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Quick Links George Clooney Dodges a Major Box Office Bullet Michael Keaton's Notorious Holiday Flop Both Hollywood Greats Had Epic '90s Duds

George Clooney and Michael Keaton are two of Hollywood's most illustrious leading men, and it's hard to remember a period when they weren't completely dominating every film and role they tackled. However, the late '90s proved to be a precarious time in both prolific actors' careers, as the movie stars notably appeared in the biggest box office flops that tarnished their otherwise impressive resumes.

Keaton ended up headlining the holiday stinker Jack Frost and Clooney the epic superhero flop Batman & Robin, both of which were major critical and commercial duds that garnered unwanted attention for the actors and left them questioning their statuses in the entertainment industry. As we all know, the pair were able to bounce back after these cinematic stinkers, but some...

One cameo buried in The X-Files eclectic past hints at a funnier joke than most realize. The sprawling TV show was never afraid to play around with its format. While it never truly strayed from its mysterious, government thriller roots, it often peppered the show with comedy and absurdist humor. Showrunner Chris Carter even gave audiences several episodes filmed with a gimmick at its core, including an episode framed through the TV show Cops called X-Cops. This reaches its peak in a very meta episode where Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) meet two actors playing them in an in-universe adaptation of their lives.

During “Hollywood A.D.” while investigating an X-File, Mulder and Scully are shadowed by a Hollywood producer called Wayne Federman, who is planning to make a film about the FBI. The self-referential episode was directed by Duchovny and culminated in the...

Like father, like daughter.

Kelly Carlin added a bit of irreverence to the Creative Arts Ceremony tonight as she accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special for the HBO film about her dad, George Carlin’s American Dream. As an executive producer of the film, she shared the award with director-executive producers Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, E.P. Teddy Leifer, Co-e.P. Joseph Beshenkovsky, supervising producer Amanda Glaze, and producer Wayne Federman.

At the mike, Kelly Carlin said, “I want to thank my parents Brenda and George. A couple of things my dad would want to say to you tonight — one of which is remember to take care of each other, and go fuck yourself.”

She began her speech in a somewhat more straightforward vein, noting, “Taking care of a legacy is one of the weirdest things ever but this group of people has helped us do...

A version of this story about “George Carlin’s American Dream” first appeared in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.

When Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio began making “George Carlin’s American Dream,” their two-part HBO documentary series about the pioneering comic, they were working under a big request from Carlin’s daughter, Kelly. “She said, ‘You really have to do something bold and innovative,’” Apatow said. “My dad wouldn’t like the generic version of this. And that scared the hell out of me, because I didn’t quite know what it meant.”

Apatow and Bonfiglio never did figure out what Kelly meant, but they figured they should just make a film that dealt with George Carlin honestly. The result is a close to four-hour look at the man who started as a suit-and-tied comic with a knack for wordplay in the 1960s and then morphed...

HBO Max announced that Selena Gomez’s cooking show “Selena + Chef” has been renewed for Season 3.

New episodes of the series, in which Gomez teams up with all-star chefs to whip up delicious dishes while raising money for charity, will premiere later this year.

“Selena + Chef” is executive produced by Gomez for July Moon Productions along with executive producers Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman, Leah Hariton and Melissa Stokes.

Also in today’s TV news roundup…

Dates

Netflix announced that the new limited series “Halston” will premiere on May 14. In the series from Daniel Minahan, Ewan McGregor stars as legendary fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick as he builds a worldwide fashion empire in 1970s and ’80s New York until he must fight for control of his own name. “Halston” also stars Krysta Rodriguez as Liza Minnelli, Rebecca Dayan as Elsa Peretti, Bill Pullman as David Mahoney, Gian Franco Rodriguez as Victor Hugo,...

After delivering the 12th Oakie Masters of Comedy Lecture virtually at USC School of Cinematic Arts, Bill Hader was honored with the Master of Comedy award, presented by the Jack Oakie & Victoria Horne Oakie Charitable Foundation.

The honor, which has previously been shared by Judd Apatow, Lisa Kudrow, Steve Carell and more, is awarded to those with “exceptional achievement in film and television comedy.”

The Masters of Comedy lecture featured Hader in conversation with comedian and USC professor Wayne Federman. To a virtual audience of USC students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public, Hader discussed growing up in Tulsa, Okla., coping with performance anxiety and joining the cast of “Saturday Night Live.”

“The idea of being on ‘SNL’ never even occurred to me until it happened,” Hader said. “It would be like saying, ‘I’m gonna colonize Mars.'”

Though Hader is undoubtedly a seasoned comedian, he detailed that...

On Saturday, Bill Hader appeared virtually at the USC Comedy Festival, to accept the 2021 Oakie Masters of Comedy Award.

Named after Jack and Victoria Horne Oakie, the award recognized the actor and comedian for his exceptional achievements in film and television comedy.

“The coolest thing about this award is, when I first came [to L.A.], my friend and I would drive to the USC campus, just to look at it. Like, ‘This is where it all went down,'” Hader said. “We were just massive film nerds, and it was kind of the mecca, so this means a lot to me.”

Prior to accepting the award, Hader appeared for an in-depth conversation with Wayne Federman, the comedian, actor, writer and producer, who also serves as an adjunct professor at USC.

At one point, he was asked about the potential for more seasons of Documentary Now!, the IFC series he co-created with Fred Armisen,...

Veteran comedy actor Wayne Federman is joining the cast of HBO's Silicon Valley for its seven-episode final season, Collider has exclusively learned. Silicon Valley is set to return in October, though production had been delayed until summer to accommodate showrunner Alec Berg, who also serves as the showrunner of HBO’s Barry. The Emmy-winning series stars Thomas Middleditch, Kumail Nanjiani, Martin Starr, Zach Woods, Josh Brener, Jimmy O. Yang, Amanda Crew, Suzanne Cryer and Matt Ross. Federman will be playing a character from someone's past whose identity is being kept under wraps. The humorous character actor …...

Daniella Bondar Oct 16, 2018

Crashing Season 3 is focusing in on the show's favorite character: New York.

The rain is just starting to come down outside as I disappear behind the big black tarp leading into The Comedy Cellar. The club is in the middle of shooting the sixth episode of Crashing Season 3. Judd Apatow, who serves as executive producer, is being called to the set. In the corner of the room the resident comics are seated at the comics’ table, they’d be there whether or not filming was going on. They’re always there.

Apatow lets Pete Holmes, Lauren Lapkus, Jamie Lee and other members of the cast run through the scene, as the camera rolls you can here Apatow calling out lines from the sidelines awhile everyone on crew tries to muffle their laughter on the quiet set. At the moment Apatow is trying to nail a description for...

One of the most glaring issues with “Crashing” Season 1 was how it acknowledged Pete Holmes’ unique background — that he’s a relatively clean comic thanks to his religious upbringing — without ever doing anything special with it. While a perfectly enjoyable season of television that set up its basic premise a little too well, Holmes’ initial HBO offering felt like any other stand-up comic’s story. Season 2 does not. It feels like Holmes’ story, and it’s better for it — in part because it fully commits to how belief can distinguish a comedian when he or she engages with the concept.

One of the easiest ways to explain away that nagging little existential quandary, “What is the meaning of life?” is to respond with, “Laughter.” “A good time.” “Being happy.” Those are the answers people come back to, time and time again, to the totally insignificant and definitely not nightmare-inducing question you,...

Keep up with the wild and wooly world of indie film acquisitions with our weekly Rundown of everything that’s been picked up around the globe. Check out last week’s Rundown here.

– Focus Features has acquired the North American and select international rights to Jason Reitman’s “Tully.” Written by Diablo Cody, the comedy stars Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, Mark Duplass and Ron Livingston.

“Tully” tells the story of Marlo (Theron), a mother of three who is gifted a night nanny by her brother (Duplass). Hesitant to the extravagance at first, Marlo comes to form a unique bond with the thoughtful, surprising, and sometimes challenging young nanny named Tully (Davis). The film will premiere in U.S. theaters on April 20, 2018.

Read More: Film Acquisition Rundown: Oscilloscope Picks Up ‘November,’ The Orchard Buys ‘Flower’ and More

– Electric Entertainment has acquired the U.S. and Canadian rights to Rob Reiner’s “Lbj,...

Patton Oswalt has been tapped to host the West Coast version of the Writers Guild Awards on Saturday, Feb. 13, the guild announced Thursday. “Even though I am unable to read or write, the fact that the Wgaw wants me to host their awards show proves to me that the only thing bigger than the Guild’s scotch budget … is the size of their hearts,” said Oswalt in a statement. Also Read: Patton Oswalt Joins 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' Reboot Patton and co-writers Gerry Duggan, Wayne Federman and Erik Weiner received a Writers Guild Award nomination last year for...

Fresh from hosting Tuesday night’s Ves Awards ceremony, actor/writer/comedian Patton Oswalt will be extending his awards season tour by hosting the 2016 Writers Guild Awards West Coast, the guild announced today. The ceremony happens Saturday, February 13 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in L.A.. Patton and his co-writers Gerry Duggan, Wayne Federman, and Erik Weiner received a Writers Guild Award nomination last year for their work on the 2014 Film Independent Spirit…...

Fresh from hosting Tuesday night’s Ves Awards ceremony, actor/writer/comedian Patton Oswalt will be extending his awards season tour by hosting the 2016 Writers Guild Awards West Coast, the guild announced today. The ceremony happens Saturday, February 13 at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in L.A.. Patton and his co-writers Gerry Duggan, Wayne Federman, and Erik Weiner received a Writers Guild Award nomination last year for their work on the 2014 Film Independent Spirit…...

The Writers Guild of America has just announced the nominations for their annual awards for Best Screenplays (by writers who are guild signatories). That’s right, before you get nervous thinking that your favorite may have been left off the list, you must remember that the WGA is the group that is not all-inclusive and leaves out several of the top contenders each year due to them not being part of the guild or not following their very specific rules. For this reason, you won’t see Inside Out, The Hateful Eight, and Ex Machina in the Original Screenplay category or Room, Brooklyn, or Anomalisa in the Adapted screenplay category.

Taking a look at what’s left over for the nominations, we find many that were expected to make a showing, including Spotlight and Bridge of Spies for Original Screenplay, though they apparently had to sink to really low depths...

The Writers Guild of America announced some of its nominees for its 2015 awards on Thursday, including television, new media, and radio, and among the TV nominees are series both new and old, and all beloved.

In the comedy series category, freshman Netflix show "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" scored a nomination for best series, as well as an overall best new series nod. "The Last Man on Earth" also landed in that latter category, and was singled out for its pilot episode writing, too.

On the drama side of the equation, lauded "Breaking Bad" spinoff "Better Call Saul" also got best series and best new series nominations, in addition to a an episode writing nod. Newly-minted Emmy winner "Game of Thrones" also scored a best drama citation, as well as an episodic writing nomination.

The full list of nominees released this week are below. Nominations in the theatrical and documentary categories will...

Read More: Larry Wilmore on Expectations for 'The Nightly Show' & Mementos from Stephen Colbert It's always comforting to find out that comedians you admire are film nerds just like you, so color us quite pleased when Larry Wilmore, host of Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show," joined host Wayne Federman at the New York Comedy Festival to screen and discuss Alan J. Pakula's seminal 1974 conspiracy thriller "The Parallax View." An undisputed favorite of Wilmore's — and a film not many contemporary audiences have seen — "The Parallax View" is the second entry in the director's Political Paranoia Trilogy, following "Klute" and preceding "All the President's Men." Warren Beatty stars as political reporter Joe Frady, who begins to suspect the mysterious Parallax Corporation may be involved in the assassination of a presidential candidate. As he investigates, others who share his suspicions start...

Tonight, comedian Wayne Federman gets the stand-up slot on "The Tonight Show," playing the piano for the first time. It's hardly his first appearance on that program, though, because Federman has been performing stand-up for over 30 years — an epic-length career that has been archived, for the very first time, in his "debut album," "The Chronicles of Federman." Read More: Paul F. Tompkins is the Busiest Man Ever, Thanks to Puppets and Paranoia Federman has also made countless appearances in films and TV shows, becoming an iconic, "Hey, it's that guy!" for comedy fans. When reached via phone, Federman was more than happy to talk about some of those more random appearances, as well as how comedy has evolved over the last several decades. First things first... When your name first came up, I realized that it sounded really familiar. Then I realized it's because I've seen the "X-Files" episode you guest starred in [the seventh.

PaleyFest Los Angeles kicks off this weekend giving actors a chance to hear from some of the top performers in the industry. Billed as an “unparalleled, interactive pop-culture event,” the confab also offers unique networking opportunities. The Dolby Theatre, where most events are held, has a well-staffed bar. You never know who you’ll run into having a drink before or after a panel. Individual tickets range from $30-$80 for non-members, or $20-$65 for members. More details here. Other upcoming events include: The Hollywood Mixer TV/Film/Video MeetupMarch 5 at 8:30 p.m.Stir Bar & Restaurant 13359 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman OaksRegister here. The Branding Workshop March 10 from 1 p.m.SAG Foundation Offices5757 Wilshire Blvd., PH1, Los AngelesRegister here. The 4th Annual Wayne Federman International Film Festival Thursday-Sunday (various times)Cinefamily611 N. Fairfax Ave., Los AngelesTickets $14 or free for members. Screening and Q&A of “Wild Canaries” March 7th at 3 p.m.

Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" won the Original Screenplay honor at the recently concluded Writers Guild Awards while Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game" took home the Adapted Screenplay trophy. "The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swarts" written by Brian Knappenberger won Documentary Screenplay award. The film is not nominated for an Academy award.

In TV land, HBO's "True Detective" won the Drama Series award and FX's "Louie" received the Comedy Series trophy.

Here's the complete list of winners (highlighted) and nominees of the 2015 Writers Guild Awards:

Feature Film

Original Screenplay

Boyhood, Written by Richard Linklater; IFC Films

Foxcatcher, Written by E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman; Sony Pictures Classics

The Grand Budapest Hotel, Screenplay by Wes Anderson; Story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness; Fox Searchlight Winner

Nightcrawler, Written by Dan Gilroy; Open Road Films

Whiplash, Written by Damien Chazelle; Sony Pictures Classics

Adapted Screenplay

American Sniper,...

The Writers Guild of America announced the TV nominees for the 2015 WGA Awards on Thursday (December 4) morning and several new shows broke into the fields in a big way. And, of course, there were a number of big WGA Award nomination head-scratchers. Specifically, where the heck was FX's "Fargo"? The answer is below. Making perhaps the biggest splash was "Transparent," which earned three nominations and, since "Orange Is The New Black" earned two nods and "House of Cards" pick up one, that meant that Amazon Prime and Netflix are, at least for one award-giving organization, on equal footing as creators of original programming. The Jill Soloway-created "Transparent" is nominated for New Series, where it will go against "The Affair," "The Knick," "Silicon Valley" and "True Detective." "Transparent" and "Silicon Valley" are also up for Comedy Series, going against "Louie," "Veep" and "Orange Is The New Black." Lest you panic...

I recently finished watching the entire X-Files series again, and this show seriously never gets old. I always enjoy the time I spend with Mulder and Scully. I know there is a whole generation of younger people out in the world that haven’t experienced The X-Files yet. If you are one of them, the whole series is on Netflix, and I strongly suggest that you take the time to watch it. It’s better than many of the TV shows that are currently airing.

As I was rewatching the series, I kept a list of my favorite episodes. There were a lot of them, but for this list I managed to whittle it down to only twelve by focusing on what I thought were the funniest episodes. So this is my Top 12 list of favorite episodes of The X-Files that had some moments that made me laugh.

"Arcadia" - Season 6, Episode 15

“Wow.

The 3rd Annual Wayne Federman International Film Festival is right around the corner! If you're not familiar with the festival's unique spin, it's as simple as this: repertory films with stand-up comedians. The comics not only select the films which influenced them and their careers in one way or another, they also introduce the film as part of a performance and participate in a post-screening Q&A. This year's featured guests will include Kathy Griffin, Jimmy Pardo, Doug Benson, Jeff Garlin, Taylor Negron and T.J. Miller, with surprise guests to be announced throughout the festival. Hit the jump for more information on the festival and how to purchase tickets. Watch Cinefamily’s original trailer for The 3rd Annual Wayne Federman Int’l Film Festival, followed by ticketing information: Buy Tickets ($12/free for members. Showtimes subject to change. More shows Tba): ————————————————————————————————– Thursday, May 1st, 7:30pm: Boogie Nights (hosted by Doug Benson!

Comedian Wayne Federman started a neat tradition last year with the Wayne Federman International Film Festival.  Federman rounds up other comedians to present some of their favorite movies at the Cinefamily in Los Angeles.  Each comedian intros the film, performs, and holds a post-screening Q&A.  Here is this year's lineup: 2/28 - Sarah Silverman - Crimes And Misdemeanors 2/28 - Sklar Brothers  - Breaking Away 3/1 - Dana Gould - Dr. Strangelove 3/1 - Aziz Ansari - Back To The Future 3/2 - Nick Kroll - Raising Arizona 3/2 - Bill Burr - The Dirty Dozen Good movies, funny people.  What more could you ask for?  Head to the Cinefamily site---which promises "surprise special guests"---for tickets.  Check out the poster and festival trailer after the jump.

We’ve all seen Back to the Future. But have any of us seen it with Aziz Ansari? Same goes for Raising Arizona. We’ve all seen it, but never with Nick Kroll. And those are just two of the awesome opportunities coming up during the 2nd Annual Wayne Federman Film Festival, which takes place from February 28-March 2 at the [...]...

Los Angeles film goers get a little more spoiled this week as the Cinefamily is hosting The 1st Annual Wayne Federman International Film Festival. Federman is one of those classic "that guy" actors everyone knows and he came up with the idea to get a bunch of famous stand-up comedians to pick films that inspire them, introduce, screen and talk about them. So that's what going to happen starting Thursday. The line up is pretty insane. How about: Garry Shanding introducing The King of Comedy Margaret Cho introducing Darling Paul F. Tompkins introducing Topsy Turvy Doug Benson making fun of Cocktail Kevin Pollak introducing The In-Laws Andy Kindler introducing Modern Romance The festival runs from January 12-14. For information on all the films, and to buy tickets, head to the Cinefamily's official website [1]. [1] http://www.cinefamily.org/films/the-wayne-federman-international-film-festival/...

Garry Shandling, Kevin Pollak, Margaret Cho and other comedians are onboard for a festival at which they will curate classic films, provide commentary about them -- and perform their own comedic material to boot. The first Wayne Federman International Film Festival will be held Jan. 12 to 14 at the Cinefamily in Los Angeles. Federman appeared in an episode of "The Larry Sanders Show," which starred Shandling, and has also had small roles in "40-Year-Old Virgin," "Legally Blonde" and "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Also read: L.A. Comedy Shorts Fest All About the Celebs Federman has recruited...

HollywoodNews.com: The Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) tonight announced the winners of the 2011 Writers Guild Awards for outstanding achievement in writing for screen, television, radio, news, promotional, videogame, and new media writing at simultaneous ceremonies at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel-Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles and the Axa Equitable Center in New York City.

Screen Winners

Original Screenplay

Inception, Written by Christopher Nolan; Warner Bros.

Adapted Screenplay

The Social Network, Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin; Based on the book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich; Sony Pictures

Documentary Screenplay

Inside Job, Written by Charles Ferguson; Co-written by Chad Beck, Adam Bolt; Sony Pictures Classic

Television Winners

Drama Series

Mad Men, Written by Jonathan Abrahams, Lisa Albert, Keith Huff, Jonathan Igla,Andre Jacquemetton, Maria Jacquemetton, Brett Johnson, Janet Leahy, Erin Levy,

Tracy McMillan, Dahvi Waller, Matthew Weiner; AMC

Comedy Series

Modern Family, Written by Jerry Collins,...

This is cool, cats. Real slick. Wayne Federman, a writer on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," unearthed lost footage of a television program called "The Dark, Dark Hours," from way back in 1954, less than a year before East of Eden would make James Dean a break-out star. Rebel without a Cause would be released soon thereafter, after the death of James Dean.

Anyway, in the clip, James Dean is a bad guy of some sort who brings his friend, who has already been shot, to a doctor's house. That doctor is played by Ronald Reagan. Dean points a gun and makes Reagan fix his friend. Reagan, of course, gets to the be hero, while James Dean is the troubled thug.

It's one of those videos where you're like, "I"ll watch this for 15 seconds just to see what's going on," but then you sort of get sucked in. It's kind of over-the-top,...

By Wrap Staff 

Who knew? Conservative icon Ronald Reagan and acting legend James Dean shared the screen back when the Gipper was still in Hollywood. A newly re-discovered TV episode of General Electric theatre called "The Dark, Dark Hours," from 1954 catches Dean and Reagan in an act off. Befitting their personae, Dean places a rebellious deliquent and Reagan is an upstanding doctor. "Rebel Without a Cause" it ain't, but it's still stirring stuff. Credit goes to "Late Show with Jimmy Fallon" writer Wayne Federman for unearthing the screen pairing.

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