Author: Richard Lawson

The Call Sheet

'American Horror Story' Gets Another Witch

AP

Today in show business news: Emma Roberts has joined the Ryan Murphy family, CBS hires a Bad Teacher, and a glimpse of the next Vince Vaughn movie.

By Richard Lawson

Mar 8, 2012

What We Watched

'American Idol': Thirteen Going On Flirty

The top 13! How did we get here already? It seems like just yesterday the judges were sitting on an aircraft carrier listening to that girl in the bikini or whatever she was wearing wail away.

Comments | 2,807 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 7, 2012

The Call Sheet

Once Again, Keri Russell

Keri Russell lands a new role, so does a former Bachelorette, and Sigourney Weaver heads to television.

Comments | 4,138 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 7, 2012

Matthew Weiner Almost Quit 'Mad Men'

Famously "difficult" Mad Men creator and showrunner Matthew Weiner recently sat down with The New York Times to talk about the show's upcoming season, and revealed that he actually quit the show during negotiations with AMC.

Comments | 3,621 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 7, 2012

What We Watched

The Perfect Villainy of 'Justified'

Like breaking in a pair of cowboy boots, it takes a little time to settle into a season of Justified.

Comments | 1,196 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 6, 2012

The Call Sheet

Connie Britton Forever

Today: Tami Taylor lands another job, so does Meryl Streep's daughter, and Gossip Girl heads to China.

Comments | 2,681 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 6, 2012

The Network Dramas Flew Too Close to the Sun

Fox has gone and canceled their big dinotopia familytime show Terra Nova. It seems to be yet another example of the slow and painful death of our old hour-long swear-free friend, the network drama.

Comments | 1,240 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 6, 2012

What We Watched

Five Naked Canadians

Have you ever watched 1 Girl 5 Gays? Obviously the demographic for this show, a Canadian MTV import that airs in the States on Logo, is pretty narrow. Watching it last night, it struck us that this might be one of the weirder shows on television.

Comments | 5,560 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 5, 2012

The Call Sheet

'Animal House': The Musical?

The Call Sheet sifts through the day's glut of Hollywood news to find the stories even non-industry types can care about. Today: Broadway claims another beloved movie, HBO passes on a dude show, and Jeff Goldblum heads to TV.

Comments | 2,036 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 5, 2012

What We Know About 'Mad Men' Season Five So Far

The long delayed fifth season of AMC's Mad Men, TV's current Best Show, finally premieres in three weeks, meaning Mad madness is kicking into high gear. But what do we really know about what's about to arrive? Well, not much, unfortunately.

Comments | 3,607 Views

By Richard Lawson

Mar 5, 2012

What We Watched

'GCB': It's Good, Bitches

Last night ABC unveiled their ostensible Desperate Housewives replacement, a Southern hiss-fest called GCB, which is short for the unmentionable (on ABC at least) Good Christian Bitches. The show isn't shocking stuff, but it's certainly entertaining.

 

Comments | 5,066 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 29, 2012

'The Avengers' and Superhero Fatigue

Marvel Studios has released a new, full-length trailer for their upcoming superhero mashup The Avengers. So that's mildly exciting, eh?

Comments | 4,104 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 29, 2012

Ad Watch

The 'Kill Romney' Plot Thickens

As the Republican primary season rumbles on, there can only be more campaign ads. Which ones succeed? Which fail? In Ad Watch, we review them as they come out. Today: Romney fights off his attackers and Ron Paul distinguishes himself.

 

Comments | 2,069 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 29, 2012

Potentially Worst/Best Movie Musical Planned

Hollywood dreadnaught Ryan Murphy has announced plans to make a movie musical with Gwyneth Paltrow, Cameron Diaz, and Reese Witherspoon, based on an idea they had at dinner.

Comments | 2,069 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 29, 2012

What We Watched

'American Idol': For the Boys

Finally, American Idol is real! Gone are the hideous pre-taped auditions and Hollywood Week hysterics. We have arrived at the live shows that we, America, get to vote on.

Comments | 3,254 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 28, 2012

The Call Sheet

The Return of Cuba Gooding Jr.

Cuba downsizes, James Spader downsizes himself, and Keaton and Redford are together at least

Comments | 3,284 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 28, 2012

On 'The Berenstain Bears' and When to Say Nothing at All

For at least one person, Slate's Hanna Rosin, The Berenstain Bears were horrid regressive devils, and Berenstain's death merits a contrarian essay about the books' awfulness, complete with the phrase "good riddance." Good riddance? Good grief.

Comments | 6,207 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 28, 2012

What We Watched

'Smash' Needs to Go Full Drama

NBC's once promising, now struggling Smash should drop the attempt to be a savvy look backstage, and just fully embracing the camp and going for out-and-out soap.

Comments | 2,805 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 27, 2012

The Call Sheet

A New Carrie Bradshaw Has Been Elected

The CW has found its newest leading lady, the Oscars were a mild success, and Jonah Hill stays serious.

Comments | 4,369 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 27, 2012

Last Night's Lessons for Fixing Next Year's Oscars

The glitter dust of the 84th Academy Awards may have settled, but with the 85th edition a mere 363 days away, there are some lessons for next year's producers, whoever they may be. Let's review while our memories are still fresh.

Comments | 3,212 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 27, 2012

Highlights of Oscars Fashion

The Academy Awards are all about celebrating artistry and all that blah blah blah. What they're really about is fabulous fashion, so here are our choices for the standout looks of this year's ceremony. 

Comments | 6,096 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 27, 2012

The Ten Oscars Things You Need to Know

Sunday's 84th Academy Awards ceremony (which we live-blogged!) has come to an end. And while plenty happened, there are really only ten things you need to know about the ceremony to hold your own during today's water cooler conversation. Here they are.

Comments | 5,438 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 22, 2012

What We Watched

'Glee': Threats of Death

We keep promising to never watch Glee again, but we can't help ourselves.

Comments | 3,726 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 21, 2012

The Call Sheet

'Community' Is Back So You Can All Stop Complaining Now

The nerd world's favorite comedy returns, Paul Walker is forever, and a look at HBO's latest.

Comments | 4,188 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 21, 2012

Talking About TV Is Maybe Ruining TV

The latest debate amongst internet TV nerds is a'raging about whether the big beautiful serialized show format kind of ruined TV. But for me? I take one thing away from all of this: We really need to stop taking TV so damn seriously.

Comments | 3,966 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 21, 2012

What We Watched

The Recent-ish Past of the Clinton Years

Last night PBS debuted part one of its American Experience look at the presidency of Bill Clinton, with all its triumph and scandal and fraught middle ground. It was an entertaining, oddly familiar look at the recent past, a time that seems in some ways no different from now.

Comments | 1,384 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 20, 2012

The Call Sheet

Welcome Back, Scott Speedman

Scott Speedman is having a comeback, someone's letting Lindsay Lohan do live television, and Chris Colfer made a little movie.

Comments | 4,121 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 20, 2012

Ad Watch

Sarah Palin Loves Lincoln

As the Republican primary season rumbles on, there can only be more campaign ads. Which ones succeed? Which fail? In Ad Watch, we review them as they come out. Today: Sarah Palin reminds us she exists and Romney goes after Santorum.

Comments | 1,153 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 20, 2012

Finally Proof the Oscars Mean Nothing

A Los Angeles Times report on the demographics of the Academy Award voters paints a pretty clear picture of what we're dealing with when the Oscars get handed out: they're a reflection of a pretty homogenous group of people's tastes.

Comments | 6,401 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 20, 2012

What We Watched

All's Not Well at 'Downton Abbey'

For those of you too chaste and pure of internet soul to watch illicit downloads of Downton Abbey's second season when it aired in the UK last fall, the show's American run concluded last night, so now you finally know what we've known for literally months now.

Comments | 4,311 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 17, 2012

Movie Review

'This Means War': Romance Is Dead

Today we review the new action romantic comedy This Means War.

Comments | 3,855 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 17, 2012

What We Watched

'American Idol': Leaving Las Vegas

Last night was the intermediary, the strange middleman, the thing hanging between here and there. And what better place to host such an event than Las Vegas, American purgatory, desert ruin not yet ruined. So, yeah, they went to Las Vegas.

Comments | 2,762 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 16, 2012

The Call Sheet

Meryl & Julia, Together at Last

Meryl and Julia are teaming up on a big movie, Jennifer Aniston is making another switch, and a new show sounds very exciting.

Comments | 2,759 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 16, 2012

Should There Really Be a 'Friday Night Lights' Movie?

Potentially exciting news comes today that Jason Katims, a longtime writer on NBC's great yet often overlooked drama Friday Night Lights, has nearly finished his script for a movie based on the series.

Comments | 2,160 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 16, 2012

What We Watched

'American Idol': The Rooms of Requirement

We will all eventually come to dread the two-hour-long episodes of American Idol, but last night's Double Stuf episode, early-ish along in the season, was entirely welcome. We got to see a lot — a lot of singing, a lot of satisfying judging — that we just could not have seen in an hour. So, oddly, thank you for that, Idol dreammakers!

Comments | 3,122 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 15, 2012

The Call Sheet

The Return of Jenny McCarthy

Jenny McCarthy has a new show, J.Lo has ruined reality TV for everyone, and Cougar Town is in trouble (again).

Comments | 5,671 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 15, 2012

Why Men Like 'Downton Abbey'

Popular British feelings drama Downton Abbey, with all its costumes and emotions and politeness, should in no way appeal to men. (Straight men, anyway.)

Comments | 8,560 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 15, 2012

Michele Bachmann Will Not Be Dancing with Stars

A mostly unsourced rumor has been floating around these internets recently claiming that congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R-Disturbia) was offered a spot on the upcoming season of ABC's glitter 'n' gunk "celebrity" fest, Dancing With the Stars. But she's not, OK?

Comments | 1,035 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 15, 2012

What We Watched

'19 Kids and Counting' Gets Stranger, Sadder

19 Kids and Counting premiered last night, and while it was mostly a typical Duggars episode, with eerily wholesome family activities and a dash of stomach-turning religiosity, there was a new grimness to the series that didn't sit right.

Comments | 91,940 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 14, 2012

The Call Sheet

Chris Pine Is Richer Than You

Chris Pine's salaries revealed, the Parents Television Council is mad at MTV again, and some less than stellar news for NBC.

Comments | 4,982 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 14, 2012

Predicting Billy Crystal's Oscars Jokes

Oscar telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer have been pretty hush-hush about their plans for the ceremony (12 days, everyone!). But, with Billy Crystal on board as host, there is at least one thing we're guaranteed: Billy Crystal jokes.

Comments | 2,335 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 14, 2012

What We Watched

Picking Sides On 'Smash'

Last night was episode two of Smash, NBC's somewhat make-it-or-break-it drama about the ins and outs of putting on a Broadway show. So after a big opening night last week, how did the show fare yesterday, quality-wise at least? Hm. Let's say reviews are mixed.

Comments | 1,058 Views

By Jen Doll and Richard Lawson

Feb 14, 2012

Cocktail Crossfire: Is Valentine's Day for Suckers?

It's Valentine's Day. Not sure how you should feel about that? Read on. 

Comments | 2,833 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 13, 2012

The Call Sheet

Behold, 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter'

A new trailer for a strange new movie, Jamie Lannister meets Tom Cruise, and Jennifer Aniston is in trouble in London.

Comments | 3,344 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 13, 2012

Whitney-Tinged Grammys Have Highest Ratings in 28 Years

Who says nobody cares about the Grammys anymore? The music industry's biggest awards ceremony aired last night to a whopping 39 million viewers, the most that have tuned in since 1984.

Comments | 2,107 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 13, 2012

What We Watched

'The Walking Dead' Plods at a Zombie's Pace

AMC's coulda-been-great zombie apocalypse series The Walking Dead returned to the airwaves last night to resume the show's second season after a shocking midseason finale (a concept we really should do away with altogether) back in December.

Comments | 3,104 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 10, 2012

The Call Sheet

John Stamos Forever

John Stamos might have a series again, George Lucas corrects the fanboys, and the gay return of Ethan Embry.

Comments | 1,724 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 10, 2012

Movie Review

'The Vow': Channing Tatum in Love

Today we review the new romantic drama The Vow.

Comments | 4,558 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 10, 2012

What We Watched

'American Idol': We'll All Go Down Together

Last night the hell of Group Night began.

Comments | 3,129 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 9, 2012

The Call Sheet

Bradley Cooper Just Can't Catch a Break

A Bradley Cooper joint falls apart, Robert Redford is stranded, and Bravo heads back to Miami.

Comments | 8,328 Views

By Richard Lawson

Feb 9, 2012

It's Time to End the Glitter-Bombing

It's hard not to be sympathetic to the message of the actual or would-be glitter-bombers, but we think this particular protest technique has turned cliché, fruitless, and rather counterproductive. It's time to put down the throwable art supplies.

Comments | 2,802 Views

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