Stephen Colbert's Moving Eulogy for His Mother

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Stephen Colbert returned to the airwaves Wednesday night after a hiatus following the death of his mother. And his opening tribute to her will probably make you cry. 

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 25, 2013

Jon Stewart Takes Fox News to Warp Speed on Boston Bombing Trial

On The Daily Show last night, he explained how Fox has gone all willy nilly on the Constitution at the beginning of the controversial prosecution of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. He also peppered his entire opening segment with spot-on pop culture references, Star Wars included.

Comments | 38,183 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 24, 2013

The Call Sheet

Anne Hathaway to Conquer Broadway?

Today in show business news: Anne Hathaway may be headed back to the Weimar era, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore team up once again, and Jennifer Garner will have a bad day too.

Comments | 2,341 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 24, 2013

Tatum and JGL Might Be the New Sinatra and Brando in a 'Guys and Dolls' Remake

Deadline reveals that Fox has snagged the rights to Guys and Dolls, the 1950 musical turned 1955 movie musical. And in the key roles of Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson, Fox wants Tatum and Gordon-Levitt. Who's next?

Comments | 390 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 24, 2013

Updated: Does Sofia Vergara Have a Cameo That Ruins 'Iron Man 3'?

Reviews are starting to come in for Iron Man 3, and they are predominantly good. Still, according to one of the reviews, one cameo — by an ABC sitcom star — nearly ruins the whole thing. Who could it be?

Comments | 3,316 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 24, 2013

Y.A. for Grownups

A Blogger Who Laughs at Nightmares Gets a Book Deal

For the last two years, 20-year-old Shane Burcaw has shared his tales of life with spinal muscular atrophy on the wildly popular Tumblr called Laughing at My Nightmare. Now he's writing a memoir, which he just sold to Macmillan.

Comments | 2,145 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 24, 2013

The Great 'American Idol' Judge Swap Wouldn't Have Worked Anyway

Sure, there would have been a little ratings spike had the dramatic coup worked, if Jennifer Lopez had really returned to replace Mariah Carey. But judges on these competition shows are silly distractions — the real problem is Idol

Comments | 3,307 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 24, 2013

The New 'Arrested Development': The Same Jokes Just Told Differently?

We're now just about a month out from the Netflix premiere of Arrested Development, and—as our concern grows that maybe it won't meet our wildly exaggerated expectationsEntertainment Weekly is teasing us with new images from the show that, like the posters released earlier this month, seem to be relying on familiar gags from the old shows. 

Comments | 5,263 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 24, 2013

22-Year-Old J.D. Salinger Was a Total Flirt

David Itzkoff's piece in The New York Times about nine letters sent from a 22-year-old (pre-Catcher in the Rye) J.D. Salinger to a young Toronto woman reveals that the author was flirty, a bit of a fibber, and maybe a little bit heartbroken.

Comments | 195 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 24, 2013

The Smart Set

Gwyneth's Supreme Beauty Secrets, Revealed

Today in celebrity news: People magazine has found the prettiest piece of glass in the known world, Justin and Selena kissed, and Rihanna makes it rain. 

Comments | 4,288 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 24, 2013

Gwyneth Paltrow Is the 'Most Beautiful Woman' Alive — and You Can't Stop Her

This morning People magazine up and gave our lady Goop a new title. Which begs the question: Is People just blissfully out of touch with how most of the world feels? Or do Gwyneth and her hatable celebrity equals — ahem, Anne Hathaway — not quite deserve all the hate?

Comments | 3,703 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 23, 2013

The Call Sheet

No One Cares About Ryan Lochte

Today in show business news: Ryan Lochte's new show is not a hit, Game of Thrones definitely is, and Shia LaBeouf keeps getting work for some reason. 

Comments | 10,600 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 23, 2013

The New 'Bling Ring' Trailer Unveils Emma Watson as the Anti-Hermione

Unlike, the girls of, say, Spring Breakers, Watson's test in Sofia Coppola's movie is not about whether she can get all sexy. It seems like she will convincingly transform into the polar opposite of her Harry Potter heyday.

Comments | 6,218 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 23, 2013

Meditations on a 'Mad Men' Emergency

Not only did the show have a glaring anachronism on Sunday, but the AMC favorite slid in the ratings, reminding us, once again, that for all we care about the trials and tribulations of Don and the gang, many people do not. Also: Don Draper is a jerk.

Comments | 3,697 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 23, 2013

Gus Van Sant's 'Fifty Shades' Sex Scenes with Alex Pettyfer Might Be a Good Sign

The director was not "officially asked" by the studio behind the book adaptation to shoot the test footage, but he did — in an effort to show how much he wants the job. And he might just be the right man for it. As for Magic Mike's Pettyfer, well, he might be a little old.

Comments | 8,235 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 23, 2013

What We Watched

The Odd Grace of 'Rectify'

More important than the whodunit are deeper and more thoughtful matters. It's an undeniably strange series, but between this and Top of the Lake, Sundance is having a knockout spring, giving us murder mysteries that say way more about life than they do about death.

Comments | 194 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 23, 2013

How to Celebrate Shakespeare's 449th Birthday, the Internet Way

It's the 449th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare (we think), and some parts of the Internet have gone positively Elizabethan to celebrate. Here are some fun ways to honor the Bard on his big day, online. 

Comments | 778 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 23, 2013

Marvel Has No Match for Superman Right Now

The first trailer for Thor: The Dark World begins the post-Avengers attack on the box office with character driven sequels bent on becoming legitimate franchises of their own. And yet, now that Man of Steel looks great again, it's hard not to wonder what the future for Marvel holds.

Comments | 5,043 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 23, 2013

The Smart Set

Reese Can Make This All Go Away

Today in celebrity news: Reese Witherspoon cancels her TV appearances, Leo DiCaprio gave Gwyneth Paltrow some crazy ideas, and Jennifer Lawrence got a haircut. 

Comments | 6,997 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 23, 2013

The Man with the Mini-Book Collection

The photographs in Alex Vadukul's New York Times story about Neale Albert, a 75-year-old collector of miniature books, are as squee-inducing as anything you might see on Cute Overload—except, of course, the subjects pictured are not piglets or puppies but books.

Comments | 583 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 22, 2013

Only Michael Bay Can Stop the Michael Baymageddon

For some reason — probably to get attention to the new Michael Bay movie — Michael Bay has been on an apology tour of late, and for some of the best work of a previously unabashed blockbuster film career. This needs to stop, Michael Bay.

Comments | 2,719 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 22, 2013

The Call Sheet

De Niro and LaBeouf, Together at Last

Today in show business news: Bob and Shia will play father and son spies in a new movie, Mario Lopez continues his improbable employment in the post-Saved by the Bell era, and James Franco gets yet another job.

Comments | 1,554 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 22, 2013

Richie Havens, the Non-Stop Folk Legend Behind 'Freedom,' Has Died

Havens toured constantly for 45 years — and opened Woodstock almost by accident — before retiring only recently. The cause of his death was reportedly a heart attack. He was 72.

Comments | 1,359 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 22, 2013

Seth MacFarlane Might Host the Oscars Again, for All the Wrong Reasons

Deadline reports that the Family Guy creator turned oddly tanned celebrity has been asked to come back in 2014, cementing the rise of the good-looking comedy guy who acts like a jerk and accuses his detractors of being humorless or worse whenever a joke offends or angers them.

Comments | 777 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 22, 2013

Is 'Star Trek into Darkness' About to Kill Mr. Spock?

We're now just a little under a month away from the release of Star Trek Into Darkness, and after many trailers the blockbuster's first full clip has emerged, along with an ominous interview with director J.J. Abrams, there's a big, sad spoiler already in the making.

Comments | 4,077 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 22, 2013

Michael Shannon's DG Sorority Email Reading Sets a Pretty High Parody Bar

We knew this was coming. Last week's bit of viral levity — the crazy email from a profane University of Maryland Delta Gamma sorority girl — has started to get parodied in viral video form. And, as DG tries to restore their image, the Boardwalk Empire and Man of Steel actor has already pretty much perfected the sorority girl parody form. 

Comments | 16,755 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 22, 2013

In Memory of E.L. Konigsburg and Mrs. Frankweiler's Mixed-Up Files

This weekend brought the news that beloved children's author E.L. Konigsburg had died at the age of 83. But in our minds, the authors of our childhood favorites never grow old, nor does their writing.

Comments | 1,747 Views

By Alexander Abad-Santos

Apr 22, 2013

Time Magazine Invited Gabby Douglas and Spielberg to the White House Dinner

Time, which may be struggling internally but did manage to pull George Clooney last year, may have the glitziest table at "nerd prom" once again.

Comments | 388 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 22, 2013

You Probably Should Watch This Amazon Musical Pilot About a Fake HuffPost

Let's just get this straight off the bat: working for an online publication does not offer a lot of opportunities to break out into song, and though we don't work at the Huffington Post, we assume that their day-to-day blogging at that operation also does not lend itself to the musical comedy treatment. 

Comments | 970 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 22, 2013

What We Watched

A Slight Warning About 'Game of Thrones'

Great Game of Thrones last night, huh? Yeah, it sure was good. But I'm afraid I have to put my annoying "guy who read the books" hat on and tell you one maybe possibly deflating thing about last night's excellent episode.

Comments | 20,245 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 22, 2013

The Smart Set

Reese Witherspoon Says She's Sorry

Today in celeb news: Reese Witherspoon apologizes for her drunken behavior, Tara Reid is bounced out for hers, and Duchess Kate has a bump.

Comments | 8,538 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 22, 2013

Conan Is the Right Man for Post-Boston White House Correspondents Dinner

As Washington continues to confront the aftermath of the bombings, politicians and celebrities will be in the same room for its most festive of occasions — an event that suddenly risks projecting an awkward, wrong, or insensitive message. Good thing Boston native Conan O'Brien is the emcee again, because he's been in this position before.

Comments | 2,522 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 22, 2013

Mad Women: 'Nothing Better Than Being Known for Your Loyalty'

Last night's episode of Mad Men was called "To Have and to Hold," and like last week, it was as soapy as the name would have you think.

Comments | 1,746 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 22, 2013

Media Diet

Ben Greenman: What I Read

Author and New Yorker editor Ben Greenman recently faced a slight Twitter addiction problem, has "dozens of secret sources," and tries "like hell to read normal books." 

Comments | 2,910 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 21, 2013

Reese Witherspoon Asked Her Arresting Officer, "Do You Know My Name?"

Because, yes, that Reese Witherspoon was arrested and spent a night in jail this weekend for disorderly conduct. And yes, that Reese Witherspoon tried to argue with the cop because she's a famous person and she is allowed to "stand on American ground."

Comments | 13,175 Views

By Connor Simpson

Apr 21, 2013

Box Office Report

Tom Cruise Blows the Box Office Into 'Oblivion'

Welcome to the Box Office Report, where it's been a while. Let's get reacquainted, shall we?

Comments | 1,744 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 19, 2013

The Call Sheet

Oh No, More 'Glee'

Today in show business news (yes, that's still happening, sort of!): Fox has made a terrible decision, NBC has made a great decision, and Will Ferrell is getting ready to play tag.

Comments | 4,441 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 19, 2013

The Most Evocative Magazine Covers of the Boston Marathon Bombing

Weekly magazines may be fewer and fewer, but after the week of the Boston Marathon bombing, they mean more and more right now.

Comments | 10,234 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 19, 2013

What We Watched

'American Idol': Back to the Country

Will we miss Janelle? Probably not. It's hard to miss something that was barely there to begin with. What was Janelle, really?

Comments | 3,862 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 19, 2013

NBC's Pete Williams: Media Hero of the Boston Bombing Coverage

When CNN became the butt of jokes for its erroneous reporting Wednesday, NBC's Pete Williams' clear, careful, accurate reporting in a sea of media confusion had made him the most lauded television news reporter working on the Boston Marathon bombing story.

Comments | 14,946 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 19, 2013

The Smart Set

Mary-Kate Olsen Frowned

The rest of the dumb world staggers on amidst all this madness. If you're curious, we've got some celebrity news for you: Mary-Kate had a bad time at dinner, Neil Patrick Harris moves to New York, and LC has a new house. 

Comments | 5,986 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 19, 2013

Home News From Afar

In Russia, Boston Worries Turn to Sochi

Even before the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing were linked to Russia, the nation saw how the attacks could resonate at the Sochi Olympics. Now, the fast-moving terror situation in America is having a ripple effect on the Games.

Comments | 7,896 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 18, 2013

The Call Sheet

Kris Jenner Is Coming for You

Today in show business news: The Kardashian mom's new talk show has almost arrived, Will Smith gets some leftovers, and Keanu Reeves plays a jerk.

Comments | 1,926 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 18, 2013

Movie Review

'Before Midnight': Third Time's Just as Charming

Supposedly this is the end of Richard Linklater's series, making the project a trilogy, but there's wonderfully nothing finite about the film, which is currently part of the Tribeca Film Festival — and will be the real must-see of this summer.

Comments | 5,496 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 18, 2013

Jon Stewart's Long War with CNN is Getting Bitter, Petty

Last night Jon Stewart went on familiar tirade against CNN on a good day to pick on CNN. While he spent almost six minutes ranting on how they botched their Boston bomber reporting, building up to a disgusting Human Centipede punchline, he only spent a few seconds on what seemed to set him off.

Comments | 4,484 Views

By Esther Zuckerman

Apr 18, 2013

The 'Time 100' Has More Insufferable Celeb-on-Celeb 'Writing' Than Ever

What do you get when Time magazine asks celebrities to write about the greatness of other celebrities? The annual "Time 100," of course! But you also get a lot of terribly obnoxious back-patting, most of which, this year, is guardedly self aggrandizing.

Comments | 3,081 Views

By Jen Doll

Apr 18, 2013

Y.A. for Grownups

Leave a Book, Find a Book to Support Teen Lit

Thursday, April 18, is Support Teen Lit Day, a YALSA-declared holiday meant to raise awareness among the public that Y.A. is great. One way to participate is with Rock the Drop, a teen book drop initiative begun by literacy and social media project Readergirlz.

Comments | 578 Views

By Richard Lawson

Apr 18, 2013

Movie Review

Not Even Tom Cruise Can Save 'Oblivion'

Oblivion is sleek and gorgeous, smooth and matte-finish, full of watery grays and cool blues. The movie looks and sounds great. So why is it such a disappointment?

Comments | 4,237 Views

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