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NBC, ‘Lights’ gang party on a Beverly Hills heliport
You forget just how skinny and busty the women in Hollywood are until times like these. And how unnaturally tan and white-toothed the men and the women are. It’s a miracle more people aren’t poisoned by dental bleach out here.
I mention this because NBC’s all-star party last night, high atop the Beverly Hilton Hotel, drew a hugely thin, busty, tan, white-toothed crowd. The shindig was held on the hotel’s heliport, which had been transformed into a lavish open-air cocktail bar and buffet.
Celebrating the premiere success of “The Singing Bee” (a reality show that rates remembering lyrics over vocal pipes), the Peacock’s entertainment for the evening featured “Bee” host Joey Fatone conducting a mini-contest with a couple of critics (not me) and a couple of new-show stars. Deeply embarrassing. Dancing wildly in the background were the scantily clad Honey Bees in teensy black-and-yellow bras and matching micro-minis. I was alternately amused and terrified. What if a helicopter with Paris Hilton on board had wanted to land? The pilot could have been felled by hysterical blindness from this bizarre sight.
What can you say about a party with a red carpet, jostling paparazzi and a star roster that included David Hasselhoff (not drinking, as far as we could tell), Bob Costas, John Madden, John Stamos and hordes of actors from various NBC comedies and dramas — especially “Heroes” and the blissfully normal looking folks from “Lights?” What can you say? Plenty.
Our hometown “Lights” folks send regards and say they can’t wait to come back to Austin and start filming the second season Thursday. These folks, though extraordinarily pretty and smart, just look and act like real people. Maybe it’s the Central Texas air …
Connie Britton on the nurturing, sexy and staunchly independent Tami Taylor:
“There’s something about Southern women. They’re strong and feisty but with a sense of humor. In the beginning, we weren’t sure where the character would go, but I think having her become a high-school guidance counselor helped.”
Britton on what might be the best marriage portrayal on television:
“Kyle and I agreed we wanted to be real partners in that marriage. … He’s a really wonderful husband — I mean to his wife, in real life. It’s not rocket science what we do. We just really clicked. We make each other laugh.”
Britton on the possibility of an Emmy:
“That’s the most horrifying thought. I’ll be in Austin on Thursday. Hopefully I’ll be asleep when they’re announced. It would certainly be great for the show. If we get one, that’s cool.”
Zach Gilford, who plays quarterback Matt Saracen, on the show’s small but ardent band of followers:
“People are either obsessed with the show or say they haven’t seen it but heard it’s really good.” In the Seattle airport, a man from Zimbabwe came up to him and lavished praise.
Minka Kelly (Lyla Garrity, who cheated on her paralyzed boyfriend with his best friend), on reactions she gets:
“I knew I was not going to be the favorite character when I saw the first few scripts. I’ve had a lot of fingers pointed in my face. Lyla doesn’t fit the cheerleader stereotype.”
Scott Porter (Jason Street, paralyzed former quarterback of the Dillon Panthers) on living in our fair city:
“Filming in Austin allows us to bring more reality to our characters. We’ve invested ourselves in the community of Austin and the state of Texas. We love it there.”
Kyle Chandler (Coach Eric Taylor) on Emmys and good ol’ Buddy Garrity:
“I think about the Emmys but only because people keep asking about them. This is far different from anything I’ve done.” Chandler says hanging out with Dallasite Brad Leland, who plays Buddy Garrity, helped him “get Texan.” The two play golf together.
CBS takes over next … gotta go track down Jimmy Smits, who has a new show in the fall. Poor me.
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Comments
By austinights
July 18, 2007 1:25 PM | Link to this
I really enjoy FNL. It started out a bit hard on the eyes with the shaky camera, but they finally toned that down a bit. NBC didn't do it any favors moving it around so much and matching it up against American Idol. However, for the fact that it still had 7 million viewers against AI says a lot. Other shows were cancelled on other nights with no competition - and big names attached to them. I welcome a Season 2 - and if you don't like show - you can always get a DVD.