Warning: Spoilers from the “Mad Men” season finale are ahead.

As of last night’s midseason finale, there are only seven episodes left before “Mad Men” ends. But one of the old reliables of Sterling Cooper and Partners, a stalwart member of the “Mad Men” cast, has already taken his final bow.

Spoilers below.

During the midseason finale, titled “Waterloo,” the world of “Mad Men” watched in awe as Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. Don Draper, Peggy Olsen, Pete Campbell and Harry Crane watched in a crowded, booze-free motel room while on business in Indianapolis. Roger Sterling watched surrounded by family. And Bertram Cooper, a founding member of SC&P, watched from bed.

“Bravo,” he marveled at the television. And with that, he died.

“Matthew Weiner came to me and said, ‘Bobby, I want to talk to you… You’re going to pass away in this episode. I’m sorry,’” actor Robert Morse says of his character’s departure. “I said, ‘I perfectly understand.’”

The episode moves on after Cooper’s death, with several business deals still to be made. But Cooper returns at the very end, in the form of a song-and-dance fantasy that plays out purely in Don’s imagination. Cooper sings “The Best Things in Life Are Free,” surrounded by beautiful women, as he dances his way to his office and closes the door for good.

It’s a fitting tribute for Morse, who has won multiple Tony awards for his work on Broadway, most famously his turn as J. Pierpont Finch in “How to Succeed in Business Without Really ...

When you’re a superstar singer like Austin Mahone, you’re bound to run into some wild and weird fans along the way. Case in point: the time one of Austin’s “Mahomies” jumped inside his vehicle.

On Memorial Day, Mahone appeared on “The Today Show” for a live performance, with just hours to go before the arrival of his new album, “The Secret.” Before hitting the stage, Austin joined “Today Show” correspondent Carson Daly to field some video questions submitted by fans on Instagram, including a question asking about his craziest fan encounter.

“One time this girl hopped in my car when I was on my way driving home from a show,” he remembered. “And I looked over and I was like, ‘I’ve never seen you before. What are you doing?’”

What could have been the start of one of the weirdest real-life romantic comedies ended before it really began.

“I had to,” Austin said when asked if he asked the girl to leave his car. “I couldn’t just take her home!”

Maybe, maybe not — that’s a debate for another time. What’s not up for debate is the fact that Mahone’s “The Secret” will be available in its entirety, for Mahomies far and wide, at midnight tonight.

Josh Wigler

Lana Del Rey’s holiday weekend can be described with four words: many shades of cool.

Not only did the “Summertime Sadness” singer perform at the the Palace of Versailles rehearsal dinner for the epic Kimye wedding, she dropped a bombshell of her own: a new single from her upcoming album, “Ultraviolence.”

The new single, titled “Shades of Cool,” lives up to its name, a collaboration with Rick Nowels, the Grammy award-winner who teamed up with Del Rey for “Summertime Sadness” and “Young and Beautiful.” The new track tells the tale of an “invincible” man who drives a Chevy Malibu, lives in California, and is the proud owner of an “unbreakable” heart.

Del Rey sings:

“But you are invincible
I can’t break to through your world
‘Cause you live in shades of cool
Your heart is unbreakable.”

Lana Del Rey’s “Ultraviolence” drops in full next month.

What do you think of Lana’s new single?

Josh Wigler

In case you forgot, there is no new “Game of Thrones” tonight. Blame it on the heathens around the world who have not yet pledged loyalty to the Lord of Light. Blame it on Memorial Day. Blame it on whatever suits you; it won’t change the fact that there is no new “Game of Thrones” tonight.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t think about “Thrones” right now. In particular, here’s one happy thought that should get you through the one-week “Thrones” hiatus…

Everyone is going to die.

Arya is going to die.

Sansa is going to die.

Bran is going to die.

Daenerys is going to die.

Brienne and Podrick are going to die.

Everyone on the Wall is going to die.

That Iron Banker dude is going to die.

Tyrion is going to die.

Jaime and Cersei are going to die, probably while having sex, because that’s what they do.

Lysa Arryn is going to die oh wait she’s already dead.

That crazy White Walker King is going to die.

Even Hot Pie is going to die.

Seriously, everyone is going to die. And these aren’t spoilers gleaned from the books, or from the Internet, or from Melisandre’s fires, or wherever. It’s just the facts.

Winter is coming. It’s coming for everyone. In the bitter cold world of “Game of Thrones,” you win or you die, but really, you mostly just die. If there is one winner, it is The Stranger, ...

With Reporting by Josh Horowitz

Based on first looks alone, few people would have picked Quicksilver as the breakout character of “X-Men: Days of Future Past.” But here we are.

Director Bryan Singer‘s return to the “X-Men” franchise includes what is easily the most unique and whimsical action scene in the entire series — a sequence where Quicksilver, the quick-footed and quick-witted speedster played by Evan Peters, races through a Pentagon kitchen and disarms a group of soldiers, all in an effort to save mutant allies Wolverine, Magneto and Xavier.

The slow-motion sequence has received rave reviews for originality and style, and Peters himself is just as impressed as anybody.

“I was completely taken off guard by it,” Peters told MTV News. “By how [Singer] shot that thing… it turned out really well. I’m very happy with it.”

The scene required a lot of work, including motion-capture and repeated takes — “a lot, and a lot, and a lot” of takes, according to Peters. But it was all worth it for the actor, who relished the chance to play one of the surprise hits of the new “X-Men” sequel.

“At first, I was playing it over the top,” Peters said. “Bryan was like, ‘Hey, chill out. Take it easy.’ I was way too excited to be in an ‘X-Men’ movie!”

The excitement doesn’t end with “Days of Future Past.” There’s another “X-Men” movie, “X-Men: Apocalypse,” on the horizon, and it’s expected that Peters will return as Quicksilver. As for what the future holds? ...

It’s good to be the king of the King of Monsters.

As if director Gareth Edwards‘ month couldn’t get any better (what with his latest film, “Godzilla,” positively trouncing the box-office in its opening weekend), in comes the news that he’s been tapped to direct the first official “Star Wars” spinoff.

It’s great news for fans, first for the obvious reason that there are now two “Star Wars” movies officially on the calendar, one year apart from each other. It’s also great news because Edwards is a very talented and promising young filmmaker, as evidenced by “Godzilla.”

Even if “Godzilla” wasn’t your cup of tea, there’s no denying Edwards’ eye for action, his eye for scale, and his eye for creature design. All good things when it comes to a “Star Wars” film. As for what else Edwards’ work on “Godzilla” tells us about his upcoming entry in the “Star Wars” franchise…

1. Edwards attracts talent. Bryan Cranston was the standout in “Godzilla,” arguably the only standout in the human cast, but he was surrounded by equally talented, well-established actors like Ken Watanabe, David Strathairn, and Elizabeth Olsen. They didn’t quite pop in “Godzilla,” but that’s a story issue, not a performance problem. If Edwards can attract a similar level of talent for “Star Wars,” the spinoff is going to be a well-acted film.

2. Edwards likes surprises. He doesn’t quite adhere to J.J. Abrams’ “mystery box,” but he likes his secrets. The big twist with Cranston’s character (which won’t be repeated here ...

Ben Affleck made his Batman debut last week, appearing in a monochrome photo that publicly revealed his “Man of Steel” sequel cape, cowl and car for the very first time since he joined the cast.

By and large, fans seemed very into the look of Batfleck. But why then does it seem he has a case of the blues?

We’re not talking about his emotional well-being, although that’s in question as well. We’re talking about the color scheme of the Batman suit — a color scheme that Kevin Smith apparently knows inside and out, having seen the Batfleck suit with his own two eyes several months ago. Here’s his description, based on a recent podcast appearance (caught by Dark Horizons):

“If you want to see what this suit looks like, you just go to Frank Miller’s ‘The Dark Knight Returns,’ go to the third book, Hunt the Dark Knight,” he advised. “It’s the exact outfit he’s wearing. That’s why I hugged that guy all those months ago.”

The costume Smith describes is a full gray bodysuit, with a cape and cowl that’s black bordering on blue. Based on the description, it sounds like we’re about to see one of the most comic book faithful interpretations of Batman’s costume ever captured in live-action — so much so that we could get a hint of the blues to go with it.

But even if there’s no blue, we can assume the Batfleck colors will be better than this:

Read More →

It looks like the mother-effer who found Bin Laden could become the mother-effer leading the next season of “True Detective.”

Nerdist.com reports that Oscar-nominated “Zero Dark Thirty” and “The Help” actress Jessica Chastain has been offered a headlining role on the second season of “True Detective,” the HBO procedural anthology series that allured audiences and commanded think pieces for the first few months of 2014. As of the report, Chastain had not accepted the role.

Assuming the offer is real, and assuming she accepts, Chastain has some mighty big shoes to fill in approaching “True Detective” season two. As reluctant partners and friends Rust Cohle and Martin Hart, actors Matthew McCounaghey and Woody Harrelson offered up some of the most captivating characters on television in recent memory. Indeed, many believe that McCounaghey could win the lead actor award at the Emmys this year, beating out Bryan Cranston’s final bow as Walter White on “Breaking Bad.” Even if he doesn’t pull it off, the mere possibility is powerful enough on its own.

But Chastain is a proven talent at this point as a two-time Oscar nominee. Furthermore, she has a McCounaghey connection of her own, starring alongside the Oscar-winning actor in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming “Interstellar.” Perhaps McCounaghey was the one who put Chastain on the Yellow King’s trail.

Stay tuned as we find out more about Chastain’s possible involvement with “True Detective.”

Josh Wigler

And then there were four.

Believe it or not, we are now officially within spitting distance of the “Game of Thrones” season four finish line, with only four episodes remaining between now and the excruciating wait for a fifth season of winter to arrive next spring. The Seven are cruel gods indeed.

As the season moves toward the end-game, expect an already crazy year of “Game of Thrones” to get even crazier. Here’s what you can expect to see from tonight’s episode, titled “Mockingbird.”

All Petyr Baelish, All The Time
Okay, maybe not all the time, but a lot of it. “Mockingbird” refers to the mockingbird pin Littlefinger wears, a symbol of the man without a noble-born cause. Littlefinger’s riding high these days, lording over Harrenhal from a distance, currently shacked in the Eyrie as the new lord of the Vale with new wife Lysa Arryn. What could possibly go wrong for this guy?

Sansa In The Snow
Winter is coming, as they say. Expect it to arrive tonight in the Eyrie, and expect it to produce a very memorable scene for Sansa Stark — one that fans of the books will especially appreciate.

Samwell In The Snow
Photos from tonight’s episode reveal that Sam Tarly, absent from the last couple of “Game of Thrones” outings, will be back in the mix in “Mockingbird.” Expect him to say the words “raven” and “craven” at least once each, because that’s how Sam rolls.

King’s Road Trip
Further photos reveal that Brienne of ...

Reporting by Eric Ditzian

In a few short months, Marvel takes off for the stars with “Guardians of the Galaxy,” its newest superhero movie about a team of thieves, mercenaries and assassins joining together to save the universe. Did we mention that the lineup includes talking trees and raccoons? Yeah, it’s a little weird.

Leading the weirdness is Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, the roguish hero at the heart of the tale. Best known for his weekly work on “Parks and Recreation,” Pratt leaps from small-screen sitcom to big-screen stardom with “Guardians,” a role that required him to muscle up and work endless hours around the clock. To hear him tell it, the hard work is more than worth his while.

Here’s what Pratt told reporters about playing Star-Lord during our visit to the “Guardians of the Galaxy” set:

Who Is Star-Lord?
Unlike Iron Man and Captain America, the protagonist of “Guardians of the Galaxy” isn’t a well-known quantity — even among some comic book readers. As such, Pratt enters the role with a little more freedom than Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans enjoyed as they approached their iconic superheroes.

“It’s probably helpful that people don’t know who [Star-Lord] is,” said Pratt, “because it would be my intention to make him my own anyways.”

Even in the universe of “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Star-Lord isn’t a household name. In trailers for the film, Pratt’s character is cornered by gunmen and asked to reveal himself. When he ...