Featured Stories
“ACM Presents: Superstar Duets” “Bessie” “General Hospital”
Profiled athlete J.B. Holmes
CELEBRITY SPOTLIGHTS Kara Killmer Matthew Perry Damian Lewis Bob Schieffer Tony Horton
WHAT'S FOR DINNER
The story Strange visit to ‘Wayward Pines’ Matt Dillon stars in “Wayward Pines,” premiering Thursday on Fox.
Featuring: Nancy Fuller
JAY Bobbin's movies to watch
folio And so much more!
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Stories
“Wayward Pines”
Premiering Thursday on Fox.
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“ACM Presents: Superstar Duets”
Luke Bryan performs on the special “ACM Presents: Superstar Duets” he es”), Friday on CBS. p 11
“Bessie”
Saturday on HBO. pp 12-13
“General Hospital” Rebecca Herbst appears in the first of two live episodes of “General Hospital” Friday on ABC. pp 14-15
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Celebrity potlights
Kara Killmer
use‘Chicago Fire’ on NBC. p4
Matthew Perry
of ‘The Odd Couple’ on CBS. p5
Damian Lewis
on ‘Masterpiece’ on PBS. p6
Pictured: Queen Latifah attending the Vanity Fair Oscar Party 2015 on February 22, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.
Nancy Fuller
pulls a double Mother’s Day shift on Food Network. p7
Bob Schieffer Checking In. p8
Tony Horton
A celebrity personal trainer. p9
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Profiled Athlete J.B. Holmes pp 16-17
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Editor's choice
STORY
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By Jay Bobbin It isn’t Twin Peaks, but as mysterious television towns go, Wayward Pines is a reasonably close cousin. M. Night Shyamalan, the filmmaker who has built his reputation on eerie tales (“The Sixth Sense,” “Signs”), brings his approach to the home screen as a 10episode Fox series debuts Thursday, May 14. Based on Blake Crouch’s book trilogy, “Wayward Pines” features a rare TV turn by Matt Dillon as a Secret Service man injured in a car crash as he arrives to seek two missing federal agents in the “perfect” title Idaho locale, where a “Stepford Wives” quality is evoked by residents just a little too happy to live there. Terrence Howard – continuing his Fox run this year after scoring big success as Lucious Lyon in “Empire” – also stars as the overprotective sheriff who calmly warns the newcomer to “follow the rules” in his jurisdiction. Other notables in the cast include Juliette Lewis (also in her second show this year, coming off ABC’s “Secrets and Lies”), Carla Gugino, Oscar winner Melissa Leo and Toby Jones (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”). “Serialized TV is like me getting to do a (prolonged movie) first act,” executive producer Shyamalan explains of making his “Wayward Pines” move, “develop characters and insinuate and hint at things. That is where my lean is and that’s where I would love to be, rather than, ‘Get to the boat sinking, so we can get to the plot.’ We’ll get there, but we’re going to develop the characters. The rhythm of this style of storytelling is very comfortable for me.” Dillon, whose movie career has been marked by such titles as “There’s Something About Mary” and “Crash,” signed up for “Wayward Pines” for a similar reason. “I had questions,” he says, “and I continued to have questions even after I committed to doing the show, and I think that’s what drew me into it. I’m drawn to atmospheric projects, and I like this.
“For me, the most important thing is that for the characters, there’s logic behind everything that they are doing. It doesn’t have to make sense to anybody but that individual, but there has to be a truthfulness to who the characters are, and I think we all felt that.” Co-star Gugino believes the atmospheric Vancouver, British Columbia, filming site helped: “I love a good mystery, and it’s not just about, ‘Let’s reveal these plot elements.’ Those are really interesting and there’s some really great plot reveals (here), but from the very start, this was character-driven. Those are things you can’t fake, and those are things that you do feel, no matter how much skill is involved. Being somewhere and letting it seep in for that period of time is very significant.” At the same time America gets its first taste of “Wayward Pines,” so will much of the rest of the world. It’s set to premiere in more 125 countries simultaneously, reportedly making it the largest global scripted-series launch ever. Shyamalan also directed the “Wayward Pines” premiere, and he admits he found the limited-run format a major appeal. Though he doesn’t rule out doing more TV, he says, “We won’t do it unless it’s organically and creatively correct. The only reason I said ‘Yes’ to (this) was because it wasn’t the thing I think could be an issue when you’re doing TV. “You don’t know the end, right? So you’re vamping to some extent – then you’re coming up with wonderfully creative ideas, but they may actually corner you and you don’t have an end anymore. In this thing, there was a real definitive place it was going, and all the puzzle pieces fit perfectly. So we would have to make sure that that happened again.”
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
KaraKillmer
‘Chicago Fire’ on NBC
What have your biggest challenges been in joining “Chicago Fire” as paramedic Sylvie Brett this season? There are little technical things we had to learn, things that if you messed them up, you essentially would kill the person. My very first episode, I had to do something called the Lazaro method ... where if they are too damaged, you have to get air to their lungs somehow. I had to punch a needle through the person’s trachea, and I remember practicing it and then taking a step back, because I was like, “Whoo! I need some air.” It takes a specific kind of person to be able to stomach something like that, especially in a crisis or an emergency where you have to think on your feet. Doing some of that stuff can make you a little squeamish, but we rehearse it fairly regularly before we get it down. Since such actions were what sold Sylvie’s new co-workers on her skills, was there even more pressure on you from that standpoint? For a new character coming in – and not just to fill a slot on the team, but that of a character as significant as Leslie Shay was – a higher bar was set to try to fill those shoes. I think that as the season has gone on, Sylvie has kind of established her own shoes to fill. How did you deal with assuming someone else’s place on the show, both as the actress and the character? The way that I approached people’s heartbreak over Leslie’s death was that you had a hint of what it’s really like to lose a civil servant, so I kind of appreciated that people got so upset about it. Even as an audience member, I was disappointed that she was gone, because I felt like she had the most unfinished business. That journey is very real. People don’t always get things all tied up with a bow.
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
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MatthewPerry of ‘The Odd Couple’ on CBS How did your starring in an update of “The Odd Couple” come to be? Well, the whole thing started ... I was driving around in my car and it’s really weird how this whole thing started. I thought it would be great to remake “The Odd Couple.” I had a cast in mind, a network in mind, and then found out that it was actually being developed at CBS. And so, almost everything that I thought of in the car came true. What is the spirit like on the set? There’s really an open atmosphere creatively, like, “Best joke wins wherever it comes from.” If the craft service person comes up with a funny joke, it’s in the show. And I think that’s the best way to do a TV show, so there’s nobody tyrannical. And so we are pushing jokes all day long, and that’s a really fun place to be. You did two other comedy series between “Friends” and this one, “Mr. Sunshine” and “Go On.” How did doing those affect what you’re doing now? What I took from that experience, I’m pretty proud of both of those shows. They had their moments and at least aspired to be something different, which was cool. But the hours were just insane, and I forgot the hours on a sitcom (like this) are actual normal hours. You work from 10:00 (a.m.) to 4:00 (p.m.), and you can actually have like a normal life – and it’s really fun to be in front of an audience, and I hadn’t done that since 2004, so that was really fun. It’s really interesting how our performances come way up when the audience is there.
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Q&A
DamianLewis on ‘Masterpiece’ on PBS How big a challenge has it been to play someone as iconic as King Henry VIII in ‘Masterpiece’s’ presentation of the about-to-conclude “Wolf Hall”? My vanity will always relish a challenge, you know, (regardless of) whoever’s been there before me. In fact, that probably encourages me. But of course, when one takes on a role like this, you wonder if there’s an opportunity to redefine, to give a different portrayal, maybe educate people in a different way. I think Hilary (Mantel, the saga’s original author) was keen to do that in the books, and Peter Straughan – who’s done this extraordinary adaptation – and myself and Mark and Claire and others have all jumped on it for that reason. We think there’s a real opportunity to look differently at a period of history which is loved and well known. Henry VIII as a brand is right up there with Coca-Cola. What do you think about the relationship of Henry and Thomas Cromwell (played by Mark Rylance) as “Wolf Hall” depicts it? The real drama is between these two and how they are negotiating the halls of power and trying to give this capricious king what he wants. Claire (Foy, cast as Anne Boleyn) and I had few scenes together – and they are quite fun when they are there, because they are domestic scenes where she seems about to blow her top, and I’m sort of going, “Yes, yes, it’s going to be all right, let’s get this signed here,” or just trying to appease her. But he was besotted with her. He’d have done anything with her until she started irritating him. And then, he killed her.
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FOOD John Crook’s What's for Dinner
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NancyFuller
pulls a double Mother’s Day shift on Food Network Most mothers and grandmothers get to take it easy on Mother’s Day, but Sunday, May 10, finds Food Network star Nancy Fuller pulling double duty. In prime time, Fuller joins her fellow judges Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale on a Mother’s Day-themed episode of “Spring Baking Championship.” “It was delicious, if you will, to see the creativity that went into their brunch dishes,” Fuller says. “I love the judging. It’s great fun. I love watching these kids exceed all the limits that we had when we were much younger.” Fuller says she brings the perspective of a “regular” cook to the process. “I’m a big proponent of (visual) appeal. I want to be wowed by the presentation,” she explains. “Duff and Lorraine are much more technical. They know the gluten and protein, the chemistry of it all. I’m just a cook. Duff and Lorraine are more astute about how the various components interact. I’ll tell you if it’s dry or overbaked.” Earlier that Sunday, Fuller hosts two of her daughters and two granddaughters to a mother-daughter dinner party on her hit daytime series, “Farmhouse Rules,” where the menu goes from chicken-liver mousse to crème brûlée. “Years ago, when I was the mother and they were the kids, it was great because they always brought me breakfast in bed,” Fuller says. “It was fun to see what they would try to do. Now, because everybody is older and has their own kids, they’re following in that tradition with their own families. So we don’t get to do this as often as we would like to. When the opportunity presents itself, we do. We do get together every summer and every winter.” What did you have for dinner last night? “I ate out last night with some friends. I had swordfish with a spinach-mushroom ragout. It was lovely.” If you could host a dinner party for three guests, living or dead, who would they be? “Julia Child, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. Wouldn’t that be a wealth of information? And how diversified. Think of the many different facets of life that they each lead.”
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Do you have a favorite kitchen tool, hightech or low, that makes your life easier? “I have an antique instrument that I call a
garlic masher. It probably wasn’t a judge’s mallet per se, but it may have come from the Masons. I use that thing all the time, for garlic, for breadcrumbs, for tenderizing meat. I bought it at an antique auction one afternoon.” Do you have a favorite spice? “Tarragon. One of my first and foremost meals that I can remember is grilled swordfish with tarragon butter. So simple, so easy, and it was divine, a fabulous flavor. Also, if I am making a stew, I probably will add a pinch of cayenne just to add a little bite.”
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CELEBRITY Jay Bobbin’s Celebrity ScooP
BobSchieffer
After 24 years of presiding over “Face the Nation,” Bob Schieffer couldn’t be more pleased about the hands he’ll soon leave it in. The veteran journalist will retire from CBS News, where he has worked since 1969, this summer. When he does, his anchor seat on the 60-year-old Sunday program will be assumed by the division’s political director, John Dickerson – son of the late CBS and NBC reporter (and Schieffer friend) Nancy Dickerson. “I was very much a part” of the selection process, the ever-genial Schieffer confirms. “David Rhodes, the president of CBS News, and I are pretty much on the same page. We had some very, very qualified people, and we just finally decided that John was the right fit. He certainly has the right bloodline.” Indeed, Schieffer recalls Nancy Dickerson as “really the first female correspondent at CBS News since Mary Marvin Breckinridge, who was hired by Ed Murrow during World War II. She certainly was the first one in the Washington (D.C.) bureau. I’ve often said that more and more, I find myself working with my friends’ children ... and here, I’m being replaced by one!” Schieffer doesn’t rule out possibly appearing again on CBS News programming, perhaps on “Face the Nation” panels. As for now being the time for his retirement, the man whose name is on Texas Christian University’s Bob Schieffer College of Communication reflects, “I really wanted to be able to leave when I could still do the job. I’ve spent a lot of time in Washington watching senators who just stayed too long and were led around by the hand and didn’t know if they were on the elevator or the Senate floor. “Things are going very well at CBS,” adds Schieffer. “I think we’re at the top of our game, ‘Face the Nation’ has never been better and the ratings are really good, and I just thought, ‘Why not step away now, rather than wait until someone comes and says, “Come on, old fella, we’re gonna help you out the door?” Birthdate: Feb. 25, 1937 Birthplace: Austin, Texas Current residence: Washington, D.C. Marital status: Wife’s name is Patricia; they have two daughters Books he’s written include: “Face the Nation: My Favorite Stories From the First 50 Years of the Award-Winning News Broadcast,” “This Just In: What I Couldn’t Tell You on TV,” “Bob Schieffer’s America” and Page 8 YOUR TV LINK Courtesy of Gracenote May 10 - 16, 2015
(as co-author with Gary Paul Gates) “The Acting President” Honors include: Six Emmy Awards, membership in the Television Academy Hall of Fame and the Broadcasting/Cable Hall of Fame, two Sigma Delta Chi Awards, the National Press Foundation’s 2002 Broadcaster of the Year, the Paul White Award and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Writing from the Radio Television Digital News Association, and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence
CELEBRITY Celebrities profiled
Ton y H o r t o n
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A celebrity personal trainer - He was born Anthony Sawyer Horton Jr. on July 2, 1958, in the small town of Westerly, R.I. - Horton was a handyman for Dom DeLuise, a gardener for Dolly Parton, a carpenter, a comic, a waiter, a landscape engineer and a go-go dancer. - He was the Nordic Track man and human statue. Horton discovered techniques for maximizing his workouts and started to train co-workers and studio executives. - His favorite food is a grilled veggie pizza on whole wheat crust and he burns off those calories with his active lifestyle. - On Sundays, Tony and his friends get together at the beach to go through a variety of gymnastic moves, doing things such as forming human pyramids and climbing ropes upside down just to push their physical boundaries. They love putting themselves to the test, staying strong and getting stronger as they get older, and the crowds enjoy it, too. - Horton has a showman’s spirit, and enjoys getting the crowd worked up. Tony’s humor makes all the exercises a little more bearable and serves well at distracting most people from the pain of lifting weights, pumping pushups and jumping. - Horton spends his free time on the slopes, the sand, the water, and anywhere else he can push his body to the limit.
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CELEBRITY Celebs’ favorite shows
Kara Killmer
Christine Baranski
Kevin Dunn
Diogo Morgado
Set the DVR Kara Killmer of “Chicago Fire” on NBC “I usually end up watching ‘Chicago Fire’ on a computer, because I don’t have a TV yet. It took me weeks to find an apartment, and I still haven’t established quite everything because I’m working so much. If I had a DVR, I’d probably have a stack of films on it, but I love ‘The Big Bang Theory’ and I loved ‘Parks and Recreation.’ Now that it’s over, I’m quite sad.” Kevin Dunn of “Veep” on HBO “ ‘House of Cards.’ ‘Spiral,’ a French show about the justice system and the cops that I loved. And I really like ‘Lilyhammer’ with Steve Van Zandt. It’s very interesting. He really kind of gives the show up to these really very funny actors from – I don’t know if it’s out of Norway... but the style of shooting is hilarious. If I was going to direct a comedy, I would recommend that people watch that, how it’s shot.”
Diogo Morgado of “The Messengers” on The CW “Well, depending on where I am – at the moment I’m in Lisbon, Portugal, but I do have access to Netflix, which is different from having a DVR. So I don’t know, I watch a lot of shows, mainly ‘House of Cards,’ ‘Homeland.’ It’s mainly series and a couple of movies.” Christine Baranski of “The Good Wife” on CBS “’I’m such an Anglophile, I have to say ‘Downton Abbey.’ I love observing all the details, and I love the historical aspect of it. Otherwise, I’m pretty well behind on everything. Maybe it’s because I work in television, but when I have downtime, I’m either with my family – I’ve just recently been blessed with a grandson – or I feel a longing to read. I look forward to my years of binge-watching.”
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STORY
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Country artists
team for
‘Superstar Duets’ By Jay Bobbin
Luke Bryan It’s not unusual for country stars to pair up musically, but rarely have there been as many teamings on one occasion as a new CBS special offers.
Loveless; Keith Urban and John Anderson; Alabama and Eli Young Band; Darius Rucker and Sara Evans; and Eric Church and Marty Stuart.
Then again, that’s the entire premise of the two-hour show “ACM Presents: Superstar Duets,” airing Friday, May 15. This year’s variation on the charitable events staged annually by the Academy of Country Music, the program was recorded the same weekend that the 50th ACM Awards ceremony was staged last month in Arlington, Texas – where “Superstar Duets” also was taped (at Globe Life Park), making it convenient for many of the same artists to appear.
Also featured is country-music icon Reba McEntire, who was one of several recipients of ACM Milestone Awards at the honors in April. She’s actually part of a superstar trio on the special, since she’s partnered with Brooks & Dunn, who are ending their professional hiatus of more than four years ... also to share the bill with McEntire in a number of upcoming Las Vegas shows.
Luke Bryan was among them, and he’s teamed with veteran talent Ronnie Milsap. “My manager asked me my thoughts,” Bryan explains, “and I said, ‘I’d love to get up there and do that with Ronnie.’ He was probably my first influence and my first memory of music, period. It’s funny; it’s one thing to be up there singing with him, but when you do it for TV, it’s documented forever. It’s always amazing to have those kinds of connections.” Among others who connect in performances on “Superstar Duets,” which was mounted as part of the third annual ACM Party for a Cause Festival: Miranda Lambert and Patty
“The hardest part about doing it,” she maintains, “is figuring out which songs to do. We both (as acts) have extensive catalogs.” And McEntire’s own catalog has expanded lately, thanks to the recent release of “Love Somebody,” her 27th studio album. She notes that after the “Superstar Duets” stint, “To get to go back and perform in Vegas, which I’ve done since 1983 – I’ve headlined there, and I’ve opened for other people there – is going to be a blast, especially to go back in there with Ronnie (Dunn) and Kix (Brooks).”
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STORY
“Bessie” airs Saturday on HBO. Story on next page
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STORY
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Queen Latifah
brings ‘Bessie’ Smith to vibrant life for HBO By John Crook It’s taken 22 years, but the life story of an American blues icon finally comes to the small screen in “Bessie,” premiering Saturday, May 16, on HBO. Queen Latifah, also an executive producer on the film, tackles the title role of Bessie Smith, who rose from childhood poverty to become one of the most successful recording artists of the 1920s. As her fame grew, Smith used the music of the blues to give voice to a social and ethnic class who otherwise had little to no political visibility. Director Dee Rees, who also co-wrote the TV movie screenplay after writers such as Horton Foote had struggled with it, says she didn’t want “Bessie” to be a conventional musical with slick production numbers drawn from Smith’s biggest hits. “I didn’t want it to be a glitzy, ‘jazz hands’ biopic,” Rees says, “and I didn’t want to rely on other people’s accounts of her. I wanted to find Bessie’s own take on things, so I started with her songs, especially the ones that she wrote. I thought that would be a good window into her psyche. I wanted to get behind her eyes. What is beautiful from afar often is very painful up close. I wanted to show that Bessie’s bravado, this strength that people saw from afar, actually covered a very vulnerable, lonely woman.” It was that vulnerability that gave Latifah her first point of connection with this role.
“She had an aching desire to be loved, and she was willing to do things that were not the best decisions just to create that love,” the actress says. “She needed to have her whole family around her, so she basically footed the bill for all of them, just to have them there – even if they didn’t all get along. She needed to have protection, to feel safe, so that’s why she dealt with (husband) Jack, even though she knew the things he was up to. She couldn’t say ‘I love you,’ though. She definitely had some blocks, but the idea of coming home to an empty house was something that she was afraid of.” Unable to fully give or receive love, Smith turned to multiple relationships ranging from her marriage to Jack (Michael Kenneth Williams, “Boardwalk Empire”), to liaisons with female lover Lucille (Tika Sumpter) and charismatic bootlegger Richard (Mike Epps). “Every person gave her something different, something that she needed,” Latifah explains. “Each of them served a purpose and they weren’t really interchangeable. I can relate to that on a lot of different levels.” “I hope (viewers) take away the realization that blues was a form of social protest, and there was this kind of radical black feminism that existed with these women, from Ma Rainey to Bessie Smith to Billie Holiday,” Rees says. “These women are part of a continuum that has shaped entertainment today. They were going against the flow. That’s why we’re still talking about them today.”
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STORY
Rebecca Herbst appears in the first of two live episodes of “General Hospital” Friday on ABC. Story on next page
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STORY
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‘General Hospital’ checks in with two live episodes By Jay Bobbin “Back in the day,” daytime dramas were broadcast live ... and now, “General Hospital” is taking a page from that playbook. Twice.
Tyler Christopher
Soon after marking its 52nd anniversary and being the most-nominated show in this year’s Daytime Emmys (it won three), the ABC serial is putting its cast and crew to a test by staging live episodes Friday and Monday, May 15 and 18. The shows will be truly live only on the East Coast, with the West Coast receiving tape-delayed telecasts; while most story details are being kept under wraps, such soap traditions as a wedding and characters “caught in (a) crossfire” are promised.
Tyler Christopher has done several tours of “General Hospital” duty as Nikolas Cassadine, one of Elizabeth’s exes, and he also has done theater work. While feeling that gives him a leg up in performing “General Hospital” live, he also knows the possible perils.
“Ron (series head writer Carlivati) and I have always been very progressive in the way that we’ve worked together,” says executive producer Frank Valentini, “especially on ‘General Hospital,’ trying to move the show into the 21st century, but there are still some basic tenets of serialized storytelling that we like to incorporate. I think this is a way to not only go back and be old-school about it, but also to honor (earlier) shows in their original format.” In the 1982 movie comedy “Tootsie,” an actor memorably panics over having to do his soap opera live after the tape of an episode is ruined. While she isn’t quite that distressed about the “General Hospital” prospect, Rebecca Herbst – who has played nurse Elizabeth Webber on the show for 18 years – admits to some trepidation. “When Frank told me about it,” she recalls, “my first reaction was, ‘Why? Why are we doing this?’ It just seems so out of our comfort zone. This is not what we do, but some of the people are really super-excited ... and others, like myself, are pretty freaked out. I don’t have any theater experience, and that’s because I never wanted to. It’ll be a challenge, but it’s always good to push yourself a little.”
“Especially with the speed at which we work these days,” he reflects, “anything can go wrong and does, but we’re with a great group of people here, and I think it’s going to go off without a hitch. You can’t just stand there with your eyes wide open; you’ve got to know your character and the story well enough to get yourself out of a hole. It’s happened to me on stage where something goes wrong, but you’re so well-rehearsed, you can find your way out of it.” Pleased that the idea for the live “General Hospital” episodes came from ABC Entertainment president Paul Lee, Valentini realizes it asks a lot of a team that isn’t used to it to do a live telecast on Friday, then tackle another one three days later – even with a weekend to catch some breath in-between. Still, he says, “I thought it was a cool idea, and I was up for the challenge. Paul is always thinking of what’s next, so it’s kind of fun to be in that kind of environment, where someone who has such an incredible amount of responsibility still has enough time to pay attention to us. It says a lot about how committed ABC is to the show and to its fans.”
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SPORTS
Comeback kid Holmes in the money on PGA Tour Story on next page
Full name: John Bradley Holmes Born: April 26, 1982 (age 33) Hometown: Campbellsville, Ky.
Height/weight: 5 feet 11 inches/190 pounds College: University of Kentucky Wins: seven
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Honors and achievements: Fastest golfer to earn $1 million; led Kentucky to its only SEC Golf Conference championship in 2005
SPORTS
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By Dan Ladd In the wake of the Masters and the impressive performance of Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods’ return and even Rory McIlroy’s run at history, it’s easy to overlook other players on the PGA Tour. Doing so with J.B. Holmes would be a big mistake. Not only will Holmes be defending his title at the Wells Fargo Championship, airing from Charlotte, N.C., Thursday through Saturday, May 14-17, on Golf Channel and CBS, it was Holmes who held off Spieth and Johnson Wagner in a playoff to take the Shell Houston Open just a week prior to the Masters in early April. Including the Masters, through 12 events Holmes made nine cuts and finished in the top 10 four times. At press time he was ranked third in the Cup points standings. Thus far he’s finished second twice this season – at the Farmer’s Insurance Open in February and the WGC-Cadillac Championship in March. His only real shortcomings have been his inability to be near the top of the leaderboard in major tournaments. His best finish was a tie for 14th at the British Open in 2010. Holmes’ career has been one of ups and downs. He became the fastest golfer on the Tour to earn $1 million. In 2011 he underwent brain surgery and has been on the comeback road ever since. Prior to winning the Wells Fargo last year, Holmes hadn’t won since 2008. But his numbers, his near-victories and his win at Houston prove he’s a force to be reckoned with.
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MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's Theatrical movie review review
So many Nicholas Sparks novels have been made into movies, it’s pretty easy to know what to expect from any new film based on one of the author’s stories. Lovers meet or reunite; one is, or both are, plagued by a trauma or traumas from the past; happiness seems impossible; and, ultimately, happiness happens. Perhaps you’ve just been spared feeling compelled to pay the price of admission to “The Longest Ride,” the latest Sparks adaptation which transplants the standard formula into a rodeo setting. You still get thematic doses of Sparks’ “The Notebook” and “Dear John,” and there’s mild intrigue in the casting of certain descendants of screen icons.
“The Longest Ride”
A familiar plot sparks ‘The Longest Ride’
First and foremost on that count is Scott Eastwood, son of Clint, as a rodeo rider who largely overcomes a head injury – caused by a wild bronc – to return and ride again, attracting an art-history student (Britt Robertson, “Under the Dome”) in the process. Sounds nice and easy, right? Don’t kid yourself: This is Nicholas Sparks material we’re talking about. Complications inevitably arise in their romance, which is paralleled with a “Notebook”-ish love story from the past that involves Alan Alda, lending his typical expertise as a car-accident victim saved by the young couple. Letters that he’s transporting cue the flashbacks, with Jack Huston (grandson of John) and Oona Chaplin (granddaughter of Charlie) also figuring into that component of the tale. Put all of this together and essentially, “The Longest Ride” isn’t much more than a Sparks soufflé, with all the expected ingredients. That may be all well and good for those already in the choir that the novelist sings to ... but even then, it wouldn’t be a surprise to overhear such fans note, ”Oh, he did that in (such-andsuch story), too.“ That’s the catch with genre success: Unless you change things up sufficiently, the familiar can seem really, really familiar.
Scott Eastwood
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A little overlong at two hours-plus, “The Longest Ride” is inoffensive overall, but the Sparks faithful shouldn’t be surprised by the sense that they’ve taken this ride before.
MOVIES JAY BOBBIN's movie review movies to watch
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“STILL ALICE” Julianne Moore earned the most recent Oscar for best actress – and numerous other honors – for her superb work in this highly affecting drama about a university professor afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. Aware of the illness’ ultimate effects, the educator does all she can to stay aware of herself and those around her for as long as she can. The strong supporting cast includes Kristen Stewart (“Twilight”), Alec Baldwin, Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish (“The Following”), but there’s no question the movie belongs to Moore. Co-writer and co-director (with Wash Westmoreland) Richard Glatzer succumbed to his battle with ALS shortly after the film-award season that saw this project much-rewarded. DVD extras: three “making-of” documentaries; three deleted scenes. ››› (PG-13: AS, P) (Also on Blu-ray and On Demand)
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“AMERICAN SNIPER” (May 19): The Clint Eastwood-directed drama tells the true story of Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper), a Navy SEAL who uses his shooting skills to protect military comrades. (R: AS, P, V)
“FOCUS” (June 2): A seasoned con artist (Will Smith) teams with a relative newcomer (Margot Robbie) professionally and personally. (R: AS, P, V)
“THE LOFT” (May 26): Five married men who keep a secret penthouse, where they live out their fantasies and find a dead woman there; stars include Karl Urban and James Marsden. (R: AS, N, P, V)
“JUPITER ASCENDING” (June 2): A young woman (Mila Kunis), leading a rather ordinary life, turns out to be the key to the future of the universe; Channing Tatum also stars in the “Matrix”-veteran Wachowskis’ fantasy. (PG-13: AS, N, V)
“SEVENTH SON” (May 26): A young man (Ben Barnes) is enlisted to succeed a protector (Jeff Bridges) of the general population against supernatural forces. (PG-13: AS, P, V)
“THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SPONGE OUT OF WATER” (June 2): Pursuing the stolen recipe for Krabby Patties, SpongeBob SquarePants and his allies enter the world above theirs in this animated tale. (PG: AS)
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FAVORITE SHOWS
Julianna Margulies stars in “The Good Wife”
Jesse Spencer stars in “Chicago Fire”
SUNDAY 9 p.m. on CBS The Good Wife The police practices aren’t entirely above board in the drama’s sixthseason finale, as Alicia (Julianna Margulies) discovers after she’s contacted by a client. She finds he’s being detained in a secret location used by law officers for suspects before they’re booked on the record — potentially opening up a legal minefield. Michael J. Fox reprises his recurring role as Louis Canning. Christine Baranski, Matt Czuchry and Alan Cumming also star. Season Finale New 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) Wolf Hall on Masterpiece “Episode 6” brings the new drama based on Hilary Mantel’s novels
Patricia Arquette stars in “CSI: Cyber”
to its end, as the notably changed attitude of King Henry VIII (Damian Lewis) toward Anne Boleyn (Claire Foy) puts her in considerable peril — particularly since others who are against her sense how vulnerable she is. With his focus now on Jane Seymour (Kate Phillips), the monarch relies on Cromwell (Mark Rylance) to handle Anne, who commits an action that surely doesn’t help her own case. Series Finale New MONDAY 10:01 p.m. on ABC Castle Talk about a haunted Castle: The author’s (Nathan Fillion) past resurfaces for him in a highly disturbing way as the mystery series ends its seventh season with
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Nathan Fillion stars in “Castle”
“Hollander’s Woods.” A death takes him and other investigators to a wooded area, stirring very troubling memories from childhood for Castle. Beckett (Stana Katic) has her own bothersome situation that may prompt a major decision. Wallace Langham (“CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”) guest stars. Season Finale New TUESDAY 10 p.m. on NBC Chicago Fire The drama’s third season ends with considerable discord in the firehouse in “Spartacus.” The deep division among colleagues over Rice (guest star Warren Christie) leaves Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) uncertain of how to unify his team again. A raging fire at a warehouse may be continued on next page
FAVORITE SHOWS the catalyst for drawing them back together. Casey (Jesse Spencer) takes big risks in investigating Jack Nesbitt (guest star Eric Mabius). Dawson (Monica Raymund) receives major news. Season Finale New
down — as the teams find later when they must rappel down the Reunion Tower. A cattle ranch also is on the itinerary en route to the $1 million prize claimed by the winners. Phil Keoghan hosts. Season Finale New
Wednesday 9 p.m. on CBS CSI: Cyber The first series in the franchise to be able to boast it stars an Oscar winner ends its freshman season with two back-to-back episodes. A gem robbery and related murder in Detroit puts Avery (Patricia Arquette) and her team on the probe into a coinciding power outage in “Bit by Bit.” Then, in “Family Secrets,” she faces the hacker who released information on her former psychology patients — while Krumitz (Charley Koontz) meets his parents’ killer. Season Finale New
SATURDAY 9 p.m. on ABC The Billboard Music Awards: An Insider’s Guide The night before the big event, to be hosted by Ludacris and Chrissy Teigen, this new special offers a survey of
THURSDAY 9 p.m. on FOX Wayward Pines A seemingly tranquil Idaho town cloaks darker elements — almost — in a new series based on Blake Crouch’s novels and executiveproduced by M. Night Shyamalan (“The Sixth Sense”), who also directed the premiere, “Where Paradise Is Home.” Matt Dillon plays a Secret Service agent whose search for missing federal agents bothers the overprotective sheriff (Terrence Howard, “Empire”). Oscar winner Melissa Leo, Carla Gugino and Juliette Lewis also star. Series Premiere New FRIDAY 8 p.m. on CBS The Amazing Race The concluding hour of the show’s 26th edition starts in Peru, but it ends up back on American turf ... in Dallas, specifically, where the remaining contestants have to get to the very top of AT&T Stadium. Whenever one reaches great heights, it’s a long way
Juliette Lewis stars in “Wayward Pines”
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the nominees. Taylor Swift and Sam Smith top the list in terms of number of award bids, with both in the running in eight categories including top artist, top digital songs artist and top radio artist. Ed Sheeran, Iggy Azalea, Meghan Trainor, Ariana Grande and One Direction also are among music stars well-represented in the various contests. New
Taylor Swift is featured in “The Billboard Music Awards: An Insider’s Guide”
Phil Keoghan hosts “The Amazing Race”
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