Well, my best prediction for the Golden Globes - that I would mostly guess wrong - has come true. Do I get any points for correctly predicting "The White Ribbon" as best foreign language film? I didn't think so.
The good news is that Sunday night's Globes make the Oscars seem a little more up in the air, so to speak, which is always exciting. Here are some thoughts on how the race is shaping up now.
Can anyone beat George Clooney and Meryl Streep at this year's Golden Globes? Will this be the year that "30 Rock" falls to "Glee," and Michael C. Hall's "Dexter" finally nabs a Globe? Takeaway television contributor, Delaina Dixon and film contributor Rafer Guzman make their predictions.
Sunday is the night of the happiest awards show in Hollywood -- the Golden Globes -- during which champagne glasses overflow and stars hear their names being called while they're in the bathroom. Who will win this year? Who will be drunk? Will the television and movie stars get along with each other? And what will host Ricky Gervais say that will push the envelope?
Conan O'Brien refuses to do "The Tonight Show" after midnight. The standoff between Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, and NBC continues. O’Brien released a statement Tuesday saying he would not make the switch to the later time, as the network hoped. Television blogger Delaina Dixon tells us about the story.
There are plenty of teen and tween movies in theaters these days – from this weekend's Michael Cera vehicle Youth in Revolt [see the trailer above] to the hugely popular Twilight series. But many of them leave our movie critic Rafer Guzman scratching his head and wondering: where are the real teens and tweens in teen movies? Has the honest teen film character as we once knew it (RIP John Hughes) died? And do any of the uncomplicated and self-possessed teen characters in movies today resemble real teenagers? Guzman and Nicole Corriveau, a 16-year-old movie buff from Long Island, share their opinions.
In this week's food segment, we celebrate Elvis Presley's 75th birthday with a conversation about his favorite foods, southern cooking traditions, and personal memories of the King himself from Judy Peiser, executive director of the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis. (click through for recipes for Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches and Banana Pudding)
It's the first day of a brand new decade; we're hoping to jump in and begin this one fresh-faced and optimistic. All this week we've been taking a look back at the 2000s and how we've changed because of them.
Today is the last day to (officially) look back and we're talking about American pop culture: the best and worst of where we've been and where we may go in the next ten years. Joining us are two Takeaway contributors who know a thing or two about the subject: Patrik Henry Bass, books editor for Essence, and Kate Dailey, health and lifestyle editor for Newsweek.
If you love guitar solos with your eggnog and mistletoe, then you're probably familiar with Twisted Sister's holiday album "Twisted Christmas
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) might not be the first person you think of when you think of memorable holiday ditties, but you might have heard his latest magnum opus, a Hannukah song called "Eight Days of Hannukah." Sen. Hatch has been a prolific composer for years in his spare time – from Christian rock to patriotic ballads – but calls this song his "gift to the Jewish people." (He's Mormon.) He and his co-writer, Madeline Stone, join us to talk about their favorite Christmas songs, and how to write music for faiths that aren't your own.
Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo.
Have you ever wondered why – while you’re out holiday shopping – a dress shop might play one soundtrack of Christmas songs while a hardware store might play another? Steven Pilker, manager of Muzak’s audio architecture department, knows the answers. For our continuing series, "Remixing the Holidays," Pilker explains what all the retail noise is about...and shares the three songs that must be on every holiday soundtrack, regardless of what the store sells.
Our "Remixing the Holidays" series continues with Tony Award-winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell, who performs with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in their 2009 television Christmas special and on the accompanying CD, "Ring Christmas Bells
The Twin Peaks cast sings "The Twelve Days of Christmas," Charlie Brown gets remixed...and more! We kick off our week-long "Remixing the Holidays" series with the best and worst Christmas music as selected by Jon Solomon, a DJ who's hosted a 24-hour Christmas show for each of the last 20 years.
Not even today’s otherwise somber Nobel Peace Prize ceremony will prove immune from the trappings of a big award show: marquee names will introduce over-the-top performances by acts that inconceivably and incoherently share the regal Norwegian stage.
Past performers have included Sinead O’Connor, Yusef Islam (formerly Cat Stevens), A-HA, The Cranberries ... Tonight’s show is the 16th Annual Nobel Peace Prize concert. It will be hosted by Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and will include Wyclef Jean, Toby Keith, Donna Summer and more.
Joining us now to explain some of those choices (and to expound on the award show phenomenon) is our culture critic, Mary Elizabeth Williams.
For this week's movie roundup, contributor Rafer Guzman reviews "Brothers," with Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Tobey McGuire; "Everybody's Fine," with Robert DeNiro and Drew Barrymore; and "Up in the Air," with George Clooney.
Wes Anderson's first animated film, "Fantastic Mr. Fox," was released nationwide yesterday. He chats with us about the process of auditioning puppets for the film, the magic of directing Meryl Streep, and the excitement of adapting one of Roald Dahl's most beloved stories to screen.
Disney’s first movie to feature a black princess, “The Princess and The Frog,” opens this week in select cities, and nationwide on December 11. Jeff Yang, trend forecaster for market research firm Iconoculture and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, talks with us about the challenges of marketing a film to both a wide audience and niche segments. And Latoya Peterson, who’s been tracking the black community’s reaction to a princess who spends most of the movie as a frog, relays what she’s been hearing on the ground.
Today, on the day that the National Book Award winners will be announced, Patrik Henry Bass, Takeaway contributor and books editor for Essence, tells us who's nominated, who he thinks will win, and who was left off the nomination list that we should be reading anyway. We also ask: Do the awards lead to bigger book sales and larger signing bonuses, or is it all just about the honor of being recognized?
Click through for the full list of books Patrik Henry Bass believes should have been nominated for a National Book Award this year.
[Rakim's "Guess Who's Back"]
Rakim’s influence is all over contemporary hip hop (and beyond it), from Tupac and Jay-Z to Eminem and Rage Against the Machine. He releases his third solo album, “The Seventh Seal
Fifty years ago today, Truman Capote came across an article in The New York Times about an entire family murdered in their Kansas home. He immediately began to investigate the crime and write what became the first major piece of literary non-fiction: "In Cold Blood
[Lou Dobbs' leaving CNN was kept secret until he made this announcement on-air]
This week, Lou Dobbs surprised the world by announcing that he would be leaving CNN. Known for his inflammatory views on immigrants, particularly those of Mexican descent, Dobbs was one of the founding anchors of CNN. So why leave the network? We explore that question with media analyst Johnnie Roberts, and OC Weekly staff writer Gustavo Arellano (who is also known for his nationally syndicated column “Ask a Mexican”).
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with The BBC World Service, New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
Major funding provided by:
