studio 60
Aaron Sorkin-Like Presence Invades Facebook In The Name Of Research
9:30AM Seth | We invite devoted Defamer readers to think back now, to almost two years ago to the day. The U.S. dollar dominated global free markets. Whitney Houston was in the middle of a liquor-store-robbery crime spree that left dozens dead. And a little show by the name of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip had captured the imaginations of the American working class, caught up weekly in its by-turns harrowing and inspirational tales from the front lines of the network sketch comedy wars. If you’re still with us, you’ll too recall Defaker, the Defamer-inspired mock gossip site that attempted to promote the series on NBC.com by opening itself up to visitor comments. Several harsh insights followed (”Aaron Sorkin, I’ll be seeing you soon! Posted by: Crack | September 21, 2006 08:30 PM” springs to mind), the site was quickly shuttered, and the ill-conceived exercise was chocked up by the lauded series creator as yet another example of the ugliness that will inevitably spring forth from the anonymous blogging wilds. More »
Trade Roundup: The Emmys Didn’t Totally Ignore ‘Studio 60′
9:36AM Defamer Hollywood | · While underappreciated Aaron Sorkin masterwork Studio 60 was not, as we falsely represented earlier, a nominee for the Best Drama Emmy, the show did pull in a respectable five nods, including one for Eli Wallach in the role of Blacklisted, Alzheimer’s Afflicted Writer Who Tries to Steal a Photograph That Has Meaning to Him. [Variety] More »
Emmy Nominees As Excited As Nominees Of Bigger, More Prestigious Awards
9:00AM Defamer Hollywood | The Emmy announcements are no exception to the time-worn awards show tradition of news outlets eliciting statements from the newly shortlisted artists – asking them, still dizzy from their gold-star high, to try as best as they can to put into words what it feels like to be recognised as more talented than their peers. (Until the night of the ceremony, that is, when four of the five are again reminded of their mediocrity.) We present a round-up of some of the most memorable, “it’s just an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as Two and a Half Men” reactions: · “This is an outrage.” – Tina Fey [Variety] · Nomination presenter Kyra Sedgwick deconstructs the existential dilemma of having to read one’s own name off the TelePrompter: “It was pretty nauseating. I couldn’t believe they wouldn’t tell us before! I just thought, if I won’t be nominated, I’ll take a deep breath and be grateful I’m there to announce. It was a surprise.” [USA Today] More »
Aaron Sorkin Opens Up About The Demise Of ‘Studio 60′
4:15AM Defamer Hollywood | With the final episodes of ill-fated sociopolitical drama Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip now all ignominiously burned off by the network that renounced its onetime anointed Nielsen Messiah, showrunner Aaron Sorkin is ready to reflect upon the possible reasons that his much-hyped peak behind the scenes at a curiously humourless late night sketch comedy show failed. (In case you missed it, our recap of the series finale is here to help you get some closure.) While Sorkin is willing to admit to making “too many mistakes for it to survive,” he posits that Our Obsession With Hugely Successful, Famously Troubled Man Behind The Curtain might have gotten in the way of the public’s enjoyment of his characters’ lively banter about the ethics of employing hostage-reclaiming mercenaries in Afghanistan or concerning potentially fatal pregnancy complications. Reports the LAT’s Patrick Goldstein after a sit-down with Sorkin: “I don’t know how to emphasise this enough that I’m not disappointed or upset with anyone but myself,” Sorkin says over lunch at Nate ‘n Al’s last week where he is repeatedly interrupted by fans wanting to share how much they enjoyed his work. More »
The Complete Guide To The Series Finale Of ‘Studio 60′
10:41AM Defamer Hollywood | You may not have realised it, but at just a couple of minutes before 11 p.m. last night, the final credits rolled on Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, ending Aaron Sorkin’s bold, ill-fated experiment in melding the light-hearted Hollywood world of late-night sketch comedy shows with the absurdly high geopolitical stakes of his Emmy-winning White House drama, The West Wing. And while a lesser showrunner recently chose to cloak the last moments of his beloved series in frustrating ambiguity, Sorkin was confident enough in his creative choices to allow a metaphorical Man in the Members Only Jacket to wander the halls of the darkened studio, bringing each storyline to a satisfying conclusion with a bullet to the back of every character’s head. Because we suspect that many of you missed the series finale, we’re happy to run down how each of your favourite players finished up his or her primetime existence. [Warning to the DVR users whose selfish insistence on time-shifting the show kept it from reaching its Nielsen potential: There are spoilers ahead.] More »
Trade Roundup: On Broadway, Aaron Sorkin Rekindles Tumultuous Love Affair With Television
11:32AM Defamer Hollywood | · Aaron Sorkin returns to Broadway with The Farnsworth Invention, a play about the birth of television, the deliciously flawed storytelling medium he recently sought to redeem with a little-seen primetime serial about the life-or-death stakes involved in producing a weekly sketch comedy show. [Variety] · Thomas Haden Church is in negotiations to join Sandra Bullock in All About Steve, a romantic comedy that should reinvigorate the moribund genre by focusing on the previously unseen pairing (we think?) of a lady who writes crosswords and a CNN cameraman. [THR] · Michael Moore’s Sicko sells out the single NY screen on which it debuted, bringing in $US70,000 over the weekend. [Variety] · The Agent Dance, Abbreviated Mid-Level Actresses We Can’t Get Excited About Edition: Heroes‘ Hayden Panettiere signs with WMA, while Julia Stiles hooks up with ICM. [Variety, THR] · Cartoon Network and Hasbro are co-producing a new Transformers animated series, which will reimagine the property as a “superheroes story” with robots featuring “a lot more human qualities, allowing kids to identify with the characters” they will soon mindlessly consume in an all-new toy line. [THR] More »Short Ends: Corpse Bronzing Is So Hot Right Now
3:24AM Defamer Hollywood | · Add “corpses” to the list of fun things the Sunset Tan people will bronze, right below “grade-school girls with crazy mums”. (And in an amusing side note, our tipster found this clip while searching YouTube for clips of “hot blondes” doing stuff.) · Mayor Villaraigosa is separating from his wife. Our knee-jerk reaction to this news is the blame this photo of him posing with Paris Hilton. ·A South Park promo puts an unnamed network’s “balls policy” to the test. ·Brad Whitford has made peace with Studio 60’s demise. We just hope that Tom Jeter’s brother gets out of Iraq alive. More »
US upfronts: Saying Goodbye To ‘Studio 60′
9:29AM Defamer Hollywood | As the TV upfronts are intended to be a weeklong celebration of possibility and hope, there is generally no place in a network’s presentation to advertisers to pause briefly and remember the once-beloved projects that won’t be going forward into the Fall season; accordingly, it took a reporter’s uncomfortable question to get NBC president Kevin Reilly to reflect upon the legacy of the newly euthanised Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, whose uncompromising, visionary showrunner was just one year ago anointed the saviour of the last-place network. Notes the TV Week upfronts blog: A reporter asks Reilly (paraphrased): “Since you’re committed to renewing good shows even if they have low ratings, does that mean ‘Studio 60′ wasn’t a good show?” More »
