The Friday Five

The Friday Five is back!  Here are some pop culture moments from the week for you to mull over.....



1. Jennie Garth:  The news about Jennie and her husband, Peter Facinelli, proved not to be a surprise for a lot of us in Hollywood as there were rumors about them for almost two years. However, I was sorry to hear that they were splitting up.  Jennie is incredibly nice, so let's give her some good press this week.  Check out the interview I did with her last fall for Starpulse.

2. Shealeigh Daily:  This sweet and talented girl won Radio Disney's NBT late last year.  She kindly gave a shout out to my niece and her pal yesterday, so I hope you all stand up and take notice because this gal is going places.  Here's my interview with her from December.

3.  85th Annual Academy Awards:  Okay, the show stays in the same place next year, the last Sunday in February, but the nominations move up a week.  Watch out, Golden Globes, the Oscars are trying to steal your thunder......and make the award campaign season one week longer.  Oh my!



4.  Community:  The NBC show finally made its return to the lineup last night.  Did you watch?  I interviewed the cast a few weeks ago at the Paley Fest and they were chomping at the bit to get back to the fans who supported their show tremendously during their hiatus.

5.  Luck:  This week in Hollywood was anything but lucky for this HBO series which was cancelled after a swift series of horse fatalities on set.  I heard rumors that they were using older horses for challenging racing scenes which may have contributed to the deaths, but in the end, the ratings weren't great. Either way, HBO acted quickly to put this series down. Was it the ratings or the heat from PETA?  What do you think of this week's hottest TV controversy?

That's it for this week's Friday Five.  Let me know what you liked or didn't like this week in the comments section below.  Join the conversation with me on Twitter, Facebook, or Google Plus.

A Better Life

I've been away for a week or so to recharge after a busy awards show season and to take some time for myself.  I'm officially back though and ready to bring you all the latest in entertainment news.  It's been a while since I posted a film recommendation, but my last one wound up with four Oscar nominations. The film I'm recommending this time around has already scored its Oscar nomination for Best Actor for Demian Bechir.  I interviewed him twice during Oscars week here and here, so I was already a fan.  He's charming, sweet, and incredibly nice to the press, but his performance in A Better Life is heartbreaking.  I think this film was overlooked during all of the awards hoopla by bigger movies like The Artist and Hugo.  This flick is one to add to your summer Netflix list.  It quietly unfolds with subtle performances that surround a pretty controversial topic here in the United States, illegal immigration.

Now, no matter how you feel about illegal immigration, it will be hard not to be moved by the human side to this story.  I know it certainly opened my eyes to the struggle of being in a country illegally whether it is right or not.  In Southern California, the immigrant population certainly makes up a huge part of our daily live with gardeners, housekeepers, restaurant help, and construction workers, so it can be hard to formulate a blanket statement on the issue and that is the exact question A Better Life raises....especially when the undocumented workers have children who are legal U.S. citizens.  Demian was quite vocal about his stance on the issue throughout the season because he knows firsthand about what it is like to live U.S. illegally.  He came to the States to pursue his acting dreams and he lived his life as an illegal immigrant in New York City.  A 1986 amnesty program gave him his green card which eventually put him on the road to an Academy Award nomination.  So, no matter where you stand on the issue, watch the film and let me know what you think in the comments below.  Have you seen A Better Life yet?

36th Annual Razzie Award Nominations AKA The Worst In Film For 2011

We were so busy covering the best in film a few weeks ago, that I almost forgot to bring you the worst in film for 2011.  It's the Golden Raspberry Awards also known as the "Razzies".  Now, they normally hand out the awards the night before the Oscars, but this year, the nominations happened on Oscars Eve and the official award date is April 1st.  Yep, April Fool's Day. With a plethora of bad films to choose from, who had the most nominations?  Oh, if you've been listening to me on Driving with Gass, then you know who I picked on in this piece.  Check out the nominations and my interview with founder, John J. B. Wilson:

Paley Fest 2012: Community

Joel McHale and Alison Brie

If you caught my coverage of the first night of the Paley Fest,  you know the fans of some of the most beloved shows are rabid for more.  Well, night two was no different as it was the long awaited return of NBC's Community.  They had a rough start to Season three when NBC placed them on a forced hiatus after their fall episodes.  The fans banded together to make sure NBC knew how much they loved their show.  The cast kept working through this hiatus and the network finally announced the return of the show:  March 15th.  Catch up with the cast and find out what they have been up to including Jim Rash, his Oscar, and the most famous leg in the entertainment industry. 

 Gillian Jacob and Dan Harmon

 Jim Rash and Dan Harmon

Danny Pudi

Paley Fest 2012: American Horror Story

Jessica Lange

We go back to our regularly scheduled program since we have laid Oscar to bed for 2012......welcome to Paley Fest 2012!  This is an incredible annual series the Paley Center puts on honoring some of the best series in television.  Last night, the festival kicked off with a tribute to American Horror Story, an anthology-based series on FX that has become a television game-changer this season. The big question of the night involved cast members and character who would be returning for Season 2 given the fact that many characters were killed in Season 1.  Jessica Lange has already signed on for Season 2, but I was curious about Sarah Paulson and I think I nailed it in my first question. Yep, she's returning.  Check out my interview with her, Jessica Lange, Alexandra Breckenridge, Connie Britton, and Frances Conroy on the red carpet last night. (And come back tomorrow for my interviews with the cast of NBC's Community.)

 Alexandra Breckenridge

 Sarah Paulson

 Connie Britton

Frances Conroy

Oscar Friends

You come to this town with a dream. To stand on that red carpet.  To feel like you belong.  To be in the mix with Hollywood's elite. That ride means nothing unless you are celebrating amongst friends.  This post is a tribute to all of my friends who joined me on that red carpet last Sunday.  I love that you were there with me......

Me and James Molnar of The Gold Knight.

Misty Kingma, fellow Red Carpet Report entertainment reporter, and me.

Me and Taryn Southern who was broadcasting for US Weekly.

Me and Dennis Pastorizo of Terra Networks.

The man behind the camera, JD Piche, thanks for all of your hard work last week!

My awesome pal, Jordan Carson, from WOTV-4, Grand Rapids.

Me and Blake Mitchell.

Anatomy Of A Dress

Awhile back I mentioned that a dress was being created for me by V. Mora Designs for an Oscars Week event.  I wore the dress on the red carpet to The Wrap's Pre-Oscars event at the Four Seasons Hotel where Oscar nominees Demian Bechir and Max von Sydow celebrated their awards season triumphs.  I wanted to  document how the whole dress came together so you can see how it all began.

Anna Livermore of V. Mora Designs asked me to pick some silhouettes that I liked.  I saw a photo of a dress that she had created that I loved and I sent a photo of a DVF dress since Diane von Furstenberg is one of my favorite designers.

 DVF

V. Mora Designs

Anna then sent me a series of sketches and fabrics.  We decided on a silk charmeuse fabric in coral since I haven't worn that color much on the red carpet.

While I was in Chicago for Toyota Live, we scheduled our first fitting.  Some adjustments were made on sizing and the collar.

We flirted with adding feathers to the tapered end of the asymmetrical collar, but the simplicity of the dress design spoke for itself.

Anna did some finishing touches and shipped it to me just in time for the event last Wednesday.  Here is what it looked like on the red carpet paired with my beloved Stuart Weitzman shoes.

The dress is being shipped back to Chicago as we speak because it will be auctioned off at Chicago Roundup to benefit the GLBT community who are in recovery.  I am so happy my dress will go to a great cause and I hope it brings in lots of money for the charity.

V. Mora Designs was featured in the March issue of Chicago Social, so check out the article (on Page 85) and my quote about Anna's incredible work.  Thank you, Anna, it was a pleasure to wear your designs on the red carpet.  You make a girl look good.

Find out more about V. Mora Designs here.