Olivia Colman speaks to *Digital Spy* about the impact of ITV's hit crime drama.
Reported by Digital Spy 12 hours ago.
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Olivia Colman on 'Broadchurch' future: 'I know lots about series two'
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Meet the Norristown Candidates This Monday Evening
Patch Norristown, PA --
The primaries for the Nov. 5 election are being held on May 21 and there are quite a few seats up for grabs, both on council and on the school board. Norristown resident Mary Ellen DiGregorio has organized a "Meet the Candidates" forum to give voters a chance to meet and hear from those running in the primary.
The forum is being held at 6:30 p.m. this Monday, April 29 at Theatre Horizon, 401 DeKalb Street in Norristown.
Candidates invited to the forum include:
*Running for At-Large Council Seat*
· Marlon Millner (Incumbent)
· Derrick D. Perry
· Sue Soriano
· Mao O. Howell
· Olivia Brady
*Running for Ward 1 Council Seat*
· Dr. Mary "Mimi" DeSouza (Incumbent)
· Sonya D. Fisher Sanders
*Running for Ward 3 Council Seat*
· Eli Nogueda
· Linda Christian (Incumbent – Write in)
*Running for Norristown Area School Board*
· E. Pearl Smith (Incumbent)
· Pamela Assenmacher (Incumbent)
· Tiffany Hendley
· Faith Crabbe
· Latisha Lee
· Matthew Rivera
· Turea Hutson
· Ken Christovich
*Important Election Dates*
*May 14* – Last day to apply for a civilian absentee ballot.
*May 17* – Last day for County Board of Elections to receive voted civilian absentee ballots.
*May 21* – MUNICIPAL PRIMARY
*May 22* – First day to REGISTER after primary.
*May 28* – Last day for County Board of Elections to receive voted military and overseas absentee ballots (must be postmarked no later than May 20)
*Aug. 1* – Last day to circulate and file nomination papers.
*Aug. 8* – Last day for withdrawal by candidates nominated by nomination papers.
*Aug. 12* – Last day for withdrawal by candidates nominated at the primary.
*Oct. 7* – Last day to register before the November election.
*Oct. 29 *– Last day to apply for a civilian absentee ballot.
*Nov. 1* – Last day for County Boards of Elections to receive voted civilian absentee ballots
*Nov. 5 *– MUNICIPAL ELECTION Reported by Patch 5 hours ago.
The primaries for the Nov. 5 election are being held on May 21 and there are quite a few seats up for grabs, both on council and on the school board. Norristown resident Mary Ellen DiGregorio has organized a "Meet the Candidates" forum to give voters a chance to meet and hear from those running in the primary.
The forum is being held at 6:30 p.m. this Monday, April 29 at Theatre Horizon, 401 DeKalb Street in Norristown.
Candidates invited to the forum include:
*Running for At-Large Council Seat*
· Marlon Millner (Incumbent)
· Derrick D. Perry
· Sue Soriano
· Mao O. Howell
· Olivia Brady
*Running for Ward 1 Council Seat*
· Dr. Mary "Mimi" DeSouza (Incumbent)
· Sonya D. Fisher Sanders
*Running for Ward 3 Council Seat*
· Eli Nogueda
· Linda Christian (Incumbent – Write in)
*Running for Norristown Area School Board*
· E. Pearl Smith (Incumbent)
· Pamela Assenmacher (Incumbent)
· Tiffany Hendley
· Faith Crabbe
· Latisha Lee
· Matthew Rivera
· Turea Hutson
· Ken Christovich
*Important Election Dates*
*May 14* – Last day to apply for a civilian absentee ballot.
*May 17* – Last day for County Board of Elections to receive voted civilian absentee ballots.
*May 21* – MUNICIPAL PRIMARY
*May 22* – First day to REGISTER after primary.
*May 28* – Last day for County Board of Elections to receive voted military and overseas absentee ballots (must be postmarked no later than May 20)
*Aug. 1* – Last day to circulate and file nomination papers.
*Aug. 8* – Last day for withdrawal by candidates nominated by nomination papers.
*Aug. 12* – Last day for withdrawal by candidates nominated at the primary.
*Oct. 7* – Last day to register before the November election.
*Oct. 29 *– Last day to apply for a civilian absentee ballot.
*Nov. 1* – Last day for County Boards of Elections to receive voted civilian absentee ballots
*Nov. 5 *– MUNICIPAL ELECTION Reported by Patch 5 hours ago.
↧
↧
Where Does Huck Go From Here?
The April 25 episode of "Scandal" finally gave viewers some insight into Huck's (Guillermo Diaz) mysterious past, revealing that the former assassin used to be a Marine who was drafted into the CIA's covert B-613 division to torture and kill targets deemed a threat to national security.
While it was fascinating to see Huck becoming the talented killing machine we know and love today (under the tutelage of George Newbern's Charlie), it was even more amazing to learn that the troubled Jarhead also had a wife, Kim (played by "Fringe's" Jasika Nicole), and a son, which explains his fixation with watching a suburban family live out their mundane lives. Sadly for Huck, there's no escaping B-613, which meant that as soon as his superiors found out about Huck's family, they locked him in a windowless bunker until he denied knowing them.
Even more gut-wrenching: Charlie threatened to kill them if Huck ever tried to make contact with them again -- which he didn't, until years later when a chance encounter at the subway station where homeless Huck was living prompted his son to offer the poor stranger (who was actually his father) some money -- at 7:52 in the morning. We're traumatized for life!
So where does Huck go from here? "He's definitely not going to be the same," Diaz told The Hollywood Reporter after the episode. "He's a bit more broken but ... after all the Gladiators told him what they think of him, that also healed him in a small way ... There's a stronger connection between Huck and everyone in the office -- Abby, Harrison, Quinn and Olivia. When you go through something really big like this with someone, it brings you closer."
Though Diaz, like the rest of the secretive "Scandal" team, was hesitant to share any real spoilers, he told THR that he thinks Huck is the kind of man who will stop at nothing to reconnect with his family now that he remembers they exist. "He's the type of guy that once he gets something in his head, he's going to get it done ... It's going to be really difficult because he's a completely different person now. I would hope if he did find his real family that there would be some acceptance from his wife and child. Who knows what relationships his wife is in now; is Kim in a relationship and married with other kids? ... It could either go really well and they'll hug, kiss, cry, love each other and live happily every after or it's going to be extremely complicated," Diaz explained.
Though some fans have seen a little chemistry between Huck and his gladiator protege Quinn (Katie Lowes), Diaz told Vulture that he doesn't see a romantic dynamic between the pair. "Right now, I see Huck as a big brother to Quinn. I think Huck feels a connection with Quinn [because] she's also broken as he is. He sees that her dad is pushing her away, and he feels like he wants to protect her and take care of her," he said. "I love that they put Quinn and Huck together and she's learning who and what Huck does ... But as far as it becoming a love triangle or hookup, I have no idea. But you never know."
Despite Charlie sparing Huck's life, his fellow assassin was still responsible for threatening his family, locking Huck in a crate and triggering his PTSD, so some payback might be in order. "Huck is going to be really smart about it. He's not going to do anything hasty," Diaz told THR. "I hope he doesn't kill him right away. I don't think that's where Huck's headspace is. He'll be methodical and think before he does anything too drastic." Diaz also pointed out that now Huck is working for Olivia Pope and Associates, he "doesn't want to be a killer anymore. He doesn't want to be that guy and that's one of the main reasons why Charlie is still alive ... Huck killing Charlie would make Huck take 50 steps back."
For more from Diaz about the intense events of the April 25th episode of "Scandal," titled "Seven Fifty Two," and where Huck goes from here, head over to THR and Vulture.
"Scandal" airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
*Do you think Huck will be able to reunite with his wife and son? What do you think will become of Jake since his enigmatic supervisor is the head of the B-613 division? Share your predictions below!* Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
While it was fascinating to see Huck becoming the talented killing machine we know and love today (under the tutelage of George Newbern's Charlie), it was even more amazing to learn that the troubled Jarhead also had a wife, Kim (played by "Fringe's" Jasika Nicole), and a son, which explains his fixation with watching a suburban family live out their mundane lives. Sadly for Huck, there's no escaping B-613, which meant that as soon as his superiors found out about Huck's family, they locked him in a windowless bunker until he denied knowing them.
Even more gut-wrenching: Charlie threatened to kill them if Huck ever tried to make contact with them again -- which he didn't, until years later when a chance encounter at the subway station where homeless Huck was living prompted his son to offer the poor stranger (who was actually his father) some money -- at 7:52 in the morning. We're traumatized for life!
So where does Huck go from here? "He's definitely not going to be the same," Diaz told The Hollywood Reporter after the episode. "He's a bit more broken but ... after all the Gladiators told him what they think of him, that also healed him in a small way ... There's a stronger connection between Huck and everyone in the office -- Abby, Harrison, Quinn and Olivia. When you go through something really big like this with someone, it brings you closer."
Though Diaz, like the rest of the secretive "Scandal" team, was hesitant to share any real spoilers, he told THR that he thinks Huck is the kind of man who will stop at nothing to reconnect with his family now that he remembers they exist. "He's the type of guy that once he gets something in his head, he's going to get it done ... It's going to be really difficult because he's a completely different person now. I would hope if he did find his real family that there would be some acceptance from his wife and child. Who knows what relationships his wife is in now; is Kim in a relationship and married with other kids? ... It could either go really well and they'll hug, kiss, cry, love each other and live happily every after or it's going to be extremely complicated," Diaz explained.
Though some fans have seen a little chemistry between Huck and his gladiator protege Quinn (Katie Lowes), Diaz told Vulture that he doesn't see a romantic dynamic between the pair. "Right now, I see Huck as a big brother to Quinn. I think Huck feels a connection with Quinn [because] she's also broken as he is. He sees that her dad is pushing her away, and he feels like he wants to protect her and take care of her," he said. "I love that they put Quinn and Huck together and she's learning who and what Huck does ... But as far as it becoming a love triangle or hookup, I have no idea. But you never know."
Despite Charlie sparing Huck's life, his fellow assassin was still responsible for threatening his family, locking Huck in a crate and triggering his PTSD, so some payback might be in order. "Huck is going to be really smart about it. He's not going to do anything hasty," Diaz told THR. "I hope he doesn't kill him right away. I don't think that's where Huck's headspace is. He'll be methodical and think before he does anything too drastic." Diaz also pointed out that now Huck is working for Olivia Pope and Associates, he "doesn't want to be a killer anymore. He doesn't want to be that guy and that's one of the main reasons why Charlie is still alive ... Huck killing Charlie would make Huck take 50 steps back."
For more from Diaz about the intense events of the April 25th episode of "Scandal," titled "Seven Fifty Two," and where Huck goes from here, head over to THR and Vulture.
"Scandal" airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.
*Do you think Huck will be able to reunite with his wife and son? What do you think will become of Jake since his enigmatic supervisor is the head of the B-613 division? Share your predictions below!* Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
↧
Downton Abbey, Broadchurch and beyond: how ITV got back on top
TV thriller Broadchurch was an extraordinary hit. Perhaps most surprising was the fact that it was on ITV, not always seen as the home of edgy entertainment. But that's changing
There was something out of the ordinary about Broadchurch, the TV murder mystery that kept nearly 10 million viewers guessing until the killer of 11-year-old Danny Latimer was revealed this week. The work almost entirely of a single writer – unusual for an eight-part drama – it featured only one murder (the average episode of Midsomer Murders has four).
Most surprising of all, perhaps, was that Broadchurch was on ITV, not necessarily a channel known to viewers as the home of edgy (or edge-of-your-seat) thrills. At the risk of hyperbole, ITV claims it is the most tweeted-about TV drama ever, with a reported 260,000 tweets from 137,000 people – making it, to use a pre-Twitter phrase, genuine watercooler television.
ITV's director of television, Peter Fincham, who has overseen a creative resurgence since his arrival five years ago, bridles slightly at the suggestion that it was not traditional ITV fare.
"ITV is a mainstream broadcaster, but if there's an implication that mainstream means bland, I would reject that absolutely. If you really want to broaden your audience then going for something that's a bit soggy in the middle won't do. You have got to be bold, go out on a limb, and people will come with you."
There are more surprises to come. On Monday the Broadchurch slot will be filled by two new sitcoms, not a genre you usually associate with ITV. One of them, Vicious, boasts the combined star power of Sir Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi as a bickering couple in what may be the UK's first mainstream gay comedy.
"If it feels like a risk, then good," says Fincham. "It's an enormously warm comedy, with characters who, deep down, love each other, and I hope the audience will.
"When you are doing well – ITV has had a pretty good year on a wide range of fronts – that is the time to up your level of risk, not to pull back. No risk, no reward."
ITV, as he suggests, is on a roll, an upward curve that can be traced back to Downton Abbey, the Julian Fellowes drama that Fincham commissioned during the depths of the advertising slump in 2009, when his channel barely had two pennies to rub together. Back then only the BBC did costume drama and, like Broadchurch, it helped redefine people's perceptions of ITV. It launched in 2010 within a couple of weeks of another ITV show, "structured reality" series The Only Way Is Essex on digital channel ITV2.
"It was an interesting and slightly defining moment," recalls Fincham. "In both cases, it gave each channel probably its noisiest hit in years."
Downton Abbey was followed by the likes of Appropriate Adult, Mr Selfridge, and Fincham's latest commission is a four-part drama, The Great Fire of London, written by ITV News' political editor (and novelist) Tom Bradby. It will tell the story of the 1666 inferno over four consecutive days and from multiple perspectives, from King Charles II to baker Thomas Farriner.
Broadchurch will also return, although it remains to be seen whether its two biggest stars – Olivia Colman and David Tennant – will be back, its writer, Chris Chibnall, is promising a "very different story". "I don't think it's going to start with another body on the beach," is all Fincham will offer.
Fincham would not be at ITV at all were it not for the royal scandal that beset the BBC in 2007, when a badly edited press trailer for a royal documentary appeared to show the Queen storming out of a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz. Fincham, then the controller of BBC1, carried the can for the so-called "Crowngate" scandal, quitting the corporation after two and a half years and taking charge of its commercial rival a few months later.
When he joined ITV, it was still labouring under the shadow of reality flops such as Celebrity Wrestling and Celebrity Love Island. It was about to get worse as Lehman Brothers collapsed, a global financial crisis unfolded and ITV plunged into the red. Fincham wielded the axe, ditching long-running shows such as The Bill and Taggart.
Radio Times editor Ben Preston says: "There was a time before Peter Fincham got his feet under the table when ITV had slipped out of the repertoire of many people's viewing, but it is forcing its way back on to the menu."
ITV is riding high on Saturday nights with the return of Simon Cowell's Britain's Got Talent, currently lording it over BBC1's The Voice, following in the footsteps of a rejuvenated Saturday Night Takeaway, essentially an updated Noel's House Party fronted by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.
Fincham also made a mark with celebrity diving show Splash!, featuring Tom Daley, winning an audience of more than six million viewers despite a sceptical critical reaction. Fincham says the press "looked down their noses at it. I hate television snobbery of any sort."
Former BBC1 controller Lorraine Heggessey, now executive chair of independent production company Boom Pictures, attributes ITV's success to "knowing what its audience is and not being afraid to take risks. Splash! was a big, bold commission, and when they work you reap great rewards".
ITV's fortunes are inevitably entwined with those of Cowell. But while Britain's Got Talent is back on form, The X Factor was beaten in the ratings last year by BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing. It remains one of ITV's most popular shows, but suffered in Cowell's absence as he presides over its US incarnation on Fox.
Cowell's latest ITV show, Food Glorious Food, a thinly veiled take on BBC2 hit The Great British Bake Off, in which the winner had their dish turned into a ready meal by Marks & Spencer, came to an end with just 2.4 million viewers last week, a quarter of the audience for Britain's Got Talent.
Will it be back? "I don't know yet," says Fincham. "I so wanted to go to Marks & Spencer to buy the fragrant white chicken korma. It looks absolutely delicious!"
Fincham is more certain that Cowell's two-year deal with ITV, which comes to an end this year, will be renewed. "If we don't enter into a new contract then somebody's cocked it up somewhere. The lawyers have got it wrong."
Also up for renewal is ITV's exclusive deal with Ant and Dec. "I'm not sure there's ever been a better moment in our relationship," he says. "It's a stable, supportive, long-term relationship in which we look after each others' interests."
A millionaire from the sale of the independent production company Talkback (which made I'm Alan Partridge and Da Ali G Show), Fincham has only ever had three jobs. He might by now have had another – as director general of the BBC, had he not been forced out.
He admits, with great reluctance, that he was sounded out for the director general's job last year, when it was given to the ill-fated George Entwistle, who lasted just 54 days in the job.
"I absolutely did not apply or throw my hat into the ring or put myself forward for the director general job, nor have I for any job at the BBC since the day I left in 2007," he says.
"I may have had a strange call at some point from a headhunter type, I can't remember. You never know in this business when you are being sounded out for something or if someone is working their way down a list. I have never seriously been in discussions or in the frame for any job at the BBC since the day I left."
It was ITV's revelations about Jimmy Savile, in its current affairs strand Exposure, that sparked the crisis at the BBC that precipitated Entwistle's departure. Fincham spent several months considering the evidence, watching many interviews several times over. "I can remember saying in a meeting, listen, we now need a very good reason not to do this because not to do it is to sit on this evidence," he says. "We knew it would be a big story, but did we think it would have quite the repercussions and ramifications? No."
He adds: "It became a story about the BBC. That wasn't, I would argue, our doing."
But for now, Fincham's attention is on his new Monday-night comedy slot. Vicious, an old-fashioned sitcom filmed in front of a studio audience, will be followed by another new comedy, The Job Lot, filmed on a single camera in the style of The Office.
Having worked with the likes of Steve Coogan and Sacha Baron Cohen, if anyone can put the smile back on ITV it is surely Fincham. But it will be no easy task. It is not long since one of Fincham's predecessors joked: "The biggest joke about ITV's comedy is there isn't any."
Fincham likes to compare ITV to the National Theatre, situated a stone's throw down the road on London's South Bank. "ITV is not massively different. We are putting on shows on big stages and we want the best talent.
"There is a state of mind – and maybe some time in the past, or maybe you see this outside – that says if you want to fill those seats, don't go for high quality, go for cheap pap. Nonsense. That would be the very worst way for ITV to go. There is a difference between popular and populism."
*Coming soon …*
*Vicious*
Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi play two gay men who have lived together in the same London flat for nearly 50 years, in this resolutely old-fashioned sitcom filmed in front of a studio audience. Former Rising Damp star Frances de la Tour plays their best friend, and Misfits' Iwan Rheon is their new young neighbour. It was created by playwright Mark Ravenhill and Gary Janetti, the US writer/producer whose credits include Family Guy and Will & Grace. Impeccable pedigree, but will it live up to it?
*Breathless*
Not a remake of the Jean-Luc Godard film, but a drama about gynaecologists working in 1960s London on the eve of the arrival of the pill and the legalisation of abortion. Any resemblance to Call the Midwife is presumably intentional. Co-created by one of the originators of BBC1's Casualty, it will star Jack Davenport as a brilliant and charismatic surgeon, and promises a cauldron of "lies, deceptions and guilty secrets, driven by love, ambition and sex". Nurse, the screens!
*The Americans*
A rare foray into the US market, ITV bought the rights to cold war spy thriller The Americans, starring Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell as a pair of KGB spies posing as a married couple in Washington DC in 1981. ITV will show the first two series of the drama, which airs in the US on Rupert Murdoch's FX channel. ITV's last big US show, Anna Friel drama Pushing Daisies, was a flop. Five years on, it will be hoping for a Homeland-style hit.
*The Job Lot*
Set in a West Midlands job centre, The Job Lot features Russell Tovey, star of BBC3's Him & Her, and Sarah Hadland from BBC1's Miranda as the boss from hell, whose mission is to turn the "unemployed into the funemployed".
Like The Office, but broader, the single-camera comedy is scripted by three first-time writers and is a gentler, more restrained offering than ITV's other big sitcom hope, Vicious. Produced by the makers of hit BBC2 sitcom Rev.
*The Guilty*
After one drama about the hunt for the murderer of a young boy, here's another. A time-shifted thriller set in 2008 and the present day, The Guilty stars Tamsin Greig as a detective investigating the death of a boy who disappeared at a neighbourhood barbecue and is discovered five years later. Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge) and Darren Boyd of Sky1 comedy Spy will co-star in the three-part drama from the team behind BBC1's Sherlock.
*Broadchurch 2*
A sequel to ITV's biggest drama hit since Downton Abbey was inevitable, although it remains to be seen where the murder mystery goes next, now that the murder has been solved and its two biggest stars, David Tennant and Olivia Colman, appear destined to leave the scene. Creator Chris Chibnall said he had the idea for a follow-up before the first series, and will film next year. It will, he promised, tell "another very different story". Reported by guardian.co.uk 34 seconds ago.
There was something out of the ordinary about Broadchurch, the TV murder mystery that kept nearly 10 million viewers guessing until the killer of 11-year-old Danny Latimer was revealed this week. The work almost entirely of a single writer – unusual for an eight-part drama – it featured only one murder (the average episode of Midsomer Murders has four).
Most surprising of all, perhaps, was that Broadchurch was on ITV, not necessarily a channel known to viewers as the home of edgy (or edge-of-your-seat) thrills. At the risk of hyperbole, ITV claims it is the most tweeted-about TV drama ever, with a reported 260,000 tweets from 137,000 people – making it, to use a pre-Twitter phrase, genuine watercooler television.
ITV's director of television, Peter Fincham, who has overseen a creative resurgence since his arrival five years ago, bridles slightly at the suggestion that it was not traditional ITV fare.
"ITV is a mainstream broadcaster, but if there's an implication that mainstream means bland, I would reject that absolutely. If you really want to broaden your audience then going for something that's a bit soggy in the middle won't do. You have got to be bold, go out on a limb, and people will come with you."
There are more surprises to come. On Monday the Broadchurch slot will be filled by two new sitcoms, not a genre you usually associate with ITV. One of them, Vicious, boasts the combined star power of Sir Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi as a bickering couple in what may be the UK's first mainstream gay comedy.
"If it feels like a risk, then good," says Fincham. "It's an enormously warm comedy, with characters who, deep down, love each other, and I hope the audience will.
"When you are doing well – ITV has had a pretty good year on a wide range of fronts – that is the time to up your level of risk, not to pull back. No risk, no reward."
ITV, as he suggests, is on a roll, an upward curve that can be traced back to Downton Abbey, the Julian Fellowes drama that Fincham commissioned during the depths of the advertising slump in 2009, when his channel barely had two pennies to rub together. Back then only the BBC did costume drama and, like Broadchurch, it helped redefine people's perceptions of ITV. It launched in 2010 within a couple of weeks of another ITV show, "structured reality" series The Only Way Is Essex on digital channel ITV2.
"It was an interesting and slightly defining moment," recalls Fincham. "In both cases, it gave each channel probably its noisiest hit in years."
Downton Abbey was followed by the likes of Appropriate Adult, Mr Selfridge, and Fincham's latest commission is a four-part drama, The Great Fire of London, written by ITV News' political editor (and novelist) Tom Bradby. It will tell the story of the 1666 inferno over four consecutive days and from multiple perspectives, from King Charles II to baker Thomas Farriner.
Broadchurch will also return, although it remains to be seen whether its two biggest stars – Olivia Colman and David Tennant – will be back, its writer, Chris Chibnall, is promising a "very different story". "I don't think it's going to start with another body on the beach," is all Fincham will offer.
Fincham would not be at ITV at all were it not for the royal scandal that beset the BBC in 2007, when a badly edited press trailer for a royal documentary appeared to show the Queen storming out of a photo shoot with Annie Leibovitz. Fincham, then the controller of BBC1, carried the can for the so-called "Crowngate" scandal, quitting the corporation after two and a half years and taking charge of its commercial rival a few months later.
When he joined ITV, it was still labouring under the shadow of reality flops such as Celebrity Wrestling and Celebrity Love Island. It was about to get worse as Lehman Brothers collapsed, a global financial crisis unfolded and ITV plunged into the red. Fincham wielded the axe, ditching long-running shows such as The Bill and Taggart.
Radio Times editor Ben Preston says: "There was a time before Peter Fincham got his feet under the table when ITV had slipped out of the repertoire of many people's viewing, but it is forcing its way back on to the menu."
ITV is riding high on Saturday nights with the return of Simon Cowell's Britain's Got Talent, currently lording it over BBC1's The Voice, following in the footsteps of a rejuvenated Saturday Night Takeaway, essentially an updated Noel's House Party fronted by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly.
Fincham also made a mark with celebrity diving show Splash!, featuring Tom Daley, winning an audience of more than six million viewers despite a sceptical critical reaction. Fincham says the press "looked down their noses at it. I hate television snobbery of any sort."
Former BBC1 controller Lorraine Heggessey, now executive chair of independent production company Boom Pictures, attributes ITV's success to "knowing what its audience is and not being afraid to take risks. Splash! was a big, bold commission, and when they work you reap great rewards".
ITV's fortunes are inevitably entwined with those of Cowell. But while Britain's Got Talent is back on form, The X Factor was beaten in the ratings last year by BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing. It remains one of ITV's most popular shows, but suffered in Cowell's absence as he presides over its US incarnation on Fox.
Cowell's latest ITV show, Food Glorious Food, a thinly veiled take on BBC2 hit The Great British Bake Off, in which the winner had their dish turned into a ready meal by Marks & Spencer, came to an end with just 2.4 million viewers last week, a quarter of the audience for Britain's Got Talent.
Will it be back? "I don't know yet," says Fincham. "I so wanted to go to Marks & Spencer to buy the fragrant white chicken korma. It looks absolutely delicious!"
Fincham is more certain that Cowell's two-year deal with ITV, which comes to an end this year, will be renewed. "If we don't enter into a new contract then somebody's cocked it up somewhere. The lawyers have got it wrong."
Also up for renewal is ITV's exclusive deal with Ant and Dec. "I'm not sure there's ever been a better moment in our relationship," he says. "It's a stable, supportive, long-term relationship in which we look after each others' interests."
A millionaire from the sale of the independent production company Talkback (which made I'm Alan Partridge and Da Ali G Show), Fincham has only ever had three jobs. He might by now have had another – as director general of the BBC, had he not been forced out.
He admits, with great reluctance, that he was sounded out for the director general's job last year, when it was given to the ill-fated George Entwistle, who lasted just 54 days in the job.
"I absolutely did not apply or throw my hat into the ring or put myself forward for the director general job, nor have I for any job at the BBC since the day I left in 2007," he says.
"I may have had a strange call at some point from a headhunter type, I can't remember. You never know in this business when you are being sounded out for something or if someone is working their way down a list. I have never seriously been in discussions or in the frame for any job at the BBC since the day I left."
It was ITV's revelations about Jimmy Savile, in its current affairs strand Exposure, that sparked the crisis at the BBC that precipitated Entwistle's departure. Fincham spent several months considering the evidence, watching many interviews several times over. "I can remember saying in a meeting, listen, we now need a very good reason not to do this because not to do it is to sit on this evidence," he says. "We knew it would be a big story, but did we think it would have quite the repercussions and ramifications? No."
He adds: "It became a story about the BBC. That wasn't, I would argue, our doing."
But for now, Fincham's attention is on his new Monday-night comedy slot. Vicious, an old-fashioned sitcom filmed in front of a studio audience, will be followed by another new comedy, The Job Lot, filmed on a single camera in the style of The Office.
Having worked with the likes of Steve Coogan and Sacha Baron Cohen, if anyone can put the smile back on ITV it is surely Fincham. But it will be no easy task. It is not long since one of Fincham's predecessors joked: "The biggest joke about ITV's comedy is there isn't any."
Fincham likes to compare ITV to the National Theatre, situated a stone's throw down the road on London's South Bank. "ITV is not massively different. We are putting on shows on big stages and we want the best talent.
"There is a state of mind – and maybe some time in the past, or maybe you see this outside – that says if you want to fill those seats, don't go for high quality, go for cheap pap. Nonsense. That would be the very worst way for ITV to go. There is a difference between popular and populism."
*Coming soon …*
*Vicious*
Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi play two gay men who have lived together in the same London flat for nearly 50 years, in this resolutely old-fashioned sitcom filmed in front of a studio audience. Former Rising Damp star Frances de la Tour plays their best friend, and Misfits' Iwan Rheon is their new young neighbour. It was created by playwright Mark Ravenhill and Gary Janetti, the US writer/producer whose credits include Family Guy and Will & Grace. Impeccable pedigree, but will it live up to it?
*Breathless*
Not a remake of the Jean-Luc Godard film, but a drama about gynaecologists working in 1960s London on the eve of the arrival of the pill and the legalisation of abortion. Any resemblance to Call the Midwife is presumably intentional. Co-created by one of the originators of BBC1's Casualty, it will star Jack Davenport as a brilliant and charismatic surgeon, and promises a cauldron of "lies, deceptions and guilty secrets, driven by love, ambition and sex". Nurse, the screens!
*The Americans*
A rare foray into the US market, ITV bought the rights to cold war spy thriller The Americans, starring Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell as a pair of KGB spies posing as a married couple in Washington DC in 1981. ITV will show the first two series of the drama, which airs in the US on Rupert Murdoch's FX channel. ITV's last big US show, Anna Friel drama Pushing Daisies, was a flop. Five years on, it will be hoping for a Homeland-style hit.
*The Job Lot*
Set in a West Midlands job centre, The Job Lot features Russell Tovey, star of BBC3's Him & Her, and Sarah Hadland from BBC1's Miranda as the boss from hell, whose mission is to turn the "unemployed into the funemployed".
Like The Office, but broader, the single-camera comedy is scripted by three first-time writers and is a gentler, more restrained offering than ITV's other big sitcom hope, Vicious. Produced by the makers of hit BBC2 sitcom Rev.
*The Guilty*
After one drama about the hunt for the murderer of a young boy, here's another. A time-shifted thriller set in 2008 and the present day, The Guilty stars Tamsin Greig as a detective investigating the death of a boy who disappeared at a neighbourhood barbecue and is discovered five years later. Katherine Kelly (Mr Selfridge) and Darren Boyd of Sky1 comedy Spy will co-star in the three-part drama from the team behind BBC1's Sherlock.
*Broadchurch 2*
A sequel to ITV's biggest drama hit since Downton Abbey was inevitable, although it remains to be seen where the murder mystery goes next, now that the murder has been solved and its two biggest stars, David Tennant and Olivia Colman, appear destined to leave the scene. Creator Chris Chibnall said he had the idea for a follow-up before the first series, and will film next year. It will, he promised, tell "another very different story". Reported by guardian.co.uk 34 seconds ago.
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THS Announces 2013 Term 3 Honor Roll
Patch Tiverton-Little Compton, RI --Tiverton High School Principal Steven M. Fezette announce the third quarter honor roll last week, recognizing dozens of students in grades 9 through 12.
*High Honogs:*
*Grade 9: *Molly Arruda, Connor Caley, Grace Cavanaugh, Nicholas Clark, Samantha Cookinham, John Donohue, Benjamin Lusignan, Alec Murray, Timothy Murray, Meaghan Peirson, Ian Rashleigh-McNally, Alexandra Ryll, Charlotte Sanford, Maya Umehara.
*Grade 10: *Seth Camara, Brandon Moss
*Grade 11: *Macy Amaral, Matthew Bessette, Tammy Boutilier, Regan Burke, Katelyn Caravedo, Alexandra Durand, Jacob Kulpa, Samantha Marshall, Laura Martin Rodriguez, John Molinski, Jacquelyn Oliveira, Avery Pacheco, Madison Panell, Abigail Rezendes, Samantha Rollings, Shane Silvia, Revecca Turner.
*Grade 12: *Mikayla Auger, Sherrilyn Barbosa, Darren Brennan, Delight Bucko, Kaleigh Cordeira, Jenna DeCosta, Daniel Dumont, Arhontoula Karakatsanis, Megan Lusignan, Kristen Marrissette, Blake Nappi, Chandla Perrotta, Marisa Raposa, Theodore Tsiongas, Richard Upchurch, Sophie Von Maluski, Sarah Whiston, Jacqueline Wilson.
*Honors:*
*Grade 9: *Bethany Alvarez, Emily Blais, John Bonoan, Cosette Coston, Logan Cote, Syndey Darrow, Zachary Davey, Juston Dore, Sarah Dulac, Vincent Fiore, Andrew Furze, Aurora Goodland, Julienne Hughes, Livia Kauffmann, Keegan Kerns, Dante Krystman, Matthew Lavoie, Alexandra Lewis, Camryn Luby, Brett Martin, Samantha Moreira, Justin Morrow, Alex Muzziolo, Emma Panell, Francesco Piscani-Daugherty, Rachael Queern, Brianna Racicot, Christian Redden, Meghan Reed, Tyler Resendes, Ava Saurette, Lindsay Silvia, Samantha Skrzypiec, Lauren Smith, Ally Watts, Jake Weingard, Caroline Wilson.
*Grade 10: *
Christina Bebe, Eleanor Bodington, Tess Bradley, Raegan Cleary, Cassidy Correia, Nicholas Costanza, Ethan Danley, Kaitlyn del Melo, Gretchen Desrosiers, Bailey DiPrato, Andrew Dion, Kenneth Ferreira, Alexis Guay, Madison Higginbottom, Nicholas Jennings, Nathan Johanning, Joviana Kay, Meghan Labrecque, Ashley Mello, Emilie Mello, Eric Mendoza, Dharrel Moshiek-DeJesus, Evan Nelson, James Pereira, Jacob Rapoza, Emily Rego, Amanda Rooney, Tyler Rothstein, Justin Ruckdeschel, Chrystal Santos, Darean Skrzpiec, Olivia Souza, Samanth Thornsbury, Tyler Tripp.
*Grade 11: *Coral Aiello, Sarah Barboza, Allison Benevides, Jaclyn Bokowsky, Alyssa Bouchard, Chelsea Bouchard, Aidan Bradley, Daniel Briggs, Grace Carreiro, Hannah Cook-Dumas, Jenna Costa, Cole Criollos, Taylor Furtado, Jasmin Giguere, Colleen Gillis, Hayley Greene, Jillian Harris, Jacqueline Helger, Jameson Hughes, Matthew King, Kelsi Korzeniowski, Kathryn Landry, Sarah Leonard, Sara Massa, Michawl Molinski, Cooper Pallasch, Dominic Payer, Kirsten Petrarca, Eli Roeske, Delaney Rose, Emily Russo, Samantha Sando, Haley Simons, Cassidy Sullivan, Sarah Wight.
*Grade 12: *Cody Albernaz, Nicholas Barboza, Maya Bergandy, Olivia Bergandy, Margaret Bodington, Andrew Bonoan, Nicholas Borden, Heather Breitenstein, Alexandra Buchanan, Marni Burk, Mariah Caldwell, Emma Carr, Ian Couto, Elise Daglis, Kirstie Devine, Bianca DiPrato, Mae Edwards, Erica Farias, Lauren Ferreira, Stacey Ferreira, Tiffani Fortier, Austin Garant, Mikaela Gilstrap, Michaela Greene, Haley Higginbottom, Khouri Houde, Andrew Huling, Elizabeth Janick, Joshua Johnson, Victoria Kulpa, Eva Lavoie, Brooke Labeau, Andrew Lewis, Emily Masse, Erin Matthews, Rebecca Mauricio, Allision Motta, Carrie Munroe, Craig Patterson, Derek Patterson, Bermary Perea, Ariana Perry, Michaela Perry, Rachel Pimentel, Amanda Purcell, Amanda Ryll, Roxanne Souza, Stephanie Tolan, Courtney Toler, Alysa Tripp, Samantha Welchman. Reported by Patch 20 hours ago.
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Olivia Wilde sneaks kisses with Jason Sudeikis
Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis were all over each other at a New York restaurant on Wednesday night (24.04.13).The couple - who are rumoured to be...
Reported by ContactMusic 13 hours ago.
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Rewind TV: Broadchurch; The Politician's Husband; Super Sunday; The Wright Way – review
Olivia Colman was superb in the finale of Broadchurch, while The Politician's Husband got off to a clunky start
*Broadchurch* (ITV1) | ITVplayer
*The Politician's Husband* (BBC2) | iPlayer
*Super Sunday* (Sky Sports 1)
*The Wright Way* (BBC1) | iPlayer
Given that Chris Chibnall's story was about the murder of a child, it was always unlikely that *Broadchurch* would end on a cheery note. But even so, the concluding episode was a serious downer with an irredeemably bleak message: don't trust anyone, especially those closest to you.
Poor DS Miller. It wasn't enough that her husband was a bit dull, in a bald new-mannish sort of way; he also turned out to be a homicidal paedophile. Try explaining that to the neighbours. Miller believed in community, family and her marriage. She wanted to think the best of people, and all along the very worst was taking refuge under her nose, in her bed.
What made it all that much more painful, of course, was the fact that throughout eight episodes Olivia Colman, who played Miller, had turned in one of the great naturalistic performances of recent times. It was as if the authenticity of her personality radiated out of the TV like some electromagnetic phenomenon. You couldn't help but be warmed by her sparky idiosyncrasies and fundamental decency.
Never more so than when she was kicking her husband around the floor of the interview room, like some old-style copper from a bent nick in the 70s. It was just one of several procedural liberties taken in this superior whodunnit. I'm not sure, for example, that the dead boy's father would be allowed into the cells to shout at his son's killer. Nor am I convinced that in the midst of a murder inquiry the detective in charge would convene a meeting with his number two on a beach, for no other apparent reason than it looked rather fetching in the orange glow of a low sun.
But these were minor quibbles. Overall Broadchurch worked a treat because it had a sense of place and people, a well-constructed murder mystery, and in Colman and David Tennant, as her professionally cynical boss DI Alec Hardy, two extremely watchable leads.
Hardy suspected everyone, which made sense, because everyone was under suspicion. The vicar, the plumber, the candlestick maker, all of them were in the frame. OK, there wasn't a candlestick maker as such, but there was a deeply creepy psychic – and they do tend to like a candle – who was disappointingly exonerated of any wrongdoing.
It was a sign of Hardy's desperation that he turned to the psychic for help in a murder investigation which seemed to be run more as an existential challenge than a process of evidence gathering. But then he wasn't an operational strategist in the way of, say, Scott & Bailey's Gill Murray. And no doubt he was hobbled by the Dorset constabulary's apparent exclusion from a national criminal identity database – how else to explain why two main suspects were able to conceal their criminal pasts of child abuse and murder?
Instead Hardy's detective work mostly relied on being surly to everyone he encountered and seeing what came of it. The answer was nothing much. The killer effectively confessed of his own volition and was never part of the investigation. In truth Hardy wasn't there for his brilliant tactical mind. He was there, in the tradition of maverick detectives, to be the broken hero – abrasive manner, dodgy heart, failed marriage, career in decline, and hopelessly unshaven.
With all that going against him, Hardy needed to played by an actor with a lot of charm, and Tennant has charm to burn. He could have played the child killer and you would end up feeling that you'd like to buy him dinner. For two months he and Colman lit up the Jurassic coast and Monday evenings. Perhaps that's why they had to meet on the beach – no office could contain their heat. In any case the least surprising aspect of the finale was the announcement soon afterwards that there would be a second series.
Some years ago, when he became Dr Who, I wondered in print if Tennant hadn't backed his talent into a celebrity cul-de-sac. Which shows what I know about such things. Last week he also starred in *The Politician's Husband*, written by Paula Milne almost 20 years after she wrote The Politician's Wife, a deliciously vindictive revenge drama.
With that pedigree and a cast that included the excellent Emily Watson, the forecast was fireworks, but the first episode was oddly subdued and clunkily predictable in set-up. Tennant's thrusting government minister was gulled by his party colleague and best friend (Ed Stoppard) into making a doomed leadership bid. But it was clear from the off that Stoppard's smarmy smug operator was not a man on whom you'd turn your back while he was in possession of a carving knife.
The next twist was Tennant's political betrayal by his own wife, Watson, also a minister. Again there was something dully inevitable about this plot turn that not even Tennant – boasting a flat English accent that was half-London, half-Birmingham (perhaps that's how people sound in Milton Keynes) – could appear convincingly surprised.
The lack of tension was made more conspicuous by Watson, who was so understated as to make Yvette Cooper seem a boiling cauldron of charisma. After the grand guignol of Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce, it all seemed rather dull.
If there is one place on television that understands the genre of overblown theatricality it's *Super Sunday* on Sky Sports, a channel that prides itself on turning any drama into a crisis. Last Sunday you'd have thought that the pound had collapsed, terrorists had attacked Buckingham Palace and Abu Qatada had signed up for Strictly Come Dancing judging by the reaction of Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness to Luis Suárez, the Liverpool forward, biting Branislav Ivanovic, the Chelsea defender.
Not since Churchill died have our screens witnessed such solemn expressions. As each man competed to herald Suárez's dental strike as the end of civilisation as we knew it, the Sky anchorman duly ramped up the outrage with a series of questions on the theme of "how bad was that?" Very bad, it turned out, the worst thing ever until the new worst thing comes along, which you will almost certainly be able to see live and in HD on Sky Sports.
Somewhere out there in this mad world, where Uruguayans bite Serbians and we are all travelling to hell in a handcart, there are presumably many people who find sitcoms like *The Wright Way* funny. It's hard to believe, but we have little choice, because the alternative explanation for the existence of Ben Elton's ranty new show is that the BBC knew it was a mirthless dog and still commissioned it on the strength of Elton's name. Either way, you have to laugh, or else you'd cry. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.
*Broadchurch* (ITV1) | ITVplayer
*The Politician's Husband* (BBC2) | iPlayer
*Super Sunday* (Sky Sports 1)
*The Wright Way* (BBC1) | iPlayer
Given that Chris Chibnall's story was about the murder of a child, it was always unlikely that *Broadchurch* would end on a cheery note. But even so, the concluding episode was a serious downer with an irredeemably bleak message: don't trust anyone, especially those closest to you.
Poor DS Miller. It wasn't enough that her husband was a bit dull, in a bald new-mannish sort of way; he also turned out to be a homicidal paedophile. Try explaining that to the neighbours. Miller believed in community, family and her marriage. She wanted to think the best of people, and all along the very worst was taking refuge under her nose, in her bed.
What made it all that much more painful, of course, was the fact that throughout eight episodes Olivia Colman, who played Miller, had turned in one of the great naturalistic performances of recent times. It was as if the authenticity of her personality radiated out of the TV like some electromagnetic phenomenon. You couldn't help but be warmed by her sparky idiosyncrasies and fundamental decency.
Never more so than when she was kicking her husband around the floor of the interview room, like some old-style copper from a bent nick in the 70s. It was just one of several procedural liberties taken in this superior whodunnit. I'm not sure, for example, that the dead boy's father would be allowed into the cells to shout at his son's killer. Nor am I convinced that in the midst of a murder inquiry the detective in charge would convene a meeting with his number two on a beach, for no other apparent reason than it looked rather fetching in the orange glow of a low sun.
But these were minor quibbles. Overall Broadchurch worked a treat because it had a sense of place and people, a well-constructed murder mystery, and in Colman and David Tennant, as her professionally cynical boss DI Alec Hardy, two extremely watchable leads.
Hardy suspected everyone, which made sense, because everyone was under suspicion. The vicar, the plumber, the candlestick maker, all of them were in the frame. OK, there wasn't a candlestick maker as such, but there was a deeply creepy psychic – and they do tend to like a candle – who was disappointingly exonerated of any wrongdoing.
It was a sign of Hardy's desperation that he turned to the psychic for help in a murder investigation which seemed to be run more as an existential challenge than a process of evidence gathering. But then he wasn't an operational strategist in the way of, say, Scott & Bailey's Gill Murray. And no doubt he was hobbled by the Dorset constabulary's apparent exclusion from a national criminal identity database – how else to explain why two main suspects were able to conceal their criminal pasts of child abuse and murder?
Instead Hardy's detective work mostly relied on being surly to everyone he encountered and seeing what came of it. The answer was nothing much. The killer effectively confessed of his own volition and was never part of the investigation. In truth Hardy wasn't there for his brilliant tactical mind. He was there, in the tradition of maverick detectives, to be the broken hero – abrasive manner, dodgy heart, failed marriage, career in decline, and hopelessly unshaven.
With all that going against him, Hardy needed to played by an actor with a lot of charm, and Tennant has charm to burn. He could have played the child killer and you would end up feeling that you'd like to buy him dinner. For two months he and Colman lit up the Jurassic coast and Monday evenings. Perhaps that's why they had to meet on the beach – no office could contain their heat. In any case the least surprising aspect of the finale was the announcement soon afterwards that there would be a second series.
Some years ago, when he became Dr Who, I wondered in print if Tennant hadn't backed his talent into a celebrity cul-de-sac. Which shows what I know about such things. Last week he also starred in *The Politician's Husband*, written by Paula Milne almost 20 years after she wrote The Politician's Wife, a deliciously vindictive revenge drama.
With that pedigree and a cast that included the excellent Emily Watson, the forecast was fireworks, but the first episode was oddly subdued and clunkily predictable in set-up. Tennant's thrusting government minister was gulled by his party colleague and best friend (Ed Stoppard) into making a doomed leadership bid. But it was clear from the off that Stoppard's smarmy smug operator was not a man on whom you'd turn your back while he was in possession of a carving knife.
The next twist was Tennant's political betrayal by his own wife, Watson, also a minister. Again there was something dully inevitable about this plot turn that not even Tennant – boasting a flat English accent that was half-London, half-Birmingham (perhaps that's how people sound in Milton Keynes) – could appear convincingly surprised.
The lack of tension was made more conspicuous by Watson, who was so understated as to make Yvette Cooper seem a boiling cauldron of charisma. After the grand guignol of Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce, it all seemed rather dull.
If there is one place on television that understands the genre of overblown theatricality it's *Super Sunday* on Sky Sports, a channel that prides itself on turning any drama into a crisis. Last Sunday you'd have thought that the pound had collapsed, terrorists had attacked Buckingham Palace and Abu Qatada had signed up for Strictly Come Dancing judging by the reaction of Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness to Luis Suárez, the Liverpool forward, biting Branislav Ivanovic, the Chelsea defender.
Not since Churchill died have our screens witnessed such solemn expressions. As each man competed to herald Suárez's dental strike as the end of civilisation as we knew it, the Sky anchorman duly ramped up the outrage with a series of questions on the theme of "how bad was that?" Very bad, it turned out, the worst thing ever until the new worst thing comes along, which you will almost certainly be able to see live and in HD on Sky Sports.
Somewhere out there in this mad world, where Uruguayans bite Serbians and we are all travelling to hell in a handcart, there are presumably many people who find sitcoms like *The Wright Way* funny. It's hard to believe, but we have little choice, because the alternative explanation for the existence of Ben Elton's ranty new show is that the BBC knew it was a mirthless dog and still commissioned it on the strength of Elton's name. Either way, you have to laugh, or else you'd cry. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.
↧
So You've Failed -- Masterclash and Asylum Say Goodbye
Filed under: Humor, Entertainment, Video, Masterclash
The time has come to say goodbye. There were robots and nerdy burlesques and everything Star Wars. We gave you A Woman's Perspective and had Drinks With Writers. Olivia Munn pranked our intern. We banned Megan Fox and encouraged women to have Sex ... Read more
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Reported by Asylum 5 hours ago.
The time has come to say goodbye. There were robots and nerdy burlesques and everything Star Wars. We gave you A Woman's Perspective and had Drinks With Writers. Olivia Munn pranked our intern. We banned Megan Fox and encouraged women to have Sex ... Read more
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments Reported by Asylum 5 hours ago.
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LOOK: Photos From The 2013 White House Correspondents' Dinner
President Barack Obama joined celebrities, politicians and media figures Saturday night for the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
Comedian Conan O'Brien hosts this year's event, a soiree that dates back to 1920. This year's dinner takes place at the Washington Hilton hotel and features such celebrities as Olivia Munn, Kerry Washington, Gerard Butler and Sophia Vergara.
*Below, a slideshow of photos from the dinner:* Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
Comedian Conan O'Brien hosts this year's event, a soiree that dates back to 1920. This year's dinner takes place at the Washington Hilton hotel and features such celebrities as Olivia Munn, Kerry Washington, Gerard Butler and Sophia Vergara.
*Below, a slideshow of photos from the dinner:* Reported by Huffington Post 3 hours ago.
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PHOTOS: Olivia Munn Shines Bright At The White House Correspondents' Dinner
They call the White House Correspondents' Dinner "Nerd Prom" for a reason: It's the one night a year where brains and beauty truly collide. And who could better represent that smart-sexy ethos than Olivia Munn?
We're used to seeing the "Newsroom" actress show more skin on the red carpet, so Saturday night's look seemed comparatively conservative. Instead of opting for a crop top or a flash of sideboob, she kept it simple in a black Marchesa dress. Just when we thought we were about to fall asleep, Olivia accessorized with gaudy chain necklaces that almost blinded us to her equally dazzling smile -- almost.
And Olivia certianly did not leave the LOLs at home. She chatted with E! News livestream hosts Marc Malkin and Alicia Quarles about her affinity for day-drinking as a workout booster and joked about alternatives to fitness: "I wish I could lose weight tweeting," she confessed. "I'd tweet so much more."
A girl after our own hearts. While there's no doubt Olivia shouldn't worry about a new workout, we're still debating her red carpet look. What's your take?
*PHOTOS:*
*There's more WHCD glam where that came from:*
Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.
--
Do you have a style story idea or tip? Email us at stylesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.) Reported by Huffington Post 2 hours ago.
We're used to seeing the "Newsroom" actress show more skin on the red carpet, so Saturday night's look seemed comparatively conservative. Instead of opting for a crop top or a flash of sideboob, she kept it simple in a black Marchesa dress. Just when we thought we were about to fall asleep, Olivia accessorized with gaudy chain necklaces that almost blinded us to her equally dazzling smile -- almost.
And Olivia certianly did not leave the LOLs at home. She chatted with E! News livestream hosts Marc Malkin and Alicia Quarles about her affinity for day-drinking as a workout booster and joked about alternatives to fitness: "I wish I could lose weight tweeting," she confessed. "I'd tweet so much more."
A girl after our own hearts. While there's no doubt Olivia shouldn't worry about a new workout, we're still debating her red carpet look. What's your take?
*PHOTOS:*
*There's more WHCD glam where that came from:*
Want more? Be sure to check out HuffPost Style on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram at @HuffPostStyle.
--
Do you have a style story idea or tip? Email us at stylesubmissions@huffingtonpost.com. (PR pitches sent to this address will be ignored.) Reported by Huffington Post 2 hours ago.
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Aaron Eckhart loves Olivia Newton-John
Aaron Eckhart is besotted with Olivia Newton-John.The 'Olympus Has Fallen' actor has been harbouring a crush on the 64-year-old Australian star since...
Reported by ContactMusic 23 hours ago.
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A-B Girls Rowing Team Wins Opening Race of the Season
Patch Acton, MA --The Bromfield Acton-Boxborough rowing teams competed in their inaugural spring regatta recently against Wayland Weston and Greater Lawrence crews on Lake Cochituate in Wayland, the Harvard Press reports.
The girls varsity crew of cox Emily Erdos, Caroline Hart, Sylvia Sarnik, Molly Hart, Olivia Maclean, Tola Myczkowska, Kirsten Thiim, Elizabeth Wilkey, and Julia LeBlanc won their race on the 2,000-meter course.
Bromfield Acton-Boxborough girls fours won by open water. The first varsity four with rowers Caroline Hart, Sylvia Sarnik, Molly Hart, and Olivia Maclean, had cox Emily Erdos at the helm, while gox Amanda Sundheimer led the lightweight four crew of Courtney Oka, Ki Jung Lee, Meghan Glade, and Panna Rasania.
On the boys side, the first varsity eight of cox Julie Dexter, AJ Higgins, Nick Walker, Joey Weaver, Chuck Watt, Kevin Immerman, Kyle Hayes, Andrew Borghesani, and Liam Mackin finished just behind Wayland Weston while being "out rated" by four beats.
For more on the race, click here. Reported by Patch 20 hours ago.
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St. Joseph Forensics Team Takes Two Trophies
Patch Mendham-Chester, NJ --The varsity and junior varsity Forensics Teams from St. Joseph School of Mendhamtalked circles around the competition to bring home a pair of team trophies from the Declamation Competition held on April 16.
Participants were required to memorize and deliver a speech at the competition, which was held at St. Rose of Lima School in East Hanover.
The team includes Isabel Snee, Olivia Vizzini, Meaghan Imossi, Marguerite Munley, Jeanine Aquino, Joseph Hamway, Michael Fitzgerald, Jack Anderson, Kathryn Flanagan, Maeve Imossi, and Gabriella Poth.
Bringing home top prizes in the Junior Varsity category were Jeanine Flanagan, second place; Maeve Imossi, third place, and Michael Fitzgerald, finalist. Top prizes to Varsity competitors were won by Meaghan Imossi, second place; Olivia Vizzini, third place; Jeanine Aquino and Isabel Snee won finalist trophies. Reported by Patch 15 hours ago.
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Avon High School's 3rd Quarter 10-Grade Honor Roll
Patch Avon-Avon Lake, OH --
Avon High School has released its third-quarter honor rolls. Check back for freshman honor rolls.
*High Honor Roll* = 4.0 and above
*Honor Roll* = 3.5 – 3.99
*Merit Roll* = 3.0 – 3.49
Click here for senior honor rolls
Click here for junior honor rolls
*Grade 10*
*HIGH HONOR*
Regan Appelgate
Elvina Brahaxhia
Nicole Braunscheidel
Allison Clark
Brianna Conroy
Georgianna Curtan
Sierra Davidson
Nicholas DiFilippo
Andrew Dudukovich
Anna Edwards
Andrew Foye
Rachel Grudzien
Nicholas Hammond
Yuto Iwaizumi
Emily Joyce
Ellen Kaiser
Sean Kane
Regan Kapalko
Kaylin Kitinoja
Alexis Klonk
Spencer Krebs
Garrett Lawrence
Scott Little
Sarah Lucas
Gabriella Marino
Christopher Maxwell
Jonathan Maxwell
Kira McDonald
Hope McDougald
Ellen Michelich
Cory Ohradzansky
John Peganoff
Rachel Poyle
Benjamin Smith
Rachel Smith
Anastasia Soulas
Rachel Steinert
Allison Sumser
Erin Tanner
Jessica Trabucco
Britne Vondra
Emily Welch
Jacqueline Ziegman
Elizabeth Zollos
*HONOR*
Bradley Arjune
Alexis Armstrong
Anne Aston
Patrick Baeder
Hope Balser
Amanda Barley
Scott Barnum
Teresa Bell
Olivia Bertrand
Regan Betts
Jacob Bitter
Joshua Bohn
Anne Bowen
Mackenzie Boyko
Kyle Brello
Steven Brown
Maddison Buck
Kelsey Castrigano
Haylie Chapman
Cassidy Clark
Kassie Clements
Michael Collins
Alexandra Darus
Erik DeChant
Dominic DelPrincipe
Ryan Diederich
Julia Dobos
Hannah Eiseman
Jay Emery
Colleen Eschweiler
Andrew Flynn
Wesley Ford
Alyssa Garrison
Allen Gaudreau
Diana Gerdes
Sierra Greer
Lindsay Griffin
Denise Guggenbiller
Ashley Harris
Corrine Harris
Kara Hejnal
Robert Holowecky
Nicole Hubbard
Madison Hudy
Anna Hupp
Abigail Johnson
Alison Kahl
Caroline Kamper
Brianna Karas
Nour Khayat
Rei Kola
Jessica Kompan
Sevaste Kontokanis
Jacob Kules
Cami Lee
Travis Leopold
Mason Lloyd
Jessica Long
Leah Mazzola
Taylor McMorrow
Kara Meadows
Miranda Mentler
Daniel Minotti
Jessica Moritz
Claire Morris
Thomas Murray
Kyle Netkowicz
Chance Nicklaus
Allison Novak
Cassie Packis
Olivia Patterson
Elizabeth Pelfrey
Erin Pettegrew
Camila Pinero
Foster Rak
Gabrielle Rawlings
Jessica Ream
Lisa Redilla
Brandon Rice
Madisyn Rini
Daniel Rodriguez
Megan Romanchok
Frank Root
Sarah Rounds
Samantha Saghy
Kristen Schuler
Rollie Sharer
Katie Shutsa
Ryan Sikora
Kelly Stockard
Bryan Stringer
Nathan Suhay
Joseph Tamesis
Morgan Traine
Elizabeth Traxler
Jessica Uhas
George Webb
Parker Williams
Jessica Yurkovich
Lauren Zeman
Julianna Zoller
*MERIT*
Myranda Barak
David Belitz
Alaia Berdecia
John Boudler
Lauren Ciresi
Rie Dadley
Nezar Faraj
Madison Ferguson
Haley Gannon
Christian Giraldo
Laresha Hamilton
Brittany Hedges
Ayla Hess
Christian Hieronymus
Andrew Hujo
Megan Kennedy
Maxwell Kuchenrither
Samuel Laurendeau
Ricardo Loera
Caleb Lumsden
Katelyn Lundy
Halle Lunt
Patrick Madan
Abbey Masisak
MacGregor Mills
Timothy Moroz
Hannah Mosher
Sabrina Natanson
Sean O Donnell
Grace Pelfrey
Isiah Pinto
Courtney Pizzillo
Taylor Prebish
Tatiana Radujkovic
Samuel Richman
Nicholas Roessler
Thomas Schneid
Olivia Schneider
Bridget Schuster
Eli Straub
Hannah Stroh
Paul Sturm
Eric Sumislawski
Rashawn Swinney
Antonios Telidis
James Weaver
Andrew Yacobucci Reported by Patch 53 minutes ago.
Avon High School has released its third-quarter honor rolls. Check back for freshman honor rolls.
*High Honor Roll* = 4.0 and above
*Honor Roll* = 3.5 – 3.99
*Merit Roll* = 3.0 – 3.49
Click here for senior honor rolls
Click here for junior honor rolls
*Grade 10*
*HIGH HONOR*
Regan Appelgate
Elvina Brahaxhia
Nicole Braunscheidel
Allison Clark
Brianna Conroy
Georgianna Curtan
Sierra Davidson
Nicholas DiFilippo
Andrew Dudukovich
Anna Edwards
Andrew Foye
Rachel Grudzien
Nicholas Hammond
Yuto Iwaizumi
Emily Joyce
Ellen Kaiser
Sean Kane
Regan Kapalko
Kaylin Kitinoja
Alexis Klonk
Spencer Krebs
Garrett Lawrence
Scott Little
Sarah Lucas
Gabriella Marino
Christopher Maxwell
Jonathan Maxwell
Kira McDonald
Hope McDougald
Ellen Michelich
Cory Ohradzansky
John Peganoff
Rachel Poyle
Benjamin Smith
Rachel Smith
Anastasia Soulas
Rachel Steinert
Allison Sumser
Erin Tanner
Jessica Trabucco
Britne Vondra
Emily Welch
Jacqueline Ziegman
Elizabeth Zollos
*HONOR*
Bradley Arjune
Alexis Armstrong
Anne Aston
Patrick Baeder
Hope Balser
Amanda Barley
Scott Barnum
Teresa Bell
Olivia Bertrand
Regan Betts
Jacob Bitter
Joshua Bohn
Anne Bowen
Mackenzie Boyko
Kyle Brello
Steven Brown
Maddison Buck
Kelsey Castrigano
Haylie Chapman
Cassidy Clark
Kassie Clements
Michael Collins
Alexandra Darus
Erik DeChant
Dominic DelPrincipe
Ryan Diederich
Julia Dobos
Hannah Eiseman
Jay Emery
Colleen Eschweiler
Andrew Flynn
Wesley Ford
Alyssa Garrison
Allen Gaudreau
Diana Gerdes
Sierra Greer
Lindsay Griffin
Denise Guggenbiller
Ashley Harris
Corrine Harris
Kara Hejnal
Robert Holowecky
Nicole Hubbard
Madison Hudy
Anna Hupp
Abigail Johnson
Alison Kahl
Caroline Kamper
Brianna Karas
Nour Khayat
Rei Kola
Jessica Kompan
Sevaste Kontokanis
Jacob Kules
Cami Lee
Travis Leopold
Mason Lloyd
Jessica Long
Leah Mazzola
Taylor McMorrow
Kara Meadows
Miranda Mentler
Daniel Minotti
Jessica Moritz
Claire Morris
Thomas Murray
Kyle Netkowicz
Chance Nicklaus
Allison Novak
Cassie Packis
Olivia Patterson
Elizabeth Pelfrey
Erin Pettegrew
Camila Pinero
Foster Rak
Gabrielle Rawlings
Jessica Ream
Lisa Redilla
Brandon Rice
Madisyn Rini
Daniel Rodriguez
Megan Romanchok
Frank Root
Sarah Rounds
Samantha Saghy
Kristen Schuler
Rollie Sharer
Katie Shutsa
Ryan Sikora
Kelly Stockard
Bryan Stringer
Nathan Suhay
Joseph Tamesis
Morgan Traine
Elizabeth Traxler
Jessica Uhas
George Webb
Parker Williams
Jessica Yurkovich
Lauren Zeman
Julianna Zoller
*MERIT*
Myranda Barak
David Belitz
Alaia Berdecia
John Boudler
Lauren Ciresi
Rie Dadley
Nezar Faraj
Madison Ferguson
Haley Gannon
Christian Giraldo
Laresha Hamilton
Brittany Hedges
Ayla Hess
Christian Hieronymus
Andrew Hujo
Megan Kennedy
Maxwell Kuchenrither
Samuel Laurendeau
Ricardo Loera
Caleb Lumsden
Katelyn Lundy
Halle Lunt
Patrick Madan
Abbey Masisak
MacGregor Mills
Timothy Moroz
Hannah Mosher
Sabrina Natanson
Sean O Donnell
Grace Pelfrey
Isiah Pinto
Courtney Pizzillo
Taylor Prebish
Tatiana Radujkovic
Samuel Richman
Nicholas Roessler
Thomas Schneid
Olivia Schneider
Bridget Schuster
Eli Straub
Hannah Stroh
Paul Sturm
Eric Sumislawski
Rashawn Swinney
Antonios Telidis
James Weaver
Andrew Yacobucci Reported by Patch 53 minutes ago.
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Sheridan Smith and Olivia Colman to star as love rivals in new drama
Award-winning actresses Sheridan Smith and Olivia Colman are to star together as rivals for the affections of a middle-aged man who is stuck in a rut in a new drama.
Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 21 hours ago.
Reported by Telegraph.co.uk 21 hours ago.
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Olivia Colman and Sheridan Smith to star as love rivals in new David Nicholls BBC drama The 7.39
Sheridan Smith and Olivia Colman are to star as rivals for the affections of a middle-aged man who is stuck in a rut in a new BBC1 drama.
Reported by Independent 20 hours ago.
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Olivia Coleman and Sheridan Smith to star as love rivals in new David Nicholls BBC drama The 7.39
Sheridan Smith and Olivia Colman are to star as rivals for the affections of a middle-aged man who is stuck in a rut in a new BBC1 drama.
Reported by Independent 21 hours ago.
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Olivia Macaron Coming to Georgetown Park Mall
Patch Georgetown, DC --Olivia Macaron is the latest confirmed tenant in the renovated Shops at Georgetown Park. The shop will be on the M Street level across from Dean & Deluca.
Owner Anna Claudia Lopez received Advisory Neighborhood Commission approval Monday for signage for her Georgetown store, which will bring macarons—confectioneries made of sweet meringue—to M Street.
Macaron Bee, another independent macaron store, opened on Wisconsin Avenue last May and has become a popular choice among locals for a sweet treat or a dinner party gift.
Lopez told Patch she does not yet have a website or Facebook page for her new business, in part because she's been working away at getting permits to the new space in the mall.
· *For the quickest updates on Georgetown news, Follow @GeorgetownPatch on Twitter and "Like" Georgetown Patch on Facebook.*
The Shops at Georgetown Park have been undergoing renovations for more than a year.
Recently the Colonial Park garage re-opened and J.Crew moved from its previous storefront to a new, larger space farther west on M Street, NW.
*Do you think there will be enough demand for more than one macaron shop in Georgetown?*
*Read more Patch coverage of the Shops at Georgetown Park:
*
· DSW Coming to Georgetown
· Michaels and Homegoods Mockingly Called 'Threat to Public Safety'
· Georgetown Mall Garage Now Open 24 Hours, Daily
· J. Crew Closes Thursday, Reopens in New Space Wednesday Reported by Patch 21 hours ago.
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PHOTOS: Phillips Academy Athletes Raise Over $2,500 for One Fund
Patch Andover, MA --Two Phillips Academy students ran a 26-mile relay frace from Boston to Andover on Sunday and, in the process, raised a significant chunk of money for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Starting at the Boston Marathon finish line at Copely Square, the girls, Phillips Academy students Peyton McGovern and Olivia LaMarche, ran a relay race all the way to Phillips Academy.
When all was said and done, the girls raised over $2,500 for the One Fund Boston. The run is taking place today, Sunday, April 28.
Amy LaMarche, mother of Olivia said the girls' main priority to direct those interested in doanting to the One Fund website.
"The important part of the story is that they were making this effort to motivate people to donate to the One Fund Boston," said Amy LaMarche, Olivia LaMarche's mother. "They have been collecting donations at the school but they would encourage people to go to OneFundBoston.org to make a donation online."
The girls started at about 8 a.m. at the Boston Marathon Finish line and after running a total of 13.1 mile each in a relay (they added an extra loop to get the full 26.2 miles), they arrived at the Phillips Campus at 12 noon. Reported by Patch 22 hours ago.
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NYC vs. LA: Who Wins The Style War?
Who does it better? NYC or L.A.? “Gossip Girl” or “The O.C.”? Lauren Conrad or Olivia Palermo?
The two famous cities are regularly pitted against each other, so one can’t help but compare these rivals even though they’re worlds apart when it comes to, well pretty much everything.
The distinct personalities of New York City and Los Angeles residents are most easily seen through their fashion, but who wins in this fashion faceoff?
It's a tight race: The celebs who reside in the Hollywood Hills or in a penthouse in Tribeca represent their 'hoods well when it comes to style.
*Full story continues below slideshow:*
*California Style*
Los Angeles' constant sunshine and balmy weather fosters a much more casual bohemian vibe with lighter weight fabrics like lace, linen, silk and denim.
Celebrities who embrace the “California cool” look include “Blue Crush” star, Kate Bosworth. Kate embodies the term “California girl” and recently collaborated with Topshop to create a line of clothing that reflects the West Coast look.
Cameron Diaz is another quintessential California girl. The leggy blond regularly wears her hair in an effortless ponytail with minimal jewelry. She really knows how to rock a t-shirt and jeans without looking blah and is apparently a gifted surfer.
Let's not forget another blond who we saw grow up on “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills”: Lauren “LC” Conrad knows how to wear cut-off tops and flip-flops while maintaining a perfectly polished look.
The beach look isn't the only California outfit celebs wear.
Sheryl Crow famously penned the lyrics “All I wanna do is have some fun, until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.”
The singer has made some major fashion missteps but is well known for her casual rocker-chic that’s very West Coast.
Celebrity men who pull off the California cool look include Matthew McConaughey, Mark Wahlberg and "The Hills" star Spencer Pratt (we kid!).
*New York Style*
Meanwhile in the concrete jungle dwells all that is haute couture, hipster and trendy.
New York City’s fashion scene is hugely trend-driven but more conservative then L.A. when it comes to showing off skin.
As winter natives, New Yorkers get to wear hip boots, edgy coats and heavier, more structured fabrics. They’re also masters at embellishing their outfits with bags, belts, hats, big sunglasses and statement jewelry. High heels? Please, if you can’t walk a mile in 4-inch stilts, you’re pretty much banished.
So who are the celebrities we love for nailing NYC’s self-assured look?
We love to hate "The City" reality star and socialite Olivia Palermo for good reason (she's a bit, ahem, mean), but we can’t deny her fashion prowess. Always coiffed to perfection, the New Yorker has pulled off looks that would make most of us look ridiculous.
Other polarizing New Yorkers include stylish sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who are often seen trolling around Manhattan in questionable outfits. But hey, their style gets us talking, right?
Despite some attempts to be a little too avant-garde, the twins have become fashion icons in their own right, mixing modern bohemian with classic sophisticated pieces. We think the term “boho-chic” was born when Mary-Kate and Ashley found their style. And you can't argue with a duo who heads a billion dollar fashion empire.
Other celebs known for their sophisticated NYC style include rapper Kanye West, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine and the queen of New York fashion, "Sex and the City's" Sarah Jessica Parker. It’s almost blasphemous we mentioned SJP last but we like to keep you on your toes. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.
The two famous cities are regularly pitted against each other, so one can’t help but compare these rivals even though they’re worlds apart when it comes to, well pretty much everything.
The distinct personalities of New York City and Los Angeles residents are most easily seen through their fashion, but who wins in this fashion faceoff?
It's a tight race: The celebs who reside in the Hollywood Hills or in a penthouse in Tribeca represent their 'hoods well when it comes to style.
*Full story continues below slideshow:*
*California Style*
Los Angeles' constant sunshine and balmy weather fosters a much more casual bohemian vibe with lighter weight fabrics like lace, linen, silk and denim.
Celebrities who embrace the “California cool” look include “Blue Crush” star, Kate Bosworth. Kate embodies the term “California girl” and recently collaborated with Topshop to create a line of clothing that reflects the West Coast look.
Cameron Diaz is another quintessential California girl. The leggy blond regularly wears her hair in an effortless ponytail with minimal jewelry. She really knows how to rock a t-shirt and jeans without looking blah and is apparently a gifted surfer.
Let's not forget another blond who we saw grow up on “Laguna Beach” and “The Hills”: Lauren “LC” Conrad knows how to wear cut-off tops and flip-flops while maintaining a perfectly polished look.
The beach look isn't the only California outfit celebs wear.
Sheryl Crow famously penned the lyrics “All I wanna do is have some fun, until the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard.”
The singer has made some major fashion missteps but is well known for her casual rocker-chic that’s very West Coast.
Celebrity men who pull off the California cool look include Matthew McConaughey, Mark Wahlberg and "The Hills" star Spencer Pratt (we kid!).
*New York Style*
Meanwhile in the concrete jungle dwells all that is haute couture, hipster and trendy.
New York City’s fashion scene is hugely trend-driven but more conservative then L.A. when it comes to showing off skin.
As winter natives, New Yorkers get to wear hip boots, edgy coats and heavier, more structured fabrics. They’re also masters at embellishing their outfits with bags, belts, hats, big sunglasses and statement jewelry. High heels? Please, if you can’t walk a mile in 4-inch stilts, you’re pretty much banished.
So who are the celebrities we love for nailing NYC’s self-assured look?
We love to hate "The City" reality star and socialite Olivia Palermo for good reason (she's a bit, ahem, mean), but we can’t deny her fashion prowess. Always coiffed to perfection, the New Yorker has pulled off looks that would make most of us look ridiculous.
Other polarizing New Yorkers include stylish sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, who are often seen trolling around Manhattan in questionable outfits. But hey, their style gets us talking, right?
Despite some attempts to be a little too avant-garde, the twins have become fashion icons in their own right, mixing modern bohemian with classic sophisticated pieces. We think the term “boho-chic” was born when Mary-Kate and Ashley found their style. And you can't argue with a duo who heads a billion dollar fashion empire.
Other celebs known for their sophisticated NYC style include rapper Kanye West, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine and the queen of New York fashion, "Sex and the City's" Sarah Jessica Parker. It’s almost blasphemous we mentioned SJP last but we like to keep you on your toes. Reported by Huffington Post 16 hours ago.
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