Her seven things?

• Writing for a magazine (which she did with this story)
• Gymnastics – she face-panted trying to do a handstand, but still had a blast.
• Be a real-life magazine assistant.  She hung up 3 times on The Biggest Loser’s Jillian Michaels!  HA!
• Kayaking!  She did this on the Hudson with Self’s editor-in-chief Lucy Danziger.
• Learning the proper way to hold a paintbrush from her artist mom (awwww…)
• Having her husband photograph her first thing in the morning, sans makeup (Gutsy — awesome!)  Check it out here.
• Learning Salsa from choreographer Luis Salgado (I sense a Dancing With The Stars future for Becki)

This was a very endearing feature (but what’s not to love about the beautiful Becki Newton?).  Newton is a very good writer.  I like what she said about the view when kayaking:

“…And when I looked behind me, I saw my New York: beautiful, surreal, majestic. Who knew a kayak could give you such a fresh perspective on a city you thought you knew from all angles?”

Check out the whole thing!

Image: SplashNewsOnline.com

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Anyway, Ugly Betty made the list.  Not surprisingly, the suggested hook up is a Detty hook up.  As their caption (submitted by a fan) to a photo of Daniel and Betty says, “I know [creator Silvio Horta] is saying no, but the fans say yes. I kind of thought it was the point of the show. She was hired by his father to be a competent assistant he was in no danger of sleeping with. In the end, they should absolutely get together and bring it full circle.”

Since every (or almost every) incarnation of this show has ended with the “Daniel” character getting together with the “Betty” character (SirLizard can verify), this discussion will always be there under the surface.

I also think that Silvio Horta, no matter what he says publicly, might be steering us in that direction.  EveryGirl Molly was a surrogate Betty, and sex addict Matt is a surrogate Daniel (especially with his new, slick look).

My thinking on this has evolved a little over the years.  When the show is winding down (and let’s face it, they’ll know this winter if season four will be the last for Ugly Betty), I’d like to see the two get together.  They could have several episodes exploring the excitement and confusion of this. Then in the series finale, I’d like to see Daniel propose.

Betty could accept, and that would surely be a fitting ending for the show.  Even better, Betty could turn him down.

The couple could then declare their eternal friendship, and Betty will have truly grown up before our eyes.

(There is the added benefit that such an ending would leave the Henry, Gio and Daniel love stories still possible in the dreams of the fans of each character).

But, I could also live with Betty and Daniel hooking up, too. 

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: Ugly Betty News

Beautiful!  America is stunning in this light blue Malandrino Resort 2009 dress.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wear a dress with such a plunging neckline, even at the Emmys.  And, the cover photo behind her is quite beautiful as well.

Also present were Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants alum Alexis Bledel , along with Chrishell Stause, and of course, Becki Newton, Vanessa Williams, and Tony Plana.

Newton wore 3.1 Phillip Lim winding zipper ruffle dress, which looks wonderful on her, but kind of makes me dizzy.

Vanessa Williams wore a Matthew Williamson Ambroise georgette dress.  It’s one of those prints that only Williams can get away with. 

You can find an in-depth view of the fashion of the event here.

More pics after the jump!

Images: Newscom

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It’s interesting to me, the moment they picked was the climatic confrontation between Wilhelmina and Kimmie in episode 3.06, Ugly Berry. I remember being surprised that Ugly Betty fans really weren’t interested in the whole Ugly Betty / Lindsay Lohan drama, and the ratings were only nominally helped. But, the entertainment press is going to choose a Lindsay Lohan or Britney Spears moment every time, especially if it involves conflict.

For me, the best Ugly Betty moment of 2008 was probably when Amanda sang ‘Gene Simmons is my Daddy’ at The Beer Hole (yes, there were great moments from season 2). But, that’s my gut impression, I want to think about it and post in a year end review before the new year.

Here is part 2 of TVGuide’s list, and here is part 3. I won’t argue with their top 2 moments, but if they are going to venture out of the entertainment world and include political TV moments, how could they NOT include the best, most exciting Super Bowl ever played? Regardless, I think it’s great that Ugly Betty made a list that included all shows, scripted, reality, and “real life”.

Reminder: The Starked Holiday Contest ends today at 4pm PST. Get in your comment if you haven’t yet!

Post from: Ugly Betty News

In case you haven’t seen it yet, ModeNY.com, the online presence of fictional fashion magazine Mode from Ugly Betty, has become more and more integrated with the actual show.

In episode 3.10, Bad Amanda, ModeNY.com was actually a huge part of the plot, especially an article that Betty and Amanda were charged with writing. That article, How I Blew Ten Grand Without Spending A Dime, is now posted on the Mode NY web site.

It is written in Betty’s voice (not easy to do), just as “Amanda’s Blog” is written in her voice. That tells me the Ugly Betty writers have something to do with this. Betty twists between narrative of the events in 3.10, and waxing philosophical:

I have to mention that I’ve been to the Grand Canyon, and it was a wonder to behold, but I am still in awe of the phenomenon that is Amanda in a department store. I’ve never seen anyone more in control of an environment. This is what it must have been like to watch Alexander the Great control his men during his conquest of Asia.

I love it. This is definitely something Betty would write. Another snippet (about the wonderful scene where Betty has to think on her feet to take care of the huge restaurant bill she and Amanda were left with):

Let’s consider our subsequent scamming a bonus lesson – things never go according to plan, so always be prepared to adapt and think on your feet. In our situation, it also helped that we were dealing with an incredibly understanding dining establishment. Clearly, this is a restaurant who knows how to cater to its customers. The superb food was only surpassed by its service. Even though we didn’t pay for the meal, it would’ve been worth the price. The fine people at The Shire are the best that the New York dining scene has to offer.

This, of course, is the prominent feature Betty promised the manager in exchange for “taking care of” the bill. So cool. And were learn the name of the restaurant – The Shire.

ModeNy has now fully reached its promise; it’s a true compliment to the show. When episodes air one Thursday, one can usually go to ModeNY on Friday and get true bonus content about that week’s episode (not to mention the Letter From The Editor and Amanda’s Blog).

My only quibble: why didn’t Amanda share the byline? Yes, Betty “wrote” the article, but Amanda had a big part in that. Oh well, like I said, it’s a small quibble.

All in all, great job, ABC.

Post from: Ugly Betty News

The “latest” issue of Mode Online is up, reflecting all the recent changes in Ugly Betty.  There’s a whole, very beautiful cover story with Adriana Lima and the Tico Berry.  I love it!  It follows the storyline of episode 3.06 (Ugly Berry) almost exactly:

Supermodel Adriana Lima has been in on this trendy tropical treasure from the beginning, devouring the delish Tico berry on her grandfather’s farm as a young girl. The Brazilian beauty insists that this rare fruit, indigenous to her home country and known primarily by locals, is the sweet secret behind her sexy success.

There is a great photo gallery from the Mode shoot. My goodness, that woman is beautiful.

Daniel Meade wrote the “Letter From the Editor” this month, and it is poignant and philosophical.  The first part feels like it was written by Betty:

With the Wall St. meltdown, two wars, and the gas price rollercoaster affecting the nation, you might be asking yourself, what place does Fashion have in today’s society? If times are tough, isn’t Fashion a superfluous luxury?

However, later, this is vintage Daniel:

As troubling as these days are, now is not the time to settle for baggy, drab clothing…When things are looking down, we can’t give up. We can’t allow America to put on a collective pair of sweats.

I like that.

Amanda’s blog has an hilarious take on the US presidential election.  Her “cons” on each of the candidates are great reading:

So let’s see – the first con for McCain is that he has a hot wife. I know I said it was a pro, but I’m thinking now that having a really good looking first lady might make me jealous…

The cons for Obama? Other than his hot wife also making me jealous, I’d have to start with the ears. I mean, it’s like Will Smith and Spock had a kid. But I guess if you’re president you can get those pinned.

Of course, she ended up voting for Lance Bass.

Image Credit: Newscom

Post from: Ugly Betty News

Ugly Betty

Right now, the site contains the “current” cover (an over-the-top tacky “Fashion From The Front Line”), beauty and fashion tips, an on the street section called “Mode on the Road”, a blog from our favorite receptionist Amanda Tanen Sommers, a look at  “past” covers, and the letter from the editor, which (since this is the premiere issue) was written by Wilhelmina.

All of it is pretty funny – especially Amanda’s blog.  A few nuggets:

“…as the receptionist I am THE face of Mode. I am the first person people see when they come in. You can’t just put any random chick in that chair. I mean, do you know what would happen if Dolce or Gabbana walked in and saw some girl with glasses and braces eating a chalupa? Disaster. Not that I’m talking about anyone in particular. It’s totally hypothermical.”

“I love making people feel bad about themselves. But only when they deserve it. Like when someone doesn’t hold the elevator door for me. Or their outfit clashes. Or when you’re at a swanky party and you want to talk to Shia LaBeouf but Mary-Kate won’t shut her yapper for like two seconds!

But I digest.”

“And then there’s this whole election thing. From what Marc tells me about what he heard on Jimmy Kimmel, a lot of people don’t think Tina Fey is qualified to be Vice President because she’s pretty. Well, as a pretty person, I find that hottist…Maybe people won’t want to blow us up because we’re too good looking. So in conjunction, I say “shame” on all the hottists out there.”

OMG, ABC.  PLEASE let Amanda blog more!  That part is worth whatever the domain cost you alone!

I’m so happy they’ve done this.  In the past, ABC has parked domains that were mentioned on the show (DudeCruise.com and SoCuteItsSick.com are two that come immediately to mind).  It’s wonderful that they’ve gone to such effort to make a “real” site, hopefully, they’ll keep it up!

Image: Newscom

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America Ferrera is featured on the cover of the August / September issue of Girls’ Life Magazine.  She is joined by her co-stars from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, Alexis Bledel, Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn.

Inside, the ladies talk about how,  amongst all the thing they have going on in real life, they remain friends.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 will be released August 6.  Expect to see a LOT of Ferrera and the other co-stars making the talk show rounds the week before.  Maybe we’ll get some inside Ugly Betty scoop from Ferrera.  We’ll have it all here.

The synopsis of the film (from the official site):

In “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2,” based on Ann Brashares’ best-selling series of novels, four young women continue the journey toward adulthood that began with “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.” Now three years later, these lifelong friends embark on separate paths for their first year of college and the summer beyond, but remain in touch by sharing their experiences with each other as they always have-with honesty and humor. Discovering their individual strengths, fears, talents and capacity for love through the choices they make, they come to value more than ever the bond they share and the immeasurable power of their friendship.

Image courtesy Girls’ Life Magazine

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Time magazine has a story about how “Same Moon” is becoming The Big Sleeper Hit of the year. It’s not only doing well with the indie, art house crowd, it’s doing well at multiplexes, at least the ones where it is showing. This is due to connecting with not only the art-house folks, but also Hispanic audiences in large number.

The Fox Searchlight/Weinstein Co. picture connected with both Hispanic and indie film audiences, earning $2.6 million, the highest opening weekend ever for a Spanish-language film in the U.S. Studios have long known Hispanic crowds will show up for their comedies and animated films.

Latinos buy more movie tickets per person than any other segment of the U.S. population. The median age of Hispanics in the U.S. is 27.4, nearly 10 years younger than the U.S as a whole, putting them squarely in the date-night demographic. “Studios are becoming more open to listening,” says Ivette Rodriguez, president of American Entertainment Marketing, a firm specializing in marketing to the U.S. Latino consumer.

Ugly Betty’s star, America Ferrera put it best: “This is an audience that has yet to be tapped into,” says Ferrera, who has a small role as a U.S.-born college student who takes Mexican children across the border. “Yes, they’re in line for Spider-Man 3. But they’re responding to a story that speaks truly to their experience.”

About Same Moon, Ferrera says, “It speaks about life on both borders, why people feel the need to come over and what it’s like for people while they’re here,” says Ferrera. “It speaks honestly about life in this country as an immigrant and that it never gets easy.”

The producers of this film, in my opinion, have tapped into the Ugly Betty formula: yes, delve into touchy and controversial issues, even take a side. But do not beat the audience over the head with piety. Humanize the issue, use subtlety and heart.

Now, unfortunately, the art-house theater in my city hasn’t seen fit to show ‘Same Moon’ yet, but if the response keeps being as positive as it has been, I’m sure I’ll be seeing it soon, and can pass along my own review. I loved Finding Nemo, I loved I Am David, so it’s safe to say I have a thing for child-quest-to-find-parent films.

Post from: Ugly Betty News

Seriously, the current issue of TV Guide has THE most wonderful cover photo and story about the return of television. Ugly Betty’s Becki Newton is featured prominently, shooting a stream of champagne in celebration. She’s there with many other stars, including Eva Longoria, Mekhi Phifer, Allison Mack, Hugh Laurie, David Boreanaz, Dave Annable, Mariska Hargitay, David Caruso, amongst others.

Newton DID have a little clothing trouble. From the article: Becki Newton (Ugly Betty’s Amanda) giggles over a wardrobe malfunction: “I look like I peed!” she says, after spilling champagne on her dress..

That would be funny enough in itself, but then James Denton of Desperate Housewives has to go and exclaim, “More Boobs!”.

I love what Hugh Laurie from House said: “Is this going to be one of those photos where they have a diagram with an outline of the people and numbers so you can identify everyone?”

Nah, everybody knows you, Hugh!

You can read the whole article and see the TV Guide cover here.

Post from: Ugly Betty News