June 29, 2004
Dule Hill 'all in' to help beat leukemia
By John Morgan, Spotlight Health, with medical adviser Stephen A. Shoop, M.D.
USA Today
While there is rarely ever a 'sure thing,' predicting that The West Wing will be nominated for an Emmy is a pretty solid bet. Dule Hill, who plays Charlie Young on the Emmy-winning drama, hopes that his luck holds when he plays in the Celebrity Poker Showdown championship.
"You can't ask for a better situation," says Hill, who is getting married next month. "You play with fake money so going 'all in' really isn't as stressful as betting with real money, and you get to win money for your favorite charity while having a lot of fun."
But having fun was only a small part of game for Hill. Raising money and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society was the real payoff.
"My friend Will Young is battling leukemia right now," states Hill, who kept the specifics of his friend's illness private. "So hopefully my playing for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society will raise awareness about the disease and help more people like Will."
Hill already helped his friend by winning his opening poker match and is now in the finals of the second Celebrity Poker Showdown tournament. The show airs on Bravo Thursday, July 1, at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Squaring off against Hill is Men in Black II star Rosario Dawson, Michael Ian Black from Ed, Gilmore Girl's Lauren Graham, and ER's Maura Tierney.
"The winner gets $100,000 for their charity so it's really important to all of us," says Hill, who collected $5,000 for his first victory. "But it is a lot more important that Will gets better. He has one of the more curable types of leukemia so that is the good news."
Leukemia is cancer of the bone marrow and blood. In 2004 there will be approximately 30,600 new cases of leukemia. According to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, an estimated 178,000 Americans are currently living with the disease which strikes men slightly more (58%) than women. Caucasians have the highest incidence of leukemia, while Japanese, Koreans and Chinese have the lowest. In 2003, it is estimated that leukemia killed nearly 22,000 Americans.
Leukemia odds
While the cause of leukemia is not yet known, long-term exposure to benzene, an organic solvent, and exposure to high doses of radiation are two known causes of the disease.
There are four major types of leukemia. The most common types of adult leukemia include:
Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) accounting for about 10,500 new cases yearly
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) approximately 7,300 new cases annually
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) about 4,300 persons each year
Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) an estimated 3,600 cases in 2004.
Signs of acute leukemia include an elevated white blood cell count and low red blood cell count (anemia). Symptoms tend to be non-specific but often include fatigue. Frequently the platelet count is also low, which can cause mild spontaneous skin bleeding and/or bruising.
Acute leukemia usually presents with the patient knowing something is wrong with them because they feel weak and unwell. Chronic leukemia is sometimes diagnosed during an annual medical exam or after a complaint for an unrelated problem because the patient doesn't feel ill.
"We do blood cell counts and sometimes a bone marrow examination to confirm the diagnosis," says Marshall Lichtman, a hematologist and executive vice president for research and medical programs at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. "Most of the time the blood work confirms the diagnosis."
Hill says his friend's diagnosis was a shock, but the leukemia has responded to treatment.
"Will was diagnosed earlier this year," Hill states. "Thankfully, he is doing well. He told me a few weeks ago that he's in remission. But there are a lot of variables and while he might not need a bone marrow transplant, we're staying very prayerful anyway."
Fortunately for Young, the leukemia survival rate has more than tripled in the last 40 years. In the early 1960s, patient had a five-year survival rate of 14%. In 1999, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society reports that survival rates have increased to:
ALL: 63.5% overall; 85% for children
CLL: 73.5%
AML: 18.7%; 46% for children
CML: 34.9%
Acute leukemia almost universally requires prompt treatment within hours to a few days. Chemotherapy and multiple drugs are used to try to bring about complete remission of the disease.
"Children tolerate the treatment much better than older patients," states Lichtman, who is also a professor at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. "But it is still quite an arduous treatment using very potent drugs and causes a very severe suppression of the blood cell-making function of the bone marrow. Usually patients require red cell and platelet transfusions."
Winning hand
The "wonder drug" imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) is principally used for chronic myelogenous leukemia.
"It is the treatment of choice right now," Lichtman notes. "It has been astounding, because people who were not responding to the first line therapies respond to Gleevec."
According to Lichtman, previous front line therapies were also very difficult to use in older adults because they needed to be administered by injection at least three times a week and produced strong side effects like depression and flu-like symptoms.
"Gleevec is a pill that is better tolerated by older adults and is very efficacious," Lichtman explains. "A very high proportion of people normalizes their blood counts and can go on about their lives."
Lichtman cautions that Gleevec does have some side effects. Skin rashes and edema (swelling) around the eyes and other places are the most notable.
And Gleevec is far from a 'sure thing.'
"We are not out far enough to know the five-year survival rates yet," Lichtman explains. "The sense is that Gleevec is going to prolong the lives of patients with the disease. There is also a sense that it is unlikely to be curative in most people. Only a very small number of patients have no detectable residual disease after taking the drug, and some people do develop a resistance to Gleevec."
Lichtman says that the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will be spending about $45 million in the next fiscal year on research to find better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma, including new ways of combining Gleevec with other drugs to prevent resistance and achieve better leukemia treatment results.
An even better result is what Hill hopes will be in the cards when the finals arrive.
"I need some more lucky cards," says Hill, who is looking forward to the next season of The West Wing. "Whatever I win goes directly to help the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. I just want Will to get better and for people to help support finding a cure for leukemia."
June 26, 2004
Hey dude, like, aren't you dead?
by Brad Schmitt
Tennessean.com
Actor John Amos is in town, and he reports that he's scaring people.
You see, in addition to being J.J.'s dad in the 1970s series Good Times, John plays Adm. Percy Fitzwallace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on The West Wing. Or rather, John played the role.
His character was killed during an overseas mission at the end of this season. And when people see him, they sometimes feel like they're seeing a ghost. This has happened several times at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
''I have to reassure people that I'm all right and they're all right,'' he said yesterday, laughing.
John also said there was no ceremony to the end of his five-year run on The West Wing. He said he was on some steps reading a newspaper and eating a breakfast burrito when one of the show's directors approached him.
''He said, 'Hey John, how's the burrito? Oh, hey, did I tell you we're killing Fitzwallace?' It was just like that,'' John said.
''I said, 'Why's that?' 'We wanted to create a cliffhanger,' '' John said.
''Well, I don't know about that. Cliffhanger. I'm sure my creditors and ex-wife are going to have a cliffhanger wondering if they're going to get the next checks.''
So why is John here ?
Amos might bring celestial show to town
Did you know that John Amos (The West Wing, Good Times, The Mary Tyler Moore Show) used to be a social worker?
John has a foundation that helps keep arts education in public schools, and that mission brought him to town this week. Of all the wacky worlds-collide things, John, through a series of mutual friends, knows the manager for young Russian country act Bering Strait.
And it seems that John and that manager, one Mike Kinnamon, share a love of kids, so they'll be working together on some fund raising.
Among the ideas: John wants to bring his one-man show for kids, Haley's Comet, to Nashville. In the show, John plays an 80-something man who will have seen Haley's Comet twice in his life, describing how life has changed between comet sightings. Might he combine that with some musical numbers from Bering Strait?
''Now that would be incredible. The musicianship of those kids. They're extraordinary.''
I'll keep you posted.
June 21, 2004
Sorkin Drafted for War
Tom Hanks and his Playtone shingle bring on former West Wing-er Aaron Sorkin for political adaptation.
By Mark Umbach
filmstew.com
Moving from The West Wing to Congress and the CIA, Aaron Sorkin has been recruited by Universal Pictures to adapt the George Crile novel Charlie Wilson's War about the U.S.' help in mobilizing the Afghanis after they were invaded by the Soviet Union. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are producing the project under their Playtone banner, which has been beefing up its slate of American historical projects.
Crile's book focuses on womaninzing, liberal Texas congressman Charlie Wilson and rebellious CIA agent Gust Avrakatos who helped bring arms and training into Afghanistan to help fight off the Soviet invasion. In doing so, the U.S./Afghan alliance took the first step in ending the Cold War. At the same time, however, they helped arm and bring to power the Taliban and terrorists - including Osama bin Laden.
Playtone picked up rights to the novel last year. Damien Saccani and Megan Gerard will now oversee the project's production and development for Universal.
Universal and Playtone have been hoping to land Sorkin for the adaptation since they came together on the project. He will adapt the script after completing a play at Dublin's Abbey Theater. This is the second feature writing project Sorkin has taken since leaving his Emmy-winning West Wing. He recently scripted The Farnsworth Invention for New Line. In addition, he's in the midst of creating a new drama for CBS focusing on the behind-the-scenes drama of a sketch comedy show.
Sorkin is repped by Endeavor.
June 18, 2004
Sorkin to draft Uni Pics' 'War'
By Borys Kit
Hollywood Reporter
"The West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin will write an adaptation
of "Charlie Wilson's War," a nonfiction book by George Crile. Tom
Hanks and Gary Goetzman are producing through their Playtone banner,
while Universal Pictures will distribute.
"War" is the story of the CIA's covert operation in Afghanistan to
arm the mujahedeen. It was engineered by Charlie Wilson, a
charismatic, womanizing, liberal Texas congressman who teamed up with
a rogue CIA operative named Gust Avrakatos. The two manipulated
Congress, the CIA and a host of foreign governments in order to
assist the Afghan rebels in their fight against the Soviets in the
1980s. Universal and Playtone optioned the book in July.
Universal vp production Damien Saccani and creative executive Megan
Gerard are overseeing.
Sorkin recently sold "The Farnsworth Invention" to New Line for a
reported $2.5 million against 3% of the gross. Sources said the "War"
deal is comparable. Sorkin's other credits include writing "A Few
Good Men" and "The American President" and creating the critically
acclaimed TV show "Sports Night." He also is writing a play for the
Abbey Theatre in Dublin, Ireland.
June 13, 2004
Alison Janney, Fiance Enjoy Summer Romance
By Chris Gardner
Hollywood Reporter
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "It is hot in Tennessee," Allison Janney says in a slow, Southern drawl, perfected for a little independent film called "Our Very Own" but dampened by the 100-plus degree temperatures.
The Emmy-winning "West Wing" actress doesn't sound at all irritated by the heat or the work, and maybe it's because she's in love with her co-star. Janney got engaged in early May to actor Richard Jenik, and the two are spending part of their summer vacation working together for the first time on film.
"This is especially great," she says by phone from the set. "It's our dear friend's movie, Cameron Watson, and it's about his time growing up here in Shelbyville. (All of us on the project) are all very good friends, and it's a dream come true. The fact that Richard and I are working together for the first time, and we got to do a scene together that wasn't written in the original script but the director let us put in so we could do something together. It was great experience, and I hope we have many more. I think it's so rare when couples get to work on projects together."
"And stay a couple," Jenik finishes, as they both laugh.
It's clear they plan on staying together and hopefully, as Janney says, continue to work together. The two met through a mutual friend about six years ago and have been dating for the past 18 months. Up next for Janney and Jenik is a trip to visit their respective parents, training their new dog, Chauncey, and planning the upcoming nuptials.
"My 'West Wing' schedule leaves open basically Christmas and next hiatus, so we're trying to figure it out unless we go to Vegas and do it on the sly," Janney says.
Just like Britney Spears. "Hopefully ours will last a little longer," Jenik remarks.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Be bold, go cable
By Charlie McCollum
San Jose Mercury-News
TO: THE ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS & SCIENCES MEMBERS:
Over the past few days, you've gotten your ballots for this year's Emmy award nominations. You've already been swamped with tapes and DVDs and ``for your consideration'' ads. Now, you've got 10 days to make your picks.
I know that, in some ways, yours is a thankless job. Every year, you guys get beat up by TV writers (myself included) and average viewers for nominating the wrong shows and performers, ignoring the new and the innovative and giving out nominations on past reputation, not current quality. (I won't even get into the final vote and those irritating little glitches like ``The Sopranos'' never having won the Emmy for best drama.)
So, helpful person that I am, here are a few small suggestions as you contemplate whom and what to nominate:
Don't be afraid to go all-cable
A lot of you work for the big broadcast networks, for studios that produce those shows or for outside companies that depend on the networks for much of their work. Plus you have a lot of friends who also depend on the networks for their livelihoods.
That makes the pressure to ensure a heavy network representation among the Emmy nominees pretty intense.
Here's my advice: Don't cave in to that pressure. In your heart of hearts, you know that most of what's really good on TV these days is on cable, and that's true this year more than ever.
Take best drama, just as an example.
There are really only two network dramas worth considering: Fox's ``24'' and CBS's ``Without a Trace.'' It didn't help the networks' cause that they managed to ax (quickly) some of their best stuff: ``Boomtown,'' ``Karen Sisco,'' ``Wonderfalls.''
But the fact remains that everything else that's truly worthy of consideration is cable-produced: ``The Sopranos,'' ``The Wire'' and ``Deadwood'' on HBO, and FX's ``The Shield'' and ``Nip/Tuck.'' You won't embarrass yourself by nominating ``24'' or ``Trace,'' but you would be wrong.
Forget `The West Wing'
Speaking of tough calls, it's time to leave out one of television's most-honored shows.
``West Wing'' has won four straight Emmys for best drama and a fistful of other Emmys for acting, directing and writing. That, however, was when creator Aaron Sorkin was applying his distinctive voice to the White House drama.
But Sorkin departed at the end of last season, and ``West Wing'' is now, at best, merely a solid piece of dramatic work, not one of TV's best. An occasional episode still has some of the old flair, and the series has retained its core cast, one of the best ensembles in television history.
Still, anyone who catches repeats of early ``West Wing'' episodes on Bravo quickly realizes just how much Sorkin's snap, crackle and pop was missed this past year. It's almost like watching two totally different shows.
Try something different
With ``West Wing'' slumping and HBO's ``Six Feet Under'' ineligible this year, there's lots of room to bring in some fresh names to the drama categories.
Over and beyond adding shows such as ``The Shield,'' ``Nip/Tuck'' and ``Deadwood'' for best drama, how about tossing in Ian McShane, the complex bad guy from ``Deadwood,'' and Dylan Walsh, the troubled plastic surgeon from ``Nip/Tuck,'' for best actor? We know Edie Falco of ``The Sopranos'' is a lock for best actress, but newcomers such as Amber Tamblyn of ``Joan of Arcadia'' and Kathryn Morris of ``Cold Case'' are not only worthy but would certainly freshen up the proceedings.
And pay attention to some very good supporting actors who may not immediately come to mind, such as Clea Duvall, the best thing about HBO's ``Carnivale,'' and -- yes -- Adam Brody for his terrific turn on ``The O.C.''
While you're at it, apply the same mindset to comedy.
Acknowledge the fact that both ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' and ``Curb Your Enthusiasm'' had off years. Don't get caught up in any nostalgia wave over the departed ``Friends.'' Its Emmy-worthy season was two years ago, and this season was pretty much sitcom-by-the-numbers. And speaking of comedies whose best years are behind them, don't cast a ballot for ``Will & Grace'' by reflex.
That leaves you lots of room to add new shows (Fox's brilliant ``Arrested Development,'' ``Reno 911!'' on Comedy Central) and to honor an older series that should have been nominated in the past -- CBS's criminally under-appreciated ``The King of Queens.'' Plus there will be slots in the acting categories for the likes of Kerri Kenney from ``Reno,'' the never-nominated Leah Remini from ``King,'' Jason Bateman of ``Arrested'' and even Kelly Ripa from ABC's ``Hope & Faith.''
One note, though: While emphasizing the newcomers, don't forget ``Frasier'' and ``Sex and the City.'' Both had strong final seasons, going out on much higher notes than ``Friends.''
So that's my two cents ``for your consideration.'' And, remember, I'll have my ``whupping'' stick ready for action when the nominations are announced July 15.
June 10, 2004
GoldPocket Teams Up with Bravo TV to Enable One of the First Short Messaging Services Campaigns on the Enhanced Sprint Nationwide PCS Network
Sprint and Bravo Move into "The West Wing" Re-broadcasts with the "Sound Off" Effort Designed to Poll Viewers on Election and Quickly Inform Them of Results
Business Wire
Fans of the Emmy Award-winning "The West Wing" who have Sprint wireless phone service will now have the opportunity to participate in one of the first Sprint Text Messaging events -- or Short Messaging Services (SMS) -- enabled by GoldPocket's EM Connect, beginning on Monday, June 14, 2004.
During airings of "The West Wing" re-broadcasts on Bravo (Mondays, 7-8 p.m. ET and 11 p.m.-12 a.m. ET) for the rest of June, viewers will be prompted on-air to answer polls in the spirit of the presidential election by "texting" their responses to short code BRAVO (27286). From commenting on past cast members to creating couples, the polls will ask questions that viewers are dying to answer. Results will be tabulated in real-time and then sent to participants so they can see how their opinion compares with that of other fans.
"Sprint has an avid installed base of customers using advanced mobile data services," said Scott Newnam, CEO of technology partner GoldPocket Interactive. "It is great to be able to provide them with a text messaging solution, and partnering with Bravo and Sprint to do it now is clearly a winning combination."
"We have been using GoldPocket's EM Connect to reach out to our audience, so allowing viewers to interact with us via their Sprint PCS phones seems like a natural extension," says Stephen Andrade, NBC Vice President of Interactive Development. "This gives our audience the ability to directly send us their feedback on specific questions related to 'The West Wing.' We're anxious to hear what they have to say."
The event is a strong link in the chain Bravo and Sprint are constructing to allow their customers an interactive method to provide feedback. Sprint customers can use Short Mail services, as well as two-way short messaging services (SMS) to participate in the campaign. Normal charges for messaging services will apply.
"Offering a variety of messaging services and providing the best possible customer experience for all of our advanced wireless data services is a priority for Sprint," said Jeff Hallock, Vice President of Consumer Marketing, Sprint. "By working with Bravo and GoldPocket, this new form of interactive messaging provides customers with another way to use their Sprint PCS phones besides talking and allows them to be more connected with what's hot in pop culture."
Bravo, an arts and culture network featuring a variety of compelling programming presented in an original and engaging way, is the television destination for viewers who want creativity, experimentation and innovation. Currently seen in more than 76 million homes, Bravo was the first service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. Today, Bravo offers innovative arts and entertainment programming with a unique point of view featuring original series, feature films (both independent and mainstream), theater, dance, music and documentaries. Bravo boasts critically acclaimed original programming -- including "Inside the Actors Studio," "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and "Cirque du Soleil" specials and series. The network's latest hits include the critically acclaimed improvisational sitcom "Significant Others," and the docu-series "Showbiz Moms & Dads."
Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal -- one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been a NBC Cable Network since December 2002.
Sprint is a global integrated communications provider serving more than 26 million customers in over 100 countries. With approximately 65,000 employees worldwide and over $26 billion in annual revenues in 2003, Sprint is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying state-of-the-art network technologies, including the United States' first nationwide all-digital, fiber-optic network and an award-winning Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint provides local communications services in 39 states and the District of Columbia and operates the largest 100-percent digital, nationwide PCS wireless network in the United States. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.
GoldPocket, the leading provider of advanced media technologies, develops and sells products and services that create, manage, and deliver digital and interactive media. The Company specializes in high performance advanced media systems used in digital television, PC/TV convergence systems, and wireless networks. The Company's customers include most of the world's largest media and distribution companies including Time Warner, NewsCorp, Disney, Viacom, DirecTV, and many television networks including CBS, Fox, NBC, GSN, A&E, History Channel, Spike TV, The WB, Speed Channel, PBS, AMC, TBS Superstation, CNN, Bravo, Fuse, and Lifetime.
June 03, 2004
Gilded Lily
by Bill Abdul
365Gay.com Entertainment
It's hard to imagine Lily Tomlin at the beach or gardening or just lounging around the house. She doesn't stop working long enough to do any of those things. Between movies, television and stage it's hard to think of her even sleeping.
Superstar in a Housedress is playing at theaters now. Tomlin provides the narration for this look at the life of gay performance star Jackie Curtis. I Heart Huckabee's is in post production and is expected at theaters later this year. A second film, Confederation of Dunces, was expected out later this year, but production is stalled. Meanwhile, she's heading back to the set of The West Wing.
For years has been the voice of Ms. Frizzle on the children's animated show "The Magic School Bus" and has, along with her life partner Jane Wagner, set up a cultural center that bears their names in Hollywood, part of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.
For any mere mortal the hectic schedule would make them old before their time. For Lily Tomlin it keeps her young. At 64 she looks ten years younger and usually has 30 year olds struggling to keep up.
It's hard to believe there is a whole generation who has never heard the phrase "one ringy dingy...two ringy dingies..." But 30 years ago it was a trendy little semi put down and the woman who created it, a major comedian.
Multi-talented performer and writer Lily Tomlin came to national attention in 1969 as a featured performer on the kaleidoscopic TV comedy show, "Laugh In". A gifted comedienne and actress, the long-faced, sharp-featured Tomlin created a memorable gallery of characters during her various stints on TV in the late 1960s and 70s, including the snide telephone operator, Ernestine, and the mischievous child, Edith Ann.
In 1975, she made a justly acclaimed dramatic film debut as the mother of two deaf children who has a brief affair with a womanizing country singer (Keith Carradine) in Robert Altman's penetrating "Nashville" (1975).
Her subsequent film work has been uneven, with sympathetic performances in Robert Benton's offbeat mystery, "The Late Show" (1977) and in the title role of Joel Schumacher's underrated comedy, "The Incredible Shrinking Woman" (1981), alongside starring roles in a number of forgettable features. One of Tomlin's most widely seen films was the employee's revenge fantasy farce "Nine to Five" (1980), in which her comic prowess easily outshone that of co-stars Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton.
Tomlin showcased her remarkable energy, versatility and talent as a sketch performer in the award-winning, one-woman Broadway show, "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe" (1986), which she committed to film in 1991.
Her feature career was revitalized when she received raves for her recreation of Nancy Kulp's Miss Hathaway in the hit film version of "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1993) and stood out among the ensemble of another Robert Altman panorama, "Short Cuts"(1993).
The subject of Tomlin's sexuality came up in 1995, when "Tales Of The City" author Armistead Maupin went public with a claim that she had backed out of a promise to publicly declare her lesbianism in return for his script "The Celluloid Closet," about Hollywood's treatment of gays and lesbians. Tomlin narrated the acclaimed film.
But, Tomlin waited to go public, and while the gossip business went into overdrive with the revelations about Ellen DeGeneres's relationship with Anne Heche, Tomlin quietly ended the speculation.
In an interview with US Weekly she confirmed her 30-year relationship with creative and romantic partner Jane Wagner.
"I don't like to talk about my private life in any detail, but I don't disavow my private life," she said in the interview.
Tomlin is as unpredictable in her private life as she is on stage or film.
She once dressed up disaster-courting Mrs. Beasley in a Red Cross uniform to hand out coffee and doughnuts to those camping out for tickets to her Broadway show, held court in supermarket lines and screwed her face up into the snorting operator Ernestine to make late-night practical joke calls.
"I'd call up and say, 'We're trying to humanize the image of the phone company,' and 'we're going to have the person who's the busy tone of the week,' and 'the person who is the dial tone of the week,' " Tomlin says.
She is still answering the telephone. This time for Pres. Bartlet. Tomlin signed on for a second season of ten episode on the NBC hit series The West Wing as Debbie Fiderer, Bartlet's Oval Office secretary .
'The West Wing' is still really high quality, even after Aaron left," she said of creator-guiding spirit Aaron Sorkin, who left the show after four seasons. "It's a very familial kind of set. Most of the cast has been together a long time, and they know they have a really great show."
In Tomlin's hands Fiderer is smart, gutsy and eccentric, and Tomlin, once again, reminds us what a treasure she is.
Tomlin admits she had daydreamed about a West Wing guest role, maybe as a tart-tongued political type modeled after former Texas governor Ann Richards.
''I liked the show immensely. I thought the writing was just terrific,'' she says of the series.
Little did she know at the time, the producers were looking for a replacement secretary for the president.
After Thomas Schlamme, an executive producer of The West Wing caught a performance of her show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe Tomlin was approached.
Some of Lily Tomlin's Best One Liners
"Reality is a crutch for people who can't cope with drugs."
"I worry that the person who thought up Muzak may be thinking up something else."
"I always wondered why somebody doesn't do something about that. Then I realized I was somebody."
"Don't be afraid of missing opportunities. Behind every failure is an opportunity somebody wishes they had missed."
"For fast acting relief, try slowing down."
"Reality is the leading cause of stress among those in touch with it."
"I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific."
©365Gay.com Ltd 2004
'West Wing' star Allison Janney engaged
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Allison Janney of "The West Wing" found her heart in San Francisco, where she and actor Richard Jenik became engaged to marry.
The couple, who live in Los Angeles and have dated for two years, were vacationing in the city May 17 when he popped the question, a spokesman for Janney said Tuesday.
Janney is a three-time Emmy winner for her role as press secretary C.J. Cregg on the NBC White House drama. Her workaholic character finds little time for love.
A wedding date was not announced. Jenik has appeared in TV series including "Home Improvement" and "The District" and in the 2002 film "Hidden Agenda."
'West Wing's' Whitford Makes 'Traveling' Plans
zap2it.com
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Bradley Whitford is taking a break from his White House duties to shoot a couple of films for the summer.
The "West Wing" actor will begin his hiatus by shooting the teen coming-of-age story "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Based on the novel by Ann Brashares of the same name, "Pants" centers on four teenage friends who must spend the summer apart for the first time. Although they are all different sizes and shapes, they can somehow magically fit the same pair of secondhand jeans perfectly. They decide to circulate these jeans among themselves on their respective vacations as a way to keep in touch.
Whitford will play opposite Nancy Travis ("Becker"), Alexis Bledel ("Gilmore Girls"), Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia"), Blake Lively, America Ferrera and Jenna Boyd ("The Missing").
Ken Kwapis will direct from Delia Ephron's script.
Whitford has also booked a part in the Regency Enterprises' romantic comedy "Little Manhattan." The Emmy-winning actor last appeared in 2001's "Kate & Leopold."
Sailors earn 15 seconds of fame on TV's "The West Wing"
by JOC Daniel Charles Ross
Naval Facilities Engineering Command
The Waterline
Dozens of U.S. Navy members on leave or liberty -- and hundreds more allied military and local civilians -- descended on historic St. Anne's Church May 10 to play small roles as "extras" in a filming of the popular television program "The West Wing."
The program involves the fictional administration of "President Jed Bartlet," played by acclaimed actor Martin Sheen.
"I'm a fan of the show, so it was a special treat to come out and spend the day with the cast," said Navy Lt. (SCW) Eileen D'Andrea, amphibious programs officer for the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Seabee Readiness department.
The scenes filmed at St. Anne's, an Episcopal congregation first established about 1695, involve the formal funeral ceremony for a Navy admiral. While no one on the show was commenting specifically, the only "admiral" regularly seen in this fictional White House is Adm. Percy Fitzwallace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, played by veteran actor John Amos.
Amos currently also appears on the WB Network program, "All About The Andersons."
Among Naval personnel volunteering their off time to be in the show were members of the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, who play a large part in several of the simulated funeral scenes. But for others, some only sitting in the church as "military background mourners," the brush with TV fame was less prominent.
"It was a long day of 'hurry up and wait.' It wasn't much different from a command inspection and change of command ceremony rolled into one long day," said Lt. Cmdr. Gregory Barringer. Seated in the front row of the church during a key shot, Barringer may survive the editing process and be seen in the program.
"The personal interaction with the headline stars made the event worth the effort and the 'extra's cameo' shot was an added bonus," he added. "It was a long eight-hour day for perhaps one or two minutes of usable footage. I am [still] standing by for my close up."
Show officials couldn't say when the funeral episode featuring Naval personnel would air. However, except for ceremonial guards, U.S. Navy participants were instructed to wear Service Dress Blue uniforms, telegraphing that the program will air in the next TV season at a time when the Navy has changed out of summer white uniforms.
According to www.tvtome.com, "The West Wing" debuted on the NBC network on Sept. 22, 1999. Through the fifth season ending May 19, NBC will have aired 112 shows. The show reportedly will return for a sixth season in the fall beginning with an episode titled "N.S.F. Thurmont."
Naval Support Facility Thurmont is the military designation for the presidential retreat popularly known as Camp David.
'West Wing' Romance? Actors Aren't in Love with It
zap2it.com
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - They've been dancing around the subject for five seasons now, and on the season finale of "The West Wing," it looks like White House staffers Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) might finally realize they're in love.
Unless, you know, they don't.
"I'm not sure this will turn into anything other than just a deeper part of their platonic relationship," Moss says of the two characters. "I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case."
The situation in Wednesday's (May 19) finale is certainly ripe for a declaration of love. The penultimate episode saw Donna seriously injured when, on a fact-finding trip to the Gaza Strip, her car was bombed, killing two congressmen and retired Adm. Fitzwallace (John Amos). Josh is overcome when he hears the news, and later flies to the German hospital where she's been taken for treatment.
President Bartlet (Martin Sheen), meanwhile, struggles with the question of responding to the attack on the American delegation, with his advisers calling variously for military or diplomatic action.
Whitford and Moloney seem a little ambivalent about whether their relationship should take a romantic turn. On one hand, Whitford says that when he's asked the will-they-or-won't-they question, "My standard answer is I've always been ready to move further with our relationship, and I'm just waiting for the pages to come down."
Yet he realizes that such a relationship might not ring true in the context of the show. However "The West Wing" differs from the real-life White House, its depiction of staffers not having much of a life outside work is on the nose, Whitford says.
"Partially because there's a kind of hierarchy to them" -- Donna works for Josh -- "acting upon romantic feelings would be kind of inappropriate," he says. "But it's also a very realistic situation of working in the White House, where people are usually too busy to have relationships."
Moloney is aware that a number of the show's fans are rooting for Donna and Josh to become a couple, but she thinks just about as many are hoping they don't. She also says that showrunner John Wells is concerned that "it's gonna get silly" if a romance is thrown into the mix.
"I think three-quarters of the fun is just, you definitely wanting them to get together," she says. "One of the incredibly artful things about this accident and him coming to Germany is you get to see the relationship become very intimate. There's an intimacy and an emotionality that you haven't seen between them that's pretty fun, I think.
"I'm not sure it's totally necessary to put them together. I know that a lot of people want us to, but I think it's probably 50-50. I think a lot of people don't."
"The West Wing" certainly doesn't want to succumb to the David-and-Maddie syndrome, in which characters (like those in "Moonlighting") become less interesting when after taking the romantic plunge. Whitford puts it this way: "Unlike life, there's nothing more boring on television than consummation."
Season finale of 'West Wing' will confirm the show's decline
by Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
May. 19, 2004 12:00 AM
Will Donna survive the car bombing that wounded her last week on The West Wing?
Will the "surprise" complications telegraphed so blatantly in the endless promos for tonight's season finale do her in?
Does anybody really care anymore?
Hard to imagine they do, since The West Wing is a shell of its former self. Intelligent, witty banter has been replaced by bonehead moves like blowing stuff up - no great surprise, as creator Aaron Sorkin, drummed out of his own show, was replaced by ER's John Wells. "When in doubt, explode" could be ER's motto. It's sad to see it working its way into the Bartlet White House.
Not that The West Wing hasn't used death, or the threat thereof, as a plot device before. Mark Harmon's Secret Service agent was shot to death in an idiotic exit to a guest-star stint. Mrs. Landingham (Kathryn Joosten) was killed off more effectively, in a car accident.
And let's not forget that the first season's cliffhanger finale was an assassination attempt, which Martin Sheen's President Bartlet survived.
It's tempting to say that when Wells took over the show it declined so fast it needed a parachute to break its fall. Not true. The show had already begun to slip, mired in the missed opportunity of a dull re-election campaign dragged down further by a multiple-sclerosis subplot, then painting itself into the corner of a White House-sanctioned political assassination.
Its first big misstep was a noble failure, the post-Sept. 11 stand-alone episode. Preachy, arrogant and boring, it played to all of Sorkin's weaknesses, and the show never really regained its stride after that.
Which is not to say that there haven't been good episodes since. There have. But The West Wing has never enjoyed a run of good shows like it did its first couple of seasons when, at least once an episode, someone in the remarkable cast would delivery a civil-service soliloquy so moving you wanted to sign up for . . . whatever you sign up for that allows you to work at the White House.
Stunts this season such as "revealing" that C.J. (Allison Janney) once slept with the former vice president (Tim Matheson, in a great role), meanwhile, smack of ER's heavy hand. Policy-wonk poetry has become pedestrian. Now Donna (Janel Moloney) has been injured in a blast that killed three U.S. officials in Gaza, affording the show a chance to offer a primer on Middle East relations. Maybe Sorkin could have pulled this off. We'll never know.
Every year of its existence so far, The West Wing has won the Emmy for best drama. This implies that it's been the best drama on TV; it hasn't. Depending upon the season, HBO's The Sopranos, Six Feet Under and The Wire were better.
Still, for a couple of years, there was no question that The West Wing was the best drama on network television, a sort of weekly liberal wish-fulfillment hour. Sorkin broke, gleefully, one of the rules of TV: Politics can't be interesting. While he was at it, with witty, rapid-fire banter borrowed from Sports Night, his brilliant take on a Sportscenter-like show, he broke a second rule: Talking too much can't be interesting, either.
Those rules still apply, by the way. Unfortunately, they now apply to The West Wing.
West Wing's Love Dilemma
by Daniel R. Coleridge
TV Guide
White House staffers Josh Lyman and Donna Moss have been through so much on The West Wing. When he was shot, she was there for him. Now, she's been injured in a terrorist car-bombing, and he's there for her. They've had it rough, but darn it, they're still single, available and breathing! So why don't these two political vets just hook up already?
According to Donna's portrayer, Janel Moloney, Josh and Donna will grow closer as she recovers from her injuries in that German hospital. "You get to see the relationship become very intimate," she tells TV Guide Online. "There's an intimacy and an emotionality that you haven't seen between them."
Now, hold on. This teasing thespian doesn't mean that kind of intimacy. "I'm not sure it's totally necessary to put them together," Moloney says. "Like a lot of us, [WW producer John Wells] has a fear it's gonna get silly if we start running around together romantically. Three-quarters of the fun is you desperately wanting them to get together! I think it's very good for the show."
"There's a wonderful thing it certainly was not intentional that happened in the dynamic between these two characters," adds Bradley Whitford, who plays Josh. "The writers think it's pretty precious. It's very hard to write a romantic comedy in this day and age if you like somebody, you just jump in bed with them! But here, you have a situation where it makes sense that these characters [don't]. There's a hierarchy [at work, so] acting upon romantic feelings would be inappropriate. There's also this very realistic situation of working in the White House, where people are usually way too busy to have a relationship."
Whitford also thinks sex would spoil the duo's intellectual chemistry. "Part of what's fun to play that you would put at risk by completely embracing a romantic relationship is that Josh's arrogance is constantly punctured by Donna. [She] very often sees things more clearly on sophisticated issues that Josh doesn't see."
Excuses, excuses. Well, if they won't resolve this will-they-or-won't-they stuff, at least these West Wingers can solve one mystery for viewers: What's up with Josh calling Miss Moss "Donnatella"? Is that really her first name? "Yes, in fact. In the first scene of us together in the pilot, he called me Donnatella," Moloney reminds us. "Whenever I get in trouble or he's making a point, he calls me Donnatella. And when I testified [in court], I said my real name."
