July 4th, 2008
Happy 4th of July to those of you in the US, and to my fellow Canadians, a very happy belated Canada Day!
Check out this roundup of Entertainment Channel posts:
- Looking for 4th of July recipes? Look no further than Jeanne on Daytime Talk
- Nikki of Prison Break Buff has the very first fall promo trailer for the new season
- Grace has fab spoilers on season 8 of Smallville on Superhero Profiles
- Lynn brings you photos of the London filming for the special 2-hour premiere on Searching Bones
- Diana of 24 Headquarters breaks the sad news that Mary Lynn Rajskub is OUT of 24 Season Seven
- Alexandra reports that Sweeney Todd won the Saturn Award for Best Horror Film on Screamstress
- Soaps On ABC’s Dexie rounded up the Best & Worst In Fashion from the recently concluded 35th Annual Daytime Emmy’s
- Shea’s MTV Reality World says that Tila Tequila will have another Shot at Love
- Lynn on House is Right reports on a new romantic admirer for Cuddy played by Michael Weston
- Check out more info about Seth MacFarlane’s animated web series, thanks to Wendy on Stewie’s Playground
- Samantha of Style Television talks Season 2 of Shear Genius
- The celebrity guest roster keeps growing, with Pete Wentz to guest star on Californication, reports Jill on Showtime Fan
- A limited opening didn’t stop Hancock from pulling in $7 million already, as reported by Brian on SF Universe
- Take a closer look at A&E’s new show The Cleaner with our New to TV writer Cheril
- Wendy of Gryffindor Gazette reports that Lucius Malfoy will not be in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Kevin at Pointless Banter is holding a contest for concert tickets
- Chandra’s Grrl TV reports that Tori Spelling’s 90210 debut has been delayed after the birth of her new baby
- Becky rounds up The convicted felon stupidity checklist (what not to do when you’re a criminal) on Simply Dumb
- Victoria on our newest site, Bravo Fan, brings the rumor of Real Housewives going to Dubai
- Chandra on Comedy Centric reports on a new dark comedy coming to Showtime, Nurse Jackie
- CSI Fanatic is reporting that CSI: Miami is looking for a new medical examiner
- Can you dance? Check out Lynn’s dance casting calls roundup on Dance Watcher
- Jyle of Evening Talk brings you an hilarious interview with Will Smith on The Colbert Report
- Gray reports that Tango can boost people’s emotions on Fame or Famine
- Jane has an interview with Lauren McKnight of HottieBoombaLottie on Film Gecko
- Desperate Blog’s Julie has info on Marcia Cross’ role on Peck - her first movie role after Housewives
- The latest Grey’s Anatomy News from Ingrid is that Kevin McKidd may join the cast as the new doctor in town
- My own Gilmore Girls News has a photo of the elusive Alexis Bledel out of "hiding" for a movie premiere
- Alexandra recaps the classic "Lost Boy" episode of Without a Trace on FBI Dramas
- Jeanne’s Idol Stalker has the latest results from Canadian Idol 6
- Kelly of Gossip Girl Report shares news of the confirmed romance between Blake Lively & Penn Badgley
- Jared Padalecki gave a great interview at Supanova, as reported by Jonathan of Supernatural Scoop
- Erin of Top Model Gossip reports on Demelza Reveley, the controversial winner of Australia’s Next Top Model
- Nikki of Approaching Lost reports the good news that Nestor Carbonell is Returning to Lost for 5th Season
- Tom asks if Michael Urie was snubbed for an Emmy award on Ugly Betty News
- Julie’s Disney Society reports on the rumors of a High School Musical 4: The College Years with big bucks for Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens
- Patricia Arquette looks gorgeous at Paris Fashion Week, as posted by Katelyn on Medium Dreams
- Looking for a challenge? Why not try out for The Alaska Experiment 2? Info on Science on TV by Shana
- Jonathan encourages you to vote for Reaper in the Amy Awards on Reaper News
- VH1 Reality World reports on new show I Love Money
- Check out the preview for Project Runway Season 5 from Lynn at Reality Exploits
For all the latest Entertainment news, stay tuned to Spekked.com
Photograph by Ianiv Schweber Tags: entertainment, spekked, entertainment channel, b5media
Share This
By Arieanna -- 0 comments
June 21st, 2008
The Great Blog Off has come to a close - after a marathon day of writing, hundreds of new posts were created by the Entertainment writers (and many guest writers!) and by the Business writers.
As you know, the Blog Off was a charity event. If you enjoyed this marathon, I encourage you donate to The Actors Fund to "sponsor" the great work of our 
writers. Your donation will help people in performing arts who have hit hard times.
To explore some of the great new content in Entertainment that was created for the Blog Off, check out the roundup posts on the participating blogs:
Tags: blog off, the great blog off, b5media, entertainment, roundup
Share This
By Arieanna -- 0 comments
June 16th, 2008
Hart Hanson, Executive Producer for Bones, gave an excellent talk at the Banff World Television Festival in Alberta last week: from how the show was created, to how David Boreanaz was cast (and his initial dislike for Emily Deschanel!), to spoilers for the next season. Not to mention what would have happened to Zack Addy had the full Season 3 aired without the strike interruption.
Hart Hanson, who has been a great supporter for our SearchingBones.com site, talks about the series of decisions that led him to Bones. After a number of unusual decisions in the industry, including quitting a series, Hart landed at FOX with a contract to produce 5 pilot scripts. Bones was the fifth pilot he wrote and pitched.
Hart Hanson was invited to meet with Barry Josephson, who had bought the rights to an A&E documentary on Kathy Reichs, author of the novels upon which Bones has been based. After turning down the meeting, he was intrigued by Barry’s career and proceeded with talks. That said, he couldn’t see himself doing a procedural drama like CSI.
"There were enough procedural things. CSI kind of rules the world. Why would you enter into that?"
Read More
Share This
By Arieanna -- 4 comments
June 16th, 2008
David Hoselton, Producer & Writer for House (recently promoted from co-producer), appeared at the Banff World Television Festival in Alberta last week to give a speech about the "art of story editing" for the show: from concept to execution, and all the changes along the way.
image: ianivarieanna
David Hoselton gave a play-by-play look at the production of episode 3.18, "Airborne", in which House and Cuddy find themselves on a plane from Singapore amidst a possible epidemic. Throughout the discussion, David tells us many interesting things about working for House, such as the three doctors kept on retainer for the series. Those doctors, along with Wikipedia and a synthesis of medical mystery news, are a great source for the medical issues on the show. However, the medical mysteries often morph quite a bit as the production goes on - as they line House up to the challenge, add the human elements, and work through the diagnosis.
For "Airborne", they had to decide how House would diagnose a patient on a plane, without access to his team or to medical equipment. For example, how could they make a knife on an airplane? During one scene in the episode, House considers cutting open the patient to see if he was carrying drugs. The doctors advised the writers that this would likely kill the patient and would be a "wank" scene - one that wouldn’t move the story forward towards a solution to saving the patient. So, instead of the witty scene that would end with House saying "Oh, crap" after he found only crap in the bowels, no drugs, they had House stop before cutting the patient open.
Read More
Share This
By Arieanna -- 2 comments
June 16th, 2008
The Monte-Carlo Television Festival and Eurodata TV Worldwide have awarded prizes to the international television programs which have delivered the highest ratings worldwide from June 2007 – May 2008. Three US programs picked up the awards at the 48th Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
CSI: Las Vegas ( USA ) won for “Drama TV Series”
CSI: Las Vegas gathered more than 83.9 million viewers worldwide in 2007*.
Runners up: CSI: Miami ( USA ) and House ( USA ).
Desperate Housewives ( USA ) for “Comedy TV Series”
Desperate Housewives gathered more than 61.5 million viewers worldwide in 2007*.
Runners up: Monk ( USA ) and Ugly Betty ( USA ).
The Bold and The Beautiful ( USA ) for “Telenovelas / Soap Operas”
The Bold and The Beautiful gathered more than 26.2 million viewers worldwide in 2007*.
Runners up: Destilando Amor (Mexico) and Marina (Mexico).
Image copyright Lisa Finnegan
Share This
By Lisa Finnegan -- 0 comments
June 13th, 2008
b5media has teamed up for a 24-hour blog-a-thon to support Accion International and The Actor’s Fund.
The Great b5media Blog Off will begin on June 20th at 12:01am (in each writer’s respective time zone), to celebrate the summer solstice, which hasn’t occurred on any date other than June 21st since 1975 - this year it lands on June 20th. Writers from the b5media Business and Entertainment channels will be posting fresh news at least once per hour for a full 24 hours.
The Entertainment channel will be supporting The Actor’s Fund, a charity that helps professionals in performing arts & entertainment when they are in need. You can read about the Business Channel Blog Off plans here.
How can you help?
You can support this great charity writing marathon in two ways: donate a post, or donate money.
- Donate a Post - be a guest writer on any of the participating Entertainment sites. You can contribute an article to help meet the once-per-hour 24 article goal for the day.* A list of participating sites is below, as well as contact information.
- Donate Money - you can help make a difference by supporting The Actor’s Fund. One-time donations in any amount are encouraged in any amount, but we’re also suggesting a pledge of $1 per post written on the Entertainment Channel or $10 to sponsor a participating blog. You can securely donate money here.
A contest for you!
As an added incentive to help us raise money for The Actor’s Fund in the Entertainment channel, you will be entered to win $30 with each article you submit to a blog participating in the Blog Off.* There are two $30 prizes to be won!
Participating Entertainment Sites
The following sites will be participating in the Great Blog Off. You can sponsor their efforts by donating to The Actor’s Fund at any time, and can email them (below) to submit a guest post for the blog-a-thon.
Thank you for your support!
*Your article must meet minimum quality standards of 2 paragraphs to be posted. The article should be relevant news (not already covered), an opinion piece, a fan column, a trivia question, or other on-topic article related to the show(s) & its actors.
Tags: blog off, b5media, the great blog off, spekked, blog-a-thon, writing marathon
Share This
By Arieanna -- 0 comments
June 13th, 2008
Kim Cattrall was in Banff, Alberta this past week for the Banff World Television Festival and the 2008 Banff World Television Awards.
Kim Cattrall was awarded the NBC Universal Canada Award of Distinction at the awards ceremony on June 9th. Cattrall, a Canadian actress, has led an outstanding career in the broadcasting industry and spoke candidly about her career in her acceptance speech and in an hour-long "in conversation" session held the next day.
Still glowing from the recent success of the Sex and the City movie, Cattrall had much to share about her life in the theatrical world. For, the theater still holds her heart, and she almost passed up her Universal contract to pursue it full time. And Kim Cattrall, after many years on television and in film, turned down the role of Samantha several times before joining the Sex and the City cast.
Cattrall was first offered the role of Samantha before Sarah Jessica-Parker was cast. After reading the book upon which the show is based, Cattrall turned it down.
Read More
Share This
By Arieanna -- 1 comment
June 13th, 2008
Image copyright Lisa Finnegan
Dana Delaney doesn’t know why Desperate Housewives is so popular, but after turning down the role of Bree four years ago she was desperate to get onto Wisteria Lane herself.
After the show became a big hit she admitted “to a few 3:00 in the morning nights of, ‘oh my God’ what did I do?” she said at a press conference at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
While in town Delaney picked up the festival’s coveted Annual International TV Audience Award on behalf of the cast and crew of the show. At the awards ceremony she told the audience, in typical Katherine fashion, “the other girls of Wisteria Lane all wanted to be here for this, but being the newest bitch on the block I told them it was next week.”
During the press conference Delaney was anything but snarky. She applauded the translator’s first conversion of her words into French, often threw her head back for a hearty laugh and even admitted her biggest lie was “probably telling people I didn’t sleep with someone when I did.”
She loves that her character is independent and hopes she remains sarcastic and witty in the next season. “Katherine is quite complicated, it’s kind of hard to define her and that’s what I like about her. She’s very controlling, but I think that is because she was very damaged in her life. She is also very clever,” she said. “One of the early directions that Marc Cherry gave me was, I was playing a scene and he said to me, ‘a little less Katie Couric and a little more Diane Sawyer.’ I think that means she doesn’t care what other people think of her. She is very much cool and in control and manipulates people because of that.”
In real life she said she is nothing like the character. “I am very messy and I don’t really cook. I do like to cook, but I live alone and cooking for one person is kind of a bore for me so I only do it when I have a big dinner party. Although, I am very good at deserts. My best thing is my ancient chocolate Mexican cake recipe.”
The five-year leap forward in the last episode was “sort of a reset button for the writers,” she said. “They didn’t want to deal with the same story lines and the kids.” Casting for delinquent Scavo boys is underway and Edie will more than likely return to Wisteria Lane with the others.
“I think Edie is coming back. I don’t think you could ever not have Edie on Wisteria Lane and Nicollette is so delicious you need that sexual energy on the street and she does it so well,” she said. “I think that Marc likes to keep Edie hanging, for whatever reason, but I think Edie will be back so there will be 6, definitely 6 (women of Wisteria).”
The winner of two Emmys for her hit show China Beach, Delaney has been on dozens of sets but none of them prepared her for the lavishness of Desperate Housewives. “It was wild,” she said. “I have done a lot of television but I have never been on such a successful show that has so much money to spend. It blew my mind.”
For example, each woman has her own hair and makeup person housed in “the biggest trailer I have ever seen in my life,” Delaney said. The food truck has a flat screen TV with movies showing all day and her house is completely “workable” inside and out. “It has air conditioning and it is detailed down to the tiniest thing,” she said. “When we had a tornado episode they totally tore a house down. They took Bree’s roof off — they totally destroyed the street. I think it cost a million dollars.” The street was reconstructed during the writer’s strike.
When asked if there is pressure to always look perfect, she said there might be a quiet competition among the women of the show in terms of dieting. “When I got on the show the costume designer said to me, ‘don’t get the Desperate Housewives disease.’ When I asked what it is she said that everybody loses weight and their clothes don’t fit. I do think there is that competitive dieting thing going on and because I am such a contrarian I am the only one who gained weight — my clothes got tighter.”
The atmosphere on the set is great, she said. “We all heard stories about the fighting early on the set and I don’t think that exists anymore. All these actors are so professional. Everybody comes to the set knowing their lines, everyone is on time, it’s really a fun, fun set. It’s a great place to work.”
She believes it is easier for an actress to slip into a successful series like Desperate Housewives than to work on a new program and said the women warmly welcomed her. “They were great with me,” she said. “They didn’t know I would be on the show until the first day of shooting. When I got there it, I already knew everybody on the show just from working over the years and it was sort of like, oh, hi Dana, what are you doing here? And it just went from there.”
Her favorite TV shows are Mad Men, 30s Rock and, “for a guilty pleasure, the Tudors. I love the Tudors because there’s all that sex and you learn a little history at the same time.”
A women who believes variety is the spice of life, Delaney said she doesn’t know what her future holds but would like to go back into theater and get married one day.
“As you can tell I like variety in life, which is why I have never been married,” she laughed. “I like a challenge and I don’t like to know what’s going to come next. And I’m not somebody who goes after things, I like to sort of let them come to me and so I’m not sure what’s next for me. I would like to get back into theater because I think the older you get as a woman the better roles there are in theater and they are more complex. I am just going to take life one day at a time.”
Share This
By Lisa Finnegan -- 1 comment
June 12th, 2008
Image copyright Lisa Finnegan
David Krumholtz has played everything from a sarcastic elf to a mouth-foaming psychopath on a terrifying episode of ER. He has finally found a home on his first hit series playing a genius crime-solving mathematician on Numb3rs. Krumholtz sat down with b5media at the 2008 Monte-Carlo Television Festival.
Are you as logical in real life as your character on the show?
I don’t like to admit it, but my girlfriend complains a lot that I like to plan everything out. I must have everything organized, I am very organizational. So yes, I am very logical. I am a perfectionist, so I need to be logical. I like to think things through and to make sure there are no pratfalls ahead. I don’t like any expected surprises, just like Charlie.
How would you describe yourself to someone who doesn’t know anything about you?
I would probably start by saying I am funny, I am very nice, extremely handsome, shockingly handsome, clearly modest. I am nice, generous, and funny. I like to think I’m kind of smart, although sometimes I think I am very stupid, but I think most people go back and forth between thinking they are smart and stupid.
Do you have any secret passions or hobbies?
I love to cook and I would love to be a chef, although I don’t think I have the hands for it. I think I have the brains and vision for it, but my hands are not as delicate as they should be to prepare a nice dish. I would like to learn to play a complex instrument. I know how to play the drums, but that’s not a really complex instrument. I would like to learn how to play some melody on the piano. And I am very loving. I am a lover. I am very, very sensual.
Is the show meant to educate as well as entertain?
Yes, absolutely. I think the creators wanted to write a show that taught people something and didn’t dumb down the audience. They wanted to create a show that actually assumed the audience had the capability of learning, so they did create an intellectualized show. I don’t think they could have assumed that the show would have such an impact with young people in terms of them being able to learn mathematics through the episodes. They didn’t anticipate that teachers would use the show as a tool to encourage kids to get more into math and to make more math exciting.
In season two, teachers can order calculators from Texas Instruments that come with worksheets that are based on the math that we use in every episode. The teachers are encouraged to encourage their students to watch the show, then quiz them the next day using the worksheets based on the math we used in that particular episode. So it is very current, they can go home and watch it and visualize the math for themselves, as we do in the show. It is much more interactive than chalk on the blackboard. The show has given math an energy that it didn’t have in the past and presented it to the masses in a way where it seems more applicable, where it applies to real life and it has had this far-reaching effect. I think 20,000 teachers have ordered these calculators so far and we were told that around 2 million kids were using the math program in school. It is pretty amazing that the show has had this effect.
Is it a difficult role to play?
It is a difficult role to play. The mathematician part of it is not hard because mathematicians are quite neurotic, they are socially inept and I think all good actors are the same. I know I am a neurotic mess and I am socially awkward and so I have found a kinship with mathematicians. The math is difficult. There are two aspects of the character — who he is and what he does. Who he is not hard for me but the math is still very hard. My job is not to understand the math completely, because it is so far advanced. My job is simply to get the gist and sort of discover the math as I am presenting it so that it looks like I am enthused by discovering it. But it is very difficult, the words are very big, it’s like its own language, it’s a very finite language and it’s very hard to understand, I don’t claim to understand it.
Do you work with mathematicians?
Yes, before I started I researched the role at the California Institute of Technology, which is one of two major math institutions in the United States. I spent a lot of time walking around the campus, getting to know mathematicians. I would sneak into classes to watch how they wrote on the blackboard and the speed in which they wrote and how they spoke to the class and the speed at which the class conceived of what they were saying. It was amazing to me. I mean, it really is like another language. It was alien to me and they picked it up like it was nothing. It is definitely using the side of the brain that most of us don’t use that often. And then there are the math consultants that work for the show, that do the math for the show every week, who are brilliant mathematicians themselves. Getting to know them has been a real honor. I have gotten to know a bunch of Nobel price winning physicists. As an actor you never assume you will be exposed to that world and then accepted by it and honored by it. I have become the face of mathematics, which is odd, but it’s wonderful.
Will Charlie get his clearance back and is he going to work with his brother on FBI cases?
Certainly he is going to get his clearance back. But it is not going to be easy. It is going to be the first time in Charlie’s life that he’s had to really, really fight hard for something that he’s not quite sure he wants. That is going to be an interesting way of presenting that storyline next year.
He is desperate to get his security clearance back, but once he gets it back he’s not quite sure if it is a burden that he wants to bear anymore. He has his own goals in life, he wants to come to prominence as a great mathematician. He wants to make a great mathematical discovery and the question he will have to wrestle with is, is his FBI work getting in the way of his prominence as a mathematician? That’s what we are going to see a lot of this season. I don’t know how he’s going to get his clearance back, but it will take a good few episodes. Once he gets his clearance back it’s also about re-establishing the trust between him and his brother. Certainly, he broke some of that trust. He should not have done what he did because brother simply didn’t want him to do it. He did it because he believed in it and it was a tough decision for him to make.
Do you think Charlie and Amita will get married soon?
I don’t think Charlie will get married in the next season. They are talking about bringing that relationship to a higher level of commitment. Hopefully they will surprise the audience and do something very interesting with it. I would hope it doesn’t go along this path of they get engaged and they get married and it is very simple. Certainly they are falling more in love.
What is your relationship like with Rob Morrow, who plays your brother in the show?
I was a fan of Rob’s when he was in Northern Exposure so when he got cast as my brother I was very excited. He and I get along like brothers. He doesn’t have a brother and I don’t have a brother so we are the closest thing that either of us has had. We have worked very hard to establish a tone in the acting that we think is unlike a lot of other crime shows. We try to ad lib and make it more natural and less stiff than other shows.
What is the best part of playing a mathematician?
Making geek chic is pretty cool. I am a geek and I think being a geek is very in right now and I think we are part of having made that happen. Usually Hollywood portrays geeks as complete misfits who can’t get a date. Charlie is a normal guy who happens to be earnest and passionate about the sciences. I think that’s the best part of playing a mathematician. I’m proud of making math cool.
Share This
By Lisa Finnegan -- 1 comment
June 11th, 2008
Image copyright Lisa Finnegan
Jorge Garcia is going to miss the island he has adopted as his home almost as much as he will miss working with his Lost cast members when the show wraps in two years - if his character makes it to the finish.
“We all bonded easily and we enjoy working with each other. We hang out together, Josh has barbecues that we go to sometimes and Daniel has had people over. His old place was especially good for that because he had a screening room and when those of us had to stay on the island and some people got to go to award shows, we’d go to Daniel’s place to watch it together,” he said during an interview with b5media at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival. “It is going to be very weird to move back to LA, I mean I drive slower because they drive slow in Hawaii and there are a lot of things like that and so I don’t know how it will go.”
While he considers his next career move, he says he hopes his character makes it to the end.
“There is still an element of threat for each of the characters for sure and any of us could die at any time. I want to stay around for as long as I can, but there are never any guarantees on any show and on a show like Lost, where people die all the time, you never know if you’re going to make it,” he said.
Like most people, he doesn’t know how the story progresses and says he is not interested in knowing more than the fans because it would spoil the surprise.
“I think the show is better the less you know as you go through it and I have become quite a fan of Lost and I enjoy reading what happens,” he said. “Also people always ask me a lot of questions about what’s going to happen and it is just easier for me not to know and to not have to worry about it.”
If he could play another character, he’d choose Ben. “I think it would be really fun to be Ben, just the the whole history he has had and all the things he’s done. I am a big fan of what Michael Emerson has done with the character.”
Garcia, who doesn’t fit into any stereotype, said he struggled to find a place in the industry before settling into Lost. “My mother is from Cuban and my father is from Chile and I’m a big guy,” he said. ” When I first got into the business I had a hard time getting auditions because they’d say ‘we’re not looking for a person of color,’ or I’d get called to an audition and they were looking for a gang banger type and I don’t really have that vibe either. One guy told me ‘you’re more Euro Latin,’ whatever that means. I think that what I’m most proud of is that I show that there is no one Latino stereotype. We’re not all migrant workers or gang bangers, we don’t fit into any stereotype.”
His favorite scenes are when a bunch of the cast are together, something he says doesn’t happen that often any more. “It was really fun hanging out in the van driving all over the place and I really liked when the lady parachuted in. That was a lot of fun because there were a lot of us hanging out.” One mystery he wants resolved is the smoke monster. “What is that smoke monster, it’s been around since the beginning of the show,” he said. “I want to know what that thing is.”
A large man, Garcia hasn’t faced a lot of pressure to trim down, but does find it interesting that fans locked on to his weight rather than other inconsistencies on the show. “There were a lot of people who kept wondering why I didn’t lose weight and I don’t know why they were so focused on that rather than why the women didn’t have any hair under their arms or why the guys didn’t have beards down to their knees.”
Garcia and Naveen Andrews held a press conference where they spoke with international journalists about Lost and other things, a video will be posted here soon.
Tags: , Jorge Garcia, Lost, Monte-Carlo Television Festival 2008Share This
By Lisa Finnegan -- 0 comments
Recent Comments