• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Live from New York

    No cast changes — thank goodness — as Saturday Night Live kicks off 37th season

    Samantha Pitchel
    Sep 24, 2011 | 1:00 pm

    Fall is officially here. Not because temperatures are finally below 100 (it won’t last, guys), but because tonight marks the debut of Saturday Night Live’s 37th season—and I couldn’t be more excited.

    If you’re not as obsessive about comedy as I am (and, judging by the ratings from this week’s Community and Parks and Rec premieres, not a whole lot of you are), it may have been awhile since you heard someone get genuinely psyched about SNL. Maybe you stopped watching when Will Ferrell left, or you only follow the Digital Shorts.

    But if you’ve been keeping up, you know that last season had some standout episodes (Jane Lynch, Tina Fey and—surprisingly—Miley Cyrus all killed it, to name a few) and some great recurring bits (I love “What’s Up With That” and I won’t apologize for it).

    The show has built up a solid cast; though some episodes tend to heavily feature character bits from Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen, there are always solid contributions from Hollywood crossover Jason Sudeikis, UCB-trained Bobby Moynihan, All That alum Kenan Thompson, head writer Seth Meyers, Andy Samberg and Abby Elliott.

    Featured players have also been holding their weight (with the exception of the sadly underutilized Paul Brittain). My one major issue? I don’t understand how all-stars Nasim Pedrad (who’s been on the show since 2009) and Taran Killam (formerly of MadTV) haven’t been bumped up to the repertory player cast yet. Seriously—take a look at Killam’s animatronic crooner (below) and try to tell me he doesn’t deserve it.

    Producers clearly know they’ve got a good combination going—they made no changes to the cast coming into Season 37.

    (Nerd alert sidebar: hardcore SNL fans might recall past efforts to revitalize the show by overhauling the cast, all of which ended in disaster. The 1980-81 Season 6, for example, featured all new writers and players and, despite the efforts of performers like Joe Piscopo, Denny Dillon and my personal favorite SNL cast member of all time Charlie Rocket, the ratings were beyond dismal. A few years later, turmoil among producers led to a mass recast for the 1985-86 Season 11—the memorable but also totally forgettable year that featured Joan Cusack, Robert Downey Jr., Randy Quaid, Dennis Miller, Jon Lovitz and Anthony Michael Hall.

    Of course, for a show that’s entering its 37th season, there’s plenty of history to learn from—check out this book for the most comprehensive behind-the-scenes stories.)

    Anyways, while the cast is staying the same, there are some notable additions to the SNL family. Four new writers have been brought onto the Meyers-led staff: Sarah Schneider, Chris Kelly, Zach Kanin and Peter Shultz. While some traditional SNL standards are met (Kanin’s a Harvard Lampoon alum, Schultz is a UCB mainstay), this new crop of writers is definitely (for lack of more original adjectives) a young and edgy group.

    Schneider has been a strong presence at CollegeHumor since 2005, scripting and appearing in hundreds of sketches and many original series, and was actually brought on as a guest writer for the last five episodes of Season 36. It’s easy to see how something like “In An Apatow World,” a musical ode to the filmmaker's trademark schlubby bro-types (below, written by Schneider and Streeter Seidell) could find a loving home with SNL audiences.

    Chris Kelly is only 28, but he's been producing videos for so long (and so well) that I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up at the head of the writer’s table in the not-too-distant future. Formerly a writer and director at The Onion News Network, he headed over to Funny or Die earlier this year (one of the few jobs in comedy, as Adam Frucci explained recently in GQ, as fast-paced and immediately gratifying at SNL itself). Kelly reflected on his growth as a comic for Splitsider in one of the most heartfelt and inspiring posts I’ve read all year, so it’s hard not to root for his SNL success.

    Check out one of Kelly’s first FoD videos, featuring Will Ferrell, below:

    Zach Kanin brings a slightly different style: while he’s got a strong writing background, having been an editor at the Lampoon (traditionally a stable for future comedy heavyweights—Conan O’Brien! Greg Daniels! Chevy Chase!), he’s also a cartoonist for The New Yorker, as well as a published author. Take a look at one of his contributions to RingTales, an animated series, below:

    I’m admittedly not very familiar with Peter Schultz, a filmmaker who regularly produces videos for UCBcomedy.com, but judging by his clips—and the fact that he trained with current cast member Bobby Moynihan—I have no doubt that he’ll bring an improv-informed breath of fresh air.

    It'll also be interesting to see whether the addition of writers who are used to starring in their own sketches inspires any crossover between cast and staff (something that doesn't often happen).

    I really wanted to mention Saturday Night, James Franco’s behind-the-scenes documentary that follows a taping (2008’s John Malkovich ep, which is incidentally probably the funniest hour and a half, start to finish, of the show’s last decade) from Monday morning pitch meeting to early Sunday wrap party. Whatever your personal take on Franco is, leave it at the door for this one—the doc is incredibly insightful and gives an unprecedentedly personal look at the production process. While the full feature is hard to track down (it screened at SXSW, Tribeca and Sundance, but has yet to find a broad release), there is video of Franco discussing his time on set:

    I mention this because, whether you think SNL is still going strong or you’re too busy longing for the Myers/Carvey days, you have to admit that this is one of the most intense (but still most coveted) jobs in comedy—so let’s give some props to the cast and crew that devote 100+ hour weeks to churning out topical, timely jokes. What better way to show our appreciation than to give the Season 37 premiere a fair chance?

    ---

    Alec Baldwin hosts SNL for a record 16th time Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on NBC. (If you’re TV-less, don’t fret, Hulu adds full episodes at noon on Sundays.)

    unspecified
    news/entertainment

    Movie Review

    Heartfelt movie The Life of Chuck adapts optimistic Stephen King story

    Alex Bentley
    Jun 13, 2025 | 5:30 pm
    Tom Hiddleston in The Life of Chuck
    Photo courtesy of NEON
    Tom Hiddleston in The Life of Chuck.

    Just like actors, once a filmmaker becomes known for a certain genre, it can be difficult to escape that pigeonholing. Writer/director Mike Flanagan has worked for 20 years in both film and television, and literally every project he’s done has been related to horror. He’s finally breaking out with The Life of Chuck, which is ironically based on a short story of the same name by Stephen King.



    Told in three chapters in reverse order, the film is almost impossible to describe without giving away its magic. The first section centers on Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a teacher grappling, like everyone around him, with what seems to be the world falling apart. He’s comforted to a degree by reuniting with his ex-wife, Felicia (Karen Gillan), but is also baffled by multiple ads touting the retirement of Charles “Chuck” Krantz (Tom Hiddleston) after “39 great years.”

    The second section consists of little more than a slightly younger Chuck happening upon Taylor (The Pocket Queen), a drummer busking on a street corner, giving Chuck and a younger woman, Janice (Annalise Basso), the inspiration to start dancing. The final section goes back to the childhood of Chuck (Benjamin Pajak), where he’s raised by his grandparents (Mark Hamill and Mia Sara), discovers dance as an outlet, and wonders about various small mysteries.

    Flanagan finds a way to deliver a lot of story with relatively little effort. Using a wry narrator (Nick Offerman), a limited number of locations, and a series of great small performances, he creates an intriguing premise with few straightforward answers. The structure of the film is designed to confuse the viewer until just the right moment, and the revelation forces you to reexamine everything that came before.

    The biggest accomplishment by Flanagan is making what are essentially three short films and having each of them resonate equally. The film contains elements of science fiction, although the first section may hit a bit too close to home for some of those watching. All three sections, though, have a heartwarming bent to them that sells their central idea without becoming overly saccharine.

    To do so, each of the characters have to connect in a short amount of time. The casting of the film is crucial, and not only does that department succeed with the main roles, but a series of small roles are filled expertly as well. Carl Lumbly as a funeral home owner, David Dastmalchian and Harvey Guillen as parents of students, Matthew Lillard as Marty’s neighbor, Q’orianka Kilcher as Chuck’s wife, and Jacob Tremblay as a teenage Chuck are just a few of the recognizable actors that do yeoman’s work in their brief time on screen.

    Hiddleston is only prominently featured in the second chapter, but his performance there and in small glimpses throughout makes a big impression. Ejiofor is given the star turn in the first chapter and he absolutely kills, both in moments by himself and in scenes with Gillan, with whom he has great chemistry. Hamill, making a rare non-voiceover appearance outside of the Star Wars universe, and Sara, in her first notable role in 11 years, are also very memorable in the final chapter.

    The Life of Chuck is a film that’s filled with emotion, but the full impact of the story is not felt until the final moments. It has a mysterious journey that is initially frustrating, but the performances keep the film going until it gets to its satisfying payoff.

    ---

    The Life of Chuck is now playing in theaters.

    moviesfilm
    news/entertainment

    most read posts

    Houston's pioneering South American steakhouse will soon shutter in River Oaks

    Texas Monthly's BBQ Snob dishes on the magazine's new top 50 list

    'Famous' Bronx-based pizza chain fires up 3 Houston locations

    Loading...