mark.nollinger

Annette Bening Is a Real Lady Killer

News flash: Annette Bening has once again fallen in love with a charming, wealthy older man who has a reputation for being a bit of a Casanova. But unlike the story of Bening's real-life romance — her marriage to Warren Beatty has been going strong for nearly 14 years now — there's no happy ending for the character the Oscar-nominated actress plays in HBO's Mrs. Harris (premiering Feb. 25 at 8 pm/ET). Inspired by Shana Alexander's best-selling book Very Much a Lady, the movie explores the sensational 1980 murder scandal involving Jean Harris, the middle-aged headmistress of an exclusive girls' boarding school who shot and killed her longti

Thu, Feb 23, 2006

Revelations Secrets Revealed!

The End may be near, but with three episodes to go, NBC's creepy hit miniseries Revelations still offers more questions than answers. Where is the "miracle child"? Is he really Christ returned to Earth — or the Devil incarnate? And how can Dr. Massey (Bill Pullman) and Sister Josepha (Natascha McElhone) possibly hope to prevent the Apocalypse? What we know so far: After being rescued at sea, the miracle child was taken by a mysterious priest. Massey and Sister Jo found the child's mother in an Italian psychiatric hospital and came away believing her story of virgin birth. Meanwhile, Satanists have kidnapped Massey's stepson Hawk. Their jailed leader, Isaiah Haden (Michael Massee), used astral projection to locate the convent where the nuns are hiding Olivia, the comatose girl who quotes scripture in Latin. What's up next: Spoiler alert! Next week, Massey tracks down an ex-Satanist who reveals the terrible fate

Wed, May 4, 2005

Math Whiz Crunches TV's Numbers

Though they look like scribble-scrabble to the uninitiated, the equations Charlie Eppes (David Krumholtz) solves on CBS' FBI crime-drama Numbers are real. Mathematician Gary Lorden makes sure of it. Lorden, the chair of the math department at the California Institute of Technology, supplies the show's writers with numerical concepts. He also reads the scripts to make sure the terminology — and the way the show uses math to solve crimes — add up. "[I] write equations whose logic is pretty clear," says Lorden, 63. "So somebody who is technically sophisticated wouldn't cringe if they saw it. But it's a challenge to say stuff that's not misrepresentative from a mathematician's point of view and is still meaningful dramatically. Occasionally, Charlie will explain something in two lines that would take me 10 minutes in a lecture!" As an accomplished Caltech professor, Lorden

Wed, Apr 27, 2005

Leif Garrett's Teen Steam

The 1975 television drama Three for the Road, in which 13-year-old Leif Garrett played the son of a widower, lasted barely half a season. But that was long enough to jump-start his hot run as a '70s cover boy — and land him the No. 13 spot on TV Guide's 25 Greatest Teen Idols list. Smitten teenyboppers deluged the androgynous blond with so much mail that he was offered a recording contract — despite his lack of musical training. Garrett ultimately sold millions of records like Feel the Need, performing concerts before fans so frenzied that, at one point, his manager insisted he ride in an armored car for his own safety. "It was all so surreal," says Garrett, who's now 43 and still plugging away at his once glorious music career. "But I would do it over again." For more memorable dish about TV's 25 Greatest Teen Idols, visit our special feature and pick up the Jan. 23 issue of TV Guide

Thu, Jan 27, 2005