There is “so much [comedic] talent out there and not enough time to show it all,” Sandra Bullock astutely said during the People’s Choice Awards. The award-winning star of The Heat and Gravity took home four trophies on Wednesday night, while I sat at home wishing I had her brown wavy locks.
Kat Dennings, my other favourite brunette Hollywood star, dazzled in her role as co-host. When she quoted fans’ tweets and introduced which song Beth Behrs would sing next, she quickly made that segment a highlight of the 40th People’s Choice Awards. I promised my Facebook friends that I won’t blog more about the dance move Miley popularized last year, so let’s just say Beth’s rendition of Wrecking Ball was epic. Matt LeBlanc joked about singing a song too, but claimed that he couldn’t due to time constraints. The former Friends star then announced that The Big Bang Theory (the show with a Barenaked Ladies theme song) was named Favourite Network TV Comedy.
Kaley Cuoco AKA television’s sweetest newlywed accepted the award for Favourite Comedic TV Actress. She started the year with a bang by wearing a pink Vera Wang dress to her wedding, which she decorated with an upside-down cake hanging from a chandelier. Watching her in the opening sequence on the set of 2 Broke Girls was amusing. Remember, stars are just like us. They’re busy people who care about loyalty programs at Jamba Juice.
Whereas Justin Timberlake spoke about his team in the context of how they’re obligated to deal with his neuroses, Jennifer Hudson brought her sister into the spotlight to emphasize the importance of teamwork and family. “My mother always taught us that without family, you have nothing,” she said. Cover girl material right there. Sponsorship-related pun intended.
Surprisingly, last night marked the first time Britney Spears won her a People’s Choice Award. Britney celebrated her prize and comeback in a dress that screamed Las Vegas style and reminded me how much I want to return to the west coast.
I’m not afraid to admit I watch daytime talk shows when I’m home. Ellen DeGeneres graciously accepted her 14th People’s Choice Award before Queen Latifah won the title of Favourite New Talk Show Host.
Viewers enjoyed a few more laughs when Adam Sandler read a fan letter containing more grammatical errors than those found in papers on most elementary school teachers’ desks. It was supposedly written by his glowing former co-star Drew Barrymore and his wife seemed to get a kick out of it.
Other entertaining moments included Shemar Moore flirting with Malin Åkerman, The Good Wife‘s big wins and Chris Colfer’s remarks about fans following him online and offline. The Olay commercials that aired during the People’s Choice Awards are also worth mentioning because I love a cheery TV spot that references Instagram.
Let’s not forget about Stephen Colbert! He spoke about democracy’s role in the award show, noting that the PCAs feature his 3 favourite things: people, choices and awards. J. Lo knows how to stand out at award shows (we’ll be talking about her green Versace gown for years), so naturally Stephen’s speech ended once he was distracted by her impromptu off-camera appearance.
Unfortunately Zooey Deschanel didn’t win in her category, but her sister Emily represented the family onstage when she presented an award to Sarah Michelle Gellar. I couldn’t write this post without mentioning Freddie Prinze Jr.’s wife, let alone an actress who stars in a sitcom about agency life. Mad Men is one of my favourite shows and it’s cool to watch the success of a funny and contemporary version inspired by Leo Burnett. For the next few months, we’ll have to keep calm and wait patiently for the final season of Mad Men. I’ll be ready with my remote and iPad the night of its season premiere.
Robert Downey Jr.’s theatrical acceptance speech confirmed that Mark Burnett can produce a sensational show and I hope he advocates for Kat and Beth to become award show hosts again. Thumbs up, ladies.
The annual OHM Fashion Show on Friday raised money for the Canadian Cancer Society and focused on street style this year.
The show’s passionate executive team created a sophisticated atmosphere, which made Centennial Hall look much nicer than the bingo hall it resembled when I saw Chantal Kreviazuk and the Barenaked Ladies play there.
Well-known youthful brands seen onstage included French Connection, American Apparel and Danier Leather. This men’s graphic tee by American Apparel caught my eye and reminded me that I’d like to make a similar shirt at the Bang-On store in Toronto.
A show inspired by Pinterest would be incomplete without some nice DIY designs. For the ‘Salvage’ segment, Leah Brown transformed thrift shop purchases, such as these denim shorts, into runway-ready outfits.
OHM not only highlighted some upcoming trends for spring, but also entertained the crowd through phenomenal choreography. As you can see, it’s never too late to learn how to make a ballerina-style hair bun!
According to an Orchestra London poster, the Barenaked Ladies’ show at Centennial Hall on Friday night was supposed to be the “hottest ticket in London,” but the famous foursome didn’t entirely live up to such high expectations.
Beginning the show with hits including “Lovers in a Dangerous Time” and “Another Postcard,” the band garnered the most excitement when they played “Big Bang Theory Theme,” which they made for CBS’ sitcom. Other songs performed on Friday included “Pinch Me” and “One Week,” until they closed with “If I Had $1,000,000,” the latter of which featured an excellent violin solo from an orchestra member.
When forty-something lead singer Ed Robertson joked about his old age, this fazed neither the middle-aged couples cozy in the balcony’s plush seats, nor the other patrons enjoying pitchers of beer while sitting around tables in the mezzanine. The band joked about the unusual seating arrangement by announcing “the next number is B9,” as if they were bingo callers.
Among the many jokes cracked throughout was Ed’s suggestion that they pass around a wireless microphone to each member of the orchestra, so they can say what an honour it is to play with the Barenaked Ladies. Albeit a poor testament to the band’s comedic expertise, the crowd seemed amused.
Just in time for my group’s class presentation about The Good Wife, CBS is embracing social media to connect with viewers next week, including The Good Wife fans.
Each show updated fans via Facebook and Twitter today to announce their plans for everyone’s favourite actors to share their own insights via the shows’ official social media accounts beginning Sunday night.
This is hardly the first time shows’ cast and crews are live-tweeting, but usually the official TV show account retweets their commentary, whereas next week CBS is letting its stars gain control over online interactions. I’m curious to see if the stars will use more shorthand or slang than usually seen in the accounts’ messages and I’m sure it’ll depend on which actors are composing the tweets.
Viewers who watch the shows live during their scheduled timeslots (and aren’t distracted by a phone or computer) may have noticed that some shows have a watermark during the first scene featuring a hashtag, such as #HIMYM for How I Met Your Mother.
Bravo’s Lisa Hsia shared with Mashable that “getting talent actively involved with a social media strategy is essential to building greater community engagement,” so this is clearly a calculated attempt to heighten viewer engagement.
I suspect that the initiative will increase check-ins amongst GetGlue users who will be eager to join the live conversation. Personally, I suggest CBS support their initiative with more stickers for GetGlue fans as a token of appreciation.
As for The Good Wife, I’d like to see what Matt Czuchry has to say about Cary’s new promotion in his own words – not just reiterated by a reporter. That was quite a fabulously dramatic ending in last week’s episode and I’m excited to see what happens next this Sunday.
To save space here, you can peek at the network’s full live-tweeting schedule courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.
