• Mary Louise Parker was the center of attention at the Roundabout Theatre on Sunday for the opening night of her new Broadway show, Hedda Gabler. Parker and her co-stars, Michael Cerveris, Peter Stormare, and Paul Sparks, and the play's director Christopher Shinnas were joined at the play and after-party by Liza Minnelli, Joan Rivers, Blythe Danner, Mamie Gummer, Amy Irving, Billy Stritch, and Tovah Feldshuh. [PMc, Wireimage, GoaG]
An internet report from a self-proclaimed "McCain strategist" claiming Joe the Plumber got busy with Kristin Wiig following the SNL afterparty—and also discussed becoming the next Bachelor with Ben Affleck's agent, Patrick "Something"—is now looking more and more to be a hoax, hoisted upon a gullible and Wiig-hungry gossip nation. The report came from a man calling himself Martin Eisenstadt—the proprietor of his very own, very-hard-to-come-by website bearing that name—and was picked up by the likes of Slate before internet skeptics and lovers of Sue the Surprise-Loving Lady alike started poking holes in the story:
Back in September of 2007, a series of amusing "Rudy Giliani ads" were released to YouTube by a mysterious user named "abrad2345." One of them is attached. A year later, we were pointed to a blog and video series called "The Last Republican" by a "McCain advisor" named Martin Eisenstadt. Martin Eisenstadt is a gifted, funny satirist. Sorry for messing up your game, Martin, 'cause we like you, but the election's done, you've had your fun. And hey everyone else on the internet—the story of Joe the Plumber attending the SNL afterparty and hooking up with Kristen Wiig? It is bullshit. Or "a joke." You're welcome. Now go watch his videos, they're pretty funny.
The moment we knew we'd plunged too far down the Barbara Walters-moderated rabbit hole that is The View came last night, and it came during Saturday Night Live. Our initial reaction to the show's View spoof was not, "Oh, Kristen Wiig's playing Elisabeth Hasselbeck!" or even, "Casey Wilson couldn't do an impression of a single View co-host?" No, instead our visceral first take was, "Elisabeth would never wear that color yellow!" In this case, the shame is spread all around: a healthy helping goes to the SNL costume designers who forsook the chance to design the wildest pirate shirt ever, and we'll claim the rest for ourselves. Click through for the clip.Click to view
Saturday Night Live just aired its second Thursday political special, and it was a marked improvement on last week's middling debut — why, even the presidential debate skit was sort of funny! For our money, though, the extended Weekend Update was the show's crown jewel, and that segment's MVP was Kristen Wiig as the confused Republican who notoriously asserted that Obama was an Arab at a recent rally. Though hilarious enough on its own, Wiig's halting impression also reminded us of Chester from Sifl & Olly, and that's never a bad thing. The entire segment, after the jump:Click to view
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:
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.Sadly, our list cut off at eight, so the valuable, deadpan Jane Curtain and the acidic Nora Dunn were among the SNL casualties. Other alumnae — like Sarah Silverman and Janeane Garofalo — have had career success despite their ignoble stints on the variety show, and were therefore left out. Enjoy the clip above, then make a passionate case for the ignored Julia Sweeney down below. [SNL]
When Olympian gold medalist Michael Phelps was announced as the host of Saturday Night Live's 33rd season premiere, we had a couple concerns about his acting ability — worries that, frankly, weren't alleviated by his monotone presenting at last night's VMAs. Fortunately, SNL all-star Kristen Wiig has the right idea about how best to utilize Phelps — and it's by putting focus on his most unassailable trait, his body:
Oh Ellen Page. Why must you make it so easy to spark lesbionic rumors after every public appearance, from outfits showcasing your boyish frame, hiring a Power Lesbian publicist to defend your Non-Power Lesbian status, and showing Jay Leno and the country just how masculine your workout moves are? Not to mention that business of stroking your phantom goatee during the macho exercises in question? Adding more flame to the female-loving fire, Page is currently filming Whip It! in Michigan alongside Drew Barrymore in the newly single actress’ directorial debut. And after hearing the trajectory of Page’s star character Bliss, including every budding Chic Lesbian’s preference of roller derby races over that superficial tradition of beauty pageants (note: we are just imagining what Ellen’s Us-recruited body language expert would "think"), we can't exactly believe with certainty that Page isn't a member of Closeted Hollywood. Not to mention these photos of the Diablo-spawned prodigy on set looking her makeup-free, greasy-haired, baggy sweatpants-wearing finest:
It's difficult to properly convey to you the excitement level that hits you the second you walk through the revolving doors at 30 Rockefeller Center before a live taping of Saturday Night Live. After all, it's one of the hardest tickets to get in show business. So, unlike a concert or athletic event where you can see the eyes of some attendees glazing over from boredom, everyone who is in attendance is someone who desperately wants to be there. As anyone who is in the building will attest, the energy in these moments is both palpable and kinetic. And that's just in the lobby of the ground floor of the building!
If you're wondering why you're not seeing as much of popular SNL featured players like Jason Sudeikis, Bill Hader and Andy Samberg these days, there's one simple reason why: Kristen Wiig. Since she made her debut on the show back in late 2005, Wiig has quickly established herself as one of the most gifted and versatile performers to ever grace the stage at Studio 8H, not to mention one of the funniest. In this short time, she's quickly become Lorne Michaels' MVP of the show, often appearing in 4-5 sketches per episode. While it's debatable as to whether or not she'll ever reach breakout superstar status of SNL alums like Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy or Mike Myers, she is, for our money, the single most talented sketch comedian the show has seen since fellow Groundlings alum Will Ferrell retired. After the jump, we feature two sketches that she knocked out of the park this weekend. The first features a spot-on impression of Jamie Lee Curtis filming a commercial for Activia yogurt; the latter, a virtuoso turn as a haggard and worn down travel writer named Judy Grimes who, for the life of her, can't stop kidding around.
· I can't speak for the other Defamers, but the thing that I missed most during the strike was the absence of SNL. This weekend's episode was a fine return to form (especially in the ratings department), but this faux commercial starring Kristen Wiig stood out to this observer as the evening's best moment. See ya later, suckers! [NBC]
· The proprietor of this Tumblr describes it best: "Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life?" Certainly not us! But lo and behold, tis true. [Garfield Minus Garfield]
· Our amigos over at CC2K got their hands on the Iron Man script. [CC2K]
· In Contention takes a look at the Top Ten Shots of 2007 in this fantastic, two-part post. Click here for Part One and here for Part Two. [In Contention]
· Not even Paul Haggis, screenwriter of the 22nd James Bond film, has any clue what Quantum Of Solace is supposed to mean. [MTV Movies Blog]
