BuzzSugar

Did You Watch "High School Musical 2"?

Molly — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 09:00:00 PDT

Friday night's premiere of "High School Musical 2" on The Disney Channel brought in 17.24 million viewers, which makes it the most watched basic cable program ever. Yes, you read that right - ever. Not only that, but it was the most watched Friday night television program in five years. So I'm guessing it wasn't only tweens and their parents watching those spunky kids dance and sing their hearts out. I'm totally curious - did you watch High School Musical 2?

Source

Get in the Spirt of Animal Hoods This Season

Rebecca M Gruber — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 03:16:22 PST

They growl at us, show their teeth, and dig their heels in when we ask them to do something. Some kids are more like wild animals than sweet offspring on some days. If your lil one has animal tendencies - or simply wants to get in on the season's biggest trend - channel your inner mama bear and get them an animal hoodie. The furry hoods with attached paws first hit the LA club scene last year, eventually showing up on the heads of singers and celebs - including Pink - around town. Now they're making their way onto the heads, necks, and hands of tots everywhere, and the styles couldn't look any cuter than they do on lil ones!

Clockwise from top left: Spirit Hoods' Grey Wolf ($79), Bear Hats Polar Bear Animal Hat Mufflers with Mittens ($19), Spirit Hoods Disney Muppets Kermit ($99), Etsy Shop Designsbyshyvonne Polar Bear Animal Hood Hat Faux Fur ($30), Restoration Hardware Baby and Child Luxe Fur Animal Hood ($46).

A Grown Woman's Guide to Dressing as a Princess For Halloween

Annie Scudder — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 04:00:22 PDT

If Halloween as a little girl meant dressing up as every Disney princess from Cinderella to Snow White, you should still feel perfectly comfortable going as a princess now that you're a grown woman. And no, I don't mean by choosing among the sexier options of Ariel's bikini top or Jasmine's midriff bearing outfit. If you still have princess fever, this is the year to channel non-cartoon royalty; be it an obvious royal-wedding inspired choice like Kate Middleton or Princess Beatrice, or an overlooked classic like Princess Grace of Monaco or Audrey Hepburn's Princess Ann from Roman Holiday. Here's your guide to channeling your inner princess this Halloween.

Jason Segel Talks Muppets, Amy Adams, and His Next Hollywood Dream

Allie Merriam — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:48:00 PDT

We were able to pay a visit to the LA set of The Muppets earlier this year, and the movie's mastermind, lifelong Jim Henson fan Jason Segel, stopped by to chat about life on the set with Kermit. The project was written by Jason and his partner Nick Stoller, and was brought to life with director James Bobin, leading lady Amy Adams, and a roster of talented puppeteers. Jason spoke about how he and Nick tried to make the film fun for both kids and adults, and revealed how happy he was to land Amy Adams as a costar. Jason, who at the time was finishing the Five Year script with Nick between scenes while logging an almost-regular workweek on the set of How I Met Your Mother, also touched on new Muppets, operating Fozzie himself, and what his next big Hollywood dream is. Jason said:

On people's perceptions of a Jason Segel Muppets movie: "I think maybe there was a moment of wariness that I was doing this with a sense of irony. Like there was a wink-wink about it - 'Oh, cute. R-rated Jason Segel is going to do the Muppets and make fun of it.' But as soon as we arrived on set and everyone saw that that wasn't the case, that this was coming from a very genuine and true place, we were all on the same team very very quickly."
On making a movie for kids and adults: "We're trying to harken back to the original three Muppet movies, The Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, and The Great Muppet Caper. I think one of the things the original Muppet movies did amazingly well is that they don't condescend to children by feeling like they have to dumb things down to the lowest common denominator. And when you don't do that, you get a family film in its truest sense. An entire family can sit and watch and enjoy it. The worst equivalent is Barney the dinosaur where parents are having to sit there while their kids watch this and the parents want to blow their brains out. This I think is going to be the exact opposite. I think parents are going to be laughing as hard as kids are going to be laughing. We have jokes geared toward children and we have jokes that are geared specifically toward adults that go right over a kid's head. It's something that The Simpsons does as well. There's something very special about a family sitting down to enjoy something together - that was our goal."
On why Amy Adams is the perfect leading lady: "I wrote it for her. She was in my mind from the beginning, ever since I saw Enchanted. The role is very different, but first of all, she's like the best actress alive. To go from Enchanted to Doubt, and The Fighter, this woman can do anything. She's able to do this wide-eyed naiveté that is not part of her personality in real life - she's one of the most smart, on-top-of-it women I've ever met. But she can do this kind of thing - my character and her character and Walter are true innocents. She's able to do that. She channels it through her eyes, and she can sing. She's totally game. She's up for it. She also really gets the jokes, so she was the perfect choice from the start. I don't know what we would have done if we hadn't gotten her."
On writing, filming TV, and filming movies at the same time: "I spent [ages] 21-25 totally out of work. And so now that I have a chance to do stuff, there's a part of me that thinks I'm not letting this opportunity pass by. You see it go away so quickly. It's so fickle. I like writing, I genuinely do. I get tired and all that stuff, but when you think about it, it's like the alien is going to burst out of your chest. When I get an idea it's kind of hard not to do something because it feels like the alien is going to burst out of my chest. I'm not good at setting it aside and saying I'll get to it eventually. I want to start writing it, even if it means staying up all night. It's tough to complain . . . I bought a house! What do I have to complain about, a little lack of sleep?"

View 5 Photos ›

Photos courtesy Disney To read what Jason says about the new Muppet, more on the movie, and his one remaining Hollywood dream, just read more.

On creating a new Muppet: "Nick Stoller and I did. We wrote the script together, he's my writing partner. We invented Walter! We did not get to design him physically because then they would owe us a lot of money. So we came up with him on paper and then they were very clear that we could not be involved in any aspect in the physical design of Walter. But it is pretty crazy when I saw him and I knew he was born in our brains. It's like Nick and I had a little baby - with our brains."
On whether or not this movie would be a musical: "We knew it was going to be a musical from the start. All the Muppets movies are musicals. When you look back at the great lineage of the Muppet music, like "The Rainbow Connection." I mean that is not a joke of a song. That is a serious song. If a legitimate musician put out that song they'd win a Grammy. We really wanted the music to be great and James (director) was the perfect choice for this movie and it seems like he's been training for this."
On what Muppets we'll see again: "We're bringing out a lot of the Muppets from the archives. A lot of guys from the old Muppet shows, some of the kind of obscure performances make appearances. I can't give too many away, but there's some old favorites of mine . . . there's some really cool weird ones."
On improv from the Muppeteers: "There is! I did not expect that for a minute! These guys know the characters so much better than I could hope to. I could imagine what the character might say, but these guys have been playing them for 20, 30 years."
On operating a Muppet himself: "Yeah I just operated Fozzie a minute ago! I've done Fozzie, Dr. Teeh, and I've done Beeker so far. It's been amazing. That is what knocks your socks off. This is going to sound different from how I mean it - but my hand is inside Fozzie? That's amazing. I never thought that would happen!"
On taking pieces from the set home: "I really want a lot of stuff that I see around here. They're very protective certainly over the puppets, but I've gotten a few bits of paraphernalia that I'll save and treasure forever. Some really special photographs. Me with Kermit, shooting the . . . breeze? What's the the PG version of that? That's the greatest picture I've ever seen. I love it."
On Muppets not being puppets: "In the original script, I was a ventriloquist and Walter was my puppet. But one of the things you find out is that you really don't want to cross the line into mentioning puppet. It becomes very, very complicated because the Muppets and not puppets. Muppets are living creatures in this world, you know what I mean? So as soon as I realized that that made things really complicated to have a puppet vs. the Muppets . . . it became complicated, so we cut that aspect of the story and it actually really simplified the story."
On Walter's personality: "Walter is the sweetest little guy you'll ever meet. He's like Kermit. He's like a very young Kermit. He's naive and he's sweet. Walter's thing is he's never met anyone like him. Like I said you don't use the word puppet, but he's my best friend and we grew up in Smalltown, USA - that's literally the name of the town - and he's never seen anything else like him. Except for the Muppets on television. So his dream is to go meet the Muppets and maybe have a family. It really does have tones of young Kermit."
On the movie's bad guys: "There are some other new Muppets. Villainous characters - they're not specifically Muppets. They're not very nice, so they're not Muppets. But they're adorable. I love them. They're another great creation. I can't give too much away about them, but they're really cool."
On the movie being a lifelong dream: "Once [the studio] said they were going to make it, everyone in my life was like, 'All right! Whatever you need. Let's get this thing made.' Because I've had puppets and Muppet figurines in my house, in my bedroom, since I was a kid."
On making Muppets history: "I'm not an arrogant dude, but to be even the tiniest footnote in the Muppets lineage is nuts to me. That is insane! So I feel very honored."
On Hollywood stars requesting cameos: "I got a lot of calls, especially my contemporaries who have kids all wanted to be a part of it for their kids. The idea of bringing their kids to meet the Muppets, or even to be able to show them the movie eventually. People love the Muppets. There's a lot of Muppet love out there."
On the music: "Bret McKenzie wrote most of the songs, and we have a couple reprises of some of the old songs. I wrote one of the songs, but it's a jokier version. Bret really took the songs and ran with them, and they're awesome . . . but some of the lyrics are definitely adult-based."
On where we find the Muppets: "We've got them in varying states of success and disarray. Some are famous, some are . . . destitute is the wrong word, you're not going to see any destitute moments . . . but some aren't doing what they wish they were doing. Everyone is doing their own thing, and it's a bit of a struggle for all of them to come back and do the Muppet show again."
On his next big Hollywood dream: "I'd like to be president of the United States. No. I've like to play a villain in a superhero movie. I think I'd be really good at it. I'm like 20 percent creepy. I'm really am. I am 20 percent creepy, I exclude it from this movie. But when you watch Sarah Marshall, the Dracula musical is funny but it's 20 percent creepy. I really want to play a villain in a superhero movie."

Link Time - Jack Donaghy Gets Animated!

BuzzSugar — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 13:43:25 PDT

Watch an animated 30 Rock video featuring Jack Donaghy as a superhero - Vulture
Watch the Beastie Boys' short film starring Seth Rogen and a many more celebs - /Film
The 10 buzziest movies at the Tribeca Film Festival - Flavorwire
Peep Ryan Reynolds in these new Green Lantern pics - Moviefone
Chris Colfer sold a pilot to the Disney Channel - TV Squad
She's back in: Lindsay Lohan cast as Kim in Gotti: Three Generations - MTV Movies Blog
Jennifer Lopez wants her own talent-finding reality show - The Ausiello Files
Here's your schedule to the royal wedding happenings - TresSugar

David Beckham Goes Shirtless to Hit the Beach With His Boys!

Allie Merriam — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:24:49 PDT

There was more David Beckham shirtless time yesterday when he hit the beach in Malibu with his three sons Brooklyn, Cruz, and Romeo. Victoria Beckham didn't go along for the outing, as she stayed home with their newborn daughter, Harper Seven Beckham. David has been out and about with the boys in the eight days since Harper was delivered. He even hit the field with the Galaxy to take on his former team, Real Madrid, in a friendly match. David's cleats featured his kids' names, with Harper's right there alongside her big brothers'. David recently explained the origin of Harper's name, saying it was based on the author of Victoria's favorite book. Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird has seen sales increase dramatically since their daughter's birth, proving the dedication of their fans. David lovers will get another chance to see him Sunday, when his cameo on Take Two With Phineas and Ferb airs on the Disney channel.

Link Time - Penelope Cruz Dresses Up as a Disney Princess

PopSugar — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 13:01:00 PST

See celebrities channel Disney stars - TooFab
Johnny Depp calls Angelina Jolie a "shockingly good mother" - Huffington Post
Model Chanel Iman talks about her attempts to gain weight - Us Weekly
A closer look at Charlie Sheen's "tornado of awesome" - Lainey Gossip
Was Zac Efron really seen holding hands with another guy? - D-Listed
See SI swimsuit model Kate Upton's serious workout routine - SI's HotClicks
Carey Mulligan steps out to party for Happythankyoumoreplease - JustJared
Bethenny Frankel calls the new season of her show "uncomfortable" - PopEater
Christina Hendricks shows cleavage in a new ad campaign - Hollywood Tuna
Another celebrity joins Twitter! - Pink Is the New Blog
Details on Paula Abdul's strange Valentine's Day 911 call - The Superficial
Fans show their love for Justin Bieber - cityrag
Beyoncé donates money she was paid for a 2009 NYE performance - popbytes
Check out Jennifer Aniston's $42 million house that just went on the market! - CasaSugar

Disney Shelves Fairy Tale Movies - Good News For Girls?

Annie Scudder — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:40:16 PST

Based on the interest in Prince William and Kate Middleton's engagement last week, I'd say royalty is having a moment. But Disney, the peddler of princess dreams, thinks fairy tale movies are no longer relevant and it's shelving them for the foreseeable future. Explaining that films and genres run their course, Disney's animation group has killed two fairy tale movies in development and says Tangled will be its last.

It's no longer financially feasible for studios to market some movies to girls and some movies to boys, which is bad news for narrow gender roles. The hope of appealing to a larger audience motivated Disney to give Tangled a gender-neutral name and we can expect more movies like Toy Story, which will have broad themes that appeal to boys or girls (and men or women) alike. But a shift in what little girls want might have prompted the decision, too. The LA Times explains:

Among girls, princesses and the romanticized ideal they represent - revolving around finding the man of your dreams - have a limited shelf life. With the advent of "tween" TV, the tiara-wearing ideal of femininity has been supplanted by new adolescent role models such as the Disney Channel's Selena Gomez and Nickelodeon's Miranda Cosgrove.

Before you rejoice about today's enlightened children, note that princesses might be too innocent for savvy tweens. One expert on media and children's values says that by the time they're 5 or 6, girls are "interested in being hot, in being cool."

Update: According to a Disney's Facebook page, fairy tales are alive and well at the studio.

Interview with Imagination Movers: Disney's Amazing Dad Band

LilSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:00:27 PST

Disney's hottest dad act, the Imagination Movers encourage friendship, creativity, and thinking while they get kids up off the couch. You may assume this is just another example of the Mouse's Midas touch, but it's more. The four friends (three of which are fathers to a combined nine children) have a back story beginning in New Orleans that will have parents pushing their tots in front of the television as the band's message is genuine. Rich Collins (Mover Rich) explained, "We weren't four guys that went and auditioned and got put on a show. There's history that makes us what we are." I had the opportunity to sit down with the foursome (Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche, and Scott "Smitty" Smith) recently in San Francisco. To see how Hurricane Katrina altered their lives and led them to become male role models on the Disney channel,

read more. lilsugar: How did you guys go from being an architect, a firefighter, a teacher and a journalist to having a kid's band? Dave: We wanted to make quality music for kids because we had children who were steeped in the whole world of entertainment and a lot of what we saw was cartoons and puppets. We brought it back to what we had grown up with - Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo. Mr. Rogers had just passed away and we thought there was a void and decided to take a shot at doing something about it. So we got together - four goofy dads who had an idea and here we are years later and it's turned into something that is of value. Scott: Actually, the initial idea was local in New Orleans and then low and behold what we created resonated with people and we were tenacious about its development and were fortunate that Disney came and saw us at Jazz Fest. We played our set and started talking about doing a show together and had this concept and that's how it was born. lilsugar: Did you guys quit your day jobs as touring and doing a show must take up the majority of your time? Dave: When we started it was a hobby. We'd put the kids to bed and meet. At first, it was in my built out attic room and we'd be there from like nine at night until 12 or one in the morning a few days a week and brainstorm and work. Then, the music took on a life of its own. We made three independent CDs and a DVD and started playing shows. The business needed attention so Rich was the first one to quit and make the full time leap. Then, three years ago Katrina came. Once that happened we lost three of our four homes and Smitty was a firefighter. Smitty: I still am a New Orleans firefighter, I'm just on leave of absence. lilsugar: When you lost your homes, did you go stay with family and then reconnect later? Rich: So the flood came and the three of us lived in one neighborhood (Smitty lived in a drier part of town) so our houses got completely flooded and were under eight feet of water for weeks and our office, Mover stuff and instruments - it was all gone. So we were all in our cars with the kids and the cat and the computer and a few pieces of clothing and a couple of pictures you saved and we were literally refugees, but it's funny. It's not funny really, but there was a day or two after when we were all holed up in different cities and hotels and things and we started communicating via text because we had a show booked that next Saturday in Dallas. And, so I was like - can you get there? Can we do this show? Dave: I was sitting on the steps of a hotel in Houston, my kids were in bed and I'm exhausted outside with my wife and we're texting because that's the only way you can communicate. I looked at my phone and it was Tuesday or Wednesday and he's like so are we still playing Dallas Saturday? Saturday, I was in Dallas. We realized what else are we gonna do? We will have a hotel room there. I don't know if I have a job, I don't know where anybody is, and there's a small fee out there and I've got an obligation. Not knowing where anything was or where money was gonna come from, we went. People loaned us instruments. Rich: Scott bought some replacement suits - I was wearing my old glasses. We were like refugee performers - so a bad thing happened and that's kind of a symbol for what happened in the bigger picture. We were totally thrown off of our routines, but quickly realized that there was this huge community of Movers fans in New Orleans and around the south who reached out to us to ask if we were okay. And to let us know, "your music was in the car and kept our kids feeling safe and please keep doing what you're doing". It was this outpouring of support. Doing the Movers gave us this safe harbor and in a bigger sense, it is what allowed us to pull ourselves up out of the storm. This is maybe getting a little too grand, but we managed to get the deal with Disney and bring the production of the show to the city. It was the lifeline for us and for our families to get the show going, but we're now employing more than one hundred people for seven months at a time when we do the show. It's a huge boost for the local film community. lilsugar: No matter what happens, you're staying in New Orleans? Smitty: New Orleans is a small town, we grew this thing from nothing. People would tell us that this was their sense of normalcy and for us this became the thing we rallied around to lift ourselves up. Scott: The one guy who didn't lose his home, Smitty, penned the lyrics to the song, We Got Each Other which was probably the first recorded song in New Orleans after Katrina and was on our Eight Feet album. Dave: You might lose your tangible things, but you've still got your family and friends and support. Smitty: I didn't lose my house and none of my family died or anything, but as a fireman, for two weeks straight we banded together and relied on one another for our lives. That was part of that song too. It was pretty tough, but I think out of all that, here comes this good thing. Scott: Our lives turn on a dime. We were professionals working jobs and then we were standing in line for welfare or to get food stamps. It was just a real experience. Courtesy of Disney