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TV News Tidbits: Amy Sedaris, Jada Pinkett Smith, and More

BuzzSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:29:18 -0800

It's that time again! The twice-yearly Television Critics Association press tour kicked off in Los Angeles this week, which means the TV news is going to flow fast and furious for the next week or so. PBS and cable take the stage this week, and then the network portion kicks in early next week, when Molly and I will be flying down to LA to blog and Twitter this tour ourselves!

Until then, I'm keeping an eye on some of the TV news coming out, both from the networks that are presenting and the others that are just making announcements. Some of the highlights so far:

TNT has picked up two new drama series, including Jada Pinkett Smith's project, Time Heals. The other series is The Line, a cop drama starring Dylan McDermott.
Unsurprisingly, Amy Sedaris had the crowd in stitches at the PBS panel yesterday. She's narrating a new PBS miniseries called Make 'Em Laugh: The Funny Business of America, which airs starting Jan. 14. Oh, and apparently Amy does not like the internet very much, but the internet still loves her.
If you like Discovery Channel shows, then get a load of this: The network has at least seven new shows coming soon, including Out of the Wild, in which suburbanites are dropped into the Alaskan wilderness and have to find their way back to civilization. (I'm not kidding - I'd totally watch that.)
Ian McKellen will not be nude for the PBS version of King Lear. So uh, you can cross that off your calendar, I guess.

Source

Buzz News Roundup, 11/7

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 13:31:04 -0800

Fox has announced its Winter schedule, and is moving "houses" with Dollhouse on Fridays and House on Mondays. - Zap2it
Antonio Banderas is in talks to portray Salvador Dali in the indie biopic, Dali. - Variety
Dylan McDermott will play the lead in a TNT pilot called The Line, about a group of undercover LAPD officers. - The Hollywood Reporter
HBO has bought the rights to a documentary about Barack Obama that's been in the works since 2006. - AP
In other Obama-related news, Bruce Springsteen's next album is expected for release around the time of Obama's January inauguration. - Billboard
Reiko Aylesworth is in talks to join the cast of Lost as "Amy, a smart and successful professional woman with a love for the outdoors who is looking for the right man." - ComingSoon
Annette Bening and Naomi Watts will star together in Mother and Child, a drama from writer and director Rodrigo Garcia. - ComingSoon
ABC won't air the Alyssa Milano comedy Single with Parents. - Variety

Photos courtesy of Fox

Friday TV Quiz: Who Said That Line?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:30:36 -0800

Happy Friday, everyone! Did you get your TV fix this week? I certainly did. Time to test just how well you were paying attention with my Who Said That Line? quiz. Every Friday, I pull a few zingers from my favorite shows, and it's up to you to correctly I.D. them. Good luck!

Question 1 of 8

"I wish I got alerts that let me know when crazy girls were approaching."

Friday TV Quiz: Who Said That Line?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:38:18 -0800

It's the end of the week, so you know what that means - time to test your TV knowledge! Think you remember these quips from some of my favorite shows? Try your luck to see if you were really paying attention with my quiz.

Question 1 of 8

"I'm worse than shallow. I'm a kiddie pool."

The Office, "Shareholder Meeting": Best Lines of the Night

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:30:00 -0800

Looks like The Office is trying for a little economic relevance. While it sort of knocks you over the head this week - e.g. showing the Dow Jones sign - you can't blame the writers for making the story timely. Michael travels to New York for a shareholders meeting with Dwight, Andy, and Oscar in tow, but instead of being honored for his work at the branch, he steps into what's essentially a sounding board for grievances.

Lots of great quotes in this episode, so let's recap some of my favorites, shall we? (Don't worry, I've included Michael's big speech.)

"Recyclops will drown you in your over-watered lawns."-Dwight
Obviously the writers had to plug NBC's Green Week like the rest of the network, but The Office's is one of the most creative. I especially enjoyed Jim's side story about how Recyclops's fictional planet was attacked and he "vowed to destroy the planet he once loved." Oh, and his nemesis Polluticorn, which is actually a Power Rangers reference. They could've made the entire episode about Recyclops, and I would've been happy - if for nothing else, just to see Dwight rock that weird eye headband.

For more quips from the evening, including a deleted limo scene, read more.

Dwight: "Oh, I'm sorry were you raised in a household with no consequences?"
Woman in line: "It'll just be a second."
Dwight: "Oh, if onlys and justs were candies and nuts, then every day would be Erntedankfest."
Dwight lays into the woman in the microphone line when she wants to use the bathroom, but his special comeback phrase really made me laugh. I plan on reciting it myself at least once this week. (By the way, I googled "Erntedankfest" and it's Germany's Thanksgiving. Dwight taught me something!)

Pam: "Well, I can't really imagine you yelling at anyone."
Jim: "Oh, I yell, you've heard me yell."
Pam: "Oh, okay. I've heard you exclaim, like the time you said, Hey look, we parked over here."
Jim: "Well that was apple picking day. There's no need to yell that day. You know, I was just excited to find the car. Perfect end to a perfect day."
Aw, Jim. You try so hard to be tough. But you've got to admit that putting Ryan in the closet is genius. Not only does it teach the guy a lesson, but I'm considering it payback for all of those weird getups that Ryan's been wearing recently. (Remember the fedora?!)

"We're gonna come back with a plan for you, it's a 45-day plan, 45 days to get us back on track, 45 points. It's a 45-day, 45 point, one point per day, we get the 45 points. We are back in business. And you can take that to the bank. And limo lady, we are going completely carbon neutral! I love you New York!"-Michael
Best. Speech. Ever. God forbid anyone ever give Michael Scott a mic - serves them right. Oh, and speaking of limos, check out this funny deleted scene of the boys in their ride.

"I just want to say that I believe that there are options out there. A take-a-number option like they have in a deli. What about line varieties? Like an express line for quick comments of ten words or less that could move much more efficiently. What about ropes along the lines that you can hold on to?"-Dwight
I was always welcome a ridiculous Dwight rant, and this was one of his better ones.

Alright, so your turn! What'd you think of the episode? The whole situation has me questioning what's going to happen to Michael in next week's episode. The guy destroys the shareholders meeting, his CEO is annoyed, and then he runs off with the limo - are there going to be repercussions?

If you're a Dunder Mifflin fanatic, head on over to The Office! group in the BuzzSugar Community!

Photo and videos courtesy of NBC

Bad Lieutenant: Good Cop Gone Nuts

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:30:49 -0800

Nicolas Cage has said, "There's a very fine line between Method actor and schizophrenic." In Werner Herzog's Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, he teeters that line maniacally, with an ever-increasing slur and crooked swagger. Cage plays Terence McDonagh, a detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating a drug-related murder and his personal threshold for cocaine and heroin.

The first news of Bad Lieutenant was puzzling: famously extreme director Werner Herzog re-imagining a 1992 cult movie, also called Bad Lieutenant, but shifting the action to New Orleans and casting Nic Cage in the Harvey Keitel role opposite his Ghost Rider costar Eva Mendes. Weird.

But in fact, Bad Lieutenant is Herzog's second surprisingly accessible movie in as many years, following 2007's Rescue Dawn. And Cage is brilliant in a role seemingly made for him, so read more.

The noirish, pulpy, desperate, and often hilarious film opens with a good deed: McDonagh dives into a Katrina-flooded jail cell to save a prisoner's life, in the process injuring his back and subsequently getting hooked on Vicodin and then far harder drugs.

As a degenerate cop in a washed-out city, Cage makes Denzel Washington's Training Day villain look like a Boy Scout. He slithers through the streets, confiscating drugs to snort with his prostitute girlfriend (Mendes), hooking up with a drug kingpin played by Alvin "Xzibit" Joiner, and fending off a rising tide of self-created trouble. "Being courteous is really getting in the way of my progress," he croaks before one of his more disturbing moral lapses.

In post-Katrina New Orleans, Herzog has found the perfect setting. He never lets the city look pretty or even charmingly decayed, and he populates it with iguanas and alligators and snakes and fish. At every turn, McDonagh is confronted by cold-blooded animals, as he careens between the call of duty and the cold-blooded instinct of his addiction. It's impossible to ignore the reptilian symbolism, and the effect is perfectly bizarre. Despite its darkest moments, Bad Lieutenant is a remarkably good trip.

Photos Courtesy First Look Studios

Friday TV Quiz: Who Said That Line?

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:30:12 -0800

Happy Friday, everyone! Were you paying attention to this week's TV? Test your IQ with my TV Quote Quiz, and see if you can match up these lines from my favorite shows with the character that said them. Good luck!

Question 1 of 8

"He's cheating off a girl who thinks the square root of four is rainbows."

The Blind Side: An Unexpected Delight

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:30:42 -0800

It's not that the trailer for The Blind Side isn't compelling; the problem is that it combines Sandra Bullock's twangiest, most-over-the top lines with a heartrending song, which makes it seem schlocky. That's exactly what I expected from the movie, but I have to admit that I was wrong - to my surprise, I found it to be a sentimental gem that's actually quite restrained.

The Blind Side is the true story (based on Michael Lewis's book) of NFL player Michael Oher, who grew up in Memphis's projects with his drug-addicted mother and landed in and out of foster homes. He ended up in a fancy private school and in the home of a wealthy family, the Touhys, led by tough-talking Leigh Anne (Bullock). The weaving of Michael's newfound life in the movie is effective, with sweet bits of humor and just enough emotion.

To see what I liked about the film, just read more.

The movie is full of many surprises: first, it looks like it's going to be mainly about football, but it's not all sports. There is proper attention given to Michael's life before he's taken in and the development of the relationships between the Touhy family members and Michael.

Another nice thing is how smoothly Bullock slides into her role. It's not just her wardrobe and hair that transforms her into the high-maintenance Southern matriarch; her manner as the tough mom who's not completely comfortable showing emotion is very natural - not what I'd expect from the laid-back actress.

Quinton Aaron is also impressive as a sad-eyed orphan turned well-adjusted student and son over the course of the movie. It's not an incredibly complex performance, but his teddy bear presence is irresistible. The supporting players are equally as enjoyable: Tim McGraw, whom I didn't expect much from, is charming, while the Touhy children win you over with their affection for their new brother. The late addition of Kathy Bates (whose role is basically an extended cameo) is hardly needed to bolster the movie, but she adds a nice touch as well.

At two hours and six minutes, the movie is a little too long; director John Lee Hancock seemed intent on fitting in nearly every detail of Michael's journey. Then again, at the end you're rewarded with the payoff: footage and photos of the real-life Touhys and Michael. It's an emotionally satisfying ending to a movie that makes no apologies for being so uplifting.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Brad Pitt Enters the Dark Void

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:00:54 -0800

Introducing Brad Pitt, computer game star: the actor's production company Plan B has signed off on a deal with Capcom to adapt the game Dark Void for the big screen with Pitt as the lead. Void follows a pilot who crashes in the Bermuda Triangle and finds himself in an alternate universe fighting off aliens intent on taking over the human race.

This seems more like Will Smith territory to me - I immediately think of something along the lines of I, Robot or I Am Legend. Even so, I welcome the chance to see Pitt in a sci-fi action movie, and this storyline sounds tailor-made for the blockbuster treatment.

What do you think about Pitt as a gaming hero?

Glee-ful Highlights and Video From Episode "Ballad"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:45:00 -0800

Maybe it's because Glee set the bar so high last week, or maybe it's the lack of Sue, but this week's episode just didn't do it for me. There are plenty of catchy tunes, but Rachel's all-of-a-sudden crush on Mr. Schue seems a bit forced, and it seems ridiculous that Will and Emma are best buddies again with no mention of their dramatic encounters from a few weeks ago.

It does have some touching moments (along with some sad ones) for Finn and Quinn, so to get into it just read more.

Mr Schue has the glee kids draw names out of a hat and assigns each pair a ballad to help them profess their feelings. He shoots himself in the foot when he throws his own name into the ring and Rachel draws it. One spot-on duet of "Endless Love" later, Rachel's found herself a brand new crush to distract her from her feelings for Finn. I liked this plot line, but something about it felt a bit too forced, like the writers just squeezed it in to have Mr. Schue sing his mash-up. I did kind of love when Terri has Rachel clean the bathroom, though, and when Emma and Rachel are equally goo-goo eyed over Mr. Schue's mini-performance. Speaking of Emma, aren't she and Will supposed to be trying to stay away from each other?

Watch Rachel and Mr. Schue gaze into each other's eyes here:

Quinn and Finn's situation comes to a head this week, and both end up breaking the news to their parents. Well, actually, Finn breaks the news to Quinn's parents via a dinner table performance of Paul Anka's "(You're) Having My Baby." While Quinn's parents are heartbreakingly unsupportive, Finn's mom takes the kids in when Quinn has nowhere else to go. The rest of the gleeks profess their own love for the couple with a rendition of "Lean on Me" which is super cheesy, but necessary after the harsh scene with Quinn's parents.
Puck finally breaks down and admits to Mercedes that he's the father of Quinn's baby. Mercedes doesn't even ask questions - just tells Puck that he's already done enough and to back off. Though Puck is staying away for now, it seems like the cat's out of the bag. Plus, did you catch the smirk he makes at Quinn at the end of the episode?

How'd you feel about this week's episode? Do you like the newfound bond between Finn and Kurt? Is Finn's dedication to a sonogram a little over the top? Sound off in the comments below, or create your own posts, recaps, polls and more in the Glee Club community group!

Photos courtesy of Fox