Category Archives: Entertainment

‘South Park’ renewed through 2016

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Less than four months after renewing South Park for two more seasons, Comedy Central is assuring fans of the crude comedy that Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny will stay put at least until the year 2016. That’s right: today the network renewed South Park for three more seasons! This means that original episodes will continue to be pumped out for years to come and the show will hit a major milestone, 20 seasons on air. Comedy Central president Michele Ganeless said, “The collective genius of Matt and Trey knows no bounds. Week after week and season after season they continue to surprise and delight South Park fans.” The creative minds behind the cultural phenomenon had this to say following the exciting announcement. “Comedy Central has been our home for 15 years and we love working there. South Park is a blast and we can’t wait to make more.” And we can’t wait to see more.

South Park‘s 15th season comes to a conclusion tonight at 10PM on Comedy Central.

[Via EW]

NBC greenlights Bryan Fuller’s ‘Munsters’ remake

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In October of last year, news broke that Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller was interested in developing a modern-day reboot of the classic 1960s sitcom The Munsters. After reading Fuller’s script, today the Peacock network gave The Munsters remake the greenlight. Fuller will shoot a pilot, show it off to the network, and if all goes well it will air on NBC sometime next year. It will be produced by Universal Television, and it’s being described as an “imaginative reinvention of The Munsters as a visually spectacular one hour drama.” I added emphasis to those words; after watching Pushing Daisies come and go far too quickly, we all know that Fuller’s ability to paint a colorful and visually splendid picture is extraordinary. So what do we know about The Munsters circa 2012? So far, not much. Rumor has it that the reboot will be less campy and more frightening and darker than its 1960s counterpart. Also, Fuller has expressed interest in bringing on Kristen Bell to play Marilyn, the “plain” cousin of the wacky Munster clan. Since then, however, Bell has moved on to star in the new Showtime series House of Lies. Who knows if this puts a chink in Fuller’s plans. For now, be ecstatic that The Munsters are coming back with a hugely creative talent backing it up.

[Via TVLine]

NBC announces 2012 midseason schedule

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This week NBC announced its 2012 midseason schedule. New programs coming to the Peacock network include Smash, Fashion Star, Are You There, Chelsea? (formally titled Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea), and The Firm. Returning shows include The Voice, 30 Rock, Who Do You Think You Are?, and The Celebrity Apprentice. Significant scheduling changes… Sitcoms Whitney and Up All Night are swapping places (the former will air Wednesdays at 8PM and the latter Thursdays at 9:30PM); Harry’s Law moves to Sundays at 8PM; The Firm will replace Prime Suspect in the Thursday 10PM slot; and 30 Rock will assume Community‘s 8PM-8:30PM timeslot. And here’s some troubling news: NBC has pulled Community from the midseason schedule entirely; it’s nowhere to be found. Even if the network is thinking about cancelling the low-rated but critically adored comedy, season 3 will play out since it was granted a full season order already; we just don’t know when the rest of the episodes will air. Perhaps it will reenter the fold in the spring to take the place of a low-rated program, or maybe the network plans to air it in the summer. Fans are being vocal about this, so I’m sure NBC will come out and speak on the news sooner rather than later. Also MIA is Awake, the highly anticipated sci-fi drama starring Jason Isaacs. The plan was for this show to air in midseason, but recently the show halted production to work on the scripts. Is NBC now saving it for the fall 2012 season? At this time we still don’t know.

Jump after the break to view the full schedule, and click here to preview all the new shows. Continue reading NBC announces 2012 midseason schedule →

Donald “Childish Gambino” Glover drops rap album ‘Camp’

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Community star Donald Glover is a rapper, if you didn’t know. After submitting data into a Wu-Tang Clan name generator, he decided to make the result his alter-ego rap name: Childish Gambino. Glover has been making music since 2008, outputting mixtapes and albums and headlining national tours over the years. Today his latest studio album Camp released and it includes 13 tracks. The lead single “Bonfire” has a music video and it’s embedded above. Before starring in the NBC sitcom and writing for 30 Rock, Glover made viral videos with his troup Derrick Comedy. Dan Eckman, a member of that comedy troup, directed the clip for “Bonfire.” Fair warning: the lyrics contain lots ‘o expletives. For an actor-rapper, the production value hold up pretty well, and Glover is gifted with hustle and flow. The music video includes a story and twist ending that is well worth your time; visually it’s enticing and at the same time it’ll introduce you to Glover’s rap style. Need to hear more before you purchase Camp at iTunes? NPR is currently streaming the album in its entirety.

Trailer: ‘The Hunger Games’

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For those of you who read the books, this should get you amped. Lionsgate has released the first full-length trailer for The Hunger Games, the first of three movies based on the novel trilogy by Suzanne Collins. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Willow Shields, Elizabeth Banks, and Lenny Kravitz  star as Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale Hawthorne, Haymitch Abernathy, Primrose Everdeen, Effie Trinket, and Cinna, respectively. Though I haven’t read the books, and the trailer is well made and energetic enough to make me want to visit a theatre and introduce myself to the story. I can only imagine what readers of the franchise feel after watching this; I’ve heard it can induce tears of joy and sheer anticipation. If you’ve read the books share your initial reactions in the comment section below. The Hunger Games releases March 23, 2011.

Dueling Snow White trailers: ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ & ‘Mirror Mirror’

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Universal Pictures is prepping a new movie that warps the classic Disney fairy tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves into an epic action-adventure starring Kristen Stewart (Twilight) as Snow White, Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen, and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) as a huntsman who teaches Snow White the art of war. The trailer, narrated by Theron in character, is quite epic in scale and has me anticipating the June 1, 2012 release date. However, I am not so sure how it is going to hold up with Stewart in the lead role; her acting turns in Twilight and Adventureland have me a bit worried.

Hop after the break to watch the trailer for another Snow White adaptation, Mirror Mirror. Continue reading Dueling Snow White trailers: ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ & ‘Mirror Mirror’ →

An Indian version of ’24’ is in the works

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The politically charged FOX drama 24 went off the air in May 2010 and with it went one of TV’s most iconic characters, Jack Bauer. Though Kiefer Sutherland is set to reprise the role in a 24 feature film, a new Jack Bauer is prepared to emerge onto the TV landscape…in India. News broke that Anil Kapoor, best known for his role in Slumdog Millionaire, will step into Sutherland’s shoes to play the lead in an Indian version of 24. In addition to starring in it Kapoor will also produce though his Anil Kapoor Films Co. and with 20th Century Fox TV Distribution. According to Deadline, preproduction on the show will begin in India in 2012.

Kapoor, someone who 24 fans should immediately recognize as season 8’s Kamistan President Omar Hassan, had this to say about the development of a new 24. “It will be a great honor for me to play Jack Bauer. Kiefer has created an iconic character which has inspired me to bring the franchise to India. This will be my first foray to Indian television and I look forward to duplicating the standard of excellence Fox has so successfully created.”

Whether or not Kapoor’s 24 finds a way to air in the US, I have no doubt that loyal fans of the show (including myself) will figure out how to preview it here. Man do I miss that ticking clock and the CTU ring.

[Via Deadline]

‘Phineas and Ferb’ renewed for fourth season, movie and possible spin-off on the way

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This month the Disney Channel renewed is highly rated children’s animated series Phineas and Ferb for a fourth season. The pickup guarantees new episodes of the musically-inclined adventure series through the year 2014. I’m a sucker for kid’s programming that likes to acknowledge an older audience, so this is really great news. Though series creators Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh recently pushed out a made-for-TV Phineas and Ferb movie titled Across the 2nd Dimension, the ingenious duo are ready for an entirely new level of popularity. In August they signed a multi-year, multimillion-dollar deal with Disney Television Animation to develop a feature film based on the show. They are currently writing the script. Rumor has it that the movie will be a mix of live action and the animation viewers are used to. More on this as details surface. In addition to the movie attachment, the Disney deal also has Povenmire and Swampy imagining a new animated show for the Disney Channel, likely a spin-off series based in the Phineas and Ferb universe. According to a NYT article, it will follow the adventures of Isabella and the Fireside Girls. No word on when such a series will make it to air. Expect the movie to hit theatres summer 2013. Celebrate the news with some “Gitchee Gitchee Goo” as perfomed by Phineas and the Ferb-Tones featuring Candace after the break!

[Via Deadline 1, 2] Continue reading ‘Phineas and Ferb’ renewed for fourth season, movie and possible spin-off on the way →

YouTube musician Kina Grannis has fun with jelly beans in new stop-motion music video

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Have you ever heard of jelly bean art? Well it exists. And now so does a jelly bean music video. YouTube star Kina Grannis wrote a song called “In Your Arms” and developed a music video with director Greg Jardin involving 288,000 jelly beans. The insanely impressive stop-motion video, which includes a total of 2,460 individual frames, took 22 months (1,357 hours) to complete. Sure the song is catchy and Grannis has an infectious charm about her, but it’s the sheer level of dedication put into this music video that has elevated to viral status. In under a week it has amassed about 1.5 million well deserved views. After you wipe the saliva off your mouth when the video ends (and that’s either because you’re so impressed or you’re craving Jelly Belly jelly beans, or both) make sure you jump after the break to watch a seven minute making-of video that shows just how much hard work and patience was required to make the music video a reality. With “In Your Arms” Grannis has proved she’s a creative force to be reckoned with, and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. Continue reading YouTube musician Kina Grannis has fun with jelly beans in new stop-motion music video →

Jimmy Fallon becomes Justin Bieber to sing “(It’s Not My) Baby”, teams with Timberlake for another History of Rap

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If you’ve been following the last in pop culture news, then you should be aware that a 20-year-old California woman filed a paternity suit against teen idol Justin Bieber. Biebs is denying it of course, but that doesn’t mean late night host and Bieber impersonator Jimmy Fallon can’t play around with the hit single “Baby” and intelligently turn it into “(It’s Not My) Baby” noooo! Jimmy hits all the right notes and Roots rapper Black Thought plays a convincing Ludacris feature in the spoof embedded above.

And as the post title alludes to, Jimmy teamed up with Justin Timberlake yet again for “History of Rap 3.” That one’s waiting after the break. Continue reading Jimmy Fallon becomes Justin Bieber to sing “(It’s Not My) Baby”, teams with Timberlake for another History of Rap →

Jimmy Kimmel’s Halloween candy challenge makes kids cry, everyone else laugh

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During his monologue on Halloween night, Jimmy Kimmel issued a fun challenge for parents: to say that they ate all of their children’s Halloween candy, record their reactions, and upload it to YouTube. Kimmel stitched together a bunch of the most entertaining videos and the compilation sits above. It’s funny; almost every clip involves a young child hearing the devastating news and immediately drooping their heads in tears of sadness and frustration. You’ll want to make it to the end because the final clip involving two brothers might just be the best thing I’ve watched in a while. Enjoy!

‘The Hobbit’ production vlog #4

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Peter Jackson is at the very top of my list of people who are awesome. The behind the scenes video diaries he’s been churning out from the set of the upcoming two-part prequel The Hobbit are simply fascinating. The theme of the fourth vlog is 3D filmmaking. Jackson and his crew are shooting The Hobbit in 3D using RED EPIC cameras and 3ality lenses. The camera department is home to a grand total of 48 RED EPIC cameras on 17 3D rigs. Interestingly, all of the different camera rigs are named after Jackon’s family members and inspirations. All of the scenes from the film are being shot at 48 frames per second at 5K resolution for a more realistic and immersive picture. The diary explains how everything from the set design to makeup is affected by the way in which the high-res 3D camera rigs pick up colors and tones. Oh and get this–even the concept art is drawn in 3D with red and blue colored pencils! Go behind the scenes with Jackson in the video above. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey releases December 14, and part two subtitled There and Back Again comes out one year later.