Blogs&News

The Creative Arts Emmy Awards were held over the weekend, and while many technical awards were doled out on Saturday (who wasn’t biting their nails to see which costume prosthetic would walk away a winner, am I right? It was “House”, by the way), it was the a digital short from Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake that walked away with the best original music and lyrics award.

Their now-notorious “D*ck in a Box” video, which was seen by millions on the internet, took the award, beating out an all-musical episode of “Scrubs”. Timberlake was not in LA to accept the award, but because he will be in town for the live Emmy broadcast on September 15th, there have been rumors circulating that he will reunite with Samberg to perform their Emmy-winning duet.

When accepting the award, Samberg said, “"I think it’s safe to say that when we first set out to make this song, we were all thinking ’Emmy!’".

Your Moment of Zen

A new philosophy book will explore the work and message of “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” as a way to understand our current culture. The book, “The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen in the Art of Fake News”, seeks to explore how the show reflects on media, humor, and our understanding of the world around us.

Jason Holt, who assembled a group of seventeen philosophers to weigh in on the effects of the Comedy Central phenomenon, said, “The Daily Show is funny. It provides a unique take on the media and culture. It taps in where other shows don’t – even though this is admittedly a ‘fake news’ program."

Can “The Daily Show” save the American media, or, at least, shame them into doing a better job? No one can answer that, but the writers in this book illustrate why the show is so important these days, and why it’s far more than just laughs.

Fischer Splits

September 06, 2007

Actress Jenna Fischer, star of NBC’s “The Office”, announced she’s splitting with her husband of six years.

Fischer, who plays Pam Beesly on the hit comedy, was married to writer/director James Gunn. They were introduced by his brother, Sean Gunn, an actor who appeared on “Gilmore Girls”. James Gunn is known for his script for 2004’s “Dawn of the Dead”, as well as last year’s horror film “Slither”.

On a myspace page, both Fischer and Gunn thank everyone for their support. They finish with: “"You might be tempted to make one of us 'feel better' by putting the other one down in a post. Please don't – we still have the utmost respect for one another, and we'd have to delete you."

Shepherd on “The View”

The long and winding road “The View” has taken since the departure of Star Jones looks to be at an end. On Monday, Barbara Walters is expected to make an announcement about the newest member of the cast, making a complete, permanent team for the first time since before the addition of Rosie O’Donnell.

The actress Sherri Shepherd, who served as a guest host on the show more than a dozen times, will fill Star Jones’ empty seat. It was rumored back in July that Shepherd would take the job, but that she asked for payment equal to that of Whoopi Goldberg, and the producers balked.

The details of her contract are not immediately clear, and nothing will be formalized to the public until Monday, but it looks like Shepherd is here to stay.