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lookalikes
Tina Fey Mistakes Robert Pattinson For Satan
Jimmy Fallon was mercifully blessed to have former Saturday Night Live/Weekend Update co-star Tina Fey on his second show. More » -
clips
Top Ten Moments of the Oscars
An on-stage musical extravaganza. Two epic gay rights speeches. Sean Penn's upset win for Milk. The 2009 Oscars were easily the gayest yet. More » -
marketing
30 Rock's 'McFlurry' Episode: More Protestations of Purity
Last week we totally harshed on NBC's 30 Rock for writing McDonald's McFlurry into its script in such a sellout-y way. But it was all natural, no ad money, just for fun, allegedly! More » -
30 rock
'30 Rock' McFlurryGate Overshadowing More Persuasive iPhone-Contra Affair
For all the e-ink spilled over whether 30 Rock gave the McFlurry too much product placement last week (even Jane Krakowski is unsure now!), we think there's a different, far bigger case to be made. More » -
30 rock
Tina Fey Denies McFlurry Payola, Disowns Twitter Account
Last night's McFlurry-obsessed episode of 30 Rock? Totally not a McDonald's product placement, avers Tina Fey, the show's writer and star, and we must believe her, as she is everything right and good about America. More » -
trade roundup
'Candy Land' To Seduce Your Children Like Sugarcoated Crack
· Tropic Thunder writer Etan Cohen will pen Universal's adaptation of Hasbro's Candy Land, with Enchanted's Kevin Lima set to direct. This will probably wind up matching Enchanted's tone of grownup-servicing kiddie-nip: More » -
30 rock
Jon Hamm Smothered In Frosting For '30 Rock' Appearance
Via Videogum, we bring you a sneak preview of Jon Hamm's "multi-episode arc" on 30 Rock, playing Liz Lemon's ice-cream-making, frosting-smeared pediatrician neighbor and crush object. (He debuts the episode after next.)
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short ends
Birds Suck
· Say what you want about US Airways—their pilots are emergency-water-landing champs. Experience the terror via the eyewitness account of one scared-shitless passenger. More » -
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30 rock
Alec Baldwin Reveals The Secret To His '30 Rock' Performance: Bad Acting
Alec Baldwin has never been a shrinking violet, but his recent rash of revelations (like suicidal thoughts and coked-up alien gunfights) is candid to a fault. Now, he reveals his secret to acting: be bad! More » -
awards
Internet Unofficially Apologizes To Tina Fey
Awards gadfly Tom O'Neil wasted little time exploiting Tina Fey's indictment of his site's anonymous, comedienne-slagging commenters at last night Golden Globes, nearly tripping over his clown shoes backstage to grovel for forgiveness. More » -
trade roundup
The Most Entertaining Woman On Earth
· Tina Fey was named AP's Entertainer of the Year, which comes with the prize that she be referred to as "Entertainer of the Year Tina Fey" in every AP mention in 2009. [Variety] -
tina fey
Tina Fey Breaks Campaign Promise, Forced to Play Sarah Palin Once More
Remember this lady, Sarah Palin? She was famous for appearing every Saturday night on the tee-vee, saying cute things about Russia, gays, and Katie Couric. Or maybe that was her portrayer, Tina Fey? -
tina fey
Tina Fey Trades The Secret Of The Scar For A Solo 'Vanity Fair' Cover
Every so often, Vanity Fair will consent to putting a television star on their hallowed cover, but there's typically an implicit bargain that actor has to make to earn it. Think back to Teri Hatcher, who grabbed VF's top spot only after revealing how childhood sexual abuse led to fantasies of suicide (which the magazine teased on its cover with some disconcertingly unclad pictures of the star, because of course). Now, Vanity Fair has placed Tina Fey on the cover — an utterly justified spot, to be sure — and has finally nudged the actress and her husband to reveal something Fey always said she wouldn't: just how she got that famous facial scar. -
30 rock
Did Steve Martin Undo The '30 Rock' Celebrity Cameo Curse?
Well, that depends on how you define "undo." Ratings-wise, it's down a tenth from Jennifer Aniston's episode last week, which itself was down from Oprah's the week previous. (THR suggests that's not so much a bad sign for the sitcom as it is a natural settling after the season premiere bump it enjoyed following Feylinmania.) But if you define it as a return to form, then yes, something about Martin's presence—playing Gavin Volure, an agoraphobic Ted Turner type you later find out is actually under house arrest for embezzlement and racketeering—clicked the show back into all cylinders after a subpar third season start. Among its gems: the introduction of the term "away-toilet situation" into the popular lexicon, hand-puppet voodoo, and a description of Toronto as being "just like New York, but without all the stuff." Then there's the first date sequence above, in which Volure unwittingly presents himself as Lemon's sexless, TV show-goofing dream man. [30 Rock Full Episodes] -
tina fey
Tina Fey Suggests That Defamer Has Some Issues
Few things made us laugh harder than Tina Fey's devastatingly precise Sarah Palin send-ups on Saturday Night Live this season (or the fact that the quote that will be attributed to the candidate for all time, "I can see Russia from my house," was said not by Palin but by Fey). Still, as the hardest working woman in comedy was repeatedly spirited away from her 30 Rock duties, we grew worried for her — after all, she has a show, a kid, a book, an Emmy, an upcoming Steve Carell romcom... couldn't Lorne Michaels let the woman rest? We voiced our concerns after the SNL sketch where Fey appeared with the actual John McCain (her sixth appearance on the show this season), and now Fey is telling EW that she took our words to heart: More » -
tina fey
Tina Fey Fires Herself as Sarah Palin
Oprah may have been vibrating out in Chicago, but Tina Fey nearly burst with relief at Sarah Palin's expulsion back to Alaska on Tuesday. "I have to retire just because I have to do my day job,” she told Entertainment Weekly this morning, suggesting Kristin Wiig as her flute-rockin', pageant-walkin' heiress apparent should Palin persist as figure worthy of late-night ridicule. We agree, if only to provide a cannier doppelganger for all those confused, frustrated European photo agencies. [EW] -
tina fey
John McCain Welcomed to 'SNL' By Tina Fey, Boos
Though both Barack Obama and John McCain were rumored to be planning appearances on last night's episode of Saturday Night Live, only McCain showed up in the end, and the two sketches he appeared in repped a decidedly mixed bag. More » -
tina fey
Lemon Party! Looks like Tina Fey's second, third, fourth, and fifth jobs this year have paid off, as 30 Rock premiered last night to the biggest numbers in the show's history. THR says the sitcom lured 8.5 million viewers and a 4.1 18-49 rating, up 21% from its premiere last year. We're a little confounded by the fact that Rock still lost 800,000 viewers of The Office — what do you people need, every character on the show to couple up? A premature guest stint from Steve Carell? Prolonged sexual tension between Frank and Cirie (actually, that one we could live with)? [THR] -
tina fey
Sarah Palin's Attempt to Abscond with Tina Fey's Child Ends in Disgrace
With less than a week to go before the presidential election, all of America is waiting, pondering the same pressing question: will the fate of Sarah Palin be wrapped up in a final, valedictory Tina Fey performance or will Kristen Wiig have to start practicing her "You betchas!" for the next four years? Until that day comes (and until 30 Rock has its TV premiere), Fey is milking her impression for all its worth, and last night, she talked to Conan O'Brien about what happened behind the scenes of her run-in with the actual Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live. More » -
saturday night live
Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, And An Emboldened HuffPo Blogger Enliven Thursday 'SNL'
Returning alumni Will Ferrell (as George W. Bush) and Tina Fey turned last night's Thursday edition of Saturday Night Live into a veritable class reunion, but one other notable name returned behind the scenes: Ferrell's frequent collaborator Adam McKay. Little over a month ago, McKay (Step Brothers, Anchorman) lit up the left with a sky-is-falling Huffington Post blog entitled "We're Gonna Frickin' Lose This Thing," but to judge from the opening sketch he co-wrote, he now finds the Republican ticket about as threatening as a Jackie Mason PSA. The clip, after the jump: More » -
30 rock
Wrap Your Mindgrapes Around This Scene from Next Week's '30 Rock' Premiere
If, like us, you have been furiously mainlining Sabor de Soledad thanks to the unconscionably long wait until 30 Rock's third season premiere, you're in luck: NBC has put the episode online in advance of its broadcast airing next week. For those of you who are still trapped at work and unable to spare a half-hour, we've excerpted one of the episode's funniest, earliest scenes: a confrontation between the deposed Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) and closeted usurper Devin Banks (Will Arnett). We can promise you a lot of homoeroticism, but sadly, no anal sex. [NBC] -
tina fey
Are Democrats Better at Political Satire Than Republicans?
With the Sarah Palin-skewering SNL ascendant and the Republican-helmed satire An American Carol flailing at the box office (because of those pro-immigration chihuahuas), Boston Globe writer Lisa Wangsness has a provocative point to make: that events like these illustrate "the extent to which comedy has become a liberal genre in America." If you take the success of left-leaning satires like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and couple it with the mileage wrung from the McCain/Letterman War of '08, does it augur a bold new era of Democratic ha-has? More » -
30 rock
Sandwich Girls? If the raft of special guest stars hadn't tipped you off that NBC would do anything to draw eyeballs to the new season of 30 Rock, how about this: they're spicing up their promos with hardcore anal sex! According to MyHogtown, a recent afternoon ad for 30 Rock that ran in the Greater Toronto area was inexplicably spliced with a snippet of hardcore porn featuring some backdoor action. If viewers couldn't believe their eyes, they were in luck: the porn-laden ad ran again less than twenty minutes later. Truly, a programming move worthy of MILF Island exec Jack Donaghy. [MyHogtown] -
tina fey
Tina Fey Praises Palin For Having 'None of That Droopy Shit'
Though she's received widespread acclaim for playing Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey is typically self-effacing about the gig. First, she claimed that her uncannily accurate impression was the easiest voice to do since Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade, and now, while talking to TV Guide about the physical adjustments she makes to play Palin, she belittled her own looks in comparison to the candidate's: More » -
alec baldwin
Doggone It: Though he once compared Sarah Palin to George W. Bush, Alec Baldwin aided her cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live this weekend, and the blowback he got for the guest spot has him stymied. "Don't put her on SNL? With all of her exposure and the Tina Fey performance? What reality are you in?" he says on the Huffington Post. "If you think an appearance on Saturday Night Live would sway voters and actually affect the outcome of the election, you may have more contempt for the electorate of this country than the Republican National Committee does. And that's a lot of contempt." Still, we must admit to some surprise that the outspoken, anti-Palin actor was able to bury the hatchet for SNL; what's next, an olive-branch cameo on My Name is Earl? [HuffPo] -
saturday night live
How big was Saturday Night Live's Sarah Palin cameo? This big: the show scored a 10.7 rating and 24 share, its highest rating in fourteen years. THR's crack ratings expert James Hibberd was quick with the overnights, and in no time, his blog was swarmed by hundreds of gleeful conservatives. "Tina Fey looked liked a drug addict hag next to the natural beauty and class of Sarah Palin!!!" exhorted "zig." Other commenters noted that Fey was probably 50% Egyptian and wants to turn the White House into a pyramid. [THR] -
sarah palin
Sarah Palin on 'SNL': Not Ready For Prime Time
If the people who comprise the American electorate ever doubted the power of their influence, they need look no further than this season of Saturday Night Live. They wanted Tina Fey as Sarah Palin. Done! So done, in fact, that we don't even have 30 Rock yet! Drunk with their newfound power, every "Joe the Plumber" and "That One" in the U.S. of A. went into last night's episode of SNL demanding two things: a cameo by the real-life Sarah Palin, and a battle royale between Mark Wahlberg and his livestock-friendly impersonator, Andy Samberg. More » -
tina fey
Say Hi To Sarah Palin For Us, OK? Just as predicted by a jaded and/or savvy Defamer commenter, Mark Wahlberg's threats against Andy Samberg's nose may in fact be part of an elaborate set-up for the actor's appearance on SNL. Says Usmagazine.com: "A source hints that Wahlberg will appear on SNL this weekend to get his revenge in person." Add that to a confirmed appearance by "Sling Blade" Sarah Palin, and we'll have a real pop culture hall of mirrors tomorrow night. Perhaps all four will be squeezed into one sketch that involves Andy-Mark trying to make conversation with a moose recently felled by Tina-Sarah, a scenario interrupted when their real-life inspirations saunter along to register their disapproval and bust some big, Jewish noses. [Usmagazine.com] -
tina fey
Tina Fey on Sarah Palin: 'Not Since 'Sling Blade' Has There Been a Voice' Like Hers
David Letterman may be unable to follow up last night's John McCain appearance with one from his vice presidential running mate, but at least he's got the next best thing: Tina Fey! The 30 Rock actress has already taped her guest spot on tonight's Late Show, and we have this clip where she breaks down her Sarah Palin impression. So what exactly are her influences? More » -
tina fey
Should Sarah Palin Win, 'SNL' Has a Non-Tina Fey Plan B
Tina Fey may be locked in for a few more Sarah Palin impersonations on Saturday Night Live (though if she is, somebody had better tell her), but her cameos come with a strict stop date of November 5, at which point she will either return to 30 Rock full-time or begin a new, exciting life orbiting the rings of Saturn. Fortunately for Fey, a McCain/Palin victory is looking increasingly unlikely, but should the Republican ticket make it into the White House, SNL creator Lorne Michaels has a backup plan: More » -
30 rock
Tina Fey's Confirmed 'SNL' Appearance is News to Tina Fey
By now everyone has heard Ben Silverman's soggy rationale for reintroducing 30 Rock so late in the fall season — everyone except Tina Fey, it appears, whose sit-down today with the Associated Press revealed that she doesn't know when or even if she will revive her recurring Sarah Palin gig on Saturday Night Live. An NBC spokesperson corroborated the network's uncertainty. Who to believe? More » -
sex and the city
Six Degrees Of Carrie Bradshaw's Vagina
There was a time when a place in Carrie Bradshaw's vagina was the most coveted hot spot in premium cable. Honest-to-goodness stars like Vince Vaughn and Mikhail Baryshnikov visited Carrie's wonder spot, but it's not what you could do for Bradshaw's bits, it's what Bradshaw's bits could do for you. Just like Courtney Love, who famously said, "I have a magic pussy, If you fuck me, you become a king," doing time in Carrie's nether regions is a one-way ticket to televised success in 2008. Carrie Bradshaw's boyfriend is officially the new Jerry Seinfeld's girlfriend, as TV stars like Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, and SatC's own Kristin Davis did it with Jerry before they hit the big time. After the jump, find out the four men who originally appeared as Carrie's beaux and are now part of the most critically acclaimed shows of the year. [Jezebel] -
ben silverman
Blergh: The New York Times is as fed up with the lack of 30 Rock as we are, noting that Tina Fey "is about the hottest star in show business at the moment" thanks to those Emmy wins, American Express commercials, and Sarah Palin guest spots, and yet the third season of the rating-challenged sitcom still hasn't yet premiered to take advantage of Fey's heat. Embattled NBC head Ben Silverman takes the blame: "If we knew then what we know today about how hot Tina was going to be, would we do it differently? Maybe." The "business juice"-quaffing Silverman then announced plans to incorporate Fey into several of his struggling new series; expect a new, Palin-like voice for KITT on Knight Rider and a Kath & Kim & Liz Lemon crossover to thrill audiences before 30 Rock's season premiere sometime in the year 2011. [NY Times] -
tina fey
Tina Fey Plans Potential Move to Outer Space In Case of Sarah Palin Victory
Though playing Sarah Palin on Saturday Night Live has given a huge boost to Tina Fey's already percolating profile, Fey herself is not so keen on the added workload. Already, she has implored the Emmy press room to help vote an end her portrayal on November 5, and now Fey is telling TV Guide that if Palin wins the vice presidency, 30 Rock will have to find brand-new ways to shoot in low-oxygen environments: More » -
sarah palin
Doggone It: John McCain's plans to appear on Late Show with David Letterman appear to be falling through, but the bottom half of his ticket may have finally firmed up her own late-night gig. According to Cindy Adams, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will definitely be appearing on Saturday Night Live at the end of the month. "She has already OK'd it," Adams says confidently. "She's booked. It's confirmed. Done deal. Sketches are being sketched as we speak." Adams says we can expect Palin to cameo on the Oct. 25 episode and that her rehearsal time has already been penciled in for Friday the 24th. Nor word yet on whether Tina Fey has been booked to appear, but if she's too busy, might we suggest Betty White instead? [New York Post] -
30 rock
Finally, NBC Gives a Grateful Nation New '30 Rock' Footage
Though her multiple SNL appearances as Sarah Palin have certainly boosted Tina Fey's cultural cachet, true Fey nerds can have their thirst quenched by only one thing: new 30 Rock! NBC has cruelly delayed the third season premiere until November 6 (correction: November 6 is actually the date of the network-teased Oprah episode — October 30 will see the somewhat less-buzzworthy, Megan Mullally-guesting premiere), but the network parceled out a thirty-second morsel of the new season last night. More » -
snl
Here's What Happens When 'SNL' Does a Debate Sketch Without Tina Fey
After weeks of massive ratings and huge buzz derived from its Tina Fey-as-Sarah Palin guest appearances, Saturday Night Live extended its political satire into special Thursday episodes beginning last night. So how did the Not Ready for Primetime Players weather the transition to the only NBC timeslot not currently bought up by Barack Obama? More » -
saturday night live
The Top 8 Women Who Changed the Face of 'SNL'
In honor of Saturday Night Live alum Molly Shannon, whose poorly-received sitcom Kath & Kim premieres tonight on NBC, we thought it was time to pay tribute to the women who've made the biggest mark on SNL over the years. Whether it's Tina Fey, whose profile has surged since her Sarah Palin guest appearances, or an underrated player like Jan Hooks who shines in late-night SNL reruns, we have a soft spot for the women who've succeeded despite being greatly outnumbered in SNL's heavily male cast and writing room. More »
















































