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Celebrity Baby Boom: Beyonce Expecting Baby #2

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:45:50 -0400

See which celebrities are gearing up for parenthood.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Liberace: His Life and Fabulous Times

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:36:07 -0400

The HBO biopic "Behind the Candelabra" peeks into the private life of flashy entertainer Liberace. Take a look at the flashy costumes and glittering appearances of the performer who was known as much for his lavish spending as for his music.

Photo Credit: WireImage

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:35:19 -0400

The 28th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony was held at Nokia Theatre on April 18 in Los Angeles. Inductees include Rush, Donna Summer, Quincy Jones, Randy Newman, Lou Adler, Albert King, Public Enemy and Heart. The ceremony will air May 18 on HBO.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

"The Office" Bids a Funny, Sweet Farewell

JERE HESTER — Fri, 17 May 2013 09:28:15 -0400

The series finale of “The Office” offered a satisfying mix of the elements that fueled the best big-network sitcom of its time – proving by turns delightfully absurd (Angela and Dwight exchanging wedding vows while standing in his-and-her graves), cringe-worthy (Dwight firing of Kevin, via a message on a cake) and hilarious (Michael’s surprise return to deliver the dirtiest – and funniest – “That’s what she said!” line in the show’s history).

The last wave of humor flowed amid poignant moments that reminded us why we cared about “The Office,” a mockumentary featuring fictional characters, who, for all their silliness, banality and struggles with futility, became precious to us. As Pam, who found art and true love in a dysfunctional Scranton, Pa., paper company, put it in the show’s final line: “There’s a lot of beauty in ordinary things, isn’t that the point?”

The extraordinary, bittersweet closing episode of “The Office” solidified the long-running NBC show’s place in TV history among the rare sitcoms able to make us laugh until it hurts while occasionally – and unexpectedly – touching our hearts.

“The Office,” which shares its creative DNA with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's brilliant original U.K. version, joined “All in the Family” among the few British-inspired comedies to thrive on this side of the Atlantic. Like “MASH” and “Cheers, “The Office” survived the departure of major characters. The program, which barely made it through its inaugural season, ultimately became the best office-set ensemble comedy since “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” the greatest of the genre.

Sure, it was too much to expect the kind of ratings and hoopla that surrounded the farewells of past classics, such as “Seinfeld,” which left the air 15 years ago this week as more than 76 million fans watched. “The Office,” after all, was a show of its time, reflecting an era of downsizing – from jobs to TV audiences.

Dunder Mifflin didn't always offer ideal or stable working conditions (remember Michael's nasty fake-firing of Pam? The absorption of the Stamford branch? The corporate takeovers?) Comically uncomfortable moments filled an eight-year run that coincided with one of the toughest economic downturns in decades.

“The Office” also echoed the shifting entertainment landscape, using the Reality TV convention of characters addressing an off-camera camera crew – unseen until this compelling final season, in which the documentary team emerged as a key character, adding a new, welcome layer of depth.

The camera crew returned for Thursdays’ finale – six months after the nine-years-in-the-making documentary aired on PBS and just in time for Dwight and Angela’s wedding.

The crew captured some great closing images: Dwight and Michael dancing to Bruce Springsteen’s “Rosalita” at Schrute Farms. Phyllis giving Angela a piggyback ride down the aisle. Erin meeting her birth parents. Self-absorbed Kelly and Ryan running off together for a life likely to be lived unhappily ever after. Andy, a viral video laughingstock, learning to live with – and even embrace – his odd brand of fame.

We also saw Michael show off pictures of his real family – and tear up while watching his surrogate children Jim, Pam, Dwight and Angela sharing their joy at the wedding.

“I feel like all my kids grew up and then they married each other – it’s every parent’s dream,” he said – aptly goofy and touching last words for a clueless bumbler whose heart, if not his mind, ultimately landed in the right place.

But perhaps the most telling moments came when the characters took the stage for a “Survivor”-like reunion show before the nuptials.

“Do you find that your life feels pointless now that nobody’s actually filming you anymore?” one audience member asked.

Sad sack former human resources director Toby instantly answered, “Yes” – a line worth more than a reflexive chuckle.

The question struck at issues the characters – and, by extension, the TV audience – grappled with in the last show. Was the Dunder Mifflin gang better off for having exposed their lives to the film crew? Did they learn anything about themselves? Was the audience better off for having watched all these years?

Jim and Pam, whose romance gave “The Office” much of its heart, offered answers in the series’ moving final minutes, affirming their commitment to one another – and fans' commitment to the show.

Pam said she got frustrated viewing the documentary because she realized that she didn’t grab her chance at happiness soon enough. Watching also helped her rectify her error in pressuring Jim to stop pursuing his dream career with a sports marketing startup. “Act fast,” Pam said, “because life isn’t that long.”

Jim told the documentary crew that in the end, he was grateful for their presence: “Imagine going back and watching a tape of your life … You guys gave that to me and that’s an amazing gift.”

“The Office,” over nine seasons and some 200 episodes, gave us all an amazing gift – a show we’ll cherish and deeply miss. (That’s what she said!)

Hester is founding director of the award-winning, multi-media NYCity News Service at the City University of New York Graduate School of Journalism. He is the former City Editor of the New York Daily News, where he started as a reporter in 1992. Follow him on Twitter.

Photo Credit: NBC

Mel Brooks: A Celebration of Class and Crass

SCOTT HUVER — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:15:08 -0400

“It was very important to me,” declares Mel Brooks, “that every film and everything that I did had a modicum of bad taste, or else it wasn't me. I was naturally vulgar and I didn't want to waste it, so I used it in my comedy.” As it turns out, Brooks didn’t just have a flair for hilarious jokes of questionable taste – he has a genius for it, and one he mined for decades.

From a stint behind the scenes as a writer on Sid Caesar’s pioneering 1950s TV sketch comedy “Your Show of Shows” through his 1960s comedy act with Carl Reiner, a string of taboo-tweaking movie genre spoofs like "The Producers," “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Spaceballs” through the 70s, 80s and 90s, to reinventing his by-then trademark naughty silliness for Broadway in the 2000s, Brooks’ penchant for highbrow use of lowbrow gags is celebrated in PBS’s prestigious “American Masters” series.

Airing May 20, “Mel Brooks: Make a Noise” explores every aspect of the writer/director/producer’s storied 60-year career – or more aptly, his love affair with showbiz (Brooks is one of the rare few to have been awarded Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony trophies). Brooks himself is rarely given to indulge his industry’s extremely frequent victory laps – “I mean, why waste time doing that when you can write another song or you could write another movie,” he says of the PBS celebration, “but it's nice once in a while to just relax and revel in some of the nice things you've done.”

The documentary features a plethora of clips from every facet of Brooks’ career, along with interviews with colleagues collaborators like Reiner, Matthew Broderick, Nathan Lane, Cloris Leachman, Joan Rivers and Tracey Ullman – but the wealth and depth of Brooks’ prolific output coalesced into a clearer vision of the entertainer.

“What emerged was what a singular voice he is in comedy,” says "Make a Noise" filmmaker Robert Trachtenberg, “because as I did the research, and as I started to talk to people, I quickly realized that from his generation, his concerns were not the concerns of any of his contemporaries. He wasn't concerned with mother-in-law jokes. He wasn't concerned with my-boss-is-so-horrible jokes. He wasn't concerned with I-came-home-and-the-kids-were-blah-blah-blah jokes. He was thinking on a whole other plane that incorporated history and literature and religion.”

Brooks says his humor wasn’t fueled by any childhood angst or inner turmoil – he just loved making people laugh, something Melvin James Kaminsky (his real name) learned as a 16-year-old standup comic working in the Catskills. “I used to go out on stage and say, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, relax – you're in for a memorable night of comedy.’ I swear to God, I'd say that. ‘I am really good – you don't have to worry. You're going to be thoroughly, happily entertained, and you'll wish that the evening never ended. That's how good this is going to be. So don't worry! Don't murmur anymore about “Who is this guy?” And I was really insanely confident. I had no reason to be, but I just felt it.”

Eventually he found his way onto the nigh-legendary writing staff for “Your Show of Shows” – a pantheon of future comedy rainmakers that included Reiner, brothers Neil and Danny Simon, Larry Gelbart, Mel Tolkin and later a young Woody Allen – and Brooks happily toiled away out of the spotlight. “I had an incredibly talented vehicle for my comedy, for my passion, and that was Sid Caesar,” he explains. “Nobody was as brilliant and as funny as Sid Caesar, so I put my ego aside, and I just wrote my heart out for him. And he always delivered… I learned a great deal from Sid.”

The now classic “2000 Year Old Man” routines – originally derived from improvised skits he and Reiner would do for friends at parties – made Brooks a star, with their comedy albums topping the charts and their live performances a staple of variety TV shows in the early ‘60s – they became icons of cool for pre-hippie coffee house crowd. “It really was a fantastic run,” chuckled Brooks. “I really bathed in it. I loved being with Carl on stage and playing the 2,000 Year Old Man. Believe it or not, I did the least work and got the most return in terms of the laughs, because Carl was the architect. That was the most successful character we created, but he did most of the work. The genius of that is Carl Reiner figuring out what our place was in entertainment.”

“They're so profound those, albums,” says comedian – and future Brooks film actor – Richard Lewis (“Robin Hood: Men In Tights”). “I was only 13 or so when I heard ‘2,000 Year Old Man,’ and I sat there. I was transfixed in the same way when I was 18 and in college and heard Lenny Bruce's Berkeley album, or later with Richard Pryor. I said, 'This is the bar.'"

Brooks parlayed his celebrity and comedy cachet into a new career, writing and directing feature films, beginning with “The Producers” and its landmark, intentionally-doomed-to-fail musical “Springtime For Hitler,” which announced the nascent auteur’s risk-embracing approach to wringing comedy out of touchy subjects (and marked the first of many successful collaborations with the equally daring Gene Wilder).

“Blazing Saddles” in particular introduced a new high in new lows, with its outrageous use of racial slurs and the scatological symphony of the infamous “farting scene."

“People couldn't believe it,” Brooks says, recalling early reactions.” I used to go into the movie house when the farting scene was just about to come on, and there would be such strange sounds at the beginning: ‘What?’ Oh…’ And then: unrestrained, unrestricted laughter, where some people actually fell out of their seats and rolled down the aisles. I mean, there was no better payment – from God, from the world – to then see a couple hundred people out of control with laughter. You knew that you had done something sacred and marvelous.”

Trachtenberg says Brooks’ comedy wasn’t just about tipping over sacred cows – there was a method to his meshuggah. “Andrew Bergman who co‑wrote 'Blazing Saddles,' says he broke the doors open in what you could do and get away with. And still today, you look at it, and your jaw's a little on the floor, that 40 years ago he got away with it! He absolutely influenced Trey Parker and Matt Stone of 'South Park' and Judd Apatow. They always cite him as an influence, and he's a little shocked at how far it goes."

“I love that,” enthused Brooks of the subsequent generation of boundary-pushers who took inspiration from him. “I love ‘South Park.’ I think it's a great show, and I do think that in a way I did break some of the ground that they're treading now. Also, I feel that l ‘Django Unchained,’ owes a salute to ‘Blazing Saddles.’ So I'm very proud of Quentin Tarantino. I think he's a very crazy, brave filmmaker. I love his work and I think he’s wonderful.”

Along with helming his own string of hits frequently populated by an ensemble of favorite screen eccentrics – most notably Wilder, Leachman, Madeline Kahn, Dom Deluise, Harvey Korman and Marty Feldman – his production company Brooksfilms was also responsible for several acclaimed films, including “The Elephant Man,” “My Favorite Year” and “Frances.” “Working with him is a total delight, and you're going to laugh a lot,” says “My Favorite Year” director Richard Benjamin. ”But he's also really smart. He's a great producer, and when you need him, he's there. And when you don't need him, he doesn't bother you at all. You just go ahead and make your movie.”

He’s a little more hands-on when it comes to his own films. “Just shut up and do what he says, and no one gets hurt,” chuckles Amy Yasbek, who appeared in Brooks’ “Robin Hood: Men In Tights” and “Dracula: Dead and Loving It.” “When I was in school and everybody's like, 'Someday I'm going to work with Scorsese. Someday I'm going to work with Woody Allen...' I'm like, 'Yeah – no. If I could work only work with Mel Brooks...' And when it actually happened to me, I was living the dream…He mentored me. He fathered me. He really took care of me on the set and just made me feel comfortable, and was also really sassy and appreciated my sass right back.”

It’s clear that if any sort of satisfaction eluded him during his most prolific years, it’s the fact that his films’ uproarious antics often overshadowed the artistry that he brought to the table.

“I wanted the artistry to be there but never to star it, never to be evident,” he says. “When I did ‘Young Frankenstein,’ there was a lot of art in it, and there's a lot of classy stuff, but I wanted to hide it behind the comedy. I always wanted it to be in the salute to James Whale, to this brilliant filmmaker that did ‘Frankenstein,’ ‘Son of Frankenstein,’ and ‘Bride of Frankenstein’ – amazing work. And I wanted to salute that work, that incredible cinema.”

There’s still a bit of lingering sting that his auteur abilities went unacknowledged at the time – though he took home an Oscar for his screenplay for “The Producers,” he was never nominated for directing. “Billy Wilder said and Alfred Hitchcock, two friends of mine, said ‘You should have won the Academy Award for “Young Frankenstein.” It's the best direction ever in film.’ And I was never even recognized.”

This year, however, he’s getting his due from the American Film Institute, receiving their Life Achievement Award in a lavish ceremony airing on Turner Classic Movies June 15 and 16, complemented with salutatory showings of several of his films. “AFI is really the ultimate salute to film direction,” says Brooks, before wisecracking “What it is really is a roast, but they disguise it as some kind of classy film award. But I don't mind, but it's nice to be recognized because I've done a lot of film as an auteur, as a writer/director, and they leave out the director part. I didn't get that payoff.”

Broadway, of course, adored him, showering his musical adaptation of “The Producers” with Tonys – and in many ways, the format was the most appealing to the showbiz-loving kid who first hit the stage in the Catskills. “There's nothing like a live show on Broadway with a Broadway audience – nothing like it!” he enthuses. “It's the greatest payoff. You do a movie, you've got to wait a year or two before you can actually see it with an audience, all that work, and then you're on to something else. But it's all one piece if you do something for Broadway, and if you have an out of town…in Chicago when we did ‘The Producers.’ I burst into tears every night. I couldn't believe people were standing, cheering at the end of it. I couldn't believe all the giant laughs we got with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick on stage.”

Brooks, who turns 87 in June, says he’s planning to wring a few more giant laughs out of audiences. "I'm working on a movie right now, and I'm thinking maybe ‘Blazing Saddles’ should move to the stage as a musical, too.”

Showbiz, says Benjamin, is Brooks’ lifeblood. “It's in his genes. He sees life in a wonderful, upbeat, positive way, in the face of all kinds of things. And it's a good lesson for everybody. He's made that choice to see things that way, and it's pretty great – and he's great to be around, too.”

“When I was in the Catskills, I was hoping that I could get some kind of job – maybe a drummer in a touring band,” says Brooks. “I never thought that I would ever be writing a TV show or starring in a movie – never! It was all one miracle after another. So I'd say it's one-third ambition and grit. Second third: talent – God-given, the gift of understanding things and turning them into comedy and knowing what to do with it. And the third is luck, pure luck. Not to get hit by a car, killed by a German bullet, and having the audience dig your stuff. Really love it.”

“I mean, the farting scene could have gone either way,” he reflects. “I could have done that farting scene in ‘Blazing Saddles’ and never worked again. Like, ‘Thank you very much – you're too vulgar.’”

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Bea Arthur Nude Painting Sells for $1.9 Million

COLIN BERTRAM — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:34:38 -0400

A painting featuring a topless Bea Arthur sold for $1.9 million at auction in New York.

Titled "Bea Arthur Naked," the 1991 painting is by artist John Currin and was sold to an anonymous bidder during a post-war and contemporary art sale at Christie's. The estimate for the work was listed at $1.8-$2.5 million.

According to information posted on the Christie's website regarding the artwork, it was derived from a photograph of the actress with clothes on. "Currin mixes nostalgia with provocation," Christie's noted on their website.

Nostalgia and Arthur certainly sit comfortably side by side. The actress, who died of cancer in 2009 at age 86, is famous for her Emmy-winning roles in the 1970s and '80s on sitcom staples such as "Maude" and "The Golden Girls." The latter show continues to be heavily syndicated and can currently be seen on cable networks WEtv and Logo.

In an interview referenced in Christie's lot notes for the work, Arthur commented on the possible inspiration for the portrait. "Maybe [Currin] was attracted to the feminist movement of the 1970s. Because of 'Maude,' I was the Joan of Arc of feminism. He certainly couldn't have done anything with Marlo Thomas of 'That Girl.'"

According to the auction house, Currin, stated that he always considered Arthur "more of a maternal figure than a feminist icon. I watched Maude all the time when I was a kid," he recalled. "She's a genius. She's funny because she's so much smarter than everyone around her"

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Photo Credit: Currin/Christie's

Joel McHale Discusses Renewal of "Community"

Wed, 15 May 2013 15:15:56 -0400

Joel McHale makes fun of his photo on the tip sheet for the 2013 NBC Upfronts Presentation in New York City. Also, he chats with Access about "Community" getting renewed for another season.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Shakira Leaving "The Voice" Next Season

TANNA TARPLEY — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:33:13 -0400

Sorry Team Shakira fans. The 36-year-old Colombian pop superstar and two-time Grammy winner told Access Hollywood that she will not be returning as a coach for the next season of NBC's "The Voice." She said she will dedicate her time instead to her 4-month-old son, Milan Pique Mebarak.

"I was so happy to do 'The Voice' but at the same time, I was really struggling with the fact I had to leave my nest with my little baby," Shakira told Access Hollywood after Tuesday's show.

Season Four of "The Voice" started its final stretch of live shows this week with the coaches no longer allowed to save any hopefuls. America voted off two contestants last night: Garrett Gardner from Team Shakira and Vedo from Team Usher.

Both Shakira and Usher were new coaching additions this season, stepping in after CeeLo Green and Christina Aguilera departed.

Aguilera has been said to be in talks to return to "The Voice" next season after having taken time off to pursue outside projects, Access Hollywood reported.

Besides concentrating on being a new mom, Shakira also said that she will be using the time away from the show to work on a new album.

Although she's not returning next season, Shakira told Access Hollywood that you never know what will happen in the future.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

Glamour at Cannes Film Festival

Sat, 18 May 2013 00:15:42 -0400

The French Riviera extravaganza is underway for the 66th time this week.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

"Pumpcast" Singing Duo: Leno Appearance Was Not Staged

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:23:48 -0400

The couple who became overnight Internet sensations when their singing and gas-pumping stunt on Jay Leno's "Pumpcast News" went viral said their act wasn’t staged.

Will and Monifa Sims appeared on the "Today" show on Wednesday to set the record straight after skeptics pointed out that the pair are professionally trained actors.

Monifa, a fitness trainer, insisted she was caught by surprise when host Matt Lauer asked if they were tipped off that the segment was being taped at the gas station.

"How would I know? That's just the gas station I go to, to get gas every Wednesday after I train my clients. That's what I do," Monifa said.

Her husband Will, a bartender, confirmed the authenticity of the performance.

"One hundred percent. That's us." Will said.

Will's hidden camera performance of the Bon Jovi classic and Monifa's rendition of Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams" aired last week on "The Tonight Show" and the video went viral with over 11 million hits as of Wednesday morning.

The prank segment features actor Tim Stack, who plays a news anchor that surprises gas station patrons by appearing on the screen above the gas pump. On-camera customers are rewarded with free gas after they perform a stunt at Stack's bidding.

On Monday, The Smoking Gun pointed out that the Sims are professionally trained actors and Monifa had even appeared in the same segment in 2011 at the same gas station, in the same car and workout pants.

Monifa told The Smoking Gun in an interview that it was just a coincidence that she appeared on "Pumpcast News" for the second time.

"When I heard him and i looked, I said 'Oh no, this cannot be happeneing again! This is awesome!'" she told Lauer.