Salon.com > Entertainment http://www.salon.com Fri, 03 May 2013 02:55:55 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The persistence of Carson Daly: How an MTV personality became face of “The Voice” http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_persistence_of_carson_daly_how_an_mtv_personality_became_face_of_the_voice/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_persistence_of_carson_daly_how_an_mtv_personality_became_face_of_the_voice/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 23:30:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13286635 In the early 2000s, Jimmy Fallon had a "Saturday Night Live" bit that always slayed. Impersonating the host of MTV's "Total Request Live," the popular Mr. Fallon would announce, "I'm Carson Daly, and I'm a massive tool!"

Given the popularity of the after-school program, in which Daly introduced a countdown of hit music videos and interviewed musicians, all while tweenage girls shrieked in the studio, the joke was lost on no one. Amid the candy-colored universe of Britney videos, girls who wanted to meet Justin so bad, and in-studio Mariah breakdowns, the stolid host seemed ... well ... a bit dull.

Maybe there's a reason why vanilla is such a popular flavor. Carson Daly -- a massive tool, we all agree -- is the MTV star who survived. Sure, you probably don't watch his late-late-night talk show "Last Call." But somebody does: It was recently renewed for a 13th season. He's the host NBC turns to on New Year's Eve, to counter first Dick Clark and now Ryan Seacrest on ABC. When speculation grew that Matt Lauer was on the outs on "Today," Daly's name not only made the list of potential replacements, but he seemed to be trying out, subbing for Willie Geist during the 9 a.m. hour and joining the panel of "Today's Professionals."

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_persistence_of_carson_daly_how_an_mtv_personality_became_face_of_the_voice/feed/ 5 Pick of the week: I was a teenage anarchist! http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/pick_of_the_week_i_was_a_teenage_anarchist/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/pick_of_the_week_i_was_a_teenage_anarchist/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 23:30:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13288181 “Something in the Air” tells the story of a French teenager caught up in the half-crazy early-‘70s climate of political radicalism and artistic experimentation, an era that can seem so far from our own as to be a science-fiction alternate reality. It’s a terrific film, wonderfully atmospheric and alive, but also a curiously appropriate one to encounter right now, as we deal with the aftermath of a cruel and pointless crime apparently committed in the name of some abstract revolutionary ideal. Writer-director Olivier Assayas (of “Summer Hours” and the terrific terrorist miniseries “Carlos”), one of the leading figures in French cinema, has described this movie as generally autobiographical. While Assayas’ young protagonist and his anarchist pals never come to the point of blowing up civilians, they get pretty close, and indeed avoid committing murder mostly through luck. Is this a true story? I obviously have no idea, but it’s a convincing and disturbing one.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/pick_of_the_week_i_was_a_teenage_anarchist/feed/ 9 Send her your sexts http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/send_her_your_sexts/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/send_her_your_sexts/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 21:16:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287973 If you've ever sent a nudie pic to your significant other, and you've wondered what the grainy image would look like in the hands of a master portraitist -- a da Vinci, say, or a Caravaggio -- performance artist Karen Finley is about to make your kinky art history nerd dreams come true. From May 23 to May 26, the artist is asking the public to send her their personal sexts, which she will reproduce as a series of paintings in an installation at the New Museum.

The process works like this: for a fee ($200 for a work on paper, $500 for an oil on canvas), the exhibitionistically inclined can arrange brief private sittings with Finley. They'll be given the artist's private phone number and can snap away. Once Finley has received the photos, she'll translate them into a series of paintings to be publicly displayed in the New Museum lobby. After the exhibition closes on May 26, the subjects can take home their work to be stored as a memento of free-spirited youth, or hung in the living room to the chagrin of friends and family.

Finley, a professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, has never shied away from controversy. In 1990, she was one of four artists whose NEA grants were revoked on the grounds that their work was obscene. "Sext Me If You Can" is presented by NE 4 In Residence, which revisits the four grant recipients' work.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/send_her_your_sexts/feed/ 1 Lil Wayne responds to family of Emmett Till over offensive lyric http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/lil_wayne_responds_to_family_of_emmett_till_over_offensive_lyric/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/lil_wayne_responds_to_family_of_emmett_till_over_offensive_lyric/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 20:29:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13288056 Although Epic Records apologized for an offensive Lil Wayne rap lyric back in February, the rapper did not issue a formal statement until this week.

In the Future remix called "Karate Chop," Wayne compared the 14-year-old civil rights icon Emmett Till, murdered in 1955, to a sex act.

Wayne sent a letter to Till's family recently, saying he "acknowledged" the hurt caused by the lyrics:

Dear Till Family:

As a recording artist, I have always been interested in word play. My lyrics often reference people, places and events in my music, as well as the music that I create for or alongside other artists.

It has come to my attention that lyrics from my contribution to a fellow artist’s song has deeply offended your family. As a father myself, I cannot imagine the pain that your family has had to endure. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge your hurt, as well as the letter you sent to me via your attorneys.

Moving forward, I will not use or reference Emmett Till or the Till family in my music, especially in an inappropriate manner. I fully support Epic Record’s decision to take down the unauthorized version of the song and to not include the reference in the version that went to retail. I will not be performing the lyrics that contain that reference live and have removed them from my catalogue.

I have tremendous respect for those who paved the way for the liberty and opportunities that African-Americans currently enjoy. As a business owner who employs several African-American employees and gives philanthropically to organizations that help youth to pursue their dreams my ultimate intention is to uplift rather than degrade our community.

Best,

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr.
Lil Wayne

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/lil_wayne_responds_to_family_of_emmett_till_over_offensive_lyric/feed/ 2 Steven Spielberg to direct “American Sniper” film adaptation http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/steven_spielberg_to_direct_american_sniper_film_adaptation/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/steven_spielberg_to_direct_american_sniper_film_adaptation/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 19:38:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13288017 The "American Sniper" project is moving forward, adding legendary director Steven Spielberg to its credits, reports THR. Spielberg will also co-produce the film, along with Andrew Lazar and Peter Morgan and actor Bradley Cooper.

Cooper bought the rights to the film adaptation of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's book in May 2012, but fast-tracked the project after Kyle's death in early 2013. Kyle was shot dead by veteran Eddie Routh, thought to have been struggling with PTSD.

Cooper will star as Chris Kyle, and intends to use the role to illuminate high-profile issues, telling NPR's Terry Gross that Kyle's story "needs to be told and it’s also relevant on two fronts. One, gun control, and two, the need to address this — the many soldiers that are coming back with post-traumatic stress disorder.”

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/steven_spielberg_to_direct_american_sniper_film_adaptation/feed/ 0 “The Shelter Cycle”: Raised in a cult http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_shelter_cycle_raised_in_a_cult/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_shelter_cycle_raised_in_a_cult/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 19:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287774 Audiobook narration is an intimate art, made all the more so when the listener uses earphones; the performer's voice seems to be manifesting inside your head. This effect is particularly powerful in novels where the story turns on the characters' efforts to distinguish external or social reality from the internal and personal sort. Peter Rock's eerie "The Shelter Cycle" is just such a novel.

It's the story of Colville and Francine, each around 30 years old and former childhood friends. Francine has married, and is expecting her first child in suburban Boise, Idaho. Colville lives in a trailer but turns up on Francine's doorstep when a news story about a neighbor's missing child mysteriously inspires him to seek her out.

What Colville and Francine share, and what Francine's apprehensive husband, Wells, can begin to fathom, is their past as members of a reclusive religious sect planning for the imminent end of the world. Francine's father helped build the underground compound where the sect expected to ride out a nuclear holocaust, and Colville's beloved younger brother was regarded as a chosen one, destined for some great mission. (Instead, he became a soldier and was killed in Afghanistan.) How exactly the sect fell apart is revealed gradually, and the novel's action culminates in striking passages describing a visit to the groups now-deserted subterranean shelter.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_shelter_cycle_raised_in_a_cult/feed/ 0 Google Earth as art http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/higher_definition_brings_google_earth_into_chicago_living_room_partner/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/higher_definition_brings_google_earth_into_chicago_living_room_partner/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 18:56:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287895 Hyperallergic

 

OAK PARK, Illinois — You’re driving to a suburb that you don’t know well, and you whip out your iPhone to quickly punch an address into Google Maps. In this case, that address is 704 Highland Avenue, home of Sabina Ott and John Paulett, who run Terrain Exhibitions, a once-a-month-ish, home-turned-cozy gallery experience. Every artist who shows work here must wrap it around the concept of the artist-writer couple’s home.

Jeroen Nelemans, Higher Definition - QR Code

Jeroen Nelemans, Higher Definition – QR Code (all photos by the writer unless otherwise noted)

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/higher_definition_brings_google_earth_into_chicago_living_room_partner/feed/ 0 “Iron Man 3″ box office hit in China http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/iron_man_3_box_office_hit_in_china/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/iron_man_3_box_office_hit_in_china/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 18:15:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287868 Despite the minor controversy sparked by product placement in its made-for-China scenes, "Iron Man 3" garnered almost $21 million in the Chinese box office, topping the one-day sales record set by “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” in 2011.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

Online reactions to the film have been largely positive, but bloggers appear united in their consternation of the deliberate product placement that sees new a character named Dr Wu (played by mainland Chinese actor Wang Xueqi) consume a [milk] carton of Gu Li Duo.

Not that audiences outside mainland China will get a glimpse of this, though: this scene is part of the film’s China release, a version which is four minutes longer than the normal cut seen everywhere else in the world.

"Transformers 4" is the next Hollywood studios film expected to follow the similar model of dual version releases.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/iron_man_3_box_office_hit_in_china/feed/ 0 “Iron Man 3″: A playboy grows up http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/iron_man_3_a_playboy_grows_up/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/iron_man_3_a_playboy_grows_up/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 17:45:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287839 As far as bored and cynical, playing-out-the-string comic-book action sequels go – hey, “Iron Man 3” is a pretty good one! The third and purportedly last of Robert Downey Jr.’s adventures as the armor-clad but increasingly vulnerable Tony Stark features one of Downey’s most nuanced performances, arguably a lot better than the movie around him, and keeps him separated from the physical and emotional protection of the Iron Man suit for extended periods. There are several good supporting performances, not even including Gwyneth Paltrow’s abdominal muscles, which is really all I can remember about Pepper Potts: Guy Pearce, as a nerd genius spurned by Tony Stark years earlier who comes back for revenge; Ben Kingsley, most delicious of all, as a shadowy techno-Osama known as the Mandarin.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/iron_man_3_a_playboy_grows_up/feed/ 4 Reese Witherspoon on arrest: “I literally panicked” http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/reese_witherspoon_on_arrest_i_literally_panicked/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/reese_witherspoon_on_arrest_i_literally_panicked/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 15:41:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287691 America's sweetheart Reese Witherspoon tainted her image two weeks ago when she and husband Jim Toth were pulled over for drunken driving in Atlanta. Toth was arrested and charged with driving under the influence and failure to maintain the lane while Witherspoon, outraged, was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Although Witherspoon has offered a public apology, the star emphasized how embarrassed she is on today's "Good Morning America." “I saw him arresting my husband and I literally panicked,” she said. “I told him I was pregnant. I’m not pregnant. I said all kinds of crazy things.”

Witherspoon, who also told an officer, “Do you know my name?”and “You’re about to find out who I am,” said: "I think we made a mistake and it was something that will absolutely never happen again.”

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/reese_witherspoon_on_arrest_i_literally_panicked/feed/ 4 Listen to the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann’s “Great Gatsby” http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/listen_to_the_soundtrack_of_baz_luhrmanns_great_gatsby/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/listen_to_the_soundtrack_of_baz_luhrmanns_great_gatsby/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 15:16:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287674 NPR First Listen has made the soundtrack of Baz Luhrmann's glitzy 3-D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" available for streaming via Playlist.

For music fans, the soundtrack, which features new music by top artists like Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Gotye and Lana del Rey, arrives with as much anticipation as the movie set to open May 10. NPR on the jazz-infused rap and pop soundtack:

Whether Lurhmann's film does justice to Fitzgerald's essential work will become widely evident when the film opens on May 10. First, we have the film's soundtrack, which like Lurmann's [sic] previous ones both arises from within the film and stands separately from it. Some have wondered why, after Lurhmann enlisted Jay-Z's help and announced that his movie's music would recast hip-hop as the jazz of our boom-and-bust era, only a few rappers show up on the album. But just as Fitzgerald peppered his text with references to jazz-influenced pop songs to show how that music became a lingua franca, so this soundtrack aims to show how hip-hop now deeply informs rock, dance music and the Top 40.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/listen_to_the_soundtrack_of_baz_luhrmanns_great_gatsby/feed/ 1 Spice Girls musical closing in June http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/spice_girls_musical_closing_in_june/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/spice_girls_musical_closing_in_june/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 14:35:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287644 LONDON (AP) -- "Viva Forever"? Not as it turns out.

Producers announced Thursday that the Spice Girls musical will close at London's Piccadilly Theater June 29 after a disappointing six-month run.

Producer Judy Craymer said despite tweaks since the show opened in December, "we just can't make it work."

Written by "Absolutely Fabulous" comedian Jennifer Saunders, the show is a modern-day tale of female friendship and mother-daughter bonds set to songs by the 1990s "Girl Power" icons.

It set out to take a timely satirical axe to our information-saturated age of Twitter and TV talent shows, but the critics were overwhelmingly hostile.

The Independent newspaper's Paul Taylor called the show "lacking in any truly original or challenging spark," while the Daily Telegraph's Charles Spencer found it "tawdry, lazy and unedifying."

Others felt that aside from a few hits - "Wannabe," `'Stop," `'Who Do You Think You Are?" - the Spice Girls' catalogue was not strong enough to support a two-and-a-half hour show.

The five-member group, known for its brash attitude and "Cool Britannia" branding, shot to fame in 1996 and sold 75 million records around the world. The Spice Girls still have many fans, but, 15 years later they were not enough to sustain a West End show.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/spice_girls_musical_closing_in_june/feed/ 0 Performers announced for Billboard Awards http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/performers_announced_for_billboard_awards/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/performers_announced_for_billboard_awards/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 14:25:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287630 NEW YORK (AP) -- Nicki Minaj and her mentor, Lil Wayne, will join forces for a performance at the Billboard Music Awards, to be presented May 19 in Las Vegas.

Billboard announced additional performers Thursday. They include Chris Brown, Jennifer Lopez, Ed Sheeran, David Guetta, Akon, Ne-Yo and Icona Pop.

Taylor Swift, Maroon 5 and fun. are finalists in 11 categories. Swift, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Rihanna and One Direction will compete for the top artist award.

Previously announced performers include Swift, Bieber, Bruno Mars, Miguel, Christina Aguilera, Selena Gomez, Pitbull, The Band Perry and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis.

Prince, who will receive the icon award, will also perform.

Tracy Morgan will host the awards, to air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on ABC.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/performers_announced_for_billboard_awards/feed/ 0 Must-see morning clip: Colbert on over-the-counter Plan B http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/must_see_morning_clip_colbert_on_over_the_counter_plan_b/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/must_see_morning_clip_colbert_on_over_the_counter_plan_b/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 13:13:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287585 The FDA, which apparently stands for the "Fornication Distribution Agenda" is "handing out hussy pills to 15-year-old girls" and Stephen Colbert is outraged:

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/must_see_morning_clip_colbert_on_over_the_counter_plan_b/feed/ 0 Chris Kelly of rap group Kris Kross dies at 34 http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/chris_kelly_of_rap_group_kriss_kross_dies_at_34/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/chris_kelly_of_rap_group_kriss_kross_dies_at_34/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287547 Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly, one half of the beloved 1990s rap duo Kris Kross, is dead at 34.

Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, two teenagers whose gimmick included wearing baggy clothes backwards, rose to international stardom in 1992 with their multiplatinum debut album, "Totally Krossed Out," which carried their hit single, "Jump."

According to the authorities, Kelly died of an apparent drug overdose on Wednesday after being taken to an Atlanta hospital.

Kelly's mother, Donna Kelly Pratte, and music producer Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def label have released the following statement:

“It is with deep sadness that we announce that our beloved Chris Kelly has passed away on May 1. To millions of fans worldwide, he was the trendsetting, backwards pants-wearing one-half of Kris Kross who loved making music. But to us, he was just Chris – the kind, generous and fun-loving life of the party. Though he was only with us a short time, we feel blessed to have been able to share some incredible moments with him. His legacy will live on through his music, and we will forever love him.”

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/chris_kelly_of_rap_group_kriss_kross_dies_at_34/feed/ 1 “The Americans’” creators discuss the season finale http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_americans_showrunners_discuss_the_season_finale/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_americans_showrunners_discuss_the_season_finale/#comments Thu, 02 May 2013 03:00:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287209 "The Americans," FX's excellent and exciting spy series about two married, deep-cover KGB agents, Philip and Elizabeth Jennings, living in 1980s America, finished its first season in fitting fashion: with a finale full of, but never overrun by, action. The season ender contained not one but two covert missions, a sting, a high-speed car chase, and a shooting, but ended quietly, with the CIA momentarily foiled and Philip and Elizabeth, a bullet wound in her side, finally reconciled. Next season has near endless juicy material to explore: Nina, now a USSR double agent, is out to flip Stan; Elizabeth may want Philip to come home, but one of his alter-egos is still married to Martha; the Jennings' daughter is getting suspicious of her mother; and the Cold War is only escalating. "The Americans''' two showrunners, Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg, also the series creator and a former CIA agent himself, spoke with me about the finale, season 2, the intentional lack of cliffhanger and those super wigs.

How much of what happened this season did you know was going to happen when you began?

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/02/the_americans_showrunners_discuss_the_season_finale/feed/ 6 “Mad Men” recapped via Facebook updates http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/mad_men_recapped_via_facebook_updates/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/mad_men_recapped_via_facebook_updates/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 21:15:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287142 If you are behind on the current season of "Mad Men," you could read Heather Havrilesky's recaps to understand how the ad execs at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce are faring in 1968.

But if you're really short on time, you should check out these amusing Facebook recaps, via HappyPlace.com.

Here are a few from season 6:

Head over to HappyPlace.com for more.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/mad_men_recapped_via_facebook_updates/feed/ 3 Salman Rushdie: Artists are more vulnerable than ever http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/tk_5_partner_16/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/tk_5_partner_16/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 21:02:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287121 Los
Angeles Review of Books PERHAPS TO HIS DISMAY, the prolific novelist and essayist Salman Rushdie may be best known for the fatwa Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued against him for his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses (1988). He is, of course, more than a once-persecuted writer. Mr. Rushdie is the author of 11 novels, three collections of essays (one co-written), two children’s books, one book of nonfiction, numerous essays, and most recently Joseph Anton: A Memoir. A man of many accolades, he is a public intellectual, a father, a citizen, a man.

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/tk_5_partner_16/feed/ 1 Tale of lost Vietnam vet reunited with family in “Unclaimed” deemed false http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/tale_of_lost_vietnam_vet_reunited_with_family_in_unclaimed_deemed_false/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/tale_of_lost_vietnam_vet_reunited_with_family_in_unclaimed_deemed_false/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 20:31:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13287073 The remarkable story of a Vietnam vet, who had been reunited with his American family after being presumed dead in 1968, made international headlines earlier this week thanks to an upcoming documentary, "Unclaimed."

But if it sounded too good to be true, it's because it was.

The ambitious project by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Michael Jorgensen charts veteran Tom Faunce's journey to reconnect Special Forces Green Beret Master Sgt. John Hartley Robertson with his family. Though the filmmaker makes no claims, the conclusion seems firm when Robertson's 80-year old sister declares: “There’s no question. I was certain it was him in the video, but when I held his head in my hands and looked in his eyes, there was no question that was my brother."

But new information has emerged, debunking the conclusion of Jorgensen's film. From the Independent:

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/tale_of_lost_vietnam_vet_reunited_with_family_in_unclaimed_deemed_false/feed/ 4 John Oliver to guest-host “Daily Show” starting June 10 http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/john_oliver_to_guest_host_daily_show_starting_june_10/ http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/john_oliver_to_guest_host_daily_show_starting_june_10/#comments Wed, 01 May 2013 17:45:00 +0000 http://www.railrode.net/?p=13286815 Jon Stewart will go on an eight-week hiatus (previously reported as 12) from hosting "The Daily Show" beginning Monday, June 10, Comedy Central has announced.

Stewart is taking a break from hosting the show to direct his first film, “Rosewater,” an adaptation of BBC journalist Maziar Bahari’s harrowing memoir of imprisonment in Iran, for which Stewart also wrote the screenplay. Stewart is slated to return on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

John Oliver, who has been a "Daily Show" correspondent for the past seven years, will guest-host in Stewart's place. "Don’t worry, it’s still going to be everything that you love about ‘The Daily Show,’ just without the thing that you love the most about it,” said Oliver in a press release. Guests for Oliver’s first week include Seth Rogen, Armando Iannucci, Fareed Zakaria and a musical performance by Mavis Staples.

Although die-hard "Daily Show" fans will miss Stewart's comedic genius this summer, the show is still in good hands. Below are some of John Oliver's most memorable segments:

"Even Better Than the Real Thing"

Continue Reading...

]]> http://www.salon.com/2013/05/01/john_oliver_to_guest_host_daily_show_starting_june_10/feed/ 3