Ryan Murphy reveals the name of the next season of ‘American Horror Story’, introduces Kathy Bates as villain

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On Friday Ryan Murphy and company took the stage at PaleyFest and made come major announcements concerning the upcoming third season of his horror anthology series American Horror Story. First, we’ve got the subtitle: Coven. And yes, the new season will be about witches. “It’s a really cool story we’ve been talking about for a couple of years, and this seemed the year to do it.” We were told in the past that AHS 3 will shoot on location in three different cities across the country; Murphy revealed that one of those locales will be New Orleans. “The fun thing is researching what are the really haunted places in America, and we have a couple doozy locales,” he said.

As previously announced, Jessica Lange will lead an ensemble cast that includes returning AHS actors Evan Peters, Sarah Paulson, Lily Rabe, Frances Conroy, and Taissa Farmiga. A surprise guest joined the cast and creators on stage at PaleyFest: veteran actresss Kathy Bates is joining the cast to play a “cuckoo-for-Cocoa Puffs character” that is at odds with Lange’s new character. “I wanted to see a lot of scenes with Jessica Lange and Kathy Bates going at it,” Murphy said, “so that’s what you’re going to see.” Despite playing the villain in the 1990 psychological thriller Misery (a role that won her an Oscar), Murphy promises that her AHS role is even worse. “Oh, Kathy’s never [played] someone this bad. Her [character] is a bad, bad woman,” he exclaimed. “When I pitched this to Kathy, her mouth was drop-jawed because what I was pitching actually happened,” he went on. “It’s a true event…You’ll see. It’s some good stuff.”

American Horror Story: Coven is really starting to take shape now. With an all-star cast and exciting new locations planned, anticipation is as high as ever for the FX drama. AHS returns for more spooks this fall.

[Via Deadline; TVLine 1, 2; EW]

NBC moves ‘Smash’ to Saturdays–the show is all but cancelled

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Sorry Smashers, I’ve got some bad news. On Wednesday NBC announced that it would be banishing its musical-driven drama Smash to Saturdays at 9 starting April 6. Since Gossip Girl‘s Josh Safran took over the reigns of the show from creator and Broadway vet Theresa Rebeck, Smash tanked in the ratings in its second season. On February 5 the new season premiere to 4.5 million viewers and a meager 1.1 rating in the adults 18-49 demo. Since then those numbers have dropped and fluctuated but remained dismally low–so low that the Peacock had every right to pull it from the schedule and call it a day; the most recent airing attracted only 2.9 million viewers and fell below the 1.0 rating threshold to a 0.9. However they are playing nice with the series’ small yet passionate fanbase and they’re letting it run its full 17-episode course before (very likely) pulling the plug on this thing.

In an interview with TVLine, Safran acknowledged the move to Saturdays. “I didn’t see it coming, being relegated to Saturday,” he said. “We’re all aware the show is not successful, but I guess I had hoped we would see what happened when The Voice came back [or] maybe they’d move us to a better time slot. But I understand from the network’s point of view. We hit a number and we stuck there.”

Despite the poor ratings, Safran stands behind his creative changes. “Everyone here from the top down is incredibly proud of the work,” he admitted. “I know that there are people who have their opinions and that’s totally acceptable, but that doesn’t change our viewpoint that we’re really proud and we love the show.”

Thankfully for fans Safran says the season 2 finale (which will most likely serve as the series’ final installment) “was constructed as a series finale.” He went on, “I don’t want [viewers] to think they are going to be left hanging, because they won’t be. The season has a beginning, middle and an end… [And] it just gets better and better.”

Currently Smash airs Tuesday nights at 10PM; to reiterate the show moves to Saturdays at 9PM on April 6 and will remain there until the end of its run on May 26.

‘Kick-Ass 2’ red-band trailer reintroduces the amazing Hit Girl and a vengeful Red Mist

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Three years later we are finally getting a sequel to the breakout superhero flick Kick-Ass. Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down) replaces Matthew Vaughn as director (Vaughn is still onboard as a producer) and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse reprise their roles as Kick-Ass, Hit Girl, and the vengeful Red Mist, respectively. (Red Mist, however, bestows a new name unto himself in the sequel but I’ll won’t spoiler the reveal here.) Joining the cast is Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes, the leader of the city’s band of vigilante superheroes. A spectacularly red-band trailer packed with gory action and a foul-mouthed (not-so-little anymore) girl awaits.

Kick-Ass 2, based on Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.’s graphic novel, hits theatres August 16.

Justin Timberlake & Jimmy Fallon team up for another “History of Rap” mega-medley

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To promote his upcoming new album The 20/20 Experience, the versatile Justin Timberlake visited Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for an entire week. So when Friday rolled around and viewers hadn’t seen a new installment of “History of Rap” yet you knew it had to be coming. And it did!! Fallon, Timberlake, and The Roots collaborated for a fourth time to span the history of rap to produce one entertaining medley that you never want to end. Before the performance begins, JT admits “But this is the last time…” and JF finishes his sentence “until the next time we do this” and then JT echoes that hopefully meaning that this in fact won’t be the final musical trip around the beat-driven genre.

And now, without further ado, I present “History of Rap Part 4.”

Watch parts 1, 2 and 3 at the links provided.

Netflix introduces a social recommendation engine with Facebook friends

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Netflix already does a great job at recommending to its users TV shows, movies, and documentaries based on what you watched in the past and the ratings you give the content you watch. This week the streaming company launched a new way to discover content with a social spin. Subscribers can now link their Facebook account with Netflix to see what their friends are watching. Once the accounts are linked, Netflix users will notice a new “Watched by your friends” row in the streaming site’s main menu as well as a row called “Friends’ Favorites” that features content watched by friends that they have rated with four to five stars. Additionally, friends will be able to see what you watch and rate highly; but if you’ve got a guilty pleasure you don’t want to be shared you can easily click the “Don’t Share This” button in the player. Netflix notes that by default all this social sharing with Facebook friends happens on the Netflix side of things only. If you want your Facebook friends to see what you’re watching on Facebook, you have to dig into Your Account, Social Settings to flip the switch on; there you can also stop sharing altogether if you don’t want to take part in the new social recommendation engine.

Currently the Netflix/Facebook cross-sharing initiative is live in the U.S. Netflix says they will “continue to experiment and improve our social features over the coming months and years.” Click after the break to watch a brief demonstration of this at work across Netflix.com in the browser as well as on the PlayStation 3.

[Via Netflix] Continue reading Netflix introduces a social recommendation engine with Facebook friends →

Google confirms Glass will be compatible with prescription lenses

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Quick update from the team working on Google Glass: for those of you who wear prescription glasses, yes, you will also be able to take part in the grand experiment of wearable computing. Google explains:

The Glass design is modular, so you will be able to add frames and lenses that match your prescription. We understand how important this is and we’ve been working hard on it.

The image above features a member of the Glass team Greg Priest-Dorman wearing an early prototype version of Glass affixed to a pair of prescription glasses. Google confirms that Glass for prescription types will not be available for purchase alongside the regular (lenses-less) Explorer Edition when that releases this year. However, Google promises it will come to market later in 2013.

[Via Google]

Movie trailer round-up: ‘The Hangover Part III’, Joss Whedon’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’, ‘Iron Man 3’, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, ‘After Earth’ & ‘Oblivion’

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So many trailers, so let’s get right to it. First up is our very first look at the final installment of director Todd Phillips’ Hangover trilogy. The Hangover Part III brings back Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis as the three best friends that anyone could have and they’re going back to Vegas where it all began. The overall plot is still being kept under wraps and this teaser trailer doesn’t reveal much except that Alan’s dad played by Jeffrey Tambor passes away and John Goodman shoots someone in cold blood in front of the guys. The official terse synopsis goes like this: “This time, there’s no wedding. No bachelor party. What could go wrong, right? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off.” A laugh-out-loud teaser and the promise that this one won’t mimic the wedding/get drunk and blackout/wake up and remember nothing formula from the first two films should have you extra excited for the Wolfpack’s last hurrah. The Hangover Part III opens May 24. (After the break check out the movie’s official poster that parodies the eighth and final Harry Potter “It All Ends” poster.)

Jump after the break to view more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘The Hangover Part III’, Joss Whedon’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’, ‘Iron Man 3’, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, ‘After Earth’ & ‘Oblivion’ →

‘Community’ cast gets the puppet treatment in upcoming episode

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We’ve seen them in claymation. We’ve seen them pixelated and animated. And soon this season we’ll have the chance to see the Greendale Gang as puppets! At PaleyFest this week it was revealed that Jeff, Britta, Abed, Troy, Annie, Shirley, Pierce  Chang, and Dean Felton (see what I did there?) will all be transformed into puppets in an episode slated to air later this season.

Per TVLine, “The story finds the study group taking a wild balloon ride that crash lands in the woods and forces them to spend a little time with a friendly mountain man (played by Seinfeld‘s Jason Alexander). The gang gets immortalized [in flashbacks] as puppets when Dean Pelton encourages them to talk about their adventures.”

Check out the puppet still in all its glory above. Community airs Thursday nights at 8PM on NBC.

FOX renews ‘The Following’, comedy block ‘Raising Hope’, ‘New Girl’ & ‘The Mindy Project’

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Good news for fans of FOX programming this week. The “edgy” network renewed four of its shows on Monday including its current Tuesday night comedy lineup Raising Hope, New Girl, and The Mindy Project for a fourth, third, and second season, respectively; also coming back for a second season is the Monday night serial killer thriller from Kevin Williamson starring Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy The Following. When The Following returns next year it will play out over the course of 15 episodes (same as season 1), and uninterrupted if FOX brass decide to save it for midseason again.

Though ratings are relatively low for all three FOX comedies, it was expected that Greg Garcia’s Raising Hope and Liz Meriwether’s New Girl would be back for more; it’s Mindy Kaling’s The Mindy Project whose renewal surprises the most as its ratings were on the bubble of renewal and cancellation averaging 4 million total viewers and a 2.1 rating in the 18-49 demo. While FOX was quick to axe Ben And Kate earlier this season, the network is giving Mindy some more time to grow creatively. As for The Following, this show is rapidly evolving into must-see television as its dark plot twists and solid acting and bold storytelling captivate a sizable audience; the drama is averaging 11.7 million total viewers and a 4.0 rating. (And if you’re wondering, Raising Hope averages 4.5 million viewers and a 2.0 rating this season and New Girl is seeing 6.4 million viewers and a 3.5 rating.)

FOX entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly on the renewals: “From the very beginning, we felt Kevin Williamson and Marcos Siega had created a high-quality, edge-of-your-seat drama that could break from the pack, and it is exciting to see the audience responding. Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy have given us two of the most compelling characters on television and the entire cast is incredible. I’m delighted to have this thrill ride continue on Fox for another season.” On the coming-back comedies he said, “these shows are creatively vibrant, they have established a loyal and passionate audience and they will continue to define and grow the Fox comedy brand next season and beyond.”

[Via EW]

New changes coming to Facebook: the News Feed gets a “clutter-free” redesign

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Heads up, Facebookers; there’s a new design update coming to the ubiquitous social networking site. Before it lands in your lap, get a quick overview of what to expect right here, right now.

After overhauling profile pages and search, Facebook’s next task is to revamp the News Feed by reducing clutter and making the site’s main portal even more personal. The site promises “you [will] see all the stories you saw in your News Feed before, but with a fresh new look.” Each story (or post) that your friends share will show up in your News Feed will be highlighted in new ways to make content discovery easier; for example, photos, news articles, maps, and events will appear larger and brighter and more colorful and vibrant. Also new is the addition of several feeds users can choose from. There’s a new drop-down menu in News Feed that allows you to dig deeper into specific content your friends are sharing. For example, the Photos feed filters out everything except for the photos your friends are posting; the Music feed tells you what your friends are listening to and provides you information about the artists you like; and the Following feed will show you the latest news from the Pages you like and the people you follow. Mark Zuckerberg says the enhanced News Feed aims to “give everyone in the world the best personalized newspaper we can.”

The new and improved News Feed is inspired by Facebook’s mobile presence. For example, the left-hand menu that users are used to exposing with a flick from the left-hand side of a tablet or smartphone’s screen will soon be accessible in desktop browsers. Also, users will have the ability to jump right to the top of News Feed whenever new stories trickle in. The main reason for porting over these mobile functions is to unify the overall Facebook experience across all devices. The “same clean look” will soon be present on our phones, tablets, and desktop browsers.

When is “soon” exactly? Facebook isn’t providing a hard date for the switchover, but the new News Feed will slowly roll out over the coming weeks on web and mobile, so says the company. If you’re itching to get your hands on the new design, you can join the feature’s waiting list right here; that site will also give you a visual rundown of it all. Facebook employees discuss the inspiration and vision for the News Feed redesign in a brief video embedded after the break.

[Via Facebook 1, 2] Continue reading New changes coming to Facebook: the News Feed gets a “clutter-free” redesign →

The 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model is…

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American Kate Upton, again. The 20-year-old model and actress graces the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for the second consecutive year from Antarctica. The blonde bombshell needs no further introduction, so if you can do it drop your gaze from the cover shot to the gallery below that is jam-packed with booby-busting shots of Upton surviving the sub-zero temperatures of the Antarctic tundra in style and on a boat. A steaming hot video hangs after the break.

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Continue reading The 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model is… →

Anna Kendrick’s “Cup Song” from ‘Pitch Perfect’ gets remixed for your listening pleasure

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If you’ve seen the movie Pitch Perfect then you’ve already fallen in love with actress Anna Kendrick and her unexpected and infectious Bellas audition song featuring only her voice and a yellow cup. The simple song is currently the most popular track available for download on iTunes off the movie’s soundtrack. It even managed to climb Billboard’s Hot 100 list. The song is so hot that an extended, more produced version of the track has been made and soon it will find its way to radio stations this month. Though the remixed version strips away the track’s inherit a capella nature, it still manages to delight. The radio version is called “When I’m Gone” and you can preview it in its entirety in the box embedded above. And if you still haven’t seen Pitch Perfect, what are you waiting for?!