Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Is that with an a or an o?

Is Season 8 Clothes over Bro's or Clothes over Bra?

Because it seems the better name for Julian would be Bra, with all the support his gives to BrookeDavis(TM). You wonder if he gets to do anything else this season.
He talks more about being supportive than a WonderBra, or maybe he's Victoria's Secret? (Would the writers have Julian leave Brooke at the altar for her mother? Oh the drama!! Throw in a killer bunny. Now that's an episode!)

If BrookeDavis(TM) is the entrepreneur she claims to be you'd think she would come up with a line of bras named after her ever supportive man. "Julian B" for most supportive bra ever created. The "J Bra" for the sports bra line, and for those times when you need heavy duty support and still want to feel pretty, The Sensitive Julian, in dozens of soft shades.

The real question is this about the part or about how the pecking order is on set.

Even though a regular on the show, there is a sneaking suspicion that Austin has heard more than once that he is there as supporting player in the scene, just like other actors that have proceeded him and made clear on who's show it is.

Just a thought.

Now OTH news.

OTH Season 8 debuts two weeks from today Sept 14, moving from Mondays at 8 to Tuesdays at 8.

They are currently filming Episode 5. There still seems to be some discussion on exactly how many episodes there are going to be for the season. Locked in for 13, after that, the number varies.

The rumors are that the early episodes are heavy on Clay and Quinn. Both because of their story and a rumor that they are the new fav couple of Schwahn. Looks like Brooke and Jbra are going to be the B story for a few weeks.

The trip to The Biltmore? That was part of the storyline where BrookeDavis(TM) and supportive JBra are scouting locations for their wedding.

The Biltmore? Seriously? You really gonna need a castle to go with that horrible concoction of a dress that will be too short in the front with a giant marshmallow poof of a train. If it didn't work in GNR's November Rain, it's not going to work for OTH.

Come on just have it out back of the Waffle House, and upcycle milk crates into seating for the guests. It will work for your Vegas Drive Thru (I'm not a Ho) Wedding Mini Dress with platform shoes too.

One more thing.

Julian has a mama! Sharon Lawrence has been cast to play Mama Baker, according to a tweet from Brett Benner, a casting agent for OTH and Cougar Town.

Sharon Lawrence to guest on One Tree Hill as Austin Nichols mom. Lucky to get her. She's awesome and will be great!!

Remember when Julian had to be there to support and save Alex? He explained that it was tied to the fact he had tried to do that for his mom. Now with Mama coming to town, can BrookeDavis(TM) handle Julian splitting his support between her and Mama B. And don't forget BrookeDavis'(TM) her own mother issues. Can you say one hell of a Mama Drama?

Oh Bridezilla thy name is BrookeDavis(TM). Julian you might want to invest in getting a underwire, you're gonna need it.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Back in Black

More Behind the Scenes videos have PoPped up in the run up to PoP's release on Blu Ray and DVD on Sept 14th.

PoP Avrat Bazaar Fight

PoP Making the Dagger of Time

PoP Making an Epic Battle


Speaking of popping up. Jake has. At what is described as a cabin near LA.

The door and the curb appeal look rustic. But a cabin?

You don't usually see a Stop sign and Slow Children at Play sign steps from a cabin door?


Jake's looks like he's definitely not "dressing to impress" instead going for "I can get this messed up, and not freak out" look. Well he is in a children at play zone, maybe they are his play clothes? He's still rocking the woolly mammoth fur but something else is back.

The Black Audi. Hmmmmm.

Wasn't he just driving the silver one? You know this one?

Wanted to get to drive the black one a bit since it has been driven in a while? Oh what you must do when you've got only one driver at home at the moment.


Gotta take the cars out for a spin, good for the engine, the tires, keeps the mileage low and all that.

And they are eco-conscious as well. Think Austin would approve, don't you.

And while Jake was rustic, Austin went all refined. At the Biltmore Estate. Talk about them doing the Freaky Friday switcheroo.



Of course Austin couldn't get too refined, that would be too much, you know he's got his rough and tuff Tex cred to think of.



Then of course Austin tweets this a few minutes ago.

Ever have that NOT SO FRESH feeling??? http://twitpic.com/2jpghf

Maybe a walk in the Biltmore gardens in soft focus was the catalyst? ; )

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Out Spotlight

Today marks the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and thinking of that wanted to find an Out Spotlight with ties to the Big Easy. And on the day of the Emmy awards wanted to find some one connected to the Emmys as well. And found it in one man. Born and raised in New Orleans, he not only makes it his home, but is a New Orleans business owner as well, all while being on one of the most critically acclaimed dramas on television. Today's Out Spotlight is actor, entertainer, interior designer, author, business owner, and activist Bryan Batt.

He may play closeted art director Salvatore Romano, on Mad Men, but in real life is he's anything but.

Batt was born born on March 1, 1963 into a prosperous and socially prominent New Orleans family. His paternal grandfather, founded Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park, which became the largest such enterprise in the South before closing in the 1980s.

His father John, followed the family tradition managing the park. His maternal grandmother was a dance teacher, and his mother Gayle a glamorous socialite. He attended and graduated from Isidore Newman School, a preparatory school in New Orleans, and Tulane University.

His childhood was filled with extended family of doting grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins, all who delighted in his theatrical flair and love of costumes.
But his strongest bond was with his mother, whom he has described as "the steel magnolia from whom I was fortunate to come forth into this world, made me the man I am today, and although I am still discovering who and what that is, she gave me--or rather taught me by her example--some great life lessons: 1) defeat is not an option; 2) be happy in your own skin; 3) there is great beauty in great strength."

Despite his father's reservations, his mother encouraged his interest in fashion and makeup and the performing arts growing up. As a boy he participated in the Spring Fiesta debutante season, various Mardi Gras balls, and assorted parades and celebrations. "The rite of passage for most Southern boys entails hunting and killing a deer or a duck or another random woodland creature. Mine involved pink satin, a glittering papier-mâché float, and a dozen young girls in hoop skirts."

When, at the age of nine, he made a dramatic entrance at a cocktail party given by his parents dressed in a hoop skirt, he was promptly sent to a child psychiatrist.
Luckily, the experience was positive, the doctor explained to him that he and his father did not have to like the same things: "We were just different. Dad and Jay [his older brother] were football and sports; Mom and I were theater and fashion, and that was all right. All men didn't have to like sports."

Attending Tulane University he pursued a degree in theater, in pursuit of being a being a professional actor. While his family supported his love of theater, they did not encourage him to make it his profession, fearing it would never support him. But fate intervened in the form of "first lady of the stage" Helen Hayes. She was in New Orleans and caught the production of "Godspell" Batt was in, and later during the same trip, she met his parents. When they asked her if she could try to discourage their son from a career in show business, she not only refused, but invited them to brunch the next morning where she convinced his dad that he was talented enough to support himself as an actor.

Batt soon left The Big Easy to head for the Big Apple to pursue his dream. He succeeded in securing jobs in small productions quickly, but his goal was to be in a Broadway show. That happened on March 15, 1987, when he opened in the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express. On opening night, he received a telegram from Helen Hayes: "Welcome to Broadway. May you have a triumphant stay."

During his early years in NY, he also began exploring the city's gay scene, picking up guys in gay bars but never revealing his real name. As he recalled many years later, "There are quite a few willing men who may fondly remember a midnight tryst with the elusive and tipsy Brad, Rick, or Craig." The encounters, while thrilling, were also the source of guilt and shame for Bratt. At the time, "Being outed seemed a fate worse than death; coming out was utterly unimaginable."

After Starlight closed he earned the rent working as a "fragrance model" (aka tester guy) at Bloomingdales. He was fired for making a questionable joke about Perry Ellis's perfume line soon after the designer's passing but fate stepped in again and he received an offer to play Che in a road production of Lloyd Webber's Evita at an Akron, Ohio dinner theater.

The job would not only keep him in show business, but it introduced him to the man who he has spent the last 21 years with, Tom Cianfich who was an ensemble actor in the company. On April 1, 1989, the two men shared a kiss, and soon became lovers, though Batt remained closeted, fearful that coming out might harm his career or, more likely, disappoint his family and friends.

After Akron it was back to Broadway for two years in Cats. "From December of 1990 until December of 1992, I was the biggest pussy on Broadway." Grateful for the well-paid job, he eventually tired of the role, in part because it was exhausting, but also because he yearned for an opportunity to act in a serious play. That opportunity came when he was cast in Paul Rudnick's AIDS comedy Jeffrey (1993). Batt played Darius, a naive Liza-loving HIV-positive chorus boy.

He knew that if he took the role, he would have to come out to his family. Having accepted himself as gay, he had overcome much of the guilt he had previously felt, "but he had become acutely conscious of an element of hypocrisy, or at least inauthenticity, in his life, one that would be exacerbated by playing a gay character while pretending to be straight."

Most of his friends and colleagues knew that he and Cianfichi were together, but his family was led to believe that they were merely roommates. When his mother and other family members came to New York to see Jeffrey after opening to rave reviews, Batt, over a bottle of wine, told his mother that he was gay and that he and Tom were a couple. Although there were tears, his mother reassured him that she loved him and that she loved Tom as well.

The person he feared telling most was his "good ole boy" brother, Jay. But Jay's response was both funny and accepting: "You're gay? Thank God, I thought you just weren't getting any!"

The play Jeffery went on to be adapted to the big screen, where Batt revised his role as Darius.

Professionally it took a little longer to come out. Talking to Playbill he said that he used to worry about the effect of coming out would have on his career:

"When I played the lead in Sunset Blvd., the movie of Jeffrey was coming out, and I was petrified. Back then, every agent told you that if you want to play a straight role, you don’t come out. This was before Ellen [DeGeneres] came out. But now I couldn't give a rat’s ass. It’s normal to be gay."


He continued to work in Broadway, but he hadn't achieved the kind of breakthrough success that would make him a star. When his career hit a lull in beginning of the new new millennium, he and Cianfichi began thinking of redirecting their lives.

After much thought, they decided to open a gift and home accessories store on Magazine Street in New Orleans. Batt didn't know the business end of running a business, but wanted to focus on his design and fashion talents. Cianfichi, who is an event planner, had the business know how from working retail when they were living in New York. He would manage the business. And in 2003, they opened Hazelnut, named for Batt's beloved maternal grandmother whose name was Hazel Nuss.

With the new business came them making New Orleans their home, they also keep places in New York and Los Angeles, making them tri-coastal.

In 2004, Batt was back on Broadway when he understudied for Gary Beach as Albin in the revival of La Cage aux Folles. Although he felt that he was miscast,believing that he was too tall, he loved being able to belt out "I Am What I Am," which he described as "this great soaring, affirmative anthem."

In August 2005, soon after La Cage closed, New Orleans was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Batt and Cianfichi were on vacation in Sonoma, California when it happened. Miraculously their store and house suffered only minor damage, and his mother's home was unscathed. However, the lakefront home of his brother--then a New Orleans City Councilman--was ruined by eight feet of water.

A veteran of AIDS fundraisers and benefits in both New York and New Orleans, he threw himself into relief efforts for his city in ruins. He appeared in numerous benefit concerts, including the "Broadway Celebrity Benefit for Hurricane Relief," "Heartsong: The Concert for New Orleans," and "With Love, From Broadway to the Bayou." He co-chaired a benefit at the Museum of New York that raised $150,000 for post-Katrina rebuilding and preservation efforts in the crescent city. In nearly all these events, he mournfully crooned, "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?"

Not only did he use his theatrical talents and contacts, he used his decorating talents as well. He frequently appeared on television design shows promoting the recovery of New Orleans and participated in a program called "Pimp My [FEMA] Trailer" in which he decorated the temporary home of a woman displaced by the hurricane.

In the wake of New Orleans' recovery, he developed a cabaret act, premiering it as a fundraiser for the New Orleans cabaret Le Chat Noir then taking it to New York's Metropolitan Room and reprising it later as a benefit for Le Petit Théâtre in New Orleans.

In 2007, television came calling and Batt was cast in the role that brought fame beyond the Great White Way. It was Salvatore Romano, the closeted art director in Mad Men. When first asked to audition for the role, he turned it down because he and Cianfichi had promised to take his goddaughter to Paris to repay her for all she did for them in the aftermath of Katrina, including evacuating Batt's mother from the city. Luckily, the role was still available when he returned, and he eagerly accepted a renewed invitation to audition.

The series, has received numerous Emmys, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as a Peabody Award.

His story line during first three seasons emphasized both Romano's homosexuality and his attempt to repress it. In the second season, Sal marries, but in the opening of the third season he has an encounter with a hotel bellhop, which is observed by the head of the agency, Don Draper. At the end of the season, however, Draper fires him at the behest of a male client of the agency, whose advances he rejected.

It is not sure whether Romano will return in the fourth season. Batt has that the character has been fired not killed, so there may be hope that he will return either to the Sterling Cooper agency or, perhaps, open his own agency. Given his performance, subtle and richly layered as an Italian-American outsider in the waspy world of the Sterling Cooper ad agency, has many hoping he and Sal return soon.

Batt also made appearances on other television shows, including a recurring role in ABC's Ugly Betty, as well as a guest segment on Martha Stewart.

In 2010, Batt wrote an affectionate memoir entitled "She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother", about growing up and emphasized his mother's charm courage and influence on his life. He is also coming out with a book on design in the near future.

As one of few openly gay actors, he was asked to comment on Ramin Setoodeh's controversial April 2010 article in Newsweek alleging that gay actors cannot convincingly play straight roles. Observing that the article was "self-loathing," Batt went on to refute Setoodeh's premise by defending the acting abilities of the gay actors maligned in the article, especially Sean Hayes.

One recurrent rumor of his personal life is that he and Cianfichi either had married or were intending to marry. When asked about thee rumors, Batt confirmed that they had considered marrying in California before Proposition 8 passed, but that the illness of his mother made it impossible. He added that they had now decided against marrying until they could do so in their own state: "I'm not going to haul my cookies to another state to enjoy a right that should be enjoyed in all states."

Batt is active in numerous charitable, civic, and political organizations, including the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the Human Rights Campaign, the Point Foundation, Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights AIDS, Habitat For Humanity, Second Harvest Food Bank the SPCA, The Preservation Resource Center, N.O. AIDS Task Force (board member, Humanitas Award), and Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre (board member and interim Artistic Director).

In addition, Batt has also earned recognition as a designer and interior decorator, his designs and their store Hazelnut has been featured in NY Times, House Beautiful, In Style, Traditional Home, Southern Accents and other design and lifestyle magazines.

Another project Bratt undertook was designing furniture. Batt recently designed a loveseat, "The Hef" for the 50th Anniversary of the Playboy Club. "Inspired by the Playboy lifestyle and the legacy of Hugh Hefner’s vision,... has designed a loveseat that represents timeless modern style, class and functionality. Cultivating the design elements of the early 60’s and incorporating contemporary flair." A limited edition of 50, each one is hand signed by Playboy founder, Hugh Hefner.

Byran Batt Official Site

Hazelnut New Orleans

Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Rainbow Connection

All kinds of things were contenders for today, more Leadville 100, Jake and Yoga, Arm candy that's all arms and no Bilson, Sensitive Julian's cooking klatch, Ms. Tweets too much taking one more thing that Austin was having fun with in "take it and make it mine" grab yet again(figuratively introducing his cajones to a desk drawer just one more time) All were contenders but this, this has won out over all of those and it is because of one simple question.

But a little background first. Jake did promos back in the spring for not only PoP the movie but PoP the DVD and here he is on Disney Channel's Leo Little's Big Show promoting the DVD coming out Sept 14th.

So what is the one question from Leo Little's Big Show that made this king of the hill for today?

Leo, Leo Can you ask Jake if he likes rainbows?




Yup rainbows.
Who said the scriptwriters at Disney can't slip one in?




And speaking of Rainbows (and in fact kid shows)

Here's Austin's tweet from yesterday in his pursuit to get LeVar Burton to follow him:

@levarburton I love the shit out of reading rainbow and Jordy LaForge! - Aug 27


A little snip of Reading Rainbow back in the day



And today's song? Would love to see Jake sit across from Jon Stewart and sing it to him and not the reason you think. A different version of this song was the theme for a kid's show in Philly (Captain Noah's Childrens Hour - one of my favs) that Stewart was on when he was little Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz. Want someone to sing it to him just to see Jon's reaction, and who better than Jake? Not sure if Jon would freak out, go off in a rant or slowly rock back in forth quietly in his anchor chair.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Talk, TIFF, and Trailers

Lots of Austin for an Austin Friday.

Last Sunday Austin called into the radio show Hollywood Gives Back on LA Talk Radio.

Check it out here.

Hollywood Gives Back

It's near the end, Austin is the last interview. They chat about Surfrider, his family, getting discovered at Sundance, touched briefly on that his involvement with Global Green started before the Gulf Spill, his current involvement in the Gulf Relief and ask about the movie Prayers for Bobby.


Speaking of movies. More about Beautiful Boy.

We know that Beautiful Boy will be at TIFF, but Austin won't be.

With the Surfrider event in Malibu on Sept.11th, and the premiere of Beautiful Boy on the 12th, it looks like Austin won't be joining his co-stars from tweets last night.

Come join us in Toronto for BEAUTIFUL BOY. Sep 12 @ 6:30pm. If you don't like really great actors and strong performances, STAY HOME!!

I meant Maria Bello and Michael Sheen. Not me!!

Austin earlier in the day had tweeted about the movie and how he was proud to be part of the film. The article that he linked didn't have any pictures of him but OMG found 2 more to add to our first peek of him in the movie we saw earlier this year.
Beautiful Boy is a powerful story that looks at the aftermath of a school shooting through the lives of the parents of the killer who took his own life in the process. How while estranged and getting ready to divorce find themselves turning to the other to get through, as they struggle with their loss as well as dealing the public reaction and press over what their son did.

Check out the trailer for the movie.


And Friday pop quiz. Name this Beautiful Boy co-star.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Bit Brokeback?

Robbie Williams has reunited with former Take That bandmate Gary Barlow after their long feud.



Kind of has a familiar feel to it, doesn't it?


Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Run Around the Turtle

Jake's got this multitasking thing down pat.
Holding a drink, got the flip cam, and at ease carrying a bag of gear (you think he's had practice juggling a bunch of little things at once?) Jake's looking fit as he waits to capture the start the first stage of the Leadville 100 on video last week. Looks like he is interested in maybe getting involved behind the scenes for a movie based on the Born to Run book. It's Brandon Fuller's blog again, that has more details of the day.

Check out Jake's nifty convertible pants, yup a quick zip zip and they're shorts. And Jake knows how to accessorize. (not just the hat - but there's another shout out for his newest give back efforts - the Stand Up 2 Cancer telethon is Sept 10th)

Speaking of accessorizing and giving back. Austin is flirting with a matching web belt to go with the new tee that is giving bucks back to his Gulf efforts.

While the full version of this pic looks more like the Wonder Twins deactivating than people dating, Austin and friend Adam were trying to figure out which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle they were via twitter after the Maroon 5 show.

Adam to:

@AUS10NICHOLS it still doesn't even feel real. Drink some red bull and drive like a ninja...

VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION: If you were a ninja turtle...which one would you be?


If I'm honest with myself..I'm michaelangelo. But the brooding soulfulness of raphael is undeniable. Plus he has the coolest weapons.

I spelled Michelangelo wrong. Oops.

Austin to: @adamlevine I drank so much red bull and I am a ninja. I would be Splinter or Shredder. about

@AUS10NICHOLS duuuuude. You can't just BE splinter! That's the unattainable! you are Leo or Don.

@adamlevine ok you're right you have to earn splinter status. I'm leonardo. Who's our Donatello?


Leonardo is depicted as the eldest brother and (along with Donatello) the calmest of the four. He is the one to usually take charge of the turtles when Master Splinter is not present. He is often at odds with his more hot-headed brother, Raphael.Leonardo is said outright to be the leader of the TMNT; his orders are usually followed, and he is a very serious do-gooder who hardly ever makes wise cracks.

Leonardo? Guess it's gotta be the blue.