August 15th, 2008
And they said it wouldn’t last…
One year ago today, we posted the very first post on Ugly Betty News.
It has been an unbelievable, fun, frustrating, thought-provoking year. We’ve had Emmys and work stoppages, rumors and public slip-ups. We’ve had a compelling season premiere, and a somewhat less compelling season finale. We’ve had comment feuds, ship flame wars, spoiler intrigue and even a couple of scoops. We’ve seen red carpet hits and misses (mostly hits).
I am so very thankful that I’ve been given this opportunity to write every day about a show I’m so very passionate about. The fact that I do not fit into the typical demographic that normally writes or reads entertainment blogs is not lost on me. I know that the fact I was even given a chance to do this at all makes me a fortunate man.
But most of all, I am thankful for you.
We have the most thoughtful, intelligent commenters on any entertainment site, bar none. Even during the ’ship’ wars this spring, especially during the ship wars, you guys wrote eloquently for your sides. Some of you obviously work in the entertainment or fashion industries, and of course, at least one of the actors from the show drops by sometimes. I have a theory that the powers that be (Silvio Horta? ) even read here from time to time. Just a hunch. Hopefully, they’ll hear what you guys have to say, and make the show better than it already is.
Many of you have branched out with sites of your own - and I couldn’t be happier. Finally, there is a cohesive Ugly Betty community coming together. We might have separate focuses, but we are united in our love for Ugly Betty.
So, thanks for coming along for the ride. I have every intention of making this next year bigger and better than ever.
Image: Newscom
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By Tom -- 13 comments
August 14th, 2008
Ugly Betty will be getting a little more soapy this season (and not in the way they’d photograph in Player Magazine).
According to scooper-scooper Michael Ausiello, Emmy winning star of Bold and the Beautiful Heather Tom will be in an at least 3 episode story arc. She will play state department liaison to Daniel’s long-lost son in at least three episodes.
We first reported this role to you in a post featuring a video of an actress reading for the part. I guess the actress, Heidi Marnout, did not get the part. Hopefully, it’s not because her reading ended up on YouTube. :)
Tom has been a daytime TV fixture for some time now. She’s been with Bold and the Beautiful for two years, and before that she played Victoria Newman on The Young and the Restless from 1999-2003.
On the Ugly Betty front - I’m with Ausiello on this one: I don’t know that she’ll become a long-term love interest for Daniel, but I have no doubt this character, Holly, will end up having a ‘liason’ of her own with Daniel. Has Eric Mabius got a great job or what?
Image: Newscom
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By Tom -- 9 comments
August 14th, 2008
ABC updated its Ugly Betty Starter Kit video (as you might recall, the first one came out just as the show was returning from the WGA strike). As usual, it is hosted by Suzuki St Pierre (Alec Mapa).
It covers all of the major happenings, in both season 1 and season 2.
You know, it’s funny - in capsule form, season 2 doesn’t seem as disjointed as it did as the episodes unfolded.
The only story line they didn’t cover (unless I missed it), is Marc and Cliff. But, so far, that story arc doesn’t intersect with the major ones, as, say, Stuart’s illness (which is relevant because it made Christina desperate, which made her agree to carry Wilhelmina’s baby). But hopefully next year, Marc/Cliff will be incorporated into the rest of the story lines.
The video also hawks the Ugly Betty season 1 DVD, and reminds us that the season 2 DVD is coming out September 9th.
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By Tom -- 0 comments
August 14th, 2008
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!
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By Tom -- 3 comments
August 13th, 2008
Ana Ortiz, the Ugly Betty star who seems to be getting a lot of great gigs lately, will be one of the stars in Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story, airing this Sunday, August 17th on the Lifetime Movie Network at 8pm Eastern.
© 2008 LIFETIME ENTERTAINMENT
This is one of those true-life stories that, if it weren’t based on real events, it wouldn’t be made up. It concerns a woman who was told that her newborn baby died in a house fire, although her intuition tells her that the child somehow survived. I probably don’t have to tell you that the mother’s intuition was correct (this IS a Lifetime movie, after all).
I told you about this earlier in the year, but what I didn’t know at the time was that Ortiz plays Valeria, the woman who is later suspected of kidnapping little Delimar. In interviews, Ortiz has described her character as “disturbed”.
This, I would like to see. She played the hallucinating Hilda in Ugly Betty episode 2.01, How Betty Got Her Grieve Back, to perfection. It will be interesting to see how sympathetic Ortiz plays the character.
The movie also stars Judy Reyes (”Scrubs”), A Martinez (”General Hospital”), Marlene Forte (”Real Women Have Curves”), and Hector Bustamante (”The Shield,” “24″).
So, since Ugly Betty season 3 has not yet begun, and our Pants have Traveled just about as far as they can, sit back and watch Ana Ortiz play a crazy woman this weekend. Or, if you are like me and are an Olympics junkie, set your DVR.
More pics, and a trailer, after the jump!
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By Tom -- 2 comments
August 12th, 2008
Follow me, if you will, as I tell the story of the Ugly Betty Spoiler Saga.
Warning: do NOT follow the links if you are averse to major spoilers.
This morning, I noticed Bachelor and Butterfly had a link to the spoiler chat from E Online’s Kristin. That’s pretty normal - I think they keep later hours than me an always beat Ugly Betty News to the punch on Kristin’s posts, dagnabbit. I don’t feel too bad about it, though ; they scooped Spoiler TV, too. Anyway, the pulled quote was HUGE, giving away three major plot secrets from Ugly Betty season 3.
Now, I have absolutely NO reason to mistrust any info from B&B; they’ve been a solid source, and (like here), they’ve always been careful to report rumor as rumor and fact as fact. In fact, they quoted Kristin (and the questioner) directly, so I believe MJ completely - the quote was included in Kristin’s spoiler chat.
Well, it isn’t there anymore. When I went to the chat to post a direct link, I read through it several times. The section that B&B quoted is simply gone. Not only that, the headline is different as well!
So, we have to wonder: was Kristen asked to take the spoiler down? Or did it turn out to be incorrect? MJ has asked Kristin, and I’m seeking the answers, too.
My gut says the spoilers are true, but WAY too revealing. We’ll see
Welcome to the brave new world. Once you hit ‘post’, it’s out there. Unless, of course, it’s a snippet of a discarded script. :)
If you want to discuss the content of the actual spoilers posted at B&B in the comments, be my guest. I’m trying to walk a fine line here. If I get a clarification from Kristin, I’ll let you know (if I can).
Image: Newscom
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By Tom -- 3 comments
August 12th, 2008
Ugly Betty executive producer Salma Hayek is working on a new reality show, according to The Celebrity Cafe.
Hayek called off her engagement to go-zillionaire businessman Francois-Henri Pinault recently. Pinault is the father of Hayek’s daughter Valentina. However, a broken engagement doesn’t mean that other brides can’t get Hayek’s help.
Apparently, the show will be concerned entirely with weddings, WENN reports. Hayek and her associate Jose Tamez are currently developing the concept of the show with TV bosses.
Salma will also be amongst the multitude of celebrities taking part in the “Stand Up to Cancer” special, airing in September.
What would be REALLY cool is if she could find the time to make another appearance on Ugly Betty. Let’s say that later this season, Daniel starts to get his act together. (again) It would be quite a jolt if suddenly Sofia (Hayek’s cold-hearted character) shows up again.
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By Tom -- 1 comment
August 11th, 2008
The Ugly Betty - related birthdays just keep coming in August (including yours truly later this week).
The wonderfully talented Ashley Jensen(pictured at a recent Ugly Betty on-location shooting) is celebrating a birthday today!
It’s been quite a year for the lovely Scottish lass, culminating in an Emmy nomination for her work in Extras: The Extra Special Series Finale.
Her character, Christina McKinney was involved in two major storylines in 2007: her husband’s (supposed) terminal illness, and her decision to carry Wilhelmina’s baby. I’m sure that both story arcs will get major attention early in season 3.
I’d also say that, if anyone is benefiting from having Patricia Field as costume designer, it’s Jensen. Unlike Betty, Christina actually knows how to put an outfit together, and with Wilhelmina supporting her right now, I’d say Christina is going to be the best looking woman-carrying-a-dead-man’s-love-child in New York.
Anyway, Happy birthday, Ashley!
Image: Newscom
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By Tom -- 2 comments
August 11th, 2008
This is uncomfortable to watch, and hilarious at the same time. Recently, Ugly Betty’s America Ferrera and Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively were on Good Day LA in their whirlwind promotion of their film Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. The good folks at Talk Soup highlighted Ms Ferrera’s less-than-enthralled reaction of having the subject of Gossip Girl come up for what had to be the billionth time:
Ha.
In defense of Ferrera, normally in these two-person remote interviews, if one person is asked a question that only they would answer, the camera usually focuses only on them. I’m sure Ferrera thought she was off-camera. But it does look like she’s thinking, “Hello? GG can’t even break 4 million viewers…How about asking about a show that has 8-10 million?”
Certainly America was asked an Ugly Betty question, so it would be interesting to see Blake Lively’s demeanor during that time.
Of course, this could only be funny to me. :)
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By Tom -- 7 comments
August 8th, 2008
While watching my favorite summer distraction the other day (I Survived a Japanese Game Show) I was quite disheartened to see the promo for ABC’s fall 2008 season. I kept waiting and waiting for Ugly Betty to show up, but there was no Betty.
Luckily, today I found the 60-second version, and there is Betty in all her glory:
Even though it’s just America Ferrera spinning around in her chair (showing off her new Patricia Field style), I was at once relieved and psyched for the new season.
As an aside, I see the new show Life on Mars is included here. Of all the new series this year, this is the only one that intrigues me. Are any of you going to watch?
Anyway, dang right, I’m ready for Betty!
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By Tom -- 7 comments
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