TV Guide Author: michael.ausiello

Curses! Emmy Bites Buffy Again!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer has always waged an uphill battle for Emmy recognition. But now, not only does the UPN sleeper have to convince members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences that it's more than a freak show about vampires and demons and ghouls (oh my!), it apparently must also remind the Academy that it even exists! When ATAS sent out nomination ballots earlier this month, there was a glaring omission in the list of potential contenders in the drama writing category: Buffy's sublime musical episode, "Once More with Feeling," penned  punch lines, lyrics and all  by series creator Joss Whedon. What the hellmouth is going on here? Human error was apparently to blame, but an ATAS spokesperson insists the problem has since been resolved. "We sent out a notification to the voters, which allowe

Wed, Jun 26, 2002

American Idol Host: "I'm Straight!"

What's a surefire sign that you've made it in Hollywood? People start whispering that you're gay! Of course, you don't have to tell that to Brian Dunkleman, co-host of Fox's summer smash American Idol. Ever since the show debuted earlier this month, fans have been speculating via the Internet about which gender the comic-actor fancies. Further inflaming the debate: Dunkleman's decision not to discuss his personal life with the media. That is, until now... "I have a girlfriend and I've been with her for a year," the 30-year-old attests to TV Guide Online. "But she doesn't want to be involved with this. We want to have our lives, and when I go to work, it's something completely different. "Everybody who knows me, knows who I am  knows what kind of guy I am," he adds of the gay chatter, which has also enveloped co-host Ryan Seacrest. "Anyone else? I don't really care." Well, that's not entirely true. During a recent trip onl

Tue, Jun 25, 2002

Meet Minority Report's Real Star

If there's any justice in the world, acting vet Lois Smith will receive her first Oscar nomination next year for her sublimely wicked supporting turn in Steven Spielberg's thrilling futuristic cautionary tale Minority Report. Although she's only in one scene of the film, it's certainly a memorable one: Attempting to solve the mystery surrounding the pre-crime program, Tom Cruise tracks down Dr. Iris Hineman (Smith)  the eccentric old woman behind the revolutionary system. The duo's ensuing cat-and-mouse game is as tense as it is entertaining  mostly thanks to Smith, who caps off the sequence by forceably grabbing Cruise and smooching him! "He's a good kisser," t

Mon, Jun 24, 2002

The Sept. 11 Parallel "Nobody Noticed"

We know the ratings for Fox's short-lived X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen were bad, but this is ridiculous. Six months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks  March 4, 2001, to be exact  Gunmen premiered with an episode featuring a terrorist plot to fly a commercial airliner into the World Trade Center. The climactic sequence actually shows the plane heading into one of the Twin Towers, but at the last minute, it's pulled upward and just misses the building. Shockingly, this horrifying bit of foreshadowing was never widely reported until Thursday, when industry newsletter The Myers Report broke the story. How is it that virtually no one remembered this post 9/11? "I know! That's what I've been wondering," marvels Frank Spotni

Fri, Jun 21, 2002

The Sept. 11 Parallel "Nobody Noticed"

We know the ratings for Fox's short-lived X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen were bad, but this is ridiculous. Six months before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks  March 4, 2001, to be exact  Gunmen premiered with an episode featuring a terrorist plot to fly a commercial airliner into the World Trade Center. The climactic sequence actually shows the plane heading into one of the Twin Towers, but at the last minute, it's pulled upward and just misses the building. Shockingly, this horrifying bit of foreshadowing was never widely reported until Thursday, when industry newsletter The Myers Report broke the story. How is it that virtually no one remembered this post 9/11? "I know! That's what I've been wondering," marvels Frank Spotni

Fri, Jun 21, 2002

Seven Silly Questions for Anthony Michael Hall

Former Brat Packer Anthony Michael Hall appears to have a hit on his hands with USA Network's Stephen King-inspired thriller The Dead Zone. Sunday's season premiere broke cable records by attracting 6.4 million viewers  far exceeding the network's expectations. So, what better way to celebrate the actor's umpteenth comeback than with a bunch of random questions. TVGO: Has your dancing improved since Sixteen Candles? Hall: Yes, thankfully. TVGO: You played Winona Ryder's boyfriend in Edward Scissorhands. Looking back, were there ever any possessions you couldn't account for during filming? Hall: (Laughing) My wardrobe was missing one day out of my trailer. No, I'm kidding, but let's pri

Wed, Jun 19, 2002

Life Star's Juicy Tell-All

Although Megyn Price is no Hollywood madam, the script for the one-woman show she's developing has L.A.'s leading men sweating harder than they have since Heidi Fleiss's little black book made big headlines. In the autobiographical project about her wild and crazy days as a bachelorette, the sexy, scene-stealing mom on Fox's Grounded for Life tells all about her famous exes... well, almost. "I'm naming no names," the actress tells TV Guide Online. "They will all be named different, fictional names like Stinky Guy, Homeless Guy, Liar Guy and Hairy Guy. I can't name names because I could be sued!" Price says a close call on Late Night with Conan O'Brien  when one former beau nearly exposed their fling on-air  led h

Wed, Jun 19, 2002

Julia Roberts's Mystic Pizza Reunion

Hollywood superstar or not, Julia Roberts isn't forgetting the little people. The Oscar winner recently was spotted at a Los Angeles-area youth basketball game on the arm of steady beau Daniel Moder. Apparently, Moder's nephew plays on one of the local co-ed teams, and Roberts was there to help cheer on the aspiring Kobe Bryant. But it wasn't a member of the paparazzi who blew the erstwhile Pretty Woman's cover  it was her former Mystic Pizza co-star William R. Moses, whose 9-year-old daughter, Remi (with ex-wife Tracy Nelson), plays for the opposing team. "I'm the assistant coach and I was sitting there, and I look across [the court] and Juli

Tue, Jun 18, 2002

Witchblade Hunk Welcomes Back Yancy

Life is getting back to normal on the set of the TNT drama Witchblade now that leading lady Yancy Butler has returned from alcohol rehab. "She's kicking ass," co-star Will Yun Lee reports to TV Guide Online. "She's so awesome. She looks great. It's great to have the family back." Production on Witchblade  which kicks off its second season Sunday at 8 pm/ET  was temporarily halted last month due to Butler's troubles. "Life happens," says Lee, who plays Butler's resurrected partner on the show. Asked whether he had any inkling of his co-star's drinking problem, he remains coy: "I was [in] England when all this went down, so I didn't really see too much of it." The 27-year-old hottie  chosen as one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People  was

Fri, Jun 14, 2002

Seven Silly Questions for Leonard Maltin

For once, it's not all about Mary Hart's legs. Entertainment Tonight film buff Leonard Maltin is celebrating his 20th anniversary with the syndicated newsmagazine, and what better way to commemorate the occasion than with a bunch of random questions. TVGO: Did you ever pan a movie that was actually pretty good just because you were having a cranky day? Maltin: Not that I'm aware of. I've never knowingly done that, let's put it that way. TVGO: Did you ever have any desire to follow in Roger Ebert's footsteps and make a movie of your own? Maltin: Long ago, I did. The problem I had then was that all my ideas were on a scale that I couldn't accomplish. Many years ago, a friend of mine convinced me that we should try sell

Fri, Jun 14, 2002

All-Star Survivor Scoop!

Survivor fans anxious to see former castaways Susan Hawk and Jerri Manthey claw each other's eyes out will have to cool their heels for at least another year. The much-talked-about championship edition  pitting the franchise's biggest stars against one another  won't happen until fall 2003 at the earliest. According to CBS rep Chris Ender, a regular "average Joe" installment  not the all-star version  will follow Survivor: Thailand in the spring. "Survivor 6 will [feature] regular, soon-to-be-discovered Americans," he tells TV Guide Online. "The all-star Survivor is something that we're very interested in pursuing in the future  we're just not certain at this point when we're going to do it." That said, Ender confirms that recruiting Richard, Tina, Colby, Rudy and Co. in time for next season was under consideration. The advantages for CBS are obvious: Sur

Thu, Jun 13, 2002

NYPD Blue Star Bares All

Good news for NYPD Blue's Dennis Franz. The Emmy-winning actor won't have to adjust to yet another new partner when his venerable ABC cop show kicks off its 10th season this fall  sidekick No. 4, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, says he'd have to be dragged off in handcuffs before he'd bolt the 15th Precinct. In fact, unlike the rest of the jaded TV community, the former child star is anxious for his two-month summer hiatus to end. "I can't wait to go back to work because I enjoy myself so much," he tells TV Guide Online. "It's so satisfying because I get to go to work every day wanting to go to work. It's a lot easier for an actor to come on to a good show like NYPD Blue than it is to come on to some of the other [shows] that I've done." Well, at least o

Fri, Jun 7, 2002

CNN to Snag Another Blue Babe?

The news bug that NYPD Blue castmember-turned-anchor Andrea Thompson caught is apparently contagious. Current Blue star Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon  who plays ADA Valerie Heywood  confesses that she's jonesing for a career in journalism, too. "I always wanted to be a reporter," she tells TV Guide Online. "That didn't happen, but that's always been what I wanted to do." As a fellow news-lovin' thesp, Beauvais-Nilon cops to harboring a little bias toward Thompson  who raised eyebrows when she was tapped by CNN last year to anchor its newly-revamped Headline News despite her limited broadcasting experience. Critics groaned that she landed the high-profile gig because of her notoriety, not talent. "Honestly, of course [the recognition factor]

Wed, Jun 5, 2002

Michael Chiklis: Emmy Long Shot?

With Sopranos kingpin James Gandolfini ineligible for Emmy consideration this year, we've got just the candidate to fill the best actor race's token creep-with-a-conscience slot: Michael Chiklis, who plays rogue cop Vic Mackey on FX's acclaimed serial thriller The Shield. For his part, Chiklis admits he's more than happy to invade Tony Soprano's turf. "I've always been a person to honestly say, 'Oh, I never think about that,'" he tells TV Guide Online. "But in this case, it would be great. I would love to see that happen  I'd be a liar if I didn't say that." However, as a realist, the 38-year-old actor knows the TV Academy is typically slow to recognize new programs &#15

Tue, Jun 4, 2002

Steven Bochco's Philly Postmortem

Given the uphill battle ABC faces next season to win back viewers, the network's decision to ax Kim Delaney's promising legal drama Philly seemed rather odd. After all, the freshman series  from producer Steven Bochco  had begun to show signs of life creatively and ratings-wise. "We would have loved to have a second season," Bochco admits to TV Guide Online. "I think we all felt that we had matured the show and really focused it and sharpened it and made it a better show than that which we started with. "I think we all felt that we had some really interesting ideas for next season," he adds, "and we felt we had developed a really strong, loyal core audience." That core audience no doubt tuned in to last night's series finale  despite the fact that i

Wed, May 29, 2002

Emmy Whacks The Sopranos

The absence of The Sopranos from this year's Emmy derby extends to members of the voting Academy an offer they can't refuse: Look harder to find new nominees... or else! Since Emmy rules state that only programs airing between June 2001 and May 2002 are eligible, HBO's mob hit  which saw its fourth season delayed until September  is out of the running. And if you go by the show's 2001 haul, a whopping 22 drama slots suddenly are up for grabs. (Ballots are mailed the week of June 3; nominations are announced July 18.) "It'll force the Academy to cast a wider net," offers Cynthia Littleton of The Hollywood Reporter. Adds John Wells, producer of NBC's ER, The West Wing and Third Watch

Tue, May 28, 2002

Is Survivor's New Winner Anti-Gay?

Now it's starting to make sense. If you detected a little tension between emcee Rosie O'Donnell and Survivor: Marquesas winner Vecepia "Vee" Towery on Sunday night's post-finale reunion show, there may be good reason. While Towery  a fundamentalist Christian  may think God is great, it seems she has a different opinion when it comes to gays. As the 36-year-old office manager explains to TV Guide Online, she and openly gay contestant John Carroll had a sexual orientation showdown of sorts while playing Survivor. "John told me, 'You realize that I'm openly gay.' And I said, 'Yeah, I kind of figured that. But I have to be honest, based on my spiritual beliefs, I don't agree with the lifestyle. But you, as a person, I have nothing against.'" Towery  who confesses to having a stepsister who is

Mon, May 27, 2002

Is Survivor's New Winner Anti-Gay?

Now it's starting to make sense. If you detected a little tension between emcee Rosie O'Donnell and Survivor: Marquesas winner Vecepia "Vee" Towery on Sunday night's post-finale reunion show, there may be good reason. While Towery  a fundamentalist Christian  may think God is great, it seems she has a different opinion when it comes to gays. As the 36-year-old office manager explains to TV Guide Online, she and openly gay contestant John Carroll had a sexual orientation showdown of sorts while playing Survivor. "John told me, 'You realize that I'm openly gay.' And I said, 'Yeah, I kind of figured that. But I have to be honest, based on my spiritual beliefs, I don't agree with the lifestyle. But you, as a person, I have nothing against.'" Towery  who confesses to having a stepsister who is

Fri, May 24, 2002

NYPD Blue's Arresting Love Story

Love it or hate it, the unlikely NYPD Blue romance between Dennis Franz's Andy Sipowicz and Charlotte Ross's much-younger (and prettier) Connie McDowell has people once again buzzing about ABC's nine-year-old cop drama. And judging by the show's solid ratings performance this season  which concludes with tonight's two-hour finale (9-11 pm/ET)  the controverisal couple is winning over viewers as well as each other. "Not to pat myself on the back, but it was my idea [to pair them up]," exec producer Steven Bochco tells TV Guide Online, "and there was an awful lot of resistance to it [from fellow Blue producers]. But I persisted, and since I'm the boss, they had no choice." Initially, Boch

Tue, May 21, 2002

For Sale: Rich Hatch's Crib

Turns out, Richard Hatch's ego is the size of a house. The ex-Survivor champ has put his infamous Middletown, R.I., mansion on the market for a head-swelling $1.25 million  more than nine times what he paid for it in 1998. Granted, Hatch transformed the '50s-era pad into a sprawling 3,520-square-foot island retreat that now boasts six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a 12-person hot tub, an outdoor kitchen and a full "in-law" apartment (for Rudy, maybe?). But the 41-year-old schemer seems to have forgotten that in the real estate game, it's all about location, location, location. "He's done a beautiful job remodeling, but unfortunately, he's surrounded by $225,000 to $500,000 homes," says one local broker. "It's probably worth every penny that he's asking, but not in that area." Sounds like Hatch may be in need of a reality check. Not so, insists Century 21's Kol S. Naylor, who has the listing. "Newport County is a cache locat

Mon, May 20, 2002

J.Lo Takes on Star Wars

Star Wars: Episode II &#150 Attack of the Clones may have been a force to reckon with at the box office this past weekend, but Jennifer Lopez isn't worried that Yoda and Co. will take a lightsaber to her new film Enough (opening Friday). In fact, the actress-singer thinks it was smart of Sony to release the revenge flick a week after Clones. "[Enough] is a thriller and I think that's what we really need to put out there," she says. "It has twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's kind of the alternative to Star Wars." Eh, maybe. But an argument certainly could be made that both films' plots revolve around a battle between good and evil. In Enough, J.Lo plays a battered wife who, after years of abuse, turns the tables on her monster of a husband (Once and Again's Billy Campbell). Also, like George Lucas's blockbuster prequel,

Mon, May 20, 2002

J.Lo: Crushing Back on Ben?

The Jennifer Lopez-Ben Affleck lovefest continues. In March, Affleck  who admitted that he had preconceived notions about the alleged diva before working with her on the upcoming comedy Gigli  took an ad out in The Hollywood Reporter singing her praises. "You have shown kindness, dedication, diligence, humility, graciousness of spirit, beauty in courage, great empathy, astonishing talent, real poise and true grace," he wrote. "It has been nothing but an honor and a pleasure to work with you. I only wish I were lucky enough to be in all your movies." Now, it's J.Lo's turn to gush. "I didn't expect him to be as wonderful a person as he is," she confesses to TV Guide Online. "I just thought he'd be a regular, normal, nothing-out-of-the-ordinary, nice person." And what did she think of the

Fri, May 17, 2002