Romano and friends talk age in L.A.
Photo by Dan MacMedan
October 27, 2009
Dean Stockwell talks about his new 'Battlestar' movie, 'The Plan'
Dean Stockwell has starred in a lot of great movies and TV shows in the 66 years he has been acting — including 1962’s Long Day’s Journey Into Night with Katharine Hepburn and Jason Robards; two David Lynch films, Dune and Blue Velvet; 1988’s Married to the Mob (he was nominated for an Oscar) and the early-’90s series Quantum Leap (he won a Golden Globe). Most recently, he starred as a Cylon, a model named Cavil, on Battlestar Galactica, which ended in March. Now, the formidable 73-year-old actor stars in Battlestar Galactica: The Plan, a new DVD film on sale today that explores the Cylons’ back story (check out a clip below). Our BSG expert, copy chief Jill Golden, recently spoke with Stockwell about the new DVD and his evil character as well as his own burgeoning art career. SPOILER WARNING: If you want to avoid Plan spoilers, then read this after you’ve watched the DVD.
Photos courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment
October 15, 2009
'30 Rock' returns tonight with sharp social commentary
I got an early look at tonight's premiere episode of NBC's 30 Rock, and I can tell you to pay close attention because it's jam-packed with social commentary. Creator Tina Fey takes on corporate greed, government bail-outs, celebrity arrogance, the economy, East and West coast elitism and the "real" America. She even takes a shot at her own network's flagging Jay Leno show. Alec Baldwin, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Jack McBrayer get all the best lines, but there's no real laugh out loud stuff here and frankly, it would help. As Baldwin's character Jack Donaghy says: "There's nothing wrong with being fun and popular and giving people what they want."
Photo by Ali Goldstein/NBC
October 13, 2009
No vacation from celebrities
I'm back to work after a trip to the West but no matter how far any of us go anymore we can't escape celebrity news, right? The morning I departed was the morning that David Letterman's sex-with-staffers scandal was the talk of the airport; I returned the day Michael Jackson's new single This Is It — officially released just yesterday — was leaking. (You can listen to it here.) The documentary This Is It will hit theaters on Oct. 28. Check out the trailer on the movie site and I bet you'll want to see it regardless of your opinion of Jackson, who died in June.
Speaking of documentaries, mark your calendars for Nov. 2. That's when Poliwood — Barry Levinson's look at the connection between politics and Hollywood — will air on Showtime. I wrote about it last spring when I interviewed, Tim Daly, and it was in limited release. Tim's not the only celebrity featured in this movie, much of which was shot during the 2008 presidential campaign. Quite an array of others are too, including Annette Bening, Sting, Susan Sarandon, Elvis Costello, Kerry Washington, Angela Bassett, Will.i.am and more.
Because I was in Colorado last week I got caught up in baseball's National League Division playoffs and I was sorry to see the fun of rooting for the Rockies ending last night. It's good to be home
September 30, 2009
Ming-Na on the new 'Stargate Universe'
Photos courtesy of Syfy
September 25, 2009
Tony Shalhoub talks Monk, Meat Loaf is on tonight
I did get Shalhoub, who has won two Emmys for playing this character, to part with a little scoop on what's upcoming. He says Bitty Shram, who played Monk's nurse for three seasons and is still remembered fondly by fans, will return and cross paths — or is it swords? — with Natalie, Monk's assistant played by Traylor Howard. And he expects that the murder of Monk's wife, Trudy, will be solved.
September 24, 2009
Check out new documentary 'Yearbook Chronicles'
Four bright seniors from Bell High School are assigned by their yearbook teacher to track down classmates who left school and find out what they are doing and why they dropped out. That's two of them above Jovanni, left, who found Ivan, right. The yearbook students take their assignment seriously and begin a little detective work to track their former classmates down at home, at jobs or on the street. Of course, the reasons the dropouts left Bell are not surprising — teen pregnancy, working to help the family make ends meet — but all the kids in this story are, and this peek at their lives, those who stay in school and work toward college as well as the dropouts, is enlightening. Definitely worth an hour of your time.
Photo courtesy of MTV Tr3
September 11, 2009
Masi Oka, Hayden Panettiere on the return of 'Heroes' this month
NBC’s superpowered drama Heroes returns on Sept. 21 with a two-hour season premiere, but this time it may not be the cheerleader or the world that needs saving — it’s the show. After boffo ratings its first season (the pilot episode got more than 14 million viewers), viewership has dramatically declined. Last May’s third-season finale only had 6.5 million viewers. But Masi Oka (at right), who plays the always optimistic teleporter Hiro on the show, is keeping the faith and says that this upcoming fourth season is so far his favorite since the first. Our Brian Truitt got on a conference call with Oka and co-star Hayden Panettiere this afternoon, so read below on what’s next for their characters and how they deal with rollercoaster ratings. Also, check out this trailer for the upcoming season.
Meat Loaf is in Hallmark Channel movie Saturday
Meat Loaf would probably take over the stage if he ever won an Emmy. He loves acting and I was surprised to learn that he considers himself an actor first, a musician second. He's done a fair amount of acting and will be in an episode of Monk Sept. 25. "I'm so far out on a limb in that; really over the top. I'm scared to see it," he says. And yet, "I want a series so bad," he confesses. Why? "I just do. A series is like theater, the only difference is you aren't doing the same scene every night."
A few more things I learned about Meat:
• He's working on a new album, which he calls his best one yet, though at times the stress of it feels "like a giant tsunami" is coming down on him.
• He's aiming for a spring release and a long tour after the new album is out.
• He's an Adam Lambert groupie and admits that he voted for Lambert 100 times when Lambert was on American Idol. He also goes for Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, saying they are the kind of acts that "are good for music."
• He's a bit of a yo-yo dieter, having lost 100 pounds some 15 years ago. Most recently, he's been using Nutrisystem on and off but when the album is done he wants to get rid of 30 pounds "again."
August 31, 2009
TLC's new cake-baking reality show debuts tonight
Move over, Jon and Kate. Following tonight’s episode of their reality show, TLC debuts another entry in the genre, Ultimate Cake Off. If you tune in,
you’ll see our own Carol Clurman (that's Carol in the photo, right) announcing a bonus prize to the winner of the episode’s cake-decorating
challenge. Carol says, "I won’t spoil the surprise here — you can tune in to find out what
it is (10 p.m. ET on TLC). But I will tell you I was sorely disappointed to
fly all the way out to L.A., then drive 45 minutes to the TV studio at 6 a.m.,
spend an hour in hair and makeup (complete with false eyelashes!), only to
discover that I wasn’t going to be able to actually eat any cake. Anyway, I
realized I couldn’t complain, after the show’s incredibly patient, handsome and
talented host, Michael Schulson (with Carol in the photo), told me that each episode was shot in one
grueling, nine-plus hour day and that he hadn’t seen much of his wife and son all
summer. Even more amazing: You should see the cakes the chef-contestants make. Too good to eat, I suppose."
