Jimmy Fallon has officially replaced Jay Leno as The Tonight Show’s new host. His first episode was a star-studded success, which included surprise appearances from Joan Rivers, Kim Kardashian, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lindsay Lohan and Stephen Colbert. U2 performed outside of the G.E. building and Will Smith joined Jimmy onstage for a dance routine about the evolution of hip hop.
Denny’s engaged with night owls on Twitter through real-time marketing
Famous Night Owls
It was a big event in television history and famous people were watching too. Check out this Storify to see supportive tweets from celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Michael Moore.
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.
Photo: Forever Young Adult
Photo: WebProNews
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.
There’s a chance you’ll see me in the background of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, so I might as well admit I went to see Kris Jenner at Kardashian Khaos. The reality TV family’s celebrity lifestyle boutique is located at The Mirage, my home away home on the Strip.
The excitement following Kanye West’s grand proposal hasn’t worn off yet. Kris looked positively radiant and I don’t think it’s just because some eager viewers paid $150 for a photograph with her. Las Vegas is the perfect place to experiment with bold prints and Kris fit in seamlessly.
While the series transitions from documenting Kim’s pregnancy to her momager’s separation, it will be interesting to see which side of Kris surfaces the most. Though she seemed friendly from afar, Kris can come across as stubborn and impatient. As an executive producer, Kris has an enormous opportunity to choose how she presents her personality and I’m intrigued as to how the Kardashians and their team will support her mission to garner more attention.
Publicist Jonathan Cheban’s surprise appearance was a treat for tourists like myself who planned to see only one TV personality on Saturday. He was very relaxed and wore the Royal Triumph python leather pocket black t-shirt he posted a photo of on Instagram. It looked like partying at Kim’s birthday bash at TAO took a toll on Jonathan because he looked tired, but that did not stop him from enthusiastically engaging with fans. Minutes after he escaped the crowd, Jonathan called someone and I’ve been curious who was on the other end ever since.
Keeping Up With The Kardashians airs Sunday nights on E!
Melissa Grelo, Traci Melchor, Sarah Prince, Cynthia Loyst and Elaine Lui
I’ve been eager to attend a live taping of CTV’s The Social since it premiered in September. The Social is like a younger version of The Viewwith a stronger interactive component, as viewers’ social media engagement is integral to the series.
The Social takes the second screen experience to a new level because it’s filmed live and selected Twitter and Facebook posts are displayed onscreen. Offering opinionated viewers an opportunity to gain exposure on national television is definitely a better incentive to follow the show’s social media accounts than simply for the sake of entering contests or seeing behind the scenes photos.
Interestingly, the invitation to live tweet the show is extended to audience members as well, so I think Bell Media should install a mobile charging station in the audience waiting area. That would be a cost-effective way to ensure more fans can post on social media with the show’s hashtag. If iPhone chargers were available, then I would’ve taken more pictures and tweeted more commentary. Nevertheless, I preserved my battery as much as possible and was able to take photos with the hosts after the cameras stopped rolling.
I was so excited to see Wednesday’s special guest Jessica Alba that I didn’t care what brought her to Toronto. The fact that Jessica booked interviews with Canadian media outlets to promote her new line of eco-friendly baby products rather than a new movie didn’t matter. Plus, I’m certainly not complaining about getting a free copy of Jessica’s book, The Honest Life.
On Tuesday I had a chance to connect with some industry peers and see not just any Canadian marketer, but one who’s so influential that he’s verified on Twitter! Mitch Joel, bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and president of Twist Image, was the featured speaker at the Third Tuesday meetup and he was awesome.
Surprisingly, the highlight of my evening was not the opportunity to meet people from Twitter in real life. It wasn’t Mitch’s jokes either (and there were a few). The best part of the event was the feeling I had when left. For the first time, spending two hours in a bar inspired me to be that girl sitting in the TTC’s red seats typing away. That’s why I like going to book signings – you always leave feeling inspired and last night was no exception.
Mitch made an interesting comment: “Writer’s block doesn’t exist. It’s bullshit.” From there, he went on to talk about how he likes to embrace the chance to write wherever and whenever he can, even if that means sitting on the floor at a conference.
