Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Oscar Hangover Edition

The Academy Awards may be over, but they are not forgotten. They have managed to cast their shadow over a lot of my interactions this week as everyone wants to talk about what won, the speeches and that selfie heard round the world. For once, everyone is pretty much on the same pop culture page as me which is a nice change of pace.

However, don’t think that I failed to notice that lots of non-Oscar related pop culture has transpired in the last two weeks as well. I’m not asleep at the wheel. So while you mourn the end of yet another Oscar season, console yourself with this roundup of all things pop.

• First, let’s get some residual Oscar stuff out of the way:

• Watch kids reenact 2014 Oscar nominees.

• Meryl Streep gets mentioned more than God as the Oscars.

• Ellen had the pizza delivery guy on her talk show.

• This infographic compiles the dresses worn by every Best Actress winner.

• The guy who won the Oscar for adapting the screenplay for 12 Years a Slave also wrote two episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

• Oscar nominee Barkhad Abdi earned $65,000 for his performance in Captain Phillips.

• So apparently there is a beef between the director and screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave.

• This is interesting – how The New York Times covered the Solomon Northrup story when it happened.

• Check out the work of this talented barista, who is drawing this year’s Best Picture nominees in coffee.

• I just assumed I misheard this when I was watching E!’s red carpet coverage, but I guess I didn’t: one of their correspondents  did in fact ask Mindy Kaling “what color” man she liked. SMH……I hate E!.

• The Oscars did quite well in the ratings.

• In honor of John Travolta’s mangling of Idina Menzel’s name, Slate created the “Adele Dazeem” name generator.

• The playbills for If/Then, the Broadway show starring Menzel, were changed to reflect the new pronunciation of her name.

• See Oscar nominated actors juxtaposed with photos of their younger selves.

• He may be an Oscar winner now, but Matthew McConaughey was also on an episode of Unsolved Mysteries. I wonder which he is prouder of.

And now onto other pop culture:

• Scar Jo is going to be a mommy.

• Warner Brothers has landed the rights to a MINECRAFT movie.

• Yahoo – Broad City has been renewed for season 2.

• More good news – Drunk History has also been renewed. Y’all know that I’m a fan.

• A sneak peek at Avengers 2 is coming to ABC on March 18^th.

• The new cast of Dancing with the Stars was announced.

• Brooke Burke-Charvet it out and Erin Andrews is in as DWTS co-host.

• Rihanna and Eminem are going on a three city tour together.

• After being dared by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Jimmy Fallon took the Polar Plunge this weekend.

• You’ve still got a few days to see the new release of Anchorman 2 – now with 763 new jokes!

• The Blu-Ray for Anchorman-2 will feature three cuts of the film.

• Don’t hold your breath for Anchorman 3.

• Someone in Houston is writing Tim Riggins-inspired poetry. Who can blame them?

• The new James Bond movie will start filming in October.

• I need this for my desk: Breaking Bad drug kingpin Tuco’s grill paperweight.

• Seth Rogen testified before Congress about Alzheimer’s research and publicly shamed all the Senators that were no-shows or left. Good for him!

• Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg are adapting the book Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation for the big screen.

• Wes Andersen did an animated version of Grand Budapest Hotel.

• Rob Ford was on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

 

• Aaron Paul is now atop the celebrity leaderboard on Top Gear.

• There will be a Yeezus concert film, which means that I didn’t really need to go to both NYC and Albany to see this show. I could have just spent $10 at the theater. Still, I regret nothing,

• The Daily Show has hired a new correspondent. My audition tape must have gotten lost in the mail.

• Big Boi from Outkast is working on a mixtape inspired by Game of Thrones.

• Sigh….we’re getting a Matrix prequel trilogy.

• Jennifer Aniston is attached to Mean Moms.

• In advance of the FOX reboot, National Geographic is airing a marathon of the original Cosmos.

• The last surviving  member of the Trapp Family Singers, who inspired The Sound of Music, has passed away.

• People are starting to think that How I Met Your Mother may end on a dark note.

• Bryan Cranston will play a serial killer in Holland, Michigan.

• Jason Statham and Melissa McCarthy will co-star in Susan Cooper. I don’t need any more info – I’m sold.

• The Veronica Mars movie opens soon, but you can watch the opening scene now online if you can’t wait that long.

• Rainn Wilson is starring in a Psycho-esque horror movie.

• This theory about the real identity of Andy’s mom in the Toy Story movies has been making the rounds. I find it plausible.

• Bret Easton Ellis and Rob Zombie are collaborating on a Charles Manson TV series. I’d watch that.

• I totally missed this possible Breaking Bad reference on Community.

• We’re The Millers is getting a sequel.

• I love this – a guy has created a poster for every episode of Breaking Bad.

• Zach Braff’s Kickstarter funded Wish I Was Here will be released this summer.

• Everyone’s favorite drummer Questlove will play a corpse on Law & Order: SVU.

• Vulture has created Scandal paper dolls.

• Andrew Zimmerman’s Bizarre Foods America has announced a sixth season.

• Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are engaged. She could do better.

• The guy who played Rufio in Hook participated in a remake of the scene from the movie.

• Lean On Me is 25 years old.

• You guys……Rico Suave is coming back!

• Hilary Clinton considered appearing on Home Improvements.

• Well this sounds awesome – Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lizzy Caplan were among the celebrities that did a live reading of Pulp Fiction.

• Katy Perry helped deliver her friend’s baby at home.

• Ed Norton will star in and direct Motherless Brooklyn.

• UPROXX ranks all the EGOT winners.

• We may be getting a new Kendrick Lamar album sooner rather than later. Hooray!

• Vincent D’Onofrio will play the villain in Jurassic World.

• Syfy has cancelled Being Human.

• Here’s the full list of Razzie award winners.

• Here’s the official cast of the Fantastic Four reboot.

• Matthew Morrison is headed to Broadway in Finding Neverland.

• I love this – Pharrell William’s auctioned off his Grammys hat for charity  and Arby’s was the highest bidder.

• Just in case you have forgotten, Woody Harrelson’s dad was a hitman who may or may not had something to do with the JFK assassination.

• A chart of the best-selling musicians in every state. There is a lot of questionable music on here (and that’s coming from me).

• Terrence Howard has joined Lee Daniel’s hip-hop pilot. Timberland is doing the music.

• Viola Davis will star in Shonda Rhimes ABC pilot, How to Get Away With Murder.

• An Inception-inspired board game is currently looking for funding on Kickstarter.

• Zoe Saldana is in early talks for an Eartha Kitt biopic. I like that casting, if it happens.

• The Ghostbusters III script will be revised after Harold Ramis’ death.

• Lil’ Jon did a Reddit AMA.

• Don’t expect to see Dean Norris on Better Call Saul.

• Justin Long has been cast in a FOX comedy pilot.

• You can now do a walk through the Seinfeld apartment via this 3-D model.

• Key and Peele will guest star on FX’s Fargo.

• Quentin Tarantino takes part as a Celebrity Monarch in Mardi Gras parade. That sounds like a sweet gig.

• The great documentary Brooklyn Castle is going to be turned into a narrative feature.

• Lena Dunham is writing a 4 part Archie Comics story. I’m always curious who the readership is for Archie Comics.

• We could have a Beck version of the Mad Men theme song?

• FOX bought the rights to Diplomats, a buddy comedy based on Dennis Rodman’s trip to North Korea.

• Kevin Hart faced Manchester City goalie Joe Hart:

 

• The people of Spain are getting a Star Trek theme park.

• James Franco wrote a New York Times op-ed in defense of Shia LaBeouf’s recent shenanigans (because of course he did).

• In other Franco news, James will be hosting Francofest, an all Franco film festival.

• NBC and Debra Messing are teaming up for a cop show. More recycling.

• UPROXX looks at the 10 hardest drinking characters on TV.

• Coldplay will release a new album in May.

• Taco Bell will start serving breakfast on March 27^th.

• Check out this new webseries, Black Mad Men:

 

• Director Danny Boyle’s (Slumdog Millionaire) next project is a Billie Jean King biopic.

• The New Yorker looks at the cult of Sports Night.

• Bonnaroo 2014 has a great lineup.

• Taylor Swift has gotten a restraining order against a guy who thinks he is her husband.

• Brie Larson has joined the Judd Apatow/Amy Schumer Trainwreck.

• The Vampire Diaries is getting its first gay character.

• The CW has revealed the first look at The Flash’s costume.

• Jenna Fischer is pregnant with her second child.

• Irony alert: a Man wearing a Los Pollos Hermanos t-shirt was arrested for running a meth lab.

• Jay Leno turned up on The Arsenio Hall Show to announce its season 2 renewal. Whenever Leno turns up on your talk show, you should be worried.

• Michelle Obama will appear on the season finale of Parks and Recreation.

• J.K. Rowling is planning a 7 book detective series.

• Adam Driver (Girls) has been cast in the new Star Wars movie.

• Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa and Joe Giudice have plead guilty to fraud charges and face prison time.

• Santa’s Viking heritage will be examined in a new film.

• Sony plans to do a new Spider-Man movie every year.

• Some vandals spray-painted “Do The Right Thing” on Spike Lee’s old house in Brooklyn.

• I have no idea if this Chicago Craigslist as looking for a roommate that looks like John Stamos is a joke or not, but regardless, it’s pretty funny.

• The new South Park video game is out, but many countries are getting a censored version. If you are curious what they are missing, you can see the censored material here. NSFW, obviously.

• Parks and Rec released a deleted scene featuring Ben and his Iron Throne. That sounded dirty, but it totally isn’t.

• FOX is developing an animated comedy about a stay-at-home sorcerer dad. You know – that old trope.

• Jai Courtney will play Kyle Reese in the Terminator reboot.

• Vulture examines Liam Neeson’s evolution into a modern day tough guy.

• Jay Z and Kanye are in business together again.

• Gwen Stefani gave birth to her third son with Gavin Rossdale.

• Philadelphia Magazine isn’t a fan of Jimmy Fallon.

• Robin Thicke and his wife actress Paula Patton have separated.

• Chris Brown has been ordered back to rehab.

• Rashida Jones’ real parents will play her mom and dad in her TBS pilot.

• My friends in Texas might have to hook me up – a J.R. Ewing bourbon will roll out in March.

• This baby cries every time Brian Williams is on screen.

• SXSW has announced their comedy lineup.

• Vulture has an SNL quiz. I didn’t do very well.

• I did even worse on their Wes Anderson superfan quiz.

• Apparently there were a bunch of The West Wing references in House of Cards.

• Haddie Braverman will return to Parenthood. I was worried that Adam and Christina forgot they had a 3rd kid.

• Rich Sommer (Mad Men) joins the CBS comedy pilot, Good Session.

• The director of the new X-Men movie has joined Vince Gilligan’s Battle Creek pilot. Dean Winters is also attached. I’m officially very psyched for this show, even if it is on CBS.

• Watch this comedian do 33 The Simpsons impressions in under 5 minutes:

 

• A Modern Family fan got a little too handsy with star Sarah Hyland.

• Not a good sign – Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. will be released in January of 2015.

• One of the real life brokers who was depicted in The Wolf of Wall Street has sued Paramount for defamation.

• The “Got Milk” ad campaign is being retired after 20 years. Lame.

• Tina Fey will star in and produce The Taliban Shuffle.

• Ellen DeGeneres claims the movie Miss Congeniality is based on her.

• Check out all these Pawnee newspaper front pages from Parks and Recreation.

• NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio will have a cameo on The Good Wife.

• Hugh Jackman assumes he’ll eventually be replaced as Wolverine.

• Tom Hardy will appear on the second season of the BBC’s Peaky Blinders.

• I’m a huge Yankees fan, but even I wouldn’t want Mickey Mantle’s deathbed speech (now being auctioned)

• Hodor and Bran, checking out some hoops:

 

• Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller will costar in a heist thriller.

• Elizabeth Olsen weighs in on the ongoing debate of picking the best Olsen twin (who just so happen to be her older sisters).

• In other Olsen news, Mary-Kate got engaged. Yup – Michelle Tanner is getting married before me. That is so incredibly depressing.

• Bravo has ordered its first (overtly) scripted series.

• Here’s the original first draft of the Archer Vice daydream sequence from the season premiere:

 

• Shockingly, it sounds like the Heathers musical may be terrible. Given the chance, I would still watch it.

• We now have our first listen as to what Rocket Raccoon and Groot will sound like in Guardians of the Galaxy.

• Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green welcomed a second son February 13^th.

• Krysten Ritter will star in NBC’s astronaut comedy.

• Plot details have been revealed for FOX’s Gotham pilot.

• Jimmy Kimmel and his wife are having a baby.

• Fiona Apple will make an appearance on a French show about superheroes.

• Allison Williams (Girls) is engaged.

• Drinks are on Sandy – Bullock made at least $70 million off Gravity.

• Kiss will not perform at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because they can’t get their shit together.

• The unnecessary Point Break reboot has found its Johnny Utah.

• I enjoyed this Periodic Table of Storytelling.

• Elisha Cuthbert will star in Ellen DeGeneres’ NBC comedy pilot.

• Ralph Fiennes was once considered for the role of James Bond.

• Jessica Lange is the new face of Marc Jacobs Beauty (as she should be).

• Kelis, whose milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, is hosting a show on The Cooking Channel.

• Lullabies by the author of Goodnight Moon have surfaced after 60 years.

• An 11 year old clearly got more out of watching The Office than I did.

Trailers:

• Not Safe for Work (that’s the title, not a comment on the trailer):

And THAT is why you should never work late.

• Blue Ruin:

 

• A trailer for Harmontown, the doc about Dan Harmon (creator of Community):

 

• A new teaser trailer for season 2 of Orphan Black:

 

• A trailer for the new HBO comedy, Doll & Em:

 

• A new trailer for Muppets Most Wanted:

 

• Transformers: Age of Extinction:

 

• Bryan Cranston in Godzilla:

 

• Tumblrs of the week: Hot People on Jeopardy! and House of Carbs

• Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes is suing the woman who accused him of raping her.

• A pictorial evolution of Jenna Von Oy (Six from Blossom) over the years. Things got a little dicey in the early to mid 2000s.

• James Patterson is donating $1 million to bookstores.

• HBO has renewed Looking for a second season.

• Jim Lange, the original host of The Dating Game, has passed away.

• Alec Baldwin is allegedly saying goodbye to public life. I’ll believe it when I see it.

• I do not dig this – Roger Hill (Cyrus of The Warriors) has died.

• It looks like Ripper Street will live on.

• Julia Stiles will star in TNT’s Guilt by Association.

• A former cast member of Mob Wives is suing Grand Theft Auto V creators for $40 million for stealing her image and life story.

• Bradley Cooper will star in the witness protection thriller American Blood.

• Piers Morgan is leaving CNN.

• Susan Sarandon will return to Mike & Molly.

• Lisa Kudrow must pay her ex-manager $1.6 million, per a court verdict.

• The developers of The Candy Crush Saga have dropped their attempt to copyright the word “Candy.”

• The MTV Movie Awards will air on Sunday April 13^th.

As always, we end with the mashups and supercuts:

• The inevitable Guardians of the Galaxy/Parks and Recreation mashup:

 

• Bruce Springsteen covered Lorde’s “Royals” while in New Zealand:

 

• Someone reimagined Disney princess as Game of Thrones characters.

• Super Mario meets Seinfeld:

 

• A House of Cards/The Walking Dead mashup:

 

• Someone hacked NBA 2K14 to recreate the game from Space Jam:

 

• Steven Soderbergh must be bored; he edited together Alfred Hitchcock and Gus Van Sant’s versions of Psycho.

 

• The Worf of Starfleet:

 

• As someone that drinks Dunkin Donuts coffee every morning, I appreciated this parody of Beyoncé’s “Drunk in Love”:

 

• The House of Cards opening credits get a The West Wing makeover:

 

• A Breaking Bad dance remix (possible spoilers):

 

• A Godzilla/Breaking Bad Mashup:

 

• It was bound to happen – a True Detective/Magic Mike mashup:

 

• And finally, a True Detective/Law & Order opening credits remake:

 

Have a great week!