Category: External TV (Page 153 of 419)

A Chat with Saul Rubinek

July 7, 2009 /

Saul Rubinek is one of the most versatile characters actors in Hollywood, able to move from sitcom to serious drama without a moment’s hesitation. As a result, he’s one of the busiest guys in the business, a fact which is easily proven by taking a gander at his IMDb listing. It’s been awhile, however, since he’s taken on a role as a series regular, which should give you an idea of how special he believes his new gig, Sci-Fi’s “Warehouse 13” (premiering July 7th), to be. Bullz-Eye spoke with Rubinek about how he came aboard the series and what we can expect from his character, and we also chatted with him about his experiences on “Frasier,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and “The Outer Limits,” and the legacy of “True Romance.”

* “I adore (‘Warehouse 13’), and it’s a pleasure to be able to talk about it. I’ve had so many times in my life where I’ve had to sell a show, you know, and do my due diligence as an actor and try desperately to look for something positive to say. Here I am in a kind of heaven.”

* On doing “Frasier”: “I had to pinch myself. That was one of the most amazing times I have ever had, where you feel like you are doing this little one act play, no interference from anyone, anywhere. We’re just doing this little one act play, and then 23 million people showed up.”

* “That world of Lewis Carroll, Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson is a world that I threw myself into as a kid. And also, even darker, into the world of Lovecraft and Poe as well. I loved that. As a child, I was able to throw myself into a world of make believe where I actually was in that world, because as a kid, boy, it was really easy to believe it when I was doing it.”

To read more, click here…or, if you’d rather, there’s the big graphic below that’s a bigger target:

And as a Premium Hollywood bonus, here’s Saul’s death scene from one of his very first films, one which he discusses in the interview:

Action Movies, Actors, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Interviews, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi

15 Movies That Were Almost Turned Into TV Series

July 6, 2009 /

If you’re not an ABC Family aficionado like myself, then you may not be aware that the often-underrated network is preparing to launch a new series on July 7th: “10 Things I Hate About You,” based on the film of the same name. It’s hard to say whether this is a good idea or not, though the fact that Larry Miller has carried over his character from the film – patriarch Walter Stratford – is certainly a step in the right direction, but we can say one thing: there have been worse ideas. It’s been a television staple to transform motion pictures into weekly TV series, but not every attempt actually makes it to the airwaves. Here’s a list of 15 such swings and misses, many…okay, most of which deserved to fail.

1. “The African Queen” (“The African Queen,” 1962 & 1977) – It seems only appropriate to start this list out with an attempt at transforming a classic film into a TV series. The first time around was in 1962, when James Coburn took on the role of Cap’n Charlie Allnot, while Glynis Johns played the Hepburn role of missionary Rosie Sayer, but although it aired as an episode of NBC’s “The Dick Powell Theater,” it never made it any further. Fifteen years later, CBS took a stab at it, with the leads played by Warren Oates and Mariette Hartley. No dice. If the actual movie ever makes it to DVD (can you believe it’s still unavailable?), perhaps one or both of these pilots will be included as part of the bonus material.

2. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (“Holly Golightly,” 1969) – It sounds nuts, right? Granted, if there was anyone in the late ’60s who was the TV equivalent of Audrey Hepburn, it was probably Stefanie Powers, but Hepburn’s performance was so iconic that it’s hard to even wrap your head around the idea of anyone else playing the role of Ms. Golightly. As it turns out, the original author of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” – Truman Capote – didn’t like the movie, either, calling it “a mawkish valentine” to Hepburn, so he was even less ecstatic about the idea of a TV series. In an interview with Time Magazine, Capote predicted that the show would be even more “jerky” than the film and that he would not stand for the TV version “if they give me all the money in Christendom.” One doubts that his position on the matter had anything to do with the series not being picked up, but the end result no doubt pleased him, anyway.

3. “Diner” (“Diner,” 1983) – This one had a lot of potential, with the film’s writer/director, Barry Levinson, doing the same duties on the pilot. There was only one original cast member willing to return, however, but, hey, at least it was Paul Reiser (Modell). Plus, Mickey Rourke (Boogie) and Kevin Bacon (Fenwick) were traded out for Michael Madsen and James Spader, respectively, which ain’t half bad, really. In an interview with Venice Magazine, Levinson said, “We had a great cast, but CBS thought otherwise. They thought it wasn’t compatible with the current programming line-up they had.” The fools!

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Action Movies, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, Movie Comedies, Movie Dramas, Movies, Pilots, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV Sci-Fi, Video

The Next Food Network Star: The camera does not lie

July 6, 2009 /

It’s getting down to crunch time on “The Next Food Network Star,” as last night they went from six contestants down to five, and one of the five is going to have their very own show on the network soon. So judge and network exec Bob Tuschman called last night the “midterm” and for good reason….it’s the midpoint of the season, and the challenges centered around actual camera face time with Food Network star Rachael Ray.

The “mini-challenge” was to take “grown-up” food and make it child friendly. They would be judged by Rachael as well as a panel of three kids. Note to the show’s producers…whoever cast these kids did an excellent job, because they were hilarious, smart and very entertaining.
Anyway, Jeffrey and Jamika had tofu to work with; Michael and Melissa had brussels sprouts; and Katie and Debbie had squid.

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External TV, Reality TV, The Next Food Network Star, TV

A chat with Teddy Folkman of Next Food Network Star

July 2, 2009 /

Thanks to Electric Artists and Food Network PR folks, we’ve had the privelege of interviewing each contestant from “The Next Food Network Star” as they are eliminated from contention every week. This week, we got to ask recently booted Teddy Folkman a few things, but we think he may have become a bit annoyed with our first question, but we had to ask….

Premium Hollywood: Did you feel like you were eliminated based on what happened between you and Debbie last week? (Teddy kind of threw her under the bus at judgment time and later apologized)

Teddy Folkman: Absolutely not.

PH: Tyler Florence referred to your shtick as that of a cartoon character and you seemed to have over-the-top presentations almost every week…or was that your true personality coming through?

TF: Tyler’s line of “you seemed like a used car salesman” really made it hit home to me. I was constantly being told that I “wasn’t being myself” over and over from the judges. But what Tyler made me realize was that I was trying to “sell” my food and advice rather then just talking about it and making it interesting without having to be a cartoon character. It made sense. Immediately in the next challenge, I got to work with one of the best of the presenting contestants, Debbie, and who I really am started to come through. And after the burger presentation and the Intrepid challenge, you could see the change. I am a laid back pub owner with a silly side.

PH: Would you do anything different if you could go back and start over?

TF: First off, I would never have worn that awful orange shirt in the first episode. Ugh. I would have also focused on being who I was rather then who I thought they wanted me to be. It took me too long to realize and ultimately became my downfall.

PH: What’s next for Teddy Folkman and who do you like to win the competition now?

TF: I am going to continue with my restaurants and putting some love into them for a little while. I am also in the process of writing a cookbook for kids and another on Gourmet Bar Food. I would like the opportunity to pitch the Food Network a few ideas I have on shows and continue to pursue my passion and love for everything food.

External TV, Reality TV, The Next Food Network Star, TV

RIP Karl Malden (updated)

July 1, 2009 /

Like all character actors, Karl Malden never got quite the same level of attention as costars like Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Steve McQueen, Anthony Perkins, Montgomery Clift, Michael Caine, and George C. Scott. Even the seventies TV series he starred in, “The Streets of San Francisco” found him being overshadowed in the eyes of the teenybopper set by his young punk of a male ingenue costar, Michael Douglas. That was largely because Malden was the kind of performer who understood that acting is a team sport. His best scenes were like great duets with near perfect communication between him and his scene partners. The exception were American Express travelers’ checks; those, he wiped off the screen.

Karl Malden died today at age 97, having been more or less fully retired since appearing in a 2000 episode of “The West Wing.” While he was never precisely an A-lister, he was a go-to actor for secondary leads, president of the Motion Picture Academy, and as far as I can tell a universally respected figure among actors and everyone else associated with the movie industry. He was also married to the same woman for seventy years, a rare enough Holllywood achievement to merit it’s own special Oscar. Not a bad life.

Below the fold is a video tribute I found that, from the misspellings, I gather may come from Serbia. (Malden, whose real name was Mladen Sekulovich, was the son of a Serbian father and a Czechoslovak mother.) The image quality could be better and some of the clips are a little too brief, but it does give you an excellent overview of his truly diverse film career, which included work with some of the greatest Hollywood directors including Elia Kazan, John Frankenheimer, and Alfred Hitchcock. It also includes some interesting moments from two oddball spy films, “Murderer’s Row,” which I haven’t seen, and the underrated “Billion Dollar Brain,” which included some pretty amazing scenes between Malden and Michael Caine as his old spy buddy, Harry Palmer, as well as Françoise Dorléac as his treacherous spy girlfriend (though he’s pretty tricky himself).

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