Beck/Smith Hollywood

Susan Sarandon has been going from project to project to project over the last year or so, and says she was on the verge of taking a little work break when “The Big C” came her way. “I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to do it until I read it, and knew what was going to happen at the end. That convinced me,” she tells us.

Sundays on the Showtime dark comedy, Sarandon’s self-help guru – Joy, the self-named and titled Joyologist — is a cancer survivor who leads others in finding their paths to true happiness via lectures, retreats, the gamut. Laura Linney’s and Oliver Platt’s characters fall under her charismatic spell.

“The only thing I was concerned about was making sure she was treated sincerely, you know?” notes the revered Oscar-winning actress. “I was trying to not be a caricature of those people that are in that business. And I think she really believes it, and you know, I felt she should actually help people even though other things happen later that maybe make you think of her in a different way. At least you start off, I think, believing she’s really sincere and has turned her cancer experience into something that is really positive, and that’s great.”

Speaking of positive, that’s the word she uses frequently to describe Linney – “just relentlessly positive and a total pro, of course, with a very welcome sense of humor.  Laura’s very special, she has a light and she’s trying to do something unique and funny and at the same time, a little dark.” Working on the show, she notes, “is a good excuse for us to stay in touch. You know, we kept running into each other. I’ve known her for years. But now I feel like I’m part of the family, and you take advantage of that as much as possible.”

Sarandon’s current string of films ranges from “Jeff, Who Lives at Home,” now in release, to the upcoming “Arbitrage” with Richard Gere and Tim Roth, “The Company You Keep” with Robert Redford and Julie Christie, “Robot and Frank” with Frank Langella and Liv Tyler, and the sci-fi flick “Cloud Atlas,” in which she cross-dresses to play a man. However, the honesty-loving star is quick to point out that they are not large roles.

“I keep saying that they’re all — you need to put them all together and maybe you have two real films to my credit,” Sarandon says. “But I don’t mind going in almost like a temp and dealing with a certain problem that needs to be solved. And if the characters are fun and the company is inspiring, and they’re trying to do something different, I’m very happy to jump in for the ride.”

Talk about a labor of love! Indefatigable actress-director Tanna Frederick reports that a June 25 production start date has been set for “The Farm,” a story about a single mother who returns to her childhood home when her grandfather becomes ill, and must deal with her past. Parts of the story are inspired by the true-life saga of Tanna’s own grandparents’ struggle to stay on their family farm. The film will be made…on the Frederick family farm.

“The Farm” is one of three films being shot in the actress’ home state in coming months thanks to Tanna’s efforts. Her Project Cornlight is an initiative to revitalize the industry there, and she says, “Everybody is so excited. It’s beautiful! It makes me want to cry. In this world I grew up in, there’s not a lot of city life, but there’s a lot of imagination. Like watching fireflies in a field, it’s absolutely beautiful.”

No wonder Tanna was honored this past weekend at the inaugural Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, with the their CineCause Award.

Esteemed actor and playwright Stephen Lang admits his experience playing Mary McCormack’s father on “In Plain Sight” was “bittersweet.  It was kind of a poignant thing to do, in a way.  Here they are, having forged their stamp on the show for five seasons and now they’re coming to the end of it.  And I walked right into the myth.  My character is not in any way an ancillary character.  He’s central to the show.  So I was part of the family without ever having been part of the family, and then it was over.”

The “Avatar” actor came aboard the USA Network show – which has its final two episodes tonight (4/27) and next Friday (5/4) — right on the heels of doing Fox’s “Terra Nova.”  That Steven Spielberg production debuted with high hopes and ambitions, but soon wound up succumbing to the cancellation dragon. “There’s no question that I had similar hopes for my own show to have a long life, and that we were in the process of creating a family there as well,” says Lang.  “So, yes, on ‘In Plain Sight’ I got to see an example of what might have been.”

MacCormack told Lang that the question of who would play her estranged, long-on-the-lam dad “had been under discussion for a long, long time.  The fact they wanted me to play it went a long way toward helping me, I think.  But I’m used to playing characters who bring a lot of baggage with them,” notes Lang, whose gallery of characters includes Babe Ruth, Stonewall Jackson and gunslinger Ike Clanton.

Right now, Lang is in Kentucky, playing a high school coach in the indie feature “23 Blast.”  As for what he’d like to do next in a perfect world, he comments, “I enjoyed my last stint in network television.  I love the idea of creating a character over a long period of time.  But I’m a superstitious cat; I don’t like to talk too much about what’s next.  I’m always looking for good projects, and I generate work for myself.”  He laughs, then adds, “If they’d only give me a sitcom.  That’s the best job in television.”

IMAX moviegoers who see Greg and Shaun MacGillivray’s spectacular new “To the Arctic 3D” not only have breathtaking visual treats in store, but some musical ones as well. Paul McCartney songs are used in the movie, and according to producer Shaun, “He really came through for us. This is the first time that he ever sent out his original recordings, done on 48 tracks, to have them mixed in a way that he doesn’t control completely. Our composer was able to get those tracks and mix them beautifully for the six-channel IMAX system. Of course, when McCartney mixed them, they were all for two-channel. He saw the wisdom of remixing for the magnificent sound in IMAX theaters.”

Considering McCartney’s well-known love of critters and ecology-mindedness, it’s not surprising that he’d do his bit for the MacGillivrays. Greg is the two-time Oscar nominee whose films include “Everest,” “The Living Sea” and “Dolphins.” Shaun’s credits include “Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk.” And their history of supporting nature extends to educational outreach and much more.

The “Arctic 3D” film’s central focus is an extraordinarily cooperative polar bear mother and her cubs, but the movie also shows what’s happening as the ice melts up North. MacGillivray Sr. insists there is hope to restore the Arctic.

“Of course I have to admit that I’m an optimist, always, and I think when people are given the choice between two options, they’ll choose the one that is better for humanity. In the case of the Arctic, obviously the choices that we can make that will help are in the area of conserving energy — at home, by turning off the lights, and at the pump, by driving more fuel efficient cars. Conserving energy in all ways. People will save money by doing so as well, so it’s a double win for everyone. You can always make things change,” he continues. “There are wonderful success stories — the anti-littering campaigns, the ozone layer — all kinds of conservation efforts that have changed the world.”

The “Blue Bloods” team has scattered all directions, with the  CBS series having wrapped production for the season last week.  Winnipeg native Len Cariou tells us he’s spending a week in Los Angeles.  And after that, “The wife and I are going to Europe for a week, then Canada for a couple of visits.”  The Tony-winning actor notes that there are still “some good surprises — a couple of good twists” in the last couple of shows this season — which has its finale May 11.  That last episode involves Tom Selleck’s police commissioner character learning of a biological threat to New York City — and worse than that, he can’t tell his family about it.

“Dancing With The Stars” winner J.R. Martinez received the American Red Cross Spirit of Inspiration Award the other night in Santa Monica, adding to the military man-turned-actor-speaker-dancer-author’s many accolades.  Between traveling to speaking engagements and putting the finishing touches on his November-release Hyperion book – Full of Heart: My Story of Survival, Strength and Spirit – J.R. hasn’t had much time for dancing.  And, considering he and his beloved Diana Jones are expecting their baby daughter’s arrival next month, he’ll soon have even less time.  J.R. gives a moving account of how faith and love brought him through his harrowing Iraq war experience and journey to stardom as the May cover subject of Guideposts magazine.

Her story was told on the big screen.  And now, Bethany Hamilton might be heading to the small screen.  The one-armed surfing champ — whose comeback from a devastating shark attack to global recognition as a mighty source of inspiration was chronicled in last year’s “Soul Surfer” – reveals she has more than one reality show prospect in the works.  One is being pitched by producers now, “and I’m also teaming with my brother on a couple of things,” says the 22-year-old.  “It’s a hard world to get going in and conquer,” she adds.

Hamilton’s world now is pro surfing.  She just returned from back-to-back competitions in Australia, in fact.  Still, “I definitely think about my future and stuff — what five things I’m really passionate about.”

One of them is surfing.  A second is, “Encouraging people who are going through rough times.”  Her efforts as an Encourager have made Bethany into a public speaker, albeit a somewhat reluctant one.  She says with a laugh that sometimes, “It’s like you have to practically drag me up there on a leash, but once I’m talking to people, I like it.”

A third area of passion:  “Health and being able to encourage people to have a healthy lifestyle,” says Bethany, who recently taught contestants to surf on an episode of “The Biggest Loser.”  She’s also become a spokes-athlete for Zico Pure Premium Coconut Water – part of their Team Zico, along with such names as NBA All-Star Kevin Garnett and Olympic Gold Medal Decathlon champ Bryan Clay.  “I’m glad to be promoting something healthy, keeping it natural.  I drink it every day,” she declares.

And the other two things on the devout Christian’s list of passions — Faith and Family.  “God is so good to me, getting me through the hard times I’ve had in the past.  And if in the future there are hard times, I’ll be all right.  God is my strength,” she says.

Bethany does still stay in touch with AnnaSophia Robb, her big-screen alter ego.  She notes that the actress is “really busy right now, getting ready to graduate high school, and she has a new role on a TV show.”  For those who haven’t heard, Robb is playing the pre-“Sex and the City” Carrie Bradshaw in the CW’s fall-debuting “The Carrie Diaries,”  which is certainly a world away from “Soul Surfer.”

“The Giant Mechanical Man” has been winning hearts at the Tribeca Film Festival, where the Jenna Fischer-Chris Messina romantic comedy (available on Video On Demand) has been hailed as a small gem. It also features Topher Grace, playing an obnoxiously self-centered author to the entertaining hilt, Malin Akerman and Bob Odenkirk, among others.

“Jenna was attached first, she developed the property with Lee, who she wound up marrying,” recalls Michael Nardelli, who is among the film’s producers, speaking of writer-director Lee Kirk. “That’s the coolest story of the whole thing. She sparked the idea, and they wound up falling in love. They got married and they had a baby seven months ago. Their big joke is that it’s easier to fall in love, get married and have a baby than it is to get a movie made.”

Their movie, about a silver-outfitted street performer and a girl who works at the zoo, has its whimsical qualities, but as Nardelli points out, it’s actually more down-to-earth than many rom-coms in which the characters all seem to lead rich and/or famous lifestyles: “The appeal is, to me, that it’s just real,” he says.

Nardelli tells us that that the production took place over “Eighteen grueling days in the cold in Detroit in December. We were all in the same hotel in the suburbs of Detroit, and everybody got along really well. It was totally a family atmosphere. Everybody was really hustling to get the movie made on time and under budget,” he adds.

            Playing a homeless veteran who is fraught with post-traumatic stress syndrome is not what Steven Weber would ever have expected of a Hallmark Movie Channel acting assignment.  However, that’s just the role the “Brothers & Sisters” and “Wings” star wound up with in his April 28 drama “Duke.” 

            “It’s not the standard Hallmark fare.  It was a deeper, darker Hallmark – but still appeals, I think, to their core audience,” Weber says.  Taken from real life, “Duke” is the story of the troubled veteran and his faithful companion of 10 years, a Border Collie named Duke – and the unexpected chain of events set in motion when the dog falls ill.

            “I’d been playing mostly bad guys in suits in recent years, so it was a chance to go deeper,” notes the actor.  “It was a great role full of amazing opportunities, selfishly speaking, to chew the scenery a little bit, and share scenes with an amazing dog.”

            Unfazed by the old axiom that actors should avoid scenes with kids or dogs, Weber found himself working with two canines in the title role.  “Zeek was the dog that played Duke 90 per cent of the time.  He performed beautifully, a true professional,” Weber reports.  “His trainers were invariably running off-screen and prompting him.  It was interesting.  Of course, he is a dog, and you have to be very patient; he didn’t hit the target all the time.  But thankfully there were a few instances when the camera was running and caught some genuine connection between him and I, which was really nice.”

           Weber considers himself “a dog lover, but indirectly.  I have two children, nine and 11, who are beginning to bug my wife and me for a dog.  But the lifestyle – our work has had us going all over the country, and it wouldn’t be fair to leave a dog.”  Right now, the boys are apparently making do with “the frog we bought at the Sharper Image that stays under water for two years” – which sounds like a real dud as a pet, if you ask us.  “No, it’s not,” Weber insists, dead-pan.  “They feed him and he has a nice view and it’s a lovely deal.”

            But he admits his sons are gaining ground in their dog lobbying.  The fact they heard all about “Duke” and Zeek during production — but couldn’t join Weber on location because of school — “is something they’re really using against me.”

Raising awareness of hearing loss prevention is a personal thing for trumpet virtuoso Chris Botti — who is starring in a new public service campaign from the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (NYEE), and brought in his friend Sting as narrator. Asked about people in his life who are dealing with hearing loss, he is quick to respond: “Every musician.

“If you’re playing live — any performing musician, it’s just inevitable that it’s going to happen. It’s kind of one of the downfalls of the business I’m in, because if you’re onstage with a loud symbol behind you all night long, it’s going to affect you. It makes me want to do anything I can to heighten the awareness for people to understand that as they get older, their hearing is going to lose its luster…Getting it checked and wearing earplugs when possible, and ear guards, that can help.”

The sexy trumpet man himself doesn’t wear ear plugs. “It’s the worst, because with a trumpet, it’s hard to explain, but if you wear earplugs, you hear your internal sounds, the buzzing of your lips, rather than the music. Musicians like rock drummers and guitarists — and there are millions of them around the world — can wear earplugs. They have ones that are clear and no one knows they’re there.”

Botti’s involvement in the campaign also includes his presence at the NYEE gala in November — with the winner of NYEE’s Favorite Sounds sweepstakes and 10 friends as his table mates. Contest entries will consist of videos that capture people’s favorite sounds. (Information can be found at iLikeMyHearing.org.) May is National Hearing Month, but the NYEE plans to keep the campaign going all year.

MEANWHILE: Botti, who tours 300 days a year, has just come out with his latest recording, Impressions” — with one of the most wide-ranging lists of composers and guest artists you’ll find on any album. “The unifying theme was probably to make it as non-unified as we could,” he says with a laugh. But Botti’s polished sound serves as the tie that binds them all together. “Through the years I’ve made records that have a certain space, a certain sheen — very audiophile — and that sort of links them together whether you’re doing an R. Kelly song, or Michael Jackson, or Mark Knopfler. It just kind of rolls off rather nicely,” he says. “And I’m very proud of the eclectic nature of this, to go from Andrea Bocelli to Vince Gill to David Foster is a real thrill for me.”