Today is a tragic day for lovers of late night talk shows (no, I’m not referring to the fact that Jimmy Fallon’s show is still on the air). Johnny Carson’s beloved sidekick Ed McMahon has died at age 86. For 30 years (1962-1992) McMahon was welcomed into millions of American homes when he bellowed “Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s Johnny” to invite the most popular talk show host of all time onto the stage. Though that catch phrase is now more associated with Jack Nicholson and McMahon never found another venue as memorable as The Tonight Show (to be fair, how could he?), Ed McMahon was a beloved cultural icon right up until the day he died.

McMahon began his career as a radio announcer, which had been a childhood dream. He probably would have stayed in that medium were it not for the fact that Johnny Carson came calling. Their on air partnership was the stuff of legend, but according to an old People magazine interview with McMahon, the origin of their relationship was not as hilariously entertaining as you’d expect for such an iconic comedy team. “He [Carson] was standing with his back to the door, staring at a couple of workmen putting letters on a theater marquee. I walked over and stood beside him. Finally the two guys finished, and Johnny asked, 'What have you been doing?' I told him. He said, 'Good to meet you, Ed,' shook my hand and I was out of the office. The whole meeting was about as exciting as watching a traffic light change," recalled McMahon.

Other than his 30 years of TV comedy gold with Johnny Carson, McMahon is probably best remembered for hosting the longtime TV staple Star Search as well as being the face behind the annual Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes. Ed McMahon died peacefully in a hospital bed surrounded by his family after spending a few months suffering from unspecified ailments. His presence will be dearly missed, but fortunately we all have hundreds hours of classic television featuring McMahon that will live on forever.


Soderbergh And Pitt’s Moneyball Is In Trouble

Of the ever-growing list of Hollywood movies currently in development, few seemed like as guaranteed to be made as Steven Soderbergh’s Moneyball. After all, we’re talking about a sports movie ($) based on a best selling book ($$), directed by a successful filmmaker ($$$), and staring mega-celebrity Brad Pitt ($$$$$$$$!!!!). The movie seemed like a lock to go into production with it’s relatively light $50 million price tag. Unfortunately something turned out to be rotten in the state of Denmark.

It initially seemed strange for oddball auteur Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Schizopolis, Girlfriend Experience) to take on something as unabashedly mainstream as a baseball movie, but as news of the film began to leak it became clear that the director’s intensions were anything but conventional. The movie was supposed to start filming yesterday before the studio took another glance at the script and noticed that it featured mock “testimonials” from athletes and actors, an animated character based on statistician Bill James, and roles to be played by actual ballplayers with no acting experience. Sony balked at the last minute and put the movie into “limited turnaround.”

What that means for those of you who don’t speak Hollywoodese is that Soderbergh and Pitt were given 96 hours to find a new studio to pick up the tab on the film before the Sony would start demanding changes and most likely fire director Steven Soderbergh. The fate of the film is currently up in the air and things certainly don’t look good. It’s surprising that this would happen to a movie starring the world’s most bankable movie star, but I suppose that what happens when Soderbergh is allowed to let his odd imagination run wild while a major studio is picking up the tab. Limited shooting had already begun on the project (mainly the documentary material) and a great deal of cash had already been spent hiring high priced Hollywood screenwriter Steve Zaillian to pen the script. Hopefully Soderbergh will be able to find another studio to fund this project or wiser heads will prevail at Sony. If the film is so unconventional that executives are getting nervous, there must be something interesting going on. If this movie falls apart and puts Soderbergh’s Hollywood status in jeopardy, I think we can expect Ocean’s 14 to start shooting shortly to make up for the PR damage.

Benicio Del Toro Joins Sophia Coppola’s Latest

Sophia Coppola’s latest film about a badboy movie star (Somewhere) is starting to look more and more exciting every day. The daughter of Hollywood royalty already caused headlines by casting Jackass star Chris Pontius in a party boy role (a role he was born to play). Today she snagged a few more headlines by casting Benicio Del Toro in a major role. There’s no word yet on the specifics of Del Toro’s involvement other than the fact that he will be a movie star buddy of the protagonist. This movie has the potential to be damn good, even if it’s only the second most exciting title currently on Del Toro’s slate. I mean, how can you possibly complete with the inevitable surreal hilarity of Benicio’s upcoming portrayal of Moe in the Farrelly Brother’s Three Stooges movie? Despite Sean Penn dropping out of the project, that’s just one of the most exciting movies set for production in Hollywood.

A New Inglorious Basterds Trailer

A new trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds has hit the internets. There’s no real need to set this up. If you aren’t already ridiculously excited for this movie, then you should be by the end of this 2-minute clip.