Tag Archives: Saturday Night Live

Next “SNL” Star

Posted on August 27, 2010 | 2 Comments

Dear Lorne Michaels:

It’s been over a decade since we never met in your office at “Saturday Night Live.”  I conferred instead with your creative director on the greeting card line Hallmark was developing to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show.

However, I did sit in your chair, so I think we made a connection.

That’s why, lo these many years later, I feel I can talk casting with you…now that Will Forte has announced he’s leaving the show after eight seasons.

Hire Tim Mason.

You know Tim.  He’s  a comedian on the main stage at Second City in Chicago.  I recently saw him perform in the new show “Spoiler Alert: Everybody Dies,” and was blown away by his command of the stage and range of characters.  He was funny, funny, smart.

Plus, I know SNL has to cast by type — just like any other show — and I think Tim is a ringer to fill Will’s slot.  I mean, seriously — take a look.

Perfect, right?

Full disclosure: I know Tim from his early improv days in Kansas City. You know Kansas City — the town that produced Jason Sudeikis, Paul Rudd and Rob Riggle.

That’s a pretty impressive pedigree.

Return to the well, Lorne.  You won’t regret it.

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Humor, News, Television, TV

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Grin and bear it

Posted on August 1, 2010 | Leave a comment

When I started at Hallmark Cards in 1992, my first position was in licensed properties.  I was the editor for Peanuts and Garfield cards, and later Cathy and Ziggy and Disney and  “Saturday Night Live” and pretty much any other licensed character that could sell a humor card.

I even traveled to Disney in California at one point and attended ‘Pooh College’ — as in Winnie the Pooh — and became somewhat of a corporate expert on how Winnie should look and sound to greeting card audiences, whether they be children, young adults, teens or even adult Pooh fans.

Because each Pooh is different.  (You can quote me on that.)

Winnie the Pooh is also the World Ambassador of Friendship.  The United Nations made an official declaration in 1997.

It’s a piece of trivia that you might find handy, because it’s National Friendship Day.  Yep — Congress made that official as well, way back in 1935.

So, here’s my official note of gratitude to my friends — the ones I see every day, the ones I miss every day and the 340 I ‘talk’ to every day on Facebook.

I’m sure Pooh would approve.

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Posted in Books & Mags, Family, Holiday, Humor, Life, Relationships

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The envelope please…

Posted on July 15, 2010 | Leave a comment

Awards shows?  I’m a fan.

Even though the entertainment value is spotty at best, I still like to watch.  You never know when an overexcited, drunk celebrity is going to say or do something really embarrassing.

Television at its best!

Last night I added a new awards show to my annual must-see list  — the ESPYs, ESPN’s sports awards.  I’ve never watched them before because, well, they’ve never been hosted by Seth Meyers of SNL.  He was the draw.  I thought it would be a fun show.

And it was.  Ya know why?

The awards were almost an afterthought.  The show was all comedy and musical numbers.  When the ESPYs did focus on an award — like the Courage Award, for example — they did these amazing pieces of sports journalism that were beautifully written, photographed and edited.  You couldn’t look away.

It was an awards show, but first and foremost, it was entertainment.

And as an awards show junkie, I just want to say thank you.  And I hope the producers and directors of the Oscars, Emmys and Tonys were watching.  You could learn something.

Oh — and I’d like to highlight my favorite acceptance speech of the night…from the Best Breakthrough Athlete, Chris Johnson of Tennessee, who so clearly defined our priorities in the digital age:

“First of all, I want to thank God, most of all. Without Him it wouldn’t be possible. I want to thank all the fans who voted for me, I want to thank all my friends and family. I want to thank Ustream and I want to thank Twitter most of all. And if you got a Twitter, follow me at ChrisJohnson28.”

Long live the awards show!

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Posted in Celebrities, Comedy, Entertainment, Humor, Internet, Sports, Television, TV

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Otherwise engaged

Posted on June 9, 2010 | Leave a comment

After being lucky enough to be in the studio audience yesterday for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” my friend Leah and I wandered the city, in search of the perfect post-show place for drinks and dinner.

Obviously, Manhattan is an embarrassment of choices; that’s why it took blocks and blocks to settle on a rather touristy final destination: the Heartland Brewery near Radio City Music Hall (because their burgers really are very good).

During our long walk — which didn’t seem long at all because it was such a gorgeous night — I was reminded of another evening in New York City, long before I moved here, that ended up at that ultimate of tourist’s traps, the Hard Rock Cafe.

I was working at Hallmark Cards then, and we were launching a line celebrating the 20th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live.”  To speed along the approval process — usually handled via snail mail — we brought all 100+ cards to New York City and met with the SNL Creative Director ‘live.’

In one afternoon, we received approvals on all 108 cards with only four changes.  It was somewhat of a record that I’ll bet still stands in the Hallmark Hall of Licensing.

Somewhat giddy, we headed to Hard Rock where we did many, many shots and, by evening’s end, I found myself engaged — in name only — to the very married director of the licensing design studio.  (He’s never made good on that proposal, by the way.)

And people wonder why I decided to move here…

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Posted in Business, Foods, Humor, Relationships, Travel

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MacMarketing

Posted on May 21, 2010 | Leave a comment

The MacGruber movie opens today, and I think it’s going to be hilarious.

Perhaps I’ll be disappointed…but I don’t think so.  And here’s why.

Even as a sketch, “Saturday Night Live” found a way to heighten the funny in each MacGruber episode.  The last one this season, which featured the incomparable Betty White as MacGruber’s freaky grandmother, was off-the-charts.

For the movie, the writers and directors dropped MacGruber into an 80′s-style action film.  The plot sounds like one big ol’ cliche that our hero repeatedly blows up.  “His methods may be unorthodox. His crime scenes may get messy. But if you want the world saved right, you call in MacGruber.”

What’s not to love?

Reportedly the movie is so dirty, it almost got an NC-17 rating, so very little could be shown in the trailers.  (Another way to get butts in the seats.)   But my favorite bit of move marketing that MacGruber employed that is a first — at least that I’ve seen — is the use of television show-specific trailers.

For example, the MacGruber trailer that ran this Thursday in the NBC sitcom “Community” was a mock PSA that MacGruber and his sidekick, Vicki St. Elmo, did about community colleges.  They did similar PSAs in “Parks & Recreation,” “The Office,” and “30 Rock.”

These might have been necessary due to the lack of footage appropriate to the television audience.  But I think film marketers everywhere should take note.  Talk about movie marketing that grabs your audience’s attention.

Plus, each ad ends with a MacGruber explosion.

Genius!

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Posted in Humor, Movies, Television

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Wiiging out

Posted on May 11, 2010 | Leave a comment

Kristen Wiig is on the talk show circuit.

She’s promoting the MaGruber movie, which opens in theaters May 21st.  Critics say it’s the funniest movie to come out of “Saturday Night Live,” and the trailers I’ve seen so far support that.

It’s great to see Kristen doing more film work.  She’s one of — if not the – funniest women on television today, and has managed to steal scenes with the small roles she’s had to date in movies like Knocked Up and Ghost Town.

So, I was excited when she told Jimmy Fallon last night that she is shooting a movie this summer that she co-wrote.  I could only imagine the hilariously creative starring role that Kristen would write for herself.

Get this — it’s a wedding movie.  Circa Bride Wars.  But she’s not the bride.  She’s the friend of the bride, fighting to plan the wedding for her bride friend.

Wow.  That’s amazingly original.  It’s so original, I used a recent, poorly rated and received movie to describe it.

Don’t get me wrong — I want it to be amazing.  With Kristen and Maya Rudolph as her co-star, it has tremendous talent and potential.

I just hope the movie can transcend its very tired stereotype.

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Posted in Humor, Movies, Relationships, Television

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That Sunday thing

Posted on April 25, 2010 | Leave a comment

My favorite Sunday morning looks something like this:

  • Walk Rory.
  • Feed us both.
  • Watch the rest of “Saturday Night Live.” (I never make it through the entire show ‘live.’)
  • Find a movie to veg to the rest of the morning.

Heaven.

Today’s find? “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton” starring Topher Grace, Josh Duhamel and Kate Bosworth. I can’t believe it has been six years since that movie came out. (It was fluff, but enjoyable fluff.)

It also got me wondering — where the heck is Topher Grace?

“Tad Hamilton” was released a couple of years before he left “That 70′s Show.” He appeared in the excellent “In Good Company” (with Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson) and the less remarkable “P.S.” that same year. Then he went off to ‘concentrate on his film career.’

Hmmm…he must be thinking really hard, because I don’t see that many films on his resume.

He did “Spiderman 3″ in 2007 and some voice work. But Topher has been pretty quiet until his recent appearance in the critically panned “Valentine’s Day.”

Don’t get me wrong. I am a Topher fan.  I’m just hoping this hiatus means bigger and better things are ahead.

Maybe he needed to do his thinking in the basement…

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Big wind

Posted on April 12, 2010 | Leave a comment

So, I’ve been perusing the celebrity gossip sites today (so you don’t have to), and there’s a new breeze blowing across the land.

Remember how you had to be thin to make it in Hollywood?

Now, you’re pretty much hated if you are.

Take Sarah Jessica Parker.  She’s sporting these muscle-only arms of late…and folks are having a field day.  Not admiring the lack of flab or anything like that.

They are pretty much grossed out.

And then there’s Tina Fey.  She’s been everywhere of late.  “30 Rock” is the sitcom of the moment.  Her movie “Date Night” with Steve Carell won the weekend box office.  She hosted a hilarious episode of “Saturday Night Live.”

She’s also been sexing it up on all her magazine covers and even the photo bumps in Saturday’s SNL.  But people want the frumpy Tina back…not this new, thin, mega-styled, air-brushed version.

Part of me applauds this grassroots call for real women to have real bodies.  Whether or not Hollywood will respond is another thing altogether.

But I have to wonder: would any of these people calling for normalcy — if placed in the same position — be able to resist becoming a bit plastic themselves?

Heck, if I achieved stardom — if money was no object — I’m pretty sure I would find it hard to resist a bit of de-frumping.

Who am I kidding?  I wouldn’t even put up a fight.

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Fey everyday

Posted on April 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

Hey Tina.  Big week, huh?

We’ve got “30 Rock” tonight — a rerun, but a recent one with the incredible Michael Sheen as Wesley, your reluctant romantic interest.

Then Friday night we’re meeting up at the movie theatre for the anxiously awaited “Date Night” with Steve Carell.  I have laughed hard at every trailer viewing, so I’m pretty stoked (even though I just read a mediocre review — the critics are such ruiners).

On to Saturday night, and Tina, we’ll be together again….’cause you’re hosting “Saturday Night Live.”  No doubt you’ll open the show with your uncanny Sarah Palin impression, or we’ll see it very soon thereafter.

When Sunday comes, I’m thinking feature in the New York Times in addition to the magazine covers that I’ve already spied this week.  And heck, the way things are going, I’ll probably see you walking down the street later that afternoon.  We do both live on the Upper West Side.

But, I have to be honest, Tina — I need some space.

It’s not you; it’s me.

You’re smart and funny and accomplished and, well, everywhere. You are dangerously close to be seriously overexposed.

A little less Tina would make us all appreciate you even more.

Let’s just enjoy the weekend…and after that?

We’re on a break.

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Eyes clinched shut

Posted on March 23, 2010 | 1 Comment

I hadn’t been to the movie in a couple of weeks, which is an eternity in Carla years.  So I was excited to be able to see not one, but two movies this weekend.  I followed the critics recommendation for my first choice, “Greenberg,” and went counter to their advice for my second, “The Bounty Hunter.”

Both made me cringe.

When did movie makers decide that creating characters that audiences hate is a good idea?

I know that every person I watch on the big screen doesn’t have to be like me, or make the same kind of choices.  But I do think, at some point in the story, the audience has to care about them and the choices they are making…or why would we want to sit there and spend two hours of our lives with them?

In “Greenberg,” Ben Stiller plays a New York City carpenter who goes to his brother’s Los Angeles home to recover following a mental breakdown.  We get to watch him mistreat and belittle every person (and animal) he comes in contact with for the balance of the film.

It kinda made me miss blood and gore.  At least that’s more honest.

“The Bounty Hunter” just proved that bad writing can sink good actors.  I hated everyone in that movie, especially the writer Sarah Thorp.  She should be whipped for what she did to poor Jason Sudeikis (of “Saturday Night Live”) who had a ridiculous supporting role.

I realized when the movie was over that the funniest part of the evening was the trailer for “MacGruber.”

Now, there’s a character I get behind.

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