When I learned that Will Arnett was the voice in those GMC commercials, I was shocked, mostly because I envision him as that fun, goofy guy from Arrested Development. Who knew he had such a serious voice? I learned this information during Arnett’s appearance on Howard Stern to promote his new pilot with Keri Russell, Running Wilde. The creator, Mitch Hurwitz, also created Arrested Development. Though I have my fingers crossed for Arnett’s new show, at least he has the ongoing voice-over work, which is the most coveted “get” in Hollywood. The commercials take very little man-hours to record, and Arnett gets paid every time it airs. Watch the commercial below, and wait until the end to hear Arnett’s hot-and sexy voice.
Author: The Dishmaster
Is Conan String-Dancing on Jeff Zucker’s Career-Grave?
The Mother-Zucker lost his job today, and I can’t help but wonder if Conan is secretly laughing. As I pointed out in yesterday’s Blockbuster post, I don’t usually rejoice at another’s demise, but I sometimes make exceptions. I’ll make an exception today for Jeff Zucker, who was the brains behind the Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien late-night debacle, and who handled his mistakes by pointing the finger at Conan’s failings, instead of his own. To quote the great Tim Gunn, “take responsibility for your own actions,” Mr. Zucker. As an aside, he also made a feeble attempt to smoke Conan off the air for three years, so that Conan could not move to another network to compete with Leno. It didn’t work, and insiders felt it was only a matter of time before Zucker was held accountable for his poor decisions. Zucker was fired by Comcast COO Steve Burke. If you would like a detailed account of Zucker’s failings while he headed NBC, then read Bill Carter’s fantastic book, Desperate Networks. You can also read Nikki Finke’s brief recap. How NBC kept him all this time, when he single-handedly sunk the network after NBC lost Friends, I’ll never understand. Oh wait — yes I will — It’s Hollywood. Here’s hoping that this gave Conan a slight sense of enjoyment.
Today’s Question: Is Bruce Springsteen Jewish?
Bruce Springsteen joins Sting on my fantasy list of hot entertainers I’d like to be stuck with on a deserted island. In my fantasy, we get rescued from the island after many wonderful years living off the earth, and we continue our May-December romance on dry land. Though I can imagine my mother finding Sting to be a little strange, I think Springsteen would win her over. Why? Because he’s Jewish, isn’t he? When I Googled his name to confirm, I noticed something very strange. I spelled his name wrong! He’s not “Bruce Springstein!” His name has a double ‘e’ at the end! Translation? Bruce is not a Jew! How on earth am I going to take him home to my mother after we exit our deserted island? Alright, enough. We will just have to stay on the island forever, like The Blue Lagoon (only I’ll sink the rescue ship instead of eating poisonous berries).
Lifetime Doesn’t Get It — Tim Gunn Removes His Video Critique
There is only one person in the entertainment industry that properly gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at a television show, and that’s Tim Gunn. Gunn discussed the debauchery of the Project Runway producers in his Facebook video blog, and he later removed it because it created a “hurtful reaction.” I’m sure this “hurt” was experienced by the producers that he outed (he even used their names) as incompetent during his episode recap. Gunn said that the challenge simply didn’t “make sense,” as Jackie Kennedy would not be caught dead in American sportswear. He even divulged that he crashed the runway to interrupt the judges, because he felt they were being unfair to his designers who had trouble understanding the ridiculous challenge. No need to explain that Lifetime edited out Tim’s tirade, because they don’t know what makes for good television. There is an important lesson to be learned here. Not only do the Lifetime producers have trouble managing their own show, but they also have trouble understanding the importance of Gunn’s video blogs. If they were creatively adept, they would surely air them on the Lifetime website, because they are better than the show itself. Get your act together, guys. To watch the video, click the link below. Gunn may have removed it from his Facebook page, but not before it was grabbed by other bloggers.
TIM GUNN BASHES LIFETIME
Blockbuster Files Chapter 11 — The Witch is Dead
I don’t usually rejoice at the failings of others, but I’ll make an exception for Blockbuster. I’ve hated the company most of my life, primarily because they are responsible for many childhood scoldings from my father. Care for details? When I was a tweenie, there was little to do except rent movies with my friends and watch them at home. Because Blockbuster had a monopoly on movie rentals, I had no other options. I would inevitably lose the movie under my bed, and when I found it and returned it to Blockbuster, I was given an exorbitant late fee, which usually amounted to over $100. The bastards behind the counter never adjusted the price despite my tearful protests. The result was inevitable — I was grounded by my father, and banned from any future Blockbuster rentals, until I was old enough to either pay for the late fee myself, or put it on my own credit card. Needless to say, it was a long time before I rented movies again. Many years later, Netflix became the first company to give Blockbuster competition, and they immediately trounced them. Blockbuster then copied Netflix’s model, by launching online rentals, and changing their despised late fee policy. But it was too late. The online launch cost them millions, and the company never recovered. Perhaps if they decided much earlier not to rob little children like myself, they would have survived. It shouldn’t take a competitor to make your company moral, you should be moral on your own. So goodbye Blockbuster. May you rest in peace.
‘The View’ Ladies Discuss God — Stick to Gossip
There’s a very specific reason I love Barbara Walters on The View. She’s the only sensible lady on the panel, and I often describe her as the Queen of England at a petting zoo. The “hot topic” on yesterday’s show, was the recent scientific explanation about how the wind, and not God, parted the Red Sea. Both Sherri Shepherd and Elizabeth Hasselbeck had a predictable field day with the topic, with Babs filling in for Whoopi Goldberg as moderator. I’ve attached the clip below for your enjoyment, and pay close attention to Barbara’s questions — it’s very funny. She asks both Sherri and Elizabeth multiple times whether they believe in evolution, likely because she was astonished at their response. She also kept asking them whether they believe that everything in the bible should be taken literally, and you’ll have to watch to see their answer. Be careful when you watch it though; your brain might melt.
Adam Levine Can Sing — Who Knew?
Let me begin this post by saying that Adam Levine of Maroon 5 greatly annoys me. But to be fair, who doesn’t? There’s just something very off-putting about the dorky Jewish guy who gets fame, and then screws every model he can get his hands on. As my mother would say, “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you find a nice Jewish girl?” Plus, his uncle is Timothy Noah, a writer and editor for Slate Magazine, and I predict there was a bit of connection-based success. Though I’m not against nepotism on its face, I like to arbitrarily oppose it based solely on personal bias — such as his aforementioned quest for hot models, instead of Jewish girls like myself. Now that I’ve waxed on about my Levine annoyances, I have to confess that I love the new Maroon 5 song, Out of Goodbyes. He collaborated with Lady Antebellum for it, and it’s released today along with his new album, Hands All Over. Listen below.
Out of Goodbyes by Pupudtxx
Kim Kardashian Regrets Botox? — Let the Back Peddling Begin
Kim Kardashian has officially launched a new media tactic. Here it is: make poor decisions, encounter a press backlash, and then squirm out of it by saying you regret it. In a statement to People Magazine, the reality star says that while she is not against others getting botox, the procedure just “wasn’t necessary” for her, given that she’s so young. This marks her third attempt at back-peddling. The first was her sex-tape, which she continues to deny releasing, and the second was her Playboy shoot, which she later said she “regrets.” Its a pretty shrewd strategy if you ask me.
Colin Quinn Makes it to Broadway — Congratulations
Colin Quinn has always been considered an underated talent in comedy circles. Fortunately for Quinn, those circles include Jerry Seinfeld, who produced Quinn’s Off-Broadway one-man show, which has now moved to Broadway. Seinfeld knew that network executives can’t spot talent, so he told Quinn to find another avenue to promote his act. He was right, and the show moved to Broadway after receiving great reviews. Seinfeld will be directing it. The interesting thing about theater, is that all you need to make it on Broadway is money. Unlike Hollywood, where the unfunny neanderthals in the creative division (who I like to call “creanderthals”) choose was makes it to your television screen, Broadway is dependent on investors from just about anywhere. Have some rich friends that fancy themselves comedians? Perhaps you can have a show on Broadway too. That’s not to say that this is a better avenue to foster talent, given that even Broadway is suffering from remake-syndrome. Having said that, I’m very happy for Colin Quinn. He deserves it.