Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Oscar Slacker Edition

I have dropped the damn ball this year when it comes to Oscar prep. Here we are. four days away from the ceremony and I still haven’t seen all the nominees for the major awards let alone some of the more obscure categories. I really have only myself to blame – I started out strong this year and then just ran out of steam, thinking that I had more time than I actually did. For some reason I thought that I had an extra week before the ceremony so I totally squandered my three day weekend last weekend. My inability to properly read a calendar is my apparently undoing.

That being said, I’m still trying to finish strong. I’ve committed to finishing the best picture, best actor/actress, and best supporting actor/actress categories. That means a lot of movie watching but I’m up for the challenge. So while I’m binging movies like crazy, get yourself caught up on all the pop culture that you may have missed with this week’s roundup.

Television

• Stephen Kings and J.J. Abrams are teaming up for the Hulu series Castle Rock.
• This news delights me beyond words – Busy Phillips to star in a comedy pilot from Tina Fey. PLEASE let this get picked up to series.
• It doesn’t sound like filming the new season of Game of Thrones is all that fun.
• Demi Moore will have a recurring role on Empire.
• Aaron Paul will star in WGN America’s Blood and Whiskey, about the life of Jack Daniel.
• Fox renewed The Mick for a second season.
• HBO will make this Sunday’s episodes of  Big Little Lies, Girls, and Crashing early so not to compete with the Oscars.
• Jimmy Kimmel may retire when his contract is up in 2019.
• Kit Harington and Liv Tyler to star in BBC’s historical drama Gunpowder.
• Blue Planet is getting a sequel series.
• Amazon is bringing back Goliath for a second season with a new showrunner.
• Iwan Rheon has joined the cast of Marvel’s Inhumans series.
• Season 3 of Outlander will premiere in September.
• Steve Buscemi to appear on Broad City.
• Details of season 4 of Black Mirror have been revealed.
• E! is doing a TV series based on the film Jawbreaker.
• Archer: Dreamland will debut in April.
• Chelsea Handler’s Netflix talk show is switching to a weekly format.
• Tim Robbins set to star in Alan Ball’s new family drama for HBO.
• The Big Bang Theory will likely go two more seasons.
• Matthew Lillard to co-star in the NBC drama pilot Good Girls. Retta will also star.
• Sigh. American Horror Story is doing a season about the 2016 election.
• Benedict Cumberbatch  to executive produce and star in a BBC film based on Ian McEwan’s The Child in Time.
• Darren Criss and Edgar Ramirez will have major roles in Versace: American Crime Story.
• Garry Shandling almost made a TV series based on his journals.
• Starz is developing a drama series about independent wrestling.
• Chris Colfer is developing a sci-fi drama series about kids with powers. He’ll also star.
• Anders Holm to star in NBC’s comedy pilot from Mindy Kaling.
• The final season of Review has a premiere date.
• Constance Zimmer will guest star on Angie Tribeca.
• Here’s what’s coming and going from HBO in March.

Movies

• Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro’s next project is reportedly coming to Netflix.
• Mel Gibson is in early talks to direct the Suicide Squad sequel. I like absolutely nothing about that sentence.
• A feel-good movie about Tom Brady and the Patriots is in development. Not a fan of that sentence either.
• Love Actually will get a sequel of sorts for Red Nose Day in March.
• Angela Lansbury will appear in Mary Poppins Returns.
• Alfie Allen joins the Predator reboot.
• Constance Wu will star in the big screen adaptation of Crazy Rich Asians.
• We’re about to test my Kyle Chandler theory – he joins the cast of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
• A pop-up La La Land coffeehouse is open at Warner Brothers.
• Donald Glover and James Earl Jones will lend their voices to the live-action Lion King.
• Here’s your first look at the cast of the Han Solo movie:

• Stick around – Kong: Skull Island will have a post-credits scene.
• Hellboy 3 is DOA.
• The Purge 4 is a go.
• Mahershala Ali has joined Channing Tatum and Tom Hardy in Triple Frontier.
• A Step Brothers sequel isn’t coming anytime soon.
• Noah Hawley to direct the sci-fi film Pale Blue Dot.
• Sam Raimi will direct a movie about the Bermuda Triangle.
• Jared Leto is set to direct an adaptation of James Ellroy’s crime thriller 77.
• The Raid (which is awesome) is getting a “reimagining” for American audiences.
• Daniel Craig is now the second-longest serving James Bond.
• The number of female protagonists in movies hit a historical high in 2016.
• Hook’s Dante Basco is trying to kickstart a Rufio prequel.
• James Cromwell joins the Jurassic World sequel.
• An opening date for the Guardians of the Galaxy ride at Disney California Adventure has been announced.

Trailers

• The House:

 

 

• Veep, season 6:

 

• Silicon Valley, season 4:

 

• The Institute:

 

• Sandy Wexler:

 

• Mine:

 

• The final season of The Leftovers:

 

• Rock and a Hard Place:

 

• Tales from the Crypt reboot:

 

• King Arthur:

 

• The Sinner:

 

• Colossal:

 

• The Discovery:

 

• Dean:

 

• Power Rangers: All-Star:

 

• The Devil’s Candy:

 

• Song to Song:

 

• The Void:

 

Music

• Spoon announced tour dates and released a new music video.
• Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney are making music together again.
• Roger Waters is releasing a solo album – his first in 25 years.
• HBO has picked up a David Bowie documentary.
• A lot of people in Australia are having sex to the cantina song from Star Wars. I will never understand Star Wars people.
• The Roots announced the lineup for their 10^th annual Roots Picnic.
• Weird Al shares an unreleased Beatles parody about Pac-Man.
• Kid Rock might be considering a Senate run.
• David Cassidy will quit performing due to his battle with dementia.
• Frances Bean Cobain remembered her dad Kurt on what would have been his 50^th birthday.

Theater

• Okieriete “Oak” Onaodowan will replace Josh Groban in Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812.
• Sara Bareilles is officially taking over the lead in Waitress.

Stand-up

• Mike Birbiglia’s Thank God for Jokes premieres next month on Netflix.

Books

• Tom Hanks has a book of short stories coming out this fall.
• How much do the characters on Game of Thrones resemble the character descriptions in the books?
• A grad student discovered a lost Walt Whitman novel.
• Simon & Schuster cancelled Milo Yiannopoulos’ book deal.
• The Clerks and Mallrats sequels may be comic books.
• Krysten Ritter is writing her first novel.
• Mick Jagger has an unpublished memoir that he doesn’t remember writing.

Odds and Ends

• This one’s for my brother – the oral history of The Oregon Trail.
• Rosario Dawson and Eric Andre are a couple – and the Internet is having a tough time believing this.
• NBC’ Keith Morrison is the new voice of Waze.
• Chris Brown – still trash.
• Lisa Marie Presley’s daughters are in protective custody.
• Ashton Kutcher testified about human trafficking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
• Drake offered to help police talk down a guy threatening to jump off a bridge.
• Jason Ritter and Melanie Lynskey are engaged.
• Hoda Kotb has adopted a baby girl.
• Zoe Saldana and Marco Perego welcomed their third child.
• Film critic Richard Schickel has passed away.
• Twin Peaks’ Warren Frost has died.
• WWE wrestler George “The Animal” Steele has died. He was 79.

Mashups and Supercuts

• R-rated movies drawn in the style of children’s books:

 

 

• The Roots wrote a basketball musical for NBA All-Star Weekend:

 

 

• Eddie and the Beast:

 

• Making the foods of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia:

 

• Cate Blanchett lip synched at a drag show at the Stonewall Inn:

 

• You can make a musical video for The Beastie Boys “Sabotage” using footage from The Americans:

 

Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Snow Day edition

Another day, another snowstorm – I am really beginning to hate living in Upstate New York. It’s been a bad winter for everyone and the fact that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow is not a good omen. We’re getting up to a foot today and there are rumblings of a Nor’easter headed our way on Sunday. This may be the winter that finally breaks me.

Thankfully I am working from home today so I don’t have to go out in this mess and I am looking forward to participating in a conference call this morning while still in my pajamas. I feel terrible for the people who don’t have that luxury or who don’t have a very understanding boss and are bracing this weather to go into work today. Stay safe!

For those of you that are snowed in, hopefully my biweekly roundup of pop culture stories will help keep you warm and make you forget about all the white stuff piling up outside. Maybe there’s even a thing or two in here to help you keep the kids entertained.

• In honor of the weather, check out this side by side comparison of the beginning of The Walking Dead and Atlanta after 2 inches of snow paralyzed the city:

http://www.screenjunkies.com

• Jesse Eisenberg will play Lex Luthor in Batman vs. Superman; Jeremy Irons will play Alfred. Spot on casting in my opinion.

• Quentin Tarantino’s Hateful Eight may be back on.

• It’s official – Jonathan Banks has joined the cast of Better Call Saul.

• Broadway dimmed its lights in memory of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

• Hoffman’s death will not delay the release for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay.

• Roger Ebert had hoped that Hoffman would play him in a movie.

• Jimmy Fallon takes over The Tonight Show February 17^th. He gave an interview to Vulture about the transition. He also interviewed himself for Men’s Health.

• Jay Leno’s last The Tonight Show will be Thursday February 6^th. Let’s hope it sticks this time.

• You can now watch the Seinfeld-inspired episode of Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee that was promoted during the Super Bowl.

• The greatest gift that the Obama Administration has given us is the We the People petition website, which Americans have done a great job of abusing. Now the White House will have to weigh in on deporting Justin Bieber.

• I wonder how many people lost cash betting on the Super Bowl because of The Simpsons?

• Benedict Cumberbatch dropped by Sesame Street:

 

• Courtney Love has a Pinterest account. Huh…I guess everyone really is on Pinterest.

• Scott Bakula will star in a NCIS spinoff.

• Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill are reteaming to tell the story of the accused Atlanta Olympic bomber.

• The extremely photogenic Timothy Olyphant talked sports with Sports Illustrated.

• The new season drops next week, but House of Cards has been renewed for a third season.

• A psychiatrist analyzes the characters on Girls.

• Jennifer Love Hewitt was almost Robin on How I Met Your Mother.

• Matt Damon is returning to Jimmy Kimmel Live!

• Here’s some scoop on the How I Met Your Mother spinoff.

• Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has second thoughts about pairing off Ron and Hermione.

• George Zimmerman (yup – THAT Ziimerman) wants to box Kanye West. He’ll box rapper DMX instead. No good can come of any of this.

• It was only a matter of time….ABC orders a pilot about selfies.

• The 2014 Emmy awards ceremony will be on a Monday in August. What is this madness????

• David O. Russell wants Jennifer Lawrence to play the inventor of the Miracle Mop. I’d trust this duo to do just about anything.

• Speaking of J Law, her affection for Doritos posed a problem for the costume department on American Hustle.

• Interesting – Liam Neeson joins the cast of Scorsese’s Silence.

• Scorsese is also making a New York Review of Books documentary.

• The actors of Veronica Mars will be live-tweeting a re-watch of the series.

• The good people of Savannah, GA had to watch the same boring Super Bowl that the rest of us did, but they also got to watch this ridiculously epic local commercial for a personal injury lawyer:

They are the clear winners of Super Bowl Sunday.

• Keep calm and Sharknado on – both Ian Ziering and Tara Reid are officially on board for the sequel.

• Matthew McConaughey and Amy Adams will appear on this season of Inside the Actors Studio.

• McConaughey will star in Gus Van Sant’s Sea of Trees.

• Will Channing Tatum play Gambit from The X-Men? Sounds positive.

• First Lady Michelle Obama is now a fan of Scandal. I still need to get into this show!

• Howard Stern had a pretty awesome 60^th birthday party.

• Josh Gad is being considered for the Thing in the Fantastic Four reboot.

• The Ben Affleck and Matt Damon comedy gets a pilot order at CBS.

• Aaron Paul’s Need for Speed will be available in 3-D.

• This may be the most I’ve ever liked Vin Diesel – the actor posted a video of himself dancing to Katy Perry.

• There is going to be a True Romance fest in Burbank this year.

• Pharrell will perform at the Oscars.

• Cate Blanchett, Kyle Chandler and Rooney Mara will be part of a love triangle in an upcoming Todd Haynes movie.

• David Schwimmer (the lost Friend) is returning to TV in a pilot for ABC.

• Last time it was Liberace, this time it’s Peter Pan. Bill Murray knows how to make an entrance:

 

• New York Magazine chats with Lorne Michaels.

• Read a Friends script written by an 8 year old.

• Ex-SNL castmember Victoria Jackson is running for Congress.

• Dylan Farrow, the adopted daughter of Woody Allen, wrote an open letter to the New York Times chronicling childhood sexual abuse at the hands of the director.

• Steve Carell’s college mustache is OUTSTANDING:

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1wnd9x/was_looking_in_my_moms_college_yearbook_and_came/

• A NYC restaurant has a Beyoncé- themed Valentine’s Day menu.

• Rutgers is offering a course on Queen B.

• Red Hot Chili Peppers are heading into the studio to record a new album.

• Astute viewers noted that the RHCP’s instruments weren’t plugged in during the halftime show; Flea explains why in this post.

• Zooey Deschanel is producing an animated modern fairytale for FOX.

• NBC has (wisely) cancelled Sean Saves the World.

• My Little Pony unveils customizable figures.

• TBS has ordered a comedy competition show from Marlon Wayans.

• Lifetime is doing a sequel to their adaptation of Flowers in the Attic (which wasn’t good, but wasn’t as terrible as I had anticipated).

• I don’t know that there was any doubt, but Thor 3 will happen.

• A gag reel from Thor: The Dark World:

 

• Did you know that Tom Hiddleston originally auditioned for the role of Thor before becoming Loki? It’s true – and we have the shirtless video to prove it.

• An official LEGO Ghostbusters set is happening.

• A sequel to The LEGO Movie is already being planned; the original film will be released Friday.

• David Beckham – fan of LEGOs. He just became more perfect.

• You can now play with LEGOs online.

• Linda Cardellini has joined the Kyle Chandler Netflix drama.

• One unknown perk of winning the Super Bowl – you get to hang out with Beyoncé and Jay Z:

@BrooklynNets

• Will Ferrell is the latest celeb to do a Reddit AMA.

• I’m not even a Star Wars fan, but even I respect this AT-AT rocking horse.

• Adult Swim is adding another hour of programming.

• Billy Bob Thorton has joined the cast of the Entourage movie. Did he lose a bet?

• Bruce Willis is reteaming with M. Night Shyamalan. Bad career decisions for everyone!

• I have a lot of questions after this headline: Sara Bareilles Fires Manager, Jonah Hill’s Brother, After Grammy Brawl with Sharon Osbourne.

• HA! Shirley Manson took Buzzfeed’s “What 90s Alt Rock Girl Are You?” quiz – and didn’t get herself.

• Neil Gaimain reads Green Eggs and Ham for charity

 

• Great Scott! A Back to the Future musical is in the works.

• Penny Marshall and Lorraine Bracco will play a lesbian couple on an upcoming episode of the new sitcom Mulaney (starring comedian John Mulaney, who I saw at the Oddball Comedy Festival).

• This week in celebrity real-estate: the Magnum P.I. house and the Groundhog Day B&B are for sale. So is one of Jay Z’s old stash spots.

• Flappy Birds – the  game app that is slowly driving me insane. How can a game that seems so easy be so *($*&(* difficult??

• Eddie Cahill is headed Under the Dome.

• Tea Leone will star in CBS’s Madame Secretary about a female Secretary of State, which is obviously not based on anyone in particular.

• Bad new Amazon Prime members – a huge price hike may be coming.

• Before the Super Bowl, Aziz Ansari tweeted some Friday Night Lights fan-fiction.

• BJ Novak’s role in The Amazing Spiderman 2 has been revealed.

• Ken Marino will join Casey Wilson in NBC’s new sitcom Marry Me.

• Former Olympian Tara Lipinksi skated a The Big Lebowski-themed routine on Fallon:

 

• Watch Tyrese Gibson’s audition tape for Django Unchained.

• I blogged about the film first, but UPROXX has an interview with the director of The Great Chicken Wing Hunt.

• Michael Pitt will appear on Hannibal.

• Bradley Cooper will play a WWII-era cop in Dark Invasion.

• Dexter’s Jennifer Carpenter lands a pilot at ABC.

• Ryan Phillippe is also headed to ABC.

• A filmmaker has raised $11,000+ to adapt a piece of Sherlock slash-fiction.

• There is a Sherlock themed café in Shanghai.

• Pitch Perfect 2 will be released May 15, 2015. Elizabeth Banks will direct.

• Gucci has named Jessica Springsteen (daughter of Bruce) an equestrian ambassador.

• Helen Mirren twerked after receiving the Hasty Pudding award at Harvard.

• Robert Evans is producing a series based on 70s era Hollywood.

• Adam Brody sat down with Nylon and doesn’t imagine his The O.C. alter-ego Seth Cohen had a very rosy future.

• Conan is the king of the remote segments; in this one, he tries to sell some of his old memorabilia:

–

 

• Daniel Radcliff will play Lee Atwater in the upcoming film College Republicans.

• The Oscars rescinded their nomination of Alone Yet Not Alone for Best Original Song.

• The cover for Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue has been revealed:

Julia Roberts is one lucky duck!

• For those of you who are so inclined: 20 Twitter accounts to follow during the Olympics.

• I kind of wish that this was coming North – a The Walking Dead obstacle course.

• Top Chef renewed for a 12^th season.

• Grace Gummer is joining the cast of Halle Berry’s Extant on CBS.

• The Writers Guild Awards were handed out last weekend. Here’s the full list of winners.

• The Cure is releasing a new album.

• Disney is reviving Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

• NBC has ordered more episodes of Chicago P.D.

• Tony Hale will appear on NBC’s About A Boy.

• CW has ordered a pilot for a Supernatural spinoff.

Trailers:

• Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West (Red Band – NSFW):

 

• Kevin Costner’s Draft Day:

 

• Transformers: Age of Extinction:

 

• The Amazing Spider-Man 2:

 

• 24: Live Another Day:

 

• Vampire Academy:

 

• Liam Neeson in Non-Stop:

 

• From Dusk Til Dawn – the series:

 

• A trailer for the video game Thief:

 

• The Amanda Knox story inspired a feature film, Face of an Angel:

 

• The final Divergent trailer:

 

• Star Wars National Football League helmets.

• Mila Kunis is the new face of Jim Beam.

• No big whoop – just Leonardo DiCaprio, Lenny Kravitz and Bradley Cooper hanging out at a NYC pizzeria Super Bowl weekend.

• Another interesting trio: Aaron Paul, Rob Thomas and Bill Murray at a Kings of Leon concert:

@ThisisRobThomas

• Don’t hold your breath for an honorary Beastie Boys street in NYC.

• Animator Arthur Rankin, Jr., who was responsible for holiday classics like Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, passed away.

• Cher and Cyndi Lauper are going on out tour together. THAT will be a fun show!

• Universal TV is developing an adaptation of Stephen King’s Ayana.

• A lawsuit will prevent Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City from collecting any royalties from their song “Good Time” for the time being.

• Tumblr of the week: Awkward Taylor Swift Dancing.

• Twitter account of the week: @Shining_Twins

• Kit Harrington (Jon Snow from Game of Thrones) will co-star in a WWI biopic.

• This week is Beatles week at Late Night with David Letterman.

• Is there a strategy to winning on Jeopardy?

• Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are reuniting for a project.

• Lauren Cohan (Maggie, The Walking Dead) is loaning her voice to Archer.

• Reggie Watts has a new web series.

• You’d be surprised how similar Willy Wonka and Walter White are.

• 2 coaches featured on the reality show Friday Night Tykes have been suspended.

• Bill Hader may join Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck.

• The ladies behind the hilarious show Broad City are going out on tour.

• This artist reimagined Hipster Batman and Hipster X-Men.

• As a fan of the original cult classic, I was impressed with this trailer for a fake Warriors reboot:

 

• Ice-T and his wife CoCo are hosting a talk show.

• There were beer drones? Why am I just hearing about this now that they are grounded?

• Olivia Newton-John will do a residency in Las Vegas.

• Ron Perlman has been cast in Amazon’s Hand of God.

As always, we end with the Supercuts and Mashups

• A supercut of Oscar visual effects winners:

 

• A Superman vs. Jesse Eisenberg supercut:

 

• Grumpy Cat in Frozen:

• This supercut ignores the so-called plot of the first 3 Transformers movies and just focuses on the actual transforming:

 

• A mashup of every Harrison Ford movie:

 

• Mr. Freeze sings “Let it Go”

 

• And finally, a supercut of all of Tina’s moans on Bob’s Burgers:

 

Spring can’t get here quickly enough!

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!!!