Archive for February, 2009

I saw Bart Got a Room at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival and totally enjoyed it – if you’d like, you can read my review (without getting spoiled). Now there’s a trailer for it and it’s apparently “coming soon.” I highly recommend putting this one on the to-see list for some time when you need a pretty light, easy movie that isn’t too taxing, isn’t too substantial and leaves you feeling good in the end.

Set in Florida, the movie follows Danny (Steven Kaplan), a teen who wants nothing more than to get some action on prom night. Over the course of the film, we watch the excruciating three weeks leading up to the big night as Danny secures everything (tux, limo, hotel room) – except for the girl. William H. Macy and Cheryl Hines play Danny’s divorced parents while Alia Shawkat plays Danny’s good friend.

It’s a sweet little movie with some great Big Band music throughout. To check out the trailer, read more.

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Well, I think it’s safe to say American Idol has delivered its first surprise finalist of the year. Maybe its first two: A couple of people who have been fairly under the radar got spots in the show’s top 12 on Thursday. Which three contestants from the second group of 12 made it through? To find out, just read more.

And the next three finalists are . . .

Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, and Adam Lambert!

Adam’s no surprise; he’s got a load of professional experience and has been a favorite since the start, and I’m sure Randy comparing him to Twilight‘s Robert Pattinson didn’t hurt either. But I’m not 100 percent sure we even saw Kris before this round, and Allison also had limited screen time. So, apparently this tricky voting format actually can be kind to people without a lot of prior exposure.

It’s not a secret that I would have preferred to see Megan Corkrey go through from this round, but the judges seem to like her enough that I expect her to be back for the wild card. Matt Giraud might get a wild card spot, too, as a chance to show the judges he can pick a better song for his voice. I imagine Jesse and Mishavonna might also get to return – is there anyone else from this group you think deserves another shot?

A few more thoughts on Thursday’s show:

• I wonder just how much the top 12 will end up weighted toward guys. So far, we have four guys and just two girls in the first half. I wonder if the judges will try to even it out at all in the wild card.
• One of my favorite moments of the whole season so far was Seacrest saying “What have you done?” while standing next to Nick/Normund.
• Nice to see Brooke White again, and I’m glad she’s working the piano-playing singer-songwriter thing. The song didn’t necessarily grab me, but I did catch myself literally tapping my toes in the middle of it, so that can’t be a bad thing, right?
• Wow, a group sing of an actual modern song that’s on the radio! Cool, no? And this group’s voices actually sounded pretty decent together.
• What do you think of the “Idol Moments” hidden in the ads? If you were fast-forwarding, did you actually stop to see it?
• Jesse reminds me of a cross between Janeane Garofalo and Lauren Ambrose. I actually kind of hope we see her again.
• What do you think Alexis, Danny, and Michael have been doing all week?
• Funny to hear Simon complaining about Kara talking. I mean, they have an hour to fill. What the heck else are they going to do?

Next week we have three whole nights of Idol, including the third group of 12 and the wild card round. Ready to go?

Photos courtesy of Fox

Welcome to Buzz Brainteaser, the trivia feature on BuzzSugar! Every weekday I’ll test your knowledge about TV shows, music, and movies. If you enter in the correct answer, you win points!

On American Dreams, what singer guest starred as Fontella Bass, performing “Rescue Me”?

• Fox is new with Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse
• NBC has a new episode and a repeat of Howie Do It and is new with Friday Night Lights and Dateline
• CBS has repeats of Ghost Whisperer, Flashpoint, and Numb3rs
• ABC is new with Wife Swap, Supernanny and 20/20
• The CW has repeats of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game
• TLC has What Not to Wear
• Sci Fi is new with Battlestar Galactica
• Late-night highlights include Clint Eastwood on a repeat of Late Show With David Letterman on CBS; Jimmy Fallon on a repeat of The Tonight Show With Jay Leno on NBC; and Hugh Laurie and Joel McHale on a repeat of Late Night With Conan O’Brien on NBC

Good thing The Simpsons invested in some new opening credits, because apparently they’ll be in use for a while: Fox has renewed the show for two more seasons totaling 44 episodes.

That’ll make The Simpsons the longest-running primetime show in TV history with 22 seasons under its belt. But it will have a ways to go before it has the most episodes of any primetime series: Gunsmoke was only on for 20 years (heh, yeah, “only”) but produced 635 episodes, while Homer and co. are just shy of 500.

Still, that’s a mighty impressive mark for some animated characters from Springfield. So, what do you make of the news?

Photo courtesy of Fox

Casting rumors about the new Gossip Girl spinoff swirled earlier today and now we’ve got some confirmation: Brittany Snow has been offered the role of young Lily!

We already knew Krysten Ritter would be playing her older sister, and in addition to finding Lily, the show’s creators also cast Shiloh Fernandez as Owen, “a hot Valley punk guy with a caustic wit.” Here’s a new rundown of the show’s plot from The Hollywood Reporter:

Overnight, Lily has to transition from a life of luxury and education at a wealthy Montecito boarding school to living deep in the San Fernando Valley she once made fun of and going to public school. Caught between two worlds, Lily dives into the fast-paced Sunset Strip and the Hollywood lifestyle of the ’80s, journeying over the hill to a world of wealth and excess that used to be her own.

I enjoyed Snow on American Dreams, and I’m going to keep an open mind about her in this role, but I want to hear from you – is Snow the right fit? Can you picture her as an ’80s wild child in Los Angeles? We’ll get our first look at her in the role during a special Gossip Girl episode May 11 - which, incidentally, will also feature No Doubt.

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I don’t have to go too far for this weekend’s WonderCon festivities – all the fun will be be going on just down the way from where I work here in San Francisco. But still, I’m so excited for the three-day fest, which kicks off tomorrow! The conference is brought to us by the folks behind Comic-Con, and while it’s been thought of as a little sister to the big San Diego event, it’s definitely coming into its own. I’m so excited about all the stars and screenings, including a Watchmen panel with director Zack Snyder and cast plus a chance to see more footage of Pixar’s next film, Up.

But here’s what really has me pumped: On Sunday, I’ll be moderating the Chuck panel with Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Adam Baldwin, Joshua Gomez, and executive producers Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak! The hour-long panel will include a preview of upcoming episodes and a Q&A with the panelists, so if you’ve got burning questions, send them my way!

Be sure to check out my Twitter all weekend for updates and general observations about the geek gathering. To see some of the other stuff I’m planning on checking out, just read more.

• Fox is hosting a panel for the new animated series Sit Down, Shut Up, which includes some Arrested Development alumni, including creator Mitch Hurwitz and one of the funniest men in Hollywood, Will Arnett. Also part of the cast? Henry Winkler. Oh yeah.
• I’m curious to learn more about a new Tim Burton-produced animated film called 9 about “a world parallel to our own, a postapocalyptic fantasy in which a band of courageous rag dolls battles for the survival of civilization.” Elijah Wood is the voice of 9 and will be on hand to talk about the project.
• There’s a Star Trek panel that the organizers are promoting with a special guest “you won’t want to miss,” so I guess I’ll try not to miss it! Hopefully it’s JJ Abrams.
• Terminator Salvation director McG and his cast (probably not Christian Bale . . . but who knows?) will appear to answer all our burning John Connor questions!

Anyone else coming along for the ride?

• Is there gender inequality in Pixar films? - Cinematical
• The story behind United States of Tara’s cool opening credits. – Pop Candy
• Stevie Wonder is the secret to the Obamas’ marriage. - CitizenSugar
• I could just kiss this post about a kissing reality show. – Popwatch
• Whoa, that wrestling video game from The Wrestler is real! - Vulture
• Can’t wait till Tuesday? Go download one of the new Neko Case tracks. - Stereogum
• Dear Life on Mars: You’re getting boring. - Clique Clack TV
• Could One Tree Hill go on without Lucas and Peyton? - Korbi TV

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