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The Results Are In: Recast Good Will Hunting

BuzzSugar — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:30:34 -0800

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

Interestingly, some of my favorite recast suggestions this week were for the part of the psychologist character in Good Will Hunting, Sean Maguire, originally played by Robin Williams. My very favorite idea is Forest Whitaker, as put forth by alethe16, though I also like pinkflats' suggestion of Jeff Bridges and alynn's idea of Paul Giamatti.

I also really enjoyed the reversing of genders this week, like kellys' entirely reversed cast and HelloKittyMini's idea to put Ellen Page in the role of Will's pal Chuckie Sullivan. Other Chuckies I liked were WhiplashGirlchild's idea of Peter Saarsgard and Zachary Quinto, as suggested by trvasquez.

However, my overall favorite recast list this week comes from redscorpio! To see who redscorpio picked, along with a new cast photo, read more.

redscorpio's cast:
Will - James McAvoy
Skylar - Natalie Portman
Sean - Hugh Laurie
Chuckie - Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 07:00:00 -0800

The Buzz Book Club officially wrapped up The Other Boleyn Girl this week. What did you all think? Going to see the movie? Next up: Revolutionary Road!
In case you missed it (and a lot of people did) the Oscars gave us a lot of wonderful moments and a few surprises. You can see a 60-second version of the show here, and I also researched what's next for this year's big winners.
Time to play casting director: Who would you recast as Will Hunting and who would you cast as you in a movie?
This week in music videos we learn that Jack McBrayer is Mariah's love slave, Jay-Z likes his cinematography dark, and Willie Nelson is still tight with Jessica Simpson.
American Idol is picking up speed and already we're down to 16. I think the boys need to step it up this week and it's time for those talented girls to pick some great songs and show us what they've got, don't you?
NBC ordered more episodes of Lipstick Jungle, though we haven't heard a peep about the fate of Cashmere Mafia.
Adorable indie duo alert!: Zooey Deschanel and Paul Dano are pairing up for a movie. Also, this casting news has me laughing/crying a little: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to play the tooth fairy.

Photo courtesy of Sony

Recast Good Will Hunting and Win a Prize!

BuzzSugar — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 16:30:38 -0800

Every other Wednesday on BuzzSugar, I post a Recast challenge, where I ask you to choose new actors for a classic TV show or movie. The reader who submits the best cast wins a BuzzSugar t-shirt!

For this recast challenge, let's take a look at Good Will Hunting, which earned Robin Williams an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor along with a Best Original Screenplay win for dynamic duo Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

If you could cast this movie with new actors, who would you choose for the genius janitor at MIT, Will Hunting? Besides Robin Williams, who else could play psychologist Sean Maguire, and which actress would take Minnie Driver's role as the romantic interest, Skylar? While we're at it, let's recast Ben Affleck's role as Will's best friend Chuckie Sullivan.

Leave your entry in the comment section below, and I'll pick one winner to feature Tuesday, March 4, complete with a "new" cast photo.

To see a list of characters to recast and a photo of the BuzzSugar t-shirt, read more

Characters to recast:
Will Hunting (Matt Damon)
Sean Maguire (Robin Williams)
Skylar (Minnie Driver)
Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck)

The BuzzSugar t-shirt

What's Buzzworthy: College Movies

BuzzSugar — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 14:00:15 -0700

College movies are so fantastic because they can be serious and dramatic, or full of the ill-conceived, hilarious antics that college-aged kids are sometimes prone to take part in. For this week's Buzzworthy challenge, you all picked some great titles as your favorite college movies, and of those here are the ones that are nearest and dearest to my heart as well. And at the end of the post is a widget with all the bookmarked movies!

PCU
I love this movie, as does yiddidea, who writes this about her pick: "PCU is the BEST college movie. Best moment, and something I quote to this day at concerts: 'What's this? You're wearing the shirt of the band you're going to see? Don't be that guy. '"

Mona Lisa Smile
I'm glad tdamji bookmarked this movie, not just because I enjoy it as well, but because many college movies center around men and this movie is an interesting portrayal of a women's college in 1953. About Mona Lisa Smile, tdamji writes, "An excellent cast, an interesting plot and it all focuses on one of my majors: Art History!"

Many more great college movies if you read more

Revenge of the Nerds
Both WhiplashGirlchild and tdamji chose this classic movie of good vs. evil, nerd vs. popular. About her pick, Whip writes, "RotN was the first rated-R movie I ever saw (I was 10, we'd just gotten cable, and my parents were asleep) and I still love it till this day."

Good Will Hunting
Matt Damon playing the working-class genius. Robin Williams the quirky mentor. Ben Affleck donning an exaggerated Boston accent. What's not to love about this inspirational college movie? Thanks to City Love for bookmarking it!

The Freshman
This 1925 silent film - not to be confused with the 1990 Marlon Brando/Matthew Broderick movie - was bookmarked by Fab_Kitty who describes the movie like this: "In The Freshman, Harold Lloyd's character wants desperately to be a BMOC, but his attempts to impress only serve to make him the LOC (Laughingstock on campus). Will our scrappy friend ever get the respect and admiration of his fellow students? Watch the final football game to find out."

The Skulls
I have to admit, this movie, bookmarked by gruaig_rua, is a kind of guilty pleasure for me, since it stars one of my secret celebrity crushes, Josh Jackson as a college senior who joins a dangerous secret society.

All the bookmarked college movies:

Grey's Anatomy Rundown, "New History"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:03:32 -0800

They're baaaaack! This week on Grey's Anatomy, Meredith, and Izzie make their returns to Seattle Grace/Mercy West, though only Mere is back in scrubs. Izzie heads back to the hospital with her favorite high-school teacher in tow, a sweet guy who's suffering from what appears to be dementia and is constantly referring to Izzie as a pregnant teen. Meanwhile, Hunt brings in a new "cardio god" (Kim Raver), though Cristina isn't exactly thrilled that her "gift" is a hot leggy blonde that already has a rapport with her boyfriend.

Plus, Mere and Derek have a few adorable moments while Sloan becomes the show's new gossip girl. There's a lot more to talk about, so to get into it just read more.

Izzie strolls into the hospital like she never left, but of course her friends have lots of questions. Meredith and Cristina are both curious and a little hurt while Alex ignores her completely. Izzie doesn't exactly explain what she's been doing, but immediately starts making demands for her friends to take care of her teacher. She even blackmails Dr. Percy when he sasses her about being fired (though I kind of cheered when she threatens to tell Reid his secret). Izzie even squares off with the chief, but in the end she gets her way.
Poor Alex doesn't know how to handle Izzie's return, but Mere finally encourages him to talk to his wife. Izzie accuses Alex of getting her fired, but Karev bites back and points out that Izzie didn't even ask him about it. After seeing them square off like they have so many times before, it's almost hard to believe they were ever married in the first place. When Alex tells Izzie that he can't forgive her, he heads to the bar to drink the pain away with Mere. Love the friendship between Mere and Karev by the way - if she and Derek weren't so cute together these days, I'd almost root for a new coupling.
Kim Raver makes her first appearance on the show this week, as new doc Teddy Altman. At first Cristina is psyched to welcome a new cardio surgeon but her enthusiasm wanes when she realizes that Hunt and Teddy have a past together. Teddy takes a liking to Cristina, even when Yang gives her lip - that is, until Teddy realizes that Cristina is Hunt's girlfriend. When Teddy learns that Hunt brought her in as a "present" to his lady love, Teddy kicks into serious mode which earns Yang's respect. The ladies turn out to be a pretty good team by the end of the episode.
I have to say that I really liked Raver as the new doctor. Yes, her moment in the rain was a bit too cheesy for me, but overall I think she'll be a good addition. While she's clearly carrying a torch for Hunt, she doesn't seem like the type to go for the jugular and try to steal him away from Cristina. The real question is whether or not Hunt runs into Teddy's arms when he inevitably learns that Yang swapped a little spit with Dr. Avery.
When Adele comes into the hospital wondering where her husband has been sneaking off to for the past few nights, she quickly accuses Bailey of being his mistress. The idea is completely hilarious, though Bailey doesn't exactly do the best job of calming Adele's fears, and Callie only makes it worse by calling them "work husband and wife." Bailey immediately starts a witch hunt to figure out which doctor actually is having an affair with the chief, but things take a serious turn when Lexie and Reid discover that the chief has made a serious mistake with one his patients. Bailey covers for him, but when she tells the chief what happens, he decides to take a break and gives his surgeries to Bailey. Then he heads to the bar to drink, where Mere catches him in the act. The final scene where the chief is playing out all the recent bad interactions with his co-workers mixed in with his memories of his alcoholism is depressing to say the least. I have to say though - I thought it was sort of silly that the chief chooses the closest bar to fall off the wagon. He's clearly embarrassed when Meredith sees him, but was he really expecting the bar to be deserted? It's like he wanted to get caught.

What'd you think of this week's episode? Are you excited about Teddy? Looking forward to next week's episode where Dr. Sloan's daughter comes in? Sound off in the comments below, and don't forget to check out the Grey's Anatomy McAddicts Group in the Buzz Community!

5 Tips For Getting Kristen Stewart's New Moon Shine

BellaSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:07 -0800

At the New Moon cast tour event this weekend, Kristen Stewart showed off a newly sleek version of her short haircut. It was dazzling in its shininess without looking gelled or greasy. Glossy hair like that doesn't just happen on its own, so I though I'd hunt up some tips to help all of us get similarly healthy, reflective tresses. I put together five of the best, so to find out how to get Kristen's shine, just read more.

The Vampire Diaries "162 Candles": The Good, The Bad and The Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:30:41 -0800

It's a party on this week's The Vampire Diaries for Stefan's birthday, but it's hardly a cake and merriment fest. Our broody hero finally gets a chance to smile, but of course, it's taken away from him quickly.

Ready to chat about the good, the bad, and the bloody? Watch out for spoilers when you read more.

The Good

Stefan's girl BFF Lexi comes to town to give Stefan a proper 126nd birthday party, and she's a tough-talkin', sexy badass of a vampire. Can you believe that Arielle Kebbel is the same girl who played Lindsay on Gilmore Girls? In the preview, she seemed like a rival for Stefan's affections, but that's not the case at all; she's his (literally) oldest friend and apparently brings out the fun-loving beast in Stefan (hey writers, can we please get some flashback scenes of the good times with Lexi? That would be awesome). She also talks some sense into Elena, encouraging her not to ignore her real feelings for Stefan. Amen. Did you catch that very brief shot of Stefan with his shirt off? Elena could have just seen that and been convinced, but I guess Lexi's soul mate talk works too.
Bad boy Damon proves that he's not softening like I thought he was; his diabolical master plan includes pursuing Caroline's sheriff mother and pretending to help in the vampire hunt. He also engineers the demise of yet another character (more about that in The Bloody rundown), which is heartless and shocking, to say the least.
Bonnie and her awesome Grams make an appearance, apparently having had a sleepover/feather floating lesson. Grams explains that her necklace is her talisman and it chose her, which becomes even more obvious when it also shocks Caroline when she tries to snag it back for Damon. I was disappointed when I thought that was the extent of what we'd see of Bonnie and her witchery this week - until the very end, when Bonnie has a disturbing nightmare featuring her ancestor Emily Bennett and then actually wakes up in the cemetery near the Salvatore family grave. Spooky.

The Bad

Are we supposed to be rooting for Caroline and Matt to get together? I thought it was sweet and all for Matt to take care of Caroline and cuddle her when she's drunk, but I feel like we haven't been given enough to be invested in Matt. Sure, I feel for him losing his sister, but he and Caroline are still side characters to me, so I'm not excited about their pairing quite yet.

The Bloody

I knew something was up when Damon briefly leaves the party and attacks two amorous teens so blatantly; turns out, he pins that attack and all the previous ones on Lexi, supposedly to get the hunting squad off of him and Stefan.
I gasped audibly once again during this episode when the second vampire was killed in as many weeks. Even though Vicki was a more prominent character than Lexi was, I was still completely shocked that Damon stakes her so mercilessly. I really liked her character and loved that for once, someone could overpower Damon. I have a feeling that her little domination of him in the beginning of the episode had something to do with how easily he kills her, but it's still such a horrible thing to do to Stefan. I thought that the small part of Damon that's still human harbors a love for his brother, but I can't believe how deeply he's willing to hurt him.
Heartbroken over the murder of his friend, Stefan tells Elena he has to kill Damon. Which means: vampire fight! But Stefan can't do it; he just sticks the wooden stake in Damon's torso to hurt, but not destroy, him. Well, yeah, he's a star of the show. He can't go anywhere! And Stefan wants to spare him, blah, blah, blah.

From the looks of the preview, I definitely thought this week would just be a filler episode, but it managed to keep up the pace of last week's super intense and amazing "Haunted." A couple more things to think about: Lexi brings up an interesting point - Katherine and Elena look so alike, they could be related. This is a small town with residents whose roots go deep; could they be related? It's an interesting thought. Also, the best way to end an episode is a ghostly Emily Bennett telling Bonnie "It's coming." What's coming? Ack, it's so ominous and exciting, I can't wait to find out what it means! What did you think of this week's episode? And if you want a place to talk more about the show, join Hooked on Vampire Diaries in the Buzz Community!

Photos courtesy of The CW

FlashForward Breakdown, "The Gift"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:30:48 -0800

On this week's episode of FlashForward, we get some of those big payoffs that Sonya Walger promised. While the main characters' most important relationships grow more tense, the FBI agents learn more about the blue-hand situation, and the end of the episode has two very big twists.

There's plenty of excitement to discuss, so to get into it, just read more.

Call me Al: We don't learn much about Al in the first handful of episodes of the season, but boy do we get an eyeful and an earful this week. Turns out Al's flash-forward is a lot more jarring than just a dead bird - it's followed up with a phone call revealing that a still-mysterious chain of events ends in Al "accidentally" killing a mother of two. Throughout the episode Al seems to have a laid-back, collected demeanor (even when he opts in for a game of Russian roulette), but inside he's a mess. In the end, Al is so overcome with grief about having a death on his hands, that he decides to "change the game" and commits suicide. I have to admit, as heartbreaking as that scene is, I was kind of glad Al went through with it - just to prove that the flash-forwards aren't necessarily the future. Everything is changed now, the paths can be adjusted, and both Mark and Demetri realize this as they head home to their significant others. Now that they believe the visions can be adjusted, I can't wait to see what else they try to do to throw their visions off course.

My blue heaven: Following up on Demetri and Al's scavenger hunt to find the "blue hands," the fun continues this week as the FBI agents discover that the blue hands are actually a "death club," with meetings set up all over the country for people like Demetri who didn't see a flash-forward ("living ghosts"). It kind of reminded me of Fight Club, though Mark defines it as a "book club with bullets." The guys are hilarious in their street clothes headed to the party, though what they find inside is pretty horrific. After a quick game of Russian roulette, the guys enter what can only be defined as a torture den - people who believe they are going to die doing all kinds of creepy things to each other. I have to say, if I was one of those "living ghosts" I think I'd either be trying to do all the fun things I never got to do before - or I'd just want to get it over with. Why anyone would want to be tortured when he or she is already tormented by the idea of their inevitable death is beyond me.

Blast from the past: Aaron gets a visit from Mike, a friend and solider who served at the same time as Aaron's daughter Tracy. Mike passes on a Swiss Army knife to Aaron, a good-luck charm that Tracy wanted her dad to have should anything happen to her. Aaron is overjoyed since the knife also appeared in his vision, though Mike isn't exactly receptive to the notion that Tracy is still alive. He explains to Aaron that he watched Tracy die (though hello! He didn't even check to see if she was breathing), but surprise! Tracy is sitting in Aaron's kitchen at the end of the episode.

Other plot points:

As tensions rise between Demetri and Zoey, Demetri finally admits to Zoey that he didn't have a flash-forward and is going to die. Zoey refuses to accept it, insisting that should could feel Demetri in her vision and that nothing's been decided yet. Demetri seems skeptical about choosing Zoey's side to "hope" for the best, but after Al's suicide, he seems to have warmed up to the idea that he can change his fate.

Like Demetri, Al's death is a wake-up call for Mark. After suffering problems with Olivia (how sad is it when Charlie catches him crying?) he runs home and embraces her sweetly.

Instead of helping out at the church, Nicole lands a gig volunteering at Olivia's hospital. We learn that she speaks Japanese pretty will, and now is helping Bryce try to find the mysterious Japanese woman from his vision. Will this somehow lead to Nicole's scary vision? Is she sticking her nose where it doesn't belong?

What did you think of this week's episode? Do you think other characters will try to "change the game," too?

Keep Those Wee Teeth Healthy This Halloween

babysugar — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:00:03 -0700

Sure kids adore the costume aspect of Halloween but the number one reason why wee ones look forward to the ghoulish holiday? The hunt for candy. Chocolate bars, candy corn, and bags of Skittles can make a youngster hopelessly in love with sugar but leave their pearly whites in pain. Thanks to Dr. Sherri Worth, a dentist to the stars and mother of three, we have some helpful tips to offer parents on how to protect those tiny chompers and combat cavities.

Rinse and Repeat: So simple…RINSE right after the candy fest. Toss the kids some water bottles and have them drink up while watching that scary movie before bed. Getting the initial sugar rinsed out before the candy has time to settle on to the surface of the tooth is key.
Do It For Them: I always brush and floss my kids’ teeth the night before Halloween. I tell them that there are so many “sugar bugs” on Halloween that I need to get them out.

To see the rest of her pointers, just read more.

Tool Time: Buy them a new toothbrush and let them use it the first time on Halloween night. They will spend more time on their teeth because it is new and special.
Keep It in the Kitchen: No candy after the teeth are brushed at night – we all know they love to keep their candy with them (taking it to bed) – keep it in the kitchen.
Fill ‘Em Up!: Have a good healthy dinner before trick-or-treating, so that they will not have a dinner of candy.

Do you have any tips to share for keeping young teeth healthy? Share them in The Mommy Club over in our LilSugar Community! Here's a detailed guide to posting questions or posts to groups if you are new to the PopSugar Community.

The Vampire Diaries "Haunted": The Good, The Bad and The Bloody

BuzzSugar — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:30:00 -0700

Sorry for the hyperbole, but I'm pretty sure this week's episode of The Vampire Diaries, "Haunted," is the best one of the season so far. The Halloween setting is perfect for playing out Vicki's vampiric transition, Bonnie's exploration of her mysterious genealogical history, and the exposing of "The Council."

There's plenty to talk about, so let's chat about the good, the bad, and the bloody (spoilers aplenty ahead!) when you read more.

The Good

So much is good this week, but the episode belongs to Vicki, who's having issues turning into a vamp - which also provides us with more exposition on the mythology of The Vampire Diaries as well as Stefan's personal journey as a bloodsucker. However, Vicki isn't long for even the undead world, and her story ends both abruptly and shockingly (more on that later).
I love this show's balance of humor and intrigue, which Damon and The Council storyline provides this week. Damon overhears Tyler's parents, the Lockwoods, discussing the search they're on, just after he's noticed that Logan's murder hasn't shown up in the papers. I loved the tête-à-tête between Damon and Mrs. Lockwood at the restaurant; it doesn't take much booze to get the woman blabbing, and soon Damon knows that she's trying to procure vervain (which I finally googled; apparently it's a variant of verbena) and that she not only knows about the vampires in town, she's hunting them.
I want to know more about Bonnie, and her glamorous, witchy Grams. I still can't believe Whitley is playing someone's grandmother. Aside from having the scoop on the family and being a witch herself, she teaches Occult at the University. How cool is she? Oh, and Bonnie's great-great-great-great grandmother, Emily Bennett? We've seen her before.
I've said it a couple times recently, but I love a good Halloween episode. The costumes are priceless: Vicki goes as a vampire, Tyler's a character from 300, and Mrs. Lockwood channels Daisy Buchanan, someone Damon would certainly recognize.

The Bad

Not much bad to report this week, except for one gripe. Coffee as a vampire's secret to blending in with humans? Pretty silly. "It's the caffeine," Stefan says with a straight face. At least he didn't complain about Starbucks.

The Bloody

The Hunger rules Vicki's life as a vampire, and all she wants to do is feed . . . and see Jeremy and Matt. First she takes a love bite out of Jeremy's lip, and then, in a desperate fight, chomps right into Elena's exposed shoulder (so that's why she needed a sexy costume). Her attack on Elena pushes Stefan to stake her, killing her immediately. I literally gasped, then held my mouth open for a good five minutes as I watched this all play out. I'm still pretty stunned.

Lastly, are we witnessing Damon's evolution? His encounters with Elena this week take a major detour; she lashes out at him for being responsible for Vicki, Jeremy being in danger, and finally, Vicki's death, angering him until he tells her, "You need to leave." This would normally be a threat from Damon, but there's another dimension to it; is the man who insists he'd kill anyone, anytime, telling Elena to go because he wants her to be safe? Is he forming feelings for her? The climax of this really occurs in the final moments, when Elena begs Stefan to erase Jeremy's memory. Explaining that his human-free diet won't allow him to do it correctly, we hear a voice volunteer. "I can do it." It's almost seductive, and Elena lets him - though she doesn't say thank you, on principle, but I felt like she wanted to.

What do you think - were you surprised to see Vicki exit so soon? I was hoping to see more of her development as a vampire, but her death evoked so much more of an emotional reaction from the characters (and me) that I can't imagine it another way. And if you want to talk more about the show, join Hooked on Vampire Diaries in the Buzz Community!

Photos courtesy of The CW