March 2008

There’s a stock question that interviewers frequently ask actors: What role have you always wanted to play? When I asked this of Maria del Mar, she thought for a few moments, then replied, “Katie Sampson is pretty damn close to it.” Because Del Mar (24, The Pentagon Papers) stars as Sampson in the 10-part Canadian series Terminal City, premiering March 6 on Sundance Channel, a cynic might think she is merely doing her part to promote the series. But any woman who sees del Mar’s stunning portrayal of an outspoken woman diagnosed with breast cancer, who becomes the star of […]

Brooke Hogan barely notices the cameras anymore. And she trusts that the people editing the moments of her life meant for public consumption have her best interests at heart. You couldn’t blame her for being a little camera shy these days, what with her family enduring the pain of a divorce and the specter of legal charges pending against her younger brother Nick for his role in an automobile accident that left his passenger critically injured. But that just isn’t the way the Hogan Knows Best star operates. “I always tell everybody, if I sit still for two seconds, I […]

Who were you in high school? The athlete? The mathlete? The party kid? The no one? No matter how far removed you are from those formative years, or how much you loved or loathed them, the answer is probably still right there on the tip of your tongue. And the accompanying emotions still fresh enough to tickle … or sting. It was this realization, coupled with the idea that her 13-year-old daughter stood at its brink, that inspired single mom and first-time filmmaker Sharon Liese to grab her camera, seek the blessing of her suburban Kansas school district, and head […]

Oh sure, WrestleMania is the biggest Big Dance for World Wrestling Entertainment’s top talent. But I demand more than just muscle for my ‘Mania money — I want some serious star wattage, too. Or some amusing sorta-star wattage, anyway. Throughout its nearly 25 years, celebrity attendance at the legendary event has pinned down everything from campy comedy, to tux-and-gown glamour, to what-the-heck hodgepodge with equal vigor. Among the more memorable: WrestleMania (1985) — It Floated Like A Butterfly. Twinkled Like A Sequin. But Mostly Just Wanted to Have Fun. What better way to launch your tough-guy, manly-man pro wrestling extravaganza […]

She’s been many different people over the years, but she’s always been inimitably Ullman. Tracey Ullman, onetime star of Tracey Takes On … and her other self-titled show that launched The Simpsons, returns to TV this month with her new series, Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union. Unlike her previous excursions into sketch comedy, this venture features Ullman in a string of short, expertly segued vignettes that bring the viewer on a journey across this fair land. “I’ve done it in, kind of, YouTube segments, because I think people’s focus is going,” she explains. “They can only do, like, 30-second […]

The Tudors‘ new season, premiering March 30 on Showtime, covers Anne’s thousand-day reign as queen. Even casual fans of history know the season will not end well. Henry’s third wife, Jane Seymour (played by Icelandic actress Anita Briem) is already at court and has caught the king’s eye. We interviewed Michael Hirst, the producer, creator and director of this sultry series about the new season and where it will be taking us. Here are his comments on life at court now that Anne is queen. How much will the clash of ideology between Pius III and Henry play into the […]

RAW‘s resident bigmouth is a former pickup-driving, beer-drinking country boy from the outskirts of Green Bay, Wis., who saw a big opportunity in a little microphone hanging from an arena ceiling and made sure, from that day on, that every pro-wrestling fan knows his name. Shrugging off a host of untimely injuries and public backlash for speaking out about the company’s recent doping scandal and the shocking downfall of the late Chris Benoit, Misterrrrrrr Kennedy (Kennedy!) remains loud, proud — and oh so popular with the fans — on his way to his second ‘Mania. Yeah, He Really Is Loud. […]

Not so long ago, the man known to pro-wrestling fans as MVP was known to corrections officers at a series of South Florida correctional institutions as Alvin Burke, Jr., just another guy with an aptitude for wrong. Wrong place. Wrong time. Wrong choices. One, Darryl Davis, who moonlighted as a wrestler on the local indie circuit, saw something more: the physique and attitude that could bring Burke success (or at least a better outlet for his aggressions) inside the squared circle. He offered to train Burke for free, if he kept his nose clean on his next parole. Burke took […]

It’s rare when an actor who has been in the business for nearly three decades is offered the chance to play a character different from any she has played before. Alyssa Milano, who broke into acting at age 7 when she joined a touring production of Annie, has found such a role in the original movie Wisegal, premiering March 15 on Lifetime. In the film, which is inspired by a true story, Milano plays Patty Montanari, a woman whose desperate times call for desperate measures. “I sort of gravitate toward ‘girl power’ roles, and this is certainly that,” Milano says. […]