Tim Russert's death
Tim Russert's death today of an apparent heart attack is shaking Washington, New York and press people everywhere, not to mention the millions of viewers who loved him for his fair but tough approach to his interviews.
I interviewed Russert some years ago because my readers, his fans, wanted to know more about how he prepared for those Sunday morning politicos he hosted on Meet The Press. Tim told me that he always did his own homework - reading six newspapers, endless magazines and books - and wrote his own queries, but the secret to his style was that he talked to "real" people, chief among them his dad "Big Russ", a retired truck driver.
Family was important to Tim, who, with son Luke, appeared one year on our "Family Spirit" issue cover (left). Big Russ, about whom Tim wrote a whole book, Tim's wife, the Vanity Fair writer Maureen Orth, and Luke, a recent Boston College grad, as well as all those "real" people who had their coffee with him on Sunday mornings as they watched Meet The Press, will be in mourning for months to come.
2008 Tony Awards report: Meet some nominees
I'm heading up to New York City this weekend to cover the 62nd annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. Time for some star-gazing! Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe, 30 Rock's Alec Baldwin, Weeds' Mary-Louise Parker, Glenn Close, Kristen Chenoweth, Laurence Fishburne, Patrick Stewart, S. Epatha Merkerson, Patti LuPone, Mary McCormack, Laurie Metcalf and, of course, the host - or storyteller as she prefers to be called - Whoopi Goldberg are among the faces I expect to see.
We talked to as many of the nominees as would fit on a page for the magazine's Who's News Special Report this weekend. All were very excited and honored, of course, but some - like Stew, the one-named phenomenon who created the much-nominated Passing Strange - were truly surprised.
The show is on CBS at 8 p.m. Sunday and it will include more than the giving away of the statues. Musical numbers from nominated shows and tributes to Rent and Stephen Sondheim will make it worth watching.
Read on below for more of our interviews with some of the nominees, check out our previous post of outtakes from the interviews, and be sure to read our separate posts below on Patrick Stewart and Deanna Dunagan to read a whole lot more of what they had to say.
Deanna Dunagan on 'August: Osage County'
Deanna Dunagan (at right) is a Texas native, but she puts her Southern charm on hold each night as she plays Violet Weston, a vicious, pill-gulping, fork-tongued matriarch in August: Osage County. Recently, Dunagan, who's nominated for a Tony at this weekend's awards, dished to USA WEEKEND’s Jon Tollestrup about why she owns a bull’s ear, having Hollywood’s elite come backstage and why she initially turned down the part of Violet, which is sure to become her signature role. Read more below for the full scoop.
Patrick Stewart's Macbeth
Patrick Stewart (at left) has gone from Capt. Picard to the Bard and garnered a Tony nomination for his portrayal of Macbeth. Since the inception of the Tony awards in 1948, no other actor -- a list which includes Michael Redgrave and Christopher Plummer -- has landed a Tony nomination for playing the Scottish king. Will he take it all the way and win this weekend? That remains to be seen, but Stewart, 67, recently took time to chat with USA WEEKEND’s Jon Tollestrup about taking on the role and what his plans are post-Macbeth. Hint: It includes more Shakespeare.
Read below for his full report.
Weekend Outlook: Hulk, Bonnaroo, Office spinoff
Who else is ready for it to be 5 o’clock and officially the weekend?
It’s a movies-with-uncreative-names weekend, with The Incredible Hulk, The Promotion and The Happening all in theaters today. I’m not feeling inspired to see any of those, though Jenna Fischer's appearance in The Promotion may get me to go. What about you?
Something I would have liked to go to this weekend is Bonnaroo, with Kanye West, Vampire Weekend and everyone in between playing. If, like me, you don’t have the funds or the time to travel to Tennessee, you can watch some of the sets, including Ben Folds and Iron & Wine, by clicking here.
Speaking of music, the Tony Awards are Sunday, and Lorrie will be at the show. It's Tony mania on the blog today, so poke around and see what you find.
It looks like those Jolie-Pitt babies may actually be on the way. Wonder what Entertainment Tonight will say about that.
Good news for fans of The Office. Latest scoop on the spinoff is that no current Office characters will head to the new show but the very funny Aziz Ansari (at right), from Human Giant, is on board.
The lazy days of summer are upon us, but if you need a little help slowing down, check out the newest drink craze: Drank. It's a purple carbonated beverage fortified with melatonin to help you “slow your roll.”
(The Incredible Hulk photo courtesy Universal Pictures. Ansari picture courtesy http://www.myspace.com/azizansari)
Donald Sutherland on 'MASH,' '24' and Kiefer
Things are gearing up on the set of Dirty Sexy Money as ABC
gets ready to bring the show back for its second season, but star Donald
Sutherland still finds time to offer coffee to visitors. "I just got
this machine and I love to make it," he told Who's News writer Bart
Mills. "Never drink the stuff myself." They met to chat recently, on a day when the scene called for Sutherland just to sip a glass of wine
in the background while new character Lucy Liu walks past, so Sutherland had plenty of time to reminisce...
On M*A*S*H: "Ingo Preminger, brother of Otto Preminger, was the producer of M*A*S*H, and he made my career. He had seen me in The Dirty Dozen and insisted that I should play Hawkeye. The director, Robert Altman, wanted to replace me, but Ingo wouldn’t let him."
On S*P*Y*S, four years later, which teamed Sutherland with Elliott Gould: "Elliott found it hard to get a job and I committed to S*P*Y*S so he could work. Then I was asked to work with Michelangelo Antonioni on his next picture, but I said no, I was going to do the picture with Elliott. 'OK, but go to Rome just to meet Michelangelo,' they said. I agreed and we had a great meal together. At the end of it Michelangelo started to talk about details of his picture’s schedule and when I would be needed. I said, 'Wait a minute, I made it clear I can’t do it, I can’t leave Elliott in the lurch.' Michelangelo didn’t talk to me for two years, he was so mad."
On Commander in Chief, the series in which he starred with Geena Davis in 2005-2006: "It couldn’t work. It was a parallel universe to a very different reality. We couldn’t address real-life problems, yet we also couldn’t be a complete fantasy. But I loved the way my character was in thrall to three women at the same time, his wife, his aide and the President. "
On 24: Sutherland says his son Kiefer asked him to play the role of Jack Bauer’s father. James Cromwell wound up playing the duplicitous Phillip Bauer. “I told Kiefer, ‘I’d love to play Sean Connery to your Harrison Ford, but not a father who wants to kill you.’ We’re looking for something else we can do together.”
On Kiefer's stint in jail for drunk driving: “He was in solitary nearly 50 days, 23 hours out of 24. His cell had no windows and was freezing — we tried to get blankets in to him. We couldn’t call him, but if we made a deposit, he could call out to us. He was only allowed 14 minutes on the line. That 14 minutes always went by so fast. We’re so proud of the way he got through it.”
On his advice to Kiefer and his other kids: “I have five children, and in this family the advice goes in only one direction — they give advice to me.”
(photo by Vivian Zink/ABC)
Olsen twins, Tim Allen share a birthday
Birthday wishes go out to Ethan Embry (at left), who first hit it big in mid-'90s movies Empire Records and Can't Hardly Wait. He turns 30 today. Three other names you may remember from '90s TV also celebrate birthdays today: Full House's Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen turn 22 while Home Improvement's Tim Allen turns 55. Ally Sheedy celebrates her 46th birthday today, and David Mendenhall is 37.
(photo courtesy Touchstone Pictures)
June 12, 2008
Questions for Jerry Springer and Sharon Osbourne?
Kathy will be hopping on a call with Jerry Springer and Sharon Osbourne tomorrow to discuss the upcoming season of America's Got Talent. We're sure they'll have plenty of interesting things to say, but are there any questions you'd like answered?
Let us know in the comments below.
Happy birthday to Timothy Busfield
Birthday wishes go out to actors Timothy Busfield, who turns 51, and Wil Horneff, who turns 29. Actress Frances O'Connor celebrates her 41st birthday today, and Paula Marshall celebrates turning 44. Former president George H. W. Bush is 84.
June 11, 2008
Jordana Spiro and 'My Boys' are back
After nearly a year-long break (blame the writers' strike coinciding with cable TV's non-traditional season schedule), the TBS hit sitcom My Boys is finally back tomorrow at 9 p.m. ET. Kathy Rowings had the chance to talk with the show's star, Jordana Spiro (at right), a while back, so read below for her full report on what surprises to expect and what changes will occur.
