Category Archives: Entertainment

Kanye West & Jay-Z go on tour, give fans a backstage pass

Music, News, , , , , , ,

Kanye West & Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne tour kicked off last week on Friday in Atlanta, and so did their all-access pass website called VOYR. The Throne teamed with ad agency GlobalHue to create a video-based portal that gives fans inside access to behind the scenes during the length of the 26-city tour. The cost of entry is $4.99/month, and according to Complex that gives you “a 720-degree look of the stage, rehearsals, personal exercise routines, an exclusive Kanye documentary, and an animated series based on Kanye’s Runaway film.” Five episodes of behind the scenes footage will be uploaded to VOYR each week. Visit VOYR to watch a couple previews and you’ll find a link to sign up and subscribe there, too. Paying anything to view BTS footage from a music tour might be steep for most people, but if you consider yourself to be a big fan of Kanye and Jay-Z’s collaborative effort and missed out on purchasing tickets for the tour, this kind of exclusive content should do you some good.

[Via Complex]

TV reminder: ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ return tonight at 10PM on MTV

News, Television, Video, , , , ,

The wait is over. Beavis and Butt-Head, the snarky animated comedy from Mike Judge (King of the Hill) which originally ran from 1993-1997, returns to the airwaves tonight. It was back in July 2010 when Judge expressed interest in bringing the cult series back to MTV. One year later at Comic Con he had multiple episodes completed and was ready to unveil Beavis and Butt-Head 2.0 to hundreds of fans. I happened to be in attendance when Judge screened scenes from upcoming episodes and you can read my reactions here. I had concluded that watching this series again today is nostalgically enjoyable and it happens to be quite refreshing. B & B is known for its ability to satirize and ridicule music videos. When they return, the delinquent teens will also attack the slew of horrible reality shows that surfaced during their time of absence, including The Jersey Shore and 16 and Pregnant. What’s great is that just like the music videos of the past, MTV is allowing Judge to play with the network’s own reality programming. You can expect the couch scenes and the original stories that take place away from the boys’ TV screen (Cornholio is back!) to be wholly satisfying and amusing. Beavis and Butt-Head return tonight (10/27) at 10PM on MTV. Watch a trailer after the break. Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Beavis and Butt-Head’ return tonight at 10PM on MTV →

Teaser trailer: ‘Grim Night’

Movies, News, Video, , , , , , ,

Check out this teaser trailer for Grim Night based on a spec script penned by first-time feature writers Brandon Bestenheider and Allen Bey and produced by Bryan Bertino (The Strangers) and Adrienne Brittle. According to Deadline, there was a heated battle over the script among the big movie studios and in the end Universal Pictures purchased it making a deal “in the high six- or seven-figure range.” The plot is creepy all the way to its core, and horror fans are eating this up. The teaser trailer introduces us to a world where there is one day every year when creatures known as “Grims” terrorize and murder people on Earth. The scariest bit is that the Grim attacks are extremely violent and senselessly random. The movie will focus on a family in small town America defending themselves against the hooded Dementor-like Grims. Since it’s so early in development, there is no telling how much the final product will look like the teaser embedded above. If the young writing duo and veteran producers are smart, they won’t deviate too far from what they already have. The scary, apocalyptic, gritty and viral-video feeling here is very reminiscent of recent flicks like Paranormal Activity, District 9, and Bertino’s own The Strangers. More as this story develops. Oh, and good luck sleeping tonight after watching this doozy.

[Via Deadline]

AMC renews ‘The Walking Dead’ for third season

News, Television, , , , , ,

Having been back on the air for only two weeks, AMC has gone ahead and renewed The Walking Dead for a third season. This news really shouldn’t come as a surprise. The season 2 opener drew 7.3 million total viewers and 4.8 million viewers in the coveted 18-49 demographic, a record for basic cable. Heading into the second episode those numbers dropped only a bit to 6.7 million and 4.5 million for total viewers and adults 18-49, respectively. AMC president Charlie Collier had this to say about the renewal. “Today we are pleased to announce that the ‘dead’ shall live as we proudly renew The Walking Deadfor a third season. We are thankful for everyone’s contribution in front of and behind the camera as we continue to make The Walking Dead a unique television experience. And, we are so proud as it continues to set viewership records around the world.”

The Walking Dead airs Sunday nights at 9PM on AMC.

[Via TVLine; EW]

‘The IT Crowd’ creator Graham Linehan says there won’t be a fifth series, but is this the end?

News, Television, , ,

The IT Crowd, the beloved British sitcom that introduced us to socially awkward IT specialists Roy (Chris O’Dowd)  and Moss (Richard Ayoade), their “relationship manager” Jen (Katherine Parkinson) and eccentric, horny boss Douglas Reynholm, will not advance into a fifth series. Creator Graham Linehan broke the news today during an online chat on Reddit. The main reason why he is against continuing the program: he simply lost interest in the characters and he wants the show to go out on top. “[The] chief reason was the fact that I just wasn’t looking forward to it the way I used to,” said Linehan. “I felt that the last series was a nice strong point to go out on, and anything further might just be running on the spot. You don’t do your best work when you’re running on the spot.” He went on, “It feels like a natural time to wind things down. Apart from anything else, we’re probably reaching that stage where it begins to feel odd that Roy, Jen and Moss are still stuck down in that basement. I don’t want to start giving everybody babies to make it feel like they’re moving on with their lives. My kind of comedy has always been setpiece-driven… and maybe that kind of thing has a naturally short life.” In sum, The IT Crowd will not move forward with another six-episode run as was previously planned.

But does this mean we will never see the Reynholm Industries gang again? “I’ll never say never, but at the moment I’m just not feeling it,” Linehan remarked. So what could happen when this moment passes? Well first of all, an extended special is already in the works and that is set to air in 2012. He spilled, “”[It’s] a big juicy story with great storylines for all the characters (I think).” He then went on to even acknowledge the potential for an IT Crowd movie. “It all depends on whether I come up with a good idea for one,” he said. “One good enough to attract all the cast. It needs to deserve to be a film, though. So it’s got to be big on all sorts of different levels.” And if that doesn’t work out, ideas are planted in his mind for other TV specials. “I’m quite interested in the idea of the ‘IT Crowd universe’,” he continued. “Like the DC or Marvel Universes. You know, maybe catching up with Bennie Wong as Prime or Douglas’s Big Spaceology Wedding… these might end up just being future specials.” Finally, he dropped this bombshell: he supports the idea of an IT Crowd / Community crossover! Can you imagine Roy and Moss busting into the study room and interacting with the Community gang? Apparently there’s a rumor flying around the Abed will meet Moss at one point. Linehan supports this happening when he says, “[Community] creator Dan [Harmon] is someone I would trust completely with the character.”

The IT Crowd isn’t coming back for a fifth series, but it won’t be long before we see their story wrapped up in a TV special next year and perhaps extended on the big screen.

[Via DigitialSpy]

Chord Overstreet set to return to ‘Glee’ in December

News, Television, , , ,

The Chord Overstreet saga just won’t die. To make a short story even shorter… Back in July it was reported that Glee stars Darren Criss and Harry Shum Jr. were going to be upgraded from guest stars to series regulars at the start of season 3. The show, however, did not pick up the New Directions member known as Trouty Mouth as a series regular and he was left with the decision to come back as a guest star or leave the show entirely. Later that same month when it was reported that Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, and Cory Monteith would not be leaving the show at the end of season 3, co-creator Brad Falchuck revealed that Overstreet was offered a deal to return for ten episodes with the possibility of becoming a series regular sometime in the future (likely by the start of season 4). Overstreet declined the offer stating that he wanted to focus on his own music career.

Since his departure from Glee, Overstreet went on to guest star in an episode of ABC’s sitcom The Middle. And now, just three episodes into the new season, Trouty Mouth is ready for a comeback. “I had the best time on Glee and couldn’t be more excited to be returning,” says Overstreet, pretty much nullifying everything that went down since the summer. Co-creator Ryan Murphy is excited about Sam’s return: “We love Chord and have always said that we wanted him back. So here’s an early Christmas present for all the Gleeks — Sam is coming back to McKinley, and just in time for sectionals!” Now that Mercedes has a boyfriend, one can only imagine how Murphy and Falchuck will work Sam back into the story naturally. Though the exact episode in which Sam returns is being kept under wraps for now, you can expect to see him return to the show in December.

Glee returns with all-new episodes November 1.

[Via EW]

Joss Whedon’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ project revealed

Images, Movies, News, , , , ,

On Monday, this little bit of exciting news came to light: Bellwether Pictures announced that Joss Whedon (Dr. Horrible, The Avengers) secretly adapted and directed a modern version of Shakespeare’s classic comedy Much Ado About Nothing. Never heard of the backing studio Bellwether Pictures? A press release explains its origin; it’s “a micro-studio created by Joss Whedon and Kai Cole [Whedon’s wife] for the production of small, independent narrativesfor all media, embracing a DIY ethos and newer technologies for, in this particular case, a somewhat older story.” The film was shot in black and white over the course of  just twelve days in “exotic” Santa Monica, California. It stars many of Whedon’s past collaborators from Firefly, Dollhouse, and his upcoming horror film Cabin in the Woods. The two leads are Amy Acker (Dr. Claire Saunders from Dollhouse) and Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Buffy and Angel) as Beatrice and Benedick, “the world’s least likely lovers headedfor their inevitable tumble into love.” The supporting cast includes Nathan Fillion (Firefly) as Dogberry, Clark Gregg (The Avengers) as Leonato, Fran Kranz (Dollhouse) as Claudio, Reed Diamond (Moneyball) as Don Pedro, and Sean Maher (Firefly) as Don John. Says Whedon, “The text is to me adeconstruction of the idea of love, which is ironic, since the entire production is a loveletter – to the text, to the cast, even to the house it’s shot in.”

Whedon made the decision to move ahead with his passion project while filming The Avengers in New York. After the Marvel filmed wrapped, he planned to celebrate his 20th anniversary with his wife Kai by taking a break from work and going on vacation. Kai ultimately pushed Whedon into Much Ado About Nothing and together they financially backed the project, made casting decisions, and shot the entire film inside their home. Kai is an architect and she ended up designing the set and decorating the house.

In an interview with EW, Whedon described his take on the Shakespearean play. “I had trouble at first, because it had the words “About Nothing” in the title. So I was like, “I don’t have anything to say about nothing.” But really when I started pouring over it, I got a very strong sense of how a little bit dark and twisted it is. The movie’s in black-and-white partially because it’s kind of a noir comedy. I realized that everybody in it behaves like such a dolt — an articulate dolt, but a dolt. I fixated on this notion that our ideas of romantic love are created for us by the society around us, and then escape from that is grown-up love, is marriage, is mature love, to escape the ideals of love that we’re supposed to follow. So that clicked for me when I realized, oh, I get why it matters everybody goes through the weird machinations we go through.”

Actor Sean Maher shed some more light on what to expect with EW. “It does feel contemporary. The direction we were getting from Joss was to make it was real, especially with the language, not to be big and Shakespearian, but to bring it in and be intimate and bring it as close to a realistic way of speaking as we could. And Joss’ house is just magnificent. Not ostentatious by any means, but just a maze of halls and so many different bedrooms and this pool that overlooks the Santa Monica mountains. It’s gorgeous, just the most perfect setting. Everybody who was there, so desperately wanted to be there and you felt that. It really felt like we were doing something great. So I’m excited.”

And so now I bet you’re wondering when the general public will be able to see Whedon’s rendition of Much Ado About Nothing. “I haven’t heard anything yet,” he told EW. “I’ve just been enjoying the Internet response. We’re feeling our way on this one, just like Dr. Horrible. I do mean it to be in theaters. But we haven’t gotten any real plan except [going to] film festivals because it sounded like it would be festive.”

There you have it. The veil has been lifted from Joss Whedon’s passion project, a modernized version of a classic Shakespeare play. While we wait for official announcements concerning the film’s distribution, feast your eyes on two images from the production featuring Sean Maher and Amy Acker plus a a still from the official movie website. The full press release sits after the break.

[Via MuchAdoTheMovie; EW] Continue reading Joss Whedon’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ project revealed →

TV reminder: ‘Once Upon a Time’ premieres tonight at 8PM on ABC

Images, News, Television, , , , , ,

The imaginative new show from Lost scribes Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis premieres tonight at 8PM on ABC. Once Upon a Time takes place in Storybrooke, Maine, a magical place that appears normal at first glance but when examined a bit more closely it actually is home to a myriad of fairytale characters who lead ordinary lives and have forgotten their true identities. Emma Swan (House‘s Jennifer Morrison) is the show’s protagonist, and her son Henry (Jared Gilmore) is the one who draws her to the mysterious Storybrooke in an attempt to find answers and ultimately lift the Evil Queen’s (Lana Parilla) amnesic cruse. Sounds like fun to me. Once also stars Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White, Joshua Dallas as Prince Charming, and Robert Carlyle as Rumpelstiltskin. Lost fans, pay close attention during tonight’s pilot; Horowitz and Kitsis have made it known that the episode contains numerous references to their old show. For example, the giant clock in Storybrooke is frozen in time at precisely 8:15. See what else you can find. Character stills and pictures from the pilot hang in the galleries below.

Bonus! Can’t wait a minute longer to watch? IMDb is streaming the episode right here, right now!

1 2

1 2

[Images via IGN]

‘Fringe’ prepares you to “witness the return” of Peter

Television, Video, , , ,

Fringe fans, check out this new teaser video released by the top-notch marketing team at FOX. At the conclusion of last week’s episode “Subject 9” Peter Bishop finally returned into the fold with a (literal) splash. The show is taking a break this week and when it returns Friday October 28 at 9PM we will “witness the return” of Peter into the lives of all the characters who forgot he ever existed, namely his Fringe division partner-turned-lover Olivia Dunham and his estranged father Walter Bishop. In the clip embedded above you will see some brand new footage from next week’s ep “Novation” and if you’re slick you might just be able to catch the series of shots that fly by at the end. Now everybody say it with me: Welcome back, Peter.

‘Fear Factor’ returns to NBC this December

News, Television, Video, , , , , ,

That read that right, folks. NBC is rebooting Fear Factor, the reality game show that originally ran from 2001-2006. Host Joe Rogen is back and so are the disgusting and adrenaline pumping tasks the human competitors must face. Paul Telegdy, NBC’s president of alternative and late night TV, marked the occasion with these words: “We have taken the groundbreaking Fear Factor franchise that many fans remember fondly and have ramped it up to make it even more challenging and competitive than ever before. Once again, the contestants will have to face their ultimate fears to prevail — and the tension and drama of that process will make for some riveting television.” Watch a 2-minute preview of what’s in store for the new season above. Fear Factor returns December 12 and will air Mondays at the 8PM-10PM timeslot.

[Via Deadline]

YouTube musical sensation Karmin release first official single “Crash Your Party”

Music, News, Video, , ,

The infectious musical duo known as Karmen–comprised of vocalist Amy and keyboardist Nick–just released their first official single called “Crash Your Party.” Amy and Nick are best known for their unique covers of popular songs they upload to their YouTube channel. Shortly have they posted the amazing cover of Chris Brown’s “Look At Me Now” earlier this year, they exploded overnight. The video went viral and some time later they signed with Epic Records. Check out their first single in the video above to get a taste of some Karmin originality. The duo describes their music as “hip-pop” and this song, in my humble opinion, manages to fuse together elements from both genres in a fun (and downright catchy) way. Don’t act so surprised when you hear this track on the radio; Karmin has to potential to explode yet again…this time on a more mainstream scale. Expect their debut album to release in 2012.