Robert Osborne: She’s really of today, so I didn’t think she’d care that much about old films. Wrong! When I met her, she seemed so pleased about it, and she also was so enthusiastic about the channel. She said, "I want you to meet my boyfriend. The reason we’re together is because of TCM.” They were going out on a date or something, and he said, "I really want to stay home and watch TCM.” It was a bonding thing between them. I was talking to her about her family, and she knew everything about (fellow actors) Ethel and John and Lionel.

Zap2it: How did her hiring for "The Essentials” come about?

Robert Osborne: At the end of the conversation (at last year’s TCM Classic Film Festival), she said, "If I had one wish, I’d really love to be a guest programmer on TCM.” I said, "That’d be great!” Then she said, "If I really got my wish, (previous co-host) Alec Baldwin can’t do ‘The Essentials’ forever. I’d love to do that.” And I said, "Stay right there. Don’t move. I’ve got to make a call.”

Zap2it: Weren’t she and "The Essentials” the reasons you first went back in the studio after your time off from TCM duty last year?

Robert Osborne: We had to do 30 of the introductions, because if we didn’t do it then, we couldn’t get her. She had commitments to do movies, so I was back at work long before I was back on the air.

Zap2it: Your character, "Hart of Dixie’s” Alabama belle Lemon Breeland, is a little uptight and finds it hard to relax. Can you relate to that?

Jaime King: I, as Jaime King, I drive myself, because I have been working since I was 14 years old. I don’t know how to relax. It’s a weird feeling. If I have a day off, then that day off means to be productive. It means getting things done. If I come home after a 16-hour day on "Hart of Dixie,” my husband’s like, "Sit down and watch a movie with me,” and I’m like, "I have to memorize my script for tomorrow. I have to finish writing. I have to follow up on Twitter.” It’s so weird, because I really relate to Lemon in that way. I’m a Taurus with Virgo rising. That’s part of the problem with me trying to relax. If I come home, and my room is not entirely clean, I cannot sit down in bed. It’s crazy.

Zap2it: Lemon’s fashion style is always sort of retro, but on this day on set, you seem to echo Grace Kelly. Is that intentional?

Jaime King: I’m inspired by film stars from different eras. I did Jimmy Kimmel a year and a half ago, and I did an homage to Grace Kelly, where I wore this really beautiful Reem Acra dress, and I did my hair like Grace. When they offered me the part, I brought the pictures, and I said, "This is what I want Lemon to look like.”

"Hart of Dixie” airs on Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.

Following a round that was much-discussed last fall — thanks to such contestants as Chaz Bono, Ricki Lake, Nancy Graceand the eventual winner, war veteran-turned-actor J.R. Martinez — "Dancing With the Stars” starts its 14th ABC season Monday, March 19. Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke Charvet return as hosts, with Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inabaand Bruno Tonioli judging again.

And the new competitors? As usual, the mix includes actors ("Family Matters” alum Jaleel "Steve Urkel” White), singers (Gladys Knight), athletes (tennis icon Martina Navratilova), celebrities known mainly for being themselves ("Extra” co-host Maria Menounos) and the now-requisite Disney Channel star (Roshon Fegan of "Shake It Up!”).

Also on board: "Little House on the Prairie” staple Melissa Gilbert; "Melrose Place” and "General Hospital” veteran Jack Wagner; singer Gavin DeGraw; "The View” co-host Sherri Shepherd; Donald Driver of the Green Bay Packers; telenovela star William Levy; and opera’s Katherine Jenkins.

"I’m a private guy,” White tells Zap2it, "and I have no problem saying I’m old-school, adapting to a new regime of celebrity. The real reason I’m doing the show is the fans. There’s been an outcry for my participation in the show, and the second my mother found out about that, she started sending me emails en masse … as if she needs any other reason to contact me. It’s her favorite s ... Читать дальше »

After two very long years, the first terrifying teaser for IT: Chapter Two has arrived. So far, fans seem happy with (and therefore scared of) the debut footage, and the anticipated sequel has already gotten Stephen King’s seal of approval. But just like with any good trailer, questions have already started springing to mind.

Luckily, screenwriter Gary Dauberman was able to clear up some confusion without spoiling anything for anybody who hasn’t read King’s original book, or seen the classic TV miniseries. One specific thing he did confirm, however, was that the new film is going to include two controversial scenes from the novel: one involving a hate crime, and another depicting domestic abuse.

A sequence from the page that didn’t make it into the 1990 TV movie (for obvious reasons) shows a young gay boy being brutally attacked by a gang of bullies. The character, Adrian Mellon (Xavier Dolan), is later murdered by Pennywise, but Dauberman defended its placement in the sequel:

"It is an iconic scene in the book and one we wanted to include in the movie. It is the first attack in present-day Derry and sets the stage for what Derry has become. It is the influence of Pennywise even while he is hibernating, and it’s pure evil what happens to Adrian. These bullies working through Pennywise was important for us to show.”

Fans who saw the trailer Thursday also got a tiny glimpse at the domestic abuse that’ll be on display in Chapter Two. As adult Beverly, played by Jessica Chasta ... Читать дальше »