September 2006 Archives

by Laura Saltman

Ok, let's be honest here, I love that the dancers have been breaking the rules the last two weeks on "Dancing with the Stars". It makes for great TV. Watching Len Goodman go after Mario Lopez as he sheepishly hangs his head in shame is priceless. Sure, getting perfect tens would have been fun but a good tongue lashing is way better!

I have not posted a blog in a while and I'm back for two reasons. I have received far too many complaints from readers questioning my commitment. You are right, it stumbled.

Also, I just had an outstanding celebrity sighting on the 101 freeway heading home. I looked into my rearview mirror into the sweet BMW 760Li behind me...the driver looked familiar.

A Justin Timberlake look-a-like' No, JT himself talking on the hands free cell phone and looking sharp. I slowed down to let him pass and then pulled alongside and waved. It took him a half a second to realize I wasn't crazy...saw that it was me and got a chuckle. I am quite sure he was laughing at the shear random nature of the event and not the fact that I was driving my BMW 530i.

Later he passed me for the last time and waved good-bye. I think he enjoyed the sighting too. They're fun.

I hope you did... I'm back.

It was a BEAUTIFUL DAY for U2 fans in New York as the boys from Dublin made a surprise appearance at the Union Square Barnes and Noble to autograph their new book, U2 BY U2. Fresh off an emotional performance on the field at the New Orleans Superdome the band was greeted by 25O lucky fans - some who had followed them all the way from Louisiana. Most had been chosen from a special lottery to attend the book signing.

In an exclusive interview, The Edge discussed the Foundation he has formed to help musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina, which is aimed at replacing their instruments. He told Access Hollywood "New Orleans without music is like Los Angeles without the film industry, it just won't do." Bono credited the Edge's desire to help with U2's involvement in the pregame performance.

by Laura Saltman
(with special guest star, Bryant Huddleston)

Last night was the "Desperate Housewives" season three premiere episode. The show took some major hits with the critics and many thought it had lost its steam last year. I'd say everyone around here agreed with that. Even some of the stars of the show agreed they had gotten off track.

Ok, not our Desperate Divas, they will not go down without a fight, but the minor players like James Denton, Doug Savant and Andrea Bowen had some choice words about what went wrong. In the weeks leading up to the show's premiere, the gals have come out swinging. Just last week, Eva Longoria told Nancy O'Dell this would be the best season yet. Teri Hatcher said pretty much the same thing at a charity event a few weeks back. The show's creator, Marc Cherry, went into war mode hiring new writers with sitcom backgrounds from shows like "Frasier" and announcing a major character would die in a supermarket hostage crisis.

by Tara Bernie

If you have ever wanted to check out a music festival, The Austin City Limits in Texas is the one to attend. Set in the sprawling Zilker Park in the heart of Austin, this music fest sets the stage to showcase new talents and show off established ones. For three days and nights seven stages are filled with amps, guitars, and drums ready to rock, soothe and beat.

Friday night was a treat! John Mayer is without a doubt at the top of his game. He played for over an hour, busting out many songs from his new album "Continuum". The crowd was transfixed on his intense guitar playing and soothing vocals. "Gravity" and "In Repair" were superb. And a treat for old school fans, he did an encore of "High School".

by Ryan Patterson

After a crazy good week at NY's Fashion Week, I jetted down to Jamaica for a celebrity golf tourney that Billy Bush was hosting at the Royal Plantation in Ocho Rios. It was a long weekend of laying out on the beach, eating good food, enjoying rum punch, Red Stripe beer, conga lines, swimming with dolphins and yes, even a little golf.

White sandy beaches, crystal blue water- the place is just beautiful and so romantic. Newlyweds Tori and Dean acted like, well, newlyweds...so cute together hanging at the beach, the only time they were apart was when Dean golfed in the tournament. Lance and Reichen (picutred above)...what a good-looking pair....so nice and approachable. And Lance was so open with Billy about his whole coming out experience. Good Guys.

by Laura Saltman

Alright people, it's week 2 of "Dancing with the Stars" and I feel we need to discuss the scoring tactics of the three judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.

It's so frustrating to watch because a lot of the times their scores don't make any sense. First off, why did Carrie only give Willa Ford a seven for her mambo when she was phenomenal' The dance was hot, she looked hot. Then she gives the exact same score to Sara Evans who was nowhere as good and she gave eights to both Shana Moakler and Vivica A. Fox, neither of which were that great at the mambo. It looked pretty slow in the audience and then when I went back and watched again at home there were several stumbles in Vivica's routine.

by Dan Gomez

NBC takes night one of the new TV season as we fire up the Access Hollywood Ratings Scoreboard!

The Peacock won Monday with a total of 15 million viewers. CBS came in second with close to 14 million viewers and FOX took third with 8.5 million. The Eye Network may have come in second overall but they have a lot to brag about as well. The season premiere of "CSI: Miami" was the most watched show of the night with 17.6 million viewers while Howie Mandel kicked off "Deal or No Deal" with almost 16 million.

NBC's new Monday night entry, the critically acclaimed "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" did all right with just over 13 million people tuning in - coming in fourth for the night. The other brand new series, CBS' "The Class" finished sixth with 10.5 million.

Calista Flockhart looked at me'and asked, 'Are you on drugs'!'

Not the response I usually hope for after asking a question.

It was actually a funny moment. Ever have one of those times when you ask a friend something, they completely missed what you've said, misinterpreted it and then looked at you like you have three heads'

Well that's what happened to Calista and me yesterday, Monday. I was on the set of her new ABC show, 'Brothers and Sisters', which debuts this Sunday.

by Dan Gomez

Rejoice TV lovers, today marks the official start of the new TV season.

Yes, I know, some shows started their seasons a few weeks ago but this is when the fine folks at Nielsen start ranking shows for the 2006-2007 season. This is the time when new shows will be crowned hits or go the way of the Dodo and become answers to trivia questions and boy, is the competition tough. This season, the big 4 networks and The CW (a combination of The WB and UPN) are launching 39 new shows.

A year ago, the networks premiered 30 new shows. Of those, only 14 made the cut for a second season. Now that's great compared to two years ago when the networks debuted a whopping 44 new shows and only 11 shows survived to go on for another season or more - among those survivors were "Lost", "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy".

So what will the future hold for these 39 new shows' Only the Nielsen families know for sure.

By Laura Saltman

Not surprisingly it was MSNBC host, Tucker Carlson, who was the first to get the boot from "Dancing With the Stars." Once he took his first wrong step on Tuesday night, it was clearly obvious who would be going home. Combining his 11th place finish with the judges and what I'm guessing was a very low finish with the viewers votes, he had no chance.

I also accurately predicted that Willa Ford would be in the bottom two. If we here in the media have never heard of her, then clearly no one else has. She's pretty, but she didn't stand out the way that Stacy Keibler did last season. There are too many other recognizable names on the show for her to win many votes. I'd say if Willa wants to make a splash next week, she needs to bust out with one of those skimpy outfits. Show some skin, dance really well and the viewers will take notice.

Finally, my guilty pleasure has returned! Considering 20 million viewers tuned into the "Dancing with the Stars" Season Three premiere, I'm thinking it's a lot of people's guilty pleasure. I have to admit to a bit of disappointment, though, with the crop of dancers. In their defense, maybe it was because the audience members were asked to be at the studio no later than 3:30pm or their seats would be given away. Cut to 4:15 and my best pal and "Access" Producer, Bryant, and I are still standing out on the sidewalk, twiddling our thumbs with hundreds of other VIP guests waiting to get in. So my feet hurt from my strappy high heels and I was cranky going in to the whole experience. Plus, let's face it, while Mario Lopez and Emmitt Smith shined, the rest fell pretty flat and there certainly was no standout like Stacy Keibler last season. Where are the slinky costumes and hot bodies this year'

When I looked into Scarlett Johansson's eyes' I couldn't help but think'. she was born in the wrong era' She's such a natural starlet from Hollywood's golden days of the 40s and 50s'.except she's in 2006.

She'd fit in perfectly on a red carpet alongside Hollywood legends like Ava Gardner and Jean Harlow.

And it doesn't help that her new movie, "The Black Dahlia," is set in the 40s' or that we were sitting in a hotel made famous by the likes of Clark Gable, Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Spencer Tracy and countless other big time stars from that by-gone era -- The Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles. Stewart won his Oscar for 'The Philadelphia Story' at the Academy Awards held at The Biltmore. So did Tracy and Davis. It has been beautifully restored to it's glorious former self.

Just returning from the long Labor Day weekend in Utah and I have noticed a major change in airport activity.

The security lines are longer, yet more efficient. A month ago it seemed there were still people who looked shocked over having to remove their shoes for screening. Many had personal items that were in disarray. Now, the shoes are all off and ready, the beverages were dumped and the bags neatly arranged. One by one people filed through in an orderly way.

She was 'Betty the Ugly' (the original title), now she's just 'Ugly Betty''which I guess is better than being the star of a show called, 'Fugly'.

Actually, whatever you call America 'Ugly Betty' Ferrera, the star of ABC's funny, heartwarming new dramedy doesn't matter. Because, what you'll be calling her after seeing the show?s debut is---lovable, adorable and yes, the trifecta of that emotion, huggable!

Here's the pitch in a nutshell:

Ugly, talented, heart-of-gold girl goes to work at snooty NYC fashion mag. Insults, humiliation, comedy, redemption and drama occur'not necessarily in that order.
Kinda a TV 'The Devil Wears Prada.'