A few weeks ago, we witnessed a holiday miracle: Bill Clinton and Mindy Kaling appeared together on Today to talk about books. They seemed to get along — but we didn’t know quite how big of an impression Kaling made on the former president until last night, when she told Conan O’Brien about their fateful meeting. She discussed how embarrassing it was to recommend Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook when he was shouting out Marcus Aurelius and the way all her friends seem to have a crush on Clinton, which got Kaling thinking about her own chances. “I’m kind of Bill Clinton’s type,” she told O’Brien. “I was thinking of Monica Lewinsky, and if he was gonna, like, throw away a marriage, I was thinking, ‘I have a good shot at this.’ I’m kind of peppy and psyched, and I’m a little chunky.” (Note to Mindy: Girl, you are not “chunky.”) As it turns out, Kaling left the set before Clinton and later learned that he was disappointed because he’d wanted to say goodbye to her.
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Today at Flavorpill, we celebrated National Trivia Day with 119 amazing facts courtesy of our friends at Mental Floss. We got a behind-the-scenes look at Conan O’Brien’s daily life. We enjoyed this fantastic Joker-by-Seuss mashup from DeviantArt member DrFaustusAu. We got incredibly excited watching Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein cover Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” during the San Francisco stop of their current Portlandia tour. We tried to decide on our favorite color in the new Nicki Minaj for OPI collection. We reimagined Game of Thrones as a buddy comedy. We wished that all of our dreams were as pleasant as this photogenic Finnish baby’s look to be. We tried to identify all of the movies featured in Stephen Wildish’s 1990s Film Alphabet. We met a multimedia artist who says that Lady Gaga’s recent holiday display at Barneys ripped off her work. We discovered that Catherine the Great may have invented the roller coaster. We found out a lot of things that we didn’t already know about Stephen Colbert thanks to this fascinating New York Times Magazine profile. And finally, we listened to a bunch of rappers spell out their names for us.
There’s something particularly enjoyable about the awkward superhero equivalents of our favorite, otherwise unheroic TV characters. These alter egos’ bizarre get-ups and peculiar antics are often so far removed from their shows’ realities that we can’t help but chuckle. But, then again — why wouldn’t Conan O’Brien’s tall, beefy superhero cartoon use an oven mitt and a jai alai glove to save a school bus? And of course Jack Donaghy’s animated superhero self would use his powers to taunt a nine-year-old Brian Williams. Regardless of the strange “gifts” these TV characters might instill in their fictional superhuman equivalents, we’d still feel safe with Super Ray or the occasional Quailman patrolling our neighborhood. Check out some makeshift masks, capes, kitchenware, and tighty-whiteys after the jump. Read More »
Last night, Will Ferrell was the 14th funny person to receive the prestigious Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor award. He follows in the footsteps of giants like George Carlin, Tina Fey, and Steve Martin. Audiences enjoyed a retrospective of his career, as well as tributes from a comedian all-star cast, but it was Ferrell’s acceptance speech that won everyone over with his trademark deadpan style. When the Anchorman actor thanked his wife Viveca Paulin for her support, he of course added, “We have a wonderful life together but I do have to say … sometimes you get a little lippy. You’ve got a big mouth and you like to run it.” Who else brought the funny during speech time? Click through for a look back at ten hilarious speeches.
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Today at Flavorpill, we remembered Buddy Holly on what would have been the music icon’s 75th birthday. We decided that Jeff Tweedy and the Black Eyed Peas absolutely do not mix. We read a few letters penned by a young Ernest Hemingway. We got misty while watching Jimmy Kimmel’s emotional tribute to his recently-deceased Uncle Frank. We felt kind of sorry for Doc Brown. We couldn’t wait to see Swiss artist Pipilotti Rist cover the South Bank of the Thames in strangers’ undies. We decided that Conan might be on to something big with his new famous authors on ziplines segment. We found it hard to believe that Chrissie Hynde is 60 years old today. We were scared of how real the fake pandemic virus from Contagion could be. We thought that this looked like a fun office to work in. We were impressed by Harry Potter’s resume. And finally, we were totally charmed by “Laughs,” the latest short film from the people behind “Words,” “Moments,” “Rewords,” and “Symmetry.”
Today at Flavorpill, read about Peter Terzian’s experiences as a “park ranger” at John F. Kennedy’s birthplace in Brookline, Massachusetts. We found out what butter-laden, delicious desserts Paula Deen will be serving at her Fourth of July picnic. We explored the current golden age of all-female tribute bands, from Sheagles and Blonde Jovi to AC/DShe and Cheap Chick. We found it hard to believe that Independence Day is 15 years old. We tried to match the grunt with the tennis pro. We memorized Weird Al’s lyrics to Conan’s theme song. We decided that Entertainment Weekly’s new cover — which features Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter back when he was 11 — makes us feel incredibly ancient. We listened to what Dan Savage had to say about monogamy. We were surprised to learn that Shaggy’s real name is Norville Rogers (did Scooby know?). And finally, we enjoyed these clever responses to the 20 craziest job interview questions, a list which includes, “How many cocktail umbrellas are there in a given time in the United States?”
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, Rodman Flender’s intimate documentary account of the comedian’s 30-city “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour,” goes into limited release tomorrow. Aside from being uproariously funny (with O’Brien at his spontaneous, reactive best), it is also a fascinating account of a superstar comedian’s life on the road: the rehearsals, the travel, the meet-and-greets, the stress. Of course, Flender isn’t the first documentarian to take a close look at the business of stand-up, or the complex psychology of the working comedian; we’ve assembled just a few of the best documentaries about comics after the jump.
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Today at Flavorpill, we celebrated the summer solstice with Murakami’s adorable Google Doodle. We looked at Bon Iver’s new album by the numbers. We found some filthy jokes hiding in these ancient works of art. We had some of our lingering questions about Columbia House’s mail-order music club (namely, was it legal?) answered by our friends at Mental Floss. We were strangely excited to hear that Conan O’Brien will appear as a background extra in an upcoming episode of How I Met Your Mother. We went inside of the Momofuku Kitchen Lab, a top secret location where David Chang performs his culinary experiments. We learned about the origin of the Good Humor bar. We watched the worlds of Peanuts and Doctor Who visually collide. And finally, we wondered if that Wet Hot American Summer prequel that David Wain’s still talking about is such a good idea. Outside of the salaries issue, we think it would be almost impossible to replicate the magic that made the comedy a cult classic.
Regardless of how frightening you may find her political aspirations (and we’re sure that it’s about to get a whole lot scarier), you have to admit that Sarah Palin is comedy gold — just ask Tina Fey. Inspired by her most recent verbal gaffe — a wackadoodle version of Paul Revere’s ride that she still stands by as historically accurate, mind you — Conan O’Brien and his team have put together a hilarious skit entitled “The Sarah Palin History Network.” Click through to check out a signing of the Declaration of Independence that includes a cameo by both Hitler and R2D2.
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If you really love movies, if you truly cherish them as an art form, then holy cow is the summer movie season depressing. For three months — or four, or six (Fast Five’s ad line was “Summer Begins April 29,” which goes to show that posters for Vin Diesel movies are no substitute for calendars) — we’re fed a steady diet of sequels, remakes, “reboots,” comic book adaptations, gross-out comedies, mindless blow-shit-up movies, sequels to remakes, sequels to reboots, sequels to comic book adaptations, sequels to gross-out comedies, and sequels to mindless blow-shit-up movies.
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