The magic of Arthur Penn
September 30th, 2010
07:02 PM ET

The magic of Arthur Penn

One of the great perks of this job is that you get to meet the people who make your favorite movies. Seven years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting director Arthur Penn. When word of his passing came yesterday, I thought back to the 2003 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards. After interviewing Penn about the lifetime achievement award he was set to receive that night, we shut off the camera and I confessed to him that I was a HUGE fan of his western, “Little Big Man” – to my mind, one of the great, underappreciated classics. He couldn’t have been warmer or more charming. He was genuinely touched that someone my age was a “Little Big Man” fan.

Because when you say the name Arthur Penn, most movie buffs think of his ground-breaking work in “Bonnie and Clyde.” But “Little Big Man,” released during the height of the Vietnam War, and shunned by audiences perhaps because its anti-war themes hit a little too close to the bone, never quite got the same acclaim. I asked him when it was coming out on DVD and he said he was upset that the studio was dragging its heels about releasing it.

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The Salahis go to the White House on tonight's 'Real Housewives'
September 30th, 2010
05:48 PM ET

The Salahis go to the White House on tonight's 'Real Housewives'

Tonight’s episode of “The Real Housewives of D.C.” will finally show the moment we’ve all been waiting for: The night that Tareq and Michaele Salahi showed up at the White House for President Obama's first state dinner.

If you want to go into tonight’s episode completely unspoiled, then you should stop reading now. But for those of you who want the few advance tidbits the preview clips offer, here you go: For starters, even Michaele's hair stylist knew that she was headed to the White House that November evening.

“Tonight’s a really big night,” she explained as she sat in her stylist's chair. “It’s a special dinner and it’s really important, it’s confidential - and it’s the state dinner.”

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Filed under: television
September 30th, 2010
05:22 PM ET

Iron Mike Tyson gyrates to Bobby Brown

So Wayne Brady, Mike Tyson and Bobby Brown got together recently and dreamed up a hilarious shot-for-shot remake of Bobby Brown’s "Every Little Step," complete with the trio gyrating and lip syncing to the 90s dance hit.

The video was shot as an exclusive for Funny or Die and has become viral overnight. Iron Mike even steps up and does some solo dancing and singing, and you can just tell from watching it how much fun this video shoot had to be.

Watch Bobby Brown's original video for "Every Little Step"

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Filed under: Celebrities
'Big Bang' stars were a real-life couple
September 30th, 2010
05:17 PM ET

'Big Bang' stars were a real-life couple

No wonder Penny and Leonard had so much chemistry on “The Big Bang Theory.”

Kaley Cuoco, who portrays Penny on the show, recently revealed to CBS Watch Magazine that she and co-star John Galecki once dated.

"We dated for almost two years,” she said. "It was such a huge part of my life and no one knew about it.”

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‘The Flintstones’ turns 50
September 30th, 2010
03:17 PM ET

‘The Flintstones’ turns 50

They are perhaps more recognizable among children as the funny-looking characters that adorn their daily multivitamin, but today "The "Flintstones" are 50! At first we thought, “How can a family that lived circa 1,000,000 B.C. be just 50?” But then we remembered it was a fictional cartoon.

Hanna-Barbera’s "Flintstones" TV series premiered on ABC on September 30, 1960, and was among the first of a new brand of television series – the hybrid that worked on both child and adult levels. "The Flintstones" centered on a working-class couple “from the town of Bedrock," Fred and Wilma, who lived next door to their best friends, Barney and Betty Rubble.

Fred and Barney worked together at the quarry for their boss, Mr. Slate, and when their wives weren’t dragging them to the opera, they enjoyed bowling and meetings at the Water Buffalo Club. Bedrock also saw its share of garden-variety wacky neighbors of varying eccentricities and had a revolving door of celebrity visitors. It was practically the Aspen of its day. Of course, the stars had names like Cary Granite and Stony Curtis.

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Filed under: television
Behind the Scenes on 'Showbiz Tonight': Michael Bolton should quit his whining
September 30th, 2010
02:23 PM ET

Behind the Scenes on 'Showbiz Tonight': Michael Bolton should quit his whining

"Boo-hoo!" That’s what a lot of people were saying this morning in our "Showbiz Tonight" staff meeting about Michael Bolton’s complaint that he was treated poorly on “Dancing With the Stars."

A majority of the staff agreed with Judge Bruno Tonioli – that Bolton just can’t dance and that he should just “quit his whining.” It is a dance competition after all, isn't it?

And after Katy Perry got the boot from "Sesame Street" after she was deemed too hot for Elmo and his friends, "Showbiz Tonight" has just learned that Katy is going to make a special appearance on “The Simpsons." It’s for a special holiday, all-puppet version of the show in which Perry will play a bartender.

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Christopher Nolan on board for another 'Batman'
September 30th, 2010
02:20 PM ET

Christopher Nolan on board for another 'Batman'

It’s a move that even Christopher Nolan admits everyone was assuming would come to pass eventually. The filmmaker, who had everyone’s heads spinning this summer with “Inception,” will take the reigns of the next “Batman” movie as well.

"It’s becoming inevitable, I’ll put it that way," Nolan said in an interview with Empire. "I feel myself falling into it, I guess. And getting it all figured out and I’m pretty excited about what we’re doing so… If I haven’t announced it, I think that people probably all know at this point that I’m doing it."

Nolan, who helmed both “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” has already started working on the script with Jonathan Nolan (who also wrote the screenplay for 2008's "Dark Knight"). The movie is tentatively slated for a July, 2012 release.


Filed under: Celebrities • movies
Anderson Cooper to host daytime show
September 30th, 2010
12:22 PM ET

Anderson Cooper to host daytime show

Yes, everyone, it looks like the rumors are true: Anderson Cooper is indeed moving to daytime.

The CNN host has signed a deal for an hour-long daily daytime show that is set for national syndication in Fall 2011, according to a statement. The aim of the show is to cover the stories everyone’s talking about around the “water cooler,” and will focus on everything from social issues to pop culture, human interest pieces to trends and events.

On top of hosting this new daytime show, Cooper will still man the desk on CNN's “AC:360” weeknights at 10 p.m.

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Filed under: television
PDA problems on 'Modern Family'
September 30th, 2010
12:08 PM ET

PDA problems on 'Modern Family'

A group of Facebook users clamored for it, and so it finally happened on Wednesday night's episode of "Modern Family:" Cameron and Mitchell kissed. But if you turned your head or even blinked, you might have missed it.

It took place in the background very quickly, a very understated handling of it in the tradition of this show, which always tries - for the most part - to ground itself in reality.

Why hadn't we seen them kiss before? Well, it turns out that Mitchell is not a big fan of public displays of affection, while Cameron loves them ("Gays don't high-five!"). Among several places where Mitchell thinks people shouldn't kiss is a bowling alley. "I almost got a turkey!" Cameron complained. Mitchell also isn't a fan of Cameron's game, "kiss-buggy" (kissing whenever one sees a VW bug).

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Justin Timberlake raps the house with Jimmy Fallon
September 30th, 2010
12:06 PM ET

Justin Timberlake raps the house with Jimmy Fallon

Just when you thought Justin Timberlake couldn't get any cooler.

The singer further sealed his street cred Wednesday night when he and Jimmy Fallon took to the stage of the latter's talk show to bust a few rhymes.

The pair paid homage to the history of rap from the Sugar Hill Gang through the Beastie Boys, and ended the rousing performance with bit of Jay-Z. The crowd lost it and the video is making the rounds on the Net.

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Filed under: Celebrities • Justin Timberlake • movies • Music
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