Freelancer for the AV Club (200+ Random Roles to date), EW, IndieWire & Decider.
Happily married w/ child.
Opinions are my own & do not represent my employers.
Anderson Cooper: "Jim, is there *anyone* left in the administration who shakes their head when they hear the president rambling in the Rose Garden?"
Jim Acosta: "No, Anderson, we are down to Kool-Aid drinkers and next of kin."
As much as I'd rather just hear Tracy Chapman singing "Fast Car," I'll say this: the way Luke Combs is looking so adoringly at her is hard to deny, and they do sound really good together on the chorus.
#Grammys
R.I.P., Ken Osmond, a.k.a. Eddie Haskell of "Leave It to Beaver." Why, I can hear him at the pearly gates already...
"That's a very nice flowing robe you're wearing, St. Peter..."
"You SWEAR this show is gonna last, right?" Five years ago today, NBC debuted a medical drama called DO NOT HARM. It lasted for two episodes. All things being equal, this worked out pretty well, particularly for Hamilton fans, as
@Lin_Manuel
suddenly found his schedule wide open.
Hypothetical question, but one which I have been given permission to ask in the name of market research:
Would you be interested in a memoir by Bruce McGill written with the assistance of yours truly?
If so, just put your heart on this here tweet…and then feel free to retweet!
Happy birthday, Kris Kristofferson, who left me the best post-interview voicemail ever: he couldn't remember the name of an actor he'd worked with who'd said he liked his music, called back to tell me it was Robert Mitchum, and then ended by saying, "This is Kris, by the way..."
“Doctor, my child, she has the Hamilton fever.” “I’m sorry, Mr. Harris, it’s incurable. The best I can do is write a prescription for Avenue Q, but as a licensed physician and owner of the original cast recording, I wouldn’t advise filling it for a few more years...”
In doing Random Roles interviews, I always ask anyone who's ever worked with Rip Torn if they've got a Rip Torn story, but Conchata Ferrell’s is probably my all-time favorite, because that last line... I mean, I can hear the words rumbling out of his mouth even now...
#RIPRipTorn
.
@Netflix
can say that not enough people watched
@OneDayAtATime
to justify another season. I say that the series' message of positivity & inclusivity is more than enough to justify spending the money to bring more of that message into the world, God knows we need it...
#SaveODAAT
R.I.P., Sally Kellerman. Yes, she was Hot Lips in M*A*S*H, but first she was Dr. Elizabeth Dehner on STAR TREK, and after that she was Dr. Diane Turner in BACK TO SCHOOL. Those are my favorite points of reference, and those are how I'll most fondly remember her...
It’s the Random Roles interview I waited years to do, and it was worth every second of the wait...
Timothy
@Omundson
on his Seinfeld start and getting back to Psych after surviving a stroke
Jim
@Acosta
just compared Trump to a Karen at the grocery store, comparing about having to wear a mask in the store, complete with gestures and possibly even a head bobble.
Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act:
"No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."
Translation: he's pissed that he can't lie on social media.
@neilhimself
In doing Random Roles interviews, I always ask anyone who's ever worked with Rip Torn if they've got a Rip Torn story, but Conchata Ferrell’s is probably my all-time favorite, because that last line... I mean, I can hear the words rumbling out of his mouth even now...
#RIPRipTorn
Stopped working on transcribing that
@TomArnold
interview to get incredibly frustrated with our stupid TV. Having taken a break from that frustration, here's probably my favorite story from that interview: his experience with Steven Seagal on EXIT WOUNDS. (You're welcome, Phil.)
“[Bruce Willis] ended by clarifying why he subjected himself to be the subject of a roast, which he said was to settle something once and for all: ‘Die Hard is not a Christmas movie. It’s a god damn Bruce Willis movie!”
Politics has made us so crazy that using or refusing to use a mask has been turned into a social or political statement
Fortunately this derangement has not infected the vast majority of Americans,normal people who don’t spend every moment thinking about politics & culture wars
Q: Why were these donated to the thrift store?
A: What might be right for you may not be right for some.
Q: Why did the thrift store accept them?
A: They take the good, they take the bad.
I’m extremely saddened to hear that Mike Hagerty has passed away. I wanted so badly to do a Random Roles with him for the AV Club, but even though he was a Chicago guy, the pitch was a no-go. (1/2)
Getting ready to hop on the phone to finish my Random Roles w/
@TheRitaMoreno
. I'll give her your best, shall I,
@Lin_Manuel
? (I'll also be sure to bring up "Almost Like Praying," because, hey, she was in the video, too, so that counts as a role, right?)
@Lin_Manuel
I just realized that when I combined two screenshots, I actually duplicated a portion. This is how the reply/response *should* have looked!
@realDonaldTrump
Yes, it’s very strange the way numbers change as you continue counting...
It’s obvious who among us didn’t watch Donald in Mathmagicland.
RIP, John Mahoney. He'll forever be father to Frasier and Niles Crane, but the moment in Say Anything... where he cowers in the bathtub, a man so overwhelmed by where his decisions have taken him (and his daughter) that he can barely function... That'd be ANY actor's finest hour.
"I specifically asked for him to be put on suicide watch. Apparently, here at Rikers, that means they watch you commit suicide." - Lennie Briscoe, Law & Order
Someone should write a parody of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" with lyrics about how the AV Club officially shut down their comments section today.
If you ever left me a comment, thank you. You don't even know how much that positivity kept me going during my freelancing.
Why is Tim Conway trending? I don't know. But here he is with my wife & I, and it gives me an excuse to mention that he provided the most off-putting but hilarious interview ever: he called me, I said, "Hello," and he said cheerily, "Will Harris's office!" I was left stammering.
I'm not saying I need one, I'm not even saying I particularly *want* one (it's not like my wife would say, "That is just PERFECT!"), but somehow just knowing that somewhere there exists a Charles Nelson Reilly MATCH GAME shower curtain makes me pretty damned happy...
R.I.P., Dawn Wells, who has succumbed to COVID at age 82.
I did a phoner with her a few years back about working with Don Rickles on GILLIGAN'S ISLAND, She was just as sweet as you'd want a TV crush to be, and she was happy to reminiscence.
So long, Mary Ann...
Offered with zero sarcasm, because as far as I'm concerned, it transcends politics:
If you're feeling suicidal or know someone who is, the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. It provides free & confidential support 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week.
Brad Parscale, President Trump’s former campaign manager, was hospitalized after the police were called to his home by his wife, who said he had guns and was threatening to hurt himself, officials said on Sunday evening.
I hope this morning's FOX & FRIENDS features a montage of the hosts listening intently to 45's various rambling calls over the course of the past four years while Andrew Gold's "Thank You for Being a Friend" plays in the background.
It's the interview you need *and* deserve right now, and if any omissions frustrate you, the existing anecdotes should delight you sufficiently that you won't complain (much), so please go forth & dive headlong into...Random Roles w/
@DonCheadle
!
RIP, Jim Fowler, best known as Marlin Perkins' right-hand man on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom...and if any of that rings a bell, then congratulations, you're old, too.
I haven't watched the series finale of
#TheGoldbergs
yet, but I just read an article where the current EPs of the show admitted they didn't even speak to Adam F. Goldberg about the finale for the series he created & which was inspired by his own life. Not cool, guys.
I can't say the death of a 106-year-old man is truly shocking, but I CAN say that Norman Lloyd will forever be my favorite interview of all time, Random Roles or otherwise. It was the first time I felt like I was truly contributing to history. R.I.P., sir.
I regret to inform whoever’s in charge of closed captioning for THE MUPPET SHOW on Disney+ that the sound one makes whilst playing a jug is *not* beatboxing...and this means - and I cannot stress this enough - that you cannot make EMMETT OTTER’S BEATBOXING CHRISTMAS!
Happy birthday to
@Lin_Manuel
Miranda, a legit nice guy who I've not met nor even spoken to on the phone but who literally DM'ed me to tell me he'd just set up a Random Roles for me w/ David Warner just 'cause he liked my work & wanted me to interview him.
1983, The Tonight Show | Garry Shandling: "Your parents are Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, right?" Carrie Fisher: "That's right." Garry Shandling: "Maybe you know my parents. Irv and Muriel Shandling?" Thank you,
@JuddApatow
, for The Zen Diaries. It's wonderful.
I asked
@MrJonCryer
if he thought Conchata Ferrell was a good Random Roles candidate. He did & assured me she was up for it. I'm quite sure that conversation looked like this.
She doubted anyone would care about her stories. She was wrong. RIP, Conchata.
(L) Punk on bus in STAR TREK IV, set in 1986
(R) Punk on bus in PICARD: Season 2, set in 2024
Same actor, listening to the same song at the same volume.
The difference: this time when someone complains, instead of flipping the bird, he apologizes & shuts it off.
#NervePinchPTSD
When Elon said he was a “Free Speech Absolutist” he meant he sounds like someone who drank a fifth of vodka and then tried to explain what “free speech” is
Jim
@Acosta
pressed Sarah Sanders to identify the "enemy of the people" news outlets. "I'm not going to walk through a list, but I think those individuals probably know who they are." He countered that if she's going to call them that, "Shouldn't you have the guts to name them?"
Oh, hi Guys !! This is my first
@criminalminds
hair and make up from this morning…. I hope you’re all excited for a slightly older, sassier, no filters, grey-haired Prentiss. And if you aren’t, that’s cool, just tell someone else.
This definitely isn't a full-court "everything's coming up Milhouse" scenario, but the combination of Q's conclusion combined w/ the AV Club now being owned by an organization that I actually respect has led to something that'll please everyone: I'm back on the Random Roles beat.
R.I.P., Paxton Whitehead, who I'm sure was a delightful man in real life but as an actor found his niche by being exemplary at playing stiff British jerks and blowhards in projects like Back to School, Mad About You, and Friends.
@realDonaldTrump
Thanks for once again putting the lives *all* journalists at risk by likening *any* of them to being “the enemy of the people.” Really appreciate it.
Okay, I’ll go:
@MrJonCryer
,
@PagetPaget
, and
@Lin_Manuel
have all gone to fellow actors and - of their own accord - either pitched them on doing a Random Roles interview with me or told them, “When you hear from this guy, give him however much time he needs.”
This morning Trump tweeted out this iconic photo of Sylvester Stallone (sans movie title), but with Trump's head atop Stallone's body. Makes me want to watch the first half of Rocky III, just so I can see Clubber Lang beat his ass.
Stephen Root is trending because he turned up on both SUCCESSION and BARRY, but let's face it: Stephen Root should always be trending, because he turns up in EVERYTHING. Here's my AV Club interview with him from 2012. He's delightful.
Okay, so Trump's speech today is clearly just him going all in on saying "fuck you" to anyone not on Team Trump. Got it. Thank you,
@CNN
, for cutting that feed...and thank you,
@WolfBlitzer
, for properly utilizing the word "deteriorating" to describe the way it was falling apart.
How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?
Five: One to screw the bulb in, and four to talk about how much better
Neil Peart coulda done it.
:::runs off sobbing:::
#RIPNeilPeart
RIP, Robert Forster. My Random Roles w/ him could never have been long enough, but we talked about Jackie Brown, The Black Hole, Alligator, Mulholland Drive, and - wait for it - The Kinky Coaches And The Pom Pom Pussycats. So I did all right. What a guy...
Since today is Gene Hackman's 90th birthday, I thought I'd share some of my favorite Hackman stories that I've gotten over the years, starting with this one from Maura Tierney.
RIP, Luke Perry. I met him in 2007 on my first TCA tour. He was there for John from Cincinnati, but the first thing I brought up was Sideshow Luke Perry. The last time I talked to him was in 2011 & the last thing I brought up was Sideshow Luke Perry. He was thrilled both times.
R.I.P. David Lander. Such a funny man, and what wonderful camaraderie he &
@MJMcKean
had together. When I did my Random Roles w/ Michael, he gave me the origin story of their friendship & comedic partnership, and I figured these fond memories would be good for everyone right now.
@Artoriu57952959
@John_Fogerty
Now, when you say "beyond that crap," how do you mean it?
Because I don't know how you expect the man who *wrote* "Fortunate Son" to just shrug off the fact that the song is being used by someone who is a textbook example of the sort of people who *inspired* "Fortunate Son."
Couldn't tell who it was, but just as Sarah Sanders walked away from the podium, right as
@CNN
cut back to the studio, some off-camera reporter asked loudly, "What color is the sky in the President's world?" Whoever it was, they win today's White House News Briefing.
The piece ran long, which led to some cuts here & there (and I approved the cuts, because even though I liked the stuff that was cut, I accept the AV Club's desire to keep pieces to a particular length), but I know you people, so...here's Tim talking up
@JumbleJim
Beaver a bit.
In 2012, I met Richard Erdman (Leonard), told him how The A.V. Club had a Community review that had topped 30K comments, and asked if he'd take a picture to commemorate the accomplishment.
Now that both he and the comments are gone, it means more than ever.
#RIPCommentariat
Officially starting my new gig tomorrow, my first time as a full-time staffer in a dozen years. I promise I’ll tell you all about it as soon as I know when it’s going live, but wish me luck, because I’m nervous and slightly terrified but mostly giddy.