Ugly Betty

They talk about the character Marc’s beginnings, how Vanessa Williams made it possible for Urie to shape the character from a temporary throw-away into one of the show’s main characters.  Urie has told this story many times before, and still shows a great deal of humility and gratitude to Vanessa.

There is a great deal of discussion about Justin (and Marc’s mentor relationship with him).  They replay that wonderful scene with Patti LuPone in episode 1.18, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, in which Marc finally comes out in response to his mother scoffing at Justin. 

Then they talk about tonight’s episode, 4.06, Backseat Betty, where Marc gives Justin advice on how to handle bullies. 

"Marc’s advice is to befriend the cheerleaders, because the cheerleaders are the mean girls, and the mean girls lead to popularity," Urie says. "And if he’s with them, he won’t get messed with. And so that’s what he does."

There is also a fascinating exchange about Justin serving as a role model, and how the show treats gay characters in general. 

“And they’re not just a joke anymore," says Urie. "They deliver the punch lines, but they are not the punch lines."

Marc may oftentimes BE the punch line,  "but not for being gay, for being silly. We don’t make gay jokes on the show. … They’re smarter than that. And we’re not catering to an audience who thinks jokes like that are funny."

There is a video sneak preview on the interview page that I haven’t seen anywhere else (sorry, I can’t embed it) – it involves Marc and Justin in what will probably be the most interesting story line tonight (and strangely, the least hyped).

The page has some on the interview, but you really must listen to the audio – it goes in depth, and has that wonderful All Things Considered tone to it. (Click ‘Listen to the Story’)  Go check it out.

Image: SplashNewsOnline.com

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Looks like Michael had a tough shoot – all the sand and sea and frozen fruity drinks – I feel sorry for him.    No seriously, I am SOOOO jealous!

Very, very few men have the courage to wear white trunks to the beach – Urie, of course, pulls it off.

I wonder what Marc’s role in the episode can be?  Especially after seeing the pics of Wilhelmina and you-know-who…Marc’s story could center around the whole Wilhelmina’s search for love, money and revenge storyline, or he could be part of the troubled photo shoot, or more than likely, he’s going to be involved in both.

Regardless, I’m glad most of the cast and crew had a little time for R&R.  According to the captions of the photos, Urie was feeding fish with the fruit from his drink.  Brave soul.  Little fish attract bigger fish.

Daniel Craig, eat your heart out… 

And yes, more (some of them spoiler-ish and/or incredibly fun) pics are coming.

Images: SplashNewsOnline.com

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Along with working on filming Ugly Betty’s fourth season, Michael has been very busy with the hit off-Broadway play The Tempermentals.  If you are in New York, it looks like the show to see.  Many New York bigwigs and entertainment royalty have already come to see it.  If you are on Twitter, you can follow updates from the show (including notables in the audience at the show’s Twitter page.

On Ugly Betty, Urie really came into his own in season 3.  His character Marc alternated between being Betty’s main rival, and being an ally.  By the end of season 3, you got the feeling that deep down Marc actually likes Betty, although he’d never admit it.

Things I’m looking forward to in Ugly Betty season 4 out of Michael (and Marc) :  more scenes with Mark Indelicato, the return of Patti LuPone (please?), and seeing Urie sing in the musical episode.

Happy Birthday Michael!  Have a lot of fun today!

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Recently, Urie’s Ugly Betty co-star America Ferrera came to see the show, and we’ve got a couple of backstage pics!

What a beautiful pair!

It’s great that Ferrera is back in town after filming the comedy Family Wedding in Los Angeles with Forest Whitaker, Carlos Mencia, and Lance Gross.  Not only is she back for Ugly Betty filming, but it allowed the opportunity for her to come see Urie’s well-reviewed (can I say acclaimed?) work, and give him some Ugly Betty support.

The Tempermentals has extended its run, now extending the engagement at the TBG Theatre for the summer through August 23rd.  To say that Michael Urie’s star is rising would be an understatement.  He’s got a hit on his hands!

America gives Michael a personal congratulations:

Awwww…..

Images: Newscom

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Nightline did a story about it last year, and Urie was one of the people featured:

Hi-larious.  It’s kind of a funny push-back from our “tell and show everyone everything all the time” reality society.  I believe I remember where Urie once read from Miley Cyrus‘ book, which would have been so funny you couldn’t see straight.

Joining Urie at The Gramercy Theatre, 127 East 23rd Street (at Lexington) are B.D. Wong, Kristen Johnson, Jackie Hoffman, Rachel Dratch, Frank DeCaro, Eugene Pack, Dayle Reyfel, and they’ll be reading from fellow celebrities like Madonna, Miley Cyrus, Diana Ross, Elizabeth Taylor, Ivana Trump, Star Jones, Burt and Loni, Tommy and Pamela, Zsa Zsa and more.

The show starts at 9:30 pm, and you can get Orchestra cabaret table seating for just $25 (normally $40).  See Urie’s blog for more details.

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Well, the reviews are coming in, and if this one from Variety is any clue, we can say they are quite favorable.  The review is worth a read if only for this passage:

Since we enter the play in medias res, it’s hard to know exactly what to make of Harry [Hay – played by Thomas Jay Ryan] and Rudi Gernreich (Michael Urie) when we first see them, sitting opposite one another on folding chairs under a bare bulb. Harry is in a nondescript suit, seriously grilling fashion designer Rudi, who wears a form-fitting black shirt and dress pants, being coy. It looks like the long-lost gay episode of "Dragnet."

Apparently, Urie’s character Rudi is more ‘out’ than Harry, at least as far as one could be in the early 50’s.

The reviewer, Variety’s Sam Thielman, especially loved the performance of Urie’s co-star Ryan, but he also had kind words for Michael’s portrayal of Gernreich, saying, “Between this performance and Urie ("Ugly Betty") as the conflicted Gernreich, who became his generation’s Calvin Klein, helmer Jonathan Silverstein has the tools to turn the play into a meditation on the problems of being an outcast.”

The money quote says it all:  “What ought to be a boring history lesson frequently transcends itself to become an engaging portrait of a man rightly obsessed with fairness.”

It sounds like Thielman was pleasantly surprised.

Michael Urie has some pictures from the play at his blog.  ‘The Tempermenals’ runs through May 14th at the Barrow Group Studio Theater.

Image: SplashNewsOnline.com

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OMG, they glow in the dark!  Seriously, they do make a good looking, if flamboyant, pair.

Urie’s Jacket?  Want. 

Yes, I’d look ridiculous in it.  But, it looks so snazzy on Michael it would be hard to resist.

As for the Awards, the event in NYC was one of three planned by GLAAD, which honors media companies and individuals for fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities.  A few awards were given out on Saturday, but most will be given in a ceremony in Los Angeles on April 18.  As has been the case for the last 3 years, Ugly Betty is nominated (and will probably win) in the Outstanding Comedy Series category.

As for Vanessa Williams’ dress – if my wife and I were out shopping and saw it on the rack, my first instinct would be…uh, no.  But, it really, really works on Vanessa.  She ALWAYS looks great with the tunic look, even if it is iridescent. 

Images: Newscom

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Here’s something I did not know:  ‘Temperamental’ was a code word for “homosexual” in the early 1950s, part of a created language of secret words that gay men used to communicate.  (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called temperamental ). 

The play tells the story of two men in the early 1950’s, Harry Hay and Rudi Gernreich, who built the first gay rights organization in the United States.  The two were actual men who founded the Mattachine Society.

This seems like a pretty big role – Michael’s career seems to be on the rise!  He’s going to be big on stage and screen, it appears.  Woot!

This looks quite interesting – those of you who will be in New York at the time should check it out!

Image: Bauer-Griffin

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Beatrice asked Michael and Becki about writer Brian Tanen (is he married?), and then it got hilarious.  Becki and Michael doubted the existence of Beatrice, and assumed that she was Tanen himself, singing his own praises.  They finally answered the question (he’s not married) but only after acting out a bit of comedy based on Tanen faking the Beatrice identity.  In the comments here, Beatrice took it all in good humor, and was pleased to hear her question, and get the answer she wanted to hear about Tanen’s marital status. 

Becki and Michael also hint that things will not be well with Wilhelmina and Connor this week (something we had already guessed), and also revealed Henry’s Facebook secret…he has a new girlfriend.  So, my guess that Henry had married Charlie was wrong, and I think this is a much better “secret”. 

They also go in-depth about the non-cancellation of Ugly Betty.  It’s funny that they keep Ausiello “nameless”.

If you’ve never heard the podcasts before, you have got to tune in!  It really is the Marc and Amanda show; besides reading and answering questions, it’s really a freeform stream of consciousness by these two very talented people.  There’s no telling where they’re going to go once they get started – that’s part of the fun!

Image: Newscom

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They have obviously been on quite a shopping spree, and I have to wonder if someone else isn’t in this scene. Many of the photos show Becki and Michael standing beside the cameras, watching something. Of course, they could have just been watching the crew move stuff around, but they sure seem to be interested in whatever it is.

I’ve seen several “How to save Ugly Betty” posts and articles lately, and one thing they have in common is they think there should be more Marc and Amanda. This makes sense to me. I think the show should be centered aroung Betty, Daniel, Marc and Amanda, with Wilhelmina as the foil and the other characters as support to keep the story lines moving along. (I think Marc needs to slowly break away from Wilhelmina)

Some go so far as to say that Marc and Mandy should start being mean to Betty again, but I really think the genie is out of the bottle on that one. Perhaps Amanda, who truly is superficial (but good-hearted). Marc’s superficiality seems to be totally to advance his career, so it just wouldn’t be believable out of him now.

Watch Marc and Mandy make out (I’m sure with hilarious results) in tonight’s episode, 3.13 – Kissed Off. We’ll have a live blog, join us, won’t you?

More pics after the jump!

Images: Bauer-Griffin

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