News

A few belated thoughts on the latest Horace and Pete coming up just as soon as I find your cancer sexually attractive... I was under the weather on Monday, and not up to writing much more about Horace episode 7 than this tweet. Also, frankly, I wanted to sit with the episode a few more days to see if my feelings changed about that closing scene between Horace and Rhonda, which they ultimately didn't. Though it advanced the stories of Sylvia's cancer (in remission, apparently) and the fight for the bar's future (Pete trying to make an end-run by having the place declared a landmark), this episode was more of a short-story collection than some other installments. The different vignettes were linked by many of the series' usual themes about loneliness (and, as we see with Horace's daughter's new relationship, the compromises we sometimes make to avoid loneliness), unexpected attractions (with...

Lucky Louie, Season 1, Episode 11: “Louie Quits”

Written by Dan Mintz

Directed by Andrew D. Weyman

Aired on August 20th, 2006 on HBO

Too often, Lucky Louie has come across as a great concept with poor execution. The idea of one of the funniest living comedians showing the contemporary relevance of a seemingly dated storytelling style by featuring modern language and topics of conversation is the sort of of thing which, hypothetically, I’d be very much on board with. Unfortunately, Louis C.K. too often forgets to update the attitudes associated with the form, leaving Lucky Louie often feeling like an ugly excuse to retread perspectives that television should’ve left behind long ago.

This is brought up as a way to discuss the cold open of “Louie Quits,” which has a promising start but eventually succumbs to the same problems which have been dragging down the series from the first episode.

As the status and influence of social media stars and online video celebrities increases (by way of New York Times Bestselling books, sold-out international tours, retail clothing and makeup lines, presidential interviews, primetime television shows, #1 iTunes movie sellers, and innumerable branded entertainment deals), so to have the size of their teams. In your normal, everyday entertainment news cycle it’s not uncommon to read about an individual who gained incredible popularity online build out his or her entourage by joining a YouTube multi-channel network, signing with a major Hollywood talent agency, or having another member of his or her crew broker a high-profile deal. But that wasn’t always the case.

Before entire new media entities devoted to talent management existed and MCNs became de facto managers for the talent behind the channels within their networks, there were a handful of prescient independent managers who saw an opportunity in digital.

At the end of the most recent season of his superb FX series, Louis C.K. made an unusual pass at long-form storytelling. “Late Show” finds Louie at its most overtly dramatic and—for a show that regularly exults in narrative ellipsis and melancholia—its most accessible as well. It tells the story, over three episodes, of our hero’s unlikely journey to succeed an apparently retiring David Letterman. As an increasingly confident director, C.K. has continued to explore more adventurous possibilities. Louie is essentially a hybrid of the comedian’s impulses as a stand-up and as a straight-ahead sketch writer. The man on stage, with all his fear and responsibility and desire and dread, is dropped into a world conceived to afflict these very qualities, a world that must be endured. The jokes come later, when we can make sense of it all. Whatever truth is to be discovered...

Gather 'round fans, step right up and experience an old timey black & white film from 1998 for only 5 bucks! After premiering at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival over 15 years ago, one of comedian/filmmaker Louis C.K.'s first films has finally been released. The film is titled Tomorrow Night and is an odd B&W comedy featuring one hell of a classic cast: Steve Carell, Robert Smigel, J.B. Smoove, Chuck Sklar, Martha Greenhouse, Heather Morgan, Rick Shapiro. The full 87-minute film is now available to buy for only $5 on LouisCK.net. It's worth it to see a rare but hilarious indie comedy, plus these comedians a while ago. Louis has been making the rounds in press and movies (he's in American Hustle and Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine) recently, promoting his show and this film release, and can be heard ranting about Gravity and All is Lost over here; plus he's now...

Louie star/creator Louis C.K., who most recently co-starred in American Hustle, was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night, where he revealed that his lost directorial debut, a 1998 black-and-white comedy entitled Tomorrow Night, will finally be distributed on his official website.

The film, which features early performances from comedians such as Steve Carell, Conan O'Brien, Wanda Sykes, J.B. Smoove and Amy Poehler in her first movie role, debuted at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, although it was never picked up for distribution.

Starting next month, fans can purchase the film for just $5, only on the comedian's website. We have Louis C.K.'s interview segment from last night, which includes a clip from the comedy, with Louis C.K. explaining how he was able to finish the movie with the help of several celebrity friends.

"I sell everything on my website. I make specials and sell tickets, and its five...

M&C has added production stills from Project X . now available on DVD and Blu-ray. (L-r) Oliver Cooper as Costa, Jonathan Daniel Brown as Jb, Dax Flame (in shopping cart) as Dax, and Thomas Mann as Thomas in Warner Bros. Pictures' comedy "Project X," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Sam Urdank (L-r) Rick Shapiro as T-Rik, Oliver Cooper as Costa, Thomas Mann as Thomas, and Jonathan Daniel Brown as Jb in Warner Bros. Pictures' comedy "Project X," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Sam Urdank Nick Nervies as Tyler and Brady Hender as Everett in Warner Bros. Pictures' comedy "Project X," a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo by Beth Dubber A scene from Warner Bros. Pictures'...

I guess I just don’t get it. Being the kid that would rather pick up an extra shift at my hourly job than attend an epic rager the likes no one has ever seen means the insanity that ensues in Project X only cements the fact I made the decision staying away. Directed by Nima Nourizadeh and the brainchild of Michael Bacall, Matt Drake and producer Todd Phillips, the idea that what we’re seeing is real has been squashed way before you sit down to experience the carnage. Rather than believe the title is some covert codename for a guerilla shoot, it’s quickly discovered to be one more jokey quip on behalf of Costa (Oliver Cooper) as he readies to put best friend Thomas’ (Thomas Mann) parent’s house on the line in order to ‘change the game’.

Shot as though documented by loner Dax (Dax Flame...

Katie Aselton, Nick Kroll, and Jonathan Lajoie are back for another attempt at that coveted Shiva Bowl trophy tonight, October 6th, only on FX

The League returns for Season 3 tonight, October 6th, with the hilarious new episode Lockout. And as is true of any sport, there are some winners and some losers when it comes to the guys and gals that make up this terrific ensemble of iconic modern day characters. To celebrate the anxiously awaited return of The League, we talked with three of the show's big winners.

Nick Kroll stars as Ruxin, winner of last year's Shiva Bowl, and he is doing his best to gloat about this championship title. Katie Aselton stars as Jenny, who has gotten a new job, joined the league on her own, and won the battle not to have another baby, getting a dog instead. She has her husband Kevin right where she wants him.

The gang returns for another round of Fantasy Football tonight, October 6th, only on FX

The League returns for Season 3 tonight, October 6th, with the hilarious new episode Lockout. And as is true of any sport, there are some winners and some losers when it comes to the guys and gals that make up this terrific ensemble of iconic modern day characters. To celebrate the anxiously awaited return of The League, we talked with three of the show's big losers.

Jason Mantzoukas plays Rafi, aka El BroLo El Cunado, and though he is beloved by The League's legion of hardcore followers, he is less favored by those he believes to be his best friends. In tonight's episode, he will team up with Dirty Randy (Seth Rogen) to shoot a porno in loser Andre's (Paul Scheer) apartment. Andre is just coming off of his Sacko win, for arriving in last...