BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 7/2

BuzzSugar — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:32:44 PDT

According to Variety, Josh Hartnett will be starring in a London stage production of the movie Rain Man, taking on the role originally played by Tom Cruise.
Rapper Young Jeezy will join the cast of Ice Cube's comedy Janky Promoters, Billboard writes.
Michael Imperioli will join the cast of ABC's Life on Mars, Variety reports.
Four more actors have joined the cast of the Night at the Museum sequel, including Christopher Guest, ComingSoon reports.
Entertainment Weekly reports that Criminal Minds looks like the next CBS show to get a spinoff.
Billboard writes that at a private concert this week, Pearl Jam helped raise $3 million for the poverty-fighting charity the Robin Hood Foundation.
TNT will remake the British series Cracker, about an abrasive and heavy-drinking detective, with Robert Duvall as an executive producer, Zap2it reports.
A lost interview with the Beatles has been aired on BBC radio, the Associated Press reports.

The Muppets' Music Man Bret McKenzie on His Oscar Nod and Taking a Silly Job Seriously

Lindsay Miller — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:50:41 PST

Bret McKenzie is up for an exceedingly rare honor this year, with his ballad "Man or Muppet" earning one of just two nominations in the Oscars' best song category. I caught up with The Muppets' musical supervisor today at Walt Disney Studios in Burbank to chat about the awards attention and the unique experience of penning music for Kermit and company. The New Zealand native talked about fighting the temptation to use the word "motherfrogger" in his songwriting and the roundabout way he came on board The Muppets project in the first place. Bret - who previously was best known as one half of the musical comedy duo Flight of the Conchords - also shared his hopes of bringing FOC to the big screen. Check out our conversation below:

PopSugar: It's got to be an honor to be nominated for an Oscar, but also in a year when the Academy only bothered to nominate two songs.
Bret McKenzie: They barely nominated anyone! When I found out, it sounded like there'd been a mistake, and yeah, it's a huge honor. It's great and it's really exciting, and I'm not complaining that there's only two nominees the year I'm nominated. I mean, this is the best chance I'll have of winning an Oscar, ever. It couldn't have been better, unless there was just one nomination, and then it would be a very dull ceremony . . . There's a lot of legendary musicians - tunesmiths - in that list of possible nominations. So it's all very surreal to think that I got in ahead of Elton John.

PS: And Madonna. Those two had a little rivalry going on.
BM: I know. I got nervous about what Elton John's husband was going to say about me. It's crazy, and it's great for The Muppets film, because we're all really proud of the film and it wasn't ever really going to get a best actor. Hey, Jason's good, that's not what I mean, but Kermit, Miss Piggy - they can't win these awards - and comedies don't generally get recognized at these awards ceremonies, so it's kind of cool. It's almost like the film as a whole is being recognized with this category.

For more from our chat with Bret, including what he says about his plans for a Flight of the Conchords film, coaching Jason Segel, and the pressure he felt on the project, just

read more! PS: What was the biggest unexpected challenge for you writing music for the film? I know you talked about one draft of a song where you referred to a Muppet as a piece of felt and were told you couldn't do that. BM: Yeah. Little piece of felt, and you couldn't say things like motherfrogger, even though it's very tempting. There were lots of hard parts to it. The Muppets can't sing certain notes. They can't sing too high or the voice changes and doesn't sound like the right character. There were so many weird things. I spent hours recording penguins and rats, and what's weird is that it's such a silly job, but you have to take it very seriously. So I would be in the studio for days, maybe a whole day recording penguins, and then I'm like, "I'm not happy with how the penguins are sounding! Where's penguin four?" You know, getting demanding. "We lost penguin track four! I can't hear the penguin!" PS: I was watching the movie again last night and watching Jason Segel's performance of "Man or Muppet." Did you coach him on any of his rockstar moves? Because he pretty much nailed it. BM: He nailed it. That's my favorite moment in the film. When he buckles down in the rain, that was one of my favorite shots. I was so proud of what James [Bobin, the director] and those guys achieved, because I wasn't there on set, I just saw them syncing the video, and I was like, "Wow, guys. You nailed it." What we did do in the studio, as Jason and I had a technique where I would sing a line, and he'd watch me through the window, and then he'd sing it back. So we did this thing where, I was really into the drama of it. So, I was like, "Am I a Muppppettt?" [balling his hands into fists] And he'd be like, OK, record. "Am I a Muppppettt!" So we kind of worked together to get that style. PS: Did it shatter some of your childhood illusions to have the guy that does Miss Piggy's voice come work with you [in the recording studio]? BM: Yeah. Well, it wasn't Frank Oz. The guy Eric, who does it now, yeah. That was strange. And the day that we recorded Kermit the Frog doing "Rainbow Connection" - I was sort of pinching myself, because that was probably one of the real moments for me where I realized that my world had really changed. That I'd come from New Zealand, I'd grown up with Kermit the Frog, and now I was in Hollywood in a studio recording Kermit the Frog. It felt like worlds had collided. PS: Was there pressure knowing there was already this great catalog of Muppet songs? To try to add to that or top it in some way? BM: I knew I wouldn't top "Rainbow Connection," but I was very intimidated, but the way I worked on the job was it actually started with me just writing one song, so I didn't feel the pressure of writing the whole movie. I think it would have been different if I'd been hired from the outset to do all the music. So I wrote one, then another, and gradually wrote more and more, so that helped. PS: What song did you write first? BM: The opening song. That's the one they needed, that's the one James asked me to write first. The script was probably on a second draft, and they were in preproduction, so I came in quite late. And the way they were doing it was, they got 100s of demos submitted from all sorts of songwriters, and surprisingly - even though they got some really great people to do demos - people weren't quite hitting the right tone. The Muppet tone. I'd just come off the Conchords tour and I had some time, and James asked if I was interested in doing that opening song, because he had a kind of specific thing he needed from that song. He needed it to be really Muppet-y, that song, and he had a great idea for the whole town joining in, it starting off small and becoming a big musical number, and that came together really well. PS: Is this experience maybe something you want to bring to a Flight of the Conchords movie? BM: Yeah, exactly. Having done this movie now, we're in a much better place to do a Conchords film, because James is more experienced - well, we're all more experienced. Not specifically, but James Bobin - well, we're all very keen to do another studio musical, because I really enjoyed being able to do comedy musical numbers on such a grand scale, and I think next time, I really think it will just get better and better. Because it's such a fun genre, and we've done like 50 songs for TV now, and now The Muppets movie, and I feel like we've accidentally sort of become musical comedy experts. PS: What do you imagine Bret and Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords are up to these days, in their universe? BM: In the Lower East Side? That's a good question. I reckon they probably got a regular gig now. Like, at a Chinese restaurant. Photo courtesy Disney

50 Geeky Date Ideas For Valentine's Day (and Beyond)

GeekSugar — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:30:10 PST

Coming up short for Valentine's Day date ideas? If you and your sweetheart are more of the geeky persuasion, simply hitting up an overpriced restaurant just won't cut it. We brainstormed 50 date ideas that incorporate science, tech, and video games, for a special Valentine's eve. But don't limit yourself - tackle these date ideas all year!

Bundle up, pack a dinner picnic, and head to the park for some stargazing.
Watch Contact (for the millionth time).
Go to a science museum.
Hit the natural history museum and check out your favorite dino bones.
Go retro - grab a roll of quarters, a slice or two, and hit the pizza parlor arcade.
Build your own planetarium with glow-in-the-dark stickers.
Catch up with the Doctor Who craze by watching the series from the beginning.
Throw a Star Wars party for two.
Whip up a batch of Cloud 9 mojitos (complete with mason jar glasses) and have a Battlestar Galactica marathon.
Visit Nerdy Day Trips and find geeky stuff to do near you.
Go to the planetarium.
Take a dream vacay to the Hobbit Hotel in New Zealand.
Spend a few romantic nights in the Hobbit House of Montana.
Visit the actual Lord of the Rings movie set.
Travel to the Chott el Djerid salt lakes in Tunisia, which were transformed into Luke Skywalker's home on Tatooine.

See the rest of the list after the break!

What to TiVo: Friday

BuzzSugar — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:59:00 PDT

8:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (new)
9:00 Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (new)
10:00 20/20 (new)
12:00 Jimmy Kimmel Live (repeat)

8:00 A Gifted Man (new)
9:00 CSI: NY (new)
10:00 Blue Bloods (new)
11:35 Late Show With David Letterman (new, with guest Bill Cosby)
12:37 The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson (new, with guest Neil Patrick Harris)

8:00 Kitchen Nightmares (new)
9:00 Fringe (new)

8:00 Chuck (new)
9:00 Grimm (new)
10:00 Dateline NBC (new)
11:35 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (new, with guests Miss Piggy and Mickey Rourke)
12:35 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (new, with guest Eddie Murphy and Drew Carey)

8:00 Nikita (new)
9:00 Supernatural (new)

Man on a Ledge Trailer: Sam Worthington's on a Suicide Mission

Shannon Vestal — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 05:30:00 PDT

Man on a Ledge starts out with a premise that's not terribly groundbreaking, but the trailer reveals a pretty interesting twist halfway through. A desperate man (Sam Worthington) steps out onto a ledge of a high-rise building with the intention of jumping. As a suicide negotiator (Elizabeth Banks), police, and a crowd of freaked-out onlookers assemble around him, he relates his predicament. The man, Nick, is an ex-con who refuses to go back to prison, and he sees no other way out besides death.

Here's where the twist comes in: Nick is just providing a large-scale distraction while his brother (Jamie Bell) pulls off a massive diamond heist - a crime that's way easier to commit when the police have something better to worry about, like making sure a guy doesn't leap off a building into the city street below. The trailer is tense and heart-pounding, and there's a "make it rain" reference that makes it worth watching, so to check out the trailer for Man on a Ledge, just keep reading.

Justin Theroux Helps Shield Jennifer Aniston From the Rain

Allie Merriam — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:32:39 PDT

Justin Theroux helped shield Jennifer Aniston from the rain as they left their NYC place today. The couple were out on their latest errand-running adventure since touching down in the Big Apple last week. They spent their weekend together, dining out, taking walks, and enjoying the beginning of Fall in the city. Work, though, will soon be keeping Jennifer busy. She's set to do press for her upcoming Lifetime project Five ahead of its debut on the network on Monday, Oct. 10. Jen's clearly focused on her filmmaking and her man Justin, while her ex-husband, Brad Pitt, is trying to clear up some statements he recently made about their marriage. After kicking up controversy by calling the '90s, when he and Jen were married, dull, Brad further clarified his Aniston comments. He said at yesterday's Oakland premiere of Moneyball, "That was never my intention for it to be spun that way. People read things into it that just weren't there."

Brooke Burke and David Charvet Secretly Wed - See Their Pre-Ceremony Bikini and Shirtless Pictures!

Molly Goodson — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 11:09:50 PDT

Brooke Burke sported a perfect tan and a tiny bikini on the beach with her man David Charvet and their two kids, Rain and Shaya, in St. Barts on Thursday. The happy family looked relaxed, and little did anyone know it was just one day before Brooke and David were set to tie the knot. Brooke Burke and David Charvet had a secret wedding on the beach on Friday! Brooke and David lounged in bikinis and shirtless earlier in the week as they geared up for their big day. Brooke and David have been engaged for five years, though they were not public about their specific timeline on making it official. Brooke also has two kids from her previous marriage, and while she looks amazing in her two-pieces, at the moment it's David's time to shine in our 2011 shirtless bracket. Congrats to the newlyweds Brooke and David and their family!

A Day in the Life of James Oseland

YumSugar — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:02:14 PDT

You may recognize James Oseland from Top Chef Masters. He's a regular judge on the show. The New York resident is also the editor in chief of the beautiful and informative Saveur magazine. Here's what he did yesterday, a day he describes as "wonderfully average," Tuesday, July 26.

7:30 a.m.: I started out the day with my usual bill of fare. It was ploddingly predictable. I had homemade poor man's muesli. Every three weeks my partner, Daniel, makes it from scratch. This version had oats, whole rolled oats, and nuts of many different varieties. There were a lot of coarsely chopped Brazilian nuts - which I have affection for. Also dried currents, dried apples, and dried raisins. Daniel teaches ESL in New Jersey and he has to leave early at 5:30. What he does, the night before, is he makes two bowls of muesli and he leaves one in the fridge for me. I bring it out and put it on the counter and let it come to room temperature. I added kefir and some milk, along with my new obsession: fruit from Trader Joe's.

The fruit from Trader Joe's is weirdly more satisfying than the way, way, way too expensive fruit at the Union Square farmers market. At least for now. But this fruit from the Trader Joe's that's two blocks from my house is actually pretty good. It's hit or miss and it's unfortunate that it's prepackaged, so you can't smell it, but you can get some shockingly good fruit. I threw in some apricots and white nectarines that I chopped up and they were very delicious and very sweet. I put some cinnamon sprinkles on the cereal too. Alongside, I had a cup of PG Tips tea with a lot of sugar and a lot milk.

Keep reading to see what James did with the Trader Joe's fruit later in the day.

The Breaking Dawn Cast Talks Wedding, the Birth Scene and Shows Off Some Sexy Footage at Comic-Con!

Shannon Vestal — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 14:55:46 PDT

Twilight's principal cast of Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner hit Comic-Con to talk part one of Breaking Dawn. Along with director Bill Condon, they addressed the film's most anticipated scenes, like Edward and Bella's wedding and their ensuing honeymoon, as well as the infamous vampire-human baby birthing scene.

In addition, we got to see a couple of scenes in the movie that are not in the book. One showed Jacob talking to Carlisle and Esme about protecting Bella, and then having a confrontation with his own wolf pack, who see him as a traitor for helping the Cullens. The other scene we were shown got a ton of catcalls from the audience because it was a clip from Edward and Bella's honeymoon. In the sexy scene, Bella preps for a big milestone (brushing her teeth, shaving her legs . . .) and then meets her new husband on the beach in the moonlight - wearing nothing but a towel. The cast had lots of juicy tidbits to share about the film, and I've shared highlights from the panel below.

Kristen talked about what it was like to shoot the wedding scene, which she said she'd been "ramping up to shoot for four years" because she regarded it as the "most important part of the whole thing." She said it was "so beautiful" when she got on set and saw everyone in the pews, and was as nervous and terrified as she expected herself to be. However, she got into "wedding mode" when she put the dress on - but was locked away in a room to protect the dress and images of her in it, which required her to be under "Secret-Service-style crazy security."
On shooting the honeymoon in Brazil, Robert said the climate was amazing and beautiful on the first day, and then it started raining and turned into "hurricane storms." He said crappy weather made it feel like they were "having a honeymoon in England, playing board games, instead of making love on the beach."
Taylor said Jacob starts out as the same character we've always known at the beginning of Breaking Dawn Part 1, "then he gets his heart crushed." He said Jacob "becomes a totally different person, who is forced to mature and become his own man." Taylor said Jacob's journey was exciting to him and that he can't wait for the audience to see it too.

To find out more about the Breaking Dawn panel at Comic-Con, including what Kristen, Robert, and Taylor each think of the birthing scene, just

Screw-the-Snow Fish Tacos

OnSugar Blog — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 04:47:25 PDT

Not quite feeling like Spring yet in your neck of the woods? Don't despair. Rather, follow in Fresh Tart's footsteps and cheer yourself up with gluten-free fish tacos!

The weather, I promised myself I would not talk about the weather.

But forget it man, this is Minnesota, and we talk about the weather. So here it is: It rained ice last night, as John and I were on our way from not one but two fabulous dinners.

See how she conquered the cold with fish tacos (recipe included!) when you keep reading.