Big Screen Little Screen

“Hello Tina, Lorne here. The viewers tuned out for the remaining 80 minutes, and frankly, I don’t blame them.  A stinker, yeah.  No, we still haven’t figured out what to do with Casey Wilson, and you know, Poehler’s bailing out soon, and Maya Rudolph won’t return my texts.  Bobby who?  Bobby Moynihan?  Oh, the guy we hired. No, haven’t met him yet.  Look, we’re going to need you to come back full time.”

–  “She is becoming a brand unto herself.” What’s Tina Fey worth? (via Goldenfiddle)

It makes too much sense really - pairing up NBC Thursday-mates and multiple Emmy award nominees Tina Fey (who’s won a couple) and Steve Carell in a love and marriage feature comedy. It’s a natural, chocolate-in-the-peanut butter type combination that Fox has envisioned, signing the two to star in Date Night, playing a married couple with a routine date night out on the town that inevitably turns into a mishap adventure (Variety). While hardly the most unique of storylines, the assumed comic chemistry between Fey and Carell should be plenty enough to elevate the material, or so you’d hope. An optimist could see potential in this - perhaps the next great romcom team since Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan put together their string of hits. A pessimist might take odds on the chances of a major heartbreak, because that’s what pessimists do.

You may consider Carell’s leveled off box office success following The 40 Year Old Virgin and Little Miss Sunshine, and Fey’s good, but still somewhat shaky lead debut with Baby Mama, but those aren’t the red flags that might temper early enthusiasm. No, the most worrisome thing about Date Night is in regards to the uninspired selections for both the director and screenwriter: Shawn Levy, who besides helming Ben Stiller’s Night at the Museum, has a history of short run TV series and overly broad movies for a well-past-his-prime Steve Martin (Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther) and the 2003 Aston Kutcher & Britany Murphy stinker, Just Married. The script comes from Josh Klausner, whose claim to greatness is the Shrek 3 screenplay, and whatever Shrek sequel comes next. (Is there a PG-13 in the future for this grown-up comedy?) There’s already some possible dream team casting working in favor of Date Night - the talent behind the lens will need to rise to the challenge and expectation level.

Story via Anne Thompson.  In separate statements, both Roger Ebert (still in recovery from multiple surgeries that have affected his voice) and Richard Roeper announced their plans to leave the nationally syndicated At the Movies With Ebert & Roeper after eight seasons.  Roeper’s last appearance will air the weekend of August 16-17.

“Over the last two seasons, as Roger has bravely coped with his medical issues, I’ve continued the show with a number of guest co-hosts,” Roeper said. “It’s never been the same without Roger, but I’m proud of the work we’ve done and I’m grateful to all the co-hosts who stepped in — and to the viewers that stayed loyal to the show.”

Excerpts from Richard Roeper statement:

“Over the last two seasons, as Roger has bravely coped with his medical issues, I’ve continued the show with a number of guest co-hosts. It’s never been the same without Roger, but I’m proud of the work we’ve done and I’m grateful to all the co-hosts who stepped in — and to the viewers that stayed loyal to the show.”

“Several months ago, Disney offered to extend my contract, which expires at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season. I opted to wait. Much transpired after that behind the scenes, but an agreement was never reached, and we are all moving on.”

Statement from Roger Ebert:

“After 33 years on the air, 23 of them with Disney, the studio has decided to take the program named ‘Siskel & Ebert’ and then ‘Ebert & Roeper’ in a new direction. I will no longer be associated with it.

The show was a wonderful experience. It was a great loss to me when surgery in July 2006 made it impossible for me to appear on the air any longer. Although I remained active behind the scenes, I feel that Richard Roeper and several co-hosts, notably Michael Phillips and A.O. Scott, have excelled at carrying on the tradition Gene Siskel and I began in 1975 with ‘Sneak Previews’ on PBS.

Gene and I felt the formula was simplicity itself: Two film critics, sitting across the aisle from each other in a movie balcony, debating the new films of the week. We developed an entirely new concept for TV. Few shows have been on the air so long and remained so popular. We made television history, and established the trademarked catch-phrase ‘Two thumbs up.’

The trademark still belongs to me and Marlene Iglitzen, Gene’s widow, and the thumbs will return. We are discussing possibilities, and plan to continue the show’s tradition.”

Roeper said he intends to “proceed elsewhere … as the co-host of a movie review show that honors the standards established by Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert more than 30 years ago,” adding “I will be free to share the details on that program in the near future.”

Two people who really could do no wrong at the moment. Unfortunately this is one of those too good to be true collaborations that rarely go beyond hawking widgets or high-falluting memberships.

Bonus clip:

NSFW, for language. Says Kevin Smith, of this Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks hosted tease for Zack and Miri Make a Porno, “Don’t call it a trailer, ’cause it’s not a trailer; it’s a teaser. There ain’t a frame of footage in this puppy that’s in the actual flick, so feel free to watch it without fear of “spoilers”. This is just a little something to give you a bit of a feel for the flick.” Scheduled release: Oct 31st, 2008. (hat tip: Cinematical)

Stephen Soderbergh will pair again with Ocean’s Thirteen writers Brian Koppelman and David Levien for The Girlfriend Experience. The film will detail “the world of prostitution from the vantage point of a $10,000-a-night call girl.” (Variety) This is the second film for Soderbergh to be financed and distributed by Mark Cuban’s 2929 Entertainment and HDNet companies, after his brilliant but overlooked small-scale production, Bubble (2005 - Trailer). Like Bubble, where he cast non-professional Ohio natives as leads, Soderbergh might also go the non-traditional route with Girlfriend: he’s considering using an adult-film actress to play a woman who makes a million a year as an escort.

Prior to The Girlfriend Experience, Soderbergh’s two Spanish language Che Guevara biopics, Guerrilla and The Argentine, with Benicio Del Toro cast as Guevara, will premiere at Cannes next month.

Showtime has made the season 2 premieres of both Dexter and Brotherhood available for free online. Go here to watch either. The password to view the episodes is “Killer Shows”.

Dexter stars Six Feet Under alum Michael C. Hall as a Miami crime scene investigator that moonlights as a serial killer. Knowing full well that he’ll never be lead a normal life, he struggles with his murderous instincts and channels them into stalking other killers on the loose. The subject matter could easily be the basis of a horrid series, but there was enough moral struggle, dark humor (what other kind?), and cliffhanging going on last season to make Dexter a staple top 10 pick of a number of television critics (and bloggers).

The under-acknowledged crime drama, Brotherhood, just might satiate those with a thirst for grime and crime in the post-Sopranos era, though it’s not for the attention span challenged. Like The Wire has executed to perfection, Brotherhood was also put together with a slow-boil formula. With one sibling living the con life, and the other brother in the public eye - making moves to climb the ladder of local politics - the Caffee’s of Rhode Island mash against one another as they work their respective hustles. Season two will introduce Janel Moloney (Donna Moss of The West Wing, a big contributor to Sorkin’s glory days) to the cast.

The season openers for both Dexter and Brotherhood air on Sunday, September 30th. Showtime sent over the first few episodes for the two series, and I’ll have some impressions up before they kick off.

OK, so maybe if I wasn’t merely TIVOing IFC’s four part miniseries doc Indie Sex, I wouldn’t have been caught off guard by the return of their original scripted comedy series, The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman. The summer sleeper stars Laura Kightlinger (who was also double dipping last year on the set of the now cancelled Lucky Louie) as a decidedly unaccomplished screenwriter, aimlessly tooling around Los Angeles with eternally dim-lit pal Tara (Nicholle Tom) in tow. There’s outside-looking-in Hollywood satire, some raunch, and the pair dive headfirst into slapstick while still keeping things whip-smart in a Tina Fey type framework. Kightlinger is spot-on as a put-upon, “who gives two fucks if I’m single” underachiever.

There’ve been West-side Sex in the City comparisons tossed about in the past, but I’ve always felt a more acidic, low-rent, lo-fi AbFab vibe, and without ever really considering myself a fan of either of the former two (and this one is more guy-friendly by strides), I’ve committed to wrapping up my Sunday nights of Entourage and Flight of the Conchords with a basic-cable Jackie Woodman nightcap.

Premieres this Sunday evening at 11:30, on IFC. Catch last season’s closer episode, “The Republicunt”, in it’s entirety online - a prescription drugged Jackie falls ass-backwards into right-wing radio worship.  Bonus season two primer clips also available at the official site .

- Dennis Hopper and director Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways) are among the lastest to offer short films for McSweeney’s quarterly DVD magazine - Wholphin. Check out the lineup, with clips and director bios for Issue 3, which you can preorder now. Should be a short wait, as the release is scheduled for “early December”.

- Trailer: Tim Robbins and Sara Polley in The Secret Life of Words

- With Weeds, Dexter, and the largely unseen/underrated Brotherhood now in their stable, Showtime is primed to make strides as many of HBO’s top hits are winding down. They’re offering a sneak preview for their latest, the second season of Sleeper Cell, what TV Guide calls “unnervingly topical suspense…reminiscent of 24 but about a dozen times more realistic”. View the entire first episode here. The password is “sneakpeek”. The series debuts this Sunday (12/10) with new episodes running every evening until the conclusion on December 17th. All 8 episodes will be available On Demand by the 10th.

- Audio tip: NPR’s Ira Glass is developing a small screen adaptation for his popular radio show This American Life (listen to the show’s archives), to debut on Showtime in March. “We basically said ‘no’ for a year and half,” Glass recalls. “And we kept saying we have no idea how to… be filmmakers. You have to hook us up with people who could design something that got across the feeling of the radio show.” - read or listen, via All Things Considered.

- Last warning for the debut of Six Feet Under’s Peter Krause in the Sci-Fi Network’s miniseries The Lost Room (earlier chatter here and here). View clips and promos from the official site, and another 2 minute clip featuring Krause and Juliana Margulies, provided by IGN. The Lost Room premieres Monday, December 11th.

NBC has the full pilot episode for Tina Fey’s 30 Rock up on their www. In a USA Today interview from Sunday, she discusses her post-SNL life and the challenge in going up against Aaron Sorkin and Studio 60. Hey Ms. Fey, here’s how to draw a clear distinction between the two - make yours funny. Via Pop Candy.

Also available, through Yahoo, is TV Land’s new venture with Mr. T - I Pity the Fool. Don’t sell T short though, because he doesn’t just pity the fools, he schools the fools - offering tokens of motivation for the masses, or in the case of the pilot episode, oh-woe-is-me slobbering car salesmen in need of a kick in the ass.

Both shows premiere this Wednesday, Oct. 11th. Watch the online previews while you can, as they’re usually gone shortly after the episodes debut on-air.

Tags: 30 rock, i pity the fool

Hi. I’m Tracy Jordan, and I’m bringing The Black back to NBC. And I’m proud as a peacock! Right, my baloney? (Episode 2.) Update: View the first four minutes of the pilot at Yahoo. Plus, the next 1:30 via YouTube., premiering Wed, Oct 11th.

On air Oct 1st, but free and online today, the season two premiere of Chris Rock produced, written, and narrated Everybody Hates Chris. Based on his childhood days in Brooklyn - you can only view it using Internet Explorer, and you must endure guest star Whoopi Goldberg. That’s how they get you. Available here.

The hour-long pilot for Michael C. Hall’s Dexter has been released online by Showtime. Here’s your opportunity to examine the exploits of the charming asexual - the single, sleuthful, wise-cracking blood-splatter analyst by day - Dexter, whose Miami nights promise more blood than his paying job. Moral ambiguity abound, darker than Six Feet. I just had the opportunity to give it a spin, and it does not disappoint. Still number one on my fall TV list, now with good reason.

Available for free, at Showtime’s page. Password is “sneakpeek”. Via Whedonesque.

Tags: dexter pilot, sneak preview

Just to get an idea of what I’ll be covering on the television end in the next few months – with the fall television season about to pop, starting with Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip (NBC) tonight, then a lengthy list of other premieres this week, the following are my most anticipated kickoffs, both new and returning. Network and premiere dates listed:

10. Saturday Night Live: NBC (Sat, 9/30) Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch are off to 30 Rock, and Lorne Michaels promised that a few firings are in store before the premiere. A few names have been bandied about as on the chopping block (Horatio Sanz, Finesse Mitchell, Chris Parnell, and Kenan Thompson) though no official word has come down as of yet. What is known is that Seth Meyers will replace Fey as the new head writer, one-joke skits will be milked for all their worth, and the show will be on Saturday nights. Update: Sanz, Parnell, and Mitchell officially gone.

9. The Nine: ABC (Wed, 10/4) Serialized dramas are all the rage this year, requiring fans to invest time following long, sweeping story lines. In a year that critics are noting as especially strong for new and engaging series, the networks can only hope that there’s enough people with too much time on their hands. Fans of Lost may want to make room for this new series – in the murky aftermath of a bank robbery, clues are dropped about nine hostages and their roles as unwilling participants. Who are the nine? What happened in there?

8. Ugly Betty: ABC (Thurs, 9/28) Already adapted across the globe in locales such as India, Germany, and Mexico, Columbian soap opera Yo Soy Betty La Fea finally makes it stateside in hour-long comedy format. America Ferrara as nerdy, plain-jane Betty, falling ass-backwards into an assistant gig for a New York fashion magazine mogul. With the mixed blessing of leading into Grey’s Anatomy on Thursdays, yet up against both My Name is Earl and The Office, early critical buzz has Betty pegged as one to watch. Ok. I’ll give it a test drive via the TiVo.

7. The Lost Room (miniseries): (Sci Fi Channel – December) TV work for Six Feet Under alumni is not in short supply. We’ll have Rachel Griffiths in ABC’s Sons and Daughters, Jeremy Sisto in NBC’s Kidnapped, James Cromwell in 24, and Michael C. Hall in….(keep reading). Peter Krause (aka Nate Fisher) will make a brief return to the small screen in miniseries The Lost Room. Also featuring Kevin Pollack and Julianna Margulies, Krause stars as a detective caught up in the mystery of a motel room full of seemingly ordinary objects that hold varied and unknown powers. In possession of the key to the room, and his daughter (Ellie Fanning, sister of Dakota) having vanished within, he finds himself running from both the police and criminal minded groups, while desperately seeking his lost child.

6. The Office: NBC (Thurs, 9/21) Back from the best, and most anticipated cliffhanger moment of last year’s TV season, the pacing of Jim and Pam’s evolving relationship in season 3 will be critical – to take things too far with the pairing would dissipate much of the lingering tension that makes The Office so endearing. Speculation is high, as the season premiere should take place in real time, meaning summer is over, and Pam and oafish Roy may already have tied the knot. Need a fix in the meantime? Visit OfficeTally.com, the ultimate destination for all manners of news, tidbits and spoilers.

5. 30 Rock: NBC (Wed, 10/11) If you leave SNL for a show based on SNL, where do you go from there? Tina Fey may ask herself the same question if her ship-jumping creation doesn’t pan out. Featuring Alec Baldwin, (coincidentally one of the most featured guest hosts in SNL history), as well as Tracy Morgan, whose tip of the hat to a Martin Lawrence highway freak out is well alone worth a peek on a Wednesday night.

4. Top Chef: Bravo (Wed,10/18) With a direct bloodline to Project Runway, those devoted to Bravo’s hit Wednesday night offering should welcome the wannabe culinary stars and their own brand of bitchy, opportunistic fun. Premiering immediately after the conclusion of Runway’s finale, if last season’s Top Chef was any indication, you’ll be able to transfer all your venom and snark towards the next Santino or Wendy Pepper bearing knives and frying pans.

3. The Wire: HBO (Sun, 9/10) If you missed the season four premiere of what many critics are calling the best thing on television, don’t fret. Check it out on HBO’s On Demand (in fact, they’re premiering new episodes there before the actual air dates), or if you’re new to the series, do yourself a favor and give this show a proper evaluation by renting season one. With a little patience, and the attention necessary to fully appreciate the hard look at Baltimore’s corners and corridors, seen through the eyes of all races and classes, you likely to find The Wire’s slow boil of urban drama well worth the investment.

2. Studio Sixty on the Sunset Strip: NBC (Mon, 9/18) Many have posed the question, “Can two shows, using Saturday Night Live as a jumping off reference, co-exist on the same network?” Despite past indiscretions in his personal and professional history, creator/writer Sorkin is known as a purveyor of top-quality dramas, and NBC will be sure to allow him a longer leash than 30 Rock. Featuring West Wing-er Bradley Whitford, Matthew Perry, and a host of additional well known prime-time commodities, the pilot episode sparkles with classic Sorkinisms, save for a lack of fast chattering walk and talk sequences. Best case scenario – both Sorkin and Fey stick to their strengths and deliver the goods, viewers tune in, and everybody wins. Missed the pilot episode for Studio 60? Watch it on online for free.

1. Dexter: Showtime: (Sun, 10/1) Despite limited success in producing quality original series, Showtime offers up number one on my watchlist. Back from Six Feet Under, to a more sordid occupation, Michael C. Hall stars as a forensic scientist working the Miami beat. (3 preview videos.) Based on novelist Jeff Lindsay’s Darkly Dreaming Dexter, faced with grim murder scenes, and backpedding from childhood trauma, Dexter acts as judge and jury, tracking down killers and handing out his own grizzly justice. Think American Psycho – Miami. While in production, Showtime made a few tweaks to the show to turn up the dark comedy aspects, and tone down the straight slasher flick content. Plus, it’s not all late-night knife wielding for Dex, what with his girlfriend to keep happy, and sister within the police force to advise, he has to keep up appearances with the normal folk to dissuade suspicious notions. I’d imagine the premise alone is enough to turn off the squeamish, but if Six Feet was able to find the magic balance of humor, death, and drama, what’s to stop the former Emmy nominated Michael C. Hall and Dexter?

A few more I’ll be keeping an eye out for – Kidnapped (NBC 9/20), My Name is Earl (NBC 9/21), Everybody Hates Chris (CW 10/1), Weeds (Showtime – in progress) Six Feet Under reruns (Bravo 10/2). Plus, both Mr. T and Ice-T have lessons to dole out to the viewing public in I Pity the Fool (TV Land 10/11) and Ice-T’s Rap School (VH-1 10/17).

More fall TV: Networks tripping over themselves to get premieres online, serialized dramas rule fall lineups, and the definitive references: TV Tattle and The Futon Critic.

Tags: fall tv lineups

All has been quiet on the Showtime front for Dexter, the Michael C. Hall vehicle premiering on Oct 1st. You would think that the return of a former Six Feet Under-taker starring in their own series would generate a little buzz, right? If not by watching Weeds on Monday nights to catch a teaser ad here and there, you might not know him by name, or the twist to the story, clarified in video three…Oh. Here he is.

It’s Dexter. He’s a forensic scientist, analyzing grizzly murder scenes.
There’s that Dexter again. Hey Guy, aren’t you off the clock?
Yeah, the thing is Dexter, not a peep from Miami’s serial killers lately. Any clues on your end?
Even The L Word girls love Dexter. Because the guy is going to be huge.

Related: Dexter preview.

Tags: dexter, michael c. hall, mark my words

After weeks of playing hide and seek on YouTube, in unsanctioned versions, the pilot episode of Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is now available, for free - right here, courtesy of AOL.com. The proper NBC premiere is on Monday, September 18th.

Tags: studio 60 pilot, aol

In a survey of 66 national television critics, Aaron Sorkin’s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (NBC) came out on top as the Best Overall New Program on the broadcast networks, with ABC’s comedy Ugly Betty in second place. Something akin to The Ugly Duckling meets The Devil Wears Prada, Betty features a bespectacled, braces wearing, fashion backwards young woman who starts on the bottom rung of a New York fashion magazine.

Studio 60 marks writer and creator Sorkin’s return to television since leaving The West Wing after four seasons. It chronicles the struggles of a writing staff for a SNL type late night show. Often referred to as NBC’s other “behind the cameras” series - 30 Rock, written by and starring Tina Fey, along with Alec Baldwin, was voted 2nd in Best New Comedy, behind Ugly Betty.

In the Best New Drama category, ABC’s The Nine was handed the top spot. Seemingly looking to dip into the same audience pool as Lost, and making liberal use of flashback sequences, the hour-long series follows the lives of nine people in the aftermath of becoming unwilling participants in a 52-hour hostage situation following a bank robbery.

Full results here, along with a guide of new shows that are already available for preview, one way or another. Plus, Entertainment Weekly’s fall TV preview, for broadcast networks.

Next week I’ll list my picks for most anticipated shows this fall, for both new and returning series. Also next week - film picks for the second half of 2006.

Tags: studio 60, ugly betty, 30 rock

In gearing up for the season four premiere of The Wire - on Sunday the 10th, HBO has already released the first episode of the new season on it’s On Demand service.

After dissecting both sides of the law at work in the projects, port docks, and street corners of Baltimore, the fourth season looks to the public education system - surrounded on all sides by the drug trade and it’s inherent violence, underfunded schools, and teachers forced to teach for test scores, as opposed to practical education, children often opt for the learning to be had on the streets.

Co-creator and writer of The Wire, Ed Burns, who previously spent 20 years in law enforcement dealing with drug-related homicides, followed up by 7 years in teaching, is well versed in the few options that are available. “The kids are going to learn something,” says Burns. “There’s going to be a place for them somewhere and, invariably, you can make the argument that they’re being trained for the corner.”

Working on a slow burn structure of a season long story arch, as opposed to traditional police procedurals that have less than 60 minutes for the pieces to fall into place, The Wire also stands out for it’s depth - where the motivation of dealers, stick-up artists, fiending users, and drug lords is up for equal analysis, and at times, as much empathy as politicians, police commanders, and rank-and-file officers.

For preparations sake, on what Entertainment Weekly is calling the “best-yet season of quite possibly the finest series ever made for television”, the Associated Press has a preview of season four, and The House Next Door blog has lengthy profiles of “rip and run artist” Omar Little, informant ne’er do well Bubbles, and slow-and-low talking entrepreneur Proposition Joe. They’ll have more on The Wire to finish out the week.

Tags: the wire, hbo

Having left The West Wing in 2003 after the conclusion of it’s fourth season, Aaron Sorkin’s had some time on his hands to ruminate on the perils of television. The creator/writer of West Wing and the short lived Sports Night now reenters the fold, guns blazing with his new series on the fall premiere docket for NBC: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Six minutes into the pilot episode, via a Network-y Judd Hirsch on-air tirade, Sorkin takes Fear Factor, The Apprentice, network coverage of Iraq, and the rest of the Tube to task. And now, the 30 thousand foot look at an SNL type comedy show, (not to be confused with that other series of a similar premise, Tina Fey’s 30 Rock) starring Bradley Whitford, Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, and Stephen Weber has been leaked to online sites, including the omnipresent YouTube.

Update 9/11: Removed the YouTube video, as it kept getting yanked. The Good News: AOL has the “official” online release right here. (Sorry, AOL pulled the pilot from their site as well). The pilot is also available for rental from Netflix. (Again, gone.)
Thanks to The Sunset Strip for the tip.

More: Studio 60 Live Blog: Tim Goodman

Tags: studio 60, aaron sorkin, youtube

Yesterday, daily must-read Pop Candy threw a gaggle of new readers my way after I simply passed on some information I had first read at Televisionary. Now I’m compelled to direct you to the wealth of TV riches over there. For example, there’s the preview of Showtime’s Dexter, which isn’t slated for it’s premiere until October. Six Feet Under devotees take note, your man Michael C. Hall aka David Fisher, stars in this new series (Last we saw David, he was tipping over in his picnic chair, taking his last breath as his man cool Keith drifted through memory). Hall plays our antihero Dexter, a forensic scientist who spends a good deal of his waking hours with the dead, not unlike David Fisher was accustumed to. The twist here is that Dexter, traumatic childhood and all, uses his forensic skills to track the serial killers whose deeds he comes across, and extracts revenge by nudging them towards their own grizzly deaths. Maybe not your cup of tea? Well according to Jace’s impressions of the pilot episode, despite the violent tone, there’s plenty to be looking foward to, specifically Hall’s performance. Anyways, think back a few years. The idea of a series focused on a nuclear family running a funeral home probably didn’t sound so enticing either.

Pilot Inspektor: Showtime’s “Dexter” - Televisionary
Also check out Showtime’s Dexter page, which features a short teaser video.

Tags: six feet under, michael c. hall, dexter