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'Seinfeld' Writer and Producer Making a New Show About Steve Jobs
I'm not sure if Apple Computer head Steve Jobs is going to be thrilled about this, but it could be fun. 'Seinfeld,' 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' and 'Borat' writer/director Larry Charles is doing a new TV show for Epix based on the blog that writer Dan Lyons did called The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs (which was later a novel, 'Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs'). The new show will be called 'iCon,' which was also the name of a Jobs biography by Jeffrey Young and William Simon.As a Mac guy, I will definitely watch this. Charles himself says that he is "attempting to do nothing less than a modern 'Citizen Kane.'" (Spoiler: his laptop's name is Rosebud!)
I'm sure this will be a hit with Mac fans and they're probably excited to see a weekly TV show based on their hero (though the character in the show will be "fictional"). I bet a lot of viewers are just surprised that there's a cable channel called "Epix."
Top TV Stories of 2009: TV coverage of Michael Jackson's death
As a fan of music from the 80's and the early 90's, I didn't believe it at first when one of my friends told me that Michael Jackson died. Since TVs were rare where I was at the time, my first instinct was to check CNN.com. As soon as I got confirmation, I found a TV and was glued to one of the news-only channels to get all the latest updates on the death of one of my music idols.TV coverage of Michael Jackson's death was worldwide and every source of media. The news of his death, the coroner's investigation, the rumors that his death may have been faked (see the video after the jump), the news of where he would be buried, the details of the various tributes, as well as coverage of the special funeral ceremony, etc., made Michael Jackson's death one of the 2009 events that got the most air time around the world. Even as huge an MJ fan I am -- I do have about 30 of his hits on my MP3 -- I can admit that this event got too much air time.
Ask TV Squad: The TV Squad edition
The "Ask TV Squad" column, published every Wednesday, answers your questions about current and past TV shows, as well as about the celebrities appearing on TV. Every week, I will pick a question (or more) sent to us and provide answers in the column. If your question is not picked for a column, it may be answered in a subsequent column or in TV Squad's APB Podcast. To submit questions to the "Ask TV Squad" column, you can post them below in comments or email them at asktvsquad@gmail.com. This week, I answer questions about our own site, TVSquad.com!
Stan Lee to make Heroes cameo
Marvel comics icon Stan "The Man" Lee will make a cameo appearance on the Monday, February 19th episode of Heroes. Entitled "Unexpected," Lee will play a bus driver who has an encounter with Hiro Nakamura.Is it because we have proof positive that Masi Oka was once a nerd supreme - works part-time for George Lucas, on the cover of Time circa 1987 as an Asian-American Whiz Kid - that he gets to have all the geek-out encounters on Heroes? His dad is George Takei. He rides the bus with Stan Lee. Anyone want to start making guesses as to what uber-geek chic run-in Hiro will have next? Frank Miller? Alan Moore? The cast of Firefly? Xeni Jardin? He's got an in with Lucas.
Johnny Cash video debuts tomorrow on several networks (plus his San Quentin appearance)
The music video for the late Johnny Cash's song "God's Gonna Cut You Down" will debut tomorrow evening on CMT, MTV and VH1. It will first appear during the CMT Top 20 Countdown from 4 pm to 7 pm. Later that evening, it will air on both MTV and VH1 at 11 pm. The video will also debut tomorrow on the Web sites for all the aforementioned channel, as well as on MTVU.com and Urge, MTV's music service.
Several musicians and actors will appear in the video, including Iggy Pop, Chris Rock, Dennis Hopper, Patti Smith, Johnny Depp and the Dixie Chicks. Justin Timberlake helped with the concept of the video, which to me is like having a two year old paint a tribute to Leonardo DaVinci, but whatever. As much as they're hyping this video, I think simply popping in a copy of American V: A Hundred Highways and listening to the track is a better option than watching the video.
However, you should tune into CMT at 8pm tomorrow night to catch a re-airing of Johnny Cash in San Quentin, the 1969 film that covered his famous and controversial performance.
Maltin interviews Joseph Barbera
This is one of those "six degrees of Kevin Bacon" type things, but a close friend of mine actually attended college with the grandson of Joseph Barbera, one-half of the famous Hanna-Barbera team who were responsible for most of our childhood memories by creating charcters like Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear, and about fifty gajillion others. Google Video has a seven part interview with Mr. Barbera conducted by Leonard Maltin for the Archive of American Television. The entire interview clocks in at about four hours, and I've been watching little snippets here and there. It's interesting to watch, but I find it's much easier on my eyes if I just let the audio play and do things about the house as I listen to it. At any rate, if you're a fan I encourage you to check it out.
[via Cartoon Brew]
The Five: Daffy Duck's greatest moments
While each of the Looney Tunes characters had their own personality, even those personalities would differ depending on which era the cartoon was made, and who was directing. Porky Pig, for example, was often portrayed as the neurotic foil, but in later cartoons with Daffy Duck he was often the calm voice of reason. Daffy also differed greatly in personality from his early days under the supervision of Bob Clampett when he truly lived up to the name "daffy" to his eventual evolution into the selfish but lovable duck most people know him as today. Trying to keep these two sides of Daffy's psyche in mind, I've come up with five of what I think are his best shorts:
Duck Amuck (1953): "And on this farm he had an igloo...." This was one of my favorite cartoons growing up, and still is today. Daffy finds himself at the mercy of an unseen director who erases and paints in new scenery, erases Daffy himself, and even messes with the music soundtrack and Daffy's own voice. Al the while Daffy tries to reason with him, but to no avail. In the end it's revealed that the man with the magic pencil and paintbrush is actually Bugs Bunny.
The Five: Bugs Bunny's greatest moments
Bugs Bunny is by far the most unflappable character in cartoons, an insouciant thorn in the side of anyone who seeks to do him harm, and the only one able to maintain his cool while everyone around him is going insane. I've come up with five of my favorite Bugs Bunny shorts of all time, and it wasn't easy. I managed to pare the list from eleven down to seven, and finally, down to five. Here they are:
What's Opera, Doc? (1957): "Spear and magic helmet?" A later entry into the Looney Tunes library, this has come to be recognized as one of the best animated shorts of all time. The basic plot of Elmer hunting Bugs and Bugs thwarting his every attempt is still evident here, but it's amplified by the great musical score, Maurice Noble's amazing background art, and a tragic love story that's actually rather touching in its own unbalanced way. I also love this exchange between Elmer (as Siegfried) and Bugs (disguised as Siegfried's love interest, Valkyrie Brunhilde):
Elmer: [singing] Oh Brunhilde , you're so lovely.
Bugs: [singing] Yes I know it, I can't help it.
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