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Young Kristen Stewart Practices Her Twilight Gaze, Ben Affleck's Striptease, and Diablo Takes on Sweet Valley High

Molly — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:45:10 -0700

A pre-Twilight Kristen Stewart looks adorable in a Porsche commercial - check out how she was unknowingly already preparing for her big hit. Plus, hot Ben Affleck on set, and Diablo Cody gives us the scoop on how she's planning on adapting Sweet Valley High. All that and more, so watch PopSugar Rush now!

Diablo Cody to Attend Sweet Valley High

BuzzSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:30:20 -0700

She's tackled pregnant teens, monster teens, and now Diablo Cody is going for . . . sweet teens? Yes, the dialogue diva herself has been tapped to produce and direct an adaptation of the Sweet Valley High books.

Even though the manufactured slang in Jennifer's Body started to get to me, I'm interested to see what Cody does with the beloved books. I read a lot of the series (and even watched the TV show), and I'm happy to see the books get revived in the pop-culture domain, even if it does involve Jessica telling Elizabeth that she's "Jello, so lime-green Jello."

UPDATE: Diablo herself replied to my tweet about made-up slang with "Thinking I might play it straight." There ya have it!

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:30:51 -0700

Something I never thought I'd write: David Archuleta and Bob Dylan's dueling Christmas albums! - Vulture
The dreamy Adam Brody takes a pop culture personality quiz. - PopWatch
Rebecca Hall has been cast as the lead in Richard Linklater's latest flick, Liars A-E. - Coming Soon
Here's some help deciphering Diablo Cody's brand of slang. - Cinematical
Eclipse director David Slade wants his Twilight installment to be gorier and more guy-friendly. - MTV Movies Blog
Check out the first 18 minutes of Flash Forward - TV.com
The return of VH1 Divas prompts a dissection of the term "diva." - TrèsSugar
Not a joke title: TLC's upcoming reality show is called "My Monkey Baby." - Best Week Ever
Rich Sommer dishes on how he gets that Harry Crane hair for Mad Men. - Pop Candy
Good news! The Real Housewives of New York City are all definitely coming back for a third season. - TV Squad

Jennifer's Body: Half-Baked High School Horror

BuzzSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 12:35:22 -0700

The first thing you should know about Jennifer's Body is that this movie is not terrifying. Yes, there's a bit of gore and a few cringe-worthy moments (like when Jennifer smiles through a mouthful of blood), but the scariest parts are given away in the trailer. It's more of a high school comedy than a slasher flick, and you can see the transitions from funny to freaky coming a mile away.

The second thing you should know is that this movie is not Juno. Though the two films penned by Diablo Cody fall into different genres, I was still hoping for some of the same magic from her award-winning little movie. Instead, certain elements - like the invented teenage slang - didn't bother me in Juno but really annoyed me in Jennifer's Body.

The movie's not all bad though, so to read more of my thoughts, just read more.

Cody sets the scene in Devil's Kettle, a small town that rarely sees a scandal worthy of its name. As Jennifer, Megan Fox is that girl we all knew in high school - gorgeous, but not unrealistic. Bitchy, but not made of stone. Like Mean Girls' Regina George, every girl wants to be friends with Jennifer, though her nerdy BFF Needy (Amanda Seyfried) gets most of her attention. Jennifer and her cropped hoodies are the object of desire of most of the guys at school, and even Needy is kinda obsessed with her in a sexual way.

When a night out goes horribly wrong, Needy loses track of Jennifer and when they reunite, nothing is the same. Needy quickly learns that Jennifer has been possessed, but her boyfriend and the rest of the community are too distracted by a local tragedy to hear Needy's story. She's constantly struggling to make sense of Jennifer's newly evil ways, though at the same time she's still mesmerized by Jennifer's charms just like everyone else.

Though Cody gets certain aspects of high school down cold, there are other parts that drove me crazy. The movie has some very funny moments, and I found myself laughing along with the audience a lot more than I had expected. The bad news is that a lot of the humor just feels so forced. We get it: Megan Fox is hot and it's funny to exploit her sex appeal. Does that mean it should be shoved down our throats? Some things are better left unsaid.

The central focus of the movie is Megan/Jennifer and her body (speaking of nonsubtleties) and her relationship with Needy. Amanda Seyfried is fun to watch once again, providing layers and depth to a character surrounded by shallow plot lines. As the only person who is onto Jennifer's secret, we watch as Needy goes from average teenage girl to terrified best friend, torn between honoring her friendship and saving her town from evil.

Surprisingly, the best characters in the movie are the guys. I've unabashedly had a crush on Adam Brody since his Seth Cohen days and loved seeing him back on the big screen. Brody plays the stereotypical, guy-liner wearing lead singer of a band, but with an evil streak. Despite some truly disturbing antics, he and his band have some of the funniest moments in the film. I also really liked Johnny Simmons as Needy's boyfriend Chase, and Kyle Gallner as one of the students who has his eye on Jennifer. After seeing so many movies centered around misogynistic high school boys, it's refreshing to see the roles reversed for a change as Jennifer is the one preying on the unsuspecting, innocent guys.

The bottom line: this isn't the worst move you'll ever see, but don't expect greatness. If you're interested enough to shell out $13 bucks for a ticket, you probably won't be disappointed - but I don't think you'll regret waiting for the DVD either.

Photos courtesy of 20th Century Fox

First Look: Tori Spelling and Diablo Cody on 90210

BuzzSugar — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 12:30:00 -0700

This coming Tuesday's episode of 90210 has not just one but two very special guest stars: Tori Spelling makes her return as Donna Martin, and Diablo Cody's one of the sparks that brings her back to Beverly Hills.

How's that? Well, apparently Cody - playing herself - has hired Donna to design her dress for some premiere, and Donna's taken it upon herself to style her for the event, too. Silver, naturally, is in awe of her sister's BFF meeting the woman who wrote "teenage mommy girl" ("I have been reading her blog for years! She's my idol!"), but Kelly's too nervous to let her go to the premiere.

Back in January, Cody was pretty psyched to learn she'd be working with Spelling, and in retrospect she's not exactly thrilled with her performance, which - is this bad? - just makes me more curious to see the whole episode. But for now, you can see a couple of clips if you read more.

Photo courtesy of The CW

Buzz News Roundup, 2/25

BuzzSugar — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:30:05 -0800

Filmmakers hope to start production on the Ghostbusters 3 movie this Fall. - ComingSoon
Michel Gondry is in talks to direct Seth Rogen in The Green Hornet. - AP
Andy Richter will be Conan O'Brien's announcer on The Tonight Show and will occasionally appear in sketches as well. - Zap2it
It was a rumor before, but now it's confirmed: Cate Blanchett will play Maid Marian in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood movie. - Variety
Barenaked Ladies lead singer Steven Page is leaving the band. - Billboard
The CW has greenlit a model-themed drama pilot produced by Ashton Kutcher. - The Hollywood Reporter
Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) is set to direct Clue, a live-action murder mystery based on the Hasbro board game, while Eric Brevig (Journey to the Center of the Earth) will direct Warner Bros.' 3-D Yogi Bear movie. - ComingSoon
Faith No More has announced its first live performances since splitting up in 1998. - Billboard
Fox Searchlight has acquired rights to the upcoming novel Breathers: A Zombie's Lament, and Diablo Cody will produce the zombie romantic comedy. - Variety

Source

Link Time! 2/5

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 13:30:36 -0800

It's on: The Sex and the City ladies have signed their contracts for the film sequel. - E!
Check out Diablo Cody's list of her top 10 movie badasses. - MTV Movies Blog
And here's an exclusive interview with Paul McCartney. - Popwatch
Is Gossip Girl stealing plotlines from Anne Hathaway's love life? - The Ausiello Files
Tech talk with Gabrielle Union. - geeksugar
This video short about a Valentine's Day breakup is making me chuckle. - Cinematical
ABC's Cupid remake is so plagued with drama, why even bother? - TV Squad
10 more self-help books imagined as Drew Barrymore movies. - Vulture
Slumdog Millionaire continued its winning streak at the Film Critics' Circle Awards in London. - PopSugarUK

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Five Essential Things to Know About United States of Tara

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:30:00 -0800

United States of Tara is one of the most unusual shows to hit TV in a while - even for Showtime, home of drug-dealing moms and sympathetic serial killers. First imagined by Steven Spielberg, created by Diablo Cody, and brought to life by a cast led by Toni Collette and John Corbett, the show centers on a suburban housewife named Tara who is living with Dissociative Identity Disorder, which causes alternate personalities to emerge when she's under stress. The show premieres on Sunday, and today, the cast and producers stopped by TCA. Here are some of the essential things to know - and be sure to check out some great pics of the stars over on Pop:

It was important for Tara to be open about her condition. Cody said she's seen mental illness be destigmatized over the years, so it made sense for Tara's family not to keep her illness locked away. "Obviously there are some people who are frightened or curious," she said. "There are some people who are intrigued" - and that seemed like an appropriate, modern reaction.
Deep down, the show's about acceptance. Nobody ever says outright that Collette's character is mentally ill, or that Tara's son is gay, or that her daughter is a jerk, said Brie Larson, who plays teenage daughter Kate. "There's no labels on this show, and I think that's the most interesting part."
But not everyone's OK with Tara's personalities. One of the most tense relationships on the show is between Tara and her younger sister, Charmaine (Rosemarie DeWitt). "Charmaine always thought that Tara got more attention," Cody said. "She's always been resentful of that." Charmaine has an occasional flirtation with Max (Corbett), Tara's husband, but Cody said it's nothing with an actual romantic spark at this point - it's just a way for her to get someone to pay attention to her for once.

To see the final two essentials, just read more.

The show doesn't fit into any box. "It was just so delicious to read and so unusual, and it was a complete dream for an actor to play so many parts," said Collette of reading the script for the first time. "It is incredibly funny, but it also is incredibly moving and incredibly real."
We might not have met all of the "alters." The show's official photo shows four personalities - Tara, Buck, T, and Alice - but "you will see new ones emerge," said producer Darryl Frank. The origin of the personalities, which have been created within Tara at different points in her life, also will be explored as the season goes on.

Photo courtesy of Showtime

90210 Fangirl Diablo Cody to Guest-Star on 90210

BuzzSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 11:25:08 -0800

You'd think that launching a new TV show - Showtime's United States of Tara - would be enough to keep Diablo Cody busy these days. But at the TCA press tour this morning, the Oscar-winning writer had something else on her mind: her upcoming guest spot on 90210.

"I don't know if they want me talking about it - I'm sure they're deeply ashamed, but I'm very excited," she said. "I've written about 90210 in Entertainment Weekly several times because I'm completely obsessed with the show, both incarnations old and new. They actually called and said, 'Would you like to be on 90210?' And I said,' I don't care if you want me to wear a bear suit, I'll do anything on 90210.'"

So, will she be wearing a bear suit for the spot, which she's filming at the end of the month? Cody said she didn't know - but a reporter told Cody she'd heard she'd be playing herself and working with Tori Spelling in an episode directed by Jason Priestly.

"They have not told me this!" she exclaimed. "Oh, I swear to God, I have to go outside. I did not know that. I love Jason Priestly, I love Tori Spelling. I'm so psyched!"

Photo courtesy of Showtime

Watch The United States of Tara - Right Here!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:30:07 -0800

One of my dozen reasons to watch TV this month, Showtime's The United States of Tara sounds like a fascinating series. From Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starring Toni Collette, the show is a half-hour comedy about a subject that's not often fodder for yuks: multiple personalities.

Collette stars as a woman with Dissociative Identity Disorder, which causes her to experience life as a number of different people: Tara, the suburban housewife and mother; T, a flirtatious teenager; Buck, a gun-toting man; and Alice, a perfect '50s-style homemaker. This wreaks havoc - but, apparently, hilarious havoc - on Tara's husband (John Corbett) and their teenage children.

The series premieres Sunday, Jan. 18, at 10 p.m. - but there's no need to wait. Showtime's slipped me a copy of the first episode, and you can check it out right here on Buzz if you read more.

Photo courtesy of Showtime