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07/30/10

‘96 Tears’ Singer Question Mark on Predicting 9/11 and Katrina, His Beef With Bob Dylan, and the So-Called Planet Mars

By Mark Jacobson

If Question Mark and the Mysterians’ “96 Tears” (as in “you’re gonna cry 96 tears … cry, cry, cry,”) isn’t the greatest two minutes and 57 seconds ever to emerge from a garage in Bay City, Michigan, please say what is. In the realm of one-hit wonder rock gristle the only competition is “Wild Thing,” but then again, the author of that tune, Chip Taylor, while being Angelina Jolie’s uncle, has never claimed to have a soul from Mars or to have walked with the dinosaurs, as Question Mark has, whose pumping Farfisa organ enlivened many a 1966 dorm room. Still defiantly crazy after all these years (he claims to have foreseen the WTC disaster and cites the fact that one of the planes flew into the 96th floor as proof), "?" brings the current version of his Mysterians to Lincoln Center’s Damrosch Park Bandshell on Saturday, as part of the Ponderosa Stomp’s Detroit Breakdown. Also performing will be the great Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, among others. Admission is free, which sounds like a really good deal. Mark Jacobson managed to contact the famous Mysterian in mid-orbit and returns with the following Q&A with "Q".

"I've lived many different lives, and by the way, I can back anything that I say." »

TCA Update: Terrence Howard to Law & Order: L.A., Drew Carey to Community

More news out of NBC's go-around at TCA: Terrence Howard will join the murderer's row (Alfred Molina! Skeet Ulrich! Corey Stoll!) over at Law & Order: Los Angeles as a deputy D.A. (he's splitting the gig with Molina), while the recently svelte Drew Carey will guest-star on Community. Get excited, fans of oblique references to The Drew Carey Show and/or Terrence Howard's acting! [Deadline, Hollywood Insider/EW]

New Michael Jackson Album Confirmed for November

Forget all those rumors: A new MJ album — featuring ten unreleased songs culled from the "hard drives filled with unheard music, much of it recorded during the King of Pop's '80s peak" that Jackson left behind — is now confirmed for November. That sounds kind of promising! On the other hand: The collection will most likely feature collaborations with Will.I.Am. [RS]

Vulture’s Stupidest Things of Summer: No. 1 Finally Falls

By Willa Paskin

As the summer trudges on, it’s become apparent that one of the key qualities of high-level stupidity is stickiness — that is, its ability to inspire, attract, and co-opt other cultural products and events, creating, over time, a multimedia agglomeration packed tight around a core nugget of stupidity, like some inedible super-peach growing around a toxic yet fertile pit. This has happened not only with Jersey Shore, Mel Gibson, and Lindsay Lohan — silly things and people that have continued to be silly while motivating others to do the same — but with the list’s less notorious entries as well. For example, the Thor-as-construction-worker-slash-Chippendale image that debuted last week resonates with the house-of-shirtless-werewolves still from Twilight, and both share a bond with The Situation’s endless ab shots. Ke$ha, and her silly lyrics, inspired Kyrah and her sillier shtick. The Showgirls 2 trailer, plenty stupid all by itself, was joined this week by the preposterous trailer for Titantic 2. The Yogi Bear trailer, making its debut on the list today, is an obvious relative of perpetual 10.5 Marmaduke.

Let's get to the point. »

Snooki Arrested

Details are still hazy, but TMZ reports that Jersey Shore's Snooki was popped by cops a few minutes ago in Seaside Heights for disorderly conduct. Disorderly conduct! In related news, last night's season-two opener was watched by 5.3 million people, making it MTV's biggest season premiere in more than seven years. We hope you're proud of yourselves. [TMZ]

Kevin Smith Makes Batman Pee His Pants

Kevin Smith's writing, whether it's for movies or comic books, always includes a lot of potty humor. That's just what you ought to expect when you hire the guy. Nevertheless, it's still sort of impressive that he got away with writing a comic book in which Batman wets his tights while out on a mission. Unsurprisingly, Batman fans aren't feeling it. [Major Spoilers]

Rubicon’s Badge Dale on the Secrets of His Show and His Hair

By Emma Rosenblum

Rubicon, AMC's new conspiracy thriller set in the world of government intelligence, starts in earnest this weekend — episodes one and two will be shown on Sunday night in the lead-up before Mad Men. Rubicon stars James Badge Dale (who goes by Badge), best known for his stint on the third season of 24 and for starring on HBO's The Pacific as Robert Leckie, the emotional center of the WWII miniseries. Curiously, when Dale first read Rubicon's script, he wasn't interested. "I thought I was the wrong guy, I told them not to hire me, and apparently anytime I tell people not to hire me, they do hire me," he told us. We spoke to him about why he didn't want the part, his secretive research for the role, and how, yes, people tell him he looks like Matthew Morrison.

"The gray hair is all mine." »

Makers of NBC’s The Event and Undercovers Promise Their Shows Will Be Simpler Than Lost

By Joe Adalian

NBC's official slogan these days is "More Colorful," but for the fall, the network's unofficial mantra may actually be "Less Confusing." Sure, the Peacock's got The Event, a big conspiracy thriller with elements of 24, Lost, and (maybe) Heroes. It's also debuting Undercovers, a new spy drama from professional audience torturer J.J. Abrams. And yet, producers and actors involved with both shows really, really want you to know nothing about their respective projects will make your head hurt. At all.

Laura Innes: "We don't want to end up on a show that drives people crazy." »

Will Conan Do the Emmys?

The ball's in your court, Coco: NBC Universal TV chief Jeff Gaspin just told Vulture that he would have "no issues" with Conan O'Brien appearing as a presenter on next month's prime-time Emmy awards. "As long as he's not hosting, I'm fine," Gaspin said. So will the TV Academy ask O'Brien to appear? If asked, will Conan serve? We've e-mailed O'Brien's reps and the Academy and will let you know if they have any response.

30 Rock to Do a Live Episode

A few minutes ago at TCA, NBC announced that 30 Rock will air a live episode in October. They'll perform separate versions for viewers on both coasts, giving Tracy Morgan two chances to deliver lines exactly as written. In other Peacock news, Rob Lowe will join Parks and Recreation as a full-time cast member (he had previously only signed on for six episodes). And NBC has decided to debut a few shows early this fall, with Parenthood now premiering September 14, Outlaw on September 15, and The Apprentice on September 16.

Jimmy Fallon Accused of Sexual Discrimination by a Dude

Paul Tarascio, a former stage manager for Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, has filed a sexual-discrimination complaint claiming he was demoted and eventually fired because Fallon allegedly "just prefers to take direction from a woman." Tarascio, a veteran of Late Night who worked for Conan O'Brien for fourteen years, insists that his female replacement is less qualified and that he was let go as a result of "fabricated performance issues." [NYDN]

A Vulture Guide to Telling Apart the Wills of Rubicon and Glee

By Lane Brown

This Sunday before Mad Men, AMC will officially launch its third original series, Rubicon, which follows the adventures of Will Travers, a brilliant think-tank intelligence analyst whose bosses might be up to no good. Some viewers may have already noticed, though, that Travers bears more than a passing resemblance to another popular TV Will — Glee's Mr. Schue, who shares a similar bone structure, hairstyle, and penchant for breaking into song (just kidding about that last one, we think). How to tell them apart? Our handy guide, after the jump.

Hint: Look for the sweater. »

TNT Just Renewing Shows All Over the Place

Specifically, The Closer (coming back for a seventh season), Leverage (back for a fourth), and newbie Rizzoli and Isles, which has made it out of its first season. Angie Harmon is so back. [TV by the Numbers]

The Star Market: What is Former Teen Idol and Aspiring Bad-Ass Zac Efron's Value in Hollywood?

By Bilge Ebiri and Claude Brodesser-Akner

From the moment he backed out of a Footloose remake, the 22-year-old High School Musical lunchbox mainstay Zac Efron has made it clear that he has no intention of falling into the aging teen-idol trap, one which rarely ends with anything but a VH1 reality series 30 years later. And this week was full of news showing how serious he is about that: First came our story that he was negotiating to star in an adaptation of Nicholas Sparks's novel The Lucky One, in which he would play a former Marine, and was also attached a Tarantino-esque action-thriller, Die in a Gun Fight. They won’t be airing on the Disney Channel! Then, he proudly admitted to spending a long evening at a Manhattan strip club: Print that, Teen Beat! And today is the opening of his “adult” drama Charlie St. Cloud, Efron’s latest attempt to show the world that he’s not just a pretty face, he’s a pretty face who can act. But does Hollywood (and audiences) have the inclination to rethink a man who made his fame dancing with basketballs? And in a young world now obsessed with Team Jacob and Team Edward, does anyone want to be on Team Zac anymore? We found out by subjecting him to the Star Market.

He wants to be gritty. But does that face ever get gritty? »

YouTube Now Offering Five Extra Minutes Per Video for You to Show Off Your Cat

Popular video-streaming website YouTube has announced that it's raising its per-video time limit from ten to fifteen minutes. Amateur auteurs of the world, your canvas has just been expanded! [AP]

Jersey Shore Premiere Recap: The Top Ten Catchphrase Countdown Returns!

By Emma Rosenblum

Welcome back, everyone, to our much-loved Jersey Shore recap, in which we pinpoint the ten best lines of each episode. Last night saw the return of our seven old friends, plus "classy" Angelina, and it was totally great in a "the gang's all back!" kind of way, if not a little low on actual drama. (Yes, we realize calling a show that contains multiple screaming matches "low on drama" may seem strange, but we grade Jersey Shore on a curve.) Everyone made their way down to MIA ("which is Miami," explains The Situation, helpfully) — The Sitch and Pauly D took a road trip through fireworks country, Snooki and JWOWW met the worst fist-pumper in the history of fist-pumping (after Snooki reluctantly parted with Emilo, her "amazing gorilla juicehead"), Vinny bid adieu to his loving, sex-crazed uncles, and Ronnie and Sammie separately celebrated their singledom, which we knew would be short-lived and end badly. Down in South Beach, everyone's reunited and feeling good, except for Angelina, who decides that the route to the other girls' hearts is by accusing them all of being "shits." Inevitably, the Sammi and Ronnie situation implodes within the first hour of living together, and we're treated to the very familiar scene of the two of them arguing at a club, Ronnie on the verge of tears and/or punching someone, anyone, in the face. But amid all this commotion, some great catchphrases emerged. Let's get to them.

"I am tan! And I like being tan, bitch!" »

Litigious Vampire Weekend Cover Model Says She Never Met the Photographer

The Fairfield Citizen has a profile of Ann Kirsten Kennis, the woman on the cover of the new Vampire Weekend album who is suing the band for using her likeness without her consent. Kennis says that she has never met the photographer, and the release submitted to the band — which she claims was forged — has her name spelled two different ways and only offered her one dollar in payment. If that wasn't depressing enough, the article reveals that Kennis recently underwent chemotherapy and has lost the locks on display in said contentious album cover photo. [Fairfield Citizen via Stereogum]

Zac Efron Continues Career Transformation by Admitting to Strip-Club Visit

By Amos Barshad

Somehow we’ve overlooked this until now, but Zac Efron was on Jimmy Kimmel Live Wednesday night — the same day the explosive “Zac Efron partied with strippers” story broke — and shamelessly admitted to partying with strippers. On Wednesday we theorized that the whole strip-club visit was a carefully calculated publicity maneuver meant to further Efron’s burgeoning grown-man reputation alongside his weepy new movie Charlie St. Cloud. And after watching Efron be charming while talking about strippers on Kimmel, it’s seeming all the more likely. Here’s Efron, being self-deprecating about his new strip-club habit: “I’m trying to keep it between three or four nights a week.” Also: “I’ve learned a lot about these places, mostly from rap music.” Now does this seem like the kind of guy who can carry a blockbuster, or what? [PopWrap/NYP]

How DVD Commentaries Were Born

"I knew the guy who was the curator of films at the LA County Museum of Art, and I brought him to New York to oversee color correction. He’s telling us all these amazing stories, particularly about King Kong, because it’s his favorite film. Someone said, 'Gee, we’ve got this extra sound track on the LaserDisc, why don’t you tell these stories?' He was horrified at the idea, but we promised we’d get him superstoned if he did, and he gave this amazing discussion about the making of King Kong, which we released as the second sound track." —Criterion Collection founder Bob Stein on the first-ever DVD extra [TripleCanopy]

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Josh Wolk
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Lane Brown
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Nick Catucci
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Josef Adalian
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Claude Brodesser-Akner
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Willa Paskin
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Amos Barshad, Edith Zimmerman
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