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15 of the Greatest Celebrity Commencement Speeches

By Tyler Coates on

We’re almost through the month of May, and you know what that means: it’s college commencement speech season! While some of us had boring academics speak at our college graduations, there are a lot of other people who get to listen to folks like Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, Amy Poehler, or Meryl Streep. So if you’re like me and are still annoyed that the creator of Joan of Arcadia was the celebrated guest who spoke while you baked in your black polyester cap and gown, take a short break and listen to these famous (and, generally, hilarious) people give advice to 22-year-olds. … Read More

Television

20 Peripheral ‘Arrested Development’ Characters We’d Like to See in Season 4

By Jason Bailey on

Arrested Development fans are busy counting down the hours until Season 4 premieres this Sunday at midnight on Netflix, and here at Flavorwire, we’re no different. So, we’re passing the time by declaring this Arrested Development Week, all leading up to a Recap-a-thon on Sunday, when our own Jason Bailey will review the whole season, episode by episode. Click here to follow our coverage.

The richness of Arrested Development’s characters plays no small role in its continued cult popularity — we’re spending this week arguing over which Bluth is our favorite, after all. But as brilliant as its central ensemble is, the show’s artistic and comedic success is just as much the result of its deep bench. This is a show practically overflowing with uproarious peripheral characters, whether one-offs or long-running utility players, and a fourth season of AD wouldn’t be complete without at least some of them. We’ve seen the flash-happy Kitty (Judy Greer) in the trailer, and had at least some confirmation that we’ll see Henry Winkler’s Barry Zuckerkorn, Ben Stiller’s Tony Wonder, and Mae Whitman’s Ann (her?) again — so here’s a few more Bluth family hangers-on that will hopefully be back. … Read More

Film

Flavorwire’s Guide to Movies You Need to Stream This Week

By Jason Bailey on

Welcome to Flavorwire’s streaming movie guide, in which we help you sift through the scores of movies streaming on Netflix, Hulu, and other services to find the best of the recently available, freshly relevant, or soon to expire. This week, there’s good stuff from Bradley Cooper, Ethan Hawke, Paul Rudd, Julie Delpy, Amy Poehler, Zach Galifanakis, and Akira Kurosawa, plus a must-see documentary and one of our favorite stand-up specials. Check them out after the jump, and follow the title links to watch them right now. … Read More

Television

The Best and Worst of Last Night’s ‘SNL’ with Ben Affleck

By Alison Nastasi on

It was an emotional season finale with several regular cast members making their exit — or close to it if the rumors are true. Seth Meyers is slated to take over hosting duties for NBC’s Late Night, but will remain on board at least through the fall. Bill Hader said a tearful goodbye last night after eight years on the show. We’re thankful the eps were Hader-heavy. The closing shot of him doling out bear hugs was sweet. Fred Armisen and Jason Sudeikis are “probably” taking their leave. One man, however, dominated the night: Kanye West. … Read More

Film

10 Louis C.K. Movies You (Probably) Haven’t Seen

By Jason Bailey on

The new season of Mad Men is underway, the Breaking Bad premiere date is set, so as soon as the new season of Louie gets going, our summer viewing needs will be all taken care — oh hell, that’s right, Louie won’t be back until next spring. His new special has already aired, his promo tour for it is over; how the hell do you get your Louis C.K. fix these days? From YouTube, of course. Strangely, not many people are aware that Louie worked his way up to writing, directing, editing, and starring in Louie with two decades of short and indie film work; a quick tour of his early films offers a tantalizing glimpse at the development of his considerable… Read More

Celebrity

Celebrities Praising Celebrities: The Best Tributes From the Annual “Time 100″ List

By Jason Bailey on

Time magazine released its annual “Time 100” this week — a list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The list is, as usual, light on shock; it pretty much features the political figures, artists, athletes, and philanthropists you’d expect. What makes the feature compelling is the deployment of similarly well-known folks to write testimonials about the influential people they admire. Since we love hearing about the actors our favorite actors love, it warms our hearts to read, for example, Jon Hamm’s fan letter to his fellow AMC star Bryan Cranston. “Over the past five seasons,” Hamm writes, “I’ve marveled at Bryan’s ability to turn Breaking Bad’s Walter White from a feckless, terrified father and husband to a ruthless, terrifying father, husband and crime lord. The transformation is mesmerizing. The performance is fearless. Bryan is that good.” These stunt tributes don’t always work (particularly in the political realm — the only thing we want to read less than Sarah Palin’s tribute to Glenn Beck is Ted Nugent’s tribute to Sarah Palin), but when they do, they’re a joy to read. See our favorite celeb-penned tributes from the past five years of “Time 100″ below. … Read More

Pop Culture

What Your Favorite Pop Culture Idols Were Wearing as Teens

By Alison Nastasi on

Our favorite photo of the week belongs to Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Wil Wheaton who shared an uber nerdy image of himself wearing ankle watches (with friendship bracelets!), acid-washed jeans, and a ratty Depeche Mode tee. We’ve featured the image of the Stand by Me star after the jump, along with photos of other pop culture idols and their (mostly) regrettable teen fashions. It’s a snapshot of simpler times, before the stylists and PR managers thoroughly preened them. See what a few of your favorite, famous teen heroes were wearing back in the day, below. … Read More

Television

‘Parks and Recreation’ Characters As Comic Book Heroes

By Jason Bailey on

Well, here’s an artist after our own heart: LA-based self-described illustrator, printmaker, and “fun-junkie” Vicky Trochez (aka “Vicktrola”) has gone and turned the characters from Parks and Recreation into the comic book heroes of the Justice League. “After doing a quick sketch of Leslie Knope as the Caped Crusader’s side kick,” she explains at the beginning of the online portfolio, “I decided to go all in and transform the rest of the Parks and Recreation cast into the rest of the Justice League.” The results are, to say the least, glorious. Check out Trochez’s full gallery after the jump, and then hop over to her website to buy a print or two (you know you want to). … Read More

Film

Ranking Cinema’s Spring Breaks From Worst to Best

By Jason Bailey on

Harmony Korine’s controversial Spring Breakers goes into well-timed limited release this weekend. Reviews thus far have been mostly positive — to the befuddlement of your Flavorwire, since we found the film to be both a mixed bag quality-wise and a little troublesome from a messaging point of view. Then again, it could just be a matter of expectations — viewers aren’t just surprised that a Korine movie is sort of accessible, but that a movie about spring break isn’t just all-out terrible. You see, it’s not an event with a rich cinematic history; most movies about spring break are, for lack of a better word, stinky. But if you’d like to get in the mood for Spring Breakers, or just enjoy the debauchery from the safe, STD-free confines of your living room, here’s a roundup of spring break in cinema, ranked from worst to (relative)… Read More

Pop Culture

A Selection of Celebrities Who Just Couldn’t Take a Joke

By Julia Pugachevsky on

By now, even those of us who tend to ignore petty celebrity gossip have read a headline that goes something like, “Taylor Swift: to hell with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler?’” And then we had to see what could possibly have prompted this response to a pair of beloved comedians whose recent stint hosting the Golden Globes earned them seemingly universal praise. Both expressed shock, and even a little regret, that Swift had taken their lighthearted jab her love life to heart — and, in the end, they looked nothing but courteous and witty, while the singer came of as whiny. But at least the debacle was fairly amusing, as it tends to be when famous people insist on taking themselves too seriously. After the jump, we’ve rounded up a few more entertaining exchanges that ensued when celebrities just couldn’t take a joke. … Read More