BuzzSugar

MadTV Ends While SNL Gets Two New Ladies

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:30:22 -0800

Good news and sorta sad news. I'll start with the sorta sad: Fox has canceled it's long-running sketch comedy program MadTV, which didn't exactly shock too many people. The folks at Best Week Ever even joked they thought it got canceled four years ago. Snark aside, I still think this holdover from the '90s deserves a (brief) moment of silence.

The good news is that sketch comedy is still thriving over at NBC after a particularly fruitful political season that had many viewers heading back to Saturday Night Live for some comic relief. Now SNL is looking to keep the show on everyone's radar with the addition of two new female cast members: Abby Elliott and Michaela Watkins (pictured).

Elliott is the daughter of comedian Chris Elliott who is a former SNL cast member himself (apparently this is the first multigenerational casting in the show's history). And from the video clips I've seen of her, Elliott is very funny - particularly when doing impersonations. Michaela Watkins has appeared on TV shows including The New Adventures of Old Christine and both ladies have paid their dues on the live sketch comedy circuit. They'll both debut this week!

Are you sad about MadTV? Check out videos of the new SNL ladies and let me know if you think there is potential there to maybe fill the void left by Tina and Amy. To watch for yourself, read more.

Source

Semi-Pro: Funny Little Shorts, Same Old Jokes

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:30:00 -0800

By now the Will Ferrell formula is apparent: Find some job or sport or fashion era that has loads of inherent humor, give the main character some insurmountable challenge to face, and . . . action! This time it's basketball in the 1970s. Not that I’m complaining, really; the movie's predictable laughs are still laughs.

In Semi-Pro we find Will Ferrell shoving his gigantic, blindingly white self into a super tight unflattering outfit - not unlike the gimmicky tight costumes in Blades of Glory, only this time it's a basketball uniform. The movie follows one-hit wonder Jackie Moon's (Ferrell) team, the Flint Michigan Tropics, as they fight for a place in the NBA. Though the Ferrell train sometimes seems to be running out of steam, I still think it's worth jumping on board one more time with this movie. I'll tell you why if you read more.

Jackie Moon scored a major hit with his slow jam "Love Me Sexy" and used the profits from the song's success to give Flint a team in the ABA, a struggling national basketball league known more for publicity stunts rather than athleticism. When the ABA is threatening to fold, the commissioner warns that only the best teams will get to merge into the NBA.

Jackie Moon is better at promoting his team with stunts like bear wrestling than coaching, so he brings on board a former champion Ed Monix (a seriously spray-tanned Woody Harrelson) to help whip them into shape. Moon also relies heavily on his team's star, Clarence "Coffee" Black (played by the excellent André Benjamin from Outkast).

I have to say, this is an interesting addition to Ferrell's canon. I can't believe I'm going to type this, but Semi-Pro stands apart from his other movies because most of the supporting characters are deeply appealing and have a shocking amount of depth. I actually found myself caring about this story. Oddly, I found that Ferrell himself sometimes got in my way of enjoying the movie, his goofball act being more miss than hit this time around.

Ultimately, it's the ensemble cast that makes this movie worthwhile. In particular, Will Arnett and MADtv's Andrew Daly made me laugh much more than any prolonged shot of Ferrell's crotch did. Semi-Pro as a whole is a good ride, but it also signaled to me that it's time for Ferrell to head back to the drawing board and give us something new. Here's hoping this summer's Step Brothers will be just the thing to shake things up.

Photos courtesy of New Line Cinema

Interview: Alex Borstein, a.k.a. Lois on "The Family Guy"

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 12:27:05 -0800

Fox's "The Family Guy" is fast becoming my go-to comedy on Sunday nights. It's always laugh-out-loud mix of bizarre, clever, and highly inappropriate. So I was very excited recently to interview Alex Borstein, the show's supervising producer and the voice of Lois.

The MadTV veteran just released a DVD of standup comedy, Alex Borstein: Drop Dead Gorgeous in a Down-to-Earth Bombshell Sort of Way", which tackles the issues facing women in Hollywood. In one particularly funny bit, Borstein adds commentary to several real-life "character breakdowns" for TV shows and movies, including one that asks for the "down-to-earth bombshell." I spoke to her about writing for "The Family Guy," her "MadTV" past, and her love for "Charlie's Angels." (And no, her real voice does not sound like Lois's.) To see what she had to say, read more

Q: How do the "Family Guy" writers come up with ideas?

There are 15 writers, and everyone brings their stories together in one room. Someone is assigned each script, and you have two weeks to write it. Then you come back, and the writers have at it like a pack of wolves.

Q: Is anything left out for being too inappropriate?

You kind of wouldn’t believe it. If someone came into our writer's room, we would all probably be behind bars. It’s wildly inappropriate and filthy and politically incorrect and horrendous, but it's the smartest, funniest group of people I’ve worked with in my whole life.

Q: What makes the writing team so good?

Everyone has a really varied background, which I think helps make the show great. Our age range is amazing too; we’ve got people up in their 50s and writers right out of Harvard and Yale, which helps with so many different references. We can make fun of Paris Hilton every week and do Sinatra bits. I think that’s what makes the show unique.

Q: How did your experience on MadTV prepare you for this?

MadTV was the most incredible training ground for developing characters and learning how to write for yourself. You’re constantly pitching and trying to sell yourself, and you often have skits that don't make it on the air, so it was great training for rejection. That really helps prepare you for when your joke doesn’t make it into the script on "Family Guy."

Q: Tell me a bit about the new DVD.

If you like the word vagina and you’re partial to the C-word, you’re going to love it. It's me spending an hour fleshing out the horrors of Hollywood. What the hell happened? Growing up, I had the chicks from "The Facts of Life," "Charlie's Angels," and "Mary Tyler Moore," and now the girls have Paris Hilton. They have nothing to look at that’s cool and smart women. Now we’ve got "Ugly Betty," but even that has to be about someone fighting back. We sort of lost that. Yeah, Charlie's Angels did work for a man they never saw, that was a little weird. But they were pretty independent, they had a cool car, and Kate Jackson wore pants.

Announcing the 2009 Emmy Winners!

BuzzSugar — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 23:32:15 -0700

Well, the Emmys are over, and we have our full list of winners. Were you guys surprised by this year's picks? (Check out all my Emmy polls here.) I thought the show started out pretty unexpectedly when underdogs Kristin Chenoweth and Toni Collete took home trophies, and there were a few other surprises along the way. Towards the end, though, the big wins seemed pretty predictable with Mad Men for drama, 30 Rock for comedy - no surprises there.

I had a lot of favorite moments of the night - more on those later - but mainly, I just enjoyed seeing Neil Patrick Harris as host. I loved everything from his opening to Dr. Horrible, and most of you thought his opening number was pretty great, too.

For the full list of 2009 Emmy winners, just read more.
COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock

DRAMA SERIES
Mad Men

MINISERIES
Little Dorrit

ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Toni Collette, United States of Tara

ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Glenn Close, Damages

MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE
Grey Gardens

REALITY HOST
Jeff Probst, Survivor

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race

ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Brendan Gleeson, Into The Storm

ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Jessica Lange, Grey Gardens

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Michael Emerson, Lost

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Ken Howard, Grey Gardens

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Cherry Jones, 24

SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Shohreh Aghdashloo, House Of Saddam

WRITING FOR A COMEDY
30 Rock ("Reunion," Matt Hubbard)

WRITING FOR A DRAMA
Mad Men ("Meditations in an Emergency," Kater Gordon, Matthew Weiner)

WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSICAL OR COMEDY SERIES
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Steve Bodow, Jon Stewart, David Javerbaum, Josh Lieb, Rory Albanese, Kevin Bleyer, Jason Ross, Tim Carvell, John Oliver, Sam Means, Rob Kutner, J.R. Havlan, Rich Blomquist, Wyatt Cenac, Elliott Kalan, Rachel Axler)

WRITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Little Dorrit (Andrew Davies)

DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
The Office ("Stress Relief," Jeff Blitz)

DIRECTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
Little Dorrit (Dearbhla Walsh)

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
American Idol ("The Final Three," Bruce Gowers)

ORIGINAL MUSIC AND LYRICS
81st Annual Academy Awards" ("Hugh Jackman Opening Number")

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
ER ("And in The End," Rod Holcomb)

LIST OF WINNERS IN THE CREATIVE ARTS CATEGORIES

GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Justin Timberlake, Saturday Night Live

GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Michael J. Fox, Rescue Me ("Sheila")

GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live: Presidential Bash 2008

GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Ellen Burstyn, Law & Order: SVU ("Swing")

GOVERNORS AWARD
Sheila Nevins, HBO Documentary Films

ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING ONE-HOUR OR MORE)
Destination Imagination (Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends)

ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING LESS THAN ONE HOUR)
South Park ("Margaritaville")

ART DIRECTION FOR MULTI-CAMERA SERIES
How I Met Your Mother ("Shelter Island, Not A Father's Day")

ART DIRECTION FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Pushing Daisies ("Dim Sum Lose Some")

ART DIRECTION FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Grey Gardens and Little Dorrit

ART DIRECTION FOR VARIETY, MUSIC, OR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
American Idol ("Episode 821-822") and 2008 MTV Video Music Awards

CASTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
30 Rock

CASTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
True Blood

CASTING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Little Dorrit

CHOREOGRAPHY
81st Annual Academy Awards ("Musicals Are Back") and So You Think You Can Dance ("Adam and Eve/Silence")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A HALF-HOUR SERIES
Californication ("In Utero")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A ONE-HOUR SERIES
The Tudors ("Episode 303")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Little Dorrit: Part 1

CINEMATOGRAPY FOR NONFICTION
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations ("Laos")

CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR REALITY PROGRAMMING
Out of the Wild: The Alaska Experiment ("What Did I Sign Up For?")

COMMERCIAL
"Heist," Coca-Cola

COSTUMES FOR A SERIES
Pushing Daisies ("Bzzzzzzzzz!")

COSTUMES FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Little Dorrit: Part 3

COSTUMES FOR A VARIETY/MUSIC PROGRAM OR A SPECIAL
So You Think You Can Dance ("Episode 415-416A")

DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony" (Bucky Gunts)

DIRECTING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (Marina Zenovich)

MAIN TITLE DESIGN
United States of Tara

MAKEUP FOR A SERIES, MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR A SPECIAL (PROSTHETIC)
Grey Gardens

MAKEUP FOR A SINGLE CAMERA SERIES (NON-PROSTHETIC)
Pushing Daisies ("Dim Sum Lose Some")

MAKEUP FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES OR SPECIAL (NON-PROSTHETIC)
MADtv ("Episode 1405")

MAKEUP FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE (NON-PROSTHETIC)
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (Hallmark Hall of Fame Presentation)

MUSIC DIRECTION
"Streisand: The Concert"

MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A SERIES (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE)
Legend of the Seeker ("Prophecy")

MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR A SPECIAL
Into the Storm

ORIGINAL MAIN TITLE THEME MUSIC
Great Performances

PICTURE EDITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES (SINGLE-CAMERA)
Breaking Bad ("ABQ")

PICTURE EDITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
30 Rock ("Apollo, Apollo")

PICTURE EDITING FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE (SINGLE-CAMERA)
Taking Chance

PICTURE EDITING (SHORT FORM)
81st Annual Academy Awards and "Stand Up to Cancer"

PICTURE EDITING FOR A SPECIAL (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"Chris Rock: Kill the Messenger"

PICTURE EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
This American Life ("John Smith")

PICTURE EDITING FOR REALITY PROGRAMMING
Project Runway ("Finale Part 1")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES
Mad Men ("The Gold Violin")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES OR SPECIAL
Dancing With the Stars ("Episode 709")

HAIRSTYLING FOR A MINISERIES OR A MOVIE
Grey Gardens

CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA - NONFICTION
"The Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Digital Experience," nbc.com

CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN INTERACTIVE MEDIA - FICTION
"The Dharma Initiative," DharmaWantsYou.com.

LIGHTING DIRECTION (ELECTRONIC, MULTI-CAMERA) FOR VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY PROGRAMMING
American Idol ("Finale")

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"The Kennedy Center Honors"

SPECIAL CLASS PROGRAMS
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony"

SPECIAL CLASS - SHORT-FORMAT LIVE-ACTING ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMS
"Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog," drhorrible.com.

SPECIAL CLASS - SHORT-FORMAT NONFICTION PROGRAMS
"Writer's Draft"

CHILDREN'S PROGRAM
Wizards of Waverly Place

CHILDREN'S NONFICTION PROGRAM
Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? With Maria Shriver and Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Coming Home: When Parents Return from War

NONFICTION SPECIAL
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

NONFICTION SERIES
American Masters

REALITY PROGRAM
Intervention

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN NONFICTION FILMMAKING
The Memory Loss Tapes

WRITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

SOUND EDITING FOR A SERIES
Battlestar Galactica ("Daybreak: Part 2")

SOUND EDITING FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization

SOUND EDITING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (ONE HOUR)
House ("House Divided")

SOUND MIXING FOR A MINISERIES OR MOVIE
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization"

SOUND MIXING FOR A COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES (HALF-HOUR AND ANIMATION)
Entourage ("Pie") and Weeds ("Three Coolers")

SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY OR MUSIC SERIES OR A SPECIAL
81st Annual Academy Awards and The 51st Annual Grammy Awards

SOUND MIXING FOR NONFICTION PROGRAMMING (SINGLE OR MULTI-CAMERA)
"102 Minutes That Changed America"

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A SERIES
Heroes ("The Second Coming/The Butterfly Effect")

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
Generation Kill: The Cradle of Civilization

STUNT COORDINATION
Chuck ("Chuck Versus the First Date")

TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A SERIES
American Idol ("Episode 834A")

TECHNICAL DIRECTION, CAMERAWORK, VIDEO CONTROL FOR A MINISERIES, MOVIE, OR SPECIAL
"Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony"

VOICE-OVER PERFORMANCE
The Simpsons ("Father Knows Worst")

WRITING FOR A VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SPECIAL
"Chris Rock - Kill The Messenger"