June 28, 2008

The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Neal McDonough is joining the cast of Desperate Housewives as a regular next season. He will play a new white-collar resident who may cross romantic paths with Edie Britt (Nicolette Sheridan). McDonough is the second new addition to the cast, along with Gale Harold, who will recur as Ken, the mysterious man kissing Susan Meyer (Teri Hatcher) in the final flash-forward scene of this past season.

Stephen Kijak reports that the Scott Walker film (of which Gale is an associate producer, for those 2 or 3 of you who didn't know, LOL) has continued it's non-stop film fest tour, and will be screening in the very prestigious Karlovary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on July 5 & 9. The good news for those of us on this side of the pond is that they are looking at a Fall/Winter 08 theatrical run on US screens. How many screens is still to be determined.

Sharon Gless wishes Chicago a Happy Pride this weekend. “Chicago is where ‘Queer As Folk’ was sneaked to me under a table," she tells redeyechicago.com. “I was doing a play at the Victory Gardens Theater for one of your playwrights, Claudia Allen. I flew out of Chicago one day, went and saw the producers, came back and it was mine. Chicago has a very large piece of my heart.” You can listen to an audio message from her here.

“I mean, people still don’t believe that I’m not gay, and I don’t fight them. I just say, ‘OK, whatever.’ I just learned so much about what the gays go through—all the fun and all the sadness. I’m yours for life."

Sharon also talks about Scott Lowell and the rest of the QAF cast: "I love Scotty. Scotty’s carrying on our poker tradition. Every month I did a cast poker party in Toronto at my apartment. When it ended I gave one to Scotty and now he throws the party in L.A. When I come to town he puts out an e-mail to the cast, and the title of his e-mail is ‘Poke Her.'

We’ve all stayed friends. This is like my 10th series and you always swear you’ll never part, but you do, of course. But the Queer As Folk people, we’ve all stayed together. I think it was such an intimate show and difficult for everyone to do the kind of work they were doing. And we just bonded. Tyne Daly’s mother has a great expression, and I attribute it to the reason Tyne and I are so close still today. Tyne Daly’s mom says, ‘Sweat makes a great cement.’ And these boys were sweating together—literally—for five years, and supporting each other. There was never any fighting on set."

In "Getting Burned with Sharon Gless,” Reg Seeton talks to the actress about what it's like to live and work in Miami, how she bonded with Jeffrey Donovan in the first season of Burn Notice, how she's grown as an actress since Queer as Folk, whether we can expect a reunion with Tyne Daly, and what she's looking forward to most in season two. Seeton asks, “Between the time you signed on to Queer as Folk to when it ended, how did playing Debbie change you as an actress?" Sharon replies, “Well, I hope that I grow with every role that I play. I mean, that’s always your hope. I love the luxury of longevity in a series and the fact that I was lucky enough to be in a hit, which Queer As Folk became. You're just looser, more comfortable, more inventive, braver, the longer you go. That just comes with having the chance to develop with her, the same thing happened with Christine Cagney. The longer you play them the richer they become.” Note: the link to page 2 of the interview appears to be broken, but you can find it here. There are some nice photos to go along with the interview.

In another interview with Sharon, she reveals a few of the stories we've heard over the years about her experiences with fans, and some new tidbits as well! SX news writes about how Queer as Folk and Cagney & Lacey made her more aware of the discrimination faced by women and the GLBT community. “By doing Queer as Folk I became much more aware of the trials and heartbreaking things of being part of the gay community,” she says. “Only by doing Cagney & Lacey did I start becoming aware of how people talked about women.” It was during her time on the detective show that she became a feminist. “I’d not really been exposed to feminism. I was a woman who was successful in my work and not competing against men for roles ... But by showing the stories we did and living the life, I became a feminist and I remain so.” So, surely it’s about time she played a lesbian? “I’m dying to!” she laughs. But when it’s suggested she should get a part in the final season of The L Word, she has mixed feelings. “If they asked me I’d go do the last episode, but I’m territorial. Queer as Folk was first and put Showtime on the map and allowed The L Word to be made. I think it’s a very fun show. I always look at it like a Victoria Secrets catalogue. The women are beautiful to look at and I love the lingerie.”

And yet *another* interview, this time with 411mania.com. Sharon is asked about playing unique mother characters. She says, "Queer as Folk was the first one that took off, my playing a mother. Debbie, I think I've said this before in print .... but I went after that role. I called Showtime and said I wanted to play that role, and Jerry Offsay said, 'I like the idea. I think Sharon will bring a little class to the project.' And I said, 'Please tell Jerry that class is not what I had in mind.' So I sort of got who she was, and obviously she became more outrageous as time went on.”

Scott Lowell plays a detective in the movie "To Live and Die in Dixie," a true-crime story based on two murders in the South during the '80s, chronicled in a book by Frances Parker. The film premiered on Friday night at Studio 28 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and plays through this Thursday, the 26th.

Robert Gant ("Ben" on QAF) will attend the Queer as Folk and L World fan convention taking place in Paris, France this fall. The convention begins on Friday, October 31st and runs until Sunday, November 2nd, and will include analytical lectures, Q&A sessions with actors from both shows, autograph and photo sessions, games, merchandising booths, and a party for pass-holders. For hotel and ticket information, visit the Convention website.

Robert's movie "Save Me" now has an official website. There are some great movie stills, cast/crew information, fan forum, and more. The film also has a page on Facebook. Save Me will continue its film festival run through the Summer of 2008 and will debut in theaters this September. Be sure to check out the sites for more information, including upcoming screening dates in Kansas City, Durham, New York and Los Angeles.

Sarah Lyall, New York Times News Service, wrote a feature on Davies, in which she called him "perhaps the most admired writer and producer working in British television drama." She says, "Queer as Folk was revolutionary not only because of its racy subject matter but also because of the matter-of-fact way it presented its characters: ordinary people, if unusually attractive and sexually frisky, who happened to be gay. Criticism of its content tended to be overshadowed by admiration for its wit and verve and for the mature fun of its story lines. Davies used the same philosophy when Captain Jack came on the scene in Doctor Who — make it entertaining, not didactic." Davies says, laughing, "I thought, 'It's time you introduce bisexuals properly into mainstream telvision.'" [read more].

Paul O'Grady is an English comedian and television personality who hosts The Paul O'Grady Show airing on Channel 4 in the UK. Two of Paul's ultimate TV heroines (Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly, also known as Cagney & Lacey) flew in to surprise him on his birthday earlier this month. Paul said, "I don't believe it, I can't believe it.". The pair told him, "You are under arrest for being drunk and disorderly and French polishing in public. You should remain silent but I'd imagine you would find that very difficult." Paul later said "You have made my birthday," and Sharon Gless said, "I enjoyed frisking you. You knew the position." Paul beamed at the pair. "You have made my birthday." [source: coventrytelegraph.net]

Jeffrey Donovan adores working with Sharon Gless, who plays his mother on Burn Notice. "Isn’t she amazing?" he says. "She's been like a mother to me down here. She is so great. Her and her husband, Barney – you know famous producer – they’re just so great. I wish they were my parents." Panel says 'she seemed like she’s pretty much adopted you,' and Jeffrey replied, "Yeah, she has, she has. I’m filing papers next week." [read more at Eclipse magazine]

In Eclipse Magazine, Michelle Alexandria writes about the "Things (she) learned at the Burn Notice Junket," including some tidbits about Sharon Gless:
Sharon Gless is a television legend and she doesn't even know it. When I asked her "What's it like to be a legend?" She blushed and doesn't consider herself a trailblazer. She adores her co-star Jeffrey Donovan. When she talks about him, you can almost tell she would like to adopt him. The rumors that she and Tyne Daly don't get along are false. Talks about Tyne with great reverence and love. They are actually flying to London together next week to do a talk show. There have been talks of a brand new Cagney and Lacey movie with them being somehow involved. Apparently there’s been a revival in it's popularity overseas. She let slip a plot point about this season's Burn Notice - Apparently Madeline and Michael are going to do some family counseling.

There's a great interview Eric Goldman did with Sharon at tv.ign.com. She talks about her co-stars on Burn Notice, and the character of Madeline (how she creates a backstory and is involved right down to the look of the character), and her favorite storyline (coming up this season on the show).

Movieweb asks Sharon about a possible QAF reunion. She says, "No, not yet, but I think it'd be a great idea. I don't know if enough time has gone by yet to do it. We only ended it two years ago." She mentions that the show still has a pretty big fanbase. "They still have conventions and things like that," she points out. "In fact, I was just invited to one in Europe. They wanted to bring some of the cast in so, apparently it's still alive and well out there. We're just not shooting it. I think it would be a great idea to bring us back, I just think we need a little more time away from it." [note: Sharon is refering to the convention I mentioned above, taking place in Paris this fall]. Read the rest of the interview here.

Matthew Puckett, who wrote, produced and recorded much of the soundtrack for "Particles of Truth" is currently writing the theme, score and songs for a new ABC series, 'Hopkins'. This edgy new series (which will air on June 26, 2008) follows events at the famous Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, MD. The show will have some of the feel of a real-life "Grey's Anatomy". There are many intense life or death moments - but also many deeper messages and consistently great docu-drama filmmaking. As reported earlier (May 15, 2008 entry below), Puckett's new CD, "The Goodbye EP" is available for order online. [source: top40-charts.com]

Universal CityWalk Hollywood kicks its "Summer Block Party" into high-gear with 66 continuous days of free, non-stop entertainment, featuring top celebrity and tribute band concert performances, the ever-popular free outdoor movie night, all-new salsa dance lessons and star-turning talent competitions, from June 26 to August 31. Hal Sparks ("Michael" on QAF) and his band Zero 1 will perform on August 2 (see the Event Calendar for details).