That’s Entertainment
It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights…and check out these stories about how a bunch of those beloved Muppets were created. Cookie Monster In 1966, Muppets creator Jim Henson designed three monster puppets for use in a commercial for a snack product called Wheels, Crowns, and Flutes. Each puppet corresponded […]
A few stories about the late, legendary Tom Petty. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ breakthrough hit was the classic “American Girl.” While mixing the final cut in a studio late one night in 1976, Petty thought it was missing something and asked guitarist Dwight Twilley what he thought. Twilley said the song was good, but […]
Frank Sinatra was a great singer of course, but he’s also been called a great “interpreter” of famous songs. So much so that when he covered well known songs, he often made or demanded some notable changes to the lyrics. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” The holiday standard debuted in the 1944 movie musical […]
Before Hollywood makes a movie, they’ve got to line up just the right actors for all the roles. Sometimes they think they’ve found somebody…but then change their minds. Here are some stars who landed a big gig, but then lost it for very odd reasons. Elizabeth Banks Elizabeth Banks has starred in a few major […]
Everyone loves bleepers…er, bloppers…er, we mean bloopers. Here are a few great ones from the silver screen.
The new fall TV season is about to start, and while there will probably be some big hits in the bunch, there will also be some duds that will be quickly canceled. But will they be as swiftly canceled as these shows were? Do No Harm In 2013, NBC heavily promoted this modern retelling of […]
…and other myths, legends, and rumors you probably believe about video games. Mario from Super Mario Bros. is a plumber. Mario is probably the most famous video game character of all time. Even the casual video game fan—or non-gamer—could identify what Mario does for a living when he isn’t saving the princess or racing go-karts. […]
Steely Dan is one of the most innovative bands of all time, combining jazz themes with rock n’ roll and some of the darkest, funniest, and most literature lyrics ever attempted. Band member Donald Fagan credits that unique wordplay to bandmate Walter Becker, who died earlier this month at age 67. Here are some other […]
The “song of the summer”—the one that’s dominated radio and the pop charts—is “Despacito” by singer Luis Fonsi. More than a simple catchy song, it’s making history. Here’s a look at the song all the kids these days are into. “Despacito” is the first song in the musical genre called reggaeton to hit #1 in the […]
Hollywood frequently looks to the bookshelf to find the next big blockbuster, and it often works out—classics like Gone With the Wind, The Godfather, and Doctor Zhivago all began life as books. And sometimes, something gets lost in the translation to the screen. The Scarlet Letter In case you don’t remember the plot from eleventh […]
We hope you have the time of your life reading these facts about Dirty Dancing, one of the biggest movie hits of 1987. The movie was filmed in the fall, but it takes place in the summer. The leaves had started to change color, so the crew had to spray paint trees and leaves green. […]
Lots of movies have inspired their own fan conventions. Let’s see, there’s Star Trek and Star Wars and…The Big Lebowski?
August 16 marks the 40th anniversary of Elvis Presley, the King of Rock n’ Roll. He’s one of the most famous and written about people of all time, so we hope you didn’t already know these facts about him. (And for reading it…thank ya very much.) Black Velvet Elvis was naturally blond, and used a […]
Here’s the story behind two of the best-known names in America.
Like any other kind of artist or creative person, film directors don’t want to do the same thing all the time. They want to stretch their creative muscles once in a while. Result: Movies directed by about the last person you’d expect.
The Simpsons has been airing for nearly 30 years. South Park has been going for 20. Family Guy has been going strong for well over a decade. But not every prime-time cartoon aimed at an audience of mostly adults has such longevity.
Paul McCartney was “the cute Beatle,” Ringo Starr was “the funny Beatle,” and George Harrison was “the sequel Beatle.” Continuations of stories are obviously common in movies, books, and TV shows. Not so much in the world of music, probably because modern pop and rock songs don’t tell full stories, but rather present feelings or […]
Some dinosaurs are extinct…and others we only wish were extinct—like Barney. You have to wonder why anyone thought the Barney blitz would succeed…and then you have to wonder why it did. Here’s one version, written by Jack Mingo, the author of How the Cadillac Got Its Fins.
