Paris Hilton may
not be dating a rocker anymore, but she still has music on her mind. The celebutante caught up with EW.com backstage at last week’s American Music Awards and told us that she has
finished her second album, featuring production by Mike Green
(Paramore, the Matches), and is deciding what to do next, now that she’s
no longer at Warner Bros. Records. “I wrote all the songs,” Hilton
beamed. “It’s very dance, like Kylie Minogue.” As for who might put it out? "I’m figuring it out right now," she said. "I’m not sure which label I’m doing it with."
Archive: November 2008 (1-10 of 94)
Nov 30
2008
06:00 PM ET
Paris Hilton: I've finished my second album
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Nov 29
2008
07:00 PM ET
Sarah McLachlan and Pink: Will they play together again?
Sarah McLachlan and Pink’s duet on the song “Angel” was one of the highlights of the 2008 American Music Awards. The pairing came together, McLachlan told EW.com at the AMAs, after the two met at Ellen Degeneres’ 50th birthday party. “She told me about seeing Prince playing ‘Angel’ at Coachella and that she sang every word at top of her lungs. And I thought, ‘Hmm…I think I know who might be able to sing it with me.’ I love her voice, she’s got a great rock ‘n’ roll grit that’s really soulful as well.”
Perhaps there’s a future studio pairing in
store? “If the song is right, I’m game,” McLachlan said. “I don’t know
why more people don’t ask me, because I’m a total whore in that
way — I’ll sing with anybody as long as it feels good.” Also high on her list? Coldplay’s Chris Martin, whom she met backstage at the AMAs. “I really wanted to say to him, ‘I’ll fly anywhere, anytime,’ but we ended up talking about kids and touring. He’s delicious.”
Nov 28
2008
07:00 PM ET
Ne-Yo: How the R&B artist wound up working with Marilyn Manson
Songwriter-producer and R&B chart-topper Ne-Yo will soon head into
the studio with Marilyn Manson. How did this — oh, let’s just say
it — completely and utterly bizarre coupling come about? “In a few
interviews, I talked about taking pride in my diversity — being able to
work with a Mary J. Blige, then a Michael Bolton, and then a Marilyn
Manson,” Ne-Yo told EW.com on the red carpet at the American Music Awards last Sunday.
“[Manson’s] people heard about that, and were like, ‘Put your money where your mouth is,’ so
now we’re in the process of getting those sessions together.” No word yet on when a new Marilyn Manson might be released.
Nov 27
2008
07:00 PM ET
Mariah Carey on working with husband Nick Cannon
For Mariah Carey, having
husband Nick Cannon direct the video for her latest single, “I Stay in Love,”
made the shoot her easiest ever. “I was actually under budget and on
time, which are two rarities for me,” Carey told EW.com backstage at the American Music Awards last Sunday.
“We saw it through from conception to completion, but something about
the way Nick organized the video just worked much better."
Nov 26
2008
11:29 PM ET
'How I Met Your Mother': Now there's another mother-to-be
News broke yesterday that Cobie Smulders, who plays Robin Scherbatsky on CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother, is expecting her first child late this spring with actor Taran Killam (better known in HIMYM circles as Blauman, Barney’s coworker who violated the Chain of Screaming and wound up a janitor). Smulders is one of two women on the show; the other, Alyson Hannigan (pictured, left, with Smulders), is also pregnant and expecting late this spring.
No word yet on how this may affect the plot lines of the growing hit — this week’s episode was seen by a season’s-best 10 million viewers — but given Robin’s well-established anti-baby sentiments and a recent episode in which Hannigan’s character, Lily, specifically decided not to have a kid, it’s a safe bet the writers are getting to work on scripts featuring a lot of laundry baskets and grocery bags as we speak.
HIMYM cocreator Craig Thomas issued the following statement this afternoon: “Everyone’s tremendously excited by all the impending motherhood here at How I Met Your Mother. We’re all so happy for Cobie and Aly, who will undoubtedly be amazing moms! And now, a public service announcement: If you’re trying to start a family, please come visit the set of How I Met Your Mother. Just come by and hang out for a day or two. We can’t legally guarantee anything, but by the time you leave, you will almost certainly be pregnant. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go down to our Wardrobe Department to check out the large burlap sacks Robin and Lily will inexplicably be wearing for the rest of the season.”
More TV News:
TV Ratings: Dancing With the Stars finale helps ABC topple CBS
Dancing With the Stars recap
The Shield finale recap
Grey’s Anatomy: ABC testing Denny-Izzie romance
House recap
addCredit(“Alexandra Wyman/WireImage”)
Nov 26
2008
09:44 PM ET
'Fringe' Exclusive: Look who's playing Olivia's sis!
How’s this for a top-secret Fringe twist: Olivia’s got, like, the coolest sister ever!
Sources confirm to me exclusively that rising star Ari Graynor, who played Meadow’s college roomie on The Sopranos and, more recently, won raves for her hilarious turn as Kat Dennings’ boozy BFF in Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, has been tapped to play the younger sister of Anna Torv’s Olivia.
Graynor will appear in a minimum of three episodes, the first of which airs in January. Per a Fringe insider, Graynor’s character pays Olivia a surprise visit and ends up crashing at her place for a few weeks. “She’s dealing with some man trouble back home,” the insider explains. “But the exact nature of that trouble isn’t clear.”
‘Lil sis also has a ‘lil travel companion: a daughter.
Anyone out there see Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist? If so, I’m guessing you’re as jazzed about this casting coup as I am.
Nov 26
2008
09:44 PM ET
TV Ratings: 'Dancing With the Stars' finale helps ABC topple CBS
Happy Thanksgiving, ABC. According to preliminary data, the net finally triumphed over CBS’ Tuesday procedural block — and drew its largest primetime audience so far this fall — thanks to Dancing With the Stars’ season 7 closer. And, at press time, Monday and Tuesday’s Dancing episodes stand to top November sweeps.
But does DWTS deserve the first bite of turkey? Maybe not. A hefty 20.6 million viewers tuned in on Tuesday night to watch Brooke Burke beat Warren Sapp, helping the dance series nab its top ratings of the season and best its Kristi Yamaguchi-led season 6 finale by 500,000 watchers. But last night’s DWTS still scored way below November 2007’s season 5 closer, when 24.9 million saw race car driver Helio Castroneves defeat Spice Girl Mel B. And it didn’t even come close to matching the show’s most-watched finale ever, season 3’s Emmitt Smith vs. Mario Lopez face-off in the fall of 2006, which attracted 27.5 million viewers.
Earlier on the alphabet net, a holiday airing of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving drew 11.1 million viewers (its biggest audience ever on ABC) at 8 p.m., topping October’s It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown’s 10.4 million.
addCredit(“Kelsey McNeal/ABC”)
Second place CBS had a ho-hum night, with NCIS (18.2 million) and The Mentalist
(15.9 million) scoring only slightly higher than last week (18 mil and
15.8 million, respectively). And the special "let’s go to L.A."
episode of the primarily New York-area set Without a Trace earned the show’s paltriest numbers of the year, only 10.4 million.
Over at Fox, House’s special 68-minute episode (guest-starring recent Damages Emmy-winner
Zeljko Ivanek) lured 12.5 million viewers at 8 p.m., the drama’s lowest tally since mid-September. Its follow up, Fringe, brought in 8.7 million viewers, a minor dip from last week’s 9.2 million. But the bad news is really at NBC, where both 8 p.m.’s The Biggest Loser: Families and 10 p.m.’s Law & Order: SVU pulled their weakest ratings of the season (6.8 million and 8.5 million, respectively).
The CW’s usual Tuesday tag-team of 90210 and Privileged sat last night out, making way for the 2003 Mandy Moore vehicle, How to Deal, which averaged a mere 900,000 viewers.
More TV News:
Dancing With the Stars recap
The Shield finale recap
Grey’s Anatomy: ABC testing Denny-Izzie romance
Obama daughters on Hannah Montana?
American Dad!: How will the Fox show change under President Obama?
House recap
Nov 26
2008
05:15 PM ET
'Grey's Anatomy': ABC testing Denny-Izzie romance
Maybe Katherine Heigl’s recent, pre-Emmy complaint about not getting nomination-worthy material on Grey’s Anatomy wasn’t entirely off base: In a preposterous new low, her once-popular character, Izzie Stevens (pictured), is sleeping with her dead lover, Denny — as in, actual carnal relations with a spirit — and now, we’ve learned, ABC is audience-testing a love story between the two. Last we checked, creator Shonda Rhimes wasn’t trying to create a Ghost Whisperer: Seattle, but then there isn’t a lot about Grey’s that makes sense these days. Actress Brooke Smith, whose Dr. Erica Hahn represented the only lesbian character on the Big Four networks, was abruptly canned. Mary McDonnell’s depiction of a cardiac surgeon with Asperger’s has been both ridiculous and unrealistic. And interns operating on interns is almost as laughable as Cristina (Sandra Oh) saving a pitiable pig. Add in Rhimes’ decision to have Izzie cavort with the dead, and Grey’s has fast become this season’s most maligned show by fans (if you don’t count Heroes, that is).
“Denny and Izzie together again is just dizzy. Stupid, stupid, stupid,” posts an EW.com reader named Susan. “As for all of those comments from people saying, ‘It’s just TV, it doesn’t have to be real,’ well, yeah, but on the other hand, it has to be somewhat RELATABLE!” Adds EW.com reader Lizzie, “Please, TV Gods, let it be that Izzie is suffering from an incurable brain tumor.…Let her die and be reunited with hot Denny in the afterworld, never to be seen on Grey’s Anatomy again!”
That’s what we hoped for too, until Rhimes told EW last week that Izzie doesn’t have a brain tumor.
Sadly, that’s all the explanation we’re getting for now (Rhimes, Heigl, and ABC all declined to comment for this article). However, with viewership down 17 percent from last year, an insider says ABC is conducting audience testing on the Izzie-Denny love story. Results aren’t in yet, so we’re forced to sift through future plotlines for any signs of relief. The good news is that Rhimes hasn’t given up on girl-on-girl love, as bisexual Callie is about to start canoodling with new intern Sadie (Melissa George). McSteamy (Eric Dane) may end up doing the dirty with little Grey, Lexie, played by Chyler Leigh (anything’s better than watching her pine over the oblivious George), and fan favorite Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) will show up for a special crossover episode with Private Practice in February. The bad news is that Jeffrey Dean Morgan is slated to appear at least through February. There’s never an exorcist around when you need one.
More Grey’s Anatomy:
Ausiello: Grey’s discharges Dr. Hahn
PopWatch: Brooke Smith’s ouster is not okay!
Ask Ausiello: Grey’s scoop
Grey’s scores best ratings in weeks
Nov 26
2008
04:27 PM ET
Obama daughters on 'Hannah Montana'?
Forget all the mystery surrounding Barack Obama’s potential Cabinet picks. The real burner is: Are daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, going to make a cameo on Hannah Montana ?
“The word is they’re going to come on the show and do some stuff,” Hannah star Mitchell Musso (Oliver) tells EW exclusively. “But I don’t really want to spoil anything.” (A Disney Channel spokeswoman maintains there’s still no word on whether the girls will accept Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus’ offer made earlier this month on Access Hollywood). Stay tuned. – Additional reporting by Shirley Halperin
Nov 26
2008
11:02 AM ET
Ask Ausiello: Spoilers on '24,' 'Grey's Anatomy,' 'Heroes,' 'Smallville,' 'House,' 'Supernatural,' 'CSI: Miami,' and More!
Question: Got any 24 scoop to tide us over until January? — Jack
Ausiello: A pivotal character from last Sunday’s Redemption movie will die within the first four hours of Day 7.
Question: What’s the deal with evil Tony on 24? What made him go postal? — Craig
Ausiello: I hear it has something to do with his wife being blown to bits three years ago. Apparently he didn’t take it too well.
Question: Will Audrey Raines (a.k.a. Kim Raver) turn up on 24 this season now that Lipstick Jungle is no more? — Carina
Ausiello: As far as I know, she’s still in a catatonic state at the beach with that schemer from Knots Landing. (FYI: The script for the season finale of 24 was already written and locked when the ax fell on Lipstick.)
Question: Eli Stone, Pushing Daisies and Dirty Sexy Money? I can’t believe they axed all three! What are we to do? — Mary
Ausiello: For starters, you can watch all the remaining episodes. And tell your friends to do the same. Because short of an 11th hour ratings resurgence, all three are history.
Question: Tell me more about this Grey’s Anatomy-Private Practice crossover. I’m intrigued… — Gloria
Ausiello: It’ll take place over the course of three episodes (Feb. 5, 12, and 19) and the only confirmed participant as of now is Kate Walsh.
Question: Okay, I’ll bite: Which Brothers & Sisters character will suffer a life-threatening medical crisis in March? — Toni
Ausiello: I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but here’s a possible clue: Rumor has it producers are casting a love interest for Kitty. His ETA? April.
Question: Is Mary McDonnell going to be back on Grey’s Anatomy? I loved her Dr. Dixon. I watched last week’s episode thinking she’d be back, but she wasn’t. — Jackie
Ausiello: Her second of three episodes airs Dec. 4. Personally, I wasn’t a fan. You know I worship the ground McDonnell walks on, but I found her Asperger’s depiction a tad over the top. And I’m not alone. Megan, a self-proclaimed Aushole and Asperger’s sufferer, called the portrayal "robotic and single focused — which we are but not to that degree. Grey’s missed the boat on this one. Instead of normal with slight social misperceptions, it came off as a bad version of a high-functioning autistic, and they’re two different things."
Question: I didn’t think Shonda Rhimes could come up with anything worse than Gizzie on Grey’s Anatomy, but this ghost Denny business is about one episode away from officially being the worst thing the show has ever done. Please tell me it will be over soon! — Nick
Ausiello: Afraid not. Denny will be haunting Izzie at least through February. In possibly related news, the title of episode 14 is "Beat Your Heart Out." Hmmm….
Question: Enough with Izzie-Denny and Cristina-Owen. I’m surprised that no one has asked about another "situation" that I’ve noticed on Grey’s Anatomy since the season began: The slow and steady flirtation between Mark and Lexie. Where are they going with this? — Megan
Ausiello: To first base in early ’09, and I can’t wait. McSteamy is actually making Lexie (gulp) interesting.
Question: Why has T.R. Knight had only a few scenes per episode on Grey’s Anatomy recently? — Jessie
Ausiello: I did some digging and, unfortunately, there’s nothing juicy to report. I’m told it’s just part of the natural ebb and flow of storylines. He’ll start flowing again next year when he gets mixed up in the Alex-Izzie-Denny story, but not in any romantic sort of capacity. Shonda may be kooky but she’s not a masochist.
Question: How come ABC has issues with lesbians on Grey’s Anatomy, but no problem with all the guy-on-guy make-out sessions on Brothers & Sisters? — Jennifer
Ausiello: I honestly don’t think the suits at ABC are scared of gay men or lesbians. They just despised the character of Erica Hahn and her romance with Callie. And as soon as they had proof that the audience agreed, they dumped Brooke Smith. As an ABC insider explains, "In the process of doing some maintenance polling, the sample group for Grey’s hated the Callie/Erica coupling while still liking Callie."
Question: Please give me scoop on Women’s Murder Club. — Denise
Ausiello: Still canceled.
Question: Last night’s Shield finale was awesome! Please tell me there will be a movie at some point. — Dennis
Ausiello: I’ll do you one better. I’ll let series creator Shawn Ryan tell you in this exclusive morning-after Q&A. (Beware of spoilers!)
Question: "A miracle. A true blue spectacle. A miracle come true." Okay, Barry Manilow, message received. Care to drop another hint as to what exactly this means for Christmas on House? — Leanne
Ausiello: Baby, baby, I’m taken with the notion. To love you with the sweetest of devotion. Baby, baby, my tender love will flow from. The bluest sky to the deepest ocean.
Question: Will Don Bellisario be involved in the NCIS spin-off? — Justin
Ausiello: That’s a good one. Are you a comedian? If not, you should be. I haven’t laughed that hard in weeks.
Question: What’s up with the new Wilson son, Sean, on 90210? Is he a fake? I can’t wait until Jan. 6 to find out! — Sarah
Ausiello: Go back and watch the final scene from last week’s episode again. You’ll find your answer there.
Question: Got any 90210 scoop? — Sarah
Ausiello: Ty’s getting himself some parents. Annie’s Spring Awakening costar will soon be reunited with his WASPy mom and impeccably groomed dad.
Question: What scoop do you have on Battlestar Galactica? I know the identity of the last cylon is hush-hush, but you must have other tidbits to tide me over until Jan. 16. — Paige
Ausiello: Actually, the final cylon — not so hush-hush. Speaking of BSG, awesome promo alert!
Question: Any scoop on the Eric and Calleigh romance on CSI: Miami? — Carolina
Ausiello: There’s nothing like a brush with death to make you appreciate those around you. Calleigh will learn that lesson the hard way this February.
Question: Are we going to see some Heroes deaths before "Villains" is over? And is he/she going to actually stay dead? — Dan
Ausiello: I know of at least one, and, well, let’s just say I was not happy. I have a hunch we’ll see a lot more permanent bloodshed in "Fugitives." In related news, Heroes is looking for an actor in his 40s to play a member of a bomb squad who is called on to defuse an explosive situation.
Question: Got any Gossip Girl scoop related to Dan and Serena? — Jodi
Ausiello: Reunited and it feels so good. Reunited ’cause we understood. There’s one perfect fit, and, sugar, this one is it. We both are so excited ’cause we’re reunited, hey, hey.
Question: How can I write to Bryan Fuller to thank him for Pushing Daisies and tell him it’s one of the smartest, most clever series ever? — Lulu
Ausiello: You just did.
Question: Any word on the return of Breaking Bad? — Casey
Ausiello: It’s back in March, and here’s some exclusive casting scoop: Giancarlo Esposito of he’s been in everything fame is joining the cast as a potential new business partner for Bryan Cranston.
Question: At the end of "Bride" episode of Smallville we see someone I’m presuming is Lex. Will Michael Rosenbaum be making his return to Smallville anytime soon? — Gilles
Ausiello: Okay, I have to choose my words carefully here: There is no deal…currently in place…for Michael Rosenbaum to…return…to Smallville.
Question: What’s cookin’ on the ER front? — Gary
Ausiello: A sister for Linda Cardellini’s Sam! Her estranged (and yet to be cast) sib turns up later this season to deliver some horrific news.
Question: Supernatural scoop, please? — Josh
Ausiello: Cougar alert! Supexecs are casting the role of a sexy and smart thirtysomething doctor who likes booze and one night stands. And young men with the last name Winchester.
That’s all, folks! Send questions/anonymous tips/Smurf balloon sightings to ausielloscoop@ew.com. Happy tofurkey day!
Nov 26
2008
04:34 AM ET
SPOILER ALERT: 'Shield' Boss Answers Burning Finale Qs
If last night’s Shield capper doesn’t have you uttering the words "best series finale ever," then you’re hopped up on the same nose candy as Shane Vendrell. But as amazing as the episode was, it left me with more than a few nagging questions. Luckily, the man with the answers, series creator Shawn Ryan, just so happens to be on my speed dial. (If you have yet to watch the finale, stop reading now!)
AUSIELLO: I understand Shane committing suicide, but did he have to take wife Mara and son Jackson with him?
SHAWN RYAN: To us, it made sense. I mean, it wasn’t fun to write. But in terms of the overall arc of the show, it felt like the place it should go.
Where was Vic racing off to at the end?
We’ve always viewed Vic as a shark. He’s someone who, in order to survive, has to move forward. Is he going to search for his kids? Is he going to pursue his own sort of police work on his own time? Is he going to do something postal? I don’t know. But I do think the shark swims forward.
Did you want us to think Dutch might have killed Rita (Frances Fisher)? There was that whole cat-strangling after all…
I never felt like Dutch was that far off on the deep end. But we joked about how, in the finale, Dutch would come home and unlock some padlock on a door leading to a basement and there would be a bunch of kids chained to the wall.
Andre Benjamin played a comic book store owner in a 2004 episode, and then turned up again last night as a "candidate" for mayor. Same character?
Yes. In that 2004 episode, he was someone who was upset that prostitutes and drug dealers were occupying the streets that his store was on. He was being very proactive to get them off the street. So our idea was that in the intervening time, he’s actually formalized that kind of agenda and turned it into a fringe mayoral candidacy.
What was your thinking behind including him in the finale?
It allowed us to look at a couple of different opinions of the overarching relationship between police and a city. Obviously, Andre’s character had a very radical, although in some ways commonsensical, ideology about the relationship between police and, as he would call it, the prison state. The Shield has always been a mixture between open-ended storylines and closed-ended storylines. And, so that story just allowed us to tell a closed-ended story that tied into Aceveda’s run for mayor AND Julian and Tina.
Speaking of Julian, why didn’t he eventually come out of the closet?
The place that we had gotten him to by the end of the second season, which was that he went through aversion therapy and was embracing his religion and marrying a woman…I had done a lot of research and reading about people who had taken this path, and a lot of times — most of that time — these people stay on that path for a number of years. And so in the timeline of our story — the entire run of The Shield takes place in about three years — it didn’t seem to me that he would reach crisis point. And I didn’t want to force a story that didn’t feel organic. We did put a nod to it in the finale with the moment where he sees a happy gay couple. I definitely wanted an acknowledgment that that story has not ended for him.
Do you have a favorite moment from the finale?
I really like the final confrontation scene between Claudette and Vic, where she lays those photos out in front of him. I always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted a Claudette-Vic confrontation [in the finale]. I guess what I could not have anticipated when we got there was that Vic doesn’t even really say a word in that scene. I always sort of envisioned the two going at each other, but the way this story broke, it was just Claudette talking. The things Michael Chiklis said without saying anything… it was a real acting triumph.
You weren’t on the set the week the episode was shot last spring due to the writers strike. Is there anything you would have asked the director to do differently had you been there?
The scene with Shane and Mara, where Mara’s in the bed and is having a lot of pain and he’s going to help her to the bathroom…It came off a little lighter and more comedic, and I wanted it to be a little more tragic. I ultimately was able to get the effect I wanted, but it just required a little more work in the editing room. What you saw reflects how I wanted it to be. But it’s a little bit choppier than I would necessarily would have liked.
Will there be a Shield movie?
Hollywood is obviously a place that revisits ideas or shows, and maybe that will happen with The Shield. Maybe not. But I’d only do it under circumstances in which the quality could remain the same."
Any burning questions I forgot to ask? Reaction to the rockin’ finale? Comment away! (Additional reporting by Lynette Rice)
More on ‘The Shield’:
Hollywood Insider: A blow-by-blow of the finale
Note to David Chase: This is how you end a series. (Gillian Flynn’s ‘Shield’ review)
‘The Shield’: Over and Out (an in-depth look at the show from EW’s fall TV preview)
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