Monday, October 13, 2008
My Own Worst Enemy
If you ever thought you were your own worst enemy, well now you can relate to one man. Christian Slater stars in the new NBC show My Own Worst Enemy about a man with two very different lives. We caught up with Slater, his alter egos, and the rest of the cast at the premiere party to find out more!
Congratulations on the show, so tell us a little bit about your character(s)?
Christian Slater: I play two characters and they’re both very fun—Edward Albright and Henry Spivey. Henry is sort of an every man, got an office, two kids and a beautiful wife, and Edward is a highly trained operative.
FUSN: Which character do you prefer to play?
Christian Slater: I think initially I enjoyed the aspects of the espionage qualities of the Edward character but as they cast my family and they put that sort of nucleus together, I’m enjoying being Henry as well.
Saffron Burrows: I play a woman named Dr. Norah Skinner and she is quite something. We are part of a military intelligence unit, a kin to the CIA in certain ways and we (Alfre Woodard, James Cromwell and myself) are all operatives in the system. What you see about me in the first couple of episodes is not at all that is there– definitely the water runs deep. You meet me as Christian’s therapist as the civilian man and then his alter ego Edward has this very big relationship with me that we discover a little later on.
FUSN: Would you say that you’re a good person or a bad person?
Saffron Burrows: I’m a good person but I just do some bad things.
Bella Thorne: She’s Ruthy Spivey—she’s smart, sweet, precocious, she loves spying on her neighbors, she’s probably most like her dad. She loves her dad probably the most, but she loves her family, she’s really sweet.
Michael O’Malley: I play two characters on the show—Tom and Raymond. I’m Christian’s best friend in his suburban life and his partner and somewhat rival at work in his operative life. Tom is a suburban dad, plays fantasy football, the joker in the office and kind of a clown but good at his job. Raymond who works for the government agency is a real by the book soldier, somewhat sinister, has seen real dark things humans have done and has contributed to the dark things that humanity has done to other people.
Alfre Woodard: Her name is Mavis Heller and she is the head of Janis, that’s the covert operation that Christian’s characters Henry and Edward are my operatives for.
Madchen Amick: I play Christian’s wife Angie on the domestic side of his two personalities.
Any similarities between you and your character(s)?
Christian Slater: I think in certain aspects, but for the most part I would say that I’m down the middle between the two.
Saffron Burrows: (mischievous laugh) I’m suitably private and she’s got a lot of secrets which I do enjoy, some of them I have not found out yet.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Find out what our ‘Heroes’ are up to this season
Thought you knew everything about HEROES. Find out what Ali Larter, Milo Ventimiglia, and the rest of the cast reveal to Nicole Sherwin about the third season. Tune in– it’s going to be good!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Watch the 2008 ESPY Awards Pre-Party
Hayden Panettiere, Eli Manning, and many other celebrities and athletes talk to our special correspondent Nicole Sherwin at the 2008 ESPY Awards Pre-Party.
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Kim Alexis Has the Look
Former supermodel Kim Alexis proves she still has the right stuff as host of TV Land’s new original series She’s Got the Look, in which ten women over 35 compete for a modeling contract. In this exclusive interview, Kim dishes about her new show and shares her age-defying beauty secrets and why getting older is a beautiful thing.
FUSN: You look absolutely incredible! Your skin is glowing and you’re in great shape–you have to share some of your beauty secrets with us.
KA: I guess a lot of it is preventative, eating correctly and working more sort of on the inside out, happy home life, that type of thing.
FUSN: As a lot of women get older, they make the mistake of wearing clothes that are sort of more youthful, what advice can you give them to dress more appropriately?
KA: I think it’s good to talk with your girlfriends while looking through magazines because you get more of a double permission that you don’t have to look good in everything. I was doing this the other day with one of my girlfriends. We looked through a magazine and it was like “oh that’s cute but I couldn’t wear that because of this or I love that color and that would look good on you but I couldn’t wear it.”
FUSN: With that said, skinny jeans are still in. What do you think? Yes or no?
KA: If you’re skinny, skinny jeans are good, if you’re not I think you should stay away from them.
FUSN: Younger models are looking to be on the runway but we don’t see that with older models, so what can the winner expect in addition to receiving the Wilhelmina contract and Self spread?
KA: I think some of the young girls only want to be on the runway because they see some of these tv shows and again you have certain bodies that are good for runways and certain ones that aren’t and runways are meant for the really really tall thin willowy people. As we get older, most of us don’t stay in that shape. I think for a woman that’s older it would be better to do more beauty or certain types of fashion– not the bikini running on the beach, there’s just those people, especially guys, who don’t want to see an older woman running on the beach in a bikini (laughing).
FUSN: Well if they look like you, I’m not sure about that.
KA: (graciously) Well, I don’t know.
FUSN: So if these women are most likely not going to hit the runway, then why did a judge tell one of the contestants who is 5′5″ that her height would be a challenge for her?
KA: It’s because in this business what you’re talking about is not a beauty contest. It’s about finding a model and models really have a standard of 5′7″ when I was working 30 years ago and now it’s more or less 5′8″ or 5′9″ as your minimum height and clothes look different on someone who’s short than someone who is taller.
FUSN: One woman who auditioned was 6′1″ and I believe they rejected her, so what is too short and what is too tall?
KA: I think 6′1″ would work and I’m not sure what came out but some of that rejection was from other things and we don’t want to give that away. But it’s really a complete package as you know with the models, it’s not just a look, or the whole body, or all that, it’s almost like the inner confidence, the self-drive, the way they present themselves, and all those things were covered in our show by putting them through different tasks.
FUSN: Ok, I guess then you’ve answered my next question - what is the look?
KA: A complete package and it’s a woman who is together, feels good about herself, confident, knows how to carry herself and walk into a room, knows how to present the clothes she’s wearing, knows how to enhance the aspects of her beauty, and maybe hide, conceal and minimize those parts that aren’t perfect.
FUSN: Obviously this show is looking for older models, but as we age we get fine lines and wrinkles, does the show at all encourage to hide these by getting injectables such as botox?
KA: No, no, no - the show did not encourage or talk about any hiding of wrinkles or anything. I think the show was more encouraging in celebrating a woman getting older. From my point of view, wrinkles are a reward for getting older and it’s okay to have a certain amount of wrinkles - it brings out some elegance, wisdom and self-confidence. We didn’t have anyone on the show who was like “ooh, look at your face, you have to go to the dermatologist.” None of that stuff at all.
FUSN: A lot of the contestants are in good shape, but they’re not skinny-skinny, what kind of body image are you looking for?
KA: That was another thing I found very interesting. Never once did we mention weight on the show - it wasn’t an issue where as for a younger model I think that’s much more important. Some of these girls were very very fit and I think what we’re trying to do is set an example for an older woman saying “look at these girls, these are regular normal women but look at what they can be or will become with a little bit of work or a little bit of thought behind the dressing or behind the workout or behind the skincare, all of those things.” If you take care of yourself, yes you can be older but you can look your best.
FUSN: How are models at this age different from younger models?
KA: I found that when we spoke to a woman we spoke to her with more respect. A young girl really needs a lot more guidance and from watching other shows and from my son’s girlfriends and other stuff you speak to younger girls differently and they listen differently. As a woman matures and becomes older she has her own family and responsibilities, so you wouldn’t speak to that woman the same way you would to a young girl. You’re trying to instruct or teach young girls and even admonish them for something they did wrong. With older women, it came from more of a respect and more of a reverence for already living these many years versus ripping her apart too much.
FUSN: If you could, what would you change about the modeling industry right now?
KA: That’s a good question. I think what would be nice and I can’t see it necessarily happening is to look at a model as a human being versus looking at her as a piece of meat.
FUSN: During the pilot episode, the narrator says “this is a second chance for some of these women,” do you think this is a second chance for you as well?
KA: Yes it is. I stepped aside for years to raise my children. I have 5 total, I have 3 sons and 2 stepdaughters. Our youngest son is 14 and he’s 6′1″ or something like that and it’s my time to look and say you know what I’ve been a great mother, I’m a great wife, I’ve been there for my family and it’s okay to step back into the business and maybe help some of these younger girls themselves.
FUSN: Some of these women are married and have children, let’s say one of them wins the contract, will she have to leave her life and move to New York City?
KA: I don’t think she has to move but being far away can make things more difficult. A lot of times, you need to go in and see a client and then the next week you may get the job, so it’s not going to be practical for some. There aren’t many women who would leave their family and say I’m moving to New York for a year just to do your own thing. So a woman who’s married and has children I would think is always going to put the children first but try and make both of them work.
FUSN: What advice would you give to women who want to try out for next season?
KA: My advice is to get into the best shape of your life and maybe read the magazines. I think as a woman and I know this myself when you’re a mother, you can get comfortable in your own tiny little area and life is safe. You don’t feel bad going to the store in a pair of sweats, and you don’t see high fashion or how other people perceive you and you’re stuck in your little world of carpools and PTA’s and nothing’s wrong with that but if you want to get into this business, you have to step outside that comfort zone and start learning some of the things women in bigger cosmopolitan cities already know, like how to dress, handle an interview, or present yourself to a client, that type of thing.
FUSN: Besides She’s Got the Look, what else can we expect to see you in the near future?
KA: I’m working on a couple of things, but right now I’m a guest host on The Balancing Act on Liftetime. It’s a product driven show for women from 7-7:30 in the morning from Monday through Friday. It really talks to different women about a lot of different aspects such as finance, health, how to manage your job, just a lot of different tools to help a woman become more balanced, well rounded, and informed.
She’s Got the Look premieres on TV Land on Wednesday, June 4, 2008 at 10pm EST/PST.
Write a commentSaturday, September 01, 2007
Meet Emmy Rossum– The Singer
No doubt, you know Emmy Rossum as the intelligent, beautiful and talented actress from blockbuster movies such as The Phantom of the Opera, Mystic River and Poseidon. Now it’s time to get to know Emmy as a songstress, whose already proving herself as a singing sensation with her new EP Inside Out that landed at No. 14 on iTunes’ top album chart after only one week.
FUSN: You have so many talents - acting, now singing & songwriting. Which hat do you like to wear most?
ER: Music has always actually been my first love. I think I’m more known as an actress but I started singing when I was 7 after my second grade teacher sent me over to the Metropolitan Opera in NY where I grew up and I sang there for 6 years. The only reason I actually got into acting was because I got too tall for the children’s costumes. I’ve always loved playing music and I’ve always loved playing characters but this record for me is the first time where I don’t have to say someone else’s lines and I really get to express myself and my heart in that way. The lyrics are extremely personal but I also wanted to be completely honest without being confessional or self-indulgent in any way. I think it speaks for not only me but for a lot of women in today’s society who can be strong, vulnerable and sensual, and don’t have to be objectified the way that women are a lot in top 40 radio.
FUSN: Are there any other career paths you’re looking to jump into - such as producing or directing?
ER: I’d love to be an astronaut - just kidding. No, I think music and films for me are the ultimates and whenever I can combine the two it’s the ultimate endeavor. I’d really love to tour and perform live. I think that sharing your music with people live is the most kind of intimate and direct connection you can have with them.
FUSN: Are you nervous about performing live at all?
ER: I think nervous-excitement, not nervous-dread. People work really hard to try to afford to go to a concert and I respect and appreciate that and want to give them everything they want.
FUSN: Do you have a personal favorite song on this EP?
ER: Right now I’m responding to the single Slow Me Down. I wanted to write it because I think in today’s contemporary society the world moves so fast and we’re so kind of overscheduled and overpaced and whether you’re a mom holding down three jobs to support your kids or studying, I think everyone moves so quickly. The message is slow me down just for a second so I don’t miss the things that are beautiful in life like falling in love and even things that are so much simpler than that.
FUSN: You’re so young to think about all that.
ER: (laughs) Only human.