Gawker: defamer, muppets

John Krasinski Vs. Eric Stoltz In A Muppet-Off For The Ages

Mark Graham — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:00:00 EDT

· Last night on The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, John "Leatherheads" Krasinski broke out his heretofore unheralded ability to demonstrate his "Muppet arms." Which, naturally, reminded us of Eric Stoltz's legendary (at least to us) "Muppet walk" from Mr. Jealousy. Whose impression is better? We'll leave that for you to debate in the comments. [CBS, YouTube]
· Don't hit the beach this weekend unless your will is up-to-date. Because, if you haven't already heard, sharks are developing legs. [BuzzFeed]
· In order to help ensure the Academy Awards don't befall the same fate as the Emmys, burgeoning comedy writer Nikki Finke makes an uproarious recommendation for who should produce next year's Oscars: the Chinese government! With a few more zingers like that, she just might land herself an offer to join Bruce Vilanch's writing team. [DHD]
· Aspiring reality show participants, pay heed: Slate has cobbled together nine ways in which you can ensure you're not the first contestant to get kicked off your show. [Slate]
· Finally, we can think of no better way for you to end this evening than by spending the next 30 minutes watching Dave Eggers interview Chris Elliott. You are welcome. [Goldenfiddle]

'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' Guys Now Penning 'Forgetting Nurse Janice' For Henson Co.

Seth — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:31:45 EDT

· The Dracula: The Puppet Musical sequence in Forgetting Sarah Marshall so impressed the Jim Henson Co., who produced the puppets, that they've hired Jason Segel and Nick Stoller to write and direct the next Muppet movie. They're hoping the whole Apatowian raunch-with-heart formula will lend itself nicely to a story about Miss Piggy's accidental knocking-up by Kermit's unambitious stoner character, which will result in a mutant frig baby that both will love despite its freakishly beflippered snout. [Variety]
· As we noted yesterday, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (that's the one where everyone except Draco Malfoy dies at the end. Kidding! Never read it.) is so expansive, Warner Bros. had no choice but to split it into two, billion-dollar-earning blockbusters instead of the regular one. Consider this a coup for everyone involved—particularly fans of post-jailbait-aged Emma Watson. [Variety]

· Comedy Central revealed its new development slate that includes projects from Snoop Dogg, Andy Richter and David Alan Grier, or shows that you need to be stoned to find funny, shows that you don't need to be stoned to find funny, and shows that no amount of weed in the universe will help you to find funny. [Variety]
· While you may be having a good laugh at Eliot Spitzer's downfall, the former governor's aggressive tax-incentive program for filming in the New York region could now be in jeopardy. If only he had done his slutting in L.A.—then it wouldn't have been prostitution, just some harmless starlet meeting-takings! [THR]
· Ratatouille director Brad Bird will make his live-action directorial debut with 1906, a Warner/Disney-Pixar co-production set against the backdrop of the Great San Francisco Earthquake. [THR]

Jailhouse Karaoke, Counting Celebrities, And Blood-Soaked Wedding Gowns

Mark — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:58:02 EDT

· Critic-proof director/producer Brian Robbins takes on Jailhouse Rock, a film based on the real-life story of an American Idol-like signing competition (the "Inmate Idle Singing Con-Test") that took place in an Arizona jail, for Disney. While it's probably too soon to think about casting, it's hard not to imagine Robbins throwing some orange jumpsuits on his Wild Hogs dream team and letting them loose on renditions of "Summer Lovin'" and "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights." Projected opening weekend gross: $42 million. [Variety]
· Ben Stiller, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, Paulie Walnuts, Bobby Baccala, Alicia Keys,and Sheryl Crow are among those who've signed up for Elmo's Christmas Countdown, a one-hour Muppets holiday special in which the famous will help the ticklish star count down the days to Jesus's birth. [THR]
· HBO renews Big Love for a third, 12-episode season, which should be completed well in advance of a possible strike. In other HBO news, John from Cincinnati still makes no fucking sense. [Variety]
· Fox wins another uneventful, creatively barren, rerun-heavy summer Monday night behind Hell's Kitchen and Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? [THR]
· ABC greenlights Here Come the Newlyweds, a reality competition series in which six newly married couples fight to the death (or at least to the divorce) over a steadily increasing cash prize. [Variety]