Celebrities were ALL OVER New York Monday, April 21—they just kept popping up everywhere.This morning at 11:30am I came out of the subway station at Columbus Circle and as I stopped at the red light on Eighth Ave. & 58th Street, I noticed a petite little blond standing to my left wearing a cute little red leather jacket and cap. It just happened to be Broadway dynamo Kristin Chenoweth. As we both stood there waiting for the light to change, I said “Are you Kristin?” She gave me that big smile and said in a chirpy little voice, “Yes I am…who are you?” I introduced myself and informed her that we had a friend in common from her home state of Oklahoma…Rosemary Martinez (now Baker), a drama teacher who I became friends with because she’s brought groups of high school students to New York for over a decade and I’m always her favorite guide. Rosemary has spoken for years about her former close friendship with Kristin (she calls her Kristi—her real name is Kristi Dawn Chenoweth. “Kristin” was dreamed up by her agent to sound classier). Kristin’s eyes got huge and said…”Oh my gosh, what a small world…I was just thinking about her and her recent marriage and how I’ve got to send her a gift!” I said yes she finally married Randy Baker, a fellow teacher and they are building a new house in Oklahoma City and are very happy.” Kristin and I continued to walk and talk down Eighth Avenue for several blocks, chatting like old friends, about people we knew in common. I reminded her that I had met her ever-so-briefly years ago before she was famous and followed her career and seen most of her shows since she’d been in New York, at Rosemary’s insistence. She always said Kristi was going to be famous and she was right. When Kristin first moved to New York, she helped out my friend Cheryl (along with Rosemary) at School Tours of America, running around picking up tickets, kids, running errands, etc. and going on auditions. I remembered when Kristin was in the Broadway shows STEEL PIER, YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN, and of course WICKED, the show that launched her into stardom. I asked Kristin if she was still a Republican and isn’t that hard in showbiz when SO many people are Democrats. She said “Yes, I am and it’s so hard…you just can’t talk about politics with most actors because they are all Democrats and can only see one side of any issue.” After another block, we each turned our own way and said goodbye…another great New York moment. As columnist Cindy Adams would say: “Only in New York!”
Later in the day I was in Greenwich Village near the building used on the TV show FRIENDS and spotted a movie shooting in the streets. Julia Roberts was starring in a new film with the working title “DUPLICITY” and there she was on Bedford Street shooting a scene. They are currently filming at least six major Hollywood movies around New York right now including Isla Fisher in CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC. Meryl Streep just finished filming DOUBT, playing a nun that suspects a priest is seducing children (based on the 2004 hit Broadway play).
Later I met my friend David for dinner in Chelsea and I could barely make it into David’s apartment building without getting shouted at by a crew member from a movie shooting IN FRONT of the building called “JULIE AND JULIA” about Julia Child. There were the stars: Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, all made up and filming a simple scene at the wine store at Seventh Ave. and West 20th Street. What a crowd it takes to film a simple scene…no wonder movies cost so much to make. And it was during Monday evening Rush Hour! I once filmed a small scene with Meryl Streep in the movie SHE-DEVIL and she’s a lovely, warm person…a total professional. I had met Meryl years before when I was a teenager and Meryl was appearing in the Broadway musical THE HAPPY END…I was backstage visiting an older actress friend and met Meryl and SHE REMEMBERED…(or said she did).
Ahhh….Spring in New York….when everything blooms and the warm weather brings Hollywood back to the Big Apple!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
Celebrities in New York...another reason to take the Rich & Famous Tour
One of the main things that puts the sparkle in the Big Apple are the large number of celebrities scattered around town, and the sooner a guide discovers this and
capitalizes on the readily available celebrity information, the better your tours will be. As a licensed guide for over 20 years, I discovered early on quite by accident that celebrity information can spice up any tour and add that "special something."
Call it the magic of creatively name-dropping but it works. One day on my step-on bus tour many years ago, I remember being stuck in a horrendous downtown traffic mess and after exhausting my New York knowledge of history and architecture of that particular SoHo block, I began listing celebrities I knew positively lived in the neighborhood.
I probably have many more celebrity stories than the average NYC guide because of my various jobs and friends over the years. As a young person I sold souvenirs
and programs at the Broadway show ANNIE and became acquainted with a LOT of Broadway people, including 13-year-old Sarah Jessica Parker and her family, Laurie Beechman, Andrea McArdle, Alice Ghostley and others.
I'm sure Sarah doesn't remember but I helped her and family (along with her friends
Brooke and Terri Shields) clean out her dressing room suite at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon) and load the car on her LAST day as ANNIE.
A few years later I worked backstage at Radio City Music Hall at Night of 100 Stars as "Green Room Talent Coordinator" —a fancy word for Go-Fer. Basically, I fetched celebrities to and from the stage and had access to all backstage areas! Still, I met everybody including Sir Laurence Olivier, Ginger Rogers, Myrna Loy (she kissed my cheek), Whoopi Goldberg (wonderful), Grace Kelly, Carol Burnett (she helped us clean up the Green Room), Jimmy Stewart, Ann-Margret, Lucille Ball, Lana Turner, Olivia DeHavilland and all the rest, giving me enough afterdinner celebrity stories for a lifetime. As a matter of fact, I saved my dressing room assignment sheets from the clipboard because they are a hoot…all those major stars crammed together in dressing rooms designed for the Rockettes.
I became chummy that evening with singer Vic Damone who was married to Diahann Carroll at the time. Such a nice man...very down-to-earth. As we were all leaving thru the 51st St. Music Hall stage door around 4am after a long, grueling day of rehearsals and taping, Vic spotted me and offered me a ride in his limo. I declined, saying "it's OK, I only live a few blocks away…I'll walk." He responded "It's 4am…we'll drop you…I insist. Move over, Diahann." The great diva Ms. Carroll shot him a look that said "you're giving THE HELP a lift?" but still she scooted her sequined butt over. I'll never forget that look she gave him. They broke up a short time later. I wasn't surprised…she's a diva and he's a down-to-earth guy. I later read that her mother was a maid and her Dad was a subway conductor but I guess she forgot where she came from...
It's funny...at Night of 100 Stars I noticed that some of the most legendary stars (Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, Myrna Loy, Ginger Rogers, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, etc.) were just as nice and down-to-earth as you please. Myrna Loy kissed me when I told her she was one of my favorite actresses, Lucille Ball heard my first name once and called me Jimmy all evening, Olivia DeHavilland and Esther Williams treated me like an equal, Petula Clark pushed me thru a crowded room to make sure I personally met Laurence Olivier! But the TV stars...oh brother! Talk about self-important ego-maniacs! Sitcom stars are especially the WORST, from my experience, also prime-time soap stars! The Dallas and Dynasty casts were just huge pains in the ass to deal with!
I now routinely tell many of these stories on my Rich & Famous Tour to spice things up and add a "personal" touch. Just another reason to come to New York and take the Rich and Famous Tour. http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnJpY2hhbmRmYW1vdXN0b3Vycy5jb20=
capitalizes on the readily available celebrity information, the better your tours will be. As a licensed guide for over 20 years, I discovered early on quite by accident that celebrity information can spice up any tour and add that "special something."
Call it the magic of creatively name-dropping but it works. One day on my step-on bus tour many years ago, I remember being stuck in a horrendous downtown traffic mess and after exhausting my New York knowledge of history and architecture of that particular SoHo block, I began listing celebrities I knew positively lived in the neighborhood.
I probably have many more celebrity stories than the average NYC guide because of my various jobs and friends over the years. As a young person I sold souvenirs
and programs at the Broadway show ANNIE and became acquainted with a LOT of Broadway people, including 13-year-old Sarah Jessica Parker and her family, Laurie Beechman, Andrea McArdle, Alice Ghostley and others.
I'm sure Sarah doesn't remember but I helped her and family (along with her friends
Brooke and Terri Shields) clean out her dressing room suite at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon) and load the car on her LAST day as ANNIE.
A few years later I worked backstage at Radio City Music Hall at Night of 100 Stars as "Green Room Talent Coordinator" —a fancy word for Go-Fer. Basically, I fetched celebrities to and from the stage and had access to all backstage areas! Still, I met everybody including Sir Laurence Olivier, Ginger Rogers, Myrna Loy (she kissed my cheek), Whoopi Goldberg (wonderful), Grace Kelly, Carol Burnett (she helped us clean up the Green Room), Jimmy Stewart, Ann-Margret, Lucille Ball, Lana Turner, Olivia DeHavilland and all the rest, giving me enough afterdinner celebrity stories for a lifetime. As a matter of fact, I saved my dressing room assignment sheets from the clipboard because they are a hoot…all those major stars crammed together in dressing rooms designed for the Rockettes.
I became chummy that evening with singer Vic Damone who was married to Diahann Carroll at the time. Such a nice man...very down-to-earth. As we were all leaving thru the 51st St. Music Hall stage door around 4am after a long, grueling day of rehearsals and taping, Vic spotted me and offered me a ride in his limo. I declined, saying "it's OK, I only live a few blocks away…I'll walk." He responded "It's 4am…we'll drop you…I insist. Move over, Diahann." The great diva Ms. Carroll shot him a look that said "you're giving THE HELP a lift?" but still she scooted her sequined butt over. I'll never forget that look she gave him. They broke up a short time later. I wasn't surprised…she's a diva and he's a down-to-earth guy. I later read that her mother was a maid and her Dad was a subway conductor but I guess she forgot where she came from...
It's funny...at Night of 100 Stars I noticed that some of the most legendary stars (Lucille Ball, Bette Davis, Myrna Loy, Ginger Rogers, Grace Kelly, Jimmy Stewart, etc.) were just as nice and down-to-earth as you please. Myrna Loy kissed me when I told her she was one of my favorite actresses, Lucille Ball heard my first name once and called me Jimmy all evening, Olivia DeHavilland and Esther Williams treated me like an equal, Petula Clark pushed me thru a crowded room to make sure I personally met Laurence Olivier! But the TV stars...oh brother! Talk about self-important ego-maniacs! Sitcom stars are especially the WORST, from my experience, also prime-time soap stars! The Dallas and Dynasty casts were just huge pains in the ass to deal with!
I now routinely tell many of these stories on my Rich & Famous Tour to spice things up and add a "personal" touch. Just another reason to come to New York and take the Rich and Famous Tour. http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3LnJpY2hhbmRmYW1vdXN0b3Vycy5jb20=
SHHHH---All About the NEW Sex & The City MOVIE!!
SEX and the CITY Movie Spoiler alert! (Courtesy of the NY Post and other combined sources from around town)….Continuing to read this will tell you far more about the new movie than has been told anywhere else. "Everything is bigger," says an insider. "There's more extras, more locations and the locations are more fabulous. No one shoots inside St. Patrick’s Cathedral or New York Public Library but Sex and the City shot in both places…as well as a LOT of places off limits to other productions. Last year, the production requested shooting permits for no fewer than 45 separate locations between August and December.
According to the Mayor’s Office of Film, Sex & the City filming locations ranged from hidden, out of the way spots to Lenox Hill Hospital, the offices of Vogue, Junior's in Brooklyn, Bemelman’s Bar in The Carlyle Hotel, Bryant Park, the Duke-Semans Mansion on Fifth Ave. across from the Met, trendy restaurants like Lumi and Buddakhan in the Meatpacking District, various glamorous locations in midtown and the Upper Eastside, Flatiron District, Times Square, Rock Center, the Village, SoHo and TriBeca. Also a clifftop villa in Mexico is used in one important scene where Carrie tosses her bejeweled cellphone off the cliff into the ocean.
Fashion used includes: Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, Versace, YSL, Ferragamo, Zac Posen, Dior, Cynthia Rowley, Marc Jacobs, etc.) LOTS of bling (every day the girls wore real jewels estimated at $2.5 million, from deals made with Tiffany, H. Stern and other top jewelers).
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other famous New York faces have cameos—Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, plays Louise, Carrie's assistant, who is a “label queen” and looking for love.
The plot: Carrie and Big (Chris Noth), get engaged, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) has moved to a Malibu beach house(which makes for lots of fun sex in the sand shots), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Harry (Evan Handler) get pregnant, and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Steve (David Eigenberg) grapple with infidelity. The movie starts with Fashion Week (with a re-built tent in Bryant Park), and gets “bigger” from there. Mr. Big’s full name, we discover, is John James Preston.
One of the new characters is Dante, a sexy young LA stud in his 30s who lives next door to Samantha, distracting her from her movie-star boyfriend Smith (Jason Lewis), whose career is now hot. Dante, apparently is the male version of Samantha…watch out!
Carrie’s wedding goes up in smoke and sources say that Carrie makes bitterly funny comments about her wedding gown to her friends….she calls it the perfect thing to be "jilted" in. Perhaps, she says, people have seen her in Vogue, where they may be able to touch up "pores" but not "pain."
Carrie’s failed wedding, Samantha’s sex with the neighbor, Charlotte's pregnancy and Miranda's marital woes provide key dramatic plot points.
Also, Carrie tells Samantha at one point she's completely revamping her life, right down to her cellphone area code. She's now "347," she complains (referring to the new, additional cellphone area code). Samantha tries to comfort her with a reminder that 347 is "the new New York."
In one scene, the four friends sit drinking Cosmopolitans. Charlotte remarks on how delicious they are. Miranda then wonders why they ever stopped drinking them in the first place. Carrie responds sharply, they had to after the rest of the world started.
Miranda catches Steve in marital infidelity, prompting her to move back to Manhattan from their Brooklyn home in Park Slope. One particularly moving scene is when Miranda breaks the news of her marital issues with Steve to his dementia-stricken mother. When she tries to explain the situation, his mother (Anne Meara) asks, "Who's Steve?" Carrie then does a classic, irony-drenched "SATC" voice-over, quipping that her friend is starting to see the positive side of Alzheimer's.
As Samantha and the girls leave a Fashion Week tent, a PETA activist jumps out of nowhere, spraying her with red paint. "God," Samantha wryly says after a beat, "I miss New York!"
According to the Mayor’s Office of Film, Sex & the City filming locations ranged from hidden, out of the way spots to Lenox Hill Hospital, the offices of Vogue, Junior's in Brooklyn, Bemelman’s Bar in The Carlyle Hotel, Bryant Park, the Duke-Semans Mansion on Fifth Ave. across from the Met, trendy restaurants like Lumi and Buddakhan in the Meatpacking District, various glamorous locations in midtown and the Upper Eastside, Flatiron District, Times Square, Rock Center, the Village, SoHo and TriBeca. Also a clifftop villa in Mexico is used in one important scene where Carrie tosses her bejeweled cellphone off the cliff into the ocean.
Fashion used includes: Oscar de la Renta, Chanel, Versace, YSL, Ferragamo, Zac Posen, Dior, Cynthia Rowley, Marc Jacobs, etc.) LOTS of bling (every day the girls wore real jewels estimated at $2.5 million, from deals made with Tiffany, H. Stern and other top jewelers).
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other famous New York faces have cameos—Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, plays Louise, Carrie's assistant, who is a “label queen” and looking for love.
The plot: Carrie and Big (Chris Noth), get engaged, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) has moved to a Malibu beach house(which makes for lots of fun sex in the sand shots), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Harry (Evan Handler) get pregnant, and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) and Steve (David Eigenberg) grapple with infidelity. The movie starts with Fashion Week (with a re-built tent in Bryant Park), and gets “bigger” from there. Mr. Big’s full name, we discover, is John James Preston.
One of the new characters is Dante, a sexy young LA stud in his 30s who lives next door to Samantha, distracting her from her movie-star boyfriend Smith (Jason Lewis), whose career is now hot. Dante, apparently is the male version of Samantha…watch out!
Carrie’s wedding goes up in smoke and sources say that Carrie makes bitterly funny comments about her wedding gown to her friends….she calls it the perfect thing to be "jilted" in. Perhaps, she says, people have seen her in Vogue, where they may be able to touch up "pores" but not "pain."
Carrie’s failed wedding, Samantha’s sex with the neighbor, Charlotte's pregnancy and Miranda's marital woes provide key dramatic plot points.
Also, Carrie tells Samantha at one point she's completely revamping her life, right down to her cellphone area code. She's now "347," she complains (referring to the new, additional cellphone area code). Samantha tries to comfort her with a reminder that 347 is "the new New York."
In one scene, the four friends sit drinking Cosmopolitans. Charlotte remarks on how delicious they are. Miranda then wonders why they ever stopped drinking them in the first place. Carrie responds sharply, they had to after the rest of the world started.
Miranda catches Steve in marital infidelity, prompting her to move back to Manhattan from their Brooklyn home in Park Slope. One particularly moving scene is when Miranda breaks the news of her marital issues with Steve to his dementia-stricken mother. When she tries to explain the situation, his mother (Anne Meara) asks, "Who's Steve?" Carrie then does a classic, irony-drenched "SATC" voice-over, quipping that her friend is starting to see the positive side of Alzheimer's.
As Samantha and the girls leave a Fashion Week tent, a PETA activist jumps out of nowhere, spraying her with red paint. "God," Samantha wryly says after a beat, "I miss New York!"
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Had an audition for a new show for the History Channel called "Skywalkers"....my friend Mike called me and told me there was a posting on the internet for this show that just sounded like ME, so I looked up the posting, which had a woman's name: Emma, her email and her phone number attached. I contacted her and after attempting to meet for several days, it finally worked out.
Here's the description which I answered from the online posting:
An exciting new History show called, Skywalkers (WT) is looking for a host who has a passion and genuine interest in iconic buildings. The show will look at the science and engineering of iconic buildings. The host will take us to places that other programs wouldn’t go, i.e. scaling the side of a skyscraper in a window cleaning basket, inside elevator shafts, on the roof, in ventilation shafts etc, in order to get the viewer to really understand how the building was made. They will also look into what crucial technological advances were necessary at the time to enable to building to be made, e.g. development of a particularly strong type of steel, or glass, or a new approach to architecture. The host will have an enquiring mind, and ask the right questions to keep the viewer educated and interested. Here's the kind of person we are thinking of. We are looking for a guy in his 30s, poss 40s, who is either used to working at heights (construction worker, window washer, roof top landscape gardener, for example) or would be comfortable doing so. The idea being to have a host who's not necessarily an expert on the buildings but who has a genuine interest and asks the right questions so that the audience can learn at the same time as he does. So not just the way they look, but the science, engineering and technology that went into creating the structures. Someone who is down to earth, can laugh at himself, enthusiastic, and fearless. It's not necessary to have done TV work before although comfort with the camera obviously helps.
Location : New York; Contact Emma, etc.
Well, I thought I gave a fabulous audition...she wanted to be up high preferably so I took Emma and the camera up to the top of a building overlooking Rockefeller Center and she shot me with St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rock Center's Roof Gardens, etc. over my shoulder. I just burbled on for about 10 minutes yakking about St. Pat's, basic NYC history stuff, posed a couple of questions about Rock Center's construction, blah blah blah. Now it's in the hands of the Gods...we shall see if I'm what the history channel is looking for. Emma told me she's seen quite a few people and put them all on film...including a (retired) New York City firefighter who took her up to the roof of a building and talked about the construction, etc. She says they don't want "experts" ...they just want "real people" who have a little on-camera experience to explore, pose questions to experts and open and close the show, etc.
This is something I'd really, really like, so of course I won't get it! Always the way!
Here's the description which I answered from the online posting:
An exciting new History show called, Skywalkers (WT) is looking for a host who has a passion and genuine interest in iconic buildings. The show will look at the science and engineering of iconic buildings. The host will take us to places that other programs wouldn’t go, i.e. scaling the side of a skyscraper in a window cleaning basket, inside elevator shafts, on the roof, in ventilation shafts etc, in order to get the viewer to really understand how the building was made. They will also look into what crucial technological advances were necessary at the time to enable to building to be made, e.g. development of a particularly strong type of steel, or glass, or a new approach to architecture. The host will have an enquiring mind, and ask the right questions to keep the viewer educated and interested. Here's the kind of person we are thinking of. We are looking for a guy in his 30s, poss 40s, who is either used to working at heights (construction worker, window washer, roof top landscape gardener, for example) or would be comfortable doing so. The idea being to have a host who's not necessarily an expert on the buildings but who has a genuine interest and asks the right questions so that the audience can learn at the same time as he does. So not just the way they look, but the science, engineering and technology that went into creating the structures. Someone who is down to earth, can laugh at himself, enthusiastic, and fearless. It's not necessary to have done TV work before although comfort with the camera obviously helps.
Location : New York; Contact Emma, etc.
Well, I thought I gave a fabulous audition...she wanted to be up high preferably so I took Emma and the camera up to the top of a building overlooking Rockefeller Center and she shot me with St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rock Center's Roof Gardens, etc. over my shoulder. I just burbled on for about 10 minutes yakking about St. Pat's, basic NYC history stuff, posed a couple of questions about Rock Center's construction, blah blah blah. Now it's in the hands of the Gods...we shall see if I'm what the history channel is looking for. Emma told me she's seen quite a few people and put them all on film...including a (retired) New York City firefighter who took her up to the roof of a building and talked about the construction, etc. She says they don't want "experts" ...they just want "real people" who have a little on-camera experience to explore, pose questions to experts and open and close the show, etc.
This is something I'd really, really like, so of course I won't get it! Always the way!
Million dollar Password with Regis Philbin
Story of the Week:
Well, they're bringing back my all-time favorite game show yet one more time...PASSWORD! This time it's being hosted by Regis Philbin, filmed in New York City (Queens) and called MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD.
I heard about it and found the information to be a contestant on the CBS website and made an appointment to audition to be a contestant. The audition was held in a nondescript office off Fifth Ave. near 37th St. and is actually the offices for The People's Court TV show.
Now, let me preface this by saying I KNOW HOW TO PLAY PASSWORD. I'm a total word-game GEEK. I love crossword puzzles, Scrabble, and I've watched all the versions of Password since elementary school. Even now I record the old re-runs from the Game Show Network and watch them in the evenings. Hell, words are words. True, many of the celebrities are dead, infirm or just plain forgotten about, but what the hell....words are still WORDS, and I enjoy word games! So when we played the game, I did really, really well. They paired me up with a fluffy blond housewife from Florida who giggled a lot and was a mediocre player. But she told cute stories and THAT'S what they seemed interested in. It became very clear that they wanted contestants who not only displayed ENERGY (they kept reminding us to have ENERGY) but they wanted "reality show" type contestants. They kept asking me ON CAMERA...things like:
"Jim, tell us what's the most ridiculous thing you ever did in your life."
"Jim, what is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done."
"Jim, if we spoke to your friends, what would they tell us about you?"
"Jim, what's the one thing in your life you regret the most?"
"Jim, what would you do with the money, should you win the $1million?"
and on and on and on like this. Forget about the fact that I guessed ALL the passwords in one or two clues each.
Forget about the fact that when it was my turn to give the password clues to the Florida housewife, I gave her such excellent clues that she guessed every one...and we did it in 42 seconds! The guy giving us the test said it has NEVER been done that fast since they've been holding auditions!
But I couldn't come up with a stupid story to make them LIKE me while the camera was running. So, if anybody should EVER go out for Million Dollar Password (or any other game show)....remember: They don't care so much HOW you play the game...they just want you to have really stupid, moronic stories that will give Regis Philbin something to poke fun at when he introduces you as a contestant!!
Well, they're bringing back my all-time favorite game show yet one more time...PASSWORD! This time it's being hosted by Regis Philbin, filmed in New York City (Queens) and called MILLION DOLLAR PASSWORD.
I heard about it and found the information to be a contestant on the CBS website and made an appointment to audition to be a contestant. The audition was held in a nondescript office off Fifth Ave. near 37th St. and is actually the offices for The People's Court TV show.
Now, let me preface this by saying I KNOW HOW TO PLAY PASSWORD. I'm a total word-game GEEK. I love crossword puzzles, Scrabble, and I've watched all the versions of Password since elementary school. Even now I record the old re-runs from the Game Show Network and watch them in the evenings. Hell, words are words. True, many of the celebrities are dead, infirm or just plain forgotten about, but what the hell....words are still WORDS, and I enjoy word games! So when we played the game, I did really, really well. They paired me up with a fluffy blond housewife from Florida who giggled a lot and was a mediocre player. But she told cute stories and THAT'S what they seemed interested in. It became very clear that they wanted contestants who not only displayed ENERGY (they kept reminding us to have ENERGY) but they wanted "reality show" type contestants. They kept asking me ON CAMERA...things like:
"Jim, tell us what's the most ridiculous thing you ever did in your life."
"Jim, what is the most embarrassing thing you've ever done."
"Jim, if we spoke to your friends, what would they tell us about you?"
"Jim, what's the one thing in your life you regret the most?"
"Jim, what would you do with the money, should you win the $1million?"
and on and on and on like this. Forget about the fact that I guessed ALL the passwords in one or two clues each.
Forget about the fact that when it was my turn to give the password clues to the Florida housewife, I gave her such excellent clues that she guessed every one...and we did it in 42 seconds! The guy giving us the test said it has NEVER been done that fast since they've been holding auditions!
But I couldn't come up with a stupid story to make them LIKE me while the camera was running. So, if anybody should EVER go out for Million Dollar Password (or any other game show)....remember: They don't care so much HOW you play the game...they just want you to have really stupid, moronic stories that will give Regis Philbin something to poke fun at when he introduces you as a contestant!!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
More About Harvey....AND MY TAX ATTORNEY ED!
(Scroll down to see pic of Harvey)
More about Harvey: Even though Harvey Fierstein was quite charming, he seemed a bit guarded all evening...from cocktail chatter to the actual Q&A onstage. In fact, they could have re-titled the evening "Harvey Fierstein promotes A Catered Affair" because that's ALL he talked about. I mentioned to Harvey that my tax attorney, Ed, told me last week he had once been an actor--information which shocked me. He then proceeded to tell me he was in one of the pre-Broadway La Mama performances of Harvey's definitive career-making play Torch Song Trilogy! In fact, his name is "Ed" and the character he played was named for him: "Ed". As I mentioned this to Harvey Fierstein he suddenly got much less "distant" and opened up to me. "Oh my Gosh, how is Ed? Where is he? I'd love to see him again! Please tell him I said hello and give him my best." Moments like this always make me realize that New York City, the great metropolis of 8 million people, is SUCH a small town!
(Scroll down to see pic of HARVEY)
More about Harvey: Even though Harvey Fierstein was quite charming, he seemed a bit guarded all evening...from cocktail chatter to the actual Q&A onstage. In fact, they could have re-titled the evening "Harvey Fierstein promotes A Catered Affair" because that's ALL he talked about. I mentioned to Harvey that my tax attorney, Ed, told me last week he had once been an actor--information which shocked me. He then proceeded to tell me he was in one of the pre-Broadway La Mama performances of Harvey's definitive career-making play Torch Song Trilogy! In fact, his name is "Ed" and the character he played was named for him: "Ed". As I mentioned this to Harvey Fierstein he suddenly got much less "distant" and opened up to me. "Oh my Gosh, how is Ed? Where is he? I'd love to see him again! Please tell him I said hello and give him my best." Moments like this always make me realize that New York City, the great metropolis of 8 million people, is SUCH a small town!
(Scroll down to see pic of HARVEY)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Harvey Fierstein "Conversation" at Zipper Theatre
Attended "A Conversation with Harvey Fierstein" last night at the Zipper Theatre on W. 37th St. sponsored by The American Theatre Wing (the Tony Award folks) of whom I've been a member for years but never get a lot out of my membership except for the occasional celebrity-laden cocktail party. Last night the numbers must have been down for this event...probably less than 100 people showed up, including a few theatre celebrities and bold-face names from the columns. You could tell how many people were no-shows by the enormous number of name tags left on the check-in table.
As soon as I entered I ran into Pia Lindstrom, and across the empty room I saw Harvey Fierstein hanging up his coat. Pia, who always looks fabulous, is on the membership services committee at the Wing, along with Barbara Toy and others. She said the Wing is perceived by many young theatre people as being full of an older, moneyed crowd but that they want to do more outreach to the members, the Off Broadway community, and younger theatre-goers. Informal events with major theatre personalities like Fierstein is part of that outreach. No matter how often I meet celebrities such as Pia, I always remain calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside I'm screaming "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE INGRID BERGMAN'S DAUGHTER!!!!!!"
During the 5:30-6:30pm cocktail hour I chatted with legend Marian Seldes who grabbed me and hugged me after I told her I had seen her for years in everything since DEATHTRAP as well as theatre events and parties, but had been too intimidated to say anything because I didn't want to come off as a "silly fan." She looked at me with a piercing stare, smiled, hugged me and said: "Nonsense...now we are friends...and colleagues!" Such a lovely woman...and still the total pro as she turns 80 this coming August!
I was button-holed momentarily by an elderly queen I knew years ago (and he was boring then) who immediately tried to monopolize me and tell me about the last 20 years. Not meaning to be rude, I simply said "Arthur, darling, I have people to meet! We'll catch up later!" I chatted with a couple of actors and producers and one of them, a major name, said she lived at 88 Central Park West..."Oh," I said..." that's where Lorne Michaels, Sting and Celeste Holm live and didn't Robert DeNiro just move in there?"
"Oh my," she said, "You really know your stuff! Actually we're not supposed to talk about DeNiro being there...the co-op board has informed all tenants to ignore his presence. He abandoned Tri-Beca apparently for Central Park West! But interestingly, DeNiro gets his mail under an assumed name...just like Garbo used to! If a visitor asks the doorman for DeNiro, or if a delivery comes for DeNiro, the doorman is instructed to say he doesn't live there! Totally crazy! The building is full of celebrities and we don't pull that nonsense! Didn't Garbo pull that too?"
After cocktails, we went into the Q&A with Harvey Fierstein and even though the evening was officially called: "A conversation with Harvey Fierstein" they could have re-named it: Harvey Fierstein does non-stop promotion for his new show A Catered Affair. All he did was talk about the show and its journey from film to San Diego's Old Globe Theatre to Broadway. He mentioned Debbie Reynolds (the girl in the film) was present opening night in San Diego and gave the show her blessing.
It was obvious they were trying to control the questions, but it was SUCH a low turn-out they had to take all questions, good or bad. The first question was obviously a plant, from Harvey's good pal, actress-writer Julie Halston, who sat front and center. She basically said "Tell us ALL about A Catered Affair," which gave Harvey license to launch into a lengthy monologue. Actually, I was interested in hearing about the show's progress and it is based on one of my all-time favorite films.
My question was very simple: "Is the music any good? Is anything memorable?" and the question was of course, dodged. When I finally pressed for an answer, young producer Jordan Roth, wunderkind son of producer Daryl Roth, said something about this being John Bucchino's first effort for the stage, and "the songs being a vehicle for the emotions of the characters to come thru" blah blah, blah. In my experience, this is Broadway double-speak for "unmemorable score." But we shall see when previews begin in late March. I hope I'm wrong. I see EVERYTHING on Broadway and have for the past 20 years...it's one of the biggest problems with big Broadway musicals today...totally unmemorable musical score. You leave the theatre humming the scenery and costumes. It's a shame...it's so obvious....a MUSICal should first and foremost, have good MUSIC! That's why revivals are so popular...because older shows have better songs....standards in many cases.
Just remember the old Richard Rodgers comment: "I don't care what the critics say: if I leave the theatre and hear the audiences whistling my songs, I know I have a hit!"
EXACTLY!
As soon as I entered I ran into Pia Lindstrom, and across the empty room I saw Harvey Fierstein hanging up his coat. Pia, who always looks fabulous, is on the membership services committee at the Wing, along with Barbara Toy and others. She said the Wing is perceived by many young theatre people as being full of an older, moneyed crowd but that they want to do more outreach to the members, the Off Broadway community, and younger theatre-goers. Informal events with major theatre personalities like Fierstein is part of that outreach. No matter how often I meet celebrities such as Pia, I always remain calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside I'm screaming "OH MY GOD, YOU'RE INGRID BERGMAN'S DAUGHTER!!!!!!"
During the 5:30-6:30pm cocktail hour I chatted with legend Marian Seldes who grabbed me and hugged me after I told her I had seen her for years in everything since DEATHTRAP as well as theatre events and parties, but had been too intimidated to say anything because I didn't want to come off as a "silly fan." She looked at me with a piercing stare, smiled, hugged me and said: "Nonsense...now we are friends...and colleagues!" Such a lovely woman...and still the total pro as she turns 80 this coming August!
I was button-holed momentarily by an elderly queen I knew years ago (and he was boring then) who immediately tried to monopolize me and tell me about the last 20 years. Not meaning to be rude, I simply said "Arthur, darling, I have people to meet! We'll catch up later!" I chatted with a couple of actors and producers and one of them, a major name, said she lived at 88 Central Park West..."Oh," I said..." that's where Lorne Michaels, Sting and Celeste Holm live and didn't Robert DeNiro just move in there?"
"Oh my," she said, "You really know your stuff! Actually we're not supposed to talk about DeNiro being there...the co-op board has informed all tenants to ignore his presence. He abandoned Tri-Beca apparently for Central Park West! But interestingly, DeNiro gets his mail under an assumed name...just like Garbo used to! If a visitor asks the doorman for DeNiro, or if a delivery comes for DeNiro, the doorman is instructed to say he doesn't live there! Totally crazy! The building is full of celebrities and we don't pull that nonsense! Didn't Garbo pull that too?"
After cocktails, we went into the Q&A with Harvey Fierstein and even though the evening was officially called: "A conversation with Harvey Fierstein" they could have re-named it: Harvey Fierstein does non-stop promotion for his new show A Catered Affair. All he did was talk about the show and its journey from film to San Diego's Old Globe Theatre to Broadway. He mentioned Debbie Reynolds (the girl in the film) was present opening night in San Diego and gave the show her blessing.
It was obvious they were trying to control the questions, but it was SUCH a low turn-out they had to take all questions, good or bad. The first question was obviously a plant, from Harvey's good pal, actress-writer Julie Halston, who sat front and center. She basically said "Tell us ALL about A Catered Affair," which gave Harvey license to launch into a lengthy monologue. Actually, I was interested in hearing about the show's progress and it is based on one of my all-time favorite films.
My question was very simple: "Is the music any good? Is anything memorable?" and the question was of course, dodged. When I finally pressed for an answer, young producer Jordan Roth, wunderkind son of producer Daryl Roth, said something about this being John Bucchino's first effort for the stage, and "the songs being a vehicle for the emotions of the characters to come thru" blah blah, blah. In my experience, this is Broadway double-speak for "unmemorable score." But we shall see when previews begin in late March. I hope I'm wrong. I see EVERYTHING on Broadway and have for the past 20 years...it's one of the biggest problems with big Broadway musicals today...totally unmemorable musical score. You leave the theatre humming the scenery and costumes. It's a shame...it's so obvious....a MUSICal should first and foremost, have good MUSIC! That's why revivals are so popular...because older shows have better songs....standards in many cases.
Just remember the old Richard Rodgers comment: "I don't care what the critics say: if I leave the theatre and hear the audiences whistling my songs, I know I have a hit!"
EXACTLY!
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