An eight-month hiatus can be difficult for any primetime, network TV show to overcome. Fans may have changed their viewing habits or lost their place in the story line or simply forgotten that the series was coming back. It’s hard to know how the break will affect 30 Rock, which has a couple million deeply loyal viewers yet is always struggling to maintain its humble ratings. But one thing is sure: Despite some promising preview clips, Tina Fey’s wonderful sitcom will be faced with a few unusual obstacles when it returns January 12th.

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Today at Flavorpill, we identified perhaps too strongly with this supercut of Parks and Recreation‘s April Ludgate not giving a “$&!#.” We allowed this tilt-shift video of holiday-season Los Angeles as a snow globe to melt our icy hearts. We followed @realshitgirlsay, the feminist answer to the viral sensation of the month. We learned that Alec Baldwin really, really isn’t running for mayor of New York, because he’s not “horny” for the job the way other candidates seem to be. We were impressed by Spin‘s “20 Best Avant Albums of 2011″ list. We decided that John Krasinski and Sesame Street are almost as adorable together as Jason Segel and the Muppets. We agreed that Banksy’s latest sculpture is “a little on the nose.” We watched a five-minute sneak peek of NBC’s new legal drama, The Firm, even though we’ve yet to find the TV legal drama that thrills us. We were relieved at the news that the Joss Whedon-free Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie that’s been in the works for about a year may not happen after all. And finally, were amused that The Fresh Prince of Bel Air cast reunited — without either of the two actresses who played Vivian Banks.

Now that the ever-so-eagerly anticipated David Fincher adaptation of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is out in theaters, fans of Stieg Larsson’s trilogy have had the chance to see how Fincher’s take stacks up — not just against the books, but against the previous Swedish film version, and more specifically in the representation of iconic heroine Lisbeth Salander. The role was played in the original films by Noomi Rapace (currently appearing in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows); for the American films, Rooney Mara takes over.

Who’s better in the role? It’s a tricky question — and one that comes up every time multiple actors take their turns playing a beloved literary character. The critics have weighed in on who plays Lisbeth better, but after the jump, we’ll take a look at ten previous cases of “different actor, same role.”
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1. Last night, The Weeknd — whose House of Balloons was one of our favorite debuts of 2011 — released his third mixtape of the year. You can download Echoes of Silence for free at his website.

2. Louis C.K.’s great online comedy special experiment has now succeeded beyond his wildest dreams: In ten days, it’s earned him more than $1 million. In an interview with Jimmy Fallon last night, C.K. said he would donate some of the proceeds to charity, use another portion to pay for the cost of the production, give away $250,000 in bonuses to his staff, and keep only $220,000 for himself. [via ArtsBeat]

3. NBC has released yet another 30 Rock preview. Watch Jack Donaghy learn something he didn’t know about Liz Lemon is this Christmas-themed clip from the season premiere.

4. Lady Gaga has a holiday gift for fans: ”On Christmas Day I will leak to you an unreleased song off Born This Way,” she tweeted. “It was recorded live, in one take, on the tour bus. Uncensored.” [via Digital Spy]

5. Never one to rest on his laurels (or, really, rest at all) Woody Allen has just released some news about his follow-up to Midnight in Paris. The movie is called Nero Fiddled, is set in Rome, and stars Allen himself — along with Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Roberto Benigni, Penélope Cruz, Judy Davis, and Greta Gerwig. Whoa. [via Splitsider]

In the past seven days, the world has lost a great man (Vaclav Havel), a tyrant (Kim Jong-il), and a silver-tongued contrarian who many feel ambivalently about (Christopher Hitchens). Havel and Hitchens may be far more worthy of tribute than Kim, but he’s the one who figured prominently in one of our favorite sitcoms, so he’s the one who’s on our mind this morning.

As fans will remember, 30 Rock‘s Jack Donaghy lost his wife, Avery Jessup, to a North Korean kidnapping last season, and Margaret Cho appeared on the show as Kim Jong-il. It’s already clear from last week’s supersize preview that we’re going to see more of Avery behind enemy lines in Season 6. While the trailer doesn’t actually show Cho as Kim, it’s difficult to imagine that 30 Rock would return to the story line without revisiting such a popular (and hilarious) character. Read More »

We’ve got good news and bad news. The bad news is that our “Liz Lemon is pregnant” prediction seems somewhat less likely after seeing NBC’s new five-minute 30 Rock promo. But the good news is that NBC released a five-minute 30 Rock promo, packed with wonderful moments. It looks like Kelsey Grammer, Denise Richards, and Will Arnett will all pop up in Season 6. Then there’s James Marsden, who’s on board as Liz Lemon’s new slacker boyfriend. Meanwhile, it seems we’ll be getting plenty of updates on Avery, who’s still being held captive in North Korea (hopefully this means more Margaret Cho as Kim Jong-il). Most exciting to us, though, is the introduction of new cast member (!) Kristen Schaal’s character, “Hazel Whatshername,” a TGS page who idolizes Liz Lemon. Treat yourself to five minutes of preview hilarity below.

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Poor Alec Baldwin. He got kicked off an airplane for playing Words with Friends (or slamming the bathroom door so hard that pilots suspected terrorism, whatever). For some reason, the incident led to Baldwin shutting down his Twitter account. But he still has a lot to say at Huffington Post, where he published a brief essay called “My Flying Lesson” Wednesday. In the post, he apologizes to his fellow passengers for creating a disturbance, explains that the incident upset him so much because he had been loyal to American Airlines for over 20 years, and complains about the “post-9/11, paramilitary bearing of much of the air travel business.” Baldwin also argues that many of the new flight attendants he’s encountered “walk the aisles of an airplane with a whistle around their neck and a clipboard in their hands and they have made flying a Greyhound bus experience.”

This jab didn’t escape the notice of Greyhound CEO Dave Leach, who responded with an open letter telling Baldwin he’s “disheartened” by the comparison. According to Leach, the famously low-budget bus line is now a paradise, replete with “more legroom, leather seats, power outlets and free Wi-Fi,” which would afford a multi-millionaire Hollywood star the luxury to play Words with Friends for the entire days-long trek between LA and New York. Very smart PR guy, that Dave Leach. [via Reuters]

We’re fairly sure that American Airlines didn’t mean to be funny in posting a Facebook response to Alec Baldwin, who was removed from a flight yesterday after he refused to stop playing Word with Friends and turn off his cellphone while his plane idled at the gate. In fact, their statement about the incident is so mechanical and corporate as to be unintentionally hilarious. Rather than identifying Baldwin by name, the airline refers to him as “an extremely vocal customer” and claims that after failing to give up his word game, he retreated to the bathroom with his phone and “slammed the lavatory door so hard, the cockpit crew heard it and became alarmed, even with the cockpit door closed and locked.” Baldwin, meanwhile, deactivated his popular and entertaining Twitter account today. See American Airlines’ statement and let us know whose side you’re on after the jump. Read More »

1. Alec Baldwin was kicked off a plane at LAX yesterday because he wouldn’t stop playing Words With Friends during the flight’s departure. He later tweeted that American Airlines is “where Catholic school gym teachers from the 1950′s find jobs as flight attendants.” [via NYT]

2. Guns N’ Roses, The Beastie Boys, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers are among this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. The ceremony, which takes place on April 14 in Cleveland, will mark the first time that the Beasties have made a major public appearance since Adam Yauch announced that he had cancer back in 2009. [via Billboard]

3. Rumor is that Kristen Wiig and Strokes drummer Fabrizio Moretti are dating after they were spotted “all over each other” at a Black Keys album party. [via NYP]

4. Hillary Clinton gave an amazing speech in honor of International Human Rights Day that some people are calling the LGBT community’s “I Have a Dream” moment. Watch it here and decide for yourself.

5. And in case you’re curious, here’s a copy of Adele’s tour rider, which includes Marlboro Lights and “bite-size” candy bars — but absolutely no North American beer.

Bonus Buzz: 2-Year-Old Has More Swag Than Most Rappers

In retrospect, last week’s gift guide for movie geeks was seriously lacking in one important element: it needs more Criterion. The Criterion Collection, as you presumably well know, is the preeminent home video label for film nerds, lavishing their second-to-none skills of restoration and supplementation on titles both well-known and obscure. So yes, a week-late addendum: if you’re shopping for cinephiles, a title or two from the Criterion Collection should do the trick.

Alas, which titles? At 600+ films (and growing monthly), sifting through the collection is a daunting task. Thankfully, the label is more than happy to help out; one of the most enjoyable time-killers on their site is their section of Top 10s, in which film fans from across the spectrum — directors, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers, comedians, critics, etc. — select their ten favorite Criterion titles, often with concise mini-reviews for each. After the jump, in a bit of meta list construction, we’ve picked out ten of our favorite folks from that page, and a few of their recommendations as well. Read More »