Danny Huston’s acting career didn’t take off until he was nearly 40, but it was inevitable he’d get around to it sooner or later. After all, he comes from Hollywood royalty: His father John, grandfather Walter and half-sister Anjelica are all Oscar winners. (He has, however, been directing films and TV since he was in his 20s.) Having stolen scenes in “Birth,” “The Constant Gardener” and “The Proposition,” he can now be seen as fearsome gangster Ben “The Butcher” Diamond on the 1950s Miami show “Magic City,” which just began its second season on Starz.

What attracted you to your character?
There’s a fallen emperor quality about Ben Diamond, where he’s sort of biding his time — languishing around a pool, fulfilling his sexual depravity. But there’s also a shrewd businessman there, someone who wants to get things going. There’s a certain honesty to Ben Diamond, believe it or not. He is who he is. He’s not ashamed.

You’ve played villains before, but Ben seems to be the most villainous. Only your character in “The Proposition” is worse.
The key to playing a villain — and this might be obvious — is to find the humanity in them. Nobody regards themselves as villainous or all that bad. In the case of Ben Diamond, I thought I would give that up. [Laughs.] I would play him for the badass that he is. Somehow I find that endearing. In “The Proposition,” Arthur Burns has a similar quality, where in a way violence is almost like his mistress.

This is one of your only steady TV gigs. What made you want to work on television?
I worked with Tom Hooper on “John Adams,” as Samuel Adams. That’s when I realized there’s a real scope here, that you can actually tell your story. It’s not necessarily that three acts are limiting. There’s plenty of films made with the three-act structure. But there’s this room [in television] to tell a story that you can’t otherwise, possibly. Then I did [“Kevorkian”] with Al Pacino, and I realized there was this whole built-in audience. And to release something about Kevorkian theatrically, it would just be impossible.

TV acting is very different from film acting. What are some of the challenges to adjusting to it?
I find it very daunting; I feel like I’m losing control. I don’t quite know how to pace my performance — if I’m revealing too much or too little. It makes me unsteady. But I know that I’m in good hands. I know that I’m working with someone [showrunner Mitch Glazer] I respect. I’d hate to be in a different situation. The only thing I found tricky was changing directors. We’re all the same, but suddenly there’s one guy who’s the new guy.

Glazer is a longtime friend of yours. What is it like working with a pal?
I come from a family where we encourage nepotism. [Laughs.] So there’s nobody better to be working with family or friends. As long as you respect them, as long as you want to serve their vision, then it’s all good.

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This season on “True Blood,” there’s a new faerie in town with Rob Kazinsky’s Ben Flynn, a new supernatural love interest for Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin). The British actor is aware his introduction will likely rile some of the show’s relationship-obsessed fans, but he’s just happy to have a job that comes with free snacks.

So, any trepidation about coming on as a new love interest for Sookie?
I am 100 percent certain that I am going to be absolutely hated by everyone. Team Eric’s going to hate me, Team Bill’s going to hate me, Team Alcide — they’re all going to absolutely loathe this guy just because he’s not them. And I am prepared for that backlash, however I think in time people will come to realize that Ben, for the first time, offers a chance at happiness that none of those guys could ever give her. He is essentially a much more honest and a much more accessible guy than everybody else. But that certainly doesn’t mean he’s boring.

How does this compare to your time on the British soap opera “Eastenders”?
Different worlds, vastly different worlds. I did 254 episodes of “Eastenders” and averaged about 85 episodes a year, shooting anywhere between 30 and 50 pages of dialogue a day. And then this, we’re doing 10 episodes a year, so it’s a slightly different machine. [laughs] The whole way everything goes on here in America is very, very different to how it’s run in England. The biggest difference to me is always craft services. Having free food on set is just the best thing that’s ever happened to anybody ever.

Is craft service really not a thing in England?
For the BBC there’s no such thing as crafty or free food. At “Eastenders” there wasn’t, anyway. So having doughnuts on set? Wonderful. Fresh fruit all the time? Having a coffee machine instead of having to pay three pounds for your coffee every time you want one? Oh my God, it’s great.

This is news to me. I feel like my only exposure to British TV production was “Extras,” which looked more in line with American setup.
I think that was the idea so that it would be universally sellable. I mean, my experience in England is fairly limited to the soap that I did and the one other TV show I did. The way they do it [in the U.S.], when I did “Brothers and Sisters,” “Law & Order,” everything, it’s a much easier place to be off-set, you know what I mean? There’s much more to do when you’re not working.

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Actor John Krasinski arrives for the screening of the film “Promised Land” in Berlin.
Credit: Reuters

John Krasinski is best known for playing the handsome, affable salesman Jim Halpert on the hit TV series “The Office,” but that could change as the versatile actor tackles new projects, including writing two new scripts.

The Massachusetts native will appear on the big screen in the 3D animated film “Monsters University,” which opens in U.S. theaters on June 21, providing the voice for “Frightening” Frank McCay in the prequel to the Pixar and Disney 2001 hit movie “Monsters, Inc.”

He also has a guest role on Netflix’s revival of the Emmy-winning series “Arrested Development.”

Krasinski, 34, spoke to Reuters about the creative process, achieving hero status and how hard it has been to leave “The Office,” which ended its nine-year run last month.

Q: After playing Jim Halpert for so long was it difficult to take on the characters in “Monsters University” and “Arrested Development”?

A: It was fun to do both those roles but they were small, fun roles … For me it was just supporting two things I love so much.

I think “Arrested Development” is one of the best shows ever on television, so I was just honored to be a part of that in any way. And it is exactly the same with ‘Monsters University.’ Not only am I a fan, but my nieces and nephews are bigger fans than I am, so it is the first time in my career that I reached hero status in their eyes.

Q: You’ve worn a lot of different hats in your career. You’re an actor, writer, director, film producer. Do you prefer one job over another?

A: I really prefer acting over everything else. I think acting for me is the most fun. It is what I did from the beginning. All these other avenues have been fascinating roads to go down but, for sure, acting is the most fun.

Quickly I am falling in love with writing and producing and all of it just because it is nice to be part of the process. The business is changing rapidly, so to be a part of the development of new ideas, new shows, new movies is really exciting, and to work with a whole bunch of different talent.

Q: You co-wrote the film “Promised Land” with actor Matt Damon. Do you plan to do more writing in the future?

A: I am writing two scripts right now. I got hooked. As soon as I did it with him I wanted to do it more and more. It is a lot of fun to sit down and write. It is challenging, but it is so exciting – to have the power to create characters and worlds, rather than to just read scripts that are sent to you.

Q: Can you reveal what the scripts are about?

A: They are totally different movies and definitely different from “Promised Land.” One of them is an action-adventure kind of movie and the other one is … sort of an investigation of one of the government agencies.

Q: You have another project in the works, an HBO miniseries about the Chateau Marmont hotel with writer Aaron Sorkin, which you will executive produce. What attracted you to that?

A: It is an incredibly historic hotel for our town; probably the most historic hotel … There is so much of our town and of our business that was created in that hotel. We’re definitely fascinated to tell the story of the hotel.

Q: After nine years on “The Office,” how hard was it to leave for the last time?

A: “Each day I am not on set and not going through that routine with that group of people is excruciating. It is moving on not only from a television show but from an era of life … It was the most important things in my career, and at the end of the day I may still be known as Jim Halpert more than anything else. And I am really proud of that.

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Cher will appear on the season finale of the singing competition series “The Voice” on June 18, making her first live TV performance in more than 10 years, NBC said on Monday.

The singer and actress, who has won an Oscar as well as Grammy and Emmy awards, will perform “Woman’s World,” a new single from her album of the same name which is to be released in September, her first in 12 years.

Cher’s record-breaking 1998 single “Believe” reached No. 1 worldwide and sold more than 20 million copies, and more recently she has focused on touring, including the 2003-2005 “Living Proof” tour which totaled more than 300 shows.

The 67-year-old singer and best actress Academy Award winner for “Moonstruck” has appeared on several television talk shows, documentaries and award shows, but she last performed on television on the 2002 VH1 Divas Las Vegas special.

“The Voice,” which competes against rival broadcaster Fox’s singing contests “American Idol” and “The X Factor,” averages about 14 million viewers over its two weekly shows. It will finish its current season on June 18.

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A woman who threw eggs at international talent show guru Simon Cowell during the finals of the popular television contest “Britain’s Got Talent” will not face charges, show organizers said on Sunday.

Cowell was one of four judges watching two brothers singing during the live televised performance on Saturday night when a viola player ran from the back of the stage and threw several eggs at him before being removed by security staff.

Cowell removed his jacket and the show continued.

The woman was later named as Natalie Holt, 30, a member of the brothers’ backing group, who had competed in the same talent show last year with her string ensemble Raven Quartet, without much success.

“As a result of her misguided actions, the police were called. However, we have decided to take no further action at this stage,” said a spokeswoman for the show.

In the statement, released by the show’s organizers, Holt apologized to the brothers, Richard and Adam, for overshadowing their performance, saying she realized that “it was a silly thing to do”.

But she was less contrite in comments to the Telegraph website, saying: “I basically took a stand against people miming on television and against Simon and his dreadful influence on the music industry.”

Cowell is the mastermind behind global TV franchises such as “The X Factor” and “Got Talent” that are often accused of creating overnight stars without real talent, and of fuelling a culture of celebrity.

Cowell has become a household name in his native Britain through appearing as the acerbic judge on several of his shows.

The seventh series of “Britain’s Got Talent” was won by a Hungarian shadow dancing group called Attraction, who took home 250,000 pounds ($380,000) and will perform for Queen Elizabeth.

The final was watched by an average of 11.1 million people, on a par with last year’s final.

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In case no pundit has told you, we’re in another Golden Age of television. If more proof was needed, then consider that television roles no longer carry the stigma they once did for actors. Hollywood’s best thespians have been slowly gravitating toward TV, not just as guest stars but as regulars. Consider the following:

Peter Sarsgaard
Show: “The Killing”
Film history: One of the best actors of his generation (and married to another of them, Maggie Gyllenhaal), Sarsgaard is a stealth movie-stealer. The key is that his looks are deceiving: He looks like a nice guy, but underneath he’s capable of much more, be that murder (“Boys Don’t Cry”), calculation (“Shattered Glass”) or lies (“An Education”).
Jump to TV: Meaty Hollywood (or even indie) roles are these days thin on the ground. That’s one reason he suddenly appeared as a cast addition on the third season of “The Killing,” playing a death row inmate soon to be executed for murdering his wife. Alas, that means spending months acting in a tiny cell.
Quoted: “So many of my favorite actors are on television … If you want to act with them, you have to be on television.” — Metro

Glenn Close
Show: “The Shield,” “Damages”
Film history: Since 1982’s “The World According to Garp,” Close has been one of the biggies, competing for the same kind of prestige sought by Meryl Streep. She’s a six-time Oscar nominee, who probably should have won for “Dangerous Liasons,” plus a three-time Tony winner.
Jump to TV: She’s also a woman, and unlike Classic Hollywood, execs don’t know what to do with women once they pass 40. She’s fared better than most in that department, but the big roles have dried up — or gone to Meryl Streep. She wound up first on “The Shield,” then on “Damages,” which recently concluded its run. At the time it was unheard of that an actress of her stature would do TV. But now it’s clear she was ahead of the curve.
Quoted: “When I did TV as a young actor, people said it would kill my movie career. But if it’s great writing, why not do it?” – Good Housekeeping

Dustin Hoffman
Show: “Luck”
Film history: You know, he’s Dustin Hoffman. He’s Benjamin Braddock from “The Graduate.” He’s Ratso Rizzo from “Midnight Cowboy.” He’s Kramer from “Kramer Vs. Kramer.” He’s Tucker the horse from “Racing Stripes.”
Jump to TV: Truth is, Hollywood doesn’t know what to do with aging men, either. Hoffman could easily coast on small, starry roles in kid movies like “Kung Fu Panda” or [shudder] “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.” But he hasn’t had a real challenge in ages. That would have been “Luck” — had it not been cancelled prematurely due to controversy over horses killed on set.
Quoted: “They have money, so you’re not rushed to shoot 20 pages [of script] in a day, like you are with normal TV. HBO leave you alone and there’s no censorship. You do the work you want to do.” — Slate

Kevin Bacon
Show: “The Following”
Film history: The son of legendary Philadelphia city planner Edmund Bacon, Kevin has rarely been without work. In fact, he’s so prolific and versatile that there’s even a dumb time-waster game called Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, exploiting all the actors he’s worked with. The roles aren’t always great, and only occasionally let him live up to the promise of his brash Fenwick in “Diner.”
Jump to TV: Bacon’s wife, Kyra Sedgwick, finally achieved stardom with TV on “The Closer.” Though a household name, he isn’t a mega-star, which may be one reason he teamed up with “Scream”’s Kevin Williamson to do “The Following,” which tracks his FBI agent as he chases an escaped killer (James Purefoy).
Quoted: “Nothing was coming in that I was desperate to do. From the ‘70s onwards, you were able to make films that had violence and edge – and where are they now? They are on television.” – Telegraph

Two-time Oscar winner Maggie Smith now calls “Downton Abbey” home.

Maggie Smith
Show: “Downton Abbey”
Film history: Dame Maggie Smith has won the Oscar twice: for her tyrannical teacher on “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” in 1968 and, ironically, as an actress who doesn’t win the Oscar in “California Suite” in 1978. But it wasn’t until later in life that she became an icon, as the catty dowager in “Gosford Park.”
Jump to TV: Reteaming with “Gosford Park” screenwriter Julian Fellowes, Smith basically recreated her character — although her countess is far less acid-tongued.
Quoted: “I’m not quite sure what [being a star] means. I am familiar to people now, which is what I was not before … that is entirely due to the television set.” – CBS

Don Cheadle
Show: “House of Lies”
Film history: Starting with his breakthrough in “Devil in a Blue Dress” (although he goes back to “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”), Cheadle has been one of the most reliable greats. Particularly worth shout-outs are his turns in “Boogie Nights,” “Out of Sight” and “Hotel Rwanda.”
Jump to TV: Insanely, it’s been awhile since he’s had a truly juicy role. You have to go to Showtime to see his turn as a charmingly ruthless management consultant on “House of Lies.” Cheadle won a Golden Globe for his work, and the show has just been picked up for a third season. Like many film actors who do TV, he admits that it’s a different type of acting, requiring more stamina and flexibility.
Quoted: “[An Academy Award nomination] doesn’t mean s— … I’m doing a TV show now where there’s steady work and more creative freedom.” — Metro

Mira Sorvino
Show: “Gaffigan”
Film history: The daughter of Paul Sorvino, she is a talented actress who unfortunately joined the small clique of actors who struggled despite (or because of) winning an Oscar. Few could follow up her feted performance as a ditzy prostitute in “Mighty Aphrodite,” but she’s sadly largely (but not completely) faded from view. (She did get good notices for the recent indie “Union Square.”)
Jump to TV: Sorvino broke through with a comic performance, so it’s appropriate that her most prominent role in years is a comedy show. She will soon play Jim Gaffigan’s wife on “Gaffigan,” the comic’s new show based on his own life as a father and husband living in a small New York apartment. This is great news.

Kevin Costner
Show: “Hatfields & McCoys”
Film history: Once upon a time Kevin Costner was the biggest star in the world. He could help take a three-hour, factually handicapped, paranoid raving like Oliver Stone’s “JFK” and make it a hit. He could do Robin Hood with an American accent (against Christian Slater, speaking British). His fall was mighty, but he’s rebounded as a fine supporting player in “The Upside of Anger” and “The Company Men.”
Jump to TV: One of the biggest hits he’s had in ages has been “Hatfields & McCoys,” a miniseries for The History Channel. If that sounds like a worse fate than a box office dud, then consider that the show — about the storied warring families — had huge ratings and garnered 16 Emmy nominations, of which he won one. TV execs tend to be less of a presence on productions than with movies, where every second is combed over, often by those who don’t know the art.
Quoted: “I won’t make a movie unless I have the ability to do it the way I want, so I hold my breath for a very long time. At this point in my life, I don’t want to make a movie I don’t want to make, or one that somehow gets manipulated in a way I don’t feel comfortable with.” – Telegraph

Christina Ricci
Show: “Pan Am”
Film history: Child stars and “It” girls don’t have long shelf lives. Ricci was both, and perhaps it was inevitable that a series of duds — most notably the Wachowskis’ “Speed Racer,” which was too insane for mainstream audiences — would cut down on her film work.
Jump to TV: Like many, she found solace on television. On “Pam Am,” she played a ‘60s era stewardess, in what was a naked attempt to cash in on the “Mad Men” craze, but with more sex. The show started strong but was canceled 14 episodes in.
Quoted: “Especially with all the new cable channels and all the new content that’s being created, there is amazing writing and amazing opportunities for great talent and great directors to find a home and do some really interesting things they might not necessarily be able to do in the film world.” – Huffington Post

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No, this isn’t an audition tape. Jackson did not audition for the role of Walter White in “Breaking Bad.”

Jackson is partaking in a little give-and-take with his fans. He posted on Reddit promising to read the most up-voted 300-word monologue if in turn Reddit users agree to donate to his Alzheimer’s Association fund.

Having just reached a financial goal of $155,000, Jackson is keeping up his end of the bargain by uploading a video of himself reciting one of the most famous monologues of “Breaking Bad.”

Jackson recites the lines of Walter White when he tells his wife Skylar that he’s the “one who knocks.” The scene is from the fourth season of “Breaking Bad.”

If users raise $175,000, Jackson has promised to record three unique voicemail messages for three donors.

So, for the sake of seeing more Samuel L. Jackson videos, let’s raise some money to fight Alzheimer’s.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

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It seems the two news anchors have been going at each other for some time, trading snide remarks and quick-witted comebacks while broadcasting live on on-air. In a sense they  have become a dynamic duo, but not quite the same as Batman and Robin.

Passive-aggressive much?

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Randy Fenoli of “Say Yes to the Dress” and “Randy to the Rescue” (which just began its second season) estimates that he’s helped about 1 million brides get ready for their big day. But being a bride’s advocate never wears on the marriage maestro: “I never get tired of it,” he tells us. His dedication means that since not everyone can make it to NYC’s Kleinfeld, where Fenoli consults, he takes his show on the road — literally. On “Randy to the Rescue,” Fenoli travels around the U.S., creating popup bridal salons for the betrothed and then giving them makeovers. Legions of brides turn to Fenoli for his advice, and after speaking with him, we’ve come up with some reasons as to why we think that is:

He’ll fight for his bride:
“I absolutely will not compromise. We were in one city working with a bridal salon and this girl came in. She showed me a picture of this dress that she had tried on, like, six states away, and she fell in love with the dress, but she was like, ‘Well, I can’t get this today.’ You could tell this girl was in love with this dress. And the cameras are on her and the family’s there, and finally she said yes to a dress. But when I walked off the set, I was like, ‘I’m sorry, that is not her dress. She is not happy.’ So I woke up the next morning and called every single bridal salon in, like, a three-hour radius and found the dress.”

He doesn’t believe in bridezillas:
“Brides want everything to be perfect, and it should be! … I would want it to be perfect, too. You’re spending how much money? You’ve waited how many years? You’ve invited how many people, we’re taking how many pictures, and how many people are watching? It should be right.”

He goes beyond the dress:
“Brides come in and show their consultant a photograph. Most consultants take it literally and are like, ‘OK, that’s the dress you want.’ I don’t just look at the dress. I look at the girl in the dress and I look at the feeling [the picture evokes].”

Follow Meredith Engel on Twitter @MeredithAtMetro.

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When we last left HBO’s “True Blood,” the war between the humans and the vampires had just reached a boiling point and the air was thick with the threat of impending violence. Well, more violence. A lot of blood is spilled in this show, but there’s a lot of humor as well. More than most shows of its ilk (despite, perhaps Showtime’s “Dexter”) “True Blood” has managed to strike a fine balance between darkness and light. Pam — the bisexual, acid-tongued, bar-owning vampire, who stomps all over human and vamp underlings alike in spike-heeled boots — exacts violence and comedy in equally skilled measure. We checked in with Kristin Bauer Straten, who plays Pam, before Season 6 premieres on June 16.

What can you tell me about what’s going on with Pam this season, without revealing any spoilers?

That’s always the challenge, isn’t it? We’ve been shooting such long hours all week that I’ve got to get caught up on the trailers so I know what they reveal. I think it’s safe to say there is a human-vampire conflict that’s escalated from what the Authority did last year. And that, of course, causes problems for Pam. So she’s trying to figure out her relationship with her new baby/lover, you know, Rutina (Wesley, who plays Tara). And she’s just reunited with her Maker; she wasn’t sure if he was alive. And then, on top of it, the humans are fighting back.

So it’s safe to say that things are pretty complicated?

Things are a little intense.

When the show first started, did you know that Pam was going to become such a big part of the show?

I definitely did not. Yeah, that was a really lovely surprise because, when I auditioned, they said that it was a guest starring role, possibly recurring. And first season, once Alex (Skarsgård) and I started they kept calling us back. But Season 2, there wasn’t as much Pam. So all of a sudden when Season 3 came around and they started adding quite a bit more Pam, that was a lovely surprise because I love the role and I also love the people I’m working with. We have so much fun. They’re very, very fun people. The hours are long so it makes a huge difference.

Pam is actually one of my favorite characters on the show, and she has really evolved: straight-up evil in the beginning, but now they’re revealing a lot more layers. Do you think she’s more good than bad?

I don’t know if it is a bad sign, or if I’m becoming sort of delusional, but I don’t know if she’s good or evil — but she’s definitely… correct. I feel like what she says, we’re all thinking. You know, she only kills bad people. I feel like she’s a little bit of the person we all wish we could be, but we wouldn’t be able to maintain jobs and friends. (laughs). And Pam is lucky enough to have stepped out of, on purpose, all of those concerns. And, you know, to be top of the food chain, she doesn’t have to worry about liking anybody or vice-versa, people liking her especially. I just think it’s really refreshing.

Speaking to that, I feel that there are more powerful female characters in the show than weak ones. In fact, maybe more powerful female characters than powerful male characters. Do you think that’s true?

Yup, I agree with you. These writers, I think are very sensitive to writing strong female characters. And in my career, that’s just been rare. I haven’t personally gotten to play terribly strong characters before this. I really enjoyed the characters I played, but they were vulnerable, possibly not too bright. You know, using sexuality to try and get by. I think it’s a combination of HBO, and Alan Ball, and our other producers that are sensitive to this. I mean, this week we have a woman DP, which is unusual; we have a lot of women directors. We were sitting around Video Village this week and someone was reading an article about the astoundingly small percentage of females in top positions in Hollywood, and we looked up and realized that there were seven women and only on guy — the director this week, Romeo — in that area. We had a woman producer, a woman DP, a woman script supervisor, me, and then just one guy. And I thought ‘Wow, what a lovely world for a woman to be in.’ It’s so unusual.

On that note, I think Pam and other female characters do use their sexuality as a tool, but it’s in an empowered way, not in a weak way.

Yeah, that’s Pam. I think everyone in “True Blood” is very sexual but definitely from the vampire perspective, they’re always in charge. They’re in the leadership role in all of their relationships. It’s probably another reason why we as a culture love to watch vampires. You know, we get to escape our regular roles and our regular lives.

Yeah. I was actually going to ask if you felt that the influx of vampire shows, and movies and books, and just sort of the obsession with vampires of late has made people lose interest? Do you think it’s on the wane?

I don’t know. I’m so surprised by it. I am a little out of touch with all of the different TV shows and movies, but just this week, I saw that there was another one coming out, or just came, out with vampire teens, and I thought ‘Wow, it’s apparently not waning.’ I find that so interesting. And we’ve all analyzed it, all of us on the show, to try to make some sense of it, but all I can do is sort of make up a theory. I’m not exactly sure if it’s true, but it may be a symptom of our time, of wanting to escape and, for me as an actress, it’s an incredible place to escape to — a character that has no fear of dying, of poverty, of illness, of aging. You know, those are all of the things that we, as humans, spend a lot of time thinking about.

Absolutely. I think that’s a pretty good theory. So, with that, how many more seasons have you guys been approved for?

They pick us up as we go along. They usually air the season and decide, so we’re all on the set coming to the end of shooting Season 6 and really hoping that we get to stay together and keep having so much fun.

Where do you see yourself going next, once it’s run its course?

A couple of things would be fun for me. One is to go back to comedy, which is where I started. I did a lot of sitcoms. Super fun. I would love to go back to that world, possibly with a live audience. And then, I have a secret hope that I can stay in the world of cable television, HBO. It’s just nice to be in a world without advertising. And I know that, the other networks — kids today don’t know that the networks are free. You can get a coat hanger and you can watch ABC and CBS and NBC. So, I understand they have to be paid for, but it is a different feel working for HBO, where the creative content doesn’t have that control and so, clearly, we get to do things that you cant do when, you know, little kids might be watching and people might be trying to sell soap.

I want to ask you a few random, fun questions. To start, if you could be a werewolf or a vampire in real life, which would you choose? And you can’t be human.

I’d usually pick a vampire. Yeah. I mean, I have gotten very comfortable in falling in love with the vampire world, but I’m a huge dog lover and I think it would be kind of incredible to get to live in a pack. So it’s only by a hair that I’d say I would like to stay a vampire.

No pun intended.
(laughs) Yes!

If we were to hear on the news that one of the mythical creatures from the show, and there are so many, turned out to actually exist in real life, what do you think would most likely be a real creature?

Um, let’s see. Well, I’d like to say a shapeshifter.

How come?

I feel like in my life I’ve been called a shapeshifter because I’ve played so many different roles. And for some reason, if I dye my hair brown, I’m unrecognizable, even to the people I’ve dated. A friend of mine who’s a photographer has taken a lot of pictures of me will say, ‘You know, you shapeshift. Even within the same roll of film, you look different.’ And I’ve certainly dated people that I thought were one person and turned out to be another. So I think we’re just one chromosome away from making that actually happen one of these days. I think that’s the most likely.

If you were a vampire in real life, do you think that you would be satisfied drinking True Blood? Or would you just go the human blood route?

I’d prefer to stay away from modern — what would you call them — chemically altered beverages. (laughs) You know, I don’t drink soda, I stick with green tea, I try to eat organic, and I try to eat free range. So I would definitely go the old school route and find willing donors… most of the time.

To steal a ‘Twilight’ thing, are you Team Bill or Team Eric?

There’s just no way for me to separate myself completely from the character; I just have to be Team Eric.

I’m Team Eric too, but maybe I just think he’s cuter. But I do like Bill.

I like Bill too, and I certainly like how Pam makes fun of Bill.

Which character do you most personally relate to?

Again, I spent so many years running next to Alex, and having my feelings and Pam’s feelings cross over at times, that I’d relate the most to Eric. I’ve worked really hard to perfect that, and for that to be my job. But when I watch the show, I tend to really love the way that Ryan [Kwanten] plays Jason Stackhouse. I think he’s just a comic genius. He’s so different from his character that I find it fascinating to watch such an eloquent, sweet, lovely, evolved Australian play Jason. It’s quite miraculous.

The post Kristin Bauer Straten walks the good-evil line as Pam on ‘True Blood’ appeared first on Metro.us.

On YouTube there are thousands people who record reactions to some of the most shocking and graphic videos posted online.  Remember that “Two Girls, One Cup” video? I won’t elaborate on the contents of the clip, but I will note that there are 100s of reaction videos on YouTube of people watching it for the first time.

In this video, The Daily Beast puts together some of the most dramatic reactions and responses to what happened during Sunday’s “The Rains of Castamere” episode. Viewers seem to be very upset with what happened in the episode that is now being referred to as the ”Red Wedding” episode.

Note, there is graphic language in this video clip.

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With the third season of “Falling Skies” kicking off this week, star Noah Wyle is remarkably candid about the hit sci-fi series’ strengths and weaknesses. “I don’t think there’s anybody involved with this show that’s more objective about it than I am, that is willing to point out its faults as well as its assets more than me,” says the former “ER” doctor. He also says he’s learned a lot of lessons about parenting during an alien invasion that can be applied surprisingly well to raising kids today.

After three seasons, do you think “Falling Skies” has found its footing?
This is a weird show in that I still don’t feel like we’ve reached our full potential because every year we do something that kind of hobbles us. And yet they turn out pretty well as a result. I’d be really curious to see what we’d be able to accomplish if we didn’t stand in our own way so much.

How do you mean?
Everything from scheduling to how much time we get scripts beforehand to casting. Maybe I’m spoiled because by the time “ER” was off the air, it was such a well-oiled machine that it just ran so smoothly. But for example, last season, season two, they wrote this wonderful role for a guest star, for a woman who was a pilot. You could’ve cast anyone from Kathy Bates to Alfre Woodard — and we went after both of them to do it — but it took a long time to pull the trigger on making those offers. The breakdowns didn’t go out until a week or 10 days before the episode started shooting, so you have one shot, basically, and if they say no then you’re scrambling. And if you scramble too much, then you’re going to run into a visa issue bringing in an American actor to Canada. And as a result, you cast locally and a part that could’ve been really great, you end up whittling down to very little on the show, which is an unfortunate side effect. I don’t know how we get around this, how we could do this better next time, but it’s unfortunate that it happened this way.

Your character’s had three sons during the run of “Falling Skies,” and now there’s a new addition. What have you learned about parenting during an alien apocalypse?
The tension that exists is ever-present; there’s always a threat. We could all be attacked at any moment. Their own longing to be autonomous and independent is going to foster this real push-pull ambivalence about how to parent them. In the beginning it was all about giving his youngest son some semblance of a childhood in the context of this horrible situation. And then at the end of the second season and the beginning of the third, his new philosophy is that the kindest, most responsible parenting philosophy he can espouse is to arm his kids and train his kids and hope that they can defend themselves, and then maybe their kids will have the childhood that they were robbed of — that he’s doing them a disservice by trying to shield them from any of these horrible realities.

That’s an interesting parallel to the backlash against overprotective parenting.
The everybody gets an A thing? As a parent of two kids, I walk that line. In a lot of ways the filters that protected kids from the more mature aspects of our society are no longer there. You can turn on a TV just about any hour of the day and see just about anything under the sun. You can download anything from iTunes, you can see everything from graphic violence to sex in a video game, and so it’s tough to be a parent these days and to try to allow access to all these different things at an age-appropriate levels — especially when you’re competing against other parents that don’t think the same way the you do. You’re up against, “Well, Bobby gets to watch it,” and “Cindy gets to see it.” So on a relative scale, I can appreciate what Tom’s dilemma is, about wanting to allow kids to be kids for as long as they possibly can, because that time is getting shorter and shorter.

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When Edith looks at the cover and realizes it is a Playgirl magazine, she said, “Maybe I shouldn’t look at this one, Archie.” Her husband stubbornly insists that she reads it.

Edith looks at the centerfold, and her reaction is priceless. She seems to be embarrassed, but very curious and impressed at the same time.

Archie takes a peek and is shocked by what he sees.

He snatches the magazine from her and then blames her for reading it, when it was him who handed it to her in the first place. Oh, Archie.

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Actress Jean Stapleton, best known for her role as Edith Bunker in the hit 1970s’ television series “All in the Family,” has died at age 90, the Los Angeles Times reported on Saturday.

Stapleton’s family said she died on Friday of natural causes at her home in New York City, the newspaper reported.

The actress won three Emmys for her role as the long-suffering wife of loud-mouthed bigot Archie Bunker, played by the late Carroll O’Connor, in the TV sitcom.

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Bravo’s newest group under the microscope is a group of six well-off ladies living at home on Long Island. But the young women of “Princesses: Long Island” want you to know that beneath the label bags and the Jimmy Choos are six girls just trying to make it in the world. Here’s a look at each of them.

Joey Lauren, 30, Freeport
Joey moved out of the city and back with mom and dad after getting her heart broken. She’s currently working on growing her business, Kissamint LLC, which packages lip gloss and breath fresheners together in one unit.
Where to find her on a summer day: Field 4 at Jones Beach
On potential suitors from outside Nassau County: “If I was trying to find love that wouldn’t matter to me.”

Chanel (Coco) Omari, 28, Great Neck
Chanel grew up in a modern Orthodox Jewish family and dreams of one day becoming a talk show host.
On moving back home: “We went through what everybody went through with the economic crisis. We all lived in the city at some point; we all tried to manage, and we couldn’t, so we had to move back home. It doesn’t mean that we’re all not trying to find our independence.”

Ashlee White, 30, Roslyn
Though she loves living at home with her best friends (her parents), Ashlee looks forward to the day that she can be a stay-at-home mom and treat her husband like royalty. Fun fact: Her parents have a pool in the shape of an Absolut bottle.
This ain’t no “Jersey Shore”: “Right now everyone is getting to know our names, and I can’t wait for them to really know our stories, because we’re so relatable, and once they hear our stories, the stereotypes I feel like will just disappear.”

Erica Gimbel, 29, Old Westbury
Erica loves singing, dancing, hitting the beach and spoiling her two Cavalier King Charles spaniels.
Mall day or beach day? “Roosevelt Field stresses me out. Me and Amanda can be seen on the beach with SPF maybe 4 or 8 with sunshields.”
On being a “Princess”: “We’re all very comfortable in our own skin, and we’re all confident and unapologetic on who we are.”

Casey Cohen, 28, Jericho
The leggy blonde is probably the least Long Island of the bunch — she spends her days working up a sweat at SoulCyle and lounging at the SoHo house rooftop. At night, she waitresses at trendy Meatpacking spot 1Oak.
On relying on her girlfriends: “Every girl wants to be a princess. I want to find that prince but I haven’t, so we have each other to go through that process.”

Amanda Bertoncini, 27, Great Neck
Amanda lives with her mom and runs her company, The Drink Hanky, which makes beverage sleeves to keep drinks warm and cool. She met her main squeeze, Jeff, on the Long Island Railroad.
Where to find her this summer: “I love Long Beach.”
No horse-drawn carriage for her: “This princess rides the subway. I just have no patience. I just want to get there. When I drive in the city, I just want to, like, run over someone. Not literally.”
Why you’ll like them: “We’re just witty, and not only gorgeous, but we’re smart and we all have big hearts.”

“Princesses: Long Island” premieres Sunday at 9 p.m. on Bravo.

Follow Meredith Engel on Twitter at @MeredithAtMetro.

The post Bravo turns the girls next door into ‘Princesses: Long Island’ appeared first on Metro.us.

The third season of AMC’s crime procedural “The Killing,” which premieres this Sunday, has a new storyline, and with it a new supporting cast. Among the neophytes is Peter Sarsgaard, a talented actor who’s been among the best things in “Boys Don’t Cry,” “Garden State,” “Shattered Glass” and “An Education.” In his first season-long television stint — which he was still shooting when we talked — Sarsgaard plays Ray Seward, a sinister death row inmate who killed his wife.

What are the challenges of playing a death row inmate?
So much of my story takes place in the same spot. In a lot of movies, there’s the car chase, the scene at breakfast, the sex scene. This is about always going to the same cell. You have to find ways of doing a different dance on the same dance floor.

How do you keep him fresh?
We all wear masks. I was interested in him having multiple masks, especially because I had to play him over a long period of time.

Were those challenges what drew you to ‘The Killing’?
Those, and also because the issues interested me. I’m very much against the death penalty. It’s very easy to do a piece about someone who’s been railroaded by the system, who’s innocent. If you don’t believe in the death penalty, you have to take an extreme circumstance — someone who’s indefensible — to see if it still applies. Otherwise, the death penalty applies in some cases.

Did you have your ideas about the death penalty challenged in any way with this role?
I just don’t believe in it at all. I don’t believe in killing people under any circumstances. Very few people could name the last ten people who were executed in this country, or even the last 20, or even in the last five years. It should be the top news story every time it happens. It’s only the top news when they’re found innocent. A country that’s so Christian is so not Christian.

What made you want to work on TV?
Just this show. I always really liked this show. There’s a couple shows I watch, just like everyone else. Being a father, nights out to see movies are pretty rare. I thought this material was better than some of the film stuff I was being offered. It seemed there was more of a role there.

There’s much less of a fear these days for serious actors to do TV.
So many of my favorite actors are on television. Whey you want to act with one of them, you realize, “Oh, they’re on TV.” If you want to act with them, you have to be on television.

How is TV acting different from stage or film acting?
It’s really fast. And because you don’t know the show as well as the showrunners or the writers, you’re more at their mercy. On a film you’ll know the whole story, and you’ll go up to the director and say, “Oh, this doesn’t seem right to me, this entire scene.” And we’ll work on it or they’ll tell me to shut the f— up. There’s more interaction about content. But on TV, with a series like this, you just have to trust them. There’s something valuable as an actor, going, “Alright, I’ll just go with it.” It’s weirdly freeing.

TV scripts tend to be given to the actors gradually. As a TV newbie, is that terrifying to you?
When you get the next script you read it quickly to see if there’s any information you might need. I once did a film with Wayne Wang and Paul Auster, who wrote it. The scripts came in as we went. There was something really cool about that. In the morning you’d go, “What are we saying today? What’s happening?” Then you get the scene one day where it says “He rapes her.” And you go, “What? They thought I was someone who could rape people?”

Do you think not knowing something that important ruins the character you’ve worked on up to that point?
To me, anyone is capable of anything at any time. You don’t have to set things up. I don’t like when actors try to set things up. If they’re playing someone who rapes someone in Act Three, and they’ll look lasciviously at women during the whole thing — that’s pretty simplistic. Sometimes these things are just dormant or unconscious, and just crop up at a certain point. It’s always more interesting that way.

You’ve played a lot of nasty, weird or even psychotic characters. Do you try to avoid nicer roles?
I don’t consciously avoid anything. I like to work. I like to work a certain amount each year. It’s always a matter of what’s on the plate now? Do I wait? If I do this will that make it so I can’t do what I really want to do? I’m also dealing with the fact that I have a wife [Maggie Gyllenhaal] who’s an actress, who needs to work. We don’t like to work at the same time.

There is one very nice character you play: Stephen Glass’ suspicious editor in “Shattered Glass.” But even there, he’s a character who seems cold and remote for most of the movie.
To me that part was all about envy. I think envy’s one of the most destructive and powerful of human feelings. There’s this guy [Stephen Glass] who’s really charismatic and everyone likes him. You obviously want what he has. When you find out that guy might be doing something wrong, it’s very complicated figuring out how to take them down, because you don’t want to give into desire to take them down just because you’ve always wanted them to lose. There’s a noble part of that character that I identified with, the idea that he was going to try to ignore his envy and just pursue the truth, the facts. And of course he’s not totally able to divorce those things, and he’s at war the whole time. I didn’t think about being cold. I did think about not giving into my feelings, because my feelings would have been to go “A-ha, caught you, you f—ing asshole!” The reason he seemed cold is because he was trying not to display that disgusting emotion. Sometimes people act in ways for reasons that are not always totally immediately obvious. The projected feeling is not always the true one. The character in “Shattered Glass” is acting kind of cold and distant, because he’s trying to be a scientist, and not an emotional being. And this character in “The Killing” is similar. He has so many masks. It’s crazy. It’s the most amount of masks I’ve ever played.

The post Peter Sarsgaard gets inside the head of a death row inmate on ‘The Killing’ appeared first on Metro.us.

In anticipation of Season 2 of “Randy to the Rescue” (premiering Friday at 9 p.m. on TLC), we asked wedding whisperer Randy Fenoli for some advice on buying The Dress.

Know your budget
“You’ve got to have some kind of budget, and more importantly, a wedding budget. If you’ve allotted $1,000 for the dress and $1,000 for the flowers and you find a dress that’s $1,200, you’re like OK, what do I do? Maybe you take $200 from your flowers and put in on your dress or move the money around to what makes you most happy.”

Go to a reputable salon
“You’re gonna be working with this person to get your dress and to deliver it and alter it and take care of it. You want to be able to have that peace of mind.”

Consider your options
“Prepare for your appointment but keep an open mind. Go in with a wedding date and a venue. Getting married in December in Alaska is different from getting married in August in Mexico. you’ve got to have that. You have to kind of know what look you’re going for, how do you want to look? I usually try to get brides to give me three words to describe their look or what they want and then I interpret those words. But also keep an open mind because so many times brides come in say I don’t want strapless, I don’t want lace and I don’t want beaded and they buy a beaded, lace, strapless dress. I see it every day.”

And on the big day…
“Hold the flowers down and low. Don’t run down the aisle — just pause for a moment and take it all in. I hear brides say after the wedding, “It all went so fast, I don’t even remember it.” Be in the moment and realize that you’ve waited such a long time and spent so much time planning the event, so that once it’s over you have these great memories.”

The post Wedding-dress shopping tips from TLC’s Randy Fenoli appeared first on Metro.us.

Last night, Levine lost two members of his team: Judith and Sarah. More so than the blow of losing two members, it was Levine’s comment that drew attention.

He was overheard muttering, “I hate this country,” after Judith Hill and Sarah Simmons were voted out of the singing competition.

To no one’s surprise, there was an online outcry. Also to no one’s surprise, the Maroon 5 front man was just kidding.

Today Levine released a statement explaining himself.

“I obviously love my country very much and my comments last night were made purely out of frustration,” he said. “Being part of ‘The Voice.’ I am passionately invested in my team and want to see my artists succeed. Last night’s elimination of Judith and Sarah was confusing and downright emotional for me and my comments were made based on my personal dissatisfaction with the results. I am very connected to my artists and know they have long careers ahead, regardless of their outcome on the show.”

Before releasing the statement, Levine took to Twitter to tell the world he was misunderstood and doesn’t really hate this country.

You can hear Levine muttering his disappointment around the 1:14 mark.

Follow Mary Ann Georgantopoulos on Twitter @marygeorgant

The post Relax, Adam Levine doesn’t really ‘hate this country’ appeared first on Metro.us.

The Jodi Arias saga will once again unfold on the small screen thanks to a made-for-TV movie, courtesy of Lifetime.

The network recently announced “Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret” will debut in June, starring “Lost” actress Tania Raymonde as Arias and Jesse Lee Soffer, of “The Mob Doctor,” as doomed boyfriend Travis Alexander.

Prosecutor Juan Martinez will be played by “Ugly Betty” actor Tony Plana and David Zayas, of “Dexter,” has signed on to play detective Esteban Flores.

On May 8, a jury found 32-year-old Arias guilty of murder in Alexander’s June 4, 2008 death at his suburban Phoenix home. Arias stabbed and slashed him nearly 30 times, slit his throat from ear to ear and shot him in the forehead in what prosecutors described as a jealous rage caused by Alexander’s plan to end their affair and head to Mexico with another woman.

In a press release, Lifetime described Arias’ drawn out trial as “grand theater,” that “[dominated] the cable news networks as she testified in her own defense and offered explicit insight into the sex, lies and obsession that led up to Alexander’s murder.”

The network has produced similar movies about Amanda Knox and Philip Markoff , “The Craigslist Killer.”

“Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret” will premiere on Lifetime on June 22 and 8 p.m. ET.

Follow Morgan Rousseau on Twitter: @MetroMorgan
Follow Metro Boston on Twitter: @MetroBOS

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But, it wasn’t all smooth sailing in the U.K. for Will. Before the Champion’s League match, he stopped by the UEFA Champions Festival on the International Quarter to try and score some penalty kicks against Edwin van der Sar, the former Manchester United keeper. Despite taking a running start and a giant kick, Will barely tapped the ball and sent it spinning slowly to the wide left of the goal.

The post VIDEO: ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air’ dance-off reunion appeared first on Metro.us.

When he was 12, Bernardo Bertolucci looked in a mirror and imagined himself as John Wayne. Now, at 73, he is confined to a wheelchair but is still a towering figure of Italian cinema.

Today, the Oscar-winning director is disappointed with the Hollywood that once inspired him and prefers television series such as “Mad Men”, saying they are better casted and better directed than big screen productions.

Bertolucci discussed his love affair with American culture — and his disdain for what Hollywood is producing today — on Monday night when he was honored by the American Academy in Rome.

“Jazz was the first music I heard in my life and jazz for me meant America,” Bertolucci told the crowd at the gala benefit to fund grants for artists.

The Academy, the oldest American overseas center for independent study of the arts and humanities, honored Bertolucci with the prestigious McKim award, whose previous recipients include conductor Riccardo Muti, composer Ennio Morricone, director Franco Zeffirelli and writer Umberto Eco.

“I saw ‘Stagecoach’ and for me (director) John Ford became Homer,” he said of the classic American Western film made in 1939, a year before he was born in the northern Italian city of Parma.

“I was in front of a full-length mirror and what I was seeing at 12 wasn’t me, it was John Wayne.”

But today, the director who made “Last Tango in Paris”, “The Last Emperor” and “Novecento”, says the Hollywood that once excited him now depresses him.

“My generation had an affair with American culture, there’s no doubt about it. A street lamp and a fire hydrant made me sing in the rain.”

“But the American films I like now do not come from Hollywood studios but from television series, like ‘Mad Men’, ‘Breaking Bad’, ‘The Americans’,” he said in interview after acceptance speech.

“I like when they last 13 episodes but then there is a new series coming with another 13 episodes,” he said, laughing, comparing them to novels printed in installments in 19th century newspapers.

“Apart from a few independent productions, I think that everything that comes from Hollywood is generally sad. It makes me very sad”.

Last year Bertolucci made his first feature film in nearly a decade with “Me and You,” about an introverted 14-year-old teenager who tells his mother he is going on a ski trip but spends a week in the family basement with his drug addicted half-sister.

Like “Last Tango in Paris”, which caused a scandal in Italy and beyond in 1972 for its sex scenes with Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, “Me and You,” was shot mostly indoors.

Bertolucci has spent a lot of time indoors since a back injury about 10 years ago confined him to a wheelchair, which he referred to at Monday night’s event only as “the recent time of my life.”

Still, despite physical and emotional difficulties resulting from the wheelchair confinement, Bertolucci says he wants to do what he can to promote culture between countries.

“Exchange of culture is the salvation of the world,” he said, recalling how his father set him off on a quest for new experiences when he gave him a copy of “Moby Dick” as a young boy.

While he was still too young to read it, he said he knew that “somewhere there was a big landscape and a huge sky”.

This year, Venice will be the backdrop for Bertolucci’s vision when he serves as head of the international jury at the 70th edition of the Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 28 to September 7 in the lagoon city.

“I am going to nurture myself with cinema. To be the president of the jury will give me a great joy. I will be able to see beautiful experimental films,” he said.

As for his own creative plans, Bertolucci is holding his cards close to his chest.

“I have some ideas but they are still amorphous, still at the germination stage,” he said.

The post Bernardo Bertolucci says TV shows better than Hollywood now appeared first on Metro.us.

Although it’s hard to pinpoint precisely why “Arrested Development” failed to connect with many viewers during its initial, three-season, 53-episode run, it seems likely that one reason was the show’s narrative density. While its main thrust was chronicling Michael Bluth’s efforts to corral his wildly dysfunctional family, the series featured countless plot lines that slowly shifted into focus thanks to asides and ever-evolving references that rewarded obsessive attention spans and returning fans rather than first-time or sporadic viewership.

Now that the show is finally back, creator Mitch Hurwitz spared no effort in creating 15 new episodes that are as complex and layered as their predecessors. Even though audiences have started to enjoy the luxury of sorting through them all at once thanks to their simultaneous release on Netflix this past weekend, the show’s cast is quick to observe that even they occasionally struggled to wrap their heads around dialogue that might eventually be meaningful in as many as three or four different ways.

“I’ll try to explain it clearly but it will come out probably really confusing,” confesses Michael Cera, who rejoins the cast as George Michael Bluth, and is also a writer on the fourth season. “But there was one scene that was like a five-page scene in the computer lab, and different sections of this scene would appear in different episodes. So you’d be actually having to deliver a line that made sense in multiple, different contexts, that actually play against each other, and we’d have to deliver it in a way that tries to work for all three of those. And then you’d see an episode and you have different information and it means something totally different. That was really confusing.”

Jason Bateman remains a unifying presence, despite the fact that only two of the episodes focus on his character Michael’s peccadilloes. He says the Netflix episodes allowed Hurwitz more freedom: “I hope that’s appreciated by the few people who do love the show,” he says diplomatically. “They seem to be a group who likes things somewhat challenging. And the fact that Netflix affords [Mitch] the opportunity to have these stories go out over 15 different episodes, that are so intertwined that the same scene will repeat, from different angles, in multiple episodes, is a really unique thing and exciting thing to be a part of, in working with his complexity and with Netflix’s distribution platform. It’s a neat time to watch TV.”

Portia de Rossi, who plays Michael’s delusionally well-intentioned sister Lindsay, insists that the structure of the episodes — which follows just one character’s point of view rather than all of them — should actually be easier, not more difficult, for viewers to understand.

“It’s easier to digest than the original series, because we were following storylines A, B, C, D, E, and F,” she explains. “Now, we’re just following this one character, so in a way it’s easier to watch, and we’ve got a little bit more time to tell the story — as much time as we need.”

What seems to excite the cast the most is not simply the process of reuniting for more fun, but for the experience of creating something that seems largely unlike anything else that’s been on television — even including in the original show.

David Cross, who plays Lindsay’s feckless husband Tobias, says that audiences will love the experience, but he warns that it may take a little getting used to.

“I think it’s going to be a bit of an epiphany or a revelation,” he says. “You’re going to realize, ‘There’s a structure to this that I wasn’t aware of when I started watching.’ That’s going to make everybody triple-excited, and there’s going to be a sense of discovery to it that I think will be really exciting, and really define what TV can do.”

The post A major ‘Development’ on Netflix appeared first on Metro.us.

“Rock my RV with Bret Michaels” airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. on Travel Channel.
Credit: Travel Channel

After decades in the spotlight as a glam metal frontman, 50-year-old rocker reality star Bret Michaels is throwing a new skill into the mix — tricking out RVs and rocking the open road.

For Michaels, RVing is much more than a means of transportation — it’s a lifestyle. The rock star holds tight to countless childhood memories in an RV, and now spends nine months out of the year on the road, logging millions of miles.

Sunday night, the self-proclaimed “ultimate RV adventurer” debuted a new show on the Travel Channel, “Rock my RV with Bret Michaels.” In the 16-episode series, the “Rock of Love” star will lead a design team as they transform worn out, dilapidated RVs into the most luxurious, over-the-top, tricked out mobile mansions on the road. To get America revved up, the hands-on aficionado has five things he wants you to know about hitting the open road in an RV.

1. They’re not just the chariot of choice for retirees. Anyone, at any age, can rock an RV road trip.

“I hope that it shows that the open road is for any generation. My mom and dad were pretty young when they were doing it. It’s sort of like the the Wild West. You go out there and it’s a great adventure.”

2. Be mindful of the cramped quarters.

“When you take a road trip, whether you’re in a car or an RV, let me just assure you, you’re either going to bond for life and have great memories or you may possibly never speak to each other again. This is my best advice: You want as much space as you can get. Stop at a place where you can get out of that thing and get away from each other for a little bit. Go out, walk around, hike, stretch out, enjoy the scenery.”

3. Slow ride, take it easy.

“Don’t be in a rush to get from Point A to Point B. I would not drive super-fast. In an RV, you want to get into a little more of a cruise feel, and get a feel of the weight and the wind.”

4. Bigger is not better.

“If you’re going to start RVing, you might want to start with a little smaller one and get a good feel of the groove of the road as you’re going. It’s just like starting out on anything. If you’re going to ride a Harley, you don’t want to jump on the biggest, heaviest one right away. You graduate up a little bit.”

5. He takes tricking out your RV seriously.

“The first thing I have to do with most of these is look at the structure, the rust factor, what we can and can’t do — and most important is weight. You can’t put too much weight on this thing. Forget about gas; it could be quite dangerous. So it’s really a matter of function and fun. I’ve got to create both. I want it to be fun, but it’s got to function and I want their experience when they leave to be enjoyable. A lot of these RV shows, they build these in a garage and they make things that could never possibly go down the road. My job is to make it be able to go wherever they want it — go under any bridge, go anywhere they want, any beach, any side of a mountain that they want to go. I want it to be fun and functional.”

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It probably didn’t involve sitting poolside with Gossip Girl’s Jessica Szhor eating cake and dancing around with pom poms.

At 22 you were probably a recent grad, unemployed, living in a tiny New York City apartment with roaches and pinching pennies.

Going out at night involved dive bars in the East Village drinking PBR and not swanky clubs with confetti, disco balls and cat-ear headbands.

Funny-man Conan O’Brien released a hilarious video response to Swift recounting his times as a too-skinny red-head 22 year- old.

“Taylor Swift is great, she’s very popular and talent,” O’Brien starts off saying in his video. “But I know what it’s like being 22 and I don’t think that’s an accurate representation of what it’s like to be 22.”

Conan goes on to point out all things we were all thinking when watching Swift’s music video.

His first comment is that when you’re 22, you’re not living in that apartment.

“I didn’t see any Ramen noodles in that video, because that’s all you’re eating at 22,” he says.

According to O’Brien when you’re 22 you don’t go outside. Instead you sit in your apartment watching ‘Saved By the Bell.’ To spice it up, you eat Lucky Charms.

“That’s what it’s like being 22,” he says.

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All Michael Bluth wants to do was to keep his family together — and with those best intentions in mind, he finds himself awkwardly trying to kiss a vertigo-stricken character played by Liza Minnelli.

With that moment of dizzy romance, the fourth season of cult television comedy “Arrested Development” begins its comeback on Internet video streaming service Netflix on Sunday, some seven years after getting the axe on broadcast television.

“Arrested Development” tells the story of the riches-to-rags dysfunctional Bluth family, led by well-intentioned son Michael, played by Jason Bateman, who cannot sort out their lives after Bluth patriarch George Sr. is jailed for fraud.

Netflix, which has been adding original shows to its online television and film library, will make the entire 15-episode season available at 12:01 a.m. PST on Sunday, harnessing the trend of viewers “binge-watching” TV series online and through DVDs.

The new season of the Emmy-winning series was written with binge-watchers in mind, Bateman, 44, told Reuters.

“This notion that you can release an entire season of a television show on one day, and people can take their time to watch it or they can binge, informed the actual writing of this whole story,” he said.

The actor said that the new season would be similar to “one big episode,” just told in 15 half-hour segments with storylines that are “completely intertwined and braided.”

“There are certain scenes that repeat in multiple episodes but are told from a different angle. That’s just something you couldn’t do on broadcast television,” Bateman said.

The show picks up seven years after the third season finished in 2006, and centers on Michael, hamstrung by his own pride and trying to piece his life back together as his son George Michael (Michael Cera) heads off to college.

“The seven years have been really tough on Michael as they have been on the rest of the family,” Bateman said. “He’s just trying to keep his head above water and not become an embarrassment like the rest of his family.”

Although the critically praised series was canceled by the Fox network in 2006 due to poor ratings, “Arrested Development” was raised to cult status by the legions of fans who had discovered the show on DVD and Netflix.

Ahead of the new season, thousands of fans have lined up in New York and Los Angeles this month in a promotion for free chocolate-covered frozen bananas from the replica Bluth banana stand, famous in the show for containing emergency cash hidden in its walls by George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor).

George Sr.’s catch phrase, “There’s always money in the banana stand,” even made it onto the floor of Canada’s House of Commons during debate this month over billions of dollars in unbudgeted money.

The new series will see returning cast members including Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale and David Cross, and will feature several guest appearances including by Minnelli reviving her role as Lucille II, Ben Stiller as magician Tony Wonder and new additions Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen.

The intention, once the show was canceled by Fox, was for creator Mitchell Hurwitz to develop “Arrested Development” into a film, but the years dragged on and the movie version never came to fruition. Bateman said there was never a doubt among the cast that the scheming Bluths would make a comeback.

“It was just a matter of timing,” he said. “We (the cast) had been talking about it every couple of months for seven years, so it always seemed like it was right around the corner.”

While “Arrested Development” is a redemption story of a loved show that fell victim to Hollywood’s economic hammer, it has also in part become a launching pad for its actors, especially Bateman, Arnett and Cera.

“Mitch just sort of handed all of us a career,” said Bateman, whose star had languished after several poor-performing TV sitcoms in the 1990s. Following “Arrested Development” he has landed prominent roles in films such as “Juno” in 2007, “Up in the Air” in 2009 and “Horrible Bosses” in 2011.

“I was given a second chance,” he said. “I really wasn’t doing anything before this show and it kind of hit the reset button for me and got rid of a lot of baggage I had associated with my name. My name was no longer in my way but a little more of an asset.”

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‘Behind the Candelabra’
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Stars: Matt Damon, Michael Douglas
Premieres on HBO this Sunday, May 26
4 (out of 5) Globes

“Behind the Candelabra” is not the first TV movie about flamboyant piano man Liberace and his secret decade-long relationship with his “chauffeur” Scott Thorson. In 1988, a year after Liberace’s death from AIDS-related complications, dueling television films aired. Campfests, they reminded the people of that era of their lousy gaydar — that mainstream society had allowed a lifelong bachelor who rocked flowing robes and heavy rings on each finger to become the world’s highest paid entertainer. Steven Soderbergh’s new film — and possibly his last — isn’t quite as crass. Like some of the director’s recent work, it’s detached and slyly intelligent, even as it subscribes to a tried-and-true genre structure.

In this case, it finds him making his twist on a bad relationship movie. Matt Damon plays Thorson, a strapping animal trainer with a Farah Fawcett flip ‘do who meets Liberace (Michael Douglas) when he’s 18. (Damon, incidentally, is 42.) The two wind up together for a decade, some of it warm and magical, much of it unpleasant and nightmarish. Liberace grants him access to his world of tacky excess, but it won’t be long until the fiftysomething sugar daddy, already obsessed with his own decaying looks, starts eyeing newer models.

Richard LaGravenese’s script deserves a lot of credit for not shying away from gay content, which is one reason this is playing on HBO, not in the nation’s multiplexes. But it follows the expected trajectory: The polite, vaguely stupid Thorson eventually succumbs to “Boogie Nights”-style coke tirades. But Soderbergh’s cold and bemused tone neutralizes the insanity. Gaudy jewelry, hirsute men and Roman columns become matter-of-fact, just part of Thorson’s day-to-day. He also brings out some of the story’s weirder elements. The craziest tidbit is that Liberace convinced Thorson to undergo plastic surgery to look more like him. Soderbergh’s characters regularly delude themselves, but here they do it through plastic surgery, even if the process makes them look like freaky gargoyles. (Damon’s fake nose is creepy, but it’s got nothing on the squinty look frozen on Rob Lowe’s predatory plastic surgeon’s face.)

Predictably, Douglas walks off with the movie. It’s not just an impersonation, but a performance that finds notes of vulnerability (and monstrousness) buried under pounds of affectation and furs. But don’t discount Damon. The real Thorson may have been an idiot — he currently sits in jail for credit card fraud — but as portrayed by Damon, he’s thick without being an idiot, as though he was aware he was making bad decisions but not smart enough to think of a way out that didn’t involve drugs and tantrums.

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Not too long ago, it would have seemed unlikely that someone like Michael Douglas — a man’s man known for sexy movies with Glenn Close and Sharon Stone — would play Liberace, the gaudy piano star who somehow tricked the world into thinking he was straight as an arrow. Times have changed, and now Douglas is doing a movie where he makes out and has sex with Matt Damon. (It’s still only premiering on HBO this Sunday, not on every multiplex screen. But it’s a start.) “Behind the Candelabra,” in which he plays the entertainer in the latter part of his life, also reunites him with his “Traffic” director, Steven Soderbergh.

What are your memories of Liberace?
I met him once, briefly, when I was 12. At the time, my father [Kirk Douglas] owned a house in Palm Springs, close to Lee Liberace’s home. One sunny day, this Rolls Royce stopped in front of the house and Lee stepped out. He was wearing lots of gold and the sunlight was reflecting off his jewelry. He was a sort of pre-Elton John. He invited that style. He was a charming man. He loved entertaining and beautiful things.

How did Steven Soderbergh convince you to do the part?
In 2001, when we were filming “Traffic,” Steven asked me, “Have you ever thought of doing something about Liberace?” I wondered how that character could possibly make him think of me. I was a bit paranoid at the time, so I tried to thank him and slip away! But then, years later, Steven came across this book, “Behind the Candelabra.” Richard LaGravenese, the scriptwriter, showed it to Matt Damon, telling him he would be [Liberace's lover] Scott [Thorson] and I, Liberace. This happened right after my cancer, and offering me this role was a great gift. I will be eternally grateful to Matt and Steven for waiting until I got better.

How did you identify with this role?
I normally play the bad or ambiguous guy. But once you start doing your research on Lee, you realize that he was a generous man. It’s the first time that I play a famous character. I was a bit nervous at first because Lee was a strong Polish guy, much bigger and more built than me. So for me, it was all about getting his voice right. I watched documentaries and as I don’t play the piano, I focused on mimicking his hand gestures.

How did you get the physical look of Liberace?
When we first saw the masks, we were horrified! It was like we had just walked out of a plastic surgery! But it had to look as real as possible and so we spent a lot of time in the makeup chair. And before you know it, everything seems to come together. You put on the right outfit, have the right hairdo and there you go. It was a wonderful experience.

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Is anyone surprised ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2’ leads the movie categories for most Teen Choice 2013 nominations?

The awards show, which celebrates the hottest teen icons in television, film, music, sports, fashion and comedy announced this year’s nominees.

The awards show will be broadcast on FOX on Sunday, August 11.

As of today, teens can vote one a day per category. The full list of nominees is below:

MOVIES
Choice Movie: Action
“G.I. Joe: Retaliation”
“Iron Man 3”
“Skyfall”
“The Bourne Legacy”
“The Dark Knight Rises”

Choice Movie Actor: Action
Christian Bale, “The Dark Knight Rises”
Daniel Craig, “Skyfall”
Robert Downey, Jr., “Iron Man 3”
Chris Hemsworth, “Red Dawn”
Dwayne Johnson, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”

Choice Movie Actress: Action
Jessica Biel, “Total Recall”
Anne Hathaway, “The Dark Knight Rises”
Adrianne Palicki, “G.I. Joe: Retaliation”
Gwyneth Paltrow, “Iron Man 3”
Rachel Weisz, “The Bourne Legacy”

Choice Movie: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
“Beautiful Creatures”
“Iron Man 3”
“Oblivion”
“Oz the Great and Powerful”
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”

Choice Movie Actor: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Tom Cruise, “Oblivion”
Robert Downey, Jr., “Iron Man 3”
James Franco, “Oz the Great and Powerful”
Taylor Lautner, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”
Robert Pattinson, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”

Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Mila Kunis, “Oz the Great and Powerful”
Gwyneth Paltrow, “Iron Man 3”
Saoirse Ronan, “The Host”
Kristen Stewart, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”
Michelle Williams, “Oz the Great and Powerful”

Choice Movie: Drama
“Argo”
“Les Misérables”
“The Great Gatsby”
“The Impossible”
“The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

Choice Movie Actor: Drama
Ben Affleck, “Argo”
Bradley Cooper, “The Words”
Leonardo DiCaprio, “The Great Gatsby”
Hugh Jackman, “Les Misérables”
Logan Lerman, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”

Choice Movie Actress: Drama
Halle Berry, “The Call”
Anne Hathaway, “Les Misérables”
Carey Mulligan, “The Great Gatsby”
Emma Watson, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”

Choice Movie: Comedy
“Identity Thief”
“Peeples”
“Pitch Perfect”
“The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”
“Warm Bodies”

Choice Movie Actor: Comedy
Skylar Astin, “Pitch Perfect”
Jason Bateman, “Identity Thief”
Steve Carell, “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”
Nicholas Hoult, “Warm Bodies”
Craig Robinson, “Peeples”

Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
Anna Kendrick, “Pitch Perfect”
Melissa McCarthy, “Identity Thief”
Kerry Washington, “Peeples”
Olivia Wilde, “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone”
Rebel Wilson, “Pitch Perfect”

Choice Movie: Romance
“Beautiful Creatures”
“Les Misérables”
“Safe Haven”
“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”
“Warm Bodies”

Choice Movie Actor: Romance
Josh Duhamel, “Safe Haven”
Alden Ehrenreich, “Beautiful Creatures”
Nicholas Hoult, “Warm Bodies”
Robert Pattinson, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”
Eddie Redmayne, “Les Misérables”

Choice Movie Actress: Romance
Jessica Biel, “Playing for Keeps”
Alice Englert, “Beautiful Creatures”
Julianne Hough, “Safe Haven”
Amanda Seyfried, “Les Misérables”
Kristen Stewart, “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2”

TELEVISION
Choice TV Show: Drama
“Gossip Girl”
“Nashville”
“Pretty Little Liars”
“Revenge”
“Switched At Birth”

Choice TV Actor: Drama
Penn Badgley, “Gossip Girl”
Joshua Bowman, “Revenge”
Lucas Grabeel, “Switched At Birth”
Ian Harding, “Pretty Little Liars”
Nick Wechsler, “Revenge”

Choice TV Actress: Drama
Troian Bellisario, “Pretty Little Liars”
Blake Lively, “Gossip Girl”
Vanessa Marano, “Switched At Birth”
Hayden Panettiere, “Nashville”
Emily VanCamp, “Revenge”

Choice TV Show: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
“Arrow”
“Beauty and The Beast”
“Once Upon a Time”
“Supernatural”
“The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Actor: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Jensen Ackles, “Supernatural”
Stephen Amell, “Arrow”
Jared Padalecki, “Supernatural”
Ian Somerhalder, “The Vampire Diaries”
Paul Wesley, “The Vampire Diaries”

Choice TV Actress: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Katie Cassidy, “Arrow”
Nina Dobrev, “The Vampire Diaries”
Ginnifer Goodwin, “Once Upon a Time”
Kat Graham, “The Vampire Diaries”
Kristin Kreuk, “Beauty and the Beast”

Choice TV Show: Action
“Chicago Fire”
“Elementary”
“Hawaii Five-0”
“NCIS: Los Angeles”
“Nikita”

Choice TV Actor: Action
Scott Caan, “Hawaii Five-0”
LL Cool J, “NCIS: Los Angeles”
Jonny Lee Miller, “Elementary”
Jesse Spencer, “Chicago Fire”
Shane West, “Nikita”

Choice TV Actress: Action
Lyndsy Fonseca, “Nikita”
Lucy Liu, “Elementary”
Grace Park, “Hawaii Five-0”
Maggie Q, “Nikita”
Monica Raymund, “Chicago Fire”

Choice TV Show: Comedy
“The Big Bang Theory”
GLEE
“Modern Family”
NEW GIRL
“Suburgatory”

Choice TV Actor: Comedy
Chris Colfer, GLEE
Jake Johnson, NEW GIRL
Ashton Kutcher, “Two And a Half Men”
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory”
Eric Stonestreet, “Modern Family”

Choice TV Actress: Comedy
Kaley Cuoco, “The Big Bang Theory”
Zooey Deschanel, NEW GIRL
Mindy Kaling, THE MINDY PROJECT
Lea Michele, GLEE
Bridgit Mendler, “Good Luck Charlie”

Choice TV: Animated Show
“Adventure Time”
BOB’S BURGERS
FAMILY GUY
“Gravity Falls”
THE SIMPSONS

Choice TV: Reality Competition Show
AMERICAN IDOL
“The Bachelor”
“Dancing with the Stars”
“The Voice”
THE X FACTOR

Choice TV: Reality Show
“Dance Moms”
“Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”
“Keeping Up with the Kardashians”
“Married to Jonas”
“Tia & Tamera”

MUSIC
Choice Male Artist
Justin Bieber
Bruno Mars
Phillip Phillips
Pitbull
Justin Timberlake

Choice Female Artist
Selena Gomez
Demi Lovato
Pink
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Choice Music Group
Big Time Rush
fun.
Maroon 5
One Direction
The Wanted

Choice R&B Artist
Beyoncé
Alicia Keys
Bruno Mars
Miguel
Trey Songz

Choice Hip-Hop/Rap Artist
Drake
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Nicki Minaj
Pitbull
Kanye West

Choice Rock Group
AWOLNATION
Imagine Dragons
Mumford & Sons
Paramore
The Lumineers

Choice Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Artist
Deadmau5
David Guetta
Calvin Harris
Kaskade
Skrillex
Swedish House Mafia

Choice Male Country Artist
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Hunter Hayes
Blake Shelton

Choice Female Country Artist
Jana Kramer
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Choice Country Group
Florida Georgia Line
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Thompson Square

FASHION
Choice Female Hottie
Miley Cyrus
Megan Fox
Selena Gomez
Mila Kunis
Demi Lovato

Choice Male Hottie
Justin Bieber
Liam Hemsworth
Taylor Lautner
Harry Styles
Channing Tatum

Choice Smile
Selena Gomez
Taylor Lautner
Demi Lovato
Harry Styles
Taylor Swift

SPORTS
Choice Female Athlete
Gabby Douglas
Missy Franklin
Alex Morgan
Danica Patrick
Lindsey Vonn
Serena Williams

Choice Male Athlete
David Beckham
LeBron James
Colin Kaepernick
Michael Phelps
Shaun White

Choice Comedian
Ellen DeGeneres
Jimmy Fallon
Melissa McCarthy
Daniel Tosh
Rebel Wilson

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Oscar winner Ang Lee canceled his plans to direct the pilot of new television series “Tyrant,” saying on Tuesday that he needed to rest after spending four years working on 3D fantasy-adventure film “Life of Pi.”

Lee, 58, signed on to direct the pilot of the drama series for cable network FX in March, shortly after winning the Best Director Oscar for “Life of Pi.”

“It is one of the most brilliant ideas for a series that I’ve seen and one about which I was very excited,” Lee said in a statement. “However, after spending over four years making and promoting ‘Life of Pi,’ I have recently realized that I need some rest.”

“Tyrant” tells the story of an American family that is pulled into the workings of a restive Middle Eastern nation, and Lee was slated to begin filming the pilot this summer.

It would have been the Taiwanese-born director’s first foray into television.

“Tyrant” is produced by Howard Gordon and Gideon Raff, who also are producers on Showtime’s Emmy-winning counter-terrorism thriller “Homeland.”

FX did not immediately reply to messages seeking comment.

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