ALYSON HANNIGAN: Interview

Spotted on Zap2it:

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) The character Alyson Hannigan plays in the new CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother" is based on co-creator Craig Thomas' wife -- who, on some level, may be responsible for her husband casting the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" alum.

In the show, Hannigan plays Lily, a close friend of the main character, Ted (Josh Radnor) and the new fiancee of Ted's best friend Marshall (Jason Segel, "Freaks and Geeks"). Thomas describes her as "very self-assured ... more in control" than Marshall, who's based on himself.

"[She] kind of wants the Marshall character to kind of step up and be more aggressive and confident, but also secretly, I think, kind of likes wearing the pants in the relationship a little bit," Thomas says, implying things are not that different between him and his wife, Rebecca.
Hannigan says she didn't meet Rebecca until after she started work on "How I Met Your Mother's" pilot, "so I didn't steal too much from her. But I will."

Rebecca is also an "enormous 'Buffy' fan," says Carter Bays, who created "How I Met ..." with Thomas and on whom Radnor's character is based. "And she got both of us into it, and ..."

"Yeah, arguably that's why we cast Alyson," Thomas adds. "None of us knew about 'Buffy,' and my wife said, 'Watch "Buffy."' And we became almost embarrassingly huge 'Buffy' dorks to the point where I think Alyson is uncomfortable around us sometimes."

"Extremely," Hannigan deadpans.

For her part, Hannigan says her real-life counterpart is "awesome," and she's looking forward to playing the TV version of her in the coming season ("How I Met Your Mother" will air at 8:30 p.m. ET Mondays in the fall).

"It's really cool to be playing somebody who's alive, I think," Hannigan says. "Until she hates it. And then you're like, 'Oh, I don't know. Sorry.'"

ALYSON HANNIGAN: Interview

Spotted in Chicago Sun-Times:

Witchy woman fun as ever

July 21, 2005

BY DOUG ELFMAN TELEVISION CRITIC
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- On "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Alyson Hannigan played a Jewish lesbian witch, and she used her soft-spoken delivery to eke out lines such as, "I'm so evil. And skanky. And I think I'm kinda gay." But "Buffy" wasn't a No. 1 show, so it took 1999's "American Pie" to introduce Hannigan to a nation of moviegoers.

In "Pie," she was the redhead who told a boy about a sexual escapade with a flute by saying, "This one time, at band camp. ..." Later she straddled that same boy and screamed, "Say my name, bitch!" In the third "Pie" movie, she announced, "I just shoved a trumpet in [an uncomfortable place]. Aren't instruments fun?"

On screen, what makes Hannigan's sexual playfulness amusing and more everyday cuddly than the dominants we see in roles filled by, say, Linda Fiorentino is that Hannigan looks as if she's barely aware of sex, even at age 30. It must be her steady meter of a happy voice that pulls this off. Or maybe it's the childlike swirl of joy and discovery that twirls in her eyes.

Either way, she has a new fall show headed for CBS that makes use of this skill. It's a sitcom called "How I Met Your Mother," and in the pilot, her character has sex with her man on a kitchen floor. A mishap leaves her with a bruised eye, they jump in a cab to see a doctor, and the cabbie asks her if the dude hit her. She laughs. Her tone is as light as a condom:

"This guy could barely even spank me in bed for fun. He's all, like, 'Oh honey, did it hurt?' And I'm like, 'Come on. Let me have it, ya pansy!' "

Hannigan showed up at a TV critics meeting on Tuesday to promote her new sitcom. I asked her what she thinks about this sub-theme of sexual dominance that has arisen in her acting-role arc.

"I know!" she said. Her smile looked as curvy and fun-time as ever. "I don't know why this keeps following me. ... I don't want people to be, like, 'Well, that's just the "American Pie" movie.' But you know, it was fun, and I love that cab scene. ... I guess people just think of me that way."

Reporters wanted to know if there'd be a "Buffy" movie.

"I hear there might be a Spike movie, which I think might be the logical character to start with," she said. Spike was the British vampire with a soul who fell in love with Buffy, gave her some smooth lovin', then saved the world. Show creator Joss Whedon "has talked about different things, and I think the last thing I heard him say was a straight-to-DVD type movie."

One of her former "Buffy" co-stars, Nicholas "Xander" Brendon, is also working on a new sitcom, called "Kitchen Confidential."

"Nick and I are competing for the same time slot, which is really sad, but we're on the same lot," she said. "Nick came to the set, and he was saying that [the two shows don't aim for] the same demographic. He's like, 'Yours is sort of the younger crowd.' And he's, like, 'Ours is probably, like, older gay men.' "

For those of us who think "Buffy" is the best show ever, it's reassuring to see Hannigan in any role. Co-executive producer Carter Bays joked that she won her new part because another co-executive producer, Craig Thomas, has a wife who's a "Buffy" fan of such an embarrassing degree that it became uncomfortable to hang around Hannigan after all the fawning.

One TV critic rightly asked Hannigan why she's doing an ensemble sitcom when it looked as if her career was headed to lead roles. She said she took a break after "Buffy" wrapped in 2003. She hung out with her husband ("Buffy" alum Alexis "Wesley" Denisof), did some yoga, walked her three dogs and went looking for an ensemble comedy so she could be surrounded by funny people all day.

Doing a sitcom is an easier job than shooting hourlong dramas with one camera, she said. And unlike plays, if someone screws up, they reshoot.

"It's like doing a play, but with training wheels."

See what I mean? What kind of dominant woman uses the phrase "training wheels" in relation to anything? Linda Fiorentino could never get away with that.

ALYSON HANNIGAN: HIMYM review

Spotted in The Toledo Blade:

TV's balance will continue to tip in favor of dramas this fall (18 new dramas, 10 new comedies), but for the first time in several years, the comedies are a better bet.

Based on a viewing of its pilot episode, CBS's How I Met Your Mother is as close to a sure thing as TV can come. It's scheduled in CBS's successful Monday night comedy block, features talented, young, familiar stars, and this sitcom is actually - prepare to be shocked - pretty darn funny.

It's the story of a group of friends, nar-rated 25 years in the future by 27-year-old Ted (Josh Radnor) as he recounts his life to his children. The narration scenes are brief (Bob Saget does the voiceover narration), and the show is mostly set in the present as Ted's best friend, Marshall (Jason Segel, Freaks and Geeks), proposes to his longtime girlfriend, Lily (Alyson Hannigan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer). He gets advice from his pal, Barney (Neil Patrick Harris, Doogie Howser, M.D.).

For Hannigan, Harris, and Segel, the series marks a dramatic departure from the type of shows viewers are used to seeing them in. All three grew up starring in single-camera shows that were more dramas with comedy than out-and-out yukfests.

"On a one-camera show, you spend most of the day in your trailer until you're called to the set, " Harris said. "We get to do a little playlet and rehearse it and present it every day, which is great fun. … We were having so much fun, [Alyson] was worried there was no way this pilot will ever go. "

In addition to a more appealing schedule - making a three-camera sitcom takes much less time than a single-camera drama - Hannigan said she liked the opportunity to try something closer to stage acting.

"It's like doing a play with training wheels," she said. "If you mess up, it doesn't matter, you just do it again."

The pilot for How I Met Your Mother ends on a surprising note that fails to resolve clearly a portion of the show's premise, but the cast isn't worried about leaving viewers in the dark.

"You never found out who the boss really was on Who's the Boss?," Hannigan joked.

ALYSON HANNIGAN: HIMYM review

Spotted in San Jose Mercury News:

BEVERLY HILLS - Sometimes you can tell just how good a new series might be from how the creators and cast interact when they meet reporters at the Television Critics Association's semiannual press tour.

Sometimes, the writers and actors are totally out of sync with each other, as if they have different ideas about where the show is going or even what it's about. Sometimes, cast members lack any real chemistry, looking as if they were just on the series to pick up a paycheck.

When press conferences go south like that, the TV reporters start taking bets on how long the series will last.

Then there are sessions such as the one held by the producers and cast of CBS's new ``How I Met Your Mother,'' which gets the juicy Monday night slot between ``King of Queens'' and ``Two and a Half Men'' come the fall.

The show, which has a nice twist to it that I don't want to spoil, revolves around a group of friends trying to help a buddy find the right girl. Writers have already pegged it as one of the better new offerings for the fall season, and the session just amplified that good will.

The actors -- who include such veterans of the TV wars as Neil Patrick Harris (``Doogie Howser'') and Alyson Hannigan (``Buffy'') -- were clearly on the same page when it came to the ensemble comedy. The creators -- relative newcomers Carter Bays and Craig Thomas -- were funny and charming and seemed to have a fresh take on the traditional sitcom.

``I didn't want to do a sitcom,'' said Harris, who admitted he didn't have a lot of fun on NBC's ill-fated ``Stark Raving Mad'' a few years back.

``Neil actually sat in my living room'' after ``Mad'' went off the air ``and kept going, `I don't ever want to do a half-hour sitcom again,' '' injected Hannigan with a laugh.

``But then this script came along and the character was really fun,'' continued Harris, who added that CBS ``did very little meddling from the very beginning. They let us do our thing.''

Which was a sentiment echoed by Bays and Thomas, who didn't seem to be reciting the usual pat lines about how great the network had been.

``We decided, `Let's go write about our lives, the real things we deal with,' '' said Bays. ``Let's just see happens. And every step along the way -- where you think that's not going to work, this is CBS -- it's just been green light all the way.''

POST-BUFFY SHOWS

Spotted in Chicago Tribune:

The fall TV schedule will have a distinct Sunnydale feel to it, Zap2it.com reports.

Alyson Hannigan (CBS' "How I Met Your Mother"), Nicholas Brendon (Fox's "Kitchen Confidential") and David Boreanaz (Fox's "Bones") are all starring in new shows, while Charisma Carpenter has landed a recurring part on UPN's "Veronica Mars."

Hannigan and Brendon will be competing directly for viewers -- their shows are opposite one another at 9:30 p.m. Mondays. The former Willow says "How I Met Your Mother" and "Kitchen Confidential" film on the same lot, so she and Brendon (Xander) have had the chance to talk some good-natured trash about which show will win the ratings battle.

She also says that at least in Brendon's mind, the two shows might have somewhat different audiences.

"Nick said to me, `I think your show goes for the younger crowd, and ours is sort of for older, gay men,'" Hannigan says.

Hannigan does say that she and Brendon have found one common cause: A plan is afoot to TP ex-Angel Boreanaz's car while he's shooting elsewhere on the lot.

ALYSON HANNIGAN: HIMYM review

Spotted in Philadelphia Inquirer:

TV Guide's Matt Roush calls My Name Is Earl, shot without an audience or laugh track, "the freshest of that type of show since Malcolm in the Middle."

About How I Met Your Mother, which stars, among others, Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Howser, M.D.) and Alyson Hannigan (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Roush says, "If you're looking for the next Friends, that's the closest we've seen in a while."

MICHELL TRACHTENBERG: Interview

Spotted in FilmStew.com :



With a talent and poise well beyond her years, Michelle Trachtenberg remains one of Hollywood’s most promising young actresses. Best known for her work as Buffy’s sister Dawn on the hit television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the 19-year-old New York native has sought to avoid pigeonholing by taking roles in such films as Harriet the Spy, Inspector Gadget, the raunchy R-rated comedy EuroTrip, Gregg Araki’s current indie Mysterious Skin and the G-rated Disney film Ice Princess, new this week on DVD.

The film didn’t exactly burn up the box office charts, debuting at number four with a first weekend take of $7 million. But the film looks poised to better connect with its core figure skating audience, even in the dog days of summer, thereby finally rewarding the efforts of Trachtenberg, who learned how to ice skate for her role as the brainy girl turned champion figure skater, Casey Carlyle.

“I trained extremely hard for this movie,” explains the avid tennis player and former ballerina during a recent interview with FilmStew. “When we weren’t shooting, I was training, five hours a day, five days a week. I had ballet every other day. I was constantly on the ice.”

“When we were shooting, I was working seven days a week,” she continues. “Five days of shooting and then, on the weekends, I was learning all the choreography and whatnot. I was working 20-22 hour days because I was one of the only adults on the movie, outside of Joan Cusack (who plays her mother) and Kim Cattrall (who plays her skating coach). Everyone else was pretty much a minor, so after 10 hours, they went home, and I was still there on ice skating, working my way around.”

Asked to compare the difficulty level of acting to that of ice skating, Trachtenberg says that skating is, by far, the harder of the two. “It’s cold and the skirts are short,” she says, laughing. “In the past, I’ve done a bikini scene and I was like, ‘I’m done. That’s it. That’s my sex scene.’ But, with this, I had the little skirts and everything.”

“My big thing, which none of my doubles could do, was an outside edge spread eagle, which is basically when your feet are in one line and you’re leaning back on the outside edge, going around on a curve,” Trachtenberg continues. “Not even a lot of skaters who are at Olympic levels can do that because it depends on your body.”

Even though Trachtenberg took to the sport, the rising star admits to her fair share of mishaps during filming. “I tore a couple of ligaments and dislocated a knee,” she admits. “And my knee cap is probably off kilter because, when you’re doing a spiral, you put all your weight on the knees.”

“It sounds really bad, but those are things that happen to athletes,” continues the girlfriend of X-Men 2 star Shawn Ashmore. “I’m very lucky because I didn’t get any stress fractures, which is one of the hugest things. I’d never trained to be an ice skater before, but when I was 8 or 9, that’s
what I wanted to do. I was obsessed with Michelle Kwan and Oksana Baiul.”

“So when Disney came to me with this movie, I was like, ‘Okay. I can skate. No problem. I did it at a party once.’”

And after I started training, my coach came up to me and said, ‘If you had started this when you were five years old, you’d be able to do those double axles and everything.’ She said I was a natural at it, which was really cool.”

As a lifelong fan of Michelle Kwan, Trachtenberg found herself more tongue tied in the presence of the Olympic champion filmed than many of the Hollywood stars who preceded her in the actress’s life. “I was the biggest nerd,” Trachtenberg confesses. “I said, ‘You’re Michelle Kwan,’ like she didn’t know that she was Michelle Kwan, so I had to tell her.”

“To see her on the ice is like what I would imagine it’s like to watch Sean Penn or Dustin Hoffman work,” she adds. “It’s just so effortless and brilliant. And, she said to me, ‘You’re good. You’re a natural for what time you’ve had and what you’ve accomplished. I’m impressed.’ That, to me, was the utmost compliment.”

With three upcoming films - next week’s Lifetime movie The Dive from Clausen’s Pier, about a young woman who re-examines her life; Vinyl, about the women behind a male rock and roll band; and Odd Girl Out, about the students at a prestigious boarding school - Trachtenberg continues to maintain a professional pace that began at the tender age of three. But she always has a career in sales waiting for her.

“One day, I worked at a friend’s store,” she reveals. “It was baby store and I sold $5,000 worth of baby stuff in one day. I was literally pulling people in off the street, telling them, ‘You need to buy this. This is perfect and it’s so pretty, and you’re going to have babies someday, so you should be prepared.’”

“It was really fun, because I actually got to see and talk to people,” suggests Trachtenberg. “The one thing that you don’t get with movies is that you don’t actually get to talk to or experience the people that you’re putting these things out for. With sitcoms, the audience is right there. You can hear them laugh, immediately. With movies, you’ve got to wait for some time.”

But having been in the business for almost two decades now, Trachtenberg is still pretty clear when it comes to her career vision. “Every character that I play is like a tiny percent of my personality, sort of heightened, but I’m very adamant about never playing the same character again,” she explains. “Casey is my first character where I’ve had to be unconfident and scared and insecure.”

SNAPSHOT: ASH in MIT

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Threatened with Australian ban

It seems like Australian censors are getting jumpy at the thought of letting a film about paedophilia into the cinema, according to the Sydney Morning Herald:



An intense American drama about two teenagers who were molested by a pedophile when they were eight has become the centre of a censorship controversy.

Until yesterday, Mysterious Skin was due to be released in cinemas next month with an R18+ rating and the consumer advice that it contains adult themes, strong sexual violence and medium-level sex scenes.

Directed by Gregg Araki, the film has screened at international festivals and has had cinema releases in the US and Britain. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, from the television show 3rd Rock from the Sun, plays one of two youths dealing with sexual abuse by their baseball coach.

An application to have the film reclassified threatens to have it banned in Australia.

The federal Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, sought the review after contact from his South Australian counterpart, Michael Atkinson.

It is believed Mr Atkinson was lobbied by the Australian Family Association and the Festival of Light.

The organisations earlier opposed the R18+ rating but were denied a request to waive a reclassification fee by the Office of Film and Literature Classification.

A spokesman for the Australian Family Association, Richard Egan, said he was concerned after reading the film's synopsis. Mr Egan thought the film could be used by pedophiles for their own satisfaction or to help them groom children they were planning to abuse.

"Being able to get hold legally of a DVD where they can play the scene over and over again, showing the adult baseball coach fellating an eight-year-old boy ... could prove very helpful to some pedophiles."

The president of the lobby group Watch on Censorship, Margaret Pomeranz, described Mysterious Skin as a mature and moving film.

"This is a film about the damage that pedophilia creates. It's been so carefully filmed, the impact is on the audience ...

"Pedophiles could watch this film and be stricken by remorse. It could be a pedophile-curing film because they're confronted by the damage they do."

In giving Mysterious Skin an R18+ rating, the Office of Film and Literature Classification described it as "a serious and legitimate exploration of a disturbing and confronting theme".

"The film takes the victims' viewpoint and presents the dark and bleak nature of the abuse to which they are subjected, and the resulting impact on their lives."

ALYSON HANNIGAN: How We'll Watch Your Mother

Good news - the BBC has snapped up How I Met Your Mother, and is planning to give it a US Office style BBC THREE/BBC TWO double whammy. Sometime in 2006.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: Dress Me Up

Spotted in U-Daily News - Spywitness:

Young actress Michelle Trachtenberg jokingly revealed her plan to get more Perse clothes: "James (Perse) is my future husband." Oh, the lengths some people will go to for an employee discount. In reality, she's happily attached to Canadian actor Shawn Ashmore, who'll soon start shooting "X-Men 3."

SNAPSHOT: MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG

Looks like she's having some late nights. Or planning to.

MICHELLE TRACHTENBERG: ICE PRINCESS REVIEW

From Boston Herald:

Casey Carlyle (doe-eyed Michelle Trachtenberg, ``Euro Trip'') climbs the social ranks at school when her physics project helps the popular skating clique - Gen (Hayden Panettiere, ``Remember the Titans''), Tiffany (Jocelyn Lai) and Nikki (Kirsten Olson, a competitive skater in real life) - improve their jumps.

When Casey applies her physics theories to her own skating, former Olympic skater Tina Hardwood (Kim Cattrall, ``Sex and the City'') agrees to coach her.

Sound too good to be true? It is.

This sap-fest of a film doesn't help itself in the DVD department either.

Music videos by Disney progeny Caleigh Peters and Aly & A.J. are entertaining, but for all the wrong reasons. As for the deleted scenes, once you've seen the movie you'll wish more moments had hit the cutting-room floor.

Why rehash the horror?

TONY HEAD: SPOTTING

Nice to see Anthony Head down in Traflager Square MCing for the London Bombings memorial; he'll be in a more actorly role guesting on Murder Investigation Team on ITV on Monday night.

PUBLICATIONS: CINE-MANGE

Spotted in ActiveAnime.com:

Los Angeles, CA (July, 2005) – In every generation, there is a chosen one. She alone shall stand against the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. A critically-acclaimed television show, Buffy The Vampire Slayer has reached worldwide cult status. Now TOKYOPOP, the #1 publisher of manga, and innovator of the Cine-Manga book format, is proud to present Buffy's 100th episode, "The Gift," as you've never seen it before.

In TOKYOPOP’s trademarked Cine-Manga format, The Ultimate Buffy The Vampire Slayer delivers the story’s spine-tingling dynamics and disturbing plotline with vivid screen captures and manga-style word balloons. This chilling Cine-Manga adaptation of "The Gift," one of Josh Whedon’s most unforgettable and shocking episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is packed with never-before-seen behind-the-scenes photos, director and actor commentary, excerpts from the uncut script, and intricately designed stunts.

The apocalypse is at hand in Sunnydale! Buffy must square off against a true god when Glory prepares to use Dawn to unleash all Hell on Earth. The only way to save the day is to kill Dawn--but Buffy refuses to harm her little sister, and the gang heads into battle knowing that some of them may not survive...

"Buffy has become an icon. I've always been a huge fan, and it was a thrill to work on something that other fans will love," said TOKYOPOP Cine-Manga editor, Erin Stein. "’The Gift’ is one of the greatest episodes ever, and TOKYOPOP is so excited to present it with behind-the-scenes content that fans have never seen before!"

SMG: PRESUMABLY NOT THINKING OF SCOOBY DOO III

According to Contactmusic:

Actress SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR wants to go topless in her next film role - to shock movie bosses into giving her sexy roles in future films.

THE GRUDGE star is approaching her 30th birthday and fears she will be deemed too old to play raunchy roles, unless she proves she is still attractive and daring by baring all in a film.

She explains, "I am approaching 30 and I need a change.

"The sort of roles I would like are not being offered, so this way might just shock people into choosing me."

ALYSON HANNIGAN: IN 3D

Well, if she has had some work done, it'll be fairly obvious from I Love The 80s 3D. Yes, it's the usual talking heads clip show, but this time it'll look like they're coming out the screen. And Aly is going to be on it.

Let's hope they don't remake the UK version in 3D. Kate Thornton apparently in your home? Don't bear thinking 'bout, does it?

SETH GREEN: Profile

Spotted in BostonHerald.com

Name: Seth Green

Character: The voice of dimwitted, 13-year-old Chris on ``Family Guy'' (Sundays at 9 p.m. on WFXT, Ch. 25)

Hometown: Philadelphia

Age: 31

Where you have seen him: Green was Scott Evil in the ``Austin Powers'' movies and Willow's sweet boyfriend/werewolf Oz in ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer.''

Childhood: The 5-foot-4-inch tall actor has been in the business since he was a child. He had roles in ``The Hotel New Hampshire'' and Woody Allen's ``Radio Days.''

Fun fact: Before playing Alyson Hannigan's sweetheart on ``Buffy,'' he played her boyfriend in the 1988 film ``My Stepmother Is an Alien.''

Summer plans: He'll play Barry in NBC's upcoming comedy ``Four Kings,'' executive produced by ``Will & Grace'' show-runners David Kohan and Max Mutchnick.

Quote: Like the show's devoted fans, he was a little surprised there was life two years after ``Family Guy's'' premature death. He told TVGuide.com, ``It is the only time a corporation like Fox had to say, `Maybe we didn't understand this show, but it is undeniable that it is popular and it makes money.' ''

Where you'll see him in five years: In an ``Oz'' movie. Pretty please?