Some actors possess an Everyman quality that gives them the versatility to take on any role. Ron Livingston is that type of guy. After gaining notoriety as a member of Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn's crew of Swingers, he went on to play a conflicted World War II captain in HBO's Band of Brothers. This fall the Iowa native gets his first opportunity to play a series lead on Fox's hostage-negotiator action-drama
For a series about to start only its second season, FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia has come a long way. The pilot, made by actors/writers/executive producers Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton and Charlie Day, was shot on digital video and edited on a home computer for a grand total of $200. Even with limited publicity and starring relative unknowns, the seven-episode premiere season was able to build a word-of-mouth following that caused network execs to order a 10-epi
While Taylor Hackford is best known for directing dramas like An Officer and a Gentleman, The Devil's Advocate and Ray, his documentaries may be some of his most interesting work. After getting his start as an investigative reporter for public television in Los Angeles, the silver-bearded cineaste went on to helm 1987's
Oh, how Comedy Central loves to skewer the media. After finding success parodying national news reporting on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, the new series Dog Bites Man (premiering tonight at 10:30 pm/ET) takes local news to task. Produced by Da Ali G Show's Dan Mazer, the show is a half-scripted, half-improv concoction that follows a f
While filming the original The Producers in 1968, actor Andréas Voutsinas (aka Carmen Ghia) passed along this wisdom to Mel Brooks: "Or you got it or you ain't." Those mangled yet profound words have stuck with the 79-year-old comic legend, who definitely proved he's still "got it" when he made the decision to take The Producers to Broadway. Years after first hitting the boards, the Tony-winning hit continues to play around the world to sellout crowds. (He's now hard at work bringing
This Sunday (at 7:30 pm/ET) will mark the 200th episode and 10th season finale of Fox's King of the Hill. The achievement is yet another feather in the cap of series creator Mike Judge, who turned Beavis and Butt-head into household names and directed the oft-quoted cult hit Office Space. Known as
Many people dream of being one of the best in their profession, but a rare few ever reach that peak. Then there's Joe Morgan, a guy for whom the mountaintop is very familiar territory. An integral cog in Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" throughout the '70s, Morgan won back-to-back MVP awards and was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1990 — his first year of eligibility. After retirement, the legendary second baseman moved to the broadcast booth, where he's garnered two Emmys for his work as an analyst. This year he's nominated for another. With summer quickly approaching and the baseball season heating up, TVGuide.com threw some questions at the Texas native. TVGuide.com: Do you still feel that sense of excitement at the beginning of each baseball season?Joe Morgan: Yeah, I think the only time I really miss playing 
Perhaps they are kowtowing to the liberal-media agenda or being spurred by the success of Brokeback Mountain. Whatever the case, NBC's Saturday Night Live is letting a couple of homosexual superheroes host the show this weekend. Known as "the Ambiguously Gay Duo," Ace and Gary (voiced by Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell) will take the
Many people dream of being one of the best in their profession, but a rare few ever reach that peak. Then there's Joe Morgan, a guy for whom the mountaintop is very familiar territory. An integral cog in Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" throughout the '70s, Morgan won back-to-back MVP awards and was elected to baseball's Hall of Fame in 1990 — his first year of eligibility. After retirement, the legendary second baseman moved to the broadcast booth, where he's garnered two Emmys for his work as an analyst. This year he's nominated for another. With summer quickly approaching and the baseball season heating up, TVGuide.com threw some questions at the Texas native. TVGuide.com: Do you still feel that sense of excitement at the beginning of each baseball season?Joe Morgan: Yeah, I think the only time I really miss playing 
Recently, Hollywood has turned to the horror flick to rejuvenate flagging ticket sales. While the glut of guts has led to a lot of remakes and knockoffs, a few young filmmakers have risen to the challenge of fashioning fresh fare. Eli Roth is one such box-office reanimator. Spawning the hits Cabin Fever and Hostel, the Boston-born director splices social commentary into his gore while mischievously tinkering with genre convention. TVGuide.com invited Roth to discuss Hostel (out on DVD today) and share hi
Sarah Lancaster recently turned 26, but she's already racked up more TV credits than most actors claim in a lifetime. Her first role was as Rachel on Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Since then she's appeared on Dawson's Creek, Boston Public, That ‘70s Show, Scrubs, 7th Heaven, Six Feet Under and Everwood, to name a few. Now, the sultry beauty is the female lead in What About Brian, a new ABC series (sneak previewing Sunday at 10 pm/ET, then airing Mondays at 10) from executive producer J.J. Abrams (Lost). TVGuide.com caught up with the grizzled TV vet to find out what Brian's all about. TVGuide.com: How would you describe What
Sarah Lancaster recently turned 26, but she's already racked up more TV credits than most actors claim in a lifetime. Her first role was as Rachel on Saved by the Bell: The New Class. Since then she's made appearances on Dawson's Creek, Boston Public, That ‘70s Show, Scrubs, 7th Heaven, Six Feet Under and Everwood, to name a few. Starting in April, the sultry beauty will play the female lead in What About Brian, a new show by executive producer J.J. Abrams. TVGuide.com caught up with the grizzled television vet to find out what Brian's all about. TVGuide.com: How would you describe What About Brian?Sarah Lancaster:
When the visual-effects team for King Kong took to the stage to accept their Oscar earlier this month, they made a point to thank Andy Serkis. It's not very often that actors are cited by visual-effects winners, but then again Serkis is no ordinary actor. For the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he created the voice and movements of the Gollum-Smeagol character. For King Kong, he took on the role of no less than the great ape. TVGuide.com caught up with the Brit for the occasion of Kong's March 28 DVD release to get an idea of exactly what's involved when bringing mythic creatures to life. TVGuide.com: How did it come about that you are director Pe
Bryan Singer was given a simple task: resurrecting the film franchise of the most popular superhero ever. That moment of truth arrives when Superman Returns, easily the most anticipated movie of the summer, flies into theaters on June 30. However, the man-of-steel production didn't stop the director of The Usual Suspects and the first two X-Men films from working on other projects. No, he has juggled exec-producing duties for Fox's House as well as the Sci Fi Channel miniseries The Triangle, for which the DVD will be released today. TVGuide.com spoke with Singer about the Bermuda mystery, his feelings about X-Men 3 and a little rumor we heard about Superman Returns. TVGuide.com: So were you interested in the Bermuda Triangle mystery before becoming involved with The Triangle?Bryan Singer: Yeah, since I was a kid I've always found it fascinating. I think originally it was from
When the visual-effects team for King Kong took to the stage to accept their Oscar earlier this month, they made a point to thank Andy Serkis. It's not very often that actors are cited by visual-effects winners, but then again Serkis is no ordinary actor. For the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he created the voice and movements of the Gollum-Smeagol character. For King Kong, he took on the role of no less than the great ape. TVGuide.com caught up with the Brit for the occasion of Kong's March 28 DVD release to get an idea of exactly what's involved when bringing mythic creatures to life. TVGuide.com: How did it come about that you are director Pe
When the visual-effects team for King Kong took to the stage to accept their Oscar earlier this month, they made a point to thank Andy Serkis. It's not very often that actors are cited by visual-effects winners, but then again Serkis is no ordinary actor. For the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he created the voice and movements of the Gollum-Smeagol character. For King Kong, he took on the role of no less than the great ape. TVGuide.com caught up with the Brit for the occasion of Kong's March 28 DVD release to get an idea of exactly what's involved when bringing mythic creatures to life. TVGuide.com: How did it come about that you are director Pe
Of all the multinominated films vying for Academy Awards this Sunday, Pride & Prejudice may be the most overlooked. The latest adaptation of Jane Austen's ageless tale picked up four nominations — including a best-actress nod for Keira Knightley — but its buzz is nowhere near that of higher-profile contenders such as Walk the Line and Brokeback Mountain. Jena Malone, who plays Knightley's on-screen sister Lydia is a bit skeptical of putting too much stock in awards, but she hopes the extra attention will bring new audiences to the film. TVGuide.com found this out when we spoke with Malone about the classic romance's arrival this week on DVD. TVGuide.com: Be
There are a lot of movie directors who spend their entire careers working in a single genre. In a fickle industry where a couple of bombs can lead to prolonged unemployment, there's a certain job security in mining similar subject matter. On the rare occasion when a filmmaker does step out of character, they frequently find themselves chastised by critics and ignored by audiences that are shackled with expectation. Apparently, these concerns didn't weigh heavily on Harold Ramis when he decided to make The Ice Harvest. A dark yarn with a moral compass as slippery as the setting, The Ice Harvest is a far cry from the flicks that made Ramis. In fact, nothing in Animal House, Caddyshack or
Reese Witherspoon's Just Like Heaven, the indie Tennis, Anyone? and TV's Grounded for Life: Season One have a couple of things in common. 1) They're all being released today on DVD, and 2) they all feature funny man Donal Logue. After first gaining notoriety as MTV's "Jimmy the Cab Driver," the scruffy comic actor garnered critical praise as a pop-culture philosopher in the Sundance favorite
Paul Provenza is a seasoned comedy veteran. From stand-up to acting in sitcoms and movies, he's no stranger to the funny bone. So it's not surprising that his directorial debut — a meditation on one unbelievably dirty joke — garnered some serious attention at last year's Sundance Film Festival. The Aristocrats, arriving in stores today on DVD, is a who's who of comedy's finest — from George Carlin to Robin Williams to Jon Stewart to Whoopi Goldberg, and the list goes on and on. Provenza spoke with TVGuide.com about the movie and about one particular telling of The Aristocrats that has gone down in Hollywood lore. TVGuide.com: This project is the brainchild of you and Penn Jillette
Enron spent 16 years building up $65 billion in assets. It took a mere 24 days to lose it all. However, American history's largest corporate bankruptcy is not simply an arcane tale of accounting practices and financial formulas gone horribly awry. In director Alex Gibney's Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (now out on DVD), the scandal is illuminated as a tragedy of human frailties and hubris, the type of saga that would make Shakespeare or the Greek masters proud. Based on the best-selling book written by Fortune reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room is not your normal investigative documentary. Rather, Gibney's film combines gripping visuals, an eclectic pop-music score and pithy voice-over to give viewers a real sense of t
As the series creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Joss Whedon ushered in a new era of TV sci-fi and cemented his VIP status at Comic Con. However, it was one of his lesser-known creations that he chose as his directorial debut on the big screen. With Serenity, Whedon revisited his short-lived Fox series
