News Brief

ESPN's Matthew Berry on his OLTL guest appearance as Neil, the jewelry appraiser
"[Being on a soap] is both infinitely easier and much, much harder than what I do on a normal day. The easy part: You get a script a week before. You don't have to write, you don't have to research, nothing. It's all just handed to you. Everything I do at ESPN, I write and "perform" myself. We have so many platforms, I always feel as if I am rushing from one set to another, from one studio to a computer for a column or chat, back to shoot something, then off to another place for radio or a podcast. I'm always in motion. That's the nature of sports, of course. News and analysis is always changing, and in fantasy, player value fluctuates more than my dating life.

But at OLTL (that's what us insiders call it) everything is at a very relaxed pace. You show up, you go through a relaxed rehearsal with the director and other cast members, you take a long lunch, you go to makeup, you hit the set. It's all very professional and civilized. If you screw up, there's almost no chance that Larry Johnson decides to run for almost 200 yards and score two touchdowns so that everyone can then call you out on it, often with correctly spelled words.

So it's, like, super easy. Except, of course, that it's super hard. On ESPN, all I have to do is 'be myself.' Even I can't totally screw that up. But acting is, well, acting. Like being someone else. While not appearing as if you are trying to be someone else. You have to be natural and conversational, with every eye in the joint focused squarely on you. It's like an awkward first date and you're wearing makeup.

I was constantly trying to figure out what to do with my hands. And desperately trying to remember my lines. While appearing to be listening to what other actors were saying. And not look like a complete tool. And then say my words naturally. And then remember where to walk to and what camera I was supposed to be on without actually looking at the camera. And then remember my next line. The whole thing was a blur. A total blast, but a blur. My co-stars, Christopher Cousins (who plays Cain), Andrea Evans (Tina Lord) and Tallulah Bean (David Vickers, the dog) were unbelievably patient and kind with me. The entire crew was great. I'm convinced I'm a terrible actor, but we'll see what America thinks. Regardless, it was a very cool experience to get out of my comfort zone and play someone else. And not an Adrian Peterson in sight."

CADY MCCLAIN: Vote for Obama + Halloween pics
"He brings HOPE as a important humanistic idea to the forefront of our minds, which is an admirable quality as a leader. I have never seen him lose his temper, which can’t be said of McCain. He has a great smile- seems like a decent guy with a really smart and levelheaded wife, who will no doubt give him moral support in office. It’s like a 'good' or 'healthy' revolution. Where we can finally bring to fruition all the POSITIVE ideals that were born 40 or so years ago!"

Five types of voters supporting California's anti-gay Proposition 8
The "Nuke" Voter. Named for The American Family Association and others who protested when AS THE WORLD TURNS added a gay character fearing their presence would lead to adultery, sex outside of marriage, divorce, lying, amnesia and hot shirtless men on television.

Brooke Smith's GREY'S ANATOMY ouster is not right and not okay
Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak writes: "Here's hoping it won't take long for a rival network to get smart and sign you to a holding deal right away. I hear the folks at Fox actually have a thing for fiercely intelligent, highly capable, decidedly un-cuddly doctors. Give 'em a call!"

REVIEW: StrikeTV's LIFE IN GENERAL
Jonathan Hludzinski at Tubefilter writes: "There’s great production value from the costumes to the camera work to the sets. It’s clear that Ms. Harris has a lot at her disposal here and uses it to her full advantage. However, great production value does not a great show make. It’s just a pilot, so maybe things will get better, but the acting is slightly over the top (either an actor or director problem – I’m suspecting a little of both). The story, well, it’s serialized, like a soap, so there are a lot of starts, but I’m not yet invested in any of the characters to care about any of the stories. And the music gives the impression that it’s supposed to be funny, but it’s just not happening.

My suggestion to Harris and crew is this: ten minutes is too long, cut at least two or three minutes, focus on one story, let it begin, middle and end, and PLEASE give Jo Beth Williams more screen time (she plays the show’s exec producer and she’s the best thing in it). There are a lot of good elements here, but unfortunately, until they’re put together right, LIFE IN GENERAL will be a general mess."

Cherry Valley resident, Erin Sanders, a rising TV star
It all started with a box of Girl Scout cookies. When Cherry Valley resident Erin Sanders was 9 years old, she spent one day going door to door at her grandmother's apartment building in Encino selling cookies. At one of the apartments, Erin rattled off an impressive spiel of cookie names and descriptions. The resident happened to have a friend with a talent agency and he gave Erin and her mother a business card.

Although Erin is enjoying her current work on THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, she does miss the friends she made working on ZOEY 101 and, she misses her character, Quinn.

"After being one character for four years, it's sad not doing that anymore," she said. "It became a whole persona. We were like family," Erin said of her ZOEY 101 co-workers. "But we still see each other as much as we can."