The A.V. Club - Newswire

Tig Notaro's excellent comedy album Live getting a physical release, bonus tracks

Caroline Siede — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:05:00 -0500

Tig Notaro’s Live, 2012’s best comedy album of the year, will be available in a hard copy deluxe album on July 16. Although it was previously released in a digital-only version, this will be Live's first physical printing. The album—which is also available as a picture disc—will also come with a bonus story called “Tig Notaro Live at The Moth” in which the comedian recounts how her mother’s passing redefined her relationship with her stepdad. Live is available for preorder through Secretly Canadian, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to cancer related charities.

Tig has received praise from Louis C.K., Ed Helms, and Ira Glass, and now you can jump on the Tig-loving-bandwagon as well. In addition to the album release, Tig will appear in two films later this year, In A Word and Walk Of Shame, and her upcoming ...

Kanye West wants Will Smith to come out of rap retirement, be one of the apostles of Yeezus

Eric Thurm — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:10:00 -0500

Now that there’s a set June 18 release date for Yeezus, Kanye West’s not-at-all arrogantly titled follow-up to My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, more details of the contents of the album have trickled out. In addition to the singles West has played on Saturday Night Live or projected onto a nearby building, it looks like one of the tracks on Yeezus might feature The Fresh Prince himself, rapper turned actor Will Smith.

West has apparently spent some time with Smith in a studio in Brazil, trying to convince him to return to the mic to prophesize the coming of Yeezus. Smith told Hip Hollywood that “I’m not gonna do it unless I’m truly inspired, but Ye’s been pushing me a little bit,” which means if Smith does rhyme on Yeezus, he will have truly received the divine wisdom to preach the Gospel of West.

&amp ...

Ke$ha drank her own pee on TV, and The Parents Television Council is not cool with it

Austin Bernhardt — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:35:00 -0500

It isn’t particularly surprising that on last night’s episode of her MTV show, Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life, the world’s premier Gross-American pop star drank her own urine. While this is most likely not the most disgusting thing she’s ever done (or, quite possibly, not even the most disgusting thing she did that day) it is the first time she’s done something like this on cable television, and the conservative activist group The Parents Television Council is hilariously upset about it.

In a press release issued in advance of the show’s airing on Tuesday, PTC President Tim Winter declared, “It is an outrage that this kind of disgusting, vile content is being subsidized by each and every cable subscriber.” He also questioned why consumers should be subjected to this “just so [they] can get access to Disney, Discovery or the Golf channel”—a ...

Rapper Tim Dog probably faked his death to avoid paying the women he scammed, has an arrest warrant out

Eric Thurm — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:30:00 -0500

Hardcore rap provocateur Timothy Blair, a.k.a. Tim Dog (most famous for his NWA diss track “Fuck Compton” and work with Ultramagnetic MCs) reportedly died back in February from complications related to diabetes. But a growing stream of evidence has begun to suggest that, actually, Tim Dog faked his death in an attempt to avoid paying women he’d scammed into financially supporting a comeback album he never intended to make.

Last week, Esther Pilgrim, one of the victims of Tim Dog’s scamming, claimed he’d been faking his death to escape paying her the $19,000 required by the court after his conviction for grand larceny. A private investigator hired by Pilgrim could find no evidence of a death certificate issued for Blair, but did discover an apparently active address of his in Atlanta.

Now, WREG-TV reports that a judge in Desoto County, MS has issued an ...

Finally, fans can make money from their Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and Vampire Diaries fan fiction

Caroline Siede — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:15:00 -0500

Fan fiction has long thrived online where writers don’t need to worry about pesky things like intellectual property rights. A new deal from Amazon could change all that. Kindle Worlds will be the first commercial publishing platform that allows fan fiction authors to earn royalties from their work. Kindle Worlds has already teamed up with Warner Bros. TV’s Alloy Entertainment to secure licenses for Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries. Let the brainstorming begin! Chuck and Blair in the White House? Ezra has been “A” all along? Stefan and Damon give up all that brooding and decide to go into show business where they star in an all-vampire revival of Sweeney Todd? The sky's the limit.

Authors that publish through the self-service submission platform will receive 35% of the net revenue for works over 100,000 words (compared to 70% for writers that self-publish ...

Paris Hilton announces sort-of-maybe-long-awaited followup to her debut album

Austin Bernhardt — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:35:00 -0500

Who could have foreseen in 2006 when heiress, reality “star,” “actress,” and “human being” Paris Hilton paid a whole bunch of people to produce her debut album, Paris, that the world would have to wait seven whole years for her to pay Afrojack to produce her second one? And yet, finally, a Hottie, a Nottie, and a Repo! The Genetic Opera later, the flesh-and-blood embodiment of the saying “All that glitters is not gold” has announced that her sophomore outing will be released on Cash Money Records later this year.

The as-yet-untitled house album will feature appearances from hip-hop hams including Drake, Nicki Minaj, Busta Rhymes, and Lil Wayne—all of whom are presumably doing it for love of the music and also enough money to buy their artistic integrity. Hilton plans to promote the launch in Ibiza this summer, where a bunch of Spanish people will be forced to ...

Get ready for a whole lot more Hannibal Buress on Comedy Central

Kevin McFarland — Wed, 22 May 2013 12:30:00 -0500

Hannibal Buress hasn’t exactly been struggling. He's written for a year on Saturday Night Live, then spent time writing and making occasional cameo appearances on 30 Rock before his second album/special, Animal Furnace, last year. And for those who haven’t seen his supporting role on The Eric Andre Show, it’s some surreal, zany hilarity. But according to a Deadline report, Buress is about to get much more visible for his own work. Buress just signed a new development deal with Comedy Central that includes a new one-hour special, a pilot that Buress will executive produce, a nationwide standup tour, and a recurring role on the Amy Poehler-produced broadcast version of web series Broad City. With all of that work, Buress won’t be able to open his shows with a bit about how nobody recognizes him anymore—though he should be highly encouraged to continue ...

Get Involved, Internet: Help make a documentary about Joe Strummer's old car

David Anthony — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:40:00 -0500

Hot on the heels of the announcement that The Clash will be releasing the Sound System box set in September, and the late Joe Strummer having a small plaza named after him in Granada, filmmaker Nick Hall is attempting to enact some cosmic justice by finding out what happened to Strummer's long lost car. The film, I Need A Dodge!, examines Strummer's time in Spain during the mid-'80s, specifically his falling in love with a Dodge that he lost in a parking garage through some folly of errors (read: cocaine-induced confusion).

With the film nearing completion Hall is reaching out to the Internet in the hopes that he can receive $25,000 in donations so the film can receive the finishing touches it needs. And, with every other facet of Strummer's life already fairly well documented, the film also promises to give a look at his ...

Critic's Choice TV Awards nods at The Big Bang Theory, Bunheads, Ryan Murphy, and more

Caroline Siede — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:35:00 -0500

Nominations were announced Wednesday morning for the third annual Critic’s Choice Television Awards. Proving there is nothing television critics love more than nerds and Ryan Murphy, The Big Bang Theory and American Horror Story: Asylum tied for most nominated program with six noms each. HBO and FX lead the network pack with 21 and 19 nominations, respectively.

While Parks And Rec, Game Of Thrones, New Girl, Louie, The Americans, and Breaking Bad were among the shows earning multiple nominations, Modern Family and Mad Men each earned only one acting nod. Modern Family has won the Best Comedy Emmy three years running, and it’s absence in the Best Comedy Series category means this competition is about to blow wide open. Get your bets ready.

The award show will air via live webcast on June 10, hosted by stand-up/Parks And Rec cast member/Twitter VIP Retta.

The full list ...

R.I.P. Trevor Bolder, bassist for David Bowie and Uriah Heep

Phil Dyess-Nugent — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:00:00 -0500

Trevor Bolder, a musician best known for his work with David Bowie and Uriah Heep, has died at the age of 62, after a bout with pancreatic cancer. The product of a musical family—his father was a trumpet player—Bolder teamed up with guitarist Mick Ronson for his first professional band, Ronno, in the late ‘60s. Bowie drafted the two of them to back him up during an appearance on John Peel’s radio show, then used them on his 1971 breakthrough album Hunky Dory, on which Bolder played bass and trumpet. Ronson and Bolder formed the core of Bowie’s band during his early ‘70s glitter phase, comprising the albums The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (1972), Aladdin Sane (1973), and Pin Ups (1973). (They also appeared in the 1973 Ziggy Stardust concert film.)

After leaving Bowie’s employ, Bolder played on ...

CBS no longer just for the olds, according to ratings system skewed toward viewing habits of the olds

Erik Adams — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:55:00 -0500

In a development that’s being trumpeted in newspapers, broadsides, and other forms of media no longer preferred by the viewership of CBS, preliminary reports have the Tiffany Network unseating Fox from the ratings throne it has occupied for eight years. As reported by Entertainment Weekly, CBS will take the Nielsen crown among adults under 50 for the 2012-13 season—a victory that will definitively put an end to years of jokes about CBS being watched exclusively by the old and irrelevant. Yes, this confirms that the network of Blue Bloods, 60 Minutes, and the silver-fox triumverate of Mark Harmon, Ted Danson, and Morley Safer is the choice of a new generation, with their skateboards and hip-hop raps and standing appointments to watch NCIS at a time appointed by CBS. (EXTREMELY RIGID VIEWING HABITS! [Guitar lick.]) The victory certainly has nothing to do with the fact that the Nielsen ratings ...

So it turns out Shia LaBeouf won't be using his penis in the new Lars Von Trier movie

A.A. Dowd — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:38:00 -0500

Proving that even the guy who directed Antichrist has limits to what he's willing to subject moviegoers to, one of the producers of Lars Von Trier's upcoming, two-part Nymphomaniac told The Hollywood Reporter yesterday that Shia LaBeouf will not, as previously reported, be giving his manhood an onscreen workout. Okay, so those weren't the exact words of producer Louise Vesth, who instead explained that while the sex in the film will be real, it will be performed by body doubles, and digitally melded with the simulated bump-and-grind of the name actors (who also include Uma Thurman, Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Gainsbourg, and the very sexy Udo Kier). “So above the waist it will be the star and the below the waist it will be the doubles," she added. Bummed LaBeouf fans should express their disappointment with the appropriate, customary expression of disapproval.

Ricky Gervais' Derek, the show about the mentally challenged man, sets Netflix debut date

Caroline Siede — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:05:00 -0500

Ricky Gervais’ new series Derek will make its Netflix debut September 12. The series, which Gervais writes, directs, executive produces, and stars in, follows a mentally challenged man living in a nursing home. As previously reported, Derek aired in the UK to initial controversy but later garnered generally favorable reviews. All seven episodes of the show will be released simultaneously, giving Gervais fans three and a half hours of cringe comedy to binge watch. A second season has already been ordered in the UK.

While Derek might not have the same buzz surrounding it as Arrested Development, it will almost certainly be better than Netflix’s most recent original programing venture Hemlock Grove, unless Derek is secretly a werewolf and all of the residents of the nursing home turn out to be vampires.

Queen guitarist Brian May says he hates The Voice, surprises no one

Marah Eakin — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:00:00 -0500

Today in “water is wet” news: Brian May hates The Voice. The Queen guitarist says the show—he’s talking about the U.K. version, but his feelings would probably carry over to the U.S. version as well—“is absolutely the dullest, dumbest, most depressing programme on TV,” and is “the ultimate insult to music and performers.” In a post on his blog, May writes that he hopes the show “dies a natural death very soon” and that seeing “young singers busting their guts trying to win somebody’s attention, who is rudely sitting with their back to the singer” makes him feel sick.

May goes on to say that competition is not what music about and that, in fact, it hurts art. He writes:

“When we sing, or play, for real, we are NOT screaming at the top of our lungs trying to persuade someone to notice us ...

Ang Lee backs out of FX's Homeland-esque Tyrant

Caroline Siede — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:55:00 -0500

Ang Lee has officially backed out of directing the upcoming Tyrant pilot for FX. The political drama created by Homeland’s Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff and Six Feet Under’s Craig Wright centers around an American family in the Middle East and would have been Lee's first project since winning the Best Director Oscar for Life Of Pi and his first foray into the world of television, but, oh well. Lee’s official statement calls the show “one of the most brilliant ideas for a series that I’ve seen,” but explains that “after spending over four years making and promoting Life Of Pi, I have recently realized that I need some rest.” It’s too bad as Lee probably would have gone on to win the Emmy for Outstanding Directing while the show was snubbed for Outstanding Drama. [via Deadline]

The Pogues' Shane MacGowan seeking dental help so that he can star in "Hollywood film"

Marah Eakin — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:35:00 -0500

The Pogues’ Shane MacGowan has long been famous for his teeth or, rather, for the lack thereof. A lifetime of drinking, drugging, and smoking has resulted in the loss of literally all the frontman’s teeth, but he’s taken to Twitter to find a dentist to give him a new smile.

MacGowan has worn dentures since the removal of his last two teeth in 2009, but he’s recently gave up wearing them. Instead, according to his girlfriend, Victoria Mary Clarke, he’s now seeking someone to build him a new smile, one that can help him “star in Hollywood film,” which is apparently a thing that could happen. Clarke says she’s had offers from a number of well-meaning dentists who also happen to be Pogues fans, but that the duo are still evaluating who they want to work with. Of course, she says, “Shane promises to do ...

The Clash announce Sound System, the only box set that matters

David Anthony — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:40:00 -0500

The Clash is no stranger to having its albums reissued, repackaged, and repurposed, so it's inevitable that the band is finally getting the box set treatment. Housed inside a boombox-shaped box, Sound System will compile the band's seminal albums on CD with three discs of B-sides and outtakes, a DVD, and various pieces of Clash regalia such as a poster and dog tags. The albums are remastered for the ump-teenth time, but this go-round sees band member Mick Jones taking on the job.

In tandem with the Sound System box the group will also be releasing The Clash - Hits Back, a 2-CD/3-LP affair that strips down the box to its bare essentials as well as The Clash Five Studio-Album Set which will be available on both CD and LP, all of which will be available on September 10. Not surprisingly the band's final album—the one ...

New celebrity singing show to feature singing celebrities impressing other singing celebrities by singing like other singing celebrities

Matt Wild — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:35:00 -0500

As the post-Splash reality show hoists its weary body from the pool and towels off, Louie Anderson-style, the question of “What’s next?” looms on the horizon, also Louie Anderson-style. How about some more singing shows? How about some more celebrities? Wait—how about singing celebrities? (Certainly no more diving.) Yes, in a move apparently designed to seize televised singing competitions away from the common people and deliver them into the trembling hands of former soap stars and/or Jon Lovitz, ABC is fast at work on the unnervingly titled Sing Your Face Off. In a nod to its John Woo-esque title, the show’s premise is remarkably convoluted and bizarre: Five celebrity contestants—some of them already singers—will take on the identities of five different iconic singers each week, all in the hopes of impressing a panel of two celebrity judges—one of whom is also a ...

R.I.P. Ray Manzarek of The Doors

Sean O'Neal — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:00:00 -0500

According to a statement first posted on The Doors’ official Facebook fan page, founding member Ray Manzarek has died after a lengthy battle with bile duct cancer. Manzarek was 74.

Manzarek co-founded The Doors with Jim Morrison after a chance encounter on Venice Beach, not long after the two had parted ways at UCLA* film school. Manzarek, a classically trained keyboardist who’d been kicking around in local bands, and Morrison, already a nascent form of the preening poet he'd become, conceptualized the band on the spot, based on Morrison’s grand assertions that he’d already been writing a concert in his head, and Manzarek’s genuine interest in hearing it. That iconic, oft-imagined moment—in which Morrison sang a few bars of “Moonlight Drive” to Manzarek, blowing his mind—marked the beginning of what would become decades of Morrison mythmaking, much of it propagated by Manzarek himself ...

The BBC renews Doctor Who, in case you thought it wouldn't for some reason

Sean O'Neal — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:48:00 -0500

In a surprise move, the BBC has decided not to cancel Doctor Who without warning, just to make its approaching 50th anniversary all the more meaningful. Indeed, that celebration will now be robbed of the heightened emotions that only deep, wounded mourning can provide, and will simply have to make do with the general enthusiasm of Doctor Who fans to carry the excitement. Anyway, the BBC confirmed Doctor Who's next season order shortly after Saturday’s finale, with the network promising that showrunner Steven Moffat is “already plotting a brand new run of adventures for the Doctor.” Said adventures will likely include time and space things, they will be undertaken by the returning Matt Smith, and they will be entirely ignored in favor of snogging, since that's what the show is apparently about these days.

Here's what that new Star Wars animated series will be about

Sean O'Neal — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:21:00 -0500

As promised by the recent dumping of Star Wars: The Clone Wars from Cartoon Network and of Ahmed Best into the heart of the ocean, Disney is really looking to move away from the Star Wars prequel universe in all aspects of the franchise—even the animated part that was, actually, still quite popular. But jilted Clone Wars fans may take solace in knowing that the show’s executive producer Dave Filoni landed on his feet with the next Star Wars CGI series, this time subtitled Rebels. Scheduled to premiere in the fall of 2014, Rebels takes place during the timeline between Episodes III and IV, a nearly two-decade era that’s never been explored on screen before—thus ensuring we’ve pretty much covered the whole Star Wars timeline now, unless someone really needs to see what Yoda was like as a baby or something. And as Filoni explains ...

Dan Aykroyd offers scientific explanation for threatening the Ghostbusters universe with another sequel

Sean O'Neal — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:45:00 -0500

It’s been months since we last heard Dan Aykroyd discuss details for Ghostbusters 3, then ignored those details in favor of doing literally anything else, such as accepting that the past is the past and growing as people. Yet Aykroyd is still out there nattering into the void, this time in the form of Larry King—Aykroyd’s repeated insistence that the sequel is happening (despite any official word from Sony or anyone else that might be involved) finally being met with the serious journalistic inquiry it deserves. “It's based on new research that's being done in particle physics by the young men and women at Columbia University,” Aykroyd said of Ghostbusters 3 and, quite possibly, his belief in a parallel universe that would be hospitable to another Ghostbusters film in which they’re all old and Bill Murray isn’t there.

“Basically, there's research being ...

Seth MacFarlane is officially too busy to host the Oscars and then take a lot of criticism for it again, thanks

Sean O'Neal — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:52:00 -0500

It turns out that when Seth MacFarlane preemptively refused to host the Oscars again, he wasn’t just whistling “Dixie” (“Dixie” being the name of a girl whose boobs he saw). “Traumatized critics exhale: I'm unable to do the Oscars again,” MacFarlane tweeted today, officially putting to rest the rampant speculation that he would return, despite his already denying this three months ago. However, this time MacFarlane says he’s bowing out after “trying to make it work schedule-wise,” and realizing the job would conflict with all the not-getting-blamed-for-furthering-the-ugly-culture-of-misogyny he had earmarked for that week. Still, MacFarlane remains upbeat about recommending both the gig and returning producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, even going so far as to suggest he be replaced by Joaquin Phoenix—a nod to Phoenix’s publicly stated disgust with the ceremony, as well as the fact that none of this matters, really.

Stone Temple Pilots replace the ousted Scott Weiland with Linkin Park's Chester Bennington

Marah Eakin — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:00 -0500

After kicking Scott Weiland to the Vaseline-covered curb earlier this year, Stone Temple Pilots have enlisted Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington as a replacement. Bennington joined STP on stage at KROQ’s Weenie Roast this weekend to perform an eight-song set—including one new tune, “Out Of Time,” you can listen to below.

While it’s not explicitly clear whether Bennington will be using his yarling talents with STP full-time, it certainly seems like he’s in the group for the long haul. He told KROQ’s Kevin And Bean that it was a “no-brainer” joining the group, and that they’re “going to go out and make more money and go play more shows and have some fun.” So take that, Scott Weiland.

Weiland and his own group, the Wildabouts, are currently in the middle of their “Purple At The Core” tour, with some West Coast dates starting next ...

Justin Bieber reminds booing crowd that Chevrolet has deemed him a serious artist

Sean O'Neal — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:02:00 -0500

After months in which the press struggled to find something interesting in Justin Bieber wearing a gas mask, abandoning his monkey to German prison, and inducting the ghost of Anne Frank into his fan club, last night’s Billboard Music Awards finally spawned a far more compelling Justin Bieber story—that of the artist being rewarded for his craft. Bieber was on hand to receive the Milestone Award, an inaugural trophy sponsored by Chevrolet that celebrates “the ingenuity of this year’s hitmakers” and the fact that “ingenuity” is a word Chevrolet is really into right now. At long last, here was the recognition that Bieber’s music is every bit as exciting as the Chevy Impala, his career as unshakeable as the American auto industry. But despite its more than a century of producing reliable cars, not everyone had faith in Chevrolet’s ability to pick today’s most ...

Kanye West's new record, Yeezus, is, in fact, out June 18

Marah Eakin — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:20:00 -0500

It’s been suspected for a little while now that Kanye West’s new record would come out June 18, but the rapper finally confirmed that speculation this weekend in the wake of his performance on Saturday Night Live. Yeezus (Get it?) is available for iTunes pre-order now, boasting the above album art of what appears to be a melted gold statue or icon.

There’s no tracklist or anything yet, but it’s probably safe to go ahead and assume that the two incredibly intense songs West performed on Saturday Night Live, “New Slaves” and “Black Skinhead,” made the cut. West also debuted the “New Slaves” video Friday night by projecting it on different buildings around the world, like Wrigley Field here in Chicago.

Weekend Box Office: Star Trek into slightly less profitable darkness

Sean O'Neal — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:13:00 -0500

Fans flocked to Star Trek Into Darkness this weekend, determined to outrace the energy ribbon of spoilers rolling through the universe and ruining the surprise that Benedict Cumberbatch plays late Sinatra lyricist Sammy Cahn. (“You’ve got high hopes, Captain. High, apple-pie-in-the-sky hopes,” a wrathful Cahn growled before several million moviegoers this weekend, then fired his apple-pie torpedoes.) And yet, even though J.J. Abrams’ sequel has already brought in $84.1 million since it opened last Wednesday—easily topping the box office—its performance is still considered a relative disappointment, given that its predecessor managed $86.7 million in the same timeframe.

You can likely credit Star Trek’s negligible yet still notable slide to several things: the long wait between sequels; overall J.J. Abrams fatigue; the fact that it’s still not Star Wars; all that darkness—who wants to go into that?, etc. Some say it ...

We bid farewell to The Office and met HIMYM's mother this week on The A.V. Club

David Anthony — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:40:00 -0500

What’s new this week?

Our coverage of the Cannes Film Festival began on Thursday and will be running regularly for the next week. Enjoy reading about movies you won’t be able to see for another six to 12 months.

Don’t Miss

In Inventory, we looked at the various series that HBO Go is currently omitting from its service and celebrities we couldn’t believe wrote novels. Each one is perplexing but for very different, yet equally frustrating reasons.
Our New Girl walkthrough with the series' showrunners came to an end, offering insights on the past season’s “big kiss” and how Taylor Swift’s bit part was not the worst thing ever.
A.V. Undercover continued with Blessed Feathers’ stripped-down version of Paul Simon’s classic “Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard.”
On the heels of metal oral history Louder Than Hell’s release, we examined ...

There's already been a jewel heist and a gun scare at this year's Cannes

Sean O'Neal — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:11:00 -0500

Suggesting a lavish gathering of wealthy celebrities amid a non-stop media circus might be attractive to thieves and malcontents, this year’s Cannes film festival has already had two major security incidents. First, yesterday’s screening of Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring was accompanied by the theft of around $1 million in Chopard jewelry—a heist that might have made for a clever tie-in publicity stunt, were it not an actual burglary that involved ripping the safe from the wall of a hotel room occupied by a Chopard employee, who was hosting a Cannes gala elsewhere at the time. While the investigation is still ongoing, Chopard has already been downplaying the value of the stolen jewels and denying reports that they had them on hand to be loaned to A-list celebrities (without explaining why they had them), presumably to avoid everyone drawing the comparisons to The Bling Ring that ...

Game Of Thrones is already thinking about its end date

Sean O'Neal — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:39:00 -0500

With each passing season bringing HBO’s Game Of Thrones ever closer to the end of George R.R. Martin’s published novels—and each passing day bringing news of Martin seemingly doing anything but writing those novels—many have wondered whether the show will be increasingly forced to pad things out to give Martin time to complete his saga. Recently, co-showrunner David Benioff addressed those concerns to Entertainment Weekly, stressing that Game Of Thrones doesn’t want to be “a show that outstays its welcome,” and rebuking the idea of dragging on for 10 seasons—even if it meant using the “broad strokes of Martin’s ending” the author has already provided to conclude the show before the final books are released.

Now producer Frank Doelger has put an even more definite, albeit still-tentative cap on the series: “I would hope that, if we all survive and if the ...