Monday, November 30, 2009

Palin 2012 (SNL skit)



This is a temporary version. No Andy Samberg.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg - hangs with the SNL crew (photos)

abby elliott - fred armisen - jenny slate - seth meyers - andy samberg - Bobby Moynihan - Nasim Pedrad - jason sudeikis







Slightly bigger:



Enjoy!

Sunday, November 29, 2009

AASB: Does Lorne Michaels know what he's doing? (Saturday Night Live)

Ask Andy Samberg Blog: Is Lorne getting tired? Is he going to retire?

I think if he is planning on retiring, he should be preparing somebody younger to pick it up. My recommendation is Seth Meyers or Bobby Moynihan.



Bobby is driving some of the writing right now, and I think that's only going to increase in the future. Bobby is a huge student of SNL, and he has the tenacity and focus to keep the show true to Lorne's intentions. Lorne just has to mentor him or Seth (or another younger guy) as a producer.

I think Lorne still has some kick in him, though. He's still making bold moves for the good of the show, like laying off cast members who aren't contributing enough, including Michaela and Casey.

Why I think bumping Michaela was a good move...



She was on for one full season. I really liked her blogger bit. But it was one amusing character that wasn't super popular. What else did she do? She's best known for Hoda, but that skit was really all about Kathy Lee.

Basically, Michaela was good at doing characters that Kristen Wiig could do if Kristen wasn't already in the skit. Lorne needed a better balance for the show. That's what he told Michaela, and I agree with that. He also told Michaela that she's talented and could do her own show. I agree with that too.

Contrast Michaela with Abby, who made a big splash with her Angelina Jolie appearances, where she completely outdid Kristen's Madonna when they went toe to toe. Since then, Abby has continued to bring out great impersonations (but she needs to work on doing characters). Her Sarah Mclachlan (with the dog songs) was hilarious. She can also do an amazing Kirsten Dunst. I don't think she's busted that out yet.



Also contrast Michaela to Nasim Pedrad, who busted out a perfect Kim Kardashian, some strange girlfriend character in that Taylor Swift skit, Mrs. Mahmoud, and her Japanese translator in the last episode was amazing. Lorne needed fresh women. He got that in Abby and Nasim. Jenny might not make it though, unless she does something drastic (in a good way).



So, no. Lorne knows what he's doing. He can't please everybody, and he needs to get the players to team up more and try out more characters. The players have mad skills, and Andy Samberg brought something new to the table. Pretty soon, this seasoned cast of men will start dropping out the way Fey, Hammond, Dratch, Maya, and Amy have. And then he'll also have more room to try out new men. It's not perfect, but it's never been perfect, and he's working on getting the right women right now.

So right now Lorne's concentrating on getting the mix of women right. Then some of his guys will leave, and he'll have to bring on some new guys and try to get that mix right. It's what he does every year, and he's been doing it for over 30 years. It's a difficult task, and even when SNL was at it's best, I still remember there only being a few funny skits in many shows and that many shows dragged on and never connected.



Lorne has a lot of talented people on right now, and Andy Samberg has taken SNL to the Internet. I think Lorne's doing pretty well.

- TAE

Andy Samberg - Steve likes his clown



STEVE MURPHY: Oh this just keeps getting better and better. If I could pick any sketch from this season to repeat, it would be this one. Two real and very famous celebrities this time! Even before it started I was excited. Kenan’s best character ever, plus it’s my favorite kind of sketch, where the whole cast ends up on stage in absurd outfits dancing like crazy people. Interrupting Al Gore while he’s talking about the environment is hilarious. Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts? Andy Samberg as the budget clown? Jason Sudeikis breaking it down the whole time in a track suit? Sign me up for this one every time.

From:
http://perpetualpost.com/?p=3650

Enjoy!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

When actors are cracking up in SNL skits

Just a little editorial about this...



Jimmy Fallon and Norm Macdonald were the masters at cracking up and making a skit even funnier. I think I've even seen hosts and cast members giving Norm Macdonald dirty looks to stick to the script in a few skits.



A nice ironic contrast to that was when Norm Macdonald appeared in Man on the Moon (Jim Carrey's Andy Kaufman film - a true story) where Norm Macdonald played Michael Richards (a.k.a. Kramer from Seinfeld) on the Friday show (that competed with SNL, but it was on Fridays). So Norm (playing Richards) tossed the cue card at Jim Carrey (playing Kaufman) and told him to read the card. It's ironic because Norm is known for breaking out of character (like Andy Kaufman was doing). The key difference between Norm and Kaufman was that Kaufman did it 100% intentionally and strategically, just to mess with people (although Norm was messing with people when he did it too).



Also, currently on SNL, the cast tries to crack each other up during the Scared Straight skits. You can usually see this at the end of the skits, when Jason Sudeikis moves his bum, jumps on the desk, and uses his comedic timing and facial expressions to try to get Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, and Bobby Moynihan to laugh.



And whenever a guest is on Weekend Update, they usually try to crack up Seth while staying in character. This backfired for Kristen Wiig when she was playing Tamara Banks the orga$m lady. She looked at Seth and ended up cracking up (pretty rare for Kristen).



In contrast, January Jones couldn't keep a straight face when she hosted, and it ruined a few skits. Still a little funny though.



- TAE

Should the Reba short get a sequel with the actual Reba McEntire?

"Saturday Night Live" star Andy Samberg has found a new love -- country singer Reba McEntire.



We cannot explain this video. We cannot explain where an idea like "let's have Andy sing a song about being in love with Reba McEntire, who is actually a black man wearing a red wig" comes from. We cannot really explain why it's funny. But it is. Very, very funny.



We sincerely hope "Saturday Night Live" can do a follow-up video that features the real Reba McEntire. She's acted before, we're sure she'd be game. Make it happen, SNL!

From:
http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2009/11/saturday-night-live-andy-samberg-loves-reba-mcintyre.html
====================

I think it was mostly Kenan's idea, pitching it to Andy and them putting it together. I think it came as a result of that article saying that Kenan dresses up like too many women. Kenan fought back!

What do you think? Do you want to see the real Reba?

Enjoy!

Friday, November 27, 2009

SNL - Coming hosts and musical guests

We already announced Blake, but here are some more details...



Dec 5- Blake Lively w/ Rihanna (music guest)
Dec 12- Taylor Lautner w/ Bon Jovi (music guest)
Dec 19- James Franco w/ Muse (music guest)




Has SNL been going too young lately? Will Blake be similar to Meagan Fox (just a pretty face playing off of SNL's zany characters, without adding much to the show herself)?



SNL should probably start pulling in more seasoned actors this season.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg - Zoe finds his Jack Johnson impression annoying

Do you disagree with Zoe? I thought Andy was funny; especially when he said random words.



ZOË RICE: JGL does a good Jason Mraz impression, but does he have to sing in every single sketch? Bill Hader’s turn as Dave Matthews doesn’t hit the mark, and Andy Samberg’s kind of annoying here. But the sketch is worth it for Dave Matthews’ awesome impression of Ozzy Osbourne.

STEVE MURPHY: A great idea that makes fun of some people I’m pretty familiar with… but somehow didn’t include any actual jokes. Why does Jack Johnson keep losing his pets? Even the impressions were pretty terrible (worst Dave Matthews impression of all time?) until Dave Matthews himself lit it up as Ozzy.

HOWARD MEGDAL: Liked Mraz and Ozzy, but I really don’t know Johnson or Matthews enough to appreciate even a good impression.

From:
http://perpetualpost.com/?p=3650

Enjoy!

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving, Andy Samberg fans!

s.34 : ep.9
November 22, 2008

Turkeys

Tim McGraw ... turkey
Fred Armisen ... turkey
Andy Samberg ... turkey
Jason Sudeikis ... turkey
Kenan Thompson ... Richard
Michaela Watkins ... Terri
Kristen Wiig ... turkey

Turkeys in the wild, running for their lives...



Enjoy!

Review of Andy Samberg and Kenan's I'm Reba



ZOË RICE: Okay, I totally laughed at this. And finally–finally!–I enjoyed watching Kenan Thompson. His pantomime of “hanging like my…” (fill in the blank) made me giggle out loud. Andy Samberg’s raps rarely disappoint. Add a dude in a Reba McEntire wig, and it’s absurd and freaky (in a good way).

STEVE MURPHY: This was funny, but amazingly not as funny as the previous four sketches, which really says something about how good this episode has been before. Not a Samberg classic, but pretty funny. And Kenan manages not to ruin it, which is hard for him.

HOWARD MEGDAL: So that wasn’t really Reba?

From:
http://perpetualpost.com/?p=3650

Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

'Gossip Girl' Blake Lively will host 'Saturday Night Live'

Lively will host "Saturday Night Live" on Dec. 5.

How will the prime-time vixen get along with the Not Ready for Prime Time Players?

She's already flirted shamelessly with David Letterman. And while Lively hasn't hosted the show before, she did appear recently alongside James Franco:

Here's that sketch:



Enjoy!

Does Andy Samberg have a big butt?



What do you think?

Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Fred Armisen's Obama still isn't funny

It just isn't funny. Fred is afraid to poke fun at Obama, and the entire show supports him in that. Take a look at every one of Fred's other characters or even Kristen's characters. They are all satires. Except Obama. Because Fred plays Obama straight, they look at situational skits to put him in, like Nasim and Will asking Obama to have sex with him...


Cold Opening China Press Conference

Fred Armisen ... Barack Obama
Will Forte ... Hu Jintao
Nasim Pedrad ... translator




That's funny, but it's because Will and Nasim are funny. Fred isn't funny. He's playing it straight as a "straight man," which means they have to keep trying to put him in situations that are funny and that he can react to as a "straight man." The problem with that is that they can't keep coming up with funny situations every week. They need the character to be funny and not the situations.

Every single president (and vice president) candidate in the history of SNL was lampooned (except for Obama). It started with Chevy Chase taking pratfalls to make fun of Gerald Ford. (And Ford later tripped Chase on a stage to get back at him.)



Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman nailed many candidates. Even last season, Amy Poehler nailed Hilary Clinton, Darrell Hammond nailed Bill Clinton and McCain, Tina Fey nailed Palin, and Will Ferrell came back to nail George W. Bush yet again. Observe:



But Armisen is too scared to nail Obama. He's fine nailing Joy on The View, Patterson, and many, many more (and he does a hilarious job with those). But he plays Obama straight.

Right now, the best Obama impression is on YouTube from AlphaCat. AlphaCat also doesn't make fun of Obama much, but at least he plays him confident and cocky, which is much more interesting than Armisen's boring attempts. Observe:







What do you think?

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg - is a clown on "what up with that?"

Show what up with that?

Al Gore guests on the show that has a burning question.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt... Klaus Future
Al Gore
Mindy Kaling
Fred Armisen ... saxophonist
Will Forte ... announcer
Bill Hader ... Lindsey Buckingham
Bobby Moynihan ... Jake Roberts
Nasim Pedrad ... singer
Andy Samberg ... clown
Jenny Slate ... singer
Jason Sudeikis ... dancer
Kenan Thompson ... Diondre Cole



This is one of my favorite skits ever. Glad they did it again already!

Enjoy!

Monday, November 23, 2009

SNL 11/21/09 - Joseph Gordon-Levitt & Dave Matthews Band

Update: Added more videos and thoughts. Originally posted on 11/22. Enjoy!
============================

November 21, 2009
Host: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Musical Guest: Dave Matthews Band
Cameos: Al Gore, Mindy Kaling
Episode Number: 35.7 (# 665)


Overall:

Andy Samberg has three appearances here. All are funny. His clown dance is a great addition to a hilariously strange sketch, I'm glad to see the Mellow Show back (and a great use of Dave Matthews), and the Kenan/Andy song is funny and twisted. It won't ever be a classic, but it's buying some time until the next classic.


Full Episode:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt hosts Saturday Night Live with musical guest Dave Matthews Band.



The monologue gets cut off here, so you can't watch it in here either. Bummer.


The Promos:

With Jason Sudeikis.



With Fred Armisen.




Cold Opening China Press Conference

China would like their money back.

Fred Armisen ... Barack Obama
Will Forte ... Hu Jintao
Nasim Pedrad ... translator



Nasim and Will are pretty funny here. Nasim's first "Live from New York" - good job!


Monologue

Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Bobby Moynihan


Commercial Palin 2012



Gameshow Secret Word

This 1965 game show gets dramatic.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt... Ricardo Gonzales
Will Forte ... contestant
Bill Hader ... Lyle Round
Jenny Slate ... contestant
Kristen Wiig ... Mindy Gracin




Film SNL Digital Short: Two Worlds Collide with Reba McEntire

Andy and Reba are an item.

Will Forte ... friend
Bobby Moynihan ... friend
Andy Samberg
Kenan Thompson ... Reba McEntire



Wow. I can't help but feel that Kenan is fighting back to the author of that "10 ways to improve SNL" article. This is cute, funny, and gross, all at the same time. It definitely didn't dethrone "On the Ground" for the best digital short of this season, but it was more "worth doing" than the other digital shorts this season.


Show The Mellow Show

Joseph Gordon-Levitt... Jason Mraz
Dave Matthews ... Ozzy Osbourne
Bill Hader ... Dave Matthews
Andy Samberg ... Jack Johnson
Kenan Thompson ... Boyd Tinsley



This is Andy's crowning achievement this episode. This is a funny recurring skit, and everybody delivers. Mad props to Dave and Bill for Bill making fun of Dave (and Dave making fun of himself) all in the same skit.


Show what up with that?

Al Gore guests on the show that has a burning question.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt... Klaus Future
Al Gore
Mindy Kaling
Fred Armisen ... saxophonist
Will Forte ... announcer
Bill Hader ... Lindsey Buckingham
Bobby Moynihan ... Jake Roberts
Nasim Pedrad ... singer
Andy Samberg ... clown
Jenny Slate ... singer
Jason Sudeikis ... dancer
Kenan Thompson ... Diondre Cole



This is Kenan's funniest sketch ever, and they know that. They bust it out a second time in the same season. It also makes great use of the cast, host, and cameo guests, which makes it a win. Jason's dancing again practically steals the show. Joseph comes out as


Musical Performance "You & Me"

Dave Matthews Band


Weekend Update

Seth Meyers
Al Gore ... commentary on the environment

It's time for the V.P. to get a little crazy.




Sketch Thanksgiving Dinner

Joseph Gordon-Levitt... Stephen
Abby Elliott ... Nancy
Will Forte ... Terry
Jason Sudeikis ... Phil
Kristen Wiig ... Judith


Show Woman To Woman

You'll need to speak up.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt ...Todd
Fred Armisen ... Roger Brush
Abby Elliott ... Barbara Way
Jenny Slate ... Laura O'Shoney
Kristen Wiig ... audience member
Kristen Wiig ... announcer (voice)




Musical Performance "Shake Me Like A Monkey"

Dave Matthews Band


Sketch Say Anything

Joseph Gordon-Levitt... Lloyd Dobler
Jason Sudeikis ... neighbor
Kristen Wiig ... neighbor


Jackie Snad and Clancy Bachlerat

Spaceships, toddlers, Model T cars and jars of beer never sounded so good.

This one was from the dress rehearsal. It got cut from the show:





Total Appearances


Joseph Gordon-Levitt 7
Dave Matthews 1
Dave Matthews Band 2
Al Gore 2
Mindy Kaling 1
Fred Armisen 3
Abby Elliott 2
Will Forte 5
Bill Hader 3
Seth Meyers 1
Bobby Moynihan 3
Nasim Pedrad 2
Andy Samberg 3
Jenny Slate 3
Jason Sudeikis 3
Kenan Thompson 3
Kristen Wiig 5

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg - serenades Reba McEntire? (Two Worlds Collide)

Film SNL Digital Short: Two Worlds Collide with Reba McEntire

Andy and Reba are an item.

Will Forte ... friend
Bobby Moynihan ... friend
Andy Samberg
Kenan Thompson ... Reba McEntire



Wow. This is gross and bizarrely funny. It's good, but not the best. Andy and Kenan probably shouldn't collaborate on another one of these. Andy needs to talk to Seth and TLI and come with another big gun with a little more wit or intelligence to it. So far, the only truly great digital short we've gotten this season was "One the Ground."

I can't help but think that this is Kenan's response to the author of that "10 things to improve SNL" article. That article was on EW, MSNBC, the IMDB forums, and comes up high in search results. I think Kenan read that people think he should stop playing women and then thought about how he could play a woman and get back at them.

Watch out the Internets! SNL bites back! You better stop before Lorne makes an "all Kristen Wiig" episode where Kristen plays every role... just to spite you haters!

Thoughts?

Enjoy!

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Andy Samberg in The Mellow Show

Ozzy Osbourne has mellowed out.



I love this show! This is Andy's third impression of Jack Johnson and his second skit of the Mellow Show. Having Dave Matthews on the show was as good of a reason as any to do it again!

Enjoy!

Saturday, November 21, 2009

MSNBC has 10 ways to fix SNL (I wish this was a joke)

My comments are marked as "Editor"...

Update:
Did Kenan create a response video to issue #7? He might have done that right here:
http://andysamberg.blogspot.com/2009/11/andy-samberg-serenades-reba-mcentire.html




Hot young hosts there mainly to plug failed movies?
(Editor: This must be Megan Fox and January Jones, because Ryan Reynolds is a hit maker, and Taylor Swift isn't in movies.)

An utter dearth of great pop-culture parody? No more!
(Editor: I actually love their pop-culture parodies, such as Scrooge McDuck and Beauty and the Beast.)

See our sure-fire ways to help NBC's weekend staple raise its game.
(Editor: After reading these, I think it's a joke. MSNBC and EW should change "our" in this sentence to "my" because they shouldn't want to support this rubbish.)



1. Enough with the parade of sexy young startlets!
(Editor: Is this a typo, or is it a pun on "starlets." Then I assume they are referring to Meagan, Taylor, and January. Since all those ladies are different ages, they are pretty much telling SNL to stop having women hosts. I think it's important to have women hosts. January's show won an Emmy (2 years in a row) and Taylor has won countless music awards. And Meagan has over a billion in Box Office value under her belt. What are the requirements they are looking for in women? SNL has always tried to mix it up with popular people and successful people. All three of those ladies are popular and successful.)

Buzzed-about twentysomethings with current projects to promote don't always make the best “SNL” hosts.
(Editor: January Jones is 31 years old, and Taylor Swift turns 20 in 4 weeks. MSNBC needs to do their homework.)

Instead of a tepid Megan Fox or an abysmal January Jones, why not try Jane Lynch, who's massively popular on “Glee,” or Mo'Nique, star of sleeper hit “Precious?” Throw Nathan Fillion in there for some geek cred. It'd be less work for the writing staff, too, because these people are...(gasp) actually funny!
(Editor: Who? Does anybody else know who these people are? After looking them up... For starters, sure Jane is older than these other ladies, but Glee is brand new. Mad Men proved itself for two years before the stars got on SNL. Second, "Precious" just came out and nobody is watching it. It is not a sleeper hit or any other kind of hit. Third, Nathan Fillion is from Castle, another brand new show. He hasn't proven himself, although I loved him Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. This is a clear case of the writer's personal opinions. The producers are bringing in real, proven stars. They are not pursuing personal opinions.)



2. Leave the policy dissections to ‘The Daily Show’: ‘SNL’ needs to go wacky and use its imagination in covering politics.
The great political sketches in “SNL’s” history have rarely been biting commentary; instead, they've been goofy send-ups (Clinton, anyone?), silly prat-falls (Ford, duh), and over-the-top parodies (Bush, Bush, Gore, and — flashback time! — Ross Perot). Let “The Daily Show” take jabs at Fox News and CNN and bring SNL's political focus back toward energetic absurdity.
(Editor: I totally agree. Finally some logic in this article. SNL had silly political impressions just this last year when they made fun of Sarah Palin, Bill Clinton, and Hilary Clinton - and even Will Ferrell came back to do his George W. Bush. Also, Darrell Hammond's John Mccain and Jason's Biden both had their silly moments. However, this year it's mostly just Armisen's Obama and Jason's Biden, and they're trying to poke fun at little issues instead of turning the impressions into funny characters.)



3. There is, in fact, such a thing as too much Kristen Wiig.
We've enjoyed Gilly, Penelope, Suze Orman, Target lady, closeted field reporter, and many of Wiig's other characters over the years, but even her biggest fans must be hitting a wall of fatigue. How can we appreciate the woman if she never leaves the screen? Not every sketch needs to center around a neurotic character with a verbal or facial tic. “Sorry.”
(Editor: I love Kristen Wiig, and I have no problem with lots of her. I think they just need to mix it up more and team her up more. Even when Will Ferrell was on, he stole the show but he had a ton of team skits he'd do. We haven't had such a prolific scene stealer since Eddie Murphy, who summarized it well by profaning SNL by saying, "Live from New York, it's the Eddie Murphy Show" when he hosted the show while still being a member of the cast. It really was the Eddie Murphy show back then.)



4. Give us more frequent and more sharply focused pop-culture parodies.
Spoofs of popular shows and movies — those are the things that ought to be “SNL’s” bread and butter. It a way to tease and be part of the specific cultural moment, plus it's funnier than yet another Target Lady trainwreck. Exhibit A: That wicked “Twilight” spoof starring Taylor Swift!
(Editor: Typo in the third sentence (It's). So Firelight was a good spoof; agreed. I also liked Beauty and the Beast and Scrooge McDuck. Plus last season's Mary Poppins and Of Mice and Men were amazing! I think they're doing well. I thought this week's Mr. Hyde was too obvious and dragged on and that Rear Window was amusing just because I'm a huge Hitchcock fan, and Jason nailed his Jimmy Stewart impression. I think they're doing fine in this area. They certainly are nailing the pop culture parodies more than previous SNL generations. I don't remember Mike Meyers ever dressing up like Snagglepus, Cathy, or the Swedish Chef (Andy Samberg's Cathy and Swedish Chef started multiple sequel skits). However, I think Eddie Murphy started it all with Buckwheat and Gumby.)



5. A multiplatinum CD shouldn't be a requirement for musical guests.
We miss the days of having to Google the artists we'd never heard of until just before they started rocking the “SNL” stage. Be a tastemaker, not a follower! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Regina Spektor: Yeah. U2: Nah. Consider up-and-coming indie acts like Florence and the Machine instead of having the Black Eyed Peas perform three songs. Bonus: You won't have to fight with “Live With Regis & Kelly” to book the bulk of your bands.
(Editorial: I don't know. SNL is doing their thing. You really can't complain. They've done pop heroes and newbies. They've been doing it for over 30 years. Let them do their thing.)



6. Set Seth Meyers free!
The “Weekend Update” anchor and head writer has, in recent stand-up acts and late-night appearances, offered up would-be “SNL” lines that were too racy or strange to air. Guess what? They're hilarious. (“According to a new study, college students put on six to nine pounds during their freshman year because of dramatic increases in beer-drinking and decreases in physical activity ... which means the rest of your ‘freshman 15’ is probably a baby.”) When “Update”' gets aggressive, it's Meyers at his best. Unleash it! Let that jerk flag fly!
(Editorial: Oh, I thought they were going to say to put Meyers in the skits. He's much better behind the WU desk, and that's where he wants to be. I totally agree. They should let Meyers do whatever he wants. HOWEVER, they already do that. I think Meyers has chosen not to do his racier jokes on SNL. He's the head writer and the man in charge (except for Lorne). He pretty much does whatever he wants. So this really isn't an improvement.)



7. Not every black female character can be played by Kenan Thompson.
Ugh, do we even have to explain this one? We'd say the show's writers could have the guest host play, oh, Beyoncé or Michelle Obama, but only three black women have hosted the show in the last 10 years. Anyone spotting a ridiculous problem here?
(Editorial: Hahaha. But his Whoopi is hilarious! Maya did some black women and Ellen Cleghorne was on SNL 15 years ago. I suppose they can make up Nasim Pedrad to do the skinnier black women. This really isn't so bad. Some of the best women on SNL are the dudes. For example, Armisen's Joy Behar and when Samberg did Diablo Cody and Juliette Lewis. I think you're being nitpicky. I don't think Kenan has done Michelle Obama.)

Did Kenan create a response video to issue #7? He might have done that right here:
http://andysamberg.blogspot.com/2009/11/andy-samberg-serenades-reba-mcentire.html



8. More surprise guests during ‘Weekend Update,’ please!
Any time Amy Poehler can find time to leave her important post at the “Parks and Recreation” Dept. to drop in on her old co-host Seth Meyers, it's a hit — and “SNL” should pencil in honorary cast member Justin Timberlake whenever possible, too. We loved when “Star Trek” stars Leonard Nimoy, Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto popped by to convince longtime hardcore fans that it was OK to go and see the reboot. More surprise guests = a livelier show.
(Editor: Whoa! Hold on! Every example you gave was of guest cameos. If they put a guest cameo in every single episode than #1 They'd run out of ideas and they wouldn't be funny and #2 They'd be taking up time away from the cast to show off their characters and impressions. Weekend Update is a necessary place for the new cast members to play guests and get out there and get a following. Abby Elliott did it with her Angelina Jolie impression (and her Sarah Mclachlan). Andy Samberg and Bill Hader came out in their first episode and did an "Impression Off." Andy has busted out Cathy and Scrooge McDuck. Bobby Moynihan busted out his amazing Snagglepuss. And Nasim Pedrad just used the forum to break out her Kim Kardashian impression. Plus Kristen Wiig, Fred Armisen, and Kenan Thompson use it to show off their characters. So we don't want SNL to take that opportunity away. Let's keep the guests as a fun surprise and save them for the GREAT ideas. Plus they already bring out Amy Poehler and Justin Timberlake as much as they're willing to come. So let's not imagine something that isn't possible.)



9. Easy does it on the ’90s nostalgia.
It's sort of funny sometimes, but surely there's a funnier bit than a Natalie Merchant impression, or a riff on Beauty and the Beast. Topical humor is “SNL’s” trademark; leave the “hey, do you guys remember this?” jokes to “Family Guy.”
(Editor: I completely disagree. That's like throwing Eddie Murphy's Gumby and Alfalfa skits "on the ground." These are hilarious bits, and some of them are from the 80s. Or what about Rear Window, Mary Poppins, Of Mice and Men, and Dr. Jekyl? Not all these references are from the 80s. I think this is my favorite new thing that the show is doing more of. Who cares what time the content was popular? If it's funny, then they should do it. Period.)



10. Whatever happened to your great commercials?
The days of Schmitts Gay, Woomba, and Bad Idea/Mom Jeans seem long gone. We would argue for one new commercial per episode, but the ones this season (Bunny Business?!) have been so not funny, we confused them with real commercials. Make some more. And make them good.
(Editor: You're criticizing Bunny Business? What? Every two seconds of that skit was hilarious! Taylor Swift nailed Shakira! Kristen Wiig's Natalie Merchant was amazing! And everybody else also nailed it. You need to watch more of the commercials. Jason did one about dog food garbage. There are some pretty funny ones out there. They are hilarious, but they can't all be as popular as "Happy Fun Ball.")

From:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34066795/ns/entertainment-television/


I don't know how this got on MSNBC and EW. It's kind of embarassing to true SNL enthusiasts.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg's "Get Out" - is it too self referential?



STEVE MURPHY: Moderately funny, not up to par with other Digital Shorts, but solidly in line with this episode’s near-complete absence of humor.

HOWARD MEGDAL: Samberg’s got to watch out- there have been a few Digital Shorts that crossed the line into too self-referential. He’s too good to fall victim to this problem.

From:
http://perpetualpost.com/?p=3544


Is this short too self referential? Is it too systematic? I liked the bit at the ending, but I have to agree that they should "go bigger" than this.

Enjoy!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Joseph Gordon-Levitt - SNL Promos

Updated with Fred's attempts at humor...

Joseph is in Studio 8H with Dave Mathews Band and Fred!



And here he is with Jason...

Joseph isn't like other Hollywood types.



Jason does his thing. How do you think this week is going to be? I keep reading reviews that the best episode this season was the Taylor Swift episode.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg & Friends - Comedy Central's report

Andy Samberg and Friends at the New York Comedy Festival



On the last day of the New York Comedy Festival, I was able to close things off with a bang by attending two excellent shows; Andy Samberg and Friends...



It was a lot of fun! Although Samberg was front and center as host, it almost could have been called The Saturday Night Live Partial Cast and Crew Extravaganza. Just about every performer was either a writer or a performer for SNL, which was a treat!

It should come as no surprise that SNL has a few amazing stand-ups in its writing ranks. The night included comedy from writers Seth Meyers, Hannibal Buress, Colin Jost, Bryan Tucker, John Mulaney, and more.

The show started with Fred Armisen, in character as Governor David Paterson…



It was really funny. Just like on the television box machine, Armisen's David Paterson impersonation is characterized by a hatred of New Jersey. At one point he just yelled out point blank, "Jersey sucks dick."

Normally, television comedy writers can be faceless names running quickly through the credits. As a writer, there's something particularly gratifying about seeing a television joke-smith performing his own material. Which is just what Colin Jost, Bryan Tucker, Hannibal Buress and John Mulaney did.

Here's Buress and Jost:



There were a bunch of other highlights, including a Harry Potter wand fight between Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone which I made an animated GIF out of. WARNING: If you stare at it long enough it will give you epilepsy.



(Yes, Jorma's in a Snuggie.)

Also, SNL's latest addition to the cast, Jenny Slate performed with her comedy partner Gabe Liedman, and they were both great! I didn't get to make an animated GIF of that, but here's a taste of what Gabe and Jenny do:

"the Girlfriend" from Gabe & Jenny on Vimeo.



The night ended with Kenan Thompson in character as Reba McEntire, serenading Fred Armisen with a live rendition of Iran So Far Away.

Just imagine this video but with Kenan singing…



From:
http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/2009/11/12/andy-samberg-and-friends-at-the-new-york-comedy-festival/

Overall, this is a nice review. Check out our other two reviews if you haven't!

Enjoy!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

What SNL Alumni should host SNL?

Anony mentioned that we should have some "Big Gun" hosts and maybe have some SNL alumni hosting. I like the idea, especially giving a chance for alumni to host who haven't yet.

I'm sure some of the older alumni might refuse, but who knows? It's worth trying!

So here's my dream list of SNL alumni who haven't hosted, but who I think should host.



#1. Jimmy Fallon. First of all, Jimmy Fallon would be great! He hasn't hosted yet, but other recent alumnis like Tracy Morgan and Tina Fey have hosted. He's cameo'd four times, three of which were for the Barry Gibb Talk Show with Justin Timberlake. Plus, Jimmy currently has his Late Night show (taking over for Conan), and so he could come on to "promote" that. I don't know if the show's successful or not (I know it got a rocky start), but I believe it will get even more popular than Conan was, because it's HILARIOUS!!! Jimmy could resurrect his skits: Barry Gibb Talk Show, Jarrett's Room, Jeffrey's, Z105, Bloder Brothers (with Chris Parnell), and Nick Burns. And my favorite impressions he does are Ringo Starr, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Robin Williams (he can pretty much nail anyone). Jimmy's a long-time friend of Andy (he helped Andy get on SNL, and he's had Andy come on his show several times) and he's musically talented, so it would be great if the two could do a musical digital short together.



#2. Sarah Silverman. I would love and hate to see what kind of craziness she'd bring to the show. She was only on for one one season in 93-94, but she's come into a whole new world of comedy with her Sarah Silverman Program (not to mention her stand-up tours, her popular music video where she ****ed Matt Damon, and hosting the MTV Movie Awards in 2008). She has a good impression of Marisa Tomei that she did on SNL. Other that, it would be all new material and integrating into SNL characters and impressions. I'd love to see her do a digital short with Andy Samberg. She swooped down in 2008 and gave Andy a chance to appear on the MTV Movie Awards when his bit got cut. So they at least have that relationship going for them. Because her music video with Matt Damon was so popular, she and Andy could do a great musical digital short together.



#3. Adam Sandler. Adam pretty much stars in and produces a hit movie every year. With the recent Zohan, Bedtime Stories, and Funny People, Adam continues his machine. I only have him as #3 because he's not at his peak anymore (although he's working on that; he peaked with Big Daddy and Waterboy). Adam was on SNL for 5 years and cameo'd twice in 96 and 2002, coming on to perform more songs. Adam could bring back Canteen Boy, Opera Man, Gil Graham, or Cajun Man. He could bust out his guitar and sing us any song he wants. He interviewed Andy Samberg for a magazine, so we know that they're friendly. He's musical, so a musical digital short with Adam and Andy would be amazing. Plus everybody confused Andy's name with him for the first year or so that Andy was on SNL. =^)



#4. Jim Belushi. Not only is Jim the brother of the great John Belushi, Jim was on SNL for two years (83-83, 84-85). Jim cameo'd in 2003, singing in Dan Aykroyd's monologue with him. That was Jim's only cameo. Jim would be a good choice, because he's on the hit show, "According to Jim." Jim could resurrect his character, "That White Guy," and integrate into current character and impression skits.



#5. Janeane Garofalo. Janeane is also pretty hot right now with her recent addition to the 24 hit series. And she was in the films, Love Hurts and Labor Pains this year, so she's always been doing movies. She only appeared in half a season of SNL in 94-95, but she nailed 11 impressions during that time. Plus she's just a funny woman.



#6. Kevin Nealon. Kevin has also resurrected his career with the shows Weeds and Glenn Martin DDS (an animation). Plus he was in Aliens in the Attic this year. He's best known for appearing in Happy Gilmore as telling Adam to make the ball go home (feel the energy). We'd love to see him do his old SNL characters: Hanz & Franz (with Dana Carvey), Mr. Subliminal, and Tarzan. Plus he's done 43 impressions on SNL. =^)



#7. Joan Cusack. Joan's been a steady film actress. This year she released My Sister's Keeper and Confessions of a Shoppaholic. She has Hoodwinked 2 and Toy Story 3 coming up. She was part of Lorne's 85-86 season of hires where he hired a bunch of young B movie actors for a year to buy him time to build a new cast. On SNL, she had a nice Brooke Shields impression. =^) - She's never made an appearance on SNL since she left the show. Joan is another funny woman and SNL alumni who should host. That should be enough of a reason. Plus her brother's never been on the show, and he could appear in a Gross Pointe Blank skit.



#8. Chris Kattan. Chris tried movies (and still does bit roles), and lately he's been fighting pretty hard to get on TV, with his "Bollywood Hero" and "The Middle" shows. That's been giving him his come-back he needs. Chris was on SNL for 8 seasons. He should host and bring his best characters: Goth Talk (with Molly Shannon cameo-ing), The Roxbury Guys (with Will Ferrell), Mango, Mr. Peepers, and the DeMarco brother dance auditioners (with Chris Parnell cameo-ing). Plus Chris Kattan is just a funny physical comedian, and that's enough of a reason to get him back on the show.



#9. Rob Schneider. Rob's been busy with his small movie career, alternating bit roles in Adam Sandler movies with his own, less successful films. But still, he has a successful film career. That's quite an accomplishment and enough to get him on the show. And Rob is impressive just because he looks completely different in every Adam Sandler movie. He's been more of a chameleon in Sandler movies than he ever was on SNL. Rob was on SNL for 4 years. Rob cameo'd once in 2002 to perform the Chanukah Song with Adam Sandler. As a host, he could do his characters: Orgasm Guy, Sensitive Naked Man, and the Richmeister ("making some copies").



#10. Jane Curtin. Jane was in I Love You Man and 3rd Rock from the Sun. For whatever reason, she needs to host SNL just because she was one of the original "not ready for prime time" players, and she has had a very successful career. Plus she's another funny lady who should be celebrated a little more.


Runner ups: Amy Poehler, Jay Mohr, Christopher Guest, Dennis Miller, Cheri Oteri, Joe Piscopo, Anthony Michael Hall, Gilbert Gottfried, Jim Breuer & Randy Quaid.

=====================================

Why isn't Eddie Murphy on this list?

Because Eddie Murphy hosted twice. The first was on 12.11.1982 when he was still on the show (he famously profaned SNL by saying "Live from New York, it's the Eddie Murphy show!" Grrr.

His second hosting gig was on 12.15.1984, the season right after he had left. Corresponding to his film career, Eddie Murphy had already completed 48 Hrs. and Trading Places while he was still on SNL, and after leaving SNL, he did Beverly Hills Cop (84), Golden Child (86), BHC2 (87), and Coming to America (88).

Chevy Chase: Chevy Chase has hosted 8 times, and he'd cameo'd an additional 7 times. The last cameo was on 10.06.2007, in Seth Rogen's first time hosting.


Enjoy!

Charlie skewers SNL



Here's a look at some of the key factors that typically determine how healthy SNL is, and some of the question marks observers had about the show coming into the season:

Guest Hosts: Megan Fox, who hosted the season premiere in September, was practically a cameo presence in her own episode -- not terrible, but simply not given much to do. Such a strategy might have suited this past week's host, Mad Men's January Jones, whose lack of familiarity with live TV made her one of the weakest hosts in memory. Jones giggled her way through a not-very-strong monologue about Mad Men fanatics, and then interrupted her first sketch to ask what camera she was supposed to be looking at. Her co-star Jon Hamm showed himself to be surprisingly adept at comedy when he hosted a year ago, but lightning did not strike twice.

As for the season's other hosts thus far: Ryan Reynolds was pretty good... Taylor Swift was blessed with the season's best material so far, but considering she's not really an actress, it was surprising the writers didn't have to work around her, choosing to involve her in almost every skit.

Newer Cast Members: The SNL bench is weak, yet again. Jenny Slate made a gigantic splash by cursing in her very first sketch, and whether coincidental or not, she has been given little to do since then. Is it punishment, or has she simply not fought for herself behind closed doors? Fellow newbie Nasim Pedrad is faring slightly better,... It doesn't help that both women look somewhat similar. In their second seasons, neither Abby Elliott nor Bobby Moynihan show signs of being future SNL mainstays, though Moynihan has shown a little promise as a potential non-lame version of Horatio Sanz.

Kristen Wiig: I don't think Wiig has the versatility to be the go-to cast member on SNL... that is what she has been since Amy Poehler departed last fall. The problem with Wiig is that she mostly just plays variations on the same character: a neurotic who is either overly talkative and/or inappropriately exuberant. It's gotten to the point where I find it hard to maintain interest once I see a sketch is going to be built around Wiig, because it's already so clear where it's going to be heading. SNL desperately needs another woman to step up and share the load, as Wiig herself did for Poehler a few years back. Having four female guest hosts so far this season has helped, but not enough.

Coping With Obama: SNL has been grappling with Barack Obama for nearly two years now, but ten months into his presidency, the show has still yet to find a consistent way to approach him. A cold open sketch where Obama (played by Fred Armisen) admitted that his administration had done none of the things that were promised in the campaign attracted a lot of attention, and pointed at a possible Obama "character" (all style and no substance). But the show has not returned to this theme, or really dealt much at all with the whole issue of hard times in America.

Michaels ignored all the folks who insisted that the role of Obama needed to be recast once his election was official, so it looks like we're stuck with Armisen as long as he stays with the series. Previous presidential impersonators on SNL tweaked their characterizations as they went along (compare Carvey's early G.H.W. Bush to the way he was playing him by 1992), but for some reason, Armisen has gone in the other direction. Last season he seemed to be making some effort at nailing Obama's speech quirks if not his exact voice, but so far this year, he's just using a more formal version of his own voice. SNL gives the impression of wanting to avoid the president if it can get away with it -- an uncomfortable position for a show known for political humor.

Weekend Update: While this old standby is not at historic highs right now, and most of the walk-ons remain as lame as they have been since Adam Sandler left (Jon Bovi doesn't do it for me), Update has become an oasis of reliability on an otherwise erratic show. No one much talks about the need for a co-anchor alongside Seth Meyers any more, which makes sense since solo anchors were the SNL norm prior to Tina Fey and Jimmy Fallon...

Grading the six episodes thus far:

Megan Fox: C-. I can't see her being asked back, or wanting to do it again.
Ryan Reynolds: B-. He's a funny guy, and if he can get his wife (Scarlet) to make more cameos, so much the better.
Drew Barrymore: C+. Likable and professional; usually good for a few laughs.
Gerard Butler: C. He's not known for comedy, and didn't make a strong impression.
Taylor Swift: B+. She was better in her skits than she was singing -- who would have thought?
January Jones: D. Gorgeous woman who should never do live television again.

From:
http://www.film.com/tv/saturday-night-live/story/reviewing-snl-the-2009-season/30945054
===========================

Charlie was pretty brutal, but I agree with him on a few points. Megan Fox was pretty much just making cameos, but I didn't mind it. Still funny. Gerard's pimp character was hilarious. I'm glad everyone seems to have liked Taylor's performances. She had two stiff skits (Scared Straight and The View), but she pretty much nailed everything else. I think Nasim just proved herself with Kim Kardashian, and Abby and Bobby have been trying. But they need to be given a chance to shine. January Jones had maybe two skits where she kept it together (like the clouds skit), but yeah, she probably wasn't the best choice.

Oh, and I think Charlie nailed Fred's Obama and Kristen Wiig. But even though most of Kristen's characters are similar, they're still funny. They need to figure something else out about Obama. They need to be willing to make fun of him. Maybe Kristen Wiig should do him. She's willing to brutally skewer anyone. =^)

Enjoy!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Andy Samberg - in the making of "Firelight" (briefly)

Go behind the scenes in the makeup chair for the Firelight Digital Short.



Andy's only in this briefly, as you see him walk by. I was hoping they'd show you when he got made up as the "vampire" or as the "mummy," but no luck.

This is such a huge contrast between the normal low-budget digital short skits they do, like this week's "Get Out." Of course, the songs they do are about the same as far as production values go and the effort they put into them.

Enjoy!

Andy Samberg is a Favorite Web Celeb

Favorite Web Celeb Nominees



Nominee No. 2 -- Andy Samberg: Lifetime Achievement in Viral Videos

While other stars dominate the box office or the Nielsen ratings, Andy Samberg has become the ultimate viral online video star. With his Lonely Island counterparts, Andy has proved to be a Web star with his "SNL" Digital Shorts.

Starting back in the day with "Lazy Sunday" to "D--- in a
Box" to the recent hilarity of "On the Ground," he never fails at delivering millions of hits and creating the newest online sensation for wannabe comedians to fail at recreating. You know an Internet video is truly viral when your 91-year-old grandmother references "I'm on a Boat." For serious.

From:
http://wonderwall.msn.com/movies/favorite-web-celeb-nominees-4967.gallery

Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Andy Samberg - Halloween 2009 Part 2

Seeing how it is now way after Halloween, we found a few more Andy Samberg costumes! Yay!!!

Here is part 1 with most of the costumes (including celebrity, Nick Lachey):

http://andysamberg.blogspot.com/2009/10/andy-samberg-halloween-costumes.html

This year, my brother-in-law dressed up as a 70s version of Andy, with a special gift:



And here he shows off the gift:



=============================

This is Andy from the MTV Movie Awards, but it should have been Andy's costume this year:



Or Andy could have gone as a pretty sweet-looking hero:





Enjoy!

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