The live audience wasn’t into it all, however that didn’t stop Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner from enthusiastically performing “Afternoon Delight” at the Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues premiere in Sydney. The Anchorman stars prompted the audience to sing along, but the crowd barely even clapped in response. Bummer.
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues opens in theaters on December 20, 2013.
The Plot:
With the 70’s behind him, San Diego’s top rated newsman, Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell), returns to the news desk in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Also back for more are Ron’s co-anchor and wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate), weather man Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), man on the street Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd) and sports guy Champ Kind (David Koechner) – All of whom won’t make it easy to stay classy… while taking the nation’s first 24-hour news channel by storm.
Jennifer Nettles (Photo Credit: James Minchin III)
They say it begins with a song. For Jennifer Nettles, it began with a phone call.
Rick Rubin had long been at the top of the singer’s wish list of producers, but it wasn’t until her manager, Gail Gellman, suggested she make the call that Nettles picked up the phone. Best known for her front-and-center work with the duo Sugarland, Nettles had been quietly preparing for three years to cut her own album, writing songs she believed took her to a whole new level of artistry.
“I approached it like I do most everything in my life, with a lot of forethought and a lot of dreaming ahead of time,” she said. “I love what Sugarland has done, but for quite a while, a part of me has not only wanted to prove myself to myself, but also to share with my fans a part of me that just can’t happen in a duo. There are parts of me that are special and intimate that I’d like to share with my fans, but I can’t go there in an ensemble situation with Kristian (Bush). So for personal and artistic reasons, I wanted to do something new and fresh, to shake things up and put a different part of myself out there.”
Rubin possesses a jaw-dropping list of production credits, which include Adele’s Grammy-winning 21 and Johnny Cash’s majestic final American Recording series, not to mention works by Aerosmith, LL Cool J, Metallica, Tom Petty, and U2. Still, Nettles didn’t have to camp out on his doorstep to get his attention.
“I love her voice,” Rubin said, recalling their initial communication. “When she sent me some early demos of the songs she was writing, I got even more excited about making music together. It was a fantastic experience. Jennifer is as great a person as she is a singer and songwriter, and I hope people feel the positive energy we all felt in the studio.”
The resulting 14-track album, That Girl, scheduled to drop Jan. 14 on Mercury Records, showcases Nettles’ genre-crossing vocal artistry and songwriting strengths. Except for a striking cover of Bob Seger’s “Like a Rock,” each song bears her name as a writer. Her co-writers include people she’d worked with in the past and others she’d phoned on a whim because she felt they’d be right for the project, including Sara Bareilles, Richard Marx, Mike Reid and Butch Walker.
Nettles altered her usual writing process for That Girl, spending hours alone at the piano rather than relying chiefly on guitar, as she’d done previously. “I left myself completely open from the beginning in writing for this project,” she said. “I’m in a different place in my life now. I’m more mature as a woman, and I’ve had my child. I didn’t want to put any constraints on myself. I needed to trust my voice and my songwriting in order to be vulnerable and trust someone else in the studio. Really, what I hope people will say when they listen to this album is, ‘Wow. Wow, that really took me on a journey. And wow, she is a much better singer and songwriter than I would ever have known.’ I hope they see another side of me.”
Besides the album, Nettles has something else to be excited about: her return for the fourth consecutive year as host of CMA Country Christmas, airing Dec. 2 on the ABC Television Network. “What I love about working with Jennifer is that she’s exactly in real life who she is on television,” said Robert Deaton, who has served as Executive Producer of the special since its launch in 2010. “She’s like a bright light that never dims. She loves the entertainment side of what we do. We try to pay homage to the old Bing Crosby/Dean Martin variety shows where Jennifer comes onstage and does interviews. That’s a talent in itself, to be able to do an interview in front of thousands of people and yet still be listening to the person you’re interviewing and moving it along.”
Nettles has several favorite moments from her ongoing run. “I absolutely loved Miss Piggy and Vince Gill (singing ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ in 2011),” she recalled. “And I love that last year, we added interviews with the kids. That was super fun for me. I love seeing the evolution from where it’s been to where it is now. To be a part of it is a really big honor. I hope it’s something that keeps happening for years and years.”
For all that she has achieved, for all the CMA and Grammy Awards she’s won, and even for launching her first solo tour in February, Nettles does have one more goal. “How fun would it be to be nominated by CMA for Female Vocalist of the Year? Or to win awards as a solo artist? That would mean the world to me.”
Lady Antebellum - Photo Courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville (EMI).Lady Antebellum, Jake Owen and Kellie Pickler have joined the list of performers set to take the stage on the 2013 American Country Awards airing on Fox on December 10th at 8pm ET/PT. Trace Adkins and Danica Patrick host the show which will be broadcast live from the Mandalay Bay in Vegas.
ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Matthew Morrison, Sara Evans, Brad Paisley, Florida Georgia Line, Sheryl Crow, and Darius Rucker are also confirmed to perform. Trevor Brazile, Shada Brazile, Cowboy Troy, Big Smo, Dan King, Scotty McCreery, Thompson Square, Chris Young, Olivia Newton-John, Joe Nichols, Lauren Alaina, Clay Walker and Parmalee will present awards during the two-hour show.
Fans have until December 7, 2013 to vote for the Artist of the Year at www.theacas.com.
Michael Moloney and Sabrina Soto host ‘Great Christmas Light Fight’ (Photo by ABC/Jean Whiteside)The battle of holiday decorations will get underway on December 9, 2013 when Great Christmas Light Fight debuts on ABC. The new series pits four families against each other each week as they compete for the best decorated homes in order to earn cash prizes. The new competition series will be judged by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition‘s Michael Moloney and Sabrina Soto.
$50,000 will be given out to a winning family at the end of each episode for a total of $250,000 over the limited run of the series.
How it works: “In the first Christmas lights competition of its kind for television, 4 families will compete each week to transform their homes for the holidays. These 20 families were chosen through an extensive nationwide search, based on their previous elaborate Christmas light displays, incredible choreography and over-the-top designs.”
The 20 Families:
12/9:
Blount/Laguna Hills, CA
Holt/Chesapeake, VA
Goff/Canon, GA
Lynch/Whitestone, NY
12/16:
Simmons/Cathedral City, CA
Rhodes/Cedar Park, TX
Small/Orange, CT
Tittiger/Stockbridge, GA
Baughman/Prosper, TX
Plauche/Pass Christian, MS
Larsen/Elburn, IL
Yangello/Pennsville, NJ
12/23:
Hyatt/Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Downs/Norman, OK
Satterwhite/Mechanicsville, VA
Paradowski/Decatur, GA
Gay/Lagrangeville, NY
Macrina/West Reading, PA
Kowalczyk/Tinley Park, IL
Mize/San Rafael, CA
The Ridley Scott-produced sci-fi adventure Galyntine and Knifeman (inspired by the biography of John Hunter) have both been given pilot orders by AMC. According to the network, if they’re picked up for series they will join the AMC lineup in 2015.
“These are both highly original and ambitious pilots that take us into worlds that we haven’t seen on TV before,” said Joel Stillerman, AMC’s executive vice president of programming, production and digital content. “The bawdiness and fun of Knifeman and London in the mid-18th century; and the completely unique take on a post-apocalyptic world in Galyntine are right in AMC’s wheelhouse of making television that is both unexpected and unconventional. They’re both driven by creative and production teams that we know are capable of delivering ground-breaking television.”
Details on Knifeman:
Set in 18th century London, Knifeman will focus on the untold story of a charming, arrogant, decorum-breaking genius who challenges societal norms to transform his visions into cutting-edge discoveries. A surgeon or “barber” in a time when blood-letting and praying was the norm, John Tattersal is a hard drinking, hard living man not afraid to push the boundaries of modern medicine, even if it takes digging up a few graves to do it. While he makes his living running an unlicensed operating theatre out of his residence, he picks up extra cash harvesting organs for his brother Julian, favorite son and prized physician of the St. Stephen’s teaching hospital. Knifeman is a fast paced, entertaining romp filled with emotion, tackling dark themes with a biting wit. The pilot was written by Rolin Jones (United States of Tara, Friday Night Lights, Weeds, Low Winter Sun) and developed by Jones and Ron Fitzgerald (Last Resort, Prime Suspect, United States of Tara, Friday Night Lights, Weeds), both of whom will serve as executive producers. Media Rights Capital, Josh Donnen and Robert Zotnowski are also executive producers. Knifeman is inspired by The Knife Man: Blood, Body Snatching and the Birth of Modern Surgery.
Details on Galyntine:
Galyntine is a wholly-original vision rooted in a both fantasy/action adventure and science-fiction. Our pilot takes place at a time after a cataclysmic technology-induced disaster has resulted in a new society that has eschewed any form of technology. This catastrophic event leaves small numbers of survivors scattered around the planet and forced to adapt to isolation and unique challenges. Galyntine will explore a post-apocalyptic world in which humanity has evolved – with some strange detours. Galyntine is a man’s journey of discovery through a changed world and its mysterious people. The project is written by Jason Cahill (Halt and Catch Fire, Fringe, Surface, Profiler) and executive produced by Cahill and Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead, This Is The End, Oz The Great And Powerful, Transformers). David Zucker and Ridley Scott will also executive produce through Scott Free’s (The Good Wife, Numb3rs) first-look deal with AMC.
Paramount Pictures is showing off two new posters for Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street starring Scorsese’s frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio. The Wolf ensemble also includes Jonah Hill, Jon Bernthal, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner and Jean Dujardin, and the film is one of the few major releases that hasn’t screened for awards groups yet. But it is Scorsese and DiCaprio, so odds are we’ll be seeing this one on multiple year-end ‘Best Of’ lists.
The Plot:
Revered filmmaker Martin Scorsese directs the story of New York stockbroker Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio). From the American dream to corporate greed, Belfort goes from penny stocks and righteousness to IPOs and a life of corruption in the late 80s. Excess success and affluence in his early twenties as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont warranted Belfort the title – “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
Money. Power. Women. Drugs. Temptations were for the taking and the threat of authority was irrelevant. For Jordan and his wolf pack, modesty was quickly deemed overrated and more was never enough.
-Posted by Rebecca Murray
Ben Stiller directs and stars in 20th Century Fox’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opening in theaters on Christmas Day. The comedy-adventure is based on James Thurber’s short story and features Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, and Sean Penn.
The Plot:
Ben Stiller directs and stars in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, James Thurber’s classic story of a day-dreamer who escapes his anonymous life by disappearing into a world of fantasies filled with heroism, romance, and action. When his job along with that of his co-worker (Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.
Why? Why him? Of all the characters on Family Guy, why did you have to kill off my favorite? Family Guy will never be the same after Seth MacFarlane and company opted to kill off one of the most beloved characters on the animated series. The November 24, 2013 season 11 episode followed in the footsteps of other popular shows in killing off a main character, but this time around the character killed off was the show’s voice of reason and unarguably the most endearing character on the animated series. And the death came after Stewie dismantled his time machine so there’s no going back.
Family Guy killed off Brian and fans are not happy about the decision, with some going as far as to wonder if this is truly the beginning of the end. Did the series jump the shark with the death of Brian? It’s too early to tell, but one fan (Aaron Thompson of Tuscaloosa) was so upset that he launched a petition on Change.org to demand the return of Brian.
However, in an interview with E!, executive producer Steve Callaghan said he’s not worried about the backlash from fans. “I’m not, only because our fans are smart enough and have been loyal to our show for long enough, to know that they can trust us. We always make choices that always work to the greatest benefit of the series.”
And one of those choices was to immediately bring in a new family dog (voiced by The Sopranos‘ Tony Sirico). “It felt like the way that this show was conceived by Seth all those years ago, it was this entire family unit including the parents, kids and a dog,” explained Callaghan. “So by losing Brian, it felt like a void needed to be filled both comically, and also for the interpersonal relationships between all the characters. We felt that we needed to fill that role.”
Okay Callaghan, if you say so. But Brian’s going to be deeply missed and if you want to somehow cheat and bring him back, we’d be eternally grateful. Pretty please.
What would the holiday season be without a little Michael Bublé? Grammy-winning singer Michael Bublé is back helping to ring in the holidays with Michael Buble’s 3rd Annual Christmas Special set to air on NBC on December 18, 2013 at 10pm ET/PT.
This year’s special is directed by Brad Lachman and will feature guest-starring appearances by Mariah Carey, Mary J Blige, and Cookie Monster. Yes, Cookie Monster.
“I think we’ve really outdone ourselves for this year’s holiday special. I couldn’t have three bigger stars or better voices than Mary J., Mariah and Cookie Monster. We all had a great time and Cookie Monster shared his cookies with all of us,” said Bublé.
Taped in Vancouver, Bublé’s third holiday special will include such classic holiday tunes as “The Christmas Song,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and “Let It Snow.”
Seth Rogen and James Franco have outdone themselves with this not safe for work video, “Bound 3.” The two buddies have created a shot-by-shot remake of Kanye West’s “Bound 2” music video that is so, so much better than the original that we can expect another epic rant by West any minute. Franco strikes Kanye West’s poses while Rogen channels his inner Kim Kardashian, and both wind up making love on a motorcycle. Unfortunately, to get the full effect you have to actually listen to West’s atrocious song – something you should not do at work and something I wouldn’t recommend doing if you’re into well-written lyrics.
Update: Rogen posted the video on his Facebook page however it’s been taken down (of course it has). There are still copies of it on Youtube but they could be disappearing soon.
Watch the video which is, I repeat, not safe for work:
Stumble It! 
