Q and A: Week of March 26
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| Jim Caviezel as Reese; photo courtesy CBS |
A: Michael Emerson and Jim Caviezel play Harold Finch and John Reese, respectively. Many will remember Michael, 57, from “Lost,” where he played Ben. He’s also made the rounds on the cops-and-lawyers shows like “The Practice,” “The X-Files,” “Without a Trace,” “Law and Order: SVU,” etc. Prior to “Person of Interest,” Jim, 43, was best known for playing Jesus in Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ.” You can see Jim on the big screen later this year in “Savannah” and “Bliss!” and next year in “The Tomb” with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Q: I heard that there is going to be another singing-competition show airing this summer, I think on ABC? Can you tell me about it? — Clark F., via e-mail
A: “Duets” is the latest vocal-competition show to hit the small screen, and it is indeed airing on ABC. Currently looking for contestants (abc.com/casting), this show stars Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Nettles, Lionel Richie and Robin Thicke, who will travel the country looking for undiscovered talent to be their proteges, as well as duet partners.
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| Virginia Williams |
A: I spoke with “Fairly Legal” co-star Virginia Williams, who plays Lauren Reed on the hit legal drama, and she gave me some spoilers.
“We get to see more facets of Lauren this year, which is great,” Virginia said. “We get to see her at home, for example. Everything still revolves around Reed & Reed, but we do see glimpses of Lauren at home: coming back from a jog, going on a date, having some sort of a life outside work. We get to see her with her hair down, literally and figuratively. She’s still quite guarded and protective and exacting and stylish and brilliant, but she’s a lot more comfortable with her position now.
“Last season was all about Lauren proving to everyone else that she was capable and that she wasn’t just a trophy wife,” she said. “She could get the job done and could lead the firm. This season we see that she not only is extremely capable, but the firm ends up being better off than it was even before Teddy died.”
Q: I still miss seeing Leah Remini on “The Talk.” Any chance she’ll return? — Hazel D., Akron, Ohio
A: Not if Sharon Osbourne has any say, and it appears she does. Leah told fans on Twitter that “Sharon thought me and Holly [Robinson Peete] were ‘ghetto’ (her words), we were not funny, awkward and didn’t know ourselves … She had us fired.”
Interview: Paul Ben-Victor's Bittersweet Goodbye
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| Paul Ben-Victor, photo by Fernando Escovar |
He's the guy who made your favorite show more interesting with his guest-starring story arc; he's the actor whose recurring spot on HBO's top shows is the reason you DVRed certain episodes; and he's the character on the USA Network's hit show "In Plain Sight" who is the perfect and balanced foil for marshals Mary Shannon and Marshall Mann. Paul Ben-Victor's Chief Inspector Stan McQueen and crew are back for their fifth and final eight-episode season (the first episode of which aired last week, so catch up with that before tonight's episode airs at 10/9c), which is gearing up to be a season of can't-miss episodes. With guest stars like tonight's Tia Carrere, along with future guests Josh Hopkins, Stephen Lang, Lesley Ann Warren and many others, "In Plain Sight" is promising to go out with a bang, not a wimper.
I spoke with the ever-charming and talented Paul Ben-Victor recently, and he is eager for fans to see the final season of "In Plain Sight," as well as his new movie, "Should've Been Romeo," which is making the Festival rounds as I type.
Celebrity Extra: Looking at your long, long resume here, I think I can safely assume you've been on every TV show and in every movie since 1987. How do you do it?
Paul Ben-Victor: (Laughs) I do what comes next. Christopher Walken once wrote, “I take what comes next.” And that’s pretty much been my best plan of attack. Whatever the next gig is, I just jump on board for the most part.
CE: Unless is not that good, right?
PBV: If it’s a decent, good job and I know who’s in it, I pretty much just go with. I’ve always liked working. I like the idea of being busy, and I like getting paid (laughs).
CE: And the variety of roles you've been able to take on must be great for you, as an actor.
PBV: It has been. I always felt like I could do characters pretty well, and actually, the first job I got out of college, I played a Puerto Rican guy in a play at a theater in the Lower East Side — and it was Puerto Rican guys who hired me to do it. There are plenty of Latino actors in New York, but for some reason, I got the job.
I don’t do it consciously, I just say: “Oh, I can do that. I can play a Russian. I can play a Puerto Rican. I can play a Mexican guy. I can play an Italian. I can play whatever you got.” And I’d go in and learn the words, learn the accent, learn the sound, and somehow come out with the job. So I ended up doing all these different characters. I’ve become a character actor, I guess. It’s sort of what I was drawn to.
I’m still trying to learn how to do a lot of stuff. You’re always looking for the next level, as an actor. You want to move on to that next level so you can get to be more choosy, so you can get offered the juicer roles. There’s a lot of stuff I’d like to do and a lot of stuff I’d want to do, but those roles haven’t gone to me. They’ve gone to other actors who are more famous people, bigger names. It’s nice to have my career, but there are a lot of roles I’ve seen out there that I’ve wanted and fought for that I didn’t get, but I still would love to do at some point.
CE: What haven't you done yet that you'd like to get the chance to do?
PBV: I love comedies. One of my fantasies is to just get on a sitcom. I did a pilot once years ago, and I was just crossing my fingers and praying that this thing would go, because that’s a dream job. It’s not as demanding hourly. It’s not as many hours a week. It’s a shorter day and then you get that live audience that comes in at the end of the week, and that’s something that I would love to do. It’s just a blast. You get to put on a little play every week. That’s something I haven’t done but would love to do.
But I do love it all. I used to do a lot of commercials. I loved doing that. I just got chosen as one of the new voices on the Pepperidge Farm campaign. I love doing voice-over work. I also have a play that I wrote and produced a few years back in Los Angeles that I starred in, and that was the most exciting thing to do: to write, direct and produce your own work. I co-wrote that with my mom (Leah Kornfeld).
CE: With "In Plain Sight" drawing to a close, is it an exciting time for you, or are you a little sad about it ending, or a little of both?
PBV: It’s both; it’s sort of bittersweet. There’s definitely a sense of loss and there’s a sadness there. When they announced that this was the last season, I was like: “Oh man, what a great gig. I’m going to miss everybody.” We had become a family and have gotten even closer, especially over this past year. There's a real warmth and love on the set. It’s a real family atmosphere.
The guest stars we’ve been having are great. Mary’s brother’s, Will McCormack, is back this season. Stephen Lang is playing her dad in the last few episodes. I’m really looking forward to this final season, because while playing Stan McQueen has been great, I’m looking forward to spreading my wings, and there are some very exciting opportunities out there that I’m looking forward to.
CE: And I'm sure one of those is shopping around your new movie, "Should Have Been Romeo"?
PBV: We were just officially selected to the Newport Beach Film Festival. It’s in the featured slot on the weekend of the festival. We’re real excited about that. They're sort of focusing the whole event around our movie that first weekend. That’s really exciting.
So, on the heels of this, there’s the last season of "In Plain Sight," which is something that’s going to be really extraordinary. Some of the last few episodes that I’ve read and am now shooting are just phenomenal.
CE: What can you tell me about them, without giving too much away?
PBV: Let's see ... I gave you the clue that Mary’s dad is back. He’s been talked about for five seasons, so let’s just say he shows up and there’s a lot of excitement around his character — a lot of action, a lot of drama and a lot of interesting things. Stephen Lang is just terrific.
This year, Stan has a girlfriend, played by Tia Carrere. She’s absolutely lovely; she plays my dance teacher on the show, that’s how we meet. We do the tango together in (tonight's) episode, so everybody needs to watch out. Definitely don’t miss this episode. I’ve heard it gets pretty steamy.
CE: Speaking of Tia and Stephen and all the rest, your show does seem to get some excellent guest stars. What do you think it is about the show that attracts them?
PBV: Me! I’m just kidding. No, honestly, it's Mary. I’d say half of the wonderful guest stars we’ve had on have crossed paths with Mary on "The West Wing," i.e., Allison Janney and Richard Schiff — who I’ve also worked with in the past several times and he’s actually an old friend. And then Mary’s reputation — she’s got a strong history, a strong career. I think it’s about the show first and foremost, but people want to work with people they’ve either worked with before or people they admire, and that's Mary.
CE: Let's change gears a bit, and tell me about your movie, "Should've Been Romeo." I've seen the promos online, and I have to tell you, it looks really good!
PBV: Well, it is a labor of love, and it’s been a real family gathering. I wrote the original draft with my mom and with Michael Goldberg, who’s an old friend I went to school with at Carnegie Mellon. He wrote "Cool Runnings" and "Little Giants" and "Snow Dogs." And then another friend of mine, Greg Ferkel — who's cousin to the director, Marc Bennett — he did the last draft with me, so there’s actually four writers on this. So the writers are all friends and family, and then Marc, who I’ve known since I was like 12 or 13, is the director. He’s done documentaries and commercials, and this is his first feature, but he’s been directing for 25 years. Another friend, David Levy, he’s the executive producer, and he helped raise the money. We just kept rewriting it and rewriting it and rewriting it, and finally David said: “I’m ready. Let’s make the movie.”
I called in all my friends. Everybody just came to bat. I’d been talking to Natasha Henstridge and Michael Rapaport about this literally for at least eight years. They both just showed up and gave it their all, and they were phenomenal. They were great.
CE: I love Natasha's scene on the website ... it's so funny!
PBV: She loved it. As you saw, she plays herself in the movie. I wrote that scene a couple of months before we shot it, and I said: “Natasha, check out this new scene. Is this okay?” because it was a real homage to her "Species" character. She called back and said, “I absolutely love it!" She was thrilled with doing it, because it’s a real spoof on that character.
We tested the movie several times, and the audience were people who did not know me personally, and they were cracking up. They were hysterically laughing the whole time, and we said: “Holy sh*t! We think we may have something here.” So it’s a real crowd-pleaser. It’s PG — you can almost say it’s a family movie. It’s real easy to watch, and it’s a lot of fun. We’re looking forward to a successful run.
CE: Gimme a quick summary of the movie, just to whet my readers' appetites for it.
PBV: Ultimately it’s about an actor. That’s sort of the A story. It’s about this kooky actor, almost like a "Tootsie" kind of vibe, if you remember the old movie with Dustin Hoffman. He’s a little delusional, he’s a little nuts, wacky ... but it’s ultimately a family movie about this would-be, possible family coming together — and they're not really a family, but maybe they are? — and we find out what happens.
CE: If all goes well on the festival circuit, does that mean a wider audience will get to see it? Just from the previews, I am very anxious myself to see it.
PBV: It will probably come out next Thanksgiving when it’s family time and folks are looking for a nice fun, family film to go to.
CE: Speaking of family, I was reading about your wife Julie's nonprofit foundation, The Art of Giving. Would you tell me a bit about that?
PBV: Absolutely! It's a new, grass-roots, nonprofit organization made up of all volunteers. She began the foundation in January, and the programs are growing and expanding almost daily. Briefly, the Art of Giving Foundation provides assistance and care to children around the globe who are displaced and/or living in extreme poverty. They assist children in helping other children who are in need through the use of art.
Currently there are programs in Woodland Hills (California) and Santa Monica, which bring free arts and education to children in the programs and communities. Anyone who's interested can go to www.art-of-giving.org. It really is wonderful, so I hope you and your readers will look into it.
Q and A: Week of March 19
Q: The addition of James Spader to “The Office” as Robert California has really helped with Steve Carell’s leaving. Now I hear that James is leaving the show. Is it true? — Donald D. in MinnesotaA: James Spader will not be back next season. Executive producer Paul Lieberstein (who also plays Toby) says that it was always James’ intent to stay only one season. In fact, he was scheduled to be in only last year’s finale but, as Paul stated, James’ scenes were so compelling, “those two scenes became a season.”
Q: I’m going through some serious “True Blood” withdrawal. Do you know when it’ll be back for its fifth season? — Kristen B., via e-mail
A: Eric, Bill and company want to do bad things with you for 12 episodes this summer. If you hunger for a new Sookie adventure, then head to your local bookstore on May 1 for the release of “Deadlocked,” the latest installment in the Southern Vampire Mysteries on which the HBO series is based. You also can reacquaint yourself with season four on May 29, when the series will be released on DVD and Blu-ray.
Q: I am thrilled to hear that “Titanic” is being rereleased soon in 3-D. Can you tell me when it will hit theaters? — Jeanette F., Gary, Ind.
A: Look for the big boat on the big screen starting Friday, April 6, and be prepared for even more thrills than the original release. Because of the new 3-D effects, it can only make the sinking scenes even more intense. And believe me, they were scary enough to begin with — even for the actors involved.
I spoke with “Titanic” co-star Eric Braeden, who portrayed John Jacob Astor, and he told me about filming his drowning scene. Eric, who also has played billionaire businessman Victor Newman on “The Young and The Restless” since 1980, revealed to me: “That was one of the scariest moments in this business for me, because you had all that water coming from the sides, and 150 tons of water coming from the top. Once the water reaches a certain level, then everything that is not bolted to the bottom just crashes through the room. With the water rising and rising, and then suddenly 150 tons comes on top — it was one of the scariest moments I’ve spent in this business.”
Q: My husband and I love “A Gifted Man,” and wonder if it’ll be back this fall. — The Crouses, Virginia Beach, Va.
A: Things are not looking good for the CBS medical drama, which stars Patrick Wilson. Its ratings have been pretty low, and two of the series’ stars have been cast in other fall shows as backup. You can sign a petition for CBS to keep the show at tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/a-gifted-man-petition-22315, or via snail mail: Ms. Nina Tassler, CBS, 7800 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90039, RE: A Gifted Man.
Interview: Virginia Williams Loosens Up on Fairly Legal
The USA Network's hit legal drama "Fairly Legal" is finally back tonight for its second season with 13 all-new episodes. The show centers on the law firm of Reed and Reed, which was founded by Kate Reed's (Sarah Shahi) father, and is now being run by her stepmother, Lauren Reed, after her father's death. Lauren is sharp, shrewd, hard as nails, and is pretty much the same age as Kate ... so, you can see where a lot of the conflict lies. I spoke with Virginia Williams, who plays Lauren, and she is anxious and energized for fans to finally get to see the show's new season. With almost a full year between seasons one and two, you can bet viewers are more than ready for a new offering of "Fairly Legal," which airs Fridays on USA at 9 p.m. EST.
Celebrity Extra: With such a long hiatus between the seasons, you must be excited to finally be premiering season two!
Virginia Williams: Yeah — and it’s fun to see how excited the fans are getting. I think a lot of people forgot about the show, understandably. What’s great about this season is, as good as last season was, I think this season is going to be just exponentially better. It’s tighter, it’s funnier, it’s wittier, and it’s lighter. It’s just a better show all around.
CE: What can you tell me about season two?
VW: I’m trying to figure out how to phrase it without giving too much away. I think it’s pretty obvious for us to even have a season 2 that Kate has to come back to work at Reed and Reed. With the relationship between the girls, we get to see them come together a lot more. They don’t have such an antagonistic relationship, but that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily going to see eye to eye. They still are extremely different characters. They’re the odd couple. They’re always going to look at the world through really different lenses. I think one thing that was missing in season 1 that we get to see in season 2 is how much they both respect what the other one does. They both get that they are each great at their jobs, they just do their jobs completely differently.
It’s fun to watch them come together and then grow apart, and come together and then grow apart, but they’re these two women who are essentially two sides of the same coin. They both love justice and in doing the right thing, they just look at it in different ways. Lauren’s lens is always true in the eyes of the law. She truly fights for what she believes in, and she believes that the law is king. Kate believes that since humans made up the laws and humans are flawed, she works to do what she feels is the right thing despite what the law says.
CE: The character of Lauren could easily have been pretty one-dimensional, but with your portrayal of her and with the benefit of an excellent writing staff, you've really brought out her different facets and dimensions.
VW: Thank you. I’ve worked very hard as an actress to bring dimensionality to her. She absolutely could be played extremely one dimensionally, and on paper she can look like a trophy wife who’s money-grubbing and in it for the wrong reasons. I do feel that season 1 sometimes wrote to that, but a lot of the time, it was my own personal struggle when trying to bring that. The writers have written to her facets more, which is really great. We get to see Lauren at home for example. Everything still revolves around Reed and Reed — the show is about the law firm — but we do see glimpses of Lauren at home: coming back from a jog, going on a date, having a resemblance of a life outside of work. We get to see her with her hair down, literally and figuratively. Those are things I’m really excited about, and this next season we get to see some of the little colors of her.
The most fun characters to play as an actor are the ones who hold their cards really close to the vest, and we only get to see little glimmers of their fears and insecurities. That is really what I love about her. I was really drawn to this character because I thought, “How fun would it be to constantly pile on the layers?” Which is what I find I do with her. I just constantly try to pile on the layers, and if two or three of them come through and the audience sees them, great! Then you’ve done your job well. But I wanted to play someone who is very guarded, and can only show little bits and pieces. I think it’s a really fun thing to play. She’s like a volcano always ready to explode. At least through season 1 that was kind of how I played it, with all the pressure that was on her.
Through season 2, she’s still quite guarded and protective and exacting and stylish and brilliant and all these great things that I love about her, but she’s a lot more comfortable with her position. This allows me some flexibility as an actress and how I play her, which I’m really happy for. I think last season was about Lauren proving to everyone else that she was capable and that she wasn’t just a trophy wife — she could get the job done and could lead the firm. This season we see that she not only is extremely capable, but the firm ends up being better off than it was even before Teddy died. She comes into her own a bit, and the confidence that comes with that allows her to loosen up just a little bit.
CE: You shoot the series in Vancouver — how do you like it up there?
VW: I love shooting there in the summer. We shot the first season through the summer, and Vancouver became one of my top-three favorite cities in the world. Absolutely love it. But (laughs), as a Southern girl, I’m not so fond of shooting there in the winter.
CE: What else does this season have in store for Lauren?
VW: We get to see Lauren moving on from the death of her husband, which is nice. As early as episode three we see Lauren going on a date, and by the end of the season, we have a bit of a cliffhanger story line — a love story line. This season Justin and Lauren get to work together a lot, which is really fun. And there’s definitely a love-triangle story line with Kate and Justin and Ben.
CE: I read that Meatloaf is a guest star this season. How great is that?
VW: Yes! Unfortunately I didn’t have any scenes with him, so I didn’t actually get to work with him. I’ve been singing "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" for well over a month. We have some really, really great guest stars this year: Mark Margolis and Betsy Brandt, who are on "Breaking Bad," will be on the show. I get a lot of really good stuff with Mark Margolis. He’s just outstanding and mortifying and scary as hell, which is great to work with. I know all of production has been very pleased with who we’ve had and what they’ve brought to the table. It’s going to be a great season!
Q and A: Week of March 12
Q: It’s official: I am hooked on “GCB.” Can you give me any info on the handsome actor who plays Blake? — Trudy F., via e-mailA: Mark Deklin, 44, along with being a super actor is also a professional fight director, talented musician, smarty-pants English and History degree holder, father, husband, and all-around great guy. I spoke with him recently about his role of in-the-closet Blake (who’s married to Cricket, but it’s OK, because she knows and is fine with it), and he gave me some scoop: “As the season goes on, we explore the dynamic of our marriage. What are the rules? If we’re not jealous of the other’s sexual encounters, what are the things that we ARE jealous of? There are certain guidelines. Being with someone else sexually is not seen as a betrayal in that marriage, but having a best friend outside the marriage IS a betrayal. We’ve had a lot of fun figuring it out together.”
Read my entire interview with Mark here.
Q: I love ABC’s “Suburgatory,” especially Jeremy Sisto. I’ve had a crush on him since “Clueless.” Any chance that one of his former “Clueless” castmates will appear on his new show? — Justine M., via e-mail
A: Not only is there a chance, but it is actually happening: “Clueless” star Alicia Silverstone will join Jeremy on “Suburgatory” for a four-episode story arc at the end of this first season. No word yet on her character, but I can’t wait to see what they come up with!
Q: Can you tell me what one of my favorite actresses, Elaine Hendrix, has been up to lately? — Jeff D., Savannah, Ga.
A: Aside from saving animals in her spare time as the founding officer of Animal Rescue Corps, the “Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion” actress just landed a lead role opposite Judy Greer in the ABC pilot “American Judy.” The comedy centers on Judy, who gets married and moves to the suburbs, juggling stepkids, her mother-in-law and the ex-wife (Elaine) of her husband, who also happens to be the town sheriff.
Q: You always seem to be on top of this, so could you let me know as soon as you find out who the new contestants will be on the next season of “Dancing with the Stars”? — Pauline R., Oxford, Ohio
A: You know I will, Pauline. This season’s contestants are your usual hodgepodge of athletes, singers, entertainment reporters and actors (with the usual soap star thrown in for good measure. The new season, which begins March 19, consists of “Family Matters” actor Jaleel White, singer Gladys Knight, football player Donald Driver (who did very well for me in fantasy football a few years back), “The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd, singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw, “Little House on the Prairie” actress Melissa Gilbert, Disney Channel star Roshon Fegan, tennis player Martina Navratilova, soap star Jack Wagner, telenovela star William Levy, operatic singer Katherine Jenkins and “Extra” co-host Maria Menounos.
Interview: Mark Deklin Shakes Things Up on GCB
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| (ABC/RICHARD FOREMAN) MIRIAM SHOR, MARK DEKLIN |
Celebrity Extra: While “GCB” is being compared with other popular nighttime soaps, for me, I feel it is quite original and a blast to watch.
Mark Deklin: Thanks for the compliment. I think it is very different. At first glance, most people’s impression is, “Oh, this is basically going to be like ‘Desperate Housewives’ in the South.” I had this sort of attitude of like: “Oh, I know what this is. I’ve got this whole thing figured out.” But as I read the script, I realized it was very smart and had a unique voice to it. More than anything, I think that voice was (executive producer) Bobby Harling. You hear that voice in his movies, like “Steel Magnolias,” “First Wives Club” and “Soap Dish.” When I had my first meeting with (executive producer) Darren Star, I began to realize that we had the opportunity to do something really cool here and something that isn’t already on TV.
CE: I love the layers of your character: He is kind, compassionate, a husband and father, and he’s secretly gay. He must be very interesting for you to play.
MD: The first thing is, as an actor, you are always looking for characters who have layers. Right off the bat, he’s got layers built in. But then the other thing that was really cool was I don’t know anybody who’s in the closet. I have hundreds of gay friends, but they’re all out, so when I first came on board, I was talking to the creative team, and I said, “Help me with this, because I don’t have a template to work from.” The thing about Blake is that he’s not tortured. This is the choice he’s made. This is the arrangement that he and his wife have. They both know what’s going on, and they’re both cool with it.
CE: And it’s a win/win for Blake and his wife, Cricket, because they both get what they need out of the relationship. Does this continue throughout the season?
MD: I don’t want to give too much away, but as the season goes on, we explore the dynamic of our marriage and how it works. What are the rules? There are certain guidelines. Being with someone else sexually is not seen as a betrayal in that marriage, but having a best friend outside the marriage is a betrayal. Or falling in love with somebody else outside the marriage is a betrayal. There are guidelines.
CE: What do you hope viewers take away from the show?
MD: My hope is that people will watch and that the show will meet their expectations. And as the show unfolds, I hope they’ll say: “This show is more than I expected. It is actually very smart and very funny.” I know some people are offended by the title “Good Christian Bitches,” thinking this is an attack on religion. But I think one of the things people will find is that it absolutely is NOT an attack on religion. It is a lighthearted jab at hypocrisy within a particular religious context, but the show is actually very respectful of religion. They are respectful of the teachings of Christ. What’s being made fun of is these people who engage in very un-Christ-like behavior and call themselves Christians. I think we’ve all created a really tangible and palpable world, and I think and I hope that that’s what comes across.
Q and A: Week of March 5
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| Annie Potts, Leslie Bibb (photo by Karen Neal/ABC) |
A: For her role of Gigi Stopper, Annie found inspiration from a dear friend, the late Dixie Carter, whom she starred with on “Designing Women.” I spoke with Annie recently about “GCB” — which I agree is a must-see — and she told me how she formed the character of Gigi: “I have lovingly borrowed from Dixie Carter. Were she still alive, the role would have been hers and should have been, but since she took early leave, I just decided to play it like her. I think that she would approve.
“Dixie was sensationally beautiful, religious, Republican, conservative and had two daughters whom she worshipped. She always had stockings on, and she was immaculately groomed all the time. Even if I went over there to her house early in the morning, she always looked good. And she was always in the pew on Sunday. I think that’s the way Gigi is.” See for yourself, and check out “GCB” on ABC Sundays at 10 p.m. ET.
Q: Will Noah Wylie’s new show, “Falling Skies,” be back for another season? It was my favorite new show of last season. — Frankie A., Charlotte, N.C.
A: “Falling Skies” will return to TNT this summer as part of its exciting original summer-programming lineup. “Lost” alumnus Terry O’Quinn will join Noah for at least two episodes, playing a mentor of sorts for Tom Mason.
Q: I loved “Wedding Crashers.” Will Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn make another movie soon? They are so good together. — Alec. D., via e-mail
A: A lot of people agree with you, including the dynamic comedy duo themselves: Owen and Vince have signed on to co-star together in the new big-screen comedy “Interns,” where they’ll play two middle-aged men forced to re-evaluate their careers after being laid off. It follows their resulting struggle to reclimb the corporate ladder.
Dear Readers: Because I get tons of letters asking about “The Waltons,” I wanted to share this programming information with you. The Hallmark Channel will air “A Walton Easter” on Saturday, March 31, at 6 p.m. ET/PT, 5 p.m. CT. The television movie, which originally aired in 1997, takes place in 1969, where John-Boy (Richard Thomas) is now a married New York TV news anchor and is writing a new book. When John-Boy and his very pregnant wife, Janet (Kate McNeil), join his family for the celebration of his parent’s 40th wedding anniversary, John-Boy yearns to move back to the mountain, which conflicts with Janet’s wishes to stay in New York.
Immediately following, enjoy “A Decade of the Waltons,” a family special that highlights the greatest moments from “The Waltons,” and is hosted by Earl Hammer Jr., creator and narrator of the original show.
Interview: Annie Potts Is a Good Christian B—
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| Annie Potts, photo by Bob D'Amico/ABC |
Celebrity Extra: I got to watch the press screener of "GCB" last summer when the network was promoting its new shows, and this show — along with ABC's "Revenge" — was my favorite of all the new series. Now, at long last, "GCB" is finally premiering. Has the wait been hell on you?
Annie Potts: I know! Well, I think that was as much agony as it was, it was a real compliment to us, because I think they’ve been saving us to put us in at just the right moment in time to ensure our success. I think that they think that we are great. They just have a lot of faith and hope in us.
CE: Plus, it's not like it's standard protocol to premiere new shows only in the fall. We now have summer premieres, spring premieres, etc., which really benefits the viewer with more choices. I love that!
AP: Me too. It's different now, like you said, especially with cable and stuff, with things coming out all the time. I just started watching HBO's "Luck," which is fantastic, and PBS's "Downton Abbey." It's so last century to let everything premier in the same two weeks in September. It's nuts! It’s like the old-style warfare, where it’s like "Charge!" and the first 400 people in line are going to be massacred. There’s a better way to plan this. So, we think it’s a better mousetrap and hopefully will be a big success.
CE: After seeing the show, I cannot picture anyone else in the role of Gigi than you — it seems tailor-made for you and your talents.
AP: Thank you. I appreciate it. I felt the same way when I read it. It was like, “Oh, this is so my role.” Oh come on. Come on. Bobby Harling is an old friend of mine who wrote it — not that he wrote for me. I don’t mean to suggest that. He and I kind of came up around the same people, and he had, I think from the start, enormous confidence that I was going to be able to pull off Gigi in a way that was aligned with his vision of her. It has been really fun.
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| "GCB" stars Miriam Shor as Cricket Caruth-Reilly, Mark Deklin as Blake Reilly, Jennifer Aspen as Sharon Peacham, Leslie Bibb as Amanda Vaughn, Annie Potts as Gigi Stopper, Brad Beyer as Zack Peacham, David James Elliott as Ripp Cockburn, Kristin Chenoweth as Carlene Cockburn and Marisol Nichols as Heather Cruz. (ABC/BOB D'AMICO) |
AP: Well, that’s kind of come out in the doing of her. I’m a mother myself, and sometimes mothers get a bad rap just because they’ve tried to do their job. Some people have more of a knack for it than others do, but almost all of it falls to, “My mother’s suffocating me.” Whatever. Its like: “Buck up. I’m the one who wiped your behind and put your meals on the table so I’m going to have a say about your life. Accept it.”
CE: What do you like about Gigi, and how do you relate to her as a mom?
AP: I love her great zest for life. She’s been alone for 18 years. But she hasn’t felt sorry for herself. Bobby Harling specializes in writing women who have tremendous depth — I mean, he is the "Steel Magnolias" guy! Gigi just has a real knack for life.
I have lovingly borrowed from book of Dixie Carter for this. If she were she still alive, the role would have been hers and should have been, but since she took the early leave I just decided to play it like her. I think that she would approve. Dixie was sensationally beautiful, religious, Republican, conservative and had two daughters whom she worshipped. She always had stockings on, and she was just immaculately groomed all the time. Even if I went over to her house early in the morning, she always looked good — and she was always in the pew on Sunday. I think that’s the way Gigi is.
CE: While "GCB" is hilarious and fun, hour-long escape, I do love that it talks about hypocrisy of certain people, especially those who claim to be Christian but then don't act very Christianly toward their neighbor.
AP: It’s a great format to talk about hypocrisy. It’s tailor-made for that. Just the idea of Texas is an iconic one all over the world. They think Texas is synonymous with America. We’re big, we’re garish; it’s a cock-of-the-walk kind of thing. Texas has always represented America.
Somebody was saying the other day that there was a migrant pygmy tribe in Africa that waited for its annual migration an extra two or three days so they could find out who shot J.R.
Of course, it’s always fun when the rich get made fun of. Most of us think, “If we just had money, everything would be great.” And this proves, well, maybe not. And that makes everybody feel better. And that’s what entertainment is supposed to be — this is just flat-out entertaining.
CE: What is it like working with all those great people you have on the show?
AP: Everybody on the show is so talented and so relatable, and of course Kristin Chenoweth is a national treasure. Kristin has turned me on to "Toddlers and Tiaras." I watch it for acting tips — I like the women’s devotion to their daughters. It’s going to come out later that my character has been someone who trained people for pageants. So I have watched that to just see what happens in that world. And now, I am devoted to "Toddlers and Tiaras."
My hairdresser the other day asked me, “Oh, have you seen 'Revenge'?” and I said, “I haven’t seen that yet.” And she said: “Honey, it’s like peanut butter. It’s delicious.” And I believe that our show will thought to be delicious too. But maybe something more on the lines of peach cobbler.
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