-22-

Lot of award shows were held during the past week again; Cannes gave out their golden palms (more on that later), Loreen from Sweden won the Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbajdzhan, and BAFTA TV Awards were held in London, though there were really no shows represented there that I follow. But before everything else: quotes!

"Actually, Lindsay was so mad at Michael, she decided to meditating to calm herself... she ended up taking a two-hour angry nap"

-Narrator

Ron Howard on Arrested Development

"This Morning I thought I heard a neighbour blasting the new Skrillerx song I like, but then I realised it was just a garbage truck"

-Conan O'Brien

On his twitter @ConanOBrien

"Soon I'll be the queen of summertime"

-Martin

 Russi Taylor (voice actress) on The Simpsons

"Fuck that POTUS (President of the United States)"

-Selena Meyer, The Vice President of US

Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Veep

I might have to make a complete post about my favourite TV Finales this past season, since most of the shows are now finished, Cougar Town and Hot In Cleveland are only two running on my list, if I don't count mid-season replacements like Don't Trust the B**** in Apartment 23 and Veep. But I just gotta share this one SPOILER from Modern Family finale; While Cameron and Mitch didn't get their baby, Gloria is pregnant! Can't wait to watch her pregnancy cravings.

In addition to everything else revealed from the second season of American Horror Story, creator Ryan Murphy revealed that the upcoming season is set during 1960's and Chloe Sevigny (who is well know indie movie actress, but who I know best for her one-episode stint  with Edie Falco on Will&Grace) joins the cast. The second season is set to start airing in October. 

While AHS is hiring actors, Smash is cutting their crew. One of the most hated characters of the past season Ellis (played by Jaime Cepero) is getting cut, even though he did threaten Eileen (Amazing Anjelica Houston) that he would be back. Dev (Raza Jaffrey) won't be returning either, though there is no word yet wheather these characters will return to wrap up their characters. All I really care about is that there is a second season coming up.

Even though the amount of viewers was lower than usually on American Idol finale, the show got record amount of votes as the American people chose Phillip Phillips (really?) as their idol. Gold-piped Jessica Sanchez finished second.

And this is have to put on my weekly post, even though I'm now planning a big TV Finale post. It's too epic to pass. For all of you who don't watch Family Guy, the main character Peter Griffin has a long standing feud with a chicken who gave him a bad coupon long time ago (nothing weird about that). These lenghty battles have occurred through-out the series and latest taking place during the 10th season finale. This is the kind of Family Guy humour that divides the people and why I love the show: 

Then on to the movies news. I've mentioned the upcoming comedy Identity Thief previously, the movie starring Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy. Now Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet has been cast as a supportive character in the movie, his character is named Big Chuck, more on that at THR.

I've also talked about Great Gatsby before too, but now the newest Baz Luhrman-directed movie has gotten a trailer. And it looks nothing like I imagined, and it looks awesome. I love how Luhrman combines old and modern styles, like he did in Romeo+Juliet and Moulin Rouge!.

One of the most anticipated summer movies, The Dark Knight Rises (in theaters July 20th) has released plenty of trailers, but now it got new character posters (see them all here) and another new poster with Catwoman, or actually just her shoe, but it's still pretty cool.

Cannes wrapped up this weekend, and Michael Haneke took home the prestigious Palme D'Or for his movie Amour. It is supposed to be released for wider audience in October, so we have to wait until then to deal out our judgement. Mads Mikkelsen won Best Actor and Christina Flutur and Cosmina Stratan shared the award for Best Actress. Full list of winners here! Even though Cannes is a great event and full of glamour, it can be a bit annoying for most audiences as the movies won't come to theaters for months. It's like the biggest the tease in film world!

To end the post in a lighter note. Here is the new trailer for Hit and Run, starring Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard and Bradley Cooper. There are a lot of reasons to watch this movie when it comes out, like Copper's dreadlocks. But the main reason I want to watch it, is because of the interview of Dax and Kristen (real life couple) on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, they are so adorable! Remember to watch all parts as this is only part 1 of 3. You'll find them easily if you open the video on full YouTube.

Weekly post coming next week and maybe a TV Finale post for 2011-12 season.

-21-

Before my regular post, I'd like to take a moment to remember Donna Summer, The Queen of Disco, who passed away last Thursday after a battle with lung cancer. Five time Grammy-winner is best remembered for her 70's disco hits, like Hot Stuff and Bad Girls. R.I.P.

Then my weekly quotes:

"-Why do I hang out with you?

-Because you are gay?

-What does that make you?

-Attractive?"

-Jake and Eldridge

Angus T. Jones and Graham Patrick Martin on Two and a Half Men

"My pillow and blanket fell into the pool, this is a disaster"

-Brittany

Heather Morris on Glee

"-Stop staring at my ass

- Stop pointing it at my eyeballs!"

-Jenna and Hazel

Jane Krakowski and Kristin Schaal on 30 Rock

"It was hardly porn, just a topless woman on a tractor. You know what they call that in Europe? A cereal commercial"

-Phil

Ty Burrel on Modern Family

I'll start with movie news this time. Few weeks ago I posted about an upcoming Amy Poehler and Adam Scott rom-com, but Poehler is keeping herself busy with another rom-com (parody) with Paul Rudd called They Came Together. This movie is said to parody mostly You've Got Mail and New Girl's Max Greenfield joined the cast recently playing a couch surfing younger brother, total opposite to his character on TV.

Melissa McCarthy is also keeping busy with her funny TV show Mike & Molly, but she is also filming a buddy cop comedy with Sandra Bullock during the summer.The movie is directed by Paul Feig, who also directed McCarthy in Bridesmaids So it might come out early 2013, since her movie This is 40 is supposed to come out this December. 

Something's Gotta Give and It's Complicated writer-producer Nancy Meyers is penning a new comedy about a royal wedding. The story focuses on an American girl who travels to England and meets a prince. Though this idea seems like a total flop, I'm still excited to see what she comes up with, since I loved her other films. After finishing this script, she goes back to focusing on The Intern, her upcoming Tina Fey movie which I have also mentioned earlier. Talking about Tina Fey, check out this timeline about Liz Lemon's hair on 30 Rock via Pleated Jeans!

Well expected 23rd James Bond film Skyfall released a teaser trailer and poster during the past blog week. You can find the poster here and the teaser beneath. Daniel Craig reprises his role as the titular character, while Naomi Harris and Javier Bardem play supportive characters. Dame Judy Dench also appears once more as M. Looks like it's going to be action packed extravaganza.

During all this, Cannes is happening and is all over the Internet too. Though Sean Penn did blame the world for abandoning Haiti and little storm caused some roof to collapse, the focus is on the movies. Due to the shear amount of movies, there isn't time to introduce all, so here is a link to EW's list of the most anticipated movies. Vulture also made similar list, so these should get you well educated on Cannes. So far most of the mentioned movies have gotten a positive reception, like Django Unchained, Lawless and The Sapphires.

Cannes Film Festival has also inspired lot of sites to come up with lists of Greates Cannes stuff, like moments, breaktroughs and flops. I think this one of the Greatest Cannes Moments was pretty good and there were lot of moments I didn't know about, like a live vulture on the red carpet or the stormtrooper takeover.

I'm favoring a transition via short movies to TV news this time. An CalArts student Toniko Pantoja is getting some early buzz over his work. Both of his short animations were pretty adorable and heartfelt. Here is his animation Crayon Dragon, and you can find his first short Serenade to Miette here!

I'll start my TV part with The Simpsons 23rd season finale which featured Lady Gaga. The episode focused on Lisa's personal issues as Gaga came to town to inspire her. Not only was it a pretty spectacular ending for the season, the episode also featured a commercial for Maggie's new short film that will air in cinemas just before Ice Age 4: Continental Drift. You can find the trailer for that here! And here is the promo for the Gaga episode in case you havn't yet seen it:

And don't forget to look for the season finale of Glee either, which airs tonight. The epidsode is supposed to be a real tear fest, and no wonder, since last episode with the Nationals seemed like a very good ending for the season, but apparently they got enough stuff for one more. The episode also marks the first appearance Santana's mom, played by Gloria Estefan!

Another tear fest was the season finale of Saturday Night Live, which also marked the last appearance of Kristen Wiig as a cast member (hopefully she'll return to host really soon!). Wiig ended her 7-year job at SNL to pursue her movie career. There were rumours that Andy Samberg and Jason Sudekis were leaving too, but showrunner and creator Lorne Michales denied these rumours. The episode was hosted by Mick Jagger. Too bad all the videos of the episode were country coded, so I can't post them here, but I suggest you find another way to see it *wink wink*.

That was my post for the week. In the end I'd like to post the video for Florence and the Machine's new song Breath of Life which is the lead single for the soundtrack of Snow White and The Huntsman. Guaranteed Florence and The Machine quality!

-20-

The past week has been all about TV, since the big networks like NBC, ABC and FOX announced their fall line-ups. There were some moderate surprises, but more on those later. First quotes and then quick movie news.

"Bernadette, I wanna thank you for allowing me to be your maid of honor, I also want you to know I will be happy to do it again  if this marriage craps out."

- Amy

Mayim Bialik on The Big Bang Theory

"Clear alchols are for white woman on diets"

-Ron Swanson

Nick Offerman on Parks & Recreation

"-I would like to present my client's internet search history for that night.

- I would rather just confess to the murder."

Jason Sudekis and Eli Manning during a courtroom sketch on Satudray Night Live

"The shoes at off-brandheelz.com: Christy Labuttons, Johnny Choon,
Dolce-Banana, Merolo Blornig, Prader, Gukki, DKNI, Alexandorp McKing,
 Diana von Fistenbug, and Jessica Simpson"

- Jenna for the off-brandheelz.com commercial

Jane Krakowski on 30 Rock

After the record breaking success of The Avengers, I think it's no surprise that Warner Bros. announced that there will be a sequel for the smash hit. Though Marvel will focus first on a bunch of their other sequels, such as Thor 2, Captain America 2 and Iron Man 3 (which has reportedly attached Rebecca Hall as the female lead). There is no word on who will direct the mega sequel, nor what will the major plotline be like.

Another upcoming sequel shared some casting news. Do you remember the movie RED from few years back, starring Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren? Well that movie is getting a sequel, RED 2. Catherine Zeta-Jones joins the cast and the movie scheduled for summer 2013 release. The first film was surprisingly good, packed with action and a comedic undertone.

Then the TV news and oh how many of those I've got.  Lets start with the minor (in my mind) ones. After Simon Cowell's X Factor didn't manage to reel in the viewers last season, he decided it was time for judge change-up. There was much speculation for who will join the panel, and now its official. Britney Spears and Demi Lovato will attempt to attract young viewers, though Cowell had to pay big bucks for these judges. Spears is rumored have a paycheck of $15 million.

Glee's third season is soon coming to an end, but the show is already focusing on their fourth season. As some of the students graduate, they move on with their lives, few moving to New York and some staying in Ohio.  Kate Hudson and Sarah Jessica Parker were announced to guest star in the upcoming season. Hudson was reported to have an eight episode arc, which means she will be quite an character. And SJP will have relatively large arc too, and I assume she will be part of the New York storyline.

Last weekend during Will Farrell hosted SNL, the 100th SNL Digital Short aired. This star-studded music video included all our favs Jon Hamm, Justin Timberlake and Justin Bieber. I hope NBC doesn't remove this video too:

Then some great Cougar Town news! Last week I told that the show might move to TBS, well now it's official. Bill Lawrence (creator of the show) told TVline that this move shouldn't change anything on the show. All I really care about is that the show is on air, hopefully this change will bring in the viewers as the show has been struglling after its prolonged break between 2nd and 3rd seasons.

And then some sad news, next season of 30 Rock will be its last one, and it wont even be a full 24-episode season, but just a 13-episode one. Parks & Recreation was also first reported to have a shortened season, but NBC told it will be a full season, thank god! NBC's Up All Night was also confirmed for second season.

Though these were happy news from NBC, they also made some cuts. I was unhappy see that Bent got cut, as it never really got a good chance to shine. This romantic comedy series could have gone far, but it had a very poor timing, in every sense. Another shortlived comedies like BFF and Chelsea got cut too.

ABC renewed Happy Endings for third season too. It might be one of my favourite comedies, though it has been often compared to Friends, but I don't see anything bad about that, both are great shows and I'm happy to see Happy Endings coming back.

I didn't want to list all the shows that got renewed, because there were so many. All the regulars, like Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men were renewed, so don't worry if I didnt mention them.

Then few words about the new shows for the fall season. Here is a quick preview of the season and all the shows. There are many shows on the list that I will want to see, and here are few clips of the ones I look forward to seeing. I don't want to bother with writing too much about them, since trailers really show what the series are about.

I did my best not to let this post run long, so follow the links for full stories, especially for the fall preview, it would take ages to write about all the shows worth watching. Weekly post coming next week!

Happy Mother's Day!

As it is Mother's Day in Finland, I think it was appropriate to thank the TV moms too! Both the pic and video I found via Pleated Jeans, one of the funniest sites online

-19-

This weeks post should be just regular, for once. And btw watch 30 Rock's newest episode, Queen of Jordan is back!  Then some quotes again:

"It was my turn to be irresponsible. And luckily, I had sunscreen in my purse." 

-Claire

Julie Bowen on Modern Family

"I'm going to end up alone. I'm going to be a single, old lady flashing people on the subway."

-Jess

Zooey Deschanel on New Girl

"I thought the worst day of your life was the day you got the haircut you have currently right now"

-Max

Adam Pally on Happy Endings

"-Hey Baby

-We hate Ted now, get on board or the sexting stops

- Ted's a son of a bitch!"

Lily and Marshall

Alyson Hannigan and Jason Segel on How I Met Your Mother

One of the biggest fashion events of US, the Met Costume Institute Gala, was held last night in NY. Once again the big and powerful gathered to honor the distinguished department of MET Museum. I'm no fashion expert, so I'll just offer you a link to a full coverage of the event by Socialite Life. Just click "See all galleries" to get a full view.

I get so excited every time I find some Oscar-related news and last week I found this. Before last year's Academy Awards  the venue formerly know as Kodak Theater was forced to change its name after Kodak pulled its sponsorship, so last time it was called Highland Hollywood Center, but from now on it is called Dolby Theater. Their contract is for next twenty years so I know where I'll be giving my acceptance speech.

Last weekend was record breaking at US box office. Marvel's (owned by Disney) Avengers had the biggest opening weekend of all time with $200.3 million beating last year's success Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows Part 2. Although Avengers failed to beat out Potter for biggest opening night, that is still quite an success and very good news for Disney who really needed this after John Carter.

Lot of casting news from last week too. Jonah Hill joined Leonardo DiCaprio on Martin Scorcese's newest project The Wolf of Wall Street. The film is based on the memoir of a Wall Street stockbroker. So looks like Hill is continuing his drama film career after Moneyball last year.

I don't know if I should be laughing or crying, but Tom Cruise was cast as the new Van Helsing in an upcoming reboot of the series. The last Van Helsing from 2006 was a total flop with Hugh Jackman in the leading role and I just can't take Cruise seriously as some vampire hunting professor. It is hard enough to hear him sing in this summers Rock Of Ages.

Kellan Lutz, mainly known for Twilight, got his first big leading role as Tarzan in an upcoming 3D adaption of the classic story. No word yet on who will play Jane, nor on the release date. I hope they try their best not to make it too cliché, because that's just the first word that comes to mind when I hear Tarzan.

Angelina Jolie's Maleficent filled its cast past week too. Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter-series) and Lesley Manville (Vera Drake) joined the cast as the fairy godmothers. The classic Disney movie had three godmothers, so if they follow that premise, third one might be coming, but I think they would've announced that too if  they planned on three godmothers. Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter-series) was cast as Queen Anne. Few other parts were cast too, see the rest here! This is really shaping up to be a movie that I'm looking forward to see.

Then some TV news. I have no idea what ABC is doing, but there are rumours again that they might cut Cougar Town, but don't worry. Now TBS has hinted that it might pick up the show if ABC drops it. I really don't care what channel it comes from, as long as it is on air. Cougar Town has been struggling with their network almost every season, but thanks to loyal fans it is still holding on.

New Girl star Max Greenfield recently starred in a funny viral video as his character from the show. This workout video of his lead to him holding a real workout class for a charity. Though many of the attendees assumed that the work out  would be just for laughs, turns out Schmidt (his character) takes the classes pretty seriously. Unfortunately I didn't found a video from the event, but here is the original video. Greenfield worked as an instructor before his success. 

Weekly post next week again!

-18-

I've kinda fallen behind on my TV shows this week, so I'm going to skip quotes this time. I had one Chelsea Lately quote, but I forgot to write down who she was talking to, maybe that describes my enthusiasm this week. That didn't stop me from finding some online news though.

First some awards again. The 2012 Tony Awards nominations were released today. Like I said few weeks ago when I wrote that NPH will be hosting again, I said I don't really have any reason to review the awards as I haven't had chance to see any of them. But I will say this, unlike last years awards that were criticised for nominating too many "Hollywood-actors", this time there are very few actors from that genre. And most of them have a lot of experience on the stage too, like James Earl Jones and Cynthia Nixon. Full list of nominees here!

MTV Award nominations were revealed too.  They are usually much more mainstream, but it gives a chance for those actors/actresses/films, that the AMPAS and others overlook, to get an award. Best example is Ryan Gosling on Drive. MTV Awards also have some funny categories, like Best On Screen Dirt-Bag. Check out all the nominations here!

 

Though it's not a real award, it might be considered the greatest recognition for a show to get renewed for a second season. HBO renewed both Girls and Veep for 10-episode second season. I've finally watched few episodes from both shows, and I'm really impressed. I kinda thought that Julia Louis-Dreyfus had lost it, since New Adventures of Old Christie was just so boring, but she is really great in Veep. Maybe now she's got the writing team she deserves. And Girls is funny on a totally different level, it's kinda mix of embarrassment and just so spot on acting.

Last week's episode of  The Big Bang Theory focused on Howard's (Simon Helberg) bachelor party before his marriage with Bernadette (Melissa Rauch), so we know what's coming. Now TVline got its hands on some pics from the nuptials which will end this season of BBT. Spoiler alert! Don't watch these pictures if you don't want to see her wedding dress yet.

Will Farrell will host this season's finale of SNL airing May 12nd with musical guest Usher. This is his 3rd time hosting. He was part of the cast until he left in 2002.

My last piece of TV news ends this part on a lighter note. Sophia Grace and Rosie were back on Ellen. This time they sang Nicki Minaj' Starships and shared their comments again. I just had to share this video: 

I don't have any movie news this time per se. But I did find some brand new trailers. First one is for Meryl Streep's new comedy with Tommy Lee Jones. They play an old couple who try to spice things up a bit. This one has to be funny, I mean Steve Carrel as sex counselor and Streep practicing oral sex, come on!

The second one I found is a comedy too, by Judd Apatow. This one is a bout a couple (Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (Apatow's wife)) who gets freaked out by the idea of turning 40, hence the name This Is 40: 

The last one is for Dark Knight Rises, the epic finale for Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy. The new trailer has a lot of new stuff, like a flying batmobile (?!?!?!?!) and new scenes with Catwoman (Anne Hathaway). I think this movie will be spectacular:

That's my post for the week, see ya next week!