Category: External TV (Page 344 of 419)

TCA Press Tour: Day 2 (well, for me, anyway), Pt. 2

July 13, 2007 /

Man, ya’ll are lucky I didn’t have my tape recorder working earlier this morning; if I had, I’d be transcribing every last obscenity I uttered when, just as I was preparing to save my second posting about yesterday’s panels, the internet connection hiccupped and lost everything I’d written…and I didn’t have time to re-write it before heading downstairs for today’s first panel. So, anyway, here I am, in my first live panel – i.e. I’m online as the panels are going on in front of me – but, at the moment, I’m just playing catch-up on yesterday. I mean, it’s the Disney Channel panels; they’re entertaining, but, to my knowledge, no-one here needs any real details on them, am I right? (If I’m wrong, of course, let me know; they provide transcripts, so I can still pick out a few quote highlights.)

Okay, let me grab a cup of coffee and get this show on the road, so I can be all caught up before the SoapNet panel on “General Hospital: Night Shift” begins!!!

Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making the Team (CMT):

I’ll say this right now: any panel which opens with 12 members of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders show team coming onstage and doing a full routine that ends with lots and lots of high kicks…well, my friend, that’s on the short list for Best Panel Opening EVER. And it was a pleasant little panel, too. You could tell there was a certain amount of cynicism from some of the writers in attendance, particularly when one fellow asked (rather snarkily, I felt), “Is this a stepping stone onto something else, or is this the pinnacle of your career?” The response from veteran cheerleader Megan Fox, however, was heartfelt and honest:

“For those of us as performers…I mean, really, most of us have danced or done some type of cheerleading our entire lives, so this is really that bar that we’ve really worked so hard to reach. So for those of us, it’s kind of the icing on the cake. I really think that this is a dream come true. And for some of us, it will be the end of our performing careers, but for others, we’ll go on to teach, hopefully, and continue to be involved in the dance and performance world. But, really, this is just the icing on the cake for most of us.”

Take that, Cynical Boy!

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

TCA Press Tour: HBO, Pt. 2

July 13, 2007 /

Okay, it’s still 6:54 AM here, but, damn, I feel a hell of a lot better after just a few hours sleep. As such, let’s go ahead and take a look at those HBO panels from yesterday:

As You Like It, Kenneth Branaugh’s latest Shakespearean adaptation:

Branaugh found it very easy to cast Kevin Kline in the role of Jacques, it seems. “(He has) vast Shakespearean experience, as you know, a brilliant dramatic actor, a very, very funny man, and is, in life, intellectually curious. And as with all funny men, I would say – without trying to tell my friend who he is – a kind of disposition to a certain kind of melancholy and philosophical introspection. But I just thought he was a great actor.”

Kline’s response? “I disagree.”

Kline isn’t the only American in the production; he shares that honor with Bryce Dallas Howard…even if she doesn’t see it that way. “I would have to say that Kevin Kline is almost like an honorary Brit when it comes to Shakespeare, (whereas) I felt like a little bit of a cowboy,” said Howard. “Like, it’s, you know, a little rough with the language, and I didn’t really have a lot of confidence with it, initially. But under the guidance of Ken, and everyone else that was involved, I allowed myself to just enjoy the experience and do my best. But it was definitely initially intimidating, perhaps being an American, but even more than that, just being someone who is literally at the start of my career. I haven’t had as much experience as I would like to.”

The role of Orlando is taken by relative newcomer David Oyelowo, who had a serious attack of nerves when he discovered that A) he had to go to Branaugh’s house to audition, and B) he had to audition with Branaugh. “You were reading the other lines,” he said, turning to Branaugh, “and my saliva just turned to sand. I mean, there I was, auditioning with Henry V, Iago, Benedict, Coriolanus…and it just…I mean, you probably won’t remember this, but the lines…they just completely went out of my head. You were so gracious; you just went, ‘Okay, let’s do that again…'”

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Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External Movies, External TV, News, TCA Press Tour, The Sopranos, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas

TCA Press Tour: HBO, Pt. 1

July 13, 2007 /

Man, it’s late…particularly for a guy who’s still on East Coast time. But I wanted to offer up a few quotes from today’s HBO presentations before I hit the sack.

Revelations from Richard Plepler (HBO Co-President) and Michael Lombardo (President, Programming Group and West Coast Operations):

* The reputed two-hour “Deadwood” movie is “possible,” says Lombardo, but “we’re going to have to schedule them in a way where we’re going to have to bring back an entire array of actors, many of whom have moved onto other shows. Molly Parker, I think, is on a new series; Tim Olyphant is doing movies. That’s one reason we decided to do movies as opposed to a season: that may be a shorter schedule, but it’s do-able. It will just be daunting. If David (Milch’s) game for this, and we can figure it out, we’re going to figure it out.

* On the “Sopranos” finale, Plepler says, “I actually called Ilene Landress and Carolyn Strauss and thought that they had withheld from me the final 50 seconds. I said, ‘What are you doing?’ She said, ‘No, that’s the ending!'”

* On the delay between the last two “Sopranos” seasons, Lombardo admitted, “the truth of the matter is waiting a year and a half between shows…I think we’ve discovered it’s probably not ideal for the viewer.”

* Of the “Sex and the City” movie, Lombardo says, “I read the script, and I can’t wait to buy a ticket; I think it continues the journey of those women into their 40s and pushing 50s ina really smart ‘Sex and the City’ way,” and Plepler adds, “It’s fun. It evolves the story, and I think that no fan will be disappointed when they see it.”

* On “Preacher,” Lombardo assures fans of the Vertigo comic that an HBO adaptation is absolutely still possible, and that “it’s on the hot list of one-hour dramas for us.”

* And Plepler’s take on the “Sopranos” finale…? “I think what happened is that David (Chase) was saying simply, “Reap what you sow,” and this is a guy who is going to live a life of eternal vigilance, looking over his shoulder always, never being sure for his safety or his family’s. And you have to ask yourself, given all the machinations that he went through to get where he was, has it all been worth it? That’s what I think.” (Adds Lombardo, “And I don’t know, because my TV went out.”)

Okay, I’ve GOT to get some sleep. More tomorrow, folks…

Actors, Actresses, External Entertainment, External TV, News, TCA Press Tour, TV

Live at last from the TCA Press Tour…

July 13, 2007 /

…and, man, after less than 12 hours at this thing, I can see how incredibly easy it must be to become completely and totally jaded in the entertainment journalism business: they wine you, they dine you, they give you free swag, and all they ask in return is that you ask actors, producers, and directors questions about their new shows, which, if you’re an entertainment geek like me, you’d do, anyway! My God, if they ever read this, the jig is up…

Well, anyway, I made it from Virginia into L.A. without incident…except, that is, for a brief moment of concern in LAX when security blocked off the passageway to luggage claim for about five minutes, then abruptly decided it was okay for us to pass after all. Whatever. From there, it was off to the hotel, and as I’m entering the Beverly Hilton (that’s where all of the panels are taking place), wondering if I’m going to be up to the task of chatting with these people I’ve watched on TV for years, I turn to my right…and there’s Anthony Stewart Head, a.k.a. Rupert Giles from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Yep. This is gonna be a hell of an experience.

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Actors, Actresses, Entourage, External Entertainment, External TV, Interviews, News, TCA Press Tour, TV, TV Action, TV Comedies, TV Dramas, TV DVDs

“Cavemen” to evolve?

July 9, 2007 /

Looks like the sketchy buzz on “Cavemen,” the new ABC sitcom based on those Geico ads, has gotten the producers of the show a little antsy.

They’re doing a bit of retooling, bringing in a new character named Andy (played by Sam Huntington, a.k.a. Jimmy Olsen in “Superman Returns”) who’s going to replace the character of Jamie that appeared in the pilot. Andy, apparently, is going to be the brother of the show’s main character, Joel (Bill English), arriving to stay with his brother after a bad break-up with his girlfriend.

Okay, fair enough…except that the problems with the pilot can’t be fixed by switching out characters. The issue with the show is that it’s ridiculously heavy-handed with the premise that cavemen are societal minorities. I said this in a comment to one of the TCA discussions, but, honestly, the NAACP is going to be tearing this show a new one, and I don’t blame them; playing the characters up as minorities is one thing, but making comments that are clearly trying to compare them to African-Americans is just insulting.

Actors, External Entertainment, External TV, Fall TV Preview, News, TV, TV Comedies

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