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Buzz-Worthy Video of the Day: Joel McHale, Chevy Chase Spar

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:30:13 -0700

Joel McHale and Chevy Chase make a fabulous old school/new school comedy pair on new show Community, but how do the two actors really feel about each other? Watch today's buzz-worthy video for a behind-the-scenes interview between McHale and Chase, which begins friendly enough, until Chase tells McHale how he really feels about him (hint: there's a metaphor about cashiers crushing bread). It's all downhill from there.

Pilot Watch: Community

BuzzSugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 08:15:15 -0700

The networks have announced their Fall schedules, but which series will be worth watching? Throughout the Summer, as I watch the pilots, I'll be posting my first impressions. Note that a lot can change before a show actually makes it to air, so these aren't reviews, just quick thoughts on how the shows look now. Today's pick: the NBC comedy Community.

What's it about? A group of misfit students at a community college come together, Breakfast Club-style.

Who's in it? Joel McHale, Chevy Chase, Gillian Jacobs Allison Brie, John Oliver, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi

The good: Community feels like a show that has potential. It preys on Hollywood stereotypes, really working its Breakfast Club metaphor and riffing on some other TV and movie conventions - a bunch of which can be seen in the preview video below. The interactions between McHale as a lawyer who's been sent back to community college and Oliver as the college's crafty dean are among the funniest moments in the pilot. The writers have created an interesting group of characters, and it's fun to watch all the alliances form and fights break out.

The bad: When the jokes miss, they really miss; I still laughed more than I cringed, but it was close. Rather than introduce the characters (except for McHale's), we're just thrown into their world, and it was a little frustrating to figure out why I was supposed to care about their relationships. I like a pop culture reference as much as the next gal, but this show toes the line of having too many. McHale is a funny guy, but I'm still not 100 percent convinced he can carry a comedy as an actor.

Will I watch? I'll check it out again. I think it'll fit well in NBC's Thursday lineup.

To check out a trailer and some photos, just read more.

View 4 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of NBC

Buzz News Roundup, 5/29

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 May 2009 13:30:08 -0700

The British Academy of Film and Television/Los Angeles will honor Emily Blunt as British artist of the year on Nov. 5. - Variety
Big Brother will be watching again starting July 9. - TV.com
Chevy Chase is joining the cast of the time-travel comedy Hot Tub Time Machine. - ComingSoon
How to watch the Britain's Got Talent finale if you're not in the UK. - AP
Naval captain Richard Phillips' life rights have been acquired by Columbia Pictures. - Variety
TLC has ordered a new reality show about lavish weddings. - The Hollywood Reporter
Seann William Scott and Adam Brody are joining Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan in Kevin Smith's buddy action comedy A Couple of Dicks. - ComingSoon
Kristin Chenoweth will star in a Christmas movie for Lifetime. - Broadcasting and Cable

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Chuck Rundown: Episode 19, "Chuck vs. the Dream Job"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 11:30:54 -0700

This week's Chuck begins 100 miles east of Barstow at Chuck's father's trailer. It ends with some revelations - some surprising, some maybe less so by now - about Chuck's family history and his future as the Intersect. Also, it makes pancakes seem like the saddest food ever. Ready to chat about it? Just read more.

So, talk about daddy issues: Chuck's father - aka Orion! - created the Intersect. He left his family because he wanted to keep them as far away from his technology as possible. And now the Intersect's in Chuck's brain, and his dad is captured again because of it; he's agreed to create a new, functional Intersect in exchange for Chuck's life. I'm not sure, but having your dad get kidnapped by a rogue arm of the government in order to save you might be even worse than thinking your dad just walked out on you one night while making pancakes. It's hard to tell.

I'd suspected that Chuck's dad would have something to do with Chuck's current situation, but I pegged him for a spy, not the creator of the Intersect (well, the cool parts of it, anyway - heh). He sure took his sweet time telling Chuck (I assume because of surveillance issues), luring him to Roark in the middle of the night before confessing his true identity. I enjoyed watching Scott Bakula play the daffy, not-entirely-there version of Chuck's dad, but it's also cool to see him snap into action as Orion, whipping out the magical wristband and very nearly getting the Intersect out of Chuck's brain. Well, maybe: even in the best case, Orion figured he could overwrite Chuck's brain with, um, I guess a normal brain sans government images.

The episode really picks up once Chuck cracks Orion's map code and decides he has to go to Roark. First of all, Zachary Levi looks rather dashing in his riot gear, no? Second, it's awesome to watch him take matters into his own hands, to the point of tranq darting Casey. (Also, it takes three tranq darts to knock John Casey down!) And third, how sad is the look on Chuck's face when Sarah and Casey drag him away from his dad and the army of Roark employees/Fulcrum agents? Plus, now instead of doing something nice for Ellie, he's made her life even tougher: her dad's left again, and while Chuck could explain why, he has to keep it a secret.

Some more thoughts:

After the bachelor party disaster, it's nice to see Awesome get a chance to be a good guy - but I did hope, even though I knew it wasn't logical, that Orion would be the one making pancakes in that last scene in the Bartowski house.
It's interesting to see how Ellie reacted to seeing her dad again - even though it's something she thought she wanted. Chuck might have been ready to forgive him, even before learning he was Orion, but seeing him took Ellie right back to being abandoned.
Speaking of not logical, how on earth does Chuck end up back at the Buy More after interrupting Roark's software launch? I'd figure they'd throw him in jail for that.
Roark Industries is a pretty hilarious representation of a software giant, right down to the silver bouncy balls everyone apparently uses in lieu of chairs.
Very little Buy More in this episode, but I did like Morgan's stunned reaction to Chuck's betrayal. I wonder if he was more upset about Chuck landing the dream job or not telling him first; I suspect the latter.
Sarah and Casey's nerd outfits - pastel plaid shirts, glasses - were pretty hysterical; I wish Chuck would have schooled them on true geek apparel.

Were you surprised at Chuck's dad's true identity? And was the Intersect ending up in Chuck's brain really a coincidence, or is there some greater CIA plan happening here?

Photos courtesy of NBC

Buzz News Roundup, 3/16

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:30:39 -0700

Andy Samberg will host the 2009 MTV Movie Awards on May 31. - PopSugar
The Sci Fi Channel is changing its name to Syfy in July, in part to sound less geeky. - TV Week
Tickets for Michael Jackson's run of 50 shows in London sold out in hours on Friday. - Billboard
Chevy Chase will star with Joel McHale in NBC's Community pilot, while Richard Dreyfuss will play opposite Jason Biggs in Happiness Isn't Everything. - TV Guide
Actor Ron Silver died Sunday at the age of 62. - TV.com
The Pixies are back in action this Summer with a series of European concert dates. - Billboard
ABC has announced its season finale dates (and the return of Ugly Betty), while NBC has a slew of new shows coming this Summer. - The Futon Critic

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Chuck's Dad, the Super Office, and More From NBC

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:45:02 -0800

News on the Gossip Girl spinoff and Amy Poehler show was just the start of the good stuff to come out of NBC's TCA session yesterday. I also got some news on Chuck and the post-Super Bowl episode of The Office. Read on for details:

Yes, Chuck's dad will be found - and he'll be played by Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap! "[Executive producer] Chris Fedak and I were huge Quantum Leap fans," Executive Producer Josh Schwartz said. "We watched it religiously."
Does finding dear daddy mean there could be wedding bells for Ellie and Awesome before the season's up? "Very possibly," Schwartz said. "That is why Chuck said, 'I'm going to go find dad,' so he can be there to walk her down the aisle."
Also, we'll see Jeff shirtless and in 3D before the season's up - but not at the same time. "We felt like that was going to be too much for America," Schwartz said. For the record, Fedak worships Jeff; Schwartz worships Lester.
Another thing he's excited about: the upcoming guest appearance by Chevy Chase. "We are like psycho Chevy Chase fans on the show, and we've talked about Fletch and Spies Like Us, and we have all of these Spies Like Us references inside of our show," Schwartz said. He'll play the head of a company that's sort of Apple-ish, "real visionary in the software game," and he'll be a little edgier than we've seen from Chase before.

To get some info about The Office, just read more.

The post-Super Bowl episode of The Office will be a little more stand-alone than a typical installment because of all the new viewers it could attract, said Paul Lieberstein (who plays Toby but is also a writer and producer on the show). But the plot still sounds very Office-ish: "Dwight, in an effort to do extreme disaster training because he's frustrated with the way people have responded to it in the past, locks everyone in the office and sets fire to it," he said. "And then Michael has to help everyone."
Finding out The Office would be on after the Super Bowl was both intimidating and exciting. "There was certainly a sense of, 'This could take over the year,'" Lieberstein said. "In a way it felt like we were writing a pilot."
As for what Idris Elba will be doing on the show: He'll be playing a character who gets promoted to Jan's old job over Michael (who naturally thinks he's a lock for the position). "Michael doesn't handle it well," Lieberstein said. "There's quite a lot of tension with a presence that imposing and a guy like Michael Scott who just can't get it together."
Unlike in the BBC version of The Office, we may never see the documentary that the crew has supposedly been filming all these years. "I don't know if it's going to be the most satisfying way to see Michael Scott grow as a person," Lieberstein said. "You know, just to kind of become a horrible ex-reality star."

Are you excited to meet Chuck's dad? See Big Mike eat a doughnut in 3-D? Watch Dwight try to burn Dunder Mifflin down?

Source

Movie That Spoofs Spoof Movies in the Works

BuzzSugar — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:35:16 -0800

Didja get that? It's a spoof movie, but it's not spoofing serious movies - it's spoofing spoof films like Date Movie and Not Another Teen Movie (and the upcoming Wayans Brothers comedy, Dance Flick). Hence the title: Not Another Not Another Movie. This project is already making me chuckle, I can't wait to see it - especially since it stars Chevy Chase, whom I love. The Hollywood Reporter explains:

Chase plays a studio head who quits his floundering company, leaving his ex-con sibling ([Michael] Madsen) in charge. Soon their equally inept gangster friend ([Vinnie] Jones) takes over and assigns a production assistant (David Leo Schultz) to direct a spoof of spoof movies. [Burt] Reynolds plays an actor playing the director of the chaotic film within the film.

So, everything clear now? What do you think of this idea? A little too meta, or perhaps too silly? Or right up your alley? What will it look like to spoof spoof movies?

Source and source

Hilary Duff Joins Cast of Stay Cool

BuzzSugar — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:37:35 -0700

Everyone's favorite yearbook line. . .
Stay Cool, a comedy by twin brothers Michael and Mark Polish (The Astronaut Farmer, Northfork) just added Hilary Duff (who stays cool this summer in real life by going shopping) to the cast, which already included Chevy Chase, Jon Cryer, Winona Ryder and Sean Astin.

How cool is this character name?
Duff's character is named Shasta O'Neill in the movie, which has been deemed a "knowing-your-age comedy." It follows "a successful author (Polish) who is forced to confront an unrequited high school crush (Ryder) when he returns home to deliver a commencement address to graduating seniors." Shasta (seriously, that name!) is "a sexy high school senior who flirts with the visiting author and invites him to the prom."

When do you think Hilary Duff will stop getting the "sexy ____" roles?
She was recently seen in War, Inc. opposite John Cusack as the "sexy international pop starlet" and now she's going back to high school as a sexy student. I guess use it if you got it. . . ?

Source and source

Chevy Chase to Guest-Star on "Brothers & Sisters"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:27:19 -0700

It's the return of Fletch!
Chevy Chase is making a comeback! The comedian is headed back to television, playing Nora's high school boyfriend on "Brothers & Sisters."

What's he doing there?
ABC hasn't released many details about Chase's story line, but he's scheduled to start filming this week. His character, Stan Hirsh, will appear in several episodes.

Doesn't he just look like a "Stan" to you?
His character in Kate Hudson's short film for Glamour's Reel Moments series is also named Stan. Innnnnteresting.

That Nora Walker sure does get around.
Danny Glover will play one of her love interests this season, and last season she got some very special tutoring from her writing professor, played by Peter Coyote.

Source

Joel McHale and Ken Jeong Share Details About Community!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:00:29 -0800

Community is one of those shows where you know the cast has an awesome time together. So I wasn't all that surprised to hear stars Joel McHale (Jeff) and Ken Jeong (Senor Chang) fawn over one another when they recently sat down with reporters. I've been waiting to see these two cement their friendship on-screen too, and it sounds like I'll get my wish tonight. Both actors shared a few tidbits from the episode, plus thoughts on Chevy Chase, the possible Jeff and Annie romance, and their mutual admiration.

Joel on Jeff and Annie's kiss last week: I haven't seen any scripts where it'll be revisited, because I'll probably be arrested, but believe me it was good times. I mean it's Alison Brie from Mad Men!
Joel on Jeff's relationship with Britta: His first initial reaction was, hey there's a really hot chick. And she has like an endless, you know, she has all the denim jackets that you can find. And so I think that was his first reaction. And then at the complete rejection of him he was like, ah, a challenge. And then as he got to know her, she was so much more than he expected, which was she was a totally grounded cool person...So that intrigued him, and she really is I think the moral compass of the show.

To hear more from Joel and Ken, including what's in store for this week's episode, read more.

Ken on Senor Chang's constant power trip: There is something to be said about being in a room where you have students hanging on every word. And it's definitely, as a teacher I think it's an ego rush, you know. You're definitely feeding off of that. It's really the only time in life you get to have a room where people are hanging on your every word and learning from it, and you have a power to influence.
Ken on tonight's episode: You really get to see why Senor Chang has the chip on his shoulder that he does. And some of that involves love and some of that involves friendship, and you really get to see more of the back story of Chang...And it's the relationship with Joel. Joel is really the guy that sees how [Chang's] character comes to be, and why he's developed all these traits along the way.
Joel on working with Chevy Chase: It's like working with Nolan Ryan. He's older than everybody, he's got the best stories. He has worked way more than any of us, but he still throws it harder than any of us...We have a lot to learn from that guy and it's so weird to be walking around with this kind of icon and legend that, you know, you grew up with.
Joel on Ken: Ken he will invent comedy where there is not comedy. He creates it...He's a damn good performer and you pray to God you get him in your movie or your TV show because it's like having a secret weapon.
Ken on Joel: I'm amazed at how Joel handles everything. He's always just grace under pressure this guy, because we'll be working, you know, on a Wednesday or middle of the week, and then he's got to do the Soup or another show and it's just how he switches gears is effortless. I just marvel at that. I'm like dude, how do you do it?
Ken on Community hitting its stride: I think that my wife has a good theory about sitcoms...They're like fine wine, you give them a little bit of time, and they just keep tasting better and better......The audience gets more familiar with the characters, the writers get more familiar characters, and so do the actors.

Do you like the theory that comedies get better with time? I think Community has gradually improved week after week, don't you agree? (Don't forget to watch tonight!)