By: Ryan Dowd
1. A Cast Far, Far Away
Following the ever-evolving cast rumors for the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII is a foolish, useless endeavor-but let’s dive in anyway. The latest line has Jesse Palmer slated for a leading role among the original three stars. Palmer has had prominent roles in Breaking Bad and Friday Night Lights. Apart from the speculation over Palmer, Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving, and Benedict Cumberbatch are just a few of the rumored parade of auditioning contenders.
2. ‘Poehler‘-izing Night
The Golden Globes was once again the most-watched office party of the year. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler returned as hosts, to the delight of the general public. Stars won awards. Stars drank champagne. Stars drank fruity concoctions. Poehler, BC ’93, and Bryan Cranston received redemption for previous snubs, while Andy Samberg crashed the adult party, winning Best Actor in a TV Series (Musical and Comedy) and Best TV Series (Musical and Comedy) for his freshman entry Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
3. LaBeouf’s Sick Addiction
“In light of the recent attacks against my artistic integrity, I am retiring from all public life,” embattled artist Shia LaBeouf tweeted last Friday. The Transformers star found himself under fire after adapting a comic for his short film without consent. Plagiarism is a slippery slope. LaBeouf couldn’t stop there: he went so far as to plagiarize on his apology for his already committed plagiarism. Let’s hope LaBeouf can work through this painful addiction in his retirement.
4. Brace Yourselves
From its ivory tower of godly programming, HBO made a couple of announcements for us mere mortals. First of all, Aaron Sorkin’s love-it-or-hate-it Newsroom will return for its third and final season. But more importantly-and probably a bit redundantly-HBO released the first trailer for the fourth season of Game of Thrones, confirming a new season of the show. Unlike The Newsroom, fortunately, Game of Thrones has given no cue for viewers to brace themselves for a final season anytime soon.
5. Outkast Is Back In 2014
Rap group Outkast will take to the road this spring and summer, in celebration of the duo’s 20th anniversary. Outkast is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed rap groups ever and will hit the festival circuit starting with Coachella in April. Although Outkast has been on hiatus since 2007, it remains the only hip hop group ever to win the Grammy for Album of the Year-won in 2004 for Speakerboxxx / The Love Below.
