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A Man, A Plan, A Twitter, A Book, A Show

2010-10-12T15:30:05Z

“I was offstage in the writer’s room when somebody came up to me and they said ‘William Shatner just did an impression of you,’” says Halpern. “And I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is the greatest moment of my life.’ They were like, ‘I don’t think it was flattering, but it was a good impression.' I don’t think you can do a flattering impression of me, but I was very pleased to hear that.”

If Justin Halpern is an expert at one thing, it's humility. And not just when William Shatner is involved. Halpern, the creator of the "$#*! My Dad Says" empire spoke to me about growing up with his real tough-love father, his new CBS show and how he survived moving back home in his '20s. Read up at The Wall Stret Journal's Speakeasy.

William Shatner Don't Mince No Words

2010-10-12T15:12:01Z

I adore William Shatner. But not in the way that "Star Trek" fans love him and not in the way that pop culture vultures love him. I recently wrote three stories on his new CBS show, "$#*! My Dad Says," and he was a gracious, intelligent and thoughtful subject. And he didn't say things he knew would please me. (Is that often a problem with Hollywood interviews? Yes, it is.) In fact, I don't think that instinct is anywhere on the list of things he is made of.

My Q&A with him at The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy: "I learned that I can’t please you. I wish I could, but I don’t know what your tastes are..."

Or click here for my preview of the "$#*! My Dad Says" series premiere for The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy.

I Interviewed Rod Blagojevich. Yes, It Was Weird.

2010-09-08T01:38:48Z

I am not a political reporter. Writing entertainment stories on why we love Cee-Lo Green's "Fuck You" song ("Forget You" to radio listeners) and helping TV viewers pick studs over duds this fall TV season are my love. My specialty. My thang, you might say. I went to Chicago Comic Con to cover nerds gone wild over pop culture (myself included) and came out with the only 30-minute interview with disgraced former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. Why was he there? I asked him that. He also told me his dream: to make a reality show out of the next leg of his corruption trial. You could almost see the gears in his head interlocking. For brevity's sake, this Wall Street Journal article is of course missing the other 4,000 words of the transcript.

"I did everything I could to watch Batman. And then I had a chance to meet him [actor Adam West] today, which was kind of interesting. I would say that there was a little moment there in the mid-to-late ‘60s when I was 9, 10, 11, when he was almost as significant to me as Abraham Lincoln."

Mary Elizabeth Winstead vs. Our Hearts

2010-09-08T01:21:23Z

"I said in an interview that I could relate to Ramona because I've had one or two guys that I maybe walked away from in a way that wasn't so nice. So now there are all these headlines that say, MARY ELIZABETH WINSTEAD IS HEARTLESS!"

My interview for Details Magazine with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, dream girl of both "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World" and everyone who watched the film, was a litle bit sultry and a little bit rock & roll. But mostly sweet. Click to read more about her girlhood crush, her next big role and why she never gets hit on.

USA Network Uses Social Media For Good, or Pineapples Are the Funniest Fruit

2010-07-27T18:16:08Z

“We believe our fans, especially the super fans,are the best kind of brand ambassadors for the network,” says Alexandra Shapiro, senior vice president of brand strategy and digital strategy for USA Network. “What better way to get them to do what they love to do, which is share content and spread the word, but also reward them in the process?”

Fans of USA Network, but especially of Psych, can now earn rewards for promoting and participating in interactive experiences from their favorite shows. I looked into the new TV marketing phenomenon, and into Psych's pineapple obsession, over at the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog.

Rob Corddry Has a Hospital to Run, Damn It

2010-07-27T18:05:25Z

"Some guys are a hobo clown, and some guys are like the sad clown, and some are like Mitzi the German mime. He’s just like, a doctor with blood all over him. He’s charming."

Comedian Rob Corddry's Web series "Childrens Hospital" has switched mediums to become one of the best satires on TV. Corddry talked to me about the transition, the sex jokes and the weird psychic thing he has going on with Grey's Anatomy.

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog.

"All Work and No Rest Makes Everyone Dull"

2010-06-30T20:48:13Z

"We don’t ditch our phones at the beach. We’re giddy at the idea of Wi-fi on airplanes. We tweet at weddings. Why interact with our kids when they have a better relationship with Thomas the Tank Engine? Yes, we start entertaining ourselves young. The more serious question is whether we ever stop."

I wrote an essay on rest for Thought Catalog, a Web site that publishes/curates writing from diverse voices and perspectives on art and life. Do we value entertainment over relaxation? Must we feel guilty for taking a break? These questions were coming up far too often in conversations, so I did a little research.

Read the full story at Thought Catalog.

Where Art Thou, Web Hot List?

2010-06-30T20:32:47Z

As readers may have noticed from the link to the right, my blog/column for TV Guide Magazine's Web Hot List has pitched itself off the precipice Thelma-and-Louise-style, never to return.

When TVGuideMagazine.com re-merged with TVGuide.com earlier this month, there were casualties to the magazine's online-only material, and WHL was one. More troublesome is that since the merge, any material from TVGuideMagazine.com has vanished from the Web, unaccessible except in cached form. I'm in the middle of creating an archive here on www.sandrakofler.com that will contain as many articles as I can salvage from the pits of the Internet (I've retrieved at least 50 at last count), and will let you know when that's available.

Pour one on the curb for Web Hot List, the Web's only TV-based guide to viral shenanigans. I shall miss writing it, as much as my ever-undisclosed (even to me) number of readers enjoyed reading it.

Team Coco and Their Big Show

2010-06-30T20:18:34Z

“It’s such a nice boost for our self-esteem from sitting at home and watching Dr. Phil every day,” said writer Brian Kiley. “To have a big show in the theater and have television cameras, I would say for seven or eight minutes there, I felt like a member of society.”

Conan O'Brien's new TV show comes to TBS this fall, but if you ask any of the shoe-ins for jobs on the production, there's not much to talk about yet. And it's practically July. In the meantime, O'Brien's writers (and Andy Richter, right) gathered in Chicago for an evening of stand-up and insanity for their own TBS special.

Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog.

A Q&A With Kristen Schaal

2010-06-30T20:09:39Z

"I could always get up on stage somewhere. TV work and film is what I’d strive to be doing full-time, I love it. But I have zero control over whether I get cast in those roles. In order for me to continue being creative and an artist, stand-up has been a life-saver."

The girl shaking her stuff to the left is actress/comedian Kristen Schaal (Flight of the Conchords), during one of her performances at Chicago's Just For Laughs.

Our Q&A covered her role in "Toy Story 3," her upcoming book on sex and her spoiler-phobia. Read the full story at The Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog.