BuzzSugar

Buzz News Roundup, 7/13

BuzzSugar — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:30:13 PDT

Natalie Portman will play Jane Foster in the upcoming comic-book film, Thor. The film is to be directed by Kenneth Branagh and is slated to be released May 20, 2011. - AP
Director Morgan Spurlock will produce and direct the documentary special The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special in 3-D on Ice, which will air on Fox on Jan. 14, 2010. - EW
Lady GaGa joins Avril Lavigne and Ace of Base as the only artists to have three songs from a debut album hit number one on the Mainstream Top 40 airplay chart - The Hollywood Reporter
Jason Statham is in negotiations to star in Blitz, a thriller about a serial killer who targets cops. - Variety
Paul McCartney will play the Late Show With David Letterman this Wednesday, which will be a return to the theater where the Beatles made their American debut 45 years ago. - The Hollywood Reporter
Fox is bringing back Sit Down, Shut Up as part of its late-night lineup this fall. - The Futon Critic
Danny Huston will be King Richard in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood movie. - The Hollywood Reporter

Buzz News Roundup, 4/29

BuzzSugar — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:30:24 PDT

Chris Noth and the other men of Sex and the City - Evan Handler and David Eigenberg - are officially signed on for the Sex and the City sequel. - E!
Amanda Peet has joined Jack Black in the modern-day Gulliver's Travels movie. - The Hollywood Reporter
Sit Down, Shut Up is the latest show to be moved out of its time slot; it will now air Sundays at 7. - TV.com
Two bits of animation news: Wallace and Gromit creator Aardman Features is at work on two new films, while a children's book series by Ricky Gervais is also coming to the big screen. - Variety
Rick Springfield will guest-star as himself on the upcoming season of Californication. - Entertainment Weekly
Creed is reuniting for an album and tour. - Billboard
NBC has renewed the Celebrity Apprentice for 2010. - Zap2it

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Watch, Pass, TiVo, or Rent: Sit Down, Shut Up

BuzzSugar — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 07:30:51 PDT

When I sat down with Mitch Hurwitz and Will Arnett at WonderCon a couple months back to talk about their new animated series Sit Down, Shut Up - which premieres tonight on Fox - I wanted to get some information about the show. But mostly, I just ended up trying to slip a question or two in between all their jokes. For example, when I tried to ask about the show's unique style of using animation against a live-action backdrop, Arnett ended up on some tangent about starting with clay and firing it in a backyard kiln (Hurwitz: "If I may say, you're always so tan. So I wonder if it's the kiln"). It was tough to stay on topic, but there were a lot of laughs along the way.

That's probably as it should be for a show with this kind of comedic talent behind it: The show, about a group of immature high school teachers and staffers, has a number of Arrested Development folks on board (Jason Bateman in addition to Hurwitz and Arnett), plus comedian Nick Kroll, Kristin Chenoweth, and more.

The show starts tonight at 8:30 p.m. EDT and PDT, and I'm wondering how you're feeling about it. Will you be sitting down to watch this one live? Passing on it completely? TiVoing it for later viewing? Or will you hold off till it's on DVD?

Photo courtesy of Fox

Which New Spring Show Are You Looking Forward to Most?

BuzzSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:30:37 PDT

This Spring is filled with lots of good, new, intriguing TV! Castle already got underway this week, and tons of other premieres are in the lineup for the coming weeks. So, what show are you making room for on your schedule?

Castle, Cupid, The Unusuals, Better Off Ted, and In the Motherhood photos copyright 2009 ABC, Inc.; Parks and Recreation photo courtesy of Flynet; Kings photo courtesy of NBC; Harper's Island photo courtesy of CBS; and Sit Down, Shut Up photo courtesy of Fox

Bateman and Arnett Throw Down to Promote Sit Down, Shut Up

BuzzSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:30:40 PDT

Jason Bateman and Will Arnett may be sitting down, but they are definitely not shutting up in this new video Fox released to promote the forthcoming Sit Down, Shut Up. The animated series, which premieres in April, reunites Bateman and Arnett with their Arrested Development director Mitch Hurwitz. But if this video's to be believed, they may not be so into the prospect of working together again.

Billed as a classic fight in the Ali vs. Frasier or Frost vs. Nixon sense, the video shows the two Bluth brothers talking trash - hilarious, hilarious trash - about each other. There's commentary on Arnett's hair-hat, Bateman's brainless brain, and even a shocking secret about Arnett's physique. In reality, it's just an excuse to watch these two guys be adorable together - and what, you got a problem with that? To check out the video, just

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Bateman and Arnett Are Back, Animated and Still Developing

Molly — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:55:49 PST

Jason Bateman and Will Arnett are back together on a new show, only we won't be seeing much of them at all. The animated show, Sit Down, Shut Up, based on an Australian program premieres this spring and reunites a whole lot of Arrested Development cast, writers and producers. Of course, talks at their TCA lunch immediately went to the AD movie - which is apparently Valkyrie meets Hotel for Dogs, hilarious. Jason Bateman and Will Arnett kept the whole room laughing trading jabs and with barely a serious sentence uttered. The rest of the cast, including Kristin Chenoweth, Cheri Oteri and Nick Kroll kept right up. If the show is anything like the panel, the fans will be happy. Here are a few highlights:

Jason Bateman on doing voice over work: "It frees up a lot of time for me. It takes about 45 minutes to snap this bad boy off. . . No, doing voice over work takes a lot of work - not a badger tail like Arnett, not a lick-n-stick. It is not easy for me. I keep anticipating a pink slip every time we do one of these things. I'm happy to be here, I don’t know how much longer I will be here. Not like Velvet Pipes here [at Arnett]."
Will Arnett: "It’s a different experience you’re in a room by yourself not with the other actors. Kind of doing it in a vacuum. You can read a scene all the way through and then you can go back and immediately run through it again and completely reinterpret the scene so its very freeing."
Nick Kroll: "Actually, we all work together it's just you who doesn't."
Will Arnett: "Is it fun?"
Nick Kroll: "We have a great time."

Costar Tom Kenny joked that Will and Jason have been "really good about autographs, we don't ask for them, they just sign stuff and give it to us" before the Development alums got into a lengthy discussion about why the show never caught on and how the Nielsen system didn't work in their favor at the time. Clearly still something they're thinking about, as are all the devotees who will get a special treat when this show hits the screen.

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Buzz News Roundup, 6/16

BuzzSugar — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:36:25 PDT

M.I.A. announced her retirement from live shows at Bonnaroo, NME reports - while the Associated Press details how Kanye West angered the crowd by delaying his show till 4:25 a.m.
Veteran screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan (Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Big Chill) will write the script for a film adaptation of the 1980s cartoon Robotech, with Tobey Maguire producing, writes Hollywood Reporter.
Speaking of The Big Chill, its star William Hurt will reunite with Glenn Close in season two of Damages, Variety reports.
According to ComingSoon the voice cast for a CG-animated movie version of Astro Boy has been announced, with Freddie Highmore in the main role and Bill Nighy, Donald Sutherland and Nathan Lane (among others) supporting.
West Wing star Janel Moloney is among four actors cast in an ABC fantasy pilot called Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas, reports Zap2it.
Variety reports that while The Incredible Hulk reigned supreme in U.S. theaters over the weekend, The Happening was No. 1 at the box office overseas.
Jason Bateman has scored a deal to develop series at Fox, writes the Hollywood Reporter. Meanwhile, in other Arrested Development alumni news, writers of Mitchell Hurwitz's show Sit Down, Shut Up are striking to get WGA benefits.
Coldplay's latest album Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends "raced" to the top spot on U.K. charts, writes Billboard.

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The Fox Fall Schedule: My Take (With Video!)

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:45:13 PDT

Fox just revealed its Fall and mid-season schedules, including the addition of big new sci-fi dramas, the return of 24 (complete with that two-our prequel airing in November) and a new comedy. Now that I've had a chance to think about the schedule and watch some clips, here are my thoughts:

In the Fall, Tuesday night will be pretty darn cool with the return of House followed by the new J.J. Abrams thriller Fringe. I'm excited about this new Abrams series - based on the clips I've seen it looks like The X-Files meets Lost with a tiny bit of Alias sprinkled in. Plus a lot of needles. The mood is dark and tense but the oh-so-adorable Joshua Jackson is back to his wise-cracking ways.
Joss Whedon's Dollhouse will not arrive until mid-season and will be paired up with 24. Between that and their big Tuesday night, Fox is going to be dishing out a ton of sci-fi dramas. I'm OK with this since the sci-fi genre lends itself to great characters and gives us a bit of everything: romance, intrigue, mystery, action, even comedy. I think it's a smart type of show to stock up on, especially from the folks who do it best (Abrams, Whedon).
One interesting thing to note for Dollhouse and Fringe is that they are both what Fox is calling "remote free TV." They promise to have significantly fewer commercials through the entire run of their seasons. Also, both dramas are introducing what they described as "ingénues" in Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse) and Anna Torv (Fringe). Who knows? Maybe these ladies will become the next Jennifer Garner or Gillian Anderson.
I really love Niecy Nash and think the premise of the new comedy Do Not Disturb is cute (as is Jerry O'Connell). I'm not totally sold on whether or not it's built to last, but I'll cross my fingers. I did see some clips of Mitchell Hurwitz's first animated comedy, Sit Down, Shut Up, and wiped away some tears from laughing. The cast of voices is great, though we've got a while before that one's on the air.

I've got some clips and photos from both new shows this fall, and you can check them out if you

Fringe

View 5 Photos ›

Do Not Disturb

View 4 Photos ›

Dollhouse

View 3 Photos ›

Photos courtesy of Fox

Fox Fall Schedule: Two New Shows This Fall

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:57:33 PDT

Fox revealed its Fall TV schedule at the 2008 upfronts this morning, announcing two new shows and the two-hour "telefilm" 24 prequel that will air in November before the regular (much delayed) new season of the show starts up again in January 2009.

The Fox show getting the most buzz this upfront season (and the basket in which Fox is placing all its eggs) is the J.J. Abrams drama Fringe (featuring Joshua Jackson - yay, Pacey!) which will follow House (in a new spot) on Tuesday nights. The other new addition to the schedule is the scripted comedy Do Not Disturb (formerly known as The Inn) which is directed by Jason Bateman.

Coming up mid-season? More sci-fi including Dollhouse from Joss Whedon and two new animated comedies: The Cleveland Show (the Family Guy spinoff) and Sit Down, Shut Up from Arrested Development's Mitchell Hurwitz.

Here's Fox's official press release, and to check out the full schedule and descriptions of the new shows, just

All caps = new show
** = new timeslot

MONDAY
8:00 p.m. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
9 p.m. Prison Break

TUESDAY
8 p.m. House**
9 p.m. FRINGE

WEDNESDAY
8 p.m. Bones
9 p.m. 'Til Death
9:30 p.m. DO NOT DISTURB

THURSDAY
8 p.m. The Moment of Truth
9 p.m. Kitchen Nightmares

FRIDAY
8 p.m. Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader
9 p.m. Don't Forget the Lyrics!

SATURDAY
8 p.m. Cops
8:30 p.m. Cops
9 p.m. America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back
11 p.m. MADtv
Midnight Talkshow

SUNDAY
8 p.m. The Simpsons
8:30 p.m. King of the Hill
9 p.m. Family Guy
9:30 p.m. American Dad

Mid-season: SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, DOLLHOUSE, 24, American Idol, Hell's Kitchen, SECRET MILLIONAIRE, HE CLEVELAND SHOW

Here's how Fox describes the new shows:

Fringe
From J.J. Abrams (Lost), Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the team behind Star Trek,Mission: Impossible III and Alias comes a new drama that will thrill, terrify and explore the blurring line between science fiction and reality. When an international flight lands at Boston's Logan Airport and the passengers and crew have all died grisly deaths, FBI Special Agent OLIVIA DUNHAM (newcomer Anna Torv) is called in to investigate. After her partner, Special Agent JOHN SCOTT (Mark Valley, Boston Legal), is nearly killed during the investigation, a desperate Olivia searches frantically for someone to help, leading her to DR. WALTER BISHOP (John Noble, Lord of the Rings), our generation's Einstein. There's only one catch: he's been institutionalized for the last 20 years, and the only way to question him requires pulling his estranged son PETER (Joshua Jackson, Dawson's Creek) in to help. When Olivia's investigation leads her to manipulative corporate executive NINA SHARP our unlikely trio along with fellow FBI Agents PHILLIP BROYLES, CHARLIE FRANCIS and ASTRID FARNSWORTH will discover that what happened on Flight 627 is only a small piece of a larger, more shocking truth.

Do Not Disturb
Do Not Disturb (working title) is a hilarious workplace comedy set at one of New York City's hottest and hippest hotels: The Inn. Named one of the Big Apple's "10 Best Places to Stay," The Inn is just that the "in" place to be, with its chic dcor, stylish staff and celebrity clientele. Behind the scenes, however, the upstairs/downstairs dynamic tells quite a different story. The hotel's top-notch reputation and sophisticated look is due in large part to NEAL (Jerry O'Connell) at least in his opinion. Although The Inn's charismatic owner R.J. (guest star Robert Wagner) takes all the credit, Neal is the egotistical, hyper-stylish, detail-oriented general manager who will do whatever it takes to keep the hotel and its employees up to his standards. RHONDA (Niecy Nash, Reno 911!) is the head of Human Resources who also keeps Neal's demands in check. She's brash, fabulous and brutally honest and runs the HR department from her bullpen downstairs with a set of rules that are all her own. Rhonda does her best to keep the back of the house in line and the front of the house out of trouble. At the front desk handling check-in while wearing 6-inch Manolos is NICOLE (Molly Stanton), an aging model who is svelte, cynical and slightly starving. Fresh from Nebraska is JASON (Brando Eaton), the nave bellman who would prefer to work behind-the-scenes, but was hired to show off his chiseled face and perfect pecs at the front of the hotel. The downstairs staff includes MOLLY (Jolene Purdy), a reservations clerk who dreams of pop-singer stardom as much as she craves to be part of the action upstairs; and LARRY (Jesse Tyler Ferguson), the head of housekeeping who spends more time on the phone cleaning up his messes at home than he does cleaning up after the guests upstairs.

Dollhouse
Joss Whedon, creator of groundbreaking cult favorites Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly returns to television and reunites with fellow Buffy alumna Eliza Dushku for a thrilling new drama, DOLLHOUSE. ECHO (Dushku) is an "Active," a member of a highly illegal and underground group who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas. Confined to a secret facility known as the "Dollhouse," Echo and the other Actives including SIERRA (Dichen Lachman) and VICTOR (Enver Gjokaj) carry out engagements assigned by ADELLE (Olivia Williams), one of the Dollhouse leaders. The engagements cater to the wealthy, powerful and connected, and require the Actives to immerse themselves in all manner of scenarios romantic, criminal, uplifting, dangerous, comical and the occasional "pro bono" good deed. After each scenario, Echo, always under the watchful eye of her handler BOYD (Harry Lennix), returns to the mysterious Dollhouse where her thoughts, feelings and experiences are erased by TOPHER (Fran Kranz), the Dollhouse's genius programmer. Echo enters the next scenario with no memory of before. Or does she? As the series progresses, FBI Agent PAUL SMITH (Tahmoh Penikett) pieces together clues that lead him closer to the Dollhouse, while Echo stops forgetting, her memories begin to return and she slowly pieces together her mysterious past. Dollhouse revolves around Echo's blossoming self-awareness and her desire to discover her true identity. But with each new engagement, comes a new memory and increased danger inside and outside the Dollhouse.

Secret Millionaire
Secret Millionaire is a dramatic unscripted series that takes America's wealthiest individuals away from their lavish lifestyles, sprawling mansions and private planes and places them undercover into some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in America. Shot under the guise of a documentary, the series reveals the dramatic personal return that millionaires will get when they leave their fortunes to invest in those less fortunate. Challenged with living on minimum wage, the millionaires will immerse themselves in situations beyond their comprehension. They will work side-by-side with community members and befriend those in need to decide who should ultimately receive their gifts of a lifetime. The millionaires will be touched by the people they meet. Some will inspire with their dedication to helping others, while others will relay stories of overcoming tremendous odds. On the final day, the Secret Millionaires meet with the chosen recipients and reveal their true identity and intention: to give them at least $100,000 oftentimes more of their own money and to change their lives forever. Secret Millionaire will engage viewers in important social issues, extol the virtues of volunteerism and change the lives of disadvantaged people and the philanthropists who helped them in unexpected ways.

The Cleveland Show
Many years ago, CLEVELAND BROWN (voiced by Mike Henry) was a high school student madly in love with a beautiful girl named DONNA. Much to his dismay, his love went unrequited, and Donna wound up marrying another man. Cleveland once told Donna he would always love her, and if this man ever done her wrong, he'd be there when she called. Well, this man done her wrong. Donna's husband skipped town with another woman, leaving Donna with a daughter and a baby. Now she's come to Cleveland and offered him another chance at love. Unattached after the Loretta-Quagmire debacle and true to his word, Cleveland joyously accepts and he and CLEVELAND JR. move to Stoolbend, VA, to join their new family. Once in Stoolbend, Cleveland has a few surprises in store for him, including a flirtatious new stepdaughter, a 5-year-old stepson who loves the ladies, as well as a collection of neighbors that includes a loudmouth redneck couple, a British family seemingly stuck in the Victorian era and a family of bears living at the end of the block. Family Guy was only the beginning. Get ready for The Cleveland Show (working title)!

Sit Down, Shut Up
From Emmy Award-winning writer Mitchell Hurwitz (Arrested Development) and Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (Two and a Half Men) comes Sit Down, Shut Up (working title), an animated comedy that focuses on the lives of eight staff members at a high school in a small northeastern fishing town (Go Baiters!) who never lose sight of the fact that the children must ALWAYS come second. We watch them grapple with their own egos, needs and personal agendas, their petty insecurities and prejudices, unrequited loves, and ruthless battles for power and that's just at the staff meeting. SUE SEZNO (Kenan Thompson), a woman who frequently says "no," is the acting principal of the school (the actual principal is recovering from a series of unfortunate accidents that might be seen as escape attempts). Then there's Vice Principal STUART PROZACKIAN (Will Forte) who has a terrifically positive and upbeat attitude... possibly from the performance-enhancing medication he's been secretly put on by the other teachers. There is one educator who feels the focus should be on academics, but despite the old adage, at this school, those who can teach, teach gym and that's where LARRY SLIMP (Jason Bateman) has been exiled to. Immensely frustrated, Larry nurses a crush on science teacher MIRACLE GROHE (Maria Bamford), a woman whose superficial grasp on science is balanced by her superficial grasp on spirituality. Rounding out the staff is the aging German teacher WILLARD DEUTSCHEBOG (Henry Winkler), a deeply defeated man whose yearbook quotation reads "If I believed in reincarnation, I'd kill myself tonight." Uptight HELEN KLENCH (Cheri Oteri) is a librarian whose life's work in research and archiving can now be surpassed by the average Google search from the average cell phone. Proud ANDREW SAPIEN (Nick Kroll) is the flamboyant drama teacher. ENNIS HOFFTARD (Will Arnett) is a fellow teacher and a self-obsessed body builder who yearns to be thought of as a "cool dude" by his students. And finally there's HAPPY (Tom Kenny), the plotting secretive custodian who's assumed to be Hispanic despite the fact that his real name is Muhannad Sabeeh Fa'ach Nuaba. With a distinctive new look a combination of animation against a live-action backdrop Sit Down, Shut Up is a series for the young and old at heart. It lampoons modern society while exposing the dreams, flaws and struggling humanity of our first and most formative authority figures: teachers.

Photos courtesy of Fox

Buzz News Roundup, 3/12

BuzzSugar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 13:30:43 PDT

Two more have joined the cast of My Sister's Keeper: Jason Patric will play the girls' father and Thomas Dekker (formerly Zach on Heroes) will play "the older sister's boyfriend and a fellow cancer survivor," writes Hollywood Reporter.
Online video service Hulu is now open to the public, USA Today reports.
ComingSoon has the news that five more actors have joined the cast of the Shopaholic movie, including John Lithgow and Kristin Scott Thomas.
Since Janet Jackson has the flu, Mariah Carey will appear on this weekend's Saturday Night Live, the Associated Press reports.
Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz is writing an animated version of the Australian comedy Sit Down, Shut Up for Fox, writes Zap2It.
According to Billboard, Goldfrapp, Kate Nash and several others have joined the lineup for this year's Coachella festival.
The Gossip Girl Q&A from the upcoming Paley Festival will be webcast live on March 22, TV Guide reports.
Billboard reports that India.Arie will star in a Broadway show produced by Whoopi Goldberg.

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