1. Jay-Z has announced plans to stream the last of his eight concerts at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on YouTube. The footage will air tomorrow night beginning at 9:30pm EST on the rapper’s new Life and Times channel on the site. [via Hitfix]
2. “Motherf—ker fired Big Bird and won! Beloved children’s… Read More
Another day, another new TV project for J.J. Abrams. No seriously, it’s getting out of control; the man is everywhere. Just a few weeks ago we told you that he’d sold a futuristic robot cop series to Fox. Now we hear that he’s collaborating with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También,… Read More
There was some chatter over the weekend about the official title of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek sequel, but Deadline has confirmed that the rumored moniker is the real deal: Star Trek Into Darkness. It’s missing a colon, which would have made it slightly less embarrassing, but thankfully it’s lacking a dreaded… Read More
Did you have an active summer, TV fans? Instead of planting yourself in front of a screen for hours on end, did you windsurf and drink wheat beer at rooftop bars? Or did you stick to the couch and air conditioning, clinging to True Blood and Breaking Bad and everything else cable had to offer while longing for NBC’s Thursday-night comedies? We did a little bit of both, but now that September’s in full swing, we’re ready to rededicate ourselves to obsessive TV fandom. After the jump, we count down our ten most anticipated network shows of the 2o12-13 season, from J.J. Abrams’ newest post-apocalyptic romp to Mindy Kaling’s solo debut to an American Sherlock Holmes adaptation that might actually work. … Read More
1. Out of precaution Tom Brokaw has been taken to a hospital in Charlotte after feeling light-headed during an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. According to a statement from NBC News, “He is being evaluated and is in good spirits.” [via The Wrap]
Update from @tombrokaw: “All is well Early… Read More
Remember Revolution, the new J.J. Abrams show about a post-apocalyptic world without electricity/technology that NBC is obviously hoping will be its very own Lost? Last month, we expressed some doubts after seeing an extended preview in which most of the acting didn’t seem so hot and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad’s Gus Fring) was dressed like Laurence Fishburne from The Matrix. But we like Abrams, Esposito, and Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet from Lost), so we resolved to give the show a chance — and we’re in luck, because NBC has posted the pilot on Hulu in advance of its September 17th premiere.
The first few minutes set the scene, with a genuinely dramatic (if a bit rushed) account of the night the world suddenly returned to the Dark Ages. Then we jump 15 years into the future, after some entirely unnecessary narration reiterating how important technology was to 21st-century society and a monologue from someone who apparently hasn’t heard enough discussion about the cause of the apocalypse despite the fact that it’s changed the course of human life forever. But, on the bright side, the show seems hell-bent on packing in the action, and upon closer examination, Esposito is doing that same evil-yet-infallibly-polite thing we all love so much. Click through to watch the Revolution pilot and let us know what you think. … Read More
Welcome to Flavorpill’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, we’ve got great titles from the likes of Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Buster Keaton, J.J. Abrams, Oliver Stone, Max Ophuls, Gaspar Noé, and the creators of Mystery Science Theater 3000; check them all out after the jump, and follow the title links to watch them right now. … Read More
At first glance, NBC’s new fall sci-fi series Revolution seems to incorporate everything a TV geek could possibly want. Produced by J. J. Abrams and featuring Giancarlo Esposito (aka Breaking Bad‘s singular villain Gus Fring), it takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where a mysterious blackout has rendered all advanced technology permanently useless. The three-minute preview, below, looks slick. And we’ve always liked Elizabeth Mitchell, who played Juliet on Lost before moving on to V and now seems destined to be known as “that actress who’s in all the sci-fi TV shows.”
And yet, this trailer worries us. Despite featuring several talented actors, the ensemble cast as a whole doesn’t seem particularly inspiring. (For one thing, it’s led by Billy Burke, best known as Bella’s dad from Twilight.) And the idea that the same phenomenon would simultaneously kill both electricity and batteries is a bit hard to swallow. Sure, Esposito is there, but the character doesn’t look particularly suited to his subtle talents — and why’s he dressed up as Laurence Fishburne in The Matrix? It’s likely we’ll give this one a shot despite all our misgivings, although we can’t help guessing Revolution will be yet another of Abrams’ half-baked attempts to recreate Lost. Watch the clip below and let us know if you agree. … Read More
Now that they’ve gotten their mid-season shows off the ground, it’s pilot-buyin’ time for the major networks. That means that, in the past few weeks, we’ve been deluged with news about shows in development, with headlines featuring such names as Louis C.K., Mindy Kaling, J.J. Abrams, and Roseanne Barr. Thankfully, for those of us who’ve had some trouble keeping up, The Hollywood Reporter was kind enough to post a full list of what we can look forward to from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW in the 2012-13 season. Since that roundup is still pretty daunting, we’ve narrowed the list to the 11 shows we’re most looking forward to; check them out and find out why we can’t to see them after the jump. … Read More
NBC just picked up Star Trek director J.J. Abrams‘ Revolution, a new “high octane action drama … following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist.” Sounds about right for the Super 8 filmmaker. Fans of… Read More
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