What is it with the upsurge in cryptozoological children’s movies? DreamWorks’ Abominable, which finds a group of children bonding with a cute yeti, arrives in theaters just a few months after Zach Galifianakis voiced a sasquatch in Missing Link. Perhaps this is how pop culture is subconsciously reckoning with the disappearing Arctic. While such abominable snowmen don’t actually exist, many living things will be lost as climate change continues to erode natural habitats.
What a plucky, odd duck the six-hour miniseries A WOMAN OF INDEPENDENT MEANS (NBC, Feb. 19, 20, and 22, 9-11p.m. each night) turns out to be. Spread over three evenings, unfolding its tale in a leisurely way that’s increasingly unusual for made-for-television movies, A Woman of Independent Means has a pleasingly diffuse, almost aimless structure. The millions of people who read the 1979 best-selling novel of the same name, by Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, know that the title character is Bess Steed Garner, an earnest turn-of-the-century Dallas woman, played here by Sally Field.
With all the twerking and *NSYNC reuniting going on at the MTV Video Music Awards, it was easy to overlook one of the stranger moments of the night. During the introduction of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ performance of “Same Love,” A$AP Rocky took the stage with openly gay NBA player Jason Collins. Before throwing to Macklemore, Collins talked about his decision to come out, how it matched up with his grandmother’s work with the civil rights movement, and how stars like Macklemore were standing up for gay rights.
When the waiter at an empty Italian joint in New York’s meatpacking district deposits a pretty starter salad in front of Aaron Eckhart, the actor does something you don’t see too often in the celebrity-interview biz. He drops his big claw right down into the middle of his plate, mussing up the beets and mangling the endives until there’s dressing all over his fingers. ”I have a new appreciation,” he says, eyes on his dish, acting out the chef’s role, ”for how food’s arranged on the plate, what kind of plate they’re using, how clean it is, what the portions are, how the beets are sliced, where the walnuts are.
Breaking Bad may have ended three years ago, but fans of the AMC drama haven’t forgotten about one of its most popular characters. Neither has Aaron Paul. Paul, who took home three Emmy Awards for his role as tormented meth-making apprentice Jesse Pinkman, is about to move into the next phase of his acting career. Within the next month alone, he’ll drop two new movies (Triple 9 and Eye in the Sky) and return to television with Hulu’s powerful drama The Path.
It's officially a reunion, bitch! A few weeks after you learned that Bryan Cranston would don Heisenberg's pork pie hat once again for a Super Bowl commercial, EW can confirm that his partner in serious crime, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) will be featured alongside Mr. White in an ad for PopCorners. Above is a first-look tease at Paul's return to the ABQverse, where a high school chemistry teacher once teamed up with one of his worst students to create a murderous meth empire.
ABC is breaking its silence on its decision to cancel Last Man Standing — and so is star Tim Allen. The axing of Allen’s sitcom, which delivered a strong 8 million viewers on Friday nights, has upset fans — particularly conservative viewers who feel the show’s conservative star was singled out. ABC entertainment president Channing Dungey defended her decision to reporters on a conference call Tuesday, noting she also canceled shows with decidedly more progressive politics this year, like producer John Ridley’s acclaimed drama American Crime and columnist Dan Savage’s comedy The Real O’Neals.
Do you want to build a snow man? Or hang out under the sea? In the wake of NBC and Fox’s successful live events The Wiz and Grease Live, respectively, ABC is developing a potential live musical of its own, new network chief Channing Dungey told reporters ahead of ABC’s upfront presentation. “We’ve definitely been in those conversations and we have some things we’re currently in development on,” she said. “This is a space that’s already become very crowded.
ABC entertainment president Karey Burke reacted to allegations of sexual harassment, bullying, and racial discrimination made byThe Rookie star Afton Williamson, who announced that she was opting not to return for the show’s sophomore season. “I’m going to, I’m sure, be quite frustrating to you today because I don’t have a lot of answers. I wish I had more,” Burke said during the network’s executive session at the Television Critics Association summer press tour presentation on Monday.
Just as Jersey Shore settles into my TiVo as Guilty Obsession of the Moment, I’m afraid that a new, um, situation is developing on the horizon: ABC announced today that following the Jan. 4 season premiere of The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love (worst title ever), the network will air… Conveyor Belt of Love (best title ever). And although the show really doesn’t need any more explanation, I will not rob you of the joy of reading this description straight from the press release: “In this hilarious and fast-paced one-hour special, one by one the 30 men are presented on the “Conveyor Belt of Love” to the five women and given 60 seconds to impress them.