Eddie Murphy to Appear on ANTM?

In what might be the weirdest twist since Tyra Banks announced the exclusion of girls over 5'7", word just broke that actor Eddie Murphy will appear on the season finale of America's Next Top Model ...Seriously!


According to E! Online the funny man will appear in the Cycle 13 finale on November 18th -- but don't worry -- he won't be filling in for Paulina Porizkova any time soon. Murphy will be in the audience next to Tyra at the finale runway show by designer Julie Clancey. Murphy will be in attendance to support his daughter Bria Murphy, who is a model walking in the show.

As I said before this Cycle is a little budget, but maybe some star power will bring it up a notch? We'll have to see. I'm hearing many rumors about a double elimination and some spoilers about the shocking winner (it's not that shocking, if it's true) but I really can't peg a winner yet.

Who do you think is going to win?

Do You Use Hulu (and Are You Using It Right?)

Let's be honest - I watch a ton of television. Like, more than is probably OK for a normal person to consume, but I can't help it. It's what I do. Needless to say my DVR fills up very quickly with shows that I can't watch in real-time, and I often defer to online outlets to catch up on shows I've missed. While almost every TV outlet streams their shows online, I consistently go to Hulu.com to watch everything; except CBS shows, which aren't on Hulu. Before I continue let me state that I am under no obligation to promote Hulu, I just really like it.

Most web-savvy people are aware of Hulu and how you can watch full TV shows and movies, but I've noticed that a lot of people aren't taking advantage of all of its features. The first thing you should do is register for an account. Yes, you can totally watch all the programs without having an account, but you're missing out on all the personalized features.

Just like you can schedule to record your favorite series on your DVR, you can "subscribe" to shows on Hulu so you never miss an episode. Just go to the show page for the series you're looking for and click subscribe. Hulu will keep all of your recorded episodes in your queue, so you can go back and watch whenever you're ready.


This feature's great because you don't have to remember which episodes you've seen, and it lends itself nicely to an impromptu mini-marathon of catching up. I use this feature a lot, especially for shows that aren't critical for me to see the night they air. I also watch a lot of shows the day after they run on Hulu while at work (hey, I'm an entertainment producer, I'm allowed) so I don't have to wait to watch at home at night.

This weekend I also discovered the joys of Hulu Desktop. It's a download-able program that lets you watch everything Hulu has to offer without actually logging into the site itself. I can use the remote for my Macbook to turn it on and navigate without typing anything. It's perfect for the person with a large computer display or people that watch the majority of their shows line. Here's a better explanation from Hulu:


I know that my television consumption is greater than the average person, but anyone can use Hulu to improve their viewing experience. I'm curious to see how many more years I go before I ditch my cable altogether and watch everything exclusively online, but for now I'll take every workaround possible.

Do you watch full-length shows online? Where do you watch them and why? Would love to hear your thoughts.

CALM Act to Ban Blaring Commercials

Ever wonder why on some channels some commercials are significantly louder than the program you were watching? It turns out the increased volume is a purposeful strategy from advertisers to get you to pay attention to what they're selling.

Now a bill has been approved in the US government to prohibit advertisers from audibly blasting you with their messages. From Broadcasting & Cable:

By a voice vote, the committee passed the Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation (CALM) Act, backed by Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), and referred it to the full Energy & Commerce Committee.

Eshoo said the bill premise was simple: "To make the volume of commercials and programming uniform so that spikes in volume do not affect the consumer's ability to control sound." Eshoo said that ad volume spikes had "endangered hearing for decades." She also said legislative spouses had been urging their husbands or wives to sign on as co-sponsors. "I think they are all tired of getting blasted out of their easy chairs or off their exercise equipment due to these ridiculously loud commercials."

As reported by B&C, the bill was modified from the original form to give the broadcast and cable industry more time to implement the technology and to make an industry-backed engineering standard the rules for the road.

The bill gives the FCC a year to adopt a commercial volume standard being produced by the the Advanced Television Systems Committee, then gives the industry a year after that to purchase and install the necessary equipment. It also includes up to two, one-year waivers for financial hardship. "Small stations and cable operators certainly should be able to comply within three years," Eshoo said, "plus the amount of time it takes for the FCC to complete and release the rules." But she said there would not be an "open ended" waiver process that drags on.

Looks like it will be awhile before we see any actual changes, but who knew that the gov't was looking to stop something that has been a constant nuisance to so many people.

Read the full story from Broadcasting & Cable here.

Duo Takes Advantage of JetBlue's Unlimited Flight Deal

When JetBlue announced their $599 All You Can Jet deal in August passengers were given the opportunity to fly on the airline from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8 as much as they wanted for the cost of an expensive round trip ticket. The deal sold out within a few days, but no one took advantage of the savings quite like Clark Dever and Joe Dinardo. The duo hatched a plan to literally fly the entire 31 days, spending 12 hours in each of their destination cities.


They launched TwelveHoursInACity.com to chronicle their adventures across the US and the wild and wacky activities they encountered along the way. The pair was featured on ABC News World News Tonight last night and talked about the journey as it is about to come to an end. Watch the video here.

If you could get a free ticket to anywhere in the world where would you go?

Jay Leno Show Offers Hit-Or-Miss Moments; Not Necessarily a Bad Thing

The eyes of the world (or at least the eyes of the media) were on the debut episode of The Jay Leno Show last night. The idea of a 10pm talk show was a big risk for NBC (my employer. Holla, NBC) and I think it's going to take a while before anyone can really deem the show a success or failure.

The show is pretty much the same shtick Jay did on The Tonight Show (not matter what execs say.) So, if you like Jay Leno you'll be very happy. If you don't like Jay Leno then you're probably already watching something else.

The first episode was a little iffy for me, but such is the case of any first-time show; even if you have a veteran host. There were steep highs and lows... moments of funny/interest and a lot of instances of dragging comedy. But maybe the secret to the success of The Jay Leno Show isn't having strong ratings every night, but having memorable moments and viral clips.

Take for instance this clip of the egomaniac Kanye West, who briefly chatted with Jay about his outburst at the Video Music Awards. By far the standout moment of the night...


I think critics and viewers need to treat The Jay Leno Show like the Today show at night. You can't ingest it like you would a typical 10pm drama. No one watches the Today show from start to finish (it's four hours, how could you?) They watch it in the background while getting ready for the day and may stop the morning routine to watch something that piques their interest. The Jay Leno Show almost has that same feel but at night, where viewers are prepping for bed instead of work. Watching the show straight through might be a little boring, but turning your head at the TV to watch something of interest to you while brushing your teeth for bed might be the way to go.

Either way, it's going to viewers and the network a while to let the dust settle around this groundbreaking TV move. Did you watch The Jay Leno Show? What are your thoughts?

iVillage.com Debuts New Entertainment Site

The blog entries have been light and my energy has been low lately, but that's because I have been very hard at work for the last month or so relaunching a new website for my job (I have a real job besides the blog, obviously!)

This morning iVillage.com debuted our new entertainment site and it is a beaut!


To learn more about the site and what's in the works for iVillage you read this lovely feature about us in the New York Times.

Please take a moment to view the site and click around, because a lot of hard work went into its creation. Let me know what you think!

In the interest of disclosure, if you haven't noticed already I'm an employee of iVillage/NBC Universal

How Media Has Changed In the Last 5 Years

I woke up really early yesterday and just happened to catch this piece by Jeff Greenfield from CBS News about media convergence. It's a really interesting look at not only how we use media, but how information has been condensed into one, universal format.


Watch CBS Videos Online
I guess I forget how rapidly things have changed since 2004... being endlessly connected. Interesting to think about how the Internet has changed the world. I remember when my family first got online, which will be for my generation what "I remember when we got color TV" was for my parents.

And the conversations about news papers and magazines ceasing to exist is on going. Will people still pick up a copy of the daily news when they can just read it online for free? Or will paper versions be completely phased out in a generation?

What do you think?

'America's Next Top Model' Cycle 13 Cast Revealed

The CW has released the first cast photos of Cycle 13 of America's Next Top Model along with a little personal info about each girl. Check out the bios of each of the shorties and click their name to see their photo.

Name: ASHLEY
Age: 22
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois (currently Brooklyn, New York)
Occupation: Artist
Height: 5’6”

Name: BIANCA
Age: 21
Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina (currently Washington, D.C.)
Occupation: Student
Height: 5’7”

Name: BRITTANY
Age: 21
Hometown: Livermore, California (currently Santa Clara, California)
Occupation: Student
Height: 5’5”

Name: COURTNEY
Age: 22
Hometown: Plantation, Florida (currently Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
Occupation: Cheer Instructor
Height: 5’4”

Name: ERIN
Age: 18
Hometown: Kenosha, Wisconsin (currently Spring Grove, Illinois)
Occupation: Student
Height: 5’6”

Name: JENNIFER
Age: 23
Hometown: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (currently New York, New York)
Occupation: Model
Height: 5’5”

Name: KARA
Age: 19
Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana (currently Chicago, Illinois)
Occupation: Student
Height: 5’7”

Name: LAURA
Age: 19
Hometown: Stanford, Kentucky
Occupation: Waitress
Height: 5’6”

Name: LISA
Age: 19
Hometown: Queens, New York
Occupation: Student
Height: 5’5”

Name: LULU
Age: 19
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Occupation: Student
Height: 5’7”

Name: NICOLE
Age: 18
Hometown: Louisville, Colorado
Occupation: Student
Height: 5’7”

Name: RACHEL
Age: 18
Hometown: Woodland, California
Occupation: Customer Service
Height: 5’5”

Name: RAE
Age: 21
Hometown: Rochester, Minnesota
Occupation: Homemaker/Mother
Height: 5’6”

Name: SUNDAI
Age: 18
Hometown: Bakersfield, California
Occupation: Student
Height: 5’3”

Clearly we know nothing about these girls yet, but which one is your fave? I think Kara looks like a bad ass and Rachel is Analeigh-light. Lemme know what you think!

America's Favorite Dancer Is...

...JEANINE MASON!


From the Fox So You Think You Can Dance blog:

Mason, 18, a Contemporary dancer from Pinecrest, FL received the most votes out of the record-breaking 21.6 million votes cast. Additionally, she danced off with the cash prize of $250,000, the title of America’s Favorite Dancer and a cover feature in the November issue of Dance Spirit Magazine.

Congrats, Jeanine! I was pulling for you!

In other news there will be a 2-hour SYTYCD featuring fan-favorite routines from previous seasons on Wednesday, September 2 at 8pm with Season 6 of the show premiering Wednesday, September 9th at 8pm on FOX.

What did you think of last night's finale? Are you excited that SYTYCD is coming back so soon?

Kate Steps Up Her Game in new 'Plus 8' Episodes

From an article I wrote on iVillage.com...


photo courtesy TLC
Jon & Kate Plus 8 returned last night with two new episodes after a brief hiatus. The show was put on hold following the June 22 announcement that Jon and Kate Gosselin were separating after 10 years of marriage. While TLC had said that nearly 50 episodes were in store for the fifth season of the show, production went on break while the family worked out the logistics of their separation--no easy task given the family's 8-year-old twins and 5-year-old sextuplets. Packing them all up every other weekend to go to dad's house simply isn't an option, so the kids will remain in the family's enormous $1.3 million home in Berk's County, PA while Jon and Kate take turns living with them.

In the second new episode last night we got our first glimpse at a post-separation Kate as she took her "first official turn" with the kids. And while we may have expected a whole new format for Jon & Kate Plus 8 (or more like Kate Plus 8 since Jon Gosselin barely had any screen time) the show was filled with the things that made their fans fall in love with the pre-scandal Gosselins in the first place: a unique family going through the everyday events of life. Gone were the product placement-filled outings (like the staged vow renewal in Hawaii) and celebrity cameos (like Chef Emeril Lagasse and the cast of American Chopper) and back were a charmingly frazzled mom with her eight quirky, funny and lovable kids...

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE PIECE.

Open Casting Call for 'Sex & the City 2'

Tragic fashion wannabes and unemployed writers rejoice! You can now have your chance to appear alongside Carrie Bradshaw in the second Sex And The City movie! Check out the press release I just received:

Think you've got the look?! Show off your sense of style in the newest Sex And The City movie filming in New York City August - November 2009


Grant Wilfley Casting is holding an open call for background performers for
SEX AND THE CITY 2

Seeking SAG and NON SAG to play:
Fashion Models, Celebrity types, Upscale socialites, Urban Club goers, Gays and Lesbians, International types (Middle Eastern, Arabic, Asian, European, British), Professional Soccer Players

Open Call:
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Metropolitan Pavilion
125 West 18th Street
between 6th & 7th Avenues

SAG: 10am - 12:30pm
NON-SAG: 1:30pm -4:00pm

Email a recent picture and contact info to: sexandthecity2@gwcnyc.com
if you cannot attend the open call.

Good luck!

'Project Runway' All Stars to Face-Off in Two-Hour Special

Finally! Some Project Runway news worthy of talking about! Lifetime, the show's new home, announced today that they will air a 2-hour special "Project Runway: All Star Challenge" before the Season 6 premiere on Thursday, August 20 at 8pm.


The past contestants include Daniel Vosovic (Season 2), Santino Rice (Season 2), Jeffrey Sebelia (Season 3), Uli Herzner (Season 3), Mychael Knight (Season 3), Chris March (Season 4), Sweet P (Season 4), Korto Momolu (Season 5), with the winning designer taking home a $100,000 prize.


The all-star challenge is a great way to ease older Project Runway fans from the show's old home on Bravo to its new home on Lifetime. The familiar faces and challenges will make viewers feel comfortable in their new space and hopefully keep them coming back for the new season. I'm very excited for Runway to return, and to see my fave cast designers go head-to-head. If you ask me they should have done an entire season with past contestants. I would be totally hooked on that.

Will you be watching Project Runway when it debuts on Lifetime? Who do you think will win the All Star Challenge?

7 Tips for Going from Civilian to Celebrity

I wrote this piece for iVillage.com that I'm pretty proud of it. It's call 7 Tips for Going from Civilian to Celebrity.


Photo by Getty Images
Came up with the concept after embarrassing photos of Jon Gosselin's new girlfriend Hailey Glassman hit the web. She could have used these tips before stepping into the spotlight.

Summer Friday: 2009 Emmy Nominations Recap

Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring "guest bloggers" as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's post comes from Sean Martin, TV PR Guru, who gives us a roundup of the 2009 Primetime Emmy Nominations.

The 2009 Emmy nominations came out yesterday. Since television is my #1 past time – it is mentioned in my Facebook profile a good four times, at least – I was of course very excited. For the nominations to come out. Not necessarily for the nominations themselves.


Being a huge TV fan, I’m extremely opinionated and usually disagree with some of the nominations – which of course happened. But I’m really thrilled about some nominations, too. Here are my initial thoughts:

The POSITIVE thoughts:

Supporting actress in a comedy category! Jane Krakowski, Kristin Wiig AND Amy Poehler all received nominations! My heart stopped. I am so happy for all these leading ladies. Yes, leading ladies. They are leading ladies to me. Jane Krakowski in particular really stepped it up last season on 30Rock, holding her own when sharing the screen with the real leading lady, Tina Fey. I’m rooting for her but would be happy if either of the SNL gals nabbed the award instead. (This was a long shot but I really think that Jennifer Esposito should have gotten a nom in this category for her work on Samantha Who? – she’s so underrated.)

Big Love nominated for Best Drama! This fantastic HBO series follows a family of polygamists as they try to lead “normal” lives in the real world. It’s one of my favorite shows – the writing, the acting, everything about it is great. It’s also never really received the more mainstream, pop culture appeal that other HBO shows like True Blood and Entourage have, which is almost as unfortunate as NONE of the three wives (Jeanne Triplehorn, Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin) getting nominated themselves.

Yay to Jeremy Piven NOT getting a nomination for Entourage! I think he’s great as Ari Gold but come on, it’s been forever. We get it. You’re funny. Anyway you play every role like Ari Gold so are you even acting?

Piven being left out means that HIMYM’s Neil Patrick Harris might FINALLY get his… wait for it…Emmy!

The NEGATIVE thoughts:

January Jones SNUBBED for her incredible work on Mad Men. Yes, Elisabeth Moss was nominated for Best Lead Actress for the series – and yes, Elisabeth Moss is probably deserving of a nomination, too. But come on, Emmy voters! January Jones gave such a heart wrenching, CRAZY turn as Betty Draper last season. Not to mention the fact that she probably had double the amount of screen time that Elisabeth Moss got. If anything, Elisabeth should have received a Supporting nod. I love you, January Jones/Betty Draper.

Another snub: Elizabeth Mitchell gets no recognition for the late Juliet on LOST. Juliet was one of the most interesting characters the series has had – not to mention one of the best acted. RIP Juliet. And RIP any chance for Elizabeth to get an Emmy for LOST. Hopefully she’ll be as wonderful on ABC’s new re-make of the awesome 80’s mini-series V (which I have on DVD if anyone wants to borrow.)

One more female snub: Katherine Hiegl. She was really annoying last year with her whole “I didn’t submit anything b/c I didn’t think the work I did or the material I had merited an Emmy” but this year – as insane as the whole seeing dead Denny thing was – she was brilliant. She was SLEEPING with dead Denny! And then when she realized she had cancer – got she was good. She deserved this nod over Sandra Oh, Right?

I have lots more opinions but I think this will suffice for now. What do you think of the noms?

The 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards air on Sunday September 20th on CBS at 8pm. If you'd like to write about something just email me and you might be the next Summer Friday blogger!

Fans Shifting from Team Jon to Team Kate?

Forget Brangelina, the last few months celebrity gossip has been almost soley about TLC reality stars Jon and Kate Gosselin. The rumors started when Jon was allegedly caught cheating on Kate. Then in a tension-filled season premiere the two gave separate interviews admitting to marital problems. Then the current season was put on hiatus after the couple officially announced that they were filing for divorce. While all of this was happening it seemed that a large number of people actually felt the most sympathy for Jon Gosselin over Kate. Comments filled the blogosphere about Kate's emasculating behavior towards Jon with many people saying they didn't blame the father of eight for leaving his wife. Ouch.

Recently, however, it seems that fans may be crossing back over to Team Kate as Jon Gosselin keeps managing to out-tool himself left and right. He was spotted with women in their early 20s, started dressing like those insufferable kids from Laguna Beach (Jon- You live in Central Pennsylvania), appears to have his Blue Tooth permanently attached to his head and has publicly stepped out with his new girlfriend, 22-year-old Hailey Glassman. The pair were spotted in St. Tropez where Jon was being wooed by gaudy fashion designer Christian Audigier *dies of douche-ness*. The whole time Jon has been galavanting around Kate has been holding down the fort at home with the kids.

Glassman is the daughter of the plastic surgeon who performed Kate's tummy tuck after the sextuplets were born in 2004. Let me tell you- She is a real gem. At this point in time, don't people know that if you do something to put yourself in the public eye (like date a celebrity or go on a reality show) that all of your past history, photos, embarrassing stories and exes are going to come out of the woodwork? Unfortunately Ms. Glassman seems to be unaware of this effect, as some particularly beautiful photos of her have quicly surfaced and she has yet to privatize her Facebook profile. Not sure why Jon would be interesting in this classy girl (hmm... sex, anyone?) or why Hailey would want to date a slightly-pudgy, mid-life-crisis-at-32 father of eight, but regardless of the reason the two of them together can't be doing anything positive for Jon's reputation.

So... what do you think of this whole fiasco? What do you think will happen to the show? Are you on Team Jon or Team Kate? How have your opinions changed of the two over the last few months? Leave a comment!

The Economics of Ticketmaster

Was running through the latest issue of RollingStone magazine and found this really interesting and slightly-infuriating article titled "Inside Ticketmaster's Empire" by Steve Knopper. It explains how the ticket giant operates and how they manage to gouge you for every concert you attend. The article explained a lot (read the full thing in Issue 1082-83) but the most interesting piece was the flow chart of just who collects the money from all those miscellaneous fees and charges. Click the pic for a larger version...


In high school and into college I worked at a video store that had a Ticketmaster inside. I really liked helping people find good seats to see their favorite shows, but people often got outrageously angry at the ridiculous service charges that are tacked on to the price of admission. They always assumed that I was somehow pocketing part of that. If only I had this chart to hand out... would have saved everyone a lot of grief!

Streaming Coverage of the Michael Jackson Memorial

If you care and can't get to a TV you can watch the full coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial thanks to MSNBC.com

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

It's Official: Jon & Kate Gosselin File for Divorce

Major sad pants over here :(

It's offical: Jon & Kate Gosselin of TLC's Jon & Kate Plus 8 have officially started paper work today for divorce. People.com reports that "documents to initiate a legal split were filed at the Bucks County Courthouse in Reading, Pa., Monday afternoon."


I don't think anyone will be shocked by the news, but it's still really sad. I've watched this show since it was just a one-hour special on TLC. To watch this family grow up and now grow apart is just heartbreaking. I have to say—and maybe it's a little bleak—but Jon & Kate Plus 8 is now the realest reality show out there. We got to see the "birth" and the "death" of a family unit.

So what do you think is next? What's going to be said during their "big announcement" tonight? Do you think they will carry on with the show? Will Jon and Kate both play equal roles? Leave a comment because I'm really interested to read what everyone thinks.

The Best Commercials of 2008

With TiVo and DVR and online viewing you'd think traditional commercials would be a dying breed, but the Association of Independent Commercial Producers beg to differ. The Association has selected the best commercials of 2008 and revealed them on the TODAY show on Wednesday. Check 'em out...

Sad that there was no mention of "Toby's New Trick."

Related Things:

• More cool commercials
• More things from the news
• More things from TODAY

Fast Food Face-off: Who Has the Best Burger?

From a story on Todayshow.com:

According to a new survey of fast-food lovers, the best hamburger in the nation comes out of In-N-Out Burger, the West Coast chain boasting “quality you can taste.” Wendy’s followed at No. 2 in the Battle of the Burgers, trailed by Burger King, McDonald’s and Whataburger.

Zagat, the restaurant review service, polled more than 6,100 hungry diners about their preferences in fast-food outlets.

“These chains offer a lot of value to diners, and in the current economic times that’s more important than ever,” explained Tim Zagat, CEO of Zagat Survey. “Given the large number of such chains, even the most avid fast-food aficionado may need help in figuring out what’s best.”

McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Olive Garden, Long John Silver’s and Outback Steakhouse all did well in the survey. But the top honors went to In-N-Out Burger, which has stands in California, Nevada, Utah and Arizona. The chain touts “100% pure beef” burgers, with no additives, fillers or preservatives.

According to the company’s Web site, “Our lettuce is hand-leafed. Our American cheese is the real thing. And we use the plumpest, juiciest tomatoes we can find. All of our ingredients are delivered fresh to our stores. In fact, we don’t even own a microwave, heat lamp, or freezer.”

Click here to see the full list of the top fast food restaurants, you fatty. Let me say that I have recently been introduced to Sonic and love their burgers, and their whole menu in general. We need to get some here in NYC, but I doubt their pull-up menu stations would do well here.

What's your fave fast food place?

Related Things:

• NY Times: 10 of the Best Burgers in NYC
• The Whopper Virgins
• Burger King Whopper Freakouts
  
• More things about food