Pop Culture Passionistas

Sofia Vergara: We Ain't Sayin' She's a "Coal Digger"

2010-03-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

On the surface, Sofia Vergara is the insanely beautiful and incredibly funny actress who plays Gloria Delgado-Pritchett on ABC’s hit sitcom “Modern Family.” But there are many layers to the Columbian bombshell.

We’ve all seen that Vergara is great at comedy – not only in her “MF” role as Ed O’Neill’s sexy and spirited wife, but in 2007’s the far-too-short-lived show “The Knights of Prosperity.” She also has musical talents, playing Mama Morton in “Chicago” on Broadway (the role that would earn Queen Latifah her Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 2002). She was the Executive Producer of the Spanish version of “Desperate Housewives.” And, she went to school to study dentistry.

We’re glad she gave up the “spit, rinse, repeat” business to play everyone’s favorite “coal digger.”

The cast and creative team behind ABC's "Modern Family" gathered for a panel discussion and screening at the Television Academy on March 3. Emmy magazine's Editor-in-Chief Juan Morales asked Sofia about taking the role of Gloria in this video that was shot and edited by the Pop Culture Passionistas for the Archive of American Television.

Jeff Eastin Looks Ahead at "White Collar" Season 2

2010-03-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

Tonight marks the season finale of our favorite crime drama “White Collar” and the series’ creator, Jeff Eastin has promised a “major cliffhanger.” Luckily, the show has already been picked up for a second season and Eastin and his team of brilliant writers have been working diligently to ensure that the show stays consistently good and doesn’t disappoint the dedicated fan base. We interviewed Eastin about the series and his future plans for Neil and Peter

Don’t miss the season finale of “White Collar” tonight at 10:00 pm on USA Network. And if you need a series hiatus fix, check in with Jeff Eastin on Twitter.

Q: How did you come up with the concept for “White Collar?”

JEFF: Well, the short version was I had an idea that was called Redemption, which was a much darker idea… I really love “The Shield.” It was one of my favorite shows. And knowing it was heading off the air, I’d come up with an idea for a Vick Mackey type character, who gets put in prison for allegedly killing his partner and he has to be released. The DA’s daughter gets kidnapped and the only person that can sort of solve the crime is this Vick Mackey guy. So they let him out of prison and put an ankle bracelet on him and track him while he sort of tracks down this kidnapper.

And a friend of mine called and said, “Hey, you might want to take a look at this show called ‘Life.’” And when I saw it I went, “Oh.” Which it was exactly pretty much word for word that idea. So I kind of shelved that idea.

And then USA had contacted me and said, “Hey, would you be interested in doing something for us?” And so I was looking for different ideas. One of the things I’d wanted to do, always do, was sort of a buddy comedy in the vein of “48 Hours” or “Lethal Weapon.” And I dusted off the “Redemption” idea and said what if I run… this dark story… through USA’s blue sky filter? That was really the genesis of the show.

I’ve said before I was also going through a fairly painful divorce at the time, which I think, probably it was a good thing that it happened at the time because that became the Kate story for Neal. What I was really worried about going in was that I was going to have this very charming con man and I wanted to make sure that there was something that grounded him. Something that gave him a soul. And so what I was going through personally really became his search for Kate. That was about it. And I’m very, very glad people are actually watching it.

Q: Please tell us the story of casting Matt Bomer on this show.

JEFF: Yes. I can’t say enough how happy and lucky I am to have Matt on this thing. I give most of the credit to Gayle Pillsbury who was my casting director on the pilot… We’d been casting lots and lots of really good looking guys. It’s L.A. A lot of good looking people. And I remember walking in that particular day and Matt… was looking through his iPod in the corner, had jeans on, and his glasses.

Gayle pulled me aside and said, “Keep an eye on that guy. He’s a star.” He came in and read and we liked him right away. We took him to the studio and he went up. He went to the network and they really liked him. We brought him back, I think, two or three times.

I remember it was the scene from the pilot where he’s explaining to Peter that he’s got the photo and… the deduction he wants to go look for Kate. And that was the audition scene. And I remember, about halfway through that scene, I looked at a couple of the executives at USA and we kind of nodded at each other because we knew at that moment that we had the right guy.

Q: When you’re writing a show that has so many characters, how hard is it to maintain a level of excellence writing for that kind of a cast?

JEFF: It can be difficult. What we’ve done is we’ve really broken it down to each person has their own sort of specialty. Peter’s specialty is usually sort of the puzzle solving, the putting the pieces together that an FBI agent would be good at. And I always look at Neal as somebody who can sort of look at the problem from outside the box and approach it in a way that most people wouldn’t think to. Mozzie adds his own expertise, which usually that sort of that street level guy who knows the way that criminals do it. And Elizabeth has a certain amount of emotional intelligence that we try to play off of. She’s going to see things from a human perspective that a lot of times Peter won’t see or Neal won’t see.

So it can definitely be difficult, but I have to say that at times, we put all four of them in a room has been some of my favorite scenes. In “Bad Judgment,” for example, when Elizabeth finally meets Mozzie. Mozzie walking in and debugging their house is one of my favorite sequences so far, I think, in the series.

Q: In a recent episode, Peter started to traverse the gray areas with Neal. He’s not completely opposed to doing something that maybe a couple of episodes ago he would have thought was completely wrong. How much is that going to happen in the future?

JEFF: Yes. Yes to all the above. I’m not going to give too much away for our season finale, but that actually, that particular aspect, Peter’s up to now, sort of unwavering belief in the system and in the Bureau gets shaken pretty good. And it allows Peter, or sort of pushes Peter, to the other side a little bit. Again, we’re not doing a radical re-shifting of the show. Peter’s not suddenly going to become a master criminal. But like you said in this [recent] episode, his willingness to sort of bend the rules more to achieve what he considers a good end, that will increase in season two. Actually, that factors in very heavily.

Q: Since Fowler is somehow connected to the whole case scenario. Clearly, he’s not the guy pulling the strings. So when are we going to learn more about the mastermind behind that and how is that going to play into future episodes?

JEFF: Yes. The big bad, as we call him, who ultimately will be the guy that Fowler reports to. We’ll learn a lot more about him in season two. Our Season 2, and knock wood, our Season 3 mythology really deals with that and really we spend some time exploring Fowler’s back story, which is actually kind of interesting stuff… Fowler will return and we’ll find out a little bit more about who’s pulling his strings and why, which I think is actually a pretty interesting story.

Q: Your show has such a great structure. Not only do we have a really compelling case, but you also manage to develop moments about the characters. How do you pull that all together?

JEFF: That’s probably the toughest thing. I don’t know. My background, I started as a feature writer. Probably one of my proudest moments was Jim Cameron hired me to do “True Lies II,” which ended up bumping into 911 and sort of folding up. But I spent almost a year and a half working with Cameron and he was a real stickler for structure. And I think where I got my just desire to really push the structure.

I’m somebody that approaches the story from two things really. Structure and motivation, which is as long as the character motivation is true then usually things hold together pretty good.

We have the mythology elements. We have the character moments and we have the story elements. And all those things are always vying for time. It’s all about page count. Usually, it’s a 60 page script. If there’s going to be a story with Elizabeth and Mozzie in this episode, you know it’s maybe 15 pages, which means suddenly you’ve got 45 pages to do everything else. So there’s always that balancing act. It’s a little tough.

Q: We heard the good news that Season 2 got picked up. Could you talk a little bit about planning for that, what you might do differently, and are we going to get a major cliffhanger leading into that?

JEFF: Yes. We have a pretty major cliffhanger coming up here in two weeks… The writers’ group has been going about two weeks now and most of that time; we’ve been just working on the mythology moving forward into Season 2. What I did, really, was looked and say what we thought we really did right in season 1 and just try to duplicate that.

Luckily, I was sort of surprised, but most new shows, there’s usually a few shows you’re sort of not happy with… I can’t really think of any show in Season 1 that I wasn’t happy with. I’ve got my favorites. But even the ones that are my least favorite, I still think came out pretty good. So I’m pretty happy about that.

But for the most part, the way I’m looking at the show right now is it ain’t broke and we’re not going to try to change anything majorly in Season 2 in terms of dynamic. For me, the show is really about Peter and Neal and that’s where the focus is going to stay, supported by Elizabeth and Mozzie, and that’s really where we want to keep it going into Season 2.

Q: But as the creator of the show, did you go in knowing how the show is going to end or do you let the characters drive the storyline?

JEFF: A little bit of both. I knew the big points. Like I’d always known that Peter was going to confront Kate in that hotel room at the end of “Free Fall.” I knew that. I’d known some of the big mythology beats. There were a lot of scenes that I’d wanted to use throughout the season. For example, the hotel scene with the girl in the portrait, with the French girl, that scene was actually originally going to be in the pilot, but as I was breaking the pilot down [the script] just got too long and so I dropped that scene out. And I knew I wanted to use it somewhere so I kept it in my back pocket.

In terms of the large mythology arcs through Season 1 and a great deal into Season 2, I’ve known what’s going to happen in the big moments. I knew Peter was going to confront Kate in that hotel room. I knew the ring. I knew Fowler existed. I knew what his story was going to be.

The finale coming up… I’ve always known the ending to that. And planning into Season 2, I’d had a fairly good idea going into that.

Outside of that, that’s the stuff we’re working on now. I wish I’d had the foresight to say that I’d planned all out five seasons of the show, but I wasn’t quite that optimistic going in.

Our Ten Favorite Oscar Things

2010-03-08T18:26:00.000-08:00

Last night's Oscars had its shares of ups and downs, as these things usually go. We love Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, and moments like their Snuggie bit and opening banter, did not disappoint. The stage was absolutely stunning, and while we're big fans of choreographer Adam Shankman, Neil Patrick Harris, and the Ziegfeld Follies, the opening number did fall short a bit for us. Roger Ebert tweeted, "I guess the best opening in Oscarcast history is still ahead for us." Still, there was more than enough spectacle, beauty, fun, and teary eyes to make for a completely enjoyable Oscar evening. So here are our ten favorite things about last night's Academy Awards.

Last night's Academy Awards had its share of ups and downs, as these things usually go. We love Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin, and moments like their Snuggie bit and opening banter, did not disappoint. The stage was absolutely stunning, and while we're big fans of choreographer Adam Shankman, Neil Patrick Harris, and the Ziegfeld Follies, the opening number did fall short a bit for us. Roger Ebert tweeted, "I guess the best opening in Oscarcast history is still ahead for us." Still, there was more than enough spectacle, beauty, fun, and teary eyes to make for a completely enjoyable Oscar evening. So here are our ten favorite things about last night's Academy Awards.

1. The John Hughes Tribute
He truly was the voice of our generation, and it was so amazing to see all those incredibly talented stars he worked with and, oftentimes, introduced us to.

2. Steve Martin's Best Quote
"You know, Gabourey and I have something in common. In our first movies, we were both born a poor black child." We always love a good reference to "The Jerk."

3. Clooney Walks the Chainlink Fence and Greets his Fans
George got out of his limo and before hitting the red carpet, went over to say "hi" to his admirers. Love that guy. So humble and down to earth. Although, it was the only moment of the evening where he seemed like himslef and not some elder statesman of Hollywood. He seemed a little sullen most of the night. What was up with that?

4. The "Modern Family" Commercial
The Oscars are becoming like the Super Bowl and the commercials are almost as entertaining as the big event itself. The best ad during last night's broadcast was the spot for "Modern Family" where they all played movie charades. Hysterical.

5. Ben Stiller Talks Na'vi
For the sake of full disclosure, we will admit that we have not seen, nor do we intend to see "Avatar." Yes, we are the only two people on the planet. We don't really get the hype and we're not huge James Cameron fans. Still, when Ben Stiller came out dressed in full blue face, speaking Na'vi, we were truly amused. Plus, he looked strangely attractive. The look works for him.

6. Gabourey Sidibe's Red Carpet Quote
The "Precious" Best Supporting Actress Nominee had the best line of the pre-show. "If fashion was porn, this dress would be the money shot." No need to say more.

7. Sandra Bullock's Shining Moment
Sure it was great that she won for Best Actress in "The Blind Side," and it was nice that she paid tribute to her deceased mom (always a tearjerker in our books) but our favorite Sandy moment was on the red carpet when she said she wanted a burger, doubled fried fries, and a milkshake after the show. Hope she got her wish.

8. Stars and Non-stars Tweet the Night Away
We spent the night on Twitter following viewers' reactions. The best non-celebrity tweet of the night came from Celebtv who wrote, "Is Charlize saving those cupcakes on her chest for later?! What is that dress?" We couldn't agree more. The best celebrity tweet of the night was written by Jane Fonda, "Too many actresses in audience chewing gum." Once again, we couldn't agree more. As an honorable mention we thought it was so sweet to see the tweet from Danny Pudi who plays Abed on "Community" saying, "Thank you John Hughes. Grew up with so many of those films. Wonderful tribute."

9. "...And the Winner Is"
For the past few years when the envelope was opened, the presenter was instructed to say "...And the Oscar goes to" for some politically correct reason we honestly never quite understood. We were pleased to hear last night that they have returned to the original phrase that we feel is synonymous with the award itself.

10. Jeff Bridges is Officially no Longer Underrated
Michelle Pfeiffer's touching introduction brought Jeff, the audience, and us to tears. And his acceptance speech turned those tears into an all out cry fest — from his tender homage to his parents and his loving nod to his wife off 33 years. Jeff was humble and deserving and as he pointed out at the Golden Globes, he is no longer underrated.

We Finally Got to See What Brian Boitano Would Make

2010-03-08T18:19:00.000-08:00

One quality you always hear that Olympic champs possess is consistency. Shawn Johnson always sticks her landings. Shaun White gets more air than his competitors every time. And Brian Boitano has never let us down in the kitchen.

Yes, that’s right, the Olympic gold medalist was finally back on the Food Network yesterday with a brand new episode of “What Would Brian Boitano Make?” And, just as we had expected, he was funny, charming, and he cooked some delicious food. We’ve been waiting months for his return and he did not disappoint.

But now that our foodie-TV appetite has finally been satiated, we want a little something more (we are, after all, give us an inch and we’ll take a mile type girls). Since Evan Lysacek has knocked Brian off his throne as the reigning U.S. Olympic gold medalist after 22 years, we want to see Boitano back on the ice. He can wait until the “WWBBM?” season is over, but then put down the Chef’s knife and slip the blades back on your feet and show Evan how it’s really done. Please!?

In the meantime, we’ll be tuning in each week for those delicious recipes and a couple of laughs.

Or, take a look back at our full list of Brian Boitano countdown trivia.

An Interview with "Chuck's" Zachary Levi & Joshua Gomez

2010-03-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

The NBC TV series "Chuck" is back after a few weeks off during the Vancouver Winter Olympics. The break gave the rabid fans of the geek chic action-comedy a chance to recover from the 3-D season premiere in January. Season 3 of the show is in full swing, with no word yet on the fate of the series. But fans and cast members are optimistic that with the support garnered during the last "Save Chuck" letter writing campaign, and five new slots recently opened up on the NBC programming slate, "Chuck" should be safe from cancellation.

Zachary Levi and Joshua Gomez, stars of the series, sat down for a conference call interview and talked about their characters, their cast mates, and what's in store for the future.

Q: The relationship between Morgan and Chuck continues to mature every season of the show. How do you see the maturity level of the relationship going forward?

JOSHUA: I think that because both characters have matured, their relationship obviously has reflected that a bit. But in a way I think they have to go further apart before they come back together.

ZACHARY: Eloquent.

JOSHUA: I think that Morgan and Chuck have both in parallel ways mirrored each other throughout these three seasons. They both have matured. They both have become different people from where we started. You look back at that and you go, "wow I was eating garbage out of a refrigerator in the break room and now I still do that, but less." [Chuck has] obviously come a long, long way. So, I think their relationship reflects that. They're sort of different men now. But that also saddens me. I miss the old Chuck and Morgan sometimes.

Q: Josh, can you talk a little bit about Morgan's growth especially this season; how do you feel about what he's had to deal with so far and what's coming up?

JOSHUA: I think like with any character to start at one place and get to another is part of the whole fun factor of doing this job and exploration and discovering… When I first read this script, the show was pretty black and white for me. So you start at that place like a pretty good foundation. And then slowly but surely you go "where else can this thing go?" I can't just keep doing the same thing. If there was one area of improvement in Morgan it was definitely a maturity level or just growing up.

Q: At the end of the last episode clearly Morgan was very heartbroken. From your perspective was he more heartbroken that Chuck once again gets the beautiful girl and Morgan gets left with nothing or because once again Chuck was ditching Morgan for a girl?

JOSHUA: No I think in a way it was neither because Chuck and Morgan actually never spoke about Hannah to each other. In a funny way I think Morgan [was] secretly pining over her but I don't think Chuck really knew. And Morgan didn't know that Chuck was hanging out with her. So I think it was more of a shock of "[I] didn't know that was going on." And then just heartbreak and disappointment just because I couldn't have her, not who got her; that's kind of how I thought about it. But, maybe secretly I hate him too. It was just a bummer. It was like oh man new hot girl at the store and I think I impressed her with all my French cinema references and then I wore an ascot and the whole deal and then nothing, nothing, you know. It's a bummer.

Q: As this season progresses are we going to see Chuck go darker as he goes further into his spy training?

ZACHARY: I don't necessarily think that you'll see him go darker. I know that there was a lot of hubbub on boards and stuff about "Hey I don't like this new Chuck, he's dark" and whatnot. But to me I don't see it as being darker I just see it as a natural progression of a character, of someone who gets deeper into this world of espionage and is trying to do the best that he can and learn and grow as a spy. Which may lead to things that are darker than the normal Chuck that we've come to know. But, no I don't necessarily think he gets darker I just think every episode is an opportunity for a new shade or a new color or a new flavor and that's what we saw in Chuck versus the nacho sampler and him learning a very valuable lesson and then proceeding to drink that pain away.

Q: Now that Morgan is onto Chuck and Hannah's relationship and he's now the assistant of the Buy More, how is that going to affect Chuck's working life at the Buy More?

ZACHARY: Well how does it affect Chuck's work? Well it does but I'm also unaware of his cluing into my life a little bit more. You know, I’m unaware of his... suspicions. And so it doesn't necessarily affect me all that much. But you'll see how it progresses and affects both Morgan's character and my character and my ability to sneak out the way that I always do. I'm surprised it's taken this long to be honest. How do I keep leaving the Buy More and never come back with really any results? I don't think I've sold or fixed anything in three years.

Q: Is Morgan going to try to make Chuck's life worse now that he knows?

JOSHUA: I don't think Morgan would be capable. I think that it's an honest true friendship. I think it's always been a thing of "talk to me dude" and... Chuck's wanting to do nothing more than talk to Morgan. If there was a person that would understand, Chuck realizes it would be Morgan. Not that he wouldn't be maybe a liability to the world's safety but I just mean as a friends goes I don't think it's in Morgan's nature to do anything that would cause direct hurt to his friend or anything malicious.

Q: Have you read this season's finale and if you have, does it leave us on a huge cliffhanger or does it tie things up just in case the unthinkable should happen?

ZACHARY: We haven't actually gotten it yet. We haven't read it so I have no idea. But I would imagine it's going to accomplish both. It will wrap things up in a way that you feel some kind of closure in the off chance that we don't come back for another season but also leave it open to whatever the possibilities for another season would be. I know that that's always the way, the smart way to do things with a show like ours that has again a really rabid and devoted and fantastic fan base. But television is a fickle game and you never really know how things work out. I feel pretty good about what our chances would be for another season given all the circumstances of where we're at as a show, where NBC is at as a network, and where the five new hours of programming have opened up. And so I feel like we could have a place there.

Q: Can you say anything about Emmett's death from the beginning of the season since that was so abrupt or is that kind of just wrapped up now?

ZACHARY: You know what I will say this, yes, it was abrupt, albeit kind of cool, you know... very shocking and certainly started the season off letting everyone know there's going to be some gnarly stuff that happens. But it was unfortunate in many ways. Tony Hale is - I feel like I say the same thing about everybody who's on the show - and it feels like when you say it about everybody maybe you don't mean it about anyone. But I truly do and Tony Hale is wicked talented. So smart, so funny, such a sweetheart, was a pleasure to have him on the show and was really a bummer to see him shot.

We found ourselves in a place, with the show where coming back by the skin of our teeth, we didn't have all the resources in the world to keep the show going the way that it was going as far as monetarily being able to keep everyone around and we have a lot of cast members and a lot of people to service. And so I'm not sure all of the things that went into ultimately the decision of having Emmett go bye-bye. But I do believe that Josh and Chris and our other writers handled it in a really good way. And I know that Tony enjoyed his time with us and I hope he gets to come back and play Emmett's twin brother or something. Or maybe Emmett's not really dead, you know, you never know.

JOSHUA: The shower scene. He comes out of the shower like "Dallas"… It was all a dream.

Q: Zach, this next batch of episodes has your "Chuck" directorial debut. Can you talk about that experience?

ZACHARY: One of the perks of it was that I got all of our regulars. I got everyone in the cast in my episode. Other times there are episodes where you're missing a face here or there, but in this one I got everyone… Casey and Sarah and good old Morgan Grimes...

JOSHUA: Yeah, Grimeys...

ZACHARY: And big Mike and Jeff and Lester and Ellie. Awesome... to be able to work with everyone and really feel supported by everyone. Not once did I feel like it was a strange or uncomfortable or awkward situation. I think part of that just had to do with the fact that I get to work with these guys all the time and I know them to know their characters inside and out better than anyone else does.

So you don't really have to say much just kind of let them do what they do and they do it so well. And I would only come in if there was like a pacing thing, if it was a timing thing, maybe there was a slightly different way to attack a moment. But everyone brings their A-game all the time, that's why I love them and respect them so much.

And the crew as well, the crew was so supportive and believed in me. And we collectively did what we always set out to do which is make a great episode of television. And I feel really strong about that. I'm really looking forward to everyone being able to see it and hearing feedback on it.

Q: How do you and your characters react with Adam Baldwin and his character?

JOSHUA: He's a big sweetheart.

ZACHARY: Yeah, he's a giant teddy bear.

JOSHUA: I always feel bad talking about it because I think he might want to retain that image.

ZACHARY: The man is a rock. Of everyone on our show he's the rock. He's been around the block... multiple times and seen a lot and worked with a lot of incredibly talented people. He's such a trooper and he finds every little moment to make Casey great. Part of the reason why we've found the audience that we have and the success to whatever extent that we have right now, a large part of that is due to him and being a part of Firefly and everything else that he's done and having really dedicated fans that he's also very dedicated too.

JOSHUA: I think he's an absolute sweetheart. It's just so much. I love getting Adam Baldwin to crack in a scene. Me and Zach will laugh at each other and we don't say anything, we're just a bunch of girls. Like we're just like two silly girls at a sleepover. With Adam, he's knocking down walls and he's knocking people out… so to make him laugh in the middle of a scene just gives me such satisfaction. Or doing something to get Adam after the scene - he'll hold it together and then it'll cut, and he'll go "that was hysterical." He's a smart guy and he's just an absolute pleasure to work with.

Q: NBC confirmed that Scott Bakula would be around for one of the later episodes of the season. Is there anything you can say about what he's doing?

JOSHUA: He's doing awesome work I can tell you that much. Get Scotty Bak.

ZACHARY: He really is doing fantastic work. I can't even tell you how much I love Scotty Bak. That guy is not only super talented but he is so fun. We'll just break into song or do funny voices but he's such a pro like just like to a T. Always on his moments, always diving into this character, Steven Bartowski who is very odd and kitschy and quirky and brilliant and he brings it every time, every scene and it's such a pleasure to work opposite him. Josh gets to work with him as well so it's nice when you have a guest star that kind of traverses both the spy and personal life.

Tim Burton: Local Burbank Boy Does Good

2010-03-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

Tim Burton’s latest film “Alice in Wonderland” hits movie theaters on Friday, March 5 and as the trailers show, the director is sure to pluck audiences from their seats and plop them down in the middle of an otherworldly experience.

Burton’s famous for his wacky characters and off-the-wall cinematic universes. But some might be surprised to learn the unconventional helmer had a very ordinary upbringing in the very suburban town of Burbank, California.

Burton was born on August 25, 1958 to Will and Jean Burton. Jean worked at a gift shop and Will worked at the Recreation Department for the City of Burbank. The family, along with Tim’s younger brother, Daniel, lived on the 2000 block of Evergreen Boulevard. He attended the local public schools Providencia Elementary, Luther Burbank Jr. High, and Burbank High but, by all accounts, never fit in with his suburban peers and focused on his art.

And yet, Burbank, was his home. As he told Los Angeles Times writer, Scott Timberg, "The thing about Burbank was, life sorta ended at the Smoke House," referring to the meat and potatoes eatery across the street from Warner Bros. studio. The landmark restaurant marks an unofficial finish line for the San Fernando Valley on the way over the hill into Hollywood. More than just his childhood home, Burbank and the Valley would be the petri dish for Burton’s growing career.

Burton’s emerging artistic talents were soon recognized and he was given a Disney scholarship to attend the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Not long after, he was hired by the studio to work in its Burbank facilities as an animator for “The Fox and the Hound” and then as a conceptual artist on “The Black Cauldron.” But his edgy style did not quite fit the Disney mold. So he was allowed to focus on his own projects.

What followed were two short films. The animated short “Vincent” featured voiceover from his childhood hero, Vincent Price. But it was the almost six minute long live action film, "Frankenweenie," that would launch Burton’s career.

Horror novelist Stephen King saw the short, recommended it to Warner Bros. studio executive Bonnie Lee. She, in turn, showed it to actor Paul Reubens, who was developing a film for his stage character Pee-wee Herman and thought Burton would be the perfect person to direct. So, local boy, Tim Burton moved down the road to Warner Bros. and directed his first feature film “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.”

His movie making ultimately took him to London where he made movies like “Batman,” “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and resides with his wife, actress Helena Bohman Carter and their two children, a 6-year-old son Billy Raymond and a 2-year-old daughter Nell Burton.

All of the local movie houses Tim Burton went to as a child have shut down but if you want to see “Alice in Wonderland” in the director’s hometown (or to find a theater near you) visit the AMC website.

The Andy Griffith Museum's Permanent Home

2010-03-05T02:28:00.000-08:00

Andy Griffith’s idyllic Mayberry doesn’t really exist but Mount Airy, North Carolina might be the closest thing around. This is the quaint southern hamlet where Andy Griffith grew up, the location of the annual Mayberry Days festival, and home to the Andy Griffith Museum.

The shrine to one of the world’s most beloved TV stars recently got a new home. There, for the small town price of just $3, Griffith fans can admire Andy memorabilia including the keys to the Mayberry jail, a Sheriff Andy Taylor shirt (made by the legendary western wear designer Nudie), and a bonifide Matlock searsucker suit jacket.

Emmett Forrest, a long time friend of Griffith’s, assembled the collection with collectibles that were personally contributed by Griffith and some of his famous friends like Don Knotts.

The museum seems like a must see for any true Andy fan. But if you aren’t planning a trip to North Carolina anytime soon but would love to delve deep into the history of the TV legend, visit the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences' Archive of American Television and watch their extensive interview with Andy Griffith.

The Brady Bunch Cancels Their "Today Show" Appearance

2010-03-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

Have you always wondered if there was sibling rivalry among the Brady's? Well this week that question was answered with a resounding "yes." And you can probably guess who the biggest adversaries were — Jan and Marcia, Marcia, Marcia.

The whole Brady clan was scheduled to take part in a reunion on the "Today Show" earlier this week but the spot was canceled in the eleventh hour. The reason for the last minute withdrawal is rumored to be a feud between Eve Plumb (Jan) and Maureen McCormick (Marcia).

It's got to be hard to be Eve. After all, Maureen was always the one the boys liked — the cheerleader with the mini skirts and the pretty smile. No glasses, no braces, no bad plaid clothes. Even as an adult with a weight problem who admitted her addiction to cocaine in her younger days, Maureen came out smelling like a rose. Eve makes one teenage hooker movie and her image is tarnished for eternity.

Of course, this is not the first public Brady dispute. A few years back Peter and Mrs. Brady had some words when he asked her for marriage advice before tying the knot with the first "America's Next Top Model," Adrianne Curry. Florence Henderson's advice was simple. Don't do it.

That Brady skirmish seems to have blown over, but according to radaronline.com Eve is angry with Marcia for implying in her latest tell-all book that the two cast mates might have shared a few exploratory girl kisses when they were kids. And just so we're clear, all parties involved have denied this theory.

What we don't get is, why "Today Show" producers didn't just call the Fake Jan, Geri Reischl — the one who was in the variety show when Eve Plumb refused to join her cast mates in the singing, swimming spectacular.

Read the details at Yahoo.com.

Jeffrey Donovan & Gabrielle Anwar from "Burn Notice"

2010-03-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

The third season finale of "Burn Notice" is going to air this Thursday night on USA Network at 10:00 pm. The series has become the highest rated cable TV show and often surpasses some of the network shows as well. Most fans attribute this success to the chemistry between the two stars Jeffrey Donovan (who plays burned FBI operative Michael Westen) and Gabrielle Anwar (Michael's ex who has a penchant for bombs).

We had an opportunity to speak with Jeffrey and Gabrielle about the show, their characters, and what lies ahead for season four.

Q: Can you talk about the evolution of your characters, if you're happy with where your characters have ended up, and where would you like to see them go in the future?

JEFFREY: I know from talking with all the other cast mates, we're very happy with where it's going. But sometimes Matt Nix and all the other writers keep us slightly in the character dark, not because they don't trust us with the knowledge, but they're just trying to figure it out as well along the way. When you're dealing with espionage and covert affairs, sometimes the secret is more exciting than the knowledge. If we were both in charge, I would love a deeper insight into Michael's past, that's for me. I don't know about Gabrielle, what would you like?

GABRIELLE: I'm quite happy with Fiona's enigmatic state of being. I don't think I need to know more about me. I'd love to know more about where you're from, absolutely, but I quite like not knowing. I don't like to know who I am.

Q: What first drew you to the show and to your characters?

GABRIELLE: I was drawn to the character, Fiona, I just thought it was so brilliantly written. It was sparingly written, but so insightful. I couldn't believe that a man had actually written the script, I mean at least her character. When I first met Matt Nix, who created and wrote the script, I actually said to him, you must have a remarkable relationship with your wife, because you have such incredible insight. So that was what intrigued me about playing a character.

When you sign up for a TV show, you don't know if it's going to be for a pilot or for the rest of your life, so I wanted to play a character that I enjoyed thoroughly, and there weren't that many of them out there. So that's why I clasped onto this script with great hope.

JEFFREY: I got hooked on the voiceover, the first page is a voiceover, it says, "You know what it's like to be a spy?" I love the idea that not only do I get to play a spy, I get to play a burn spy, and on top of that, I can talk to the audience about what it's like being a spy. I thought I had never seen anything like that on television, so that's what hooked me.

Q: This season Michael's relationship with his mother, Madeline, has softened. Did that come naturally just dealing with Sharon or is that something that was planned out?

JEFFREY: Well, you can't help but love Sharon, but at the end of the day, we're actors and we can create any hatred or tension that we need for a scene to work. So I don't think the writers were ever thinking, "Oh, how nice, Jeff and Sharon get along, let's make them love each other on the show." I think what you're seeing is just a natural evolvement of what does a viewer want to watch. Do you want to see a mother and son antagonistically attack each other every single episode for five years? I don't think so. So it's just a natural progression, just like Fiona and Michael's natural progression.

Q: Do you think Michael and Fiona's relationship is heading in a more romantic direction?

JEFFREY: Fiona and Michael are a real relationship in as much as TV relationships are built off of tension, and let's say it's Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd in Moonlighting. Once the banter ended after a couple of seasons and they slept together, there was no tension. That is a typical TV relationship. Ours actually is atypical. We have had sexual relations. We have fought, we have gotten back together, we've hated each other, and we've become friends to each other. That is the tumultuous relationship of their dynamic, and that will never change. So the tension is not about them hooking up, the tension I think is their love for each other and how that's displayed every episode.

Q: Can you talk about Fiona's relationship with Madeline?

GABRIELLE: Yes. I think that these two women have a tremendous amount of respect for one another. There's so little spoken about what's really being felt and really being witnessed with that connection to Michael, which I think is pretty accurate to real life, especially with the in-law figures. There's so much that's not spoken out loud, and yet there are so many physical undertones and it's very apparent, and that's thanks to Sharon. Her performance is so beautifully nuanced and I find it terribly inspiring. She's a wonderful woman and actress.

Q: Do you had a favorite kind of accent or persona that you've done or how you get the inspiration for that?

GABRIELLE: I don't know how Jeffrey can come up with these creations that he does. It's pretty remarkable, especially he's got such a heavy workload and yet he still can create these fabulous side characters. It's really, really fun to watch. I don't have that in my repertoire, so I'm glad it's all on his shoulders.

JEFFREY: Oh, sure you do. You played the French character. You played a hillbilly kind of girl, white trash girl.

GABRIELLE: That's it. We've seen all I've got.

JEFFREY: I think a lot of the characters that we play really do come out of a script. The writers are incredibly talented and they really help us with specific dialogue and character descriptions.

GABRIELLE: Yes, you do still come up with these fabulous little quirky things, like the chewing tobacco and the tooth picks and it's really fun. Those little tiny quirks make it so much more interesting than if it were just what was on the page I think.

JEFFREY: Some people call those crutches… But my favorite character of all has to be Michael McBride, the Irish character that I played. It's because it's the character that Fiona had fallen in love with, so it's very dear to my heart.

Q: Now having three seasons under your belt, is it getting easier or harder to keep playing these characters and stay invested in them? Are there any challenges you're facing now that maybe you didn't have in the beginning of the show?

JEFFREY: As you get older it's harder to run and jump over cars and beat up bad guys, but it becomes easier in some ways because you know the characters so well, so it's a little bit of both. What would you say, Gabrielle?

GABRIELLE: I always get a little anxious like the first day of school when we've had our hiatus and we're coming back, because I think I'm not as insane as I was when we started shooting, which really landed itself to Fiona. And now I'm afraid I might be getting a little boring in my old age, so I think that I don't know if I can step into her shoes and deliver. I have that anxiety before we start shooting.

Q: Can you tell us anything about the rest of the upcoming episodes, especially Good Intentions?

JEFFREY: … without giving too much away, Gilroy, who's basically a psychopath controlling Michael's actions, has to deliver a plane that has a secret piece of cargo in it and needs Michael's help to do it. When that happens, you find out it actually is someone quite dangerous, and Michael unfortunately allows him to escape. And then the finale is about trying to capture this psychopath that's loose.

Q: It's rumored that in an upcoming episode, Michael will be going somewhere other than Miami and that he won't be alone. Can you tell us where your character's going and why, as well as who's going with him?

JEFFREY: Well, obviously I can't. It's the season finale, and it's really literally in the last five minutes of the show. It's a bit of a cliffhanger. Michael's been stuck in Miami for quite some time, and there's a couple of psychopaths on his tail, and things come to a hilt. And by the end of the show, Michael is actually transported out of Miami, but I can't tell you where, but it's a bit of a cliffhanger.

Q: Now that we're seeing how Michael is and how the group is without the big overall mystery of who burnt Michael Westen, is there going to be a return of management anytime soon?

JEFFREY: Yes, season four is actually pretty remarkable. I met with the writers last week and we kind of broke down the next eight or nine-episode arc. A new character is going to be introduced. I don't know the name yet, but he is going to be a young operative, but he's going to play a significant new role on the show. And then there is actually going to be a change of management. There's going to be a new management that controls Michael's life, and you'll see Michael have to go on even more dangerous missions under this new management with the new operative.

Q: Will there ever be any flashback episodes to see how your two characters met or maybe how Bruce and one of your characters meet or anything like that, if that's ever been talked about?

JEFFREY: Flashback has been talked about, but not in a nice way. We've never done a flashback ever of anything and it's just not a device that we employ, so I doubt it, but I can't rule it out. One of my favorite episodes of "Magnum PI," which I was a fan of, was when Tom Selleck got knocked off a boat and he had to wade in the water until he was picked up. So they just basically shot him for about a half an hour wading in the water and then did the entire show of flashbacks. I liked that idea.

Q: It was enjoyable seeing Tim Matheson and you play off each other. Will we see Larry again?

JEFFREY: Yes, you will. Larry's such a pivotal thorn in Michael's [side]... and that gives my character great ammunition to kind of fight with. He's a terrific character and Tim's such a wonderful man and an extraordinary actor. One, we were lucky to get him, and two, he's actually happy to be on the show and wants to continually come back. He'll be directing season four's premiere. And also, he'll return as Larry at some point in the season.

Q: How has working with Chris Vance as a psychopath Mason Gilroy added to the show during the season?

JEFFREY: He's definitely added a great tension to every scene that I'm in with him, and I think a great super villain that governs over the show. I think the best part of "Burn Notice" is always when the villain or guest star is either more talented, smarter, or crazier than the rest of the cast, because it ups all our game. What do you think, Gabrielle?

GABRIELLE: Yes, I agree. I don't actually get to work with Gilroy, but I agree with you. There's nothing more inspiring than to have to pull everything you have out of your back pocket on the stage. And we have so little time to rehearse and to find everything imaginable in one scene, that when you do have this fantastic talent to work with, it really is fun. It makes it so much more enjoyable.

Q: How was it working with Tyne Daly?

JEFFREY: To be honest, it was almost all with Sharon. So we all sat back and watched two pros go toe-to-toe 12 rounds. It was quite remarkable. We were all just blown away by it. So I was more of a spectator like you than I was an actor in it.

Q: You both have had success in film, and a lot of times when that happens, people are less likely to want to do television. What do you like about this particular medium and why do you keep coming back to television?

JEFFREY: I think that, especially with cable, it's an avenue to be creative. I think why people are drawn more now to cable shows than ever is that they take more risks, they're creatively pushing the envelope. I think that the networks have to answer to a bigger advertising calling, whereas the smaller cables have lower ceilings that they can bump their heads on. So I think that's why I keep being drawn back to television, because I think it's one of the most creative outlets. And if you think about it, we make 16 one-hour movies a season. You don't get any opportunity like that in movies. I mean, I can't say I'll be able to do 16 movies in the next year, and so that's how I see it. How about you, Gabrielle?

GABRIELLE: I like the stability, the continuity of having a lifestyle where I know I can pay my rent at the end of each month. And also I have these children that I am raising and it's nice for all of us to know that we're going to be in a specific place for a certain amount of time. I've never known that in my career. So I'm really quite grateful at this point that I get to have the sort of double existence and I can rely on both.

Q: What goes into learning all the side tricks? Is there a lot of training and research involved in your roles?

JEFFREY: We have an ex-operative that actually is a consultant on our show that Matt Nix and the other writers have access to, so everything that is put into the show gets vetted through him before we air it. Ninety-five percent of it you can find on the Internet anyway, but everything that is put into a script has been researched and vetted, so that when we speak it or we do it, we know it's actual.

Q: How much of the stunt work is complements of the stunt coordinator, and how much is your own martial arts training?

JEFFREY: Actually what you see is 90% me. I have a black belt in Shotokan karate, about 15 years experience. I have eight years in Jujitsu and Akito, and about three years of boxing. So what I try to do in every episode is the stunt coordinator makes it safe, but most of the time I choreograph it. And it's a great relationship, because I will say what would really happen here is this, and then he comes in and makes it safe for the guest stars. And if something gets too physical, then the stunt men come in and take over.

Q: What would you guys say is most dangerous stunt you've had to do? Were you ever actually afraid doing it?

GABRIELLE: I don't like fighting with Jeffrey, because I always hurt him. Because I don't know what I'm doing, and he's such an expert, and I always manage to accidentally cause some damage.

JEFFREY: Yes, the most dangerous is either a bomb or something going off or a fight with Gabrielle. They're about the same.

Q: What has been your most memorable experience with meeting the fans of the show?

GABRIELLE: To be honest, it's the fact that so many couples are enjoying it together. It's become sort of a date night theme, which is really fabulous. I'm happy for bringing the love. It's all about the love.

JEFFREY: Yes, that's actually true, Gabrielle. A lot of husband/wives and boyfriend/girlfriends come up to me, the husband will say, "Oh my gosh, my wife loves the show. I got her onto it," or she'll say, or a woman will come and say, "My husband didn't watch the show until I told him about it." It's pretty neat that it is kind of a date night for couples.

Q: Are you surprised at the success of this show?

JEFFREY: Well, I think that all you can hope for is that you make something that people want to watch and then somehow keep integrity while doing that. And so I think we're very happy with the ratings definitely. I know we work really hard, so surprised, yes, we're always surprised when anything succeeds in this day and age.

T-Bone Wolk: The Heartbeat of Hall & Oates

2010-03-03T15:04:00.000-08:00

We’ve been touched by Rock ‘N’ Roll deaths in the past. We cried when John Lennon died, but we were kids. We were as shocked as anyone else when Kurt Cobain took his own life. But when we heard that Tom “T-Bone” Wolk died of a heart attack at the age of 58 on Monday, a little piece our hearts – the part that still thinks we’re teenage girls – broke.

Most people don’t even know who T-Bone was but those people weren’t Hall and Oates fans in the ‘80s. If you were anywhere near MTV during that decade, T-Bone was the guy with the hat, playing the bass. And he was an integral part of the H&O sound. Daryl Hall went so far as to refer to him as the ampersand in Hall & Oates.

After all “No Can Do” without that definitive bass riff might as well be called, “Well Maybe, I’m Not Sure.” “Maneater” with out that gnawing Wolk sound would have seemed more like “Dude-Nibbler.”

If you didn’t like Hall & Oates (and by the way, it’s finally fashionable to admit you always did), you should still know T-Bone. He played with music superstars like Elvis Costello and Carly Simon. And, he was a part of the “Saturday Night Live” house band from 1986 to 1992, when it was under the direction of his H&O partner in crime, guitar player G.E. Smith.

Sadly, T-Bone suffered a heart attack after leaving the recording session for Daryl Hall's new solo album on Monday night. Read what Daryl and John have to say about their dear friend on his MySpace blog page.

The "Saturday Night Live" Presidents Return

2010-03-03T07:49:00.000-08:00

Funny or Die's Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

The sketch comedy stars have aligned. The best "Saturday Night Live" Presidents have teamed up with Ron Howard in a "Funny or Die" video targeted at the always hilarious issue of financial reform.

In case your knowledge of "SNL" or American history is weak. Here's the cast list:

Fred Arminsen is Barack Obama with Maya Rudolph as his first lady, Michelle Obama; Will Ferrell plays George W. Bush; Darrell Hammond impersonates Bill Clinton; Dana Carvey stays the course as George H.W. Bush; Dan Aykroyd looks surprisingly different as Jimmy Carter; and Chevy Chase prat falls his way through the Commander-in-Chief who started it all, Gerald Ford.

Sadly, Phil Hartman who best portrayed Ronald Reagan on "SNL" was murdered in 1998. So, in a bit of stunt casting, Howard cast Jim Carrey in the part.

The end result is pretty funny. Now we'll just have to see what Congress does next before we decide if we feel like laughing or not.

Eight Is Enough Reunion on "The Today Show"

2010-03-02T20:43:00.000-08:00

Apparently seven is enough to fill our lives with love. That's all that showed for the "Today Show's" "Eight Is Enough" reunion. Not surprisingly the reportedly troubled Adam Rich didn't show up. Neither did the actress who portrayed Susan Bradford-Stockwell , Susan Richardson, who allegedly suffered a nervous breakdown in 1999 and now works at a nursing home in Pennsylvania. And, sadly, Lani O'Grady, who played Mary, died of a suspected drug overdose in 1998.

The rest of the Bradford clan was there including Tom Bradford (aka Dick Van Patten), his second wife Abby (played by Betty Buckley), and his kids David (Grant Goodeve), Joanie (Laurie Walters), Nancy (Diane Kay), Tommy (Willie Aames), and Elizabeth (Connie Needham).

See what they're up to now:

The New Cast of "Dancing with the Stars" Has Been Announced

2010-03-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

Last night the new celebrity competitors for "Dancing with the Stars" were revealed live during the final episode of "The Bachelor." In past seasons, the casting has become fairly predictable with the usual suspects that fit nicely into the predefined categories. This line-up is no exception.

Don't get us wrong, we understand the need to fill the appropriate parts and we're pleased with some of the choices. If it ain't broke... right? Here are the new cast members and the role they are playing on the show that premieres Monday, March 22 on ABC.

BACHELOR/BACHELORETTE STAR — Jake Pavelka
The final live announcement last night revealed that "Bachelor" Jake will round out the Season 10 cast. He has a very hard act to follow as Melissa Rycroft, last year's "Bachelorette" contender, went all the way to the finals before being beat by Gilles Marini and Shawn Johnson. Still, Trista did not fare so well in Season 1 and was eliminated first. We think Jake might have some rhythm based on several spins on the dance floor during dates, and predict that he will break up with Vienna before he gets kicked off "DWTS."

BOY BAND/GIRL GROUP STAR — Nicole Scherzinger
The contestants in the category have a huge leg up over the competition. They dance for a living. And while ballroom is a different kind of dance, they already have the ability to learn choreography and an inherent sense of rhythm that the other dancers generally lack. And while past boy band and girl group cast members like Joey McIntyre, Drew Lachey, and Lance Bass had us cheering, we are not so thrilled by the choice of Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger. Did she just get a new agent or something? She's everywhere. First on the a cappella competition show "The Sing-Off," then on the "We Are The World" re-recording, and now this? "Don't Cha" wish she would get voted off early?

COMIC ACTOR STAR — Niecy Nash
Past comic actor dancers have managed to rank pretty low in overall scores. Adam Carolla, Jeffrey Ross, David Alan Grier, and Steve-O found a place in our hearts and made dancing fun, but did not stick around very long when the dancing got tough. Niecy Nash might follow in their funny footsteps, but she has an edge, she also straddles the sometimes used Plus Size Star category with contestants like Marissa Jaret Winokur and Kelly Osboure who manage to get the audience behind them. Don't rule her out.

HOT DAYTIME SOAP STAR — Aiden Turner
Aiden will appear on "DWTS" as the daytime soap character. He has a lot to live up to, as both Cameron Mathison from "All My Children" and Kelly Monaco from "General Hospital" did well in the competition. Kelly was the first ever "DWTS" champ. We suspect the rabid daytime fans will keep this eye candy around for a little while, whether he can dance or not.

OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST STAR — Evan Lysacek
Evan has some big skates to fill. Three of the past nine "DWTS" champions have been Olympic Gold Medalists — Apolo Anton Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Shawn Johnson. And while we have always been on Team Weir and were hoping Johnny would be the Olympic athlete chosen for this season's cast, we did warm up to Evan during the Vancover Winter Games. He skated beautifully and handled the antagonistic comments by Evgeni Plushenko with absolute grace. We think Evan will do his fellow Olympic dancers proud.

PRO ATHLETE STAR — Chad Ochocinco
Each season there is a pro athlete chosen to round out the "DWTS" playing field. As non-sports fans, we usually don't have a clue who they are. This year is no exception. Chad Ochocinco? Never heard of him. Apparently he's a wide reciever for the Cinciannati Bengals. But the past athletes like Jerry Rice, Emmitt Smith, and Warren Sapp were fierce competitors that stuck around. Typically the pros have a touch of rhythm, an unparalleled sense of soul, and the huge voting base of the husbands who watch the show with their wives and see their favorite athletes display their twinkle toes.

REALITY TV STAR — Kate Gosselin
Every season of the dancing show has a reality TV star. And this year the obvious choice was Kate Gosselin (we thought she had gone away, but no such luck). If her reality TV predecessors are any indication of her staying power, she should be back with her kids in no time. Past reality stars like Kim Kardashian, Rocco DiSpirito, and Holly Madison were all eliminated within the first four weeks.

RETRO TV STAR — Shannen Doherty
Shannen takes the stage to play the part of an actor from an ’80s or early ’90s TV series. Past competitors in this category have included Joey Lawrence, Ian Ziering, and fellow "90210"-er Jennie Garth. We expect Shannen to have some grace, but not go all the way. Either way we hope she brings some bad girl drama to the floor.

SEXY SUPERMODEL STAR — Pamela Anderson
The odds for the sexy supermodel dancer are very unpredictable. Each season there is one super hot model or playmate that's put on the show mainly to look good in the skimpy ballroom costumes. And while some contestants like Paulina Porizkova, Rachel Hunter, and Josie Maran did not make it past the half way point, others, like Brooke Burke and Joanna Krupa, surprised us all by making it to the end. We're not sure which side of the spectrum Pamela Anderson will land, but if we had to guess we'd put her in the first group. Just a hunch.

TV JOURNALIST STAR — Erin Andrews
This category has consistently proven to a be a disappointment. Kenny Mayne and Tucker Carslon, while entertaining, did not last very long. Neither did Leeza Gibbons or Giselle Fernandez. We suspect Erin Andrews, the ESPN sports reporter will fare slightly better than her journalist predecessors, since she was on her college basketball dance team (read cheerleader) at the University of Florida.

UNCOORDINATED SENIOR STAR — Buzz Aldrin
We could not be more happy for the first U.S. Astronaut to grace the dance floor. And while he seems like an out-in-left-field choice, he fits perfectly into the AARP category for the show. The on-the-older-side celebrities that usually stick around for a while, not necessarily because they have the moves, but because they are thoroughly entertaining. John O'Hurley won the Season 1 dance off. Jerry Spinger was eliminated just two weeks before the finals. Cloris Leachman and John Ratzenberger both made it half way through. And Tom DeLay might have gone the distance had he not developed fractures in both feet.

In Honor of "Parenthood:" Our Favorite Bonnie Bedelia Role

2010-03-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Bonnie Bedelia began acting when she was just nine years old and from there went on to do Broadway, a daytime soap, big budget action films, miniseries, and several TV shows.

In her early days she starred on the soap opera "Love of Life" and eventually graduated to starring roles with big name actors like Paul Newman in "Fat Man and Little Boy," Ed Harris in Stephen King's "Needful Things," and Kevin Kline in "Violets Are Blue." In 1984 she was awarded a Golden Globe her playing racecar driver Shirley Muldowney in "Heart Like a Wheel."

In recent years Bonnie turned to the small screen. From 2001 to 2004 she played Captain Kate McCafferty on "The Division," and last season she acted alongside Rue McClanahan, Olivia Newton-John, and Caroline Rhea in Logo's "black comedy about white trash" called "Sordid Lives: The Series."

But Bedelia will forever be remembered for playing the wife of two Hollywood superstars. First, she in known as Harrison Ford's wife in the twisted legal drama "Presumed Innocent," but most will remember her in the first two "Die Hard" movies playing the ex-wife of policeman John McClane (Bruce Willis).

We're excited to see Bonnie back on TV in the upcoming small screen version of Ron Howard's 1989 film "Parenthood." She'll be playing the family matriarch, Camille Braverman — Craig T. Nelson's wife and mother to Peter Krause, Lauren Graham, Erika Christensen, and Dax Shepard. Hear what she has to say about the new series in this interview.

And while you wait for tonight's premiere, check out the trailer for the original "Die Hard."

Who Will Jake Pavelka Pick on "The Bachelor" Season Finale?

2010-03-01T14:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight the burning question will be answered. Will “The Bachelor” Jake Pavelka choose the brash and boisterous Vienna or the prim and proper Tenley.

Any doubt that Jake left the show without a significant other ended last week when “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison told People magazine that the airline pilot is “very much in love” and that he’s “still with the woman he chose.”

The buzz online is that Jake’s picked Vienna – a long shot from the beginning that most people never would have thought would get a home town date, let alone be the last bachelorette standing. Personally, we don’t get her appeal, and we’re usually pretty good at these things.

But we also don’t believe the gossip that Jake changed his mind at the last minute and proposed to Ali. Since she’s clearly the front-runner for the next “Bachelorette” slot, we figure she’s probably over that regret she was feeling about leaving the show early to go back to work.

But whomever Jake picks, odds are against them taking a trip down the aisle together. Sure Jason Mesnick just married his second-choice “Bachelorette” Molly. And, yes Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter have been happily married since 2003. But that’s not a good success rate given there have been 19 seasons of the franchise. Jake might think Vienna’s saucy attitude is exciting, but we’d be shocked if he chose to spend the rest of his life dealing with the drama.

Needless to say, we’ll be glued to our sets tonight at 8:00 PM, soaking up all the “Bachelor”-y goodness on ABC.

In Honor of "Parenthood:" Our Favorite Monica Potter Show

2010-03-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

Monica Potter has spent most of her career playing the sweet and supportive girlfriend. She has been leading lady to Nicolas Cage in “Con Air,” Billy Crudup in Warner Bros.’ Prefontaine movie “Without Limits,” and Robin Williams in “Patch Adams.”

But she started to show a more comedic side on 2009’s all too-short-lived other ad exec show “Trust Me,” which starred Tom “Ed” Cavanagh and Eric “Will” McCormack. We loved Potter’s turn as the cranky copywriter Sarah Krajicek-Hunter and were sad when the show came to an abrupt end after just 13 episodes.

So we were happy to see that she’s part of the powerhouse cast bringing Ron Howard’s 1989 hit film “Parenthood” to the small screen again.

Potter also knows a thing or two about raising kids in suburbia. The mother of three (two sons with her first husband Tom Potter and a daughter with her current orthopedic surgeon hubby), has opted to raise her kids in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. Monica’s so committed to her small city roots she was even named the "Best Movie Star Loyal to Cleveland" by Cleveland Scene, “Northeast Ohio’s Only Alternative Newsweekly.” Unless fellow Buckeye Drew Carey steps up his game, she just might walk away with their TV title this year.

We know we’re going to love Potter in “Parenthood,” but her edgy Sarah Krajicek-Hunter will always hold a special place in our heart, see why in this episode of “Trust Me.”

Brian Boitano Trivia Challenge

2010-02-28T18:00:00.000-08:00

QUESTIONS:
26. Where are Brian’s American flag appliqué Olympic skates currently on display?
25. Which TV series creators would Brian like to have on his show?
24. Name the Disney film in which Brian appeared with Michelle Kwan?
23. What does Brian have for a typical dinner at home?
22. What other skating legend appeared with Brian in the Super Bowl XXVI halftime show?
21. How many times has Brian won the World Championship?
20. What is Brian’s middle name?
19. What is allowed under the ISU “Boitano Rule”?
18. In what Will Farrell movie did Brian make a cameo appearance?
17. What is the only original appliance in Brian’s renovated home kitchen?
16. Name the year Brian was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
15. What film featured the song “What Would Brian Boitano Do?”
14. Where did Brian place in his first Olympics in 1984?
13. To which film score did Brian perform his 1988 Olympic Free Skating Program?
12. Who choreographed Brian’s Olympic programs in 1988?
11. How does Brian cut up his garlic?
10. In what year did Brian win his first National Championship?
9. For which program did Brian win an Emmy Award?
8. How many times has Brian landed a quadruple jump in competition?
7. Where did Brian place in the 1994 Winter Olympics?
6. How many times has Brian won the National Championship?
5. Where was Brian born?
4. In what year did Brian win his first World Championship?
3. What is Brian’s signature jump?

2. Name Boitano’s rival in the 1988 “Battle of the Brians.”

1. In what city did Brian Boitano win the Olympic Gold Medal in 1988?

ANSWERS
26. The Smithsonian Institute
25. Trey Parker and Matt Stone of “South Park”
24. “Ice Princess”
23. Fish and vegetables
22. Dorothy Hamill
21. Two times (1986 & 1988)
20. Anthony
19. Professional skaters can be reinstated as amateurs
18. “Blades of Glory”
17. The stove
16. 1996
15. “South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut”
14. 5th place
13. “Napoleon”
12. Sandra Bezic
11. A chopper
10. 1985
9. “Carmen on Ice”
8. Zero
7. 6th place
6. Four Times (1985-1988)
5. Mountain View, California
4. 1986
3. The Tano Triple Lutz

2. Brian Orser

1. Calgary, Alberta

In Honor of "Parenthood:" Our Favorite Craig T. Nelson Role

2010-02-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

Craig T. Nelson is a regular renaissance man. He's starred in movies like "The Proposal," "Silkwood," and "Ghosts of Mississippi." He's written TV shows like "The Alan King Special" and "The Tim Conway Show." He voiced animated characters like Mr. Incredible, in the Disney feature "The Incredibles," and he made his Broadway debut in Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!"

Still most people know him as a TV actor for shows like "The District" and "Call to Glory." But he will forever be remembered as Hayden Fox on the TV series "Coach." He starred in the sitcom about the Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles football team alongside Jerry Van Dyke, Bill Fagerbakke, and Shelley Fabares for nine seasons and garnered numerous nominations and awards including an Emmy.

While we loved "Coach," our favorite Craig T. Nelson role was protective dad, and not-so-great real estate buyer, Steve Freeling in the "Poltergeist" films. If you haven't seen them in a while check out the trailer for the original. It still holds up.

And if you miss Craig T. Nelson as much as we do, watch him on the series premiere of "Parenthood" next Tuesday, March 2 at 10 pm on NBC and see what he has to say about the show in this interview.

Conan O'Brien vs. Jay Leno — Part II

2010-02-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

It is now a proven fact. Conan O'Brien is funny no matter what he does. He started a new Twitter account (verified by the website, so it's really him) at 6:00pm Wednesday.

Within the first 30 minutes he had 15,000 followers. So far he has two (hilarious) posts and 367,000 followers. And while that may seem small in comparison to, say, Ellen DeGeneres or Ashton Kutcher (whose followers number in the millions), it's not bad for a day's work.

Plus the best part — Jay Leno's verified account, which launched last May, has only 30,000 followers. In one day Conan has ten times more fans than Jay attracted in nine months. If only Coco could have kicked his butt this much on TV, then maybe his Twitter bio would not have to read, "I had a show. Then I had a different show. Now I have a Twitter account."

At least we still have an outlet for O'Brien's creative genius, bearded pictures of him with monkeys, and some of his best jokes to date.

We'll whet your appetite with his first tweet: "Today I interviewed a squirrel in my backyard and then threw to commercial. Somebody help me."

Be sure to follow him. There are bound to be more gems just like it. Rock on, Coco!

And hey, by the way, we're on Twitter, too, and we could use a few more friends ourselves.

Great TV Families Reunite

2010-02-25T16:24:00.000-08:00

Get ready Retro TV fans, “The Today Show” has quite a treat scheduled for you next week. The morning talk show is running a week-long series called “Great TV Families Reunited” starting next Monday, March 1 and running through Thursday, March 4.

The segment kicks off on Monday with the cast of “Eight Is Enough” and the Partridges will be on Tuesday’s episode.

Wonder what happened to Mary Bradford from “Eight is Enough?” Curious how
“The Partridge Family’s” Danny Bonaduce is doing these days? Wondering if Maureen McCormick from “The Brady Bunch” has kept off that “Celebrity Fit Club” weight? Dying to find out what Jackee Harry’s favorite “227” moment was?

Well then you’ll be really excited to know that “The Today Show” is giving viewers a chance to ask the cast members questions. All you have to do is go to the official website and submit your burning query.

But don’t ask the Brady kids if they got along off screen as well as they did onscreen, we’ve already sent that one in ourselves.

In Honor of "Parenthood:" Our Favorite Dax Shepard Role

2010-02-25T13:14:00.000-08:00

Dax Shepard has come along way since doing Ashton Kutcher’s dirty work on the MTV hidden camera series “Punk’d.”

Now he’s become a legitimate movie star – appearing in over ten movies since he left the celeb prank show in 2004. Some were good – like “Baby Mama.” Some were, well, not so good – like “Employee of the Month.” But regardless of the overall movie, Dax always delivers a solidly funny performance.

He’s become a leading man in real life, too. Over the holidays he proposed to his “When in Rome” co-star Veronica Mars… we mean Kristen Bell. Shepherd, 35, and Bell, 29, reportedly met at a mutual friend’s birthday party and went public with their relationship in 2007.

Next week Dax is making his triumphant return to TV, but this time it will be on a scripted, network series. In the latest small screen adaptation of Ron Howard’s 1989 film “Parenthood,” Shepard plays Crosby the commitment phobic youngest brother of the Braverman clan. We’re looking forward to seeing how far he’s come.

If you want a reminder of his "Punk'd" performances, check out the first episode from the show's premiere season.

You Can Help Choose a Winning Oscar Fashion

2010-02-24T16:16:00.000-08:00

Have you always wanted to have a hand in choosing someone's Oscar gown? Well now you have a chance. Sure, it may not be a dress worn by Sandra Bullock or Angelina Jolie, but it will be seen more times on Oscar night than almost any other garment.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has created an Oscar Design Challenge. Nine up-and-coming designers are competing for the top prize — their gown will be worn by an "onstage awards escort" (more commonly known as a trophy girl) during this year's Academy Awards.

It's sort of a mini online "Project Runway," but this time, we all play the parts of Michael Kors and Nina Garcia. We get to choose who is in and who it out. Like the reality show, the designers are at a range of stages in their fashion careers — many have their own lines and some have already made clothing for the stars. But none are household names and this win could change their lives.

Also similar to "PR" this is a competition for the models, too. Each designer was assigned a young girl who wore their gown in a runway show this past Tuesday. The videos from the event were posted online and now it's our turn. We get to go to oscars.go.com, see the nine competing gowns, and cast our votes. The winning design will be revealed at the Oscar pre-show on March 7, and the model will wear it as she hands out awards alongside her fellow statuette handlers.

Plus, starting March 2nd you can also watch "Behind the Dress," a web series about the designers, the models, and the competition. And the best part? Carson Kressley (of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "How to look Good Naked" fame) will host the series, so you know we're all in for a few giggles coupled with some tenderly encouraging moments.

The entries are all so gorgeous that it's hard to choose a winner. We have narrowed it down to our top three, but we will refrain from revealing our picks so as not to sway your vote. Let us know which one you chose and may the best gown win.

In Honor of "Parenthood:" Our Favorite Peter Krause Roles

2010-02-24T08:00:00.000-08:00

We've been fans of Peter Krause for a long time. So we were more than pleased to hear he'll be playing the mildly uptight family patriarch, Adam, in the highly anticipated TV show based on Ron Howard’s 1989 movie “Parenthood."

We first got a hint of Krause in "Cybill," playing Cybill Shepherd's son-in-law, but it was his starring role as anchor Casey McCall on "Sports Night" that put Krause on our map. We were sad to see the series end after two seasons, but glad to see Peter back on our TV the following year as funeral director Nate Fisher in "Six Feet Under."

While it seemed like an eternity between Krause spottings on the small screen, he returned just two years later in "Dirty, Sexy Money," the new millennium's answer to "Dynasty." Krause played Nick George, the good guy turned-oh-so-slightly-bad when he took over as the family lawyer to the filthy rich Darling family. Once again, though, we were let down to have yet another Krause show canceled.

And now he's back. Hopefully, to stay for a while on what is expected to be a big hit, "Parenthood." This time he's playing a good guy. A family guy. A guy struggling to find time for both his work and his kids. In a recent interview, Krause said he likes playing this kind of character because it's a big change for him to portray a good husband and a good dad.

To hear more of what Krause has to say about playing Adam Braverman check out this interview and be sure to watch the series premiere next Tuesday, March 2 at 10 pm on NBC.

In Honor of “Parenthood:” Lauren Graham’s Finest Role

2010-02-23T17:44:00.000-08:00

We’ve been waiting a long time for the new TV show based on Ron Howard’s 1989 movie “Parenthood” to premiere. The show was originally slated to debut last September but that was postponed when series’ star Maura Tierney announced she was leaving in order to undergo treatments for breast cancer. We were sad to hear the news and bummed about the delay.

We never could have anticipated that out of that disappointment would come incredibly good news. Lauren Graham would be replacing Tierney. Now we’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. We were HUGE “Gilmore Girls” fans. HUGE. And we’ve been waiting three years to hear that Graham was signing on to a new show. We never expected it to be the one show we’ve been waiting forever to see.

Sure, we’ve had little Lauren fixes along the way with her appearances in “Evan Almighty” and “Flash of Genius.” But nothing’s filled the Lorelei-sized hole in our TV addict hearts. We miss her at her finest, in her greatest role.

But now we only have to hold out a little bit longer, until next Tuesday night, March 2 at 10 pm on NBC. Until then, we’re going to enjoy Lauren in all her Lorelei glory and stage our own “Gilmore Girls” marathon. Feel free to join us, the WB posts three new episodes of the classic series each week. Order in some Chinese and let the snappy banter begin.

And click here to see Lauren's thoughts on her "Parenthood" character, Sarah.

Bob Newhart Is Still Funny After all These Years

2010-02-23T09:01:00.000-08:00

Photo by Alan Light

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/ / CC BY 2.0

Last weekend, the Los Angeles hipster film afficianados at the American Cinematheque made one of our childhood dreams come true. We were in a room with Bob Newhart, when the Aero Theater ran back-to-back Newhart films (“Cold Turkey” and “Hot Millions”) and invited the legendary comedian to speak between the two flicks.

The room was packed and it wasn’t just TV fans that came out to see Newhart speak. Among the luminaries in the audience were Bob Schiller (writer on sitcoms like “I Love Lucy” and “All in the Family”), John Voldstad (that’s Larry’s “other brother” Darryl to you “Newhart” fans), and most amazing of all, Norman Lear, who directed “Cold Turkey” and joined Bob onstage during the Q&A before leaving early to drop his young daughters’ friends off at home.

Newhart did not disappoint. He was exactly as we had always expected – a charismatic guy who seems grateful for the life he’s had. The former accountant turned copywriter in the late ‘50s. He happened to start recording funny phone calls with a coworker at a Chicago ad agency and turned that bit into a record called "The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart,” which would become the only comedy album to ever win a Grammy for Album of the Year.

Bob beat out two classical pieces (the Brahams Concert No. 2 by Sviatoslav Richter and the Puccini Opera “Turnandot” performed by Erich Leinsdorf) and three of the biggest recording artists of the day: Harry Belfonte, Nat King Cole, and Frank Sinatra. According to Bob, Old Blue Eyes wasn’t amused. He recalled, “Frank was not thrilled with the fact that a comedian had beaten him out for album of the year. But didn’t take too much to upset Frank. Wind… or a bird.”

The highlight of the night with Newhart came with an audience member started his question with an enthusiastic, “Hi Bob,” which set the crowd into a fit of wild applause. When Lear looked confused, the star of “The Bob Newhart Show” launched into a full-scale explanation of the drinking game his show’s incessant salutations had inspired.

For a guy who thought he was going to be in the business “for five [years] out.” Newhart seemed surprised that he’s had a 50-year career. In fact, he still does about 20 stand-up gigs a year, but that’s his max. “I say the alternative is ‘Sunset Boulevard.’ Sitting in a darkened room and Erich Von Stroheim says, ‘Which episodes of ‘The Bob Newhart Show’ would you like to watch next?’ Not my idea of retirement.”

We can only hope Bob won’t retire any time soon.