BREAKING NEWS, TV FANS!!! Fox is using its younger cable sibling to give us all a wonderful gift.
FX will broadcast a 6-hour Human Target marathon today from 2pm to 8pm EST.
I'll say it again: all six first season episodes that have aired on Fox so far will be broadcast on Fox cable affiliate FX from 2pm to 8pm EST. If you have plans, record it! If you don't, get some snacks and sit down. Now is your chance to catch up on one of the greatest action dramas to hit network TV in years! Heck, I'm recording it just so I can watch it again!
For those of you who don't already know, Human Target stars Mark Valley as Christopher Chance, a unique private security worker who helps his clients by seamlessly embedding himself into their lives. Chi McBride (Boston Public) and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen) star opposite Valley as Chance's partners in crime, er, preventing crime. Each week, Chance takes on a new, exciting case and all the while clues to his mysterious past are revealed.
I highly recommend this series if you are a fan of comedy, action, drama, mystery, and/or suspense or any combination of those things. Fans of shows like 24, Burn Notice, and Leverage are sure to enjoy Human Target. To read more of my intense love for this show, read my Human Target progress report entry.
The marathon, again, will be on FX from 2pm to 8pm EST. If you are not sure what channel your cable or satellite company broadcasts FX, click here.
New episodes of Human Target will return to Fox Wednesday March 10th at 8pm EST.
This made me scream out loud when I read it, so I felt it appropriate to share here:
Shane West has been cast as the male lead in the CW's pilot for its La Femme Nikita reboot. Shane will play opposite wonderful, talented, glorious, excellent-choice-for-this-part actress Maggie Q. His character is described as "the agent in charge of recruitment sent to bring in the rogue Nikita."
I have been pining for more Shane West on TV since he left ER as a series regular in 2007. This is really truly exciting news for me. He is going to be Maggie Q's Vaughn!!! HELL YES!!!
In this issue: AMC Theaters might miss the 'Alice' boat; MTV has obviously never watched MTV's Jersey Shore; Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are breaking my heart.
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AMC Theaters Threatening to Boycott 'Alice'
Due to Disney's decision to decrease the theater-to-DVD release window from 17 to 12 weeks, major American movie theater chain AMC Theaters is threatening to boycott the new and highly anticipated Tim Burton film Alice in Wonderland. AMC Theaters (and a few European theater chains according to this article from Cinematical) is of the opinion that if audiences know the DVD release is not too far off, then they will be less likely to go see the movie in theaters. I can understand that, I really can. And I understand a major theater chain threatening to just not carry the film at all and thus drastically limit the distribution of the film across the country would be a serious threat to a production company. But, correct me if I'm wrong, isn't getting a smaller amount of money than the would-be amount you'd get for those extra five weeks (not that they were going to keep the movie in theaters for all 17 weeks anyway) a better alternative than getting no money at all for a film that is sure to draw audiences from a wide demographic? Maybe I'm talkin' crazy talk.
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MTV Doesn't Even Watch MTV Anymore Apparently
At a recent Hollywood Radio and Televsion Society luncheon, MTV Networks president Van Toffler discussed the music* channel's changing audience, saying, "We're pushing Generation X out. We're slaves to our different audiences. For MTV, that's millennials, who are vastly different than Generation X; they're definitely less cynical. They're more civic-minded." In an effort to quantify that statement, Toffler explained, "Millennials are really about authentic reality and family." He indicated that MTV tried to cater to these apparent tastes when they "played up the camaraderie and family elements" on MTV shows like The Jersey Shore. He probably means how the crew stopped fist-pumping and beating the beat up long enough to come to Snooki's aid after falling victim to a drunk man's fist or make out with each other in the "family" hot tub.
*Note: HA HA HA!!!
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Bourne 4 Seems Farther Away Than Ever
My heart broke when I read this news, so I will just spill it and let the tears fall as they may. Speaking at a recent premiere event for his new movie Invictus, Matt Damon shared the following regarding a fourth Bourne movie: "There’ll probably be a prequel of some kind with another actor and another director before we do another one, just because I think we’re probably another five years away from doing it - we’ve got to get a script." A lot of people who heard Damon's words choked on the prequel part and immediately flew into a rage about the idea of rebooting the Bourne franchise (heads up, peeps, "prequel" does not equal "reboot"). Personally, I choked on the five years part. The Bourne 4 drama has not ceased since the third film finished its run in theaters almost six years ago. What it boils down to is the fact that Matt Damon won't do another one without director Paul Greengrass and Greegrass has flip-flopped on this project more times than a Sandals resort commercial (I didn't want to make a political joke, so sue me). Greengrass released a statement last December, in fact, saying that he wanted to move on from the idea of continuing with the Bourne franchise in the hopes of finding new challenges to pursue blah blah blah. Plus, there is apparent drama over the script and the fact that it isn't good enough yet. [Insert super long exasperated sigh here.] I don't want to give up all hope that a fourth Bourne movie will ever happen, but it's been nothing but bad news for over a year now. I just want a glimmer, people, a glimmer! But seriously, Paul, Matt. Please, listen. You make wonderfully beautiful action movies that have consistently improved since the first film. Don't do this to me. To be honest with you, the only thing that is getting me through this tough time is the fact that Bruce Willis said he thinks Die Hard 5 will start shooting next year. Without that, I just don't know where I'd be right now.
Here are a couple of UNenjoyable things that I’ve been saving up since January. It’s about time I shared them with you.
Men of a Certain Age
The newest TNT hour-long original premiered back in December and aired its first season finale last Monday. Executive produced by and starring Ray Romano, the show tells the story of three male friends dealing with the quandaries associated with middle age. Andre Braugher and Scott Bakula also star. Men of a Certain Age received consistently positive feedback from critics and TNT has already renewed the series for a second season. And yet I hated it. Well, maybe not hate. Hate is not the right word. I seriously did not enjoy watching this show. And I watched six full episodes, which is more than half the season, so I gave it a legitimate chance. I just couldn’t get into it, I guess. I was starting to think it might be too geared toward men and therefore completely lost on me and my abundance of estrogen, but I don’t think that’s it. I enjoy plenty of “male” shows. I think the problem with this series is that these guys are so depressing. Nothing good happens in their lives. They’re unhappy with their jobs and career choices, they’ve got daddy issues, their family situations are constantly on the rocks, and nothing good ever happens to them. This is why I hated Seinfeld (yes, this is real). I don’t want to watch a show so I can get lost in a world full of problems and negative people who complain about those problems. If I wanted to do that, I wouldn’t have a need for cable. Anyway, the point is that I wasn’t feelin’ Men of a Certain Age and I have no problem letting the show go. It will be an amicable break—I love Andre Braugher and I really do recognize that it is a niche show and the writing, acting and so on—it’s all really great. It’s just not for me. And since I’m probably not in the target audience range, I don’t think TNT will mind.
Super Fucking Long Movies
I decided awhile back that I did want to see James Cameron’s Avatar in theaters if only to see the super awesome special effects in 3-D. And one fine Sunday after the New Year, Pedro and I were looking at showtimes and gearing up for a movie theater/Target/Red Robin watching-shopping-eating adventure. It was then that I realized that the fucking movie is 2 hours and 40 minutes long!!! I realize that the run time is exactly the same as Zack Snyder’s Watchmen (162 minutes is listed as the run time for both films), which I saw in theaters on opening day after arriving an hour early just in case there was a line blah blah blah whatever. But I really, REALLY wanted to see that movie. I had a huge investment in it, I’d been waiting for almost a year to see it—it wasn’t just a movie that sounded good that I decided to go and see. It was an event. Avatar is not an event for me. I thought it would be. I was following all the press, getting swept up in the hype, but I stood there looking at the run time and I just knew deep down inside that I couldn’t do it. I’ve had people tell me how amazing the movie is and that I need to see it immediately. But I cannot bring myself to go sit in a theater for that long for something that is not an essential part of my existence. Sitting in a theater for that long requires preparation and commitment. You basically have to dehydrate yourself* and bring sustenance but not sustenance that is so salty that it will require beverages and thus negate your dehydration efforts. It’s an ordeal! I’d much rather enjoy a movie in all its glory from the comfort of my couch where I have all the snacks, drinks, and pillows I need AND a pause button. Why would I pay for a movie and then have to walk out and miss 5-7 minutes of it dealing with bathroom lines and disturb the experience of my fellow movie-watchers as I crawl over their legs to exit the theater? No, just no. I cannot handle super fucking long movies unless it is a Watchmen-level serious movie-going adventure. Not gonna do it.
*Note: I am not encouraging anyone to dehydrate themselves. Just FYI.
Battlestar Galactica: The Plan
After waiting two months to get the disc from Netflix, I was finally able to watch Battlestar Galactica: The Plan last month. And I gotta tell you that my first reaction was overwhelming disappointment. Please curtail your gasps and cries of outrage for one minute while I explain. I did not read much about The Plan before watching it for a couple reasons. First, during its promotion, I was still finishing the last season of the series. Second, I never read about movies in advance for fear of spoilers or tiny details that will eventually lead to me being spoiled right before big important things happen. But had I done some light reading about The Plan, I would’ve seen a description that read something along the lines of, “explores the events of Battlestar Galactica from the Cylon perspective” and “sheds light on the Cylon plan for the human race.” And I would have been intrigued to no end, anxious to get answers, and when I watched the movie I still would have been overwhelmingly disappointed. The film basically goes through the entire series, picking certain events from the show’s four seasons to explain from the Cylon perspective. The result is one huge episodic, entirely disjointed deja vu. Most of the movie is comprised of recycled footage from the show with a few new explanatory, Cylon-dominated scenes thrown in. And not just Cylon-dominated, but Cavil dominated. As the Wired.com review for The Plan said, “So heavily does the movie focus on the Cylons’ most devious and brutal model, it would more aptly be titled A Tale of Two Cavils.” After all the excitement and all the questions I had that I thought would be answered, I was left wondering what I had just watched and why. Don’t get me wrong—I see the value of the film in the realm of the show (I actually thought for awhile it would’ve worked better if it came sooner in the series had it not been for a fourth season monologue laid over some footage at the end). Lots of insights about what certain Cylons went through while being embedded with the humans and so on. I just don’t think releasing it and promoting is as a brand new BSG film was the best plan (I just re-read what I wrote there and, seriously, no pun intended). It should have been chunked out and released as a web series (Wired.com suggests thinking of it as a DVD bonus feature, like a bunch of deleted scenes you forgot to watch before). SyFy could’ve used such a web series to promote their BSG prequel spin-off series Caprica. Basically, it would’ve meant more in bits—little shiny new gifts being delivered each week—than as a DVD that you had to pay to rent or buy on DVD (and if you already owned the complete series on DVD, well, don’t even get me started). It’s definitely fun to get a few more pieces of the puzzle, but by no means can this film completely satisfy a BSG fan’s curiosity about the show. Luckily, The Plan is apparently going to be only the first of many BSG continuation or “reimagining” movies. At the 2009 Comic Con, The Plan director and BSG star Edward James Olmos said that he’s already written a script for post-BSG Admiral Adama. Now if they could get the time and the funds to shoot such a thing, I think we will be in for a real treat in the future.
With a few of the networks announcing early pick-ups and cancellations over the last couple of weeks, I decided it was time to look back over the last season and assess the status of each of my shows. I then realized that it took a million hours of work to do that (research, making charts, color coding. It's all so intense!). So, here I am sharing the fruits of my labor!
I bet you've been asking yourself the same questions: Is my favorite show renewed yet? Is it canceled? Will it be renewed or canceled?! Who's to say?!?! Oh, that's right. ME!
As always, click images to enlarge. Key: Unknown shows are highlighted in orangey-tan, renewed shows are highlighted in pale yellow, and canceled for real shows are in red text.
If you have any questions about shows that are not listed here, leave a comment or send us an email. We are here to help, friends!
Note: Yes, I screen-capped these from MS Word. Yes, it is lame the Spellcheck lines are there. Yes, I am too lazy to go back and do all of this all over again.
"I think we're going to do a 'Die Hard 5' next year."
- Bruce Willis making all of my dreams come true during an interview with MTV News while promoting his new amazing comedy-action film, Cop Out. It should also be noted that Bruce suggested hiring Die Hard 4 (real title: Live Free or Die Hard) director Len Wiseman again. I couldn't fucking agree more, Bruce.
I am relieved and delighted to start this week off with some good great news: ABC Family has renewed veteran teen dramedy Greek for a fourth season!
The network made the official announcement late Friday. Rumors had been circulating the week prior that last Monday's episode ("The Tortoise and the Hare," 3x14) was going to be the make it or break it event for the show. If the episode got high ratings, Greek was a sure-thing for renewal. But if it failed, the outlook was pretty bleak (which, I speculate, might have something to do with ABC Family trying to freshen up their collection of originals). Whether this was true or not, things have obviously worked out. The show has been spiking in ratings all year and now it's won the chance to come back with a 10-episode fourth (and most likely final) season.
Here's why I say the fourth season will most likely be Greek's last. First, the majority of the main characters are nearing graduation, and to attempt a Saved By the Bell: The New Class-style situation (read: coming up with completely lame/improbable reasons why graduates are still hanging around campus) would be a complete disservice to the show. I don't think the writers would go there.
Second, it would be a mistake to try to continue the show with Rusty, Dale, and Calvin (i.e. those left behind) leading the pack. I love these guys, but their stories have always been on the periphery. And to make them main plot material, they'd need help. But the writers have not made a consistent effort over the course of the first three seasons to integrate younger characters into the main cast. So, to try and stuff the fourth season with clever introductions to new, younger characters in an effort to show that there will be a story to tell in the next season would lessen the amount of time and attention devoted to wrapping up the storylines that matter: the Casey-Evan-Cappie saga, Ashleigh needing to find her true love and believe in herself, what everyone will do with themselves after graduation, and so on.
The point I am trying to make is that 10 episodes is a good number to wrap up already existing drama and tie-up any and all loose ends. I am relieved to no end that we will have the chance to get some real good closure here.
Greek airs Monday nights at 10 on ABC Family. There are 6 episodes left in the third season. The finale airs March 29th.
After reading this article about an online petition to get singer-songwriter and Farm Aid co-founder John Mellencamp to run for a senate seat in the state of Indiana, I had the following conversation with friend and SWTS reader K. Fay:
AJ: People are trying to make John Cougar Mellencamp run for senator in Indiana. Just sharing.
K. Fay: SHUT. UPPPPPPPPPPP. NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
AJ: It is true. Cant a man just write jams on his six-string and wear sandals?!?!?!?!
K. Fay: As long as the jams are about America.
AJ: (laughs) "Fort Worth, Texas Intermezzo."
K. Fay: (laughs) Writing that song about America and using it for Chevy* or whatever was the greatest decision he has ever maaaaaade.
AJ: I feel like we should be calling the Guinness Book of World Records. Why? Because we have just set the record for "longest conversation about John Cougar Mellencamp in the last 10 years."
In this issue: more remakes that make you believe Hollywood is run by 12-year-old boys, and a confession from...me.
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Because 7 Films Just Aren't Enough
According to the Los Angeles Times (via Coming Soon), Universal Pictures is "looking to reboot" the American Pie movie franchise. Excuse my caps lock for a moment, but IS THIS REALLY NECESSARY, PEOPLE?! There are already seven films in this ridiculous franchise (three went to theaters, the other four have been straight-to-DVD releases...and for good reason). And the last film came out less than two months ago! And why are we "rebooting" franchises that are only a decade old? Timing issues and the sickening overabundance of franchise reboots aside, what evidence does Universal Pictures have that the public needs new American Pie movies? What evidence would cause them to consider sinking millions of dollars into a project like this? I'd really like to know. Like for real.
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This is Happening Right Now
Click image to enlarge.
And THAT was the Week in WTF!
UPDATE 7:34pm:
I just read this amazing, amazing, wonderful, hilarious article from Latino Review in which they publish a letter from a fervent Twilight fan who accuses Universal Pictures of ripping off Stephanie Meyer's invention of werewolves for their movie Wolfman, which stars Academy Award winners Sir Anthony Hopkins and Benicio del Toro. Funniest WTF item in years.
Just a heads up for those of you out there who are eagerly anticipating Lauren Graham's return to network television:
Due to the cancellation of The Jay Leno Show, NBC has moved the premiere of their new hour-long dramedy Parenthood to Tuesday March 2nd and 10pm EST. It was previously scheduled for Monday March 1 at 9pm. Scheduling with the Stars has been updated accordingly.
I know it's lame to have to wait an extra day, but think about how packed Monday nights are right now. Tuesday is the perfect place for a new show to try and not get canceled after two seconds. Think good thoughts!
*I recommend pressing play and then only listening to this video because the camera is super shaky and could cause headaches, nausea, and quite possibly indigestion.*
Dear Fiona Apple,
Hi! It’s me, your lifelong fan AJ!
A couple weeks ago, I saw a video of you performing at the benefit show you helped organize to raise money for Haiti. Your cover of “He’s Funny That Way” was wonderful, truly marvelous! I just emailed it to a friend because we were talking about you and how much we miss you. So, I figured it was time I took a moment to address you directly.
I just want to let you know that we, your fans, do want more music from you. The old standard covers you do at The Largo that surface on YouTube are great, but we love YOUR music, too. But no pressure! We understand how long the creative process can take and how much making a record and promoting it can take out of a person. It is only natural for there to be long periods between records, especially for an artist of your caliber. Nevertheless, the thought of never hearing another original song from you is chilling. And I just wanted to put it out there in the realm of internetyness that we love your music and your art and we can’t wait to hear more from you when you deem the time is right.
Rock n' roll news magazine Spin is reporting that Mercury Records plans to release the new "Hole" album (also known as Courtney Love's second solo record since the real Hole disbanded in 2002*) on April 27th, 2010. I use the phrase "release date" loosely as this is the...I don't even know what number release date this is anymore. There have been so many and I have long since lost count.
Like I said:
You can probably tell I have some issues with Courtney Love calling this new project of hers Hole. It implies that Courtney was Hole all by herself, which is an idea that I completely disagree with. This is not to say that I disagree with the inverse of that statement because Hole wouldn't be Hole without Courtney either. The point is that none of the other former members of Hole are involved in or have ever been involved in this project. Because it was Courtney's project. Not a Hole project. And yet, here we are. As Spin states, "The current line-up includes Love's roommate, 23-year-old British guitarist Micko Larkin, bassist Shawn Dailey (of Rock Kills Kid), and drummer Stuart Fisher. Jack Irons, formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Pearl Jam, played drums on the album."
The album will still be titled Nobody's Daughter, just the same as it was four years ago when Love first announced she was "finishing up" work on her second solo effort.
For those of you who have been following founding Hole member Eric Erlandson's reactions to Courtney reviving the Hole name for her new project, Spin also reports that Love claims on her Facebook page that the issues with Erlandson over the use of the name have been resolved.
And, in case you missed it, click here to check out a video of "Hole" performing their new song "Samantha" on British late night television last week.
*Note: To the douchebag who edited the Hole Wikipedia page to say that the band's "Years Active" are "1989-2002, 2009-present," fuck you.
I’ve been stocking up on things to include here since I missed writing up a January edition, so pardon this for being a little lengthy.
YouTube
I know this kind of goes without saying, but YouTube ROCKS. YouTube has been the place I turn to in recent times when my butt needs saving. When I forgot to set my DVR to record the very first episode of Supernatural when TNT started rerunning the series, I was able to find the complete episode on YouTube when every other television site out there failed me. And just last week, when I forgot to set the DVR to record that week’s Supernatural episodes because of the craziness that was the blackout, I was able to find the episode I missed on YouTube yet again. In addition to fueling my addiction to Supernatural (I am obsessed, I won’t lie—and the CW just renewed it for a sixth season WOO!!!), YouTube has been assisting in my exposure to wonderful new music artists, particularly this wonderful new group of British soul/pop artists like Paloma Faith and VV Brown. I don’t know how they do it because I do not have a YouTube account, but they have started to develop as keen a sense of personal recommendations for me as Amazon has over the years. I adore you, YouTube. Please, never change.
Celine Dion
As I mentioned before whilst I was on my winter vacay and spouting nonstop apologies for being unexpectantly MIA, I recently accidentally rekindled my decades-long love of Celine Dion. I completely idolized this woman when I was 8 years old probably until I reached high school (and even then, let’s be real, I still idolized her…just underneath all of my angstyness). I would listen to her albums on my Walkman every single night before I went to bed and lip-sync in bed. I had her Falling Into You concert recorded on a VHS tape and watched it so many times that I memorized every white leather outfit, every dance move, and every ornamentation on her notes. I dropped everything whenever her episode of VH1 Behind the Music came on. And I never, ever, EVER got tired of “My Heart Will Go On.” Not ever! Somewhere along the line, I think during her A New Day Has Come era, I lost track of Celine. Sure, I knew most of her singles on the radio, but I stopped buying her albums and stopped checking up on her schedule to see if she was making an television appearances or performing at awards shows. Rediscovering Celine, especially super, super old school Celine, was the highlight of my winter vacation. Honestly, I laugh at the thought of my 8-year-old self singing along to “(If There Was) Any Other Way” and “Water From the Moon.” And I laugh at the cheesy 90s synth that is her first two or three English-language albums. But I fucking LOVE Celine. And I’m so glad to have her back in my life. Especially at such a good time since she is on the verge of returning to the spotlight what with her upcoming documentary Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, her plans to return to Las Vegas for a 3-year stint at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, and her announcement that she has begun work on not one but TWO brand new albums—one in English and one in French. It’s a good time to be a Celine Dion fan. Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes
This item is going to show exactly how long I’ve been saving up items for this post. I did go and see Sherlock Holmes in theaters the day it opened just as I’d been planning for the entirety of 2009. And it was fucking MARVELOUS! I honestly couldn’t stop myself from talking about this movie, and, though it should go without saying, all I had to say about it was good things. VERY good things. Immediately upon leaving the theater, I gushed to anyone who would listen (also known as anyone in my cell phone contacts who wouldn’t hate me for texting them on Christmas about a Guy Ritchie movie) about how wonderful the film was, how visually stunning the effects were, how Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law make for the best big screen bromance since Brad Pitt and George Clooney did the last Ocean’s remake, and how utterly devastated I will be if there are not more RDJ Sherlock films. Luckily, Warner Brothers was way ahead of me. They’d already started asking about a sequel script back in September of 2009 (that’s right—before that bitch was even in THEATAHS!). Guy, RDJ, and Jude are all set to return (actually Ritchie and RDJ have both abandoned* other projects in order to work on the Sherlock sequel) and, reportedly, pre-production is set to begin at the end of next month! For those of you who missed Sherlock in theaters during the busy holiday/Avatar season, don’t worry! The film will be released to DVD on March 30th. Save it to your Netflix queue stat!
*Note: Guy Ritchie stepped down from directing a film adaptation of the DC Comics “anti-hero” Lobo and RDJ turned down the lead role in another comic book adaptation, Cowboys and Aliens.
She & Him
I shouldn’t say that I have no idea how this happened, but it is an odd progression that led me to purchase and therefore “get into” the indie folk/pop band She & Him. So, She & Him consists of two members: a she (Zooey Deschanel, sister to Bones star Emily Deschanel) and a him (singer-songwriter M. Ward). Now, many, many moons ago Zooey Deschanel said something that really irked me (see this old WTF post involving Zooey getting bitchtastic about the constant comments regarding the similarities between her and Katy Perry). Because I didn’t know Zooey and had no real attachment to anything she was in, I developed a negative impression of her. Because I still didn’t know her or become attached to anything she was in, this negative impression existed until this season’s holiday episode of Bones. Zooey guest starred as her in-real-life sister’s quirky cousin who spoke only in Benjamin Franklin adages. Any negative impression I had had of her instantly melted away. Soon after that, I ended up watching Zooey’s 2008 film Yes Man and loved it. And soon after THAT, I happened upon an article about Zooey’s band She & Him and how excited the world is for their second record, which will actually be out next month (March 23, 2010 to be precise). I was instantly intrigued and excited to hear their music because of the descriptions M. Ward gives for Zooey’s songwriting talent. I’d heard their single “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?” back when it was brand new, but I hadn’t heard anything else. I listened to a couple of songs via my trusty friend YouTube and within minutes I found myself clicking “Buy MP3 Album with 1-Click” on the She & Him Volume One Amazon product page. I have been listening to that record nonstop ever since (so, for about two and a half weeks now!). It’s a wonderful mix of 60s folk pop and alt-country style. It is one of those records that evokes summertime and driving down rural divided highways with the windows down. It makes me feel warm. Favorite tracks of mine include (but are in no way limited to) “Sentimental Heart,” “This is Not a Test,” and “I Was Made for You.” Oh, and if you have any question, any question at all about Zooey’s musical talent, please check out their cover of “I Put a Spell on You” (see the video above). This was their contribution to a recent Starbucks love-themed compilation, and it is beautifully chilling. Just trust me.
Honorable Mentions:
- The CW ordering a remake of La Femme Nikita. This is so funny because I recently decided that I need to watch La Femme Nikita and added it to my Netflix queue for near-future renting. Now, I have even more motivation!
- New Kelly Clarkson Album in 2010. Because I can’t get enough of her powerhouse vocals, and anything she releases that will get her one step closer to completing her contract and being free to make the music she truly wants to make, well, I can’t argue with that.
- New Music from Trent Reznor in 2010. I don’t know if it will be NIN, a random side project or both, and his cryptic messages aren’t really helpful. But the fact that he will be making music this year makes me smile.
- British Soul Pop. I am getting into so many new artists right now. Be prepared for next month's edition of Wind AJ Up. I sense it will be out of control.
Over the last two to three years, I have been talking about two movies starring Sarah Michelle Gellar: Veronika Decides to Die and Possession. Between delayed theatrical releases and the flip-flopping between theatrical and straight-to-DVD, the studios have finally come to their senses and are releasing these films in the US.
Both movies will be released on DVD in the coming months. Possession will be released on March 9 and Veronika Decides to Die on April 27. Both are currently available for pre-order purchase at various movie retailers.
Veronika Decides to Die, which is based on the Paulo Coelho novel of the same name (that I highly, highly recommend), follows a young woman who has decided to end her life and how she finds the will to live. Jonathan Tucker and Erika Christensen also star. The film switches New York City for the book's original location of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and hopefully that is the only big change they made because the book was chillingly beautiful on its own.
Possession sees Sarah Michelle Gellar playing a married woman whose black sheep brother-in-law (Lee Pace) comes to stay in her house. Her husband and brother-in-law are in an accident and her husband’s memories are transferred to his brother’s brain. Essentially, SMG, "allows herself to believe that black sheep brother is now her husband and then crazy psychological thriller stuff ensues," to quote my original See, Rent, No post from January 2009 (over a YEAR ago, people!). Yes, this is another South Korean horror remake (based on the 2002 film Addicted) for SMG, but who's counting? Anyway, it looks creepy awesome and I can't wait to see it. Only people in Israel have been able to see it so far. It is time, America.
Hooray for DVD releases! It only took three years.
Courtney Love's fake revived version of her 90s grunge rock band Hole performed on British late night show Friday Night with Jonathan Ross this week. Check out their re-tuned song "Samantha" in the video above.
This song has been a staple from the Nobody's Daughter tracks that have been circulating for the last three years. It sounds like Courtney reworked it a little bit since it was last posted online. I know I am angry at her over the constant record delays, the fact that she is pretending her new band is Hole, and her all around fashion-obsessed elitism and craziness, but I have GOT to admit that she can still fucking rock. I'll give her that.
And, I think we all know, even though I am mad about this stuff, I will still buy this record if it ever comes out. Because my 13-year-old self would kill me if I didn't.
At least the fact that she is performing new songs live* with her new band is a good sign of progress. Maybe Nobody's Daughter will see the light of day in 2010 after all!
*Note: My speculative thoughts on this are that she is performing in the UK not just because she has been recording there, but maybe because they are less all about the "Courtney is batshit crazy, do not take her seriously!" media coverage and she has a better chance of her return being accepted? I'm just spitballin' here.
In this issue: Tim Kring gives us more reasons to want Heroes canceled; Warner Music does not understand progress; Celine Dion crushes all my hopes and dreams; and I hate power outages.
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Tim Kring Makes My Head Explode
So, here’s the deal: I read an interview Tim Kring did with AV Club and it made my head explode (for those of you who didn’t get that from the title). What I really want to do is cut and paste the interview into MS Word and then insert comment balloons around every single he said that infuriated me. But instead, I will just pick a few choice excerpts to scream about here:
While explaining why the Heroes crew writes stories in short arcs they refer to as “sprints,” Kring said, “You never really know where you’re going—you’re only seeing as far as your headlights all the time, so you can keep re-adjusting.” The reasons he listed after this statement (locations fall through, actors aren’t under contract, etc.) seemed to be the weakest sort of excuses I could ever imagine for a writer to explain why his show has no point any-more. I don’t think one subplot in the midst of a series that is filled to the brim with characters (almost too much at times) can derail the entire show if it had an actual endgame destination.
Additionally, there were several instances where he kept opining that the audience doesn’t understand that the show isn’t really formatted in tradi-tional television “seasons,” that they are really in “volumes” (just like comic books! Oh gee golly wiz!). Example quotation: “I like the idea of the audience knowing we tell the story in volumes, and it took them up to last year to fig-ure that out.” BITCH, PLEASE! You print “Volume IV: Fugitives” on the screen. I CAN READ!!!
Finally, and this is one that almost made my eyeballs melt, AV Club asked, “What do you make of all the comparisons between the show and comic books?” Part of Kring’s response included the statement, “We’re just often in the world of comparing us to a million things that have already been done.” Perhaps this is because you are doing the same exact thing that has been done before when someone tried to tell the story of what happens when a bunch of ordinary people discover they have special abilities. Perhaps you could’ve recognized the fact that people are going to automatically say, “How does this show differ from X-Men and why should I watch it?” and given them something to be proud of instead of something to be angered by. Perhaps you could have skipped that entire fucking storyline about Nathan going all self-loathing mutant and the government trying to eradicate the world of “spe-cials.” Mostly because THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT PEOPLE DIDN’T WANT TO SEE as it was already done in—what, peeps?—X-FUCKING-MEN.
Okay. Breathing now. In Kring’s (and AV Club’s) defense, there were some very interesting details shared in the interview, most notably the way the team of writers actually works as a group literally rather than individual writers penning individual episodes. But overall, this is just another reason to add to my list of why I think Heroes should just be put out of its misery so I can sell my season 2 and 3 DVDs on eBay and pretend like season 1 is a miniseries.
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Warner Music’s Major Misstep
NME reported Wednesday that Warner Music Group, the label that is home to a wide range of artists including Flo Rida, Deftones and Sarah McLachlan, has decided to stop licensing WMG artists’ music to free streaming sites like Last.fm and Spotify. WMG label chief executive, Edgar Bronfman Jr, said, “Free streaming services are clearly not net positive for the industry and as far as Warner Music is concerned will not be licensed.” The NME article continues, “Bronfman added that he wants to work on getting more people to take out subscriptions with applications unique to Warner Music, where a set fee would be paid in return for content. He reasoned that the amount of po-tential subscribers for that would "dwarf" the number of people who currently buy music from sites such as iTunes.” First of all, HA! to that statement about dwarfing iTunes. It’s like he doesn’t get that iTunes = music purchas-ing. Music streaming, well, that’s a different story. If I can hear it for free on the radio or a band’s website, then why would I pay to stream? This just seems like yet another milestone in the decline of the music industry. They just don’t understand that people won’t BUY the music if they can’t hear it first anymore. With regard to the free streaming sites themselves and their business models, Bronfman stated, “The 'get all your music you want for free, and then maybe with a few bells and whistles we can move you to a premium price strategy', is not the kind of approach to business that we will be sup-porting in the future." This means that the good news is at least this new policy will only impact future deals. A small glimpse at the silver lining, yes. A laughable attempt to make the music industry stay the same, indeed.
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Celine Returns to Vegas and Crushed My Dreams
Okay, so it wasn’t Celine herself exactly who crushed my hopes and dreams. E! News published an article yesterday announcing Celine Dion’s plans to return the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for another 3-year resi-dency. Celine’s shows are scheduled to begin March 15, 2011. My heart gushed with pure joy at the thought of getting a second chance to see Celine in all of her Vegas big show glory! I was too young and too high school/college student poor to see her when she was there from 2003-2007, and I really thought this was going to be my chance! I could save up to do a weekend trip to Vegas, take in her show, steal Mike Tyson’s tiger. It would be the best kind of fun! But then I continued reading the article and saw this: “Tickets for the first 54 performances go on sale on Ticketmaster Friday at 10 a.m.” As in I’d have to fork over the dough in less than 24 hours?! How is a girl supposed to save?!?! I have no doubt the tickets for these first 54 shows are already sold out. My only hope is that 1. they are reasonably priced (HA! yeah right) and 2. that I can save up enough before the other sets of tickets go on sale. Bottom line: I’m still holding onto my dream…but barely.
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Power Outages Blow Hardcore
I’m sure by now you’ve either experienced or have heard the nonstop news coverage of the ridiculous snow storm that’s been hitting up and down the East Coast (Snowpocalypse, as some call it; Snowmageddon to others). Basi-cally, last weekend, I lost power for 37 hours. 37 hours without Law & Order reruns, 37 hours without the ability to have a working DVR to record Legend of the Seeker, and 37 hours where my hands were too cold to even hold the book I was reading upright. Obviously, this is not anywhere near as severe as some people had it and not as important because I don't have babies or elderly people living in my house. But it was certainly uncomfortable. No running water, no nothing! I ended up writing a ditty called "Camping in my House" to the tune of Billy Idol's "Dancing with Myself." Not pleasant. Not pleasant in the slightest. All I want to say is THAT WAS FUCKED UP and I really, truly do not hope that happens again 1. this weekend and 2. EVER because I have a date with season 4 of Ally McBeal and I do not want to miss it. But, since I’m all about the bright side of things, at least I got a ton of reading done!
This morning, I was perusing a few departments on Amazon—books, music, movies (you know, the usual)—and I happened upon a Valentine’s Day edition of those Now That’s What I Call Music albums. You know, the ones with the ridiculous, uber annoying infomercials that package together 20 or so cur-rent radio hits and are laughably overpriced.
Well, after looking at the tracklisting for Now That’s What I Call Love, I was aghast at the thought of someone out there actually using this mix CD as a soundtrack for Valentine’s Day. And not just because the album is billed with the tagline, “CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S DAY WITH 20 UNFORGETTABLE LOVE SONGS FROM TODAY'S BIGGEST ARTISTS!*” and Hoobastank is one of those artists. Because it’s a thematic mess of cutesy fun love songs sprinkled with songs about adultery and breakups here and there. This simply cannot be.
So, I have decided to create my own Valentine’s Day playlist (in mix tape form, of course) to either assist or inspire those of you out there looking for something good to listen to on this most sacred of Hallmark holidays.
Here we’ve got Side A, the Anti-Valentine’s Day side of the tape. I tried to take us through the entire range of emotions starting with a love falling apart going all the way through to acceptance and enjoying the single life. [It is important to note that I consider Mandy Moore’s “Gardenia” one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard in my entire life.]
And here we’ve got Side B, the Pro-Valentine’s Day side of the tape. Don’t judge me if some of these songs are too sappy for your tastes. I only bust them out for special occasions.
Last July at the San Diego Comic Con, The Guild creator and star Felicia Day announced that she was working on a 3-issue comic book miniseries adaptation of the beloved web series and that Dark Horse Comics would pub-lish. Well, the time has come.
The first issue of The Guild comic will be released on March 24th. Except the other two issues to come out in April and May, respectively.
For this project, Felicia Day joined forces with renowned penciler Georges Jeanty, who also does pencils for the Buffy Season Eight comic book series. See some of Jeanty’s gorgeous work in the picture above.
This project comes at the perfect time since The Guild is in between seasons right now. The third season, which wrapped last fall, will be released on DVD in just a few weeks.
Again, I urge you to check out The Guild if you haven’t already. I say this all the time whenever it comes up, but it is truly brilliant. And I know you’re curious—what is a web series anyway?! The great thing about them is that they are super short, so checking out one or two episodes or even an entire season is not much of a time commitment at all! I actually ended up getting into it when I was bored one day before heading to work. I watched two full seasons, gag reels, and the holiday musical numbers all before having my metaphorical morning coffee (insert “She wants to be 5’10” like Cindy Craw-ford!” Clueless reference here).
The Guild chronicles the misadventures of a band of online gamers and what happens when they meet offline. The third season featured an amazing guest star, a little sci-fi icon called Wil Wheaton. THAT’S RIGHT, YOU HEARD ME. Wil Wheaton.
Head over to WatchTheGuild.com right now and check it out! I know you want to.
Last night, amazing/glorious/hilarious actress and humanitarian Kristen Bell tweeted that she found a dog at a Shell gas station in Los Angeles. She also posted a photo of the "wet cigar," as she affectionately referred to the little pooch.
Lo and behold, six hours later, Kristen was back with the tweets informing the world that she was able to reunite the dog with its owner. Apparently, the owner's neighbor saw the picture online and informed her right away.
Why is this news? For a few reasons, but mainly because I love puppies and I love people who save puppies. And celebrities wearing underwear and doing things that are good for society while sober, well, you can't really ask for a better feelgood story than that, can you?
"People want to see him cared for in a way that those of us a little more average have been able to experience through love. But I also [understand] Chuck’s point that all Sheldon really wants is a Nobel Prize. That’s the warm embrace that he longs for.”
- Jim Parsons, who plays Dr. Sheldon Cooper on CBS's The Big Bang Theory, on the public's desire to learn more about his character's sexuality (via EW.com).
And for those of you who cannot get enough Ball-Pit Bazinga (and, really, who can?), click here.
For an incredibly obvious reason (the fact that she won a Grammy for Album of the Year), Taylor Swift is back on the tip of everybody’s tongue. And, after reading countless “don’t hate Taylor Swift!” and “Taylor Swift is a feminist’s nightmare!” articles, I felt compelled from the roots of my hair (natural color, thank you) to the soles of my feet to come back here and explain one thing:
I have never been this conflicted over anything pop-culture-related in my entire existence.
This internal conflict all came about when I made the brazen* statement, “I did roll my eyes when I read the list of all the Grammys Taylor Swift took home last night, especially the Album of the Year award (I would have given it to GaGa, of course),” in my Grammy reactions post last week. I was immediately overcome with some sort of making-negative-comments-about-Taylor-Swift guilt complex, so I followed that up with, “But she is a talented songwriter and a true entertainer, so congratulations and more power to her!” Why did I feel obligated to deflect the negativity of my original reaction with something positive about Taylor Swift? Why is my Google Reader filled to the brim with random online journalists giving 5,000-word explanations for why they love, loathe or fear Taylor Swift?
1. It is generally accepted that Taylor Swift is not awesome at singing.
2. It is generally accepted that Taylor Swift is a pretty good songwriter, albeit some people take issue with the content of her songs.
3. People are taking this Taylor Swift shit way, way, WAY too seriously.
Because of my Taylor Guilt and confusion, I just re-read my post from last fall, “The Enigma That is Taylor Swift.” Up until five minutes ago, I assumed that I had not thoroughly vetted this Taylor Swift situation last year when I took my Swift Stand with this post. I must have missed something or said something too negative that I didn’t mean and should clarify right now, right here before things go any further.
But that shit is awesome! Awesome in the sense that it accurately reflects my truest thoughts on Taylor Swift in a completely unbiased light. I did not come off like a Swift Sympathizer nor did come off like a wackadoodle Lady GaGa fan (girlfriend from Autostraddle needs to give that shit a break). I feel content and relieved that my original explanation of my feelings regarding this worldwide phenomenon has been archived in writing here, now and forever.
Start your countdown clocks, people! MTV just confirmed a release date to TV Shows on DVD for Daria the complete series on DVD. And the date is
MAY 11, 2010
I am so excited. I can barely move. I can't believe all of this is happening. I know they leaked that the project was coming last year and that nothing has happened since then, but with the teaser trailer last week and now an actual release date. I just can't believe it! Scheduling with the Stars has, obviously, been updated accordingly.
TSOD also has a list of the bonus materials that will be included in the set, and one of them is MTV's Top Ten Video Countdown hosed by Daria and Jane!!! I LIVED FOR THOSE THINGS!!! It looks like the set will also include an abundance of Mystik Spiral goodness, including the music video for "Freakin' Friends" and a script for a Mystik Spiral spin-off series that MTV considered producing during Daria's heyday.
The guys over at TSOD promise to report any and all details MTV sends their way, so expect more updates in the near future including *hopefully* some package art visuals.
92 days and counting!!! La la la lala! La la la lala!
UPDATE 6:29am 9 February 2010:
TV Shows on DVD got us some more details last night. They've got early cover art pictures over at their site. They also say that the complete series set will contain 8 discs in total, which sounds like a small number for a show that lasted 5 seasons and includes 2 TV movies. But you gotta remember each episode only runs 20-something minutes so they can fit a lot more onto each disc. Anyway, TSOD also says that the studio is billing this set to retailers with the phrase, "at a LOW price - GREAT VALUE." So, perhaps no serious penny-pinching will be needed to afford this little beauty after all!
I’ve wished for things in the past. I wished for a Making the Band tour and another season of the show (which I ended up regretting, but, hey! I wished it and it happened!). I wished for Ally McBeal to be released on DVD, and now I have my own complete series set sitting on a bookshelf in the other room and I’m about to embark on a journey through season 4. I wished for Daria to be released on DVD and I just posted a teaser trailer MTV released last week to promote the spring 2010 drop date. And now I’m going to wish for a few more things to happen in 2010! Forgive me, though, if my wishes don’t seem as ballsy as years past. 2010 is already shaping up to be one amazing year—Christina, Iron Man 2, Lisa Loeb glasses. Most of my wishes are already realities. There are just a few that need some work:
Shirley Manson Solo Album
That’s right. I am still waiting for Shirley Manson to release her solo album. This is a rollover from last year, but I am still wishing this wish with all my damn heart. Many, many moons ago, when Garbage took its initial break (post-Bleed Like Me, pre-Absolute Garbage), it was understood that Shirley was going to be pursuing music on her own. Reportedly, she recorded an entire album’s worth of material, but was told by her record company that her music was “too noir” and that she needed to scrap it and take her solo album in another direction. For Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles fans, this project was obviously put on Shirley’s backburner. Instead, she headed to the small screen to kick start an acting career on the beloved sci-fi series in 2008. When TSCC was cancelled in the spring of 2009, everyone thought Shirley would get back to work on her music. No such luck. All we’ve heard of the album so far is a (WONDERFUL) demo Shirley published to her Myspace over a year ago called “In the Snow” (see above). And it appears that her solo stuff is still nowhere near seeing the light of day. Shirley recently hinted at a Garbage reunion on her Facebook page by writing a not-so-cryptic message at the end of a blog post: “Anyway.......on a final note guess who I just spent a week in the studio with? Would you be pleased if I said one of them was called Steve and one of them was called Duke and another was a grammy winning producer?” A Garbage reunion will obviously be glorious and amazing and appreciated, especially since all the official “breaks” over the past few years made it look like the band members were completely done with each other. But, Shirley, WHEN WE WILL SEE THE FRUITS OF YOUR NOIR LABOR?!!?! Please make it soon. Otherwise, I will start to look foolish if this is still something I’m wishing for in 2012.
Actual Albums from the Gossip Girls
Gossip Girl stars Leighton Meester and Taylor Momsen made headlines last year when they stepped out from behind their youthful Manhattanite alter egos to dive headfirst into the music biz. Leighton, who plays mean girl Blair Waldorf, finds her voice in the dance pop groove. A few of her demos, including a hugely popular cover of “Bette Davis Eyes,” circulated via YouTube last year and she found herself an instant hit. She then appeared on the Cobra Starship track “Good Girls Go Bad,” solidifying her pop presence. Last fall, she released her official debut single and music video, a song called “Somebody to Love,” which was a duet with pop/R&B crooner Robin Thicke. Meester recently announced her album will be titled Love is a Drug, but there is still no release date. Meester’s co-star, Taylor Momsen, has been making huge waves with her punk rock band The Pretty Reckless. Last summer, the band opened for The Veronicas playing nightclubs all over the country. With a simple search, you can fine YouTube videos galore of Momsen rocking harder than you’ve EVER seen a 16-year-old rock. (Slip dresses, smeared makeup, raspy vocals—it’s all very 90s grunge and awesome.) And if those vids aren’t proof enough, the band was just named as part of the lineup for the 2010 Vans Warped Tour. I’ve only heard three Pretty Reckless demos, but I gotta say—highly anticipated simply does not cover it. Momsen and her band reportedly inked a major label deal with Interscope last spring, but still now word on an official release date. I realize both of these talented young ladies have to work their music career in between taping seasons of Gossip Girl, but please. This whole “TBD 2010” situation is not working for me anymore.
For None of My Shows to Get Cancelled
I was originally just going to make this wish, “I wish for NBC to not cancel Parenthood,” because I know I am going to adore the show and having Lauren Graham back in my life on a regular basis and NBC has a knack for canceling any show that is even remotely good. But I decided to think bigger than that. Let’s go with all my shows! So, this is a big wish. A completely unrealistic wish. A wish that means I am setting myself up for failure. But I don’t want to think about it like that, friends. I want to think about this wish as something to represent the fact that I still believe in the power of wishes and the power of the networks to understand when they have a quality program on their hands. So, I say to them forget the ratings! Forget the Nielsen numbers! Give your new shows a chance! Give your returning dramas time to settle into their longer arcs! Stop moving things around to figure out which shows benefit from The Biggest Loser and Dancing with the Stars and American Idol lead-ins! Let the shows shine on their own. Give them all time to develop, find an audience, make their mark, ETCETERA! Let’s let television live, friends! And while you’re over there in your offices NOT canceling shows, you can sit down and think about a way to make money off of television again now that people can fast-forward through commercials. You win, we win, the shows win! Everyone’s a winner!!!
UPDATED!!!!!!! THIS SHIT ENDED UP BEING FALSE!!!!!!! THANK THE PCPTBs!!!!!!!!! See below for more details.
In this issue: STABLER!!!!!!! WHYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!
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Meloni Plans His 'SVU' Exit
The internet is all atwitter because Australian newspaper The Courier Mail reported today that Christopher Meloni is planning to leave NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Meloni plays Detective Elliot Stabler, partner to Mariska Hargitay's Detective Olivia Benson. The pair has led the Law & Order spin-off since it premiered in 1999. Meloni apparently told The Courier Mail that he plans on leaving after the show's 12th season, which will begin production later this year, saying, "I think 12 years is enough, a good number." Mariska Hargitay imagines her character will have a tough time dealing with the loss because, "She loves him, he's her other half." Hargitay seems to be having a tough time with the news herself. The Courier Mail stated that she was wiping tears from her eyes when she spoke about Meloni's departure. The good news here is that Hargitay doesn't have any plans to follow Meloni's lead. She says, "It's been proven over and over to me that this (role) is the right thing for me to still be here." I don't know what will happen to SVU without our favorite anger-management-challenged detective, but I do know this: the casting director better not fuck things up by picking a bullshit replacement. This is how good shows go down, friends. This is how good shows go down in FLAMES!
I went to Baer's Twitter immediately after seeing The Courier Mail story and saw no tweets denying the claim. That is when I flew into a panic and re-read the article 100 times. But I must have checked his account too soon because obviously I believed it. I ended up deciding no legitimate writer would make up shit about both Meloni AND Hargitay. That would just be fucking STUPID. Apparently, I was wrong.
I am furious and intrigued to hear The Courier Mail's defense of basically making up shit and attributing statements to Meloni and TEARS to his co-star Hargitay. Apparently, their story has been removed from the website. Someone better be in some big fucking trouble, that's all I gotta say.
In this issue: the tabs ruin the biggest surprise of Katy Perry's life; NBC is too good at digging holes to stop; Taylor Swift's label CEO defends her Grammy performance, doesn't do her any favors; Universal Studios Home Entertainment misses the fucking point yet again.
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Tabloids Ruin Katy Perry's Engagement Surprise
Katy Perry attended EMI's Grammy Party last Sunday with her fiance, comedian Russell Brand. The two announced their engagement in early January. Brand reportedly proposed after whisking Perry away to vacation in Jaipur, India. According to Just Jared, while on the red carpet for the EMI event, Perry revealed to the media that she found out about the engagement before Brand even had a chance to ask, saying, "Unfortunately, I still Google myself sometimes. I saw it on Google alerts. I’m going to be honest!” When I read that, I had one of those, "Awwww!!! Oh NO!" reactions. How lame is that to have your engagement surprise ruined by the tabloids? That's just not fair. Irregardless, Perry and Brand looked amazing and happy together at the event. Looks like they've taken Christina's "Can't Hold Us Down" as their theme song!
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NBC...IDEK
As many of you may already know, February is Black History Month. NBC decided to celebrate this with their employees by putting together a staff lunch. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon house band The Roots happened to be in the vicinity whilst this luncheon was going on. The band's drummer, Questlove, was there to capture photographic evidence of the menu, tweeting the above picture along with the caption, "Hmm, HR?" Perhaps you are having my initial reaction, which was, "Oh, gawd, this has to be a fake." Well, sadly, it is not. The Huffington Post reported yesterday, "The chef, Leslie Calhoun -- who is black -- said she has been trying to institute a special Black History Month menu for years and was allowed to do so for the first time this year. She said doesn't understand the controversy." Calhoun is quoted as saying, "I don't understand at all. It's not trying to offend anybody and it's not trying to suggest that that's all that African-Americans eat. It's just a good meal. I thought it would go over well." Now, I typically shy away from issues like this. Each individual has his or her own level of offended, and I prefer to let everyone interpret those sorts of things on their own. But this one...this one was pretty damn ridiculous. Obviously, NBC isn't doing themselves any favors trying to get back in the good graces of the public. Note: Questlove later tweeted, "i think i need a twitter break. i done started something. and now i must put out fire." Don't blame Questlove, fools!
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Taylor's Defense Goes Bad
More from The Huffington Post (go, HP!). Everyone and their mother is up in arms about this Taylor Swift Grammy business. People are ranting and raving about the fact that she shouldn't have won all of her Grammys, especially Album of the Year, and that her atrocious performance at the show was proof positive that she didn't deserve to win. The Huffington Post writer Caitlin R. King spoke with Scott Borchetta, the CEO of Swift's label Big Machine Records. Borchetta defended his young star's performance by saying, "She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to (her fans), and they speak directly back to her. This is not `American Idol.' This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance." He also went on to explain that there were technical issues during the performance and that Swift, "...couldn't hear herself like she had in rehearsal." I have been more intrigued than anything by this Taylor Swift backlash, especially since reading a very insightful article from MTV News called "Why You Shouldn't Hate On Taylor Swift." So, while reading this explanation from Borchetta, I completely missed the American Idol comments. But fierce first lady of AI Kelly Clarkson did not. Ms. Clarkson immediately took to her blog, I Am Kelly, to dispatch Mr. Borchetta of his misguided thinking about American Idol musicians. She writes, "I understand defending your artist obviously because I have done the same in the past for artists I like, including Taylor, so you might see why its upsetting to read you attacking American Idol for producing simply vocalists that hit ‘the high notes’." Clarkson continued, "...instead of lashing out at other artists (that in your ‘humble’ opinion lack true artistry), you should simply take a breath and realize that sometimes things won’t go according to plan or work out and that’s okay." All I have to say is, Kelly, YOU GO, GIRL!!! While I do feel that the amount of backlash Taylor Swift is currently suffering is indeed "over the top," to use Borchetta's phrasing, there is no need for someone to resort to badmouthing her competitors in order to defend her. This is especially disrespectful seeing as how Taylor's own BFF, Kellie Pickler (who toured in support of Taylor all last year), is an American Idol vet herself. To read her full rebuttal of Borchetta's statements, click here.
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Universal Screws Over BSG Fans Again
TV Shows on DVD reported last week that Universal Studios Home Entertainment is preparing a re-release of Battlestar Galactica on DVD for this year. The original limited edition complete series set the company released last year did not go over well with most sci-fi fans. For starters, it was BEYOND overpriced. The discount price from Amazon was over $178. It is at this point that I must remind you that BSG only ran for four seasons, which amounts to $45 per season. Unacceptable. The other problem people had with the set was that it wasn't actually the complete series. First and foremost, it was missing one of the pivotal webisode series The Face of the Enemy. They also released the series just a few months before the BSG movie The Plan came out on DVD. So, when TSOD announced that there is going to be an affordable re-release, BSG fans across the globe rejoiced! We thought we were finally getting our complete series set at a price we could afford! But it appears that Universal did not actually do this with all of the fans' concerns in mind. They will be including The Plan, but still no Face of the Enemy webisodes. TSOD reports that Home Media Magazine got word from a Universal rep that the webisodes would not be included and that they have no plans to include them on disc anytime soon apparently because they are still available online. UM, GREAT. Using that logic, they shouldn't bother releasing anything that runs in syndication on DVD because those shows are still available to watch on TV!! WTF, PEOPLE?!?!?! Do you not understand how annoying it is to stop a DVD player and switch over from a TV to a computer monitor so you can watch a series of ten 3-minute videos online?!?! Do you not understand the fact that we are willing to shell out over $100 just so we can have a set of the COMPLETE BSG materials?!?! WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO US?!?!?! I am thoroughly disappointed by all of this and will continue to hope that one day some suit recognizes how important these webisodes are to the progression and understanding of one of the greatest sci-fi television series ever made.
And THAT was the Week in WTF!
Images: Just Jared, Twitter, Every Joe, Moderate in the Middle*
BREAKING NEWS, TV FANS!!! Fox is using its younger cable sibling to give us all a wonderful gift.
I highly recommend this series if you are a fan of comedy, action, drama, mystery, and/or suspense or any combination of those things. Fans of shows like 24, Burn Notice, and Leverage are sure to enjoy Human Target. To read more of my intense love for this show, read my Human Target progress report entry.
