1. If you’ve ever been curious about who would win in a potato sack race between Michelle Obama and Jimmy Fallon — well, now you know. The hilarious bit was part of the First Lady’s effort to promote her Let’s Move campaign.

2. Nicki Minaj will be performing her new song “Roman Holiday” at the Grammys this Sunday night before officially releasing her latest Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded single, “Starships,” the following morning on Ryan Seacrest‘s radio show. [via MTV News]

3. Hot on the heels of the Redbox/Verizon deal, Amazon has announced its own plans to partner with Viacom to bring TV shows from all of its networks to the Prime streaming service. [via Slashfilm]

4. Tina Fey is in talks to help filmmaker Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, Real Steel) bring an adaptation of the popular children’s series Fancy Nancy to the big screen. While it’s not exactly the followup to Mean Girls that we were hoping for, this is excellent news for little girls everywhere. [via EW]

5. An “ambitious plan” by the design firm OLIN will transform the plaza in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art into “a more efficient, pleasing and environmentally friendly space, with new fountains, tree-shaded allées, seating areas, museum-run kiosks and softer, energy-efficient nighttime lighting.” [via NYT]

Bonus Buzz: Gun-Slingin’ Kristen Wiig Appears On ‘Portlandia’

1. The Help was the big winner at last night’s Screen Actors Guild Awards, nabbing Best Cast, Best Actress (Viola Davis), and Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer), but the biggest surprise of the evening was Jean Dujardin’s victory over George Clooney and Brad Pitt in the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role category. [via The Wrap]

2. Thanks to a $6-a-ticket Groupon deal, Katherine Heigl’s poorly reviewed new film One for the Money came in third place at the weekend box office, earning a respectable $11.8 million. Topping it was Liam Neeson’s harrowing survival drama, The Grey, which took in $20 million, and Underworld Awakening, which made $12.5 million. [via I Watch Stuff]

3. The Sundance Film Festival handed out its 2012 awards over the weekend, with top honors going to buzzed-about titles like Beasts of The Southern Wild and The Surrogate; check out the full list of winners here.

4. The first teaser for Season 5 of True Blood is online, and while it doesn’t reveal any new footage, the tagline — “In Bon Temps, Nothing Stays Buried Forever” — suggests that a Russell Edgington-dominated storyline lies ahead. [via TVLine]

5. “You have to take a drink every time, and I mean every time, you hear the word ‘Scorsese.’ You’d be surprised how much that comes up in just casual conversation because people like to throw that thing around.” — Melissa McCarthy explains the drinking game that she and her Bridesmaids co-stars Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph came up with at last night’s SAG Awards.

Bonus Buzz: The Zombie Presidents Of The United States

1. We had no idea President Obama had such a lovely singing voice. Here’s a clip of him serenading the crowd with some Al Green at a fundraiser held last night at the Apollo Theater.

2. In the wake of yesterday’s Megaupload shutdown, Anonymous attacked several government and entertainment industry websites, including the homepages for the FBI and the Department of Justice, as well as the Recording Industry Association of America, the Motion Picture Association of America, BMI.com, and Universal Music. [via EW]

3. Need more proof that Bridesmaids 2 isn’t happening anytime soon? Kristen Wiig is in talks to star opposite of Ben Stiller in his forthcoming remake of the 1947 comedy classic, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. And that’s just one of the many projects that she’s currently tied to; there’s also a Sean Penn movie and an Errol Morris drama. [via Slashfilm]

4. “I have now been informed by intelligence sources in Maharashtra and Rajasthan that paid assassins from the Mumbai underworld may be on their way to Jaipur to eliminate me. While I have some doubts as to the accuracy of this intelligence, it would be irresponsible of me to come to the festival in such circumstances.” — Salman Rushdie has decided to cancel his upcoming appearance at Asia’s largest literature festival.

5. Apparently Game of Thrones author George RR Martin has a livejournal where he writes some interesting things about the show and his dealings with Hollywood. [via Gawker]

Bonus Buzz: The Many D’ohs Of Homer Simpson

Welcome to “Trailer Park,” our regular Friday feature where we collect the week’s new trailers all in one place and do a little “judging a book by its cover,” ranking them from worst to best and taking our best guess at what they may be hiding. We’ve got seven new trailers for you this week; check ‘em all out after the jump.

Read More »

Last night, thanks to our friends at UGG Australia, we had the opportunity to attend a TimesTalks panel with Bridesmaids collaborators Kristen Wiig and Paul Feig, which was moderated by Melena Ryzik of The Carpetbagger as part of the 11th annual New York Times Arts and Leisure Weekend. From the beginning, we knew this wasn’t going to be your typical Q&A session; everyone on stage was holding a glass of red wine as opposed to a water bottle, and within minutes Feig had introduced a drinking game that involved taking a sip anytime someone said the word “asshole” — which happened more frequently than you might assume. But the night wasn’t all about debauchery. Click through for a few of the evening’s highlights, and if you’re interested in watching the talk in its entirety, check out a video of the interview here.

Read More »

We assumed it would be impossible to take all the joy out of Bridesmaids, but the latest news on last year’s all-girl ensemble comedy blockbuster has us worried about just that. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal is planning to make a sequel — without Kristen Wiig. It seems the film’s co-writer and star has already moved on to a new projects with her writing partner, Annie Mumolo, and may have been offended by the relatively small bonus ($100k) she and the rest of the cast received from the studio after Bridesmaids became a runaway hit.

Now, Universal tells THR that it’s “talking to filmmakers now about concepts, and if the right one emerges, we’ll move forward.” Although it’s not clear yet whether director Paul Feig will be returning for the sequel, that quote certainly implies that his involvement isn’t a sure thing. Universal does, however, seem firm on Melissa McCarthy’s participation. But as much as we love the actress and her hilarious Bridesmaids character, we’re not excited for a sequel that’s all fart jokes and no heart.

1. Alec Baldwin was kicked off a plane at LAX yesterday because he wouldn’t stop playing Words With Friends during the flight’s departure. He later tweeted that American Airlines is “where Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950′s find jobs as flight attendants.” [via NYT]

2. Guns N’ Roses, The Beastie Boys, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are among this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. The ceremony, which takes place on April 14 in Cleveland, will mark the first time that the Beasties have made a major public appearance since Adam Yauch announced that he had cancer back in 2009. [via Billboard]

3. Rumor is that Kristen Wiig and Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti are dating after they were spotted “all over each other” at a Black Keys album party. [via NYP]

4. Hillary Clinton gave an amazing speech in honor of International Human Rights Day that some people are calling the LGBT community’s “I Have a Dream” moment. Watch it here and decide for yourself.

5. And in case you’re curious, here’s a copy of Adele’s tour rider, which includes Marlboro Lights and “bite-size” candy bars — but absolutely no North American beer.

Bonus Buzz: 2-Year-Old Has More Swag Than Most Rappers

The recently released Bridesmaids DVD is like the gift that keeps on giving. Last week we showed you a hilarious expanded version of that argument between Kristen Wiig’s Annie and a jewelry store customer that was seriously cut down in the film. Today, brings an even greater gem: the full version of the sex tape that Melissa McCarthy’s Guy Fieri-inspired character, Megan, was making with Air Marshall Jon (who just happens to be her husband in real life), which we got a peek at in the movie’s credits. Click through if you’re prepared never to look at spray cheese the same way ever again.

Read More »

1. One-time recluse Jeff Mangum stopped by Wall Street last night to play a surprise, eight-song acoustic set for the protestors camped out there. Watch a video of his performance here.

2. According to bookies in the UK, Bob Dylan is now the frontrunner to receive this year’s Nobel prize for literature, with 5/1 odds. The pool of contenders also includes less wild card options, like Syrian poet Adonis (6/1), Haruki Murakami (8/1), Tomas Transtromer (10/1), and Thomas Pynchon (20/1). [via Guardian]

3. The Coen Brothers are working with Cedar Rapids writer Phil Johnston on a new TV comedy for Fox. The hour-long show, which they’ll executive produce, will be about “a bad-tempered private eye in Hollywood.” Could be promising? [via The Playlist]

4. Thanks to her burgeoning film career, a rumor is circulating that this could be Kristen Wiig’s final season on Saturday Night Live. While we love Wiig, we actually think that her departure could be just the shakeup that the show needs to get out its current rut. [via Showbiz 411]

5. Super hilarious New Yorker regular David Rakoff has won this year’s Thurber Prize for American Humor. If you haven’t read Half Empty, his most recent book of essays, pick up a copy stat. [via The Awl]

Bonus Buzz: The 13 Best Tweets From #OccupySesameStreet

1. Thanks to the success of Duets II, 85-year-old singer Tony Bennett is now the oldest living person to top the Billboard 200. The previous record holder? Bob Dylan. [via NME]

2. Lady Gaga is suing a Chicago-based company that has been marketing a jewelry and cosmetics line that has nothing do with her but is called “Lady Gaga by Design.” Meanwhile, she’s still waiting for the United States Patent and Trademark Office to approve her own claims on her name. [via Vulture]

3. Tony-winning actress Sutton Foster has been cast in Bunheads, the new pilot from Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino. She’ll play Michelle, “a Las Vegas showgirl who impulsively marries a man and moves to his sleepy coastal town, taking a role at her mother-in-law’s dance school.” [via THR]

4. IFC has announced the premiere date for Season 2 of Portlandia (January 9!), along with an impressive list of some of the guest stars who we can expect to see, which includes Jack McBrayer, Andy Samberg, and Kristen Wiig. [via CinemaBlend]

5. Here are some photos and videos from last night’s instantly sold-out Radiohead concert at Roseland Ballroom, the first of two shows there this week. We have no idea how long the latter will stay up, so watch ‘em while you can.

Bonus Buzz: Hack Your Facebook Cover Art