Think boy bands are dead?
Don’t tell that to Varsity Fanclub.
The L.A.-based fivesome is getting ready to release their self-titled debut album in January, and they’re already taking the tween world by storm. They’re like an updated version of *NSync — more skinny jeans and less frosted tips.
And to stay true to boy bands of yore, I’ve already picked my favorite group member: Jayk Purdy. Not only does he have a bad-ass first name, but his last name is literally the word a drunk backwoods southerner would use to tell someone they’re attractive. Plus he’s described as “the group’s resident prankster.” Fun!
Click on the link below to check out Varsity Fanclub’s video for their single “Future Love.” Each group member gets introduced at the 1:00 point, kind of like B2K’s first music video — And we all know how well THAT turned out.
Amy Castle’s life after Passions
I hope everybody out there had a great Thanksgiving. And now that I’ve stuffed my stomach to full capacity, I’ve returned to blogging so I can serve up some weirdness.
First order up: a look back at my most recent post about the “Chubby Cuppy Cake” boy. There’s something I forgot to mention about Amy Castle, the girl who sang the original version of “You’re My Honey Bunch” in 1994 — She was also on Passions!
She played Esme Vanderheusen’s serial-killer niece, Vicki Chatsworth, in the soap’s final season.
This is the only video of Viki I was able to find, and it’s pretty lame, but it gives you a pretty good idea of what she’s all about. (As if you didn’t all know everything about Passions already). Oh, and for whatever reason, the video is set to Alien Ant Farm’s “Smooth Criminal” cover.
Behind the Video: Chubby Cuppy Cake Boy
YouTube sensations come and go, but sometimes there’s more to their story than just the video that made them popular.
Take the Chubby Cuppy Cake Boy, for example. We’ve all had a lot of fun at his squishy-faced expense — and until now it was all in good fun. But a new video, posted Nov. 14, tells the story of the video’s star, and it’s a sad one.
The boy’s name is Sam. He’s nine years old, and is apparently suffering from a rare kidney disorder. The steroids he is being given to stay alive are also stunting his growth. That’s why he looks the way he does. In this new video, he sits down with Amy Castle, the girl who sang the original version of “You’re My Honey Bunch” back in 1994 that Sam lip-synchs in his own video. The two of them lip-synch the song together, and then they talk to each other for a little bit.
Watch the video of their meeting. It warmed my cold blogging heart.
Double the blasphemy
A few weeks ago, I speculated that A Shot at Love 3 was in the works. And I was right — sort of.
MTV recently announced a new series called A Double Shot at Love in which 12 straight guys and 12 lesbians will face off with the hopes of finding true love. Only this time, Tila Tequila (I mourn her career) isn’t the one they’ll be fighting over. In her place will be the Ikki Twins, a pair of “bisexual” girls who, much like Tila at the start of the first season, have achieved fame through naughty modeling.
As happy as I am to have the show coming back, I’m pretty outraged that Tila’s been replaced. The second season left her heartbroken, sobbing on the steps of her mansion of filth after being turned down by Kristy. And that’s it? We don’t get to see the rest of the story unfold? New York said she’s willing to give it a third try, so why not Tila?
Level with me, people. Am I the only one disappointed that we may have seen the last of Tila?
Dawson’s coke
James Van Der Beek is returning to his teen drama roots Monday with a guest spot on The CW’s One Tree Hill. The mere idea of Dawson Leery back on the once-WB network is enough to excite me, but then I saw this preview clip — and now I’m more excited than ever.
His character will be working with Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) to turn his first novel into a movie, after Lucas fired the other guy he was working with a few episodes ago. Oh God… did I just make it really obvious that I watch One Tree Hill?
Whatever, Dawson’s awesome. And he might just be a little bit crazy. You decide.
ABC is on a killing spree
As it turns out, Pushing Daisies really was too cute for this world.
According to E! News, the series has been officially canceled by ABC, following a season full of disappointing ratings.
Though Daisies creator Bryan Fuller told E! that he was “really not feeling very boo hoo about it,” co-star Kristin Chenoweth wasn’t afraid to show some emotion Thursday night when they spoke to her at the premiere of Four Christmases.
We don’t really have a closure. It’s going to leave a lot of our friends wondering. … I would love to do a movie.
ABC is also apprently axing two other sophomore series: Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money.
Of the three victims I only watched Pushing Daisies, though my love for it has been fading as of late. At the beginning of the season, I started comparing it to Juno: It’s clever and quirky… but only for the sake of being clever and quirky. It was basically an hour’s worth of empty TV calories — and I’m pretty sure I get enough of those already.
Sillyville Series, Week 1: What is Sillyville?
For lack of more thoughtful terminology, Sillyville was a cracked out straight-to-video movie musical made in 1989 by the people in the Wee Sing series. There’s a talking tree, a dancing jester and a thinly-veiled message about racial tension woven seamlessly into the plot.
There’s actually a lot to love about the movie, though. Too much to squeeze into one post, anyway. So that’s why I’m doing a series. I promise I will post my thought about Sillyville on here every Friday from now on. Or until I run out of ideas.
Or I just forget to do it.
Here’s a taste of just some of the gems I’ll be analyzing in the weeks to come. Be careful.
Bestiality… in 3-D!
Special edition DVDs, crappy straight-to-video sequels, theatrical re-releases — no one milks their films for all they’re worth quite like the Walt Disney Company. But am I complaining? Please.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney is currently re-rendering footage from Beauty and the Beast, planning to release a 3-D version of the film in theaters in 2010.
Up until this moment, 2010 was a scary thing to think about. It’ll be my first full year as a real-world adult. (Hire me? Someone? Anyone?) But somehow this news makes that a year worth looking forward to. Just think of that scene where Cogsworth sneezes — it’ll feel like you’re getting clock snot all over your face!
And can you even imagine what crazy old Maurice will be like in 3-D?! That’s three whole dimensions of crazy right there, folks.
Happy International Christine Baranski Appreciation Day!
No, you didn’t misread that headline. Tuesday, November 18, 2008 was in fact the first unofficial INTERNATIONAL Christine Baranski Appreciation Day.
But how does one even begin to decide how to spend a single day praising the goddess we know as CB? After all, should we not be treating every day as if it were a worldwide celebration of her excellence?
You could take a day trip to New York and catch CB in her Broadway play Boeing-Boeing. Or you could go online and watch episodes of Cybill until your eyes start to bleed. And if you’re feeling the Christmas spirit early this year, you could check out CB’s performance as the sultry Martha May Whovier in The Grinch.
But since there are only two more minutes left to celebrate, might I suggest watching the following clip? It’s CB performing “Does Your Mother Know” from Mamma Mia! That voice, those moves… this woman can do it all.
God, what I wouldn’t give to be that mysterious island native. Maybe someday, CB.
The many public outings of Snagglepuss
This past weekend’s SNL was genius, there’s no denying that. Everything that host Paul Rudd (and almost co-host Justin Timberlake) touched turned to gold. But there was another special guest from the episode I’d like to draw some attention to. I’m talking, of course, about Snagglepuss, who joined Seth Meyers during Weekend Update to rant about his disapproval of the recent passing of Proposition 8.
Since Snagglepuss’ cartoon show went off the air 26 years before I was born, I have to admit I didn’t have a lot of experience with the flamboyant feline before seeing him on SNL. But I knew who he was, and Bobby Moynihan’s spot-on portrayal had me laughing long after his segment was over.
I feel like I should point out, however, that SNL was not the first latenight series to poke fun at Snagglepuss’ blatant homosexuality. The icon made an appearance in a 2006 episode of the late, great Comedy Central animated series Drawn Together. He was a guest at the coming out party for one of the show’s main characters, Xandir P. Wifflebottom.
I think we all expected it from Snagglepuss — but who knew Elmer Fudd swung that way?
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