Jan 10, 2008
"House" star Hugh Laurie, Jamie Denton of "Desperate Housewives," Greg Grunberg from "Heroes," "Cashmere Mafia's" Bonnie Somerville and the rest of their Band from TV cohorts aim to make the most of their strike-imposed time off. They've turned their collective attention to making music that will bring funding to good causes. Tonight (Jan. 10), they play at Hollywood's 3 of Clubs club, and they "have some big gigs ahead that aren't finalized yet that will raise a lot of money," reveals vocalist Bonnie. "We're also going to play some gigs in Vegas and do, like, a mini-tour," she adds.
Not only that, but Band from TV has "recorded an album with David Foster ("Hoggin' All the Covers"), with proceeds going to our individual charities. We'll do a press tour for that, and the DVD we also have coming out. You can read about each actor and our charities at www.bandfromTV.org."
Somerville is happy about the initial response to "Cashmere Mafia," which she says "just gets better and better" through the seven episodes filmed before the show shut down due to the Writers Guild of America strike. She plays Caitlin Dowd, the cosmetics industry VP who unexpectedly finds herself in a romance with her female assistant (Lourdes Benedicto). "I don't want to jinx the show," she says. "I've was on Darren Star's 'Grosse Pointe' -- one of the most acclaimed comedies in years -- and everyone expected it to do well, but somehow it just didn't click. I'd love to have something that I like on the air for more than two years."
SUPERWOMAN: "Law & Order's" S. Epatha Merkerson is in an ironic situation. While most of the industry is frozen in the grip of the writers' strike, she's juggling series shooting and preview performances of her Broadway revival "Come Back, Little Sheba."
"I'm getting up in the wee hours of the morning to do 'Law & Order,' and then doing the show in the evening. And since we're in previews, we have rehearsals as well. At my age, I'm buckling down and making sure I get all the rest I can. It's a demanding role," she says, referring to Lola, the character that won Shirley Booth a 1952 Oscar. "The character only leaves the set for a minute or two. There's only one scene she's not in. But I'm just really happy, enjoying it. I'm up to the challenge."
Indeed. Epatha did the play in Los Angeles last year and drew dream reviews, and it appears she's headed for more such raves for her starring performance in the William Inge drama at the Biltmore Theatre. At the same time, "Law & Order" returned to production Monday.
"When the strike started, we had four back scripts, so we're good to keep shooting 'til the end of January," explains the actress, who holds the record for longest stint among the cast on the 18-season-old series. "We will finish our full mid-season order of 13."
Epatha says she's still enjoying "L&O," and notes, "We have a couple of new guys this season, great guys -- Jeremy Sisto and Linus Roache. I'm a fan of both their work. They're a great addition. But I haven't had a chance because of the play to see the show yet this season, so I can't comment on their episodes," she adds with a laugh.
KISS OFF: Nia Long, who starred with Ice Cube in "Are We There Yet?" and with Jude Law in "Alfie," told an interviewer that "hands down, Cube is the better kisser. His lips are softer, fuller." So Entertainment Weekly asked Cube what he thought of that as part of a Stupid Questions feature in the magazine's issue that hits stands tomorrow. His response: "Jude Law know what time it is. You ain't telling him nothing he don't know already." So what else does Cube think he has over Jude? "Better actor. Better rapper. Look better. He's got that little English thing going on, that's about it." And Jude wasn't the only fellow movie man who got the Ice treatment. Cube, who has the big-screen "First Sunday" opening tomorrow (Jan. 11), also was asked whether Chris Tucker is grateful enough, and swings by weekly to kiss the Cube ring, for his career-launching help with the movie "Friday." His response: "Nah, he's not grateful enough. He needs to break me off some of that money. He can keep the kiss."
FULL DANCE CARD: Superhot jazz songstress Nnenna Freelon reports she has "Better than Anything," a greatest-hits CD she calls "the essential Nnenna Freelon," due out Jan. 16. The five-time Grammy nominee says, "I've been recording for 11 years, and they pulled the Nnenna tunes you must have for this album. It's music that maybe some of my fans have, but not all in one package."
Meanwhile, Freelon headed out this week (Jan. 8) with the Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary tour. "I'll be on the road for 10 weeks with James Moody, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Greene, Derek Hodge and Kendrick Scott traveling all over the country, so my dance card is full till March."
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