Over the course of 2,700 words, comedian and actor Patton Oswalt thoroughly and explicitly underlines everything that's wrong with pop culture at the dawn of 2011. "When everyone has easy access to their favorite diversions and every diversion comes with a rabbit hole's worth of extra features and deleted scenes and hidden hacks to tumble down and never emerge from, then we're all just adding to an ever-swelling, soon-to-erupt volcano of trivia, re-contextualized and forever rebooted," he writes in Wired. "We're on the brink of Etewaf: Everything That Ever Was--Available Forever." For reference, that's bad. Don't worry, Oswalt will helpfully explain why. [Wired]
I do a lot of interviews. So when looking back on my favorite stories of 2010, sure, I live blogged seven Harry Potter movies over the course of 36 hours and, yes, I somehow had the time to watch five seasons of Lost in three weeks, but, interviews -- indeed, people -- are what I remember the most.
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That was quick. Just one day after it was reported that model/socialite Lydia Hearst would star as a Lindsay Lohan-like actress in Dogs in Pocketbooks comes word that Lindsay's mother is prepping a lawsuit. "[Dogs] is definitely based on Lindsay's likeness," said Dina Lohan. "We have a very strong case. It's shadowing E*TRADE." The brokerage firm was sued by the Lohans after they aired a commercial featuring a baby Lindsay. For her part, Hearst is backing slowly away from this never-happening indie. "As for any theatrical roles I am currently filming Two Jacks directed by Bernard Rose," she wrote on Twitter. "My next project is Catwalk by Tony Hickox. At this time I am not officially signed onto any other projects." [Daily Intel]
Is breaking into the home of a celebrity just to hang the new thing? Just a week after a couple of men broke into 50 Cent's home to party, comes news that a teen girl and two others were caught trespassing on the Atlanta property of Tyler Perry. The 18-year-old girl was charged with prowling and criminal trespass for entering Perry's home late last week. She's since been released, but two other suspects are still at-large. Expect this to wind up in the next Madea Goes to Jail movie. [AP]
While you're struggling to maintain your New Year's resolutions next month, Paul Rudd will be premiering his new comedy My Idiot Brother at the Sundance Film Festival. From director Jesse Peretz (Important Things With Demetri Martin), the new comedy features Rudd's deadbeat title character as he is passed back and forth between friends and relatives -- played by Zooey Deschanel, Elizabeth Banks, Rashida Jones, Steve Coogan and Adam Scott -- all while rocking a look that can only be described as "The Dude in Summertime." Ahead the first images await your brilliant captions.
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Never did being a geek look so delicious! Fresh into Movieline HQ comes photographic evidence of some Star Wars-inspired pies made by a member of our extended family. For my money, the Darth Apple one looks best, but your mileage may vary depending on what you think of apple pie. (If only Steve Jobs could invent a scratch-and-sniff computer screen; now that would be some useful technology. Anyway!) Click ahead to witness the sweetness and choose your own favorite in the comments section.
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And for once it wasn't due to injury! Natalie Mendoza -- who plays the villainous Arachne in the Julie Taymor musical -- is leaving Turn Off the Dark, two people who work on the show told New York Times. You'll recall that Mendoza suffered a concussion during the first performance of Turn Off the Dark last month, and that she was very vocal following the injury to actor Christopher Tierney. "Please pray with me for my friend Chris, my superhero who quietly inspires me everyday with his spirit," she wrote on Twitter after Tierney fell during the Dec. 20 performance. "A light in my heart went dim tonight." Mendoza hasn't appeared on stage since that incident. [NYT/ArtsBeat]
Also in today's edition of The Broadsheet: Elton John has a baby...The new Errol Morris doc is coming to theaters...Joan Collins and Lydia Hearst want to make a comedy about Lindsay Lohan...A father figure to Andy Warhol passes away...And more...
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Despite its stellar reviews and near universal approval, Toy Story 3 is still looking like a long shot for a Best Picture Oscar, and will likely end up settling for Best Animated Feature. But after these clever Oscar campaign posters, let's at least give Disney some points for effort! The promos feature various stills from the film that bring to mind (sort of) previous Best Picture winners, from On the Waterfront to...Silence of the Lambs. Take a look.
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· It's probably a little too facile (if true) to say Hollywood's choking the life -- and the money -- out of the 3-D exhibition fad. But when you see the phenomenon demonstrated like it is in the video after the jump, with 37 movies' worth of 3-D market clamor flung forth ad absurdum, watching a golden goose die a slow, suffocating death has rarely seemed funnier. [via /film]
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Not surprisingly, It wasn't so hard to compile numerous top 10 lists judging other people's work in 2010. But karma caught up with me and I've now had to endure going through all of my own work from the latter half of this year. Whew! While the task is by its nature a little painful, it also served as a welcome reminder of how much I enjoy writing for this site, and also reading the ensuing feedback (even the cranky, venom-filled responses). So, here are my 10 favorite Movieline articles from 2010, which is based on a number of factors including my own memories and the feedback the articles provoked. Since it's awkward enough for me to choose favorites from my own work, these are not in any particular order.
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In our valiant quest to review everything notable from the past year in television -- from the best episodes, the worst failures and the naughtiest characters -- Movieline continues today by examining another theme on the small screen in 2010: Television subplots that brilliantly toed the line between the not-so-politically correct and downright offensive. Below, our own list of envelope-pushing subplots and sequences, that in some instances, even made viewers recoil in disgust. As always, feel free to suggest your own faves in the space below.
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· The most surprising thing about the annual Lucasfilm Christmas card? That it doesn't include 3D glasses and/or Jake Lloyd. Click ahead to see how Darth Vader celebrates the holidays and stick around for more Buzz Break.
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You don't necessarily have to be an East Coaster to suffer the repercussions of yesterday's great Holiday Blizzard of 2010. Much of your Movieline staff is scattered and/or stranded in various corners of the United States -- in the slowest news week in human history to boot -- which has us in full-on resourceful mode. Here are a few things that might help us all get through the wait to get home (and/or leave the house); let's hear yours in the comments.
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As 2010 shambles to its snowy end, many of us will take stock in our actions over the past year. What we achieved, what we failed to do and how we might take those lessons to build a brighter new year. Or, in my case, how I can hopefully write an article next year about Jake Gyllenhaal's penis being cast in a role traditionally held by an Asian penis, and how the resultant movie made me cry no less than 5 times. Here in no particular order are my favorite ten stories from 2010. Enjoy!
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