Yes, you read that headline correctly. This year’s Oscars could’ve featured an ambitious performance from the comedic musical trio commonly known as The Lonely Island. Could have. But didn’t. “WHY INTERNET WRITER LADY, WHY,” you scream, shaking your fists at the heavens, to which I say unto you: Because the Academy in its infinite wisdom deemed the performance to be “financially and logistically impossible.” Maybe also because they spent their entire budget on a stage that looked like an extreme close-up of Elizabeth Taylor’s bedazzled brain.
These days, we take our amusement where we can. For the past week, the internet has been entranced by the disaster that is the Frye Festival, a supposed music festival for rich millennials that quickly descended into anarchy when musicians and vendors pulled out due to its unsafe conditions. The full scope of the festival’s failure was laid bare in Friday’s piece at New York Magazine, where one administrator — or former admin, since she dropped as soon as she realized the full scope of the organizers’ failure — spoke candidly about the missteps leading up to the festival. For entertainment value, the Frye Festival just can’t be beat.
It’s been a good long while since Bill Murray brought us a Netflix Christmas special, and who better than Michael Bolton and The Lonely Island to take us through Valentine’s Day? See for yourself in a full trailer for Michael Bolton’s Big, Sexy Valentine’s Day Special, chock full of stars, and already available to stream for next week.
Andy Samberg stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night, and while he was there, he revealed a few significant details about the Lonely Island’s upcoming movie, which Samberg made with collaborators Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, along with Judd Apatow. Universal had previously announced the project as just the “Untitled Lonely Island Movie,” but as you can see in the clip above, it is untitled no more. Henceforth, the film shall be known as Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
Welp, with MadTV old enough to celebrate a 20-year anniversary (and otherwise off the air to boot), it was only a matter of time SNL found itself with a little Saturday night competition. Still - gasp! - former SNL dream team The Lonely Island will lead the charge of FOX’s new sketch comedy rival, Party Over Here.