Jimmy Fallon to replace Jay Leno on ‘The Tonight Show’ in Spring 2014

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It’s official: Jimmy Fallon will take over The Tonight Show in Spring 2014 when Jay Leno will step down (again) from his post as the late-night ratings king. When Fallon moves to 11:35PM, The Tonight Show will return to its home at 30 Rock in New York City. Leno took over the hosting duties of The Tonight Show in 1992 from TV icon Johnny Carson, and when Leno steps down in 2014 he will have hosted for 22 years. A replacement for Fallon at Late Night has not been picked yet, but rumors are swirling that executive producer Lorne Michaels will fill the vacant seat with another SNL Weekend Update anchor, Seth Meyers. Here are some quotes pulled from an NBC press release:

Leno: “Congratulations Jimmy.  I hope you’re as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you’re the old guy. If you need me, I’ll be at the garage.”

Fallon: “I’m really excited to host a show that starts today instead of tomorrow.”

Steve Burke, CEO of NBCUniversal: “Jay Leno is an entertainment icon, making millions of people laugh every weeknight for more than 20 years. His long reign as the highest-rated late-night host is a testament to his work ethic and dedication to his viewers and to NBC. We are purposefully making this change when Jay is #1, just as Jay replaced Johnny Carson when he was #1.  Jimmy Fallon is a unique talent and this is his time.  I’m thrilled he will become the sixth host of ‘The Tonight Show’ at exactly the right moment, in conjunction with our coverage of next year’s Winter Olympic Games from Sochi, Russia.”

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg commented on Tonight moving from Burbank, California to 30 Rock. “The Tonight Show will bring even more jobs and economic activity to our city — and we couldn’t be happier that one of New York’s own is bringing the show back to where it started — and where it belongs.”

When The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon premieres in Spring 2014, Lorne Michaels will follow him to serve as exec producer of his new show and his old one; he replaces longtime Tonight EP Debbie Vickers. As long as Leno follows through with his talk show retirement this time, Fallon is poised to smoothly transition into the earlier hour of entertainment. Way to go Jimmy! Let’s hope he brings The Roots with him. Watch Fallon and Leno sing it out in a clip embedded after the break.

[Via Deadline 1, 2] Continue reading Jimmy Fallon to replace Jay Leno on ‘The Tonight Show’ in Spring 2014 →

Funny or Die poised to release ‘iSteve’, their own Steve Jobs biopic starring Justin Long

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Following in the footsteps of Joshua Michael Stern (Jobs) and Aaron Sorkin (Steve Jobs), viral video maker Funny or Die is poised to release a bio-pic based on the life of the Apple founder. iSteve stars Justin Long as Steve Jobs, an appropriate choice since the Dodgeball actor played the Mac in those Mac/PC commercials way back when. James Urbaniak as Bill Gates, Michaela Watkins as Melinda Gates, and Lost‘s Jorge Garcia as Steve Wozniak round out the cast.

Unlike the majority of FoD videos, iSteve will play out as if it were a theatrical movie; it’s 81 page script was written in three days and taped in five. The “film’s” writer and director Ryan Perez spoke with The New York Times about the project. “In true Internet fashion, it’s not based on very thorough research — essentially a cursory look at the Steve Jobs Wikipedia page. It’s very silly. But it looks at his whole life.” He added, “We might not be the best, but we will be the first.” Stern’s Jobs starring Ashton Kutcher premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival but its nationwide release has been delayed; Sorkin’s Steve Jobs biopic doesn’t have a release date yet but is expected to come out sometime in 2013.

iSteve premieres at Funny or Die a week from this Monday on April 15. Catch the laugh-out-loud trailer here; “You’ve got to ride the wave of the future” … Justin Long as Steve Jobs: “What if I am the wave of the future?” Ha! When the parody releases in full you will find it here.

Peter Jackson takes fan questions in excerpt from ‘Hobbit’ live event

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Last month Peter Jackson hosted a live event from New Zealand previewing his next Hobbit film The Desolation of Smaug and Warner Bros. was kind enough to allow him to upload an edited six-minute excerpt from it. In the clip embedded above Jackson takes questions from fans regarding his new Hobbit trilogy with two surprise guests. Though the excerpt doesn’t reveal all that much, Jackson gets to show off his humorous side and viewers are privy to concept art and some behind-the-scenes footage.

The journey continues in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug on December 13, 2013.

‘Finding Nemo’ sequel ‘Finding Dory’ is official with Andrew Stanton & Ellen DeGeneres on board

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The next Disney-Pixar film in the works is the long-awaited sequel to 2003’s award-winning Finding Nemo. This time, moviegoers are Finding Dory, the friendly-but-forgetful blue tang fish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres. Nemo director Andrew Stanton returns with DeGeneres for the sequel. “There is no Dory without Ellen,” said Stanton in a press release. “She won the hearts of moviegoers all over the world—not to mention our team here at Pixar. One thing we couldn’t stop thinking about was why she was all alone in the ocean on the day she met Marlin. In Finding Dory, she will be reunited with her loved ones, learning a few things about the meaning of family along the way.”

Finding Dory takes place about a year after the first film, and features returning favorites Marlin, Nemo and the Tank Gang, among others. Set in part along the California coastline, the story also welcomes a host of new characters, including a few who will prove to be a very important part of Dory’s life. The remainder of the voice cast has not been confirmed, but who else except Albert Brooks could bring Marlin back to life?

DeGeneres also commented on the exciting news. “I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” the comic and talk show host said. “I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating Toy Story 16. But the time they took was worth it. The script is fantastic. And it has everything I loved about the first one: It’s got a lot of heart, it’s really funny, and the best part is—it’s got a lot more Dory.”

And get this: they’ve even set a date so mark your calendars accordingly. Finding Dory swims into theatres November 25, 2015.

[Via Disney]

Movie trailer round-up: ‘Carrie’, ‘The Conjuring’, ‘The Purge’, ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘This Is The End’, ‘Planes’

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Here’s the first full length trailer for the upcoming Carrie remake from director Kimberly Peirce starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Julianne Moore. You probably already know how this goes but, Carrie follows a sheltered high school girl who unleashes her newly developed telekinetic powers after she is pushed too far by her peers. The anticipated remake’s debut has been pushed to October 18.

Jump after the break for more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘Carrie’, ‘The Conjuring’, ‘The Purge’, ‘The Great Gatsby’, ‘This Is The End’, ‘Planes’ →

Drake visits old stomping grounds in latest music video “5AM In Toronto”

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Here’s the second single from Drake’s upcoming third studio album Nothing Was The Same. In “5AM In Toronto”–a likely followup to his Thank Me Later track “9AM In Dallas“–Drake returns to his home country Canada and walks around the streets with his crew to eventually stumble in and out of a beach volleyball court. Catch October’s Very Own latest rhymes in the music video hanging above.

Kid Cudi departs G.O.O.D. Music for his own label Wicked Awesome Records

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In just over two weeks Kid Cudi’s third solo record Indicud will hit stores. It will be his first release on his very own label Wicked Awesome Records. Like Kanye West before him with G.O.O.D. Music, Cudder has imagined his own label with hopes to discover and ignite new creative talent in the world of music and beyond. His friend and frequent collaborator King Chip (aka Chip Tha Ripper) is his first Wicked Awesome inductee. To focus on his label, Cudi has stepped away from G.O.O.D. amicably. He broke to Power 106 LA earlier in the week and explained it like this: “Me and Kanye were actually talking on the phone the other day, and there’s been things I wanted to talk to him about. About me wanting to start my own direction, and he got because he’s trying to start his own new path, and trying new things as an artist. And he was just like ‘Man, I feel you. It’s cool.’ This is just from a business standpoint. There’s no beef with anyone on the label. It’s all love.”

So it’s not like he left on bad terms and won’t ever be collaborating with the Kanye and the G.O.O.D. Music crew ever again. It’s just that he’s going in a new direction professionally and creatively and wants to focus solely on building and nurturing his own label. You can watch Cudi announce the news on the radio in a clip embedded after the break; and you can hear the entire radio session at DatNewCudi’s SoundCloud.

In other news, Kid Cudi has started a new Tumblr where he’s posting brief, looping clips of his recent performances and interactions with passionate fans. He calls it CUDIVHS.com. Continue reading Kid Cudi departs G.O.O.D. Music for his own label Wicked Awesome Records →

April Fools! 2013 Edition

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Here we are again: April Fools Day. Only this time around it’s 2013 and no one is safe. We start, as is tradition, with Google’s masterful pranks. It’s all after the break…or is it. Continue reading April Fools! 2013 Edition →

Kid Cudi’s ‘Indicud’ album cover and tracklist displayed [Update: iTunes preorder up, new single out, JKL performance]

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With less than a month left to go, the album cover and tracklist for Kid Cudi’s third solo record (fourth overall) has been revealed for all to see. The album art, like Cudder’s past few music videos, features a baroque-inspired frame. “The album art represents me. A ball of flames in a rose gold frame,” the rapper tweeted.

Indicud features a total of 18 tracks including singles “Just What I Am,” “King Wizard,” and “Immortal.” And for long-time fans of the once Lonely Stoner, a special track titled “Solo Dolo Part II” featuring rising rapper Kendrick Lamar will increase anticipation for the album’s release tenfold. Other featured artists include Cudi’s close friend King Chip (the artist formally known as Chip Tha Ripper is featured on two tracks), Father John Misty, Too $hort, Haim, RZA, A$AP Rocky, and Michael Bolton. Jump after the break to see the full tracklisting.

Currently Indicud is up for preorder at Amazon and at Kid Cudi’s official online store. His store sells digital and physical copies of the album, as well as the vinyl. On April 23 the hype becomes real.

Update (4/1): Today Indicud popped up on iTunes and is now available for preorder at that popular destination for music. Once you get there, you’ll notice that a previously unheard song “Girls” (Featuring Too $hort) is available for download. That’s the fourth single off the album–preview it at iTunes. Also, after the break I’ve posted Cudder’s first live televised performance of “Immortal” on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Continue reading Kid Cudi’s ‘Indicud’ album cover and tracklist displayed [Update: iTunes preorder up, new single out, JKL performance] →

Hideo Kojima reveals ‘Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain’

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Do you remember at the 2012 Video Game Awards when an intriguing trailer by the name of “The Phantom Pain” from Moby Dick Studios premiered to much fanfare? Well it turns out that the mysterious title is actually the next installment in the Metal Gear franchise from Konami. At the Game Developers Conference this week, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima of Kojima Productions revealed Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain with a brand new nearly six-minute trailer that includes cinematic cutscenes and a more extensive look at Snake’s next adventure. Previously Kojima announced another MSG game in development called Ground Zeroes but according to a recent tweet GZ will serve as a prequel to TFP with a potential to ship on the same disc as TFP:

“Ground Zeroes” is a prologue of “MGSV”. 9 years after that event will be “The Phantom Pain”. MGSV is constructed w/ prologue and main game “TPP”. The game play demo I presented today is the opening of “TPP” which is tutorial that starts from crawling.

MGSV takes advantage of Kojima’s new FOX Engine and the game is confirmed to hit the current generation of platforms including Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. No word if the game will make the leap to next-gen consoles such as the PS4 and the next Xbox.

Now, there are reports that Snake will not be voiced by David Hayter, the voice actor who has played the franchise’s protagonist since the beginning in all English-language versions of the MGS titles. In an interview with GameTrailers, Kojima explained it like this: “What we’re trying to accomplish is [to] recreate the Metal Gear series. It’s a new type of Metal Gear game and we wanted to have this reflected in the voice actor as well.” But for fans this pill is surely hard to swallow. David Hayter is Snake, just as Steve Downes is Master Chief in Halo.

There’s no release date in sight yet, but feast your eyes on the next Metal Gear Solid. Like all things Kojima, it’s candy for the eyes.

TV reminder: ‘Game of Thrones’ returns Sunday night at 9PM on HBO [Update: record ratings]

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The battle for the Iron Throne resumes this Sunday night at 9PM on HBO. The network’s hugely successful and popular fantasy series Game of Thrones returns for its highly anticipated third season promises more surprises and more dragons; just look at the season’s key art above for proof of the latter. Or rewatch the season’s two brilliant trailers if you need to be reminded of the stakes at hand in the upcoming batch of episodes. After the break you’ll find a couple of recap clips that will catch you up on everything Thrones seasons 1 & 2. Directly below you can browse a gallery of 12 too-cool-for-school posters that each feature gritty close-up shots of the series’ main characters including the bastard Jon Snow, the conniving Cersei Lannister, the terrible Joffrey Baratheon, the Kingslayer Jaime Lannister, and everyone’s favorite Imp Tyrion Lannister.

Update (4/1): Last night’s season 3 premiere episode of Game of Thrones ranked as the series’ most watched installment to date. A record-breaking 4.4 million viewers tuned into “Valar Dohaeris,” up 13% from the 3.9 million who watched the season 2 opener last year. That tally is also up 4% from the season 2 finale which attracted 4.2 million sets of eyeballs; that ep was the previous record holder. In total, across three airings on HBO last night, 6.7 million took in the premiere.

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Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Game of Thrones’ returns Sunday night at 9PM on HBO [Update: record ratings] →

TV reminder: ‘Hannibal’ premieres April 4 at 10PM on NBC

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If you were intrigued by the platter of trailers that premiered in February promoting NBC’s upcoming serial killer thriller Hannibal, let this serve as a friendly reminder: the televised adaptation prequel to the classic 1991 horror film Silence of the Lambs premieres next week on Thursday, April 4 at 10PM. Hannibal comes from the visionary producer behind Pushing Daisies Bryan Fuller and stars Hugh Dancy as gifted criminal profiler Will Graham, Laurence Fishburne as Agent Jack Crawford, Caroline Dhavernas as Dr. Alana Bloom, and Mads Mikkelsen plays the infamous serial killer who eats his prey Dr. Hannibal Lector. Click after the break to watch two new trailers plus get an inside first look at the show with commentary from the cast, Fuller, and pilot director David Slade. Continue reading TV reminder: ‘Hannibal’ premieres April 4 at 10PM on NBC →