AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD: Spencer Liff

What a show! I think I learned more about SYTYCD dance in this hour than in the last two seasons of covering this show. Spencer Liff gave us a real insider's look at the pressures the choreographers and the contestants are under. It's a time crunch each and every week. Doesn't it make you admire the work everyone puts in even more?

I hope you all take note of Spencer's career because you are going to hear his name a lot outside of SYTYCD. It's really exciting to see choreographer's emerge from this show. It also makes me excited to have Lindsay Nelko on as a guest on Aug. 14. We will get the opportunity to talk to someone who is just breaking out.

I have also updated our guest list for August, it's a great line-up this month and I like the variety that we have.

Finally, it was definitely time for Alexis and Curtis to exit, but I think this is going to be a great stepping stone for them. They both said they wanted to head to New York to Disney's Newsies. I hope to see them on the Great White Way soon.

Watch the show below or you can download the show in iTunes here.

Media Mondays

Coming soon...some fun, new photos!

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was filled with a lot more work than I realized...Kim Kardashian had her baby. Sigh.  I also had a fun photo shoot, saw a show, hit a red carpet, and covered the Daytime Emmys. I'm so happy this week is pretty chill.

Tom Barnard Podcast:  We talk about the NSA and the surveillance calls. Guess which celeb knew about the calls before the rest of the U.S.? Shia LaBeouf.  Listen in at the 46-minute mark.

AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD:  See our take on Vegas week here.

Clevver Movies: I was invited back to It's a Wrap to talk about the villains for Man of Steel 2. Who do you think it will be? Lex Luthor or someone else?



SheKnows:  My favorite articles from last week:
Disney teams up with Carly Rae Jepsen for The Little Mermaid--I'm not sure I like this idea.
John Stamos on Lori Loughlin: "The one that got away"--Awww, Uncle Jessie and Aunt Becky...what could have been.
Sarah Palin back at Fox News--Let the headlines begin. 

Listen later today to start your entertainment news week:
1:30pm PT Metro News Hotline with Dave Weekley

A big thanks to BMW DesignWorks Group USA for the fun ride last week!

AfterBuzz TV DWTS: Sharna Burgess & Lindsay Arnold

Ahhh, what a season! I cannot believe it's over.  It's been a wild ride over the last 10 weeks. My wish for next season is that we are all good to each other...no matter who we are rooting for. We are so lucky to live in a world where we can have our own opinions and thoughts, but it is important to be respectful of the opposing side.  Kellie and Zendaya are both beautiful dancers and women. While they each brought different things to the table, we watched because we love dance.  While Kellie went home with that mirror ball trophy, I think we are all going to watch Zendaya become a superstar in Hollywood...way beyond the confines of Disney/ABC. Whether she hits the music scene or takes on the film world, mark my words, she will be wildly successful.

My SheKnows.com article about the DWTS finale >>

I know many of you aren't satisfied with the voting explanation. ABC should have done a better job with explaining what happened much like NBC did with The Voice when they had a similar issue in early May. Legally, they did the right thing by throwing out the ABC.com votes. It leveled the playing field for both coasts.  While viewers were left with phone, text, and Facebook votes, I know some of you will argue it isn't fair.  Well, I can never text since I'm not an AT&T customer.....so that's not fair. I also only have a public FB page, so I cannot vote via social media. I have to pick up the phone. We could go in circles about this over and over. Remember, all networks have to abide by FCC regulations and Broadcast Standards and Practices. Here are ABC's guidelines for their entire network. What ABC failed to do is explain the situation to the viewers...that is a PR misstep.

Our pre-show Vine video >>

I also think Lindsay and Sharna addressed the footwear issue very well.  There are so many other issues to deal with when you are trying to teach a celebrity to dance.  While it may not be the preferable choice for viewers with a dance background, the pros chose what they felt was best for their celebs. I prefer the line of a heel, but once I heard Lindsay and Sharna's explanations, I feel like I understand the reasoning a bit better...even if I prefer true ballroom footwear.

One crazy photo post-show >>

Thank you all for such a great season. We really cannot do it without you. Your input, comments, questions and artful debate have been so much fun. Even when we don't agree, I love discussing the show with you.  For those of you that are fans of SYTYCD, I hope you join me, Jake, AJ Gibson, and Chloe West for a fun season. Next week, we will slide into DWTS' old time slot on AfterBuzz TV at 9pm PT, so you know where to find us. We will also be bringing in some DWTS and SYTYCD guests to join us once the Top 20 is announced.



The podcast is available to listen to here. 

Now feel free to comment away about the season, but be respectful of others and their opinions. Thank you! 

Media Mondays...on a Tuesday

Just a small camera for shooting...

I had plans to post this yesterday, but given the day's events...it just didn't matter. For those of you that don't know, I am from the Boston-area.  While I have adopted California as my home state, I often spent my Marathon Mondays in the city cheering on the runners as a kid.  Patriot's Day is only celebrated in Massachusetts and Maine honoring the beginning of the American Revolution.  It's a huge part of life in the state and everyone that was out there celebrating the day or who has lived for a time in the state understands that.  My thoughts are with everyone who was affected by this senseless tragedy.

Leave it to Patton Oswalt to be the voice of reason in a day filled with questions:  "The good outnumber you, and we always will."


Now, here are my media appearances from last week:

AfterBuzz TV's Dancing with the Stars:  If you are looking for the our Week 4 interview with Victor Ortiz, you will find the fun photo and the video here.

Tom Barnard Podcast:  We talked about Jon Hamm's junk...it's reportedly big and AMC is forcing the Mad Men actor to wear underwear this season. It's distracting.  Listen in at the 40:00 mark.



It's A Wrap!:  I was lucky enough to do two more episodes of the ClevverMovies series with Erin Darling, Josh Ovenshire, and Ryan Turek.  The top episode, we talk about the Deadpool property and if it will ever be turned into a film especially since it has Ryan Reynolds attached.  The bottom video features the 2015 Disney movie slate. Can anyone else compete with so many amazing movies on deck?



The Radio Dish:  I come in at the 22:00 minute mark where we address the Buckwild cancellation after the death of Shain Gandee. No one saw it coming, particularly the Buckwild producer.

SheKnows:  Some of my favorite articles from last week--
Kelly Ripa on Regis Philbin: "I haven't seen him, no."--It's not much of a surprise that these two no longer keep in touch, no?
Decorating guru Nate Berkus is engaged--We are seeing lots of celeb couples announce their engagement in anticipation of the Supreme Court ruling about Prop 8.  Hopefully, it is overturned. It's time. 
5 Great indie flicks you won't see at the MTV Movie Awards--I compiled a list of 2012 indie films you should see. Don't miss these gems.

Don't forget about our DWTS after show tomorrow night at 9pm PT on AfterBuzzTV.com.

Oz The Great And Powerful: The Interviews

The week is finally here!  I feel like my interviews with the cast of Oz The Great And Powerful were a million years ago yet, it was only the weekend before the Oscars.  This video has the whole cast explaining the one magical power they would like to have and how they would use it. I received some surprising answers. My iVillage colleague, Ali Gray, also wrote a companion article to this piece, so be sure to give her some love here.



If you missed my breakdown of the Oz The Great and Powerful gift bag, click here. They gave us a few really cool items that I am already using.

Are you going to see the movie this weekend?  Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Oscars 2013: The Red Carpet Interviews!

The top photo might be my favorite from all three years of covering the Academy Awards. It was so much fun yelling with the fans in the bleacher seats.  How could you not get excited? I am suffering from my usual Oscar hangover from fatigue (not alcohol!). It's such an exhausting, but exhilarating week.

Also, I have been talking a bit about #MySmarterCommerce which is IBM's campaign to see how technology affects our daily lives. It was so interesting for me to see a jump in interactions via Twitter since I was live Tweeting the red carpet. I couldn't even keep up with responding to everyone this year.  Holy cow, it was great!  I love to see technology impacting us all in a fun way.

Here is some of the inside scoop from this year's Oscars:

The official article on Starpulse.
The Oscars: What you didn't on TV for SheKnows.
My dress info is here.
Thanks to the Huffington Post for making my interview with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron #5 as a part of "The Queerest Oscar Moments of All Time"
And, of course, the interviews below!

I will have more coverage coming your way through Friday.

Let me know your favorite moment from Sunday night's Oscars in the comments below.

The perfect interview for Disney dorks, John Lasseter

With Luz Peña from FOXMundo.  You might remember her from Oscars 2011.

Sherri Shepherd from The View is always a fun interview.

Cracking up Django Unchained producer, Stacey Sher. She saw her Oscar nominee info card and we didn't have any "fun facts" about her. Don't worry, she's fun!

Photos courtesy of James Molnar, Gold Knight Blog

What's In My Gift Bag?: Oz The Great and Powerful Edition

If you were following me yesterday on Twitter, I'm sure you caught a few of my Oz The Great and Powerful tweets.  For a Disney dork like me, it was absolute heaven seeing some of the props, costumes, and interviewing the cast for iVillage. (And dressing up like Glinda for a photo!) I am embargoed from talking about the film until March 6th, but I will give you the hint that I will be seeing it again.

I will have photos, interviews, and articles the first week of March for you. In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to go through the press gift bag.  Here's what I received:

A really sturdy branded tote with pockets.  Nice!

 A stuffed Finley monkey and a Theodora doll

 I'm not much of a T-shirt gal, but I love the print on this one.

 A zoetrope which is one of Oz's gadgets in the film. Cool! It's up for sale, too! 

This trio might be some of my favorites: Danny Elfman's soundtrack, a gorgeous book on The Art of Oz, and a catalogue of the merchandise partnership with HSN.  I'm hoping to do an article on the HSN line. It's stunning!

This is the most useful to me:  OPI-branded nail polish and Urban Decay makeup.  I'm thrilled I received the Glinda pack since we have the same coloring.

Media Mondays

Okay, kids, here is where you can keep up with everything I did last week.  My mom says she can't keep up, hopefully you can??

Last Monday, I kicked off the week by co-hosting Good Morning, Spreecast with Seth Everett.  I talked a bit about it here, but the show was so much fun, we are doing it all over again tomorrow at 7:30am PST/ 10:30am EST.  You can join us at the link here.

Tuesday, I predicted that Channing Tatum would be named "Sexiest Man Alive" by People the next day. (I actually wrote an article about it way earlier on November 6th for SheKnows....that's some good insider news, right?)  Turns out, I was right.  Hear my entertainment scoop on the Tom Barnard Podcast here.

I also had a blast with Amy Taylor chatting about the Twilight camp and premiere on Spreecast.  We had a lot of great viewer questions, so we are going to do it all over again TODAY at 5pm PST/8pm EST.  Link is here. We will cover the twist and what people really thought of the movie now that it is out and hitting the mainstream....meaning my Non-Disclosure Agreement has finally expired!



Speaking of Twilight, if you missed my Taylor Lautner interview, it was posted here.  I'm also giving you my Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson interview below.  Kristen was extremely likable which a lot of you have commented on.  If you want to see all of my Twilight coverage over the years, you can view it here at my publicist's site.





And then the week brought me to one of the final episodes of Dancing With the Stars on AfterBuzz TV.  It has been such a fun ride and the fans have been responding to our shows each week.  I'm already looking forward to Season 16.  Here's last week's episode.



Then I hit the road in my ILX and went off to LAX for a quick 24-hour gig at EPCOT......that's a lot of acronyms.  It was fun getting a behind the scenes look at the park.  Here's a crazy photo from my trip or hit my Facebook page for this one.

Me and Sully! 

I had one final radio stop for the week with my ladies in Kansas City on The Radio Dish where we chatted about Taylor Swift and the new round of Star Wars coming up.  Listen here at the 20-minute mark.

And if you missed any of my articles on SheKnows last week, here are my three favorites:
Biggest American Music Awards Flops--Ouch, Katy Perry, sing on key!
Biggest American Music Awards Openers--The ladies rule the stage.
Janeane Garofalo Had No Idea She Was Married--Oh, for say, 20 years!!!

Have a great week, everyone!  Please enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday......and let me know what's your favorite dish:  mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, or stuffing?

xo kb

Three Tips To Surviving Cars Land Crowds

Yesterday, I finally hit Cars Land at California Adventure to see what all of the hype was about.  The rumors that it's crowded are true, but here are three tips to take with you the next time you visit the park.  I also included some fun photos from the day.  I will be doing a few Disney posts throughout the year as I put my new Annual Pass to good use.

This ride is worthy of the hype--Radiator Springs Racers.

Three Tips to Maximize Your Cars Land Experience:

1.  Arrive Early:  I cannot stress this enough.  If the park opens at 8AM, this is the first place you go. Don't stop to eat, use the restroom, grab a map of the park.....just beeline straight to Cars Land.  In fact, map out your route before you go, so you know exactly what you are doing when you get there.  If you think this area will easily be a Fast Pass type of attraction, think again.  Fast Passes were gone by 8:30AM on a Sunday.  Make this area of the park a priority and spend your morning here.  Get it done and then enjoy the rest of your day at Disneyland and California Adventure. Annual Passholders, this is the time to register for your early entry to California Adventure.  Dates are very limited at this point, but it is a great perk for Passholders.

Lydia grabbing the beach ball at the start of Luigi's Flying Tires.....a ride not worthy of the wait.

2.  Single Rider Line:  Thanks to my friend, Lydia, who had been to Cars Land earlier in the week, this was the greatest cheat of the day.  If you are able and willing to split up your party, try this line first.  While the wait in the Standby Line was already at two hours for the Radiator Springs Racers within thirty minutes of the park's open, we easily breezed through the Single Rider Line in thirty minutes.  Yes, we did get split up, but only by a car or two.  This made the day so much easier for us since we hit the hottest ride in the park first.  This doesn't work on the other two attractions in Cars Land since there is only a Standby Line for the Radiator Springs Racers and trust me, you will wish there was a Single Rider Line for the ridiculous wait for Luigi's Flying Tires which is a mediocre ride at best.

The crowds at Cars Land on a Sunday.

3. Get The Heck Out:  After you have hit the three attractions (The third attraction is Mater's Junkyard Jamboree, more of a kiddie ride.), get the heck out of Cars Land.  It is so crowded since it is the height of the summer season.  This is not the place to stop and eat or shop right now.  If you live in the Southern California area and have the luxury of returning in the fall, wait to see the rest of the sights and save the photo-ops until September.  This area of the park can suck up so much time and take up most of your day if you don't plan accordingly.  California Adventure has upgraded the park in the last few years with fun attractions like Monsters, Inc:  Mike & Sully to the Rescue, Toy Story Mania, and The Little Mermaid-Ariel's Undersea Adventure, you want to make sure to hit all that it has to offer.  (Don't forget Tower of Terror and Soarin' Over California, my two favorite rides in the park along with the new Radiator Springs Racers.)

I hope these tips help your day at the park that much easier and stress-free.  Let me know if you have any great tips to maneuver through Cars Land that I missed.  I will be bringing you more ideas as the season progresses.

More photos from my day at Disneyland and California Adventure are available on Instagram:  @KristynBurtt.

 Under the sea with Ariel!

 It's always fun running into friends....Lydia, me, Hank Chen, and his friend, Christina.

 The Aladdin show complete with an elephant! 

 The view from the new Carthay Circle restaurant......so delicious!

 And I ran into more friends!  Seth Maxwell, CEO of the Thirst Project, was headed into Carthay Circle as I was headed out.  

Three Reasons To See Disney•Pixar's 'Brave'

When I attended the D23 conference last August, the trailer for Disney•Pixar's Brave struck me as a strong departure from their typical animated fare. We don't have a male lead or a helpless princess or a film with a built-in merchandising empire.  Instead, we have a strong, stubborn, independent, and fierce gal by the name of Merida.  She wants to live life on her own terms, but she is going to learn the hard way how to get there.  It is a gorgeous film, but I am not sure it is for everyone.  Here are my three reasons to see Brave:

1.  Animation:  Duh.  Of course, you are there to see an animated film, but I am here to tell you that Pixar has taken their work to another level with this film.  The flowing red curls on Merida merit their own mention.  It's as if they animated every strand of hair.  It's detailed, lush,and rich in color. (If you are a fan of 3D, then this is a movie to splurge on. ) The scenery is also spectacular, you might as well be in the Scottish Highlands on vacation.  As for the bears that play into the story (I'm trying not to spoil the story here.), it's as if you could reach out and touch their shiny fur.....even though you probably don't really want to pet a bear in real life.  

2.  Soundtrack:  If you are lucky enough to live near one of these locations around the world, go see Brave in Dolby's new Atmos surround sound technology.  You will hear a beautiful Scottish music and Gaelic chants created by Patrick Doyle for the Brave soundtrack in 64 speaker feeds and 128 simultaneous inputs.....in other words, it sounds amazing. If you are a total tech geek, head here to see a demo of the Dolby technology.  It's unbelievable. 

3. Story:  This isn't a Disney princess waiting for her man to rescue her and this isn't a little fish, car, or grumpy old man who is lost and looking for his literal and figurative way home.  This is about a girl who kicks some serious butt.  She's a great role model for young girls and of course, there is a lovely lesson to learn along the way:  there are consequences to your actions.  The film is darker than the typical Disney•Pixar fare and I did wonder if the preschool set would sit through it.  The kids sitting near me were quietly munching on their popcorn and enthralled with the film.  However, the two-year old behind me was terrorized by the darker moments on the big screen  It's not for everyone and I think parents might want to leave those under the age of three at home.  (You've been warned.  You know your own kids, but I suspect those that are easily frightened will have nightmares after watching certain scenes.) 

Brave opens on Friday, June 22nd nationwide.

Once you see the film, give me your thoughts on Disney•Pixar's summer animated feature in the comments below or on Twitter or Facebook. If you want to see my photos of the gorgeous El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood where Brave will be playing, follow me on Instagram:  @KristynBurtt

'Good Luck, Charlie' Set Visit

Julia with her script cover before she had it autographed by the cast.

Last week, my niece came to visit me in LA and we had a whole list of things she wanted to do.  We crossed almost everything off that list, especially the most important one:  watch a TV taping.  She was finally at the perfect age to go watch one of her favorite Disney Channel shows.  Most of their shows have an age restriction of 8-years old.  For the major networks, most shows have an age restriction of 16-years, but Disney clearly knows their demographic and they invite the younger ones in.  It is a three to four hour adventure depending on how many scenes the show has to tape.  Good Luck, Charlie, has an infant and toddler on the show, so they pre-tape all of their segments which actually makes their live segments a bit shorter than other shows.  I was grateful for that.

The kids are entertained by a comedian in between shots who gives away Disney-related prizes, like the autographed script from the cast my niece won for laughing the loudest on the first shot.  He also played games, a DJ spun tunes throughout the night, and a snack of juice and protein bars was handed out about halfway through the show. It's hard to get bored when there is constant action at every moment.  I had a little 8-year old sitting next to me and he sat in rapture throughout the entire night.  I was impressed.

The show finished taping at about 7:30PM, so we had been there about 2 1/2 hours in total.  (Although we had to line up for our seats at 3:45PM, the taping doesn't begin until 5PM.)  At that point, the audience is ushered on to the set to line up for photos and autographs. Yep, this is a kid's dream come true.  The cast was friendly with everyone taking their time to talk to the fans, sign their script covers which are placed on each seat at the beginning of the show, and take pictures.   Everyone walks out of that building happy and satisfied. Way to go,  Disney Channel!  This keeps parents and kids fans for life.

See some of our pictures from the night at Good Luck, Charlie below. You won't see any photos of Bridgit Mendler, unfortunately.  She was there for the taping, but she had to catch a flight after the show.

For information on tickets try these two sites:
Good Luck, Charlie/Pair of Kings
TV Tickets:  A.N.T. Farm, Austin and Ally, and Shake It Up!

UPDATE:  On my Cocktails and Conversation appearance on June 2nd, I made mention of a great article from the site, Jezebel, that talked about the incredible diversity on Disney Channel and Teen Nick. Read it here.  

 The cast taking their bows...

 Jason Dolley and Bradley Steven Perry sign autographs...

 Soon-to-be Mama for the second time, Leigh-Allyn Baker...

 Jason and Julia...

Eric Allan Kramer...

 Julia's favorite actor on the show, Bradley...

 Patricia Belcher signing autographs...

 On the set!

My tickets were complimentary of Disney PR.  All of my opinions are my own.