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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

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

Celebrity

Extremely Serious Photos of Extremely Silly Actors

By Jennifer Lewis on

If you’re a frequenter of Flavorwire, you’ve probably already come across our series of extremely silly photos of extremely serious artists, writers, and historical figures. Now, to shake things up a bit, we’ve gathered extremely serious photos of extremely silly actors. Why? Well, believe it or not, these kinds of photos are actually pretty rare — comedians and comic actors are generally photographed looking goofy. After the jump, check out our selection of very serious, black-and-white, no-funny-business photos of very funny actors, and hit the comments to name your favorites. … Read More

Television

Watch a Hilarious 11-Minute ‘Parks and Recreation’ Gag Reel

By Judy Berman on

A gag reel is a gag reel is a gag reel: actors cracking up, falling down, and fumbling lines as the cameras roll. So, why would you want to spend 11 minutes of your life watching the cast of Parks and Recreation do just that? Well, aside from longing for any shred of new material from one of TV’s best comedies, this gag reel confirms our suspicion — supported by multiple interviews with the likes of Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, etc. — that this particular cast loves working together and has a ton of fun on the set. So, if you shed a tear at April and Andy’s wedding or cared more about Leslie Knope’s campaign than the current presidential race, you’ll want to set aside some time to see Poehler get hit with a boom poll, Rashida Jones apologize for being unprofessional, and Ron Swanson lose his mustache. … Read More

Celebrity

Our Morning with Aziz Ansari and His Lawn Mower

By Jennifer Lewis on

Early this morning, Parks and Recreation’s Aziz Ansari put on his best Tom Haverford face and did something hilarious — he became Central Park’s “Ambassador of Spring.” What does this excellent title entail, you ask? Well, the almighty Ambassador is the first person to hop on a lawn mower and mow Sheep Meadow after it’s been closed for the winter season. This “First Mow” ceremony was introduced by Central Park Conservancy President, Doug Blonsky, and the NYC Parks and Recreation Commissioner, Adrian Benepe. The former has a stellar mustache and the latter kept referring to Aziz as “Tom” whilst cracking jokes about his days as a park ranger, so we’re pretty sure that, with these two fellows combined, our endless search for New York’s very own Ron Swanson can finally end. We salute you, Mr. Blonsky and Mr. Benepe! Click through to check out our exclusive photos of Aziz Ansari becoming your “Ambassador of Spring,” being all-around awesome on a lawn mower, and actually doing Tom Haverford’s job, for once. … Read More

Comedy

20 Things We Learned from Aziz Ansari's Reddit AMA

By Judy Berman on

This afternoon, Aziz Ansari was “randomly” sitting next to Amy Poehler on an airplane, watching her watch the BBC’s Sherlock Holmes. But, thanks to the ceaseless wonders of this WiFi-empowered era, he was also live on Reddit, doing an AMA. The interview came just after the release of his Dangerously Delicious comedy special, which you can download for five bucks on his website, and both cement his status as one of the Internet’s favorite comedians. While the entire AMA is pretty entertaining, there’s a lot of randomness to pick through, and as of the time this post was filed, it was still going — so we’ve sifted out some of his best responses on everything from comedians he loves to his favorite music to the future of Raaaaaaandy. … Read More

News

The Morning's Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

By Caroline Stanley on

1. A last-minute change has been made to the Season 5 premiere episode of Mad Men! Don’t worry, it’s nothing major; they’ve just swapped out “The Look of Love” for another song, after some delightful critics pointed out that it wouldn’t have been a hit yet in 1966. [via Vulture]

2. … Read More

Television

Aziz Ansari’s 25 Best Tom Haverford-isms

By Jennifer Lewis on

It’s Aziz Ansari’s birthday, folks! How will you fill this lovely day? With clothes? Fragrances? Massages? Mimosas? Fine leather goods? Batman costumes? Go ahead and throw yourself a full-blown Treat Yo Self Day to celebrate the occasion. After all, who knows how to party better than Aziz’s Parks and Recreation alter ego, Tom Haverford? In Tom’s perfect world, we would all spend the day grooving to the sweet beats of DJ Roomba at the Snakehole Lounge. To honor a newly 29-year-old Ansari and his fictional lady-crazed counterpart, we’ve gathered a collection of 25 ridiculous Tom Haverford quotes — a “Shit Tom Haverford Says,” if you will — after the jump. … Read More

Activism

Read an Anti-SOPA Letter from Aziz Ansari, Trent Reznor, and Other Artists

By Judy Berman on

SOPA Blackout Day is in full swing, with Wikipedia, Reddit, BoingBoing, and other Internet giants blacking out entirely and thousands of other sites — including Flavorpill — creatively demonstrating their solidarity. (We hope you agree that censor bars aren’t a great look for us.) There’s also been something of a backlash against the online outpouring of opposition to SOPA and its Senate counterpart PIPA, from the usual suspects in Washington as well as groups like the MPAA, who sent this nasty note about the protests.

But not everyone in the entertainment industry supports SOPA. Stop the Wall, a site that you can also use to make a quick and easy phone call to your senator about the legislation, has posted an open letter to Washington from a group of artists that includes Aziz Ansari, Trent Reznor, The Lonely Island, MGMT, Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, Troma honcho Lloyd Kaufman, and many others. “As creative professionals, we experience copyright infringement on a very personal level,” they write, but they don’t support SOPA because they “have benefited immensely from a free and open Internet.” Read the full letter after the jump, and then, if you haven’t already, get on the phone with your representatives to add your voice to the anti-SOPA chorus. … Read More

Music

Aziz Ansari's Emoticon Cover of "Niggas in Paris"

By Judy Berman on

Jay-Z and Kanye West’s Watch the Throne has already been out for four months, but apparently this is official Watch the Throne Parody Week 2011. Yesterday, we watched a trio of hipster girls transform it into a mumblecore movie. And today brings a delightful, spot-on collaborative text/emoticon “cover” of “Niggas in Paris” from “Otis” video co-star Aziz Ansari and his friend, Matt Shawver. We imagine Tom Haverford printing out “Emoji in Paris” and mounting it on the wall next to his desk, flanked by the pocket watch and miniature throne Leslie Knope gave him for Christmas. … Read More