Conan O'Brien didn't go to school for comedy, but he was always a writer. In high school, he wrote for his school newspaper, the Sagamore. He would go on to major in history and literature at Harvard and wrote his college thesis on the works of William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor. He also contributed to the notorious Harvard Lampoon. He always had a sense of humor, but was more of a book nerd and lit-facing intellectual than a standup comedy enthusiast. It was at some point in college that O'Brien was bitten by the showbiz bug, and he moved to Los Angeles in his early 20s to pursue a career in writing. He got gigs with "Not Necessarily the News," and would be hired by "Saturday Night Live" in 1988.
Shortly after O'Brien left "SNL," citing burnout, he was offered a job writing for the hit animated sitcom "The Simpsons." Already...
Shortly after O'Brien left "SNL," citing burnout, he was offered a job writing for the hit animated sitcom "The Simpsons." Already...
- 7/9/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Larry David is known for his cantankerous rants, on talk shows, on Curb Your Enthusiasm and in real life. But here’s a secret, according to his Curb costar Susie Essman: David absolutely loves it when people yell at him.
Conan O’Brien used to be roommates with Jeff Garlin when the two young comics were on the rise, he told Essman on his Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast. “We’ve known each other forever, so I took particular joy when you would go after Jeff,” O’Brien said. “‘You fat fuck!’ I would be crying laughing.”
Maybe O’Brien didn’t notice, responded Essman, but as Curb progressed, her character spent less time yelling at Garlin and more time screaming at someone else. “Larry kind of saved me, as these seasons went on, he would save me more and more for him. Less and less for Jeff,” she explained.
Conan O’Brien used to be roommates with Jeff Garlin when the two young comics were on the rise, he told Essman on his Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast. “We’ve known each other forever, so I took particular joy when you would go after Jeff,” O’Brien said. “‘You fat fuck!’ I would be crying laughing.”
Maybe O’Brien didn’t notice, responded Essman, but as Curb progressed, her character spent less time yelling at Garlin and more time screaming at someone else. “Larry kind of saved me, as these seasons went on, he would save me more and more for him. Less and less for Jeff,” she explained.
- 6/27/2024
- Cracked
Update: As first reported by Soap Opera Network on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, Dan O’Connor has joined the writing team of “Days of our Lives” as a scriptwriter.
“I’ve been very fortunate that I joined the team at ‘Days of our Lives,’” O’Connor said to Soap Opera Network, fresh off the stage from winning his first-ever Daytime Emmy Award for his previous work as co-head writer at “General Hospital,” working alongside Chris Van Etten.
“I’m very excited to be a member of that team, and just happy to still be in this genre that I love so much,” continued O’Connor,” who noted, “I get to work with Ron [Carlivati, head writer], I get to work with Katie [Schock] and Jamey [Giddens]… I’m very, very excited.”
Although O’Connor began working on the show in early May, a representative confirms that his first scripts will not air until the end...
“I’ve been very fortunate that I joined the team at ‘Days of our Lives,’” O’Connor said to Soap Opera Network, fresh off the stage from winning his first-ever Daytime Emmy Award for his previous work as co-head writer at “General Hospital,” working alongside Chris Van Etten.
“I’m very excited to be a member of that team, and just happy to still be in this genre that I love so much,” continued O’Connor,” who noted, “I get to work with Ron [Carlivati, head writer], I get to work with Katie [Schock] and Jamey [Giddens]… I’m very, very excited.”
Although O’Connor began working on the show in early May, a representative confirms that his first scripts will not air until the end...
- 6/11/2024
- by Errol Lewis
- Soap Opera Network
Chicago – I call him the Rosetta Stone of Show Business for the modern comedy era. Rob Smigel will appear in Chicago as the legendary Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at the Den Theatre Live on Monday June 3rd, 2024, with “Let’s Make a Poop,” featuring special guests and more! Get tickets and more info at Poop.
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (voice of Rob Smigel) brings his celebrated game show “Let’s Make A Poop” to Chicago with celebrity panelists former (and disgraced) Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Cubs legend Ryan Dempster, WGN Weatherman Paul Konrad and more surprises to come.
Let’s Make a Poop
Photo credit: TheDenTheatre.com
After years of toiling in the Catskills burying hookers for Henny Youngman, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog became an overnight national treasure after first appearing on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” in 1997. He has famously pooped on the Westminster Dog Show,...
Triumph the Insult Comic Dog (voice of Rob Smigel) brings his celebrated game show “Let’s Make A Poop” to Chicago with celebrity panelists former (and disgraced) Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, Cubs legend Ryan Dempster, WGN Weatherman Paul Konrad and more surprises to come.
Let’s Make a Poop
Photo credit: TheDenTheatre.com
After years of toiling in the Catskills burying hookers for Henny Youngman, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog became an overnight national treasure after first appearing on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” in 1997. He has famously pooped on the Westminster Dog Show,...
- 5/31/2024
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Dan Goor is developing a new comedy series at Max, Variety has learned exclusively.
Currently titled “Dead Drop,” the official logline of the project states, “A typical American family goes on vacation to Europe and accidentally gets sucked into the high-stakes world of international espionage.”
Goor is writing the series and will serve as an executive producer under his Dr. Goor Productions banner. Matt Milkovich is a producer. Universal Television will serve as the studio.
Goor has a long-standing relationship with Universal TV. He and the studio previously collaborated on the popular single-camera ensemble cop comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” Goor co-created the series and served as showrunner and executive producer. The show received 11 Emmy nominations throughout its run, including four nods for the late Andre Braugher. It aired for five seasons on Fox and an additional three seasons on NBC.
Goor also worked on the popular NBC comedy series “Parks and Recreation,...
Currently titled “Dead Drop,” the official logline of the project states, “A typical American family goes on vacation to Europe and accidentally gets sucked into the high-stakes world of international espionage.”
Goor is writing the series and will serve as an executive producer under his Dr. Goor Productions banner. Matt Milkovich is a producer. Universal Television will serve as the studio.
Goor has a long-standing relationship with Universal TV. He and the studio previously collaborated on the popular single-camera ensemble cop comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” Goor co-created the series and served as showrunner and executive producer. The show received 11 Emmy nominations throughout its run, including four nods for the late Andre Braugher. It aired for five seasons on Fox and an additional three seasons on NBC.
Goor also worked on the popular NBC comedy series “Parks and Recreation,...
- 5/30/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
The travel series “Conan O’Brien Must Go” has been renewed for Season 2 at Max.
The announcement was made as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation to advertisers in New York on Wednesday. The second season of the series will consist of six episodes, whereas the first season was four.
“This latest travel show has been so fun and rewarding that I suspected it was all a cruel prank. My apologies in advance to the next six countries,” O’Brien said in a statement.
In Season 1, O’Brien travels to Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Ireland, surprising people he met through his podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan.”
“Conan’s ridiculousness knows no bounds,” said Nina Rosenstein, executive vice president of HBO programming, late night & specials. “Our audience told us in no uncertain terms that four episodes of ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ is not nearly enough. To which we say,...
The announcement was made as part of the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation to advertisers in New York on Wednesday. The second season of the series will consist of six episodes, whereas the first season was four.
“This latest travel show has been so fun and rewarding that I suspected it was all a cruel prank. My apologies in advance to the next six countries,” O’Brien said in a statement.
In Season 1, O’Brien travels to Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Ireland, surprising people he met through his podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan.”
“Conan’s ridiculousness knows no bounds,” said Nina Rosenstein, executive vice president of HBO programming, late night & specials. “Our audience told us in no uncertain terms that four episodes of ‘Conan O’Brien Must Go’ is not nearly enough. To which we say,...
- 5/15/2024
- by Joe Otterson
- Variety Film + TV
Hulu has given a piot order to “Downforce” (working title), a comedy pilot written and executive produced by “Silicon Valley” writers Alec Berg and Adam Countee.
The official logline for “Downforce” reads, “When the heiress to a dynastic racing team is thrust back into the family business, she needs to make some hard choices about the future of the team and her family’s legacy.”
The pilot will be produced by ABC Signature, where Berg and Countee both have overall deals. Non-writing executive producers include Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey of Temple Hill as well as Daniel Ricciardo, Amy Solomon and Lionsgate Television.
Berg is best known for serving as showrunner and executive producer on “Silicon Valley,” which ran on HBO for six seasons from 2014 to 2019, and for co-creating HBO’s “Barry,” which concluded after four seasons in 2023. Earlier in his career, he joined “Seinfeld” in its sixth season as...
The official logline for “Downforce” reads, “When the heiress to a dynastic racing team is thrust back into the family business, she needs to make some hard choices about the future of the team and her family’s legacy.”
The pilot will be produced by ABC Signature, where Berg and Countee both have overall deals. Non-writing executive producers include Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey of Temple Hill as well as Daniel Ricciardo, Amy Solomon and Lionsgate Television.
Berg is best known for serving as showrunner and executive producer on “Silicon Valley,” which ran on HBO for six seasons from 2014 to 2019, and for co-creating HBO’s “Barry,” which concluded after four seasons in 2023. Earlier in his career, he joined “Seinfeld” in its sixth season as...
- 5/8/2024
- by Selome Hailu
- Variety Film + TV
Alec Berg and Adam Countee are moving from Silicon Valley to the world of F1.
Hulu is teaming with the duo for Downforce, a comedy that has been picked up to pilot at the Disney-run streamer.
Described as Entourage set in the world of Formula 1 racing, Downforce follows what happens when the heiress to a dynastic racing team is thrust back into the family business and the hard choices she must make about the future of the team and her family’s legacy.
Berg and Countee will write and serve as showrunners on the potential series, which is produced by ABC Signature. Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey will exec produce alongside Berg, Countee, Aussie F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo and Amy Solomon. The latter serves as head of development for Berg’s ABC Signature-based production company after working with the writer-producer on Barry and Silicon Valley. Ricciardo...
Hulu is teaming with the duo for Downforce, a comedy that has been picked up to pilot at the Disney-run streamer.
Described as Entourage set in the world of Formula 1 racing, Downforce follows what happens when the heiress to a dynastic racing team is thrust back into the family business and the hard choices she must make about the future of the team and her family’s legacy.
Berg and Countee will write and serve as showrunners on the potential series, which is produced by ABC Signature. Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey will exec produce alongside Berg, Countee, Aussie F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo and Amy Solomon. The latter serves as head of development for Berg’s ABC Signature-based production company after working with the writer-producer on Barry and Silicon Valley. Ricciardo...
- 5/8/2024
- by Lesley Goldberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Eva Mendes is known for her insanely good looks and has often been considered one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood. The Hitch star is known for her roles in films such as Ghost Rider, We Own The Night, and The Place Beyond the Pines, the latter of which was where she met her future partner Ryan Gosling.
While it has been a while since she has starred in any film, Eva Mendes was the subject of a tabloid rumor back in 2007. The actress was reportedly rumored to be pregnant after being seen by paparazzi with a ‘bump’. However, the actress denied the claim back then and Evan promoted body positivity by speaking about how putting on a little bit of weight was not that big of a deal.
Eva Mendes Was Rumored To Have Been Pregnant Back In 2007 Eva Mendes in The Other Guys
Actress Eva Mendes has...
While it has been a while since she has starred in any film, Eva Mendes was the subject of a tabloid rumor back in 2007. The actress was reportedly rumored to be pregnant after being seen by paparazzi with a ‘bump’. However, the actress denied the claim back then and Evan promoted body positivity by speaking about how putting on a little bit of weight was not that big of a deal.
Eva Mendes Was Rumored To Have Been Pregnant Back In 2007 Eva Mendes in The Other Guys
Actress Eva Mendes has...
- 4/23/2024
- by Nishanth A
- FandomWire
Bygones!
Conan O’Brien will appear on NBC’s The Tonight Show in early April, marking his return to the late-night series he briefly hosted — and was unceremoniously let go from — 14 years ago.
More from TVLineChicago Fire Casts Michael Bradway to Play New Firefighter in Season 12 Following Rome Flynn Exit1923's Cole Brings Plenty Missing, Named as Suspect in Alleged Domestic Violence IncidentIs Grey's Anatomy Bracing for a Mass Cast Exodus Ahead of Season 21?
O’Brien will be a guest on Tuesday, April 9, chatting with current host Jimmy Fallon about Conan O’Brien Must Go, his new series on Max. The...
Conan O’Brien will appear on NBC’s The Tonight Show in early April, marking his return to the late-night series he briefly hosted — and was unceremoniously let go from — 14 years ago.
More from TVLineChicago Fire Casts Michael Bradway to Play New Firefighter in Season 12 Following Rome Flynn Exit1923's Cole Brings Plenty Missing, Named as Suspect in Alleged Domestic Violence IncidentIs Grey's Anatomy Bracing for a Mass Cast Exodus Ahead of Season 21?
O’Brien will be a guest on Tuesday, April 9, chatting with current host Jimmy Fallon about Conan O’Brien Must Go, his new series on Max. The...
- 4/3/2024
- by Kimberly Roots
- TVLine.com
Actor and comedian Adam Sandler is a man with many accolades to his name. From being a quintessential rom-com lead to bringing his humor to the screens since he was in his early 20s, Sandler has a pretty impressive portfolio. But did you know that before he started doing movies, he was part of Saturday Night Live, the comic sketch show on NBC?
Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore
Adam Sandler was a cast member on SNL from 1990 to 1995, and part of many hit sketches in his tenure as a writer and eventually a featured artist. But in 1995, even before his contract expired, he was shown the door by the show executives. Till date, no one really knows what happened behind the scene that led to Sandler being fired from the show. But he got his revenge on NBC soon, and how!
Adam Sandler Was Fired by NBC From SNL
Soon after leaving SNL,...
Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore
Adam Sandler was a cast member on SNL from 1990 to 1995, and part of many hit sketches in his tenure as a writer and eventually a featured artist. But in 1995, even before his contract expired, he was shown the door by the show executives. Till date, no one really knows what happened behind the scene that led to Sandler being fired from the show. But he got his revenge on NBC soon, and how!
Adam Sandler Was Fired by NBC From SNL
Soon after leaving SNL,...
- 3/26/2024
- by Swagata Das
- FandomWire
As “The Office” showrunner Greg Daniels looks to create a new series in the world of Dunder Mifflin, he’s tapped “Nathan for You” co-creator Michael Koman to help lead the project, sources tell Variety.
Daniels and Koman would serve as co-creators of the prospective series, which has not yet been greenlit to series and is still in development at Universal Television. It is not a reboot of “The Office” but is set in the same universe, meaning it would likely be set in a different office setting with all new characters.
Daniels opened a development room in January 2024 to begin working on the new iteration of the hit NBC mockumentary sitcom, which ran from 2005 to 2013 and was adapted from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s British series of the same name. The American “Office” took place in Scranton, Penn., and followed the staff of a paper company. It starred Steve Carell,...
Daniels and Koman would serve as co-creators of the prospective series, which has not yet been greenlit to series and is still in development at Universal Television. It is not a reboot of “The Office” but is set in the same universe, meaning it would likely be set in a different office setting with all new characters.
Daniels opened a development room in January 2024 to begin working on the new iteration of the hit NBC mockumentary sitcom, which ran from 2005 to 2013 and was adapted from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant’s British series of the same name. The American “Office” took place in Scranton, Penn., and followed the staff of a paper company. It starred Steve Carell,...
- 3/20/2024
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: As Greg Daniels continues to work with a group of writers on what could become an expansion of The Office universe, Nathan For You co-creator Michael Koman has emerged as a leading creative voice. If Daniels’ new mockumentary exploratory project gets greenlighted to series, Koman will serve as the offshoot’s co-creator, Deadline has learned.
The potential Office follow-up, from Universal Television, remains in development.
As Deadline revealed exclusively in January, the prospective new series, which is not a reboot, would likely be set in a new office with new characters but live within the same world as the Steve Carell-led mockumentary series which follows employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Daniels has indicated that a new Office iteration could follow a crew doing a documentary about a different subject.
Koman has the perfect background for that — Nathan For You, which...
The potential Office follow-up, from Universal Television, remains in development.
As Deadline revealed exclusively in January, the prospective new series, which is not a reboot, would likely be set in a new office with new characters but live within the same world as the Steve Carell-led mockumentary series which follows employees at the Scranton, Pennsylvania, branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Daniels has indicated that a new Office iteration could follow a crew doing a documentary about a different subject.
Koman has the perfect background for that — Nathan For You, which...
- 3/20/2024
- by Rosy Cordero and Nellie Andreeva
- Deadline Film + TV
Three years ago, when Conan O’Brien retired from late-night, it was a very different world. Max was known as HBO Max. TBS was still releasing original series. David Zaslav had just been announced as the CEO of what would become Warner Bros. Discovery. Change was in the air, and now many, many changes have happened.
But Conan remains a constant. Before “Conan” (the late-night series on TBS) welcomed its last guests, its host had already launched a wildly successful podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.” He soon sold his booming digital media business to SiriusXM for $150 million, produced stand-up specials (“Chris Redd: Why Am I Like This?” and “Gary Gulman: Born on Third Base”) and podcast series (from Rob Lowe and Andy Richter), and acted in everything from “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” and “Murderville” to “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” and “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.
But Conan remains a constant. Before “Conan” (the late-night series on TBS) welcomed its last guests, its host had already launched a wildly successful podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.” He soon sold his booming digital media business to SiriusXM for $150 million, produced stand-up specials (“Chris Redd: Why Am I Like This?” and “Gary Gulman: Born on Third Base”) and podcast series (from Rob Lowe and Andy Richter), and acted in everything from “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain” and “Murderville” to “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” and “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On.
- 3/19/2024
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Conan O’Brien’s new international travel series Conan O’Brien Must Go will premiere on Max on Thursday, April 18, the comedian, podcaster and longtime late-night host unveiled today at SXSW. All four episodes will be available to stream.
Max and Conan announced the show last spring. “My fans around the globe never asked me to visit them, so I did,” the Emmy-winner quipped at the time.
It follows Conan as he travels far and wide, setting himself down in Norway, Thailand, Argentina and Ireland, to meet some of the people he had previously interviewed for his podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan — a spin-off of the popular podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
Some trailers and teasers of the global goofiness have emerged but today’s session “fireside chat” in a packed ballroom at the Austin Convention Center, rolled out “never before seen” footage — of him skewering stale food...
Max and Conan announced the show last spring. “My fans around the globe never asked me to visit them, so I did,” the Emmy-winner quipped at the time.
It follows Conan as he travels far and wide, setting himself down in Norway, Thailand, Argentina and Ireland, to meet some of the people he had previously interviewed for his podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan — a spin-off of the popular podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.
Some trailers and teasers of the global goofiness have emerged but today’s session “fireside chat” in a packed ballroom at the Austin Convention Center, rolled out “never before seen” footage — of him skewering stale food...
- 3/9/2024
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
When I was a younger man, Conan O'Brien was the king of late night. I'm not talking in terms of ratings; I'm talking in terms of popularity among my peers. Jay Leno was boring and unfunny, Letterman was once great but had lost a step, and Conan was the absolute best. His style of humor, which leaned into the absurd, made his late-night talk show "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" worth staying up for.
While Conan flourished on his own talk show on NBC, in a timeslot that once belonged to Letterman before Letterman moved to CBS, there was one gig he coveted: hosting "The Tonight Show." Despite the presence of the hacky Jay Leno, "The Tonight Show" remained a storied institution; it was legendary, and Conan O'Brien very badly wanted to host it someday. And he did! You might have memory-holed this, or never learned it, but there was...
While Conan flourished on his own talk show on NBC, in a timeslot that once belonged to Letterman before Letterman moved to CBS, there was one gig he coveted: hosting "The Tonight Show." Despite the presence of the hacky Jay Leno, "The Tonight Show" remained a storied institution; it was legendary, and Conan O'Brien very badly wanted to host it someday. And he did! You might have memory-holed this, or never learned it, but there was...
- 2/22/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
‘Friends’ star Lisa Kudrow gave her ex-boyfriend Conan O’Brien some unconventional encouragement when he was preparing to succeed David Letterman on NBC’s ‘Late Night’, New York Post reported. As per Vanity Fair history of the first year of ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’, his then girlfriend, Kudrow (now 60), said, “I don’t know how much we talked about it. I just knew, ‘You’re trying to replace David Letterman.”
She had said, “No one replaces David Letterman. You’re no one.”
“It can’t be anybody that an audience would know,” she said.
As per New York Post, Letterman (76) helmed the show from 1982 to 1993 before moving from NBC to CBS to host ‘The Late Show With David Letterman’ from 1993 will his retirement in 2015.
Conan, who led the show from September 1993 to February 2009, was unknown at the time when he started, which Kudrow tried to say was a good thing.
She had said, “No one replaces David Letterman. You’re no one.”
“It can’t be anybody that an audience would know,” she said.
As per New York Post, Letterman (76) helmed the show from 1982 to 1993 before moving from NBC to CBS to host ‘The Late Show With David Letterman’ from 1993 will his retirement in 2015.
Conan, who led the show from September 1993 to February 2009, was unknown at the time when he started, which Kudrow tried to say was a good thing.
- 12/23/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
You wouldn’t expect an animated film about a talking iguana to draw equal inspiration from Andy Kaufman and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” but that just might help explain the wide appeal of Netflix’s smash hit “Leo.” It also makes perfect sense when you consider the creative minds behind Adam Sandler-led project, which includes his longtime collaborator and comedy’s not-so-secret weapon, Robert Smigel.
Though perhaps best known to audiences for his work as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the foul-mouthed canine puppet who began life on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” where Smigel was the first head writer. But Smigel was also behind some of the most memorable comic moments of the last 30 years. On “Saturday Night Live” he created countless indelible sketches and the animated segment “TV Funhouse,” which received its own spin-off series on Comedy Central. He wrote and performed on the brilliant but short-lived “Dana Carvey Show,...
Though perhaps best known to audiences for his work as Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, the foul-mouthed canine puppet who began life on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” where Smigel was the first head writer. But Smigel was also behind some of the most memorable comic moments of the last 30 years. On “Saturday Night Live” he created countless indelible sketches and the animated segment “TV Funhouse,” which received its own spin-off series on Comedy Central. He wrote and performed on the brilliant but short-lived “Dana Carvey Show,...
- 12/19/2023
- by Jenelle Riley
- Variety Film + TV
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria and actor, writer and producer Mindy Kaling have been named to The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘2023 Women in Entertainment Power 100’ list for ‘setting box office records, filling arenas and putting Hollywood back to work’.
The two Indian-Americans, along with several other women executives, performers and powerhouses from the industry were honoured on Thursday as “women who over-delivered in 2023, setting the standard for success in the shifting cultural marketplace”.
Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 and was named Chief Content Officer of Netflix in January 2023 — a move that made her responsible for the streaming service’s TV and film output.
She is responsible for hits including ‘Bridgerton’, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, ‘Lupin’ and ‘Cobra Kai’.
In her present role, Bajaria manages a $17 billion annual content budget and oversees teams in 27 countries.
During the past 12 months, she has brought Netflix’s 238 million members some of its most popular titles, including...
The two Indian-Americans, along with several other women executives, performers and powerhouses from the industry were honoured on Thursday as “women who over-delivered in 2023, setting the standard for success in the shifting cultural marketplace”.
Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 and was named Chief Content Officer of Netflix in January 2023 — a move that made her responsible for the streaming service’s TV and film output.
She is responsible for hits including ‘Bridgerton’, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, ‘Lupin’ and ‘Cobra Kai’.
In her present role, Bajaria manages a $17 billion annual content budget and oversees teams in 27 countries.
During the past 12 months, she has brought Netflix’s 238 million members some of its most popular titles, including...
- 12/10/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria and actor, writer and producer Mindy Kaling have been named to The Hollywood Reporter’s ‘2023 Women in Entertainment Power 100’ list for ‘setting box office records, filling arenas and putting Hollywood back to work’.
The two Indian-Americans, along with several other women executives, performers and powerhouses from the industry were honoured on Thursday as “women who over-delivered in 2023, setting the standard for success in the shifting cultural marketplace”.
Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 and was named Chief Content Officer of Netflix in January 2023 — a move that made her responsible for the streaming service’s TV and film output.
She is responsible for hits including ‘Bridgerton’, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, ‘Lupin’ and ‘Cobra Kai’.
In her present role, Bajaria manages a $17 billion annual content budget and oversees teams in 27 countries.
During the past 12 months, she has brought Netflix’s 238 million members some of its most popular titles, including...
The two Indian-Americans, along with several other women executives, performers and powerhouses from the industry were honoured on Thursday as “women who over-delivered in 2023, setting the standard for success in the shifting cultural marketplace”.
Bajaria joined Netflix in 2016 and was named Chief Content Officer of Netflix in January 2023 — a move that made her responsible for the streaming service’s TV and film output.
She is responsible for hits including ‘Bridgerton’, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, ‘Lupin’ and ‘Cobra Kai’.
In her present role, Bajaria manages a $17 billion annual content budget and oversees teams in 27 countries.
During the past 12 months, she has brought Netflix’s 238 million members some of its most popular titles, including...
- 12/10/2023
- by Agency News Desk
Surviving Nirvana members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic are set to appear on the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast next week in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the band’s final album, In Utero. Update: Listen to the full episode here. In an advance clip premiered at Billboard, Grohl and Novoselic (along with In Utero producer/engineer Steve Albini) chatted with O’Brien about the band’s dizzying rise following the release of their second studio album, Nevermind, in 1991.
O’Brien began the conversation by recalling how there was just a three-day window between the September 1993 release of In Utero and the debut of his show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien. “I remembered the music on the album — because I was such a huge fan — being background music to the terror and the weirdness of me starting a late night show from complete obscurity in 1993,” he said.
Grohl...
O’Brien began the conversation by recalling how there was just a three-day window between the September 1993 release of In Utero and the debut of his show, Late Night with Conan O’Brien. “I remembered the music on the album — because I was such a huge fan — being background music to the terror and the weirdness of me starting a late night show from complete obscurity in 1993,” he said.
Grohl...
- 10/20/2023
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
The Signal Awards, celebrating the world’s best podcasts, today announced the Winners for its second annual honors. Some of the world’s most influential, entertaining and informative voices are taking top prizes, including Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Eva Longoria, Kit Harington, Kevin Hart, Hoda Kotb, Doja Cat, QuestLove, Jill Scott, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ashley Johnson, Jon Stewart, Ed Helms, Snoop Dogg, Björk, Steve Yeun, Kevin Pang and Miranda Keeling. Notable podcasts such as HBO’s The Last of Us Podcast, The Slowdown, Netflix is a Daily Joke, Operation: Tradebom, And That’s Why We Drink, Growing Up Powerful and She's a 10 Times 5 are also receiving Gold Awards for exceptional work.
“2023 was a huge year for podcasts, as worldwide listenership continued to skyrocket and new trends emerged,” said Signal Awards managing director Deondric Royster. “The winners of the second annual Signal Awards represent the best of the industry: those who are pushing boundaries,...
“2023 was a huge year for podcasts, as worldwide listenership continued to skyrocket and new trends emerged,” said Signal Awards managing director Deondric Royster. “The winners of the second annual Signal Awards represent the best of the industry: those who are pushing boundaries,...
- 10/11/2023
- Podnews.net
A fresh-faced comedian walks through New York after having woken up and feeding his fish. He's got a nearly beatific smile on his face as he's wished good luck and almost instantly told by those same people (with sarcastic tones) that there's no pressure, because he's been chosen to replace one of the most beloved comedians to ever grace the small screen. He's tall, lanky, with a shock of red hair, and he's just barely reached the age of 30. Everyone from John Tesh to Tom Brokaw to passers-by give him some version of these remarks ("Ya better be as good as Letterman!"), and he takes them all in good stride. He walks into 30 Rockefeller Center, gets ready for his first TV hosting gig, taking over the "Late Night" show on NBC at 12:35 am. He walks into his dressing room, where he proceeds to attempt hanging himself. It's only when...
- 9/12/2023
- by Josh Spiegel
- Slash Film
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ 2002 interview on “The Rosie O’Donnell Show” resurfaced on social media after the two actors apologized for writing letters of support for Danny Masterson ahead of his sentencing for rape. In the viral clip, Kunis reveals that Masterson once bet Kutcher $10 to French kiss her while filming an episode of their Fox sitcom “That ’70s Show.” The actors are in good spirits about the incident, but the clip has amassed over four million views and counting in the days after Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life for rape.
“She was 14 when we started the show. I was 19,” Kutcher says in the 2002 interview. “And they were like, ‘You guys are going to be making out in this scene.’ And I’m thinking, ‘Wait, this is slightly illegal.'”
“I’ve never kissed a guy,” Kunis adds. “I was a 14-year-old little girl and I was extremely scared for my life.
“She was 14 when we started the show. I was 19,” Kutcher says in the 2002 interview. “And they were like, ‘You guys are going to be making out in this scene.’ And I’m thinking, ‘Wait, this is slightly illegal.'”
“I’ve never kissed a guy,” Kunis adds. “I was a 14-year-old little girl and I was extremely scared for my life.
- 9/11/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
An old clip of Danny Masterson speaking to Conan O’Brien has gone viral after he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Thursday for raping two women.
The video showed Masterson appearing on NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” back in 2004, with the host commenting on his lack of a Long Island accent.
Read More: ‘That ’70s Show’ Actor Danny Masterson Gets 30 Years To Life In Prison For Rapes Of 2 Women
The “That ’70s Show” star insisted his accent “just goes away naturally, and then there’s also certain words that there’s nothing you can do about.”
He recalled how his friend, actor Bodhi Elfman, “always teases me, and he says ‘Hi, my name is Danny Masterson, would you like to touch my balls?’”
Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life for raping 2 women….Conan knew pic.twitter.com/KEE596oqdl
— Wu Tang is for the...
The video showed Masterson appearing on NBC’s “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” back in 2004, with the host commenting on his lack of a Long Island accent.
Read More: ‘That ’70s Show’ Actor Danny Masterson Gets 30 Years To Life In Prison For Rapes Of 2 Women
The “That ’70s Show” star insisted his accent “just goes away naturally, and then there’s also certain words that there’s nothing you can do about.”
He recalled how his friend, actor Bodhi Elfman, “always teases me, and he says ‘Hi, my name is Danny Masterson, would you like to touch my balls?’”
Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life for raping 2 women….Conan knew pic.twitter.com/KEE596oqdl
— Wu Tang is for the...
- 9/8/2023
- by Becca Longmire
- ET Canada
Guillermo del Toro might be one of the most acclaimed living directors, but he's also a big fan of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia." He loves the show so much that he offered star and co-creator Charlie Day a role in his 2013 action film "Pacific Rim" in exchange for a small cameo on the show. Del Toro has actually appeared in several episodes of the comedy series, but even diligent fans may not have recognized him. As a fan of transformative special effects, the filmmaker's disguise prevented most viewers from recognizing him. Believe it or not, del Toro actually portrays the terrifying patriarch of the McPoyle family, Pappy McPoyle.
The "Pan's Labyrinth" director first appears in the third episode of season 8, "The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre," which takes place at Dennis' (Glenn Howerton) ex-wife Maureen's (Catherine Reitman) disastrous wedding to Liam McPoyle (Jimmi Simpson). The season was written and shot...
The "Pan's Labyrinth" director first appears in the third episode of season 8, "The Maureen Ponderosa Wedding Massacre," which takes place at Dennis' (Glenn Howerton) ex-wife Maureen's (Catherine Reitman) disastrous wedding to Liam McPoyle (Jimmi Simpson). The season was written and shot...
- 7/30/2023
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
Sad news hit this morning that Tony Bennett has died following a long battle with Alzheimer’s. The legendary crooner had one of the longest careers in the history of popular music. His debut LP, Because of You, landed in 1952, and he worked steadily in the studio and on the road until 2021.
Fans who came of age in the Fifties will likely remember early hits like “Cold, Cold Heart,” ” Rags to Riches,” and “Strangers in Paradise.” Children of the Sixties are more likely to think of songs like “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,...
Fans who came of age in the Fifties will likely remember early hits like “Cold, Cold Heart,” ” Rags to Riches,” and “Strangers in Paradise.” Children of the Sixties are more likely to think of songs like “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
Tony Bennett has passed away at the age of 96. The legendary singer died in New York on July 21, his publicist Sylvia Weiner told the Associated Press. In 2021, his family revealed that he'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease five years earlier. Bennett released his final album, "Love For Sale," in 2021, a collaboration with Lady Gaga. He performed his final shows at Radio City Musical Hall in August 2021 with Gaga by his side.
Bennett was born Anthony Benedetto in 1926 in New York's Long Island City. Bennett served in the Army during World War II before diving headfirst into his musical career. He had his first major success in 1951 with the single "Because of You." His signature song was 1962's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Bennett rose to fame during that era, but his career began to flounder during the 1970s.
The singer suffered a near-fatal cocaine overdose in 1979, after which he turned his career around.
Bennett was born Anthony Benedetto in 1926 in New York's Long Island City. Bennett served in the Army during World War II before diving headfirst into his musical career. He had his first major success in 1951 with the single "Because of You." His signature song was 1962's "I Left My Heart in San Francisco." Bennett rose to fame during that era, but his career began to flounder during the 1970s.
The singer suffered a near-fatal cocaine overdose in 1979, after which he turned his career around.
- 7/21/2023
- by Victoria Edel
- Popsugar.com
John Deyle, a veteran actor on Broadway and television commercials, died June 22 in Mount Kisco, NY of esophageal cancer. He was 68.
Born and raised in Rochester, New York, he studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
In 1978, when auditioning for the Richard Rodgers and Martin Charnin musical I Remember Mama, Charnin decided to instead cast him in the original Broadway production of Annie. A member of the third-year cast, which featured Sarah Jessica Parker in the title role, Deyle played Louis Howe, Fred McCracken, and Bert Healy.
His other Broadway credits include understudy to Sir Lionel in the 1980 revival of Camelot, appearing in the original Broadway company of Footloose, and portraying Senator Fipp in Urinetown.
On tour, Deyle played Bert Bratt in the 1996 production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and did three tours of Camelot in various roles, including Forest Merlyn. Off-Broadway,...
Born and raised in Rochester, New York, he studied at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
In 1978, when auditioning for the Richard Rodgers and Martin Charnin musical I Remember Mama, Charnin decided to instead cast him in the original Broadway production of Annie. A member of the third-year cast, which featured Sarah Jessica Parker in the title role, Deyle played Louis Howe, Fred McCracken, and Bert Healy.
His other Broadway credits include understudy to Sir Lionel in the 1980 revival of Camelot, appearing in the original Broadway company of Footloose, and portraying Senator Fipp in Urinetown.
On tour, Deyle played Bert Bratt in the 1996 production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and did three tours of Camelot in various roles, including Forest Merlyn. Off-Broadway,...
- 7/8/2023
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
No matter Harrison Ford’s age, he’s still outrunning boulders and cracking his whip.
After visiting O’Brien’s podcast earlier this week, a viral clip from “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” resurfaced recently, featuring the host joking with Harrison Ford about the actor playing Indiana Jones when he’s 80 years old.
The joke turned somewhat true as Ford recently appeared in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” just weeks before turning 81. O’Brien quipped that at 80, Ford could do movies where the treasures are brought to him.
Read More: Harrison Ford Playfully Mocks Conan O’Brien Over Han Solo Note: ‘You Can’t F—ing Remember That?’
Conan’s pitch for an 80-Year-Old Indiana Jones movie, from July 2000. pic.twitter.com/Fm12tAm7Jv
— Matthew “Movies” Thomason (@ResDolph) July 6, 2023
Ford laughed, and O’Brien suggested the title for an “Indiana Jones” film with an 80-year-old Ford: “Indiana Jones and the Comfortable Bed.
After visiting O’Brien’s podcast earlier this week, a viral clip from “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” resurfaced recently, featuring the host joking with Harrison Ford about the actor playing Indiana Jones when he’s 80 years old.
The joke turned somewhat true as Ford recently appeared in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” just weeks before turning 81. O’Brien quipped that at 80, Ford could do movies where the treasures are brought to him.
Read More: Harrison Ford Playfully Mocks Conan O’Brien Over Han Solo Note: ‘You Can’t F—ing Remember That?’
Conan’s pitch for an 80-Year-Old Indiana Jones movie, from July 2000. pic.twitter.com/Fm12tAm7Jv
— Matthew “Movies” Thomason (@ResDolph) July 6, 2023
Ford laughed, and O’Brien suggested the title for an “Indiana Jones” film with an 80-year-old Ford: “Indiana Jones and the Comfortable Bed.
- 7/8/2023
- by Emerson Pearson
- ET Canada
John Deyle, who appeared in four Broadway musicals, in more than 100 commercials and as the inept Mr. Science on the first season of Late Night With Conan O’Brien, has died. He was 68.
Deyle died June 22 at his home in Mount Kisco, New York, after a battle with esophageal cancer, his wife, Rebecca Paller, announced.
While auditioning for a role in the musical adaptation of I Remember Mama in 1978, lyricist Martin Charnin told him that he was “all wrong for this show, but we could use you in Annie,” he recalled.
Deyle then made his Broadway debut in March 1979, joining the ensemble of the Sarah Jessica Parker starrer by playing Louis Howe, Fred McCracken and Bert Healy.
He went on to work in the 1980 Broadway revival of Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot, starring Richard Burton, and in the subsequent U.S. and Australian tours of the famed musical that featured Richard Harris in the lead.
Deyle died June 22 at his home in Mount Kisco, New York, after a battle with esophageal cancer, his wife, Rebecca Paller, announced.
While auditioning for a role in the musical adaptation of I Remember Mama in 1978, lyricist Martin Charnin told him that he was “all wrong for this show, but we could use you in Annie,” he recalled.
Deyle then made his Broadway debut in March 1979, joining the ensemble of the Sarah Jessica Parker starrer by playing Louis Howe, Fred McCracken and Bert Healy.
He went on to work in the 1980 Broadway revival of Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot, starring Richard Burton, and in the subsequent U.S. and Australian tours of the famed musical that featured Richard Harris in the lead.
- 7/7/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A July 2000 clip from “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” has gone viral on social media for featuring the eponymous late night host making a joke to Harrison Ford about the actor playing Indiana Jones when he’s 80 years old. That panned out to be somewhat true in the recently-released “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” which opened in theaters just a few weeks before Ford turns 81.
“People will never get tired of that genre,” O’Brien told Ford at the time. “When you’re 80 you could just do ones where they bring the treasures to you.”
Ford burst into laughter, with O’Brien adding that an “Indiana Jones” movie starring an 80-year-old Harrison Ford could be titled, “Indiana Jones and the Comfortable Bed.”
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” marks Ford’s final outing as the iconic archeologist. While he is done with playing Indiana Jones, Ford has...
“People will never get tired of that genre,” O’Brien told Ford at the time. “When you’re 80 you could just do ones where they bring the treasures to you.”
Ford burst into laughter, with O’Brien adding that an “Indiana Jones” movie starring an 80-year-old Harrison Ford could be titled, “Indiana Jones and the Comfortable Bed.”
“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” marks Ford’s final outing as the iconic archeologist. While he is done with playing Indiana Jones, Ford has...
- 7/7/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
The 2003 film "Hollywood Homicide" has mostly faded from memory now, but around the time of its release, everyone was talking about the rumored feud between the movie's stars, Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett. Now, 20 years later, Hartnett opened up about the rumors that he and Ford clashed during filming in an interview with The Independent.
According to the "Black Mirror" actor, the feud allegations were greatly exaggerated by the press. "Drama sold newspapers, especially back then," he told the publication. "But we actually got along really well."
Hartnett continued, "There were things that we disagreed about on set as far as [the script], and there was a lot of rewriting happening. But it was misinterpreted as 'they don't get along!' It certainly wasn't a set that was filled with tension. I think I did call him 'the bane of my existence' when we were on the press tour for that movie,...
According to the "Black Mirror" actor, the feud allegations were greatly exaggerated by the press. "Drama sold newspapers, especially back then," he told the publication. "But we actually got along really well."
Hartnett continued, "There were things that we disagreed about on set as far as [the script], and there was a lot of rewriting happening. But it was misinterpreted as 'they don't get along!' It certainly wasn't a set that was filled with tension. I think I did call him 'the bane of my existence' when we were on the press tour for that movie,...
- 6/11/2023
- by Sabienna Bowman
- Popsugar.com
Podcasting’s major advertising power players are set to descend in New York City this Thursday for the Iab Podcast Upfronts, where studios and marketers will look to revitalize the audio industry with an influx of new ad dollars after a slower period of growth.
The day-long event will feature presentations from iHeartMedia, Wondery, NPR, Acast, Sony Music Entertainment, Wnyc, Cumulus Media and SiriusXM, among others. In typical Upfront fashion, the audio giants are bringing out podcasting stars like Conan O’Brien (Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend), Ashley Flowers (Crime Junkie), Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley (Morbid), Emily Ratajkowski (High Low With EmRata), Heather McDonald (Juicy Scoop) and Kelsey McKinney (Normal Gossip) to make their pitches.
This year’s Podcast Upfronts will follow a period of massive spending driven by companies like Spotify, where talent commanded multimillion-dollar exclusive licensing deals, and audio ad revenue surpassed $1 billion for the first time in 2021, according to Iab.
The day-long event will feature presentations from iHeartMedia, Wondery, NPR, Acast, Sony Music Entertainment, Wnyc, Cumulus Media and SiriusXM, among others. In typical Upfront fashion, the audio giants are bringing out podcasting stars like Conan O’Brien (Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend), Ashley Flowers (Crime Junkie), Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley (Morbid), Emily Ratajkowski (High Low With EmRata), Heather McDonald (Juicy Scoop) and Kelsey McKinney (Normal Gossip) to make their pitches.
This year’s Podcast Upfronts will follow a period of massive spending driven by companies like Spotify, where talent commanded multimillion-dollar exclusive licensing deals, and audio ad revenue surpassed $1 billion for the first time in 2021, according to Iab.
- 5/10/2023
- by J. Clara Chan
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
With the current Hollywood writers’ strike making headlines, discussion has often turned to the last time this happened, the 2007-08 writers’ strike. Earlier this week, a clip from “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” filmed near the beginning of the strike sheds useful light on how things went 16 years ago.
It’s a moment of TV history, and a moment of “TV history” in which O’Brien gave a master glass in how to continue to entertain television audiences without scabbing — meaning, without violating the strike — with just his wedding ring, and a willingness to look foolish.
When the 2007-08 strike began, many talk shows didn’t close down, at least at first. However, aside from exceptions like “Ellen,” the talk shows that continued airing new episodes avoided crossing picket lines by not using scripts of any kind. So long as there was no content created by a writer, the show...
It’s a moment of TV history, and a moment of “TV history” in which O’Brien gave a master glass in how to continue to entertain television audiences without scabbing — meaning, without violating the strike — with just his wedding ring, and a willingness to look foolish.
When the 2007-08 strike began, many talk shows didn’t close down, at least at first. However, aside from exceptions like “Ellen,” the talk shows that continued airing new episodes avoided crossing picket lines by not using scripts of any kind. So long as there was no content created by a writer, the show...
- 5/5/2023
- by Joshua Vinson
- The Wrap
Nzme signs agreement with AdsWizz to sell inventory from the SiriusXM Podcast Network in New Zealand
Further growing opportunities for clients across digital audio, New Zealand Media and Entertainment (Nzme) today announced that it has signed an agreement to be AdsWizz’s exclusive third-party New Zealand sales representative for advertising on certain podcasts owned and operated by SiriusXM and Stitcher Media LLC. The agreement also includes podcasts which SiriusXM and/or Stitcher have the right to manage and sell advertising.
Within its commercial offering, Nzme will continue to leverage AdsWizz’s technology, incorporating the SiriusXM Podcast Network, which hosts top podcasts including Crime Junkie, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, Office Ladies and more.
The exclusive agreement means that through Nzme’s podcast network, advertisers will now have the ability to reach the 350,000 Kiwis that consume these podcasts.
James Butcher, Nzme Head of Digital Audio, says podcasting is one of the fastest growing digital media platforms in the world and it’s a channel that Nzme is...
Within its commercial offering, Nzme will continue to leverage AdsWizz’s technology, incorporating the SiriusXM Podcast Network, which hosts top podcasts including Crime Junkie, Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, Office Ladies and more.
The exclusive agreement means that through Nzme’s podcast network, advertisers will now have the ability to reach the 350,000 Kiwis that consume these podcasts.
James Butcher, Nzme Head of Digital Audio, says podcasting is one of the fastest growing digital media platforms in the world and it’s a channel that Nzme is...
- 3/29/2023
- Podnews.net
The nominations of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 are in, and the list features George Michael, Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, the White Stripes, Sheryl Crow, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, Soundgarden, the Spinners, A Tribe Called Quest, and Warren Zevon. The top vote-getters will be announced in May and inducted in the fall.
“This remarkable list of Nominees reflects the diverse artists and music that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honors and celebrates,” said John Sykes,...
“This remarkable list of Nominees reflects the diverse artists and music that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honors and celebrates,” said John Sykes,...
- 2/1/2023
- by Andy Greene
- Rollingstone.com
It was exactly 20 years ago on January 26, 2003, when Jimmy Kimmel left Comedy Central and came to network television to host ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’
Kimmel expressed his gratitude to everyone who has helped make the show what it is today and walked down memory lane to show how long he’s been on the airwaves.
“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Kimmel said, as he was met with thunderous applause from his studio audience. “I’m not retiring. This is just an anniversary show.”
Kimmel joked that his late-night show was an instant hit after reading reviews after the show first debuted in 2003.
“And right out of the gate – we were an immediate hit,” Kimmel said. “The next day ‘The New Yorker’ said… ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ a dead on-arrival talk show with a charisma-free host.'”
Kimmel continued, “The Seattle Post-Intelligencer raved… ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ is a gloopy mess. Not an interesting,...
Kimmel expressed his gratitude to everyone who has helped make the show what it is today and walked down memory lane to show how long he’s been on the airwaves.
“Thank you. I appreciate that,” Kimmel said, as he was met with thunderous applause from his studio audience. “I’m not retiring. This is just an anniversary show.”
Kimmel joked that his late-night show was an instant hit after reading reviews after the show first debuted in 2003.
“And right out of the gate – we were an immediate hit,” Kimmel said. “The next day ‘The New Yorker’ said… ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ a dead on-arrival talk show with a charisma-free host.'”
Kimmel continued, “The Seattle Post-Intelligencer raved… ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live,’ is a gloopy mess. Not an interesting,...
- 1/27/2023
- by Joshua Vinson
- The Wrap
The odds that “Jimmy Kimmel Live” would still be here, 20 years after its launch on Jan. 26, 2003, were astronomically low. The network hadn’t done a traditional late-night talk show since the short-lived “Into the Night With Rick Dees” in 1991, and the time slot’s previous inhabitant, “Politically Incorrect,” had been canceled due to declining ratings — and controversy over 9/11-related comments host Bill Maher had made.
Those early reviews were rough and the show struggled in its early months to book guests. And soon, Kimmel’s biggest backer at the network, then-abc chairman Lloyd Braun, was out the door.
But there was a glimmer of promise from the start: Early on, ABC execs said they were encouraged by the show’s first week national ratings, especially among young male viewers..
Among all of those hosts — Leno, Letterman, O’Brien, Kilborn — Kimmel is the only one left standing in late night, and...
Those early reviews were rough and the show struggled in its early months to book guests. And soon, Kimmel’s biggest backer at the network, then-abc chairman Lloyd Braun, was out the door.
But there was a glimmer of promise from the start: Early on, ABC execs said they were encouraged by the show’s first week national ratings, especially among young male viewers..
Among all of those hosts — Leno, Letterman, O’Brien, Kilborn — Kimmel is the only one left standing in late night, and...
- 1/26/2023
- by Michael Schneider
- Variety Film + TV
Before Canadian actor Mike Myers was yelling "Yeah, baby" through fake teeth or battling (and playing) Dr. Evil in "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and its sequels, he was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" from 1989-1995. Myers created unforgettable characters like the strongly-accented Linda Richman from "Coffee Talk," the severe Dieter, host of the German dance show "Sprockets," the basement-dwelling Wayne Campbell, who later headed the movie "Wayne's World," and the angry Scottish man Stuart Rankin, owner of the fictional store "All Things Scottish."
In addition to his memorable creations, Myers has recently appeared in David O. Russell's "Amsterdam" and played almost every character in the Netflix original series "The Pentaverate." "SNL" was where we got to know him, though, and it turns out that getting on the show was important to Myers because of original "SNL" cast member Gilda Radner.
Radner was part of the...
In addition to his memorable creations, Myers has recently appeared in David O. Russell's "Amsterdam" and played almost every character in the Netflix original series "The Pentaverate." "SNL" was where we got to know him, though, and it turns out that getting on the show was important to Myers because of original "SNL" cast member Gilda Radner.
Radner was part of the...
- 1/15/2023
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
In 1990, at only ten years old, Macaulay Culkin rose to fame as the spunky and self-sufficient Kevin McCallister in "Home Alone." The Christmas comedy directed Chris Columbus was an instant hit and Culkin quickly became one of the most sought-after kids in the business. After working alongside such greats like Catherine O'Hara, Daniel Stern, and Joe Pesci, Culkin is a true acting veteran -- and he has the scar to prove it.
In an interview on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," Culkin reminisced about filming the "Home Alone" scene where Pesci and Stern -- playing the incompetent robber duo Harry and Marv, respectively -- hang him up on a door. Harry tells Kevin, "I'm going to bite each one of your fingers off one at a time," and in rehearsal Pesci actually did physically bite him. According to Culin, "He broke the skin and everything!"
Now, Culkin has a scar...
In an interview on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," Culkin reminisced about filming the "Home Alone" scene where Pesci and Stern -- playing the incompetent robber duo Harry and Marv, respectively -- hang him up on a door. Harry tells Kevin, "I'm going to bite each one of your fingers off one at a time," and in rehearsal Pesci actually did physically bite him. According to Culin, "He broke the skin and everything!"
Now, Culkin has a scar...
- 9/18/2022
- by Marisa Mirabal
- Slash Film
Johnny Depp and Amber Heard‘s highly publicized trial is getting the TV-movie treatment.
The actors’ contentious defamation case, which made many a headline this spring, will be adapted into the original movie Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial at Fox Entertainment’s free streaming service Tubi, TVLine has learned.
More from TVLineThe Resident Boss on Final Season Speculation: 'It Has the Potential to Go On and On' After Season 69-1-1 Season 6 Bucks Its Own Trend, Introducing Major Life Changes and a Relatively New Face to the 118Johnny Depp Makes Bizarre VMAs Cameo as Moon Person -- Watch
Dropping on the platform Friday,...
The actors’ contentious defamation case, which made many a headline this spring, will be adapted into the original movie Hot Take: The Depp/Heard Trial at Fox Entertainment’s free streaming service Tubi, TVLine has learned.
More from TVLineThe Resident Boss on Final Season Speculation: 'It Has the Potential to Go On and On' After Season 69-1-1 Season 6 Bucks Its Own Trend, Introducing Major Life Changes and a Relatively New Face to the 118Johnny Depp Makes Bizarre VMAs Cameo as Moon Person -- Watch
Dropping on the platform Friday,...
- 9/15/2022
- by Rebecca Iannucci
- TVLine.com
When one delves into the mythology of Stephen King's epically long 1986 novel "It," you might find a massively complicated Theogony of deities that link into numerous ancient creation myths. According to King's novel, the titular creature, most commonly known as Pennywise the Dancing Clown, was originally born of the enormous, ineffable void that surrounds the outer edges of the known cosmos. The novel refers to this void at the Macroverse, although in King's "Dark Tower" novels, the same void is called the Todash Darkness. A rogue meteor somehow picked up the creature and it traveled to planet Earth while it was still forming and humans hadn't evolved yet. For millions of years, It slumbered, eventually emerging in Ad 1715 to begin feeding on the local citizens. It's implied that It is billions of years old, and It can be a clown or a spider or whatever you're most afraid of.
- 9/13/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the early days of Matt Groening's "The Simpsons," Bart (Nancy Cartwright) was seemingly intended to be the main character of the show. This makes sense when one considers that Groening named the Simpsons after his own family. Groening also has two younger sisters named Lisa and Maggie, his parents are named Margaret and Homer, and his grandfather was named Abraham. His mother's birth name was Wiggum, another name that made its way onto the show (albeit as the last name of Springfield's incompetent police chief and his dim-bulb son Ralph). Groening, then, seemed to be staging himself as the irascible, precocious youth of a new generation, or, in Bart's own words, the Dennis the Menace of the '90s.
As the show progressed, however, Homer (Dan Castellaneta), the paterfamilias, slowly began to emerge as the show's proper lead. In the first few seasons of "The Simpsons," Homer was...
As the show progressed, however, Homer (Dan Castellaneta), the paterfamilias, slowly began to emerge as the show's proper lead. In the first few seasons of "The Simpsons," Homer was...
- 9/1/2022
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
The 1990 romantic comedy "Pretty Woman" helped launch Julia Roberts' career into the stratosphere. Starring opposite Richard Gere, Roberts played Vivian Ward, a streetwalker with a heart of gold who wins the affection of her cold-hearted client. The role earned Roberts a Best Actress Oscar nomination and turned her into an overnight Hollywood sensation. Her performance prompted Roger Ebert to prophetically write, "Actresses who can do that and look great can have whatever they want in Hollywood." Roberts would become synonymous with the romantic comedy genre.
It is hard to imagine anyone other than Roberts in "Pretty Woman". To do so, we need to go back ... to the future. Heading into the 1990s, Lea Thompson was coming off the massive success of two "Back to the Future" movies and a string of films that included "Casual Sex?" and "Some Kind of Wonderful."
The versatile actress certainly had the chops to play...
It is hard to imagine anyone other than Roberts in "Pretty Woman". To do so, we need to go back ... to the future. Heading into the 1990s, Lea Thompson was coming off the massive success of two "Back to the Future" movies and a string of films that included "Casual Sex?" and "Some Kind of Wonderful."
The versatile actress certainly had the chops to play...
- 8/30/2022
- by Travis Yates
- Slash Film
Everyone's got to start somewhere, and if you were a child actor living in New York City during the 1980s and '90s, there was a decent chance you might get called up to appear on a sketch on NBC's "Late Night" when it was hosted by David Letterman and, later, Conan O'Brien. These hosts and their writing staff loved writing skits where the star got to interact with little children. With Letterman, there was a bit of an aloof, quasi-w.C. Fields vibe, whereas O'Brien was warmer and prone to getting upstaged by his precocious guest. It was a formula they went back to time and again because it always worked.
Take for instance a 1993 "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" sketch where the host and his sidekick, Andy Richter, welcome young Sarah Hughes, winner of the West Hartford Middle School Spelling Bee. If she looks awfully familiar, that's...
Take for instance a 1993 "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" sketch where the host and his sidekick, Andy Richter, welcome young Sarah Hughes, winner of the West Hartford Middle School Spelling Bee. If she looks awfully familiar, that's...
- 8/26/2022
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
On July 30, 2015, a dough-faced 19-year-old Vine creator named David Dobrik posted his first YouTube video, a five-minute vlog called “Putting A Puppy Into The Microwave!!” Part “Drake & Josh” (minus the adult supervision) and part “Jackass” (minus the corporate oversight), that hyper-active but ultimately adorable clip anticipated the kind of all-caps antics that would elevate Dobrik and his wack pack of Disney Channel-ready edgelords into new media superstars.
In August of 2020 — after eclipsing eight billion views across his various channels and being selected over pop stars Harry Styles and Shawn Mendes as People Magazine’s “Sexiest Heartthrob of 2019” — Dobrik bought a mansion in Sherman Oaks for $9.5 million. At some point in there, between Dobrik putting a puppy in the microwave and getting a super-lucrative sponsorship deal with Chipotle (they named a burrito after him!), 40-year-old web video elder statesman Casey Neistat began making a documentary about the young content kingpin...
In August of 2020 — after eclipsing eight billion views across his various channels and being selected over pop stars Harry Styles and Shawn Mendes as People Magazine’s “Sexiest Heartthrob of 2019” — Dobrik bought a mansion in Sherman Oaks for $9.5 million. At some point in there, between Dobrik putting a puppy in the microwave and getting a super-lucrative sponsorship deal with Chipotle (they named a burrito after him!), 40-year-old web video elder statesman Casey Neistat began making a documentary about the young content kingpin...
- 3/15/2022
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Image Source: Everett Collection
Laurie has officially dethroned Nate Jacobs as the most formidable villain on "Euphoria." We meet the high-school teacher turned drug dealer in the HBO show's season two premiere, when Fez does business with her following Mouse's murder. Laurie reveals new layers every time she appears on screen: she became addicted to oxycontin in college after getting injured as an athlete, she fronts Rue $10,000 worth of drugs to sell, and, as we learn in episode three, she's involved in some sort of sex-trafficking ring that she threatens to rope Rue into.
"If you screw me, I'll have you kidnapped and sold to some real sick people. I always find a way to make my money back," she tells Rue in a calm, monotone, nightmare-fueling voice. You definitely don't want to cross her.
Related: 3 Theories For Why Nate Is Cal's Biggest Regret on "Euphoria"
Although Laurie exudes pure,...
Laurie has officially dethroned Nate Jacobs as the most formidable villain on "Euphoria." We meet the high-school teacher turned drug dealer in the HBO show's season two premiere, when Fez does business with her following Mouse's murder. Laurie reveals new layers every time she appears on screen: she became addicted to oxycontin in college after getting injured as an athlete, she fronts Rue $10,000 worth of drugs to sell, and, as we learn in episode three, she's involved in some sort of sex-trafficking ring that she threatens to rope Rue into.
"If you screw me, I'll have you kidnapped and sold to some real sick people. I always find a way to make my money back," she tells Rue in a calm, monotone, nightmare-fueling voice. You definitely don't want to cross her.
Related: 3 Theories For Why Nate Is Cal's Biggest Regret on "Euphoria"
Although Laurie exudes pure,...
- 2/7/2022
- by Victoria Messina
- Popsugar.com
Grammy-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar’s PGLang company has teamed with Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s Park County banner to produce a new feature film for Paramount Pictures.
The live-action comedy, written by Vernon Chatman, will “depict the past and present coming to a head when a young Black man, who is interning as a slave re-enactor at a living history museum, discovers that his white girlfriend’s ancestors once owned his.”
Lamar and PGLang partner Dave Free will produce the project alongside Stone and Parker. Paramount Pictures will handle theatrical distribution, home entertainment and television licensing rights on the project, with Paramount Plus acquiring streaming rights.
Production on the yet-to-be-titled feature begins in the spring.
“On behalf of Paramount Pictures and the wider ViacomCBS family, we look forward to ushering in the first theatrical collaboration from these creative visionaries, and galvanizing audiences worldwide around a powerful storytelling experience,” Paramount...
The live-action comedy, written by Vernon Chatman, will “depict the past and present coming to a head when a young Black man, who is interning as a slave re-enactor at a living history museum, discovers that his white girlfriend’s ancestors once owned his.”
Lamar and PGLang partner Dave Free will produce the project alongside Stone and Parker. Paramount Pictures will handle theatrical distribution, home entertainment and television licensing rights on the project, with Paramount Plus acquiring streaming rights.
Production on the yet-to-be-titled feature begins in the spring.
“On behalf of Paramount Pictures and the wider ViacomCBS family, we look forward to ushering in the first theatrical collaboration from these creative visionaries, and galvanizing audiences worldwide around a powerful storytelling experience,” Paramount...
- 1/13/2022
- by Angelique Jackson
- Variety Film + TV
One of the most memorable riffs by comic Norm Macdonald was his classic rips at Melrose Place star Courtney Thorne-Smith’s choice of films on a 1997 edition of Late Night With Conan O’Brien.
Macdonald took off on Thorne-Smith’s then-upcoming film with Carrot Top, Chairman of the Board.
“If it’s got Carrot Top in it, do you know what a good name for it would be? Box Office Poison,” Macdonald said, drawing a huge laugh from the crowd. He later topped himself: “I bet the ‘Board’ is spelled ‘bored.’”
Thorne relived those moments on Friday as a guest on an episode of Inside Conan: An Important Hollywood Podcast, which is hosted by former Conan writers Mike Sweeney and Jessie Gaskell. The moment on the couch was revived when Macdonald unexpectedly passed away in September, circulating on social media as fans sought comfort in his talents for their loss.
“So when Norm started going,...
Macdonald took off on Thorne-Smith’s then-upcoming film with Carrot Top, Chairman of the Board.
“If it’s got Carrot Top in it, do you know what a good name for it would be? Box Office Poison,” Macdonald said, drawing a huge laugh from the crowd. He later topped himself: “I bet the ‘Board’ is spelled ‘bored.’”
Thorne relived those moments on Friday as a guest on an episode of Inside Conan: An Important Hollywood Podcast, which is hosted by former Conan writers Mike Sweeney and Jessie Gaskell. The moment on the couch was revived when Macdonald unexpectedly passed away in September, circulating on social media as fans sought comfort in his talents for their loss.
“So when Norm started going,...
- 12/11/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.