Jason Taylor spends draft day practicing, but not football
It's Saturday morning and Beverly Hills is bustling. I'm at the Sofitel Hotel with Miami Dolphin Jason Taylor's manager Gary Wichard, whose BlackBerry and cell phone are buzzing so frequently he can barely get his latte ordered. It's NFL Draft Day and the
re's been a lot of speculation this week that Taylor will be traded to another team. Wichard is circumspect about that; he also has three college players whose day will end with a new job.
But enough about football. I'm here to talk dancing. Tall, handsomer than heck even with a tiny scar between his dark brown eyes, Taylor arrives in sweats and a white t-shirt. He and his Dancing with the Stars partner Edyta Sliwinska already have put in three hours of rehearsal time today and it's just 11 a.m. "I'm a competitor. I want to win," says Taylor, 33, who will head back to practice for another five hours, then do a photo shoot for TV GUIDE. Several of his co-contestants, as well as much of America, say they think he will best Kristi Yamaguchi to win the title. But if he doesn't? "There are more important things in life than Dancing with the Stars."
Cristian de la Fuente on the magic of dancing
Whenever Dancing with the Stars contestants are voted off the show - and sometimes even when they are not - we hear about what a life-changing experience it is for them. What is it that changes their lives so? I wonder. What magic happens in those rehearsal studios and on the dance floor itself? Cristian de la Fuente (at right), the Chilean Air Force pilot and sexy actor who dances with pro Cheryl Burke, tries to explain. "Everybody is there to help each other," he says. Steve Guttenberg still texts him every Monday wishing him a good show and to congratulate him on Tuesday when he's still in the competition. Cristian so wanted Marlee Matlin to stay on the show that he voted for HER instead of himself the week she was in jeopardy. (She's a pro at texting, he says.) "I spend a lot of time with Jason and I would never be able to spend time with a football player," Cristian says. "The relationships you create on the show are experiences that are hard to have in real life. It's like the Air Force experience - you share something in common."
Rumpled from a day of rehearsal, Cristian is every bit as handsome as he looks on the show. He has big brown eyes and dark brown hair. He had the muscular arms even before Dancing.
Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani break from rehearsal
Thanks to Louis' class Friday morning, I'm nursing sore hips, ankles and calves but that's nothing compared to how Marissa Jaret Winokur feels seven weeks into Dancing with the Stars. "I hurt everywhere — and it's not good hurt," she says, laughing that big laugh we hear each week on the show. She tells me to take that one-hour class with Louis and imagine it as a one-on-one class that goes on for seven hours.
I met up with Marissa and her partner, Tony Dovolani, in a North Hollywood cultural center, far from the glamour of the DWTS ballroom. Marissa is more petite in person than she appears on TV but, even tired from a week of rehearsals, her personality is as big as it looks. She and Tony are happy in their worn little studio, which is where they take a break from learning two dances for Monday's show to talk to me.
(Here I am with partners Marissa and Tony in their apple green rehearsal space.)
Dance class with Louis van Amstel
Well readers, I'm still alive after Louis van Amstel's kick-butt dance class Friday morning. And, I might even know how to cha-cha now. The ladies in Louis' classes are pretty darn amazing. They work hard to get the steps just right while working up a serious sweat and the regulars swing their hips, kick up their heels and add turns with flare. TV star Lisa Rinna, who told me she just signed with top-drawer talent agency CAA, was having no trouble, of course. Louis' Season 2 Dancing with the Stars partner, dressed in all black with a white bandana covering half her head, graciously volunteered to stand in front of me so I could keep my eyes on her feet. Lisa takes Louis' classes at least four times a week, which is how she keeps the stick-thin figure she got after her stint on Dancing. I tell her that she's too thin now; she says, "Yeah, but I like it this way."
April 25, 2008
Louis van Amstel, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Cristian de la Fuente on tap today
I'm off to try my feet at one of Los Angeles' hottest dancing classes. Dancing with the Stars pro Louis van Amstel teaches several times a week at a Sherman Oaks studio and I hear his classes are very popular. Who wouldn't want to take a class from Louis? He certainly made Priscilla Presley look graceful this season. Still, even though I took tap, ballet and modern dance when I was young - and still love aerobic dancing classes for fitness - I'm very nervous. Wish me luck.
After I see Louis, I have a day of driving around L.A. to look forward to. Ugh. I'll be off to find bubbly Marissa Jaret Winokur in her practice studio in North Hollywood — we know she'll inject some energy into my afternoon — and then on to Cristian de la Fuente in Beverly Hills. Each contestant gets assigned practice space with his or her coach and they move to different ones. I'm convinced the schedulers at DWTS must be geniuses — or at least incredible jugglers.
Check back later for my posts on all these doings. Can't wait to share it all with you.
April 24, 2008
Ashlee Simpson texts with us
Singer Ashlee Simpson (sister to Jessica Simpson, fiancée to and rumored mom-to-be with Fall Out Boy frontman Pete Wentz) is doing away with the SNL hoe-down, dancing instead to the tune of hip-hop producer Timbaland on her third album, Bittersweet World, released Tuesday. Our reporter, Reyhaneh Fathieh, traded texts with Ashlee a few weeks ago as she jetted across the country on her busy promo tour doing photo shoots and radio shows. They texted about everything from Ashlee’s future reality TV plans to those pesky relationship rumors, and Ashlee even showed off her hot new red hair via picture message (at left). Check out their whole convo below.
USA WEEKEND: Ashlee! Hi! What r u doing??
Ashlee: Hey, I just did Ryan Seacrest’s radio show in LA to play my new single [Outta My Head].
USAW: Exciting! Who r u with? Pete? Jess? Parents?
Ashlee: I’m riding in the car to another radio interview with my friends Nicole and Mary.
USAW: Not “TWD” [texting while driving], we hope. :)
Ashlee: I don’t really drive much.
USAW: Last 5 ppl u txt ed?
Ashlee: My mom, my friends Stephanie, Lauren and Nicole, and Pete.
USAW: Your mom? So the Simpson parents are hip w/ the tech!
Ashlee: My mom it totally cool with texting.
USAW: R u a big txter? Ever been dumped or dumped a bf over phone email or txt?
Ashlee: I don’t know anyone that’s been dumped by text – that would be terrible!
USAW: It happened to K-Fed... What do u say to the engagement rumors about you and Pete?
Ashlee: Haha, they are just rumors, I’m not engaged.
(That was her answer in March; she announced her engagement on April 9)
USAW: We used to watch u on the Ashlee Simpson Show when u were dating Ryan Cabrera. And now Pete — what is it about the rocker boys?
Ashlee: I love music, so it’s always fun when guys are into music too.
USAW: Would u do another reality show? What would it be like?
Ashlee: I probably wouldn’t do another reality show now. I truly appreciate what the first one did for my career though.
USAW: It helped u book gr8 producers! How do u think workin w/ [super-producers like] Timbaland and The Neptunes affected ur sound?
Ashlee: It was fun working with Timbaland and Chad Hugo because it was the first time I wrote songs to beats.
USAW: R u goin for a certain image w/ this new album? Will we see any Xtina-like reinvention w/ u?
Ashlee: It’s a new sound for me. The album is fun, upbeat album that hopefully everyone can dance to!
USAW: Its good to hear u’r still goin, despite set backs. How do u feel about the online petition 2 stop u from singing?
Ashlee: I have awesome fans. If you don’t like my music. It’s pretty simple…don’t listen to it!
Happy birthday to Barbra Streisand, Kelly Clarkson
Happy birthday to two fabulous women of Hollywood, Barbra Streisand (at right) who turns 66 today, and Shirley MacLaine, who turns 74. Kelly Clarkson turns 26, Melinda Clarke is 39, Derek Luke turns 34 and Cedric the Entertainer turns 44. Last but certainly not least is the man who makes the best grilled hamburgers in Indiana, Kathy's dad, John Rowings.
(photo courtesy barbrastreisand.com)
Lorrie's off to Dance with the Stars
I'm leaving on a jet plane this morning...heading to Los Angeles for six days of interviews and fun with many of your favorites on Dancing with the Stars. I'm going to try to keep up with dancing professional Louis van Amstel (he has been partnered with Lisa Rinna and Priscilla Presley) in the class he teaches on Friday mornings and I have sit-down interviews scheduled with Cristian de la Fuente, Marissa Jaret Winokur, R&B singer Mario and NFL star Jason Taylor. (If you have questions for any of them, post them below.)
Monday and Tuesday nights I'll see the Dancing with the Stars show live; I can't wait for that, or my talk with Randall Christensen, the man responsible for those incredible costumes every week. I'll also catch back up with Kym Johnson, the pro dancer from Australia who has turned TV Guide commentator. I'll be keeping you up to date every day so check back frequently and send me your comments. We're going to have a good time.
April 23, 2008
Happy birthday to Valerie Bertinelli
Happy birthday to Shirley Temple Black, who was born 80 years ago today. Birthday wishes also go out to Melina Kanakaredes, who turns 41 today, Jan Hooks, who turns 51, and Valerie Bertinelli (at right), who celebrates turning 48.
(photo courtesy mylifetime.com)
April 22, 2008
'Charlie Wilson's War' out on DVD today
It's been a rainy couple of days here in DC, and it's times like these when all I want to do is curl up and watch a good movie. Luckily, there's been a spate of good films released on DVD recently, including the entertaining Charlie Wilson's War, which is out today. Kathy got the chance to talk to Charlie Wilson himself a few weeks ago. Here's her report on her chat with the famous congressman:
Wilson was exactly as I'd expected him to be: Heavy Southern drawl, well spoken, kind and with a great, dry sense of humor -- when I asked him if the portrayal of him as a playboy who stocked his office full of pretty young things, he responding with a laughing, "I plead guilty to all of it!" But it's clear that Wilson also focused on the serious aspects of his job and the film. His favorite scene isn't from a fabulous party with Julia Roberts or going tete-a-tete with Philip Seymour Hoffman's character. It's when his character is on the side of the mountain in Afghanistan at the refugee camp, which Wilson says is "when I had my epiphany." He likes how Tom played that moment, because it captures the intense emotions Wilson had. "He has that sort of desperate look in his eye. That was the moment that I decided that my life for the forseeable future belonged to the Afghans, and that if we could we were going to make the Russians pay and pay and pay."
