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09/02/10

NBC Finally Secures Rights To Fallon's "Born To Run" Clip

By Josh Duboff

The opening clip of Sunday night’s Emmys, in which host Jimmy Fallon belted “Born to Run” with the help of some famous friends, was widely considered one of the highlights of the evening. But if you missed the telecast and went to NBC's website to check it out this week, you would have come up empty. NBC and the TV Academy had not licensed the song for streaming, an oversight Fallon bemoaned earlier this week: "That [video] could have been worth 500,000 hits on NBC.com," he said. Today brought better news for the late night host, though: the network was finally able to secure the rights from Springsteen’s management Thursday afternoon and the official version was posted at NBC.com. Of course, it’s now been four days since anyone was talking about the clip, which is like 26 years in Internet Time.

'Born' to stream on NBC [Variety]

90210 Day Could Have Been Even More Awesome

While 90210 Day was by all accounts a success (replete with a Gossip Girl homage), Steve Sanders Ian Ziering has revealed to People Magazine that it could have been even more epic. "About six or seven months ago, I had my entire cast together," he said. "I wanted to put together a reunion special to run on this day and the CW dropped the ball." Seriously, CW?! This would have been the television event of the year! And what did the network decide to run tonight instead? A repeat from this past season of the 90210... reboot. Talk about adding insult to injury. [People via Movieline]

Disney and Time Warner Cable Reach A Deal

Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner Cable have finally come to a long-term agreement which will provide TWC customers with a wide range of programming from Disney units, including ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes, and SOAPnet programming. The deal, which comes a day after their previous agreement expired, is considered Disney’s “most expansive content agreement so far.” And just in time for this weekend's The Secret Life of the American Teenager marathon! [WSJ, HR]

Dana Carvey's Second Attempt at a Sketch Show Is Not to Be

By Josef Adalian

Remember back in January when word leaked out that Dana Carvey was plotting a big comeback, a primetime revival guaranteed to make you forget about Master of Disguise forever? Well, never mind: Vulture has confirmed that the never-titled project, which had Carvey paired with former Fox late night host Spike Feresten, is now dead. The network developed the Carvey-Feresten half-hour at about the same time it was working on a new sketch comedy show produced by In Living Color alum Jamie Foxx. While Foxx's pilot was also passed on by Fox, yesterday the network decided to stay in business with the Oscar winner anyway, greenlighting a new, different sketch comedy series he would produce. Given the spotty track record of network sketch comedies over the past decade — like Kelsey Grammer's 2005 effort (the cast of which went onto better things), Steve Martin's The Downer Channel in 2001, or Carvey's last prime time sketch show — it's not surprising that Fox didn't want to roll the dice on two of them at once. By the way, while Fox announced Foxx's new show was headed for prime time, some industry insiders are already speculating it may actually end up in late night, filling the gap left by two previously canceled Saturday efforts: The Wanda Sykes Show and, yes, Talkshow with Spike Feresten.

Tyler Perry Enters the Oscar Race!

Because Lionsgate has not much else besides The Expendables and Kick-Ass to push for awards this fall, Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf — starring Thandie Newton, Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Phylicia Rashad, and Janet Jackson — has been moved from its planned January 14, 2011 release to a more Oscar-friendly one of November 5. For your consideration, indeed. [Cinematical]

Jennifer Lopez Reportedly Near an American Idol Deal

By Lane Brown

Better luck next time, Shania Twain: TMZ says Jennifer Lopez is "in the final stages of negotiations" to join Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson at the American Idol judges' table. Earlier reports said she'd priced herself out by demanding $20 million per year, but TMZ's sources say "there has been no drama and no diva demands … It's been typical negotiating." A signed deal is expected sometime next week. Oh well.

Jennifer Lopez -- 'American Idol' Deal Imminent [TMZ]

Which Actress Should You Pick to Be Your Main Character’s Best Friend? A Flowchart

By Willa Paskin

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single woman starring in a romantic comedy, must be in want of a man — and have a best friend (or sister) on hand to crack wise and provide emotional support while she deals with him. Many actresses have proven to be experts at playing this part: the voice of reason, the hatcher of plots, the teller of sex jokes. There’s Christina Applegate, who has made a career of being a sassy best gal pal to Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, and, this week, Drew Barrymore; there’s Judy Greer, who quirkily guided Katherine Heigl through her romantic crisis, and will shortly do the same for Anne Hathaway; there’s Krysten Ritter, who sweetly counseled Isla Fisher, and will soon assist a vampire Alicia Silverstone; and that’s just to name a few actresses who regularly deploy best-friend capabilities in romantic comedies. So how do you choose the perfectly replaceable, yet ideally scene-stealing best friend that’s right for your movie? Why, use this handy flowchart to find out!

To the flowchart! »

Letterman’s Extortionist Already Out of Jail

More proof that beautiful celebrities live under a different set of rules than the rest of us: Robert "Joe" Halderman, the TV producer sentenced to six months in prison for attempting to extort David Letterman out of $2 million, was released today after serving only four. [AP]

Danny Trejo Honored Not to Have to Wear Tights

"It's an honor to be the first Latino superhero. And I didn't have to wear tights, and I didn't have a Daddy-hates-me complex." —Danny Trejo [LAT]

"He described it as: 'You're going to have a sex scene with yourself.' And I thought that was very interesting, because this movie is in so many ways an exploration of an artist's ego and that narcissistic sort of attraction to yourself and also repulsion with yourself." —Natalie Portman, on her conversations with Darren Aronofsky about her lesbian love scene in The Black Swan [People]

Plus: You want to get close to Justin Bieber? »

What Other Everyday Relationship Issues Should be Romantic Comedies?

By Emma Rosenblum

Going the Distance, out tomorrow, is a romantic comedy about a couple facing a very common hardship: the difficulties of navigating a long-distance relationship. And in a summer (er, decade) of high-concept rom-coms filled with mistaken identities, bets, lies, and plot twists that, when looked at closely, resemble the works of psychotic criminals, it's somewhat refreshing to have a movie based on a relatable, quotidian problem. It's not that we don't enjoy watching someone discover her husband is actually an assassin (Killers), or finding out that her best friend is actually the father of her child (The Switch), but it's also nice to watch people stumble through something that actually happens in real life, and maybe — probably most definitely — work their way through it. Frankly, it can make for a much more gratifying taste of wish-fulfillment. So here are our own suggestions for romantic comedies based on other everyday relationship troubles.

He's always freezing, she's always hot! What to do? »

Vulture Premieres the Poster for Monsters

By Lane Brown

In Gareth Edwards's Monsters — arriving on VOD, iTunes, Playstations, and Xboxes on September 24, and theaters on October 29 — a reporter escorts a terrified American tourist back home through a Mexico filled with scary space aliens (see the trailer here). Vulture's been given first crack at the film's poster, which you can see in full after the jump.

See the poster! »

Is Apple’s Ping Already Censoring Lady Gaga’s Gay Tweets?

After Apple unveiled their new music social-networking service Ping yesterday, Gawker noticed an interesting tidbit: Certain tweets from Lady Gaga pertaining to California's gay-marriage trial have been deleted in the Ping version of her feed. Is Apple censoring Gaga's gay content? Because if so, they're setting themselves up for a lot of work moving forward. [Gawker]

Can Machete Make Us Like Steven Seagal?

By Bilge Ebiri

A funny thing happened while we watched Robert Rodriguez’s latest Mexploitation flick, Machete, last week. A strange, unfamiliar feeling came over us, as the film’s portly drug-dealer villain Torrez lumbered onto the screen. At first we thought we were mistaken, but pretty soon it became undeniable: We were actually enjoying a Steven Seagal performance. And not just sort of enjoying it in an ironic way, but really enjoying it. Sporting a ridiculous Mexican accent, brandishing Japanese sabers, with half-naked (and in some cases, naked-naked) Asian women draped all over him, Seagal was not only funny, he was actually kind of self-deprecating. For once, he seemed to be in on the joke. And it wasn’t long before we began to think “comeback.” But this in turn led to some complicated soul-searching on our part. Because Steven Seagal, over the years, has not proven himself to be an easy guy to like.

Don't even get us started on the whole reincarnated-Buddhist-master thing. »

Michael Bay Briefly Offers $50,000 Reward for Puppy-Thrower’s Arrest

By Lane Brown

If you've not yet seen it, you'd probably be horrified to learn that there's a video circulating (don't watch it!) of a Bosnian woman tossing adorable puppies into a river. Well, Michael Bay to the rescue, sort of! Yesterday, on his official website, the Transformers director offered $50,000 for any information that would bring the puppy-thrower to justice. Wrote Bay's webmaster, Nelson:

Michael Bay has informed me that he is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the woman in the red sweatshirt and the person who shot this act of cruelty.

Then, shortly after, the message was mysteriously deleted. Anybody hear any loud explosions in Bosnia last night?

Transformers Director Michael Bay Offers $50,000 Bounty for Puppy-Throwing Girl [Gawker]

It's 90210 Day. How Will You Observe?

Today, the calendar has conspired to bring us a rare treat: 90210 day (or 09/02/10 day). Various commemorations and festivities are in the works, but you can also celebrate in smaller, more personal ways: by drawing some sweet sideburns on your face, taping a peach pit to your lapel, going to Mexico without your passport, or spending all day telling everyone “I choose me.” Other suggestions on how to honor this glorious day are welcome in the comments.

T.I. Arrested Again

By Lane Brown

You hate to see this: Rapper and Takers star T.I., still on probation following his release from prison in March, was arrested with his wife on drug charges last night after a police officer smelled what he says was marijuana smoke coming from their car. The pair were released around 4 a.m. on $10,000 bail each. Here's hoping this does not affect T.I.'s upcoming album, King Uncaged (allegedly due later this year), or his planned movie with Brett Ratner. Actually, we're negotiable on the latter.

Rapper T.I., wife arrested on drug charges [AP] T.I. and His Wife Busted for Possession [TMZ]

Bryan Cranston Hosting SNL

Just days after winning his third Emmy for Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston announced that he’ll be hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time on October 2, the second episode of the upcoming season. He’ll be the third actor from an AMC series to appear on SNL , and we’re optimistic his performance will be much closer in quality to Jon Hamm’s than January Jones’s — though it will probably involve more Malcolm in the Middle jokes and less saxophone. [LAT]

Last Night on Late Night: Anna Wintour Had to Wait While Lady Gaga Talked to God

By Dorsey Shaw

Late Night's Jimmy Fallon was allowed to host Vogue overlord Anna Wintour and her sidekick Marc Jacobs as they promoted the latest installment of her all night shop-a-thon, Fashion's Night Out. Jimmy seemed more interested in talking about the Met Ball, so Anna treated him to the tale of how Lady Gaga's 45-minute conversation with God kept Nuclear and her guests waiting the last time everyone got all dressed up to drink booze in the museum. Up next, Craig Ferguson sniffs Rachel Ray's fingers and discovers that they don't all smell like biscuits, and then Donald Trump's tongue goes green after shooting some wheatgrass with David Letterman on The Late Show. Finally, on The Tonight Show, Thomas Haden Church tells Jay Leno why he's annoyed with Robert Duval's new "faith-based" golf movie that's filming near his isolated ranch in Texas. Watch our compilation to see what you missed.

Read More »

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