BEVERLY HILLS—This week in Hollywood Oprah Winfrey continued her big exclusive interviews with the stars we love to hear from, Mary Hart’s successor to her “ET” post was named, an Oscar winner was ordered to pay back child support, Tara Mae Thornton from “True Blood” is proving her acting chops and this is the week of the premiere for Henry Jaglom’s seventeenth film “Queen of the Lot.”
Marie Osmond told Oprah this week how heartbreaking it was to lose her son, who committed suicide earlier in the year. Oprah’s been getting some exciting interviews as she’s preparing to sign-off the air in May and embark on her OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) project. Good luck to Marie, who is now divorcing her husband and trying to get her family’s lives back together after the loss of Michael.
As Mary Hart bids adieu after 25 years as co-host of “Entertainment Tonight,” Nancy O’Dell confirms that she’s taking her coveted spot. Nancy is also denying rumors that she and co-worker Lara Spencer (who also once worked for “ET”) were not getting along at “Access Hollywood.” Lara also denied the catty rumors. What is it about Hollywood that loves a catfight between ladies?
An L.A. County judge ordered Mel Gibson to pay three months in back child support to his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva for their beautiful daughter Lucia. You’d think that Mel would realize there’s enough bad publicity being circulated about him as it is, and thankfully he finally caught up on his arrears. Everyone is praying for the couple’s 1-year-old daughter. Oksana’s 61-year-old mother is living with Oksana and Lucia.
Rutina Wesley, who portrays the long suffering Tara on HBO’s “True Blood,” is performing this week in L.A. at the L.A. Theatre Works from the 17-21. She costars with “ATWT” former star Terrell Tilford and Judyann Elder in “A Raisin in the Sun.” To see Wesley in her best role yet, you can purchase tickets by calling 310-827-0889begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 310-827-0889 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
On Thursday, “Queen of the Lot” will debut at the Director’s Guild on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. All of us who were involved with the making of this film feel it’s an honor to work with the great Henry Jaglom, and I cannot thank him enough for allowing me the chance to work on screen opposite my dear friend and award-winning actress Tanna Frederick. Tanna’s one of the few stars in Hollywood who is unaffected by fame and she treats people the way she did when she was waiting tables at a restaurant at The Grove several years ago. Last Saturday at the Wild Rose Film Festival, Tanna received the award for Best Actress in “Queen of the Lot.” Noah Wyle won Best Actor, all of us won the audience award for Best Ensemble, Ron Vignone, a future iconic filmmaker won for Best Editing, our film won for Best Picture and our beloved iconic Henry Jaglom won the Best Director award. I caught up with Henry this week, and he was more proud of everyone else’s accomplishments on this film than his own.
Jaglom tells Canyon News exclusively, “I am always greatly pleased when Tanna’s brilliance is acknowledged and she and Noah [Wyle] are so wonderful in ”˜Queen of the Lot.’ They created such amazing chemistry together on film that I just had to basically stand back and let it happen! They both so deserve their awards.” When asked about the technical awards the film took home from the Wild Rose Independent Film Festival, Henry gave the credit to our genius mutual friend. “Ron Vignone’s individual work on the film was also recognized, as well it should be. I am editing on computers now for the very first time, after cutting 16 films alone in my dark room on 35mm film on a flat-bed. This is a whole new world technologically for me on this, my 17 film and I haven’t the faintest idea what I’m doing, so without Ron’s brilliant collaboration I’d be simply dead in the water. He is a truly great collaborator and an extraordinary editor, a wonderful filmmaker, who I am very glad is getting the credit he so deserves,” said the famed director.
Henry should go head to head for Best Director-Academy Award® with Eastwood for “Hereafter” in February. Noah Wyle belongs in the Best Actor category alongside Chris Pine and Denzel Washington for Best Actor, and Tanna should be competing with Hillary Swank for her controversial role in “Conviction.” The Oscar race is heating up, and I’m happy to be in the middle of it again this year.
See you next week! XOXO
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Photographs Courtesy: Mark Crosby main portrait and Henry Jaglom by Rainbow Films
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