Lady Gaga fans discover her pre-fame ‘Sopranos’ cameo

Meadow had better watch out! Lest you think the Internet ever forgets, check out this clip Little Monsters discovered over the weekend of a 15-year-old Lady Gaga on The Sopranos. Gaga, then merely Stefani Germanotta, high school student at New York City’s Convent of the Sacred Heart, had a blink-and-miss-it part in the episode “The Telltale Moozadell” from the third season of HBO’s hit series in 2001. She’s one of a pack of giggly schoolgirls smoking and throwing back sodas while watching Tony Soprano’s son, A.J., swim laps at the school pool.

For Gagaphiles, the clip is of interest for two all-important reasons. One: we see her real hair! And we all know her natural locks haven’t seen the light of day since at least 2007. And two: she’s wearing jeans! Clearly, Gaga had not yet issued her fatwa on pants.

This isn’t the first pop-culture breadcrumb to Gaga’s pre-fame past. In 2005, she also appeared on Boiling Points, MTV’s let’s-make-life-more-miserable series where undercover actors try to annoy the hell out of unsuspecting passerby. Gaga, then a student at NYU, exploded at her “waitress” for serving a salad covered in tin-foil and other garbage.

For a performer who never wants her fans to see her “as human” onstage, Gaga would probably cringe at these clips. What do you think, PopWatchers? Do you prefer your Gaga in spandex and sequins? Or does seeing her like this help you appreciate the person behind the icon?

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‘Hatchet 2′ director Adam Green on his new anthology movie, ‘Chillerama’

It’s been a strange couple of weeks for director Adam Green. On October 1, the theater chain AMC unleashed his unrated slasher sequel Hatchet 2, only to pull it from screens two days later for reasons that seemed more than a tad unclear. While AMC told EW in a written statement that the company made its business decisions based on a film’s performance, a “bewildered and confused” Green speculated the film was yanked because of the surrounding “online controversy.” The director also hoped that he would never again have to “deal with something like this.”

In fact, Green is currently developing a kiddie-friendly film called Killer Pizza. But fans of the Hatchet movies, and Green’s twisted brand of humor, will be pleased to learn the director has at least one more bizarro horrorshow up his blood-drenched sleeve. The film is an anthology movie called Chillerama, which Green says he is hoping to release in the spring or summer of next year and which boasts segments directed by Green, Adam Rifkin (Detroit Rock City), Tim Sullivan (2001 Maniacs), and Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2). We asked Adam to tell us more, and he did—though it seems fair to suggest that even his synopsis is not for the very easily offended…

Adam Green: “Adam Rifkin is doing a segment called Wadzilla, which is basically a take on ‘50s giant monster movies. It’s [about] a guy that goes to get his sperm count raised, and it creates one big sperm that attacks New York City. Tim Sullivan is doing something called I was a Teenage Werebear. In gay culture there’s a term ‘Bear’ for guys that are big hairy burly men, and his has kind of a Rebel Without A Cause-type feel. My segment is called The Diary of Anne Frankenstein. It’s a black and white movie about Hitler trying to create the perfect killing machine to win the war. Joel David Moore (Hatchet, Avatar) plays Adolf Hitler. It’s probably the funniest part he’s ever done. The whole movie is in German, but Joel does not know German, so he’s making up his own gibberish through the whole movie, but his subtitles are correct. The final one is being done by Joe Lynch. His is like a zombie movie with a twist—they’re more like sex zombies than zombies that just want to eat you.”

Giant sperm? Sex zombies? Hitler? As a fan of the Amicus anthology films—and of George A. Romero’s Creepshow—I’d have to say that sounds like a value-for-money movie to me.

What about you?

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Joan Sutherland, Soprano, Dies at 83 - New York Times

Her death was confirmed by her close friend the mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.

It was Italy’s notoriously picky critics who dubbed the Australian-born Ms. Sutherland the Stupendous One after her Italian debut in Venice in 1960. And for 40 years the name endured with opera lovers around the world. Her 1961 debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, in Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor,” generated so much excitement that standees began lining up at 7:30 that morning. Her singing of the Mad Scene drew a thunderous 12-minute ovation.

Ms. Sutherland’s singing was founded on astonishing technique. Her voice was evenly produced throughout an enormous range, from a low G to effortless flights above high C. She could spin lyrical phrases with elegant legato, subtle colorings and expressive nuances. Her sound was warm, vibrant and resonant, without any forcing. Indeed, her voice was so naturally large that at the start of her career Ms. Sutherland seemed destined to become a Wagnerian dramatic soprano.

Following her first professional performances, in 1948, during a decade of steady growth and intensive training, Ms. Sutherland developed incomparable facility for fast runs, elaborate roulades and impeccable trills. She did not compromise the passagework, as many do, by glossing over scurrying runs, but sang almost every note fully.

Her abilities led Richard Bonynge, the Sydney-born conductor and vocal coach whom she married in 1954, to persuade her early on to explore the early-19th-century Italian opera of the bel canto school. She became a major force in its revitalization.

Bel canto (which translates as “beautiful song” or “beautiful singing”) denotes an approach to singing exemplified by evenness through the range and great agility. The term also refers to the early-19th-century Italian operas steeped in bel canto style. Outside of Italy, the repertory had languished for decades when Maria Callas appeared in the early 1950s and demonstrated that operas like “Lucia di Lammermoor” and Bellini’s “Norma” were not just showcases for coloratura virtuosity but musically elegant and dramatically gripping works as well.

Even as a young man, Mr. Bonynge had uncommon knowledge of bel canto repertory and style. Ms. Sutherland and Mr. Bonynge, who is four years younger, met in Sydney at a youth concert and became casual friends. They were reacquainted later in London, where Ms. Sutherland settled with her mother in 1951 to attend the Royal College of Music. There Mr. Bonynge became the major influence on her development.

Ms. Sutherland used to say she thought of herself and her husband as a duo, and that she didn’t talk of her career, “but of ours.”

In a 1961 profile in The New York Times Magazine she said she initially had “a big rather wild voice” that was not heavy enough for Wagner, although she did not realize this until she heard “Wagner sung as it should be.”

“Richard had decided — long before I agreed with him — that I was a coloratura,” she said.

“We fought like cats and dogs over it,” she said, adding, “It took Richard three years to convince me.”

In her repertory choices, Ms. Sutherland ranged widely during the 1950s, singing lighter lyric Mozart roles like the Countess in “Le Nozze di Figaro” and heavier Verdi roles like Amelia in “Un Ballo in Maschera.” Even then, astute listeners realized that she was en route to becoming something extraordinary.

In a glowing and perceptive review of her performance as Desdemona in Verdi’s “Otello” at Covent Garden in London in late 1957, the critic Andrew Porter, writing in The Financial Times, commended her for not “sacrificing purity to power.” This is “not her way,” Mr. Porter wrote, “and five years on we shall bless her for her not endeavoring now to be ‘exciting’ but, instead, lyrical and beautiful.”

She became an international sensation after her career-defining performance in the title role of “Lucia di Lammermoor” at Covent Garden — its first presentation there since 1925 — which opened on Feb. 17, 1959. The production was directed by Franco Zeffirelli and conducted by the Italian maestro Tullio Serafin, a longtime Callas colleague, who elicited from the 32-year-old soprano a vocally resplendent and dramatically affecting portrayal of the trusting, unstable young bride of Lammermoor.

Mr. Porter, reviewing the performance in The Financial Times, wrote that the brilliance of Ms. Sutherland’s singing was to be expected by this point. The surprise, he explained, was the new dramatic presence she brought to bear.

“The traces of self-consciousness, of awkwardness on the stage, had disappeared; and at the same time she sang more freely, more powerfully, more intensely — and also more bewitchingly — than ever before.”

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Petition to have Morgan Freeman narrate his own AFI Life Achievement montage

Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesThe American Film Institute has announced that Morgan Freeman will receive the 39th AFI Life Achievement Award at a June gala taped for broadcast later in 2011. “Morgan Freeman is an American treasure,” Sir Howard Stringer, chair of the AFI Board of Trustees, said in a release. “Across decades, whether playing a prisoner, a president or God, he embodies a calm authority that demands respect for the character and for the art form. His gifts to the cultural record are also underscored by his unmistakable voice that echoes through the hearts and minds of movie lovers around the world.” That is true. Which is why we’re starting this petition to have Morgan Freeman narrate at least one of the montages that will be shown that evening. Sign it below.

As a thank you, we have once again embedded “The Full Shawshank Experience” clip from Cougar Town below. Still funny.

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People: Esquire names Minka Kelly sexiest woman alive - San Jose Mercury News

Print   Email   Font ResizeBy Vicki Walker
Contra Costa Times

Posted: 10/11/2010 03:06:17 PM PDTUpdated: 10/11/2010 03:31:53 PM PDT
Derek Jeter's main squeeze play is making headlines all by herself.

Esquire magazine named Minka Kelly the Sexiest Woman Alive in its November issue, which hits stands a week from today. Kelly, 30, who played cheerleader Lyla Garrity for four seasons on "Friday Night Lights" before seguing into the "Parenthood" TV series, dated that model of celebrity dating discretion, singer John Mayer, before seguing into New York Yankee Jeter.

The brunette, who talks more about her late exotic dancer mother than her Aerosmith guitarist father (Rick Dufay, if you must know), tells the magazine, "I'm confident ... in my skin, and I'm cool with my flaws and all that stuff. It just feels nice to be at peace with yourself. I think my 30th birthday gave me permission to have all that. The 20s were a pain in the (gluteus maximus)."

Kelly did what she says is her first sexy photo shoot in the November Esquire. On the cover, she wears a gray half-shirt and pants that look like they're falling off her pelvis, the better to show off her abs.

OPRAH IS NOT PLEASED: Oprah Winfrey said she was "profoundly disappointed" by the Monday acquittal of Tiny Virginia Makopo, former matron at Winfrey's school for girls in South Africa.

Prosecutors had accused Makopo of trying to kiss and fondle girls at the school soon after it opened in 2007 outside Johannesburg. Makopo also had been accused of assaulting

one teen as well as a fellow supervisor.

Winfrey had called the allegations crushing given her own stated history of childhood sexual abuse and promised an overhaul of the school.

"I will forever be proud of the nine girls who testified with the courage and conviction to be heard," Winfrey said in a statement Monday.

The lavish $40 million Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, which opened in January 2007, aims to give girls from deprived backgrounds a quality education in a country where schools are struggling to overcome the legacy of apartheid.

THAT WASN'T SNOW ON HOTH: A long time ago, on a movie set far, far away, Carrie Fisher did a drug she didn't even like because she wanted the high.

According to the New York Post, Fisher told Australian news agency AAP that she "did cocaine on the set of 'Empire' ('The Empire Strikes Back'), in the ice planet." Fisher, for those who didn't read her father Eddie's obituaries last month, is best known for playing Princess Leia in the first "Star Wars" film trilogy.

"I didn't even like coke that much," she said. "It was just a case of getting on whatever train I needed to take to get that high."

Fisher, 53, is in Sydney performing her one-woman stand-up show, "Wishful Drinking."

INSERT "NAILS ON A CHALKBOARD" JOKE HERE: Teen singer Justin Bieber is known for his distinctive bang-heavy hairstyle. But when you see his name at a Wal-Mart cosmetic counter near you, it won't be at the hairpiece aisle.

Bieber, 16, has partnered with Nicole by OPI to design a collection of nail polishes inspired by his hit songs. The line debuts exclusively at Wal-Mart in December.

This just in: Adam Lambert, who actually does wear nail varnish, is furious at being beaten to the punch.

Those familiar with OPI's way with forced puns will groan even before hearing such proposed polish names as "One Less Lonely Girl," "Me + Blue" and "OMB!", the last of which is a bright red, according to AOL's Style List.

THE WEDDING MARCH: Celebrities took advantage of that 10/10/10 date Sunday to make it their wedding date. Now to see how many of these mergers make it to 11/11/11:

"American Idol" runner-up Crystal Bowersox, 25, and longtime friend Brian Walker, who wed Sunday in Chicago. "Brothers & Sisters" actor Dave Annable, 31, and "Cloverfield" actress Odette Yustman, 25, who wed Sunday in Ojai in a ceremony officiated by Annable's co-star Ron Rifkin. "Spy Kids" actress Alexa Vega, 22 (yes, she's old enough, and yes, you ARE old), and "Napoleon Dynamite" producer Sean Covel, 34, who wed Sunday in Lead, S.D. "Spy Kids" director Robert Rodriguez walked the bride down the aisle. MICHAEL SPRUNG: Wayward singer George Michael was released from jail Monday after serving almost four weeks for driving under the influence of drugs.

Michael thanked those who had supported him while he was jailed and said outside his north London home: "I just want to start again."

The former Wham! singer received an eight-week sentence Sept. 14 for crashing his car into a London photo shop in July while high on prescription drugs and marijuana.

The judge ordered Michael to serve four weeks of the sentence in prison and the rest on parole. The musician also lost his driver's license for five years.

1492 (Old Style calendar): Christopher Columbus arrived with his expedition in the present-day Bahamas.
1810: The German festival Oktoberfest was first held in Munich to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
1870: General Robert E. Lee died in Lexington, Va., at age 63.
1915: English nurse Edith Cavell was executed by the Germans in occupied Belgium during World War I.
1933: Bank robber John Dillinger escaped from a jail in Allen County, Ohio, with the help of his gang, who killed the sheriff, Jess Sarber.
1960: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev disrupted a U.N. General Assembly session, supposedly by pounding his desk with his shoe (although there's some question about whether the shoe-pounding actually occurred).
1960: Japanese Socialist Party leader Inejiro Asanuma was stabbed to death during a televised debate in Tokyo by an ultranationalist student, Otoya Yamaguchi, who hanged himself in jail.
1968: The Summer Games of the 19th Olympiad officially opened in Mexico City.
1984: British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped an attempt on her life when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at a hotel in Brighton, England, killing five people.
2000: Seventeen sailors were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen.
2002: A bomb blamed on Islamic militants destroyed a nightclub on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people, many of them foreign tourists.
2005: German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder announced he would not participate in Germany's new coalition government, ending seven years in power.BIRTHDAYSComedian-activist Dick Gregory (78), former Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah (78), singer Sam Moore of Sam and Dave (75), broadcast journalist Chris Wallace (63), actress-singer Susan Anton (60), rock singer-musician Pat DiNizio (55), actor Carlos Bernard (48), jazz musician Chris Botti (48), R&Bs singer Claude McKnight of Take 6 (48), rock singer Bob Schneider (45), actor Hugh Jackman (42), actor Adam Rich (42), R&B singer Garfield Bright of Shai (41), country musician Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks (41), actor Kirk Cameron (40), Olympic gold medal skier Bode Miller (33). -- Associated Press

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'Simpsons': Inside dish on Banksy

Image Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic.com; FoxWho says The Simpsons isn’t as subversive as it used to be? Last night, the animated Fox series raised eyebrows—and corners of mouths—with a daring, bleak opening credits sequence that was masterminded by Banksy, the mysterious British graffiti artist. Viewers were taken on a surreal journey into an Asian sweatshop where kittens were used as stuffing for Simpsons dolls, and a shackled, defeated unicorn was used to make holes in Simpsons DVDs. Shudder. EW.com rang up Simpsons executive producer Al Jean to get the behind-the-scenes story on the Banksy gag.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did this collaboration with Banksy come about?
AL JEAN: I saw that movie Exit Through the Gift Shop, and I asked our casting director Bonnie Pietila, who’s had good luck getting people like Thomas Pynchon, if she could track Banksy down. She worked through the producers of the movie, and we just said, “Would you like to do a couch gag for the show?” He submitted boards, which were more or less what you saw last night. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it a little bit, but I showed it to [series creator] Matt Groening and he said, “We should really try to do these as close as possible to what he wants.” We all thought it was really funny. There were some small things we went through with Broadcast Standards for taste, but I was impressed—for an American TV show we did this really satiric thing, and it was 95 percent of what he wanted.

What were the small things that got edited out?
I wouldn’t go into them, but it was just a little sadder. [laughs] I don’t know if the unicorn made it in the original draft.

And you guys gave him no instruction about what to create?
Nope. He’s an artist. I just said, “It has to be in this format, and it comes off the beginning of the show.” And we did want to make sure that people knew—we have several clues, we tagged his name twice at the beginning and gave him a credit at the end just so it was clear what was going on.

What were your first thoughts when you saw what he wanted to do?
Well, my first thought was, “Well, it’s really funny.” And my second thought was, “I hope I keep my job if I do it.” [laughs] So far I still have.  But I turned to a higher power, which in this case was Matt, and showed it to him. And we all think Banksy is a brilliant artist. I thought this was a funny idea, and the show to Fox’s credit has been able to do very subversive things right from the beginning, and I think that’s made The Simpsons what it is.

You said Fox execs had some small issues, but what was their overall reaction?
I showed it to Broadcast Standards in the animatic stage. Certainly this is animated by Fox—paid for by Fox— so this is not something I can just slide in without anybody seeing, nor would I want to. So they’ve been aware of it for several months and we wanted to keep it a secret just because I thought you’d get maximum impact this morning, which I think we did.

Were you surprised that they were cool with it?
I think Fox is great. There never would have been a Simpsons if there wasn’t a Fox. And there never would have been the style of humor and what other shows have done on Fox if it wasn’t for people who were looking for something that was edgy and funny.

Were you worried that this gag did not paint the show in the best light?
I can tell you as a fact there are no unicorns working in our DVD production plant. It’s a fantasy—none of it is true. That being said, it’s funny.

Were you looking to make some sort of political statement or respond to criticism of outsourcing [the show is animated in South Korea]?
Honestly, there was no agenda except I thought it would be great to get this guy. The concept in my mind was, “What if this graffiti artist came in and tagged our main titles?” And we got what I think is the coolest, most technically proficient graffiti artist today. I’d never seen that—a graffiti artist actually graffiti’ing the opening credits of a television show. So when you’re asking for that you’re not really telling him what to do. We’re a show where people are used to seeing edgy things in regards to Itchy & Scratchy or satirizations of society, so I thought it was in line with our past and part of what’s made the Simpsons great.

A BBC News story says that Banksy’s storyboard caused delays, disputes with Broadcast Standards, and the animation department to threaten to walk out….
All the things that we do are delayed, and we have to deal with Broadcast Standards because it takes us a long time. I would say compared to what the original boards were, I think about 95 percent of it [stayed] true, and it really wasn’t unusual relative to the other stuff that we do, in terms of the length of time or the problems with it…. [The animation department] didn’t walk out. Obviously they didn’t. We’ve depicted the conditions in a fanciful light before.

What kind of feedback are you getting this morning?
The first word I would use is enormous. Other than showing Katy Perry’s cleavage, I can’t think of anything that’s gotten this much attention. And I would say by my barometer, about 90 percent think it’s really funny and 10 percent don’t like the taste of it, which I would say has been the ratio of the great things we’ve done in the past.

Did you learn more about the identity of Banksy?
I never met him. Even my emails back and forth to him, I would email Bonnie, who would email his producer, who would email him. I’m pretty sure it’s really him because if it wasn’t him, the real Banksy would have said something.

Are there other things up your sleeve right now?
There are always are, and the only way to find them out is to watch every episode.

(Follow: @dansnierson)

Read more:
Exit Through the Gift Shop: The best movie now playing captures the scandalous joy of art as play
Banksy’s greatest hits

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11 rockers in scary movies

Alice Cooper made up for his appearance in the abysmal 1984 werewolf movie Monster Dog — yep, that really is the title — by cameo-ing as a possessed bum in John Carpenter's creepy, underappreciated homage to cult British screenwriter Nigel Kneale.

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32 'Did you see it?!' TV moments

Dexter recap: The Heartbreak Kids
In the past, I've found Cody and Astor to be insufferable (this season, particularly Astor). But it was hard not to recognize the good these kids were doing Dexter. As Dexter said, ''Cody and Astor showed me that I could still care about something.'' Now that he's without that influence, will he begin to doubt his humanity more than ever? How will that reflect in his actions? Dexter still has Harrison to keep him grounded, but what does it say that he's also carting the little tyke around to places he shouldn't be? —Sandra Gonzalez

Read the full recap.

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Jane Lynch: 10 cool characters

Lynch is best known for her role as the cruelly conniving coach, but we like to think it was that luxe Madonna impersonation that won her the Emmy.

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Soul singer Solomon Burke dead at 70 - CNN

R&B crooner Solomon Burke was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.He was part of the legendary 1960s Atlantic stable with Ray Charles, Ben E. King and Wilson PickettHis hits include "Got to Get You Off of My Mind" and "Tonight's the Night"He was hailed as "the greatest soul singer of all time"

(CNN) -- Soul singer Solomon Burke has died at the age of 70 in the Netherlands, his Dutch representative said Sunday.

Hailed by Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler as "the greatest soul singer of all time," Burke was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Burke joined the Atlantic Records stable in 1960, putting him in the company of Ray Charles, Ben E. King and Wilson Pickett.

His first hit with them came almost immediately, with "Cry to Me."

He had top R&B hits in 1965 with "Got to Get You Off of My Mind," and "Tonight's the Night," the rock museum says in Burke's biography.

He continued to tour until his death, and was scheduled to perform Tuesday in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

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Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe: The first image from ‘My Week with Marilyn’

Image Credit: Lorenzo AgiusPrincipal photography on My Week with Marilyn begins today in London. Check out the first image of Michelle Williams as the iconic star. She will play opposite Eddie Redmayne (The Other Boleyn Girl), Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Dominic Cooper (An Education), Emma Watson, and Julia Ormond. The film tracks Monroe during a week she abandoned her Hollywood career to spend time with Colin Clark (Redmayne), a lowly assistant on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, who escorted Monroe around Britain after her new husband, playwright Arthur Miller left the country.

Simon Curtis is directing from a script by Adrian Hodges.

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20 most claustrophobic movies

Director George Sluizer's original 1988 Dutch version (not his inferior American remake) is a great chiller, with one of the creepiest, most disturbing endings of all time.

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Ben Harper Blindsides Laura Dern with Divorce - TMZ.com

10/10/2010 4:00 AM PDT by TMZ Staff   Ben Harper stunned Laura Dern by filing for divorce late Friday afternoon … TMZ has learned.

Harper, a two-time Grammy winner, filed legal docs citing irreconcilable differences and is asking the judge to deny Dern spousal support.

And here's what's interesting … according to the papers, Harper claims he and Dern separated back in January. But people connected with the couple, who married back in 2005, tell TMZ they have been living and traveling together throughout the year and were even intimate as recently as last week.

Harper is asking for joint legal and physical of the couple's two kids: Ellery, 9, and Jaya, 5.

Tags: Ben Harper, Laura Dern, Dirty Divorces

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Your weekend guide to DVD schlock

Every week, dozens of movies are dumped onto DVD. But some weeks are special. Why? Because every once in a blue moon, the stars align in a way that an embarrassment of schlocky riches comes out all at once. This week, my friends, is one of those weeks. So if you find yourself with some time on your hands this weekend and you have a craving for cheese, why not check out some of these new releases…

*A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) If you missed this franchise reboot back in the spring, here are two reasons worth catching up with it now on DVD: 1.) The always-interesting Jackie Earle Haley dons the striped sweater as dream warrior Freddy Krueger and 2.) it’s another chance to see Rooney Mara before the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo comes out. Oh yeah, and a bunch of people get killed.

*Frozen (2010) Okay, this one actually came out last week, but I can’t help including it because it’s such an awesome surprise, especially given the premise: three friends bribe their way onto a ski lift and are left hanging after the last run…for five days. You might deduce that not a whole lot could happen from this bare-bones horror set-up. And you’d be wrong…dead wrong. Seriously, this is a good ‘bad movie’.

*The Human Centipede (2010) Here’s a movie that while I was watching it, I just couldn’t believe that it was allowed to be made. Sick, twisted, and just plain wrong, Human Centipede is essentially an old-fashioned mad doctor/evil scientist chiller. But in this case, the mad doctor is obsessed with forming a human chain out of three people he’s taken prisoner and whom he surgically fuses together via orifices that I can’t bear to even type. Ick…but wow. Mostly ick, though.

*Grindhouse: Special Edition Blu-ray (2007) This one isn’t so much schlock as a high-end tribute to schlock tarted up to look like schlock. That said, this double-feature from Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino has only been available thus far on separate discs for Planet Terror and Death Proof. This deluxe DVD package thankfully puts them back together and includes the amazing faux trailers that ran between and before the features in theaters, including teasers for Rodriguez’s Mexploitation flick Machete and Eli Roth’s deliciously disgusting Thanksgiving (“White meat, dark meat, all will be carved!”). NSFW clip below…

*High Tension on Blu-ray (2003) When we think of French cinema, we tend of think of classy arthouse auteurs like Truffaut and Godard. Alexandre Aja is no New Wave maestro. Au contraire. Before making stateside splatterfests like year 2006's The Hills Have Eyes and Piranha 3D, he made this import about a pair of women vacationing in the South of France on the run from a psycho. Power tools are involved. The movie’s title is pretty much its own review.

*Splice (2010) Adrien Brody was in one decent sci-fi horror film this year…and it wasn’t Predators. It was this bizarro flick about playing God to create half-human beasties in the lab. Sarah Polley costars, which is always a plus. And the creepy creature f/x are first rate (in case you subscribe to Fangoria and geek out over that kind of thing).

*Troll 2 (1990) Is it the worst movie ever made? Who knows, but it certainly is a mess and my EW colleague Clark Collis certainly enjoyed the hell out of it. You can read his thoughts here.

*The Slumber Party Massacre Collection (1982, 1987, 1990) The latest installment in the “Roger Corman’s Cult Classics” series, this heaping helping of sleepover-slasher madness includes all three Slumber Party Massacre chestnuts in one single volume (which, in my estimation, saves you at least two uncomfortable exchanges with your local video store clerk!) What can you expect? Well, women in nighties (SPM II has Crystal Bernard from Wings!), madmen with drills, and a precipitous drop in quality as the series progresses.

*30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010) A direct-to-DVD sequel to the mediocre 2007 Josh Hartnett snowy, sub-zero vampire flick. I haven’t seen this one yet so I can’t vouch for it, but the original was okay. The f/x were cool and a bunch of blood was spilled, but it left me kind of cold (no pun intended). Still, I suppose there are a bunch of Cullen-loving teenage girls out there who will rent anything that has to do with vampires. To them, I say, ‘Dig in, ladies!’

*They Call Her Cleopatra Wong/One-Armed Executioner (1978) Why am I just finding out about Cleopatra Wong now? Marrie Lee plays Singapore’s A-number-one Interpol agent tangling with a ring of counterfeiters disguised as nuns. Come on! How can you resist? I have no idea what One-Armed Executioner is all about, but I’ll be watching it. Done and done!

*Space Chimps 2: Zartog Strikes Back (2010) They’re chimps. They’re in space. And they’re back…as is apparently someone named Zartog. Do you really need to know more than that?

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Fall 2010 ratings: Another good night for CBS, but the hits keep coming for ‘The Apprentice’

Image Credit: Bob D'Amico/ABC; Monty Brinton/CBS; Douglas GorensClearly, viewers have yet to decide what shows they want to commit to this fall: After an auspicious premiere week, the CBS comedies took a hit in the key demographics on Thursday and NBC’s The Office posted its lowest rating among adults 18-49. Grey’s Anatomy on ABC rang in with its lowest-rated fall telecast ever for the second week in a row, and NBC’s The Apprentice is still on the brink of cancellation – if not a much-needed move to another night.

First, some good news for Fox. Dramas Bones (2.6 rating/8 share) and Fringe (2.0/5) actually posted single-digit gains among adults 18-49 versus the previous week and are keeping the network competitive on a tough night for broadcast (each 18-49 ratings point represents 1.3 million viewers). In total viewers, Bones averaged 9.13 million and came in second for its timeslot while Fringe averaged 5.15 million and came in fourth. Overall, the network ended up in third place for the night in viewers (7.17 million) and adults 18-49 (2.3/7).

CBS still dominated the night in adults 18-49 (3.0/9) and viewers (12.5 million). Though it dipped in the key demo, Big Bang Theory won its timeslot among men and women and viewers (12.4 million), as did $#*! My Dad Says (9.7 million), and The Mentalist (14.2 million). CSI (12.29 million), however, was overshadowed by Grey’s Anatomy (12.45 million), which still took the 9 p.m. timeslot in adults 18-49 and viewers.

ABC was second for the night among adults 18-49 (2.9/8) and viewers (8.24 million).

It was another tough evening for NBC. Community only averaged 4.29 million, followed by 30 Rock (4.91 million), The Office (6.89 million) and Outsourced (5.23 million). At least three of those comedies have ongoing support from critics. Nothing seems to be propping up the latest installment of The Apprentice, which only averaged 3.75 million and was one of the show’s lowest rated-telecasts ever among adults 18-49 (a mere 1.3/4).  Somebody put The Donald out of his misery!

Overall, NBC finished the night fourth in viewers (4.80 million) and 18-49 (2.1/6). As for the CW, The Vampire Diaries showed some gains in women 18-34 and women18-49 versus the previous week and averaged 3.5 million – its second-largest audience this season. It won its timeslot among female teens. Nikita also built from the previous week in women and added 11% more viewers, averaging a total of 3.0 million.

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Jimmy Smits: Why can’t the beloved TV actor catch a break in primetime?

Image Credit: Jordin Althaus/NBCThe recent production hiatus on NBC’s Outlaw underscores an even bigger head-scratcher involving the drama’s star, Jimmy Smits: How is it the broadcast networks have yet to find the right show for one of TV’s most-beloved stars? (EW’s Ken Tucker said Smits “is an immensely likable actor, which only makes all the messy ideas and vainglory that clog Outlaw more disappointing.”) The 55-year-old actor has continued to find steady work over the last two decades, but he’s never been able to recapture the magic (or all those Emmy and Golden Globe wins and nominations) he earned while playing Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law from 1986-92 and Det. Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue from 1994 to 2004. The closest he came was in 2008, when he guest-starred as Miguel Prado in 12 episodes of Dexter, a role that earned him yet another Emmy nomination.

He was a hit as Matthew Santos on The West Wing, but his two-year run as an appealing politician was not enough to ignite a huge ratings turnaround for the once-popular show. And his abbreviated run as liquor mogul Alex Vega on CBS’ family drama Cane was overshadowed by the 100-day writer’s strike in 2007. Those recent failures haven’t affected Smits’ value in the marketplace: Word is his asking price remains $175,000 per episode (though an NBC insider says he’s receiving closer to $150K for Outlaw). Either way, it’s a rich payday reserved for only the most sought-after stars in TV. But many believe he’s still worth it, and not just because he’s one of Hollywood’s most high-profile Latino actors. “He’s a big TV star,” agrees one studio executive. “People like him. He’s not an icon, but people really like him.”

For now, it’s unclear what will become of Smits’ latest gig on NBC. Outlaw only averaged 4.7 million viewers on Oct. 1, down from its premiere week average of 4.98 million. The network still has five original episodes in the can that are scheduled to air so its plan is to monitor the show’s performance in the coming weeks before deciding whether to resume production.

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‘Hawaii Five-0′: Producers want original ‘Danno’

Scott Caan has become a breakout star by playing Detective Danny “Danno” Williams on Hawaii Five-0 — but the producers haven’t forgotten the memorable actor who first originated the role. Executive Producer Peter Lenkov told EW that it remains a goal to persuade James MacArthur (inset) — aka “Danno” on the series that first aired from 1968 to 1980 — to make a cameo on the CBS drama.

“We’ve been talking to James about being on the show but he just doesn’t know because he’s busy with a business he’s launching,” said Lenkov. “But we’d love to have him.” Lenkov has also set his sights on Al Harrington, who played Det. Ben Kokua on the original series from 1969 to 1975. (Both he and MacArthur are now in their 70s.) “It still feels early in the season,” the producer said. “We have time.”  Those are pretty confident words from a guy who has yet to learn whether the drama will receive a back nine order from CBS (the network only picked up 13 episodes of 5-0 before the 2010-11 season began). But it would be a shocker if CBS didn’t go with a full season of Hawaii Five-0, which, at 13.02 million, is currently the most-watched new show.

Speaking of highly anticipated characters, Lenkov also confirmed that Masi Oka (Heroes) will show up in episode four as a coroner named Max Bergman; he’ll appear in at least three episodes this season.

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‘The Dilemma’: Universal deletes ‘gay’ scene from trailer

The full-length trailer for Ron Howard’s The Dilemma will be shorn clean of its bizarre “electric cars are gay” scene, a rep from Universal has confirmed to EW. It’s not yet known whether the lines in question will remain in the movie, which is still in postproduction and due for release Jan. 14. Criticism of the trailer hit a high when CNN anchor Anderson Cooper set it in opposition to the anti-bullying initiatives CNN and other networks have adopted since the highly-publicized suicide of a gay Rutgers student last week. The teaser trailer “was not intended to cause anyone discomfort,” according to a statement the studio sent out today. (See the original trailer embedded after the jump.)

In the scene, Vince Vaughn’s character elucidates two forms of “gay”: homosexual gay and an entirely different, uncool form of gay typically associated with the electric cars he’s promoting. He goes on to clarify electric-car gay as “my-parents-are-chaperoning-the-dance gay.” Meanwhile, the actors playing executives nod at their roundtable as if Vaughn isn’t stringing nonsense words together.

The studio told Deadline.com that they’d shared the original trailer with organizations like GLAAD, and that no one initially expressed any objections with the scenes. However, GLAAD has released a statement, saying that they “expressed these concerns directly to Universal Pictures prior to the trailer’s release.”

Read more:
‘The Dilemma’ trailer: Vince Vaughn knows a secret about Winona Ryder

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'Superman': Pick a Man of Steel!

Image Credit: Janet Mayer/PR Photos; Wild1/PR Photos; Chris Hatcher/PR Photos; Frazer Harrison/Getty Images; Landmark/PR Photos ; Rick Stephens / PR PhotosOff of the news this week that director Zack Snyder has officially taken the reigns of the new Superman movie — produced by Christopher Nolan and penned by David S. Goyer — I looked at the pros and cons of ten actors who could potentially don the big red S. A few of these suggestions you really liked; thanks to Smallville, I figured there’d be a lot of Tom Welling fans out there, but I had no idea that Superman Returns‘ Brandon Routh had such a committed following. Some of my ideas you weren’t so keen on; “I love Nathan Fillion,” wrote Joshua in the comments, “but Captain Mal is just not Supes.” And y’all had several suggestions of your own; I was especially tickled by the unconventional idea of Joseph Gordon-Levitt (though he may have a leg up given how vocally impressed Nolan was with his work in Inception), and I’m kicking myself for not thinking of White Collar‘s impossibly pretty Matt Bomer.

So let’s put it to a vote! The following six actors stood out as your top choices for the man best suited to fly faster than a speeding bullet (or be shot in front of a green-screen and then later made to look in post like he’s flying faster than a speeding bullet): Bomer, The Tudors‘ Henry Cavill, Gordon-Levitt, Mad Men‘s Jon Hamm, Routh, and Welling. Vote for your favorite below, and then defend your choice in the comments. May the best man (of steel) win!

Read more:
Zack Snyder: “He’s the king of superheroes.”

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‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Recap: White Lies, Black Markets

Image Credit: Lucasfilm Ltd. & TMThe Clone Wars is not just a kids show. That was clear tonight in “Corruption,” an episode that took us far away from the front lines of that titular conflict and its kid-friendly laser blasts and lightsaber duels to explore that Galaxy Far, Far Away’s equally dangerous black market. Last week’s geektastic ep transported us to fan-favorite galaxy hotspots like Jabba’s Palace and the Mos Eisley Cantina, and at first glance “Corruption” seemed to promise the same: a return to Mandalore, homeworld of Jango Fett, with its long history of warfare and insidious court intrigues.

Mandalore was the focal point of my favorite season 2 story arc, which introduced us to Duchess Satine, advocate for peace in an otherwise militaristic culture and old flame of one Obi-Wan Kenobi. (Attention Moulin Rouge! fans. You will recall that Nicole Kidman’s Satine was the love interest of that erstwhile Obi-Wan Ewan McGregor in Baz Luhrmann’s musical tour de force.) Giving Obi-Wan, poster boy for chastity that he is, a love interest was an inspired idea, and in the hands of writer Paul Dini (the Rod Serling of TV animation), their repartee flew with screwball ferocity. But rapier lightsaber wit was not on display in “Corruption,” since it was Padmé this time who flew to Mandalore to discuss trade difficulties with the Duchess.

This is why I said The Clone Wars isn’t just a kids show—it’s hard to imagine younglings really being interested in the state of the galactic economy. I mean, three of the five episodes this season have taken on shipping rights, trade embargoes, or disputes over neutrality. Tonight, it was about the corruption of a Mandalorian school superintendent, no less, who contracted with smugglers to buy a cheaper black market tea for his young students (to keep the rest of the money for himself). Turns out, though, the cost-saving substitute was toxic and sent his little pupils scurrying to the hospital. If this doesn’t sound like the kind of plot you’d normally associate with Star Wars, you’d be right. I mean, we need more villains like General Grievous or, better yet for our purposes tonight,  Mandalorian baddie Pre Viszla, the Jon Favreau-voiced, darksaber-wielding leader of terrorist group Death Watch. (Favreau was most likely too busy shooting his own sci-fi epic, Cowboys & Aliens.)

Still, I liked seeing Padmé team up with Satine. If Cad Bane was the Boba Fett we should have always had, then Satine is something of a new and improved Padmé, as well. Think about it. They’ve both served as accomplished negotiators and fought hard to preserve peace. They both possess royal pedigrees. And they’re both hopelessly entangled with certain Jedi. But it was refreshing to see that tinge of the dark side on Satine when she threatened the school superintendent: “Tell me what’s going on here, or else my guards will not be as conversational as I am.” Ooh, a little touch there of Darth Vader threatening “The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am.” Padme seemed shocked at Satine’s use of intimidation, although she then herself picked up a blaster and helped dispatch a fair number of smugglers, which either makes her a hypocrite, or shows that she understands the corrupting danger of using fear itself as a weapon—which Satine was trying to do. And fear is of the dark side.

So you can probably tell I was a little disappointed with this return trip to Mandalore. Were you also missing Satine’s comic banter with Obi-Wan? Weren’t you hoping for Pre Viszla to pop up? And can someone please pull Jon Favreau away from making hit movies to spend more time as a voice actor for basic cable?

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Miley Cyrus: Group objects to new video - Entertainment Weekly

The president of the Parents Television Council has condemned the sexualized nature of Miley Cyrus’ latest music video for single “Who Owns My Heart,” according to a report by MTV. In the sultry video, Miley wakes up blindfolded in bed before she heads out to a dance club. “It is unfortunate that she would participate in such a sexualized video like this one,” the president of the organization, Tim Winter, said. “It sends messages to her fanbase that are diametrically opposed to everything she has done up to this point. Miley built her fame and fortune entirely on the backs of young girls, and it saddens us that she seems so eager to distance herself from that fanbase so rapidly.”

Cyrus’ representatives have not returned emails seeking comment.

The Parents Television Council regularly objects to television content it feels may damage children. Recently, the organization went after CBS’ $#*! My Dad Says, Adam Lambert’s performance at last year’s American Music Awards, and Gossip Girl‘s threesome storyline.

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‘Deadliest Catch’ captains are staying put on show

Image Credit: DiscoveryLooks like the Deadliest Catch captains who recently quit over a legal dispute with Discovery are staying put on the reality show that’ll begin production next week in Alaska. Discovery released this statement on behalf of Captains Sig Hansen and Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand today:  “We’re happy we worked everything out with Discovery. A deal’s a deal. We’re heading up to Dutch Harbor to start filming the new season of Deadliest Catch and hopefully it will be the best one yet.”

The Hillstrands added: “Everyone worked really hard on putting together Hillstranded and we’re looking forward to wrapping that up. It’s something new that we hope people will enjoy.”

Just last week, the Hillstrands announced plans to leave the show after they were sued by Discovery over their involvement in a Catch spinoff. Discovery reportedly claimed the brothers failed to finish work on Hillstranded and were seeking $3 million in damages. An attorney for the Hillstrands shot back by saying the lawsuit would have forced the men to sell their boats and fire their crews so they quit the show. Hansen decided to show solidarity for his fellow captains and backed the Hillstrands.

The Hillstrand brothers co-captain Time Bandit on Deadliest Catch, while Hansen lords over Northwestern.

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