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November 24th, 2009
12:33 PM ET
Oprah gives a peek into the future of 'OWN'
If anyone knows the art of the hustle, it’s Oprah. The talk show host, who announced last week that she will end her 25-year reign over daytime television in September, 2011, is already trying to bring fans to her new network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN, 13 months before it is set to launch. In an email newsletter sent out to Oprah’s mailing list on Monday night, Oprah took the opportunity to introduce OWN. “Fifteen years ago, I wrote in my journal that one day I would create a television network, as I always felt my show was just the beginning of what the future could hold. For me, the launch of OWN is an evolution of the work I’ve been doing on television all these years and a natural extension of my show,” Oprah wrote in the email. Potential viewers are informed that OWN will be taking the place of Discovery Health Channel come January 11, and urged to discuss options for securing the network with their cable providers. The email directs readers to an advertisement for the network, which seems to try to equate Oprah’s new journey with the personal journey of the viewer, asking the question, “What’s next for you?” Oprah’s only appearance in the ad is a screen shot where she offers and encouraging smile. But the rest of the ad is filled with smiling, self-assured folks, puppies, ribbons, bows and happy things. The message is that OWN is all about you, the viewer. The ad offers no real sense of what OWN’s programming will consist of except for the implicit promise that watching it will be a transformative experience. The message is a good one. It is a very Oprah one, what remains to be seen is how Oprah and OWN will maintain this momentum over the next 13 months. But knowing Oprah, she definitely has a plan.
November 24th, 2009
11:16 AM ET
Will Donny Osmond win 'DWTS?' It seems possible after an intense evening of competition Monday that ended with the singer receiving his first perfect scores only a week after it looked like he might be kicked off the hit series. Osmond and his professional dancing partner Kym Johnson and the other two couples left in the show had to dance three routines last night, including two individual numbers and a group “mega mix challenge.” Kelly Osbourne and her partner Louis Van Amstel first did a kicky, intense Argentine tango. (Those are fun to watch, though whenever I see this tango performed I always feel like the dancers will accidentally kick themselves or each other while doing the flirty leg moves.) The couple received praise from the judges, though Bruno Tonioli said he wanted more “ripe sensuality.” Singer Mya and her dancing partner Dmitry Chaplin seemed to solidify their lead after performing a Paso Doble to “We Will Rock You” – a routine that the judges described as flamboyant and amazing and one that received perfect scores. Osmond and his professional dancing partner Kym Johnson did a nice Cha Cha that earned them three nines. But it was their freestyle dance that had the judges unanimously flashing their “10” paddles. Len Goodman called the Broadway routine an “absolute show stopper,” while Carrie Ann Inaba exclaimed, “Welcome to the hall of fame of the freestyle.” Mya, on the other hand, disappointed with her “Hairspray” routine, which Inaba called “not outstanding.” Goodman said “it never went anywhere” and Tonioli confessed that he expected something more spectacular. Osbourne had the crowd on its feet for her freestyle routine set to “I Will Survive,” but the dance seemed to lack some energy and received the lowest score of the three couples. So, point-wise, Mya is still in the lead, followed by Osmond and Osbourne. But viewer votes could make this a very close one. Who do you think will win the mirror ball trophy tonight?
November 24th, 2009
08:54 AM ET
A glitch with 'Glee's' Jane Lynch testing captions Just writing this is difficult. But in re-telling this story, it brings me closer to purging it from my memory banks. When Jane Lynch walked onto the stage for our interview, I didn't expect her to be taller than 6 feet. She is. She was friendly and soft-spoken, nothing like the acerbic coach Sue Sylvester she wickedly embodies in primetime's musical joyride "Glee." She granted us an interview prior to her performance in Nora and Delia "Ephron's Love Loss And What I Wore," an off Broadway show she is starring in here in New York. We didn't have the luxury of time since the theater doors would be opening shortly. So getting through the interview quickly but not rushing was the goal. As my cameraman adjusted his shot we asked Miss Lynch to say a few words so that we could check her microphone level. She smiled and readied herself for my first question. She uttered the words "This Is CNN." My cameraman said "Speed," letting me know he was rolling. That was my cue to begin the interview. All was going well - I started off with a few questions about the production. She told me about being in New York for the duration of her run. Then I began to ask her about the massive success of "Glee" and why the American public just seemed ready for a program like it. I was nearing the end of what I thought was a good interview with coach Sue Sylvester, uh Jane Lynch, when suddenly I heard my cameraman say something. He didn't gently tap me on the shoulder, he didn't whisper something in my ear - he spoke in a tone intended to stop the interview. And it sounded vaguely like: "You're gonna kill me."
November 23rd, 2009
05:06 PM ET
Meet the new Iron Chef testing captions He was born in Chicago and built his foodie empire in Philadelphia, but now chef Jose Garces will be an Iron Chef for all of America. Garces was crowned the Food Network’s latest member of the Iron Chef America team on Sunday night’s episode, beating out New York chef Jehangir Mehta, and capping off a season that began with 10 contestants. “We had a viewing party with about 400 people at one of my restaurants, Distrito, last night,” Garces said. “So the celebrating has been done and overdone. Now it is time to get down to business.” Garces was up against nine very strong contenders, but he said he ultimately wasn’t surprised to win the title. In the final competition where each chef was given 60 minutes to make a five-course feast that represented America's melting pot. The secret ingredient was ribs and racks of all sorts, including buffalo, pork and beef. “I went into the competition feeling like I was gonna win. I just had a natural confidence and I know what I can do under those pressure situations,” Garces said. As an Iron Chef, Garces joins a roster of celebrated kings and queens of the kitchen including, Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Bobby Flay, Masaharu Morimoto and Michael Simon. Garces seemed to be the front-runner on the show from the start of this fall’s season when he won the first challenge by creating a comfort food dish. Garces, the son of Ecuadorian immigrants crafted an Ecuadorian stew of annatto chicken broth and queso fresco. The newest addition to the Iron Chef family has a lot of projects in the works. In addition to overseeing three restaurants in Philadelphia, the Mexican Distrito, the Peruvian-Cantonese Chifa and the tiny burger and whiskey bar, Village Whiskey, Garces is opening a prepared- foods café in the City of Brotherly Love called Garces Trading Company. He is also looking at developing a larger restaurant focusing on the farm-to-table concept and organic foods as well as a small beer and brats house. “We want to make around 12-15 artisanal sausages, put them on a homemade bun and pair them with American local craft brews,” Garces said. He may be branching out these days, but Garces wants to encourage up-and coming-chefs to try to keep their focus narrow in the beginning in order to really master what they love. “I would tell a young chef to get as much experience as you can and try to find a specialty and cuisine to focus on. I think it’s good to be well-rounded but what worked for me is that at a certain point in my career I decided Latin food was going to be my thing,” Garces said.
November 23rd, 2009
02:21 PM ET
American Music Awards: bandages & bondage wear testing captions Nobody died and dubbed me the arbiter of all things fashionable, but I can spot a "don't" pretty easily, and last night at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, there were plenty to go around. In fact, there were so many, like J.Lo, you could have tripped on them. Let's take a "trip" down memory lane. Janet, "Miss Jackson" if you must, looked like a Crate and Barrel couch that had too much bedazzling. Speaking of bedazzled, Shakira's shorty black number made Janet's look positively dowdy with all the sparkle and glitz. It was sort of a latex, LED tube dress that fit her like a glove. The hips don't lie. Rihanna is usually lauded for her ensembles, and while I don't always love the '80s outfits she dons, I can appreciate her ability to pull them off. So what happened last night? Rihanna was covered from neck to ankles in what looked like a white velour "onesie." You know, sort of like little kids pajamas. It was offset by horizontal cutouts that looked like tan stripes, which one person described as a glorified Cinnabon and another termed "Ace bandages." She was wearing a short white shrug that looked like football shoulder pads with spikes jutting forth. Lady Gaga... you expect a dramatic look from her, it's part of the schtick. But her weirdly proportioned nude leotards, oddly wrapped with the accessory of the night, "Ace bandages," offset by a contraption that looked like a ribcage with Christmas tree lights, and very "Alienesque" headgear were beyond the pale. I kept looking at those straps trying to figure out why they were there and what they were hiding.
November 23rd, 2009
02:18 PM ET
A kiss is just a kiss? Not for Adam Lambert testing captions You must remember this; a kiss is just a kiss. Unless of course that kiss is between two men… and broadcast worldwide from say, the American Music Awards. Then a kiss becomes part of the national agenda, as it did when Adam Lambert planted a wet one on the lips of his keyboardist at the AMAs on Sunday night. And even though Lambert’s kiss wasn’t the first time two men have smooched on network television, it promises to take on a life beyond just a kiss. So let’s prepare to brace ourselves for Smooch-gate 2009, as everyone and their mother weighs in on Lambert’s lip lock. |
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