Film School Rejects » TV News

Lena Headey Joins Cast of HBO’s Game of Thrones

Paul Sileo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 22:14:45 +0000

With yet another wonderful addition, the cast for HBO’s adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones is shaping up to be quite impressive. Brought to my attention by the always-tenacious Winter-Is-Coming, in an exclusive reveal by television critic Maureen Ryan from the Chicago Tribune, it has been confirmed that Lena Headey, of 300 and The Sarah Connor Chronicles fame, will be portraying the queen everyone loves to hate—Cersei Lannister. She will be joining Peter Dinklage, Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Jennifer Ehle, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tamzin Merchant, and Iain Glen, as well as a few lesser known and completely unknown actors in the pilot. There are also a few roles that have not been announced yet, including the unconfirmed but heavily rumored casting of Rory McCann as Sandor “The Hound” Clegane.

When it comes to producing quality television, HBO is so far above anyone else, that it’s almost laughable. Time and time again, they manage to bring together the right producers, directors, writers, and actors to create truly wonderful pieces of entertainment. And, with the cast of Game of Thrones, they seem to be once again bringing the mad skillz. Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean were complete fan favorites for their roles, but the others are out of varying degrees of left field. I can safely say, however, that each addition to the cast (with the possible exception of Merchant as Daenarys Targaryen) has just felt right. HBO could have a real winner on its hands, and considering both the source material and the level of quality we have come to expect from them, there is really no reason why they shouldn’t.

Filming of the pilot for Game of Thrones will begin October 26^thin Ireland.

Coming Soon: Real Fake Books

Robert Fure — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:45:17 +0000

In the movie and television world, there are plenty examples of fake authors talking about fake books. From the Necronomicon of the Evil Dead series (or HP Lovecraft stories) to Kenny Powers’ You’re Fucking Out, I’m Fucking In, there are tons of fake-ass made up books that sound like they’d be a real treat to read. After all, since they don’t really exist, the writers can hype them up to high heaven because we’ll never get a chance to read them and see if they’re full of as much genius as we’re told they are. Until now, that is.

We got an email tip from reader Martin that publisher Simon & Schuster is releasing a book entitled God Hates Us All by one Frank Moody – aka the previously fictional novel that was the best selling work of David Duchovny’s Frank Moody on Showtime Networks Californication. Here is the official synopsis of the book:

A wry literary masterpiece, God Hates Us All is a coming-of-age tale for the apathetic generation. Hank Moody’s self-loathing yet darkly likable narrator is a college drop-out-turned-accidental-drug-dealer enveloped in a world of contradictions. His boss — a bong-hitting, dreadlocked Pontiff figure — runs a remarkably organized and ingenious illegal trade patronized by, among others, a sweater-set-wearing Upper East Sider, a Wall Street hotshot, and a wannabe rock star with a hard-to-resist model girlfriend. The lonely narrator yearns for more than the tenuous but intimate thread he shares with his clients. To escape his mother’s desperate expectations, his father’s endless disappointments, and his certifiably insane ex-girlfriend, he moves to the city’s mecca of ambitious slackers — the Chelsea Hotel — where the pursuit of lust (and the rock star’s girlfriend) sends him on a series of well-intentioned misadventures that lead him right back where he started. Told in a unique and subtle voice, God Hates Us All is ironic, optimistic, and unforgettable.

It’s worth noting that the cover design is the same as that featured in the show. Definitely a cool little tie-in that lands on September 15th. Two weeks later, on September 29th, you’ll also be able to get your hands on the hottest crime book of the year, Heat Wave, by Richard Castle of ABC’s Castle starring Nathan Fillion. In the series, playboy and part-time crime solver Richard Castle is an author who tags along with a hot female cop as research for his next book, Heat Wave, about a headstrong female detective named Nikki Heat. The book mirrors the TV show, as it follows a ‘fictional’ writer following a ‘fictional’ cop around on her case while the sexual attraction between them grows. The official synopsis is below:

A New York real estate tycoon plunges to his death on a Manhattan sidewalk. A trophy wife with a past survives a narrow escape from a brazen attack. Mobsters and moguls with no shortage of reasons to kill trot out their alibis. And then, in the suffocating grip of a record heat wave, comes another shocking murder and a sharp turn in a tense journey into the dirty little secrets of the wealthy. Secrets that prove to be fatal. Secrets that lay hidden in the dark until one NYPD detective shines a light.

Mystery sensation Richard Castle, blockbuster author of the wildly best-selling Derrick Storm novels, introduces his newest character, NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat. Tough, sexy, professional, Nikki Heat carries a passion for justice as she leads one of New York City’s top homicide squads. She’s hit with an unexpected challenge when the commissioner assigns superstar magazine journalist Jameson Rook to ride along with her to research an article on New York’s Finest. PulitzerPrize-winning Rook is as much a handful as he is handsome. His wise-cracking and meddling aren’t her only problems. As she works to unravel the secrets of the murdered real estate tycoon, she must also confront the spark between them. The one called heat.

This is ten times cooler than a novelization of a movie or TV show. This is like getting your hands on a piece of entertainment that has some real depth behind it. Make no mistake it takes a lot of effort and work to produce books and both of these shows have decided to really go for it in the world of tie in marketing. How awesome would it be to see more of this level of integration? TV shows about fictional authors and books where you can actually pick up the book they wrote? This is the print equivalent of the world’s coolest viral advertising. Cooler than viral, I’d say, because you can carry this around with you. I really love that the books author is the character from the show, though the real writer may not share my enthusiasm over that! I’m definitely on board with this idea and as a fan of both shows, I’m down to read both of these when they hit in September. Hopefully they live up to the fictional hype.

What do you think about these tie-ins? Awesome, lamesauce?

Craig Ferguson: We Need A New ‘Late Shift’

Kevin Kelly — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:29:38 +0000

I was listening to Craig Ferguson of The Late, Late Show speak last week about being on late night, earning his pilot’s license, and his upcoming autobiography, which he’ll be having different famous people read excerpts from until it gets released on September 22nd. He was genuinely a very engaging guy, not a “douchebag” himself (to use one of his favorite words) and additionally dropped many f-bombs during the conversation. Not that dropping the f-bomb is a sign of coolness, but he wasn’t dropping them to be incendiary or shocking. You get the feeling that he’s the kind of guy who lets them fly when he’s chatting up his buddies on the weekends. Plus, his Scottish accent makes it that much cooler.

But his whole presentation got me to thinking about 1996’s HBO movie The Late Shift. If you haven’t seen that, it’s an extremely good luck at the Leno/Letterman “war’ over “The Tonight Show.” It starred John Michael Higgins as David Letterman, Daniel Roebuck as Jay Leno, and Kathy Bates as the extremely ball-busting, bitchy Helen Kushnick, Leno’s manager. In fact, she won a Golden Globe and a SAG Award for her role. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth watching, and is available on both Netflix and Amazon. You can also pick up Bill Carter’s book, which the movie is based on, pretty dirt cheap if you can settle for a used book.

But what about the new late night wars? Fallon vs. O’Brien vs. Ferguson? And with Leno getting his own 10PM show this season, it’s a four way battle for control of the nighttime television set. Surely they’ll be poaching guests from each other, and trying to one-up each other with skits and bits, and we want to see the brutal behind the scenes warfare that goes on. The gritty, underhanded moves, the punches to the gut with brass knuckles, the short-sheeting of the beds, the pissing in the coffee pots … all that jazz. Bring us some dirt, late nighters!

If you want to read the conversation with Craig Ferguson, it’s all below. When you’re done with that, go pick up The Late Shift. You won’t be sorry.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Good morning, everyone.

THE AUDIENCE: Good morning.

CRAIG FERGUSON: First of all, let me say my wife is standing by me through this very difficult time.

(Laughter.)

CRAIG FERGUSON: Buenos Aires is lovely at this time of year. Did you get a pizza?

THE AUDIENCE: Yes. Thank you.

QUESTION: Where did the pizza come from? It was really good.

CRAIG FERGUSON: From Joe Mantegna’s place in the Valley. What is it? Taste of Chicago, it’s called. It’s good, and it has a TV connection. Do you know what I mean? It has — it’s owned by a guy in TV. It’s a restaurant owned by a guy in TV, something I will never do. Why? Because I don’t have that kind of money. I will answer
any of your questions, not necessarily honestly. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: When James Frey was on, before he came on, did you have to guarantee him that you wouldn’t “Oprah” him, and did you really have that kind of rapport where you understood what he had done?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I think the question you are asking me politely is can I read. And, yes, I read his book. And, no, I wouldn’t accept any guest on the show ever with
conditions like that. That’s not acceptable to me, so no. He came on, and I liked him. I liked him, and I talked to him. I wasn’t — I wasn’t that interested in
talking about A Million Little Pieces because I felt it had been done to death. And I had just finished reading the new book, so I wanted to talk about that, which is
scandalous. Have you read it? Oh, you really should read it. It’s really — he’s a very bad boy. Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Speaking of scandalous books, can you tell us about yours?

CRAIG FERGUSON: My book is reasonably priced and available on September the 22nd. It’s an autobiography, and I’m looking forward to reading it.

(Laughter.)

It’s an autobiography by someone in show business. I hear it’s great. I love that — you know, I had to — it’s a little bit different from the James Frey thing in
the sense that a lot of it, I just couldn’t remember, so I made it up. But I admitted that right away. It’s just the story of how I ended up here, which surprises me as
much as anyone.

QUESTION: Would you want to do a 10 o’clock show, or are you looking at that across the aisle and going “Good luck with that”?

QUESTION: I don’t think people are ready for cussing puppets at 10 o’clock.

(Laughter.)

I don’t know. I kind of — I am mystified by many things in life, and that one, I don’t really understand what’s going on there either, but I’m no — I don’t program
television. I’m just the pretty one that reads the prompter. I don’t — I don’t do that. We don’t have a prompter. We do, I guess. Hello.

QUESTION: Still, has the shark gotten a very big head now? Is he sort of, you know –

CRAIG FERGUSON: The shark puppet?

QUESTION: Yeah.

CRAIG FERGUSON: I’m actually thinking about getting rid of puppets altogether. Yeah, see? That reaction right there, that’s what I’m looking for, controversy. “No
puppets? That’s it.” To the presses that don’t exist anymore, tweety tweet.

(Laughter.)

No. I am very undemocratic on the show. Like, when there was a lot of votes for the pig, I had the pig resign from the race just because it made it more interesting for me. But I don’t know. I’m getting bored with puppets. If I can’t think of anything else to do with them, I’ll have to let them go the way of all flesh.

QUESTION: And did you hear from Ahmadinejad about his actual win?

CRAIG FERGUSON: No, he didn’t win, either in my puppet or in Iran. He didn’t win.

QUESTION: When you have one of those metaphysical monologues like the one on why everything sucks –

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yeah.

QUESTION: — is this something that you are just, like, sitting in your house like that day or in the dressing room just ruminating on it?

CRAIG FERGUSON: Dressing room, you say?

QUESTION: Well –

CRAIG FERGUSON: No, I’m not. I get a quarter — a mirror to get my little tie on.

QUESTION: I think — is this something that you are coming up — is this something you are thinking about for days, or it’s just like, now I know why everything sucks,
and you write down some points, and you give the to (inaudible) –

CRAIG FERGUSON: I don’t write it down. I swear I don’t.

QUESTION: I know you don’t write the whole thing down.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Right.

QUESTION: But I thought you wrote down, like, some bullet points.

CRAIG FERGUSON: No. That particular little nugget of fury was just there in the moment. I think what happens, one of the luxuries of doing a television show every
night, it’s almost like you had an outlet of where you could just broadcast your thoughts. Perhaps something on the Internet would be popular in the same way. It’s
really — it’s — you know, that’s why I never would Twitter because I’ve got an hour to fill every fucking night.

(Laughter.)

What the hell else am I going go to say? “Going to say things about things.” So it’s really just me — it’s me doing that. That’s all it is. And so I think there’s a
part of it which is retro in the sense that it’s someone just talking on television — you know, television, which they used to do back in the day, and another part of it
is extremely contemporary. It’s the broadcast of unedited thought, which is, you know — which is causing the newspaper shortage.

QUESTION: Do you have a fear that this isn’t going to work? I mean, do you say “Oh, my God, this is going to be just awful”?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I never thought about it until right now.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: Is that what fuels you, though, is, like, I’ve got to make sure that it does land, it is funny, it is –

CRAIG FERGUSON: No. I don’t think it matters because I think, if it doesn’t work, that’s interesting. And I think that about the show, that if we do it and it
doesn’t work, it goes in anyway because then I have to — like, I’ll give you an example, and probably this is a horrible example to give. But the other night, I was
talking about Dave’s show, and I got the name of Dave’s show wrong. Now, what I could do — I said — what is it I said? “Late Night with David Letterman” is what I
said, which is apparently not the name of his show, and I got into trouble saying it. Now, what’s more interesting is to watch a sweaty vaudevillian try to get out of a
situation like that rather than cut it and make it pristine. I think that’s — I don’t have the patience for that, and I would prefer as a viewer to watch the mistakes. I am my own blooper reel as it happens.

QUESTION: You said before that no one is more surprised about your success than you are.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yeah.

QUESTION: What did you think your life was going to unfold like when you were 12, 13 years old?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I — well, at 12 and 13, I thought I would be an astronaut. By 17, I thought I would be dead by the time I was, you know, this age. It’s a constantly
changing thing for me. I don’t — I think for everybody, I don’t think just for me. I think if I could go back — I mean, actually, in the process of writing the book, you
kind of do go back and think about these times and what I thought. I don’t know. I always, kind of, half expected I’d end up doing something in show business because it was tolerant of drunkenness and you could meet girls. But, you know, I’m married, and I’m “teetotals,” but I’m still here because I don’t know where else to go.

QUESTION: Craig, how familiar are you with the history of late night? Have you gone to YouTube and looked at clips of Jack Parr or Steve Allen?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I did that when I started, but I don’t do it anymore. I don’t — I don’t really — I don’t think it — I don’t think it really helped that much for me.

QUESTION: Do you see yourself as part of that tradition? You just made a reference a minute ago to talk, and that’s how it used to be or what they used to do.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Right.

QUESTION: Do you see yourself as a part of that tradition, I guess?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I don’t know. I think it’s probably unseemly and not quite for me to — I don’t have the perspective. I’m sitting — you know, in the very literal sense, I sit here, and you sit there. So you get to see it from there, and I get to see it from here. I don’t know that it’s really for me to decide where I sit in that world. In my opinion, you know, to be honest what I think about my show, I think my show is probably closer to “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” than anything else I’ve seen, and that is an aspiration. That’s a great show. I don’t — I don’t know where we are, but wherever we are, we won’t be that next week. I do know that. That’s why the puppets won’t stay forever. It’s important to keep moving. There was a point, you know, when I had a sound board, and I was always doing the sound board, and people asked about the sound effects, or there was, you know, the cheeky monkey thing. We have to keep moving because I’ll get bored, and if I get bored, then I think we start doing retakes when I make a mistake, and then — and then — then the rote sets in, you know. Then there’s focus groups and then committees about “I don’t know about this joke.” Like, I don’t — I don’t know. And who the hell thought it was about a joke?” This is what I never understood. When people say “Oh, that’s funny.” And I go, “Well, did you ever say it to a room full of people?” Because that’s the way you are ever going to know. And when you say it, it’s done. It’s gone. So
bad jokes, good jokes, staying with it, me being part of the tradition, which was the original question, I don’t know. It’s not for me to say, I guess.

QUESTION: Craig, you’ve become like the guy who talked about how great it is to be an American, and you are about the only one who does that who doesn’t have a
right-wing radio show. How important is that to you? How important was it for you to write the book and (inaudible) –

CRAIG FERGUSON: It’s very important to me. It’s very important to me as an immigrant and as someone, you know, who had to fill in a lot of forms and pass a test to be an American. It was — I am very proud and very — and very pleased to be an American. It’s an easier sell now than it was maybe a year ago to say to people how great it is to be. I noticed it, really, when I was out doing stand-up around the country and saying how proud I was to be an American. And the audiences, when people were in large groups, they would respond very positively to that, but when I was talking to people one-on-one, there was that kind of low-morale period, which I think — see, America to me was — when I was — when I was — we are talking about when I was 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 years old. It was astronauts and NASA and all of that stuff, all of that kind of, you know, very positive image of America.

So whether I wrote the book about becoming an American, I also — I wanted to write that, but that’s a singular thing. There’s always something — there’s something
else attached to becoming an American, too, which is — and I’m sure most of you will have either contact with an older member of your family or a relative or somebody who became an American or certainly some of you. And there is a melancholy attached to it. There is a strangeness attached to leaving your past and making the new country your present, and I wanted to not shy away from that, too. So it’s — but it’s very important to me. It’s a very — it’s the defining — it’s the defining thing of my own weltanschuaang, if you like, that America, for me, is a philosophical and emotional decision and not just — it’s not just jingoistic. I think it’s certainly not just political. It’s not a donkey or an elephant. It’s a flag and an idea. It’s a dream. It’s a belief in fairness of opportunity. It’s very important to me. It’s something which — it’s the only thing, maybe, that I have difficulty playing with in any — in any kind of iconoclastic way on the show because it’s such an — it’s
such an important thing for me that I have trouble making fun of it, which that’s okay. Other people can do that. It’s not my job to do — to make fun of everything. I’ll
just do what I do. But it’s very important to me, to answer your question.

QUESTION: Craig, your pizza –

QUESTION: I wanted to ask you one question.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Let me just — sorry.

QUESTION: I wanted to ask you. I was watching you with — I think it was James Spader — CRAIG FERGUSON: James Spader, yeah.

QUESTION: — which had nothing to do with James Spader, but do you ever, when you are doing these interviews night after night, sort of find yourself losing the
concentration? You are kind of glossing over a little bit because you are doing so many of them, you know?

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, sometimes.

QUESTION: How do you bring yourself back?

CRAIG FERGUSON: How do you bring yourself — I don’t know. Usually, there’s somebody waving, going “We’ve got to go to a commercial,” or something like that. I did drift a bit when Spader was talking, but he went on, to be fair, like, 50 talking minutes.

(Laughter.)

And I was kind of like, man. You don’t want to actually look at your watch, but yeah. I liked him, but it’s just like, it’s probably right here, right now. I’m saying
stuff I think are very important. Half of you have drifted off in the last 10 minutes as well. You know, it comes, and it goes. But, most of the time, I see the job
as the way that I’ve always seen the job, which is, I’m the host. I should be polite and make you feel welcome and then listen to what you have to say, and that’s my
job. You know, I’m the host. That’s it. Sorry. Yeah.

QUESTION: Your pizza delivery came with a joke about newspapers, but do you still read them, and would you like to make a plea on their behalf?

QUESTION: Please.

(Laughter.)

CRAIG FERGUSON: I do enjoy newspapers. They are — yeah, I read newspapers. I tend to — I tell you, the newspaper I find difficult is — the thing about newspapers is that I tried to cancel my subscription to the Sunday New York Times just because it was coming to the house and it’s enormous. And I canceled it three or four times, and it still comes, which, I think, is a sign of how desperate newspapers have gotten. Even if I say “Please, don’t send me it,” they are throwing it. I don’t know. I don’t know how this goes. It’s sad. It’s sad that newspapers are in trouble. I don’t know how much trouble they are in. You maybe know more than I do.
I read them because I need to know stuff. I have them in the office. They are there when I go in, and I look at them. And my eye twitches a bit if I look at a screen
too long, but that might just be me, being an old dude.

QUESTION: You talked a bit about not — over here — about not sort of being aware of your place in this long history of talk shows (inaudible). When it goes wrong, it’s all — Carson was really well known for that. Usually, when you get people from the U.K. and we ask about, you know, their influences, invariably, they are
American.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Right.

QUESTION: What kind of comedy influence, television comedy influences, did you –

CRAIG FERGUSON: For American comedy influences?

QUESTION: Yes. Well, is that true of you as well?

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yes, of course. I mean, you mentioned Johnny Carson who is the — is the Tiger Woods of what I do. He didn’t actually create it, but it’s his, you
know. He’s the defining player. He’s Babe Ruth. Do you know what I mean? That it’s his game. And the comedy influences that I love here in America are — Robin
Williams is someone who I always loved his work, particularly early on or just in his stand-up now, Steve Martin, when he was doing stand-up, Bill Murray, a lot the old “Saturday Night Live” guys. You know, there’s a ton of them. There’s a ton of them. There’s too many. You can just name off names for a half an hour.

QUESTION: Do you also think that there’s a difference in stability?

QUESTION: Would you think that the subject or the style of topicality in American humor has changed in the years that you’ve been doing it?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s — I think humor — I understand that it’s your job, but I find it very difficult to define, you know, because it’s
completely fucking subjective. You can’t. You know, it’s like if you say 25 percent of people think this is funny, and 5 percent of people think this is funny. And
then, well, I’m in that 5 percent. I think this is funny. Should I cross over to, you know, be part of a larger group? It’s just, I can’t — I can’t –

QUESTION: What about American audiences, have they gotten more sophisticated compared to European audiences in the form of news and political humor?

CRAIG FERGUSON: My — my — the audience I see at night, the one in the studio, they seem — they seem to know as much of what’s going on as I do, but they may just be laughing so that I don’t look awkward.

(Laughter.)

I often think that, actually.

QUESTION: Is that a change because of Colbert and Jon Stewart and Bill Maher, do you think?

CRAIG FERGUSON: Maybe. Yeah, I guess. You probably know more about this than I do. It’s just that they are all good at what they do. Yes, I think maybe.

QUESTION: Craig, on your right. Do you — you’ve gotten past the point in your career of — at CBS of worrying about renewals from minute to minute and all of that.
You seem established now. No one asks any questions about the future. So that the question that comes now is what sort of ambition do you have long-term? For anyone at 12:30, it becomes the question. Do you want to do this job for five years and then go into doing independent movies? Do you want to replace David
Letterman? Do you want to jump to another network and make lots of money there? Is that sort of where your thoughts are right there?

CRAIG FERGUSON: Let’s talk about money. Say that money thing again. Make lots of money where?

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: The Internet.

CRAIG FERGUSON: The Internet, yeah.

(Laughter.)

Ambitions. I don’t want to be poor. I don’t want to be rich to the extent that all I care about is keeping my job. I don’t care enough about keeping my job right now.
That’s good. That makes me effective at what I do. I don’t — I don’t want to be frightened of getting fired. So, to that end, I suppose my ambitions are that I spend
less than I earn –

(Laughter.)

– because, look, the truth is we are all in a precarious business. You mentioned the newspapers. We cover entertainment in whatever way we do that, and I don’t
want to be frightened. As writers, to be frightened, you will become ineffective. I don’t want to be frightened. So I don’t want to have the ambition of a time slot or a
number of dollars. Frightened. Do I want to make a lot of money? Fuck, yeah. But I want to make it at the expense of — look, I’ve met a lot of rich people who are
douche bags.

(Laughter.)

I don’t want to be that. I don’t want to be that. So – or any more of that than is necessary. So I hope to, I suppose in some way, try and maintain some — if I have any, some type of integrity. I want to be able to look at myself in the mirror. That’s my ambition.

QUESTION: Hey, Craig.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yes, sir.

QUESTION: When Jimmy started into the 12:30, did you watch him a lot, and did you kind of feel for him?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I was wondering if anybody would ask me that. I watched Jimmy. In his first week, I watched maybe 10 minutes of it, and I remember, during that time, Jimmy Kimmel, who is a very nice man, gave an interview. He said, “We all watch and anybody of the late night guys says that they don’t watch another show is lying.” So I guess I’m lying, but the truth is I don’t watch the other late night shows not because of any other reasons, I have a child and a TiVo. So I –

(Laughter.)

I don’t watch the other — you know the shows I see? I see “Duck Dodgers” and “MythBusters.” That’s what I fucking watch because I’ve got an eight-year-old son, you know. I watched Jimmy, and I liked him. I thought he was good, but I stand by what I said the last time, that I never thought we were in competition, and I don’t think we are in competition now. The last time I talked to you guys, I said I thought Jimmy’s competition was “Adult Swim,” and I still believe that. I think my competition is sleep –

(Laughter.)

– or the ShamWow commercial or whatever the hell is on cable or the — you know, whatever video game. Actually, I don’t think a lot of my audience play — I don’t know. I don’t know. I just do what I do.

QUESTION: You don’t get caught up in the ratings between you and him?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I look at them, but the truth is I don’t understand them. I glance at them, but the truth is — I don’t know how many of you — I know that David Poltrack — I’ve seen him around. Now, David understands ratings. I know some — Michael, you understand ratings. I don’t really understand them. When they say people age 18-34, and then they go 18-49, I said, “Well, what? So the people in the 18-34, are they in the 18-49? Or is this different people that are not in the 18-34?”

(Laughter.)

Then you go, “Do all ratings stop at 49?”

(Laughter.)

And they do.

(Laughter.)

You go, “I’m 47. So in two years, I’m fucked. Fuck you. No.”

(Laughter.)

So I know that doesn’t apply. So I don’t really understand how it works. I know it’s important because everybody writes about it like it’s — like it’s religion, but all I know is this. The numbers can change dramatically, and people get pay raises. Here’s what I do know. Here’s what I do know, and this is probably the wrong thing to say in a room full of journalists. But it seemed to me — I don’t know if this absolutely accurate, but when Jay was shit-canned from NBC, he was the leader in all numbers, and then they fired him. I don’t want to get fired.

(Laughter.)

So perhaps keeping your head down is what you should do with the numbers. I don’t understand how it works, but it clearly has — it matters. Yet I don’t know why. I think the truth of it is this. I think it makes you sound clever if you talk about them, and I think that’s what a lot of people do. “So, you know, in the 18 to” — and then you sound clever. I understand that. I want to sound clever, too, but I swear to God, I don’t understand it.

QUESTION: With all the publicity over the late night upheaval that’s going on, how do you feel about like facing the fact that you’re just kind of doing what you’re doing, flying under the
radar?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I’m flying under the radar. I mean, I do what I’m doing.

QUESTION: Are you glad you’re not a part of that whole conversation, or do you want to be a part of that conversation?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I think about both. I think I want to be. It’s like I don’t want to go to the party, but I want to be asked. You know what I mean?

(Laughter.)

It’s like that feeling. I kind of — I kind of don’t know. See, what I think we’ve been doing at this show is — I hope what we’ll be doing at the show is deconstructing and deconstructing and deconstructing the format, and the more we deconstruct the format, if we are successful in doing that, the more we separate ourselves for good or ill from the format. The format is tired. The format is tired, and it is old. And look, here’s the reality. I’m another middle-aged white guy telling jokes late at night on TV wearing a suit, and that’s tired, you know. So I want to mess with it. Because that’s who I am, I want to mess with it. I want to poke it with a stick. I want to do it. So I don’t know if I’m — I swear I don’t know if I’m part of it. I kind of would like to be. You know, I kind of like to be, “Hey, what’s going to happen with that?” And then another part of me thinks, well, then I’ll end up like that. Then I’ll be important. Then I’ll be worried about the fucking 18-18 1/2 demographics.

(Laughter.)

I don’t want to be. So it’s a conflict a little bit. I’m conflicted a little bit with it, I guess.

QUESTION: Do you think that joining the elite of the late night crowd –

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yes.

QUESTION: — leads to isolation? Does it remove you from the very humor that you based your whole career on?

CRAIG FERGUSON: I don’t know if five guys is a crowd.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: When you look at Carson and people like that, they withdrew so far. I mean, he was brilliant.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yeah.

QUESTION: But at the same time, he lived in a cocoon.

CRAIG FERGUSON: I don’t know. I have no experience, and I’m not qualified to talk about Johnny’s life. I do know this, that being on television every night has made me crazier than I was when I started. I’m certainly crazier than I was four, five years ago without doubt, but I’m okay with it. But I’m definitely — there’s definitely been a shift. I don’t know where it leads to. Does it lead to isolation? Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know.

QUESTION: Do you have any friends who are –

CRAIG FERGUSON: No.

(Laughter.)

QUESTION: Who are not entertainment people, but that you have a really good time talking to and the conversations are funny, and you think, “Man, I wish I could just put this person on the show because” –

CRAIG FERGUSON: No. See, that’s the reason why they’re my friends not in show business. It’s very important for, for me. It doesn’t have to be for anyone else. Please understand today if nothing else, I’m pushing nothing. I’m pushing no manifesto. I’m here to talk about the show because I make a show which is on television and you’re television critics, but I’m not pushing anything. But for me, I don’t want everything to be about TV. I don’t want everything to be about show business. That’s why I go — by the way, I’d like to announce I got my pilot’s license on Friday of last week.

QUESTION: Mazel tov.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Thank you. And I’ll tell you why I like aviation, because it is the complete opposite of show business. In show business you bullshit, you bullshit, you bullshit, and that’s what you do, and that’s how get ahead. In aviation, you bullshit, you fucking die.

(Laughter.)

You’re gone. So when Andy says to you in show business, “Can you do that?” You go, “You bet I can.” When Andy says to you in aviation “Can you do that?” You better tell the truth because if you can’t, you know, you’re on the local news, and that’s that. So I –

(Laughter.)

I like to keep an area of my life, a lot of my life, involved in more rational areas than show business, and most of my friends, not all of my friends, but most of my friends, exist outside of
show business.

QUESTION: You had Cheryl Hines on a couple of nights ago, and you had her mother there, and it seems like the demographic within the audience is completely changing. Do you find that you do get a wider swath of, like, ages? And are they letting you go much farther as you go along in terms of the jokes and stuff like that?

CRAIG FERGUSON: It seems to come and go — it comes and — it’s a come and a go. I don’t — I don’t — again, I don’t think I’m the best qualified person to talk about the demographics of my show.

QUESTION: But you’re seeing the reactions on the stage.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yeah. I see the studio audience, but it changes so much. The other night, I went out, and there were like 14 or 15 women in the audience who were all wearing very nice sundresses. So I brought them all down in the front because they all looked lovely, and I thought everyone else should see how lovely they all looked in their sundresses. Then I thought, “Oh, fuck. I’m going to get in terrible trouble for this.” “Sexist bastard showing people in sundresses.”

(Laughter.)

But I don’t — the audience that I see, which is the studio audience, which is actually about the size of the audience in here. I don’t know how many people are in the room. It’s not much bigger than this. This is who I see every night. So it can change wildly if you got a college group in or, you know, an old folks tour or something like that. It’s like some nights, I go out and go “Ugh.”

(Laughter.)

– but that’s the way it is. It’s all right. Yes.

QUESTION: Can you talk about who’s been your favorite guest and who has been your worst.

CRAIG FERGUSON: No, I can’t. I can’t talk about my favorite and worst guests.

(Laughter.)

Because I like to think I’m a bit like a doctor. At a certain point there’s a Hippocratic Oath. But my favorite guest is Betty White, and my least favorite guest is an actor, who I’m not saying his name because fuck him.

(Laughter.)

KATIE BARKER: We have time for one more question.

QUESTION: I’m curious, you say you don’t watch David, but he’s a colleague –

CRAIG FERGUSON: He’s my boss.

QUESTION: He’s your boss.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Yeah.

QUESTION: Do you have sort of a friendly spirit of one-upmanship with him in the same way that, say, Stephen Colbert was always trying to one-up Jon Stewart and vice versa?

CRAIG FERGUSON: What a lovely idea. No, I don’t have that with David. David Letterman is more than my boss. I’m going to give you an exclusive story now.

(Laughter.)

David Letterman, no matter what the numbers have ever been, ever, in the past — how long has David been on CBS, 30? And then there was Bill — how long did he do — there was like 30 years. David Letterman is the king of late night television. All right. Now, I know there are press releases and other people that can prove to you scientifically that that’s not fucking true, but I’m telling you that’s true. So David Letterman — how can you have upmanship? That’s like me saying, you know, I go out in the golf course with Tiger Woods and (gesturing) I’ll show him. That’s David fucking Letterman. You know, it’s a different — it’s a different thing. And I’m very happy to work for him and to work close to him, but if there is — if there is a successor to Johnny, then, of course, it’s David. And so it’s not that really. My relationship with David Letterman is that I sit at his feet, and that’s what it is. I’m kind of his bitch.

(Laughter.)

In the modern parlance, you know. I sit at the feet of the master, or I’m his “bee-atch,” whichever way you want to do it.

(Laughter.)

KATIE BARKER: Thank you, everyone for coming out and getting cozy with us. We have Craig for a couple minutes, and then we’ve got to get him back to the show.

CRAIG FERGUSON: Thanks.

CW Gives Gossip Girl Spinoff the Kiss-Off

Michelle Graham — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:07:28 +0000

Well, it’s official. The Gossip Girl spin off, Valley Girl/Lily, is dead in the water with no hope of revival any time soon. According to Variety, Dawn Ostroff, the CW’s entertainment president, has stated that the concept of spinning right round back to the 80s is no longer in the running for a mid-season pickup. She also dismissed the idea of “The It Girl” – the spin off series from the original Gossip Girl book series – being picked up as a spin off but made it very clear that the network is open to other spin off approaches.

“If [executive producers] Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage would be open to it, of course we’d be open to it. There is a spin off actually of the book series which is called “The It Girl”, and we’ve explored that with them. It’s been harder to find how you make that a world that’s well-rounded enough for us, because it takes place at a boarding school, and it’s very insular.”

Based on my limited knowledge of the book series, this is a good thing as this series follows Jenny Humphrey (Taylor Momsen) off on her own little adventure at private school. Given the highs and lows we saw from the past season, it’s probably best that that particular character doesn’t get her own series. It’s possible that it could cause riots and a trend for far too much eye make-up.

As for the loss of the original spin off, what we saw in that nifty little backdoor pilot last season did have some promise, so it’s sad to hear that the story won’t be picked up. It could be “Veronica Mars” fan-bias, but the combination of actors chosen for the 80s portion of the episode were solid. Unfortunately the episode itself didn’t work so well, but that’s a whole other story. So, as we say “xoxo” to the 80s fashion and the bad bad bad hair and make up, pause for a moment and think of what might have been. This time next year, every female tween could have been sporting a puffball skirt, Madonna-esque rubber bracelets, big hair and blue eyeshadow! Perhaps this decision is a blessing in disguise…

Sex Ed: The Series – The Future of Television Development?

Kevin Kelly — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:32:22 +0000

Last night I was invited to a screening of a pilot for a television series as part of the Independent Television Festival, and it might just be a peek into the future of television development. Directors and feature films have been going down this road for years, and you’ve seen the results. Festivals like Sundance and SXSW swell with independent films, studios get into bidding wars for the hot movies, directors get plucked from the indie freshwater stream and dunked into the saline-rich waters of the studio ocean, and the wheels of film-industry keep on turning.

But what about television? It’s an expensive landscape to develop in, but Sex Ed: The Series was created solely as a spec pilot, and creators Tamela D’Amico (director/producer) and Ernie Vecchione (writer) shot it in 11 days using Panasonic HD cameras, and put together a fairly impressive cast that includes Joanna Cassidy of Blade Runner and Six Feet Under fame. During the question and answer session, it was very clear that they were looking for a cable network to step in and buy the series, and they were eager to put it through the development process. It was a bit rough around the edges, but you could easily see it turning into a series on Showtime or Starz.

The premise is fairly straightforward: it’s set in a sex education class at a small college somewhere in Anytown, USA, and there’s a multicultural gaggle of students that weighs heavy on the Caucasian side, with a few token students of other ethnicities tossed in to try and balance the mix. In the first class, ballsy Professor Trevase (Cassidy) tells the students “If you don’t like me, get out!” … and everyone leaves except for the main cast. Their first assignment: partner up and sculpt each other’s genitals. Predictably, everyone has a different reaction to this, and things play out accordingly. There’s a nugget of a possible overarching storyline at the end of the episode when Cassidy reveals to dreamy blonde student Dean (Matt Barr) that she has brain cancer, and she swears him to secrecy. Future assignments listed in the press notes include: threesomes, penis envy, breakups, and more.

Is this a harbinger of things to come? Television development isn’t any more expensive than shooting a feature film, and in some cases it might be significantly cheaper. Last night’s pilot wasn’t quite a full hour, and if you’re working on a half-hour sitcom, you could cut that in half. Plus, it has to look attractive for a network. It’s a like a live-action storyboard for a pitch session, making it that much easier to say yes or no. Will it change the fact of television development? That remains to be seen. But given the turbulent ebb and flow of independent movies, it makes sense that creative types might try their hand at putting a series together on spec.

We’ll see if Sex Ed: The Series gets picked up anywhere, and budding writers might want to check out the full script for the pilot, which was posted online.

Exclusive: David Tennant on His Doctor Who Destiny

Kevin Kelly — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:22:36 +0000

When I was a kid growing up in Texas, I used to have to beg my parents to let me stay up late enough on Saturday nights to watch Doctor Who, which came on our PBS station and was like three hours long. In the UK, the show was broadcast in four one-hour segments, but in the US those were all mashed together into one very long episode. When you’re twelve, trying to stay awake through three hours of BBC special effects can be taxing, but I always managed. Then I’d be hauled to church the next morning, bleary-eyed and full of dreams of one day being Tom Baker.

David Tennant apparently had the same dreams I did. We were both born the same year, although the mileage looks a lot better on him, and he grew up watching Tom Baker scarf around as the time-traveling time lord. Unlike me, however, he was able to meet him in person. “I’ll tell you, I was probably about nine years old, and my mother had taken me to a bookshop in Glasgow. Tom Baker was there in the full getup, hat, scarf, coat and everything. God, he must have been boiling hot. Anyhow, my mother bought me some Doctor Who book that had this sort of mini-poster of him in it, and I shook his hand and had him sign it and everything.”

So was it predestined that he’d be playing the Doctor one day? No. That’s ridiculous. But, it’s a pretty cool story. I asked him if he held on to that autograph, “You know, I think it’s probably in a box somewhere. I might have to find that and see if it’s worth anything!” Since he’s leaving Doctor Who this year after doing four “specials,” he might want to hock that thing on eBay if the offers don’t come rolling in. But if a Doctor Who movie is indeed on the horizon, maybe he won’t need to.

Your Favorite Ice Cube Film Is Headed To TV

David Baxter — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:02:21 +0000

Did you watch, Ice Cube starrer, Are We There Yet? and think “man, this would be great as a series that I could watch every week!” Well if so, someone was listening, as The Hollywood Reporter is…umm… reporting that Terry Crews (the dad from “Everybody Hates Chris”) has been signed up to star in a television series based off it. Ice Cube will be on board as producer and TBS has ordered ten episodes, with a possible ninety more on the horizon.

I’m really not sure what this is going to cover, mainly because I’ve never seen the 2005 travesty or its apparently even worse sequel, Are We Done Yet? Checking on the box office figures though, they made over $150 million between them. So many talks, and quality walks in the case of just about anything. Now, if a commenter knows better than I, then please chime in, but isn’t the premise of the film that their stuck in a car? So is that what will follow for a hundred episodes? Is this really what TV has become? Way to many questions for what was undoubtedly a snap decision by whatever TV guy keeps renewing ‘America’s Next Top Anorexic’ and ‘Dancing With The Barely Famous People’.

I feel like I’m being overly negative, so I’ll look for a positive in this story now. Maybe when I’m really, really drunk I’ll stumble upon this and make some good jokes about how it’s not done yet. Or maybe I’ll be in an accident and my brain damage is to such an extent, that I watch this every week, and get endless joy out of how troublesome family life can be.

That is literally the best I can do so take it or leave it. Also be aware to avoid your TV in June 2010 when this flies toward your eyes without restraint.

What do you think? What other bad films could become shows?

Fox’s Friday Blues: Is Dollhouse’s Future Really That Bright?

Michelle Graham — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:18:18 +0000

This is the news I have been waiting months to report, at least in part. Whilst it gives no pleasure to report that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (T:SCC) is no more, having been cruelly axed after weak ratings performance, there is an enormous flash of silver within this dark cloud. The unthinkable has happened. Dollhouse, despite lagging ratings in the last few episodes, has been renewed. Fox execs. are apparently petrified that the Whedonites will either abandon ship or attack their headquarters if another of the Joss-master’s shows goes the way of Firefly, and so have granted a second season to the drama. Rumblings persist that only one of the two floundering Friday night dramas could stay on, and it seems that Dollhouse has won the battle and will live to fight another day, while T:SCC fades into memory.

News of this started leaking late last week, but it seemed too good to be true. Whilst the show’s content has only increased in strength from episode 6 of the season, Dollhouse never quite won the ratings battle, toughing it out in a dead end spot on the Friday night timetable. As with T:SCC, the ratings never lived up to shows such as Ghost Whisperer, a Friday night fave, and cancellation seemed assured. Some have posited that Dollhouse has been granted the same sort of reprieve given to T:SCC itself last year. Another season to sort itself out and gain traction in the audience stakes, but if it doesn’t perform better next time, it’s out.

T:SCC had a tough time of it this year, it was moved from a decent night to a dismal one and it had to deal with quite a deep lull in plot mid-way through the season which didn’t help in viewer retention. However, the ratings were stabilizing and even increasing towards the end of the season and the plot was skyrocketing off. Indeed, one very interesting theory was posted over on MTV, saying that the people behind T:SCC were even doing the unthinkable and repairing the paradox regarding John Connor sending his own father back to father him. Yet even with the might of Terminator Salvation’s publicity kicking in and bolstering possible numbers for next season, the show was, in a word, terminated. Whether Dollhouse’s destiny is to follow in these footprints and survive only one more season remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure. It’s nice to know it’ll be back.

What do you think, will Dollhouse go the way of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles after its second season?

Peter Dinklage Set to Play HBO’s ‘Game of Thrones’

Paul Sileo — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:14:14 +0000

Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man. It’s been a long road, but finally, we have some big news about the pilot for HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” And what wonderful news it is! “Game of Thrones,” the adaptation of the first book of George R.R. Martin’s epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, is being written and developed by D.B. Weiss and David Benioff (25^th Hour, Troy, The Kite Runner, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and until now, all we’ve heard is that production starts in Ireland this fall. But, thanks to The Hollywood Reporter, we finally have some casting news. In a move that is sure to please a ton of fans, Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent, Death at a Funeral) is tapped to play Tyrion Lannister, the dwarf brother of the Queen. Also, in a bit of surprising news, Tom McCarthy (The Visitor, The Station Agent), will be directing the pilot.

According to the Reporter:

Based on George R.R. Martin’s best-selling “Songs of Fire and Ice” novels, “Thrones” is described as an epic struggle for power set in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom. Dinklage will play Tyrion, the Queen’s brother who is treated as an outsider because of his size.

I am a huge fan of these books, and when I heard a television series was being developed for HBO, I damn near died. Of course, there is the chance that it won’t be picked up, but I don’t even want to think about that. Dinklage has always been the fan-favorite for Tyrion, and it’s really nice to see that Wiess and Benioff managed to get him onboard. The surprising news here is Tom McCarthy coming in to direct the pilot. While he doesn’t have any television, fantasy, or action experience, the man can direct a nice dramatic character study. Both The Station Agent and The Visitor were wonderful films, and, for those who have read the books, it’s obvious that Martin’s style is just as much about plot and character as it is about action. These are both wonderful moves, and I can’t wait to hear more about the production as more casting is finalized and shooting begins!

Evan Rachel Wood Becomes True Blood’s Vamp Queen of Louisiana

Neil Miller — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:56:08 +0000

Earlier this week we reported that Evan Rachel Wood, star of The Wrestler and better half of Marilyn Manson had been replaced in Zack Snyder’s upcoming film Sucker Punch by Jena Malone. And now assuming that our powers of logic are still strong — which they are, ladies — we know why. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Wood has joined the cast of True Blood for the show’s upcoming second season as Sophie-Ann, the vampire Queen of Louisiana.

According to the report, Sophie-Ann is a 500-year old French vampire who is charming, wily, ruthless and wise. She’s a diplomat who has (or has had) “many of history’s most famous people on speed dial.” We’re not sure how you could have someone like George Washington on speed dial, but you get the point. Also according to the report, Wood is booked for two episodes that will run during the second half of this coming season and if all goes well, her character would be likely to return for a third season. Needless to say, this is a relatively major character.

True Blood will be back on HBO in June.

Bloody New ‘True Blood’ Posters Have Us Ready for Seconds

Neil Miller — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:42:20 +0000

Our friends over at Rope of Silicon have posted — over the past few weeks — a few awesome updates in advance of this summer’s second season of the HBO series True Blood, which as you know is a favorite around the FSR offices. For those who have not seen it, season one will be hitting DVD and Blu-ray on May 19, 2009 and are currently available for pre-order on Amazon. Based on a series of books by Charlaine Harris, the Alan Ball produced show follows the story of Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin), a small town Louisiana waitress who falls in love with a mysterious vampire named Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). Only in this world — unlike what you may have seen in Twilight — vampires are out in the open and fighting politically for citizenship. The series was praised by critics for its edge, as most HBO series are, bringing Charlaine Harris’ novels to life in a very sexy, dark and intriguing way. It is likely that you’ve seen vampires on screen, but unlikely that you’ve seen anything quite like this.

As I mentioned above, season two will premiere on HBO this summer, or June 14th to be exact. Below you will find two teaser posters calling for some “new blood.”

Dollhouse Season to Air One Episode Short

Michelle Graham — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:16:16 +0000

If you see a Dollhouse headline over the next couple of days, exclaiming how the season is getting its finale episode cut, relax. This is a nasty brand of journalism designed to scare the bejaysus out of you while dragging you into the article. The truth of the matter is that whilst Dollhouse is losing an episode from the line up produced, this should not impact the show’s storyline. “Omega”, the final episode to be aired from season 1, is how Joss Whedon himself envisioned the season ending originally. “Epitaph One” was produced by 20th Century Fox, without instruction from the Fox network. It’s a standalone episode, so while fans will want to get a look at it, losing that episode will not affect any of the plot arcs, therefore the network can get away with not airing it.

The reason for all this mess and kerfuffle stems from the fact that the Fox network ordered a 13 episode run for the season. This was fine and dandy up until the originally shot pilot was scrapped and drastically redone. However, due to some contractual business, both the originally shot pilot and the aired pilot (”Ghost“) counted towards the season run, thus meaning that the number of episodes contractually required by the network was decreased to 12. According to Tim Minear (writer/director/producer on Dollhouse) over on Whedonesque:

… we really ended up with 12 episodes. But the studio makes DVD and other deals based on the original 13 number. So we created a standalone kind of coda episode. Which is the mythical new episode 13. The network had already paid for 13 episodes, and this included the one they agreed to let us scrap for parts. It does not include the one we made to bring the number back up to 13 for the studio side and its obligations.

Fox doesn’t want to air any more episodes than it already has to and so the network has decided not to air the surplus episode, but since it was produced in order to fill out the DVD set’s quota, it’s pretty likely that it will appear on there (in fact, Minear flat out states that it will). So the 64,000 dollar question is, what does this mean for Dollhouse? With the ratings staying fairly level at the lower end of the performance spectrum, speculation has raged on as to whether it would even make it to a second season, and this news doesn’t improve the odds. However, all sources say that the show has not yet been cancelled, so as usual we have to just sit tight and hope for some sort of miracle.

Do you watch Dollhouse? If so, do you think it deserves a second season?

HBO’s Eastbound and Down is F*ckin’ In For Season 2

Neil Miller — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 01:20:21 +0000

Once again, here I stand on the edge of all things cool and new and awesome. I firmly believe that I am the only person alive who has not had time to watch HBO’s hit series Eastbound and Down. Even more sad is the fact that it is a product of the likes of David Gordon Green, Ben Best, Jody Hill and Danny McBride. Those guys are f–kin’ brilliant. I haven’t watched it — and for that I feel like an ass.

So as I write this little article about the show being picked up for a second season, I am currently watching the first episode. And 5 minutes in, I’m already feeling good about that decision. HBO is feeling good, as The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the Will Ferrell and Adam McKay produced comedy will be back in production later this year for a second season that will air in 2010.

Eastbound stars Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, a star pitcher whose self-destructive behavior knocked him out of the major leagues. He returned home to North Carolina to teach gym at the middle school he once attended, but eventually scored another big-league job offer. That’s the official synopsis that THR gives. I will follow up with my own interpretation in a few days after I’m done watching season one. For now, the rest of you can be super excited about season 2.

A special thanks to the lovely Bethany for calling us out for not covering this story earlier. We will try to do better next time.

Do you watch Eastbound and Down? If so, are you excited about a second season?

Freddie Prinze Jr. And Hot Chicks Bring ‘No Heroics’ To America

Rob Hunter — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:46:36 +0000

The United States has a history of taking TV shows from Great Britain and remaking them in our own image. We’ve turned British shows both great and mediocre into American shows both mediocre and great. Some have long and successful runs (”The Office” and “All In The Family”), and some die terrible and fast deaths (”Coupling” and “Viva Laughlin!”) The misses actually outnumber the hits, but that hasn’t stopped Hollywood from going back to the well time and again.

Which brings us to ABC’s upcoming remake of ITV2’s relatively popular new show, “No Heroics.” The show takes place in a world where superheroes exist, but it focuses almost exclusively on their off-the-clock time spent hanging out at a bar called The Fortress. It’s basically “Cheers” populated with people who can fly, pause time, and communicate with electronic devices. I reviewed series one back in December, and while it took no great prognostication to see that a US remake was inevitable, I also said it wouldn’t stand a chance on American TV. Make no mistake… the show is very funny. But almost all of it’s humor comes from sex jokes, sex references, and sex in bathroom stalls. Despite these obvious challenges, ABC is going forward with an Americanized version. And now The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that ABC also has a cast.

Freddie Prinze Jr. will play Ultimatum, the most popular superhero around, a complete and utter prick, and a constant foil for nice guy hero Chillout (Paul Campbell). Fans of the original show may notice ABC’s subtle switch from The Hotness to Chillout… a move that truly flexes America’s creative muscles. The very funny Eliza Coupe (”Scrubs”) and the very sexy Arielle Kebbel (pictured above) round out the cast. I’ll give the new show a chance, mostly for Coupe and Kebbel, but I don’t expect it to last very long. Unless ABC decides American audiences can handle hilarious references to “cape rape” after all…

What do you think? Will an American version still be funny?

Herbert West Goes To The Head Of The Class In New ‘Re-Animator’ TV Series

Rob Hunter — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 23:18:39 +0000

This idea is long overdue.

Take a classic horror film, one known for it’s orgies of gore, graphic violence, and decapitated heads performing oral sex… Re-Animator say, and turn it into a TV series where all three of those things will have to be eliminated! Oh, and recast Herbert West and friends as college freshmen to help draw in the “Gossip Girl” and “Privileged” crowd! FangoriaOnline has received three promo pics from the show as well as the official synopsis… and it looks and sounds awesome!

If this news has you excited in any way, and I don’t only mean sexually (Fure), then get ready for a case of blue balls…the show is being produced for syndication and has yet to be picked up by any stations. And judging by some of the zingers in the synopsis that might not be a bad thing.

What BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER was for Gothic storytelling, HERBERT WEST: RE-ANIMATOR will be for sci-fi and horror. He’s a teenage Dr. Frankenstein in a modern-day younger world, filled with sometimes terrifying scientific intrigue… Herbert West, a dark and mysterious young man, arrives on campus, instantly shining as a brilliant young student and the object of many of his female schoolmates’ desires.”

It goes on to describe West as “charismatic, sexy and dangerous” which is just slightly at odds with the West (Jeffrey Combs) we all know and love. To make sure the connection to Buffy is unmistakable, “the group of friends discovers that their campus is also becoming an increasing hot spot for scientific and sometimes horrific phenomenon. It’s as if the place is becoming a portal for the unknown.”

This might work if it ended up on HBO of Showtime, but it won’t. Personally, I’d watch it if they promised there’d be amputated hands fingering comely co-eds, but for some reason I just don’t see that happening… so I’ll just have to wait for producer Brian Yuzna to get moving on his rumored 3D remake of the original.

Thanks to ShockTillYouDrop for the head’s up.

What do you think about Miskatonic 90210? (Yes, I did basically steal that from STYD.)

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