July 2007 Archives

The Lindsay Lohan story is everywhere. My NAME is everywhere due to breaking her claim of innocence.

I am feeling exhausted from the story because it’s sad. Mom and Dad Lohan are so deeply divided it seems like nothing is salvageable. Dad is not going away so unless Lindsay goes for a cease and desist order that forbids him from talking publicly about her, they all need to meet, commit to one another's individual well being, and give this kid the chance she needs.

I am conflicted covering the story because I believe in faith and family...I also believe those two things could save her. My view.

With every bit of information, the story deepens. I'd be ok if nobody involved would talk. I would NOT be ok, if they talked to someone else and not me.

by Scott Mantz

After some time in the doldrums, Paramount has had a stellar year at the box office, thanks to hits like Blades of Glory, Disturbia, Shrek the Third and Transformers. Granted, they were all produced under the DreamWorks banner, but still...

With their heads held high, Paramount made the "trek" (pun intended) to the center of the pop culture universe, the San Diego Comic Con, to unveil their impressive slate of upcoming genre films.

Here are the highlights of what they "beamed" down (there I go with those puns again!)...

BEOWULF
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, using the same computer-animated technique he utilized with The Polar Express (which, depending on your taste, is either a good thing or a bad thing). Using the most modern technology available today, Beowulf tells the oldest story in the English language. The fantasy adventure comes out on November 16 in 2-D, 3-D and Imax.

The trailer debuted at Comic Con, and it looks amazing. It was short (less than 2 minutes), featuring a voiceover from Angelina Jolie. It looks cool, even if it does look like what we've seen in the Lord of the Rings movies.

I have spoken to both of Lindsay's parents today... mom Dina on the phone and Michael in a two-way satellite interview. The troubling thing is that each one sounds "right."

Michael is essentially blackballed by Lindsay and she does not want to talk to him. He continues to try. He has a terrible record and by all means has been a poor influence on his daughter, having gone to jail for driving while intoxicated and attempted assault. He was a drug user and a man with a bad temper. It's hard to blame her.

There are handlers and higher ups from other companies who are very upset with me over Friday's Isaiah Washington interview. I pressed Isaiah about the fact that Patrick Dempsey holds the key to his redemption.

Remember, on 'Ellen', T.R. Knight stated clearly that Isaiah called HIM the 'F-word'... (I'm not saying it...not even THINKING it).

Isaiah, as you know, vehemently denies it had anything even remotely to do with T.R. He has said several times before my interview that T.R. wasn't even THERE.

Patrick was the other half of the argument and he knows exactly what was said. Isaiah got fired and maybe he deserves it, but again, Patrick knows.

And Isaiahsays they are on friendly terms.

My point to Isaiah was "If you're telling the truth, how could Patrick keep his mouth shut?"

To quote the "High School Musical 2" music video that I've been watching over and over today as I write a story for Access Hollywood about Vanessa Hudgens, "What Time Is It? Summer Time! It's our vacation!" Well, its my vacation time too for the next two weeks. I'm off to see family and then a nice relaxing week in Hawaii with no cell phones and no blackberrys.

I promise to continue doling out the "HSM2" information when I return on August 5th. That gives you just twelve days to wait for the big premiere on Disney Channel. I just got word that the cast will have their big red carpet premiere on August 15th at Disneyland. Fun! I plan on being there for all the hoopla and I promise to get you much more detailed information about what they wear. This seems to be a popular thing! To keep your appetite satiated while I'm gone here's a little bit from Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron and Ashley Tisdale talking about their storyline.

DOS: So, tell me about the story

Ashley : The story this time around is School's Out for Summer. And it takes place at Ryan and Sharpay's family's country club. She wants to get out of school. She wants to get away from all the drama. Her year at school wasn't the best. So, this time around, she's just wanting to leave school, go to her country club that she goes to every summer that she owns practically and just have a great summer and things will be better.

But Ryan actually gives her the idea that I should have Troy Bolton. And so she gets the idea of wanting to have Troy Bolton for the summer work at her country club. Unfortunately, to get Troy here, Gabriella comes and the Wildcats and everybody from school is here. And so it's like the school year all over again. Once she finds out that they're here she kind of puts them through, I guess, hell, if I can say that. She is always getting Gabriella in trouble. And she has this star talent show that she does every year and she wins the trophy but this time, instead of with Ryan, she wants to win it with Troy.

DOS: So she is dead set on winning Troy?

Ashley: Yeah, she wants to win the love of Troy and win the award. Her eyes are always on the prize. Troy's just like an accessory.

Alas, the longest day of the year is the not the Summer Solstice. It's day two of the NBC TCA. Today I have twenty-six scheduled interviews. Three of them were no-shows. Here's how it all went down.

9:03. I arrive three minutes after my first scheduled interview with trainer, Jillian Michaels from "The Biggest Loser". Traffic was a nightmare and I expect I'll have to apologize for my tardiness. Turns out she never showed up to our interview.

9:30. Two more no shows. Minka Kelly and Gaius Charles from "Friday Night Lights". Minka is running late herself.

9:45 First interview of the day, Zach Gilford and Scott Porter from "Friday Night Lights." The show has become a critical favorite and though its ratings were low it developed a loyal following and therefore was spared cancellation. One of those fans was Rosie O'Donnell who would plug it while she was on "The View". As a thank you the cast sent her a gift basket full of footballs. Scott also filled me in on his role in the upcoming "Speed Racer" film.

Alas, the longest day of the year is the not the Summer Solstice. It's day two of the NBC TCA. Today I have twenty-six scheduled interviews.

Three of them were no-shows.

Here's how it all went down...

9:03. I arrive three minutes after my first scheduled interview with trainer, Jillian Michaels from "The Biggest Loser". Traffic was a nightmare and I expect I'll have to apologize for my tardiness. Turns out she never showed up to our interview.

9:30. Two more no shows. Minka Kelly and Gaius Charles from "Friday Night Lights". Minka is running late herself.

9:45 First interview of the day, Zach Gilford and Scott Porter from "Friday Night Lights." The show has become a critical favorite and though its ratings were low it developed a loyal following and therefore was spared cancellation. One of those fans was Rosie O'Donnell who would plug it while she was on "The View". As a thank you the cast sent her a gift basket full of footballs. Scott also filled me in on his role in the upcoming "Speed Racer" film.

This is the week when the networks get together for the Television Critics Association's (TCA) annual gathering in LA.

The networks make all their announcements about the new Fall season and hype up their new shows. Every year Access Hollywood sends me to interview the new stars and to help promote returning ones. NBC is always the longest two days. Today I did twelve interviews back to back. Tommorow I have got twenty-six! I like doing interviews but its tough not to burn out.

Let me just give you a snapshot of two days in the life of a very talked out entertainment reporter.

Day One today...

A lot of people have been saying things like, "I thought Posh was such a bitch... she seems cool." For the record, and I can't always say this, I saw the self-deprecating, fun side of her when I watched her and David get interviewed by Ali G on the British version of his show. It was hysterical and Sacha Baron Cohen went WAY over the top with inappropriate questions and she handled them all with humor. She was fun and wild. David was embarrassed and sheepish.

I knew she was cool. Not only that, she is a good mom and her children are well mannered. She has the potential to be the perfect celebrity: one who is sexy, risqué, exotic and LOYAL to her spouse. Yes, all with her husband.

I have a quick story I have to share. On my last day of vacation in a little town, I went to an Italian restaurant. After dinner, the server corked our bottle of wine so we could take it home. She left it on the table.

At the table behind me, I heard a group of New York accented guys talking about Broadway shows they were dying to see. Oddly.

So, if you are a fan of "High School Musical" and you read my blog, you know I spent three days on the set in St. George, Utah. Today's the day Access Hollywood begins airing our exclusive "High School Musical 2" stories. Every Friday we will unveil a new segment. If you happen to miss them you will be able to get them online here at Accesshollywood.com Plus, we've got tons of extra footage and exclusive stories and interviews you can only get online. So, be sure and check back every day leading up to the August 17th premiere of the movie on The Disney Channel.

While I was up there, I wrote a daily synopsis for my blog about my experience which many of you have read. We had agreed with Disney that we would not put any information out there until June and July. So, it’s been four months since I was actually on the set. I've actually forgotten so much of the information I learned while there. I spent the last week watching the twelve field tapes we shot. I've never shot so much footage on a movie set before in my life. I really wanted to pack our three days up there with as much as I could.

Production began today in Los Angeles on the set of "Grey's Anatomy" and it's so long to Kate Walsh, as she heads off to "Private Practice" and bye bye Isaiah Washington who was now famously fired and hello to 25-year-old Chyler Leigh. Leigh is joining the cast as a regular this season. She'll play Meredith Grey's (Ellen Pompeo) half-sister Lexie Grey. You'll recall we last saw Lexie in the series finale when it was revealed she was to become a brand new intern at Seattle Grace.

Expect this to cause lots of trouble for Meredith and Dr. Shepherd's (Patrick Dempsey) already rocky romance. Remember that was Lexie who was flirting incessantly with Dr. Shepherd (and he seemed to like it) at Joe's bar in an earlier episode appropriately titled "Testing 1-2-3."

This high profile gig should now put her in the same fame stratosphere as former unknowns Pompeo and Katherine Heigl. Just like them this pretty brunette actress has been kicking around Hollywood trying to make a name for herself for a long time though. At age 19 she made her feature film debut as the lead in the hilarious teen spoof comedy, "Not Another Teen Movie." If you haven't seen it go out and rent it. It's hysterical.

She has also starred in three abruptly cancelled FOX series, "That '80s Show", "Girls Club" and most recently the ensemble drama "Reunion" as the nice girl turned possible murderer Carla Noll. "Reunion" despite only airing twelve episodes had built up a nice cult following. Many folks including myself were disappointed when the who done it mystery, spanning 20 years in the lives of high school friends, got the ax. Chyler was definitely a standout in the show. She's got a great likeable every woman quality like a Jennifer Garner or Rachel McAdams. The kind of actress that both men and women enjoy watching. Plus, if former "Reunion" co-star Dave Annable's success as Justin Walker on ABC's "Brothers and Sisters" is any indication Chyler is absolutely one to watch this Fall.

by Access Producer Whitney Frink

Legs! Makeup! Cleavage! En masse. It is blaringly obvious as I walk up to the women lining the sidewalk of La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles that they are all here for one reason – to prove, in just minutes, that they are "briefcase babe" material. And, as most of them know, probably having been in the modeling or acting business for years, the lightning speed audition will leave them only a few minutes to make a lasting impression, which, for this gig, means legs, makeup, and cleavage. But that's once we're inside.

Nights like last night are why I got into the entertainment news business. Normally, at a red carpet premiere you are smushed in next to dozens of other camera crews. It's so tight you can barely move and you are stuck behind a station, leaning over to get the interview. It's a frustrating experience to say the least as the studios have little respect for the media's space. Plus, I'm claustrophobic so that doesn’t' help. Last night was different. It was more like an award show with the national shows each getting their own platform. This meant their was no space restriction and the stars just walked up a couple of steps to a 8 x 8 carpeted riser. I did feel bad though heading towards our nice cushy spot as I passed all the other crews smushed in together. Seriously, it's getting a little out of control how much media covers Hollywood events. From Internet movie sites, international outlets, local news, MySpace TV and even QueenLatifah.com. It's overkill really. I'd hate to be a celebrity who has thirty interviews to do.

While Tony Potts did the interviews, I stood back and took it all in. Truthfully, it's a little awkward these days for me in my dual job as a field producer for Access Hollywood to have to take a back seat. It's especially difficult to stand there taking notes when I see young stars like Ashley Tisdale and Zac Efron who are used to me interviewing them for Accesshollywood.com. They kind of give me an odd look. I'll probably get in trouble here for revealing this but hey I'm nothing if not honest. I wish more people in Hollywood had that same ethic. However, it was fun to be able to just check out what people were wearing and see who they arrived with without having to think about what questions I was going to ask.

While Access Hollywood was off on hiatus last week, I was busy planning a special visit to the set of "Hannah Montana" for my 4 1/2-year-old cousin, Rachel. I have a very small family so her mom, Michelle is like a sister to me and Rachel and her 7-year-old sister, Hannah, are more like nieces to me. Rachel was diagnosed with Leukemia when she was just two years old. After a long two and a half year course of treatment she was finally deemed cancer-free at her last doctor's appointment. She'll continue to be monitored for five years and if all goes well in those five years she will be considered cured.

To celebrate the end of her treatment, Rachel got to choose where she wanted to go on vacation. Apparently, she told her mom, "I want to go see cousin Laura in California." So, the pressure was on for me to deliver something special. I figured a meeting with one of their favorite TV stars might be a good gift. When I asked my cousin Michelle what the girls favorite TV show was there was no hesitation, "Hannah Montana." At first, I figured I had no shot of making this happen as I was pretty sure no one would be taping the week of Fourth of July. Fortunately, I was wrong and thanks to the marvelous folks at the Disney Channel, I was able to set it all up.