The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
September 27, 2013
Deep Dive: Answering 10 Lingering Questions About the Real-Life Story That Inspired Rush
The latest Ron Howard film, Rush, goes wide in theaters today, and I (along with Grantland poo-bah Bill Simmons — more on that later) definitely recommend it as a fun watch. Don’t trust my taste in movies? Well at least trust the people at the ArcLight who applauded as the credits rolled; they must know […]
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Know Your Beef: Why Kanye West Went Ballistic on Jimmy Kimmel
“JIMMY KIMMEL IS OUT OF LINE TO TRY AND SPOOF IN ANY WAY THE FIRST PIECE OF HONEST MEDIA IN YEARS.”
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Naomi Watts's Diana vs. Gina Gershon's Donatella: The Biopic Trailer-Off
Two blonde icons! Two campy biopics! Who will emerge the victor? Will it be the already widely panned theatrical film Diana, starring Naomi Watts as people’s princess Lady Di? Or House of Versace, Lifetime’s latest attempt to get in the Behind the Candelabra game by upping the prestige factor for its popular lowbrow division of TV films, this time by casting […]
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Grantland Reality TV Fantasy League: We Hope You Like Vomit
This was a super weird week for reality TV. It was emotional, it was uncomfortable, and it was gross — but it was also enjoyable, kinda. On the Challenge finale, everyone puked; on Survivor, everyone cried; and on The Challenge‘s first (and likely last) live reunion show, everyone did whatever the fuck they wanted (that […]
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Let's Run Through the Forbes Hip-Hop Cash Kings List
Every year, Forbes puts out a ton of pop culture wealth lists and they’re among my favorite things to read and write about. One of the best is annually curated by the champion of hip-hop wealth journalism, Forbes’s Zack O’Malley Greenburg. The 2013 version of the Hip-Hop Cash Kings list was released earlier this week, […]
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The Andy Greenwald Podcast: Masters of Sex Star Lizzy Caplan
Lizzy Caplan is so good at playing a certain type of role — think strong, sarcastic singletons like Casey on Party Down or Gena in last year’s raunchy Bachelorette — that she’s chosen to actively avoid it for her most high-profile part to date. Beginning this Sunday night, Caplan will be starring as one half […]
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Katie Holmes Lends Her Talents to The Giver, Hellmann’s Mayonnaise
Suri Cruise will eventually be old enough to read The Giver, and there’s no way any kind mom would want to purposely ruin that seminal reading experience by joining a film that craps all over the book. So let’s go ahead and assume that Katie Holmes signing on for the adaptation of Lois Lowry’s 1993 […]
Read moreSeptember 26, 2013
Afternoon Links: South Park Destroys Alec Baldwin
Since a South Park episode dedicated to reminding us about Alec Baldwin’s homosexuality-unfriendly tweet-spree back in June might have felt a little forced, the show instead anchored its Season 17 premiere to a gag that put us in mind of “HUMANCENTiPAD,” “Make Love, Not Warcraft,” and “Guitar Queer-O” — episodes we’re always grateful to reflect […]
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Because That 300 Sandwiches Blog Is Definitely Getting Made Into a Movie
“Our relationship has always centered on food. We met at a restaurant in Chelsea two years ago when a friend I was dining with spotted an Alexander Skarsgård look-alike. An introduction was made, and I found out he’s a computer programmer, a Taurus, obsessed with Star Wars and a very good cook.” —Stephanie Smith, a […]
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Girls in Hoodies Podcast: @Horse_ebooks, Myst, and GTA
The Girls in Hoodies go cyberpunk today, starting with a discussion of the @Horse_ebooks Twitter bot conceptual art project, which turns into a discussion about artificial intelligence, why we search for divine wisdom in machines, and our desire for and fear of a man-made mind that exceeds our own. Still with us? Good! From virtual […]
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Gary Ross Adapting East of Eden With Muse-for-Hire Jennifer Lawrence
Steven Spielberg’s Grapes of Wrath just fell to no. 2 in the John Steinbeck Adaptation Pool (Remake Division). Not because we’re about to argue that Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) is a better filmmaker, but because Ross’s East of Eden will have Jennifer Lawrence.
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The Bridge Season 1, Episode 12 Recap: A Stunning Return to Form in 'All About Eva'
Just seven days ago in this space I was bemoaning The Bridge’s strange, potentially fatal choice of exit ramp. A show that had gotten so much right in the beginning suddenly couldn’t stop going wrong. Brilliant mastermind David Tate had hijacked Marco Ruiz’s life and, with it, the show itself, dimming what had been a […]
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Zach Galifianakis Lures Justin Bieber Into the 'Between Two Ferns' Thunderdome, Delicious Carnage Ensues
So Zach Galifianakis called up the Biebs and was all, “Hey, homey, wanna come on my Funny or Die talk show?” And the Biebs was like, “Sounds chill, I’m there.” What ensues is a frank and honest discussion about the fear of making shitty music, time travel, and peeing into buckets. And between those two […]
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R.I.P., Hoarders, May You Find Peace in That Big Box of Taxidermied Cats in the Sky
A&E announced yesterday that the documentary series Hoarders, which debuted in 2009 as the most-watched series premiere in the network’s history among 18-to-49-year-olds, had been canceled after six seasons. The news came four months after the same channel let the ax fall on Intervention, a series that was sort of Hoarders’ better-looking and more functional twin. […]
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The Truth Behind Miley and Liam's Breakup … and Other Disasters From This Week's Tabloids
OK! Miley’s Pregnancy Trap and Liam’s Wandering Eye: According to this story, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth waited to break up because she underwent a pregnancy scare over the summer. “Miley thought she was expecting and wanted to announce it to the world, even before she went to a doctor to verify the results. Liam begged […]
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B.S. Report: Robert Smigel
Robert Smigel joins Bill to talk about the mystery of Da Bears movie that will never be made, as well as his many Conan/SNL memories and his recent Emmy for his successful “Night of Too Many Stars” show (which raises money for autism education). Oh, he also tells us about the origins of Triumph, the […]
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CBS Unearths Ancient Vince Gilligan Script, Hopes for Breaking Bad Magic
Just get it out of the way and admit that Breaking Bad hasn’t given you a single second to breathe, much less to consider showrunner Vince Gilligan’s next move after the show concludes this Sunday. A long vacation probably would’ve been nice for the guy — anywhere but New Hampshire — but he’s actually heading […]
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