Jeff Pfeiffer, Author at StayTuned Magazine

FOX and Boost Mobile launch “The Simpsons” 500th Sweepstakes

January 24, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

FOX and Boost Mobile have just launched The Simpsons 500th Sweepstakes, which will award one winner and his/her guest a round-trip ticket to Los Angeles to attend The Simpsons 500th Episode Party on Monday, Feb. 13. The winner will also receive a new Boost Mobile phone and phone service for three months. Between now and 5:59pm PT on Monday, Feb. 6, you can enter the sweepstakes online at fox.com/boost. The sweepstakes is open to everyone 18 years of age and over; no purchase is necessary. Official rules and prize information are on the site. In The Simpsons‘ 500th episode, airing […]

NBC debuts pilot for “Smash” on YouTube prior to TV airing

January 23, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

If you can’t wait until Feb. 6 to catch the debut of NBC’s new series Smash, a drama that follows the lives of a cross-section of Broadway types looking to bring a musical based on the life of Marilyn Monroe to the stage, you can watch it on YouTube. NBC has recently uploaded it, perhaps to build buzz, perhaps to thwart pirates. Either way, it’s a good chance to check out the show, which I found enjoyable in the episodes I’ve seen (and I’m not a Glee fan), though at this point I find it hard to see how it […]

Kobayashi sets Twinkie-eating record on “The Wendy Williams Show”

January 23, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Wendy Williams has embarked on a quest to “Save the Twinkie” (I didn’t know the Hostess treat was in danger of extinction; in fact, if rumors are to be believed, it will be around long after the nuclear holocaust, but whatever). As part of this quest, on today’s Wendy Williams Show, Wendy invited competitive eater Takeru Kobayashi to try to set an official record for the most Twinkies eaten within a minute. On hand was an official representative from the Guinness World Records organization to monitor the proceedings, and here’s what went down — including 14 Twinkies into Kobayashi’s gullet. […]

Discovery Channel special on Costa Concordia disaster planned

January 20, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

In a special scheduled to air this spring, Discovery Channel will dissect the events that led to the disaster on Jan. 13 in which the luxury cruise ship Costa Concordia ran aground just off Giglio Island mere hours after leaving port in Civitavecchia, outside of Rome. The ship ended up listing heavily to the starboard side. Eleven passengers are confirmed dead, and 23 are still missing, and in the months ahead, Discovery will be covering the engineering crews tasked with figuring out a way to salvage a shipping vessel larger than the Titanic. (UPDATE 1/21/12: The body of a woman […]

Oprah’s visit with George Lucas touches on “Star Wars,” “Red Tails” and more

January 20, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Two of the biggest power players in Hollywood — Oprah Winfrey and George Lucas — are coming together in the latest episode of Oprah’s Next Chapter, airing this Sunday, Jan. 22, at 9pm ET/PT on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. In the episode, Oprah visits Lucas’ impressive Skywalker Ranch in Northern California to conduct a rare interview with the sometimes reclusive filmmaker, who opens up on various topics including Star Wars and the spirituality behind “The Force,” the near-death car accident that changed his life, and the bold decision that made him a billionaire. Oprah also sits down with both Lucas […]

Secret royals look for romance in TLC’s “Undercover Princes” and “Undercover Princesses”

January 19, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Fairy tales and movies are full of stories about royals who disguise themselves as commoners and walk among the “little people,” sometimes finding love in the process. That romantic notion is the premise behind a couple of hit UK series making their American debuts on TLC — Undercover Princes and Undercover Princesses. The two shows will follow three single princes and princesses from around the world as they go undercover as locals in the UK in hopes of finding their true love to take back to their kingdom. They hit bars and clubs, Internet dating sites, and even try speed […]

VOD Spotlight: “Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star”

January 17, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Adam Sandler has played some wonderful losers in his career — Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison and Bobby Boucher (The Waterboy), just to name three — and also has a knack for finding others to do the same onscreen. In Bucky Larson, he puts Nick Swardson (Reno 911!), who has worked in a number of other films produced by Sandler’s company Happy Madison Productions, in the role of the dimwitted but likable grocery bagger Bucky Larson. When Larson discovers that his parents were porn stars years before, he heads to Hollywood to follow in their footsteps. “We wanted to make a […]

VOD Spotlight: Taylor Lautner in “Abduction”

January 17, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

The idea for the film Abduction was sparked by a chance comment in a meeting which included screenwriter Shawn Christensen — an idea about a film about a boy who sees himself as a child on a missing persons website. Two months later, Christensen submitted the script. This germ of an idea could have become any number of things, but Christensen had made it a thriller. John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood) signed on to direct, and Taylor Lautner, the brooding werewolf of the Twilight franchise, stars as a teen who learns his entire life was a lie. But when […]

VOD Spotlight: “Courageous” shows importance of fathers in children’s lives

January 17, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

Sherwood Pictures, the production company that created the indie film hits Facing the Giants, and Fireproof, examines the challenges fathers face in Courageous. In the film, four law enforcement officers who dedicate their lives to keeping the streets of their town free of crime are unprepared to deal with their own children who are beginning to drift away from the family. When tragedy strikes, they all must decide if they can become the fathers they strive to be. Courageous has been hailed as the Christian film company’s best movie to date — and one whose message is of utmost importance. […]

VOD Spotlight: Don’t beware George Clooney’s “The Ides of March”

January 17, 2012 Jeff Pfeiffer

“I don’t want to go show this to Washington. I don’t want them to be taking notes,” says George Clooney of his film The Ides of March. His film, indeed. Clooney cowrote, coproduced, directed and stars in a political thriller about the relationship between a seasoned presidential candidate, who is not above stooping to dirty tricks on the campaign trail, and his idealistic young press secretary (played by Ryan Gosling). Because he is a lifelong Democrat, Clooney chose to make his candidate a Democrat, so the candidate’s flaws would be those of a Democrat. “I suppose, if you’re a Democrat, […]