Waiting sucks

"I remember the inquisition. I was around back then." T MINUS 18 DAYS.

For Amy, Forever Ago

Weeeelll, you've probably heard by now that Amy Winehouse headed to rehab today for what seems like the billionth time since she wrote a hit song about not going. But I'm a huge fan of hers, so I'm posting this video because almost always her personal life overshadows her talent. I'm not excusing addiction of any kind -- it's just nice to remember why she caught our attention in the first place. She's twitchy and fragile, but then she sings, and it's effortless. There's no denying Amy Winehouse is a mess (and maybe always will be), but there's no point in harping on it either.

Apologies

for the radio silence...it's been a busy couple of weeks. But I'm back now!

Clever transition time - speaking of being back, New York Magazine! Sometimes they exasperate me - too much content, too much ass-kissing - but they have been on their game lately, producing two fantastic TV-centered pieces. The first one is literally the article I would write if I had all of the resources NY Mag does - they interview current top showrunners, explaining that we are, after all, in the age of "creator as star." They ask Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan what show made him want to write for TV (The X-Files), How I Met Your Mother creator Carter Bays what show he wishes he'd created (Saturday Night Live), and Cougar Town creator Kevin Giegel the current showrunners he most respects (the guys over at Friday Night Lights). Among others answering: the creators of Community, Justified, 30 Rock, The Good Wife, The Office, Parks and Recreation, the list goes on...it's just heaven. Seriously, and I think this is true for any medium at all - the coolest thing is to hear the greats talk about who they see as the greats. Kevin Spacey lovingly mimmicks Jack Lemmon on Inside the Actor's Studio, Aaron Sorkin refers to Broadway theaters as "cathedrals" in The New York Times - it's even exciting to hear the younger crowd like Andrew Garfield and James Franco talk about the first movie that made them cry (In the Name of the Father and My Own Private Idaho, respectively). In fact, one of the best parts of this past awards season was the standing ovation for Robert Deniro at the Golden Globes. It's just cool to see people who routinely deliver in their own career display humility and respect for their peers, as well as total, unbridled excitement about what they do. Any way, there's lots of that in here.

The second is a series of behind-the-scenes photos of four of the shows mentioned above during filming - The Good Wife, Breaking Bad, Community, and Sons of Anarchy. It's a sort of companion piece to the article - another when-the-cameras-aren't-rolling type of thing. I loved these from Rolling Stone about a year back, and this series is in the same vein. Below, a little preview - Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman gets made up on set in New Mexico.

The end's not near...

it's here.

Thank you, Vulture

Someone needed to do this.

A little Silver Fox

to get you through the day. Blue hoodie!

The boy who lived

Watch from 3:40 to the end to see what doing something "with heart" really looks like.

Observe

the genius that is Bill Hader. He just, you know, worked for Iron Chef America for a little while, did a Tony Blair impression, and joined the cast of SNL.

Start spreading the news

Good news: American Pie original cast reunion! Lots of Jane Eyre press for Michael Fassbender and Mia Wasikowska! Rob Lowe isn't leaving Parks & Rec to take over the trainwreck that is Two and a Half Men! (The preternaturally handsome John Stamos isn't taking over either!)

Bad news: American Idiot is shutting down. That's about it. I guess this is bad news too, because it's hilarious but didn't get traction during Oscar season. Everything that needed to be said about the ridiculousness of Black Swan is said in this video...but it's two weeks too late. Natalie Portman already has her Oscar (we will avenge you, Annette Bening, I promise), and people continue to think Black Swan was some groundbreaking work of art. Kill yourself? It's ballet! Ballet!

Showbituary: Greek

Hi everyone! Sorry for the late post – I had exams last week, so that’s a valid enough excuse, right?

Here we are, though – the moment I’ve been dreading. (Kidding. But not really.) There are few shows I have watched from the very beginning – as in, watched the Pilot on the day it aired and continued all the way through – but Greek is one of them. Greek started when I was a junior in high school and ended last Monday, exactly a week ago, as I am ending my junior year of college. Without sounding too dramatic, it is sort of like the end of an era.

Most people didn’t watch Greek; it did get cancelled, after all -- but my friends and I watched it religiously, which is why it feels so very much like something is really ending for us. Greek was about Casey, Rusty, Cappie, Evan, Ashleigh…it was about their lives. But somehow, it was about ours, too. And isn’t that what makes a TV show good? That while Mad Men is about the 60s, Don and Betty’s broken marriage could mirror any today? Or while Walter White cooks meth, he eerily reminds you of your high school science teacher? A good TV show has to be about the human experience, no matter what character or situation it chooses to focus on. They need to feel the things we feel. So while Greek was about Greek life at college (all main characters were in fraternities or sororities), it was really just about being young. I am not nor have I ever been involved in Greek life, but the creators were smart enough to make it just one factor of the show. In fact, Greek was probably the only show for young people over the past few years that was about things we experience because we are young. No saving Bass Industries or attending galas every week like Gossip Girl, no murder mystery like Pretty Little Liars, not even the ridiculous music video director storyline on 90210. (I still love you, 90210.) Being young, yes, you do have to make some big decisions.  But mostly, it’s about feeling like 1) the world revolves around you and 2) everything that happens is either the best thing that ever happened or the worst thing that ever happened. “It’s not the end of the world,” Dale has to hilariously remind Rusty one episode. “Don’t you read the scriptures I leave on your pillow? There will be signs!” But I have to give the show credit for showing the non-dramatic, purely optimistic part of youth, too. For showing what it means to have so much hope for the future, to have faith that things can be better, that things can be as good as you had dreamed. 

Speaking of Bass Industries, do you think you’ll ever see Chuck have enough depth to give up his trust fund so he can be independent from his parents and their ideals? Because that’s what Evan did, the show’s resident golden boy. Yes, like most shows on TV, Greek is a cast of beautiful kids with white-people-problems, but not one of them is one-dimensional, and together, they’re something of a rag-tag bunch. They go to a school in Ohio, and much like my high school experience, they spend a lot of time trying to find things to do. But there are always hijinks and they are always peppered with generation-appropriate pop culture references. (“Can we all be mature and just say what we're really feeling? How the hell could they cancel Gilmore Girls?”) But perhaps my favorite part of the show is that of the relationship between Casey and Rusty – sister and brother.  In the very first episode of Greek, she pretended not to know him.  Her two-year boyfriend wasn’t even aware she had a brother. But his one request? “I just wanna be part of your life.” And eventually, he is. Rusty ended the series on Monday by telling Casey that thanks to her, he has “a whole universe.” And Cappie tells Casey in one of the last scenes, “You should’ve seen Rusty today. You would have been proud.” Her response? “I already am.”  Creator Sean Smith explains it as such: “The focus of the series, to me, was always about this brother and sister coming together. If he hadn’t gone to Cyprus Rhodes, they might not have this good relationship. And they’ve now gone through this adventure together and are always going to be there for each other. And that’s what I always thought was so winning about that relationship; for Rusty, part of him wanting to be in the greek system was him wanting to be closer to his sister.” 

“Coming together” is what I see as the overall theme of Greek. The best episodes are when all of these sworn enemies because of their house loyalties come together because they are really all each other has. Last season, all of the kids spent Thanksgiving together at the KT house, and just a few episodes before the finale, they spent the night at Dobler’s during a snowstorm. Whether you love or hate the people you meet in school, they know you. You have a history. And that is what outweighs everything.

What else is there to say about the last episode? The writers blew me away one last time. I like shows that have scenes in their series finales that echo their early episodes, because it’s a wink to the viewers and a sort of thank-you-for-sticking-with-us-through-everything – think Sorkin watching Jimmy Smits get sworn in the West Wing finale and Claire getting a new car in Six Feet Under. Greek had a bunch of those moments. Casey drives away with Cappie instead of Rusty, Casey kisses Cappie at the bar instead of Evan, the reappearance of Jen K and Wade, the Casey and Rusty staircase conversations, and so on. The most gorgeous (albeit painful) scene was probably the tearing down of the KT house. From the shots of the heartbreakingly empty main room to Cappie’s look of relief and gratefulness when Evan joins him in the protest, everything was so on point. Katherine was brilliant as usual, and is perfect paired with Beav. Rebecca and Dale’s friendship was very sweet. Seeing Cappie with the loudspeaker, the leader of his house, was surprisingly emotional. Even Evan looked proud of him. And I was even more emotional when Cappie told Rusty, “you are my legacy,” and Evan and Cappie finally made up. Side note: Scott Michael Foster was really the heart of this series. Any way, when Evan sees Cappie and Casey kissing as I mentioned earlier, Evan tells them that it’s “as it should be.” Which is what the finale was representative of as a whole. Those who should have ended up together did, and those who were still growing and didn’t really deserve happy endings yet didn’t have them. The KT house still got torn down, but Dale got a girlfriend.

Greek was one of the most underrated shows I have ever watched, and a show that helped ABC Family get to the place it’s in now, with a larger audience and an identity as an up-and-coming cable TV network.  A commenter on Entertainment Weekly a few weeks ago mentioned that they began to watch Greek as a guilty pleasure, but the more they watched it, the more it turned into something real. I couldn’t agree more. I started watching it as a guilty pleasure as well, but the show grew and so did the characters. It was quite a run, and I am incredibly sad to see it go. It was time, I suppose, but it is never really time.

The end of an era

Eulogy to come.

Community tackles another classic

Looks like it's time to re-watch Pulp Fiction!

Fun tidbits from the media’s Oscar coverage

Pre-show:

Just saw Jesse Eisenberg kiss Hailee Steinfeld on the cheek.

-Tumblr Blogger

"I kind of like being an underdog. Even if we come away and don't win, some people will say we were snubbed, and that's enough for me."

-Armie Hammer of The Social Network

Aaww, Andrew Garfield is carrying his invitation. Does he think he won't get in without it?

-Susan, Twitter

During the ceremony, things I didn’t catch:

"It feels like that top is still spinning…but I don't care anymore."

-Paul Franklin, Inception cinematographer, in his acceptance speech

5:25 p.m.: […] Andrew Garfield from The Social Network is fidgeting with his bow tie. Then Garfield sees someone he knows several rows back and playfully gives him the finger.

-Inside the Oscars: Moments you didn’t see on TV (AP)

The likeable Franco seems a bit overwhelmed by the gig.

-Deadline.com (Note: found this interesting! Calling him "overwhelmed" is suprising. General consensus is Franco was just over it.)

And from the after-parties (mostly Tarantino misbehaving):

"I think I'm gonna have to," Quentin Tarantino says, reaching for one from a passing burger lady. He turns to Adrien Brody in the carpeted breezeway between the terrace and the oak-paneled lounge. "On three, ready?" the motormouth director directs. "One...two... three!" Tarantino and Brody take enormous bites of their burgers.

-Washington Post

Kevin Spacey was seen sharing a joke with Sacha Baron Cohen, and Charlize Theron gave Jeremy Renner a hug after he missed out on the best supporting actor award. Justin Timberlake and Andrew Garfield mingled with Jake Gyllenhaal.

-The Telegraph

Mark Wahlberg and weary-looking Amy Adams dined at table No. 410 — brightening up a bit when a smiling Christian Bale played waiter and refreshed everyone’s Champagne.

-New York Daily News

Memo to the Winklevi: Stay single. When actor Armie Hammer arrived to the Vanity Fair party with his beautiful wife, Elizabeth Chambers, we got a big groan out of him by asking, "Where's your brother?" Hammer, who via the magic of CGI plays twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss in The Social Network gave us a playful punch in the gut, then one-upped us: "Vanity Fair would only give two tickets and I wanted to bring my wife. So I killed him."

-Chicago Sun Times

Colin Firth remained admirably modest. He was experiencing the most euphoric moment any actor ever can, but despite all the razzmatazz he remains the least "starry" of stars. "You know, we take risks and sometimes we get it wrong," he said. Smiling, he added: "And sometimes, mysteriously, we get it right, and it's a wonderful thing."

-The Telegraph

From any point in the throng the bouffante hair of Luke Matheny, who won the live action short film Oscar for God of Love, could be seen bouncing around. "Watch him, he's going to be a star," said one party veteran sagely.

-The Telegraph

Russell Brand is now friends with Danny Boyle.

-Washington Post

Spotted at the Vanity Fair post-Oscar party: gregarious Napster founder Sean Parker.

-New York Daily News

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross was happy for his four wins -- 2 for Alice In Wonderland, and 2 for Toy Story 3 -- but admitted to me he had been holding out hope for Pixar's big grossing and well reviewed toon to win Best Picture. His mantra all season had been, 'If not this year, and not this picture, when?'

-Deadline.com

Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal, recently broken up, huddle in a nook by the bathrooms, under the forlorn gaze of a portrait of Greta Garbo. Gyllenhaal is using words like "care" and "feel." It is not a good spot to linger.

-Washington Post

Helena Bonham Carter looked upbeat, despite losing out in the best supporting actress category, and had a drink at the bar with her husband, director Tim Burton, and her mother. "I have a little dip but then you get over it," she said. "I do think people like you more if you lose, that's my theory." The glittery baubles Helena Bonham Carter wore in her hair at the Oscars were charms from flip-flops.

-The Telegraph, Page Six

The entrance to the Governors Ball was even more jam-packed with arriving stars than in past years. When a Chicago reporter (Yes, me!) accidentally bumped into Hugh Jackman, the cheerful Aussie joked, “Hey! Don’t let me spill this drink! I’ve waited all night for it — and I need it!”

-Chicago Sun Times

"Listen to your mother, and you'll be fine," a woman advises True Grit nominee Hailee Steinfeld, all of 14 years old and looking like a princess.

-Washington Post

Madonna, Mick Jagger’s got your number. We spotted Madge and an entourage, including daughter Lourdes, high-tailing it back to the valet at the Vanity Fair party before 11 p.m., and word is she posed on the red carpet – ensuring her attendance was recorded by the media masses – did a single lap inside, then bolted. We also hear Madonna's every calculated move on the red carpet was brilliantly deconstructed by Jagger – who wrote the bible on calculated moves – as he and a group watched via a closed-circuit TV feed that carried the action.

-Chicago Sun Times

"I don't want Best Picture," says one suit, presumably a producer. "Too much pressure." "[Expletive] Best Picture," agrees a friend.

-Washington Post

Sony Pictures chairman Amy Pascal, who really invested herself in Oscar season this year, hugged Best Picture presenter Steven Spielberg and thanked him profusely for the consoling words he said before announcing The King’s Speech as the winner. (“If you are one of the other nine movies that don’t win, you will be in the company of The Grapes of Wrath, Citizen Kane, The Graduate, and Raging Bull”, Spielberg reminded everyone.)

-Deadline.com

Now the tykes from Glee are swarming like gnats. There's the bossy belter at the bar. There's the pregnant cheerleader fussing with her shoulder straps. And by the front door, sitting on a padded pew, are the gay kid and the heavy girl, wallflowering, perfectly happy to gab and watch, as if this were an actual high school cafeteria instead of a dolled-up version of one.

-Washington Post

A director whom Hooper beat, The Fighter’s David O. Russell, was so ebullient you'd have thought he won. “Joel Coen just told me my movie was the best of the year. He can be a curmudgeon, too. That’s my prize,” he beamed.

-Deadline.com

One thing about four-time Academy Award nominee Annette Bening – she’s a class act. Often, after the Oscars, losing nominees hightail it right out of the Kodak Theatre, skip the post-parties and go home to lick their wounds in the company of family and close pals. But one of the first nominees to sashay into the Governors Ball was Bening and her husband, Warren Beatty, himself a past Oscar winner. “It just wasn’t my year,” said Bening. While her mouth expressed all the proper and gracious words, the actress’ eyes told a different story. You could just see her disappointment — even though Natalie Portman’s win was a foregone conclusion in many minds. Under his breath, Beatty whispered. “There will be another chance … another year. She’ll get her Oscar someday,” as a friend walked up to say, “I was so pulling for her!”

-Chicago Sun Times

As I traversed the Grand Ballroom of the Governor's Ball, I kept hearing that precise phrase -- “You were robbed” -- said a few times to everyone involved [with The Social Network].

-Deadline.com

"Yes, I am very disappointed about Best Picture. But I am just stunned that David Fincher didn't win, just absolutely stunned. This just proves it is all about campaigning and nothing else."

-Kevin Spacey

Ah, there's a real person. Luke Matheny, the shaggy young director of the Best Live Action Short who took the stage and joked that he shoulda got a haircut…Around the room, important people spot that mop of hair and flag him down. He's one of them now. For now.

-Washington Post

We catch Sarah Silverman's eye as she tries to sneak behind the bar to grab a bottle of water, as we patiently wait in line. She grins conspiratorially.

-Washington Post

We did read that New Yorker story about Paul Haggis's defection from Scientology - the whole thing! - so naturally we have much to discuss with him after he orders a tequila on the rocks with pineapple and a vodka soda with cranberry. Yes, he said, he liked the story. "And you are?" A reporter, we confess. The writer-director is civil and discreet and quickly moves to greet a woman we don't recognize a few feet to our left. Dismissed.

-Washington Post

Asked where his Oscar will reside, [Christian] Bale said his little daughter will “no doubt immediately grab it, make it hers and put it in her room with her dolls...and that’s fine by me.”

-Chicago Sun Times

Kevin Spacey is making a run for it. "I'm going to Franco's," he says as swells of velvet and chiffon heave him through the breezeway of the Sunset Tower. "What about Madonna's?" asks a tuxedo who's being towed the other way. "Nooo," Spacey says, twisting in the eddy of bodies. "No, that's all the way up Mulholland. It'll be a nightmare." "Life is a nightmare," the guy says, and they both cackle.

-Washington Post

At one end of the bar Donald Trump held court, while Tarantino did so at the other. The director could be heard shouting: "I'm a badass m------------ artist." Looking a bit star-struck Hailee Steinfeld, the 14-year-old star of True Grit, who wasn't born when Tarantino's Pulp Fiction came out, approached him and asked for a photo. Tarantino graciously suggested it should be the other way round.

-The Telegraph

In a room where everybody is somebody - Colin Firth swarmed by women demanding photos, Anne Hathaway giddy as a gazelle after hosting the show - is it possible that everyone's just nobody? The scene calls to mind Plato’s Cave, and questions about the durability of reality at 2 a.m. on Sunset Boulevard. The paparazzi are taking photos of one another. By 2:30 a.m., there are no famous people on the premises. The thing is: Only a tiny portion of Oscar winners are recognizable faces. The rest are tradesmen and off-screen talent. These unsung but awarded survivors huddle around their glinting statuettes like they're campfires. The clusters talk in hushed tones, waiting for the end.

-Washington Post

The final word, from a critic, on The Social Network Best Picture snub...

[The Academy’s] choice looks odd today.  And it will look odder still in the years to come.  This is no diss on Hooper (poor Tom Hooper, the fall guy) – it’s just the way of the thing.  Look over Oscar and film awards history and you will never see anyone snubbed, not even Martin Scorsese, to the degree Fincher was. …The critics chose The Social Network, inexplicably.  In a year that brought so many great films like Inception, Black Swan, True Grit, Winter’s Bone, Shutter Island, The Ghost Writer – The Social Network stood apart from them because it was and is perfect.  No, it doesn’t make you care about its characters, particularly.  It doesn’t spit you back out on the street seeing humanity as good and great and able to conquer speech and Nazis with the help of a wily speech therapist, but my god – what a movie.  All of these – great great films wildly, bravely, courageously directed - directed with hard core balls dangling between them legs - kicking down the door of convention, story above all else. 

-Sasha Stone, Awards Daily

...and this, perhaps the most important thing to remember about awards season: the spirit it began in.

"When the Academy Awards began in 1939, they were conducted in a spirit of irreverence, something that has practically disappeared from the event itself. 'They used to have it down at the old Coconut Grove,' Jimmy Stewart told me in the late 70s. 'You’d have dinner and alawta drinks - the whole thing was...it was just...it was a party. Nobody took it all that seriously. I mean, it was swell if ya won because your friends were givin’ it to you, but it didn’t mean anything at the bawx office or anything. It was just alawta friends gettin’ together and tellin’ some jokes and gettin’ loaded and givin’ out some little prizes. My gawsh, it was...there was no pressure or anything like that.' Cary Grant corroborated this to me: "It was a private affair, you see - no television, no radio, even - just a group of friends giving each other a party. Because, you know, there is something a little embarrassing about all these wealthy people publicly congratulating each other. When it began, we kidded ourselves: 'All right, Freddie March,' we’d say, 'we know you’re making a million dollars - now come up and get your little medal for it!'"

-Excerpted from Peter Bogdanovich’s "Who the Hell’s In It"

A plague on your house, HBO

I was so looking forward to this!

Dancing with himself

Thank you, whoever made this much-needed super cut.

Oscars Liveblog!

5:58 Hi everyone! Remember -- refresh to see updates. Let's do this!

6:02 Oh, Seacrest. I've missed you, you elegant bastard.

6:03 Jennifer Lawrence looks beautiful - a little casual for the Oscars and exactly like ScarJo's a couple years ago, but still beautiful - but I wish she was a better interview.

6:12 Melissa Leo's dress is baaaad. Really curious to see if she'll pull off a win tonight after those horrendous ads.

6:15 "He did his award show and he bombed!" -James Franco on Ricky Gervais. Awesome. Awesome, awesome, awesome. James Franco will get the Oscar tonight for "Best Example of Guilelessness." Saying what everyone's thinking (in a way that is somehow not vicious): my favorite thing about him.

6:32 Wait, are they not allowing Giuliana on the red carpet this year? She's been stuck up in that "fashion sky box" since 6 PM...

6:33 Hooray, Russell Brand! With his mum! WAIT! "Perhaps I'll kiss you," he says, and kisses Ryan on the cheek. (No, I'm not kidding.) It's Christian Bale syndrome - when everything looks like it's gone swimmingly, he does something completely inappropriate and genius. I actually met Russell Brand this past summer and I'm happy to report he is exactly like this in real life.

6:36 Michelle Williams always looks so delicate. Like if someone was speaking next to her too loudly she might break.

6:40 Amy Adams keeps saying how nervous she is, and it's incredibly endearing.

6:52 Jesse Eisenberg!! I just yelped. Is it just me, or does it look like it would be kind of easy to sneak into the Oscars? It's obviously not, but I feel like if I just showed up in a gown and started waving to fans confidently...

7:00 Kevin Spacey's advice to Jeremy Renner: "Just have fun, and find the bar as quickly as you can."

7:03 Loving Scarlett Johansson's hair. But not her dress.

7:09 JT! I saw a music video of his on TV this morning and for a split second was like Oh yeaaah, Justin Timberlake was a pop star! Crazy. Justin, mission accomplished.

7:13 Why is Oprah presenting tonight? GO AWAY, OPRAH.

7:20 Eleanna text when Helena Bonham Carter showed up: "I killed Sirius Black."

7:21 I just screamed as if I was being murdered upon seeing Andrew Garfield. Have I really become this person?

7:26 Off topic and I don't really care, but Justin Timberlake no longer brings Jessica Biel to awards shows. Like, not one this whole season. Hmmmm.

7:27 Christian Bale! He looks so happy and he won't let go of his wife's hand. I melt.

7:34 Gwennie, you can do better than that dress. But God, is she gorgeous. She really, really is. It's almost inhuman.

7:38 Christian Bale, on whether or not his family gets concerned about his commitment to his roles: "They know I'm a stubborn git."

7:40 Sandra Bullock in red. Yawn. Do these people's stylists talk to each other beforehand? They should. Everyone's in red!

7:44 RDJ posing, I guess, for the crowd? I don't know. Doing something great with his face.

8:03 E! Preshow is over for some reason, so I've switched to ABC. Just in times for James Franco! Already inside the Kodak Theater, chilling in a chair.

8:05 Bwahahahahaaa, he just started laughing to himself at a joke he made that the interviewer didn't understand. Maybe an inside joke with himself. I have those.

8:38 That opening lost steam a couple minutes in. Reaction shots. Everyone is smiling. Because they can't not. It's James Franco!

8:40 This is awkwardly un-funny. Why are they doing this weird family thing? Wait, the Marky Mark joke is funny. Mark, throw something.

8:57 Melissa Leo wins for Best Supporting Actress. Well deserved. Those ads, though, woman...you got lucky!

8:58 Helena Bonham Carter must have practiced her nice face in the mirror after the Golden Globes.

8:59 Melissa Leo just dropped the F bomb. Helloooo.

9:01 Ugh, that was a little overzealous. She stole Kirk Douglas' cane as if she was so shocked she couldn't walk. Anne Hathaway continues to be un-funny.

9:02 "I'm Banksy." That was good! That was good.

9:13 What's with the white tuxes, men?

9:15 Sorkin wins for Best Adapted Screenplay, of course. Who is that blonde next to him? Where is Chenoweth? Oh, Jesse gets up to hug him, and I might lose it. "For my mom and dad, who made a life for me so I could be a part of nights like this." Beautiful, but we expect nothing less.

9:20 The King's Speech screenwriter, who just won for Best Original Screenplay: "The writer's speech. This is terrifying." Hah! He dedicates the award to all the stutterers of the world. "We have a voice, we have been heard." Tremendous.

9:25 James Franco in a dress. I am not surprised.

9:29 Reese Witherspoon, that happens to be Julia Roberts' dress and hair from the year she won Best Actress.

9:32 Mark Ruffalo thanks the camera. So gracious. And Christian Bale wins, thank goodness. First words of his acceptance speech: "Bloody hell." He starts crying as he thanks his wife. "I didn't think I was like this!" Please, more awards for Christian Bale in the future.

9:42 Pretty sure the awards are now boring until about 11:30. This is why the Golden Globes is the best show of awards season. Any way! Just went over to the Jezebel liveblog, and there was this gem: "Justin Timberlake is not Banksy. We would believe it if James Franco claimed to be Banksy, but not JT. Sorry." YES. FRANCO IS BANSKY. Note to self: start this rumor.

9:45 David Fincher getting lots of shout outs tonight, as he should be. His daughter is beautiful!

10:02 It's Kevin Spacey! With a George Clooney joke! And Mandy Moore looking pretty!

10:09 Wait a minute, that's Adrien Brody singing in a Stella Artois ad. Whaaat?

10:18 WAIT, WHAT IS THIS? THIS IS HILARIOUS!

10:20 That was just the best thing to ever happen to the Oscars. Auto-tuning.

10:40 Is Banksy there tonight? Or did he just skip out on the whole thing?

10:43 I don't have time to check it out, but apparently James Franco is real-time tweeting this whole thing, complete with backstage pictures and videos. Who knew he'd like Twitter so much? He joined like a week ago and tweets more than I do.

10:44 Gwenyth in a new dress! I like it.

10:52 That Randy Newman award just reminded me I haven't listened to the Ragtime soundtrack in a while. Just in time for me to mute Celine Dion and play "Back to Before"!

11:02 Catherine Bigelow! Hooray! Where might you be, James Cameron? Somewhere far away, I hope, feeling sorry for yourself. As you were.

11:03 Weeeelll, I now understand why Elvis shot so many of his TV sets. Fincher just lost Best Director - went to Tom Hooper for The King's Speech instead. A ridiculous snub, and one that does not bode well for Social Network's Best Picture chances.

11:11 I love how James Franco is just as annoyed with Anne Hathaway as I am.

11:16 Even Natalie doesn't look surprised when she wins (for Best Actress, if you've been living under a rock).

11:19 Play her offffff!

11:20 Weird to see Sandra up there after what happen after last year's Oscars. Someone on Jezebel after the clip of Michelle Williams: "CREEK FOREVER.

11:23 The visible and audible love for Jesse Eisenberg just made up (if only a little) for the Fincher snub. A huge round of applause, and a shot of Justin Timberlake looking so excited for him.

11:24 HAH, the shot of James Franco backstage. I don't know what's up with James Franco tonight. He's too weird for this stuff.

11:25 Colin Firth. Time for a charming, British speech!

11:30 Well, less charming than I expected. He seemed a little scattered. But I couldn't care less. Mr. Darcy has his Oscar..

11:35 Yes! Shot of Andrew smashing Jesse's laptop.

11:36 Biggest applause for True Grit, The Social Network, and Toy Story 3. But Best Picture goes to The King's Speech. Ughhhhhhhh. Someone get me Fincher's reaction shot. I'm going to make it my profile picture.

11:37 Well, I don't need to stick around for this acceptance speech. Goodnight, you princes and princesses, and thank you for reading. I appreciate it more than I can say. The next and only legitimate awards show (besides the Globes) is the Emmys in September (TV! TV! TV!), so we have that to look forward to. Oscars, I'm shaking my head.

90210ers

The whole gang on set, in a picture tweeted by one of their directors. I love casts that love each other.

Glee "Blame It On The Alcohol" Recap: Being Drunk’s A Lot Like Loving You

Glee, you self-fulfilling prophecy, you. A few bad episodes? Time for a really good, reminiscent-of-season-one, keep-the-viewers-coming-back-for-more episode!

It’s a shame that I’ve gotten so sick of this show that when the promos for Tuesday’s episode showed the kids getting drunk together, I was honestly thrilled. Why? BECAUSE NOTHING HAPPENS ON GLEE ANY MORE. Every episode goes as follows: Finn and Rachel break up and get back together, and Kurt cries, and Sue tries to bring down Glee Club, and the Glee kids finally accept that they are outsiders. And they never leave school. Getting out of McKinely is the best thing the show ever does for itself (hello, Kurt-Mercedes-Rachel sleepover), but those moments are few and far in between. 

But the strangest thing about Tuesday’s episode wasn’t that the kids were out of their element; it was that I hated all the music and still liked this episode! The dialogue was strong and the episode wasn’t too serious and so much was going on that it was able to stay afloat.

On to the recap: Figgins calls Will into his office and says that the school has an “epidemic” – kids are showing up to school drunk. He asks Will to have the Glee kids do a song at assembly that educates on the dangers of drinking. Because people think the Glee kids are super cool, so they will definitely listen.

Puck asks Rachel to have a party at her house this weekend because he is somehow aware that her dads are away – “this is the kind of information a guy like me tends to know.” I actually love their chemistry and this scene is adorable because she’s clearly charmed by him. Rachel tells him her dads left her alone because they trust her to be responsible, and Puck tells her “they left you alone because you suck.” HAH.

Rachel is trying to write original songs for Regionals, so she sings a really crap one for Finn called “My Headband.” Errr…Gossip Girl? Is that you? He tells her it’s crap, which is good of him, I guess, and that she needs to experience things outside of her comfort zone to write a good song.

Cue a 24-style split screen phone conversation with Santana and Brittany, Mercedes and Artie, and Puck. Puck can score some wine coolers, so “The Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza is a go.”

Blaine and Kurt arrive, and LE SIGH, Blaine looks even cuter in normal-people clothes than in his Warblers uniform. Soon everyone is there and it’s lame so everyone wants to leave. Puck says the only way they’re going to stay is if Rachel lets him break into her dad’s liquor cabinet.

And then it’s the obligatory shots of everyone getting wrecked, including one of Santana doing a tequila shot off of Brittany’s stomach. Ryan Murphy, there’s ridiculous, and then there’s ridiculous. But then there’s Lea Michele’s perfect delivery of “IT TASTES LIKE PINK!” after chugging a wine cooler. And the shot of Blaine dancing around wildly. And Finn acting like he’s above it all because he’s the designated driver, and Quinn being a wet blanket, which finally gave me a legitimate reason to hate them both. And Santana being a sad, insecure drunk. And Artie shouting “making it raaaaiiin!” And these are the things, Murphy, that redeem you and your stupid show all over again.

Spin the Bottle time! Blaine and Rachel kiss, and it’s weird, because it goes on for a little too long. But we all know he’s going to question his sexuality this week so whatever. Then they sing “Don’t you Want Me, Baby,” one of my least favorite songs ever. But it didn’t really piss me off that much! Maybe it is easier to watch Glee cover bad songs that I don’t care about then to see them cover good songs I love and butcher them with too much auto tune.

Morning after. Burt finds Blaine in Kurt’s bed. We all know nothing happened, but Burt doesn’t, and he’s freaked out, especially because Kurt doesn’t even mention it.

Back to McKinely. Tina: “I need to close my locker and it’s going to sound like a gunshot.” Hah. The crew is all hung over. Artie gives them bloody marys – hair of the dog, he says. They all drink up and sing “Blame it on the Alcohol.” Another song I don’t like at all. But actually, the dance moves are fun and they look like they’re having a blast. And it’s great to see Mercedes’ voice featured for a whole song instead of Rachel’s. Schu loves it. They are so good at acting drunk! Uhhh, they are drunk, you dolt. Sidenote: These ridiculously extravagant sets that somehow pop up in the auditorium and the matching costumes and choreographed light shows…harder and harder to let slip. Partly because all Schu ever does is complain about the Glee Club budget.

Rachel gives a little bow when Schu compliments their performance, and then proceeds to tell him his vest is cute and he is “all kinds of awesome.” Again, Lea Michele is fantastic in this scene and actually beginning to prove she can play something other than herself. But Schu tells them that the song glorifies alcohol rather than educates on it. The kids tell him he's out of touch. They are already aware of the dangers of alcohol and this whole thing is a waste of time.

Kurt is giving Blaine hell about kissing Rachel at the party when she happens to call Blaine and ask him out. He says yes, and Kurt kind of loses it. But Blaine tells him that when they kissed “it felt good,” and he’s never even had a boyfriend before, and he feels like this is the time to figure things out. Maybe he’s bisexual. Kurt says that “bisexual is a term that gay guys in high school use when they wanna hold hands with girls and feel like a normal person for a change.” Hmm. Not sure what side the show is on here. Kurt is obviously upset because his role model, who has always been sure of his sexuality, is now questioning it, but clearly he’s also jealous of Rachel.

Schu tells Beiste that maybe the kids were right; maybe he is out of touch. He certainly doesn’t do anything for fun lately. So she invites him to her fave honky-tonk bar, where they sing a stupid country song together and he proceeds to get black out drunk. She takes him home and he drunk dials Emma (Schu, always with the maturity) and leaves her an embarrassing “Hey there sexy lady…there’s something I reaaaallly reeeeallly want to say to you” voicemail. We don’t get to hear the rest of it. Yet.

Kurt is over helping Rachel clean up after the party, or as she rightly assesses, trying to figure out how her date with Blaine went. She says it was great, but they didn't kiss. Kurt tells Rachel he’s sure she and Blaine have a lot in common, but in all honesty, they don’t have chemistry. Rachel says she’s going to kiss Blaine sober and if the chemistry is still there, then Kurt will have to "eat a slice of humble pie."

Will is hung over at school the next day when he bumps into Emma and apologizes for the drunk dial, but she didn’t get a single message. Golly, folks, I wonder who he called by accident. Sue Sylvester! There you are! She tells him she got the message and says something about finally having the tools to take him down. The usual.

Kurt's house, where he is being a little bitch to his Dad. Seriously, the profanity is not for affect. He’s being a brat. He finally admits it’s about Blaine liking Rachel. Burt brings up the other night and tells Kurt he needs to ask before he has a guy sleep over. Kurt pulls the “you’re uncomfortable with it because I’m gay” card, which is such BS, because it’s obviously not about that at all. Burt couldn’t be more accepting of Kurt’s sexuality. He just doesn’t want his kid having sex under his roof. He would say the same to Finn if he had a girl sleep over. It’s settled, then, but Kurt gives Burt the least sincere apology I’ve seen in a while.

The kids are about to perform at the assembly, but they’re nervous because they haven’t rehearsed and something always goes wrong when they perform at school. Rachel has made a cocktail that sounds positively revolting, and everyone takes shot of it – “To Ke$ha!” They perform Tick Tock, which is great (there’s an adorable shot of Beiste singing along) until Brittany and Santana vomit.

The next day. Sue is on the school intercom, condemning the Glee Club for their performance. She calls Schu an “alcoholic teen vomit fetishist,” which is perfect, and plays his voicemail for the whole school, in which he tells Emma that he loves the way she eats her lunch with plastic gloves, and proposes “one night of getting crazy, rolling around in the hay.” Emma hears the whole thing, of course, and is obviously embarrassed but also visibly touched.

The Glee Club comes into Figgins’ office, all ready to get suspended, and he’s like “That special-effect vomiting was awesome! No one wants to drink any more! Good job!” Saaaaaweeeettttt. And Schu gets a free pass because Figgins’ pastor has agreed to talk to him, to which Schu is like, “Sure thing man! Never happening!”

Glee Club reunites in the classroom. Rachel never wants to drink again, Brittany says the assembly performance wouldn’t have worked without it. Schu gives them a pretty legit lecture, telling them what they did was not only unprofessional and stupid, it was illegal. Quinn, stupid snarky loser that she is, tells Schu that “it’s a fair amount of the pot calling the kettle black.” Brittany, in her best line in a while: “That is so racist.” Schu says he knows how hypocritical he sounds, so he’s going to stop drinking. He has more to live for. Like what? He doesn’t answer. Any way, he gives the kids sheets to sign, pledges to stop drinking until after Regionals. He puts his cell phone number in the corner just in case they feel tempted or ever need a designated driver. Everyone signs.

Rachel and Kurt are at the coffee shop waiting for Blaine, and it looks like Kurt has come around. He tells Rachel that she should rethink this whole kiss thing – no good can come of it, and no matter how he feels about Blaine, he doesn’t want Rachel getting hurt. But Blaine comes in and Rachel kisses him any way, and he’s like, “Yep, I’m gay. 100% gay.” And she isn’t hurt at all, actually. She’s psyched, because she had a 5 second relationship with a gay guy, so now she has lived! She has material to write a song about! And as we used to say at summer camp, a good day was had by all.

Quick shout-outs: Community had a pitch-perfect episode this Thursday, so much so that I didn’t want to write about it for fear of ruining it. If you're not watching that show, I can't fully explain just how much you're missing out. And props to 30 Rock for calling out Jezebel. Still one of my favorite websites, but they needed to be called out – for God’s sake, they write about “how far we’ve come and which women have the worst beach bodies.” It is a wonderful website, but it is a difficult website. (30 Rock also gets extra points this week because Jack said this to a teacher: “Quiet, Chalk Hands. A real man is talking.”) And finally, to Hugh Laurie, who continues to deliver on House. The last scene of Monday's episode was heartbreaking. He is at his best when the material is the most uncomfortable.

And finally, a reminder: liveblogging the Oscars tomorrow! Be sure to stop by! 

Everything Black Swan related is a bad idea

Gawker posted an article on this woman who tried "The Black Swan Diet" to lose five pounds before her wedding day. This meant all vegetarian meals, ballet classes, blah blah blah, you can read about it here. But the article, in a very non-Gawker like, non-snarky way, calls the woman out for trying a diet/exercise regimen that Natalie Portman did for a year to look the way she did. Not only does the author tell us that "endlessly vying to emulate her/him is only going to drive you as insane as she goes in the movie," there's this:

"They are famous people with nothing to do but diet, exercise, and tend to their bodies and they have unlimited resources and all sorts of assistance to do so. The rest of us have jobs, strange food cravings, lazy days, and incidental circumstances that keep us from the gym. There isn't something fundamentally wrong with us, we're just normal."

How about that. I've never been so happy to be normal. And Gawker, there may be hope for you yet.

Happiness

My favorite motley crew, minus Chevy Chase. This is a scan from a magazine, and he's on the other page. Thank goodness. Or else I would have had to title this post "Unhappiness." Sorry, Chevy...it's just that you suck.

Good news!

And about damn time, too.

Damn you, Mchale

In a video that is 1 minute and 39 seconds long, Joel McHale has unintentionally made a short film of my life. He says things like "I guess I have to watch these [movies] now...why is my life so hard?" which I believe my friends would tell you is all I ever say, and also displays completely inappropriate reactions to Oscar-nominated movies, which is all I ever do (ex: this blog). Oops?

Oh ma ga

If this is legit, I will be the happiest girl in the world.

For every well-intentioned, honest reporter...

there's a whole magazine staff of lying ones! Loved this all-too-true article about actresses and food. However, Rolling Stone continues to make my stomach turn.

In honor of Valentine's Day

A happy one to all!

Lazy Sunday

Two things:

1) Donald Glover from NBC's Community is Troy in real life, too, except for smarter. But just as funny and just as much of a pop culture nerd, which i love. Check this out.

2) Currently over at the Entertainment Weekly Grammys LiveBlog. Dancing around the room every time they decide I'm funny enough to re-publish a comment of mine. (Rarely). Come join!

The good, bad, and ugly over the past couple of days

Good:

Glee’s Valentine’s Day episode last night. For all of Glee’s flaws – and believe me, I know there are many – the best episodes are not the ones in which the show tries to be relevant and poignant and have fantastic, showy musical numbers and also make fun of itself but also take itself seriously, and give everyone screen time and have two celebrity guests. The best episodes are the ones where – simply – there are a couple really strong moments, and they outweigh the weak ones. Santana (the beautiful and talented Naya Rivera) finally got a plotline. Mark Salling committed to the ridiculousness of Puck crushing on Lauren, so it worked, and 10 points for his perfect delivery of “What is this place?” when she takes him to the library. Blaine sang a Robin Thicke song. Sighhhh. Kurt finally confronted him about all of their sexual tension, thank God. It was starting to look like a Josh and Donna West Wing situation for a little while there. Mercedes got to explain why she’s the one character that’s not desperate for a relationship – “Look at me. I don’t have a date for Valentine’s Day and I could give a rip. The three of us are divas...everybody feels lonely. Harnessing this pain is why [our heroes] became legends.” A nice response from the creators to the numerous bloggers wondering why they haven’t given her a love interest yet. And Rachel was suddenly self-aware (but devastatingly so) when she acknowledged that "girls like [her] don't usually get chosen over girls like Quinn." But still, Finn and Quinn are totally unlikeable, Kurt switched schools to get more personal attention and he hasn’t had one solo yet, and Tina crying during her song was decidedly un-funny. Ah, well…beggars can’t be choosers.

Colin Firth in the billions of interviews he’s had to do lately because of his King’s Speech Oscar buzz. He is the most humble, sweet, funny, and unaffected movie star out there, and he takes what he does with just the right mix of seriousness and humor. I would say he’s charming, because he is, but he doesn’t even mean to be. It is time for his Oscar, but really, after his performances in films like When Did You Last See Your Father? and A Single Man, of course it is time.

How I Met Your Mother went back to being funny! Other than the utterly useless Katy Perry cameo – God, she’s annoying – Monday’s episode was pitch-perfect. I loved seeing the story from everyone but Ted’s perspective for once – hilarious – and Marshall’s family getting as excited as we were that Zoe is finally single. WHY CAN’T SHE BE THE MOTHER? I LOVE DR. CAMERON!

The New York Times gets their balls back (don’t ask me when they lost them, I’m 20 years old) and finally reviews Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark. And totally eviscerates it. YES. About time.

I haven’t been crazy about House lately because I think the writers kind of screwed up House and Cuddy finally getting together, Wilson has been MIA, and I don’t like Candace Bergen at all, who has been playing Cuddy’s mom. But Mama Cuddy was the patient of the week on Monday, and House – for the first time ever – used the “Do it or you’re fired” line on his team when trying to save her. That’s the House I know and love! Enough of this one step forward, two steps back business with he and Cuddy. He literally threatened four people’s jobs to get them to save a woman he barely knows for the woman he loves. Nice.

This, because why the hell not?

Jesse Eisenberg on going to the Oscars: "I feel like when I was 13 and I had to go to bar mitzvahs every weekend. This is the same feeling. You have to put on a suit every weekend to go meet with a bunch of Jews."

Bad:

I DON’T CARE ABOUT MICHELLE OBAMA’S STYLE. And if you do, you need to find a hobby. I guess there’s this new book out about her fashion sense – really, a book? – and of course it’s getting a lot of press - female bloggers in particular are eating it up.

Annie’s cousin is trying to sabotage her on 90210. I'm yawning.

The incredibly strange way in which all of my favorite shows have ended up being ones aired during the summer – Mad Men, Weeds, Breaking Bad, and Friday Night Lights. No, I don’t have DirecTV. Leave me alone.

Artists releasing “teasers” of their music videos – Britney, I’m looking at you. Music videos are roughly three-minute long videos of you lipsyncing at a camera. Not that special and certainly not worthy of teasers to hype them up.

Ugly:

Gawker and Jezebel's new layouts. UGH.

Jude Law and Sienna Miller have broken up (again). I hate myself for saying this, but I was pulling for those two crazy kids. Now I’ll go to People.com and couples like J.Lo and Marc Antony or Blake Lively and Insert It Boy Here will somehow stay together and revel in their publicity and not be English or cute.

When does Sherlock start up again? I’ve watched the first season’s three episodes probably 20 times each now…

Just Go With It – the new romcom starring the mind-numbingly one-note Jennifer Aniston and completely unappealing Adam Sandler. Aren’t there already enough bad movies out there? Now there’s one in which it’s totally plausible that Adam Sandler would date Brooklyn Decker and Jennifer Aniston would agree to pretend to be his ex-wife? And it would be funny? And people would pay money to see it?

Weeeeelll, this just ended on a much more negative note than I intended…errr…I’ll post something happy ASAP!

HP to receive BAFTA honor

I know I use the term well-deserved too often on here, but this is something that really, really is. I can't even begin to explain why, because Harry's world was mine, my family's, my friends' - for 10 whole years. I'm holding off on saying goodbye to it for as long as possible.

Goodbye to The White Stripes and other news...

Today was the opposite of a slow news day, namely because of the official breakup of the incomparable White Stripes. Not really surprising - both Jack and Meg have had a number of projects on their own over the past few years - but sad nonetheless. Dianna Agron tweeted: "Now the White Stripes belong to us. 13 years is a great run." I think she hit the nail on the head. Also, rumors are a-swirling that Joseph Gordon-Levitt may be cast in Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. So exciting. I really hope it works out; Hollywood doesn't put him in half as many movies as they should. Would maybe-kind of-sort of make up for the complete miscasting of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman. Ugh. And finally, SNL booked Russell Brand for their February 12th show - which I'm psyched about - but Chris Brown is the musical guest. Umm, what? Wasn't he supposed to be blacklisted from like...everywhere...forever? If not, shouldn't he be??

PS - I just finished watching Never Let Me Go. A fantastic film, but should probably come with a "WARNING: NOT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART" label for those who haven't read the book. I was in tears 5 minutes in. And Andrew Garfield, as usual, just wrecked me. In the best possible way, he absolutely wrecked me. That kid can do no wrong.

I love iTunes

for this post alone, from customer reviews of The Social Network:

Subject line: "You have to watch this"

Review: Watch this.

Oscar nomz

Just three frustrating snubs this year for me. Christopher Nolan gets no Best Director nom for Inception; instead it goes to critical darlings Joel and Ethan Coen. The Town gets absolutely nothing. Oscars: learn to love blockbusters (yes, they can be smart, too) or you will stay irrelevant forever. No Best Supporting Actor nom for Andrew Garfield, which is just plain stupid. The Social Network worked because of his gorgeous performance. I effing love those crazy Tumblr kids for already creating this.

Also, all this Oscar insanity means it's time for this: