If there was any doubt that the panel for Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the most eagerly anticipated event at Paley Fest '08, it was erased by the mile-long line of fans that snaked around Hollywood's Cinerama Dome last night. Luckily, the event — which reunited the cast for the first time since the show ended in 2004 — more than lived up to the hype. Of course, that's not to say there weren't a few hiccups....
Participants: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield, Seth Green, Amber Benson, James Marsters, Michelle Trachtenberg, David Greenwalt, Marti Noxon, Joss Whedon and TV Guide's own Matt Roush.
MIA: Alyson Hannigan (?!?), Eliza Dushku, Anthony Stewart Head and David Boreanaz (so much for that taped message).
Applause meter: Whedon, natch, got the most enthusiastic reception from the packed house, followed by Gellar, Marsters and Carpenter.
Party crasher: Less than five minutes in, it was painfully obvious that Brendon had suffered a recurrence of ericbalfourism, an affliction that causes actors to hijack panel discussions with erratic behavior and unfunny banter. (Brendon was first diagnosed with the debilitating disease at the 2005 summer press tour while promoting Kitchen Confidential.) The first sign of the relapse came while Gellar was eloquently discussing the positive influence her alter ego had on young women – including her. Just as she was wrapping up her remarks, Brendon jumped in with this doozy: "You mean it wasn't Susan Lucci?" If Gellar had a stake, I'm pretty sure she would've driven it through his heart.
Music to our ears: Whedon said he's spent "time daydreaming" about bringing Buffy to the Great White Way someday.
Dark Buffy: Gellar admitted that both Whedon and Noxon had to "talk her down off the ledge" a few times during the controversial sixth season, which saw Buffy morph from a butt-kicking heroine into a dark, bitter basketcase. Ultimately, Whedon agreed that the real Buffy had "been gone to long" that season.
Quote of the day: Summing up the appeal of writing for a show like Buffy, Greenwalt said, "There's nothing like taking all your pain and misery and shoving it into good-looking people's mouths."
Nickname game: Unbeknownst to Gellar, Whedon and Greenwalt would refer to her as "Jimmy Stewart" in the writers' room. Whedon leaned over to tell a confused-looking Gellar that the nickname "was a compliment."
Choose or lose: Roush asked Gellar to once and for all choose between Angel and Spike, to which Brendon cracked, "Given the comic book, I think Willow." OK, I'll give him that one. Speaking of Buffy's lesbian tryst in the recently published Season 8 comic book, Whedon said, "It's not a giant life change. It's not Willow. It's someone who is young… with a lot of time on her hands."
Behind the tears: Caulfield at long last revealed what was going through her mind when she delivered that gut-wrenching monologue in the acclaimed "Body" episode: "I had to go to the bathroom!"
Unsung hero: Gellar agreed with Whedon's assessment of Kristine Sutherland (aka Buffy's mom) being one "of the most underrated" actresses working today.
Same-sex hysterics: Greenwalt revealed that shortly after word leaked that Willow was going to be coming out of the closet, he got a call from an unnamed WB exec who said, "Is [Joss] really going to do this gay thing?" Whedon threatened to quit when the network asked him to leave Willow and Tara's first kiss on the cutting-room floor. "It's the one time I pulled that out," he said. "And they were like, 'No, it's OK. Leave it in.'"
The infamous Emmy snub: Whedon reminded everyone that "you don't put a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the WB and think, 'I'm going to win Emmys!'" Gellar added, "We made the show for the fans." Cue painfully unfunny knee-slapper from Brendon involving an empty trophy case and eBay.
Good taste: Gellar reads TV Guide! She just referred to our list of TV's Top 10 Steamiest Love Scenes, in which Buffy and Spike's inaugural roll in the hay was named No. 1!
Show-killer: The audience Q&A portion of the show got off to a disastrous start when a fan asked the entire panel to reveal both their favorite movie of all time and what they're currently listening to on their iPods. What resulted was the most excruciating 20 minutes in Paley Fest history. Brendon spent three of those minutes inventing fake movie titles and berating Gellar for not adequately answering the iPod portion of the question. (For the record, she did. She's listening to the soundtrack from South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut.)
Um, awkward: Asked to reveal the real reason she refused Whedon's offer to return in Season 7 as a demonic version of Tara, Benson joked that she was too busy "making love to Marlon Brando." All kidding aside, she wanted fans to remember Tara as the sweet, innocent lesbian she was, and not some nasty, evil beast. Judging by Whedon's body language during all this, I'm sensing he may still harbor some hurt feelings over the snub. I could be wrong.
Potty mouth: What does Green miss most about his Buffy days? Arriving to work "to find that David Boreanaz had pooped in my trailer."
More Buffy: Whedon acknowledged that "so many stars would have to align" in order to pull off a Buffy movie. "But," he added, "I think it would be really cool."
'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Cast, Creators Reunite To Debate Angel Vs. Spike, Buffy's Same-Sex Romance
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"Final analysis, final verdict," TV Guide scribe Matt Roush said to the assembled panel of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" castmembers and creators. "Angel or Spike?"
As Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, looked amused but shocked — and James Marsters, who played Spike, wriggled uncomfortably in his chair — only Nicholas Brendan, who played Xander, had the nerve to pipe up and rephrase the age-old question: "Given the comic book, I think Willow."
Ten years after the unlikely show hit the air, the "Buffy" cast and creators reunited Thursday for the first time since the show ended in 2004 at Hollywood's Cinerama Dome as part of Paley Fest. The "Buffy" event was at full capacity, and some tickets were sold for 10 times their face value on eBay. "Sarah and Seth [Green, who played Oz] and I are planning a song-and-dance number with jazz hands for it," Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Dawn, joked on the red carpet. "We have mermaid costumes and everything. We're the 'Jazz-Hands Buffy Brigade.' "
That was, in part, a reference to one of the things that has kept the show alive during the years it's been off the air: Buffyoke, performed to the tune of the show's "Once More With Feeling" musical episode, which was shown prior to the panel at the Cinerama Dome. Since the sing-alongs had been stalled, Gellar and Green told MTV News that they should stage their own, saying they could hold them at Green's home and call it a "Hot Musical Evening ... And Some Pizza." "I just heard [about the sing-alongs getting killed]," Gellar said. "That's so sad. That makes me mad. I'd go to one!"
But though Gellar was up to speed on the sing-alongs, she was definitely not up on the other form her character Buffy had been resurrected — via the Season Eight comic book series spearheaded by show creator Joss Whedon.
"I want to be Buffy; she's getting some pretty hot ladies," Green joked on the red carpet prior to the event, to Gellar's puzzlement.
"What?" she asked.
"You haven't heard any of that?" he said. "The comic Joss is writing. Oh my gosh, she's totally making out with a girl."
"Is it with Willow?" Gellar asked.
"No, but she's smoking-hot," Green said. "I have to get you the back-issues."
"Buffy's getting some action?" Gellar asked. "Nice, good for her."
And so when the Angel/Spike choice came up on the panel a few minutes later, Gellar was prepared to address the big news that had rocked Buffy's world earlier this month — barely. "Wait!" she said, putting her hands up. "I did not know about this until five minutes ago. Someone says to me, 'How do you feel about Buffy's new relationship? She's with a woman.' And I'm like, 'She's with Willow?' "
Marsters gasped, "What?"
That's what reunions are for, folks — catching up. Whedon and the cast also waxed nostalgic on how hard it was to make the "Hush" and "Once More With Feeling" episodes (the shows during which they couldn't speak and had to break out into song, respectively) and speculated on the possibilities of turning "Buffy" into a Broadway musical ("I'm a song-and-dance man," Green offered) or another movie, since that's where the story started out in the first place (though even Whedon conceded the original movie wasn't "all that"). But where would the story go from here?
"You could call it 'Xander the One-Eyed Monster,' " joked Brendan, referring to his character's eye patch. Whedon and Gellar, trying hard not to burst out laughing, couldn't help themselves. Gellar stifled a tear and exclaimed, "This is why this [reunion] hasn't happened in four years!"
[Source]
Ashlee Simpson's BITTERSWEET WORLD Arrives April 22
FIRST SINGLE 'LITTLE MISS OBSESSIVE' AVAILABLE ON iTUNES(R) AND ALL DIGITAL RETAILERS
MULTI-PLATINUM SINGER/SONGWRITER FOLLOWS UP BACK-TO-BACK #1 BILLBOARD ALBUMS WITH THIRD EFFORT ON GEFFEN
SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- "Little Miss Obsessive" is not the usual title ascribed to multi-platinum recording artist Ashlee Simpson, but if the reaction to her new single of the same name is any indication, she might just adopt it as a mantra. Fans across the country have made "Little Miss Obsessive," the first single from Simpson's forthcoming album BITTERSWEET WORLD, a guilty pleasure and bona fide hit with accolades coming from coast to coast. "Little Miss Obsessive" features guest vocals from the Plain White T's Tom Higgenson as he and Simpson chronicle the ostensibly aural dance of a couple who break up to make up -- and like it. BITTERSWEET WORLD is due out on April 22 from Geffen.
As a prelude to the BITTERSWEET WORLD release, Simpson has been crisscrossing the country as part of a nationwide promotional tour, stopping by radio, meeting her fans at exclusive Wal-Mart in-store appearances and performing at special midnight shows at clubs in more than 20 cities. Following a rigorous promotional schedule that will see Ashlee appear on the Nickelodeon "Kids Choice Awards" on March 29, "The TODAY Show" on April 18, "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on April 21, "Dancing with the Stars" on April 22, "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on April 23, and "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on April 24, she will then head to Europe for additional stops in support of BITTERSWEET WORLD.
"I had so much fun working on this third album and I hope that clearly shows in the songs," said Simpson. "I wanted to make an album people felt good about, that they could dance to and crank way up in the car on the way to a party."
With production credits on the album going to Timbaland, The Neptunes' Chad Hugo, Kenna and Jack Joseph Puig, Simpson's third effort is nuanced, balanced and sonically varied, reflecting '80s and '90s era influences such as Missing Persons, Blondie and The Cardigans, layered over the fat beats that these hit making producers have become synonymous for. While the first single "Little Miss Obsessive" sees a couple on the wane, the song "Boys" is all about the fun of the chase. An infectious summer pop anthem, it's an ideal song to play as you cruise with the top down.
"Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)," which debuted at #1 on AOL's Top 40 chart, sold more than 100,000 single copies to date and whose video has been streamed more than two million times, is a perfect primer to energize the clubs. "Murder" describes a girl who can get away with anything and features guest vocals from Izza Kizza, while "Never Dream Alone" is a beautiful ballad that showcases Simpson's lyrical prowess. A slight departure from Simpson's previous pop/rock releases, BITTERSWEET WORLD is nonetheless still seeped in the same earnest, relatable lyrics -- all written or co-written by Simpson -- that people have come to expect and love from the singer/actress.
Born in Waco, TX, Ashlee made inroads as an actress early on, appearing on the shows "7th Heaven" and "Malcolm in the Middle," as well as the independent film "Undiscovered," but she always longed for a music career. Her Geffen debut AUTOBIOGRAPHY topped the Billboard charts week of release, spawned the hit singles "Pieces of Me" and "La La" and sold several million copies to date. Her follow-up I AM ME scored another chart-topping debut week of release, preceded by the hit singles "Boyfriend" and "L.O.V.E." In 2006, Ashlee returned to acting when she became the youngest person ever to play the role of Roxie Hart in the London production of the legendary musical "Chicago." She later revisited the role on Broadway for a special 10th anniversary production alongside Broadway greats Bebe Newirth, Ann Reinking, Chita Rivera and Joel Grey.
BITTERSWEET WORLD is Ashlee Simpson's third album and she will tour this summer in support of the release. For the most up-to-date information on Ashlee, please visit http://www.ashleesimpsonmusic.com
[Source]
Beyoncé is bound for the big screen once again.
The "Irreplaceable" singer will star as legendary blues singer Etta James in Darnell Martin's "Cadillac Records," according to The Hollywood Reporter. She will also serve as one of the movie's executive producers.
""Cadillac Records" will follow the life of influential Chicago-based record-company executive Leonard Chess — who ran the legendary record company with his brother, Phil, through the 1950s and '60s — and the label's lineup of musical icons, including James, Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer) and Little Walter (Columbus Short). Oscar winner Adrien Brody is scheduled to play Chess.
The role is the first for Beyoncé since her turn as Deena Jones in the musical "Dreamgirls." As Jones, the singer earned two Golden Globe nominations, for Best Actress in a Motion Picture and Best Original Song.
While her "Dreamgirls" character was loosely based on Diana Ross, Beyoncé will have some big shoes to fill as the real-life James. The gutsy and full-figured legend belted out many standout blues and jazz tracks, including "At Last," which she was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for in 1999.
James has long been a revered figure among female singers. Christina Aguilera has called James her idol and doted on her in interviews. In 2006, as part of InStyle magazine's pairing of singers and their musical mentors, James and Aguilera met and were photographed together.
"Etta is my all-time favorite singer," Aguilera told MTV News at the time. "I've said it for the last seven years — since I had my first debut record out — in every interview, in every story, in every on- and off-camera question. I mean, all of Etta's old songs, countless songs I could name, I grew up listening to. That music was always such a huge escape for me, even from a young age."
As of press time, no release date had been scheduled for the film.
