The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
February 26, 2014
Report: Adam Driver Is Probably Your New ‘Star Wars’ Villain
Driver is said to be taking the bad-guy role, which ‘Variety’ reports is “in the vein of iconic ‘Star Wars’ villain Darth Vader.”
Read more
TV Land’s ‘Kirstie’: A Sitcom You Never Watched Made Up of Other Sitcoms You Did
‘Kirstie,’ which wraps up its first season on Wednesday night, is basically just asking what would happen if Rebecca Howe and Carla Tortelli from ‘Cheers’ ended up working with Kramer from ‘Seinfeld,’ and then all their famous friends dropped by, an episode at a time.
Read more
‘The Bachelor’ Week 8: How to Sneak Out of the Nightmare Suite and Take Back Your Life
They call this Week 8. But that’s a dirty little lie told by ‘Bachelor’ producers to make us believe these carelessly thrown-together strangers have had two months to get to know each other, to incubate a deep affection as they crisscross the globe, to inch closer to the temporary bliss of ForeverLove.
Read more
Salute Your Shorts: A Guide to the Live-Action Short Film Oscar Nominees
Plus personalized suggestions for what to pick based on the rest of your ballot!
Read more
David Fincher Might Direct Aaron Sorkin’s Steve Jobs Movie
The ‘Social Network’ reunion would mark a second shot for the duo to paint a portrait of a tech giant. ‘Variety’ hears Fincher is still in early talks and that filming could begin later this year if a deal is made.
Read more
The War on Drugs Gets Ready to Play the Big Rooms
My favorite song of 2014’s first quarter is from an album that’s still three weeks out from its release date. It’s called “An Ocean in Between the Waves,” and it’s the fourth track on Lost in the Dream, the third LP by Philadelphia band The War On Drugs.
Read more
Predicting the Oscars, Part 4: Screenplay and the Supporting Acting Categories!
We turn now to the big-ticket categories (yes, damn it, writing counts!). There are no awards (or even nominations) for ‘Gravity’ in these four contests; this is where the other Best Picture contenders will try to stake their claims.
Read more
A Particular Kind of Genius: Remembering Harold Ramis
Harold Ramis is the best part of ‘Ghostbusters,’ and he’s the best part of ‘Stripes,’ and he’s the best part of ‘Knocked Up’ even though he’s in the movie for about three minutes. He laid out exposition and moved the plot along — the comedy movie equivalent of passing out hors d’oeuvres at a kick-ass college party — in a way that was itself wonderful and funny and lovable.
Read more
‘Justified’ Recap: A ‘Raw Deal’ for Nobody
Raylan learns about computers! Ava channels the entrepreneurial spirit that made her fiancé the man he is today! Boyd takes his brood on a field trip!
Read more
2014 Grantland Oscars Preview: Best Picture
Grantland’s Wesley Morris and Chris Connelly review the nine nominees for Best Picture and ask if the early hype around ’12 Years a Slave’ will actually hurt its chances of winning.
Read more
‘The Fault in Our Stars’ Director Josh Boone Is the Latest to Be Considered for Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’
Whatever Warner Bros. execs are shooting for with the new adaptation of Stephen King’s greatest novel, it’s unclear to anyone but them. Following in the footsteps of Ben Affleck, four-time ‘Harry Potter’ helmer David Yates, and ‘Out of the Furnace’ director Scott Cooper comes the nearly unknown 34-year-old Josh Boone.
Read moreFebruary 25, 2014
Bryan Cranston Might Steal the Show From Godzilla
Also in the Afternoon Links: Coldplay’s surprising new single, Beyoncé’s sultry “Partition” video, and some phenomenal ratings for ‘True Detective.’
Read more
Nic Pizzolatto Kind of Maybe Hinted There Might Be a Lady-Cop Season of ‘True Detective,’ So Let’s Start Casting It
Let’s get a bit more realistic with those #TrueDetectiveSeason2 conjectures and humbly offer up a few Y-chromosome-deficient pairing suggestions for Round 2, or, you know, TV in general.
Read more
Romeo Santos Is Poised to Bring Bachata to the Mainstream on ‘Formula, Vol. 2’
Cameos from Drake and Nicki point to the expanding fan base of bachata/R&B star Romeo Santos, and mark a blatant attempt to lure new listeners into Latin music.
Read more
Peter Dinklage Eyed for a Second HBO Drama, ‘The Beasts of Valhalla’
It would be “a grounded sci-fi series” based on a series of detective novels by George C. Chesbro. Don’t worry, though: This doesn’t mean we know what, if anything, happens to Tyrion Lannister on ‘Game of Thrones.’
Read more
Freak Show & Tell: Never (Never!) Become a Hauler
Every week, television documentaries present us with so many unusual people, with so many strange and/or disturbing problems, you might find it hard to keep up with all of them. Here’s an unflinching look back at TV’s Week in Freak Shows.
Read more
The Democratic Brilliance of Harold Ramis
Whether you’re 5 or 45, if one of his movies comes on, you just stand before it transfixed: This is really good — it’s speaking to me. That was the democratic brilliance of Harold Ramis: He made adults feel young and kids feel wise.
Read more
Predicting the Oscars, Part 3: The Ones We Watched So You Didn’t Have To (and ‘Frozen’)
How many Academy members will have seen all the films in these categories, and how many who didn’t will ignore AMPAS’s instructions and vote anyway?
Read more
‘Mind Games’ Preview: Christian Slater and Steve Zahn Fail to Get Into Your Head
And Kyle Killen’s network TV struggles continue.
Read more
2014 Grantland Oscars Preview: Best Actress
Grantland’s Wesley Morris and Chris Connelly debate whether anyone other than Cate Blanchett can win Best Actress this year.
Read more
Hollywood Prospectus Podcast: ‘True Detective,’ ‘The Americans,’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’
Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald discuss ‘True Detective,’ ‘The Americans,’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’
Read more
The One-Video Cheat Sheet to Seth Meyers’s ‘Late Night’ Premiere: The Amy Poehler Interview
Poehler and Meyers shared some easy banter, chatting about George Clooney, Joaquin Phoenix, and Comedy Central’s ‘Broad City.’ Poehler roped in bandleader and former ‘SNL’ buddy Fred Armisen for an awkward bit, too.
Read more