January 2007 Archives

by Michael Lever, director of affiliate relations

Must See TV is Back!

Well, for sure at least a half hour of it. Do not miss the hilarious NBC show (yeah, it's the company I work for, but tough tookie....it's a great.) "30 ROCK", written by and starring one of television's funniest ladies, Miss Tina Fey. (Hollah Philly girl!) It's a comical take on the goings on at an "SNL" -esque show and the wacky characters that inhabit the halls at NBC's East Coast headquarters.

Alec Baldwin is so smart and sharp you could julienne fries with every line reading. The rest of the ensemble is great too and make for 30 minutes (well, 23 sans commercials) of silly fun. I just love it when a TV show sets out and succeeds in being FUNNYsimply for the sake of comedy. No intricate premise, no artsy film noir look, no overt and inappropriate drama thrown in. ("Tonight on a very special episode of 'Blossom'"...run screaming from the room!)

So, it's been a busy weekend for me. First, I jetted up to Las Vegas where Paula Abdul was being honored by the Nevada Ballet company as their Woman of The Year. Then I jetted back to LA for the SAG awards. Then it was back to Vegas where I was the exclusive reporter backstage at the Miss America Pageant.

Poor Paula has been put through the ringer these past couple of weeks. So, I asked her if considering the hits she has been taking recently in the press, if this honor held special meaning for her, "It is nice to be honored and the hits are absolutely ridiculous."

And I'm really happy that my co-worker Simon Cowell took most of them blame for them and fessed up and said 'this is getting ridiculous"

T.R. Knight, who plays Dr. George O'Malley on "Grey's Anatomy," is not hanging up his scrubs.

Despite the wildfire on the Web, sparked by an MSNBC.com post, claiming he's quitting the hit drama, Knight is going nowhere.

According to the MSNBC.com story, after Isaiah Washington's homophobic comment on the set -- and later denial -- Knight became "'so upset about the situation and so disgusted by how it was all handled,' that he's planning to leave the show, says a source."

We are heading into Week Three of American Idol. As the auditions roll on into Birmingham, Alabama and San Antonio, TX now it's time to check in with the contestants from Season Two.

By far this has been the hardest group to track down. While many of them have had great success, others have had troubles with the law.

Ruben Studdard - The Velvet Teddy Bear, as he was referred to on the show, took some time out of his busy schedule to actually drop by Season Six's Birmingham auditions last September. He surprised a huge slew of auditioners and then took us on a tour of his favorite hotspots around town. Ruben spent the back half of 2006 promoting his third album, "The Return." While his first album after Idol, "Soulful", went Platinum and sold over 1.7 million copies, "The Return" did not sell as well with less than 200,000 copies so far.

by Scott Mantz, film critic

I'm still up at Sundance, but I just had to weigh in on an issue that's been bugging me for days.

By now, everyone who reads the trades has heard of the controversial movie "Hounddog," starring 12-year-old Dakota Fanning as a poverty-stricken southern girl who is raped by a teenage boy. Most of the articles I've read state that the rape scene was "tastefully done."

Pardon me, but when was the last time you ever heard the word "tasteful" used to describe a rape scene? Sorry, but there's nothing tasteful about it, whether the woman in question being raped is 8 or 80.

But that's beside the point, since the rape scene is tame compared to the fact that "Hounddog" is quite simply one of the worst movies I've ever seen.

I can't stop walking around the offices here today singing "Gloria, Gloria" in a thick New York accent. That's the desired effect I imagine 26- year-old Ian Benardo was going for when he auditioned for American Idol.

Actually, the whole thing started yesterday because I had seen a preview clip of Ian's segment, which we then used on Thursday's night show to promote that nights American Idol episode.

The producers must have known they had a gem because Ian was the first auditioner out of the gate last night. Within minutes of his segment airing we were on the phone tracking Ian down. Thinking he might be a bit flaky we decided to send a car service for him asking that he to not speak to any other TV shows tomorrow. Yeah right.

Seconds after he finished our interview another TV show was right there waiting for him. Can you blame the kid? He just wants to milk his 15 minutes of fame like anyone else.

by Kim Anastasia, Director

Wayne, our A2, is retiring from NBC and from Access. Here is a lo-res camera grab of him with his "Good Luck" fruit tart cake. We gave it to him prematurely, as he is still wading through the paperwork required to depart, and he will be here for a while, but no matter. It gives us an opportunity to give him more cakes as his real departure date approaches. I’m all for more cake!

Wayne has been an A2 (audio assistant) on our show for many years, and he has many talents and abilities beyond that. He's worked on a number of shows during his over 30 years in the business. I just want to take a moment to thank him for all he has contributed to Access, and also for being such a good sport. He's born the brunt of a few jokes over the years!

Getting back to food, today we had a first at Access. We've done many shoots on our stage and in the field - from music to fashion to penguins to romps in the Italian Alps to Greece/"Grease", but today we had our first cooking segment! Cooking at Access you say? Yup! Cooking at Access!

by Scott Mantz

There was a lot of back-and-forth as to whether or not Lindsay Lohan would take time off from rehab to promote "Chapter 27" at Sundance, but there's no reason for her to be here in the first place. She has a very small role, and no one would have asked her about it anyway.

I saw the movie last night. Lindsay has a small role, she's only in it for about 20 minutes. Jared Leto is in every scene, and he put on a LOT of weight.

Honestly, I don't know who this movie is for. It's not very good. Jared obviously put a lot into his role (he's also listed as Executive Producer), but it's a one-note performance.

by John Murphy

I recently shot a set visit on the film stage of "Law & Order: SVU." While shooting b-roll, I could see that both Mariska Hargitay and Kim Delaney were in happy places.

Mariska especially beamed because of her newborn son, August. Kim, perhaps, showed movement from her personal tribulations finding solace in her work. Both were smiling on set and joked often with the crew.

Mariska had a jovial moment with the crew about her recent, “Got Milk” campaign, which she truly endorses. One could see how she also enjoys working with the SVU crew as she genuinely asked a crew member about how a vacation went. Between “takes” Kim gave my camera many smiles and at one point gave the Access Hollywood audience a quick wave.

Is it us or have John Mayer’s groupies gotten hot lately?

On closer inspection – whoops! That’s no groupie, it’s Jessica Simpson whose boots apparently, were made for touring.

Photo: Splash

After denying a relationship last year, the two have been spotted getting super cozy (remember those pics from New Year’s?) of late – here they are leaving an intimate dinner Monday night at Nobu in Miami.

Photo: Splash

Apparently their “special” friendship has grown so much, Jessica is forgoing her usual pop star perks and jumping on the tour bus of an adult alternative star.

No word yet if their on-board plans include swapping hair tips.

Photo: Splash

Despite the National Enquirer's report a couple of months ago that "Christie Brinkley is ready to offer her cheating husband a staggering $25 million -- to go away!" GossipCop has learned that the tabloid's story is "bull---t," according to a source close to the case.

Contrary to the National Enquirer reiterating, Brinkley's "ready to pony up $25 million to get Peter out of her life once and for all!" GossipCop was further told that Cook, who had an affair with his teenaged former assistant, Diana Bianchi, wasn't going to get "anything close to" that totally fabricated figure.

Yesterday, Brinkley and Peter Cook, who have a prenuptial agreement, faced off in a Long Island, New York court for five hours wrangling over several issues involving their children, eight-year-old Sailor and 11-year-old Jack.

Holy Hogwash!

The British newspaper The Sun is reporting today that "Tom Cruise is the new 'Christ' of Scientology."

According to a conveniently unnamed source, Church of Scientology leaders have "chosen" Cruise to spread the word about the religion to all corners of the Earth. That same "source," who's allegedly close to the actor, told the paper, "Tom has been told he is Scientology's Christ-like figure. Like Christ, he's been criticised for his views. But future generations will realise he was right."

LONDON, United Kingdom (January 23, 2007) -- Britain has been suffering from tremendous gale winds and frigid temperatures, so why are London visitors Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou all smiles?

The two, pictured here just hours ago in Leicester Square, have a lot to celebrate! Their movie, “Blood Diamond,” just had its European premiere tonight, and as you may already know, both men received major Oscar nominations this morning.

DiCaprio is up for Best Actor for playing diamond-smuggler Danny Archer, while Hounsou, who took on the role of Solomon Vandy, is up for Best Supporting Actor.

Photo: AP

I've been working tirelessly with the help of many Access Hollywood producers to track down all 58 of the finalists.

Needless to say this was no easy task. We've spent weeks scouring the internet, tracking down managers and agents, sending out emails and talking on the phone with the former Idols. Turns out many of them have their own websites or Myspace pages (some both). Who has time to search through all of this to get the latest info on what they have all been up to? You don't. However, I get paid to do it.

So, for the next couple of weeks I will be bringing you the info right here.

Here's the latest today from the ten Season One contestants.

by Kim Anastasia

Last week was an incredible week. Apple, Inc. scored a stunning $1 billion profit for its fiscal 2007 first quarter. iPod sales were up 50 per cent over the year-ago quarter (must be all of you Access Podcast fans revving up for more downloads!)

On the same day, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved their Doomsday Clock ahead by 2 minutes, to 5 minutes before midnight, the decision made because of the “threat of a second nuclear age and the expected consequences of climate change.”

A few things to think about. . .

by Jamal Munnerlyn

Well, it seems Isaiah Washington already knew he was going to need some serious damage control on the night of The Golden Globes. I was with Isaiah the morning after the Golden Globe hoopla. We met at the he NAACP Theatre Awards Nominations where he told me, face-to-face, his side of the story after sleeping on the big controversy.

Just like he told Billy and Nancy, he insisted to me that he " would never do something so vile as to call someone that." He also said that he thought by confronting the press and denying the October incident it would put an end to it. As proof that he never dropped the new “F” bomb, he offered that there was a lengthy investigation by ABC/Disney that would have led to him being fired if he, indeed, was in the wrong.

by Kim Anastasia

It’s Dreamgirls Friday at Access!

Is that Beyonce on our stage? Here from “Dreamgirls” were Costume Designer Sharen Davis, Makeup Artist Tym Shutchai Buacharem, and Hair Stylist Camille Friend.

The dresses were based on 1960s designs and the makeovers were dramatic and wonderful! Shaun and Maria were practically unrecognizable and looked great! You can see their final transformation on tonight’s show.

By Laura Saltman

The show is only back two days and already "American Idol" is sparking controversy. Today the buzz all around my office is about how mean-spirited the show is during the audition rounds. While I was out having dinner, an email came over my blackberry from our music producer, Nancy Harrison, who was on the east coast watching the show, "I must say tonight's episode was quite disturbing. Two of the Seattle contestants--Kenneth and Jonathan--were clearly limited... and the judges still poked fun of them. I found this to be in really poor taste and can't believe this show would sink this low for ratings."

My first thought, having not seen the show yet was, "old news." The show has done this throughout its first five seasons on the air. The fact of the matter is that snickering at people who clearly can't sing or telling people they are "too fat" or "not the right look" to be the next American Idol is nothing new here. That's what the audition shows are all about each and every year. They poke fun of bad singers and everyone laughs.

Then I got home and watched the show and realized what the outrage was over. I want to share this email I got from our show's Senior Producer, Claudia Eaton, who was watching with her son, David. As a parent, I'm sure her sentiment is something being felt all over households today: "Last night's programming was uncomfortably entertaining ... painful to laugh at ... I had to explain to my son on more than one occasion how inappropriate these adults were. And, as a budding thespian, had to convince him that it would in fact be ok for him to try out for the school play. What does bother me as a newcomer to the Idol craze is how cavalierly the public seems to accept the way Simon talks to people to their faces about things as basic as how they look or talk ... PLEASE let them hurry up and get to the finals ... where hopefully truly talented people will truly entertain people with talent ... and we do NOT laugh at people for being "ugly," "odd," "tall," or just plain different."

Is it feeling a little mean spirited these days?

"American Idol" has done boffo ratings for the past two nights, but the tone of the show has gotten much nastier this year. Last night I watched "Beauty & the Geek," a show with even more of an opportunity to beat up on the intoverted, eccentric, "uncool" folks out there. It doesn't. It's got a lot of heart.

I am amazed the ratings were the same on night #2 as they were on debut night. And with almost 40 million viewers each night, It tells me there is a tremendous appetite for the bully role.

by Michael Lever

Want to know what's REALLY wrong with the youth of today?

Look no further than MTV's "My Super Sweet 16." In a nutshell, this show celebrates the vulgar excess of the rich and spoiled, documenting the planning and execution of gaudy, opulent Sweet Sixteen parties. With names like Cher, Chelsi and Meleny (no Veruca?) you know you're in for a real treat, as these uber princesses lord over friends and family, pouting and preening their way through a night of insanity.

The whole affair usually culminates with the big reveal: a shiny new Jaguar parked out front with a big red bow on it. Thanks daddy! (who's wrapped so tight around his little darling's finger, he can barely breathe)

by Kim Anastasia

Every show needs a mascot. Here’s one of ours.

Each year at Hallowe’en our teleprompter operator, Shawn, dresses up (or is that dresses down?) as the Incredible Hulk. He arrives in full body makeup and looks amazing, I must say, and the mini-hulk picture here lives at his workstation as a reminder of that yearly event.

We have a great crew at Access, good-hearted people. There truly isn’t a bad egg in the bunch. It’s unusual in our industry really to find such a mix, and it’s one of the reasons a lot of us stay with the show. It makes it possible for us to deal with the demands of daily production and there are many days which are beyond challenging!

Last night, "American Idol" roared back for Season Six.

The episode is the show's highest rated premiere episode ever with 37.3 million viewers tuning. Let's face it though. The other networks didn't even try to counterprogam. "America's Funniest Home Video's" on ABC? Who knew that show was even still on the air. NBC went for a "Dateline" while CBS' had it's old standby, "NCIS", which still fairs pretty well all things considered. They had a loyal audience of about 16 million but that's still 20 million less then 'Idol.' Wow.

Fortunately, here at Access Hollywood we are able to get the east coast feed. So, at 5pm last night I grabbed a drink and settled in for the two-hour extravaganza.

by Ryan Patterson

I love the Golden Globes. I mean, I LOVE the Golden Globes.

It's the most loose, fun, kicked back show ....and unique in the fact that stars of both TV and film are on one red carpet AND alcohol is served, so you never know what will happen.

I was in the middle of all the action on our fashion platform with our Style Expert- Stacy London- of TLC's What Not To Wear. We were giddy with excitement at all the stars who were there. We stood and looked over the sea of stars taking over the red carpet from our platform above all the action....

by Selin Darkalstanian

Beyonce...what were you thinking?

You managed to end 2006 looking impeccable in Mr. Elie Saab's creations - 2007 is apparently a different story. Beyonce wore the designer’s gowns at five events she attended in ‘06...and she looked amazing each time, Access Hollywood even named her our #1 Style Star of 2006. Elie Saab is usually brilliant when it comes to designing red carpet gowns, but Beyonce's low-cut shiny gold number was tacky for the Globes.

There's a great moment in tonight's Golden Globe wrap-up show when Kyra Sedgwick comes into my backstage room.

A little back story is in order first:

When I was in 6th and 7th grades I went on these spring break ski trips with my best friend and his family. These also happened to be the most mischievous years of my life.

Harry Sedgwick and his wife Robin (Kyra's stepmother) were definitely some of the coolest of the parents....I imagine they still are. But Harry and I bonded over a mutual propensity toward immature behavior.

by Kim Anastasia

"#6. The Internet is enabling conversations among human beings that were simply not possible in the era of mass media." ~ the "Cluetrain Manifesto" (http://www.cluetrain.com/#manifesto)

You can say that again! Everyone writing and reading these blogs becomes part of the Access conversation! Our web influence is growing thanks to a great web creation team and all of you readers whose click trails got you here in the first place! I love emerging technology and the way it changes how we think, create, and interact.

First the red carpet.

Then backstage at the Globes.

Now it's time to hit the post Golden Globe parties...

After freezing my little butt off outside on the red carpet for the last few hours I finally got the chance to go inside, grab some food and head straight to our one on one room.

Fortunately, its nice and warm in here and I've got a front row seat as the nominees come back to celebrate their wins…

by Michael Lewittes

So here I am, once again, at the Golden Globes.

I've covered the Globes for a decade now, and never tire of this ultimately very long, tiring evening, and yet incredibly fun awardfest. Throughout the course of the evening, I'll fill you in on everything -- that you'll never see on the show.

Enjoy!

It's Hollywood's biggest night.

I've got my dress, my heels, my jewelry and by the way I'm freezing cold out here but I'm here to give you a snapshot of what's happening here on the Golden Globe red carpet minute by minute...

by Michael Lewittes

Once again, the annual HBO pre-Golden Globe party, held on January 13, at the Chateau Marmont, brought out the stars. And among those spotted was the elusive Sascha Baron "Borat" Cohen, along with his fiancee Isla Fisher.

Cohen repeatedly asked fans and photographers hired by HBO not to take any pictures of him. In fact, when one house photographer snapped a shot of him, Cohen darted over to the offending lensman and told him to immediately delete the digital shot. The photog said he told Cohen, "Yeah, right" and kept the photo anyway. Nor did Cohen care to speak "Kazakh" when yours truly spoke to him in a fluent version of his "Kazakh," which is actually Hebrew.

With the Golden Globes just days away, the stars are getting their goodies, but not everyone has been practicing proper gift suite etiquette.

For starters, former model and reality TV star Janice Dickinson has just been kicked out of the Silver Spoon swag palace for acting crazy! We know it’s Janice and she’s always outrageous but this time she was caught by our spy, defacing a photo of Andy Dick. Her biggest faux paux though? She made a huge scrawl on a “Celebrities sign here” type poster, writing her name over other, more famous signees.

Not happy with her move, she was asked by staff to leave prompting Janice to react Trump style, by threatening a lawsuit. Our spies report the staff at the event told her to go ahead, as long as she left her free goodies before filing. That got her quiet. She then packed up her stuff and left. On a rather safety-conscious note, suite promoters had her car followed home to make sure she made it there safely.

What did Lindsay pick up at the Silver Spoon Suite? .... (click below)

As a professional observer of Britney Spears' daily life, loves and general on goings, I'd like to offer a word of advice to current boy du jour, Isaac Cohen: enjoy your 15 minutes.


Like Bit Bit, K-Fed, and J.R. before you, chances are .... you're about to be kicked to the curb.

You see, Isaac, who refers to himself as "Eyezik" on his MySpace page (which he's taken down since the pictures of him and Brit Brit have surfaced ... guess he's getting too famous), is in for a very rude awakening. Brit likes her men, like she likes her Chihuahuas -- small, frightened, and dispensable.

In the Hyundai of love, Brit is the driver, and you, Eyezik, are simply along for the ride.

So don't quit your day job just yet -- play your cards right and there just may be a VH1 reality show in your future.

Jack Bauer returns to once again hunt down bad guys and terrorists. Day 6 takes place two years later with Jack locked up in a Chinese prison.

The government springs him to help out as all hell has broken loose in the United States. Suicide bombings have already killed nearly a thousand so far and the threat of a nuclear attack looms.

As the show gets set to premiere with a two-night four hour event on Fox this Sunday night, I give you my 24 Reasons I Love "24." Non-watchers will be converted! Watchers beware of spoilers.

Standing next to a stunning Halle Berry talking about her going commando is not a bad gig on a Tuesday night in the City of Angels.

She informed me backstage at the People's Choice Awards that she only goes commando "…at home” which, quite frankly, put a visual in my mind that made me temporarily lose my train of thought. I'm a guy, alright?

The conversation of "to wear or not to wear" underwear came about after she came on stage in a very short dress to accept her PCA for Favorite Female Action Star...as the audience below looked up at her...and up under her dress. When she accepted her award she told the crowd and the millions watching on TV she was glad she wore underwear.

See how my job works? Its nuts sometimes.

The cannonballs continue to fly back and forth from Castle Trump to Casa de "View" as the Donald-Rosie feud continues to drag out.

When today's latest grumblings hit the air, I had only one response -- Really?

Do we really need more of this absurd back-and-forth between two celebrities who are doing nothing more than clamoring for more attention?And now, even good ol' Baba Wawa has gotten involved, calling The Donald "pathetic" on Wednesday's "View."

Guess what else is pathetic? This saga.

For the record, I'm not a Rosie fan. Or a "View" fan. Or a Trump fan. I will admit I'm a newfound "Apprentice" fan and I can sum up my interest in six little letters: I-V-A-N-K-A.

Hanson has turned up on NBC’s “Deal Or No Deal.”

The brothers three, best known for their super pop hit “MMMBop,” have taped an episode of the show. Host Howie Mandel brings them in to help a contestant on January 24th.

I have just returned from a trip that has been one of the greatest highlights of my career.

I was invited to attend the grand opening of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. This is the project that Oprah says has been a life-long dream: to create a nurturing and safe learning environment for underprivileged girls. Girls who are special – who are exceptional and who will become our next leaders.

The campus is located in an area called Henley-On-Klip, 40 miles outside of Johannesburg. To describe this school almost defies words. Aesthetically, it rivals any private school here in the United States.

Oprah has given these girls the best of everything even though she was told that these 12 and 13-year-old girls come from nothing and so the bare minimum would do.

The 152 girls come from the poorest families in South Africa. Many of them live in the shantytowns where a makeshift house is no bigger than most people's kitchen. And bathrooms are non-existent - many share an outdoor toilet with DOZENS of families. No electricity, no running water.

Walking to school is a lesson in dodging a minefield. It is not uncommon for a girl to be raped or become the victim of violence in some other way.

Oh what a night is right. Sure Jennifer Aniston was there, Eva Longoria, Cameron Diaz and Patrick Dempsey too but if conversations with celebrities about peeing (yep I said it), a serious wardrobe malfunction and Robin Williams telling me I had um, two nice... well you know... tickle your fancy, well then be sure and read on. Plus, if you are a "Heroes" fan I’ve got spoilers!

It started out innocently enough. This was to be one of my first major AccessHollywood.com only shoots. That means I’m not pulling double duty interviewing celebrities for both our daily show and the internet. Tonight was our first chance to just come out as AH.com.

Unfortunately, this meant it was back of the line for us because we had come into the picture so late. When I say back of the line, I mean I was literally the last crew of about 35 or so. The stars were tired of yapping by the time they got to me but I refused to let them go in without talking to me and worked my magic.

I spent some good quality time with the members of the cast of "Heroes". Ali Larter looked hot showing off her tanned legs in a mini dress. Said tan was gotten while she was vacationing in Thailand over the holidays. She just started back filming this week on "Heroes" and gave me the scoop that the Jessica/Nicky situation will take a turn soon. One sister will begin to dominate the other and we will finally learn whether she is good or evil.

Yesterday I went to Levels Audio, a state of the art voice over facility in Hollywood that allowed me to watch the relevant video while I put voiceovers on top of it. This was for episode 2 of 'Grease: You're The One That I Want', which airs this Sunday at 8pm EST and PST on NBC.

The ironic and slightly incestuous thing about this place was my main competition was doing the same thing in the studio next door. I could hear the voice of Ty Pennington blasting through the sound proof walls. And, as I was leaving, Ryan Seacrest was coming in to do the same for American Idol.

The sound guy told me he had never enjoyed a show as much as ours while we were working on it. Several times he'd get sucked into watching it so that he'd forget to hit record on my microphone.

I was happy about that.

'Grease' only gets better. After Episode 2, the show goes to Grease Academy (#3) where it truly begins to look and feel like something you've never seen. And Episode 4, on January 28th, is the first of the Live shows....then, I'm sure of it, America will be swept off their feet as the song and dance production numbers get going.

by Eugene Monzon, Jr.

Unlike Forest Whitaker and Helen Mirren, who are the favorites to take home Oscar gold for Best Actor and Actress, there is no clear-cut favorite as to who will take home the Best Picture and Best Director.

That race seems to be, at the moment, between Letters From Iwo Jima and The Departed for Best Picture and between United 93 director Paul Greengrass and The Departed's Martin Scorsese for Best Director. With the recent nomination announcement by the Producers Guild of America (PGA), which picks a Best Picture of the Year, and the Directors Guild of America (DGA), which selects a Best Director of the Year, there may be a clear picture of who will win the Oscar.