Every week, Vulture faces the big, important questions in entertainment, and comes to some creative conclusions. This week, we delved into such pop-cultural issues as: where to go to talk about House of Cards, Jason Bateman’s comedy moves, CW’s clothing choices, if NBC should just throw in the towel, and much more. You may have read some of these stories below, but you certainly didn’t read them all. We forgive you.
Q: Can Ben Affleck and George Clooney’s charm win Argo the Best Picture Oscar?
A: Claude Brodesser-Akner says its one of the seven factors behind Argo’s front-runner status. It’s just impossible for voters not to be wooed by those two.
Q: What do Zero Dark Thirty’s torture scene and Life of Pi’s sweet ending have in common?
A: The writers of both Zero Dark Thirty and Life of Pi talked to our Kyle Buchanan about how these scenes were written.
Q: Where do you go when you are one of the handful of people who has already finished the entire first season of House of Cards?
A: Josef Adalian has created a safe space for all the HoC fans to share their thoughts. The show’s creator, Beau Willimon, is even joining in on the fun.
Q: The much-beloved Connie Britton is obviously the best part of Nashville, right?
A: Wrong. Amanda Dobbins made the case for Hayden Panettiere’s miniature–Taylor Swift character.
Q: How would Community’s Gillian Jacobs react to being lap-danced at a performance of the Magic Mike musical?
A: Based on what she told Jennifer Vineyard, not well: “There is no glimmer of a possibility of them doing that to me. Just the thought of it is making me nervous. I’m turning red.”
Q: With Smash tanking in its first episode back, is there any hope left for NBC?
A: According to Adalian, not really. However, it might have less to do with the network and more to do with the times: “Five or ten years from now, there’s a good chance we’ll recognize NBC as the Peacock in the coal mine, the first one to fall as the broadcast era came to a close.”
Q: What is the most essential part of every CW character’s wardrobe?
A: Tank tops! So many tank tops! As Margaret Lyons showed, every CW character must own all the tanktops.
Q: How can I become the next Jason Bateman?
A: Easy, just master his four go-to moves as outlined by K. Ryan Jones’s GIFs. First step: Learn to wink.
Q: When is fun. young?
A: Their song “We Are Young” suggests tonight. But Jesse David Fox graphed the exact answer, along with infographics about all of the Record of the Year Grammy nominees.
Q: Is the real-life Archer’s jaw as square as the cartoon’s?
A: After seeing executive producer Matt Thompson’s pictures of the models for all of the Archer characters: not really, but his nose and eyebrows are identical.
