Author: Christopher Glotfelty (Page 12 of 17)

The Kanye bashing continues

September 17, 2009 /

Kanye

This time the criticism is coming all the way from the White House. After President Obama reportedly called Kanye West a “jackass” off the record, former President Jimmy Carter has offered his biting opinion as well.

But now Kanye is in trouble with another Oval Office occupant, former President Jimmy Carter, who, speaking at a town hall meeting at Emory University, called West’s behavior “completely uncalled-for” and, showing off a surprisingly dry sense of humor, added that “his punishment was to appear on the new Jay Leno show.”

Obviously, Kanye West isn’t going to care about what Jimmy Carter has to say. The fact that Jimmy Carter even knows anything about pop culture is commendable; he’s probably informing his followers on who Kanye West is. As for President Obama, I’m positive Kanye feels embarrassed through and through as the rapper publicly supported Obama’s candidacy.

The real story here, though, is that we’re even hearing Obama’s comments on an event having nothing to do with American politics. When Bill Clinton and George Bush were in office, you never heard them weighing in on any scandal involving Michael Jackson. Perhaps they did, but apparently that’s when “off the record” meant something. When ABC’s Terry Moran posted Obama’s remarks on his Twitter, the public must have known something was fishy. I don’t give a damn what Obama has to say about Kanye West, and I doubt our president wants the public to know either. Could you imagine John McCain in the oval office during this advent of technology? Obama is the perfect fit during an era where information is ubiquitous. Still, he knows which of his comments belong in the media spotlight. If he’s in the news for something other than politics, odds are the story is pointless. So, Terry Moran, it looks like you’re the real jackass in this situation.

Celebrities, News

“The Jay Leno Show’s” saving grace: correspondents

September 16, 2009 /

While “The Jay Leno Show” performed well in its second night, Tuesday’s broadcast varied a bit in format. In the show’s premiere, Leno was on camera the entire time (excluding the music act), unlike the later years of his “Tonight Show.” Given Leno’s established presence, viewers will tune in regardless. However, Leno’s well aware that producing five hours of comedy on a weekly basis is taxing, especially at this point in his career. Leno, who’s been in the business for decades, can’t and doesn’t need to get any more popular. Safe comedy simply works in America and we’ll just see how it pans out at 10 PM on weeknights. As long as Leno does his monologue and a high-profile interview, he’ll have his core audience there every night with him. Still, an hour is a long time in television and rather than cram his imposing figure into every segment, Leno’s decided to spotlight comedians he admires or who have garnered the attention of his talent scouts. Last night, comedian Jim Norton made his first appearance on the show in a segment called “Uninvited Guest.” We should see more time devoted to these “correspondents” in the near future — it’s the only reason guys like me will give the show a chance.

Humor, TV, TV Comedies, Video

“The Jay Leno Show” premiere kills in the ratings

September 15, 2009 /

Leno

Can a late night talk show work at 10 PM? That was the question NBC executives were asking themselves when they picked up “The Jay Leno Show,” the veteran comedian’s newest venture into television. “The Jay Leno Show” would esentially test people’s willingness to choose a network comedy during a time slot historically reserved for dramas. Though it’s too early to celebrate a resounding success, the show’s premiere certainly exceeded expectations.

According to Nielsen preliminary estimates, “Jay Leno,” whose premiere night guest was Jerry Seinfeld, averaged a 5.1 rating/13 share in adults 18-49 and 17.7 million viewers overall during the 10 o’clock hour. This is a larger audience than any episode of an NBC series from last season, and the best overall for NBC in the timeslot since the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

A big premiere rating was expected, but it will probably take a few weeks to see where the show’s number settles, or what kind of a local news lead-in it provides for the network’s affiliates. The 5.1 rating is a bit above industry expectations for the premiere and is about three times what NBC has said it could do on an annual basis to generate a profit.

This is all very impressive, but one has to consider the large audience tuning in to see what would happen with Kanye West. Still, drawing 17.7 million viewers for any TV premiere should be huge news, so it’s curious to note how quiet NBC is being about it. Remember, they did claim Conan was the new “King of Late Night” when they handed him “The Tonight Show.” If Leno keeps these numbers up, they’ll have to eat their words. Conan will be fine, but it’s a bittersweet predicament.

News, TV, TV Comedies

Check out these new “Where the Wild Things Are” banners

September 11, 2009 /

Wild

They can be viewed in all their expressive splendor here. Spike Jonez and crew did a really great job brining these creatures to life — making them appear both physically imposing and characteristically gentle.

With Karen O and various indie rock stars providing the soundtrack, Dave Eggers penning the script, and Spike Jonez in the director’s chair, this film is going to have to try really hard to suck. I wished it was coming out in early winter because it seems like the perfect date movie. Actually, “Where the Wild Things Are” will appeal to every age group for any occasion. It just has that enticing whimsy that goes hand in hand with the chilly months.

“Where the Wild Things Are” hits theaters on October 16th.

Movie Comedies, Movies

“Texts From Last Night” would be the first show of its kind

September 10, 2009 /

Texts

Texts From Last Night is a website where users submit raunchy, embarrassing, and funny text messages they either sent or received the previous night. Unfortunately, it’s a sign of our times that drunken behavior can be profitable. And TFLN is doing quite well for themselves, as ads from Apple and American Apparel must bring in some strong revenue. The site is a huge hit with America’s twentysomethings and is now reaching into different mediums.

After strong interest from several networks, Fox landed a multicamera coming-of-age project based on the popular Web site.

Called “a living document of twentysomething life in 2009,” it has become a Web success story since launching in February, averaging 4 million hits a day.

The show will be written by Steve Holland and produced by Sony TV and Happy Madison, Adam Sandler’s production company.

“The show is about twentysomethings in that post-college, pre-the-rest-of-their-lives limbo trying to figure out what to do, and texting is a large part of that,” Holland said.

A couple shows come to mind that are based around funny videos on the Internet. That is one respect in which content on the Internet has crossed over into television. However, “Texts From Last Night” would be the first scripted show spawned from an Internet site. I’ve never heard of that happening before, though it was inevitable. The site is good for a laugh, but because of the low-brow material involved, I’m already annoyed by the show. Doesn’t a better show exist in the lives people create for themselves on Myspace and Facebook? Maybe that was pitched ages ago and nobody wanted to take the chance. Even so, Texts From Last Night averages four million hits a day! That’s astounding, and certainly proves there’s a market for this kind of concept.

News, TV

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