How the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off co-creators reclaimed the element of surprise. “It was a matter of ‘Why?’ Why now? What does Scott Pilgrim have to say today?” Photo: Netflix “It was a matter of ‘Why?’ Why now? What does Scott Pilgrim have to say today?” Photo: Netflix “It was a matter of ‘Why?’ Why now? What does Scott Pilgrim have to say today?” Spoilers follow for the entirety of Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

Danny Thomas on Late Night with David Letterman. Only last month, “spit take” was added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary. At last, the term is an established member of the English language. The act itself has been around for more than a century, and if the adage that comedy doesn’t get any respect is true, then the spit take especially is considered by some to be low-hanging fruit. But from movies to television to late night, the spit take is one of comedy’s most universal and relatable tropes.

When Twin Peaks aired on ABC from 1990 to 1991, there was nothing like it on TV. There still isn’t, though David Lynch and Mark Frost’s surreal crime drama left hordes of imitators in its wake. Stylistically, the show, as Vulture’s Matt Zoller Seitz put it, is canon: “Everyone knows what it was, and is, and meant, even if they haven’t watched a frame. Everything from The Sopranos to American Horror Story owes it a debt.

Cardi “the Arm” B The phrase jack of all trades, master of none does not apply to Cardi B. She was a reality-TV star, is a wildly successful rapper, and, as it turns out, has an arm that qualifies her as an MLB player. Over the weekend, a video of Cardi getting splashed with a drink while performing went viral because, unlike her fellow music stars/targets, she knows how to retaliate.

At one point in Neighbors, we see Seth Rogen’s character having sex with his wife (Rose Byrne) on their living-room couch. A moment later, Zac Efron and his frat bros pop up to gawk at the two. And who could blame them? It’s a sight to behold! No, not Byrne, who is completely covered by the largeness of Rogen’s body (he admitted to gaining weight for the role to contrast with Efron).

When The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne filed for divorce from her husband, Tom Girardi, in early November 2020, one might have expected the domestic drama common with reality-TV splits. Indeed, Jayne’s first moves in these proceedings weren’t all that surprising. Jayne, a 50-year-old singer, asked Girardi, an 82-year-old class-action lawyer, for spousal support. He did not want to pay her, setting the stage for a nasty dispute.

Aside from its more dubious accomplishments, 2020 marked the 80th anniversary of two of the greatest animated films of all time: Pinocchio and Fantasia, both of which represented creative highs for the once-humble animation studio that turned into an intellectual-property-gobbling behemoth. Disney’s current era is a far cry from its early days of animation, now that it’s the home of Darth Vader, theme parks, and what feels like half of the streaming services you subscribe to.

From the very start, K-pop’s always had America in mind. Before the happy accident of 2012 — the one involving an LMFAO-type beat, a “horse dance,” and lots of laughs at the expense of rich people in a neighborhood of a city of a country few Westerners could have previously found on a map, let alone found funny — there were the Korean superstars with optimistic names like the Wonder Girls and Girls’ Generation, well intentioned but too soon.

I suppose it would be worse if Zabar’s or Barney Greengrass or the original Fairway closed. Or Lincoln Center. But those venerable institutions aside, the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, which screened its last films this past Sunday, was about as old Upper West Side-y as the Upper West Side was still able to manage, circa 2018. For nearly four decades, the theater, with its six screens (originally three), had been a welcoming (if claustrophobic) home for foreign and independent films — not necessarily the edgiest movies, but an intelligent, tasteful mix, resonant with the Channel 13 or New Yorker tote-bag crowd.

Gutfeld on Gutfeld! Look, comedy’s a tough business. Creating a new late-night comedy show that really works is a huge, daunting challenge under any circumstance, and that’s still true even if you’re a well-known Fox News host with an established audience, devoted brand following, massive lead-in, and giant cultural and financial safety net if you fail. There has yet to be a really successful, sharp conservative take on the genre, which means there’s not much precedent to model yourself on.