Beck/Smith Hollywood

Angie Harmon is back

Back in the series game with her July 12-debuting “Rizzoli & Isles,” Angie Harmon sounds…overwhelmed       

“I have more of a family and I have apparently more of a workload than before,” says the former “Law & Order” and “Baywatch” actress between shots of her TNT femme crime fighter show with Sasha Alexander.  “It’s a blessing on both sides.  That’s good.  I’m learning to balance.  This past week, we discovered I can’t be in every scene and do 40-some pages of dialogue and have this work.”

As we speak, there are only four more episodes to shoot in the first order of 10 episodes of the series, and Angie’s hopes for the show are high — if she gets her workload under control. 

The mother of six-year-old, five-year-old and one-year-old daughters with her husband, former NFL star Jason Sehorn, Harmon admits the show “came to me at a time when I was ready to retire, to pick up my girls and move away.  But then it landed on my front porch – a drama with an interesting character, on cable so I’d only be shooting five months of the year.  It was just what I’d prayed for.  And the person who was directing the pilot was at my wedding, a friend.  I really feel it was placed there for me by a higher hand.”

Early reviews are upbeat for the show, from Tess Gerritsen’s popular mystery novels.  In it, Harmon plays tomboyish Boston detective Jane Rizzoli and Alexander, formerly of “NCIS” is slightly eerie forensic medical examiner Maura Isles

Harmon has clearly taken a shine to her costar.  “Sasha comes over and she grabs me when she gets excited about something – like when we passed our third month mark working together.  She says, ‘It’s like we’re dating!’  I start laughing and say, ‘You’re really in my personal space and it’s freaking me out.’  She doesn’t. care.  She hangs on and on.  I really adore that woman.  Our families have vacationed together.  Our kids have gotten to know each other.”

Sean Astin Disney Channel photo

Sean Astin is eagerly anticipating word on release of his recently-completed indie comedy, “And They’re Off” – a mockumentary in which he plays a failed horse trainer.  “By traditional standards, he’s not really a trainer – he’s only had one horse — but as far as he’s concerned, he is,” reports the actor with a laugh.  “He’s upbeat no matter what awful things go on.  He’s got a documentary crew following him around the track at Santa Anita at dawn, teaching about horses.  He’s out walking around the track saying, ‘I’m not going to ask my horse to do something I wouldn’t do myself.’”

            According to Astin, the script by Alan Grossbard was “a hoot.”  Veteran TV director Rob Schiller, making his feature debut, left room for the actors, including Cheri Oteri, Martin Mull, Kevin Nealon and Mo Collins to improvise as well. 

Special Agent Oso

            Meanwhile, Astin says, “It felt like I was meeting myself” the other day when he had a face-to-face encounter with his “Special Agent Oso” yellow and green cartoon Panda counterpart.  The Oso special photo op was part of his promotion for season two of the Playhouse Disney series, which launches July 10.  It certainly has its share of celebrity admirers.  Guest voices include Mel Brooks as snoring Grandpa Mel (his real-life grandson is a fan of the show), Brad Garrett, Lisa Loeb, Rita Moreno, Ming-Na, Freddy Rodriguez and Rebecca Romijn.

“Oso is going to be at Disneyland this summer,” Sean reports.  “It was a really special thing to hug this big teddy bear.”  Adds the father of three girls, ages 13, seven and four, “I think every actor who does voiceover for a particular character becomes possessive.  I know I find it off-putting to see ‘Special Agent Oso’ in Spanish because the voice isn’t me.”

Jessica Lange

It’s ironic: the big-screen “The Big Valley” is all about the Southern Pacific Railroad tussling with ranchers in Calfornia’s San Joaquin Valley in the old west – but the picture’s being made in Baton Rouge, LA.  Chalk it up to Louisiana’s inviting incentives for movie shooting – and California’s lack of same. 

Jessica Lange is taking over the Barbara Stanwyk role of ranch matriarch Victoria Barkley in the feature, due to begin production next month.  Lee Majors (who played Heath in the 1960s TV series) is also aboard, along with Bruce Dern, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Nicholson (as Audra), “True Blood’s” Stephen Moyer (as Jarrod), Jason Alan Smith (as Nick) and Travis Fimmel, the Aussie who starred alongside the late Patrick Swayze in “The Beast” (as Heath).

AMC is heavy into casting for its “Hell on Wheels” miniseries – which sounds as if it might prove a lure to fans of HBO’s dearly departed “Deadwood,” with lots of old West dirt, grit, spit, violence and cussin’.  The 1865 period tale of a former Confederate slave owner out to avenge the rape and murder of his wife by Union soldiers takes place against construction of the transcontinental railroad.  The title refers to a bordello frequented by railroad workers in Nebraska.  Parts from hookers to Cheyenne tribesmen are to be filled for the project that starts shooting in August.

Jimmy Smits

Expect Jimmy Smits’ forthcoming “Outlaw” drama to be fueled by hot button issues, attention-grabbing news blasts and tough controversies.  That’s the word from the star himself, who points out, “My years of working on ‘The West Wing’ did cement in my mind the fact that there is an audience out there for topical stories.”

“Outlaw,” as you may know, has him as a Supreme Court Justice who steps down.  “The way we’re positing the character is that during his time on the bench, he’s been one of the more conservative-leaning judges.  His father, you see in the pilot, is an activist, kind of liberal.  When his father dies, it causes him to reassess what he wants to do in his life,” Jimmy explains.  “He decides he can make more of an impact by going around the country, trying cases.

“It’s exciting trying to do something a little bit out the box there,” he adds.  “This character is edgy and not predictable.”

He reports that he’s seeing outlines for the shows’ scripts as the writers work away, with plans for production to start the second week of July.  Before he steps before the “Outlaw” cameras, however, the actor — who now holds the distinction of playing both the President of the United States and a Supreme Court Justice on TV series — heads to Washington, D.C., appropriately enough.  He’s hosting the 30thAnnual “A Capitol Fourth” Independence Day mega-event before a crowd of a quarter million on the lawn of the Capitol building – plus millions of viewers at home via PBS.

“I’m always psyched to do it.  My family loves it,” he says.  “They always try to be as eclectic as possible in terms of the performers, to have a real tapestry of our country, and this year they’ve done it in a really big way.  David Archuleta from ‘Idol,’ Gladys Knight, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, and the National Symphony Orchestra, which is going to do a wonderful tribute to Erich Kunzel” — who died last year, having conducted at the event for 20 years.  Then there’s the other big “Capitol Fourth^” draw.  Notes Jimmy, “I grew up in New York, so fireworks on the 4^th of July is a way of life.”

Kenny G

Sax man extraordinaire Kenny G says it was only natural that he’d get back to sweet soul music with his new “Heart and Soul” album that gets its official release tomorrow (6/29) on Concord Records.  “I grew up in a very ethnic area of Seattle, listening to R&B music all the time,” he tells us.  Favorites included “Earth, Wind & Fire and Barry White.”

The album is all Kenny G originals, except for collaborations with Robin Thicke and Babyface – with whom he worked via internet.  “These days, everybody kind of does it in their own space and we put it together later.  Nobody takes offense to that.  Everyone’s creative signature is still on it,” he says. 

The music man is performing here and abroad in support of “Heart and Soul” this summer.  He’ll tour Asia in October and November, and eventually, he says, he’ll get back to China, where his music has become a part of everyday life – to the extent it’s heard at sporting events and train stations.

He can’t explain that.  “I think it’s just happened organically.  For whatever reason, a couple of my songs are very popular there.  They’ve become part of their culture.  It’s a cool experience to go over there and have people know the music really well,” he says.  He guesses that the “Heart and Soul” music might not lend itself as much to Chinese tastes as some of his past music.  “”They probably like simple melodies more than the groove.  But as an artist, you can’t keep doing the same thing.  You have to keep changing it up and growing.”

            STILL DANCING:  “Dance Your A— Off” creator and Judge Lisa Ann Walter stays in touch with competitors from the hit Oxygen channel show’s first season.  “It’s so exciting to see the transformations, not just in terms of weight loss, but in how their lives progress,” she says.  “Weight loss is just a part of it.”  Season 1 competitor Miles “is the walking embodiment of the power of ‘Dance Your A—Off’ and what he can do for people.  He’s inspiring not only his family, but his whole neighborhood in Utah.  He has business where he helps people work out,” she reports.  “Alicia continues to post pictures.  You can see in her photos that she’s more confident, that she’s feeling her sexiness, her power, her potential.  The way she writes, she’s not looking for approval.”

            MULTIFACETED:  While David James Elliott is busy playing a rather snazzy criminal on ABC’s “Soundrels,” he’s awaiting release of an indie thriller, title T.B.A., in which “I play a concerned husband who becomes part aggressor and part victim.”  The former “JAG” star is also awaiting home video release of his “Rainbow Tribe” family film that came out earlier this year – in which he shows a completely different side.  “It’s my character and a bunch of people at a summer camp for disconnected, castoff children – misfits.  Through the story they find themselves.”  His character, from a true story, is also “dealing with brain cancer that comes back.  I had to go down to some very deep layers to do it,” Elliott says.  He came away from shooting “Rainbow Tribe” in Big Bear, in the Southern California mountains, with a great respect for his young costars.  “The kids in it are really great – hard-working, respectful, and very intuitive.”

By Emily-Fortune Feimster

Who’da thunk it?  The Ken doll was actually ahead of his time.  “Toy Story 3,” with Ken voiced by Michael Keaton, confirms what we all intuited long ago — the fact that this doll is… a metrosexual.

In case you hadn’t heard, “metrosexual” is a word to describe a fella who’s proudly concerned with his appearance, from his gelled hairdo to his manicured fingernails. A term first coined in 1994 by British journalist Mark Simpson, the metrosexual male, unlike his scruffy haired, t-shirt wearing counterpart, knows how to moisturize, shop, and behave in public.  He’d rather sip a glass of wine than down a 12-pack of beer.  And like Ken, he revels in having a walk-in closet full of stylish outfits.  It’s a phenomenon that confuses women and affects gaydar.

Just ask Ryan Seacrest, the mother of all metrosexuals.  He always wears fashionable clothes, has frosted hair, and normally a well-groomed 5 o’clock shadow. When asked by Larry King if it’s fair for people to call him a metrosexual, Seacrest responded, “Yes, I’m fine with it. I think it’s cool…I’ve made it no secret that I’ve highlighted my hair, and I’ve just — I’ve done these things that I never knew how to do until, when you start a TV show, you have somebody that helps you with things. I think it’s OK for a man to say, I want to take care of myself and be presentable for a woman in my life.” Riiiight.

Soccer icon David Beckham has been known for getting manicures before every match, changing his hair weekly and loving to shop. In fact, he and his Spice Girl wife Victoria, dubbed “Posh and Becks,” seem to enjoy wearing color coordinated outfits at many public events. Gillette gave Beckham a $50,000 diamond-encrusted razor so he can keep a clean shave at all times. He paints his nails and wears sarongs. He goes to the hair salon to get perfect highlights. What’s more, he doesn’t care if you know that. Among his favorite designers are Gucci, Prada, Diesel and Dolce & Gabbana, not to mention his earning around $1,757,000 for modeling Police sunglasses. He does sport the odd diamond earring worth around $12,300, an $87,850 wedding ring, and a limited edition white-gold Panerai watch.  It’s enough to make Ken jealous.

Always dressed to the nines on the red carpet, Australian actor Hugh Jackman made his mark with American movie audiences as the hairy, scary mutant superhero “Wolverine.” But we saw a different side of the man as the high-spirited, high-stepping Peter Allen in the Broadway show, “The Boy from Oz.” This wasn’t the first production for Jackman, who earned his spurs in musical theater, playing Curly in the West End London production of “Oklahoma.” Despite having an affinity for musical theatre, you definitely know a guy’s a metrosexual when he’s prettier than his wife. He’s married to actress/director Debra Lee Furness, who happens to be eight years older. Also, forget the hamburgers and chicken wings – his favorite food is sushi.

Will Smith started out as a rapper who wore big t-shirts and baggy shorts, but his machismo seems to have fallen down a few notches after making fluffy films like “Hitch” and doing that silly dance in his “Switch” video. Not your typical hip-hop artist, he avoids using profanity and is good to his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.  The two are usually decked out in designer duds, which happen to be color coordinated with each other.

Dave Navarro may be covered in tattoos but he’s no ordinary rocker. After all, how many times do you see guys like Tommy Lee traveling with Louise Vuitton luggage? No stranger to a nail salon, this guy takes more time to get ready than his wife Carmen Electra and even uses way more eyeliner. Not to mention the fact that he was way too into their wedding planning. Nothing’s more entertaining than watching a leather-clad, Satan-esque rocker talking about flower arrangements and making sure the bouquet matches his suit.

P. Diddy  is so concerned with fashion, he inaugurated his own highly-successful line.

Usher is often dressed in unbelievably expensive designer suits, he’s no stranger to wearing dainty gloves, and he’s always seen sporting his diamond stud earrings. He takes enormously good care of his body, doing over 1,000 crunches a day to keep those rock hard abs. He’s even the first to admit that he’s one of the biggest momma’s boys in the business.

The same goes for Justin Timberlake, who called his mom and almost cried the day he got “Punk’d” by Ashton Kutcher.  Though gone are the days of him wearing an all denim suit with a matching hat underneath his neatly gelled, curly hair, this is one guy who is meticulous about his appearance.

Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise are as much models as they are actors, welcoming the female gazes like the walking billboards they’ve become. Their million dollar smiles have made them cultural icons. Both look modernly sleek atop their crotch rocket motorcycles. The picture of how Brad looked at the “Along Came Polly” premiere, where he was wearing a navy blue suit with a matching scarf , stays emblazoned in the mind – it looked very metro. His bottle blonde ‘do was the antithesis of his old skuzzy look.

Though he has more of a Bohemian style, Jude Law is a metrosexual in that he’s more of the sensitive, soft-spoken, artsy type. He’s been into drama since he was a child, having started acting at age 12 with the National Youth Music Theatre. You’re more likely to find this vegetarian/yoga guy at a poetry reading than a boxing match any day.

Which brings us to everyone’s favorite “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom dancing heavyweight boxing champion, Evander Holyfield.

The hit show has surely advanced the metro trend. Joey McIntyre proved his terpsichorean artistry and looked metro hot in his toreador dance outfit. John proudly wore puffy shirts that would have had his old “Seinfeld” cohorts doing double takes while wowing the “Dancing” judges. Hey, having silver hair – especially the gorgeously groomed kind like John’s – doesn’t exclude you from being metro.

You think he gets it that way without a rinse? Come on.

Yes, the “Dancing With the Stars” list of ballroom boys is chockablock with metrosexual hotties – Gilles Marini, Evan Lysacek, Helio Castroneves, to name a few.

Considering all that, Perhaps Mattel ought to give Sugar’s Daddy Ken a rethink.  The pink polo shirt ‘n’ green patterned jacket-clad dolly never made it to market after an internet brouhaha last year, but we think his time has come.

– With Stacy Jenel Smith

Josh Hutcherson

Josh Hutcherson seems to be taking in stride the fact that he’s all over the internet these days as one of the anointed few shortlisted to become the new Spider-Man in Sony’s planned reboot of the film franchise.  “It’s weird to be talked about that much for a part and nobody knows who’ll get it,” he admits.  But at least Hutcherson has more than enough to keep him occupied while he awaits word.

He takes off Sunday (6/27) for New York promotion chores and the East Coast premiere of “The Kids Are All Right.”  He plays the son of Annette Bening and Julianne Moore in Lisa Cholodenko’s drama about a long-time lesbian couple’s world getting shaken up when their teenage son and daughter contact their previously anonymous sperm donor dad (Mark Ruffalo).  The film collected raves at the Sundance, Berlin, Sydney and L.A. Film Festivals.  It opens July 9.

As far as potential controversy, he says, “I really hope people just see it for what it is without being political.  It’s a movie about a family.  “The sexuality takes a back seat to that, really.  It focuses on a family, a marriage, and I personally feel you could exchange the two moms with any situation – two dads, a mom and dad – and the dynamic would be the same.  We’re not trying to go out of our way to make a political statement.

“When I first read this script, I knew it was going to make an incredible movie.  Then when I found out the actors, I was blown away,” adds the 17-year-old, who’s been turning in first rate performances (“Bridge to Terabithia,” “Zathura,” “Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant,” etc.) while he’s been growing up.

Josh also has “Red Dawn” in the can.  The remake of John Milius’ 1984 flick has China invading the United States.   “That’s a really cool movie with a cool concept about a bunch of teens fighting back after this invasion.  I loved it!  It was so much fun to make,” he says.  “We did military training for it.”

He’ll head home to Kentucky for the 4^th of July holiday, then take to the road for a cross country trip with a group including his mom and a cousin.  After that, he has the sequel to his “Journey to the Center of the Earth” movie to prepare for.  “Mysterious Island” goes into production this fall.

Darius Rucker U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Val Gempis

Darius Rucker reports he’s about to make a video to go out in conjunction with his new “Come Back Song” single – which is about a guy who is miserable since his girl left, not about Rucker’s transformation from hit-challenged Hootie and the Blowfish lead to hot country star over the past couple of years.  “Everything is happening soon,” says Rucker, who is also part of the lineup for this year’s “A Capitol Fourth” celebration.

“They just called me out of the blue and I was really happy about it,” he reports, speaking of the 4^th of July song and fireworks spectacular taking place on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol.  He’ll be on a bill led by host Jimmy Smits and including David Archuleta, Gladys Knight and Reba McEntire.  Though he doesn’t know exactly what he’ll be performing, he’s looking forward to joining his stellar colleagues onstage.  “Some people are going to jam together and it’s going to be fun.”

Rucker’s touring all summer, mostly with Brad Paisley.  His second country album is coming out in the fall.  “It’s super busy, but the great thing about being in country music is you can tour on the weekends and be home three or four days a week.”  Besides, his two daughters and his son, as well as his wife,  Beth, come out to see him on tour.  “They’re getting old,” he says of his offspring, who range from 15 to five.  “They all say they’re going to be in music.”  Time will tell.

COME AS YOU ARE:  Joey Lawrence, who returns to series TV in August with “Melissa and Joey” — his ABC Family sitcom also starring Melissa Joan Hart — says he’s grown to appreciate his TV fan base more and more as years have passed.  The actor who rose to fame as the teen heartthrob of “Gimme a Break!” and “Blossom” notes, “When you’re on a show like that, you’re sort of on TV forever and that’s a really cool thing.  People have watched you while they’re eating breakfast in the morning, or at night with their friends or sitting in their underwear.  You get such a loyal following.”   Plus, one doesn’t have to be pigeon-holed.  As Lawrence reminds, “Will Smith, Tom Hanks, John Travolta – they all started in TV.”  Lawrence is developing features for himself under his own production banner.

HERE AND THERE:  Stefanie Powers, who’ll play Norma Desmond in a stand of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard” in Maine this summer, is also taking on a role in a low-budget indie shooting in L.A., we hear.  It’s called “Three Days” and it has to do with actors in a radio play.  The wild animal preservationist and one-time “Hart to Hart” heroine has just wrapped up work on her forthcoming memoir for Simon & Schuster.

Callie Thorne FX photo

What a job – going from Denis Leary’s bed to David Duchovny’s in just a couple of weeks’ time.  Those are the breaks for Callie Thorne, whose first post-“Rescue Me” gig is on “Californication.”

Thorne is part of a “Californication” story in which Duchovny’s sex addicted writer, Hank Moody, gets involved with an actress who is playing his daughter in a movie, and with the actress’ mother.  “We went right into a steamy scene – of course,” she notes, recalling her first day on “Californication” production.  “To suddenly be intimate with David Duchovny, someone I’ve consistently been in awe of – it could have been disastrous, but instead we had an enormous amount of fun.  The credit for that goes to David.  Even though it’s a sexual thing going on, there’s such a magnitude of comedy, any nerves I was feeling went away.”

Thorne, best-known as Sheila, Leary’s crazy extra-marital paramour, on “Rescue Me,” adds, “It was also great for my psyche, the perfect timing after wrapping the series.”

So how do Leary and Duchovny compare?  “They are similar in that they are both forces to be reckoned with.  They also share this great magnetism in terms of talent and humor, and they’re incredibly handsome and sexy,” she gushes.  “In some ways their characters are alike in that they’re troubled sort of reluctant heroes, men who’ve done some really abhorrent things and yet, if you’re a guy you want to hang out with them, and if you’re a girl you want to date them.”  If they met, “They would be besties,” she opines.

According to Callie, Leary and the rest of his “Rescue Me” cohorts managed to stave off getting emotional about the end of production on the series until the very last day of shooting.  “I think that everybody was in denial a little bit.  We had really big things going on in the last two episodes we were shooting,” she says.  “But certainly that final day, when they started calling ‘That’s a series wrap!’ on each actor… The words were just too much to take.”  The award-winning FX series returns for its sixth season Tuesday (6/29) .  Season 7 is already in the can, planned for airing next year.

JB Smoove

The racial and cultural segmentation of audiences that’s been a fact of life for comics on the road is disappearing, according to funny man JB Smoove, whose latest TV gig is hosting “Russell Simmons Presents Stand-Up at The El Rey” on Comedy Central, debuting July 11.  He points out, “I go back to the first season of Def Comedy Jam (in 1992).  When I started, it was like the turn of black comedy.  We had our audience, the white comics had their audience.  Now, everybody’s pulling closer together.  Shows are more diverse, audiences have changed.  You see that everywhere — everything is merging, everyone gets each other now.  It’s an amazing place to be as far as music and standup.”

Smoove has several different fan bases – from his turn as potty-mouthed houseguest Leon Black on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to his “’Til Death” role alongside Brad Garrett, to his ridiculous standup.  He loved taping the first set of installments of “Stand-Up at the El Rey” partly because “It’s a great mix.  I love these young comics.  I have a young energy, an enthusiastic energy, and with these young folks on the show, we just feed off each other with this positive outlook that’s contagious.”  He adds, “I think there will be more shows, and I think there will be a tour.”  Meanwhile, Smoove has a nonstop string of dates this summer, and he’ll be seen on TBS tonight (6/24) as part of Cedric the Entertainer’s “Urban Circus”

“I’m on linen,” he declares.  “I mean, the iron is hot — and linen is the hottest setting you can get.”

INDUSTRY BITS:  Casting for subsidiary roles on Steven Soderbergh’s “Contagion” continues, with actors vying hard for even the smallest bit parts.  Not only is the revered director a lure, so is the uncanny cast of superstars lined up for the thriller, which is now targeted for a production start in mid-December.  Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Marion Cotillard and Gwyneth Paltrow are all set for the scary epic that has intertwining stories from four continents about a killer virus rampaging over the earth.

Director Savage Steve Holland is prepping a movie that sounds like an allegory, about a grown man living like a 10-year-old, because if he becomes an adult, he’ll lose his fairy godparents who give him everything he wants.  Casting is under way.