Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Kick off the Weekend Edition

Some technical difficulties and a wonky schedule this week mean that you are getting your pop culture roundup a few days late. Apologies to anyone who was disappointed, but I tried to make it up to you with an extra-long batch of links. With Sundance, The Television Critics Association winter meeting and awards season all happening at the same time, there was no shortage of news to report. This is actually the condensed version of links! So while most of the country is in a deep freeze, grab a blanket and stay inside all weekend pouring through the last 2+ weeks in the world of pop!

• After his script was leaked, Tarantino abandons his new film The Hateful Eight. If I find out who did this, there will be hell to pay; this is why we can’t have nice things. (That being said – I may or may not have a copy of said script).

• Bill Cosby is returning to NBC with a new sitcom.

• Batman Versus Superman has been delayed until 2016.

• The Grammys are Sunday and will end with a performance from an all-star rock supergroup. Beyoncé and Jay Z will also perform

• Jonah Hill only made $60,000 (the SAG minimum) for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street.

• Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese received an additional Oscar nom for their work as producers on The Wolf of Wall Street.

• Will Smith and U2 will be the first guests on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

• The secret Jerry Seinfeld/Larry David project may be a Broadway show.

• Blue meth is actually circulating in New Mexico.

• Sacha Baron Cohen may join the cast of Through the Looking Glass.

• Last night was Adam Scott’s final installment in his The Greatest Event in Television History specials. They ended with a bang, with Scott and Paul Rudd recreating the opening credits to Bosom Buddies:

I will miss these.

• The Shia LaBeouf crazy train just keeps on rolling.

• Louie will be back on FX May 2014. Happy day!

• Michael Cera and John Hawkes have joined FX’s Charlie Kaufman pilot.

• Aaron Paul has met with Ron Howard to discuss a role in The Dark Tower film adaptation.

• Very sad news – Michelle Hurst, who plays Miss Claudette on Orange is the New Black, was seriously injured in a car accident.

• Rest easy Angela Lansbury fanatics: The Murder, She Wrote reboot is DOA at NBC.

• I missed him at the Williamstown Theater Festival, but Bradley Cooper is reprising the title role when The Elephant Man hits Broadway.

• I actually think this will be good: Miley Cyrus is doing MTV Unplugged (who knew that was still around?)

• Well this sounds juicy – CNN and Robert Redford are doing a reality series on Chicago’s government.

• ABC hard ordered a series from director David O. Russell to series. Smart move.

• HBO has passed on the Sarah Silverman pilot, People in New Jersey. Boo!

• Rashida Jones will star in Steve Carell’s TBS comedy pilot.

• Lance Bass collaborated on a song with Snoop Dogg. I don’t get it either.

• Glee will be exclusively set in NYC; Jane Lynch will still be on the show.

• Chase Crawford (aka Tony Romo’s brother-in-law) will appear on the 100^th episode of Glee.

• Happy belated to Betty White, who turned 92 last week.

• Justified is officially ending after next season (wah!) but Mary Steenburgen will join the cast for the show’s swan song.

• I REALLY hope someone picks up the new Ryan Reynolds film at Sundance, where he plays a serial killer who receives order to kill from his cat. I would watch the hell out of that movie.

• The new Star Wars script is allegedly completed. Jesse Plemons is in talks for a role.

• Coach Taylor is headed to Netflix.

• ABC ordered a drama pilot from 12 Years a Slave scribe.

• Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey have renewed their Grey’s Anatomy contracts for another 2 years.

• Foo Fighters may be recording their new album in 12 different cities.

• The Fargo miniseries will debut on April 15^th.

• Philip Seymour Hoffman will star in a comedy series for Showtime.

• Joshua Jackson is also headed to Showtime.

• Parks and Recreation will be back for another season and NBC has given Amy Poehler a three-year producing deal.

• NBC will air a re-imagining of The Wizard of Oz and remake of an Australian miniseries.

• NBC has also ordered an Anchroman-esque comedy from Will Ferrell.

• The peacock network has also picked up a Katherine Heigl spy drama pilot. They can’t all be winners.

• An opera inspired by Milli Vanilli is coming to (where else?) Brooklyn.

• Gerard Butler is in talks for the unnecessary Point Break remake.

 

• Some info has been revealed about the next season of American Horror Story.

• Better late than never – The FBI just arrested some people in connection with the 1978 Lufthansa heist that was featured in GoodFellas.

• As you probably heard, Justin Bieber now has a mugshot.

• Goodyear worked out a compromise for the Ice Cube online campaign.

• A few months ago Regis Philbin rapped with the Wu Tang Clan; now he’s spitting rhymes with Ice Cube.

• The ending of How I Met Your Mother was filmed in 2006.

• As someone who regularly hangs out with our interns at the office, this Conan bit made me literally laugh out loud:

 

• The CEO of HBO is totally cool with you sharing your HBO Go password. That’s a relief!

• The proposed Wonder Woman origin series at the CW has been cancelled.

• On the other hand, Gal Gadot has signed a 3 picture deal with Warner Brothers to play Wonder Woman in a Justice League and standalone film.

• Bill Murray did an AMA on Reddit.

• Wes Craven discusses the Nightmare on Elm Street documentary.

• Adrian Grenier was almost Dawson on Dawson’s Creek. I didn’t think it was possible to make that character more awful, but that would have done it. #Pacey4Life

• Alexander Skarsgard and Margot Robbie will star in the upcoming adaptation of Tarzan.

• A mini-Arrested Development reunion will happen on The Millers.

• A Barbarella TV show is headed to Amazon.

• This will make some people I know happy – the first photo from Dumb and Dumber To:

• Bruce Springsteen’s new album debuts at #1.

• Patton Oswalt and Fred Armisen will appear on Modern Family.

• The Newsroom has been renewed for a third and final season.

• Rachel Bilson claims that one person held up a The O.C. reunion. FWIW, my money is on Adam Brody.

• Pixar is rumored to be making their own Star Wars movie.

• Groundhog Day may be turned into a Broadway show.

• A Marco Polo drama is coming to Netflix. I assume this is the explorer, not the pool game.

• Veronica Mars will get a webseries spinoff.

• NBC has ordered Rob Lowe’s new sitcom, The Pro.

• Bam! Pow! The original Batman TV series with Adam West is finally coming to home video. So. Much.Kitsch.

• Seth Meyers last SNL will be February 1^st. Meet the new Weekend Update co-host who will replace him.

• Idris Elba wants to be on Girls. Someone make this happen!!

• The Razzie nominees were announced; Adam Sandler is once again a contender.

• HBO has cancelled Family Tree and Hello Ladies.

• The Chicago Cubs have a new mascot and people are pissed.

• The Oscar nominated documentary 20 Feet From Stardom may be adapted to a Broadway show and a television series (side note – check out this documentary – it’s great).

Now for some news on the Super Bowl:

• The Muppets will team up with Toyota and Terry Crews for an ad.

• The Full House guys are reuniting for a yogurt commercial:

 

• There is also rumored to be a mini-Seinfeld reunion in another ad.

• Peyton Manning will be the only player in the Super Bowl to have ever won the big game.

• In case you were wondering, the Denver Brocos will wear their orange jerseys in the Super Bowl.

• FOX will stream the Super Bowl free to computers and iPads.

• An opera singer will perform The National Anthem at the Super Bowl.

• HBO will move Girls and Looking to Saturday for one week so as not to compete with the big game.

• Jennifer Lawrence is no fan of spoilers.

• J Law should also be concerned that her boyfriend will co-star with Kristen Stewart in 1984.

• Rosario Dawson will return for Clerks III (whenever that happens).

• Spike Lee will host an NBA themed show on SiriusXM.

• Boardwalk Empire will be back for a fifth and final season.

• Girls will be back for a 4^th season.

• Twitter account of the week: @ModernClueless

• Good news for the Bronies out there – the Bronytunes app allows you to stream 7,000 different songs about My Little Pony.

• Lindsay Lohan will star in and produce the new thriller Inconceivable.

• Daniel Radcliffe is set to star in a film about the building of the Brooklyn Bridge.

• Hugh Jackman is returning to Broadway.

• Don’t look for a Stan Lee cameo in Guardians of the Galaxy.

• Does Conan O’Brien have an illegitimate son?

• New Line could lose their Y:The Last Man adaptation if they don’t go into production soon.

• Kevin Hart, Ed Helms and Nick Kroll are all lending their voices to Captain Underpants.

• Joe Manganiello and his brother have made a documentary about male strippers.

• Donal Logue may join the cast of FOX’s Gotham.

• Tate Donovan is headed to the 24 reboot.

• Probably not a good sign: Nicole Kidman’s Grace of Monaco release delayed again.

• In the wake of allegations of infidelity, Dean McDermott (Mr. Tori Spelling) is headed to rehab.

• A sing-along version of Frozen is headed to theaters.

• Stereogum ranks their top 10 Grateful Dead songs. Most of my favorites didn’t make the list.

• Anne Hathaway was originally cast in Silver Linings Playbook. I can’t even imagine that.

• Country star Trace Adkins got into a fight with a Trace Adkins cruise ship impersonator. Adkins is now in rehab.

• Usher will be on Sesame Street on Thursday.

• One Direction will appear on the show:

 

• Jesse L. Martin has joined the cast of The Flash.

• For a $10 raffle ticket, you could win a date with George Clooney.

• Two Walt Disney biopics could be released this year.

• HBO is developing an electronic music comedy with Calvin Harris, Jay Z and Will Smith.

• Jelly Belly has released a beer flavored jelly bean. I will try this.

• Check out these unofficial Downton Abbey LEGOs.

• Michael Cera’s short film won the Sundance jury award.

• Ken Burns’ country music documentary will come to PBS in 2018. So far away.

• Magic: The Gathering is coming to the big screen.

• This is kind of cool – watch Quentin Tarantino and Steve Buscemi rehearse Reservoir Dogs:

 

• The adaption of Gone Girl will be scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. It will also have a different third act from the book.

• LeBron James now has his own WWE Championship belt, thanks to The Rock.

• Director Alfonso Cuaron and J.J. Abrams are teaming up for the sci-fi drama Believe.

• The cast of The Walking Dead will appear on Conan February 6^th.

• Who knew that the Kit Kat was so popular in Japan?

• Jenny McCarthy wanted to be The Bachelorette.

• Are Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland feuding?

• The Sacramento Kings are going to start livestreaming their games via Google Glasses worn by the players.

• Some of the members of Pussy Riot will perform at an Amnesty International concert in Brooklyn.

• The first poster for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I have been released (and it doesn’t look much different than the poster for the previous two films):

 

 

• Adorable Masie Williams (Arya Stark) made an appearance at George R.R. Martin’s free Game of Thrones viewing party at his movie theater.

• The 2014 Olympic uniforms designed by Ralph Lauren are hideous.

• The Jamaican bobsled team is going to the Olympics…..thanks to the Internet.

• Hank Azaria provides some clue as to what The Simpsons character will meet their maker.

• The Simpsons animator David Silverman has been tweeting old sketches of the characters.

• The Krusty Burger was voted one of the most influential burgers of all time. There is a poll for everything.

• One of the stars of Shipping Wars has died.

• The Big Lebowski as an 8-bit video game.

• The cast of Lost will reunite at Paleyfest.

• You can get your own line of Mean Girls jewelry.

• Watch a one armed teen scare The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus:

 

• Evanescence singer Amy Lee is expecting her first child.

• Look for another Thor/Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D crossover in the future.

• Days of Our Lives has been renewed through 2016, but Allison Sweeney will be leaving.

• The oral history of the movie Swingers.

• Adrianne Palicki will guest star on NBC’s About A Boy.

• Fred Armisen is releasing singles from all his fake SNL bands.

• ABC will air a Toy Story Christmas special.

• A lawsuit alleges that the pilot for New Girl was plagiarized.

• Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak star in trailer for Novak’s book.

• This family really committed to a Pride and Prejudice themed marriage proposal.

• Rebel Wilson will be in Night at the Museum 3. Ben Kingsley has also joined the cast.

• The last surviving The Wizard of Oz Munchkin actress has passed away.

• It has been a bad week for classic TV show actors as both Dave Madden and Russell Johnson died.

• Hold up – Lisa Whelchel (Blair, Facts of Life) could have been Rachel on Friends?

• Oliver Stone is no longer attached to a Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic.

• It was only a matter of time…..Downton Abbey now has a porn parody.

• Madonna has a fan in Kanye West. I’m assuming he made these statements before she used the N-Word.

Trailers:

• A teaser trailer for FX’s The Strain:

 

• I bailed after J.R. died, but here’s a trailer for the 3^rd season of the new Dallas:

 

• A new trailer for The LEGO Movie, which I really want to see:

 

• Chloe Sevingny’s new show, Those Who Kill:

 

• James Franco’s Child of God:

 

• Showtime’s new creepy thriller, Penny Dreadful:

 

• A very Syracuse-y trailer for Adult World, starring Emma Roberts and John Cusack

 

• A new prom for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon:

 

• I did far better than I expected on this SNL quiz, thanks to some catchphrases from the 90s.

• Just because, here’s a photo of Tupac and Suge Knight playing Sonic the Hedgehog:

• It is never a good sign when your star AND director bail on a film while in pre-production.

• Direct TV and The Weather Channel are in a feud.

• The Dovekeepers will be adapted as a miniseries for CBS.

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt is attached to a biopic of wire walker Philippe Petit.

• Meet the new cast of Survivor.

• The creators of The Candy Crush Saga are attempting to trademark the words candy and saga.

• The Disney Channel has ordered more episodes of Girl Meets World.

• The British show Sex Box could be coming to American TV.

• Mad Men may be responsible for the resurgence of Lucky Strikes cigarettes.

• The National are headed out on tour. So is Interpol.

• Pitbull and Jennifer Lopez are collaborating on the 2014 FIFA World Cup song.

• Jennifer Hudson will headline a Carnival Cruise Line Concert Series.

• Gillian Anderson is penning a sci-fi book series.

• I don’t know what I find more surprising: that Tiffani Amber Thiessen just turned 40 or that Mariska Hargitay just turned 50.

• UPROXX looks as some of the worst sitcoms that were a part of NBC’s “Must See TV” lineup.

• Y’all know I am not a fan, but Jay Leno has a webseries.

• This map of where celebrities live in NYC may come in handy on my next trip to the City.

• Aubrey Plaza wants her character on Parks and Recreation to have a baby.

• Johnny Depp and Amber Heard are engaged.

• Marvel is rumored to be courting Depp to play Doctor Strange.

• Amazon is mulling over an online pay TV service.

• The Transporter is going to be a TV series on TNT.

• Patrick J. Adams and Jason Isaacs have joined NBC’s Rosemary’s Baby miniseries.

• Captain and Tennille are filing for divorce.

• A nursing home made a calendar featuring residents dressed up as movie characters.

• Jon Gosselin is planning to sue ex-wife Kate for custody of their sextuplets.

• My Buffalo Bills are one of eight teams that might be appointed to appear on HBO’s Hard Knocks.

• This couple had a Twin Peaks themed wedding.

• It’s going to be a baby girl for The Jersey Shore’s JWoww. Kelly Clarkson is also expecting a daughter.

• It’s another boy for Gwen Stefani.

• Chris Hemsworth and his wife are expecting twins.

• This gamer dad celebrated his son’s first birthday with a unique photoshoot.

• Ashlee Simpson is engaged to Diana Ross’ son.

As always, we end with the mashups and the supercuts:

The film Her seems to have inspired a lot of parodies:

• Imagining the film voiced by Phillip Seymour Hoffman instead of Scarlett Johnasson.

• A trailer for Him:

 

• Her starring Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones:

 

• If you ever wondered what Game of Thrones would look like if it was set in ancient Japan (and who hasn’t?), wonder no longer.

• As a fan of independent films, this parody trailer made me giggle:

 

• Mean Girls by cats:

 

• A supercut of every Nintendo start screen….ahh memories:

 

• A hipster remake of American Psycho:

 

• Donald Glover’s last episode of Community was last night; here’s a Childish Gambino/Community mashup to help ease the pain:

 

• It was only a matter of time- someone mashed up Haim’s “The Wire” with footage from The Wire :

 

• Watch a supercut of “Let It Go” in 25 different languages:

 

• Teen Wolf of Wall Street:

 

• Fight Club minus Tyler Durden.

• A supercut of Larry David’s best insults:

 

• And finally…The Facts of Life/Breaking Bad mashup you didn’t even know you needed:

 

Have a great weekend!!!