0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 4/3/2015
April 1 has to be the worst day for reporters and bloggers. If not in politics and sports, then certainly on the pop culture and entertainment beats. Which stories are real? Which are April Fool’s Day jokes? Most of the time, it’s easy to tell what’s a goof and what isn’t. But in some cases, […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry
Apparently, just about any toy or game you played with as a kid could be made into a movie. Deadline is reporting that 20th Century Fox is talking with Hasbro about making a live-action movie involving Play-Doh. Furthermore, Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) is in negotiations to direct the film. (Shouldn’t he be busy with […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry
Could we see The Muppet Show return to television? According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Lesley Goldberg, ABC is developing a revival (or reboot) of the puppet-driven variety show, ordering a pilot presentation and filming a “proof of concept.” The script for the new pilot will be written by Bill Prady, co-creator of The Big Bang […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry
That TV revival wheel keeps on turning. Showtime is bringing back Twin Peaks. Fox is reopening The X-Files. NBC is putting Coach back in the game. Now, it appears we’ll be getting a whole new batch of Full House. According to TV Line’s Michael Ausiello, Netflix — which continues to ramp up its original programming — […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 4/2/2015
I would have put 1982’s Poltergeist among a list of films that didn’t need to be remade. Admittedly, I haven’t watched it in many years, so perhaps Tobe Hooper’s film doesn’t hold up. (By the way, there’s been a persistent rumor over the years that producer Steven Spielberg was the movie’s true director.) Besides, just about […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry
James Corden hasn’t even finished his second week as new host of CBS’ The Late Late Show, but he’s already participated in a moment that could be remembered for years, thanks to an April Fool’s Day prank pulled off by Katie Couric. Actually, the joke was kind of cruel in that it probably caused Corden’s […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry
Deadpool is one of those comic book properties that diehard Marvel Comics and X-Men fans are likely familiar with, but the character isn’t that well known among the general public. Yet Ryan Reynolds has been pushing hard to play “The Merc With a Mouth” for years, especially a version faithful to the ruthless, wise-cracking assassin […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 4/1/2015
Was Trevor Noah not Comedy Central’s first choice for the new host of The Daily Show? That seems likely, given Noah’s relatively unknown profile. You have to figure the network took at least a couple of big swings to see if they could land a big name to replace Jon Stewart. According to Grantland’s Bill […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry
I didn’t make it out to theaters last weekend to see It Follows, but still ended up watching a pretty spooky movie at home. Going Clear, Alex Gibney’s HBO documentary on Scientology isn’t an outright horror film, but the story he tells of the church is a rather creepy one. To establish where I’m coming […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 3/31/2015
Is it fair to criticize future Daily Show host Trevor Noah for jokes he made in tweets five years ago? (Or even three years ago?) Sure, that’s fair game. The tweets are there to be found, a matter of public record. Noah didn’t delete them. But I do wonder if it’s fair to judge Noah as […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry
One of the most intriguing documentaries in recent years was 2011’s Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Obviously, there was great appeal to fans of cooking, restaurants and chefs, as David Gelb’s film followed 85-year-old Jiro Ono and his exacting standards for preparation and presentation at his legendary restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro. So it’s exciting to see the […]
0 comments by Matt Zemek
The central and most defining feature of Mad Men — not just as a show in itself, but as a transformative and highly important program in the history of American television — is that it is complicated. Everything about Mad Men is complicated… even the aspects of the show which are obvious. One familiar complaint about […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 3/30/2015
Over the weekend, rumors began to rumble that Comedy Central had found its replacement for Jon Stewart as host of The Daily Show. Variety reported that Trevor Noah, who was hired by the show in October and made his debut as a correspondent in December, was on the network’s shortlist for the gig. Though Brian Steinberg’s report […]
0 comments by Jeremy Klumpp
Saturday Night Live returned to form after two weeks away with an extremely entertaining episode. A lot of that can be attributed to the great work done by host Dwayne Johnson, but also a nice, diverse set of sketches that poked fun at Disney, the WWE, fraternities, and Robert Durst. The show is at its best […]
0 comments by Ian Casselberry on 3/27/2015
Late-night television got its newest addition this week with the debut of The Late Late Show with James Corden on CBS. Whenever a new late-night talk show debuts, the anticipation seems to be for something different. How will this program tweak a familiar model? Will it break any of the supposed rules and formats that have previously […]
