Jonah Hill Talks 'Donald Ducking' On 'Jimmy
Kimmel Live'

Jonah Hill hit the big time with his Oscar-nominated role in "Moneyball" but, as he told "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (Weeknights, 12 a.m. ET on ABC), it's his latest film that's really changed his life.

Saying that he was never a big drinker before he went out on the road to promote "21 Jump Street," Hill told Kimmel that he's been drinking a lot since.

"They basically gave us a plane and sent us around the world, filled with beer, and we just traveled around the world talking about the movie."

The result? Hill developed "this crazy habit" of re-dressing himself in his sleep after he'd gone to bed.

Jonah would go out, get drunk and then go to bed in his hotel room in his underwear as usual.

However, the next morning he'd wake up wearing a dress shirt and tie, dress socks and shoes, but nothing else. No pants, no boxers.

"We call it 'Donald Ducking,'" he joked. Just like when cartoon hero Donald Duck will put on shoes and clothes above the waist -- but no pants or underwear -- when he goes to bed, or the office, or do sports.

Hill joked that given the shirt and tie, his version of "Donald Ducking" is the "business casual" one.

"21 Jump Street" is in theaters Friday March 16th. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" airs weeknights, 12 a.m. ET on ABC.

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Jonah Hill Has Been 'Donald Ducking'

Jonah Hill hit the big time with his Oscar-nominated role in "Moneyball," but as he told "Jimmy Kimmel Live" (Weeknights, 12 a.m. ET on ABC), it's his latest film that's really changed his life.

Saying that he was never a big drinker before he went out on the road to promote "21 Jump Street," Hill told Kimmel that he's been drinking a lot since.

"They basically gave us a plane and sent us around the world, filled with beer, and we just traveled around the world talking about the movie."

The result? Hill developed "this crazy habit" of re-dressing himself in his sleep after he'd gone to bed.

Jonah would go out, get drunk and then go to bed in his hotel room in his underwear as usual.

However, the next morning he'd wake up wearing a dress shirt and tie, dress socks and shoes, but nothing else. No pants, no boxers.

"We call it 'Donald Ducking,'" he joked. Just like when cartoon hero Donald Duck will put on shoes and clothes above the waist -- but no pants or underwear -- when he goes to bed, or the office, or play sports.

Hill joked that given the shirt and tie, his version of "Donald Ducking" is the "business casual" one.

"21 Jump Street" is in theaters Friday March 16th. "Jimmy Kimmel Live" airs weeknights, 12 a.m. ET on ABC.

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Why Is It So Hard To Do Religion In Prime Time

By Piet Levy
Religion News Service

(RNS) Many TV network executives, advertisers and producers would sell their souls to get the kind of audience God has. But giving religion a starring role in prime time? Not so much.

Religion, God and spirituality have made cameos across the dial from "The Sopranos" to "The Simpsons" -- though usually as a prop or walk-on role. But shows where religion is a central part of the premise are rare, and the ratings are generally far from heavenly.

Short of touchy-feely shows like "Touched By an Angel" or "Highway to Heaven," why is religion so radioactive in Hollywood?

This month, cable network TLC canceled "All-American Muslim" after only about 700,000 viewers watched the season finale of the reality show featuring Muslims in Dearborn, Mich.

Meanwhile, ABC's saucy new drama "GCB" -- think "Desperate Housewives" in choir robes -- that's based on Kim Gatlin's novel "Good Christian Bitches" has been panned by critics and called "anti-Christian" by Newt Gingrich. The "GCB" premiere on March 4 lost the coveted 18-49 demographic, but climbed back during its sophomore episode.

From a storytelling perspective, stories concerning religion have a sort of universal appeal, said Cathleen Falsani, the new media director for Sojourners and a prolific author on the intersection of religion and pop culture.

"Art imitates life, and in this country and most of the world, religion, and certainly spirituality and faith, is a massive part of a lot of people's lives, whether we're embracing it or reacting against it," she said.

TLC thought "All-American Muslim" would be a fitting companion to its hit show "Sister Wives," about a polygamous fundamentalist Mormon family, said the show's co-creator and executive producer, Mike Mosallam.

"TLC prides itself on exposing groups of people that normally you don't get to really see on mainstream TV," Mosallam said. "They saw the opportunity to shed light on a community that had been misunderstood for so many years."

Mosallam said TLC expected some scrutiny for the show, but ultimately the conservative backlash that the show was apologetic propaganda for Islam received more attention than the show itself.

Jack Kenny ran into similar problems with his short-lived NBC drama, "The Book of Daniel," about a dysfunctional but loving family headed by a pill-popping Episcopal priest, which was pulled in 2006 after just four episodes.

"TV shows generally need to be relatable to large groups of people," Kenny said. "Everybody has their own specific view of religion ... and people feel like their religions are challenged all the time. People aren't comfortable living with it, much less laughing about it or following a story about it."

As a result, said Bob Thompson, a pop culture expert at Syracuse University, "many religious subject matters have been underutilized (on TV) simply because there's a sense that they'll be controversial."

It's also sensitive terrain for advertisers. Lowe's famously pulled its ads from "All-American Muslim" last December after receiving complaints from the conservative Florida Family Association. "The Book of Daniel" was marred by email protests before his show even aired, "and every single sponsor bailed out, except the Burlington Coat Factory. There's no TV show if no one buys ads," Kenny said.

Christopher Jones, vice president for the New York-based media buying agency Initiative North America, said some clients specifically request that their ads avoid shows related to religion or politics. Those decisions are made "on a case-by-case basis," he said, but "we don't particularly have a client that I'm aware of who views programs with a religious spin as critical to their brand positioning."

Religion isn't necessarily a deal breaker; sometimes the show just isn't interesting, said Stewart Hoover, director of the Center for Media, Religion and Culture at the University of Colorado at Boulder, citing "All-American Muslim" as an example.

In retrospect, Mosallam, the show's co-creator, sees the point.

"People were somewhat jarred by the fact that we were asking them to subscribe to a reality show that was not about table flipping and cat fighting," Mosallam said. "It was about the normal, everyday lives of American citizens, which is not something you see on TV."

To be sure, religion-oriented shows can and do succeed. "Touched by an Angel" and "7th Heaven" had long runs because they took a "feel-good" approach to faith and were "generically religious," Hoover said.

"Sister Wives" and HBO's polygamy drama "Big Love" excelled because they looked at a marginalized religious group whose fringe practices wouldn't challenge the majority's beliefs.

Going forward, especially if "GCB" is canceled, Hoover suspects there could be a downturn in shows with religious themes "if the industry sees these as examples of what happens when you do religion."

Mosallam is undeterred, saying "All-American Muslim," though a ratings failure, still raised awareness and paved the way for more shows about Muslims in the future.

But for his part, Kenny said he will never create a show exploring religion again.

"You have to be a hit out of the box, within three episodes, or you're canceled," he said. "There are all these hurdles that are so enormous, why would you want to put in front of it this hurdle of overcoming religious controversy?"

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'American Idol' Finalists React to Jermaine
Jones' Disqualification: 'We Didn't Get to Say Goodbye'

Shirley Halperin
Season 11 contestants Colton Dixon, Heejun Han, Skylar Laine and Erika Van Pelt weigh in on the instant elimination and sudden controversy, calling the situation "sad" and "weird."

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Community Is Back Tonight - Have You Missed It

Community finally returns to the NBC Thursday night lineup this week after what feels like ages (the last episode aired in November!). While there wasn't a cliffhanger then, I'm still breathing a sigh of relief to have the study group back in my life. My Thursday nights have been devoid of the kind of quirk that Jeff, Britta, Abed, and the rest of the gang brings to the halls of Greendale. However, it's not like the lineup hasn't been funny - Parks and Recreation is consistently fantastic, and it's been great having 30 Rock back, so I haven't actually missed Community as much as I thought I would. I'm definitely excited to tune in again, but I want to know how you feel about the show's hiatus. Have you missed Community or not?

Photo courtesy of NBC

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Martin Short And Letterman Talk Rush Limbaugh And
Offending Mel Brooks

Martin Short and "Late Show" (Weeknights, 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS) host David Letterman discussed Rush Limbaugh's latest controversy and their own experiences of offending people, Wednesday night.

"It was odd to me," joked Short. "Here's Rush, who calls this woman 'a prostitute,' when normally he just calls a prostitute! That's what I don't understand."

"I've said and done things," admitted Letterman, "for which I've had to apologize on a regular basis." How about Short? Has his comedy ever offended someone?

Yes, Mel Brooks, as it turned out. Short -- in character as outrageous TV talk show host Jiminy Glick -- asked the director, "What's your big beef with the Nazis?"

Brooks was not amused, and he told Short/Glick to move on and edit out the question.

What, mused Letterman, would happen to a comic who didn't take those sorts of risks? "Well, I guess you have a very successful career!" quipped Short.

"Late Show With David Letterman" airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. ET on CBS.

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'Whitney' Character Comes Out

It's been a whirlwind ride for Neil and Lily in the past several episodes on "Whitney" (Wed., 8 p.m. ET on NBC). The couple went from engaged to suddenly broken up, and this week were in an awkward situation where they weren't sure if they should move on and start dating or not. Actually, this was Lily's dilemma, as Neal had kind of dropped off the radar completely.

So when Whitney decided that she and Alex should drop in on him to see if he was dating -- which would give Lily the greenlight to date as well -- they stumbled in on what looked like a date. Only Neal said it was a work thing and then a man came out of the bathroom. A man who was cooking dinner for the two of them.

Later, Neal stopped by to talk to a very uncomfortable Whitney, where he kind of came out to her and himself at the same time. He was certainly more confused about his own feelings than having any sense of certainty about his sexuality or what he wants. More specifically, it may well be that he was discovering that he's bisexual. He didn't deny that Lily is beautiful and that he loves her, but he felt something for the guy who cooked him dinner as well.

Finally, Neal came out to everyone and found a quick acceptance from them all, including Lily. With that secret weight off of his chest, Neil was suddenly willing and able to be a part of their lives again.

"Whitney" airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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Which Main Castmember Came Out As Gay On
'Whitney'

It's been a bit of a whirlwind ride for Neil and Lily in the past several weeks on "Whitney" (Wed., 8 p.m. ET on NBC). The couple went from engaged to be married, to suddenly broken up and this week were in an awkward situation where they weren't sure if they should move on and start dating or not. Actually, this was Lily's dilemma, as Neal had kind of dropped off the radar completely.

So when Whitney decided that she and Alex should drop in on him to see if he was dating -- which would de facto give Lily the greenlight to date as well -- they stumbled in on what looked like a date. Only Neal said it was a work thing and then a man came out of the bathroom. A man who was cooking dinner for the two of them.

Later, Neal stopped by to talk to a very uncomfortable Whitney, where he kind of came out to her and himself at the same time. He was certainly more confused about his own feelings than having any sense of certainty about his sexuality or what he wants. More specifically, it may well be that he was discovering that he's bisexual. He didn't deny that Lily is beautiful and that he loves her, but he felt something strong for the guy who cooked him dinner as well.

Finally, Neal came out to everyone and found a quick acceptance from them all, including Lily. With that secret weight off of his chest, it looks like Neal is safely out of the closet to his friends, and therefore willing and able to be a part of their lives again.

"Whitney" airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

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'Face Off' Season Finale: Who Won

On the Season 2 Finale of "Face Off" (Wed., 10 p.m. EST on Syfy), the finalists had to come up with three designs for their models, who then performed a dance routine in front of a live audience.

Ian was given the horror genre, and while his creativity wowed the judges, they were not so keen on his paint effects, which Ve Neill ("Pirates Of The Caribbean") thought were sometimes a little flat.

However, Glenn Hetrick ("The Hunger Games") applauded the way Ian managed "to bring something different every week."

RJ was tasked with the fantasy genre, and backstage he was worried that the crowd hadn't loved his designs.

Patrick Tatopoulos ("Underworld") thought that while RJ's designs were "very powerful" from a distance, up close "it feels less like a realistic make up."

For her part, Neill said she loved his sense of fun and whimsy.

Last up was Rayce, who'd tackled the sci fi genre. "He knocked it out of the park for me," said Neill. "The paint job was amazing!"

Who took home the grand prize of $100,000, a year’s supply of Alcone makeup products and a 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid?

Step forward ... Rayce!

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Ed Asner Has Choice Words For Frankie And Mike On
'The Middle'

Wanting a pair of night vision goggles, Brick was shocked to find out his parents expected him to earn the money for them himself on "The Middle" (Wed., 8 p.m. ET on ABC). In turn, Mike and Frankie were even more shocked when he went out and found a job. Brick had signed up to deliver the local newspaper.

But it turns out, he doesn't have a natural aptitude for the task, and suddenly Mike and Frankie found themselves doing it for him, which suited Brick just fine. It also allowed the couple to fight out an issue over Mike having a secret stash of batteries that Frankie stumbled upon after ten years. She did lose a bit of her indignation when he told her he knew about her stash of cake frosting.

Still, the job proved more than they wanted to take on, so they headed in to quit for Brick. Only the paper owner, played by the classically crusty Ed Asner, wasn't going to just take that lying down. He had plenty of choice comments about their parenting style and skills, really talking about the parenting -- or lack thereof -- of the entire current generation.

In the end, his character guilted the family into sticking with the paper route, only Brick went along and helped this time around. And he earned enough for those night vision goggles, so it was a lesson well learned and a gift well earned.

On the other side of the spectrum, Axl was inexplicably nice to Sue -- especially considering when she thought she was getting her braces removed, she instead came back with head gear -- in light of her wrestling boyfriend moving to another town and ultimately breaking up with her.

"The Middle" leads off ABC's strong Wednesday night lineup at 8 p.m. ET every week.

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