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Link Time! Heroes Is Killing Off a Major Character

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:30:36 -0800

Want to know who's getting the ax on Heroes? Click here for the spoiler - Watch With Kristin
Commemorate Election Day '09 with five of the best election campaigns in movies - MTV Movies Blog
Director/writer Richard Kelly talks about The Box and whether he would push the button - Collider
Weezer continues their run of head-scratching collaborations. Check them out with Chamillionaire, Sara Bareilles, and . . . Kenny G?! - Stereogum
Hey Muse fans, here's their new video for Undisclosed Desires! - Rolling Stone
Your childhood Berenstain Bears are coming to the big screen - Moviefone
Critics are just not liking the new Chris Brown album cover, and I have to agree - Vulture
Gordon Ramsay is taking on another cooking show for Fox - YumSugar
Now here's a holiday cover I can get behind: Strokes singer Julian Casablancas is taking on the SNL ditty, "I Wish It Was Christmas Today." Genius. - Pitchfork

Photo courtesy of NBC

Which Hero Would You Miss the Most?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:30:39 -0700

The Internet is abuzz today with the news that a major character will be killed off on Heroes. All we know as of right now is that it will be a leading male, and one of the show's original cast members. Granted, my love for Heroes waned after the second season, but I would still be sad to hear that Hiro or Peter Petrelli were gone for good, and I can't imagine the show without Sylar either. So tell me - which hero would you miss the most?

After you vote, be sure to check out the Addicted to Heroes group in the Buzz Community!

Buzz News Roundup, 8/24

BuzzSugar — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:30:10 -0700

Stephen Moyer will join Paul Bettany in the vampire thriller Priest. - Variety
NBC has ordered a pilot for the legal comedy Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. - The Hollywood Reporter
Diego Luna will make his directorial debut with a family drama called Abel. - Coming Soon
Glee's Jayma Mays will return to Heroes for one episode. - Entertainment Weekly
Sheryl Crow sold her music catalog to S1 Songs Group for over $10 million. - Variety
Check out the new Dancing With the Stars Pairings. - Zap2it
Gus van Sant is in negotiations to direct Restless. - The Hollywood Reporter
Irving Berlin's White Christmas will be back for a holiday run on Broadway. - Variety

First Look: Heroes Season Four

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:30:21 -0700

Will "Redemption," the new volume of Heroes premiering this Fall, mean redemption for the show itself? The show premiered to huge ratings, buzz, and Emmy recognition back in 2006, but the past few seasons have seen viewers dropping out and critical praise diminishing.

But now, the show seems to be entering a dramatic new phase, punctuated by the introduction of a roving, sinister carnival that recruits people with powers for nefarious purposes. (Robert Knepper, who plays carnival ringleader Samuel, was just promoted to series regular, so this story looks like it'll stick around for a while.) We see clips of that in the trailer below, which has scenes from the season premiere and a few episodes to follow.

What else? Well, there's Claire off at college with a new roommate/possible love interest (apparently this version of the trailer cuts out a kiss that the audience at Comic-Con got to see). We see Hiro - and young Hiro - at the carnival. And a few heroes appear to die, but who knows if they're dead for good? Also, various characters say "redemption" a whole lot, just to remind us what it's all about.

Does this trailer look like it could launch the show's comeback? To check it out, read more.

Photo courtesy of NBC

Heroes Restocks Its Cast For Season Four

BuzzSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:30:34 -0700

Heroes has become known for beefing up its cast between seasons, and this year looks to be no different. The show has already added at least five new roles to its roster for season four. What new faces will be added to the roster when the newest volume, "Redemption," begins in the Fall? To hear about the castings and details of the roles (some of which may be spoilery, so beware), just read more.

The carnival players - The show is casting for a plot line that Entertainment Weekly likened to the HBO series Carnivale. Among the roles being cast are a knife thrower and a tattoo girl. Rumor has it that Ray Park - aka Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace - will play one of the roles in that group, though details are still under wraps.
The big baddie - As part of the carnival story, Robert Knepper - last seen as T-bag on Prison Break - will join the cast as the carnival barker. Producers reportedly wanted an "Eddie Izzard type" for this role of Samuel, described as a "charismatic yet wicked" ringmaster.
The love interest - Deanne Bray will join the cast for multiple episodes as a love interest for one of the main heroes. Like Bray herself, the character is deaf.
The roommates - Off to college, Claire (Hayden Panettiere) will be joined by two new roommates. Californication's Madeline Zima will play "edgy outsider" Gretchen, while former Days of Our Lives star Rachel Melvin has signed on to play Annie, who's intriguingly said to "share sleeping quarters (and maybe more) with Claire."

What do you make of these developments? Any theories on where they'll take the show?

Photo courtesy of NBC

NBC Announces Six New Shows - and Leaves Some in Limbo

BuzzSugar — Mon, 04 May 2009 08:30:07 -0700

NBC revealed a big chunk of its primetime plans for next TV season this morning, announcing six new dramas, four comedies, and four renewed series. But it left a lot of questions open, too - including the fate of Chuck and Law and Order and when all of these shows will fit on the new primetime schedule.

Those answers are supposed to come May 19 - the same week the rest of the networks will announce their schedules. But for now, here's what we know: The four new dramas are Parenthood, based on the feature film of the same name; Trauma, a fast-paced medical show; Mercy, another medical show revolving around the lives of nurses; and Day One, about the aftermath of a global catastrophe. The comedies are Community, about a band of misfits at a community college, and 100 Questions, about a young woman looking for love online.

Returning for sure next season are Heroes, Parks and Recreation, Southland, and Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday, which aired a few special episodes before last Fall's presidential election and will air six more times this Fall. Despite reports of a renewal over the weekend, no decision was announced about Medium. The network previously renewed The Office, 30 Rock, The Biggest Loser, The Celebrity Apprentice, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, and Friday Night Lights and had announced the new reality series The Marriage Ref, Breakthrough with Tony Robbins, and Who Do You Think You Are?

I'll be back with clips, photos, and my take on NBC's new shows a bit later, but for now, you can read official descriptions of all the shows if you read more.

Parenthood
From the executive producers of the box-office hit Parenthood - Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (Oscar winners for A Beautiful Mind), and writer/executive producer Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights) - this contemporary re-imagining of the blockbuster film depicts the colorful and imperfect Braverman family - four grown siblings sharing the headaches, heartaches and joy of being parents. The star-studded cast includes Peter Krause, Maura Tierney, Craig T. Nelson, Dax Shepard, Bonnie Bedelia, Monica Potter, Erika Christensen and Sarah Ramos. When Sarah Braverman (Tierney, ER), a financially strapped single mother, returns home to her parents and siblings in Berkeley, Calif. after packing up her Fresno apartment and uprooting her two inconvenienced kids, Amber (Mae Whitman, In Treatment) and Drew (Miles Heizer, ER), she is greeted by her opinionated father, Zeek (Nelson, Family Stone, Coach), and strong mother, Camille (Bedelia, Heart Like a Wheel), who are privately dealing with their own marital issues. As Sarah is reunited with her siblings - sister, Julia (Christensen, Traffic), and brothers Crosby (Shepard, Baby Mama) and Adam (Krause, Six Feet Under) - all struggling with issues of their own, it’s clear that the Braverman reunion is just what they need to face the everyday challenges of modern family life. Parenthood is a production from Imagine Entertainment and Universal Media Studios. Emmy winner Thomas Schlamme (The West Wing) directs the pilot.

Trauma
Executive producer Peter Berg (NBC’s Friday Night Lights) delivers Trauma, the first high-octane medical drama series to live exclusively in the field where the real action is. Like an adrenaline shot to the heart, Trauma is an intense, action-packed look at one of the most dangerous medical professions in the world: first responder paramedics. When emergencies occur, the trauma team from San Francisco General is first on the scene, traveling by land, by sea or by air to reach their victims in time. From the heights of the city’s Transamerica Pyramid to the depths of the San Francisco Bay, these heroes must face the most extreme conditions to save lives -- and give meaning to their own existence in the process. Starring in Trauma are Derek Luke (Notorious), Cliff Curtis (10,000 B.C), Anastasia Griffith (Damages), Aimee Garcia (George Lopez), Kevin Rankin (Friday Night Lights) and Jamey Sheridan (Law & Order: Criminal Intent). Trauma is a production of Universal Media Studios and Film 44. Berg, Sarah Aubrey (Bad Santa, Friday Night Lights), Dario Scardapane and Jeffrey Reiner (Friday Night Lights) serve as executive producers. The pilot was written by Scardapane and directed by Reiner.

Mercy
Mercy a new medical drama with a unique point of view, portrays the lives of the staff at Mercy Hospital as seen through the eyes of those who know it best - its nurses. Nurse Veronica Callahan (Taylor Schilling, Dark Matter) returns to Mercy from a military tour in Iraq - and she knows more about medicine than all of the residents combined. Together with fellow nurses Sonia Jimenez (Jamie Lee Kirchner, Rescue Me) and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg, Gossip Girl), Callahan navigates through the daily traumas and social landmines of life and love both inside the hospital and out in the real world. The cast also includes: James Tupper (Men in Trees) as Dr. Chris Sands, a new doctor at the hospital who complicates Veronica's life; Diego Klattenhoff (Supernatural) as Mike Callahan, Veronica’s husband; and Guillermo Diaz (Weeds) as Nurse Angel Lopez. Mercy is a production from Universal Media Studios and Berman Braun. Joining writer/executive producers Liz Heldens (NBC’s Friday Night Lights) and Gretchen Berg & Aaron Harberts (Pushing Daisies, Pepper Dennis) are executive producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun. Emmy Award winner Adam Bernstein (NBC’s 30 Rock, Rescue Me) is the director.

Day One
From executive producer/writer Jesse Alexander (Heroes, Lost, Alias) and director Alex Graves (Fringe, Journeyman), Day One tells the story of life on earth following a global catastrophe that has devastated the world's infrastructures. Beginning with the immediate aftermath of the cataclysmic event, an eclectic band of survivors - played by Adam Campbell (Date Movie), Catherine Dent (The Shield), Julie Gonzalo (Eli Stone), David Lyons (ER), Derek Mio (Greek), Carly Pope (24), Thekla Reuten (Sleeper Cell) and Addison Timlin (Cashmere Mafia) - strives to rebuild society as they unravel the mysteries of what happened and face their uncertain future. The group, all residents of one apartment building in suburban Van Nuys, Calif., embarks on a quest for survival and discovers that hope is found in small victories - and heroes are born every day. Day One is a Universal Media Studios production.

100 Questions
Emmy winner James Burrows (Will & Grace, Friends) directs 100 Questions, a new comedy series written and executive-produced by Christopher Moynihan (For Your Consideration) that provides hilarious answers to 100 questions about love. Charlotte Payne (Sophie Winkleman, Peep Show) is looking for love and has rejected multiple marriage proposals - but she has yet to meet Mr. Right. When she joins a popular online dating site, she gets a little help from her dating counselor Ravi (Amir Talai, The Ex List) - who requires her to take a 100-question compatibility test. The questions aren’t easy for Charlotte to answer, and each one requires her to recount a poignant and humorous time in her life with friends Leslie (Elizabeth Ho, Women’s Murder Club), Jill (Joy Suprano, NBC’s Law & Order), Mike (Christopher Moynihan For Your Consideration) and Wayne (David Walton, Quarterlife). The test becomes a journey of self-discovery for Charlotte who begins to realize what she truly wants in a relationship. Ron West (Psych), Kelly Kulchak (Psych) and Michelle Nader (King of Queens) join Moynihan as executive producers. The series is produced by Universal Media Studios and Tagline.

Community
From Emmy Award-winning directors Joe and Anthony Russo (Arrested Development) comes Community, a smart comedy series about higher education - and lower expectations. The student body at Greendale Community College is made up of high-school losers, newly divorced housewives, and old people who want to keep their minds active. Within these not-so-hallowed halls, Community focuses on a band of misfits, at the center of which is a fast-talkin’ lawyer whose degree has been revoked (Joel McHale, The Soup), who form a study group and end up learning a lot more about themselves than they do about their course work. In addition to McHale, the series also stars: Gillian Jacobs (The Book of Daniel); Yvette Nicole Brown (Rules of Engagement); Danny Pudi (Greek); Alison Brie (Mad Men); and comedy legend Chevy Chase (Saturday Night Live). Community is a Krasnoff Foster Entertainment, Harmonious Claptrap and Russo Brothers production in association with Sony Pictures Television and Universal Media Studios. Russ Krasnoff (The Soloist), Dan Harmon (The Sarah Silverman Program), Joe Russo (Arrested Development), Anthony Russo (Arrested Development) and Gary Foster (The Soloist) serve as executive producers. Joe and Anthony Russo directed the pilot that was written by Dan Harmon.

Photos courtesy of NBC

TV News: More (But Less) Heroes, and Glee Gets a Tryout

BuzzSugar — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:30:29 -0800

A couple of TV news tidbits worth noting today:

Maybe you heard about the Greg Grunberg Twitter update that got people all worried that Heroes wouldn't be back for a fourth season (even though he clarified immediately) - or maybe you've just been following the show's sinking ratings and wondering if it might not return to NBC's lineup in the Fall. Well, no worries: NBC plans to order up another season of Heroes - albeit a slightly shorter one. The network will probably ask for 18 to 20 episodes of the series this time around (the first season had 23, the current season 25). The post-apocalyptic pilot Day One is one candidate to fill the time slot when Heroes isn't airing.
Fox's Glee - which just yesterday added Kristin Chenoweth and Victor Garber in recurring roles - is getting itself a pretty high-profile tryout on Fox's schedule, but then it'll go back on the shelf for several months. The show's first episode will air after the final American Idol performance show on May 19, but then the rest of the episodes won't air till Fall. It's definitely an unusual way to roll out a series, but maybe it'll keep people talking about Glee all Summer long the way I've been since I saw the pilot in January. I just hope people don't forget about it in the intervening months!
Shonda Rhimes's Inside the Box pilot has found its star: British actress Indira Varma will play the show's lead, the "fast-talking, whip-smart and wound a little too tight for her own good" Catherine. She previously appeared in HBO's Rome.

This Volume of Heroes: So Far, So Good?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 06:30:32 -0800

Those of you still watching Heroes, what did you think of the first episode of Volume Four: Fugitives? Does this volume seem promising? Do you think it might be better than the last volume? If this first episode didn't wow you, will you give it a few episodes anyway?

Photo courtesy of NBC

TCA Tidbits: Ghost Sex, Lipstick Jungle, Pushing Daisies, More

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:30:11 -0800

It's the last day of the TCA press tour, and ABC is presenting a ton of new midseason series today, including Nathan Fillion's Castle and Amber Tamblyn's The Unusuals. The news has been coming fast and furious, so here are some tidbits from this morning's ABC sessions and yesterday's NBC panels:

Apparently, we should stop using the term "ghost sex" to describe Izzie and Denny's relationship on Grey's Anatomy, stat. "It's not a ghost, which you will learn," ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said. He also said skeptical viewers should be patient and wait to see where the story is going: "I actually think that when you get to the end of the season and you see what [creator Shonda Rhimes] had in mind, it might not be your cup of tea, but I think you will be surprised at how insightful and smart the storyline itself is."
If you were hoping NBC's executives would give some clarity to the Lipstick Jungle cancellation situation, no such luck: According to entertainment president Angela Bromstad, no decision has been reached on the show's future, and it will be a conversation when the network sets its Fall schedule.
These were pretty much no-brainers, but NBC has renewed The Office, 30 Rock, and The Biggest Loser.
Count Portia de Rossi in for an Arrested Development movie: Despite calling her new character in ABC's Better Off Ted her all-time favorite, she'd be up for reprising Lindsay Bluth on the big screen. "I would love to do a movie for Arrested," she said - before adding to the confusion surrounding the project by saying "the cast are all on board." If that gets off the ground, she'd be a busy lady: She also wants to start a vegan shoe line.

For info on Heroes, Pushing Daisies, and NBC's late-night lineup, just read more.

NBC's aware that Heroes needs to change things up: "Tim [Kring] and I have talked to getting back to the core of the show, that it's these ordinary people with extraordinary powers, and that they may have taken on too much in terms of the storyline," Bromstad said.
McPherson was sadly noncommittal on the future of the unaired episodes of Pushing Daisies, Dirty Sexy Money, and Eli Stone. He said he's hopeful they'll get out somehow, but there would be lots of financial issues and rights issues to deal with first.
Jimmy Fallon snapped a picture of the TCA crowd with his iPhone and said he'd be bringing a decidedly geeky feel to his version of Late Night when he takes over in March.
Apparently, we needn't fear that moving to an earlier time slot will make Conan O'Brien tame: "I like to stand on things. I like to lick things. I jump around," he said - and none of that is going away. He also said he's hoping his band will make the move to LA with him. As for his Late Night farewell, he said he's aware that longtime fans will want certain things, but "what I don't want to do is a big salute to me."
Rachel Maddow, who was here to chat about her MSNBC talk show, on President Bush's post-presidency plans: "No international travel, probably, for the rest of his life."

Heroes Rundown Chapter 13: "Dual"

BuzzSugar — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 09:43:45 -0800

"On the sixth day, God created man in his own image. Now it's up to us to figure it all out." Thus begins (in an opening narration by Sylar instead of Mohinder, which I think is a nice change of pace) the final episode in this Heroes volume, "Villains." As has been the case in many of the chapters of this volume, the episode explores what makes people good or evil, heroes or villains, etc. etc. etc.

Sylar plays a little psychological murder game with the foursome he's locked inside Primatech (Claire, Meredith, Angela, HRG), trying to make them kill each other. Meanwhile, Ando, Daphne and Parkman work to bring Hiro back to present-day and Nathan and Peter have differing opinions on what to do with the formula. For more on this episode, read more.

Nathan comes upon Peter gazing upon their father's dead body. He tells Peter that he's going to finish what their father started, even though Peter thinks no good can come from it. Peter punches Nathan out and heads down to the lab.
At Primatech, Sylar traps HRG, Meredith, Claire and Angela in the building and talks to them over the PA system: "You did this to me. And before the night is over, I'm gonna prove to you, one by one, that you're all monsters. Exactly like me.".
Meanwhile, present-day Hiro, who is stuck in the 16-years-ago-past, recaps some things for us while gripping the pole and chatting to a pigeon. "I lost the formula. I failed my father. I lost my destiny."
Mohinder's infection has spread to his lungs and he hopes the formula will cure him. Peter, Flint and Knox burst into the lab, all of them planning to destroy the formula. Flint explains that with the formula, they're not so special anymore. Knox goes to keep an eye on Nathan so he won't interfere with the lab destruction.
Daphne speeds through the lab, stealing the one dose of the formula that Mohinder was holding. She gives it to Ando who injects himself even though Parkman (quite logically, really) wonders what if Ando doesn't get the exact power he wants?
Hiro climbs his way back up to the apartment where he talks with his child self and asks the younger Hiro to find a piece of paper of his father's with numbers and figures on it.
Claire would like to give the tempermental Sylar "a good spanking." Wouldn't we all, Claire? Wouldn't we all.
Sylar tells Claire that he'll let her, HRG and Meredith walk out alive if Claire will murder Angela. Otherwise, Claire is endangering HRG's life. She promises Sylar that if he hurts HRG she'll hunt him down and kill him.

Ando tries to teleport, repeating that he's the master of time and space. Parkman tells him to scrunch his eyes gently because he doesn't want to go back to the Stone Age (ha!). Rather than time travel, however, Ando got the power of supercharging other peoples' powers. They figure out that supercharging Daphne's speedstering causes her to travel through time.
HRG tells the Level Five guys that whoever brings him Sylar will be granted freedom, though he tells Meredith that they're actually bait for Sylar. Puppet master guy, Doyle, tries to control Sylar, but that doesn't work out so well for him. Sylar injects Meredith with adrenaline and then Meredith can't control her fire. Sylar shuts HRG in a room with her and has left him a gun with one bullet in it. Claire ultimately works with Meredith and HRG to shatter the glass and free them from the cell.
Nathan tells Knox that everyone always roots for Peter but in the end he always winds up losing. He starts a fight with Knox which Tracy ends by freezing and then shattering Knox. Tracy thinks that as a politician, Nathan can't recover from a disaster like this one, PR-wise. She says they can start over, but Nathan ends up firing her.
Older Hiro finds the formula just as Kaito walks in, notices the open safe and grabs his sword, calling Hiro a thief. Hiro finally holds up the formula, saying that if he destroys it then it can't be used. He tears it in half before disappearing. In that moment, Daphne and Ando bring Hiro back to the present. Daphne and Hiro then go to Pinehearst where Hiro punches Tracy in the face and grabs the formula.
Speaking of the formula, Flint and Peter are still trying to destroy the lab. They tip over a giant tub of the stuff, some of which reaches the knocked-out Mohinder and his scalies go away. Flint goes to set the place on fire, but Nathan hits him with a metal thing, then hits Peter with it - repeatedly. Flint sets the room ablaze anyway, but then Peter injects himself with the formula and crashes with Nathan through the window and flies them away to safety. Nathan wants to know why Peter saved him and Peter says it's because Nathan's his brother and he loves him.
Angela says Sylar's a hero because he killed Arthur, but Sylar's not having any of her nonsense. He says she's not her mother and she confirms this. She says she wanted him to work for the Company. She saw that he was "flawed, weak, malleable. Someone I could manipulate because that's what I do, because you're right. I'm a monster, too." She says she knows who his real parents are. He starts to force her to tell him but just then Claire gets him in the back of his skull, and he goes down. Claire goes back to the cell to save her mother, but HRG and Meredith tell her to run. As they do, Meredith unleashes her fire and Primatech is set aflame.
Tracy picks up Mohinder in her car.
"Each one of us is capable of both the dark and the light, of good and evil, of either, of all. And destiny while marching ever in our direction can be rerouted by the choices we make. . . by the love we hold on to and the promises we keep."
We get a glimpse of "Fugitives," which picks up three weeks later. Nathan is in D.C. explaining that he wants to round up all these special people and put them someplace where they won't be a danger to anyone. As he leaves the car, he thanks the President.

"Villains" is over! Heroes returns Feb. 2.

Photos courtesy of NBC