Category Archives: Entertainment

TV reminder: ‘Louie’ returns to FX tonight at 10:30PM (also, he’s going on tour)

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Louie Louie Louie Louieeeeeee. Sing it. You know you want to.

Tonight stand-up comedian Louis C.K. returns to your television screen in his highly lauded comedy Louie. The season three premiere is called “Something is Wrong” and the log line goes like this: “Louie has a challenging day.” This has got to be good. As you should be used to by now, C.K. wrote, directed, and edited the episode; you will see his name plastered all over the opening credits throughout the 13-episode season. He hit a high point in last year’s war-themed “Duckling,” and he’s still red hot following the massive success that was Live at the Beacon Theatre. Expect a bunch of guest stars to pop up throughout the season including Oscar winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter) and fellow comedians Robin Williams and  Jerry Seinfeld (the latter will help carry a three episode arc towards the end of the season).

Louie airs Thursday nights at 10:30PM on FX. Also premiering tonight on the cable network is the return of Charlie Sheen in Anger Management (9PM) and Wilfred season 2 (10PM).

In related news, C.K. is going on tour again soon. It starts on October 3 in Cleveland, OH and comes to a close on February 1 in Washington, DC. He’s following his previous means of success (read: Live at the Beacon Theatre) by directly selling tickets to his fans through his website. Tickets go for $45, no fees, no annoying emails.

In a blog post he explained, “Making my shows affordable has always been my goal but two things have always worked against that. High ticket charges and ticket re-sellers marking up the prices. Some ticketing services charge more than 40% over the ticket price and, ironically, the lower I’ve made my ticket prices, the more scalpers have bought them up, so the more fans have paid for a lot of my tickets.” He continued, “By selling the tickets exclusively on my site, I’ve cut the ticket charges way down and absorbed them into the ticket price. To buy a ticket, you join NOTHING. Just use your credit card and buy the damn thing.” And he means business. “Also, you’ll see that if you try to sell the ticket anywhere for anything above the original price, we have the right to cancel your ticket (and refund your money). this is something I intend to enforce. There are some other rules you may find annoying but they are meant to prevent someone who has no intention of seeing the show from buying the ticket and just flipping it for twice the price from a thousand miles away.”

That’s the C.K. way, and it rules. Click here to read the rest of his blog post and here to view the tour dates.

Update: He did it again, only this time he did it faster. According to the AP, Louis sold 100,000 tickets and raked in $4.5 million in sales in 45 hours. He shared his excitement in a tweet: “I guess it was a good idea.”

Owl City & Carly Rae Jepsen team up for a ‘Good Time’

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What happens when you team up synth-pop maestro Adam Young and current pop sensation Carly Rae Jepsen? Well, this.

It’s funny; when I first heard Jepson’s radio smash “Call Me Maybe” I imagined the orchestration as something that could have been birthed by Owl City. Perhaps Young was mesmerized by the track, too, and insisted to collaborate with the Canadian singer-songwriter. The result is “Good Time,” a song that is light on lyrics but instead focuses on a catchy synthy beat that is destined to become the next song to carry us through the summer days. Listen to it in the SoundCloud embed below, and come June 26 I’ll provide an iTunes download link.

In related Owl City news, Young has named his fourth studio album and given it a late summer release date. The Midsummer Station is out August 21. On May 15 he released Shooting Star, a four-track EP that’s a taste of what’s to come in a couple months.

Sci-fi thrillers ‘The Prototype’ & ‘The Gate’ aim to please genre fans

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First up is The Prototype. It’s a film from the the Bandito Brothers, the studio behind this year’s U.S. Navy SEALs movie Act of Valor. According to Deadline, the sci-fi action thriller was put together with a low budget under $40 million. Andrew Will serves as writer and director. Since there’s no official synopsis out yet (the film is still being shopped around to distributors), there is only so much we can glean from the impressive, extended trailer that’s embedded above. The notion of Singularity is tackled as we follow a superhuman (half human, half machine) on the run from special ops. Expect to hear more about this project as we enter 2013, the year in which man becomes machine as they trailer teases.

Now jump after the break to learn about another intriguing sci-fier, The Gate. Continue reading Sci-fi thrillers ‘The Prototype’ & ‘The Gate’ aim to please genre fans →

Movie trailer round-up: ‘Dredd’, ‘Taken 2’, ‘V/H/S’, ‘Monsters University’ & ‘Hotel Transylvania’ [Update: 3 more trailers!]

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Lionsgate is outputting a remake of the critically panned Sylvester Stallone vehicle Judge Dredd. The new one is simply called Dredd and it stars Karl Urban (Star Trek) as the judge, jury, and executioner. He is assigned to rookie Cassandra Anderson (played by Olivia Thirlby) and together they attempt to take down prostitute turned drug lord Ma-Ma (played by Game of Thrones‘ Lena Headey). The film, directed by Pete Travis (Vantage Point) promises to return “the celebrated character to the dark, visceral incarnation from John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra’s revered comic strip.” Will the remake end up being better than the corny original? You be the judge.

Dredd opens in 3D on September 21.

Jump after the break to view more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘Dredd’, ‘Taken 2’, ‘V/H/S’, ‘Monsters University’ & ‘Hotel Transylvania’ [Update: 3 more trailers!] →

‘Bored to Death’ movie in the works!?

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After three seasons and twenty-four episodes on HBO, the Jonathan Ames series Bored to Death starring Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, and Ted Danson was cancelled. The critically-acclaimed detective-noir themed series lived a life too short, but now there’s speculation that a TV movie is in the works. Vulture scooped that Danson told French journalist Pierre Langlas that there is a good chance of a 90-minute film being made. HBO reps have reached out to Vulture and The Hollywood Reporter to say that early discussions are being had regarding the revival of Bored to Death as a made-for-TV movie. That’s all there is for now, but rest assured I’ll be keeping my ear to the ground and will report back if any of this becomes more substantial.

Long live Jonathan Ames, novelist by day, moonlighting private eye by night.

‘Fringe’ co-showrunner Jeff Pinkner steps down prior to final season

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When Fringe returns this fall for its fifth and final season, it will be down one showrunner. It has been made official that executive producer and co-showrunner Jeff Pinkner will not be involved in the making of Fringe‘s 13 episode swan song. Co-creator J.J. Abrams handpicked Pinkner to run the show in season 1 and J.H. Wyman was made co-showrunner the following season. With Pinkner out, Wyman will serve as the sole showrunner next season. Fans should note that Pinkner’s exit was amicable and he did it so that he could start pursuing new projects.

Abrams released this statement concurrent with the announcement: “We’re so excited to begin work on a fifth season of Fringe and to be able to deliver the 13 final episodes to our passionate and devoted fans. For four years, J.H. Wyman and Jeff Pinkner have worked tirelessly as a team to keep all the worlds in order on Fringe. We’re thankful for the invaluable contributions Jeff has made to the show and of course wish him well and look forward to working together in the future. J.H. Wyman’s importance to Fringe cannot be overstated, however, and I’m thrilled that he will continue as showrunner for the concluding chapters of our story. We can’t wait for our fans to see what we have in store for them in the wild conclusion of Fringe.”

Fringe returns Friday, September 28 on FOX.

[Via TVGuide]

TV trailer: ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ are coming to Nickeldeon this fall

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This marks the fourth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series to debut on television. As you will see in the first full-length trailer embedded above, the Ninja Turtles embody a unique style of CGI animation. If the clip is any indication of what’s in store, viewers can prepare to watch the Turtles’ origin story unfold in the premiere episode. And if you are wondering, the voice cast includes recognizable talents like Jason Biggs (American Pie), Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings), Robert Paulsen (who voiced Raphael in the original 1987 TMNT animated series) Kevin Michael Richardson (The Cleveland Show), and Mae Whitman (Arrested Development).

Executive producer Ciro Neili told EW the aim of the show: “I tried to boil it down and get to really what’s at the core of it which is this sense of brothers and camaraderie. Everything grew out of that. It’s like a band. You want a Beatles thing.”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles debuts October 20 on Nickelodeon. Kowabunga!

Movie trailer round-up: ‘Wreck-It Ralph’, ‘Flight’ & Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Django Unchained’

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From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes what looks to be the next best video game movie in recent memory following Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Wreck-It Ralph brings together the voices of John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, and Sarah Silverman to tell a story about a video game villain who wants to turn good. Here’s a nice brief synopsis for you:

Wreck-It Ralph (voice of Reilly) longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect Good Guy, Fix-It Felix (voice of McBrayer). Problem is, nobody loves a Bad Guy. But they do love heroes… so when a modern, first-person shooter game arrives featuring tough-as-nails Sergeant Calhoun (voice of Lynch), Ralph sees it as his ticket to heroism and happiness. He sneaks into the game with a simple plan—win a medal—but soon wrecks everything, and accidently unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens every game in the arcade. Ralph’s only hope? Vanellope von Schweetz (voice of Silverman), a young troublemaking “glitch” from a candy-coated cart racing game who might just be the one to teach Ralph what it means to be a Good Guy. But will he realize he is good enough to become a hero before it’s “Game Over” for the entire arcade?

The animated, ingenious tale is directed by Rich Moore who previously worked on cartoons The Simpsons and Futurama. Watch the teaser trailer above and I guarantee you’ll be hooked. If that support group scene featuring classic video game baddies such as Doctor Robotnik and Bowser from the Sonic and Mario franchises, respectively, doesn’t brighten your day…

Wreck-It Ralph is out November 2.

Jump after the break for more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘Wreck-It Ralph’, ‘Flight’ & Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Django Unchained’ →

‘The Hobbit’ production vlog #7

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The seventh video blog that takes us behind-the-scenes of Peter Jackson’s upcoming Hobbit films has arrived! While the last two vlogs took us on a location shooting adventure, this one gives us a grand tour of Stonestreet Studios in Wellington, New Zealand. In fourteen minutes you’ll travel the length of the studio that includes the production offices, a giant trailer park that many of the actors call home, major departments such as hair and make-up, costume, art and the Weta workshop that creates the film’s props. Just like the vlogs that came before it, this one features insight from Jackson along with many members of the hardworking cast and crew. With The Hobbit parts 1 and 2 wrapping in just “a few weeks time” Jackson says that he will output one final vlog shortly thereafter, so we can all look forward to that!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey hits theatres December 14, 2012.

‘Prometheus’ parody with Joel McHale is spot-on

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Now that Ridley Scott’s Prometheus is out in theatres, why not take a break from whatever you’re doing and watch this brief, spot-on parody of one of the movie’s viral videos starring Joel McHale of The Soup and Community fame. Remember that bizarre viral video that introduced Prometheus character David the robot played by Michael Fassbender? Watch that first then this and you tell me how good a job McHale and his team at The Soup did with this one.

Happy Birthday Joel.

First look: Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Iron Man 3’

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Here is the first still from the set of Iron Man 3. The Marvel movie broke ground on June 4 in Wilmington, North Carolina and the production schedule plans to bring the cast and crew to far out places like Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina, Miami, Florida, and China. Robert Downey Jr. returns as the armored superhero (see his back to us above). Also confirmed to appear in the movie are Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts, Don Cheadle as James “Rhodey” Rhodes, and Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan. Favreau, while still remaining an executive producer, is not directing the third installment; Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) has taken over the reins.

Gaze at Tony Stark gazing over his collection of sweet suits, and start anticipating the return of Iron Man. The genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist is back May 3, 2013.

[Via Marvel]

Music video: Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T, 2 Chainz in “MERCY”

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Kanye West and a chunk of his G.O.O.D. Music crew Big Sean, Pusha T, and 2 Chainz light it up in this black-and-white set in widescreen music video for “MERCY,” the first single off the G.O.O.D. compilation album now officially titled Cruel Summer. As the camera swerves left and right the rappers take turns spitting verses, all the while their egos replicate thanks to the inclusion of some neat special effects. Also, a Lamborghini and a couple motocycles linger in the background as they should. Kid Cudi, Cyhi da Prynce, and Teyana Taylor make special appearances.

Cruel Summer is on track to drop sometime this year.