BuzzSugar

What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:30:48 PDT

All of the new DVD releases hit stores (and Netflix) on Tuesdays. So each week in What to Netflix: New DVD Tuesday, I sort through the best of the batch and tell you what to add to your queue. In addition to the titles below you can now rent the Diane Lane thriller Untraceable, Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth, and Mad Money.

The Great Debaters
The Great Debaters stars Denzel Washington (who also directs), Forest Whitaker and newcomer Nate Parker in a movie that is maybe formulaic but also poignant and powerfully acted. As I pointed out in my review, the film borrows the the same elements of storytelling you find in underdog sports movies and inspirational teacher movies. However the film, based on a true story, is no less inspiring thanks to some moving performances.

The movie takes place in Texas circa 1935 when schools were segregated and economic times were hard all around. A group of young black college students work to become a debate team worthy of challenging Harvard. Washington plays the hard-driving debate team coach who encourages his students to succeed. You've definitely seen this all before in one form or another, but it's a great family rental with an inspirational message. The movie was honored earlier this year with an NAACP Award to boot.

Special features include deleted scenes and featurettes titled, "The Great Debaters: An Historical Perspective," and "Learning the Art: Our Young Actors Go to Debate Camp."

One more release to go so

read more Autism: The Musical I have been curious about this documentary ever since it showed at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and I'm so glad it's out on DVD now, as I missed its airing on HBO a couple of months ago. The film has earned high praise and was even one of the Academy's 15 documentaries considered for an Oscar nod. As Netflix puts it, the documentary follows "five autistic children as they develop and rehearse The Miracle Project, an original musical about autism." Between this flick and The Great Debaters I'd say you've got yourself a great family movie night here. Special features include deleted scenes, a featurette called, "About Autism Speaks" and a filmmaker biography.

Autism: The Musical

babysugar — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 12:00:10 PDT

As most every parent knows, autism is a disorder that has become more prevalent in the last two decades. Since the cause of it is still unknown, many parents fear what might be in store for their children.

And while autistic children often have a much tougher road ahead of them, some have amazing talents that are overshadowed by their every day struggles. Leave it up to HBO to spotlight the triumphs of these lil stars.

To see how Elaine Hall helped a small group of autistic children,

read more. In the HBO documentary Autism: The Musical, acting coach Elaine Hall took five autistic children (her own son included) under her wing to produce a musical in Los Angeles. Cameras followed her and the troupe for six months where they captured family and stage hurdles and joys alike. If the movie houses in your town aren't showing it, you can catch the award winning film on HBO next Tuesday, March 25 at 8 p.m.

The Academy Chooses 15 Possible Best Documentaries

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:30:00 PST

Curious to find out which documentaries may be competing for the little gold statuette at the 2008 Oscars? The Academy has narrowed down the possibilities to 15, from mainstream titles like Michael Moore's Sicko to festival favorites like Autism: The Musical. Clearly war is of particular interest to documentary filmmakers and Academy members alike, as six of the 15 films deal with the subject.

As Variety notes, the list does not include certain audience favorites like King of Kong and In the Shadow of the Moon. This list of 15 will be further whittled down to five and these final candidates will be announced January 22.

To check out the list of this year's top 15 documentaries (according to the Academy),

read more Body of War (Phil Donahue, Ellen Spiro) Autism the Musical (Tricia Regan) Sicko (Michael Moore) No End in Sight (Charles Ferguson) Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney) Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (Richard Robbins) White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Steven Okazaki) The Rape of Europa (Richard Berge and Bonni Cohen) Nanking (Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman) War/Dance (Sean Fine and Andrea Nix) Lake of Fire (Tony Kaye) Please Vote for Me (Weijun Chen) For the Bible Tells Me So (Daniel G. Karslake) The Price of Sugar (Bill Haney) A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman (Peter Raymont)

Lil Links: Dr. Oz Shares His Thoughts on Autism

LilSugar — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 00:05:27 PDT

Dr. Oz's primer on Autism - Circle of Moms
Tina Fey's daughter, Alice, inherited her mom's funny bone - Celebrity Baby Blog
Sandra Bullock and baby Louis head out on the town - Celebrity Baby Scoop
Protect his sperm with an iPad - The Stir
The perfect pregnancy getaway wardrobe - FitPregnancy
Predicting baby's gender - The Bump
Room service on snow day - Momfilter
Dr. Oz's favorite healthy foods - Health
In defense of ugly babies - Momformation
What role does music play in your home? - The Poop

Announcing the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards Nominees!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 06:14:12 PDT

TV stars Joshua Jackson and Melissa McCarthy were up and at 'em this morning to present the nominees for this year's Primetime Emmy Awards - one of which went to McCarthy herself for her work on Mike and Molly. There aren't too many shockers on this year's list; new shows Game of Thrones, The Killing, and Boardwalk Empire all got some love, Modern Family continues to dominate (now with a nomination for Ed O'Neill), and Friday Night Lights finally got that much-deserved nod for outstanding drama series. There are also some big names you may not have expected to see on this list, such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon, and Justin Timberlake all picked up nominations for guest appearances.

Check out the full list of nominees when you

read more. OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES The Big Bang Theory Glee Modern Family The Office Parks and Recreation 30 Rock OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES Boardwalk Empire Dexter Friday Night Lights Game of Thrones The Good Wife Mad Men OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock Louis C.K., Louie Steve Carell, The Office Johnny Galecki, The Big Bang Theory Matt LeBlanc, Episodes Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights Michael C. Hall, Dexter Jon Hamm, Mad Men Hugh Laurie, House Timothy Olyphant, Justified OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Kathy Bates, Harry's Law Connie Britton, Friday Night Lights Mireille Enos, The Killing Mariska Hargitay, Law & Order: SVU Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys Barry Pepper, The Kennedys Edgar Ramirez, Carlos William Hurt, Too Big to Fail Idris Elba, Luther OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie Tina Fey, 30 Rock Laura Linney, The Big C Melissa McCarthy, Mike & Molly Martha Plimpton, Raising Hope Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce Elizabeth McGovern, Grantham Diane Lane, Cinema Verite Taraji P. Henson, Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story Jean Marsh, Upstairs Downstairs (Masterpiece) OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men Chris Colfer, Glee Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family Ed O'Neill, Modern Family Ty Burrell, Modern Family OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES John Slattery, Mad Men Andre Braugher, Men of a Certain Age Walton Goggins, Justified Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones Josh Charles, The Good Wife Alan Cumming, The Good Wife OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce Brian F. O'Byrne, Mildred Pierce Tom Wilkinson, The Kennedys Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail James Woods, Too Big to Fail OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Jane Lynch, Glee Betty White, Hot in Cleveland Julie Bowen, Modern Family Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock Sofia Vergara, Modern Family OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Kelly Macdonald, Boardwalk Empire Christina Hendricks, Mad Men Michelle Forbes, The Killing Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife Margo Martindale, Justified Christine Baranski, The Good Wife OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE Evan Rachel Wood, Mildred Pierce Melissa Leo, Mildred Pierce Mare Winningham Mildred Pierce Maggie Smith, Violet Eileen Atkins, Upside Down (Masterpiece) OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Idris Elba, The Big C Zach Galifianakis, Saturday Night Live Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live Matt Damon, 30 Rock Will Arnett, 30 Rock OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Robert Morse, Mad Men Bruce Dern, Big Love Jeremy Davies, Justified Beau Bridges, Brothers & Sisters Paul McCrane, Harry's Law Michael J. Fox, The Good Wife OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Kristin Chenoweth, Glee Dot-Marie Jones, Glee Gwyneth Paltrow, Glee Cloris Leachman, Raising Hope Elizabeth Banks, 30 Rock Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live OUTSTANDING GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Alfre Woodard, True Blood Randee Heller, Mad Men Cara Buono, Mad Men Joan Cusack, Shameless Julia Stiles, Dexter Mary McDonnell, The Closer Loretta Devine, Grey's Anatomy OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY So You Think You Can Dance ("Alice in Mia-Land Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" / "When We Dance" / "This Bitter Earth - On the Nature of Daylight") So You Think You Can Dance ("Mad World" / "Sundrenched World" / "Heaven Is a Place on Earth") So You Think You Can Dance ("Collide" / "How It Ends" / "Fix You") So You Think You Can Dance ("Scars" / "Fallin" / "Outta Your Mind") Dancing With the Stars (Jive, "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" / Viennese Waltz, "Hedwig's Theme (Theme From Harry Potter)" / Slow Waltz, "My Love") So You Think You Can Dance ("Oh Yeah" / "Boogie Shoes" / "I Surrender") OUTSTANDING HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM Jeff Probst, Survivor Cat Deeley, So You Think You Can Dance Phil Keoghan, The Amazing Race Tom Bergeron, Dancing With the Stars Ryan Seacrest, American Idol OUTSTANDING MINISERIES OR MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE Mildred Pierce Too Big to Fail The Kennedys Downtown Abbey (Masterpiece) Cinema Verite The Pillars of the Earth OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES Late Night With Jimmy Fallon The Colbert Report Conan Saturday Night Live Real Time With Bill Maher The Daily Show With Jon Stewart OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL Carrie Fisher in Wishful Drinking Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On Lady Gaga Presents the Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden The Kennedy Center Honors The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway OUTSTANDING REALITY - COMPETITION PROGRAM So You Think You Can Dance The Amazing Race Project Runway American Idol Dancing With the Stars Top Chef OUTSTANDING REALITY PROGRAM Hoarders Antiques Roadshow Deadliest Catch MythBusters Undercover Boss Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES Modern Family The Big C Glee Nurse Jackie 30 Rock OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES Boardwalk Empire Mad Men The Killing The Good Wife Game of Thrones OUTSTANDING CASTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL Mildred Pierce Downtown Abbey (Masterpiece) Cinema Verite Too Big to Fail Upstairs Downstairs (Masterpiece) OUTSTANDING COMMERCIAL Conan (American Express) Baby Driver (Subaru) Questions (Old Spice Body Wash) Polar Bear (Nissan LEAF) Baby (McDonald's) Born of Fire (Chrysler 200) OUTSTANDING COSTUMES FOR A SERIES Boardwalk Empire Mad Men The Borgias Game of Thrones Glee OUTSTANDING COSTUMES FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL Mildred Pierce Downtown Abbey (Masterpiece) Cinema Verite Upstairs Downstairs (Masterpiece) OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES Boardwalk Empire (Martin Scorsese) Boardwalk Empire (Jeremy Podeswa) The Borgias (Neil Jordan) The Killing (Patty Jenkins) Game of Thrones (Tim Van Patten) OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES Modern Family (Michael Alan Spiller) Modern Family (Gail Mancuso) Modern Family (Steve Levitan) 30 Rock (Beth McCarthy-Miller) How I Met Your Mother (Pamela Fryman) OUTSTANDING NONFICTION SERIES Moguls and Movie Stars Biography American Masters 30 For 30 Pioneers of Television Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS Family Guy, "Christmastime Is Killing Us" Saturday Night Live, "I Just Had Sex" Robert Klein: Unfair & Unbalanced, "An American Prayer - Hymn II?" Saturday Night Live, "Justin Timberlake Monologue" Saturday Night Live, "Jack Sparrow" Saturday Night Live, "The Golden Rule" OUTSTANDING MAIN TITLE DESIGN Boardwalk Empire Rubicon Too Big Too Fail Game of Thrones Any Human Heart (Masterpiece) OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC The Borgias Mildred Pierce Episodes Any Human Heart (Masterpiece) The Kennedys Camelot OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A SERIES Boardwalk Empire The Borgias Stargate Universe The Walking Dead Game of Thrones OUTSTANDING SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR A SPECIAL Mildred Pierce Sherlock: A Study in Pink (Masterpiece) The Pillars of the Earth Gettysburg OUTSTANDING STUNT COORDINATION Southland Game of Thrones Spartacus: Gods of the Arena Hawaii Five-0 OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES Episodes ("Episode 107," David Crane, Jeffrey Klarik) The Office ("Good-Bye Michael," Greg Daniels) Modern Family ("Caught in the Act," Steve Levitan, Jeffrey Richman) Louie ("Poker/Divorce," Louis C.K.) 30 Rock ("Reaganing," Matt Hubbard) OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES Mad Men ("The Suitcase," Matthew Weiner) Mad Men ("Blowing Smoke," André Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton) The Killing ("Pilot," Veena Sud) Friday Night Lights ("Always," Jason Katims) Game of Thrones ("Baelor," David Benioff, D.B. Weiss) OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES The Colbert Report Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Saturday Night Live Conan The Daily Show With Jon Stewart OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR A DRAMATIC SPECIAL Mildred Pierce (Jon Raymond, Todd Haynes) Downtown Abbey (Masterpiece) (Julian Fellowes) Sherlock: A Study in Pink (Masterpiece (Steven Moffat) Too Big to Fail (Peter Gould) Upstairs Downstairs (Masterpiece) (Heidi Thomas) OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL The Real Women of SNL Colin Quinn: Long Story Short 64th Annual Tony Awards Louis C.K.: Hilarious Night of Too Many Stars: An Overbooked Benefit For Autism Education OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM The Cleveland Show Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode III Futurama The Simpsons South Park

Do Children With Autism Want to Be Cured?

LilSugar — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 06:00:54 PDT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have called autism a national public health crisis. And disorders on the autism spectrum are diagnosed in one in 110 children in the United States each year. Advocate Jenny McCarthy says her son Evan, 7, has been healed from the developmental disorder. It's a claim that many refute. Holly Robinson Peete and her daughter, Ryan, 12, wrote My Brother Charlie ($11), a children's book to spread autism awareness. The text is loosely based on the relationship that Ryan has with her twin brother, RJ, who has autism. At one point in the story, Callie (the main character) talks about what she'd like to do for her twin brother Charlie. It says:

I wish I could crawl inside Charlie's world and move things around for him and me. I know Charlie wants to be in my world, fitting in, making friends, having fun and laughing.

This sentiment of wanting a child to fit in is what motivates and exhausts Adam and Kristina Braverman on NBC's Parenthood in their efforts to help their son Max who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. As parents, as sisters, as brothers, we want our children, our siblings to live like us, but is it what they want?