The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
April 10, 2014
Outkast Eve: Big Boi’s 1993 Anti-Drug-and-Alcohol High School Music Video
It all begins tomorrow. Outkast: reunited. While not the colossal “one-night only” setup that early announcements suggested, Friday evening at the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival is the beginning of their worldwide, 40-plus-festival, 20th anniversary-commemorating tour. And their first time performing together as a unit in a decade.
Read more
Coachella 2014 Preview: Plan Your Weekend at Live Music’s Hottest Popularity Contest
What to see (and stream) this weekend at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
Read more
Three Thoughts on Stephen Colbert’s Sudden Ascension to David Letterman’s Late-Night Throne
Here’s the multimillion-dollar question: Is Stephen Colbert really a “known, beloved commodity”? Though some still refuse to believe it, the character he plays on ‘The Colbert Report’ is very much a character.
Read more
Overplayed Song of the Week: Pharrell Williams, ‘Happy’
Oh boy, do you probably hate this song by now. But that’s too bad, because its indomitable reign over your summer has only just begun!
Read more
Girls in Hoodies Podcast: ‘Escape From Tomorrow,’ HBO Shows, ‘True Life,’ and Astrology
Molly, Tess, and Emily talk about ‘Escape From Tomorrow,’ new HBO shows, ‘True Life,’ and astrology.
Read more
Hot Property: Let’s Turn Michael Lewis’s Best-Selling ‘Flash Boys’ Into an Award-Worthy Movie
After ‘The Blind Side’ and ‘Moneyball’ (and all their Oscar cachet), Michael Lewis could write a Yelp review and Hollywood would option it. This time, Lewis forgoes the audience-friendly inspirational sports stories for the geekily arcane realm of computerized high-frequency trading in ‘Flash Boys.’
Read more
The Week in Gossip: Peaches Geldof, Celine Dion’s $60 Million Private Water Park … and Backsliding to the Biebs
Plus: Taylor Swift’s parents may be sabotaging her, Daniel Craig drops out of a movie with Renée Zellweger, and Mickey Rooney died broke.
Read more
On the Clock: The Writing and Making of ‘Draft Day’
The initial idea for ‘Draft Day’ came in March 2010 while we were both working on other projects. A friend of ours, a non-football-fan poet named Mara, once mentioned that she enjoyed watching the NFL draft, which was weird because, as noted, she was a non-football-fan poet named Mara. She said that she was fascinated by the draft because it had interesting characters, high stakes, and a ticking clock. That’s pretty much the basis of all good drama. Suddenly, we had an idea.
Read more
Reimagining ‘The Truman Show’ for Our Current-Day Delusions
What ‘The Truman Show’ had to say about broadcasting your life to a network of viewers was strangely prescient: Six years before Facebook existed, the movie told us we were as drawn to the idea of being the center of attention as we were horrified by the same prospect.
Read more
The Andy Greenwald Podcast: Andy Daly
Andy Daly joins Andy Greenwald to talk about his hilarious new Comedy Central series, ‘Review.’
Read more
Exactly How ‘Garden State’–y Is Zach Braff’s ‘Wish I Was Here’ Trailer?
‘Wish I Was Here’ will be ‘Garden State 2’ or it’ll be a different movie. In either case, it makes sense that the trailer echoes the original the other movie an average of once every 9.4 seconds. Here’s every example side by side.
Read moreApril 9, 2014
Judah Friedlander Says ‘Sharknado 2’ Is the ‘Most Important Film Ever Made About Climate Change’
Also in the Afternoon Links: The ESPYs will have a sweater-rapping host, FX’s CEO throws shade at Netflix, and a ‘Truman Show’ show is en route.
Read more
Wormhole Wednesday: From a New Michael Jackson Song to PlayStation 2 Cheat Codes
This week’s wormhole begins with doubly sad news. For one, Michael Jackson continues to no longer be with us, beyond his everlasting spirit. And two, due in large part to his untimely loss of life, another potentially unnecessary posthumous album is being released.
Read more
Do You Like Prince Movies? Podcast: ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier,’ the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Guest Steven Hyden
Alex and Wesley talk about the new ‘Captain America’ movie and what’s wrong with comic-book blockbusters. Plus, Steven Hyden comes on to discuss the state of music criticism.
Read more
Escape From Pop Purgatory: The Presidents of the United States of America Seek a Second Term
In this installment, we look at the new album by the top basitarist-guitbassist-drums power trio of the ’90s, the Presidents of the United States of America.
Read more
Jon Hamm Breaks His Silence on That Now-Infamous Dating Show Appearance From the ’90s
On last night’s ‘Late Late Show,’ grand talk-show inquisitor Craig Ferguson finally made Hamm answer for his baby-faced, twentysomething self.
Read more
Catfights, Crumpets, and Crowns: Scoring Bravo’s Just-Announced New Shows
Grading the 18 — 18! — new shows just announced by reality-TV powerhouse Bravo.
Read more
What Would Have Happened to the Universe If Jean-Claude Van Damme Hadn’t Quit ‘Predator’? A JCVD Thought Experiment
JCVD was the original Predator. And then he wasn’t.
Read more
A Viewer’s Guide to All Three Cuts of ‘Anchorman 2’: Which Version Is Best for You?
We live in a world with three cuts of ‘Anchorman 2.’ We’re here to tell you which version will best suit your needs.
Read more
Tina, Amy, and the Female F-ckup: A Filmography
Ten must-see shows about seriously hapless heroines, in anticipation of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler’s just-announced The Nest.
Read more
‘Justified’ Season Finale Recap: ‘Restitution’ Sets Up a 13-Hour Avalanche
This week, in the finale: Adam Arkin directs and just about everybody gets a One Last Job setup for the show’s sixth and final season.
Read more
NBC Creates Comedy Playground to Discover New Talent
Two prime-time slots and a digital series await the fresh-faced writers who can impress 18 comedy all-stars including Amy Poehler, Adam McKay, Aziz Ansari, Maya Rudolph, Jason Bateman, and Adam Scott.
Read more