Dedicated to Anna Nicole and Immortality
Dedicated to Anna Nicole and Immortality and… Sniff… Whimper… by Roxanne McDonald
 |
Okay, so as Chicago guest judge in episode two (of Chicago and L.A. auditions) Shane Sparks said there’s a difference between unique and whack, and the whack outnumbered…. |
Days three and four of the try-outs for “So You Think You Can Dance?” brought more lunatics, but also saw the success of several lovelies.
The Loonies
Colin Wheeler has unlocked the key to life, he says with big, watery eyes. And uh-oh, you know we are not in for a message about the metaphor of dance. He has discovered, maybe, immortality! This reminds him, unfortunately, of a birthday he had where Anna Nicole showed up, hugged him, and said happy birthday. He loves her so much, he begins to sob, that she still visits, gives him signs, and therefore has him deciding to dedicate this dance audition to her. Maybe his birthday was last week and she has been dead but immortalized all along…and this is his key.
He does this ethereal thing on stage, kind of a continuation of his dissertation but in these dreamy gooey break dance moves that make those of us who have looked away and then back to thing either the guy is dancing in Jello or there is something wrong with our slow-mo function on the TV set.
Nigel says he is not sure if “we should come to your planet or you should come ours…,” and notes how Colin was still floating around after the music had stopped. Guest judge for L.A., Wade Robeson says, “Wait…I have to wake up out of my hypnosis,” then that if someone was at a rave at 3 o’clock in the morning, that would work. Nigel has thus far kept his original vow to not be mean, and while Colin and his dance are not right for this competition, he thanks him for bringing it to them.
Bryce “Gold Inferno” Cleverly has the kind of Unknown Comic thing going on with this creepy Buck Rogers helmet/hood/mask. Or maybe it’s the suitor in the iron mask from that Monika Lewinsky-hosted show? He intends to keep anonymous by keeping the mask on always. This would have been a really cool conceit (imagine the blogging and buzzing it would have generated, ala Sanjaya infamy!) had he danced well. He does some weird-ass thing that makes us thing he might have shared some crack with Colin, then tells the judges that he is the master, the king, of jump dance or break jumping or whatever.
Nigel has been hitting that same pipe, evidently, for he apologizes that maybe he is getting as crazy as Gold Inferno is, but he is going to send the guy through to choreography. He also adds that the guy could end up winning the whole competition. Okay, the dark horse theory is stretched reeeeally thin, here. Not to worry, folks. Gold Inferno is not through to Vegas. He has to go save jump dancers everywhere, anyway.
Amanda Vivona is by no means as visibly nutty, but when she starts her bragging, we get a hint that she is at least going to embarrass herself. Oh, wait, these people don’t embarrass easily, cause they know they are great. Amanda even says what the other bad dancers say but says that while they SAY it, she CAN DO it…the great dancing. Uh. No. She can’t. A mad hybrid of ballet and hip hop later, the well-intentioned Nigel asks, “Did you say, when I asked earlier, that you could dance?” She nods that of course she did. “Well, you were lying.” Wooof.
Joshua Hill is this guy watching his feet as they shuffle ploddingly along. That’s it. Just BARELY moves…and watches his feet.
Nigel has to call up the “promised not to be mean this season” mantra, then says that that kind of dance is great for social gatherings and that Josh will meet a lot of people and make a lot of friends. Will he? Wade tells him he is not right for this competition but to keep doing what he’s doing, being passionate and all. Oh, and Joshua alludes to returning to entertain us again next year, saying he will wait and see what a year will do. Not sure it’s the time you need, Josh, buddy.
Some Way Better than Next Best,
Some Way Better than Next Best, that Some Including the Hilarious Judges by Roxanne McDonald
 |
The twelve going through to the second round of “The Next Best Thing: Who is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator?” are so great to watch, it was too bad the show wasn’t longer…in their cases, anyway. |
You know the type of judges who may be experienced and are qualified in our eyes to judge. Paula Abdul, for instance, is a former singer and dancer. So is Randy Jackson a musician. So is Simon Cowell a seasoned and successful producer. You also know the judges who seem just wrong for such a competition. (And I will refrain from naming names, here.)
With the judges on “The Next Best Thing…,” we get the qualifications as well as the expertise, that which they often share with impersonator hopefuls. Especially with Elon Gold, we get added entertainment for those moments when the competitors suck, and we get the benefit of his multiple
talents at impersonation and guiding the weaker ones in the field. For example, when the David Letterman look-alike came out and did a fat Letterman with bad jokes, Gold gave him a sample of the talk show host trailing off technique—by imitating Jay Leno. The Leno bit was spot on.
So was the Johnny Carson bit. The Jackie Gleason as judge (done by Jeffrey Ross). The William Shatner.hesitating.speeech.
Anyway, the brilliance of the judges to keep this show more than worthy of prime time viewership aside (I’ll tell you more in a minute), the auditioners who were good were very, very good, as well.
The twelve going through to round two are as follows (though in no particular order):
Celebrity Bitch Club 6
Celebrity Bitch Club 6 by Roxanne McDonald
 |
The celebs have to process the pain of having Dustin do what he did and doubt what he does and leave them in the lurch—which is good and bad and tormenting them all. Again. |
And how much of the processing is recapitulated at Stacey’s urging is up to viewer speculation. I sometimes get torn between thinking the psychotherapist is just starting shit by bringing up old wounds; then at other times I recall the value of therapeutic “processing” and feel appreciative of how she is addressing (not pushing) issues of the past—be they those of the celebrity’s former years or those most recently busted out.
This week, the most recent debacle—Dustin eating a donut, hitting the porn circuit, alluding to Kimberly’s need for sex toy pleasure enhancement, doing his usual weigh-in joking and jabbing, and Harvey flipping out in response–is not only emotionally but practically intrusive.
The celebrities had fled the weigh-in one at a time, and worse, as Harvey had gone all verbal Rambo on Dustin, they had gotten more nervous and unraveled. My first response was that for God’s sake, Tiffany didn’t have to get so dramatic and actually take leave—all upset over an issue that really should not have upset her so much, as it had little to do directly with her and so why would she be so moody, damaged, or what have you.
But then, I thought more about the dynamic of episode 5: first, Harvey should have a better handle on his
mental/emotional quotient. If he is so healthy, so fit, and if food and exercise done right makes for a well-balanced being, then his response was excessive. Second, if you listen to the exact comment Dustin made about how “IF” Harvey challenged him he would take Harvey up on a match, then you might find that Harvey misinterpreted Dustin’s statement. That is, Dustin did NOT “threaten” Harvey. Harvey might therefore need to be the one who gets some therapy.
Third, then, it makes complete sense that Tiffany, for one, would have to take herself out of that scenario—one which replicated her childhood, catapulted her back to being the helpless, powerless child in the throes of two out-of-control adults. Harvey became Daddy, unequipped with the tools for effective anger management and/or communication, and Tiffany became the little girl absolutely terrified that her caretaker was now amuck.
Whew. All because person A said boo.
Anyway, the emotions discussed on the set and in a safe therapeutic environment, all that was left was to finish with the practical matters left undone in episode 5: Kimberly was weighed in, and was said to have weighed 157 pounds…having lost three pounds.
Toby Redeems Himself with Special Guest Mz. Stumpy
Toby Redeems Himself with Special Guest Mz. Stumpy by Roxanne McDonald
 |
The bad boy of the baddest TV around, Toby finds a guest who brings back the Springer vibe. |
Toby is demoted. He has disappointed his fellow producers and his supervisor, Executive Producer Richard, one too many times. So rather than have him removed from The Jerry Springer Show staff completely, the powers that be decide he should go down a few rungs on the ladder—to the position of AP, assistant/associate producer, to Nicole.
Toby pitches furries—people who dress in animal clothing and howl at the moon and shit. He also comes up with this guest who called, or who calls herself Mz. Stumpy—an amputee with no arms and only one leg who is abused by her caretaker.
Nicole tells Toby she needs him to book stories that an AP would book. We might not know what this means, but apparently Toby does, and takes off his shirt to reveal a rubbery bare chest.
Okayyy.
Toby pitches to Richard, then Nicole and I think Rachelle are talking in the hallway: Toby is crazy. Toby stays up all night. Toby smells.
Rachelle talks to Richard afterward, on something to do with canceling a shoot or show, and the next thing we know, Toby is calling Nicole and SCAREAMMMMING about how dare she go behind his back, send Rachelle to do the talking rather than go or call herself.
They all meet with Richard, who looks wiped out. He tells Toby he is very angry. (Good thing about this work on this show is that there is no problem with people expressing themselves.) Richard says he put Toby with Nicole for he thought Nicole could help Toby.
Best of the Lot
Best of the Lot by Roxanne McDonald
 |
The top 18 contestants deliver one-minute shorts judged by Carrie Fisher, D.J. Caruso, and Gary Marshall…and then by we who watch and get to vote for our favorites. |
I have had the distinct privilege of seeing the films twice on television, and then went to the www.onthelot website where I got to re-watch my favorites and try to restrain myself from voting for far too many.
I think I ended up voting for five or seven, among them those titles I have marked with an asterisk, if you care or as if I had as much right to judge as Marshall, Caruso, and Fisher—whose comments are paraphrased below also:
Adam Stein, “Dance Man”*
Carrie Fisher called it delightful and charming.
D.J. Caruso (the director of the latest hit, Disturbia, either replacing John Avnet or doing what I read was a rotation thing with the third judge) said they should be sucking up to Adam, for he’s going to be a big name in the industry.
Gary Marshall established one of the criteria for judging, saying how Aristotle defined the story as having a beginning, a middle, and an end, then told Adam he did it in one short film. He added, “If Spielberg doesn’t use you, I would love to.”
Carolina Zorilla de San Martin, “Deliver Me”
Fischer said the piece was really well made, a success.
Caruso was really impressed as well—with the acting, the making childbirth a side note to the phone call….
Marshall likened her to sister Penny Marshall, and said it was hip, that she did a good job.
Andrew Hunt, who brought us “Spaced Out”
Fischer joked that he managed to make an alien barf…something she has wanted to have happen for years. Andy did, she said, what George Lucas couldn’t do.
Caruso reiterated the assignment—to do a one-minute short—and said Andy managed to do that.
Marshall said barfing isn’t his first choice for a film but that he laughed at this. He commented on the perfecting casting of aliens and added that barfing on an authority figure is always great for a laugh.
Kenny Luby, “Wack Alley Cab”
Fischer said she didn’t get what he was going for, but for her, while he is a very talented filmmaker, this didn’t quite succeed…didn’t make her laugh.
Caruso likened it to a late night cable show spoof and said it didn’t make him laugh, either.
Marshall said everybody in the short was “funny” and Kenny should have made somebody reactive to make the film work better.
Sex and Sensibility…and Funny Flatulence
Sex and Sensibility…and Funny Flatulence by Roxanne McDonald
|
In a two-hour special edition, episode 3 of “On the Lot” gives us the 18 one-minute shorts of the 18 finalists—a few of whom find farting and barfing to be the coup de grace of comedy and many more of whom feel and express the beauty and grace that is filmmaking at its potential best. |
The fart and barf themes aside, some awesome one-minute storylines have emerged from some talented, entertaining up-and-coming filmmakers who have made it to round 3:
Adam Stein, who delivered “Dance Man,” was headed for the courtroom. But on the first day in Harvard Law School, he looked around and asked himself what he was doing there, telling us he didn’t belong there, for he’s a filmmaker. Yep. If his first short is any indication, he will bring brilliant satire of the SNL level of entertainment. Smart, adorable, and supremely successfully absurd material.
Carolina Zorilla de San Martin, who gave us “Deliver Me,” is originally from Spain and moved here with her family when she was ten. She says she moved to the country where she would have the opportunity to work with what she loves, cinematography. With her quirky humor and keen eye and ear, it is clear she has shown continued respect for the craft.
Andrew Hunt, who brought us “Spaced Out,” is a humble, understated and professional filmmaker. He describes what he wants his film to come off as—“big, bold, and funny”—and succeeds, according to the audience laughter and the judges accolades. He also acknowledges the other 17 as all being the biggest competition, as, he says, they are all very talented filmmakers. You are at the top of that list, Andy.
Kenny Luby, who delivered “Wack Alley Cab,” says one does not need to go to film school to be a director. From what we have seen of Kenny in rounds one and two, all you evidently need is an ego the size of a studio. Not to worry, though, the one-minute he delivered—which was over the top, loud, and, as he defended it, “tweaky,” was over the heads of everyone who watched it, foregoing satire of the cerebal kind and forfeiting comprehensibility. Maybe it’s time to head to school, Ken. Then again, maybe he will evolve into the next David Lynch…filmically, that is.
Hilary Graham, who created “Bus # 1,” was a stay-at-home mom feeling something was missing. Now she feels her whole life has led to this moment—though hopefully her whole life was not just about having to pee, which fell flat with the audience (no laughs) and the judges (though they did address her skills behind the camera).
Marty Martin, who did “The Big Bad Heist,” is the adorable mascot-looking type who says he always dreamed of being the next Steven Spielberg [even before the “On the Lot” experience came to be]. He still wants to be the next Steven Spielberg, only as Marty Martin. He’s got some mad skills, and now that his fellow competitor who found him an
intransigent threat has been eliminated, maybe he can be. I will abstain from critique, as there are very few contemporary gansta-themed/noir films I like to begin with.
Will Bigham, who made “Lucky Penny,” had first said he wanted to—no, had to—make the filmmaking life work…for his family. From the skill and creativity he puts into his short, here’s a bet he will make it very far in the competition.
Jessica Brillhart, who created “[How…] to Screw in a Lightbulb,” is not just the youngest woman in the competition but is one righteous woman…righteous without being obnoxious or overstating her teleos. (She’s the one who stood up to Kenny Luby’s lording it during task #2.) You can catch a tincture of such tendencies in her short, which I found to be one of the best (darkly humorous and pointed…toward female empowerment) if not the best of the lot. The judges felt otherwise, but I love the bizarre character inclusion and the no-nonsense wife who solves the issue of the light bulb replacement with a simple flick of the wrist.
However Shall We Re-Name Them? Kathy Griffin Opts for D-listers to Get Her Off the D-list
However Shall We Re-Name Them? Kathy Griffin Opts for D-listers to Get Her Off the D-list by Roxanne McDonald
 |
Well, okay, given the new list of men Kathy Griffin asks us to choose from—to have her date so she can get off the D-list by having a his-and-her moniker melding (Brangelina, TomKat, Bennifer)–maybe the choices are not all D-list dateables. But, what, we have to come up with a Kathy and Sanjaya combo? |
Maybe only one is a D-lister. Or two. Sanjaya is on the chart Kathy has crafted as part of her new plan to evade the ranking she has suffered for so long, as is the dubious K-Fed (who if he thinks he will get any of Kathy’s money, has another think coming). Some ratty choices to begin with, I’d say. And what in hell would we do with the names to make the new couple worthy of moving up the rank and file of celebrity status (if that is even possible, given how you know this whole thing is a hysterical schlep for viewer ratings more than anything else, anyway)?
Whatever the solution or outcome, I’m on board.
Season three of “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List” will run the premise of Kathy getting out of that lowest echelon of
celebrities by dating her way into a power couple combo. She thought her first husband loved her, she says, but she also thought she was marrying for keeps. But like a fool, she married for love, she confesses, glibly suggesting that this time, the tactic should include efforts to marry someone who will help her get off the D-list.
No surprise, then, given her humor, is her compilation of likely candidates for the title of Mr. Griffin, any one of whom we fans can vote for her to date by texting DLIST to Bravo (27286) and/or by visiting www.OffTheDList.com. And what would the new couple be called?
Hey, Hey, Paula, Do They Not Want to Marry You?
Hey, Hey, Paula, Do They Not Want to Marry You? by Roxanne McDonald
 |
First she takes far too much flack for loopiness interpreted as drunkenness. Then there is all kinds of press over a “broken nose” incident. Then she gets sued for her solo show idea. Now Paula Abdul faces another flop: being cut down from 8 to 6 episodes and limited to one season of “Hey Paula.” |
I’ve said before how the drugs she has had to take for her Reflex Sympathetic Distrophy (which took away her dance career) are what make Paula Abdul appear loaded. Still the rants rage on. The recent fall over her ubiquitous little mutt hasn’t helped Paula’s image—distorted by press and people alike as another drunken (implied) disaster.
Oh, and I almost forgot about the alleged affair with American Idol contestant Corey Clark (who, it has been suggested,
trumped up the support Paula gave him when he was voted off Idol and needed to further his clebrity status/career).
Then, after establishing a new reality TV show idea, “Hey Paula,” the straight-up dancing songstress had to put up with (or is still dealing with) a lawsuit: Pilgrim Films and Television (PFTV) is a production company who claims to have had dibs on Abdul’s reality TV show about her “strange show business life” (according to Celebrity Spider, et.al.).
So You Think You Can Dance Despite the Brain Damage?
So You Think You Can Dance Despite the Brain Damage? by Roxanne McDonald
 |
The New York auditions episode 1 of season 3 is hilarious and heart-breaking at once. |
“I’ve promised I’m not going to be mean this season,” is Nigel’s challenge to himself. But about halfway through day one of the New York auditions, he can’t help but falter and fall back on that acerbic with that which of course goes right over most of those dancing heads.
The Good
Anya Garnis and Pasha Govalev do a hip, tight, and spot-on number, one that Nigel says was soooo hot and Mary says was “the best ballroom dance we’ve ever seen.” You really could watch these two for hours. Well, for many minutes, anyway.
Heather Zampier is one of the first sob stories turned tale of courage and determination and all that: after two hip surgeries (to remediate bone spurs—ouch), she is told she will never dance again. After she does a decent contemporary dance (I know very little about dance and even less about contempo) Nigel confirms what the doctors says. Heather says yes, and Nigel says, “What do they know?” Mary agrees, saying Heather was awesome and a miracle, and Dan comments on the fire, the technique, and, especially, Heather’s personality to match.
Hannah-Lee Sakakibara, you might think, would go in another category, here, for when she was working a dance hall, the floor collapsed—killing twenty four people and seriously hurting many others, her included. She had a broken nose, a broken jaw, and they thought she might even have brain damage.
But Hannah-Lee is not in the wrong compartment: she prayed in that hospital that if she could make it out of there, she would dance for the rest of her life. And dance she does. One judge, Dan, maybe, says she doesn’t have the physical stamina, though, to make it through even one dance. Mary wants to see how she would do in the choreography round. Nigel does, too, so she is sent to that “smelly” room (as Cat) calls it, to await her fate. She does get through, evidently, though I didn’t see her do so.
Ashley Keegan dances under the tutelage of Katie Watts. Both are auditioning, and we again get a little nervous about the “teacher” and her performance. But after Ashley kicks up a sexy storm, which Nigel says with wide-eyed joy (who can blame him? This hetero viewer was getting hot and bothered, too!) that she “has all the qualities she needs to be a good dancer,” and Dan says is “great to watch,” and Mary says was a “great audition,” the teacher comes out and wows
them almost as much. Katie does a really unique modern dance, and Mary calls her a “very special dancer;” Dan says even though she doesn’t have the “God-given” long legs that Ashley has she has done pretty well with what she’s got; and Nigel admits it is an honor and a joy to have a dance teacher who has turned out a great dancer in Ashley and has done well herself.
The Bad
Tiffany Green is overweight, half-leaping and spinning awkwardly and rolling around on the floor with little technique, and, when she finishes her routine, still has what Nigel has said he dreads watching: the “fat still bobbling.” The judges quietly tell her that it really wasn’t that good, so she tells us in the exit interview that she has a fall-back plan: to just open a restaurant.
Chasmer “creative in everything he does” Well might just want to work for Tiffany. He is stymied and stale, and Nigel, still trying not to “be mean” says he really wasn’t good. Mary and Dan agree, and Mary gives the kid some advice he likely won’t take with him to the door.
Bachelorettes, Bevin, and the Buts and Shouldacouldwouldas
Bachelorettes, Bevin, and the Buts and Shouldacouldwouldas by Roxanne McDonald
 |
How pitiful was the mood on the “After the Final Rose” reunion show? As if we didn’t cry enough or see enough sobbing and sadness in the final episode. |
Damn, we fans take the show “The Bachelor…” seriously, as it is, but when Bevin had to return for a command performance, still raw of wound but dignified in her dejection, I was sure I was going to lose it all over again.
There’s still something not quite right. Sure, the set up for the reunion show gave us a happy and glowing Charlie and his girl Sarah and a happy and glowing Trista (pregnant with her man Ryan’s babe), and we should have been just as delighted for the happy and glowing Tessa and Andy. But there was something off, some emotion two degrees left of center that seemed, well, postured for the cameras.
Maybe it was me, having residual resentment over Andy going the more conventional route and proposing to a woman who would likely fit in better with his family and naval doctor/officer world. Maybe it was how that whole Officer and a Gentleman lift the damsel in arms thing was feeling overplayed.
Or maybe it was how Bevin was visibly still hurt, how Chris perfunctorily milked the hell out of that hurt, and how Andy reiterated the chase factor. Okay, so you have all the tailoring of a triathlete. You have the class and
come-uppance and etiquette befitting a gentleman. But do you have to rub in the biological imperative of having to go with the one who was harder to read, harder to court, harder to handle, really?
And do you think that reticence is not going to show up in later years, and drive you bonkers—making you wish you had gone with the one who consistently and confidently electrified you? The very essence luring him will likely be that which drives him mad later on.
(Interesting how a group of naval nurses/corpsmen [women] who knew Andy when he was interning watch the show each week and root for Tessa, saying how Bevin couldn’t handle his being gone so much. Hmmm. Was I watching the same show?)
Stalled on Runway
Stalled on Runway by Roxanne McDonald
 |
Season 4 of “Project Runway” will not air this summer, but will premiere in late 2007. Man, does that bum some of us fans of the show. |
The next “Project Runway” has been announced and promoted—but minimally. So it’s little more than a tease to our summertime TV schedules that “Project Runway 4” is still in the making rather than ready to watch!
According to Reality TV World, et.al., season four will premier in quarter four of 2007. Also different is how “Project Runway” will follow “Top Chef Miami” (rather than the other way around). And mixing up the format of the finale,
according to Realty TV World’s Steve Rogers and Christopher Rocchio, “ season four will see ‘only three finalists… face-off… at New York Fashion Week’ — a change from the third season format that featured four finalists presenting collections.”
The casting call and auditions began in late March/April, and Dean of the Sewing Machine, mentor Tim Gunn, discussed the upcoming talent: “We’ve moved about 125 people through to the next level,” quotes ET Online. “The talent is there and, as a group, the people have anywhere from six to 15 years of industry experience, and strong points of view.”
Lost on ABC. I’m Lost - but who isn’t?
Lost on ABC. I’m Lost - but who isn’t? by Mike Liebner
The 2 hour season finale of Lost was crammed full of… something.
 |
OK, despite Lost on ABC making us ask more questions than it gives answers to - I must say I have been pretty enthralled this season. |
But now it’s all gone away as the 2 hour season finale came and went like a dynamo.
At first - I must admit - I simply deleted the show from Tivo - even though I was confused at the ending. The season finale was just too jumbled and covered too much.
I was confused and instead of thinking about it - I just deleted it and moved on. I was disappointed.
But the next day I started thinking about what happened. I tried to remember who died and who may not have died and why they died and why they ended on the flash forward of Jack and Kate - apparently rescued and in a future tiome and place - not together. (read more…)
Brad, Bette, a Beat-Box Duel, and The Beatles!
Brad, Bette, a Beat-Box Duel, and The Beatles! by Roxanne McDonald
 |
Rivaling the Academy Awards ceremonies, the American Idol finale brings on the eclectic performances and presentations—starting the phenom night with red carpets, press, and pretty dress. |
I recall last season how many times I got goosebumps—when the Golden Awards were delivered and one earlier contestant (or failed auditioner), who thought he looked and sounded just like Clay Aiken was brought back, awarded, asked to sing, and as he croaked instead of crooned, was surprised by the appearance of Clay, truly nailing the song.
This year, I was impressed all over how truly big Idol has become, the pre-show as much as the finale looking like Oscar night.
And the line-up of presentations, presenters, and performers was a blast!
The best of the best, Bette Midler
Joe Perry (from my favorite band, Aerosmith)—though he was almost…almost less powerful cause his first partner in song was Sanjaya. Argh. If Sanjaya had shut up and just
smiled that cute and silly grin, we would have had a supreme instrumental. But then the little fanjaya would not have had the second joy she had in the audience AGAIN.
The cool as ever Ruben, who was so good he actually pulled off singing a Beatles tune not all that suited to him, per se, but which he mastered like a seasoned songman. That is, it was interesting and pleasing at once to hear 501 doing LSD. LOL.
Green Day! Who did a seamless rendition of “Working Class Hero.” (oh, wait, I don’t need to critique these superstars, duh. Forget where I was, for a minute.)
Apolo Ohno also a Dancing Superstar
Apolo Ohno also a Dancing Superstar, not just an Athlete… by Roxanne McDonald
 |
Taking the title from Joey and Kym, Apolo says when you put your mind to something, and do 100%, anything is possible”—even winning “Dancing with the Stars” in the ballroom as an athlete from the ice. |
The five-time Olympic medal winner told the press (New York Post) there is much more to him than just “being an athlete.” And that much more to take pride in as Ohno and partner Julianne Hough take the cup, or disco ball home as winners of the season four “Dancing with the Stars” competition.
The finals show was so much spectacular competition that even this typically right on predictor was stumped.
Laila and Maks
Did a controlled and dramatic Paso Doble that the judges called a whirlwind of passion with great stature and great turns.
Did a well-handled leaping freestyle (despite Laila’s reticence about jumping around at her size), which elicited such
comments as those Bruno made about her strength being in her sex appeal and sensuality and those Len made about the elegance and sophistication that gave her her dancing strengths.
Pulled in a total of 85 points from the judges, putting them in third place before audience votes were counted.
On the Lot Already Bringing a Lot of Ego Issues
On the Lot Episode 2 Already, and Bringing a Lot of Ego Issues by Roxanne McDonald
|
So surprising and delightful that just two days after the premiere episode of “On the Lot,” the second installment is here! |
I hope the show does run two nights a week. In fact, I could dig five days a week.
Besides, I can also catch the rest of the names (or almost all of them), to complete my first piece.
But, oooh, this is already getting “reality TV” tainted: the teams are in the middle of the second challenge—to script, direct, film, edit, and produce a two-and-a-half-minute piece.
For this second challenge task, the contestants must work on a team of three, with each directing one of three scenes in the 2 ½-minute short. The three directors will have three actors and three locations, and will have 24 hours to write, direct, edit, and deliver…by 6 a.m. the next day.
There are already ego clashes. Especially with the self-professed masters of directorial cinematography: Marty is getting on Jeff’s nerves, and Kenny is insulting his
partners, Hannah and Jessica, stage left and scene right.
By the time they get to editing, Kenny is telling the girls he is disgusted and disappointed with their crappy editing, and while Hannah is so shocked she just sits with mouth agape, Jess fights back, saying she is also surprised that such a know-it-all director of photography produces out-of-focus shots and doesn’t know the meaning of something as remedial as scene angle….
We don’t get to see all the final submissions, but we do see
1) Random Acts of Kindness, by Hilary, Brent, and Carolina;
2) Vinny’s Vault, by the likely demonic character from now on in, Kenny, and his partners Jess and Hannah;
3) a short (I missed the title of) by Trever, Marty, and Jeff; and
4) Time Out, by Sam, Zach, and Adam.
On the Lot an Awesome TV Offering
On the Lot an Awesome TV Offering by Roxanne McDonald
 |
Absolutely brilliant, fresh, compelling as a real-world process is revealed. |
As a writer and film buff, I have been waiting for “On the Lot” since the first announcement. Finally, the show with more than singular components and more than myopic formatting has arrived…and by way of a most satisfying premiere, at that.
Some are saying that it adds nothing new to the already overpopulated reality TV world or to the how-we-do-it film industry shows already in existence. Sure, “On the Lot” is another “Project Greenlight,” but also departs from that format by showing the competition on the way to the
green-lit stage. That is, the “On the Lot” competition, if you ask me (and I know, you didn’t), reveals more reality than, say, a show that locks twelve people in a torture chamber to see how long they can survive. “On the Lot”, while, granted, creating unrealistic time-limits for a challenge, still issues the essential process tasks of a director going for the golden gig.
For instance, the competition, in episode one involving the first challenge and cuts of 14 hopefuls, saw judges Carrie Fisher (most well-known as Star Wars’ Princess Leia), Gary Marshall (actor and producer, but also renowned director of such pieces as Pretty Woman), and Brett Ratner (X-Men, The Last Stand, and several other box office hits) fielding pitches for a given storyline, one of five randomly distributed:
A slacker applies to the CIA and gets accepted
A man watching TV sees his own face—as either wanted or missing
A mouse is abducted to be used as a lab rat, and he/she plans escape
A priest meets the woman of his dreams just as he is about to be ordained
A crate from a military base is delivered to a house in suburbia
Project Runway Winners: Where are They Now?
Project Runway Winners: Where are They Now? by Roxanne McDonald
|
Well, more to the point, what are they creating? |
I jumped on the “Project Runway” watchers’ wagon when it was in its third season (though I did get to see a re-run of Chloe win season two), so I not only miss the creative output of designers like Jeffrey Sebelia but am curious about what he is doing with his new title, and all.
Thought I’d therefore check-in on all three “Project Runway” winners.
Season 1 Winner, Jay McCarroll
I was impressed and intrigued with the first winner, Jay McCarroll, for when he won, though he said he needed a lot of money, he “opted to pursue other financial ventures”—rather than accept the $100,000-prize money! The Banana Republic mentorship? I don’t know.
McCarroll also stayed in New York part-time, continuing to create new projects while working on his branding—efforts he would soon thereafter do a documentary on called Project Jay (which aired on Bravo in February of 2006).
When it came time for the season two cattle call, McCaroll was there at Parsons to help choose the next contestants.
In September of 2006, McCarroll presented at Fashion Week his “Transport” collection—one which, as an anti-fur collection, was sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States. The “Transport” collection as he defined it would, he said, “take the fashion consumer to a higher plane of consciousness and encourage people to see fashion from a different perspective.”
Reportedly, he then changed the collection’s theme, first inspired by Pet Shop Boys’ “West End Girls,” to feature looks for men and women that carried a more “futuristic” theme.
Hopefully not Second Best
Hopefully not Second Best by Roxanne McDonald
|
New “diabolically outrageous and raucously entertaining” reality competition show, “The Next Best Thing” will bring contenders for the title of Greatest Celebrity Impersonator. Let’s hope not the second best or next worst thing to come through the tubes…. |
Okay, no tubes anymore, but let’s hope this new show “The Next Best Thing: Who is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator?” delivers the good. We have had the everyman/woman turned celebrity, the common person turned reality TV star, and the celebrity turned reality TV presence. Now, we will have the best of all, combined.
The first promo I caught was cute enough, showing one of the judges telling a contestant something to the effect of, “You are unemotional, untalented…; you are Paris Hilton. [And] you’re going to the next round.”
In another ABC promo, we catch, of course, a glimpse of a Cher impersonator, complete with controversial clothing and curly wig, I instantly wonder how many Chers, how many drag queens, the judges have seen. Of course, the brilliant Cher female impersonators in drag that I have seen in the last ten years have only lip-synched, so maybe the judges have had a limited number of listens to “Do You Believe in Love after Love?” (read more…)
Season 3 Hell’s Apoppin
Season 3 Hell’s Apoppin by Roxanne McDonald
 |
The first promo for “Hell’s Kitchen 3” brings back Chef Spitfire Ramsey and his throwing some food he has rejected at a poor, tortured cheftestant. Who will do the fire-walk this season? |
This season recaps, rants, and raves are dedicated to Rachel Brown.
FOX Mondays are heating up, especially with “Hell’s Kitchen” on the way, on June 4th, 2007.
It was announced on May 16, but I caught the first promo last night (May 22). Ramsey, who makes the show with his
combined expertise and emotional volatility, will be teaching, training, and testing twelve hopefuls for the much deserved title of Head Chef of a Green Valley Ranch Resort, Spa and Casino Italian restaurant in Las Vegas.
Songwriting Finalists Give Jordin and Blake a Final Empowering Song
Songwriting Finalists Give Jordin and Blake a Final Empowering Song by Roxanne McDonald
 |
Not as powerful or evocative as the song Taylor Hicks did in his finale on Idol, but fresh and empowering, nonetheless, “This is My Now” gives what many believe is an edge up for Jordin. |
It is a song Jordin did better, one that had Simon telling Blake his delivery was a “little odd” and Jordin hers “wiped the floor with Blake on”. It is a number Idol Thoughts blog had mused over as potential choice for the finals, not naming “This is My Now” but quoting American Idol music director Michael Orland, who had called it “very pretty” and “positive and uplifting” and said (in an interview with ew.com) that
while “Jordin loves it,” Orland had not gotten Blake’s take on it beforehand.
It is the winning song from the first ever American Idol songwriting competition.
The writing competition was almost as stiff as the singing competition, evidently, though I doubt there were 100,000 entrants. Still, some of the fiercest (to quote Tyra Banks) of talent made it to the final 20 spots with winning titles:
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
