It’s been a long time since Alex Winter was a vampire. Here, lest we get sued for libel, I should stress that Winter was never actually a vampire and that I was exaggerating for comic effect; and because it is October, the spooooookiest month; and because of Winter’s involvement in the series AMC Visionaries: Eli…
Peter Sagal, the amaretto smooth-voiced host of NPR’s Wait Wait... Don’t Tell Me!, is a man of intimidating erudition—a necessary trait for presiding a weekly radio quiz show 20 years running.
When did New Jersey get so damn uptight? I grew up there, and finishing school, it was not. Last year though, puritanical Jerseyians got all hot and bothered over an ice cream parlor’s cartoon cow logo. Now comes news that some residents just cannot handle a hot dog shop’s suggestive employee T-shirts. Cue the Helen…
If a male American actor has plenty of gravitas, odds are he’ll end up playing the President someday, or if not the President, someone like him—your Mayors, your Captains, your Senators, your Supreme Court Justices. These people don’t always have gravitas in life. Some of them really don’t. But the fictional versions…
Here’s a missed opportunity: I didn’t start my brief conversation with Nick Kroll by saying, “ohhhhh, hello.” Nor did I drop into the voice of Parks And Recreation’s The Douche. I did not quote The League or Kroll Show or I Love The ’30s, you get the idea. In some ways, it’s a relief, because that’s tacky. In others,…
There are concepts that intrigue us here at The Takeout. Is there such a thing as too much pepperoni on a pizza? Do we eat soup or do we drink soup? Is Milwaukee-style pizza a thing? What’s bologna? But nothing, nothing has captured our imagination, nay, consumed our minds so much as the question of what, exactly,…
When actor, writer, and comedian Lil Rel Howery said, as Get Out’s Rod Williams, the immortal words, “Leave, motherfucker!,” one believed him. That’s not simply because the shining star of the T.S.A. was unassailably right—it was, in fact, some Eyes Wide Shut situation—but because Howery’s voice rings with authority.…
Leslie Jordan is the type of person who, were he seated next to you on an airplane, you’d actually want him to talk to you, and you’d maybe dread that the flight would end. Perched on his knees and leaning over the back of a sofa like you’ve just met at a slumber party he’s throwing, Jordan holds court with reporters…
To call Nicholas Sparks a man of few words would be laughable. The prolific author of The Notebook, Message In A Bottle, A Walk To Remember, The Longest Ride, and other tearjerkers has a seemingly endless font of words at his disposal. Hell, he’s got a book out next month, and we didn’t even know about that when we…
Who is the greatest basketball player who ever lived? Good arguments can be made for either Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Greatest baseball player? If we’re judging by Wins Above Replacement, Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth are neck-and-neck. Football player? Hockey player? Tougher to say. With all those sports, there is…
There are opportunities in this life that, when they present themselves, you simply cannot fail to act. These golden moments seem to sparkle, to shine, and some primal part of you knows that its light will fade soon, that the window will close, so you must simply act, and act now, leap into the fray and grab the ring…
As the saying goes, our next guest needs no introduction. What should we say here? Meredith Vieira is Meredith Vieira. She’s been a fixture on American television since the ’80s. She’s a journalist, an expert interviewer and moderator, and a practiced host, helping anchor everything from Today to Who Wants To Be A…
Let us peel back the curtain for a moment. When you ask a bunch of people if hot dogs belong in the sandwich taxonomy, some patterns start to emerge. Those in the ‘yes’ camp often say that, as there are two pieces of bread with something in between, that makes a hot dog a sandwich. Case closed. Those who say no often…
What would you do if someone asked you if a hot dog was a sandwich?
A thing you learn when you repeatedly ask famous people whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich is that some of them aren’t particularly interested in that question.
When you hear the words “supernatural teen drama,” Guy Pearce might not be the name that leaps immediately to mind. He’s the Memento guy, the L.A. Confidential guy. He’s got an Emmy (for Mildred Pierce), a Screen Actors Guild award (for his work in the ensemble of The King’s Speech), and those cheekbones that could…
Like many of the best actors, Holland Taylor—and any honest accounting of the best living actors would have to include Holland Taylor—might not have a name one immediately recognizes. But see a picture of her, and the lights start flashing and bells start ringing, as the pinball machine of actor recognition starts to…
There are moments in this wild, crazy life that just feel right, somehow, as though everything comes together to create an instance of perfect harmony. One such moment: this humble writer asking Rob Riggle if a hot dog is a sandwich while standing next to a fake mermaid at a poolside party in Beverly Hills, California.
Ben Schwartz is a busy guy. He’s giving cornerstone voice performances in two separate animated series, as Leonardo in Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Dewey in DuckTales—and, he’s quick to note, he’d be thrilled to play “any other blue iconic ’90s character.” Since letting that bon mot fly, he’s also…
Which is the greatest food city in America? I could argue among three or four contenders. What about the greatest music city in America? Likewise. But when phrased as, “Which is the greatest food and music city in America,” there is only one answer: New Orleans.
