Ralph Macchio recently stopped by the morning news set at WPIX, and talked about his role on Ugly Betty, being the father of teenagers, and some of his future projects.

The included Ugly Betty clip is hilarious, not only because Tony Plana does the exasperated father better than anyone, but also because he guessed that Hilda is pregnant, then Hilda quickly corrected him.  I don’t know, I just found it funny because Ana Ortiz really is pregnant.

I’m glad that Archie is going to run for Queens borough president, because that will make for all kinds of interesting story lines; and Ana Ortiz as Hilda is funniest when she’s out of her element, which she’ll be as a political girlfriend.

The interview itself reminds me what seems so odd about the entire cast of Ugly Betty: they just seem so doggonned humble.  Even Vanessa Williams, Bernadette Peters, and Macchio, who were celebrities in their own right before joining the cast, seem in interviews like someone you’d just love to go have a beer with.

I’d really love to see the feature film Macchio is developing.  When I find out more about it, I’ll pass it along to you.

Bummed out that Ausiello didn’t mention Ugly Betty in his Ask Ausiello post?  Don’t be!  The Futon Critic has an interview with Ugly Betty executive producers Tracy Poust and Jon Kinnally, and they give some great indications about the direction of the show.

First thing:  they say that Betty is "unofficially" renewed.  I know sometimes I sound like a sourpuss about ratings here, but deep down, I’ve always believed the show was coming back (although I HAVE to report the good and the bad).  I’m glad the producers say the show is "unofficially" returning.  Also, the show will stay in New York, for now.

As for keeping all the various story lines under control (a problem in season 2), Poust says, "We try to arc out different character arcs but we work really hard to figure out how to possibly put Betty into each story."  I’ve noticed that this year - they’ve done a much better job of keeping Betty at the center.

Now for a pet peeve of some of the readers here:  will Betty remain an assistant forever?  Kinnally says, "…at the end of the season… she’s getting a promotion but it’s going to come with strings attached. We love Betty most when she’s an underdog and when she’s vulnerable. That’s when she’s most relatable. When people hate her, we like her more so we have to keep some people disliking her."  Does Matt, or his parents, attach the strings, maybe?

About Justin, Poust says, "The interesting thing is that we really haven’t come up against anyone putting any boundaries on him yet. Right now, he’s a 13-year-old kid on the show so we’re trying to take it slowly, not make it an ‘issue show’ and try to keep what’s fun about Justin in that he’s completely embraced for who he is."  Kinnally adds, "We do have to be careful because he is only 13 so we don’t want to sexualize him in any way. I hope the series goes long enough where we see Justin with his first boyfriend."

As for those braces that cause so much contention, Poust says, "We don’t know. You know, it’s a hard thing because you don’t want it to be, "Oh, she finally gets to be pretty."  Kinnally adds, "That’s the message you don’t want to put out there. You want the message to be that she’s beautiful with braces so we don’t want to do a ‘Betty makeover’ but, having said that, we’ve talked about the episode where that happens. "

Great stuff.  I’d say the show is in very good hands, and hopefully we’ll have two or three more seasons to see the show blossom.  It’s a great interview - go read the whole thing!

Image: splashnewsonline.com

America Ferrera and Ana Ortiz will be on The View Tuesday.  Certainly they will be talking about the return of Ugly Betty from the holiday hiatus. 

I’m glad the two of them will be on together (they really do act like sisters sometimes when they appear together).  It’s kind of a shame that the promotions only feature Ferrera, but tat’s the nature of the business.

As soon as video is available, of course, you know I’ll have it for you here.  I know that some of you are in New York, so any reports from the airing will be featured prominently here.

I’d be dishonest if I said The View was my cup of tea, but if America and Ana are on, I’ll even put up with Whoopi Goldberg. 

Image: Copyright © 2008 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc./ PATRICK HARBRON

Freddy Rodriguez has been heavily promoting his new film, “Nothing Like The Holidays”.  He briefly mentions Ugly Betty in this interview on Regis and Kelly:

When Regis asks Freddy about Ugly Betty, he quotes Ugly Betty executive producer Silvio Horta, who told him, “You didn’t die!”

What’s really neat is that this question was asked at the behest of one of the Getty Girls (for those of you who don’t know, this group is probably the most, uh, enthusiastic group of fans I’ve ever seen).  Getty Girl “Lady T” was actually there, and asked Regis, before the show started, to ask Rodriguez about Ugly Betty.

Miss T later got to meet Freddy, who was humble and laid back.  She, wearing a Team Getty T-Shirt, asked him if he knew about the Getty Girls , and he chuckled and said yes.

Here is a pic of LadyT and Freddy:

…and all the other Getty Girls died with envy…

One thing about Freddy Rodriguez, he really, genuinely seems like a nice, approachable guy.  Congrats to Lady T, and here’s hoping Nothing Like The Holidays is a big hit!

One of the bright spots of Ugly Betty season 3 so far is the guest appearance of musician/actor Val Emmich.  Val is truly a rising star, and appeared in 3 episodes of Ugly Betty as Betty’s crush Jesse.  Emmich was kind enough to have a few words with Ugly Betty News recently, and I’m excited to bring that to you today.

But first, a few quick facts about Val Emmich:

• He was born in Manalapan Township, New Jersey.
• Although he played soccer as a boy, he contracted Lime Disease and had to give up all strenuous activities.
• During this time, Val learned to play guitar and write songs.
• Emmich is a graduate of Rutgers University (2001)
• Val was the first unsigned artist to appear on MTV’s Total Request Live
• He has released 6 albums, including his latest, Little Daggers (with the single Get On With It).
• Emmich started acting in 1997 to help pay for college.  He has appeared in commercials for Got Milk?, Burger King, and AT&T.  Along with Betty, Val has appeared on Ed, Third Watch, Hope and Faith, 30 Rock and Cashmere Mafia.

But, of course, we’re more interested in Ugly Betty, so we asked Val about it:

UBN: As Ugly Betty fans, we have to know: what has it been like, working with America Ferrera?

VE: America is truly amazing. First off, she’s a really, really good actress. She’s always considering the big picture whenever we are setting up a scene. It’s never about that particular scene but the overall story and life of the character. She has the ability to just click it on immediately. We’ll be in between takes and we’ll be chatting about our lives and then they’ll call action and she’s right into that zany character. Besides acting though, America is also a wonderfully down-to-earth person and really kind. She’s made me feel real welcome and real safe and that’s what an actor wants when they are on a set.

More after the jump!

Read more

TV Guide snagged an exclusive interview with Ugly Betty’s Eric Mabius. He talks about Daniel being a father, his evolving relationship with Betty and filming in New York. It’s a great interview! Check it out below and tell me what you think about the things he said.

Variety’s Season Pass blog recently gave readers an opportunity to ask Ugly Betty writer/producer Silvio Horta questions.  His answers were not quite spoiler-ish, but he did provide some new insight into a couple of things.  The MOST interesting, to me:

Q. What did Daniel give Betty for her birthday in “24 Candles?” Kind of random, but we didn’t get to see her open it and I’m curious. — Cali
A. I was disappointed we didn’t get to show this scene because it turned out to be such a great moment. We had to cut it due to time — the show was too long.  After an excruciating day at work, which happened to be her birthday, Betty unwinds with Ignacio, who remembers to give Betty a gift from Daniel—he dropped it off a couple of weeks ago because, “He just wanted to make sure he didn’t forget.” Betty opens the gift to find a Shakespeare anthology. Inside there’s an inscription: “Looks like you share a birthday with another great writer…  Happy Birthday, Betty. Love, Daniel.” The gift worked on many levels because Betty was writing an article for Mode at the time and it showed how much Daniel really cares about her. But we simply didn’t have the time in the episode to keep the scene.

Excellent.  This should have been included in the episode; it would have been a great moment.  This is why it was a good idea for the show to pare things down.  Great moments were missed because the show was going in too many directions.

A little telling question and answer for Getty fans, after the jump:

Read more

Here is video of America Ferrera’s recent appearance on Rachel Ray’s TV show.

They talk about America’s wardrobe malfunction at the Emmys (if you haven’t heard the story, it’s hilarious).  I have a newfound respect for Julia Louis Dreyfus.

The two also discuss the show’s move to New York, and Ferrera is the perfect politician about it, as usual.  When pressed about something “bad” that’s happened since the move, America tells a surprising story about a ceiling collapse and water pipe breach in her new apartment (this only interests me, but the EXACT same thing happened to me when I was her age).

Ferrera tells why Patti LuPone was one of her favorite guest stars on Ugly Betty.  Ferrera also says that Bette Midler would be her “dream” guest star.  Come to think of it, I agree.  Wouldn’t she be absolutely perfect?

Then, the show surprises America with a special note and gift from Midler herself!

This was a really good interview (much better than David Letterman’s).  I want to be like all the other cool kids and hate Rachel Ray, but I can’t.  her personality doesn’t grate on me like it seems to with others.  For some reason I can really relate to her.

This is pretty fascinating. TV guide caught up with America Ferrera at the Season 3 Premiere Party, and asked her some pretty good questions about where Ugly Betty is going in season 3:

America pretty much plays the politician throughout most of the interview, giving very generic answers, but at the end, she gives a hint about what will happen with the Val Emmich character. Her words: the relationship will be “pretty one-sided”. Say, didn’t someone I know suggest just that this summer?

Ferrera also mentioned one of my main complaints about season 2, that Betty “gets more play than a supermodel”. Does she read UBN? I don’t know, but it’s good to know that the producers are going to go in a new direction.

Note: we’ll be live blogging the episode tonight (I’ll post it soon), so be here at 8/7c, andn catch all the reaction. Happy Premiere Day!

Ashley Jensen recently had an interview that appears in this week’s Time Out New York in the “Hot Seat” column.  The Ugly Betty star is always great for a witty quip, and Ashley did not disappoint.

Apparently, her flight from LA to New York was a little harrowing:  “The plane had to stop for fuel at some random place in the middle of nowhere. I felt like I was in the Second World War or something, when the planes couldn’t carry enough petrol to get from A to B.”

Welcome to life in the US in 2008, Ashley!  “And then five minutes after landing we were told there’s been an earthquake in L.A. Part of me was gutted that I missed it, because I’ve been living there for two years already without experiencing one.” 

I don’t know if earthquakes are the kind of thing you want to be around, but to each her own.

And, I wonder if Ashley is the person who Ausiello hinted was asking for more money because of the move to New York.  On the move: “I’m commuting. Which I find highly amusing. I’m the only person who has chosen to commute. Everyone else moved to New York. But for me it’s doable, because my character shuffles in and adds charm for only a couple of days every episode.”

Why?

“Well, my husband and I have got a house and everything in L.A., and the dog is settled. It’s all about the dog.”

I love this:  “It’s a bit embarrassing when people come up and say, ‘I love your show.’ I don’t want to be cocky and go, ‘Oh, which one?’ so I have to figure it out by looking at them. If you’re a discerning media type, you’re probably talking about Extras. If you’re a woman or, let’s face it, a gay man, it’s Ugly Betty.

Ashley, you’d be surprised.

Was Jensen ever an “extra” herself?  “I was never an extra. I started at the bottom, though. My first TV job was playing Girl in the Bedding Shop. And there was a cat in the same scene—and the cat got paid more than I did…And it was one of these big fat pussycats that sneered at you. I mean, I love cats, don’t get me wrong. But you know how some of them have just got those faces? This cat was looking down his nose at me as if to say, ‘Don’t step to me, Girl in the Bedding Shop.’”

Hee.  Hopefully, the Emmy-nominated Jensen will be doing a few more interviews in the near future.  There’s more in the interview, check it out!