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June 2006 Archives
In just a few days, on June 29th, it will be my one year anniversary with my newlywed husband, Keith. I must say that I never, ever knew that a relationship could be this good and wonderful, especially having gone through a divorce.
If you have been through a bad breakup, I am sure you can relate to the feeling I had right after: the feeling that "true" love just doesn't really exist - except in fairytales, of course. We all hear (rarely) of rock solid/best friend marriages, but we think they are a fluke and that we, ourselves, will never find them. Trust me, I was one of those thinkers before I met my husband.
Here is the subject line of an email that was forwarded to me and all of our staff today:
PEOPLE News: Justin & Cameron Still Going Strong
This is unbelievable. Can it possibly be that slow of a summer in the celebrity news arena' Brad and Angelina's baby, Britney on Dateline, Nicole and Keith getting married, Marcia Cross too...I think its hard to keep up.
by Laura Saltman
One of my favorite shows, 'Nip/Tuck,' is back in production and Access Hollywood got the first visit to the set. Read on fans because I got the chance to hang out with the cast at their "Miami" digs. OK, really it was soundstages # 1 and 2 on the Paramount lot in Hollywood but that's just as cool to me. I've got all of the Season Four scoop for you months before the show returns.
I spend a fair amount of my free time in Utah, mostly because I'm an avid skier. Truth is, I love the outdoors and choose to be as physically active as my body will allow (and wife will tolerate).
Yesterday, I went mountain biking for the first time in over 10 years. A friend from college who lives in the Wasatch mountains took me out... for a two-hour ride.
by Laura Saltman
Don't think since "American Idol" ended last month, Simon Cowell has been busy counting the millions he earns from Idol. Nope. Simon has been busy this summer working behind the scenes as creator and executive producer of NBC's new variety show "America's Got Talent."
#2 (8:00 AM) -- Good news from the nerve center. Looks like there's enough out there on Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban's wedding to form a lead piece - especially in conjunction with Tom Cruise opening Mission Impossible 3 in Japan.
Sorry, Lisa, your "hot guys" idea is going to have to wait for another day.
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Watching the Matt Lauer interview with Britney last night on "Dateline," I conclude this: humanity must prevail.
There are multiple opinions on celebrities' lives and what "comes with the territory." A lot of people reconcile that the paparazzi are part of the territory and that any publicity is good publicity, so the relentless headlines of marital doom and those that infer she's a bad mom, are OK.They are not.
Today's "Rob Silverstein's Executive Producer Quote of the Day" comes to you courtesy of an impassioned pre-graphics meeting debate over who is the smarter guy, Leonardo Da Vinci or Bill Gates.
"I did the Louvre in a half hour!"
You can probably deduce on which side of the debate Rob fell.
Soccer, soccer and more soccer, something for the kiddies, and quite possibly the world's strangest competition show... that's what's on tap for this weekend's TV viewers.
World Cup coverage continues all over the dial, which is a good thing because Americans are tuning in in droves. Ratings for most of the games have been phenomenal, with millions of viewers watching from homes, offices and sports bars all over the country. Of course, this is nothing compared to the billions (yes, billions!) that are tuning in all over the world in countries where soccer - or futbol, as it's called - is king. Some countries have even taken to renting out movie theaters to watch games. Here in the States we have never quite come around to worshipping this sport the way we do football, basketball or baseball, and probably never will.
For the third day in a row, you could have heard a pin drop in the morning screening meeting as we watched Britney Spears talk about her life. The silence was mostly because of what we saw there on the monitors, but I also think if you polled the people who were sitting there, they might admit the silence was so profound because we were all just sort of stunned as we tried to make up our minds once again whether we feel sorry for her or are just amazed by the whole situation. Most of the field producers here have had an opportunity to interview Britney at one time or another, and to see first hand how she's grown up and into this life is kind of amazing.
By Laura Saltman
OK. I'll admit it. I'm officially a dance-a-holic. Sure it's much more interesting to see B- and C-list celebrities out on the dance floor, trying to get their groove on in "Dancing with the Stars" but I've now become a "So You Think You Can Dance" watcher. If you are like me, then you probably have the same misconceptions about the show then I do. I see twenty-something kids doing hip hop routines, dressed in street gear and I change the channel. That's why when the show premiered last year, I tuned out after the first episode.
by Laura Saltman
I'm counting down the days until "Dancing With the Stars" returns in September.Sure, I know it's cheesy, but having covered the backstage trials and triumphs of the dancers for the last two seasons, I feel a strange connection to the show. Don't think I didn't march myself right down to the local dance studio for some lessons.
Unfortunately, my penchant for never letting the male actually lead has made me the instructor's least favorite student.So, I guess I'll just stick to watching others do it on TV.
by Laura Saltman
Tuesday nights just got a little hotter. At least that's what the folks at CBS are hoping. For a network whose median age range for viewers is somewhere around, say, 50, I'm surprised to see a show as provocative as "Tuesday Night Book Club" on their airwaves. This reality series/docu-drama follows the lives of seven Scottsdale, Arizona, women who regularly meet for book club on - yes, you guessed it - Tuesday night. That's where any reference to reading actually stops, though.
by Laura Saltman
I think thirty-something women should unite and go march down to ABC and have them throw in the trash all copies of its new reality series, "How to Get the Guy."
Not surprisingly, the show is executive produced by men; men who have no clue what women want. To be fair, I really loved ABC's reality dating series last summer, "Hooking Up" which took a real, frank and no frills look at Internet dating. The show received a ton of great feedback. So, it makes sense that this year ABC would want to try and follow up with another dating show. "How to the Get The Guy" is like "The Rules" on TV. Remember that ridiculous book, back in the late nineties, that tried to give women a road map for how to land a guy. The only thing I want to land is an airplane.
What does Jennifer think about all the "What does Jen think?"
It started in the morning as soon as I put on my TV. The local news anchors were deep in discussion about Jennifer Aniston's reaction to the birth of Brangelina's baby. Jennifer had a premiere in Chicago over the weekend for her new movie, "The Break-Up." The premiere came AFTER the media had announced the birth. The hosts commended Jennifer for being brave enough to come out to the premiere, debated whether any reporter would be bold enough to ask her about the birth of Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, and discussed how she would publicly react.
I finally met my first "friend". I met TOM!
If you are one of the 83-million or so people on MySpace.com you know who TOM is. When you sign up for an account on MySpace to start gathering a network of "friends", Tom is the first one that you get.
Yes, I actually met Tom - he's real and was sitting right near me!
by Laura Saltman
I've been scouring the weekend TV Listings so you don't have to. Here is what I have learned. You can feel free to go out and party Friday and Saturday night because there's nothing that good on. It's summer. What did you guys expect' Unless of course you are a hockey fan. Then be sure and hit your favorite sports bar to catch the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday night. Being a girl I, of course, had no clue who was actually playing. Have no fear. I looked it up. It's the Carolina Hurricanes versus the Edmonton Oilers. Aren't all the teams still on strike' You would think growing up in the hometown of the Pittsburgh Penguins I would know more about hockey. I don't. I live in LA now, the town where the only thing most people know about sports is that Jack Nicholson has season tickets to the Lakers.
It is not often that Hollywood takes a step back to watch the spotlight shine elsewhere. Every four years one single event monopolizes the media waves and brings the world to a virtual stand still. One billion people, practically one sixth of the world population, gets lured into the hypnotic charm of the World Cup, the most significant sporting event in the known universe. And there will be a whopping 30 billion views of the tournament in total. Soccer is definitely a sport that ignores geographical, language and cultural boundaries.
And now, "Bat Mitzvah Crashers" starring Billy Bush and Nancy O'Dell (with our spouses). We all attended our first Bat Mitzvah this weekend. Our Access Executive Producer is the father of a perfect child, Jordyn, whose every quality I hope is imitated exactly in each of my daughters. It was her big day and his most expensive evening.
Pros:
God bless Paris Hilton.
I know most people can't stand her and that she's probably why most of the third world hates America, but know what? ' you gotta give her her props. She's like the MasterCard commercial with Fred Flintstone doing the twinkle-toes happy dance. She's always happy with a smile on her face.
She's perky, she's fun, not a care in the world other than where the next party is.
Paris Hilton, I salute thee.
Everyone talks of how you're famous for no reason, but they're just haters. I know that you didn't become famous until you starred in your own reality show. And you've translated that into your own perfume, some movie roles and the most popular catch phrase in the country. Sure people have been saying "That's Hot" for years, but it was your brilliance that put it over the top and onto t-shirts everywhere. And thanks to you I'll never be able to look at a hamburger the same way again!
- Daniel Fessak
I'm not exactly sure where my fascination with David Hasselhoff, 'The Hoffer', came from, but I know whenever I'm on the red carpet and I see him coming down I get a little giddy and school-girlish inside. Don't get me wrong, it's a much different feeling than I get when I see, say'Jessica Alba, a MUCH different feeling, but regardless, I am star struck. I even went so far once as to throw him a shout out''Yo, Dave!' and got a nod and finger pistols in return. The signature Hoffer move'Finger pistols'love it.
by Laura Saltman
There's only one show on Television right now that could get me to sit uncomfortable on a movie theater staircase for an hour to catch a preview of its first two episodes. That show is "Entourage." Sure I was lucky enough to snag a prime ticket but because I was out on the red carpet interviewing the cast, I lost my seat inside. I haven't sat anywhere but a seat in a theater since "The Outsiders" (I'm dating myself here) came out in 1983. My friends and I, plus about thirty other teenage girls sat their butts in the only place left, the floor. Better to sit on the floor then miss a chance to see Matt Dillon 10 feet tall during his heartthrob heyday. So, I guess it makes sense that twenty three years later I'm doing it again for his brother, Kevin aka Johnny Drama.
If you ever get the idea that Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston are sick of the curious questions about their relationship, from journalists, humorists, gossipers and anyone else with a show or column, understand that their managers and agents LOVE it all.
By Laura Saltman
It's the first full weekend of the long hot summer but not everyone will be hitting the beach or pool. So, here is a quick go to guide to what's up with this weekend's TV.
The songs of summer are here, and this morning, I got my first listen.
Christina Aguilera premiered her new single "Ain't No Other Man" on radio stations across the country today. I was driving into work listening to Ryan Seacrest on his morning radio show, KIIS-FM, when I heard it. And for those amongst you who have also heard it -- you probably already believe me when I say this: along with Rihanna's "S.O.S.," Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You" (listen to the Moto Blanco Mix of it!), Nelly Furtado's (feat. Timbaland) "Promiscuous," and inevitably, Beyonce's to-be-released next single, "Deja Vu" -- this is the sound of summer for 2006!
Shame me for my Jingoism. I watched the Scripps National Spelling Bee last night and as it narrowed down, I found myself rooting for America.
The lovely Finola Hackett, 2-time Canadian national champion was outstanding but Canadian. I love Canadians and frankly they've been nothing but great to me and Access Hollywood -- we are a very highly rated show throughout Canada -- but I found myself caught up in American pride. These are 13 & 14-year-old girls!!! I am embarrassed to admit this.
by Laura Saltman
By golly I think I've found it... the show to fill the void in my life since the mere 7 days since "American Idol" ended. The show has virtually the same format as "Idol." Auditioners lineup in a city to strut their talent in front of judges. The best and brightest get a ticket to Hollywood and then America chooses a winner. Instead of singing though they tell jokes. I'm talking about NBC's "Last Comic Standing", which premiered its fourth season last night. I guess the show has done well enough to warrant four seasons but I don't see groups of people banding together starting the Joke Patrol. (true "Idol" fans will get this lame attempt at comedy on my part). I'm dating myself here, but I did enjoy the blast from the past moment when the guy who played Skippy on the classic '80s sitcom "Family Ties" came out and auditioned for the judges. He made it through the first round but didn't get the red ticket to Hollywood. Darn! I was all set to start the Skippy's Hippies fan club and everything. Ok, truth be told, I probably won't watch it again but at least it filled the void for one night.
Is it just me that is bothered by the fact that Kristin from the show Laguna Beach is seemingly a celebrity now' I know people will say, 'Well, look at Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie,' etc, but at least after they bought their way into stardom they starred in their own attempt at a show and entertained us a little. Kristin was on a reality show!!!
A word about Katie Couric...no matter what happens in the next chapter of her career, her place in the TV Hall of Legends is secure.
She helped me without me knowing she did. Back when I started at NBC (local WNBC in New York and then East Coast Access Correspondent) she put me in my place and thankfully it was before real damage was done.