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Screen Actors Guild Winners

I know it sounds like I'm repeating myself, but congrats to former Saturday Night Live star Eddie Murphy and 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin for winning Screen Actors Guild awards at last night's ceremony.

Murphy won the Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role award for his work in the movie Dreamgirls. 

Baldwin won for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series.

You can find a complete list of all the winners here.

Steve Martin on The New Show

A year before returning to Saturday Night Live in 1985, Lorne Michaels tried his hand at a similar show which aired Friday nights on NBC.  It was called The New Show.

Canada Asks: Can Mark McKinney Save Studio 60?

The Toronto Star poses the question: Can Mark McKinney save a struggling show?  The show, of course, is Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which McKinney is a story editor for and now appears on as a member of the supporting cast.

Recently, series creator Aaron Sorkin again rallied against "bloggers", decrying the "enormous rise in amateurism" brought on by the blogosphere.  So what does the Toronto Star go and do?  Why, they go ask some bloggers (Canadian, natch) what they think.

"West Wing this ain't," says Alex Epstein, whose credits include Naked Josh and is the author of the book Crafty Screenwriting. "I stuck with it because of Aaron Sorkin," but in his blog he noted early on that the show "feels like it either needs to be funnier, or have higher stakes."

"The first few episodes," he says now, "were about how terribly important sketch comedy is, and the recent episodes have been about a bunch of people to whom sketch comedy is important." That's progress, he says, because "you're telling a story about a family – every good TV show is about a family."

Continue reading "Writers toss an idea around: Can Mark McKinney save a struggling show?"

SNL 1-20-07: Jeremy Piven / AFI

I love Jeremy Piven (and yet have never seen Entourage).  I have high hopes for tonight.

SNL Review 1-13-07: Jake Gyllenhaal / The Shins

Cold Open: Bush is an idiot.  I chuckled a few times during this though, and laughed out loud at the line "and of course, astronauts". 

Monologue: Well there's some Brokeback Mountain humor here (shocker), but we're effectively swerved and things turn into Jake singing a song from Dreamgirls in drag, to the delight of gay cowboys in the audience.  Jake's singing is eerily good, and Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis (as the gay cowboys) have some hilarious reactions. 

Deephouse Dish: They're going to just grind this one into the ground aren't they?  I laughed a few times but there's ultimately no point to this one.  Andy Samberg seems to be channeling Will Ferrell's Harry Carey voice at times. 

Bronx Beat: Two clueless hosts babble through their talk show.  Simple, mindless, made me laugh. 

Donald Trump Press Conference: Trump doesn't like Rosie O'Donnell.  Figured this one was coming. 

Next Week: Jeremy Piven.  Awesome.  Musical guest AFI?  Huh?  The American Film Institute?  Wha?

Cool Food: Completely ridiculous to the point where it ceases to be lame and somehow produces a laugh or two BECAUSE it's so ridiculous.  And at least the sketch had a punchline. 

SNL Digital Short (Laser Cats 2): I enjoy this because of how absurdly low budget it is (purposely, yes I know). 

Stock Footage Awards: This is a very clever premise, and having Hammond do his Dan Rather as the host only makes it better.  Bonus points for working in the waterskiing squirrel. 

The Shins: I am not aware of this band.  They're not bad.  In fact, I could see myself making this a purchase...

Weekend Update: Seth's Scooby-Doo joke was so wrong and yet so funny.  Fred Armisen did a parody of Steve Jobs and the iPhone that is now everywhere on the internets.   

Law & Order Acting Class: Clever, and goofy at the same time. 

The Set Up: A couple sets up two people in wheelchairs for a blind date, because they're both in wheelchairs.  Weak premise, but the overacting boosts it a bit. 

The Shins II: Hey, this is "New Slang".  I know this song.  I don't know why I know it, but I know it.  I like these guys.

Kaplan, Lebowitz and Dolemite: Law firm commercial.  Too short to really get going. 

Overall I'd say that was a surprisingly solid show.  Jake was a capable host, seemed like a good sport, never broke character, and did a solid job doing what was asked of him.  Some clever writing tonight, and a strong music guest as well.

Sorkin shifts 'Studio 60' toward relationships

USA Today has an article... um, today, that when Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip returns this Monday for a seven week run, the focus will be shifting from sketch comedy to romantic comedy.

"Sorkin hopes the relationship shifts will bring more viewers to the show. But he also thinks the show is doing fine overall, and that the focus on ratings disappointment (Studio 60 averages fewer than 9 million viewers) can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It could just be that 60 was never meant to be an Idol-sized hit."

It is also mentioned in the article that the show will run through March, and then after that its fate is entirely up in the air.

Continue reading "Sorkin shifts 'Studio 60' toward relationships"...

Golden Globe Winners

Congrats to former Saturday Night Live star Eddie Murphy and 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin for winning Golden Globe awards at last night's ceremony.

Murphy won the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture award for his work in the movie Dreamgirls. 

Baldwin, in arguably the night's most competitive category, won for Best Performance by an Actor in a Comedy Series.

You can find a complete list of all the winners here.

Steve Martin Goes Nonfiction

From the Associated Press:

Steve Martin would like you to know more about his years as a wild and crazy guy.

The comedian, filmmaker, actor and author is writing a memoir, Born Standing Up, billed by publisher Scribner as "his first work of narrative nonfiction," a "riveting chronicle of his early years as a stand-up comedian and a fascinating portrait of an era."

Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, is hoping to have the book out by early 2008, but no publication date has been set.

SNL 1-13-07: Jake Gyllenhaal / The Shins

Doesn't Jake's expression just scream comedy?  Expect plenty of dated Brokeback Mountain jokes.