Category: News (Page 174 of 401)

TCA Tour – “The Office” set visit

August 13, 2009 /

During my time at the TCA Press Tour, I was fortunate enough to visit the sets of two CBS series (“NCIS: Los Angeles” and “Three Rivers“), two Fox series (“Bones” and “Dollhouse“), and two ABC series (“Castle” and “Private Practice”), but when you get right down to it, my excitement level about all six of those sets probably still didn’t equal out to how psyched I was to visit the set of just one NBC show: “The Office.”

It was an absolutely surreal experience to pull up in front of a building in Valencia, CA, and see a sign which read, “Scranton Business Park,” but it got even more bizarre as we stepped into the Dunder-Mifflin warehouse and immediately saw members of the cast milling about. We were quickly divided into small groups and taken on a tour of the actual Dunder-Mifflin office by cast members, and I was fortunate enough to be part of the group led by Angela Kinsey, who plays Angela Martin on the show.

My wife and I met Angela in 2007 when we attended our first TCA Awards ceremony, as “The Office” had taken home the award for Best Comedy Series that year, so I was already well aware that her real-life personality is the polar opposite of her character’s. She’s constantly laughing, and you could tell that, although she was no doubt drafted into the task of giving us this tour, she loves her job and doesn’t mind talking about it in the slightest. It was incredibly cool to be able to see the intricacies of the various certificates on the walls of the office, as well as the personal photos on each of the desks, but I think my favorite moment was when she told us that Brian Baumgartner, who plays Kevin, still has a post-it on his desk that was written during the very first episode of the show. No, wait, I take that back: it might’ve been when she recited back to us the way she used to have to answer the phone when she was an operator for 1-800-DENTIST. Well, either way, it was a real treat to have her give us the tour personally. We were also given the opportunity to take our photo at Michael Scott’s desk, which I absolutely took advantage of, but all things considered, I think I actually might like this shot from Pam’s desk better:

After the set visit, we returned to the warehouse, where we were each presented with our own nameplates which declared us to be Assistant to the Regional Manager of Dunder-Mifflin…and you can bet that mine sits on my desk at this very moment. From there, we were offered coffee and pastries as we sat down for a Q&A with the cast (minus Rainn Wilson, who wasn’t feeling well) and producers of the show.

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External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, TCA Blog 2009, TCA Press Tour, The Office, TV, TV Comedies

Marty’s mad!

August 13, 2009 /

Yeah, I know, he doesn’t look angry — but trust me, there’s righteous movie-loving rage behind those smiling eyes.

Here in Southern California, we might have a health crisis like the rest of the nation, but amongst the burgeoning Cinephile-American community, the hot topic is the scheduled end of weekend film programming at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) later this summer. There’s been a lot of apt criticism — and in retrospect I feel I was bit too blithe/fatalistic about it in my first post about it.

A museum should not have to be slave to film fashion anymore than it should take down it’s Chagalls every time there’s an upsurge of interest in Picasso, or vice versa. If the world’s premiere film city can’t have a place — at a museum, for pity’s sake — that shows important films from the past, including ones with limited audiences, then maybe all of film is in danger of losing its sense of history and with it, most of its soul. It’s ironic that a still lingering sense of snobbish diminishment of film as a somewhat lesser art form might play into it. I thought we were well past that.

As Don Scorsese, il capo di tutti capi of film geeks put it:

I support the petition that is still circulating, with well over a thousand names at this point, many of them prominent…People from all over the world are speaking out, because they see this action – correctly, I think – as a serious rebuke to film within the context of the art world. The film department is often held at arms’ length at LACMA and other institutions, separate from the fine arts, and this simply should not be. Film departments should be accorded the same respect, and the same amount of financial leeway, as any other department of fine arts.

That petition is growing, by the way. Particularly if you live in Southern California, but if you care about movies and live anywhere, it’s time to step up and sign on the dotted line. Think of it as your proper obeisance to Don Marty.

External Entertainment, External Movies, Movies, News

Black on “Big Bang”

August 13, 2009 /

CBS has let slip…and by “let slip,” I mean that they’ve released a formal press release…that comedian Lewis Black will be appearing on the second episode of the new season of “The Big Bang Theory.”

Black will guest star as Professor Crawley, a brilliant professor of entomology – he even has a dung beetle named after him – who works at Caltech with the guys. Unfortunately, Crawley’s life is falling apart: his department’s being shut down because of budget cutbacks, his wife left him for someone who studies birds, and he’s moving in with his daughter in Oxnard…not Oxnard on the beach, but Oxnard by the onion fields. None of these things, however, prove nearly as aggravating as Sheldon, who keeps pestering him to settle a bet with Wolowitz about a cricket.

The third season of “The Big Bang Theory” premieres Monday, Sept. 21, at 9:30 PM, so Black’s episode should – at least in theory – air on the 28th.

In tribute, here’s a clip of Mr. Black talking religion with Bob Schieffer, followed by my favorite moment in “Big Bang” history:

Actors, External Entertainment, External TV, News, Stand-Up Comics, TV, TV Comedies

TCA Tour – “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson”

August 13, 2009 /

When it comes to late-night hosts, I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but…I have almost reached the point where I prefer Craig Ferguson to David Letterman. When it comes to my all-time favorite, I don’t think I’ll ever see a day when Dave will be topped, but there’s just something about Ferguson that comes closer to matching my current sensibilities. In particular, I love the way the guy speaks off the cuff and from the heart. It’s not that other hosts can’t and don’t step outside of the standard talk-show mold to address specific issues of the day, but Ferguson does it every day of the week and throughout the majority of his show, creating a feel of spontaneity where you truly have no idea what he’s going to say next. Plus, he has such a “real person” vibe that you know that, when he does say something, it’ll sound like something that you might say.

Well, you know, if you had a Scottish brogue. And were funnier.

The TCA has had a long-standing relationship with Mr. Ferguson, but I swear to you that his ongoing gesture of buying us pizza whenever we hold our organization’s business meetings has nothing to do with my enjoyment of his show. With that said, however, I can’t say that the messages that he includes with the pizza – like the one below – haven’t made me respect him more. I mean, as someone who has an affinity to the printed word (as opposed to the online word), I have to give him props for this:

Craig stopped by the TCA tour for what was described as an “informal press conference,” which is no doubt why he started the proceedings by saying, “First of all, let me say my wife is standing by me through this very difficult time,” adding that “Buenos Aires is lovely at this time of year.” From there, he was willing to tackle any and all questions that were thrown at him, but before I offer up some of my favorite moments, I must drop this bombshell: he’s considering getting rid of the puppets.

Yes, I know: I’m as upset as you are. And so were many of the others in attendance, several of whom immediately gasped in horror.

“That reaction right there?” said Ferguson. “That’s what I’m looking for: controversy. ‘No puppets? That’s it! To the presses…that don’t exist anymore!’ 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.”

As you can imagine, we did our best to pretend that he never made this comment…I don’t think I want to live in a world where “The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson” doesn’t provide me with my weekly puppet quota…and instead chose to focus on the funnier and more thoughtful bits of the “press conference.” Here, then, are ten of my favorites…

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External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, TCA Blog 2009, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Comedies

2009 Emmys sticking to original format

August 12, 2009 /

Emmys

In an effort to add some needed entertainment, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and CBS had earlier decided to pre-record eight award presentations and play them in snippets throughout the ceremony. Now, because of dissent from the creative community and lack of public support from the other major networks, this “time-shift” is not going to happen.

The TV Acad had intended to pre-tape eight award presentations in the hour leading up to the 5 p.m. PT start of the live three-hour telecast from downtown L.A.’s Nokia Theater, and then run clips of those presentations throughout the telecast. Yet just two weeks after the board overwhelmingly approved the final changes, the Acad confirmed that this year’s telecast will include the usual roster of 28 kudos presented live.

The fight that erupted after the time-shifting decision was announced boiled down to a question of respect for various disciplines — the plan was to drop two awards each from the writing, directing, acting and producing fields — but also a case of critical darlings vs. mainstream hits.

It’s strange to think that 28 awards are handed out in just three hours. To me, the Emmys always seem much longer than they actually are. That’s obviously not a good thing, but the eight awards they were planning to pre-record would have been from the writing and directing categories. Since my favorite shows are nominated in those categories, I would be disappointed if they weren’t given their due in front of the national audience. After all, the writers and directors are the backbone of what makes great television. I’m all for adding extra bits of entertainment to the broadcast, but CBS never announced what they had in mind. If anything, get rid of the Guest Actor/Actress categories to make room for some extra music and comedy.

News, TV

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