AMERICAN IDOL 8: TAKE 2 TOP 7 ANALYSIS

Ah, nothing says disco like Vince Neil of Motley Crue, who was sitting in tonight’s audience…

As a veteran of the disco era, tonight’s “American Idol” should have highlighted some of my favorite music, but it didn’t.  It turns out that while the contestants played it safe with their song choices, they went wild with their arrangements, making for a rather un-disco Disco Night. Let’s see what we got…

“I’M EVERY WOMAN” – Lil Rounds

Obviously Lil is trying to be more of an entertainer in her performance tonight. Unfortunately, she should have chosen a song that gives her more lyrics to sing. Instead, she concentrates on runs and trying to get the audience involved and the judges hammer her for it.

“SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY” – Kris Allen

This sounds like something Jason Castro might have done, but Kris is way more comfortable on stage. Yes, it works, but then I think this is kind of cheating. It’s like when I found out I could take a meteorology course in college to fulfill my science requirement instead of the harder chemistry or biology. I want to hear some disco!

“SEPTEMBER” – Danny Gokey

And Danny makes my wish come true, doing “September” with the original arrangement. Unfortunately, the performance is like a kid playing with a light switch that turns Danny’s soul off and on at random. Sometimes he sounds great, sometimes just fair. As always, he sounds good by the time the last chorus comes around.

Because Paula’s critiques this year have been so on point, I hate to hear her yell to Danny, “See you in the finals!” Not that Danny doesn’t have a good shot at being one of the last two standing, but I wouldn’t count Kris out just yet…

“HOT STUFF” – Allison Iraheta

Kara: “That was a nine or ten.” Really? I found it to feature quite a bit of shouting. Here’s an instance where the original arrangement would have worked better. While Allison was my early favorite, she’s fallen behind Kris and Adam in the last two weeks.

“IF I CAN’T HAVE YOU” – Adam Lambert

I know I ripped on Kris a bit for not doing disco the way it should be done, so I don’t have the right to call Adam’s performance here genius… but it was. Sure, there was a little out of control wailing on the chorus and he may have dropped a few words here and there, but color me impressed.

“STAYIN’ ALIVE” – Matt Giraud

I thought Matt came out strong, but that first falsetto note was awful. Then he got it back together, only to have the performance fall apart on him. And this is why people like Simon. After hearing three judges natter on about how Matt can really sing, Simon tells the truth and delivers the bad news.

“DIM ALL THE LIGHTS” – Anoop Desai

Anoop makes a bad mistake by either not staying with a ballad tempo through the entire song or at least revving it up in the end. Instead, the performance comes across as not very exciting. Anoop has been quoted as saying he’s very hard on himself, and you can see the disappointment on his face at the end. With two going home this week, it could be the bookends of the show, Lil and Anoop, although I’d rather see Lil and Matt go Home Sweet Home.

AMERICAN IDOL 8: TOP 7 ANALYSIS

You may have noticed that unlike last season, I haven’t been doing any analysis of the latest season of “Idol.” One reason might be that for the most part, the contestants haven’t captured my heart, but I think the reality is President Obama is to blame! His press conferences have pushed two “Idol” performance shows up against my beloved “Lost” and “Lost” comes first, and knowing that I wouldn’t be able to blog week in and week out about “Idol” made me think I shouldn’t start. But since I have nothing else to blog about right now (and the judges were so often off base tonight), I’ve changed my mind. Let’s see what we got tonight…

“I DON’T WANT TO MISS A THING” – ALLISON IRAHETA

When I have tuned in this year, I’ve usually found myself rooting for Allison. I even picked up the phone and voted for her, something I usually don’t do until the final week. But tonight she disappointed me. First I didn’t like the string intro and then Allison made one of the biggest mistakes a contestant can make: she made the performance about her voice, not the song. In trying to show off her big voice, she forgot about the emotions in the lyrics she should have been trying to convey. At least it was nice to see Simon moving away from his support of Lil and give Allison some props. She may need it going first.

“EVERYTHING I DO (I DO IT FOR YOU)” – ANOOP DESAI

I’ve been rooting for Anoop since the beginning, although he’s really had his ups and downs. Tonight was more down than up. He showed nothing special in the verses and the chorus wasn’t much better, as he kept trying to hold notes and add runs which didn’t work. The amazing thing was Kara saying the performance was one of Anoop’s best. You could see Simon in his corner wishing he had the chance to correct that overstatement!

“BORN TO BE WILD” – ADAM LAMBERT

Now here’s a contestant who does have the voice to play around with a melody. While I found the electro take on this Steppenwolf classic jarring at first, Adam was a lot of fun to watch. His vocal power reminded me a bit of Meat Loaf, which is what I think Simon was getting at when he mentioned “Rocky Horror.” Of course, he also has the wide range of a Freddie Mercury, so let’s hope Adam can find some songs that let him show that off.

Simon was wrong about one thing though. The people that would be appalled by Adam’s take on a rock classic like “Born To be Wild” aren’t watching “American Idol,” although he’s right when he mentioned that “Mad World” was better. Adam is doing a great job of mixing things up each week. It’s just too bad there isn’t another horse in the race to really push him each week, like last season’s Cook/Archuleta duel.

“HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LOVED A WOMAN?” – MATT GIRAUD

This performance was just okay. It seemed like every time he reached for his falsetto, Matt was out of breath. I had to laugh when Kara admonished him for doing a rock song. While this may have been originally performed by a rock artist, it’s no rock song! I also wonder if Simon knew he was on camera as he made those goofy facial expressions while Kara was speaking.

“ENDLESS LOVE” – DANNY GOKEY

It seems like everyone who ever recorded this song has a richer voice than Danny. Paula was right on when she pointed out the key was wrong for him. But as always Danny impressed on the chorus. I just have to wonder… with the gravel in his voice, maybe the judges should have pushed him into trying a soul classic or two.

“FALLING SLOWLY” – KRIS ALLEN

A very emotional performance from a singer who actually looks like a star. If anything, he didn’t need the background vocals behind him. Showed off a great falsetto too. The performance of the night.

“THE ROSE” – LIL ROUNDS

I think it was a big mistake to add the R&B flavor on this. When she was riffing on the words  “cold, cold winter,” I actually laughed. I think a more straight- ahead version would have served her better, but with all the songs to choose from, she could have easily picked something that was completely R&B. She’s lucky she was last on the show, because otherwise she’d be in a lot more trouble vote wise, although arguing with Simon won’t help her case.

IN FRONT OF THE STAGE AT THE “GEORGE STRAIT: ACM ARTIST OF THE DECADE ALL STAR CONCERT”

Well, I certainly have to laugh when I read back my entry about the ACMA rehearsals. If you kept up with the news, Tim McGraw never did rehearse for his spot on the ACMA’s and in fact didn’t appear on the show at all. He did make it to the George Strait concert though. More details on that, but first let’s review my night at the ACMA’s:

I got tickets for myself and my friends Annie and Chris. We ended up sitting in the stands to the right of the stage. Unfortunately, our view was blocked at times by a camera operator, but once we moved down a few rows, we were so close, it was like we were onstage. The show moved fast and the three hours were over in a flash. But the highlights of the evening came after the show. First, as Nicole Kidman was leaving the arena via a door on our side of the stage, Annie yelled out a goodbye to her and Nicole looked up and waved to her. Funnily enough, the next day Annie found herself sitting next to Nicole in a VIP lounge at the Bellagio and didn’t say a word to her!

After a quick dinner, we attended the ACM’s All Star Jam. This is an event that takes place after the show in a huge ballroom behind the Grand Garden Arena. I actually enjoyed the All Star Jam more than the official show, because while on the Awards, the performers tend to showcase their new singles, at the Jam, they play their most popular hits. While I was upset to find we were too late for a three song mini-set by Kenny Chesney, we did get to see John Rich, Luke Bryan and Randy Houser (whose song “Anything Goes” is going on my Ipod at my first opportunity). Best of all were the Zac Brown Band, who performed their number one song, “Chicken Fried” as well as a blazing version of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia,” and the newly crowned Entertainer Of The Year, Carrie Underwood, who was so on top of the world after her win that she gave the loosest, most spontaneous performance I’ve ever seen from her, rocking out on “Last Name” and “Before He Cheats.”

But that wasn’t the end of the country festivities, not by a long shot! The next night, we taped the “George Strait: ACM Artist Of The Decade All Star Concert” at the Grand Garden Arena. The show attracted another full house and since there were fewer people from the music industry in attendance than at the Awards, it was even louder. In fact, the energy didn’t flag the entire evening, as performer after performer went above and beyond in their salute to King George. The real question is how will they edit the show down to two hours? Every singer not only talked about what George and his music meant to them before their song, but afterward, most of them spoke even more before going over to shake George’s hand. It was really very moving.

Now I don’t want to give away too many details about the show, since it’s air date is still two months away at the end of May. I will say you might just be getting a look at your humble blogger. It seems during Alan Jackson’s rendition of “The Fireman,” one of the roving cameramen started filming our row. I figured he had trained his camera on Annie who was sitting beside me (although for that song, the entire audience was standing up and dancing), but it seems I was the target of his lens. I know this because I was later told that everyone at the producer’s table following the action on monitors yelled out my name when they saw me, so I should be on the show. Of course, every time I ran into one of the producers today, he mimed a pair of scissors cutting something. I think he was kidding…

YOU WILL BELIEVE A MAN CAN SING (WITH HIS MOUTH CLOSED!)

The other night I got to see singing ventriloquist Terry Fator’s new show at the Mirage, and I can’t recommend it enough! I had never seen Terry, the winner of the second season of “America’s Got Talent,” perform before, so for the first fifteen minutes of the show, I sat there with my mouth open in amazement… unlike Terry, whose gift is to sing incredibly well with his mouth closed. It’s astounding, especially since so many of his imitations are spot on. And it’s one thing to do an impression of a star but it’s even more impressive to sing like them.

Terry Fator is also a very smart performer, mixing things up with different puppet characters throughout the show. It won’t be long before you’re applauding for the puppet as if it’s a real person. Terry also brings a member of the audience onstage and cleverly turns them into a human puppet.

So if you’re in Vegas and want to come out of a show smiling, try seeing “Terry Fator And His Cast Of Thousands.” You won’t be sorry!

BACKSTAGE AT THE 2009 ACMA’S

I’m writing this from the production office of this year’s ACMA’s at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas. Today things are a bit more hectic than previous days this week, thanks to the crush of performers coming in for rehearsals before tomorrow night’s live show. Although things will never get too over the top, thanks to the calm and steady demeanor of Executive Producer RA Clark (known to everyone as RAC). Assisting him in keeping the mood light is Producer/Writer Barry Adelman, who is constantly cracking jokes and singing the most nonsensical lyrics he can think of in current pop songs (you wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve heard the words, “That’s not my name”).

For an excellent overview of the rehearsals, you can check out Whitney Pastorek’s reports at Entertainment Weekly’s website. But my vantage point is quite a bit different. While Whitney is writing about what’s going on in the arena, I’ve been spending time watching the performers booked for “George Strait: ACM Artist Of The Decade All Star Concert” working on their songs with the house band for the show. It’s been fascinating sitting a few feet away while Jack Ingram rocks up his song or Keith Urban shows off his skills on acoustic guitar. The funniest thing is while the area around the Grand Garden Arena is ringed with fans and autograph seekers, outside the hall where they’re coming in to rehearse for our show, it’s totally free of fans.

As you know, I did phone interviews with many of the performers on the George Strait show before I got to Las Vegas, but it’s much more fun to talk to the stars face to face and tell them things I’ve always wanted to share. For instance, I got to tell Faith Hill how much I enjoy her song “Paris” from the album “Butterflies,” even though I’ve never been all that sure what it was about. Faith said she wasn’t sure what it was about either, so I certainly felt good about that. Continuing with the compliments, I told Keith Urban how happy I was that he redid the song “Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)” on his “Greatest Hits” album. Previously, he had put a demo version on a previous album and while I liked the song, I still wanted a full-blown version, which I got on “Greatest Hits.”

But the most memorable moment was getting a surprise hug from Taylor Swift. Writer Fred Bronson had approached Taylor to show her the intro that she’ll give before her song. She was very happy with it and didn’t want to change a word. Fred reminded her that she had done a phone interview with me just a week ago, so much of what he had written were her words anyway. So Taylor came over to say hello and gave me a hug. Naturally I had her sign something for my friend’s daughter, who’s a big fan. And don’t think I forgot about myself, as I also had her sign the CD cover for her latest album, “Fearless.” So far I’ve also gotten autographs from Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley and Toby Keith, which probably makes me one of the most successful autograph hunters in the building. I was only stymied by Lee Ann Womack, as I didn’t have a CD cover along when she was rehearsing yesterday, something I was reminded of when she turned up in front of me when I was walking through the casino to my room this afternoon.

Okay, time to check out Tim and Faith rehearsing on the big stage!

COUNTRY TIME

So in the end, I did twelve phone interviews with various performers that are scheduled to appear on our show. Everyone had great stories to tell about George Strait and certainly seemed to be in awe of his talent.

You know you’re working with country music stars when they apologize profusely for missing their appointed interview time. Dierks Bentley had just gotten off the road and took off for a relaxing day in the mountains, where he discovered his cell phone wasn’t working. Needless to say, he sounded mighty sorry the next day when we connected. Another country superstar, Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, was under the weather and called me anyway. John Rich took time out from doing publicity in New York City for his brand new album that had been released that very day. LeAnn Rimes called from a recording session, while Jamie Foxx (hey, he is from Texas) called from a movie set.

Tomorrow we pack up the production office in order to move to Las Vegas to work on the show onsite. I’ve got my plane trip and room booked, I’ve got my meal vouchers and I’ve got my per diem. All I have to do now is remember I’m there to work…

WE ARE BACK… AGAIN!

Had another time-out on my internet access, thanks to moving. True, I only moved from one bedroom to the other in my apartment, but the loss of my roommate and his internet connection and the subsequent painting and carpet cleaning of the rooms made for quite a lot of trouble right here in Studio City!

But I’ve now got my world straightened out (well, I still have some stuff to put away and I haven’t started my search for a new roommate yet but at least now I have my own DSL line) and I have plenty to write about.

Right now I’m working as a researcher for another Dick Clark Productions show, following up my jobs last year on “The American Music Awards” and “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.” This time I’m helping to put together tribute montages for the “George Strait: ACM Artist Of The Decade All Star Concert.” This should be a really fun show with the biggest names in country music (including Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes and Tim McGraw) paying tribute to George by performing their favorite George Strait songs. The All Star Concert will be held on April 6th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. That’s the night after the Academy Of Country Music Awards, enabling us to take advantage of the fact that all the country superstars will already be in town. I myself get to go to Vegas for a week, although I doubt I’m going to have any time to hang out by the pool…

I’m a big country music fan and so I’ve always wanted to work on a country music show, which isn’t so easy to do when you don’t live in Nashville. I still remember the night years ago at the American Music Awards when I was walking across the parking lot to the shuttle beside Garth Brooks and I didn’t say anything to him because I wasn’t a country music fan back then. I’ve always regretted that, so I’m happy to be getting the chance to talk to some of my country music faves. In fact, I’m getting to talk to many of them even before the show.

One of my jobs is to arrange and perform interviews with the singers to ask about their memories and affection for George Strait and his music so that the scriptwriter, my longtime colleague Fred Bronson, can use the information to make what the singers will say onstage more personal. So far I’ve done phone interviews with Blake Shelton (singer of my all-time favorite song, “Austin,” and don’t think I didn’t tell him that), Miranda Lambert and Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry. Every single one of them had great stories to tell, and with Taylor Swift and Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn calling me on Monday, I have a feeling the quality will remain high.

That’s it for now. More bulletins as events occur…

IDOL FUN FACTS: SEASON 7

With Season 8 of “American Idol” about to premiere, I thought it would be nice to look back one more time at the Season 7 contestants. All these tidbits of trivia were gleaned from interviews Billboard Magazine’s Fred Bronson conducted that I sat in on and later transcribed. Unfortunately, Fred conducted his interview with Michael Johns over the phone, so Michael gets left out of the rundown. Here we go…

CHIKEZIE:

1.  When Chikezie performed in his first talent show in middle school, he was so good his friends thought he was lip synching.

2.  Chikezie tried to join the girls’ choir in middle school because there was no boys’ choir at the school.

3.  Chikezie’s favorite Idol contestant judging by their “Idol” performances is Clay Aiken.

4.  Chikezie lost fifty pounds between Hollywood Week and appearing in the Top 24.

5.  Chikezie’s favorite album of all time is “Get Lifted” by John Legend.

RAMIELE MALUBAY:

1.  Ramiele was born in Saudi Arabia.

2.  Ramiele’s first live performance was in a fifth grade talent show. She sang “Too Much” by the Spice Girls in a group with four other girls.

3.  Ramiele planned on becoming a nurse like her mother.

4.  Ramiele worked as a waitress and hostess at a sushi restaurant called Wasabi.

5.  Ramiele rates herself as the most emotional contestant of her season’s Top 10.

KRISTY LEE COOK:

1.  Kristy’s brother played a lot of country music when she was growing up, which got her interested in the genre.

2.  Kristy first concert performance was opening for Glen Campbell at a music festival.

3.  Kristy was home schooled but was still a member of the local high school’s girls’ softball team and went to all the school dances.

4.  “God Bless The U.S.A.” is Kristy’s father’s favorite song.

5.  Kristy once recorded a live album called “Devoted.”

CARLY SMITHSON:

1.  “A Star Is Born” is one of Carly’s all-time favorite movies and inspired her to try out for “American Idol.”

2.  Carly first met her husband at an airport in Los Angeles.

3.  Carly got her first tattoo at age 18.

4.  Carly demoed a song that ended up on Carrie Underwood’s debut album.

5.  During Andrew Lloyd Webber week, Carly was going to perform “All I Ask Of You,” but Sir Andrew suggested doing something more uptempo so Carly chose “Superstar.”

BROOKE WHITE:

1.  When she was seven, Brooke sat down at the piano and played “Right Here Waiting” by Richard Marx totally by ear.

2.  Brooke’s favorite movie as a child was “Mary Poppins.”

3.  Brooke played the lead in her high school musical, “Meet Me In St. Louis.”

4.  Brooke originally planned to be a cosmetologist and was going to beauty school before she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music when she was 17.

5.  Brooke once performed in front of Kiefer Sutherland during an L.A. radio station’s “Rock Star” talent contest.

JASON CASTRO:

1.  Jason was studying architecture when he tried out for “Idol.”

2.  Jason started wearing dreadlocks during his senior year of high school.

3.  Coheed & Cambria was Jason’s favorite band in high school.

4.  Jason only performed in public a few times before his “Idol” audition, once at a Starbucks and once at a club called The Door.

5.  Jason was originally planning on singing a Don Fogelberg song for 80’s week before he found out “Hallelujah” was originally released in the eighties by Leonard Cohen.

SYESHA MERCADO:

1.  Syesha’s mother was once a background singer for Pops Staples of the Staples Singers.

2.  Syesha’s appeared in her first play in first grade. It was called “One Special Cookie.”

3.  Syesha was a contestant on the TV show, “The One: Making A Music Star.”

4.  Syesha writes her goals down on paper.

5.  Syesha would like to open an organic restaurant.

DAVID ARCHULETA:

1.  David’s father is a trumpet player, but David hated hearing him play when he was growing up because he played so loudly.

2.  David cites Tamyra Gray’s performance of “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” as his inspiration to start performing more soulful music.

3.  David quit his job working at an amphitheater to try out for “Idol.”

4.  David participated in his local CBS affiliate’s morning show’s version of “Star Search.” He lost, but just a few weeks later, he was a contestant on the network version of “Star Search.”

5.  David refuses to watch any footage of himself singing when he was a child.

DAVID COOK:

1.  David’s first musical instrument was violin.

2.  The first recording David ever bought was a tape of the teen rap duo Kris Kross.

3.  David lost ten pounds during Hollywood week because he was so nervous.

4.  David appeared in three musicals in high school: “The Music Man,” “West Side Story” and “Singing In The Rain.”

5.  In college, David had a theater scholarship but quit the theater program because it was so cutthroat.

JUST ANOTHER NEW YEAR’S EVE

I haven’t had a lot of memorable New Year’s Eves. I’ve never gotten that fabled midnight kiss. I have been to a few good parties though.

Probably the best one was also attended by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire. It was years ago at a mansion in the hills above Silverlake that I later recognized as the setting for the climax of “Scream 3.” While Tobey stuck to the upstairs VIP area, Leo was often downstairs on the first floor and was happy to take photos with his fans. Of course, my wingman Eddie was most excited by the appearance of Milla Jovovich, not that she ever gave him a second look (or a first one for that matter).

I had a little better luck at a New Year’s Eve party a few years later. A promoter had rented the Castle, a house in the Hollywood Hills which was owned by my friend Lance’s father. The Castle was built to look like, you guessed it, a castle. That night I started talking to a couple of ladies who had come together and eventually set my eye on one. I told her how I ended up at the party and she asked, “How long have you and Lance been together?” Naive little me, I replied we’ve known each other for years. Yes, I didn’t realize she thought Lance and I were a couple. I did figure it out a few minutes later. Hopefully she figured it out after I asked her out and got her number…

Other years, I’ve spent New Year’s Eve with some buddies in Palm Springs and seeing Barry Manilow up at the Universal Amphitheater (okay, maybe it wasn’t such a leap to assume I was gay… ). So what’s my excuse for staying home this year?

Well, I’m working. I’m the researcher on “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” and I’ve agreed to stay near my phone and computer until 12:30 east coast time just in case one of the writers has a last minute research question. In fact, they did have one just a few minutes ago: “What is Hillary Clinton called since she hasn’t been confirmed as Secretary of State?” I said go with either nominee for U.S. Secretary of State or nominee-designate. In the end, they decided not to change what they already had in the script. Yes, that’s the kind of thing that earns me a credit at the end of the show…

So whether you’re out at a party or staying in to watch Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest ring in the New Year (you couldn’t be watching one of those motorcycle stunts on the other channels, could you?), all the best to you and yours tonight and in the year to come. Happy New Year!

THE BEST INTERVIEWS OF 2008

Here’s a list of the interviews I enjoyed the most during the past year. I only included interviews that were live and in person, which leaves out some memorable phone interviews by the likes of Nelly Furtado and Katy Perry. Oh, and I think it will be more interesting if we countdown to number one. Shall we?

10. Kate Hudson & Matthew McConaughey, “Fool’s Gold”:

For once, I didn’t mind it when two stars were paired up. They had an easy chemistry together that made for a fun interview.

9.  Ashton Kutcher & Rod Corddry, “What Happens In Vegas”:

Ashton was very funny, especially when telling a story about how he was watching an old episode of  “That 70’s Show” at a hotel, making the maid think he was a bit conceited.

8.  Paris Hilton & Christine Lakin, “The Hottie And The Nottie”:

Notable because I sat next to Paris, who I had never seen in person. Turns out co-star Christine did most of the talking. When the interview was over, there was a moment when Paris stood up but didn’t leave the room. I think she was waiting to see if anyone wanted an autograph, which I thought was thoughtful of her.

7.  Matthew Fox, “Speed Racer”:

The “Speed Racer” interviews took place in the Long Beach Convention Center, while time trials for the Long Beach Grand Prix went on outside. So every minute or so, there was a loud vroom noise. But I didn’t mind because not only did I get to ask Matthew a question about his work on “Lost,” he became the second “Lost” star to sign my Season One “Lost” DVD set.

6.  Sarah Michelle Gellar, “The Air That I Breathe”:

Totally charming in person, plus she gave a memorable defense of her decisions to appear in unusual roles in small indie projects.

5.  Sir Ben Kingsley, “The Wackness”:

One of the world’s greatest actors gives a 20 minute class on being a great actor.

4.  Jason Castro, “American Idol”:

I sat in on Fred Bronson’s interviews with all of this year’s “Idol” finalists and I enjoyed listening to Jason the most. Yes, David Cook’s thoughtfulness and smarts explained why he was doing so well choosing songs and David Archuleta’s sweetness and love of music shone through, but Jason’s laidback persona was the most enjoyable of all. Plus it was amazing to hear first hand the story of how little he had performed before he reached the “Idol” stage and even more amazing to hear his hints that he was ready to go home.

3.  David Duchovny & Gillian Anderson, “The X-Files”

Mulder & Scully, together again…. even if they did disagree with the basis of my question about how after all the times Mulder saved Scully on the show, it was nice to see the tables turned in the movie (David insisted Scully was always coming to Mulder’s rescue during the series’ run).

2.  Kristin Bell, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”:

My first chance ever to interview Kristin, who was as lovely and funny as, well, Veronica Mars. Plus she signed my Season One DVD set of “Mars,” making up for the fact I had nothing to get autographed when I found out Kristin was doing a signing at the San Diego Comic-Con a few years back.

1.  Russell Brand, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”:

Like many Americans, I had never heard of British comedian Russell Brand before I saw “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” which was one of my favorite movies of the year,  in no small part due to Brand’s hilarious performance. But I assumed that the outrageous rock star persona in the film was an excellent acting job, never thinking for one second that what was on the screen was actually close to the real Russell Brand. But Russell walked in the room in all his leather panted glory and proceeded to give one of the funniest interviews ever. In the radio room, we try not to laugh when the interview subject is talking but this was one day when we had no chance not to!