Salon.com > ellen degeneres

Ellen DeGeneres to star in “Finding Nemo” sequel, “Finding Dory”

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:19:00 +0000

Television show host Ellen DeGeneres is reprising her role as Dory, the high-spirited, forgetful friend of the beloved clownfish Nemo in Pixar's 2003 animated hit "Finding Nemo."

From the LA Times:

"News of a sequel had been known for some time, but the announcement Tuesday clarifies the focus, title and release date (exact day, Nov. 25). Andrew Stanton, who directed the 2003 hit-cum-animated-Oscar winner, is returning behind the camera.

The sequel will bring back other favorites, including clownfish Marlin and son Nemo, and will be set about a year after the end of the first movie, according to Disney. Part of it will be set on the California coast. The original, which featured Marlin searching for kidnapped son Nemo, culminated on the Australian coast."

"I have waited for this day for a long, long, long, long, long, long time,” DeGeneres said in a press release. "I’m not mad it took this long. I know the people at Pixar were busy creating Toy Story 16. But the time they took was worth it."

Did TV change America’s mind on gay marriage?

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 16:00:00 +0000

Did gay and lesbian characters on TV (and to a lesser extent in the movies) help pave the way toward acceptance of gay marriage and this spring’s potential Supreme Court landmark? So Vice President Joe Biden said last year in his possibly strategic endorsement of same-sex marriage on “Meet the Press”: “When things really began to change is when the social culture changes. I think ‘Will & Grace’ probably did more to educate the American public than almost anybody’s ever done so far. People fear that which is different. Now they’re beginning to understand.”

I’m a fan of Biden’s, more or less. (Here’s my unsolicited advice on 2016, Joe: Don’t do it!) But that may have been the only time anyone ever described “Will & Grace” as educational, and Biden is engaging in a classic Democratic Party, pro-Hollywood fence-straddle here on the effects of culture. A popular and vaguely liberal sitcom gets credit for driving social change in a positive direction, but violent media bears no responsibility for real-life violent crime. (Conservatives are at least more consistent, if also more consistently wrongheaded: Pop culture has pernicious effects all the way around, and is turning us all into slutty divorced gay mass murderers.) No, the two things are not parallel, and the general point the veep was struggling to make is valid. But “Will & Grace” marks only one minor milestone in TV’s 30-odd-year struggle with representations of sexual identity, during which the box has served both as an agent and a mirror of social change.

Ann Coulter: Voice of reason?

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:40:00 +0000

What do Ellen DeGeneres and the "fiscal cliff" have in common? They’re both signs of the inevitability of social progress and the demise of the radical right.

In case you missed it, DeGeneres stars in a new JC Penney’s ad in which the openly gay TV host flagrantly tries to persuade three of Santa’s elves to make more toys for Christmas. While at first glance, a naive viewer might think the ad is a ploy by a crumbling department store to boost holiday business by promising free stuff, the trained eyes at the conservative One Million Moms group know better.

Vulnerable Americans watching their televisions will obviously be brainwashed. Hmm, what should I get Uncle Sid for Christmas this year? I know, homosexuality! JC Penney’s is practically giving it away!

Ellen DeGeneres to receive top humor prize in D.C.

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:15:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Jane Lynch and John Leguizamo are joining a lineup that includes Jimmy Kimmel and Kristin Chenoweth to honor Ellen DeGeneres with the nation's top humor prize in Washington.

The Kennedy Center is awarding DeGeneres the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on Monday night. The show will be broadcast Oct. 30 on PBS stations.

Star entertainers will deliver tribute performances to salute DeGeneres. The lineup also includes Jason Mraz, John Krasinski and Sean Hayes.

DeGeneres began her career as a comedy club emcee in her native New Orleans. Soon after, she became the first female comedian summoned to late-night host Johnny Carson's desk to chat.

The prize honors Mark Twain's tradition of satire and social commentary. Past winners include Bill Cosby, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell and Steve Martin.