Shirley MacLaine has been cast in the third season of PBS’s “Downton Abbey”. The show features an American-born Lady Grantham character, played by Elizabeth McGovern, so MacLaine can play her mother convincingly, even with her flat mid-Atlantic accent.
“Masterpiece” executive producer Rebecca Eaton seems to get it, noting in Monday’s announcement: “Shirley MacLaine is a great actress and she’s as American as the day is long.” Eaton also promised that there would be much sparring in the show between MacLaine’s character and Maggie Smith’s Lady Violet.
Watching Professor McGonagall taking verbal whacks at Weezer should be a lot of fun.
Mario Lopez looks completely caught off-guard, shocked, and totally surprised that Ellen wants him to show off his new underwear line on her show. He's so lucky that he just happened to be wearing a pair of his branded underwear and thought to put body makeup on before her show.
Here is a funny clip from the Robot Chicken show that spoofs the scene in the 2009 Star Trek movie where new Spock meets his future self. In this case...selves.
Congrats to the mulit-talented Melissa McCarthy for her Academy Award nomination for Bridesmaids! She was hilarious in that (and everything she does, including Mike and Molly).
Also congrats to Kristen Wiig for her nomination for writing that movie. I wish she'd show up to the awards show as the Target Lady. I enjoy that character so much.
I've really been enjoying the second season of the UK's Downton Abbey on PBS. If you're a fan of British films like Room With A View or television like Upstairs, Downstairs...then you'll definitely enjoy this.
It has a great cast, including Elizabeth McGovern (who I've loved since seeing her in Ordinary People and She's Having a Baby so many years ago). It's so nice to see her in something new.
The British cast is really good, but my favorite is Mrs. McGonagall herself..Dame Maggie Smith.
That woman can convey more with the pursing of her lips or a roll of the eye than most people can express throughout their entire career. Plus, playing the uppity Dowager Countess of Grantham (the Duke's mother), she gets to say so many bitchy lines that a variety of videos have been made to feature them, including this recent one titled "Sh*t the Dowager Countess Says"...
I love how they edited that, re-cutting back to her ringing her bell or giving a look.
She's the best.
Of course, one of the other stars of the series is the stunning HighClere Castle which is where they film Downton Abbey.
It's a gorgeous castle that most of us could imagine living in (although I wouldn't want to mow the expansive lawn).
Steven Spielberg received an award this weekend for all of the films that he's produced throughout his career:
Accepting the Producers Guild’s David O. Selznick Career Achievement Award last night, Steven Spielberg said about the people who stitched this video together: “I think we should have them working for us.”
It is a pretty cool video.
He really has been involved in a lot of great films over the years.
Etta James, whose assertive, earthy voice lit up such hits as "The Wallflower," "Something's Got a Hold on Me" and the wedding favorite "At Last," has died. She was 73.
She will certainly be remembered for many years to come whenever anyone listens to her mega-hit "At Last".
Tony-winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent's" Jeff Goldblum will portray Hiram and LeRoy Berry, the couple who adopted and raised Lea Michele's character Rachel.
We won't have to wait long to see them in action, either - the Berry dads will make their first appearance in the February 14 episode of "Glee," and they're expected to sing.
That should be a very interesting episode. Speaking of which...
Those hats were hilarious!
I watched this week's new episode where Will finally proposes to Emma and, for the first time in a very long time, really enjoyed the entire episode. The characters weren't dramatic caricatures this week...they actually seemed like real people with real life conversations, emotions, heart, and truth.
My only beef with this episode was the randomness of Coach Beiste's off-screen elopement with Cooter. I would have liked to have seen an entire episode dedicated to her winning him back from Sue. Oh well, there was plenty of other stuff to enjoy on the show for sure.
Sue was finally allowed to interact in a normal way with everyone and provided some of the best moments in the episode, especially the storyline involving Becky's crush on Artie.
Special mentions needs to be made of Lauren Potter, who plays Becky, and Academy Award-winner Helen Mirren for her internal monologue. Both actresses turned in great performances that elevated the episode significantly. The concept, from its introduction to the very end of the episode, worked on every level and reminded us of the perfect balance "Glee" can strike between tragedy and comedy.
Her storyline and "Sometimes it sucks being me. Today is one of those times." monologue at the end of the episode was very touching and heartfelt.
Let's hope that, whatever the studio did differently with this episode, they keep doing it.
Burger King, the No. 2 burger chain, has quietly begun testing home delivery of its burgers, fries and other sandwiches since fall at four of its restaurants in the greater Washington, D.C., area, with an eye on expanding beyond that.
Should home delivery catch on for the burger giants — as it has for the pizza kingpins — it could be an industry changer. But it runs counter to long-held consumer perception that fast-food burgers and fries travel poorly — and don't warm up well in the microwave.
As long as that creepy guy in the King costume doesn't show up at the door with the food, I'm all for it.
Betty White turns 90 today and I still can't believe how good she looks and how much energy she continues to have.
Nothing put that more into perspective than watching her NBC special last night (which was very enjoyable) and seeing how badly poor Mary Tyler Moore looked (she's only 75, but suffering from diabetes-related illnesses) and Carol Burnett (she's 78, but suffering from too many plastic surgeries. She should have gone to whoever worked on Valerie Harper).
I love all of them, but for whatever reason, Betty really appears to be doing the best out of the bunch by a longshot.
Hey waiter, I'll have whatever Betty's having...it is obviously working very well.
The Golden Globes were entertaining to watch last night. I think Ricky Gervais held back a notch, but certainly managed to keep people entertained. I was pretty happy with most of the wins, Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, George Clooney and all of the Descendants and Downton Abbey awards.
So, good times.
I'm usually not all the focused on what people are wearing (they're all pretty and can afford to look their photoshopped-best), but a couple of gals really looked great last night. Besides Angelina Jolie (who as I hinted at above, just looks otherworldly in the best possible way), I thought Sofia Vergara looked amazing (loved her "translated" speech when Modern Family won)...
Jodie Foster looked great and seemed to be having a great time at the awards with her two kids, even during Ricky's rant about not being able to talk about Jodie's "beaver".
I also thought that Lea Michele (from Glee) chose a beautiful dress and it looked great on her. As annoyed as I get with her character on the show, I like that she took a chance on an outfit that you'd normally expect on Charlize Theron or...Angelina.
But, honestly, I hope that scientists are stockpiling ample amounts of Brad and Angelina's DNA for use to repopulate our species after the Apocalypse.
This new Wes Anderson movie looks like it could be very entertaining, mainly because of the great cast that includes Edward Norton, Frances McDormand, and Bill Murray.
Enjoy your Twinkies while you can, because Hostess Brands, the storied American manufacturer of Ho Hos and Ding Dongs cake snacks, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday.
Hostess, which was founded in 1930, has its own plethora of subsidiaries. These include Interstate Brands Corp., the producer of Drake's Ring Dings and Yodels, and Dolly Madison Bakery, producer of Zingers. Hostess also owns bread bakers such as Wonder and Nature's Pride.
Although many people enjoy the Twinkies best (sometimes deep fried and dipped in chocolate), I honestly preferred the Ho Hos (when they used to come wrapped in foil) and Ding Dongs the most (as well as an occasional Zinger).
Funny how those four names also seem to describe many of my friends and exes.
New episodes start airing next week and, very soon, Ricky Martin will join the cast for an episode...
Martin plays a musically-inclined Spanish teacher in an upcoming episode of the Fox juggernaut. The gig would see Martin headline two big musical numbers.
McNichol, 49, who has lived with her partner Martie Allen, also 49, for the past two decades, decided to make a statement about her sexuality because she is "approaching 50" and wants to "be open about who I am."
Best known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Buddy Lawrence in the '70s show Family and later as Barbara Weston in Empty Nest, McNichol left it all behind when she dropped out of Hollywood to focus on her health.
Done with acting, McNichol spends her time focusing on tennis, yoga, travel and raising her beloved miniature dachshunds. "She is very happy and healthy and enjoys living a very private life."
The perfect gift for your friends who are so addicted to Facebook that they can't even shower without updating everyone about the status of their nooks and crannies.
As Lisa Kudrow (as Aunt Sassy in The Comeback) used to say..."I don't want to see that!"