Image credit: Bob D'Amico/ABCSIMMERING TENSIONS Carrie Ann said she couldn't feel the passion "steaming out" of Rick Fox (even though partner Cheryl Burke had just been to Argentina).
Welcome back to the ballroom! Week 4 was 'Acoustic Night,' which apparently called for a raised circular platform that I excitedly assumed would make Dancing With the Stars seem like even more of a circus than it already was. Instead, Monday's rumbas and Argentine tangos severely underwhelmed, and I found the small dance floor too stifling. I get that they were going for an intimate setting -- it obviously worked for the demos from Our Pros and might even work for one round during the semifinals. But for the still-shaky contestants on Week 4, it was all just a bit too serious, bordering on terrifying. WHAT IF THE SITUATION DROPPED KARINA?
For me, DWTS is at its best when it's ridiculous and over-top-cheesy or when the dancing is spectacular. I found only one dance truly impressive last night, and perked up for the first time when suddenly Florence Henderson was sauntering down a catwalk in a giant-sequined shift. This was more than an hour into the show! (Update: My notes suggest I may have simply blacked out during Corky's nude scene moments prior!)
I try my best to take a "whatever" approach to this silly series, DNCMSTRs, but sometimes even I need a boost. You know it's an off week when Enthusiastic Chimes Lady is barely in sight and our new fave, Thoroughly Professional Violinist, is repeatedly overtaken by Flamboyant Second Violinist and Accordion Man. But hey, no big deal. Water under the bridge. Puddle of spray tan under the circus platform, right? It was worth a shot. Let's get to the JUDGES' LEADERBOARD for the week 4 performances. Remember it was a DOUBLE SCORE SHOWDOWN, so each couple received a score out of 30 for both the Technical and Performance aspects of their dances.
Will the judges please reveal their scores? Carrie Ann In-ahhh-ber!
Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough: Technical score of 27/30 plus Performance score of 29/30 = 56 out of possible 60 Jennifer and Derek's Argentine tango was so far beyond any other performance tonight. I think it was the piano-playing. And you thought last week was prop week! Just kidding; it was the choreography and Jennifer's ability to keep up. What I liked most about this dance was that it didn't seem lopsided in favor of the pro (ahem, Mark and Bristol) but instead they seemed like a real couple dancing in Len's favorite locale, a seedy club in Buenos Aires. (Complete with totally distracting flying football-game cameras!) It helped that their music was a traditional tune and didn't sound as if it had been whipped to a pulp in the dreaded Where Popular Music Goes to Die Blender (exclusive to DWTS -- until Idol starts back up in January!). I think Derek's white spats may have also helped -- they accentuated just how sharp and in sync their steps were. Tom's doppelganger Jamie Lee Curtis loved it, too.
Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: 22 + 26 = 48/60 This was hard for Brandy, y'all. She doesn't feel sexy unless she's in love, and she hasn't been with anybody in six years. Dear Mirrorballus in ballroom heaven! This revelation struck me as the stunner of the show. But their rumba was pretty good, too, if you could get past Brandy's white sparkly boyshorts/poncho combo long enough to realize that Maks' shirt was wide open and flowing almost as hard. (You could.)
NEXT: Warning: Argentine tango may cause wrinkles, mustaches.
Image Credit: Marco Prosch/Getty Images
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Image credit: Michael Desmond/The CW
Image Credit: AMC; Bill Records/NBCYoung mothers are all the rage on TV these days, whether their real lives are being wrenchingly chronicled on Teen Mom, their struggles are being melodramatized on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, or they’re dancing with stars (hello, Bristol Palin). But addressing unwanted pregnancy on the small screen inevitably raises a much trickier issue: abortion. And, well, it’s about time.
Image Credit: Quantrell D. Colbert/The CWCast members from The Vampire Diaries joined executive producers Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec at New York Comic Con on Sunday and, naturally, a big chunk of their hour-long Q&A session focused on the show’s romantic webs that may just get a little more tangled by the end of season 2.
Image Credit: Mike Flokis/Getty ImagesThe Hobbit has yet to receive the official green light, but the much-anticipated two-movie prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy is already on track to break a record. With a rumored price tag of $500 million, the movies would surpass the current record holders — The Pirates of the Caribbean sequels – for the most expensive movie production by about $50 million. At World’s End, which cost about $300 million, and was produced jointly with Dead Man’s Chest, for a combined total of around $450 million.
Minka Kelly: Sexiest woman alive? So says Esquire, which means Kelly inherits the crown from last year’s title-holder Kate Beckinsale. And it’s not the same as the Women We Love issue, so Christina Hendricks’ reign continues, as it should.
Image Credit: TBSNo one knows what the format of Conan O’Brien’s upcoming TBS talk show will be exactly, but after previewing some exclusive promo pics, our esteemed, scientific guess is: Gap commercial. Conan’s looking super-casual in a zip-up sweater and facial scruff. Is relaxed-fit Conan too cazh for cable? We say no! After the break, EW.com’s exclusive first look at the many faces (and legs) of Conan.
100 Percent Pure Yearn
Where’s my crotch?
There’s my crotch.
Oh, you wanna see it again?
Based on the trailers I’ve seen, I’m guessing Ron Howard’s comedy The Dilemma won’t shatter any box-office records when it hits theaters in January. And yet The Dilemma is already one of the most memorable films of 2011. And all because it offended Anderson Cooper, who last week, during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, criticized the film’s trailer for a line in which Vince Vaughn insults electric cars by calling them “gay.” Maybe it was the authority of Anderson Cooper, or maybe it was the timing of the controversy — during the same week that horrible, real-life cases of anti-gay bullying and torture were making headlines — but Universal quickly took notice. The studio pulled the trailer from circulation and said it wasn’t meant to cause anyone “discomfort.”
Image Credit: Peter IovinoThere are some actors whose off-screen press makes you think you don’t particularly care to see them on-screen, but then you do, and against your will, you enjoy them. I think it’s time I admit it: I like Katherine Heigl. The fact is, even though her self-admitted need for a filter has turned me off at times, I’ve somehow ended up seeing not only Knocked Up, but also 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth, Killers, and Life as We Know It. It’s because I’ve made testing my tolerance for romantic comedies a favorite hobby. The clichés that infuriate EW’s Lisa Schwarzbaum (who gave Heigl’s latest a D-), roll off my back. Sure, it’d be great if every romcom was When Harry Met Sally…, but most of the time, I just want to escape and see in 90 minutes the happy ending that has eluded me for 35 years. If I can imagine sitting through the movie again when it airs on TBS some Saturday morning before or after Something’s Gotta Give, then it qualified as “acceptable.” There are really only two ways a romcom can truly anger me: by having zero laughs (My Life in Ruins) and/or by not giving the leading lady’s happy ending the proper amount of screen time (SPOILER ALERT! I realize You Again was about Kristen Bell ruining her brother’s engagement, but since it wasn’t actually funny, I needed more romance, and that quick kiss Bell got during the credits didn’t cut it).
Image Credit: Jordin Althaus/NBCNBC has officially pulled the plug on Jimmy Smits’ struggling rookie procedural Outlaw. The Friday-night legal drama, which was already on a production hiatus, will be replaced by a second hour of Dateline. The final four episodes will air Saturdays at 8 pm beginning this week. Any questions?
Image Credit: Paul Archuleta/FilmMagic.com; Richard Cartwright/ASomeone over at ABC has a serious crush on Ryan Devlin.
Image Credit: Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesThe Fran Drescher Show is happening. Long rumored to be making a foray into the chat format, Drescher will get a three-week run in six major markets beginning on Nov. 26. Debmar-Mercury and Fox Television Stations will co-produce the “preview,” which, if successful on Fox-owned stations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Minneapolis, and Orlando, would give birth to a national debut next fall. What can we expect? The one-hour talker will feature “Drescher’s witty commentary on captivating topics, current events, pop culture and interviews,” according to the announcement. It will also boast plenty of jokes about her famous voice and puns, if Drescher’s statement is any indication: ”I’m thrilled to be able to bring The Fran Drescher Tawk Show to daytime TV, which fits me hand in glove. It will cover all of my passions, everything from pedicures to politics. America will have a chance to see the real Fran Drescher, beyond The Nanny. I’m the girl next door, a self-made woman who has been to hell and back a few times. [She's a rape and cancer survivor.] I look forward to sharing my life lessons, having fun, learning Frantastic things with women in daytime and working with the Fox stations and Debmar-Mercury to bring this exciting new project to all of my fans.”
Image Credit: rooney-mara.comAfter a few false starts, some real photos of Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander are circulating the Interwebs. The actress stepped out of her trailer on the set of David Fincher’s adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, sporting some rings in her face along with what appears to be a chain around her neck and looking like she’s ready to kick some butt, if not walk through a metal detector. Unfortunately, she’s wrapped tight in an anorak—Sweden’s cold!—so we can’t get a look at that titular tat. Overall, though, Mara’s looking pretty different from her Rosebud-girlfriend character in The Social Network. It’s a little toned down from the version of the character in the Swedish-language adaptation, but it isn’t too far from how I imagined her.
Image Credit: Merrick MortonWith all three new releases under-performing, and Social Network holding strong for a second weekend in row, the David Fincher-directed Academy bait landed in first place for a second weekend in a row with a $15.5 million opening. Social Network dropped only 31 percent its second weekend for a total gross of $46 million after only 10 days in release.
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.
Oprah Winfrey became personally involved in the abuse investigation after a student reported the alleged abuse in October 2007.Ex-matron at Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls was found not guilty of abuseTiny Virginia Makopo, 30, was charged after a student complainedWinfrey opened the South African girls school in 2007
Andrew Garfield, meet your nemesis!
