Office.
A Stephen King story is being made into a TV series, so I made a list of my favorite Stephen King adaptations.
Huh? It was announced that James Franco is going to appear on General Hospital, and the world collectively scratched their heads.
The beotch is back: We got to see Heather Locklear on the set of Melrose Place, filming scenes as Amanda Woodward.
The Vampire Diaries' Nina Dobrev chatted about True Blood, Twilight, and her own vamp show.
I hooked you up with my October Must Haves, including movies, music, and TV coming out this month.

The Holiday: Frothy and Fun As a Cup of Cocoa

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 07:38:44 -0800

Holiday romantic comedies are bound to be a bit cheesy. When the movie is actually called The Holiday, cheesiness is almost guaranteed. But this latest romp from director Nancy Meyers, which hits theaters tomorrow, rises to the top of its frothy, feel-good genre. The self-aware storyline centers on two women-movie-trailer producer Amanda (Cameron Diaz) and British weddings columnist Iris (Kate Winslet)-who swap houses for the holidays to get away from their less-than-satisfactory love lives. Amanda, who sleeps with her Blackberry and has just ruined another relationship with her workaholism, goes to live in Iris's quaint Surrey cottage, while Iris takes up residence at Amanda's palatial LA haunt to forget her three-year unrequited love.

In the beginning, that scenario lends itself to too many scenes of lonely women talking to themselves; the ones featuring Diaz's high-strung Amanda are nearly intolerable. But when a trio of men enter the picture-including Iris's sexy, suntanned brother Graham (Jude Law)-things get a lot more interesting, so read more

Shortly after arriving in LA, Iris meets two very different men: a witty film-score composer named Miles (played with rare and refreshing subtlety by Jack Black) and Arthur (Eli Wallach), her octogenarian neighbor who also happens to be a legendary screenwriter. Back in England, Amanda makes the acquaintance of the hunky Graham when he shows up drunk at his sister's cottage, not knowing that she's gone on holiday.

To add drama to many of Amanda's scenes, the director employs a clever device: voice-over narration by that ubiquitous movie-trailer guy. Iris and Arthur, meanwhile, spend lots of time discussing the common conventions of script writing. That film-centric subplot on both continents gives the movie a sort of cheeky self-awareness about its own filmic-ness. That way, when the inevitable romantic-comedy cliches and convenient plot twists sneak in, it's more amusing than annoying.

I don't know what's gotten into me: maybe it's the holiday spirit or that my viewing of "The Holiday" comes on the heels of watching one of the worst romantic comedies I've even seen, Trust the Man, on a recent plane ride. (It wasn't even mentioned in the in-flight magazine, which makes me suspect that we were being subjected to a bizarre social experiment.) But implausibly neat and tidy plot aside, the way the characters interact in this movie rings very true to life. Particularly in the Iris/Los Angeles subplot, The Holiday addresses some very universal relationship truths in a clever way. I can't really say the same for the somewhat silly Amanda/Graham romance back in England, but at least there I had the Jude Law eye candy to keep me interested.

PopSugar gives you the best celebrity photos and juicy gossip. Now, starting tomorrow, we're launching BuzzSugar.com to give you the straight story on must-see movies, hot albums, and all of your favorite TV shows. Tune in to hear about Oscar buzz, get caught up on the year's best songs, and read recaps of addictive shows like 24. The possibilities are endless...

BuzzSugar is coming soon. Sign up to receive an email notification as soon as we launch!