Saturday, November 17, 2007

I love cutthroat bitch

Anne Dudek has gone from "White Chick" to "Pregnant Neighbor" to "Cutthroat Bitch" but more on that later...

Encouraging news that the WGA and producers will go back to the negotiating table after Thanksgiving. Some say CAA's Brian Lourd initiated the call. Others say Alex Rodriguez.

Public opinion could have had an impact. Recent polls suggest more people believe O.J. than the AMPTP.

Let's hope the talks are productive and the producers don't want to spend a lot of time working out minimums for the WB & UPN, formulas for Betamax tapes, and new credit guidelines for hour variety show writers.

I couldn’t be happier that Patric Verrone is our WGA president in this difficult struggle but I just wish he didn’t look so much like Hitler.

There's going to be a big rally on Tuesday afternoon on Hollywood Blvd. We've had actors, writers assistants, and John Edwards participate. Now we invite prostitutes to walk the line with us.

My friend, Darlene Koldenhoven is an extraordinary Grammy winning singer. She recently performed on a bill with Jennifer Holliday and Natalie Cole and the LA WEEKLY said this:

Darlene Koldenhoven let loose a piercing high note near the end of her performance, it may have been the only time in history that an opera singer’s rapturous crowd response was led by someone in the audience yelling . . .YOU BETTER WORK, BITCH!"

High praise indeed!

Koldenhoven, by the way, is her stage name. She performs again December 2nd at the Jazz Factory in LA. She’s also the lead singer of the KRTH radio jingles, which is why she can sing all her big hits in under a minute.

Finally!! All-time home run chump Barry "U.S." Bonds, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury on perjury and obstruction of justice charges after a four-year investigation into whether he lied under oath about his use of steroids. Big debate in baseball circles: should his police record also have an asterisk?

It's now likely the Hall of Fame will not have either the home run king nor the player with the most hits.

My favorite new character on television is "Cutthroat Bitch". Anne Dudek on HOUSE. Previously she starred in WHITE CHICKS and last season was the pregnant neighbor in MAD MEN. You can't say she's typecast.

Speaking of HOUSE, I was thrilled they kicked Michael Michele to the curb. HOUSE marks the eighth series I've found her charmless and cold.

Good news! The LA TIMES has begun its Oscar coverage with a weekly special section called THE ENVELOPE. Meanwhile, strike coverage has been relegated to the Business Section. I somehow can’t see THE DETROIT FREE-PRESS not running stories about an auto strike on page one. But then again GM doesn’t own the DETROIT FREE-PRESS.

And good luck to the stagehands in New York on their strike. Disney flew in a top labor relations negotiator from LA. It's one thing to strike Broadway, it's another to mess with THE LITTLE MERMAID musical.

Next up: My Holiday Movie Preview. Accurate mini-reviews of films I haven't seen.

25 comments :

Jake Hollywood said...

Maybe the Baseball Hall of Fame should start a Wall of Shame...okay...check swing, maybe it should be an entire wing. Pete and Bobby could be the guides.

R.A. Porter said...

I love Anne Dudek. Every time I see her, in anything, I think this is going to be her breakout opportunity. Maybe they've all accumulated for her finally.

Instead of a Wall of Shame, perhaps just a wing dedicated to the Steroid Era. It doesn't get Pete in, but it allows the juicers. Over the doorway, a brass cast of Jose Canseco's ass.

Rob said...

Who does Michael Michele have pictures of that she keeps getting work on good TV shows. I almost got the feeling that the show purposely fired her quickly just so they could do what Homicide and ER did not.

Unknown said...

Don't forget, anyone who wants to help out in support of the writers can go to unitedhollywood.com to participate in the Pencils2MediaMoguls campaign.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, Michael Michele's career is tough to figure. To be fair, though, she was only the third least compelling character during the year she was on the show. For shame, Falsone!

D. said...

People like you are what ruined Season 3 of House. Stop telling them these terrible ideas are okay. Remember Tritter? Remember how he commpletely screwed over a vast majority of season 3?

Maybe it's personal preference, but I enjoy House because he's right. When he gets too many people telling him he's wrong (and he's actually wrong), it stops being entertaining. If he's the only one who can figure out when he's wrong, the show's focused on him. But every time that plastic surgeon pipes in a good idea or the bitch gets something right, it just becomes one big ol' re-hash of Clue - and not the movie, which I rather enjoyed.

Anonymous said...

I thought I was the only one who thought Verrone looked like hitler!

Anonymous said...

I was so tired of House last season; I love what they have done to refresh it this season... I love cut throat bitch too! If I had my vote, the new team would be The Bitch, Kal Penn's Character, and the Plastic Surgeon. They can write out the old team entirely as far as I am concerned... Not that i don't like the actors, I'm just tired of the old characters.

jouster said...

No hyphen in Free Press.

Signed,

Former Detroiter.

Anonymous said...

How dare you compare Patric Verrone and Hitler. That's an insult to Hitler.

out of work crew member

Anonymous said...

I stopped watching House in January after all the build up to David Morse as Detective Tritter hounding House for drug use suddenly went away off screen.
All the buildup to a fight and then no fight.
What a cheat.

Anonymous said...

I saw the title of this post and thought it was about Ellen.

Ken, you should host a daily sports show. You're funny AND a sports nut AND a comedy writer. You would own LA. Here's a name too... L*E*V*I*N*E with the Sports Scene. (okay, but still!) Moms with errands would listen too along with sports fans. : )

Anonymous said...

Didn't the trades announce a few weeks back which members of the new "House" team had made the cut? Or did I dream it? Seems like an odd thing to do while the storyline is still playing out.

I, too, think the competition has re-energized the show. Ann Dudek is great, and I like Olivia Wilde, too. I don't suppose they'll pick two females though. I was worried when Michael Michele came aboard -- like the other competitors, I thought she was getting a free ride. But House's "buyer's remorse" made for some funny developments and a satisfying ending.

Anonymous said...

Seconding my cousin Anon's idea on the radio show. Pronunciation probably indicates a title change though.

Maybe, 'Jeez and Whine with Ken Levine'.

Sports, inside Hollywood, Hitler jokes, snarky movie reviews.....I"m there! And so is everybody else!

C'mon. It's not like there's anything good on TV.

Anonymous said...

I think Verrone looks more like Robert Carlyle, the British (or is it Scottish?) actor who played Hitler in the mini-series that aired a few years ago on CBS, than Hitler himself.

VP81955 said...

Great news for fans of classic Hollywood musical comedy: Criterion's Eclipse subsidiary will release a four-film DVD set of Ernst Lubitsch this February -- "The Love Parade," "Monte Carlo," "The Smiling Lieutenant" and "One Hour With You." Find out more at
community.livejournal.com/carole_and_co/51504.html

...and jazz up your lingerie!

Anonymous said...

Patric Verrone also looks like Robert Vaughn. Only Verrone is the Man From Just Say Uncle.

Anonymous said...

"Will the dancing Hitlers please wait in the wings? We are only seeing singing Hitlers..."
"The Producers"

TCinLA said...

Actually, I don't think Patric Verrrone looks like Hitler, but when he puts on his one and only ill-fitting suit and white shirt, he sure reminds me of photos of Socialist Workers Party organizers, circa 1935.

Of course, if he pulls off what I still think is at maximum semi-impossible, he'll certainly be the poster boy for "looks can be deceiving."

And I'll be happy to say "Oh, he sure deceived me!"

Anonymous said...

I miss Old Fraud. Why couldn't he stay on as Bosley?

I'm not sure why Michael Michelle's character existed in the first place.

Now if only Mormon (I feel a little bad saying this since he was at the Fox rally last week) and 13 could follow swiftly behind.

I enjoyed the Survivor plot initially, but it's high time the team was selected.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I liked "Bosley" too (played by the excellent Carmen Argenziano). But I want 13 to stay, if only because I enjoy looking at her (as does House).

Rob said...

I think the new cast has refreshed house a bit. I just wish they'd can the old cast. Especially Omar Epps who is boring the heck out of me.

Anonymous said...

It seems to me that the two episodes with MM would have been better suited as a two hour episode instead of two individual episodes. The flow would have been better, her being there in the first place would have made more sense and we'd only have had to suffer one week of seeing her on our televisions.

I'm fine with all four that are left (and was fine with all five that we started out with last night) but I have a feeling that Dudek is the next to go and that makes me sad.

As for Verrone: everytime I see him in his ill fitting clothes with his peculiar hair all I can think of is Jeffrey Combs' character in "The Frighteners". Random, yes, but it's an image that has moved into my head and won't leave.

Anonymous said...

Dudek was also in the pilot of Psych. They then replaced her with someone much less interesting. She's better off, obviously.

Anonymous said...

cutthroat bitch is ok, but #13 looks like a lock (thank god). they don't seem to have a Chase replacement tho (the "pretty boy"), maybe they figure House and Wilson are enough (I wouldn't know, of course).

I was hoping Foreman would get his own team like Cuddy offered a couple of seasons ago, so we'd get to keep 6 people instead of 3..