Posts Tagged ‘Conan O’Brien’

0 comments
10:37 am
Monday Feb 1, 2010
by Caroline Stanley
News
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. Don DeLillo talks about his new 117-page novel, Point Omega, which comes out next week. [via WSJ]
2. Zachary Quinto — who played Spock in JJ AbramsStar Trek — will take on the role of George Gershwin in a Steven Spielberg-directed biopic. [via Deadline Hollywood]
3. Parks and Recreation has been renewed. [via Reuters]
4. Now that they’re unemployed, some former staffers at The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien are starting their own web series. [via Pop Candy]
5. Chevy Chase and Bevery D’Angelo are reuniting as the Griswolds! For a Super Bowl ad… [via TV Squad]

Bonus link: Meet the man behind “Previously, on Lost … “


0 comments
9:56 am
Wednesday Jan 27, 2010
by Caroline Stanley
News
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. While he’s not being killed off, Sal “sexual harassment” Romano will not be returning for Mad Men’s fourth season. [via Vulture]
2. Holy Hogwarts: Thanks to Avatar’s crazy box office numbers, the next Harry Potter films will be released in 3-D. [via Reuters]
3. George Lucas is producing an “untitled, top-secret CGI-animated” musical about fairies. [via THR]
4. NBC has picked up a pilot from Conan O’Brien’s production company. It’s a “new take on a law show with a larger-than-life character at the center.” The project’s unofficial (and deliciously ironic) name: Justice. [via THR]
5. Merce Cunningham Co.’s 35-city farwell tour will begin February 12 in Columbus, Ohio and end with a New Year’s Eve 2011 performance at the Park Avenue Armory. [via NYT]

Bonus link: Is Indie Dead?


4 comments
4:07 pm
Monday Jan 25, 2010
by Aaron Gonsher
Television
The Art of the Comedic Farewell

Conan O’Brien bid farewell to the The Tonight Show on Friday night, ending an acrimonious feud with NBC that nonetheless provided vast comic fodder and a ratings surge in his final weeks. Eschewing any final jabs at NBC, Conan delivered an impassioned speech denouncing cynicism and promising, “If you work really hard and you’re kind, I’m telling you, amazing things will happen.” Neil Young performed a somber “Long May You Run,” but it was a roaring version of Southern epic “Freebird” that was the most joyful, with Conan showcasing his guitar-shredding skills and a shaggy Will Ferrell gracing the world with even more cowbell.

The closing number was just another memorable performance in a long line of notable farewells. Which late-night goodbyes are your favorites? We’ll refresh you with a few after the jump.

Read More »


1 comment
10:07 am
Thursday Jan 21, 2010
by Caroline Stanley
News
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. It’s official: Conan O’Brien is gone after Friday’s show. But we don’t feel sorry for him: The deal with NBC is said to be worth around $45 million. [via USA Today]
2. Does anyone else find it strange that the same week Vampire Weekend hits No. 1 on the Billboard album chart, Susan Boyle is sitting pretty at No. 2? [via MTV]
3. Quentin Tarantino has placed Avatar at the top of his updated best films of 2009 list. He also added Julie & Julia. [via FirstShowing]
4. Adult Swim has ordered 40 more episodes of Robot Chicken, ensuring that the Seth Green and Matthew Senreich-created show will be on TV for a fifth and sixth season. [via Variety]
5. YouTube announced yesterday that it will make movies from the 2009 and 2010 Sundance film festivals available for online rental; meanwhile over at Hulu they’re planning to charge users to watch episodes of 30 Rock, Modern Family and House.


0 comments
10:03 am
Wednesday Jan 20, 2010
by Caroline Stanley
News
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. U2 and Jay-Z are teaming up on a Haiti charity relief song that will be produced by Swizz Beatz. [via Pitchfork]
2. (500) Days of Summer filmmaker Marc Webb will direct the next Spider-Man movie, which is set in high school and currently set for a 2012 release. [via USA Today]
3. Will Will Ferrell — who is scheduled to appear on Friday night’s episode of The Tonight Show — be Conan O’Brien’s last guest on NBC? [via Vulture]
4. Interesting: “In recent years, however, the rise of social media has given Web users the technological wherewithal to play a more active role in shaping the direction of museum collections.” [via NYT]
5. When it opens tomorrow, Sundance’s new director John Cooper hopes to ditch the mainstream reputation that the indie fest has earned in recent years. [via LAT]

Bonus link: The Trend from Hell


1 comment
11:30 am
Monday Jan 18, 2010
by Judy Berman
Activism
A Culture Junkie’s Guide to Helping Haiti

Last week, we watched in rapt horror as Haiti succumbed to a devastating 7.0 earthquake. And, if you’re like us, the first question on your mind was, “How can I help?” We trust you’ve already made an initial donation of money or time. But, now that there’s controversy over where exactly the money you donate to Wyclef Jean’s Yele is going, we thought you might be interested know about a variety of other opportunities to combine your concern for Haiti with your arts and pop culture obsessions. After the jump, check out how fans of Lady Gaga, George Clooney and even Team Coco can support relief efforts.

Read More »


0 comments
10:36 am
Monday Jan 18, 2010
by Caroline Stanley
News
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. Last night was an Avatar sweep at the Golden Globes, which is pretty interesting when you consider that the last sci-fi film even in the running was 1982’s E.T. [via LAT]
2. “While the vast majority of the characters [Conan] O’Brien introduced are said to owned by NBC, it’s unclear who controls Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the crass canine puppet that is perhaps O’Brien’s most popular recurring bit.” Also of note: Which celebrities are on Team Conan. [via THR]
3. And now for some positive late-night feud fallout: Friday Night Lights will be returning to NBC on April 30, which is a few months ahead of schedule. [via WSJ]
4. Thanks to the magic of Google Streetview, you can peep Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne taking a bath in Oklahoma City back in 2007. [via NME]
5. So Young Kim will direct Paul Dano and Jon Heder (aka Napoleon Dynamite) in a new flick about a struggling indie rocker dealing with his divorce.

Bonus link: Say Anything puppet tribute


0 comments
4:50 pm
Friday Jan 15, 2010
by Caroline Stanley
Web
What’s on at Flavorpill: Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

Today at Flavorpill, we lusted this Moleskine multi-pack. We were excited to hear that the US Postal Service is honoring the Abstract Expressionists with their own stamps. We felt sorry for the contestants of the canceled (and first ever) Mr. Gay China pageant. We didn’t worry about getting our earbuds in these knots. We followed the evolution of the ampersand — it’s more complicated then you might think.We tried to imagine watching Conan O’Brien on Sons of Anarchy. We were happy to hear that doctors have OK’ed Rivers Cuomo to tour again. We got sucked in by this flawed but awesome online dating experiment. We imagined a world where a bike high-wire lets you fly above traffic. And finally, we laughed out loud over this recipe for Nietzsche’s angel food cake, particularly the final instruction: “Eat it. It is delicate, morbid, loveable, and you will die depressed, delirious, and overweight.”


5 comments
11:59 am
Friday Jan 15, 2010
by Bethany Larson
Television
Video of the Day: Jimmy Kimmel Destroys Jay Leno

Who better to put Jay Leno in his place than ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel? We loved watching him impersonate Leno on Kimmel’s Tuesday night show and had to watch as he guested on Leno’s 10 at 10 segment last night. As Leno asked Kimmel his 10 questions, he answered every one with a mention of the Leno/Conan debacle, and made it clear that he is very much on Team Conan. Things got pretty awkward toward the end, especially during the last question when Kimmel burned Leno by saying, “Listen Jay, Conan and I have children, all you have to take care of is cars.”

Read More »


0 comments
10:02 am
Wednesday Jan 13, 2010
by Caroline Stanley
News
The Morning’s Top 5 Pop Culture Stories

1. How to insert yourself in the brouhaha: Wearing a wig and a prosthetic chin, and speaking with a slight lisp, Jimmy Kimmel did his entire show as Jay Leno last night. [via HuffPo]
2. Everybody and their mother told Conan O’Brien not to write that angry fuck-you letter. Also: how long will we have to wait to watch him on FOX? [via Vulture]
3. Netflix’s instant streaming service (already being enjoyed by Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 owners) is coming to the Nintendo Wii this spring. [via USA Today]
4. Brad Ferro, the Queens gym teacher who punched Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi in the face on Jersey Shore, will be fired from his job after being found guilty of simple assault. He had previously been hanging out in a teacher reassignment center. [via TMZ]
5. Irony: News of Google’s threat that it would stop cooperating with Chinese Internet censorship and possibly shut down operations in the country was heavily censored in China. [via NYT]

Bonus link: Live coverage from Haiti