The State of Scary TV
‘The Returned’ and ‘Ash vs Evil Dead’ join ‘The Walking Dead’ in offering high-quality horror.
September 10, 2013
Toronto Film Festival Diary: 9-1-1 Calls and the Eco-Terrorism of Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning
By now you might have heard the big news out of Toronto yesterday. A blogger called 9-1-1 to report someone using a phone during a new Ti West horror movie. That was not big news in Toronto. It never came up in any conversation. But there’s time. (For the record, when a moviegoer uses a […]
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Grantland Channel: Dean Norris With Chris Ryan
Dean Norris, who plays Hank on Breaking Bad, talks to Grantland’s Chris Ryan about how the show has evolved, filming last episode’s climactic shootout scene in the desert, and suddenly being treated like a member of the Beatles when he leaves the house.
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Grading the Top 10 Songs in … SWITZERLAND!
Every week on Grading the Charts, Molly Lambert examines a different musical top-10 list, covering the best-selling and most-played songs from specific genres in every corner of the world. This week, GTC heads to Switzerland, where jazzy pop and folk rock are in style.
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Richard's Hatchlings: Our First Survivor Winner Might Have Procreated at an Alarming Rate
Richard Hatch has a long legacy. He’s the winner of the first season of Survivor, of course. He’s a man whose perpetual nudity seemed to be interpreted by some of his fellow castaways as an aggressive affront and whose gameplay was ruthless enough to earn him the Sue Hawk earful heard ’round the world — […]
Read moreJimmy Kimmel Admits He Was Behind the Twerking Girl Who Catches on Fire
Remember “Worst Twerk Fail EVER — Girl Catches Fire!“? Of course you do; your parents sent it to you two dozen times with hysterical warnings about the dangers of succumbing to the devil-gyrations popularized by irrepressible teddy bear molester Miley Cyrus. Maybe you already suspected it was a fake or read somewhere that it was […]
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Arsenio Hall Returns to Late Night, Transports Viewers Back to '90s With TV Time Travel
Despite his many accomplishments — including getting Bill Clinton elected, taking down Vanilla Ice, and, most recently, stoking sympathy for Clay Aiken on Celebrity Apprentice — Arsenio Hall managed to surpass himself last night: He invented time travel. That’s right. After a 19-year “hiatus,” during which late-night talk shows have multiplied like sarcoma cells, The Arsenio […]
Read moreSeptember 9, 2013
Afternoon Links: Howard Stern's Right-Hand Lady Discusses Cancer Treatment
Howard Stern’s sidekick Robin Quivers, with whom Stern has worked for three decades and has referred to as his “backbone” (“Doing a show without Robin is like cutting off my left arm. Or my right arm. Or maybe both”), revealed today that she has been undergoing 15 months of treatment for endometrial cancer and that […]
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Miley Cyrus's 'Wrecking Ball' Video: A Real-Time Reaction Blog
0:00 Just want to establish right at the top that I think “Wrecking Ball” is a great song and I can’t wait to watch the video for it. I generally root for Miley Cyrus and am eager to see her continue her journey of artistic and personal exploration with this video. I’ve been working for […]
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Arcade Fire Release New Single, Interactive Video. What Might They Tell Us About the Album?
Last week, Arcade Fire began rolling out an advertising campaign for its upcoming album — which either doesn’t have a title yet or doesn’t have a title that’s been announced — as well as the mystery album’s first single, “Reflektor.” The plan all along was to unveil an Anton Corbijn–directed video for “Reflektor” tonight at […]
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Hatewatching Devious Maids: OH MY GOD A WOMAN IS HANGING HERSELF! (No, Not One of the Viewers.)
Last week, viewers of Devious Maids were granted a reprieve and so I didn’t have to watch it and so I was like: But it came back on Sunday night and so I did have to watch it and so then I was like:
Read moreB.S. Report: Breaking Bad and Bill's Dad
Bill dials up Andy Greenwald to break down an excellent episode of Breaking Bad and then calls his dad to discuss a less-than-encouraging Patriots victory. Listen to the podcast here: ESPN.com Podcenter. Subscribe to the B.S. Report on iTunes, and check out our podcasts page.
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’Shipping Newsroom Season 2, Episode 8: 'Election Night, Part I'
NEW (also OVER): Jerry Dantana & Kickstarter I’m really worried we’re not going to spend any more time with Jerry Dantana this season, and that is a shame, because I feel like he’s having a lot of weird adventures in this post-journalism-career chapter of his life that we should probably get to see. Even if […]
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Gwyneth Paltrow, Human After All
“What is Gwyneth Paltrow doing right now?” is a question you probably find yourself asking a hundred times a day, while you wish that goop published daily (hourly, even!). Just reading a few goop installments, it’s impossible not to start thinking in a goop voice. What is a goop voice? It’s like listening to your narcissistic friend talk about where she summered, what she […]
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The Andy Greenwald Podcast: Breaking Bad Director Michelle MacLaren on Last Night's Episode and Her Time on the Show
If there’s an episode of Breaking Bad that has given you agita, chances are it was directed by Michelle MacLaren. The shootout with the twins, Hank’s toilet-bowl realization, Skyler and Marie fighting over the baby: all the work of a cheerful Canadian who once had to sleep with the light on to avoid nightmares. Last […]
Read moreHBO's First True Detective Trailer: Woody and McConaughey Go Dark. Really Dark.
Even if TV’s recently left you a little murdered out — and there’s a pretty good chance that’s the case — HBO is hoping there’s room for more killing in your heart. It’s just debuted the trailer for the series True Detective, about a 17-year-long search for a serial killer in Louisiana, and it looks […]
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Toronto Film Festival Diary: Oscar Tyranny, Andre 3000 as Jimi Hendrix, and Our Lord and Savior Matthew McConaughey
When this vast, important film festival — street name: “TIFF” — moved its hub to downtown Toronto, it was a win. The streets are smaller. The food is better. And so are the multiplexes and nightlife. There are also fewer businesspeople to trip over and protests to avoid. (I’m not kidding: I have missed the […]
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Breaking Bad Season 5, Episode 13 Recap: A Gut-Wrenching Showdown in 'To'hajiilee'
There’s a certain type of silence that can be excruciating. You know what I’m talking about. You’ve all not heard it: Squirming in the dentist’s chair, anticipating the drill. A baby’s face the second before the tears arrive. The terrifying space between someone hitting play and a Lumineers song actually beginning. It’s not a deafening […]
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Vin Diesel's Riddick Dusts Lee Daniels' The Butler at the Box Office
While the Hollywood fat cats are away (at Toronto combing the prestige film bargain bins for the next The King’s Speech), the bloodthirsty, intergalactic ex-con mice will play … That’s right, Vin Diesel’s Riddick threequel, counterintuitively named Riddick, was no. 1 at the box office this weekend! Even Universal’s distribution chief admits Riddick’s $18.7 million […]
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