What's up this Weekend
It's the weekend women everywhere have been waiting four years for -- Sex and the City: The Movie is finally in theaters. If you don't want to deal with the inevitable crowds tonight but are still in the mood for a little SATC, check out the movie's companion book. It's also out today, and has an introduction by Sarah Jessica Parker, inside info about the multi-million dollar fashion closet, and hundreds of color photos from the set.
I'm heading to Wisconsin for my grandma's 80th birthday celebration (happy birthday, Grama!), but I've got my DVR set for Sunday's premiere of In Plain Sight. The very hot Cristian de la Fuente, who had surgery on his injured arm a week ago, plays crazy on-again-off-again boyfriend to Mary McCormack's U.S. marshal character. We interviewed Mary recently and when we suggested that In Plain Sight could be the kind of hit series The Closer has been for Kyra Sedgwick, McCormack said, "From your mouth to God's ears." McCormack's on a roll; she also earned a Tony nomination for Boeing-Boeing, in which she plays a German stewardess who yells a lot.
To kill time on the plane, I'll be watching John Cusack's Grace is Gone, which came out on DVD this week. It might be kind of a downer -- he plays a widower who doesn't know how to tell his daughters that their mom was killed while serving in Iraq -- but I think anything John Cusack is in deserves a viewing.
I confessed last week that I was a spelling bee champion in grade school, so The National Spelling Bee is as exciting to me as I'd imagine the NHL playoffs are to a former goalie. ABC airs the championship finals tonight at 8 p.m ET.
The sublime Showtime series The Tudors finishes a second season on Sunday with the death of Anne Boleyn. Natalie Dormer, who has given Queen Anne fiery passion, sexual allure and seductive manipulative skill, will be sorely missed when the series returns for a third season. The show can go on, of course, because it is about King Henry, not his many women. The next season will focus on his third wife, Jane Seymour, played by beauty Anita Briem.
(Tudors photo by Jonathan Hession/Showtime)
Broadway musical stars' photo shoot
Photographing three stars for the cover of a magazine is never as easy as the finished photo makes it look. After the coordination of schedules, getting a location, the hair, the makeup...let me tell you, it can be a nightmare. But our experience with the three big Broadway stars who were shot for this weekend's cover photo (the one you see below this post) was smooth as silk.
Poor Megan Mullally. The former Will & Grace star now in Broadway's Young Frankenstein had been driven to the wrong address but she's no diva. She arrived full of apologies and got into costume extremely fast. Sierra Boggess, who plays Ariel in The Little Mermaid, took the longest time to get into her costume, but that's to be expected when you have to attach a long tail.
Mario Lopez was really easy-going, particularly considering that we were photographing him on the day he was to debut in A Chorus Line. While the photo team was waiting for Megan's arrival they had Mario and Sierra do some poses together. He went through some of his dance moves in slow motion for them to photograph and they had him jumping over the Little Mermaid's tail. He was a really good sport.
High School Musical stars who made it to Broadway
In which musical did you appear in high school? I was in Calamity Jane during my senior year at Port Huron Northern in Port Huron, Mich. and I had such a great time I remember berating myself for not braving the audition process earlier so I could have been part of one all four years.
That's the thing about high school musicals. They are fun. Of course, they showcase all kinds of talent, from set and costume design to acting and singing, which is why USA WEEKEND honors the best high school musicals in the country. If you think yours is one, enter it by June 8 in our HSM USA WEEKEND Showstopper contest right here.
Meanwhile, you must read our magazine cover story this week. We rounded up some of today’s biggest Broadway names to talk about their high school musical experiences. Among them is current Tony nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda, an exceptional talent who created the Broadway musical In The Heights while he was a sophomore in college. He told me he got all his musical experience doing shows like Bye Bye Birdie and Pirates of Penzance in high school.
Read more below from two former high school stars now appearing on Broadway: Michael Longoria, who plays Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys and Jeff Binder, playing Zazu in The Lion King.
Wynonna Judd's birthday is today
Happy 44th birthday to Wynonna Judd (at right), who wrote a nice essay several years for us about the importance of being kind to others. Baseball player Manny Ramirez, who likes to have different songs playing when he's at bat, turns 36 today.
May 29, 2008
Ashley Jones on producing 'Dead at 17'
Ashley Jones has been acting nearly her whole life — she did her first commercial at the age of 5 and her first play at 9, and has played Bridget Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful for four years — but she's certainly not been affected by the self-obsessiveness like so many other actresses. In fact, when she missed our scheduled interview time, she called as soon as she realized and left Kathy a voicemail apologizing!
Kathy reports that when they did connect, "we chatted about her many projects, including Dead at 17, airing this Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on Lifetime. Ashley, 31, has a small role in the film, but she's got a much bigger role off screen, as one of the executive producers. It's her first time behind the cameras, and she's really proud of the work and hopes to do a lot more of it. 'Actors appear to have a lot of power, but they're glorified puppets in a lot of ways,' she explained. 'We've got the opportunity to have our own voice in the press and that kind of stuff, but for the most part if you want any type of creative power, it's gotta happen through the writing or directing or producing aspect of it all. It's a great challenge, that the way I look at it, and I actually feel like I'll probably blossom much more and come into my own behind the scenes.' "
Jimmy Smits to host July 4th celebration
Just got off the phone with Jimmy Smits (at right), whose career I have followed since he was the sexy lawyer Victor Sifuentes on L.A. Law. He's just back from shooting a movie in Mexico and is working on a mini-series but admits to disappointment that his CBS series Cane didn't get another shot after the writers' strike. Our reason for talking today, however, is the fact that he'll host A Capitol Fourth, the annual concert and celebration of Independence Day on the mall here in Washington, D.C., and broadcast on PBS. Smits has participated in the July 4th concert as well as in the annual Memorial Day concert and says there's nothing like seeing the fireworks against the backdrop of the nation's memorials. He doesn't have to convince me. I've been going to the mall for the display for more than 20 years; I've only missed a few — due to a thunderstorm or out of town trip — and will be there again this year.
(photo by Robert Voets/CBS)
Top summer reads: politics and current events
Washington, D.C. is buzzing this week about former White House press secretary Scott McClellan's Bush-bashing book What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception, officially out on Monday. The advance publicity alone sparked a debate about loyalty, whether it's owed or earned, at my book club meeting last night. But if that sounds far too depressing, you will find there are dozens of great reads available this summer, in all genres. I can't claim that I'll tell you about them all, but thanks to writer Jon Tollestrup, I can tell you about many in the days to come. Today, I'll focus on politics and current topics. Read below for a look at what's coming.
Annette Bening turns 50 today
Happy 50th birthday to Annette Bening (at left), who you'll next see on the big screen in The Women with Eva Mendes and Meg Ryan. Actor Rupert Everett turns 49 and actress Lisa Whelchel turns 45, while singers Melissa Etheridge and Melanie Brown turns 47 and 33, respectively.
(photo courtesy HBO.com)
May 28, 2008
Season finales: The best and the rest in TV Guide
Just got done reading my brand new delivered-today TV Guide magazine with details on some of the less-than-satisfying season finales we saw in the last few weeks. I'm relieved to find out that I'm not the only one who thought some of them (Zack turning into the killer on Bones??) were definite jumped-the-shark material. There are at least a few details on how things will resume in the next season. Don't worry, NCIS lovers, Tony, Ziva and McGee will NOT be relegated to outposts and never seen like Cameron, Chase and Foreman on House. And CSI fans will get their last look at everyone on the team together - including Sara Sidle (Jorja Fox) - which must be at Warrick's funeral, right? Which season finale did you find most satisfying or absurd? Do tell; post below.
'Sex and the City' pink carpet moments
The women of Sex and the City looked every inch the beauties they are and their New York City fans didn't disappoint — they showed up under threat of thunderstorm just to see the stars walk the pink carpet at the official U.S. premiere of the movie Tuesday night. Also there for a first look at the ultimate chick flick, an eclectic gaggle of celebrities - from Fergie and Mary J. Blige to Melania Trump and Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Kathy got to watch some of the action via a live satellite feed into a theater in suburban Washington, D.C., so here's what she saw:
Cynthia Nixon, whose hair is now a lovely strawberry blonde, looking absolutely stunning in her long, white Narciso Rodriguez gown.
Kristin Davis revealing that the actresses had been emailing all day to calm their nerves. She said she thought Sarah Jessica Parker was most nervous but also wrote the best email. Too bad, she wouldn't divulge what it said.
Willie Garson (aka Stanford Blatch) proclaiming that the film is "critic proof" because it's really just for the fans.
Jennifer Hudson looking extremely nervous as she got out of her limo, but she pulled it together and even joked that she "just rubbed against my Oscar!" when asked how she got her skin and dress to be so gold and glittery.
Chris Noth remarking that Sex and the City fans are unlike any other. "You think I get this with Law & Order?" he joked. And when asked if he thought Indiana Jones or Sex and the City would win at the box office this week, he quipped "beauty trumps age."
