michael.ausiello
Can you give us any more ...
Question: Can you give us any more scoop on who is going to bite the dust on Las Vegas? Answer: OK, just one more hint and that's it: The actress used to be on Twin Peaks and her name rhymes with Sara Lynn Doyle.
Is Milo Ventimiglia (Jess) ...
Question: Is Milo Ventimiglia (Jess) going to return to Gilmore Girls any time soon? Answer: Let's ask Amy Sherman-Palladino: "I hope so. Milo is taking over the world. He's his own little conglomerate. He has more meetings than I ever had in my whole life. The boy does nothing but take meetings. So, we're just playing it by ear. The door has always been open to Milo and always will be because we just love him to death." I think a lot of it hinges on the success of his WB mid-season drama The Bedford Diaries, which I must get around to watching. THIS JUST IN: Milo has been cast as Sylvester Stallone's grown son in the upcoming sixth Rocky film. For more, click here.
Any scoop on when Desmond is ...
Question: Any scoop on when Desmond is coming back to Lost? Answer: Interestingly, that is the only question Damon and Carlton refused to answer. Hmmmm...
Hey man, I'm still waiting ...
Question: Hey man, I'm still waiting for some news on my favorite undersea adventure, Surface. Answer: Your wait is over, Matt! Daughtery will finally learn who/what is behind the whole critter conspiracy from a chatty Stanford grad who was recruited years ago to work on the top-secret project. Elsewhere, Miles is going to find himself in more hot water when he and a new female friend break into Fort Fisher after hours to play with his little lizard. (Get your mind out of the gutter. This is a family show.)
Is there any truth to the ...
Question: Is there any truth to the rumor that Darren Aronofsky is going to direct an episode of Lost later this season? Answer: It certainly sounded that way when I asked Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse for a preview of the maverick filmmaker's episode during our interview last week. "I think the obvious thing that people are going to think is that he's going to do some big sort of tripped-out heroin thing [with Charlie]," says Damon, referring to Aronofsky's most celebrated work, the 2000 drug-addiction opus, Requiem for a Dream," but that's exactly what we are not going to do." (Who would think that? Oh, right. Me
How about shaking things up a ...
Question: How about shaking things up a bit and talking about something else besides the Gilmore Girls. Like Boston Legal. Answer: Fair enough. Lewiston's alcoholic daughter is going to turn up clean, sober and with child in early '06. And I hear she's still pretty pissed at pops for abandoning her when the going got tough.
Isn't Noah Wyle supposed to ...
Question: Isn't Noah Wyle supposed to do four episodes of ER this year? When is he coming back? Answer: Although nothing's official, look for Dr. Carter to reappear (far, far, far away from County General) in January or February. Speaking of ER, I hear producers are looking for an African-American actress in her fifties (not a typo) to play a no-nonsense ICU doc who butts heads with John Leguizamo's Clemente. (Note to ER's casting director: This role has Anna Maria Horsford written all over it. Trust me.)
How amazing is Everwood this ...
Question: How amazing is Everwood this season? I'm totally in love with Harold and Andy; they're hilarious! Got any new scoop? Answer: I haven't seen it yet, but Matt Roush tells me the Dec. 8 "fall finale" is the best episode of the season. And let me tell you, Matt Roush doesn't often throw around the words "best episode of the season."
Is there any news about Keri ...
Question: Is there any news about Keri Russell starring in a sequel to January's Hallmark movie, The Magic of Ordinary Days? Answer: That's the first I'm hearing of it. Seems a long shot considering she's going directly from Mission: Impossible 3 to the romantic comedy Waitress. She'll play a pregnant waitress who develops an "unlikely relationship" with Firefly stud Nathan Fillion. Curb Your Enthusiasm's Cheryl Hines and Six Feet Under's Jeremy Sisto will costar.
How 'bout a Hurley and Ana ...
Question: How 'bout a Hurley and Ana Lucia romance on Lost? Answer: I'm thinking more along the lines of Rousseau and Ana Lucia, but don't quote me on that.
Now that Abby and Kovac have ...
Question: Now that Abby and Kovac have done the deed on ER, is she going to get pregnant? Answer: I'm pretty sure that question will be answered very soon.
Can we have some House ...
Question: Can we have some House spoilers? Answer: Next week's episode is by far the best of the season — and unlike Matt Roush, I do throw those words around often. But really, it's a triumph on every level — writing, directing, acting, etc. And in terms of how the story unfolds, it's unlike any House episode to date. It centers on an investigation into whether Chase or House may have been responsible for a patient's death and, well, if you remember what exec producer David Shore told me a few weeks back, you can kind of figure out how it ends.
Are you a relative? I'm from ...
Question: Are you a relative? I'm from Belmont, Calif., currently living in Santa Rosa. My dad is Frank Ausiello from Revere, Mass. As far as I know, most Ausiello's in the U.S. are related to us. Answer: Are you seriously the son of Frank Ausiello from Revere, Mass.? If so, you may want to sit down for this: Armand, I am… wow, this is harder than I thought. (Come on, Michael: You can do this.) OK, here it goes: Armand, I am… in no way related to you. Phew. It's finally out there. What a relief! OK, on that note, I gotta go baste my Tofurkey for tomorrow's big meal. Happy Thanksgiving to all you AAdicts. I'd be almost nothing without you. And please be advised, Ask Ausiello will be on hiatus next week due to the holiday. (Just love me.) But to make up for it, the Dec. 7 installment will be extra scoop-filled. I promise. (Just love me.)
When can we expect to see ...
Question: When can we expect to see some Friends on Joey? Answer: Well, it's not Ross or Rachel, but it's probably as close as we're ever going to get: Adam Goldberg — aka Chandler's obsessive roommate, Eddie — will show up in December playing a completely different character: a high-school chum of Joey's named Jimmy. As of now, it's just one episode, but considering the huge twist that's in store for Jimmy, I'm fairly certain we'll be seeing him again.
Did Lara Flynn Boyle want to ...
Question: Did Lara Flynn Boyle want to leave the show? Answer: In a word, no. "She was very upset," says her boss, Gary Scott Thompson. "She enjoyed being here and we enjoyed having her.… This wasn't about her as an actress or as a person. I loved having her here. I thought she was great. Everyone else thought she was, too. It was really about the show and doing something outrageous and unexpected." And what could be more outrageous and unexpected than blowing Monica off the roof of the Montecito and into (SPOILER ALERT) a department-store shoe display? Thompson's got an idea: "She could come back as her twin brother," he says with a laugh, "which is something we talked about."
Need some scoop on The O.C.! ...
Question: Need some scoop on The O.C.! Please. Answer: I hear that little bitch Kaitlin is going to make a play for one of Marissa's main men shortly after returning home. No, not that man — the other one.
Oops! I just called you Matt. ...
Question: Oops! I just called you Matt. Please forgive me. I am a moron of the worst kind! Answer: No worries, Jennifer! It happens all the time! (PS: You are officially dead to me.)
With Michael Vartan filming ...
Question: With Michael Vartan filming his movie in Australia for a few months, do you think there is any chance we will see him on Alias when it comes back from hiatus? I'm hoping for a Syd-Vaughn reunion in the finale. Answer: Let's do the math: Rogue is slated to stop filming in early spring. The Alias finale is slated to start filming in early spring. The flight time from northern Australia to Los Angeles is roughly 16 hours. Add it all up and what do you get? Michael Vartan in the Alias finale. Just a hunch.
Could you have overhyped Lara ...
Question: Could you have overhyped Lara Flynn Boyle's death scene on Las Vegas any more? That in no way compared to Rosalind Shays' shafting on L.A. Law.Answer: Technically speaking, it was exec producer Gary Scott Thompson who did the hyping. I merely provided him the forum to do it in. That said, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I, too, was a little let down by Monica's big blow-off. It sounded much better on paper than it looked on-screen. And the cheesy 1970s Superman special effects didn't really help matters. That said, on a purely camp level, it was pretty damn funny watching an actress who has spent much of her career deflecting anorexia rumors get swept off her feet by a gust of wind.
Any scoop, poop, spoilers or ...
Question: Any scoop, poop, spoilers or skinny on Battlestar Galactica? Answer: As I teased last week, there'll be a big shake-up in the chain of command when the show returns in January, beginning with Starbuck's promotion to captain. (That's right, Apollo will now be reporting to Starbuck. Good times.) Also, we're going to get a closer look at Cylon life and the "resurrection" process and we'll see more of Roslin's prepresidential life.
You are a television addict's ...
Question: You are a television addict's smack. I humbly bow and give thanks for your awesome Lost gift last week. Now, any scoop on James Marsters' deal with Smallville? Answer: I've never been called a smack before. Hack, yes, but not smack. Regarding Mr. Marsters, as I reported in Entertainment News on Monday, he landed a starring role in Shadow Puppets, a direct-to-DVD spooker that sounds an awful lot like Saw. It's about four people who wake up in an abandoned asylum without any prior memories or knowledge of their whereabouts. They soon discover that they were subjects of an experiment — an experiment gone haywire. Tony Todd (Candyman) and Jolene Blalock (Enterprise) costar. The shoot is expected to last five weeks, after which Jimmy is expected to