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14 articles
Guest Post: What Women (and Men) Want: And why thats the secret to getting back together with the all-but-dead genre of romantic comedy.
1 hour ago
Dr. Mindy Lahiri has spent her whole life dreaming of a romantic-comedy ending to her love life: Sometime around 30, she'll be swept off her feet by a Ken Doll of a hunk, he will make a grand declaration of love by doing something along the lines of holding a boom box over his head, she will answer with something like "you had me at hello," and a princessy wedding will be inevitable. She will do this while wearing spectacular shoes, and after participating in several rousing montage sequences. At the end of the first season of Fox's The Mindy Project, Mindy Kaling's character finds herself, finally, in her own romantic comedy: Dreamy boyfriend Casey asks her to go to Haiti with him, then drops to his knee at the send-off party. And yet she suddenly wants to ditch the romance and go for the comedy, trying to physically block »
- Jennifer Keishin Armstrong
Watch All 14 Bet Awards Performances If You Missed Them (Or Want To See Them Again)
1 hour ago
The 2013 Bet Awards celebration aired last night on the network, with Chris Tucker hosting, and, based on how active my Twitter feed was, I'd say that ratings for the show will be high (once I see the press release revealing the numbers). A lot of you tuned in, and, many of you who did seemed relatively impressed by this year's show. A few said it was the best Bet Awards show ever! I caught glimpses of it, but didn't watch the whole thing, and so can't really comment on how great it was. I assume Bet will re-broadcast the show at some point soon. But if you missed it (or you just want to relive some of its best moments - the performances - all over again), Bet has made all 14 performances during last night's show available online, and I've embedded them all below, so click away and enjoy...
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- Tambay A. Obenson
PBS To Debut New Doc 'The March' + Week Of Programs Honoring March On Washington's 50th
1 hour ago
PBS, Sundance Productions, Smoking Dogs Films, and Cactus Three today announced The March, a new documentary honoring the 50th anniversary of the original March on Washington, a watershed moment in the Civil Rights Movement. The March premieres on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 9 pm Et. It's part of a full week of special programming and events by PBS, in honor of this 50th anniversary. The rest of the story via press release from PBS follows below: Unprecedented in size, the August 28, 1963 massive demonstration for racial and economic equality issued a clarion call for racial justice that would help usher in sweeping civil rights legislation and a sea change in public opinion. The event, which will forever be remembered for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s stirring "I Have a Dream" speech, endures today as a symbol of unity and monumental impact. Produced by Lina Gopaul and David Lawson,The March is directed by John Akomfrah, »
- Tambay A. Obenson
Venus Williams' Multiple Wimbledon Championship Dreams In New Clip From 'Venus Vs'
2 hours ago
Espn Films and espnW will premiere the documentary Venus Vs., directed by Ava DuVernay, as the first film in the upcoming Nine for IX series, tomorrow, July 2, at 8pm Et. Venus Vs. highlights Venus Williams' work that changed the course of women's tennis. In a stunning case that drew increasing attention and debate, Williams challenged the long-held practice of paying women tennis players less money than their male counterparts at Wimbledon. With a deep sense of obligation to the legacy of Billie Jean King, Williams lobbied British Parliament, Unesco and Fleet Street for financial parity. The boys clubs at Roland Garros and Wimbledon finally relented in 2007 and during that same year Venus became the first women's champion at Wimbledon to earn as much as the men's champion, Roger Federer. Read Nijla's "thumbs up" Laff review of the doc Here. The Nine for IX series on Espn will air Tuesday »
- Tambay A. Obenson
Maggie Gyllenhaal to Star in Sundance Channel/BBC Miniseries The Honourable Woman
2 hours ago
Maggie Gyllenhaal will be starring in a new miniseries The Honourable Woman, co-produced by the BBC and Sundance Channel. The eight part miniseries will follow Gyllenhaal as Nessa Stein, who along with her brother witnessed the assassination of her father, a Zionist arms procurer, as a child. Now, she has turned her father's company into one that lays data cabling networks between Israel and the West Bank. She also does work promoting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians which gets her on the House of Lords-- a decision that causes political tension. Filming is set to begin next month on the BBC and Sundance Channel co-production which will air in 2014 on both networks. Maggie Gyllenhaal to star in BBC2 thriller set against Middle East conflict (The Guardian) Sundance Channel Co-Producing Maggie Gyllenhaal Miniseries 'The Honourable Woman' (Indiewire)
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- Kerensa Cadenas
Watch: Dominic Cooper Is A Playboy, Gambler & Spy In Teaser Trailer For Biopic Of 007 Creator Ian 'Fleming'
2 hours ago
While James Bond fans around the world patiently wait for the followup to "Skyfall," and for Sam Mendes to make up his mind already, a brief reprieve will arrive with "Fleming," a new Brit TV mini-series biopic on the famed creator of the international lothario and spy. And a new teaser trailer is here to give you a little sampling. Dominic Cooper takes the title role as the playboy, gambler and spy, and it seems to present the author as a Bond-esque figure himself, before he started writing the novels, with the focus on his WWII posting in the British Naval Intelligence which inspired his literary creation. Mat Whitecross (“Sex And Drugs And Rock And Roll”) helms the four-part series, with Annabelle Wallis ("The Tudors") as Muriel Wright, the woman Fleming had an affair with and may have inspired the Bond Girl archetype. Lara Pulver, Samuel West, Lelsley Manville, Rupert Evans »
- Kevin Jagernauth
Sneak Peek: Own & Wanda Sykes Team Up For 'Herlarious' Comedy Specials
3 hours ago
Oprah Winfrey's Own Network will air a pair of new Wanda Sykes comedy specials titled Herlarious, on Saturday, July 13 and Saturday, July 20 at 10pm. Taped before a live studio audience at Harpo Studios in Chicago, the specials will be hosted and produced by Sykes and Page Hurwitz's Push It Productions, in conjunction with Harpo Studios, and will feature appearances by female stand-ups, including Kym Whitley, Andi Smith, Gloria Bigelow, Marina Franklin, Tracey Ashley, Carmen Lynch and Dominique Witten. In addition to performing new stand up material, Sykes will also feature in a series of comedy shorts that will air during the specials. This is in addition to the first-look deal with NBC/Universal TV that Sykes and company production partner Page Hurwitz, signed to develop and produce unscripted projects for the network. A sneak peek of at the special has surfaced and is embedded below:
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- Tambay A. Obenson
'Gideon's Army' Broadcast Premieres Tonight (July 1) On HBO - Watch 3 New Clips
3 hours ago
A fascinating documentary that I saw earlier this year, while it was premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, on a subject that I wouldn't have ever even considered as a documentary topic; needless to say, I really appreciated, was informed and even entertained by it. Titled Gideon’s Army, from African American filmmaker Dawn Porter, the film tells the story of a group of the idealistic public defenders working in the Deep South, and the man who brought them together to train, mentor and turn into lawyers. This is Gideon’s Army: In 1963, the landmark Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright guaranteed all defendants facing imprisonment the right to a lawyer. Now, every year millions of Americans facing trial rely on fewer than 15,000 public defenders, and the country’s justice system hangs in the balance. Gideon’s Army confronts this crisis head-on, tracking a group of young southern public defenders »
- Tambay A. Obenson
5 Best Bets on TV This Week: 'Gideon's Army,' 'NBC's Faux Reality Show and a Taste of Bet's First Original Drama
3 hours ago
Sure, Sunday tends to be overcrowded with high-end TV, including "True Blood," "Family Tree," "Copper," "Dexter," "Ray Donovan" and more, but what to watch the rest of the time? Every Monday, we bring you five noteworthy highlights from the other six days of the week. "Gideon's Army": Broadcast Premiere Monday, July 1 at 9pm on HBO Another doc making a quick jump from Sundance to HBO, "Gideon's Army" is the directorial debut of attorney Dawn Porter, and follows a group of three idealistic public defenders working in the deep South, dealing with low pay, long hours and difficult challenges in the name of public service. Through their experiences, the film examines the realities of indigent defense and a system built to encourage a guilty plea. "Pov": "Special Flight" Monday, July 1 at 10pm on PBS Fernand Melgar's 2011 Locarno prize-winning doc is focused on the harsh deportation system of Switzerland's Frambois detention center, »
- Alison Willmore
Seth Meyers, Mike Myers and Ben Stiller Talk 'Late Night,' Live TV and Being a Comedy Introvert at the Nantucket Film Festival
4 hours ago
For years, the Nantucket Film Festival has hosted a roundtable featuring notable performers from the realm of comedy writing and performing, all of whom have been selected by festival regular Ben Stiller. The list of previous guests is a diverse one that has ranged from Harold Ramis to Chris Rock. For the latest edition, which took place on Sunday, Stiller invited "Austin Powers" star Mike Myers to join longtime "Saturday Night Live" head writer Seth Meyers (who'll take over the hosting duties of "Late Night" from Jimmy Fallon early next year) for a 90-minute conversation moderated by "The State" alum Michael Ian Black. As expected, it was a genuinely fun, lively affair filled with candid admissions and showbiz anecdotes. The event was recorded by the Epix network for broadcast this fall. Until then, here are some of the highlights, including Meyers' talk show plans, how Stiller's shyness informs his performances, »
- Eric Kohn
Listen: "Getaway" From 'Arrested Development,' Soundtrack For All 4 Seasons In The Works
4 hours ago
The fourth season of “Arrested Development” brought a number of alterations to the much-anticipated series: the fractured narrative, its single-character episodes, the ramped-up narration by Ron Howard. Even the show's music felt different -- its upbeat swing score higher in the mix and more noticeable in its presence. However, the mid-season pop gem, “Getaway” was a hilarious season highlight, and now the song, alongside the Bluth family's past musical output, is gearing up for release. It's taken the occasion of the fourth season to do so, but recently composer David Schwartz announced (via TV Guide) that he's putting together a packed soundtrack for “Arrested Development” -- including selected songs and score from all seasons and promising a heavy dose of madcap ballads and ukulele themes. Cuts heading to the soundtrack include a medley from Tobias' rehab-set Fantastic Four musical, an extended version of Season 3's power anthem, “Balls In The Air, »
- Charlie Schmidlin
Watch: Larry David Gets Epically Petty in the Trailer for His HBO Original Movie 'Clear History'
5 hours ago
"Apologies don't have to be sincere!" Larry David may not be recognizable in terms of looks in the beginning of the trailer for "Clear History," the HBO original movie he co-wrote and Greg Mottola directed, but there's no mistaking that dialogue. David plays Nathan Flomm, who quits his job at an electric car start-up after a petty disagreement with his boss Will (Jon Hamm), selling his share of the company only to see the business go on to make billions. A decade later, Will comes to vacation on the Massachusetts island on which Nathan has started a new life, giving the latter a chance at revenge. Bill Hader, Kate Hudson, Michael Keaton, Danny McBride, Eva Mendes, Amy Ryan and J.B. Smoove are also part of the terrific cast -- the film premieres on HBO on August 10th.
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- Alison Willmore
'Ray Donovan': The Next Big Thing?
14 hours ago
The terrific new series "Ray Donovan" is premiering on Showtime Sunday night -- and you should be watching it rather than reading this. If the show fulfills the promise of its pilot episode it could turn out to be one of the great ones, an ideal anecdote for those of us who expect to be suffering from "Breaking Bad" withdrawal in a few months. Its credential could scarcely be more promising: Writer-creator Ann Biderman ("Southland") and founding director Alan Coulter ("House of Cards") are top drawer television drama veterans. Still, a couple of the early reviews have been truly clueless, knocking the show for getting the details wrong in its portrait of the title character, a ruthless and amoral Hollywood fixer, played by Liev Schreiber with the most charismatic barely-audible growl this side of the all time grandmaster of the form, Clint Eastwood. To our great relief, "Ray Donovan" turns »
- David Chute
Watch the Season Premiere of 'Dexter' Online for Free
16 hours ago
Tonight marks the beginning of the end for "Dexter," Showtime's still popular serial killer drama starring Michael C. Hall as the charming psychopath of the title. The eighth and final season kicks off with an episode the network has released online, below, one that catches up with Dexter and his adoptive sister Deb (Jennifer Carpenter) six months after the dramatic events that ended season seven. What will Dexter's ultimate fate be? There's no way to tell, yet, but Charlotte Rampling, who joins the cast this season as an expert in psychopathology, seems slated to play a major part.
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- Alison Willmore
14 articles
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