Michael and Becki celebrate making it to 20 webisodes (not too humbly, either.  )

Director Richard Heus sings their praises.

Also, Mark Worthington, who says that 80% of what the final product is comes from Michael and Becki’s ideas.

Michael and Becki recount the Wedding Episode, where MIchael had to catch a garter on his tongue (hilarious!)

Heus says that they need to use Becki and Michael’s tongues more. 

The two are just so funny together – I cant wait for the next “scripted” Mode After Hours!

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Newton, along with her husband Chris Diamantopoulos will find love on stage in the Encores! presentation of the Gershwin musical Girl Crazy, under the direction of Tony-winner Jerry Zaks in November.  The two will play lovers Danny Churchill and Molly Gray.  Wayne Knight (Chicago) is cast as Gieber Goldfarb.

The show will run Nov. 19-22 at City Center. Finian’s Rainbow director and choreographer Warren Carlyle will choreograph, with musical direction by Rob Fisher.

Girl Crazy has music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and Jack McGowan. According to Encores! notes, "The Gershwins’ fanciful Depression-era musical of 1930 is the tale of a sophisticated New Yorker (Diamantopoulos) marooned in a dusty Western cow town with no one who understands him but the Yiddish-speaking cabbie (Knight) who brought him there and no one to love but the only woman (Newton) within 50 miles."

Becki has shown glimpses of musical brilliance in snippets on Ugly Betty.  Though farce, her performances of My Milkshake and Gene Simmons is My Daddy revealed some pretty good pipes.

Becki and Chris have some pretty big shoes to fill, considering the roles were initially filled by Allen Kearns (Mickey Rooney in the film) and Ginger Rogers (Judy Garland in the film).  Becki, here’s the standard you have to live up to

Seriously, though, this is going to be awesome!  If you are in the New York area Nov. 19-22, you REALLY should go see Becki and Chris in this one!

Image: SplashnewsOnline.com

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This one is mostly Marc and Mandy physical humor, but gives great clues where Amanda’s storyline is headed.

It starts with Amanda putting the final touches on an outfit on Marc (complete with butt grab).  Marc thinks the outfit is too plain, but Amanda says he looks good.  Amanda says he’s stressed.

She then starts to show him the relaxation program she’s designed to increase productivity at Mode.  Then she proceeds to almost kill Marc.

She first has both of them put on bright fedoras, and turns on relaxing ocean sounds, which Amanda has cranked up so loud neither one can hear the other speak.

She then uses an automobile buffer on his back.

Finally, Amanda puts electrodes on Marc’s face, and starts to hook them to a car battery – but Marc stops her before she can do any harm.

Then, Marc tells her, looking at the clothes they are both wearing, that her true talent is in being a stylist.

They hug, and he then grabs a lead from Mandy’s electrical contraption and shocks her butt.

This webisode gave me one of those “duh!” moments, and gave me a pretty good idea of where Amanda’s storyline is going.  I think she is going to get close to Matt, not to become his lover, but to get him to give her Christina’s job.  I mean, she would most prefer to marry a billionaire, or start out as a designer, but that’s not going to happen.  BUT, working in the closet can lead to a career as a designer, as Christina showed.

I assumed at the end of last season that Amanda would finally try to weasel her way into being Daniel’s assistant (she always wanted the job).   It never occurred to me that she might want Christina’s job, but she’s always in the closet anyway, knows her way around the sex room, and knows a thing or two about design. 

When you look at it that way, it does seem like a perfect fit (Amanda will have to develop a work ethic, though).

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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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My apologies if this is restricted internationally.  I hope it isn’t, though.

Some of the feature is a kind of recap of the two characters for people who have not seen much of the show.  There are some neat behind-the-scenes snippets of on set filming (including a quick shot of Amanda and Matt).

Newton mentions that the writers have allowed their characters to evolve, showing their good sides.  They  say their favorite episodes are those in which Amanda, Marc, and Betty have to team up (what Urie calls the “Scooby Doo episodes”).  I have to agree.

They are both thankful that the writers put them together, because they get along so well in real life.  That also gets Amanda out of “the donut hole” and Mark from behind Wilhelmina’s shadow.

Urie walks about the fact that Marc will have more scenes with Justin in season 4.  Those are interesting to me, because Marc is simultaneously sabotaging Betty AND helping her family.

Newton talks about how Amanda is going to be wanting more out of her life, and puts and emphasis on AT MODE, so I guess she’s going to try to work her way into an assistant’s job (maybe Matt’s?  He has one already, but who knows?  She might fall out of a window )

The two also say how much fun it is to shoot in New York City, and make a joke about LA pigeons. 

Remember, TV Guide Network will be airing encore versions of each new episode of Ugly Betty the following Thursday after its original air date.

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Matt Newton, brother to Ugly Betty’s Becki Newton, will appear on Ugly Betty in a very interesting context.  According to TV Guide’s Mega Buzz (BIG hat tip to Sir Lizard):

What happened to Cliff? I liked him and Marc together on Ugly Betty. — Max
MICKEY: "Cliff" (David Blue) has been cast as Stargate: Universe’s tech whiz, and sources tell me he won’t be returning to Betty’s universe any time soon. Marc (Michael Urie), meanwhile, will remain single for now, but he’ll also mingle on the show’s upcoming Bahamas episode, during which he’ll hook up with a hottie played by newcomer Matt Newton, brother to Becki, aka Amanda, aka Michael/Marc’s bestie.

First off, let me say I’m very happy that David Blue is on another show.  He really seems to fit the whole “tech whiz” typecast, doesn’t he?  Isn’t that what he played on Moonlight?

As for Newton, how cool is that?  I wonder if this will be a one-episode thing, or if we’ll see more of Matt?

Newton is a relative newcomer, although he’s appeared in Comedy Central’s cult classic Strangers With Candy, along with quite a few other roles, from Gilmore Girls to Undressed.

There have been hints that Marc would have a new relationship; we don’t know if Matt Newton’s character is going to be that relationship, but I don’t see why not – that seems like a great idea.  The show already has a “family” atmosphere; why not make it official?

Image: Newscom

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America looks GREAT, and she’s really got this red carpet thing down (thanks to time and Vanessa Williams).  America is wearing a black Moshino safety pin-embellished crepe dress paired with gold peep-toes.

Speaking of Vanessa:

The lady can still bring it in this LBD.  Check out the two-toned shoes!

Becki Newton was there.  She wears this ruffled Prabal Gurung Fall 2009 sleeveless top and striped tulip skirt well, although with my agricultural ancestry,I have an overwhelming urge to get clippers and shear her.

Congratulations to America Ferrera and the Ugly Betty cast for supporting such a wonderful cause.

There are many more photos after the jump, including a very layered Tony Plana, Michael Urie looking a little tired after a whirlwind few days (sun and sand notwithstanding), and an old friend Ugly Betty fans will recognize right away.

Also, Ted Allen (my favorite foodie nerd) was there, so I had to throw in a pic of him!  Check them out…

Images: Fame Pictures

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America and Becki raced down the challenger slides at at the humongous water resort.  This looks like so much fun.  This was from an actual scene, and not just the two playing around, I believe, because Ferrera is “wearing” her braces, and you almost never see her with braces on unless she’s in character.

As you can see, Betty isn’t exactly wearing a string bikini (neither is Amanda for that matter).  They are both wearing proper waterslide attire, if the stories I’ve heard from my friends, who worked at water parks, about bikinis and water slides are true.    But both of them, though, are just as cute as can be.

You can tell, the two had a blast filming this scene.  And their characters were obviously getting along (at this moment).  The last pic I’ll show you is one of sheer joy, and I can’t wait to see it in the final production.

There are more – look for them soon.  There are a few of Mark Indelicato (Justin) and Ana Ortiz (Hilda), and a dolphin that I can’t wait to show you!

Images: SplashNewsOnline.com

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This one is entitles “A Vlog To Remember”.  It looks like the “war” with Meade security is going to be a theme for a while – this one takes the conflict head on.  They even give the person behind the camera a name: Zander.

It looks like the security guard has been posting the most embarrassing antics of  Marc and Amanda on the internet.  (We then see some of last season’s greatest hits in black and white).

Marc and Mandy decide to post a rebuttal.  They introduce themselves, then attempt to give an explanation of Mandy’s two handed butt-grab of Marc in the last episode.  She says she was just debunking the rumor that Marc’s cheeks are uneven. (She whispers they are, much to Marc’s dismay).

Marc then addresses criticisms of their “abusive relationship”.  After giving himself fake tears, he says he would never hurt anyone (all the while violently pushing Mandy away, eventually biting her).

The two then address the camera directly, calling him Zander, and in the course of this discover that each of them had dated Zander in the past.  Well, Amanda didn’t actually date him. she had just given him an “Albuquerque Slider” in the stairwell.

They then threaten to Vlog about Zander himself.  At this point, the lights go out.  Mandy says they can still vlog through her phone if they can find it.  But, when Marc finally finds a flashlight, he looks to the floor and says “st that’s what an “Albuquerque Slider” is.

This one was very good, and sets up the war with Zander, which is beyond hilarious.  Seeing Marc and Amanda yelling at a security camera great comedy.

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IMO, this one could be the best ever.  Both Michael Urie and Becki Newton are on top of their game here, camping it up in the most ridiculous situations.

Here’s the setup: someone has anonymously filed a sexual harassment claim against Mode, so the staff is having to stay late and fill out a sensitivity questionnaire.  Marc and Amanda are both bored with the whole thing, so they spice things up by acting out the scenarios.

First, Amanda flirts with a nerdy "Eugene", played by Marc.  This is the first time I have EVER seen copier/toner maintenance have sexual connotations, but the two pull it off.  The look on Marc’s face when Amanda grabs his behind is priceless.

The next sequence is strange and funny.  Marc plays "the boss", and his entrance is hilarious, with unbuttoned shirt and cigar.  A bespectacled Amanda blows a dog whistle LOUDLY as soon as Marc asks her to do something.  This sends Marc tumbling backwards.

Amanda’s cell phone goes off, and the ringtone is a sexy "oooo baby!"   It’s a text from Mode security.  The texter admits he/she submitted the complaint.  There is then a hilarious sequence where Marc and Amanda yell something at the security camera, followed by a new text from security, complete with "oooo baby! ringtone".

Marc then declares "this is war" and proceeds to destroy the camera.

This one seemed a bit more scripted than some of the other MAHs, but the timing was so perfect that it was impossible not to laugh (especially during the texting sequence).

I’m looking forward to more Mode After hours episodes – hopefully they’ll all be this good!

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