BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 5/12

BuzzSugar — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:29:35 -0700

According to Variety, the Chipmunks movie will be getting a sequel which will open March 19, 2010.
Isaiah Washington has filed a complaint about his image being used in last week's Grey's Anatomy, writes Hollywood Reporter.
TV Week has the news that HBO will soon make its shows available on iTunes.
Hollywood Reporter has the news that The Hills' Audrina will make her film debut in Into the Blue 2.
No turning back now: NBC has made its official announcement about Jimmy Fallon taking over Conan O'Brien's late-night seat; you can read the press release at The Futon Critic.
German techno band Scooter has taken Madonna's No. 1 place on the Billboard charts in the U.K., writes Billboard.
The New York Post has news on some huge - huge! - changes coming for Weeds this season.
The Associated Press can fill you in on who won Survivor last night.
Steven Spielberg has stated that after completing the Tintin movies, he'll go on to finally direct the Abe Lincoln biopic that we've been hearing about for a while, Variety reports.

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Link Time! 8/30

BuzzSugar — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 14:30:33 -0700

Cinematical has a fantastic interview - and this hilarious image - from their set visit to Rainn Wilson's comedy The Rocker.
TV With MeeVee has the first shots of Isaiah Washington on "Bionic Woman," while The TV Addict has pictures of Jerry Seinfeld on "30 Rock."
FilmExperience can't help but expound on Hilary Swank's top 10 best movie performances.
YumSugar has a great interview with "Top Chef" judge Gail Simmons.
Popwatch wants to know if a celebrity endorsement has ever convinced you to buy something.
Vulture talks with Clark Duke - the Clark of "Clark and Michael" - about his TV roles and his possible band with Kristen Bell.
Stereogum calls "Cowboy," the new Counting Crows song, "not terrible."
BellaSugar gives us an "America's Next Top Model" reality check.
According to Corey Feldman on the MTV Movies Blog, there may be an animated Goonies sequel.
Pop Candy points out a fun list of the coolest superhero costumes of all time.
Buddy TV shows us the track listing for the new "Grey's Anatomy" soundtrack.

TCA News Roundup: Isaiah, "Singing Bee," "Bionic"

BuzzSugar — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:41:16 -0700

The attention at the TCA press tour shifts to CBS today, but there are still a few great NBC tidbits to share from the network's two days at the press tour:

"Chuck" star Zachary Levi (above), Pop's new favorite person, took first place in a live version of "The Singing Bee" at NBC's all-star party on Tuesday night, beating out Scott Porter of "Friday Night Lights", an Us Weekly writer, and a tone-deaf TV critic. The highlight: Levi's perfect rendition of the chorus from "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Oh, the mid-'90s. Check out Pop for more great pictures of the party.
"Bionic Woman" producers answered several questions about their casting of Isaiah Washington as a guest star for several episodes early this season. The character existed before Washington was brought on board, but the role was changed slightly to fit the number of episodes Washington was signed for. NBC entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman brought Washington to the producers, rather than the producers going after Washington on their own. And they said they believe in giving Washington a chance to make amends. "Rather than excommunicate someone," executive producer Jason Smilovic said, "we felt that it was better to give him a second chance."

Two more bits, so read more

The "Bionic" producers also talked a bit about the new role for the main character's little sister, who now will be played by Lucy Hale. To help move the story forward, they've given the sister a background in computer hacking. And the sister is no longer deaf; that, the producers explained, had been a way to get the main character talking in sign language to chimps in a research lab, but when the lab and the chimps were written out of later drafts of the show, there was no reason for the deaf sister to stay.
The "Journeyman" producers shrugged off comparisons between their show and The Time Traveler's Wife, with creator Kevin Falls explaining that he's been writing about time travel for years and knows very little about the book. Star Gretchen Egolf said her friends who loved Time Traveler's Wife actually seem more open to watching the show because of the book.

Source

Isaiah Washington to join "Bionic Woman"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:15:10 -0700

One story that got the room buzzing this morning at the TCA press tour was the news that Isaiah Washington will be joining the cast of "Bionic Woman," appearing in five of the show's early episodes.

NBC entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman said NBC had been talking to Washington even before he was ousted from "Grey's Anatomy." Despite the controversy that has surrounded him, Silverman said he wasn't worried about alienating part of "Bionic Woman"'s potential audience. "The bottom line is he's a wonderful actor," Silverman said. "We think, inside 'Bionic Woman,' the character that's been created for him is very strong and one that he'll do a great job at." According to USA Today, Washington will "play an outsider with a mysterious agenda" who will either help the main character or try to undermine her.

Whatever the circumstances surrounding Washington's firing by ABC, I'm glad that he's moving on - and maybe now we can all focus on his acting again. What do you think? Will you be able to watch him without thinking about the "Grey's" mess?

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Link Time! 7/3

BuzzSugar — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 14:32:56 -0700

Want to see what those Kwik-E-Mart 7-11s look like? YumSugar's got the pictures of The Simpsons Movie stunt.
The Movie Blog has the scoop on Ethan Hawke's movie Daybreakers in which he plays a vampire researcher (a vampire by nature and a researcher by trade, apparently), and which he describes as "low art."
I'm echoing BestWeekEver's sentiments on Maria Menounous' short film.
I Guess I'm Floating finds the new Art Brut video too weird to post.
The TV Addict really doesn't want Nathan Fillion to join "Desperate Housewives."
Popwatch is pleading with readers to define the word "geek" as it is understood in this day and age.
Cool! Biodegradable guitar picks will make an appearance at Live Earth, says Idolator.
Give Me My Remote has the scoop on Kylie Minogue's upcoming guest appearance on "Doctor Who"
The Film Experience asks you to complete this sentence: Daniel Craig is to 2007 as ______ is to ______.
Stereogum gets a sneak peek at five new REM tunes from a Dublin show.
After watching Isaiah Washington on "Larry King Live," Tube Talk wonders if ABC might owe the actor an apology.

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Buzz News Roundup, 6/29

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:37:56 -0700

If you have Boomerang, Cartoon Network's retro channel, and you like "The Flintstones," this story will sure make you happy: Boomerang is showing all 166 episodes of the prehistoric cartoon, in order and commercial-free, starting July 4.
In classic rock news, NME reports that Led Zeppelin may reunite, and tragedy strikes a Rolling Stones show in Madrid.
According to Variety, Jim Carrey has been cast in the comedy Sober Buddy, about a guy who's hired to keep others on the straight-and-narrow falling off the wagon himself.
Yes, Isaiah Washington does have more to say, this time to Newsweek.
Lauryn Hill's comeback show in Oakland is fairly disastrous, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Billboard has more details on the Sonic Youth CD release at Starbucks.
Time, meanwhile, has a very long but very sweet story about Roger Ebert.
Pretty much every role from CBS' "Moonlight" has been recast, with Shannyn Sossamon taking the role originally intended for Amber Valletta, Zap2it reports.
Rolling Stone reports that DJ Mark Ronson will remix Bob Dylan's "Most Likely You’ll Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)."
The Futon Critic has the details on Bravo's two new "docu-drama" series: "Flipping Out," about real estate speculators in Los Angeles, and "Welcome to the Parker," about a luxurious Palm Springs resort.

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Where Should Isaiah Washington Work Next?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 06:00:00 -0700

Despite his obnoxious insistence on telling (and telling, and telling) his side of the "Grey's Anatomy" on-set scuffle - slash - f-word debacle, Isaiah Washington is still in demand. According to the Hollywood Reporter, NBC is in talks with Washington to bring him to the network.

It's not known whether Washington would join an existing series or star in a new one, but if NBC needs help envisioning where to place the embattled actor, I have a few suggestions:

"Heroes" - Washington comes aboard as Micah's long-lost uncle, who has the power of stretchiness to more easily throttle enemies from across the room.
"Scrubs" - In one of JD's dream sequences, Washington plays a surgeon who mistakes Turk's friendliness for flirtiness and asks him on a date.

"ER" - Washington plays a late-in-life medical intern who comes to County General to restart his internship after failing miserably in his first program in Seattle.
"Friday Night Lights" - Washington plays a high school football scout who gets sued after leaking to the press that one of the Dillon Panthers' top prospects could be gay.
"Law & Order" - In a special "ripped from the headlines" episode, Washington uses a gay slur against a coworker, graduates from anger management, does a public service announcement to prove that he's reformed, gets fired from his job anyway, then sues his former company for millions.

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Link Time! 6/21

BuzzSugar — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 15:13:24 -0700

Stereogum has me confused: Does the new Smashing Pumpkins single really have Paris Hilton on the cover?
Isaiah Washington says this whole "Grey's Anatomy" mess was T.R. Knight's fault, yet Defamer can't really picture Knight acting vengeful.
Idolator tells us where to hear all of Kelly Clarkson's controversial new album online.
Can't get enough Steve Carell? The TV Addict has a clip of Carell talking about Evan Almighty.
The cast of "Heroes" is preparing for a world tour, and TV Squad has the details.
Just in case you haven't seen enough Transformers ads, The Movie Blog has the latest TV spot for the movie.
If you're missing "The Office," Give Me My Remote has some fun "Office"-themed games.
Popwatch warns that Justin Timberlake's video for "LoveStoned" will hurt your eyes.
Buddy TV fills us in on the long-awaited DVD set for the second season of "Weeds."
Rolling Stone offers an entertaining list of rock lawsuits they'd like to see.
Merry Swankster rounds up some awesome songs brought to you by the number 20.

Isaiah Washington Speaks Out About his Firing

BuzzSugar — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:26:45 -0700

Aside from his bizarre Network-inspired statement, Isaiah Washington initially kept quiet following his firing from "Grey's Anatomy," letting his riled-up spokesman do the talking instead. But the former Dr. Burke finally broke his silence by speaking to Entertainment Weekly about his firing and his future plans. Here are a few highlights:

On whether his firing was fair:
"I'm saddened by the outcome. I did everything that the producers and the network asked me to do. I came back under great duress and stress, and thought I was doing the job I was hired to do."

On what he'll miss about "Grey's":
"I'll miss working with the team. I think the past season we got our rite of passage and we pretty much all learned what we can and we can't do...like any other new show or fledgling child trying to find its legs. Season 4 is going to be stronger, better and wiser and smarter, and I had hoped to be a contributor to that."

More Isaiah quotes, so read more

On how this will affect his career:
"I can only apologize so many times. I can only accept so much responsibility. All the players involved have taken care of what we needed to take care of in-house - and the media took it in a different direction. ... I just hope people can understand in the industry and otherwise that it's a horrible misunderstanding what transpired with our show and it was blown out of proportion. If the naysayers out there feel that some justice has been served and that they're happy with the outcome, so be it."

On what he'll do next:
"I've gotten a ton of offers in both film and TV, and now my agent Ben Press and I are just sorting through all the options. There is one network in particular that's very interested. But I don't want to say anything specific until it's a done deal."

Washington also denied rumors that he's plotting a lawsuit against ABC, which is a relief; this drama has been around long enough!

Are You Glad To See Isaiah Go?

Molly — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:09:14 -0700

This morning I gave you the news that Isaiah Washington will not be returning to "Grey's Anatomy." While Washington clearly has some anger issues, I already admitted that I'm going to miss Dr. Burke's stern but calm presence around Seattle Grace (I mean, he was a "WIDELY RENOWNED CARDIOTHORASIC SURGEON" after all). So what do you guys think -- are you happy to say goodbye to Dr. Burke?

Image courtesy of ABC