Posts with tag California
Posted May 16th 2008 1:05PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Celebrities, Talk Show
On today's episode of
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen will announce that
she and long-time girlfriend Portia de Rossi are getting married.
Her announcement is in response to
this week's ruling from the California Supreme Court that everybody has a "right to marry" whomever they choose. The justices ruled that the state's ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. It makes California the second state, after Massachusetts, that will allow same-sex marriage. The legal battle began in San Francisco when the mayor allowed same-sex couples to marry (Rosie O'Donnell and her partner, Kelly, married at that time).
Continue reading Ellen Degeneres to marry Portia de Rossi
Posted May 7th 2008 8:39AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Industry, Ugly Betty, Reality-Free
I have to hand it to the producers of ABC's
Ugly Betty; they've re-created the look of New York City and Queens so effectively in the first two seasons that I thought they did film the show in the Big Apple. Well, no. They filmed the pilot in Manhattan and inserted a real location or two here and there, but the bulk of the series has been filmed in Los Angeles. (Although the
Wicked episode was clearly not a Broadway theater -- it was just too spacious!)
Now comes words that
the Ugly Betty production may actually pull up stakes and make New York its real home, complete with costumes, props, studio and stars. The ABC Studios are contemplating the relocation for financial reasons, including very lucrative tax credits. While that's good for the producers, it sucks for the crew. They won't be transported to the city; they'll be let go -- about 150 in all. But if you're a glass half-full kind of person, that's 150 new jobs for New York workers. As for the stars, this change isn't a big deal as most are from New York and aren't objecting to moving -- at least that's the word from ABC.
Continue reading Betty to bite the Big Apple?
Posted Feb 21st 2008 10:22AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Daytime, Celebrities, Game Show
By a vote of 8-1, the highest
court in the land has ruled against Alex Ferrer,
Judge Alex. Now, we're not talking the Emmy judges, ruling against the TV show. This is the real legal business, not the
Let's Make A Deal-justice of the sort
Judge Alex is all about. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled against him. Ferrer, star of the syndicated court show Judge Alex, a former police officer and Florida judge, had brought a case before the high court involving a dispute over commissions he supposedly owed to a former associate, Arnold Preston.
Continue reading Judge Alex loses in court
Posted Jul 16th 2007 8:01PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Survivor, Watercooler Talk
You know how the contestants on
Survivor really aren't very interesting anymore? You gotta give this guy points for originality. A California man recently skinned a snake alive and ATE IT at open auditions for
Survivor in Bakersfield, CA. He freakin' ATE IT. The guy gave a fake name to the newspaper and told them he's unemployed and he's ready to play a real game of
Survivor. [Side note: Do they do background checks for homicidal tendencies?]
The city newspaper, The Bakersfield Californian, actually has a
2 minute video of the entire event complete with commentary from other horrified
Survivor hopefuls. I honestly got about 30 seconds into the video and nearly lost my lunch, so consider this your warning.
[Via
TV Tattle]
Posted Apr 17th 2007 1:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Web
The FOX Reality channel has created a new series specifically for the Web called Nightclub Confessions. Each episode will run about ten minutes and feature club goers in Southern California revealing deep, dark secrets. The episodes will begin airing on the FOX Reality channel's site on May 30.
If you liked HBO's Taxicab Confessions, it sounds like you'll probably also enjoy this series, which pretty much uses the same format of getting drunk people to speak candidly about themselves. Of course, these people are made aware that their confessions may be shown on both the Web and television (an hour-long version of the series culled from the Web clips will air on the FOX Reality channel on June 30). The Web version of the series will be somewhat racier than what makes it to television.
FOX Reality will be installing the confession booths in select bars and nightclubs this weekend.
Posted Jan 18th 2007 4:31PM by Julia Ward
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, ABC, Celebrities, Ugly Betty
The temptation to make the headline "America salutes America" was great, but I resisted. Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis took the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday to salute America Ferrera for her Golden Globe win and for "breaking down barriers for Latinos in prime-time television...I commend America and everyone involved in Ugly Betty for helping break down stereotypes and provide a role model for young Latinas." (Heck, she deserves praise for being one of the only non-Brits to snag an award. It was a regular Anglophile-o-rama at the Globes on Monday.)
Solis' own work in "breaking down barriers" isn't too shabby either. She was the first Latina elected to the California State Senate, and she is serving her third Congressional term. She was also the first Latina to receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Maybe giving Betty this nod will win her a guest spot on the show where she can come and convince Betty to give up the frivolous world of fashion for a turn at politics.
Posted Dec 12th 2006 1:33PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: TV on DVD
I loved this show when I was a kid. I watched it every single week, and then later in the 80s it was on one of the stations every single day and I watched it then too. It was a well-done show, starring Karl Malden and Michael Douglas. Oh, and theme song was awesome.
I honestly thought, for some reason, that the show was already available on DVD, but that wasn't the case. It is now! The first season of the show (actually, it's one of those "Season 1, Volume 1" deals) will be released by Paramount on April 3. It will be 10 episodes plus the pilot movie. No word or extras or commentaries yet.
It's amazing to see all of the famous faces that graced this show in the 70s, including Martin Sheen, Deidre Hall, Robert Wagner, John Ritter, Stefanie Powers, Harold Gould, Brenda Vaccaro, Stuart Whitman, Jamie Farr, Shelley Morrison (Rosario on Will & Grace), Leslie Nielsen, Dick Sargent, Dean Stockwell, Bill Bixby, Nick Nolte, Jessica Walter, and some guy named Arnold Schwarzenegger. There was a reunion movie in 1992, but Douglas didn't want to be in it (his character "disappeared" and Malden looked for him).
Posted Dec 2nd 2006 3:23PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Cable, Celebrities
Jesse James, the host of
Monster Garage, may be a bad ass but he also is a kind-hearted fellow. When a homeless shelter opened up across the street from his Long Beach, California motorcycle shop, West Coast Shoppers, he decided to make a connection. In a
short article in People magazine, James says he decided to help people get off the street by giving them employment. The first person he hired is now making $8.50/hour and has an apartment with his wife. James says, "Not everyone has been as lucky as I have, and it's time for me to use the success I have been blessed with to help others in Long Beach." Ahhh.. what a nice guy!
In other Jesse James/gossip news, he and wife Sandra Bullock
are not expecting a baby.
Posted Nov 27th 2006 9:03AM by Jonathan Toomey
Filed under: OpEd, The Five, Music and Variety
I love watching a show's opening credit sequence. They're like mini-films. However, I'm sure others have noticed this, but it seems like more and more shows are foregoing a full-blown credit sequence and instead opting for a brief title placard while the credits roll during the opening scenes of a given show. Take Grey's Anatomy. They used to have a pretty nifty show open complete with sex in a hospital bed. Now it's gone. Boo to that. I like seeing the credits and it's lousy that some shows have tossed it in favor of what probably ends up being a few extra seconds of time for ad buyers to purchase. Oh well. Some shows still have a lengthy open and with that comes some good music. Here are some of my favorites (old and current) in no particular order.
1.) C'mon C'mon by The Von Bondies [Rescue Me] - Awesome tune. It's loud. It's angry. And it goes perfect with the imagery of a fire engine roaring down a Manhattan avenue. I'm not sure if it's still on the F/X website, but there used to be a blurb about how Denis Leary picked music for Rescue Me and apparently he stumbled onto this song one day while his son was listening to it. Good find.
Continue reading The Five: Favorite TV themes
Posted Oct 12th 2006 6:31PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: NBC, Industry, Celebrities, Talk Show
Remember when
politics hit an all-time low Arnold Schwarzenegger went on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno to announce his candidacy for California governor? That was all fine and dandy, but he made a return visit to the show last night, ahead of the November 7th election, and it has his opponent pretty pissed off. California State Treasurer Phil Angelides says he has also requested time on
The Tonight Show but has not heard back from producers. So now, a California congressman filed a complaint with the FCC claiming that NBC is not fulfilling the equal time statute of the Federal Communications Act that requires television and radio media to give candidates equal time. NBC says Schwarzenegger's appearance doesn't fall under the political statute since his appearance does not qualify as a news interview.
After Schwarzenegger made his candidacy announcement in 2003, Leno had all 135 gubernatorial candidates on the show and they each had 10 seconds to say what they stand for. They had to yell it at the same time.
Posted Oct 5th 2006 5:57PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, ABC, FOX, HBO, Cable, TV on DVD, Lost, The Simpsons, Animation, Music and Variety, Doctor Who, Children, Seinfeld
The fifth and sixth season sets of Seinfeld took top honors at the recent TV DVD Awards in Century City, California. Seinfeld won "Best of Show" and "Best 1990s Series." Below is a list of winners in other categories. I didn't purchase any of these DVDs, with the exception of The Simpsons. Were there any DVDs that came out between September 1, 2005 and August 31, 2006 you guys think should be on this list? I was somewhat surprised to see Dinosaurs win for Best Children's Program, not because it was a bad show, but because I considered it more of a family show than a children's show. Anyway, the list:
- Best 2000s Series: Lost: The Complete First Season
- Best 1980s Series: Remington Steele: Seasons 4 and 5
- Best 1970s Series: The Bob Newhart Show: The Complete Second Season
- Best 1960s Series: The Munsters: The Complete Second Season
- Best 1950s Series: The Adventures of Superman: The Complete First Season
- Best Animated Series: The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season
- Best Children's Series: Dinosaurs: The Complete First and Second Seasons
- Best Reality Series: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
- Best Variety Series: Project Runway: The Complete Second Season
- Best One-Season Wonder: The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., The Complete Series
- Best Miniseries: From the Earth to the Moon
- Best British TV Series: Doctor Who: The Complete First Series
- Best TV Documentary: Ken Burns: American Lives
- Best Bonus Material: Lost: The Complete First Season
Posted May 19th 2006 12:34PM by Anna Johns
Filed under: American Idol, Music and Variety, Celebrities
American Idol reject William Hung is still making the rounds. This week, he was crowned 'Artichoke King' in Castroville, California-- the artichoke capital of the world. This weekend he will ride in the town's parade and
perform butcher the Beach Boys'
Surfin' USA and Billy Ray Cyrus'
Achy Breaky Heart (and you thought that song was awful when mullet-guy sang it!).
That artichoke event has really gone downhill. The first 'Artichoke Queen' was Marilyn Monroe.
Posted May 6th 2006 10:01AM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Cable, News, Talent
I vaguely recall that a porn star ran for governor of California, but I never paid much attention because I figured there wasn't much chance of anyone with the word "porn" attached to their name ever being elected for public office. However, Mary Carey, the adult film vixen in question, is still sticking around, and may take another stab at this whole governor thing. Or she'll star in the new reality series called My Bare Lady, where porn stars get a chance to do legitimate theater on the London stage, she hasn't really made up her mind yet. It seems her attorney is one of the producers for the new reality series, and she was on Countdown recently to discuss her aspirations with Keith Olbermann. Now, usually I'm not that interested in adult film stars outside of their primary roles, but this was one of the most surreal exchanges I've ever seen on any news analysis show. It was like getting a glimpse at the not-to-distant future when porn stars have taken over public office and use their sexual prowess to flirt their way out of scandals while plotting to take over the world. Is it merely some vapid blonde batting pleasantries back and forth with a "serious" news anchor, or evidence of what our government may soon become? I'll let you figure that out.
Posted Apr 21st 2006 9:09AM by Anna Johns
Filed under: Other Comedy Shows, NBC, Industry
Where's the one place on earth that you can totally talk
trashy while at work? Yes, probably the set of a porn movie. And at a strip club. But, another place is in the writer's
room of a sitcom. This week, the California Supreme Court rejected a sexual harassment claim by a former assistant
against the writing staff of
Friends. In a unanimous ruling, the court decided the assistant was not harassed,
supporting the rights of the writers to have raunchy, profanity-laced conversations all in the name of the creative
process.
Posted Mar 8th 2006 6:01PM by Adam Finley
Filed under: Celebrities
Wayans brothers Keenen Ivory, Damon, Shawn and Marlon are negotiating with city
officials in Oakland, California to build a movie studio and theme park where an Army base once stood. The council
gave the brothers exclusive rights to the site. They've already put down a $150,000 security deposit. Since the deal is
still being hammered out, there's not much info on what the heck they plan to do with the land, though they're
apparently considering building a luxury hotel and some high-end stores in addition to the movie studio and theme park.
Hmm, sounds rather swanky.
Next Page >
Celebrate the 4th by watching television!
Stargate Atlantis season five - An early look
Saving Grace season two: An early look
