Movie stars and movie references are a staple of the Super Bowl commercials, but having a movie star reprise his or her role is a little rarer, so here's a few we found from the archives. more ›

Taunted pugs, head traumas, groin traumas, mini-Darth Vader, Kenny G as prison-riot suppression, pro wrestlers in a folding chair factory, a Groupon "reject" and MORE! Not too shabby a showing for the start of the 2011 Super Bowl XLV ads on FOX. Stay tuned to LAist as we continue to update this post with more high-priced commercial hilarity. Audi's "luxury prison" is so far the clear winner. Those dogs, my spleen, hit 'em with the Kenny G. Hiiiii-larious. And now, the videos... more ›

Although there were some gains in features and commercial shoots, overall film-production dropped in the third quarter of 2009 compared to 2008, according to statistics released yesterday. In all, there were 9,680 permitted production days from July to September compared to 11,300 recorded in the same time period last year--that's a 14.3 percent drop. more ›

If, like me, you were such a huge fan of Muppets and costumed creatures growing up that you're practically anti-CGI, you should head over to the Silent Movie Theater on March 18th for "Jim Henson's Commercials & Experiments"! The screening starts at 8pm and will feature rare clips, shorts and commercials from Jim Henson's studio archives, including experimental animation and "a 35mm print of Time Piece, an Academy Award nominated 8-minute masterpiece that showcases Henson’s talent for making music out of everyday sounds." more ›

7:43 The spin is winding down and the media room is beginning to empty. Reporters are putting the finishing touches on their debate articles and the crew is beginning to clean up the bottles and box dinners provided. But the next six days until Super Tuesday will be anything but quiet. Commercials will continue to fill the airwaves, candidates will have events around Southern California and LAist will party as we watch the results. Thanks for tuning in and stay tuned to LAist for all your political coverage. more ›

The Super Bowl is the Hajj of the sports world. more ›

I'm hoping you got a bunch of DVDs to tide you over during this dead week as well as until the writer's strike ends. It looks like TCM is running an "aviation in movies" marathon tonight and IFC's featuring Harvey Keitel. For further marathon action, check out BRAVO which is showing all of Project Runway's fourth season (starts at 6:00pm). more ›

You might hate me for this--I hate one of my roommates for beckoning me over to the television, rewinding the program she'd recorded, and insisting I see this video. It is a trailer clip by musical artist Nassiri, which is currently running as a commercial. We saw it during Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, and apparently it's showing up on other news channels. Some may experience this earnest, enthusiastic tribute to their Savior's upcoming holy day, whereas others might find it to be a sort of psychedelic, assault-on-the-senses, bit of Christianity-meets-Bollywood weirdness. more ›

Holidays have you indulging a little more than usual? Just in time for those New Year resolutions and post-holiday diets, the Wii Fit is expected to be released in North America in January. Released earlier this month in Japan, Wii Fit sold over a quarter million units in the first week. The game was designed for families to exercise with activities like stretching, yoga, step aerobics, push ups, jogging and much more. The additional system to the Wii console uses a pressure-sensitive platform called the Balance Board which players stand on, hop or press against. The platform can measure an individual's weight, body mass index and tracks the information to show your results over time. The Nintendo site states that activities focus more towards working out the "core," emphasizing slower, controlled motions.
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Don't know what to get for the gun toting rifleman who has everything? In San Francisco, turning that rifle in to authorities will net you a cool $100 gift card. Eh, you say? OK, how about $200 for AK-47s? I wonder how that conversation might go at home: Honey, where is my gun? Oh, I turned it in sweety, for $100 worth of movie rentals. You did what? Guns don't kill people, gift cards... more ›

...so we rebuilt our city as a living, breathing, self-sustaining, self-protecting environment. Studying architecture, it's essential to take numerous refreshing breaks throughout our day in studio. A couple times a week we'll find ourselves spending breaks gathered around a laptop watching a movie, an episode of arrested development, or a video like this by Imaginary Forces- A presentation on the future of our city, in the year 2106. If you've never heard of L.A. based... more ›

Just read that one of Sid Caesar's writers, Mel Tolkin, just passed away at age 94, godlove'im. Instead of running vintage Leno re-runs they should be running some of this classic comedy that actually had great writing from way back in the day. The kids might learn something. 8:00pm A Charlie Brown Christmas ABC - If only this didn't have commercials, hmm, but if it didn't have commercials the show would be about 11 minutes... more ›

One of the best known personalities in tv advertising, Dick Wilson, better known as Mr. Whipple died today in the Valley, he was 91. more ›

From RobertGoulet.com we hear this very sad news that was posted yesterday:

Robert Goulet, the legendary star of stage, screen, television and recordings, was pronounced dead at 10:17am today. He had been suffering from a rapidly progressive pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that is most often fatal. Most treatments are ineffectual. The only successful treatment is lung transplantation. Mr. Goulet had been in intensive care at Cedars Sinai since October 14, 2007. more ›

Watching Nip/Tuck has always been a dirty and guilty pleasure. Season five of the show returns tonight on FX and McNamara/Troy are moving the business to our own Los Angeles (as if you haven't been pummeled incessantly by the promos for the last month, and particularly during the World Series). The overpromotion irritates me a bit because it can set up what has been a pretty good show for a fall. Since Nip/Tuck has always... more ›

Somehow "The Tonight Show" scored a trifecta of controversy tonight as they were able to book the most punk rock of punk rock bands, the most conservative member of Congress, and the wackiest Scientologist all to appear on its air in the same hour. Tonight the Sex Pistols, Ron Paul, and Tom Cruise will all be in Burbank to tape the late night chat show. Strangely, whatever wire service the LA Daily News used... more ›

8-11pm CBS - All new episodes of: How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory (series premiere!), Two and a Half Men, Rules of Engagement, CSI: Miami 8:00pm The War PBS - I think PBS completely effed this up by taking this great series head-to-head against a week of season and series premieres on the networks and cable. They should have shown it last week or the week before where there wasn't jack-shit... more ›

Coming into Tuesday night’s game the Dodgers were 58-53 and the Cincinnati Reds were 47-64. The Dodgers were still in striking distance for the division title, and the Reds had the third worst record in all of baseball. It was this horrible Reds team that shut out the Dodgers. This would be the third game in the last four games the Dodgers have put up a goose egg. Count it: in the last 19... more ›

Michael Bay, the #11 box-office earning film director, testified for the prosecution in the Phil Spector trial Monday. His appearance sent a shock of excitement through the ice-cold courtroom; I swear even Dominick Dunne perked up. Michael Bay said he remembers Lana Clarkson. He knew her from his days directing videos and commercials for Propaganda, back when he was the kind of guy who had to direct TV ads instead of blowing shit up,... more ›

There's only one network that would dare give you the raspberry: and that's G4TV, who will be premiering episodes of an animated "Spaceballs" this fall - you know, that Star Wars Mel Brooks parody you watched about seventy-six times in the 80's? Variety says: Encompassing a one-hour pilot and 13 half-hour episodes, project represents the first scripted series greenlit by the new TV division at MGM, led by Jim Packer, president of the worldwide... more ›

I haven't been a big fan of AMC since they started running commercials and doing Friday the 13th marathons but I can give anything a second chance sometimes to a fault, just look at some of the girlfriends I stayed with 18 months longer than I should have. Premiering tonight at 7:00 p.m. on AMC is 'Mad Men', the creation of Matthew Weiner (of 'Sporanos' fame). The series is all about Madison Avenue ad... more ›

HBO has been known to push the envelope. Thanks to the fact that subscribers pay extra for the channel, and there are no commercials, the network is neither beholden to the FCC or uptight whiners. Without those restrictions, the network has been able to blossom with adult-orientated shows like The Sopranos, Taxi Cab Confessions, and Entourage. Now there's word that HBO has a new series about sex that actually shows real penetration between the... more ›

So the Japanese have mastered a lot of things that maybe our feeble minds can't handle here in the good ol' USA. One of which is shirt-folding. I have tried this video at home in the morning and at night, sober and wasted (I thought it would be a cool party trick) but alas, it's not my bag. Of course this never stopped me from buying more shirts or supporting new labels launching here... more ›

Nike has put together some pretty cool commercials, but this one makes us wonder. Is it real, like the Tiger Woods one, or fake, like the Ronaldinho one? If it's real, did they super-impose the swoosh on the ball in post-production so it would show up in the ad? more ›

Rilo Kiley's new video for 'The Moneymaker', their new single off of their upcoming album, Under the Blacklight. more ›

Right when I decide to stay home and do absolutely nothing except get stoned and clean my room, my sometimes dealer informs me that he no longer sells. Since he’s obtained a pretty kush job at an investment firm, he feels that he no longer needs to sell the crystally ganja that he’s provided me with so many times. Thanks guy. The only other person I know that could possibly hook me up is out of town and I don’t know when she will be back. So now I can’t get any weed. more ›

Let’s face it—with a few notable exceptions (Arclight, Grove, Bridge, Landmark), movie theaters in Los Angeles sort of suck. The seats are often stiff and cramped; the over-priced food is no great shakes; and every feature is front-loaded with a solid ten to fifteen minutes of commercials. And this is coming from someone who loves going to the movies! I wallow through this crap two or three times a week! There has to be a better way, right? Dear reader, of course there is. more ›

6:51 - Some chick and some dude from The Hills grace us with their presence. Why are they here? Oh right, they're on a show that's on MTV. Notice the cross-promotion. Together, I will count them as 1 celebrity, and even that's stretching it. Total Number of Celebrities Who Have Visited the Blogghetto: 2. 6:49 - Johnny Depp wins Best Performance. Wearing a black blazer and jeans, he ascends the stage to a chorus... more ›

Bay Area transplant Patrick O’Sullivan (above photo, right) is creator and director of All About Walken: The Impersonators of Christopher Walken, a comedic homage to the actor-dancer who plays creepy-spooky better than anyone else we know. LAist recently queried O’Sullivan to find out exactly why Walken is worth such a pop culture celebration. more ›

There are very few companies putting out consistently funnier ads than Jack in the Box. Their latest is a jab at the Angus burger trend that was adopted by Burger King and Carl's Jr., and has recently been picked up by McDonald's. Instead of following the leader, Jack in the Box decided to promote their Breakfast is the Most Important Meal of the Day campaign, hyping their breakfast-served-all-day advantage, and then they tried their... more ›