Howdy Lowdown Blogettes! Can I call our readers “blogettes?” Well, we’ll work on it. Anyway, you’ve probably figured out that I’ve drawn in for Jackie who down with a sickness. Not “the sickness.” He’s actually not feeling well so I’m covering for him. Anyway, there are a couple of big releases this weekend including The Words and Bachelorette starring Kirsten Dunst.
After the jump, the end of G4 TV, news on some future movie releases, TV casting updates and more. Continue reading
Bad news folks. I’ve drawn in for Jackie to cover the entertainment and pop culture beat this week. He couldn’t have picked a better week to be off. The new Farrell vs. Galifianakis election spoof The Campaign opens this weekend. Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep and Steve Carrell star in Hope Springs which looks like this weekend’s date movie for couples who have fallen into a rut. The big move of the weekend is The Bourne Legacy. Presumably the legacy is carrying on a movie franchise after everyone thought it was done and the lead moved on leaving Hawkeye playing the lead in Matt Damon’s place. On the plus side, The Bourne Legacy does also star Rachel Weisz.
Hit the jump for a review of The Bourne Legacy, other summer blockbuster news, the latest hilarious celebrity gossip (though isn’t all celebrity gossip kinda funny) and Fallon as Morrison does Reading Rainbow. Continue reading
You probably didn’t notice but I was on vacation last week. Thanks to Jackie for covering for me and doing last week’s Wednesday links. I’m back in action today with the Sunday links. We’ve got a big week of programming coming this week. All that’s missing is the podcast. I am hoping to live blog today’s Edmonton Indy over on @LowdownLive but no guarantees. But first, here’s Canadian model Kim Cloutier. If you look up Canadian models on the interweb, she seems to be the consensus favourite.
When I first heard about the theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado, I didn’t see it first in a newspaper or on TV. Twitter was the first to the story. Here’s a look at how Twitter and the rest of the social media is reshaping the modern newsroom. (GigaOM)
Reader Sarah tipped this next article to us. A while back, we linked to an article about former CNBC, now ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell getting duped by a fake tip. It turns out that this sort of thing goes beyond one guy. In fact, there’s a website called HelpAReporterOut which is full of people doing the same thing. (Forbes)
You’d think that being a member of the press during a political campaign would be pretty easy. Everything a candidate or his team says would be on the record. Except that campaign press offices for the two US Presidential candidates get to approve the final wording of quotes under penalty of being cut off from the campaign. (New York Times)
After the jump, the lessons the 2012 US basketball team can learn from the Mighty Ducks, Rush Limbaugh and rational thought are two things that don’t go together and call me Obi. Continue reading
I’ve spent most of this week away from the interweb but hopefully have put together a halfway decent linkdump. In case I missed the mark, here’s Zoe Duchesne.
CNN and Fox News got the Obamacare decision horribly wrong in the race to be first with the news. They came first and finished last. Here’s how the SCOTUS decision played out in the media. (SCOTUS Blog)
Daniel Tosh is colossal douche. You have to be one to make jokes about a heckler getting gang raped. (Think Progress)
Before RIM CEO Thorsten Heins faced the wrath of shareholders, he answered the questions of the common folk. Well, he answered the softball questions of common folk. (The Globe and Mail)
After the jump, a look at the NASCAR drug policy, apparently there’s lots of sex in the Olympic Village and the viral video of the week. Continue reading
After some six months off, The Lowdown podcast is back with another episode. Today’s episode of the show came on the heals of some big news which Steve and Jackie dissected. The show starts with a discussion and rant about Mass Effect 3 and the Extended Cut ending which was announced the day before taping and released earlier today. That transitions to a discussion of the lack of originality in the movie industry with an increase in the number of reboots and video game movies. Courting controversy, Steve discusses Jerry Sandusky and Chris Brown in the same breath and explains why arguing who is worse is missing the point. Discussion then turns to the NHL draft, the upcoming free agent non-frenzy and superstars on the trading block. The show ends with the boys talking about Fox’s MasterChef and where it’s gone wrong this season.
In total, this return of the podcast chimes in at almost two hours long.
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A lot of people self-identify as nerds. Most of these are celebrities who are pandering to the internet crowd in the hopes of making more money. Beyond the “nerds” is a subcategory which I include myself in: The geeks. Geeks are better than nerds in every possible fashion, especially in terms of knowledge in their chosen field of geekdom. But do you know what kind of geek you are? Find out by using this handy infographic. Continue reading
I wasn’t sure who to kick off this linkdump with but Fox kept telling me last night was the season finale of Glee. Given that the ads made it seem like most of the cast was “graduating” and that the show is terribly written, I doubt it’s long for this world. Anyway, since she’s likely soon to fade out of the public eye without steady network employment, here’s Lea Michele.
Tim Tebow needs new handlers and a new outlook on life. His handlers have requested the deletion of all pictures of him with female cast members of Rock of Ages. Tebow like women and musicals! How can he be the second coming if that’s the case? (Awful Announcing)
For some reason, Rick Reilly is still writing columns for ESPN. I don’t know how he’s still employed after turning in crap like this. (Deadspin)
Though there might be a scientific reason why Reilly’s columns seem so awful. I mean, beyond the writer. He’s writing his columns at a 5th grade level. (Deadspin)
After the jump, the worst baseball hitter ever, George Lucas gets revenge on his neighbours’ wallets and Will Smith (and everyone else) raps the Fresh Prince theme on live TV. Continue reading
Nobody panic. Oh, who am I kidding? If I’m covering the entertainment and pop culture beat, then you should probably be a bit concerned. That’s especially true considering the only major wide-release at the theatres this week is Tim Burton’s take on the classic TV series Dark Shadows. But it does have the slightly underrated Eva Green in it. At least Burton did something right.
Let’s kick this post off with some good news. So, GOOD NEWS! Community has been renewed for a fourth season. It’s only for 13 episodes but considering that NBC has ordered a series with Dane Cook and one with Matthew Perry, it’s not like Community could do comparably worse. (Hit Fix)
After the jump, more NBC news, more news about The Avengers, the latest on Prometheus and Nina Dobrev doing yoga. Continue reading
Around here, we like to keep you apprised of the latest Canadian talent. The latest up-and-comer is Michea Crawford. And it’s pretty easy to see that she’s going to be in our 2013 Hottest Canadian bracket.
As a robot, Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper has trouble grasping such things as distasteful comments and facts. He accused the NDP of being pro-Hitler in 1939. That was a fabrication because the NDP didn’t exist until 1961. Anyway, the Canadian people weren’t willing to let him get away with such a ridiculous statement. (CBC News)
Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream is up for sale this week. It’s estimated auction value is over $80 million. (Wall Street Journal)
ESPN is so busy trying to seem like a proper bunch of journalists that they’re forgetting basic journalistic principles. A recent report suggests that ESPN has no actual evidence that the New Orleans Saints wiretapped other teams. (Awful Announcing)
After the jump, how the NBA and WWE are similar, how husbands/wives feel about movie sex scenes and a Star Wars lip dub. Continue reading
EVERYBODY PANIC! I’m covering for Jackie on this week’s Entertainment Link-Off and will once again bring my oddly bizarre twist on pop culture. God help you all. At least you get to experience my outstanding taste in post opening photos. For example, here’s Brooklyn Decker who stars in the upcoming summer blockbuster Battleship.
Let’s kick things off in a Jackie-esque way. Arrested Development creator Mitch Hurwitz talks about the return of his cult favourite show. (Vulture)
After the jump, TV’s nostalgia kick, why Nicholas Sparks and Hollywood are going to ruin any chance you have of having a proper relationship and a Parks and Rec gag reel. Continue reading
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