March 2009 Archives

This week we start our Idol to Access series where the top 10 eliminated contestant's come sing our on Access Hollywood stage. Nice guy Michael Sarver talked to me about his run on the show and what he hopes to do after Idol.

 

DISH: You had the biggest smile on your face the entire night even when they told you that you were eliminated.

SARVER: I'm proud of the way I represented myself so there is no way to really frown when you look back on something like this and being so successful being in the top ten.

 

DISH: Did you have your bags packed?

SARVER: I did pack my bags. Mostly obviously because of the judges response to my performance. It wasn't really great and I knew that I struggled. I dealt with some sickness that took its toll on me. I'm getting better but when your voice just doesn't show up it doesn't show up.

 

DISH: So you had a feeling it would be you going home?

SARVER: When I woke up in the morning I woke up without the alarm clock like the first time since I have been here and for some reason there was just this peace and I walked through the day with a big smile on my face.

OK, let me begin by saying that I am the last person who would have paid money to go see "Hannah Montana The Movie." I am a 32-year-old grown man with no children. I am not exactly the "target audience." I have never watched the "Hannah Montana" TV show, and I have never before been a particularly huge fan of Miley Cyrus throughout my work covering her in celebrity news.

That being said, I attended one of the earliest screenings in conjunction with my work here at AccessHollywood.com preparing for our "Meet Miley Contest" along with Disney and Yahoo's OMG!, the results of which you'll see back here beginning April 6.

That being said, this movie is fantastic!

You've got to put all of your film pretensions aside when watching it; this is not "The Reader" or "Babel" - it's a fun teen movie that sets out to be the best it can be for its genre. And it certainly achieves that.

I found myself completely taken back to teenage-hood for this film - the same way in which films like "Bring It On," "Mean Girls" and "Clueless" did for me. It's the kind of movie that you'll likely be singing along with and quoting to friends for years to come. It has heart and passion, and it's just plain a fun ride.

The movie certainly serves as a vehicle for Miley Cyrus to begin moving forward from the "Hannah Montana" role, but it by no means is an end to the character.

Well, surgery on my knee is done and over with and it went well!  I am so happy as I am ready to start rehabbing my knee and get it back to normal!

I had the surgery done Friday arthroscopically. The surgeon and anethesiologist gave me the choice of going under or getting a block from the waist down. I chose the block, so I was actually awake for the surgery and got to watch it on the monitor. I didn't think I would like it as I can't even watch blood getting drawn. But because it was on a monitor and I never looked down at my actual knee, it was pretty cool.

Yesterday I got a chance to hang out with the stars of the CW's Reaper, Bret Harrison and Tyler Labine, who gave me a lesson in how to be a slacker - something their characters in the show have down to a science. Check out the video here. 

 

It's a very funny show with a small but loyal fan base. I hope CW gives the show a chance on a third season but recent rumors have put it on the chopping block.

  

After wrapping season two of the fantasy dramedy, Labine began work on a pilot for FOX's "Sons of Tucson." Reports of the new pilot caused rumors to swirl about a possible cancellation of "Reaper," but as far as a third season goes, Labine "doesn't know" what the future holds.

 

Natasha Richardson... was just remembering standing at a premiere in New York for a Liam Neeson film and seeing Natasha running, literally, from her Broadway theater to make her husband's NY premiere - for the man she loved. 

 

And you should have seen his face as she arrived. What a great couple. 

 

I didn't make it to the taping of "American Idol" this week.

Instead, I went to see Taylor Hicks in "Grease." In the interest of time I've decided to take a page from John Mayer's Twitter assignment this week to his followers. Tell a story in six words...

Michael Sarver - Country's his thing. Garth is not.

Allison Iraheta - A song I can relate to.

Kris Allen - He's definitely feeling the love tonight.

Lil Rounds -  A disaster from the very start.

Adam Lambert -Loved or hated. Confused. Nah. Loved.  

 

There may not ever be another leader of the Soul Patrol, but season five "American Idol" champ Taylor Hicks says he doesn't mind being compared to Danny Gokey, the bespectacled season seven fan favorite.

 

"Well, I'd like think I was just a little bit better dancer," Hicks joked recently to AccessHollywood.com's correspondent Laura "Dish of Salt" Saltman backstage at a taping of Fox Reality Channel's "American Idol Extra."

 

Gokey earned high praise from judge Simon Cowell but failed to win any points with his dance moves while performing Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T." last week.

 

Hicks believes it's Gokey's loss of his wife (just months before the audition) that is shaping him as a singer.

When Michael Johns was eliminated from last season's "American Idol" during week five there was a collective gasp of shock. An early favorite (especially among female fans) John's rendition of "Dream On" by Aerosmith, while not his best performance, certainly didn't deserve to get him the Idol boot. Johns is just the type of person this new judges "save" is hoping to help. When host Ryan Seacrest last week explained the new rule he invoked the names of Johns and other former contestants - Chris Daughtry, Tamyra Gray and Jennifer Hudson who all were suddenly sent home with the lowest number of votes.

 

So, you would think that Johns would find this new rule to be a fantastic addition. In fact, he finds it just the opposite.

 

"I personally don't really dig it that much. As someone that was the shock value and it would have helped I don't really think its necessary," he told me backstage at a taping of Fox Reality Channel's "American Idol Extra."

 

Johns continued, "I think that's the drama of Idol isn't it? That sometimes America gets it right. Sometimes they get it wrong. You gotta vote for the people you love."  

I'm just going to go out on a limb and say that last night's "American Idol" featured the best Top 12 (now Top 13) overall performances on night one. There was nary a clunker in the bunch, at least from my seat in the house -  with the exception of Megan Joy. I'm just going to call that a beautiful disaster. Gorgeous girl. Ridiculous song choice. What was she thinking?

 

I've been going to the show whenever possible for the last five seasons and bringing back reports from inside the taping. As usual I try to give you a snap shot of what went on inside for those who are interested. First of all, if you ever go to the show I hope they bring back the regular audience warm-up guy Cory. The one they had last night was a dud!  No offense i'm sure he is a lovely man but those commercial breaks can seem interminable when you can't run to the fridge for a snack! Although he was giving away I-Pod touches with the "American Idol" logo on it. So, he wasn't all bad. The big change in the studio was that the judges didn't get their usual walk-in welcome prior to the show. When twenty seconds after the show started no judges were in their seats I knew something was up. I actually really like the walk to stage they did. I hope they keep this every week. 

What an amazing night I had the other night at "Dancing With the Stars."

 

I have to admit I went in thinking I was going to be so sad being in the audience watching, instead of dancing as one of the cast members as originally planned. After all, Tony Dovolani, my former dance partner, and I had put in a lot of hard work and time before my knee injury. And as many of you know, I am a huge fan of the show!

 

But, boy, I have to say when the show started I was so beyond excited that Tony was able to continue on the show and get a new partner. And Melissa was beyond amazing!!!!!

The past couple of days have been odd ones to say the least. I feel like I'm having some sort of out of body experience. I am used to covering "Dancing With the Stars," not actually being the one in the story. I am so beyond disappointed that I won't be able to continue on the show. Tony Dovolani, my dance partner, and I have been working our you-know-whats off for the past month. So, even though I am definitely putting the situation into perspective, I cannot deny I am completely bummed out. When you have been practicing non-stop (we averaged 5-6 hours a day for almost four weeks straight), it is tough to throw all that hard work out the window. As many of you have read by now, I tore my meniscus in my knee in two places, and I have to have surgery to fix it.

Another year, another party celebrating the "American Idol" finalists. This one felt different though and not just because it would be a top 13 instead of 12. It felt different because of the contestants. This is by far the coolest, sweetest, most honest batch I have ever met. I like this new format and I'm so thrilled that the voters weeded out the marginal singers, boring contestants or just plain annoying ones (yes, I mean you, Tatiana).

 

I was a little perturbed that the entertainment shows (ours included) chose to focus on the Paula Abdul/Kara DioGuardi feud story from last week in their TV pieces. Hello, that's old news by now. I know you guys want to know about these contestants. I met nine of them, in pairs of three, over the last two weeks, as they were put through to the Top 13 and I found them for the most part to be pretty cool. It was interesting to get some one-on-one time with each person. I felt like it gave me a good sense of their true personalities. Here are my thoughts on everyone -- so far not a diva or dud in the bunch. Believe me, in the past I have not been able to say that. Make sure to check out the interviews on our site, but here's my rundown --

 

Scott MacIntyre - Absolutely one of the sweetest people I have ever met. He just oozes a calm, serene, easygoing vibe. You can't help but fall in love with him. I think when you meet him, you instantly get this sense that you want to take care of him. He says he can't wait to get his grand piano on the "Idol" stage.

Fortunately for him, Adam Lambert is not one to back down from a controversy.

 

The "American Idol" finalist handily addressed the recent photo scandal where votefortheworst.com posted pictures of him dressed in drag and kissing another man.

 

"You know what, I have nothing to hide. I am who I am. And this is about singing... nothing else," Adam told me at last night's Top 13 party.

 

For the record, Adam said he is currently single. When he spoke with Access last week, the photos had not yet surfaced and Adam admitted he had been Google-ing himself while competing on the show to see what people were saying about him.

Pitiful. Pit-i-ful. P.I.T.I.F.U.L. Ugh!

Some kind of way I got sucked into watching "The Bachelor" and the thing is, I ENJOYED it.

I consider myself a strong woman. Empowered. High self-esteem. So, the whole notion of 25 women flying thousands of miles to all live in one house together, begging some strange guy that they have never met before to please, PLEASE, PLEEEEZZZ give me freaking flower so I can feel good about myself is, well, it's just a foreign concept to me.

But there I was, curled up in front of the television wondering, wagering who it was gonna be. Which gal would get the rose and Jason's proposal?

So, this morning on a conference call, "The Bachelor" creator Mike Fleiss was asked by someone if the show is set up to hurt people. I think his response to this question says everything we need to know about this show.

"It's set up to help people find each other," Fleiss began to explain.

Then the zinger.

I was watching last Friday's episode of "Battlestar Galactica," and it finally hit me: Only 3 more episodes to go before this landmark series comes to a close after 4 spectacular seasons on the Sci-Fi Channel. It may not have been a huge ratings hit (like, say, "American Idol" or "Dancing with the Stars"), but "Galactica" - or "BSG," as it has come to be known - was thought-provoking TV at its finest, thanks to great stories and complex characters.

Of course, I still have the DVDs, which I plan watching again from the beginning. Then there's "Caprica," the prequel series that will turn back the clock to depict how the 12 colonies of humanity sealed their fate by creating the dreaded Cylons in the first place.

But the process of having brand-new episodes of "BSG" to look forward to will be gone, which means my Friday nights will be free again. At least there's solace to not being able to see "Galactica's" finest in uniform, since I'll be able to see their work on other shows.

By far this week had the most talented group of Top 36 performers. It's tough to call just which three will be voted through. For once, I have nothing mean to say about anyone's clothes!

 

Von Smith - He started off the show off on a high note. He sounded a bit rough off the top in the lower range but then he sounded great. If the little girls loved Kris Allen, I think they will enjoy look-alike Von.

 

Taylor Vaifanua - It's never good if you start crying at the end of your own performance before the judges give you a critique. It's good news for Ryan Seacrest though that she won't be making it into the top 12 since she towers over him!

 

Alex Wagner-Trugman - The voice definitely does not match the body. Cute kid. Cute personality. I thought he was entertaining. The judges ripping him did not help his case. 

So this morning on my way into work I hear "The Bachelor" host Chris Harrison on the radio bashing Us Weekly and Access Hollywood for leaking the Molly/Melissa finale switcheroo. When he says Access Hollywood he specifically means ME because we have never done the story on our show. It's only ever been as part of my blog on our Web site.
 

Chris questioned how we could dare ruin the ending for the fans. Well, after receiving the ratings news this morning for the finale, I can honestly say I have zero guilt about this and have just one thing to say to Chris Harrison - "You're Welcome."

 

Thanks to this little scandal that Reality Steve started and I followed up on, "The Bachelor" saw a jump in viewers. A huge jump!!! Seven million extra viewers tuned in for the "After the Final Rose" episode.

Sad. Just sad - Yet brilliantly, fantastic, pathetic, horrifying TV. That is what I have to say about this "Bachelor" train wreck. At first, I thought maybe I would long for the days of when "the happy couple" (as ABC likes to call them) would pretend they were still together and then "break up" a few months after the finale aired and we would read about it in a magazine. This, however, is even better. C'mon... you have to admit it's good television. We have all gone through breakups and they sure do seem to go a lot like this one.

The fact that Jason and Melissa would allow anyone to film their breakup on national television is beyond ridiculous but yet when have we seen something so genuine out of this show ever? Melissa sitting their all pissed off not looking at him. Jason looking like a sad, guilty puppy. Been there. Done that.

My favorite moment besides when Melissa called him a "bastard" was when she told Jason, "Don't call me. Don't text me anymore. Leave me alone please."  Who in a breakup hasn't said words like that?

Last week season seven "American Idol" contestant Brooke White performed her new single on the show and had one piece of advice for the new season eight contestants. Don't Google yourself!

 

Well, on Friday when I met up with the next three Top 12 Idols - Adam Lambert, Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta, Adam admitted to me he just couldn't help himself, "I have Googled myself. It's like market research. I don't take anything too seriously but I just think it's interesting to see the public perception. It's a part of our job, I think."

 

So, what has he discovered about how he is being perceived? Mixed reviews he says, "It's a mixed bag. So we'll see but I have only sung for them twice."

 

"It's a fine line because, obviously, you don't want it to affect you in a negative way. You just kind of have to put your force field up and take it with a grain of salt."

 

And hey, I take everything with a dish of salt, Adam, but that's just me!

 

In the 13 x 525,600 minutes since "Rent" first premiered on Broadway, the economy has gone from middling, to wealthy, to so-so, to pretty great again, to absolutely horrific. And, of course, we still don't have a cure for HIV & AIDS.
 
Although "Rent" played its final performance on Broadway last spring (it was the seventh longest-running show in Broadway history), never before have this musical and its themes of love and compassion felt so fresh and relevant as they do right now.

Set in NYC's East Village in the early 90's, "Rent" is a modern take on Puccini's opera, "La Boheme." It tells the story of a young group of artists and friends struggling for their identity and purposes in the world, while navigating the plague of HIV& AIDS.
 
Back in Los Angeles at the Pantages Theatre for an almost two-week run, the latest national tour features three standout performers from Jonathan Larson's original New York production; leads Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, who also starred in the 2005 movie, and solo vocalist Gwen Stewart (aka - the one who hits the BIG notes on "Seasons of Love").
 
Revisiting the show for the first time since the aforementioned big screen production directed by Chris Columbus, I remembered again why this is my favorite musical of all-time. It redefined the definition of the genre, it was the soundtrack to my 20's, and it has more heart than just about any musical that's come since (although, some have come close... see "In The Heights," and "Avenue Q").

First stop in Austin is over. The girls went craaaazy for the boys as expected.

 

Kids were in the theater with their 3D glasses on ready to see the movie and what they got was, as one girl told me, "their bestest dream come true!"

 

Then, we headed to Vegas.

 

I've been on private planes before...but nothing like Air Jonas.