January 2008 Archives

A lot of dudes think they do judging from a contest being held by The Boston Globe which I read about on Kennethinthe212. Check out that site for all the side-by-side comparisons. Here are a few I liked:

This is from an upcoming episode (sorry, don't know when) but I do know it includes John Barrowman's Capt. Jack locking lips with another dude! Figure that's gotta be worth a look!

Rosie O'Donnell has always had a soft spot for troubled Britney Spears who is currently hospitalized undergoing psychiatric evaluation. On her blog today, Rosie writes:
"Whenever young girl stars came on my show tried to warn them, go to school, follow jodie. She did it, you can too. Save yourself."

Of Britney: "She was parkers age when i met her, lil southern girl with a tiny twang. 'yes maam,' she smiled.
adorable. 'She wanted it,' the mothers always said, as way of both apology and explaination in the dressing room.[Daughter] vivi would if i let her, support our family with her light and talent. its not mine to sell.

Rosie expressed a desire to help Britney: "If I had a magic wand, I would will her the strength, Windex all windows, watch the sun warm her soul."

She concludes her post by writing: "All together now, we pray."

...and I don't blame you. You're wondering why Greg's blog sucks today! Well, I'm aware of it. We had technical difficulties that made posting impossible for big stretches of the day. I'm gonna try and post some material before I hit the hay. And I start with a photo of cutie pie Chace Crawford of "Gossip Girl" at an Old Navy part of some sort. I prefer him clean-shaven but a little stubble never hurt anyone!

There is a terrific interview with Carson Kressley on AfterElton.com today that you gotta read. I think Carson is a hoot and his wit was one of the two reasons I watched "Queer Eye." The other reason was that cutie pie Kyan Douglas.

Here is what Carson says about gay stereotypes on TV: "I was on a show that some people considered embraced stereotypes, but it was just what we did, and we were just being ourselves. There's nothing less stereotypical than being out and proud and being who you are. As time goes on, we'll see gay guys just being themselves. I'm doing a makeover show that has nothing to do with being gay, but I'm being as gay as can be. Yes, it's working in fashion, but those are the things I'm good at and I'm happy to share that with the world. I think it's a positive attribute and not really a stereotype."

"...Being gay doesn't mean just one thing, so I'm never going to be able to represent every gay person on television. We are so diverse. That's a wonderful thing.
But I think it's great that we are being represented, so if there are gay kids out there — and I experienced this first hand with "Queer Eye" — if there are gay kids out there watching, they feel like they have a future, there are people out there just like them, and they don't feel alone, they don't feel isolated. That's really important. Just having that presence on TV is really great. When I was a kid all we had was Paul Lynde on "Hollywood Squares." He was amazing and I loved him and worshipped him, but we didn't have a lot of role models."

Well said!

The couple will soon be performing a duet together at Broadway Backwards 3, the gender-bending concert of show tune favorites benefiting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.

Justin Timberlake's new ad for Pepsi will debut on Super Bowl Sunday. But it's already all over the Internet. Check it out!!!

...the beautiful Portia de Rossi!

Why we love her? So many reasons. She's funny and smart and quite talented. She's delighted us with her roles on "Ally McBeal," "Arrested Development" and now on "Nip/Tuck." And, of course, she's the love of Ellen DeGeneres' life. Anyone who makes Ellen that happy, makes us happy...

The fabulously talented artist Glen Hanson told me it took him about a day to draw each of these entertainment legends for a Smithsonian salute this week. It seems easy to me to see who is who but I will identify them anyway. (Top row): Rose Marie, Angela Lansbury, Esther Williams (Middle row) June Lockhart and Tippi Hedren (bottom row) Phyllis Diller, Carol Channing, Florence Henderson and Julie Newmar.

"This was an honor to pay tribute to these women, each one of them is such a legend. I could do 50 caractures of each one of them because they've had amazing careers on stage and on television and in movies. Just amazing. The fact that they're all still around, I had to jump at this. Had to. I studied every eyelash...you gotta get it right down to the eyelash!"

Glen's work has appeared on MTV and in such publications as Entertainment Weekly, Vogue, The New York Times, L'Uomo and Variety. To learn more about him, go to www.GlenHanson.com

Here is a group photo taken yesterday of seven of the nine ladies (Lansbury and Diller are absent) along with the evening's emcee's Dick Van Patten and Jo Anne Worley:

I was having a busy day and was annoyed at the early 5 p.m. start time for a Smithsonian event at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood. Well, after the evening I had chatting up the likes of Esther Williams, Carol Channing, Rose Marie, June Lockhart and others,. I realize I would have gotten up at 5 A.M. to make it.

I'll be sharing interview with these grand ladies in the weeks to come but today, I just want to write about the experience of being there and watching the above mentioned ladies as well as Florence Henderson, Julie Newmar, and Tippi Hedren dontate keepsakes to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Phyllis Diller had been set to come and was en-route, but was not feeling well and went back home. Angela Lansbury, who was across the country, sent her regrets.

So, I get there and am allowed into the theater before the show begins and see all the ladies taking their places among the treasures they are donating. JoAnne Worley, so funny and energetic, was one of the hostesses and she was rushing around doing her vocal twirling that I love so much. Her first question: "Where's the Diller?"

Someone then asks Worley a question, I don't know what, but I loved answer: "Yes I dooooooooooo!" At that, the show was about to begin and JoAnne twirled: "Curtain doooooooooooown!" Worley began the show then stopped suddenly and scoded herself: "JoAaaaaaane!" She had forgotten to do a trick with her pearls. She stepped aside from the lecturn and swung the large strands around her neck several times like a hula hoop.

Very cool.

After JoAnne introduced the dudes from the Smithsonian and they did a buncah museum talk, Dick Van Patten came out and served as the mater of ceremonies, introducing each legend before they explained their donations or shared their feelings about becoming a tangible part of American history.

ESTHER WILLIAMS: Her father made giant scrapbooks of her career. When she first saw the size of the first one in its blank state she said: "Daddy, those are too big!" Her father replied: "Fill 'em up!"
"So with that order, I filled them up," Williams said. "Pictures of Johnny Weissmuller. Oh gosh, what a group of leading men. One after another in tiny swimsuits. They're all gone...but I'm still here!"

CAROL CHANNING: The Broadway legend donated the dress she wore in the original production of "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" and said: "Tonight is a tremendous night for all of us. We are all historic momuments!"

She then told everyone that the diamond hanging around her neck was worth $40 million: "They just hung it on me before we walked out." She then jumped to another subject before finishing the thought and the audience laughed. Channing stopped and said: "What's so funny? This is terribly serious and exciting...Art is one of the things that keeps the world alive - more than anything."

Channing then mentioned that she is 87 years old and when the audience applauded she stopped and asked: "Oh, is that an achievement?" The diva also used her time to plead for the arts in public schools: "[Students] are bored stiff with the three Rs. That's all they've got. Any art form, it fertilizes your brain." When Channing wondered if she had been talking too much, Rosie Marie - sitting next to her - emphatically nodded her head yes.

ROSE MARIE: The comedy legend, a child star, cast member of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and still a hoot at 85, joked around that Williams was donating "earplugs," Hedren a tiger, and Henderson "one of the Brady kids." For her part, Rosie Marie donated her original trademark bow as well as the shoes she wore in her first short film which was the first sound short and played with Al Jolson's "The Jazz Singer."
"To think that I'll be there with Linberg's plane," she said of the Smithsonian. "I'm very honored and proud of my career. I think this is almost like getting the Purple Heart....I love my country and I always have and I'm so glad my country loves me by honoring me."

JUNE LOCKHART: Best known as the mom on "Lassie" and "Lost In Space," Lockhart donated her Tony Award to the Smithsonian and said: "There are nine of us and I think you've put together a Supreme Court."

JULIE NEWMAR: Television's Catwoman on "Batman" donated her Catwoman suit and reminisced at how so many grown men, who were little boys when the series was on, now come up to her and say: "Do you know you were my first turn-on? That delighted me."

FLORENCE HENDERSON: She needs no introduction, obviously. She said: "I've been on television so long...I thought maybe they wanted to put ME in the Smithsonian!" She told how she was the youngest of 10 children up and "I had such big dreams, but never did I think I'd be in the Smithsonian."

TIPPI HEDREN: The star of "The Birds" and "Marnie" donated her original scripts from both of those classic Alfred Hitchcock movies as well as from "Countess of Hong Kong." Said Tippi: "I feel that to be involved with this is like getting an Academy Award. I am thrilled...and empowered by this wonderful award."

After the official program ended, I chatted up actor Bruce Davison (an Oscar nominee for "Longtime Companion") and the talented (and very handsome) artist Glen Hanson who drew caricatures of each of the ladies (I will post the image as soon as I get it). Also in attendance was MGM star Margaret O'Brien who I chatted with in the lobby and she was escorted by Joey Luft, the son of Judy Garland and Sid Luft. At the after-party, I chatted up Kathy Silvers (remember her from "Happy Days"?) and Luke Yankee, the son of Eileen Heckart as well as several of the cast members of "Kid From Brooklyn: The Danny Kaye Story." Star Brian Childers snapped a photo of me and Carol Channing and vice-versa and I promised to see the show which runs through next month at the El Portal.

I don't start watching "American Idol" until they narrow the contestants down to the final 20. The freakshow that sometimes takes place in the early auditions are not at all appealing when I have so many other things I could be doing.

But by not watching, I missed out on what was a really sweet audition (thank God for YouTube!) from Leo Marlow who sang one of my favorite songs ever ("A Song for You") and sung it very well. But the best part was his back-and-forth with the judges prior to launching into the song when he told Randy, Paula and Simon: "My mom always said she raised the perfect Homecoming Queen, it's just too bad it wasn't one of her daughters."

Watch it for yourselves!

Well, I confess. The last thing I expected to do at the Directors Guild of America Awards over the weekend was fall in love - with a woman. But I had never met Kristin Chenoweth who, pound for pound, is hands-down the most talented woman in showbiz.

The tiny Broadway star with near-perfect pitch headlined the original production of "Wicked," and won a Tony Award for “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

Now she’s juggling television and film roles as one of the main characters in the new ABC hit “Pushing Daisies” and co-starring in the currently filming “Four Christmases” with Reese Witherspoon.

“I’m a very lucky actress right now,” she said. “Not a lot of people are working and I just hope there can be a quick resolution (to the writers strike).”

When I caught up with Kristin Saturday night, I told her how blown away I was by her performance during last month’s Kennedy Center Honors.

“(Gasp)Thank you! That’s when I had pneumonia!” she said. “That’s so very sweet.”

“Daisies” was considered to be a hard-sell initially but it quickly caught on with audiences when it premiered in the fall: “I have people coming up to me at the Coffee Bean (and Tea Leaf) saying, ‘Good luck with the pie maker!’” Kristin said. “They love the show and I’m really proud that we have something that people can sit down as a family and watch and both the kids and the adults can enjoy it. I like to be included in classy things and I think this is a very classy show.”

Prior to “Daisies,” Kristin was in another classy show, “The West Wing,” as Annabeth Schott during the final two seasons and briefly had her own NBC sitcom called “Kristin.”

But she still craves the stage and told me she will be appearing in June at the English National Opera in London singing an opera.

“Come on over and see me do it!” she said.

Very tempting!

Thanks to the Ohlala blog for these pics of David Beckham on the beach in Brazil. It was exactly four years ago that I spent 10 glorious days on the beach in Rio. It's funny, as time goes by, the more special that experience is. We were there for Carnaval and marched in the Samba parade in full costume! It was, the time of my life...

I miss Carrie Bradshaw. I really do. May, the month when "Sex and the City: The Movie" is released, can't come soon enough!!!

People magazine reports that Heath Ledger's death has been tough on Jake Gyllenhaal who was given the news while on the New Mexico set of his film "Brothers." He left the set immediately to grieve but flew back two days later to film a scheduled scene.

Jake is godfather to Ledger's two-year-old daughter Matilda and the two men will be forever linked as the stars of the landmark "Brokeback Mountain" which earned them both Oscar nominations as two ranch hands who fall in love.

"This has had a strong personal effect on [Jake]," a set source tells People. "He was there, but he wasn't with us. It was obviously a major trauma. These guys were very close. [Jake] was sitting in the director's chair staring off into space."

Jake's mood is a sharp contrast to the happier times on the set of "Brothers." During one intense early prison scene, he jokingly reached into his pocket and took out a picture of his "Brokeback" beau to stick on the prison wall. "Like those prisoners put [loved ones] on the wall, but Jake's was Heath Ledger," one set source recalls. "That was hilarious. It was a nice moment...When you think back on it now, it's touching."

Well, this is no shock.

When you go to a major industry event, where all the major directors and studio execs are, and make a drunken fool of yourself, it's time to get some professional help. Sean Young, once an A-list actress in such films as "Blade Runner" and "No Way Out" but has burned many a Hollywood bridge, has checked into rehab.

I was at the Directors Guild of America Awards Saturday night when Sean, 48, heckled "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" director Julian Schnabel during his acceptance speech causing him to stop and snap: "Who said that?" Then he said, "Have another drink darling." Schnabel almost walked off but collected himself to finish his remarks - but he was clearly upset. Sean was escorted out of the glitzy, but non-televised event, by security

A statement released by her rep stated that Sean had voluntarily checked herself into rehab: "It is understood that Young has struggled against the disease for many years."

What I wanna know is this: How did Sean Young get a table so close to the stage? I was near a back wall and wasn't even heckling anyone.

Sheesh.

I think this might be a new Out In Hollywood feature...I think!

My commitment to all of you is to provide you with as much original content as I can but there's obviously a lot of wonderful other blogs out there that have some great posts worth sharing. So today, I'm sharing some of them in one big post starting with AfterElton.com and it's recap of Saturday night's episode of "Torchwood," a show that I don't follow but am intrigued by because of its gay content and it's dreamy star, John Barrowman.

...Mr.GuyTVBlog was posted this steamy piece of video from Bravo's new "Make Me a Supermodel" where two of the straight dudes were given the task of havcong chemistry during a scantily clad photo shoot. I don't know about you, but I say they got it on after this session - gay or straight!

My pal, Shana Naomi Krochmal, who does the terrific Popnography blog, has an item about the oh-so-delicious Holland Taylor guesting on "The L Word": Sunday night as jailbird Helena's haughty mummy Peggy Peabody. As she came to scoop her daughter out of jail, she said:
"Our family doesn't go on trial. We generally go to Europe." There's more so check it out!

My pal Kenneth Walsh has a way with words which you already know if you are a reader of his blog Kennethinthe212. He gave his critique of the men at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and his opinion of Zac Efron is LOL funny: Zac Efron couldn't attend the awards because of his appendix emergency but was kind enough to send this wax statue of himself so his fans wouldn't be too disappointed ...

And then there's Clay Aiken, on Broadway in "Spamalot." It seems to me that most single, young male performers making the big bucks want to score every date in town because, well, men are pigs.
But according to A Socialite's Life, that is not the case at all. Clay isn'rt interested in any kind of rleationships - with anybody! Some fun and catty remarks with this entry...MEOW!!!

...the great Greg Louganis who turns 48 today!

Greg is the greatest diver the U.S. has ever had. In 1976, while still in high school, he won the silver medal at the Olympics and Montreal. The U.S. boycott of the Moscow games kept him from competition in 1980 but at the Los Angeles games in 1984, he took home two gold medals then repeated the feat four years later in Seoul, Korea.

It was in Seoul that Greg hit his head on the diving board during preliminary rounds and cut his head. What the world did not know was the he had recently found out that he was HIV-positive. To be dealing with that and trying to compete against the best, I am still in awe of how he came through that situation and went on to win the gold..

Greg is also a six time World Champion and has held 47 National Championship titles.

But even more than his diving accomplishments, there is nothing more important, in my opinion, than when Greg publicly came out at the Gay Games in 1994. This was the year before he released his superb autobiography, "Breaking the Surface." I was struggling with how public to be with my own sexuality at that time and I was so inspired by Greg and his story - particularly an appearance he made on the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" where the reception was so enormous, so warm, and the look on his face was one of such happiness and joy at being out. It was so inspiring. It was still a really big deal to come out in 1995 - Ellen didn't do it until two years later.

I remember thinking how sad it was that he had reached this point but probably would not live to enjoy it much longer. In an interview with Barbara Walters, he had said that he was not just HIV-positive, but had AIDS. And here we are, 13 years later, and Greg is still with us - thank God.

He's been more private in recent years but you still hear about him now and then and it is always a wonderful thing...

P.S. Greg's book was made into a TV movie starring Mario Lopez. It's available on DVD!

I pride myself in flagging just about any shirtless shot of Novak Djokovic worth posting but somehow, this one of him posing with his Australian Open trophy fell through the cracks. And so, I present it to you now. This kid is a keeper.

I must say, Daniel Day-Lewis dedicating his SAG Award to Heath Ledger Sunday night was really moving and to see him a bit later talking about it backstage, it was easy to see how geniune and deep his reaction to the young actor's death has been. He admitted to thinking of little else since it happened and I think a lot of us can say the same.

It's been a week now that Heath left us so suddenly and I wanted to share a few things I came across on the Internet. First, the painting (above) of Heath by Melbourne artist Vincent Fantauzzo. It was done when Heath was Down Under visiting family over the holidays. Fantauzzo painted Ledger with the intention of entering the portrait in the prestigious Archibald Prize later this year but with the approval of the Ledger family, the artist released the image to the media early and said: "Heath was very excited about it. He was very excited to see the finished product" ..

Then there is an interview Heath did with The Advocate upon the release of "Brokeback Mountain." Alonso Duralde, who conducted the interview, wrote a new opening and it has been reposted on Advocate.com. Here are a few excerpts:

Q. Having played Ennis, on the off chance that your child comes to you with the “Dad, I’m gay” speech, do you think you’re ready to hear it now?
Ledger: Oh, it wouldn’t have bothered me beforehand. I don’t have a further appreciation for people who are gay; I always have. It’s never been an issue for me. Of course, if my child came to me and said that, I’d love them even more for being honest with me.

Q. How do you perceive gay acceptance in Australia? We sort of get mixed messages: On the one hand, there’s the Mardi Gras and we all love Priscilla, and then at the same time, occasionally your prime minister, John Howard, will say something very George Bush–ian.
Ledger: Well, I don’t know. As you said, Sydney is considered the gay capital of the world. But as you said too, we have a prime minister that’s… I don’t even want to go into it, but he’s definitely George Bush’s buddy. Unfortunately. So yeah, it is confusing. I think it’s like the red states in America, so to speak -- there’s definitely issues that they have, which I think are just issues that they have with themselves, obviously. I think it still exists in Australia too -- it’s just disguised better. It’s more passive, I think. It’s hard to answer for a nation.

Q. Has being attractive been better or worse for your career as an actor, in terms of how filmmakers perceive you?
Heath: I don’t know how to answer that question. Wouldn’t I be a particularly cocky person if I could answer that question!

.

I remember seeing photos in a magazine, many years ago, of Barbra Streisand attending a singing gig of her little sister, Roslyn Kind, somewhere in LA. But while we have all been keenly aware of Streisand's life in the years since, I was not so sure what had become of her sister who also has a wonderful voice.

Well, I found out recently when I was on the set of "The Florence Henderson Show" and Roslyn was a musical guest. We had a little chat backstage and she was looking forward to her singing dates at the Catalina Jazz Club in LA this weekend: "I'm not a jazz singer (laughs) buy I will be at the jazz club on the ist and second at 8:30 and 10:30! Two shows a night."

"I am coming back," she said. "I went through a bad time. I lost my mom and I was the baby, the youngest, and I oversaw her care when she was going through the worst times. And I lost her. And just two years before I had to put my puppy down which was like my son. I'm very sensitive about those things and I kind of got off the road and it stopped me from doing a lot of things."

"My friends like Michael Feinstein said, 'You've gotta get back! You've gotta get back!' So, little by little, I've been coming back. This is the first time I';ll be in performing in LA in so long. I'm coming back with a vengeance."

What kind of other plans are included in this comeback for Roslyn, a very youthful looking woman who turned 57 a few weeks ago?
Roslyn: "I'm starting to get back on tour so they'll be more and more and more. I have a date in Naples, Florida, I'll be doing San Francisco, I'll be doing Oakland. I'll be doing New York. It's going to start building now....We just did a new pressing of my last CD, "Come With Me," it has new artwork, it has color and there's a bonus track in it called "At Times Like This" and it's about my puppy."

I wanted to know what to expect at her upcoming show: "I love this theatrical piece from "The Baker's Wife" called "Meadowlark," I did it on Broadway (in the musical revue '2 From Brooklyn") and it stopped the show every night so I hope it stops the show here. "Meadowlark" has always been, since I started doing it, a tour-de-force piece. I had so many people say to me, 'You're committing vocal suicide! Do you know how many divas do this in clubs?"

Roslyn has played in some of the most prestigious venues around the world including Lincoln Center, The Greek Theater, London’s Café Royal and in 2006, made her debut at Carnegie Hall.
Roslyn began performing in her teens when she released her first album, "Give Me You," and appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" three times." Next came her second album, "This is Roslyn Kind." Her latest CD, "Come What May," gor a rave in the New York Times which proclaimed it “splendid and sizzling.”
Her theater credits include the Off-Broadway production of "Show Me Where the Good Times Are," "Leader of the Pack" and "Ferguson the Tailor."

I wondered, "Am I allowed to ask you about your sister?"
Roslyn: "Depends what you want to know."
Greg: Do you all sing together in the car?
Roslyn: Yeah! We do! We just recently did that in London when she was performing in London. We warmed her up in the car. We had a great time."
Greg: So you're both here in LA and you see each other and it's all good?
Roslyn: Oh yeah.
Greg: You seem so much like each other.
Roslyn: Well, we have the same bloodline! (laughs)

For more information about the Catalina gig, other dates and to hear her sing, go to Roslynkind.com.

The writers strike has a lot of our favorite television stars with extra time on their hands and I wanted to know what the heck people have been up to. Got the chance to find out over the weekend on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

I was surprised to learn that Kyle MacLachlan of "Desperate Housewives" (pictured w/co-star Eva Longoria) has a whole new venture that has nothing to do with showbiz: "I'm going to release a wine that I made, a Washington Cabernet that comes out in September, so I've been working on that during this downtime. I've been spending a lot up in Washington state and working with my wine maker and I'm excited about it, it's really good."

He said he and co-stars Doug Savant and Teri Hatcher are "semi-serious collectors who compare notes on the set."

Coincidentally, Shawn Pyrom, who plays Kyle's stepson on the show has goitten into wine tasting. He just turned 21 so it's all legal.

"I'm a big wino," joked Shawn, who has played gay teen Andrew Van de Kamp on the show since its first season. "A good friend of mine who is really into wine sort of opened up my palate. I don't drink anything else, just wine. I'm kind of a boring old man. I'm all about the reds."

Another "Housewives" cast member, Dana Delaney, also mentioned wine when I asked her how she manages to look so young and beautiful: "Wine and Yoga," she said. "I love wine."

Dana, whose delicious character of Katherine has really breathed new life into the series, is doing her best to weather the work stoppage that has her maiden season on the show short: "I've been acting for so long now that I'm used to being out of work. I'm willing to wait as long as it takes for the writers to settle."

The lovely Sara Ramirez, best known as Callie on "Grey's Anatomy" but also a Tony Award winner for "Spamalot," has been reflective during her time away from the show.

"It's been hard. Obviously this sort of situation is affecting a lot of people, a lot of people who are not working and are desperate for work," Sara said. "It's a time where you really kind of reflect and ask, 'What else do I do with my life that makes me happy? What else fulfills me? And what fulfills me is living in New York. I really love New York, I love the people, I love the culture, I love the city itself. So, I've been there going to see theater, working on my music and hanging out with friends, walking around and just taking it all in."

Her castmate, James Pickens Jr., has found issues closer to home to deal with: "The wife has a long 'Honey do list' she's been trying to get me to work on but I'm not having much success with it. (laughs). We just moved into a new home so we've got contractors and stuff and I'm trying to keep an eye on them and I'm a horse owner so I'm trying to get my horse out. But I don't know anyone who isn't itching to get back. This is what we do, we work and we want to be back to work."

The strike has been doubly jarring for John Slattery who was juggling roles on both "Mad Men" and "Desperate Housewives." He was apparently killed off of "Housewives" but the Golden Globe-winning "Mad Men" is just getting started.

So, he waits.

"I had my knee fixed last week and I went to the dermatologist," John said. "Actually, I've been hanging out with my wife and son and home and it's been a nice break but I'd really like to go back to work - sooner than the three months it's going to take for them to write enough episodes for us to be able to shoot. I hope the whole thing works out soon."

Writer Corey Scholibo shares that Kathy Griffin had to reschedule their interview because but had personally called me to cancel:

It seems Liza Minnelli was performing for just one night before her own gig at a casino in Richmond, Canada, and Liza had requested to meet her. And meet her she did.

"I knocked on her hotel room door. She opens it up. The room’s pitch black,” Griffin tells me now. “She’s chain-smoking in bed. I get in the bed with her like Michael Jackson, and we watch The Asphalt Jungle. There was a guy who had been at the restaurant the night before—he’s one of these guys who seemed completely gay to me but had the hot girlfriend. I said to Liza, ‘Did you get a gay vibe from that guy, or is it me?’ She goes, ‘How would I know? Look who I married.’”

I never had a GI Joe as a kid. I'm not sure what that means.

Anyway, hottie Channing Tatum has joined the cast of G.I. Joe: The Movie, according to AICN. He will play Duke, a field commander and second-in-command of the G.I. Joe Team after Hawk. Channing is a former model who has steadily been building up an impressive acting resume with roles in "Step Up," "Coach Carter," and "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" The film is scheduled for a summer 2009 release with filming set to begin next month.

I was glad to see Maria Sharapova win the Australian Open singles title over the weekend. She is a worthy champion who, at the age of 20, has already won three of tennis' grand slam tournaments with wins in 2004 at Wimbledon and 2006 at the US Open.

But what I am even more happy about is that she seems to be a thoughtful champion as well which she displayed during her post-match speech in Melbourne when she told the crowd that a text message from the great Billie Jean King that morning had been inspirational. It read: "Champions take their chances and pressure is a privilege."

Sharapova said she carried Billie Jean's theme onto the court against Serbia's Ana Ivanovic. .
"I had those great words in my mind during the match," Maria said.

"She's always a person who texts me if I have a tough moment or a great win."

Billie Jean won the Australian Open way back in 1968 - one of 12 grand slam singles titles which also included six Wimbledons, four U.S. Opens and a French Open crown. She first met Maria at a juniors tournament when the Russian was 13.

"From that point on, she's just always been really supportive," Sharapova said. "She's always one of the first people to text me when either I'm having a tough moment or a great win."

...I opened up my new issue of Vanity Fair on Saturday and there was THIS staring at me. Just lovely...

The often shirtless Novak Djokovic got into some street clothes to do a photo call in Melbourne following his breakthrough win at the Australian Open. He is number three with a bullet. I've been a tennis follower for decades and what I know is this: when a young player of 20 comes in and knocks out the reigning champion (Roger Federer), there are many big titles ahead for him. I think he will add the US Open or Wimbledon title to his collection before the year is out,...

Basically spent the weekend in a tuxedo.

But I left my umbrella on the red carpet at the Palm Springs Film Festival a few weeks ago and hadn't replaced it. I was pretty much getting away with it until this weekend when I attended the Director's Guild of America Awards on Saturday and the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday. More on my umbrella-less adventures later.

I invited my fun friend Jim Key to the DGAs which he had never attended before, We had a great time at the arrivals line as I chatted up celebs like Hal Holbrook and Debra Messing and Amy Ryan. Then we sat down to dinner which was some really good fliet mignon! Then the ceremony: it was star-studded and had some wonderful moments but ultimately, dragged on too long with some of the special award recipients - while deserving - should have been advised to speak from the heart instead of reading multi-page speeches that brought the proceedings to a halt. They really sucked the life out of an audience waiting to see who would win the damned main prize and had me ready to slit my wrists since I was way past deadline!

Once it was over, Jim and I hung out in the lobby just to people watch a little and started chatting up Matthew St. Patrick who played Keith on "Six Feet Under." He has been quite busy since the series ended with the short-lived series "Reunion" and several films roles, including two coming out this year.

We headed out after a bit and when we got to the ground floor of the Century Plaza Hotel, we saw that it was pouring rain. Neither of us had an umbrella (it was not raining when we arrived) and we both had on rather nice tuxedos that we were not keen on getting wet. We had self-parked in order to avoid the massive wait at the valet line but the problem was, to get to the parking garage, you have to go ariund the hotel and cross a bridge. I remembered that the hotel had a restaurant on the ground floor and thought if it had a backdoor, it might cut down on our journey.

Bingo! There was a backdoor leading straight to the middle of the bridge. We put our programs over our heads and dashed across. Still got pretty soaked but it woulda been much worse had we taken the long way! That's Jim and I (below) at the dinner before we ventured into the rain...

My tux dried in time for me to put it on for the SAG Awards on Sunday but when I got ready to leave at around noon, i looked out the window and it was pouring rain. I had to get an umbrella. On the way to the Shrine Auditorium, I stopped by a Rite Aid. Sold out. Next, a Walgreens. Sold out.

Screw it, I'm just gonna hope for the best. And I got lucky. Got to the Shrine and there was a temporary reprieve so got to the auditorium from the parking structure nice and dry. But once I took my position on the red carpet, I discovered that I was standing under a nice, big DRIP coming through the plastic covering they had erected to keep the celebs nice and dry. Sure, keep them dry but put me under a leaky faucet.
My co-worker Sandra Bererra was next to me doing the fashion interviews and offered up her umbrella but I woulda felt silly. So, there I stood, for two hours, constantly harassed by this persistant...DRIP!

Once the show started, we dashed inside just ahead of Ryan Gosling and set up our laptops in the press room where the winners come after they are finished with all the tv interviews etc. We had the cast of "the Sopranos" come back but it was loud and confusing and I just tuned them out. But the cast from "The Office" were a riot! They were all individually funny and I gotta say, I don't watch the show but their backstage humor made me want to spend more time with these people.

A lot of the main acting winner blew us off but Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie came on back so that was cool. After it wrapped up, Sandra offered to walk with me to the garage since she had an umbrella. She was being helpful and went to unplug my laptop and accidentally unplugged the computer of a radiop reporter! He cursed and huffed and was so steamed. Sandra was mortified but for some reason, the whole episode gave me the church giggles. He was muttering and I was ready to burst.

We got out of the building and...no rain!

Still, I gotta get myself an umbrella...

I'm backstage right now and Julie Christie - a winner tonight best actress in a movie ("Away From Her") has just left. What a fantastic-looking woman.

We were expecting Ruby