Posts by Mark Graham
After ‘Late Night’ Cameo, Tina Fey Nearing Goal Of Appearing On Every NBC Show
7:45AM Mark Graham | After the landmark ratings success that was the 2008 Summer Olympics, NBC was anxious to capitalise on the momentum they had built leading into the fall. However, despite all that promotional exposure, Beijing Ben and the NBC team haven’t yet been able to convert in the ratings department: Knight Rider tanked, Chuck and Life both saw their ratings dip from their 2007 premieres and The Office could only muster a third-place finish in its lovey dovey season premiere last week. However, there is a bright spot; the network has gotten big bumps in both the awareness and ratings department thanks to the white-hot star power of homegrown talent Tina Fey. While fans will have to wait until the end of the month for 30 Rock to return to the air, NBC has been satiating America’s desire to see its new Emmy sweetheart by repeatedly trotting her out during its late night lineup. She has appeared as Sarah Palin on SNL not once but twice and, last night, she made a cameo appearance along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in a bit that can only be described as the ying to Ricky Gervais’ and Steve Carell’s faux Emmy duel yang. Watch NBC’s clear cut MVP hitting another one out of the park after the jump.
Stop Us If You Think That You’ve Heard This One Before
3:35AM Mark Graham | We’re all outta Valkyrie jokes at this point, but it is our civic duty to relay to you that the MGM building has been evacuated this morning due to a bomb threat. As you’ll no doubt recall, this same thing happened last Friday and also in early August. And for those of you keeping score at home, the storied Constellation Blvd. office building has also suffered anthrax threats and an unprovoked attack of killer bees in the last two months. If you want more information, we have the email sent out to employees after the jump. More »
Whoopi Goldberg, Master Of Eloquent Political Analysis
3:20PM Mark Graham | We don’t know how long that Whoopi Goldberg has been on The View —we suppose we could look it up, but it’s Monday night and we’re tired as shit— but nary a day goes by when we don’t think to ourselves, “How in tarnation is Whoopi qualified to be The View’s de facto leader?” The most recent evidence of her ineptitude involved her trenchant (and bipartisan!) insight that Barack Obama and John McCain have each “stuck their foot in the doo-doo and are walking around making dookie spots” in their dealings with the ol’ US of A’s cratering economy. Check please! [The View] Also on the election front: Sarah Palin is being encouraged to step aside from the presidential race by none other than leading conservative columnist Kathleen Parker. Who, we might add, is also a female. Try slapping a sexist tag on that! [National Review] Statler & Waldorf somehow snagged themselves an Op-Ed in today’s New York Times. Yes, the muppets. [NY Times] And lastly, for those of you who could give a rat’s arse about politics, we turn our attention back to the world of entertainment. Namely, exactly how much is Tina Fey worth? However much it is (hint: she’s made $US17 million in her career to date), we think she probably deserves more. [Portfolio] More »
Paul Newman, Academy Award Winner, Dead At 83
8:00AM Mark Graham | Paul Newman, actor and dedicated philanthropist, died Saturday at the age of 83 after a long bout with cancer. The Method trained actor learned his craft at Yale and the Actors Studio and went on to become one of Hollywood’s most enduring screen icons, starring in over 65 films such as Cool Hand Luke, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Hustler and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. However, it wasn’t until he recreated his storied performance as “Fast” Eddie Felson in 1986’s The Colour Of Money that he collected his first Academy Award; he collected nine nominations across his career and also was awarded with the Jean Hershholt Humanitarian Award at the 1994 Oscars (as pictured). And just two years ago, he won an Emmy for his work on Empire Falls. More »
Jon Hamm Disses ‘Crazy Showbiz Guy’ Regis Philbin
9:10AM Mark Graham | Aspiring celebrities about to make your first rounds on the talk show circuit, take note. Earlier this year, we cautioned you regarding the pitfalls of repeating the same anecdote word-for-word on multiple talk show appearances, using Jason Segal’s penis-bearing fable as our example. Tonight, we’d like to walk through the subtle art of how to recognise what kind of stories are good for dinner parties versus those that are suitable to be told to a national television audience, showcasing Mad Men star Jon Hamm’s disastrously disrespectful appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Friday night.
‘90210′: Who’s The Familiar Father Of Kelly Taylor’s Love Child?
8:00AM Mark Graham | Despite being paced a bit too frenetically for our liking, last week’s two-hour debut of the 90210 reboot managed to intrigue us enough to tune in for last night’s episode (although it appears that 25% of those first week viewers didn’t feel the same way). And while the new brood of West Beverly High School students still can’t stop smiling, we couldn’t help but find ourselves smiling a little bit during the episode’s (admittedly shoehorned-in) plotlines revolving around Kelly Taylor. Suckers for nostalgia, rejoice! Last night, we finally got some details about her mystery four year old son, the product of a one night splash-off with someone who she “had a lot of history together [with] in high school” (but has since left her high and dry). Join us as we investigate the eight likeliest candidates for being the dude whose little swimmers got all up in Kelly Taylor’s biznass.
Exclusive: ‘My Name Is Earl’ Creator Greg Garcia Labels Alec Baldwin An ‘Unlikeable, Psychotic Narcissist’
3:40AM Mark Graham | While we found yesterday’s 8,000 word New Yorker profile of Alec Baldwin to be an engrossing (if entirely too long) read, we were able to find one person who was less than impressed by Baldwin’s long-winded rants about the perils of being impossibly rich and famous: My Name Is Earl creator/executive producer Greg Garcia. In the piece, not only did Baldwin blast the suits who run NBC’s programming and promo departments for “wring(ing) the last drops” out of Thursday night comedy staples like Earl and Scrubs while 30 Rock is treated like a “red-headed stepchild”, he also indirectly criticized the quality of said shows by labelling both as “done” and “cooked.” Naturally, this irked Garcia, who spoke exclusively with Defamer this morning about his thoughts on his show’s performance, 30 Rock’s ratings and, of course, Baldwin himself: More »
Unearthed Britney Spears Concert Footage Demonstrates The Value Of Lip-Syncing
8:20AM Mark Graham | · You know how everyone used to complain that Britney Spears lip-synced her way through all of her concerts? Well, after seeing this video that isolates Britney’s vocals during her “Live From Las Vegas” show, we’re pretty sure you’ll be thankful that backing tracks exist. [Funny Or Die via Buzzfeed] · We know that we’re supposed to bow at the feet of Radiohead because, well, everyone bows at the feet of Radiohead. But we can’t help but concur with Hold Steady guitarist Tad Kubler’s recent comments about the band: “I think they’ve lost the plot. I like them as a rock band, all the buttons and sequencing and stuff like that I don’t really care for. I’m a fan of rock music, and what they’re doing now I don’t think is very good.” [Vulture] · We’ve been thinking a lot about Sharon Stone ever since we revealed her new twentysomething boyfriend yesterday. While her film career is stalled, we think we spotted a reality show opportunity that would be a perfect fit for her brand of crazy: Vh1’s Cougar Camp. [NY Post] · This headline has us thankful all of the film critics haven’t been killed off yet: “Hamlet 2: The First One Was Better.” [Time] · Most of our favourite movies of the ’80s require a healthy suspension of disbelief to enjoy. Teen Wolf was one of those films. But now, thanks to the comedy troupe Summer Of Tears, we’re not sure we’re ever going to be able to watch it again without contemplating how none of the characters raised an eyebrow when the bestiality angle came into play. [/Film] More »
Crashing Cars And Flushing Drugs: ‘The Two Coreys’ Season Finale
9:00AM Mark Graham | · Mercifully, the second season of The Two Coreys came to a close this weekend. The Haimster spent all season trying to convince Felddog, his therapist, Nelle, the show’s producers and everyone watching the show that he didn’t have a drug problem. While it may be true that his addiction to the hard stuff is in the past, the one-car accident that he got into in the season finale certainly shows that prescription drugs still play a significant role in his life. Until next season… [The Two Coreys] · Looking for a good way to kill about 20 minutes of your workday? Try the Empire Magazine poster quiz on for size. Full disclosure: We just got 23/46. [Empire] · Spaghetti, opera, white wine and cardigans with rolled-up sleeves: what the ’80s were all about. [Goldenfiddle] · While won’t go so far as to say that this girl’s Katie Holmes impression tops our own Molly McAleer’s Lindsay Lohan impression, there’s no denying that this girl has got a lot of Miss Cruise’s mannerisms down pat. [Fromacloset's YouTube] · You might the remember that the Tumblrverse nearly collapsed onto itself when a rash of What Would [Insert Mad Men Character Here] Do? sites burst onto the scene a few weeks back. But rather on pontificate on what these group of fictional characters might do, why not spend time time going through the list of things that ’80s hero MacGyver actually did? [List Of Problems Solved By MacGyver via Core 77] More »
