Brooke Hundley -- the "tubby temptress" that had an affair with ESPN's Steve Phillips -- spoke to the media for the first time this morning, talking to Kate Snow on Good Morning America. It wasn't an extraordinary interview by any means; Hundley claims that actions the media has described as "stalking" were more like desperate attempts to alert people to what was going on between her and Phillips. You can believe what you want about that.
The most interesting part of the interview, shown below, is that after all the verbal abuse she took -- including being called the C-word and "whore" -- an innocuous Jay Leno joke about her looks was her "breaking point." The joke can be seen in the story: Jay compares Hundley to Phillips' wife and says "What was he thinking?" He then says, "I realize you can't have steak every day, but please..."
So, there you have it. Jay Leno broke the spirit of someone with his "biting" humor. Heck, I figured his lame jokes would have broken everyone's spirit years ago, but I guess some people can still get hurt by his butter knife jabs.
interview-related stories
Brooke Hundley said a Leno joke was her "breaking point"
Bill Lawrence: Judy Reyes won't appear in season nine, and other Scrubs news
Figured today was going to be a good day to publish the Scrubs-centric part of my conversation with Bill Lawrence last month. Here we talk about what's going to happen during the first episode or two of the new season of Scrubs.The biggest piece of information? That Judy Reyes, who played Carla during the first eight seasons, won't appear at all in this new-direction ninth season. She's the only regular of Scrubs Classic (my name for it) who won't appear at least once during the upcoming season. "I think she was either going to be a regular on this show or looking to go do other things with her career," Lawrence told me, citing that he "totally respect(s)" her decision.
Of course, with the new med-school-centric direction of the show, there's less of a need for some of the other semi-regulars; Sam Lloyd (Ted) has already shot his last episode, for instance.
Other info from Bill: How the season premiere will open, how the transition from Zach Braff's voiceover to another voiceover is going to work, and more about the new character directions for Classic regulars John C. McGinley, Donald Faison and Eliza Coupe.
Continue reading Bill Lawrence: Judy Reyes won't appear in season nine, and other Scrubs news
Matthew Weiner of Mad Men: The TV Squad Interview
It's hard to say that a show that's already won a small U-Haul's worth of Emmys and other awards can be having a breakout season, but that seems to be what's happening with Mad Men during its third season. The buzz around the show has been as loud as we've heard since The Sopranos went to black, and that's not a coincidence; the man who created the early-1960s world of Sterling Cooper, Matt Weiner, was a writer on the landmark HBO drama.Weiner just completed shooting season three, and he took time out of his post-production process to sit down with me on Monday and talk about how the season has been going so far. I tried to get him to talk about what seems to be the show's inevitable roll towards the cataclysmic event of 1963, the Kennedy assassination, but Weiner was tight-lipped as usual. However, his observations on how he approaches events like that is an interesting read. Oh, and we also touch upon how he came up with the idea to run over a British ad exec's foot with a lawn mower, which is a good story by itself...
Continue reading Matthew Weiner of Mad Men: The TV Squad Interview
Alton Brown calls Top Chef a "sous chef kind of show"... then takes it back
Given the popularity of the second-season opener of The Next Iron Chef, I figured it was a good time to pull out this interview I did with the show's host, Alton Brown, at the network's TCA party in July. It was definitely the tastiest party of the tour, as each Iron Chef contestant plied the critics with delectable morsels of their creativity at various stations. In a bit of a surprise, one of the contestants, Amanda Freitag, was being assisted by her friend Ariane Duarte, one of the more popular contestants from rival program Top Chef's New York season (I was so flabbergasted by the turn of events, I snapped a pic of the two with my cell phone). When I pointed this tidbit out to Brown, his response was very interesting...
Continue reading Alton Brown calls Top Chef a "sous chef kind of show"... then takes it back
Christian Slater talks about The Forgotten, life at 40, and his love of TV
Stealing scenes on the small screen is nothing new to Christian Slater. The actor, known for films like Heathers, True Romance and Pump up the Volume, has made memorable guest appearances on shows like Alias, The West Wing and My Name is Earl. His first shot at his own series, the NBC spy thriller My Own Worst Enemy, struggled to find an audience, leading the network to cancel it halfway through the first season. Slater is back starring in a new series, The Forgotten, produced by CSI head honcho Jerry Bruckheimer. The ABC procedural follows a team of amateur detectives who work murder cases involving unidentified victims, or John and Jane Does. Slater plays former cop Alex Donovan, whose search for his missing daughter inspires him in the field.
I got the chance to talk with Slater about The Forgotten, his new career in TV, and what one of his most famous big screen characters would think about his latest role.
Continue reading Christian Slater talks about The Forgotten, life at 40, and his love of TV
Perfect Showcase bid was a "dark day" on The Price is Right, says Drew Carey
When I came upon Drew Carey at CBS's TCA party over the summer, he was tapping away on his iPhone. He was sending a tweet to one of the responders on one of his two Twitter feeds, and was generally having a ball. So I figured he was in a good mood to talk about the show he's most known for these days, The Price Is Right.It was a season of change for Drew and the show; the prizes got more creative, Drew changed his look, and the show in general did a lot to break out of the mold of the Bob Barker years.
Of course, those changes didn't go unnoticed, as some of the show's more "devoted" fans took to sites like Golden-Road.net to disparage Drew and say the show was going downhill. There was even a minor controversy this past season, as a contestant made a suspiciously on-the-mark Showcase bid, and Drew's reaction to it was less than enthusiastic (for good reason, as he mentions in the interview).
Continue reading Perfect Showcase bid was a "dark day" on The Price is Right, says Drew Carey
Bill Lawrence talks Cougar Town (full transcript)
Here's the full transcript from the phone interview I did with Bill Lawrence a couple of weeks ago... minus the part where we talked about Scrubs. That's an interesting bit in and of itself, and I'll publish that in full sometime during the early part of October.This goes on for about 5700 words, but if you hang in there, you'll find a lot of good conversation about Cougar Town, the state of the sitcom, why Bill thinks NBC is shortsighted in its dependence on Jay Leno, and why Courteney Cox let him talk our ears off at the Cougar Town TCA session.
You can either leave comments here or at the bottom of the edited version.
Continue reading Bill Lawrence talks Cougar Town (full transcript)
Bill Lawrence talks Cougar Town
A couple of weeks after I got some Scrubs scoop from Bill Lawrence in Pasadena, I asked if we could talk by phone about his new show, Cougar Town. The Courteney Cox-led show, which follows the travails of a forty-something Florida real estate agent and single mom as she tries to re-enter the dating world, starts tonight at 9 PM ET on ABC.We talked a little more about Scrubs (I'll print that in a few weeks), then about Cougar Town. I opened with the fact that at the session he had for the show at the TCA press tour, he seemed to spend a lot of time defending the "noisy title" of the show.
The conversation ranged far and wide from that point, from what he thinks about the future of the multi-camera sitcom, why NBC's dependence on Jay Leno is shortsighted, why he's so outgoing to us press types, and why Courteney Cox let him talk everyone's ears off during the press tour session. You can read the long but interesting full transcript if you're eager to find that stuff out. An edited version of the interview is after the jump.
Continue reading Bill Lawrence talks Cougar Town
Whitney on Oprah: part interview, part intervention
Yesterday was the season premiere of The Oprah Winfrey Show and the big "get" -- as you probably know -- was a two-part interview with Whitney Houston. According to Oprah, this was the best interview she's ever done. Now, was that hype or was it really a great interview?Judging by part one, it was a pretty powerful interview for Oprah. She was on her game. The setting was an empty theater, just Oprah and Whitney. Presumably, this was a no-holds-barred session, so I expected Oprah to ask the tough questions about Whitney's dysfunctional marriage to Bobby Brown, her drug use, the days she spent holed up in a stupor. It wasn't exactly A&E's Intervention, but for Oprah, it was penetrating.
Continue reading Whitney on Oprah: part interview, part intervention
Arrested Development movie update: not much of an update
It's been a while since we heard any news about that Arrested Development movie that might be happening, might not be happening, was being written, was being thought about, etc. Now comes word from Jason Bateman that the movie is still a go and it's still being written as we speak.Bateman tells Collider.com that Mitch Hurwitz is still writing the script, and once that's done they have to get the scheduling of the filming down (which won't be easy with so many cast members).
Continue reading Arrested Development movie update: not much of an update
Update: Richard Hatch is in jail again!
Just yesterday I posted the video of Richard Hatch's appearance on Today. Now just a day later the Survivor champ is in jail again.Hatch's sister is saying that the reason why Hatch is in jail is because of the interview with Matt Lauer. There are no details yet on why he would be sent to jail because he talked to someone on a morning talk show (he did the interview from his home so he wasn't violating his home-confinement sentence) but his sister says that when the police came to take him, that's the reason the officer gave.
Continue reading Update: Richard Hatch is in jail again!
Stewie Griffin? Gay
Well, it's official: Family Guy's little mastermind is gay. There have been lots and lots of hints about Stewie Griffin, but in an interview with Playboy (I read it for the articles - and also the pictures of naked women), creator Seth MacFarlane reveals that yup, the little one is gay. In fact, they had an episode written where Stewie comes out after a problem at school, but decided not to go any further because it's "better to keep it vague."
In other Family Guy news for this season, Lois finds out she's Jewish, and Rush Limbaugh and Karl Rove will make guest voice appearances on the show.
A surprisingly serious interview with Tracy Morgan
It's not that Tracy Morgan is never serious, it's just that when we've seen him on Late Night with Conan O'Brien or on other talk shows, he's pretty out there, almost as if he's doing some version of Tracy Jordan, or at the very least not taking anything at all very seriously.
But in this USA Today interview, he talks rather seriously about his past drinking problems, what it's like on the 30 Rock set, Tina Fey, and all those Emmy nominations. (Video starts automatically so I placed it after the jump.)
Continue reading A surprisingly serious interview with Tracy Morgan
Sigourney Weaver: The TV Squad Interview
Sigourney Weaver is earning strong Emmy buzz for her lead performance in Lifetime's Prayers for Bobby. In her first TV movie, the three-time Oscar nominee plays a religiously conservative mother who refuses to accept her gay son.
The film, based on a true story, examines Mary Griffith's (Weaver) transformation from intolerant mother to gay-rights crusader after her son Bobby commits suicide. Weaver says she was drawn to Prayers for Bobby because, like the book of the same name, it has the potential to start important conversations about tolerance and acceptance in homes everywhere.
Continue reading Sigourney Weaver: The TV Squad Interview
Sigourney Weaver talks Emmy buzz, Ghostbusters and Aliens
Sigourney Weaver starring in a Lifetime movie? It happened. It's called Prayers for Bobby, and the three-time Oscar nominee is racking up the Emmy buzz for her lead performance as a mother whose life is changed by tragedy.I spoke with Weaver recently about the film, the Emmy buzz, her next big TV project and more. Here's a preview of that interview:
Weaver on the benefits of working for Lifetime, and other cable networks:
"I think Lifetime, along with other cable networks, show very compelling stories about what it is to be human in a way that a lot of films don't now, except for small independent films. They're interested in a smaller canvas and I think those stories are very helpful for people and I think that they bring us together."
Continue reading Sigourney Weaver talks Emmy buzz, Ghostbusters and Aliens
The TV Squad Podcast: The Prisoner, '80s TV, soap news and more
Let's talk about spoilers ...
The Prisoner -- An early look
