Monday, July 15, 2013

NEWS: THE LYING GAME Canceled, VERONICA MARS Book Series, Jerry verDorn, Cory Monteith, Jill Larson, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Daisy Lewis, Tracey Bregman

THE LYING GAME canceled
LYING GAME star Alexandra Chando tweeted the news: "To our awesome #lyinggame fans, thank you for these two amazing seasons. Unfortunately, Abc Family has decided not to bring us back for a third season. We so wanted to do 10 more for you guys! Thanks for your support and keep up with the cast to see what's next for us! Xx"

Cory Monteith Was Invaluable To GLEE. Where Does the Show Go Now?
Regardless of the cause, Cory Monteith’s death is a tragic one. He was young and talented — a gifted drummer, an awkward-as-hell dancer, and a reliable nailer of power ballads. And he was Finn Hudson, GLEE's main testament to the life-changing power of music, arguably the show’s primary message.

The loss of Finn alters the show’s landscape permanently and irrevocably. While Ryan Murphy hasn’t said much publicly about what this year holds, he negotiated a two-season renewal for GLEE last spring, and consensus is that he wouldn’t have been able to do so without some sort of master plan (or at the very least, a general sense) of how this next chunk of story plays out.

GLEE works as escapist television, and it almost always flounders when it tries to be something bigger. Season four’s misbegotten school shooting, prostate cancer, teen molestation, and eating disorder storylines – all either insensitively handled or dropped without explanation – are undeniable proof of that.

Inside Cory Monteith's Last Days: Glee Star Partied at The Roxy; See Recent Twitpic
Before his tragic death, Cory Monteith enjoyed his final days with friends.

More tests needed for cause of Monteith's death
Vancouver police Sgt. Randy Fincham said there's nothing to indicate the death was due to illicit drug use.

Cory Monteith Death: Glee Star's Autopsy on Fast Track "Due to the Intense Public Interest"
"Due to the intense public interest, the toxicology will be expedited," says the source, adding that the results are expected to come in "in 2 or 3 days."

How 22 TV Shows Handled an Actor's Death
As Fox's GLEE in the coming weeks mourns series star Cory Monteith, who was found dead on July 13 at the age of 31, TVLine recounts how 22 other TV series responded to, and sometimes incorporated, a cast member’s death. The most recent was Larry Hagman in DALLAS.

Minnesotan Jill Larson has been playing zany Opal Cortlandt of ALL MY CHILDREN for 20 years
Larson says 65 percent of the online audience are new viewers and, by airing AMC on OWN, the show is hoping to get back some of the fans it lost when it vanished from network TV.

"We'll see how this next step of the experiment goes," she says. "I hope it's a big success."

Kris Jenner Picks Cameron Mathison as her First KRIS Co-Host
Her new daytime talk show KRIS debuted Monday, July 15, on several Fox-owned stations around the country. Jenner selected former ALL MY CHILDREN star Cameron Mathison as her very first co-host.

Journalists Aaron Sorkin Hired as Consultants Are THE NEWSROOM's Best PR
Last fall Sorkin hired 13 consultants, including magazine editors and cable news anchors to cultivate a more "realistic" strand of "moral eczema" for second season of The Newsroom. Perhaps Sorkin should've thrown them a promotional fee because the paid journalists and political strategists were all over and Twitter and Facebook promoting last night's dour, self-important season premiere.

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell, who worked with Sorkin on THE WEST WING, was involved initially but asked to be taken off the payroll because he feared he wouldn't be as available as the show would need him to be. Instead, he suggested he simply could be a friend of the show. "He ended up deserving to be paid because he contributed a lot," says Sorkin, "and liked to hang out in the writers room when he was in L.A."

Consultants: Natalie Allen (CNN anchor), Ashleigh Banfield (CNN anchor), S.E. Cupp (Co-Host, THE CYCLE on MSNBC), Susan Del Percio (Republican strategist and MSNBC contributor), Jeff Greenfield (Former CNN political reporter), Rick Kaplan (Former president of CNN and MSNBC), Jim Kelly (Former editor of Time), Kaj Larsen (Former Navy SEAL and investigative reporter for CNN) Chris Matthews (Host of HARDBALL on MSNBC), Mark McKinnon (Republican strategist), Alex Wagner (Host of NOW WITH ALEX WAGNER on MSNBC), Shushannah Walshe (Former Romney campaign embed, ABC News and Fox News) and Leon Wieseltier (Editor/columnist, The New Republic).

Alicia Silverstone pilot to be directed by Darren Star
"HR" is the working title of Silverstone's and Starr's pilot. The story focuses on a character named Ellen Bell, to be played by Silverstone. Shortly after Bell suffers a head injury, she begins to experience professional and personal changes in her life as the formerly uptight director of Human Resources at a multinational corporation.

Star will also serve as an executive producer on the Lifetime pilot, along with Aaron Kaplan. Glenn Porter and Michael Lohmann will be co-executive producers. There is no expected airdate for the project.

VERONICA MARS Gets Book Series Spin-Off
Rob Thomas will help develop a two-book "Veronica Mars" series that will pick up where the story of the forthcoming movie ends, with publication by Vintage set for spring 2014.

Daisy Lewis joins DOWNTON ABBEY
[SPOILER ALERT] Lewis is being brought in to heal the broken heart of widower Tom Branson in the new season. She will play the live-in governess of Tom’s daughter, also called Sybil in memory of her tragic mum, played by Jessica Brown Findlay.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE's Jerry verDorn on how prostate cancer changed his career
"After about 12 years there [at GUIDING LIGHT] I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. At the time I had two kids – they were about 6 and 4. So real life steps in and adjusts your professional life. I didn’t want to quit because then my insurance would go away, and if I had a recurrence it would be somewhat catastrophic for my family."

"So luckily, they wanted me, and second, I did it from contract to contract because I wanted the insurance, and that’s pretty much the case today. If I had not gotten diagnosed, my career would be totally different than what it is now. But that happens to a lot of actors – where something happens in your real life that just takes your career in a totally different direction."

Clearfield SPCA Launches New Web site, Gets Donation from Y&R star Tracey Bregman
“[Bregman] has been a social media acquaintance,” said SPCA board member Shari Learish. “We’ve been in active conversation with her for the past year. She checked out our new Web site and the next thing we knew, it said she’d donated.”

Bregman was the first online donor to the Clearfield County SPCA. She, according to Learish, is an active supporter of many animal welfare and rescue groups and has an array of personal pets at home. Bregman currently serves as an “honorary board member” for Chenoa Manor, an animal sanctuary in Chester County.

'I do want justice': Danniella Westbrook claims that she will report her gang rape ordeal to the police after 19 years... as she admits she wants to return to EASTENDERS
Speaking to Lorraine Kelly on ITV, the 39-year-old said that she was beginning to feel better since opening up about the incident and would love to return to the soap that she made her name on.

Kate Magowan joins EASTENDERS
The soap's Executive Producer, Lorraine Newman, said: "We're delighted to have the stunning Kate Magowan joining the show. Sadie will sprinkle a little glamour over Walford and with her no-nonsense approach to life she's a great role model to those around her. She knows what she wants and will aim high. Sadie plays as hard as she works, creating friendships and admirers in her wake. As the autumn unfolds, we'll soon realize that there is far more to Sadie than simply meets the eye."

CORONATION STREET's Hayley gets diagnosis
[SPOILER ALERT] Actress Julie Hesmondhalgh announced earlier this year her plans to leave the soap at the end of 2013 after 15 years playing the ITV soap's first transsexual character. Writers decided the only way they could split up much loved couple Roy and Hayley was for her to be diagnosed with a terminal illness.

2 comments: