The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
May 17, 2013
Grantland Reality Fantasy League: Was This the Greatest Survivor Season in Modern History?
This week in reality TV, we saw Cochran crowned as the ultimate Survivor, Hurricane Nia fall victim to rogue sex toy attack, and, you know, THAT. The tremendous vision above marked the high point at the climax of what was a legendary season of Survivor. [Buckshot Shorty voice] Let’s take a sec to think back […]
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Cannes Diary, Day 2: Bling Ring Sings
Day 1 of this festival is usually the great unveiling. Day 2 begins the collective carping: Why on earth is this film up for the Palme d’Or and not this other one? The two major programs here — the main competition and the second-tier slate, Un Certain Regard — have very different outcomes. One puts […]
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May 16, 2013
Afternoon Links: Zach Galifianakis Is Hungover No More
Zach Galifianakis explained to Conan O’Brien last night why he quit drinking (besides the benefits of a two-ounce weight loss). Crossing the street after a whiskey-soaked evening, Galifianakis made the mistake of clocking the hood of a Jaguar containing “two 6-foot-6 guys — 12-by-12,” angering them enough that they exited their vehicle to spit in […]
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The Stages of Being a Kanye West Fan at a Kanye West Show
If my understanding is correct, the phenomenon known as “TV Upfronts” are the time for networks to show off their success — compared to the competitors — as well as highlight all the great things that the future holds for said channel. Is that right, resident expert? “Seems about right. Also, open bars. And Kanye […]
Read moreGirls in Hoodies Podcast: Idol, Gatsby, and Drunk Gwyneth Paltrow
It’s been a banner week for everyone’s favorite nightshade-averse Hollywood superstar, Gwyneth Paltrow. Great things happen when she mixes her vino with her kale juice and goes on Australian radio to talk about how bad the Met Ball sucked (among other topics), and we’re itching like a post-cleanse rash to talk about how it affects […]
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The Upfronts: First-Place CBS Finally Takes Some Chances … on Big Stars
The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and the agents are drinking. It’s upfronts season in New York! This is the week the broadcast networks throw fancy parties to announce the new shows they’ll be cancelling in a few months and celebrate the returning veterans whose survival was brokered through a bruising backroom combination […]
Read moreDownton Diddy: It’s Just a Funny or Die Video, Not the Greatest Casting Coup in PBS History
Yesterday afternoon, Sean “Diddy” Combs took to Twitter to make a big announcement. It is reprinted here in full: “MY BIG NEWS: So happy to announce that Im a series regular on DOWNTON ABBEY-my favorite show+i’ll be debuting a sneak peek tonight 12am PST!” The news was, in fact, so big and instantaneously viral that […]
Read moreThe SNL Star-Hemorrhage Continues: Fred Armisen Reportedly Out; Jason Sudeikis Might Be, Too
First Bill Hader, now this.
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Kanye West’s Alleged Secret Gay Lover … and Other Shockers From This Week’s Tabloids
In Touch Is Kanye Gay and Secretly Dating Fashion Designer Riccardo Tisci? Kim Kardashian was humiliated after Vogue editors cropped her floral print bowling ball dress out of every shot of Kanye at the Met Ball. “But Kim’s humiliation ran much deeper than jabs about a gown. Some online commenters speculated Kanye, 35, is in a […]
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Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories: A Track-by-Track Feel-Along
This Monday, Daft Punk made their fourth studio album, Random Access Memories, available to stream for free in its entirety on iTunes. Grantland’s Steven Hyden will be posting a proper critical review of Random Access Memories next week, but staff writer Rembert Browne and editor Emily Yoshida have been waiting for this moment all their lives and needed […]
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Cannes Diary, Day 1: Spielberg Gets Misty, DiCaprio Gets Wet
It’s easy to prepare for most of what goes on at this festival. You know that at some point you’ll nearly be run over by any of the official black sedans that could be dropping off Emma Watson then heading off to Transporter 7. You know you’ll wind up trapped watching a three-hour talkathon that’s […]
Read moreAndy Cohen and Anthony Bourdain’s ‘F—ing Tweet War’ Drags in David Simon
David Simon brings a gun to a knife fight.
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