Cheech & Chong Light Up Again

Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones return for alien flick

(NEWSER) - Sure, no one was that desperate for a Men in Black 3—but it's actually a pretty good summer movie. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back defending the planet from aliens, and this time, Josh Brolin's along for the ride as a young Jones.

• The movie "turns out to be so much fun," writes AO Scott in the New York Times . While it "carefully fulfills its blockbuster imperatives—with chases and explosions and elaborately contrived plot twists—it swerves into some marvelously silly, unexpectedly witty, and genuinely fresh territory."

Her only question: 'Why didn't I get this sooner?'

(NEWSER) - Ellen DeGeneres is following in the footsteps of Bill Cosby and Tina Fey: She's this year's recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, E! Online reports. DeGeneres' "special brand of humor has allowed us to find hilarity in the mundane and has kept us laughing for years," said the chairman of the Kennedy Center, where she'll accept the prize on Oct. 22. More»

Quarter of schedule devoted to comedy

(NEWSER) - NBC is looking to comedy to help it climb the ratings ladder: Nearly 25% of the network's fare next season will consist of sitcoms, up from just 14% last fall. Execs are aiming to recapture the highly-educated young adults that helped propel Seinfeld and Friends, the Los Angeles Times reports. And "audiences have been very receptive to comedy and light fantasy drama the past couple of seasons," says chairman Bob Greenblatt. More»

Ashton Kutcher gets a pay raise in renewed contract

(NEWSER) - Ashton Kutcher still has a job: CBS has officially picked up Two and a Half Men for a 10th season, reports the Hollywood Reporter . The renewed deal gives Kutcher and co-stars Jon Cryer and Angus T Jones raises, with Kutcher reported to now be making $725,000 an episode, up from his current $700,000. Two and a Half Men hit a minor slump late last season, but pulls in solid ratings and significant cash for CBS. More»

'Goober' character kept America laughing for nearly 30 years

(NEWSER) - George Lindsey, who spent almost 30 years appearing in TV classics like "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gunsmoke," has died at age 83, WSFA reports. The small-town Alabama boy kept America laughing from 1964 to 1971 with his jovial Goober character on "Andy Griffith" and its follow-up, "Mayberry RFD," then continued the role in "Hee Haw" until production ended in 1992. "America has grown up with me," Lindsey once told the AP . ""Goober is every man; everyone finds something to like about ol' Goober." More»