- Actress Elizabeth Peña Dead at 55
- Neil Patrick Harris Is Hosting the 2015 Oscars
- 'Dying of the Light' Trailer: Nicolas Cage Goes Rogue
- Archie Panjabi Leaving 'The Good Wife'
- DC Comics Movies Announced: 'Justice League,' 'Wonder Woman,' 'The Flash,' and More
- HBO Will Finally Be Available Online Without a Cable Subscription
- The 'Rainbow Brite' Reboot Is Here, and It Has a Trailer (VIDEO)
- Baymax Is Low on Juice in This Exclusive 'Big Hero 6' Clip (VIDEO)
- The Park Is Open at 'Jurassic World' (PHOTO)
- Teyonah Parris Gets Real in This Exclusive 'Dear White People' Red Band Clip (VIDEO)
- 'Friends' on Netflix? Yep, It's Finally Happening
- 'Masters of Sex' Star Lizzy Caplan in Talks for 'Now You See Me 2'
- Justin Chon Loves These 5 Gang-Related Movies & TV Shows
- Rumor Alert: Ewan McGregor, Matthew McConaughey Could Get 'Doctor Strange'
- 'Fight Club' Facts: 15 Things You Didn't Know About the David Fincher Classic
- Best of Late Night TV: Emma Stone's 'Box of Lies,' Pros and Cons of 'The Walking Dead' (VIDEO)
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Actress Elizabeth Peña, whose most recent role was that of the matriarch on El Ray Network's "Matador," has died at the age of 55.
Her death was confirmed by her nephew, Latino-Review writer Mario-Francisco Robles, in a touching obituary posted today. She died October 14 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Peña's manager, Gina Rugolo, said the actress died after a brief battle with an undisclosed illness. Peña's notable film roles include "*batteries not included," "Lone Star," "La Bamba," "Jacob's Ladder," "Rush Hour," and Pixar's "The Incredibles." You may also know her from her very memorable guest appearances as Gloria's mother in "Modern Family." She is survived by her husband and two children. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Neil Patrick Harris is just one step away from an EGOT -- as a host.
The actor has been chosen to host the Academy Awards on February 22 on ABC. Harris has already hosted the Emmys twice (2009 and 2013) and the Tonys four times. Now, he can list Oscar host on his resume. All he needs to do is emcee the Grammys, and he could be the first person ever to have an EGOT as a host. (He himself has won four Emmys and a Tony last year for "Hedwig and the Angry Inch.") Harris confirmed the news with a cheeky video posted on Twitter: Last year's Academy Awards ceremony drew 43.7 million viewers and 13.1 share in adults 18-49, making it the most-watched Oscars since 2000. Harris is a safe choice, considering his previous hosting work. He's also well-liked, much like last year's host Ellen DeGeneres. Guess we can expect a few song-and-dance numbers! This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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As Nicolas Cage says in the new trailer for "Dying of the Light," "There are two kinds of men in this world: Men of action - and everyone else."
Well, it often seems like there are two kinds of Nicolas Cage: the gifted star of "The Rock" and "Leaving Last Vegas" - and the guy who's just cashing paychecks. For "Dying of the Light," it seems he's the latter. The trailer isn't actually bad. Cage huffs and puffs as a veteran, decorated CIA agent who goes rogue after learning his nemesis, a terrorist named Banir, might still be alive. Unfortunately, there's not much else to it. Plus, the strange history behind the movie - director Paul Schrader is disavowing it after feuding with producers over the final cut - does not bode well for the final product. "Dying of the Light" opens Dec. 5. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Change is the name of the game of "The Good Wife," which will see another of its original cast members depart after this season.
Emmy-winning actress Archie Panjabi will be leaving the CBS drama when her contract expires at the end of season 6. She signed a deal with 20th Century Fox to headline a drama pilot next year. Panjabi's exit comes a season after that of Josh Charles, who played Will Gardner. Will died in a shocking shooting in a courtroom. His death rocked the lives of his former co-worker and lover Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies) and his partner Diane Lockhart (Christine Baranski), and set into motion this season's storyline in which Diane left their old firm to join with Alicia's. Panjabi's Kalinda was a tough, mysterious, leather boot-wearing investigator who befriended Alicia after the latter arrived at Lockhart Gardner. But the revelation of Kalinda's past affair with Alicia's husband, now-Governor Peter Florrick (Chris Noth), ended their friendship. A storyline with Kalinda's ex-husband fizzled, and since then, she's often been on the sidelines. "It's been a pleasure to write for her, and we'll be sad to see her go; but we still have her for the rest of season six, so let's not exhaust our goodbyes yet," said "Good Wife" creators Robert and Michelle King in a statement. "We look forward to meeting all the wonderful new characters Archie brings to the screen. But either way, we're keeping the boots." Kalinda will be greatly missed, though Charles' departure showed that the series can move on without key characters. At the end of the day, the show is called "The Good Wife" - all that matters is Alicia. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Warner Bros. performed the movie studio equivalent of a mic drop this morning by announcing its slate of DC Comics movies, spanning six years and 10 movies.
It all starts next spring with the much-buzzed-about "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." Gal Gadot, who stars in that movie as Wonder Woman, will get her own standalone film. Meanwhile, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, and Ben Affleck will all return for "The Justice League: Part One" in 2017. And that's just the beginning. Here's the full line-up with dates: March 25, 2016 - "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" August 5, 2016 - "Suicide Squad" June 23, 2017 - "Wonder Woman" November 12, 2017 - "The Justice League: Part One" March 23, 2018 - "The Flash July 27, 2018 - "Aquaman" April 5, 2019 - "Shazam" June 14, 2019 - "The Justice League: Part Two" April 3, 2020 - "Cyborg" June 19, 2020 - "The Green Lantern" Solo films are also in the works for Superman and Batman. Zack Snyder will direct both "Justice Leagues" movies. Warner also announced that Ezra Miller ("The Perks of Being a Wallflower") will play The Flash, confirmed that Jason Momoa ("Game of Thrones") is Aquaman, and that Ray Fisher will reprise his "Dawn of Justice" role as Cyborg. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as Black Adam in "Shazam." Whew! We need a nap. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Soon, you won't need to steal your mom's HBO Go password anymore!
In an investors meeting, HBO CEO Richard Plepler confirmed that the company plans to offer a "standalone, over the top" online service sometime in 2015. "This will be transformative for our company," he said. Plepler noted that there are 80 million homes without HBO and that homes without cable TV represent "a large and growing opportunity that should no longer be left untapped." He did not outline any details of what the offering would include, and whether cable subscribers would get something different from online-only subscribers. It's a huge step for HBO to take; for years, it has resisted an online offering to avoid angering cable companies like Time Warner and Comcast. Even in its official statement, HBO noted that there are still "significant growth opportunities inside the pay-TV universe." There's no way to tell, at this point, if the online service would be like HBO Go, or if HBO would offer more limited access to its series - like its deal with Amazon, where older shows are available for streaming but new shows are not. So, maybe we'll still be stealing our parents' passwords for awhile. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Get your side ponytails ready, children of the '80s, 'cause it's about to get really nostalgic in here. "Rainbow Brite" is getting a 21st century reboot with a new online cartoon that will debut November 6 on Feeln.com.
This trailer gives us a peek at what Rainbow Brite, her horse Starlite, and her pal Brian will look and sound like... which is kind of weird. Change is good, but do we really need Rainbow Brite to sound like a Valley Girl? Is Starlite really a "verbose stallion"? Why is there a weird techno soundtrack that sounds like a rave for tweens? Emily Osment ("Hannah Montana," "Family Guy") will be the voice of Ms. Rainbow Brite, with Molly Ringwald as Brite's enemy, The Dark Princess. We're skeptical, to say the least. Do you agree with io9 that this trailer is a mess? Or will you be logging on to Feeln.com when it's time for some rainbow sunshine? [Via E!] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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R2D2. C-3PO. WALL-E. Johnny 5. Robert Pattinson. Get prepared to add another name to the long list of the most beloved cinematic robots of all time, when Disney's animated Marvel adaptation "Big Hero 6" hits screens the first week of November and properly introduces the world to Baymax, an inflatable health care robot turned armor-clad superhero. Yes, that old story. In the clip we are so excited to exclusively debut, Baymax is running low on juice and trying to inconspicuously return home after a day spent adventuring. It's really, really cute.
First, some background: "Big Hero 6," which is Walt Disney Animation Studios' follow-up to last year's enormously popular "Frozen," is set in the land of San Fransokyo, a fanciful mash-up of San Francisco and Tokyo. It's here that our hero, pint-sized scientist Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter), lives with his older brother and aunt (Maya Rudolph). Hiro is a pro when it comes to designing robots, and after getting out of the underground robot fighting scene (too violent, too illegal), he focused his attention on "micro-bots," tiny robots that can, say, come together to form construction equipment (or whatever else your heart desires). After Hiro's older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) is killed in a freak accident, Hiro notices a masked villain using his micro-bot technology for untoward ends. That's when he springs into action, turning himself and Baymax (Scott Adsit), a cuddly creation of his brother's, into high-tech superheroes. (Hiro's college buddies, including characters played by Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., T.J. Miller and Genesis Rodriguez, round out the team.) The scene we're debuting, though, is way more domestic. It takes place after Hiro and Baymax first encounter the kabuki-mask-wearing baddie, and Baymax's batteries are very low. When this scene played at New York Comic Con last week, the crowd went absolutely bonkers. Let's just say that Baymax exhibits some classic symptoms of inebriation when his battery starts to blink and Adsit does a really, really wonderful job with the vocal performance (at New York Comic Con, Adsit admitted he'd only ever been drunk once before so this is even more impressive given the amount of imagination involved). The way that Baymax movies and talks and interacts with Hiro, you can feel that you're watching something special unfold. And pretty soon Baymax will be inducted into the hallowed halls of the all-time great movie robots. Hopefully before his power runs out. "Big Hero 6" opens on November 6th and expect lots more goodies from the film, right here on Moviefone, in the weeks leading to opening day. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Dinosaur theme parks, man. What an idea! Usually, we learn lessons from science and why things like cloning dinosaurs is maybe not the best idea, but that's not the case with "Jurassic World." As you can see from this ominous first poster, the park is open, whether we like it or not. And chances are good, we will not like it. The park being open, that is. The movie itself? Well, we'll wait and see. So far, we're digging the photo of Chris "Starlord" Pratt as a cool scientist dude who rides a motorcycle! The park officially opens on June 12. "Jurassic World" co-stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Irrfan Khan, and Omar Sy. [Via EW] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Sundance hit "Dear White People" has earned raves for its funny, frank, in-your-face approach to race relations from an African-American perspective, and this clip, premiering today exclusively on Moviefone, gives viewers a glimpse at its signature biting humor.
The scene is a video blog being recorded by Coco Conners ("Mad Men" star Teyonah Parris), a college student and wannabe reality star who has plenty to say about how people perceive her. Coco begins the clip by announcing that's going to "get real black," then launches into a tirade about ignorant questions with which she's faced about her appearance. Coco slams a (presumably white) girl for daring to ask if her hair is "weaved," a grammatical error that sends Coco into a blind rage. "It's weave. Noun. Present tense," she seethes. Also targets of Coco's ire are clueless questions about the authenticity of her lips and skin, the latter of which causes her to have an ironic moment of insecurity about its shade. "Dear White People" is written and directed by Justin Simien, and also stars Dennis Haysbert, Tyler James Williams, Tessa Thompson, and Brandon P. Bell. It hits theaters on October 17. Photo credit: Roadside Attractions This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Unless you're a type-A overachiever (Monica, much?), you probably don't have New Year's Eve plans yet. Thanks to Netflix and "Friends," at least you have New Year's Day taken care of.
All 10 seasons of "Friends" will be release en masse on Instant Netflix on January 1, 2015. Let's face it. You probably always have it on in the background anyway; now you can begin from the beginning! Watch it after indulging in a deliciously greasy New Year's breakfast (and a little hair of the dog), or when you dry off from your Polar Bear Plunge, or whatever your New Year's ritual may be. If you're dying for a "Friends" fix in the meantime, and you're in the NYC area, you can hit up the Central Perk pop-up in SoHo until October 18. Check out the Netflix teaser below and revel in Gunther's amazing grump face. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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From "Mean Girls" to "Masters of Sex," Lizzy Caplan is everywhere we want to be and in everything we want to see. That might include next year's sequel to the surprise hit "Now You See Me," which the actress is currently in talks for. Isla Fisher was one of the few the lone women holding down the fort in 2013's "Now You See Me," which co-starred Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Mark Ruffalo, Dave Franco, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Mélanie Laurent. Fisher, who appeared in the acerbic 2012 comedy "Bachelorette" with Caplan, had to bow out of the sequel because she's pregnant. Daniel Radcliffe will also appear in "Now You See Me 2" as the son of Michael Caine's character's Arthur Tressler. Of course, whether or not Caplan joins the film depends on her "Masters of Sex" schedule. Her performance as researcher Virginia Johnson has won over viewers and critics alike, and she's got a roster of films coming up in the next year or so, like "The Interview" with Seth Rogen and James Franco, and "Untitled Christmas Eve Movie," with Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. "Now You See Me 2" is already slated for June 10, 2016. [Via The Wrap] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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You might know Justin Chon as the star of the raunchy comedy "21 & Over," but this fall, the actor gets serious in the bloody crime film "Revenge of the Green Dragons."
Set in 1989 New York, the action movie follows two immigrant brothers who join the ranks of a Chinatown gang to survive the impoverished city. Before long, the brothers draw the unwanted attention of New York's hard-boiled cops. "Revenge of the Green Dragons" also unites crime film veteran Martin Scorsese (Executive Producer) with Hong Kong-born director Andrew Lau. As you may remember, Scorsese famously adapted Lau's "Infernal Affairs" (2004) into the Oscar-winning "The Departed" (2006). Chon recently revealed his five favorite gangster movies and TV shows to Moviefone. He had us at "Cool Hand Luke." "Revenge of the Green Dragons" is available on DirecTV now and hits theaters October 24. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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We were a little bummed that Joaquin Phoenix is officially out of the "Doctor Strange" game, but the latest list of names being bandied about is fairly heartening. (Learn more about this Marvel-ously strange superhero here.) First up: Ewan McGregor! The frequently pantsless young Obi-Wan is reportedly "prepping for the role," according to our pals at Badass Digest. "I contacted one of my usual sources and asked if this was true, and I was told, 'They're looking at him,'" Devin Faraci wrote yesterday. Although "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace," "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones," and "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" didn't exactly rock our worlds, McGregor is a very talented actor whose name we wouldn't mind seeing up on a marquee. Variety got in the game later last night with a few more names, and they're equally interesting. Once again, Jared Leto's named is being bandied about, with reports that the rockin' actor "is aggressively pursuing the mystical part since Phoenix's departure and despite being notoriously picky about his movie roles, appears ready to get back in front of the camera." Winning an Oscar will do that to you. Ethan Hawke is still apparently in the running; the actor starred in director Scott Derrickson's horror flick "Sinister" a few years back, too. Oscar Isaac is another tantalizing possibility, as is Jake Gyllenhaal. Isaac is currently filming "Star Wars: Episode VII," whereas Gyllenhaal has been creeping out everyone on the festival circuit in the upcoming flick "Nightcrawler." It's been a minute since Gyllenhaal took a crack at a blockbuster - let us never discuss "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" - but hey, why not? The most tantalizing (but perhaps least likely) candidate is Matthew McConaughey, who is definitely trippy enough to tackle "Doctor Strange." The real question is whether or not the "Interstellar" star will have any time in his schedule to squeeze in a Marvel flick. Then again, why wouldn't the McConaissance include a superhero movie? Last we heard, the "Doctor Strange" folks were hoping to start filming this May, with a tentative July 2016 release date. Of course, first they need a leading man. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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Let's break the first rule of "Fight Club" and talk about "Fight Club." In fact, people haven't stopped talking about it since it was released 15 years ago this week, on October 15, 1999.
David Fincher's adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's satirical novel, starring Brad Pitt and Edward Norton, continues to fascinate with its portrayal of masculinity in crisis, its cathartic bare-knuckle violence, its anarchic critique of capitalism (and its humanist critique of that critique), and its mind-bending third-act plot twist that throws Norton's entire narration into doubt. It's a movie that makes you feel the same rush the characters feel, then makes you question yourself for enjoying that rush. Despite endless analysis and late-night dorm-room bull sessions, there's still plenty about "Fight Club" that you may not know, from who almost played Tyler Durden to how they gave Meat Loaf his "bitch tits." Read on, and share these items with your single-serving friends. 1. Producers originally sought Buck Henry to adapt Palahniuk's novel, since they saw similarities between "Fight Club" and Henry's celebrated screenplay from "The Graduate" from three decades earlier. Nonetheless, unproduced screenwriter Jim Uhls lobbied for and landed the gig. 2. For the role of Fight Club and Project Mayhem founder Tyler Durden, producers initially sought Russell Crowe before turning to the more bankable Brad Pitt. 3. Pitt had his tooth caps removed to give Tyler a seedier smile. 4. For the nameless narrator, the filmmakers thought of Matt Damon or Sean Penn before Fincher chose Norton, based on the strength of his performance as the earnest lawyer in "The People vs. Larry Flynt." 5. Norton, having just bulked up to play the muscular lead in "American History X," had to lose about 20 pounds to play the wiry "Fight Club" protagonist. His diet and exercise regimen: vitamins, running, and avoiding the craft services table. 6. To play the film's female lead, slatternly Marla Singer, the filmmakers sought Janeane Garofalo, but she turned down the film because of Marla's brazen sexuality. Also considered were Winona Ryder and Norton's "Larry Flynt" co-star Courtney Love. 7. At the time she won the role of Marla Singer, Helena Bonham Carter was known primarily for her decorous, corseted performances in such period pieces as "A Room With a View" and "Howards End." But she'd also recently done her first nude scene (in another period film, the adaptation of Henry James' "The Wings of the Dove"), so she was comfortable with the sexuality required of Marla. In interviews, Bonham Carter insisted that the punkish waif Marla was the movie character on her resume that was closest to her real-life self - a claim that's a lot easier to believe now than it was then. 8. The two lead actors were paid a total of $20 million between them. Pitt got $17.5 million of that, while Norton got $2.5 million. 9. A notorious perfectionist, Fincher reportedly shot 1,500 reels of film, three times the average for a Hollywood studio picture. 10. To play Bob, a character whose post-surgical hormone therapy has given him womanly breasts, Meat Loaf wore a 38-pound beanbag prosthetic harness. "I was padded from my knees all the way to my elbows," the once-hefty rocker/actor said while promoting the film. "It's all flaxseed. If we had been doing Hitchcock's 'The Birds,' I would have been dead." 11. Fincher's "Seven" screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker served as an uncredited script doctor and did a polish of Uhls' screenplay. 12. Initially set for a July 1999 release, the film's premiere date was postponed twice after April's massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Distributor Twentieth Century Fox didn't want the film to be blamed in case copycat episodes of off-screen violence occurred. Fincher's response to the delays: "It would be nice if you could limit all the information people get to only the things that are healthy and help them through whatever dark times they're in. But the fact is, we don't know what that is. We can't say 'Doom' made Columbine, or Leonardo DiCaprio in a black trenchcoat [in 'The Basketball Diaries'] made Columbine. People have to start taking responsibility for their own actions." 13. The film's budget was initially $23 million, but by the time the stars were paid, the long shoot (138 days) was completed, and special effects were added, the cost had ballooned to $63 million. It earned back just $37 million in North American theaters, though its worldwide total was $100 million. 14. "Fight Club" was nominated for just one Oscar, for Best Sound Editing, which it lost to "The Matrix." 15. The fears of the marketers and some critics that the film would inspire real-life violence came true, with a number of bare-knuckle brawling clubs springing up across the U.S. Some members even built crude bombs in emulation of Tyler Durden's "Project Mayhem." Clearly, some people did not get the joke. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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If you're like us and value your sleep, you probably nodded off into your Ambien dreamland before the party started on post-prime time TV. Don't worry; we've got you covered. Here's the best of what happened last night on late night.
Emma Stone -- always a great talk show guest -- was on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night, and he made her play the classic game, "Box of Lies." Emma said she loves to lip sync, but she's a terrible liar. The audience screamed what number to pick for the first box. Their game was pretty darn short; they should've extended it. Jimmy also showed off some of Emma's old performance photos. The otter photo is really odd, but it's from her very first play. She also talked about her very first musical. "The Tonight Show" also shared a video on the "Pros and Cons of Watching The Walking Dead." Warning: Some Ebola, Chris Christie, "Dancing With the Stars," and pumpkin spice latte jokes ahead. Adam Carolla was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," talking about what happened when he worked at a closet company. The anecdote has a lot of funny elements, but -- suffice it to say -- Adam installed a closet in the wrong house. Oops! Cristela Alonzo was also on JKL, talking about her new ABC show Cristela and how her family is bilingual. Her mom got addicted to martial arts, especially Jackie Chan, and Cristela had to translate. JKL also had an interesting bit comparing gay and straight marriages, including a sketch called "Say No To Gay Divorce." As Jimmy put it, "If same sex marriage isn't legal in your state, neither is same sex divorce. Unless you go file papers in a state where gay marriage is legal, you have to stay married. This poses an interesting dilemma: Can you be opposed to same sex marriage and also be opposed to same sex divorce?" Watch: The great Michael Keaton was on "Late Show with David Letterman," talking about a fan's detailed "Beetlejuice" tattoo on his arm -- the guy showed him without knowing he was showing the tat to THE Beetlejuice. Keaton also had to run through Times Square naked for the new movie "Birdman." Craig Ferguson talked to James Marsden about preparing for shirtless scenes. He also talked about how kids can ruin the sweetest moments, then a whole conversation about farting ensued Kristen Schaal was also on Craig Ferguson and she told him going vegan is a very classist diet so he should stop. Another former SNL-er, Nasim Pedrad, was on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," and she shared the story behind her Arianna Huffington impression on "Saturday Night Live." For her first performance, that Saturday, Bill Hader got an eye infection. They had to do a last minute thing, and John Mulaney wrote the Arianna impression for Nasim. Nasim is now on Mulaney's show, "Mulaney." She talked about her parents -- apparently they're roamers and she's always worried they'll wander into a scene. She was born in Iran and her dad sometimes curses with imperfect English. Dane Cook was also on Seth Meyers' show, talking about his SNL dreams. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |