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March 29, 2005
NBC APOLOGIZES FOR INACCURATE PORTRAYAL OF TURKEY
turkishpress.com
Jeff Zucker, president of the NBC television network, and John Wells, executive producer of NBC series The West Wing, sent a letter to Turkey’s Ambassador to Washington, Faruk Logoglu, apologizing for NBC’s inaccurate portrayal of Turkey in a recent episode of the show. The episode in question portrayed Turkey as a country ruled by Islamic law which had ordered the beheading of a woman for the crime of adultery. Zucker and Wells offered their apologies to Logoglu for the unflattering portrayal and wrote that they had been misinformed about Turkey and its laws. In an effort to correct the defamation, many Turkish politicians and diplomats, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself, had criticized NBC and sought an apology. “In the future, we will not only visit Turkey, a country that we admire, but also present a better and correct portrayal of your country,” added Zucker and Wells. /Hurriyet/
Posted by Jo at 08:16 AM
March 28, 2005
Smits holds big lead in "West Wing" race
By Joanne Ostrow
Denver Post
NBC's revitalized "The West Wing" is building toward a showdown. The sixth season concludes April 5 with a chaotic mess of a political convention. Wouldn't you know it's the Democrats who are in disarray while the Republicans have their presumptive presidential nominee ready to campaign?
Alan Alda makes the GOP's case as Sen. Arnold Vinick, a candidate whose stance on religion lately has been a flash point.
Arrayed on the other side are Jimmy Smits, Gary Cole and Tim Matheson, as, respectively, Texas Congressman Matt Santos, Vice President Bob Russell ("Bingo Bob" from Colorado) and John Hoynes - the former vice president who resigned in a sex scandal. Each is vying for the Democratic nomination to succeed
President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen).
A poll of "The West Wing" viewers by Zogby International found Smits' Santos has the support of three-fourths of his party. Beyond that, he holds a 16-point lead over Alda's Vinick.
"I'm flattered," Smits told a telephone press conference this week, but as this year's election demonstrated, "we can only put so much credence into the polls."
Smits claims he doesn't know what the future holds for his character but promises all the current key players will be back "in some form or another" next season.
He has an open-ended development deal at ABC that kicks in following his "The West Wing" work. "I'm so lucky to be on a show that has something to say about what's going on in the world," he said. "It's really been a civics lesson for me in a lot of ways."
At the same time, Smits is about to appear as another politician, one whose constituents are out of this world. In the upcoming "Star Wars" film ("Revenge of the Sith"), he reprises the role of Sen. Bail Organa. Aficionados know Organa as the First Chairman and Viceroy of Alderaan, a fancier-sounding political title than "congressman," to be sure.
The politics depicted in "Star Wars" has "a lot more gravitas to it," he said, The decorum is "akin to the Founding Fathers with the wigs and stuff, in its futuristic way." By contrast, "West Wing" is "quick," he said. "The idea is, let the audience keep up with us."
Smits credits Raul Julia and James Earl Jones as the actors who most influenced him in his career. It was "their ethnicity, the ability to break barriers that gave this young actor permission to aspire."
His standing as a minority was something he and "West Wing" creator John Wells discussed when devising the current story arc.
Apparently, the two agreed that television might be a powerful force in reflecting or even fostering the country's readiness to see a minority candidate aim for the highest office.
As a longtime activist in Hispanic causes, Smits said the numbers and the current slate of Hispanic politicians nationally argue in favor of a prominent minority candidate emerging, and soon.
"I don't see a problem with that kind of transition happening in this country." Inevitably Hispanics, African-Americans and women are gaining top positions, he said. "We will probably see a woman candidate in the next major election aspire to a higher office," he said.
For now, Smits, a Democrat, attempts to keep his real politics and his Hollywood make-believe politics separate.
That can be a challenge. Even critics ask the actor about topics that would be more appropriately addressed to real-life congressmen - or at least to the "West Wing" writers. Asked how his character might have handled the case of Terry Schiavo, the Florida woman who is a lightning rod in the right-to-die debate, Smits demurred: "I don't have an opinion about that."
Is it bizarre to be treated as an expert just because he delivers lines from a script?
"It is very strange, but not unusual in terms of what I do. People talked to me like I was a cop before (during "NYPD Blue"), or about legal things (during "L.A. Law"). It comes with the territory."
Posted by Jo at 09:20 AM
'West Wing' will be back, but lead role is wide open
by Rick Kushman
Sacramento Bee
The race is on. NBC has announced that "The West Wing" (along with "Las Vegas,"Crossing Jordan" and "Joey") will be back next season. Who will be running the country is another question entirely.
None of those renewals are a surprise. But that brings up a larger question now: Who's going to be the next fake president?
"The West Wing" will finish its season on April 6. Don't expect to get a new president by then, but we'll probably know the Democratic nominee.
"The West Wing" might be one of the all-time oddest shows on network TV. It was stellar, then awful, now pretty good again. Next it faces a major revamp of its cast.
The contenders to succeed Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) as president -- whom the writers have turned into something of a doddering lame duck -- are Republican Arnold Vinick (played by Alan Alda) and Democrats Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Vice President Bob Russell (Gary Cole). The current cast has been divvied up among the candidates, and it would take some astounding plot gymnastics to keep the whole crew together under a new president.
In January, "West Wing" executive producer John Wells said that he had not decided who would win and was waiting to assess the chemistry of the reshuffled cast.
My money's on Santos. First off, if you were NBC and you want younger viewers, which star would you keep? And second, NBC keeps scheduling conference calls for reporters to talk with Smits.
By the way, on April 13, NBC fills the Wednesday slot for six weeks with a new series called "Revelations." It stars Bill Pullman and presents an end-of-the-world, final-battle-between-God-and-Satan story. If the ratings are good, expect Pullman to help forestall the Apocalypse, at least long enough so the series can be renewed for next season.
Posted by Jo at 09:17 AM
Free Associates elect to 'Wing' it in new show
BY MARY HOULIHAN
Chicago Sun-Times
The Free Associates are toying with "The West Wing." The NBC political drama, about the machinations of White House staffers, President Josiah Bartlet, his wife, Abigail, and myriad other Washington, D.C., players, is the inspiration behind the new improv show Whose West Wing Is It Anyway?!
Creator and director Robyn Okrant claims to have seen every episode of what must be her favorite television show.
"We thought there would be some sort of healing in a parody of what depresses us most," said Okrant, laughing. "Comedy comes from pain and this last election caused us pain."
But this won't exactly be "The West Wing" fans are acquainted with; in this skewed political world, a few things have changed. Familiar faces like press secretary C.J. Cregg, deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman, communications director Tony Ziegler and Lyman's assistant Donna Moss are still working in the White House. But the politics have changed. President Bartlett and Abigail have been supplanted by President Bush and Laura, along with sidekicks Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and other cohorts, as well as the Bush twins.
"We've kept the liberal staffers but now they have to work for George Bush, and guess how that feels," Okrant said with a snicker. "Thinking it would make him more popular, this misguided president wants to bring the country together through television."
For the last 14 years, the Free Associates have boldly taken on icons of literature and film in rambunctious spoofs that poked fun at the work of writers such as Tennessee Williams, David Mamet, Nelson Algren, Brian Friel and the Bronte sisters and directors like Alfred Hitchcock. The troupe's continued goal is to connect improv with theater. The shows are all improv, but improv with production values. Taking suggestions from the audience, the ensemble translates these ideas into the vernacular of a given author, director and, now, a television show.
In recent months, the 12-member ensemble left its longtime home at the Royal George Theatre and went through a period of restructuring. Co-directors Okrant and Adrienne Smith are pushing the company in a new direction.
"We loved working on our old shows," said Okrant, "but it's nice to bring in edgier, more currant issues as well. We have so many ideas and a really talented group of people, and I think we've become a stronger company since the restructuring."
"Whose West Wing Is It Anyway?" opens Saturday and continues to May 15 at Peter Jones Gallery Theatre, 1806 W. Cuyler. Tickets: (312) 458-9083.
Posted by Jo at 09:14 AM
March 21, 2005
Sentricon System Featured on NBC’s ‘The West Wing’
PCT Online
WASHINGTON – On March 16, the popular NBC show “The West Wing” featured the Sentricon® Termite Colony Elimination System, taking its story line from a real life situation, which stems back to 1998 when swarming termites were discovered in the West Wing just 30 feet from the Oval Office.
“The West Wing” episode looked at how termites could be eradicated from the White House. It also included multiple discussions on the threat of termite infestations, destruction that termites can cause, and concern about structural damage and disturbances that liquid termiticides may cause. Like the Clinton administration’s decision in 1998, “The West Wing” chose to eliminate the termites by selecting the Sentricon System.
In February 1998, termites were found to have entered the White House through a small crack in the foundation and an area with damaged wood. Washington, D.C.-based American Pest Management, in conjunction with General Services Administration, the National Park Service and Dow AgroSciences, installed the Sentricon System in April 1998 at the White House to eliminate swarming termites and protect the structure.
“We knew that protecting the White House has made a positive impact, but we never considered it ‘Hollywood material’,” said Jay Nixon, president of American Pest Management. Nixon is also a board certified entomologist and past president of the National Pest Management Association. “We’re pleased with how well the episode seemed to convey the real life scenario.” With 80 years of pest management success, Nixon and American Pest Management have played a prominent role in Washington, D.C. and are the oldest pest management company in the area. In addition, American Pest Management is responsible for the pest control training of U.S. embassy personnel worldwide.
The Sentricon System was mentioned by name several times throughout the episode, including dialogue on its effectiveness and use of RecruitTM termite bait to eliminate termite colonies. “We’re honored that NBC viewed the protection of one of our nation’s most famous structures to be worthy of a plot line in a hit television show,” said John Kalthoff, marketing manager for the Sentricon System. “It is both with pride and pleasure that the Sentricon System was selected for use at the White House, and we’re pleased that some of the process to protect it was carried through in this episode.”
The Sentricon System protects other national treasures, including the Statue of Liberty, Mount Vernon and The Alamo. American Pest Management is upgrading the White House property to ESPTM technology to monitor for termite activity electronically.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Posted by Jo at 07:13 PM
March 17, 2005
NBC Keeps "Wing," "Joey," "Jordan"
by Bridget Byrne
E!Online
Mar 17, 2005, 12:00 PM PT
It's not a shocker of Dewey-defeats-Truman proportions, but The West Wing has just been reelected for a seventh term.
A day after the Hollywood trades suggested a deal was imminent to bring the Emmy-winning political potboiler back for a swan-song season without longtime President Josiah Barlet (Martin Sheen) in the Oval Office, NBC confirmed as much Thursday, announcing The West Wing had been reupped for the 2005-06 season, along with Joey, Crossing Jordan, Las Vegas and, as previously reported, ER, which was picked up through 2008.
Of that group, The West Wing has the lowest ratings, averaging 11.3 million viewers in its Wednesday, 9 p.m. slot. Impacted by Fox's American Idol and the failure of NBC to establish a good lead-in, the White House drama is down from 11.7 million viewers last year. In its glory days back in season three, The West Wing averaged 17.1 million and was a top 10 fixture.
But with NBC struggling in the Nielsens after losing Friends and Frasier last year, the Peacock is holding on to proven properties, especially ones like The West Wing, which still appeals to upscale viewers and is therefore advertiser-friendly.
"We can do better," NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly told advertisers Thursday as he announced the renewals, according to Broadcasting and Cable. "I am acutely aware that we need the next generation of hits."
Under its current deal, which includes price rates tied to ratings fluctuation, NBC pays about $6 million per episode for The West Wing. Inside sources suggest next season's episodes will only cost about half that, but it's not known whether the deal is pegged to Nielsens. If so, the fee could rise if audience interest picks up as the race for the presidency gathers momentum. With Bartlet terming out, the leading contenders include Republican Senator Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) and Democratic Congressman Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits). This year's season finale on Apr. 6 will decide the Democratic candidate, but our money's on Smits edging out rivals Vice President Robert "Bingo Bob" Russell (Gary Cole) and former Vice President John Hoynes (Tim Matheson).
Speaking to TV critics in January, Reilly and NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker were asked who they would like to see take over for Sheen's Bartlet. Reilly joked that Zucker "likes [Alan] Alda" and "I like [Jimmy] Smits." Zucker added, "I like whomever [executive producer] John Wells likes."
Wells has refused to divulge plot points or future timeline for the election episodes, but he and Sheen have both indicated that Bartlet will maintain a presence on the show. Sheen said he "will be present up until the inauguration of the new president, whoever that might be" and that Barlet will have "a Jimmy Carter type of ex-presidency" role.
With Sheen and his high-salaried White House staffers likely only around part time, Wells & Co. would be able to trim costs and keep the show profitable for NBC and Warner Bros., the show's production base. And while Variety reported Wednesday that next season would be Wing's last, NBC declined to confirm.
As for the other pick-ups Thursday, the Jill Hennessy medical drama Crossing Jordan, which averages 12.1 million viewers, will be back for its fifth season; Las Vegas, starring James Caan and a bunch of good-looking young cohorts keeping a casino free from crime, will be back for a third season after averaging 11.7 million viewers this year; and Matt LeBlanc's Friends spinoff Joey, which hasn't been the huge hit NBC anticipated but still manages to draw a solid 11.6 million viewers, will be back for season two. ER has been extended for two more seasons, even though Noah Wyle might not return, at least on a full-time basis. The network had previously announced that The Apprentice, Medium and three of its Law & Orders--the mothership, Criminal Intent and Special Victims Unit--would return next season.
NBC will unveil its full fall schedule in May at the advertiser upfront meetings.
Posted by Jo at 10:41 PM
NBC Close to Renewing 'West Wing'
UPI
Updated: Thursday, Mar. 17, 2005 - 7:46 AM
LOS ANGELES, Mar 16, 2005 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- NBC is close to a deal to bring "The West Wing" back for at least one more season, Daily Variety reported Wednesday.
Citing sources familiar with the negotiations, the paper said the network is ready to wrap up a deal with producer John Wells and Warner Bros. TV to bring the series back for a seventh season at $3 million per episode -- with options for more seasons as well. Under terms of the most recent agreement, the network paid $6 million per episode.
According to Variety, the current deal pegs the license fee in part to ratings. If the new agreement contains similar language, the paper said, the fee for each episode could go up if the show improves its ratings performance next season.
Variety said the cost of producing "The West Wing" will probably go down if, as expected, several of the show's actors shift from regular cast members to recurring status.
Martin Sheen is expected to return to the series, but the status of Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda depends on how Wells decides to resolve the storyline in which they are campaigning for president, Variety said.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International.
Posted by Jo at 08:25 AM
NBC Nears Renewal Deal for 'West Wing' :Source
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NBC and the producers of "The West Wing" are close to a deal to bring the political drama back for another year at about half the price the network currently pays for the show, a source familiar with the talks said on Wednesday.
Under that deal, the license fee paid by NBC to Warner Bros. Television would fall from about $6 million to $3 million per episode, reflecting lower ratings the Emmy-winning series has garnered since it was last renewed two years ago, the source said.
Details of the prospective agreement were first reported by the entertainment trade paper, Daily Variety.
NBC declined to comment except to say that no agreement had yet been reached.
While Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., would receive less from the network, the cost of producing the show is expected to drop next season as a function of anticipated casting changes.
Martin Sheen, for example, will have a lower profile as the fictional president he portrays leaves office and is succeeded by an entirely new White House administration.
The series, now in its sixth season, is not the ratings powerhouse it once was. But it remains a marquee element of NBC's lineup, having won the Emmy as best drama four years in a row.
The show hit the peak of its popularity in its third season, ranking No. 9 among all prime-time series with 17 million viewers a week. It currently averages fewer than 12 million, but still boasts the highest concentration of upscale viewers in all of TV, a key selling point with advertisers.
Executive Producer John Wells and NBC Universal Television Group President Jeff Zucker have previously said they expected the show to return for at least one more season next fall.
Announcement of a deal could come as early as Thursday, when NBC executives brief advertisers on its upcoming prime-time lineup.
The General Electric Co.-owned network also was expected to announce an agreement with producers on the return of the long-running hospital drama "ER" for at least another season.
Reuters/VNU
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Posted by Jo at 08:20 AM
March 16, 2005
Jimmy Smits
By Eric Deggans
Hispanic Magazine
He is gracious and open-hearted, despite the fact that he has been a major TV star since pastel T-shirts and white suits were hip.
But ask whether the rumors are true—that he might take over as president on NBC’s political drama The West Wing if the network picks up the show for next season—and Jimmy Smits gets coy, trying to deflect the question without answering it outright.
“This might be a year of my life that I’ll spend working on a show that says something positive,” says Smits, of his new role as Matt Santos, the first Latino to run for president in the West Wing world. (In real life, actor Martin Sheen who plays the current president on the show is Hispanic.) “Right now, I’m just happy with the way things have worked out … It just felt right.”
Already, West Wing viewers have seen Smits’ Santos emerge as a savvy, principled congressman from Texas ready to quit the game until Bradley Whitford’s presidential aide Josh Lyman comes calling with an offer he can’t refuse.
To hear Smits tell it, that’s about how series executive producer John Wells (ER, Third Watch) got him to join the show in the first place.
Aware that Smits was appearing in a New York stage production of Much Ado About Nothing last summer, Wells flew in from Hollywood to talk over some ideas. His primary notion: Isn’t it about time for a Latino presidential candidate in West Wing land?
“It was a week after the Democratic National Convention and everybody was jazzed about Barack Obama,” says Smits, recalling Obama’s stirring speech on his origins as the son of a black Kenyan father and white American mother. “You saw the potential of what we people of color can be in this country—not just in sports, not just in music, but somebody who can be a force down the line in national politics.”
As the West Wing season unfolded, fans have seen Santos struggle to balance his own principles with the compromises necessary to compete in a presidential election. Eventually, he tangles with M*A*S*H star Alan Alda’s Republican Senator Arnold Vinick in a battle for the White House that will likely cap the season in mid-2005.
“The media can really influence the way people think—and, ultimately, how minorities are perceived,” says Smits, noting that some Latino fans still tell him they were inspired to enter law school because of his work playing public defender-turned-high-powered attorney Víctor Sifuentes on the series L.A. Law. “If you have a person who is a lawyer or presidential candidate on television, and you’ve only seen people like you portrayed as maids or gardeners … that can help a young person broaden their horizons. All of that stuff went into the mix when I was considering doing this.”
Longtime friend Esaí Morales, who remembers competing with Smits for the same jobs in their early days, calls his pal “The Abe Lincoln of Latinos” for scoring such an image-changing role. As America is poised to accept its first Hispanic attorney general [Al Gonzales] and commerce secretary [Carlos Gutiérrez], the time couldn’t be better for increased diversity among fictional politicians as well, he notes.
“I think it is uncanny timing that people from the West Wing were wise enough to include one of our own … and not just one of our own, but someone who has a quiet dignity,” says Morales, who worked with Smits, Sonia Braga and attorney Félix Sánchez to create the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts in 1997. “Jimmy … he doesn’t push. He’s not out there for ego’s sake. You try to represent your people with your actions, not just your words, and Jimmy does that every day.”
Before the show returned with new episodes in fall 2004, industry experts predicted this season would be West Wing’s last—thanks to sagging ratings and sinking public interest. But this season’s stories—which have shaken up the cast and added new faces such as Alda and Smits himself—have perked up the ratings. It’s all good for Smits, who has a deal with Disney to develop a series for ABC next season as a producer and star—though, if his West Wing role should continue, he could find another actor to lead that project.
Enviable as it all sounds, it’s not an unusual turn of events for Smits, who has the kind of luck in scoring TV roles that few actors enjoy.
For example, producer Steven Bochco originally offered Smits a starring role in his edgy cop show NYPD Blue before the series debuted. But with hopes of developing a film career, Smits passed on the job, only to return a few years later when co-star David Caruso walked off the show.
Similarly, he was offered the lead in CSI: Miami (which went to Caruso when Smits passed), and perused the script for NBC’s Boomtown before it was filmed. But Smits, ever modest, downplays any talk of a golden touch—especially since his most recent efforts to develop a network TV show for himself haven’t worked out yet.
“Pilot season comes around and I get loads of scripts, but it’s finding that right one,” says Smits, who dreads getting stuck on the type of police show that is popular now, in which the procedure of solving a crime is more important than the characters. “I don’t think (the problems with scripts are) so much about Hollywood not understanding Hispanics—that’s another layer. But the first thing is having an idea that can work.”
For Smits, it’s all about finding work that fuels his passion; an ethic that came from his high-school days in Brooklyn. Back then, a drama teacher took his class to stage productions in Manhattan, giving Smits a close-up look at two actors who would serve as instant inspiration: Raúl Juliá and James Earl Jones.
“Raúl came from Puerto Rico and has a Latin last name and spoke with an accent … James Earl Jones was able to tackle seemingly any kind of material, from the classics to modern August Wilson plays,” Smits says. “I always felt they didn’t limit themselves and weren’t limited by the color of their skin or the fact that they had an accent or that English wasn’t their first language. It gave me permission to aspire.”
Born in 1955 to a mother from Puerto Rico and a father from Dutch Guiana (now known as Surinam), Smits came of age in a household influenced by a myriad of cultures. But it was the event he now calls “the most traumatic experience of my life” which significantly marked him—living in Puerto Rico for two years before high school.
“It cemented what my identity was … it was like, ‘Pull this kid out of school, out of America, and plop him down here,’ ” Smits says. “I learned to speak Spanish. My love for my music and my culture comes from those years. But there’s a big void, where American culture didn’t exist for me. It was always about fitting into a new environment.”
By the time he returned to Brooklyn for high school, it was obvious that the theater provided a spark in his life that traditional academics and sports did not. So when the time came to choose between his spot on a highly competitive football team or work in the school’s drama club, the choice seemed to make itself.
“I wasn’t really a great student, but I could spend hours in the library trying to research 18th-century mannerisms,” Smits says. “I remember the team came to one of my shows and they stood up for me. I made the decision right then, acting was right for me.”
Selling his parents and relatives on the choice was tougher, even when he scored admission to Cornell University’s master’s program for drama after graduating from Brooklyn College. Part of their concern was practical: Smits had fathered a daughter, Taina, at age 17, and the family had banded together to help him get through Brooklyn College.
“People were always saying I had to have something to fall back on,” Smits says, laughing. “I remember telling my father I just got accepted at Cornell—this kid from Brooklyn at an Ivy League school—and he would say, ‘What can you do with that degree? Can you teach college?’ It was always about having something to fall back on.”
Encouraged by a teacher at Cornell who also was a working actor, Smits scored roles on the New York stage and then his first big break—a role in the pilot of the classic ’80s cop show Miami Vice. Unfortunately, his character, the original partner of Don Johnson’s Miami police Det. James “Sonny” Crockett, was killed early in the episode.
But other signature roles followed, from bad guy drug dealer Julio Gonzales in the 1986 film Running Scared to Sifuentes in L.A. Law and movies such as Blake Edwards’ Switch and Old Gringo with Gregory Peck and Jane Fonda. When the movie roles lessened, he moved to NYPD Blue and created another compassionate, inspiring character, Det. Bobby Simone.
And even though his career has progressed nicely, Smits can’t help wondering why there aren’t more brown faces next to him on TV’s A-list.
“When I start talking about this, I get these looks like … ‘You’re working, man. What are you complaining about?’ But it doesn’t change the way I feel,” he says. “In every decade, there are five or 10 names you can cite—Fernando Lamas or Rita Moreno or now Jennifer [López] and Benicio [del Toro]—who are household names. But (compared to) what our population numbers are … it’s not enough.”
Smits’ solution is for Hispanics to create their own projects, which is why he helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts in 1997.
orales—who had met lobbyist/lawyer Félix Sánchez in 1988 while stumping for then-Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis—introduced Smits to Sánchez and the three eventually joined Braga to create the foundation.
“They were among the few successful Latinos who had a television or film career and they wanted to throw a lifeline back to young Hispanics,” says Sánchez, noting that the foundation has distributed more than $500,000 in scholarships (to graduate students in the performing arts) and sponsored events such as performer showcases and talent development programs.
“Jimmy’s story is an example of how you can achieve success in this business with graduate-level preparation,” added Sánchez, a former assistant to ex-U.S. Sen. Lloyd Bentsen, who now runs his own lobbying firm in Washington, D.C.
“In his work on the West Wing, we are seeing a Latino character as a complex and three-dimensional person with success and ambition running in his veins,” he says. “It is the awakening not of the Latino sleeping giant, but of the sleeping entertainment community. We are living in the most amazing time for Latinos politically … (but) in central, leading roles (in film and TV), we are few and far between.”
It makes sense that an artist such as Smits—whose work both on and off camera has reflected his strong commitment to his Latino heritage and culture—might be the first to embody Hispanics’ growing influence in politics and entertainment.
But it is his own commitment to artistic challenge and growth that will keep him on the move—avoiding TV’s tendency to pigeonhole and typecast, regardless of how many prime opportunities he may have to relinquish to stay energized.
“I’ve always felt as an actor it’s all about showing different sides,” Smits says. “If you’re always playing the same person, it’s kind of like golden handcuffs. It’s not like I left any of these shows—L.A. Law or NYPD Blue—with a three-picture deal in my back pocket. It’s been more about finding artistic challenges … and going to the next level.”
Posted by Jo at 09:24 PM
'West Wing' Re-Elected; 'Watch' Cloudy
By Cynthia Littleton and Nellie Andreeva
Reuters
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "The West Wing" is coming back for a seventh term on NBC, sources said.
The fate of another NBC drama, "Third Watch," is less certain as the network heads into the home stretch of pilot development for the 2005-06 season.
Sources said the show is considered a long shot to be renewed, but the decision will hinge on how many new shows NBC picks up in the spring for its fall lineup.
Reps for NBC and Warner Bros. declined comment on "West Wing" and "Third Watch."
Now that NBC has exercised its option to pick up another 22 episodes of "West Wing," the Emmy-winning White House drama is poised to undergo a regime change after centering on Martin Sheen as President Josiah Bartlet since its debut in 1999. Much of the story line this season has concerned the campaigning between two powerful lawmakers -- played by Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits -- one of whom presumably will win the election by season's end.
Sources said the show's producers have the contractual option to bring back Smits and Alda next season. The show also has core cast members (and Bartlet administration staffers) Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff and John Spencer under contract for the upcoming season.
After bottoming out last season, viewership of "West Wing" has rebounded slightly this season with the introduction of Alda and Smits. For the season to date, the Wednesday 9 p.m. drama is averaging 11.4 million viewers.
"Third Watch," airing at 9 p.m. Friday, has won its time slot in most airings this season, with an average of 9.4 million viewers.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
Posted by Jo at 09:17 AM
WEST WING STAR SENDS PLEA TO INTERIOR SECRETARY FOLLOWING DEATHS OF DOGS TRAPPED AT BADLANDS NATIONAL PARK
PETA Media Center
http://www.peta.org/mc/NewsItem.asp?id=6034
On behalf of PETA, Actor Martin Sheen has fired off a letter to Gale Norton, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, imploring her to immediately ban the use of snares and steel-jaw traps in our national parks. Sheen, who won a Golden Globe Award for his role as U.S. President Josiah Bartlet in the acclaimed NBC TV series The West Wing, was prompted to send the letter after learning that several dogs—who had most likely been abandoned there—were left to suffer for more than two days in steel-jaw traps set by National Park Service employees at Badlands National Park in Scenic, S.D.
"The pain and agony that these animals must have endured is unthinkable," writes Sheen. "No animal deserves to suffer what these dogs did: dehydration, near-starvation, bone-deep injuries, and sheer terror—one dog chewed her own foot down to the bone in a frantic effort to escape."
Sheen goes on to request that Norton adopt more humane methods to deal with dogs, cats, and other "nuisance" animals in national parks around the country that are currently using these traps to capture and kill domestic animals and wildlife.
All but one of the dogs found at Badlands National Park had to be put out of their misery. They suffered from swollen, bloody paws, their teeth had been worn down in the struggle to free themselves, and two dogs suffered from gangrenous skin and exposed bones. The surviving dog’s injuries were so severe that her leg had to be amputated.
For more information, please visit PETA’s Web site HelpingWildlife.com.
Martin Sheen’s letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton follows.
March 3, 2005
The Honorable Gale Norton
Secretary of the Interior
Department of the Interior
1849 C St. N.W. Washington, DC 20240
Dear Madam Secretary:
I was shocked and saddened to hear from my friends at PETA that our national parks are routinely using leghold traps to capture both domestic and wild animals. I understand that information and photographs have recently been made public of dogs who have been maimed by these traps at Badlands National Park. With one exception, all of these dogs were so severely injured that they had to be put out of their misery.
The pain and agony that these animals must have endured is unthinkable. I can’t understand how our nation can condone the use of these cruel traps, especially in our national parks. No animal deserves to suffer what these dogs did: dehydration, near starvation, bone-deep injuries, and sheer terror—one dog chewed her own foot down to the bone in a frantic effort to escape.
While I understand that there is an obligation to protect native species from some predators, there are alternatives to these barbaric devices. Please put an end to the use of these hideous traps in our national parks and implement humane capture and treatment of animals who are left there by irresponsible individuals. PETA stands ready to help.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Martin Sheen
Posted by Jo at 09:12 AM
Keeping quality shows on air a job for us all
by Mike Drew
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel
While most Americans are pondering/dreading filing their taxes, the people who run network TV are contemplating which series should live into another season.
Merit and sentiment have nothing to do with it. Ratings will decide how viewers will spend prime time next winter - and determine which TV "stars" will continue getting great restaurant tables and which will return to waiting on them.
This week marked the end of the extremely long-for-TV run of "NYPD Blue." No series ever started with more commotion.
ABC kept it off the air for a year while its lawyers and flacks brooded over potential boycotts over semi-nudity and non-genteel language.
When it finally premiered on Sept. 21, 1993, 57 of 225 ABC affiliates aired something else, but not Milwaukee's Channel 12.
The show got complaints about raunch but pulled a whopping 32% audience share. Commenting on network "suits," one cynic observed, "When you pass a 25 (percent) share, sex and violence becomes love and action."
Before long, ratings had trumped principle and the gun-shy 57 affiliates were back. For a change, a worthy, trailblazing show was saved.
Inevitably, several years ago, producer Steven Bochco ran out of new things to say. But a core audience kept tuning in, and ABC kept it alive until Bochco cranked up a successor. His "Blind Justice" enters the Tuesday breach next week.
A vote for 'West Wing'
Meanwhile, if enough of us don't rally round the tube this spring, another TV era could end, this one half as long. That would be the run of NBC's equally meritorious, if recently troubled, "The West Wing."
With its Wednesday night audiences sometimes dipping below 10 million, TV's all-time political champ lingers on cancellation's cusp.
Part of its problem is endemic with senior series - escalating costs.
Also, fans suffered through a distressing drop in quality in 2003-'04 after creator-writer-producer Aaron Sorkin self-destructed, micromanaging every word while battling drug addiction.
At long last, however, there's good news for disenchanted former fans: It's safe to come back.
Under producer John Wells, an invigorated writing staff is relishing a new challenge. It's mounting a lively presidential campaign for candidates played by Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda.
Enlivening the refurbished "Wing" is a story arc with material straight from last year's presidential campaign, such as dirty tricks, attack ads, media manipulation - all of politics' fun things. Hours go by without much policy wonk palaver from the dying Bartlett administration.
Now if Wells and company would only make the show's trademark talking-while-walking repartee more comprehensible, with less inside-the-Beltway jargon. Sorkin's chatter was smarter, sharper and less often swallowed.
Teenager in trouble
The moment of truth also has arrived for another first-class drama, "Joan of Arcadia." If there's a better family hour than what CBS is offering at 7 p.m. Fridays, please alert me.
However, according to a very reliable source - my 14-year-old granddaughter - the show's time slot doesn't help. She reports that the teenage girls who are "Joan's" natural target have more important things to do on Friday evenings than huddle tubeside.
I suspect that the show's principal plot conceit - Joan (Amber Tamblyn) has brief conversations with God in various guises - has scared away people who would enjoy it. "Joan," most definitely, is not another "Touched by an Angel."
Clever plotting and dialogue crafted by producer Barbara Hall and company capture teen patois and angst, without alienating older viewers. Somehow, the show achieves this - including Joan petulantly bristling at the Almighty's suggestions - without sounding sacrilegious.
In Hall's deft hands, "Joan" visits most of the issues facing families with teens - there are three in this one, one in a wheelchair. Tune in and help this funny, feisty and often moving hour survive.
With sitcoms and TV movies suffering what seems like their worst slump ever, one bad "reality" show replacing another and newsmagazines also troubled, series drama remains network prime time's last vestige of quality.
A longtime "Law & Order" fan, I've been saddened that producer Dick Wolf keeps grinding out inferior copies. How about that other prime-time drama franchise, "CSI"? Its magic escapes me, although I enjoyed producer Jerry Bruckheimer's other prime-time hit "Without a Trace" before it discovered that sex sells.
Quality can, too, as "NYPD Blue," "The West Wing" and "Joan of Arcadia" have proved. But enough people who appreciate that elusive goal must be able to find it.
Posted by Jo at 09:10 AM
Poll: Santos leads Vinick to succeed President Bartlet
Newsday
UTICA, N.Y. -- Forget Clinton vs. McCain. In the race to occupy "The West Wing," Matt Santos is a lock to beat Arnie Vinick.
Pollster John Zogby, who often asks Americans who they think will be elected the real president, wasn't interested in Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's chances against Republican John McCain in 2008. He had other candidates in mind _ those running to replace Democratic incumbent Josiah Bartlet on NBC-TV's "The West Wing."
The Zogby International poll found Democratic Rep. Matthew Santos of Texas (played by Jimmy Smits) leading Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick of California (played by Alan Alda), 44 percent to 28 percent, among West Wing viewers contacted by computer for the interactive poll.
Vinick, it seems, has a gender gap problem.
"While he and Santos are tied among men, each getting 35 percent of the vote, Santos holds a commanding lead among women, where he outpolls Vinick by 53 percent to 22 percent," Zogby said.
There is a serious side to the poll, Zogby said.
"There are three nerve centers in this country. There's New York, which is money; Washington, which is power; and Hollywood, which is culture," he said. "We already do New York and Washington."
The interactive computer poll was conducted Feb. 18-25 and the results were based on the answers of 5,505 American adults nationwide who said they were viewers of the hit show. The poll has a sampling error margin of plus or minus 0.7 percentage points.
Posted by Jo at 09:07 AM