Bird-Flipping Globes Could Cost NBC With Feds

Jeff Bridges, Mo'Nique, 'Mad Men,' 'Glee' also among winners

(NEWSER) - Avatar and The Hangover captured the top film awards, Meryl Streep and Drew Barrymore charmed with stream-of-consciousness acceptance speeches, and host Ricky Gervais generally behaved at tonight's Golden Globes ceremony. Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock established themselves as Academy Award favorites with victories in the leading dramatic role categories, as did Mo'Nique and Christoph Waltz of Inglourious Basterds in the supporting categories. More»

Wrestler actor self-destructed on the way to role of a lifetime, Golden Globe honors

(NEWSER) - After the collapse of his career—admittedly his own fault—Mickey Rourke has found his way back up the Hollywood ladder with his recent Golden Globe for The Wrestler. Despite many promising turns during the 1980s, CNN reports, self-destructive behavior and problems with authority—which Rourke attributes to childhood abuse—culminated in his ditching acting for professional boxing (and taking some literal hits along the way). More»

NBC musical dazzles critics... mostly

(NEWSER) - If you watched the Super Bowl, you just might have heard of Smash, NBC's new drama about the making of a Broadway musical. It premiered last night, and critics are (mostly) giving it a standing ovation:

• The buzz has gotten so intense that the conversation isn't even about whether it'll be good. "Good? Darling, it's great!" gushes Mary McNamara of the LA Times . The creators have "managed to capture the grand and sweeping gesture that is musical theater and inject it with the immediate intimacy of television," an impressive, unprecedented feat.

Octogenarian's hosting stint tops Ben Affleck's November 2008 effort

(NEWSER) - With Betty White hosting , Saturday Night Live drew its best ratings of the season and the largest audience since Nov. 1, 2008, when John McCain appeared with the Tina Fey version of then-running mate Sarah Palin. The broadcast thrashed not just its time-slot competitors but also every primetime show, reports Entertainment Weekly . Your move, Alec Baldwin . More»

'Late Night' host beats out team of Justin Timberlake and Amdy Samberg

(NEWSER) - Jimmy Fallon will host the Aug. 29 Emmy Awards telecast, which not coincidentally will air on NBC. The announcement is no surprise—predecessor Conan O'Brien did the honors in 2002 and 2006—but the identity of the runners-up for the gig may be, the Los Angeles Times reports. Justin Timberlake and Saturday Night Live star Andy Samberg, who shared an Emmy for "Dick in a Box" in 2008, got a serious look. More»