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2007 Emmy Nominations

2007-07-19T09:25:31-04:00

The 2007 Emmy nominations were announced moments ago. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live all received numerous nods.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (5 nominations)
* Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
* Outstanding Cinematography ("Pilot")
* Outstanding Direction ("Pilot")
* Outstanding Guest Actor (John Goodman)
* Outstanding Guest Actor (Eli Wallach)

30 Rock (10 nominations)
* Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
* Outstanding Comedy Series
* Outstanding Direction (The Breakup)
* Outstanding Guest Actress (Elaine Stritch)
* Outstanding Lead Actor (Alec Baldwin)
* Outstanding Lead Actress (Tina Fey)
* Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music
* Outstanding Sound Editing
* Outstanding Writing ("Jack-Tor")
* Outstanding Writing ("Tracy Does Conan")

Saturday Night Live (3 nominations)
* Outstanding Directing For A Variety, Music Or Comedy Program (Alec Baldwin)
* Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics (D*ck in a Box)
* Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video For A Series (Alec Baldwin)

Former SNL Castmember Tony Rosato Jailed

2007-05-16T06:00:00-04:00

This is a rather sad story that just came to my attention. Tony Rosato, a former SCTV performer and a SNL cast member from 1981-1982, has been sitting in a Canadian jail cell for two years awaiting trial on harassment charges.

"Brodsky explains that the Crown's expert prison psychiatrist, Dr. Duncan Scott, has told him and the Crown "that Tony Rosato is certifiable." Scott's diagnosis, says Brodsky, is a mental illness called Capgras syndrome.

Named for its discoverer, French psychiatrist Jean Marie Joseph Capgras, the syndrome is characterized by the delusion that a person or people have been replaced by doubles or impostors. The rare condition is most commonly associated with schizophrenia, but according to Dr. Graham Glancy, a forensic psychiatrist with Metro West Detention Centre and Maplehurst Correctional Complex, it can also be caused by metabolic diseases, delirium, brain injury or drugs such as cocaine.

Kingston assistant Crown attorney Priscilla Christie has declined to talk about Rosato and referred questions to the Ministry of the Attorney General.

It's a "complex" case, says ministry spokesperson Brendan Crawley. Rosato, he continues, is viewed by the Crown as "an allegedly dangerous person with mental health issues who has been charged with a crime."

Continue reading "From Jokester to Jailbird"...

Studio 60 Gets the Ax

2007-05-15T07:56:02-04:00

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip has officially been cancelled.

Go fuck yourselves, NBC.

Not once... not ONE TIME did NBC think that maybe a different timeslot would be a better fit for this show. They gave it no chance to succeed. Ratings went down after the premiere for whatever reason, and NBC let everyone run wild with the story, citing all kinds of reasons for the show's downfall. It was too political, too preachy, too smart, too highbrow, too liberal, too whatever. They let every other outlet in the country make Studio 60 into a punchline. And so what did NBC do? They blamed it for not keeping the viewers from Heroes, pulled it from the schedule, and ultimately just let it die. Their own show... they never came to its defense.

Trying one time slot only, and matching it with a show that for the most part has an entirely different demographic, is simply criminal. Every fucker in NBC's programming department should be shot. And I know that sounds harsh and I'm sure you're probably thinking I'd feel horrible and would retract this post if some crazed gunman went and blew away everyone in the programming department, but I wouldn't. I'd feel bad for their families, but then again I already feel bad for their families, being related to some of the stupidest people on the planet.

Two other shows failed in the same time slot: The Black Donnellys and that Real Wedding Crashers "reality" bullshit. Both of which, also, were not a good match for Heroes. Why is that the fault of the shows? Why is it Studio 60's fault that CSI: Miami is a runaway juggernaut?

If a network pinhead puts a show on in a timeslot and it fails there, said pinhead should be fired, and someone else should be brought in to make the multi-million dollar investment work. Pinheads who can't even get through their heads that the show might work better elsewhere aren't fit to flip burgers.

These people get paid a lot of money to do what they do. And yet here I sat, along with countless others who all loved the show, screaming "try a different time slot!" But it didn't matter. NBC made up their mind about this show long before the midseason changes took place.

This whole thing reminds me of what Fox did to Arrested Development, and something series co-star David Cross said about the network's inability to properly promote that show on the second season DVD set. You could simply interchange a few words and it would also apply to Studio 60:

"I got an idea for what you can do: why don’t you fuckin’ fire your complete marketing team, alright? Get a new one that knows how to market a show that won 12 motherfucking Emmys, Golden Globes, SAG awards, WGA awards, DGA awards, Producers’ Guild’s awards, critics’ top-ten lists… If you can’t market that kind of show and get better ratings, then maybe the problem doesn’t lie here. Maybe it lies with marketing. Good night."

Television no longer caters to the lowest of the low. Television *is* the lowest of the low.

And don't even get me started about the cancellation of Raines, which was never even given a chance to being with...

SNL 4-21-07: Scarlett Johansson / Bjork

2007-04-21T12:47:21-04:00

Chuck

SNL 4-14-07: Shia Lebeouf / Avril Lavigne

2007-04-14T10:14:00-04:00

I don't remember when the lady who played the oldest daughter on The Cosby Show had a sex change operation and grew 20 years younger.

Seriously, where did this kid come from, and how is he not only hosting Saturday Night Live, but is in every movie ever?

Miller and Carvey on the Radio

2007-04-10T11:45:00-04:00

Dana Carvey was a guest on Dennis Miller's new radio program. Hilarity ensues.

Old School Dos Rumors Flare Up Again

2007-04-10T10:43:44-04:00

Cinematical has the scoop about the constant on-again, off-again production of the sequel to the smash hit comedy Old School, starring Will Ferrell and Vince Vaughn.

"Speaking with Rotten Tomatoes, producer Ivan Reitman felt that script may have just arrived in his lap. He says, "I have in my briefcase a new draft of the screenplay, I got last night. I haven't read it yet. I'm going to read it on the plane. So yeah, we very much want to do it. We hope we can corral the entire cast because it was written by the same writers, will be directed by Todd Phillips as before."

Continue reading "Ivan Reitman Talks 'Old School Dos' with Completed Script in Bag"...

SNL 3-24-07: Peyton Manning / Carrie Underwood

2007-03-24T12:04:19-04:00

Historically, sports stars have made for bad SNL hosts. More recently, SNL has made even good hosts look bad. So we'll see...

SNL 3-17-07: Julia Louis-Dreyfus / Snow Patrol

2007-03-17T06:00:00-04:00

Former SNL cast member and current star of CBS' The New Adventures of Old Christine Julia Louis-Dreyfus will return as host of SNL for the second time in two years.

Louis-Dreyfus will host the March 17th episode. Snow Patrol is the musical guest.

In other hosting news, Carrie Underwood will be the musical guest the following week, when Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning hosts.

Will Ferrell Wants You

2007-03-16T12:30:00-04:00

Moviemakers are looking for people to play spectators in the new Will Ferrell movie Semi-Pro.

The film centers on the last days of the American Basketball Association.

The production is looking for people to be spectators for the basketball game sequences. Filming takes place near Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA. Filming takes place March 19th, 20th, 21st, 27th and 29th. Participants are asked to come from either 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information, go to www.beinamovie.com.