News

Headgum, the comedy podcast network behind shows such as We’re Here to Help with Jake Johnson and Gareth Reynolds, Senses Working Overtime with David Cross, Dead Eyes, and Newcomers with Lauren Lapkus & Nicole Byer, announces that Emmy Award winning Lamorne Morris and Kyle Shevrin’s comedy podcast The Lamorning After has joined its award-winning lineup of shows. Additionally, ad sales for The Lamorning After will be facilitated by Gumball, the Headgum-owned marketplace for advertisers to buy host-read ads directly from podcasters .

Each Wednesday, actor and comedian Lamorne Morris and his good friend, writer/director Kyle Shevrin are joined by a rotating cast of celebrity guests to discuss life, relationships, and most importantly, what they did last night. Past guests include Glen Powell, Josh Peck, Raven-Symoné, Max Greenfield, Hannah Simone, Billy Magnussen, and more. In the inaugural Headgum episode of the podcast, Lamorne and Kyle chat with Saturday Night director Jason Reitman about the film,...

Headgum, the comedy podcast network behind shows such as We’re Here to Help with Jake Johnson and Gareth Reynolds, Senses Working Overtime with David Cross, Dead Eyes, and Newcomers with Lauren Lapkus & Nicole Byer, announces that Ego Nwodim, will join the network’s award-winning lineup of shows with her new podcast Thanks Dad. Additionally, ad sales for Thanks Dad will be through Gumball, the Headgum-owned marketplace for advertisers to buy host-read ads directly from podcasters.

Premiering September 9, Ego Nwodim invites guests to be her “Dad for the Day”—father figures including Bill Burr, her current ‘SNL’ castmates Kenan Thompson and Mikey Day, Tim Meadows, Adam Pally, Andy Cohen, among others—and has funny, heartfelt conversations with them about their experiences with their own dads and as parents themselves. Each episode wraps up with her getting practical advice from her guests such as how to get the best deal when buying a house,...

“New Girl” and “Spider-Verse” star Jake Johnson might be handing out free advice on his new podcast, but if he starts rattling off tips to you in a bar, be careful — there’s a doppelganger on the loose.

Johnson posted on Instagram Thursday, sharing a Dm he received from a fan with the social media handle Iona Grace, who thanked him for “all the advice” and said they looked forward to seeing him at “Rainfest.” When Johnson didn’t know what that was, the jig was up.

“Did we not meet you in Edinburgh?” Iona asked. “No,” Johnson succinctly replied.

Iona then sent over a photo with the imitator, saying it was “so disappointing” and that they were “convinced the whole night.”

What kind of advice did “Fake Jake — as Johnson dubbed him in a subsequent Instagram story — give? “Just so much about life!”

You can see the whole hilarious exchange in the post below.

Here are many more movies to watch when you’re staying in for a while, featuring recommendations from Steven Canals, Larry Karaszewski, Gareth Reynolds, and Alan Arkush with special guest star Blaire Bercy from the Hollywood Food Coalition.

Please support the Hollywood Food Coalition. Text “Give” to 323.402.5704 or visit https://hofoco.org/donate!

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)

Groundhog Day (1993)

Kung Fu Mama a.k.a. Queen of Fist (1973)

Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (1974)

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019)

In The Mood For Love (2000)

Hunger (2008)

The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

Fargo (1996)

Night of the Lepus (1971)

Dolemite Is My Name (2019)

Soylent Green (1973)

Silent Running (1972)

Canyon Passage (1946)

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

The Professionals (1966)

Ride Lonesome (1959)

Carrie (1952)

The Heartbreak Kid (1972)

Hello Down There (1969)

The Brass Bottle (1964)

The Trouble With Angels (1966)

Pollyanna (1960)

Tiger Bay (1959)

The Parent Trap (1961)

Endless Night (1972)

The Family Way (1966)

Take A Girl Like You (1970)

Freddy Got Fingered...

Deadline reports Fox is developing director-producer Julie Anne Robinson's half-hour TV show comedy, Positively Speaking. She currently executive produces Shondaland series, The Catch, for ABC.Evan Mann and Gareth Reynolds are writing Positively Speaking. The duo, who will executive produced with Robinson, originally met at Emerson College. According to the report, Reynolds auditioned for Mann’s troupe. They later reunited in L.A. as part of sketch comedy group.Read More…...

Fox has put in development Positively Speaking, a half-hour hybrid comedy from producer-director Julie Anne Robinson (The Catch) and her Canny Lads Productions. Written by Evan Mann and Gareth Reynolds, Positively Speaking centers on an up-and-coming motivational speaker who tries to become the next king of self-help. Mann and Reynolds executive produce with Robinson. Kelly Pancho, who helped put the project together, will oversee for Canny Lads. ABC Studios, where…...

Pray for us sinners... English comedian and actor, Tom Stourton, has been cast as a series regular in the Hail Mary TV series pilot for ABC. The pilot comes from The McCarthys' Brian Gallivan, with The Goldbergs‘ Seth Gordon, and Tariq Jalil. The McCarthys was cancelled after one season on CBS. Gordon will direct the pilot.

Per Deadline, Stourton is set as Inspector Matteo, described as, "...a dry-witted, confident emissary from the Vatican who has come to this small town to investigate a sighting of the Virgin Mary." The Hail Mary cast also includes Casey Wilson and Gareth Reynolds.

Read More…...

It should be a surprise to no one that the new film from Alejandro G. Inarritu looks absolutely beautiful, even though it deals with dark and upsetting subject matter. At this point, Innaritu has become one of our most reliably interesting directors for grown-ups, and this time, he's got a hell of a piece of material to wrangle to life. If you've never listened to "The Dollop," a podcast by Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds, it's a different story from history each week, with Anthony doing the research and telling the stories to Reynolds without him knowing what's coming. Early in the podcast's life, they told the story of Hugh Glass, and that was the moment I decided to subscribe to that podcast permanently. Even though this is a historical event and you could easily go to Wikipedia and read the details of Glass's story, you shouldn't do it if...

What happens when you give two 20-something male comedians the opportunity to go anywhere they.ve ever wanted to go on vacation and film it? A new gutbuster Travel Channel show, .Mancations!. In the Travel Channel.s first unscripted comedy duo travel show; .Mancations. will follow comedians, Evan Mann and Gareth Reynolds as they travel the country in search of the perfect testosterone getaway, giving men ideas for those perfect vacation spots and giving women a glimpse inside guy-only retreats that aren't in Key West, Palm Springs, Fire Island or P-Town. Adding a comedic twist, the duo puts themselves in awkward and interesting situations as they experience Navy Seal Training in Virginia, Ninja Camp, Space Camp in Alabama,...

Elsewhere on /Film, you can read about how virtual unknown Todd Strauss-Schulson has been hired to direct the third installment of the Harold & Kumar series, A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. The television and commercial film director caught the attention of Hollywood with his short film titled Mano-a-Mano, which premiered at the 2008 South By Southwest Film Festival, has appeared in over 45 film festivals and even won the Best Short Film Jury Award at the Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. The Nsfw short tells the story of "two guys competing for the same job, a position as a gay phone sex operator." The short stars Laura Silverman (yes, Sarah's sister), Gareth Reynolds, and Evan Mann. Fans of Kevin Smith's earlier films will probably really like this movie, as it is very much written in that same tone. I also included some of Schulson's other shorts, including: Die Hardly Working, which ...

More coverage: Bud.tv retools programming

NEW YORK -- Anheuser-Busch's recent flip-flop on the future of its flailing Internet network Bud.TV underscores the challenges advertisers are facing as an increasing number flock to the Internet to create original entertainment content but struggle to find an audience.

Like Bud.TV, more brands are realizing the power of the Internet to reach their target demographics and the many advantages it can hold over branded entertainment projects in film and television.

"As far a creating content for the Web, the Internet has allowed brands to have access to distribution like no other time in history," said Babs Rangaiah, director of media and entertainment for Unilever USA, probably the most aggressive advertiser other than A-B in creating original Web content. "The Internet has leveled both the creating content and the distribution playing field."

Despite traffic on Bud.TV falling from 250,000 visitors in February to 150,000 in March and even farther in April and May -- not to mention it has an estimated $20 million investment at stake -- A-B apparently realizes the Internet is too important a marketing tool to ditch Bud.TV.

A-B CEO August Busch told investors last month that Bud.TV would "fade" during the second half of the year, but the executive in charge of the fledgling network quickly countered that, saying Bud.TV is here to stay, though there will be modifications.

"Anheuser-Busch needs to be in the digital space," said Tony Ponturo, vp global media and sports marketing at the company. "We think it's important to be a part of the media that's being developed on the Internet, not just to buy the media. We need to understand the digital space, and we think we're learning it at warped speed."

Numerous other advertisers have come to the same realization as A-B, albeit at a much lower cost and often with more impressive results, especially when taking their Web expenditures into account.

Just this year, Sprint and Unilever's Suave partnered with MindShare Entertainment to create the Web series "In the Motherhood" starring Leah Remini; American Eagle teamed with Milo Ventimiglia ("Heroes") to direct "It's a Mall World", a Web series set to air this summer; Mini Cooper created a series at HammerandCoop.com that was produced by Moxy Films and helmed by Todd Phillips ("Old School"); Unilever's Caress Body Wash created two fairy tale-like webisodes starring "Grey's Anatomy"'s Kate Walsh; and Stouffer's cooked up content at DuringDinner.com.

Last week, Unilever launched an animated Web series for its I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! and Wish-Bone spray brands called "Sprays in the City". The series, starring "Extra"'s Mark McGrath, "Project Runway"'s Tim Gunn and Fabio, builds upon two "Spraychel" animated Web series for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! that Unilever ran in the past two summers.

Earlier brand initiatives on the Web include Georgia-Pacific's 2006 series Brawny Academy in which husbands were sent to training camp with the Brawny Man to learn how to be better husbands. Unilever's Dove Calming Night body wash, in collaboration with MindShare, produced webisodes last year directed by Penny Marshall that transported actress Felicity Huffman into the homes of classic TV moms Carol Brady, Lily Munster and June Cleaver. In 2005, Unilever's Axe deodorant teamed with branded entertainment firm Conductor to create a video blog of comedians Evan Mann and Gareth Reynolds as they tried out seduction moves on women.

In partnership with production partner Yahoo Music, Pepsi has been airing its Pepsi Smash series of original music videos, which first aired as a TV show on the WB Network, since June 2005. Pepsi Smash has aired nearly 150 webisodes of original music video content a year on Yahoo Music including exclusive performances by Gwen Stefani and Mariah Carey.

More coverage: Bud.tv retools programming

NEW YORK -- Anheuser-Busch's recent flip-flop on the future of its flailing Internet network Bud.TV underscores the challenges advertisers are facing as an increasing number flock to the Internet to create original entertainment content but struggle to find an audience.

Like Bud.TV, more brands are realizing the power of the Internet to reach their target demographics and the many advantages it can hold over branded entertainment projects in film and television.

"As far a creating content for the Web, the Internet has allowed brands to have access to distribution like no other time in history," said Babs Rangaiah, director of media and entertainment for Unilever USA, probably the most aggressive advertiser other than A-B in creating original Web content. "The Internet has leveled both the creating content and the distribution playing field."

Despite traffic on Bud.TV falling from 250,000 visitors in February to 150,000 in March and even farther in April and May -- not to mention it has an estimated $20 million investment at stake -- A-B apparently realizes the Internet is too important a marketing tool to ditch Bud.TV.

A-B CEO August Busch told investors last month that Bud.TV would "fade" during the second half of the year, but the executive in charge of the fledgling network quickly countered that, saying Bud.TV is here to stay, though there will be modifications.

"Anheuser-Busch needs to be in the digital space," said Tony Ponturo, vp global media and sports marketing at the company. "We think it's important to be a part of the media that's being developed on the Internet, not just to buy the media. We need to understand the digital space, and we think we're learning it at warped speed."

Numerous other advertisers have come to the same realization as A-B, albeit at a much lower cost and often with more impressive results, especially when taking their Web expenditures into account.

Just this year, Sprint and Unilever's Suave partnered with MindShare Entertainment to create the Web series "In the Motherhood" starring Leah Remini; American Eagle teamed with Milo Ventimiglia ("Heroes") to direct "It's a Mall World", a Web series set to air this summer; Mini Cooper created a series at HammerandCoop.com that was produced by Moxy Films and helmed by Todd Phillips ("Old School"); Unilever's Caress Body Wash created two fairy tale-like webisodes starring "Grey's Anatomy"'s Kate Walsh; and Stouffer's cooked up content at DuringDinner.com.

Last week, Unilever launched an animated Web series for its I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! and Wish-Bone spray brands called "Sprays in the City". The series, starring "Extra"'s Mark McGrath, "Project Runway"'s Tim Gunn and Fabio, builds upon two "Spraychel" animated Web series for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! that Unilever ran in the past two summers.

Earlier brand initiatives on the Web include Georgia-Pacific's 2006 series Brawny Academy in which husbands were sent to training camp with the Brawny Man to learn how to be better husbands. Unilever's Dove Calming Night body wash, in collaboration with MindShare, produced webisodes last year directed by Penny Marshall that transported actress Felicity Huffman into the homes of classic TV moms Carol Brady, Lily Munster and June Cleaver. In 2005, Unilever's Axe deodorant teamed with branded entertainment firm Conductor to create a video blog of comedians Evan Mann and Gareth Reynolds as they tried out seduction moves on women.

In partnership with production partner Yahoo Music, Pepsi has been airing its Pepsi Smash series of original music videos, which first aired as a TV show on the WB Network, since June 2005. Pepsi Smash has aired nearly 150 webisodes of original music video content a year on Yahoo Music including exclusive performances by Gwen Stefani and Mariah Carey.