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Kathryn Bigelow Celebrated in Santa Barbara

Steve Pond — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:45:05 -0800

By Steve Pond

“It’s been exhilarating and gratifying and thrilling and extremely surprising,” said the director of the year on Monday night at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where Kathryn Bigelow received yet another accolade and an evening dedicated not just to “The Hurt Locker,” but to her entire body of work.

“This is a tough little war film about an extremely unpopular war,” she said. “How does one anticipate something like this, that putting a magnifying lens on a hellish situation would touch some kind of nerve?”

I...

Ratings: 'Big Bang' Just Won't Quit

Adalian — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:44:05 -0800

By Josef Adalian

"The Big Bang Theory" just keeps getting bigger, scoring another record Monday thanks to a Super-sized promo push.

CBS's geek-centric comedy notched a 6.0 rating/14 share among adults 18-49, its largest rating yet and the biggest demo number this season for any live action comedy. "Big" was one of a number of CBS shows that got a major push during the Eye's record-smashing broadcast of the Super Bowl.

How big is "Bang"? Consider that it was just over a year ago, in January 2009, that CBS was putting out press releases noting record-high numbers f...

Stephen Colbert: 'Sarah Palin is a F---ing Retard' (Video)

Dylan Stableford — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:19:18 -0800

By Dylan Stableford

Sarah Palin's speech to the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville caused a bit of a stir over the weekend because Palin, who was critical of Barack Obama's use of a TelePrompTer, had visible notes on her hand. (Why Palin didn't use a wrist coach like the ones rookie quarterbacks use is beyond me.)

Palin also defended Rush Limbaugh in his mini-flare up with the White House over the use of the word "retard."

On Monday, Stephen Colbert summed up the Fox News contributor's week like this:

Good Morning Oscar, Feb. 9: Campaign Strategy

Steve Pond — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 07:36:34 -0800

By Steve Pond

In this morning’s roundup of Oscar news ‘n’ notes from around the web, “The Cove” goes to Japan and “The Hurt Locker,” to nobody’s surprise, goes to the top of another critics’ roundup.

Variety looks at how the 10 Best Picture nominees have scored with the two top critics aggregation sites, Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes. If you combine the two scores, “The Hurt Locker” unsurprisingly comes out on top, followed closely by “Up.” “An Education” is next, and the top five is rounded out by &l...

A Kentucky Station's Awesome Tribute to 'Press Your Luck' (video)

Adalian — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:35:57 -0800

By Josef Adalian

MoJoe loves game shows. MoJoe really likes "Press Your Luck."

And apparently, so do the promo-meisters at WKYT, the CBS affiliate in Lexington, Kentucky. They aired a brilliant spot right before and after Sunday's Super Bowl that used the classic CBS quiz show to tout the station's mega doppler radar.

It's quite awesome, and proof that there's plenty of talented folks toiling at stations across the country just ready to get the call to head to Hollywood or New York. CBS marketing chief George Schweitzer, take note!

And by the way, since we're doing open memos ...

Craig Ferguson's Cheeky Twitter Debut

Adalian — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:14:19 -0800

By Josef Adalian

Craig Ferguson is now on Twitter -- and he's just as cheeky online as he is on-air.

"Can I say fuck on this thing?" the CBS "Late Late Show" host tweeted Monday evening around 9:45 p.m., less than 12 hours after first signing on to the mircoblogging service.

Then, two minutes later: "Oh this is too awesome. Fuckity fuckity heck. (don't want to go too far)."

Among the early highlights of the feed from @craigyferg (whose authenticity was confirmed by a CBS pr rep):

-- "I follow no one. Except Dave I suppose. Or the local news. Or ...

Seinfeld Sells Wedding Date for 'Marriage Ref' (video)

Adalian — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:42:00 -0800

By Josef Adalian

NBC has been giving its new Jerry Seinfeld - produced reality comedy "The Marriage Ref" a big - time sales offensive, even taking to movie theaters to promote the show.

It's not unusual for networks, especially those of the cable variety, to tout their wares via pre-show featurettes now common at many big multiplexes. But in most cases, the show's being super-hyped are of the scripted variety.

But "Marriage" has Seinfeld. On Thursday nights. No wonder, then, that NBC is sparing no coin in getting the word out about his series, which debuts March 4 right aft...

NBC Turns Up the Hype for 'Minute' (video)

Adalian — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:31:40 -0800

By Josef Adalian

NBC has started promoting its new game show "Minute to Win It," the post-Olympics competition hosted by Food Network's Guy Fieri.

Premiering Sunday, March 14 at 8 p.m., the series (originally titled "Perfect 10") has regular folks trying to complete seemingly simple tasks involving household items. It's similar in some ways to "The Cube," a UK series being developed by CBS.

But NBC's show seems to have a much lighter, comedic and family-friendly tone to it. At least that's our take after watching an extended promo reel and the two promos bel...

'Dear John' Had Last-Minute Ending Change of Heart

Sharon Waxman — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:24:16 -0800

By Sharon Waxman

EXCLUSIVE

"Dear John,” the surprise hit romance that opened over the weekend, might not have been as big a hit if it had the original ending.

In a real-life twist, the movie until three weeks before its release featured an ending that was much more downbeat than the one that played in theaters this past weekend, according to executives who worked on the film. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, the movie is about young soldier John (Channing Tatum) who...

Accused: Conrad Murray and the Hollywood Pill Pipeline

Josh Dickey — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:13:38 -0800

By Josh Dickey

When Conrad Murray appeared before a judge on Monday to hear the criminal charge against him, an entire Hollywood culture of pliant doctors and needy celebrities stood accused, too.

Michael Jackson’s case is an extreme one. Propofol injections are a long way from the semi-recreational Xanax or three.

But his example merely raises the stakes in what stands to be a landmark case pitting the law against the murky world of celebrity narcotics.

If Los Angeles prosecutors lose this one, they will have missed a rare opportunity to put a dent in Hollywood’s pill pip...