Now that awards season has kicked off, I've been a busy journalist attending numerous celebrity events around Hollywood. I was happy to see that in addition to gifting celebrities luxury swag and travel trips, gifting lounges like the Secret Room Golden Globes Style Lounge, raised money for Farm Sanctuary and the Hollywood animal rescue group, Hope for Paws. Celebrity guests were treated to an array of products, everything from skincare to Kathy Fielder home decor design.
Jason Ritter
Nuvino wine was a featured product at the GBK Pre-Golden Globes Luxury Celebrity Gift Lounge at the W Hotel in Hollywood. Celebrity attendees ranged from Golden Globe nominees to movie and TV stars such as Gina Rodriquez, Viola Davis, Lisa Vanderpump with the entire cast of "Vanderpump Rules," stars of "Jane the Virgin," and the cast of MTV's "Awkward." Nuvino also offered all attending celebrities a complimentary Nuvino bar for their next gathering or private party of 50 people or less.
And at Jayneoni's swag suite, the Boom Boom Room, which was held at the Loews on Highland, celebrity moms like Adina Porter (HBO's True Blood, The Newsroom) were excited to see the array of illuminated art and home decor items Dia Noche Designs provided. "My husband passed away 19 months ago. I think an illuminated art piece of him with my two daughters would be a great idea," she said.
Event photography at Loews Hotel in Pre-Golden Baby Boom Gifting Suite. Christian Romero Photography;
I also attended the television critics press tour, where I did numerous celebrity and producer interviews, getting the latest on what the broadcast and cable networks are planning for midseason. The networks always make several announcements too; "Glee" star Lea Michelle is set to co-star in "Scream Queens," from "Glee" creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. Also joining the cast are "True Blood's" Joe Manganiello, Abigail Breslin ("Little Miss Sunshine") and Keke Palmer ("Akeela and the Bee"). Music superstar Ariana Grande will have a recurring role in the new anthology series, which involves a college campus being rocked by a series of murders. Also, "Dancing With the Stars" judge Julianne Hough will play the hopelessly devoted Sandy, in "Grease," the iconic musical. "High School Musical" alumni Vanessa Hudgens will play Rizzo. "Grease" will air January 2016 on FOX!
Fans seem excited that CBS is bringing back "The Odd Couple" with former "Friends" star, Matthew Perry. "I was a big fan of the movie.," said Perry, at press tour. "I could recite every line from the movie. The original source material that I used when I wrote the pilot was the movie. Then once it got picked up, I went back and watched a lot of episodes. I think it stands the test of time... it is all chemistry between those two characters. And I hope we have that with the new show, too."
With "Friends" now on Netflix, Perry has noticed a whole new audience that is watching the much loved series. "Younger people are watching it. We didn't do too many topical jokes, so it doesn't feel outdated." And though he has lots of money in the bank, Perry loves working. "There was a time when 'Friends' was over that I was like, "I can retire now if I want." And I guess I did that for six months and there is only so many video games a man can play! So I decided I needed to go back to work."
With a new CBS series, a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination for the independent movie, "Boyhood," it's truly an auspicious time in Patricia Arquette's life. "I kind of feel like Superman and Clark Kent," she quipped, at the TV Critics Press Tour. "Because we'll be shooting half the day and then I'll go do press and then I come back and shoot or do press on this and or press on that! I'm so fortunate as an actor to be working. I was raised by a working actor. I'm grateful for work. I'm interested in the subject matter. I like to entertain people. We made this little art movie. It's having incredible reception. I'm very grateful for that. So I just feel like I'm having a beautiful moment in my life. I'm grateful for everything."
Arquette's new series is a CSI spinoff called "CSI: Cyber." "Part of the reason that I was drawn to this material, is that 'CSI' is the largest global franchise in the world. You're really connecting to your audiences everywhere. But for me, I feel like we're on the dawn of a new time; this is like the Industrial Revolution. This is an explosion of the way that we're going to be living our lives. And they are so beautiful in entertaining. The producers know how to write things that are entertaining; teams that are doing things, moving, that it excites audiences. And yet they're also introducing all this information about these new technologies and the ways that we're living now, moving forward, the way that crime is developing. We've been seeing cops with guns, law enforcement with guns, that were men for over 50 years. So to be a woman in law enforcement on television, I think, is sort of important. It's a powerful position for a woman to be in, but also to be looking at these new technologies, exploring these new technologies. And the interesting thing about cyber crime and the whole cyber world is that many of the people that are most proficient in it are young people, really young people. So this particular show has a real mixture of people that have a little more history with conventional crime solving and young people that are geniuses."
Shlomi Elkabetz and Ronit Elkabetz
There's always celebrity news to report from Hollywood. I'm onto the next soiree'.
Until next time.......
Susan Hornik