Jason Isaacs, Brotherhood
When Jason Isaacs first comes on the phone, he mentions that he is covered in blood. Sounds like an interesting — but not atypically brutal — moment is in the works for Showtime's Brotherhood (Sundays at 10 pm/ET), where he plays prodigal hoodlum Michael Caffee, MIA for seven years and now back home in Providence, Rhode Island, to reclaim his turf, all the whole trying not to sully his legislator brother's political profile. But it turns out that Isaacs — whom you know from such film fare as The Patriot (he popped Mel Gibson's son) and the Harry Potter series — has his hands dirty for a diffe
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Question: What happened to the remaining (unaired) episodes of Book of Daniel? Are they available on DVD along with the first few episodes that were aired? Or is the entire story available in "book form"? It's unfortunate that this program came to a screeching halt. Is it true that the advertisers withdrew sponsorships on their own accord, or was it just made to look like they did? I'm interested. Thanks in advance for your response.
Answer: For a while, NBC had made the unseen episodes available for viewing on its website, I believe. I also know there will be a public screening of two of the episodes at the annual Outfest in Los Angeles in July. And I've heard that there is talk (nothing confirmed yet) of a DVD release of the full series, which would certainly be the best option. As for the advertisers: this was always a tough sell, and the controversy that surrounded the show even before its premiere scared many sponsors away. That plus NBC's ultimate lack of faith in the series
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Question: So the bomb has dropped on what's been, personally, expected for months — that the Palladino wife-and-husband team, Amy and Daniel, are leaving Gilmore Girls. Part of me is sad. She created this brilliant show and the pair have probably written over half the episodes. But part of me is hopeful that someone on the Gilmore writing/producing team will hopefully be able to turn the show around, after this lackluster season, for its supposed last hurrah! What do you think of this whole event?
Answer: My gut reaction is sadness, that it's a shame that Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino won't see this show, which is such a singular vision and which is so entwined with their voices, through to its natural conclusion. (Which I have to think will be a year from now. The fact that they appear to have been holding out for a two-year extension can only be characterized as hubris.) Gilmore Girls has been such an oddball show this season. I love it — the tone, the language, the
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Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel
Question: I just read that Amy Sherman-Palladino and her husband, Daniel, are not returning for next season's Gilmore Girls. Please tell me it's not true. My heart is breaking. She had a plan!
Answer: Relax. Breathe. Read. No decision has been made either way. As I understand it, both sides — Team Palladino and Warner Bros. — are still trying to hash out a deal that would bring them back next fall for a seventh season. But I'd be lying if I told you there weren't some really scary moments yesterday. The situation is extremely fluid, but rest assured that the moment I have something definitive to report — no matter what the hour — I will post an update on The Ausiello Report. I am on thi
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Project RunwayI know it's not unusual, but it's so unfortunate that the finalists had to pull an all-nighter right before the biggest event of their career so far. Even after sewing all night, Daniel had what looked like either the show's assistants or the models themselves sewing on buttons backstage. But onstage you couldn't tell any of this, especially when he did a happy little jig for his family. I am still drooling over the white coat and the shirt with the dipping back. And I hope his and Chloe's dresses with pockets (along with Amy Adams' and Sandra Bullock's Oscar dresses) are the start of a trend. On the other hand, the first jacket looked like a couch, and when Rebecca tripped away in that brown dress, I could see M
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Project Runway finalist Santino Rice
Be sure to check out the prefinale thoughts of Project Runway's Daniel and Chloe, too!
No matter the outcome of tonight's finale (10 pm/ET on Bravo), Santino Rice's name has become practically synonymous with Project Runway's second season. And that just might be by (ahem) design. The 30-year-old Missourian had been a struggling designer in Los Angeles for 13 years, so he was determined to make an impact in the show and make it to the final three — even if it meant going over the top with his designs, arguing emphatically with the judges, talking
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Project RunwayAfter all these weeks of having only two days to complete a project, you'd think seven months would be enough time for 12 outfits. Apparently not. But before we get to that, let me say how nice it was to see this other side of Santino, eating dinner at his friend's house with a little girl crawling on his lap, and even confessing about his insecurities. Looooved seeing all those '80s Sears portraits of the finalists and their families. And the product placement worked: I officially covet that Saturn roadster Tim rented.
So far Santino's dress actually looks the most wearable, ironically. That pleated rainbowy dress is gorgeous. Chloe's ginormous poofy-sleeved jacket thing was more over-the-top and weird. Tim
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Question: So now that Santino has made it to the final three of Project Runway (no Uncle Nick!), what are your thoughts on the matter after you said that he shouldn't make it? Do you think the producers kept him because he made for good television, or did he deserve it? Personally, I would like to have seen Chloe, Daniel and Nick in the top three, but what can you do?
Answer: There's still a good argument that Santino stayed in the running because he was among the most interesting contestants, if not the most adept. The only reason Santino didn't get bounced during the makeover episode, when the outfit he made was falling apart on the runway, was because Nick (an early favorite of mine as well) produced such a hideous suit for Daniel to wear (no pockets, terrible fabric and color). I've always thought the judges, and no doubt the producers, have believed all along that if given the chance, Santino could turn out a collection for Fashion Week that would have more of a "point of view" (a
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Project RunwayYou'd think that these final four contestants has survived because they work well in this high-pressure situation. But really, when it came down to this final evening gown, which they were permitted to make with regular old fabric, not grass or old clothing or spandex, they all kinda choked, didn't they? The disappointment made Nina Garcia look snootier than ever, like she'd seen someone wearing clothes from Gap in her presence. I don't think Iman minded so much, since she was so blatantly there to promote her book, The Beauty of Color (at least she made more sense here than on Top Model last season).
So as much as I think Santino deserved the auf Wiedersehen last week for that hideous falling-apart jum
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Susanna Thompson and Aidan Quinn, The Book of Daniel
As this is probably my last bully pulpit for the show, I want to take this opportunity to thank all the thousands of people on boards, blogs and websites across the Internet who've shown such wonderful, loving support for The Book of Daniel. Love. Support. Tolerance. Acceptance. Forgiveness. Those are the Christian values that I was brought up with, and the values that I tried to bring into the world of Daniel.
It's late now. I've just spent tonight with Susanna Thompson (Judith), Ivan Shaw (Adam), Cheryl White (Victoria) and Fran Bennett (Lorraine) — the L.A. contingent of the cast — watching the two episodes that were slated to air this coming Friday and next. F
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