Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Game 7 Edition

I’ll admit that this year I kind of checked out on baseball. My Yankees just weren’t very good and I was a little emotionally exhausted from going to so many retirement ceremonies and final games for the players that I had been watching since I got into baseball. I needed a break; I didn’t go to a single Yankee game this year and the two games I did go to (Atlanta and Washington DC) I wasn’t all that engaged in. But I have to say that the playoffs have really drawn me back in, especially the Cubs historic run into the World Series. I love an underdog – I am a Buffalo Bills fan after all – so I’m always rooting for the Cubs to break their curse and finally win the Wold Series again. I don’t know that they’ll actually pull that off tonight as Cleveland has been more than a worthy opponent, but it’s been kind of thrilling to watch. My only complaint is that I am old and these games last too long. I’ve been exhausted for weeks. Whoever walks away the champion tonight, it’s been a fun ride and it has reinvigorated my love of baseball. Now the Yankees just have to be good next year. Hope spring eternal.

But even if you aren’t into baseball, you can still be excited since it’s also pop culture roundup day. And who doesn’t love that? As usual, I’ve scoured high and low to bring you the best that the world of pop culture had to offer in the last week. So get yourself caught up….and Go Cubs go!

Television

• Sherlock season 4 will debut on January 1, 2017.
• Bryan Fuller out as showrunner for Star Trek: Discovery, but will stay on as a producer.
• HBO will air a limited series based on J.K. Rowling’s crime novels written as Robert Galbraith
• Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner is doing an anthology series for Amazon. Psst….Jon Hamm doesn’t have much on his plate right now.
• Not super surprising – NBC is working on a Will & Grace revival.
• TV Land has found its Heathers for its TV remake of Heathers.

• Jennifer Lopez will star in NBC’s Bye Bye Birdie Live!.
• Ryan Murphy is planning an American Horror Story crossover season of Coven and Murder House.
• Spike TV has picked up an event series about Waco that stars Taylor Kitsch and Michael Shannon.
• Jim Gaffigan will be a regular on the third season of Fargo.
• Patti LuPone will appear on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
• Bernadette Peters and Paul Guilfoyle have joined the cast of The Good Wife spin-off, which now has a title.
• Billy Eichner will have a recurring role in the Netflix comedy Friends From College.
• HBO is considering bringing back The Night Of for another season. I hope it’s about the cat.

• Planet Earth II will debut on BBC America in January.
• Diablo Cody and Ian Brennan are developing a synchronized swimming comedy series for Fox.
• A Muppet Babies reboot is coming.
• Kaitlin Olson’s new comedy The Mick will debut January 1 after the NFL doubleheader.
• Raven-Symone is leaving The View for a That’s So Raven spinoff at Disney.
• Westworld’s Jimmi Simpson will appear on NBC’s This Is Us.
• Netflix renewed Frontier, starring Jason Momoa, before the series premiere.
• Production has resumed on Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
• I never actually thought this was in doubt, but REDACTED is reportedly returning for Stranger Things second season.

• Hamilton’s Javier Munoz will appear on an episode of Quantico.
• Jai Courtney will attempt to romance Amy Poehler in Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later.
• This list of celebrities that would go to Westworld if it was real made me laugh.
• Mindy Kaling and Ed Weeks are developing a comedy for ABC about a lesbian couple.
• Fox has cut back on its series order for Making History, which hasn’t debuted yet.
• Bianca Del Rio from RuPaul’s Drag Race will star in two comedy specials on Logo.
• Fox has ordered a second season of Lucifer.
• Haley Joel Osment will play a pot farmer for a new Amazon sci-fi series.
• The Cruel Intentions TV series is officially DOA at NBC.
• Adam and Naomi Scott are producing a comedy at NBC.
• Netflix will have more subscribers than cable by 2017.
• Baskets will return to FX in January.

Movies

• J Law isn’t the only Zelda Fitzgerald in town; Scarlett Johansson will star in a second biopic.
• The Day of the Dead parade in Spectre inspired Mexico City to host one in real life.
• The Incredibles 2 will debut in 2018, but Toy Story 4 has been pushed back to 2019.
• Johnny Depp is joining the Fantastic Beasts movie franchise.
• Ice Cube has teamed with Disney and the director of Hamilton for a modern musical take on Oliver Twist. Cube will star as Fagin.

• Disney is working on a live-action Snow White remake.
• Kevin Hart is in negotiations to play Santa Claus in Dashing Through The Snow.
• Topher Grace joins the cast of the crime noir thriller, Under The Silver Lake.
• Catherine Keener will appear in Soldado, the sequel to Sicario.
• The Wrinkle In Time film adaption has added more people to the cast, including Zach Galifianakis.
• Oscar Isaac will star in the romance Life Itself.
• Shameless’ Cameron Monaghan is set to star in the supernatural thriller The White Devil.
• The Death Wish remake from Eli Roth has cast its lead villain.
• Tom Hardy will play Al Capone in Fonzo.
• Gerard Butler will return for Angel Has Fallen, the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen and London Has Fallen.
• I wouldn’t hold your breath for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3.
• Kate Bosworth will play Sharon Tate in a new biopic.
• There’s a new Rambo movie in development that doesn’t feature Sylvester Stallone.
• Michael Fassbender will play two androids in Alien: Covenant.
• The Flash movie has lost its director (again).
• Former Deadpool director Tim Miller will now helm the Sonic the Hedgehog movie.
• Amazon will release Ben Stiller’s dramedy Brad’s Status, starring Stiller, Michael Sheen, Luke Wilson and Jenna Fischer.

Trailers

• Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk:

 

• 24: Legacy:

 

• Life:

 

• Rules Don’t Apply:

 

• The Crown:

 

• Dreamland:

 

• Split:

 

• Frank & Lola:

 

• The Eyes of My Mother:

 

• xXx: The Return of Xander Cage:

 

• Gifted:

 

• David Blaine: Beyond Magic:

pic.twitter.com/nGO5bgP8oU

— David Blaine (@davidblaine) October 29, 2016

 

• Fuller House, season 2:

 

• 20th Century Woman:

 

Music

• Adele is the subject of this month’s Vanity Fair cover story.
• A final A Tribe Called Quest album will drop on November 13^th.
• Taylor Swift wrote a song for Little Big Town. Place your bets on which ex this one is about.
• Neil Young announced a new album, Peace Trail.
• Metallica released a new song, “Atlas, Rise!”
• Run the Jewels are going out on tour.
• Kesha has recorded 22 songs that are still waiting to see the light of day.
• Avenged Sevenfold’s new album will feature…..Neil DeGrasse Tyson?
• You can now stream Westworld’s instrumental covers of Radiohead and others.
• The Weeknd announced 2017 tour dates.
• Japandroids have announced a new album.
• Smashmouth and the Oakland A’s got in a Twitter dustup. 2016 keeps getting weirder.
• Maya Rudolph, Fred Armisen, and Bill Hader’s Talking Heads parody band will play Tenacious D’s Festival Supreme.

Books

• The Outlander book series will end after the 10^th novel.
• R.L. Stine is writing a Marvel comic book.

Theater

• The Color Purple will end its Broadway run in January.
• David Tennant will return to West End to play a modern-day Don Juan.

Halloween Leftovers

• Kelsey Grammer was Sideshow Bob for Halloween.
• Bette Midler dressed up as her Hocus Pocus character for Halloween.
• Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner did Halloween together.
• Taylor Swift borrowed Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool costume.
• Shonda Rhimes got in “Formation” for the holiday.
• The Rock’s daughter inspired his Pikachu costume.
• Beyonce and Jay Z turned themselves into Barbie and Ken:

• Tony Hawk’s Larry David costume is spot on.
• Amy Schumer and boyfriend Ben Hanisch channeled Stranger Things.

Odds and Ends

• Are Drake and Taylor Swift dating? Who knows, but it’s a fun combination to think about.
• The Smithsonian will honor Aziz Ansari, David Lynch, and OK Go.
• Bono was named one of Glamour’s “Women of the Year”

• Ciara and Russell Wilson are expecting their first child together.
• Idris Elba was in a kickboxing match over the weekend.
• The Muppets will lead the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade this year.
• Zayn Malik opens up about his struggles with an eating disorder while in One Direction.
• The Internet has been arguing over whether this is a photo of Tom Hanks or Bill Murray:

• Prince Harry is allegedly dating Suits actress Meghan Markle.
• Katie Holmes and Jamie Foxx, who were allegedly dating for three years, have allegedly broken up.
• Mariah Carey and fiancé James Packer have called it quits.
• Kate Beckinsale and Len Wiseman to divorce after 11 years of marriage.
• Amber Tamblyn and David Cross are expecting a baby girl.
• Tippi Hedren says that she was sexually assaulted by Alfred Hitchcock.
• In addition to child pornography charges, Glee’s Mark Salling is now under investigation for rape.
• Actor Michael Massee has passed away.
• Kevin Curran, who was a writer and producer for The Simpsons, has died.
• Tony award winner Tammy Grimes has died at 82.
• Natalie Babbitt, author of Tuck Everlasting, has passed away.
• Per Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer is battling cancer.
• Tom Sizemore is being sued for allegedly running over a stuntman with a car while drunk.

 

Mashups and Supercuts

• In honor of the World Series, a fictional Cubs/Indians mashup:

 

• Tina Turner meets Queen:

 

• Bryan Cranston does a dramatic reading of Little Mix’s song, “Shout Out To My Ex”:

😲 @BryanCranston just read the lyrics to @LittleMix's #ShoutOutToMyEx Heisenberg-style, and we need a lie down 😅😱 @Chris_Stark @Scott_Mills pic.twitter.com/SOqFxMpXkz

— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) October 27, 2016

 

• Quantico’s Jay Armstrong Johnson paid tribute to Hocus Pocus:

 

• The Ghostbusters theme played on pumpkins:

 

• David S. Pumpkins makes every movie scarier:

DAVID🎃S🎃PUMPKINS🎃MAKES🎃EVERY🎃HORROR🎃MOVIE🎃EVEN🎃MORE🎃TERRIFYING🎃 pic.twitter.com/cDO7gWMua9

— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) October 28, 2016

 

• SPOILERS A LEGO recreation of the deaths in The Walking Dead season premiere:

 

• The Goonies recut as a thriller:

 

• A Stranger Things Christmas:

Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Jimmy Took Over The Tonight Show Edition

It finally happened – Jay Leno (hopefully) went off into the sunset and blog favorite Jimmy Fallon took over the reins of The Tonight Show. I’ve only been able to see one show so far, but I’ve been pleased with what I’ve seen. He seems to be keeping the same general show that he had when he was doing Late Night, which I think is a good thing. I’ll just be happy when he finally takes over his real time slot – starting the show at midnight to accommodate the Olympics is just late enough that I can’t justify staying up to watch it live. I cannot tell you how nervous I was watching the first show of his Tonight Show tenure; I think I would have been less nervous if I was up there telling jokes.

But the succession in late night isn’t the only thing that has been going on in the world of pop culture; despite the long shadow that the Olympics has shined over the landscape, a lot has been happening in the last two weeks. While you’ve been busy watching curling, I’ve been compiling all the links that you might have missed. So here’s your biweekly cheat sheet on some of the stories that you might have missed:

• In honor of the man of the hour, here are 39 facts about Fallon. Please note the mention of College of St. Rose, which I drive by every day on my way to work.

• See a 17 year old Jimmy in his first stand up performance:

 

• Here’s Jimmy’s Saturday Night Live audition:

 

• The Tonight Show is off to a good start with 7.1 rating.

• Joan Rivers broke her decades long ban by appearing on The Tonight Show during Jimmy’s first show.

• What does Conan think of all this? Classy as always:

• Showtime has renewed Shameless and House of Lies.

• This perk alone is worth becoming president – Obama has requested advance episodes of True Detective and Game of Thrones.

• Jon Heder will play Jane Kaczmarek’s son in a FOX pilot.

• A Fraggle Rock spinoff is coming to Hulu.

• This has real potential: Gillian Flynn and David Fincher are teaming up for an HBO series.

• I love this profile of Mr. Rogers from Esquire.

• Indy darling Greta Gerwig has signed on to star in the HIMYM spinoff.

• Cee Lo Green will not be returning to The Voice.

• Ellen Page gave a moving coming out speech at the Human Rights Campaign conference.

• Well this will be awesome – The Simpsons are doing an all-LEGO episode in May.

• Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon are fans of Mean Girls.

• Chris Pratt and Danny McBride are rumored to be in talks for a Knight Rider movie.

• Could HBO’s Rome return from the dead?

• The Rock’s football series at HBO has been picked up to series. HOORAY!

• Bret Easton Ellis (American Psycho) wrote a movie for Kanye West. SOMEONE NEEDS TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!

• I did surprisingly terrible on this Oscar quiz.

• A start date and a title for John Oliver’s new show at HBO have been announced.

• Stephen Colbert is now the First Lady of France:

 

His logic is flawless.

• Revenge is getting a graphic novel prequel.

• For those about to rock, AC/DC are working on a new album.

• There is an Adventure Time cookbook.

• FOX’s Gotham just got a hell of a lot more interesting with the addition of Donal Logue and Benjamin McKenzie.

• Topher Grace has launched a blog.

• Romany Malco will star in Kevin Hart’s ABC pilot.

• What would a Sons of Anarchy video game look like?

• HBO has renewed Getting On.

• Of course, I love this infographic guide to dating Seinfeld:

• There will be a mini-Seinfeld reunion on TV Land’s Kirstie, which is still not enough to get me to watch Kirstie.

• Y’all know I love Jerry, but his claiming that The LEGO Movie stole one of his jokes is some pretty weak sauce. Twitter landed some good burns however.

• Check out Walter White’s Facebook Look Back video:

 

• A woman was jailed for failing to return a VHS copy of Monster-in-Law nine years ago. That is not a movie worth going to jail for.

• Adam Brody and Leighton Meester allegedly pulled off a secret wedding.

• TBS ordered a pilot from Conan, starring comic Jimmy Pardo.

• Will there be a surprise villain in the new Captain America movie?

• Will Ferrell launches a female-focused film and TV production company.

• This is a potentially fascinating development – are Jared Leto and Lupita Nyong’o dating?

• ABC has cancelled Ravenswood.

• Leonardo DiCaprio’s “atrocious singing voice” cost him a role in Moulin Rouge.

• There is just so much to love in the Kraft mac and cheese ad:

 

Vanilla Ice as a stock boy? TOTALLY believable.

• Stevie Nicks has written some Game of Thrones inspired poetry.

• Karen Gillan (Doctor Who) will star in the ABC pilot Selfie.

• Rose McIver will replace Kiernan Shipka in Lifetime’s follow up to Flowers in the Attic, Petals on the Wind.

• Richard E. Grant and Anna Chancellor will appear on the next season of Downton Abbey.

• Jim Parsons will host SNL.

• Fred Armisen will be the band leader on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

• Here’s a look at Meyers’ first week of guests. The revamped Late Night debuts next week.

• Haley Joel Osment will be in the Entourage movie.

• John Travolta has allegedly had meetings about playing a Bond villain in the future.

• Berlin has a Big Lebowski themed bar.

• Prepare to have your mind blown: The mom of the creator of the show Terriers (R.I.P. – gone too soon) owns the terrier that won the Westminster Dog Show.

• Lots of people will return for Pitch Perfect 2.

• Cristin Milioti has landed a pilot at NBC.

• Comedy legend Sid Caesar passed away. See Conan and Mel Brooks pay tribute:

 

• We also lost Shirley Temple when she died at the age of 85. I had to laugh at her (unexpected) response to being asked to appear on The Simpsons.

• Alyson Hannigan has already line up her post HIMYM project.

• I don’t think that the reboot did that well at the theater, but here’s 26 things that you might not have known about the original Robocop.

• I’m bummed that this Sherlock exhibit isn’t coming to the area.

• I was so sad to hear about the passing of John Henson, puppeteer and son of Jim Henson.

• CBS is considering another CSI spinoff.

• James Franco is making a movie about the making of The Room.

• Norman Reedus will star in a sci fi thriller Air, produced by Robert Kirkman.

• The six degrees of Quentin Tarantino.

• EW rounds up the references in The LEGO Movie.

• If you enjoyed the movie as much as I did, you’ll get a kick out of The LEGO Movie “blooper” reel:

 

• Ride Along 2 is happening.

• Alec Baldwin will guest star on Law & Order: SVU.

• Aaron Paul momentarily was laying low, but now he’s back to his awesome self, hanging out at the Cheers bar in Boston.

• David Crosby underwent heart surgery and has postponed his tour.

• The final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars will be on Netflix.

• John Leguizamo joins The Good Wife.

• Karen O will perform at the Oscars.

• They are going to reboot Stephen King’s IT.

• CBS has announced the midseason premiere dates for new shows Bad Teacher and Unforgettable.

• See Will Arnett read school closings as Batman:

 

• The metal band And Still I Rise features two actors that were on Days of Our Lives.

• Pushing Daisies may become a musical.

• Scrubs may also head to Broadway. TV shows aren’t cancelled – they just become fodder for musicals.

• You can stream Beck’s new album over at NPR.

• After a lot of hullabaloo and speculation, Vanity Fair has decided not to run their Gwyneth Paltrow article.

• Amazon has renewed Alpha House for a second season.

• A visual guide to who owns the movie rights to various Marvel characters:

• The star of the National Geographic reality show, Snake Salvation, died from a snake bite. That’s some M. Night Shyamalan stuff right there – who saw THAT coming?

• A full list of the BAFTA winners (aka the British Oscars).

• Someone created a YouTube channel where they remove Michelle from episodes of Full House.

• See Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Ryu from Street Fighter in this clip from The Pete Holmes Show:

 

• In a desperate attempt to stay relevant, VH-1 has ordered a naked dating show.

• Chicago’s WGN is developing a series about the later years of Eliot Ness.

• TNT has cancelled Mob City.

• Channing Tatum has a bust of Matthew McConaughey. I absolutely need one of these for my living room.

 

• If you are caught up on Game of Thrones (or don’t mind spoilers), check out this wedding cake inspired by the show.

• Elaine Stritch dropped a F-bomb on The Today Show.

• Mary-Louise Parker may be returning to the small screen.

• The guys behind Catfish are adapting the YA novel Nerve.

• Nike will make the power laces featured in Back to the Future.

• Ben Affleck and Matt Damon make fun of each other for charity.

• I still can’t decide how I feel about Drake, but his temper tantrum about the cover of Rolling Stone doesn’t add to the plus column.

• Conan O’Brien is bringing his show to Dallas in April. Might be time to plan a visit to the Big D.

• Michael Keaton confirms that he is in talks for Beetlejuice 2.

• 30 Rock’s Katrina Bowden has joined TNT’s crime drama Public Morals.

• Check out this Parenthood/Friday Night Lights crossover on this NBC webseries:

 

• A movie about the Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy romance is in the works.

• I think my desk needs some of these new action figures from The Goonies, Pulp Fiction and Back to the Future.

• Cameron Crowe’s next movie will be released at Christmas.

• Stephen King will release a new book in November.

• Comedian Gabriel Iglesias will bring The Fluffy Movie to theaters this summer.

• An interview with the creators of the video game featured in Her.

• Esquire has a story on The Warriors.

• While I’m still very bummed about Derek Jeter’s retirement, you have to admit that his dating history is pretty dang impressive:

• Even I am not immune to the charms of the Jamaican bobsled team and their theme song.

• Wait – it THIS what I’m missing by not watching the Olympics? A Swedish skier paid tribute to ODB by yelling “Wu-Tang is for the children.” I may have to reconsider my hardnosed stance.

• If for some reason you want to learn the dance from the beach episode of Girls, there’s a tutorial for that.

• Ron Howard is in talks to direct The Jungle Book.

• Tumblrs of the week: 90s Figure Skating and Shoshi Games.

• Will Forte’s pilot has been picked up to series by FOX.

• J.K. Rowling is writing another book as Robert Galbraith. Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose?

• The Murder, She Wrote reboot may be dead (ha!), but Octavia Spencer already landed another pilot.

• If at first you don’t succeed……Charlie Sheen is engaged to a porn star. What could possibly go wrong? For those playing along at home, this will be Sheen’s 4^th trip down the aisle.

• Well that didn’t take long – Insane Clown Posse and their Juggalos have already been kicked out of their prospective Gathering site.

• A&E has ordered more episodes of Wahlburgers.

• Jay Leno once appeared on an episode of Good Times.  It was his first acting gig.

• Black Widow will have a larger role in Avengers 2.

Trailers:

• The first Guardians of the Galaxy trailer debuted last night:

 

• Jake Gyllenhaal has a dual role in The Double:

 

• A teaser for the 2^nd season of Inside Amy Schumer:

 

• Tom Hardy in Locke:

 

• Christopher Meloni in Surviving Jack, a new sitcom at FOX:

 

• A trailer for the second season of Orange is the New Black. I can’t wait!!

 

• John Cusack in Drive Hard

 

• Nicolas Cage in Joe:

 

• An extended trailer for the Spanish language version of Breaking Bad:

I’d watch that.

 

• The Purge: Anarchy:

 

• A teaser trailer for the new season of Veep:

 

• Bob Casale of Devo has passed away.

• This Game of Thrones puzzle is pretty badass.

• Simon Cowell is a dad.

• Dylan Minnette and Jack Black will co-star in the Goosebumps movie.

• A chef in Detroit has made a menu based on Radiohead’s Kid A.

• Mark McGrath, Judd Hirsh and Vivica A. Fox have joined the cast of Sharknado 2. That makes me sad for Judd Hirsh.

• Bethany Frankel’s talk show was cancelled.

• Community’s Joel McHale will host the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

• Christina Aguilera is engaged.

• Katherine Heigl is the latest celeb to turn to crowd funding to finance a project.

• Rosie Perez discusses her feud with Jennifer Lopez in a new memoir, which is the first I’m hearing of a feud with J Lo.

• I’ve got my doubts about this one – Lifetime is developing a movie about Jesus’ lost early years.

• Lifetime has also ordered the dystopian thriller The Lottery to series.

• A Pixar artist turned 25 classic R-rated movies into family-friendly drawings.

• Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogan are re-teaming for a Christmas movie.

• Julianne Moore and Zach Galifianakis have joined Ellen Page in Freeheld.

• Ralph Waite from The Waltons has passed away.

• Comedy Central has revealed what comedians are getting half hour comedy specials in 2014.

• The CW renewed a bunch of shows.

• Nick Jonas has joined DirecTV’s MMA drama.

• A mini Full House reunion will happen on ABC’s The Neighbors.

• Do with this info what you will – Martha Stewart’s celebrity crush is Christian Bale.

• Matt Groening lists his favorite 10 episodes of The Simpsons.

• Madonna has launched a skin care brand.

• Lil Kim is going to be a mom.

As always, we wrap up with the mashups and supercuts

• I don’t even want to tell you how long I played this Sesame Street/Street Fighter game.

• The same goes for Sesame Street’s answer to Flappy Birds – Flappy Bert.

• Time created a supercut of all of Hollywood’s highest grossing movies.

• I love this New Orleans style cover of Guns N Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine”

 

• This year’s best movie nominees recreated in LEGOs.

• This couple breaks up – using 154 movie titles:

 

• A supercut of hit songs from 2000, which appears to have been a very dark time for music:

 

• A supercut of cats in movies:

 

• As a former Greek, I was amused by this The Wolf of Wall Street parody, The Wolf of Phi Psi:

 

• And finally, Billy Ray Cyrus has redone Achy Breaky Heart as a hip-hop jam. For reals, people:

Pop Culture Odds and Ends – Happy Thanksgiving Edition

Hooray – it’s almost Thanksgiving, though honestly I am more excited about the 4 day weekend than the actual holiday. I’ve been running around way too much in the last week and I really just need a few days to relax and get myself back on track. I’m looking forward to just sleeping in and taking it easy and watching a shameful number of movies. I’ll enjoy the turkey dinner and the moment to reflect on all that I’m thankful for (which is a lot), but I’m really ready for some R&R. The last two weeks have kicked my butt.

Before you head off to spend some time with your loved ones and eat some stuffing, get yourself up to speed on the world of pop culture with your biweekly pop culture roundup. It’s on the long side this week, so there’s plenty to keep you occupied over the long weekend. Plus you never know when you’ll have to make small talk with a relative and there is a little bit of something for everyone in this roundup. So pour over this collection of links before the tryptophan kicks in.

• GQ has a great interview with Vince Gilligan, creator of Breaking Bad.

• Someone indexed every death in the Game of Thrones books (so far):

• Whew – Paramount will block the proposed It’s a Wonderful Life sequel. There is a God

• NOOOOOO!!!!!!!! They are remaking Road House. It has better include the line “I used to f*ck guys like you in prison” or it will be complete sacrilege.

This week in Ron Burgundy news:

• Great news – Paramount has moved up the release date for the film by two days.

• Will Ferrell will host the 6pm episode of SportsCenter on ESPN December 6^th – in character.

• The Channel 4 gang sang “Afternoon Delight” at the Australian premiere:

 

• 12 fun facts from a visit to the Anchorman 2 edit bay.

• Hot Topic is turning Black Friday into Burgundy Friday.

• I’m actually super bummed that I won’t see this – Burgundy will call a pro curling event in Winnipeg.

• Emerson University renamed their communication school after Burgundy – for one day.

• Burgundy took over Conan last week and sang a campaign song for Toronto Mayor and crack enthusiast Rob Ford:

 

• Ron Burgundy tries to understand Doctor Who.

• There was a live reading of the original Anchorman to raise money for charity.

• Baxter got his own movie poster:

 

• I wrote earlier this week about an unexpected death on Family Guy; fans didn’t take the development well and 40,000 of them have signed a petition demanding the character be brought back.

• The new Britney Spears album is streaming on iTunes.

• This article looks at how Friends decided to pair off Monica and Chandler.

• The Mindy Project is going on hiatus due to low ratings. Other shakeups at FOX – Dads has been removed from the schedule despite receiving a full season order and Brooklyn Nine-Nine is moving to 9:30 (in The Mindy Project’s old slot).

• The Monty Python reunion show sold out in 43 seconds. The gang is now doing 5 shows instead of just one.

• The actor that plays King Joffrey says he’s retiring from acting once he’s done on Game of Thrones.

• Bruce Springsteen is releasing a new album in January 2014. Happy day!

• EW looks at 12 big changes made in the film adaptation of Catching Fire.

• The forthcoming The Walking Dead spinoff may be a prequel.

• Netflix is bringing back The Killing for one more season. This show has nine lives!

• FXX has struck a deal that will allow episodes of The Simpsons from the first 24 seasons to be streamed on-line.

• This isn’t a pairing I would have come up with: Oprah and Diablo Cody are working on a new HBO comedy.

• This one is for my mom: FOX Japan is going to air the first 10 season of NCIS non-stop and in order over 10 days.

• Stevie Nicks is apparently having a good time over on American Horror Story: Coven since she is sticking around for another week.

• Sadly, Jessica Lange will be leaving the series after next season.

• Once Upon a Time in Wonderland will go on hiatus.

• Jeopardy! recently poked some fun at the Houston Astros’ terrible season in one of their answers.

• Chris Hemsworth and his wife are expecting baby number 2.

• Kelly Clarkson is pregnant.

• James Franco and Seth Rogan did a parody of Kanye’s video for “Bound 2”:

Surprisingly, Kim and Kanye (neither known for their killer sense of humor) apparently found it funny.

• The Hollywood Reporter did a lengthy eye-opening feature on the treatment of animals in Hollywood.

• George Takei is now in the fragrance game.

• The Heat may not be getting a sequel, but two minor characters will get a spinoff.

• Sigh…..CBS is going forward with How I Met Your Dad. That horse is dead – stop beating it.

• Winona Ryder indicated Beetlejuice 2 might happen.

• Anjelica Houston wants to be on Downton Abbey.

• Lauren Hill will perform her first show since being released from prison.

• Orphan Black returns in the US on April 19^th.

• FX has picked up The Strain for series.

• Arcade Fire is asking their fans to dress up for their new tour.

• Chris Brown has been sent to rehab.

• Outkast may reunite at Coachella this summer.

• Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt are starring in a new special on E!

• Wu-Tang Clan’s GZA taught a class at the University of Toronto.

• Scarlett Johannsson’s voice work in the upcoming Spike Jonze film Her cannot be considered for a Golden Globe.

• An Underground Railroad miniseries is coming to FX.

• In a Q&A with Chef Mario Batali, he revealed that he ordered 200 pairs of orange Crocs when he heard that they were retiring his signature footwear.

• The person behind the Seinfeld 2000 Twitter account made a music video for Arcade Fire’s song “Here Comes the Night Time.”

• AMC has ordered two new drama pilots.

• The Purge 2 will be released June 2014.

• Zach Braff may have pulled off the greatest photobomb of all time:

• A Star Wars burlesque show now exists.

• Sutton Foster and Amy Sherman-Palladino are reuniting for a Broadway show. (R.I.P. Bunheads)

• Once Upon a Time has cast an actor from Covert Affairs for a guest role.

• Watch Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul read the Breaking Bad finale for the first time (spoilers if you aren’t current):

 

• Wilmer Valderrama has joined the cast of the From Dusk Till Dawn TV show.

• Dave Chappelle sat down for a rare interview with a local news station in Minneapolis.

• You can watch the pilots of HBO’s new comedies Ja’mie: Private School Girl and Getting On online.

• A&E has officially renewed Longmire for a third season, which makes me happy.

• You can explore Middle Earth in Google Maps.

• For those of you that can’t get enough of Jennifer Lawrence (and who can?), here’s a photo of her in junior high.

• Mad Max: Fury Road will be released in 2015.

• Adam Brody (The O.C.) and Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) are engaged.

• I wish this is had happened when I was just there – a kid dressed up like Harry Potter and tried to find the Hogwarts Express in Penn Station.

• Wait….George Brett had something to do with Lorde’s hit song “Royals?”

• Batkid is back on the case, this time rescuing Pitbull from the Joker on Good Morning America.

• Tori Amos is releasing a new album and going out on tour in 2014.

• U2 has released a new song for the movie Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

• Kanye West may have another album by next summer.

• Something to buy your favorite Game of Thrones fan for the holidays: A Dragon Egg Cookie Jar.

• Well here’s a headline you don’t see every day: “Photo of Rick Springfield’s Buttocks Shown to Jury, Which Start Deliberating Today in Injury Lawsuit.”

• I’m not a Doctor Who fan, but the series was honored with a Google Doodle last week in honor of its fiftieth anniversary.

• The Doctor Who 50^th anniversary special drew 10 million viewers in the UK.  The special also had plenty of Easter eggs for the die-hard fans.

• USA network has cancelled Necessary Roughness.

• More Doctor Who: The BBC created an interactive map that allows fans to explore the time travel adventures of all 11 Doctors.

• The surviving members of the Beastie Boys penned an open letter explain their dispute with toymaker GoldieBlox. Their song “Girls” has since been pulled from the commercial.

• Willie Nelson’s tour has been put on hold after a bus accident involving his band.

• James Franco and Chris O’Dowd are on their way to Broadway.

• Wiz Khalifa and Adele are collaborating? Interesting.

• According to this graphic, many Sesame Street character have mental disorders.

• Once Upon a Time co-stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas are expecting a baby.

• Jon Bon Jovi, Taylor Swift and Prince William performed “Livin’ on a Prayer” at a gala.

• Anna Gunn and Jacki Weaver will appear in the U.S. adaptation of Broadchurch.

• You can now watch a short film, Aningaaq, which sheds light on the other side of Sandra Bullock’s call in Gravity.

• I like The Vampire Diaries, but all the relationships can be confusing. TV Guide has a relationship roadmap for the show to help keep everything straight.

• Watch Robert DeNiro’s audition for the role of Sonny in The Godfather:

 

• Empire has a Q&A with George R.R. Martin, who should spend less time giving interviews and more time finishing the damn book series.

• Well….that was short lived – MSNBC fired Alec Baldwin.

• Lifetime has renewed Witches of East End.

• Comedy Central has picked up @midnight for 40 more weeks.

• The Friday the 13^th franchise will release a new film in 2015. True story – though I am a horror fan, I’ve never seen any of these movies.

• Kevin Spacey gave Woody Allen a Netflix subscription.

• Pitbull and Ke$ha co-star in a new music video:

 

• Sadly, Angelina Jolie did not buy Brad Pitt a heart shaped island for his 50^th birthday.

• Tumblrs of the week: Upworthy: Springfield and Histagrams

• The Broadway musical Matilda is headed to the big screen.

• Patton Oswalt’s new comedy special will air in January on Epix.

• Javier Bardem offered Blackbeard role in Peter Pan origin movie.

• This is fantastic – a guy live tweeted a couple breaking up.

• Jennifer Love Hewitt got married and gave birth to a baby girl.

• Journey guitarist Neil Schon and White House crasher Michaele Salahi are getting married on pay-per-view. Don’t be giving Kimye ideas.

• Vulture has a roundup of all of Ruxin’s putdowns on The League.

• Frankie Munitz has suffered a second mini-stroke. The actor is 27 years old.

• Michael Chiklis is developing a TV show based on his comic book Pantheon. Show of hands – who knew Chiklis had a comic book? Me neither.

• I’m not one to tell people how to spend their money, but $27,000 for a Magic: The Gathering card seems like a bad investment.

• A J.R.R. Tolkien biopic is in development.

• Jimmy Fallon will host SNL in December with musical guest Justin Timberlake (shocker!)

• SyFy has bought the horror project The Woods from the co-creator of Chuck.

• Mad Men has a Christmas album, available only at Target.

• Flavorwire interviews Joel Hodgson on 25 years of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

• Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are developing the DC Comic’s Sleeper.

• Baz Luhrmann may direct a Napoleon miniseries for HBO.

• The A.V. Club looks at what it is like to be a contestant on The Biggest Loser.

Trailers:

• Every new trailer for HBO’s True Detective makes me more and more excited for this show:

 

• A teaser for the new Chicago Fire spin-off, Chicago PD:

 

• Sherlock Season 3:

 

• The obviously NSFW trailer has arrived from Lars von Trier’s upcoming film Nymphomaniac

 

• Season 3 trailer for HBO’s Girls:

 

• A trailer for Devil’s Knot – yet another film about the West Memphis Three:

 

• Another trailer for one of the movies I am most looking forward to this winter, American Hustle:

 

• Kellen Lutz stars in Hercules: The Legend Begins:

 

• A new trailer for Muppets Most Wanted:

 

• Wait….we’re getting another A Haunted House movie? Who asked for this?

• Norman Reedus (Daryl, The Walking Dead) will have a supporting role in The Crow reboot.

• ABC Family has released its 25 Days of Christmas schedule.

• An actor from Smash will be making a guest appearance on The Good Wife.

• Rolling Stone has a list of 50 things Millennials have never heard of.

• HBO is developing F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Last Tycoon for series.

• Cary Elwes is writing a Princess Bride memoir. I’ll be reserving my copy ASAP.

• Some deleted scenes from one of my all-time favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption:

 

• I always knew It’s Sunny in Philadelphia was ahead of its time. Does this mean kitten mittens are next?

• Whoa – Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle album was released 20 years ago. I am feeling old.

• The Wolverine sequel will be based on an existing comic book plotline.

• Mia Waskiowska and Johnny Depp are both returning for Alice in Wonderland 2.

• Sundance Channel may adapt A Visit From the Goon Squad.

• Aaron Paul has joined the cast of Fathers and Daughters (also starring Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried).

• Kevin Bacon’s daughter is Miss Golden Globes 2014.

• Clint Eastwood’s daughter married Jonah Hill’s brother and immediately wants an annulment.

• Boogie Nights almost went directly to video.

As always, we end with the mashups and supercuts:

• Mad Men without the smoking:

 

• Reaping Ball – a Hunger Games/Miley Cryrus mashup:

 

• The Wolf of Bedford Falls (It’s a Wonderful Life re-cut to look like The Wolf of Wall Street):

 

• A Rob Ford/New Jack City remix:

 

• A Rob Ford/Chris Farley mashup (Farley would have been amazing playing Ford on SNL):

 

• Team Coco put together a supercut of season 3 of Conan:

 

• The Sesame Street gang did a Hunger Games parody:

 

• And finally……a Dawson’s Creek/The Walking Dead mashup, Governor’s Creek:

 

The blog is probably going to take a few days off for the holidays, unless I just can’t help myself. Best wishes for a very happy Thanksgiving and Hanukkah!!!!