Space Chimps Interview with Andy Samberg & Cheryl Hines

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/movies/features/article_1417946.php/Interview_Space_Chimps

Andy Samberg and his Space Chimps co-star Cheryl Hines talk about the making of the movie. :)

EMMYS!

So, Emmy nominations were announced today and SNL has done very well garnering nominations in writing and ACTING.
Yes, Amy Poehler has made history in becoming the first SNL castmember to be nominated in the Supporting Actress in a Comedy category. This is the first year the cast were eligible to be considered in supporting acting categories!
Tina Fey also secured a nomination for Best Individual Performance in a Variety Show, for her stint as host.
The writers also got a nomination for Best Writing for a Variety Show, which I think was well deserved because this was a very good series with the exception of the Jon Bon Jovi episode.
Congrats :)

Amy Poehler to join Office spin-off

So if you're an Office fan like me, then you'll have heard about the Office spin-off that is planned. The only actor confirmed for it so far is Aziz Ansari from MTV's Human Giant, but according to numerous reports circulating the world-wide web, Amy Poehler is now in talks to star in it.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/16/amy-poehler-to-join-offic_n_113090.html

Now according to my calculations, this would mean that with her pregnancy and a new TV show, that she will most likely be leaving this year, bringing an end to her tenure at SNL.
I'll post more news if I find any. :)

If you don't have anything nice to say...

Then don't say anything at all.

I've gotten a few comments criticising the blog, saying SNL isn't worth the work anymore.
But at the end of the day, I'm a 15 year old kid, and SNL is one of my favourite tv shows, so if I want to dedicate a blog to it, then leave me be.

Simon Rich

So, I was googling SNL and I came across Simon Rich.
Simon Rich is a humour writer, and has had a book published by RandomHouse and has another one on the way. He is also a writer for Saturday Night Live, and has had pieces published in the New Yorker. All this and he's either 23/24 (it just says 1984, so depending what side of July his birthday falls, he's either twenty-three or twenty-four).
Anyways, I found two pieces of his in The New Yorker, and they're very funny, so I totally recommend that you read them.

http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2007/03/26/070326sh_shouts_rich
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2007/07/23/070723sh_shouts_rich

Enjoy!

Samberg article

http://www.redorbit.com/news/entertainment/1476260/samberg_has_some_monkey_business_going_on/

Article about Andy Samberg whose animated flick Space Chimps hits theaters Friday. Space Chimps is about a monkey Ham III who is blasted into space.
And in case you haven't seen the trailer;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFne5ceq7PM

"Hader honing his craft"

Another article about Bill Hader makes its way into a Canadian newspaper this week.
http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/arts/story.html?id=80932630-bfad-492e-8276-1e4846c9ab44&p=2

Longer than the previous one I posted.
As I've said Bill is over in Montréal with Just For Laughs at the moment.
Enjoy!

Maria Sharapova commercial featuring Fred Armisen's voice

Okay, this is seriously nearly turning into a Fred Armisen blog, but just found this:
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/tennis/2007-09-05-Sharapova-camera-ad_N.htm

Seems Fred Armisen is the voice of a dog in a camera commercial featuring Maria Sharapova, which can be seen here :
[insert link]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9rKMTJt6X0

Fred Armisen's Guide to Music and SXSW

Okay so this is a video Fred Armisen made in 1998, which was him basically messing around at SXSW posing as all these different characters such as a blind music journalist, a college student from Hofstra (sp?), and the owner of The Knitting Factory. It's hilarious in true Fred Armisen fashion, so here's the linkage:
http://stereogum.com/archives/video/fred-armisens-infamous-guide-to-music-and-sxsw-98_008389.html

Video is split into five parts.
Personal favourite quote :
"Do you think child pornography would attract more kids to clubs? Not pornography made BY kids, but pornography FOR kids."

Charlyne Yi & Fred Armisen

Okay, so for those among my phantom readers who don't know who Charlyne Yi is, she's the hilarious girl in Knocked Up who is not Katharine Heigl or Leslie Mann, living in the house with the guys. She's really, really funny and does her own comedy, and has also appeared in Semi-Pro & on Miss Guided. A few weeks ago, Charlyne posted her Saturday Night Live audition video on YouTube. [insert link]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z65eWgyjLdA

So, anyway, she posted this video on Fred Armisen's MySpace, but after a few comments and no reply, Charlyne began to suspect that perhaps it wasn't really Fred approving his comments, so she then made THIS video. [insert link]
KABOOM!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Noo7wvHy3TU
I love how I only have to type in [insert link] and the internet knows what I'm talking about. Anyway, what was I saying? [think Brain think!]
Oh yes! So then, HE [Fred Armisen] responded with this ditty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMN4oi7ewYM

Woah, that's so weird. I typed Fred Armisen in square brackets and Fred Armisen appeared. [go home Fred Armisen.]
That was awkward.
So anyway, I saw that video, and I was like "Wow, Fred Armisen is pretty busy, huh?"
So after that video, Charlyne Yi posted THIS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FPrbXtmx-c

So she showed him who's busy by donning a red tie & wig, which was quite amusing. BOOYAKASHA.
And then Fred Armisen retaliated with this nice video which was filmed in a noticably wealthy area, and offered some advice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FPrbXtmx-c.

You can read a more coherent account of this at Charlyne Yi's MySpace @ [insert link]
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=8677202&blogID=413532002

[post]
[post]
[Umm, didn't you hear me? I said post.]
[I think you need to clean out your ears.]
[What do you want me to do with this toast? I said POST.]

I don't know what's up with this computer.
Looks like I'ma have to do this the old fashioned way.

Washington Post article on how SNL affected CNN's primary coverage

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/11/AR2008071103295_2.html

Interesting read about how a skit from SNL made CNN look at how they were reporting primary news, and questioning the candidates.

Casey Wilson interview

http://armstronginterviews.com/2008/live-from-new-york-its-casey-wilson/


Just an interview with Casey Wilson about her projects and how she landed in comedy in the first place. She also describes the audition process for SNL, which is pretty interesting for anyone curious as to how it all works. Good read :)

Strike.TV

Okay so thought I'd give this a mention because Kristen Wiig is involved in it. Strike.Tv is a new initiative set up to bring high-quality original tv and film series to the internet. The cool thing is it's done by WGA and DGA members, so these peeps be in the bariz-ness. It involves writers from the likes of The Office, Family Guy, The Daily Show and Jimmy Kimmel Show, AND SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN.
The teaser on the website shows Mindy Kaling, and SNL's Kristen Wiig amongst others of course.
The profits from the first three months are going to go into the Actor's Fund to aid crew members who were affected by the Writer's Strike earlier this year.
I predict it becomes a massive internet sensation.

Bill Hader Article

Only short, but
may as well post link! : http://www.hour.ca/stage/stage.aspx?iIDArticle=15061



From what I've researched, he's over with the Montréal Just For Laughs festival at the moment, and will be appearing in a gala hosted by Jeremy Piven next week.
http://theatrestdenis.com/defn_12009310.html


Just in case you happen to be in Quebec, and want to ch-ch-check it!

What are the cast doing?

Now that it's summer vacation, the cast of SNL are now involved in a whole variety of projects, which are outlined below:
FRED ARMISEN:
Fred Armisen is going to star in the upcoming "The Rocker" which also stars Rainn Wilson which tells the story of a failed drummer who is given another chance at fame.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1031969/

According to IMDb, Fred has also just finished work on a film called The Post Grad Survival Guide which is due for release in 2009.
Fred is also part of the company of Celebrity Autobiography : In Their Own Words, which returns on September 8th.
WILL FORTE
Will Forte will be featured in the upcoming film "Brief Interviews with Hideous Men" directed by John Krasinski. He is also listed as being in "A Good Old Fashioned Orgy", "Broken Lizard's the Slammin' Salmon" and "Party Boys". Will was also featured recently in How I Met Your Mother, and I read his name was submitted for consideration in the Emmy's, so keep an eye out in the Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series next Friday when nominations are announced!
Will is also part of Celebrity Autobiography: In Their Own Words, an hilarious NY show which returns Sep. 8th.
BILL HADER
Bill Hader is a busy bunny, which two completed films due for release soon; Pineapple Express and Tropic Thunder. He has another film in post-production called Adventureland which co-stars fellow SNL-ER Kristen Wiig. He's also due to appear in sequels Night at the Museum 2 : Battle of the Smithsonian and Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil. Wow Bill, did I forget anything?
DARRELL HAMMOND
Darrell Hammond is starring in BuzzKill which co-stars Krysten Ritter and Daniel Raymont. He is currently starring in a play called Beyond Therapy at the Bay Street Theater, NY until July 27th, so check it out :)
SETH MEYERS
Weekend Update co-anchor Seth Meyers can currently be seen in summer blockbuster Journey to the Center of The Earth alongside Brendan Fraser. He also features in the upcoming Spring Breakdown, and a film based on an SNL skit from a few years ago called Key Party has been announced. Seth is set to write & star in the flick, which if anything like the sketch which originally featured in an episode of SNL hosted by Colin Farrell, is sure to be hilarious. :)
AMY POEHLER
With a baby on the way, and a hit Nickelodeon cartoon under her belt, everything's coming up roses for Amy Poehler. Poehler is the co-creator of The Mighty B!, a Nickelodeon show about an over-achieving HoneyBee Scout called Bessie Higgenbottom, whom Amy also voices. Amy also stars in the upcoming film Spring Breakdown, and is also listed as starring in the sequel Hoodwinked 2 : Hood vs. Evil.
ANDY SAMBERG
Andy Samberg can be heard in the upcoming animated flick "Space Chimps" as the star Ham III, the grandson of the first chimp astronaut. He is also featured in "I Love You, Man" alongside Paul Rudd and Jason Segel.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482603/

Space Chimps is released next week, so check it!
JASON SUDEIKIS
Jason was recently seen in What Happens in Vegas, and can be next seen in The Rocker which is out at the end of the month. He is also listed as being part of A Good Old Fashioned Orgy alongside Will Forte. The name alone made me laugh, so I can't wait to see this one :) Also, Jason MAY be in 30 Rock again next year. I didn't read that anywhere, I'm just saying, it's possible! For non 30 Rock fans, first of all, SHAME ON YOU, second of all, Jason played Floyd who was Tina Fey's character's love interest for a while. So, never say never!
Jason is also part of the company of Celebrity Autobiography : In Their Own Words, a hilarious NY show which sees comic stars read excerpts from celebrity autobiographies.
KENAN THOMPSON
Kenan can also be heard in Space Chimps which opens next week as "Ringmaster". He is also filming a movie called Stan Helsing.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185266/

Kenan can also be heard in Amy Poehler's Nickelodeon Show The Mighty B! as Rocky. So keep an ear out for him!
KRISTEN WIIG
Kristen will next be seen in Ghost Town which opens August 19th. It stars Ricky Gervais, Téa Leoni and Greg Kinnear.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995039/

Kristen also stars in the previously mentioned Adventureland, and All Good Things. She is also due to start work on the Drew Barrymore-directed movie Whip It, alongside Ellen Page and Barrymore.
CASEY WILSON
SNL's newest star has a minor role in the upcoming Julie & Julia, and is currently filming Bride Wars which she also wrote with June Diane Raphael, Kristen Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz. Keep an eye on this one!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0901476/