BuzzSugar

Buzz-Worthy Video: Happy Birthday, Say Anything!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:30:48 -0800

This week marks the 20th anniversary of the beloved film Say Anything. To commemorate the milestone (and its special DVD release), a hoard of guys dressed up as Lloyd Dobler swarmed various areas of New York City to re-create the famous scene set to Peter Gabriel's "Your Eyes." (You know the one - Lloyd wants to win back Diane, so he stands outside of her house with a boombox over his head.)

While these guys can't possibly compare to the original, lovable underdog Dobler (John Cusack), they still make for a pretty charming YouTube video. I only wish I had been there to see them live! Check it out when you read more.

The Results Are In: Recast Say Anything

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:31:13 -0800

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar T-shirt!

Yes, I recognize that to some of you it is sacrilege to recast a movie as beloved as Say Anything, but that didn't stop many others from submitting their recast lists! My personal favorites were the actors selected to play Diane's father, James Court. I loved that kateaustin456 kept it in the Frasier family with Kelsey Grammar, and dollymama's pick of David Duchovny is great, as he plays morally ambiguous rather well.

I also liked that many of the James Court ideas were drawn from current TV shows, from Steve Carell (Jean_Metro's pick), to Kyle MacLachlan (leeluvfashion) to Alec Baldwin (pistonsjenny) to Lost's Terry O'Quinn (WhiplashGirlchild).

I found the ideas for Lloyd's sister Constance Dobler to be really thoughtful, like EmPaige's nod to the original with Lily Taylor, and, most especially BellaCalla's idea of Jenna Fischer.

Overall, however, my favorite recast list this week comes from bhilb! To see who bhilb chose along with a new cast photo, read more

bhilb's cast:
Lloyd Dobler - Shia LaBeouf
Diane Court - Rachel Bilson
James Court - Victor Garber
Constance Dobler - Zooey Deschanel

Recast Say Anything and Win a Prize!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:22:39 -0800

Every Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

I know, I know, I know - Say Anything is perfect and adorable as it is. The characters are classic, the original performances are probably burned into your head for the rest of time. But still, if you could recast this movie now with new actors, who would you pick to play Lloyd Dobler and Diane Court? What about Diane's father James, and Lloyd's sister Constance?

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, November 13, complete with a "new" cast photo.

To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

I'm keeping it simple this week by leaving out Lloyd's friends and his nephew Jason, though you may recast those roles as well if you are so inclined.

Characters to recast:
Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack)
Diane Court (Ione Skye)
James Court (John Mahoney)
Constance Dobler (Joan Cusack)

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

Do You Heart Lloyd Dobler, Too?

BuzzSugar — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 11:05:58 -0700

I know you do, judging by how many people got this Name That Movie challenge, and by the responses to my John Cusack poll and this Movie Night post. Well, now you can wear your heart on your... um, ribcage.

Check out this Lloyd Dobler t-shirt available at Chocosho for $30. Plastics. Kickboxing. A pen. "In Your Eyes." What other Say Anything references can we think of while we swoon over this adorable tee?

What's Your Favorite John Cusack Movie?

BuzzSugar — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 09:00:00 -0700

After seeing the trailer for 1408, a new horror film starring John Cusack, I have to admit that the man's getting older, and it's starting to show. And while I found the trailer to be effectively creepy, I must say I prefer my John Cusack when he's being funny.

Whether he's holding a boom box in front of a girl's house or making "Top 5" lists for everything in his life, John Cusack with his sad-puppy face just gets me every time. For better or worse, he's had a pretty extensive career so far, but just so this list doesn't get too long, I've narrowed down the choices to some of his better-known roles.

It's hard to pick just one, isn't it?

Source

Movie Night: Well-Meaning Dads

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:14:40 -0700

This week I posted my Top 10 Movie Dads - many of whom are notable for their sweetness or bravery or patience. Now for this week's Movie Night, I'm suggesting three movies in which the dads love their kids and are well-intentioned, but don't always quite cut it.

Say Anything
Before he was the grouchy cane-wielding dad on "Frasier," John Mahoney was Diane's (Ione Skye) crook dad, James, in Say Anything. He and Diane have a very special relationship, in fact, they're kind of each other's whole world. It would be intensely creepy if it weren't so cute. And, of course, we love James just as much as Diane does - up until his true actions are discovered and Diane (along with the audience) feels betrayed and disappointed. Still, even at the very end when James has hurt his daughter enormously, you can still see that he loves her more than anything. He just got a little lost.

Two more if you read more

Little Miss Sunshine
Richard (Greg Kinnear) thinks he's being a supportive father to little bespectacled Olive, giving her advice on weight management, etc. Instead, however, he's confusing her and he's on his way to damaging her self-image. He's also mildly delusional and rather insensitive toward his suicidal brother-in-law Frank (Steve Carell). In the end, of course, Richard redeems himself, and his actions finally coincide with his good intentions.

Pretty in Pink
There's a lot of love between Andie (Molly Ringwald) and her dad Jack (Harry Dean Stanton), to the point where it's a little shady. Unemployed and mostly unwashed for much of the film, Jack is like the child in his relationship with his daughter. He loves her - she seems to be all he's got - but he just can't seem to get out of bed to get a job... or to shave, for that matter. And Andie clearly loves him, too, despite his lazy, sleepy ways.

What's Buzzworthy: Amazing Movie Soundtracks

BuzzSugar — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 13:04:42 -0800

All of the build-up to the Oscars next week has me thinking about movie music, so for last week's Buzzworthy challenge, I asked you guys to bookmark the well-executed soundtracks that have managed to become favorites of your CD collection.

There were so many to choose from I had trouble deciding what to feature, including albums I know and love (like Grosse Pointe Blank) and others I just discovered thanks to you guys (including the Laurel Canyon soundtrack). Here's a look at some of my favorite readers' picks for Buzzworthy soundtracks.

Magnolia, bookmarked by Lindsb, who says "I love this movie, and this soundtrack added to the theme and the mood of the movie. Aimee Mann is a genius."

The Graduate, bookmarked by WhiplashGirlchild, who asks: "You know what's wrong with an entire soundtrack by Simon & Garfunkel? Absolutely nothing."

Say Anything, bookmarked by Yiddidea, who says "Not many movies have been able to immortalize a song in the way Peter Gabriel's 'In Your Eyes' was used in this film."

To see the rest, read more

Garden State, bookmarked by Sweet_T23 and Lindsb. The real Buzzworthy challenge would be finding someone who doesn't like this soundtrack.

Boogie Nights, bookmarked by my girls FabSugar and WhiplashGirlchild.

Reality Bites, bookmarked by Missyosigirl.

If you're still not sure how to create a Buzzworthy bookmark, don't worry: TeamSugar makes it easy to bookmark and capture anything on the Web that you consider "Buzzworthy." If you already have a "That's Fab" button on your browser's tool bar, you can use that to bookmark your Buzzworthy items. If you don't have the TeamSugar bookmarking button on your toolbar, you can learn how to get it by watching this video.

What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:30:29 -0800

Time for more Tuesday entertainment! I've already shared a few new DVD releases to give your movie library a shot in the arm, but now, let's amp up your iPod. Big-name albums hit shelves today, so be sure to read up on these three. (And if you want to see your own music reviews featured on Buzz, submit them in the Music Review Group in the community!)

Fan-pleasing pop: American Idol fans rejoice: you've said that you're interested in post-AI albums, and now Kris Allen's anticipated self-titled debut is finally here. The song selections started a bit bland for me, but Allen picks up momentum with "The Truth" and the soft but moving ballad "Bring it Back." Both songs get needed oomph from orchestral accompaniment to create a sweeping sound that's sure to make Allen aficionados swoon. As for the rest of the album, it's predictable, but likable, much like the singer himself.

Why the sad face? Listening to John Mayer's latest, Battle Studies, you've got to wonder who ripped his heart out - Jessica Simpson? Jennifer Aniston? Every song is about a hurt guy who doesn't want to love again. Sensitive crooning isn't anything new to Mayer, but this time, it feels like mundane easy listening. I long for the days of "No Such Thing" when we had a more upbeat Mayer, or the Mayer who can riff on the guitar like nobody's business. But we don't really get either here. Still, it's worth noting his collaboration with Taylor Swift on "Half of My Heart," and my personal fave, "All We Ever Do Is Say Goodbye."

See one more release when you read more.

Diva in training: Leona Lewis burst onto the scene two years ago with "Bleeding Love," and now she returns with her sophomore follow-up to Spirit, Echo. Lewis hits the high notes - and she'll once again draw comparisons to Mariah Carey - but the lyrics don't always pack the same punch, and they often feel like recycled love musings. I was pleasantly surprised, however, to see Lewis branch out of her usual comfort zone with the dance track "Outta My Head" and "Can't Breathe," which goes heavier on the R&B. If you've seen those Precious promos, you've heard another song from the album, "Happy," but it was recently announced that Lewis will be providing the title track for the film Avatar, so listen for her voice to show up there, too.

Rob, Kristen, and Taylor Are This Week's Entertainment

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:56:22 -0800

Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, and Taylor Lautner have been posing for photo ops all over town - check out Pop's favorite promo tour moments - and it wouldn't be complete without an interview with Entertainment Weekly. In the cute interview, the costars quip about everything from Rob's attachment to his signature hair to Kristen's confession that she'd like to quit smoking to Taylor's obsession with hitting the gym for New Moon. There're also tidbits about Rob and Kristen's off-screen relationship and how Robert handles fandom. They're clearly a tight-knight trio, so check out the highlights below. If you can't get enough Twilight, keep the convos going in the Twilight Saga community group, and be sure to check back next week for my own interview with Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz!

Robert Pattinson on his hair in Eclipse: I swear to you I’ve never experienced anything like this. It's every single day. In Twilight, they wanted me to have extensions down to my hips.
Kristen Stewart: He's a liar. He doesn't remember. He's remembering how they made him feel, but they were just, like, down to here [pointing to her shoulders].
Pattinson: So I told them, "Look, that's just not going to happen." I said, "It looks like this already – I'll come to set like this." I sound so stupid, but in a lot of ways the hair is 75 percent of my performance, so in the second one I said, "Listen, I need to tone down the hair. Let's make it a little more real, a little bit more . . . Method.” [Laughs] And then in the third one, I'm doing fight scenes and there's a strand going down my forehead and they're like, "We need to do it again because no one will recognize you! No one will know who it is!" I'm like, really, is my face that generic?
Stewart: They want proof that you're doing your own stunts, man!
Pattinson: I have to look like the poster at all times. Just in case they want to use any clip for the trailer. Any clip at all! There were about five people in different departments who, because of my forelock, ended up in tears.

For tons of more quotes, just read more.

EW: How are you all coping with living in a fishbowl?
Pattinson: It really depends on the mood. When I met you last year [before Twilight came out], I was doing interviews very sporadically and I never got recognized. Now it's like anywhere I go there's immediate recognition. So there's more of a responsibility . . .
Stewart: I don't mind working every day. It's just, suddenly, I have this other role. And that's really disappointing. All I'd like to do is go outside with a book and figure out what to do with the day. And if I can't do that, then I'm just going to sit in my hotel room on my balcony and chain smoke. [Pauses] I'm going to stop smoking. I'm not such a good smoker, anyway. It's not in my bones. I'm gonna drop it.
Pattinson: The three of us have been working for two years [straight]. It does feel like your day has a shape just as soon as you wake up. I just forget what it's like when you're free.
EW: Taylor, you're the only one who almost lost a shot at the sequels. Do you have a different relationship with fame because you had to fight for your job?
Lautner: No, I kept my eye on the prize 100 percent of the time. I was motivated. I wasn't even thinking about anything else.
Stewart: Thank God you got the job. I wouldn't have wanted to deal with you if you didn’t. After all those months of working out!
Lautner: I just wanted to focus on what I could control, and I worked really hard.
EW: You mean in the gym? Because I see your abs everywhere these days.
Lautner: Yeah, the gym was a major part, but I really studied the books and the character, too. And it all turned out good.
EW: Kristen, it must be nice to watch the guys' appearances get obsessed over for a change.
Stewart: Seriously, it's a trip to sit back and look at the sexual objectification of these dudes. I've never been asked to do any of this stuff.
EW: You guys are lucky. You clearly all dig each other.
Lautner: The amount of time we have to spend with each other – if I didn't like these two, it would be exhausting.
EW: Rob, you made Remember Me this summer, between sequels. Was that the set in New York, where you were knocked into a cab by hordes of fans?
Pattinson: That was completely made up. I was walking across the street, and there was one cab going about one mile an hour and it nudged my leg. The story ended up being how I got hit by a cab because of a mob of screaming fans, [but] it was 4 o'clock in the morning and there was one person there – a paparazzi. . . . And then there was another time – apparently they said on the news that I had a drug overdose. The security guy saw it on TV, and I wasn't in my room, and he was like, "Uh-oh!" It's just so weird. I wake up and my room is too messy to order room service, and so I end up eating a pack of M&M’s for breakfast – and it takes me about five hours to find it. That's my first five hours of the day. [Laughing] And then you see the news and think, "Who cares if he had a drug overdose? It would probably make him more interesting!"
EW: Kristen and Rob, why do you think people are so obsessed with the state of your off-screen relationship?
Pattinson: Good question. That's a little thing I have to think about every day.
Stewart: Maybe it's just my personality, but I'm never going to answer it. I probably would've answered it if people hadn't made such a big deal about it. But I'm not going to give the fiending an answer. I know that people are really funny about "Well, you chose to be an actor, why don’t you just f---ing give your whole life away? Can I have your firstborn child?"
EW: You don’t think just saying, for example, "Listen, we dated for a few months, it was weird, we're better off as friends" would end the speculation?
Pattinson: No way.
Stewart: People are deeply judgmental and I'm not strong enough. I would love to be like, "I don't care what anybody thinks." But I'm a very private person. And think about every hypothetical answer: "Okay, we are. We aren't. I’m a lesbian." I've thought about this a lot. There's no answer that's not going to tip you one way or the other. I'm just trying to keep something. If people started asking me if I was dating Taylor, I'd be like, "F--- off." I would answer the exact same way."

FlashForward Breakdown, "The Gift"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:30:48 -0800

On this week's episode of FlashForward, we get some of those big payoffs that Sonya Walger promised. While the main characters' most important relationships grow more tense, the FBI agents learn more about the blue-hand situation, and the end of the episode has two very big twists.

There's plenty of excitement to discuss, so to get into it, just read more.

Call me Al: We don't learn much about Al in the first handful of episodes of the season, but boy do we get an eyeful and an earful this week. Turns out Al's flash-forward is a lot more jarring than just a dead bird - it's followed up with a phone call revealing that a still-mysterious chain of events ends in Al "accidentally" killing a mother of two. Throughout the episode Al seems to have a laid-back, collected demeanor (even when he opts in for a game of Russian roulette), but inside he's a mess. In the end, Al is so overcome with grief about having a death on his hands, that he decides to "change the game" and commits suicide. I have to admit, as heartbreaking as that scene is, I was kind of glad Al went through with it - just to prove that the flash-forwards aren't necessarily the future. Everything is changed now, the paths can be adjusted, and both Mark and Demetri realize this as they head home to their significant others. Now that they believe the visions can be adjusted, I can't wait to see what else they try to do to throw their visions off course.

My blue heaven: Following up on Demetri and Al's scavenger hunt to find the "blue hands," the fun continues this week as the FBI agents discover that the blue hands are actually a "death club," with meetings set up all over the country for people like Demetri who didn't see a flash-forward ("living ghosts"). It kind of reminded me of Fight Club, though Mark defines it as a "book club with bullets." The guys are hilarious in their street clothes headed to the party, though what they find inside is pretty horrific. After a quick game of Russian roulette, the guys enter what can only be defined as a torture den - people who believe they are going to die doing all kinds of creepy things to each other. I have to say, if I was one of those "living ghosts" I think I'd either be trying to do all the fun things I never got to do before - or I'd just want to get it over with. Why anyone would want to be tortured when he or she is already tormented by the idea of their inevitable death is beyond me.

Blast from the past: Aaron gets a visit from Mike, a friend and solider who served at the same time as Aaron's daughter Tracy. Mike passes on a Swiss Army knife to Aaron, a good-luck charm that Tracy wanted her dad to have should anything happen to her. Aaron is overjoyed since the knife also appeared in his vision, though Mike isn't exactly receptive to the notion that Tracy is still alive. He explains to Aaron that he watched Tracy die (though hello! He didn't even check to see if she was breathing), but surprise! Tracy is sitting in Aaron's kitchen at the end of the episode.

Other plot points:

As tensions rise between Demetri and Zoey, Demetri finally admits to Zoey that he didn't have a flash-forward and is going to die. Zoey refuses to accept it, insisting that should could feel Demetri in her vision and that nothing's been decided yet. Demetri seems skeptical about choosing Zoey's side to "hope" for the best, but after Al's suicide, he seems to have warmed up to the idea that he can change his fate.

Like Demetri, Al's death is a wake-up call for Mark. After suffering problems with Olivia (how sad is it when Charlie catches him crying?) he runs home and embraces her sweetly.

Instead of helping out at the church, Nicole lands a gig volunteering at Olivia's hospital. We learn that she speaks Japanese pretty will, and now is helping Bryce try to find the mysterious Japanese woman from his vision. Will this somehow lead to Nicole's scary vision? Is she sticking her nose where it doesn't belong?

What did you think of this week's episode? Do you think other characters will try to "change the game," too?