It’s so great to hear that Bill Weir will be joining Terry Moran and Cynthia McFadden as one of the hosts of Nightline!
Since joining ABC News in 2004, Bill has traveled the planet to cover breaking news and uncover global trends. His in-depth reports on the economic rise of China and India were signature features on Good Morning America, while World News devoted extraordinary air time to his storytelling from Africa, the Middle East and the South Pacific.
I’ve been a fan of the Good Morning America (weekend edition) anchor since his days as sports anchor for ABC 7 in Los Angeles from 1998 to 2002. He graduated from Pepperdine University then began his career as a weekend anchor and sportscaster for a station in Austin, Minnesota then moved on to Green Bay, Wisconsin before Chicago then Los Angeles.
Here’s a feel good story to end my blogging day: 19-year-old Joe McElderry, the winner of the British talent competition TV show X Factor, has acknowledged publicly that he is gay.
He gave an emotional interview to UK’s The Mirror and here is some of what he had to say: “I’m really happy, I now know who I am. … I’m so happy. It’s all been so recent to be honest. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve had time to think and come to realise who I am. I have grown up a lot.”Joe added: “I know it sounds crazy but before then, I was so busy. It hadn’t even crossed my mind. I only told my mum last week, on a train.
Previously, he had denied that he is gay but insists that he was not telling lies: “Every time I was asked, I gave honest answers. I wasn’t attracted to anyone anyway, male or female. It never really entered my head I was gay. … I’m single, I’ve not had a relationship with a boy, but I just know. It’s how I feel.”
Well, now that he knows, hope he has a wonderful time and a wonderful life. Professionally, he only has to look at the enormously popular Adam Lambert to know that being openly gay should not slow him down one bit.
I may be a Californian, but as a gay man it’s tough not to root for Claire Buffe to win the crown of Miss America.
The reigning Miss New York has done something unprecedented: She is competing on a gay rights platform and wants to improve the climate for LGBT youth in schools.
God bless her! We need as many straight allies as we can get and how wonderful it is to have someone who can help erase the memory of the bigoted Carrie Prejean who appears to have, thankfully, faded from sight.
Anyway, Claire’s peeps sent me an email today alerting me to her first national television interview – live! – on MSNBC. And how cool is it that it is conducted by our favorite openly gay television anchor: Thomas Roberts!
Neil Patrick Harris is an accomplished stage performer but he is behind the scenes for the Hollywood Bowl production of RENT next weekend.
NPH is directing the production which stars Vanessa Hudgens and Aaron Tveit, among others.
Here are some pics of NPH directing the pair in rehearsals this week.
Says Neil: “I’m thrilled with the cast. With this gang, I’m hoping to provide an eclectic mix of experienced RENT performers, amazing new talent, and recognizable faces in unexpected roles. Of paramount importance to me, though, is honoring the piece as a whole – the music, the vibe, the creator – so that those who have never experienced RENT will be able to appreciate it alongside die-hard fans. We’ll only have one week of rehearsal, which I like to call ‘madness’, but as of now my hopes are very high.”
I have high hopes for Ricky Martin’s forthcoming memoir.
If it is in any way near as candid as his coming out blog post was, we will be in for something truly personal and introspective.
Ricky tweeted earlier today that the book, titled Me, is now complete and will go on sale in November.
Not only do I have high hopes for the book, it will also be fascinating to see and read Ricky’s interviews as he promotes the book. Now that he is an openly gay man and a father of two, I bet it will be a far different man than the one who ducked Barbara Walters’ “Are you gay?” question a decade ago.
TRIVIA: What other star wrote an autobiography and gave it the title of Me?
She’s had a New York Times bestseller, won two Emmys, appears frequently for the full hour on Larry King Live and can sell out the biggest concert venues in the country from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood to NYC’s Madison Square Garden.
And yet there’s a writer over at The Wrap.com who dismissed Kathy Griffin this week as a “foul-mouthed minor celebrity.’
Steve Pond made this remark in a column previewing next month’s Emmys and the category of Outstanding Reality Program.
It is true, as he writes, that “year after year, this is the oddest, strangest, most diverse and most perplexing Emmy category of all, in which shows go head-to-head against competitors with whom they have virtually nothing in common.”
Griffin has won two of the last four years for her Bravo series Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List and made major headlines when during her 2007 speech she said: “Suck it Jesus. This award is my God now.”
Kathy still tries to maintain that she is D-List and will love this diss.
Earlier this week, The View’sElisabeth Hasselbeck shared her crackpot theory that more older women are becoming lesbians because guys their age are going after younger women leaving these poor gals with no one but each other.
The cast of The Real Housewives was asked about this during their session yesterday at the TV Critics Assn. Press Tour.
“[It's] hurtful, really hurtful,” said Nikki Weiss. “I’m surprised people haven’t jumped on it … It’s amazing that she has such a big platform for such an ignorant comment.”
Rose Garcia chimed in: “Hey Elisabeth, it’s not the first time you’ve made some boneheaded comment.”
I chatted with Rose after and she added: “She’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck and she’s extremely conservative and she’s been known to have her opinions and kind of say things that she’ll end up regretting. She’s insulted a lot of different people. If I saw her, I’d say, ‘You need to watch only our show but other shows on television like Modern Family and just be a little more open minded.”
I’ll leave it to The Real L Word’s Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken to have the final word in this – at least until GLAAD weighs in: “The Elisabeth Hasselbecks of the world are out there. We’ve got to just keep talking to them, talking over them and talking around them. It’s never going to away completely and the best thing that we can do is our work because it puts our stories forward and I think does change some hearts and minds.”
I’m back at the Beverly Hilton Hotel settling in for a long day at the TV Critics Assn. Press Tour. NBC is presenting their new shows this morning and there are a lot of them!
Last summer was the introduction of The Jay Leno Show which took up five prime time hours each week. They are filling in that gap with a slew of new shows including The Event, Undercovers, Law & Order: Los Angeles,,Outsourced, Outlaw and Chase.
I’ll be posting items throughout the day but if you want immediate news, follow me on Twitter at greghernandez and check out my endless stream of tweets!
The one-time Miss Georgia who went on to play fictional beauty queen Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women turns 54 today.
Her other signature roles include Noleta Nethercott in the original Sordid Lives movie and Mary Cherry on Popular.
Delta has had battles with weight and depression over the years but, just like her Broadway character of Truvvy in Steel Magnolias, she has survived. After dropping out of Sordid Lives: The Series because of depression, Delta returned to the spotlight last year with a guest spot on Drop Dead Diva.
She’s one of my all-time faves and I wish her the very best on her birthday and always!
UPDATE: I just saw Delta’s hubby Gerald McRaney at the TV Critics Assn. event for his new show Undercovers and he says he and Delta are going to celebrate her birthday today “quietly at home.”
Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken is waiting to see if Showtime renews her current series The Real L Word for a second season.
Whatever ends up happening with the show, which focuses on the lives of a group of real-life lesbians, Chaiken has an opportunity to revive the original The L Word as a special movie or miniseries.
“There’s certainly a possibility of that,” Chaiken tells Greg In Hollywood. “That’s all on me right now and I take full responsibility for having not yet done enough about it. Showtime and I had a conversation. They have always been really incredibly generous and supportive with the property and they said, ‘Yeah, you can do a movie, let’s do a movie. Write a script, get it going and I just have been busy.”
Let’s all give a collective thanks to Tennis Served Fresh, once again, for turning us on to yet another tennis stud on the men’s pro tour: Travis Rettenmaier!
He’s playing at UCLA this week. I’m busy covering the TV Critics Assn. Summer Press Tour otherwise I might be skulking about the practice courts with a camera in hand!
Travis turns 27 on August 6 and is mostly active as a doubles player on the pro tour. His highest singles ranking to date has been #273 which he reached on February 27, 2006. In doubles, his ranking is currently # 60.
The guessing game as to who will replace Simon Cowell on American Idol continues but the question of who will replace Ellen DeGeneres is apparently already answered: Jennifer Lopez.
Deadline Hollywood is reporting exclusively that negotiations with Lopez began in secret about a month ago and was closed earlier this week clearing the way for Ellen’s departure to be announced. DeGeneres apparently made it clear a few months ago that she wanted off the show which saw its ratings drop last season.
It seems like a terrific time for Lopez to join Idol since her once red-hot recording and movie career has cooled.
Adam Lambert performed in Orange County last night and looked to be having a rockin good time at his sold out gig. He seems to always be making out with somebody on stage and I for one think it’s fabulous.
Ellen DeGeneres has announced that she is leaving American Idol after just one season as a judge.
The popular singing competition, which also lost acerbic judge Simon Cowell at the end of last season, is suffering from declining ratings and some big changes are expected on the show.
Ellen is leaving despite a five year contract.
“A couple months ago, I let FOX and the American Idol producers know that this didn’t feel like the right fit for me,” she said in a statement. “I told them I wouldn’t leave them in a bind and that I would hold off on doing anything until they were able to figure out where they wanted to take the panel next. It was a difficult decision to make, but my work schedule became more than I bargained for.”
The Emmy winning star remains the host of her popular daily syndicated talk show. As the fourth judge replacing Paula Abdul, she never seemed to find her footing on the show.
“I … realized this season that while I love discovering, supporting and nurturing young talent, it was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings. I loved the experience working on Idol and I am very grateful for the year I had, I am a huge fan of the show and will continue to be.”
In the same statement, Idol creator and executive producer Simon Fuller said, “I loved Ellen’s passion for the artists and her nurturing skills. She brought honesty and optimism to our judging panel and I will miss her greatly.”
Peter Rice, the FOX entertainment chairman, said: “We love Ellen and understand and support her decision to bow out of Idol. We were fortunate to receive the humor, energy and love for talent that she brought to the show.”
Pop the champagne Gale Harold fans – and I know there are legions of you!
Your favorite star, who we loved as Brian on Queer as Folk and Jackson on Desperate Housewives, returns to television this fall in a recurring role on the new CW series Hellcats.
Executive producer Kevin Murphy mentioned this casually onstage during the Television Critics Assn. Summer Press Tour so when the Hellcats session ended, I made a beeline to him and asked for all the details!
Gale plays Memphis lawyer Julian Parish and the teacher of the show’s main character of Marti Perkins (Aly Michalka).
“He’s in a bunch of episodes but he’s not technically a regular,” Murphy said. “He plays Julian Parish who is sort of like James Woods in True Believer. He’s one of those lawyers who’s made a choice not to go for the big bucks. He works sort of in a storefront thing and the way he pays the bills is he teaches at the local university. And he used [the students] as free labor. They’re his paralegals, they do his legwork for him and he’s in the process of trying to get a three strikes law overturned.”
I asked Murphy what made him want to cast Gale and his answer showed what a big admirer he is of the actor: “Oh my God, I was such a fan of his on Queer As Folk. He has the ability to be really, really wicked smart and also just really kind of sexy and immersive, and his character, he pulls you in. He’s a seducer and I think all the great lawyers are seducers.”
A seducer huh? I wondered if he is going to be the straight version of Brian Kinney.
Replied Kevin: “He’s a guy who, he loves the sound of his own voice, he’s an arrogant dick with his heart in the right place. He basically puts his money where his mouth is.”
Then he added: “I didn’t say he was straight. … I didn’t say he wasn’t though.”
AfterElton.com editor Michael Jensen was standing with us and asked Murphy to clarify the sexuality of Gale’s character.
“Honestly, I haven’t decided, I’m not being coy,” Murphy said. “We’re not dealing with that part of him [yet]. I’m not trying to tease you. I’m open to anybody being anything is more my point.”
So got to last night’s CBS/CW/Showtime party outside the Beverly Hilton Hotel last night and rather than go right inside and try and interview stars, I lingered for awhile around the red carpet.
Thought the readers of Greg In Hollywood might appreciate some of my snapshots of their favorite stars.
Though my lens automatically gravitates toward hot guys like Michael Weatherly (pictured, right), Oliver Hudson, Trevor Donovan, David Duchovny, Ed Westwick, Shane West, Matt Lanter, some of my very favorite ladies like Sela Ward, Sara Gilbert, Swoosie Kurtz, Hollyw Robinson Peete, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Gabourey Sidibe also caught my eye.
Also at the party but who I spotted but whose photos I did not manage to get were Michael C. Hall, Tom Selleck, Pauley Pereete, Donnie Wahlberg, Julie Chen, William Shatner, Kevin Nealon, Jerry O’Connell, Madeline Zima, Shenae Grimes, AnnaLynne McCord, and Michael Steger, among many others.
Inside, the booze flowed and there were some pretty tasty food stations serving such grub as grilled paninis, goumet pizzas, fish and chips, and prime rib and some delicious-looking gelato. I usually only tell my sisters what food was served at parties but thought for today, why not share?
Tim Gunn, mentor to the designers on Project Runway since 2004, is having a birthday.
Talk about a Silver Fox!
Runway marked the beginning of his television career and he has since also hosted Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style and done guest stints on Ugly Betty, Drop Dead Diva and How I Met Your Mother.
Before he became a TV star, Tim was on the faculty of Parsons The New School for Design from 1982 to 2007 and was chair of fashion design for the last seven years. He then joined Liz Claibourne as its chief creative officer.
A few things I did not know about Tim: His father was an FBI agent working under J. Edgar Hoover. Tim was also a champion swimmer throughout high school.
If Tim is anywhere near The Abbey in West Hollywood tonight, I’d love to buy him a drink!
It’s my second day here at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
My posts are going to be a little off their usual schedule but there will be plenty of updates via Twitter throughout the day of what I see and hear. So if you are not following greghernandez on Twitter, what the heck are you waiting for?
It’s CW and Showtime day at TCA. Here is a sampling of some of my tweets so far:
TCA: Matt Leblanc says that after 12 years as Joey, he wanted some time away from showbiz. about 1 hour ago via web
TCA: Matt Leblanc is here for “episodes” panel. He looks great with the salt and pepper hair! The show looks very funny! about 1 hour ago via web
TCA: Jennifer Carpenter on how Deb’s mouth affects her: “I cuss a lot. I’m trying to be more aware of it. I don’t even see it anymore.” about 2 hours ago via web
TCA: A healthy Michael C. Hall says of returning to work: “It was gratifying. I was grateful the hiatus managed to coincide w/my treatment”
TCA: Cast of “The Real L Word” is just ripping on Elisabeth Hasselbeck’s screwy theories on why older women become lesbians about 3 hours ago via web
Much more to come with the CW folks introducing their shows Nikita, Hellcats and Gossip Girl in just a bit!
So here’s the deal: If I were not here in Beverly Hills hunkered down covering the TV Critics Association Summer Press Tour this week, I would have made some time to head out to the tennis center at UCLA where the male pros are playing this week.
One of the entrants is this Russian stud, Dmitry Tursunov! He lost in the qualifying but is still competing in doubles of what is now called the Farmers Classic.
The 27 year old was 12 years old when he came to the United States to train and further his prospects of becoming a professional player.
He’s an offensive baseliner with excellent groundstrokes from both sides, and prefers to play on faster surfaces. He is the first to joke about his lack of ability and success on clay courts.
Tursunov helped the Russian Davis Cup Team win the 2006 Davis Cup and reach the finals of the next year. He’s twice made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon, won six career titles and been ranked as high as number 20 in the world.
But he’s suffered a series of injuries and his ranking currently hovers below 300. But his hotness is not lost on fans and promoters of the game: Tursunov was the December month in the 2009 Association of Tennis Professionals calendar.
Anyway, if Dmitry promises to play UCLA next year, I promise to be there!
We know that a male character is going to come out as gay during the next season of the CW’s 90210.
What we don’t know is who the character will be.
But it’s a safe bet that it will be one of three characters: Liam Court (Matt Lanter), Teddy Montgomery (Trevor Donovan) or Navid Shirazi (Michael Steger).
I chatted with all three actors at last night’s CW/CBS/Showtime party in Beverly Hills and point-black asked each of them if their character was the one.
The trio was too smart to let it slip!
“I do know. I, however, cannot say,” Matt said. “I guarantee you someone is watching over my back right now. It’s a big secret. They sent us all emails and made sure we were very aware that we were not to talk about that secret.”
But Matt did have some thoughtful things to say about the plot development: “I think it’s a good thing. I think it’s an issue that is becoming more and more real in schools today, people are coming out more and more. I think it’s something that teens deal with and it can be done in a real way.”
“However they do it, I hope it holds some weight and I hope it’s not just like a one episode on, one episode off kind of deal,” he added. “I hope it’s something that they take seriously and I think they’re going to. That’s the plan so we’ll see.”
Matt has not yet played a gay role but he said he does not have an objection to doing so: “I think you have to find the right project to do it. I don’t think it’s something that you want to take lightly. I think it’s something that if you’re going to tackle as an actor, that you’ve got to do it right. You’ve got to give it your all. What [Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal] did with Brokeback Mountain was I really think changing for the industry, I think it really was. They’re both regarded as tremendous actors and they got a lot of respect for that and I respect them for that too.”
Trevor would also be glad to play gay and is impressed so far by how the show is developing the storyline.
“It’s exciting because the way they’re explaining it, it’s going to be written in a way where it’s really going to focus on the struggle of coming to fruition of who he is – whoever he is,” he said. “To tell you the truth, I would be honored and flattered and excited if it was me. Because not only would it be a great opportunity to sort of display and showcase your acting chops, but it’s also a great opportunity to struggle of coming to that fruition, the realization.”
“From what I understand, it’s going to be a process, it’s going to be an arc just like it is in real life, coming to terms with it and coming out,” Trevor added. “It’s a struggle and they really want to show that struggle. It’s not just, ‘Oh, I’m gay’ and show like the shock value of two guys kissing on network TV. They are going to write it intelligently and it’s going to be interesting.”
Regardless if Navid is the gay character, Michael will be playing gay on television anyway. He will guest on the Aug. 12 episode of HBO’s True Blood and his character is gay.
As for the 90210 plotline, he said: “I think it’s going to be interesting because last year they dealt with Adrianna [Jessica Lowndes] experimenting. This year it’s going to be on a much more serious level and it’s going to run a while arc of the show so it’s going to be much more compelling for audience members and they’re going to be shocked to find out.”
Okay, we’re heard from all three. I’m going to put my guess/prediction out there: Teddy Montgomery will be the character who comes out.
But whoever it is, it will be fun and, I hope, gratifying to watch.
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It’s so great to hear that Bill Weir will be joining Terry Moran and Cynthia McFadden as one of the hosts of Nightline!
Here’s a feel good story to end my blogging day: 19-year-old Joe McElderry, the winner of the British talent competition TV show X Factor, has acknowledged publicly that he is gay.
I may be a Californian, but as a gay man it’s tough not to root for Claire Buffe to win the crown of Miss America.
Neil Patrick Harris is an accomplished stage performer but he is behind the scenes for the Hollywood Bowl production of RENT next weekend.
I have high hopes for Ricky Martin’s forthcoming memoir.
Earlier this week, The View’s Elisabeth Hasselbeck shared
Good Morning!
Executive Producer Ilene Chaiken is waiting to see if Showtime renews her current series The Real L Word for a second season.
The guessing game as to who will replace Simon Cowell on American Idol continues but the question of who will replace Ellen DeGeneres is apparently already answered: Jennifer Lopez.
Ellen DeGeneres has announced that she is leaving American Idol after just one season as a judge.
Pop the champagne Gale Harold fans – and I know there are legions of you!
I asked Murphy what made him want to cast Gale and his answer showed what a big admirer he is of the actor: “Oh my God, I was such a fan of his on Queer As Folk. He has the ability to be really, really wicked smart and also just really kind of sexy and immersive, and his character, he pulls you in. He’s a seducer and I think all the great lawyers are seducers.”
Tim Gunn, mentor to the designers on Project Runway since 2004, is having a birthday.
It’s my second day here at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
So here’s the deal: If I were not here in Beverly Hills hunkered down covering the TV Critics Association Summer Press Tour this week, I would have made some time to head out to the tennis center at UCLA where the male pros are playing this week.
Trevor would also be glad to play gay and is impressed so far by how the show is developing the storyline.
Regardless if Navid is the gay character, Michael will be playing gay on television anyway. He will guest on the Aug. 12 episode of HBO’s True Blood and his character is gay.
