Glee’s newest member Darren Criss lights up Billboard’s Hot 100 with first performance

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In “Never Been Kissed”, the November 9th episode of Glee, new cast member Darren Criss (he plays Kurt’s new best friend Blaine) sang Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” and almost instantly crawled its way up  Billboard’s Hot 100 music chart.  The song debuted at #1 in digital track sales with 214,000 tracks sold.  This marks the first time any Glee song has made it all the way to the top.  Season 1’s Don’t Stop Believin’ made it to the #2 spot back in May 2009.  With the addition of the “Teenage Dream” cover, Glee has had a whopping 93 songs on the Hot 100 list.  The only other artist to rack up the chart-topping hits this high with 108 of ’em?  Elvis Presley.

In other related Glee news, another concert is in the works but this time the gang will be travelling overseas.  Glee Live! In Concert! will hit up Manchester, London, and Dublin this summer.  The show will include the following cast members: Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Dianna Agron, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Harry Shum, Jr., Chord Overstreet, and Darren Criss.  Look after the break to see the European tour dates.

[Via Deadline; EW, here & here] Continue reading Glee’s newest member Darren Criss lights up Billboard’s Hot 100 with first performance →

South Park creators are doing a Broadway musical

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Matt Stone and Trey Parker, aka the creators of South Park, are writing a musical…for Broadway!  The plot does not revolve around Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny.  Stone and Parker are finalizing a story “about a pair of mismatched Mormon boys sent on a mission to a place that’s about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get.”  This is an elaborate musical they’ve been working on for the last five years.  And if you’re a fan of the brilliantly raunchy duo you should know that they hold a special place in their hearts for musicals.  Their very first feature film was Cannibal! The Musical (1993), and this was followed by Orgasmo (1997) which they say “should have been a musical”–they wrote it that way.  And although South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (1999) and Team America (2004) were not billed as musicals, Stone and Parker admit that they not-so-subtlety injected tunes into them because they just couldn’t help it.  If you’re an avid South Park fan I’m sure by now you’ve picked up on the creators’ passion for musicals.  With all that said, it shouldn’t come to a surprise that these guys are living their dream by actually making a live musical for Broadway.

Josh Gad (The Daily Show With Jon Stewart) and Andrew Rannells (Jersey Boys) are set to play the two male leads.  Other cast members include Nikki M. James, Rory O’Malley, and Michael Potts.  The Book of Mormon‘s music and lyrics are by Stone, Parker and Robert Lopez, the showrunner for Broadway’s long-running puppet show Avenue Q.  Stone and choreographer Casey Nicholaw will direct.  Preview performances begin February 24, 2011 in New York at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre and opening night is expected to roll around in late March.  Get your tickets now before they go on sale to the public at large!  Look after the break to hear Stone and Parker talk about the show.  You know it’s gonna be pure adulterated gutbusting insanity.

[Via SouthParkStudios] Continue reading South Park creators are doing a Broadway musical →

Dell Inspiron Duo to ship in early December for $549

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It’s official: Dell’s netbook/tablet hybrid is coming to market in the first week of December.  Underneath that conventional, super cool swivel design lies a dual-core Intel Atom N550 processor, 2GB of RAM, a Broadcom Crystal HD accelerator, and 250GB of storage.  In standard laptop mode, Windows 7 Home Premium is your OS.  Transform it into a tablet and you’ll be introduced to Dell’s Duo Stage UI made for fingers.  The 10.1-inch, 1366×768-resolution display can be backed with a coat of blue, black, or red.  The Inspiron Duo is priced at $549.  A JBL speaker dock will ship alongside it; you can get it bundled with the Duo and bring the grand total to $649.  Antsy to get your paws on this slick lookin’ lappy?  This teaser should hold you over ’til it’s sweet release.

[Via Engadget; Dell]

Microsoft’s Kin phones back from the grave

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Just when you were started to think you’d never hear Microsoft Kin again, the failed smartphone duo found their way back to Verizon.  The Kin devices haven’t changed physically since making their way back from the grave; they look the same on the outside and their sub-par specs are still in tact.  What has changed is price.  The Kin ONEm sells for $19.99 with a new two-year contract ($119.99 without), and it’s bigger brother Kin TWOm costs $49.99 on contract ($219.99 without).  Monthly plans start at $39.99 for talk and $9.99 for 25MB of data.  Definitely cheaper than what Verizon was offering before Microsoft shelved Kin after only three short months on the market.  Don’t expect to see much a future for the Kin platform; reintroducing these phones on Verizon now is Microsoft’s plan to wipe out their warehouses of the device they killed.

[Via Engadget]

Trailer: Cowboys & Aliens (this will blow your pants off)

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Jon Favreau, Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Damon Lindelof.  What do all these names have in common?  Each of them serve a pivotal role in the making of Cowboys & Indians, an upcoming sci-fi western.  Yes, a SCI-FI WESTERN.  It is COWBOYS VERSUS ALIENS.  And the human regime is led by the dashing Daniel Craig, the sexy Olivia Wilde, and in a villainous role the veteran Harrison Ford.  The flick is based on a 2006 graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg.  Until now this movie has been shrouded in secrecy; only bits and pieces were shown at this year’s Comic Con.  But hot damn does this trailer impress.  Lone cowboy Jake Lonergan (Craig), equipped with some foreign weapon attached to his arm, is ready to take on a full scale alien invasion set in the wild west.  Um, where do I line up?  Right–the movie releases July 29, 2011.  Check out some awesome stills in the gallery below.

[Stills via IGN]

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Trailer: Green Lantern

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Today Warner Bros. released the first full length trailer for Green Lantern, a Martin Campbell directed sci-fi extravaganza based on the DC Comic of the same name.  Ryan Reynolds is Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern, a test pilot who is granted a green ring that gives him awesome superpowers.  In addition to this fast action trailer, which includes just the right amount of aliens and superhero spankage, the studio released this synopsis:

In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers. But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan. Hal is a gifted and cocky test pilot, but the Green Lanterns have little respect for humans, who have never harnessed the infinite powers of the ring before. But Hal is clearly the missing piece to the puzzle, and along with his determination and willpower, he has one thing no member of the Corps has ever had: humanity. With the encouragement of fellow pilot and childhood sweetheart Carol Ferris (Blake Lively), if Hal can quickly master his new powers and find the courage to overcome his fears, he may prove to be not only the key to defeating Parallax…he will become the greatest Green Lantern of all.

Green Lantern releases wide June 17, 2011.  Download the trailer in HD, courtesy of Apple.  And oh yeah, today Reynolds was named People’s Sexiest Man Alive.  Do what you will with that bit of information.

Eli Roth wants to make more horror movies

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Director/producer/actor Eli Roth wants to return to his torture porn roots (Hostel, Hostel Part II).  Though Roth had previously told Deadline.com’s Nikke Finke that he was ready to move from such gruesome tales, today he flipped-flopped and exclusively reported to Deadline that “old habits die hard.”

Clown is an upcoming horror flick Roth will likely serve as a producer on.  Partners Jon Watts and Christopher D. Ford are set to direct and pen the script, respectively.  Watts and Ford created a “mock trailer” for the movie which found its way onto YouTube and captured over 100,000 hits in a month and more importantly Roth’s attention.  The concept is simple yet killer.  When his son’s sixth birthday is looking gloom since the clown-for-hire doesn’t show up, a father puts on a clown suit that transforms him into a homicidal killer.  The mock trailer is embedded above and it’s super creepy and I’m pretty stoked about it.  Roth talked Cross Creek Pictures and Vertebra Films into financing a feature transfer.

Says Roth on Clown: “It’s new territory to make this a version of The Fly, where this guy can feel himself changing, blacking out only to find blood all over his clown suit. You’re sympathetic toward a monster until the monster actually takes over.”  He continued to tell Deadline, “With horror, you have to live in the danger zone. People are hungry for the next Freddy Krueger, Michael Meyers or Jason Voorhees, and while that has to be earned, we think this cursed clown suit can do it. I am giving us permission to go as hard at this as possible. I know I said I was moving away from horror, but old habits die hard. You think you’re over certain kinds of music and then you hear a Dead Kennedys song and say, ‘Why did I stop listening, I love the Dead Kennedys.'”

Roth also has Aftershock, a thriller based on the aftermath of the February 27, 2010 Chilean earthquake, and a sci-fi flick Endangered Species waiting in the wings for theatrical releases.  No word on when Clown will hit theatres, but I look forward to the real trailer to arrive.

[Via Deadline]

Paranormal Activity 3 gets a Halloween 2011 release date

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Hot off the heels of a stellar sequel, Paranormal Activity creator Oren Peli spilled the release date of the next movie in the series.  Paramount confirms October 21, 2011 is the day.  The original had a production budget set at $15,000 and generated nearly $197 million.  The sequel’s budget was upped to $3 million following the original’s success, and so far it has generated a worldwide gross of around $157 million–and it’s still in theatres. Greenlighting a three-quel is a no-brainer.  And with the Saw franchise (supposedly) out of the way, nothing’s stopping PA from raking in the cash next Halloween.  That is, of course, if Hollywood doesn’t find a worthy horror flick to pit against it.

[Via ComingSoon; TheNumbers, here & here]

Hulu Plus officially launches, drops price to $7.99/month and adds Roku support

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Hulu Plus has already been exhaustively detailed, so let’s get right to the good stuff.  For the last four months Hulu has been testing the waters with the $9.99/month subscription based service in a preview period.  Today the streaming service finally officially launched Hulu Plus to the masses.  And at the same time they lowered the monthly fee to $7.99.  Score!  They say, “Any users who subscribed during the preview period will also receive a credit for the difference from the $9.99 preview price to be applied automatically to their next billing cycle.”  So that’s been sorted out nicely.  In tandem with the launch and price drop, Hulu Plus will now be accessible on Roku boxes. Check out the official PR after the break to see a list of all other Hulu Plus supported devices.  All new subscribers to Hulu Plus receive a 1-week free trial–get started here.

[Via Hulu; Engadget] Continue reading Hulu Plus officially launches, drops price to $7.99/month and adds Roku support →

VUDU on-demand movie service coming to PS3 November 23

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Sony is really doing a splendid job at racking up the movies selection for its PlayStation 3 users.  After making deals to bring television and movie content from Netflix and Hulu Plus, come November 23 PS3 owners will have access to VUDU’s on-demand movie service which includes more than 4,000 HD movies for all major Hollywood studios, including new releases available the same day they are released to DVD.  VUDU supports 1080p HD and Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 surround sound streaming, which is a big plus.  VUDU plans to release a UI revision in mid-December, and it will bring a more streamlined user experience, intuitive structure, and support for next-generation motion-based input devices including the PlayStation Move controller.  VUDU offers $2 for a two night rentals and new customers will receive a $5.99 credit; that’ll get you a ticket for one free HD streaming movie. Sony and VUDU official PR sits after the break.  Catch a peek of VUDU on PS3 in the gallery below.

[Via Engadget]

Continue reading VUDU on-demand movie service coming to PS3 November 23 →

Twitter intros push notifications for @mentions

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This week Twitter introduced a neat new feature for mobile users: push notifications for @mentions.  Whenever you are mentioned in the Twittersphere you can make it so that you receive a text message or push notification from the Twitter app so that you’re instantly notified about it.  The push notification part only works with the latest version of Twitter for iPhone, for now.  Twitter is also bringing push notifications for Messages to Twitter for iPhone, a feature that Blackberry users have already been privy to.  To enable these new notifications, tweak your settings at twitter.com/devices.  Twitter says they’re working on bringing these new slate of features to Android and Windows Phone 7 users soon.

[Via TwitterBlog]