In case you missed today’s episode of Off Script, I was once again joined by TVgasm’s Flipit (a.k.a. Ronnie Karam) as we talked about the upcoming premiere of Real Housewives of Miami as well as the season finale of Atlanta and the reunion for Beverly Hills. We also devote a significant amount of time railing on Cedric, as well as many others. Be sure to check it out, and tune in next Wednesday at 12:30 PST for the next episode. You can watch it live at http://talkmedianetworks.com/live/ and even call in!
Excited for the return of The Real Housewives of New York City? Well, I have bad news. Put away your “Countess LuAnn 4 Eva” posters because the Bravo express is headed south. That’s right: we’re making an unexpected stop to Florida (much like my trip to New York last week) as The Real Housewives of Miami is suddenly slated to premiere on February 22nd while Alex, Ramona, Sonja et al have been bumped back to “Spring” (according to People).
It’s not clear why Bravo has made such a drastic scheduling change, thus undermining a month an a half of promos for the NYC set. Already people are gossiping on Twitter that the fourth season of the New York clan still needs some fine tuning, but methinks there’s more to it than that: maybe Bravo realized it was screwing up the sacred order by placing New York before Orange County, a sin so great that not even I can bare to mention it again. Who knows. The point is that Bravo has to go into publicity overdrive now (which shouldn’t be hard because this cast looks AMAZING).
After a joyfully delirious season featuring some of the funniest moments of the franchise, The Real Housewives of Atlanta ended on a positively boring note this past Sunday. Not only did Bravo criminally draw out this final episode into ninety unnecessary minutes, but everything focused on arguably the most boring couple on the show: Peter and Cynthia. Now don’t get me wrong: I actually like Cynthia and find her stories to be somewhat more interesting than everyone else does, but that being said, the woman just cannot anchor a ninety minute season finale. Total snoozeville.
Even worse was this contrived drama about whether she would or wouldn’t leave her man at the alter. Spoiler alert: there were already spoiler alerts that they done got married last summer. No suspense here. Furthermore, while I did find Cynthia’s crumbling financial situation in the face of her extravagant wedding to be fascinating, I didn’t for one moment think it wasn’t going to happen. I mean, when you’ve got a dinosaur skeleton ready to serve as your hupa, you’re not canceling that shit.
Today may be Groundhog’s Day, but it’s so much more than that. February 2nd is also the day when one Ms. Ina Garten was put on this earth many years ago. And thank goodness for that. Without Ina, where would we be? Maybe about ten pounds lighter, that’s for sure, but whatever. It’s worth the extra girth for all the love and laughter that dearest Ina brings to our lives.
One must wonder how she’s spending her birthday this year. With all the snow and ice in the Hamptons right now, I have to assume she’s hunkered down in her barn with the fireplace ablaze, testing new recipes. She’s probably “turning the volume up” and “hot rodding” some bean soup by adding ROASTED shrimp instead of boiled shrimp because roasting really brings out the flavor. Sadly, Jeffrey won’t be around because as we all know, he spends his weekdays in New Haven; however, maybe Ina got lucky and Jeffrey took the week off from work to be with his birthday girl. In that case, I imagine him entering the kitchen wearing a black sweater and proclaiming, “It smells wonderful in here! It’s the best it’s ever smelled!” This would be followed by some flirtatious Ina banter that most likely would go like this:
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills aired part one of its reunion special last week, and there were plenty of flare ups for us all to enjoy. Camille and Kyle got into it, and so did Kim and Taylor, but I get the feeling that Bravo is saving the real fireworks for tonight when part II of the reunion finally airs. I can’t wait to see all the girls break down in tears, not to mention the revelation of who Ken has been speaking about in all the previews. Cedric? The guy at the Polo Lounge that punched his buddy? I’m just so darn curious.
Nevertheless, Bravo failed to post any pics from the reunion; so I was once again forced to be creative by using knickknacks I’d found nearby. My dramatic recreation after the jump…
Behind-the-scenes stuff is always super fun when it comes to special effects, and Black Swan is no exception. Check out the above video to see how the filmmakers used CGI to help shape the movie. As Miley Cyrus would say, “that’s pretty cool.”
Warning: the video contains some SPOILERS (as well as a brief retread of the infamous “finger” scene).
Now that NBC Universal has gone through the ringer with Comcast, we have a new logo. First things first: NBC Universal is now NBCUniversal (goodbye infernal spaces, hello corporate kerning efficiency); secondly, the NBC peacock is gone (only from NBCU logos, not NBCU); thirdly, no more Universal globe; fourthly, purple – lots of it; and fifthly, a bizarre font that looks not unlike some Nick-At-Nite remnant. I’m not sure I love the look, and the only thing keeping it from the hall of design missteps is that the original logo wasn’t as commonplace or recognized as the likes of Tropicana, Gap, or Comedy Central.
Handcrafted cocktails have become de rigeur in Hollywood, and nearly every hip, hot, and trendy club now offers their own nifty concoctions for the masses to consume. Not all libations are created equally though. Thankfully, Supperclub LA has a doozy of a cocktail menu, featuring many creations that have made me very, very happy at some point or another. Ranking at the top for me is the Cactus Margarita — a smoky, spicy, and generally wonderful drink that became my best friend during one evening at the club last October. Thankfully, head mixologist Josh Curtis invited me over to Supperclub recently to show me how to make the drink. Sacred knowledge, I tell you. And now I’m going to share it with you.
After the jump, photos of Supperclub, the Cactus Margarita (as well as a few other beverages), and then my attempt to recreate the drink chez moi…
For the past three months, Bravo has shone its harsh light on the trifling lives of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Now the focus heads from mansions to McMansions as we head down the shoreline to the original granddaddy of them all: The Real Housewives of Orange County. That’s right: the blonde buffoons of the West are back, and if the above preview is any indication, we’ll have plenty of petty squabbles and dramas to last us for weeks. There’s no indication that the upcoming season will be fraught with the sad, intense issues (ie. divorce, foreclosure, teen rage) that we had last year (scratch that — Vicki gets divorced), but at least there’ll be one Shove To End All Shoves when Tamra lays her hands on arch-rival Gretchen Jeana. And let me tell you something: shoving Jeana is no easy feat. You know, on account of how nimble she is.
Hey everyone — I just recorded another videocast with none other than Ronnie Karam (a.k.a. Flipit) from TVgasm. We talked exclusively about The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and The Real Housewives of Atlanta; so be sure to check out the show up above. Next week, there might even be a call in feature…
