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Ed O'Neill ABC photo

The raft of rave reviews that preceded Ed O’Neill’s “Modern Family” sitcom onto the ABC lineup this week are being received with a mixed response by the actor.

“It’s kind of spooky,” says the man who first found television fame as Al Bundy on the long running “Married, With Children.”  “I’m not used to such good fortune. I’ve never had a show that’s come out of the gate like this.  It seems too good to be true.”

It was too good to be true at first.  Ed reveals that the creators of the hilarious   three-generation sitcom offered him the starring part before it had even been written.  But it turned out the network wanted Craig T. Nelson as the lead, “and it was only when that didn’t work out,” says Ed, “that they came back to me.  I told my manager, ‘Make the deal — it’s too good a show to pass up.”

It wasn’t the first time fate played a happy hand on Ed.  “The hardest job I never got was David Milch’s “Deadwood.” he says. “I was slated to play the lead, but it turned out that HBO didn’t want me.  There was no point in asking why.  But about 15 minutes after I got the word that I wasn’t doing the show received a call from producer Dick Wolf who was doing a remake of ‘Dragnet.‘  Danny Huston was supposed to star, but backed out and here was Dick telling me, ‘I need you to play Joe Friday.’ Joe, of course, was the lead.”

O’Neill reveals, “I’m rarely the first pick, and there have been times that that’s been really upsetting.  But it didn’t put me to bed.  After a day or two I would shrug it off.  I’d be crazy if I didn’t consider myself one of the lucky actors.   At first, after ‘Married,With Children,’ there was the tendency to typecast me, but I never took it personally.  I just kept going forward and thought that eventually I’d be able to get away from the role of Al Bundy.  And I have.  And that’s enabled me to get out of the system money-wise, where I don’t have to do jobs I don’t want to do just because I need the money.  Indeed, I am lucky.”

THAT’S WHY THEY CALL IT ACTING:  When you’re an actor on a series doing love scenes with the actress who is married to the star of the show in real life, it would seem things might get a little nerve-wracking.  But David Ramsey – guitar-playing, pot-smoking confidential informant Anton Briggs to “Dexter” fans – makes it sound as if he and Michael C. Hall and Jennifer Carpenter take it all in stride. 

 “Love scenes in general are awkward.  I don’t know that it’s more awkward,” he tells us.  “You try to be careful in scenes where you have to kiss, to make sure you haven’t had hot dogs that day or whatever.” 

 According to Ramsey, there’s lots more of Anton and Debra (Dexter’s sister) ahead on this season of the Showtime hit, which has its season premiere Sunday (9/27).  “The writers, to their credit, aren’t going for the same type of shock value they did last year in terms of something life-threatening happening to Anton,” divulges the actor – whose character, last year, was nearly skinned alive.  This season “delves into the psychology of Debra and Anton’s relationship.  He’s the calm in the storm for her.  The major challenge between Debra and Anton this season is how she sees herself as not really worthy of love.  She has a major problem with her self-worth.  That fact becomes illuminated by Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine) coming back into her life.”

 THE INDUSTRY EYE:  Keanu Reeves’ “Henry’s Crime” is set to go into production the end of November with shooting set for New York City and Buffalo, Malcolm Venville directing and Keanu producing.  Just one big element still missing, it would seem, from the romantic comedy about a nice guy who’s mis-identified as a bank robber — the leading lady.  They’re talking to prospects now to fill the role of Julia, an aspiring actress (a good one – who’s in a production of “The Cherry Orchard”) who’s Henry’s love interest.

 An even bigger actor space to fill is that of the lead character Sutter Kelly in Fox Searchlight’s adaptation of the Tim Tharp novel, “The Spectacular Now.”   The coming-of-age dramedy is about a hard-partying, popular high school boy whose world changes when he meets a shy, insecure girl – a boy also facing the uncomfortable realization that his youth is almost over – so it’s very choice role.  Marc Webb of music video and “500 Days of Summer” fame is set to direct the movie

 It was announced last March that Corey Feldman would be on board for “The Lost Boys 3” – and now preproduction is picking up on the direct-to-DVD threequel, with casting being completed on subsidiary roles.

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster 

Rob Dyrdek MTV photo

Skateboarding superstar Rob Dyrdek may have amassed a huge fan following with his “Rob & Big” and “Fantasy Factory” MTV reality shows, but he foresees the day when he might be too busy to remain a television star.

“I’ll do TV for a little bit more,” assures the holder of multipleF Guinness book records for skateboard stunts.  “I have so many other things I’m doing like developing a cartoon.  I’m developing a professional skateboard tour.  I’ve got my shoe and clothing line.  And I actually sold MTV another show that I’m developing…At some point I’ll have to focus more on that stuff, but for now, I’m having a lot of fun shooting TV,” he says, referring to his current “Fantasy Factory” show – on which he’s up to even more outrageous adventures than ever before. 

“I think part of last season was sort of understanding the dynamics of everybody in the building and sort of each person’s role,” notes Dyrdek, whose office contains an indoor skate plaza.  “Now we’re just having fun.  We’re making some really ridiculous and over-the-top television, from buying a racehorse and jockeying it in its first race to building a mini drifting car and doing tandem drifting with the world’s most famous drifter, Ken Block — to bringing back Bobby Light and opening up for Blink 182 in Vegas, to swimming with tigers.”  Wow.

 For those who didn’t get a chance to see Dyrdek’s antics in Season 1 (such as riding the purported World’s Largest Skateboard with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa), it is now available on DVD.  “There’s so much funny, ridiculous stuff that could not find a place in a 22-minute episode,” he notes, “so it’s all on the DVD.”

 MEANWHILE:  Dyrdek tells us his thoughts have been with his buddy and business partner Travis Barker, who has been mourning the loss of DJ AM.  Barker and DJ AM survived a plane crash together last year.  “It’s just so tragic.  I think for Travis, especially, because of the significance of what he lost in the first crash and being bound by that, and to see DJ AM come to an untimely passing was really hard on him.”   

Kathy Ireland and Tony Dovolani ABC photo

A GIVING SPIRIT:  “Dancing With the Stars” participant Kathy Ireland sent flowers arrangements to every one of her 31 fellow performers (stars and their dance partners), for Monday night’s kickoff of the show, designing the displays herself since they were from Fabulous Florals.com, one of the companies of her $l.4 Billion-a-year lifestyle design empire. 

 The supermodel turned super mogul is giving any money she earns on “DWTS” to non-profit charities, much of it to her dear friend Elizabeth Taylor’s HIV/AIDS foundation.  Dame Elizabeth did some giving of her own, selecting and purchasing the Valentino gown Kathy wore on the show’s premiere.  And those fabulous jewels in which she was bedecked were from Elizabeth’s personal collection.  Kathy is one of the top jewelry designers herself, but Dame Elizabeth is her lucky charm.

LEFT HANGING:  Ever since “CSI’s” Robert David Hall told us that we’ll be seeing the cast suspended from wires this season, as “a moment in time is frozen,” we’ve been kinda wondering what exactly that means.  Hall declined to elaborate, beyond saying that tonight’s (9/24) season premiere is some of the most ingenious TV he’s ever seen.  “Not just in terms of the storyline, but in terms of camera angels.  It’s just movie magic,” according to him.  

That’s not all they’re keeping suspended.  Now we hear from casting sources that “CSI” is looking for real pole dancers “who can hang upside-down unsupported” for an upcoming episode.  “Must be athletic… No nudity.” 

SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT:  With “Little Miss Sunshine” being turned into a musical via the Sundance Theatre Lab at White Oak, casting is underway for all the characters remembered from the quirky 2006 flick about a family trip to a children’s beauty pageant — that was made for $8 million and grossed more than $100 million worldwide, and scored Oscars for Best Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin) and screenplay (Michael Arndt).  The plan is for the new show to be unveiled Oct. 25 in Yulee, Fla.

And they’re looking for a girl to play Mary Jane Greenberg, daughter of 60’s record producer (“It’s My Party,” etc.) Florence Greenberg, for the Pasadena Playhouse production of “Baby, It’s You.”  That musical has been moving up the Equity chain – with intentions aimed at Broadway next year.  It arrives in Pasadena in December.

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Debbie Allen is hoping that the new “Fame” feature that opens Friday (9/25) will do more than entertain – it will serve as a reminder of the importance of arts education at a time when “the money dries up right and left.

Debbie Allen

“We have a war going on,” declares the dance great.  “Where is the money for the arts?  There is no money, but the arts should be one of the last things to be cut.  We need the arts to initiate, to create, to have a voice.  The performing arts are one of the best ways to connect people.  It’s character education.”

 Allen is in the new “Fame” – making her the only performer to appear in the hit 1980 film, its spin-off TV series, and the new movie.  Her character may be named Principal Simms, but to Debbie, she’s playing the same fiercely dedicated teacher she’s played all along.  “After all this time, I am the same character.  Lydia Grant is married – this is her married name,” she says with a laugh. “That’s how the world is going to know her.  I’ve never left it.” 

 Indeed, she carried Lydia Grant into her own life, founding her immensely successful Debbie Allen Dance Academy that’s already seen students hitting the big time, including her daughter, Vivian Nixon, of Broadway’s “Hot Feet” — and “So You Think You Can Dance” contestant William Wingfield.  She’s had other dancers and choreographers land work on stage and screen – including “Fame.”

 “A few of my students are in it.  One of my right hands – Marguerite Derricks – choreographed it.  When I saw it, I just beamed and gushed about how wonderful her work is,” she recounts.

 Debbie herself recently choreographed and directed Mariah Carey’s big new Las Vegas show.  Now, besides her ongoing activities presiding over the school, she is getting ready to direct the London production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” that she directed on Broadway last year – starring her sister Phylicia Rashad and Sanaa Lathan.    

 SO GOOD IT’S BAD:  “I appreciate that people are taking better care of themselves, but I’m like your dirty secret,” says Blythe Beck, who is starring in her own Oxygen reality series “The Naughty Kitchen With Chef Blythe Beck,” debuting today (9/22).

 ”I am the naughty chef.  I call my food sexy new American – food you ate growing up but I make it naughty.  I’m all about beer, butter, pork fat, and loving on your food.  The more love you give to it, the naughtier it is,” claims the sassy chef, who runs the Dallas restaurant Central 214.  “You wouldn’t eat this food every single day, but you come to me when you want to celebrate the good times or be comforted in the bad times.  I just want people to come in my restaurant and let me love on them for a little while.” 

Despite so many cooking shows on television at the moment, Beck claims her show is different.  “My show is not just about cooking.  It’s more of following me around as a chef.  My life alone has been like a television show with the ups and downs of working in this field, and now it actually is one,” she adds with a laugh.  “I’m just blessed that cooking is the gift God gave me.  It’s the best gift ever.” 

Adam Hicks

YOUNG STAR ON THE RISE:  Adam Hicks, Luther Waffles to fans of  “Zeke & Luther,”  is resting up a bit between his and fellow star Hutch Dano’s just-finished promotional sweep of Europe and the start of second season production of their popular Disney XD show.

 “It was amazing!  Everything was a new experience.  Hutch and I are open to all these new things all the time.  I had a blast,” he says.  “I got to see the Eiffel Tower; I’d always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower.  I loved Germany…”  And he got recognized in Paris, he reports.

 Did he and Hutch ever get on each other’s nerves?  “We never really did.  We have a good relationship.  We balance each other out,” he says.  “We’re constantly working together, so that’s great.”

 Hicks, who starred in the big screen “How to Eat Fried Worms” and has a sizeable list of TV and movie credits,  recalls feeling “a different vibe” about “Zeke and Luther” than anything he’d done previously.  “It was more fast-paced, fast cut — a lot of outrageous comedy with us skateboarding down the streets and stuff like that.  I wondered if people would be open to this new flavor of comedy.”

 They were.  Now the amiable red-haired 17-year-old is getting used to being asked questions about what makes a good kiss and such by the teen magazines.  He seems to be taking it all in stride.  “I’m open to answering a lot of the questions.  I’ll give you my best advice,” he says.

FEELING GOOD:  “The Biggest Loser” host Alison Sweeney admits to pangs of jealousy over her husband’s ability to eat just about anything without putting on weight.  “He’s so thin,” she says of her mate, California Highway Patrolman David Sanov.  But it’s not as if he gets a free ride as far as staying in shape, she points out.  “He works out.  It’s interesting.  You learn it’s not just about how many pounds you see on the scale — it’s about what’s going on on the inside, too.  So it’s about what you put into your body and maintaining your health and fitness.” 

 With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Denise Richards

Anyone who follows Denise Richards’ Twitter feed knows that the actress has been besieged this month by inquiries as to whether she – like former husband Charlie Sheen, who wrote to President Obama about the subject – is among the “Truthers” who believe the 9/11 attacks were actually the result of a conspiracy within the government.  

“I don’t believe that.  Charlie’s entitled to his beliefs and his opinions, but I don’t believe any of it,” she makes it clear.  “It’s such a sensitive topic.  My heart goes out to all the victims – that’s where the focus is for me,” adds Denise.

 She has a full plate of activities to focus on in her own life, meanwhile, beginning with plans to meet with Ryan Seacrest this coming week about the future of her “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated” E! Channel show, which he produces.

 “I knew that I wanted to do a second season because the first season was very much about all the stuff I was dealing with,” notes the beauty, referring to her grief over losing her mother, paparazzi problems, insomnia and the aftermath of her ugly divorce from Sheen.  “I wanted to show you can move on and move forward, take the high road and keep pursing what you want to pursue.  A third season – I know it’s reality and our life, and but I also want it to still be interesting,” says Denise, who is also shooting a pilot for a comedy series next month.

Denise is serving on the event committee for the Best Friends Animal Society’s Lint Roller Party, Oct. 3 at the Hollywood Palladium — where The Bangles will perform and Katherine Heigl will be honored.   Denise will be introducing a retrospective of the organization’s 25-year history of pet rescue, including roundups in which “they go to the shelters and rescue the dogs that are about to be euthanized, get them spayed and neutered and find them homes.” 

 Some of those animals have found homes in the “large menagerie” maintained by Denise, with her four and five-year-old daughters’ approval.  “My daughters are very nurturing with animals.  They would rather save a dog with three legs or blindness that needs extra care,” she says.  “I’m so proud of them for that.”

 HE’S GOT THE MOVES:  Tyce Diorio, who has been a standout choreographer and judge on “So You Think You Can Dance,” tells us the Fox show has done wonders for his career.  While he’s currently involved in the show’s sixth season, he’s also busy choreographing Cher in Las Vegas.  “It’s really taken me to new heights and I’m excited for what’s happening.  The show keeps me busy, and when I’m not working on the show, I try to find time for my personal life and other exciting projects,” says Diorio, who’s also worked with Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion, and Janet Jackson.  In fact, he’s already planning to branch out.  “I’ll be working on an animated film in November.  I would like to direct films at some point too.  But dancing-wise, I want to choreograph for as many legendary icons as I can.”   

 In the meantime, Diorio will be busy helping select America’s next favorite new dancer.  “So far we’ve got some really dynamic characters this season.  When you see the top 20, then I think you’ll see what it’s shaping up into and that’s when I’ll know too,” he notes.  “It’s always different because no two people are alike so the individuality is what makes it great.  There’s real, real talent and it’s honest and it’s passionate and it’s the truth, and people connect to the truth.”

 ALWAYS GREEN:  With his “A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa” coming out on DVD at month’s end – plus a guesting on David Foster’s new Christmas special coming up – we asked Kermit the Frog who has stood out the most among the many iconic performers he’s worked with.  “Some of my favorite moments have been dancing with Gene Kelly to ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ and singing a Christmas carol on ‘SNL’ with Bobby De Niro.  And I’ve worked with so many great stars over the years – Bob Hope, Prince, Tony Bennett, Billy Crystal, Steve Martin…and too many legends to mention,” he replies. 

 And as for stars he’d like to collaborate with in the future?  “There are a lot of stars I’d still like to share the stage with,” he says.  “Al Pacino, Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, to name a few.  I’d also like to work with Beyonce, Jennifer Aniston and Cameron Diaz, but I know better than to mention that in a newspaper that Miss Piggy might read….Oops, was this on the record? Sheesh!” 

FOLLOW THE MONEY:  Casting is underway for filmmaker Paula Van der Oest’s “Domino Effect,” which takes a form somewhat similar to that of the acclaimed 2006 “Babel” with separate stories that interlock.  In the case of that film, action was touched off by a gun accident.  In Van der Oest’s forthcoming feature, it’s about a business banker in London who tries to take over a bank in Amserdam and fails, causing both banks to go bankrupt – which in turn creates a crisis for a mechanic in Michigan, and for characters in India, China, and Brazil. 

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Kelly Osbourne photo dailyceleb.com

“Spiritual” and “inspiration” are words many people would not attach to Kelly Osbourne.  But that’s bound to change once Season 9 of “Dancing With the Stars” gets underway Monday (9/21) — according to her partner on the show, Louis Van Amstel.

 “I’ve seen that girl change in front of my eyes in every single way,” reports the three-time world champion ballroom dancer, who’s been working with the 24-year-old member of the Osbourne clan for just two and a half weeks. 

 “Physically, apparently she’s already lost 14 pounds.  Emotionally, well, she came in afraid of doing it and wanting to overcome her fears.  The girl came out of rehab only a year and a half ago,” he reminds, referring to Osbourne’s addiction to prescription pain medication.

 He believes that audiences will see “the real Kelly Osbourne” once they view her in action.  He describes “a spiritual side, and also a little bit of therapy” coming to the fore as rehearsals continue.  “It’s inspiring, being part of that every single day, seeing her change.  I don’t want to see that change stop – it’s going to be not only therapy for her, but also a tool to inspire a lot of people.” 

Louis Van Amstel ABC photo

 Does she believe that?  “She’s starting to believe, slowly but surely.

 “Dancing is so close to the soul, whatever baggage there is, dancing will bring it out,” adds the Amsterdam native, “and I’m the one – I don’t call myself a teacher.  Sometimes you’re a therapist, sometimes you’re the bad guy, sometimes you’re like brother and sister, and sometimes, depending on the dance, you pretend to be in love.  It’s so much more than dancing.  It’s mind, body and soul.”

 Make no mistake: the well-known Kelly Osbourne personality is also in evidence.  He reports there’s been a lot of cursing going on during rehearsals, too. 

 “I’m European.  I love that feistiness.  She says whatever is on her mind.  We do a lot of fun bickering.  She calls me ‘Mein Fuehrer’ and I say, ‘Bring it, b—-.’  Our package is PG-13 because of the language.”

PEACE AT LAST: Lisa Niemi must be feeling some consolation from the love pouring out in memory of her husband, Patrick Swayze.  This office alone has had calls and emails from industryites and fans as well as other members of the press; people seem to want to share their stories of the man.  

Patrick Swayze in "Ghost" photo Paramount Home Entertainment

Along with his performances and his gutsy fight against cancer, Swayze should also be remembered as of a thoughtful star who seemed to try his best to be good and do good.  Before he became ill with pancreatic cancer, we recall his behind-the-scenes push to put together an eco summit in Africa to, well, quite literally save the world.   He wanted, he said, “to see if it’s possible to put together a think tank of the greatest brains in the world and get a 1-2-3 sequence of things we need to do — now.”  He once said that whenever someone raised the issue of racism, he made it a point not to get defensive, but to use it as an opportunity to search within himself for any shred of prejudice and then to root it out.   What a legacy.

It’s a sad week in Hollywood, as we also say goodbye to Variety’s columnist of so many years, Army Archerd, and to Larry Gelbart.  The great wordsmith, whose credits included “M*A*S*H” and “Tootsie,” was one of the most brilliant and witty talents ever in these parts, and was nevertheless gracious and down-to-earth.

Jolene Van Vugt MTV photo

REVVED UP:  Professional motocross rider Travis Pastrana is back for a second season of his MTV stunt show “Nitro Circus,” and his pal and fellow rider Jolene Van Vugt says get ready for some of their most outrageous antics to-date.  “We tried to do our best to be at least as good as season one but obviously we want to be better so we’ve tried to top it.  We’ve got dirt bikes, cars, anything with motors and wheels coming back.  We’ve also added some airplane and helicopter stunts.  I think everybody’s going to be pretty happy with season two,” claims Van Vugt, who tells us she’s gotten a ton of feedback from women since doing the show.  “I get a lot of really nice, inspirational emails from young girls who say that I’ve inspired them to start riding or mothers that say their children have been inspired by me in some way.  If you can just be yourself and be an example that someone can look up to, that’s the ultimate compliment.” 

 BE AFRAID:  “Bachelor” creator Mike Fleiss has certainly made a name for himself in the world of reality television, but he tells us he’s been putting a lot of his attention into making horror films as well.  “I’ve always loved horror films.  As a kid, there wasn’t any reality TV.  I didn’t grow up on reality TV, but I certainly grew up on horror movies,” says Fleiss, who is working on a new horror movie franchise and has already produced such flicks as “Hostel” and the remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”  “I always dreamed of making horror movies and to be able to do it now and have it be successful is a wonderful thing.”

 With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Lots of “Biggest Loser” fans felt things went too far on this week’s premiere episode – when contestants Mo DeWalt and Tracey Yukich wound up hospitalized after a surprise challenge that called for a mile run by the newcomers, some of whom weighed in at more than 400 lbs.  Yukich, in fact, was still in the hospital as the episode concluded.

But when Bob Harper is asked if he and fellow “Biggest Loser” trainer Jillian Michaels worry about pushing the “losers” too hard, he’s quick to make it clear, “No, because we know what we’re doing.  When that happened, when that girl was sent to the hospital, we’d never met her.  She should not have run the way she did.” 

He notes that when Yukich did make it back to the “Biggest Loser” ranch, “We had to take it real easy with her.”

Is he concerned that the incident will reflect badly on him?

“I don’t think it really reflects on my training,” he replies.  “My style and technique through eight years have been established.”

Indeed.  The fitness master, who debuts as a regular contributor on the syndicated “Dr. Oz” show today (9/18), is known as much for his tenderhearted, sometimes teary-eyed ways as his tough workouts. 

He also put his all into the October-release “Biggest Loser” game for Nintendo Wii and DS, he lets us know.  It allows users to experience their own versions of life at the “Biggest Loser” ranch, complete with food journals, calorie-burning logs, recipes, challenges – and, of course, workouts.  “I was part of putting all the workouts together,” says Harper, who also tested the finished product.  He stresses that he wanted to be sure to give users a full-body regimen, with everything from core and upper body strengthening exercises to yoga.  The only drawback:  “I’m taller and thinner than my avatar,” he dead-pans.

MOVING RIGHT ALONG:  Ernest Bognine has been a perpetual motion man in recent months, with film commitments, book signings for his autobiography, and last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards – where he lost out to Michael J. Fox for Guest Actor in a Drama honors.  Now, “I may stay with my wife in Pennsylvania for awhile.  She bought a place there because it’s so close to her work,” he tells us, referring to wife Tova’s Beauty By Tova cosmetics line that’s featured on West Chester, PA-based QVC.  Ernie notes that Tova is also often on the go for her business – “to England, to Dusseldorf, Germany, to Italy…If she goes to Italy, I go along,” laughs the man born Ermes Effron Borgnino 92 years ago to an Italian countess who emigrated from Modena.

He happily adds that he and Tova “thank our lucky stars because after all this time and everything that’s happened, we love each other all the more every day.  This marriage has lasted close to 38 years now.  And to think, people gave us an hour and a half when we got married.”

THE HEARTTHROB BEAT:  “Melrose Place’s” Colin Egglesfield, who’s had the tough duty of romancing Laura Leighton and Ashlee Simpson on the show, doesn’t mind putting it right out there:  “I’m really living my dream right now.  It’s really awesome.  My family back home – they are just so excited.  When I booked the job, you probably could have heard my mom and sister screaming from Chicago,” he says.  “I’ve had text messages from friends – ‘I saw you on the side of a bus!’”  He’s trying to exercise caution in these heady times, however.  “The tricky part right now is, you want to enjoy what you have – but you still have a job to do and you want to do the best job possible.  Without that, none of the rest matters.”  His family members, he adds, “keep me grounded, for sure.”

INSIDE INSIGHT:  Veteran actor Rocky Carroll, remembered by many from the TV series “Roc,” is now a two-series regular, working both “NCIS” and its spin-off, “NCIS: Los Angeles.”  He tells us he feels blessed to still be working regularly in a business that is known for having no rules.  “I’ve been doing this professionally now for over 20 years.  The key for actors whose careers last more than a few years, part of it has to do with luck, but a huge part of it is I still love what I do,” says Carroll, who plays Director Leon Vance in the CBS drama. 

“There are actors in town who get a taste of success and your whole view of the town starts to sour and it shows in your demeanor and your work.  You go to an audition and everyone sees you have a chip on your shoulder because you feel like your career should be further.  You have to understand it’s simply a business,” he notes.  “Things are cyclical.  There’s no rhyme or reason why seven movies are made about the same topic.  I think the real artists are the ones who roll with the punches.  This is a business where paupers can become kings.  You’ll read a story of a guy who worked in the mailroom and now has a three-picture deal.  That is the norm in our business.  That doesn’t necessarily happen at somewhere like IBM.  That’s why busloads of people come to Los Angeles every day.”  

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Dennis Hopper photo by Melea Kreshok, Starz

Perhaps the latest proof that Dennis Hopper’s sordid past has been forgiven comes with his disclosure that after a wait of 16 years, he’s finally found the financing to direct a film based on a story he wrote, with production expected to start “As soon as we get through Christmas.”

 Hopper, who hit his initial career high directing “Easy Rider,” then found his career crashing to the ground with the follow-up, “The Last Movie,” these days has a multi-faceted successful career.  His book, “Dennis Hopper: Photographs 1961-1967,” will have him doing promotional chores in New York and abroad, including stops in London, Brussels, Berlin and Athens.  And he’s happily wrapping up the second season of the Starz series version of the  movie, “Crash,” for debut Sept. 18.  Of it he says, “We work hard — sometimes up to 14 to 17 hours — but I won’t complain. The show is great, and it’s featuring some marvelous guest performances by Eric Roberts, Peggy Lipton and Keith Carradine.”

 He has been free of narcotics and alcohol for 26 years now and says he’s just sorry, “I stayed on drugs and booze for so long.  I’m just lucky I got through it and have ended up with a wonderful life. I should have been dead 10 times over.  I believe in miracles and it’s an absolute miracle I’m still around”

 After all these years he still regrets that the 1972  “The Last Movie” was shelved by Universal Studios  after just a brief\ run — and that its failure led to the studio dropping him from its roster of talent and his ending up persona non grata in Hollywood for years.

 He still defends “The Last Movie,” though it was ravaged by critics here.  “It won the Venice Film Festival,” he reminds. He doesn’t defend his behavior making the movie that was considered such an important project Life magazine had a reporter follow the actor to Peru.  The subsequent location story branded Hopper as “a sullen renegade who talks revolution, settles arguments with karate, goes to bed with groups and has taken trips on everything you can swallow or shoot.” 

Dennis won’t argue that he engaged in years of outrageous behavior.  He’s just glad “I got through it and have ended up with a wonderful life.”

FROM THE INSIDE LOOKING OUT:  Mekhi Pfifer tells us he was already a big fan of Fox’s “Lie to Me” – in which Tim Roth’s character has acute capabilities to perceive lies – before ever having a clue that he would eventually join the cast of the crime drama.  In fact, he says, “I TiVo’ed it from the first episode.  It’s obviously more than just a procedural show.  It’s not like watching ‘CSI.’  Nothing against ‘CSI,’ but this goes a different way, with Tim’s ability to read people’s micro expressions and things of that nature.”  So, when the chance came around to play the FBI agent involved with Roth’s group, says Mekhi, “I was very flattered, and glad to have the chance to play a character with a sense of strength, intrigue and unpredictability.”  His character was introduced the final two episodes last season, and will be a regular when the show returns Sept. 28.

The long-time “ER” doc says “Lie to Me” also worked out perfectly for him personally speaking.  “Doing a good series allows me to be multi-dimensional.  I can be here in town, work and make great money for my family, and do rewarding work.  I’ve been on an ensemble before, obviously, with ‘ER,’ and the hours are very livable.  You have strong episodes where you have to do a hell of a lot and work long hours, and then you have episodes that are not so hectic.”

THE BIG SCREEN SCENE:  A sequel to 1993’s harrowing film about girls in the Latino gang world of East L.A., “Mi Vida Loca,” is on the way to production.  Stars Seidy Lopez and Angel Aviles are back to reprise their roles as best friends from childhood, whose relationship was sorely tested in the original movie when one slept with, and became pregnant by, the other’s boyfriend.  The new film’s called “Smile Now Cry Later,” as in the slogan about entering gang life.

TV TRAUMAS:  Casting notices have gone out for a redo of the pilot for CBS’s “Miami Trauma” — not to be confused with NBC’s soon-due “Trauma” — including a new costar role of a fiftyish, reliable and capable nurse.  The show is from Jerry Bruckheimer, who can afford to go back and get it right.

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC:   They’re looking for four Elton Johns – at age five, age 12, in his twenties and in his forties – for a musical tribute to the legendary singer-composer, “Rocket Man,” planned for unveiling next April in San Bernardino, CA.  Also wanted are peformers to play Bernie Taupin, Patti LaBelle and…Princess Margaret. 

 With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

Patrick Swayze in "Letters from a Killer"

8-12-1997

Patrick Swayze Feels Near-Death Experience Makes  Him Live Life to the Full

By Stacy Jenel Smith

Hollywood-”This has turned into one of the most wonderful periods of my life. I feel like Mary Poppins, singing to the birds and trees, lucky to by alive,” says Patrick Swayze. He feels he’s a changed man after his brush with death last May, when he was thrown off a galloping bareback horse into an oak tree during filming of “Letters from a Killer.”

Swayze credits a lifetime of dancing and gymnastics with saving him. “It would have killed me, I would have gone head first into this oak tree, if instinct hadn’t kicked in and I hadn’t grabbed two handfuls of that horse’s mane and been able to flip my body so I’d break my legs on the tree instead of crushing my skull,” says the actor. He suffered breaks in both legs (a broken femur and fibula, plus four detached tendons in his shoulder, in the accident.

Swayze, who gets his star on Hollywood Boulevard on his birthday, Aug. 18 – days before the 10^th anniversary re-release of “Dirty Dancing” – reveals he’s now set for a Sept. 3 return to “Letters from a Killer.”

The script’s been rewritten to include a scene that makes his injury part of the storyline. He also acknowledges that he must not perform any more of his own stunts in the picture; that’s part of the agreement made in order to get the film’s insurance company to let him go back to work.

Meanwhile, “I lucked out that the bones broke clean, they’re going to heal perfectly, and they were able to reattach all the tendons in my shoulder. … Doctors have been blown away by my progress,” adds Swayze, who is already walking without even a cane.

Swayze also says he’s overcome a recurring nightmare in which he gets killed in the accident -by viewing the footage of it. (He still loves horses and considers the fall his own fault, not the animal’s.)

Now, “One of the things I’ve come away from this experience with is an unwillingness to put off the things that are important to me. We’re only here so long. Let’s get on with it!” he says. Swayze’s been working in supercharged fashion to make some long-awaited dreams reality. Among other things, he says he now has financing for the dance movie he and wife Lisa Niemi have been wanting to make for years.

Russell Brand

Bad boy English comedian/actor Russell Brand is known to stir the pot, but MTV clearly doesn’t mind.  After offending viewers with remarks about the Jonas Brothers, Britney Spears, and George W. Bush at last year’s Video Music Awards, Brand is back to host this year’s show, airing Sunday (9/13). 

 ”When they asked me back, I thought, ‘They must like controversy.’  Last year I was quite intrigued by the Jonas Brothers and they were there performing.  I only make jokes about things because they’re there.  It’s not like I’ve got an agenda,” Brand tells us.  “Well, actually, ironically, I do have an agenda, but it does not include pop stars.  It’s a global revolution — the dissolution of religion, commerce, consumerism, and the utopia founded on the idea of one objective of spiritual uniting.”  Hey, at least he keeps it broad! 

 As far as any thought of self-censorship this time around, Brand says, “There’s no point in being disingenuous.  You can look inside yourself and work out whether or not something is fundamentally bad or whether it’s just people being silly.  If I look inside myself and I see no darkness then it’s alright,” he claims.  “I don’t want to make anybody unhappy.  I want to make people love, that’s all.” 

 Brand says he’s certainly up to the task.  “It’s challenging to do awards shows.  If you had to do it, you’d think, ‘Oh my God, it’s so hard to stand in front of all those people and cameras.’  It’s just whether or not you have enough narcissism to overcome it and fortunately or unfortunately I do.”  

 Overall, Brand says there’s a great show in store.  “Jay-Z is performing, Beyonce, Pink, Taylor Swift, but I’m not really her demographic.  She’s more for the younger folk.  And there will be a tribute to Michael Jackson at the beginning of the show.  It’s going to be a phenomenal evening.  I’m there merely to preside over it.”   

 Emily-Fortune Feimster

Gladys Knight © Verve Photo credit: Kwaku Alston

Gladys Knight is backtracking a bit from the Farewell in her Midnight Train to Love — Farewell Tour.  “I should have re-titled that.  Instead of ‘farewell,’ I should have been saying ‘see you later,’” says the gracious Motown legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.  “I’m not saying I’m never going to see you again.  But you know, you can’t take time for granted.  I don’t get back to Europe for seven, eight years – so we don’t know if there’ll be another time when I’ll get there, and I want to say my goodbyes now and let everyone know how much I appreciate them.”

 Knight has a two-night stand at California’s Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts (Sept. 25, 26), then heads to the U.K..  Tito Jackson’s opening for her, and plans to include a Michael Jackson tribute in his performance.  Other Jacksons will be turning up as well, she says.  And as far as the Jackson connection continuing when she returns to the States, “There’s a very good possibility.  It’s going to be fun, really big time.”

 That’s exactly how Gladys feels about her experience acting in Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All by Myself,” which opens today (9/11).  She’s delighted to have played a character – a churchgoing woman who wants to turn Taraji. P. Henson’s hard-drinking nightclub chanteuse character around.  She tells us Perry helped her forget her nervousness over lines by having her improv.  Will she be doing more acting as a result of this movie?  “I sure hope so.  I would love to.”  Movies, TV, a series?  “I’d be open to any ideas,” she says.  “I wouldn’t mind a recurring part on a TV show.  I love playing a character, someone who isn’t me.  I’ve done so many cameos as myself, it’s been-there-done-that.”

Adam Rodriguez CBS photo

MEANWHILE:  Adam Rodriguez starts shooting a seven-episode arc on “Ugly Betty” today (9/11), glad to be back in his home town of New York City.  He has a big week behind him, including the “I Can Do Bad” premiere and promotion work.  The “CSI: Miami” actor is on his way out of that show, in case you haven’t heard, with a commitment to finish out his Eric Delko character in 10 more episodes of the crime drama.  He says he found himself at a crossroads, and that he and the network made a mutual decision about his future. 

 “I’m going to miss ‘CSI,’ it’s been a great eight seasons and everybody there is like a family member.  Still, it felt like my time to move forward.  This was a great way to start out – this movie,” he says.  “I’m really, really happy about the way it turned out.”

 The actor plays a Colombian immigrant who starts working for Henson’s character, and then romantic sparks ignite.  “It’s a simple family movie,” Adam attests, “the message is clear and at the end you walk out feeling good, feeling inspired maybe, to make changes in your own life.”

GOING FOR THE GOLDEN LADY:  “Wizards of Waverly Place” creator Todd J. Greenwald is hoping that he and the rest of the show’s creative team and cast head into their big D-23 Expo Appearance Sunday (9/13) “coming off a high at the Emmys the day before as opposed to a low.” 

 The Disney Channel show starring Selena Gomez, David Henrie and Jake T. Austin is up for Outstanding Children’s Program honors, being presented at tomorrow’s (9/12) Creative Arts Emmy Awards.  “Up until this year, they tied together the fictional and non-fictional shows in this category, and Linda Ellerbee and Maria Shriver won, and deservedly so,” Greenwald notes.  “This year is the first time they’ve had a category for purely fictional shows.” 

 Win or lose, on Sunday, the “Wizards’ group expects to be communing with a crowd of some 5,000 fans at the Anaheim Convention Center, in a setting that emulates the living room seen on the show. 

 “We’re going to have some special guests from the show as well,” he notes.  And the band Honor Society is performing.