Krysten Ritter first started making a proper go at an acting career in the early part of the decade, but it’s fair to say that the first real turning point came in 2005, when Rob Thomas decided that she’d make the perfect Gia Goodman on “Veronica Mars.” From there, the good gigs have been plentiful, including stints on “Gilmore Girls” and “Breaking Bad” and in such films as “27 Dresses,” “What Happens in Vegas,” and arguably the most high profile, “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” Currently, Ritter can be seen in the Crackle.com web series “Woke Up Dead,” a zom-com – that’s a legitimate term for a zombie comedy, right? – co-starring Jon Heder and Josh Gad. Premium Hollywood had the chance with Ritter about the challenges of doing an online series, but we also quizzed her about several of her past projects, too.
If you’ve been checking in on Premium Hollywood over the course of the past few days, then you’ve probably spotted our man Bob Westal’s tributes to the 40th anniversary of Monty Python, and if you haven’t…well, they’re here, here, and here. Python fans will likely have already seen Bob’s finely-chosen clips, but if they’re new to you and made you laugh, then you really ought to be tuning into IFC’s ongoing six-part documentary about the history of the Python organization: “Monty Python: Almost the Truth – The Lawyer’s Cut.” As evidenced by the fact that there’s an Amazon link in the midst of the title, the documentary is indeed being released onto DVD on Oct. 27th, but don’t let that stop you from checking out the remaining episodes as they air on IFC. Those who aren’t obsessive types might find it a bit more Python than they can stand, but it’s definitely the comedy equivalent of “The Beatles Anthology,” leaving no stone unturned from the group’s career, showing their origins, discussing their TV series, films, and infamous live performances, and offering insights from other comedians who’ve received inspiration from the gentlemen in the Flying Circus.
It’s worth noting, by the way, that there is actually a theatrical cut of “Almost the Truth,” which comes in at a decidedly tighter run time of under two hours…and I know this because I was in attendance at the Ziegfield Theater in New York City last week when it was screened. The best bit about it, though, was that the screening was attended by John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, not to mention the group’s female in residence, Carol Cleveland.
Oh, no, wait, that wasn’t the best bit. The real best bit was when, after the screening, the gentlemen took the stage – with Cleese carrying a cardboard stand-up of the late Graham Chapman under his arm – to answer questions which had been submitted by the audience, which you can experience for yourself below:
No, hang on: the actual, honest-to-Brian best bit was the fact that I actually got to meet the Pythons.
It’s unfortunate that the curators of Sam Kinison’s catalog have limited access to his best material. This two-disc set features four performances by Kinison, though three of them were filmed in 1991, when he was selling out 5,000-seat theaters but his routine was in creative freefall. (To make matters worse, two of those routines look and sound like bootleg recordings.) The 1987 show “Breaking All the Rules” is easily the best of the bunch, with a still-hungry Kinison prowling the stage like a panther. Kinison’s playful bitterness, however, turns to pure ugliness on 1991’s “Family Entertainment Hour.” Kinison’s clearly playing to his audience’s fears here (gays), and even the bits that are supposedly for the women pander to the men at the same time. The gay bashing gets worse in the other two performances, “Outlaws of Comedy” and “Live in Las Vegas” (the bootleg shows), and even his audience appears to have had enough of it. He even had a band for two of the shows. (They were terrible.) If you want to speed-watch the set, pop in “Brother Sam,” a 2002 Playboy Channel tribute that features interviews with Kinison’s brother Bill as well as Rodney Dangerfield.
The real jewel in this set is the dress rehearsal footage, shot sometime around the “Breaking All the Rules” era. They use similar material, but Kinison seems looser here, more playful. Lastly, we must discuss the packaging, a needlessly oversized jewel case containing the two DVDs in paper sleeves. It screams of ‘the plant was having a clearance sale,’ which speaks to the overall lack of quality in the set. This is currently selling for $10 at Amazon. That sounds fair to us.
The new Girls Next Door from E! premieres tonight at 10:30 PM EST. Holly, Kendra and Bridget have left the show, and Hef is sporting three new girlfriends: The Shannon Twins, Karissa & Kristina, and Crystal Harris. They’re younger, blonder and . . . . . oh well, just as boring as before.
Many women love this show (over two-thirds of the audience is comprised of women), so we can expect that to continue even with the new gang. Tonight’s episode will introduce the new girls, and the three of them get together with Holly in Las Vegas. Naturally, the 19-year-old Shannon twins loved Vegas.
As for the guys, one has to wonder if this show has ruined the Playboy fantasy a bit. Sure, the girls are beautiful, and we see plenty of the new girls in the first episode, but listening to their banter week after week makes them less sexy, not more. So while the E! show has exposed the brand to a whole new audience, particularly a whole new generation of young women, it doesn’t seem to click with the audience Playboy magazine needs, which is young men.
Karissa & Kristina Shannon, Ida Ljungqvist, Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris
…has been given a new name for its U.S. release: “Pirate Radio.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the motion picture in question (which lets out most of our UK readership, as the film was released across the pond back in April), here’s the official synopsis from Focus Features:
“Pirate Radio” is the high-spirited story of how 8 DJs’ love affair with Rock ‘n’ Roll changed the world forever. In the 1960s, this group of rogue DJs, on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic, played rock records and broke the law, all for the love of music. The songs they played united and defined an entire generation and drove the British government crazy. By playing Rock ‘n’ Roll, they were standing up against the British government who did everything in their power to shut them down. The band of rebels is led by The Count, played by the Academy Award-winning Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin (Bill Nighy), the boss of Radio Rock, Gavin (Rhys Ifans), the greatest DJ in Britain, Midnight Mark (Tom Wisdom), Doctor Dave (Nick Frost), and Young Carl (Tom Sturridge), who comes of age amidst the chaos of sex, drugs and rock n roll. The film features an unbelievable selection of music including The Beatles, The Stones, Beach Boys, Dusty Springfield, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Smokey Robinson, David Bowie, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens just to name a few. The film is laugh out loud funny and speaks to the rock n roll rebel in all of us.
A few other bits which might interest you: it also stars Kenneth Branagh, Rhys Darby (“Flight of the Conchords”), Chris O’Dowd (“The I.T. Crowd”), Ralph Brown (“Meadowlands”), January Jones (“Mad Men”), and Jack Davenport (“Coupling,” “Swingtown”), and it was written and directed by the always-enjoyable Richard Curtis, the man behind “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” “Notting Hill,” “Love, Actually,” and the “Bridget Jones” films.
Here’s the trailer for your viewing enjoyment:
In a turn of events which obviously leaves me pleased as punch, I have been invited to participate in the press junket for the U.S. release of the film, so stay tuned to Bullz-Eye and Premium Hollywood for further coverage, including discussions with Mr. Curtis and some of the stars of “Pirate Radio.” Rest assured, my first question will be, “Who decided that Americans couldn’t appreciate a title like ‘The Boat That Rocked’?” (I’m guessing I’ll learn that some higher-up decided, “Hey, the kids love the pirates, so maybe we can trick ’em into thinking this is actually about pirates!”)
