Let’s face it: We all tuned in to tonight’s Golden Globe Awards to watch Ricky Gervais rip into celebrities. Unfortunately for those of us hoping to indulge in some Hollywood schadenfreude, aside from a few delicious digs in his opening monologue, Gervais didn’t really have his spear sharpened. But that doesn’t mean the entire evening was without its memorable, unexpected moments. Although you never can tell exactly what comes from the script and what’s spontaneous on an awards show, we’ve pointed out a few highlights we’re pretty sure weren’t planned, from Tina Fey photobombing Amy Poehler to Michelle Williams’ touching acceptance speech.

Read More »

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.

Read More »

This holiday season, Patrón Tequila came up with a great way to give something to your friends without emptying your wallet. With the “If” Tag app, you can select from a variety of hypothetical scenarios (such as, “If aliens invade, zombies attack, or the robots rise up, you’d be the John Connor to my Kyle Reese), and then select a friend who gets the honor of being your first choice for the gig. You can add a personal message, and then post the whole award right to your friend’s Facebook wall. We were having so much fun with it, in fact, that we decided to take it one step further and pick our top celebrity choices for a number of the “If” scenarios. Click through to see who came out on top for our editors, and why each pop-culture pick made the grade. And if you want to play too, just choose a scenario yourself and tell us who you want in on it in the comments.

Read More »

More and more memoirs seem to come out every year — a product, perhaps, in our unslakable interest in the human condition — but as far as we’re concerned, 2011 was a particularly great one. We had actually wonderful celebrity memoirs, unusual and experimental prose, and particular standouts in the traditional memoir fields of family history and tragedy. Click through to read about our favorite memoirs of the year, and since we can’t possibly have read all the great ones out there, be sure to chime in with your own picks in the comments. One note: the last entry on the list — a really fantastic book — may be slightly NSFW. Proceed with caution.

Read More »

1. José Angel Santana, a 58-year-old former professor at NYU, says that he lost his job after giving James Franco a D in “Directing the Actor II,” and is now suing the university. Apparently the bad grade was attendance related; Franco only showed up for two of the fourteen classes. [via Vulture]

2. Now that Grinderman is “over,” Jim Sclavunos reports that Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds could be releasing a follow up to their 2008 album Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! as early as next year. [via NME]

3. Maya Angelou, who recently collaborated with Common on a track that appears on his forthcoming album, The Dreamer, The Believer, was “surprised and disappointed” to find out that the song “used the ‘N’ word numerous times.” His response? “I told her what ‘The Dreamer’ was about and what I wanted to get across to people. I wanted young people to hear this and feel like they could really accomplish their dreams.” [via ArtsBeat]

4. This weekend’s Jimmy Fallon-hosted installment of Saturday Night Live scored the show’s highest ratings of the season so far. No doubt appearances by former castmembers — including Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Tracy Morgan, and Rachel Dratch — as well as a Jude Law cameo (who seemed to be channeling Michael Stipe in that hat), helped out. [via Deadline]

5. Pulling in a respectable $40 million, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows topped the weekend box office, followed by Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked ($23.5 million), and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol ($13 million). When you consider that Mission: Impossible was only playing at around 425 IMAX theaters, that number seems a lot more impressive. [via Digital Spy]

Bonus Buzz: 8 Tyrannical Dictators Still Alive And In Power

The ’90s were back for a whole hour last night on Saturday Night Live — in a good way. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon for the first time since he was a cast member, the holiday-themed episode featured cameos from such legendary favorites as Rachel Dratch, Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz, Chris Kattan, Tracy Morgan, and Tina Fey — not to mention an appearance by Jude Law just to keep things somewhat grounded in the present day. All in all, Fallon’s ease with the sketches and obvious, overwhelming glee to be back on the show made the evening a warm, fuzzy, holiday delight. Click through to watch our favorite (and least favorite) skits of the night, and let us know whether you were taken in by the magic of the moment or thought the whole thing was rather ho-ho-hum in the comments.

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.

Read More »

It’s the end of the year, which means every media outlet and talkative friend has been regaling you with a fascinating list of their own personal favorite books of 2011. Now, we love lists as much as the next guy, but we also like to think a little bit about what these highly subjective choices might say about the listmaker. After all, you wouldn’t take reading advice from just anybody, now would you? Or even if you would, you should at least know what essential qualities their picks point to. Click through to read our (decidedly tongue-in-cheek) breakdown of what your favorite book of the year says about you, and in case you were wondering, our pick is on here too, and hey, we can cop to it. Read More »

NaNoWriMo may be over and our schedules may be filling up with holiday parties and family visits, but despite all that, December is one of our favorite months to curl up and read. If you need a little extra inspiration in this most hectic of months, however, never fear. To spur you on, we’ve collected a few inspiring quotes about reading by some people who read quite a lot — the authors themselves. Click through to read forty of our favorite quotes from writers about books and reading, and let us know if we’ve missed any of your own favorite inspirational declarations in the comments! Read More »

1. Harvey Weinstein thinks that Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels should replace Brett Ratner as the producer of this year’s Oscars, and that Tina Fey should be involved with writing material for host Eddie Murphy. No objections here. [via Deadline]

2. Exciting news for fans of Alison Bechdel’s excellent work: Her graphic novel Fun Home — which focuses on her upbringing in a small town in Pennsylvania — is going to become a stage musical thanks to the Sundance Institute Theater Program. [via SheWired]

3. Pitbull is now suing Lindsay Lohan after she sued him over the line “I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan” in his song “Give Me Everything.” In his countersuit, the rapper claims that her multiple prison sentences support his words. Touché. [via Vulture]

4. Pixies frontman Frank Black has decided to launch his own record label called The Bureau in order to put out is own material. He also plans to issue records by other artists, including Jeremy Dubs and former Captain Beefheart collaborator Eric Drew Feldman. [via Guardian]

5. Check out the promos for this week’s Emma Stone-hosted episode of SNL here.

Bonus Buzz: Burger King Break-Up Live Tweeted