ben.katner

Karen Black's Open House

Although she's headlined both blockbusters and indies, Karen Black has had a frightful time convincing thrill seekers that she's more than just the scream queen from Trilogy of Terror and It's Alive III. So, naturally, when she received an invitation to play a Midwestern madwoman in shock-'n'-roller Rob Zombie's screenwriting and directing debut, House of 1000 Corpses, there was little chance that she'd drop dead from excitement. "I didn't even read the script very well," she admits to TV Guide Online. "I didn't think I wanted to do it. "But," she continues, "then Rob saw me looking beautiful at the Oscars and said, 'Oh... I'll make your character a nymphomaniac.' I said, 'Well, that's quite a challenge... an Okie nymphomaniac.' So I had to do it!" Unfortunately, the forme

Tue, Apr 8, 2003

Soap Diva Works Herself Into a Lather

Louise Shaffer had spent years playing the basket cases and bitches that made soap opera fans tune in tomorrow, but she never really understood the power of a cliffhanger until she was faced with one of her own. Shortly after Random House purchased her glorious Southern gothic, The Three Miss Margarets (in bookstores now), the actress-turned-author found herself on pins and needles, desperate to find out what happens next. Would critics like it? Would readers buy it? And what would she do if they didn't? "I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop," she admits to TV Guide Online. "But I'm trying not to. This whole process has been so blessed so far that I find myself feeling almost  I'm afraid to say it  confident. And that really scares the hell out of me. If I think things will work out, the universe is sure to strike me with permanent writer's block." Of course, Shaffer is just being dramatic, worrying so. After all, i

Fri, Apr 4, 2003

Freddy vs. Jason Victim Spills Her Guts

For years now, the prospect of a monster mash between the psychotic cut-ups from A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th has had horror buffs seeing red  or at least hoping to. Unfortunately, despite the sharp eye of Ronny Yu, the director who cleverly resurrected the Child's Play series with Bride of Chucky, word from the Freddy vs. Jason set is that the franchises' merger (due in theaters June 13) is a gory but, figuratively speaking, bloodless affair. "I hate to say it, but I was really expecting a little bit more," admits nubile victim Katharine Isabelle, a veteran of the

Wed, Apr 2, 2003

Meet Hollywood's New It Guy

Be afraid, David E. Kelley. Be very afraid. Out of Harvard for just five years, playwright Samuel Baum already has two series in the works  and, just for good measure, a feature film, too. First up for the scribe  a handsome palooka who looks like he ought to be auditioning to play bashful hunks on Aaron Spelling soaps  is the WB's youthful MacGyver update, with Gilmore Girls sweetheart Jared Padalecki as Clay, the nephew of Richard Dean Anderson's character from ABC's 1985-92 hit, and original executive producer Henry Winkler on board once again. "It's been an excruciating writing process for me," Baum tells TV Guid

Tue, Apr 1, 2003

Political Animals Turn the Oscars Into a Zoo

In a time of war, battles between the rich and famous over little statuettes that justify big paydays and bigger egos seem, to put it mildly, trivial  and Oscar knows it. So, out of respect for the soldiers who are, for better or worse, risking their necks in the Middle East, the producers of last night's 75th Annual Academy Awards ceremony didn't merely trot out the usual who's who of Hollywood stars; instead, they let march a parade of stars and stripes. Right from the kickoff of ABC's three-and-a-half-hour telecast, it was obvious that the colors of the evening would be red, white and blue, not gold. In fact, host Steve Martin began his uproarious opening monologue by observing the steps that execs had taken to irritate the Iraqi forces: "You probably noticed there was no fancy red carpet tonight," he said in his winning, deadpan style. "That'll send 'em a message." Not a moment later, the good-humor man instructed

Mon, Mar 24, 2003

Sopranos Shocker: And Tony Goes to...

If James Gandolfini insists on shaking down HBO for more dough, maybe the cable network ought to just let the Sopranos star go ahead and take a powder. After all, it's not like series leads can't be replaced. (Was anyone but Valerie Harper really sorry when NBC gave Valerie's Family to Sandy Duncan? Didn't think so.) Plus, in the case of an award-winning character like Tony, there would be an impressive mob of actors ready, willing and eager to fill the mafioso's cement shoes. See for yourself  TV Guide Online has assembled a lineup of master thespians who would make fine made men.

Fri, Mar 14, 2003

Buffy Spinoff: Willow the Vampire Slayer?

With Sarah Michelle Gellar preparing to dust her last blood-suckers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Eliza Dushku committed to the Fox pilot Heroine, who ever will protect viewers from things that go bump in the night? Our chosen one is Alyson Hannigan, aka the wickedly funny witch Willow. And series creator Joss Whedon just might agree with us, too. "The concept sounds cool," he admits to TV Guide Online. However, that's not the reason that Whedon is crossing over the powerful wiccan from UPN's Buffy to its sister show on Wednesday's

Thu, Mar 13, 2003

TV Mobster: Gotta Sing!

Most Mob bosses would sooner slit their throats than break into song. But now that NBC's edgy miniseries Kingpin has put its lead tough guy, Yancey Arias, on Hollywood's Most Wanted list, he hopes to use his raised profile to cut in on the movie-musical movement that has filmgoers humming all the way to the popcorn stand. "I'd love to do a remake of West Side Story in which a Latino is [the traditionally white-bread] Tony," says the native New Yorker, a veteran of Broadway's The Wild Party, with Toni Collette and Eartha Kitt. "That would be quite an event, making it with a different racial background." The six-ye

Fri, Mar 7, 2003

Cody Banks Returns Mummy to Multiplex

Arnold Vosloo has high hopes for the spy-kid comedy Agent Cody Banks (hitting theaters March 21), in which he plays a Mohawked villain opposite Malcolm in the Middle's Frankie Muniz and Hilary Duff (Lizzie McGuire). But the down-to-earth South African actor  best known to Stateside audiences as the title monster in The Mummy and its sequel  has no delusions of Oscar. "It's not aspiring to be The Hours or Gangs of New York," he says. "It's the kind of movie where you get a big ol' vat

Tue, Mar 4, 2003

Who Should Get a Surreal Life Sentence?

If you thought the ratings-hungry WB wasn't going to green-light a second season of its pseudocelebrity sleepover sleeper, The Surreal Life, we've got two words for you: Get surreal! Already, producers are casting about for B-listers to fill the bunks left vacant by Corey Feldman, M.C. Hammer, Emmanuel Lewis, Gabrielle Carteris, Brande Roderick, Vince Neil and Jerri Manthey. But before they're finished making their new home, we recommend that they review TV Guide Online's picks to rock the house. Wouldn't you agree? If these fallen stars can't help the network get more out of life, no one can. Michael

Fri, Feb 28, 2003

Rock of Ages at the Grammys

Since Eminem and his fellow enfants terribles rose to prominence in the music biz, one question has been bandied about more than any other: What's the matter with kids today? Yet as far as we could tell from last night's live telecast of the Grammys, the answer is... absolutely nothing. In fact, if you'll join TV Guide Online in reviewing the 45th annual kudofest  in New York for the first time in five years and emcee-free for the first time in eons  we bet you'll agree that, although they're often poorly dressed and worse spoken, the kids are all right. Yep, when the chips were down, they kept up just fine with their elders. Granted, Dustin Hoffman set the bar pretty low for the gray-haired set with his show-opening speech. First, the tongue-tied master thespian cross-pollinated Bruce Springsteen and his E-Street Band by calling everybody's all-American Bruce Springstreet. Then he introduced "Hey Baby" group No Doubt

Mon, Feb 24, 2003

Island Native Hits the Street

If we were ever shipwrecked, we'd want three things: Stoli, digital cable and Dawn Wells  and not necessarily in that order, either. After all, the actress who played castaway Mary Ann on Gilligan's Island not only remains cute as a button at age 64, she's also far more enterprising than the Professor. Today, for instance, in a classic-TV edition of the syndicated game show Street Smarts (check local listings), she quizzes John Q. Public to raise funds for her Film Actor's Boot Camp. Next month, the co-executive producer of Surviving Gilligan's Island unveils her second small-screen tell-all, the fanciful Batman expos&eacute; Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt. And right now, she dives into our rather random questions without ever reaching for a life preserver. So sit right back and you'll read the tale!TV Guide Online:

Fri, Feb 21, 2003

Who Was the Life of the Party?

The WB's almost-all-star Big Brother-meets-Real World hybrid, The Surreal Life, wasn't set up as a competition. However, savvy viewers quickly figured out that the cohabitants had turned the series into a battle royale, the goal of which was to steal the spotlight and extend their 15 minutes of fame. That being the case, who won? As the sleepover sleeper winds up its run tonight at 9 ET, TV Guide Online reviews the goings-on and decides which pseudocelebrity came off the best.Corey Feldman Won points by: Revealing just how tough it was for him to be very young, very rich and very successful. Thanks, man. We needed a good chuckle. Lost points by: Setting back vegetarianism a decade with his hare-brained argument for the cause. Made up our minds by: Talking to his fianc&eacute;e as if she were a dim-witted model or something. Okay, so she is a model. It still wasn't cool, dude. Emmanuel Lewis

Thu, Feb 20, 2003

Catwoman Lets the Fur Fly!

As Nicole Kidman contemplates becoming the next sex kitten to purr-loin the part of Catwoman, she might want to factor into her deliberation a word of warning from Lee Meriwether, the feline femme fatale in the 1966 feature based on ABC's colorful Batman serial: You can take the actress out of the catsuit, but doggone, it ain't easy! "I was not a comfortable puppy!" she exclaims to TV Guide Online. "I left [the form-fitting get-up] on all day and didn't drink many liquids. It was very difficult to sit in, too." Regardless of the costume's constraints, the ageless former Miss America had been eager to suit up once more herself, to join Caped Crusader Adam West and old

Tue, Feb 18, 2003

Lovelorn Losers, It's Your Lucky Day!

Singletons, take heart. You know Sipowicz from NYPD Blue? Yeah, the detective who's more gruff than buff. He's now cohabitating with a graduate of the Supermodel Police Academy. And overly made-up Drew Carey scream queen Mimi? She's married. Married! To a transvestite the size of The Rock, but nonetheless. Same for Frasier priss Niles. (Minus the transvestite part.) Do you know what all this means? That's right, fellow spinsters  if losers like these can get on the scoreboard, there's hope for us all this Valentine's Day. And, to prove it, TV Guide Online has borrowed Cupid's bow and arrow to play matchmaker for a few of the tube's sorriest soloists. Ain't love grand! Clark Kent, Smallville, and Buffy Summers,

Mon, Feb 17, 2003

Lovelorn Losers, It's Your Lucky Day!

Fri, Feb 14, 2003

Confess, Celebrity Mole! Confess!

It's always the quiet ones. Softspoken Celebrity Mole: Hawaii contestant Erik von Detten swears to TV Guide Online that viewers will be "110 percent positively" surprised when the saboteur is unmasked on tomorrow night's finale (at 10 ET on ABC). But us? Eh, not so much. Although the Dinotopia star refuses to spill the beans, our money's still 110 percent positively on him! From the beginning, von Detten's reserved personality made him our primary suspect. However, he argues that next to boisterous competitors like Stephen Baldwin and Corbin Bernsen, Roseanne would've come off

Tue, Feb 11, 2003

MacGyver: Rebirth of a Legend

Most every wannabe action figure in L.A. would kill for the chance to pick up where Richard Dean Anderson left off with MacGyver, ABC's inventive late-'80s adventure series. But how many of them would be willing to die for the opportunity? The WB, which is developing a rejiggered version to focus on Mac's twentysomething nephew Clay, may be about to find out. As auditions get underway, supervising producer and writer Samuel Baum tells TV Guide Online, "We chain each actor individually to a leaky nuclear reactor, furnish them with a paper clip and a fruit cup, and see if they're able to overcome the life-threatening obstacles. Whoever lives, we're going to offer the role to." Which fearless thespians stand a chance of surviving? Here are a few names that we think belong on the short list.

Fri, Feb 7, 2003

Joe Millionaire's Unhappy Ending

Joe Millionaire butler Paul Hogan would sooner serve white wine with steak than reveal which of Evan Marriott's wannabe wives winds up wearing the noufaux riche construction worker's engagement ring. But he will disclose who didn't see any action at all during the taping of the Fox smash: him! "Fancy being at a French chateau for [a month] with 20 women and not being slipped a single number!" he exclaims to TV Guide Online in mock humiliation. (In the interest of full disclosure, it must be noted that Hogan did attract at least one admirer. "Paul is very charming," admits Melissa Jo "MoJo" Hunter. "If he was a little bit younger, we could have had a whole other show!") Truth be told, the distinguished major-domo wasn't terribly broken up that he didn't land a lass of his own. "It would have been nice, I suppose, but my old man always told me, 'Never get your meat where you buy your bread,'" he says, chuc

Fri, Feb 7, 2003

Kingpin the Heir to Tony Soprano's Throne?

Sopranos fans who sample the premiere of NBC's Kingpin (Sunday at 10 pm/ET) expecting the crime-family serial to be a Latin-flavored rehash of HBO's Mob hit can just fughedaboudit. Although the new drama features onetime Sopranos guest star Yancey Arias in the lead role of ambivalent drug czar Miguel Cadena, and is directed by frequent Sopranos helmer Allen Coulter, its twice-told tale owes no greater debt to Big Pussy than it does to the Bard. "We all love The Sopranos, but Kingpin is more like The Godfather meets Traffic with a little bit of Shakespeare added," Arias suggests to TV Guide Online. "It's a different show altogether. "When you first met Tony Soprano

Fri, Jan 31, 2003

The Battle Over Galactica Update

Now this is boldly going. Not only is the Sci Fi Channel mounting a lavish remake of Battlestar Galactica, but the cable network is trying to do so without the aura of doom and gloom that hung over ABC's 1978-80 series like a dark cloud. "We're going for a very stylistic, non-apocalyptic look," Sci Fi prez Bonnie Hammer tells TV Guide Online. "It isn't going to be that kind of grey battleship again, and it isn't going to be Star Trek-y, either." For that matter, neither is the update going to spotlight leading men who are quite as long in the tooth as the original's Lorne Greene. Rather, says Hammer, Sci Fi's Battlestar will be "much more human and a bit younger. It's going to have a different kind of style and sensibility." In other words, the show will set its phasers on "fun" and try to cast the next

Wed, Jan 29, 2003

The Mummy Returns!

After playing the title role in The Mummy and its sequel, Arnold Vosloo had just about had it with sarcophagi and sand crabs. But when he tried to turn down an offer to join the cast of Veritas: The Quest, ABC's high-tech riff on Indiana Jones-type adventurers, he was told in no uncertain terms to sphinx again. "My agent said, 'This show is exactly what you need to do,'" he relates to TV Guide Online. "'Half — no, 90 percent — of America thinks you're running around Egypt in a loincloth! They don't even know you speak English!'" So, back into the catacombs marched the actor, his enthusiasm renewed for bringing to life tales from the crypt. And if he hasn't given his rep a sizeable bonus, he ought to: In Vincent Siminou, the strong, silent sidekick of a rugged archaeologist (

Mon, Jan 27, 2003