MamaPop™

2012: I Didn't Even Go. Shut Up.

Oh Man. I was all set. When it comes to writing about bad movies, the release of a Roland Emmerich film is like Christmas and Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July (Or Independence Day...chuckle) all rolled up in one. This weekend 2012 opened nationwide and I was so happy because movies that look this bad only come once a year. And unlike your stupid parents who totally don't even know what a "He-man Castle Greyskull Action Playset" even IS, so they buy you a Lite-Brite© instead, 2012 looked like it was totally going to come through for me.

Jeremy Piven Wins Arbitration

Huh.  I never saw this one going this way.

A professional arbiter has ruled Jeremy Piven did not breach his contract with the Broadway producers of "Speed-the-Plow" when the actor abruptly left the revival of the play last December. At the time, Piven's doctor said he was suffering from mercury poisoning after eating too much fish.  Piven claimed at the time he ate sushi every day.  He became the butt of many jokes.

Guess he got the last laugh.

I Think I've Had A Brain Tumor For Breakfast

Hey! Remember way back in the late 80s when they made what could be argued was the best black comedy of all time and they called it "Heathers" and it starred Winona Ryder in a monocle? Well surprise! They just stole something else from your childhood, because currently in development at Fox is a TV show based on Heathers. 

But wait there's more. 

Parody of Mercy Adoption with All Malawian Cast Hits Stage. My Guess is Madonna Won't Like It.

Hey, remember when Madonna set out to adopt Mercy from Malawia but she was delayed by the Malawian courts and it didn't look good for her request to go through?

Then all of the sudden she got the go-ahead and you could almost hear the question popping into heads everywhere "Was that because she is a rich celebrity?"

Yes, well that question certainly crossed the minds of more than just celebrity reporters and now that reaction has translated into a parody stage show, "Mercy Madonna Of Malawi". The play tackles contentious issues like financial influence and loss of culture in foreign adoptions.

Added bonus: the show totally mocks Madonna and her music

Pee-Wee Herman Returning to the Stage

Years before Pee-Wee's Playhouse took a prominent place in the Saturday morning roster of children's programs on CBS, the Playhouse characters performed their antics for a live audience at the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles.

Paul Reubens, the man behind Pee-Wee Herman, will revive the stage show for a limited engagement in Hollywood.

This Is Marketing Genius

I love viral marketing because there is no other medium being used today with the philosophy of "Who Effing cares?!" as it's core value. The Producers of Dead Snow, the delicious Norwegian, Nazi Zombie film have decided that to bolster the sales of their upcoming DVD release in their homeland and also the US theatrical run, they would produce a viral marketing piece entitled "My Ass" which features a scantily clad Norwegian supermodel named Linni Meister dancing around and singing about how great her ass looks. 

Of course they did.

The Tony Awards Made Me Cry, And I'll Thank You Not To Judge Me

Did ya know the Tony Awards were on last night? Um, the TONY AWARDS. The ones for Broadway. I know! Even though theatre tickets are like, 75 bucks a pop and we're in a recession, we still have the Tonys, and y'all? It did, as it always does, every year, make me cry. And that's not just because Neil Patrick Harris, our host and MamaPop's official gay boyfriend, had a horrifically ill-fitting suit. We're talking real emoting, dudes.

Arbitration Hearing Set for Jeremy Piven's Broadway Exit

I don't watch Entourage, but I know that other MamaPopers (did I just make that up?) are fans.  And I've heard nothing but great things about the show.  And Jeremy Piven's character is a total ass.

And it may not be typecasting.

Over the summer Jeremy was headlining a Broadway revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow.  He pulled out ten weeks early, which left the show with no big name star, due to "high levels of mercury in his blood."  At the time Jeremy claimed his doctor said he had mercury levels that were six times higher than an allowable level and he could suffer severe medical problems, including a heart attack, if he did not rest.

There was some speculation that his abrupt departure had more to do with some not so favorable reviews.  Jeremy basically shrugged his shoulders and said hey, I eat a lot of fish.      

The producers filed a grievance against Jeremy with Actors' Equity, which was heard in February. Jeremy avoided any union penalties and the producers of the show decided to take their case to arbitration.  The arbitration will be heard in New York on June 8-9.  

When Jazz Hands Become Bad Hands: The Thriller Musical

Picture it, Broadway! You're failing. The economy is in the toilet, no one is coming to see Broadway shows because the prices are so outrageous that brilliant shows are closing by the handful every day. You need a pick-me-up, something that could never fail in a million years! A cash cow like no other!

Do you go to Stephen Sondheim? Andrew Lloyd Webber? A tried and true show that is ripe for a rejuvenation? NO! You go to...A video by Michael Jackson?

Bravo, Broadway. Take a freaking bow.

Will Ferrell to Channel W One Last Time

I am not a HUGE fan of Will Ferrell and I'm REALLY not a fan of George W. Bush. But as the Bush years finally (FINALLY) come to a close, I find myself looking back on W's daffiness with some degree of fond remembrance. Not in a, "What a great President that dude was," but in more of a, "Holy shit, that dude was President. Twice. Just look at him doing that...not giving a fuck thing he does. We elected that dude. Drugs!" And I will genuinely miss Ferrell's dead-on impersonation of the dude. Ferrell was born to play him and he will get one last chance to don the camel-toe-inducing flight suit and trip over words with more than 1.5 syllables.

South Park Creators Coming To Broadway With "Mormon Musical"

It appears that South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are done lampooning the Church of Scientology and will soon be focusing their finely-tuned satiristic powers on an altogether different faith -- namely the Church of the Latter Day Saints -- by way of a Broadway show aptly titled Mormon Musical.

Yeah, this oughta be interesting.

7 Things That Made Me Nothing But Happy In 2008

Yeah, I know it's not my normal "beat" but hey, everyone else around here is doing it.

And I may be a lawyer but I'm also as much as pop culture junkie as the next MamaPop writer.  So, after the jump, my picks for the things I loved in 2008.  And I will warn you, quite a few of these are very puffy pink heart girlie fluffy.  I work in child abuse, and sometimes, I just need some things in my life that do nothing but make me smile.

Will Spiderman Still be able to Spin a Web with "Jazz Hands?"

Could Spiderman’s latest nemesis be Theater Critic Man?

It’s looking like your friendly neighborhood Spiderman will be swinging onto "The Great White Way" in Spiderman: The Musical sometime next year.

There hasn’t been news this surprising about the Spiderman franchise since they tapped Tobey Maguire (seriously?) to play the role back in 2002. Sure, his physique eventually grew to fill out the spandex suit, but his voice remains as thin as ever.

Before we write off the idea of a musical interpretation of Spidey as a complete train wreck you should consider the following:

American Psycho the Musical?

So apparently there is a Broadway adaptation of American Psycho now? Whatever. I'm no Andrew Lloyd Weber, but if I were asked to compile a list of books and movies that would be terrible musical adaptations, I'm pretty sure American Psycho would break my top ten. But then, what do I know about musical theater? I did three years of community theater and had supporting roles in high school musicals, which hardly makes me producer material. I also must concede that Stephen Sondheim made a decent musical about presidential assassins, and Sweeney Todd (stage musical, not movie) is pretty much a masterpiece despite its grim subject matter.

The Seasons of Love End: Rent Says Goodbye to the Big White Way

And although I've seen the show 10 times, I never saw it on Broadway.

Okay, I admit it, I'm a huge dork for musicals, but especially for Rent.  I remember the first time I heard the music, lying in the dark on the floor of my college apartment.  It felt like they were speaking to me, singing about me.  Yes, me, in my posh small New England college, who grew up privileged outside of Washington DC, actually thought a musical about starving artists in the village of NYC whose main characters had AIDS was about ME.  Yes, I was a little self involved.