SaturdayNightLive Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Can Joseph Gordon-Levitt Bring Showmanship Back to Hollywood?
Filed under: Trailers and Clips »
If you didn't catch it over the weekend, Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosted Saturday Night Live, and kicked things off with a huge recreation of Donald O'Connor's slapstick performance of "Make 'Em Laugh" in Singin' in the Rain. He didn't just sing the song, thank everyone, and let it go to commercial. He performed many of the moves from the film himself, and if you're at all familiar with the scene, you know it's not just simple jive. For a live performance that has no benefit of retakes, it's darned impressive. Of course, it's yet another example of the actor's impressive talents; that man's got mad skills. It's not too often these days that we get an actor who can be funny, serious, and an impressive live showman all in one package. Heck, the most we can usually get is a funny singer who dances, a mediocre hottie who dances, a funny man who can deliver some drama, or something similar. All of the above? Not these days.
Yet here Gordon-Levitt is, with one of my favorite SNL introductions ever. Movieline described Joseph as having "showman skills so hyperkinetic and gooey that Marc Summers might've Febrezed his screen." But what I want to know is: Could he help revive the idea of multi-talented show-people in Hollywood? Even if you don't like song and dance numbers (which, I admit, I usually don't), it can't hurt for Hollywood to start pressing the importance of a wide skill set. These days most actors are a one-note wonder, and here is JGL tackling every genre with ease while making this girl mourn a cinematic style she's never missed.
Does JGL make you miss the days of that flamboyant business we call show? Check out the original performance and the SNL stint after the jump and weigh in below.
You Say 'Twilight,' Taylor Swift Says 'Firelight'
Filed under: Drama », Romance », Trailers and Clips »
They're hit and miss, but I always try and catch any new digital short from Saturday Night Live. * Pop / country singer Taylor Swift hosted last night's show, and the 19-year-old star really surprised me, and I'm sure a lot of other people who don't necessarily follow young pop / country singers. Her song during the opening monologue (pictured) got in digs at her ex-boyfriend, made clear her feelings on Kanye West and his MTV Video Music Awards disruption, and commented amusingly on her supposed romance with Taylor Lautner, one of the stars of the upcoming The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
That was followed up by Firelight, the SNL parody of the first Twilight flick, with Swift taking on Kristen Stewart's role of Bella Swan, complete with hair fixing, downward-cast eyes, and lip-biting. The new boy who catches her eye at school is not, however, pasty-skinned Edward Cullen but green-skinned Phillip Frank of the Frank clan. The short captures the key moments from the first film, provides a different excuse for the "good / bad boy" not to kiss the "good / good" girl, and includes a cameo from a very concerned mummy. All in all, a solid little short.
I thought Swift was pretty hilarious throughout the show. I'm not sure if that's because of lowered expectations on my part or because of better than average writing from the staff, but, in any event, Swift displayed a flair for comedy. Check out the video to get a taste.
Watch 'Firelight' after the jump!
'MacGruber' May Be Next SNL Film
Filed under: Comedy », Deals », RumorMonger »
The season might be over after Will Ferrell wrapped it up in a nice bow, but the Saturday Night Live train keeps truckin'. When the George Foster Peabody Awards were held the other day in New York City, it became an SNL news releasing zone. Besides talking about their hunt for new writers and stars, Lorne Michaels talked about movies. Specifically, he told The Hollywood Reporter that a big feature film for MacGruber is being considered, and that "it would have to be in the summer because we are back in production in the fall." Not this summer, I'd imagine, since they're "still in discussions."
Hello timely spoofs and product placement! You might remember that New Line started the quest for a new MacGyver back in March, so naturally it'd make sense to match that with Will Forte's MacGyver spoof. And oh, the product placement that's possible! If you Google "MacGruber," you'll be greeted by a sea of blog posts and clips of the SNL/Pepsi commercials where the hero hands in his mixed drink for an obsession with Pepsi products.
But could this be anything other than a short skit stretched way too long? The skits are a silly laugh, but I fear a feature might send it into eye-rolling Rob Schneider territory.
Are you primed for an hour and a half of supreme MacGruber action?
Watch This: Kirk, Spock, and Spock on 'Weekend Update'
Filed under: Fandom »
This week's very solid edition of Saturday Night Live, starring Justin Timberlake (now officially one of the show's greatest all-time hosts), featured a few special guests during the "Weekend Update" segment. Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto arrived first to assuage long-time Star Trek fans' fears about the new film, and then Leonard Nimoy came out to give his authoritative seal of approval (which, if you think about it, is why he's in the movie, too).
The segment is only mildly funny, but it does lead up to a classic closing line, one that's right up there with Shatner's "Get a life!" routine back in 1986. (If you're wondering, Shatner and Patrick Stewart have each hosted SNL once, but Nimoy never has, and neither have any of the various Star Treks' other stars.) The version on Hulu must be taken from the dress rehearsal (they do that sometimes), as it's ever-so-slightly different from the one that aired live on Saturday night. Enjoy.
Watch This: Seth Rogen and Andy Samberg Spoof 'Fast and Furious'
Filed under: Fandom », Home Entertainment », Trailers and Clips »
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While I still try to process the fact that Fast and Furious took home over $70 freakin' million at the box office this weekend (really? You all still dig Vin Diesel that much?), Saturday Night Live came through with a pretty funny sketch featuring Seth Rogen and Andy Samberg doing their best fast and furious imitations for a new film called The Fast and Bi-Curious. Their angle, in case you haven't figured it out yet, was to go the bromance route ... and then some ... and then some more. As one commenter on the SNL site pointed out, this ain't Fast and Furious ... it's more like Hot and Hilarious. Zing! Oh, and am I the only one who wonders whether these guys overdose on breath mints before performing this scene? Check it out below ...
Watch This: SNL's Party Guys
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
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It's been a pretty good year for Saturday Night Live, in my opinion. For the first time in awhile, I'm making sure each new episode is DVR'd (because I'm, like, way too important to be sitting home on a Saturday night ... not), and I'm enjoying what I see. Granted, it's not all good, but every week we get at least one gem. Take, for example, this past week's digital short called Party Guys. Starring Bill Hader and Andy Samberg, the short follows two jaded dudes who show up to a party and decide to stand around making fun of everyone else. You know, those guys. They might be you, they might be me ... um, okay, confession: I'm one of those guys who stands around at parties making fun of everyone. That's just what I do. I'm not proud of it, and I probably won't be invited to anymore parties once all of my two friends read this post -- but I had to get it off my chest. It's an addiction ... an a**hole addiction. (And I love Bill Hader.) Help?
Check it out below ...
Cinematical Seven: Favorite Will Ferrell Man-Children
Filed under: Comedy », New Line », Sony », Dreamworks », Cinematical Seven »
At some point this past summer, between all but consecutive viewings of The Dark Knight, I slipped into a screening of Step Brothers with the same tempered expectations with which I had greeted Blades of Glory and Semi-Pro -- and found myself equally surprised in the coming days and weeks and months by just how admittedly tickled I was by any of them (quoting lines was moderate on all counts). Mind you, I'm saying this as the guy who chuckled during Anchorman, sure, but not really enough to keep it on my shelf or call myself thankful for it.
That's nothing against our Eric D. Snider, and nothing against the star of each film mentioned, Will Ferrell (yes, he was actually Batman). In fact, with Step Brothers hitting shelves today (with reports of a wholly sung commentary track), it only seemed fitting that we go over his most amusing roles as overgrown man-children (Ferrell's, not Snider's). Because they're there, and they always will be, and the sooner that I admit to being vulnerable to his shtick, a better world this very well may be.
Watch This: Mark Wahlberg Threatens Andy Samberg's Big F**king Nose
Filed under: Comedy », Fandom », Trailers and Clips »
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I'm not sure if you've been following Saturday Night Live over the past few weeks, but they've made some viral waves with a few sketches -- most notably Tina Fey's Sarah Palin impersonation, but also with Andy Samberg's Mark Wahlberg in a hilarious skit called Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals. Of course, it didn't take long for someone to catch the real Wahlberg (who's conveniently making the TV rounds promoting his new flick Max Payne) and ask him what he thought of the sketch.
Guess what? He didn't like it. Not only did he not like it, but he also told Jimmy Kimmel that next time he sees Andy Samberg, he's going "to crack that big f**king nose of his." All kidding aside, though, Wahlberg does seem a bit flattered he was chosen, though he admits to wanting something a bit more "legendary" and says they're trying to figure out a way for him to appear on SNL tonight. He notes [via Vulture], "I wasn't unhappy with it. It's just that after seeing the Tina Fey–Sarah Palin thing you were kind of hoping for something on that level. That's legendary. But they actually called and asked me if I would do something on the show this weekend, but I can't stay until Saturday, so maybe we'll film something in L.A."
Check out the video of Wahlberg on Kimmel below, then we've provided the original SNL sketch for those who missed it after the jump. Oh ... and say hi to your mother for me.
Update: Wahlberg appeared on SNL tonight with Andy Samberg in a pretty funny follow-up skit. We'll add video when it's available -- what did you think of it? Funnier than the original?
Update 2: New Wahlberg SNL video with Samberg after the jump.
Paul Thomas Anderson Directs Play With 'SNL' Members
Filed under: Casting », New Releases », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy »
First, he gets a mainstream comic actor to act in a contemplative art house narrative with Punch-Drunk Love. Now, he's putting two of them on a stage. According to cigarettes and red vines, Paul Thomas Anderson has written and directed a play in Los Angeles with Saturday Night Live stars Maya Rudolph (Anderson's partner) and Fred Armisen. It premieres at the Largo on August 5, but specific details about plot remain unrevealed. Still, the prospects of seeing Anderson's eerily detached style in a live performance are intriguing, to say the least. As Slashfilm points out, the production has a few logical attachments to the filmmaker's past: Anderson directed a short film for SNL back in 2000, and Rudolph starred in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion, which Anderson may or may not have ghost-directed in parts.Now that Anderson has proven he can craft epic period pieces of the raunchy (Boogie Nights) and morose (There Will Be Blood) kind, he's reached a point where audiences will basically allow him to take them wherever he wants to go. The dynamics of the stage, however, differ greatly from those of the cinema. Since the name and subject matter are a mystery, there's a lot left to the imagination. Will Anderson allow Rudolph and Armisen to unleash their comic potential? Or is that a milkshake I hear brewing?
'An Inconvenient Truth' Gets the Operatic Treatment
Filed under: Documentary », Music & Musicals », Casting », Deals », New Releases », RumorMonger », Celebrities and Controversy », Politics »
Just when it seemed like Al Gore couldn't reassert his international stature any further comes word that An Inconvenient Truth is getting turned into an opera. Seriously. Currently in planning stages for the 2011 season at Italy's Milan opera house, the new work will undoubtedly carry the same tone of global peril that the erstwhile vice president enforces in the film, although one imagines they'll probably do away with some of the dry Power Point material. It's not the most practical choice for an adaptation, that's for sure: The way it's assembled in the film, Gore's lecture manages to engage a diverse audience, while the guy comes off as assertive and witty, which makes you wonder what sort of president he would have made -- but that singular charm doesn't necessarily translate into the sort of theatrics demanded by a massive stage spectacle. It's too early to get any sense for the final product, but for now, the conceit sounds like ridiculous fodder for a Saturday Night Live sketch, and it's hard to envision anything but a parody of the source (consider the infamous case of Jerry Springer: The Opera). Personally, I can see the revamped An Inconvenient Truth taking a cue from Wagner's Ring Cycle and setting the stage ablaze around the main character in a horrific look-what-might-happen finale as a team of green-friendly celebrities chant "Give us Gore" from stage left, their pathetic words drowned out by a deafening orchestral surge ... but maybe that's pushing it.
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