bartlet4america news archive: july 2005 archives

bartlet4america news archive: july 2005 archives bartlet4america news archive « june 2005 | main | august 2005 » july 15, 2005 world theater is allison janney's oyster by john moore denver post "the west wing" actress allison janney knows what some might think when they hear "world theater" - dense, unfamiliar, inaccessible. and she has a bit of reassurance for them. "it's safe," she said. "really." her mentor, colorado festival of world theatre co-founder suzy bassani, would add "funny." "i have tried to program this festival so that people will have enormous fun," said bassani, whose fete has blossomed into a 15-day celebration in its second year. "in honoring jacques lecoq, we are honoring the clown. so our emphasis is on puppets, masks, street theater. "in bringing in geoff hoyle, we are bringing in the most brilliant clown working in america today," she said. "i am telling you, no one will walk into that tent to see him and not walk out feeling joy. he's our buster keaton." if hoyle is our keaton, then janney "is our maggie smith," bassani said. "i have watched her grow, and from the first time i saw her, i knew she would make it." janney, who has won four emmys as the (now) chief of staff c.j. cregg on nbc's "the west wing," has made it all the way to the broadmoor in colorado springs. there, she will host the festival's opening gala tonight, featuring broadway singer michael feinstein the west wing actress allison janney will host the colorado festival of world theatre s opening gala, featuring broadway singer michael feinstein and the peter duchin orchestra. and the peter duchin orchestra. that people will be paying $500 apiece terrifies her. "i haven't hosted anything in my life," she said. all roads from her native ohio to colorado springs, she said, lead back to her mother, macy janney. those roads stop in new york, where allison was tony-nominated for "a view from the bridge" in 1998, and l.a., where her film career has included "american beauty," "the ice storm" and "primary colors." macy was an actress and homemaker who became best friends with bassani in 1980 after the italian moved to dayton, ohio, and started the human race theatre company. allison was at kenyon college in gambier, ohio, where she was directed by guests paul newman and joanne woodward. bassani moved to the manitou springs area in 1994 and started the world festival last year with actress linda purl. this year's doubled program features 14 major programs from england, south africa, italy and colorado. "my mother and i are huge fans of suzy bassani's," said janney. "she has this unbelievable spirit, and she has more energy to generate theater than i have ever had in my entire life. she's a force that will not be denied by anybody." bassani may need all that spirit to motivate reticent theatergoers who may have trouble entering unknown and possibly intimidating cultural landscapes peppered with harlequins, acrobatics and physical movement. "i don't think it will be a problem," said bassani, "because when theater is truly good, everyone in the world is going to want to see it. it doesn't matter where it comes from." among the highly regarded pieces to be performed are ping chong's social drama "undesirable elements," which explores the effects of culture on individuals who are born into one society but live as part of another; "guerrino, the knight," an old-world pageant performed by the colla family's 200-year-old italian marionettes; and "a tale of a tiger," boulderite ami dayan's adaptation of a dario fo fable about a wounded soldier who is cared for by a tiger and her cub. janney doesn't think of theater as either american or world. "i love all theater," she said. "but she recalls her first exposure to non-american theater was when a visiting commedia dell'arte troupe performed at her college. she later was moved by the famed experimental german composer and choreographer pina bauche. "i am also a big fan of ping chong's," she said. "i used to be a dancer and a figure skater, so the idea of using dance and text together is thrilling to me. but watching any performance piece has always been one of the most moving things i can ever do in my life. going to see dance makes me cry. going to see someone spill out their guts moves me; seeing people pour out their culture." janney especially hopes the world festival brings out families. "there just aren't many international theater festivals in the united states, and so when these kinds of pieces are brought right into your backyard, you have to take advantage," she said. "these are things your whole family can enjoy together and then talk about afterward as a shared experience. do it for your kids, to broaden their horizons and enrich their lives." janney reports for the seventh season of "the west wing," beginning wednesday. "i am extremely happy that we are all coming back next season," she said. "i swear to you, though, that john wells has not let us know who's winning the election - even though we all have our opinions." the longer the show runs, however, the longer janney is kept from her first love. "i feel like i have only just scratched the surface of my theater career," she said. "i can't wait to get back and do more." posted by jo at 10:20 am july 14, 2005 old favorites don't fade away in emmy race by gail pennington st. louis post-dispatch even with so many worthy newcomers from which to choose, the emmys clung to tired old favorites on thursday, handing nominations to "the west wing," "will & grace," "six feet under" and other shows long past their prime. but some fresh entries did break through, including - of course - abc's "desperate housewives" in the outstanding comedy series category and "lost" as outstanding drama. hugh laurie of fox's "house" proved impossible to overlook as outstanding actor in a drama, and ian mcshane of hbo's "deadwood," ignored last year, made a belated appearance. exemplifying the battle between old and new: "desperate housewives" tied "will & grace" for the most nominations, 15 each. three of the five "housewives" - marcia cross, teri hatcher and felicity huffman - were nominated as lead actress in a comedy, joined by perennial patricia heaton of cbs' "everybody loves raymond" and jane kaczmarek of fox's "malcolm in the middle." but co-star eva longoria was again left out, as she was in the golden globes, and nicollette sheridan didn't rate a nomination in the supporting actress category. for lead actor in a comedy, jason bateman of fox's "arrested development" and zach braff of nbc's "scrubs" joined a familiar list including eric mccormack of "will & grace," ray romano of "everybody loves raymond" and tony shalhoub of usa's "monk." for comedy series, "arrested development," which won last year, will battle "desperate housewives," "everybody loves raymond" (for its final season), "scrubs" and "will & grace." in the drama categories, outstanding actor nominees laurie and mcshane were joined by james spader of abc's "boston legal," kiefer sutherland of fox's "24" and surprise entry hank azaria of showtime's little-watched "huff." striking omissions included matthew fox of "lost," william petersen of cbs' "csi" and anthony lapaglia of cbs' "without a trace." as outstanding actress in a drama, patricia arquette of nbc's freshman hit "medium" was part of a seemingly random group including mariska hargitay of nbc's "law & order: special victims unit," jennifer garner of abc's "alias," frances conroy of hbo's "six feet under" and glenn close of fx's "the shield." newcomer kristen bell of upn's "veronica mars" was notably overlooked, as was multiple-winner allison janney of "the west wing." the fifth nominee for outstanding drama series, along with "lost," "deadwood," "six feet under" and "the west wing," was fox's "24." omissions included "veronica mars," cbs' "csi" and "without a trace" and fx's "nip/tuck" and "rescue me." (hbo's "the sopranos" wasn't eligible.) in the supporting actor categories, where risks are sometimes taken, emmy nominators noticed not just the brilliant terry o'quinn, who plays the puzzling locke on "lost," but also naveen andrews, who plays sayeed. and was it a vote of confidence for the republican nominee that alan alda was nominated as sen. arnold vinick on "the west wing" while jimmy smits' rep. matt santos was ignored? rounding out the category were oliver platt of "huff" and william shatner's showy performances as denny crane on "boston legal." sandra oh of abc's "grey's anatomy" was a pleasant surprise among the nominees for supporting actress in a drama, as was cch pounder of "the shield." also nominated: blythe danner of "huff," tyne daly of "judging amy" and the virtually invisible stockard channing of "the west wing." among comedy performances, nominators singled out jeremy piven's daring turn as agent ari jacobs in hbo's "entourage" and again noticed jeffrey tambor as off-center george bluth sr. and jessica walter as his brittle wife, lucille, in "arrested development." also nominated: peter boyle, brad garrett and doris roberts of "everybody loves raymond"; sean hayes and megan mullally of "will & grace"; and holland taylor and conchata ferrell of cbs' "two and a half men." fox's resurrected "family guy" snagged a nomination as outstanding animated program, a strange-bedfellows category that also singled out comedy central's crude "south park" and nickelodeon's kid-fave "spongebob squarepants." for fans of reality tv, the best surprise of the nominations, announced at 7:40 a.m. st. louis time, might have been the nod given to bravo's "project runway." the fashion-design series joined the two-time winner, cbs' "the amazing race," plus nbc's "the apprentice," fox's "american idol" and cbs' "survivor" in the reality-competition category. posted by jo at 07:08 pm july 12, 2005 'housewives' to the rescue by noel holston newsday whoever's bright idea it was to enter "desperate housewives" in the comedy category of this year's prime-time emmy competition ought to be taken out and given a bonus. not only did he/she/they guarantee abc's sordid soap-satire a nomination come tomorrow morning, but the academy of television arts and sciences has been spared the embarrassment of a comedy category with only three or four legitimate nominees. remember, perennial faves "frasier," "friends" and "sex and the city" are long gone. "will & grace" might as well be. and hbo's "curb your enthusiasm" didn't have new episodes during the period of eligibility (june 1 to may 31). without "desperate housewives" (and with animated comedies such as "the simpsons" banished to their own category), the academy would be looking to such sitcom milestones as "according to jim" and the mismanaged "the office" to round out its traditional five slots. here's how that category and the other major brackets are likely to fill up: comedy series expect past winners "arrested development" (fox) and "everybody loves raymond" (cbs) to be nominated again, and for "housewives" (abc) and "scrubs" (nbc) to join them. "housewives," the biggest self-starting hit in years, is undeniable. "scrubs" will at long last make the cut not because it suddenly got better - it's been an ensemble miracle from the get-go - but because lead actor zach braff is now a hot, young movie director. the fifth slot could go to "the king of queens" (cbs), a well-established hit that's never enjoyed "raymond's" critical praise, or "two and a half men" cbs' designated heir to "raymond." but the guess here is that the hollywood creative community will show itself some love and nominate "entourage," hbo's comedy about a male starlet and his posse. lead actress, comedy the "housewives" actresses will turn this category upside down. look for marcia cross, felicity huffman and teri hatcher all to make the cut. eva longoria, however, will have a hard time elbowing previous winners jane kaczmarek ("malcolm in the middle") and patricia heaton ("raymond"). lead actor, comedy "housewives" won't be a factor here; its actors are supporting players. expect nominations for previous winners tony shalhoub ("monk") and ray romano ("raymond"), as well as for braff, jason bateman ("arrested development"), and kevin james ("king of queens"). charlie sheen or jon cryer of "two and a half men" might sneak in, and steve carell of "the office" is a very long shot. dramatic series this is going to be a bare-knuckled, eye-gouging brawl like you would see on hbo's "deadwood," which is probably the dramatic series to beat. two of last year's nominees, "24" (fox) and "the west wing" (nbc), are coming off better, reinvigorated seasons. "the shield" (fx) got an energy boost from glenn close's joining the cast. academy members also can choose among seven first-time candidates that have earned some combination of critical acclaim and popular success - "lost" (abc), "house" (fox), "medium" (nbc), "jack & bobby" (wb), "veronica mars" (upn), "battlestar galactica" (sci fi) and "rescue me" (fx) - as well as well-made veterans such as "csi: crime scene investigation" (cbs) and "without a trace." hbo's "the wire," a dramatic series without peer, is still waiting for its first academy recognition. the likely five: "deadwood," "the west wing," "csi," "lost," "24." actor, dramatic series james spader ("boston legal," abc) won last year. most probably he will be nominated again, along with ian mcshane ("deadwood"), whose legend grows; matthew fox ("lost"), keifer sutherland ("24") and hugh laurie ("house"). anthony lapaglia ("without a trace"), nominated last year, might get another nod. ving rhames, star of usa network's revived, reinvented "kojak," has the big-screen credentials the academy members often genuflect to. dominic west ("the wire") probably will be ignored once again, though he's the most deserving actor after mcshane. actress, dramatic series allison janney ("the west wing"), a previous winner, and mariska hargitay ("law & order: special victims unit"), who won a golden globe last year, both will get another nod from the academy. close, movie star that she is, would be recognized for her work on "the shield" even if she weren't terrific. who will get the other two nominations is harder to predict. jennifer garner ("alias") and amber tamblyn ("joan of arcadia") were nominated last year, but i wouldn't be surprised if christine lahti ("jack & bobby") displaced one of them and patricia arquette ("medium") knocked out the other. tv movie this has been largely an in-house hbo competition in recent years, and it probably will be again. hbo's original films "warm springs," about franklin d. roosevelt's battle with polio; "sometimes in april," a dramatic microcosm of the rwandan genocide; "lackawanna blues," adapted from a theater piece about a black family in upstate new york, and "the life and death of peter sellers" look to be shoe-ins. but there are more non-hbo contenders than usual this yea. showtime's "our fathers" powerfully encapsulated the roman catholic church's pedophile priest scandal. cbs had low-key gems in "the magic of ordinary days" and "back when we were grownups." tnt's "the wool hat" has star william h. macy's popularity to propel it. espn's "3," like its subject, nascar driver dale earnhardt, was a winner. and even though abc's movie version of zora neale hurston's "their eyes were watching god" had its flaws, it also had halle berry, an oscar winner, as its star and oprah winfrey as executive producer. betting against oprah is always a risk. miniseries finding five to nominate could be tricky. once past hbo's starry "empire falls," cbs' "elvis" and abc/disney's shockingly good remake of "little house on the prairie," you're down to two-part potboilers such as "category 6: day of destruction." here's hoping tomorrow's nomination announcement isn't also a natural disaster. posted by jo at 10:06 am july 11, 2005 town adopts 'west wing's' sen. vinick as a favorite son and stumps for his presidential campaign by norma meyer copley news service santa paula – politics are fruit-loopy in this small-town "citrus capital of the world." vinick boosters are as juiced up about the white house hopeful as the "bobbing for oranges" contest at the 38th annual citrus festival next weekend. the vinick-stumping city council unanimously passed a motion directing the city manager to "take steps in support of his candidacy for president of the united states." the council also set up a campaign web site for the moderate republican (santapaulaforvinick.com), agreed to make a documentary about his roots and allocated $1,000 for vinick t-shirts and political pins to be sold through fall. only vinick isn't real. he's the fictional glad-hander played by alan alda on the emmy-winning nbc drama "the west wing." "absolutely, people think we're nutty," city manager wally bobkiewicz chuckles. the continuing tongue-in-cheek campaign for the fake wannabe prez launched jan. 27, a day after "west wing" fans bobkiewicz and santa paula mayor mary ann krause watched the episode where alda's vinick announced his candidacy and said he was from a citrus-producing community in california. vinick was vague, but so what. santa paula, a 4.6-square mile agricultural hamlet in ventura county, for decades has called itself "the citrus capital of the world." krause's home phone rang at 8:15 the morning after the episode aired. "it was the city manager and he said, 'did you see what vinick said?' i said, 'do you mean about being from a citrus-growing area?' and he said, 'yeah!' " the mayor exuberantly recalls. the two hatched a plot: vinick was to be a local yokel. then they began a nearly six-month, so far futile barnstorm to get "the west wing" to write santa paula into the script as vinick's hometown. a hollywood nod, city leaders figure, would draw tourists and bucks to their lemon-lush land. initially, krause tried bribes. along with letters, she sent crates of santa paula-picked oranges to alda, "west wing" executive producer john wells and the show's writers. in alda's package, she boldly threw in santa paula high school t-shirts, a sweat shirt and a baseball cap "for senator vinick to wear to show his allegiance to his hometown." (the city manager says vinick could don his alma mater garb in scenes where he jogged or worked out.) "santa paula is behind its favorite son 100 percent," krause wrote. after all, the straight-talking winsome vinick could be the next tv leader of the free world. that's if he beats texas congressman and liberal hispanic democrat matt santos (jimmy smits) in a "west wing" election showdown scheduled to air in late fall. the winner succeeds democratic president jed bartlet (martin sheen), whose two terms are up. in reality, santa paula is largely hispanic and democratic and would likely vote for santos. but this is pseudo-reality. the only response to krause came from "west wing" writer lauren schmidt, who in an appreciative letter thanked the mayor for "the delicious valencia oranges you sent to our offices!" schmidt said writers were still developing vinick's character and were "not ready to commit ourselves to all the intricate details of his past. however, we will definitely keep santa paula in mind if we ever take a journey back to vinick's home for campaign events." encouraged, bobkiewicz weekly began mailing schmidt picture postcards of groves and historic buildings in santa paula, about 60 miles but a world away from "the west wing" production offices in burbank. then, he says, "we thought we'd kick it up a notch." on april 25, santa paula police cordoned off streets for the official opening of the senator arnold vinick presidential campaign headquarters. by then, city council members were tired of the "the west wing" stall: they brashly passed a motion "to claim senator arnold vinick as a resident of santa paula." the council also asked a cable company to produce a documentary, still in the planning, in which townsfolk shared their false memories of vinick growing up. john philip sousa music played, american flags waved in the breeze and red-white-and-blue balloons floated as some 50 residents turned out for the campaign kickoff outside the southern pacific railroad depot. sitting in foldout chairs, rallying supporters hoisted homemade signs that read, "santa paula for vinick" and "santa paula's next president." in a speech, krause noted that another u.s. president, benjamin harrison, stopped at the same depot on the same day 114 years earlier. she pulled down a canvas cover to unveil the vinick election headquarters sign. the faux candidate was invited but didn't show. you'd think the old hawkeye pierce would get a kick out of such shenanigans. who knows? alda, currently starring on broadway in "glengarry glen ross," did not respond to an e-mail forwarded by his agent seeking a comment for this story. "oy yoy yoy," an nbc spokesman blurted out when told about the vinick campaign. requests for comments from "west wing" producer wells and his production company also went unanswered. (now on hiatus, "the west wing" begins shooting later this month. season 7 premieres in september). the citrus (and avocado) hub isn't soured. city leaders are inviting vinick, er alda, to the aug. 6 tri-tip/chicken barbecue dinner-dance celebrating santa paula airport's 75th anniversary. the nominee also is welcome at the election night party, when vinick backers watch the pivotal tv episode that could seal the california senator's political fate. vinick's campaign headquarters, in the depot that also houses the santa paula chamber of commerce, will remain open daily for several more months through the election "unless 'the west wing' decides alan alda is from anaheim or someplace else," bobkiewicz says. (proceeds from the $20 t-shirts, $3 campaign buttons and $1 bumper stickers go into the city's fourth of july fireworks fund for next year – so far the city is still recouping its $1,000 vinick memorabilia investment.) sure, there are bigger civic concerns in this town of 29,000, like the battle over a proposed housing development in a canyon. but "with our budget problems and other issues we face, we thought this would be fun," bobkiewicz says. besides, the scene where alda's vinick announced his candidacy was shot outside the city hall of neighboring fillmore, a citrus-grove town rival, and that stuck in the mayor's craw. maybe it's the fragrant air out here . . . "fictional? what do you mean he's fictional?" local pharmacist gary metelak razzes, as he buys a vinick button at campaign headquarters. "we're going to work for him!" don't underestimate santa paula's political juice. last year, the mayor and bobkiewicz were so irate that the los angeles times dropped santa paula from its daily weather map they led a chanting crowd of picketers – some waving signs that declared "let santa paula shine!" – outside the paper's ventura county office. the city was eventually reinstated to the times map. now santa paula hopes the emmy-winning former "m*a*s*h" star who aspires to the pretend presidency on a mock oval office set will put them on the map once again. "vinick wants to bring honesty back to government," the mayor says with that wry smile. "people like his message." posted by jo at 07:53 pm july 10, 2005 wing and a prayer west wing creator aaron sorkin knows all about facing down demons - nbc and drugs in particular. now he has a new challenge - bringing his play to the west end by jay rayner guardian unlimited the night before meeting aaron sorkin, creator and writer of the west wing, i watch an episode from series five. i would like to claim this as an assiduous act of research, but it isn't really. i'm always watching episodes of the west wing on dvd. i adore the series; love the wise-cracking cast of characters, from the smart, empathetic democrat president bartlet, through leo mcgarry's grizzled chief of staff and toby ziegler's gloomy strategy tsar, to the sassy cj cregg on the press podium, all of them so at odds with the real bozos and blowhards currently occupying the white house. i revel in the high-mindedness of the series, which obsesses over the knotty details of social security policy or the finessing of language in a speech, while still managing to deliver cracking drama. series five, though, has been a little too eager to please. where the west wing appeared to be shot on about three sets - the oval office, ziegler's office, the press briefing room - this one has been getting out and about. the episode i watched had - lord help us - sequences set in the north korean jungle and opened with something straight out of top gun, complete with roaring jet engines and thrusting ejector seats. i want to know what sorkin, who quit at the end of series four, makes of all this. 'i don't watch it,' he says over tea at claridge's. 'i was told never to watch it again by larry david, who co-created seinfeld and who stepped away from that before it finished. he said, "either it's going to be wonderful and you'll be miserable, or it won't be wonderful and you'll still be miserable."' so, despite writing 70 episodes of the west wing almost singlehandedly, he hasn't glimpsed a scene since. that sounds very tough. 'it is tough and it was very difficult leaving, a rough transition.' still, he says, it had to be done. instead, he has had to find a way forward and, to do so, he is going back. next month, a production of a few good men, his breakthrough stage play and subsequent first movie, starts in the west end. rob lowe, himself late of the west wing, will take the lead as lieutenant daniel kaffee, the idealistic lawyer trying to defend a group of marines accused of a murder they contend was committed under orders. when we meet, sorkin is in london to help select the rest of the cast. a few good men is, he admits, an old piece of work. sorkin, a boyish 44 with a studied tousle of muddy-blond hair, wrote it in 1987. 'it was my first full-length play,' he says. so why return to it? 'the west end is something playwrights want to do,' he says simply. 'i'm scared to death, though. i feel like if you fail here, well, i don't know if you ever recover from that.' he also admits to being uncertain about the play itself. 'i just wasn't sure how good it was. it was written well before 9/11 and things like the abu ghraib torture scandal so we no longer look at the military in the same way.' he will, he says, be playing with the script. 'i've been listening to actors reading through it again and i'm thinking i might be able to make it better.' for all his neurosis about the text, however, there is no doubting that a few good men set out sorkin's stall from the very off. even 16 years ago, when the play first opened on broadway, there was something distinctly old-fashioned about what is, at heart, a courtroom drama. sorkin followed it, first with the screenplay for the film version, for which he received an oscar nomination, then with the script for the movie, the american president, a distinctly capra-esque romance, in which the writer toyed for the first time with the notion of an entirely fictional white house. that led directly to the west wing. as legend has it, he wrote more than 385 pages of script for the 120-page the american president screenplay and refused to throw the overmatter away. even with all that extra material, some lines from the film turned up untouched in the series, as did a chunk of the cast, most notably martin sheen, who was promoted from chief of staff in the american president to the top job in the west wing all down the line, sorkin has steered clear of anything even resembling a typical action sequence in favour of crystal-clear, diamond-sharp dialogue. 'for some reason, i'm drawn to a more idealistic, romantic version of life,' he says. 'i grew up in new york and my parents took me to plays that children had no business going to see, things like who's afraid of virginia woolf?. but i loved the dialogue. it was like music to me.' he borrowed recordings of broadway plays from the library. 'i'd be in my room listening to them and playing out the parts, even though i didn't have a clue what it was all about.' he describes his childhood as affluent, says he grew up in a neighbourhood full of successful parents bringing up smart children who were expected to succeed and who were, therefore, always brainier than him. 'i'd listen to the arguments around me, listen to the sound of it. whatever skill i might have, a lot of it is phonetic. i gained an understanding of what intelligence sounds like, what honesty sounds like.' that, in turn, led to writing. he writes dramas built around what he says are 'good men trying to be great men. the people will generally have idealistic goals. they will be men like jed bartlet. he knows he is charismatic and charming and he fears risking that to become great'. at the heart of all his work is a hunger to bring complex ideas to life. 'when someone is able to explain to me, say, the census, what seems to be an arcane argument in front of congress, and they can make me smile when explaining it well, then i want to dramatise that. i'm certainly better at something like that than dramatising the end of the world.' one of the recurring jokes about the west wing from its critics is that all the characters walk around very fast, firing off one-liners. 'it's to make it dramatic,' sorkin says. what's most curious about this attachment to the romance of public office, these intricate dramas of lofty ideas and even higher values, is that they are at odds with the life sorkin has led. in 1995, he checked into rehab for the first time, to try and beat his addiction to cocaine. in 2001, he was arrested while getting on a plane at burbank airport with a veritable candy store of narcotics in his baggage. famously, while writing the west wing, he would hole up in a room at the four seasons hotel in los angeles and consume huge amounts of crack while, at the same time, producing huge numbers of pages for the show. that same year, his marriage to julia bingham, with whom he has a daughter, ended in divorce and the break-up was attributed in the press to the drugs. sorkin acknowledges the contradiction. 'certainly i've had my ups and downs and it's a logical assumption that i would be drawn to write the sort of gritty stuff that might arise from this, but it's not my way.' he describes himself as being 'in recovery' now, and has the garrulous way of those who have been through the 12-step talking cure. a tall, broad-shouldered man, with a light californian glow, and a delightfully un-californian attachment to cigarettes, he leans forward into every question, as though the answering of it is not just a matter of politeness, but a part of his recovery process. i ask him if he thought he was productive in the west wing years because of the drugs or in spite of them. 'oh, in spite of. i tell you, if i were to spread lines of coke out on this table [he mines a quick chop across claridge's virginal napery], i could go up to my room and write 20 pages of script really quickly. but the rest of my life would be a living hell.' is it all over now, then? 'it's never going to be entirely in the past. but i'm healthy and that's what matters.' he is also in a new relationship, with actress megan gallagher who played the demi moore role in the broadway production of a few good men. when he quit the west wing in 2003, much was made of his increasing unreliability. his scripts were being delivered later and later and he accepts that, at times, shooting would have to begin with the script only half-written, which would add to the cost of the production. 'but that's a red herring. everyone continued to make money and the show burnished reputations and won awards.' sorkin picked up a brace of emmys. so why did he quit? a number of reasons, he says, the most concrete of which was a change in the contract with nbc, which did away with the link between the show's success in terms of viewing figures and ad revenue and the producers' earnings. instead, they went on to a flat rate. 'there was no longer a strong incentive to make it good, just efficiently, and i'm not the guy for that.' but he also acknowledges a major change in the political climate. 'after 9/11, we all went out of our fucking minds, understandably,' he says. 'suddenly, our fictional president and his charming, wise-cracking staff weren't nearly as charming any more. suddenly, their little problems - rolling back a tax credit, writing a speech - all of these were in bad taste. we couldn't root for fictional heroes any more because there were so many real heroes.' he accepts that the show was seen as a liberal redoubt when the rest of the us was moving rightwards, a situation emphasised by the activism of its star, martin sheen. for his part, sorkin denies being a political animal and says that he only set the west wing in a democrat presidency because: 'democrats believe in big government and that people can do more to help each other and that offers greater possibilities for drama.' that said, in the first years of the decade, as the democrat contenders were lining up to run for the 2004 campaign, he did make campaign donations to almost all of them: edwards, clark, gephardt, dean, kerry. 'i wanted the debate to be heard,' he says, 'so i was happy to do that.' but all that high politics is behind him now. a few months ago, he finished a new play, a commission from dublin's abbey theatre called the farnsworth invention. it's the true story of what he describes as 'the other inventor of television who isn't logie baird' - philo farnsworth - and his struggles with one of the pioneers of radio who could see what the invention would do to his business. he says: 'it's a very theatrical piece and extremely romantic about the spirit of invention.' he's also just completed a screenplay for tom hanks about 'a congressman in the eighties who was forever turning up in hot tubs with hookers and cocaine. he got together with this cia man and secretly they funded the mujahideen.' it sounds perilously close to an action move. sorkin demurs. 'it's unlikely that i'm going to write a standard action sequence,' he says. 'i find masculinity in other pursuits.' and that's the key. in an age when the television cop show rules supreme, when movie houses are clogged each summer with special-effects extravaganzas and high-concept, gadget-strewn epics, aaron sorkin offers something entirely other. his take on the world may be, as he says, that of an old-fashioned, incorrigible romantic, but it also happens to be a rather refreshing one. · a few good men opens at the theatre royal, haymarket, london sw1 on 18 august posted by jo at 08:07 pm july 09, 2005 tv’s stellar year gives emmys plenty of fine choices by gail pennington st. louis post-dispatch the emmy nomination announcement will air live on e! cable beginning at 7:35 a.m. thursday. don't tune in late; the nominees are read quickly. the emmys themselves will be handed out sept. 18 in a live broadcast on cbs. why wait for thursday's emmy nominations? we can already guess that the academy of television arts & sciences will overlook some of the best shows and performers on television, because - well, that's what the emmys do. it's almost a tradition for emmy voters to ignore exciting newcomers while continuing to honor veterans "the west wing," anyone?) long past their prime. this year, though, getting the nominations wrong will be harder than ever. the 2004-05 season was a terrific one for television, with new shows and stars bringing great buzz and growing audiences back to the broadcast networks while cable continued to poke holes in every available envelope. at the same time, there's so much competition this year that emmy needs to devote every available slot to worthy nominees rather than honoring sentimental favorites. here's my must list of shows and performers in the top categories. best drama abc's "lost" is a shoo-in and would get my vote as well), but hbo's "deadwood" should also get a slot, along with cbs' "without a trace," which just keeps getting better and better, and fox's "24," which had a particularly good year. but my must nominee in the drama series category is fox's "house," which took the tired medical genre and turned it into a riveting, often hilarious, frequently touching blend of mystery and personal stories. two shows that shouldn't get slots are nbc's "the west wing" despite its somewhat improved season) and hbo's past-its-prime "six feet under." last year's winner: hbo's "the sopranos," which isn't eligible this year. best comedy heard of a little show called "desperate housewives"? i'd put the abc mega-hit in the drama category rather than among the comedies, but i don't get to make that decision. odds are, it will win, and of course it should win in some category or other for its vital contribution to water-cooler conversation. nevertheless, my preference in the category is, of course, fox's "arrested development," which should be tv's most popular comedy but, somehow, isn't. meanwhile, if "housewives" is a comedy, how about the wb's smart, funny, "gilmore girls," which has been strangely ignored by emmy for its many seasons? i'd also like to see hbo's widely ignored "entourage" snare a slot. two shows that shouldn't get nominations: nbc's painfully tired "will & grace" and fox's barely-still-chugging "malcolm in the middle." last year's winner: "arrested development." best actor in a drama ian mcshane of "deadwood" was outrageously ignored last year; that shouldn't happen again but look for him in the supporting-actor category). anthony lapaglia of cbs' "without a trace" belongs on this list, as do william petersen of cbs' "csi" and matthew fox of "lost." couldn't complain if he won.) but the actor who can't be ignored, and the winner if i made the choice, is hugh laurie, whose caustic yet sympathetic performance carries "house" to unimagined new levels. two who shouldn't be nominated: last year's winner, james spader of "the practice" and now "boston legal," whose one-note performance quickly got old, and dennis franz, who's been honored quite enough for the dearly departed "nypd blue." best actress in a drama finally, this year there are some real lead actresses. i'd speak up for patricia arquette of nbc's "medium," who carries her show, and evangeline lilly although probably in the supporting category) of "lost." but i'd most like to see kristen bell of upn's "veronica mars" get a nod and maybe shine a spotlight on her underappreciated but renewed) show. one who shouldn't get a nomination: allison janney sorry) of "the west wing," the knee-jerk winner last year. best actor in a comedy count in ray romano for the final season of cbs' "everybody loves raymond" and charlie sheen for "two and a half men" although, if we have to go there, i'd pick jon cryer). the state of the sitcom is so pathetic, though, that there's really only one possible worthy winner here - jason bateman of "arrested development." maybe that's why he also won last year. best actress in a comedy this category makes me miss "sex and the city" and "frasier" even more. but why not nominate lauren graham from "gilmore girls" along with the many obligatory nominees from "desperate housewives"? from that group, my top choice would be not teri hatcher but the wonderful, subtle felicity huffman or the terrifying marcia cross. last year's winner: sarah jessica parker. 2005 television critics association awards nominees here, for comparison's sake, are the nominees for the 2005 television critics association awards, which will be handed out july 23 in beverly hills. the categories aren't strictly comparable to those of the emmys, but the list shows what the nation's tv critics (including yours truly) are thinking: program of the year "arrested development" (fox) "the daily show with jon stewart" (comedy central) "deadwood" (hbo) "desperate housewives" (abc) "lost" (abc) outstanding achievement in comedy "arrested development" (fox) "the daily show with jon stewart" (comedy central) "desperate housewives" (abc) "everybody loves raymond" (cbs) "gilmore girls" (the wb) outstanding achievement in drama "deadwood" (hbo) "house" (fox) "lost" (abc) "rescue me" (fx) "24" (fox) outstanding new program of the year "desperate housewives" (abc) "house" (fox) "lost" (abc) "rescue me" (fx) "veronica mars" (upn) individual achievement in comedy jason bateman ("arrested development") marcia cross ("desperate housewives") teri hatcher ("desperate housewives") ray romano ("everybody loves raymond") jon stewart ("the daily show with jon stewart") individual achievement in drama kristen bell ("veronica mars") matthew fox ("lost") hugh laurie ("house") ian mcshane ("deadwood") kiefer sutherland ("24") outstanding achievement movies, miniseries and specials "lackawanna blues" (hbo) "the life and death of peter sellers" (hbo) "the office special" (bbc america) "something the lord made" (hbo) "sometimes in april" (hbo) posted by jo at 01:00 pm july 07, 2005 the big picture: a look at how the 2005 emmy race is shaping up by ray richmond the hollywood reporter the possibility exists each year that there will be a changing of the emmy guard, a genuine infusion of new blood - or at least semi-new blood - in the comedy and drama categories. usually it doesn't happen, aside from the occasional hot newcomer crashing the party, but as the race for the 57th annual primetime emmy awards shifts into gear, an authentic transformation of many major categories appears nearly inevitable. moreover, the network leading this momentous swing isn't hbo but - against all odds - abc. nominations for this year's primetime emmys will be announced july 14 in typical fashion (5:35 a.m. pdt at the academy of television arts & sciences' leonard h. goldenson theatre in north hollywood). the highest-profile statuettes will be dispensed during a sept. 18 ceremony set to air at 7 p.m. on cbs. for the first time in a good while, hbo isn't moving into emmy season with a stranglehold on the proceedings: neither "the sopranos" (last year's winner for outstanding drama series) nor annual multiple nominee "curb your enthusiasm" are eligible for awards attention, in both cases because of a lack of episodes. this, after all, is a network that marches to the beat of its own drum and ignores the traditional seasonal concept. advertisement while hbo does have a strong drama contender in the gritty, profane western "deadwood" (an 11-time nominee for its first season in 2004), and "six feet under" remains a contender despite no longer being a front-runner, hbo's only hope in comedy is "entourage," which earned a surprise golden globe series nomination this year but isn't considered in the class of such stalwart predecessors as "the larry sanders show" and "sex and the city." if "entourage" doesn't make the cut, which frankly isn't all that far-fetched, it would mark the first time in 13 years that at least one hbo comedy does not appear in that series category. so there won't be a repeat of last year, which between "sopranos" and the much-decorated miniseries "angels in america" saw the proceedings transform into hbo's private party. this time, there's a better chance for massive attention to go to abc, which stands to enjoy its best emmy nomination showing in at least a decade thanks to its hot freshman contenders "desperate housewives" and "lost." "housewives" is poised to preside over a comedy category no longer populated by "frasier," "friends" and "sex," with its chief competition expected to come from last year's emmy darling, fox's "arrested development." in addition, it is not inconceivable that all five ladies from "housewives" could earn performing nominations: marcia cross, teri hatcher, felicity huffman and eva longoria for lead comedy actress and nicollette sheridan for supporting actress. "lost," meanwhile, is expected to duke it out with "deadwood" in a drama category overflowing with other worthy candidates including cbs' "csi: crime scene investigation" and "without a trace," nbc's four-time drama series winner "the west wing," fox's "24" and the fx trio of "the shield," "nip/tuck" and "rescue me." in longform, look for hbo to retain its dominant position in the telefilm and miniseries categories with such entries as "dirty war," "empire falls," "lackawanna blues," "the life and death of peter sellers," "sometimes in april" and "warm springs." then there is nonfiction, where many of the usual suspects (cbs' two-time winner "the amazing race" and "survivor," nbc's "the apprentice" and fox's "american idol") will troll for honors alongside some newer faces (abc's "extreme makeover: home edition," bravo's "celebrity poker showdown," discovery's "monster garage" and nbc's "the contender"). but if there is anything we have come to expect from the emmys, it's that we shouldn't come to expect anything. it is a kudofest annually rife with puzzling omissions, so while "housewives" and "lost" appear to be locks for big awards attention, it would be inadvisable to call them sure things. emmy, after all, traditionally favors age over beauty and consistency over heat; the hip and happening still typically stand a better chance at the golden globes. even a huge nomination to tbl doesn't guarantee a show much more than, well, a huge nomination total. big wins for a series' first season remain rare, with some recent exceptions being "frasier," "west wing" and "arrested." posted by jo at 05:45 pm july 06, 2005 blue to benefit in a big bad way fundraiser for police memorial museum features live music from big bad voodoo daddy, silent auction. by mark r. madler the burbank leader rancho district -- a weekend fundraiser for a proposed police museum in the nation's capital is getting some star power. emmy award-winning actor bradley whitford will be the master of ceremonies for "cool blue: a night of respect" set for saturday night at the los angeles equestrian center. as emcee, whitford -- who stars on "the west wing" -- will have the duty of getting past the officiating and bring on the fun and entertainment, said michael hastings, a member of the event's organizing committee. "we want to reflect on those who have fallen and given their lives in protection of others, yet we want to celebrate their lives and the lives of those left behind," hastings said. joining whitford will be actress marlee matlin, who has appeared on "the west wing" and is married to a los angeles-area police officer. proceeds benefit the planned $80-million museum housing photos, plaques and other objects left by visitors to the national law enforcement officers memorial on judiciary square in washington. the fundraiser, which includes a silent auction and live music by big bad voodoo daddy, is the culmination of an effort kicked off last fall by the city's business community and the burbank police officers assn. among the donors are crown realty & development, owner of the burbank town center mall; the walt disney co.; warner bros. studios; m. cunningham realtors; the city of burbank; cusumano real estate group; and nbc/universal. a near-sell out crowd is expected at the event, a development pleasing to burbank police det. joe dean, another of the organizers. when the museum is eventually built, the public will learn more than just about the officers who died in the line of duty, dean said. "a smithsonian-style museum is a great way for the public to experience what we do," dean said. the burbank police department was among the first in the nation to contribute to the memorial, which was dedicated in 1991. the memorial is inscribed with about 15,000 names of officers killed in the line of duty. the burbank department has five officers listed, including officer matthew pavelka, who was killed in the line of duty in november 2003. as part of an $80-million campaign, departments all over the country are raising money for the museum. posted by jo at 06:48 pm add to my!yahoo search search this site: archives december 2005 november 2005 october 2005 september 2005 august 2005 july 2005 june 2005 may 2005 april 2005 march 2005 february 2005 january 2005 december 2004 november 2004 october 2004 september 2004 august 2004 july 2004 june 2004 may 2004 april 2004 march 2004 february 2004 january 2004 december 2003 november 2003 october 2003 september 2003 august 2003 july 2003 june 2003 may 2003 april 2003 march 2003 february 2003 january 2003 december 2002 november 2002 october 2002 september 2002 august 2002 july 2002 june 2002 may 2002 april 2002 november 2001 october 2001 september 2001 august 2001 july 2001 june 2001 may 2001 april 2001 march 2001 february 2001 january 2001 december 2000 november 2000 october 2000 september 2000 august 2000 july 2000 may 2000 march 2000 february 2000 november 1999 recent entries world theater is allison janney's oyster old favorites don't fade away in emmy race 'housewives' to the rescue town adopts 'west wing's' sen. vinick as a favorite son and stumps for his presidential campaign wing and a prayer tv’s stellar year gives emmys plenty of fine choices the big picture: a look at how the 2005 emmy race is shaping up blue to benefit in a big bad way powered bymovable type 2.661

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