ben.katner

Splitting Hairs with an '80s Trendsetter

Today, New Wave hitmakers Berlin are fondly remembered for whizz-bang synth-pop chart-toppers like "No More Words" and the Top Gun love theme "Take My Breath Away." But back in the 1980s, the group was as widely recognized for lead singer Terri Nunn's wild mane as her powerful voice. Shortly after MTV made a visual medium of music, the sometime actress perfected the look that would become her trademark: black-tipped platinum-blonde locks. "The black-and-white [style] was really cool — until my hair gave out on me and said '[Bleep] you!' and fell out," she tells TV Guide Online with a laugh. "It couldn't take all that bleach anymore. "But in the beginning, wow, what great hair that was," she continues. "It was so easy 'cause my hair hung straight. It had no body to it, so it was the perfect style for me. Let it hang, give it a blunt cut, and stick black on the end of it. It was perfect." Certainly,

Thu, Jan 23, 2003

Gilmore Girls Seeks Top of the Pops

Make room for Daddy! Now that the WB has decided to give Gilmore Girls hottie Milo Ventimiglia his own spinoff, the search is on for a mature looker to play the estranged father of his character, rebellious teen toughie Jess. While the network's taste in baby-faced heartthrobs is unimpeachable — the frog channel has introduced us to a host of prime-time princes, from James Van Der Beek and Scott Speedman to Jason Behr and Chad Michael Murray — when it comes to fathers, we think we kno

Wed, Jan 22, 2003

Golden Globes: Tune In, Party On

The Hollywood elite want Oscars and Emmys for their trophy cases, of course. But when it comes time to actually attend an award show, celebrities eagerly depart for just one: the Golden Globes. And, truth be told, it's also the only black-tie back-slap that we really look forward to watching. As NBC's live broadcast of the 60th annual kudofest reminded us last night, the Foreign Press Association's free-wheeling to-do isn't merely a celebration of the best in film and television, it's a celebration, period — and we all know what that means. Serious actors. Hard liquor. Good times. On the off chance that you had a prior commitment and were forced to tune out, please allow TV Guide Online to fill you in on everything you missed. (Hangover not included.) Meryl Streep skipped from the loo. Well, it sure seemed that way. When the flustered

Mon, Jan 20, 2003

Annabelle Gurwitch Makes the Team

Annabelle Gurwitch is not a shrink. Nor is she a scientist, a psychic or even a Sominex addict. Yet the Sci Fi Channel knew at once that she'd be perfect to co-host its risqu&eacute; late-night talk show The Dream Team with Annabelle and Michael (premiering Monday at 11 pm/ET). For Pete's sake, her name's even in the title! "But I have absolutely no qualifications," she tells TV Guide Online. "None whatsoever. I'm just like anybody else out there who's been through a certain amount of therapy, sleeps, has dreams and wonders what the hell they mean!" Ah, that's why Gurwitch was Sci Fi's go-to gal: The onetime Not Necessarily the News correspondent is so witty, she spends her evenings tossing off one-liners instead of counting sheep. For actual interpretations of nocturnal transmissions, Dream Team guests rely on Gurwitch's sidekick, Jungian psychologi

Fri, Jan 17, 2003

Dr. Joyce Brothers Gets Real

Analyze this, Dr. Joyce Brothers: There are currently six — count 'em, six — reality programs on the networks' schedules, and we can't bear to miss a single one. What does that say about us? We've "grown up with television," she tells TV Guide Online. "[You've] grown up spectators to other people... to other people's baseball playing and other people's football playing... " And, for that matter, other people's hot-tub canoodling and beach-blanket bickering. As a result, says the celebrity shrink, "Some [viewers] think that what goes on on television is much more interesting than real life itself. We've grown a whole generation of spectators." Is that all? Well, what if we favor one show over another? Ah, now that's a different story. Since the doctor is in, let the head games begin. If you like Joe Millionaire (Mondays, 9 pm/ET, Fox)... Chances are, you're a Dear John-letter recipient whose wrath rivals that of any wom

Wed, Jan 15, 2003

Mutants and Monsters and Babes... Oh, My!

Good news, guys — we're finally being guaranteed some action! (Sorry, not that kind.) Starting Saturday with Control Factor, a brain-scrambling government-conspiracy thriller starring Firefly roughneck Adam Baldwin and Elizabeth Berkley, the Sci Fi Channel will premiere two high-octane, low-budget original pictures per month on Saturdays at 9 pm/ET. "Sci Fi has always done what we refer to as 'mayhem every seven minutes' — very fast-moving flicks that have aliens, creatures, monsters... any form of threat," network president Bonnie Hammer explains to TV Guide Online. "The movies generally have some moral dilemma involved, but the truth is, they [exist] purely for the sake of the chaos. And we've done extraordinarily well with them." How extraordi

Tue, Jan 14, 2003

Joe Millionaire: What the Butler Saw

Once upon a time, Paul Hogan's closest brush with fame was being confused with the star of Crocodile Dundee. However, since being pressed into service by the Fox hit Joe Millionaire, the merry old Englishman — not to mention his deceitful employer, noufaux riche playboy Evan Marriott — has become a bona fide celebrity. Naturally, now we want to know all about them. But would the genial major-domo tell tales on the erstwhile construction worker and sometime underwear model? Intent on finding out, TV Guide Online got Hogan on the horn, and guess what — the butler did it! TV Guide Online: How did a fine, upstanding gent like yourself get involved in a project like this?Paul Hogan: Just luck, mate. A couple of months ago, I was between jobs, and the president [of the stewards guild] called me up and said, "We've got this gig over in France — a reality program with 20-odd young women.

Mon, Jan 13, 2003

Farscape: Sci Fi's Murder by Numbers?

Since the Sci Fi Channel announced that the 11 new episodes of Farscape that begin airing Friday (at 8 pm/ET) will be the cult hit's last, the critics have spoken, the producers have spoken, and Lord knows, the fans have spoken. (Although Jim Henson Co. is developing a Farscape feature and anime project at starburst speed, and looking into syndication options, alienated viewers are nonetheless calling for a boycott of the cable network that shot down their favorite space opera.) In fact, just about the only entity that hasn't put in its two-cents' worth is Sci Fi... until now, that is. "We really tried to take the high road," says the cabler's president, Bonnie Hammer. "Instead of going out there and in any way belittling our partners, we kind of remained quiet." However, at last she is ready to break her silence and, in an exclusive interview with TV Guide Online, explain why the intergalactic castawa

Tue, Jan 7, 2003

Hairspray: Truly All-American

If imitation is really the sincerest form of flattery, then NBC's sleeper hit American Dreams (Sundays, 8 pm/ET) is paying a doozy of a compliment to Hairspray, the 1988 cult-classic movie that's become the toast of Broadway as a musical. Not only do both have a beat and you can dance to 'em, but their story lines are so similar that Dreams executive producer Dick Clark ought to at least give an "inspired by" credit to Hairspray writer-director John Waters. THE ERAHairspray: Early-1960s Baltimore.American Dreams: Early-1960s Philadelphia. THE HEROINE:Hairspray: Chunky Tracy Turnblad, who defies her mother's wishes to achieve her goal of becoming a dancer on The Corny Collins Show.

Mon, Jan 6, 2003

About Nicholson: You Don't Know Jack

In Hollywood circles, Jack Nicholson is rumored to be as talented in the boudoir as he is on the set. But the fact of the matter is, his reputation as a playboy could be somewhat exaggerated. That's right — though he has been linked romantically with A-list sweethearts from Anjelica Huston to Lara Flynn Boyle, the dirty dawg might actually be a pussycat! Here's how we know: Back when the About Schmidt leading man was shooting a scene for 1997's As Good as It Gets with blonde bombshell Julie Benz (Steven Spielberg's Taken), his true colors showed and — surprise, surprise — they weren't red-light-district crimson. "He didn't hit on me," Benz tells TV Guide Online, sounding for all the world like a high school girl stood up on prom night. "I was very disappointed. I think he thought I was really young." Still, the three-time Oscar winner made quite an impression on the baby-faced starlet

Fri, Jan 3, 2003

O.C. Vixen the Next Katie, Not Tori

Some O.C. cast members would sooner drink Coppertone than hear one more time how much their prime-time soap resembles its Fox forebear, Beverly Hills, 90210. But Rachel Bilson? She isn't one of 'em. "It's so flattering!" the actress exclaims to TV Guide Online. "I grew up on 90210. I was addicted to it!" Just don't call her character, ice princess Summer, the O.C.'s answer to Donna Martin. "I don't want to be the Donna!" she says, mock pouting. "Nothing against Tori Spelling, but Summer affiliates more with Kelly (Jennie Garth) at the beginning of 90210, when she was the BMW-drivin' bad girl. Donna was way more innocent." And the buxom virgin stayed that way for — gulp! — years. "No, no, no, no!" Bilson squeals. "That is not the case with my character at all!" Down the line, however, the L.A. native hopes that her star will align less with sitcom scene-stealer Garth's and more with that of a certa

Wed, Jan 1, 2003

Blair Witch Returns!

When The Blair Witch Project became the monster hit of 1999, Heather Donahue naturally thought she'd be able to write her own ticket in Hollywood. Alas, for a while there, the only ticket she got offered was one straight outta town! "I was sort of counted out before I even had the chance to show up," she tells TV Guide Online. "All my life, I wanted to be an actor, and then all of a sudden, it wasn't entirely clear that anyone was going to let me be an actor... [because the movie's marketing execs] kept telling people that [the thriller's unhappy campers] weren't actors but were really in this [scary] situation. That wound up being very damaging to the cast." Ever since, the University of the Arts (Philadelphia) grad has worked double time to prove that she was more than a contestant in an especially creepy installment of Fear

Mon, Dec 9, 2002

Hollywood's Hottest Couple Comes Clean

Since the dawn of time, we have been fascinated by celebrity couples. George and Gracie. Sonny and Cher. Charles and Diana. Brad and Juliette. Brad and Gwyneth. Brad and Jennifer. We've wished we could know, and have loved, them all. But head and shoulders above these other twosomes stands a one-of-a-kind duo, a seemingly mismatched pair that has beat the odds for more than a quarter of a century, withstanding not only relentless media scrutiny, but also the pressures of his-and-hers showbiz careers that have put them in different parts of the world with startling regularity. How have they managed to succeed where so many of their contemporaries have failed? Here, at last, in an exclusive interview with TV Guide Online, we get the scoop straight from the sweethearts themselves  Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy.TV Guide Online: Since your days as Muppet Show castmates,

Wed, Nov 27, 2002

Buffy Ghost Revisits Old Haunts

Halloween 2002 is dead and buried, but Buffy the Vampire Slayer is still digging up cemetery plots: In tonight's installment (airing at 8 ET on UPN), "polterguest star" Kristine Sutherland returns as Joyce Summers, the dearly departed mother of the Chosen One and her kid sister, Dawn. "It's a very scary episode," the actress tells TV Guide Online. "Something very, very dark and evil takes Dawn for quite a scary ride. In the end, she sort of calls on the forces that love her, and her mother appears." Although Sutherland admits that she was as bummed out as viewers when her beloved character was bumped off back in season five, she has no complaints whatsoever about her alter ego's afterlife. "There are a few frightening images of Joyce after she went to the other side," she reveals, "but it was much better than being in the morgue, let me tell you." What's more, she suspects that there's at least a ghost of a chance th

Tue, Nov 12, 2002

X Sells: Secret Files Up for Grabs

Tired of giving fruitcake and reindeer sweaters for Christmas? Then how about getting a little crazy and leaving an alien fetus under the tree? Or perhaps a blazer dripping with jellied bumblebees? Oh, don't look so shocked  we're not revealing what's on Tim Burton's yuletide wish list, we've just been perusing the items up for bid at Sothebys.com and EntertainmentRarities.com's wild, wild X-Files auction to benefit Hollywood Cinema Production Resources, a nonprofit organization that gives at-risk youngsters an opportunity to break into showbiz. "Fox is a big supporter of the program," EntertainmentRarities.com prez Darren Julien tells TV Guide Online. "They donated us the props that couldn't be reused [and are now on the block]." By the time the bidding closes Friday  leaving plenty of time for preholiday shipping  Julien e

Wed, Oct 30, 2002

Revisiting Dallas: Southfork Role Call

Ever since we caught wind of 20th Century Fox's plans to remake Dallas for the big screen, we haven't been able to stop trying to imagine which wannabe Ewings could possibly fill the Stetsons and cowboy boots of the CBS series' original 1978-91 cast. Who, we wondered, really, truly deserves to take a shot at J.R. Ewing  er, that is, at the role of J.R.? Well, darlin', why don't you just fire up the barbecue, kick back and read on for a spell? TV Guide Online has picked the perfect performers to play not only the oiliest tycoon this side of Kenneth Lay, but his feudin' family, too.George Clooney as J.R.: We always thought there was an inappropriately devilish gleam in ER doc Doug Ross's eye. Plus, casting this matinee idol as the two-timing Texa

Mon, Oct 28, 2002

Supermodel Tyson Joins Hollywood's Boyz Club

Polo uberhunk Tyson Beckford has a message for Tinseltown casting directors: Don't hate me because I'm beautiful. "It's been real hard [making the leap from coverboy to leading man], because all they think is, 'Oh, you're the guy from the magazines,'" he tells TV Guide Online. "They don't think you can do anything else." The 6-foot-2 Adonis hopes to change that perception with his two upcoming big-screen releases, Pandora's Box and Biker Boyz. In the former movie, described as an African-American Fatal Attraction, Beckford plays an ill-fated married man. "My character's wife kills me in order to get my life insurance, which she doesn't get because I didn't sign it over to her," he explains, adding that "the moral to that story is make sure your papers are right before you get married, and don't give her half yet. Give her all the lovin' she need

Tue, Oct 22, 2002

Buffy Star's Dual Life

Think being an apprentice Scooby on Buffy the Vampire Slayer looks like hard work? Try being a rising starlet, says Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays the Chosen One's kid sis Dawn. Not that the just-turned-17-year-old is complaining, of course, but between hitting the books and dusting blood-suckers, she often winds up feeling drained. "It's very strenuous," she admits to TV Guide Online. "I would never deny that it's a lot of things to have on a plate." But she's not griping  no way, no how. She knows that, in these, her formative years, her future as a college coed is at stake as well as her prospects for a longterm showbiz career. "I guess I'm hungry for it  I love to pile a lot of things on," she insists. "I love being in front of the camera, and education is very important to me, too, so I couldn't give either of them up."

Mon, Oct 21, 2002