- Books for the Summer -

Okay, so I decided to  introduce some books I plan to read during the summer. Most of them I haven't read yet, so I can't really review them. These all also happen to be books that are currently in works to be adapted into movies, so you can say: "I read that book before it was a movie and cool". Thank me later! These books are not in any specific order, nor are they any specific genre.

And also, this seemed appropriate post to add this to: if you like my blog, add yourselves as readers, it would make me happy and keep you up to date with your entertainment reading.

  

I'll start with one of my favourite books: J.R.R Tolkien's masterpiece The Hobbit, Or There and Back Again, published in 1937, is one of the greatest classics of children's literature. Thanks to the movies, The Hobbit's successor Lord Of The Rings might be better known, but this book is really easy to read and get into despite all the fantasy terms and history, unlike the epic successor. It is the story of the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who is chosen to go on a journey with a group of dwarves to reclaim the home of their ancestors. The first of two parts is coming out in December 14th and stars Martin Freeman in the lead role.

To change the genre, the next book is called The Wettest Country in the World, by Matt Bondurat. The story takes place in Depression-era Virginia, and focuses on three bothers making a living on bootlegged moonshine. The story is told from the perspective of all three brothers and some critiques told it made the storyline bit broken, but the book got praise for its lyrical style. The film adaption is called Lawless and it competes in Cannes this year. The movie stars Shia Lebouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Jessica Chastain.

I mentioned this next book few weeks ago too, but lets not forget it. Seth Grahame-Smith's previous books Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter have proven to be successes, and the movie adaption of the latter one is coming out this year. He mixes history with fantasy action/adventure and that has proven to be a winning formula for him. His newest book Unholy Night follows the same pattern adding some black-magic to the Three Wise Men story and  the birth of Jesus. He told previously that he is already working on the movie script for the book, but I think the success of the Lincoln movie really decides weather it will get a movie treatment. You can find the review of the book at Entertainment Weekly.

 

Then some young adult sci-fi movies, that plan to repeat the success of Hunger Games, Twilight and Harry Potter. Lionsgate (the company behind Hunger Games movie) has acquired the rights to a trilogy called Chaos Walking, by Patrick Ness. The trilogy follows a young boy who lives in a society that is lead to believe by their mayor,  that there is no world outside their walls. The first book is called The Knife Of Letting Go and focuses on the main character's escape of the gated society. 

The second young adult sci-fi book getting film adaption is called the Maze Runner, by James Dashner. The book starts as the main characters wakes up in a camp of other kids in a place called The Glade surrounded by a huge changing maze. The kids send out runners to the maze to figure out it's size and add the new info to their map in an attempt to someday find their way out. The movie of the book is not yet fully green-lit but the script is under work and Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight, Red Riding Hood) is said to direct it.

The third one I've mentioned previously too, and the first part of the series has already gotten its film version. The second book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians -series, The Sea of Monsters, by Rick Riordan is supposed to get its film adaption in March 2013. Though I've already grown out of this series, I've always liked Greek mythology, and the book geniusly combines that with modern day, so those who are even a tad interested, I suggest you take a look. Maybe this film wont be so cliché as the previous one.

Then some classics of literature that are on their way to the big screen too. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, has already gotten numerous film adaptions, but I guess its time for a new one. The book tells the story of an orphan named Pip and his life and troubles. The 2012 film version stars Jeremy Irvine as pip and the rest of the cast includes Helena Bonham-Carter and Ralph Fiennes among others.  Maybe now I will be inspired to read this classic.

Another classic piece of literature getting the movie treatment is Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoi, which I still haven't read though some cite is as the best novel ever written. The book tells the tragedy of Anna Karenina and her marriage to a Russian aristocrat, though the plot in its all glory is much more complex but would take way too much space. The movie, directed by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement) and starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law, is set to be released 2012.

Though I have absolutely no plan to read it, I still decided to mention it because it is going to be somewhat epic adaption. The classic story of Noah's Ark from the bible is coming to the big screen during 2012, but I'm guessing its more likely to come out in early 2013. It stars Jennifer Connelly, Russell Crowe and Saoirse Ronan, and it will be directed by Darren Arnofsky (Black Swan), so it's something to look forward to.

Three more books left, I'm really starting to think I might have too much to read for the summer, but lets see. First one is a literature classic too: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story is set during 1920's America, where the economy has recovered from the World War and is enjoying an era of prosperity. The book follows few socialites and their new way of life in Long Island and New York. The film adaption is directed by Baz Luhrman (Moulin Rouge!, Romeo+Juliet) and it stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carrey Mulligan and Toby Maguire. During this year's CinemaCon it got good previews praising especially Luhrman's use of 3D in drama film. It will be released worldwide December 25th.

I'm not yet sure if I want to read this book, but for the past few weeks, it seemed to be mentioned everywhere, from Ellen to Chelsea Lately. Fifty Shades of Grey, by E.L James, is an erotic novel that was inspired by Twilight fan fiction. Set in Seattle, the book follows Christian Grey, a young businessman, who develops feelings for a college graduate and starts an erotic relationship with her relying in S&M a lot. Now you can see how this might be controversial and also something that Hollywood is interested in. Though the book hasn't gotten that much literature praise, it did reach #1 New York Times Best Seller List and seems to be very hot in the stores now. The film rights were acquired by Universal Pictures, but there is no release date or stars yet.

And last, but most certainly not the least: Life of Pi, by Yann Martel. The plot is very unusual and mystic, so I might not do it any justice here, but lets try. It is separated to three parts, first follows Pi as a child, when he struggles with finding his religion. In the second part, he becomes stranded with different animals when his ship is sunk. In the third part Pi is interviewed by Japanese maretime officers trying to figure out why the ship sunk. Life of Pi movie will be released December 21st and it is directed by Ang Lee. He even released a promo picture at CinemaCon:

So here are few of the books I will read during the summer, and after this you might too. Weekly post coming Tuesday or Wednesday.

-April-

So I decided to write my monthly design post few days earlier, because I got a lot to write about tomorrow. 

This time I didn't especially look anything up in Etsy, but I was redirected there when I was looking for the original artist behind these amazing posters. And I found it! You all know how I love Disney films, so its no wonder I'm so hyped about these chic/retro posters. They are created by British designer Rowan Stocks Moore and feature such classic Disney films as Pinocchio, Lion King and Sleeping Beauty, find them all here! I was so close on ordering the Bambi one, but my walls are already full enough and I still got two posters waiting.

There are very few photographers that really have enough to make themselves really know by name. One of them is definitely Annie Liebovitz. She is a regular distributor to one of my favourite magazine Vanity Fair, but this  photo is actually from Vogue, and surprise surprise, it features two cast members of Saturday Night Live. The picture with Kristen Wiig and Seth Meyers is actually geniusly arranged, with Seth under the table, as he is the writer behind most sketches that put her in the spotlight. The second reason I mentioned this photo, is the place I found it. Vulture posts a list of best entertainment photos of the month, usually during the few first days of the month, so their April list is coming in few days. It is worth checking out and here is March edition, which is where I first saw this photo.

Only possible way to smoothly move from that to architecture, is to say how picturesque this piece of furniture/art by Thomas Heatherwick is. That's not the only thing he is know for, especially in United Kingdom. He is the man behind the new design for the double-decker buses in UK that will start taking over the streets during this year. Like most of his design, (good roundup of which you can find here) the new bus looks very linear and modern, though it isn't that striking on the outside. And a cool side note, he is also behind the design for the brazier holding the Olympic flame for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

London is really stepping up for the Olympic Games. Even the renovation of the King's Cross Station was completed this year, and Harry Potter fans don't panic, the platform 9 3/4 is still there for all of us to enjoy. This new masterpiece of engineering, designed by John McAslan, isn't as striking as it is just big, but I do like how it goes with the old station. Time will tell, but I don't think the new renovation will stand the test of time that well, because it kinda looks like some 90's airport where the echo is just awful and you end up losing all your luggage running around this dome.

Though this next building is currently very isolated, I believe a similar design would work very well in metropolitan areas. Alésia Museum Interpretive Center in France, designed by Bernard Tschumi,
is covered in beautiful and modern wooden facade while it has a very elegant white interior design. If only this building was a bit closer, it would be fun to visit. And I see no reason why that kind of facade wouldn't work on regular non-circle buildings.

In keeping with the circle theme, I found this cool artwork/walkway in Denmark, by Olafur Eliasson, built in 2011. And even though it might not have any practical purposes, "My rainbow panorama" ,as it is called, certainly seems a place to easily take amazing photos in . It is situated on top of Århus Art Museum in Århus, so if you ever are around there, pop by.

Now I really got this post rolling smoothly: Denmark's next door neighbour Sweden is well know for its art and design, but if I stop lying, its mostly known for IKEA. Well now Ikea is taking a try in the world of home media electronics, and it seems like a really good try. Named Uppleva, it combines a proper HD Led TV with integrated Blu-Ray player and new line of furnitures, as seen in this promotional video, TADAA!

Then my favourite part, houses for sale, which I most likely can never afford. First one I could see my self buying (if I had $19 Millions to spend casually) in a very Under The Tuscan Sun-way, where I would just want to start over in some other country, in this case, Sweden (see how it came together again!). Built in 11th century, this magnificent castle was once under royal ownership and later in 17th century expanded and renovated. Even though it has quite a pedigree, the upkeep of that kind of place must be sky high and you can see that is a bit rough around the edges, so no wonder it is on market. I found no pictures of the interior design, but they are supposed to be almost intact. This estate is sold via Christie's, best place to dream.

The second house for sale, that intrigued me, is the Lake Lugano House, by Jacopo Mascheroni, in Switzerland. The view is obviously breath-taking, and the building quite genius itself. With partially underground floor plan, it provides the maximum light at any given time. But I must say this design works only on specific locations, because it is extremely easy to see inside, so it works best in secluded areas where the nature around deserves a view. Here is the original ad.

I have a great post coming up sometime tomorrow when I get the time to write it, about good books to read in the summer. So look for that tomorrow!

P.S I also found extremely fast way to screw up my whole post. Thanks to some clicking I made, I had to put up all photos twice, so their linking might be bit strange, hope they still work.

-17-

Maybe this time I won't say I'll write on Sunday, since that obviously is not going to happen. I found some good news online again though. In the past week I watched some older episodes of Family Guy and classic Will&Grace and found these, and then some more:

"-Hey, I just got your message, and you need to see my ass and pee?

-I need yo see you A.S.A.P."

-Jack and Will

Sean Hayes and Eric McCormac on Will&Grace

"-Oh my god Brian, there is message on my Alpha-Bits, it says "Ooooo"

-Peter, those are Cheerios"

-Peter and Brian

on Family Guy

"Convenience forever, freshness never!"

-Apu (about Kwik-E-Mart)

on The Simpsons

"Who's Alice Cooper? Was she pretty?"

-Jules

Courteney Cox on Cougar Town

Now where should I start... Well I didn't have time yet to watch HBO's new comedy Girls, but maybe now I can make it a whole hour of HBO comedy, and watch it together with another new comedy of theirs, Veep. It premiered this weekend and got good reviews from THR at least. The show stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tony Hale and not so well-known Anna Chlumsky, who I still remember as Liz Lemler from her one episode stint in 30 Rock. Veep focuses on a fictional office of the vice president (Louis-Dreyfus) and her work and staff there. 

Veep will also cross-over to my next piece, about Arrested Development, where Tony Hale had main role and Louis-Dreyfus had a good arc too. I've talked about the new season of the show before, and the movie following the fourth season. Well now Netflix, who is the distributor of the new season, announced that the whole season will premiere in just one day. So that means 10 episodes in one night, and not one episode per week, like it's normally done. This is a very interesting move, and it raised some valid questions Vulture answered on their post. Maybe this is AD's way to move on to the movie, since if you watch all 10 episodes in row, it will kinda turn into a very weird movie.

Matthew Perry also got some good news. Friends star has struggled to find his place in TV after his fame, but now his new TV pilot got ordered and will air on NBC. Go On enters the life of a sportscaster (Perry) who finds solace on mandatory group-therapy sessions. The show is supposed to air during the fall season.

I found some SPOILERS on Glee too. According to TVline, the Nationals episode will smash two episodes together and take over FOX on May 15th for two hours. New Girl which used to air after Glee will have its season finale on the previous week.  The 2-hour-long episode will ofc focus on the nationals of the show choir, with Lindsey Lohan judging. Now also Perez Hilton has signed on to judge on the show. During the first half of the show Tina (Jenna Uskowitz) suffers mild head injury on rehearsals and starts seeing different people in different bodies, ex. Kurt in Finn's body, and Puck in Blaine's. Few pictures about that here!

And us Jimmy Fallon fans will be excited to know, that President Obama will appear on his show April 24th, so tonight actually. Fallon has been tweeting his excitement all week and I'm sure it will be great, maybe they will even play one of his famous games. And as usual, Fallon is on NBC, so don't expect to find any good quality videos very soon.

Then via award shows, to movie news. Cannes released its full lineup for this summer's festival, you can find it here. There are lot of very expected movies on the list, but notably not a single woman director on the competition. While we have to wait to May 16th for Cannes, well known Tribeca Film Festival is currently going on in NYC. HuffingtonPost put together a list of most anticipated films of this year's festival. And the first one mentioned is The Five-Year Engagement, starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, that I'm really looking forward to see. I think the trailer will very well explain why its worth seeing:

I promise not to write about Hunger Games next week, but this is worth mentioning. The sequel Catching Fire finally got it's director. It will be directed by Francis Lawrence, who previously directed Water for Elephants and I Am Legend, but is best know for directing music videos. His work includes such videos as Bad Romance for Lady Gaga and Girls for Beyonce. Celebuzz put this great compilation of his work, you'll find it here!

Though I mentioned LiLo already, she's got more going on than Glee. Lohan has been confirmed to play Elizabeth Taylor in Lifetime's poorly named TV movie Liz & Dick. The film focuses on Taylor and Richard Burton's relationship and it starts production on June. It is still unknown (for me at least) who will play Burton.

I had few other things to write about too, but I  just decided they would make for a good post on Sunday, but no promises

-16-

So I didn't have time/energy to write anything this weekend, but here is my weekly post as usual, though the fact that my "r" on my keyboard doesn't work properly so writing is kinda annoying. That didn't fortunately stop me from quote hunting.

"Its in my DNA, just like it's in porcelain's (Kurt Hummel) DNA to poop rainbow glitter"

- Sue Sylvester

Jane Lynch on Glee

"Well that's where I live, and those are my friends. And, Russell, my life is just as important as your life. If you want to get with me, you're going to have to get with my friends -- and that is a Spice Girls song."

-Jess

Zooey Deschanel on New Girl

"She feels great. Her spirits are high. The whole family's high. There's your headline" 

-Phil

Ty Burell on Modern Family

"-She's blasting West Side Story.
-Yeah she does that so the intruders think there are guys rumbling with knives and stuff."

-Chris and Reagan

Will Arnett and Christina Applegate on Up All Night

 One of the biggest TV news last week was when Simpsons-creator Matt Groening supposedly revealed the mysterious location of Springfield. He was quoted saying that it was in Oregon, U.S. But then later he told that wasn't the case. He said that Springfield is named after its namesake in Oregon, but not that it is the same town. A bit odd way to talk about Springfield in his interview, when he could have guessed how people would read that part. You can find the full interview here.

Another big story of  last week: Betty White is on twitter. Though the 90-yo actress told Jay Leno in a recent interview she doesn't own a computer, she seems to be doing fine on Twitter. She even got her Hot In Cleveland co-star Valerie Bertinelli confused who then tweeted that it wasn't real Betty White who was using @BettyMWhite. I really admire White for her energy, she has currently two TV shows on-air: Hot In Cleveland and Betty White's Off Their Rockers. The latter one is a reality show where old people prank younger people. What could be more fun? Check it out.

I'm really looking forward to this evening's new Glee episode, which is a tribute to Saturday Night Fever. The episode includes such classic songs as Disco Inferno, Boogie Shoes, How Deep is Your Love and Stayin' Alive. It is also the first episode to star Alex Newell from Project Glee, who came in 4th and got a 2 episode arc on the show. As a huge fan of Disco music this is just what I need. Here is one of the performances of the upcoming episode: 

Then some sad news for us 30 Rock fans. It seems like the seventh season will be the shows last one. Alec Baldwin has been kinda loose cannon for multiple seasons and some have speculated he'd quit the show. But he and Tina Fey are both signed  for seventh season. It wasn't till recently that I got worried when Tina Fey told that the end of the show is on the horizon. The show has recently had pretty low ratings and not so great reviews. Even so, seven seasons is pretty amazing for a show that was almost under cancellation threat after its first season, but has since then fought its way to our hearts.

Even if 30 Rock calls it quits after seventh season, its not like we wont see Tina Fey anymore. She is currently in talks of starring in Nancy Meyers' new comedy The Intern, about a woman hiring an 70-yo intern. Will be fun to see who they cast as the intern, HuffPost suggests Jack Nicholson. I have a lot of faith in this movie, not just because of Fey, but for Meyers too. She has directed and written two of my favourite comedies: Somethings Gotta Give and It's Complicated.

Another funny-lady is closing in on a movie deal too. Jennifer Aniston has been linked to the We're the Millers comedy, about a man (on current castings Jason Sudekis) who hires a fake family to accompany him while he smuggles drugs across the country. The cast might still see some changes, since the movie has been under production since 2006. If this happens, it might actually be kinda good, like Horrible Bosses which is the last movie the two starred in together.

To continue my report about great comediennes, I'll complete the list with Sofia Vergara. She has been revealed to star in her own reality show for Spanish YouTube channel NuevOn. It will feature her and her son as they live the "Hollywood Latino life". Even though the show will most likely be fully in Spanish, she is so amazing I just might have to sit down with Google Translator open and watch it anyways.

Let's not totally forget the men though. Ben Kingsley is reportedly attached to play the villain in Iron Man 3, which is set to start shooting this year, current news tell that it will be shot in China. There has been no news on who he will play, just some speculations, but he has the range to play almost any kind of character. But before Iron Man 3, Marvels mega-superhero-smash-up  Avengers is hitting theaters worldwide on May 5th, and is already rumoured to challenge Hunger Games for the #1 spot in 2012 box office success.

Speaking of Hunger Games. Almost right after the release of the movie, the talks began about who will direct the next in the series. After much speculation, Gary Ross said he was leaving the project, because he felt that he didn't have enough time to prepare the script. This in turn was caused by Jennifer Lawrence's schedule, who is obligated by contract to star in the upcoming X-Men First Class sequel. That girl is in demand! On the other hand I feel sad about Ross leaving, because he did kinda good work on introducing the world of Hunger Games to the public, but on the other hand I'm happy, because he only "kinda" did it, and I look forward to see other takes on the series.

Then some very exciting casting news. While Disney has not confirmed any castings, inside sources say that Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson have been cast for leading roles in an upcoming film Saving Mr. Banks. The film tells the story how Walt Disney (Hanks) got P.L. Travers (Thompson) to sign up the rights for the Mary Poppins movie. This is a movie I'm really looking forward to see, because I love Mary Poppins and I'm very interested about Walt Disney. Based on Kelly Marcel's Black List script and directed by John Lee Hancock, this movie is sure to get recognized by the Oscars.

Another movie I'm really looking forward to see, is the newest Tarantino, coming out this December, Django Unchained. The movie is basically about a freed slave who is trying to get his wife back, but with Tarantino directing its not that simple. The movie has an amazing cast that includes Christopher Waltz, Kerry Washington, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx and Samuel L. Jackson. Well anyways, my point was that it got a new poster. It has very Olly Moss-feeling, but I wasn't able to find the artist behind this piece of art.

Yet another movie I wish to see, is a TV movie by HBO films, which has recently made such great dramas as Game Change and Cinema Verite, both amazing. Their newest film Hemingway & Gellhorn focuses on the namesake's love story and struggles. The TV movie premiers on HBO in May and it stars Nicole Kidman and Clive Owen, The lead stars also covered latest W Magazine, see the photos here. And here is the trailer:

Maybe this weekend I'll get to writing again. If not, weekly coming up Tuesday.

-15-

I know this might get boring, but I'm still going to say few words about SNL. Though this is something we didn't see on air. On this video cast member Taran Killam (who is btw engaged to Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother) showed off his dancing skills. He copies Robyn's dance moves in his own way, and you can see other SNL actors watching, like Bobby Moinahan and Vanessa Bayer. 

 

And here are some quotes again, though the first one is a screencap. Jimmy Fallon has a segment on his show called #LateNightHashtags, where he starts a hashtag on twitter, and then he reads some of the responses on air. Last week the subject was #Springbreakmistake, and this one was just too good to pass. First of all, he's called lord_nugget : 

"-Get me a vodka rocks

-Mom, it's breakfast

 -And a piece of toast"

Michael and Lucille

Jason Bateman and Jessica Walter on Arrested Development

 

"-What happened to the last piece of pizza? 

-Oh, I thought everyone was done, so I threw it ... down my throat"

Will and Grace

Eric McCormack and Debra Messing on Will&Grace

 

"Rick Santorum still refuses to pull out of the GOP candidate race,

although it shouldn't be that big of a surprise that a man with 7 kids, 

isn't that good at pulling out"

Conan O'Brien on his talk show opening monologue

 

As some of my favourite series are finishing their seasons, new shows are coming on to replace them for the spring/summer season.  Happy Endings finale aired already last week, but most have still few episodes to go. If you weren't paying close attention you probably missed Bent, I think I mentioned it last week, so check it out. It only aired 6 episodes and I still haven't found any info about the future of the show, but hopefully it will return.

 

 

Few comedies premiering on April too, like Judd Apatow produced Girls. The plot itself doesn't sound very ground-breaking: young group of people moving/living in New York City. But there is some buzz about it, and Judd Apatow usually knows what he is doing.  Another show coming out this April, is Don't Trust the B--- in Apartment 23, it has bit more originality with the plot. The series follows June, who moves in with a con-artist Chloe and after some rough times they become friends. And James Van Der Beek plays himself on the show. So look out for these two.

An old "comedy" returned too, Nurse Jackie. Though I wouldn't really say it is a comedy, but more of a drama or at least a black comedy. On the first episode Jackie struggles with his personal life and drug addiction, so she decides to go into rehab. I kinda forgot the series for a while, but maybe I'll give it another try. 

 

Glee Project is also coming back for the summer after Fox just renewed Glee for fourth season. I don't really care for it so much that I would read this whole article, but feel free. I just like to see the result of the show, after all Damien McGinty did pretty good job on Glee, and now Samuel Larsen is taking his turn on the show. These two shared the victory last season and both got 7-episode arcs.

 

Big Bang Theory had a pretty great guest star last week, Stephen Hawking. The episode story revolves around Sheldon (Jim Parsons) trying to share his theories with Hawking. Though the episode itself wasn't anything that special, you just can't hate that show.  The show is really rounding up the big names, as Leonard Nemoy also appeared on it last week.

And some awards news again. Though the Tony Awards aren't that interesting, since I haven't seen any of the shows, but the performances are usually good. Like last year when Lea Michele performed Don't Rain On My Parade. And like last year, Neil Patrick Harris is back to host the show again. This is his third time hosting. Though he is best know for his TV work in How I Met Your Mother and Doogie Howser, M.D., he is also experienced stage actor. The Tony Awards are held June 10th.

 

On to movies then. The newest Woody Allen film To Rome With Love got its trailer last week. After Paris Allen takes on Rome with his huge cast that includes some big names, like Penelope Cruz and Alec Baldwin, but also young newcomer Greta Gerwig  whose newest film Damsels in Distress is out now.

Rock Of Ages also released new full theatrical trailer. The movie is based on the stage musical of same name, and has an amazing cast. With big names like Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin (again), Cathrine Zeta-Jones and Julianne Hough, the film is bound to do well on box office. And it is great to see Zeta-Jones on musical film again after her award winning role on Chicago. Like the musical, the film music consists of classic rock songs from Journey, Poison, etc. instead of original musical numbers, so that might  draw in some unexpected viewers too.

Then some casting news, pretty major one actually. Nicole Kidman is in talks of portraying Grace Kelly in an upcoming biopic film Grace of Monaco. I'm too excited to type, so read more here!

Seth Grahme-Smith's newest book, after Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, called Unholy Night, seems like something worth finding. It retells the story of Three Wise Men as a kind of action adventure version. You'll find the full article and interview here. I guess I'm going book shopping this weekend.

 

New stuff coming next weekend, until then: 

 

 

 

 

-SNL: Sofia Vergara-

My weekend posts seem to be a bit random, but I guess that's a good change of pace. Today I decided to write about Saturday Night Live's newest episode hosted by my favourite Latino Sofia Vergara, with musical guest One Direction. The reason I wanted to write about this episode wasn't just because she did an amazing job, but also because I've been watching SNL a lot lately, and its pretty much all I can think about. Because NBC is so strict on their material, it is almost impossible to find full videos that can be viewed online outside U.S., but we all got our ways to get the episode, if you know what I mean. So that's what I suggest you to do...

Due to the presidential election in U.S, this seasons episodes have been even more political than usually. All four of current candidates for GOP presidential nominee have received their share of jokes. In this episode's cold opening, Jason Sudekis as Mitt Romney made fun about campaigning for things he really has no interest at all. He made appearances in places like Piercing Convention and Role Playing Event, and lastly at Saturday Night Live, falsely declaring the famous quote as: "Hey New York, lets start this show!". But as we all know, it is:

LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT'S SATURDAY NIGHT!

There was some concern about how Vergara will manage her hosting duty because of her strong accent and type-casting. SNL really went with that and played on her strong points: ethnicity, voice, and sexuality. She played multiple loud Latino characters with a lot of cleavage, and Fran Drescher. Her opening monologue was funny, talking about how Americans welcomed her "with open arms and pulled down pants" when she moved from Columbia. She also cleverly side stepped whole Three Stooges remake she is a part of (that seems like a total flop) and focused on Modern Family instead. About her accent she said "please forgive my accent and I'll forgive you for staring at my chest the whole night".  Apology accepted.

After that on SNL Digital Short, Adam Sandberg and Sudekis promoted new booty shorts for men who are tired of being confused as gay couple. The shorts had "Just Friends" embroidered on their ass and left very little to imagination. The other commercial later on the show was for Lil' Poundcake doll. its just a normal doll, that administers HPV injections to kids against Human Papilloma Virus. Nothing unusual there. The third commercial was for "Almost Pizza", that really makes people think what it includes when the mother (Wiig) refuses to tell what it is actually made of.

The episode also included few of my favourite recurring sketches, like Bein' Quirky with Abby Elliot as Zooey Deschanel. Though Elliot's impression was spot on, its Taran Killam's work as Michale Cera that makes me laugh. From the high pitched voice to the nervous laughter it all works. Kristen Wiig played Drew Barrymore and Vergara did her version of Fran Drescher. Best line by Wiig: "I'd like to name my kid Rolf, because it sounds like fat dog laughing". Samberg also cameoed as Mayim Bialik.

Other recurring sketch I'm weirdly attracted to, the Manuel Ortiz Show. This parody of South American talk show with excessive dancing and really over the top guests. And yes, it is just as stupid as the picture looks like:

Third recurring sketch was Gilly, played by Wiig. Gilly is a student that does really inappropriate pranks that can end up really bad. Vergara played their sex-ed teacher (no surprise there). The sketch included a look to Gilly's future, where she still keeps playing pranks on people. Dying pranks rarely make me laugh so hard. 

Weekend Update with Seth Meyers was constantly clever as usual, but appearance by Drunk Uncle (Bobby Moynihan) really made my day. He talked about Easter and what it means to him and how he plans to celebrate it. As drunks do, he kept losing track of what he was doing, started crying, fell asleep, got the munchies and was hilarious to watch.

Like I mentioned on my last post, this episode was the first time we see the new cast member Kate McKinnon in action. Her first appearance was as Tabatha Coofey in Andy Cohen spoof. Later she appeared as Penelope Cruz with Vergara on Panthene commercial photo shoot, where they had some problem pronounce the chemical terms, like actresses do in hair product commercials. Vergara helped Cruz pronounce "Phytomorphogenesis", which still ended coming out as "refrigerator". McKinnon proved she has a lot of potential though it wasn't too stellar start. It was a bit weird that no one mentioned the new cast member at any point, just a quick flash at opening credits, which I totally missed at first glance.

One Direction's performance really was nothing else but good time to get snacks for me. Good shot at getting the younger demo to watch, but kinda pointless for the rest. They also made an  appearance at The Manuel Ortiz show.

Even SNL can't bypass Hunger Games. Vergara played very Effie Trinket-type character, who interviewed the tributes on arena, and caused few of them to die after giving away their position. Her character was super excited about the job, and kept a happy face even when Katniss (Elliot)  her poisonous berries. Bill Hader played Ceasare Flickerman and Fred Armisen was Claudius Templesmith.

Overall I really enjoyed the episodes and I hope you'll all find your ways to this episode, or any other SNL episode. Next week SNL will be hosted by Josh Brolin with musical guest Gotye (whose song will be covered by Darren Criss and Matt Bomer on next week's brand new glee episode!).

Weekly post coming on Tuesday.

I do not claim any ownership for the pictures.

-14-

I just read that Adele is releasing new single at the end of 2012 and I think that was worth mentioning at the very beginning. She did however say, that we shouldn't expect a new album to accompany the new single. But I'm not complaining. Now some quotes again, few are a bit olde. Try to say the first one really fast:

"-Actually I was going to stay in my office and work on my law blog.

-Of course... the "Bob Loblaw Law Blog". Wow sir, you are a mouthful!

-Bob and Tobias

Scot Baio and David Cross on Arrested Development

 "Our bodies can't do what they used to be able to do. Yours can't play hockey with twenty-year-olds, mine can't laugh really hard without peeing"

-Reagan 

Christina Applegate on Up All Night

"-Slutty Brownies are these amazing things made of cookie dough, Oreos and brownie dough.

-Why are they called slutty?

-I guess because a lot go into them? I don't know.

Jessica Simpson and Jay Leno on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Though the official list of movies shown at Cannes isn't released until April 19th, theWrap took some time to make predictions on what movies will be a part of the prestigious ceremony. Even if they aren't completely right, its still a pretty good list on what international films to look out for. And also on the list: Holly Motors. A low-budget film about woman moonlighting as a beggar and a murderer. The movie stars Eva Mendez and Kylie Minogue among others.

Though I will probably always see Jenna Fischer as Pam from The Office, her new movie certainly seems very different. She plays a woman trying to find her calling on life and ends up falling in love with a street performer. Directed by her husband Lee Kirk, The Giant Mechanical Man seems like an adorable love story.

 Another movie released its trailer too, though this is way more mainstream. The remake of 1990 sci-fi movie Total Recall hits the theaters this summer, and seems like worth checking out. The movie is about a man whose memory has been tempered with and finds some new sides of himself. Colin Farrel takes on the lead role trying to prove that he still has what it takes to draw in the green on box office. Kate Beckinsale and  Jessica Biel provide the beauty.

Some weeks ago I talked about the upcoming movie adaption of the musical Les Miserables. The production is well on its way and Hugh Jackman posted new photo from the set of him in his costume. Jackman plays Jean Valjean, an convict escaping his parole and  trying to put his life together during the French revolution.

When the news broke on April 1st, it was no surprise that people thought it was April Fools joke, since it certainly sounded like that. Aston Kutcher playing Steve Jobs, whaaat? But this has been confirmed. Kutcher isn't really known for his dramatic roles, but he certainly looks like Jobs when he was younger. He will either do a great job, or it will be a huge failure.

I don't know if its the April Fools or what, but a lot has been going on in the world of comedy. Last week on Conan, Will Farrel made a guest appearance as Ron Burgundy from Anchorman, revealing that there is a sequel coming up. I've never actually seen this financially successful comedy, but maybe I now have to see it, at least his appearance made me laugh.

Few other sequels caught my eye, and I honestly thought I was being fooled. First, Farrelly brothers told they are working on the sequel for Dumb and Dumber, with both Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels signed up to reprise their roles. Then I found this other news, which seemed totally absurd. Do you remember that mediocre/really bad comedy with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito called Twins? Well now they are working on a sequel called, surprise surprise, Triplets. And what makes it so bad, is that Eddie Murphy is going the be the third, genetically engineered sibling. I mean really?

In some other comedy film news, Amanda Peet has been cast in Identity Theft, already starring Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman. The name already tells the basic synopsis of  the film, but it might surprise you that it is McCarthy's character that steals Bateman's identity. Peet will most likely play his romantic interest. Peet is currently starring on Bent, a new comedy series, which has gotten great reviews but hasn't got the viewers since it airs against The American Idol. I truly hope they'll move its spot, because I'd hate to see it cancelled pre-maturely.

Family Guy creator and voice actor Seth MacFarlane is branching out to movie business. He just released trailer to his new movie Ted, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis (his Family Guy co-star), while MacFarlane provides voice to Ted, and CGI-animated bear living with Wahlberg. Trailer seems funny at least, gotta love Ted as a cashier: 

A lot going on in TV comedies  too. Lorne Michaels, the legendary producer at NBC has been looking for new comediennes for SNL, and Kate McKinnon will be premiering in next new episode, in which case it would be on next Saturday when Sofia Vergara is hosting. Will be fun to see what they come up with, I haven't seen McKinnon in any other previous role before, but I trust Lorne.

That's not the only thing happening at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, home to 30 Rock too, duh! Elizabeth Banks is coming down from her Hunger Games buzz by returning to TV, reprising her role as Avery Jessup, who in the current storyline, is still being held captive at North Korea. She is said to appear sometime during May, can't wait!

Though Glee still hasn't returned from its break, they certainly know how to keep us hooked. First Whoopi Goldberg was announced to join the cast as a professor at NYADA, the art school where Rachel and Kurt are applying. She is set to star in at least 3 episodes. Then Lindsey Lohan was added to the mix, she would play herself on the show, as a judge on Show Choir Nationals. Maybe this is Glee's way of apologizing for making fun at her when Gwyneth Paltrow was guest-starring.

Happy Endings is also teasing us with teasers of future episodes. This time they released first four minutes of the season finale. See the clip here and read spoilers from the episode. One word: MANDONNA

And of course the most talked about premiere of the week. Game Of Thrones season 2 premiered Sunday, and was everything what I was expecting: new characters, plots, killing, nudity and pure awesomeness! I found this great photo gallery from EW, which sheds light on the GOT actors off-camera persona. Take a look! Here is a teaser video of upcoming events, this is almost too exciting to share:

Some new post coming this weekend if I found inspiration, but weekly post next Tuesday at least.