{alltv} Comic Con 2010: Zachary Levi, Joshua Jackson, Maggie Q and more bring Warner Bros. star power

 

ollywood is invading San Diego once again for the 2010 Comic-Con event. For a TV lover, there's nothing cooler than the chance to mingle with the objects of our obsession. This year, get ready for an overload of star power.

Warner Bros. is presenting a whopping 14 series with a 3,000 square-foot booth for signings, demos, and giveaways -- and they're bringing their most famous faces with them. The cast of the insanely popular "The Big Bang Theory" will be in the house - yes, Jim Parsons, Johnny Galecki, Kaley Cuoco, SImon Helberg, and Kunal Nayyar in the house. Wil Wheaton will moderate the panel, which includes both Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady.

"Chuck" stars Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Ryan McPartlin, Mark Christopher Lawrence, VIk Sahay, Scott Krinsky, Sarah Lancaster, and Adam Baldwin will be there with executive producers Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The "Fringe" presentation will include Anna Torv, Josh Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddik, Blair Brown, and producers Jeff Pinkner and J.H. Wyman.

"V" is bringing along plenty of stars as well. Expect to see Elizabeth Mitchell, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Logan Huffman, Laura Vandervoort, Charles Mesure, Morena Baccarin, and Scott Wolf in the house. For fans of "Human Target," Mark Valley, Chi McBride, and Jackie Earle Haley will join executive producer Matthew Miller.

CW fans, don't miss the stars of the brand new series "Nikita:" Maggie Q, Shane West, and Lyndsy Fonseca will be there with executive producer Craig Silverstein. All of your favorite vampires will be there as well -- don't miss Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, and Paul Wesley -- plus resident vampire hunter Matt Davis and the not-quite-werewolf Michael Trevino from "The Vampire Diaries."

Of course, this leaves one question. Which series stars from "Supernatural" and "Smallville" will be in the house? Will Tom Welling make it to San Diego one last time before "Smallville" ends in 2011?

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} 'Supernatural': Jensen Ackles makes directorial debut on 'Weekend at Bobby's'

 

The "Supernatural" cast and crew are getting a head start on Season 6. The CW confirms that Jensen Ackles and the rest of the gang have already assembled in Vancouver to begin production on the episode "Weekend at Bobby's," which Ackles will direct.

"Weekend at Bobby's" is the fourth episode of the season, but will be shot first. The schedule was arranged to give Ackles time to prepare before his directorial debut. The normal shooting schedule will resume in July.

Of course, Jim Beaver will guest star as Bobby Singer in the episode. As Ackles gets a taste of life behind-the-camera, Beaver is getting a chance to see what it's like in Jensen's shoes. Sources confirm that the episode centers around Bobby's character, and will also feature a guest appearance by Kim Rhodes as Sheriff Jody Mills, who helped the Winchesters and Bobby fight off zombies in the Season 5 episode "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid."

Beaver tweeted about his unusually heavy schedule. "Having watched lots of TV stars at work, I knew being the single lead on a series is the hardest job in the acting biz. Getting a taste now."

The single lead? Does that mean Jared Padalecki will be MIA in Episode 4? Say it ain't so!

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} 'Drop Dead Diva': 'Hellcats' Gail O'Grady brings the mean

 

Could Jane (Brooke Elliot) have found her match in "NYPD Blue" grad and "Hellcats" star, Gail O'Grady?

According to Fancast, O'Grady will face off with the reincarnated attorney this summer on Lifetime's "Drop Dead Diva."

In the August 29 episode, O'Grady plays the mom of a 16-year-old girl who's being sued for "cyber-bullying." While Jane tries to take her daughter down for the charge, O'Grady will be shooting her dirty looks and claim her daughter's actions are covered under the right to free speech.

With Jane finding more of her feelings from her "pre-switch" life coming back to her, we think we'll find out that the original Jane was bullied once herself. What do you think?

Grady, who has been nominated for an Emmy three times, will appear this fall in The CW's new pilot, "Hellcats," as Marti's (Aly Michalka) immature mom.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} DEE SNIDER's 'Growing Up Twisted' To Premiere Next Month

What happens when Dee Snider, the legendary frontman of heavy metal group TWISTED SISTER, is the "quiet one" in the family? "Growing Up Twisted" follows the outrageous and oddball daily pursuits of the Sniders, who think their zany world is just real life, perfectly normal... only it's not. The seven episode series premieres with two back-to-back half hour episodes on Tuesday, July 27 at 10 p.m and 10:30 p.m. ET/PT.

"Growing Up Twisted" explores suburban life in Long Island through the eyes of an off-beat but tight-knit family of six who are fiercely independent, strong willed and unafraid to speak their minds. There is Dee, a loving husband, father and newly minted grandfather who is the legendary frontman of heavy metal group TWISTED SISTER, the host of the "House of Hair" radio show and the national spokesperson for the March of Dimes Bikers for Babies; his hot and feisty wife Suzette, a clothing designer and makeup artist and the glue that holds the family together, and their children: Jesse, 27, an aspiring rock musician, husband and new father; Shane, 22, the resident comic; Cody, 20, a budding filmmaker; and Cheyenne, 13, daddy's little girl, who is making the tough transition to teenager.

The series looks at the unpredictable daily life of the Snider clan including: a baptism where a song opens up wounds between father and son; a playful sparring match that has devastating consequences; the inappropriate behavior of a local store clerk that brings the Snider men together in a show of solidarity; and a concert where Dee performs with his offspring. Throughout it all, despite their craziness, the Sniders prove the love that binds them, no matter how twisted, is undeniable.

"Growing Up Twisted" is produced by Evolution Media ("Real Housewives of Orange County") for A&E. Dee Snider is executive producer and Ron Starrantino is producer. Executive producers for Evolution are Douglas Ross, Greg Stewart, Kathleen French, Alex Baskin and Kevin Lee. Robert Sharenow and Elaine Frontain Bryant are executive producers for A&E.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} Julianne Hough keeps coy on Ryan Seacrest rumors

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country singer and "Dancing With The Stars" pro Julianne Hough isn't making her romantic life public, but she is giving hints that rumors linking her to "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest are true.

When asked Tuesday whether she is dating Seacrest, Hough laughed and said that she wasn't going to confirm or deny anything. While she answered, Hough looked up and to the right with a coy smile on her face.

Hough went on to say: "Ryan's great. He's a really good guy."

Hough was in Nashville to participate in the ACM Lifting Lives Music Camp for people with Williams Syndrome. She sang karaoke with the campers at a local bar and signed autographs.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} Travel Channel raises glass to beer-themed series

 

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Thanks largely to fans on Facebook and other social media sites and a highly targeted shipment of beer, "Three Sheets" will make its permanent bed on the Travel Channel effective Wednesday.

The travelogue about the worldwide culture of beer had a trial run from April to May on the network. After receiving letters (and some frothy brew) from die-hard fans, Travel has acquired all the back episodes of the show from the Fine Living cable channel and will resume airing episodes.

Hosted by comedian Zane Lamprey, the show will air in a one-hour block that begins at 11 p.m. Fine Living recently morphed into the Cooking Channel, so "Three Sheets" was homeless until the Travel Channel bellied up to the bar.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} Denis Leary on the Return of 'Rescue Me'

"Rescue Me," the dark comic firefighter drama on FX, returns on Tuesday night for the beginning of the end. The show will wrap up next year shortly before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, an event that inspired the series and has been revisited repeatedly throughout its run.

 

"We always felt that, if we made it that far, the 10th anniversary of 9/11 would be a stopping point," said Denis Leary, the show's star and co-creator, with Peter Tolan.

Mr. Leary portrays Tommy Gavin, the caustic, alcoholic fireman at the center of "Rescue Me" who is the "most frantic and emotionally undone member of the crew of 62 Truck," according to Ginia Bellafante, a television critic for the Times. The character's reckless bravado frequently scuttles his personal life even as it makes him an exceptional firefighter.

"It's the hero versus the regular guy; which one of these guys is going to win out?" Mr. Leary said. "That's the story of the last two seasons of 'Rescue Me.'"

Mr. Leary, who was a theater actor before he became known as a stand-up comic, just wrapped a comedy tour to promote the return of the series.

Mr. Leary talked about "Rescue Me" last week at his production office in SoHo. Below, he discusses Tommy Gavin and the twisted firehouse anecdotes that inspire the show's scripts and breaks down a scene from the season premiere.

Q.

How will the show handle the anniversary of 9/11?

A.

The final episodes will lead up to the anniversary. During the last three episodes the characters are going to these meetings to plan the parades and memorial services.

Q.

So you've shot the final shows already?

A.

Yes we're done shooting. It was interesting because we were doing it a year in advance and we have a lot of firefighters on the set, so we got to watch their response. There's a thing in the final scene, where down on the waterfront there's a new boat called the 343, which was just commissioned. The name on the hull of the boat is done in steel from the World Trade Center. It's a $27 million boat and the only reason they have them is because they realized on 9/11 that they need that service from the water, right down by where the buildings went down. Watching the boat, which the department was kind enough to give us that day, roll in was pretty emotional for a lot of the real firefighters. So for better or worse I think we did the right thing.

Q.

Why has 9/11 remained such a central theme on your show?

A.

Because it's firefighters. The show has been the story of the male ego, the heroic male ego. The idea of dealing with life and death every day, and that struggle to fit into real life when you work a job that has no real connection to real life, except in the sense that you may die five minutes from now. Or you may save a life. This event was so catastrophic for these guys. It's still below the surface but they can't think about it every day because they have to jump on a rig and go back to work and jump into the building. But it's like Vietnam or World War II for them — it's something that will never go away.

Q.

How did you develop the Tommy Gavin character?

A.

He was based on two specific guys. The crew that we created was a smudged version of a real crew that I was very close to; I loved the unit and how everyone related to each other. The guys on the show even tended to look like the real guys — the good-looking dumb guy, the good-looking smart guy, the lieutenant who knows everything and has a lot of experience but likes to eat. They're great, rich characters. My guy was a combination of two guys, one who had massive personal problems in terms of his marriage and personal life and one who was a great firefighter who had a different set of problems.

Q.

Have the real firefighters continued to inform the characters on the show?

A.

Almost every comic conversation that went on in "Rescue Me" in the firehouse came from things we heard from real firefighters who work on the show. It was either from them giving us a general idea of something that happened or from telling us a specific story like, "Last night we had a penis measuring contest at the firehouse." And we would go "You have got to be kidding me!" We're not brilliant enough to come up with all this stuff ourselves. A lot of it was just reporting.

Q.

Have the men who inspired your character ever complained about the portrayal?

A.

One guy's the main technical adviser on the show, Terry Quinn. His marriage fell apart but his ex-wife is on the show — Patti D'Arbanville, she played Teddy's wife. So that was pretty blatant. They were both aware that we were stealing not only elements from the firehouse but also from their personal lives and portraying it onscreen. I don't think the other guy [whom Mr. Leary declined to identify] was really aware all the time that I was using him. They were much more concerned with the reality of the portrayal of firefighters coming through — the technical reality of the fires and the general emotional reality of the thing.

Q.

Tommy is haunted literally and figuratively by the people he couldn't save. Is that meant to reflect the psyche of the firefighter or is there something deeper you're trying to get at?

A.

No that's really it: It's survivor's guilt in its truest form.

Q.

With the end in sight, is the show beginning to wrap up the characters' stories?

A.

The story of the last two seasons is do they have enough (guts) to keep at it? Especially in Tommy's case — he's old enough that he can take the money and run, and the 10th anniversary becomes that opportunity. You've done it, you're still alive. Take the pension, go home and spend the rest of your life with your family. There's no shame in it. It's just that you're letting go of the life, and it's almost like being a gangster or a retired ballplayer. You're going to be seeing it on the news but it will be from a distance. You lose the clubhouse atmosphere and you lose the adrenaline.

Q.

Have you started to look ahead to what's next for you?

A.

I love doing television and have loved doing this series — I would not hesitate, if I had the right idea, to do it again . . . Actually I'm praying for "Ice Age" 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Because I really think we can run those characters into the '60s, and I'm talking the 1960s, you know? The civil rights movement. That's what I'm praying for because then I wouldn't have to do anything else.

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} David Duchovny to Make Stage Debut in LaBute Play

Over the course of David Duchovny's acting career his characters have gone to some unusual places, from the alien environs of "The X-Files" to many a Los Angeles bedroom on "Californication."

But there is one place Mr. Duchovny has never been: on the stage in a professional capacity. ("Not professional," he said in a telephone interview. "Very unprofessional.")

That's about to change. On Wednesday, MCC Theater said Mr. Duchovny would make his proper stage debut in its coming production of "The Break of Noon," a new play by Neil LaBute.

Mr. Duchovny, who is in Los Angeles wrapping up a new season of "Californication," said he has previously acted "Off, off, off, off — as many off's as you can put in front of Broadway." He added: "I've never done anything close to this scale."

When he first began acting in New York, Mr. Duchovny said, he could occasionally be found in theaters, taking part in a familiar rite of passage.

"In L.A., they're called showcases," he said. "In New York, nobody comes to see them so you can't really call them showcases."

He has since appeared more often in film and television roles, but he said he had been won over by Mr. LaBute's script for "The Break of Noon," which Mr. Duchovny called "fascinating and moving and original, and intimidating in many ways."

The play, which will be directed by Jo Bonney, is to begin performances at the Lucille Lortel Theater on Oct. 28. It is a co-production with the Geffen Playhouse, which will present it in Los Angeles next year.

"The Break of Noon" is described in a news release as centering on a character called John Smith (played by Mr. Duchovny) who "amidst the chaos and horror of the worst office shooting in American history, sees the face of God," setting off a "maelstrom of disbelief among everyone he knows."

"The setup is grim, of course," Mr. Duchovny said, "but there's certainly some darker, absurd, humorous moments. It tends towards the spiritual and the human. It's a very surprising play, with a very surprising stance on tragedy."

Also, having recently resumed living in New York, Mr. Duchovny said: "I just thought, well, I can stay home and work if I do the theater. That would be a really nice schedule to try. I remember reading this article about Matthew Broderick riding his bike to the theater and it just sounded very romantic to me."

Asked if he could survive the New York stage, which has been known to make mincemeat of cable-television stars, Mr. Duchovny said: "Who knows? I don't think of myself as a TV actor. I think of myself as a film, television and Off-Off-Off-Off Broadway actor."

"Certainly," he added, "I wouldn't succeed at musical theater."

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} Photo: Michael Lieber, Jamie Farr

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html

{alltv} Photo: Eva Longoria

Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99

Babe Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonth.html

Hunk Of The Month
http://members.shaw.ca/almosthuman99/babeofthemonthman.html