Going for the Gold (Statuette)...

With the Winter Olympics a mere faint memory, at this point, it's time now to go for ANOTHER piece of gold hardware, and that's Oscar. It's the night before... and the celebratory parties began weeks ago, with a bulk of them happening last weekend into this week.

I was lucky enough to be invited to a couple of them in honor of Jeremy Renner and "The Hurt Locker." If you haven't seen this film yet, please do yourself a favor... It is riveting from start to finish, and features an actor who's been "at it" for 20 years, and is just now being considered a "breakout star"... He doesn't mind, in fact, Jeremy has told me "I'll be a breaking out til I'm 80, I hope" -- He's just that kind of guy... grateful, talented, and humble.

So we met at an after-party (in fact the very one described in the last blog entry -- and by the way, I have to blog more... this once a month, once every other month thing is not enough) for the Palm Springs Int'l Film Festival. A few days later, and very coincidentally, he was scheduled to come in to Extra for an interview, so I asked to do it. We had a great interview, and afterward, Jeremy invited me to his birthday party (39th) which was happening the next night. He didn't have to be that gracious. But he was.

Went to his party and had a blast! Gerard Butler, Jon Hamm were both there, but more than the celeb "factor" -- just a bunch of really nice people, at a divey Hollywood piano bar... Jeremy even got behind the piano and belted out "NY State of Mind" -- and the dude has pipes!

Then last weekend, my friend Jen and I were both invited to "The Hurt Locker" party at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood (the very same hotel where John Belushi, sadly, took his own life)... This was a party... in Bungalow 1... Stars galore (including Gerard Butler, yes they are friends), Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jason Bateman, to name a few... (I always feel like I am "dropping" names... don't mean it to sound that way... it's just very matter of fact... I am still always starstruck, but of course, don't show it -- but I very much appreciate the opportunities I have been given in my career)...

One night later, we find ourselves at Guy O'Seary's house in Beverly Hills... Guy, of course, being Madonna's manager, has a crazy big and beautiful home... spectacular! Bradley Cooper was there, Jon Hamm and his wife.. happy to run in to Mark McGrath and his girlfriend Corrin... Robin Wright Penn, and late in the evening, in comes Jessica Simpson and her friend, hair stylist Ken Paves... She couldn't have been sweeter, and Jeremy was cordial (it was a party in his honor, by the way) .. as a side note, I was shocked a couple days later to read on People.com that Jeremy was "flirting up a storm" with Jessica... man oh man.. that was just not the case... I don't know what lowlife who was invited to the party decided that they would sell that 'item' -- not only was I two feet away from them when they met, but it just didn't go down the way it was written on that gossip site. Unbelievable! I understand more and more why celebrities get so pissed off at what's taken out of context, and what's simply made up!!

The party was a huge part of such a wonderful pre-Oscar build-up for me. I even got Guy O'Seary (and I hope this happens) to agree that if he gets the American Idol judge job (he's apparently in the running to take Simon's place), he will do an interview with me.

I have to thank Jeremy Renner for being such a down-to-earth, nice guy... Parties like the two he made possible for me to attend, will make going to the Oscars almost anti-climactic... Ok, no, while the parties were great... the Oscars are still going to be the time of our lives!

A Night to Remember...

I'm afraid if I don't write this down right now, I will not be able to remember every minute detail of last night. And it was a doozy...

"Surreal" doesn't even describe it. "Out-of-body" is a little more on the mark. It involves one of the greatest actors of our time, who is also, quite understandably, one of the most private actors of our time. Mr. Sean Penn.

Based on screen credits alone, he is idolized by so many, including me. Having had a few choice moments with him face-to-face, though, is why I truly worship the guy. He is a kind man. A good man. Always looking out for his fellow actor while on the job, but more importantly, doing that, and then some, when the cameras are not rolling.

At the afterparty for the Palm Springs International Film Festival last night, there was Sean, at a corner table with Jeremy Renner, another brilliant actor who knocked my socks off in "The Hurt Locker" -- a film where you FEEL and almost TOUCH the experience of what it's like to be a soldier in the Middle East right now. They were engrossed in conversation, and I was with my friend, Jen, about 20-25 feet away from their table. I see Sean raise his hand and start waving, and I look behind me. He couldn't have been waving at me, right? Wrong. He was. I went over, gave him a hug, introduced Jen to him, said hello again to Jeremy Renner, whom I had just interviewed earlier in the evening on the red carpet. Sean had Jeremy's back. He wanted to make sure that I spoke volumes about Renner's performance in "The Hurt Locker" -- and I said "Done" --and the absolute truth is, I was blown away by Jeremy AND the movie. Everyone needs to see it. Intense. The kind of intensity that stays with you long after you've seen it. So, there you go, Sean...

Later in the evening, Jen and I hung out for awhile with Jeremy and just shot the breeze. Such a grounded and grateful guy. And funny! As we were saying our goodbyes to him, Sean Penn joins our group, turns to me, looks me straight in the eye, and says something I will never, ever forget. "I want you to know that you have the respect of so many of us." He went on, but I will take a cue from him and keep some of it private. But suffice it to say, it was some of the most generous words anyone has ever uttered to me.

Here was one of the most gifted actors giving me such a gift of words. A gift that has motivated me in this New Year like he'll never know. Or check that. I think I'll write him a note and tell him directly how much he's inspired me. He needs to know how much impact one's, what do they call it? random acts of kindness, can have on a person.

How to get arrested on the Red Carpet...

Ok, yes, I admit it. I nearly got arrested last night at the premiere of "Precious" starring Mariah Carey, Monique, Gabby Sidibe -- exec produced by Oprah, Tyler Perry. A gut-wrenching story of abuse and a young woman's journey to get away from a monster of a mother. Amazing story, brilliantly directed by Lee Daniels.

You can imagine the red carpet: bustling with stars, a near-block-long-line of paparazzi. EXTRA had the first position. Sweeeet! So that means all the stars came right to me after being blinded by the flashes of the still photogs.

Now, this was Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, where, unless they shut the street down, it's generally a tight fit with all the photos and press, and there is always a barricade to keep the press seperate from the stars on the carpet.

It was a fun yet busy premiere, Paula Patton (who plays a pivotal teacher role in the film) and her husband, singer Robin Thicke... Gabby, all glammed up, and enjoying every second of her new-found notoriety... and then Mariah made the scene with husband Nick Cannon.

Mariah always comes to play... She's more down-to-earth than you might think. But, that said, she likes her "lighting" to be just soooo... When she walked up to me, she "found her light" (provided by the spotlights that the theatre puts up all along the carpet), but she was, like, TEN FEET away from me...

I had to go on the OTHER side of the barricade and greet her, then bring her closer to me... Keep in mind, I am about a FOOT from where I HAD been standing BEHIND the barrier, but now JUST in front of it. We do our thing... have a great interview, lengthy by red carpet standards... and then they go on down the carpet.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, out of nowhere, a big dude, plus the FIRE MARSHALL swoop in and start talking to us like we've just committed the crime of the century by stepping a few inches from where we were. I had never seen this particular Fire Marshall at a premiere before. After SO many years of doing this, I know most of them, and if there is a misstep, they might gently warn us, then we have a laugh and the night goes on.

THIS guy was serious... a little TOO serious... if I had to guess, and I am, I would say a little "drunk on power" to treat us the way he did. My producer Mark was dumbfounded by it, and Ken and Stacey, my camera and sound guys -- ALL of us having done this for years -- just tried to calm the guy down... but he YELLED to put the camera down, SHUT UP, and LEAVE the red carpet, or else we would be fined $1,000 dollars AND get arrested...

Lucky for us, the only two people who hadn't shown up were Oprah and Tyler Perry and they arrived WHILE this was going on, but they were in a mass of people, and did NO interviews with anyone.

Let it be known, this incident had nothing to do with AFI (American Film Institute) at whose festival this film was premiering... nor Lionsgate, the studio producing the film. This simply was a Fire Marshall who was, granted, sticking by the book and doing his job, but there's a way to get the job done without unnecessary threats and intimidation.

I was simply doing my job, too, by trying to get the interview.

CLOONEY: The Story Behind the Story...

George Clooney. That's the star's name that immediately comes to mind whenever I am asked this question: "Who is your favorite star in the world to interview?" It's always been George Clooney. Why? Because he's always been a decent, fun-loving, regular, down-to-earth guy. He still is, but I have a little behind-the-scenes story to share with you about why you will most likely not be hearing a lot from George, at least, in television interviews for some time to come.

At the Toronto International Film Festival, George had TWO, count 'em, TWO huge movie premieres, for two EXCELLENT films. "The Men Who Stare at Goats" and "Up in the Air" -- while I loved BOTH of these movies for different reasons, the latter, "Up in the Air" moved me. It's simply a great story. Funny, intense, powerful, timely. Directed by Jason Reitman, it's a story of a guy (Clooney) who's job is to terminate other people's jobs. The poster cleverly uses this line. "A story about a guy looking for a connection" -- so true, on so many different levels. GO see this movie when it comes out.

Back to the premieres. So, of course with two big movies, there will be two opportunities to "connect" with Clooney on the red carpet. At least that's how it's always been. This time, sadly, it was different. George arrived at the "Goats" premiere, hand bandaged still from that unfortunate run-in with a car door, and I was first in line to greet him. I gingerly shook his bad hand, which he graciously extended, and he greeted me warmly: "Jerry! how's it going?" -- GREAT, we're off to a good start... when suddenly, he was gone... slipped out of my grasp and skipped a slew of other reporters on the red carpet, but strategically greeted the other major entertainment outlets the same way: quickly. Those of us who have been used to a different experience with Clooney... a fun and entertaining few minutes with him, talking about the movie, but also catching up, for instance, on the latest pranks he's pulled or Brad Pitt has pulled on him, was non-existant. We were stunned.

Sure, there were a lot of reasons to be in Toronto: Matt Damon, who is another favorite, and who gave me a terrific sit-down interview about his clever and funny new movie "The Informant!" Mariah Carey and Oprah Winfrey, who teamed up for a gut-wrenching movie about abuse, called "Precious" -- it will tear your heart out, and you will be blown away by the performances, particularly by Monique, the comedian who makes a huge dramatic turn as an abusive mother. All that said, I was personally looking forward to my two "red carpet moments" with George.

Later that night, there was an "after-party" for George's movie, and my producer Adam and I attended. We ran into George and his publicist, Stan Rosenfield. Now, a little about Stan. Stan has been good to me, and good to "Extra" over the years. He knows what's best for his clients, and will protect them vigorously, but he also knows when someone is going to treat his client with respect, and therefore, makes his client accessible. He handles not only George, but Charlie Sheen, to name only two, who is another decent, down-to-earth guy, who always gives me "a little something more" in an interview.

While George stood a few feet away, entertaining his party guests, as only George can do -- with humor, grace and class -- Stan spoke to us about why George did a "fly by" on the red carpet, saying essentially, George wants to show up to these premieres for the fans, first and foremost, and to support the film. Period. There will more than likely be no more sit-down interviews, no more talk show appearances, and very little in the way of interviews on the red carpet.

A few minutes later, with drinks in our hands, I toasted George personally, and congratulated him on his two movies... and we had a chance to speak face to face. George was the same welcoming George I've always known him to be. Looking me in the eye while we chatted. Nothing had changed between us personally, and I so appreciate that about Clooney. Do I wish the moment we had off-camera at that party, was on-camera? Of course. Do I understand why George, at this point in his career, doesn't need that anymore? Of course. He's an Oscar-winning superstar who can call the shots on his terms, and why shouldn't he?

Most importantly, I respect that George Clooney remains a gentleman where it counts, and that's in his person-to-person encounters OUT of the spotlight.

No matter what, when asked in the future who my favorite star is to interview? I will still say George Clooney. I just hope I get to bring those interviews with him to you in the future.

Why I Love Toronto...

Just back from TIFF, otherwise known as the Toronto International Film Festival, and with respect to the other festivals around the world that I attend every year (Cannes, Sundance, etc) I have to say I have a special place in my heart for this one. Here's why: it's all about the movies, and it's all about the movie-lovers, the fans... There is NO swag, NO gifting suites (none that are overt, anyway)... Just lines of fans waiting to see the newest crop of movies you'll be seeing this fall. Many of them become Oscar contenders, at least that's what the track record has been for this festival.

I've been going to TIFF for years now, and there's such a warm welcome every time I show up at the first big premiere. This year it was "Jennifer's Body" with Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried. It was held at Ryerson University, so the crowd was mostly college-aged kids, and lots of young people... I was so touched that they SCREAMED my name, asked for autographs, which I was so appreciative of. Look, I am no "star", and I don't purport to be one, but in Toronto, I am made to feel like one. I signed, I took pictures with the fans, I listened to their "Ryerson loves Jerry" chants. And I was so damned tickled.

Thanks, Toronto, for making this guy who interviews the stars, feel like one for a night.

Gone Too Soon...

My head and heart are still reeling from the events of today. We knew Farrah Fawcett was, sadly, losing her battle with cancer, yet to hear that she had passed was, nonetheless, heartbreaking and painful. Just hours later, the shock of Michael Jackson's passing was almost unbelievable, in fact, too much to take.

In my business of covering entertainment news, one must remain stoic while reporting these stories, but I must tell you, I broke down in private several times today. You'd have to be inhuman to not feel the sadness of such tragic situations, human loss. And it didn't begin today, it started earlier this week.

First it was a former colleague, a very successful sportscaster from Philly who succumbed to prostate cancer at the young age of 54. Gary Pappa was a father, a husband, a friend. And worked til the very end, even doing the sports on station WPVI while losing his hair. He will be missed. Then, Ed McMahon, whom I had the distinct pleasure of being welcomed into his home, and working with him on several occasions. A class act all the way, and a family man to the core. Then today...

I am shaken, saddened, yet trying in earnest to celebrate the lives of these icons. On Jackson's album "Dangerous" is a song titled "Gone Too Soon" ... say no more.

Grab Some "Local Color"

I began painting as a therapeutic hobby about 7 years ago. Not trained. Self taught. With simply a passion driving me, I picked up a canvas and some brushes one day because I had always wanted to paint, but never thought I could. Some might say I still can't. But that doesn't stop me.

Therein lies the plot line for a new movie that utterly took me by surprise, "Local Color" -- written and directed by George Gallo, who truly is a renaissance man: filmaker, actor, writer, and yes, painter. He began painting in the same way I did, but when he was much, much younger. This movie is his story.

You don't have to be an artist to fall in love with this film. You don't even have to like art. You just have to love a great story, brilliantly photographed and masterfully acted by Armin Mueller-Stahl, Trevor Morgan, Ray Liotta, and Samantha Mathis, to name a few of the top-notch cast. With his words and direction, Gallo paints a moving portrait of love, passion and attainable dreams.

"Local Color" opens July 3rd. Go see it. It will renew your spirit and inspire you to not just dream your dreams, but live them.