michael.ausiello

Question: I love your column ...

Question: I love your column and read it every day. I think you would have made a great replacement for Craig Kilborn. I would love to see you do an "Entertainment News" section on the TV Guide Channel. Any chance of that happening?  Lian Ausiello: Officially, I have no comment. Off the record, I can say that "there have been some very preliminary discussions." But please, don't quote me on that. And if you do, please attribute it to "a source close to TV Guide."

Wed, Oct 6, 2004

Question: Just wanted to let ...

Question: Just wanted to let you know that you make me laugh every day! I read your column religiously. It always seems to perk me right up! Thanks for making my day, again and again!  Jess Ausiello: Thanks, Gram, er, I mean Jess!

Wed, Oct 6, 2004

Question: Is The West Wing ...

Question: Is The West Wing going to get better again?  Teddy and Ella May Ausiello: Sadly, all signs point to no.

Wed, Oct 6, 2004

Question: I know where John ...

Question: I know where John Belushi is these days, but what about all of the other actors from Animal House? Like Tom Hulce, Tim Matheson, Karen Allen, Peter Riegert et al.?  Beverley Ausiello: National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) may be a slob comedy, but it's the &#252ber-slob comedy and director John Landis assembled a flat-out astonishing cast. John Belushi is, of course, no longer with us, but most of the rest of the film's principal players have prospered. Let's start with Tom Hulce and Stephen Furst. who played hapless freshmen Pinto and Flounder, the newest pledges at the raucous Delta House, where they get a hell of an education. Hulce's mo

Thu, Sep 30, 2004

Question: I just saw a ...

Question: I just saw a thriller with Meg Ryan on TV; I stumbled onto the movie after it started and fell asleep prior to its conclusion, but I want to know how it turns out. Ryan and her sister live in an apartment together and there's a scene where she's remembering a childhood story her mother told her. Her sister is very loose sexually and Ryan ends up dating this police detective and having a steamy bedroom scene. Please let me know the title!  Bill Ausiello: You stumbled onto In the Cut (2003), based on the literary thriller by Susanna Moore and starring Meg Ryan and Jennifer Jason Leigh as troubled half sisters living in New York (though not together). Ryan's character witnesses an incident that may hold the key to a string of vicious murders, and has a torrid affair with the equally troubled det

Thu, Sep 30, 2004

Question: When I was young, I ...

Question: When I was young, I remember watching a scary movie  I think it was made for TV  about a teenager who comes to live with her cousin's relatives on a ranch. She turns out to be a witch and causes trouble in school and with the family and ranch horses react violently to her presence. Do you have any information you could give me about this movie  I cannot remember the name of it for the life of me!  Kristy Ausiello: This sounds to me like the made-for-TV thriller Summer of Fear (1978)  aka Stranger in Our House  directed by Wes Craven and starring The Exorcist's Linda Blair as the bad cousin. Unlike many television movies of the 1970s, it's available on DVD from Lionsgate/20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

Thu, Sep 30, 2004

Question: Did Barry Bostwick ...

Question: Question: Did Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon do their own singing in The Rocky Horror Picture Show? If they did, it doesn't sound like them on the soundtrack. — Monson Ausiello: Future TV-movie king Barry Bostwick and ingenue Susan Sarandon both did their own vocals for The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The 28-year-old Bostwick had song and dance training and plenty of stage musical experience; two years before doing Rocky Horror he was nominated for a Tony Award for playing Danny Zuko in Grease. Sarandon, by contrast, was a nonsinger and petrified, especially because most of the other cast members had already done the show on stage. In a 1999 interview with England's The Guardian, she recalled, "I always had a real terror of singing... My dad

Thu, Sep 30, 2004

Question: I'm just wondering ...

Question: I'm just wondering whether you have any info on an upcoming Pixar animated feature called Cars? I'm really looking forward to The Incredibles, but since I'm a bit of a closet petrol head my interest was piqued by murky news of Cars. Is Paul Newman really set to "star"?  Cam Ausiello: Pixar is currently in production on Cars, which is described as "a high-octane adventure comedy that features a wide assortment of autos as characters who get their kicks on Route 66." The voice cast is indeed toplined by Paul Newman, a longtime racing buff, and includes Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt and NASCAR veteran Richard Petty. The film is scheduled for a November 2005 release, and as part of the deal with Newman, Disney and Pixar sponsored his Porsche in the 2004 Rolex 24 race at Daytona Racetrack.

Thu, Sep 30, 2004

Question: I swear I've seen a ...

Question: I swear I've seen a movie involving David Hasselhoff and Jack the Ripper, but my movie-major friend insists it's a bad dream. Who's right?  Russell Ausiello: Those movie majors  they think they know everything. You did not dream the 1985 made-for-TV movie Terror at London Bridge (also known as Arizona Ripper and Bridge Across Time), which starred Baywatch star-to-be David Hasselhoff as a modern-day Chicago cop who relocates to Lake Havasu City, Arizona, to escape the stress of big-city policing and finds himself hot on the trail of Springheel Jack. How'd that happen, you may be asking. Well, I'm guessing that screenwriter William F. Nolan ran across the curious bit of information that the 140-year-old London Bridge, in danger of imminent collapse because of ever-increasing traffi

Thu, Sep 30, 2004

Question: A year or two ago I ...

Question: A year or two ago I read in a magazine that Tom Cruise was going to help produce an American version of the Asian movie The Eye, about a blind woman who receives cornea transplants that allow her to see the donor's visions of the dead. The original is one of my favorite movies and I was just wondering whether the remake is still in production.  Kevin Ausiello: The Cruise/Wagner Productions remake of Hong Kong-born, Thai-based brothers Danny and Oxide Pang's The Eye (2002) is still in development at Paramount, but there doesn't seem to have been any progress on the project in some time. If the upcoming American remake of Ju-on (2002) is a huge hit, it will probably spur a scramble to get other remakes of Asian horror pictures into production.

Thu, Sep 30, 2004

Question: I'm trying to ...

Question: I'm trying to remember the name of a movie that I saw a few times during my childhood. I can't even remember the plot, but I'm pretty sure it was made in the early to mid-1980s and it involved twin truck drivers. They were really big, like bodybuilders, and kind of goofy.  Kevan Ausiello: You're looking for Think Big (1990), starring twin bodybuilders David and Peter Paul, who parlayed their brief wrestling fame as The Barbarian Brothers into a short-lived movie career. The brothers recently completed their first film in more than a decade, an independent comedy called Souled Out that's scheduled for a 2005 release. David plays a struggling musician who sells his soul to the Devil  played by Peter  and then tries to get it back with the help of an angel played by

Thu, Sep 30, 2004

Stacie J. to World: ''I'm Not Crazy''

Had Stacie J. consulted her now-infamous Magic 8 Ball before entering Donald Trump's boardroom on last Thursday's Apprentice, it probably would have said, "Signs Point to Unemployment." But the 35-year-old model/Subway franchisee — whose 8-Ball-fueled breakdown freaked out her teammates and led to her firing — isn't about to let a pesky little pink slip get her down. She's too busy fending off accusations that she's loony tunes to worry about that.TV Guide Online: I thought it was really cruel how the girls all ganged up on you in the boardroom.Stacie J: [Sighs] It was terrible. TVGO: That said, your Magic 8-Ball freak-out was a little spooky. What happened?Stacie J: I was trying to motivate my team. It was the end of the task and I was like, "Hey you guys, we won! We won! Come on, get psyched!" I was being a cheerleader for the team. It's like what I do at my store — I own a Subway sandwich s

Tue, Sep 28, 2004

Backstage Scoop at the Emmys

In order for this year's Primetime Emmy Awards to be considered a success, I decided early on that one of three things must happen. The first one is obvious: To hell with the restraining order, I gotta finally meet Mariska Hargitay. Next, I must observe at least one uncomfortable moment between Sex and the City-movie killer Kim Cattrall and her resentful costars, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis. And lastly, and this is a big one, the Academy has to end what's arguably become one of the most egregious snubs in awards show history and hand Scrubs the statuette for best comedy series. What? It wasn't even nominated? Great, I'm 0 and 1 and I haven't even put on my tux yet. Mariska, here I come! 1:15 pm/PST I arrive at the security check-in and there's a homeless man at the front of the line trying to gain access. Ah, Hollywood. 1:16 Wait, that's not a homeless man — it's Garr

Mon, Sep 20, 2004

Scrubs Remembers John Ritter

A year after John Ritter's death, NBC's Scrubs will pay tribute to the late actor next month in an episode that deals with the passing of J.D.'s (Zach Braff) father — a role Ritter originated in 2002. But unlike most sitcom memorials, this one will not be slapped with a VSE (Very Sappy Episode) rating. After all, this is Scrubs we're talking about. "We're not going to be maudlin about it," concedes series creator Bill Lawrence, who says it's unlikely he'll flash back to Ritter's two previous appearances. "[We're doing this] more for us — partly because we wanted to dedicate an episode to John." Lawrence will also use the opportunity to reintroduce J.D.'s brother, played by Ed's Tom Cavanagh. "Elliot (Sarah Chalke) ends up having a fling with him," he previews. "He'll stick around for a couple of episodes." Other Scrubs All-Stars on Lawrence's most-wanted list i

Tue, Sep 14, 2004

Inside Pat O'Brien's World

After seven years at Access Hollywood, Pat O'Brien has taken his hypester act over to Entertainment Tonight's new spin-off, The Insider (debuting tonight; check TV Guide listings). The professional schmoozer took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to give us the scoop on the new gig, his ugly split with Access and a certain farewell e-mail that got leaked to the New York Post. TV Guide Online: How will The Insider be different than, say, the 78 other ET clones on the air?Pat O'Brien: A four-letter word: Time. We'll have more time to do things. Entertainment Tonight will be the record of the day and we'll be able to fill in a lot of blanks. TVGO: Conventional wisdom says that viewers' attention spans are decreasing, though.O'Brien: But their appetite for celebrity news is not. I wouldn't be here if I didn't think it would work. TVGO: What's the

Mon, Sep 13, 2004

Boreanaz Keeps Angel Alive

Rumors that David Boreanaz is not up for an Angel movie are utterly bloodless. The ex-vamp is willing to take another turn at bat, but not on the tube. "It would have to be a theatrical release," he tells TV Guide Online. "I'm not into the movie-of-the-week [idea]." Last month at the Television Critics Association press tour, WB execs remained hopeful that Angel would someday be reborn into a series of small-screen flicks. But network chairman Garth Ancier conceded that it would take "a little coaxing" to get Boreanaz interested. "I know they wanted to do, like, six films," Boreanaz says, "It's not that I'm against it; it just needs to be a bigger challenge. When you do something for five seasons, you want to continue to challenge yourself... go to another level with it rather than just doing the same thing you've been doing." With that in mind, Boreanaz recently shot the title role in the big-screen comedy

Wed, Aug 18, 2004

Scott Wolf: Life After Bailey

If you're an Everwood fan, you've probably heard that Party of Five's Scott Wolf is joining the cast this fall as Dr. Jake Hartman, a hotshot physician who makes a play for Dr. Brown's (Treat Williams) clients. Well, before you could say, "You're a thief and a liar and a drunk!" TV Guide Online rang up the artist forever immortalized as Bailey to get the scoop on his Everwood character, married life and those baby rumors that started, well, just this second!TV Guide Online: Congrats on the new gig. What have they told you about the character?Scott Wolf: Not a ton. I do know that I'm going to be playing a doctor who comes to town and sets up shop in the now-abandoned medical practice across the way. The tension that got relieved by [Abbott and Andy] partnering up takes a new shape when this new guy comes to town and starts to draw a bunch of their business away. TVGO: It's those dimples — they're hypnotic!Wolf:

Mon, Aug 9, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day Nine

In case you didn't notice, it's no longer cool to make fun of UPN. Not only did the sixth-place network break through last season with the proud strut of America's Next Top Model, but it's entering the fall with one of the most critically acclaimed new shows of the season: the Taye Diggs legal drama Kevin Hill. And for the first time ever, folks are buzzing about UPN's summer programming — specifically, the controversial reality show Amish in the City (debuting July 28). So, when UPN wrapped up the broadcast portion of the TCA press tour Tuesday, it displayed a level of confidence not seen since the summer of 2001 — when it stole Buffy the Vampire Slayer right out from under crosstown rival WB. Don't believe me? Well, read my minute-by-minute guide to all the day's big events and you may never take a potshot at the little network that couldn't again.EXECUTIVE SESSION9:12 am Viacom chief Les Moonves

Wed, Jul 21, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day Eight

With only two days to go, I can finally see the light at the end of the press-tour tunnel. CBS concluded its TCA stint Monday with a panel for Jason Alexander's new sitcom, Listen Up, and a Q&A with four of the original writers from the soon-to-depart Everybody Loves Raymond. There was also a session with Dr. Phil for his upcoming prime-time special, but, well, let's just say I had to miss that due to a "dental emergency." BREAKFAST WITH PAT O'BRIEN9:03 am Dang it. The gift shop at the St. Regis is out of Balance bars and I'm really hungry. I bet the Century Plaza next door will have some. 9:06 As I approach the hotel's front entrance, I spot former Access Hollywood anchor Pat O'Brien sitting all alone behind a fold-up table. Is he registering people to vote? Is he selling lemonade? What in God's name is he doing!?!? 9:06:30 Oh, wait: He's here to promote his upcomin

Tue, Jul 20, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day Seven

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: Thank God for Les Moonves. Just as press tour's big reality-cloning controversy was beginning to lose steam, Viacom's iron-fisted dictator stepped in late last week and fired two disgruntled CSI cast members amid a contract dispute. The move not only gave critics something to buzz about besides dueling boxing shows and crappy elevator service, but it ensured that CBS's press-tour debut on Sunday would be Must-See TCA. Of course, I would have showed up no matter what — if only to get Moonves to explain how the wretched John Goodman sitcom Center of the Universe made it onto the network's fall lineup. And to thank him for the Snapple, of course.EXECUTIVE SESSION9:11 am CBS kicks things off on a defiant note by replaying a controversial short film it produced for last May's Upfront in which a cab

Mon, Jul 19, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day Six

We interrupt this portion of the TCA press tour to bring you the showdown of the TV season! In one corner, we have Gail Berman, Fox's embattled entertainment president. In the other, we have 300 rabid, keyed-up television critics, many of whom have been waiting days to confront Berman about accusations that her network is a bottom-feeding copycat that does nothing but steal its rivals' ideas (i.e. ABC's Wife Swap and NBC's The Contender). What's at stake? The very honor of the Fox Broadcasting Company and the future of such alleged rip-offs as Trading Spouses and The Next Great Champ. Here's your ringside seat to all the action:EXECUTIVE SESSION9 am Fox, knowing full well that a good boxing match is nothing without treats, has an impressive assortment of nuts and candies waiting for the press in the ballroom. I wonder if this is their subtle way of asking us to go soft on Berman. Like

Fri, Jul 16, 2004

Press Tour Diary: Day Five

We're at the midway point of press tour and that can only mean three things: At least half of the journalists here have started recycling their underwear; the backlash against the host hotel has reached a fever pitch; and folks are starting to place bets on which shows are going to be axed first. (My pick? CBS's ghastly John Goodman sitcom Center of the Universe.) Helping TCA members celebrate Hump Day is WB, which previewed its fall schedule Wednesday for the increasingly cranky press corps. Here's a rundown of all the day's memorable moments.WELCOMING REMARKS9:10 Keith Marder, WB's joyfully antagonistic communications director, kicks off the day with his traditional press-tour comedy routine. First up is a joke about former WB chief Jordan Levin, who Marder says left the network to figure out who starred "in the reality version of Crossing Jordan." It bombs, but he assures us, "It will get better." 9:11

Thu, Jul 15, 2004