BuzzSugar

Link Time - Um . . . Keanu Reeves Lands a New Movie Role

BuzzSugar — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:30:41 PDT

Keanu Reeves to star in the indie-drama Generation Um . . . - Collider
Weezer's new video for "Memories" features the delinquents of Jackass - HitFix
Will Smith's daughter lands a record deal with Jay-Z's Roc Nation label - New York Times
Two Rocky Horror stars are signed on for Glee's tribute episode - E! Online
Yikes! The Saw 3D trailer - Slash Film
Take a look at this first clip from Passion Play (Megan Fox sprouts wings!) - Movieline
5 funny website-inspired books - GeekSugar
Roger Ebert brings in new critics for a revamped At the Movies - Cinematical
The best 3D family flicks of 2010 - Moviefone

Would You Pay For Twitter?

GeekSugar — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:45:08 PDT

After reading a study published by the Annenberg School for Communications surveying 1,900 people on whether or not they would pay to use Twitter, film critic Roger Ebert was shocked - the study found that 0 percent of respondents were willing to pay for the service. So, Ebert decided to conduct his own survey among his 196,000 Twitter followers. Of the nearly 4,000 respondents to Ebert's poll, 19.4 percent said they'd be willing to pay for Twitter.

Considering what I use it for, I don't think I'd ever pay for the service. And if Twitter ever did decide to enact some sort of subscription-based model, I feel that most users would prefer to take their tweets somewhere else.

So, here's a poll of my very own, and I'm asking, would you ever pay for Twitter?

Food Section Sampler - June 30, 2010

YumSugar — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:30:38 PDT

Tom Colicchio pledges to still serve Gulf seafood at his restaurants. - Times-Picayune
Cooler-free recipes for a Fourth of July on the road. - Washington Post
Mireille Guiliano, the author of French Women Don't get Fat, has come out with her first cookbook. - Chicago Tribune
How to make the most of bay leaves. - New York Times
FDA inspections find that some airline catering practices could pose a major health threat. - USA Today
Meanwhile, one Thailand carrier will start selling its airline food on land. - Wall Street Journal
Dress up those Summer salads with fresh and light homemade vinaigrettes. - Boston Globe
Health problems have prevented film critic Roger Ebert from eating, but not from penning a rice cooker book. - San Francisco Chronicle

Samantha Jones: Latest Target of Slut Shaming

TresSugar — Thu, 27 May 2010 12:00:34 PDT

In his review of Sex and the City 2, Robert Ebert says the "bubblehead" characters make his skin crawl. Offering a sharp assessment of the sequel, Ebert chides SATC's dark side, namely pathological consumerism, which overshadows the bright points of the former series. But caught up in his disdain for these women, Ebert, a generally women-friendly critic, allows himself to support a tired double standard of sexual promiscuity with a sexist slur. He writes:

Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) is still a sexaholic slut.

Sex-loving Samantha may be a painfully simplified character, but I doubt that a life-long bachelor with an active sex life would be treated with the same disrespect. In fact, in his 2004 review of Alfie, Ebert describes the playboy character as a "lover to a parade of women," a "hedonist," and "compulsively promiscuous." If you ask me, none of these characterizations bite as hard as "sexaholic slut."

Does the word slut bother you as much as it bothers me?

Do You Read Critics' Reviews Before Going to a Movie?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 14:30:23 PDT

Today, Disney-ABC Domestic TV pulled the plug on At the Movies, the long-running show featuring a critical take on the week's films. Over its nearly 30 years, the program has seen several changings of the guard - Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert made it popular in the '80s, Richard Roeper stepped in after Siskel's death, and most recently A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips have taken over the reins.

Disney-ABC blamed its decision on the show being "no longer sustainable," which makes sense, what with the ease of finding reviews online. Even so, I'm somewhat sad to see it go, and question if part of the reason is perhaps because many people don't want to hear a critics' perspective on a film they're dying to see. Many popular movies have been critically mixed (think New Moon or the current Alice in Wonderland), which means that audiences either don't read the reviews before going to theaters - or they just don't care. What say you?

Buzz News Roundup, 7/21

BuzzSugar — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 13:31:30 PDT

Variety reports that Fergie will, in fact, join the star-studded cast of Rob Marshall's movie musical Nine, which so far includes the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard and Judi Dench, among others.
The fine for Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" has been overturned, the New York Times reports.
The AP has the news that Ebert and Roeper are both done with their movie review TV show.
James Purefoy is in negotiations to play the lead in NBC's The Philanthropist, Reuters reports.
Remember "The Bro Code" from How I Met Your Mother? Well, it's going to be a real book in stores this Fall, writes the Chicago Tribune.
Over the weekend, Montreal's Just for Laughs comedy festival honored Judd Apatow with the Comedy Person of the Year trophy, according to Variety.
Battlestar Galactica's Jamie Bamber will star in the UK version of Law & Order, E! reports.
The AP declares the best albums of 2008 so far.

Source

Will You Miss Ebert's TV Movie Reviews?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:30:43 PDT

The New York Times recently ran a nice piece describing the impact Roger Ebert has had on the world of movie critique (the thumbs up/down rating system included), which had previously been relegated to newspapers and magazines. The show Siskel and Ebert became famous for the on-air debates they brought to American living rooms, making film criticism fun to watch and accessible to the regular moviegoer.

Unfortunately, Ebert recently wrote that due to surgical complications, he will no longer be able to do the TV show and will return to only doing written reviews. This makes me sadly nostalgic for the way he used to duke it out with his co-hosts over whether or not a movie is worth our while.

What about you? Will you miss Ebert's recommendations on TV?

Source

Buzz News Roundup, 8/26

BuzzSugar — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:30:10 PDT

The foul-mouthed kiddos of "South Park" will be around through at least 2011, writes the New York Times.
Mexican actor Demian Bichir is signed on to play Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh's upcoming films The Guerrilla and The Argentine while Benicio Del Toro plays Che Guevara, Variety reports.
"Buffy" and "Tru Calling" star Eliza Dushku has signed a deal with Fox in which the network will develop projects for her, writes the Hollywood Reporter.
London theaters are all about taking cues from Hollywood these days as a stage adaptation of Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother readies to open tomorrow and Christian Slater takes on Kevin Spacey's role in a stage version of Swimming With Sharks, says Variety.
ComingSoon reports that Keanu Reeves will star in a remake of the sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still.
Roger Ebert and Disney are squabbling over the use of the critic's famous thumbs, Variety reports.
Donal Logue will star in a Fox comedy called "Hackett," about a "bad-boy literary luminary" who ends up teaching at a public school.
ComingSoon reports that Warner Bros will release an extended version of High School Musical 2 on December 11.

Photo courtesy of Comedy Central

Buzz News Roundup, 6/29

BuzzSugar — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 15:37:56 PDT

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.

Source

September Must Reads

TresSugar — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 09:34:50 PDT

Summer is setting, and Fall is right around the corner, which means the leaves will be changing colors, school will be back in session, and we can spend our evenings bundled up in a big comfy couch with a good book and a pumpkin spice latte. If you're looking for some good Fall reading to snuggle up to, we have you covered with 10 books we recommend you to check out this month. This batch of page-turners includes magical romances, intriguing mysteries, and diverse memoirs by Jane Lynch, Levi Johnston, and Roger Ebert. Check them out now!

And don't forget to pick your favorite reads in our Battle of the Books faceoff!