BuzzSugar

Link Time! 6/9

BuzzSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:30:56 -0700

Adam Lambert talks sexuality and album details in Rolling Stone. - PopSugar
What is the must-read book for this Summer? - Popwatch
The Killers have a new video for "A Dustland Fairytale." - Stereogum
Discuss: Why do so many people seem to dislike Kirsten Dunst's work? - Cinematical
What list would you put Kathy Griffin on now? - TV Squad
Apple uses 30 Rock to promote the new iPhone. - geeksugar
What was your all-time favorite performance on MTV Unplugged? - Pop Candy
Do, Dump, or Marry? Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack Morris) - TrèsSugar

TNT Pays Tolls to Promote Raising the Bar

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:45:00 -0700

When I saw this press release on the Internet, it took me a few billion reads to understand the connection between TNT paying road tolls for the lovely people of Atlanta, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Chicago and the network's new legal drama Raising the Bar. That's right, over this Labor Day weekend TNT is going to spring for two hours of free tolls, and they're also premiering a new show. The connection eluded me, but finally, I found this helpful quote in the release:

"With so many people on the roads Labor Day weekend, it's a perfect time to get our message out about the premiere of this outstanding new drama series," said Tricia Melton, senior vice president of marketing for TNT, TBS and Turner Classic Movies (TCM). "We are literally raising the bar by paying tolls on Labor Day weekend."

Get it? Toll booths have bars! They lift up when you pay! Yeah, I think it's a stretch too, but hey, they got me writing about it, I guess.

Anyway, I think TNT could have gotten a lot more creative with the the word "bar" and paying for stuff, so to see the other campaigns the network should have gone with, just read more.

They could have talked to Mr. and Mrs. Refaeli, because more than anyone, they know what it is to raise the Bar! I'm sorry, I had to do it.
Bar tabs! Picking those up this weekend would have been awesome.
Candy bars. They're good. I bet lawyers eat them. They should give them out for free and everyone could raise them in the air.

What do you think? Lame attempt at marketing or ingenious campaign, even if there are several mental steps needed before one arrives at the word "bar"?

Source and Source

First Look: Raising the Bar

BuzzSugar — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 07:30:00 -0700

I'm curious about Raising the Bar, TNT's newest drama series, for a variety of reasons. One is that it comes from Steven Bochco, the legendary executive producer of LA Law and NYPD Blue who knows his way around a legal drama. Another is that it's yet another TNT show with strong female characters, including Jane Kaczmarek as a tough, no-nonsense judge. And a third is, well, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, now and forever Zack Morris to me, who has a seriously long, seriously funny hairdo.

The show, which is about two teams of lawyers - public defenders and district attorneys - working in New York City's justice system, premieres on Labor Day, but I've rounded up a couple of clips that give us an early glimpse. In one, we see Jerry Kellerman (Gosselaar), a passionate public defender, and Michelle Ernhardt (Melissa Sagemiller), a district attorney, battling wills. In the other, the actors on both teams introduce us to their characters, interspersed with plenty of clips from the show. Do you think Raising the Bar can transcend the generic legal show? Is Gosselaar's hair awesome or awful? To check out the clips, just read more.

Source

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 07:00:28 -0800

This week we tragically lost one of the entertainment industry's most promising young talents. Heath Ledger will be remembered as a supremely gifted and courageous artist as well as a loving father. As Hollywood struggles to cope with this shocking loss, the fate of his projects hangs in the balance.
The same day as Heath's terrible death, Hollywood was busy celebrating their own as the 2008 Oscar nominations were announced. I gave you my thoughts and got you off to a good start for the award ceremony with clips of the nominated animated shorts.
Molly and I had a blast at Sundance this year! You can check all my thoughts on the films I caught plus general musings about the festival here.
The cast of Freaks and Geeks took us down memory lane and we learned that some familiar faces are heading back to TV.
The Coachella line-up left some of you feeling underwhelmed, but there was other good music-related stuff on the web this week that made me smile.
I dug up a hilarious photo from American Idol and I need you to caption it!
Finally, there does seem to be progress, but it's becoming clear the strike will have an impact on TV for years to come.

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TNT Lines Up Mark-Paul Gosselaar for Legal Drama

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:34:37 -0800

With The Closer and Saving Grace, TNT already has two cop dramas in its stable of series. Now, it's adding some lawyers.

The network has picked up Steven Bochco's Raising the Bar, the newest drama from the producer of NYPD Blue, LA Law, and numerous other legal series. The show will focus on "the lives and cases of young lawyers who have been friends since law school, but who now work on opposing sides" and is set to premiere later this year.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who will always be Zack Morris to me, stars as an idealistic public defender, and Gloria Reuben of ER plays his passionate, protective boss. On the other side is a lawyer in the district attorney's office played by Melissa Sagemiller who will stop at nothing to bring people to justice. Those two, and other lawyers from their offices, face off in the courtroom of a slightly crazy judge played by Malcolm in the Middle's Jane Kaczmarek. I'm not sure I'll be able to get her Simpsons character out of my head when she's on screen.

I generally like TNT's original series, and Bochco certainly has the pedigree to pull this off. Plus, the news of any scripted television whatsoever sends my heart all aflutter these days. And it can't go wrong when Zach Morris is involved, right?

Source

Buzz In: Which TV Star's Memoir Would You Love to Read?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:30:53 -0700

I've admitted before that I'm a bit of a Saved by the Bell fanatic. I followed Zack Morris and the gang from Miss Bliss's classroom to Malibu Sands to Vegas, and I was pretty excited about a possible reunion. They spent so much time on my TV, I felt like I knew them. Well, perhaps not. This week's issue of Us Weekly gives us a sampling of Dustin Diamond's upcoming memoir Behind the Bell and man, is he digging up dirt - everything from alleging that Mark-Paul Gosselaar used steroids to the spit-swapping between Tiffani Thiessen and Mario Lopez.

Saved by the Bell hookups?! I know most of you have said that you're not interested in the book, but I sort of want to get my hands on that magazine issue.

Confession: I read sTori Telling - and loved it for the behind-the-scenes goings on of the '90s cast of 90210. I always want to know what really went on inside my favorite TV shows. I'd read one on Gilmore Girls, Punky Brewster, whatever. And I sort of want one about the real reality that takes place behind the cameras of The Hills.

So tell me: Which TV star's memoir would you most like to read?

(P.S. My vote is for Heather Locklear. Now that she's coming back to Melrose, the timing is right!)