Piven's Pals Turn Him Off Broadway In Internet Skit
Jeremy Piven used his Emmy win on Sunday (21Sep08) to advertise his next big acting role - on Broadway. After picking up his third successive acting award for his role in TV hit Entourage, Piven took a camcorder into one of the star-studded Los Angeles after parties - where he told celebrity pals about his forthcoming role in David Mamet play Speed-The-Plow. In a staged skit, which appears on Will Ferrell's website Funnyordie.com, Laura Dern, Mary Steenburgen, Jamie Foxx and Seth Meyers all warn Piven

"it's the theater!" piven discusses his next career move
See more funny videos at Funny or Dieomg that still. you know you want to watch. appearances by Mary Steenburgen, Laura Dern, Seth Myers, Jamie Foxx, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Stacy Keiblersource

Emmy Night Parties Gossip!
As you know, my boss Michael and Intern Traci were up in the hizzy at the Emmys and at the Governor's Ball. Read their accounts of all the goings-on here. Because they were in the thick of things. So much so that Cynthia Nixon's girlfriend mistook Michael for a braised rib and tried to eat him. Anyway, for the situations and scandal that Michael and Traci might have missed, E!'s Kristen was on it. Not only did she speak with a very pregnant Amy Poehler and her husband Will Arnett, but got a whole lot of sc

‘Following’ Chris Nolan at LACMA
I had not seen Christopher Nolan’s directorial debut “Following” in six or seven years, which made for the perfect excuse to drop 20 bucks on a ticket to tonight’s Slamdance screening and Q&A over at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The film holds up as a wonderful, if slightly obscure excerpt from that sensational year of cinema: 1999.  It contains the seeds of a director’s fascination with broken narrative storytelling, borrows humbly from genre particulars already

Redbelt (2008) DVD Review
Redbelt, the new film from playwright (Glengarry Glen Ross, American Buffalo) and occasional director David Mamet (House of Games- one the 80’s best movies, The Spanish Prisoner), is filled with scenes displaying either Honor (with a capital ‘H’) or Jiu-Jitsu…and sometimes even both. But that isn’t to say this is an action film in any sense as it’s mostly talky. Just thought I’d let you know right now in case the trailer or even the nifty box cover led you astray… If you’ve seen a Mamet

EUR DVD REVIEW: Redbelt
*A mediocre movie like this is a major disappointment coming from David Mamet. The picture represents his first foray into the martial arts genre, although his character-driven script still boasts the basic trademarks for which the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright’s is known.       This means the screen is littered with an ensemble of street-savvy con artists delivering raw dialogue staccato-style, And among the actors are some familiar faces from the Mamet repertory company, i

New York Fall Theater Preview
Photo of Radiohead's Anger/Nation courtesy Radiohole. The Fringe, the Summer Play Festival, the Ice Factory—all that's behind us. With summer all but over, it's time for the big dogs of Broadway take center stage once again. Today the Times arts section is packed with ads and articles about the upcoming theater season, which critic Charles Isherwood has dubbed A Season of Men. That's mainly because there are two David Mamet plays set to open, Arthur Miller's All My Sons (with its gender-specific title)

Movie Trailer: Vince Vaughn’s holiday movie with Reese Witherspoon, “Four Christmases.”
Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon team up on “Four Christmases” The story of a young couple, each of whose parents divorce and then marry other people. This leaves the newlyweds with four parental households to visit over the course of Christmas Day. The movie stars: Reese Witherspoon, Vince Vaughn, Robert Duvall, Kristin Chenoweth, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Sissy Spacek, and Tim McGraw. The movie will be out in theaters November 26, 2008.

What Wouldn’t John McCain Do on ‘Saturday Night Live’?
Photo: Courtesy of NBCAt a panel discussion on Monday, Lorne Michaels downplayed the political influence of Saturday Night Live, saying, “The first thing you think about is whether [the sketch] is going to work and that it’s funny. You can’t think about the fate of Western civilization.” But then, the panel — which was held to commemorate the launch of the Museum of the Moving Image’s presidential-campaign-commercials Website The Living Room Candidate, and also featu

Is it The Job of 'SNL' To Be Fair and Balanced? [Defamer Questions]
Saturday Night Live has a long, storied history of political satire, a reputation that was only burnished after this past Saturday's well-received Tina Fey-as-Sarah Palin skit. The venerable comedy institution has been known to move the cultural dial with some of its depictions, whether it was the spring sketch that famously declared the media to be "in the tank" for Barack Obama or its 2000 impersonation of Al Gore as a "lockbox"-brandishing scold. Still, we're a bit puzzled by some of the quotes from an e

'Christmases' vs. 'Holidays': The Winter Family Comedy War Looms
Feel that chill in the air? That's because you left the kitchen window open -- go on, I'll wait -- but that secondary chill you're feeling would be the multiplex yuletide season turning in our direction, ready and waiting to melt the bleep out of your heart. Last year, it was This Christmas and The Perfect Holiday begging to be mistaken for one another (in title, not in quality). This year we've got at least two winter-themed family-minded dramedies waiting in the wings. First out the gate is Nothing Like

One-Two Comedy Punch Of Phelps And Obama To Create Laugh Explosion On 'SNL' [Not That Strong A Swimmer]
newVideoPlayer("/Tina_Maybe.flv", 506, 423,"");Saturday Night Live certainly has balls. They already booked an unfunny guest host in Michael Phelps for this weekend’s season premiere, and now they’ve decided to compound the non-laughs by bringing in Barack Obama, an unfunny politician. At least he speaks clearly and doesn’t have an underbite like certain 8-time-gold-medal-winners we know. His sketch is still being worked out, but expect lipstick-on-a-pig jokes-a-plenty.Meanwhile the real question rema

Amy Poehler Out at ‘SNL’
In a move we probably all should've seen coming since she's already signed up to star on another TV show, Amy Poehler has announced she'll be taking maternity leave from Saturday Night Live after the November election and, after that, she won't be returning. "It's gonna be really hard — Boyz II Men hard — to say goodbye to yesterday," she tells the new Men's Vogue. "SNL was dangerous, late-night, last-minute and star-studded, but like any good drug, you need to know when to put it down." We'll p

i see dead people. wait, no...
David Mamet's "American Buffalo" brings in Haley Joel Osment as the third member of the show's junk shop trio which already includes John Lequizamo and Cedric The Entertainer.  Osment will be making his Broadway debut in the production. The 20-year-old Osment, who was an Academy Award nominee for "The Sixth Sense", joins John Leguizamo and Cedric The Entertainer in the revival that opens November 17th at the Belasco Theatre. American Buffalo is a 1976 play by playwright David Mamet and won the 1977 O

Saturday Night Live: Michael Phelps/Lil Wayne (season premiere) - VIDEOS
Filed under: OpEd, Saturday Night Live, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free(S34E01) Well, well, Saturday Night Live is back for another season and we couldn't be more excited. Actually, we probably could be more excited, but we're still tuning in and that's what matters. Personally, I believe they took a risk in inviting an athlete to open the season with a bang, as I often find their performances super-awkward and damn near unwatchable, but there are folks that go totally nuts when sports people host. Plus, Mic

Talk Talk: Bob Costas, Arsenio Hall, Glen Campbell
Filed under: Late Night, TV Royalty, Celebrities, Talk Show, Reality-FreeHere's who's on the late night talk shows tonight. Charlie Rose: Doris Kearns Goodwin, Robert A. Caro, and Joseph A. Califano The Daily Show: coverage of the DNC The Colbert Report: John McWhorter The Late Show with David Letterman: Amy Sedaris, Kim Kardashian, and Brian Regan Jay Leno: Shawn Johnson, Arsenio Hall, and Chuck Berry Jimmy Kimmel Live: Lauren Conrad, Tyrese, and Glen Campbell Tavis Smiley:

'Bad Mother,' 'Crusoe' get leads
Alicia Silverstone is set to star in ABC's hot comedy pilot "Bad Mother's Handbook," and Philip Winchester will play the title character in NBC's drama series "Crusoe." Also cast in "Handbook" is Alia Shawkat, while Anna Walton also has joined "Crusoe." The single-camera "Handbook," from ABC Studios, writers Jennifer Konner and Alexandra Rushfield and director Richard Shepard, centers on Karen (Silverstone), a 32-year-old woman too busy taking care of her 16-year-old daughter (Shawkat) and 48-year-old

Creeping Politicization Of All Media Snares SNL [Sarah Palin]
Saturday Night Live cast members sounded really concerned about the level of fairness on their sketch comedy show the other night, the Times' Brian Stelter noticed. Head writer Seth Meyers said the show tries to be "as fair and evenhanded as possible." It was "safer," he added, to mock both Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton in a recent sketch, since without the latter it might have seemed "like an attack piece." Wait, since when is SNL so jittery about offending people? Is this the level of conscientiousness

Just how influential is 'SNL'?
Seth Meyers of Saturday Night Live says he would love to have Tina Fey reprise her Sarah Palin impersonation, but there are no plans right now because she's busy with 30 Rock. On the show’s influence this political year? “I don’t think we're quite as influential as people give us credit for,” he says, but admits he’s flattered. -- Bill Keveney Posted at 07:20 PM/ET, September 21, 2008 in Emmys | Permalink Like this story? Share it with Yahoo! Buzz

Trailer for 'Four Christmases' debuts on Web
Just like every year in the U.S., the first Christmas flicks start hitting theaters in November already (don't ask me why). One of them this year is Seth Gordon's "Four Christmases," in which Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon play a couple struggling to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day. Although this trailer did not really win me over, I have to admit Vaughn and Witherspoon look like a solid enough team to handle this kind of cheap screwball comedy. Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary

'Four Christmases' Trailer is Pukable
In the grand tradition of Meet the Fockers, The In-Laws, Monster-in-Law, et al, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, and Jon Voight join the ranks of aging celebrities exploited as wacky in-laws in Four Christmases, a movie you'll probably be forced to watch with your family this Christmas. In this grating ensemble comedy, Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn play a couple forced, for reasons not entirely explained, to consecutively visit each of their zany divorced parents over the holidays. Like t

'Entourage' of Stars Hit HBO Emmy Party!
Fresh Emmy winner Jeremy Piven and the "Entourage" crew hit the HBO Emmy after-party last night -- and ET was there! Find out what Jeremy had to say about his big win -- and his favorite show moment! The stars continued to party hop after the Emmys, and our cameras caught everyone from Tom Hanks and Jamie Foxx to Jon Voight and a pregnant Amy Poehler on the red carpet. Posted September 22, 2008 4:40:00 PM See All: 60th Primetime Emmy Awards Amy Poehler celebs Emmys entourage hbo Jeremy

Gov. Sarah Palin liked the "Saturday Night Live" skit
Gov. Sarah Palin might not do a lot of interviews, but she evidently has a sense of humor. John McCain's running mate enjoyed last weekend's "Saturday Night Live" skit in which Tina Fey portrayed her. "She thought it was quite funny, particularly because she once dressed up as Tina Fey for Halloween," Palin spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said. Palin's reaction surprised the "SNL" crew. "The Palin people were happy with it as well, which was the weird thing," head

'SNL' skewers Palin, Clinton and receives huge ratings
Early overnight figures showed the "Saturday Night Live" season premiere earned a 7.4 rating and 18 percent share of viewers watching at that hour — the highest for a season premiere since 2001, and the highest for any "SNL" telecast since Dec. 14, 2002, when Al Gore was host. The numbers were up 64 percent over last season's premiere, according to Nielsen data. The sketch was written by "Update" co-anchor Seth Meyers with assists from Fey and Poehler, and every punch line got roars from the 400 audi

'Saturday Night Live': Chatting Up Head Writer Seth Meyers
As a fan of Saturday Night Live I was thrilled to shoot the breeze with head writer Seth Meyers. Who knew he loved Woody Allen, used to deliver sub sandwiches or that he’s dying to have Robert Downey Jr. on the show. Read on for more on Meyers.