By Drew Grant 3/11 3:27pm

Saturday Night Live

Video

Timberlake on Saturday Night Live with Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short (NBC

Justin Timberlake’s Triumphant Return to Saturday Night Live Brings Back Banned Chevy [Video]

We knew this weekend’s Saturday Night Live would be good–Justin Timberlake being to the variety show what fruit and sprinkles are to plain frozen yogurt … just something that you know will make the whole supposed treat actually delicious–but did we know it was going to be history-making? Probably not. From Lorne Michaels lifting the Chevy Chase ban to the Jay-Z duet, the return of Stefon, Andy Samberg AND the classic Festrunk brothers, Mr. Timberlake proved once again he’s the consummate entertainer: a song-and-dance man who also can also land a punchline.

Which is more than we can say for the majority of guest hosts this year. Below, the five best moments from this weekend’s show, along with our favorites. Read More

By Drew Grant 2/20 2:43pm

great films

Coen Brothers Back With Inside Llewyn Davis: Guitars, Cats and F. Murray Abraham

In last month’s New York Times story on the Coen brothers’ first film since True Grit, Joel Coen said that Inside Llewyn Davis–their movie about a folk singer in the ’60s (Oscar Isaaac, Drive)–shares something with the Broadway-cum-cinematic hit Les Misérables. Sure, there will be singing (No “I Dreamed a Dream,” though, fortunately), a love triangle and even a cretinous villain, but what does New York’s burgeoning folk-rock scene have in common with the French Student Rebellion? Read More

By Drew Grant 11/13/12 5:42pm

viral videos

Video

BOOM BOOM TERRORISM! (Jest.com)

Young Ryan Gosling and Justin Timberlake Talk About Terrorism With R&B Group Xscape (Video)

We know you’ve seen the video of Mouseketeers Ryan Gosling, Justin Timberlake, and JC Chasez singing “Cry For You” on The Mickey Mouse Club, back before their relative successes (and in one case, slide back to anonymity). But have you seen the video of just Gosling and Timberlake harassing the all-female R&B group Xscape? Do you want to? Are you sure? Read More

10/26/12 5:11pm

Big Apple Idolatry

Debbie Harry, alien hater (Getty)

Big Apple Idolatry: Lohan Is Publicistless, Debbie Harry Scared on Aliens

- Debbie Harry made a pretty cryptic comment on the elections, saying “I am thinking we have been invaded by aliens who have reduced the intelligence level of the entire fucking country to cement.” Did she mean little green men or illegal immigrants from Mexico? And aren’t aliens usually portrayed as being light years smarter than the average Joe the Plumber? They figured out space travel, how stupid can they be? Read More

By Drew Grant 3:30pm

Big Apple Idolatry

Justin Timberlake has some jerk friends! (YouTube)

Big Apple Idolatry: Homeless People the Best Wedding Present Justin Timberlake Could Have Asked For

– How’s this for a wedding present: Justin Timberlake’s buddy, real estate agent Justin Huchel, filmed a bunch of homeless people wishing the best for the actor/singer and his new bride, Jessica Biel. See, it’s funny because what could the homeless possibly offer Hollywood royalty except wishes? Not everyone thinks this joke is in good taste, but then they probably haven’t seen Biel’s wedding dress. (Video after the jump.) Read More

By Thomas Golianopoulos 11/21/11 5:50pm

Marketing

Courtesy Getty Images

How Jay-Z Met H.P.: Blame Hip Hop Branding Wizard Steve Stoute

Over the summer, Steve Stoute, the CEO of the brand-marketing firm Translation, went to Wimbledon with his friend and business partner, the rapper Jay-Z, to cheer on Rafael Nadal during the Spaniard’s fourth-round battle with Juan Martín Del Potro. With the match tied in the third set, BBC cameras spotted them. “The man is still here,” said BBC tennis analyst Boris Becker in his heavy German accent. “The Jigga Man, that’s what they call him—Shawn Carter.”

Where most viewers saw a star-sighting. Mr. Stoute saw a “tanning moment.”

Mr. Stoute, in his recent book The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy (2011, Gotham Books), defined “tanning” as “the catalytic force majeure that went beyond musical boundaries and into the psyche of young America.” That’s a pretty thick slice of marketing-speak, but the gist of it is simple: hip-hop has radically changed culture and corporate America.

And Mr. Stoute has had a central role in the transformation. Read More